#silly frying pan scene <3

[zepplinswraith]

what a freak

[dustdeepsea]

Writer Interview

Tagged by @my-favourite-zhent nearly 3 weeks ago and I've entirely missed the wave.

I've enjoyed reading so many interesting ones by my mutuals! Tagging (only if you're keen) @graysparrowao3 @coreene @say-lene @luvwich @grossestjay —and if I've missed your interview somehow, tag me in the comments!

Q&A after the cut—

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first fanwork at age 12. It was self-insert fanfiction with me and 2 of my friends in the Slayers anime universe, which meant it was several comedic sketches strung together with with lots of actions denoted by asterisks and emoticons. You know the ones ^_^ ^____^ @_@ T_T *slaps you gently with a trout*

We printed it out on someone's home printer and bound copies in plastic school folders with a two-hole punch. I've lost the original file ages ago, but I would love to read it again.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

When I was younger, I actively sought out "difficult stories" because I wanted to experience things beyond my day to day life. I read Nabokov at 16 because everyone kept saying Lolita was a dangerous book. I also read a lot of Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis without really understanding them.

My pretentiousness definitely peaked in my university days. My dating profile at the time listed: Herman Hesse, Kazuo Ishiguro and Mikhail Bulgakov.

Now that I'm older, I read and write stories primarily to make myself happy.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I'm not remotely at the level where I get compared to any published writers.

My favourite contemporary writer is David Mitchell (of Cloud Atlas fame), and my favourite book by him is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

My favourite "classic" novel is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I type at my desk, in a study shared with my partner. Sometimes if the scene is particularly spicy or they are gaming too loudly, I take the laptop to the living room.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Bouncing plot bunnies off others on Discord, talking a walk or a long train ride, playing an immersive video game and rotating characters in my head for hours afterwards.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

According to my lovely readers:

"Romantic and sweaty"; "two silly sausages frying in a pan" (thanks to my long time beta-reader @littleplasticrat)

"Purity, temperance, glimpse of [the] ability for real love / real forgiveness" (thank you @tellmeallaboutit!)

These did surprise me a bit when they were first pointed out but it makes sense—I've been accidentally writing Regency romances and repressed idiots in love without setting out to do so explicitly.

What is your reason for writing?

I put aside hobbies for many years because of my work (no matter what advertisers want you to believe—doomscrolling is not a hobby). Started doing more creative things during my sabbatical last year, and writing was one of the things that saved my broken corpo soul.

Nowadays I'm really into bread making and cooking in general. I'm trying to balance work and creative pursuits and I'm much happier overall.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Any and all comments are received with love <3 <3 <3 I really enjoy it when people let me know what lines really resonated with them or point out motifs I'd snuck in.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Friendly and approachable! Not entirely hyperfixated on That One NPC from a Video Game with Five Lines (that one might be harder now...!)

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

A fairly broad vocabulary, including anachronisms, which is useful for fantasy story settings. Writing characters who are actively lying to themselves (thinking one thing and saying/doing another).

My writing tends to be on the more contemplative side and a bit sadder and slower paced, so if you enjoy A Great Deal of Yearning along with your smut, then it would appeal to you :)

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm pretty happy with it! I write very, very slowly, with constant edits as I go, and would probably starve if I ever had to rely on my fiction writing to be paid. Luckily, I get to do this as a hobby.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I write for myself, but I am also super blessed to have a very small but vocal audience that I can interact with directly. I guess my best advice is: Write for yourself and your 10 friends who want to read your hand-bound home-printed self-insert fanfic <3

[diosapate]

aust. top five mercymorn moments go

lizzie. some of these might be deep cuts i fear. also i'm not counting m- bits because there are simply too many:

1. The Saint of Patience stood up and crossed to her. She reached forward and took big, clawed fistfuls of his shirt. “I wanted it to be me,” she said, in this weird, unearthly calm. “I didn’t want it to be you. I didn’t want it to be you, Augustine, after all … the sin needed to be mine.”

sorry. she took big clawed fistfuls of his shirt always gets me. chill babe no ones taking it from you

2. “I thought the commander had simply been a bad girl … a workaholic, putting business before family. She was the type … but that would have been too much of a coincidence. Let me think. Let me think. I made her the dolls—they were perfect—and then she must have played silly buggers with—with the emission."

bad girl. silly buggers. the emission. shes so perfect.

3. Mercy reached out for Augustine’s cigarette. He mutely handed it to her; watched as she sucked furiously on its end, as the thin wrapper flared orange around the tip, as she tapped it—distracted and frantic—into the empty tea mug. Then she handed it back to him without a word.

you guys might not have noticed but there are actually three* sex scenes in htn! the threesome the arm scene and this

4. The Saint of Joy sat down on the empty chair and burst into angry tears. She pressed her face into her hands and sobbed violently for something like four seconds—we’re talking brief—and then she stood up again, having apparently gotten it out of her system.

shes so real. shes so me.

5. After that cut into cubes, fry in the butter or oil, turn it occasionally until it is crispy. Cut up the pickle so there are no big chunks and mix it into the pan before taking off the heat. M told us yesterday that Nigella “eats like a child,” so I

this note. love the little bit of world building this gives us + her later saying that nigella was the hottest cavalier.

ask me my top 5 anything

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

*crawls into ask box*

Top 5 yttd scenes

ooooooooh right it's been a while since i've played so i'm probably forgetting a LOT but, from what i can remember:

1.) the entireeeee part of the 2nd main game towards the end where Kanna and Shin were trying to convince the others to vote them instead of the other it was so heartbreaking and aaaaa greenblings </3

2.) THE KAI SCENE OF ALL TIME where he smacked Miley with frying pan to stop her continuing to mock Kanna and him basically being like "oopsie my hand slipped how silly of me" AAAAAAA i love him

3.) ANZU DURING THE BANQUET WAS HILARIOUS like when it was pointed out her coffin wasn't glowing and she was all dramatic like "i've lost my glow!!" HDFBGFUZOIGUSDHJLS

4.) THE SCENE AFTER ALICE DIES AND REKO while mourning, tells Sara and Nao to go away but then like immediately calls Nao back and they just </333 aaaaa they're so important to each other and it showsssss

5.) Kanna flashback of when she and Kugie first met and became sisterssssss aaaaaa the themmm <333 i love you Kizuchi sisters (also. the parallels between Kugie and Shin)

[mune-mice]

The Captain Trio brainrott is insane. anyways assigns them Magnus Archives entities. Actually. I'll do it for all of the Worst Generation.

Luffy is a spiral avatar. need I explain more. honestly. That man is rubber and exists to be chaotic and confusing and I love him dearly.

I think Law's pretty vast aligned? thinking about some of the scenes he's in and how he uses Room, it makes sense to me. Like.. he could and will drop you out into the sky at ~3000 feet and feel no regret about it. You could argue for him being a web avatar but personally I like vast for him better.

Kid's a little harder to place? I mean what do you even do with a guy who's literally a magnet right. The slaughter or the hunt fit him best, I think, so I'm assigning Kid as a Slaughter avatar. This chaotic sense of violence without reason and masses of weapons and war.. it suits him.

Bonney would 100% be a stranger avatar, with how she changes her appearance and age on a whim. Also I think she would love carnivals.

Bege's another Slaughter! He's literally the mafia man I am not elaborating on this unless asked.

Zoro is a hunt avatar, pushing to become the greatest and kill anything in his way. He cuts down anyone ahead, loyal to only his aspersions and his crew.

Killer is also hunt. Look me in my silly eyes and tell me he isn't huh.

Of all of them to assign the Eye to, I give it to Drake. He's a double agent, watching and watching.. heheh

For Hawkins, I'd give him the End. The fortune telling association, the straw dolls.. he's the perfect match.

Why is Apoo so hard to TMA huh. fuck you music boy I'm hitting you with a frying pan. Stranger could work? he does have a very odd body, and his music would fit right in with whatever the fuck is going on in stranger town

Urouge I know literally jack shit about tbh I've seen him twice </3

Teach :) Teach my fucking enemy. Dark. he literally has the dark-dark fruit.

OKAY THATS ALL TWELVE IM GOING BACK TO DRAWING

Bonus: Ace and Sabo are Desolation. burn baby burn.

[the-werewolf-prince]

Chapter 2 Page 26

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

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The Werewolf Prince is a passion project 10 years in the making. It is a silly, derivative, and sincere story born from my love of monster of the week TV shows, survival horror video games, gothic literature, campy films, seinen manga, 90's animation, shonen anime, and homoerotic art throughout history. I truly hope you enjoy it. And please, let me know your opinions in the comments. Stay Classy

Art, Characters & Story © Sorbet Mystery

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[clairdelunelove]

AOT Valentine’s Day Headcanons

eren jaeger x reader, jean kirschstein x reader, armin arlert x reader, levi ackerman x reader, erwin smith x reader, porco galliard x reader, genderneutral!reader

genre: insane amounts of fluff, comfort 

warnings: slight cursing, insane amounts of fluff 

synopsis: small scenarios of what some  aot boys would do for you during valentine’s day. 

a.n: enjoy the lovely day with some of these cuties! remember to take care of yourselves and know you’re all loved <3

-

-

eren jaeger

this man would definitely try to cook a nice dinner for you 

especially if you’re having a hard week 

expect him to be researching the best recipe a couple days beforehand 

“what are you doing, eren?”

he’ll glance up and nonchalantly mutter, “nothing, babe” while scrolling through fancy recipes 

on valentine’s day it’s his time to shine 

waits for you to leave the house and go to work before leaving to pick up the necessary ingredients 

gets in a verbal argument with a store clerk if he doesn’t find the exact name of what he’s searching for 

“are you deaf? I said I needed a bag of shrimp”

“and we have that, sir. you said you needed a bag of prawns right?”

“it’s shrimp! how many goddamn times do I need to repeat myself?”

gets home with bags full of groceries and gets to work 

slowly chops all the vegetables and curses when he nicks his finger with the edge of the knife 

puts too much oil in the frying pan and tosses everything in there 

scrolls through his phone while waiting 

spends fifteen minutes ogling at his screensaver 

of course it’s a pic of you 

ends up burning everything he made

orders takeout, plates it real nice, and attempts to brush off that it was his cooking once you’re home 

“this is so good, babe!” you exclaim while lifting the fork to your mouth, “tastes like the order we usually get at that one French restaurant.”

“glad you like it, baby”

cue his nervous sweating 

-

-

jean kirschstein 

simp energy!

makes previous reservations to take a painting class with you 

tells you to dress warm before the two of you head out 

so! happy!

has the goofiest smile on the actual date

tucks your hand in his pocket while walking to the art studio

spends the whole time checking over at your easel 

audibly approves of everything you do, even if you’re drawing a line 

“wow, it looks great sweetheart” 

scrunches up his brows while concentrating 

listens to the art instructor say to paint something that they love 

takes it quite literally 

paints you 

tries to get each pretty feature about you 

swipes his hand over his cheek and gets paint on it 

literally sweats out of pure focus and won’t want to leave until he’s done

“jean, babe, we gotta go” 

“five more minutes please. almost done”

five min turns into five hours 

jean’s painting of you is surprisingly amazing and he’s even lowkey impressed 

has a random stranger take a pic of you and him together while holding up the paintings

treats you to an expensive restaurant afterwards and pays

full stomachs = happy couple 

pulls you close while walking through the downtown streets 

whispers cheeky pickup lines into your ear and presses a kiss against your head

best. day. ever. 

