#we see them get back together on the basis of their past and the fact that they both remember it

[daydreamerdrew]

New Avengers: The Reunion (2009) #1

[cobaltperun]

Eternal Flame (5) - Be Yourself

Jenna Ortega x Female Reader

Summary: For her it’s a passion, for you it’s an accident. And as she continues shining brighter and brighter with each role you are left mesmerized, drawn to her flame and cherishing every time she lets herself be vulnerable with you.

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Word count: 6.5k

-Don't lose any sleep tonight I'm sure everything will end up alright-

The feeling of your lips against her own still lingered long after you finished shooting the scene together. It was a strangely welcome feeling; light and gentle, and most importantly it just felt right. When she kissed you, as spontaneously as it was, it felt like what she was feeling wasn't one-sided, but rather something you reciprocated. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, that’s what she’s been telling herself for some time now, while she watched her former classmates getting into their relationships and going on dates and posting about them on social media. She wasn’t ready to be vulnerable and she had a career to focus on.

But how much more vulnerable could she get? After going through an actual panic attack and calming down with you by her side? She couldn’t deny how much better she felt with you there, by her side. How often have her thoughts wandered off to you over the past couple of weeks? She dared to say almost concerningly many times.

Jenna wasn't a stranger to building connections on set, just on Scream she could tell she built friendships with Melissa, Jasmin, Mason, Mikey and many others, connections that would last long after the filming ends, regardless of potentially working together in the future. Yet there was something different with the way she was around you. With you she could be free. The panic attack proved it, and while that was something she wished had never happened, looking back and thinking about it she knew that night changed your relationship permanently. You didn’t change how you viewed her, you didn’t start treating her like she was broken, or like you needed to be careful around her, you just cared for her. She could trust you with her deepest insecurities and feel safe to share them with you.

She stole a glance toward you as you walked down the hall of the hotel you were in. As usual you were calm, confident, completely relaxed and she would be lying if she said that kind of demeanor didn't affect her as well. That same calming effect you had on her during her panic attack now affected her on a regular basis, quieting her own doubts and anxious thoughts when she was with you.

“So, that was one hell of an improvisation huh?” you broke the silence with a teasing grin on your face, but she could tell you didn't mind the kiss. Well, she wasn't exactly sure you enjoyed it, after all, it was more of a peck rather than a kiss, but she well sure you didn't mind it. And now her thoughts were going off the rails once more, and she had to make a conscious effort to stop looking at your lips.

So, to regain control and quiet her mind she teased right back. “Figured I should show them that I'm comfortable around you,” Jenna answered, nudging your lightly. For a moment she hesitated, but finding confidence in how comfortable she was around you she added: “And besides, we were supposed to kiss in the movie so there was that as well.”

You laughed, and it brought a big smile to Jenna’s face as well. She absolutely was doomed, but she loved your laugh. “Yeah, yeah, we’re sure keeping it professional. Absolutely nothing else,” oh, you were teasing her, you were absolutely teasing her, and despite how close to home it hit you were in fact joking. She could see mischief in your eyes. “You would never want to kiss me if it wasn't for the movie,” and maybe she was imagining it, projecting some of her own insecurities, but she felt self-deprecation in your tone, and she despised it.

If only you knew or rather, she figured she was lucky you didn't know. At least in some ways. As much as she hated that hint of self-deprecation, she just now noticed; she figured it would be better for both of you, in more ways than one, to keep your relationship the way it was at the moment. To stay as just friends; really, really good friends that may have crossed that line a time or two, by falling asleep together. She just wasn't sure taking the next step and acting on her feelings would turn out to be a good idea when both of you were trying to focus on your careers.

Truthfully, she was just afraid to be completely exposed to you, to let you see all of her sides, the good, the bad, her insecurities, everything she was trying to hide from others. The panic attack was one thing, and being emotionally vulnerable was almost too easy with you. But the other ways? Could she let you in on all of that?

“Of course, of course I would never,” she accepted the joke, playing off of it as two of you stopped in front of her doors. “Do you want to watch another movie?” she asked tentatively, not really wanting the night to end but just shook her head.

“Maybe some other night,” she could see a hint of regret in your eyes or perhaps she was just believing she saw it. “I made plans to catch up with my friend, and knowing her it’ll last for a while,” you grinned sheepishly, explaining why you couldn't spend the night with her and easing any worries she might have formed in her head over the late hours of the night.

“Oh, I see, say hi to her for me,” Jenna told you and pulled you into a quick hug. “Sleep well, Y/N,” she whispered.

“You too,” you whispered back and you parted ways for the night.

~X~

To be honest, you were dreading the call you were about to make. It's been two weeks since you last talked to Barbara and saying she was a bit of a needy friend would be an understatement, not that you had it in you to be bothered by it, in fact you were certain a huge reason for that neediness was the way you sometimes could get. Scratch that, the way you often got these past few years. This time though, in your defense, you really were quite busy between filming and everything happening with Jenna, so this time it wasn’t your regular stupor preventing you from fulfilling your best friend duties as Barbara called them.

You took a deep breath, sucked it up, and called her as you paced around the room hoping you would not hear her yelling at you right away.

You were hoping for too much.

“Where the hell have you been?!” Barbara roared, forcing you to move the phone away from your ear and wince because of how loud she was.

“I'm sorry I was just-“ you tried to apologize and get her to stop trying to make you lose your hearing.

She wasn’t having any of it though. “No excuses! Do you know how much I worry about you, asshole?! I damn near called Hugh and I know you've been in touch with him at least through texts!” Well, she wasn't wrong, you really were in touch with Hugh, through texts, which was also the way you kept in touch with Barbara. You just didn't find the time to call her and for Barbara that was an unusual deprivation of contact and close to unforgivable.

“Barb, come on, we’ll make up for the lost time, I promise. Just two more weeks and we'll meet up and catch up and you'll tell me all the things I missed,” you assured her. You would normally get annoyed over someone being like this, almost demanding. You appreciated being left alone when you needed it, and Barbara just wouldn’t let you be on your own. Still, you really couldn't be annoyed with her. If there was anyone other than Hugh that actually knew you, it was Barbara and as much as you depended on her she depended on you just as much and now suddenly you couldn't be there for her for almost a month and a half.

And you still had two weeks until you would meet up.

“I know. I just miss being able to go to see you,” she complained, her voice turning more whiny and you knew exactly what was coming, and it brought a smile to your face. “I want to bother you and steal all your food,” she sighed as she calmed down and you could picture her just drawing lines on some paper she had lying around. That was the thing with Barbara she had short fuse but she would also calm down ridiculously fast as long as the reason behind her anger wasn't justified she was easy to talk down, especially when it came to you and even more so after what happened a few years ago.

“You'll get to raid my fridge, again,” you put great emphasis on the word ‘again’ “Don't worry about it,” you sounded annoyed but you both knew that wasn't the case. As much as you loved filming again and as much as you acknowledged the deep, precious bond with Jenna you still missed your best friend, and nothing could change that.

Barbara laughed at that. “So how are things on the set? Tell me all about it, are there any girls I should know about?” she really couldn’t help herself. Well, at least things probably couldn’t get worse. “How are things with Jenna?” you really should know better by now. There it was, the Barbara special… The teasing! The incessant need to know everything about your love life! The love life that was, granted, pretty much nonexistent before this and it was still nonexistent because there was nothing but your crush on Jenna going between the two of you.

You could still tell you made a mistake when you naively shared with Barbara that you have grown fairly fond of your co-star. Still, you sighed, there was no going back now. “I’m in trouble, Barb, I’m in deep trouble,” you sighed, accepting that you had no control over your feelings for Jenna. After all, the taste of her lips would definitely keep reminding you of the short, but sweet, kiss you shared on set for a long time, and you’d be remembering the feel of her soft lips against your own for even longer.

“Hell yeah! Get the girl Y/N!” Barbara cheered way too loudly and you just knew she was pumping her fist up in the air.

The nerve of her. “Fucking shut up,” you groaned, dropping onto your bed and resigning yourself to more teasing as Barbara laughed.

~X~

Tomorrow morning and exactly two weeks before the filming was scheduled to end you came back from breakfast to see your phone lighting up on the bedside table. So, that’s where you forgot it. You raised an eyebrow, not expecting anyone to text you this early. As far as you knew, Barbara would still be asleep, and Hugh was a few hours behind you, so it was still in the middle of the night for him. And it probably wasn't any one of your co-stars because you just saw all of them. You walked over to the bedside table and glanced at your phone and your blood immediately froze.

“I've got an event next week. I can pick you up next Saturday and bring you back to the set on Monday morning.”

You could feel your heart pounding in your chest as you looked at the message. The event, well that was one way to put it. You could feel the itching to go, the desire to just let go, to forget everything and focus on just one simple task. You've been working out for years and you didn’t stop back when filming started, you spent damn near every day at the gym for at least an hour oftentimes more. You explained it by saying you were just trying to stay in shape, especially since you still had the job at the gym to come back to and it would be irresponsible to get out of shape.

But you knew the truth.

It wasn't staying in shape. It was just the only way you knew how to escape from what you still felt deep down. So, your reply was quick, sent without much thinking, without reconsidering the short or long-term consequences of those actions, and you especially didn’t consider how something like that could affect the movie or your career. Short-term consequences were easy to deal with. Those were your days off anyway, so nothing would happen. “I'm in,” you answered and tossed the phone to your bed ready to just go to the gym. You needed to put extra effort into preparing for… the event.

~X~

Somehow there was a feeling of dread Jenna couldn't explain, a restless feeling keeping her awake and filling her with anxiety. She had a long night doing the shooting, you all did and she intended to go to sleep to spend the evening taking a nap and resting, especially seeing as her insomnia was getting worse. You helped, of course, at least as much as Jenna would let you. Every time she turned to you for help she slept better because you would either come to her room and stay with her until she fell asleep or you would just talk on the phone and she got into a comfortable with the way things were between you. Deep down she knew it couldn’t be maintained, that she couldn't rely on you every night. You needed rest as well and she felt guilty for making her insomnia your problem.

Tonight was different. Tonight it wasn't just her insomnia keeping her awake. Tonight there was that sense of dread, that sense that if she didn't do something, anything, that something awful would happen and she didn't even know what it was. She didn't know what to do, or what it was related to, she knew nothing other than the fact that something did not feel right.

So, Jenna turned in her bed, desperately trying to keep her eyes closed so she might fall asleep. It was just her being paranoid, she was sure of it. She was just overthinking things that she honestly couldn't even define. If you or Melissa asked her what was wrong she wouldn't have an answer, she would just tell you that she had a bad feeling, and it infuriated her that she was feeling like this without having a logical explanation for it.

“Fuck it!” at this rate she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon and it was still half past seven so she figured she could drop by your room and see if you wanted to watch a movie or something. She got up, determined to get her mind off whatever was tormenting her and picked out a rather cute red shirt and denim shorts and changed out of her pajamas. Maybe she could get you to wear your glasses for the movie, that would make the restless day better, because you, annoyingly if she could say so, still didn’t wear your glasses around her as often as she would like you to.

She didn't even send you a message as a warning, she just got out of her room and marched to your door and knocked on your doors. “One minute,” she heard you saying from behind the doors and she felt her heart beating just a bit faster, which was ridiculous because just seeing you wasn't supposed to have this kind of an effect on her. Yet here she was probably ready to just admit this was not just a crush and that she was actually in love. You opened the door and seemed to freeze when you saw her which was an unusual reaction coming from you. What was even stranger was how you looked, wearing a hoodie and worn out boots and tracksuit pants, as if you were trying to disappear in the crowd. “Jen,” you looked like a deer caught in the headlights and there was a guilty look in your eyes. That same dread that consumed Jenna entirely the whole day came back full force and she couldn't explain why.

“Hey, I was thinking if you wanted to hang out, maybe watch a movie or chill out together? Just the two of us? I mean it's fine if you don't have the time or have other plans-“ and she just noticed a backpack hanging from your shoulder, and that dread just increased for a reason she couldn’t even start to explain. Just seeing that backpack made her anxiety spike up. “Did- where are you- I mean are you going anywhere?” she stammered, now feeling unsure of herself. “You didn't mention going to see your family,” she missed the way you frowned just for a moment. “Or anyone and what's with the bag?” She was rambling not really giving you a moment to reply and worst of all the guilt on your face just became more pronounced the more she talked.

