#the number of times in this life I've been asked for a nickname despite my name being three syllables and mostly vowels

[emersonfreepress]

Rain legit only goes by the anglicized name 'Rain' in Emerson; it's their actual name Yağmur everywhere else.

Is there a reason for it?🤔

Yes! Emerson's school teachers always wanted an "easier" name, so their family opted for the English translation as a nickname at school. It stuck and Rain has never cared enough about Emerson or its social scene to bother with going by their preferred name. American teachers really like anglicizing foreign names or asking for nicknames instead, I can say that from experience.

[lucy90712]

Hi!Sorry for my late request(02:18 am European time)can you make a Gavi fluff where y/n is Xavis daughter and he brings Gavi for dinner and Nurìa(Xavis wife)started a conversation abt him marrying y/n,and Dan(Xavis son)and Asia(Xavis daughter)love Gavi?

A/n: I wasn't quite sure what you were asking for so I put my own spin on it I hope that's ok 

My life has always been a little crazy I mean how could it not when growing up with a famous footballer for a dad. My whole life I've been around footballers and had to endure constant usually unwanted media attention when with my parents and sometimes on my own. All of this meant that when I got older I decided I wanted to live a quiet life away from the media and just be a normal person or as normal as I can be. Of course I love my family and wouldn't change my life for anything but I just wanted to be a normal teenager and go to school and then get a regular job and I told myself that I would never date a footballer. That rule was the one thing I always stuck by no matter how many tried to ask me out I always said no because it wasn't the life I wanted for myself. 

None of it lasted very long though as when my dad got the job of being Barcelona manager and asked me if I'd like to go with him to one of the training sessions I stupidly said yes. Despite wanting to live a normal life football was still an interest of mine and my whole family still followed Barca very closely so of course I wanted to meet the team of players I religiously watched play every weekend. When I went to the training session I expected I just meet the players, watch them train when go back to my regular life but that didn't happen. When we got there I saw a really cute guy who I'd never seen before my dad introduced him as Gavi the new young star from la masia that would be playing with the team this season. Gavi and I seemed to have an instant connection even without really talking to him I could tell that at the very least we would be good friends. 

That day after the training session was over I spoke to Gavi for a while and we got on really well he insisted I call him by his real name not his nickname and before I left gave me his number. From that day on we talked all the time and I spent plenty of hours just sitting with him after training so that we could be together without anyone bothering us. Naturally over a few months I developed feelings for him and luckily he felt the same so we quickly started dating and my quiet life that I envisioned went out the window. Not sticking to the rule I set myself was definitely worth it as Pablo is a great boyfriend and makes me so happy. The two of us were both on the same page about wanting as much privacy as possible so we only went out in public together if we were with other people and we didn't really tell anyone about our relationship including my dad. 

We managed to keep our relationship a secret for a year before we decided to start telling a few more people like Pablo's teammates and some friends who we knew we could trust. Another few months after that it got to the point where we had to tell my dad because he was starting to get suspicious after I kept coming to training sessions and when I was always with a friend but never telling him who. I was so nervous about telling him as I thought he would be mad at me for dating one of his players and I didn't want him being angry to affect how much Pablo played. After thinking about how to tell my dad for weeks eventually I just came out with it one day after getting back from a date with Pablo. To begin with he didn't know what to say which had me panicking but then he smiled and I knew he wasn't mad. Of course he had a lot of questions so I spent a good 30 minutes telling him pretty much everything but by the end of the conversation he was very happy as he trusts Pablo not to do anything stupid. 

After telling my dad that evening I told the rest of my family and my dad insisted that Pablo come round for family dinner at the weekend. I was going to protest as I know Pablo will be nervous about it but my dad insisted he come and my mum wanted to properly meet Pablo too so I had no choice other than to just let it happen. I planned to be the one to ask him but my dad got in before I could so of course he said yes but then frantically text me about what would happen over dinner. 

That family dinner happens to be tonight and all day Pablo has been really nervous which I can tell because he hasn't said much to me all day and usually he can talk all day about literally nothing. As it has got closer to the time we need to leave he has got even worse as I caught him just staring into his wardrobe trying to decide what to wear as he wanted to make a good impression. In the end I had to pick and outfit for him as he just wouldn't not decided on something and as much as he looks good shirtless it was getting painful to watch him be so indecisive over what shirt to wear. Once he was ready he just sat quietly on his bed clearly deep in thought which I just knew I had to stop before he psyched himself out too much. 

"Pablo love stop overthinking things I promise it will all be ok" I said trying to make him feel better 

"But what if they don't like me?" He asked 

"Don't be silly they will love you my dad already knows you and thinks you are a great guy and believe me he's hard to impress so the rest of my family will definitely love you" I reassured him 

"You promise they won't think I'm some playboy footballer" he said 

"Of course they won't as soon as they get to know you they will realise you are nothing like that plus they know I never planned to date a footballer so you must be a pretty good guy for me to change that" I said 

"I'm glad you think I'm a pretty good guy" he laughed 

"I don't just think that I think you're pretty damn hot too" I said 

"Why thank you you're pretty cute yourself" he said giving me a kiss 

When the Pablo I know and love was back we headed to my car and I drove us both to my parents place which isn't far but the less time we spent getting there the better. As we arrived I grabbed Pablo's hand and squeezed it to reassure him as I rang the doorbell before just opening the door knowing my parents were expecting me. They both came to the door quickly and I introduced Pablo as my boyfriend even though they both already know who he is. My dad was quick to welcomed him in and I followed behind with my mum. All of us sat down on the sofa but no one managed to get a word out before my siblings ran into the room. I properly introduced them to Pablo but not as a player on dads team but as my boyfriend. 

Being the way my siblings are they asked a million questions to Pablo trying to get to know him but also assess him in their own way to make sure he was good enough for me. Despite me being the oldest by quite a few years my siblings love to try and protect me which definitely involves interrogating any boy that comes anywhere near me. Once they were satisfied with the answers Pablo had given them they then just wanted to drag him off to play with them. He looked at me unsure what to do but I pretty much pushed him off to sofa to go and join them and I followed after him. We all ran around the garden together for ages which for two young kids and a professional footballer is easy but for me it was not and after a while I was completely out of breath so left the three of them out there to go and help prepare dinner. 

My mum was in kitchen so I joined her and helped in preparing the last few things needed for dinner. While we both cut vegetables we talked about Pablo and I finally got a chance to tell her how much of a nice guy he is. I know my mum doesn't care who I date as long as they treat me well so I wanted to make sure she knew that Pablo is the sweetest boyfriend. We talked for a while just about life before I felt an arm go around my waist and a kiss be pressed to my cheek. Of course I knew it was Pablo so I turned around and smiled at him before getting back to chopping. 

"Do you need any help?" Pablo asked 

"No it's alright I'm almost done actually could you get the saucepan out of the cupboard on my right please?" I asked

"Of course love what are we making Mrs Cunillera?" He asked trying to make conversation 

"I don't remember what it's called but it's a recipe from my grandmother also call me Nuria no need for formalities here" she said 

"It sounds delicious I should go before the kids realise I've left but if you need any help let me know" he said giving me one last kiss before leaving again 

Luckily the food didn't take too long to cook so I set the table before going outside to get everyone to come in for dinner. Pablo looked very happy to see me as it meant he could finally stop running around and sit down for a minute. We both went to the table together and everyone started to eat. The dinner itself was rather uneventful as everyone just sat eating quietly only making small conversation but when everyone was done it turned into a madhouse again. To create some calm my dad gave the kids some ice cream and put the tv on while the rest of us went to sit outside so we could talk in peace. 

My dad of course had to ask Pablo a few questions because as much as he knows and trusts Pablo he judges anyone I date and has to make sure they have good intentions. Once the interrogating was over we had a really nice conversation about many different things. My parents shared some embarrassing stories from when I was younger which Pablo will definitely make fun of me for later but for now he just chuckled slightly. I wasn't the only one that got embarrassed though as my dad shared some lovely stories from training which I will definitely use when Pablo makes fun of the silly things I did as a kid. There was a lot of laughs between all of us until my mum asked a question that nearly made me spit out my water.

"So Pablo when are you going to ask her to marry you?" She asked 

"Mum" I warned 

"It's ok love" Pablo staid grabbing hold of my hand 

"I can't give you a specific date but definitely one day I'll ask her to marry me I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else” he answered 

“Thats very sweet when the day comes we’ll be happy to have you as a son in law” she said 

“Thank you” he said 

Poor Pablo had really been through it tonight and I could tell he was tired so we didn’t stay much longer before I suggested we leave. Both Pablo and I said goodbye to my parents before we went back inside where my siblings tackled me when saying goodbye. They didn’t want us to leave as they wanted Pablo to stay and play with them so it’s safe to say he was a hit with the whole family. Knowing that they all like Pablo really makes me feel like I made the right choice in letting him in and giving up the quiet life I wanted for myself clearly I’m meant to live a crazy life.

Along the drive home Pablo kept telling me how much he actually enjoyed the evening and how he really felt like he fit in with my family which apparently he was worried about. It was really sweet hearing him say loads of lovely things about my family as they really mean a lot to me so to know he gets on with them this well after only a few hours together makes me happy. When we finally arrived at Pablo’s place he asked me if I wanted to stay the night which I would never say no to so we went inside and both got changed so we could get into bed. As Pablo was laying behind me with his arms around my waist I heard my phone ding so I picked it up to see a text from my mum telling me how much they all loved Pablo which put a big smile on my face. Clearly Pablo was reading my texts as I felt a kiss on my cheek before he told me to tell them that he loved them too which I did before putting my phone back down to cuddle with my partner for life. 

[theloganator101]

Vent Ask anon is here again! Hello 👋

I have another vent for you in regard to Hori's writing. Something I've seen both you and @mikeellee speak about is how Hori loves his abuser characters. I've noticed this too and I hate it.

Two main examples of this for me stick out.

Bakuguo and Endeavor.

But I'll talk about some other (dis)honorable examples of this at the end.

First Bakugou Katsuki (kind of controversial to label him as an abuser) however with the severity of the bullying dealt to Izuku and the length of time he dealt it - that's abuse. And yet:

He is favoured by the narrative

Izuku is never allowed to think negatively of him or grow out of his mindset of "Kacchan is the best"

Bkg has characters that exists as a 'simp' for him in Izuku, Kaminari and Kirishima.

He has friends despite treating no one with respect, screaming at everyone and giving everyone degrading nicknames.

Said "best friend" Kirishima hates bullies and somehow can't see his "manly" best friend is one.

He is favored by the 'hardass' homeroom teacher since Aizawa is a favored mouthpiece of Hori

He is deemed a prodigy of 1A despite his only prior experience to UA being beating up others who couldn't fight back - which implies nothing good. How severe did he beat Izu and others up to get that good?

All Might thinks well of him despite Bakugou berating and beating up Izuku as well as berating the past OFA holders. (As soon as Bkg did that AM should have kicked him straight out of the OFA talks.)

The apology scene and the 1A vs Izuku scene were all there to act as a gotcha moment to the Anti-Bakugou fans and put him back in Izuku's story.

Yet why does Bakugou have to be in Izuku's story? He adds nothing. He contributes nothing. He is a parasite on Izuku's life. And Izuku is FAR more interesting as a character and would have been allowed to shine if he were allowed to be away from Bakugou - But Hori can't allow that!

Second Endeavor - I hate him. He began the story as an irredeemable trash father, the dark side of heroics yet Hori has now attempted D worthy "atonement" narrative.

He is favored by the narrative

He has a character that exists as a 'simp' for him in Hawks.

Rei is not allowed to think negatively of him despite how he ruined her mental state, physically and (implied SA'd her depending on the reading of the manga - why is Hori giving an implied rapist a redemption arc?)

Only realised his wrongdoings when he got the position he wanted in being the Number 1 hero and realised it was empty. (Fucking laughable, he didn't see it when Touya grew unstable, when Rei burnt Shoto or when Touya supposedly DIED. How am I meant to believe this guy deserves a redemption?)

No hero / hero in training outside the Todoroki's is allowed to say a bad word about him. Hawks acts now as his simp despite his abusive childhood and Jeanist is joining Hawks in helping support an abuser while giving off strong abuse apologist vibes... This leads me to my next point-

Endeavor remains the number 1 hero despite being outed as an Domestic Abuser... What the fuck? I thought being a hero is meant to be more than about power HORI? That was the message at the start of MHA! If it's just about power now - why not let All for One rule and be the number 1!

Then there's the issue with how the rest of the family, primarily Dabi and Rei are handled - Hori's retcons. Smacking Rei for not watching Touya and separating Shoto from his siblings to keep him away from 'dangerous' Touya who attempted to kill him as a baby. But there's also the instances with Fuyumi not understanding Touya and Natsuo telling Touya to tell Fuyumi about his problems because he needs to sleep. These instances exist solely to shift the blame off Endeavor for the established abusive behaviour he committed by showing the other family members had some fault for their circumstamces. That's it. There's no other reason to any of those instances being there.

Some fans claim that there is complexity in abusive situations which is why those scenes (in the above bullet point) are there and that does exist in real life but this is a Shonen Manga. Authorial intent needs to be considered. Subjects like this needs to be handled sensitively and while not leaving any room for doubt (especially when the audience/readers are young children/teens) who is at fault. The fact that Hori muddles the water like this (just take a look at any of the E stans takes on Rei or Touya) isn't good. AT ALL.

