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bugrry · 2 years ago

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you're the thing that's crystal clear

hbo!joel miller x fem!reader

hello lovebugs!!

a/n: after thirteen months of no new writing, the inspiration bug finally bit me again! please please please let me know what you think! hopefully i'll have more works coming out in the next few months, fingers crossed! :EDIT: at first i'd had it written that it was a gn reader, forgetting that i'd used she/her pronouns for the reader. so sorry!

in this fic there are spoilers for episode six of the last of us AND i have not played the game, so if there are any inaccuracies, sorry!

tags/warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, reader and joel reuniting (let me know if i missed/forgot about anything!)

word count: 3,105

part two

Joel and Ellie had been at the commune for three whole hours before Joel can bring himself to ask about you.

“Where is she?” Joel finally asks as the four of them sit together and enjoy their meal. Tommy sighs, as though he’d been waiting for Joel to ask the question. He probably had been.

“I don’t know, Joel,” Tommy grunted, piercing the last morsel on his plate with his fork.

“You said she came here with you,” Joel grumbles, his voice just above a whisper.

“I also said she didn’t want to talk to you,” Tommy responds, swallowing and standing. He grabs his and Maria’s plate once she indicates that she’s done eating. Tommy moves to go to the kitchen, and Joel is following close behind him.

“So she’s here.” He tries to hide the desperation in his voice, but he doesn’t think he was all that convincing. He also doesn’t think he really cares.

Tommy turns to him, almost snatching Joel’s plate out of his hands. “I’ll tell her you’re here. Let her decide what to do about it. Don’t you dare go lookin’ for her.”

Joel sighs as he watches Tommy walk away from him, and he decides that he’s going to explore the rest of the commune. He eventually finds himself alone, sitting at a bar in an empty restaurant, thinking about the last time he saw you.

Three Years Ago

“Joel please!” You begged from where you stood with your half-packed backpack.

“No. I’m not joinin’ those Firefly fucks.” He stood tall and intimidating in front of you, almost like he was going to physically stop you from leaving.

“Even if I have to go?” You said sharply, turning to grab another essential from your small cabinet.

“You don’t have to go.” Joel almost scoffed.

“I’ll die if I stay here.”

“I’ll protect you!” Joel’s hands flew out from where they’d been at his sides. You flinched at the movement and the sudden change in his tone.

“You can’t. Not from this.” You mumbled, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

“From what?!” He continued to speak harshly, and you had to push through the instinct to just shut down.

You dropped what you’d been holding, pressing the palms of your hands into the edge of the counter.

“From myself!” You took a deep breath and finally turned to face him. “I am rotting here, Joel. I need to get out. For good.”

You had tried so hard to find a purpose here, with him, but every passing day only convinced you further that staying in Boston would kill you. One way or another, you knew that staying here would lead to you being just another one of the bodies that Joel had to toss in the pit. You shuddered at the thought.

“You’ll rot there too! You can’t pick and choose your life anymore, Y/N! It’s like this everywhere!”

You shook your head, feeling heat rush into your face. “It doesn’t have to be! What if there’s something else out there? Something better?”

“You want to risk your life to find out?”

“Yes, Joel! I have to!” You heard your voice crack, and it was evident that the desperation in your body language had finally seeped its way into your words.

“Fine!” He barked, turning towards his liquor cabinet as you finished shoving your things into your bag.

“Fine!” You pushed the whimper out of your voice as you zipped your bag shut and made your way out of your shared apartment.

Once you’d slammed the door shut behind you, you pressed your back against the weakened wood. You shut your eyes as tight as you could, trying to will the tears away as you left down the stairs to where Tommy was waiting for you outside.

Present Day, 2023

“Joel?” A soft voice comes from behind where Joel had parked himself at the bar. Joel’s head snaps up at your near-silent entrance. “Is that you?”

“...Y/N?” He curses himself for letting someone sneak up on him yet again. But once he sees your face, sees that you’re okay and alive he feels himself deflate. He hadn’t heard from you since you left, only getting bits and pieces from his brother, though Tommy had refused to give Joel much more than that. Joel was sure that had been at your request. After a while, Joel had stopped hearing from Tommy altogether, and thus lost access to whatever minuscule amounts of information he’d been getting about you.

“They said that Tommy’s brother had come through. Guess they weren’t lyin’.”

“Guess they weren’t.” He mumbles, turning back to where he’d been picking at the chipping wood of the bar.

