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It Happened in Texas
Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader â¤ď¸
Chapter 3: Youâre not trying to get fired - itâs just raw talent
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A/N: The case in this chapter is based on s4e2 where Hotch ignores the doctors orders and goes straight to work after tearing his eardrum đ¤Ą
tags: minor grovelling, slow burn. Hotch needs a hug. Some canon typical violence and a few uses of y/n. Sorry for any typos.
Word count: 2.8k
Enjoy! đ¤
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You are so fired.Â
Strauss is getting impatient with your fruitless reports. Hotch and you are not on great terms. In fact, since Jackâs party, heâs been avoiding you like the plague. He isnât ignoring you or glaring at you anymore, but for some reason, he now never pairs himself up with you and keeps his emails to you even shorter than before. He also refuses to talk to you when Jack comes to visit and spends all his time at your desk. It had taken you months and a 5 year old to give you the courage to make any friends on the team. So why are you standing here, scolding your boss? You must have an innate talent for getting fired.
âHotch. If you think that never hearing Jack say I love you again, or never hearing him laugh again is worth getting back in the field straight away, Iâll think youâre insane, but Iâll never bring it up again. However, I donât think youâre willing to tell your son his dad canât hear him anymore because he wasnât taking care of himselfâ.Â
You take a deep breath, and add for good measure,
âSirâ.Â
Hotch stares at you. You are not a confrontational person (at least with your colleagues). And right now you were so out of line. While everyone else might have warmed up to you, you and Hotch arenât exactly friends. But you had gotten to know Jack, who had been the catalyst to you becoming friends with the team. Heâs probably the only reason that you donât hate your job now. You love that kid. And after seeing Hotch clutch his ears at the graveyard and overhearing him ignore Morgan when asked if he was cleared to fly, you felt you needed to say something. Clearly no one else was going to.Â
But why wasnât Hotch saying anything? You shuffle your feet and try not to think about your face heating up from embarrassment. Where was the person from 30 seconds ago who was basically scolding her boss? Your resolve had completely evaporated. And now you were nervous. Which was a very bad thing to be in front of a profiler.
âI know that youâre my boss and we arenât exactly friends, but Iâm saying this as aâŚâ, what were you exactly? An overeager people pleaser who had just gotten the team to get used to working with you. And an idiot who is currently screwing up her chances of staying employed at the one job you had left. âAs a person who respects you a lotâ, you decide on. This is definitely true. He was a good person, even if he clearly didnât like you. He might be avoiding you, but heâs still polite. And if he didnât say something soon, you were going to say something stupid.Â
âYouâre also the best boss Iâve ever had, so if you permanently lose your hearing and have to be taken out of the field, that would suck for me tooâ, you laugh nervously.Â
Damn it, you were already in saying stupid things territory. Why wasnât he saying anything? Oh god, what if your rant was hurting his ears? You start whispering.
âAre you okay? Am I being too loud? Iâm sorry, Iâm just going to shut upâ, you say softly. Heâs still staring.Â
âI should go nowâ, you mumble and promptly run away, immediately making your way to the precinct bathroom and locking yourself in a stall. Why did you say anything? The rest of the team had just left him alone, but you were never a fan of turning a blind eye to peopleâs problems. It just didnât seem right. Despite the fact that the other team members are clearly each otherâs family, you are technically just a coworker. So youâve definitely overstepped, but it just didnât seem right to let it happen. To Jack. Not Hotch. Though technically you did care about Hotch too. As a friend. Probably.Â
âHey, you okay in there?â
You startle from your thoughts and see Emilyâs shoes from under the stall. You quickly shake yourself together and flush the toilet you clearly havenât used before coming out.
âYeah? Am I not allowed to pee?â, you laugh, washing your hands. Emily frowns, but knows better than to press. She might have seen you run out of a precinct conference room youâd been alone with Hotch in, but youâre not going to tell her why and she doesnât overstep boundaries. She pretends to believe you and moves the conversation to the case. The team has figured out who the unsub is and are about to raid her house. You both leave the bathroom and move towards the SUVs with everyone else. Everyone except Hotch.Â
âWe gotta go. Where the hellâs Hotch?â, Derek asks.
âHe was on the phone with Strauss, said he wanted us to go without himâ, Rossi says, walking to the passenger seat. âLetâs goâ.
Derek shrugs his shoulders and everyone piles into the cars. You feel your stomach drop. Technically you did just tell your superior off. Was he going to report you for insubordination? Maybe he had had enough and was finally telling Strauss to transfer you. He hadnât wanted you on the team in the first place. If you get fired from the BAU youâll probably have to leave the FBI. You shake your head. Whatever happens, the case comes first. You need to stop the unsub before she hurts anyone else.Â
You try to forget about your earlier conversation with Hotch and focus on the case. The unsubâs apartment is empty, but Rossi finds her next target, Faye Landreaux, in her journal. You all drive to her house and Emily distracts the unsub while Morgan sneaks Faye outside. Sheâs trembling like a leaf and doesnât respond when you ask if sheâs okay, so you guide her to a paramedic to make sure she hasnât gotten any injuries. Technically your priority right now should be the unsub, but the entire police department and 4 FBI agents have a gun pointed at her and Faye is completely alone. You donât feel right leaving her yet, so once sheâs been looked at, you try to talk to her when you hear a gunshot from behind you. Faye cries out and you let her know sheâs okay. The sheriff has shot the unsub. Itâs over. A police officer the victim knows starts talking to her so you move back to the team. Emily pulls back the unsubâs shirt to reveal that she had maimed herself to become the âAngel Makerâsâ last victim. You fail to not feel nauseous.Â
Itâs late, so youâre all staying the night in Ohio. On the drive, everyoneâs talking about how early they have to get up tomorrow. You look out the window and canât stop thinking about love and what it does to people. What it did to Chloe Kelcher. To all of the âAngel Makerâsâ fans. Female unsubs that hurt other women always bothers you more than other cases. Emily notices your silence.Â
âYou okay?â, she asks quietly.Â
âJust tiredâ, you smile. If she notices it doesnât reach your eyes, she doesnât mention it. She nudges her knee against yours - an âIâm here if you need meâ without words.Â
You nudge her back - âthanks. I knowâ. She smiles. You really are tired though - itâs 2am because the unsub liked attacking at night - and you stifle a yawn. Youâre about to fall asleep when the car abruptly stops, signalling your arrival.Â
Itâs a cute inn, the owner offered you all free rooms for the night as a thanks for capturing the unsub. Everyone piles out, eager to go to bed. Youâre suddenly awake though when you see whoâs in the lobby handing out keys - Hotch. Heâs looking straight at you. Everyone grabs their keys and turns in for the night. If anyone notices you and Hotch lag behind, they donât say. He gestures to a corner with some armchairs.Â
âCan we talk for a minute?â
You nod, slowly taking a seat. Youâre too afraid to speak and keep your eyes on the ground. Was he going to fire you now? In some inn in rural Ohio?
âThank you.â
What?Â
You snap your head up to meet his gaze.Â
âI called Strauss earlier to let her know Iâm taking 2 weeks off from the field. You were right earlier. What Iâm doing isnât fair to the team or to Jack. I want to apologise for putting you in a position where you felt you needed to tell your boss that he was being stupid. That shouldnât have to be your responsibility.â
He looks straight into your eyes and you can see the sincerity flooded in his.Â
âIâll be taking a car back to Quantico. I shouldnât have gotten on a plane at all in my condition. You donât have to worry about me.â He takes a breath. âAnd I appreciate you telling me what I needed to hear. Even if you shouldnât have had toâ, he adds.Â
You donât know what to say, so you say the first thing that pops into your brain.Â
âIâm not fired?â
Aaron looks incredibly guilty.Â
âYou thought I was going to fire you?â
You nod, still unable to form coherent thoughts in your relief.Â
âNo you are definitely not fired. Iâm sorry for making you feel like your job was on the lineâ, he says and feels even guiltier at the obvious release of tension in your shoulders.  âIf anything I should be fired for endangering you all with my inability to make sound decisionsâ, he sighs. âWhen youâre the boss, people become too afraid to tell you that youâre wrong. And sometimes I forget that I can beâ.
You try to find the right words. âI donât think being worried about people getting hurt when youâre not working is wrongâ, you say. âBut Iâm glad youâre taking care of yourself. And thank you for apologising.â
Aaron nods at this, searching your eyes for something. He seems to be pleased with what he finds and stands up. You follow suit, and the both of you start to walk towards your rooms. You lapse into silence as you walk up the stairs until Hotch clears his throat.
âWell, when someone tells you that they respect you but youâre being insane, you rethink your priorities a littleâ, he chuckles, trying to break the ice.Â
You feel your entire face grow warm - you had forgotten that you had called him that.Â
âSorryâ, you mumble.
He stops abruptly and you turn to look at him.Â
âPlease donât ever apologise for what you said to me today.âÂ
His gaze bores into you as if to try to make you understand. No wonder he has the most confessions from unsubs in interrogations. His stare is a little lethal. Your knees feel a little weak.Â
âSorry for saying sorry?â, you manage.
He raises a brow at you.Â
âOk. Then Iâm not sorry?â, you offer. He smiles at this.Â
âGood. Because Iâm very grateful it happened.â
You beam.Â
âIâm glad you think so.â
âI do.â
You reach your room first. You move to unlock your door and he waits to make sure you get inside safety. Your hand stills on the doorknob and you turn around.Â
âI hope you know that itâs still true.â
He looks confused.Â
âI still respect you. And now I respect you for being able to step back. And for apologising. Maybe it doesnât mean a lot coming from me, but I think youâre a great boss and a great dad. Jack is very lucky.â You meet his eyes so he knows you mean it. âYouâre a good person, Hotch.â
A lump forms in Aaronâs throat. He doesnât know how to tell you how much your words mean to him. He wishes, not for the first time in his life, that he was better at communicating his feelings. He shakes his head.Â
âIt does mean a lot. I respect you too, Y/N.âHe pauses, as if trying to find the perfect words. âYouâre always looking at the good in people. Jack loves you. And youâre kind, not just with the team. When we catch unsubs you always make sure to take care of victims.â
Your eyes widen. You hadnât known that heâd noticed.
âYouâre smart, loyal, empathetic. I know that these last few months have been⌠unpleasant for you. And Iâm sorry for my part in that. But Iâm proud to have you on our team. I know that this morning you were just doing what was right, and earlier you said we arenât friends, but you were the friend I needed today. So thank you.âÂ
You blink, trying not to well up at his words. You donât know if anyoneâs ever said something like that to you. Afraid you might cry if you speak, you give him a hug. Itâs quick, nothing intimate, but it feels righter than words in this moment. You take a step back.
âSo weâre friends?â, you ask, opening the door to your room. He looks at you thoughtfully.Â
âIâd like to think soâ, he smiles softly. You give him a smile back.