Shoto. Endeavor's "atonement" led to Shoto being shafted as a character and powerful in his own right so so bad. There's something so wrong about this. The victim should ALWAYS remain the focus of their story especially their recovery and telling of it.

There's also the fact that Endeavor's victims are so so much more interesting than him. Shoto is a main character and he's great - give me more of him. Give me more Rei, Dabi/Touya, Natsuo and Fuyumi, their mindsets would be so much more interesting to see than Endeavor's "change" the majority of which occurred in his own head.

Now for the quick fire dishonorable mentions.

Overhaul. A piece of trash truly, yet he appears in MHA once again as an willing 'accomplise' to Nagant and broken man. He is also asked if he would like to apologise to Eri by Izuku. Like no. This man deserves nothing, in fact he deserves Shiggy to decay the rest of him. He added nothing to the Nagant arc and there was no need for him to be there. Other than to be someone for Izuku to save which would have worked better being anyone else really.

All for One. Arguable, Hori at the very least doesn't try to shift the blame off of him. However he gets more focus than First and the rest of the OFA holders despite them being his biggest constant threat. AND despite Izuku (our narrator) being an OFA holder and seeing the other vestiges! Hori! Come on Hori! The opportunity to explore all the OFA holders was RIGHT THERE!

Shimura Kotaro - again arguable. However with the way the story treated his abuse to his family, the blame for his abuse seems to be shifted to Nana's abandonment of Kotaro for 'causing him to act that way.' Although he at least is such a minor character most fans seemed to think "wow fuck that guy" upon learning Shigaraki's backstory and moved on.

Your thoughts?

To give a proper response, I'll be talking about each of the characters you listed.

Bakugou: You're all right about this, at this point he literally has the narrative wrapped around his finger. He's the worst of what happens when you give a side character the screentime of a second major character but with no development. He serves no purpose to the plot and just serves to take away screentime to characters that could really use it to make them more important than they are now.

Endeavor: Yeah you pretty much hit the nails why this atonement doesn't work.

I would even like to add Fuyumi to this equation since she chose to forgive him so they could be a happy family. While I get what Hori's trying to convey and having multiple sides to this, but it just comes across as her invalidating Natsuo's feelings without trying to see it from his POV.

Hey Hori, your sexism is showing again by having the females in the family forgive your abuser with implications of r*pe.

And that isn't going into how Shoto is literally made into a plot device IN HIS OWN FUCKING ARC FOR ENDEAVOR'S ATONEMENT!!

Overhaul: Nothing much to say here.

AFO: Nothing here either.

Kotaro: Yeah this guy was a pos. And his family isn't any better by letting the abuse too. I will die defending Nana as she was only doing what she thought was best to protect her family and didn't have any say in the choices that led to her son being an abuser.

[dagarbagerat]

If we can't believe it all, then what parts of Oli's story do you think really happened?

Generally things that other rats can testify to (largely Shelby) or come up often I think are more likely to be true. Also things said out of character like his age being 30 and his dad drowning when he was 13.

This also got long so like, going below another cut. Also just a note these are my own personal opinions and rankings. If you want pure statements go see the Lore Compilation itself

Canon said OOC or explicitly shown:

He has memory issues causing him to forget things quickly and remember things that didn't happen

He is 30 and his dad drowned when he was 13

He has a terrible diet largely consisting of garbage (used to refuse healthy food) leading to various health issues

He is afraid of drowning

Shubble is his sister

Likes The Butler

He eats Tide Pods

High Confidence:

He was in NYC and Paris (both Shelby and Oli have memories together there). Interestingly enough, Shelby has never mentioned being in Sheffield, but maybe she just wasn't living with him when their dad died?

Their parents and some other family members are dead. His dad drowned. His mom probably did die to some form of disease. At least one uncle is dead.

He assumes anyone he loses contact with is dead, probably due to how many people in his family died when he was a kid (at the very least his parents). However, I don't believe that every family member he mentions dying necessarily is dead nor if they even existed. While I know Shelby's memory is also really bad due to trauma, the fact that she didn't remember their brothers existing could also be a sign that maybe they didn't exist. It's tough to say with confidence either way.

He knew a rat named Remy while in Paris (both Shelby and Oli remember him). However, I think there are just lots of rats named Remy and that's why nearly everyone in Rats SMP seems to know the "same" Parisian rat.

His father raised the family in the trash on the streets and Oli did spend at least some amount of time trying to live a finer life before changing his mind

He knows how to read and write. We see him do it all the time. I'm not sure if he's just lying about it in character or if character Oli just thinks he can't read despite reading often but he definitely can read and write.

He is bad with not only numbers, but time

Likes Men & Women

He is short due to malnourishment growing up

Medium Confidence:

His dad probably was a drunk and his mom probably was somewhat abusive towards him. I haven't heard Shelby say anything about their parents

"Ol" probably is a childhood nickname

He has read/seen/listened to Of Mice and Men; Attack on Titan; Hamilton; The Titanic; and Flushed Away

His tail is short due to being gnawed on

Shubble and Oli are twins (if you ask me they both forgot who is older and sort of came to this as a middle ground)

Low Confidence

Almost everything related to going to school. While he can read & write there are way too many contradictions in what happened at school (including it sometimes being a college). Actually I don't think he has a single consistent story about school. Maybe he was enrolled and never went or maybe he just thought it was normal for kids to go to school and thinks he must have too.

Him having a wife. If he really had a dead wife I feel like she'd come up more often

Bonus

I've seen theories in Oli's chat saying he killed at least one of his family members as he's been responsible for killing 2 rats already. Especially after the Apo murder in which his excuse was a lot like the story he told of one of his dead uncles. I think it's plausible but would probably place it in Low Confidence as there's not really any evidence.

[somebirdortheother]

Tag Game - Fandom Edition

I was tagged by @myfavouritelunatic, @iamstartraveller776 and @youwearfinethingswellwriter ! Thank you, beauties!

Your Name: My nicknames are numerous - JD, Mojo/Evil Mojo Jojo (Haha... don't ask, but sufficient number of people call me that in real life), JJ, Birdy. For my actual name, DM me and introduce yourselves!

Your First Fandom: Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek! Though I'd never shipped before ST ENT (Everyone who's read my Breaking The Ice will know that it's partially an ode to *THE* ship.)

Your Current Fandom: I'm writing in The Rings of Power fandom, currently, which happens to be the first fandom that I'd decided to try my hand at writing in for strange, roundabout reasons.

How did you first get into fandom?: I've never identified myself as a fan, despite my deep love for everything Trek, and I hadn't realised that I'd got into fandom until one thing led to another and I was reading ungodly amounts of Trip/T'Pol fics. I'm still in denial...

How long have you been engaging in fandom spaces?: I'm *still* in denial :D I'll always be in denial.

How often do you read fanfic?: Currently, as I'm writing, I'm afraid it's very little. I love all of you, dear fellow ROP writers, and if I've not read your works it's not a slight, it's more that my brain is too small to read and write simultaneously, most of the time.

Top three characters from your current fandom?: Halbrand (Sauron), Bronwyn + Arondir (yes, @iamstartraveller776 I'm stealing your answer, you can't have one and not the other), Elrond

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom and if so, shout it out!: Since I've only ever written in The Rings of Power fandom, all my self-shout-outs are going to be there, but so far I sit at 23 fics. Some examples:

To Smith Or Not To Smith - My uber-nerdy Sauron redemption through being Eregion's good little Maia smith. He's lucky to have Brimby and Galadriel handle him.

Welcome To Mordor City - Haladriel Steampunk AU series

Breaking The Ice/ All Aboard USS Numenor series - Haladriel/Saurondriel Star Trek AU

Barbarus (Part of Time And Time Again series with @coraleethroughthelookingglass) - Haladriel Archaeology AU

The Souvenir - Haladriel Numenor adventures

Have you ever drawn fan art for a fandom?: If drawing a map of Mordor City counts, then I have.

Ta-da

Share a personal headcanon that you feel strongly about:

From ST: ENT - The events in the last episode were not real, and the "history record" had been intentionally tampered with. Trip obviously hadn't died.

From TROP - Galadriel is Sauron; she found a poor dumb idiot who had a crush on her to do her bidding. Oh sorry, did we say *feel strongly about*?

You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them?:

TROP - I don't feel super strongly about my friends getting into it, as I'm not a perfect fan of it despite all the writing, but I have shared my fanfics on occasion. Result: people learn about AO3 and then tell me all about strange niche things they discover in other fandoms. It's a joy.

Star Trek ENT - "The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!" (any scene with Shran), that episode where Trip gets pregnant, SIMILITUDE

And finally, what does fandom mean to you?: Having fun, writing, messing around, and occasionally meeting wonderful people that I end up being COMPLETELY ENAMOURED WITH. YEAH YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE. On a serious note, I am grateful to have met a few folks over the years that I'm honoured to call friends.

Taggy-tag time: @niennawept @helenvader @coraleethroughthelookingglass @ichabodjane @yletylyf @pursuitseternal @jhalya @jurassiclexie @trinuviel @hazelmaines @clumsycopy and everyone else who'd like to participate :)

[djino04]

Injury 2

Author's note : Someone asked for the sequel to "Injury", here it is. I'm not particularly a fan of this chapter, but nothing better came out of my head.

POV Farah 

It's finally summer vacation and I've been alone at school since this morning. The students have of course gone home. Ben, Terra and Sam have gone back to Rose, as they do every year. And I managed to persuade Saul and Sky to go away together for a few days. I hope this little trip will give them a chance to work things out. They're both hurting from the current state of their relationship, but I know he's not yet ready to forgive his foster father. Maybe the change of scenery will do him good.

It feels strange to be alone here. In 18 years, it's rarely been like this. And besides, since my return, the students have been very clingy. And when it wasn't them, it was Saul or Ben. 

Every few minutes I look up at the door, expecting one of the fairies to knock and then I remember that they all went home. I really thought I could finally get on with the paperwork, but I was wrong. I guess I might as well go to my quarters and relax. 

I quickly put the papers away on my desk when I hear my phone ring. I frown as I see Saul's satellite phone number. He already called me 30 minutes ago to complain about Sky's behavior. Although in real life, I know he did it mostly to see how I was doing. At this distance, our connection doesn't work very well, so he needed that to reassure himself. I can't even imagine how he felt the moment I died. What I do know is that his protectiveness has increased tenfold since my return. To be perfectly honest, I don't mind so much that it's coming from him, although I will continue to grumble for the sake of it. Which I do, by the way, as I pick up the phone: 

"Saul, I'm past the age of needing a babysitter."

"Aunt Farah..."

It's not Saul on the other end of the phone but Sky, a very concerned Sky from the sound of his voice, not to mention the fact that he hasn't called me by that nickname since he became a student at Alfea. I then fear the worst but try to stay calm as I ask him: 

"Sky, what's going on? Where's Saul?"

"He's hurt. The wood stock collapsed on him. I think he has a concussion."

"Is he conscious?"

"He was when I left him. But now I don't know, I'm at the car."

A plan of action quickly begins to form in my head and I explain it to Sky: 

"Okay, join your dad Sky, keep him conscious and don't move him for now. I'll get the supplies I need and come through the portal, okay? Everything will be fine, I promise."

After assuring him again that I'll be there soon, I hang up. I could have stayed on the phone with Sky to reassure him, but it would have taken me longer to get everything ready. On top of that, I want him to focus on Saul to keep him awake. It only takes me about ten minutes to get everything I need and create a portal to the hunting cabin. It's a good thing my specialist took me there a few years ago, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it. 

As I walk through the portal, I immediately feel Saul's pain through our connection. I am reassured that they are not too serious and that I should be able to deal with the injuries without Ben. Despite the rain and wind, I run to what's left of the cabin. Once there, I hear Sky's voice but also Saul's as they both talk. The younger one looks up at me when he notices my presence and simply says: 

"Aunt Farah."

I see Saul trying to straighten up and I put a hand on his shoulder as soon as I'm beside him: 

"Just lie there while I check to see that you didn't do anything bad this time. You'll have to tell me how you manage to find trouble even on vacation."

He lies down again without protesting and answers me: 

"Maybe this wouldn't happen if you agreed to go on vacation with us."

I simply reply with a smile. It is true that I often let the two men go together and sometimes join them later. Sky needs to have Saul all to himself from time to time. Which happens more and more rarely now that he is a student and no longer sleeps in his foster father's apartments. And I'm sure Saul really appreciates this time alone as well. 

I use my magic to scan his body and assess the damage. I'm reassured to see that other than the concussion, he's not hurt badly. He has some bruises, a few cuts, and he's going to be stiff for several days, but it could be worse. Most importantly, we'll be able to move him safely. We are all soaked and there is no point in us adding a cold or worse to the list of problems. 

I quickly explain my findings to the two men: 

"Other than the concussion, I didn't find anything serious. We're going to be able to get into the house and out of these wet clothes. I brought a potion that should help with your head and some things for the cuts and bruises. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

Saul starts to straighten up and I can see a slight grimace of pain appear on his face before he hides it. I know he's not going to want to let me take his pain so I don't even offer. Sky gets on one side and I get on the other and we help Saul get up and then walk towards the house and to his room.

Once we arrive and Saul is sitting on the bed, I turn to Sky: 

"Sky, go change, take a hot shower if you're cold. I'll take care of Saul."

I can see that the boy hesitates for a few seconds. He glances at Saul. The latter gives him a reassuring smile: 

"I'm fine now. You did a good job, thanks. Now go get changed like Farah told you."