“You’re really gonna leave her?” You say softly, coming around to the other side of the bar. You pull two glasses from under the counter and turn to grab a bottle of whiskey off the shelf behind you.

“Shit. How fast does word spread around here?” Joel says, watching your every move, trying to memorize the way you fit into this place so naturally, trying to convince himself that you’re happier here. Without him.

“Fast enough.” You sigh, placing a half-full glass in front of him. “Dammit.” He doesn’t grab the glass right away, staring at the sloshing liquid until it stills.

“You can’t leave her.” You say, resting your now empty hand against your hip.

“Like you left me?”

You sigh, moving to pull a stool from under the counter. You can’t bring yourself to sit directly next to him, not yet. You needed the foot of space that the bar provided to keep you from completely drowning yourself in his presence. “I didn’t have a choice, you know that. You meant the world to me. You still do."

“Do I?” “Joel.” You hesitate. “Do I?” He barks, and there’s a harshness to his words that hadn’t been there when he’d first asked the question. You appear to flinch, but he chooses not to comment on your obvious apprehension. You take a minute to compose yourself before beginning to speak.

“Of course you do. There hasn’t been anyone since you. I don’t know if there ever will be.” You look down at the bar in front of you, daring only once to sneak a peek at Joel’s hands that had finally clasped around the glass. “You don’t have to lie for me. I’m a big boy.” He takes a swig of his drink, grimacing at the pleasant burn it left as it traveled down his throat. “I’m not lyin’. You were it for me.” You continue to avoid his eyes as you busied yourself with wiping down the counter.

Joel grumbled, wanting to drop his head onto the old wood in front of him. “You’re too young for me to have been it for you.” “Maybe so, but I loved you.” “Loved?” “What does it matter to you?” You snap, finally looking up at him and meeting his eyes. It was then that you noticed just how tired he was. Sure, he’d been grizzled and tired when you’d last seen him, but it seemed that the last three years had aged him faster than the previous seventeen had.

“Never mind.” He says, breaking eye contact and looking back down at where his fingers traced the carvings in the glass.

You soften, realizing just how much you’d truly missed him, how much you still miss him. You miss the way he’d hold you after a supply run went wrong – or right, for that matter. Joel had loved holding you whenever he got the chance. You miss the way he’d laugh at one of your shitty jokes, playfully pushing you away from him as you tried to get him to admit he’d found it funny. You blush when the thought pops into your head, but you also miss the way he’d put his whole body into kissing you, always made you lose yourself in the feel of his lips, his hands, and his thighs pressed against your body. You didn’t want to dig yourself any deeper of a hole, so you decide to bring the topic back to something you could think about without wanting to scream.

“Please don’t leave her, Joel.”

Joel groans, looking back up at you and frowning, “We’re back on this?”

“It’s important. I can tell how much she means to you.” “It’s none of your business,” he says, taking a final swig of his drink.

“Isn’t it?”

He shakes his head, looking down at the empty glass in front of him, “Nope.”

“I suppose it’s not,” you relent, moving to pour him another few ounces. He lets you.

��I’m glad we finally agree on something.”

You nod, looking down at the bottle in your hands. You place the bottle back on the shelf, turning back to take a drink out of your own glass. You decide to push it further.

“Ellie’s not going to let you leave her.”

Joel sighs as if he’s annoyed that the conversation has continued, but he doesn’t leave. For that, you are thankful.

“What do you know about her?” He demands quietly, still refusing to look back up at you.

“I know enough.”

“I’m not gonna leave her,” he concedes, “I’m gonna give her a choice. Let her stay here or come with me.”

“She’s gonna choose you.”

“How do you know? You didn’t.”

“That was different.” “Was it?” He grunts.

“Yes. Because I regret it.” At this, his eyes snap up to meet yours. You’re looking at him sadly, as if it was obvious, as if he should have known that you regretted leaving him. Maybe he should have. He doesn’t say anything for a long while, just staring at you and watching the tears pool in your eyes.

“Oh,” is all he comes up with, and you frown.

“Is that what you wanted to hear? That I regret leaving you? That I’ve been miserable this whole time without you?”

“No, of course not,” he says sincerely.

You scoff, rolling your eyes and taking another drink from your glass, “Yeah right.”

