#what’s to say the doodler won’t as well

[tortelorrini]

Hey haha is anyone else as not normal about this parallel as I am

[darlingmissmoth]

Hi, my name is Moth and, uh, with “encouragement” from @babacontainsmultitudes (aka: “you should do it” and I went “yeah okay”) I have decided to do… A little (not a little) rambling about the kiddads (mostly Twin Focused, but still) cause I have many thoughts and feelings, most of which I tend to keep hidden but I have a blog and I’m making that everyone’s issue.

This probably won’t be totally coherent because my thoughts like to jump from point to point erratically so I’ll try to organize to the best of my ability? But there’s a good chance I’ll be all over the place! And it’s probably going to be… Very Fucking Long as a warning lmao

Anyway, uh, stuff under the read more :)

I’ve seen a lot of wild takes about the kiddads and their actions, and the general view on Sparrow is… Very Negative, from what I’ve gathered. I’ve seen a lot more positive as of late, but I still see a lot of hate. Which I get! If you do a skim of all he’s done, it isn’t a great picture. Telling your kid you aren’t proud of them, training your kids from a young age to kill things, his anger and upset, it isn’t good.

Then, of course, there’s Lark who tends to excuse Sparrow’s actions or try to smooth them over, it appears he’s the main one who did Hero’s training, and his anger is rough as well.

Then we have Grant and Nicky, one of whom is Overbearing, the other Distant.

All in all, the kiddads are, well… Not Great Parents to put it lightly.

But I think a lot of people tend to view all their actions through the lives of their own lives or what is “rational”, totally forgetting that the circumstances around the teen’s raising, around the kiddad’s lives, are not rational.

At the age of 11, all of them got kidnapped by their grandparents! And sold into slavery! They weren’t sure if they’d see their parents again! And while most of them took it in pretty good stride, they were 11 and most likely didn’t see the inherent danger of the situations they were in until they all got spirited away to Castle Ravenloft, where they had to deal with their grandparents and, no doubt, the abuse they dealt.

Both Nicky and Lark went through Real Life Or Death Experiences (not to say the other kids didn’t, but they were the only ones we see in S1 who got anywhere near actually dying) - and of them, Lark was the only one who felt death. It may have been a fake body, but that doesn’t change the fact that he actually felt himself die.

Grant had to kill something in such a horrible and gruesome way that we actively saw the way it changed his life. He got fucked up from it! Really badly. Mans is numb and struggling to feel anything which, of course, leads to a lot of self hate and self destructive habits.

And then, after all of this, Lark was manipulated by one of their abusers to stab his father and release The Doodler, which he didn’t fully understand the consequences of because, again, he’s 11. He was A CHILD.

Now he’s saddled with the knowledge he ended the world. He doomed his family, his friends, all because of an impulsive decision that he was manipulated into doing, yet he isn’t aware it was manipulation. He thinks it was just… Him. He chose to do it.

And now he, and all his friends, are wandering around trying to figure out how to stop this World Ending Creature that used to live in his family’s blood and it all seems terribly hopeless. But they keep trying. Because what else can you do? What is your other option? And he’s given a prophecy that says that his (or his twin’s) first born is the Only Thing that can stop said World Ending Creature. At the age of, like, 15.

Sparrow, who feels just as guilty for it, takes this onto his shoulders because he probably doesn’t want that tacked onto his brother’s conscious as well. Raising a kid just to be a tool because it’s either that or they continue to let this creature that he and his twin unleashed.

What were their other options? What other choices did they have? Let the world - the worlds - continue to die? They had to do something, and the only thing that would have worked - apparently - is to have this kid.

Meanwhile, Grant gets a kid and they’re in the fucking apocalypse, so of course he’s going to shelter his kid. He remembers what happened to him when he was put under extreme stress and in a life or death situation and he doesn’t want that for his baby. He loves Lincoln so much, loves his husband so much. Was it right to totally isolate him? No! Probably not! But he was terrified of the world, and he had every right to be.

A lot of people judge the kiddads under the lenses of our current world, but they need to remember that isn’t the setting. That isn’t their world. Maybe when they were children, but not now. Not when we see the teens.

Their world is a dying one, it’s scary, it’s dangerous. They did the best with the trauma they were saddled with, in a world that they were the cause of and could die in every single day. Do you think you could do better? Truly?

They did the best in the situations they were in, and for Grant, maybe he shouldn’t have had a kid. But he did! His husband wanted one and they were given one and they were small and innocent and sweet and Grant was smitten instantly. And people seem to forget he was a good dad! Lincoln turned out good! He’s smart and kind and gentle. He loved his dads so fucking much and didn’t realize anything was wrong until he was shoved into a position he shouldn’t have been in.

Grant raised him well. He raised him with love and adoration and did his best.

Sparrow and Lark did, too. They love their kids! No one can deny that! Sparrow and Lark love their kids. But it’s a dangerous world, and they knew at least one of their kids is the only hope humanity has. They had to make sure she could defend herself, she could take it down when the time came.

People also point at the homecoming scene for Sparrow and Lark and I agree that it wasn’t good. They fucked up. But it’s also made so, so clear that Sparrow loves Normal deeply. He adores his son. But it’s also canon that Normal reminds Sparrow of his younger self, who Sparrow is not proud of, and he desperately wanted better for his son. And Normal, had Sparrow and Lark not manifested, would have never known his dad wasn’t proud of him.

Which means Sparrow never let that show! Sometimes parents aren’t proud of their kid’s decisions, that’s just the long and short of it. And that should be okay. It should be okay to not agree with something your child does. But the important thing is that you don’t show it. And Sparrow NEVER DID. He NEVER ONCE showed Normal that he wasn’t proud. He showed love first and foremost always.

Which is why it came as a shock when he revealed otherwise. So he was doing good! He was a good parent!

Did they fumble? Yes. I’m not saying that any of them are totally blameless. They messed up a lot. They should have made better decisions. But they were also horribly traumatized, lost their innocence of childhood at the age of 11, and had to grow up in a doomed world with guilt on their shoulders and the fate of the world in their hands.

All of this to say that they are complex. They are human. At the core of this sillyfunny podcast, that is something that remains consistent. These aren’t characters on a traditional Hero’s Journey. They are regular people thrust into impossible situations that have to figure out how to cope with it on their feet. They’re flawed, they make bad decisions, and that is the point. They aren’t meant to be perfect or always know what to do. All of them are shades of gray. None of them are truly evil or truly good because no person is.

They’ll fuck up. They’ll make bad decisions spurred on by guilty consciouses or emotions. Some decisions won’t be rational because humans aren’t. We are made up of emotion and memory and personal values, and we make our decisions based around those things.

They aren’t perfect. They aren’t meant to be. They are complex and they are beautiful for that.

I’m sure there’s more I could say, but this is long enough as is, uh. If you want to hear more I guess either dm me or shoot me an ask about specific characters idk

Thanks for reading

[nirikeehan]

Hi Niri! Mashing up "flustered and tongue tied" with "This made me think of you" from Fluffuary prompts! Happy writing!

hellloooo this was great for some shady bestie brainrot

something something something tattooing as non-sexual intimacy, i swear i will write the actual tattooing part someday. right now it's just feels idk

set sometime near It's Never Sunny in Barovia end game (bold of me to assume I'll ever get that far in the chronology, but I digress)

For @dadrunkwriting

WC: 731

---

“What’s this?” Thalia asks. 

Metrion has shoved a folded, crumpled piece of parchment into her hand. He shrugs, as if the wind blew it in, not something he’s surreptitiously produced from one of his coat’s many pockets. “Just something I doodled last night.”

Thalia’s eyebrows shoot skyward. She gets the profound sense he’s trying to downplay a skill of which he’s actually quite proud. He keeps glancing away, then back again, as if eager to see her reaction. “I didn’t know you— ah, doodled.”

“Yeah, well, you know me,” he says with a sly giggle, “I’m a better diddler than a doodler—”

“Please stop.” She unfolds the parchment before he can make another off-color joke. She is met by clean lines and an impressive design: a small dagger piercing the blossom of a rose, stray petals transforming into droplets of blood. 

“It’s beautiful.” Thalia looks up, mouth open in awe. “You drew this?”

Metrion shrugs, but he’s grinning wide enough for her to see his gold incisor. “Yeah. I dunno. Made me think of you, for some reason.” 

“I’m flattered,” Thalia says, gratitude spreading its warm across her chest. “Do you mind if I keep it?” 

With Castle Ravenloft looming so close, she would like to hold on to whatever pieces of this friendship she can. Metrion stares at the ground, kicking at a clump of grass with the toe of his boot. “Yeah, er. About that.” Although she has grown used to the intense pigmentation of his true complexion, she finds it difficult to tell when he might be blushing. “I had an idea.” 

“Oh? Do share.” 

He clears his throat. “You got that tattoo on your face.”

Thalia’s fingers stray to her right cheekbone. She remembers what he said the first day they met, when he’d used stage makeup to cover it up for safety’s sake, about being an amateur tattooist. She hadn’t known at the time whether to believe him, or if that was another of many colorful falsehoods. “So I do.”

Metrion glances up through the messy strands of white hair that have fallen into his eyes. “You want another?”

Thalia stares. “On my face?”

“No, no, no, no.” His shoulders are hunched, hands shoved in his trouser pockets, gaze darting. “Well, I mean. Anywhere you want. If you want. As like, I dunno, a final hurrah? One last fuck you before we go.”

“You want to give me a tattoo?” Thalia is stunned. 

“Only if you want one, love.” Metrion shrugs, meeting her eyes. “I remember what you said. That the first one wasn’t your choice.”

And she recalls what he said, about knowing what’s like to have something done to you against your will. She hadn’t believed it then, thinking him to be all bluster and flattery. Thalia swallows hard. “I appreciate that.”

“It doesn’t have to be terrible. The experience. That’s all I mean.” He’s back to kicking the grass, turning up clumps of dirt; she suspects the innkeepers won’t love that. 

Thalia finds, quite suddenly, that she is blinking back tears. She surges forward, forgetting that he doesn’t like sudden moves, that true physical affection is difficult for him. She throws herself against him and hugs him hard. 

“Oof,” he says, staggering backward, but he doesn’t flinch. “Hey. It’s not that big a deal, m’lady. Hey.” 

“Sorry, sorry,” she mumbles, mortified. 

She tries to disentangle herself, but he wraps his arms around her and gives her a squeeze. “Nah, it’s all right. Think I saw a bat skulking around; let’s give that motherfucker a show.” 

Thalia laughs in spite of herself. The giggles mix with her sniffling. She pulls back finally, wiping her cheeks with the back of her palm. “Forgive me. I don’t know what came over me. No one’s ever— I mean, usually, when people know, they just pity me, or think it’s a sign I should be back in a tower somewhere. No one’s ever suggested I should get another, to make this one hurt less.” 

Metrion watches her closely. His shrug is careless, but his expression is raw. “Well, first time for everything, yeah? Think about it, maybe. Then we can—” 

“Yes,” she says, cutting him off. “Do it. Now.” 

He cocks a silvery brow. “Right now?”

She laughs. “Do we have much time otherwise?”

Metrion sighs, casting a glance in the general direction of Castle Ravenloft. “Guess not.” 

[spelviin]

dndads for blorbo?

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) surprising absolutely no one... hands down, hundo p, henry oak. he's just my funky lil guy and i care him so much.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) GRANT. GRANT FUCKING LI-WILSON. i know he's not technically baby anymore but my wish for him to just have a nice day and be happy is everlasting. and i already know link is gonna carry on that tradition, the only reason he's not my first answer is bc we don't know him that well yet.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) aaaauuuutuuummmn. autumn autumn autumn. i am absolutely OBSESSED with her. also mercedes. i know she's not underrated at all but like. she could never possibly be appreciated enough imo. honestly, i'm throwing in rebecca and grandpappy oak in here too bc like. i'm just fascinated by all these characters who took one look at the living vessel of an eldritch horrorterror and was like "yeah, i'd hit it."

and before you @ me abt how mercedes had no way of knowing about that, i want you to look me in the eye and tell me mercedes MOTHERFUCKING oak garcia is not a certified monsterfucker regardless like. get outta here with that shit.

anyways yes my underrated faves are all of Team Married Into This Mess always and forever.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) stud stampler. we stan a himbo with big dreams who FUCKING DESERVED BETTER. my one hope (or one of my many hopes lets be honest here lmao) for season 2 and all it's doodler content is that we finally get a concrete answer on what happened to him after he got sucked into the mystery box.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) glenn. he's definitely the opposite of unpopular, but he is ASBOLUTELY both controversial and pathetic, and definitely the worst fucked-over by the plot (and that's including the guy who got STABBED by his SON during a HUG and kicked off the APOCALYPSE so u know that's saying something) and just. yeah i really hope he's living it up in hell bc dude deserves a break.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) henry again, but only affectionately bc i am a little angst gremlin who likes to see my faves suffer.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) toss up between willy and barry, hands fucking down. go straight to superhell, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. fuck you forever.

[mortedeveles]

AHHH that last mha headcanon was amazing tysm! You did great!!♡♡ Could I ask for another one with the same boys? (baku,tenya & izu!) With a crush who draws a lot? Like maybe they doodle while in class and while on break, 'cause they're bored? And the bois get curious because they're ALWAYS drawing while in the middle of class and they space out! Bonus points if the bois check their notebook and there's dumb doodles of them doing/saying something funny and some with little hearts around them. ^^"

thank you!! of course, anon! here you go, I hope you like it! a friendly reminder that my REQUESTS ARE OPEN! feel free to request lovelies! i’m ready to write for whatever you guys have in mind. i have a project coming up in 1-2 weeks and i think you guys will like it 👁️👁️! i’ll be posting the bonuses of model for me soon enough and a new series (not bakuhoe) will be posted as well! so stay tuned for more <3 as always, please leave a like, reblog, follow and/or comment if you enjoyed! support and feedback are ALWAYS welcomed! <3 

PAIRING: IIDA T. X GN!READER, BAKUGOU K. X GN!READER, TODOROKI S. X GN!READER

THEMES: humor, fluff. [HEADCANNONS]

TW: cursing

IIDA, MIDORIYA, KATSUKI, TODOROKI WITH A DOODLER!CRUSH READER

Frankly, school can be quite boring. Even though you're in the hero course and you learn extraordinary things, it doesn't exclude regular civilian subjects such as history, math and so.

When you lose focus in class, you like to redirect your attention to doodling. It's fun, relaxing and effortless- it's also quite time-consuming and you've spaced out of class many times.

When you space out, you lose the function to pay attention to your reality- and ever since the first day you started doodling in class, you never noticed a pair of curious eyes watching you.

IIDA TENYA

Iida Tenya is quite the gentleman. He's also known for being strict and keeping the chaotic class 1A in order- (well, try and fail many times, but he does his best.) During classes with Aizawa, the majority of the classroom is quiet- but he always hears intense scribbling from your seat.

Usually, he does his best to ignore it and focuses on the class but you're his crush- and the fact that he always hears intense scribbling every day is quite concerning. But one day, he can't take it anymore.

It's a hot and sweltering day, it doesn't help that class 1A just finished hero training and even though everyone hit the showers afterward- the classroom is boiling.

Iida's neck is drenched in sweat, Aizawa's flat and tired voice drones on and he hears furious scribbling behind him- it's all giving him a headache.

Slowly, he turns around and stares blankly at you. Your head is lowered, hand sketching in your notebook. Your movements are fluid and bold and your arm is propped lazily on the desk, leaning your head against it.

He feels his nerves calm at the sight. But then he remembers that he's class president- you're not paying attention in class and that is not okay. Iida opens his mouth and delivers a long speech. Tenya is strict- but he's not stupid- he lowers his voice so he won't embarrass you in front of the class.

After his long speech, he expects you to look sullen or simply understand where he's coming from- but instead, you're snickering with a smile.

''I'm sorry, Iida. I just space out of class all the time and I like to doodle,'' there's a playful pout on your lips, a pleading look gleaming in your eyes.

Oh god, how is he supposed to reprimand you when you look so cute and adorable?

His voice is stuck in his throat- there's a flushed expression on his face and it only gets worse when Aizawa's voice booms.