Obviously, this is what Sky needed to hear because he quickly exits the room. I then turn to Saul, potions in hand: 

"To us both."

I hand him a vial, which he takes with a suspicious look: 

"It's not that I don't trust you but uh, are you sure about this?"

"Just because I missed a potion once doesn't mean it'll happen every time. And anyway, it was Ben who made it so there's no risk."

Once, just once, I messed up making a healing potion like this. Andreas and Saul were sick all day and then neither of them would ever take one of my potions. What they don't know is that they've drunk several since then. The dark-haired guy looks at me for a second longer before drinking the potion straight down with a grimace. But even though it's not good, its effect is almost instantaneous. I hear him sigh with relief and feel the pain recede.

"See, there was nothing to worry about. Come on now, let's hit the shower too. I'll take care of the rest afterwards."

I don't even ask him if he's able to shower or not because I know he'll say yes anyway. He has a slight tendency to underestimate his injuries. After finding him passed out twice in the bathroom, I have learned to assess his condition from our bond. More importantly, I use it to monitor him throughout his recovery, no matter how slightly or severely injured he is. When Saul figured it out, he started blocking his part of the bond in those moments and I think that was one of the only times we really argued. If he can't be honest about his injuries, I need a way to know how he's doing. He eventually figured out that I wasn't doing this to invade his privacy and has left the link open every time since. 

I am brought out of my thoughts by Sky coming over and sitting next to me. I can see that all of this has upset him. It's not surprising, especially with everything he's been through this year, including Andreas' death. I put an arm around his shoulders and he comes to lean against me. I ask him: 

"How are you doing?"

"You know I'm not the one who got hurt?"

I smile gently at him: 

"You know, you don't have to be physically hurt to not be okay. I know the last few months have been hard on you. And what just happened may have messed you up."

He shrugs: 

"I'm not a kid anymore."

No, he's not really one anymore because of Rosalind. These kids have been through war in the last year. And Sky had to kill her biological father with his own hand to protect his adoptive father. There is a lot to be upset about, child or not. That's why I say to him: 

"You don't have to be a child to be upset about things. It's perfectly normal to be scared when you see someone you love being hurt. I was scared when you called me and then when I saw Saul lying on the floor."

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow: 

"You seemed very calm though."

"Being scared is not the same as panicking Sky. It's in the moments of fear where you have to step back and think so you don't make the wrong decision. That's what you did, you called me and Saul is fine because of you. But you know being an adult is also about dealing with problems by talking things through instead of letting your anger out. "

Our conversation is stopped by Saul stepping out of the shower, shirtless. I can quickly see that I was not mistaken, there are some bruises and cuts that deserve a balm but nothing too bad. After a good night's sleep, he'll be almost as good as new and he'll be fit enough to finally have a good conversation with Sky. That is, if he is ready.

[bexrisa]

--*melodic reconnections - 14july *--

risa stared out of her apartment window, the city lights of seoul creating a warm tapestry against the night sky. a wave of nostalgia washed over her, prompting thoughts of her family back in akasaka. it had been a while since she had spoken to any of them, a reminder of the somewhat distant relationships that had formed over the years. tonight, a sense of longing pushed her to call one of her older brothers, tatsuya, the one she had always looked up to.

dialing his number, she waited patiently as the phone rang on the other end. the familiar ringback tone played, carrying with it echoes of their shared history. finally, the call connected, and she heard his voice, a mix of surprise and warmth laced with a hint of concern.

"hello?" tatsuya's voice carried a subtle note of inquiry.

"hey, it's me," she replied, her voice a blend of anticipation and vulnerability.

"risa? it's been quite some time," he responded, genuine pleasure and curiosity infusing his words. "how have you been?"

risa leaned against the window frame, a small, bittersweet smile forming on her lips. "i've been… managing, i guess. immersed in my music studies."

tatsuya's voice held a tinge of empathy. "i can imagine. seoul's a world of its own. how's the journey toward becoming a k-pop idol treating you?"

a mix of determination and apprehension welled up in risa's heart. "it's a journey, tatsuya, one that's both challenging and rewarding. i'm working hard, practicing, and attending classes."

"that's the spirit, risa," he said with a touch of pride. "you've always been relentless in pursuing what you believe in."

"thank you, tatsuya," she replied softly, gratitude lacing her words. "i wanted to call and reconnect. it's been a while."

tatsuya's warmth resonated in his voice. "we miss you, risa. mom and dad have been asking about you."

a pang of guilt swept through her. "i miss them too, and the rest of the family. can you let them know i'll reach out soon?"

"of course," he assured her. "and don't be a stranger. we all want to hear about your experiences."

risa nodded, her eyes misting. "i promise, tatsuya. thanks for talking tonight."

"anytime, risa," he said warmly. "take care of yourself and keep following your dreams."

"i will," she affirmed, determination lacing her voice. "talk to you soon."

as she ended the call, a renewed sense of connection with her family welled within her. despite the emotional distance, their bonds remained unbreakable. the conversation had reignited her resolve to navigate her path toward becoming a k-pop idol while maintaining ties with her loved ones.

before hanging up, tatsuya's tone turned more nostalgic. "hey, do you remember when dad used to call you 'little melody' back in the day?"

caught off guard, risa chuckled, a warmth spreading through her chest. "i can't believe you brought that up, tatsuya."

he laughed, a fondness evident in his voice. "you were always humming something. 'little melody' seemed fitting."

her heart felt lighter. "well, 'little melody' is still humming away, tatsuya."

he teased, "good to know the nickname still fits. keep the melody alive, risa."

with those words, they said their goodbyes, leaving risa with a mix of emotions. she realized that this conversation had opened a door to deeper understanding and connection. as she looked out into the night, she felt a renewed sense of purpose, both in her journey toward her dream and in staying true to herself through her songwriting. and as tatsuya's words lingered, she found herself reminiscing about her father's endearing nickname, a piece of their shared history she hadn't thought about in years.

tatsuya's voice held a thoughtful note. "you know, speaking of dreams, i heard from yui the other day. her own little idol career seems to be slowing down."

risa's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "really? yui's?"

he chuckled softly. "seems like everyone's on a bit of a roller coaster, huh? life has its own plans sometimes."

risa's lips curved into a rueful smile. "yeah, it sure does. well, i'm going to keep riding this roller coaster and see where it takes me."

"sounds like a plan," tatsuya replied, his tone supportive. "and remember, you've got family who's got your back, no matter where your journey leads."

"thanks, tatsuya," risa said, her heart warming at his words. "i needed to hear that."

"anytime, little melody," he said with a hint of playfulness, and risa couldn't help but laugh.

"keep that nickname to yourself, okay? it's embarrassing," she teased.

he chuckled. "don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

with a final exchange of goodbyes, risa hung up the phone, feeling a renewed sense of connection not only with her family but with her own dreams. as she looked out at the city lights, she couldn't help but feel a renewed determination to keep humming her own melody, no matter where it led her.

[latibvles]

jarring realization that i haven't actually haven't done a proper introduction post — no time like the present I suppose?

Anyways you can refer to me as either Poet or Lexi ( or any variation of those two nicknames, Poe, Lex, etc. ). I am nineteen years old ( as of June 2021, because I will no doubt forget to update this as I age so please feel free to do that math ) and go by any pronouns ( although I must ask if we are not close, please stick to she / they ). I'm currently in college pursuing a degree in english, with hopes of being an editor in the future. I've been writing since I was eleven years old and like to think I've gotten pretty good at it. This is my first time posting any work on Tumblr, despite being a reader of stories on here for quite some time.

I am a self-proclaimed "war boy enjoyer" — so you can safely assume I've watched Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and a few different films. Haven't gotten around to Generation Kill quite yet. Outside of period pieces, I enjoy tolkienverse, animanga, and thai dramas primarily. I also play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and play a lot of video games ( and for all our sakes I am a Gemini, ENXP, and 8w7 ). I’ve got a puppy named Loki who likes to bite my hands to prevent me from writing, and I’m prone to impulse posting AUs at 3am because all of my friends are enablers (affectionate).

My pride and joy, my current focus work is Sad, Beautiful, Tragic, which you can read here on Tumblr and here on AO3. It’s sister work and some extra fun bits are also posted on my AO3. I’ve also got an OC Masterlist here featuring some OCs from my next work, With A Fighting Heart, which I am quite fond of. They’ve got their respective tags if you’d like to read about them too.

SOME USEFUL TAGS

" poet's think thoughts " — alternatively titled "the poet screams into the void and now you must all listen." this is first and foremost a place of safety and comfort, as my url suggests. also just

" poet's mail box " — anything from my inbox goes here including answers to games & writing challenges

" poe's pals " — anything from friends / mutuals goes here

" poet's notepad " — i try to update this fairly regularly with whatever drabbles / ficlets i’ve written which aren’t apart of the main fic

“ poet’s secret friends ” — my anon tag, for those of you who are a little too shy to say hello, but I love you anyway

“ hi pretty boy ” — gifsets of my favorite war boys ( so .. a lot of ron + dick + some snafu sprinkled in there too ) alternatively, for my favorite women — try “ hi pretty girl ”

SOME FIC RECS alternatively titled "what is getting Poet through the semester?" complete with AO3 / masterlist links (and their tumblrs, if I have it) — can also be found under #fic recs

The Names We Call Upon by TysMisadventures ; for my Dragon Age enjoyers. I am Elera's number one fan and also her wife. If Solas won't make a move I WILL! Also I love a good Modern AU.

A Garden In Bloom by Arlana ; it has Hanahaki and Medieval AU in Haikyuu. Also the first AO3 fic I ever read and life just hasn't been the same since. I love princes falling in love.

Fire on Fire by liebgotts-lovergirl ( @liebgotts-lovergirl ) ; I am going to war for Alix Martinelli. If she asked me to jump I would ask how high. I am her number one fan.

The Darkening Sky by MercuryGray ( @mercurygray ) ; If you see me crying over Annie Sutton in a public restroom no you don't. I'm cheering Joan Warren on with pom-poms whenever she does anything ever. I am her ride or die forever.

Barren Soul by softspeirs ( @softspeirs ) ; If Kat Gray has million numbers of fan i am one of them . if Kat Gray has ten fans i am one of them. if Kat Gray has only one fan that is me . if Kat Gray has no fans, that means i am dead . if world is against the Kat Gray, i am against the world.

as spring makes promises outside by shoshiwrites ( @shoshiwrites ) ; shoshi will write an au and I will think about it for the next month and a half and that’s not even a joke. anyways flower shops and joe toye and jo brandt will save 2022 and if you disagree argue with your momma.

[imfiguringitoutlovely]

you're going through a depressive episode||kaminari

pairing: denki kaminari x depressed, he/they reader

type: angst, fluff, it was supposed to be hcs but its more of a drabble?

warning: mentions of depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, dissociation, symptoms of ptsd, mental breakdown

author's note: I've started spiraling again and i really need this right now. please do not read this if you feel like you're in a vulnerable state of mind. also, reader and kami are in class 2-A at this point. and ill have another lams x reader fic come out soon, im sorry, ive been swamped with academic shit.

it'd been officially a little over six months since you'd started dating kaminari. he was the one to make the first move, mostly because you were sure that he was straight after all his antics with mineta and all. but you were wrong. this shocking (im so sorry) guy had a few secrets apparently. number one was that he was bi. number two was that he loved the way you laughed. three was the way he could stare at you smiling all day. four was how much he adored your sense of humor. and so on and so forth.

you picked up on these things. and yes, it was sweet. they made you smile, made you feel loved and appreciated. made you feel secure for a while. and then your depression trickled in and reminded you that the things he loves the most about you disappeared in waves from time to time. it reminded you that you couldn't always show what he loved, you couldn't always embody the reasons he'd fallen for you.

school was getting increasingly stressful. quirk training left you feeling constantly drained. your family wasn't being supportive of neither your schooling or relationship choices, and they didn't hesitate to constantly remind you. and then there was your constant reality, the villains and everything going on with UA. you started to feel like you were fading away, fighting against quicksand. you have to try to fix one problem, but then three others worsen and you have to try and fix those, but then there's more.

you were starting to reach a breaking point. your reality was starting to fall apart. not only were you losing touch with everyone and everything around you but you were spiralling out with your own identity. who were you? who did you want to be? were you really fit to be a hero, or was it a stupid dream? was it even your dream?

your anxiety got really bad as a response. so you were low on energy, out of touch, and you'd get spikes in adrenaline that you were too exhausted to fully process which left you a panicked mess.

despite how bad it was, it took your friends a long time to notice. you hid it because you felt like you didn't deserve to be helped. everyone else was dealing with all these things so easily, it seemed, and you weren't even getting everything they were. your life seemed mild compared to theirs, and so you held it in.

kirishima was the first person to catch on. the whole bakusquad (including you) were eating lunch at a table. you sat next to kaminari, as you usually did, but this time you sat by the edge of the bench. usually you sat in the middle, but you figured you'd sit at the end so you could step away if your anxiety started revving up. this was...fine. it didn't catch any attention. no, what signaled kirishima to suspect something was off was when your boyfriend asked how you were feeling about training.

you had zoned out, deep in your thoughts that all centered around the problems you had to fix that you had no more energy to deal with. you were staring off into your bowl of udon that you'd barely touched when he asked.

"i think it's a little overkill. making us come up with another special move? i'm still trying to get my first one right." he sighed in exasperation, though of course it was light hearted. "what do you think, [Y/n]?"

you hadn't even caught his question. you only heard ringing in one ear and distant voices in another, but they were mixed up and hard to make out in your head.