“You think I wanted you to be miserable?” Joel says, finally standing from his seat at the bar, “I’ve thought about you every day since you left. I didn’t want to let you leave, but I also knew I had no power to stop you. I knew you were miserable in Boston. I knew I couldn’t convince you to stay.” “Even with how miserable leaving you made me feel, I think it was the right choice.” Joel frowns again, and the wrinkles around his eyes become only more prominent. You yearn to press the obvious hurt out of his face. You don’t let him speak, holding up your hand as you continue talking.

“I think I had to leave you. I don’t think I realized how important you were to me until I didn’t have you anymore.” At your words, Joel's frown only hardens. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t you tell me what I mean, Joel Miller,” you snap, your back straightening from where you’d been leaning against the shelf.

“If I was so important to you, why didn’t you come back?”

“I didn’t think you wanted me back.”

Joel’s face softens. He looks at you like you’ve just told him the most heartbreaking news he’d ever heard. “What?” He says it so quietly you almost miss it, “You thought…” he trails off, not allowing himself to finish the thought.

“I thought you hated me.” You blurt. You curse yourself, you’d meant to say it softer than that, to maybe sugarcoat it a little bit.

“You thought I hated you?” You don’t answer him this time, merely shrugging and looking down and tracing the grain pattern of the bar. “I could never hate you.”

He says it so harshly you feel as though you’re being scolded, and it only makes you shrink further in on yourself. He notices your shift and softens. He comes around your side of the bar, needing to be close to you, to feel your warmth again. You allow him to approach you, and when you don’t shy away from him, he feels a part of him that has been asleep for three years reawaken. He is filled with a sort of warmth that he never thought he’d feel again as he reaches up to cup your face, speaking softly, “Sweetheart, I could never hate you. Never in a million years could I hate you.” He brushes his thumb over your cheek, and he may be imagining it, but he thinks he feels you press your face into his hand. You close your eyes, but he has more to say.

“Y/N, listen to me. We’ve been through too much for me to ever hate you. I’ve seen you at your absolute worst and I still wanted you so bad it hurt.”

You pull away from his touch, and he feels cold again.

“That was before I left,” You say, almost as if you’re ashamed of yourself.

“That’s true. Even after that, though. I never hated you. Not for a second.” “Don’t lie to me Joel,” you almost whimper, and you shut your eyes in embarrassment at letting your voice crack.

“I’m not lying to you. Sure, I was pissed. Heartbroken, even. I thought you and Tommy were idiots for leaving, but there’s no way in hell I ever hated you for it.”

You give a non-commital shrug, still avoiding eye contact with him, “sure,” you eventually mumble.

“I’m telling you the truth. I have to reason to lie to you.”

“To spare my feelings, maybe.” You say softly, now fidgeting with your fingers.

“When have I ever done that?”

This makes you chuckle quietly, and he’s filled with a sort of pride that warms him from the inside out. There’s my girl, he finds himself thinking. Your laugh and your smile fades, and with it, that fuzzy feeling in Joel’s chest.

“You should hate me.” You finally say.

“I know,” he says, reaching up to touch you again. This time, he reaches for your hair, pushing a lock of it from your face, “But I can’t bring myself to.”

It's quiet for a few moments before you speak again, “I thought I hated you.” Joel’s hand drops from your face.

“What?” He tries to keep the fear out of his voice, and from your lack of reaction, he hopes that he’s succeeded.

“I thought I hated you because you let me leave so easily. I thought you’d just decided you didn’t need me anymore. That I wasn’t worth fighting for. That was stupid, I realize that now. But I wrote some pretty bitter things about you in my journal.”

Joel’s hand moves back up to your face, this time to brush away the tears that had fallen down your cheeks, “I could never not need you.”

You shake your head, moving out of his grip again. “You did just fine for more than a decade without me.”

“Maybe I just didn’t realize how alone I was.”

This makes you laugh again, but not in a way that fills Joel with warmth. It’s bitter, doubtful, and angry.

“I could show you,” he starts again, moving back into your personal space, “if you’d let me. I could show you how much you meant to me. How much you still mean to me.”

“I don’t…” you start, but he doesn’t let you finish.

“If you’d let me, I’d spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”

“Joel…” you start again, but this time you let yourself trail off, not knowing what you were going to say, just knowing that you should probably say something.

“Please sugar,” he starts again, placing his hands softly on your shoulders. You don’t move any closer, but you also don’t move away, so Joel keeps going, “You said it yourself. There’s still a small part of you that loves me, even if you probably shouldn’t.”