-

-

connie springer 

did you say it was valentine’s day?

shit 

definitely forgets about the whole holiday but is quick enough to put something together for you 

you both aren’t super invested in sappy holidays but connie tries each time 

the morning of, he’ll run to the nearest shops and try to pick out a bouquet of flowers for you 

everything’s sold out 

will curse his luck and literally sprint out of there 

kicks himself for not planning in advance as he’s walking up the driveway of your house

notices the neighbor’s beautiful flowers 

idea!

he will dash through each neighbor’s yard and pick their flowers so a mismatched bouquet rests in his hand

“happy valentine’s day, my favorite goofball!” 

“thanks, babe,” your wide eyes stare at the uncoordinated bouquet in your hands, “I love it”

cue the mud that falls to the floorboards 

you scold connie about the dirt that’s still stuck on the roots since it dirties the floors 

he’ll take you out to watch a comedy show too!

whole evening of laughter while his arm is wrapped around your shoulder

you were both glowing in happiness (along with having a sore stomach) afterwards

wraps his sweater around you since the evening was getting chilly 

drives you home and gives you the sweetest kiss 

he’ll pull away with a, “wow” while being completely dazed out 

let’s you take his jacket home and texts you corny jokes the whole night 

-

-

Maro Bott 

desperately! wants you to be his valentine 

almost cries tears of joy when you accept his confession which only makes you confused 

“Marco, sweetie, we’ve been dating for two years”

“doesn’t matter, love” 

shows up extra early with a bouquet of roses 

“happy valentine’s day!”

expect him to walk inside the house and look through all your cabinets for a vase 

helps you pick out an outfit because he has the “perfect date” planned 

causes you to be wrapped in bundles of clothing 

won’t tell you where he’s taking you once the two of you are in the car

“an,” you tilt your head and albeit a bit puzzled, “ice rink?”

“time for some ice skating!”

laces up your skates before he even does his own so he makes sure it’s secure 

will ask multiple times if your feet are comfortable 

once he has his skates on, it’s game over 

can’t walk without holding onto your hand for a couple moments 

“this is harder than I thought,” he confesses with a nervous grin 

gets on the ice and falls 

hard 

the thump causes everyone to look at the two of you and he only responds with, “oh look (Y/n)! I’ve fallen for you! Get it?”

undoubtedly makes you giggle and onlookers awe

gets the hang of ice skating and teaches you how if you’re scared of falling 

makes excuses to pull you close and sweetly kiss your cheek 

“it’s part of the learning process”

the day was as sweet as Marco is 

-

-

Armin Arlert 

bookstore date!

will definitely plan in advance because he wants everything to be perfect 

expect a good morning text that’s a whole paragraph long <3

still asks you, “can I be your valentine?” even if you are both dating 

plan on wearing matching outfits for the day 

light academia style of white turtlenecks, beige pants, and cardigans 

will take a selfie with you and set it as his lock screen so he can awe at it every second 

“you’re breathtaking” 

intertwines your fingers with his when you’re holding hands 

swings it while walking 

lots of attention once the two of you step inside the bookstore

constant whispering about the matching outfits and innocent affection 

he’ll lead you to the back of the store and spend the entire day there 

sits on the floor, leaning against the wooden bookcase, and stroking your hair while you’re laying on his lap 

silence = peace 

piles of books around you both 

“how’s the plot, love?” 

will ask that when his head is resting on your thigh and inwardly loves how comfy you are 

buys all the books you want and waves away your credit card when you try to pay 

“consider it repayment for spending the day with me” 

holds the tote bag of books the whole time despite it being heavy 

stops by the cafe to buy cups of hot chocolate

notices a small amount of whipped cream on the corner of your mouth 

chuckles and stops to literally lean down to press his lips against yours in order to wipe it off 

whispers, “you’re so lovely, angel”

both of you will pull away with flushed faces and lovesick smiles 

-

-

Levi Ackerman 

“what’s this for, brat?”

frowns once he opens his front door and you’re standing there with a wide grin 

“happy valentine’s day, dear! I wanted to watch a movie then-” 

“yeah, yeah” 

lets you in anyways 

takes the large basket full of movies, snacks, and skincare out of your hands

sets it on the kitchen counter and you immediately pop a bag of popcorn into the microwave

your movements are quick as you’re scurrying around the kitchen retrieving bowls, plates, and napkins 

levi watches you from the couch, inwardly pleased that you’re able to memorize the layout of his house since you’ve been over so many times 

he’d never tell a soul though 

movies with levi!

he won’t pay attention to the movie at all but still comments film mistakes 

“he wasn’t even wearing that sweater in the previous scene” 

“levi, honey, who even pays attention to that” 

“people with eyes” 

allows you to cuddle close to him but his fingers itch to bring you even closer 

audibly groans when you move away to fetch something 

“self care time!” you exclaim while holding up a pack of face masks 

will not let you put one on him once he sees how silly they look 

“please?”

“no,” he states, “they look fucking ridiculous”

does it anyways once your puppy dog eyes are on display 

curses as you slick his hair back and put one on him 

hates it and voices his opinion 

but at the end of the day, he agrees with the saying, ‘happy wife, happy life’ 

and oh yes, you were going to be his wife one day 

-

-

Erwin Smith 

imagine sleeping in and waking up to breakfast in bed 

pancakes, waffles, bagels, raspberry streusel muffins 

and everything’s like 

in the shape of a heart <3

turns on some classical, romance music 

sweet candles that smell like vanilla = burning 

that’s what this man would do 

wakes up super early 

determined to whip everything up pronto 

folded all the laundry, cleaned the dishes, vacuumed the house 

amazing 

10/10 gentleman 

“good morning, love” 

edges the bedroom door open with his shoulder while holding a tray of delicious food 

definitely still in casual wear clothes 

a sweater and grey joggers that he wore to sleep 

loves the smile on your face

says “happy valentine’s day” and presses a kiss on the back of your hand 

sits on the edge of the bed while you eat 

chuckles when you feed him 

lets you though 

brushes your hair back each time you take a bite to eat 

amusingly shakes his head whenever you over-exaggerate a hum in delight 

pleased smirks!

definitely tried to swipe whip cream over your cheek just to hear you giggle 

it’s beautiful 

watches the way the sunlight pours through the window and creates a glow on your face 

serenity, calmness, and adoration 

discreetly pinches himself to make sure he isn’t dreaming 

wouldn’t want this day to end 

-

-

Porco Galliard 

“you doin’ anything today or what?”

will be the first text you get from him in the early morning 

after a second passes, the little dots show up to indicate he’s typing again 

“nvm. lemme take you out today” 

shows up to your place unannounced and immediately notices what you’re wearing 

“you’re wearing that? like for real?”

“is there something wrong with it?”

notices the panic in your eyes and immediately stutters  

“nah, just,” he’ll bring his hand up to swipe at his noise while avoiding your gaze, “think you’ll be cold but you can wear my jacket or whatever.” 

leads you to his muscle car and opens up the passenger door for you 

surprisingly chivalrous for the day 

drives throughout town to pick up stuff like a blanket, picnic basket, pre-made food, drinks 

pays for it, of course, because he claims he’s the better man like that 

“only scummy men let their partners pay” 

spends the whole day driving around, hand on your thigh, while blasting your fav songs” 

rolls the windows down so other drivers look your way 

will also flip off anyone that suggestively gazes at you 

loves when you belt out the lyrics and eagerly want him to join your singing session 

rolls his eyes, “me? singing? gross.”

will sing 100% but only if you don’t call his bluff

pulls to the side of the road and sets up a romantic picnic spot nestled in an open field 

drapes his jacket over your smaller physique and only mutters, “wear it before you catch a cold”

spends the evening star gazing, letting you rest your head on his chest while his hands are folded behind his neck 

carries you back to the car once you’re asleep, snaps on your seatbelt, presses a kiss on your forehead, and mumbles, “thanks for lettin’ me take you out today, idiot.” 

[midgardianweasley]

Teach me

Teach me. 

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: After multiple failures at making breakfast, Natasha decides to teach her girlfriend one of the basics.

Word Count: 1.3k

Have a 3am fic that’s not been proofread at all<3

Message/ask if you’d like to be added to the taglist! 

beep! beep! beep! 

The fire alarm sounded. Again. 

This was the third morning in a row that the irritating high pitched alarm went off, alerting everyone in the compound, and most likely the next town over, that yet again, you were cooking breakfast.

Well, ‘cooking’ was a generous term. It was probably more accurate to say that you were simply attempting to heat food without burning down the entire building where it stands. That said, you quickly grabbed the metal lid abandoned on the side of the counter and threw it onto the pan, containing the flames that were rapidly getting out of hand. 

You were only trying to cook some bacon. 

“Y/L/NNNN!” You cringed at the all too familiar voice of a certain Stark making his way down the hall. 

“I swear to God if you’ve broken my toaster again!” He appeared in the doorway within seconds, still in his pyjamas and his hair tousled. He raised his eyebrows, pointing at the pan you were so innocently standing in front of, expecting an explanation for why he was being woken up yet again by your antics. 

“Your toaster is perfectly fine!” 

“Well then what have you broken?” 

“I haven’t broken anything! It was just a little fire.” 

His eyes visibly widened, if his face moved an inch, they would’ve popped out. “A fire?!” 

“Well, yeah, but look! it’s fine! I covered it!” 

More footsteps jogged up behind a stressed Tony, revealing themselves to be Steve and Natasha, your girlfriend, who knew fine well the reason behind yet another heated discussion. Literally.

“What’s going on?” The supersoldier kitted out in his gym gear asked, completely unknowing of the scene unfolding in front of him.

“What happened, Cap, is that someone is disturbing my beauty sleep.” He glared at you, only partly serious.

“Now c’mon Tony, we all know you’re a beautiful man.” the redhead piped up, giving him a famous Romanoff smirk while giving you a subtle side-eyed wink. 

Tony rolled his eyes, looking between you, the pan, Steve and Natasha, and back to you again. You tried to give him the most guilt-free smile you could muster, eyes pleading for him to not throw you into next week.

Your prayers must’ve been answered, a defeated sigh left his lips, turning towards the door to walk out. “Natasha.” 

“Yes?” 

“Please help your girlfriend and make sure she doesn’t blow herself up.” 

She looked amused, clearly using every ounce of her strength to not laugh at the situation at hand as a grown man slumped away back down the hall like an exhausted toddler. 

Steve placed a steady hand on Nats shoulder. “I’m going to try and get some more training in before my run with Sam, you got this?” 

“I’m sure I can handle this” she turned to see you looking at all the different buttons and dials on the oven, turning and pressing them with a furrowed brow. “I hope.” 

Steve chuckled lightly before returning to his gym session, leaving the pair of you alone in the now slightly clouded kitchen. 

Natasha walked towards you, you were still completely oblivious to her as you were messing with the oven. You jumped a little as her hands fell to your waist, surprised at the sudden yet firm grip on your body. 

Resting her head in the crook of your neck and tugging your body back into hers, moulding perfectly together, she placed small, delicate kisses to your sensitive skin, causing you to quietly giggle at her actions. 

“Hi baby” She whispered in between her pecks, a sly smile plastered on her face. 

“Hi ‘Tasha” 

“Would you care to explain why my darling girl is setting fire to-“ she moved to pull the lid off of the pan, only being met with some form of charred..something. “Uhm, help me out, what is this?” 

“It was bacon” You mumbled, embarrassed a little at your failed attempt at breakfast.

