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meova101 · 2 years ago

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Okay I have been Thinking lately, and especially now that all I have left is rechewing old crumbs... Sebchal has such character development, you know. It’s actually so different whether you see them now or in 2019 or 2021 and it’s so interesting to see it develop over time. We went from karting together as part of an FDA event to Charles being a nervous wreck to a tribute helmet and ended up at the easy camraderie we see now and there’s so many layers to this shit, man.

In honour of Sebchalday, I figured I’d make a little write-up of the character development I saw in real time. And with little I mean someone stop me this shit is almost 5k. Yes I also had to add in how I watched the public perception of them change because I might as well honestly, the dichotomy in their teammate years truly was something else. Anyway, without further ado, here’s Sebchal throughout the ages, as told by Meo.

2018 and earlier

This really is just a lot of what seems like hero worship from Charles and Seb being polite, a good guy and up for a laugh. In 2017, Charles occasionally starts going on track walks, there’s the iconic moment in Monaco of course, Charles is just a little starstruck. Why else would he make damn sure he’s got Seb in an Instagram post about the karting event. Or look like he’s in a straight-up romcom when Seb talks to him there.

Seb, on the other hand, seems generally aware of Charles (his F2 results, ofc the track walks, signing that picture of Charles from testing 2018, offering Charles a seat during a drivers parade), but he keeps his distance for the most part. Which is completely understandable, honestly. But this all sets up the scene, because who would have ever thought that this would turn into a rather unlikely friendship?

2019

Rivalry time! We kick this off with, uh, a very nervous Charles on the first team outing to the Dolomites, followed by a hug and a cheek cradle in the second race. Yeah idk either where this went off the rails.

Okay no that’s a lie, I know exactly where it went off the rails, and shit really hit the fan in Monza. The media was already pushing a rivalry and it makes sense - the story of the old veteran and the young hotshot, both equally talented (don’t fight me on this Barbara) and vying for the top spot in the iconic team. Charles was settling in well, quickly matching Seb in the first half of the season, something was clearly brewing. It’s brilliant. It’s a showstopper. It’s also not true, but imagine listening to the drivers themselves.

So Monza comes around and all hell breaks loose. No, legit, this streak of races is the main cause of the rivalry talk persisting. In Monza, Charles doesn’t give Seb a tow during qualifying, leaving Seb unable to even set a final time in Q3 (along with basically every other driver, this quali is so funny). Seb has a race to forget after that while Charles wins. He wins in Spa, he wins in Monza, it’s fucking insane. Il Predestinato for real.

Singapore is up next and Charles gets pole, Charles has a good start, but then. Ohhhhh, then. Seb pits, has a very good outlap, starts overtaking the as-of-yet-unpitted like they’re barely there (in fucking Singapore y’all), while Charles falls further behind. Exasperated, Charles gets on the radio and says he wants everything, but what d’you know, Seb wins. Charles does not look pleased on the podium. Seb does.

And then Sochi. Oh my god let me tell you about Sochi. Charles has pole, again. But you don’t want pole in Sochi, and Seb wastes no time in overtaking Charles, nabbing P1 in the process. And what happens next is the perfect example of what I like to call a bitch fight. You’re gonna want to see this to believe it. Here’s a link to the team radio. It’s funny as hell, it’s petty as hell, Seb DNFs and Charles barely hangs on to the podium in the end, ladies and gentlemen: a rivalry.

Brazil only fanned the flames, I’m just saying.

But even with all of this. Like, it seems very explosive, you know. Which makes it all the more interesting how they don’t actually... seem to explode? They’re still nice to each other? Sure, it’s still very careful, and the videos they do together have that awkwardness, but they’re nice. And if you dig, just a little, you find Seb and Charles... actually having fun together. You can see their dynamic here most clearly in the language videos, in my opinion. Charles is gushing over everything Seb is saying in French, while Seb is teaching and teasing a little in the German video.

Ferrari themselves somehow manages to hide all the cute stuff, too. Because they sure tried, but you have to know where to look to find their date road trip through the Italian countryside, the videos for Shell and Ferrari themselves, the utterly endearing UPS video where they are both very confused but having fun with it. This stuff is all there, it was uploaded in real time, but it just… got ignored or brushed off as PR.

I remember watching all of their videos at the tail end of 2019, and just gloating like… if only they’d known what would happen afterwards. They wouldn’t be so cordial to each other now if they’d known what lies ahead. Until I realized, and yes this took a hot minute, that if they were always nice to each other, even in the second half of the season, even after everything that had already happened… maybe they actually liked each other.

This was a revelation. Unheard of. These two hated each other, were vying for top spot and there could only be one winner, the other one was just collateral damage, of course they didn’t like each other!

The first half of 2020

Dear reader, turns out they like each other.

There were two camps developing at this time. One of them was still convinced these two hated each other, disliked each other at the very least. The other camp was watching Charles slowly lose his mind on Twitch.

I really can’t understate just how much the lockdown did for the perception of Sebchal, although the major turnaround would happen much later. There really are two factors at play here and I will get to the second one in a bit, but you cannot underestimate how much the Twitch era helped.

Because Charles – and you have to understand, Charles was still seen as a very arrogant, incredibly pretty, extremely talented guy (two of those three are true) which did not help – brought up Seb, a lot. He told us about how he’d been in touch with Seb, trying to get him to play games with him on stream. He wanted to be teammates with Seb so bad while playing F1 2019 that he accidentally picked Seb to play as. He watched F1 compilations that definitely had other drivers in it while exclaiming they were videos about him and Seb. Whether you ship them or not, it’s clear as day that from Charles’s side, there was no rivalry.

Seb, of course, was pretty quiet during this time, but there’s this one interview for Marlboro Mission Winnow that feels more like friends catching up than an actual interview, so there’s that.

The second factor in this is Netflix getting involved. We all know and love to hate Drive To Survive and for season 2, they finally got access to Ferrari and Mercedes. Of course they’d dive headfirst into the rivalry storyline, because believe it or not, once upon a time Drive To Survive actually pretended to base their plot on reality.

And this one backfired. What they thought they were showing were two guys who didn’t much like each other, trying to figure out a way to keep the media at bay. What they actually showed were two very much exasperated guys, teasing and joking with each other while trying to focus on their job. Netflix failed to account for the fact that people might actually look beyond the framing, and thanks to Ferrari trying their best at social media but being endearingly rough around the edges with it, we had plenty of material for that.

And while all of this was playing out, we heard that Seb’s contract at Ferrari wouldn’t be renewed.

Now that’s a whole mess I won’t get into further, because this is also the part where the rats get divided into two camps and I’m not here for that. What I am here for, though, is Charles’s reaction, because he posted a very heartfelt message about the news a bit after it dropped. Why did it take him a bit? Not because he had to run it past PR, I’m pretty sure, because I don’t believe for one second his messages would have gotten the green light. No, it was because not only did Charles take special care to pick out a few pictures of him and Seb together to add to the message, but also because he was driving back from France that day and also, he didn’t know.

I only know he was in the middle of a long drive that day because he’d mentioned it on his Twitch stream before. Also, while looking up this Tweet, I noticed the location tag so that helps. I’m sure I didn’t hallucinate it but since Charles didn’t feel like archiving his streams, I’m also pretty sure this is lost to the void by now. If you happen to have this clip, please let me know so I can stop doubting my memory.

But the second part, where he plain didn’t know? It never got confirmed, but I’m positive. Once again, so many people were convinced here that Charles had been pulling strings behind the scenes, that them working together was impossible after 2019 and especially Brazil, Ferrari had to make a choice and they picked Charles. Except Charles has gone on record multiple times, stating he’d like to keep Seb as his teammate. That he still had so much to learn from him. If it was up to him, Seb would be his teammate for years to come. If he’d known, why would he not have had the messages ready? Why would he have been hyping Seb up as his teammate? Why would anything else in 2020 have happened?

Because trust me, we’re only through the first half of the year now, and it’s only getting better.

The second half of 2020

As we know now, the 2020 Ferrari sucked. Which, in hindsight, was clear during testing, but we all thought Ferrari had just learned how to sandbag. It took until the season finally got underway in Austria that we realized just how deep in the shit our guys were. Charles got a podium in the first race while Seb barely got one point, undoubtedly helped out by the fact that almost half the drivers DNF’d.

In their second race… they crashed. Charles attempted a divebomb down the inside and instead humped Seb’s rear wing. I was crowing at the television at that point, ready for the will-they-won’t-they rivalry of the previous year to continue, yes they’re friendly off track but on track it’s spicy, this was bound to explode…

And nothing.

Because what had happened, especially with them both knowing this partnership would end after this season, was that they started backing each other up. This season was going to be a wash either way and Seb wasn’t going to be there to deal with the fall-out of it. There was no reason for them to remain cordial, to not throw each other under the bus when necessary, and especially in this case it seemed clear-cut, yet they didn’t.

The difference between what happened on track and what happened off track became even more stark. On track, Charles was outdriving Seb so incredibly hard. He qualified so well, while Seb started getting booted out of Q2 more and more often. Charles nabbed another podium in Silverstone, Seb fought for singular points most races. And yet they made sure that whenever the media brought up their results, or tried to poke into their partnership, they always backed each other up. They never once talked bad about each other, tried to make sure the media didn’t forget both of them are extremely talented, and presented themselves as a united front.

Not that anyone bought that, but whatever. 2020 was a weird time and we didn’t have Fernando back on the grid yet. They were aching for some drama.

Off-track, though, and once again you had to actually look for this, which is a common theme with Sebchal… man, this era makes me the most feral still. We not only get Charles saying Ich liebe dich at the end of Seb’s birthday video, and Seb making awkward jokes in Charles’s birthday video, but we get the hourglass challenges. Quite frankly, this is the best social media to ever come out of F1, hands down, nothing will ever beat this. Because you can see, in real time, how Seb and Charles grow closer and more comfortable with each other.

They constantly get paired up with other Ferrari team members, but that doesn’t matter, because when Seb and Charles start talking? They’re talking and no one can disturb them. Like when Seb tries to explain what a pocket watch is briefly, in the background of a video. Seb trying to teach Charles some more Ferrari history during Memory. The entire music challenge, which might as well not have anyone else there.

We get a true glimpse of their fun competitive vibe here, even though Charles gives Seb more chances to win when it looks like Seb might actually lose (you might claim that Seb let you win, Charles, but we have the proof in the darts video and the categories video). I’m pretty sure that if you’d let the two of them alone with a game, you could come back hours later and they’d still be racing tiny little racecars.

You can tell how much closer they got during this season, but as usual, you have to look and listen for it to click. There’s the moment during qualifying for Spa, when they both get knocked out in Q2 and we get a shot of them looking at each other and smiling in understanding. There’s Turkey, where Seb finally gets his podium because he can capitalize on a mistake from Charles, and Charles actually stops beating himself up over the radio for a moment to congratulate Seb on his podium.

The final few races are just a fever dream, really. You have to see the challenge videos to believe them, but they truly have found their dynamic there and they’re so comfortable around each other. And the Danke Seb helmet is still, to this day, probably my favourite moment. Charles made a fucking scrapbook on his helmet. And just to show how even at that point, people still wanted the rivalry to be real so bad: I vividly remember someone on commentary saying “what’s he thanking Seb for, leaving the team?”. It’s crazy. That’s how pervasive the rivalry narrative was, even when Seb and Charles did everything to prove it wasn’t true.

2021

So 2020 was a whirlwind of character development, of notable moments, and definitely lit a fire underneath the ship. Now, however, we enter uncharted territories. The rivalry talk is finally over, now that their time as teammates has ended. But this also means we don’t get to see them interact quite as often, since they’re no longer shoved together at every possible opportunity (lol, not like they were anyway, seeing as the shipbaiting only really starts kicking off around this time in F1 socmed), and we’re rats looking for crumbs now.

Luckily for us, we get a lot of crumbs, and once again it shows very well how their relationship evolves and how they actually work together.

Now, during the winter break and after testing, there were quite a lot of doubters. Which is fine! Everyone gets to have their own opinions! But because the whole rivalry thing was so incredibly pervasive and even without that, Seb and Charles just seem like very different people who only got shoved together because they drove for the same team… it’s entirely understandable to doubt whether they’d continue to interact. And let’s be real, testing did not necessarily give us any indication to think otherwise.

But once again, this is exactly what’s so nice about them, if you look a bit closer… they actually became friends somewhere along these years.

Charles stands next to Seb for the We Race As One ceremony. This might be planned out beforehand, I don’t know, but what certainly isn’t planned out, is them talking and sharing their customary fist bumps before and after these little bits. After races, they also catch up if they find each other either near the car in parc ferme or in the press pen. It’s never that obvious unless you look, and we sure looked.

But it became blindingly obvious during Monaco and Baku this year.

When the drivers were waiting around for the parade, we find Seb and Charles talking to each other, once again so invested in their conversation that Charles almost misses his cue for the bus. And then, once it becomes clear that Charles can’t participate in the race, plenty of drivers offer some words of comfort. But Seb’s the only one to hug him, really talk to him about it, and Charles even leans back into him when Seb’s let go. We don’t know what was said of course, but it’s clear as day now that if anyone’s still hanging onto the old narrative… they’re dead wrong.

And then Baku. Not only do they find each other on the grid again (a recurring theme, there’s so often just a small moment of them getting the other’s attention to say hi), but after the race, Charles obviously first congratulates Pierre on his podium, and then beelines to Seb, where Fernando stares at the display of affection in front of him like he’s watching two aliens land.

It’s the easy way they both grab onto each other there, no hesitation from either side. And yes, I know it seems like Charles is a very tactile guy, but it’s always other people grabbing him. There’s two people where Charles will take the initiative, and both of them have made it onto the podium for this race. Later on, Seb lets us know that he told Charles the previous night, through text, that he’d see him in his mirrors, which once again shows that quietly, they’re still in touch. They’re texting, still teasing each other, and we had no idea until that moment that they still kept in touch in that way, and once again, even if you take the shoggles off it’s still frankly unbelievable that they managed to build a friendship when literally everyone was pushing them towards a rivalry.

This is the moment the rivalry talk really fizzles out, insofar it still even existed. Yes, there’s still people hanging onto it, and it does make a good story, but it’s just that. A story. What we see now is two people who are seemingly very different, pushed together in circumstances that would make other people crack, and they’ve somehow built a connection.

And isn’t that the best story of all?

There’s no topping these crumbs, not even the moment in the Spa press-pen tops this, where we all figured out Charles was talking to Seb before even hearing or seeing him just based on his facial expression, but it does show where Sebchal is at in this year. They’re figuring out how to be friends now that there’s no obligation, because both of them want to be. Seb isn’t one for big gestures and Charles (surprisingly, I know) isn’t either, so we only get the one in Baku. Hell, even Monaco was more of a background thing, and I sure nearly broke my tablet when I spotted the two of them during the We Race As One ceremony as the camera was panning away.

But in the background, there they are, always somehow finding each other, and that’s what truly solidified my love for this ship, really. They don’t need flashy moments, they’re comfortable with each other and it shows.

2022

And then we get to 2022, where everyone finally seems to have figured out that the whole rivalry narrative was never actually a thing. I’m sure part of this is the fact that they haven’t been teammates in a year at this point, that they’re both still persisting in only ever talking nicely about the other when asked, and well, the Aston Martin isn’t actually good so there’s no chance of even having battles on track.

And what we do get, is more crumbs. Honestly, we get much more than in 2021, even without really big moments like Monaco and Baku.

The thing is, we see yet another development in their dynamic for this season. And that’s really one of the big things about Sebchal all this time, we get to see them develop as people, as friends, and this really feels like a culmination of sorts. It doesn’t get picked up much by the social media accounts (thank fuck) and both of them definitely have their people on the grid (Seb gravitates towards Mick, Charles gravitates towards Pierre), but they seem so comfortable in their interactions now.

Take, for instance, the times they get put into the same press conference. We’ve gone back to the bigger pressers now, five people in each session, so we already get more moments where they’re together in the room. And pretty much every time, there’s these quiet friendly moments that don’t necessarily get picked up by the media, but they’re endearing as hell.

