#of course you’re in love with the person in your head you WROTE THE SCRIPT | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ncisfranchise-source · 4 months ago

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Rocky Carroll once again dons a second director hat for NCIS. The man who plays Director Leon Vance stepped behind the camera for the January 27 return — the 25th episode of the show he’s done so for.

In “Baker’s Man,” after NCIS learns that the owner of Parker’s (Gary Cole) favorite bakery (guest star Melina Kanakaredes) is being blackmailed, they hatch a plan to save her from the perpetrators. Also, tensions heighten when Torres’ (Wilmer Valderrama) secret romance is discovered. Carroll offers a preview.

This is the 25th episode of NCIS that you’ve directed, so congratulations on that number.

Rocky Carroll: Thank you.

What is it about NCIS that you like directing so much?

Well, I guess having an eight-year head start as an actor on the show is the one thing that most directors can’t say. By the time I started directing, I was, I guess, a firmly ensconced member of the family. So it wasn’t like, well, I need to brush up and find out who these characters are and look at some episodes. I knew all the players and I knew what made the engine that made our show run. And also I got so much support from everybody when I started. Michael Weatherly was still there, Cote de Pablo, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum. So having that core cast, the people who were there, who put that show on the map, were the ones who were so supportive and the ones who were like, “Yeah, we like when you do that, do another one, keep going,” to have that kind of support, I mean, it was incredible. And when I say it out loud, it still surprises me now that I’ve now done 25 episodes, and I think the first one was in Season 12 and I’m now in my 17th season as a cast member.

CBS

What excited you about the script from a directing standpoint?

Well, I thought there were so many different angles to this. The budding romance between Parker and Eleni. Melina was sort of the perfect fit for that character. And Andrew Bartels, who wrote the episode, is evidently a pastry foodie himself, his love for it wasn’t that he just spent up all night researching it. It’s like this guy loves bakeries, pastries. You’ve got your romantic element of it. You’ve got the food element of it. You’ve got, of course, the case and the fact that Parker seems to find the person who apparently seems to be the perfect fit for him. But as the show progresses, you realize that all these things that have happened — there’s a crime, there’s a murder, there’s a drug war — and all the arrows are pointing toward her as being either directly or indirectly involved so that you finally think that Parker has finally found somebody who’s the perfect match for him, and [maybe] nothing could be further from the truth.

So the fun part about directing this is creating all those elements and creating that relationship that, why is Parker … We know he likes to go to bakeries and bring baked goods to the squad room every morning, but he keeps going to the same one. He’s been going to this one very regularly. What’s going on here? So we create that element where all the rest of the team is like, there’s something special about this place that you’re going to, who is she? And he finally confesses that he’s kind of got a thing for the woman that runs the Greek bakery, and then everything starts to unravel. And so creating all those elements and then creating the element between Parker and Eleni where there’s this genuine connection between them, but everything points toward hers as being somebody that she’s not and all of Parker’s instincts are saying to him that he’s torn because he really does have feelings for her, but he has to do what he has to do as an investigator.

This season, there’s a new deputy director in LaRoche (Seamus Dever) who’s a bit shady. What’s Vance’s take on him?

I think true to form, Vance believes that people will eventually reveal themselves. And I think there’s a little bit of a waiting game here, and we don’t know. I find it funny because I think the Vance character was sort of introduced almost in the same way, where NCIS fans were like, I don’t know about this guy. Is he a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Is there some ulterior motive? Is he going to turn on Gibbs [Mark Harmon]? Is something going to happen? So I think we’ve gone down this road before with other characters where they present themselves a certain way, but over time, we have to find out what their true intentions are. So I think Vance, because he does answer to the Secretary of the Navy, he does answer to higher powers, he’s going to do what he’s been appointed to do regard to LaRoche.

But I think he’s got his eye on him and what we will reveal about LaRoche remains to be seen. But I think Vance knows in the world that we’re in, sometimes you don’t know these people, but eventually they will reveal themselves.

McGee (Sean Murray) is the one who’s really leading that investigation. The McGee and Vance relationship has been great to watch evolve. Will we see more of that with this LaRoche investigation?

I hope so because I think McGee and Vance now, and with regard with the exception of Jimmy [Brian Dietzen], have the longest-tenured relationship there. So there is a little bit more of an affinity. McGee’s older now, he’s a father with twins, and he really wanted that position of deputy director. He finally convinced himself that he was worth it. And everybody around him was like, yeah, you should do this. And we had those episodes in the past where something would happen and McGee would have to sit in and he’d be in the director’s chair and was like, I can kind of get used to this. And so it was really fun. So he was really shattered when he found out — and by Vance — that he didn’t get the position. I think part of his reason for really kind of being out front and center on this investigation is he wants to make sure that this guy who had the job that he wanted really is right for the job.

Lena (Marem Hassler) returned earlier this season, and she and Vance took a step in their relationship moving from casual to exchanging keys. How is that relationship going?

Lena also has a bit of a past, Lena was an operative, she’s of the world. She knows the world of federal agencies. And even when she came back in the episode, she wasn’t completely transparent as to why she was there. So I think there’s still that element between Lena and Vance that he would like nothing more for this to be something more solid, something more permanent, but there’s still a side of her that … There are some loose ends that really haven’t been tied up with regard to who she is, but they had this long-distance relationship for a long time. I love the episode because I think Vance just realized that, you know what, at this point, life is too short and to sit around more and not doing anything about it is just a waste of time. So they took a step toward that. But I think in true NCIS form, when Lana returns, it won’t be all tied up with a ribbon on it. I’m sure there’ll be another element that she’ll bring, another aspect of her character or her history that we will uncover. And I think that’s what makes that relationship fun.

You said when she returns, so are we going to see her again soon?

As soon as I find out, I’ll let you know. [Laughs]

It seems like in that relationship, Vance has to just accept that he’s never going to know everything about her.

Right. And I think he’s trying to come to terms with that. So how do you get closer but still, to some degree, you have to be at arm’s length, and he understands because that’s kind of who she is. Those are the parameters. But at the end of the episode, she hands him a key to her apartment, so it is a step in the right direction.

Parker is in the middle of this Lily mystery, and one of the best dynamics on the show is the Parker and Vance one. Are we going to see Parker talking to Vance about what’s going on with Lily or Vance noticing things?

What seems to be happening right now is that, because these images and the visions that Parker’s seeing of this little girl, Lily, all happened when he and Knight [Katrina Law] were sort of in peril, in their life and death scenario, he seems to be confiding more in Knight than he is Vance about it right now. Because Knight is the one who’s saying to him, “You’ve been different since we went through that. What’s going on with you?” She’s a little more tuned into it. Kind of the same way Vance was able to talk to Parker about Lena, which I think was this great scene where Vance goes to his apartment and says, “I don’t really know what I want,” I’m hoping that we get to a point where, as this thing manifests itself, that Parker will be able to come to Vance and say, “This is something in my history. There are things that — I need clarity, I need some answers, I need closure or whatever.” But right now, I think Knight is the one who is the one who’s much more dialed in than anybody else on the team that there’s something going on, that something’s amiss with Parker.

#ncis #interview

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sleepingdeath-light · 2 years ago

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best friend hcs ; sally

requested by ; 🦑 anon (14/05/23)

fandom(s) ; welcome home

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; sally starlet

outline ; “Hi there!

Could you do best friend headcannons with sally starlet please?

Thanks! —🦑”

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

she may be the star of the show but you’re 100% her co-star — the person she runs every performance and concept past and who she bounces all of her lines off of

this could be, depending on your comfort level, anything from helping with props to fetching and prepping scripts to performing alongside her

she’s just happy to have you along for the ride and won’t pressure you any which way

calls you ‘bestie’, ‘buddy’ and ‘moon’ (usually in the context of ‘the moon to my star’ or something equally theatre-kid-esque)

sleepovers happen so frequently that you basically live at each other’s houses — she has a closet at yours and you have a set of drawers at hers

she loves loves loves doing your hair and will learn how specifically to deal with whatever hair texture you have just so she can live out her dream of turning you into a living dress up doll

she will tackle-hug you when you least expect it — usually combining it with a squeal of your name

she’s a terrible cook but she’ll try her best to make you something edible whenever you visit

which is usually one step away from charcoal but you’ll try to stomach it for her sake

she’s always leaning on you or touching you — interlocking elbows, hand holding, leaning her head on your shoulder, hugging you from the side or from behind

she’s just a… very tactile friend

she has all of your favourite songs and films memorised line by line and will recite them/sing along with you

for your five year friend-aversary she wrote out, scripted and had the neighbours help her organise a play about your friendship — having julie play you, of course

(she was the only one that volunteered and read her lines well — she wanted to get barnaby involved but he didn’t have the constitution for the stage in her mind)

you paint each other’s faces and do each other’s makeup often — whether you’re good at it is dependent on you, but it’s a frequent occurrence nonetheless

friendship bracelets? friendship bracelets

she made them herself!

she has a handmade patch of the two of you sewn on to her overalls (she sewed it with poppy’s help, granted, but she kept on pricking her fingers so she really needed the aid…)

has your number memorised but you never call each other since you’re basically always at each other’s houses so there’s like no point

#sleepingdeath #gender neutral reader #🦑 anon #fluff #fluff hcs #platonic x reader #welcome home x reader #welcome home fluff #sally starlet fluff #sally starlet x reader

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margseliserobbie · 2 years ago

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biopic panel - margot robbie/i, tonya

Who did you play?

I played Tonya Harding in the film I, Tonya.

What gravitated you to that role?

The script had been available and I read it for our production comapny and thought, “Wow, this story is insane.” It was such a good script and I wasn’t aware any of this really happened. I’m from Australia, so we weren’t familiar with Tonya Harding, her story or her headlines. The more I learned about it, the more I wanted to play this complicated character and just put her and Jeff’s sides of the story out there. Tonya had so much taken from her and never really got to have her story put out there, the film does such a good job of giving you their accounts and not swaying you either way. You can decide how you feel about it, what you believe happened.

What was prep like for your role?

A lot of time at the ice skating rink. I had ice skated before but not on figure skates. I had skated for my ice hockey team and not very well, might I add. I more so just crashed into the boards and other plays while I played hockey. Hockey skates and figure skates are very different. I also took some ballet classes since that really helped with the poise and discipline of skating. Of course, I watched a documentary about Tonya Harding and anything else I could find on her.

Was there anything about the role that didn’t resonate with you?

Oh, a lot. Especially Tonya and Jeff’s toxic relationship. The abuse towards one another.. It was a very delicate subject but we had created such a safe space on set. As most of you know, my husband played Jeff and we had met in the auditions. We both felt so comfortable playing these characters with one another in what’s such an uncomfortable situation. We really pushed each other to limits we didn’t know we had as actors and it was one of my best acting experiences. That was such a credit to Seb. There was a scene we did and I just remember blacking out, getting lost in the scene and genuinely forgetting I was playing a role.. There’s only two times that’s happened and one of those times was with Seb. It got turned into this love story and I always credit him for that.. He played Jeff in a way that no one else had approached it in auditions. But anyway, at the end of the day, Jeff and Tonya truly did love each other and that can be what’s so difficult to wrap your head around. You can have a love story, in a weird way, and show how complicated and toxic their relationship was.

Would you play this person again?

I don’t think so. I loved playing Tonya, I loved the experience and I’m so proud of the film we made but I think we left it all out on the field.. or ice. I think we told her story and there’s no reason to return. I don’t think we can top it.

Did you find out anything about yourself while playing another person?

I learned there was muscles I had that I wasn’t aware of! And as I said, I learned just how far I could go acting-wise, pushing myself to the limits. We filmed over a hundred scenes in just 35 days. Everyone told us we couldn’t make this film, it was impossible.. but it just made us want to make it even more, to prove people wrong. After we finished this film, I finally felt like I was at a stage in my acting career where I felt good enough to reach out to certain directors. Once Tonya was released, I actually wrote my letter to Quentin Tarantino about working with him and then the rest is history!

What was the most challenging thing about being in a biopic?

The most challenging thing is probably knowing you’re playing a real life person and wanting to get it right, wanting to do them justice. But at the same time, you’re not exactly playing this person.. you’re playing a character of them. That differentiation is so important in playing a real life person and it helps take the pressure off a bit.

Have you met the person you played?

I did! Tonya was very supportive of the film we made. I didn’t meet her until after I did all my research and after I decided on how I’d play her. I’ve played a few real-life women now and I always tell them, “I’m not playing you exactly.. I’m playing a character.”

#*i tonya #hfrpcomiccon23 #tw: flashing images #tw: toxic relationships #*queue

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withhertea · 2 years ago

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Pop singer-songwriter Maisie Peters gained initial popularity on YouTube before releasing two original EPs and going on tour all over the US. She signed to Gingerbread Man Records, the record label headed up by none other than pop icon Ed Sheeran, and just released her first debut album, You Signed Up For This, last month.

We sat down with Maisie Peters just before the album release to talk about You Signed Up For This, her work on Trying, one of the latest Apple TV+ binge-worthy shows and of course, her viral TikToks.

Beyond The Stage: What has it been like working with Ed Sheeran now that you’re on his label?

Maisie Peters: It’s been amazing. [Sheeran] is obviously ridiculously talented, and he’s also the most generous, down-to-earth person in every way. Besides being generous, he is so courteous and amazing. I’m a one-woman Ed Sheeran promotional team right now [laughs]. He’s just amazing, and it’s really amazing and inspiring to watch and learn from him. Working with him has been really so easy. He’s really supportive and wants me to make the music that I want to make.

BTS: When you wrote the soundtrack for season two of Trying on Apple TV+ did you have full reign on the music, or did Apple have inputs in the music, such as the collaborations?