"[Y/n]? [Y/n]~?" He then tried a nickname and your hero name, but no response. It wasn't until Bakugou yelled that you snapped out of it.

"hey, idiot two, idiot one is asking you something!" but the sudden boost in volume made your anxiety hit hard. you jumped a little in your seat, entire body tensing and going into flight mode as your eyes focused on the people around you. you were too panicked, though, to realize the way kirishima seemed worried, or the way kaminari seemed to start to take the sign, too. you just looked so... so confused and scared until you processed why he'd yelled and what everyone was waiting for. you didn't look okay, and you didn't sound ok, either.

"o-oh. um." you cleared your throat. "well i get why they're making up do it. it'll help...in...fighting. so... im gonna use the restroom, sorry." and you stood and rushed off.

the whole table thought it was off. but they let it go as you being tired or overthinking the special move training. again, only kaminari and kirishima were really noticing the off-ness.

the next time anything showed was during training. catharsis. this was supposed to be the way your frustrations were let out, right? so why the hell was it making you feel worse?

you were training on your general combat skills, which meant minimizing the use of your quirk unless you could ensure it wouldn't be destructuve to the environment. your mind was so foggy and you kept making mistakes. mistake after mistake after mistake, and it was starting to get annoying. of course you were paired with uraraka who'd gotten trained for this during her internship, so it was going.... g r e a t for you. by great, i mean you ended up being flipped over her and slammed onto the ground two times already with her then pretending it took all her energy because she felt bad for you.

by the third time she managed to get you on the ground, you gave up. you just laid on your back, breathing hard and staring at the ceiling. the sounds of the other fights going in in the gym started to just fade into ringing, and you closed your eyes to try and calm yourself down. but the ringing got louder. the floor felt like it was sinking with you still on it, but you didn't bother trying to move away. everything you felt started feeling off, distant. second-hand. your breathing slowed, but you weren't calm. you were leaving yourself, running away from all the aching and anger and disappointment. you hadn't even noticed the way uraraka was crouching by you in complete concern, her brows furrowed before calling mr.aizawa over to help.

aizawa spoke directly to you, and because he was there, the rest of the class started looking over to see what was going on. kaminari especially, who ran over after he saw you just laying there.

"hey, what's going on-?" he kneeled next to you. "[Y/n]? [Y/N], what's-?" he grabbed your hand, gently, put a little spark went through and you immediately opened your eyes. you tensed up as the ringing in your ears overlapped the sound of small conversations coming from your classmates who were starting to crowd around you. aizawa shooed them off quickly, but kami wasn't having it. uraraka apologized before taking over kami's fight. aizawa helped you up, taking note of how after the slight shock you'd gone into a state of immediate distance. he took another moment to look at you, asked if you were physically okay, and then shooed your boyfriend off while granting you permission to sit out the rest of training, something Aizawa was known to only do when push comes to shove.

kaminari could barely focus on the three way fight he was dealing with because you were hurt. mentally or physically, you were hurting but you didn't talk to him about it. how could he help you if you didnt want help?

after class, your teacher insisted on talking to you. he recommended you to the school counselor, who you already knew after the summer camp incident. you went, but you never went back. that night, too, kami went to your dorm. he wanted to have a sleepover. he was a cuddly person, actually (which led to a ton of static all over you and your bed), and typically you adored it, but right now you wanted to shut yourself in to think, to fix. when you let him down, he noticed how... almost robotic it sounded... this had been going on for too long. he had to say something. he had to-

the idiot didn't think and put his thin-slipper covered foot in the doorway before you could close it all the way. his foot died. he inhaled and swallowed his pain before pushing the door open a bit.

"[Y/n]. what's going on? what's wrong?" he looked so worried. he wasn't dumb. you knew that. despite all the jokes the class made and the way he got when he pushed his quirk, denki was smart. he just took a little longer to understand certain subjects and often times had trouble concentrating. it didn't make him dumb. especially when it came to being aware of the people around him.

"wrong? nothing. just need to work on some studying is all-"

"for?"

"a test." he went quiet. because he knew there wasn't a test. you knew there wasn't a test until friday and it was monday and you never really studied until a night or two before. there was an uncomfortable pause that lasted way too long. way, way wayyyy too long. he was the one to break it.

"you don't need to tell me what you're not comfortable saying. but i need to know what the overall issue is so i know how to be here for you. i know im not great with tough feeling, but i want to be here for you." he watched as you went back to your desk. your textbooks were closed.

you knew you couldn't answer with "nothing". "i guess school is stressing me out. you know, with training and all-"

"you know you can always talk to me and ei about setting up a study group. we can do it for homework too-"

"no. no, it's alright."

"...then how can i help you? i want to be here for you. i want to support you the best i can, [y/n]. i know i seem stupud but i'm not blind-"

"i know you're not stupid or blind. i didn't say you were, babe, but i just need space-"

"that's what i've tried to give you. that's what i'm trying to do, but the more i give you, the worse you seem to get-!"

"then stop! then stop and go, kaminari! if im- i know im being stubborn, i know im closing myself off, but im trying to fix everything, okay?! and im-im trying to... im trying to fix this, to fix... to..." your tears started falling, quick. you stood and tried to find your breath, but the wind was knocked out of you. anxiety. "i need to fix it. i need to-to suck it up and-" you leaned on the desk, your breathing quickening and becoming sporadic. "i- i'm-"

denki was in shock. he'd never seen you this way. he was in front of you in milliseconds, trying to guide you through breathing. eventually it worked, but at that you'd already hit your limit. you were sobbing, hesitantly leaning into him even though your senses were bit overwhelmed.

"i just- i didn't- i need to fix everything..."

that night, denki held you. he laid with you in bed and held you as you cried it all out, head starting to ache from it all. he didn't speak until you were starting to calm down.

"you don't need to."

"w-what?"

"fo fix anything. you don't. we go through everything as a class. and as for us, we go through everything as a pair."

"...i have depression. and anxiety. diagnosed."

he paused, but spoke when he realized you were getting anxious again. "is it getting treated with anything?"

"no..."

"then we'll go to the counselor tomorrow together."

"you don't have to-"

"i want to. with you. okay?"

okay.

okay...

[madeofitzits]

In honor of the impending return of Brooklyn 99, here are 99 reasons that...

1. He was precocious enough to know, at 5 years old, that he wanted to change his name (x)

 2. He has a bunch of nicknames: Sandy Amberg, Young Sandwich, etc. but the most endearing one is 'Droidy', his family's name for him (x) 

3. He is still super close friends with people he's known since: Elementary School (Chelsea Peretti) (x)...

4. Junior High/High School (Kiv and Jorm) (x) 

5. … Summer Camp (Irene Neuwirth) (x)

7.  ...and Film School (Chester Tam) (x)

8. Before he met Joanna, he dated other famous ladies but - out of respect - he never discussed it/them (x) 

9. He loves turtles and tortoises. When he was a kid, he had a pet turtle that he named 'Squirt' because the first time he held it, it peed on him. His Mom, Margie, accidentally killed Squirt when Andy was at Summer camp... (x)

10. … Maybe this is why, when shooting 'Popstar', Andy fell hard for Maximus (Conner 4 Real's turtle). He says they "had a good thing going" and that he wanted to adopt him. In the end, he decided against it because there are a bunch of coyotes in his neighborhood and he was worried the little guy wouldn't be safe. (Popstar: DVD Commentary)

11. Speaking of his Mom, despite being a super private person, he appeared on 'Finding your Roots' so that he could help her track down her birth family (x)

12. When he succeeded he cried (although we never got to see it on camera) (x)

13. That's because, like all good boys, he loves his Mama which is why - as part of the same episode - he said "My mom is basically the kindest person I know… and many people would corroborate that" (x)

14. Andy's Sisters, Hannie (Johanna) and Darrow, used to make him wear diapers and put his hair in pigtails until he was 5 years old. He says he didn't mind because he just liked that they were paying attention to him (x)

15. That's why he sees his identity in comedy as being 'America's kid brother'. When he was young, he would annoy his sisters until they laughed and he claims to have been replicating that approach to entertainment ever since

16. Although a bunch of his characters have 'Daddy Issues', Andy definitely doesn't. He's super close with his Papa (Joe) and has said "he's a good man" and "the best Dad in the world" (x) 

17. Joe was Andy's youth soccer coach and in one scene in 'Hot Rod', Joe's favorite photograph can be seen in the background. It shows a very young Andy posing with a soccer ball, after "scoring the winning goal against Mersey" (x)

18. He's been a loyal Golden State Warriors fan since he was a little kid, living in Oakland (then Berkeley) and, in 2010, he correctly predicted that they would "win a Championship in my lifetime" (x) 

19. The proceeds from his Umami Burger ('The Samburger') went to a deafness early detection program in Berkeley. This cause is close to his heart because Margie uses hearing aids and used to work in the special needs program, teaching deaf kids (x)

20. He, Kiv, and Jorm have made multiple donations to their old school district, including $250 000 to its theater program (x)

21. On the subject of The Lonely Island; Andy always goes out of his way to make sure that everyone knows how much he owes to his buddies. For instance, he told Marc Maron, during his WTF appearance, that "I get a lot of credit for what Kiv and Jorm have done" (x)

22. He makes this face when he knows he’s said something naughty…

(Gif credit: @andrewsambags)

23. During his 'Wild Horses' appearance, he said that he can't watch scary movies because they freak him out too much. He told 'Complex' that he's still scared of 'The Shining' (x)...

24. … Similarly, when he was at UC Santa Cruz he worked at the Del Mar movie theater and he had a hard time coping with screenings of 'Species 2' (x)

25. He fell in love with Joanna, the moment he met her, when she greeted him by addressing him as 'Steve the C**t' (x)

 26. He listened to 'Ys', everyday for a year, before he and Joanna started dating (x)

27. He bought the original portrait that was used as the basis of the cover art for 'Ys' and gave it to Joanna as a Christmas present, so that she could hang it in her music room (x)

 28. He loves birds and goes hiking and birding with Joanna (x)

 29. Every new comment he makes about Joanna becomes an instant contender for 'most beautiful thing a person has ever said about their spouse' (x)

30. For example, he readily admits that Jake's iconic heart eyes are the result of him thinking about his amazing wife (x)

31. There are many stories about how incredibly romantic Andy and Joanna's wedding was and Jorm has said that it featured "the most magical vows I've ever heard" (x)

32. The Newsombergs now live in Charlie Chaplin's old house (x)

33. On the Emmys Red Carpet (2015), the year he hosted, they took a momentary break from posing for the world's press to whisper 'I love you' to each other (x)

34. At last year's Vanity Fair party, Andy carried Joanna's purse for her so she could grab a snack (x)

35. He was a semi-permanent fixture in the audience for her recent run of shows for the 'Strings/Keys Incident' tour, even officially confirming his status as the 'President of her Fan Club' (x)

36. He used his Golden Globes monologue to call out the government for framing and murdering the Black Panthers (x)

37. On the Carpet for the Guy's Choice Awards, he called the event "a ridiculous farce", adding that "men already have it so easy - it's insane that there's a show that celebrates them". That makes sense when you consider that he, Kiv and Jorm have made an entire career out of parodying toxic masculinity (x)

38. He once said that only "idiot-ass men" think that women aren't funny (x)

39. He’s been wearing glasses since 7th Grade and he has the most heartbreakingly cute habit of nudging them up his nose, (especially when he wears his Sol Moscot frames) (x)...

40. ... and of rubbing his eyes under them (x)

41. He barely ever wears glasses for roles but he also avoids contacts (because he doesn't like touching his eyeballs) which means he's almost always 'acting blind' (x)

42. He has worn his glasses in character a few times - as 'himself' ('Lady Dynamite'), as 'Paul' ('I Think You Should Leave') and during a very small number of SNL sketches (e.g. during his one appearance in a 'Gilly' with Kristen Wiig) (x) 

43. He can't tolerate glare and when that makes him squint it's a sight that's too cute for words (x)

44. He owns about six outfits and has been rotating them for well over a decade (x) 

45. He barely ever breaks during shooting/while performing, so when he does it's aggressively adorable. (x), (x)

46. He's a grown ass man who persuades people to come with him to the bathroom because if he goes by himself he'll get lonely (x)

47. He didn't announce he was leaving SNL, until after his last appearance, selflessly choosing not to detract from Kirsten Wiig's huge and emotional send-off (x) 

48. He undertook a quest to smell like Lorne Michaels (x) 

49. He's ageing like a fine wine (x)

50. To protect their daughter's privacy, Andy and Joanna never announced that they were expecting. They've never released their little girl's name or date of birth and most news outlets still report that they became parents in August 2017 (even though that's inaccurate) (x)

51. Although he's careful not to talk about his daughter often, sometimes he can't keep from gushing about her. For example, when asked about his first year of fatherhood he said: "It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Just like a beautiful, incredible dream. It has surpassed every expectation I ever had. It’s definitely been very blissful" (x)

52. After their daughter was born, Andy and Joanna spent the first 40 days at home with her (in a practice known as 'confinement'). He's described it as being "a really special time". (x) 

53. Andy is famously mild-mannered but, when asked about what triggers his 'Dad claws', he admitted that if anyone attempted to touch his daughter, without permission, he'd "probably sock them hard in the face"…

54. ...Characteristically, he went on to add that he hopes that never happens, since he hasn't been in a fight since 6th Grade (x)

55. Cyndi Lauper was his first celebrity crush and he plays her record ('She's so unusual') for his daughter all the time. (x)

56. His is the very definition of a precious laugh (x)...

57. It's made even more wonderful by the way it makes his voice go high-pitched (x)

58.  … and the way it causes his eyebrow to rise involuntarily  

59. It's impossible not to smile at his impression of his Mom (x)

60. And laugh at his impression of John Mulaney (x)

61. He was so convinced he wouldn't win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, that he didn't prepare a speech. Instead, as he explained to David Letterman, he "just went… and started drinking". The resulting list of improvised 'thank yous' was perfect in every way (x)

62. As producers, Andy, Kiv and Jorm have given life to some amazing projects ('Alone Together', 'Brigsby Bear', 'I Think You Should Leave')...