''Iida, if you're done with your important chat with L/N, turn around and pay attention. You're class president, I expect better from you.''

Iida nearly squeaks as he turns around and nods, apologizing several times. Aizawa simply sighs tiredly and resumes the lesson.

After that time, Iida spots you doodling all the time in class. It makes him concerned- do you even pay attention in class? Are your grades failing?

Eventually, he confronts you about and explains his concerns. His face is beet red when he's done, but you simply brush him off with a smile.

Assuring him that your grades and knowledge are in perfect order, you simply doodle a lot in class. After that confrontation, Iida is much more relaxed about the situation, and every time he sees you doodle, there's a soft smile on his lips.

MIDORIYA IZUKU

Midoriya is a very observant person. He has dozens of notebooks dedicated to quirks, Pro Heroes, and so on and while he doesn't write about his friends- he tends to notice several things.

For example, you. Since you began to attend U. A with Izuku, he's noticed that you spend most of your time sketching, doodling god knows what. You've never shown him your artwork.

Another thing he's realized is that when you start doodling- only Aizawa's loud voice or the school bell will snap you out of it. Izuku's tried everything- waving his hands in your face, throwing you paper balls- nothing. It's like you've been sucked out of reality..

Your manners leave him interested, curious to know more. He's sure you're not slacking off in class- he's been in several study sessions with Tsuyu, Iida, Ochaco, Todoroki, and you- you're always on track and usually have a good grasp of the subject.

You rarely share your notes- only with Tsuyu and Iida and occasionally Todoroki.

Midoriya doesn't mind, but it makes him burn with curiosity. So on the next studying session, he decides to come up with a plan.

''Y/N, what did you get on question 43?'' Ochaco asked. She leaned towards said girl and giggled.

Izuku frowned. What was so funny? The brunette's grin grew as she stared down at Y/N's notes, who was stammering and trying to hide their notes from the public view. 

When Ochaco and Y/N rose and said they needed to visit the restroom- Izuku struck. Tsuyu was chatting with Todoroki and Iida had his nose buried in his book- so they didn't notice when he grabbed your notebook.

He flicked through pages, greedily drinking in the sight of your doodles. They were all varied- some flowers, vines, others were small and cute animals- and others were more complex but in the end, doodles. Midoriya froze when he flipped through a page and saw a... peculiar sight. 

In the middle of the page, was a heart. You had doodled several headshots of Izuku, in which some of them he was saying corny or bad jokes, and in others, he was simply smiling. His cheeks burned when he saw the small hearts that you had doodled around him.

When he heard your voice and footsteps approaching the dorm- he quickly dropped your notebook in your spot and tried to act casual. Tsuyu raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing, while Todoroki asked him why his face was burning.

He had refused to answer and remained somewhat silent during the rest of the session, his cheeks red. His heart was soaring with happiness- those doodles only meant one thing- you had feelings for him.

Once the studying session was over, Izuku would pull you aside and confess his feelings. His veins were pumping with confidence- you liked him back!

BAKUGOU KATSUKI 

Ever since you befriended Katsuki, he's noticed that you're a very attentive friend.

That is when you're not in class. You submerge yourself into your notebook with a pencil and nothing else- and pour all your attention into it.

Bakugou thinks it's rather annoying, he's tried to get your attention several times, only to fail miserably.

Today is no exception. Bakugou's ready to pop- dunceface and shitty head have been bothering him all day, stupid Deku gave a speech that made him roll his eyes and he was tired and just wanted to go to bed.

Unfortunately, he found himself stuck in class, listening to Aizawa talk like a damn zombie- trying to grab your attention, but you were too immersed in your doodles.

Irritated, he pressed his sweat hand on your neck and ignited a small spark- not enough to hurt you, but enough to startle you. The effect was immediate. You yelped and snapped your neck upwards, clutching the back of your neck. Everyone stared at you, bewildered. Katsuki grinned, satisfied that he finally got your attention but when you realized it was him- you narrowed your eyes and scowled.

''Bakugou? L/N? What's going on?'' Aizawa asked sharply.

Your scowl deepened. ''Everything is okay, Aizawa-sensei. I apologize.'' Your eyes stayed on Bakugou as you spoke.

Aizawa hummed in response and continued with the lesson. Bakugou bit down on his lip, swallowing a snicker.

After class, you smacked Bakugou on the head, to which he responded with a growl and the two of you engaged in a match of playful fighting, and between snickers and lunges your notebook fell out of your open backpack, loose sheets slipping out. 

Immediately, you jumped back and began to gather them, but Bakugou kneeled down and helped you as well. He froze as he held a loose sheet- there were several sketches of him with different expressions- in some, he was smirking, frowning or screaming- but that wasn't what made him freeze. It was the several little hearts that you had doodled around him.

You nearly shrieked when you saw which paper he was holding and snatched it out of his hands. In a blink of an eye, you had picked everything up and ran away.

Katsuki was puzzled. He stood there for a minute or two, gears shifting in his brain as he processed the situation. Once it finally kicked in, he raced after you and found you sitting in a corner, head buried between your knees.

''Um,'' he cleared his throat awkwardly. ''Hey.'' his voice was gruff and tense.

You groaned and shook your head. ''Go away, Bakugou. I know you don't like me, so just spare me from the harsh rejection.''

''What?'' he furrowed his eyebrows and kneeled to your height. ''What the fuck are you talking about? That's not true.''

Slowly, you raised your head and peered at him, narrowing your eyes with suspicion. ''It's not?''

Bakugou scoffed. ''Of course not. I like you too, dumbass,'' he grumbled the last sentence, feeling his ears and cheeks warm up.

''Oh.'' was all you said. The blonde snickered and pulled you upwards onto your feet.

''C'mon dumbass, I'll walk you home. Gotta keep you safe.''

(bonus extra!)

TODOROKI SHOUTO 

Shoto is clever and can improvise quickly- but he can be quite dense or oblivious at times. He probably wouldn't notice your doodling habits and if he did, he would brush it off. You're just doodling in class, nothing too fancy.

He doesn't understand how far your doodling goes until he asks you to lend him your math notes after class, and you happily oblige.

Shoto spends the rest of the afternoon studying and writing down whatever he missed- all thanks to your notes that were thankfully complete.

Once he was sure he'd done enough studying, Todororki began to flip through your notes idly, appreciating your writing. The more he read, the more he realized that there were doodles...everywhere.

He thought it was quite impressive that you managed to doodle so much in class and your artistic skills were quite impressive. There was a variety of sketches- plants, animals, silly faces but the ones he saw the most, were the ones of him.

Shoto felt a strange flutter whenever he saw one of your doodles that were him. You captured him perfectly and he cracked a grin whenever he saw one in which he was saying a corny or silly joke. It was refreshing.

It made his heart warm, seeing that his crush seemed to be as fond of him as he was of them. I don’t think he’d truly understand why you would draw him several times and instead, would ask you for an explanation. 

The next day, he made sure to thank you for lending him your notes- and for making such beautiful and impressive doodles. 

[illeee-girl]

La La(chimolala) Land Chapter Eleven: May Finally Come True

jimin x reader genre: fluff word count: 1.5k warnings: none

[Inspired by La La Land]

Read on Wattpad

Read on Ao3

A few weeks later, you find yourself at the Porto’s Cuban Café in Burbank, half sipping a guava smoothie and picking at your Cuban pork—but mostly dialing Jimin’s number in a rush of excitement.

After a few rings, he answers: “Hi Jagi, what’s up?”

“JIMIN YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WH—”

“Is that Y/N?” You hear Jungkook ask. For some reason, you must be on speaker. “Would you ask her if she’s down for some Mario Kart this weekend? I’ve been practicing Rainbow Road and I swear this time I won’t let her beat me.”

“Shhhh, Jungkook-sshi, be quiet,” Jimin pleads.

“Oh, tell her I have some tips for that guitar player character of hers!” You hear Yoongi shout from a distance.

“And that I’m more than willing to choreograph anything!” Hobi chimes in.

“Does she like Jazz?” Tae asks.

“WOULD ALL OF YOU SHUT UP?” Jimin screams over his hyungs. “She’s my girlfriend. Let her talk to me, please.”

“Dang, Jimi,” you say.

“Sorry if that came off a little . . . possessive.” You can practically hear the expression on his face. Apologetic. Unsure. A little pouty.

And endlessly adorable.

“It’s ok,” you laugh into the phone. “Have they been driving you nuts?”

He sighs tiredly. “You have no idea.”

“Hey!” You hear Jin protest. “It’s you who made us drive all the way up here and organize this par—”

“SHUT UP, JIN!” You then hear what is most likely a minor physical altercation between the two. “Y/N has important news to tell me.”

“I’d tell you to hang up and go spend time with them,” you start, “but I do have important news, actually.”

“Well?” He raises his voice in anticipation. Cute.

“I SOLD RED WRITER TO AN INDEPENDENT FILM STUDIO!” You practically yell into the phone for all of the café to hear.

Cheers of celebration erupt on the other line.

“AHHHH! THAT’S MY JAGIYA!” Jimin is jumping up and down—you can tell. “I knew you could do it. I knew you were a genius. See, guys? I knew her meeting would be a success, and that she’d get the deal, and that all this party planning would be for nothing—”

He stops himself.

“Whoops.”

“What party, Jimi?” You ask.

“Did she already eat?” You hear Jin move closer. “It sounds like she’s at a restaurant. DID YOU ALREADY EAT, Y/N? Cause Jimin’s been forcing me to barbecue for the past two hours,” you hear him click together a pair of tongs, “in this ridiculous ‘Congratulations Y/N’ apron, and my God, if you already ate, I will be livid.”

A giant laugh almost escapes you, but you maintain your cool. “I’m at Porto’s, Jin, but I’ve barely touched anything.” You fight to keep your voice level—not too obviously excited and overjoyed. “What party, Jimi?” You ask him again.

“WHAT NOTHING NO PARTY HERE. WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT JAGIYA HAHA YOU’RE SO CUTE SO WHAT ARE YOU UP TO—”

“Rambling ain’t gonna get you out of it this time,” Namjoon says in the background.

You hear your boyfriend sigh. “I just wanted it to be a surprise,” he groans. “Oh well. Just get in the dang limo when it pulls up.”

_________________________

Half an hour later, you’re standing outside of a modern-style house in the hills—the venue Jimin must have rented for this “surprise” party. It’s made of glass and steel, and it's illuminated by the blue and purple lanterns that have been placed on the lawn. You can see more glowing inside. The limo driver had given you a dress to change into—it was an expensive one, obviously Jimin’s taste—and with it on, you fit in perfectly with the color scheme. You’re just admiring how the light from the lanterns dances across the sparkly, midnight blue fabric when you hear the front door swing open.

Unsurprisingly, his outfit perfectly complements yours. His tie seems to be made of the same material as your dress, and the numerous silvery rings on his little fingers match your shine. His hair has been dyed a light shade of lavender, and, as his eyes grow big at the sight of you, you notice he’s wearing a little more eye makeup than usual.

He stands there for a few moments, then wordlessly runs to you, sweeping you off your feet and spinning you around in his arms.

“I . . . Jagi . . . there are no words in any language to describe how proud of you I am,” he says, settling you into a firm hug.

“Believe me, I understand that,” you helplessly grin. “I’ve had the hardest time trying to describe how I feel about everything. When I called my parents, I could barely get the words out!”

“How did they take the news?”

“Well . . . let’s just say that they’re finally proud of me.”

“As they should be. As they always should’ve been. YOU’RE A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER! MY JAGI’S A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER!” He yells, his voice booming through the hills. He picks you up and spins you around again, and you both erupt into laughter—laughter of glee and amazement and anticipation and joy.

“Now,” he smirks and starts loosening his tie.

“What?” You panic at the thought of something . . . risqué happening. “Now? Here?”

He follows your eyes to where his hands have started undoing the knot. “What? No!” He steps a few feet back and holds out his hands. “No, nothing like that. I was just going to use it as a blindfold.”

“A WHAT NOW?”

“Oh, Lord, no! Again, not like that.” he repairs, “Nothing Fifty Shades of Grey-ish. I was just going to tie it around your eyes and walk you through the door to preserve at least a little bit of the surprise party I had planned.”

“Oh,” you relax. “Ok. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

He laughs. “No, it’s okay. Really.” He ties the fabric around your eyes and starts guiding you up the path. “The guys are going to get a kick out of this later.”

“Don’t you dare tell them!”

You hear the door creak open, and just as the jazzy tracks from the La La Land soundtrack reach your ears, a crowd shouts: “CONGRATULATIONS Y/N!”

Jimin lifts the blindfold, and you see his six bandmates and your three roommates holding champagne flutes, party poppers, and balloons. J-Hope lets a confetti cannon loose and runs through the debris. Jessenia and Jungkook run to hug you. Diana and Tae smile, standing suspiciously close to one another.

In these past few beginning months of your relationship, Jimin has consistently surprised you with his versatile skillset. You knew he was a dancer and a singer, but over time you grew to know him as more: a doodler, a reader, a connoisseur of ice cream, a shopper, a cuddler, a fast driver, and a bit of a homebody. Never did you expect to add “party planner” to that list—but tonight, you do.

The entire house is lit vibrantly in blue and purple. Twinkling Christmas lights are suspended from the ceiling, and candlelight flashes from within the old wine bottles that rest on every surface. There’s an array of some of your favorite foods—pizza, sushi, watermelon, and more—and you can smell Jin’s promised barbecue wafting in from the backyard. Yoongi’s stationed at a sort of DJ booth, looking a little bored (but happy for you).

It’s funny, you think. Just an hour ago, I got the news I’d been waiting for—fighting for—for six years. But it would’ve meant virtually nothing if I didn’t have these people to celebrate it with.

The party goes off without a hitch. Jimin reluctantly lets go of your hand so that you can go talk to everyone, grab plates full of food, and gab on all the details of your success. You sit with Tae and Diana and tell them all about the meeting. You overhear Jimin gushing to Namjoon about how much of a prodigy you are, how much of a success your movie’s going to be. You watch as Rachel leans up against the wall near Yoongi’s DJ setup, blinking shyly at him—and you watch as he does the same. You bite into the ribs Jin has painstakingly prepared and assure him that their smoky flavor is perfect. You witness Jungkook practically chasing Jessenia around the entire night.

And you find yourself very, very grateful that you met Jimin.

Your heart, and your stomach, are full.

[yv-sketches]

I've the how to your dragon series and the wizards of once books. Any recommendations for books to read that are similar?

Thank you so much for this question!! 😊

I’ll do my best to answer, however, English is not my native language, so I am not super familiar with the Great Middle Grade series that undoubtably exist. I also read too many non fiction books when I was younger

Here are a few books/book series I found enjoyable in a similar way. (The list is not super long and none of them feature dragons, sorry.)

Most of these are more like twoo, because they’re really good but can’t touch Cressida’s masterpiece. I cannot think of ANY book series that can compare to httyd’s philosophical three way war and grand finale.

(Click read more for a list of half baked book recommendations by me XD)

1 ~ The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole - Michelle Cuevas

This is a stand alone that could easily be “How to take care for a pet black hole” written by Hiccup. It’s a short book, but it has the exact same dry and clever humour and becomes truly meaningful further into the story. The ending is bittersweet too.

This is probably the book I think has the most similar atmosphere to httyd. If you could collapse the emotions from httyd into 200 pages, this would be the closest matching result.

2 ~ Percy Jackson - Or literally anything by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is iconic and the only one who could win a ‘chapter title battle’ from Cressida. Examples: “My sword has a better social life than I do” or “A God buys us cheeseburgers” I am very ashamed to admit I have only read the first Percy Jackson book (I really should read the rest, you may sue me for not reading this iconic series) but I really liked it and from what I heard about the rest of the series it only gets better.

At least one crazy adventure each book, plenty of swordfights and a snappy protagonist to comment on everything. I’m not sure how to describe it accurately, but these books are written with the same hilarious tone as Cressida’s. You can read them out loud and they’d be funny I guess?

Also: Main characters with ADHD and dyslexia (looking at you Wish and Xar), characters from different countries, cultures and LGBT characters who have storylines outside of that characteristic. If you liked vikings, Magnus Chase is his triology about demigod children of Norse gods (though long series probably won’t bother you as httyd book fan).

