#she has a pretty average personality from what we hear about her

[mikailakay]

Isn't Lily kind of mediocre? The only reason why tomarry works is because Harry is his horcrux and has been beaten down enough in his life to not be scared off in the face of danger. And later is even groomed to literally stand up to Voldemort. They also both share a past full of pain and neglect and have their own little parallels so they have things in common. Lily is a normal person who grew up in a loving home. Just because she stands up to bullies and is stubborn does not mean she would have the same/similar dynamic with Voldemort as Harry would. Where is this idea coming from? Lily and Harry are not the same. They just share few traits. There is nothing we know about Lily that could make her be adapted to Voldemort's personality or anything that would make him interested. He doesn't gaf about someone that isn't special or doesn't bow down to him.

But I love the rest of your post!

hello! i was wondering whether or not you can envision someone as better suited for tom/voldemort since i remember you saying neither harry nor hermione would be a match — them being the most popular two characters shipped with tom. and on that note, what do you think about bellatrix and voldemort? pro/against?

i tend to get a bit blindsided by the sheer obsession she has for him, honestly. i mean… i feel like she would be willing to shape herself down to the last atom to what appeals to him, if he ever were to show any true interest, and that’s very… sad.

Hello 👋

Thank you for the ask and as with all ship asks, ship what you ship, these are just my subjective opinions.

Now, what I said about Tomarrymort is that I don't think they would realistically get together and have a functioning relationship, I didn't say it wasn't fun. Like, I love Tomarrymort, but only if the relationship is a messy push and pull that makes everyone (both involved and uninvolved) miserable.

Now, as for Bellamort...

Do I think they had sex at some point in canon? Maybe. Like, that's not the most absurd thing about CC for me, so I consider it plausible.

Do I think Voldemort actually likes Bella romantically? Not really.

Do I think their relationship works like an actual equal functional relationship? Not one bit.

Do I think their relationship is entertaining and interesting? I mean, clearly, many people do, but I don't like Bellamort.

Like, it really doesn't interest me. There's a reason I only like Tomarrymort when there's a push and pull and Harry and Tom are portrayed as the equals they are. Like, I don't like Tomarrymort where Harry is completely submissive to Voldemort and Bellamort for the same reason — these aren't the kind of relationships that make Tom interesting.

I like both Tom and Bellatrix a lot as individuals, but I don't think a romantic and/or sexual relationship between them pushes their characters to interesting places. They are both stagnate in this relationship and, for me personally, that just doesn't interest me.

Like, Bellatrix is completely submissive to Voldemort nodding her head excitedly and panting after him: "Yes my lord! Whatever you say, my lord!" And this is not the type of dynamic that'd push either character towards growth. They don't push each other into a character arc, which is what I usually like my ships to do.

Additionally, this dynamic basically means Voldemort always gets what he wants, and Bellatrix is happy with it, as you said, she'd shape herself for his every whim. This isn't a relationship between equals. It's a relationship where she worships him and he doesn't respect her or care about her as a person. Like, at all.

The dynamic we see from them in the books gave me the impression Voldemort cares about Bellatrix. He doesn't want her to be hurt or to die:

Bellatrix’s gloating smile froze, her eyes began to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.

(DH)

But he cares about her like how you care about your favorite pet. He relished in giving her orders and having her submit completely:

“Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!” sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort’s feet as he paced slowly nearer. “Master, you should know —” “Be quiet, Bella,” said Voldemort dangerously. “I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?” “But Master — he is here — he is below —” Voldemort paid no attention.

(OotP)

He doesn't actually care about her being hurt if it's not too bad, he doesn't care about her feelings or apologies, especially not when Harry is right in front of him — his obsession, his one failure. Bellatrix takes a backseat, basically always. He doesn't care about her all that much. He cares and respects her like a loyal dog, not like a person he has a relationship with.

He also relished in humiliating and embarrassing her. He likes making fun of her in ways Bella clearly does not enjoy, which isn't something you'd do to someone you love:

“I’m talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And your, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud.” There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks, a few thumped the table with their fists. The great snake, disliking the disturbance, opened its mouth and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant where that at Bellatrix and the Malfoys’ humiliation. Bellatrix’s face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchy red.

(DH)

she's desperate to please him, to tell him everything she thinks he wants to hear and she happily lets him treat her like fucking dirt. I don't find a relationship like that compelling, as I said, Voldemort would never change for Bellatrix and Bellatrix honestly deserves better than this. He even lets other Death Eaters jeer and laugh at her, this is not a romantic relationship.

Like even if he had sex with her, it was purely physical as he just doesn't care about her as a person like this. As more than a faithful servant (which he enjoys making fun of, as he does so for many of them).

And he is unwilling to show her real, unintentional weakness or ask her for help:

“My Lord, let me—” “I do not require assistance,” said Voldemort coldly, and though he could not see it, Harry pictured Bellatrix withdrawing a helpful hand.

(DH)

He does trust her with one of his Horcrux as the cup is kept in her vault and she seems to know what it is:

“Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy! We have a very serious problem!” She stood, panting slightly, looking down at the sword, examining its hilt. Then she turned to look at the silent prisoners. “If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed,” she muttered, more to herself than to the others. “The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself. . . . But if he finds out . . . I must . . . I must know. . . .”

(DH)

He trusts her loyalty, and she is one of his preferred Death Eaters (he doesn't hate her like he does Wormtail, Tom appreciates courage and loyalty, which are both traits Bellatrix possesses) but he clearly doesn't trust her with his backstory in the first war:

“Shut your mouth!” Bellatrix shrieked. “You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood’s tongue, you dare —” “Did you know he’s a half-blood too?” said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear. “Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle — or has he been telling you lot he’s pureblood?” “STUPEF —” “NO!” A jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand, but Malfoy had deflected it. His spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered. [...] “He dared — he dares —” shrieked Bellatrix incoherently. “— He stands there — filthy half-blood —”

(OotP)

She doesn't really know who Voldemort is. She worships the persona of Voldemort. She loves his lies and masks. She doesn't actually know Tom Riddle. And I don't think she could accept and love the real Tom Riddle behind the title of Voldemort — the poor but brilliant nerdy half-blood who craves recognition. She would find him pathetic.

It's basically Hinny, isn't it?

She adores his persona and fame and what people think he is without actually knowing or understanding him. She changes her personality to fit what she thinks his girl needs to be because she is so focused on being with him. And He likes that she doesn't get in his way and lets him do and say whatever without crying about it but doesn't care about her or her feelings nearly as much as people think.

Bellamort is just Hinny with a different skin, and I never liked Hinny.

Like Hinny, they don't know or understand each other, and it's clear Bella and Ginny care about Voldemort and Harry more than the boys care about them. Like, yes, Harry would be devastated if Ginny died, but he'd get over it way faster than he did about Sirius. Same for Voldemort, he cares about Bella, but not as an equal he understands and cares for the feelings of. Voldemort got over Bella's death fairly quickly as well, he's way more focused on Harry.

So, with all of this, who do I think is the best pairing for Voldemort?

If we're talking about canon characters who are actually characters in the books? Then Harry is my top choice. Harry is the only one Voldemort would see as an equal and can actually push and change Voldemort as much as Voldemort changes him. There is no other character in canon, I believe, who would be able to do this to the level Harry could. Their dynamic is just so mutually obsessive and tense that a relationship like that can't not change both of them in a myriad of interesting ways.

Though, I was thinking about it, and Severus/Voldemort have potential. Voldemort clearly respects Sev and his opinions more than the average Death Eater:

Snape did not speak. “Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen.” “My Lord—”

(DH)

He cares about him and regrets having to kill him:

Harry saw Snape’s face losing the little color it had left; it whitened as his black eyes widened, as the snake’s fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way and he fell to the floor. “I regret it,” said Voldemort coldly

(DH)

Voldy is willing to forgive Sev for things he'd kill most for. They have so much shared experience (poor, muggle childhood in incredibly abusive environments) that would allow them to understand each other. They probably both get frustrated over pureblood idiocy. Both are intelligent and share many interests, like they're both magic nerds who'd talk all night about magical theory...

So, I think, under the right circumstances, Severus is a pretty good pairing for Voldemort.

The only real downside is that depending on when they get together, they'd push each other to be more extremist and overall worse. Like, they'd push each other to have less empathy for other people if they get together, say, during the first war. Well, it might not be a downside. It really depends on how you look at it.

If they get together in the second war, it's different, and in my opinion, more compelling and interesting for both of them. Like, pairing them up after Voldemort's return and after Sev already turned traitor opens so many interesting avenues. I mean, Sev was someone Voldemort actually regretted killing, that was remorse there, wasn't it? It means Severus could push Voldemort to change in a way Bellatrix doesn't. Because Voldemort respects Snape in a way he doesn't respect Bella. I mean, think about how many times Voldemort shut Bella down when she kept insisting Snape is a traitor — it's clear he values Snape more than he values her.

If we're also looking at side characters we don't know as much about, then we have some more options.

@iamnmbr3 has convinced me that Alphard Black/Tom Riddle is an option, and I have been very compelled by it. We don't know much about Alphard, but that never really stopped me because what we do know is interesting.

We know he is Sirius' uncle. He was born after Walburga but before Cygnus, probably closer in age to Walburga. So, I headcanon he was born in 1927 and was in the same year as Tom Riddle.

We know Alphard was a Slytherin since Sirius mentions all his family was in Slytherin, which would include his uncle. And we know Alphard was burned off the family tapestry when he gave Sirius money when Sirius ran away from home.

This leaves us with a character, who's cunning, capable of listening to his older sister Walburga go off about whatever without making the fight worse but has a spine to stand up to her bullshit when it's actually important. This gives him the right characteristics to be able to wrangle a character arc out of a romance with a younger Tom Riddle (and perhaps the older one, too).

He's a pureblood who's open-minded enough to support Sirius and not hate muggleborns (probably). He likely has the subtlety necessary to fix Tom without Tom feeling like he's being fixed. Alphard, used to his very eventful family, is an expert in dealing with dramatic people (like his siblings) and how to undercut their drama instead of pushing them further into their position (which is what Harry would do, for example. Harry and Tom would keep pushing at each other while someone like Alphard would be able to just remove the heat from the argument and allow it to not get as extreme).

Again, it's not much to go on, but it has so much potential.

(Also, @iamnmbr3 has this post about how Voldemort’s violence became worse in 1979, which happens to be the same year Alphard Black died, and while I don't agree with all the points made there, I find it to be a super fun concept)

Voldemort/Lily also has potential. She's smart, stubborn, academically inclined, and has the right rough edges to have the kind of push-and-pull dynamic with Voldemort that I like with Tomarrymort. Lily is probably the kind of witch Voldemort could grow to respect as well. I don't think he would've agreed to spare her for Snape if he didn't respect both of them. JKR also said he tried to recruit James and Lily, so, he was aware that she was talented.

I think, though, Lily/Voldemort would be slightly better than Harry/Voldemort in some aspects. Lily isn't as hot-headed as Harry. Lily's anger is usually much colder, which I feel would work better with Tom just because she wouldn't push all his buttons (just most of them). She would still push him into a character arc, but it would be a gentler nudge than if Harry did it.

My only real rule when shipping Tommy Boy is that he can't be shipped with someone mediocre, he'll just steamroll over them completely, and that's not as fun, in my opinion. He needs a partner he can grow to respect and see as an equal (or close to it) and that has the spine to stand up to him, otherwise, he'd just keep getting what he wants, and I think that's the opposite of what Voldemort needs in a relationship.

[inkskinned]

they don't see it, because it is around them like air. to them, it would have to be through movies, through magazines. they think it happens outside of life, like it must be selected to be interacted with.

but you discovered in the fifth grade that you couldn't wear shirts with words on them, it was an excuse for someone to look at your chest. you were catcalled before you were in middle school. sometimes you look at that memory and deny it - surely that can't be right, you were young. but you were in a skirt, so maybe that was a natural byproduct. it was a skirt from that place "justice by limited too" - a store literally for kids. it was popular around then. you wore that skirt twice and then never again.

you can't wear headphones, because what if a man wants to talk to you? there's a guy on the internet who complains that women shut themselves off from being approached. at night, you often keep the headphones positioned but with the sound off, just in case you need to hear something behind you.

you learned at 12 that you can't make eye contact, don't acknowledge the aggression. just walk faster and hope he picks on somebody else. don't wear your hair like that. do not park next to that kind of car, park an entire cityblock away if you must.

you can't go to the museum, you're sitting and tying your shoe when he approaches you and mentions that nobody understands art anymore. that in the whole world, it's just you-two. you have no recourse for eating a meal (it's rabbit food if it's salad, and someone will roll their eyes, eat a sandwich. it's pick-me behavior if it's a burger, we get it you're a cool girl). if you like mushrooms you are cottagecore, which is cheesy. if you like video games you're an egirl (similar to a pick-me). boys do not get categories, but if you point out the categories are sexist, you are told okay but these girls really exist.

it is somehow developing, a little undercurrent that you've been uncomfortable with. the nickname "karen" went from being "a white woman that uses her whiteness as a weapon, particularly against people of color," to now mean "any woman raising her voice or being even a little upset." the reappropriation of a term used specifically to call out white women for their racism has set your skin on edge. now it is just another version of "bitch," one that can be said on television. recently you saw a woman get called a karen because a drunk driver sideswiped her, and she screamed when it happened. the comments on the dashcam video all say "why do women always scream about everything." "when has the world ever been bettered by women screaming." "this fucking karen. she deserved to get hit."

in the sitcom, it's a joke that the wife is furious; slamming her hands down into the sink. i do everything around here, might as well do this too. in your house, your father is always in-his-office. before you know better, your first boyfriend is the type to say it's just easier for you. you used to beg him to take you on dates. he used to make a big deal about it, about the sacrifice of effort, even if you were the one who did most of the planning.

someone on the internet makes a "POV: the most boring person you've ever met" where he puts a towel on his head and just talks like a normal person. his impression of a boring woman is just a woman that is talking about her pretty-average life without exaggeration.

you are sometimes actually sad in the reverse, because actually you did used to struggle to pay attention in conversations. you were also easily bored of normal things, your adhd pinging off of every radio tower in the vacinity. it took time and therapy and patience, and now you delight in the small things about your friends. you like having them show you their organizational systems and talk about their taylor swift tickets. you are entertained by them because you learned to be, even though your brain is structured to only be excited by novelty. you kind of hate the idea that the reason your father will never actually pay attention to you is that you're no longer interesting. eventually the shine wore off, and you were just a person, not a spaceship. he never learned how to just, like, form an actual intimate friendship. it was always at a distance, this sense - emotional closeness was too much. (and yes. he's homophobic).

you're already tired of whatever the fuck is happening with the words "divine feminine", a rancid take that is basically just a rebranding of the patriarchy in action. what the fuck do they mean "being small and delicate and needing protection" is feminine. the words they are looking for are that they want a partner, not that their desire for equivalent support is relegated to gender. the human desire for community is not actually gendered at all. also, what fucking wolves are these "divine masculine" men even battling. fuckken taxes? shouldn't their "desire to protect" also mean "protect you from emotional neglect", or are all emotions off-limits (and how sad would that be. that's a horrible bar to set.)

and they tell you it's really not bad actually, because it's just there. they suggest you get off the internet or you stop reading that book or you stop thinking so hard about the movie or you stop just-being-a-feminist because honestly it's a killjoy sort of thing and then you tilt your head to the side and there's that little siren in the back of your head. if things were actually fine, being a feminist wouldn't put a stop to anything, it would go completely unnoticed, because you wouldn't have any comment to make about any of this

but you are ruining your own life, they tell you. also, girls don't sit like that. also, all girls are catty. also, all girls are bad drivers. also, all girls just need a cute bracelet and an iced coffee.

you do like iced coffee, is the thing. when you close your eyes, the world around you has this strange note to it. and once you hear it, it never stops ringing.