63. … and gone out of their way to support women in comedy ('Party Over Here', 'PEN15') (x)

64. As well as being a comedy legend, he's a super-talented dramatic actor, who gave the performance of a lifetime in 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' but, after the movie wrapped, and it was time to do press for it, he was straight back to goofing around (x) 

65. His lip bite should be illegal (x)

66. Even though he wears the same vanishingly small number of outfits, over and over, he has a vast collection of the most excellent socks (x)

67. He always gives 'editing notes' during his own interviews (x)

68. He has a super sweet and sincere way of thanking interviewers when they compliment him (x)

69. He adjusts his hoodie constantly (x)

70. The two most perfect Jake laughs in b99 are actually real Andy laughs 'https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W38A_xuXaeg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sVm9nYrTWRQ

71. Virtually everyone who has ever worked with Andy has talked about what a wonderful person he is. This explains why so many of them have been involved with more than one of his projects (x)

72. It's not only his colleagues who talk about what a delight he is (x), (x)

73. This lovestruck fool wore his own wife's merch when he went out to dinner (x)

74. No one else uses the word 'dinky' quite like Andy (x). The same goes for 'snacky' (see point 70)

75. He does this with his tongue (x)

76. He still likes to play soccer but his eyesight is so bad that he has to keep his glasses on for it

77. When he lets his gorgeous floofy hair grow a little it sits perfectly over the arms of his glasses (x)

78. He gifted the world with Jakey's little curl (x)

79. At the James Franco Roast, he couldn't bring himself to be mean to anyone except himself (and Jeff Ross, a little!) (x)

80. In fact, he's always been willing to laugh at himself (x) and he still is (x)

81. He changes b99 scripts to make them more feminist (x)

82. Despite their humble insistence that they just benefited from 'good timing', the reality is that Andy, Kiv and Jorm (along with Chris Parnell) revolutionized digital media, when 'Lazy Sunday' popularized YouTube, increasing its traffic by 85% overnight (x)

83. He once attended the Vanity Fair party because his Mom told him to (x)

84. He has an amazing way of subtly but firmly shutting down inappropriate questions, like when this interviewer suggested that Holt being gay was something that could have been played for laughs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idQsYQfkR5o

85. He auditioned for SNL at the same time as Bill Hader. Hader thought he'd blown it because Andy had a bunch of props and Bill had none. In the meantime, Andy thought he'd blown it when he saw Hader and realized 'this guy doesn't need any props' (x) 

86. His bromance with Seth Meyers is one for the ages (x)

87. Every single second of this video is proof of why Andy, Kiv and Jorm deserve the world (x)

88. He once dragged Mulaney up on stage for SNL Goodnights, even though writers weren't allowed to join in (x)

89. He has a hilarious phobia of pooping anywhere except his own bathroom (x) 

90. His beautiful, beautiful, face: His smile (radiant), his eyes (caramel - hella disarming), his ears (adorably asymmetrical), his nose (perfect), His chin (the dimple… *swoon*), his jaw (could cut glass), The 'Sambeard' (another amazing layer of pretty) (x)

91. His body: His butt (x), his thighs, (x) his soft lil tummy (The ‘Sambelly’) (x), his hands. (x), his arms (x), his hips…

(Gif credit: @amystiago /@badpostandy on Twitter)

92. All signs point to the fact that, like Jake, Andy uses his glasses case as a wallet (x) 

93. Jake's "cool-cool-cool-cool-cool-cool" is an irl Andy-ism that the writers worked into b99 scripts. What's even better is that Joanna does it, too (x)

94. He has a really good arm and is low key competitive, which is super hot https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e32K_nBDy3Q

95. He's one half of the cutest Red Carpet pose of all time (x)

96. He barely ever seems to get mad but if angry Jake is anything to go by, maybe he should... (x)

97. He's a huge nerd, who geeks out over GOT, LOTR, 'Star Wars', 'Alien(s)' and anything relating to time travel (x), (x)

98. He has a gorgeous speaking voice, especially when he’s tired or a little sick. (Bonus points for any time he uses the word ‘correct’. See point 30) (x) 

99. He’s still so committed to his b99 fans and fam, even after all this time and is as excited as the rest of us that...

[accomplice-tendou]

Chapter Nine

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲

At least he gave me my car back.

After a somewhat normal day at work the following afternoon, you walk back to your car. However, instead of parking it in your normal spot, it's parked further in a less populated area since technically your car was stolen. You subconsciously begin to have a small debate with yourself about the man who turned your world sideways over the course of a few days as you continue on your walk.

He doesn't seem like a bad guy. Maybe letting him bribe me with nice things isn't such a bad idea. Wow, I definitely sound horrible saying that.

Once you get home, you unlock the door and set down your keys. Once your eyes glance over to the room your jaw practically drops to the ground. Labeled cardboard boxes litter your floor. It looks as though someone's moving in... or out.

"Hello?" you nervously call out to anyone who may be in your apartment, "T-Tendou?"

"Ah shit... one second!" his voice calls from the other room.

A minute later the tall man enters your line of vision.

"Hey Y/N what's up!" he brightly calls out to you.

"What's going on here?" you ask skeptically as you watch him place down another box that seems to be filled.

"Well first of all I'm pretty sure I told you to call me Satori but I'm just helping you move out!"

"Move out? What the hell are you talking about!"

Tendou makes his way over to your kitchen as he avoids answering your question. Your eyes quickly dart to the gun on the counter in the same spot as usual.

"You see, I'm packing your stuff so you can move in with me!" he beams as he picks up yet another cardboard box.

"Why do I have to do that?" you huff, "Won't it look suspicious if I just up and leave suddenly?"

"Of course it will," he laughs, "very much so."

You groan and make your way over to your couch. Placing your hand on your head you try to dismiss the headache you began to get at the sight of your apartment and thoughts swirling in your brain.

"Ya know Y/N..."

You look up and see Tendou giving you a shit-eating grin from above along with a dramatic pause before he continues his speech.

"You're probably going to be thought of as an accomplice now."

An audible gasp escapes your mouth as Tendou's words ring in your ear. Right away you realize that he's right; you will be thought of as an accessory to the incident at the bank. The detective probably already assumes you erased the video footage and you did lend Tendou your car even though you didn't have much of an option.

"Do I have a choice?" you ask as you look at him in a somewhat pleading expression.

Although you didn't enjoy your life before you met this man, you can't help but wonder if it's a wise decision to go with him.

"Not reaaally," he admits, "my friends aren't too keen about you yet so-"

"You don't have to threaten me," you sigh, "I'll do it. I can't really think of a reason not to."

As you began mentally listing out the pros and cons of going with Tendou, you realized there isn't much downfall so long as you don't get caught. As much as you hate to admit it, seeing as it may be a weakness, you don't feel as though the man standing before you would hurt you.

"There you go!" he beams, "Now you don't have to go back to that shitty ass job!"

"Hey come on that was a low blow," you pout.

"Oh, uh, s-"

"I'm just kiddin' Satori calm down!" you laugh, "That job was the worst."

Tendou lets out a loud sigh before taking a seat beside you.

"Man, Y/N, you really had me going for a second there," he says before taking a dramatic deep breath.

"So your place, huh?"

"Yep," he hums as he slouches down a bit, "So it shouldn't be all bad with a roommate, right?"

As Tendou looks over at you with his grin, you can't help a weird feeling in your stomach. You let out a quick nod before abruptly stopping as you notice that you're closer than you would like to be with someone who's bribing and threatening you, but you can't help but feel as though you're... enjoying it.

Tendou puts a hand on your chin and gently tilts your head up to look at him. You do your best to look away and avoid the heat rising to your cheeks. You long to feel his lips press against your own but find yourself confused if your feelings are wrong.

"Good."

The next morning you begin unpacking your things into Tendou's house. From the moment you arrived, you were nothing but stunned at how nice his place was. On the outside, it seems just like a normal home but within was a completely different story.

When you walk inside you're greeted with tall mint walls, new wooden flooring, and a white false ceiling. Your jaw practically dropped to see the furnishings were well matched and gave the room a comforting feeling even though it was large in size.

"Wow, this is really your place?" you ask as you step down into the sunken living room.

"What do you think? You like it?" he asks with a hint of worry in his tone.

Does he actually care if I like it or not?

"Y-Yeah it's really nice..." you trail off as you look around.

"Come on," Tendou grunts as he indicates to the box full of clothes that he's carrying, "let me show you to your room."

Tendou leads you to the second floor of the house and down the hall into an already furnished room.

I guess that's why we didn't take much of my crappy furniture. This is way nicer!

"Alright there ya go," Tendou breathes as he drops the box he was carrying onto your already made bed, "Well I'll leave you to it. I might come in a couple times for the other boxes but I'll mainly be downstairs. Call me if you need anything alright?"

"Sure," you nod half-heartedly as you look around the big room.

Your new room is very clean looking despite the number of pillows, blankets, furniture, and plants that Tendou had filled it with. You're extremely impressed at the way he was able to pull off something that suited your style even though he's only been to your house a few times.

Oh god, what if he's been to my house more times than I know of?! He wouldn't do that, would he?

Once you've done most of your unpacking you decide to go downstairs to check on your new roommate. However, as you descend the stairs you hear the doorbell ring and Tendou running to answer it.

"U-Uh what are you guys doing here?" Tendou answers the door in a hushed voice.

"What the fuck are you talking about we're here because you never told us what you're going to do with-"

"Shhh, shut up!"

"What's wrong?" a different voice asks, "Shirabu was just asking what you planned on doing with the girl."

Your hand immediately shoots up to your mouth, trying to prevent any noises from escaping as you internally break down.

Oh my god, they were going to do something horrible to me...

"Man you talk so damn loud," you hear Tendou groan, "Y/N is staying with me now so you gotta keep your voices down!"

"Staying with you?" a third voice interrupts, "What's wrong with you?"

You hear a slap followed by a low groan from Tendou. You then hear a bit of mumbling that you can't quite make out.

"Y/N, darling, I know you're listening can you come out here please? It's not nice to eavesdrop," Tendou's voice says gently.

For a moment you hesitate whether you should go out or not. Nevertheless, you end up slowly walking down the rest of the steps and around the corner where you find six tall men staring at you.

One of them, who you already know as Tendou, wears an extremely proud grin on his face as he extends his arm out towards you.

Another with what seems to be dark green hair has an intimidating expression but looks at you as if you've done something despicable to him.

Three others stare at you with unreadable expressions as if they're still processing the fact that you're standing before them.

The last, wearing a bowl cut, has his mouth hanging wide open as he follows your every move.

You walk over to Tendou reluctantly until your standing at his side. He then begins to introduce you to the men before you.

"The pokerface looking guy is Miracle Boy!" Tendou begins as he points to the green-haired male.

However, the 'Miracle Boy' tells you that his real name is Ushijima.

"And this is SemiSemi," Tendou points to the ash blonde beside Ushijima who wasn't giving any real expression until now.

"It's just Semi," he barks back while narrowing his eyes at Tendou.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway next we've got Benkei," he says as he moves on to the next male sporting an undercut.

You're taken back for a moment as the male addressed to you as 'Benkei' begins smiling. He offers out his hand for you to shake and says that his real name is Reon.

"Nice to meet you," you smile back.

"Anwaaay," Tendou interrupts, "Now we've got-"

"Shut up and don't give me any ridiculous nickname," intervenes the male with uneven hair, "I'm Shirabu."

Lastly, Tendou introduces you to "the little genius with the cool hair," who bows before telling you that his real name is Goshiki.

After making your own introduction, a slight pause fills the air until Ushijima bluntly interrupts it.

"So did you talk to the cop."

The whole group freezes up as they look towards Ushijima. You feel your body become stiff as his icy glare pierces your soul.

"U-Uh w-well," you stutter out as you begin to notice the rest of the men awaiting your answer.

"No," you finally speak boldly, "Of course not!"

If this is going to be my life now, I can't just let these guys push me around.

"Besides," you scoff as you look straight back at Ushijima, "I up and left my home. I'm part of this now too!"

Ushijima only nods in response. However, you notice a few of the others' faces become more relaxed.

Shirabu lets you know that he's glad you feel that way while giving you a firm nod and Reon lets you know that he's happy to have you on board.

Tendou gives you a side hug and pulls you in closer to him. You let out a small gasp but do your best to keep the heat rising in your face to a minimum as the other men observe the interaction.

"Hell yeah! I've got the best accomplice!"