3 ~ Cogheart - Peter Bunzl

These books are fun steampunk adventures. The setting is vaguely historical, but with victorians instead of vikings, pesky adults who don’t listen to children very well and an unusual pet companion. There’s also a secondary storyline about how beings with human intelligence are treated as lesser, and it’s treated important enough without overshadowing the main plot.

I’ve read the first two and so far it’s a series where you can read each book separate (though the first few httyd books could also be read as separates). There are two more and perhaps the secondary citizen issue will end up being the overarching plot?

4 ~ How to Become King - Jan Terlouw

The clue is in the title. The main character wants to become king, but has to complete 7 impossible tasks first. It does not get more straightforward than that.

The book does not have Cressida’s ridiculous humour, but the main character is Pure Good like Hiccup and each impossible quest actually has a lot of depth to it. A big part of the story emphasizes how humility and kindness are the things that make a good king. It’s a pretty old book and probably the most unknown one on this list.

5 ~ The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars - Jaclyn Moriarty

(I own a signed copy of this and the author was so nice) It is the second book set in this world, but with new characters. She said it can be read on its own, but perhaps it could be a bit confusing if you haven’t read the first. I hadn’t read the first and I was confused.

The absolute highlight of this book was the narration. There are two narrators who take turn narrating, and while doing so they comment on each other. They argue with each other and quip about how they do a better job narrating. It makes you feel like you’re part of the story too, similarly how Hiccup addresses the reader and comments on his younger self.

6 ~ Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

Did anybody say fiendishly clever plan? When it comes to cheating death and trickery, Artemis Fowl is Hiccup and Xar’s long lost sibling. Except.... he is not as nice. To quote Camicazi: “You see, [I] have no morals at all. It's very useful...”

Where Hiccup was a Pure Cinnamon Roll and Xar an emotional hotheaded disaster, Artemis is a straight up bastard who cares for only four (4) people in total.

It’s very reminiscent of the earlier httyd books. Silly schemes, potty humour and characters that walk a fine line between likeable and annoying. I have not read the entire series yet, but the characters slowly mature with each book.

7 ~ Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine

This is more of a twisted fairytale like twoo and not a fantasy epic like httyd. It’s the story of a girl on an impossible quest in a fantasy world. There are a lot of fairytale tropes, but I really liked how the extremely complex kingdom fit into one book.

It’s the only book on this list where different languages are a major plot point, and there is an inequality problem with some creatures, similar to the wild dragons in httyd. The ending can’t compare to the satisfying yet bittersweet solution of book 12. It’s a fairytale happily ever after and certainly easier on the heart than httyd.

? ~ Anything by Roald Dahl

Everyone knows Roald Dahl, which is why this is probably an useless recommendation. His books are funny, crazy and sometimes a bit grim, but always great. What else can I say?

? ~ The gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue - Mackenzi Lee

Ok, this one is by no means a middle grade book. More like 15+. (There is violence and romance is a major plotline. Both the violence and romance are 15+, and while I did not find it too bad, it might not be for everyone)

However, it has almost all of the ingredients of a Cressida book. I really felt like I should include it because it belongs somewhere high on this list! On the surface it’s a whacky adventure with a sassy protagonist in a somewhat historical fantasy setting. Below that surface, it deals with major issues in an absolutely beautiful way.

The quotes are artistic, and this is the ONLY ya book I’ve ever read with messages that hit as hard and are written as subtly as the ones in the httyd books. (I have read books more beautiful, and books with greater messages than this one, but the serious parts were woven into the story in such a refined way.... I’ve only read that in Cressida’s books.)

Mind you, the protagonist is more of a Disaster Boy ™ than Xar and I wanted to slap him sometimes. Like Xar, he learns and gets better.

~

A few other books I should mention

Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The story is not similar to httyd and twoo at. all. which is why it’s not on the list. However, this is the ultimate book about not-so-great parents. Hiccup and the entire twoo gang can relate. Just a heads up: this is a somewhat scary story. Cressida doesn’t shy away from suspense and terrifying details, but in Coraline, the suspense is one of the main aspects.

A series of unfortunate events from Lemony Snicket. I haven’t read this, but I still want to. From what I’ve heard it’s a sarcastic adventure series that’s a lot more serious than it looks.

I have never read this series either, I do not even know what it’s about, but I’ve heard people from the httyd books fandom talk about it: Keeper of the lost cities by Shannon Messenger.

~

I hope this list was the kind of answer you were hoping for!

If you are looking for better recommendations, there are a lot of httyd book fans who can give you some, like @books-are-like-dragons @thefellowshipofthedragonmark @httydbooks-doodler .

[summcrshcndy]

the "if they had a kid" meme for our ships :)

UNDER THE READ MORE BECAUSE .. there are lots <3

ruby & nolan

name: willow mae anderson gender: female general appearance: big brown curls, wide brown orbs & sharp features personality: willow is very independent. she thrives when she is alone and rarely asks either parent for help, even as a child. special talents: the brunette is V E R Y musically talented. not sure where she got it from, but since she was born, the only thing that can calm her down is music. not only does she sing, but she can also play piano, guitar and the drums fairly well.  who they like better: neither.  who they take after more: her creativity definitely stems more from ruby, but in most other ways, she takes after nolan. she is very stubborn ( thanks to both of them ).  personal head canon: before willow was born, ruby insisted on a home birth. there was no way in fucking hell ruby was going to be cooped up in the hospital without her essential oils and music playing.  face claim: zendaya

van & ceci

name: anjali aria cruz-karpe gender: female general appearance: pin straight black hair, a wide smile & smile lines personality: since anjali was born, she has always been very mellow. she’s quiet and outspoken, but she doesn’t mind that.  special talents: knitting and crocheting. also a fairly good doodler.  who they like better: ceci. she’d always had a slight preference for her mother alhtough she would never say that aloud. who they take after more: her organizational skills and need for neatness definitely come from stuvan.  personal head canon: finding a name for anj was easily the hardest thing stuvan and ceci had to do. it was important to stuvan for her to have a traditionally indian name, although cecilia was a little reluctant of that idea. once they found the name ‘ anjali ‘, both of them fell in love with it. they couldn’t imagine their little girl having any other name. face claim: naomi scott

gracie & lucas

name: ziggy wynn könig gender: male general appearance: dark curls, a pointy nose & stained tshirts  personality: ziggy is a major slob and has quite the pungent vocabulary. he’s very vocal with how he feels and prefers that other are that way too.  special talents: other than pickpocketing and his charm, ziggy doesn’t have many things he would consider a talen.  who they like better: lucas. he likes that the male is quiet and that he’s a good listener. better than gracie is... who they take after more: gracie. he’s quite mischievous and has gotten himself into various dangerous ( sometimes illegal ) situations since he was young.  personal head canon: when ziggy was about four, he went missing for three hours -- something that scared the shit out of both of his parents. after a long enough time, lucas found him in an empty bathtub playing with his boats and duckies, completely content. face claim: miles teller

cohen & nellie

name: winifred ‘winnie’ lu jensen gender: female general appearance: round eyes, a sharp chin & long locks personality: winnie is a little bit of a black sheep. she keeps to herself and prefers writing her thoughts instead of voicing them.  special talents: one of her passions is writing, although winnine would never admit that it’s her special talent. she’s much too humble for that.  who they like better: cohen. winnie has always been a daddy’s girl and it hurts cohen knowing that this is true.  who they take after more: nellie. she’s cool, calm and collected but knows how to get what she wants.  personal head canon: the first couple of days after winnie got home from the hospital, cohen made it his mission to let nellie get rest. in order to do this, he wore winifred around the house in a baby wrap, tight to his chest almost all day while he did dishes and cleaned the house. face claim: anya taylor-joy

eliza & enzo

name: morgan moon valentino gender: female general appearance: short black hair, a wide smile & baggy clothes personality: since she was little, morgan has been a fighter. she knows how to get what she wants... even if it means a couple tears. she is very dramatic.  special talents: does arguing count? who they like better: enzo. a MAJOR daddy’s girl and it pisses eliza off.  who they take after more: definitely eliza. she is very argumentative and rarely settles for things when she knows she deserves something else.  personal head canon: since eliza was a little girl, she always knew her first daughter’s middle name would be moon. her mother’s maiden name is moon ( a traditional korean last name ) and she wanted to honor her mother by doing so.  face claim: arden cho

aidan & rory

name: anderson aidan shaw gender: male general appearance: dark under eye circles and perpetually messy hair personality: anderson is very quiet. almost too quiet. but, when he’s upset -- his fuses blow and he turns into an entirely different person. he’s been like this since he came out of the womb. special talents: he’s a smooth talker ( thanks to his father ) and has a fairly good voice ( thanks to his mother ). he sings in a band but knows that it won’t be his forever thing. who they like better: rory. aidan is much too noisy ( and drunk ) for him. plus, rory has always given him more attention.  who they take after more: unfortunately, aidan. his substance abuse issues began when he was in his early teens and just like his father -- he’s having trouble finding his way out. personal head canon: when aidan and rory found out rory was pregnant, aidan INSISTED on them naming him aidan. there was no way in hell rory was going to do that -- so they settled on his middle name as aidan. face claim: lucas hedges

[k-knightt-blog]

My Family - Tom Hiddleston one-shot

Request: Hello sweet angel child! Sorry to bother you bit I would like to make a request. The reader is a single mother of a 5 year old daughter and dating Tom Hiddleston. One day the biological father shows up and is being aggressive and Tom gets extremely protective over his girls.

Warnings: Mentions of abuse

Wordcount: 2,400+

A/N: Feedback is massively appreciated!

True and pure warmness fills your heart as you look out over the scene playing out before you. You’re standing against the kitchen island, cradling a coffee in your hands, a coffee that Tom had prepared for you. Tom and Agatha are sitting around the table, mindlessly drawing in one of her colouring books. You want to take a picture of this moment and frame it, so that’s what you decide to do. You reach for your phone in your back pocket, positioning it so that you caught the entire scene. The two doodlers didn’t look up from their drawings, and you let your gaze look at them lovingly for a few seconds more.

Tom came into your life when Agatha was only 2. That was nearly 4 years ago now, time really flies. You were young when you had her, but there wasn’t a question whether or not to become a mother. You had always wanted children, but not six months after graduating from university. And in your dream, your child’s father wasn’t an abusive-self-centred-arsehole. It was all worth it though, you would have gone through everything again for her.

You worked in production when you happened upon Tom. You were late one morning because Agatha had been sick for days, and you had to drive her over to your mother's house on the other side of London. With droopy and tired eyes you had wandered into the AD’s office, and Tom had been sitting there. His conversation with the art director and producer stopped in its tracks. They all greeted you in a normal manner, but Tom stood up and introduced himself and took your hand in his with the most utmost care, and kissed the top of it. He was the most beautiful soul you had ever met, and he adored you from the first second.

He kept his distance since you also did, there was a clear attraction between you two but no words of affection spoken. It took a few weeks for you to open yourself up to the possibility that Tom might actually like you. That maybe, just maybe he wouldn’t mind that you had a child. Tom sadly figured that you didn’t like him, and the two of you moved around on set moping about each other. It wasn’t until the production’s wrap that the two of you saw sense, and Tom immediately asked you out on a date.

After two months of dating, you told him, quite rightly, that you were a single mother. That her father was a horrible man, and he had never really been in the picture. You remember your pulse being really high. You were nervous because you were falling for Tom. It’s not all that easy to find a man who’d be willing to take that on. You were dead set on that he would say that it wouldn’t work, he’s often away filming or that he didn’t want children. Perhaps that he wanted his own. You prepared for the worst, but his whole face lit up. “I can’t wait to meet her.” he had said and you had nearly started bawling right there.

A year later you and Agatha had moved into Tom’s big flat in Belsize. He started to mention ‘his family’ in interviews, and of course, people were curious. Eventually, after two years of loving you and Agatha, he couldn’t keep his love for you out of the public. Although, it was something he tried to do, due to your private lives. He let it slip that his ‘daughter’ had drawn him as Loki and that it was the last time he cried of happiness. Graham Norton was in shock, and he said that he was glad that Tom had given him such a lovely exclusive piece of information. Tom had even shown the picture Agatha had drawn to the audience. He also mentioned that her mother is the most beautiful and loving person he’s ever met. He couldn’t wait to marry you. The crowd roared with excitement.

Tom looks at you while he helps Agatha down from the chair, she has had enough of drawing and runs towards her room, finding something else to play with. He moves closer to you and gives you a loving kiss, “I cherish these moments,” He says, “It’s so hard for me to be away from you two.” You look up at him and smile, “As long as you always come back. And that you fly us out so Aggy can run after her favourite Marvel characters,” Tom laughs, and folds his hands around your smaller frame. Suddenly there’s a hard knock on the door. Both of you look at each other, and then towards the front door again. “Are we expecting someone?” Tom asks as he walks towards the door. “No, I don’t think so. Who comes around at 10 in the morning a Saturday.” You say softly while picking up your coffee, letting Tom handle the door.

You see Tom’s entire frame stiffen as he looks out of the keyhole, he doesn’t move one inch as he calls for you, “Y/n! Call the police!” You nearly laugh out loud at this, what a ridiculous thing to say. “Funny, darling. Tell me who it is?” You take a sip from your cooling coffee. Tom moves away from the door, he moves carefully, nearly without sound. Like he was moving away from a ticking bomb. “What is the matter? Who is it?” You’re growing impatient now, and you’re feeling slightly confused. You leave your coffee mug on the kitchen island and nudge Tom away from the door opening.

You can feel all the colour drain from your face as you look through the keyhole. “Darren,” You whisper in absolute disbelief. Another loud knock makes both of you jump slightly. You hadn’t seen him since Agatha was 8 months old. “Y/n?” Echoes through the door and sends shivers down your spine. You’re not scared to see the man who put you through hell, you’re more in shock than anything else. It's like you had forgotten his existence. You look over your shoulder to Tom who mouths a ‘no’, because he knows what you’re thinking of doing. You’re thinking about opening the door. There’s silence for a few seconds before Darren speaks again, “Y/n, please, I know you’re home.” You have your hand on the lock, but you decide to speak to him before opening the door. “What do you want Darren?” Your tone is serious, nearly harsh. Tom stands behind you, as though he is guarding you. “I just want to speak to you, perhaps even see Agatha if she's there.” You huff, feeling yourself getting angry now. Why did he want to see her now? When he has never been interested in being her father before. You lean in to whisper to Tom, “Go get Agatha and go to our room.” Tom nods because he certainly doesn't want Darren to come close to his precious girl.

Tom considered himself to be her father, and so did you, and so did Agatha. You had mentioned to her that Tom wasn’t her biological father but it went over her head. Because Tom acted as a father and he was always around. You decided to not mention it to her again, that he wasn’t her father, to save her the confusion. Frankly, he was more of a father than most biological fathers are.

You hear Tom ask Aggy if she wants to watch some cartoons in the big bed, which she always wanted to do. You watch them as they trot through the apartment to the master bedroom. When the door was closed to the room you unlock the front door and was faced with Darren. ”Let’s make this quick,” You say as you block the doorway, so he can’t walk in. Before you can even react he pushes through you, his eyes looking around the apartment frantically. ”I didn’t invite you in, how dare you push into my flat like this?” You say, and cross your arms over your chest. You’ve taken so much grief from him for so many years, and right now you want to put him in his place. “You really did sleep your way to the top huh?” Darren says as he picks up a glass figurine from a nearby shelf.

You were fuming, but you kept your voice low. You didn’t want to alarm Agatha that something wasn’t right, and you certainly didn’t want Tom racing into the room. Because you knew he bore deep hatred towards the man now standing in your shared hall. ”What do you want Darren?” Your words are dripping with poison, and you can see the look of surprise on his face. You weren’t afraid of him anymore, and he could sense it. “Maybe, I wanted to see my kid.” He says nonchalantly, as he discards of the glass sculpture. What on earth is wrong with this man? “She’s not your kid.” You say, and you approach him, trying to nudge him towards the door. He doesn’t move, “I am her father, you and I both know it.” You want to slap him, but you refrain yourself from doing so. “She barely knows you exist. The father she knows is Tom. You and I both know that.” His jaw twitches, he’s angry now. You know he had seen on social media that his ex had found someone new, someone famous as well. You bet that annoyed him more. Since he hasn’t seen any sort of success in life.