MP: That was a really cool process, one of my favorite things that I have done, actually. I worked really closely with the director, Jim O’Hanlon, and Catherine Grimes, who was the BBC music commissioner. It was myself and Joe Rubel, the producer with whom I made the soundtrack. We had a couple of long Zoom meetings with [O’Hanlon] before we started, and we talked through the themes and the general story and the universe it was in since it was season two.

Then I read all the scripts, and I made notes, and I was very methodical with it. But when it came to writing the music, we just went away, and I think we spent about two weeks doing four or five songs and we just sent them to Apple. Luckily for us, they really liked them. I think it was “Helicopters,” “Mail House,” “Funeral” and they loved what we did.

I had to change a couple of timing things like there was a song called “Office Christmas Party” that just became “The Party” because we wrote it around Christmas time so I was obviously in the festive spirit. We realized that we couldn’t have something called “Office Christmas Party” in a TV show that was set in autumn. It was really easy and definitely a different experience. Apple was wonderful to work for. They really trusted me and my vision. I think it all worked out really well.

BTS: Did you feel like the songs you wrote for Trying were still your music, or did it feel more like you were doing something for a show?

Maisie Peters: No. It’s interesting, even though a lot of it was in a different character’s shoes and the show is not really my life, the show was still set in London and it was about these young people figuring out how they wanted to live their lives. I actually was writing my album at the same time, and a lot of these songs, even though they’re written for something else, there’s so much of me in them. They feel super-close to me. I think it’s music I could make in my sleep, almost.

I’ll always make songs like that. It was really fulfilling and magical to get to write like a whole album basically that was twisty, smart, folk-pop songs. And it’s funny, they’re all love songs really in some way, shape or form, which is hilarious for me, the girl who never writes love songs but I think it’s interesting. They’re all love songs, but there is also nuance to them and it really looks like love through a lot of different eyes and not a stereotypical bunch of love songs.

BTS: Did you have to set aside time to specifically write for Trying and then specifically write for your album?

MP: I think it only happened once where I wrote a song and thought it could work for either. I wrote a song called “Trying,” not actually linked to the show, but that song we started for the Trying soundtrack. It ended up not really working, we only did the first verse and chorus, and we were like, ‘That doesn’t really work for Trying, but it could work for me,’ and then it ended up being on my album.

The soundtrack was done in such a concentrated time like we literally did those first four songs in like a week or less, and it was [Rubel] and me being like, ‘We have a deadline,’ and we wanted to get these done by Christmas, and it was October. So we just got the writing done very quickly. With recording and producing, though, there were definitely some crazy days where I would be in [Rubel]’s studio until 1 am every day, and I would go on the weekends for a few months.

We had a joke with my manager because he actually had to ban me from going to the studio because I would just go all the time. He was like, ‘Maisie, you need to stop. Stop going to the studio.’ I’m the only artist ever to be told not to go [laughs].

We’d be working on a song from my album and then a soundtrack song and then a song from my album, and then we had to check mixes for songs from my album, but then the soundtrack, and it was all very chaotic.

BTS: How did you start making your TikToks what they are today? You’re sharing music and carving a space out for yourself there.

Maisie Peters: I think the same as everyone. It was the lockdown, and everyone was like, ‘What do I do?’ I actually think TikTok is the best social media app. It’s so funny, and I got really into it. I’ve discovered so much new music from TikTok and so many artists that I think are incredible, especially songwriters. It’s such a perfect platform for songwriters, and I’m someone who really likes sharing my music in quite a casual way, and TikTok is the perfect place to do that.

I just put all these little snippets up and these little jokey things, and it’s become a fun little thing. And now it’s super important as well because everyone is being told to do it. I really feel like songwriting has had a comeback with TikTok, and I’m constantly blown away. Every day I stumble across someone singing on my For You Page, and I’m like, that is insane, that’s an amazing song.

BTS: Do you think that hearing all the songwriters on TikTok and elsewhere has changed how you’ve been writing at all because you hear so many different voices?

MP: I think it’s just really inspiring. It’s wonderful how many talented people there are out there and how many people are writing amazing music all the time and most of the time, they’re just teenagers in their bedrooms, and I just think that’s so cool.

BTS: How did you decide what collaborations you wanted to do and who you wanted to do them with? Do you write songs before or after you decide who to collaborate with?

Maisie Peters: On my album, there aren’t any features, but there are collaborations with James Bay, Bear’s Den and Griff on the [Trying] soundtrack, and all of those songs were different.

With Griff, we’d written the song, but I knew I wanted her voice to be on it with me, and it reminded me of Folklore. We’d just done that cover together, so I sent it over to her and explained what the TV show was about and what the song was about, and I said, ‘Feel free to write, produce, whatever you want.’ She ended up writing this amazing verse and did all these vocals that sounded so good and sent it back to me.

But also, I wrote with JP Saxe, we did ‘Maybe Don’t’ together, and that was done very collaboratively. We met in the studio right before lockdown, and within five hours, we had written this song. It was very collaborative and came out of us just sharing our experiences and lives at the time, joining forces.

BTS: How is it getting back to doing live shows? Are you thinking of touring for this album?

Maisie Peters: Yes, I’m excited. The festival was amazing. It was really fulfilling and inspiring. I am definitely going to tour for this album. I’ve announced some record store dates, which will be really fun. I’m really excited to play these songs live, and I’m hoping next year, for sure, I can do some touring.

BTS: Was it weird to get ready to go back on stage after this long? A festival seems like a big way to jump back in.

MP: It was kind of crazy. There was definitely some worry that I had forgotten how to do it, which is, I think, a very valid worry because I hadn’t been on stage for like a year and a half. But I actually think the time away made me much better, and I was never really a natural performer, but doing those shows at the festivals really made me realize the sort of performer I want to be. I think I’m getting closer to the performer that I’ve always wanted to be.

It’s really cool. It’s coming from just growing up and gaining confidence and writing songs and knowing how to make songs work live, and I have a really amazing band as well. It was kind of daunting to go on stage. I wasn’t sure I knew how to do it, but I sort of stumbled back into it.

BTS: How do you feel about this new album? How does it compare to previous EPs and singles?

MP: I’m really excited for this album to come out. Once it comes out, it’ll be weird because it’s all I worked on for arguably all my life but at least like a year. I think it has the same heart as my EPs.

There are veins and rivers that run through all of them that help carry each one to the next. ‘Dressed Too Nice for a Jacket’ led to ‘It’s Your Bed Babe’ and then to this album; I like to think they’re all stepping stones. They’re like the little baby siblings of this album. I think [the album release] will be weird, but I think it’ll be good. I’m really proud of it. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

#maisie peters #beyond the stage

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versadies · 3 years ago

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my songbird. (pantalone x gn!reader)

SALUTATIONS. my songbird

ADDRESSED. pantalone (w. gn!performer!reader)

CONTENT. fluff/no-angst, performer!reader, ooc pantalone, very fluffy, no tw as far as ik

STAMP/SYPNOSIS. although your performances are always memorable, there's always something else that made it all the more better, which is meeting your most loyal sponsor, your husband, afterwards.

PENPALS. @scaraslover @saving-for-xiao @dawgimsohot @kazu-topia @chiruru @aqualesha @renamichii @mrkamisato @shenhesl0ver @serami00 @serenareiss @hiqhkey @emperatris-rinaka @bystander36 @irisxiel @ladycoleigh @034ven @dear-dairiess @owozi8 @hadesaedes @chiro-chiro-kun @hersscherofyatta @mariusvonhangme @yuzuricebun @nejibot @hoshikistarlette @solaaresque @crowbird @lordbugs @flowersforayato @headintheclouddd @estelwrld @giyusimpsassemble @irethepotatosblog @moonlightaangel @alice0blog @shotosbrainrot @sniffoat @chihawari @mxsomn @kuni-kuzushii @jiminscarmex @mitsukii14 @nejibot @ylimeprive @sachispet @loreleis-world @sn-owo @starforecasts @someonetookmynamelmao @ceylestia @lychme @ymikkos @reallysporadicarcade @melodyyamino

POST-SCRIPT. enjoy your food pantalone lovers 😘😘

LINKS. MAIN MASTERLIST \ TAGLIST

Being married to a Harbinger of all people is something you never thought you’d end up doing in your life.

You don’t consider yourself as someone who seems to be the type a harbinger would like, let alone respect you. You’re just a performer that most - if not all - people enjoy watching due to how you use your vision in your performances.

That is, until you met your anonymous sponsor.

Your sponsor is one of a kind, you’d say. Not only does he give you a generous amount of mora for your shows and staff often, but he also sends you gifts every time you finish your show, all which were sent by a Fatui soldier or more depending on said gift. He also sends you a letter from each of those gifts, something that you always look forward to. You find it endearing how he calls you songbird, especially since it’s one of your favorite animals.

Of course, you’d send a response to him through the Fatui soldier who comes by to drop the gift, sending him gratitudes and how you hoped he enjoyed the shows you dedicatedly perform in.

You didn’t know who your sponsor was besides the fact that they’re associated with the Fatui, but you were grateful that you have such a supporter on your side.

By the time you did find out who it was, you were shocked to say the least.

It was during a certain ball that’s held in the Zapolyarny Palace and you were invited to perform for the Tsartisa and the Fatui, so it’s safe to say you were both nervous and excited. Nervous, because this is the most important show you must do your best in, and excited because you’re going to meet your sponsor personally, who wrote to you that he’ll be showing up and watching you among the audience.

When your performance ended, you were greeted by a very important man backstage.

“What a lovely performance, I must say.” He complimented, causing you to smile bashfully. “Thank you, Lord Regrator. I’m glad you enjoyed my performance.” You replied politely, bowing your head.

He chuckles. “You’ve come a long way, songbird. I’m proud to be one of your sponsors.”

Your eyes widen from the nickname. “It’s… It’s you.” You breathe out.

“It’s nice to meet you in person, dearest ( Name ).” Pantalone said softly. You watched as he offered you his hand as an invitation. “Care to dance, songbird?”

You look at his hand for a while before shyly taking his hand. “I’d be honored.”

And so the both of you spent the rest of the night dancing, talking, and everything together in the ball, not noticing the stares you receive from those who are in the ballroom. In all honesty, everyone didn’t expect to see the Ninth Harbinger getting along with someone like you, not expecting him of all people to be the type to be so interested in theatrics and arts (in reality, he was simply just interested in you).

Ever since that day, Pantalone started to come visit you during your shows whenever he can. Instead of the fatui soldier that comes to you for your gifts, it’s the harbinger who comes to you himself. The two of you then proceeded to have conversations that you would have conversed through your letters and lost time.

Eventually, the two of you fell in love and the rest is history.

You find yourself admiring your wedding ring as you sit down on your seat after yet another successful performance. It was unfortunate that your husband wasn’t able to come and watch your show, but knowing the duties of a harbinger, you could understand why.

You just can’t wait to come home and be in the loving arms of your love.

Eagerly, you started removing your accessories that you wore during the show. The faster you are with wrapping things up, the better chance of coming back to your mansion early.

It seems fate has other plans.

Suddenly, someone knocks on your door. You could recognize it was one of the organizers of the show, so you tell them to come in.

“Mx. ( Name ), it seems you have a visitor.” The organizer says as she slowly opens the door a bit, causing you to glance at her through the mirror. “Is it alright for him to come in?”

“Depends on who it is.” You answered, still removing your accessories. “I don’t have much time for a chat, I would like to come back home and meet my husband.”

“And why should you do that when your husband’s already here?” Your eyes brighten when you hear the familiar voice of the man you love, causing you to turn and see Pantalone opening the door wide for you to see him.

“Your show’s magnificent and elegant as always, my dearest–” Before he could finish his words, you suddenly ran up to him and gave him a hug, delighted that he actually came and saw your performances.

“You came!” You said excitedly. The organizer who took Pantalone decided to leave you two alone, closing the door lightly with a smile evident on her face. “How long were you watching? Where were you this whole time?”

Pantalone lets out a chuckle, hugging you back. “I was watching almost the entire show from one of the VIP booths. I enjoyed every bit of it.”

You feel your cheeks warming up from his compliment. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

He then breaks your hug in order to bring out a box. It’s a small one, but not small enough for you to assume it's jewelry. “I also brought you something precious while I was on my way. Consider it as my congratulations gift to you for another successful performance as your most devoted sponsor.”

You let out a gasp. “You shouldn’t have! You’ve given me so much already!”

“Nonsense. It’s my pleasure to spoil my spouse as much as I want.” He said, opening the box to show you what’s inside. It’s a container that has a fine and intricate design, you can assume it was a new jewelry box for you to put all of your accessories that your husband gifted you.

Pantalone brings out another item, this time it was a key.

“Here, open the box with this.” He says, watching you slowly grab it from him.

You pull out the container from the box, putting it on top of your desk as you open it with the key that was given to you.

Once the container finally opens, your eyes widen when you realize what Pantalone actually gave you.

The container is actually a music box, one that plays the first song that made you fly to stardom and become one of the most famous performers in Teyvat.

However, it wasn’t the fact that it’s playing such a song that made you so shocked. It was the sight of two miniature figures of you and your husband dancing together inside the music box.

“Do you like it?” He asks, watching you stare in awe at the miniature figures.

“I love it.” You answer, your smile widens. “I can’t believe my eyes.. Isn’t this famous in Fontaine recently?”

He hums in response, now standing next to you. “Yes. I thought it’s something you might like when I first heard about it, so I personally ordered from one of the best craftsmen to make one just for you.”

You were too busy staring at the music box to notice how Pantalone looked at you with a loving gaze. He could tell how exhausted you were with how much you’ve been performing over the past few weeks, so he thought it would make you happy if he were to give you a gift that you can use whenever you get ready for your shows.

It wasn’t until he lends out a hand to you when you finally turn to look at him in curiosity.

“Care to dance, songbird?” He asks.

Flashes of how you and Pantalone first interacted face to face came to your mind from that one simple question, and you eagerly grabbed his hand.

“I’d be honored.”