Yes, we get the moments where Seb’s flirty on main (which is so fun to watch too, and I dare say it’s even more pronounced now than it even was in 2020). There’s the bus tour jokes in Monaco, where Charles offers to take Seb on one. There’s the presser in Monza, where Seb says he never had as many issues leaving the hotel as Charles does, probably because Charles is more handsome. This kind of open teasing is something new and definitely shows how far they’ve come already.

But there’s also the moments that are more brief, more subtle. Like when Charles motions at Seb about his moustache, or when Seb heads straight towards Charles when he’s late to give him a fistbump. Or when they’re sitting next to each other and end up deep in conversation again, while the presser’s still going on. I know I say the word comfortable a lot, but that’s what it is. They seem to enjoy each other’s company, they like talking to each other and seem to search it out, too, and it’s so organic when you’ve followed them for all these years but it’s a stark contrast to where they started and where the narrative started, too. It’s also a slap in the face to everyone who doubted they’d even acknowledge each other after Seb left the team, which I’m totally here for because I’m not bitter at all lol.

Besides these moments, where they’re already in front of a camera and don’t care that whatever they do is being recorded, there’s still more moments when they’re not. Like, this is just what they do, they don’t ham it up for the cameras at all. There’s plenty of times in the press pen, after a race usually, where they will find each other and catch up a little. To the point where Britta and Mia, both their PR people, just start talking among themselves as well. And it’s always so interesting to see how, even when Charles is looking down (like after Silverstone, or before Hungary for obvious reasons), Seb will always manage to coax a smile out of him.

Because we have more interactions to go off here and we have so much history by now, it’s easier to point out where it seems like they’ve figured out how the other one wants to be treated. As I pointed out in the 2021 section, Seb is one of the few people Charles will actually initiate physical contact with. And throughout the years, throughout this season, it’s not hard to figure out why that is. Most people will grab Charles when they want to touch him, not give him much of a choice. On the other hand, Seb does give him that choice, either touches him briefly and then lets go (like with the upper arm touches that are often used between them to get the other’s attention), or he hugs him from the side, leaving Charles an opening to get out of it if he wants.

On the other hand, Charles seems very aware that Seb is a private person and gives Seb the chance to maintain that privacy, too. During the Twitch streams in 2020 already, he would talk about Seb but never reveal much of what they were talking about together. Most of the times they interact are in the background and Charles is happy enough to let Seb initiate their contact when they are in front of a camera.

And while it seemed like Charles wasn’t very involved in Seb’s last race, I would argue he was and actually took a step back himself to let Seb do what he had to. Even when he felt ill, Charles was still there for the final track run, in the crowd. He did the donuts he promised, mimicked Seb’s finger when he was on the podium after the race. He was also one of the few, if not the only one, to temper expectations and tell people that when Seb’s made a decision, he’s sticking with it, and to not pin hopes on him returning (he’s very stubborn, after all, and his favourite colour’s blue). It might not seem like a lot, but there’s a very real respect and acknowledgement of who Seb is as a person there.

The narrative surrounding Sebchal has changed so much through the years – to the point where even Ferrari called it a very special bond in their social media posts about Seb’s last race – and their dynamic has evolved alongside it. The “rivalry” was very fun while it lasted, don’t get me wrong, but the guys have been telling us all along that it was fabricated and luckily, we now have the full picture. It’s been a fun journey to see it all develop right in front of my salad (I might have only joined after the 2019 summer break but all in all, missing out on half a season is excusable I think) and while I do miss seeing the two of them together on the grid, I will absolutely go down with this ship. No one does it like them and even without new crumbs, there’s still plenty to chew on and pick apart to keep me busy for a long time to come.

#sebchal #sebchalday23 #god this truly is just one big ramble and infodump huh #idk if anyone is even interested in this but it's sebchalday and I miss them and I just want to bask in their history #because it's so fascinating! nothing about this makes any sense but here we are!#watching them throughout the years is something I'll always be thankful for... it was a ride and a half but it was amazing #it's the slow burn it's the growth it's them figuring out each other #I truly don't think we'll ever get another unhinged storyline like this #charles started at hero worship and seb started at talented guy but not Kimi hmpf #and they became genuine friends by the end of it #obsessed with them I tell you #meo shouting into the void

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theoneandonlysun · 10 months ago

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Sun and Dusk are consistently referred to as “Goddess”. While being a deity or close to one isn’t that huge of a deal in a digital-fictional universe like this one, it’s still notable. We have many characters who could be argued to be a deity/god of some kind, like Bob or Verie (I only mention Verie because Icia considered calling her one) or Nightmare (she was enough of one to qualify for the Pythagorean Theorem achievement) or even Jessy post-ascension.

But only Dusk and Sun are OUTRIGHT called Goddess. So that gives them some implied powers and default authority. And yet, despite being given the same title, they act and are treated very differently by both the narrative and the characters in the narrative.

Why?

Because they’re two completely different kinds of Goddess.

Sun is a classical Goddess. Think of the Greco-Roman pantheon. As any fellow Percy Jackson fan can attest, the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses were very human, even too human. They were flawed as humans are flawed, and were not treated as perfect. Sun would be considered more amicable and personal than most Classical Pantheon members, seeing as she doesn’t smite people on a dime. Thus, the narrative and characters treat Sun as one of them, as a flawed, human goddess. As a reflection of the best and worst a human is capable. When given this kind of power and this kind of responsibility, Sun reacts how a human would react. Sun is loving and personal and human, but that comes at a steep cost, because no human was meant to bear the burden of a goddess. The consequences of Sun’s actions, spreading from the infinite human potential for harm, carry even more weight than a normal human’s.

Now look at Dusk.

I’ll be honest, she is just as flawed as Sun is. She has just as many shortcomings, just as many fatal mistakes. But the narrative and characters treat her very differently. At first it was just because I put effort into using specific titles, language, and rhetoric in reference to Dusk. But over time people have done that independent of me. Dusk is a Lovecraftian, modern goddess. She is deliberately written to be at least partially beyond the comprehension of the average character. She breaks the fourth wall and can function as a minor mod if need be. She’s an Eldritch goddess, and she acts like it. She’s a Bloodborne goddess, and her dominion specifically being emotion is a very key element of this part of her character. She has control over a major element of everyday life here, and the level of insanity and emotional turmoil these guys go through only goes to amplify how much sheer power the ability to control and manipulate emotions has here. But consider this. If it weren’t for her status as “Agape”, she would probably be very impersonal and ethereal, the kind of detached, distant goddess who cares not for mortal minds or lives. She is as personal as Sun, able to love and live like anyone else, just with a lot more power at her disposal when she needs it, just like sun.

Both are personal, but Sun is personal by default. Her title as “Goddess” intrinsically has that built it. Dusk doesn’t. Dusk’s title as “Goddess” belongs to those who must become impersonal and incomprehensible to deal with their knowledge and responsibilities. Thankfully, Dusk has that personal nature built in as a function of being DUSK, not being a “Goddess”. The narrative, though, understands the difference between the two seemingly similar titles, and it shows in descriptions and such, even if the titles and power levels are equally matched.

Funnily enough, they treat themselves as if they had the opposite titles. Sun throws around her power and perceived deityhood consistently and deliberately, placing herself in positions of authority. Dusk does not often “throw around” her power, instead showing it mostly in her appearance. She also deliberately makes herself equals with those she cares about, like shrinking herself down to Jessy’s size when they have an important conversation.

This is somewhat reflected in the people and dynamics they surround themselves with. Sun’s family is made of spouse and children, with her as head of a family with many under her. Dusk’s “family” is made of spouse and siblings, of many by her side. Both of the units function, and generally adhere to the titles and function of their roles. Sun disowns bob, and it has actual meaning, for example.

…Idk, there’s your rant.

DING DING DING DING DING DING DINGGGG

CORRECT!!!

this analysis is AMAZING elsie lemme tell you why

"As a reflection of the best and worst a human is capable. When given this kind of power and this kind of responsibility, Sun reacts how a human would react. Sun is loving and personal and human, but that comes at a steep cost, because no human was meant to bear the burden of a goddess. The consequences of Sun’s actions, spreading from the infinite human potential for harm, carry even more weight than a normal human’s."

EXACTLY. FOR ALL THIS TIME THISSSS IS WHAT IVE BEEN TRYING TO CONVEY YOU GUYS!!!! SHES FLAWED AND FRANTIC AND HORRIBLE AND MEAN AND SHES DOING HER FUCKING BEST BECAUSE ANYONE IN HER SITUATION WHO HAS HAD AS MUCH HURT AS HER WOULD DO THE EXACT SAME THING!!!

THEY JUST WOULDNT SUCCEED!!!

CAUSE SHES A GODDESS AND THAT PERSON IN QUESTION IS A HUMAN!!! THEY CANT DO SHIT!!!!

NOT TO MENTION HOW YOU JUST. SUDDENLY ANALYZED DUSK TOO??? LIKE. I GET HOW YOU MEAN "MODERN" AND STUFF YOU MADE DUSK SO FUCKING WELLL IT EXPLAINS SO MUUUCHHHH

POINTS. ELSIE. THIS IS THE BEST ANALYSIS EVER. LOVE YOU

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maggiecheungs · 2 years ago

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I am extremely late but I am so happy to see someone else who's one the "Murasaki and the Akashi Lady should kiss" boat (the Akashi Lady totally deserved better imo)

YESSSSSSSS MURAKASHI TRUTHERS RISE!!!!!!!!!

(the above ^ is my short response. however, got excited thinking about them and accidentally wrote >1200 words, which are under the cut 😶)

just. AAAAAHHHHHH the (non)relationship between murasaki and the Akashi lady drives me absoLUTELy nuts. Akashi no onkata is, of all of genji’s many conquests, arguably the one whose existence makes murasaki feel most insecure. the only others who incite a comparable level of jealously—the third princess, and to a lesser extent, asagao—threaten her more as symbols of power, legitimacy and status (i.e. have a legitimacy of birth that she dies not, and thus would supplant her as genji’s primary wife). The Akashi Lady is probably the only one whom murasaki feels threatened by in this particular way, because she recognises and acknowledges her personhood on a level beyond rank and status. on several occasions throughout the book, despite being quite vocal about her jealouy, she compliments her new rival's taste, refinement, skills, personality...

And then, as if that wasn't enough, Akashi no onkata bears Genji a child, the one thing that murasaki has always wanted more than anything--and not only is this daughter wonderful in herself, she also is the key to Genji securing his ultimate life ambitions. But then, in one of the tale's many cosmic ironies, this child is taken from her birth mother and given to Murasaki to raise. she is, in a very real way, the daughter of both of these women; without the combined efforts of her birth mother and her adoptive mother, Genji's daughter would never become the deliriously happy Akashi Empress and fulfill her ~fated destiny~. which just adds another layer to their intense and silent relationship!! The two of them live in the same house for decades without really meeting face to face or spending time together, but their lives and loves are so inextricably tangled; they are bound together by their relationship with Genji, and by their love for their daughter, and by something else--a sense of admiration, of mutual respect.*

and it drives me insane because!!! just!!! for me, murasaki’s curse is loneliness. she can never form profound bonds with other women because the presence of the men in her life (mainly Genji) always transforms them from ‘ally’ into ‘competitor’. Genji raised her to be his and his alone, but she is not his only partner, and in the periods when he is off dallying with others she is left without her only real companion. Her unique position within Heian nobility makes it difficult for her to locate social equals--she’s the illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking clan, and is thus shunned by her father’s legal wife and not acknowledged as the equal of many ladies of higher rank, but she was also raised by Genji and held to an incredibly high standard, taught to perceive herself through the lens of all the things he valued (art, refinement, mastery of social etiquette, etc.). coupled with her (in)famous status as his most beloved wife, this effectively cuts her off from forming connections with anyone of slightly lower ranks, too. (which is like!!!! no wonder she is such a perfect match/foil for him--they’re both social oddities, who lead existences somewhat cut off from the typical circuits of rank and power in the aristocracy (which leaves them free to act in certain ways they might not otherwise, but constrained in others--and imo this social incompatability is a *massive* part of the reason that both genji and murasaki are so desperately lonely and given over to existential depression--but THAT is a conversation for another day skjhjkfhk . sorry for getting off track))

ANYWAY, back to the topic at hand: aka all the reasons why i think her (non)relationship with the akashi lady is so interesting. in terms of rank, akashi no onkata is no match for murasaki, but her beauty and intelligence and refinement offset the disadvantages of her birth (much as murasaki’s own charm made genji marry her without caring about her illegitimacy). Murasaki’s fear and hostility is born out of a genuine respect, and i think she knows that, rank aside, the akashi lady is the closest anyone would ever come to being her equal. if genji wasn’t in the picture, i truly believe that the akashi lady could become a companion and confidant that would alleviate Murasaki’s awful, claustrophobic loneliness. i truly believe that they could have been so much to each other. genuine human connection is the much-fantasised gold at the end of the rainbow in the tale of genji, but so few characters actually get to experience, or keep, it. but i desperately want to believe that Murasaki and Akashi no onkata could have. because you're right: they deserved better.

but of course, without genji, neither of the two women would have been lifted out of their humble beginnings; they never would have met. their daughter would never have been born and would never have become empress, and they wouldn’t have been able to derive joy from her happiness and successes. so essentially: their respective happy endings are also their own personal tragedies--which is ultimately one of the primary themes of the tale of genji, i think.

~~~

* sidenote: as i was typing this paragraph i found myself thinking about about (depictions of) the relationship between Empresses Teishi and Shoshi, whose competative (non)relationship Murasaki Shikibu would have had intimate knowledge of (she joined court as Shoshi’s lady-in-waiting just around the time of Teishi’s death). there are some similarities between them and murasaki/akashi: two refined and accomplished women, wives of the same high-ranking husband, living in the same palace in completely separate wings, their lives very much unfolding in parallel in some ways and diverging widlly in other. portrayals of teishi and shoshi's relationship/feud/power struggle/whatever vary wildly from writer to writer, but i’ve always been haunted by how it is depicted in eiga monogatari (written by murasaki shikibu’s contemporary akazome emon). Eiga isn’t always the most reliable historical document, but it does draw a beautiful portrait of two women placed on either side of an imperial power struggle, who still regard each other with respect as true equals who have earned their privileges and positions. (i have no idea if this was based in fact or purely fictionalised, but it is quite moving regardless.)

obviously, the stakes of the love triangle are slightly lower in the genji than in the eiga, (murasaki no ue and akashi no onkata are not empresses) but interestingly enough, the love triangle between genji/murasaki/akashi does have implications for the imperial line of succession (i won’t get too deeply into the politics of the whole thing, but to briefly summarise: genji betrothes his daughter by the akashi lady to the new emperor, thus ensuring that his grandson will eventually ascend to the throne. this is a calculated move on his part: in marrying his daughter into the imperial line, he is essentially supplanting the fujiwara family from their position as the de-facto power behind the throne and upsetting the centuries-old sekkan system of governance! which is cool.) (what i’m saying is: even though the politics of the tale of genji are rarely super explicit, they are incredibly interesting and intricate, and often have more to do with sexual and marriage politics than you might expect. also i’m a massive nerd about them <3)

~~~

P.S. last but not least: if you're interested in queer relationships in heian literature, may i recommend ariake no wakare / parting at dawn (link); a kamakura monogatari about a nonbinary (afab but raised male) protagonist who lives as both a man and a woman, and has romantic relationships with women and men (seriously, udaisho ariake is such a cool character & i love them). it’s not fully translated but the bulk of it is, and is available for free online. also shoutout to torikaebaya monogatari / the changelings, another queer-themed gender-bending kamakura monogatari (it's probably more famous than ariake no wakare, but conversely harder to source in english translation, so i still haven’t read it myself)

#ask response #mandatory 'sorry for the late reply i was on hiatus'#anonymous #genji monogatari #the tale of genji #ellis reads #murakashi #wlw #classical japanese literature #ty for giving me the opportunity to nerd out about the tale of genji #it's literally my favourite thing to do #🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰#also this is probably a mess because i'm posting it without even rereading it jfgdskjfgdkjgh

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masterjedilenawrites · 4 years ago

Note

I’m not good at making requests, so forgive me if anything come out wrong.