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

Yo, no hurry with this, but I was wondering how do you feel about Mo basically abandonning Buzzcut (also fandom refers to him as Cuntou but I've never seen Ox do so?) for He Tian and the boys. We all want Mo out of She Li's grasp, but Buzzcut clealy looks up to Mo, who has protected him in the past- without Mo, will he be okay? Will She Li blame/punish Buzzcut, or use him to get to Mo and reel him back in? Does Mo resent Bz slightly, or regret standing up for him, because of how She Li subsequen

Hello, dear anon!

Oh, interesting questions and ideas! I don’t think I have talked about Buzzcut in my answers before. I personally like his character and think that for a long time, he has been the closest thing MGS has had for a friend.

I tend to switch between the two nicknames but for this answer, I will stick to Buzzcut. Some fans call him Cun Tou because it translates to “shaved head/buzzcut” in Chinese. Kind of like people were calling MGS “Hong Fa” aka “red hair” before they knew his name.

“how do you feel about Mo basically abandonning Buzzcut for He Tian and the boys”

Hmm. I get what you mean by this - and from my fanon point of view, I feel you - but as far as canon is concerned, I don’t know if MGS has abandoned Buzzcut. It’s a bit unclear to me how much they hang out outside of school, to begin with, but it seems he still spends time with the gang at school. He is just being dragged around by HT, JY, and ZZX these days in his free time.

I also doubt Buzzcut feels like he’s been left behind. It probably seems weird to him that these people are suddenly acting like Boss’s friends. The most I think he feels about it is slight confusion, should he protect his bro’s honor, and that HT is kind of scary but also cool. But I doubt he’s feeling hurt by having these other people around or thinks that much of it.

However, as I said, I kind of feel your sentiment from a fanon point of view. To us, Buzzcut easily comes across this sweet kid who’s playing a scary delinquent. The way he calls MGS his “boss” and “bro” makes him adorable instead of intimidating. He looks up to MGS, and that makes us feel for him because now MGS has these new people around him. He is not a bad kid but it feels like Buzzcut is a part of the world MGS shouldn’t associate with anymore.

But I would be hesitant to say the canon versions of the characters really feel that deeply about it. They’re just bros.

“Will She Li blame/punish Buzzcut, or use him to get to Mo and reel him back in?”

This would be an interesting idea! I could definitely see SL both take his anger and frustration out on someone and also try to take advantage of MGS’s good heart to reel him back in line. Damn. Now I wish something like this would happen in the comic and the boys would have to solve it somehow.

What would the solution and outcome of that be, though? Would HT defend Buzzcut because he’s MGS’s friend and because he hates it when people lie SL are messing with people? It would interestingly bring out his role as the hero again. Would this be when MGS actually asks HT to help him instead of trying to solve it himself? Would HT figure out a way to destroy SL or get rid of him so he won’t have to keep confronting him? Scare him so bad that he won’t try anything anymore? Use his family’s power?

For some reason, I can’t really see Buzzcut becoming a part of their group of four. I wouldn’t mind it per se but it would feel kind of random to me. I’m also not sure if Buzzcut felt like joining them, either. Again, I doubt he feels that deeply about MGS’s friendship with the others.

In this regard, I would love to know more about Buzzcut, actually. How did he end up joining SL’s gang? What is his home life like? Does he have people who care about him in his life? Or is this gang business merely him being a kid in high school and a way to be with his friends? Without knowing more about him, I’m leaning more towards the latter. Despite being under someone like SL, I think Buzzcut is a rather carefree kid.

“Does Mo resent Bz slightly, or regret standing up for him, because of how She Li subsequently treated him?”

Another interesting notion and something I have sometimes thought about, too. MGS did get hurt for something stupid Buzzcut had done. (He did take the money, not just thought about it.) He stood up for Buzzcut but ended up suffering the punishment instead.

I could understand it if MGS had resented Buzzcut after that but I’m not sure if MGS is really like that. It’s unclear if he was friends with Buzzcut prior to the piercing incident but I think he could have stood up for Buzzcut even if they weren’t that close. MGS had a very kind heart, and it was difficult for him to watch someone struggling or being treated cruelly. (He still has a kind heart, it’s just buried deeper.) So, instead of resenting Buzzcut, I think he was more just relieved he hadn’t gotten hurt. I think he resented more SL than Buzzcut after that.

But overall, it would be very interesting to see how MGS and Buzzcut together feel about the whole piercing thing.

“Do you think He Tian is jealous  (not as a love rival, but a close friend Mo is open and honest with) and why befriend Mos friend to show Mo he cares?”

I’m not sure how “open and honest” MGS is with Buzzcut, but I do think that HT would easily feel jealous of that. HT is already showing his immature side regarding this when Buzzcut tried to protect MGS as his bro (ch. 314):

I wouldn’t go as far as saying HT minds MGS having friends but he definitely wants to be MGS’s number one. In everything. He wants MGS to rely on, not anyone else. He wants to defend MGS’s “honor”, not his “underlings”.

Overall, I don’t think HT is that interested in Buzzcut’s existence. For the most part, he seems indifferent about him, but I would imagine that changes in a heartbeat if Buzzcut came in his way. To be honest, as much as I don’t mind HT’s possessive side, this kind of possessiveness always annoys me in fictional characters. When HT acts cold towards Buzzcut or when pushed him down like without any concern, it...kind of rubs me the wrong way. It gives me that vibe that no one else matters besides MGS, and people who have done nothing wrong get treated coldly or rudely.

I most definitely join you in wishing that things will stay good for Buzzcut. He looks like a good, even a little sweet kid at heart, and it’s endearing how he sees MGS as his big bro. Hopefully, we will one day learn more things about him.

Thank you for your interesting questions, dear anon!

[lunar-jimin]

only proper and right things only good things, looking out of the well

Pairing: Hoseok x Fem!Reader

Rating: 18+

Genre: fluff, mild smut, idiots to lovers

Length: 1.3k

Warnings: dry humping, cumming in pants, that’s it I think

a/n: this is my second fic for @ficswithluv​‘s Bulletproof Bingo. I hope you enjoy.

bingo m.list | bingo card | m.list

It had been years since Hoseok had last stepped into your father's diner. When you had last seen him, he had been a scruffy teen laughing with his gaggle of friends. The Hoseok that sat before you was an entirely different creature. His suit alone must have cost several thousand dollars. His body had filled out, and he must have grown an inch or two.

You had heard stories about what happened to him. He and his friends were part of a street gang that had terrorized the local businesses. But never your father's diner, they never dared to touch your father's diner. Perhaps because your father had a soft spot for them, always knocking a dollar or two of the prices. After graduating high school (barely), most of the boys had moved out of town to pursue bigger and better things, Hoseok included. Together, they formed one of the largest business conglomerates in the country: Bangtan.

Bangtan had a mixed reputation. Many praised it for the incredible charity work it did, while others suspected it of having a shady background. You never minded the rumors. Who were you, a small town girl still waitressing at her father's restaurant, to judge the men who actually made something out of their lives. It didn't help that you had carried a flame for Hoseok since high school.

"Heya Hobi, what can I getcha today?"

His lips spread into a grin at the sound of his old nickname.

"Now that's a name I haven't heard for a while," he chuckled, "I'll take a burger, no tomato, and a sprite to go with it, love."

"Alrighty then."

You tucked your pencil behind your ear, before turning away to deliver the order to your dad. Before you could leave, Hoseok's hand wrapped around your wrist.

"Wha-," you swirled around.

"When do you get off?"

"Umm, eight."

"I'll pick you up then," he smirked, releasing your wrist.

You didn't question him, just turned back around before he could see you blush. You were only mildly confused as to why Hoseok wanted to spend time with you of all people. Sure, sometimes your friend groups would mix as teenagers, but he hadn't ever paid any special attention to you. You could count the number of conversations you've had together on one hand.

You tried to push your thoughts to the back of your mind while you finished your shift. Despite your efforts, you spent the rest of your workday distracted, and it was a wonder you hadn't messed up anyone's order. Hoseok didn't say a word to again, except when paying. Eight' o'clock rolled around faster than you expected, and before you knew it, you were hanging up your apron.

You hadn't brought a jacket with you, so you shivered as you stepped out into the chilly early autumn air. Lucky for you, it was only moments before Hoseok pulled up in front of the diner in a shiny silver sports car. You slipped inside without a moment's hesitation. If it were any other person, you might have questioned getting in their car after not seeing them for seven years, but this was Hoseok, and maybe you still liked him a teensy bit. A teensy, weensy bit.

Hoseok smiled at you as you made yourself comfortable in his passenger seat.

"Might I ask where you're taking me?"

"Oh, but that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it."

You rolled your eyes.

"Well, seeing as I'm blindly trusting you with my life right now, maybe a surprise isn't called for. I'm already risking my existence being in this car with you."

"Now how's that?"

He hadn't taken his eyes off the road.

"Well, I haven't seen you in seven years, and now I'm in your car with no idea of where we are going, and you haven't said so much as hello to me. You might be taking me off to kill me for all I know."

He chuckled at that.

"Why would I kill such a pretty doll, like yourself? Besides, I thought we were friends and friends trust each other."

You raised your eyebrows.

"Friends, huh? Hoseok, I haven't heard so much as a peep out of you in all the time you've been gone. And even when you were here, I don't know if I would call us friends."

He shook his head.

"Well, I thought we were."

You spent the rest of the car ride in silence with only the low hum of his music to keep you company. You tried not to worry as you left the limits of the town and made your way into the surrounding countryside. When you pulled up to a private airport fifteen miles out of the way of civilization, you had to hide your surprise.

"Hoseok, what are we doing here?"

"We're gonna take a trip."

"Wha-? Where? For how long? Why? I can't; I have work tomorrow."

The word flooded out of your mouth as you noticed the lone private jet on the dark runway.

"I figured I had to make our first date memorable. And don't worry, I already cleared it with your father. Besides, I had to get your passport somehow."

He smiled.

"First date...wait, what?"

"Oh come on, you have to have known that I've had the biggest crush on you since the beginning of time."

You started at him blankly, disbelief flooding your brain.

"I had no idea," you whisper.

You looked across at him and had to will yourself not to shrink under the heat of his gaze.

"Yeah, well, I have. I know it's sudden and that I haven't been around, but I've been waiting because I was dealing with shit I didn't want you to get wrapped up in, 'cause you're it for me, and if something happened to you, I could never forgive myself. But now it's all good, and I really just want you. But I get it if you don't want to come with."

You shook your head.

"Oh, you idiot," you mumbled, before leaning across the armrest to place your lips on his.

He sat still for a second, before reciprocating your action. His lips were soft against yours, moving gently as though he was scared he would break you. His warm hand slipped up to cup your cheek. Happiness spread throughout your entire body as dopamine and oxytocin flooded your brain.

You felt like you had been kissing for an eternity when his arms wrapped around your waist and lifted you into his lap. His arousal was immediately apparent, and your hips ground down onto his bulge on their own accord. His tongue slipped into your mouth as arousal pooled in your panties. You were grateful that you had worn a skirt today, seeing as it was one less layer between you in him. A moan escaped you when your clit hooked on his tip.

You were sure you were ruining his pants, but you couldn't find yourself caring. It had been so long since someone had made you feel this good, and it was Hoseok no less. It only took you minutes to find your release, cum soaking through your panties and his pants. Drained of all your energy, you collapsed on top of him, heavy pants escaping both your mouths.

When you gathered enough strength, you sat up to find him looking at you with a soft gaze.

"Do you want me to hel-"

You went to reach for his zipper, but his hand caught yours, blush apparent even in the darkness.

"I-uh-I-"

You glance down at his pants to find his own stain had joined yours on his crotch.

"That's hot," you giggled.

He looked a bit relieved.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I'll go with you."

His face stretched into a huge smile before he pulled you in for another kiss.

"Alright, then. Let's go."

When you woke up the next morning, you were greeted with an aerial view of Baja and the cutest man you had ever seen.

[screamxqueenx94]

Let's Rebel (Part 8)

A/N:Another installment of my series. I may or not be wrapping it all up soon, but we'll see. If you'd like to be tagged and officially start my tag list, let me know 💕💕💕

Warnings: fighting, some swearing

Y/N/N= your nickname, Y/N= your name

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It has been over a week and you've been avoiding Reggie like the plague. He's even texted you nonstop to the point that you blocked his number. But, after your "break up", it made you look back on some things. One of those things was how you treated Archie when he tried doing something nice for your family and you just went complete ape shit on him. You seen him at his locker, still peaking glances at you, still obviously feeling sad about the whole situation.

You decide to swallow your pride and approach him. He looks at you, surprise covering his whole face as you stood in front of him. What you were about to do was long overdue, but he deserved it.

"I'm sorry..." You tell him. "I'm sorry that I flipped out like a psycho when all you were trying to do was help me and my family..." You continued.

You took a deep breath and looked down at your beat up converse sneakers as Archie watched you with understanding.

"I understand if you don't accept my apology, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I just want you to know that I truly am sorry that I'm such a horrible friend." You look back up at him and he just wraps you in a warm embrace.

"Don't you apologize. You've been through a lot in recent months." He says understandingly as he squeezes you tighter. You hug him back, but you still can't help but feel shitty on how you treated him. You let go and walk down the hallway to the student lounge together.

"It doesn't really matter what I was feeling Arch, I was still a bitch and you didn't deserve that." You tell him, filled with guilt as you tuck some of your bright blue hair behind your ear that was now fading into a greenish color.

"Well, apology accepted because you do deserve it." He replies back, smiling back at you, he nudges you playfully with his elbow, making you smile a bit.

You walk into the student lounge, you see all your old friends, smiling at the sight of you and Archie being friends again.