You mumble something to yourself, something Joel couldn’t make out. He reaches up to move your face towards him, to force you to look at him. You obey his silent request, looking up and into his eyes that were somehow still so soft, even after all these years.

“It’s not a small part of me, Joel,” you say again, speaking louder this time, “It was never a small fucking part. My whole being was devoted to you. It tore me apart to leave you. I was useless on the road. Once we were with the Fireflies, I threw myself into my work and my chores so that I didn’t have to think about the huge Joel-shaped piece that was missing from my heart. I hate myself for leaving, and I hate myself even more for not going back to Boston and fighting for you. I was a coward. I still am.”

By the time you’re finished talking, tears are streaming down your face. Joel is looking at you with the softest eyes you’ve ever seen, and it makes you want to curl into a ball and never speak to anyone again. He lets you cry for a moment before he responds.

“If you’re a coward, then I’m a coward too. I could have just as easily come looking for you.” “I never expected you to.” You squeak out, in between your sobs “And I never expected you to come back. That doesn’t mean I got over you leaving. I didn’t think I’d ever get over it. And I hadn’t, not until I saw you here.”

Once he finishes speaking, he finally pulls you into his chest and just lets you sob into him. He doesn’t know how long the two of you stand there, in that empty bar, with his arms wrapped around you, but what he does know is that he never wants to let you go. Eventually, your sobs fade to quiet sniffles and you shift in order to wrap your arms around his body. Even though the two of you are pressed against each other, the way you grab at him makes it seem as though you need him even closer. You mumble something into his chest that he can’t quite make out, so he pulls you away from him. You whine at the loss of his touch, but you quiet once you see how he looks at you.

“What was that, sweetheart?”

“I said I love you.” You sniffle, reaching up and wiping a tear from his face.

“I love you too, Y/N. God, do I love you.”

part two

#my writing #joel miller x reader #joel miller #the last of us hbo #the last of us #ellie williams #hbo #hbo!joel miller x reader #pedro pascal x reader #joel miller fanfiction

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cosmichahn · 10 months ago

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BEWITCHED

Melissa Schemmenti x Fem!Reader —☆

about: melissa only expected for her friday evening to go as always, but plans change when she sees you crying on the sidewalk

warning/s: mild cursing

word count: 4.7k

note/s: first time writing for mel, might be a bit rusty but i really enjoyed writing this and hope you guys enjoy reading! lyrics from bewitched and from the start by laufey mentioned. (i also have not watched the new episodes yet so yeah)

The parent evening at Abbott Elementary just ended, as every teacher and every parent went their separate ways. Everyone but you who left about an hour earlier than everyone. No one knows why, no one dared to ask when you rushed out of the building after cleaning up your classroom and grabbing your bag. Not even a goodbye like you always do, especially to Melissa who grew worried because of this; but she decided not to call you, especially how it seemed as though you wanted some time alone.

Your movement wasn’t harsh, nor was it rough. It was more of a quiet rush that might as well be considered worse than an angry one.

Melissa says her goodbyes to her co-workers before setting off to go home. She looks at her phone set up on the side with an attached stand to it, pondering on whether she should call you and ask how you are or perhaps not. You’ve only been at Abbott for a year, and in that year, Melissa grew very fond of you. There was just something about you she couldn’t pinpoint in the beginning, not until one of her kids came rushing to her crying and asking for you, for some reason. You started as an aide just to see if the teaching position would fit you at Abbott after about four years of teaching experience in a different state.

When you were Melissa’s aide, her days never ended up being exhausting. You were a breath of fresh air and really helped her around the classroom; with managing two classes at once, it’s not an uncommon occurrence for Melissa to stress herself out. Eventually, you’ve come to apply for an official teaching role at Abbott to teach 6th grade Biology after 2 and a half months of being an aide. It was perfect since the last Biology teacher just straight up gave up and signed up for a resignation; which is a bad image given that it kind of shows the students a message that they may not be worthy enough to stay for since that said teacher left to go to Addington. It’s great that you’re qualified for the teaching role and Ava, especially, was thankful for that.

The redhead drives over the street, her mind only occupied with next week's lesson plans that she should finish on Sunday. Thankfully she’s already done with grading papers. As her mind wanders, she comes across someone familiar on the street, tears pouring down. She stops her car immediately near the familiar broken down car whose owner is the person crying in front of her. You.