[freemansgirl]

Loved the jock Amber, how about her with a nerd reader?

aww thank you, that means a lot to me! ofc, i can do jock!ambs x nerd!reader, love the brains x brawns duo we got going on here💁🏿‍♀️ pls lmk if you like this, anon ☺️

jock!amber x nerd!reader

SFW

* when first seeing amber, you found her really attractive, even if a jock wasn’t the typical person you go for based off the rumors you hear of them or how they are portrayed in media. what started off as a small, innocent class crush turned into a very, serious crush. you always wanted to talk to her, but she was someone that had a very hard exterior to her. she could be bitchy to other classmates and always had a resting bitch face. as intimidating as she was, she found herself taking in interest in you.

* most of her teammates in the locker room would encourage amber to get with popular “hot” girls or a girl with a status to her. just the typical locker room talk but she ignored them of course. “what about that liv girl, isn’t she hot to you?” “i appreciate the suggestion but i got my eyes on someone else.”

* she always sneaks little glances at you during class, admiring how cute you look. you looked so pretty when concentrating on the class subject. she admired how smart you were too, you always had the answers to every question the teacher asked.

* she took notice of you in class when the teacher suggested a group assignment. it was the perfect opportunity for her to talk to you. amber picked you as her partner. not only were you just smart and well-spoken, but you were beautiful and kept to yourself. more things that she liked about you.

* you felt nervous because you always caught her checking you out with her rbf so the fact she picked you caught you off guard. however, amber was… surprisingly level-headed and nice, not the typical airhead, loud, and mean jock stereotype.

* the two of you exchanged numbers and always would try to make time to study after school to prepare for the group project. usually, amber would never really take time off of football practice for anyone, because she was someone who took sports seriously, but for you, she did. amber helps with grabbing whatever books you needed and would assist w the work for the group project.

* when it came to you two being group partners, amber wanted to get closer so she’d invite you over at her place.

* when she learned about your interests, she found them really cool actually. she liked hearing you ramble and get so passionate, she finds it adorable. there wasn’t any judgment whatsoever. she liked that your interests weren’t like the stereotypical, average person’s interests.

* “amber? are you there? am i boring you with my constant talking about my interests? i know they’re a bit… “nerdy” and all.” what? no. of course not, i love hearing you talk about these things.” she thinks you are the cutest nerd she has ever seen. if anything, you’re her cute nerd🤷🏿‍♀️.(she cant rlly judge you anyway considering she is a big fan for stab. shes just as much of a nerd as you.)

* when seeing you write notes for anything, she compliments your handwriting

* thinks you look cute with glasses if you wear them

* she likes to get you things related to what you like. favorite book series? already checked it out at the library. favorite movie series? buys it for movie nights at her place. video games? already installed on a console. whatever it is you like, she’ll find a way to surprise you.

* she has definitely gotten you a cute oversized onesie of a fictional character you love before, thinks you look so cute walking around her room in it.

* loves to take off and manage her time for you. if you need help w something, she is always there for you especially w studying. she also likes to go to you for any type of tutoring.

*walks you to all of your classes, hand in hand with a lot of pride in her face because she adores having you!!

* takes you home if no one can after you spend a long time studying a library or from some type of club. she doesn’t want you to walk alone hurt and unsafe.

* she likes to invite you to her football practices and to football games because she feels like seeing you support her gives her motivation to win the games.

* she always gives you one of her jackets or a hoodie of hers to provide you some sort of comfort.

* if any of her friends try to tease amber about how she has the hots for you (because usually she’s not the corny type but with you she is), she’ll lightly throw a football at them to shut them up.

* if anyone talks badly or inappropriately about you in the locker room, she’ll literally go off on them and find a way to punish them as a football captain. she’ll probably make them do hella pushups with her foot on their back or make them run around the gym a lot of times.

NSFW

* sapiosexual for sureee, i think she’d get very turned on by how smart you are. i mean how can she not be in a nerd x jock dynamic?

* so unlike the stereotypical pushy, overly sexual jock, who try to make their girlfriends give it up to them… amber is actually very gentle with you. she’d never push or force herself onto you. she’s patient and willing to wait for when you’re comfortable with her.

* likes to fuck you with her jersey on, it gives her the biggest ego boost honestly. also she likes fucking you with glasses on bc you know… glasses are sexy🤭

* during study sessions at the library, if amber is in one of her horny moods, she’d try to persuade you to go the bathroom w her and just give her a quickie. or just go there for horny moods in general

* for any shy ppl reading this, amber would love if youre shy and quiet in bed. it’s just a turn on for her and it makes her wanna fuck you even more just to draw more moans from you.

* after she wins a game, fucking you is one of her favorite ways to celebrate

* if you’re trying to study or just simply doing work at a library, amber would definitely use a sex toy vibrator on you to tease you. the more she can switch the settings, the better :)

* after a long aggravating football practice of someone pissing her off, she’d had sex too to just blow her steam. it can be at the locker rooms or at her place tbh.

* gym bathroom sex happens after you watch her work out and you get sooo turned on by how she works on her muscles. “i see you checking me out, (your name). if you want something from me, do be afraid to say what it is you want.” the something meaning sex

* shower sex

* likes to probably eat you out while you’re watching like a favorite movie of yours just to tease and to make enjoying fave movie even more fun ;)

[ageofevermore]

ITS BRIGHTER NOW

SUMMARY — until you met your girls, you once believed love would be burning red, but it turns out, it’s everything in between, and that couldn’t be more golden. i wanna be defined by the things that i love, not the things i hate, not the things that i’m afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night, i just think that you are what you love

PROMPTS — “sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you” & “will you stay with me?”

WARNINGS — mentions of battle, injury, anxiety, overall just fluff and comfort for arguably the best avengers and their girlfriend

Like every relationship, yours has its ups and downs. Although most times, you’re met with nothing but outstanding partners who try their absolute hardest to maintain open communication and boundaries, they’re still human, and Avengers, and while some consider that a fairytale circumstance, not many stop to think about how challenging it can be at its worst moments. Not many people, or any at all who aren’t in the lifestyle or one similar, think about how they’re gone for days at a time, sometimes weeks or months if it’s an undercover mission, and how when they finally do get back, they’re never the same as how they left. But honestly, how could they be? They’ve done things no average citizen would ever be expected to do, seen things and handled situations that are dangerous and traumatizing, and just like anyone else, those things haunt them. Wanda is better about unpacking those skeletons in her closet then Natasha is, but the both of them take things personally, and if things go south, it’s never good.

Both of your girlfriends had been gone from the compound for days. They’d been called out to an active Hydra base in Russia, and three days later, things had gone south and they’d been in active combat since. You didn’t talk to them much, with battles and timezones and everything else that got in your way, but you had heard through the grapevine that Wanda was pretty banged up and Natasha had been left with no choice but to shoot to kill after a particularly gruesome fight. Hearing that never got any easier, especially when they were halfway across the world and had no idea when they’d return. It was missions like these that made you yearn for a simpler life. One where Wanda was an artist, Natasha probably took up something flexible like tattooing, and you did literally anything else to just have some peace and quiet and promised safety.

You had met Natasha first, after Maria recruited you to join Shield. She had been skeptical of you, as she was of everyone, but you broke down her walls as easily as you’d picked the lock to Clint’s farm the one time you were placed on a strike mission together. She had been hurt pretty badly, and his farm was the closest place to land. That had been an interesting day, no thanks to your girlfriend who was draped across your arm with a shallow bullet wound and a startled Laura who was screeching about blood on her new couch. Things with Clint were still chaotic as ever, but he eventually got over you busting his brand new lock, and the two of you joked about it now, although now you had a key so no locks had to be busted in the event of an unplanned visit happening again. When you met Wanda, she fell into your dynamic easily, and at first, neither you nor Natasha had realized that you’d kind of adopted her as a third girlfriend until a drunken night when she ended up in your bed and never left. Now, sleeping without them is hard, but you’re forced to manage as best as you can, seeing as you don't really have much of a choice.

It was going onto the sixth night without them home when you finally retired from the couch, and decided to head to bed, figuring that at two in the morning there was no chance of them coming back until the next morning at the earliest. It was hard enough when one of them was on an active mission with no return date, but when both of them were gone, it truly felt like your heart was missing from your chest and you were just going through the motions and holding your breath until they got back. Most people only had one person to worry about, but having two people to lose, with jobs in this line of work, you felt like you were always looking over your shoulder and expecting the worst. As often as they could, your girlfriends declined missions together, even though they felt comfortable on the battlefield together and it was a comfort to not be alone, but neither one of them wanted to risk not coming home to you. They didn’t have a choice this time, so reluctantly they packed up their duffles and headed for the quinjet, with a kiss on your head and a promise that they would fight to come home to you, that they would try to make it back. There were still two mugs of tea on the countertop in the mini kitchen, and although it was disgusting and the tea had gone bad, you couldn’t bring yourself to clean them up. If that was the last thing they ever touched with you, when they were just Wanda and Natasha and not Avengers, you wanted the picture of mismatched mugs burned into your eyelids for the rest of your life. They deserved to be remembered as real, genuine, soft and stubborn, sometimes infuriating but lovable and loved people, not just heroes who had a cause when things went south.

You tossed and turned for probably an hour, groaning in annoyance for how empty your bed felt without them. How had you gotten so attached? That was the one thing you’d tried your hardest not to do when you got into this, and yet here you are, in Natasha’s t-shirt and Wanda’s panties, unable to sleep because the bed feels too cold and the walls feel too big and the room feels too empty and your heart feels misplaced. You’d heard somebody say love is golden once, not burning red, and you’d never understood that until a moment like this a few years ago, when Natasha left for the first time and you were utterly alone in the tower. They were golden, they were light, they were pouring rain in the middle of the day with the sun shining and not a cloud in sight, and they are the best moments of your life that you wish you could frame in a moving picture, because no, a picture can’t say a million words when it’s them. You need every word in the dictionary and then some. You will never be able to elaborate on how much you love them without falling short, and feeling like there's still so much you could’ve said. Everything felt so gray without them. It had to be after three in the morning when you finally fell asleep, probably closer to four, but you didn’t think about how long you’d been waiting up for them, just flopped onto your back and sprawled out like a starfish, and let sleep take over so you could have a few hours without consciously missing them. Missing them was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do.

You’re pulled from your sleep by hushed voices and a door closing, convinced that the hinges are louder at inappropriate times just to spite you. You try to ignore it at first, finally in a comfortable position and getting some rest after a long day of running trials with Cho, but the noises persist despite your displeasure. A sound between a groan and a whine is extracted from your chest when something bumps into the bed, and any thought of going back to sleep leaves your mind. Unlike your girlfriends who can sleep through a natural disaster and fall asleep again if god forbid it wakes them up, once your eyes open you’re awake for the day, and it seems like this is where your day starts.

Although with blurred vision from the very few hours of sleep in your eyes, you’re able make out Wanda hunched over the bed, grasping at her side that is noticeably bloody, while Natasha is digging through the drawers to your left probably attempting to find a loose fitting top for Wanda to change into. All exhaustion leaves your body at the sight of them, and you spring up, rubbing your eyes with a wince as they burn in disagreement with your current state of consciousness. Wanda’s head snaps up, on high alert, but she forces her shoulders to relax when she realizes that it’s just you and not a threat.

“Sorry, we didn’t want to wake you.” She apologizes weakly, through clenched teeth and apparent sleepiness. You wonder when the last time they got a decent amount of rest, when they weren’t looking over their shoulders in paranoia or tossing and turning in pain from an injury that couldn’t be properly treated, but you force yourself to not dwell on it too much. You can’t change the past, and neither can they, all that matters is how they recover, and how they need you to help them heal from everything they were exposed to while in Russia. You’re the clean up, another factor that nobody considers while talking about how romantic and protected you must feel having two superheroes as partners. If anything, you feel more exposed. Like all eyes are on you and a monster is always lurking in the room over.

“No, no that’s okay. I only went to sleep a few hours ago, anyway. Here.” You know that the shirt Natasha is probably looking for is the one currently on your body, and you offer it to Wanda with no hesitation, already making a b-line for her when she just barely has the strength to reach for it herself. You pull the bloodied top over her head gently, thankful that the blood it’s soaked with is dry, and her wound is covered in gauze, meaning they’d probably stopped by the medbay before they made their way in here. “A little banged up, aren’t you?” You comment, although it's rhetorical and you know she won’t tell you how it happened just yet. That usually comes a few days after the mission, when the trauma isn’t so fresh and they’re not still on edge that something else is coming for them. You help her out of her pants as well, thanking Natasha when she hands you a fresh pair of undergarments to pull up Wanda’s legs before you even have to ask.

“We’re still in one piece.” Natasha promises, coming up behind you and wrapping her arms around your waist. She’s tense all over, but she does her best to relax as she holds you, grounding herself in the moment and not the nightmares that have been going around in circles in her mind since getting on the quinjet to come home. “We missed you.” She kisses the skin beneath your ear, lingering for a few seconds before she untangles herself completely and gets ready for bed herself.

“That’s all that matters.” You reassure her, pecking Wanda’s lips gently, knowing she doesn’t have the energy or the strength to match any moment of passion right now. It’s not something that bothers you, maybe it used to, just the slightest bit, but it’s a routine you’re used to now. “I missed you too.”

“I told Steve we’re not taking any missions for a while. Especially not together.” Natasha hands you another one of her tops to slip into, and watches you throw Wanda’s bloodied one into the garbage beside your vanity. She won’t wear it again, not when it’s got so much history now, even if you could get the blood stain out. Again, it’s a routine you’ve found comfort in. The clothes they return home in almost always end up in the garbage, no time for working through PTSD that’s stitched into the fabric when you can just get something new to start fresh in.

“That’s good. I heard from Maria how tough this one was. I don’t know if I slept much the first few days.” You hate to worry them, or make them feel bad, but they hate when you’re not honest with them, and there’s nothing any of you can do about them being sent out on missions, so it’s not like you’re haroboring negative feelings toward them directly, which they understand, but your girlfriends do a great job of beating themselves up about certain things out of their control, this being one of them.

“Or at all. We still have cameras, you know.” Natasha muses, thoroughly amused when you turn a deep shade of crimson and kick Wanda’s discarded pants up toward her. Your other girlfriend, who has been noticeably quiet through the entire exchange, is curled up in bed, looking unbothered by the conversation but intent on finally getting some sleep in her own bed without the possibility of being blown to bits by the enemy.

“Spying on me, are you Romanoff?” You tease, shutting all the drawers Natasha left open and picking up all of her discarded clothes to throw them in the bin as well. She thanks you silently with her eyes that are practically bleeding with pain and adoration, but you don’t say anything. This is the least you can do for them right now.

“Gotta keep an eye on my girl.” Although it’s an easy statement, you know that it’s riddled with nothing but genuine anxiety. Both of your girlfriends are worrywarts when it comes to leaving you alone, for any amount of time but especially undetermined chunks like this mission, and although its heartwarming to be so cared for, it breaks your heart to know that they have valid reasons to be afraid. Another thing nobody even considers when they make comments toward your relationship. Wanda makes a huffing sound beside Natasha and both of your lips twitch in amusement, “On one of my girls, sorry, malysh.”

“You both should get some rest.” You comment, seeing that almost an hour has passed since they stumbled in. You won’t be able to fall asleep again, and even if you could, you’re apprehensive to crawl into bed with Wanda and accidentally hurt her more, so you have all intentions of wishing them a goodnight and going to finally clean up the mugs of tea that are resting on the counter.

“Where are you going?” Natasha wonders, watching you closely, like she’s scared that you’re going to fall apart right in front of her. You hate these moments, when they’re first getting back and they still feel like they’re stranded in a battlefield. It takes days to get back to some kind of normalcy without walking on eggshells, and by that time, they’re usually cleared to start training again and working their strength up for the next mission. One day, you just want to be done, but they’re not ready yet and that's okay.

“To clean up the tea mugs you left before you went. I didn’t have the heart to clean them up, in case…” You train off, but Natasha knows what you’re going to say and her face sinks even deeper.

“In case we didn’t come back.” She finishes your thought, hand rubbing Wanda’s back now that the woman is on her belly, seeking pressure against her wound that’s probably aching beneath the gauze. She shouldn’t be putting any pressure on it, but you’re not about to scold her right now. She needs to be comfortable, any torn stitches can easily be mended tomorrow morning when she’s well rested.