”That famous fucker huh? I bet you love the money that comes with this new father you hauled in.” He looks disgusted when he spits out “new father.” You want him out of your house now. “I want you to leave right now, or I’ll call the police!” You can’t help yourself for yelling, thinking that it might scare him. He only grins.

Suddenly the door opens to the master bedroom, and Tom walks out with such purpose you think he’s going to hit the guy. “Oh, here he comes, the prince, the man of the house.” Darren lets out a laugh. You look over your shoulder to see Tom standing behind you, his face looks like thunder. “You heard Y/n. If you don’t leave now, we won’t hesitate to call the police.” His tone is serious and calm. Darren moves along into the kitchen but Tom is quick to stop him in his tracks. “You leave now, or we will call the police.” He says again. “You think you’re so high and mighty, don’t you? Stealing my kid and my wife.” You huff, he sounds absolutely ridiculous. “Wife? That’s new.” You say, “And Darren, she’s not your child. Not even a little bit. Not after what you’ve put us through. She might not know what you did to her mother, or how you kicked us out because you didn’t want us anymore. But I know, and you’re never going to be a father to her.” You’re crying now, you didn’t even realise.

Tom is fuming, he’s never been this angry and you can tell. This monologue seemed to stun Darren a little, he’s quiet for a few seconds, his anger now solely directed to Tom. You both flinch a little when he takes big steps towards the two of you, “You tucking bitch! And you, Tom Hiddleston, born with a silver spoon up your arse. You think you’re better than me? YOU think you’re better than me?” He gives Tom a hard poke in the chest, one that’ll probably leave a bruise. You’re ready to pounce, but Tom puts an arm out, stopping you in your tracks. 

”I know I am better than you,” His voice is now loud and it seems to be scaring Darren a little. Tom’s muscles are tight and he looks twice as big as before, “You think YOU can come in to our home and disrespect Y/n like this, after all, you have done,” Darren’s still quiet, “And then have the audacity to want to see Agatha whom YOU abandoned and haven’t seen since she was 1,” He points at Darren now, his hand is slightly shaking out of anger. “How dare you? How bloody dare you? This is my family and I will do everything in my power to keep them away from rotten souls like you,” Suddenly you hear a cry coming behind you. Quick as lighting you turn around and see Agatha standing in the creek of the door, tears running down her cheeks. She’s heard everything. Your heart breaks into a million pieces as you run to her and scoop her up. Tom’s eyes look away from Darren’s for an instance to give the two of you a glance, securing that Agatha was in your arms.

”You will leave now. And if I see you again there’s going to be a restraining order against you and believe me, I can ruin you if I wanted to. But I am a better man than you, I have morals and a goddamn heart,” Tom has lowered his voice but his tone makes Darren shutter. He knew that Tom had the power to do just what he said. Darren looks unsure of what to say. You’re standing back with Aggy, holding her tight as she asks who “the bad man is”

”You can have them, I don’t give a shit anyway.” He bolts for the door and slams it shut so hard you think it might shatter. As soon as Tom is sure that he isn’t coming back he rushes towards you two. He embraces you where you stand, “Don’t worry, he won’t ever set his foot anywhere near you again.” There are tears in Tom’s eyes as well because he hasn’t ever been so angry and simultaneously scared at the same time. He knew Darren was unpredictable, strong, and if he had decided to attack, Tom had feared that there wasn’t going to be much that he could do to stop him. His heart is hammering in his chest, "Tom, it's all right, look we're fine." Tom is torn from his thoughts, thoughts filled with bad endings to this situation. He looks down at Agatha, who's no longer crying, and then up at you. "God, I love you." He kissed you and then bends down to plant a kiss on Agatha's head.

[doodling-doodler]

                              THE LOUDEST SHOW FANFIC 

(PLEASE READ THROUGH THE WHOLE POST)

Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for (woah)

Doodling Doodler here with a special message for all you guys! I. AM. BACK!!! I also have exciting news. Remember that little project I got? What was it… ah! The Loudest Show! Well guess what! The first chapter is out now!!! What are you waiting for? Looking at the art? Thank you by the way. Part of the first chapter is just down here. Oh wait before you do I give you ivanthestoryteller who wants to give you all 2 special messages. One just down here and the other all the way at the end of this post.

1vanth30s0m3/ivanthestoryteller: I’m not going to take up your time too much here. It’s been awhile since my last story wrapped up and here I am again. I’d like to thank doodler for the opportunity to work on this story. I understand that someone else has also been writing about this AU from doodler and I want it to be known that I’m not trying to steal ideas or even ride that person’s coattails. I simply wish to tell a good story. Hopefully you’ll stick around for the ending notes since I want to use that space for a more productive reason and will try to stick to those when I write out any more notes. Please enjoy the first chapter. 

(Please come down and visit)

Story: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8482143/

Tumblr: https://ivanthestoryteller.tumblr.com/

 Chapter 1             What is a man?

               A young Lincoln waited on the couch in the reading room, just as his mother had instructed him. He tugged at the collar on his shirt, trying to loosen it so he wouldn’t feel strangled. The day was warm and the manor was just as such. He finally heard the clacking of shoes on the wood floor and turned to see his parents leading a girl who appeared two, maybe three years older than him. They all stopped in front of the couch, the girl standing in front of them. She had buckteeth and her hair was drawn into a braid. Lincoln didn’t know why she was there and eagerly awaited.

               “Lincoln, as you know,” his father began, “we have considered how to go about your education. We finally have decided that a private tutor is the best option for you. However, we also know that you need other children to play with,” his father looked down and gestured towards the girl, “so we also decided to hire an apprentice to the maids. She will live here with the rest of the staff and fulfill her duties, but she will also be here to help keep you from feeling lonely.” The girl was wide-eyed, looking very nervous at the prospect of the future that awaited her. Lincoln only looked curious, stuck in a state of wonderment.

               “Go on, Lincoln, say hello,” his mother instructed.

               “Hi, I’m Lincoln,” he said.

               “Hello, my name is Luan,” the girl said with a curtsy.

               “Now, I do think it best for the two of you to get to know each other, so would you kindly show her around, Lincoln?” his father requested. Lincoln got off the couch and began an impromptu tour of the manor. He showed her every room, asking bits and pieces, not sure of what to really say. She was just as quiet, unsure of herself when responding. She noticed he was developing buck teeth, even if it was early, much like her. That was something they at least had in common.

               “Why did you want to become a maid?” Lincoln asked. It was the only thing that felt right to say when he exhausted what little small talk he knew. She waited for a moment.

               “My mom made me,” she replied, saddened. Lincoln only grew more curious to the answer.

               “Why did she make you?” They had stopped in the middle of the hallway on the way to the north wing.

               “She wanted to see me in a better place that would help take care of me,” Luan said. Lincoln was sure that he didn’t want to press that issue too much.

               “Do you want to be with her?”

               “Yes.” Luan looked at the floor. Lincoln thought quickly.

               “Where are you from?” She looked up, her face reverting back to nervous.

               “Royal Woods,” she spoke quietly, her voice distracted from her mother.

               “Oh, that’s a quick train ride away,” he stated with realization.

               “Have you been there?” Luan asked.

               “No. I haven’t been able to go many places and my parents won’t let me visit places with them. But that’ll change in a few months.” He was jovial with the date for then.

               “Do you want me to tell you about it?” He nodded fervently. They began their tour again, with her describing her hometown to him. He listened, marveling at her stories. She looked comfortable, as if she were in her own home and they were lifelong friends. Her voice was nice, as if he could listen to it for hours on end.

               Lincoln enjoyed this memory, as he loved to remember meeting his best friend for the first time at the age of five. He enjoyed the games they played, although he enjoyed her company always, particularly when ditching their responsibilities. Though it had been a month on from when they met, they hid in a den that was rarely used by his family and just as touched by the staff. He didn’t like the schoolwork he had to do and she was trying to buy time before she had to do anything. She wore a white frilled cap, a simple gray dress, and the apron was not too far off from the cap in design. He was wearing an orange suit that was more to impress the tutor than to be comfortable.

               “I don’t know why I ever have to wear this stupid suit. It does nothing but choke me,” Lincoln complained. Luan giggled a little.

               “I like it. Orange seems to be your color.” He looked at her with an empty warning in his eyes.

               “If you like it, then why don’t you wear it?” he jested. She laughed a little.

               “I would but I’m afraid I would be mistaken for a savage, much like you,” she delivered with a wide grin. He laughed, knowing her words were meant only for tickling him.

               “I’m still wondering who took the pies from the kitchen,” he rhetorically declared.

               “I don’t know, but three butlers certainly found them.” Lincoln laughed harder, remembering how all three were covered in the varying pie fillings. She joined him in laughter, enjoying her handiwork. “I wish everyone could laugh like this all the time,” she said in between giggles. He looked over at her, coming down from the giddiness.

               “You want to see the world happy all the time?”

               “Yeah. I only wish to make the world happy,” she spoke with a bittersweet tone.

               “That’s what you’d love to do, huh?” He never knew before now.

               “Yep.” She pulled out something small from her pocket. He saw it had many sides, all of which were yellow, dangling from a small string. “I’ve got my wish right here: to see everyone happy and to bring it to them.” She was smiling grandly. He saw her conviction of wanting to carry out the dream and saw the item go back into her pocket. He looked on at her, wondering if her dream could ever be fulfilled.

               He stared, still, his face solemn and stony. He saw the caskets, ready to be lowered after some final words. He held the hand of Lily, his newborn sister. Lincoln wanted her to be able to see their parents one last time before interment, helping to build a chair for her carriage so she could look at them. His mother’s words were always fresh whenever he saw Lily. Promise me you’ll look after Lily, he heard her say with a voice growing weaker and weaker, all happening right after her delivery of her daughter. He promised her and she gave one final breath, smiling as she heard his words. He made sure he would keep his promise, always checking on her and tending to her if he heard her.

               Luan was right beside him, looking worse than he was, tearing up but not sobbing, unlike some of the staff who were. He told them it wasn’t mandatory to attend and he would understand if they wished not to, but all of them came. The mourners at the funeral were clothed in black garb. The crowd heard the pastor clear his throat and begin the last step of his job for the event.

               “These poor souls were taken from us, beginning with the passing of Lynn Loud, of whom had passed away on the twelfth of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen-hundred and eighty-two. On the nineteenth of April, in the same year, Rita Loud passed away and has joined her husband. They were kind souls in life and so shall be in Heaven.” The sky was gray but no other sign of rain coming was present. “I do believe that the book of Ecclesiastes has some important words for all of us and are most fitting for any occasion. I shall now recite chapter three, verses one through eight.” He cleared his throat again. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance...”

               Lincoln listened to the pastor. He waited for the man to be done, carefully observing each word he spoke. The words brought some comfort, but he wished not for comfort. He wished he could carry on with his parents being there for when he needed them most. And now he needed to be there when they needed him most. The pastor finished his services and approached Lincoln.

               “My condolences, Mr. Loud,” he spoke, voice filled with the same solemnity he kept from before.

               “Thank you, Pastor Mannard,” Lincoln replied. His voice was low.

               “I’ll go ahead and retrieve the gravediggers for their burial. Are you sure you wish to stay around?” the pastor asked.

               “I wish to see things through and give them the first shovelful of dirt,” he replied, still low with his voice.

               “Then I shall be back in a moment.” The pastor left, going to where the diggers were. Luan put a hand on his shoulder.

               “Do you want me to take Lily back to the mansion?” Her voice sounded broken, trying hard to keep itself together. She noticed the staff heading back and wondered what Lincoln would like to do.

               “No, let her be until I head back myself.” He moved toward their gravestones, Luan pulling her hand away. She moved closer to Lily, staying within arm’s reach of her. Lincoln stood before the deceased, looking over their gravestones to check for any imperfection.

               A good wife and perfect mother, letting no one else say otherwise, he read on the stone for his mother. He made sure the words were perfect, wanting to never disrespect her memory.

               A kind husband and an even greater father, he read on the stone for his father. The same case could made here. The pastor returned with his two assistants, spades in hand. They lowered the couple into the holes, taking extreme care with doing so. True to his word, Lincoln gave the first portion of dirt to his mother and the next portion to his father, handing back the spade. He walked away, Luan and Lily in tow. He could hear the movement of dirt until he could hear no more, mostly since a set of walls blocked the sounds.

               “Take Lily to her wet-nurse and please tell the staff that I don’t wish to disturbed for the rest of the day,” he told Luan after entering the foyer, the door barely being closed behind them. She nodded and he went to the den his father used almost all the time. Luan did precisely as instructed, informing those who needed to know and ensuring that Lily was to be taken care of before leaving her to see Lincoln. She opened the door with no warning and stepped in.

               “May I come in?” she asked, unsure if he would entertain the thought of having her there at this time. He turned to see that it was indeed her before turning back and giving his response.

               “Please do,” he spoke quietly from his seat. She moved in farther after shutting the door with a soft thunk. “It’s quite surreal, sitting here,” he spoke again.

               “How so?” she indulged the pleasantry, sure of what the answer might be.

               “He would always sit there,” Lincoln gestured at the giant, empty seat on the other side of the desk in front of him, “tending to any and all matters that were for business. I never saw him within this room without his presence on that side.” He rested his head in one hand as he looked at the floor. “I’ll never see him standing there again. He filled that seat, but now...” He turned to Luan and she saw his facade slowly breaking down. “But now… I’m not even sure I can fill it. Not even sure I want to fill it.” She stood behind him and clasped a hand upon his shoulder.

               “I’m sure you’ll figure this out in due time,” she said, trying her best to comfort him.         “Maybe so, but… there’s just so much to do,” he voiced with grave concern. “I have to assume control over my father’s business ventures, I have to make sure the estate isn’t just suddenly taken away, I have to make sure Lily is taken care of, all the while with me needing to put bread on the table for everyone here.” He looked back down. “Luan, I’m ill-prepared to be Master of the Estate.”

               “We all have faith in you, Lincoln,” she said to soothe his woes. “You might not be prepared but I know you’ll succeed. You always do.” She finished with a giant smile showing off her buckteeth. He returned one that was weak, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

               “Thank you, Luan, for your kind words,” he said. “However, I must ask you follow suit with the other staff and allow me to be alone for the rest of the day. I apologize if I sound unreasonable.”

               “Not at all. I’ll let you know if an emergency arises and requires your attention,” she said and gave truth to her words by letting him be. With the door closed behind her, she set off for her normal rounds, checking to see if anyone was in need of company or wished to check on their employer’s emotional state. She left each room since not one spec of dust or dirt could found and everyone was given the same information when she encountered them. Finally, she walked into Lily’s room, sure there was something to pass the time there.

               “How is Master Lincoln fairing?” the woman holding Lily as she herself sat in the rocking chair asked. Her age was certainly not large in number, though it was possible for her to be a grandmother (albeit, a young one at that), her hair reflecting this slightly and the formation of wrinkles barely taking root.

               “He seems to be doing better than yesterday but the toll is still plain to see,” Luan responded from a chair stationed near the door. “I’m assuming that tomorrow, Lincoln will wish to be left alone in his room.”

               “That’s Master Lincoln. He’s the head of the estate now; you must show him the proper respect his position carries,” the woman scolded her.

               “I am showing him respect. He had the title thrust upon him and is still trying to get used to holding it. He wishes that his father still held it,” Luan said, defending her choice in words. The woman sighed.

               “I suppose your words have merit, but that does not mean you should be used to speaking with a lack of title in your address of him.” Luan couldn’t argue her words. For as much as Lincoln was her friend, it was inevitable that he would simply become less so and then she would either have to leave or deal with it as her only paths.

               “Fair enough,” Luan submitted. “But for now, it’s reasonable.” The older woman chuckled.

               “That stubbornness will either put you on the streets or take you to the top of society,” the woman said as she stifled her laughing.