But, could you do something were reader and Tech are fixing some eletronics and listening to cientific things, and start talking about a wrong thing people said there, so they get distracted and when realize, they’re in to a awkward position (like him btween her legs or sth like that)

I love your writing and thanks (: <3

Omg I've been so soft for Tech lately and this prompt is perfect 💚 I hope this is what you were looking for, I really enjoyed writing it!

Tech x reader | 2k words

...making bacta the most important scientific achievement in history...

"Dank farrik," Tech huffed beside you.

You came out of your daze at the sudden exclamation and looked at your friend with concern, trying to quickly figure out what had gone wrong. You were helping him with a project, though what it was exactly you weren't completely certain of. All you knew was it involved digging into the walls of the ship and untangling a lot of wires. You'd been instructed to hold onto several of them, keeping them pulled taught out of the wall so Tech could fiddle with the other ends, and the dullness of the task had caused your mind to wander.

"What's wrong?" you asked, doubtful you'd understand any explanation, but wanting to be sure you hadn't done anything to mess up his progress.

He waved a hand at you dismissively, not pulling his attention away from the work in front of him. "Just the radio," he mumbled.

You hadn't been paying attention; it had only been turned on as background noise to keep you from going insane with boredom. And since it was tuned into some kind of scientific news frequency, you didn't really understand much of what was being said anyway.

...with the most influential application simply being in the field of medicine, providing us higher life forms with a versatile tool in maintaining our quality of life, and potentially even prolonging it...

Tech huffed again. Scoffed. Your mouth quirked at how upset he was getting. It was kind of cute.

But, you had to debate whether engaging with his frustration would be worth it. He had only recently calmed down from his outburst earlier that day, the only time you had ever seen him genuinely upset. Wrecker had accidentally knocked over a piece of machinery that was... well, something very important, apparently. No one was too sure. But Tech had spent most of the week carefully arranging its parts just-so, so that when all his hard work went crashing onto the floor, his breathing had suddenly resembled that of a charging Nexu. He'd drawn himself up, trying to match his brother's height, and ordered the poor guy to never step foot in this part of the ship again. The other Batchers had tried to defend him and were subsequently banned as well.

That left you as the only option for help.

Maybe that meant he wouldn't kick you out for debating him....

"Sounds like they're saying some pretty reasonable things. Am I missing something?"

Tech's fingers, which had been deftly working through the wires before him, clipping some and splicing others, finally froze. The clone's face tilted over to you, his eyes looking a little too judgmental through those glasses for your liking.

"You think bacta is the most important scientific achievement?" he asked. You didn't like his tone, either.

You scrunched your mouth in thought, actually giving the question serious consideration. While you mulled it over, Tech stood up from his hunched position in the wall and started pulling on some of the wires, unraveling them from their tangled mess.

"Yeah," you finally decided. "I think medicine in general is pretty important. And bacta specifically is the strongest known substance to deliver fast and effective healing."

Tech was mostly focused on the wires, but he spared you a glance.

"And treating symptoms is the most important thing for humanity? Here, hold this." He added another wire for you to hold in your hands.

You knew it was a loaded question so you chose to answer it with one of your own. "Well if it's not bacta or medicine, then what would it be?"

"Electricity," he said quickly and assertively, as if it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. He continued to focus more on his work and you were annoyed he didn't seem to want to offer up an explanation to his opinion, despite having made you give one. He'd finally untangled the wires and was back to leaning into the cavern in the wall and setting them into their proper places.

"Why electricity?" You hated how dumb your question sounded; obviously you understood the concept and understood its importance. You just really wanted to challenge him to give you some explanations.

"For one, most medicines would not be able to be mass-produced were it not for the electrically-run vats in which they are made." He held his hand out behind him and made a grabbing motion. "Blue, please."

You sorted out the blue wire and passed it over.

"For another," he continued, his voice sounding distant as he leaned further away into the wall, "we must ask what constitutes a quote-unquote important achievement. For example, is an achievement worthy of the title simply because it improves our quality of life? Green, please."

You handed over the corresponding wire. "I'd say it's more about preserving life. Even outside of war, there's enough injury and illness that would end life were it not for medicine to heal them."

"Ah, but in that same reasoning, electricity also sustains life. It powers sources of light and warmth, which can also provide a means of boiling water and cooking food. All keys to survival. Yellow, please."

"So does fire," you shot back. "People survived long before electricity, and there's still plenty of civilizations living fine without it."

Tech finally emerged from the wall and took the last few wires from you, the red and black ones. He met your eyes with an earnestness that let you know how much he was enjoying this conversation. "And people have survived without medicine. At least the manufactured forms that you're arguing for, like bacta. Traditional medicine is as sufficient as fire."

Before you could respond, Tech moved to the side, motioning toward the wall with his head and holding up the remaining wires.

"Now, unfortunately these last ones need to be clipped in down below. I'm not able to fit through the lattice of the floor, but someone of your stature easily could."

You stepped forward and peered down. It was a mess of machinery and pipes and beams, but you could clearly see the port where the wires had been yanked out earlier. You knelt down, resting your stomach on the edge of the wall, but paused before bending over.

"If it wasn't for bacta, you wouldn't have been born." You were confident in your comeback and thus didn't linger for his reaction, turning to bend down into the ship with your wires instead.

You were disappointed to hear his soft chuckle from above you.

"And what do you think powers the bacta tanks that hold the clone embryos?"

You were glad he couldn't see the frustrated frown on your face. While you tried to think of a new point in your debate, you snapped the red wire into the proper port. But then you realized you couldn't quite reach the black one, and started carefully shimmying forward, deeper into the wall.

"It seems we have circled back to the initial question," Tech offered in your silence. You felt his hands hold on to your hips, steadying you as your legs lifted from the floor, most of your body now inside the ship. You didn't think anything of it, though, your focus split between your task and his words. "What makes an achievement the most important? Both medicine and electricity are capable of preserving life, but neither are essential to survival. So, what criteria are we left with?"

You were finally within reach of the last port and pushed the wire into it. "Sounds like you already have the right answer, so why don't you stop teasing me and just say it?" you called up to him.

"I...I didn't mean to sound like I was teasing."

You could hear the apology in his voice, how truly caught off guard he was to hear that you had perceived his attempts at a friendly debate, a conversation, as mocking or disrespectful. Your stomach knotted up in guilt, making your journey to wiggle back out of the wall a little more difficult.

"I'm sorry, Tech," you said through a grunt as you tried to push yourself back. "I didn't mean to sound rude. I just don't know the answer."

You felt his arms snake around your middle, pulling you the last of the way out. You came to rest on your knees, breathing heavily at the sudden increase in air supply. Tech was crouched alongside you, his chest against part of your back, his arms still holding you.

"I honestly don't know the answer, either," he blinked down at you, speaking quietly. "I don't know what criteria would constitute the most important scientific achievement. I thought maybe we could figure it out if we kept discussing it."

You craned your neck around to look at him, unconcerned about the discomfort it took to do so. You needed to face him fully. "Or... maybe we don't need to figure it out? I mean, does there need to be one achievement labeled more important than any other? Can they not all be valued equally?"

"I suppose..." he relented. But only a little. "It is a fun thought exercise, though."

You smiled at that, and it made your heart flutter a little to see him return the expression. There were a few seconds between you where you sat pleasantly in each other's arms... before the realization hit that you were in each other's arms.

"Uh," Tech stuttered first. His eyes looked about frantically as if the more he saw of you practically sitting in his lap, the more he would know what to do about it.

Your face was hot and your heart thumped forcefully in your chest. But you weren't panicking. Even though you'd been around the Bad Batch for a while now, this was the first time you'd gotten physically close to any of them, especially this dorky genius, who made you feel just a little better about life than the others did. You hadn't been sure why, not until this moment, your face being mere inches away from his own. Now it clicked.

His arms had removed themselves from your frame and he was starting to crawl backward on the floor. You quickly grasped his shoulder to stop him.

"Tech, wait."

He froze, looking at you with wide, apprehensive eyes. His shoulder was tense so you relaxed your grasp and simply let your hand rest on it gently. You gave him a small smile. Thankfully these little gestures were enough encouragement for him to lean back to you. He still looked at you timidly, but he wasn't pulling away anymore. It seemed like maybe he had been feeling the same things about you.

"Yes?"

He was waiting for you to make the next move.

"So, this project," you stalled, needing just a little more time to work up the courage. "What is it again? Why did I just crawl into the bowels of the ship?"

Your face was creeping closer to his, breath gently fanning across each other, warm but refreshing.

"I... I..." Tech seemed to be short-circuiting. "I was just, uh, re... redecorating."

Your nose had just brushed his when you suddenly frowned and moved back to look at him questioningly. "Redecorating... wires?"

You were very amused at how flustered he seemed to be in this situation. But then the tables turned as Tech rolled with it.

"Yeah, I didn't like the way they looked in there. Wanted to change things up. You know me."

The smile on our face spread as he talked and you couldn't hold back your laughter any longer. You bent forward, resting your forehead in the crook of his neck while your body convulsed with giggles. Tech laughed along, bringing his arms back around you to hold you in place. When you finally looked up at him and the shit-eating grin he had plastered on his face, you knew you'd finally found your courage.

"Oh, Tech..." you chided, pressing your smiling lips against his own.

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #the clone wars #the bad batch #tech #tech x reader #my easy breezy beautiful nerd boy #ask box open #i'm feeling creative in this chilis tonight

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fairyhee · 4 years ago

Text

Chocolate eclairs (pt.2)

{Part 1}

🍫 optional bias x reader

🍫 ~5.6k words

🍫 smut, enemies to lovers, slight dom/sub themes, praise kink, some dirty talk, oral (both receiving), face sitting (whew), reader has a thing for hands

(I might have dragged everything out for too long? I’m not sure, you tell me, but I just love thinking about all the details so I went with it. Also while I was writing, at some point I lost half of it and had to re-write it because the damn app didn’t save my changes to the draft 🙃 anyways thank you for reading!)

So far, nothing was going as planned today, but somehow you didn’t mind it anymore. At first you were extremely annoyed to say the least, but you slowly started to think having a tall and ridiculously handsome guy follow you around wasn’t so bad after all. Even though he was purposely being irritating, as always, just to get reactions out of you, it was worth enduring for the random flirty remarks he spat out every once in a while. Was he always like this? Did you only realize it now because you were too busy thinking how obnoxiously confident he was, or did he really also dislike you before? You were quite confused, but you at least thought you should enjoy the moment.

After buying those damn chocolate eclairs that you had been craving for a week, and after he insisted to pay, all while poking fun at how you were gonna die at a young age from how much sugar you consume, your next stop would have been the lingerie store. Except now you had him coming along with you, so you weren’t very sure what you should do. To buy some time, you pretended to look at all the stereotypically “romantic” objects that people usually gifted each other on Valentine’s day. Just for fun, you weren’t planning on hinting at anything, but you just wanted to see what he’d be like. Not to mention window shopping was one of your favorite activities when you had nothing else better to do. He, on the other hand, had his mind fixed on one thing solely.

“Y/n, aren’t we eating those eclairs? You didn’t want them just to carry them around, did you?” he asked with a pout.

“Excuse me, since when is there a ‘we’? They’re my eclairs, and I’m saving them for later. I told you I have plans, were you even listening to me?”

“You have plans, right. Well you should be careful then, that boyfriend you have plans with might get jealous if he sees you walking around with a guy like me. I honestly wouldn’t blame him if he felt threatened, after all, you just let the most handsome dude around here buy you coffee and sweets...oh wait, I forgot. You actually don’t have a boyfriend, do you now?” he said in a sarcastic tone.

“It’s extremely funny that you think I need a man in order to have plans on Valentine’s day. I can very well take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“You can take care of yourself in what way exactly? Because if it’s what I’m thinking of, I bet I can do it better.”

“Thank you for your concern, h/n, but if you think you can buy your way into my pants with some sweets, then you have a very low and unrealistic expectation of me. If you want to impress me, try harder.”

“Oh don’t worry, this is far from my best shot. You just look so hot when you’re mad at me, I can’t stop myself.” he said with a sheepish laugh.

You blushed slightly, both at his words and from seeing him grinning so cutely. He had no business looking all cute like that after he had just literally suggested you sleep with him. How could he switch from being so cocky to getting shy for you in just a matter of seconds? You couldn’t help but wonder what he’d actually be like in bed. Especially since he had just showed a new side of him, a particular image of him being submissive to you was stuck on your brain. You could feel your face heating up, and you hoped he didn’t notice how red your cheeks had probably become.

Brushing it off, you entered a random toy store, feigning interest in some plushies. As you were admiring the various teddy bears that came in all shapes and colors, you noticed he had been surprisingly silent since your last exchange. You threw a glance at him and he seemed to have found some games he was interested in, as he had his eyebrows furrowed, trying to read the instructions on the back of some boxes. Perfect, you thought to yourself, now that he’s distracted, you could think of a plan. What the hell were you gonna do about the lingerie? You didn’t want to give up on buying it, you had wanted it for a long time and now was the perfect occasion. Did you want to go with him? Would he want to even enter the store with you? Would he become flustered and make things awkward? Would it be weird if you suddenly told him to leave you alone for a couple of minutes and meet you later? Or should you just end your meeting right there? You weren’t even sure how you wanted to spend the rest of the day anymore, but you for sure didn’t intend to abandon your plans completely for this man that barged into your solo Valentine’s day like that, despite the fact that you were starting to get interested in him.

While you were definitely overthinking the situation, h/n had long finished browsing the board games section. Suddenly, you felt someone’s hot breath near the side of your neck.

“Y/n. You’ve been staring at that teddy bear for 3 minutes now. Did you not have any as a child, or do you want me to buy it for you that bad? You could just ask, you know.”

Startled by the proximity of his voice, you turned your head to him and took a few steps away. “Wow, you sure have a talent for being rude. You’re still annoying even when you’re trying to hit on me.” you said trying to seem unaffected. However, you would lie if you said that feeling his breath on your skin didn’t send shivers down your spine.

He chuckled at your reaction and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“So? Do you want it or not?”

“With that sort of attitude, I shouldn’t even answer. So what if I wanted it, what would you do? There’s nothing between us, so why would you buy it for me?” you taunted. You knew he was trying to make you soften up, but you weren’t falling for it just yet.

“Who said I’d buy it for you? If I did and you ended up sleeping with a stuffed toy every night, that would just be unfair.” he pouted. Why was he acting this cute now? This man was so confusing.

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“I don’t wanna be jealous of a teddy bear. I’d rather you would sleep with me instead.”

You stared at his triumphant smile for a few seconds, at a loss for words. He looked like he just made the best pick-up line ever. It was so bad, yet you wanted to accept his wish and take him home. What was wrong with you?

“You’re absolutely obnoxious, did you know that? Wipe that smirk off your face, you look like an idiot.”

He laughed. “But somehow you’re still putting up with me. I’d say you’re doing a great job enduring me. Unless...you’re actually enjoying my company, which I suspect you do.”

“Yeah, whatever. Come on, I have one more thing to get before I can finally go home and get rid of you.”

You had made up your mind. You weren’t letting any man interfere with your plans.

Walking in the most confident way possible, you entered the lingerie store. You didn’t even spare him a glance as you looked through the pieces, searching for something that would match your taste. You were dying to know what his reaction was, what he was thinking, but you weren’t giving in. Suddenly, you had an idea. Acting like what you were doing was the most normal thing, you picked out two options, pretending you couldn’t decide between them. One was a black see-through set adorned with velvet hearts, while the other was made out of red lace and a bunch of straps that looked like a harness. Either way, both were made more to reveal rather than cover you up. Holding one in each hand, you turned to look at him with an unfazed expression plastered on your face.

“Make yourself useful for once and help me decide. Which one do I get?”

Seeing the way he was looking at you made a flush of heat spread across your face. His eyes were dark and he looked like he would have devoured you right then and there. You didn’t know what you expected, but this look was definitely not it.

He took a few seconds to respond, during which his gaze on you only seemed to intensify. He almost looked angry, clenching his jaw and eyeing you so strongly.

“You’d look great in both, but I’d take the red one.”

Hearing his choice, you immediately hung it back on the rack and took your other option to the cash register.

You heard him scoff behind you. “Why bother asking me if you were gonna pick that one anyway?”. He was smiling, but it was clear that he was trying to control his frustration.