"Aww, yay! You guys finally made up!" Veronica cheered, making everyone else cheer and laugh. All you can do is laugh and just plop down in the arm chair facing the couches.

"So I take it we're all friends again?" Kevin asked nervously.

"I wouldn't have it any other way... I really missed you guys." You answer back. Everyone just awes and pile up for one big group hug, dog pile style, knowing you secretly love that despite saying how much you say you hate it.

They get up laughing by the look of cringe on your face. Before anyone can say anything else, Reggie walks in as you happened to have glanced over at the doorway. You quickly look back and put your hand up, as if it's some type of invisibility cloak, but let's face it. With hair that bright, who wouldn't notice? He walks towards you, but you quickly jump up and grab your bag.

"Uh-- I forgot I had to go see Weatherbee... I-- I'll catch up with you guys later." You tell your friends quickly as you leave out the other door, practically running, trying to avoid Reggie once more.

As you run out to the hallway, you bump into someone, knocking you on your butt, making you drop all your stuff out of your bag. You scramble to pick it all up, when you see a pair of large hands helping you. As you look further up to see who it is, you notice the leather jacket, then the familiar neck tattoo, then you come face to face with Sweet Pea, the boy you've been in contact with for the past week.

"S--sorry. I should really watch where I'm going.." You quickly apologize as you take the books from his hands and stuff them in you bag.

"Hey, it's my fault, I wasn't paying attention. Although you were coming in kinda hot.." He replies with his signature smirk.

"You runnin' from somethin'?" He asks, as you both stand up straight.

You look back nevously, and put you bag over your shoulder, then quickly turn back to him. "More like someone..." You reply.

Your hands and body shaking from nerves, but to Sweet Pea, it appeared to be fear.

"Who?" He asks concerningly.

Before you can answer, a voice you recognize calls for you, making you nearly jump out of your skin. It was Reggie, and he didn't look happy.

"Y/N! I've been trying to get ahold of you. You blocked my number, Instagram and Facebook. I wanna talk to you. I need to explain--" you cut him off before he can finish.

"Look, I dont care what you're explanation is... I just want you to get the hint. I'm done with you and I just want you to leave me alone." You tell him. As you're about to walk away, he grabs your wrists, a little tighter than you're comfortable with. Making you wince.

Sweet Pea notices and pushes Reggie back.

"She said she doesn't wanna talk to you, now back off, Mantle." He barks, as he remains standing in front of you, acting as a shield.

"Mind your business, Sweet Pea. This is between me and Y/N." Reggie shoots back defensively.

"You made it my business when you continued to harass her when she told you to leave her alone." Sweet Pea steps closer to Reggie, staring him down. People start to stare at what is a possible fight about to ensue.

"This is the last time I'm gonna say it: Back. Off. Serpent." Reggie's voice gets louder with each word, then pushes Sweet Pea, who only moves a step back. Your friends come out of the lounge to witness what's going on. Kevin grabs his phone and films what he thinks is going to be a fight thats YouTube worthy.

Reggie steps closer, getting in Sweet Pea's face, but Sweets refuses to back down.

"I don't know what happened between you and Y/N/N, but all I know is that if you continue to harass her, I'm gonna be forced to kick your ass... and I'm gonna really fuckin' enjoy it too." He smirks as Reggie gets angier.

Finally, Reggie grabs Sweet Pea by his jacket and slams him against some lockers, but Sweets isn't phased for a second. He punches Reggie, knocking him to the ground. But Reggie is quick back up on his feet and tackles Sweet Pea into the lockers again, this time picking him up and slamming him on the ground.

As the boys continue to fight, you scream at Reggie to stop and then go over and start hitting him, which prompts Archie to pull you back, but you kick and scream for him to let you go. Suddenly, Jughead and Fangs come and pull Reggie off Sweet Pea. As they help Sweet Pea up, Moose and another Bulldog hold Reggie back so he didn't attack him again.

Archie let you go and you run over to Sweet Pea. You take his face in your hands and look at his face to make sure he's okay. Sweets reassures you he's fine while Reggie continues to yell as Moose and the other Bulldog tell him to just walk away.

"Don't let me catch on my turf Serpent!" He shouts as Sweet Pea chuckles and gives him the middle finger. Just then, Principal Weatherbee comes out and calls you, Reggie and Sweet Pea into his office.

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

You were the last in Westherbee's office and the last to leave. You, Reggie and Sweet Pea were all suspended until there was proof that Sweet Pea didn't and you didn't start the fight, which you thought was complete and utter bullshit considering there was at least 50 witnesses and multiple people recording the entire thing.

When you leave Westherbee's office, Sweets was waiting for you.

"Hey. You okay?" He asks you, putting his arm around you as you both walk out of the building. You let out a defeated sigh.

"Yeah.... Just irritated by this whole situation." You looked away as you spoke, but then looked at him and half smiled. "Thanks for standing up for me, even though you didn't have to..." You continue as you half smile.

"Mantle's an asshole anyways. It was eventually gonna happen. Rather have it be to defend a cute girl like yourself." He replies as he holds the doors open for you, making you blush at his words.

He stops you at the bottom of the steps, and faces you. "You sure you're okay?" He asks, pushing some of your hair out of your face. You blush a little more, making Sweet Pea have his signature smirk again.

"Yeah... Reggie just scared me a bit is all..." you say as you put your hands in your jean jacket and start walking to your car with Sweet Pea walking right next to you.

"Yeah, what's up with that? I thought you guys were like... a thing or something?" He asks.

You explain to him what happened that day at the lake. How his mother had spoken to you and the things she said and how all he could do was just look down and take it. After how he was there for you during the toughest time in your life, but couldn't stand up for you felt so insulting and it wasn't okay.

"...I don't really care that she called me a slut, I mean every girl unfortunately has heard it at least once before.... but it's the fact that he didn't stick up for me... ya know?" You continue as you reach your car and get your keys out of your pocket.

"I get it. When you're with someone, no matter what the situation is, they should always have your back. No matter how scared they are of whoever is giving you shit..." he replies with an understanding half smile. You smile back and you're just about to say something when your phone goes off. It was a text from your mom. The school called her and she's pissed.

"Sorry, it's my mom..." you tell Sweets as you unlock your phone. He just waves his hand and shakes his head to show he's not offended by the fact that you had your phone out while talking to him.

You sigh deeply and out your phone in the back pocket of your ripped jeans. This was the last thing you needed. You and Sweet Pea didn't start the fight. That one was on Reggie, but your mom was right in a way. You'd never fight anyone in school, you'd save it for your front yard or the other person's yard. You felt defeated, and of course Sweet Pea seen it written all over your face.

"I take it the school called your mom?" He asks.

"Yeah.... and as usual, she believes that I actually started it." You answer back sadly. There were times where your mom could be your best friend, but mostly she just didn't ever believe you about anything or took advantage of your love for your dad and little brothers and used it against you.

"Y'know, if it had been my dad they contacted instead of my mom, he would've came down and got in Westherbee's face because he knows if never start a fight in school. Didn't matter if he was still in the hospital or not, he always has my back." You tell Sweet Pea with a slight agitation in your voice as you lol down at the pavement under your dirty converse.

He just looks down at you and pushes your hair out of your face and behind your ear again, making you look up at his smiling face.

"You sound like you need to let off some steam." He remarks as rests his arm up on your open car door.

You scoff. "That's an understatement..."

He closes your car door and takes your hand and starts leading towards his bike.

"What are you doing?" You ask while chuckling.

"Taking you to rebel a bit." He stops and turns around to face while still holding your hand.

"What are some things that you do that pissed your mom off?" He asks you with a mischievous grin on his perfectly adorable face.

"Well despite already having 7 tattoos, she hates that I have them. She hates that I color my hair unnatural colors and have a nose ring. So basically just being myself..." You answer back. His grin gets even bigger as he goes back to leading you to his bike.

"Well then, let's go do that."

"Do what?" You ask nervously.

"Let's go get you another tattoo. One that will really piss her off!" He chuckles, getting on his bike and handing you a helmet.

[unfolded73]

Since you're taking prompts, maybe a future fic when little Swan-Jones somehow learns a thing or two about dad's past and Killian has to figure out a way to explain it in a way his kid will understand. (I know this is probably random, but it seems like something you would write really well based on other stories of yours I've read.)

My first thought was, I’ve already written this! (A Sad, Sad Place Without You) But I very quickly realized that there are more angles to tell this kind of story from, and no shortage of things for Maureen to find out about. Plus, I was able to use a tiny orphaned snippet of a Charming/Maureen conversation that I didn’t know what to do with, which makes me happy. 

FYI, Maureen is my invented Swan-Jones daughter who predates the canon pregnancy, so some of the stories about her are consistent with S7 and some aren’t.  Rated G, ~2300 words.

David found Maureen on the swing he’d hung from a big, old tree on the property years ago. She’d kicked off her sneakers, and despite the chilly air was swinging back and forth barefoot, leaning back so that her hair dragged through the dirt, her fists clutching the weathered rope.

“I wondered where you’d gotten to,” he said, and at the sound of his voice, his ten-year-old granddaughter pulled herself upright, slowing with a drag of her heels against the ground. She was dirt from head to toe, as usual.

“I wanted to swing,” she said.

“Well,” he said, leaning against the tree, “I’m glad you’re getting some use out of it. Neal’s too old for it now.”

Maureen narrowed her eyes. “That’s stupid. There’s no reason to grow out of swinging.”

“You make a compelling point.” He crossed his arms. “In any case, your parents will be here to pick you up soon, so you should probably come back up to the house and get cleaned up.”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed back with her legs and started swinging again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It must be something, Mo.” He flinched. “Sorry, Maureen.” She’d announced at her tenth birthday party the previous month that she didn’t like her nickname anymore, and wouldn’t answer to it or to any of the other pet names Killian had for her.

She scowled, stopping her momentum again with her bare feet. “My dad killed people, you know.”

David took a startled step back at that non-sequitur. “What are you talking about?” he asked cautiously, not knowing exactly what she knew.

“I used to think being a pirate meant sailing around where you wanted, maybe stealing gold from people who didn’t deserve so much gold.” She screwed up her face, and David could tell she was near tears. “But he was a villain. He hurt people.”

Still uncertain if this was a conclusion she’d drawn about pirates in general or if she’d gleaned specific information about her father, David spoke carefully. “Your father only became a pirate because an evil king caused the death of his brother--”

“I know that story,” she interrupted. “Doesn’t mean he didn’t do really bad stuff though.”

David walked over and knelt on the ground in front of Maureen, gripping the ropes of the swing in his hands. “I know, sweetheart, but your father has been a good man for a very long time. A hero. A man I’m proud is part of my family.”

“Heroes aren’t supposed to kill people.”

A sudden image of his own wife after she’d killed Cora, more distraught than he’d ever seen her, flashed in David’s mind. Heroes aren’t supposed to kill people.

“Did something happen, Maureen? What’s got you thinking about this all of a sudden?”

She scuffed her feet in the dirt, kicking some of it onto David’s blue jeans. “I heard them talking.”

“Who?”

“Mom and Dad. I heard him say he killed his father.”

And mine, David thought traitorously. He’d forgiven Killian long ago for that, but it still struck him at odd times, that his closest buddy, his daughter’s true love, the father of this wonderful girl in front of him was responsible for such a life-altering crime from so long ago.

“I heard him tell Mom that he’d dreamed again of the night he killed his father. They didn’t know I was listening. And I just started to think about pirates, and I realized he probably killed other people too. I don’t know why I never thought of that before.”

“Because he’s your dad,” David said. “Killian’s father was not a good man. He abandoned his own children when Killian was no older than you are now. I know it’s hard to understand--”

Maureen didn’t seem to even hear him and was working herself up into hysterics. “He lived for a really long time as a pirate, he told me. Two hundred years. How can he make up for being a villain by being a hero now? There isn’t enough time!”

David reached out and stroked her cheek, catching one of her tears on his thumb. “It doesn’t work that way. Your dad doesn’t have to balance out the years when he was a villain with the same number of years as a hero before his slate is clean. What matters is that he’s a good man now, and because of that, we forgive him for things that happened in his past. It’s an act of generosity to forgive someone who’s worked to be a better person. An act of grace.”

Brow furrowed, Maureen tried to puzzle that out. “When did you forgive him?”

David thought about that, uncertain how to answer. It had been a gradual thing that happened in stages, with a few rough patches between where they’d started and where they were now, but that wasn’t what Maureen wanted to hear. “Have you ever heard the story of Queen Elsa?”

She nodded.

“When Queen Elsa came to town, she was afraid that the people here had done something to hurt her sister Anna, and it made it difficult for her to control her powers.”

“Ice powers?” Maureen asked quickly, and he could see a spark of excitement in her eyes underneath the worry.

“Yes, ice powers. So for a little while, your mom was in danger, because she was trapped with Elsa, and it was very, very cold.” He took a deep breath. “I was with your dad, and he fought so hard to get her out of that ice. I think he would have chipped at the ice with his hook until he collapsed from exhaustion. That was when I realized how much he loved your mom, and I guess I forgave him then.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was true enough for the sake of what he was trying to communicate. It was certainly one of many times that he’d seen the man’s love for Emma shining out like a beacon in the dark of night.

“And once someone’s forgiven, the bad stuff they did doesn’t matter?” she asked, wiping at the tears on her face and hopelessly smearing her cheeks with more dirt.