Upon noticing the sudden warmth of someone’s presence, you look up only to feel embarrassed, so you quickly wipe off the tears that already stained the bottom of your shirt used for wiping them off. You have the mascara stained from all the tears, and the lipstick that smudged just right on the side of your lips. This is an ugly cry that you never want anyone to see, but Melissa is the exception. You don’t mind her.

She looks at you with not pity, but worry. Wiping off the dust and small grains of dirt she can get off beside where you are, Melissa takes a seat, trying not to be too close to you so you can have enough space to be comfortable or not feel too crowded. “Hon, what happened?” Her voice is so smooth that it sounds like the only symphony you can listen to for the rest of your existence. She looks at you, her eyes speaking more emotion than her words, as always.

“It’s nothing, really.” You sniffle your runny nose in between words that shake your voice and tone. “Just a mishap, but thanks.” Your eyes meet hers, giving her a light chuckle which makes her raise her eyebrow.

“You know me enough not to believe this stunt.” She slightly tilts her head towards you, crossing her arms. Melissa knows you too well upon the year she spent with you at Abbott. She knows when you’re being all bullshit. This is one of those times.

You look at your lap, then your hands that had small stains of black from that mascara that you wore today. “Fine, it’s something. But it’s not really that big of a deal, Mel.” Your gaze turns to her. “It’s just a parent being a parent.”

“Seeing you like this doesn’t make it feel like it’s a small deal.” Melissa isn’t always one for being interested so quickly towards someone, but you just managed to intrigue her the more she knew about you.

In defeat, you tell her what happened; but you feel guilty upon telling her all of this. For whoever up there’s sake, this is only your second year at Abbott and you’re already dropping a bucket worth of tears over one comment a parent made for the first time in your whole career. “One of the parents, um, she called me a terrible teacher because her son was struggling with something and all I really did was help her son out but she wasn’t listening to what I was saying and blamed it all on me.” Talking about your problems really has always been the catapult to a breakdown that you can never find a way to stop. “She blamed it all on me that her son’s grades weren’t high enough, when he has always excelled in all of his subjects. He’s on the verge of burning out, and I’m just trying to help him, Mel.”

“She thinks her son’s grades aren’t enough, when they’re high and he already reached his goal. The mother is so strict but I can’t speak on it because I am not the parent, I am only the one who teaches and calculates the grades. I don’t make the grades, I just help the students achieve the grade they want. She called me terrible. A terrible teacher. I have never been called that and I feel so bad, so guilty, and sensitive, for feeling this way about it. About what she said. And I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you when you’re handling two classes at once, you’re incredible, and I know how stressed you are at times. I care about you a lot.”

Melissa thinks before she speaks, signaling if she can touch you and you nod in response; and so she places her arm around your shoulder, pulling you in with a small apologetic smile. “Some parents really are like that, and unfortunately we can’t exactly do anything about it other than have a quiet and listening conversation with our student.” You hold onto her other hand, feeling her squeeze yours in comfort. “And you don’t have to apologize for feeling this way. No apologies to me, we all have our own experiences, hon.” Melissa removes her arm around you, where she is now holding both of your hands in hers. You melt under her touch, she brings you warmth. She’s the beaming sun that lifts up your glow. “Your feelings aren’t any less. I care about you too, I care a lot.”

You only mumble a quiet thank you to her, letting go of her hands before moving closer and burying your face on her neck, feeling the warmth she had to offer. The comfort her presence gave you was enough to recharge from a tiring day. “Thank you so so much, Mel.” The warmth Melissa gave not only came from her natural body temperature, but also the sudden contact of you leaning into her this close that sent up sparks in her mind and caused her to grow a blush she couldn’t take away.

Melissa places her right hand on your back, leaning her head on yours, before whispering “Anything for you, cara.”

“You’re so nice to me, Mel.” You whisper with a small chuckle, feeling her heart beating, feeling it speed up. “I never knew that something I would say is enough to make your heart crazy.”

“Great assumption you got there.” Melissa jokes, lifting your face off her shoulder. You looked a mess with your smudged makeup, and yet still she was enchanted by you; to her you were still beautiful as always, and she was glad that you felt comfortable being in states like this around her. She keeps your trust the way you take care of hers.