You gave him the sweetest smile in the world. “I liked both equally and couldn’t decide, so I’m getting the one you like less. Since you’re never gonna see me wearing it anyway.”

“You drive me insane. That makes absolutely no sense.”

“Really? But you’re the one that’s been following me around all day. Now you’re angry with me, how come?” you said innocently.

He smirked and took a few steps until he was so close, you could feel his hot breath on your face, but you didn’t back away and maintained his gaze. His scent was intoxicating, and you were trying your best to not show how into him you were already.

“If you want to make me angry, you’ll have to try harder, babygirl.” you clenched your thighs hearing that word escape his lips. “I like your teasing a little too much, actually. But making me imagine you wearing all these pretty things only to point out that I can’t have you the way I want? I have to admit, that was pretty mean.”

“Are you challenging me? Then I guess I need to step up my game to really get back at you.”

“Alright then, let’s make a deal. If you fail to make me angry by tonight, you have to go on a date with me. What do you say?”

You couldn’t stop the smirk forming on the corner of your lips. “Deal. You know, now I kinda understand why you keep bothering me. It’s actually fun trying to get you annoyed.” This time you weren’t lying.

He smiled back at you. “Glad we’re on the same page about one thing at least. So, any other torturous shopping that we need to do today? An adult store, maybe, since you said you like to take care of things yourself?”

“Nice try. I actually have a table reserved for later today, so I’m gonna have to go home and get ready. I wanted to go alone and have some me-time, but since I don’t plan on losing that challenge, I guess now you gotta come with me.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Wait a second,”he said and put the back of his palm on your forehead as if checking for a fever, “now it sounds like you’re the one asking me out. What happened? Are you okay?” he asked in an overly dramatic way. Oh great, now he was back to being the town circus.

“It’s not a date, silly. Hopefully, it’s gonna be the worst dinner of your life, so I won’t have to see your face ever again.”

“You do know that I could just not show up and make you lose the bet, right?”

“If you do that, you won’t get my number. So no way to receive your prize.” Besides, you thought to yourself, wasn’t tonight already a date in itself? There was no way he would skip on that, or at least so you hoped. “See you at 6.” you said as you walked away, leaving him behind.

By now your only desire was to get him totally whipped for you. He might have seen through your intentions already, but you couldn’t care less. The fights and arguments that were real in the beginning had now become an act, some sort of game to see which one of you would give in first. And you weren’t backing down until you had him completely wrapped around your finger. This year’s V-day turned out to be a lot more fun than you initially thought.

After getting home, you took your sweet time showering and making yourself as pretty as possible. Having drenched yourself in perfume and strawberry scented body lotion, you put on the new lingerie and a red dress that complimented your figure. You did some minimal, but flattering make-up and took a good look in the mirror. You looked good enough to eat. Exactly what you wanted.

By the time you arrived at the restaurant, he was already waiting for you, and you realized he had probably tried just as hard as you to look hot. And he had definitely done a great job. His hair was pushed back and the suit jacket he was wearing highlighted his broad shoulders and tall figure. You wanted him to push you against a wall right then and there.

“Are you sure you’re not made out of sugar? You look so good, I’m afraid that if I touch you, you’d melt under my fingers.”

“You wish. I don’t even get a hi, you start our conversation with a lame pick-up line? This evening is going to be even more boring than I thought.” you said rolling your eyes.

“It’s good to see you again too. Come on, let’s order quickly, I’m starving.” he said as he was already looking through the menu.

After this first exchange, the rest of the dinner actually went on pretty normally. Without realizing, you had gotten comfortable with each other and stopped arguing altogether. Now you were just chatting about whatever came to mind, enjoying your meals and each other’s company. However, you did notice his eyes lingering a little too long on your exposed neck and chest, which you did your best to bring forward as much as you could when you moved around. You were hyper aware of his gaze on every move you made and you loved the attention he was giving you. You felt like you were the only woman in the room for him, the only one that deserved his attention. You suddenly remembered you were supposed to get him angry, but you weren’t sure you didn’t want a second date after all. However, you felt the need to say something about it.

“Look at all these couples enjoying their romantic dinner, and then there’s us. Here for the sole purpose of annoying each other.”

“If that was the purpose, I’d call this an epic fail.” he said with a smile and took a sip of his gin tonic,”So you still don’t want to admit that this is, in fact, a date?”

“Why would it be one, when we haven’t done anything out of the ordinary? We are just two people eating out together.”

“Good thing the evening isn’t over, then. Great choice of restaurant, by the way. But even though the food was amazing, I’d still prefer eating you out.”

His bluntness caught you off guard, and you let the glass you were previously holding down on the table with a little more force than intended. From the impact, your drink splashed everywhere, including on yourself.

You moved a bit of the fabric of your dress away so you could wipe the martini drops that had just spilled on your chest, which uncovered the strap and the top part of your bra for a few seconds. You didn’t think much of it, but heard him swallow loudly. When you raised your eyes back to meet his, he was looking at you like he wanted to undress you with his eyes.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Did what on purpose?” you asked confused.

“Don’t act so innocent, you know exactly what I’m saying.”

“No idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, care for dessert? You need some sugar in your system, you seem to be turning grim again.”

“If by dessert you mean you, then I’ll gladly accept. You have enough sugar to keep me up for a long time.” he said with a smirk.

“Oh god, can you cut the disgusting jokes out? You make me sick.”

“You’ll be even more disappointed to find out they’re not jokes. By the way,” he leaned over the table so he could bring his face a little closer to yours, “we’ve almost finished our drinks and you still haven’t made me angry. Time is ticking.”

You fell silent for a couple of seconds, and played with your necklace while deep in thought. You were done playing this game. You wanted him, and you wanted him tonight. You wanted to blame it on the alcohol, but ever since you stepped foot in that place all you had been imagining were his veiny hands all over your body, how pretty his long fingers were and how much you wanted them inside you. He hadn’t even touched you once, but your panties were feeling damp already just by staring at his hands or seeing him clenching his jaw. You hadn’t noticed that your fidgeting with your necklace had caught his attention and he was now practically staring at your boobs without any hint of shame in his eyes. Your chest was heaving up and down as his eyes set your skin ablaze and your thoughts ran wild. Of course his gaze didn’t miss your heavy breathing. His fist was clenched on his glass and the veins on his arm protruded even more than usual. Your brain was so intoxicated with him that it completely forgot how to form sentences, leaving him without a reply. He leaned closer to you over the table and all but whispered.

“Just say the words, and I’ll give you whatever you want. All you have to do is say it.”

You hesitated, questioning whether you should swallow your pride or not. You stared into his deep brown eyes, glistening with lust, and admired his plump, slightly parted lips, silently pleading for you to stop this stupid game and finally admit what you’re feeling for each other. He was done playing, and so were you.

“It’s finally time for those eclairs.”

A knowing smile spread on his face, as if he had just won the lottery.

The ride to your place was awfully silent. You felt like you could cut the tension in the atmosphere with a knife. Sitting near him in the back of the cab and just feeling his presence so close to you kept your skin burning up during the entire ride. He still hadn't touched you in the slightest, not even on your hand, and at this point you thought it was intentional just so you'd become desperate for him. It was working. It felt like the drive was taking ages, so you decided to have some fun and tease him a little.

You slowly slid your hand over your legs, starting from your knees and going up towards the hem of your dress, pulling it up ever so slightly. He noticed your movements instantly, and his eyes snapped to you. Now that you were assured he was watching, your hand traveled further under your dress, carefully so it doesn't reveal too much, and started running your own fingers across your damp panties.

His eyes widened, and you saw his adam's apple move when he swallowed a lump in his throat. "What do you think you're doing?" he whispered.

"What does it look like to you? I am an independent woman. Since you have not laid a hand on me all day, I'm doing it myself."

"You're an impatient one, aren't you?" you maintained his gaze but didn't stop your actions, slipping a finger underneath your underwear and whimpering ever so quietly, enough for only him to hear. You were determined to bring him down.

Like you had just pressed a button, his body reacted to your sounds faster than expected. The vein on his hand twitched as he quickly grabbed your wrist and held it in place.

"If you don't stop that, I’ll make sure you have trouble walking tomorrow." his words sent a shiver down your spine. With that, he firmly pulled your hand away and intertwined his fingers with yours, as if preventing you from causing more trouble. You decided to obey him, for now.

After a couple of minutes, you were arriving at your place. He followed you silently into the building and into the small elevator, where you were met with another crisis. He looked like he tried really hard to restrain himself as he leaned with his back and head against the mirror. He was looking at you through furrowed brows and hooded eyes, and you wondered why did he put himself through this struggle, when he could’ve had you right then and there. Pretending to check your mascara in the mirror behind him, you placed one hand on his chest and leaned over him, your face dangerously close to his neck, making sure your exposed cleavage pressed against him in the process. You didn’t care how obvious it was, he was clearly enjoying it. He did nothing but watch you, but his sigh and accelerating breath rate were giving him away. As soon as you reached your level, you instantly shot out of the elevator and got to your door in record time.

The moment you set foot into the apartment and closer the door behind you, any control that you had before, just vanished into thin air.

“Fucking finally”. He wasted no time in pressing you against the wall, both hands holding the sides of your face while he kissed you with all the pent up frustration from that day. You could feel his whole body onto you and yet you wanted more, your hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and tugging at it in an attempt to bring him even closer. His lips were soft but aggressive at the same time, the kiss neither too intense nor too slow, earning chills all over your spine the first time his warm tongue entered your mouth. It was still not enough, so you took over and laced your fingers at the back of his head, pulling on his hair while pushing yourself into him. His hands started traveling down your body, gripping your waist and hips with force as he pulled you even closer, making you feel his erection against you in the process.

Out of breath, you broke the kiss to take a good look at him in this state. He was looking at you through glossy, hooded eyes, with his plump lips parted and glistening from the intensity of your kiss. He looked so hot, you realized you might not make it to the bedroom.

Closing in the distance once again, his hands went to squeeze your ass through your dress as he started placing wet kisses down the side of your neck, painfully slowly, sending shivers all over your spine. You lifted a leg up to snake around his own, as if to invite his hands to stop wasting time and get under your skirt already.

“You’re surprisingly gentle for someone who’s been trying to get into my pants all day.” you felt him squeeze your ass harder, and he suddenly bit the soft skin under your ear and sucked on it, earning a gasp from you.

He didn’t reply, but instead slid his hand up your thigh and ran his fingers over your soaking panties.

“And you’re surprisingly wet for someone who supposedly hates me.” he teasingly rubbed the tip of his finger on your clothed clit, making you whine in response. It was almost as if the fabric wasn’t there at all, given how thin it was in the first place. “What did you buy this pretty underwear for, just to ruin it later?”

“Since when do you care about my lingerie?”

“I thought you wanted me to, since you brought me with you to that store and even asked for my opinion.” He pushed your panties to the side and properly coated his fingers with your juices. “You were such a dirty little slut for doing that to me.” his words shot straight to your core.

“Me, dirty? That little head of yours has a lot of issues. It’s your own fault for liking me in the first place.” you teased.

Hearing that, he pushed two fingers into your hole and you moaned. “You can talk shit all you want, but your body can’t lie about how much you want me, princess.” He pulled his hand away from your core, and took his own fingers, now coated with your essence, into his mouth, licking them clean. “Now be a good girl and take this dress off for me.” he said, pulling away from you.

Not wanting to torture yourself any longer, you obeyed him, getting rid of your dress as quickly as possible. As he finally fully saw you in the pretty underwear, he eyed you from head to toe, as if he was looking at his prey, swallowing loudly. “Y/n, you’re so fucking gorgeous.”

You pushed him back and led him to the couch, making him sit down. You quickly straddled his lap, making sure your boobs were right in his face as you grabbed the hair at the back of his head and brought your mouth to his ear, licking a stripe up from the side of his neck, reaching his earlobe. He shivered under you, and you started unbuttoning his shirt, while both his hands stroked over your boobs, touching your nipples and lightly pinching and twisting them over the thin material of the bra. The sensation was spreading into your entire body, making you moan right into his ear. You nibbled onto his earlobe, and he sighed loudly, grabbing your ass and pulling you on top of his dick, grinding into you. Your fingers ran over his now exposed chest and down to his belt, trying to get it undone. He grabbed your hands and undid it himself, and you stood up so he could get rid of his pants.

Instead of sitting back on his lap, you dropped to your knees in between his legs and pulled his underwear down. His cock looked so red and hard, it seemed almost painful, and made your mouth water. You wanted to torture him some more though, so you stuck your tongue out and slowly ran it up from the base to his swollen tip, all while looking directly into his eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was biting his lower lip so hard, as if to keep him from making any sound. You were going to change that. You swirled your tongue around the tip, collecting the drops of precum, before taking him whole into your mouth. As you started bobbing your head, you made sure to take a little more of him each time, pushing your own limit gradually, looking up at him from time to time. “Fuck, you look so pretty like this. You’re taking me so well.” he said, trying to keep himself from forming any other sounds, and you wondered why wasn’t he letting go already. You wanted to make him a moaning mess. One of your free hands started playing with his balls, as you ran your nails across his thigh with the other one. Going a little deeper, his cock hit the back of your throat, and you paused for a second, swallowing around him, which earned a long, breathy moan from him. There, that was your reward. You continued taking him as deep as you could, looking up at him with wide eyes. This was his breaking point, as he couldn’t control his sounds anymore, his mouth was agape, letting out small grunts and whimpers now and then, and you felt his hips struggling to keep still. As the ache in your pussy was getting unbearable because of your actions, your own hand came to play with your clit to get some sort of release, moaning around his cock.

He didn’t miss this, as suddenly, his hand flew to your hair and he held you still. “Don’t you dare touch yourself. Get up” he said in a demanding voice. He followed you up himself, and completely slid his shirt and underwear off of him, then laid down on the carpet. “I want you to sit on my face. Let me have my dessert and enjoy you like you deserve.”

You didn’t need to be told twice. After discarding your panties, you placed your knees on either side of his head and carefully lowered your cunt closer to him, but he grabbed your ass and aggressively pulled you onto his mouth, making you gasp and grip the couch beside you for support. The feeling of his wet and warm tongue against you was making your thighs weak. He started by licking a long stripe across your folds, then alternated between sucking at your clit, drawing patterns with his tongue across your sensitive spot at different paces and intensities. Your sounds and whimpers were a mess, and you could feel your orgasm building with each second. He was eating you out like a starved man, face buried completely under your pussy, and the view was only contributing to your arousal. One of his hands snaked up to your nipple and started playing with it, adding to the sensation. When he suddenly applied more pressure to a certain angle, you thought you were gonna lose your mind. “Fuck, h/n, right there, please, don’t stop” was what you wanted to say, but you weren’t sure your words came out coherently. Either way, he got the message, and a few seconds later, you were coming undone on his tongue, letting out a few high-pitched moans as he helped you ride out your high.

After regaining composure, you stood up to let him breathe. His lips and chin were glistening from your juices, and he wiped them off with the back of his hand. “That was delicious. You’re a fucking goddess, did you know that?” he said as he stood himself up, grabbed your face and kissed you with force.

“Just fuck me already.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” he said as he pushed you against your table, having you lie down on it. He quickly grabbed a condom from his jeans and rolled it on his still painfully hard cock. Grabbing your legs and holding them on each side of him, he rubbed the tip of his member over your clit a few times before fully pushing it into your tight hole, swearing in the process. He wasted no time before moving, slowly at first to let you adjust, then suddenly slammed his hips into you with force, earning a loud moan from you. “Fuck, do that again, please” you said, already feeling your second orgasm starting to build up. He thrusted into you harder and deeper, filling the room with your sounds everytime his skin met yours. The way he filled you up was absolutely delicious, clouding your vision and making you lose yourself in your pleasure as he was hitting all the right spots inside you.

“Ever since your brought me into that store, all I could think of was fucking you in your pretty lingerie, imagining how your boobs would bounce up and down while I pound into you like this.” you took his hand and brought it to your lips, silently asking him to let you suck onto his fingers. “You don’t know how much of a torture that wa- fuck” you took his long and pretty fingers into your mouth and swirled your tongue around them, mimicking the way you sucked him off earlier and watching him lose his ability to speak as his mouth hung open. “H/n, harder, don’t stop, I’m going to come.” you said in a desperate attempt to get him to shut up and concentrate. Motivated by your words, he increased his pace, and after a few more hard and sloppy thrusts, you reached your second orgasm, soon followed by his own. His whole body twitched as he came down from his high, both of you panting, and exhausted.