“Yeah.” You breathe out, releasing the tension that gathered in your shoulders at the simple thought of losing them. They’re okay this time, you can let go of all that pent up anxiety and dread for the time being. But it crosses your mind that there's always next time, and they might not get so lucky.

“Will you stay with me? Please?” Wanda asks, voice muffled by the pillow her face is pressed into, her arms beneath her head as she gives Natasha full access to her back, and the aching muscles that have probably been pulled a couple thousand times since leaving. Natasha works harder at releasing some of that tension, looking at you with broken eyes that you can’t say no too. Your worries are squandered when Wanda speaks again, lifting her head just enough to be able to see your face, peering into your eyes with a passion and seriousness that burns you inside. “You won’t hurt me, stop thinking that. I just want to hold my girl.”

“Ahem.” Natasha clears her throat, and Wanda lets the slightest smile pull her tired lips upward.

“One of my girls, sorry, detka.” She apologies before dropping her face back into the pillow, tightening her grip on it when Natasha hits a sore spot in her back. The redhead keeps at it, knowing how easily the Sokovian can pull her muscles when she’s lifting heavy things with just her tendrils.

“Are my thoughts that loud?” You ask meekly, abandoning your intention of straightening up the kitchen and instead coming closer to the end bed, still without pants and just Natasha’s shirt that hangs to your mid thigh.

Natasha stops rubbing Wanda’s back in order to grab at your thighs and pull you closer, rubbing the skin of your legs the same way she had been rubbing Wanda’s back. Though she’ll never admit it, you and Wanda have a sneaking suspicion her love language is physical touch, and that just maybe, physically feeling you both silences her anxieties over you just disappearing from her. Whatever her reason, neither of you protest, and admittedly crave her touch by the end of the night when you crawl into bed.

“Mhmm, I promise I’m okay. Doesn’t really hurt anymore, s’just sore.” She promised, sounding half asleep the longer she lays, adjusting her head so her neck is turned toward both you and Natasha, but her eyes are closed, a content smirk on her lips that only grows bigger when she hears you sigh your agreeance and then feels the bed dip with your weight as you climb into bed.

“Lay your ass down, or I’m gonna fall asleep sitting up.” Natasha scolds, playfully slapping your ass as you crawl over her and into the center of the bed, which is no longer warm from your body. You settle in between them, humming contently when Wanda loops an arm around your waist and then Natasha pulled you into her chest, your legs intertangling messily beneath the sheets.

“I missed this. I can’t sleep when you’re gone, everything feels so empty.” You admit, letting your eyes close even if you’re going to have a few hours of painful silence and stillness before you can even consider actually falling asleep.

Natasha presses her lips into your head and Wanda tightens her arm around your middle, neither saying anything, but not having to as their words and their presence says it all. Surprisingly, you fall asleep in minutes, and not a single one of you wakes up for the next ten hours, desperately needing the rest all together again.

[madockisser]

How does Cardan actually look in the books? Cuz I've seen a lot of fanart and he looks different every time. Sometimes he looks like the hottest guy I've seen and sometimes he looks like the bad guy from Lazy Town ☠️

cardan greenbriar appearance analysis!!

LMAOO thank u for the ask!!

as per usual when it comes to my character appearance analysis i can only speculate on facts rather than bias! so here’s what we know:

jude describes him as looking better than the rest (gentry children/ppl, keep in mind that the gentry are the richest most flamboyant of all the fae so this is certainly saying something) even when she has NO reason to feel that way abt him considering how he treated her, implying that he is FINE atleast according to jude’s standards!

but also according to the world of elfhame, if there is beauty, then it is great beauty, excruciating beauty that makes everything else seem dull in comparison. beauty that the mortal mind cannot comprehend, which is how jude describes him, so hes prob an absolute heartthrob, but honestly, there is no way for me to word it that will describe how good looking cardan must be.

like imagine the absolute hottest most beautiful most perfect guy ever and boom. cardan greenbriar.

secondly, she says his hair is black iridescent of a ravens wing, as black as midnight, and his eyes are tar-like, coal/crow black minus the gold around his irises. jude also mentions that when looking into them, she is hyper aware of the alienness of faerie. (is it possible his eyes are fully black? minus the golden irises?)

he has moon pale skin w scars across his chest and back, and he often wears kohl, and wears a scowl/sneer. she also says that he has high cheekbones sharp enough to cut out a girls heart (so cliche but i love to hear it)

he has soft pink lips, long fingers (which jude never fails to mention as often as she can) of which he wears many rings, most notably jude’s ruby ring and his greenbriar ring. he has long black lashes that are so long, they brush against his cheek.

his ears are pointed and usually bear jewels.

he has soft curly hair that falls in his eyes, and jude several times says he looks as though he’s just risen from a bed, so it’s messy but in a sexy way. and based on jude’s descriptions i don’t think it’s very long just bc i think it def would’ve been mentioned, this is considering holly blacks writing style, in the modern faerie tales two love interests have long hair and it is described that way, so i think he’s got a pretty basic cut, yk he’s a prince so he’s well groomed.

as for his animal trait, which all greenbriars have, he has a thin whiplike tail that curls and unfurls as such, it is hairless except for a soft tuft at the end. it sways and wags, revealing his emotions, it wraps itself around jude’s thigh and leg when they are intimate. adorable.

he smiles often, when he is nervous, and jude says he is very charming, which jude thinks is very dangerous. (👅)

jude says that if she didn’t know how cruel they all were, she would be just as in love w them as the rest of the gentry. she says that they are beautiful like blades forged in a divine fire. she also says that cardan is sickeningly handsome. she ALSO says that he is horrifically beautiful. (jude is the realest)

madoc says he is foppish (foppish meaning: a man that pays too much attention to his appearance. LOL) but tbh i think cardans just effortlessly beautiful. and no good w a sword.

we can assume in tcp that he’s pretty scrawny, lanky yk.

as for his height, a controversial topic since ppl cannot seem to decide if they want him to be short or tall, though i remain unbiased, jude is of average height, in tcp she says that she is suddenly struck down by his sheer height.

i believe somewhere it is said that he is about a head taller than her, making him about 6 foot+

as the series progress, he grows not just as a person, emotionally, but physically, as the land accepts him as the high king and he begins training w the roach.

jude mentions that she can feel the flex of his muscles beneath her hand, and she slides her hand against the flat plane of his stomach.

jude says many times how he looks the part of the high king, particularly at the end of twk, when he finally uses his high king powers against orlagh, and at this point we know that being the high king has effectively changed him since his being a prince.

he’s also given up his alcohol and never addictions by the end of the series so i don’t think at the end of the series he looks the same as he did, but that can be a biased take since we don’t know the severity of cardans addictions.

we can assume that by the end of the series he’s a bit more muscular, considering his training w the court of shadows and being king and whatnot, but body types are usually up to the reader!

anyway i skimmed by books for this ask (took me an hour but i did it for u anon) so i hope it’s well done enough, and that it answers your question!! sorry for not getting to it right away, i wanted to answer it well! 🫶🫶 posting more analyses soon i promise i have so many asks to get to, so im sorry if anyone waiting on me to answer them !!!

[redxx95]

Is Kurosawa really not Adachi's "type"?

Surprise, this essay is Adachi-focused for once 😂

In my last essay (which you can find here) I mentioned how Kurosawa thinks Adachi has a type (as in, certain traits he finds attractive) which he believes he does not fall under. In this essay I'm not only going to prove him wrong but also really examine what Adachi's "type" even really is, because I think Kurosawa is somewhat of an unreliable narrator in this.

Kurosawa's assumption

First let's take a closer look at the traits Kurosawa names when he talks about Adachi's type. In Japanese, those are 青春系 (youthful-like, which got translated as "pure and innocent vibe") 清掃 (clean, translated as "delicate") and 優しい (kind) (panels are from ch 5.5 and 18.5)

Does Kurosawa fit those traits? Well. Kinda. There's this one panel where Adachi sees him as "pure" and there's many instances where Kurosawa acts kind of childlike which one could describe as youthful/innocent, but it's not the most solid proof.

"Clean" is an easier descriptor to prove though, since Adachi calls him that multiple times, albeit not exactly the same word in Japanese. (He uses 清潔 which translates to "clean" and, funnily enough, "pure" but in the sense of perfection rather than innocence.)

And so is "kind", which is a core trait Adachi values about Kurosawa and even mentions it first when asked. (This is not super relevant but I also want to point out that the first character in Kurosawa's first name (優) is literally the kanji for "kind".)

But if you actually check whether or not Adachi ever uses these words to describe Fujisaki himself, you'll find that the only one he uses at least once is "kind", and I could only find that in the japanese version. More on that later though.

What he never calls her though is pure, youthful, innocent or delicate.

Exploring Adachi's type

So now that we established that Kurosawa's assumption is kind of shaky, let's try to figure out what traits Adachi is actually attracted to, and whether or not those can be applied to Kurosawa. Our candidates who he has shown to be interested in are as follows:

The middle school girl and the black haired woman from his nightmare/flashback, and Fujisaki.

That is… not a whole lot. Since we can basically immediately exclude the middle school girl, because we have only one panel to go off of, we're left with only two people to examine, but examine we shall nonetheless!

Let's start with the flashback woman. She does visually resemble Fujisaki quite a bit, but I believe the actual reason Adachi even considers her is because of this.

She seems (at least initially) open-minded and is the only one putting a somewhat positive spin on men with no relationship experience. She's probably displayed this trait before and that might have been why Adachi got interested in the first place. And guess who else does that, who we know Adachi is definitely interested in.

The way this is the whole reason he even realizes his feelings for Kurosawa is also very telling. I think that for him looks take a backseat in favor of personality. He's pointed out the conventional attractiveness of the women in Toyokawa before but he never shows any actual interest in them.

Here he also points out their prettiness but is immediately scared off when he learns of their thoughts about him. The only one we see him actually interested in is Fujisaki, whose looks are more on the average side but whose thoughts never get nasty and insulting like the ones he hears from the pretty women. … which is also a thing he values about Kurosawa, and he even tells him that directly in ch 34 when they have their heart-to-heart pre-first time. And it's funny because in the beginning he does expect him to have a "nasty personality", probably because he's so used to good looking people being like that.

In conclusion: The reason he likes the flashback woman is not because she has pretty long black hair but because she is not mean about other people's shortcomings, which can be applied to Kurosawa as well.

Now let's look at Fujisaki and all of her interactions with Adachi and see if we can find some more of those Parallels that we love so much on this blog.

Adachi mentions that Fujisaki is cute quite often.

… which he also thinks of Kurosawa very often. There were honestly so many instances where Adachi finds him cute that I would reach the image limit on this post very quickly so have this one panel instead:

Bonus: he also very much enjoys Kurosawa's smell.

And since we're on the topic of "cute", I think a big reason why he finds her so cute is also that Fujisaki often asks Adachi for help, and as I mentioned in this essay, Adachi likes to feel needed.

Which, again, very much applies to Kurosawa, too.

Adachi also seems to appreciate that Fujisaki is a hard worker. (He doesn't know she's reading yaoi on company time though.)

And once again, he states this to be something he likes about Kurosawa as well.

Another descriptor he likes to use for her is "good". This often means "kind" in the japanese version, which I already elaborated on above. (For example in the panel below "nice" is "kind" in the original.) But there's also plenty of times he calls Kurosawa a "good guy" (i.e. "kind")

I know I said before that visuals don't matter as much to him but these parallels are just too funny not to include. Flower backgrounds for the pretty people 💐

Bonus Mari in here because I think it's cute how he blushes at her. Both Kurosawas are simply too much for this bisexual disaster man.

And apparently he's also just really into very shiny people.

So now that I've really hammered my point home that Kurosawa is just as much Adachi's type as any of his other interests, let's think about why there's even such a discrepancy between what Kurosawa assumes and what actually is. I think it's because his only point of reference for Adachi's interest in romantic partners is Fujisaki. What he doesn't consider, however, is that Fujisaki never tried to put up a perfect front around Adachi the way he did. Adachi has had the chance to see Fujisaki fail and find that immediately endearing, whereas with Kurosawa he had to first get magic mind reading powers to get to that same point. At least they got there eventually 🫶

Ok I'm finally done rambling, this thing got way too long again 😩

Are YOU Adachi's type? 🫵 Tell me about it in the comments!

[abyss-is-lame]

ZZZ headcanons part TWO: ships, sexualities, and pronouns edition

if you're just interacting to hate, dni with this post! (also there might already be canon ships, i have not finished the game yet) - Belle X Nicole: hear me out okay- 'barely hanging on business' owner x a girl in a bunch of debt, what could go wrong amirite? /ot These goobers are so painfully gay and trying to keep their relationship a secret, but literally EVERYONE knows they're together, and when they reveal the 'surprise' that they're dating, everyone's just like "whoa thats crazy i didn't know." Also they cause so much chaos - Anby X Nekomata: These little shits are my entire life force. Anby will go out of her way to make time in her schedule so she can go get food a sea food restaurant to give to Nekomata if Nekomata's hungry, no hesitation, will get anything her girlfriend desires. and Nekomata will pay her back by curling up on her lap and sleeping - Ellen {adult} X Rina: Ellen has anger issues and the only way to control her is Rina physically holding her back to stop her from starting fights lmao. Rina treats Corin like her daughter because of how fragile Corin is, and so Ellen has decided she's Corin's other mom. Why? idk - Wise: something about Wise radiates either violently gay, or aroace and i honestly can't tell. He/They - Belle: Omnisexual, loves everyone with a slight fem lean, is the kind of person to see a pretty person walking down the street and falling in love instantly. She/Xer - Billy: Gay. Just violently, violently gay. He/It - Anby: Questioning, can't tell if she likes women, men, both, or every gender, confused as hell. She/They/Xem - Nicole: Lesbian, average woman enjoyer and we stan cyber so very much. She/It/Cyber -Nekomata: Pan! she also hits people with pans if she so desires. She/They/It -Grace: Lesbian, also radiates insane girl energy and we love her for that She/Her -Koleda: Biromatic asexual, has absolutely 0 relationship experience. She/Claw -Ben: Aroace, doesn't really care about relationships much and isn't interested in having one. He/It -Anton: *jumps down from a counter* "I'M GAY" He/Him -Ellen: Disaster gynesexual. That's it. lmao- She/Fin -Rina: A bi ✨queen✨ fr She/Her -Corin: Questioning, is just trying to function like a proper human and doesn't have the ability to think about it too hard She/Her -Lycaon: Demisexual, is pretty cautious by nature and doesn't trust easily, likes every gender tho He/They/It -Soldier 11: Lesbian demisexual, has the fear instilled in her that dating without knowing someone very well will lead to betrayal. She/Her -Soukaku: Aroace, doesn't care about relationships just wants food. She/It

[ponett]

I have now finally seen the Mario movie. It was Pretty Good. Here are my wordy thoughts on it. (I am going to spoil the entire movie. Duh.)

In many ways, the Mario movie does what I wish the first Sonic movie had done. They just took the characters and the premise and the world from the games, and made it a straightforward animated adventure movie. It's bright and colorful and remixes things JUST enough to include fun elements from multiple games, and it doesn't make Mario get adopted by James Marsden or whatever. It even has the music!

That's all you really need, right? Right...?

I'll get this out of the way up front. Chris Pratt was fine. He's fine

If anything, it really feels like they did the movie a disservice by letting us hear so little of the Mario voice in the previews. It took one scene for Pratt to disappear into the role for me. It was totally fine. If anything, I found Charlie Day's normal voice coming out of Luigi WAY more distracting, even if I did like him in the role.

Everyone else was pretty good, for the most part. Jack Black was obviously very good as Bowser, but I'm biased. Seth Rogen does the Seth Rogen laughs as Donkey Kong, but I thought DK was fun, too. (I liked his little rivalry with Mario where he was just constantly giving him shit.) The only casting choice I truly hated was Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. I hated every line that came out of his mouth. He sounds atrocious. Just the worst. I swear to fucking god if they do a DKC movie and we have to hear him for 90 minutes

I did think Peach was lacking, but that was on the script, not Anya Taylor-Joy's performance. It's cool to see Peach fight, but it's one of those all too common instances where the writers put so much effort into making the main girl kick ass and be an effortlessly confident girlboss that they forgot to give her an actual personality. Not that I'd point to Super Princess Peach and its mood swing superpowers as positive representation or anything, but there's a happy middle ground, surely. Shrek was 22 years ago, just having the princess do flying kung fu kicks isn't enough.