“No use in lying to me when I look like a mess.” You shrug your shoulders, feeling the tension of your feelings cool down and feel lighter. She only playfully rolls her eyes and chuckles at you.

You never denied your attraction towards Melissa, but that’s something she doesn’t know. Something you never had the guts to tell her; you were just scared, confused as to how and why would she date someone like you. Someone younger, obsessed with movies, and could talk about anything and everything within every second of the day. You’ve seen how Melissa acts when Jacob starts yapping about something, but then if you’re the one doing it, she never scolds or avoids you when you talk about your interests even though she doesn’t get most of them. Melissa could just be really friendly to a selected number of people, and you’re lucky enough to be one of those people; that’s one of the main reasons as to why you’d rather not express your romantic feelings for her.

Melissa is too important to you. She’s your friend first before all.

“Why are you even stopped here anyway?” Melissa questions, looking at your car parked on the side near hers.

Embarrassed, you answer her with a small hint of nervousness “Well, you see, I ran out of gas.” You also realize your inability to head home because you remember now that you left your house keys on the desk right before you rushed out of the school a while ago. “Shit! I left my house keys in the school. Son of a bitch.”

Your evening after that parent situation really isn’t going how you want it to. First, you forget your apartment keys in a school that’s already locked, and second, your car is out of gas. You have nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep in, until an idea pops up in mind, but Melissa had another idea. “You can always stay at my-”

“I can call Janine and ask her if I can stay.” You say in full confidence, remembering how Janine once offered for you to stay at her place if ever that there were any cases of unfortunate occurrences. But instead of Melissa agreeing and knowing it’s better for you to stay at Janine’s, she reacts differently.

“No! I meant you can stay at my place.” This peaks the curiosity in you. A year of being friends with Melissa, and yet you’ve never been to her house before, surprisingly.

“As tempting as that offer is, I don’t want to be in the way of your weekend.” You say. Melissa only scoffed and shook her head with endearment. “And I do know how much you cherish your privacy.”

“That’s nonsense, sweetheart. You’re an exception.�� Before you can say anything, Melissa stands up to open her car, making sure that you follow. “I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer, by the way.” She’s pretty persuasive. Pretty and persuasive. She smirks at you as she waits for your approach; she leans on the car and crosses her arms with the keys dangling on her finger. “We both had a tiring day, so a little wine wouldn’t hurt too, right?”

You nod with excitement, looking back at your car while approaching Melissa’s. “Don’t worry, we can get back tomorrow. I have a guy that can help with your car without hassle.” Thankfully, the area where you stopped your car when it ran out of gas was a safe space. Knowing this part of Philly, it surely is more peaceful. Melissa is so thoughtful and just the sweetest, when what she always does, at least to you, is what you think of as something like the bare minimum or just something she does to her close friends. You’re not that special to her, as to what you think; but to her, you’re more than that.

Before leaving off with Melissa, you first check over your car just to grab your things. “Let me just get some stuff from my car. I don’t want any important things gone.” She nods as you head off, unlocking the back of the vehicle and grabbing some things. You take your files filled with student papers you need to check off and grade, then in front of the car is your bag with all of the pens you use and essentials. You double check to lock the door then look over to Melissa. “Well, it seems like we’re both gonna be occupied.” You say, showing her the very thick file folder you have.

“We can grade papers and drink wine.” She suggests, and all you can imagine is grading papers on the table together with Melissa’s glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, hair up in a loose bun with a wine glass in hand and the smell of her lingering in her home. She holds your hand every so often after taking a sip of her wine and you brush a strand of hair off her face while she smiles at you and thanks you. That is all an image in your head.

“Sounds like a fun evening.” Is all you can say in reply.

As you approach her car, Melissa opens the door for you and you quickly thank her for it. The car ride was comfortable and quite fun. It’s not your first time riding in Melissa’s car, and usually she leads playing music in the car, but she actually lends you the aux cord from time to time. You connect your device to the speaker and radio in her car, where you then blast one of Laufey’s songs; a fairly recent artist that Melissa denied when you first played it around her, but she soon grew fond of the artist knowing that you loved listening to her music a lot.

Melissa would always find herself looking the artist up just so she could be reminded of you when she listens to it. It just for some reason makes her feel closer to you whenever she engages with things you love.