âGood night, Hotch.â
âGood night, Y/N.â
You sleep well that night for the first time in a while.Â
ââ
The next morning, youâre quiet as Hotch tells everyone heâs driving back to Quantico instead of taking the jet. You offer to take the drive with him, which surprises yourself just as much as the team. While you had gotten closer with the rest of the team in the last month, you and Hotch arenât really close enough for you to voluntarily spend 7 hours in a car together. Youâre not exactly sure why you offered either.Â
Youâre too busy trying to get everyone on board that you all miss Rossiâs barely hidden glee at this unexpected development in your relationship.Â
âItâll be fun!â, you say excitedly.Â
âI love you, but 7 hours is crazy baby girlâ
âLong car trips make me nauseous. In fact thereâs a correlation between-â
âYeah no, the baby makes me carsick.â
âThe thought of being trapped in a car for 7 hours makes me sickâ
Youâre a little sad because a group road trip would be fun, and it would help to have a buffer between you and Hotch, but it is unfair to force everyone into something theyâre uncomfortable with, so you give everyone a hug goodbye before sliding into the passenger seat beside Hotch. You can almost feel him overthinking.Â
âYou donât have to do thisâ, he says.
âI know. I want toâ, you tell him. Surprisingly, this is true.Â
He stares at you.
âItâs 7 hoursâ
âItâll be longer if you keep arguing with meâ, you shrug.
He stares at you some more.
âIâm not leaving you to do this alone. Plus 7 hours isnât that long if youâre with a friendâ
He smiles at this.
âA friend?â
âUnless youâre taking back what you said last night?â, you ask tentatively. Had he just been reacting to what you said to him? What if-
âNo. I meant everything I saidâ, he says firmly, looking directly at you to make sure you know heâs serious. His gaze that felt intimidating last night, now somehow makes you feel calm. But it might take a while before you can maintain eye contact with him. You turn to face the road.
âGood. Now drive, or Iâll call Reid and ask him to explain the statistics of car crashes in Ohioâ, you tease. His eyes crinkle in amusement.
âDriving right nowâ.
You grin and start looking at your CD options.
âIf Iâm your friend does this mean I get to choose where we eat lunch?â, he asks.
You roll your eyes.
âYou didnât let me drive so Iâm picking lunch.â
âYes maâamâ.
Bonus scene:
âTheyâre driving here together from Ohio? Doesnât Hotch hate her?â, Penelope asks through the screen.Â
âI donât think he hates her. Donât you remember what it was like when I first joined?â, Emily asks the team.Â
âWe never hated you! Except maybe Spencer. But that was a whole other thing. I just donât get why he still doesnât like her. Sheâs so sweetâ, Penelope pouts.
âHe didnât tell her no, so thatâs an improvementâ, Derek reasons.
âI didnât hate Emily!â, Spencer scoffs.
Emily raises an eyebrow at him which causes him to sputter.Â
âWell ok I wasnât very nice to you at first. But it wasnât because I hated youâ, he tries to explain. Emily mouths a quick âI knowâ to let him know sheâs joking.Â
âI donât think Hotch has ever hated Y/Nâ, Rossi chuckles. âHe just needs time.â
Everyone nods. They all relied on him now, but Hotch��was famous for being cold at first. Rossi grins at everyone missing his point. Being the only profiler on the team with relationship experience made for excellent entertainment. Theyâll get it at some point, he thinks, sipping his drink.Â
(to be continued)
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#criminal minds#bau team#aaron hotchner#aaron hotch x reader#aaron hotchner x reader#criminal minds x reader
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Pride month F/F 9-1-1 fics, part two: in which Karen puts her robotics expertise to good use.
This is a follow-up to my fic with Hen playing doctor and it is a part of my ongoing effort to get this fandom more explicit wlw, soâŚenjoy.
Once again based on a prompt from @weewookinkmeme!
dirty computer
7.5k words, rated E
Excerpt:
Karen is still scowling down at the flyer. âAnd this says even that price is on sale! Itâs probably an underpowered motor with next-to-no torque and a questionable safety rating, and if this picture is at all accurate, the attachments are proprietary so you canât even use the good ones. The Ultimate Pleasure 3000, what a joke.â âAnd you could do better?â Hen says weakly. Karen finally looks up, sees the heat in Henâs eyes, and the flyer promptly crumples in her hand. She smiles, the considering one she gets when she knows the exact sequence of things sheâs about to do to take Hen apart. âWe built something with some of the same design constraints once for a series of tests onâwell, it doesnât really matter but it was a fiddly bit we were sending up for the space shuttle, and it needed to stand up to long term usage. Repetitive motion,â she says, and holds her palm up, curls two fingers, demonstrates a slow oscillating thrust. Hen crosses her legs. Karen continues, âVibration, of course, and even vibration from multiple sources in case of interference patterns.â Hen drains the rest of her glass of mimosa. Karenâs eyes are heavy on her. Karen picks up the pitcher and refills the glass. Karen says, âI think those methods could be translated to a moreâŚintimate context, what do you think?â Hen says, âI learned a long time ago never to bet against you, baby.âÂ
Read more on AO3 here.
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Big Time Rush Season 2, Episode 2: âBig Time Fans"
Highlights: Lots of property damage, the return of a "Big Time Audition" character, and identity theft!
We begin in Rocque Records, where the guys are waiting very eagerly for something.
Fan mail!!!
They're very excited. Logan even receives a meatloaf via mail, which is incredibly normal.
The lure of said meatloaf (and subsequent guaranteed food poisoning) is so powerful that Logan and Carlos get into a physical altercation over it.
Kendall wants to send his fan their requested photo, a response that swiftly earns the guys a lesson in "Fan Mail Dos and Don'ts"
All good tips, honestly.
Gustavo goes through each point, telling them to never give out personal info or advice, lest some crazed fan show up at their door and beg for help becoming famous. He and Kelly are then promptly hit in the head by the blackboard. And who just knocked it over?
It's Jenny! Their friend who was carried out of the building by security guards in "Big Time Audition." We have not heard of or seen this girl since that moment, so the guys are understandably baffled.
Turns out Carlos sent Jenny an autographed picture and a note saying that if she comes to L.A., they'll help make her famous. He also included a map and directions to Rocque Records. What a sweetheart. The rest of the guys are pretty upset, as they've apparently emphasized many times to Carlos the importance of not making promises he can't keep. There's also the fact that Jenny is a major klutz and brings destruction everywhere she goes. James is particularly anxious about the prospect of subjecting themselves to the inevitable chaos, but, of course, nobody can resist Carlos's pouting. Also, Kendall delivers a quick, little pep talk to help persuade them.
They all agree to help Jenny out and bring her to the Palm Woods, and we learn that James's wariness about Jenny is completely valid. Apparently, she's broken his arm, given him a papercut that he needed surgery for, and burned all his hair off during science class. So, his nervous grimace as they enter the lobby makes sense.
Btw, there's also a B plot that involves Gustavo and Kelly attempting to fix a thermostat that Jenny broke. And they need to do it quickly because "Death Smash" (the world's most destructive band) has rented out the studio and threaten to smash up Rocque Records if things aren't resolved soon.
They're in big trouble.
Over at the Palm Woods pool, James is approached by an excited young fan who wants to learn the Art of Being Awesome. James, who has apparently had all the tips on fan interaction wiped from his brain in a matter of hours, agrees to mentor the kid. Katie comes by and warns him to be careful. He won't.
Also, I remember loving James and Katie's relationship during the series. Seeing that little glimpse of it here is nice.
We move into 2J then, where Logan, Kendall, and Carlos are strategizing how to locate a band willing to hire a singer who can't make toast without being catapulted through a wall. They're feeling pretty pessimistic, but Logan has a possible solution.
You know what? As extreme a response as it seems, Logan is absolutely the one most likely to snap first under pressure.
Kendall shoots the idea down and delivers his second pep talk, assuring his friends that they can do this.
(also, I'm loving the purple on Logan and Carlos. very nice)
At the Palm Woods gym, James and his mini me are working out.
Katie is there too, getting some boxing practice in (love that), and she tries again to warn James to be more careful. It's in one ear and out the other, though, since James has convinced himself that Katie merely has a major crush on him and is following him around. Seeing as her words aren't working, she resorts to a good punch in the gut.
Oh, and this isn't really related to anything, but I've always thought about how James and Katie are the ones who look like brother and sister in the show. If I didn't know anything about the show and was just shown a picture of the cast, I'd definitely assume they were the siblings. Kendall and Katie don't look related at all. (shout out to the "Kendall and Katie were adopted" headcanon that I've always found interesting to ponder)
Rocque Records is now a wind tunnel.
I'm 100% convinced that nobody in the BTR universe can ever have anything even remotely resembling a normal day.
This is a theory further strengthened by the way James's plot is developing.
His new little buddy hits him over the head with a frying pan and kidnaps him. And for the life of me, I cannot fathom how the kid managed to do it. Maybe he threw it?? There's no way he was able to reach high enough to actually whack James in the head.
Anyway, Kendall and Carlos have reached the end of the road in being able to help Jenny. Camille then comes by and suggests they look into international bands. The guys are overjoyed that they might be able to both fulfill their promise AND keep Jenny far away from them.
James is in a dog cage. His number 1 fan has devised a plan to take his place in the band and has also put together a very convincing story as to where James has gone.
Jenny's audition for the agents doesn't go well. We cut from her about to strum a guitar to Ted Garcia informing people of an explosion that injured several international talent agents.
And guess who saves James from the dog cage? Katie, obviously. They share a sweet hug.
Love James's emphatic, "He was so tiny and evil!"
Katie asks James to give her an "autograph", but since he's an airhead and doesn't pay attention to anything, he actually signs an agreement giving Katie the authority to become his manager when he goes solo, endorse a line of haircare products, and there's also something in there in which he acknowledges that she DOES NOT have a crush on him.
I paused the episode in the hopes the document would actually outline all these things, but it's just a standard lease agreement (with the words HAIR CARE thrown in at the bottom).
We go back to Rocque Records, where Logan, having been recruited by Gustavo, fixes the wonky A/C. It also sucks the lead singer of Death Smash into the vent system and tosses him outside in a dumpster. Logan, Kelly, and Gustavo prepare for their demise, but it turns out the other two members hated the guy. They share their complaints.
When I tell you that I busted out laughing at this scene. I'd totally forgotten about it. The dude was forced to speak with a fake British accent!!
Sadly, their tour is going to have to be cancelled unless they can find a replacement singer who's "super destructive."
Jenny Tinkler then falls through the ceiling. Welcome to "Death Smash," Jenny!! Yayy, the boys get to fulfill their promise!
Carlos promises to never over-promise again. Two seconds later, another old classmate of theirs, Buddy Simmons walks in, announcing how Carlos had promised to help make him a famous Jazz tuba player. The episode ends there.