Okay. With the voices out of the way, let's talk about the big picture:

It's way better than the words "Illumination Mario movie" implied, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. The spirit of Mario is there 100%. But I'd also describe it as "ruthlessly efficient."

This was perhaps the main complaint critics had, and they were absolutely right. People have responded to these totally average reviews with "Well, what did you expect? Shakespeare?! It's MARIO!!" Like, yes, I would prefer it if the movie I paid to see had writing that was good instead of bad. What a shocker. My issue isn't that it's not "high-brow" enough. The problem is that it feels mercenary. It feels like an editor went through and deleted almost every line of dialogue that isn't some form of exposition, at the expense of the pacing. Any scene that's not a montage or some sort of action is kept as short as they could make it, with barely any room for embellishment, character interaction, or anything other than the bare minimum word count to hit all the typical Save the Cat Hollywood screenwriting 101 story beats to the letter. There aren't even as many jokes as you might think (and the ones that are there are extremely hit or miss, including a lot of the slapstick with Mario himself).

Mario and Peach's little arc together in the front half of the film is probably the worst example of this pacing. Even having read reviews that complained about how fast Peach goes from meeting Mario (by her admission the first other human she's ever met) to deciding to train him as the new savior of the Mushroom Kingdom, I was SHOCKED at how fast it was. They don't even lampshade it.

Peach takes Mario straight into the big training sequence where he learns how to use mushrooms and jump over platforming obstacles. Peach is apparently already a hypercompetent platforming pro and a great fighter, so there's no clear reason why she's taking the time to train this random guy to be half as good as her when the world is in danger. Then they set off on their adventure, Toad joins them, and we get a VERY brief travel montage. It's about thirty seconds total - just long enough to give Peach a line about how she wants to protect this beautiful world of hers to try and give her some stakes. We get the genre-mandated nighttime campfire heart to heart, which is exactly long enough to have Mario say he misses Luigi and to have Peach give the two sentence summary of her origin story and not a second longer. Then they reach the Kongs, and their big journey is complete. (They barely interact for the rest of the movie.) So much of the movie is like this - always ready to get on to the next scene as soon as a new one starts.

I'm not criticizing the script because I expect The Super Mario Bros. Movie to be a prestige drama - although there are certainly halfhearted attempts at a dramatic arc. The stuff with Mario's family was a fun enough idea, but again, ruthless efficiency. We get one quick scene with them at the start to give Mario some pathos, because I guess Save the Cat said he's gotta have some pathos. And then Mario gets his dad's approval amidst the action of the final battle in Brooklyn to resolve his arc, just so the movie can end as quickly as possible once Bowser is defeated. (Despite now having the approval of their family and their community back in Brooklyn, Mario and Luigi move to the Mushroom Kingdom off-screen without a single word dedicated to this decision, because that's where they live in the games.)

Look. I am not comparing it to The Godfather. Don't give me that shit. I am not asking for an extra half hour to explore Mario and Luigi's childhood trauma. I am not asking for the complex inner workings of the Mushroom Kingdom monarchy. I know this is gonna be a basic Hero's Journey adventure for kids. It just feels like it's turning down so many opportunities to have a little fun with the characters, to let them interact and play off of each other, to let there be some adventure on this adventure. This is the first time we've gotten to see these characters interact with fully voiced dialogue in a very, very long time! "Yeah, it's not High Art, but it's FUN!" Stories are fun! Character interactions are fun! The script could be having so much more fun!! It is adamantly against making the Story parts of this story-driven movie any more Fun than they functionally need to be!!!

Mario, Peach, and Toad's journey to find the Kongs is shorter than the training montage that precedes it. After the opening, Bowser mostly just sits in his castle and waits for the third act to start. Luigi's there, too, but he only gets one scene with Bowser and then the movie mostly forgets he exists until the climax. He doesn't even get to try and sneak out of Bowser's castle and get up to hijinx. He's just there to be a motivation for Mario, so he sits in a cage for half the movie. It's the bare outline of a script with action scenes added in.

Aside from the fact that it's Jack Black singing as Bowser, I feel like this overly-efficient script might be part of the reason why the "Peaches" scene stands out so much. It's a moment that didn't strictly need to be there to keep the plot moving or to provide an action setpiece. It's not even a reference to another Mario thing. It's just a fun and memorable little character moment that's there for its own sake. That's what the movie needed more of. To stop and smell the roses more often. To play in the space.

To be clear, this isn't a unique problem with this movie. Critics have been noting for years that second acts are disappearing from big Hollywood movies in favor of the Act I plot setup and the Act III action, even though Act II is supposed to be where you get to explore your actual premise. And lots of animated movies give me this exact same vibe of being too "screenwriterly," or feeling like they had an executive breathing down their necks and demanding changes based on focus testing. But these common issues are why I come away mostly feeling like the movie is on the better end of "average," rather than totally blowing my mind. You have seen this movie many times before, just not with Mario in it.

And, of course, there's the music. The score by Brian Tyler based on various classic Mario and Donkey Kong tunes (frustratingly all attributed to Koji Kondo) is absolutely beautiful, but it's unfortunately frequently overshadowed by the licensed music. Everyone already complained about things like the use of Take On Me in place of a lovingly arranged DKC medley, but it feels illustrative of the tug of war the movie is caught in the middle of, between wanting to be a lavishly faithful Mario movie and wanting to be a generic tentpole animated adventure movie. Every single licensed song used is the most obvious, overused song they could have picked for the scene. It reeks of cynical executive meddling and it took me out of the movie every time.

But there really was a lot of care and love put into this movie - more than probably any other video game movie ever made, not that that's a high bar. I don't want to underplay that too much amidst all my complaints spurred by the absolutely insane response to the reviews.

Aside from the countless background references that people will be picking apart for years, touches like the Captain Toad tune playing in the background of Toad's introduction or the Mario Kart 8 menu music playing in the kart garage really help bring it to another level of authenticity. I also enjoyed seeing some more obscure Mario enemies that felt like they were picked more for being fun to animate than for being nostalgic and marketable. No matter how many times I sarcastically pointed to the screen and deadpanned "reference. reference." I am not immune to noticing these things and smiling. I am not immune to the DK Rap. These alone don't make the movie good, but it's nice to have a video game movie that feels like it was made by people who like video games.

Most importantly, the animation is great throughout. It's leaps and bounds ahead of other Illumination work, and it's the best the Mario cast has ever looked. They even made Donkey Kong handsome, somehow. They're all so squishy and expressive, and they move so fluidly - especially in the action scenes. I particularly liked the more kinetic ones like the aerial Banzai Bill chase and the Mario Kart sequence. Truly, the Mad Max-inspired car battle on Rainbow Road where Mario literally does the speedrun shortcut is this movie firing on all cylinders.

Other, more hand-to-hand fights nail the Popeye-esque vibe Mario should be going for. He's an underdog who gets the shit kicked out of him by bigger, stronger opponents until he gets his signature powerup and turns the tables on them. My favorite animation of all probably came from the use of Cat Mario to turn the tide in the DK fight. They had so much fun making Mario move like a cat. Again, it feels like a choice made because it'd be fun to animate rather than just a nostalgia move.

It's that animation and that attention to detail that carry the film, really. They elevate it from mediocrity into being a fun watch for a fan like me, albeit one I couldn't help but pick apart with Anthony as we watched it at home. I'm glad I saw it, but there's a lot of room to improve with the inevitable sequel. I hope they do. I can't deny that I had fun with the movie, but I hope next time that fun is partially because of the script instead of in spite of it.

Stray thoughts:

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the movie a lot more than Sonic 1, but probably not as much as Sonic 2. Not that these movies need to be pitted against each other.

I hated the Luma. I hated how hilarious they clearly thought the Luma was. They have the fucking Luma break the fourth wall to end the movie and start the credits. This is going to be a deep cut for fans of bad animated films, but the whole time I was just thinking of the little fish from Romeo & Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss who's just the director's kid saying random nonsense. You know I'm right

I rolled my eyes at the "our princess is in another castle" joke and several other jokes that would have been dated in a gamer webcomic 20 years ago but I guess they had to be there

How much of Brooklyn did Bowser's giant floating castle take out? We know 9/11 happened in this universe because the Freedom Tower is there, hasn't New York been through enough

I can't believe there's a Diskun easter egg

The dog is the most Illumination character design in the movie. It felt like it wandered on set from The Secret Life of Pets

Mario being a gamer and playing Kid Icarus of all things just made me remember this tweet:

Yes Anthony did get mad at me for being thirsty for Bowser

[lookatmysillies]

In this edition of ALIEN STAGE Magazine, we have an exclusive interview with Himei and Min, sweethearts of this season’s competition and Round 4 opponents! Readers now have the chance to get to know their favorites better.

You’re both quite popular among fans! Why do you think that is? That is to say, what sets you apart from other contestants?

HIMEI: I would say… my experience, all my hard work. I’m sure my fans can see how long of a road it’s been to get here and I think there’s a natural appreciation that comes with that.

MIN: Well, that's a pretty easy one for me. I was the winner of the last season, after all! They put me in young, since I had already had training prior to being enrolled into ANAKT Garden. People have called me a "prodigy", so one could assume that is the reason for my popularity. As for my opponent, I'm not entirely certain what makes her stand out, she has always been just another person at ANAKT to me.

What’s your focus been since graduation? Has it been entirely on Alien Stage, or split?

HIMEI: Split. It’s important to cover my bases, you know? Alien Stage is such a huge competition, I wanted to prepare myself for this industry.

MIN: Alien Stage had always been a big part of my life, if not all of it. The only thing I care about as of right now is winning this season of Alien Stage. A winner is what I am and will continue to be. I do not have any other things in mind for myself at this moment.

Are you familiar with your opponent, having gone to Anakt Garden together?

HIMEI: I sure have seen Min around. I would say we ran in different circles, though.

MIN: Not personally, no. I am not "familiar" in that sense with just about everyone who attended ANAKT. I was always focused more on my singing and studies rather than personal relationships and peer connections.

Being one of the earlier rounds in this special 32-contestant season of ALIEN STAGE, do you think you would have preferred a later round, or do you enjoy having the chance to set the tone?

HIMEI: It might have been nice to have a few extra rounds to scope out the competition, haha! I can’t complain, though. The past three rounds have been—have been eventful, so I hope we don’t put everyone to sleep, haha…

MIN: I do not think the date of my round hinders or assists my influence. Whenever my round is, I can always captivate the audience and triumph over my opponent.

How has your guardian helped get you to this moment?

HIMEI: Oh, wow… well, Guardian Iquia has always believed in cultivating my natural talents. She sent me to the great Anakt Garden when she recognized that she could not further my skills like Anakt Garden could, and for that I am forever grateful. …She’s been generous to me.

MIN: Without my early start on my training, I would not have been entered into Alien Stage last round, meaning I wouldn't have won and would not have the amount of fans that I do now. Therefore, she has had an immense role in my popularity. I owe a lot to her. She is the one who made me as perfect as I am now.

I have to ask… are the accommodations for the competitors really as glamorous as I hear? If so, you must be swimming in luxury.

HIMEI: Haha, certainly! I have my own room and everything. I do wish the curfew wasn’t so strict, though. I’d love to chat before bed. I’m a talker.

MIN: I was raised in a glamorous establishment, these accommodations are the average for me.

What would it mean for you to move on to the next round?

HIMEI: It would mean everything to me. All I can hope is that the stars will align for me tonight. I’ll be singing for my lucky stars, that’s for sure.

MIN: It would mean that I am consistent in my popularity and performance quality. It would also mean that I am still the best there is. I don't even have to worry about losing, though, so I don't know why I bothered to answer this question. Next, please.

Do you have anything to say to your opponent?

HIMEI: Let’s make it a night to remember, alright?

MIN: So sorry to see you go. See you at our round, dear. *she makes a heart with her fingers, grinning snarkily at the camera*

(Tagging @season39 if you want to reblog this to the official account! @starry-skiez helped me with this big time, they wrote all of Min's responses!)

[aleksanderscult]

I don't understand how Leigh Bardugo could write something as bad as King of Scars and a trilogy as average and problematic in its messages as Grisha ?!

Knowing that she also wrote Six of Crows which was very good for me, limits most people to only knowing that about the Grishaverse (even if, if you take it in the context of the original trilogy, that makes the fate of the Grisha and of the Darkling even worse)... The Language of Thorns with some really cool stories, the Demon in The Wood (which makes you wonder even more why the Darkling is supposed to be the fucking bad guy in the original trilogy and die at the end ?!). Not forgetting recently The Ninth House which has 2 very good volumes and the beginning of The Familiar.

I have a hard time understanding how she can produce good things and such bad things.

I hear that not everyone is perfect, but for me the gap is still huge.

And the most paradoxical thing is that while she seems to gradually improve her way of writing, at no time does she acknowledge having made questionable choices in the writing of Grisha ?

Just see her attempt at moralizing backpedaling with the King of Scars duology...

TW!: Genocide

I don't think she knows or even cares about how genocide and prejudice in real life are not how she portrays them. And they definitely don't vanish by magical means. Clearly she put them in her story as a dramatic effect but she handled it with such unrealism and carelessness that makes you wonder what was the point of putting such issues in her book in the first place. She places such importance to the romance part (Mal × Alina, Kaz × Inej, Nina × Matthias) that the problems of her world take a third place in her books.

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom weren't such flawed because the heroes there did some personal jobs and didn't have a humanitarian goal. Kaz, in particular, has made it clear that he doesn't give a fuck about the world, only about his pocket. So they were some pretty straightforward books and well-written enough that you cannot see the issues.

But in the trilogy we have this huge war going on while the protagonist wails about her love interest, kills her enemy at his weakest (so no flex of her powers against him) and other people vanish the Fold for her.

In the duology Bardugo wanted to get back to her own readers:

- "People dislike Zoya. Hmm... Let's make her Suli with a very sad background. Also let's make her the most important character among the heroes just for these haters to shut up. Because if they don't, they'll be racists and misogynists"

- "People love the Darkling. Hmm.... Let's remind those readers of mine what he has done by having Zoya conjure up every delulu thought about him. Also let's have Mal, Alina, Zoya, Nikolai and freaking Misha make him shut up and look stupid"

- "Ah shit they love Aleksander too much. Ok how about this. I'm gonna make the Starless Cult out of them to prove how blind they look"

- "People didn't like the R&R ending. Hmm.... Let's bring Alina back and have her say how happy and peaceful she feels with her current state"

- "People hate Mal. Hmm... Let's have him be likable and funny while thwarting Aleksander's comments like a pro. It's not like he isn't a hot-tempered guy or smth"

(and about bringing the Darkling back, this was lazy writing. Instead of making the heroes face new foes from the north and south, she recycled villains)

By the way, when the TV adaptation of S&B came out she said that she wanted to fix the diversity. Can you imagine that? Not book!Alina as a character, not the trilogy's ending (not protesting on that cruel scene on the show where the Crows gleefully kill the Grisha that stood with the Darkling) but the diversity. Season two's ending was the showrunner's idea as well as Mal's change of personality, not Bardugo's.

Anyway, she should stay on writing short stories. I really love the Language of Thorns and Demon in the Wood so why ruin your fictional world further?

[vanfleeter]

Bound For Earth: Chapter 7

Characters: Jake Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Sam Kiszka, Daniel Wagner (briefly), Marlie Warnings: 18+ || Language. Fluff. Brother banter. Angst. Self doubt. Relationship doubt. Frustration. Jealousy. Anger. Smut. Talk of sex. Allusions to m/m sex. Penetrative sex. Oral sex (f receiving). (i think i missed something so let me know so i can add it)

Bound For Earth Masterlist

We talked nearly every day, There some days where I wouldn't hear from her at all. Almost every single time we were on video chat, she was either sweaty or just getting out of the shower. I knew better than to push it if I asked so I kept quiet. It couldn’t be that bad.. Maybe I’m just overthinking it and she really is just running every day. Nothing wrong with that. After all, I’ve been doing it too.