               “And I’ll gladly accept such a fate, Ms. Agnis,” Luan spoke with confidence. With the time passing by quickly the more she conversed, night soon fell and she, along with all other members of the manor (to her knowledge), turned in so as to rise in the morning.

               However, the next day was still as dreary as the previous one. Lincoln refused to have her as company, something she had expected and so she waited for the next day, and then the next day. And the one after that. It was at long last on the fourth day that she set her mind to disturbing her good friend in his time away from it all.

               “Lincoln?” she called from her side of a large door after a quick rap. There was nothing. She repeated her actions, calling a second time, still gaining no response. “I’m coming in,” she warned as she tried the knob. It gave no resistance to her entrance. She entered and saw Lincoln slumped in a chair, his clothes still surrounding him as if he had been productive through the night. He had severe bags under his eyes and the occasional snore let her know he was still breathing. “Wake up, Lincoln.”

               “What’s the time?” he asked as he roused at her hand’s behest.

               “Time for breakfast,” she answered. He rubbed his eyes to rid them of sleep.

               “Send it up then,” he responded, beginning to sit up and get some life into his limbs.

               “Everyone’s worried about you,” she informed him. He paused and looked at her, his eyes barely focused.

               “I’ll be down in a few minutes, then,” he conceded, slumping forward in the seat. She began to make her way out of the room so as to give him the space for his own needs but was stopped just before the door. “Tell everyone they’re more than welcome to join me, though I suspect I won’t be down there for long,” he added on. She nodded and went to spread the news. Almost all of the staff declined such an offer, the only one willing to accept being Ms. Agnis, on the conditions that she not be served anything.

               Enough time passed to cause Luan to wonder if she would have to go back to retrieve her friend when he showed up. His clothes were more put together and fresher looking, but he still had a disheveled look to his head. She knew better than to point it out, seeing how him arriving was an achievement in and of itself. He took his seat and bowed his head so as to stare at the table. Luan delivered his breakfast directly to him.

               “How’s the meal, Lincoln?” she asked after a few bites were taken. It was a simple testing of the waters, meant mostly to be done in stealth behind kind words.

               “Quite good. Thank you,” he replied with little life in his words. She had taken a seat beside him, something she was rarely afforded a chance to do.

               “That’s good to hear,” Luan said, unsure what else to truly do. He continued to eat the meal in peace, leaving with barely a word at the end of it. Luan followed him, even after he ducked into his room and tried to shut the door behind himself.

               “I wish to be in peace,” he spoke with slight annoyance, turning around and seeing who he had given such a command to. “My apologies. I didn’t see you there.”

               “There’s no need to be sorry. I completely understand,” she replied. He turned back to sit in his chair once more.

               “I do wish to be alone,” he said in a much calmer tone. She ignored this and went directly to him, standing by his side as he sat at his desk.

               “I’m worried about you,” she said, her tone showing it. “I haven’t seen you smile in an eternity.”

               “Luan, now is not the right time–”

               “I’m not leaving until I see a smile on your face, Lincoln.” She delivered the ultimatum and he knew that he was in for a fight to be rid of her. “Did you hear about the man wandering a police station? Apparently when he was stopped and asked why he was there, he said he didn’t have the faintest clue.” She saw the twinges of a smile touch the edges of his mouth and used this as a hope to keep pressing on. “Did you hear about the other man wandering the police station? He was trying to find someone to talk to about his pole’s lease”, she delivered, allowing a smile to touch her lips. Lincoln was trying quite hard to suppress the smile he was developing.

               “Please, Luan,” he begged. She ignored him.

               “Three men and a dwarf walk into a bar,” she began. A knock at the door to the room interrupted her. They both looked toward the door.

               “Enter,” Lincoln called. The door opened to reveal a member of staff, a butler by the name of Drewson.

               “There’s someone here who requests to meet you, sir,” he spoke, his very voice unsure if he should have even alerted the Master of the Estate to this guest and instead to have sent the person packing at the door.

(Go see the other half of the story at https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8482143/)

1vanth30s0m3/ivanthestoryteller: That was quite something. If you enjoyed it, then hopefully you’ll stick around for the rest of the story. I’ve never written an AU nor have I ever dreamed I would. I’d like to take this time to say that I’m probably going to get these chapters released very slowly, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep to a schedule of no more than every three months (I’m not joking). At least until I finish everything and then I’ll up the releases. I’d also like to take this time to recommend stories to you, dear reader. The first two stories go against my personal criteria for this section, but I’ll also be putting in two instead of one, so nothing will be as I want it to be in the future as I have it now. The first story is “Loud Like Love” by ThisAccountKillsFascists. I think I forgot to mention them in the last story I wrote and so I’m just being safe here. The second story I want to recommend is “A Sister’s Love” by (current name) Outsider316. Both can be found on fanfiction.net and are great stories. I really think you should check them out. In the future, I’ll be aiming for stories with under 50 favorites and 50 follows as well as less than 100 reviews from the same site. Other than that, tell me or doodler what you think about this story either here or on fanfiction.net. Reviews and/or pm’s are greatly appreciated.

Doodler here, now many of you fine ladies and gents know I had been absent for a while well that’s because recently I have been out of a job and had been struggling to make ends meet which is not a good thing when you are the constant whipping boy of that jerk called depression. I apologized for the delay and what I am about to do. I will be setting up some of the old fundraising sites like patreon. Not looking for much nor do I have a plan. All I will ask is just some small amount like a dollar, not even per month just a one time donation to help keep the lights on. 

But have no fear! I will still be producing more content regardless!

The Loudest Show is a go!!!

[earthrealmlesbian]

Cassie and Jacqui for the all the questions?

1) Who rocks the Ferris Wheel seat and who flips out and begs them to stop? They'd shake it together! Nothing crazy but enough to get the operator to grumble at them and enough to get each other to have a laughing fit.

2) Who is always horny and will have sex at any time, at any place and at any time? Cassie has a pretty high sex drive, higher than Jacqui's at least. She's not one for having sex in wild places however. Jacqui may not have as high of a sex drive but when she IS in the mood she's got a lot of stamina and is pretty open to trying new things.

3) Who is more into taking showers/baths together? Who tries to make it relaxing and who tries to make it sexy time? They both prefer showers and by some stroke of luck both enjoy them hot so they often shower together. Both actually like to make it sort of sexual? They like to tease each other in the shower whether or not they're actually going to really go at it once they get it. Juuust enough to get each other to shiver without committing to a long night. Lots of sensual touches and flirting.

4) Who likes to walk around the house naked and who tells the other to go put some clothes on? Cassie is usually in a training bra and boxers when they're at home. Jacqui usually stays a little more dressed unless it's hot but neither are embarrassed about that sort of thing so Jacqui wouldn't bother asking her to put on more clothes.

5) Who sleeps on the couch when they get into a fight? Heading for the couch is Cassie's default reaction at the beginning of their relationship. She saw her dad do it often enough that it just seems practical. Jacqui isn't into it at all. She has a hard time sleeping without Cassie and she doesn't like letting their rare disagreements fester overnight anyways.

6) Who takes photos of the other while they sleep? (This one got heavy cuz I needed to rant. My bad.) Both!! Cassie takes significantly more though. Side note: It's NOT cuz she's some haha fucking millennial that can't get off her phone either. SF members die all the time. Taking pictures with everyone is a coping mechanism for Cassie. Some of her friends are literally here today, gone tomorrow. She wants to immortalize the people in her life while she can. (my canon now nrs. Y'all did Cassie dirty in mk11) She wants pics of every single one of a Jacqui's expressions. Just in case. Jacqui understands.

7) Who said “I love you” first? and who ends their arguments in a fight with “Because I love you”? Cassie said it first and either will throw out an impassioned "because I love you" here or there. These two grew up together and I can see them falling in love so slowly and subtly that it took them awhile to even notice their friendship changing. When they did they probably were both a little nervous to outright say it since it would change their relationship forever. Cassie took the plunge but I can't say it was particularly smooth. They were enjoying a rare off day spent leaning against each other sipping drinks and taking in the view when Cassie awkwardly piped up with "Hey….wouldn't it be something if this were like a date or whatever?" Jacqui fucking cackled because wow, what a way to broach the subject. (All Cages are embarrassing when they're in love)

8) Who likes to wear the others sweatshirts? They both wear each other's stuff ALL THE TIME. It doesn't help they have a lot of similar undershirts and training bras. Jackie has a few oversized letterman jackets and Cassie steals them constantly.

9) Who wakes the other up in the middle of the night to tell them a cool dream they had? Who has the most nightmares, and who sings them back to sleep after? They've got a big workload between training and missions so they value sleep too much to wake each other up for weird dreams. Nightmares are a good reason though. Cassie has a lot of them actually. She can usually get back to bed on her own but if it's really bad she'll bite the bullet and wake Jacqui up. Jacqui will rub circles into her back and occasionally hum one or two old lullabies her dad made up as kid. Usually they just lay there quietly though.

10) Who is more likely to cheat? (at games) Cassie is more likely to try. Johnny is a filthy fucking cheat and taught her every trick in the book. It's incredible really. Unfortunately For her, Jackie was usually right there taking lessons too and is absolutely merciless in calling out Cassie's antics. Cassie can't even breathe funny in the direction of her cards and Jacqui is on her.

11) Who makes fun of the other for having a crush on them, and who has to remind them that they are in a relationship? Cassie is a brat so she likes to tease about it. She always regrets it because without fail Jacqui will bring up the "what if this were a date?" line.

"Oh, you have a crush on me? Embarrassing."

Jacqui doesn't miss a beat. "Not half as embarrassing as when you confessed by--"

"WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT."

12) Who starts a food fight in the kitchen? Cassie for the most part though Jacqui makes sure they don't make too much of a mess because who wants to deal with that kind of clean up? She usually finds a less messy way to indulge Cassie when they're making something sweet together like french toast or cupcakes. She'll chase Cassie around with an icing covered spoon threatening to smear it on her. They're always a sticky mess by the time they get back on track but the kitchen is spared and they like to kiss the sweetness in each other's lips so that's a big bonus.

13) Who initiates duets? and who is the better singer? Unfortunately, Cassie likes to sing. She's not good but by the gods does she try. Jacqui is a great singer though. She's down to belt out a duet with her girlfriend regardless of how Cassie sounds.

14) Who starts the hand holding? Who grabs the others butt? Who slides their arm around their waist? Who likes to put their fingers in the belt loops? They're very physically affectionate so really it's just a matter of who initiates any of these things faster on any given day. They reign it in on base but out and about or at home is fair game. Jacqui does this little thing when Cassie is straddling her lap where she'll pat her ass in rhythm like she's gently playing the drums and Cassie thinks it's SO funny. It's an idle thing like people drumming on tables in thought but for some reason involves her ass. Cassie can't complain.

15) Who writes the others name on their wrist? Neither but Cassie is a doodler so lots of mushy sketches during boring meetings. Johnny genuinely thinks it's the cutest thing he's ever seen.

16) Who is more seductive when they are drunk? and who is louder in bed? Cassie is embarrassing as hell about it so we're not even gonna go there but Jacqui manages to make up for it and then some. She's doesn't get terribly explicit, just purrs out honey sweet words that promise a good time. Cassie is the louder of the two.

17) Who is more protective? Cassie but Jacqui would be if she didn't make a conscious effort otherwise. She always felt like her dad could be overprotective and it's tempting for her to match that energy. Still, she doesn't want to smother so she tries to let Cassie handle herself.

18) Who talks to the other while they are sleeping? Jacqui will sometimes. Usually about upcoming missions that are stressing her out or any plans for future outings she'd like to have with Cassie. Mostly to remind herself to ask about it later. Stuff like "Hey, Thursday should be slow we should go visit uncle Raiden at the temple." or "Jin and Takeda tried that new Thai place last week and won't shut up about it. We should get in on that." ( hello domestic nonsense I live for you)

19) Who drives and who has the window seat? Both are capable so it's kinda whoever grabs the keys first.

20) Who falls asleep in the others lap and who carries them to bed? They fall asleep on each other on their couch all the time. If they're tired enough they usually just stay there. If they both want to drag themselves to bed but are struggling to do it Jacqui will often get it together first and carry Cassie to bed.

21) Who cuts the others hair? Jacqui's hair requires a fair amount of maintenance and she really prefers to handle that herself. Sometimes Cassie needs help touching up the shaved parts of her style and Jacqui is more than happy to.

22) Who is super bad at sexting? and who sends them encouraging messages throughout the day? Neither are bad at it actually. They don't do it often but they'll indulge here or there. They do tend to be really flirty with each other over text just....in general. Both well shoot sweet, positive messages to each other as they have time throughout the day.

23) Who thinks they are not good enough for the others love? and who’s more afraid of loosing the other? Who thinks they keep messing up, only for the other to tell them they don’t need to worry?Both are absolutely certain they are good for one another They've been inseparable since children and that's not going to change now that they're adults and in a relationship. Still, Cassie does sometimes feel overshadowed by her parents. Like she's good but not great. On days like that, she feels good enough for Jacqui but like she could be doing better. More. Jacqui is quick to set her straight. Jacqui tries to keep how protective she feels under wraps but she's definitely the one that stresses the most on losing the other. She's just quiet about it.

24) Who starts random slow dancing with the other in the kitchen? Who holds the other just above the ground and kisses them? Slow dancing in particular? Jacqui. They sometimes bop around the house to pop songs when doing chores but it's usually Jacqui that switches the playlist, slows things down and tugs Cassie in close for a dance. If they still have a lot to do after she'll kiss Cassie silly while holding her up to put some playful energy back in the room.

25) Who says shitty puns and sex jokes just to see the other giggle and blush? Gods help Jacqui Briggs. She's dating the daughter of Johnny Cage and there's not a moment she gets to forget. It's bad enough that growing up she had to hear Johnny tell all manner of awful puns and jokes. Now she has to hear her girlfriend repeat her own variations of the same ones. Sometimes, and she she hates to admit it, they're actually pretty funny.

26) Who kissed first? Jacqui. After Cassie's awful "crazy if this were a date?" moment Jacqui had to sit through 5 minutes of Cassie fumbling through a confession and "I love you" before she lost her patience and stopped the rambling with a kiss.

27) Who orders take out at two in a morning? and who wakes the other up at three in the morning to go downstairs with them to get a glass of water because it’s too dark? Cassie does the ordering. Jacqui always gives her a "Are you serious? We've got food in the fridge." look but always makes sure to give Cassie her order anyways. Jacqui has the sense to keep a big bottle of water on her bedside table so nobody has to get up.

28) Who writes poems/stories and love songs about the other? Do they sing the songs the write for them? Jacqui likes to sing and took up song writing on a whim because of it. She's pretty good. Cassie gets really flustered when she realizes Jacqui has a new love song to sing to her. She feels like she's getting swept off her feet all over again with each song.

29) Who does some crazy stunt to try and impress the other and who ends up driving them to the emergency room after it backfires? They're already impressed with each other. Still, they're a healthy amount of competitive with each other so both are occasionally tempted to do some flashy stuff to one up the other. Trial and very painful error have taught them not to test their limits too far thankfully.

30) Who is embarrassed when they have to wear their glasses and who thinks they look super cute? Cassie used to be embarrassed about her glasses but the feeling faded a lot with adulthood. Why should she be embarrassed when her girlfriend thinks she she's cute as hell in them?

Thanks for the ask!

[houseofvans]

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | Interview with VALERIE SAVARIE

Denver artist Valerie Savarie creates intricately carved book sculptures that she painstakingly maps out and cuts, forming her own unique narrative creation. Each of her unique sculptures can take her from 40 hours to over 100 hours to complete. Not only one thing, Valerie also runs a collective gallery, Valkarie Gallery in Colorado, where various artists in the community show and share work. We find out more about Valerie’s book sculpture process, what her favorite tome creation is, and the things that inspire her. 

Take the leap below! 

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

Introduce yourself Howdy! My name is Valerie Savarie and I create carved book sculptures. I live in the Mile High city of Denver, Co, sharing a house with two cats Meelo and Varuka and my ever loving and supportive husband Matt. As cats are insatiable creatures when it comes to food and attention (which can turn into a zero creativity day), I eventually relocated my studio to Lakewood where it is connected to the collective gallery I run (Valkarie). I believe in lots of vitamin C to keep me healthy and creating (coffee, carrots and chips). Random fact: most of my tattoos are beyond the legal drinking age.