Trying to hide her laughter, her head fell back into your neck. She thought she was being clever, but you could feel her body vibrating with suppressed snorts and chuckles, the reaction being contagious as you started to laugh too, your head falling to the side to rest on hers. 

After calming down a little, she tapped your waist and pulled back, a frown appearing on your face instantly from the lack of body heat from your girlfriend. Turning to face her, you were ready to protest about how you wanted more hugs, but instead a green fabric was shoved into your hands. 

“That’s an apron, darling.” 

“I know! but why are you handing me it?” She tied the knot behind her back with ease, hands landing straight on her hips afterwards.

“because the day has finally come.”

“Oh no.” 

“Yep. We’re making eggs, i’m teaching you. Apron up.” 

_____________________

It had 30 minutes, and you were still attempting to get one omelette served onto the very empty plate beside you. Timing it was one thing, but flipping it was another. To be completely honest, you were surprised you even managed to get to this stage considering the amount of eggs you had to crack to have enough to form an omelette. Or something resembling one. 

“Right, just a few more seconds and then we’re going to flip this, okay?” 

“Can’t you do it? I’m hopeless.” You huffed, getting frustrated with the repetitiveness of cracking eggs, whisking them, frying them, flipping them and you’d say serving them, but you had no experience of that yet. 

“You’re not hopeless, Y/N. You’ve got this, It’s just a flick of the wrist, not a twist of the arm, like this” Natasha stood behind you once more, her fingertips tracing your bare arms lightly before stilling over yours, her back pressed against you and her arms pressed tightly on either side of you. 

“I feel like you’re teaching me golf.” 

“I mean, yeah, same teaching technique, but don’t swing the spatula.” She gave you a knowing look, warning you to not get any eggs stuck on the ceiling, leaving there no chance in hell to get it back down. 

She guided you to move the utensil under the half cooked omelette, shuffling it slightly so there was no part of it stuck to the pan. 

“You ready?” 

“Nope.”

“Great” 

And with one movement, she lifted both of your hands, and nudged them to turn over, ultimately flipping the egg so that you could see how instead of it being black and crumbly, it was a nice toasted brown with some patches of yellow still. 

“See? you did it! Not a burnt egg in sight!” She threw her hands up in celebration, the gesture would’ve made you feel silly if you weren’t focusing on her upturned lips and the pride sparkling in her eyes. 

“Well, the night is still young.” 

“it’s morning my love” 

“..You know what I meant.” You slapped her arm teasingly, both of you unable to keep the smiles off of your faces. Within a minute, Natasha had pulled your face to hers, lips dancing against yours in a loving kiss that eventually turned into a makeout when she slipped her tongue past your lips and tangling with yours. 

Neither of you had any idea how long you both stood there for, completely entranced by one another, lost in your own little world. Fortunately, you had a lovely indication of how long you’d been kissing for. 

beep! beep! beep! 

“Y/L/N! ROMANOFF!” 

You both hung your heads, foreheads not breaking apart as you did so, bracing yourselves for the famous Tony Stark lecture storming your way.

“You’re taking the fall for this one, Romanoff.” 

“If I go down, you’re coming with me.” 

“Yeah, right”

She wasn’t lying. 

taglist: @natashas-favourite-knives @wandaromanova @eilarch @natashaswifey @lostandsearching @pottahishotasf @d14n4ol​ @xxromanoffxx​ @007giu​ 

[askyourwritergrandma]

Hi, grandma! I hope you're well and that it's not too cold wherever you are. i was wondering if you have any tips on settings descriptions? Especially in terms of describing areas and the weather. I feel that my characters are always acting in a void and I want to work on improving that. Thanks!

Hi Ibovaryyou!

I am familiar with task of improving your setting descriptions. It's probably one of the weaker aspects of my own writing to this day (because not everyone can be a visual thinker, I guess). However, because I did have to improve it and concentrate on it I do have some tips!

1. Balance the generalized with the specific: Since not every part of the setting needs to be described you do not need to waste your time describing your great Auntie's kitchen down to the baseboards. Generalize what's not going to do any work in your story and concentrate on what is adding character (development) or plot worth.

Auntie Meema's kitchen was dominated on one side by an oversized window best used by school children trying their hardest not to concentrate on their homework and on the other size by a stove that seemed large enough to cook naughty schoolchildren in. Between them was a bare wall, an ugly cabinet and vigorously scrubbed countertop. The only splash of color (and temptation) was the gleaming ceramic cookie jar. It had been an impulse buy, late into the Christmas shopping season, when silly nine year old girls couldn't find their great aunt any better gift. They'd giggled themselves into a hysteria, but Auntie Meema loved that cookie jar, as silly as it was, masquerading as a pig in a shower cap holding a back scrubber in one hand and it's towel pinched closed in the other.

2. Try to avoid blank, unnecessary, overly setting description This one might come down to personal preference, but as a learning tactic only, it helps to use your setting description in an emotional way. So you're describing a room while you're also tying it to an emotion or a history. Instead of just saying, 'this old kitchen had yellowed over the years,' you'd say:

Auntie Meema's kitchen had gone yellow after years and years of so many fried chicken dinners. Every bit of the room seemed to hold in the smell, and not of the delicious, crunch of the well-seasoned skin but of the old oil left cooling in the pan on the stove. That old cast iron frying pan still sat there now, fulfilling the prophecy of so many late nights frying donuts before breakfast. "This old pan is gonna out live me, you just wait and see."

3. Use figurative language. It's been too many years since middle school English so I can't tell you what's a metaphor and what's a simile but I can tell you that using figurative language along with actual scene designs allows your reader to fill in some of the gaps and then you don't have to describe them. I've used this a bit in Meema's kitchen so lets go outside:

The hard packed dirt practically sizzled under those first few drops of rain. All of Betty's begging to give up hadn't convinced Auntie Meema that there was any relief to be found indoors. She had crouched, dripping sweat like a waterfall, pulling weeds from the roadside. It had been hours of back-breaking in the bitter, violent sunshine. Betty's pouting had worn ruts in the drying grass, her dragging feet moving like farm plows, as she carried armload after armload of stabby little weeds to the pile by the woodshed. The first cool breeze that blew in brought the blessed smell of a rain and it was barely five spare minutes after that the clouds went black as midnight and those sizzling sprinkles turned to full cold shower.

4. Let your reader do most of the work. Think of example 3. We only know for a fact that there's a dirt road, weeds, grass and it's hot. We don't know how hot it is. We don't know what the area around them is. We don't know what the weeds are (other than pokey).

This means that what I'm imagining as this little dirt roadside, and what you imagine as this little dirt roadside are different. Those weeds are something from my childhood, but your weeds might be different. By not over-describing them, you allow your reader to substitute in their own vision of stabby weeds which lets them connect to your scene more fully.

5. Sometimes green is just green. If you're writing a description and you are bored and you have the deep, abiding need to make it more exciting... Trust me all writers have been there. While you might be tempted to head to the tumblr thesaurus and find a new fun color word (which has it's uses, but isn't the answer every time), take a moment to ask yourself this first:

Am I bored because nothing is happening in this description? setting is important, but too many sentences of "The grass had been cut yesterday. Its vibrant green vibed perfectly with the lush, verdant glow of the manicured bushes situated between the house and the duck pond. Speaking of the duck pond it was blue, as water is wont to be." The lawn is pretty, but try to add in some character/personality/connection to the lawn.

Am I bored because this description doesn't matter? setting is only important if it's important. your story doesn't need to know the color of every pair of Auntie Meema's underpants are just because we're describing her bedroom.

Am I relying too much on color? There are other aspects to a scene to think about. The smell of things? The way they feel? The temperature of the setting hot/cold/cool. The lighting. The noise. Color is sometimes a crutch we get stuck on.

I know these were just a few suggestions, but hopefully they're helpful in some way!

Good luck!

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Competitiveness

Summary: Saturday Tourists 

Notes: I had several requests for a continuation of When I Grow Up, this was delightful to fulfill

Ao3

Blaine wakes up to an empty bed. It’s still warm though so Kurt must’ve just gotten up to pee. He stretches before burying his nose into Kurt’s pillow. God, being in New York is the best. 

Almost ten minutes go by before Blaine sits up in bed. His boyfriend still hadn’t returned. 

He puts on some plaid pajama pants and heads to the kitchen. As soon as he opens the curtain, he smells coffee. That makes him walk a little faster, secure in the knowledge that Kurt probably made him a cup too. He smells maple syrup too. Kurt must be on another latte kick, maple lattes in New York on a Saturday morning—life couldn’t be any better. 

Blaine is all excited for lattes that he’s taken aback by the scene in the kitchen. It appears that Sam and Kurt are fighting with frying pans. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with lattes but might possibly involve maple syrup seeing as there’s a bottle of it sitting on the counter. 

“Okay, one more chance,” Kurt says with his competitive smile. 

“All or nothing,” Sam agrees. 

They hold their frying pans out in front of them and quickly lower them and fling a half-done pancake in the air. They’re attempting to catch their respective pancakes they’ve sent flying into the air, Blaine’s jaw drops. Who knew his boyfriend could be so…silly? 

Sam’s pancake lands on the floor and Kurt’s is half in the pan half on himself. 

“Truce?” Sam offers. 

Kurt sets his frying pan aside, “truce, now let’s make some actual blueberry pancakes before everyone else wakes up.” 

“Um too late,” Blaine says, announcing his presence. 

“No, no, you were supposed to sleep in,” Kurt says, “Sam said you didn’t sleep well this week.” 

“How does Sam…never mind…I’m fine, just need some coffee.” 

“You know, Blaine, you’ll be caffeine-dependent soon if you keep this up and that will not help your sleep schedule,” Sam tells him. 

Kurt’s pouring coffee as he says, “that’s true, hon.” 

While their backs are turned, Blaine rolls his eyes. He doesn’t know how much Sam-and-Kurt time he can take this weekend. Hopefully, it’ll get better once the girls get up. Luckily, it doesn’t take long. Blaine barely had a sip of coffee before Santana comes out of her makeshift bedroom. 

Despite all his weekend trips to the loft, Blaine still isn’t used to the laid-back Santana who only makes appearances in the morning. Her hair is unbrushed, no makeup, loose pajamas with holes in the pants from years of wear, and her sleepiness tones down her snark too. 

She quietly pours herself a cup of coffee and takes the chair next to Blaine. 

“How many pancakes?” Kurt asks. 

“Three,” Blaine replies. 

“What kind?” Santana asks. 

“Blueberry,” Sam tells her. 

“My favorite, 3 please,” she says. 

It doesn’t take long before they’re being served their breakfast. Together they calmly eat pancakes and sips their coffee. 

“What’s on the agenda today?” Santana asks, “tourist stuff?” 

“Statue of Liberty!” Sam exclaims, “I wanna go on the boat.” 

“I think it’s a ferry actually,” Blaine says. 

“Still wanna go,” Sam replies. 

He sits down across from Santana with a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice. 

“Do you wanna join us, Santana?” Kurt questions, coming to sit with them as well. 

“Maybe, what else you doing?” 

“Times Square! I want to go to the M&M store,” Sam says. 

“Did someone say shopping?” Rachel asks, stretching as she comes into the kitchen. 

“No one said that exactly,” Kurt murmurs to Blaine, who chuckles.

“I’d like to go to Times Square,” Rachel says, “is there coffee left for me?” 

“Yup,” Kurt says, “blueberry pancakes too.” 