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astrobydalia · 4 years ago

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🌸OBSERVATIONS!! (finally lmao)🌱

Credit: Tumblr blog @astrobydalia

It's been a long time coming! So happy for spring being finally here! Here's the long ass observation post you guys asked for. Since it's quite a big amount of observations, I've decided it'd be a good idea to number them so that it's easier to reference them. As always, enjoy them!

🌸 1. Lilith in the 2nd house can indicate something fishy going on with the relationship between the native’s parents.

🌱 2. Malefic placements such as pluto, chiron, Saturn or Lilith in the 12th indicates a lot of skeletons in the closet when it comes to family and family history

🌸 3. Chiron in Aries/1st house or Leo/5th house is kind of bitch placement. The person basically feels like they can’t be themselves and there’s a lot of self-denial and/or not accepting themselves, how they really are, what they really want, etc. Lots of self-esteem issues

🌱 4. People with sexual placements in the 2nd house (Mars, Venus, Lilith, Eros, ruler of the 8th house) base their self-worth on how sexually attractive they are. If they don't feel sexually desirable to everyone, they feel like they're shit

🌸 5. Lilith is what people think Pluto/Scorpio is!!!! All that stuff about magnetic, sexual and intoxicating but dangerous? Lilith.

🌱 6. Scorpio/Pluto in 4th could mean that the person had to work hard to survive something growing up. It could be poverty, their parents’ expectations, an early trauma, etc. Whatever the situation is, the native felt like they grew up in a high-stress environment where they had to endure and survive

🌸 7. When it comes to degrees, the higher the degree, the bigger or stronger the effect. For example Leo degrees (5º, 17º, 29º) are fame degrees. 5th degree would give small fame, 17th degree would be normal and significant fame or recognition inside the person’s field and 29th degree is moreso widespread or permanent fame

🌱 8. Saturn in the 5th house is a huge indicator of turning your hobby into your job. Also these people can be very awkward in their personality

🌸 9. I’ve noticed people with Neptune in the 6th (maybe 2nd) house may have been hospitalized and if Uranus or Pluto are placed here also indicates getting surgery or operations for health reasons

🌱 10. People with Uranus or Pluto in the 1st, 2nd or conjunct the ASC could get surgery due to aesthetic reason

🌸 11. Mercury dominant people (or strong Gemini energy in the chart) like to have or get things quick and easy. For example they prefer a straight forward summary over an in-depth and elaborated explanation with too many details

🌱 12. Your moon sign shows how you see your past. Your 4th house represent how you see your childhood. But your moon represents under which light you always view your past and everything that has happened in your life in general. It also shows the type of stuff from your past you tend to focus on. Since Cancer and Pisces represent past and remenaicence, that's why Cancer and Pisces moons have trouble getting over the past.

🌸 13. Your 10th house on the other hand is how you see your future. Whenever someone asks you “where you see yourself in 5 years?” your 10th house is the one that’ll be answering that question

🌱 14. Gemini moon/mars are the LEAST likely to hold grudges (unless chart says otherwise)

🌸 15. The house where you have your Neptune indicates the themes you tend to lie about, don’t give much info, say stuff about it that are misleading etc. and in consequence people might not have a clear/correct idea of this part of your life

🌱 16. Virgo risings rarely or basically never pose for pictures. They just look straight forward to the camera, sometimes smile and maybe make a small gesture like putting one hand in their pocket or tilt their head but that’s it. (Virgo = minimalism)

🌸 17. Scorpios really don’t give a single fuck they just DON’T 😭💀 Remember this sign is all or nothing, they either care too or don't care AT ALL

🌱 18. I said it once and I’ll say to a hundred times more: Geminis are not two-faced, it’s LIBRA!! Seriously Libras are the FAKEST people I’ve ever met. Why? Because it's ruled by the planet of love (Venus), which means Libra has a knack for being liked by everyone and making everyone feel liked. HOWEVER Libra is an AIR sign and air represents mind, NOT feelings. In conclusion, Libra can make you feel "loved" (venus) and still not give a damn about you bc its air nature makes them prone to emotional detachment. That's why they are able to roast you and make it look like they're complimenting you, specially when they have Scorpio mercury.

🌸 19. Just like you look at where’s the ruler of your rising sign to get more info on your rising, check the ruler of your Sun sign for more info on your personal identity (check sign and house). For ex. I have Virgo Sun in the 9th. Ruler of Virgo=Mercury. I have mercury in Libra in the 10th house which makes me more serious (10th house) and diplomatic/people pleaser (Libra)

🌱 20. If you found that you “couldn’t” do what’s previously described because you’re a Leo sun, check the degree and decan of your Sun

🌸 21. I’ve noticed mercury retrograde people are the type of individuals who always know exactly the right things to say. You’ll always see them take a couple of seconds before answering but they tend to give very good responses

🌱 22. I’ve noticed many women with Virgo Venus/Sun/MC/Lilith have been slut-shamed at some point of their life or they’ve been seen as promiscuous/sexual/etc.

🌸 23. Capricorn moons are not emotionless machines. The thing with these natives is that their mothers treated them like an adult the second they came out of the womb, so basically they skipped the “love and affection” stage and went straight to the “grow up” stage, but they can love really hard and real deep (Capricorn is deep down a very sentimental sign). They are very ride or die people tbh, they are very patient, accepting and understanding

🌱 24. I've noticed that people at first deny their rising sign in Vedic astrology, but eventually they end up accepting it and they actually end up relating to it a lot. I feel like this is because our rising sign in Vedic astrology is usually the sign of our 12th house in Western astrology, which leads me to believe that our 12th house sign is not our shadow side but more like our deep subcontious personality and that's why we have a hard time accepting it when we see it as our rising sign in Vedic astrology. It's like your rising sign (in western) is the director of the play but your 12th house is the energy that previously wrote the script

🌸 25. So many celebrities have moon in the 11th house. Also this placement indicates that you had a mother that put you out there constantly like posting everything about you on social media, bringing you to big events or your mom was “famous” in some capacity

🌱26. Gemini risings tend to believe everything they are told. More specifically, once they find someone that knows a little bit more than them they’ll believe everything they teach them and will most likely rely on them intellectually, for advice, guidance, etc. This is bc they have DSC in Sagittarius which makes them see the people they associate with as masters and mentors while, as a Gemini rising, they identify as an apprentice.

🌸27. Both 8th house and 12th house have been associated with secrets. The different is that the 8th house represents what you CONTIOUSLY and deliberately hide from others and most likely deny to yourself (or not, depends on the person). 12th house on the other hand represents subconscious, things that are hidden even from you and you didn’t even know were hidden. 4th house is not necessarily secrets, it represents privacy, like when people have a sanctuary to just relax, unwind and feel secure, that’s the 4th house.

🌱28. Sun or Moon in the 4th house will make you a sociable but private person.

🌸29. Sun or moon in the 8th house will make you an intriguing and mysterious person.

🌱30. Sun or moon the 12th house makes you a very elusive or wishy-washy person

🌸31. I’ve seen many Scorpio sun/moon/mars/rising individuals obsessed with the idea of being prepared for a catastrophe. They could be the type to, for example, have some saved cash just in case something bad happens with their bank money, have a backup account just in case their main one gets deleted, could have a “leave before you get left” philosophy, etc.

🌱32. Is it just me or the astro community talks a lot about Aries moons???

🌸33. I’ve noticed people with 4th house in Virgo could have been raised in a very judgemental household where there was lots of taboos and prejudice as to what’s right and what’s not and the family was too preoccupied with a perfect and immaculate reputation. For example could have been raised with values such as “only criminals wear tattoos” or “you should stay celibate till marriage or else you’re a whore”, etc. and if the native broke those rules they could have been very criticized and almost loathed by the family. They native could have been highly criticized in general by their family

🌱34. I’ve noticed women that have their moon harshly aspecting Pluto, Uranus and Mars or overall have a very afflicted moon tend to have very painful period cramps

🌸35. Something I have noticed with Venus or Moon conjunct Saturn people is that the concept of unconditional love sounds like alien language to them. That of course doesn’t mean they can’t love but they have this deep belief that they have to achieve something in order to deserve love and stuff like that

🌱36. Also, I just noticed that people with Saturn conjunct sun/moon/Venus/ASC, Capricorn big 3 or Capricorn degrees in personal placements have gone through IT man, specially on an internal level. I've noticed going through depression is a common theme for people with this Capricorn/Saturn influence

🌸37. Virgo Suns could often struggle to find balance between having healthy ego and being humble.

🌱38. Also people with Virgo+Leo energy are the MOOOOST judgmental people out there. Imagine ego mixed with a sense of knowing what’s correct. They tend to believe they’re morally superior and easily liable people as inferior

🌸39. The underdeveloped energy of a sign asimilates negative traits of its sister sign. For example underdeveloped Virgo is overly perfectionist and judgmental to the point where they have unrealistic expectations (Pisces)

🌱40. On the other hand the developed version of a sign is balanced out by understanding its sister sign. For example Leo knows they are unique and special and deserves recognition but understands everyone is also unique in their own way (Aquarius)

🌸41. I’ve noticed a person can very easily manifest the stereotypical characteristics of the sign that naturally rules the house where their chart ruler is. For example if someone’s chart ruler (ruler of the ASC) is in the 7th house the person can easily manifest stereotypical characteristics of Libra like being a people pleaser

🌱42. Sagittarius ASC/Mars people are all fun, amicable and outgoing.... until they don’t get their way. They will get away from people and situations that won’t give them what they want and they can genuinely dislike people solely because those people don’t let them have their way. They tend to go around life like they have a free pass to get away with everything they want.

🌸43. People with ASC-Neptune aspects don’t have a very reliable vision of reality or themselves to be honest. I don’t know how people with this aspect haven’t lost their mind already. They are prone to subconsciously manipulating or easily getting manipulated. With hard aspects this is a lot more obvious but I’ve noticed with easy aspects this energy tends to go almost unnoticed and they easily get away with stuff

🌱44. Have seen many famous people with North node in the 2nd, 5th, 11th and 12th houses specially

🌸45. Air risings or air dominance with Sagittarius placements/degrees are people who love cartoons/animations/videogames regardless of their age.

🌱46. When I got into astrology I didn’t understand why Sun is in detriment in Libra, but oh man... All Libras I’ve met had HUGE issues with trusting themselves. They doubt themselves 24/7 and that’s not even an exaggeration and I’ve noticed they actually may have grown up doubting themselves for some reason or they had a family (their dad) that caused this feeling in them. Also I’ve seen that those Libras with Scorpio placements feel like they have to hide something about themselves otherwise they’ll be rejected. Yes they are endlessly charming, but that's because they have essentially created their personality around the desire of being liked/accepted. They always need to feel they have SOMEONE. Their sense of self, INDIVIDUALITY, independence and assertiveness is lost in the process. Unless they have fire and specially Aries placements to balance this out they can feel like they have no personality and that’s why they are often perceived as fake or shallow.

🌸47. Literally ALL Virgo placements one way or another will always suggest a way to solve your problems when giving emotional support

🌱48. I have a theory that, since 4th house is how you were raised, your home and your parents, your 10th house is how you’d be as a parent yourself and the type of home you’ll create yourself

🌸49. Contrary to my expectations, I’ve seen priests having a much more prominent 4th house (many times combined with 8th house/Scorpio energy) than 12th house. People with 12th house placements or stellium seem to prefer artistic fields rather than classic spirituality

🌱50. The house where you have your Pluto is a house you just can NOT take lightly EVER. This area of your life feels like a heavy topic to you in some way (you are either obsessed with it, find It traumatic, get extremely defensive over it, find it spiteful, you feel everything goes wrong, etc, etc.) Can also apply to the house where you have the sign of scorpio

🌸51. In synastry, Venus falling in the 12th house creates a healing dynamic in the relationship, the connection can feel cathartic specially for the house person. The house person might tend to always be comforted by the venus person’s support, always feel better (or even energetically “cleansed”) after being with them. The venus person never judges the house person and accepts them and is always willing to be there.

🌱52. I’ve noticed this pattern in people with mutable moons where they have absent mothers in some shape or form. Their mother is very inconsistent, she always comes and goes. Very often the native may have felt like their mother always “left them be” (virgo moon moms put restrictions but eventually are rather flexible)

🌸53. People with cardinal moons have bossy mothers. In many cases they can have the type of mother that is constantly making decisions for them, like their mother decides what/where they’re going to study for example (the house tells what type of things the mother tends to make decisions on).

🌱54. People with fixed moons have possesive and protective moms. While mutable moons have absent mothers, natives with fixed moons have mothers that are ALWAYS there in some shape or form. At the very least the influence of the mother is always there and they always have this sense of “loyalty” towards their mom.

Credit: Tumblr blog @astrobydalia

That's it for now, next observation post is just as long but much better, stay tuned and safe loves 💕

#astrology #astro #astro notes #astro observations #zodiac

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vtoriacore · 3 years ago

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✧ façade

tw: slight toxic behaviour

note: idk this just came to me at 3 am and it's a very short drabble like piece because if i wrote anymore it would be a 9k long fic with dark undertones and death at the end so-

He hated the feeling. You know, the one where you felt as if you controlled everything but in reality, you were powerless? Really brought him back to the filming sets with Neige, his co-star and appointed "enemy" character; the hero of course.

This situation is exactly how he felt when playing the villain, except this time he wasn't acting or even doing anything other than watching some nobody try and ask you to a date. If you didn't look so comfortable with the person, he would've just left the scene to avoid that dull thud in his chest. But this called for an intervention. After all, who was he to leave you unattended?

"Have you no respect for others? You're clearly making [Name] uncomfortable. Leave at once." His voice was laced with the most poisonous venom you ever had the chance of witnessing. The deepest recess of your mind felt thrilled at the notion of Vil caring to this extent, yet on a more conscious level, you couldn't help but feel somewhat threatened. If it wasn't for the double-edged glare or the coldness emitting from those usually alluring violet eyes, you would've greatly appreciated the gesture.