After I finish with work, I’ve been running and working up my endurance to Earth’s gravity. If I want to go back there, I have to make sure that my body can last for more than three days. And if sex is the problem, then I’m screwed. That’s one of many basic human needs. It’s not necessarily important, but it just feels intimate and meaningful. I know most people do it just to do it because it just feels good. Of course it feels good. But for me, it makes me feel closer to her.

Considering..

I ran my personal best in the first three months that I’ve been training and not one thing has gone wrong with my body. Marvin checks my vitals and pays extra attention to my heart but he has yet to find something wrong. I felt pretty proud of myself.

These training modules were mostly designed to keep the crew in shape and to also help them stay used to the weight of the gravity on Earth. But for Josh and myself, it would be a way for us to train to get our bodies used to the pressure so that if we ever do get to go back to Earth, we’ll be better equipped and ready to handle the challenges.

They had us running a mile, testing to see how far we could make it before we passed out. The mile seemed easy enough and neither of us had any problems. So they extended it to two.. And then eventually three. Three was our limit. The minimum for an adult is one to two miles and we made it to three which apparently is still pretty good, especially for an average person.

They had us running in all different kinds of climates. Cold weather, in the heat, sometimes they’d make it rain, other days it would snow. They wanted to test our limits in the off chance that we happened to deal with any of these. The heat was their main concern with the added pressure of pushing our bodies further than they can handle. So that’s what we worked on the most. How to survive the heat.

“Stay hydrated”, was something they constantly repeated. Josh made it out to be as if we were plants. Not all plants can survive in the heat, they do need water to keep themselves alive and thriving. If we were a plant, odds are we wouldn't be a cactus. A cactus mostly thrives in heat and they can store their water for a long amount of time, whereas in most plants it can last maybe a few days at most before needing water. That is how humans are, especially on Earth.

So water is the key. Keep myself hydrated and not overwork myself to the point of death.

I had to ask about sex, preferably when there weren’t listening ears. I wanted to know if sex would be something that I’d still be able to do. Lucky for me, I can. “Know your limits,” Ivan told me after one of our mile runs. “If you’re feeling tired or out of breath, slow down or even stop for a little bit. Sex doesn’t need to be fast, it’s just what some bodies crave. You and your brother have different body types than an average human. Both of us need to take your time.”

When he told me sex is different up here than down there really got my brain thinking. Oh god.. Do they actually have sex here?

“Is it easier here?”

Ivan chuckles. “I’d say so. There’s a lighter atmosphere here so it’s not so strenuous. You sweat less and you can endure a little longer.”

“Is that why you never left on the last transport?” I tease.

He chuckles. “I like it better up here, that’s all.”

I unintentionally found out why he preferred to stay here versus going back to Earth. When I was walking past Josh’s cabin on the way to the training module, I could hear noises from inside. And he says I’m loud. We’re twins, we both are apparently.

It wasn't until an hour later when I was coming back that way to go to my cabin when I saw Ivan leaving Josh’s cabin. I quickly hid back around the corner, hoping that neither of them saw me. I peer back around the corner to make sure Ivan was gone. Seeing that he was, I quickly rush down the hall to Josh’s cabin and grab hold of the door before it slides shut.

“Okay, you have a lot of explaining to do,” I say, nearly making him jump with fright.

“Fucking hell, Jake!” He exclaims.

“Come on, spill..” I say as I lean against his desk. “You and Ivan? Since when?”

Josh sighs and sits down on the bed. “When we got back from Earth, he umm.. He was the person I felt comfortable talking with. After everything that happened, I just needed someone to talk to and he was there. It wasn’t anything but just a friend listening to a friend talk. But then we eventually learned that we kind of like each other.”

“Obviously it moved onto something more.” I could see his cheeks flush slightly and I smiled. “That’s good you found someone. Does he make you happy?”

Josh nods his head. “Very.”

I pat him on the shoulder. “Well good for you. You deserve this. But damn.. An hour?”

“Shut the fuck up.” He says as he shoves me over. “It is so much easier up here. I’m telling you, if Marlie ever makes it up here, you’re gonna have to try it.”

“Never thought I’d be taking sex tips from you.”

He chuckles, “Just trust me.”

A few more weeks had gone by and the communication between Marlie and I slowly began to dwindle. She always claims to be busy and that she'll hop on a call if she can. But she never does. Eventually the communication just ended all together. I even had Josh reach out a few times from his own computer but he even came back with nothing.

“Do you think she decided this was too much?” I ask Josh. “Have I been doing too much?”

“I don’t think that’s it. People do get busy.”

“Josh, it’s been nearly a month since the last time we talked. She won’t answer my calls or respond to my messages. What if it is me? What if she decided that she didn’t want to pursue this anymore? Maybe living on different planets just isn’t working?”

“Jake, I think you’re overthinking this.”

“What else am I supposed to think?!” I exclaim, slamming my hands down on the cafeteria table. Several people look over and I huff. “Forget it..” I say as I swipe my tray off the table and stand up to leave.

“No, Jake! I didn’t mean it like that!”

Overthinking. I’m overthinking? Seriously, what else am I supposed to think?

Stepping into my cabin, I flop down on the bed and rest my arms over my head. What if she did decide that and just not tell me? That’d be a shit thing to do. What if she found someone else?

Oh god, thinking about her with someone only makes my blood boil. Fuck.. Am I seriously jealous over something that most likely isn’t even true? Though I wouldn’t blame her. Anyone down there can give her everything that I can’t. Maybe I am overthinking all of this. Maybe she is just busy. But even then, why not just tell me?

So instead of thinking about her, I do what I always do to keep myself distracted. Burying myself into my work. For days on end, I’d only leave my cabin to eat and to train for a couple hours, but aside from that, I’d be holed up in my cabin and working on coding programs and classifying files.

Eventually days turned into weeks of doing the same routine.

Wake up.

Eat breakfast.

Train for a couple of hours.

Dive into work for five hours.

Take a break to eat lunch.

Get back into work for a few more hours.

Then shower.

And go to bed.

Day after day, week after week, which then turned into month after month. I would try to reach out to Marlie maybe once or twice a week, but still I got no response back and my calls still went unanswered. Eventually I gave up altogether. As much as it hurt to let go and just move on, I still loved her. She made my first experience on Earth a wonderful time even with the short amount I got to spend there. I’d be forever grateful for that and for her.

One afternoon while I’m training, Josh bursts into the room, the slamming of the door echoing through the chamber. “The cruiser’s coming in!” He exclaims. “Come on!”

“Josh, it’s just the same–”

“Quit being mopey, Jake. It’s tradition, we have to greet everyone regardless!” He grabs my hands and pulls me off the treadmill.

He drags me through the corridors and until we’re gathering with the rest of the crew by the launchpads. Of course we were stuck in the back, yet again. He was uncharacteristically buzzing with excitement. I’ve never seen him this excited for a crew to come in. Ivan was still here so he can’t be excited about him. So why–

“There they are!” Josh exclaims as he rises on his tip toes. “Sam!”

Sam?

I whip my head around and rise on my toes to get a better look over everyone else. Sure enough there was Sam with a bright smile on his face as he waved enthusiastically at us.

“You made it!” Josh says as they hug. “How was the trip?”

“A blast! You know.. Skim milk really isn’t all that bad.” He chuckles before turning towards me and pulling me in for a hug. “It’s so great to finally see you all again!”

I embrace him in a hug too. “I had no idea you were coming, but it’s great to see you.”

“Well, it’s been tough keeping it a secret.” Sam says when we pull apart. “We wanted to surprise you, knowing you were kind of struggling to adjust to being back up here.”

“Oh dude, this place looks so cool!” I hear Danny exclaim as he comes up beside Sam. “Josh! Jake! So good to see you again!”

“You came too?” I laugh. “Did Dad come?”

“Uh duh!” Sam laughs. “He’s somewhere in there with Mom,” He says, waving his hand over to the crowded corridor. “You have to show me that space car…” Sam begins to say as my attention drifts back over to the doors.

That’s when I see a familiar face stepping out of the cruiser and onto the landing. She was looking around, over the sea of heads before our eyes finally locked. A smile spreads across her face and she starts to weave her way through the crowd. My feet were frozen in place, and I couldn’t move. I had to have been dreaming. She can’t be here. Is this even real?

Soon she’s making it through the back of the crowd and throwing her arms around me. My heart is racing in my chest. She’s here. She’s really here.

When I bring my arms up to wrap around her, all of the walls I had built up over the last handful of months break in a million pieces and I clutch her to my body, afraid that if I let go this will all be fake and I’ll wake up and all of this will have just been a dream. I bury my face into the crook of her neck as the tears wash down my cheeks.

That’s why she was silent all this time. She was coming here. She came up here for me.

We pull away only slightly to get a good look at each other. “Oh Jake,” She giggles as she reaches up to wipe her hands over my cheeks. “I’ve missed you so much.” I couldn’t speak. My voice was in my throat. She reaches up on her toes and brings her mouth close to my ear. “Let’s go somewhere private.” She lowers back down and nods her head, hoping for me to agree.

Taking her hand in mine, I pull her away from the crowd and through the corridors to my cabin. Reaching my door, I slide it open and pull her inside. Before the door was even closed all the way, I grabbed her face in my hands and I kissed her. She smiles against my lips and wraps her arms around my waist.

I backed up towards the bed and pulled her down onto my lap. She straddles my waist and keeps kissing me.

“I have missed you so much,” She says when she pulls away. “I’m so sorry for keeping you in the dark, but I really wanted to surprise you. You really thought I wouldn’t want you anymore?”

“How did–” I sigh. “Josh..”

She giggles and nods her head. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to talk to you but I knew I'd ruin it.. Especially if we were on a video call. You’d figure it out immediately.” She kisses me back and gently nudges me down on my back.

“You came up here..”

“I figured that since you might not be able to come back to Earth, I’d come to you.” She kisses me again and gently grinds her hips down against mine. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

I reach for the zipper on her suit and slowly I pull it down revealing nothing underneath. She giggles when my jaw slowly falls open. “I was hoping for quite the reunion.”

“Then that is what you shall get,” I chuckle before sitting up and taking her off my lap.

Within minutes we were both naked and under the covers of my bed. Feeling her again felt so good and so wanted. I missed the soft skin of her body against mine. I missed everything.

Laying her on her back, I leave a trail of kisses down her neck and to her chest. She moans sweetly as I wrap one of her breasts in my mouth and massage the other in my hand. I swirl my tongue around her breast as I suck on it before eventually releasing it and kissing further down her body. Sliding beneath the covers, I kiss between her legs and she grabs a fistful of my hair in her hand as the other one slams flat against the wall of the cabin.

“God… Jake!” She exclaims when I dip my tongue past her folds and through her entrance. I accompany my tongue with a finger and she moans out loud again as her grip on my hair increases. “Please don’t stop..”

I don’t plan on it.

Her back arches up from the bed as I drag my finger down her soaked walls. Eventually I have her crying out my name again as she tightens her thighs around my head. Her release pours out of her and I take in every single drop she gives. Once I lick it all clean, I slowly make my way back up her body before kissing her.

“You still sound so beautiful,” I say as I grind my hips against her.

Her teeth dig into her bottom lip and she pushes her hips upwards to meet mine. “Can we try something?” I ask.

“Anything,” She says.

I give her one more kiss and pull away. Leaning back on the heels of my feet, I grab hold of her hips and gently turn her over onto her stomach.

“Oh I see what you’re getting at.” She says.

“Have you ever done this one before?”

“Once or twice..” She says looking over her shoulder.

“Oh?” I press the pads of my fingers into her hips.

She smiles and turns her head again to look at me. “Way back in high school. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Mmhmm..” I hum as I lift her hips up and bend her knees beneath her. “Are you ready?” She nods her head. Lining myself up with her entrance, I slowly push inside of her, unsure of how the both of us would feel after so long.

“You don’t have to be gentle.” She says. “I can handle it.”

“Yeah but it’s been a while, are you–”

“Jake..” She glances over her shoulder again to look at me. “I’ve been taking care of myself.”

I pause my movements and lean over top of her. “Pardon?”

She smirks as she looks at me. “Don’t tell me you haven’t pleasured yourself up here?”

“Well..” She giggles, dropping her head forward. “But I bet it wasn’t as good as me though, right?” She shakes her head and I nod mine in intrigue. “Alright, good..”

“Are you jealous that I had to use a substitute?” She asks when I start to move again.

“Pfft,” I scoff. “No..”

“And it’s not like you could sub out with anything except your hand,” She says. “Right?”

“Definitely not.. Never even thought of that.”

“Mmhmm..”

“Why? Are you jealous?” You say as I run my hand up her back and thrust deep inside of her. “Because in my defense, I never knew it was even legal to sleep with other crew members, not that I found any of them attractive anyways.”

“Legal?”

“Yeah, you know.. They are our colleagues at this point since we technically work with them..” I pull out slightly before thrusting back inside of her. “I thought maybe it was against the rules or something–that is until I accidentally caught Ivan coming out of Josh’s room.”

“Woah, woah!” She pulls away from me and quickly turns around. “Josh and who?”

“You can’t tell anyone,” I say. “No one knows except for three of us–and now you.”

“Aww, does Josh have a boyfriend?”

I nod my head. “At least I think he might. I don’t really know the extent of it, but he’s been so good to him while I was–you know.. And he’s a really cool guy too, I like him.”

“Oh this is so fantastic!” She exclaims. “Aw, I’m happy for him.”

“Me too. Even more so because Ivan stayed behind to be with Josh when the last transport left for Earth.”

“Shut up, that is so cute!” I chuckle at her excitement and pull her onto my lap. “Today has just been a great day so far.”

“It definitely has,” I say before she kisses. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around you being here.”

“Well I’m here,” She says. “Now please, please, please no more talking..” She presses her lips to mine as she grinds her hips down on mine. “I need you..”

I kiss her again before laying her on her back. Lining myself up at her entrance, I push myself inside of her until she’s completely full of me. Slowly I roll my hips, dragging myself out before pushing back in until I create a steady rhythm. I kept at it for a little while before I pulled out and laid her back on her stomach. Inserting myself again, I clutch onto her hips as I continue to the steady pace. She’s pushing back on me, making me go deeper. She moans loudly when I press against her sweet spot.

I lean over top of her, never ceasing my movements, and I press my lips to the back of her neck.

“Jake..”

“Wait for me..” I groan against her back. “I want to go together.”

My hand flies to her head and I grab a good chunk of her hair and I move a little faster and just a tad rougher. Josh was right. It is so much easier up here. With less pressure weighing us down, I definitely felt way more relaxed.

“Jake, I need to–”

“I’m right there..” I told her. I can feel her clench around me and I can’t hold it any longer. Within a few seconds and final last thrust of my hips, I’m spilling into her as she’s covering me. I collapse on to her back as my orgasm takes over my body. I feel the same as I did on Earth, just tens times more. “Fuck.. That was amazing..” I say through heavy breaths.

A knock comes on the door and I reluctantly pull myself out of her. The knocking continues and I climb out of the bed, covering Marlie up with the blanket, and grabbing my clothes to change back into. Sliding open the door, I look down to see Marvin in the hallway.

“You already did my daily check..”

“Yes, I know.. But I noticed your vitals are really elevated.”

“Marvin?”

“Yes Jacob?”

“I’m a human.. We have needs..”

“You have–” He pauses and his eyes flicker before he’s slowly backing away. “I see..”

I can’t help but to laugh. “Goodbye Marvin.” I say as before sliding the door closed again and locking it.

“Who’s Marvin?” Marlie asks as she sits up on the bed.

“Marvin is a robot.. A robot who doesn’t quite understand that I am not one and that my vitals will spike every now and then..” I explain as I crawl back onto the bed. I make myself comfortable between her and the wall and drag the covers over my body as well. “Now.. Where were we?”

_____________________________________________________________

Apologies in advanced with this taglist, I have recently been having problems with it!

@watchingover-hypegirl @losfacedevil @ignite-my-fire @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @writingcold (more tags in comments)

[maoam]

What do you think of itafushi and satosugu?

Ah I think I was asked about this before but back then my opinion was very non-opinion. Because I hadn't gotten that deep into the series yet. I also answered an ask about satosugu earlier.