“Ooo yum!” 

“I’ll go too,” Santana says. 

They end up going to Ellis Island first.

 Sam requests photos on the ferry there. Some solo, some with Blaine, some with Kurt, and he asked a stranger to take a photo of all three of them. When they arrive at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty, more photos are taken. 

Blaine talks them down from racing up to the top of the torch. It’s a lot of stairs and they have plans later. He doesn’t want to have two whiny companions. 

This morning they agreed to meet the girls in Times Square by the red bleachers. On the way, Kurt and Sam tell Blaine about the improv number they performed there when they were in the city for Nationals. 

“It was awesome, dude!” Sam exclaims. 

Rachel catches his eye by waving aggressively across the street. He attempts to get his boyfriend and Sam’s attention but they are lost in their memories of glee.

Honestly, Blaine can’t blame them. He often finds himself remembering the best moments they had in the choir room, the glances he would make at Kurt, and vice versa. There are plenty of good moments that are still happening but sitting in that room, calming Kurt’s old spot as his own, helps him feel more connected when his boyfriend is a whole state away. 

“Where are we going first?” Rachel asks. 

“M&M, duh!” Blaine and Sam say at the same time. 

Kurt reaches for his hand and the five of them walk towards their first destination. After an exhausting 3 hours in Times Square, they pick up dinner on their way home and settle in the living room arguing over a movie to watch. 

Santana wants to see something they haven’t watched a million times before, Rachel is demanding they pick a musical, Sam keeps suggesting different Star Wars films, and Kurt and Blaine are likely going to start making out halfway through so the rest of the group decided their votes didn’t count. 

Blaine looks over at Kurt, who is insisting he and Blaine should still have a say in the movie choice, and thinks to himself, best weekend ever. 

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck Part 15/? - Body Snatchers Part 16/? - Out of the Frying Pan Part 17/? - A Miracle Part 18/? - A Matter of Circumstance Part 19/? - Nome Part 20/? - The Future

Kay has big plans.

-

Peggy had expected them to immediately board another plane and head south again, but it seemed that the aircraft in question was held up in Portland by a terrible thunderstorm, forcing them to spend the night in Nome.  There was only one place in town that could really be called a hotel, and it had only four rooms for let, which created something of a problem.

“Well,” said the proprietor, an aging white man with a steel-gray mustache.  “Obviously the best room will be for the guest of honour.”  He held out the key to Steve.

Steve held up his hands.  “Uh, thanks, Mr. Stanley, but I couldn’t, not when we have ladies with us.”  He nodded to Peggy and Kay.

“Oh,” said Peggy.  “Well, no, Captain Rogers really is the guest of honour here, and he’s been unwell.”  Peggy had certainly seen more soft beds in the past couple of years than Steve had, no matter how anyone defined it.

“Peg, I’m fine,” said Steve.

“And I’m not?” Peggy asked.

Kay cleared her throat.  “I believe,” she said, “that the guest of honour here is the hero who’s bringing Captain America home – that would be Mr. Masters.”  Her voice was dripping sarcasm, but she gestured to the man with a smile on her face.

Masters frowned at her suspiciously, but only for a moment.  Then he stepped up to take the key.  “Thank you, Mr. Stanley,” he said.

Peggy and Steve both looked at Kay, who shrugged.  “If we had to stand here all night listening to you two say I couldn’t possibly, we’d never get any sleep,” she said.

With the best room claimed, Mr. Stanley gave a second key to Steve and a third to Peggy and Kay, and then offered the fourth and final one to Howard.  “Sorry to the soldiers,” he added, “but I’m sure you fellows can figure something out.”

“Guess I’ll go sleep in the Skytrain again,” said Jason.  He wasn’t angry or bitter, merely resigned, which Peggy thought was probably worse.

“Don’t be silly, we can share.” Howard clapped him on the shoulder and then approached the counter.  “What’s there to drink in this place?  I’m buying a round for everybody… Steve and Peg have a hell of a story to tell and we’re all gonna need to be fortified for it!”  His glance at Peggy told her that he wanted to hear the tale and wouldn’t let her refuse, government secrets be damned.

Half an hour later found Peggy, Kay, Howard, Jason, and Steve all sitting around a table in the nameless hotel’s tiny common room, refilling glasses from a bottle of something Mr. Stanley had confided he distilled himself.  It was pretty crude and burned the throat, and Peggy didn’t want to drink too much of it.  Jason had nearly choked when he tried it, Steve looked disconcerted, and Howard blinked back tears, but Kay downed it like a shot of whiskey and held out her glass for more.

Peggy took the men through the story of what had happened after she and Kay flew away with the helicopter, and how they’d dragged Steve down to the boiler room to thaw him out.  Although she wouldn’t have done so in front of Masters, Peggy confessed that he, herself, had believed Steve was dead, and it was Kay who’d insisted on keeping him intact.

“How did you know?” Howard asked her.

“I just… knew,” Kay replied with a shrug.

That was enough to tell Peggy not to go into the backstory before Kay herself was ready.  “The rest, I suppose is, is fairly obvious,” she concluded.  “The doctors poked and prodded at Steve to make sure he wasn’t going to drop dead on them, and Masters stopped worrying about arresting us because he was far too busy calling ahead to make sure everybody will give him the credit.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?” asked Jason, who knew what it was like to have other people claim responsibility for his work.

“I could not care less what Vernon Masters says or does, as long as he leaves me alone,” Peggy replied firmly, though it was an utter lie.  Whatever the man had against her, she knew he wasn’t going to drop it just yet.

“What about you?” he asked Kay.

“I’m used to working behind the scenes,” she said.  She poured the last of Mr. Stanley’s moonshine into her glass, then pushed the empty bottle away.  “Anyway, that already happened, and is officially in the past.  I’m worried about the future.”

Peggy leaned forward.  “What about it?” she asked.  Of course Kay had insisted Masters take the best bedroom, she realized… it was on the top floor, far away from anywhere he could hear this conversation from.  “You said you had an extensive to-do list.”

“I do.  I’ve checked two items off – Ste…” Kay caught herself.  “Captain Rogers is back, and Zola is dead.  That’s a good start.  The next items are Sergeant Barnes and the Red Room.  I want to do both at once, because I know how these people operate, and if I do one first, it’s gonna be much harder to come back and take care of the other.”

Almost unconsciously, everybody else huddled in closer, too.  “Bucky is dead,” said Steve.  “You said the Russians found his body.”

“I said they found him,” Kay said.  “You assumed he was dead.”

Steve’s eyes widened, and Peggy had a sudden vision of him sitting in that half-destroyed tavern in France, trying desperately to get drunk off something that was probably no more than soda when compared to Mr. Stanley’s brew.  For him that had been only a couple of weeks ago, and the guilt and grief were still fresh.  To tell him he’d abandoned not a dead friend, but a live one… Peggy reached to put her hand over his.

“I lied when I told you they found in him the valley,” Kay went on.  “HYDRA found him there.  They recognized him as one of Zola’s experimental subjects, and were very interested in the fact that he’d survived the fall with only a few broken ribs and a shattered left shoulder, so they put him in suspended animation so they could keep working on him.  Of course, only a few days later the Valkyrie crashed and Hitler shot himself like the sniveling coward he was, and the Russians moved in to search their bases and take anything useful.  He was nobody to them, just a nameless POW, but his medical records interested them enough that they took him back with them.

“That’s where he is now,” she concluded.  “They’ve been training him up and brainwashing him, trying to create the perfect assassin… something like me, but with less free will and higher necklines.  They had to amputate his left arm, and eventually they hope captured HYDRA scientists, people like Zola, can build him a functional prosthesis.”

There was silence at the table.  Kay smiled sadly at Steve.

“Don’t feel bad, Captain Rogers, you didn’t know.  How could you have known?  It’s only been three years.  They’re not finished yet.  It’ll be much easier to save him now that it would be later, when the only thing he’s known for decades is orders and violence.”  She glanced at Peggy, and Peggy realized she was the only other person at the table who knew that Kay was speaking from terrible personal experience.

Steve swallowed hard.  “How do you know any of this?” he asked.  “I mean… why should I believe you?”

That made Peggy think twice, too… if she assumed Kay’s story of being from the SSR of the future was a lie, then how did she have this information?  Either she was making it all up, or else she knew an awful lot about what was going on with both the USSR and possible HYDRA holdouts that may or may not exist.  Was that awfully convenient, or just awfully suspicious?

Kay seemed to think for a moment.  “Sergeant Barnes has a sister,” she said.  “Rebecca.  She’s the one who named him Bucky, because then their nicknames would match – Becky and Bucky.”  She thought a little longer.  “Before he was drafted he wanted to be a writer.  His favourite book is A Princess of Mars but he’d read almost anything in that genre… not just Burroughs but Wells and Verne and Doyle.  When you were twenty-one, some relative living in London sent you a copy of The Hobbit as a gift, and you read the first chapter and then immediately gave it to Barnes because you knew he’d like it.”

Steve stared at her, not knowing how to respond.

“I know that because you would have told it to me, in a future that won’t happen now,” said Kay, “and I know it won’t happen because you’re alive in 1948 and Zola isn’t.”

“Uh, I’m sorry,” said Jason, “are you trying to tell us you’re from the future?”

“That’s what she told me,” Peggy put in, “but I didn’t want to be the one who sounded like a lunatic by bringing it up.”

“I’m from a future, Dr. Wilkes,” said Kay.  “It’s not the future anymore, and you wouldn’t want it to be, because it’s a future in which you got crushed to death during a demonstration in Baltimore in April of 1968.”

“If you’re a time traveler, how did you get here?” Howard wanted to know.  “We worried that some of the stuff HYDRA was building was for altering time, but I did the math and it just doesn’t work.  You’d need more energy than even the tesseract could give you.”

“I don’t know,” Kay told him.  “I just woke up naked in an alley in San Francisco, and once I figured out I wasn’t dreaming I sat down and made a list of things that have to change.  I need you guys to trust me, because I need your help changing them.”

A moment passed in which nobody spoke, and Peggy realized that everybody was looking at her, as if she were somehow the arbiter of truth and lies in this ridiculous situation.  “I don’t know,” she said.  “I don’t know what to believe.  It sounds absurd… but she did know about Steve.  I can’t deny that.”  How could she, when Steve was sitting right there at the table, in the flesh, as she’d never thought she would see him again.

That seemed to be enough for Steve himself.  “Where is he?” he asked Kay.

“That’s the first problem,” she said.  “I don’t know.  Organizations like the Red Room don’t exactly keep meticulous records, and the details of their history weren’t part of the raise-a-spy curriculum.  When they leave a place, they take everything they need and burn the rest.”

“Which is why you need Dottie!” Peggy realized.

“Exactly.”  Kay nodded.  “She at least knows where she was brought up and who did it, and that’s a start.”

“We haven’t had a whole lot of luck questioning her,” warned Peggy.

“We just have to figure out what she wants,” Kay said.  “I’ve picked out a couple of her patterns… she’s collecting money, but also blackmail material on powerful people.  I don’t know what she’s planning because in my future she obviously didn’t succeed.  But I have a theory, and if I’m right, we’ll have leverage.”

“We’ll have to catch her first,” Peggy said, but for the first time in weeks, she felt as if there were some hope of that.

“What’s my future?” Howard wanted to know.

Kay cocked her head and bit her lip.  “You and your wife die in a car accident just before Christmas in 1991.”

He was startled.  “I’m going to get married?”