"T-thanks Vil?" With a nervous inhale, you faced the Pomefiore's dorm leader, who held a tight lipped smile on his face. You couldn't exactly place a finger on the emotion swimming in his unusually dull eyes, but you sensed it to be something deep. It was clear something was bothering him. Before he had a chance of replying, you immediately asked the burning question.

"Are you feeling okay?" You tilted your head slightly, not really expecting an honest answer but wanting to be polite anyway. Or perhaps were you just selfishly trying to satisfy your growing curiosity?

"Is there anything that made you ask that in particular?" The calculative gaze coupled with the hand resting at his chin made you want to turn back time and just avoid being in this situation altogether. Was he mad? Or just surprised? It was very hard to tell most of the time, seeing as Vil waa a professional actor whose emotions were all too easy to be masked with others. Sometimes you really wondered if you knew Vil to be himself or a caricature of what he had wanted to portray. Maybe one day you'll find enough courage to properly inquire.

"No, just . . . You seem a bit different than usual." You hoped this to be the safe reply, not wanting to irk the blonde.

"I suppose I'm just tired, care to join me for a destress session? I'm positive it would do us both some good." The tonality of his voice almost sounded pleading, something akin to desperation but also the desire to act. Not in a script oriented way, no. It was the desire to just do something. In fact, now that you noticed it, Vil seemed exactly that; in need of something.

"I'd love that." You sent what you prayed looked like a soft smile, despite feeling unease creeping up your spine at an alarming rate. Vil didn't seem to notice anything, simply turning around and expecting you to follow suit.

"Perfect, my rose." Heartbeat speeding up, your legs moved you on their own as if on autopilot. For in that moment, all you could think about was the newly found sense of danger filling the already tense air.

#twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit x reader #twst vil

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andreafmn · 4 years ago

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I'm Not Afraid - Chapter 1

Word Count: 3,325

Characters: Female Reader Argent Character, Original Male Argent Character, Derek Hale, Allison Argent, Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Lydia Martin, Chris Argent, Jackson Whittemore

Story Description: (Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father's sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin's, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Teen Wolf, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and MTV Network. The only thing I own is Argent Reader insert, her immediate family, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others' storyline.

Chapter: 1/?

Chapter Description: (Y/N) finally arrives at Beacon Hills for the funeral of her aunt and meets a certain wolf to which she feels a special connection.

A/N: Second fandom I'm writing for. I love Teen Wolf so much and the trope of hard Derek but only soft for you makes my heart sing. If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

Next ->

Chapter 1

I hugged the black coat to my body as hard as I could whilst pushing through the sea of press. Our family's last name became quite known after the reports about my aunt, whose burial we were attending. She had allegedly burned down a house with people in it. She killed them in cold blood. I hugged my grieving uncle and his less grieving wife, then my cousin who had a painful look on her face. I hugged her the longest. She let herself crumble on my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Even though she was a horrible person she was still our aunt, family.

I took my seat behind Allison when my father, my mother, uncle Chris, and aunt Victoria stood up. Allison didn't lift her head and neither did I. I just tried to comfort her.

"It's been such a long time I don't expect you to call me grandpa." We both looked up to see a white-haired man who resembled the Argent features. "Don't worry about it, just call me Gerard." He hugged both of us, an overpowering aura emanating from his being. When we were engulfed, I looked to the side and saw two boys squatting behind a gravestone. If they were hiding, they were doing a horrible job at it.

"But I prefer Grandpa," Gerard said walking to his seat. I sat back down and drifted off during the whole ceremony. Once it was over, I joined my parents and we drove to our new house. I have a feeling that life here will be very interesting.

That weekend I decided that I had been putting working out off for too long. I changed into comfortable workout clothes and gave food to my dog, Brody. I headed out the door, put my earbuds on, and started to jog. I really didn't know where I was going since it was a new place for me, all I know is that I kept running until I reached the woods. The bad thing about this, I had no idea how to get back home. Even though I knew of this sidetrack and I knew I would be late to get back home, I kept running, needing a release from the mundane feeling of being new in town and having to reunite from our estranged family in a funeral.

I had gained a lot of momentum. God knows how fast I was running at this point that is until I hit something, it almost felt like a wall. When I looked up, I saw a very handsome guy. Spiked hair, green eyes, and slight stubble. If it weren't for the fact that I was already sweaty I would have started to sweat showers of how nervous I was. That is until he opened his mouth.

"Watch where you're going." He growled at me.

"How about you fucking move and not be a prick?" He looked at me with big eyes, probably in surprise, but quickly changed to his menacing look. Who was he trying to fool?

"Well, this is private property, which means that you're trespassing, meaning you should pay more attention to your surroundings."

"I'm sorry but a burnt-down house with almost no walls or roof is barely a property. So, how about you stop being an idiot and I can be on my way." I started to jog once again but he gained my attention once more.

"You're new here, aren't you?" I turned around to face him.

"What's it to you?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I'll take that as a yes." The cockiness oozed out of his pores.

"And why the hell should that matter?"

"Because no one would dare talk to me that way."

"Who would be afraid of a little sour wolf?" He tensed up. "Dude, chill. I'm just kidding. But I doubt anyone would be afraid of Mr...."

"Hale. Derek Hale." He said extending his hand to me. Gee, after screaming at me he wants us to be acquaintances. I thought about not shaking his hand, but I didn't want to be rude. Well, more than I have been already.

"(Y/N). Argent." I shook his hand. Strong grip. Suddenly I felt a rush of déjà vu; I had met him the day before. "Wait, aren't you that guy I accidentally hit with my grocery cart yesterday?"

"Yeah, that really hurt. You hit my ankle. You could've had me limping."

"But you're not, so be grateful I didn't break your ankle." He laughed. "Damn, if I had known how cocky you really were, I would've hit you harder."

"So, you admit that you hit me?"

"Oh yeah, of course, I hit you. Accidentally that is."

"Yeah, yeah."

I looked around trying to find where the hell I had come from but there wasn't even the slightest trail as to where I was to go.

"So, miss (Y/N). Do you even know your way home?"

"No, but I'm sure I can find my way back." Then, he took keys out of his pocket and pointed to his car.

"Come on, I'll drive you around and you just tell me when something seems familiar."

"And why should I go with the guy that almost ripped out my throat for bumping into him? For all I know you could be driving me to my death." I crossed my arms over my chest, and he let out a loud sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry for snapping. But I'm trying to be nice. That doesn't happen very often."

"Alright, Mr. Hale. I'll let you take me home just because you are being nice now, after being a prick, and I'm exhausted."

"See, no one can resist me." I rolled my eyes at his cockiness. Seriously does he buy cans of it on eBay?

"Don't get cocky with me. I can punch the living daylights out of you." He chuckled and started to drive.

We drove for about 20 minutes until I finally recognized the curb that led to my house. Upon arriving at my driveway, I got out of the car and walked to the driver’s side.

"Give me your hand” For some reason, I felt compelled to do so. He took a pen and wrote down a number. "Call me if you ever need a tour of the town."

Three weeks later, I walked inside the school to meet up with Allison. I moved here with my family since dad had some business taking float. Being the new kid in town is never fun. I would know. I switch schools almost every year. The pro and con about this would be not being attached to anyone. Usually, I'm the one who doesn't talk to anyone and is called a freak. A derogatory term given to people who are way too different from others, but a title I wore proudly.

"Oh my gosh, (Y/N)! How have you been?" Allison wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. It was as if she hadn't seen me just three weeks ago.

"Hi, Allison. I've been good, getting acclimated to the new town. You?" You would think that because we were cousins, I would be more affectionate towards her but honestly, I wouldn't see her again for like three more years, so what's the point?

"I'm good. A little rocky at the start of coming here but good." Then, a boy with a buzz cut and one with great brown hair walked by and smiled at Alli. "Ooh, you should come meet my friends. Stiles, Scott!! Come here." The boys turned around with goofy grins on their faces.

"Hey, Allison. Who's this?" Buzzcut kid said.

"This is my cousin, (Y/N). She just moved here from Virginia."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Scott." The one with the great hair said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Stiles." I shook their hands and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, too, buzzcut." Allison and Scott laughed but Stiles only ran his hand through his hair, suddenly becoming hyperaware of his lack of locks.

"Allison. Who might this sexy lady be?" I rolled my eyes. The last thing I need is a narcissist with a god-complex trying to get close.

"Oh, Jackson, this is my cousin, (Y/N)."

"Hi." He extended his hand and looked me up and down.

"Hi." I smiled sarcastically, and when I didn't extend my hand, he dropped his.

Finally, after standing awkwardly behind Allison whilst her friends talked, the bell rang. Talk about saved by the bell.

"Hey, (Y/N), what's your first class?" I checked my schedule.

"Um, chemistry."

"Oh, good, then you're coming with us to Mr. Harris' class," Scott said pointing towards him and Stiles. I smiled and walked behind them.

Once we got to the classroom everyone turned to me, the ever-present sign of being new in the class evident in the stare of my classmates.

"Um, hi, my name is (Y/N) Argent and I'm new." The teacher, whom I guess is Mr. Harris, turned around to face me.

"Oh, yes, Miss Argent. Welcome. You will be sitting next to Isaac Lahey. Lahey, raise your hand." Once Isaac raised his hand, I noticed he was sat near Stiles and Scott. Two people I was trying to avoid. As I walked past, I accidentally pushed Stiles' book on his lap, startling him, resulting in an awkward descent from his lab stool onto the floor.

"Hi, again. I guess we are gonna see a lot of each other for the rest of the school year." I nodded and he scratched the back of his neck. "So, um, what school did you come from?"

"Lancaster High," I responded whilst writing down what Mr. Harris was writing on the board. Stiles kept trying to talk to me, but I would only give him short, cold answers or just ignore him. That is until Mr. Harris called our attention, that's when he finally got the memo to shut up.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to introduce myself since we're gonna be seated next to each other all year. I'm Isaac."

"I figured." I tried giving him my best smile. The vibe he was giving off seemed like he needed it. "I'm (Y/N)."

"Well, nice to meet you, (Y/N). Now I'll leave you to the class because if I don't I know I'll be failing even more than I am."

"Oh, well, maybe I can tutor you some time. I'm actually really good at science. My mom was a chemist professor once upon a time so I'm bound to understand all this."

"Really?!" His puppy eyes seemed to light up and I nodded. "That would actually be amazing."

"Sure thing. Now let's get back to class."

After Chemistry finished, I put everything in my bag as quickly as possible and sped to my next class, Math. Thankfully, none of Allison's friends shared this class with me but I did share it with Isaac. I didn't consider him much a friend but more an acquaintance in desperate need of help.

As the day progressed, I noticed the rest of my classes were shared with one or more of Allison's friends. They all tried to strike up a conversation but were quickly discouraged when met with my one-worded or vague answers. Especially, Stiles. He tried especially hard to get answers out of me, only being met with the occasional laugh or stare at his comical occurrences. He seemed like the kind of person you could just open up to. The same could be said about Scott. His shy nature was alluring, and he portrayed himself as a very trustworthy and loyal being.

But I would not allow myself to let them in. My whole being yearned for a real friendship, someone to share nothing and everything; never again.

At lunch, I sat outside and ate my food quietly, a book in front of my face to shield my eyes from the sun the prevalent stares of my peers. After some minutes of appreciated loneliness, the empty table was filled with conversating teenage bodies. I smiled politely but, in my mind, I was cursing them out.

"So, (Y/N), how's your day been?" Allison asked whilst munching on an apple. I swallowed what was left of my bite and answered.

"Fine, thank you." This time no one pressed on after my short answers, finally getting the hint of my disinterest. In the corner of my eye, I saw Isaac sitting under a tree munching on half a sandwich. I excused myself and went to join him, heavily enjoying his tranquil aura.

"Oh, hi, (Y/N)." He smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, Isaac. Is that all you're eating?"

"Yeah. I'm not very hungry." He looked down as if he were ashamed.

"Nonsense! Here," I gave him the other half of my burger and another bag of chips I had in my bag. "You can't tell me you're not hungry. You're a boy in peak development."

"Thanks." He smiled as he continued munching on his food. I put on some music and we continued eating in silence. No conversation required.

The day went on smoother than it started. Classes flew by fairly quickly and the incessant chit-chat seemed to diminish. During last period I was like every other student, anxiously waiting for the bell to signal the end of the school day. When my pleads were answered, I packed the necessary book into my bag and left the rest in my locker, expertly avoiding any more social encounters. Quickly, I made my way to the waiting open car door of my father's car, ignoring Allison's beckoning me t.wards the small group of friends.

"How was your first day, darling?" My father spoke up breaking my attention from the scenery.

"Like any other first day I've had." I smiled. "The towns might change but school is always the same."

Finally at home, we were greeted with the sight of my mother cooking; people were coming over.

"(Y/N), honey, Chris, Victoria, and Allison are coming over tonight. So, go do a quick workout and come back to get ready." I nodded and ran to my room to change into workout clothes.

My routine would normally consist of waking up, working out, go to school for a dreading eight hours, come back home, workout again, do my homework, eat, and go to sleep. I lead a very monotonous life and it had been this way since I could remember. One of my earliest memories was of my father teaching me archery alongside Allison, a great distraction to our always disrupted home life. As I got older, my father started training me in boxing and knife maneuvering. How would these skills help me in life were still a mystery but I felt safe knowing them.

I got changed and decided to take Brody out with me on a quick jog through the woods. "Hey, boy, ready to go?"

He jumped on me which I took as a yes and started for the woods. We ran down the same trail I had been going on for the past three weeks. Mostly, I went down this track in hopes that Derek would make an appearance, and today was not the exception. As the ruins of his house came to view so did his tall figure.

"Trespassing again?"