This is a really fun one. I was surprised at how often I was laughing out loud, totally caught off guard by a joke that I'd forgotten about. There's also that scene toward the beginning, where the guys are lecturing Carlos about the promise to Jenny, where Carlos asks, "Is the bad stuff over?" that gave me whiplash because I have SUCH a clear memory of that line being in the previews on Nick for the episode. I remember seeing that commercial for the episode probably a dozen times, so that line brought it all back.
I do wish we had seen Jenny again after this episode. She's a fun character, and I'd love to know more about the dynamic between her and the guys. Carlos mentions they'd been friends with her since Kindergarten, which is cute. Although, it also raises some questions timeline-wise in regards to when they all met. I know there's that episode where Kendall says he met James in kindergarten, and James gets all upset and specifies that it was someone's 5th birthday party. Which would be kindergarten, or preschool even, so I suppose that checks out. Logan joined them in third grade (?), and I don't think we get details on Carlos. So...I dunno.
Anyway, I hope Jenny had a successful career and kept in touch with the guys. I also wonder what happened to the kid who trapped James in the basement. Like, were the authorities called or...? I'm sure it was all brushed off and immediately forgotten about, as are all the absurd happenings in the BTR world.
I just realized Mama Knight was nowhere in this episode. I can imagine her getting home later, seeing all the destruction in 2J, and having a very interesting discussion with her boys about how their day went.
Kendall pep talks: 2 in this episode!
#big time rush#btr#btr rewatch#btr season 2#kendall knight#james diamond#carlos garcia#logan mitchell
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Venomous.
Chapter 2: Coffee Cups
Pairing: SpiderMan x fem!venom!reader
Chapter Summary: Y/n's hunger grows, Venom is a pain, and Peter provides some much needed comfort.
Chapter content: non-descriptive vomiting, eating
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Y/n woke up with a pounding headache and a biting hunger. She rolled over. It was Saturday, she remembered, then the rest of her memories hit her, and she sat straight up, eyes wide.
â...Venom?â she spoke into her empty room, and she'd never been so glad sheâd forked over that extra money for a single room as she was in that moment. Her breathing hitched as the same black head from the night before poked itself out from around her shoulder, and she was barely able to stop herself from screaming as its white eyesâif you could call them thatâbore into hers. She could see her own horrified reflection in them.
âThatâs meâor rather, us.âÂ
She took a deep breath. âWhat are you?â Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides and Venom's strange head tilted.
âVeno-âÂ
She cut it off with a swift shake of her head. âNo. I mean what are you? not who.â Venom just stared at her, and she wondered if maybe it didn't understand her somehow, but then it spoke again.Â
âWe are a symbiote. And you-â its face moved closer. âYou are our host.âÂ
She shuddered. âAndâŚyou eatâŚpeople?âÂ
Venom moved its head in the same way someone would move their hand when making a âso-soâ gesture, and her eyebrows knitted together. âBrains,â it corrected, and another wave of revulsion fell over her.
She choked out a noise like a pained animal. âJesus.â Her next words tasted bitter on her tongue as she said them. âSoâŚthat guy last night-â
Venom licked its teeth; if it could grin any wider she was sure it would have. âWas a bit lacking in the brains department, but it'll tide me over I suppose~âÂ
She really was going to be sick. throwing her blankets to the side and rushing into her bathroom. She threw up once, then again for good measure, before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and falling back against the wall. Her breaths came out in hard pants as she contemplated her current predicament. A brain eatingâŚthing, symbiote, whateverâhad taken over her body, and had used said body to bite a guy's head off. Right.
She threw up again at the thought.Â
It took about 20 minutes before she finally got herself off the floor and made her way to the mini fridge that held all the foodâshe knew someone would steal if it was in the shared dormitory kitchenâand some water bottles that she immediately chugged, ignoring the way half the water spilt down her chin and soaked the front of her shirt. By the time she had drunk every one of the 7 or so bottles, she could practically feel her stomach eating itself with hunger, and she got to work devouring the rest of the contents of her fridge.Â
Saturday passed in a blur of getting sick, arguing with venom and eating food that made her sick. She fell asleep at around 10 pm, which was actually fairly early for her, and woke up at 4 am feeling parched, nauseous and starving in a way she hadn't felt before. She groaned and then gasped as Venom´s head entered her field of view, âFUCK! Do you have to do that?!â She sat up, rubbing at her face until her skin was red.
âIf you feed us, weâll stop,â Venom hissed, and y/n promptly laid back down and covered her face with her pillow.
The dorm kitchen was mercifully empty when y/n eventually made her way downstairs; her hunger had gotten worse and she desperately wanted to eat. The fridge didnât have much in itâmost people did what she had been doing, keeping a mini fridge in their dorm roomâand what was there was fairly bare bones.Â
She ate what was there, silently apologizing to her dorm mates for eating all their food, but still felt the sickening hunger in her stomach.Â
Venomâs voice spoke then. âCome on kid, it doesnât even need to be human. Just some sheep or cows.âÂ
She shuddered. âHow do I know you wonât just go on a rampage the minute I let you take over?â Her voice was shaky. She wanted to say no, to tell venom to shove it, but she was so hungry. âNoâŚI canât justâŚâ
She sighed, grabbed a bottle of water and quickly made her way back to her room.
ââââââââââââ
When Monday came, y/n was tired, miserable and starving.
Her classes started that afternoon, advanced calc first, then art history, and finally photography class. Sheâd realized far too late that she had in fact lost her camera, surmising it was probably destroyed or buried under debris in that god forsaken laboratory.Â
âShit,â she muttered as she dug through her backpack in search of the device, only to pull out loose papers and textbooks.
âY/n, if you could take your seat?â The photography teacher's stern voice brought her out of her spiraling thoughts. She cleared her throat uncomfortably before zipping her bag back up and heading to her desk, head ducked.
Y/nâs seat was beside a tall brunette boy named Peter Parker. They hadn't ever talked much; a simple âhi, how are you?' or âdid you complete the homework assignment?ââit was friendly, but she wouldn't call it friendship.Â
Peter nodded in greeting as she took her seat beside him, her head immediately landing on her desk as she dropped her bag. âWoah, someoneâs tired. You okay?â Peter inquired, offering her a boyish smile. She turned her head to look at him, and somewhere in her sleep deprived, starving, mind, venom eyed the young man with unmistakable interest, or rather, hunger.Â
âOh, heâs definitely got a juicy brain in that little head of his~âÂ
She nearly choked on her spit, immediately sitting up and looking forward, keeping her eyes off the brown haired man.Â
Something was placed in front of her, and when she looked down she saw that Peter had moved his paper coffee cup into her line of sight. Her eyes darted over to him. Was he teasing her with the knowledge he had made the clever decision to get some caffeine, or offering it to her?
âI haven't drank from it yet. No germs, I promise,â he said while nudging it closer to her. The smell of hot coffee filled her senses.Â
âSeriously?â her hand was already half lifted towards the cup, and peter snorted then nodded.Â
âYeah, no cooties I swear.âÂ
She rolled her eyes, her fingers already wrapped around the warm beverage as she spoke again, âno, i mean are you seriously giving this to me?â She asked.Â
Peter was pulling his books out of his bag and placing them on the desk as he waved her off, âyou clearly need it more than i do.â
And then it was her turn to chuckle as she lifted the steaming drink to her lips and took a long gulp. The liquid burned her tongue but she ignored it, drinking at least half of it before putting it down and sighing. Peter's taste in coffee was different from hers; the drink was bitter with a slight hint of chocolate and caramel that left a tangy but pleasant aftertaste in her mouth.
Peter was watching her with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk on his lips âlate night?â He sounded just as amused as he looked, and y/n came to the realization he probably assumed she was hungover or something.Â
She felt the sudden urge to defend herself, but how was she supposed to explain she hadn't been up all night partying but was instead being tormented by a symbiote that had invaded her life and had been yelling at her to find a brain to eatâŚyeah, that definitely wouldn't go over well.
Y/n only shrugged, chewing her bottom lipâwhich had become bitten and raw over the weekendâand Peter's amused expression turned into one of worry. His hand landed on her shoulder in the type of comforting touch one would expect from a friend rather than a virtual stranger, and her skin prickled under her shirt.
âSeriously,â Peter started speaking again, âare you okay?âÂ
She managed a small nod and Peter's hand dropped, which Y/n was immensely grateful for since she could hear Venomâs hungry thoughts gnawing at the back of her mind.
Her skin was still tingling as the professor started the lesson and began to speak about lighting techniques or something, Y/n wasn't exactly listening.
She stopped at a butcher after class, purchasing as much raw meat as possible with herâŚlimited resources, before quickly making her way back to her dorm, pointedly avoiding the few people she passed as she shoved her door open.Â
Venom didn't wait long before emerging, devouring the raw meat with only two bites before disappearing into her and saying, âThis won't satisfy us for long.â She knew that. âYou know what you have to do.â She did, though that didn't make the reality of her situation any less sickening.
âYou can't just expect me to go around eating innocent people.âÂ
Venom made a noise that was probably an equivalent to a scoff, and she clenched her fist. âYou didn't have much of an issue with it last time.âÂ
She grit her teeth. The feeling of bile rising in her throat had become upsettingly familiar since Venomâs arrival. âWhat other choice did I have?â Y/n pulled her knees to her chest, the memory of that woman, huddled in a corner and shaking with fear, somehow haunted her more than what sheâwhat Venomâhad done to protect her.Â
Venomâs head poked out from around her shoulder and she flinched; the sight of its tar-like face and empty eyes was hardly a comforting one. âCome on, kid,â Venom spoke, âa couple less bad eggs wouldn't be a bad thing.â
She scoffed. âAnd what happens if someone sees meâyou? Venom.â It was all very confusing to talk about.Â
Venom laughed, and the sound did nothing to quell the unease twisting in her gut. âAn extra snack~âÂ
She glared at the grinning head that was Venom. âOh, shut up. Just because you have no moral compass doesn't mean I'm the sameâŚâÂ
She rubbed her face with her hands and forced herself to stand. Upon walking over to her desk, she rummaged through her bag until she pulled the culmination of crumpled papers that was her homework out, and set to work on it.
ââââââââââââ
The next day, Peter was waiting in his usual seat with two cups of steaming coffee, one placed in front of her usual spot.
ââââââââââââ
Venomous. Taglist
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#cherries fanfictionsâ§*・ي(ËáË*)Ůâ§*・#spiderman x reader#spider man#spiderman x venom!reader#angst#venom!reader#fanfic#the amazing spider man#x fem!reader#x female reader#tasm peter parker x reader#peter parker x reader#venom#fanfiction series#series#Venomous.#tw: vomit#cw: food
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i was 15 when i watched made in abyss as well, finished the 1st season and promptly never touched it again because of what i learned about the author. From what ive seen from koreans they say that the version shown on korean tv is censored (which sounds plausible) which could mean that the weird parts that we skip may be cut out entirely(?dont quote me on that idk) soobin is on thin ice cause the 2nd season is worse and taeyong is in deep shit because i dont think there is any reason why someone should own the mangađ
I'mma preface this by saying I completely get everyone who couldn't stomach this series. It contains a lot of disturbing topics and at the end of the day, it's a horror series, of course not everyone is gonna be able to handle that, and again that's fine. But I can also say that this arc was surprisingly handled with a lot of care, wasn't fetishized nor glorified just... disturbing. Think of Outlast 2 or the ending of Amnesia:Rebirth.