I will say that they complement each other very well. They understand each other better than other characters, like I don't believe that something like Gojo not realising how bad Geto's state was until it was too late would happen with Yuuji and Megumi because they seem to figure each other out pretty well (though we can possibly blame Gojo being high on his new powers and too self centered due to it). Gege also did draw parallels between Geto-Gojo and Yuuji-Megumi duos. But that's not something I'm gonna focus on here.

(Manga spoilers up to chapter 266 ahead!)

Yuuji and Megumi's relationship is deeply intervowen into the text of the manga itself. The fact Megumi chose to save Yuuji despite the fact it put more people at risk is what sort of started everything. And the actions of the two impact each others development.

Todo was asking Megumi about his type, and when he is not hearing an answer he adds that it's fine if he prefers men. Why is this needed here? Gege is not making a joke, like a homophobic joke some average dudebro author would make because a male character is taking his time to answer, where said male character then gets offended and the audience laughs. Todo is very chill, it's a non-issue for him. Megumi is also not shown to be offended or even phased at the implication. Well there is no joke, so why did this need to be added? To imply. To hint. To put the idea in the reader's head. And then Megumi answers and uses 'person' instead of a girl/woman. Also the fact many male characters seem to point out Megumi's cuteness/attractiveness makes it even more obvious that Gege seems to like the idea of Megumi being 'available' to both men and women. Obviously women think he's cute as well but that's sort of given.

Megumi's type is someone who has an 'unshakeable character' according to a translator I asked about it. I once read another person say it's 'unwavering humanity'. This translator said this goes with Yuuji's name. Regardless, Yuji's name has 'unwavering/unshakeable benevolence/compassion/humanity' so whether the word refers to unshakeable humanity or character, both fit Yuji and the type clearly is a nod to his name. Which many translators have pointed out.

However when asked about his type, Megumi thought of Tsumiki.

Before that, when Yuuji "died" Megumi was imagining Tsumiki on a field surrounded by countless sunflowers. Sunflowers apparently symbolise passionate love, and the more sunflowers, the more intense the love is. 11 sunflowers is true love, 108 sunflowers is marry me etc. So there is that implication that Megumi's feelings for Tsumiki might be not completely familiar... Megumi is someone with abandonment issues, because his mom died and his dad left. So he has low self esteem and doesn't value his life. But he had Tsumiki. And he developed that intense need to protect her and care for her. In Jujutsu Sousen which is the prototype for jjk, Yuuji also mistook Tsumiki for Megumi's girlfriend, and Megumi's reply was that "well, she is someone important to me". Megumi did everything for her happiness' sake, which is why he lost all hope and will when she died.

Yet, I do see that Megumi has a soft spot for Yuuji.

Megumi tries to come up with ways for Yuuji to live, while Yuuji tries to come up with ways to die. I noticed Megumi is a bit tsundere because he's not that smooth about comforting another person, so he comes off a bit mad like here, calling Yuuji selfish for caring about him, haha. Which is kind of call back for Megumi saying his decision to save Yuuji was a selfish decision?

Back to Tsumiki.

It feels like in the absence of Tsumiki, Megumi started to look for Yuuji as someone to idealize, as someone who to learn from. That mission where he took the criminal's badge to give to his mom, that action is something he wouldn't have done without Yuuji's influence. And in this moment above he's thinking about both of their genuine, sweet smiles, placing them next to each other in his mind. Yuuji has in a short time become someone important to him. But it's very telling how his type of people in his mind are Tsumiki and Yuuji. It's not even subtle from Gege.

And as I said it seems like Megumi has a bit of a soft spot for Yuuji.

Which is why Yuuji has this effect on Megumi. I never see Megumi mellow down like this as a response to other people. It's like Yuuji gets through his defenses.

Here's the tsundere again. Megumi shows his care with certain level of aggression because like I said, he's not the smoothest person around.

Even when he's about to die, he thinks about Yuuji. I do think it makes sense that someone like Yuuji has become so important to him in such a short time. Because he's Megumi's type of person.

And I also noticed that whenever Megumi smiles in the manga, it's either due to him making progress as a sorcerer or it's because of something related to Yuuji.

It's the framing here how Gege does the little smile that I find interesting.

Of course there's also this moment where we see a very genuine Megumi smiling. This moment is very important because it was even used in the recent MV with Yuuji, Megumi and Sukuna. I think Megumi's connection to both is very important to the conclusion of the story.

Notice how I talked mostly about Megumi? Because the differences in his behaviour are easier to notice, compared to Yuuji's "I get along with everyone" personality. Obviously, Yuuji does like Megumi a lot, as we see in the previous images he easily gives him compliments like calling him reliable and smart (or even cute when teasing him with Hana lol) and he is also very protective of Megumi.

What's funny is that the last moment immediately reminded me of Naruto and Sasuke's dynamic in the land of waves. It's identical (please don't kill me narusasus who dislike itafushi and itafushis who dislike narusasu). I also think he really does admire Megumi and immediately notices him first out of all the other people (like with Ozawa and Nobara). And just like Yuuji influences Megumi, Megumi influences Yuuji, and makes him think outside of his own mindset "what if someone you saved killed someone else in the future?". They both also acknowledge each others differences and respect them.

I don't think his answer to Todo (I mean he seemed unsure in his answer too) or his comment about Jennifer Lawrence are necessarily dealbreakers considering this is Gege lol. Gege seems to make Yuuji indecisive, like how he couldn't answer the question whether he prefers dogs or cats because he's unsure, or how he says "I guess" when referring to his type of girl. He says 'tall girl' but when actually tall girls that fit his supposed type show up like Ozawa and Yuki, he doesn't show that kind of interest in them. I'm not saying he can't like girls by the way, I'm just saying Gege hasn't shown Yuuji show genuine interest in women unlike for example Horikoshi has with Deku. With Yuji it's a one-note joke, with Deku we actually see him show attraction.

But the reason why I point these things out is because Gege is very particular about Megumi's character, to the point his editor commented on it, so I don't think he would draw things for no reason. If Yuuji is the only person that makes the usually stoic Megumi smile and if he manages to mellow down Megumi's worried/distressed side then that is something important, since Gege feels the need to repeat these situations. Author intent is always important. However I know some people probably aren't fans of this but Gege is clearly very fixated on the connection between Megumi and Sukuna as well. Possibly even more so. They have a lot of connections that would need their own post. I talked a bit about Megumi and Sukuna here but it's not even close to being everything you could write about Gege's writing concerning them. Also, Yuuji and Sukuna can't stand each other and are currently pretty much fighting over Megumi (lol). I don't think Megumi will stay passive though, as we see in this recent chapter, he is fighting back. But it's something to think about.

And in this recent chapter, Megumi is once again placing Yuuji and Tsumiki next to each other, imagining a calm, relaxed life with them. I already imagined that one of the character image songs Gege chose for Megumi , Weezer's 'Island in the Sun' was just about having fun with Yuuji and I was right!

Yuuji dares to finally admit he needs Megumi too. And Megumi's comment 'Someone like you'... Megumi really does place Yuuji high, and I think people are starting to see it. Yuuji makes him happier and more relaxed. And the fact he lost all will to live, yet regained it because Yuuji would be lonely without him, speaks volumes as well. And to Yuuji Megumi is also a special person. I don't know if there will be a happy ending for them, but they definitely changed each others lives.

[jaemified]

through the window (21 days) - lee chan

“waiting 21 days isnt so bad if itll always end like this.”

pairing ; lee chan x fem!reader

genre ; fluff but pretty cheesy fluff, strangers to lovers, neighbors to lovers, not a smau but twt profiles are showed

warnings ; swearing, floods, isolation, separation, chans flirty (thats a warning in itself), reader has zero relationship experience

wordcount ; 2.7k

synopsis ; after a long series of floods, youre finally able to meet the boy across the street who had caught your eye throughout the long few weeks.

note - chan isnt an idol but minnie/soyeon are

note 2 - idk what chan is looking at in that pic

read below the cut !

DECEMBER 8, 2023

winter, also known as flood season.

the town where you lived in was already at a low altitude, so the bridge built to cross over the river to the other side of the street always had submerged during this time of year.

the thing that sucked the most about all this, was you were pretty much rained in for however long it takes for the water to drain with absolutely no way out.

so naturally, you all had came prepared.

your roommates minnie and soyeon never minded all the rain as they hated going in to work at the crack of dawn, yet you however, loved what you did. tutoring a kids after school program wasnt half as bad as the average person might think.

but, of course seeing as they were all a bunch of middle school kids, they could be a handful. you decided to listen to your friends and use these next few weeks to relax.

or, what you thought relaxing was.

“come on y/n! dont you wanna make strawberry shortcake with us?” minnie yelled at you over soyeons loud music while you studied over the next lesson plan for your kids.

“maybe later- i really wanna get a head start on these lessons.”

“seriously y/n?” soyeon murmured in slight disgust, “i seriously doubt the first thing those kids want to be thinking about is what they’re gonna do with their math tutor after a free half month.”

you shrugged and took a sip of your coffee before typing in the highlighted notes from the handbook into your computer.

“come on. youre not spending our one free break of the year like this again!” soyeon exclaimed as she snatched the book out of your hands, then closing your laptop before putting them both away in the cabinet under the tv.

“you know i can just get that myself right?”

“no, because i won’t let you.” she replied, locking the door and putting the key in her pocket.

“come on! im passionate about what i do, i dont mind it at all!”

“me and minnie are passionate about writing songs too, but even we know when its good enough to take a break.”

“okay i know i don’t work half as hard as idols do but i still have bills to come by! besides, corporate management demands i have the next lesson plan finalized before the end of the week!”

“corporates a bitch, they gotta be more mindful of how they treat their employees. like how do you be top tutoring company in the country and you still cant manage your employees the way they deserve?” minnie shouted in frustration.

“and dont worry about bills for now, we got it.” soyeon whispered to you.

“minnie- you realize cube is the same way to you guys right? and you work way harder then i do despite not getting the income you deserve.”

“yeah but we manage. we have a contract anyway. i know we’re passionate about what we do but we most certainly are not passionate about who we work for.” soyeon replied for minnie as she couldn’t hear over the sound of the blender (why was she using a blender again?)

you sigh soaking in how much pressure your friends are under at work, realizing you don’t even have it half as bad despite having a pretty shitty boss.

“how bout you find someone worth crossing an ocean for? itll be half as fun for us as itd be for you, since it’s in our contract we aren’t allowed to date.” minnie spoke after the whirring of the kitchen appliances died down.

“how.. we are entirely stranded until however long it takes for this stupid flood to drain.”

“do some stalking on insta. let’s find you like uh.. celebrity crush or ulzzang you can fan girl over or something.”

you scoffed in annoyance and slight disgust with your friends knowing you never really cared for any of that.

you decided to sit down at the bay window by the front door, scrolling through your phone before something outside caught your eye.

there you saw a guy across the way, sitting in his bay window just like you, he who seemingly just finished receiving a lecture from his friends.

you watched as he ran a hand through his fluffy dark brown hair, before he turned your way, your eyes locking.

immediately, it was part of your instinct to nervously turn away.

before slowly looking back, that is.

there you found the beautiful brown haired boy, still looking at you, with a golden smile.

your heart melted (but you thought you were having palpitations) when you saw him look at you so fondly.

what is this feeling?

you slowly raise a hand, and wave to him shyly.

he waved back, before forming a heart with his arms he held over his head.

you laughed quiet enough so your friends couldn’t hear you, but your facial expressions were bright enough so he could be aware he was able to make you laugh.

the boy laughed in response before he seemed to mouth something, but you weren’t the best at reading lips.

you tilted your head in confusion before he jokingly rolled his eyes, and saying it again, but slower.

“cu-tie.” you realized he said, or attempted to say.

“cu-tie?” you sounded out, making sure you understood right.

he nodded before pointing at you, his finger tapping against the glass, “cutie.”

he absolutely reveled in the way you smiled so brightly, the way your cheeks flushed pink and your eyes sparkled with excitement.

you didnt even realize how you were falling for his charms.

before you were even able to say anything back, his friend came up from behind him, attempting to drag him away, yet the guy was still persistent.

you watched how his friend started to get angry, so the guy rolled his eyes and stood up, walking away with his friend down the hall.

but not before waving back at you, blowing a kiss.

you got up from your seat before wrapping your arms around minnie, resting your head on her shoulder while you spared a small glance at whatever soyeon was watching in the living room.

“hmm? what do you need now my child?” she dramatically questioned, as she knew you only got clingy when you needed something.

“whos that guy that lives across the.. on the other side of the bridge? in that dark brown house with the black roof?”

“oh? house 133 right? thats seokmin, minghao, and.. what’s the other ones name? I always forget.. chan! yeah, chan.”

soyeon jumped up in surprise, pausing her show after hearing you pique your interest at a guy for the first time.

“why? you like one of them? which one? minghao? he was pretty well liked for a foreigner. he was in the same exchange program as minnie. ” she excitedly asked.

“w-what? no! i was just asking cause i saw one of them out there earlier.” you unconvincingly lied.

“oh she totally likes minghao.” “not even!”

“sweetheart, we aren’t as dumb as you think we are.” minnie pouted at you while she pulled away to put the cake in the oven.

you huffed in disbelief before going to take a bag of chips from the pantry, walking down to your room to finish the lesson plan. (on the laptop your boss lent you since soyeon took your personal one).

meanwhile, there you left chan, day dreaming about you all day long. he was so curious about you, yet he felt so stupid for crushing on some girl he’d never spoken to before.

not like he even could at this point, you were stuck in the middle of a flood, anyway.

“whats on your mind channie? you seem out of it.” seokmin asked while he blindly stirred the tteokbokki, turning to face the younger boy behind him, sitting at the kitchen island.

“its chan. whens he not out of it?” minghao chuckled, throwing a chip at his cheek, sliding to sit over at the stool next to him as he emerged from his bedroom.

“who lives in that white house on the other side of the bridge? isnt that where soyeon lives? we went to high school together.” chan half-mindedly queried, zoning out as he stared into the marble counters.

“yeah, why?” minghao responded.

“did she move out or something? there was another girl there and it wasnt soyeon or minnie.”

“oh, you mean y/n? she graduated a year before you or something, but at another school. we used to work at the same tea house before she left for that tutoring agency.”

“y/n? sounds vaguely familiar. i think i remember seungkwan mention her being in his class.”

“why are you mentioning her all of a sudden? you never cared for girls.” seokmin teased with a wide smile.

“oh come on. you know he’s quite the flirt.” minghao playfully cooed at chan, dramatically waving his hand back at seokmin.

“you two are insufferable.” he groaned, banging his head against the counter.

you found yourself up at night, scrolling through twitter before you decided to search for the guy you ‘met’ today. minghao, was it?

‘xu minghao’ was what you had entered into the search bar, clicking on the top result.

‘myunghoez’

‘huh.’ you thought to yourself. so it couldnt be him, but seokmin didnt seem to have an account as you searched for his name.

you looked up chans name next, thinking maybe,, that there could be a chance it’s him. his profile picture was technically him, but not, him. but in your defense, how could you tell who was who if chans profile picture was a baby picture?

though you knew youd never hear the end of it from her, you decided to ask soyeon.

“do you have a picture of chan?”

“yeah hold on. its just an old screenshot from an old tweet though.” she mumbled before pulling up her phone to show you.

‘wow.’ you thought to yourself, ‘so this really was the guy i met today.’

before soyeon could ask any questions, you quickly thanked her and ran back to your room before posting a small something in reference to what minnie had said to you earlier.

days, weeks, went by of you and chan interacting through the window despite never seeing each other up close, or ever hearing the others voice.

but despite being isolated from separately, you still had fallen for one another nonetheless.

you loved the way you would feel butterflies in your stomach whenever he made a heart with his hands for you, and he absolutely adored the way you in the end would just make a big sign telling him what you wanted to say when you gave up on trying to get him to read your lips.

of course the flood had its downside, i mean being stuck with the same 2 other people for almost a month definitely takes a toll on you, isolation definitely can get depressing with no way out.

but in the end, it had its upside as well. you were able to meet a great guy despite never technically talking face to face, having only lip reading to communicate (why didn’t you think of social media?). not to mention you were able to put more time into a forgotten passion after all of your energy being used up as a tutor.

marine animals.

you and chan had technically discussed the idea of possibly having a first date when you get out of here, yet you still hadn’t decided where you’d go or what you’d do seeing as you both were pretty passionate about different things.

chan had always loved the stars, you had always loved marine life. but, you decided you would finalize a date night once you both get to meet face to face.