Pulling out of you, he quickly discarded the condom and took you into his arms to place both you and him comfortably on the couch.

“That was fucking hot” he said, still holding you in his arms while you were catching your breaths.

“Yeah. I think I might hate you a little less after this.” you said and you both laughed.

After coming back to your senses, you got up and went straight to the kitchen. A few seconds later, you came back holding the box he bought you from the french bakery, handing him an eclair.

“I knew why I saved those chocolate eclairs for later. They taste better after you’ve been craving them all day, don’t you think?”

He just smiled in response. “You might be right. By the way, I won. It seems like you’ll be drinking ice americanos again, after all.”

#optional bias smut #optional bias x reader #optional bias scenarios #optional bias #oneus smut #ateez smut #bts smut #skz smut #kpop scenarios #kpop smut #keonhee smut #kpop fanfic #the boyz smut

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chickenmcfly1 · 3 years ago

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Doc and Marty’s relationship

I see so much discussion in bttf content about whether Marty and Doc’s relationship is mentor/mentee, father/son, equals and best friends, etc and literally everyone has a different take on it. Even within the cast, Christopher Lloyd has that one quote “Doc and Marty knew how to take care of each other” which implies he views them as best friends and complete equals. Meanwhile, Michael J Fox said at a comic-con that “[Marty] feels accepted with the Doc” which is something Marty doesn’t get elsewhere as they’re both ‘black sheep in their respective environments’ (don’t remember who said that) which is why he likes him so much and he has also said (not in the same words) ‘Doc reminds Marty that anything is possible and that can be difficult to believe when you’re 17/18 years old.’ So that implies that he views them as a mentor/mentee kind of thing but also a familial relationship or a very deep friendship. A lot of stuff from Bob Gale also seem to imply that their friendship was initially founded from both of them finding acceptance and family within each other.

Regardless, I think that Doc and Marty’s relationship is none of the above, but also none of the above. I think that what makes their relationship so special that it is the stand out part of a movie that also has a time traveling car, a train hijacking, incest, a whole western, and Donald Trump, is that Doc is essentially whatever Marty needs him to be in that moment. @knickynoo has many cool analyses about this relationship and I love hearing their take on it too.

Both Doc and Marty have very little stable support system outside of each other, and I think both of them are very aware of that fact, Doc especially. There are scenes where Doc is very fatherly toward Marty because he can sense that Marty needs that kind of guidance. When he chastises Marty for losing his head every time someone calls him a name in part three, his exasperated ‘martyyyy’ when he finds Marty in the old west, when he gets Marty back on track when he’s in the future, talking about being a rock star, in these moments, Doc senses that he needs parental-type guidance to get him back on track and shifts to provide that to Marty. He’s also very fatherly at the end of part one. When dropping Marty off, he’s acutely aware that Marty in this moment is just an exhausted, shaken up, and kinda giddy and high on adrenaline kid, who just went through something insane, watched his best friend die, and needs comfort. I always find it so heartwarming that at that extra long handshake they share in the DeLorean, Doc (though I’m sure he’s eager to get to the future) doesn’t break contact and let go of Marty’s hand until Marty does. His frantic energy is very under control and the way he talks to Marty just exudes vibes of “everything is okay now, and I promise I’ll take care.”

There are also moments when you can see that they are just best friends who love sharing each other’s company. Doc, when he reunites with Marty after building the time train and when he first unveils the DeLorean, is so excited to share his accomplishments with Marty, and the existence of the giant amplifies shows that they both just love being in each other’s company, and sharing their interests and having fun together, like friends do. Like all friends, they share each others victories and interests and when they’re together they're happy and have a good time. Marty is also so relaxed when he is with Doc, especially in comparison to his interactions with pretty much anyone else, save Jennifer. He stutters a lot less, his speech is a lot more casual and he doesn’t seem as awkward, he looks a lot happier, and he doesn’t do that stressed “aaauugggh” thing as much. He’s a lot more physically comfortable, too. He’s a lot more comfortable being less covered up and he doesn’t do that stressed arm rubbing thing that he does whenever he’s talking to anyone else (save the one time he does it when talking to Doc as soon as they land in 55 in part two, but Doc was telling Marty how the entire space time continuum was on resting on his shoulders, so that’s different). He also doesn’t fidget and makes direct eye contact, which is something Marty doesn’t do in other situation. This implies that Marty is extremely comfortable with Doc and sees him as an equal. He allows himself to let his guard down, and just be. Marty is also very comfortable calling out Doc when he’s wrong. He reminds him to think clearly when he doesn’t want to return to the future in Part III and throughout that movie, is just as much of a guiding force for Doc and Doc is for Marty, showing that they do see each other as equals.

Finally, there are moments that Doc is very much a mentor to Marty. Most of these moments happen off screen, but there is something to be said about one of the two protagonists being so confident and secure in themselves that they completely lose the desire for validation from everyone else and completely cut themselves off from society, and the other of the two being so insecure and desperate for validation that he will do literally anything to be accepted and fit the mold of what someone who is ‘accepted’ Looks like. I think that Marty very much looks up to Doc and admires him (I mean, Marty went a got himself a calculator watch that matches Doc’s) and learns a lot, and not just about science, from him. There’s also the whole ‘put your mind to it’ phrase that is kind of Marty’s mantra through the whole first film.

So I think that Doc and Marty’s relationship is special because it doesn’t fit any of society’s standard molds for relationships. Their relationship is that Doc is just there for Marty. Doc essentially changes his role so he can be whatever Marty needs in that moment. Whether it’s a friend to have fun with, a parent to comfort him, or a mentor to teach and encourage him, Doc provides it for Marty. He is basically just a ‘safe person’ that Marty can go to with any type of situation, knowing he will be supported, guided, encouraged, and loved. And though we don’t get to see it as much because Marty is our guide and our eyes in the trilogy, Marty does the same for Doc, periodically throughout his life, whenever Doc needs it most.

And I think that the fact their relationship is not defined by any ‘normal’ roles, but just their unconditional support for each other is what makes this movie so so perfect, and so so timeless

#omg pls shut up now #there was no reason for me to ramble that long #literally none #they just make me emotional okay #marty mcfly #Doc Brown #bttf #Back to the Future #doc and marty #bttf meta

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amjustagirl · 4 years ago

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Chapters: one. ~ two. ~ three. ~ four. ~ five. ~ six. ~ seven. ~ eight.

Wordcount: 2.4k

Summary: Being with Miya Atsumu is like chasing a storm - equal parts exhilaration and danger. After all, it’s impossible to tame a storm.

AO3 Link here

Masterlist here

Their daughter enters the world squalling, tiny and pink and bloodied and somewhat wrinkled but healthy which is all that really matters), and Atsumu’s eyes widen before immediately filling with tears when the doctor places her in his arms.

‘You did amazin’, darlin’ he whispers, running his finger against their daughter’s cheek reverently. ‘She’s perfect’.

‘Make sure you count ten fingers and toes before you say that’, she manages to say before dropping her head back into the pillow, bone weary from her labour, and he laughs through his tears.

They name her Shino, which means stem of bamboo. She reasons that if their daughter is going to take the Miya family name, she should in fairness have a name that represents her side of the family – and besides, she’d always been drawn to the whimsicalness of the tale of the bamboo cutter, but thought naming her baby ‘Kaguya’ might be a little on the nose. Atsumu’s grandmother isn’t terribly pleased, but her stoic father bursts into tears when they tell him, and immediately sends over a crate full of toys carved out of the bamboo from their family’s ancestral grove.

The press has a field day when MSBY’s PR team releases news of their marriage and Shino’s birth, but thankfully the full weight of the team’s PR machine manages to twist the coverage to repackage Atsumu’s image as a wholesome family man, so the articles remain relatively positive. Still, they’re forced to sit through a number of photo shoots to keep the press happy, and she shudders at the office gossip she knows she’ll have to face when she returns back to work.

His teammates crowd to greet Shino when she brings her out for one of their matches for the first time. Atsumu presents Shino proudly to his teammates - ‘look at what I made’, he demands, dangling her in his hands so they can ooh and ahh over the little girl - ‘ I learnt it from one of those kiddie cartoons I watched at night when she wouldn’t sleep!’ he tells her later when she scolds him for the precarious hold.

She has to shoo Hinata and Bokuto away when they try to hand Shino a volleyball, the ball looking comically big against the baby girl. Sakusa stands at a respectful distance away, but hands her an adorable onesie in MSBY’s black and gold, wrapped carefully in plastic. The corner of his eyes crinkle behind his mask when he tells her it’s so Shino can support them properly at their next game.

‘Aww, Omi-omi! I always knew you liked me deep down inside’ Atsumu crows, bouncing on the balls of his feet and clapping his hands.

‘You’re insane to marry him’, Sakusa tells her, refusing to even acknowledge Atsumu’s tomfoolery.

‘Maybe I am’, she grins, warmth furling and unfurling in her chest.

Despite her initial fears, Atsumu falls head over heels for Shino, and continues to allow their baby daughter to wrap him around her tiny finger. He wakes up without complaint for night feedings, spends nights pacing their little apartment coaxing Shino to bed, and straps her on his broad chest for what his pronounces ‘daddy-daughter’ adventures during the off-season when she’s away during the day for work. On weekends, they bring Shino to the park to watch the birds and the clouds in the sky, to the aquarium to watch the fish in the sea, and to the museum to marvel at dinosaur bones from a distant past.

It’s at the museum that Shino says her first word, sitting between Atsumu’s legs in the museum sandbox, digging her chubby hands in the sand in search of fake fossils.

‘Say that again’, Atsumu laughs wetly, pressing kisses to the top of their little girl’s head.

‘Oto-san!’, Shino crows, the look on her face so reminiscent of Atsumu’s expression whenever he’s pleased with herself that she’s torn between feeling pride at her precocious little girl - and horror that she’s going to have her hands full with a mini-Atsumu.

‘You’re daddy’s little girl, aren’t you, princess?’ Atsumu says proudly, and Shino claps her hands as he cuddles her close to his chest. He later tries his level best to empty out the museum gift store of toys to commemorate the day and she has to slap his hands from tossing in ‘just one more toy’ into their checkout basket.

‘Are you happy, ‘Tsumu?’ she asks him later, after they put Shino to bed.

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ he asks with a puzzled frown. ‘I have everything I need.’

‘Just checking’, she replies, her doubts forgotten when he tugs her into bed.

For Shino’s first birthday, both their families squeeze into their apartment to celebrate by strapping a giant piece of mochi that Osamu made to her back, a tradition to rid young children of any impurities. Atsumu nearly trips over himself trying to capture a photo of the auspicious moment Shino falls over on her butt, and showers kisses on her proudly when she does not cry.

They also carry out the erabitori ceremony, setting in front of Shino several objects symbolising the various paths she might choose in the future. Aside from the common items like an abacus, writing brush or books, her brothers insist on including a knife (sheathed, of course), earning raised eyebrows of Atsumus’s family. Osamu tosses in a kitchen spoon and Atsumu naturally places a volleyball right in the center of the spread.

‘Cheatin’ pig’, Osamu mutters when Shino ends up picking the volleyball (attracted by its bright colours, he maintains), but Atsumu ignores him, tossing the little girl in the air in delight.

‘Darlin’, come take a look at this! Kageyama-kun’s playing his first game in Rome, and it looks like - I can’t believe this, why does his technique look better than before?! What - is the water he’s drinkin’ overseas magic or something? How’s he getting so good?’

‘Tsumu, could you keep it down? I just got Shino to bed, and I really need to finish the work I didn’t have time to do ‘cos I took over her pick-up today’. She replies wearily, typing furiously at her laptop.

‘Sorry. I’ll pop over to chat with ‘Samu then, be back late!’

She nods distractedly as she hears the door click behind her back.

‘I can’t believe I screwed up so badly at practice today’ Atsumu grouses, chin propped up on the wooden countertop of Onigiri Miya in between mouthfuls of food. ‘I kept missing my serves, and then that asshole Omi-omi dared to laugh when I ran around trying to get my head back into the game –‘

‘Tsumu’. Osamu cuts in, setting another onigiri in front of him. ‘As much as I want to listen to you complain about your no-good, very-bad day, could’ya help your poor wife out a little bit?’

‘Thanks ‘Samu’, she musters the energy to give him a distracted smile, juggling a bowl of rice porridge she’s trying to persuade Shino to eat and preventing said little girl from smearing rice grains all over the place.

Atsumu plops Shino onto his lap, and continues talking over her head. She takes the opportunity to stuff her face with food – glorious food, and doesn’t notice when he maintains a sullen silence as they walk home.

A hush ripples across the stands like a tsunami when Atsumu gets substituted midway during the last set of the match. She isn’t surprised, not when he started playing badly during the set – there was a little kid that screeched just as he was about to serve, and he’d hit the ball way out of bounds. That had been the start of his downward spiral during the game – his dump shots got picked up, his blocks weren’t quite on point, and worst of all – he’d somehow managed to misjudge the timing of a toss to Hinata-kun, the ginger haired spiker looking confused when the ball missed his hand.

He’d stormed off the court the minute the referee’s whistle sounded, frustration and anger written all over his face and she’d made a beeline for the locker room, tucking a sleeping Shino into her carrier. She can hear him yelling (at himself, most likely) and the distinct sound of flesh hitting metal, and is about to burst in to comfort him when Sakusa steps neatly in front of her to block her way.

‘Sakusa-kun’, she greets him, eyes darting towards the door.

‘Miya-san’, he nods at her, face already hidden behind his usual mask. ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to disturb him just yet.’

She opens her mouth to object, but Meian Shugo, the team’s broad shouldered, good natured captain, plants a hand on her shoulder to gently steer her away. ‘It’s not a pleasant sight when he’s in a funk’, he tells her quietly. ‘Let us deal with it, we’re used to him. Do you need me to call you a cab?’

‘He’s my husband – I should be the one to deal with him’ , she wants to say – but doesn’t, because Shino jolts awake and starts to wail. ‘It’s fine’, she does say, hushing her little girl. ‘I’ll hitch a ride home with ‘Samu instead’.

She meant to stay up to wait for Atsumu, give him his usual kiss and listen to him talk about his day, but she’s out like a light when her head hits the pillow (it’s been a long day, in her defense) , and she has to leave in the morning for work before he wakes.

‘Everyone has their off days, but you’re an incredible setter, you know?’ she does tell him that night over dinner. Shino squeals and smashes her hand into the bowl of food.

‘Of course I am’, he frowns at her, almost as if he thinks it’s odd for her to even feel the need to say that, and turns away to ruffle Shino’s hair.

She waits by herself in the lobby of her office building for five minutes before she gives in to her impatience and calls him.

‘Tsumu? Weren’t we supposed to meet for lunch today?’

‘Oh shit – I’m sorry, doll, I promised Hinata-kun that I’ll come in for extra practice today. I’ll make it up to you some other day, ok?’

She sighs through her nose. ‘Ok – have fun dear’, she replies reluctantly, and he ends the call before she can say any more.

She can feel the gaze of her colleagues on her back, and plasters a smile on her face before marching off to her favourite dessert place, comforting herself with a box of mochi. She buys an extra box for Osamu (they had a specialty flavour just for the season, and she knows he’s been dying to try that) , and drops it off on the way back home.

Atsumu complains about only getting one piece of mochi when Osamu sends him a picture of her gift – she can imagine him gloating even though the picture is unaccompanied by any text.

‘You don’t even like chestnut!’ she scolds Atsumu, and he sulks.

‘Tsumu! Could you come help zip me into my dress?’ she calls, checking her watch impatiently. The babysitter should arrive in five minutes to take care of Shino for the night while they’re away at the team’s annual gala party.

‘Yknow’, we’d get there a lot faster if you hadn’t sold your old scooter’, he tells her, as he steps into the room, immaculately dressed in his best suit.

‘I told you – it’s not practical to keep a scooter around when we have a young child’, she answers, already weary of a conversation they’ve had multiple times before.

‘I’m just sayin’, he says lightly. ‘Oof – sorry, darlin’, the zip ain’t budgin’.