“I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter, but… you move on from it. Maybe you don’t forget. Just like your dad has never forgotten the things he’s done. But you turn the page, and you live on.” He thought about Rumple and Killian, Regina and Zelena. So many people in his life had been granted forgiveness for so much. Perhaps they didn’t deserve it, but in the end, what would it have benefited anyone to hold grudges? How would it have done anything but keep those people back from achieving the good they’d achieved?

Maureen hopped off of the swing, and he pulled her into a hug. “Just know that there are few people in this world that I trust more than your father to protect the people we love. And that’s been true for many years. Okay?”

She nodded against his chest, sniffling. “Okay.”

“All right, young miss, let’s get you inside and cleaned up.” Maureen picked up her shoes and ran toward the farmhouse while David followed after her at a more sedate pace.

~*~

“Okay, Dad. Thanks.”

Killian looked up from his book, seeing Emma in the doorway by their bed, slipping her phone back in her pocket. He sat in the wingback chair he’d positioned next to the large ocean-facing windows of their bedroom years ago. It had become his favorite place to sit of late to enjoy the salt-tinged breeze, even as the temperatures were dropping and it was becoming less pleasant to leave the windows open.

“Hey, is Mo still in the shower?” she asked.

“Aye,” he said, tilting his head toward their bathroom. Their daughter had recently switched from baths to showers, but annoyingly she insisted on using their bathroom instead of the one next to her room. That bathroom creeps me out, she said, although Killian could find absolutely nothing to justify such a statement.

“We’re going to need to talk to her. Dad said she overheard us talking about Brennan last night.” Emma refused to honor the man who’d fathered Killian with the title, choosing to refer to him by his name. She may have never known the man, but it didn’t stop her from despising him.

Killian’s heart plummeted. “Dammit.”

“That’s not all. I guess it got her thinking about pirates and villainy and murder and I don’t even know what all, but she was upset. Dad did his best to comfort her and it sounds like he did a bang-up job, but we’re going to need to talk to her.” She stepped up next to the chair and combed her fingers through his hair, her nails scraping pleasantly against his scalp.

“I knew this day would come eventually,” he sighed. “I just wish I knew what to say. There’s nothing to justify some of the things I did.”

Emma continued to stroke his hair. “Do you want me to be here, or should I let you talk to her by yourself?”

He looked up at her gratefully for thinking to ask. “I think I’d rather talk to her by myself unless you think that would do more damage.”

“Of course it won’t.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

His daughter appeared from the steam-filled bathroom a few minutes later, wearing baggy, plaid pajama pants and a plain t-shirt, her hair a wet and uncombed riot. She had a drawer full of pink and purple nightgowns and girly pajamas -- gifts from her Grandma Snow that she had never worn.

“Would you like me to comb your hair, love?” he asked gently, seeking any sign of her emotional state on her face. He expected Maureen to say no (these days she wanted to do everything herself), but she nodded.

Killian reached over and grabbed Emma’s brush off the dresser, beckoning his daughter closer with his hook. Without a word, she positioned herself with her back to him, and he sat forward in the chair and began to gently work the tangles out from the bottom, his hook pressed above where he was brushing to keep from pulling at Maureen’s scalp.

“I fear I’ve made an error with you, darling, telling you so many exciting stories about being a pirate and leaving out the less savory aspects of my former life,” he said, clearing his throat around the lump that was already forming. The last thing in the world that he wanted was for any of his past mistakes to cause his daughter pain. He’d die a thousand deaths to spare her that if he could.

Maureen’s shoulders tensed but she said nothing.

“I can’t lie to you; I was a villain, and I made many mistakes in service of seeking vengeance against someone who had wronged me.”

“Rumpelstiltskin,” she supplied. She didn’t know Rumple; he and Belle and Gideon had left Storybrooke to travel the realms before Maureen had been born. And of course, Maureen had asked Emma years ago why her father had only one hand. Emma had told as sanitized a version of the story as she could, just as he had once done the same when Maureen learned that he’d died. Too many terrible tales haunted their pasts, he thought.

“I hated my father. He abandoned me and Liam when we were boys, leaving us indentured to a ship--”

“What’s ‘indentured’?” she asked.

He sighed. “It’s almost like being a slave, but the difference is there is a chance to buy your way to freedom, although it’s very difficult.”

Maureen whirled around. “You were a slave?”

“Not exactly, darling, but near enough.” He coaxed her to turn around again so he could continue working on her hair. “I never forgave my father for that, although perhaps I should have. So when the chance arose and killing him would get me closer to my goal, I accepted a devil’s bargain and I orphaned your other uncle Liam.” He left Regina’s involvement out. He didn’t know when or if she might return to Storybrooke, but he didn’t want to bias his daughter against someone who was an integral part of the family. “He was a bad man, but it was a mistake and I regret it.” Most of the tangles gone, he ran the brush down the length of Maureen’s hair. “I regret many things that I’ve done, and I work every day to be a man worthy of this family. Worthy of being your father.”

“You are,” she said in a small, trembling voice. Setting the brush aside, he coaxed her onto his lap so that he could hold her. She didn’t fit the way she used to, all long limbs and angles, and he shuddered to imagine the woman she would start to bloom into in only a few short years. His days of holding her like this were numbered.

“I apologize that my past deeds have made you upset. And I apologize that I wasn’t more honest with you.” Her wet hair was cold against his cheek, and he turned and pressed his lips to her head.

“It’s okay, Dad.”

“I love you, Mo.”

“Maureen,” she corrected, but there was no heat in it, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“Maureen,” he responded, hugging her back, his eyes squeezing shut against tears that threatened to spill over.

“I’m glad you’re a good man now.”

“Me too, love.”

[ladynorbert]

Hey ladynorbert!! This is your Wintersend secret Santa lady. I have been watching you from afar (in a totally non-creepy way I promise) and I've noticed you're a really avid writer. I would like to therefore make you an art. I know your fave pairing is Varric/Bethany, so I was wondering if you could write a little bit about why? And how you characterize Bethany in your head. I don't know much about them and DA2 is probably my least-played game. So anything you might share would be so helpful!

MY MOMENT HAS ARRIVED. SOMEONE ACTUALLY WANTS ME TO TALK ABOUT MY LOVE FOR THIS OTP. MANY APOLOGIES TO THE REST OF YOU BECAUSE THIS IS A SUBJECT ON WHICH I HAVE A LOT TO SAY AND RARELY GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY IT.

Let’s see, where do I begin?

[Editor’s note: With me, obviously. I’m right here.]

Ah yes, excellent point, voice in my head that never quite goes away.

Varric Tethras is a member of the Dwarven Merchants’ Guild, though not entirely by choice I suspect. He’s rich, he’s well-connected, he’s charming, he’s cultured. I am deeply attached to him because there are many things we have in common - we both had an alcoholic parent whose drunken rages were a defining part of our childhoods, we both write stories which are strangely well-received, we both prefer to be by the fire, we are both intensely loyal to those who have earned our loyalty, and we both like pretty much everybody until they give us a reason not to like them.

Varric has a very painful past for a number of reasons. The Tethras family was always, in many ways, more like a business than a family; his official biography (for the DA tabletop RPG) even says that his older brother Bartrand always treated him more like a colleague than a sibling. His father died when he was a toddler; his mother was a drunk; and his brother cared more about making money than anything. He had a torrid love affair with another dwarf, and Inquisition makes it clear that there’s still some lingering feeling, but she broke off the plan to elope and instead went through with the marriage her parents arranged for her. 

Basically, I feel like for years, all Varric knew about love was that it hurt you in one way or another. Then he met the Hawkes.

Bethany Hawke is the youngest of the three Hawke siblings. In the games where she survives the prologue, she’s already lost her father to the Blight and her twin brother to an ogre. She’s also an apostate mage, so she’s spent most of her life hiding from Templars and trying to conceal what she really is. Despite hardship and personal anguish, however, she’s an incredibly sweet, warm-hearted, generous person. (In games where she dies, Hawke tells Anders that Bethany never turned away anyone who needed her help.) If she goes to the Circle (which is where I always send her, because becoming a Grey Warden makes her miserable), she becomes highly regarded even by the Templars and is given a position of authority over younger student mages. 

She loves her family, she cares deeply for her friends, and she’s kind to practically everyone. As a result, she’s the only companion besides Varric who is liked by everyone else in Hawke’s personal circle. Even Fenris, who absolutely despises mages on principle, develops a strong affection for Bethany as well as respect for her mastery of her magic.

So that brings us to why do you ship it? Frankly, there’s so much ship tease inherent in their interactions that I have a hard time believing that the devs didn’t intend us to ship it. Here’s what I’ve observed.

1) Varric gives nicknames to everyone in his social circle (except Hawke and Aveline, and later the Inquisitor). By and large, these are either superficial (Blondie, Elf, Curly) or sarcastic (Tiny, Junior, Chuckles). Bethany’s is one of the few exceptions to that rule. Bethany’s nickname is Sunshine. It’s clearly affectionate.

2) Varric has several lines in which he talks about the sun. One of these is in a party banter with Bethany herself; she asks him about the Tethras family being Orzammar nobility, and he concludes his thoughts on the matter by saying that part of the reason he prefers the surface is because “it’s sunnier here”. He also tells Hawke, in a possible cutscene dialogue, that he was born on the surface and is perfectly happy about it because “Sunshine suits me just fine.” Plus, his final tarot card in Inquisition is literally The Sun. 

Sunshine is one of Varric’s favorite things. He named Bethany after something he loves.

3) When he first meets the Hawke siblings, Varric is very suave and charming toward Hawke because he wants Hawke to go along with his plan for the expedition. But when he starts talking to Bethany, his tone of voice changes. I don’t know how to explain it - he’s not quite flirting, but he’s damn close to it.

4) Varric snarks at everybody. Everybody. It’s just how he relates to people. But he’s never snarky toward Bethany. His voice is always full of fondness when he talks to her.

5) Bethany rarely laughs. But when she does, it’s either Hawke or Varric causing it - and her laugh for Varric sounds way more like a flirty giggle than anything.

6) If Bethany dies in the Deep Roads, Varric is devastated. I mean full-on crushed. (Props to Brian Bloom, because his voice acting brought me to tears. “Oh, Sunshine.”) And he continues to hate himself for years because of it… clicking on him during Act 2, which is set three years later, will sometimes prompt him to say “Poor Sunshine… Bartrand will pay for her death, I promise you.” 

7) Bring Varric and Bethany as companions for either/both of the DLC campaigns, then try to tell me that there’s not something there.

(a) Legacy has less flirting, probably because of the seriousness of the situation. Regardless of when it’s done, Bethany is so upset by what’s happened that it shows on her face. If the DLC is done in Act 1, Varric actually thinks she’s ill because she looks so upset, and he’s worried. If it’s done in 2 or 3 with Circle!Bethany, she’s understandably freaked out because the Carta actually attacked her in the Circle, and only the presence of Templars saved her. Varric’s remarks to her are soothing, reassuring, and a little bit teasing (which gets her to laugh). And even if it’s done with Warden!Bethany, there’s something there - he flat out tells her that it’s good to see her, and he’s the only companion toward whom she can’t be cold.

(b) Mark of the Assassin, though… bring Varric and Circle!Bethany. He straight up hits on her. First there’s this interaction where she’s fussing about her clothes.

“I can’t believe I wore this to the Chateau. Maker, what was I thinking?”

“That it’s the uniform of the Circle and you could make a burlap sack look good?”

“It’s hardly the height of fashion.”

“You would kill these people if you wore the height of fashion.”

Later, when they’re running around in the dungeons trying to find Hawke and Tallis, he makes a comment about the quickness of her stride. She quips back at him, rather playfully, and he says, “There’s my Sunshine.” That single line is spoken in absolutely the warmest and sweetest voice we ever hear him use in either game where he appears. 

8) In Act 1, after the Hawkes have reclaimed Grandfather Amell’s will, Varric has party banter in which he addresses Bethany as “Milady Sunshine” (making her giggle) and also “my lady.” Coupled with the “my Sunshine” line mentioned above, that’s a lot of possessive pronouns, Varric. She is literally the only character in any of the games whom he ever calls “my” anything other than “my friend.”

9) Like the rest of the DAII companions, Varric makes comments when someone falls in battle. If that someone happens to be Bethany, his reaction is very interesting. The line itself is a bit of gold - “Hold on, Sunshine, I’m coming!” - but the tone of voice is especially delightful. It manages to sound equal parts reassuring and really pissed off, like whatever took her down is going to pay dearly for touching her.

10) If she’s still alive in Inquisition, Varric has several lines in which he indicates that he writes to her frequently. He also has a very interesting line if Bethany went to the Circle and is still alive as of Inquisition; following the events of the quest “Here Lies the Abyss”, he may have party banter with Cassandra in which she inquires, “And Hawke’s sister - she’s still alive, isn’t she?” Varric’s response is to say, in a slightly hostile tone, “Better be!”

So why do I ship it? In shortest form, they are both generous people who give a lot to others. They both care a lot about other people, sometimes even when they know it’s not the wisest thing. Most of all, their interactions make it very clear that, romantically or otherwise, they genuinely love each other. Theirs is a warm, honest, mutually respectful relationship and I think that they could really be happy together in a healthy way. And after the amount of crap they’ve both survived, I really want them to be happy.

For more stuff like this, come to @sunny-stories - it’s the greatest boat in the history of boats.

Thank you so much for the ask, anon! I look forward to whatever beautiful gift you decide to craft for me - I’m sure I will love it!