“You bewitched me.” You sing along the rhythm, slightly bopping your head to the light and magical tone of the song. Melissa quietly glances at you, a smile growing on her lips upon adoring the sight, before looking back on the street. “From the first time that you kissed me.” The lyrics catch Melissa, causing her to swallow the invisible lump in her throat. “To experience this song is to make my life complete.” You joke, not imagining anyone to dance to this song with other than Melissa.

Upon hearing this, Melissa wanted you to kiss her under the bustling lights of an evening in Philly. She wanted to lean in and whisper how much she wanted to keep you in her heart. She wanted to be the one who makes you bewildered, bewitched.

“Well, if I ever get the time to buy her vinyl, that would also be an alternate way to complete my life.” You shrug, chuckling.

But I’m falling so badly, I’m coming apart. The song continues. You cast me a note, cast a spell on my heart.

Melissa takes a quick glance over the radio. Well, you’re right about that. She thinks to herself, indulging the lyrics of the sweet yet whimsical song.

“Not the first time you’ve talked about the artist.” She looks over to you through the front mirror, noticing the embarrassed chuckling you let out. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s cute.”

“Thanks, Mel. People don’t really engage with me when I talk about things I love.” You look over at her with an endearing smile. “But thankfully I have you, don’t I?”

“I talk about firefighters to you a lot, hon. I think we’re even.” She laughed quietly. “And you really love the food I make.” In all honesty, there’s a mix of excitement and nervousness in Melissa right now. It’s your first time both going to her house and staying over there for the weekend. Is the sink cleared? Will there be time to whip up a quick meal? Is her bedroom clean? Wait, you’re sleeping in her bedroom? On the same bed as her? Unless you don’t want to, she’ll just sleep on the couch. Melissa’s mind just shuffled.

You notice that Melissa kind of dozes off, so you try to catch her attention. “Mel, you good?” Waving off your hand beside her, until you catch her attention.

“I’m good. Just thinking of something.” You quirk an eyebrow making an attempt to guess, but trying not to push it much as for Melissa to not get frustrated.

You remember the vending machine guy that the Abbott crew would always mention to Melissa. Given that he leaves hints that he likes her. This happens way after they forget to tease you and Melissa for being close. Although there’s some sort of jealousy that flows through you whenever this happens, it’s not really something you can do anything about, given that perhaps Melissa feels the same for him too. “Ooo, is it Gary?” You tease.

Melissa shakes her head quickly. “No, that’s not- he’s not-”

“Oh! My bad, sorry.” You apologize but she denies this apology, saying that there’s nothing to apologize for.

The next moments were filled with comfortable silence, as you then start humming to the next song playing.

Don’t you dare look at me that way; I don’t need reminders of how you don’t feel the same.

─────────

Shortly afterwards, you arrived at Melissa’s place, seeing the beautiful interior displayed right in front of you. She looks at you adoring her house, with only the luminescence of the neighboring houses and the moon lighting up your face. “Beautiful.” Melissa compliments.

She leads you to the door, unlocking it while you stand behind her, carrying the file folder and your bag. You’re greeted by a well decorated living room and several photo frames across the walls and the side tables. “You can just place your things on the couch and I’ll whip us up something to eat for dinner and maybe a snack while grading. That sound good?”

You nod in response, carefully placing your things on the couch that’s still covered by plastic, but that’s okay. It’s very Melissa, quite as you think.

“You know, Schemmenti, you’re all heart and passion.” You say, following her to the kitchen. Melissa manages to short circuit after what you just said, trying to mentally fix her composure.

“Flattery doesn’t work around here. Sorry, Sweetheart.” She shakes her head with a soft chuckle before turning to you and leaning on the counter. “And besides, you’re not helping in the kitchen, but you can sit there and look pretty.”

Compliments like these are common between you and Melissa. Both of you appreciate and care for each other’s everything; even when Melissa’s stress and temper gets a hold of herself, or when you go quiet from being too overwhelmed. “Funny, but I do need to fix this face.” You point at the several faded marks of makeup on your face, making Melissa walk towards you and offer to take you upstairs where the bathroom is.

She points to the bathroom then leaves you there, with the idea going across her mind that you probably don’t have any spare clothes to change into to be able to sleep comfortably. Due to this, while you’re getting yourself clean in the bathroom, Melissa gets an old Eagles shirt that she found in her closet and a pair of sweats she never uses. She knocks on the bathroom door with the clothes hanging on one of her arms. “I got you some clothes, hon.” She says, and you reply to her with thanks. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you so much, Mel.” You open the door and thank her, carefully taking the neatly folded clothes from her arm.