‘But it fit perfectly fine the last time I wore it’, she frowns.

‘You must’ve put on some weight’, he says absently, the heat of his hand burning on her hip even after he walks away.

‘Tsumu, seriously? I told you yesterday morning that we’re out of milk powder and diapers!’ she growls into her phone, cramming her way onto the subway. ‘Fine – whatever, you go for training, I’ll deal with it myself’, she ends the call, dropping her phone like a hot stone into her pocket.

She runs to the supermarket during her lunch break, cursing herself for wearing heels instead of more comfortable flats, picking up two packs of diapers, a double can of milk powder, and a pack of wipes on discount - all things Atsumu should have picked up last night, but he claimed he was too busy with training and club events to pay attention to a simple errand like this –

She’s so lost in her thoughts she doesn’t notice when her foot misses the curb and lands on her knees in the dust, the contents of her bags spilling onto the road. There are scores of people on the street but no one stops to offer their assistance, so she ignores the searing pain to pick her precious supplies up before they’re lost in the crowd.

The blood from the cuts on her knees drips down her calves, and she limps her way back to the office.

‘Trouble in paradise?’ Yuna-san asks with a curious smirk on her face when she heads back to her seat, eyes red, knees wrapped with white bandages.

‘No, nothing like that’, she answers the office gossip, keeping her voice deliberately light.

Atsumu only grunts when she asks him that night how his day went, kneeling down to greet Shino with a hug.

‘Won’t be stayin’ for dinner, got a team event at night’, Atsumu calls out to her, one foot out of the door.

‘What? You should’ve told me earlier, I’m already halfway through preparing dinner’, she shouts back, hacking at the vegetables on the chopping board with a vengeance.

His only reply is a slam of the door, which startles Shino enough to cry. In her hurry to get to her daughter, her hand on the knife slips, and she cuts open her hand.

The space beside her remains empty throughout the night, and she falls asleep pretending the only pain she feels is from the bleeding gash on her hand. She’s so exhausted she does not wake until her alarm rings, not even when the surge of rain overnight batters her windows and water floods the streets.

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soulbornincoldandrain · 4 years ago

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matcha blossom past headcanons because if the anime isn't gonna give us backstory then im gonna headcanon myself some fucking CherryJoe backstory

joe mullet era, joe mullet era is so perfect its practically canon okay. kojiro is definitely that cocky high school kid who had the unruly mullet, the letterman jacket from swim team (have u seen those shoulders he was definitely a swimmer kid) and the attitude to go with it

he's the kind of golden retriever popular kid who nobody ever picks a fight with because he's just likable, the kind of boy who your elder brother would tell you to stay away from but can't give you any explicit reason why because they're probably friends with each other too y'know?

and like. he probably gets all the girls in that incredibly bisexual way, flirts with them and their boyfriends and their boyfriends's sisters and probably can't distinguish between flirtatious comments and general friendly behaviour tbh

and then we have cherry, the stereotype silent artsy kid who's,,, not quite an art kid per se? the kind of intolerable genius who was told to choose between computer sciences and fine arts in high school because he was at the liberty to make the choice because he's just that good y'know

( tbh calligraphy wasn't even something he took up seriously until his later years in college and he near instantaneously took an affinity to it, excelling in a way that nobody could've predicted and yet everyone saw coming; because he's just that good )

now the thing is, kaoru and kojiro knew each other since high school because they frequented the same skate park, got close with each other in high school because of skating which meant that neither of them knew how to close that gap outside of the park because they were just too different. skating was something that had become precious to both of them, in a way that they didn't want anyone else to find out, so how would they ever explain to anyone that the golden kid of peak popularity somehow managed to become best friends with the genius recluse with refined tastes?

hell, they couldn't explain it themselves- what they had going, how they kept it going, why cherry always sought out that same mop of green hair to challenge to a new race everytime he entered the park because he loved the exhilaration of victory but he loved it even more when he got to clasp joe's sweaty hand at the end of the race and come eye-to-eye with that glint of undeterred spirit in his warm brown gaze, a match well won- and they weren't too keen on confronting it themselves

so when they met that blue-haired heir of some extremely rich business corporation with a taste for adrenaline who insisted they call him ADAM, when he offered them a way to keep skating under their personas but as regulars- of course they took it.

maybe even because back then ADAM was a friend, an over-excited seventeen year old with a knack for picking up tricks that nobody else could mimick save for kaoru and kojiro, who loved skating more than anything in this world, with his knees and elbows all roughed up every evening as he did flips and jumps over everyone's heads, for whom living meant four wheels and a banged up board and running as far away as possible from his life until he could no longer hear the calling of his responsibilities--

S came into existence with the combined efforts of kaoru's sleek and calculated skill, kojiro's showy and extravagant tricks and ADAM's wild and unmatched passion for skating- and thus the legends were born.

and maybe something clicked along the way too, as kaoru became Cherry Blossom and kojiro became Joe and suddenly it was as natural to see Cherry and Joe together as it was to see the moon and stars, because they were the constants of S, the bickering arguing pair who never quite got to figuring out what they were so their relationship was just one long game of chicken to see who breaks first

( even though they'd already snapped, multiple times; a conversation straying a bit too close to vulnerable but it was okay because it was just cherry and joe, a sloppy kiss against the half-pipe on an unfortunate drunken midnight that was never addressed because it's just cherry and joe, a hand on joe's back after a particularly nasty fall and a few broken bones and cherry's name on the restaurant's list of regulars even though he seldom shows up during working hours because it's just cherry and joe--)

and ADAM would break their hearts, something would definitely go down between the three and some betrayal, some backstabbing, some grave and dangerous mistake that left cherry and joe in the dust with nobody for each other but themselves as ADAM went forward in search of his EVE, his best friends and closest counterparts discarded in search for an equal because he could never be satiated (and one of the first people he put in the hospital was in fact cherry, and joe never forgave him for it) and thus came the end of the legendary trio

somehow, even when everything went to shit, when S became more than just a casual racetrack for the local skating scene to have a bit of fun and instead evolved into a sort of death ground for ADAM's victims as he grew more and more unhinged, some wild glint of satisfaction in his eyes that terrified even his closest friends, even as the founders of S no longer wished to claim ownership of what they'd helped create and the one tie that was supposed to have kept them together fell apart, cherry and joe would remain together because it's just how they are.

cherry and joe would continue to skate together, would grudgingly adopt that eccentric trio of children with way too much ambition on their hands and enough love for skating to endear to cherry and joe and shadow, would gladly help in their (admittedly insane) plans to take down ADAM and they would do it together, just like they always have, just like they always will.

because that's how it always will be, cherry and joe and joe and cherry, for life

#kojiro nanjo #sk8 joe #sk8 the infinity #matcha blossom #sk8 cherry blossom #sakurayashiki kaoru #sk8 the infinity broke my heart #fuck ADAM #matcha blossom BRAINROT

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iiasha-archived · 4 years ago

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Here’s another ask game for ya! Assign your moots as seventeen comeback aesthetics (can include solos, OSTs, collabs, Japanese comebacks, etc) and say why you associate them with that aesthetic! Some can overlap too!

ooo okay.. i’m really bad at these kinds of things but i’ll try my best ❤️ i would have loved to do all my mutuals but my brain isn’t strong enough for everyone so i’m so sorry ahead of time if i didn’t get you!! 😭

edit: also i just realized this said COMEBACK aesthetics but i just did svt. well. anything lmao

@s0ftbb as clap: c just gives me such wonderfully colorful and bright vibes (esp with the use of the colored text lmao it always adds such a nice extra flair to all ur posts <3) and also all her creations and videos give me such HAPPY and LET’S HAVE A GOOD TIME vibes u know what i mean 🥺 and also just that splash of insanity that we all love <3 in particular i’m thinking of that montage scene near the end where there’s like confetti flying everywhere and it’s in slow-mo and stuff lmao

@rosevlolets as fallin flower: alexis gives me super soft and refined and of course flowery vibes! i think it also helps that all her tags for the svt members are literally flowers so it always feels like a cherry blossom breeze every time i see her on the dash or in my notifs <3 (oh gosh i hope that wasn’t TOO cheesy lmao) hehe but yeah i always think flowers when it comes to alexis which is perfect for fallin’ flower

@scoupsy as fear + fearless being the sister song: not because dreamy is intimidating or anything LMAO but i think this association immediately came to mind because of her astounding and beautiful graphics, i feel like they match the fear aesthetic super well. there’s like kind of a dark and elegant atmosphere i always associate with her gfx and in turn her but in like that really beautiful way <3 but ALSO fearless comes in bc i find dreamy’s personality super, well, fearless LMAO and just badass. i really love how she doesn’t hesitate to speak up for herself ❤️

@jonghan as (never-ending) aju nice: GO CRAZY GO STUPID GO WILD LOSE YOU’RE FUCKING SHIT AS WE GO WILD EVEN MORE!! i think yza perfectly encapsulates the never-ending aju nice stage as well as all the crazy antics that come along with it especially as of late LMAO. and again i tend to associate people’s content with their i guess. being? lmao but aju nice is equally as colorful and vibrant as her gifs PLUS she’s so prolific (e.g. never-ending but in the best way) like god damn idk how you keep up with it all afjksldjf

@soonhoonsol as healing: idk man chey just gives me very... lmao HEALING vibes :D seeing you on the dash and in my notifs fills me with this very feel-good “ahhh it’s chey!!!” and upbeat feeling hehe <3 and you almost always have such nice tags as well that i read them sometimes and i’m like 🥺🥺🥺 my soul = cleansed. but there’s also this sense of like... i hope this is for the long run you know? LMAO by that what i mean is the whole thing of healing is like DON’T stop this healing right basically i hope you continue to bless the dash for a long time whether it be with your creations or simply good vibes <3

@gotseventeens as change up: i don’t really have a reason for this other than vibes? LMAO i’m using vibes all over the place but yeah like for some reason the vibe i get from belle reminds me of the bold colors and suave/cool nature of the change up mv hehe ❤️ i think it’s because belle’s vibes also strike me with this air of confidence that is still kind of chill/lowkey about it lmaooo like YEAH you totally got this ;D

@tzhao12 as 2019 TTT (camping ver.) but specifically when they’re talking about their feelings at the end: because what speaks better about everlasting friendships than the friend i’ve been blessed with for what. is it 12 years now. she’s probably not even gonna see this for like 3 months bc unlike me she escaped tumblr. anyways tiff i’d die for you can’t wait for y’all to jumpscare me this thursday <3 i’m gonna cry i’m serious <3

@vernons as any vocal unit song: oona gives me very soft and gentle vibes which is a lot of what i get from most of vocal unit’s songs! if i had to pick exactly one maybe we gonna make it shine but that’s probably just influenced by me having listened to it recently hehe <3 also a lot of the nature aesthetics and makeup looks i see you post on your main blog feel like they fit in as the visual side of the aesthetic the vocal unit songs give me if that makes any sense??? LMAO

@heartgyus as snap shoot, + the creative process behind it: so in my heart rhys is like a leading mingyu stan here so naturally i had to pick something with mingyu’s entire heart and spirit behind it LMAO but in general rhys vibe and aesthetic gives me SUPER happy/fluffy upbeat like “whoo hoo!” vibes??? afdjklajf a little silly a lot of cute and a lot of fun :D

@haniehae as pinwheel: for some reason when i think of anna i get this sense of a breath of fresh air??? idek why this is another one i can’t really explain hahaha but yeah pinwheel is what immediately came to mind! i think also because when i see a lot of your moodboards pinwheel kind of naturally comes as like the backtrack for a lot of them??? i think it’s something about the instrumentals of the song. anna just overall also gives me very relaxing vibes whenever i see her on the dash hehe <3

@xuseokgyu as when they were filming the 2019 gose intro: okay this is really specific but for some reason that’s what came to mind afjkadslj MY REASONING is that belle just gives me the vibes of being like. super enthusiastic and supportive about EVERYTHING whether it be her own work or the work others are doing!!! also lowkey i get parental vibes from her LMAO so it somehow reminds me of when they were in the house and seungkwan was like “OKAY KIDS... GATHER AROUND...” lmao but in general the whole energy of that entire thing where they were like “okay here’s this thing we’re gonna DO IT” but in a enthusiastic/happy way is why i picked this jfaksldf

@17hateblog as seventeen’s humor: kay and i don’t really talk but she consistently has the funniest fucking tags ever known to mankind. it might not specifically be the same as the humor seventeen show us in, say, gose, but the way they both make me die laughing is the same <3 it doesn’t even matter what the post is everything she puts on her blog is an adventure and i am fucking here for it. AND she’s a jun stan so what’s not to love <3

@vixenjun as light a flame: because kaya and her blog literally embody sexiness + junhui in that choreo....... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything. i also really feel like her aes kind of fits that dark mysterious too-good-for-you beauty vibe that i also get from light a flame lmao (but underneath that kaya is obviously a sweetheart <3)

@happysmilebtr as hitorijanai: anna is just like. genuinely one of the most supportive and happy vibing people i’ve met on here? lmao and i feel bad bc i basically have now left you on read KJFDLAJDS but all our dms have been so much fun like i love just talking about anything <333 but yeah the way you’re so open and loving and supportive 100% gives me hitorijanai vibes and the message behind it :D

#asks #ask game #kaleidoscope-of-lillies #i know i didn't get everyone and that's why i struggle so much on these kinds of things bc i feel bad hhhhh

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letsperaltiago · 4 years ago

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ok time to break my silence caused by the fact that i spent all day making this lol too many feels

so.. palm springs thoughts !! and there are manyyyy so buckle up and feeel free to hit me up with either matching or contradicting thoughts or whateveer!! i would LOVE to nerd out about this movie with someone:’)

here comes thoughts and pictures!!

we basically start off with a mr. samberg sex-scene okAYYYYY the mood is set. we love the view

nyles aka. mr. samberg is the most gorgeous man alive and it was a true pleasure to admire him for 90 minutes straight

CURLS!!????! THEY ARE UNREAL. i shall dedicate an entire post to them

Cristin Milioti is perfect for her role. her acting? *chef’s kiss* I love that she’s not the stereotypical female rom-com lead.

Her chemistry with Andy? Gosh.. Can’t believe Nyles x Sarah is my new main movie-ship!! They play off of each other SO. WELL. Their characters are equally stone cold and bitter, but then again not really, and they both portray it so well!!

“You don’t ned a leg up.” *moans* “Hold my leg up!” i SCREAMED

“Don’t you kiss me.” “Don’t you tell me what to do.” hoW DARE THEY!

Ok ur basically on love already stop it

The fact that they were just gonna fuck on a blanket on top OF ROCKS?!

but then again in this movie’s already insane universe it’s prob pretty normal:)

The overall dark, existential humor?? This is what I live and breathe for on a daily basis. Basiaclly both main characters are a BIG MOOD

Nyles not giving a shit vs. Sarah severely freaking out in the beginning is an iconic dynamic

“I am the antichrist” and then the rock falling? For a hot sec I literally thought the movie was gonna take a turn with Nyles being some magical/scientific creature that’d created the timeloop or something idkkk ahhha

Nyles in the suit... ridiculous(ly hot)

The torture methods Roy uses on Nyles and the fact that he’s not mentally scarred?? How??

On that note I love that Nyles and Sarah keep their memories even if the day starts over. Would’ve been a completely different concept if they had to “meet each other for the first time” every day and it wouldn’t’ve allowed their relationship arc to evolve as it did

Darla is the fucking shit

Nyles in the baseball cap, amirite?

THE BARTENDER TALKING ABOUT HITTING A GUY WITH THE CAR SHE’S CURRENTLY GIVING NYLES A HANDJOB IN IS COMEDIC GOLD

“You fucked Jerry Schlieffen?” “Well he fucked me.” Yes SIR. Andy Samberg’s characters are all bottoms and we’re here for it

Sarah’s tongue click and “nice try” when Nyles asks her about her sex life??