"It doesn't count if I know the owner." During our greeting, Brody's leash slipped out of my hand and he ran to jump on Derek, leaving slobbering licks on his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He chuckled and helped me bring him down.

"I guess he likes you, even though he doesn't like anyone but me. Guess you're special."

"Maybe." He grinned.

Out of nowhere, I hit him in the shoulder. "What was that for?!"

"For trying to run me over with your shopping cart two days ago. It was uncalled for."

"No, it was revenge. You hit ME first. In the ankle."

"You're still on with that. Come on, sour wolf. That happened three weeks ago, and it was an accident."

"Whatever. Come on, I'll give you a ride home. It's getting kind of dark." This had also become part of my routine. After "bumping" into Derek he would offer to drop me off at my house, claiming it was for security.

"Okay, we're here. By the way, the offer to show you around town is still up. Just call me whenever." He said as he stopped the car in front of my house.

"Alright, will do, and thanks for the ride, Derek. I'd invite you in, but my family is coming over."

"No worries, maybe another time."

"It's a date. Anyways, thanks again. See you when I see you."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night." He waited until I entered the house and drove away.

"Munchkin, is that you?" My father screamed from the kitchen.

"Yeah!" I screamed back.

"Okay, well, go take a shower and get ready your uncle will get here soon."

I hurried up the stairs and hopped in the shower letting the hot water stream down my body calming any aching muscle that was palpitating. In my room, I searched through my closet for an acceptable family dinner outfit, deciding a grey sweater and black jeans would be enough. I braided my hair out of my face and went downstairs to help my mother set the table.

After we put the last plate the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I ran to the door and was greeted by my uncle. "Uncle Chris!" I jumped and he hugged me. There was no doubt that he was my favorite family member, his presence was always welcoming. His wife on the other hand was as cold as the winters we spent in New York. She was nice but absolutely scary. "Hi, Aunt Victoria."

"Hello, (Y/N)." I hugged her and said hi to Allison.

"Come in, guys." They walked in and I closed the door behind them.

"So, (Y/N), how have you been?" Uncle Chris asked while stuffing his mouth with mom's famous lasagna.

"I've been good. I mean, moving all the time takes a toll on you at first, but I got used to it. It's easy now to pack it all up once the school year ends."

"Oh, honey, that must be so hard on you," Victoria said. I could not read her tone, her words spoke in sympathetic notes with an underlying melody of sarcasm. Not knowing what to answer, I bit my lip and nodded.

The whole evening was spent on us catching up and eating, laughing, playing games, but the good times came to an end when the clock hit 9:00 pm. It was stupid to set a curfew, but my mom usually had everyone in bed at this time, 10:30 as of late.

"You better come around the house more often." Uncle Chris demanded and hugged me.

"Yes, sir." I raised my hand to my eyebrow and saluted, as did he.

"Let's go, Chris. And thank you for the lovely dinner, Rebecca," Victoria said linking arms with my uncle and smiling at mom.

"No problem. Come by any time." They talked for a bit more and after they left, I went upstairs to change for bed.

"Momma, I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Okay, honey. Goodnight." I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, and put my hair in a ponytail.

Before bed, I made sure everything I would need for the next day was packed into my bag and made sure my alarm was set. I pulled all the throw pillows from my bed and set them aside, then making my way to the window to draw the curtains. Something caught my attention in the backyard, though. My eyes squinted trying to make out the figure in front of me. Blinking the confusion away, I made a double-take and looked back at an empty yard. I laughed to myself as I crept into bed. Why would Derek be in my backyard?

Next ->

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queenorphia · 3 years ago

Text

to all writer shifters!

i have an exercise for you, and it’s not only limited to writers. but if you like writing, this is some fun for you.

write yourself fanfiction.

I know! i know. but get this-- it helps. write about a memory using ‘me/myself/i’ pronouns or ‘you/your/you’re’ pronouns. write about scenarios. if you want, include it in your script, but i suggest doing it off to the side.

here, let me give you an example of something i wrote:

.⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡

Charlie squints into the darkness when I sneak into his room early into Christmas, long before the sun has woken and plagued with anticipative excitement. He stirs, not really scared because there’s a part of him that senses it’s me without really knowing, and when his eyes finally focus on the slender, petite silhouette marring the moonlight, he lifts the edge of his covers and beckons me in, folding me against this chest and tucking his head into my neck. He wants head scratches, and he’s just so cute I suppose it’s fine if I wait a little longer.

He’s sleepy, barely conscious and halfway in dreamland. His voice is gravelly, longish orange hair sitting in wild tangles atop his head. Three hours, we drift in and out of sleep before Christmas finally dawns on him, and he glances up at me with a fond smile.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispers up at me, and I blink the sleep out of my eyes.

“Merry Christmas,” I say back, kissing the top of his head. He blushes scarlet, but looks at me like I can’t see it at all— I let him believe the darkness obscures his embarrassment, and that dumb, goofy smile that makes me want to giggle. “I was going to say something earlier, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment.”

“Never,” he tells me. “I think this is the best Christmas I’ve ever woken up to, actually.”

“Aw, Charlie!” I squeal, turning us over and burying my face into his chest. “You’re too sweet, really. I can’t say I don’t feel the same, though.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” I look up at him, fold my hands beneath my chin. His face is startlingly close to me, so beautiful and sincere. So kissable, I can’t pull away— and selfishly, I don’t.

We don’t speak, even though there’s so much to say. Instead, his arms tighten around me, squeezing me so tight as if I were to disappear the moment he let go. I let him hold me, squeezing him just as tight and praying he doesn’t hear how fast my heart beats against his cheek.

“Let’s go,” he says suddenly, and I jump.

“Go?” I prompt, and he nods. “Go where?”

“Anywhere. Come on, it’s still early, let’s go on my broom. The sky is beautiful at this time.”

“Just us?”

“Yes, of course. If you don’t mind. If you want to wake up Bill, I understand, but-“

“No,” I interrupt. “I want it that way.”

He blushes, looking away. “I”ll lend you a sweater or two, it’s cold out.”

I bite back another squeal, but he sees my face and laughs. My excitement is uncontainable and infectious, and he sweeps me off his bed and spins me around in circles until we’re both dizzy and laughing in a heap on his floor.

I love him, I love him, I love him.

I never want this moment to end.

.⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆..⋆｡⋆˚｡

And that’s an idea! It’s a little embarrassing, since this is so personal. But it helps me get into that mindset, and since I love writing, it’s no chore for me.

I suggest you give it a try!

Happy shifting,

- Orphia <3

#shifting realities #reality shifting #dr #cr #shifting tips #shifting realities tips #shifting script #scripting #shiftblr

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raindownforme · 4 years ago

Note

omg omg ok ok so maybe for a request charlie and the reader and how they interact as streamers?? like a friends to lovers au but you can tell how they fall in love through all their interactions online & in games (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

like for example whenever they play on the smp charlie only reaaallly wants to help the reader and when anyone else asks he’s like hm? what? IT JUST SEEMED CUTE IN MY HEAD ☹️💌

Lore

Charlie slimecicle x reader [they/them used]

“Hello twitchers.” y/n smiled into the face cam, watching the chat fly by a mile a minute. They knew they’d draw in a larger audience today, it being their first official stream on the Dream SMP. They loaded up the game, spawning in a wooded area surrounded by cobblestone. “Alright where do we- hello?”

y/n leaned closer to the screen. They could see someone standing behind a tree. Someone in glasses and green blotchy skin. They typed into the in-game chat, trying to get who ever it was to come closer. Thankfully they did, revealing a character named Slimecicle. y/n looked over to the discord server, pulling themselves into a voice channel with the mystery person.

“Hi there!” Slimecicle’s voice rang through y/n’s headphones and they smiled. They liked the sound of his voice. “Im Charlie. Welcome.”

“Thanks. Do you know how to get anywhere?”

“Yeah!” Charlie’s character jumped as y/n followed after him. Charlie led them to a snowy mountainside that had been covered with sand. Someone had built a white mansion and several other buildings, including a fountain and a tall tower. “This is where I live.”

“This mansion?” y/n panned to look around the mountainside. They glanced over to watch their chat fly by.

“No I just live in the country in general. Las Nevadas!” Charlie jumped up and down, punching y/n in a friendly manner. “Oh are you hungry? I have food!”

Charlie’s character threw a stack of lamb chops at y/n. They smiled at him, then quickly realized he couldn’t see them. “Thanks! Where is this by the way.”

“Only the best country ever. It’s Las Nevadas! Do you want to live here?”

“Sure!” y/n followed as Charlie ran around. He showed them all around the country; the casino, the strip club, the restaurant, and even the garden. “Charlie this is so cool!”

“I know!” Charlie jumped up and down in a circle. “I’m not the guy who owns it but I’m sure he’d like to meet you.”

“Oh.” y/n paused, biting their cheek. “Will he be okay with me being here?”

“Of course he will. It’s Quackity! Let’s find you somewhere to live.” y/n followed Charlie to the tall white tower. He led them behind it to a flat plot of sand. “Here! We’ll be neighbors.”

“Awesome. I don’t have anything to build with yet but-“

“Oh here!” Charlie ran into the base of the tower, coming back 30 seconds later. He threw two stacks of oak logs to y/n. “Is this what you needed?”

“I- yeah. That’s a lot of wood.”

“I want you to have it!”

y/n smiled bashfully, trying to swallow the heat rising to their cheeks. They could see their twitch chat running by with messages asking if it was lore or cannon. “Here. Take this then.”

Charlie marveled at the flower y/n had tossed him, a blue cornflower. He smiled, holding a hand over his mouth to hide from the prying eyes of his own twitch chat. “Thank you.”

y/n began running around the plot, randomly placing oak planks to make a frame for their house. They tossed Charlie some planks, allowing him to help build up the home. They continued beholding for another half an hour, allowing y/n to have a gorgeous one story home with room for storage and supplies.

“Thanks for all your help today.”

“Of course! Do I get to see you again?”

y/n smiled, glancing over at discord to make sure they’d requested to be friends with Charlie. “Of course! I’ll see you around the server?”

y/n and Charlie saw each other quite often around the server. y/n logged on, Charlie was there. They’d spend hours in the game mining together, building structures, hunting. It went on months of them interacting in streams and lore exclusively.

“You can’t do this Quackity.” y/n spoke slowly. They’d been practicing the recording for this lore for weeks now, and thank god it wasn’t live. “I trust you, and I’m glad we’re friends, but this? Burning it all? What will that do for you. What will any of this do for you?”

“I know you haven’t been here as long, but this is my fucking country. It’s my fucking war. Who the hell are you to think you have any understanding of this? And ideas?”

“Because this isn’t how it works. This isn’t going to work. How many times have you tried this and it just hasn’t happened or you? I don’t know, maybe think about Schlatt? Or Technoblade?”

Quackity froze, being eerily silent. y/n glanced over at the script, making sure nothing was missed. “How do you know about that? Who told you about that?” Quackity’s character ran forward with a diamond sword in hand. “That is none of your business.”

“It’s none of your business how I know.” y/n backed away from Quackity as he walked closer. “I may not have been here long but I have friends.”

“What friends you have-“ he paused, realization setting in. “You have Slime. My friend.”

Quackity came at y/n swinging, they tried to fight back, blocking with a shield and iron sword. “Quackity enough! This isn’t what you want! Quackity please-“

y/n stopped, holding a breath and muting their mic. Quackity had landed the final blow, taking their first cannon life. They moved slightly away from their set up, making sure to not touch any keys. They knew Quackity was still recording, and Charlie’s part was coming soon.

Quackity panted. Taking a shaky breath. “Fuck. Okay. God I can’t believe-“ y/n waited expectantly. Quackity’s pause meant that he saw Charlie. “Oh. Hey bud.”

“Quackity from Las Nevadas.” Charlie almost sounded like he was crying. “What did you do?”

“Slime, you don’t understand, they knew more than they should-“

“So you killed them?” Quackity was quiet. y/n silently cheered to themselves, proud of both Charlie and Quackity’s acting. “You- you took my friend. You took my friend away and- are they coming back? Is y/n coming back?”

“Slime, I took one life. It doesn’t matter. They don’t matter. They didn’t care about Las Nevadas, not like we do.” y/n could hear Quackity’s character moving from his audio in the discord call. “It’s you and me Slime, my best friend.”

“No.”

“No?” y/n looked over the shared script, searching for what part was happening. They hadn’t read this far ahead. “What do you mean no?”

“I cared about y/n. They were my friend. This is not how you treat a friend.”

“And how would you know?”

“Because I know Quackity. I know.”

Charlie and Quackity came to a halt, waiting a moment before speaking again. “That was great!” y/n exited the Minecraft world, turning their full attention to the discord call. Quackity had his camera on, smiling, but Charlie still kept his camera off. “Was there anything else to record today?”

“No that’s it.” There was some clicking from Quackity’s end. “Thanks again. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah, later.”

Quackity exited the discord call, leaving Charlie and y/n in silence. Charlie cleared his throat, turning on his camera. His room was lit by just the lights behind his set up, casting his shadow over the shelves of stuffed toys and collectibles behind him. “Hey.”

“Hey!” y/n felt their face grow warm slightly. “I didn’t realize there was that much more to the script.”

“Yeah.”

y/n chewed the inside of their cheek. It almost sounded like Charlie was disappointed. “Are you okay? You sound upset.”

“I just-“ Charlie paused, resting his chin on his propped-up hands. “What do we do now? I don’t want to stop playing minecraft with you.”

“Charlie we don’t have to stop. Just because the lore goes one way doesn’t mean that we can’t interact.”

“But continuity-“

“You’re thinking like DnD.” y/n smiled gently at him. “If you still want to play together we can, it’ll just be like a secret. Or we can do our own lore. I’m sure if we talk to everyone about it me and you can write something.” Charlie didn’t say anything, and they frowned. “Is there something else?”