TLDR:
Second season is way more disturbing but not as sexual in nature and Soobin most likely was talking about the fight scenes when saying how cool it was. And if he wasn't then who knows what he was yapping about, don't know him personally so I can't put words into his mouth unless he says something. As for Taeyong, can't defend him at ALL but calling him a p3d0 would still be a bit too much for me.
AND I wanna add after further investigation, Mingi said he didn't even watch it and instead dropped it because it was too much for him, so there's that.
For a more in depth explanation, here you go:
I'm gonna have to explain the lore in order for you all to understand this FULLY, so heres a summary:
The arc introduces us to Vueko, a victim of trafficking who was thrown into the Abyss with the rest of the now villagers because she wasn't deemed as someone useful. So obviously, when she meets Irumyuui, who has been exiled from her village for not being able to give birth at the age of 8, she immediately takes her in. As a victim, she understands her, and the author explains how, through helping Irumyuui, Vueko is able to heal her own trauma and heal Irumyuui as well. It's extremely well written, and as a fellow victim, there was something so sweet about seeing someone heal with the help of another. Especially when that someone acted like a mother figure. But of course, this is the Abyss. The point of the Abyss is that despite you thinking there's some light at the end of the tunnel, there isn't. Wazukyan takes that away, and Irumyuuis wish backfires (think of it like the wishes in Madoka, you get what you want but at a cost), and she gets turned into a horrible monster. But despite everything, she's happy because to her, she's fulfilled her purpose.
This is the part that I could discuss for hours because to me, it was commentary on how young girls even nowadayas are convinced by others that 'they have to find a man one day' and how having no kids is looked down upon. Especially in 3rd world countries. I could write an entire essay, but we're not here to do that.
I can tell you immediately that none of this was fetishized nor glorified in an yway, it's just supposed to make you feel absolutely empty because again, author is really trying to push that "oh you think you got the good end of the stick? Think again!" The manga if FILLED with situations like this, from Rico's origins to Nanachis arc, the subplot of this entire manga is 'how far are you willing to go to survive?'. Think of it like Fire Punch. Disturbing? Yeah, I mean, even I had to drop it once they began talking about trafficking women. Once again, I am comparing it to Madoka Magica but far more gruesome. Nothing explicit was shown, Irumyuui's private parts were never exposed, and her giving birth was also never shown. Her transformation WAS shown, but it's your basic body horror, like in most Junji Ito works.
SO, obviously if you're not a fan of the horror/seinen genre this is deeply disturbing and fucked but after seeing games like Outlast 2 and Amnesia: Rebirth, I wasn't as disturbed PERSONALLY. Again, recommending this publicly might've not been the smartest idea because you really do have to be into the horror genre to be able to handle topics like that. Even I just had to sit in silence for a couple hours after reading that backstory cuz damn, it hits you right in the feels. And most of the manga past that part just has badass fight scenes and when people praise it, they usually talk about that. From what I saw it was well animated and lots of clips were shared on tiktok, twitter etc. So there's a big chance he was talking about that.
(Examples of why people were hyping it up, even non-fans who had no idea about the series were going crazy because of this fight scene)
Now as for Taeyong... see now the reason I didn't mention him in the original post is because of that specific thing. I love the series and have come across physical copies of the manga but I know damn well I'm not buying cuz I don't wanna be seen supporting the author, purely out of spite. And saying 'oh well maybe he didn't know what the author is like'. Unlike some sites, physical copies DO include the extra chapters which contain stuff like this:

Totally unnecessary, not relevant to the plot and while some say it was added as a "haha funny joke" c'mon now. Let's use our brains. Now, would I call him a p3d0? Absolutely not. Would he be weird for this? To me, yeah. For anyone reading this, it's up for you to decide. I'm only here to answer questions about the series because I see people saying random stuff and making it seem FAR more worse just cuz they saw a couple tags.
#soobin#mingi#woozi#taeyong#made in abyss#ateez#seventeen#txt#tomorrow x together#y'know I'mma act like this is a positive thing cuz I get to infodump about a series#AGAIN not defending the author or anything like that#just tired of people overexaggerating the anime and acting like people are actual criminals for watching an anime that is btw on netflix
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Anne of the Island Chapter 16
Subtitled: Thank the gods for knotholes, eh?
What a chapter! Back to school, Patty's Place, roommates, pictures, knick-knacks, patchwork quilts, Aunt Jamesina. CATS!
Anne is actually happy to return to Kingsport and college, which is good to see. I feel for her with regards to Averil's Atonement, but her promptly dropping a bundle of printed copies in the kitchen stove is such a funny image. In this case, I can laugh about book burning bc I know the situation and they were copies. Poor Anne!
âIt is perfectly amazing, the price they pay for such lies, thatâs what,â she said, half-proudly, half-severely.
This comes up more in the Emily series, but what the hell is it with people in LMM's works calling fiction "lies"? She's not spreading fake news, ffs. At least, unlike Aunt Elizabeth, Mrs Lynde doesn't refer to writing as "trash", so there's that.
I don't have any feelings about Moody Spurgeon MacPherson, I hope he succeeds in his studies but I don't care if he doesn't. He'll get over the head-shaving thing, I'm sure. (We're told he had to go about like that until his hair grew out again, but why didn't he just shave the rest of his head???)
Homemaking time! The chapter is filled with cosiness, but of course, that's what LMM does best.
As everyone who has had to deal with these animals will tell you, people don't choose cats, cats choose people. Rusty decided one day that he will own Anne Shirley, and so he did.
Now for that part that I've been thinking about for the last couple of years. When I first read the book I was in my teens and was not yet a cat person. I became a cat person later when my cat Pepper came to my life--I was in my 30s. When a fictional character says they don't like cats, I will not warm up to that character unless they have other features that will make me like them, or I will get disappointed when it is a character whom I like already (like Cristobal Rios in Star Trek Picard). I say that I never liked Katniss Everdeen from the start bc right at the beginning, one of the first things we find out about her, is that she tried to drown a kitten. So I've spent time wondering how the hell do I reconcile that with my love for AOTI. Yes, I know LMM was a cat person, but that's beside the point. So, this is what I concluded: 1. I just don't like Katniss that much anyway, 2. I like Philippa Gordon bc the story already gave me enough to like her prior to the chloroforming the cat episode, 3. LMM explains the necessity of putting a cat to sleep better than Suzanne Collins, she gives a whole backstory and the fact that the reason for the act is the upcoming arrival of another cat, whereas Suzanne just springs it at you on the first page (first screen even, if you read on Kindle and no, she doesn't give good enough a build up for it, not at that point yet), 4. I think in this case, the different times argument applies, even Aunt Jamesina remarks that kittens need to be drowned or they would overrun the world, 5. Suzanne is a bitch who killed Finnick Odair, so I am under no obligation to make allowances for her. I rest my case, Your Honour.
Although it is a sad moment, bc none of the girls really want to hurt poor Rusty, Stella quotes a poem, which Anne immediately follows up with the next line. (It's The Isles of Greece by Lord Byron, btw.) Makes the book feel more college-like, if you know what I mean.
No doubt it's funny that Rusty beats up all the Spofford Avenue cats, but I think it's better being on good terms with your neighbours. *shrug*
The part about Rusty meeting Sarah-cat and Joseph is PURE COMEDY. It's probably impossible to adapt to screen but I think it would make a good webcomic. (Any talented artist among the readers?) Aunt Jamesina was right, Rusty does need to learn he is not the only cat in the world. I love how Rusty and Joseph making up and becoming friends serves as a metaphor for adjusted relationships. (Look, I did the thing, I quoted the chapter title!)
Aunt Jamesina wins this chapter with her take on the devil being a handsome gentleman. Absolutely, my good lady. He's a hottie, lol.
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Chapter 61 - Shirts, questions and the Fonz with a moustache
In the previous chapter: Jerry goes on his blind date and meets Heather. Surprisingly, she too reveals that she's not interested in meeting guys at the moment. Realizing that they are very similar and in the same situation, she convinces Jerry to pretend that the two of them are dating so as to be left alone by their respective friends. During a question-and-answer game between Stone and Grace, the two discuss how she hasn't let him sleep with her in her bed yet due to her insecurities. In the end Stone manages to calm her down and convince her to take this step with him. Eddie and Angie finally manage to spend an evening together, with pizza and horror movies. Eddie tries again to make her change her mind about Cameron Crowe's film and reveals that for him it's a special occasion: exactly one month has passed since their first kiss. Angie feels guilty because she hadn't thought about the anniversary at all, not being used to this type of things in her past relationships.
***
He fills me up, he gives me love More love than I've ever seen He's all I got, he's all I got in this world But he's all the man that I need
To a casual observer this scene might seem surreal, I must admit. If my life was a TV series and today's episode began with this scene from this morning, as a viewer, a thousand alarm bells would go off for me, ranging from "It's an alternative reality resulting from time travel gone wrongâ to âA catastrophe is just about to happen.â Because me, Angie Pacifico, making pancakes on a Wednesday morning, still in my robe despite having class in just over an hour, dancing to the top 100 on the radio and singing (destroying) Whitney Houston is not something you see every day. I actually turned the volume up for Eddie because I suspect that I-never-sleep-I-only-live-at-night-in-san-diego-I-went-surfing-at-the-crack-of-dawn guy has no intention of getting out of bed. This morning I opened my eyes before my killer alarm clock and I promptly deactivated it to let him rest. I took the fastest and quietest shower ever and now I'm here. Since we are always in a rush and don't spend time together regularly, it seemed like a nice thing to prepare a nice breakfast to spoil him a little and be able enjoy a few more minutes together, sitting at a table, talking and joking, rather than sharing the usual quick bye and go each their own way. And I'm also including Meg in this because, with the end of school approaching, the tattoo thing and all the side jobs she's taking on to supplement her income, even having a nice chat with my roommate has become complex. I thought the smell of breakfast and coffee would be enough to give Ed a sweeter good morning than my hated alarm clock, but I was wrong. I pour another big scoop of dough into the pan and smile when I hear the sound of the shower water running, thinking that my melodious chanting has done its duty, but I immediately change my mind when I hear Meg's voice singing along to the chorus of Freedom 90. Well, if I didn't make it, she'll take care of throwing him out of bed with the help of George Michael.