“I-“ you began but then just closed your mouth and ran your fingers through your hair. What did she just interrupt? Were you about to leave?

No, that much was obvious.

But there was something heavy in the air, something that made her worry more than she should, something deep down telling her not to back down.

“Hey, talk to me,” she reached up, almost timidly, and touched your cheek, watching as you swallowed the lump in your throat. You didn’t reject her touch, and she felt bolder, instead of just touching your cheek she began cradling it. This time she felt you flinching before you accepted her touch, leaning into it, she watched you as you took a deep breath. Your eyes were closed from the moment she touched your cheek, but even with that she could see, or feel, the battle raging within you as you struggled between staying with her and going wherever you were about to go. So, she did her best to make the decision easier for you. “Stay with me. Please, Y/N,” and as if those words were enough, as if they were all you needed to hear, you reached up and took hold of her hand and pulled her in, hugging her firmly almost desperately holding onto her shirt.

“I'm staying,” you whispered, burying your face in the crook of her neck and Jenna found herself holding on to you just as firmly as you were holding on to her. That dread she felt earlier slowly began dissipating and she didn't know what she prevented, but she just felt like it was the best decision she could have made. Especially when you definitely flinched when you heard your phone ringing. For a moment she thought you would ignore it, but you let out an exhausted, broken sigh, damn near shattering her heart. “Yeah, I need to take this. Just give me a moment,” she could feel you putting so much effort just to pull away from her and then even more effort to close the door

Despite the closed doors Jenna could still hear the bits of the conversation as she stood there, her back pressed against the wall next to your doors. The murmurs of ‘I'm not coming’ and ‘I'm not arguing with you about this, I'm not coming’ made her instinctively hug herself. She felt cold all of a sudden, where were you about to go? What did she stop you from doing?

It would take months for her to figure it out and when she did it threatened to almost ruin what you built up until that point.

You came out of the room, in different clothes, now wearing a simple shirt and pajama pants and she immediately took your hand and pulled you along to her room, afraid that if she didn’t, she would just ask you where you were about to go. She looked back and saw you smiling. The smile on your face was natural not forced at all, but she could see pain hidden deep inside you and her heart broke because she could already tell you wouldn’t talk to her about this.

~X~

The early November cold seeped into her room but that wasn't the reason why about halfway through ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ she ended up wrapping her arms around you and lowering her head on your chest. That feeling of dread may have disappeared, but another feeling took its place and the only thought running through Jenna’s mind was ‘Don't let go. No matter what, don't let go.’ So, she didn't let go, even when you're raised an eyebrow at the sudden display of affection.

You've both seen the movie before, so she didn't feel any guilt for taking your attention away from it. “Y/N,” she said your name gently, aware that she now had your undivided attention. “Where were you going to go?” she asked, softly whispering the words as if saying them any louder would scare you away and convince you not to tell her anything.

You remained silent, the image of an open honest person that captured her heart wavered for a moment and then you looked away. “Just for a walk, don't worry about it,” it was so obviously a lie, and she could see you meant for her to see through it. Nonetheless the message was clear. Don’t ask more questions. You would not answer. You would not tell her the truth even if it would chase away her worries, even if it would show her you were willing to tell her anything. You just wanted to end the conversation and the obvious lie was an easy way to show Jenna it didn’t matter how many times she asked.

“OK,” she let the conversation end, but she doesn't let go of you, she just held tighter. And despite the uneasiness of the realization she just had, she still felt comfortable. It still felt so easy to be with you, and near the end of the movie she fell asleep in your arms.

Jenna didn’t wake up until you moved underneath her and when she opened her eyes, she saw the Sun was just starting to rise. “Hey, sorry I woke you up, I should go before someone catches me here,” you said and there it was, that gentle tone of your voice, that comforting attitude you had and she just now realized it was missing all night long yesterday but somehow throughout the night you got it back.

That was a relief. “Sorry, that probably wasn't the most comfortable position to sleep in,” Jenna laughed and you grinned, just shrugging as if to tell her you were perfectly fine with a bit of discomfort. Slowly, a bit too hesitantly, she let you go and moved to lie down on her bed properly and not halfway on top of you. You sat up and stretched a bit and she watched you, tense, but more relaxed than you were while you were watching the movie last night. And you looked like you rested enough, like you slept well. By now Jenna knew exactly how you looked when you didn’t get enough sleep and it wasn’t this. It was close, you clearly had a lot on your mind last night, but you slept well, and it made her happy to know that.

All of a sudden you turned and looked at her and she could see the mix of emotions in your eyes, but before she could speak you leaned over her and caressed her cheek. Jenna’s breath hitched as she looked you in the eyes. “Y/N,” she whispered your name.

“Sorry about last night. About lying, about not telling you where I was supposed to go,” you paused, your jaw clenching as you picked words, and she gave you a moment. “I still won't tell you, it doesn't matter anyway. But thank you for stopping me,” you leaned closer and for a moment she thought you’d kiss her, and she leaned forward, only to feel just your forehead pressing against hers. Jenna swallowed the lump in her throat, her shaky breath mingling with your own. “Thank you for holding on to me,” there was so much in that line she couldn't understand, she simply didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle. Yet the raw emotion in your voice told her absolutely everything she needed to know. And right then and there she just made a decision that no matter how difficult it could possibly get that she would find a way to overcome whatever was going on with you.

She almost said she was just returning the favor, almost alluding to the night you spent with her after her panic attack. Yet again instinctual stopped her, something similar to what drove her to you last night and instead she just said: “I'll hold on to you anytime you need,” it was a ridiculous promise one that could not be maintained, and you both knew it. First of all you lived in different states, not to mention all the jobs both of you would take that would take you to the entirely different corners of the world. She could not hold you anytime you wanted or needed it. Even so the deeper promise remained, a promise that she was with you and that she planned on staying with you.

Your breath hitched but you recovered a lot quicker than Jenna did. You nodded, unable to properly put into words how much her promise meant to you, but she could tell. You reluctantly pulled away, leaving her in her room as you slipped back into your own, just to avoid anyone from the cast knowing you spent the night with Jenna in her bed.

~X~

The filming was coming to a close, just a few days were left now, almost two months you spent in North Carolina were something else. You came into this project trying to get back into acting after Logan. You began working on it feeling the pressure of Logan almost weighing you down. Yet now you were grappling with entirely different feelings. You ended up coming to the rooftop to watch the sunset on the last Monday of the filming, just soaking it all in. To think if things were just a bit different, if you left a few minutes earlier now you’d be coming back to the hotel this morning instead of waking up in your room to open Instagram messages between you and Jenna.

Jenna…

She stopped you. She was the first person to actually stop you.

“Hey there stranger,” you heard Mikey saying as she walked up to you, breaking you out of your thoughts and for a moment taking your mind off just what Jenna stopping you as easily as she did meant for you.

You pushed the thoughts further away, not wanting to be vulnerable around another person, no matter how cool Mikey was. You grinned, patting the spot next to you. “Stranger? Already?” you laughed and leaned back as she sat down on the still warm concrete rooftop.

She rolled her eyes. “Can’t say you made a strong impression,” she teased you, though you spent several weekends cooking together. Funny how your characters hated one another yet the two of you kind of clicked.

You smirked at that. “Well, not all of us can crash a bicycle,” you joked now, but the entire cast was worried when her and Jasmin crashed. Mikey took the fall harder, as her knee still ached occasionally, but she was fine.

She jokingly slapped your shoulder. “Jerk,” she looked back when the doors opened. “Hey, Jenna!”

“Oh, hey,” Jenna sounded genuinely surprised as she slowly approached you and Mikey. The headphones hung around her neck and if she was weak to seeing you wearing glasses the same could be said for you regarding her wearing headphones around her neck. There was just something about seeing her like that, and you were utterly incapable of keeping your heart from beating faster.

“Really, I’m the stranger?” you said to Mikey, causing her to snicker, but your eyes were on Jenna, and like many times before you found it hard to look away. The soft colors of the sunset made her look even more beautiful, if that was even possible.

“Did you hear anything I said?” Mikey elbowed your side, not even trying to be subtle about it.

“You’ll live, stranger,” you rolled your eyes and reached out to Jenna. “Want to join us?” you offered, hopeful, and wanting, no needing, to use the time you had left working together as well as you could.

Jenna looked at you almost a bit hesitant to accept, but eventually she focused on your outstretched hand and she grinned a bit. “What the hell,” she sat down right next to you and leaned against your side, pretty much pulling your arm around her. Your heart hammered in your chest, sure, you figured you both just got so used to being physically close between the scenes you had together and the every other time you spent close, but it still felt so damn good to be this close to her. You grinned when your eyes met. “It's a bit cold,” Jenna said she with a small and adorable blush on her face.

“Sure, that's all it is,” Mikey laughed clearly teasing Jenna. “But it is getting cold. Y/N, how about you just bring us some hot chocolate?” this time her attention turned to you and you just stared blankly. Was she really going to make you get up? Right now? When Jenna just got here?

“Seriously now? I just got comfortable, go get it yourself if you're so eager to drink it,” you rolled your eyes suddenly reminded of Barbara especially when Mikey gave you those puppy eyes that honestly looked the best on Jenna.

Fuck. You really were in trouble. And you had no right to be in it after what happened on Saturday night.

“Come on! I wanna talk to your girl!” Mikey pointed at Jenna.

“Not my girl/Not her girl!” you and Jenna denied at the same time and you hated how hot your face felt. It only got worse when Mikey smirked at the two of you.

“Really? So prove it, go bring us some hot chocolate,” you really couldn't get out of that could you? You huffed and reluctantly pulled away from Jenna. How was bringing hot chocolate going to prove anything?

Dumb excuses…

“Fine, fine, I'm going to get some hot chocolate, just stop teasing,” you grumbled and stood up. Did you and Jenna really look like there was something going on between you? You were just really good friends! Sure, you had feelings for her but nothing happened between you!

~X~

Jenna felt a bit squirmish, after all Mikey was rather perceptive and she could tell the slightly older girl was catching on to Jenna’s feelings. “There really isn't anything going on between me and Y/N,” perhaps the pout on her face was giving it away or perhaps she really was that obvious when it came to her feelings for you.

To her surprise Mikey shrugged as if she wasn’t shocked by Jenna’s denial. “Oh, I know. You wouldn't look so jealous if  the two of you were together.”

Jenna turn around so quickly she actually got a bit dizzy “I'm not-“ she quickly tried to deny it.

“Hush! I've seen how you looked at that barista flirting with Y/N, or at me just now because I was alone with her in such romantic circumstances,” yet Mikey didn’t sound even slightly offended as she showed around at the sunset and the rooftop and yeah, maybe it did seem a bit more romantic than Jenna would dare to admit. “Also, you missed how she looked at you. You're both so whipped it's almost sickeningly sweet. She looks at you like you are the center of the universe,” there were no intentions behind those words, Mikey didn’t look at you that way, she was simply saying what she noticed. Mikey was ridiculously cool and Jenna couldn't help but admire her admired bold and strong approach Mikey took to everything she was doing, but she didn’t appreciate that same approach being taken regarding her own feelings towards you.

Besides she thought she would have this conversation with Melissa if she really had to have it with anyone on the cast. “She doesn't look at me like that,” Jenna denied it as she looked down between her feet remembering how you lied to her two nights ago. You apologized, sure, but the lie remained and you never told her where you were really about to go. It really wasn’t her business or right to demand to know, but there was a part of her that believed all the moments you shared gave her the right to ask and know the answer. Would you really be looking at her the way Mikey described if you couldn't even open up to her?

“Yeah, so how come she spent so many nights with you,” Mikey asked so casually and Jenna felt like her heart was about to explode with how fast it was beating.

“What?” she managed to ask, her words barely louder than a whisper as her brain went into overdrive.