DECEMBER 29

after a long 21 days of disappointment, spending christmas without your family, 3 going on 4 weeks of crazed loneliness, you finally woke up one morning to find the overflowing river, drained, and to its regular level.

you were able to see the bridge once more and though the wood might be rotting, you just couldnt wait to cross it.

you immediately ran down the hall, dressing however best you could, fixing your hair to be as best as it would go, being sure to brush your teeth and pop in a mint before running straight out the door. (and ignoring all of soyeons questions as well as minnies protests)

as you stepped out the front door, you saw chan just leaving his house looking as beautiful as ever.

you ran straight for the bridge, chan catching you before you could slip on a puddle before he picked you up into a big hug.

“you’re just as gorgeous up close as you were through a window.” he whispered as he pulled you close, his hand cradling the back of your head, pulling it to rest against his chest.

“and you’re still just as much of a flirt arent you?” you chuckled before slightly cringing at your attempt to reciprocate the excitement.

you were excited, believe me, just couldn’t express it as well as he could.

“i cant believe it took 21 days to finally be with you.”

“it was worth the wait wasnt it?”

“you’ll always be worth the wait.” chan mumbled against your skin as he pressed a soft kiss into your cheek.

“cant believe you’re real..” you mumbled, leaning further into his touch.

“cant believe i got someone like you to fall for someone like me.”

“chan you’re so cheesy.”

“only for you.” he replied with that stupid grin you grew to love so much.

the two of you later took the time to talk more about life, each other, finally exchange numbers, then eventually decide what you’d do for your first date night.

“see you tomorrow at 12?”

“tomorrow at 12.”

DECEMBER 30

you practically couldn’t sleep as you bubbled in excitement. you picked out a pretty black dress that went nicely with a random pair of white sneakers before heading out on your way while your roommates were out at work.

“lookin as pretty as always.” chan smiled while he opened his car door for you.

“still as handsome as ever arent you?” you jokingly rolled your eyes as he backed out the parking lot.

you two had many common interests, yet what you were most passionate about definitely was pretty parallel to one another.

chan loved the stars, you loved the sea. so, you decided to go to an aquarium (that also included solar system exhibits), grab some food from a cafe you found out you both loved, go for a late drive to the beach, watch the sunset, then stargaze.

call it cliche but it was perfect for you both.

chan wrapped an arm around you as you both stared into the night sky, all the stars displayed beautifully.

he would point at a random star and say it reminded him of you, because it stood out from the rest, distinct, but perfect in his eyes.

he was the sweetest guy ever, perfectly fitting the standard for what’s considered boyfriend material, almost unrealistic, even.

“youre a person worth crossing an ocean for.” you told him more then truthfully, bringing a hand up to softly stroke his cheek.

“out of all the stars in the sky, youre the only one id pick.” he cringed realizing how corny it was. “too cheesy?”

“just enough.” you reassured, before sealing both yours and his lips into a warm and comforting kiss. chan had never felt safer in another’s embrace.

“waiting 21 days isnt so bad if itll always end like this.”

[yandere-paramour]

Can we hear more about Asteria and Jaime? What are their interests?

Just to reiterate for new people who don't know, Asteria and Jamie are Atalanta's parents. When Asteria was in her mid-20s, she accompanied her mother on a business meeting with another prominent family. She met the heir of their business, technically her own counterpart, but once she saw the beautiful second son, she had to have him. Jamie was more than a little freaked out by the domineering heiress suddenly very, very interested in him, but the Montclairs made an offer of marriage, and his parents (eager to get in with the Montclairs) agreed and basically sold him off without his consent. He's tried to run a few times but when he tried to take Atalanta and run when she was 4, he got put in solitary for a month and never fully recovered. He doesn't try to run anymore, he's a model husband.

Asteria is very similar to her daughter. She likes to exercise and looks pretty damn good for her late-40s. However, her sport of choice is tennis. She practices tennis every day and often plays with Jamie too. Her hair is slightly past her shoulders and she keeps it immaculately curled. It's the same color as Atalanta's, and they have basically the same face and build, but her eyes are dark brown. She usually wears similar suits to Atalanta, but as she's grown older, the suits are becoming just grey and black with multicolored blouses. And unlike Atalanta, she ALWAYS wears heels, making her 6 feet. She's extremely charming and vibrant, the epitome of a high-society lady, and she's only complete with her perfect husband in her arms. Her mom waited a long time to pass the company onto her so now she's holding on a little longer before she passes it to Atalanta, but now she really only does remote paperwork. She has her own personal assistant and her main hobbies are yoga, book club, and brunching with the girls. She has many friends, both from school and the business world, and she meets with them for lunch and brunch often. She kisses her perfect husband on the cheek (he needs a lot of rest), and heads off.

Jamie is pretty, delicate, and effeminate. He has dark brown wavy hair (Darker than Atalanta's), and large hazel eyes that he passed onto his only daughter. He has an average build with little muscle (Asteria likes him soft) and he's about 5'9". He usually wears soft sweaters and trousers, most usually soft colors like blue, green, grey, maroon, and violet. He's a very soft-spoken man. He doesn't talk much anymore, and when he does, his voice is kinda high and soft. He's gotten to the age where he needs glasses to read and his hands are soft and warm. His main hobbies are reading, taking (supervised) walks in the manor's garden, playing chess, painting, sketching, and baking. Asteria is a stricter yan than her daughter, so she only allows him to have soft hobbies. Anything more strenuous than a game of tennis, he's not allowed to do. He doesn't really have many friends and he doesn't go out much, especially when separated from Asteria. He has a manservant (Carter Thatcher) he's close to who takes care of him. Carter is loyal and kind and looks after his master and keeps him company. Jamie is kind of fragile so he sleeps a lot and is often depressed, so Carter makes sure he eats and takes his medication and tries to keep active.

(You know, I really enjoyed writing this. From now on, feel free to send in questions/comments/asks about Asteria and Jamie.)

[toracainz]

Tell Me Where to Put My Love pt4

You and Steven haven’t been together very long, but that won’t stop either of you from fighting tooth and nail for a chance at a future together.

Series Masterlist

Part 3 -  Different Kind of Danger in the Daylight

Part 4 -  Unavailability Is The Only Thing That Turns You On

Part 5 - At Last, When All of the World is Asleep

Warnings: Inaccurate depictions of DID (only knowledge from the show and some light research). Swearing. Established relationships. Married relationship. Use of term “priest” in a gender neutral sense. Discussion about cheating. Discussion about homewreckers. Canon typical violence in later chapters. Mentions of food. Angst. Fluff.

Word Count: 4k

A/N: I am so sorry it's taken me this long to post the next part, been stewing over this part for so long. 😭 Personal stuff happened and then writer's block and ugh. Anyways, I hope you like it. 🥺

There you were, outside his flat, standing by the road looking up at his floor. You had to go in sooner or later, but the pit in your stomach made it hard to move any further. You were honestly lucky you made it as far as you did thanks to some encouragement from Tutu. It was strange that he seemed to care so much, maybe he really did. You were sure that by now Layla was in town and inside the flat. The bustling sounds of average Londoners going about their day helped keep you calm (well, calmer), oddly enough.

“He’s not going to come to you, child.” Tutu stood atop the nearby building. “Though knowing him, he might actually.” The god chuckled. “Go. All will be well. You are strong.”

Glancing up at his masked face you can almost feel the reassuring smile hidden behind it. With a nod, you take a moment to collect yourself before starting inside the building. What would you say first? What do you say first? Obviously introduce yourself, or maybe Steven would introduce you. Wait, who’s going to be fronting during this? Are they going to be, what did Steven call it? Co-conscious? How easy was it for them to switch? Steven had mentioned he and Marc could do it pretty effortlessly now that they were closer. You still hadn’t actually seen them switch yet. Since he had come back it had always just been him with maybe a stray comment here or there in Steven’s head from Marc.

The lift seemed to be moving so slowly, compared to the speed of your thoughts racing through your mind. Oh God, would Layla even want you to step foot in the flat? What would Steven do if she refused to talk to you? Surely, she would at least talk…right?

Oh. When did you get in front of his door? Muscle memory must have carried you here. Well, you’re here. You take another deep breath sensing Tutu’s reassuring presence as you lift your hand to knock. That’s when you hear it. Layla is talking, but you’re not sure to who, was it Marc or Steven? You imagine probably Marc, that’s who she’s here to see…unless... You try not to dwell on it and find yourself knocking on the door. Things fall silent in the flat other than a low voice, maybe Marc, and the sound of approaching steps. To say you were relieved when Steven swung open the door with a smile was an understatement.

“Hello, love. Come in, come in. Make yourself comfortable of course. Uh…but first I think it’s best to get the introductions out the way, yeah?” He ushers you in, his hand finding a gentle place on your back out of habit as he introduces you to Layla. She gives you a curt smile, brows lifting slightly as she reaches out offering a handshake. You take it with a nod.

“Steven has said a lot of nice things about you.” She rests her hands in her pockets glancing between you and Steven. “So, I guess now that everyone’s here…we should eat.” She says, trying to change the subject. The air was so thick with tension you weren’t sure you could move from where you stood.

“Oh right, yeah.” Steven says to Layla as she starts into the kitchen to get out plates and cups. He turns to you with obvious concern on his face. “I truly am glad you came. I made your favorite and look…nothing has to happen tonight. I certainly don’t expect things are alright between us, but I’m just happy you’re here. Um, Marc and I, we’ll be switching a bit so just warning you. It’s not scary or anything, I just…well Layla’s seen it so she’s used to it. I just didn’t want you to be surprised.”

Oh, God did you love him. He was so concerned about you being comfortable despite the very uncomfortable situation you all found yourselves in. He had made your favorite dish and was trying to make sure you knew that there were no expectations and that you wouldn’t be surprised by his and Marc’s behavior. You nod letting a small smile appear. “Yeah, alright, Steven. Thank you.”

He smiles back with a nod. He would have usually kissed your head, but he resigned himself to just placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. It didn’t feel right, even with the context of everything happening. The very demure gesture when both of you were very much comfortable with hugs and kisses just felt foreign.

“Uh, Steven? The food?” Layla approaches the cleaned off dinette table and starts setting it as Steven hurries into the kitchen to bring the dishes over.

“Is there anything I can do?” You offer, trying to rescue yourself from the role of knot-on-a-log.

“Yeah, love. Could you get that dish there on the counter please? We’re doing a sort of pot luck style, just get what you like sort of thing.” He set the dish down before going to get the drinks. “Hope everyone enjoys. Marc tried to make one of Layla’s favorites and one of his. I, of course, made a favorite of mine and of yours. We can all dig in! Try out each other’s favorites!” Suddenly, Steven’s face scrunched up like he smelled something bad, but it wasn’t Steven that spoke. The seamless way they switched was something entirely unexpected.

“Hell no, Steven, you can have your vegan food. I’m gonna stick with my corned beef kugel. I won’t make you eat it, so don’t make me eat yours.” He shook his head with a huff as you all gathered around the table and took your seats. Just as seamlessly as Marc appeared Steven was back.

“Oi, rude. I didn’t say you had to, Marc. Just that everyone could if they wanted. He didn’t sleep well, stressed about cooking everything. Told him not to worry, that I could help. He’s a bit crank-“

“I am not cranky, Steven.” Marc returned to the front annoyed as he started to plate his food. You and Layla just watched as the two bickered about the food. Layla watched curiously while plating her own food. She had seen them do this while fighting in Cairo, so fighting amongst themselves in their flat wasn’t too different. You on the other hand tried not to stare. Not because you were weirded out or thought they were crazy. It was just incredible to experience, after all you had never known anyone to do this before.

You remembered how Steven was before he disappeared. Sullen, but still hopeful about life. A dark cloud always not far behind. Steven had been so beat down that he had nearly accepted his lot in life, lonely gift shoppist destined to never be a tour guide or have a partner of any kind, no friends, just unreturned voicemails to his mother and the living statue man. Steven seemed so free now. Free of his past burden, the secret life Marc was keeping from him, he was lighter and smiling much more, much much more. You loved it. Seeing him so happy and full of life. Even bickering with Marc seemed to elicit some degree of joy, poking fun at each other.

Layla had been there for them during such a chaotic time. She was strong after all. Stronger than you. The voice from your dream comes careening back through your mind, “What can you do that she can’t do better?” You close your eyes as you pick at your food, nibbling on the different dishes, trying to block out such thoughts. But what if there was truth to it? What if she really could do better for them than you could? You didn’t realize you had gone still until you felt a hand rest on yours. Following the hand up to its source you’re met with Steven’s concern filled eyes.

“You alright, love?”

You take in a shuddering breath. Were you starting to panic? Oh no, no not now. Not in front of her. “I uh, I’m sorry I just…I’m sorry. I just have to go to the loo.” You get up and try not to seem desperate to escape the room as you enter the bathroom sliding the door shut. Not much privacy, but it’s better than sitting in front of her. Comparing yourself to her. Being judged by her. Leaning against the sink your chest begins to rise and fall with hastened breaths. You try to force them to slow and deepen but they only come out shaky.

She was definitely better for them, both of them, than you were for Steven alone. She was strong and he deserved that. He didn’t need to be coddled or looked after like  before with you. Layla could keep up with him and Marc. But you? Where could you fit in all of this? You can't find a place to fit. This is a different puzzle, one you’re certain your piece didn’t belong to. You look up into the mirror, seeing Tutu’s visage behind you. A gentle hand rests on your shoulder. Again, the mask hiding what could only be a look of sympathy…and perhaps pity.

“This isn’t going to work, Steven. This…whole thing is just…it’s too awkward. I don’t see this lasting long.” Layla says to Steven in a hushed tone, not enough for you not to catch some of it. Somehow your breathing quiets enough for you to listen, Tutu unsurprisingly gone now.

“They’re just nervous. This will work. It’s going to work, Layla.” Steven doesn't look at her as he shakes his head. “It has to work.”

“What? So…are the four of us going to live in the same house, hmm? Go on some weird double date, cause this dinner was going so well.” Her voice dripping with sarcasm as she moves to try and make Steven look at her, leaning forward slightly. “Marc and I haven’t even really started working through our own shit and now this?”

Steven stands up harshly, you imagine from the sound of a chair sliding back suddenly. He squeezes his eyes shut, staving off Marc’s attempts to front. “No, mate, you can talk to your wife after I make sure they’re okay.” This time he does look at Layla, his gaze firm, before starting towards the loo, his steps becoming softer and more careful the closer he gets.

“Love? You alright? You sick? If you need anything I’ll g-“

You open the door miraculously fighting off your tears. Looking up at him you reach out and his hand instinctively finds yours, his other one hesitantly reaches up to your cheek. Before it can make contact you move past him towards the front of the flat starting to grab your bag. You turn and look Layla in the eye, her slightly surprised gaze meets yours. No doubt surprised someone like you had the nerve to even look her way again (or so your brain was telling you).

“I’m sorry.” You find the words spilling out before you mean for them to, if those were even the words you wanted to say. Steven had followed you from the loo watching you wondering what you’d say next. “I’m sorry for…whatever it is you think I’ve done. I truly had no idea about you and Marc. How could I? I know I’m something akin to a homewrecker and I never meant to be. I just…I love Steven. I do, but you are clearly more capable and better suited for both him and Marc. I’m not you, by any-“

“Love, what are you saying?”

“They’re leaving, Steven.” Layla says. You just nod, unable to fight the tears any longer.

“I truly do love Steven, but from what he’s told me about you…you can take better care of both of them. I would just get in the way.” You sniffle, wiping your tears as you turn to start out the door. As your hand grabs the door knob a strong calloused hand grabs your arm. The fiery determination in the warm brown eyes that look at you catch you off guard.