I take the plate with all the pancakes and put it in the center of the table, the bottle of chocolate syrup is already there. Since I don't want to be seen as someone who only eats junk, I decide to also get some yogurt and fruit, which always goes well on pancakes. I head towards the fridge dancing, but not before shouting EVERYBODY DANCE NOW! together with the radio. I stick my head into the fridge and when I back up and close the door I almost have a heart attack and almost project yogurt and berries on to the ceiling.
"EDDIE!"
"Hey," he says to me, leaning against the doorframe, sleepy and smiling.
"WHAT THE FUCK" I leave everything on the table safely and regain color.
"Good morning to you too, kitten"
"Fucking kitten, you appear like this out of nowhere, you scared the fuck out of me!"
"Forgive me, I didn't want to scare you. It's just that⌠you were all focused on dancing, I couldn't interrupt you" he explains with that adorable stupid face that⌠nothing, I have class in an hour, I can't think about these things .
âHow long have you been there?â
"A little while" he's still standing at the kitchen door. Still standing there in just his boxers and his black and red plaid button down shirt. I repeat, Angie , YOU CAN'T THINK ABOUT THAT NOW.
"You could have found an alternative and gentler way to announce your presence, right?" I go back to the unlit stove and pretend to turn it off, then move to the sink and pretend to fiddle with something else until I feel his hands on my shoulders.
"And miss this show? I'm not that stupid" he kisses my cheek and then rests his chin on my right shoulder.
"The ideal show for a traumatic awakening. Hey, be careful or you'll get burnt, it's still hot" I warn him when I see him reach out for the pan, perhaps to put it to wash.
"I'm already on fire anyway" he puts everything in the sink and then hugs me from behind, leaning on me again.
"Eheheh what?"
âDo you have any idea how sexy you were?â he whispers as his fucking grabby hands do the work.
"Am I sexy in the kitchen? At the stove? In one of the stereotyped roles in which the most vulgar sexism imprisons women?" I turn towards him in an attempt to get him off me, but with little success.
âI actually meant dancing in a robe, but honestly this is even fucking betterâ very poor considering now he's just grabbed at my ass and his mouth is getting dangerously close to my sweet spot on my neck.
"Oh ok so⌠years of struggles for women's emancipation reduced to a fetish? Feminism that exists only for the sexual gratification of you, straight white man?"
"Stop it or I'll have to fuck you here and now" he backs away from my neck just long enough to point this thing out in my ear, and then goes back to his actions.
"Eheh, you can't anyway" I push him away perhaps too impulsively, I turn around again and start filling the sink with water and then take the dish detergent.
"Why?" please, Eddie, you're not helping right now.
"Because⌠because Meg is over thereâŚ" and again, his hands on my hips "And then we have to eat and I have to go to class"
"Ok, wait," Eddie turns off the tap, takes my hand and, pushing me into a sort of pirouette, forces me to turn towards him again "point A"
"Haha, you even have points ready first thing in the morning!"
"I was born ready. Point A: Meg is over there, she's not here" first he looks towards the door, then directs his eye back towards me and winks.
"But she can arrive at any moment" I reply, but I'm not as quick to fight against his hands, which start unbuttoning my robe.
"We just need to pay attention when we hear Mariah Carey coming over," he jokes, making fun of the song she's singing now.
"What if we're too distracted?" I close a button, he unbuttons two.
"Point B:" he continues, not caring about my objections, "we can still eat... after..."
"After what?" he just looks up to smile at me, without a word.
"Point C: I'll give you a ride to class so you won't be late" and there go two more buttons.
"But-" I try to protest, not so strongly. He silences me by kissing me, softly, but with a certain firmness, and now my robe is completely open.
"Come on, let's go to your room, five minutes"
"It will never be five minutes, Eddie"
"Wanna bet?" my robe is on the floor and his hands are under my pajama top, threatening to send that flying too. Until a detail belatedly catches my attention.
"Eddie, da-⌠um, sorry, but what are you wearing?"
"I'm overdressed, right? I'll fix in a sec!" he wiggles his eyebrows like an idiot, starts to take off his shirt, but I stop him.
"No, I mean, don't you see what you've got on? Didn't you notice?" I start laughing and this very moment he start to give in a little and lets go of me. I take the opportunity to pull myself together and retrieve my dressing gown from the floor.
"What is it? Did I put it on backwards?" he looks at his shirt without understanding, and then looks at me, sulkily, when I put my robe back on.
"No, you put it on just right, but it's mine, can't you see?" I reveal by caressing his chest (Jesus!) with the excuse of pointing out the pockets on the front of my checked shirt, very similar to his "Yours doesn't have these"
"Oh shit, in the daze of waking up I must have taken yours instead of mine, they look the same"
"How did you not notice? Can't you see that it's a girl's shirt? The buttons are on the other side" I button up a couple of them and in doing so I notice how comfortable my shirt looks on him. Very comfy. Too comfy. He swims in it. It's obvious he didn't notice, if I was a nice size SMALL or EXTRASMALL he wouldn't be able to fit a single arm in this fucking shirt. But no, he didn't pay attention to it, because his girlfriend is a heavyweight. Well he should have noticed for the opposite reason, that is that he could fit his whole band in that shirt.
"Ah! That's why I couldn't fucking button it up! I felt stupid, for a moment I thought I was stoned or was having an aneurysm or something hahaha"
"You're insane" I shake my head and take the plates to put them on the table, turning my back to him to not to show him my face, darkened by the previous thoughts. Why does my brain always have to ruin the best moments?
"I know, I know. Anyway it's comfortable and it smells like you, I think I'll keep it. Can I?" I turn around in puzzlement and when I look at him he takes the hems of the shirt and closes them tightly over his chest, miming a hug. Then he shoves his nose against the fabric of the sleeve and pretends to be inebriated by my perfume, emitting a dramatic satisfied sigh.
âWhich shitty romantic comedy did you come from, can you explain?â I look at him perplexed and on the inside I thank him for making me forget my fucking negative thoughts in a second.
"I'm not romantic and I'm not funny" he replies very seriously.
"And in any case the clichĂŠ should be the other way around: in any self-respecting romance flick, it's the girl who gets up in the morning and puts on her man's shirt or t-shirt. And he obviously enjoys the view"
"And since when do you respect gender clichĂŠs? Why is it always the male eye only that needs to be pleased?" he leans back on the kitchen counter and as he does so the edges of his shirt widen again.
"Shut up or I'll have to⌠um⌠jump on you here and now" I half-quote his line from earlier.
"...said the girl, giving him an excellent reason not to stop at all." Eddie walks up to me again in a threatening way (yeah, okayâŚ), but this time it goes badly for him. I think I've never loved and hated Mariah Carey at the same time as much as now.
"Somedaaay Hey Heeeey! Oh hi guys, good morning" Meg enters the kitchen and I don't know if she doesn't notice me and Eddie because her attention is all on the table or if she's just pretending.
"HI"
"Good morning Meg" Eddie and I drift apart like two magnets placed in front of each other. He turns around trying to fasten the remaining buttons on his/my shirt, even though they're backwards, while I dedicate myself to distributing the pancakes on the plates.
âDid I interrupt something?â I correct myself, she noticed and doesn't even pretend she didn't, while she squeezes chocolate onto her pancakes.
âYes, a debate about feminismâ Eddie gives me a flying kiss on the cheek and sits down at the table.
"You can't just flirt like normal couples, huh?" Meg winks at me as I sit down too, resigned to her comments.
"We're not normal individually, let alone as a couple" observes Eddie and he's not entirely wrong. He also goes for the chocolate syrup, so the only one who will give a change to the yogurt will be me, obviously.
âAnyway, when are you going to ask him him to move in here with us?â Meg looks at me first and then, this time, the wink is for Eddie.
"What??"
"So we'll have the cool breakfast every morning"
"If you want pancakes, just ask, no need to get Eddie involved" I mutter as he and Meg laugh loudly at my expense.
âDid you call Crowe?â Meg gives me another jab when she's halfway through her pancakes and it's clear that I'm her favorite target this morning.
"No, I didn't call him"
"And when will you call him?"
"Well, I don't know, I-"
"If you want, I'll take care of it," Eddie saves me in every sense, intervening in the conversation and pouring me some more coffee into the half-empty cup, "I'll tell him when I see him"
"You tell him Angie accepts?!" Meg remains with her fork in mid-air in front of her open mouth and is about to have a bitter surprise.
"Actually, no. I mean, I understood no, or maybe I'm wrong?" Eddie looks alternately between my roommate and me.
"No, you're not wrong, as I already told you, I have decided to refuse" I reassure him and prepare for hell.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Meg drops her fork on her plate and looks at me reproachfully.
"Because, as I already, told you multiple times, it's not for me"
"And you? Don't you have anything to tell her?" Eddie, who evidently appreciated my culinary efforts because he has already cleaned his plate polishing off every crumbs, pauses for a few seconds, keeping the napkin over his mouth before speaking.
"Um? Me? Why? What should I say?"
"What should you say?! Convince her, right?" Meg looks at both of us like we're idiots.
"Well, we talked about it. Personally I think it's a great opportunity, but if Angie doesn't feel like doin'g it, then she shouldn't do it. I don't want to put pressure on her or anything like that." Eddie gets up, puts the plate in the sink along with the cup, after finishing his coffee.
"I, on the other hand, really wanna put all the pressure on you. I mean, without an external push you would never do a damn thing, you wouldn't even be here! And then I think you're making a huge mistake by saying no! And you should tell her too, if you care about her" my friend shuffles in her seat, she didn't expect to find herself in the minority.
"I do care. And since I care I want her to be free to choose what to do. If she took part to the movie just to make us happy, it would be useless. At least, that's what I think." Eddie explains his thesis and then approaches me again and gives me another quick kiss on the lips "I'm going to shower and get dressed. With the right clothes this time"
I look at him dreamily as he leaves the kitchen and walks away, until I meet Meg's questioning gaze.
"Hehe it's because he wore the wrong shirt, he wore mine instead of his... because in the dark they looked the same to him eheh"
"This is not the explanation I'm looking for"
"What do you mean?"
"What did you tell him?"
"Him who?"
"Eddie! He's suddenly so careful not to offend your feelings, what did you say to him?" he crosses his arms and looks at me defiantly.
âWhat makes you think I said anything to him?â
"I know you. And, even if a little less, I know him too"
"Can't it be that he just believes what he said?"
"No. He didn't believe it when he forced you to play basketball with the band, play drums at Cameron's party, go up the Space Needle, make out in front of an entire club full of people for two hours. I don't see why he would have changed his mind now, unless you intervened in some way" Meg aggressively counts my adventures on her fingers.
âAren't you going to finish your pancakes?â
"No, I won't give you the slightest culinary satisfaction until you speak" and she knows that it bothers me a lot, she's using strong methods.
"But I have nothing to say"
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing"
"What did you really tell him?"
"Hahaha NOTHING!"