“I heard you laughing, mostly. I know there is nothing going on, but I also know you spend nights together. The walls are ridiculously thin, I'm sure Melissa knows too but I also think she knew beforehand as well,” this was Jenna’s worst nightmare. She spent weeks thinking the two of you were keeping your late night meetings a secret yet here she was, learning they weren’t so secret after all.

How did she never hear Amber or Melissa?

Oh, right. The answer was around her neck…

There were so many implications in what Mikey said Jenna felt like her overthinking mind couldn’t keep up with all of them. The walls were thin so it confirmed to Mikey and quite possibly Melissa that you have spent a lot of time with Jenna in her room. And the thin walls confirmed to Mikey, and possibly Melissa as well, that you and Jenna did not actually get together, at least in a more intimate way. Jenna couldn't remember the last time she got this red and embarrassed and desperate for the ground to swallow her whole. She never felt this exposed in her entire life.

“Sorry,” well what else was she supposed to say besides just apologize for keeping Mikey awake,

“No, it's OK. You never kept me awake, you weren't that loud. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret and let you confess instead of spilling the beans to your, sorry Tara’s, guard dog,” Mikey was having too much fun with this if that shit eating grin was anything to go by.

Jenna just groaned, hoping you wouldn’t com back right away, because she wasn’t sure how she could look you in the eyes after this.

~X~

This was it. One last scene, the scene that was moved back quite a bit, actually, and the movie would be done, well, at least your part of the job.

Originally you were supposed to film this scene while Emma was still here, but when you were getting ready to film it the equipment failed somehow. You couldn't really remember what it was. Either the lighting wasn't good, or something was wrong with the camera, or something else entirely, and it was late so you just moved it to another day. And that another day just kept being pushed back and back and now here you are on the final day of the shooting Scream filming the scene where Gale calls your character to ask her why they were all coming back to Woodsboro.

“OK everyone let's wrap this movie up!” Tyler instructed as you and Jenna got in your positions, which was in the bed with Jenna acting like she was asleep on top of you with both of you embracing one another as much as the supposed wounds your characters took could allow.

And then it happened again. The scene was probably cursed or something.

“Sir,” one of men on the filming crew approached Tyler almost timidly. “The mic isn't working, I just sent Rick to get another one,” you all heard it loud and clear and the silence that engulfed the room was so loud, so consuming and ridiculous you almost laughed. There were only a handful of times in your life where the phrase ‘so quiet you could hear the pin drop’ could fit to the situation as good as it did right now. And neither you or Jenna dared to say a single word. In fact Jenna just didn't move at all and you figured you should probably follow her example so you didn't move either just closed your eyes trying to ignore the absolutes ridiculousness of this situation

At least Matt and Tyler weren't mad about it as they just began laughing about the absurdity of everything that was happening.

The room lit up and you saw people walking around keeping the set ready for the continuation but it didn't matter you barely paid attention to them. The only thing you paid attention to the was the girl in your arms.

You looked at Jenna, sleeping there, you looked at her peaceful face, at the freckles covering her cheeks, her hair, her lips, you felt the subtle squeeze of her arms around your waist and listened to the soft sound of her breathing. Her grip on you was soft and barely there but in a way unyielding and you were reminded of that night one week ago when she kept you from going to- from leaving the hotel.

You resisted the urge touch her cheek, to hold her closer, to tell her how you felt because deep down you were afraid. You had to stop going to those events. What a laughable way to call underground fighting. Unless you properly stopped you had no right to tell her anything about how you felt. As it was you were a mess, and she did not deserve to deal with that. So, you promised yourself you would just keep quiet.

When the equipment was finally fixed you barely realized about half an hour had passed and you did not want to delay the filming anymore, so you gently nudged Jenna until she woke from her slumber.

“Hey, sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep, I’ve just been tired lately,” she apologized and probably by accident snuggled closer to you.

“It's OK, you didn't miss anything,” you said, ignoring how intimate this entire thing between you and Jenna felt. You needed to fix yourself before addressing that. Nearly going and participating in a fight proved it to you.

A/N: So, this was supposed to go a bit further down the timeline, Hugh was supposed to show up, there were supposed to be talks of future projects, and set up Reader meeting Jenna’s family, but you know what, I think this is a good cliffhanger. And it was still longer than 6k, so, there’s that.

Taglist: @lilbitdepressed27 @freakshow2501 @osnapitzmel1 @belatrixdragon @ijustlovemaths

@niqmandu @justspance @mirage018

Masterlist / First Part / Previous part / Next Part

[cjlouwho]

could u imagine the BoB fandom if Eddie died?? Good god

Okay, if you still think I'm a halfway decent human being, scroll right past this because I'm about to be mean:

Listen, I love Eddie's character in theory. But he hasn't ever had any real development so while I'd be sad with his death, I'd be endlessly entertained by BoB's. It would feed me for a long time, ngl. The outrage, the threats, the boycotting, the denial. And God forbid you tell them to calm down, like they did after the bucktommy breakup.

Like, imagine someone (me) writing a post about how Eddie was just a plot device for Buck this whole time, to get him to recognize his abandonment issues and finally work on those issues and "if you had any sense of media literacy you would have recognized that all along."

And imagine if it happened like I wrote, where Tommy was the one who flew him to the hospital and it reintroduced Tommy into the storyline and he was the one who helps Buck through all the issues he has when it comes to coming to terms with Eddie's death. Then it eventually, on down the line, leads them to getting back together.

The absolute mayhem we'd be seeing online on a weekly basis! The fact some people would probably be yelling GHUDDIE (ghost bvddie) CANON SEASON 10!! They'd be livid because "911 killed a closeted queer character!!!!" leading to Ryan to have to go on an exit interview tour saying some shit over and over like, "When we killed heterosexual Eddie in that way, I was, just to give it to you straight, shocked. But I understood as a heterosexual man myself that doing it in a way that mirrored Shannon's death showed just how much Eddie, a straight man, loved her."

I mean, the show will never do it. Tim has a Ryan boner, and is too chicken to do something so brave, but it's hilarious to think about.

[bugmomwrites]

Weary

Dr Flug x Reader

Stealing my sister’s bf’s HBO password is the second best thing I’ve done this week. Whipping up a solid drabble in 30 minutes and refining it into a whole oneshot in the same night takes first place.

There’s like, one innuendo towards the end but everything else is straight up fluff. Story came to me after reading yet another shady thing a certain airline I won’t name did, but it sounds like “we ain’t going”. I am changing the names so I don’t end up dead in a van somewhere, but if you know you know ;)

—•• •—• ••—• •—•• ••— ——•

“…And then what happened?”, Flug yawns, looking up at you through his goggles. You smile gently, kissing the front of the bag where his forehead would be.

“Well, according to some sources…the former production and safety manager’s exact words were ‘if anything happens, I didn’t do it myself’,” you respond, reading the article off your phone. Using the same soft voice you use when you read picture books to a sleepy 505, except it was a news article turned Wikipedia rabbit hole.

You two had gone from listening to him explain the differences between a 767 and an Airvan, to him resting his bagged head in your lap as you click on various entries and articles, bouncing information back and forth. The person, a known whistleblower who had retired from the controversial airline a few years ago, had tried many a time to draw attention to the company’s shady practices. For him to die so suddenly, especially as more inside secrets came to light, was too fishy for the public to ignore.

“I’m no detective, but…”

“Assassination?”, you finished for him, raising a brow. The two of you exchanged knowing looks.

“Does the Dreamweaver have flexible wings?”, he grumbles, wrapping his arms around your waist to bury his head further into your tummy. It tickles, but you try not to laugh lest you disturb his rare peace. Moments like these didn’t happen often, and you knew if any of the others were to see you like this, Black Hat would tear you both a new one, and Demencia would never let you hear the end of it.

A few more minutes go by, occasionally filled in with fun facts about the company’s various other incidents that had made the news in the past. You click off of yet another one where a plane was literally falling apart mid-air, having to make an emergency landing in a massive blaze. That was enough internet for today, at this rate you’d never want to hop in a plane again. You carefully set your phone to the side after checking the time.

“If I were him, I wouldn’t have let them get me.”

“I know, Flug.”

“And I would have documented everything.”

“Mhm”, you rest a hand on his back, your own eyes growing heavy.

“I’d go down there and put them back together myself. I’d personally take all of their shitty scrap parts, and make a better airplane than any of those so called professionals,” he says disdainfully.

You smile as he heaves a long sigh, like the weight of the world rests upon his weary shoulders; which isn’t far from the truth, if the way Black Hat nags him and Demencia torments him on a regular basis is any indication. Not to mention raising a son/care bear/science experiment through it all. But even if it’s not quite the whole earth, at the very least it’s the whole company. Everybody ought to give him more credit, himself included.

“If anybody could do such a thing, I know it’d be you, Flug. You’ve always had a brilliant mind.” He hums softly at the praise, feeling quite chuffed to know that at least someone in the manor besides his own son appreciated him not just for all he does, but who he is.

It’s quiet again for a few moments as he drifts in and out of consciousness, your hand gently rubbing his back until he speaks up again a few minutes later.

“And I’ll make you my co-pilot.”

This takes you by surprise, the hand rubbing his back stopping briefly as you let the words settle over the two of you. Reading between the lines was something you found yourself doing almost as often as reading his expression through his paper bag, the man still not quite comfortable enough to outright say all the things he’d had bouncing around in his head to you just yet. Your hand resumes as you test the waters, stuck between delicate hope and fear of possibly scaring him off.

“I…don’t know how to fly a plane. Nor do I have a pilots license.”

“Me neither, but I’ll show you how to do it in the cockpit. I’ll make sure you have a smooth ride for your first time.”

A pregnant pause falls over the both of you, and your whole face heats up, mind processing his words only to take a nosedive into the gutter. You open your mouth to respond only to be met with quiet snores from below, Flug blissfully unaware of the effect of his words.

‘Looks like the week finally caught up to him’, you think. Odds are he might not remember something like that when he woke up, but you could tease him about it later on. For now, you stretch your arms over your head and attempt to make yourself as comfy as possible without disturbing him, sleep beginning to overtake you as well. You glance down once more to where he dozes peacefully for the first time in years, committing it to memory before joining him in slumber.

“Buenas noches, Flug.”

—•• •—• ••—• •—•• ••— ——•

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Maybe I’m too dumb for this but I feel like none of the ships in 3h have chemistry. Yeah some pairings would be cute together I guess but I’m not really convinced on any of them. You only get a couple glimpses of them interacting.

That being said, the only ship I DO see happening is me and Hubert because I am in love with that man. Unfortunately he is not in love with me. It is one sided. I pine after him every day and he only sees me as a nuisance. I spend all my money on expensive imported coffee and share it with him, hoping he recognizes my love. He does not. He hates my coffee, it’s not bitter enough. My heart is broken. I drink only that outrageously expensive coffee for an entire year because it was so expensive and I got so much of it, hoping he’d like it. Every sip reminds me of my failure. I weep. We die on the same day; him in a battle in which he narrowly manages sacrificing his life for Edelgard’s through his scheming. I die never knowing he died. I contracted botulism (from the coffee) and was never diagnosed because we live in a medieval era. Our deaths are unrelated but it’s still poetic I think. What we could’ve had was beautiful, but instead all we shared was the end.

not sorry for being pedantic but you absolutely would get diagnosed and probably also survive. "oh but its the medieval era" no it's not. They have magic and a pretty well researched understanding of the human body. you will not die undiagnosed. In fact, it's very likely that the treatment for botulism has been researched and will be used on you in this scenario (you're definitely at least a little important if you meet with the Emperor's Righthand-man on a semi regular basis.)

So no. You don't poetically die on the same day. You're stuck in the past, thinking about what could've been. You drink some coffee. It reminds you of the time you gave him some as a gift. He didn't like it. You sigh before putting down the mug. You reopen the letter - the same one you recieved after he died. His handwriting is as beautiful as you'd imagined. You reread the simple praise over and over again.

You were loyal to the Emperor, and that meant that you were a useful tool. You think back on your various missions. You smile as tears slowly leave your eyes. Thousands of screams melt into each other. The specifics aren't important, all that matters is that you served Count Vestra. He smiled at you once, but that moment is forever ingrained in your memory.