IDK WHY BUT SO GOD

Randy is hella annoying. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

THIS ENTIRE SCENE:

the fact that they both start waking up smiling because now at least they have each other 🥺😭🤯

uhm i love a good ship that’s like... best friends to lovers and the montage of them basically becoming besties killed me

this outfit Y E S:

sarah falling off the car and nyles laughing it off is relationship goals

the crashing plane I LOL’ED

okay so... big moment... the DANCING AND MATCHING OUTFITS? THEY ARE MY DREAM TEAM. Also how excited they are running away from the bar 🥺

IM POSITIVE THIS IS THE MOMENT NYLES KNOWS! LIKE HE DOESN’T ADMIT IT TO HIMSELF COMPLETELY BUT HE KNOWS

the bomb in the cake and french pirate-skit? so fucking random but i lovee it because it’s so them

*DRUM ROLL* PERHAPS MY FAVORITE MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE:

STORYLINE WISE AND VISUALLY A++++

the deep talks by the fire were SO well written. they were actually deep and genuine, allowing the characters to grow and opening up to us as viewers but also remained fun and witty

sarah trying to get nyles to admit he cares for her and him joking it off??? the flirtinggg

really wish we’d gotten to know more about what nyles meant with “it drifts away: just like they all do.” because it really seemed to trigger something within him. Like WHO “They”???

the dinosaurs lmao no comment but at least they got a cute cuddly moment

from the very first millisecond inside the tent you can CLEARLY tell Sarah is just dying to do something about them!!!

the disbelief on nyles’ face when sarah says “lets just get it over with” because she’d clearly stated he didn’t want to and even though he obviously did he’s respected it and not done anything further about it oh babey

we love some good making out:’)))

NYLES HALTING TO TAKE IN THE MOMENT EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO SCREAM INTO THE VOID

i will die for a post-sexy timez cuddle and how sarah is trying to staying awake to be besides him is just *explosion*

this has to be *the moment* she realises

and they’re both sooooo fucking happy when they wake up after damn love me like that pls

THE GROOM BOOO FUCK OFF CAN’T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO REMEMBER HIS NAME CHEATING SCUM

THIS FACE:

Baby is trying so hard and is so cute and nervous about it. SARAH LISTEN TO HIM HE LOVES YOU.

HE FELT GOOD WAKING UP BECAUSE OF YOUUUU, GIRL. DO NOT CALL IT “FUN”, SARAH

“Going to bed maybe just got a little better” 😭😭😭😭

The entire cop scene is just pure insanity, very Lonely Island and I’m here for it even though I just want Sarah to rEALLY LISTEN TO WHAT NYLES IS TRYING TO SAY

“Pain is real” oh babey that means SO MANY THINGS 🥺💔

“I followed you into that cave because I liked you!” like jake would say: don’t love how we got here but we’re going where i want

“pretentious sad boy” me

not shocked that they’ve hooked up before because c h e m i s t r y but don’t like how it got out :)))

why is nyles’ one sleeve shirt rolled up? im triggered

drinking pure vodka? oh babey its gonna be okay

WE LOVE A SMART BOI WHO RECOGNIZES HIS GIRL’S PERFUME

Sarah’s parents singing:)) i would cry too, nyles

"I love her.” “I see... That’s interesting” lmao savage

I actually really love Roy’s character. It turns out to be very humble actually and he has some insightful and lowkey poetic that lines i love. Besides that he’s hilarious.

SO the whole time i was wondering how they’d get out of the whole “same day forever”-thing, if they were to. and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they had such a logical way out of it: science. Not anything cheesy like “a true love’s kiss” or “you learned your lesson”. Pure logic and Sarah’s hard work to get there. Huge fan of this.

I will never get over how good Nyles looks waking up and Sarah is xtra pretty in that scene:’)

Nyles just wants to stay in a loop forever because it means for sure that he gets to stay with Sarah forever and I’m lowkey into it but also like lowkey LISTEN TO HER AND GO WITH HER PLAN, NYLES

“I wanna stay with you” *sniffles*

“I love you. How about that?” PRETTY FUCKING GOOD

I love Nyles’ character development. He started off so nonchalant and cold, closed off and by this point he’s the softest, smiliest in love fool I’ve ever seen and Andy does it so good. SAMBERG HEART EYES!!

“Nothing is real in here” YES SARAH UR LOVE IS

I’m taking Sarah’s asking Nyles to believe in her and leave with her as her first “I love you” because it’s very clear that she wants to leave with him rather than without.

just- this entire scene i ugh <3 <3 <3 <3

BREAKING. UP. WITH. MISTY ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

glass of wine filled to the brim? sarah’s my type of gal

the speech was really beautiful and sweet without being too cheesy and kudos to cristin for really delivering it like a pro! especially her “abe, don’t fuck this up” like yes girl kill him, chop him to pieces with your eyes!!! also camila is such really pretty bride

nyles looks like a cockatoo here :

nyles taking the shot and smashing the glass into the ground got me 🤭😵😏🥵

“I’m your son” I SCREAM

GIVE THE MAN A WHITE HORSE DAMNIT

Gotta admit Sarah looks like a bomb (lol nu pun intended) ass super hero in her bridesmaid dress and C4-gettup

The sentence ending up being total grammatical gibberish but Nyles trying so. damn. hard is the sweetest thing ever and should and will go down in rom-com history. It’s super romantic but also well-balanced by humor and I just.. so good. This is the kind of characters and relationships I love and wanna write myself

“you’re my favorite person that i’ve ever met” 🥺🥺🥺

“i’d rather die with you than live in this world without you” WHY AM I SO SINGLE SOMEONE LOVEE ME LIKE THIS

okay so idk but “what if we get sick of each other?” “we’re already sick of each other. it’s the best.” is so so so soft, the way nyles says it like it doesn’t matter and is honestly another key moment for me: they’ve experienced basically everything imaginable during their time in the box/loop. they’ve liked, disliked, loved, hated each other and still: he loves her. the fact that nyles knows no matter what happens it won’t stop that because it’s them?? ouch my heart.

this chaotic mess of a pairing?MESSY BOMB BRIDESMAID AND CURLY-HAIR HAWAII SHIRT-BOI!! MY OTp

Them dissing Nyles’ mom on their way into potential death? that’s love, baby

the fUCKING KISSSSSSS MANNNNNNNNNN!!!! SO ICONIC AND THE EXPLOSION IN THE BACKGROUND AND JUST WE DESERVE THIS THEY DESERVE THIS EVERYONE DESERVES THISSSS!!!

NEVER OVEER THIS EVER FOREVER NEVER

Ok so I was SURE that when it faded to black that it was done and I grew super ficking frustrated because it would leave us with this “the ending is up to whatever you chose”-kinda thing kinda a la Celeste and Jesse where it just feels unresolved and I WASN’T OKAY WITH THAT. So I’m so happy we got to know that it worked and the bebes will live happuilly ever after with Nyles’ shaggy dog:’)

Their hands on each other’s knee >>>>>

all in all 100000/10

#palm springs #palm springs spoilers #andy samberg #cristin milioti #camila mendes #sarah x nyles #emilie says things #sarah #nyles #the lonely island #nyrah

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black-streak · 5 years ago

Text

Little Pistols - The Killing Type

Chapter 5

First Previous Next

So more from Tim here. A look into how dark he's gotten, if you will. I promise, this is showing more the extremes of how far he's willing to go. Not how he is on the day to day. But, I digress. Mari will be the next chapter.

Btw, to anyone I haven't replied to on comments, I see you! I appreciate you very much, I've just lost track (and time) please know I still am very grateful to for your thoughts and support!

LP Taglist

@zalladane @moonlightstar64 @amayakans @elmokingkong @queen-in-a-flower-crown @karategirl119 @dreamykitty25 @danielslilangel @melicmusicmagic @xahriia @sassakitty @yin-390 @zotinha456 @indecisive-mess-named-me @heldtogetherbysafetypins @theatreandcomicfreak @alexandriamw @messymessyml @bubblegumpinup

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-alice-of-hearts @vixen-uchiha

~---~

The first time Tim tried his newest method of fighting crime, he felt exhilarated. Freed. Able to breathe freely and know he made an actual difference. Felt justified and right. Coming home to someone who wouldn't condemn him for it only made it better.

"How're you holding up, babybird?" Jason idly inquired as the other slid through the front door and started to kick off his shoes and shrug off a jacket.

"Fine. Better than fine, really. I think I understand now, what you meant before."

"Plan on elaborating, Timmers?" Jason quirked a brow, hands stilling on a book page, mid-turn.

"Sometimes, just scaring people isn't enough. Sometimes striking fear of repercussions or enforcing them won't stop bad people from doing bad things."

"Yeah?" He glanced up, watching Tim as he engaged the security system and picked his way over towards the armchair perpendicular to Jason where his laptop waited.

"Mm. Every now and then, some of these people need to be taken out of commision entirely. I understand that now."

"Tim, you trying to tell me you're killing now?"

He felt how Jason's look turned sceptical, but appraising.

"Yeah, total murder bunny now, wanna see my collection of decapitated heads? I got a new duffle bag to match yours" He drew out, gaze flat.

"Fuck off," Jay shook his head, mumbling to himself, "Should've known you'd never let that go," then raised his voice back again, "Okay, so if not taking them out of their rotten misery, how have you magically cured them, oh perfect one."

A vindictive little smirk lit the side of his mouth as he turned on his laptop, eyes cutting to his companion with a calculating look, "You of all people know how few of our asylum patients are actually mentally ill in a way that would justify their actions."

"Still say the insanity plea should only stand for recently mind controlled or Lazarus dipped, the poor bastards. Mental Disabilities don't equate violent people. It's such a fucking rude stigma to paint on people who actually have them. Add on that the regular patients are sharing space with actual criminals and of course no one willingly admits themselves, so the people who need the help aren't getting any. Also, if you are going to allow the plea for so many of them, then fund these damn places properly to help them, not just hold them captive until they get bored and escape," Jason went off, book forgone in preference for one of his more impassioned rants.

Tim indulged him for the moment, agreeing but having already heard twenty variations of the same speech, before cutting in towards the end, "Yes well, I figure if they're going to receive the charge anyways, I might as well help them make it more believable, right? So why not give them that little push."

That really caught the other's attention, drawing him in to properly lean over the space between them, elbows propped on knees and fingers laced in the space between as he watched Tim with a curious smile, "What'd you get up to, little bird?"

Clicking through the encrypted files he'd transferred over just tonight, he pulled up a video feed. Inside, bodies were attacking each other, another curled up in the corner, one banging its head against a wall away from the others. They weren't easily distinguishable from one another in their state. Tim felt Jason lean to the side to peak at the screen, brows rising as a whistle left his lips.

"They killed your friend, right?" He grimaced after the words but didn't apologize, for which Tim was grateful.

"Yeah. The flash rogues."

"Why are they..?"

"Psychological torture. They're afraid to leave the room, even though it's unlocked. They're afraid of each other. Of the world. What they do now is up to them. Leave the room and live on paralyzed by fear or stay there and tear themselves apart. I won't kill people. I don't have it in me. But their actions are their own. What do you think?"

Jason's eyes were kind of wide and off guard as he stared at him, "I think you might be the fucked up one here, Tim. Not to say I don't get it, but shit, that's just brutal."

"Eh, killing them seems to lack in proper punishment. It's just getting rid of the problem without making them face the consequences. No need to make a deal of it anyways, not like I put them through anything we haven't survived ourselves."

That got a bark of laughter as Jason relaxed back into the couch, reopening the book. Hm. Through the Looking Glass today. "Well in that case, if they can't handle it like we can, that's their problem," Tim grinned at his conclusion, "glad you found your own way of working. It's about damn time you decided your own morals."

Silence fell over the room, "Jay, did you forget it was your turn to make dinner?"

"... No?"

…

Okay, so it hadn't always been this way. They started off kilter and unsure and lost. Tim, an absolute mess in his grief and lack of direction, Jason freshly returned to Gotham again and wanting to help, but not knowing how with the distance between them.

He knew Jason had offered a position to him in the past, but that'd been within the violence and cruelty. With the pits still lingering and the desire to take him away from Bruce. He knew Jason saw him as an asset to his own agenda then, strictly professional. Now though, it came with personal attachments, shared space, a camaraderie that couldn't be forced. They were both replaced. Both seen as not good enough, outcasts of the family. Both broken in their own ways.

It was like chewing on shattered glass, trying to find footing around each other.

Jay brought him back to a lesser safe house, had let him stay there. Help gather intel on his cases, play his own personal Oracle at times. The first time Tim watched the Red Hood kill from the helmet's camera, he nearly threw up.

He let him teach Tim how to shoot, the ins and outs of every gun the man had on hand. Learned exactly what each was capable of. Unfortunately for Hood, he wasn't capable of wielding them against anyone. Not really.

It took months before Red Hood tried to bring him out into the nightlife, partly due to his own hesitance to chance a run in with the new Batman and Robin. But he let himself be led out anyways. A small patrol of the Bowery and down into Crime Alley then back. When all went smoothly, Tim felt himself relax into the new routine. By the third outing, he officially took up his new title. Red Robin.

However, Tim still hadn't broke out of the moral code ingrained into him for so long.

It took really stopping, really taking the time to watch Hood as he interacted with the girls on the corner or the kids that hid in the night, just as he once had, to fully understand what motivated his partner. It took the reminder of his own loss to determine his need for a stronger method.

It was sheer dumb luck that he decided this before having tracked down the flash rogues. That it was perfectly timed for him to experiment on people he wouldn't regret ruining. That upon telling Jason that he needed to disappear for a little while, the other had agreed readily, with no argument nor lecture. Like true equals.

…

It took longer to perfect his style. How much to hold back or not depending on who they were up against. If Jason chose to kill them, he didn't stand in the way unless it was uncalled for. But if Jason chose not to, Tim decided how far they went with each rogue they encountered. They had a system and it worked. They worked. When the two of them hit the darkened world before them, they painted it with Red and Red and the true scum of the city learned a new type of fear.

#maribat #ml x dc #timinette #timari #Dark!timinette #tw: mental health #tw: psychological torture

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flowerflamestars · 4 years ago

Note

Would you write a HC of Nessian being that childhood enemies to lovers in high school? I can only trust you with it

Trust accepted and golden.

-Okay, okay, so on the very first day of first grade, Cassian met the prettiest girl in the world. Little Nesta was absolutely one of those tiny polite children who has a vast hidden well of rage and imagination only displayed when playing witches with Elain in their mother’s garden. She’s quiet at school, utterly shy.

Cassian, meanwhile, is a gremlin. He’s energetic! and sweet! Dimples and curls, an enormous smile. He runs right up to the new girl on that rainy late summer day to introduce himself.

And trips. The Prettiest Girl in the World- as he tells Az, later, while they hide in Rhysand’s treefort- gets mud all over her perfect first day of school dress.

- Baby Nesta is not okay, okay? She has no idea what to do with this friendly boy. She wants him to stop talking to her. She’s sure her mom is going to be disappointed when she comes home with her white dress ruined, and it’s her first day at a new school without Elain.

Cassian keeps apologizing, but it is Not Okay.

-Nesta decides she hates him.

- Three years later, Nesta destroys Cassian in the spelling bee. Cassian begins to tip from the Prettiest Smartest Girl in the World is incredible to, the Prettiest Smartest Girl in the World keeps beating me at everything and I want to win JUST ONCE

Once, because he’s pissed. Once because then she’d be looking. Cassian just wants Nesta to look at him, and by sixth grade this feeling goes from earnest to furiously incandescent.

HEAVY ON THE FURY

- Jump ahead, to the very end of middle school, the Archeron’s mom dies.

Cassian is a happily adopted foster kid, former orphan who just barely remembers his parents. He finds out, and carries around this horrible heavy feeling in his chest all day like he can’t swallow.

He wants- he doesn’t know- he wants to say something. But Nesta isn’t at school, and they aren’t actually friends, but he just wants to say: someday. He wants to tell her what his foster moms told him: that it’s okay to cry. (He cannot imagine perfect, smart, Nesta Archeron crying). Whatever you feel is okay.

Entirely by accident Cassian runs into her at the local library. Outside, crying on the sidewalk, arriving just in time to watch her hurl her water bottle at the cement.

Cassian, being Cassian, brings it back to her.

It turns out pretty girl tears are terrifying.

So he very quietly hooks it back onto the pretty lavender backpack Nesta has carried around for the last three years- his is purple too, not at all to be weird, just because- and sits down on the sidewalk too, a couple feet away.