“I kind wish they didn’t kill you so early. I’ve still got my lives.”

“Maybe Quackity will kill you next.”

“That’s not-“ Charlie huffed, running a hand through his hair. “I like the character dynamic. I like us interacting. I like us.”

y/n paused, their face burning. They’d be lying if they said they hadn’t thought about the dynamic between themself and Charlie. The clips of them talking on late night streams. The fan-art all over Twitter. The edits recommended to them on Instagram. Hell, they thought about it even without seeing any prompted content. Charlie was on their mind most of the day. They’d constantly find themselves checking twitch to see if he was live or discord to see if he was active. Charlie had become a constant in y/n’s life and they indulged themself in it. “I like the dynamic too.”

“Well we don’t have that dynamic if you stop being part of Las Nevadas. There isn’t us.”

“Charlie, what are you talking about?”

“I’ve been— fucking— I’ve been using this stupid server to get closer to you. I thought that maybe you liked us the way that I liked us and I- I don’t know what I’m doing now.” Charlie rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I just didn’t want you to go.”

“Charlie I’m not going anywhere. I like us too.”

“You do?” Charlie perked up a bit, seeming more enthusiastic.

“Just cause we write lore doesn’t mean it affects us. Here, watch this.” y/n went onto the shared script, hoping Charlie still had it open, and began to type. They wrote about how y/n would possibly live alone in the woods on the outskirts of Las Nevadas, staying close to Charlie.

They could see Charlie smile on the other end of the call, then emit the sound of keys tapping. y/n watched as the words appeared on the page: Charlie tells y/n how he feels.

y/n gasped and turned back to the discord call. “I wanted to tell you soon. I guess I didn’t realize how upset the recording would make me.”

“Charlie, how long have you had a crush on me?”

“Uh, remember your first day?” y/n nodded eagerly. “Yeah. Probably about there.”

y/n turned back to the shared document, typing furiously. “It’s a good thing I like you too.”

Charlie smiled widely at the words; y/n returns his affection. He smiled at the discord call, resting his face in his hands. “Well then, what’s next for our lore darling?”

y/n chuckled, going back to open minecraft. “Help me make a new house.”

“Only if my bed can be next to yours.”

“Deal.”

They could hear Charlie tapping on his keyboard as he loaded in the game. “I know we haven’t met in person, but I’m serious. I like you.”

“And I’m serious. I like you too.” y/n looked at Charlie’s character on their screen. “It does kind of suck we’ve never met but that doesn’t mean-“

“I bought a ticket.”

“W-what? What kind of ticket?”

“A plane ticket. For next week. I mean if that’s okay. I can still cancel it.”

“No! I mean yes. I’d be delighted to have you come over Charlie.” y/n felt their smile soften.

“Can I still have a bed then?”

“Yes!” y/n laughed, going back to the game. They placed two beds side-by-side in the open air. “How’s this?”

“Better.” Charlie’s character went to stand on one of the beds. “Maybe we can write something different- oh.”

y/n looked at the document. Quackity had left them a comment on their new writing, telling them to flirt elsewhere. “Well, I guess he had a point.”

“Back to the game then darling?”

y/n smiled bashfully at the nickname. “Back to the game.”

#charlie slimecicle my beloved #charlie slimecicle #charlie slimecicle x reader #slimecicle #slimecicle x reader #dsmp fanfic #dsmp x reader #dsmp #lunch club #lunch club x reader #chuckle sandwich #chuckle sammy

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saturnsummer · 4 years ago

Text

sunbae.

Sol meets into a familiar someone. This time, she’s not letting her chance pass again.

ao3 link

notes: prompted by @thenerdywriter ! taking place a few years after the gang has graduated and started their jobs. it’s been such a joy writing this! (editing, grammar and other mistakes will be taken responsible by me.) if anyone else has prompts, do ask them in the submission box and i’ll get to you when i can!

thank you @thenerdywriter for this!! i thought of many scenarios, like them being famous prosecutors, or getting married. but i felt that this would be an interesting twist. i hope you like it! thank you for this opportunity!

words: 2256 words

Sol loves being a lawyer. Like, she really does.

Well, besides having to hustle in notes, write reports, follow her bosses to meetings where she just sits and listens, she loves it.

After graduating with her grades just skimming the pass, she landed a job at a small law firm. She acts more like a secretary than a lawyer there, to be honest. But money is money. Her mother is getting older, and with Byeol expressing her interest in dancing, she couldn’t say no.

Thus, she sucks it up and sends out other resumes. She still works part time on weekends at the book shop back in Hankuk University, so she guesses she’s managing well. She still lives in that dangerous alley, but it’s much safer now that she returns home every night.

She tried to stay in contact with her study group. Jiho landed himself in a big law firm, and SolB (despite her mother’s wishes) is at another giant law firm. BokGi got picked up by a firm mostly doing human rights, and Yebeom is working at the company next to BokGi. (So much for besties.) Yeseul is at a small firm, doing mostly cases on women rights.

Joon Hwi, on the other hand...

He was picked up by a law firm in the States. Immediately after graduation, he left for the States. Everyone stayed in contact, but with life catching up, weekly drinks slowed to a meeting every other month. Yeseul and Sol still meet fairly regularly, but Sol can’t help but to feel empty when she notices Joon Hwi is missing.

Everyone feels it, but she feels it the most.

-----

Sol can’t deny her feelings. When she saw him in Professor Yang’s lecture as he picked up her highlighter and gave her a sweet smile, she felt time freeze. Later on, as they became study buddies, she couldn’t help but sneak glances to observe his face when he taught her. She would always hitch her breath whenever he would lean towards her, or tease her with that smirk.

She has always thought that he returned her feelings. The way he would walk her home some nights. How he would always send her a good morning and night text, and place cans of coffees on her table at the library. It didn’t take her long to realise that he stuck post its on her table in their third year every week. (His handwriting was too uniformed, and only he owned circular shaped ones.)

But on the day of Yeseul’s trial, Sol knew that Joon Hwi probably didn’t like her. That he wasn’t protecting her, but her roommate. Of course he would. He was offered to privately tutor her, and they were always top ranking students. She vaguely remembers international events where they both would represent Hankuk in conferences.

Sol didn’t mind it. She was never good enough for him anyways. On graduation, as they took photos and promised to keep in touch, Sol found her mouth dry when it came to Joon Hwi. She had no reason to. (After all, it was just Joon Hwi.) But she felt even more nervous than the time she took her exam.

She planned it out. She wrote a script and memorised it in her head. She wanted to let Joon Hwi know about how she felt, even if he didn’t feel the same. She wanted to thank him for being her friend, for being a support that she will always be grateful for. That wherever he goes, she will always support him in life.

But as they threw their caps in the air and took one last group photo, Joon Hwi slipped away, never to be seen in person again.

-----

Sol found out a week later about his job in the States. They kept in contact by messages and the occasional video calls with the group. But with the time difference, Joon Hwi started texting lesser. Sol was no less busier, managing Byeol and her mom’s age and slowly taking on her responsibilities as the breadwinner of the family.

She used to come home after work and sit outside at the wall, wondering if Joon Hwi could see her in the States at night from the security camera. She would put on her headphones and sit there, watching as people pass late at night. Sometimes, she would speak aloud, as if Joon Hwi could hear her through the camera.

Many days, she would sit outside with a bottle of soju and two cups. She would only drink from one, and the other would just be there as reminder of her good days, when she was a study and drunk regularly with her best confidante. She often ended those nights half-drunk, murmuring her troubles out loud. (As if Joon Hwi was there to listen.)

When Yebeom spilled the beans that Jiho and SolB were dating a year later, she couldn’t believe it. It was a total twist. Does Joon Hwi know? He must be hurt, she thinks. She wanted to text him, call even. But she decided against it. He’s probably too busy for her.

And so Sol went about her mundane routine. She drank with an extra soju cup alone. Used circular post its. Ate ramyeon like her life depended on it.

And it went on.

-----

“Yah, kid!” Gollum smacks Sol’s arm with a freshly printed set of notes.

“You really had to?!” Sol barks back, soothing her arm and organising the copy room.

“When are you gonna stop working? You’re an adult! You’ve got your degree!” Gollum asks, shoving another stack of papers in the copier machine. Sol sighs.

“Till I get out of this job and move on to a better one. God, I’m still pathetic, aren’t I?” She cries out as she carries a stack of books to the door.

“When were you ever pathetic?” A gentle voice rings as Sol stops dead in her tracks. That voice. The voice that she can’t help but miss. The voice that lectured to her about law and her health every other day. Raising her eyes, she meets his familiar handsome face with his hair pushed back out of the way, different from the bangs he once had in school. His brown eyes crinkle.

“Joon…?” She asks breathlessly, still taking in his presence.

“Hello, sunbae.” He smirks. The same exact smirk she still remembers. Sol drops her stack of books to the table nearby and without warning, throws her arms around his neck. He stumbles backwards, but his hands rest gently on her waist, hugging the shorter woman closer to him. She inhaled his musky cologne, feeling his warmth wrap her body.

“I… I don’t get how you’re here. Aren’t you in the States?” She says softly, pulling away from the hug.

“Well, I was. I just got back.” He tells her. Peeking his head over, he waved to Gollum.

“Long time no see, Gollum! Mind you dismiss your staff early?” He cheekily asks, earning a swat from Sol. Gollum, to Sol’s surprise, nods and waves them away. Joon Hwi grins and takes her hand into his and grabs her purse in another before leading her out of school. (Gollum, meanwhile only grins. They better get together this time round, he thinks.)

-----

Joon gives her time to catch up with him and they take a stroll to the park nearby. He shares about his adventures in the States and the different cases he’s gotten. Some difficult, some interesting.

“So, what’s been going on?” Joon asks Sol.

Sol begins retelling about how the group has been doing. She retells BokGi’s and Yebeom’s offer and how they have lunch every other day. How Yeseul decided to want to fend for women abuse victims as well. However, she leaves Jiho and SolB dating for the last.

“Oh, um… I’m not sure if SolB has told you, but…” Sol trails off. Joon Hwi only tilts his head in confusion. Her eyes are uncertain and almost awkward.

“…That her and Jiho are dating?” Joon Hwi completes the sentence for her with enthusiasm.

“Wait, how did you know?”

“Jiho told me. Well, I encouraged Jiho.” He says, leaning back on the benches they sat on.

Now Sol was confused. Didn’t he like SolB? Why on earth is he encouraging Jiho? Her face contorts into a stage of loss and confusion. Joon Hwi only lets out a light chuckle.

“I don’t like SolB. I never did.” He answers her, as if he could hear her thoughts.

Sol freezes. So for years… he never had feelings for her? She feels like she’s back in law school, sitting with him in the empty study room when he leans in closer to look at her notes, closing the distance between. Her heart beats fast and she feels a sense of warmth rising to her face.

“Why? You thought I liked her, didn’t you?” Joon Hwi teases. She turns her face away, knowing that he can see her face blushing red.

“Whatever.” She grumbles just loud enough. Laughter fills her ears as she turns back around to pout at him. Soon enough, she’s suppressing a small smile as they lie back and look in the distance to their alma mater.

Sol sits in her thoughts for a few moments. She now knows that Joon Hwi doesn’t like her ex-roommate. He’s right next to her. He’s in Korea. He still remembers her. He still cares.

But does he feel the same?

“Come, it’s getting late.” He says, taking her hand in his and pulling her up.

Sol doesn’t notice the way his fingers are intertwined with hers.

-----

Joon Hwi leads her down a familiar road, before getting three popsicles. Sol knows this road like routine, and can walk it blindfolded. But she lets him lead her. The entire time, she takes in his tall figure. His broad shoulders. How so many years later, she’s still in love with this very man. No matter how many men tried to flirt and confessed to her, she couldn’t return her feelings.

Because Han Joon Hwi had stolen hers to begin with.

“Is Byeol home?” Joon Hwi asks, as they stop at her front door. As if on cue, a much taller girl emerges from the door, dressed in a simple shirt and shorts, hair pulled back with a large clip.

“Oppa!” Byeol’s face lights up as Joon Hwi slightly bends to give her a warm hug. Byeol crashes into his arms and Joon Hwi swings her in a circle as Sol just laughs at their childishness.

“You’ve grown taller, haven’t you, you cookie? And gotten so much prettier, like your sister.” He laughs, ruffling her hair. Handling her a popsicle, she flashes a grateful smile. Sol swats his arm, trying to not burn from embarrassment.

“Unnie is still the prettiest to you, isn’t she?” Byeol asks as she opens her popsicle. Sol swerves around and is ready to smack Byeol for spouting nonsense, but Joon Hwi only laughs and pats her head.

“You’re right. Your unnie is still the prettiest and smartest to me.” He says, his eyes locked on Sol, his smile still sweetly there. Sol is transported back in time to when she would catch Joon Hwi stare at her while eating her pickles and only smile at her as she happily eats. The days, that she’s now certain showed that he had feelings for her. Byeol looks at her sister, eyes locked on Joon Hwi and silently retreats back home with her half eaten popsicle.

“Joon, there’s something I need to say.” Sol mutters out loud. She has to do it now. She lost her chance years ago, and she's not losing it again.

“Me too.” Joon Hwi says, his hands burying into his pockets, the way it does when he’s nervous.

“No, please. I’ve waited years to tell you this. And I don’t want to screw this up because I know you probably think I’m still hung over old memories. And I don’t know when you are going to return to the States, cause I may never see you again. And then I’m gonna-” Sol is rambling as she feels the same nervousness every time she’s alone with him.

But Joon Hwi’s lips cut her off. His hands cup her cheeks as he brings her face nearer to him, feeling her soft lips on his. Sol is too shocked to react, but she kisses him back, her hands by her side unclenching from her balled up fists. They pull away, as Joon Hwi leans his forehead against hers. Their noses brush each other and their lips brush one another.