“Now wait, just hold on, just a minute…time out. Now let’s all just chill the eff out, yeah?” He looks from you to Layla. “Yeah, alright, this isn’t ideal. But I love them and they love me, you heard them.” His grip on your arm isn’t painful despite how firm he holds on. Looking at you, his expression begs you to stay, but his eyes burn with a fire you’ve never seen before. “This can work if we are all willing to try. I won’t just give up…not getting rid of me that easily, love.” His focus is drawn away from you and to the mirror next to the door. He must be listening to Marc.

With the room growing quiet, expectant of what would be said next and by who, Layla decides to fill the silence.

“If they want to go, Steven, you can’t make them stay.” She stands up from the table.

Steven, shaking his head as he tries to listen to Marc and Layla, something that never went well in the past, steps away from you.

“What about what I want? I want to be with them. I never wanted to be Khonshu’s avatar, never wanted to have a “sleeping disorder”, and…no! I’m not giving you the body, you can talk with Layla when I’m through!” In the middle of Steven’s rant his head snaps to the fish tank, hands flying to his head, fighting against the pull from Marc trying to take control. Things are escalating and neither Marc nor Steven want the people they love to leave, and Marc knows Layla might.

“I believe I may be of assistance.”

His voice carried over the flat like a blanket, though a little louder than Steven or Layla would have liked.  Both of them flinched, yelping, Steven jumping closer to you almost protectively (though screaming a little louder than he intended), and turning to see Tutu standing there in the middle of the flat. Layla suddenly was no longer in her normal clothes but instead in the gorgeous suit Taweret had gifted to her, holding her two swords out, almost like a reflex.

“Ha! I knew it!” Marc says, pushing to the front. Pointing at Layla, a satisfied grin on his face, confirming that she was still an avatar distracting him enough from the fact that there was a god standing in the flat. Layla looked as embarrassed as she would let herself appear to be as the suit dematerialized leaving her in her casual clothes yet again.

“What? Alright, yes I’m still Taweret’s avatar and because of this suit I’ve helped a lot of people.” She stood firm, justifying her connection with the goddess, her contrapposto posture contradicting her conviction as she defended herself.

“No, that’s great. I mean, Taweret was actually really nice so I don’t imagine she’s like Khonshu…manipulating and threatening,” Marc couldn’t help but smile at her. You recognize that smile. Love. A smile Steven would give you, and you fear that he has given that smile to Layla as well. Suddenly, Marc shifts and his posture changes.

“How?” Steven asks, turning the attention back to Tutu. Talking with gods had become fairly normal for Steven during his recent adventure. “You're the god of tombs and the protector of dreamers. Sorry, but…I’m not sure I understand how you could help.”

“You are correct, but it is my skill set that is more than capable of assisting.” His golden head nods towards Steven, as if to say “I’m at your service”. “I believe my avatar already knows what I intend to offer.”

With that, all eyes fall on you, your back against the door, eyes wide but drying up now that Tutu has appeared. His presence always a comfort to you. “Yeah…I know.”

“Well, what is it, love?” Steven’s brows gather in a myriad of emotions: confusion, curiosity, concentration.

“He intends to put us all into a dream. Any one of us could be the dreamer, but he would give us all the energy to lucid dream…in a space where we all could have a voice.” As if reading the god’s mind, you explain Tutu’s plan. You’d never done this before, created a dream space where you and another could interact. All of Tutu’s missions involved lucid dreaming, entering someone’s dreams and being fully in control of yourself. For the average person lucid dreaming is something you train yourself to do through repetition and practice.

“Yes, within the dream perhaps communication could be more effectively practiced.”

It was worth a shot, if all parties agreed, but something told you that Layla didn’t want to try it, didn’t want this to work. You couldn’t blame her. She was “here first”, and was actually married to Marc. If it were the other way around, maybe you might feel the same? Honestly it’s hard to truly know how you’d react in a situation until you’re actually in it. It’s easy to say “I’d do this” or “I’d never do that”, but when it really comes down to it you never really know.

Steven’s eyes and mouth open wide, mind racing to conclude how this could work, what it would feel like, if this would even be something he (or Marc) would feel comfortable doing. Communication is a little difficult, sure, tensions and stakes are high–not ‘ancient Egyptian god trying to take over the world and eat people’s souls’ high…but still high.

“I…I think…I think Marc and I need to talk…alone. The last time we were…not together…it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, yeah? Don’t think that this would be the same, no, it’s just…I think we should talk about it first.” Steven can’t help how his hands find each other to fidget like he had done so many times before, taking a deep breath he wills them apart. Things are different now, he’s not quite as timid or unsure of himself as he was before Marc, before Cairo. Things are different. He has Marc now and this is the life they wanted to share with each other, but the thought of someone catching a glimpse of one of their dreams, their nightmares…it was scary.

“Of course, Steven…Marc. Both of you. Not sure I like the idea much either but…stranger things have happened, yeah?” Layla’s voice has turned soft and tender. She can only imagine what could be going through Steven’s and Marc’s head. You felt the same. The two of them had been through so much in such a short time. Being vulnerable and open is still so new to them. If they were uncomfortable with entering a dream world, then maybe you all could find another way. You nod with a short agreement to Layla’s words.

The air in the flat was thinning in a good way, from the thick tense air that had begun to settle. You think that maybe it was Tutu’s presence that was facilitating this calm and maybe you'd be right. He’d never admit to such, but it’s welcomed all the same.

Steven looked at you and Layla, his lips curled at the corners into a gentle smile. “Thank you, both of you. I promise, we’ll try and have an answer for you both soon…uh well for all of you.” He turns to Tutu, his smile turning sheepish.

“Take your time. I’ve waited this long, right? I don’t mind waiting…I’ll always wait for you, Steven.” You could feel your body wanting to take his hand, but could you? Would that be weird in front of Layla? This whole night had been weird so what’s one more thing? Before you can worry about that, as if he feels the pull too, Steven takes your hand. When your eyes meet it’s like the warmth from his hand spreads through you, even to your cheeks where a smile has found its way across your lips. This could work. It had to. You didn't really want to walk away. Sure, you still worry about being compared to Layla, but that will just be something to work through…with Steven.

~*~*~*~

After saying your goodbyes, each of you to your respective man, you and Layla share a very awkward elevator ride. If you thought the ride up was slow, this one is moving at a glacial pace, as if the weight of the tension was straining the mechanics. Thanks to the mirror covered walls you steal glances of Layla, seeing how beautiful she is this close, feeling how confidence just falls off of her. You could see why Marc and even Steven could fall for her. Taking a deep breath, you try and keep those dark thoughts from growing again, the last thing you need is to have yet another panic attack in front of her.

“It’s nothing personal, you know,” Layla says, breaking the silence, not turning to look at you but opting to look at you in the reflection facing you both. Your eyes widening a fraction prompt her to continue. “I get it. Finding out there’s ‘someone else’ is…it’s not fun. I mean, every time I think I know him, Marc I mean, it seems something else comes up and it’s like I haven’t known him at all.” She took a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing a fraction. You really could sympathize. You could only imagine what it must have felt like for her, to think that her husband was cheating on her. You and Steven weren’t married, but it still hurt a lot.

You take a moment to mull over her words. What do you even say? “Yeah, it was a not-so-pleasant surprise…guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’ll happen next.” What more was there to say right now? It was clear by how she was talking to Steven that she didn’t think this would work or maybe she didn’t want it to work. There was something that neither of you realized you had in common…persistance. Neither of you were going to give up the man you loved so easily, even in the face of uncharted territory.

Layla’s gaze went from the light indicating what floor you were passing back to you. It was…intense wasn’t the right word. Strong definitely, but there was something else there. You didn’t know how to react, if you should, but you could feel it. Like she was assessing a threat in battle. Your posture straightened, your expression steeling…you couldn’t let her get to you, whether she was meaning to get to you or not. If this was going to work, you couldn’t continue feeling so very small around her. You’re an avatar just like her, you can do this.

“Guess we will.” She said just after the elevator door dinged and opened to the ground floor hall. Her words felt like a challenge. It almost felt like she was expecting you to throw in the towel right then and there. Putting her hands in the pockets of her jacket, Layla started for the front door without looking back…she didn’t need to. You took a step out of the elevator and watched as she left, looking dazed? Stunned? You weren’t sure what you were feeling, anxious certainly, but there was so much going through your head you weren’t sure what to call it.

Once you were outside the building and headed for the sidewalk, you took a moment to look back at the building, up to the floor where Steven’s flat resides like you had only a hour or so ago. Your hands gathering together to fidget with the other, you could almost still feel Steven’s touch. With a sigh you turn and begin the trek back to your own flat.

Tutu loomed, ever watchful of his avatar, his golden deathmask for a head concealing any expression that might give away how he felt or what he was thinking. However, the god couldn’t hide how his body tensed, the way his hands clenched into fists. Ever so slightly, his head turned to glance behind him in the direction of Steven’s building, though there was nothing to be seen, there was no mistaking what he heard, what he sensed. Not wanting to be too far from his avatar (or at least that’s what he told himsel), Tutu disappears.

The sound of fabric fluttering in the wind was all that could be heard in the light of the crescent moon.

Don't forget to reblog and/or comment! I love to hear from you all!!

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[glitcheslikeslego]

Show Me Your Moves! (Chapter 26)

AO3 STORY

Chapter 26 : Protect

Protect is a non-damaging Normal-type move that protects the user from all attacks, with the only exception being weather or previously gained status conditions at the end of each turn.

There was a dumpling…

Falling from the sky.

You watched the dumpling fall from the sky, engulfed in flames as it made its way to the earth. The civilians were all running in the opposite direction, but despite the small tinge of nervousness you felt, the feeling that something could go wrong, you put your trust in MK and Tang to at least soften the blow.

You had immediately closed up shop as soon as the last person left, and ran all the way to Pigsy’s Noodles, where you had found MK, Mei, Tang and Pigsy all in a huddle together. “Guys! What’s going on?”

“You’re here!” MK exclaimed excitedly.

“Why are you here?” Pigsy asked, sounding rather concerned. “There’s a giant dumpling in the sky hurtlin’ towards us!”

“I know, that’s why I came here. What’s happening?” You ask again.

MK chuckled nervously. “Haha… as it turns out, Monkey King decided to visit some of his pals in the Celestial Realm while on vacation and they accidentally dropped a giant dumpling.” He explained.

“Wait, vacation? Since when was he on vacation?” You already knew the answer, and that was about two days ago when the Sleep Bug incident hit.

“MK, you didn’t explain that?” Mei ‘whispered’ to him, just loud enough for you to hear as you gave him a deadpan stare.

MK sighed. “I forgot, but now’s not the time! We have to stop that dumpling!” He said before grabbing Mei’s shoulder. “There’s only one person with the smarts, the bravery, and the heroically awesome hair to be my wingman on this mission of certain death.”

Despite Mei’s excited grin and sparkling eyes, Tang piped up. “I mean it’s me, right?”

Without warning, MK pushed Mei to the side and leaned against Tang. “I mean, obviously.” The two wrapped their arms around the others shoulder and began laughing as Pigsy deadpanned.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I kid you not my sweet, sweet Pigsy.” The successor responded with a smirk. “Mr. Tang and I are the experts on Monkey King. So yeah, this makes sense.”

“MK!” Mei yelledout, practically offended that he wasn’t bringing her along. “This is so obviously a mission for just you and me! I even got a sweet new jet!” She proudly gestures to her jet, hoping that could persuade him to change his mind.

MK was undeterred as he pulled Tang and, apparently you as well, onto his hoverbike.

“Woah! Hold on-!” You tried to refuse and get off the bike, but MK was already getting it into the air, making you instinctively grab onto MK’s jacket.

“Sorry Mei! Can’t hear you over my awesome new hoverbike! Kay BYEEE!”

With Tang in the front driving the bike and everything going by so fast, you could only let out confused and scared noises as you flew to Flower Fruit Mountain.

“You’ll want to hang a left and land up at the top of the mountain.” MK called out to Tang as you all neared the mountain. Tang simply huffed.

“I’m pretty sure I know how to fly a futuristic hoverbike.” Tang exclaimed with a haughty smirk.

Then he immediately nosedived the bike down to the mountain.

“Are you insane!?” You yelled out in fear.

“Mr. Tang, I said THE TOP!” MK screamed just before you all crash landed onto the sandy beach of Flower fruit Mountain.

“Like I said, I know how to fly.” Tang said blandly as he just sat up.

You sputtered out sand from your mouth as you stood up to follow Tang, who was leading you and Mk through the jungle.

“You know, I’m starting to think I should’ve brought Mei.” Mk admitted.

Tang brushed MK off. “Oh pft, don’t be silly. Who else would know the difference between the legendary trishula and your average Nine Dragon Trident.” 

“What are we looking for, exactly?” You asked MK as Tang continued walking forward.

“Some vase that Monkey King has. It used to belong to Guanyin.” He replied. You nodded in understanding, despite already knowing everything.

How long are you going to keep this charade up for?

Eventually, you reached below where you needed to go, with the last remaining obstacle being a giant staircase.

“I can’t go up that. I’m out.” You turned around to walk away, but MK grabbed your shirt to stop you. 

“Nope! We’re doing this all together.” He exclaimed happily.

One thing led to another, and you finally reached the top, with MK carrying Tang whose old injury was ‘mysteriously flaring up’.

You fell face first on the rocky ground. “I can’t… move any more.” You managed to wheeze out. “Go on without me.”

“You sure? Monkey King’s horde is really cool.” Mk tried to sound enticing, but he was just as tired as you, so you just waved him off and let the two main characters of the episode continue the story.

Slowly, but surely, you gradually regained your breath, being able to sit up straight without feeling like you were going to fall over and conk out. You could faintly hear MK screaming and fighting inside.

They must be fighting Huntsman.

Wow, how long did it take you to recover from the stairs?

“We gotta go!”

“Huh- AH!” You yelped as MK and Tang bolted from Monkey King’s cave, Tang gripping onto the vase and MK dragging you from your wrist.

“We got it! Let’s get out of here!” In a blink, You three were off the mountain, down the stairs, through the jungle, on the beach and flew off within seconds, headed straight back to Megapolis to stop the dumpling.

“Are you sure this’ll work?” You asked over the whipping wind, and the two nodded.

“Of course!”

“I know my artefacts, it’ll be fine!”

No it won’t, but okay.

You let them just take you back, and the nervousness kicked in.

Wow, a bit late to the party.

You watched with bated breath as the dumpling came closer and closer, and MK and Tang opened the vase to suck the dumpling inside.

The force of the dumpling was too strong, forcing Mei and Pigsy to back them up to push against the dumpling as the water from within and the dumpling’s soup mixed together.

After what felt like forever, the soup dumpling was secured within the vase.

“Hm?” Everyone looked at MK and the vase curiously.

You took a few steps back.

Mei, poor brave Mei, spoke up first. “So… did wor– AHH!”

The vase exploded, like it was supposed to, of course.

You turned away, using your arms to protect yourself against the hot soup, but… nothing came. Your clothes weren’t drenched, you didn’t get scalded, nor did it even smell like soup actually.

Carefully, you turned back and lowered your arms, only to awe at the protective, bluish-pink barrier that protected you.

“Woah…”

You looked back at your friends and couldn’t help but snicker at seeing them and the surrounding area of the city covered in soup and dumpling bits. 

The barrier lowered as you walked over to them, probably because you no longer feel like you need to be protected. “Well, at least you guys smell nice.” You said with a teasing smirk.

“Shut it, you…” Pigsy grumbled as he wiped dumpling bits off his face.

“Well, that went less smoothly than expected.” Tang exclaimed cooly as he wiped his soup covered glasses off.

Mei deadpanned. “Ya think?”

“Well, as long as the city isn't destroyed, that’s an a-okay in my book!” Mk exclaimed, with the perfect comedic timing of a lamp post falling over and crushing someone's vehicle, causing the annoying alarms to go off.

Everyone looked at MK with faces that screamed ‘really???’.

You couldn’t help but chuckle as everyone hounded MK about what to do about damages. Despite the warmness of the soup, you felt a chill go down your spine, but ignored it in favour of helping everyone clean up the soup.

That was a feeling for future you to deal with.

~~~

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