The world slowly passes you by. Months. Then years. Eventually decades. The Agarthan War has ended. Emperor Edelgard has reshaped the Fodlan class system and eventually stepped down. Brigid has entered a new era of freedom and prosperity. It seems like even the sand, the rocks and the earth shifted around you.

But you're still thinking about him.

Also if hubert can fall in love with the 🧿👄🧿 but isn't falling for you then you are doing something wrong i think.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Notes- Sunshine Neuvillette & more x gn!reader

Return to File

Recovery date: October 11th, 2024

Description: hello again to my favourite writer! im thinking about headcanons with the boys with a s/o who's like emu in project sekai, and she's js a super energetic bundle of cheerful energy if u want a summary! for the boys uh maybe neuvillette, al haitham, xiao, kazuha, wanderer and heizou? if its too much u can take some out!

-⭐️ anon

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with researcher ⭐️, we thank them for their contributions. So, I had to look this character up. The first headcanon on all of them is my initial thoughts based off your request, and then everything else is based off her fandom wiki page!

Back to directory

Neuvillette

Initial thought, he’s used to Furina and her persona of Focalors so it’s not really new to him

Despite what he thinks, he’s gotten very good at human emotions

But he does write a letter to Sigewinne for how to help you, and she pulls through by suggesting he cooks for you

He wants you to rely on him like everyone can rely on you

You’re intuition on peoples sincerity is really useful

He looks at cases so critically, but you’re willing to believe the accused and sometimes you point things out that he missed

Especially now without the Oratrice, he has to be extra careful when examining everything

You’re smart, he definitely goes to you for help about humans and cases

Al Haitham

Initial thought, you must be really smart or really good at returning his snark for him to handle your energeticness on a daily basis

He’ll warn you about being too naive, just because something sounds like a great idea doesn’t mean it is

He has come to your rescue a few times, like when you went into the dessert and thought one water bottle would be enough

When he notices you bottling things up, he gifts you journal

He won’t make you talk about your feelings, in fact he prefers it this way, but he hates seeing the negativity eat away at you

No notes on your emotional intuition, though he thinks it’s a useful skill

Hey! Wiki says Emu is really smart

This is why Al Haitham can live with your energetic personality, just don’t expect him to match you

Xiao

Initial thought, baffled by how positive and energetic you are but doesn’t hate it

You have called him on multiple occasions when you’ve gotten yourself in trouble

He wishes you weren’t quite so naive, he’s saved you from hilichurls a few times because you didn’t realize they’d spot you trying to slip past

He’s really bad with feelings but, he’s there for you if you need him

To him, your negative feelings seem to eat at you the same way his karmic debt eats at him

So he tries to help

Glad you have such good emotional intuition, he’s horrible with them

No thoughts on your intellect, it doesn’t really affect anything with him

Kazuha

Initial thought, he finds it inspiring for his poems and stuff and while he doesn’t have quite as much energy as you he’s happy to meet your cheeriness

Always happy to help you with your plans and make sure they’re reasonable, you don’t usually get to the point he has to save you

Encourages you to let out your negative emotions, bottling things up isn’t good

Sometimes you write poems together, and sometimes he just listens to you

Your emotional intuition amazes him

He’s always thought he was good at reading people, but you don’t even need to see the person

Likes having intellectual conversations with you

Be it literary discussions or more stem inclined

Wanderer

Initial thought, like Al Haitham you must have something else going really strong for you because you are a beacon of attention and he actively avoids everyone

Indulges your naivety because you have to learn somehow, but he doesn’t let you get hurt

Like that time you miss judged the trek to Avidya forest

Connecting with emotions is part of his reformation, so he tries to help you

Especially if those emotions have to deal with abandonment or grief

Honestly, his response to most things being “murder” makes you laugh and he’s glad

He hates that you can see through his nonchalant act right from the get go, the words just don’t match the look in his eyes

You make writing papers easier because you raise counterarguments for him

Heizou

Initial thought, like Kazuha he finds you inspiring but on more of a personal level and has use you to distract criminals

Acts on your impulsive plans together, if you fall you fall together

Plus he can protect you in a dangerous situation

As a detective, he’s the first to notice your smile no longer reaching your eyes

So he uses interrogation techniques to get you to confess

And by that I mean he discreetly leads you into telling him what’s up, no torture required

You make interrogations so easy, he’s good at catching liars but you’re better at telling when people are hiding something

Also he’s baffled when you tell him Itto isn’t acting and really is that happy go lucky

Loves that he can match wits with you, puzzles are a fun pass-time of yours

[crescynnt]

Some thoughts about Mammon

Whoa a new fandom, finally! An old analysis wall I wrote, and I have no idea where I got most of these references so just bear with me...

Is Mammon a masochist? The short answer: I don't think so. Sure, he does stupid stuff that he knows Lucifer won't like, but I think it's more of his sin's temptations than he actually wants to be punished (and also another reason but I'll get to that in a bit).

First, let's back up a bit. Why would anyone think Mammon's a masochist? He keeps doing stupid stuff and gets in trouble with Lucifer (which is basically a death wish) on a daily basis. That's basically the biggest piece of evidence (and his brothers claims it's true, which Mammon always denies in that huffy voice that's so hard to take seriously). There's also that one instance where he (accidentally) sticks his finger into an electrical socket and liked it?? (I dunno, it's been a while since I've read that chat, but it was either a positive or neutral response)

Personally, I think most of the stupid stuff (stealing, hiding his unpaid bills, ect) are more manifestations of his sin. All the brothers have a sin associated with them, and it's been a part of them for so long that it's merged into their personality. Like, Beel isn't really Beel if he doesn't overeat, and Belphie isn't really Belphie if he doesn't sleep. They still have personalities and quirks other than that, but their sins are a big part of them, their motivations, and their personalities as a whole. So, on a similar line of thinking, Mammon being scummy is an effect of his sin. Okay, sure, he was already like that before he became the Avatar of Greed from the snippets we got of them back in the Celestial Realm, but he was... more responsible, kind of. It seemed as if it wasn't just Lucifer that kept him in line, but his inherent status as an angel. Like... even if he's naturally greedy, it's toned down because he physically can't feel those temptations. But once they fell, and he got the title of Avatar of Greed, he was able to indulge in all the greed he wanted, and he basically let loose.

So that went a bit off topic. The gist of it is, his overall greediness, even if it stems from him as a whole, was amplified from being the Avatar of Greed, and he can't help but want to do all that stuff (even if he knows it's bad). It's kind of similar to Beel's situation, where (and this comes from his song) his life is basically taken over by his gluttony. He had to eat, basically every minute of the day, or his hunger will overtake him. But he's also so used to it, and it's not like he's unwillingly indulging in gluttony that he won't stop. It's just part of them by now, that even if they know it's bad, they can't help but keep feeding their sins (no pun intended).

And it's that why his brothers think he's a masochist. He repeatedly makes horrible decisions, not because he likes the consequences, but because he's indulging in his sin. He can't see past his greed once something sets it off, just like how Belphie can't see past his sloth ("What would you do if the Devildom disappeared tomorrow?" "I'll take a nap and think about it later"), and how Lucy can't see past his pride at times. That, and because they just like teasing him.

But what about all the instances that aren't greed-related? Ignoring the fact that most of what he does at the very least stems from it, part of it's because he wants to keep his brothers together. The brothers gets into fights about the smallest things (ex. Beel cleaning out the fridge, Levi "borrowing" Belphie's pillow), and as dysfunctional as it is, it's also what brings them together. What all the brothers have in common is making fun of Mammon (yes, even Beel). I think some of his actions is to unite his brothers under that ("Mammon stole my credit card again!" "I know, he tried to sneak into my room the other day too!"). Bonding over how stupid Mammon is? He's such an attention seeker that it sounds at least plausible. And since they're demons, I wouldn't put it past them to somewhat enjoy it (I'm looking at you, Mr. Pride).

As for pain, I think Mammon's just too used to it (I'm still looking at you, Mr. Pride) that getting electrocuted just doesn't mean anything to him. But what I really think is going on is that he cares a lot about his brothers. He's... even when his brothers are bullying him, he never holds a grudge against them and basically forgets about it until the next time. He's kind of like an unflappable punching bag for them (literally, Lucifer has a physical punching bag of Mammon on the memory cards) and if they want to take it out on him, he's fine with it. He was known as the Fallen Warrior back in the war, and he's the second oldest, which means he could retaliate against them easily, but he never chooses to. So it's more likely that he thinks if he starts complaining about a stupid electric shock, his brothers will feel guilty about what they do and find another (and probably worse/unhealthier) punching bag instead. They're the seven rulers of the Devildom, so if even one of them snaps, there's gonna be a lot of destruction.

So overall (because all essays need a concluding paragraph), the answer is no, it's not that he likes it necessarily, but rather he's learned to endure pain for the sake of his brothers.

[artheresy]

I can’t stay quiet about this, I need to scream it to SOMEBODY ANYBODYYY

Dan Heng and Blade were Dan Feng and Yingxing. “Dh and Bld are Df and Yx!” Nope, their current selves aren’t them, that lacks nuance. “Dh and Bld aren’t Df and Yx!” THAT ALSO LACKS NUANCEE they are still connected and fundamentally shaped by their past identities, they aren’t entirely separate from them while also still being separate in a way. The best way I can describe it is like a venn diagram, there is overlap, but there also are still areas where they don’t.

To expand more, I wanna talk about the way they foil each other a bit in this sense. For Dan Heng, even if he is a botched rebirth, simply a “de-aged Dan Feng” not fully reborn, he is still not Dan Feng. While Dan Feng has made up the basis of his personality and he accepts him as his past, I think we forget that Dan Heng had his own entire childhood after the molting rebirth was completed. One he spent imprisoned by the Ten Lords Commission, and then he was exiled when he was old enough leading to his whole journey until he became apart of the Astral Express crew etc etc. Dan Heng is made up of a basis of Dan Feng + All of his own memories and experiences. While he shares traits with Dan Feng such as personality aspects like his stubbornness, his technique with a spear, and being able to connect with his old items, he also is very much himself with his own outlook and traits shaped by what he’s learned rather than what he has been born with. To treat him as if he is Dan Feng exactly is a disservice to both of their characters and the greater narrative that they apart of. He may still carry the burdens and karma of Dan Feng, but Dan Heng is still making his own future.

Now, Blade. Blade similarly is not Yingxing, not completely. Though he accepts Yingxing’s sin as his own and is intent of repaying the sin of Dan Feng and Yingxing (and getting Dan Heng to repay it too), there still are distinctions between him and Yingxing. In fact, I’d argue there are more things separating them. I could talk for so long again about the layered use of craftsmanship to connect, or rather disconnect, the two identities of Blade and Yingxing, but there’s more than that. “Now, ██ had died. His first — and only — death.” “From this moment on, that body will be the one and only "Blade."” Although Blade was Yingxing, a disconnect exists between them through the death of Yingxing. He awoke with no memories of his past, no even his name, until Jingliu came along, instilled in him her ideologies, made him remember, not only his past sins but the feeling of death so that he might inflict it onto others. As she said, he was reborn and had even given himself a name…

I want to add that the specific ways in which their current identities exist in proximity to their past ones foil each other. As I said, Dan Heng, in part as his sabotaged rebirth, is built upon the foundation of Dan Feng and all of his own experiences and memories. He has the capacity to gain back more memories of Dan Feng as his DH IL character stories outline, and though he is still himself and still moves forward, we see him accept his relation to Dan Feng eventually. Though that past life of his is clouded by fog and mist, he may eventually be able to push away the clouds that block him and understand more, about Dan Feng and in turn about himself. With Blade, it is so heavily emphasized in game from his relic lore to the very sword he uses that his mind is essentially broken, due both in part to the trauma of Jingliu’s “teachings” and the mara that was brought on by those lessons. He can’t fully remember everything about Yingxing, in fact actively remembering such or seeing familiar things is harmful to him. Like his shard sword, he is made of broken pieces, put together in a way that can never erase the cracks, and continuously shattering before being glued together again. His life is shaped by Yingxing’s past, the trauma he has endured is directly caused by his past actions. Unlike Dan Heng, he hasn’t had this whole life to build up and live. Though he’s experienced new things, they don’t shape him and change him in the way that Dan Heng’s built his identity up.