What was your introduction to art like? I was fortunate that my parents got myself and my sisters into art as kids. During the summers instead of wasting our time in front of the TV, we were enrolled in art programs. The city where I grew up - Madison, WI – also had this (and still does to this day) awesome thing called the Art Cart that would find its way to various parks over the summer and have free art projects – my favorite was the plaster casting of our faces at the beach. My dad also took us to many galleries and lectures. I can remember being in third or fourth grade and attending a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition.

How did that eventually lead you to creating your own works and specifically your book sculptures? Honestly, I have an older (not too much older) sister that was always the artist so I shied away from art for years. Sure, I was a professional doodler, yet I wanted to be my own person and struggled with the sibling rivalry a la Jan and Marcia for years. I turned to creative writing in high school and the first go around of college. Finally, I moved away, and moved away again, tried college a second time majoring in interior design and minoring in scenic design (secretly I wanted to be an architect) and ended up having a professor that had an MFA – Robert Work – who I am still friends with (god, it has been over 15 years since graduation). He reignited that artistic spark in me. I even applied to grad school for art and got rejected from every school I applied to yet I still made art.

A few years down the road I met my husband and he really pushed me to get my art out in public, which was frightening. I ended up joining a co-op where I experimented with various mediums and styles. I created some cube sculptures (bartered autocad drawings for them) and I was in love. 3D art took over my heart, unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to buy the cubes out right and my cabinet maker friend didn’t need any more drawings. So I sought out something that I could afford for material, something that was also easy to come by and easy to manipulate. A thrift store junky, I decided to test my hand on carving up books. That was just over 7 years ago.

What is the process for book creations? From start to finish, how long does the entire piece take? My pieces are formed by three different processes of creation: what it is, what I want it to be and it will be what it will be. What it is means that the story in the book inspires me. What I want it to be means that I have an idea that I need to find a book that fits the visual story I want to create, whereas it will be what it will be means I take a book with no idea in mind as to how it will turn out and intuitively start cutting.

I would say about 67% of the books I create fall into the what I want it to be category so that’s what I will describe. I will get an image stuck inside my head and think about it quite a bit before I will put pencil to paper, working out basic concepts in my head and then creating a very rudimentary sketch (mainly so I don’t forget the idea). I then head off to the stacks – a very unorganized collection – in search of a book whose story has some of the same elements as mine. This is a daunting task as I have no idea as to what the content of at least 97% of the books I house is.

Sadly the adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is all too accurate. Titles can be misleading, the content seems like a good match but the cover has illustrations that are in conflict with the vision, and heaven forbid I can’t find any information on the book on Google and then have to decide if I have the time to invest in reading a few chapters or should just keep looking elsewhere.

After hours and even days of searching, I find the match – the perfect companion to my vision. I leaf through most of the pages, book marking those passages, illustrations, lack of text or unique text layout for me to revisit as I cut layer by layer, page by page. Then a slightly more detailed sketch is created – and then comes the point of no return …

I draw the shape of the cut out on the cover and with book and blade in hand, the transformation begins. All cuts are done with a craft knife – yes, even the cover. It is cut by scoring multiple times and then stab and drag, stab and drag. Sure, there are easier ways to do this - the not so occasional accidental sacrifice of blood still doesn’t deter me - I prefer to use my hands, to be able to pack up to my art, take it anywhere I chose to create and not worry about access to electricity. With the cover hole cut, I take out my file and smooth the opening, refine the curves and lines. Then another sketch of how the piece will be laid out is drawn on the front leaf of the book. This can be especially handy to have in more complex designs where I use the image as a template or stencil when cutting the many layers.

From then on out, it is just a matter of cutting one to three pages at a time. The number of pages is determined by the quality of the paper and over all design. Admittedly, this can become tedious if the depth of the layer is greater than ¼” but it is also important for me NOT to rush through the cutting of pages stage as phrases and images easily hide from view when I first go through the book in search of the elements I want expose.

Accidents do happen – the occasional over cut of a section or completely cutting out a page I meant to keep. I am very rigid in my creative process – if the section has been completely cut through, I just walk away from it – even though it would be quite easy to simply glue that section to the page below. The story can develop plot twists during this time as the layers start taking on a different life and their shadows start telling a story of their own as I cut deeper and deeper.

This, the lengthiest part of the creation process, I mentally start to flesh out what the painted characters – or inhabitants – of the book sculpture will look like (I can easily spend over 40 hours of just cutting the pages and so have a lot of “free creative brain time”) . How will they interact in the environment, what will their facial expression be? I dare not start painting them until all pages that will be cut, are cut, as I want the character - be in human, animal or other worldly - to look as if they had grown up in the book sculpture and has called it home forever. The characters are painted with acryla gouache on sheets of mixed media paper or directly onto the book page. The latter is more of a spirit creature – a ghost that is still very much part of the life force of the book. These little paintings are then mounted to illustration board for rigidity and cut out (again by hand with a craft knife).

Once the book cutting is complete and the character painted, I move on to the last creative piece which ties the story together (literally) - the stitching. Each altered book piece has some thread or string (occasionally wire is substituted) added to help in the visual story telling. It can be very elaborate such as sewing branches and leaves onto the cover or something as simple as a few blades of grass. The drilling to create the needle holes in the cover is (again) done with a hand tool called a jeweler’s drill. This nifty device has interchangeable bits from the diameter of a hair to 7mm lead. I believe the longest recorder amount of time I have spent drilling/stitching a single piece is 15 hours.

Now it’s time to do all the boring stuff that makes the piece ready to hang. All the pages are bound together, I create a little wire coat hanger in which the piece can be hung and sew it onto the back of the book as well as stitch in the publication and rebirth years. Both covers are glued to the bound pages, clamped and by the next day, what was once an orphaned book, now rid of its shell, is a three dimensional sculpted piece of art!

And that is how my book sculptures are born.

How long? On average 40 hours a piece. A few take less time and I have spent over 100 hours on a piece more than once.

Where do the books come from? Are they from collecting or via donation? How are you inspired when creating these intricate piece? Are they inspired by the book or from an idea you jotted down? My books come fro various sources. Initially I would get them at thrift stores, the rule was that they had to be as old as me. I normally still stick to that rule unless it is a commission or a piece created for a specific themed show. More recently, I have had a lot of books donated to me – some because the thrift stores won’t take them any more and others because the former owners’ had cherished them and hoped that they could find new life in my hands. On rare occasions I do order from Ebay. I prefer the hunt, stalking down the perfect book, taking weeks and even months. Sometimes, I don’t have that luxury due to deadlines.

Normally I have a concept I want to develop, I look through my stacks (which numbers in the 100’s and shelved at random) hoping to find one that has a similar story line. Since I don’t have time to read each one, I go online and do research – reading the synopses – as well as skimming the books. This can be dangerous as sometimes the books I am sorting through pull me in and new inspiration is born from the written word.

I see my pieces as more of a collaboration between myself and the authors and illustrators. I use their art form as an inspiration stream and add my own twist (or chapter) to create the stories anew.

Is there a piece that was directly influenced by a memory or experience you’ve had or story you’ve heard? It is rare that I remember my dreams but a few years ago I awoke and remembered having a very strange dream about tiny cyclops octopuses and tea cups. Shortly there after I stumbled across a Reader’s Digest collection that contained 20,000 leagues Under the Sea and so I had to create the little cyclopes – sans teacups. I really want to revisit that dream in art form again – with the tea cups – as of yet, I haven’t come across any books that would fit.

What’s the perfect day at the studio like for you? What kinds of things would we find in your creative space?

A perfect day would start around 6pm. I prefer to work at night until the early hours of the morning. I would have a nice cup of endless coffee at hand, a bag of baby carrot and raw nuts available for snacking (separate bags) and some left over Indian food for later in the evening/morning. The original Twin Peaks is playing in the back ground (i pretty much have the dialogue memorized) and my shoes are off and slippers on.

Spread around me on the floor (I work sitting on the floor) is a brand new cutting mat that smells of childhood summer beach toys, an assortment of craft knifes with brand new blades (I rarely use new blades as I have learned to sharpen them) and a vintage book begging me to caress its pages, ogle its inner beauty and then skillfully and slowly start to transform its story from the 2D writing into a 3D world it never knew it could be!

Within my studio I have quite a nice collection of small art (besides my own of course). I use it for inspiration and feed off the remnants of creative energy that the artists left with each piece. There are books, LOTS of books that have no rhyme or reason to their shelving locations or book neighbors. I have quite a few orchids which may or may not be in bloom – all of which were gifts. I have a cool vintage love seat which normally is a place for art to lounge on along with the occasional visitor. A nice collection of coffee mugs – with at least half of them needing to be washed- and of course a coffee maker. I also have an old radio from probably the 30’s that I occasionally plug in and turn on – the sound is great but there aren’t that many am radio stations with strong enough signal that are worth listening to.

What’s one of your favorite creations you’ve made and why? I created a piece based on Pan’s Labyrinth. It was the first piece of fan art I had ever created.

I rarely actually watch movies or t.v. - I listen to them but my eyes and hands are busy creating art. I don’t like foreign films that have voice overs, there is just something unnerving about them.

So with Pan’s Labyrinth, it is something that I actually had to watch. It is a visual masterpiece – as is everything that Guillermo del Toro does.

Creating art based off of something that is already a magnificent piece of art is quite challenging. I didn’t want it to be obviously fan art it was important I make it my own. I ended up using a book in Spanish about the Spanish Civil war. I also used some techniques that were new to me – removing the decorative fabric only from the cover to create pattern, adding color and even adding the cover of a larger book as a backdrop. Oh yeah, and a drop of blood – my fingers tips are pretty callused from art making it took a little more effort than I liked to get that blood.

It was exciting to use new techniques and to push myself to be precise and exact – an actual labyrinth with tiny stairs down to the portal – and at the same time use my imagination to explore concepts that I could only see (movie) and not read and translate them into my own design.

What’s your main tool for making art? Is there a medium you’re wanting to try? A craft knife with an Excel blade – the brand REALLY makes a big difference. In a tie would be a good mat – still looking for the perfect one.

I took a class last year on wood block cutting and would really like to do more with that. I think it would work well with the book page scraps I collective (I have many many boxes of them) plus it is another substractive art techniquewhich makes sense in my brain.

Who are some artists that you’re inspired by and have influenced you throughout the years? Edward Gorey is my main influence. Partially because he was both a visual artist and a writer. I love how dark his images are and the same time laced with humor. His black and white color palette obviously works for me as well. There is a simplicity to it and at the same time it is so masterfully done that the work appears much more expansive than it already is.

As far as artists that are alive and kicking today, my local biggest influences are Aria Fawn and Nicole Grosjean. They are completely different in everything they do and at the same time such masters of detail and story telling.

Aria creates surreal and fantastic worlds in watercolor, largely inspired by the beautiful and violent balance of nature and wild things and the cycle of life, death and rebirth. There is such organic and natural beauty in her style, a freeness that I strive to incorporate into my rigid calculated creation process. I probably own more of Aria’s art than anyone else's - I have multiple pieces by her in my studio and home. She is constantly with me, always inspiring, motivating and energizing my creative spirit.

Nicole on the other hand, creates tiny worlds from hand cut, hand painted paper – which she considers three dimensional illustration. Sometimes there are over a thousand individually cut and painted pieces of paper in one work of art. She is so precise, so CLEAN I have no idea how she does it. I have a very tiny praying mantis in a watch piece from her as well as a larger dragon that I got for my husband as a gift to cover all holidays for several years.

My my top three non locals are Jolene Lai, Jason Limon and Kristen Egan. They all are completely different from one another – Kristen creates magical creatures from gourds. I am dying to get my hands on one as 3D art really needs to be experienced in person to feel the texture, see how the light and shadow changes the mood of the piece. She makes it look so seamless – at first glance I thought the were ceramic.

When I first saw Jason’s work I thought it was the most amazing paper cut art I had ever seen, then I realized it was a painting! His playfulness along with social commentary paired with his insane talent to place highlights and shadows it something I strive for. I feel that my painted characters could be so much more influential – a better actor one could say – in the dioramas I create if they appeared more three dimensional. I am lucky to own one small original that lives with me in my studio.

And then there is Jolene. I would consider her one of the greatest artists of all time. There is so much emotion, energy, story telling in her paintings. Her use of color (and again light and shadow) makes her works hyper realistic to me – I feel sucked in and transformed as an active participant in her paintings. I own two beautiful graphite pieces of hers which live at my house.

What’s your experience been like with the art scene in your area? How is the artist community? I LOVE the art scene in Denver. We are a “new” city that still has not lost its small town connectivity in the arts. Artists support other artists, galleries support other galleries. It is not an us vs them mentality here and I really think it will stay that way.

I got my start in a traditional co-op gallery that sadly just closed this year after being open for nearly 30 years.

They rejected me the first time around and told me what to change for the next application round and I got in that second time.

Even at Valkarie we host a drop in creative night every Thursday – going on almost five years. All levels of artists come, from doodlers to professionals, painters to jewelry makers. We openly give feedback on what we re working on and share calls for art and discuss booth set ups for conventions – what works and what doesn’t.

How do you stay inspired on those days when you’re feeling uninspired? To be honest, it has been years since I felt uninspired. I think because of the super supportive art community I always have someone to run ideas off of. Also, the books themselves are full of written and visual inspiration, an unending supply of it. And all that awesome art I collect, for me it’s not a lack of inspiration it’s more a lack of what I want to focus on – too many bees buzzing with ideas in my brain.

When you’re not working in the studio, what are you doing? What do you enjoy? Truth be told, 83% of my waking time revolves around art. Besides spending time with my own art and running Valkarie Gallery, there isn’t much time for anything else.

In that 17%, I enjoy making pies from scratch with my husband, getting out into the mountains to escape all the compartmentalizing of city life and being servant to the cats – if they had their way, I wouldn’t get any art done at all.

If I ever find “free” time again I would love to get back into creative writing, pick up the violin again and go on more bike rides. Nothing sporty, just peddling around town with no destination in mind.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking of becoming an artist? Start young – before you get tied down with a house, spouse or kids. It is much easier to get by on less while you are young.

Don’t feel like you have to get a degree in art (I know I will catch flack for this one). Do take art classes, marketing classes, get involved in with meet up art groups and build community. Some of the most successful artists I know have no formal art degree. Their talent, passion and drive have given them much success without a pile of debt and they tend to be the most active in artist groups.

Know that rejection is 90% of the game and don’t get discouraged. It doesn’t mean you aren’t good at what you do, it can mean that you weren’t what they were looking for. If you are really passionate, you will always create no matter what others say about your art.

Develop a style that is unique to you. This can be the most difficult especially with everything being available to anyone with a smartphone, computer or tablet. I think it is one of the reasons I keep creating the book sculptures and expanding what they are.

What are your FAVORITE Vans?  It really depends on the weather and where I am headed. If it is snowy or raining and am headed to the studio, slip-ons are best, so I can easily take them off and on multiple times a day (sitting on wet shoes is a mistake only made once). In good weather, any Vans are comfortable enough to wear evening while squatting on the floor creating art.

Finally, can you tell us about any exciting things you’ve got coming up? This year I have had my art in five different states and at the beginning of December I will be showing in my sixth. I will have a booth at the Recycled Art Market in Santa Fe, NM. This will be the first time showing my art there and think I will come back with some pretty exciting new ideas on how to incorporate other repurposed items into my books and maybe even find some new resources for creating my sculptures.

I also have two commission coming up that I am really excited to get going on. Will be doing A Clockwork Orange piece and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe(for two different clients). It has been decades since I read either but I think these two both warrant a reread before I start them (I really do my best to avoid watching movies of books for inspiration).

FOLLOW VALERIE SAVARIE | INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE

[jordmacwriting]

Modern Newsie Characters

Author Note: much like the Les Mis one I posted it and I’ll probs use this one as well for AUs

Masterlist

Takes place in Manhatten, New York

Background: All of the Newsie boys range from freshman to seniors. They go to high school and most of the seniors are preparing for college, and they all come from pretty crappy homes. They all have pretty rough jobs. A lot of their parents are immigrants. This is only some of the Newsies, since there are a whole lot of ‘em, after high school, they all move into the same apartment complex, and even some of those that are in high school and don’t have a great home life live the apartment complex.