And Nesta is Not Okay. Her mom is dead, and she doesn’t know what she feels because it’s huge and terrifying. Everything hurts and she’s so, so angry and that stupid water bottle lid doesn’t really fit anyway, because it’s actually Feyre’s lid on Nesta’s bottle, because their Aunt doesn’t know anything and doesn’t know them, and Nesta only has that stupid baby backpack because their Dad spends all his time at work so he doesn’t know that before Mom got sick Nesta and Elain got new backpacks every year, whichever they wanted, and they always matched, but Elain’s ripped last summer and their dad had his assistant get a new one but it’s pink and Elain hates pink and it clashes with Nesta’s-

Cassian watches the Pretty Perfect Girl curl in on herself and scream.

This, in the end, is when Perfect Girl becomes Nesta.

Cassian is is panicking, okay? PANICKING. His ability to comfort other people is 85% knowing when Azriel is overwhelmed and 15% hugging his dog during thunderstorms. He doesn’t know what he can possibly do for Nesta- so he just grabs her hand.

Holds on, like Az did without laughing at him when Cassian cried that his adoption had gone through.

And Nesta hangs on, so hard it really actually hurts. He doesn’t ask her what’s wrong, or why, and Nesta is so grateful that hurts too. He’s always so loud and laughing, and Nesta has always hated it a little, thinking he was laughing at her.

(he was not)

The complete simplicity of that sweaty grip is just enough that Nesta can think. And poor baby Nesta thinks.

She has to go inside and return all the sisters books so they don’t have a fine. She needs to figure out how to cut Feyre’s bangs because she’s running around like a sheepdog because Dad didn’t remember to schedule her a haircut. Elain will help. And Nesta will help Elain water the houseplants because Mom loved them and Dad told the maids they’re fake but they’re not, only the ones in the living room are.

And Nesta- Nesta has a plan.

-They go in the library. If the volunteer behind the desk is making faces at Nesta’s tearstained face or grubby, iron grip on the boy beside her, Nesta isn’t going to acknowledge it, because Mom always said rude people didn’t deserve attention.

Nesta picks out her books, Cassian silently follows. And then he walks her home. They live in the same neighborhood, so it’s fine- but whats not fine is Nesta still hasn’t said anything, and Cassian just wants to say something-

But what happens it this- Nesta carries half the books in a grip so hard it looks painful. Cassian knows its probably painful, because she’s really hurting his hand now.

Cassian will look later at the imprint her tiny fingertips had made and feel like his whole body is fluttering- but now, now, she’ll steal his half of the books like it’s nothing and stomp up the porch steps of her house, right past a wilting delivery of lilies slowly dying before her front door.

She won’t say thank you. Cassian won’t say goodbye.

But Cassian will think it’s okay, it’s okay- because Nesta wasn’t alone like he’d been alone.

The blue door slams shut, and they don’t speak again until junior year of high school.

- Nesta Archeron is seventeen and ready to eat the world raw. She’s top of her class. She has goals, she has terrifyingly perfect hair, and she is not going to let anything stand in her way- especially not the fact that she ran for junior class president and tied, with Cassian.

-Cassian has become very, very Cassian in the intervening years. He’s popular but kind, a loud laugh that echoes down halls. Smart, but not a stratospheric over-achiever like Nesta. College is a year away, but everyone know’s he’s going to get an athletic scholarship.

They run in very, very different circles.

-Listen, it’s not even on purpose- it’s just that something about Nesta’s horrified expression and color-coded organization and perfect fucking red lips makes Cassian his most insane golden retriever self. He can’t help himself.

They have to work together. They fight constantly.

But Cassian’s fighting, at seventeen, is like 80% teasing and 20% very real, very earnest flirting.

And maybe- maybe Nesta knows that and it makes her even grouchier. She has a plan, okay? She’s on track to graduation top of her class. She’s going to Standford, then Harvard. She’s going to be a surgeon.

It’s not so far away she can’t still be there for her sisters. Elain wants to go to Berkley and obviously will because she’s brilliant- Feyre will only be alone for one year, but she’s already all set for that to be her study abroad year, so she won’t be trapped at home in their empty house. She’ll be in Spain, and then she’ll go to art school.

All three Archeron sisters will be of age to pull from their enormous inheritance left from their mother- they will never need to ask anything of their absent, silent, bastard father ever again. It’s just a matter of waiting.

Nesta is on track, and she can’t get distracted.

But Cassian- Cassian really seems to think Nesta doesn’t remember him. As though she could forget, as much as she wants to, that absolute disaster of a boy who was the only person in the world who made Nesta feel like she wasn’t responsible for everything.

Of course, that little boy grew up to be beautiful.

Of course, now he’s a goddamn menace who’s a clear foot taller than her with broad shoulders to match. Of course, that enormous kind smile sits even more tantalizing on an older face. Of course his dimples are so deep they flash when he grimaces at her student council timeline, broken down for the next two years.

- Azriel, Nesta’s AP chem lab partner, bound forever in respect by mutual silent competence and scorn for the assholes who sit behind them who keep lighting things on fire, says nothing about any of this until Nesta comes into class holding an enormous rainbow concoction like it’s going to explode.

Together- perennially left to their own devices by a teacher who really does not know what to do with them, and maybe fears they both know the coursework better than she does- they stare at the rainbow sprinkled whip cream mountain, slowly melting into the equally bright froth of the drink.

Some of them are heart-shaped.

Azriel breaks first, and asks, “Cassian?”

And Nesta, sweet baby ice princess Nesta, numb from being swooped upon by a giddy, grinning, blushing 6′4 quarterback who darted out of the culinary building to force this into her hand and run back away says: Does he think I’m a lesbian?

This is the moment Azriel’s soul actually leaves his body.

The visceral cringe is so apparent Nesta keeps talking: I mean, the rainbows? why?

It’s just close enough to a wail that Azriel decides to take pity on this whole new level of romantic idiocy. He proceeds to explain it’s a unicorn frappuccino? maybe? probably? not that he could advise actually consuming anything Cassian makes.

Nesta’s big What the Fuck face does not fade, so Az finally goes: he’s trying to get your attention.

Nesta: He has my attention. I see him every day.

Azriel, thinking about how much fun telling Lucien about this will be, imagining his very beautiful boyfriend howling with laughter: Right, and why would he want more?

Nesta: Because he’s a menace?

Az:

Nesta:

Az:

Nesta, glaring with heartfelt intensity at the melting hearts and stars, food coloring weeping: Because he wants my attention. That- that bastard.

Az, opening his mouth, only to be cut off by Nesta furiously unzipping her bag:

Nesta: that stupid fucking- are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He- HE- he made me go to a soccer game last week and called it OUTREACH.

Azriel, watching Nesta tap her phone at top speed: Are you...texting Cassian?

Nesta: that motherfucking, stupid, college admission essays- I’m going to-

Az: Nesta??

Nesta: Do you know how much of a disaster he is? Do you know how much of my time he has wasted? He wants my attention, he has my fucking attention. Why didn’t he say so?

(In the background, the boys behind them have, indeed, started another fire)

Three buildings away, Cassian, vibrating with a frequency that can be seen from space: Mooooor, you don’t understand. She’s so smart, she’s going to be trauma surgeon.

Morrigan, trying in vain to get a full rainbows worth of food coloring off her pearlescent manicure: Cas, you literally want to be a nurse.

Cassian: Exactly

Morrigan gives up on her nails, distracted from Cassian’s lovelorn expression by his silenced phone flashing repeatedly: Who’s sparkle heart sparkle heart bomb peach firework sparkle heart?

Cassian, flailing:

Nesta, here expressed as sparkle heart sparkle heart bomb peach firework sparkle heart: Coffee. 3pm, Sunday. Yes?

Cassian, chewing on the inside of his cheek: Yes! Did the senior class shunt all their work down again?

Nesta: Not to work.

Cassian, life flashing before his eyes, thinking it was the sprinkles?!!

Nesta: A date.

Nesta: Is this supposed to taste like sour candy?

- They go on the date. Cassian overcomes his transcendent nervousness by getting into a pretty squabble with Nesta over the book they’re currently reading in AP English.

(The entire argument is a false premise, he loves Jane Austen. Nesta knows this.)

- Nesta takes him to this beautiful coffee shop that is like 70% just a lush tropic garden.

(Elain sees them coming and has to literally duck behind the counter to laugh. Lucien, her shift partner and dearest friend, watches the whole song and dance of ordering, sitting under a flowering tree and staring at each like lunatics with utter glee, ready to rely every detail to Az)

The Thing is, they keep fighting. They keep fighting, but Cassian’s smile gets softer and softer, his laugh brighter and brighter. The arguing is turning into banter and Nesta is actually? having? So much fun?

- The thing is, Nesta needed a plan to survive.

But maybe- maybe Cassian was there all along. Maybe, if she can’t be distracted, the obvious answer is to stop letting him make her crazy and- and let him in.

Maybe, she can hold onto responsibility for everything and still let someone else have a little responsibility for her.

Maybe, Cassian is exactly what she needed.

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bird-in-a-cage · 4 years ago

Text

Impression

“So, they don’t know they’re brother and sister yet?”

Billy rolled his head a little from Steve’s shoulder to look up at his face, chocolate drop eyes concentrating on the Harrington family television. This was the third time they were going to watch through all the Star Wars movies because Steve, stupidly brilliant pretty boy baby face Steve Harrington, still didn’t quite get it, but wanted to so he wouldn’t be teased by his pack of almost teenage dweebs anymore.

Billy understood the movies. It wasn’t that hard. And really any excuse to spend another Friday night in Steve’s arms, on his stupidly huge couch with one too many decorative cushions was more than okay. They were just a tangle of limbs, snacks and drinks on the coffee table in preparation so neither would have to move more than to just change the video tape over or use the bathroom.

There were far worse ways to spend a Friday night than trying to get your secret boyfriend to understand the plot of Star Wars.

“No, not in this one. That happens in the third one.”

“Oh! The one with the little bears?” Steve’s eyes sparkled a little when he remembered something. It was a cute little trait Billy had picked up. It happened over a lot of things, mostly small and inconsequential, but it was nice to see it so close up.

“Well, they’re Ewoks, not bears but yeah, that one.” Billy sat up a little to light a cigarette. Usually he wouldn’t smoke indoors, but Steve’s mansion was always empty and he didn’t seem to mind. Plus it was winter outside.

Fuck Indiana winters.

“But then why do they look like bears if they’re not bears?”

Steve's hand was warm on Billy’s lower back, as he inhaled and chuckled on the exhale. “Because it’s space? Shit can be called anything if it’s not real.”

The blank blink Billy received made him chuckle all over again, want to pinch Steve’s soft cheeks and call him an idiot between kisses to that natural pout and confused forehead. “But they’re bears though…”

“One movie at a time doll face. You’re missing the plot of this one.”

Billy settled back down and there was no more talk of bears. There weren’t many questions at all really. During the first viewing Steve had been a barrage of whys and who’s that and why is that important and why does that guy in the black cape get his own music, trying to walk before he could run in understanding what the plot was and trying to guess where it was going. Now he was quiet, just watching, sharing Billy’s cigarette for as long as it lasted. It was nice, homely. Something Billy wasn’t quite used to yet. But the movie played and he was happy. It was getting easier to be happy around Steve. Just be himself.

The phone rang during Han Solo’s big scene. It ruined the emersion a little bit. Billy would never admit out loud he had a crush on Han Solo, because he wasn’t stupid, but he felt that everyone had a little bit of a flutter for him. Surely? Right?

Steve reached back to where the phone was sitting on a side table. It was still so weird to Billy that his house had more than one, but the perks of being rich. More than one phone, a massive television and a personal VCR player. A whole bathroom for just downstairs. Billy sat up again, reached for an open soda and paused the movie as Steve answered, tucking the dark green rectangle under his chin.

“Harrington residence…. Oh, hi Mr Hargrove…”

Billy froze dead on the spot for just a second, his blood running cold, eyes probably wide and frantic as he grabbed Steve’s wrist to check the time on his watch. Curfew had been half an hour ago. He’d been so wrapped up in the movie and Steve and just being content and happy for once he’d completely forgotten to keep an eye on the time. And now he was going to get it for sure. The only reason he’d been allowed over anyway, to spend time with another boy, was because of the Harrington name. It held a lot of prestige in this dumb hick town. And Neil was a stone cold sucker for keeping up appearances.

Billy went to move, to get up and find his boots he’d kicked off hours ago and drive back as fast as he fucking could, but Steve put a hand on his leg, gave him the eyes, pushed down slight but firm. Stay.

“Yeah he’s here… We’re just working on a school project Mr Hargrove I-...”

Steve’s regular phone voice was equal parts butter wouldn’t melt innocent and boardroom professional. It was a wild mix. Billy stayed frozen to the spot, giving eyes he wasn’t sure weren’t completely insane. The longer he stayed, the more trouble Billy would be in, they both knew this, and yet Steve just rubbed his thigh like it was no big deal. Like he wasn’t on the phone to someone who had broken Billy’s wrist in the past for breaking curfew when he was thirteen.

That had been by half an hour too. And because Billy had been at another boy's house.

“Oh, you want to speak to my father? Sure. I’ll just pass you over, hang on...”

Billy just sat back and watched, now in total fascination and complete confusion as Steve tossed the handset back and forth to himself like he was passing a basketball in warm up drills, as he swung his long legs off the couch and stamped his sock covered feet on the floor, rocked and rolled in place to make the couch springs squeak in certain ways, talk muffed things that weren’t even real words into the back of his arm, before tucking the phone on his shoulder again on the opposite side.

“Yes?” The voice that came out was a whole octave deeper. It still sounded like Steve, but it didn’t. Each letter was far too pronounced to be how Steve would say it. He grinned at Billy, listening to Neil talk through the handset. “I apologise for that, but the boys have been working very hard all evening, I don’t think they’ll be done anytime soon. Maybe it would be best for their educations if William were to come home tomorrow?”

The smirk Steve shot across the couch was something wicked. It was so clear he’d done this many times before. Billy had never heard Harrington Sr, had only seen him in that one photo in the hall, but the voice Steve was using matched the figure pretty perfectly. He even molded his body to fit more in an upright posture, arms and legs straight, face more square somehow. Morphed into what Billy assumed was a perfect characterisation of his father. Even scratched his top lip all pretentious like Harrington Sr looked like he would do.

“I understand your concerns Mr Hargrove but I assure you this is for their best interests. There’s quite the setup on my dining room table, and heaven knows my son needs all the help he can get.”

Billy finally started to relax again, sinking back properly into the cushions, when Steve rolled his eyes dramatically, mimicked Neil yammering on with his free hand. Neil was a totally different person when he spoke to people he respected, tried to always get on their good sides no matter what town they moved too. It was a show of course but no one really knew that.

"I assume the reason he didn't call is because it wasn't planned Mr Hargrove, boys will be boys after all. William is perfectly fine here. More than welcome to stay, he's a good influence on my Steven."

Steve reached out to the coffee table for the half empty pack of Billy's Marlboros and his lighter, hitting one out as he balanced the phone on his shoulder.

"Now if you don't mind, I do have some important work to get back too. Please refrain from calling unless it's an emergency. We will do you the same courtesy. Goodbye."

With that, Steve stretched his body back to hang the phone back on his receiver and light up the cigarette, laughing at Billy’s expression which must have been a weird mix of everything but mostly, what the hell was that?!

“What?” He chuckled around the puff of smoke. “You think I’ve never pretended to be my dad on the phone before. Gotta keep the school off my back somehow.”

Billy snatched the cigarette without malice, just for a calming inhale, just to let it sink in that stupidly brilliant pretty boy doll face secret boyfriend Steve Harrington was actually something of a genius. Just to let it sink in that Billy was free for the night. Without a second question asked. All because of a voice and a name.

God, small towns were weird with their hierarchies.

He passed the cigarette back and settled back into his previous spot on Steve’s shoulder, felt lean arms come back around before one of them started the movie again.

“Your old man’s a fucking dork by the way,” Steve muttered, stubbing out the filter in an ashtray after a few minutes. It made Billy laugh and squeeze Steve’s thigh, just where his hand was.

“I know man, I know.”

#harringrove #billy x steve #steve harrington #billy hargrove #fluff #also on my ao3 #my writings

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