Where Dan Heng basically has supplements to Dan Feng’s identity that make him who he is, Blade is the broken shards and pieces of Yingxing that weren’t lost to the waves, making him who he is. Dan Heng is a next chance, finally free from the Preceptors’ control and of the role that stripped his past selves of their individuality, meanwhile Blade is the husk left behind of Yingxing’s regrets, broken by trauma caused due to Yingxing’s past actions, forever tormented by his past until he inevitably is able to die. If Dan Heng is more than just Dan Feng which is why he is separate but intertwined with him, than Blade is less than Yingxing, in a way that has caused such a severe disconnect that has caused Blade to have his own identity still shaped. And looking at this, not to again bring up my craftsmanship post about Blade, Dan Heng can connect to Dan Feng. He can clear the fog, remembering his memories through dreams even if he can’t fully connect emotionally to him, and he finds sentiment in many of items that once were his, smth not many Vidyadhara actually are capable of doing. To contrast, Blade is forever separated from connecting completely to Yingxing’s identity. His memories will always be fragmented, his own path entirely changed. He can’t connect to Yingxing’s past goals and passions, seen through the distinct decision made in his character stories to talk about how he can no longer use his hands to forge weapons (something that completely defined Yingxing’s life and legacy, tied to his childhood trauma and hatred of the Abundance, something that became his genuine passion), and how none of that mattered to Blade.

All of this, the ways they foil each other and the separation between their past selves and current, just makes me love their dynamic and their lore a lot. Makes me want to cry most days of my life if I’m honest. And it’s part of why I do take issue with the way nuance has completely left this argument, only having two extremes of “Dan Heng is Dan Feng!” Or “Dan Heng isn’t Dan Heng!” Again… Dan Heng WAS Dan Feng, he wouldn’t be Dan Heng without Dan Feng, but he is still himself. That’s part of the tragedy between them. They are still fundamentally defined and shaped by their past selves, similarities able to be spotted if they can be remembered, but they’ve also experienced so much that has changed them, and they can never truly go back to being Dan Feng and Yingxing. It would never be fully the same again.

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

Do you still think you’d share how to comment on explicit fics? 👉🏻👈🏻 I just think that would be so great and helpful! Either way, I love the way you write so much!

ah yeah! okay Disclaimer: this is not universal or exhaustive and no one has to do any of this shit at all if it's not their vibe. this is just what i found works for me when im leaving a comment, and also the kinds of things i eat up with a spoon when other people comment on my stuff.

it can feel a little iffy and vulnerable sometimes when you're trying to comment on explicit fic, especially if it's extra juicy and especially if the author is someone you might not interact with. so i'm gonna break this up into two categories. Commenting On SFW But Still Sexy Aspects, and Commenting on NSFW Aspects. then i'll break down some options and give examples :) you can pick and choose however many works for you on a fic-to-fic basis.

SFW But Still Sexy Aspects

Character Behavior Changes - Example: i find it so interesting how A starts out so cocky and like he's about to lead everything, and then the second B starts touching him, he gets all nervous.

Setting/Atmosphere - Example: the fact that this is all happening in an alleyway adds to the grittiness in such an effective way - i love it! - Example: you described the mansion's details so well that i felt like i was there having a drink with them, watching them make eyes at each other! super hot!

Juicy Plot Points/Motivations - Example: knowing there's years of sexual tension between them makes this so yummy to read. glad you included the buildup! i was reading as fast as i could so i could get to the satisfaction of them finally getting together <3 and you did not disappoint!

Pointing Out Callbacks To Previous Chapters (If Chaptered) - Example: "line copy/pasted from this chapter" ah! okay i guess there was a reason for him doing XYZ in the last chapter lol - Example: i love that we're here now. i never would have guessed this would be happening between them when i started reading but damn does it feel so good.

NSFW Aspects

Pro Tip: use quotes from the fic! it helps you! it shows the author exact parts that worked! it's fun for everyone :D

Dialogue - Example: "dialogue copy/pasted from fic" oh my god i can hear this in their voice so clearly! - Example: "dialogue copy/pasted from fic" okay tbh i never thought i'd hear them say something like this, but the way you framed it and built up to it works so well! - Example: "dialogue copy/pasted from fic" this would've worked on me too tbh

A Particular Move/Position - Example (mild): B flipping A over and taking control was soooo hot - Example (medium): B going down on A was so hot - i love how into it they both were - Example (hot): B going down on A was so hot - i love how A couldn't help but cum so quickly with how nasty B was being <3

Anything That Got A Physical Reaction Out Of You - Example: "line copy/pasted from fic" wow this made my tummy swoop! - Example: the overall build up in this scene is so good i was sweating! / i'm fanning myself! / omg i need a cold shower lol

Kinks/Tropes - Example: i've never read this kink/trope before but i love your other work so i decided to give it a shot! - Example: i lovvve this kink/trope and you nailed it! especially the parts with XYZ.

Just Kidding Here's A Third Category: Miscellaneous

Excitement About New Fic - Example: omg i saw the notification and came RUNNING - Example: when i read the tags i started sweating. knew immediately that you were going to put me on my ass

Relating Back To Other Works From The Author - Example: This reminds me of your other fic 'Fic Title'! really loved the tension in that one too - i'm glad we get to see some more!

Hit Em With The Ol' Emojis + Gratitude - Example: 🥵🥵🥵 thank you for sharing!

What Happens After You Close The Tab? - Example: i'll be thinking about this one for a long long time wow! - Example: i've been thinking about the last chapter since i read it. this fic has me in a chokehold! - Example: reading this for a second time! just as hot as the first!

in summary, most authors i know cherish comments like you wouldn't fucking believe! so follow your horny little heart and know that they're ecstatic that you took the time to leave one <3

and if all else fails, you can never go wrong with a good copy/paste of a line that you specifically liked + why you liked it!

[twopoppies]

To piggyback off your journalist anon…as a current journalist of more than 10 years, I have to call BS. Maybe that’s how things are in the entertainment journalism space, but it’s patently false elsewhere. To write without a basis in truth would be a violation of ethics. In fact, it’s on us to prove that we have enough backing to say what we say. That’s the point of attributions. And when you don’t have attributions, you better be confident that what you’re putting down isn’t going to get you sued and that you have some kind of proof, whether that’s notes, pictures, data, etc. It’s encouraged of journalists to save their interview tapes in the face of any potential accusation that what was written was not said. It’s dangerous to suggest a true journalist would make things up just for the hell of it, especially in the current climate.

Now you will see outlets aggregate quotes from different sources and paste them together indiscriminately. But most of the time the outlets doing that are not the ones tasked with actually reporting the truth and keeping the citizenry informed of what’s going on in the world. As always, check your sources!

That said, as a journalist, you have to be wary of your subjects and their motives. They don’t always have the best intentions, or they may not always be able to share whole truths. That’s the distinction we need to be clear about. As a journalist, it’s important to note that a subject actually said something, because that’s our way of putting the onus on the subject to represent themselves accurately. We report on what’s been said to us. We do all the research we can to ensure we’re not hoodwinking our audience. And then we publish.

And yes it’s true we don’t give any PR machines prior approval of articles. That would be a breach of our journalistic integrity. Our job is to report, not be hand-fed information from someone whose job it is to put a positive spin on things.

Hi, darling. Thank you so much for this. My impression from the previous anon was that they were talking about gossip and entertainment media (like People magazine or the Sun. Maybe even an outlet like Rolling Stone). But I would hope a journalist reporting on more important topics is doing the sort of things you say.

What I’ve heard from others is that there’s a fine line in celebrity reporting where a journalist wants to tell the truth as they see it, but (as you said) the subject may not be telling the whole truth, or they are concerned about no longer having access to the artist or others under the same label if they don’t follow the “suggested narrative.”

I suppose there’s a little give and take either way.

But I really appreciate your perspective! And thank you for the lovely compliment. I’m touched you check in here to catch up. 🩷

In reference to this

[whooiew]

Hi! I'm very curious about what is the basis of the Kafsant ship? Just cause cute?

Hello! I actually have a full script for this one question!

I'll separate them into different bits depending on how interested you are in learning more

They both came from a pretty fucked up past Kafka needing to fight tooth and nail to survive on the Columbian streets Snowsant with POVERTY and RACISM They both also have a fondness for braids Kafka is all street smarts and 0 books smarts While Snowsant is all books smarts (a literaly prodigy engineer) and 0 street smarts (extremely obvious in her operator records) Snowsant is anxious and worries a lot about the future (not anymore since So Long Adele, she has more self confidence now, we love to see it) Kafka is more of a living in the moment kinda girl And most importantly, the part that slam jams this ship together in the first place Snowsant is a place of comfort and reliability that the operators can rely on She's extremely genuine and pure of heart Kafka desperately needs a place of comfort and reliability in her life, and is magnitized to people who she sees as genuine, cause she just, wants someone that she can trust

And from here we'll be going into the DETAILS (1257 words ahead, might get sexual towards the end)

Kafka has absolutely no idea what love is like, in fact she's completely avoiding it most of the time due to her past but due to the nurture and nature dillema of Kafka

She actually greatly yearns for any sort of connection, as shown in her operator records featuring Silence Her Module featuring Silence Her Operator files featuring Rhodes Island treating them extremely well, as shown in Pinecone's Operator Records and Kafka's Files where she takes cares of the children and actively makes gifts for the Mansfield crew Snowsant on the other hand we don't really have any idea how she's like in terms of the concept of love, but if the liberi trend is anything to go by she'll be pretty intimate with it, making Kafka the one outlier whom's actively avoiding it

And I have a concept on how they've met actually

In case you didn't know, Kafka's basically Arknight's version of Robin Hood, she runs around stealing and stabbing people on the streets of Columbia but she still has a heart of gold and really only shanks those that deserves it, if they don't she'll just steal it, and she also looks out for her fellow hobos despite everything

IN Kafka's operator records, towards the end it was shown that Silence has met Kafka before actually

Back when Kafka stole Silence's breakfast and passes it along to a homeless child before running off, she also paid Silence of course, leaving her with a single coin (we'll come back to the coin part in a bit for brain rot) Now how does this tie to Snowsant you may wonder Snowsant's a Lungmen character isn't she? She's from Lungmen, how would she have met a Columbian WELL MY DEAR READER SNOWSANT'S BEEN TO COLUMBIA BEFORE!