Kay rolled her eyes.  “Peggy – you outlive two husbands and die in your bed at nearly a hundred years old, after saving the world over and over but never realizing the enemy you were fighting was within your own organization.  Captain Rogers, they didn’t thaw you out until 2012, and then you had to realize that all this time…”

Steve winced and lowered his head.  “All this time those people had Bucky.”

“Exactly,” Kay nodded, “but like I said, none of that’s going to happen now.  The future is going to be better.  I don’t know how I got here but I know I can do that, or at least try… some things I cannot change, but ‘til I try I’ll never know,” she added in a singsong.

There was another silence around the table.  Steve cleared his throat.

“If what you said about Bucky is true, then I can’t just do nothing,” he said.

Peggy took his hand again.  “We obviously have to try,” she agreed.

“You found Steve,” Howard said.  “I owe you one for that.”

Jason hesitated, then appeared to make up his mind.  “I’m in.”

Kay smiled.  “I won’t thank you yet,” she told them, “but I’ll know when.”

Howard grinned and raised his glass.  “To the future!” he said.

“The future!”  They clinked their glasses together and downed the last of Mr. Stanley’s bootleg, and Peggy felt a little thrill of excitement in the pit of her stomach.  Her work had long ago lost any of that, becoming just what she did with all its secrecy and all its dangers.  But for some reason… this must be what Mr. Jarvis felt, when he described it as adventure.

[the-himawari]

A3! Fushimi Omi - Welcome to Akebono-so! Mini Conversations Translation

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Practise Conversation 1

This time, Tsuzuru wrote a script for me that it seems I’d be into.

I think I’ll be acting while making the best use of my own characteristics and experiences.

There’s a lot of scenes where we eat, and I plan to be particular about the parts that are related to cooking too.

Of course I’ll do my best for the sword fighting too, so look forward to it.

It’s my first leading stage in a long time…

I want to put on a show that will make that guy happy too.

Alright, let’s get fired up.

Since I’m also relying on Director, ok?

Practise Conversation 2

Because this time’s sword fighting scene is a mix of an alternate world and the present day,

There’s all sorts of weapons and fighting styles.

Doing a sword fight using a kitchen knife and frying pan was also really interesting.

The first time we did the scene where I protect myself from a sword with a pot,

A silly sound rang out, and I accidentally laughed.

Juza, whose role is an honour student, is coming up with various slapstick acts that shows he’s not accustomed to fighting.

Sakyo-san and Taichi’s swordplay is also quickly becoming more skillful, and it really is cool.

The boisterous swordfight scene where everyone in Autumn troupe comes out,

And battles with various styles like swords, bare fists, pans and lids—.

Its degree of difficulty is high as there’s many people, but it’s lively and I like it too.

Practise Conversation 3

Director. Thank you for greeting the people from my workplace just now.

It looked like they were really looking forward to the show too. Also, since before, everyone has been saying they want to meet Director.

Of course, I talk about the Theatre company and Director at my workplace too sometimes.

The troupe members are a given but…

I was happy I was able to introduce the Director that I’m proud of.

Oh right, I also received a show-opening celebration gift.

Shall we try opening it with everyone later?

Omi & Masumi Talk

Omi: So the ones on meal duty today are Tsuzuru and Masumi, huh? Oh! This curry-flavoured salad seems delicious. Could it be, Masumi’s the one who made it?

Masumi: Right. For her, with my whole heart. …Also, I made the other guys’ portions too. …Since they’re family.

Omi: …Oh I see. Thanks for that, Masumi. Alright, then I’ll have some right away. Yep, delicious! The seasoning is also perfect. It’s hearty and the texture is fun too. The colour combination is pretty, and the way the vegetables are cut also look great. Masumi, you became skilled at cooking, huh?

Masumi: I was practising for her, so that’s obvious. …I think the things I learned from Omi are also relatively useful.

Omi: Really now… I’m glad I could be of help too. If there’s anything at all I can help with again, let me know.

Masumi: …I’m thinking I want to increase my curry arrangement recipe variations even more.

Omi: Sure thing. Okay, let’s try out various things together next time.

Masumi: Yeah.

---

[withlove-so]

My Light, My Dream

An Asheleth Tangled AU fanfiction!

Part 2/?

[Inspiration]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

—

A/N: (I also made this before I really considered finishing it, just wanted their cute meeting tbh)

Continuation of the Tangled Asheleth AU!

This should be a bit better, or coherent really, since I’m not writing this at an ungodly hour.

Rewatching the movie made me realize I missed when Eugene says thIS IS THE STORY OF HOW I DIED AND I’M PISSED AT MYSELF BECAUSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GRE forgot the brothers Eugene teams up with, but I think it works so I’ll keep it, I’ll just have to get creative with it!

I forgot that stuff, but I remember when Flynn shoves that wanted poster in his bag?? So mother Gothel could know who she’s looking for??? I didn’t even remember that scene I just had Ashe do it cause I thought it made sense and I’m???- sorry I’m rambling, I’ll just get to the the post ashfkakfjak

— — —

The sun shined high above the tower. If he had any less sense, the thief would believe the tower were touching the sky. It was just so tall. But he didn’t have time to be mesmerized. He once again heard that horrid clopping of hooves, that knowing whinny as he searched the forest just behind him. He had to get out of sight. And there was only one way to go.

His climb was slow, but he had to make sure he could get up and not fall to his certain doom. Gods, this tower really was tall. By the time he’d reached the window at the very top, his whole body ached. He rolled safely through, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Finally. Now I should be safe.”

He was not safe.

With a clang, he blacked out.

— — —

“Oh my! You really did a number on him there.” Sothis floated around the body, inspecting him closely.

“He broke in. What else was a supposed to do.” Byleth had to admit, even if he did break into the tower, she felt a bit guilty for knocking him out. She instinctively grabbed a frying pan out of the kitchen and just swung. She hadn’t really intended to do something like that. Well, maybe she did.

“Hey, check for check for those sharp teeth Rhea kept telling you about! Maybe he’s some weird species of animal!”

“Don’t be silly. He’s obviously a person.” Yet she was still curious. This was her first time seeing someone other than her mother after all. She flipped him over, inspecting him closely. She even lifted his lip a bit to check for those fangs (which there were none. Just regular teeth. Sothis.) His face looked surprisingly soft. She expected a thug like him to be more... threatening. But he had soft, curling eyelashes, bouncy gray hair, with little dots sprinkled all over his face and arms. Why, even his build was small and weak looking. Maybe a bit firm, if nothing else.

She found her gaze once again landing on his face. He honestly looked-

And his eyes opened.

She gave her frying pan another hard swing, knocking him out once again.

Now he looked bruised. Guilt once again crept into her heart, but she shook it out.

“We can’t leave him like this. He might be dangerous. Dainty as he might look.” She looked around carefully for his belongings. There was a small sachel laying beside him. It probably had something valuable inside. She picked it up, taking just a moment to peek inside.

A crown.

That was bound to hold a large value. He would definitely want this back. The perfect bargaining chip. Byleth took the bag and chucked it into the pot by the steps.

“We need to do something with him.”

“Oh come on kid! What could he possibly do?”

“Any man can use scissors.”

“Ah- Perhaps that’s true. Alright, I have an idea then!”

— — —

As the supposed thief’s eyes began to flutter open, Byleth began to tense. She was... pretty sure he couldn’t escape, but she’s never tied someone up before, so she couldn’t know for sure. All she could do was stand a very, very safe distance away and wait.

The man made a small noise, confirming he was at least conscious. He looked at himself, slowly at first before the reality set in and he yelled out, “By the-! Is this... hair?” His entire body was ensnared by her light green strands. She had to admit, it wasn’t the best plan, but it’s what she could come up with.

She tried to appear confident as she strode out of the shadows.

“You won’t be able to move. Struggling is useless,” She scowled at him while lifting his head up to look at her, “Now. Why did you come here? Do you want my hair? Came here to cut it? Sell for top dollar? Do someone send you here?!” Byleth’s voice was starting to lose it’s cool as she began to panic. What if other people would start coming as well? She couldn’t bear the thought.

“What? Why in the world would I want your hair? All I want to do with it right now is get out of it!”

Byleth had to admit, this reaction took her off guard. But she couldn’t faulted now, “You can’t lie to me! I-!”

“He looks like an honest boy to me.” Sothis had been clinging to Byleth’s shoulder through the interrogation, much to her annoyance. She glared at her and hissed out, “He’s a thief! That’s the opposite of trusting!”

“A thief with no connections. He doesn’t want your hair, in fact he doesn’t seem to know anything about it. Other than its super long I suppose. Why not use this to your advantage, hm? I’m sure he knows more about the outside world than you do.”

“Sothis... what are you getting at.”

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m getting at. Ask him to take you to see those lights! And use his bag as leverage!”

“That’s ridiculous. He wouldn’t-” Byleth forgot for a moment she was having a conversation with Sothis, not a person (“Rude!”). She glanced back at the thief, who now had a extremely confused expression on his face.

“Um. Alright. Well, this was fun, but I think I’d like to leave now. The guards should be gone by now, so I’ll just take my satchel and- Oh no, my satchel! Where’s my satchel?” He made an attempt to look around the room, to no avail.

“I’ve hidden it. And you’re never going to find it.”

“... Is it in that pot?”

And then she knocked him out.

Again.

By the time he came to again, she was feeling much more confident. Her mouth even perked into a sort of smirk.

“Now you’ll never find it. That is, unless, you make a deal with me.”

“A deal?”

“That’s right. Tell me, do you know anything about floating lights in the sky?”

“The stars?” He looked at the woman, unimpressed. She must look like an idiot to him.

“Not the stars! I know what stars are! They are a group of lights that appear on the same day every year.”

“Oh, you must be referring to the Lantern Festival! The king and queen do it every year, for the princess!”

Lanterns...

Byleth couldn’t keep the grin off her face. Perhaps this man could be of some help.

“Well, tomorrow night, they will light up the sky with the lanterns. And I want you to take me there. If you accept my offer, I will return your satchel. Does that sound like a deal?”

Her sureness in this plan fell apart as soon as she heard the man start chuckling.

“Sorry. There’s no way I can do that. Me and the Empire, we aren’t on very good terms at the moment. If they see me, it’s my head. And I’m not planning on losing my life over someone who stole my satchel.”

“Didn’t you steal the crown inside that satchel?”

“Irrelevant.”

“Hm. Well, it’s your decision I suppose. But something brought you to this tower. Maybe it was fate.”

“A horse, actually.”

“I’m putting my faith into you, I’ve made the decision to trust you.”

“A horrible decision, really.”

“But even if I hadn’t. There one thing that’s for sure.” She gripped the chair, yanking it forward so they were mere inches apart while trying to make the most threatening glare she can muster.

“You can tear this tower apart, brick by brick. But you will never find your precious satchel. Not without my help. You need me.”

“Geez... Climb a tower to keep hidden and now... Alright, if I take you there, and bring you back safe, you’re going to return my satchel, correct?”

“Of course. I have no use for it. Once I’ve seen those lanterns, I will return it to you. It’s a promise.” She fell back and allowed the chair to go back to its regular position, “So again I ask. Do we have a deal?”

“... Yes. I’ll take you to the empire. Just, don’t get me killed, alright?”

Byleth kept her mini celebration inside, she didn’t want to immediately embarrass herself. But by the Gods, she was getting out of that tower! She was going to get to see the world! It took everything in her not to hoot and holler.