âDid you promise him sexual favors?â
"He's my boyfriend, he already has my favors, I don't need to promise anything to him"
"Maybe favors that are... a little kinkier than usual?"
"No!"
"Just tell me then or these pancakes are gonna end up in the bin" Meg takes the plate, gets up and stands in front of the dustbin.
"You wouldn't dare"
"Wanna bet?" maintaining eye contact with me, she slowly puts her foot on the bin's pedal and the lid opens up with a click.
"Well, it's not like I told him anything specificâŚ"
"HA! You did say something to him, then?!" the lid closes, but she doesn't move.
"I talked to him about the fact that I wouldn't be comfortable being an actress"
"Mmmm"
"And that I would have too many lines to memorize"
"And?"
"That the presence of Tim Burton would have put me in difficulty"
"Okay... and?"
"And that I would have been hypercritical and would never want to see that film again if I had been in it⌠Maybe, due to the trauma, I would never set foot on a movie set again"
"Only that?" Meg's little foot still rests on the pedal of the dustbin.
"Only that?! I basically told him that it could put my entire career at risk."
"Okay. And then, what else did you tell him?" Meg doesn't give up and I feel I'm about to capitulate, I have no other choice.
âAnd well, I may have added some plot detailsâŚâ
"THERE YOU GO. Tell me about these details" Meg realized she finally had me in her under her thumb and she sits back down at the table, placing the plate in front of her.
"I might have told him that, while skimming through the script, I had read of something I didn't feel like doing"
âWhat the hell of a story did you make up, Angie?â my friend shakes her head and grabs her fork again.
"I didn't invent anything! I just told him that at a certain point I thought I saw a scene withâŚ"
"With�"
"With a kiss"
"A KISS?!"
"A kiss, a very long one"
"AHAHAHAHAH YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH!" Meg doesn't hold back and laughs holding her belly.
"Look, it's true! There is a kiss! There are several! Just, um, not exactly in my scene"
"WHAT A BAD BITCH!"
âAnd since I mentioned this to Eddie, he suddenly became very understanding of my insecurities.â
"YOU DON'T SAY?! Who knows why?" Meg dives back into the pancakes, but not before adding some more chocolate syrup.
"You won't tell him anything, right?"
"Look, I would be tempted because for me you are a fool to refuse a part in the film and I would involve anyone to convince you, butâŚ"
"But?"
"But I love your perfidiousness in this thing too much to let you get caught"
"I'm not evil!"
"No, you're just a little budding manipulator who cunningly uses someone else's weakness for her own gain⌠Little Angie is growing up! I could almost start crying" Meg feigns emotion and wipes away some fake tears with her napkin.
"Ahaha I didn't manipulate Eddie"
"You used his jealousy to make him do what you wanted, how do you call it?"
"I just striked some chordsâŚ"
"You pulled the right strings!" Meg gets up and puts the plate in the sink with the rest.
"I don't know if you're trying to play with my conscience to get me to tell Eddie the truth and accept the part or if you actually appreciate my little dishonest ploy."
"Mmm a bit of both!" Meg leaves the kitchen and retrieves her jacket and bag, I join her at the door "Anyway, in the end, even if manipulated, Eddie is right: it's you who decides. It's just that... I would have loved to brag a bit and say Hey, my friend is in that movie!"
"Half the people you know will be in that movie. Anyway, once I become a successful author, you can say Hey, my friend wrote that!"
"I can't wait! Alright, see you tonight at Roxy's"
"Ok see ya"
"Did you follow me to the door to say bye or to make sure I wouldn't go and tell Eddie"
"Hahaha to say bye! You would never do that. At least, not now that he's in the shower"
"Well, I could if I wanted to, you're not the jealous one in the couple" he winks at me and opens the door.
"Bye Meg"
"Besides, I've already seen him in his underwear, so" she's about to leave, but she comes back and shrugs at me.
"BYE" I close the door in her face as a joke and she holds it open with one foot.
"And my friends' boyfriends are all like women to me"
"JUST GO IT'S LATE, SEE YOU TONIGHT!"
The woodworm that Meg has just tried to put in my head about my unfair attitude towards Eddie doesn't even have time to creep into my thoughts when the phone starts ringing.
"Hello"
"âŚ" on the other side just silence.
"Hello?" I repeat and actually I seem to hear noises through the receiver. It's not a noisy line, it's mora like someone is waiting in silence with the receiver in their hand.
"Is anyone there or not?" the moment I clearly perceive a breath I freeze. I look around to figure out where Eddie is, because I can't hear the sound of the shower water anymore, but I don't see him around. I go peek in my room and it's not there, so he's probably finished the shower, but he's still in the bathroom.
"Is it you?"
"âŚ" still nothing.
"Do you need anything? Do you need money?" I ask in a low voice, but without getting any answer, except for an abrupt termination of the phone call.
I exhale deeply, as if I've been holding my breath for a while, and maybe I really have. I drop the phone on the table, take my plate and put it in the sink along with everything else. I glance at the clock. No, I don't have time now, I'll wash them later today.
A new ring of the phone makes me jump, I look at it for a while without doing anything, but then I decide to answer, if only to prevent Eddie from becoming suspicious and coming out here to see what's happening and why no one answers the phone.
"HELLO?!"
"Hey, good morning to you too! What happened? Did you wake up with a bad case of the grumpies this morning?" the response on the other end, this time, puts me in a completely different mood.
"Hi mom! No, everything's ok"
"I mean, it sounded like you wanted to maul whoever was on the other end of the phoneâŚ"
"No, it's just⌠there's someone having fun making prank calls this morning. They call and don't speak, without even a bit of imagination, at least they could come up with something more articulated"
"Like, if you have to bother me, at least use creativity"
"Exactly"
"Okay, how are you? Sorry I'm calling you this early, but at least I'm sure I'd find you"
"No problem, you did well. In fact, you barely found me because I have to go to class soon" I walk up to my room to get the clothes to put on, waiting for Eddie to come out of the bathroom.
"That's it, exactly. I'll end up having to make an appointment to talk to you on the phone"
"Don't worry, I still have time, we can have our fulfilling mother-daughter conversation"
"Good girl. So how are you? How did your holidays go?"
âWell, I worked a lot!â
"It's a shame they're called holidaysâŚ"
"Okay, I also rested and did a lot of things that I've had pending for ages! I defrosted the fridge, I cleaned the chandeliers, I washed all the carpetsâŚ" I go back to the corridor while I recall all the steps of the great house cleaning.
"What a strange concept of rest"
"Ugh, I went out with Meg and the others too, I haven't been home all day"
"I had no doubts. And how is Eddie?"
"Eddie is-" he almost caught me off guard "Why are you asking me about Eddie? And more importantly, how do you know him?" yeah, how do you know the guy who just came out of the bathroom covered only by a short towel tied not very firmly at the waist that could fall at any moment and who winked at me before slipping into my room.
"Oh your father told me about him"
"Did he tell you about him? What did he tell you?" the guy who slips into the room without closing the door, takes off the towel and⌠NO, ANGIE, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME AND YOU'RE ON THE PHONE WITH YOUR MOTHER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE.
"Yeah, I mean, he told me that you have a friend called Eddie and that he met him."
âIt happened months ago, why are you asking me about my friends now?â and why Eddie, would be the real question. But I don't want to get too carried away and make her suspicious.
"No, I'm just looking at the photos your father took when he came to visit youâŚ"
"Ah, the famous photos that I haven't seen yet" I lock myself in the bathroom and put it on speakerphone, so I can brush my teeth in the meantime.
"Well, because he only developed them now! Forgive him, he's been very busy with work, I've barely seen him too"
"I know, I know, it's just that he told me he would send them to me"
"In fact, he's going to send them to you exactly this morning. Which would also be the reason why I called you, to tell you this"
"Oh great! Thank him"
"And⌠you know, since I have a photo of you with Eddie right in front of me right now, he came to my mind, just like this"
"Totally random"
"Right. Anyway, how is he?" He's fine, mom, thanks. He spent the night with me and now he is naked in my room.
"Good! From what I know, at least. I mean, the band is recording the album, I don't see them as often as before" well done, Angie. Plural. Go with plural.
âBut you told me earlier that you hung out with the guys during spring break.â
"Yes, of course, but I haven't seen them in a while now. However, they're happy, Stone told me that everything is going well." Was using Stone as a diversion from Eddie a good move?
"Ah! So you've seen Stone more than Eddie!" no, it's not good at all.
"I saw them equally, mom, don't get any strange ideas, I thought I made myself clear enough at Christmas" I snort and start taking off my dressing gown and pajamas.
"Very clear! You know what? The pictures are very beautiful, you'll see. Now I'll get dad for you, he has to tell you something"
"Okay?" my father? What does he have to tell me? He won't ask me about Eddie too, will he?
"Bye Angie, call me next time so I don't bother you, okay?"
"You're not mad because I'm talking to you while getting ready and doing something else in the meantime, are you?" I get dressed quickly, the only thing I forgot to take are the boots, but I can put them on later.
"No, but call! Okay, here's your father"
"Bye"
"Hey Angie!"
"Hi Dad"
"Today I'm sending you all the photos I took when I came to Seattle. Sorry if I'm late but it's been a mess. I've practically been living in the darkroom for weeks"
"Don't worry. How did they turn out?" I put my pajamas in the laundry hamper, throw my robe over my shoulder and, with the phone still on loudspeaker in my hand, I leave the bathroom.
"Not to brag, but they turned out great! Both the ones from the concerts and those from the beach party. I got a nice box here, ready to be shipped"
"Fine, now come out of the dark room and spend some time with mom" when I enter the room I waste no time, I put my dressing gown on the chair and run to cover Eddie's mouth before he can make any sound.
"Don't worry, I'll do that!"
"Did you want to tell me something else? Mom already told me about the pictures" when I'm sure he understood and he nods at me, I release my grip on Eddie's mouth and go and sit on the bed to put on my boots, with my back towards him.
"Yes, I wanted to ask you: do you know Nirvana?"
"Yes, they are a band from around here, I even saw them twice in concert"
"Not as a band, do you know them personally?"
âUm well, not really.â
"What do you mean? Do you know them or not?"
"I know them by sight! Mostly the drummerâŚ" damn, why did I say that?? I quickly turn around and see Eddie has stopped right in the middle of zipping up his pants and is glaring at me "and I exchanged a few words with the bassist, I know who the singer is but that's it"
"Oh because they know you"
"What? And how do you know?" Why do I feel he's not about to tell me anything good? And why the fuck did I keep it on speakerphone? I can't take it off now or it would look like I want to hide things from Eddie.
"They played here in Boise a few days ago"
"Really?"
"At The Zoo" the management guys must have thought it was a real zoo and wanted to send Kurt there, for sure.
"And you went to see them? Weren't you busy with work?" after eternal moments I start tying my boots again and Eddie finally zips up his fly.