“I love you, Han Joon Hwi. I have been, for the past years.” Sol whispers breathlessly.

“I know. And I love you too, Kang Sol.” He replies, before crashing against her lips once more. Sol feels the fireworks, as she finally feels her heart open.

Han Joon Hwi is here.

Han Joon Hwi loves her.

-----

Joon Hwi leaves for the States a week later. A month later, he appears at Sol’s house, announcing that he will be shifting back home. He reconnects with everyone else in the group and the meetings become more frequent. Sol now drinks with another cup, filled by the person she loves. Instead of circular post its, she gets morning love messages.

And at dinners, when she leans her head against Joon Hwi’s shoulder and looks at her intertwined fingers, she can’t help but feel her heart explode in so many emotions.

She’s finally whole.

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ktffansub · 4 years ago

Text

Bijutsu Techo: Boys Love – Interview: Yoneda Kou

This article was first published in November 17th, 2014. Translated from Japanesse to Bahasa Indonesia by kalengjelek and then translated from Bahasa Indonesia to English by KTFfansub. Source: here

When did you first encounter manga?

I was born in a family with three daughters; while my older sister likes reading Ribbon magazine, I like reading Nakayoshi. It was the era of Asagiri Yuu-sensei, when I was in elementary school. My favorite at that time were Kusunoki Kei sensei’s works and Patlabor. When it came to Shonen, I would say I was more into Shounen Sunday. I also loved Kawaraha Izumi sensei’s works. When I think about it, rather than manga that were full of passion, I’d actually prefer manga that had calm and soothing kind of vibe.

Is that so… What about BL?

When I was in Junior High, my older sister showed me Captain Tsubasa Doujinshi by Ozaki Minami and I was dumbfounded, I thought, “So, there’s also a world like this!”. After that, I started to buy BL manga. At that time, the mangaka who left the most impression to me was Nishi Keikosensei. Her works such as Mizu Ga Koori Ni Naru Toki, Tenshi Ni Naranakya have unique openings, it made me reread them many times. Uida Shiuko (now Kano Shiuko) and Yoshinaga Fumi Sensei are also my favorite mangaka.

When was the first time you draw manga?

I seriously began drawing manga in my first year of junior high. At first, I drew a pair of man and woman, but after page three, I felt something was off. So, I tried drawing BL for the next one. Just like the present, I’ve always loved less expressive and less-talkactive main characters (laughs). But the more I draw, then an attentive senpai with good personality and short haired ones like Togawa in Doushitemo Furetakunai also appeared. At that moment I thought, “Oh, this is it!”

You really weren’t embarrassed, are you? (laughs)

Well, it’s because it was embarrassing, that’s why I’m not really open about my drawing manga activity.

(laughs) But you debut as professional mangaka eventually, how did that happen?

Yes, after that… I worked as office lady. I got married not long after, but then, I was getting through a marriage blues. At that time, I was invested in Kakashi and Naruto shown by my older sister along with Comiket catalogue.

The power of moe beats out your anxiety (laughs)

It’s true (laughs). Escaping from reality, I checked a lot of circles and opened some sites. There I found a work from a novelist (now has debuted professionally) that I really liked. This is why I started writing novel at first, not drawing. I have a lot of ways to accommodate my moe needs. I also once drew Doujinshi but due to my inability to use a proper diction, the result wasn’t optimal (laughs). After drawing slowly and more at ease, I got into Katekyo Hitman Reborn fandom and drew a lot of doujinshi for that series. A year later, I was contacted by Taiyou Tosho publisher.

“With that publisher, Yoneda Kou published Doushitemo Furetakunai which has been adapted into a movie. Since the beginning, Yoneda Kou didn’t draw one-shot but serialization. For the movie, even though it only tells a story of daily lives, but the directing, composition and dialogue are impressive. About 4,5 years later, the second volume of Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai that had the yakuza neighborhood setting was released. This has completely different feeling compared to Doushitemo Furetakunai.”

My first work was actually published in Drap, so I had it adjusted to be a less-heavy work. That’s why I ended up switching to another magazine.

Was it a demand from the editor?

Of course I only draw what I want to draw. But without realizing, I always draw them to fit the magazine. And it seems like Taiyou Tosho prefers me to draw more simple work.

So, sensei is the type who pays attention to editor’s suggestion. When you wrote the first chapter of Saezuru Tori Wa Habatakanai, did you already want Yashiro to be the main character (for longterm series)?

Right. I didn’t explain it in the first one-shot, but I always believe that no matter how you look at it, Yashiro really loved Kageyama. And (even though he’s drawn like that) he is actually a neko (uke). I think he is an interesting character. When I drew highschooler Yashiro and others, it had been decided that I wanted to write a serialization for this.

And only then the character Doumeki was born?

At that time, the character Doumeki didn’t exist, but I thought very hard about what kind of partner that would be suitable for Yashiro. I took a break from drawing for about two years. I only worked on illustration during that time, until one morning an idea suddenly came to me, “That’s right! Erectile dysfunction!”. I immediately sent an email to my editor: “A perverted impotent man!” (laughs). Afterwards, I finally worked on the first draft.

(laughs hard) Finally, the combination of Yashiro and Doumeki who are the opposite of each other was decided. What an amazing couple that can even make the readers losing sleep.

I do have this particular interest in people’s decision and behaviour resulted from a contrasting relationship that is full of conflicts. Because there are so many characters in Saezuru, I have this excel file compiling the plot for each character chronologically. Otherwise, I would’ve forgotten about it. If I didn’t seriously research (the setting of my own story), I wouldn’t be able to write anything when I made name. But even though I got through it, drawing a family with no blood ties like yakuza was still difficult. If I don’t focus, the story might turn out like Nagara Sakugyou*. That’s why now I’m just focusing on doing Saezuru.

*) nagara sakugyou: other work that being serialized at the same time

Up until now, Sensei has published 5 volumes and all of them have beautiful covers with varied tones.

Actually, the cover color for Doushitemo Furetakunai should’ve looked like red wine, but it seemed like there was an error in printing so the pink was contrasting into it. But it turned out to be good.

Then about the cover for the Saezuru first volume. It’s so impressive! The stepped-on man! All the people around me also had high appraise for this.

Actually, there were so many things happened in the process. By taking the request (it isn’t clearly explained whether it’s from editor/designer) of “Yashiro sitting alone”, I first submitted that illustration to the book designer. However, I couldn’t throw away the idea of Yashiro being stepped on, so, during the next three days I was stressed out. I’ve finally asked them to keep my idea and that’s how the cover of the first volume ended up the way it is now.

I see! For the second volume, it’s totally different, isn’t it? It’s a scenery, but when you do a double take, there are Yashiro and Doumeki!

I always want to give a different vibe in each volume. Actually I’m also a fan of the way Tsumugi Taku-sensei draws scenery.

Hoo-, sensei is a fan of Tsumugi sensei! Talking abough NIGHTS, when you open the cover, there’s a surprise in it!

Yes, if you look at the rough sketches there were 4 pages of picture that were interconnected. In the end, the desainer took picture number two as the cover and number four to put it on the bottom of the back cover. For Soredemo, I didn’t get any guide from the book designer. I combined the the feel of the story with a touch of water paint. At first, I actually wanted to make Deguchi pulling Onoda’s hand to get out of the train, but it ended up looking like Deguchi forced Onoda to stay (with him). So I decided it’s Onoda who’s getting off the train by himself with Deguchi waiting on the platform.

Do you do the coloring with computer? How about the non-colored script?

I use SAI for coloring but for monochrome I usually draw by my hand until the inking, then I do the tone using photoshop.

Do you self-learned drawing?

Well, I at least bought a lot of ‘pose reference’ books often. When it comes to buy things, it feels great, doesn’t it? But when it comes to manga, we draw to tell our moe concept.. well, I love drawing moe concept, but the thing is- I’m not really good at drawing. I like thinking about moe stuff, I also like to combine colors (inside my head) but when I do, I have no desire to draw I, even though that’s the important part. There are often times when I feel like drawing is a handful. In short, I want to draw something that isn’t too troublesome.

But, isnt it because you’re doing manga seriously that it feels difficult?

Because I’m too serious I feel like the story can be boring. Not only the work but also the author (laughs). I often read comments saying my manga is ‘down to earth’. I guess it’s shown obviously in every each of my works

Sure, there are people who think like, “In real world, there’s no way a wakagashira can be as masochist as Yashiro”, but apart from that, Saezuru still gives an impression of it being realistic. In drawing the important men’s arms and muscles in your work, sensei has done your best. Getting into the story, the characters also put extra effort to look elegant. Despite the young age, in a positive sense, sensei’s works feels like having Showa* vibe.

(*SHOWA ERA: 1926~1989)

I’m no longer young, though (laughs). Maybe this is why my works often get called “JUNE”. Especially Saezuru, I think it really fits (JUNE concept).

Are you an organized person?

I’m actually a person who have no chill (laughs). But I have this side of myself who tend to see things as a whole, look at my surrounding then step on the brake. There is also a side of me that is so energetic in creating my own moe that I turn into a selfish person. I guess that’s also my flaw.

It seems like sensei is the type who has her own editorial meeting inside her head (laughs)

I wish it’s not true, but unfortunately, I’m the type of person who is embarrased to admit that I have a relationship with manga. Even until now I have yet told my close friends about this job (as BL mangaka). I’m not that kind of person who like to share or tell others about my moe situation inside my head. When my moe concept is being visualized in public I would scream, “Don’t look! But if you want to read it, I’d be happy”. Yes, I’m that kind of person.

I wonder if sensei’s works are the manifestation of sensei’s own self-contradictions..

#saezuru #doumeki #saezuru tori wa habatakanai #yashiro #yoneda kou #interview

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thekisforkeats · 4 years ago

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Ooh jm + shy kiss for the prompts?

Ohhh good one! I had to think about this a little and actually wrote up a bunch that didn't quite work at first. But! Here it is!

Set somewhere in the first few minutes of 160, in those weeks between arriving at the safehouse and Hazel Rutter. Featuring autistic Martin trying to navigate social situations because that is evidently what I write now.

(Incidentally the term "weak ties" was coined by a Stanford researcher in 1973. Link to the relevant paper. Credit where due, and all.)

(No beta no edits we die like archive assistants.)

It takes Martin a week to convince Jon to come down into the village with him.

If he's being honest with himself--and he's trying very hard to be honest with himself these days, so he can identify any Lonely-type thoughts--he really just wants to show off his boyfriend to the nice lady at the little shop in the village where he's been picking up essentials.

Martin is a naturally friendly person, or maybe a naturally personable person. This was not always the case; he had to practice a great deal to memorize all the scripts to smooth social interactions that other people seem to navigate without thinking about it at all. It can be horribly exhausting, just going to the shops. It's one of the reasons the Lonely appealed to him; how much easier to just move through life without having to recite all those canned lines?

Now that he's out of its grip, he's come to realize how much those interactions matter. He's been reading a lot on the internet about depression and social interaction, about social circles, and one thing that caught his eye is the idea of "weak ties," those people we're not exactly friends with, but who we see on a regular basis and who help us feel connected to a larger community. People who don't really know us and yet know something about us that helps us feel seen. The bus driver who gives you a familiar nod every morning. the barista who's prepping your order as soon as he notices you in line, the shop lady who tries to keep your favorite tea in stock.

So Martin is trying to cultivate those relationships, to feel part of a wider community, rather than just relying on Jon. He thinks that maybe if he'd had more of that, before, if he'd tried harder to go through the world being seen, he might have handled Jon's coma and his mother's death in some kind of healthier manner.

Maybe not, of course, but he's going to use any tool he can to keep the Lonely at bay.

At any rate, even beyond being very good at social scripts, Martin does genuinely like people, he's a good listener, for an autistic guy he's practically a social butterfly. And Elspeth is a nice lady, maybe mid-40's, the kind of person who runs a shop because she actually likes interacting with a stream of customers on a regular basis. So she's just the sort of person for Martin to practice his "weak tie" skills.

Because, naturally, one of the key benefits of "weak ties" is that they are the sort of people you get to be public about your relationship with when none of your closer friends are around.

Yeah, no, all of the above is just flimsy justification, if Martin's being really honest with himself. He's just madly in love and wants literally everyone within a 500-mile radius to know.

That morning, Martin makes a big show of how badly he wants to spend time with Jon, no really, but he really does have to go down into the village.

"We're out of tea!"

"I don't think we have anything for dinner!"

"But I really want to keep listening to you talk about Scottish history!"

And so on.

Jon gives him a tolerantly amused look, and Martin flushes. Is he that transparent, or is Jon just that good at reading him?

"I suppose I can go into the village with you, Martin," he says, eyes glittering. "Since you're so terribly interested in the House of Stuart. I'd hate to leave you wondering what happened to James II."

Martin would feel guilty, but he can tell Jon is pleased to be "indulging" him, and it's not like Martin hasn't been listening to Jon infodump about whatever random facts Beholding's been given him all week.

They hold hands all the way down into the village, and it's nice, to walk through the place and be seen, together. It's comfortable. They'd held hands on walks before, long ago in London, before the Unknowing, but back then they hadn't been sure what they were, hadn't managed to broach the delicate barrier between "friends" and "something else." Now, they're "boyfriends," and Martin keeps finding himself wanting to go up to each person he sees on the street and shout, "This is my boyfriend, Jonathan Sims!!"

By the time they reach Elspeth's shop, he's feeling a little giddy.

He pushes open the door and the little bell rings, and Elspeth looks up from behind the counter and smiles. "Martin!" she says, and Martin's whole body warms in a very pleasant manner, that this woman he's only known a week remembers him. "Oh, and this must be the elusive Jon." She gives them one of those teasing smiles people give to new couples, glittering eyes and amusement at the silly things people do when they're in limerence.

"Yes," Martin says, and suddenly the words stick in his throat. "Yes, this is... is... umm..." Oh, why has he suddenly frozen like a deer in headlights? Why can't he remember the right words?