Using her painfully saved up money and her winnings at Lungmen's Invention Competition, she moved to Columbia to further her studies to be the most EPIC ENGINEER EVER

But life for our little Snowsant isn't that good in Columbia

Being a Lungman Citizen she got hit with a good dose of RACISM, her social standing doesn't help either, causing her to not be treated that kindly throughout her stay there

If you've read So Long Adele, you should know that Snowsant cried herself to sleep over the prices of writing letters there

She was not well off in Columbia at all Now she actually made something FUCKING AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONARY, but due to her ZERO STREET SMARTS, she didn't copyright it, it got stolen, and the thieves made BANK with HER CREATION, ASSHOLES

Least to say poor Snowsant was fucking dying at this point

Now that's when our favorite corvid comes along, KAFKA, OUR ROBIN HOOD, she descends from the heavens to provide food and stuff whenever she can to Snowsant cause Snowsant's her fellow hobo at this point basically And of course eventually Snowsant goes back to Lungmen and stuff yadda yadda BUT EVENTUALLY, Snowsant and Kafka met back up on Rhodes again

Snowsant's of course very thankful and stuff, and from there on they sorta just hang out more cause Kafka's like, omg a fellow street kid YOOOOOO

So Kafka pays more attention in terms of taking care of Snowsant, which causes Snowsant to think Kafka might have feelings for her, after a bit eventually Snowsant drags her on a date and something something, oh hey maybe Kafka likes her too and she'll have to be forced to confront to the idea of it causing her to explode into a mess of feathers

As a result who knows Snowsant might think she did something wrong due to how she is as a a character and now its a MESS OH NO, eventually Kafka will have to get through to her feelings and confront it and YIPPEE YURI Apart from that I just think they'd be really cute with each other, they bounce off each other's flaws really well, like, Kafka's infinite confidence and gusto countering Snowsant's sheer lack of it

And Snowsant just being a general safe zone for Kafka to let her guard down around, because Snowsant's never really hiding anything, she's always genuine

Which is something Kafka really likes. ALSO THEY HAVE THE SAME LIBERI TRAIT OF SIDE HAIR FEATHERS And that's pretty much the basics

So now that we've gone over express details on how Snowsant and Kafka are like as characters I'ma explain a bit more about them Snowsant is a pure of heart girl, your average goodie two shoes, she's a prodigy genius, she has an insane amount of mental endurance, being able to go through failure after failure but despite it all still being able to keep her head up high and continue moving forward

She cares for her family greatly, family is extremely important to her in fact, hell a good amount of her paycheck gets sent back to her family even

But all of that comes with a price, she's still slightly anxious about things, doesn't really take care of herself, and has a nasty habit of, zoning in too much (this will be discussed further later)

Kafka on the other hand, on the surface may seem like an annoying piece of shit, but once you get to know her she actually has a heart of gold, becoming Rhodes Island's invisible guardian angle in a sense, looking out for her fellow operators whenever wherever

She also has a fondness for kids as she visits them often and even makes gifts for them

Speaking of gift making, Kafka is an avid tinkerer and arts and crafts nerd

And of course can't forget, harboring of PLANT AUTISM

But yeah, she cares for people greatly, especially ones that's close to her

Be it anyone from the Mansfield Crew Silence Ifrit (implied) You the Doctor She's the peak of Liberi, with how Liberi characters are usually very caring about their relationships, be it their S/O or their friends and family, they care greatly for them Fitting for Kafka because she's a Jackdaw! Jackdaws immensely loyal to their partners and will pretty much never leave one once they find one all that aside, I just think these 2 would be really sweet and they'd just be happy to have someone that they can lean on especially Kafka

(This is where the sexual parts are: )

There's also the side to Snowsant where she actually surprisingly dominant

Which unironically fits how White Eared Pheasants are like

I've always made Snowsant the more assertive one, and more recent Snowsant content supports that fact

There's some parts to Snowsant, small parts, but pieced together it shows a bigger picture and I'd say Snowsant does have a dominant side to her but she keeps it in check It'll only really come out when she's in the mood and zone for it, specifically when she starts zoning stuff out again Like damn yeah she'd definitely tie Kafka up and whisper sensually into her ears while teasing her

The whole zoning out thing I've explored a bit more when writing a specific short fic but it was shown officially in her operator records where Snowsant completely zoned out everything around her when she got caught thinking about how to pay for her book publishing fee, completely zoning out the fact that Closure was telling her that Doc and Closure already paid for it

Which fits into white eared pheasants being usually pretty reserved when it comes to the act of sex until a switch flips on and they go into a breeding frenzy

Also Snowsant's fucking RICH NOW BABY YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[minaramen]

Momo - 16 Idol Album - Part 3:  If I am with my loved one

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[Disclaimer: I’m NOT a professional translator. I’m using my knowledge from 4 years of university. Please, feel free to let me know if you notice  mistranslation/typo/error of any kind]    

***

Momo: Once I entered elementary school I started having football training very early in the morning, so I couldn’t go to radio calisthenics with my sister anymore

Momo: That must be the reason why, whenever I try to think about the past, all that comes to mind is about those days

Momo: Also, if we were so good to attend everyday, my dad would reward us with delicious juice!

Momo: While rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I used to hold my sister’s hand and go to the calisthenics exercise together

Yuki:... You have a good sister, don’t you? Despite being little children, you really sympathised with each other

Yuki:...however…

Momo: W-what…?

Yuki: You’re always the same. You never really changed

Momo: Uh…because I always wanted to handle the situation by myself?

Yuki: Correct. But, well…I can’t say I don’t like this side of you as well

Yuki: Because not everyone can do it. There are millions of people out here who say they’re the loveliest in the world and it’s just fine-sounding talk

Yuki: However you, Momo, spring right into action for other people’s sake. And you do it in a wonderful, cool, proud way.

Momo: …Yuki….

Yuki: That said, I can’t forgive the fact you never talk to me

Momo: Yes… 

Yuki: I don’t want to be misunderstood, so I’m going to say it properly. I mean that I want you to share your pain and your struggles with me. That’s what a partner does, isn’t it?

Momo:...! Yes…! Yuki…! Your handsomeness level increased lately…! 

Momo: You even talked properly in order to avoid misunderstandings…

Yuki: Yes. I’m learning a lot

Momo: Ahah… well, I think I’m getting to like myself more lately

Momo: I caused you a lot of trouble, but I could protect people who are important to me and I’m having an optimistic talk with you, my special person, while sharing that*

Momo: Back then even if I could protect people, I couldn’t share anything with them

Yuki: …not even with your sister?

Momo: I just couldn’t. Maybe because she was family

Yuki: How are things going, lately? Are you in contact with her?

Momo: Ah, yes! We have a good relationship. But we both work, so there aren’t many chances we can meet

Momo: She sent me her feedback on what she watches on TV and opinions on Re:vale new songs

Momo: She even tells me the exact second of a scene from an anime she enjoyed the most

Yuki: I see. I’d like to meet her again, it’s been a while

Momo: Ahah! So you want to meet my sister on a regular basis!

Yuki: I just want to see your face when you're together with your sister. Sometime I want to taste your little brother’s face, and the Momose aura you had when we first met

Momo: S-so that’s what you think about when you look at us! It’s pretty embarrassing…!

Yuki: I don’t think I’d have the chance to see you being taken by the hand with a sleepy face, unless you’re with Ruri san

Momo: I’m not that much of a sleepyhead anymore! My name isn’t  “Yuki”...

Yuki: I was not like that years ago. I was the kind of child who would have gone to the radio calisthenics with a high spirit

Momo: What? You’re kidding 

Yuki:  I am

Momo: You scared me…! It’s heartbreaking when a handsome man lies as soon as he opens his mouth…

Momo: You’ve never done anything like radio calisthenics in your life, right?

Yuki: I haven’t. I don’t think I even knew there were something like that in the neighborhood

Momo: Well, if you’d have gone to the radio calisthenics you would have been just like you are when you’re on the stage, and everybody would be instantly thrown into an uproar

Momo: The old men who were playing gateball would have focused all their attention on you, and the old women as well, and all the children in the nearabouts too! And it wouldn’t have been radio calisthenics anymore. Definitely too dangerous…

Yuki: Radio calisthenics has such performance-oriented movements?

Momo: Uhm, well… actually, the way your arms go from around the waist to above may be considered a little scenographic…?

Yuki: Like this…?

Momo: Yeah! You’re good!

Momo: Fufu… ahahah! Ah, if only I was a Yuki… a Yukito kun’s neighbor, I would have taken you by hand and walked to the radio calisthenics together

Yuki: Is it okay to sleep on the park bench?

Momo: N-not at all…! We’re supposed to do it together! And then we could have a tasty juice once we’re done

Yuki: Isn’t radio calisthenics a children's activity?

Momo: It’s not only for children! There were also old men doing it

Yuki:.... then, when we’re old men, you’ll take me by hand and bring me to radio calisthenics

Yuki: You couldn’t do it in the past, but if you  get challenged in the future you can do it

Momo: I see… you’re right..!

Momo: I can do everything I couldn’t in the past, if I don’t give up and think I can succeed

Momo: Thank you, Yuki. If you’re by my side, I’ll get to like myself and become stronger

The end

* I’ve found this sentence really hard to translate into English, so if you find a better way to translate it  please let me know 

[spilling-blood]

thoughts on fyokuchi (fyodor/fukuchi)?

Before we knew anything about Fukuchi's end goal, Fyodor's age, or any of that I always thought that there was potential there for them to have had some sort of close interactions or at least be "in on something" together that the rest of the Decay wasn't.

For multiple reasons (at the time) first of all Fukuchi seemed to be either driving the ship, or if their goals turned out to be truly in conflict of each other, at least the type of person that could be seen in a positive light by Fyodor. My reasoning for this was just thinking that despite the mess that is the DoA, there had to be something there that Fyodor respected, found interesting, etc. To work with Fukuchi. Obviously a lot of this is all turned on it's head now but that was my thoughts with them back then. The other reason I figured they had some potential for *off screen interactions* in the past was the length of time these plans were being put into motion, and the complexity of them. I liked to imagine Fukuchi and Fyodor being the founders of the Decay (potentially with Fyodor thinking he was truly in charge and Fukuchi thinking the opposite) and hashing out their schemes together over drinks and then bringing Nikolai into the fold later. (And then Fukuchi providing Bram, and Fyodor providing Sigma).

That brought up the question of "how the fuck did these two even meet?" which also in my mind involved them speaking more one on one. I never really thought more beyond this myself when it came to how they met though. But I did see a few things other people came up with that I did like, some having more to do with shipping some not. I can't remember which was which but there were a couple posts and some comic style art too. One idea was centered around the "wait, how the fuck old *is* Fyodor even?" question that existed before we had any kind of confirmation or were close to having one. And that was Fukuchi running across a (immortal or super old) Fyodor during the war and Fukuchi trying to help him from serious injuries and them speaking more and bonding from that moment. Also Fukuchi being immediately charmed by Fyodor. But it still was like, scheming Fyodor I think, as in he got found like that on purpose. I'm so sorry I can't remember where this came from, and I may have mixed this person's idea up, but I just know it 100% was not originally mine lol. Another was just Fyodor finding Fukuchi charming and that coupled with a shared world view (not the case now I know this is still older stuff) building the basis for them being more comfortable with each other and just vibing well.

Anyways now alot of that is obviously completely unrealistic if you don't take into account Fyodor's manipulation of Fukuchi and how shit went down. But eh, developing stories can be like that so in my mind dumping canon out the window is always an option. I sure af did it when everything was actively falling apart with the DoA and I was writing various other members lol.

In terms of a ship I think the fact they have an age gap in the opposite direction I would have thought earlier on is absolutely hillarious, Fukuchi is not the old man at all in comparison really like "who are you calling old man?" he can pull that out and it isn't wrong lol. I still wish the DoA had turned out to be a bit of a more cohesive organization despite their ridiculous messiness (that is just part of their charm) and I will probably continue to write and think of them that way. Like damnit let them exist together (I do like that to do this Fyodor must be nerfed though like yeah, sit down shut up stop scheming no you did not set everyone up to get completely fucked shhh you can have some schemes as a treat but not the *big one*). And because of that I still very much enjoy the "Fyodor and Fukuchi having conversations without the rest of them" thing and the DoA being at the end of the day their organization originally.

And then there is the big thing, and that is that I will ship Fyodor with just about anyone. So now that you have asked me about Fyokuchi dear anon I am now considering Fyokuchi more lmao. In my mind it really has to completely diverge from canon (not a bad thing which I kinda said before but just reiterating my stance on that) now to ship them though, well I guess unless you make it really fucking tragic and put some hidden feelings of regret in there for Fyodor despite still using him for his own goal. Like maybe spending so much time with him he still is going to *do the thing* and keep manipulating him all the way there, but it isn't without some personal emotional pain (that he isn't going to share). Enough to hurt but not enough to change his mind and abandon his final plans in the end. Sry sry I went off on some kinda brainstorming tangent with canon compliant tragic Fyokuchi. I'll stop here. (This is what I mean though with me and Fyodor ships, like I start considering it and with him it becomes "So how could this work actually?" And it is fun for me to think about, other people experiencing him or how their relationship could work (or begin or end).

[naminethewriter]

On the Road, Just the Two of Us

Chapter Eight: At Our Destination, Not Just the Two of Us

Masterpost | First | Previous | Ao3

Summary: This was written for @dukeceit-week-2024, @dukeceitweek

Janus and Remus are living in a campervan at the moment. Are they going somewhere? Who knows. The only thing that’s important is that they’re together.