“Great! But um... I never asked. What’s your name?”

“You tell me yours first. I’m the captive one here.”

“Oh- Yes, I suppose that’s- My name is Byleth Eisner.”

“You can call me Loog. Just Loog is fine.”

[Previous Chapter]   [Next Chapter]

[goodnightkisseu]

Park Jihoon - Giftwrap

Genre: Fluff

Note: It’s time for another post from me for the 12 days of Christmas with Wanna One collab! I’m doing this series with Chelle over at @prettywordsyouleft and with Kim at @nothingwithoutwannaone! I hope that you all have been enjoying the wonderful pieces that Chelle and Kim have written over these last couple of days!

Today is my last piece for the series, and it’s for Jihoon! I hope that you guys enjoy this one! It was a lot of fun to write :3 Please look forward to the remaining posts by Chelle and Kim! I know they’re going to be wonderful~ And as always, please feel free to let me know what you think ^^ 

Enjoy~

- goodnightkisseu’s admin / ashley <3

Christmas was a time for togetherness. It was a time to spend with family and loved ones, to meet up with those that you hadn’t seen throughout the entire year and catch up. It was a time of travel, whether it be home or to a vacation spot somewhere much warmer. For different people, Christmas meant different things. For you, This Christmas was about being stuck in the city in the middle of a huge snowstorm with no way out. You had plans to fly out and see family a couple of days ago, but when this huge storm hit it completely grounded you and some others as well. Still, there was some silver lining to being stuck in the city for the holidays. At least you would get to spend it with Jihoon.

Much like you, Jihoon was also snowed in for the holiday season. The two of you had originally settled on doing a little post-holiday couple’s outing when you got back from your respective trips. Yet, with this heavy storm that had blown in, you both found yourselves unable to get to your destinations. So instead of spending your holidays alone, especially during a time of year that was about being together, you moved your post-Christmas couple’s outing to now. You were currently at Jihoon’s place with a small bag that you had packed just lounging around in his apartment while he went to work. The office where you worked as a secretary had completely closed down due to the unpredictable weather, but Jihoon’s was still going, and he found himself working overtime now that people couldn’t come in.

You weren’t just lounging around his apartment on your own of course. You had the company of his dog, Max, who had grown quite fond of you over the last year. You knew that you weren’t his favorite person, that title either belonged to Jihoon or his friend, Woojin, you weren’t sure. However, Max still enjoyed spending time with you, mostly because you gave him the most amazing belly rubs and would also slip him some extra kibble from time to time. The easiest way to a dog’s heart, honestly.

Though you had to admit that you would often find yourself bored throughout the day, not having Jihoon here today was proving to be a blessing. It gave you time to put up some of the Christmas decorations in the way that you wanted, particularly the three cute stockings that you had bought to put on the mantle. Jihoon thought they were silly, but seeing as he wasn’t home, there was no one to stop you. Honestly, it didn’t look that bad, to begin with, so you couldn’t understand why he had complained about it so much.

Having him out of the house was also useful because there was one thing you had forgotten to do before you ended up camping out at Jihoon’s place for the week. You had forgotten to wrap his present, and you felt like now was a good a time as any to do so. After all, today was his last day of work and after this, he would be home until Christmas. You would have little free time to yourself and there was no way you could quietly wrap it while he was sleeping, and so, you took your alone time to your advantage and started to wrap the gift in its shiny new home.

This was your second Christmas together. Your first one had been as friends that met through Woojin. You had a hard time shopping for Jihoon then too, as he was the type of person that would buy the things that he wanted if he really wanted them. This year as a couple, even though you felt like you knew him better, shopping for him was still hard. There were certain things that you knew that Jihoon needed, but they didn’t necessarily make great Christmas gifts. After all, ‘honey I got you a frying pan’ wasn’t exactly the most romantic thing. Practical, sure, but romantic? Far from it.

You did eventually find the perfect gift in a pretty roundabout way. When you had first started dating, Jihoon, when telling you about his hobbies, had talked about one of his all-time favorite games. He told you that it was the reason he wanted to become a programmer in the first place, and why he was working so hard now, trying to find the career that fit him. That conversation had always been in the back of your mind, but you never truly knew what to do with that information… until about a month ago. You had reconnected with one of your old high school friends who had told of this artist that made wonderful decals for game consoles. They were custom, beautiful, a bit pricey, and also took time to put onto the console.

So, you lied to Jihoon, in the name of a good Christmas present and asked to borrow his console to play a game that you had been anticipating. It was there for about three weeks while you worked with the artist on the design before you sent it off for the finished decal to be applied, and it was only a couple days ago that you got it back. Granted, this of course coincided with a couple of days in which you had started your stay with Jihoon, so it was a bit hard to get the console from your place, bring it back here, and hide it. You managed it all, somehow and now all you had to do was wrap it up. An easy afternoon task, right?

Wrong.

See, at home, in your quiet and quaint little apartment, this would have been an hour, maybe two-hour task if you were feeling fancy. But here, at Jihoon’s it took almost four hours and counting. And why? The answer was simple. Max. Jihoon’s dog was incredibly curious, so when you laid down the shiny blue wrapping paper, his little puppy was already sniffing it, trying to figure out what it was. He got himself onto the paper a couple of times which only led you to shoo him away or to manually move him off of the beautiful wrapping paper on your own. You had contemplated locking yourself in the bedroom at one point, just to get those quality hours to finish wrapping up his gift. However, every time you left the room, Max would start to whine, wondering why you wouldn’t play with him. So in the end, you couldn’t do that, but now you were struggling with the small pup, trying to get things done while simultaneously taking care of him.

“Max, no stop,” you said in an exasperated tone as he managed to push his paw through some of the wrapping paper that had unraveled itself. You were glad that he hadn’t eaten the paper just yet, and in hoped to prevent it, you got up and grabbed his leash, putting it on him and slipping it around one of the chairs. It was just far enough that he couldn’t get into the paper and other wrapping supplies that could have been dangerous for him. Yet it was also close enough that you could reach over and give him pets, just so that he knew that you hadn’t forgotten him for something so shiny and exclusive.

You were just getting the hang of your new arrangement when the sudden sound of the door snapped you out of your trance. Jihoon was home already? But he was supposed to be at work for another two hours! Why was he back so early?

At the moment you couldn’t help but look around in utter panic. There was no way that you could have cleaned all of this up, hid it in a safe place, without him noticing that something was out of place. He was going to find out no matter what you did and you weren’t too sure of the best cause of action. As your brain tried to run through every single, your body just kind of froze. And just like that, before you came to any type of plan, the familiar footsteps of your boyfriend grew closer, and you had nowhere to go…

“Jagi, can you believe that I got home early today? There were so few of us in today that we couldn’t even really work. Like all of the people that we could have possibly had questions for were either unavailable or already gone on their vacations. Pretty wild, huh?” he asked as he rounded the corner to the living room. Yet when his eyes fell upon the scene before him, he really wasn’t too sure what he was seeing. He saw Max first, the small dog with his leash handle under one of the dining room table chair legs. Jihoon didn’t question that. Overall it was pretty typical for the two of you to do that because you would want Max to have enough room to play, but not let him loose so that he could run around and destroy everything.

His eye next fell upon all of the new Christmas decorations that hadn’t been there before he left for work. There were a couple of things that had been added to the tree, though Jihoon wouldn’t have been able to point out what they were even if he wanted to. He noticed the stockings that he had vetoed set up on the mantle all ready for Santa to come and drop off some things. And finally, his eyes landed on you and the small mess that you had gotten yourself into. In front of you was wrapping paper that you were trying to get around a rather large looking present. Momentarily, he was curious about what that could have been, though, instead of asking, he just kept it to himself.

“Did I walk into something I wasn’t supposed to?”

At Jihoon’s words, you seemed to find your movement again. It felt too late to really deny what you were doing. After all, it was pretty clear as day. So instead of going through the trouble of lying to Jihoon, you decided to be truthful about it. “Technically, yeah, but it’s okay,” you said with a defeated sigh, your boyfriend finding his way over to your side. He seated himself next to you as Max happily ran to him, leading Jihoon to pull the dog onto his lap.

He didn’t say anything, in true Jihoon fashion so you continued. “Your present finally arrived so I was trying to wrap it up before you got home… but you arrived early,” you said with a small pout. You looked over at him, hand reaching out to scratch Max behind the ear and all Jihoon did was chuckle.

“Why didn’t you just go and wrap up the present in the bedroom? Looks like Max gave you a bit of trouble,” he replied, eyes seeing small little holes in the wrapping paper here and there, which he concluded was the work of his little puppy.

“I thought about it, but whenever I disappeared, he got really anxious, and I didn’t want to leave him alone…” you admitted.

You were too cute for your own good. Jihoon might not have been there, but he could already see the torn look on your face when Max started whining and you were considering just staying out in the living room. Why was everyone in his life so cute? He really was blessed.

“Well then, why don’t you continue up and I’ll take care of Max. I’m curious about what you got me, but I think I can wait a few more days,” he said with a chuckle.

But at that moment, you didn’t really feel the need to finish the gift wrapping. Jihoon had already seen the large box, and if anything, you wanted him to see what was inside instead of wondering for the next few days. Opening the present early was okay, right? “No, it’s okay. I want you to open it now. We can do Christmas presents early, right? I mean, it’s not wrapped, but… the idea is still there.”

“Jagi, we don’t have to. Just wrap it up and we can wait a few more days.”

You shook your head in response. “Naw, I want you to open it,” you said with a smile, reaching over for Max so that Jihoon could pull the large box towards him. 

He slowly opened the box up, pulling out all of the wrapping paper before he saw what was inside. It was a console that he already owned, yet, that was when he realized the design on it. That familiar character. Those familiar emblems. This wasn’t a console that they had made. Jihoon had been keeping an eye on all of the limiteds and this was not one of them. “How…” he said slowly, his brain still trying to process it all.

A small smile crossed your lips. “I know how much you love this game, so I got a custom decal made for you. Part of the reason why I had to borrow your console. I mean, I was really playing that game, but also, I needed to send it off to get this attached,” you said with a giggle. “Do you like it?” you asked sheepishly. At the moment it had seemed like a great gift, but now that it was in front of him, you couldn’t tell.

Jihoon was in awe of it, at how nice and professional it looked. And in particular, his heart swelled up at your gesture. He knew that he talked about this particular game a bit much, that it could have gotten annoying, and yet, you listened to him each time. You got him a thoughtful gift and he was beyond grateful. “I love it,” he told you, gently leaning over and giving you a kiss on the cheek. “It’s the best, thanks, jagi!”

Your smile grew at how well-received it was. You were glad that he was happy with it, and that was all you could really ask for. “So, do I get my present now too?” you inquired jokingly, but all Jihoon did was shake his head.

“Naw, you have to wait until Christmas,” he replied cheekily, making your eyes widened. His look changed in that instance to a cheeky one and you couldn’t help but make a face at him.

“Ya, Park Jihoon,” you started, but before you could finish, he was on his feet and running out of the room, you quickly behind him, trying to chase down your boyfriend for your present. You knew he had it hidden somewhere.