Also all the boys are in the choir at school, and are part of an all boys choir(as well as a combined choir)-THEY MAKE THE BEST HARMONIES, it brings tears to everybodies eyes when they hear them sing.

Delancey Brothers-Senior bullies that constantly torture the Newsie boys.

Jack Kelly-Orphan. He’s been in a lot of orphanages and foster homes. Dreams of Santa Fe, New Mexico and wants to be an artist. In a relationship with Katherine Plumber. Been in so many detentions, he could be expelled, but Katherine convinces Pulitizer to keep him in school. Star of the baseball team. He was on the football team up until his junior year. He’s a doodler. He doodles over everything and anything and the teachers are very impressed by the doodles, and then they see things like his paintings and they’re amazed. The boy loves road trips.

Katherine Plumber-Aspiring journalist. She’s on the schools newspaper club. She’s part of the combined choir that the boys are in as well. Although she prefers non-ficitional, informational writing, the girl can write on heck of a fictional short story. She’s a senior and has a scholarship to the school of her dreams. She has a blog and all the boys read it. Everything she does is aesthetically pleasing and she is very organized. She’s a big procrastinator, but it almost helps her work be better.

Davey Jacobs-What a soft boi. His family is Jewish and he often gets the boys to come celebrate Hannukah with them. Wears a lot of sweaters. He’s a senior and cares about his grades so much. In his spare time, he tutors all the Newsie boys. He loves to read and is usually at the library or a book store. Extremely awkward around girls, and the boys love to tease him about it. He’s a total mom friend. He’s prepared for everything that the boys need. He has a locker filled with snacks and water bottles and money. He writes a lot as well. The kid is Student President and is pretty great at what he does, as long as the boys help him. His notes from class are the most aesthetically pleasing things you will see.

Les Jacobs-Only freshman in the group. Total flirt and gets a lot of girls. He usually helps his brother with girls. He is part of yearbook and takes all the pictures, and dang the boy is good.

Crutchie-The boy hurt his foot real bad when he was young. It had to be amputated and so his foot is a prosthetic, which means he limps a lot. He reports for the school paper. The boy likes to bake a lot. He’s a total soccer mom. He goes to every single performance and game. 

Spot Conlon-Total bad-a. He lives in Brooklyn, but goes to school with all the boys. Not afraid of a fight and does not back down from anything. He’s on the football team and the captain of the wrestling team. Even though the kid is only 5’ 4”, the whole school is a bit terrified to get on the wrong side of him.

Finch-Finch’s parents immigrated from Ireland about ten years before Finch was born. He has carried a bit of his parents into his life, having a slight Irish accent. The boy is super talented with archery. He’s in an archery club at the school.

Elmer-This boy is killer at baseball. Jack tells him that next year, Elmer will be the star. His parents immigrated from Spain.

Albert-His parents immigrated from Scotland, and he has a bit of a Scottish accent. He is really into astronomy and made a whole astronomy club. Can surf and roller blade really well. He sleeps in class alot, but has pretty good grades.

Specs-This boy has a collection of vintage glasses and his closet is filled with single shoes, not pairs, a single shoe, so he’s often wearing mix-matched shoes. His parents immigrated from Sudan years before he was born. He is amazing at dance and is getting into an amazing school. He is part of the dance team for the school and the track team.

Romeo-This boy, what a flirt. He’s got his eye on a new girl every week, at least, that’s what all the boys say. And the girls definetly think he’s a catch. His parents immigrated from Mexico when he was 7. He caught on to English very fast, but speaks Spanish when he’s at home. He’s on the soccer team and on the varsity team, has been since his freshman year. He’s hoping that he’ll get a soccer scholarship for college because he knows his parents probably won’t be able to pay for college tuition. He works very hard so he can make money.

Mush-He joined Davey’s book club and they both geek out about everything. He’s also a mathlete. He’s only a junior, but he’s got his whole life planned out.

Racetrack-The boy is an amazing dancer and is also a mega theatre kid. He is on the dance team and is in every production of a play or musical the school puts on. He carries around a cigar everywhere he goes, but he doesn’t smoke it. He has a pretty bad gambling addiction, but he’s amazing at what he does. He loves Vines and can quote any Vine you mention to him. He cannot pronounce “oyster” for the life of him, it usually comes out as “erster”. He used to be on the soccer team, just for his freshman year. He is one of the youngest in the group, only a sophomore, which nobody really believes, since he’s around the boys a lot, and the kid is pretty tall, but then they get to know him, and know that he is not the maturist. He always wears hats. ALSO, his grandparents on his mothers side immigrated from Italy and his dad immigrated from Ireland

[plainjaned-blog]

Underrated Jane things that I need to meta about / illustrate the shittiness of her situation well:

Has a family clearly doing very well for itself ( two cars, computer, four thousand dollar couch, etc ) and yet, when she decides she’ll be needing breast augmentation, starts saving solely by herself for it. Hard worker, patient, self-sufficient.

Mentions the saving and the surgery as if the former were always specifically for the latter, so please consider that she started babysitting at ten and the absolutely hellish body expectations she was living under. That’s -- that’s fucked up.

Monitors her finances? Very closely? Will deposit even just five dollars if she’s got it? And judging by the screen she’s either for some reason paying rent at sixteen, or she actually runs finance simulations in her free time to better prepare for getting out of the house -- either way you look at it, wow.

Is a cheerleader, is a neighborhood babysitter, saves her money, practices her steps ( “for weeks” ), probably has good grades -- a good egg.

Depressed. It’s very plainly evident but let’s toss it out again: depressed. 

First reaction to seeing Ricky / being filmed was “Asshole” and flipping him the bird? I love her.

Immediately after the above, that private smile? This girl is that starved for anything that seems like vaguely positive attention it hurts me -- and she rolls her eyes at herself a little before walking away; she won’t even allow herself to coast on reading something positive into that for a minute.

Is blamed by Lester for the distance between them and he is, very clearly, expecting to just vent to her and have her sympathize with him just because he’s having a bad time, which is selfish. While there’s definitely a case to be made for Jane needing to put herself out there more, honestly? Every time she tries in the film she’s shot down or treated in a way that’s...not encouraging. It’s not the child’s job to somehow be more mature than the parents. ( Also, for the record? For all her faults, Carolyn was at the very least making a genuine effort to connect to Jane, while Lester blamed Jane herself and just resigned to sulking in the distance. Don’t come at me saying the father/daughter relationship was the only one suffering, or that Lester was somehow the one behaving more wisely than anyone else. It’s not Jane’s job to be the adult, and Carolyn’s efforts all but blow his out of the water. )

Her room is the only warm-colored space in like...the entire movie. How’s that for color symbolism, mm? Also it’s orange, which is one of the least popular colors universally. She loves an underdog.

Absentminded doodler.

Owns a phone number / address book when she only has one friend and her parents’ numbers. She’s so weirdly adult in her recordkeeping I love her.

Surly and frequently in dark clothing, but also sports cats and butterflies on her shirts? 

Refused to completely write Ricky off after hearing he’d been to a mental institution; was wary of him ( but keep in mind she’s going off of that and the fact he’s filmed her, which is legitimate cause for wariness ), but still demonstrably invested in hearing his half of things and getting more context to the situation. 

The most defensive teenaged “SHUT UP” at Angela’s ‘ten thousand babies’ bit, she’s just - the best. Also so absorbed in that discussion she failed to notice Ricky walking DIRECTLY up to them.

Is small and soft but also stubbornly holds his gaze as long as she can and tries to come off as more aggressive than she necessarily is. 

She jumps a little bit when Angela shout-drops the c-bomb. Eyes wide. 

Private About Her Love Life.

Is the one to make the actual first definitively romantic move toward Ricky, which is....important. He’s showing her something deeply intimate and impossibly important to him and opening himself even FURTHER, and she’s understanding finally what it is that makes him so...himself, and is taking the initiative to leave herself vulnerable for a minute. I just.

Here’s a hugely important, big one: actually tries to peacefully resolve all of her problems. She CONFRONTS Lester and Angela both about how messed up their behavior is, and she asks them to stop -- which is something nobody should ever HAVE to ask their father or their friend, mind you, Jane is being EXTREMELY courteous about it. She asks them to stop and makes it plainly evident that it is hurting her, and never resorts to anything very rash. 

She understands the bag tape and Ricky’s general philosophy after seeing it and talking to him. This is also important. Ricky’s mindset is one that appeals to her, but one she naturally gets. It’s a large part of why they’re compatible. 

It honestly merits an essay of its own, but the topless scene is....so hugely important to her and to the dynamic with Ricky it actually makes my head spin. Just, for the record. 

While I’m only ever going to care about like, very minute and specific and cherry-picked bits of the original script ( because it’s largely....bad ), please note that IT notes she actually straight-up cried after seeing the Colonel hit Ricky.

Also from the original script, Ricky and Jane dating-hangouts consist of...? Walking around in the woods, wading in a river, shadow puppets, like, nothing but very casual and pure stuff. And all the while she’s still trying to retain just a little edge, it’s such a task for her to feel completely at ease with the notion someone enjoys her / her company. Good god. 

Her father’s last words to her were “[. . .] or you’ll end up a real bitch, just like your mother”. Jane is going to be living with that for the rest of her life. 

Her parents fight through her and keep her cornered and instead of giving her space afterward or comforting her, Carolyn goes to instead guilt-trip her and impart a lesson that amounts to ‘you are alone’, right as she’s finally forging a relationship with another human being that’s solely encouraging and beneficial to her. And, you know, that bit where Carolyn hits her for refusing to feed into the pity party.

The only time Jane’s actually clearly hostile toward Angela, the only time she raises her voice, is when she’s defending Ricky. Actually steps in front of him a little and shouts. ( Please also always note the difference in her approach when she tries to confront Angela and Lester -- she’s not judgmental toward Angela, she never makes any explicit judgment on her attitudes or anything similar, whereas with Lester she’s stating firmly and outright that he’s being disgusting. Jane understands the difference between Angela’s half of the ordeal and Lester’s. )

( Actually that entire fight was refreshing for its own reasons but special shoutout to the fact neither Ricky nor Jane defend themselves, but immediately jump in for each other. )

So many things.

Squint at her the next time you watch this movie she’s so quiet and lowkey but rewarding to focus on. Defend this kid.

[otteron-the-sun]

[5] Two side of a coin

State : In progress Characters : Moobin x Rocky x OC (Mee Joo) Genre : fluff / a bit of angst (it’s starting guys) Featured : Poly!Rockbin and College!AU Summary : Being a college student seems to be easier for your love life, little did I know that a bet between two guys won’t make everything goes so smoothly after all. Word count : 2,300+ Side note : Ok, I love this chapter, I loved writing it, and it’s finally starting to have a bit of sense (also I write more than the first chapters oops), but yeah, I hope you’ll like it as much as I do ♥

Previous part

For the last two weeks, after the first date, a question occurred my mind,every single day. Since Rocky me took me to the first date, plan everything for the afternoon, shouldn’t it be my turn to take care of the planning of the next date? I didn’t really know what I should do in this case, because of how little the number of date I had was. Almost every day I hesitated to send a text to Rocky, asking if I should plan the date to a date that was good for him. But I didn’t, because it was a bit awkward to ask him like that. Even though “awkward” was  a thing I do quite a lot with him. It was a normal Tuesday morning, in class, just on the same table as my best friend. It wasn’t the best part of the year, having our end of the semester finals and trying to sort out our life in general. It was the kind of days where we were only running thanks to coffee, and no one would be really surprised if we learned that some of us are more on drugs to keep going at this period of the year. Like, yeah, almost relatable dude. For once, though, I was keeping up with this time way better than the past years, I wasn’t asleep in the first hours of morning, and Shin-Ae asleep the afternoon. We just seemed to be fine, just drinking three coffee per day. And to add to our joy, the morning helped us to learn the fact that our afternoon classes were cancelled this very morning, since our teacher was sick. How things could be better today, honestly. Just the mere thought of having an afternoon off to go home and study a bit more for the finals was a thing I could’ve only dreamed of before. To be honest, the past years, I would have taken this free afternoon to go have some times with friends around the town. Like grabbing a coffee with a few friends of my class or things like that. But no. Not anymore. The end of the morning went on like usual, with a few students sleeping on the last row, some others doodling in their notebook rather than listening to the class, and some others nodding and taking notes. And to be realistic, Shin-Ae was the doodler one, and I was the annoying little nodder by her side. She knew that, if I was taking notes in a class, she could do whatever she wanted and ask for it after, like we always did, one for the other. Never one of us were actually using the other to take all the notes to do nothing in class, but it was more like an exchange of information. Lunch break came pretty fast, allowing us to either go home and eat our own food, with proper balance of things, or staying at the cafeteria, with a quite questioning menu and dishes. And with that way of thinking, the choice was quickly made for everyone. It wasn’t that bad, it’s just that, some dishes we had at the cafeteria in the past years were particularly questionable. Not to be mean either, but seriously, who thought that some of them were a good idea? Walking down the way to go back to my apartment, with Shin-Ae by my side for once. The walk was pretty silent, both on our phone. Not the awkward and embarrassing silence I could usually create, but more like a comfortable silence. Nothing needed to be said out loud. And if anything to say came in our mind, we probably pushed it in the back of our head to talk about it while eating. During the time I was cooking something, I realized that I wasn’t really used to have two people to feed and not only myself. Jeez, I should ask people to come over more often than that or I’ll end really lonely someday. Maybe. Yeah, probably. And while I was busying myself in the kitchen, Shin-Ae was just chilling on my couch, both of our phones in hand, probably having some fun talking to people as me. Couldn’t blame her honestly. At least, I couldn’t, until she let out a little whimper, before shouting to me, without even moving. “ GUESS WHO IS INVITED TO WATCH MOONBIN AND ROCKY DANCE THIS AFTERNOON!” I sighed heavily, coming back to the coffee table to put down the tray with our plates and everything to eat, before quirking an eyebrow. “Wow, tell me, great friend, who’s the idiot that is going to hang out with my two future husbands this afternoon? To know who I have to defeat, of course.” If she couldn’t hear my sarcasm, I’ll probably gave up on her. I didn’t really care about who was the lucky girl who had a chance to hang out with them. And watch them dance. Absolutely not jealous. At all. “It’s you, you stupid, they both asked you to come when I told them we didn’t have class. Oh, and I accepted for you. I know, I’m fantastic, you’re welcome.” oh. OH. OH JEEZ. How to feel really stupid in one lesson. At this point, I didn’t even know if I should be thankful to her because she did all that, but at the same time, it meant that I’ll be just with two of my frickin’ crushes, at the same time. Watching them dance, appreciating all heavenly good they look. It also meant not studying, but that’s a thing I could do at night, instead of sleeping. Alright. Not panicking. Not freaking out. Everything is going to work ok. “Oh. Okay, thank you for planning my afternoon then. I guess you’re just gonna spend some time with my baby best friend instead of studying the new chapter with me then.” Yeah, my whole point here is to keep a cool façade in front of her. She just smirked, adding the fact that she’ll take responsibility if we fail at this chapter. Wow, so nice. SO. NICE. Only an hour after, I ended up in front of the practice room of the dancing student. I wasn’t only panicking, I was really questioning my motives of coming to them to watch them. But obviously, since Shin-Ae told them, as me, that I’ll be there, I couldn’t just cancel, in less than an hour. It wouldn’t have been really serious to do that this way. So here I was, standing like a statue. For the thousandth time, I rearranged my flannel on my shoulder, asking myself if it was alright, before doing my ponytail again to be sure it was perfect. And then, my flannel again. For once, I wasn’t wearing any high-waisted pants, just some black leggings with a white crop top under my red flannel, and some converse. Such a casual, cute, and a bit sexy outfit. Why was I wearing that?! OH. MY. GOD. I was really close to facepalming myself now. Deciding to leave my terror aside, I knocked two time on the wooden door, waiting for an answer while I was switching from a feet to the other. But instead of just a “yeah”, or a “come in”, the door swung open quickly just in front of me, making me jump. Sometimes I tend to forgot how lively and dynamic Rocky is, especially when it’s about spending some time together. And just behind, I can’t see Moonbin, stretching carefully. At the same time as I try to not drool on the floor just at this sight. Oops. Without hesitation, Rocky pulled me in the room, always so excited to talk, asking how I have been during the last two weeks, when we couldn’t see each other a lot because of school. Meanwhile we were both talking excitedly about the two weeks, Binnie was there, left aside, knowing the two stories since he never stopped talking to one or the other during the two weeks. Except the beginning, which was, not really surprisingly, awkward. After I just sat in the back to watch them dance, everything seemed a lot more relaxed, the both them in their environment. It was their world, I couldn’t deny that. And it was really beautiful, just watching them be. They’re having fun, enjoying the company of the other, and I wasn’t too much in here. The mood was so light and so nice. Suddenly, Binnie stopped dancing to turn around and look at me. Even if he could see me in the mirror in front of us, but anyway. A sly smirk appeared on his face and he extend a hand to me. “SanHa told me you are a good dancer, and even if you were quite great at the party, I want to really see it. Please?” And then again, he switched to his puppycat smile. How could I resist to that? And in all honesty, I knew SanHa must’ve dropped the hint before, that’s why my outfit was practical enough to dance with them. Even if I’d take a sweatpants over a legging anytime. But yeah, less cute. I got up and walked over to them, poking Moonbin’s nose, smiling softly “This kind of smile is cheating Binnie”. I stuck out my tongue to him before a little giggle, without seeing how flustered it got him. I stretched a bit, just testing a little my now-low flexibility. Rocky jogged to the stereo, choosing a song on his phone to see how I’ll dance to that. Especially when I hear one of my favorite song blast through the speaker. Well, I’m kind of happy that he’ll remember me telling about this song when we were at the coffee shop, the first time. I started to move, slowly first but gaining confidence quickly, getting a bit faster. I had to admit that I was kinda shy to show them in the first place, but I forgot their presence to dance freely on the beat of the song that I liked way too much. I closed my eyes and that was the mistake I made… Eyes closed, I couldn’t see the look on their face. Rocky, smiling widely and clutching his chest at the feeling of his heart beating faster. Or Moonbin, smiling softly at my figure, growing fonder of me at each step I took. But at the second the song stopped and I opened my eyes again, I just saw two smiles, and an excited puppy Rocky who jogged to me, before jumping up and down with my hands in his. “It was so great Mee ! You should dance with us more ! Pleaaaase !” I just patted his shoulder, with a laugh. I removed my flannel to tie it around my hips, adding my hands on each sides, daring them to dance with me for the rest of the afternoon. And they took the challenge really seriously. As I walked home, Rocky by my side, I just couldn’t stop smiling, all happy of the time spent together. And like the last date, he slowly took my hand, intertwining our fingers, in a way that my heart skipped a beat before going twice his normal speed. If only he knew how this little kind of actions made my heart flutter, and my cheeks heat up. If only he knew the way he make me feel. But as we made our way to the front door of my apartment, finally letting one of them enter more than the hall of the building, I thought that, maybe he knew. And the only reason he kept doing it, was because he felt the same way about it. Wow, hold your horses and think about it just a second. We are talking about the popular Rocky, the crush of half the girl of this campus. Not even talking about the other girls on the rest of the country. How Rocky, the popular, kind, sweet, super handsome could like me? Well, he’s holding my hand but that’s not really something big, is it? Before going any further in my thoughts, he poked my cheek, in front of my door. “So, Mee, it was kind of our third date.. I walked you home and all..” “Yes, I think I  was pretty aware about all that.” “Is it the time where I can kiss you goodbye and ask you to be my girlfriend at the same time?” Everything froze, my breath got caught up in my throat, will my eyes were widening. And I made the shyest nod I ever did, lips slightly ajar before he caught them with his. With a hand on my cheek, and on of mine on his chest, all of this was so softly executed. So natural but so new, we both had closed our eyes the second our lips met. Nothing in it was random or amateur. The shyness slowly disappearing on both side, his second hand find my waist to pull me carefully closer. And when the kiss was broken by his smile, I just became aware of the lack of air in my lungs. All my question were erased from my head, and I felt so light. “Will you be my girlfriend then?” “Honestly Rocky, do you really need an answer for that?” “No, but I want to hear it..” I whispered a little “yes”, before leaving a little peck on his lips. And a big smile came across his face, holding me close for a few minutes, in silence. Just enjoying to be this close with each other. Eventually, he let me go, letting me go back home, to finally take a shower and start studying before eating to continue even after dinner. That was my plan before seeing a few texts on my phone.