"You know what they say, too much work and no playâŚ"
"Yes, and then you end up chasing your family with a hatchet"
"Exactly. Great concert anyway, pure energy! I took few photos unfortunately. The next day I bought the album. They also played some new tracks from the album which has yet to be released"
"And what do I have to do with all this?" if he bought Dave a drink too, I swear I'll scream. What the fuck is that? Does my dad have some kind of radar for my exes now? And he has to talk about it right now with Eddie listening?
"Oh because at one point on stage the singer said something about how it was their first time playing in Idaho and that so far they didn't know anyone from around here, except for a girl who's actually from our town. And he said that he will have to find another nickname for their friend, but it was a quick and rather cryptic conversation that I didn't quite understand. Do you know anything about it?"
"Mmm I have no clue honestly" Eddie looks at me and bursts out laughing, I signal him to be quiet and he covers his face with his hands.
"But you're the friend, aren't you?"
"I don't think so," a friend of that jerk?? I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my bare hands "I wonder who he was talking about, there must be other people from Boise who moved to Seattle, I'm not that special, you know?"
"That's why I asked you if you knew themâŚ"
"Yes, but only by sight and they don't know where I'm from, they don't even know my name eheh" Eddie uncovers his face and makes a noise as if to say Yes, of course!
"Oh well, it's just a coincidence then"
"Of course it is"
"Ok, I'll leave you now. I'll go to the post office and then to the editorial office"
"Okay. Bye and good luck with your work"
"And say hello to Meg"
"Alright"
"And Eddie" Eddie looks at me and explodes into a toothy smile, while he waves hello with his little hand in the direction of the phone.
âGo-why Eddie?â
"No reason, he just came to my mind"
âLet me guess: you got one of his pictures right in front of your eye right now, right?â well, now Eddie will think that in my house there is a little altar with a picture of him, flowers and candles and that my parents pray on it every single morning.
"Hehe, actually yes! Say hello to him when you see him, ok? He's a good boy"
"I will. Bye dad"
âBye Ray,â Eddie replies to himself as soon as I hang up.
"If they had heard you, I would have killed you!"
"Pff overreacting as usualâŚ" now fully dressed, he comes and sits next to me on the bed.
"Ha! Don't even think about it, it's late and we have to rush to the university"
"I don't know what you're talking about, I just wanted to get this" all cocky, he reaches under the bed and pulls out his backpack.
"Sure"
"I'm a good boy"
"Okay, if the good boy is ready, it's time to go"
"Ok let's go"
*****************************************************************************************************
"How do you say Can I have your number in Swiss?"
"There's no such thing as Swiss, Mike" the girl from the staff just opened the door to the dressing rooms, just long enough to tell us Soundcheck in zehn Minuten, and that idiot has already fallen in love.
"What do you mean? So what do they speak in this hell of a country?"
"Where are we now, that is Zurich, they speak German" I just give him the key concept, we have a soundcheck to do and I'm not in the mood to explain Swiss multilingualism to my bass player.
"Okay, how do you say it in German?"
"Ask them in English, you'll see they understand you anyway" Layne gets up and motions to Starr, the only one sitting, to do the same and follow him.
"The whole world speaks English" says Sean the wise.
"You should have learned it by now, after the shitty show the other night in DĂźsseldorf" Layne opens the dressing room door and goes out, followed closely by us, remembering our nice little mishap the day before yesterday, when Mike al most got us killed. A typical Alice in Chains Monday night, in short.
"AGAIN? Look, I made a fucking comment in a fucking bar full of people, I thought you barely heard me, let alone those guys!" Mike isn't entirely wrong, there was an absurd mess in that karaoke bar. I don't know how the fuck we ended up there, I think it was just the closest source of alcohol on the way between the concert venue and the place we were sleeping at. We were all shitfaced when a guy in a leather jacket and sunglasses, who had just destroyed The show must go on on stage, passed by us. The very second as Mike noticed an unexpected resemblance.
"We all thought he didn't look anything like Freddie Mercury, but we kept it to ourselves instead of shouting it from the rooftops!"
"But it was so him! It was the Fonz with a moustache! What the fuck did I say? I said nothing bad, I didn't call him an idiot"
"Actually the exact words were Such an asshole, rather than Freddie Mercury, he looks like the Fonz with a mustache ah ah ah"
"Okay, he only heard the second part though"
"And thank goodness, otherwise he and his friends would have kicked us all the way inside the hotel, instead of stopping outside"
We arrive on stage and start with the rehearsals without getting lost in further chatter. We're here to play four songs in front of a couple of thousand people who don't give a shit about us and who can't wait for us to get off our balls and enjoy the Megadeth concert, of which we are the support band. But for us it's fucking life, playing is playing, as long as they put us on a stage, we'll do it with anyone and in front of any audience. I mean, we've opened for everyone from fucking Poison to Iggy Pop in just the space of one year. In this Andy and I were really on the same wavelength. I remember the nights spent fantasizing about our imaginary future concerts in stadiums and temples of rock. "Madison Square Garden? I'll even go there with the fucking Warrant just to play there!" I can still hear him say. I miss him so fuckin' much. Well, at least I like Megadeth even though maybe neither they nor their fans like me. We are at the fourth date of this European tour and we still haven't even exchanged a word. Let's say we almost didn't even see them. And the people? Well, if they're cold that's fine, when it's bad then they'll just throw shit at us on stage. If Angie were here, she'd suggest we put up a protective net like in the Blues Brothers⌠Well, thank goodness the soundcheck is over because I'm getting melancholic as fuck and I need a fucking beer. Without speaking we all leave and go out in the same direction, straight towards the nearest bar, hoping this isn't karaoke too. When I see a phone booth on the other side of the road, however, I can't help but take action and take a small detour.
"I have to⌠um I have to make a phone call, see you later"
âCan't you call from the bar? I'm pretty sure they have a phone there tooâ
"Oh no, Mike, he can't! Can't you see the young gentleman here doesn't want to be heard? It's so obvious!" Sean is already on the starting blocks of taking the piss out of yours truly.
"But who do you have to call? The same girl from yesterday?"
"From yesterday and the day before yesterdayâŚ" continues the drummer.
"But what about minding your own business?"
"And who is this girl? Aren't you going to tell us?"
"Layne knows her, she's a friend of Dem" Kinney is super informed on the facts, as I imagined Layne held back, but not completely and let the minimum slip. Excellent.
"I cultivate the noble art of minding my own fuckin' business, so I don't know anything"
"Well done Layne!" I pat my buddy on the shoulder and start to walk away again.
"Well done my ass, we're worried about you!"
"Speak for yourself, I'm very calm and I just want the booze" and this too was predictable from Sean. By now I could write everyone's parts in our dialogues, I know them like the back of my hand.
"Don't listen to him, you are our brother! You just miraculously emerged from the disaster with Angie, you know... and now you're going to get yourself in trouble in yet another serious affair with someone else??"
"Who told you this is serious?"
"If it's worth three intercontinental calls, it's serious for me"
"Come on, she's someone he's just met, she's fresh and he wants to keep her interested, right?"
"I see you already know everything so I have nothing else to add, see you later" I walk away amidst the shouts and whistles of my companions and I see them proceed shuffling towards the bar from inside the booth.
I take the small address book from the inside pocket of my jacket and obviously I open it to the first page, to the letter A. I know I should flip on through it, but I can't, it's as if I'm stuck, as if I'm short-circuiting for a few seconds . I put what I think it's the equivalent of our tonight's salary in coins into the phone and dial the wrong number on purpose. What time will it be the now? Like 9 or 10 in the morning, maybe she's not even home.
"Hello" but she's fucking there instead.
"Hello?" she repeats and at that point I realize that I haven't spoken, because in reality I thought I'd answered and told her that it was me and that I'm in a break between soundcheck and concert and that I called her because, for a change, I was thinking about her .
"Is anyone there or not?" I think I can hear myself telling her about the Fonz with the moustache, about the more than necessary protective net for our stage, about Mike who last night was about to pick up a girl who told him she was in her third year at Gymnasium, thinking it meant she was a gym freak, before I saved him by explaining that she was a fucking high school student.
"Is it you?" I'm panicking because I got caught like an idiot. After all, who else would call her and then give her the silence treatment? And from abroad too⌠I'm such an asshole.
"Do you need help? Do you need money?" at this point it's as if I wake up from some kind of fucking hypnosis and suddenly hang up the phone. Money? Why would Angie think I'm calling her for money? The answer is simple: she didn't catch me at all and she thought I was someone else. But who? Who could call her in the morning asking for money? What kind of mess did she get herself into? When I leave the phone booth I remember that I forgot to call Heather like we agreed, but who cares after all? The guys think I did it, in the end it's the gesture that counts. I join the band at the bar counter with a head full of questions.
The questions run through my head until the concert and even during and after that. In the end the show didn't go bad at all, apart from a few painless coins thrown, the audience also reacted well. You can see that the Swiss are more polite! And I was proven wrong twice tonight because, as soon as we got off the stage, we were immediately intercepted by David Elleffson and Marty Friedman of Megadeth who complimented us, confessing that they had no idea who the fuck we were before they heard us and that in their opinion we rock the asses, even if our name doesn't sound very good to them. We all spent the evening together drinking, smoking and talking bullshit, especially them, because at a certain point Marty said that they want to propose us as the opening band for the mega tour they will do with Slayer and Anthrax once they return home and in my opinion it was the drugs talking. Not that we don't deserve it, on the contrary! Well, I'll wait and see what happens, it would be cool, but I don't want to day dream for nothing. I prefer to take things as they come, day by day. But who the fuck calls you to ask you for money first thing in the morning? Maybe it's just a friend in need that Angie is helping because she always has to help everyone? Or maybe notâŚ
#grunge fanfiction#pearl jam fanfiction#eddie vedder#pearl jam#alice in chains#jerry cantrell#layne staley#mike starr#sean kinney#chapters#oh hi by the way
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Meeting On A Whim
After a series of unfortunate and tiring events, he finally gets to see the messages you sent to him.
ââŚHonkai: Star Rail | Aventurine x gn!reader | Contains spoilers for Penacony!!âŚâ
Additional Notes: Kinda self-indulgent, this one is for every single person out there who was as devastated as I was when they got his final message.
A sigh of relief left Aventurine's lips as his back hit the soft cushion of the couch in his room.
The things he had to deal with, from losing his cornerstone to being threatened by that Galaxy Ranger, not to mention the upcoming and unnerving meeting with Diamond, left Aventurine exhausted, to say the least.
Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he sighed again. If only the Family bothered to put proper beds in the hotel rooms instead of just a bathtub that guided people to the Dreamscape, Aventurine sure could use one about now to take a quick nap but alas, he'd have to go home first before he could get proper rest.