Content Warnings: Flirting, Kissing, Bickering between the twins

🌻🌻🌻🌻

“I don’t want this to end,” Remus admitted quietly.

“I know, darling.” Janus didn’t look over at his boyfriend, too focused on the GPS that told him they were only five minutes away from their destination.

“Can’t we just drive past and keep going?”

“No, dear. It was fun and I loathe to admit I wouldn’t mind if this trip was longer, but we need to go back at some point. I can only take off time from work for so long and we do still need the money. Even if we were to live like this full time. I don’t think I’d enjoy it on a permanent basis, actually.”

Remus sighed, leaning heavily into his seat.

“Yeah, I know. Me too, actually. I can’t sculpt like this. Or paint on the scale I’d like. I know it’s for the best, but still… I don’t wanna deal with the responsibilities again.”

“I cannot relate to that at all.” Janus moved his hand to Remus’ thigh and squeezed. “It’s going to be fine. You focus on your art and let me deal with all the annoying paperwork and bills.”

“You’re gonna be busy again,” Remus accused, though it was in a lighter tone. He was indeed upset at that fact, but he also knew that it was necessary.

“Yes. That’s probably not going to change for a long while.”

“I know. It sucks ass.”

“It does.”

The GPS announced the last turn they would have to make before they’d reach their destination at the end of the road.

“We’ll find the time to do something like this again, promise,” Janus said. “Not every year, not even every other year but we’ll do it again.”

“I’ll cut you if we don’t.”

“Sounds fair.”

They drove the last stretch of their journey in silence, just enjoying each other’s company and reflecting on the past three month on their own.

It had been the most freeing time in Janus’ life.

He was going to miss it.

He pulled the van into a free parking spot outside a lovely, old hotel. The location of the wedding.

“Are you ready?” he asked Remus. His boyfriend huffed.

“One last thing.” Remus pulled Janus over to him, practically lifting him from the driver’s seat and onto his lap, before sealing their lips together. It was unusually sweet for him, no tongue involved.

They parted a few minutes later.

“Now I’m ready,” Remus grinned and Janus chuckled.

“Then let’s go.” He leaned over to grab the keys from the ignition before climbing out of Remus’ lap and out of the passenger door. Remus followed after him, but not without commenting on how good his butt looked.

“There you are! Finally!” The car door wasn’t even closed behind them before Roman was stalking over to them, looking close to furious. “Do you have any idea what time it is? You were supposed to be here yesterday!”

“What a nice welcome,” Janus commented dryly, causing Remus to burst out in giggles and Roman to glare at him.

“Sorry, Ro-bro, but we got turned around.”

“Oh, really?” Roman asked, obviously not convinced, his arms crossed.

“No, he saw a flyer for a carnival and begged me to go.”

“It was super fun, I almost puked on one of their rides! So worth it.”

“I cannot believe you two! A carnival, really?! The rehearsal dinner for your wedding is in two hours! Two hours! And you both look like you haven’t showered in a week!”

“Don’t be dramatic, it was only five days.” Roman groaned and Remus smiled at him, delighted by his annoyance.

“I do not know why you didn’t get a better van! One with a shower! Janus is a lawyer for goodness’ sake, you could’ve easily afforded it!”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t the aesthetic we were going for!”

“I am so going to strangle you!”

“Oh, look, the grooms finally made it,” a new voice commented, and Janus turned to see that Virgil, his best man, had joined them. “Roman was going up the walls since yesterday, it was hilarious to watch.”

“I can’t imagine that at all.” Janus smirked. “You seem quite calm though. Usually you would be right there with him, worrying your pretty little head off about everything.” Virgil elbowed him in the arm for that and rolled his eyes.

“Why would I stress myself out about your wedding? You already paid for all of this, so it’s not like it would’ve been a loss for me if you didn’t end up showing. Plus, I know the two of you, of course nothing here would go to plan, especially since Roman did most of the planning. I was sure you’re going to turn up late, if just to spite him. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past you to have arrived here like two days ago and you’ve just stayed in the van ten minutes from here until you could be fashionably late. I’m more surprised you showed up for the rehearsal at all. Second plus, Logan’s been weirdly insistent that you’d be here around this time. I think Remus has been texting him updates.”

“Why should we put so much effort into a wedding Roman wanted more than us? We would have been fine with getting an officiant into our backyard during a barbeque. He insisted on something more ‘meaningful.’” Janus rolled his eyes and Virgil snickered.

“He and his high standards. Anyway, let’s get you inside and under a shower. You reek.”

“Why, thank you Virgil, for telling me that so politely.”

“Fuck off and just come along.”

They started off towards the hotel, closely followed by the twins that were still arguing.

“And what the hell was that text about sunflowers in the bouquet?” Roman huffed, still rather worked up. “You can’t expect me to change that on such short notice! And they would have clashed with the other colors, plus they stand for platonic affection, not romantic!”

“The fuck you mean ‘short notice?’ I asked you about that two and a half months ago!”

“Yes, way too late! I added some sunflowers to the decorations but not the bouquet.”

“Wow, thank you for your sacrifice.”

They continued to bicker like that the entire way. When they reached the entrance to the hotel, Virgil pulled the door open and held it for them all to pass. Janus let the twins go first, since Roman seemed about to explode if he didn’t get Remus ready immediately. Janus watched them disappear further into the building when Virgil lightly shoved his shoulder with his own.

“So, you ready to get married?” he asked.

Janus watched Remus laugh loudly and pulling his brother into a hug and he smiled.

“I was ready to marry him years ago.”

🌻🌻🌻🌻

This is the end of the story! Thank you all so much for reading, reblogging, tagging and commenting 💛💚

[mae-i-scribble]

Hi, I hope you're having a nice day - in your author's notes for chapter 2 of The Long Way Home, you mentioned the idea that the story HSY wrote is different from the ORV that we know. I wanted to ask if you've ever written any posts expanding on that? I would love to read more about your thoughts on this (KDJ in your story's last memory being about reading that instead of WoS. Gutted me.)

Hello there! I have unfortunately not written a post detailing this (if you are the very nice anon who has asked me to elaborate on this i am very sorry, if you're not anon i am still very sorry), in large part because doing so in a way that I would be happy with would involve combing through the last 1/3rd or so of the novel. Since the major thematics about authors and characters and readers as one aren't really gotten into until that point. To be honest, I just haven't had the energy for that.

The idea that the novel HSY wrote not being ORV is one that I've always had since first finishing ORV- I can't say where exactly it originated from. Now to be clear, it's an undisputed fact that HSY and kimcom *are* writing about the events they lived through, and I do 100% both understand how and why HSY writing ORV is the more widely accepted theory (them including lines from early orv scenes, the way that it loops right back around into ORV's very meta theming, the way it would match up with the ideas of loop of fate, etc.) I just don't agree with it.

One of the greatest takeaways for me on the author/character theming in ORV is that an author will never fully understand a character they write. HSY and YJH live this out in real time, alongside HSY learning the origins of WoS vs the YJH she has come to know as a companion. In writing WoS she straight up admits that she fudges her memories of him because it isn't as if she could know everything about him- she just wrote the story she thought KDJ needed to hear. (I swear I have a point I promise). HSY as intimate knowledge in how while writing someone, you both grow to understand them intimately while simultaneously remaining clueless. With the experiences she goes through, combined with the fact that KDJ's narration in ORV is so specifically *him* with all its unreliability and the glimpses we get into his past/bits of him on his own without kimcom around, I just don't think ORV is something HSY would have written. To me, she wouldn't have tried to write from KDJ's perspective, already having far too much entanglement in obscuring people and characters with KDJ (and possily from that one scenario where she's almost taken over by the character she's incarnated into, but again, i would need to reread).

Then we reach the point where she writes this novel for the KDJ's across worldlines- or rather, kimcom does. Which I think is another very relevant point, HSY is compiling and spinning this into a narrative, but *everyone* is contributing to it and writing bits and pieces. Now that I type it out, I think that might be part of what makes me so happy with the thought that instead of ORV, HSY is writing that same story but told from kimcom's perspective, not KDJ's like ORV is. The image of everyone coming together to give their own perspective and accounts while HSY compiles and sorts those varying viewpoints into a narrative with KDJ as the focus just warms my heart. In a post I made about the epilogues, I brought up that with this interpretation, you can see it as kimcom writing KDJ as they see him, so that he can understand just why they love him so dearly- which I think is especially poignant considering this novel's true purpose isn't even to bring KDJ back, its to help everyone else heal from the trauma of losing him.

So basically, I can't really give you much of a textual basis for my argument besides for the fact that ORV doesn't straight up say HSY is writing ORV, it's more just was my first takeaway that has forever stuck with me as my preferred interpretation.

(P.S. thank you for taking the time to read my fic, I also loved writing the bit where KDJ remembers that story.)

[dragonmarquise]

Super Indulgent Canon x OC Ship, Part 1: Vinyl and Nunchaku

I finally, FINALLY managed to get one of these done. Long story short, dealing with a lot of irl nonsense the past few weeks, especially with my job. I think things are starting to get better? :u

Anyways!! Based on that poll I made a while ago, I’m starting off with the butch lesbians, yesss :D For reference, Nunchaku is one of my Devil Theory OCs!

(Also there might be some typos or weird grammar, I skimmed over this to double-check, but I probably still missed something. Let me know if I did!)

I guess first off to clarify, Vinyl in my headcanons is a more masculine lesbian, but also admittedly doesn’t label herself as butch. Like, she knows the label fits herself, but she just doesn’t use it out of preference. Though also doesn’t mind if people call her that (as long as they’re not trying to use it as an insult of course).

Plus she and Nunchaku have an ongoing thing of calling themselves “a pair of bad butches”, so there’s that too, lol

Anyways, starting off with how they met! Which is not the same as “how they got together”, because they technically knew each other before the events of the game (emphasis on technically), but only get together sometime afterwards.

We of course know from Faux’s real name being Teun Vogelaar that most of the characters are going by street names. For my headcanons, Vinyl’s real name is Florence, and she goes by Flo as a nickname. Meanwhile, Nunchaku’s real name is Roxanne, but she goes by Rox. What I’m getting at is, they met each other in their normal everyday outfits and going by their names/nicknames, so they don’t make the connection between themselves and their street rep until later. Much later in Nunchaku’s case.

(From here on out, I’ll use the nicknames Flo and Rox if it’s about them outside of doing writer stuff, and with their street names for writer stuff like the events of the game.)

So, Rox first meets Flo at the music store that Flo works at. She was just passing by and saw Flo, who she thought looked really cool! Though, Rox doesn’t have much of a reason to go into a store like this (keeps digital files and CDs of music she likes anyways). Still, she ends up passing by the store a couple of times over the course of a week, just to see Flo for a few seconds.

Eventually Rox realizes what she’s doing is going to look really damn creepy if Flo hasn’t noticed her already, so she finally gets the nerve to actually go into the store. They talk! For a bit! Friendly customer-employee small talk! But even that is enough for Rox to realize, “Oh crap I think I have a crush on her shit shit shit what do I do?!” She takes a look around the store, and grabs a record at random, thinking it’d be rude to leave without buying anything. Rox pays for it, she and Flo get to talk about the record she picked out, and then she leaves.

And then Rox ends up going back to the store again and again. She’s continuing to be on friendly terms with Flo. Though she has a crush on Flo, Rox really doesn’t want to push things too hard and come off as a creepy customer. In the end she’d be happy with just being friends if nothing else! Meanwhile, because of these visits, she’s slowly amassing a collection of records that she can’t even play. Nevermind the fact that most of them are genres she doesn’t listen to, lol

Eventually they do end up on a nickname basis. Flo mentions one time that she’s also a graffiti writer, and Rox is like hey, me too! Flo doesn’t mention that she mostly works with FUTURISM at the time, because she prefers to call herself a freelance writer even before the events of the game. Meanwhile, Rox doesn’t mention that she’s specifically part of Devil Theory, because she’s very much aware of their reputation in New Amsterdam’s graffiti scene.