It wasn’t always great when plans were ruined, trips were canceled, but getting to spend the holidays together also wasn’t so bad…

[fandom-rants]

Plotholes, Story Rushing, and Shoddy Writing In Keyblade Graveyard, Pt. 1 (p.s. there are SEVERAL issues to unpack here)

~~~~THIS CONTAINS COUNTLESS SPOILERS FOR KHIII~~~~

PLEASE NOTE that this will not be in perfect order; there are so many things wrong with the story in the Keyblade Graveyard that I struggle to balance it all without having a raging meltdown. As someone who adored the Kingdom Hearts franchise (yes, you read that right; past tense) and memorized all the lore and played all of the games (save Coded; I just watched that one because it does not look to be worth it at all) and loved the characters, I can only express deep and profound disappointment in the story. The rushed, chaotic garbage mess of a story.

And those who say otherwise? Have chosen to ignore the story for the sake of the ‘happy ending’ (which is a farce; a happy ending doesn’t include Sora sacrificing himself again for the damsel in distress trope).

If you thought some of my other rants were long, you aren’t ready for this one. It’s so long it needed to be split up into parts.

1. Aqua and Ven

a. Firstly, it’s good to know that Nomura is literally incapable of writing a female who isn’t a damsel in distress. Good to see Aqua go “I’m gonna prove how strong I am,” only to need immediate rescuing. Brilliant.

b. So it’s that easy to wake Ven up, huh? His heart’s been linked with Sora’s for Sora’s entire life, it’s been sleeping in Sora’s for so long that Sora has taken on Ven’s mannerisms, but they can just separate without a single hitch, huh? Just like that, huh? And there’s no problem waking up, it takes no time at all, and he can move in his body without even remote difficulty, huh? Basically, there are no repercussions to any of this, huh? I call bullshit.

c. Going back a page, it’s good to know that these guys all showed up at Castle Oblivion and didn’t even bother clearing the place to ensure there weren’t any enemies around to - /snorts with laughter/ - immediately try to kill Ven while he was still vulnerable. Who could have ever expected such a thing, amirite?

d. Why aren’t Riku and Mickey there?!?!?!

e. This was actually so anticlimactic and boring. Why wasn’t Terranort/wtf-ever there to add some drama and tension? Why was it simply ‘grab Aqua, which can be done merely by having Sora show up and beat her up, even though Riku and Mickey got their butts kicked by her,’ ‘arrive very quickly and suddenly at Castle Oblivion,’ ‘unlock it,’ ‘go inside and wake up Ven’? Why was it so boring? It’s something we’ve been waiting for since 2010, and our reward for waiting 8 years is ‘ta-da! Boom, bam, done!’ Did a child write this?

2. The Requisite Romance Scene Before the Final Showdown

a. We have to really sell this romance, or else people will be pissed about the ending! Quick! Let’s have Sora and Kairi share a paopu fruit and leave their friend completely out of it! Riku doesn’t really matter, anyway. He’s not integral to the entire storyline like Kairi!

b. To make it clear, Riku was integral to the storyline while Kairi was not. Something I’ve already mentioned several times. So why in hell did Sora say he wouldn’t have gone through the things in the games if it wasn’t for Kairi, when that girl hardly entered the storyline at all? It was Riku who started the whole story off, Riku and Kairi both whom Sora was looking for in KH1, Riku only whom Sora looked for in CoM, Riku only whom Sora looked for in KH2, Riku only whom Data-Sora cared to run after, Riku only whose concerns made Sora go through the Mark of Mastery... but yes. It was only for Kairi that Sora went through the things he did. Riku, keep sitting on the sand all night while these two pretend you don’t exist. Perfect.

3. We Arrive and Everyone Fights Against Heartless

a. Is this what we came here for? Is this what Xehanort planned when he told us to come here? To sic a bunch of heartless on us? How does this in any way complete Kingdom Hearts? How does this in any way help Xehanort’s overarching goal? Hell, ignoring that, why would he sic heartless on us when we’ve defeated them a million times? How in god’s name do we fail against them this time????

b. Can I just say that it is beyond suspense of disbelief to have Kairi and Lea finish their fights before Sora? Or that the entire group would finish, see Sora still fighting, and then just run forward without him???

4. Terranort

a. How is he back? No, seriously, let’s look at this. He was brought from the past. But when you defeat Young Xehanort, he says he’s going to return to the past and live his life up to the present. But Terranort can’t do that! Which means Terranort can’t go to the past and stay on as Ansem the Wise’s apprentice. Which means he can’t trick the other students into becoming nobodies - so how is Saix there? How is Axel there as Axel? How do the others retain their memories of being Nobodies? He also can’t become a heartless or a nobody himself, since he’s not returning to the past to do so (because we save him instead of killing him)! So how the hell could Ansem and Xemnas exist??? You can’t argue about alternative universes because those haven’t been introduced in the plotline, and even if they had been, that still wouldn’t explain how this universe had an Ansem who took over Riku and a Xemnas who existed whatsoever. What the fuck.

b. Why in five flaming hells is he just waiting there at the beginning? No, again, I’m being serious. Why? To defeat the seven keyblade wielders? Why? They’re apparently needed to clash with the thirteen Xehanort clones, so why on earth is he there? For sad plotline feels? 

c. Even that doesn’t make sense. After all, Aqua had all night to warn Ven about the state she’d last seen Terra in. Apparently, that was not a topic she thought necessary to bring up. Go figure.

d. How the fuck does Xehanort even have him??? All those who played Birth By Sleep, I can only assume you all have dealt with the same frustration and confusion as me. How did Xehanort retain control over Terra’s body after Lingering Will defeated him?? Because I did. Allllll the way back in Terra’s storyline, I defeated Terranort. So how did he show up in Radiant Garden? The blast of light (or whatever) from the end of the storyline should have, at the very least, turned him into a heartless. Right then. From the start. So how did he even survive long enough to get to Radiant Garden, let alone return to the Keyblade Graveyard? What had been the point of that final battle?

5. Lingering Will

a. I was waiting for him to show up. It makes less than no sense to have him only do so at Namine’s behest after Ven has already been KO’d by Terranort. That entire debacle in the Final World should never have occurred, simply because Lingering Will should have shown up the first time.

b. I laughed in disbelief when I saw Terra’s keyblade turn into a hooked whip and then a giant fuck-off gun. I already thought the transformations were pretty random, considering a keyblade is supposed to serve its own purpose and strength without needing to turn into a door or a frying pan or a pair of yo-yo’s, but to see Terra’s do the same thing when no one else’s had? Oof. Painful.

c. Lingering Will was Terra’s mind, but apparently he doesn’t need that to reconnect with his past body! (Even though it was never with said body; it was always separate, so...?!?!?!) Instead it disappears from the plotline (like so many other necessary details) and acted as KH’s version of Fallout’s Mysterious Stranger, apparently deciding to disappear to wherever said stranger goes after doing its duteous cameo.

6. That Entire Debacle With Everyone’s Hearts

a. There’s just... so much to unwrap here. The fact that it even happened, which I’ve already noted the plot failure there. The fact that Kairi needed protecting not once, but twice, only to fall, anyway. Is she even capable of being something other than a damsel in distress? (Looking at the rest of the story of this world, I can do nothing but snort at the fact that I even bothered typing out that question.)

b. The whole shit with Chirithy. We get it, KH. You want to peddle your stupid mobile game. (A game I’ve been playing for over a year now, like a good, dutiful KH player, only to find that the plotline shows up roughly once every 300+ “chapters.”) This Chirithy shit isn’t plot; it’s bullshit. Nice to know Kairi’s heart was definitely lost, though, because bullshit on that, too!

c. Why on earth are everyone’s hearts just hanging out on other worlds? Why are they in worlds I’ve specifically already gone to in this game? Why not any other worlds from any other previous games, or worlds I’ve never been to? Oh, yeah. To bring back the annoying shit from KH1, where you enter fragments of worlds for no reason in order to fight some random heartless. Is this plot?

d. The whole ‘Dive Into the Heart’ thing being the equivalent of ‘the power of waking,’ which is also apparently how Mickey could get into the Realm of Darkness (and here I remember Mickey saying he could only do that by being in a world when it fell to darkness! Silly me). Just admit you had no idea what the hell you were doing when you made up that ‘power of waking,’ Nomura. Shit.

e. Let’s go a bit farther, because the whole “Dive Into the Heart” thing was awful. Why is that a thing? Why do you need to ‘dive’ into a heart (which, he didn’t, he didn’t, he just dove into different worlds to find said hearts, wtf) in order to save it from... what? Death? Darkness?? What the hell even happened here-

f. How is Kairi fine and waiting for us??? This actually made me think Sora had fallen to darkness (or dreaming, or what the fuck ever), because how in hell was Kairi okay? Namine said flat-out that Kairi’s heart had been lost like the others, and that such was the reason why Sora had found her in Chirithy-Verse (it isn’t any ‘Final World,’ just as it isn’t anything I’m ever going to take seriously). So how was she perfectly fine and, uh, able to... uh... meet with him??? In some sort of... Heart Realm Between??? What happened there?!?!

g. I get that this floaty, hand-holding scene was supposed to once again peddle the romance in some last-minute bid to make us okay with the bullshit self-sacrifice move Sora bounces into with all the finesse of a Sequel Coming trailer, but all it did was piss me off (as every romance scene did in this shithole of a game). There has been next to nothing on the whole ‘romance’ thing other than us being told ad nauseum that it is a thing. If you can’t even give me normal, non-romance scenes between the two, then all it’s going to be is forced trollop that you expect me to swallow simply on your say-so. If you can’t give me a lead-up to the romance, don’t be surprised if you fail to sell it to me. And if you fail to sell the romance to me, then why the hell should I ever find any part of that ending all right?

7. The Time Ret-Conning

a. This one’s a minor gripe, so I’ll just say that I despised the multiple times the game acted as if the previous failures hadn’t happened. ‘Here you go; try again!’ It makes no sense when you realize Sora actually did things to ensure we got this second chance, even less sense, somehow, when you see that neither Sora nor anyone else acts any differently to rewatching the same thing happen all over again - like, what the hell kind of time travel bullshit is Nomura writing here? Is there any rhyme or reason to this shit whatsoever?

8. That Entire KHUX Fuckery

a. I honestly cannot believe we had to watch Sora get saved by Ephemer. A lot of people loved the cameo, but the cost to the storyline is far too high. Our main character needing rescuing in his Final Battle is always bad writing; what’s the point of watching the main hero’s growth if it turns out he still needs to be protected? This other character should have been the one we followed, not the one needing rescuing! And hell, what was the point of all that growth if, in the end, it still wasn’t enough? Simply based on storytelling, it was poorly done. But the fact that he got rescued by a long-dead (I hope; everyone has a bad habit of just living forever through Bullshit Time Mechanics) character from another KH game? Disgustingly shoddy. Thanks for nothing.

b. What the fuck was that triangle spam for??? I was there when the challenge came to KHUX, for those with the highest scores to appear in the game. I honestly thought their names would just be in the credits or something, because how could you possibly add them in without making it the most horrendous bullshit possible for a video game? Answer? You can’t. That entire thing is something I’ve been trying to delete from my memory since I saw it. What a fucking travesty.

9. "I Can’t Do This Alone”

a. You are literally talking to someone, your best friend, and saying you’re alone. What the FUCK.

b. What strength did you get from Kairi, you twit? Riku, on the other hand...!

TO BE FREAKING CONTINUED... Edit: I know Nomura is BS-ing some answers to pretend he didn’t fuck up. I don’t care.

[let-me-make-you-proud]

Tangled: The series Q&A with Chris and Ricky.

This is a recapitulation from today’s (July 1st, 2018) Questions and Answers sessions with Chris and Ricky on the Tangled Discord Server.

They did their Q&A sessions separately, so the first part of this post are from Chris session, while the second part is from Ricky’s session.

Chris’ session.

Q: Was any form of martial arts used as reference to Adira’s fighting style? A: Tt’s tough to keep her style consistent because our board teams rotate and so do the animators... you’ll see the style change a bit.