And since there was nothing else he could do right now, he might as well play on his phone, maybe even check to see if he had any new messages. He doubted itâ he had just gotten out of a phone call with Jade, Topaz wouldn't text him unless it was related to a mission but even then she preferred calling, and Ratio likely wouldn't be messaging him for a good while. So that only left him with one option⌠which was to play on his phone and wait for time to pass.
âŚthat was what he thought, at least, until he saw all the messages he got from you. With his curiosity piqued, as well as feeling a pang of anxiety settle within his stomach, he decided to see what you had in store for him.
NO NOOOOOOOOO AVENTURINE DONâT GO I DONâT WANT TO SAY GOODBYE COME BACK AventurineâŚ.. Please come back you're my bestest friend ever I swear if it turns out you're dead I'm calling Ruan Mei to revive you I don't care I miss you
A strange warmth blossomed within his chest, a light chuckle escaping him before he even realized it. "I never took you for the clingy type," he mumbled to himself, rereading the messages you sent; all of which were punctuated with crying Pom-Pom stickers.
It was strange, really. He never expected you to be so devastated by his "death", not when the two of you still barely knew each other.
Not when he never had anyone be this worried for him before.
Still, he couldn't help but feel at least a little bit guilty. He may not know you well just yet, but he did consider you his friend â even if it might not feel like it at times â and his disappearance must've been hard on you, too, given all the messages and stickers you sent.
He was initially thinking of sending back a message telling you he was alright, but maybe you'd appreciate seeing him in person more instead.
And so after sending you a quick message, he stood up and stretched before promptly leaving his room.
Come meet me in the VIP Lounge, we have a lot to talk about.
#honkai star rail#hsr#hsr aventurine#hsr x reader#aventurine honkai star rail#aventurine x reader#gn reader#short one shot#fluff#penacony spoilers#authorvi
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Sonic Underground episode 35: The Big Melt
Iâm watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic Iâve been writing forever. Itâs a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!
The Plot (for want of a better word): Robotnikâs forces are trying to melt the Polar Ice Caps to cover Mobius in water! Can the Sonic Underground save the world, or will Sonic drown under the pressure?
Sorry. Had to do it.
Quick note. This episode has some serious dubbing issues, and whoever was on the localisation animation apparently spent the entire time writing âQueen Saunaâ and none on actually fixing the rest of the episode for English. This is the only episode I have noticed this on, but itâs very, very obvious that this was originally a French cartoon.
Itâs a bit of an unusual start to this one, which implies itâs A Dramatic Episode (itâs really not). We open with some unknown Resistance Members watching Sleet and Dingo from afar, before cutting to Aleenaâs monologue over the triplets relaxing on a beach, and immediately throwing THE SONG in to get it out of the way.
The Song: Fun in the Sun. Beach Boys with the serial numbers barely filed off and no bothers given.
IF YOU WANTED you could see an homage to the Sonic OVA, with Sonic watching over his sunglasses as Manic rides the waves on his hoverboard.
But then Sonia appears in a panic to report the what the Resistance saw. The boys complain (to the point of a proper tantrum from SonicâŚ), because Sonia is the driving force of the Sonic Underground once again. But of course she easily guilts them into it with a scowl and they head off, and we accept that sure was a five minute character spot before the plot can properly kick off.
This sets a theme for this episode.
Robotnik reveals his plot is to melt the ice caps so Mobius floods, specifically to annoy Sonic. And I mean⌠sure, Robotnik, you do you, but thereâs short sighted and thereâs SHORT SIGHTED. There is a reason I quietly headcanon him as going crazy from chaos radiation when heâs on Mobius.
Sonicâs whining about the cold is very annoying, and Sonia rightfully calls him out on it. She also mentions that itâs warmer than you would expect the ice caps to be (-20 Celsius, which is not really that uncommon for the Antarctic coast, which can get up to positive 10 degrees in the summer, but thatâs a random trivia fact I just happen to know and honestly, self...). Manic, in another of his rare shows of insight, suggests that Robotnik is trying to melt the ice caps, and is promptly disregarded. This insight is not commented on later.
Thereâs a big long action scene where Sonia is split up from the boys, both carried away by melting ice on boiling waves. The boys are taken off into the ocean (egh, Iâm sure theyâll be fine and this wonât feed Sonicâs aquaphobia at all, donât even worry about it) while Sonia ends up stumbling across the Resistance hideout (and some Three Stooges knock offs that immediately recognise Sonia as royalty), and we can get this plot on the road. Kind of.
The penguins think Sonia is the reincarnation of their past Queen Sauna (-side look-) who is prophesised to return and make the Polar Ice Caps into a warm paradise. This will never be explained.
Itâs that kind of an episode.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Manic are rescued from drowning in boiling water by Robotnikâs submarine surfacing underneath them, so they can learn whatâs going on and get in trouble. But thankfully Sonic gets them out of it just as easy. And now heâs got enough momentum to run across water or something because heâll be find moving around from here on out super easy. So that sure was a scene.
Now, the penguins are upset because âtheir queenâ is melting their city, but Sonia points out sheâs going to need her brothers to stop the melt. She calls them with music (this is the third time this has worked in this series. I feel like it should have been a bit more of a common theme, but we take what we get) and after Manic points it out, they report for duty, and the penguins realise Soniaâs not their queen. Apparently their prophecy never mentioned siblings. -vague shrug-
Seriously. This episode has SUCH a weird rhythm. There are all these tiny scenes, almost like someone was storyboarding cool visuals and then added the script afterward. The weirdly elongated action scene earlier was one, and then they have this random three second scene of the triplets and penguins sliding down into the Resistance base, and then this joke about Sonic drilling twenty-something holes through walls to find Robotnikâs machine (the joke is him insisting his sense of direction is perfect, which⌠one could make something of that, and how it shouldnât be a joke because this is a guy who can and has jogged around the world in hours and rarely seems to get lost)(but one will not, because one has better things to make too much of)(why one is speaking like this, one does not know), and then they have a scene where Sonic comes back, reports many lasers so they can wonder what theyâre going to do, only for him to immediately pop back in and take out the lasers. I mean⌠itâs just⌠Did you not have enough script for the episode or something?? Throw a few more scenes of Sonia getting pampered, or explain why the penguins have a statue of her lookalike, something! I feel like I can't settle into any of these scenes!
They end the conflict with an equally weirdly timed thing, Sonic advising Sleet and Dingo they should run while Sonia and Manic set explosives, and then thereâs a montage as they escape and tell Robotnik and⌠itâs really, really weird.
Like, not even the usual weird, itâs just⌠weirdly artistic for this series? It's odd.
This episode is ODD.
But everyone gets out, and now Sonia, Manic, and the penguins are relaxing in the warm water, and they end the episode by teasing Sonic about his aquaphobia.
Cool. Cool, cool, cool.
You guys did such a good job of dealing with it before, but coolâŚ
So⌠so, sometimes, shows do something odd, and youâre like⌠there was definitely something going on behind the scenes here that caused this to be created. Sometimes itâs a poorly disguised pilot, sometimes itâs one of the actors trying their hand at directing or writing or arthouse theatre. Sometimes you wonder if maybe this episode was never supposed to be released in English but they needed an extra episode for some reasonâŚ
Not sure if thatâs what was going on here, but WOW am I certain SOMETHING was going on with this episode and I do not care enough to find out what.
Onto the next.
#sonic underground#lediz fics#sonic the hedgehog#sonia hedgehog#manic hedgehog#weirdly artistic episode in some parts#weirdly disjointed episode in some parts#reminder that this is a french cartoon#who needs smooth plot detailing#this show is a trashfire
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Alrighty, finally getting around to doing this. William Afton is the main antagonist of the game series Five Nights at Freddyâs (also the movie but thatâs another can of worms), despite the fact that heâs never a direct threat while âaliveâ (the alive part is very important, Iâll get to it later). Heâs also a tumblr sexyman despite canonically looking like this
(fig. 1) his graphic novel design is not better but I do want to share my least favorite image of him from there
(fig. 2) At least he looks good in the fanart?
Before getting a confirmed named, around 2016, he was known as the Purple Guy. His fanon name was Vincent and he was obsessed with toast due to his badge looking like a piece of toast (see fig. 1 FNaF 2)
He opened Fredbearâs family diner alongside Henry Emily, iirc in 1983. He also has three kids and no one knows literally anything about his wife or if he even ever had one (unless you believe her to be represented by Clara in the in-game series The Immortal and the Restless). William Afton is also an entirely shitty father! In some fanon youâll see him being a good father, even I like to write aus where he is, however, if we go purely on canon heâs just an all around piece of shit.
He hits Elizabeth (his daughter) at least once in the books and she barely exists in the entire canon (I know I said I was going to stick to the games but the books have most of the lore) except as his favorite. Heâs also neglectful to the point where one of his sons accidentally killed the other. Oh yes, and the one that died? He put a speaker and camera in his favorite stuffed toy to spy on him and use the bear to talk to him and instill fear and doubt. Then the other son he indirectly killed but weâre not quite to that part yet. Nearly forgot about one more thing in the books, he used a nightmare gas to intentionally experiment on his kids and give them nightmares!
So, after the one son gets killed (Crying Child), William goes a bit crazy and decides to murder Henryâs daughter, Charlie Emily! After that he murders a few more kids (at least five) and stuffs them in animatronic suits which they end up possessing and then they kill him but weâre not there yet
Somewhere between child murder, William decides to build the Funtime animatronics. There are four of them, but the only relevant one is Circus Baby (ignore the smaller animatronics those are biddy babs)
(fig. 3) This is a robot he told Elizabeth not to go near but also told her that it was made just for her and that it can make ice cream. But of course, Elizabeth being a small child goes up to Circus Baby and promptly gets killed because William made the Funtimes to murder MORE children because when kids die it produces Remnant which no one really knows what it does and itâs a complicated and weird road to go down right now. But basically heâs experimenting with it
This is already super long so Iâm just going to rush through the rest of the explanation and then lmk if you have anymore questions. William goes back to one of the multiple Freddyâs restaurants and gets killed in the Spring Bonnie suit (fig. 2 once more) rots in a back room for thirty years, FNaF 3 happens and he tries to kill the player after being brought into a horror exhibit. Burns down. He returns as Scraptrap in FNaF 6, tries to kill the player again, THAT place burns down, and then one of the kids he killed traps him in hell (play through this experience Ultimate Custom Night!) and thatâs the end of William Afton, right?
Of course not. Apparently Remnant can also make a digital copy of people with their memories and all and so now we have Glitchtrap as the main villain for a few games taking over a couple brains and doing a bit of murder but heâs probably gone now. There was also one where there was Burntrap which mightâve also been him but that mightâve been retconned and anyway the Mimic the main villain now
Sorry this took forever I completely forgot and then had to keep taking breaks and saving it as a draft hopefully it makes sense, but like I said, ask me if you have any questions
Still donât know what he has to do with cannibalism though tbh
Hmm cannibalism
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