That being said, Rox mentions how she’s part of a small crew with her bros and that they used to have turf in Mataan before getting kicked out by other crews. She doesn’t include the fact that they took over Pyramid Island as their new turf, because that would have definitely made it obvious she’s part of Devil Theory.

However, Flo does have her suspicions because of what Rox said, since to her knowledge Devil Theory is the only crew who were recently kicked out of Mataan. But in her mind, it’s all just speculation. And besides, Flo has genuinely been enjoying talking with Rox whenever she stops by. From Flo’s point of view, they’re still customer & employee and all, so it’s friendly in a cordial kind of way. Surely Rox isn’t a Devil Theory asshole! Plus, given she now knows they’re both writers, she was thinking of ask Rox to do a graffiti session with her.

But then, a bit before the games, Flo finds out that Rox is, in fact, part of Devil Theory. The way I was thinking about it, she finds out when she’s doing reconnaissance on Pyramid Island for FUTURISM, and ends up seeing Devil Theory without their masks. Then realizing that Nunchaku and Rox are the same person. And boy is she pissed about it.

A few days leading up to the game’s story, Rox still stops by Flo’s store. Flo tries to keep quiet about knowing who Rox is, especially since it’d be a horrible idea to start an argument about it in the store. To her manager, it would just look like she’s going off on a customer for no reason. Still, Flo is now more on the curt side with Rox, who takes a few days to notice. Then Rox is worried that she’s been annoying Flo and wonder how (or even if) she can fix things.

But then the events of the game happen! Flo/Vinyl helping out with Felix’s memories, joining up with BRC, them beating Devil Theory and eventually Faux, etc.

Vinyl ends up taking a lot of satisfaction in helping beat Devil Theory during the crew battle. Finally getting to take these jerks down a peg, in a way.

She’s disappointed in Rox/Nunchaku, wondering if Rox being nice in the store is the real Rox, or if that was just her messing with Flo. At the least, Devil Theory has been dealt with, and now BRC can focus on helping Felix.

Then near the end of the game, she sees Devil Theory getting thrashed by Faux. Admittedly she thinks, “Oh, damn, even those guys didn’t deserve that.”

That leads into the postgame, and thus them actually getting together. But of course, with Nunchaku being part of Devil Theory and Vinyl still not being happy about that, there’s some things to work out first. :P

For a while after, Devil Theory are being monitored by DJ Cyber and FUTURISM. DT got thrashed by Faux near the end of the game, but they’re still not being let off the hook for being involved with Faux and the police in the first place. So this is being done to make sure they’re not starting any further trouble. It’s something Cyber should have put a stop to sooner, but he was unfortunately caught up in his plan to revive Felix.

Then by this point, DT is either disliked or outright hated by the rest of the writers in the city. DT have the good grace to accept it, because looking back on everything this is the least they deserve. Nunchaku is of course included in this too.

Vinyl is sort of on double duty for both BRC and FUTURISM on this too, keeping an eye on Devil Theory and reporting if they’re planning something bad. This is half as a favor to the DJ and her new crew, and half because she’s still pissed about Nunchaku being in Devil Theory. Deep down she’s hoping that DT, and especially Nunchaku, can genuinely turn over a new leaf after all. Though at the same time, she’s pessimistic about that actually happening.

Nunchaku notices that Vinyl in particular seems to really hate her. Vinyl’s practically stalking her to make sure she’s keeping out of trouble, keeping a much closer eye on her than the rest of Devil Theory. That being said, Nunchaku also doesn’t think anything of it other than she deserves it after the snitching and other stuff Devil Theory did together.

Eventually things come to a head and Vinyl directly confronts Nunchaku over what happened and making sure she’s truthful about doing better. She does see Nunchaku feeling genuine guilt over what happened, especially once Nunchaku admits how stupid it was to trust Faux/the police in the first place. Devil Theory wanted an easy way to get to the top, and they paid the price for it already. Nunchaku specifically mentioning, “Well, whatever, even if you don’t believe me, it’s not like I’m gonna go straight back to what we did before,” convinces Vinyl she’s at least trying.

Towards the end of that conversation, Vinyl also encourages/threatens Nunchaku to be honest to the “record store gal”. Nunchaku questions how Vinyl “knows” Flo, Vinyl refuses to answer and says that “Flo” has had her suspicions about Nunchaku/Rox. If she’s serious about changing for the better, then Nunchaku needs to start by admitting to her misdeeds as a writer to Flo.

Nunchaku is pretty nervous and hesitant at this point. She just thinks Vinyl is good friends with Flo and hence why Vinyl is being so “protective”, not realizing they are in fact the same person. After further prodding from Vinyl, Nunchaku eventually agrees to it, thinking it’s only fair.

The next day! Nunchaku-as-Rox stops by the music store, asks Flo if they can talk privately after she’s done with work. Then in the afternoon, they have a heart-to-heart talk and Rox basically spills her guts to Flo about everything: being a part of Devil Theory, the snitching and backhanded stuff they did, their involvement with the game’s events, etc.

Flo admits she knew for a while who Rox really was (to Rox’s shock!!), but is glad that Rox finally told the truth herself. Flo makes it clear that she’s disappointed in Rox and won’t forgive her for what she and Devil Theory have been doing. However, if Rox and them make an honest effort to be better people, Flo will still appreciate it. Rox is relieved to say the very least, and thanks Flo for the mercy!

Later on, Nunchaku gets a chance to explain what happened to Vinyl. She also thanks Vinyl for pushing her to speak with Flo. And yes, Nunchaku still doesn’t realize Flo = Vinyl. Vinyl actually picks up on that during this conversation, but decides not to comment on it for now. So then Rox and Flo are at least back on good terms during Rox’s visits to the music shop.

FUTURISM and Vinyl are still keeping an eye on Devil Theory, but by now they’re proving they really have turned out a new leaf. They’re still jerks and pick fights every now and then, but definitely not nearly as bad as they were before. Vinyl takes the opportunity tofinally tell Nunchaku that she’s the same person as Flo. Nunchaku isn’t mad about the revelation. If anything, she’s just incredibly embarrassed that she never noticed sooner, lmaoooo

Nunchaku apologizes for it even though she doesn’t have to, but Vinyl admits it’s kind of funny, Vinyl: “How many black women with blue hair have you seen around here?” Nunchaku: “… I mean, there’s that one lady in Eclipse. Then that’d be her, you, and uh, ‘Flo’.” Vinyl: “Okay, but still! You really couldn’t tell me and Flo were the same person this whole time? Same voice and all? The only difference is that I tie my hair back into a ponytail instead of a side ‘fro while I’m working.” Nunchaku: “Well, like, I didn’t wanna end up, like, being racist or something!!” Vinyl: “… Racist??” Nunchaku: “Like, assuming two black women had to be the same person just ‘cuz I think their hair and voices were similar!! Most people would totally think it’s racist if I thought that, y’know?!” Vinyl, holding back laughter for Nunchaku’s sake: “Damn, I think you overcorrected yourself on that one.”

Banter aside, they end up being friends from this point on!

Nunchaku is ultimately happy with this turn of events. She didn’t expect she would be able to repair her relationship with Flo/Vinyl at all, and had given up any hope she had for it!

The two of them hang out as friends, sometimes with the rest of their respective crews and sometimes by themselves. During this, Nunchaku kind of lets go of her crush on Vinyl, being content with just being friends with her. Like I mentioned earlier, she almost gave up hope on being able to fix things, so she’s sure as hell not going to be pushy and potentially ruin things now!

… unfortunately, the opposite happens with Vinyl. She grows to love Nunchaku after being able to hang out with her, learning more about her, and seeing that Nunchaku is less “pure evil” and more “jerkish goofball”. Especially the goofball part comes out a lot more as they continue hanging out.

So then! This leads to a particular story bit where Nunchaku is pushing herself to get better as a writer, and especially for combo high scores in all the boroughs. It’s to the point where Vinyl is worried for her health. She ends up challenging Nunchaku to a special score battle. Whoever can get the highest total score across the whole city in a certain amount of time wins! And for the prize, then winner gets to ask of something of the loser!

Vinyl wins and asks Nunchaku out on a date. Nunchaku nearly faints from hearing that, but yeah, they’re dating now, hee hee.

Admittedly I basically just outlined at least three (maybe four??) fics I was planning to write for this ship, whooooops :P

Moving on! Now to talk about their interests/hobbies/activities as an actual couple.

They eventually sort out Nunchaku’s impromptu record collection, mainly getting her a record player and records for genres she actually likes! Vinyl uses her employee discount plus the store’s trade-in feature (only doable since Nunchaku never even opened the plastic wrap on most of them) to help. Thus Nunchaku gets an appreciation for music played on vinyl, “It really does have a different quality! Whenever I heard people say that, I thought they were just being pretentious, y’know?”

Also it turns out Vinyl has an out-of-control collection herself, for plushies specifically (the idea for this came from one of @mechanical-magician’s headcanon posts!!). Many, many plushies in a small apartment, lol. Nunchaku helps her set up shelves and cases for all of them!

Nunchaku has her own little workshop in a junkyard/scrapyard in the city, where she works on random projects and putting together/taking apart stuff for fun. She and Vinyl hang out there too!

Besides graffiti art, Vinyl is into art in general. She sometimes makes sculptures for displays and such! Nunchaku helps her out with putting stuff together sometimes. Also random ideas. Granted, Nunchaku isn’t exactly artistically inclined, but Vinyl finds her to be a fun source of inspiration for more out there sculptures (example: metal spider tree).

The two of them go on little trips around the city, looking for cool places to hang out, new spots for graffiti, or finding scraps for either Vinyl’s art projects or Nunchaku’s mechanical projects. It’s fun to look around the less traveled parts of a city you thought you already knew well. Never know what you’ll find!

Nunchaku has a personal project to recreate DJ Cyber’s vehicle! Just the vehicle part though, not the dream machine. She’s been unsuccessful in getting a decent prototype working, nevermind finishing the whole thing. She could pull it off if she had at least schematics of DJ’s vehicle, but of course he’s very protective of that information. Vinyl helps with Nunchaku’s vehicle project, but I’m not gonna get too into that because that’s a whole other fic outline, lol

Sometimes the person you date/marry is also your best friend at the same time, and I like to think that kinda happens with Nunchaku and Vinyl :>

Vinyl has dimples when she smiles, and Nunchaku thinks it’s very cute. :3

Nunchaku learns more about art and music through Vinyl, and Vinyl in turn learns more about anime and video games through Nunchaku. In particular, Vinyl getting back into Pokemon after not playing the games since she was a kid. She’s got a lot of catching up to do!

Okay so in my Devil Theory headcanons post, I mentioned how Nunchaku is good at stealing things without getting caught. Vinyl points out that sleight of hand tricks Nunchaku uses for pickpocketing can be used for close-up magic too. So then Nunchaku gains a new hobby from that, lol

Also mentioned in the other post, Nunchaku is crane and forklift certified. She figured it would look good on her resume, and hopefully be impressive to other people. Vinyl thinks it’s genuinely cool, and Nunchaku is ridiculously happy that someone actually thinks so!

Another one from the other post: Nunchaku has been interested in learning about welding, and getting to help Vinyl with putting together sculptures (especially ones made out of metal) has given her a chance to practice with it. Vinyl is also encouraging her to get certified for it!

They also do skateboarding stuff together for fun, at a local skatepark in the city. They end up becoming “skateboard aunties” to a bunch of kids who hang out at the park and look up to them. And then that eventually leads to them outright supervising a kids’ skateboard club. It’s not something either of them really planned to do, but they’ll admit it’s pretty fun, lol

When they eventually move in together, Nunchaku asks if they can maybe get a pet tarantula, or maybe a pet python, she’s always wanted one of those as a pet. Vinyl says in response, “Why not both?”. So yeah, they end up with Rosemary the tarantula and Lavender the python. And then eventually Paprika the centipede, plus two geckos named Cinnamon and Nutmeg. They love their pets!

And that’s it for now! If I think of anything else, I’ll add to this post. Heck, feel free to send asks of scenarios and other stuff with these two, maybe that’ll be inspiration for some neat idea! But oh boy, this was already a lot more than I intended to write, lol…