Q: I noticed that Rapunzel's new outfit is really reminiscent of Belle's blue-white dress in Beauty and the Beast, only more geared for the wear and tears of adventure and long distance traveling. Was that an intentional nod by any chance? A: Not intentional. We just wanted her to be a little more... flexible. Adventurous. We worked very hard on it.

Q: Where did the inspiration come from for Adira's outfit? A: Adria’s was very much Ben’s creation. I believe it’s very influenced by Korean costumes.

Q: How did you design her personality? A: Well, we wanted her to be intimidating, yet funny and quirky. We all have friends like that! She needed to have this feeling that.... You don’t know whether to trust her or not!!!

Q:  Does the caravan have an actual name? A: Ya know? It doesn’t! We just called it the caravan! 

Q: How do you decide on the perfect names for the characters you introduce?  A: I tend to spend a lot of time on names. They mean a lot to me. I pick some and the writers pick some. I can’t really discuss how we come up with them.

Q: Is it confirmed that Cassandra is 23 years old? A: No age’s are confirmed. Only Rapunzel.

Q: Who is one of your favorite characters to work on? A: Well, everyone knows I love Cass. She has my heart!!! Isn’t she just the coolest? I’d want her as a best friend!!

Ricky

Q: Who is Ricky? A: I am a writer on the show so I help come up with what happens in each episode/the overall series and write the scripts...so essentially what the characters say, do, etc.

Q: Is there a particular episode that's already aired that stands out as a favorite of yours? A: Fav episodes of mine are: Pascal's Story, Quest for Varian (I wrote those so I'm partial) and I have a lot of love for Return of Strongbow, Rapunzel's Enemy and In Like Flynn.

Q: My friend was wondering how to write for animation, it's one of the forms they can't wrap their mind around. Like how to go about it and little tips to remember. A: For one, writing for animation isn't all that different than writing for live action. We format our scripts in the same fashion (well, tangled scripts have their own style, but overall it's the same). There is a particular focus, at least for me, on writing visually compelling action lines/descriptions so that my work and intention is clear for the story artists. Live action may have a little less emphasis there. But overall it's the same concept.

Q: Are there any particular shows you cite as influence when writing for Tangled? A: Ummm... different things influence the different writers/Chris/Ben, etc. I am sure that many of the visual artists/designers/board artists are influenced by different shows like that.

Q: I remembering reading something that said that the story for Tangled The Series was all figured out, that even before the show started airing the idea for the ending was already figured out. A: Well... It is and it isn't. Meaning, there is are... We'll call them "goal posts" along the way that were established very early on and the challenge of the show is building stories in between that build to those and do those moments justice. It kind of goes like this: Touchstones/key moments of the series are established, then we map out each season with those in mind (think of it like you have pillars and then the season arc is the roof held up by those pillars).

Q: How do you go about writing female characters or do you simply just portray them as a character first without special attention to gender? A: We just do our best to get inside each character's head... Be they female or male or horse or chameleon... and then write their character as true to who they are as we possibly can. There is a lot of discussion in the room when breaking story about "would Rapunzel do X or Y" and after a while, the characters become second nature to us. I have spent as much time with Rapunzel as I did in high school....so you really get to know them.

Q: So you have a rough outline for the series and as you go you flesh out ideas? A: Yes. There are certain things that we've always known would happen. Like, with Varian, we mapped out which episodes in Season one he would appear in and how his character would progress (so, ep 3, 9, 13/14, 20-end). The specific "how" wasn't always there. That becomes part of the story. How do we get Varian from A to B in each episode so by the end he is no longer a cinammon roll.

Q: Which character do you personally enjoy writing for the most? A: My favorite is King Trevor. As far as the mains, I mean, IDK  it depends on the episode. I love writing Rapunzel when she loses her cool a little bit. I love writing Eugene quips, I love writing Cass snark.... it depends on what they're doing.

Q: I do like how it seems even what can be considered filler episodes progress the story and characters in some way. A: Yeah, filler episodes.... yeesh not a term we like haha. The thing about a series is that we are always building character or establishing something. So yes there are eps that don't talk about the rocks or feature the main villain, but they show where the characters are in their particular place and time. Also, if you look at the season as a whole, you'll see that it mirrors the movie in some ways. There are moments in the movie that are straight up silly and fun and then there are scenes that are all badass action and then there are sad, dark moments and our episodes are like that. Some are Rapunzel's enemy and they are silly and fun and some are Quest where they are super dark

Q: Who is your least favorite character to write for? A: Hopefully this isn't a cop out, but I don't really have one. Like, I might say King Frederic in the first half of season 1, but then In Like Flynn comes around and it's so fun to lean into how much of a square he can be.

Q: How excited were you to finally introduce fans to the mysterious Baron? A: We were super psyched to finally get to use the Baron.

Q: Speaking of the darker parts of the show, are there any surprising limitations in place at Disney as to how dark you can go? Some, I'd imagine are obvious (no swearing, explicit content)- but are there any that'd surprise people? A: There are things that Disney doesn't let us do, but usually they aren't with "dark" things. THey're usually with some phrase they don't like or something. Like I wrote a line in Quest for Varian where Eugene calls Owl a "cold blooded bird of prey" and even though he was actually joking about Cassandra, we got a note that they didn't want to deceive children into thinking that owls are cold blooded when they are in fact warm blooded. Stuff like that is surprising.

Q: What there ever a character or an idea that you liked but had to be changed or removed (At least in season 1)? A: Definitely. I am the worst in the room because I get super attached to a lot of ideas and stories and characters and when they don't happen I get feisty. One I will reveal/can talk about was in Pascal's story. There was more of Pascal's journey to the tower in there and I had a scene of Pascal seeing a long blonde braid and getting happy, thinking it was Rapunzel. But then it turns out to be this dandy/crappy minstrel whose story kind of mirrored what Pascal was going through and he sang about how his girlfriend left him and at first Pascal thought he found a buddy, but he quickly got super annoying so Pascal bailed. I really liked the minstrel. I was sad he didn't make it in. He was so silly.

Q: In Quest for Varian the line "We're gonna get squished!" was that a Disneyfied line or was Varian just being a dork? A: Ummm...the squished line I can't remember honestly. We wrote that episode 2 years ago so sometimes it's hard to remember where they all came from.

Q: In the movie Raps hides behind Eugene a lot, and now in the show I've been noticing recently it's Eugene who's hiding behind Rapunzel, and that kinda body language totally sticks out towards their development because it shows how much braver and stronger Raps has become and also how Eugene trusts Raps, isn't as totally hung up on his ego, and also knows there's someone who can and wants to protect him, so my question is, are moves like these written into the script or are they mostly storyboard choices? A: I would say that much of the credit for the staging of the shots goes to our awesome storyboard artists. Certainly, there are times where we might write something like "Rapunzel steps forward and draws her frying pan" but other times, it might not be so specific and just as we pay a lot of attention to how Raps would act, they do as well and they work so hard to bring that out.

Q: What did you think of him (Varian) when he was first thought out and how his story progressed? A: Well, when I first got there he was just a name on an index card. And his trajectory was roughly laid out in that he would start out a friend but end up a foe. I didn't think of him as a kid initially, that came from someone else (either Chris or Shane) and I remember being worried about making such a young kid a villain because...and this is going to sound weird, but I was like "Can we punch a 14 year old in the face? Because if he's a villain we might have to do that." So I was skeptical at first, honestly. But the more we got into how he behaved and how quirky he was he just became super fun and sweet and then he fit naturally into the world.

Q: Is there a certain line that stands out as a personal favorite for you that you've written for the show? A: There are certain lines. One of them is when Rapunzel blows up the tower and they ask her what she's doing and she says "Letting down my hair" because it was fun making that famous line into a badass line. And everything Eugene says when he gives Max the tour of the tower. And when Eugene is confused about Chutney I laugh because that is based on a guy that I saw in Target trying to explain chutney to one of the workers who didn't know what it was.

Q: If you could do a crossover with another Disney Show/Movie which one would you want to do? A: Hmmmm... I think Enchanted. Would be cool to see Rapunzel and Eugene get thrown into New York with a slightly more street-smart Giselle.Or to see them go to Andalasia .

Q: Why is it Eugene hasn't had issues with his near death death? A: Well, he has mentioned his near death. He brings it up in Pascal's story and then in quest he talks about it. I think Eugene isn't the kind of guy that holds onto things like that. Like he might hold on to emotional hurt, but I think he looks at that as one of many close calls (okay, probably the closest call) he's had throughout his life and now that it's behind him, he faces it with humor.

Q: If you could turn another Disney movie into a series which one would it be? A: If I could turn any Disney movie into a series it would be Incredibles.

Q: Is there any music genre that fans might be surprised to find Rapunzel liking if she were to hear it? A: Hmmm... I think Rapunzel is the kind of person that would be open to anything. It's hard to imagine her hearing something and NOT liking it or at least giving it a chance.

BONUS WITH RICKY

Comment: Dude, Eugene's tour to Max through the tower was so funny, hahaha. Ricky: They cut a line out of the tour, which I was sad about. It was something like "See this stain on the floor? That's my blood. Seriously look at all that blood! Oh, boy, I am a bleeder." Comment: I loved Eugene's comment about Max climbing Rapunzel's hair when they were escaping the tower. Ricky: Hahaha yeah sometimes Eugene has to call out the strangeness haha. All of that is kind of paying homage to the movie. Like when he says "YOu should know this is the strangest thing I've ever done!"

Comment: I know it won't happen in the show, but it's stuff like that that makes me wish we'd be able to see Sora from Kingdom Hearts appear in the show. Eugene would be a goldmine of meta commentary on all the bizarre shenanigans that come with everything pertaining to Kingdom Hearts. Ricky: And to the Kingdom Hearts mention, it would be fun to do a crossover like that, but we can't really do crossovers like that. Every now and then I try to throw in an obscure Disney name or reference and it always gets caught (sulks).

Comment: I loved Lance's line in today's episode about the bee pheromones being  on the table in a drinking  cup. Ricky: LOL yeah. That was Jeremy's line. Tonight was his first episode (he started in Season 2 so he's a "new" writer this season). Comment: When you say Jeremy do you mean Jeremy Jordan? Ricky: No I'm talking about Jeremy Shipp. Jeremy Jordan doesn't write, he just sings like a god damn angel.

Ricky: Fun facts about tonight's episode: the lady that called Raps a "Clod" was voiced by Eden Espinosa. Also the first version of the story had Quaid as an old, out of work actor that the gang dresses up as a Sheriff. And then of course, the story evolved from there and stuff.

Comment: About Eugene dying, I would think the reason that's not mentioned much it's because Eugene simply isn't the kind of person that would hold to that stuff (Since we already know the show doesn't shy away from those kind of topics, for example, the King still dealing with Rapunzel's kidnapping even though she's been home for months now, and Rapunzel still dealing with her first 18 years with Gothel). Like, the characters don't get magically better, they keep dealing with stuff even after everything is done, and I think that's really cool. Ricky: Yeah. We show that Rapunzel still holds on to stuff. And Eugene does too (you see in the movie he has some issues and changes his name as a result), but Eugene covers a lot of that stuff with humor and sarcasm.