"Jonathan Sims," Jon says smoothly, stepping forward to offer the woman his hand. "And yes, I'm Martin's boyfriend."

It occurs to Martin, all at once, that neither of them have said that out loud to anyone else. No wonder he's frozen up.

Elspeth glances at the burn scars on Jon's hand only briefly, then smiles--and it's a genuine smile, not one of those pitying ones people sometimes put on when they see scars like that--and shakes said hand. "Pleased to meet you," she replies. "Elspeth Douglas." She has the Highland accent, but softened; she spent her 20's and 30's in London, she's said, and came back to take over the family store when her father fell ill. The similarity might be part of why Martin likes her--that and the fact that it seems that helping her sickened parent improved her life.

"Ahh, yes. The not-so-elusive Elspeth." Jon actually flashes a grin, which Martin finds remarkable. Since when is Jon... friendly? Well, maybe he's trying for Martin's sake. If so, Martin very much appreciates the effort.

The woman behind the counter laughs, and says, "How can I help you?"

"Oh," Martin manages, his brain catching up and letting his mouth work again, "we're just here for tea and things."

"Of course," Elspeth says. "I'll be here when you're ready."

They turn away, to go deeper into the aisles.

"She seems nice," Jon says almost absently. "Shame about her fa--" He pauses, and frowns. Shakes his head, looking irritated. "You didn't tell me about that," he grumbles.

"No, I didn't. But thank you for trying to keep it in," Martin says.

Jon sighs, lowering his voice. "It's becoming harder and harder to separate what I've learned on my own from what Beholding gives me. How much of my thoughts are mine anymore? Did I actually memorize all those facts about the House of Stuart, or am I getting the... mental Wikipedia page, as it were?"

"Seems like a thing you'd know," Martin comments offhandedly. He's focused on figuring out what kind of rice to buy. He wants to try his hand at sticky rice, which really should have calrose, but Jon likes jasmine rice. Do they get both?

He doesn't want to think about Beholding, and how much of it is Jon anymore. He prefers just thinking about it as something like a smartphone app Jon can use without having to actually have a phone in front of him. He does not want to think about how much of his boyfriend has been potentially consumed by some kind of eldritch thing that feeds on fear.

He really doesn't want to think about the idea that maybe soon, Jon won't even need rice anymore, and will just live off statements, no matter how much he jokes about his partner's "eating habits."

Jon has been talking as Martin's been staring at the rice, but Martin hasn't heard any of it. He's brought back to himself by a squeeze of Jon's hand in his.

"Hey," Jon says softly. "You okay?"

In Jon's voice, Martin hears all the concern that Martin himself has been feeling. He forces himself to look at Jon, and sees bright green eyes staring out of a deep brown face. He realizes he's gotten used to the color of Jon's eyes; before the coma, Jon's eyes were brown, like a deep carnelian, and so large and dark sometimes Martin thought he could fall right into them and be happy drowning there. Now they're green, bright and disarming, and Martin's pretty sure this is why Jon still wears glasses he no longer needs, to hide those strange eyes behind plastic lenses.

Those eyes are looking up at him intensely now, and Jon's brow is furrowed, and his mouth is pulled into a frown in a way that highlights one of the worm scars near his lip, and all of it is adorable, but it's also disconcerting for the contrast between the softness of his voice and the intensity of his expression.

Is Jon as afraid of losing Martin to Forsaken as Martin is of losing Jon to Beholding?

Martin frowns at him for a moment, then sighs. "I just..." He has to look away, back to the bags of rice. "I just... don't like thinking about that. Beholding, and... all of it. I just... I just wish..."

"You wish we could be normal." Jon's tone is still soft, and filled only with love and no sort of guilt or self-recrimination.

"Yeah," Martin says, still staring at the rice.

There's a hesitation, and then Jon says, softly and slowly, "You know... normal people deal with these sort of difficult things, too. There's so much out there that can hurt people... the things we deal with, they're weirder than most of the rest of it, but..."

"Yeah, I know, Jon, I just..." Martin hunches his shoulders. "Don't want to lose you again," he finally mumbles.

Jon hesitates a moment, and then he leans in to give Martin a soft kiss on the cheek.

Martin flushes bright red--Elspeth's right there!--and turns to stare at Jon. "W-what... what was... that for?!"

Jon, too, is blushing. "I just... ah... I just... wanted you to know that... that I'm... here. You haven't... lost me. Or anything."

"Oh," Martin says. "Well. Thank you."

There's a moment where they just look at each other, and then Jon blurts, "...Can I kiss you again? It's just, I haven't all morning, and I really sort of wanted to spend the morning cuddling, but you wanted to come down to the shops..."

"Here?!" Martin stares at him.

"We can go behind the shelves if you like," Jon says, blushing furiously.

For some reason, this makes Martin giggle, and then he leans down to brush his lips to Jon's. Softly, shyly, as if they haven't been kissing each other all week, because he really is terribly aware of the fact that there are other people around.

"Tell you what," Martin says as he pulls back, surprisingly breathless despite how short the contact of their lips was, "let's finish up the shopping and then we can cuddle all afternoon."

Jon smiles up at him. "Promise?" The smile widens. "You're not going to drag me around to introduce me to every villager individually?"

"I was not--!" Martin glares at him, but now Jon's smile has become one of those shit-eating grins he gets sometimes, and Martin can't stay mad at him at all.

"You knew," he accuses, but there's no heat in it.

"I had a hunch," Jon says, humming. "I didn't want to spoil your fun, though."

Martin rolls his eyes, and then reaches out to take Jon's hand again. "Well, then, we'd better get to it. Jasmine or calrose? Rice, I mean."

"Both, I think," Jon says. "I find myself very much desiring normality of late, and rice is a terribly normal sort of thing."

#wow this got long #thanks for the prompt i loved writing this!#the magnus archives #tma #jon sims #jonathan sims #jon the archivist #martin blackwood #jonmartin #jmart #otp: one way or another together #my writing #my fanfic #writing #fanfic #prompt fill #season four

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punkpresentmic · 4 years ago

Text

Traitor Aizawa AU Pt. 3 — 1, 2:

Shouta ran away in the middle of the night. When Hizashi woke up, it was to an empty bed, to fists pounding at their shared suite, to UA in lockdown. Hizashi was immediately forced outside & taken in for questioning.

Shouta had left Nezu a resignation letter, in his own unmistakable handwriting. It's blunt, concise, & it contains detailed descriptions & evidence of his betrayal. It makes no excuses for his actions & it does not discuss his motivations.

When Shouta visits that night weeks upon weeks later, he says nothing of the letter & nothing of his motivations. Shouta is silent as Hizashi sobs, dutifully keeping his Quirk erased as asked. It's been a pressure building on Hizashi for far too long, so when the dam breaks, there's no stopping it. It's an unwelcome but necessary catharsis—one he needs because of Shouta, one he can have because of him. Hizashi cries himself to sleep in his husband's arms.

& in the morning, again, he wakes up alone. It could have been a dream, but this time there's a note on his nightstand. It's painfully simple, the script rushed: I'm sorry I couldn't be here when you wake up. I'm sorry it has to be like this. I want to talk with you soon. I love you, Hizashi.

He should report this. Shouta betrayed UA, he's a wanted villain, & he expressed interest in taking Eri. Hizashi should turn in the letter.

Hizashi makes himself a coffee, & he sets the letter in front of him, & he stares at it blankly while the Sun rises slowly outside. The moment the light hits it, it's like the decision has made itself. Hizashi puts the letter through their paper shredder, tucks the pieces into his pocket, buys a muffin at a coffee shop, & throws half of them away in his napkin in one trash can, half of them in another down the road. He doesn’t tell a soul. Not Nemuri. Not Eri. Not Nezu.

He has to see Shouta again.

It’s two weeks before there’s another Shouta sighting. One day Hizashi comes home & senses the difference immediately. &, oddly, it's not a bad different. He knows exactly what it means. So, he takes off his gear in the entryway. Locks the door. Takes a few calming breaths before he calls into the apartment: “Honey, I’m home.”

He steps into the bedroom. Sure enough, Shouta is sitting on the bed.

Hizashi stops. He looks like shit. Exhausted, face sallow like he hasn’t been eating, eyes red & irritated like he hasn’t been using his eye drops. It occurs to Hizashi that his prescription probably ran out. He can remember the last time he picked up a bottle from the pharmacy; he’d teased Shouta about his 'special eyes' that regular eye drops don’t work on. “How did you know I was here.” His voice is rough too. Hizashi wants to offer him water, a meal, something. He hovers in the doorway.

“I’ve felt your absence since you left. Of course I know when it’s changed.”

Shouta says nothing. Hizashi relents slightly, asks him if he’s eaten. As expected, he gets a shake of the head. Hizashi turns on a heel, brings the both of them tea & leftover takeout. Shouta scrunches his eyebrows in confusion when Hizashi hands him what’s always Shouta’s order. Hizashi shrugs, nonchalant as if he didn’t take up ordering it after Shouta left. Shouta opens his mouth to speak, but Hizashi holds up a hand. “Eat.”

& they do, in silence. Shouta is positively ravenous. Hizashi has so many questions. So many questions. But he shares this strange meal with his husband, wordlessly offering Shouta what he doesn’t finish as well. Finally, Shouta clears his throat. “You didn’t tell anybody about me.”

Hizashi doesn’t have it in him to glare—to make any expression, really. It’s all very… heavy. Fragile. Ephemeral. Breakable. Dangerous. Wrong. Hizashi purses his lips. “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.”

He winces. "Hizashi, I wish I could tell you everything, but I can't."

Hizashi swallows the emotions that rise like bile in his throat, a potent mixture of fury & nausea. He has little control of what falls from his mouth. “You know, somebody referred to you as my ex the other day.”

Shouta’s expression is pained. He shakes his head & pulls his wedding ring out from its necklace tucked away as always in his ratty costume. Hizashi almost laughs. When Shouta commits to something, he commits fully, with his whole chest. It’s why so much of this doesn’t make any goddamn sense. It all threatens to choke him, but he laughs around the lump in his throat & shakes his head too, taking Shouta’s hand & squeezing hard to imprint the indent of the ring he put there into his palm. “It’s just not right, man.”

This time, Hizashi takes a page from Shouta’s book & bumps their foreheads together like a cat. Hizashi offers a watery smile. Shouta lets his eyes fall closed, inhales deeply. “I know it was too much to ask in my letter for you to believe that I'm still the person you believe me to be, but…” Hizashi freezes and pulls back, causing him to trail off.

“Shouta… what are you talking about?”

A flash of confusion, then fear crosses Shouta’s face. “The first letter I wrote to you. When I… When I left.” Shouta’s eyes search his for any sign of recognition, clearly troubled when he finds none. “I wrote everyone in my class letters. & Nezu. & Kayama. Hell, even Yagi—do you really think I wouldn’t face you of all—”

“—Shouta. None of those people received letters. Besides Nezu. I read your… resignation letter. Saw the evidence you laid out so logically for him. But I…” Hizashi’s blood suddenly grows cold. “Shou, the police took me down to the station that morning & searched the apartment. I didn’t think they took anything.” His breathing picks up. “They never told me anything about a letter—”

Shouta is barely breathing. Finally, after a long pause he swallows. “Nezu. Nezu must have found his first & arranged for a search & seizure. He would have extrapolated there were more.” He wipes a weary hand down his face, shaking his head. “You never… None of the students…” He covers his eyes, which must be aching. Hizashi has never been hesitant to offer physical reassurance to Shouta Aizawa, but he hesitates here & hates that he does. He pulls Shouta close with an arm over the shoulders.

“It’s alright,” he lies. Shouta knows. “We can talk now.”

So Shouta reiterates what was in the letter: what he’s done, how he loves him, how he wouldn't leave or do this without him if he had a choice, how he intends to return when this is settled, how in the meantime he would trust nobody else to watch over his students & Eri, how he needs Hizashi to trust that he is who Hizashi knows him to be.

“How am I supposed to be certain of that?” Hizashi whispers when he’s done.

It hurts him, Hizashi can see that. But all of this hurts. “I don’t know how to answer that.” They’re still holding hands. “But I want to,” he adds. “I want to prove it to you.”

“I want that too.”

There’s a tension in the air as they hover, faces close, uncertain if it would be okay to kiss each other. They think better of it, pull back with small sighs.

Instead, they discuss Eri. Shouta has been watching from afar when he can safely. He knew how she was struggling with her Quirk. He saw the doctor visits that hadn’t improved anything. He wanted to help. He also knew that he couldn’t sneak into UA forever, that the instant UA caught wind of it security would render it impossible & arrange for his capture. But if she’s with him, he can still help.

Hizashi shakes his head. “Shou, wherever you’ve been, it’s nowhere fit for a child. Your Quirk helps her, but her support network is here at UA. You were part of that network. & now you’re not. She is not leaving UA.”

Shouta shrinks, & after a moment he nods. He was always one to listen to reason. Hizashi, again, has to relent. As far as he can tell, Shouta only wants what’s best for her & it’s killing him not to be able to participate in that. So Hizashi elbows him lightly & pulls up pictures on his phone of all Eri has been up to lately, some of the students also making appearances. He leans Shouta onto his shoulder. It’s a tender moment. Almost normal. But all too soon it has to end. It’s not safe for Shouta to stay the night & there’s a certain window of time he has to catch to slip past security.

Shouta says he’ll return. He squeezes Hizashi’s hand as he goes to the window—the hand with his ring on it. Promises.

(pt. 4)

#isaythings #fic #traitor aizawa au #traitor!aizawa #angst #erasermic #but wait! there’s more! <3 #i will keep talking abt this whether or not any1 asks abt it & that’s a threat fjdjdj #but you’re also welcome to ask abt it 👀👀#in case it 👀👀#inspires smthn 👀👀

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