[18:46] Rocky : Binnie, I won the bet, she is my girlfriend. I’m sorry you lost ㅋㅋㅋ

And everything fell apart. I was just a bet then. How surprising.

Next part >

[existentialkendall-blog]

Sharpie Soulmates (Soulmate AU)

Pairing: Kickthestickz Wordcount: 2.3k Rating: bad language, but nothing to cry about

Request/Prompt: Whatever you write on yourself appears on your soulmate but disappears from your skin. Pj is always covered in horrible pick up lines and crudely drawn dicks. While Chris is covered in doodles and gets an occasional 'fuck you' or 'you're a dick' on himself from pj. Eventually they meet when Chris writes 'I have a small dick' on his forehead and sees pj.

A/N: Request a fic here, click a like down there. This isn’t youtube people, you guys aren’t stupid enough to need to be told what to do

At first, PJ doesn't notice the harsh black lines on his skin. Usually flecks of paint adorn his skin, and consumed with work, he doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about himself. It's always the next idea, the following project, the bigger picture. When it first happens he doesn't see it until it's almost faded. On his right ankle, the small crude pen drawing of a dick, moving whenever he flexed his foot. It's repulsive, and for the first few seconds he's confused. Then he grabs the closest sharpie, and traces the image hoping it will go away. Since it's on his skin, a replica over the top might send the drawing back to it's owner. It doesn't, and now he's marred someone else with pornography. He throws the pen down in frustration and licks his finger, rubbing at the spot. It doesn't do anything. When he's in the shower, some 8 minutes later, he has an epiphany of sorts. He's just made contact with his soulmate, and the first interaction they had was matching ankle dicks. PJ groans, head falling back against the shower wall in annoyance.

___

It's strange, but paint doesn't transfer or leave his skin. It's only pen, ink. So when he's painting a cardboard box white, because he found a stash of the boxes yesterday, he's almost disappointed that he can't stay clean. "Is this for a new video?" Jamie asks, bent over his shoulder and watching the paint transform the conventional brown to a clinical white. Could be an office, a space station, a hospital. Most of the time he sticks with the brown, but for some reason he was in the mood for painting a calming white. PJ nods, still thinking about a video idea, "Yeah. I've got something in mind." "Cool, let me know when you've figured everything out," PJ nods again, "Also... What the hell is that?" Alert due to the shift in Jamie's voice, he turns and looks at his friend confused, then his eyes trail down and he sees it. 'Stop, drop, and roll, baby. You are on fire' Written on his arm in chicken scratch font, thick because it'd been gone over several times with the pen. "I..." He trails off, "I. I think that is my soulmate."Jamie pats him on the back in congratulations. "Well done."As soon as Jamie's retreating back leaves the room PJ scribbles on his arm 'You're a real dick' It doesn't take long for the message to receive a reply, and when it does PJ's irritated groan is possibly louder than yesterdays. 'I do have a real dick! Did you like the preview I sent you yesterday? Judging from your eager response I'd say yes' He bites his lip while writing, lower down then before so the words flow like a conversation on the other persons skin, smiling because even though the person on the other end is annoying the crap out of him, his soulmate is a boy. A man. He's never been with a guy before, and it's exciting yet nerve wracking to know he will be. 'Oh so that was a scale copy? I'm so sorry that you didn't grow during puberty like the rest of us' PJ reads the next piece of writing, grinning even more, then goes back to painting. When Sophie asks him later why he has 'YOU HAVE A BIG COCK???' taking up three quarters of his forearm, he flushes a pretty pink and laughs awkwardly.

___

On the second day he nervously asks 'What's your name?' The pen flips restlessly in his hand, patting against his black jeaned thigh until the name appears on his other arm, because as PJ quickly learnt, the love of his eternity is left handed. 'Chris' Huh. Chris. With the pad of his index finger, he traces each letter tentatively. When he reaches the end he repeats the motion, hovering over the capital C that seems so much more magnetic than the other letters. 'And yours' PJ's eyes soften and his mouth turns up at the corners. Yours. His. Mine. And then he understands the question and uses his green fine liner to trace 'PJ' adding several layers of ink so it's bold and bright and him.

___

The problem is, PJ's a doodler. One trait that's been fluid since he was a child is that he loves to doodle. Especially on his skin. In fact, some of his best drawings were conceived that way during school; too tired to care about the subjects and too unprepared to bring extra paper. Skin was there for him when paper was not. He couldn't kick the habit when he entered University, and he sure as hell can't kick it now when he's a year in. Frequently he finds himself sitting with a pack of felt tipped Crayolas, or no name fineliners, drawing small, and large, designs on his left arm. For the past week it's been no different. What's annoying is he liked seeing the efforts of his creative process on his arm, wearing it like a tattoo, a badge of honour. But it disappears quickly, and he has to start again. Chris leaves him a critique one day running across the centre of his wrist. 'You're an incredible artist' It takes PJ by surprise. He's used to waking up and finding thickly inked penises on various locations on his body, or cheesy chat up lines that have PJ rolling his eyes but smiling fondly. Several of his favourites include; 'There are a lot of fish in the sea, but you’re the only one I’d like to mount' 'Oh no, I’m choking! I need mouth to mouth, quick!' 'I’m on top of things. Would you like to be one of them?' Needless to say, every written sentence and poorly thought out line, no matter how disturbing or rude, is both irritating and endearing.

___

That is, until the guy buys a six pack of sharpies. Beforehand it was ballpoint pens, stuff he was able to wash off easily. Not now. When he steps into the shower one morning, eyes blearily searching for the shampoo to wash the sleep out of his frenzied hair, he thinks everything is fine. There aren't any markings, and to be honest, that's a relief because they're a bitch to wash off every morning. It's when he's out of the shower and in front of the mirror, towelling down to get rid of the individual water droplets that trail down his chest, that he catches the black in the corner of his eye. 'My hand belongs here' PJ's jaw drops and he's stuck still for a few fleeting seconds. "What the fuck." It's on his neck. Not on a small scale, but like the Joker's writing, jagged and uneven. Backwards in the mirror, but PJ has magicked up enough mirror demons to read reversed. Almost blinded by rage and incredulousness, he's about to charge out of his tiny bathroom and write something way more offensive on his own body for Chris to have scar his skin for the days it takes for Sharpie to wash off. But then he spots 'Wanna go for a test drive?' on his hipbone as he's turning to leave. And then, 'Insert finger here' complete with an arrow pointing down to his asshole. It's almost illegible, how he managed to contort his body enough to scribble it on is beyond him. Amazed at Chris's audacity and carelessness he dashes out to his desk and plucks a bright blue permanent marker up. As he's writing a long list of complaints on his leg, and then rising up to his chest, he feels the similarities to writing film reviews on IMBd or letters of complaint that his parents used to do. Except, this is to the guy he's destined to be with, and he knows the complaining won't do jack shit to change his behaviour. ___

It's relatively peaceful for a while. PJ it still littered with pick up lines daily, the 'My bedroom has an interesting ceiling, I could take you on a guided tour' and the 'When are you expected back at Heaven?', and PJ still absently doodles on the curve of his wrist and palm of his hand, forgetting that Chris will see it until it's already sent. During this time he's been uploading more to YouTube. It's still in it's early stages, but he's grateful for the site because he's getting much more experience. Due to work, and YouTube, and constant creating, he hasn't really thought about meeting Chris. Although they're talked (if you can call it that) every day, they haven't discussed personal details, or their future together. Because if they're soulmates, they have to be together, there's no way they can be with anyone else.

___

PJ wakes up stupidly early, the sun hasn't fully risen yet and the sky is a dusty grey, illuminated by yellowing streetlights. He forces himself to get up, and leave the house before 6:00am. The train to London leaves at 7:00am, and he wants to get coffee from the station before the journey. He pulls on his favourite green sleeved t-shirt slowly, bones cracking at the movements, and when he slides his socks on the fading purple dick on the base of his foot makes his smirk. Fully dressed and he's in the bathroom, tiredly dragging a toothbrush and staring at the sink with half closed eyes. He's out for the whole day, all four of his 'team' are. It's both research for a short film they're making for his Uni course, and a golden opportunity to meet with some sponsors that might fund his next big personal project. Until. "FUCK!" PJ yells, toothbrush falling from his open hands and eyes wide. "No! No, no, no," He wets a flannel and starts rubbing at his forehead, shaking with anxious frustration. The pen won't come off. 'I've got a small dick' is going to be permanently tattooed on his face in all the colours of the rainbow for the entire day. He adds soap and tries again, heart pounding uncomfortably. He can't meet sponsors with that filth tainting him. "Chris, you fucking asshole, I'm going to fucking kill you," PJ mutters, giving up, leaving his skin a red mess. He shoves a beanie on, and leaves the house with a scowl firmly fixed onto his face. His travelling companions don't say a word, even though they heard his angry explosion of profanities earlier. They get to London and shoot some footage in Hyde Park, brown boots hitting grey pavement as the scenery begins to change and the crowds grow thicker. He's actually forgotten that he's mad at Chris, too busy laughing at the stupid faces his friends are pulling, and running along the grass for various nature sequences. After a few hours they stop, and decide to head to a café. It's a warm spring day, and he peels off his beanie to stop his head from overheating. From where he's stood in the queue, he can see his friends take the leather sofas at the end of the shop, claiming it for their group only. One persons order is fulfilled, one step forward, the queue gets smaller. He can feel his fringe sticking to his forehead and he wipes it aside, grimacing at the damp strands that he knows will be several shades darker then the rest of his hair. At first, he doesn't notice the guy staring at him next to the floor to ceiling windows. He's wearing a baby blue striped t-shirt, coupled with raised eyebrows and messy hair. On the high table next to him is an abandoned coffee, keeping warm under the beating sun from outside. He's still there when they leave, PJ's hat clutched between his fingers because it's too freakin hot to put it back on. His camera bag is slouched across his body, and he's grinning at something Sophie says, when a hand clamps his shoulder and he turns around. The stranger that had been watching him is gaping open mouthed at PJ's forehead. That's when he remembers what Chris wrote, and he's going to explain, he swears he is, but the guy is hot. His floppy brown hair is messy above green flecked hazel eyes, and his mouth is practically begging to be... put to use. "I can explain," He finally breathes out, making an effort to stop staring at the stranger. The guy quirks an eyebrow and crosses his arms, as if to say go ahead, I've got all day. "See, this thing, y'know-""Let me stop you right there," He smirks, interrupting PJ's garbled rambling. From his pocket he pulls out a thin marker and in sloped, disjointed text, writes something on his palm. Then he takes PJ's slender wrist in his hand, circling it with his fingers, and turns it around, his thumb drifting idly down his wrist and resting over PJ's pulse point.

you're PJ what's on your forehead is a work of art just like your face I'm fated to love you

"Do I get a hello kiss or do you not put out on the first date?" Chris smiles wide and his other hand, the one not sliding into his own palm and curling around his fingers so they entwine, is reaching around his waist. PJ blushes and manages a "Public," Before slipping out of his grasp. "Oh c'mon honey, it's gonna happen sometime," Chris whines, high pitched and strung out. PJ shakes his head, and walks away from Chris. He follows him, long legs catching up quickly. He throws an arm around PJ's shoulders casually and leans down, pressing a wet open mouthed kiss on the side of his cheek. "You and me Peej, we're gonna fuck away the world." PJ rolls his eyes, brain automatically lending the words dick, and you're a. But he rejects his instinct and goes for a muttered "You should feel so lucky." "Oh I will. Later." It's natural, seamless, right. Chris is his. He is Chris's.

Part 2