You soon finish freshening up, looking at yourself all fixed up in the mirror with the change of clothes on. The Eagles shirt smells exactly the way Melissa does, and you take it in, feeling as though she’s with you right now. The scent fills you with comfort and warmth you don’t want to stop feeling.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, you’re greeted with a quick meal that Melissa made that’ll surely fill you up for the evening. You wonder how long you took in the bathroom because Melissa is already in a different set of clothes with, just as you thought, her hair in a loose bun. She sees you and the only thought that comes across her mind is ‘Damn’ There was just something about seeing you in her clothes, in her kitchen, even in her car, that felt so domestic. It’s the same thing she feels every time she offers to pick you up from somewhere or when you have lunch ‘dates’ where it’s just the two of you; or when sometimes she asks you to go to the farmer’s market with her, and you ask her to go to music stores and bookstores with her.

Now, you’re here in her house. You’re staying over for the weekend, and she can’t help but just keep herself from getting too attached to the idea of a domestic life with you.

“That looks delicious!” You exclaim, walking towards the counter where Melissa had already set up two stools and two sets of plates.

“You look delicious.” She blurts out which makes you burst out laughing, in mind that she was probably just joking around like always. You playfully punch Melissa’s shoulder, and if anyone were to ever do that to her, she would probably punch them harder, but she only looks at you with her brows furrowed.

You shake your head, “I thought flattery doesn’t work around here.” You sit across Melissa from the counter where you both prepare to eat. It’s filled with silence, before she clears her throat and tells you.

“Delicious doesn’t say it all.” Melissa shrugs, wanting you to take the flirty compliment.

After exchanging a few laughs with each other over dinner, you stop to look at Melissa who just finished laughing at something you said. “I like this side of Melissa Ann Schemmenti.” You rest your chin on your palm, elbow flat on the table with your eyes only to hers. “Anyone who would have the chance to be with you is lucky enough to experience what it feels to have a domestic life with you.” You say without thinking of what this might cause to the aura in the room.

“Well, um, not that it matters when I say it.” You say, feeling your palms grow sweaty by the clock. “I think a domestic and simple life with a partner I love is just a really incredible thing, I mean, I would want that kind of life to be mine. Not that I’m assuming that it’s the same thing you want, of course.” You smile apologetically.

“You think about it a lot?” Melissa asks, intrigued to know more and yet still going back to what you previously said about her. Even though she knows she has feelings for you, it still sits in the back of her mind that she may not be fond of marriage. Especially with things during and after Joe, she’s not sure when, but she knows she’s not ready for anything other than a relationship. No marriage, no union or anything.

But why is it that when she thinks of you, she thinks of marriage? She thinks of a life where she wakes up with you on her side. She gets ready in front of her vanity with your reflection in the mirror adoring her from behind. Walking hand in hand around every corner of town. Giving each other flowers just because you felt like it. Taking care of each other when one’s sick. Talking about everything and nothing at night.

“Marriage? Not a lot, but settling with someone I love? Of course.” You like the topic of it all. You love love; how it’s always there, how it doesn’t always have to be a person, that it can grow in places or on people you don’t expect. To love and be loved is what you want, and have always wanted. “I want to one day be loved. To be held, heard. Be sappy and all. To wake up and do the littlest of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a quiet day at home or looking through the grocery list while the sounds of the washing machine bustle in the background.” After that brief monologue, you catch Melissa’s eyes.

“You never know.” She gives you that reassuring and hopeful smile. “That person might just be the one in front of you after all.” Melissa sees the way your expression changes from sentimental to a confused furrowed look that made her eyes widen upon realizing what she had just said.

This makes you think for a bit, your brain split in half. Is she just being helpful with the conversation or is she confessing something. She waits for a response quietly as the two of you silently sit across each other. Does she regret saying this? Is she overthinking things?

“I hope so.” You respond nervously. “Are you saying what I hope you’re saying?” She takes her hand out on the table, hoping for yours to hold hers and you do so.

“I want it to be me.” She holds your hand softly.

“Oh.” The only word that came out of you, not being able to process things immediately. Until this registers in mind. “Oh.” You’re clueless as to how to respond. “I need to pinch myself.” You say before standing up, in which Melissa lets out a soft laugh. “Jesus Christ.” You mumble to yourself.

Melissa stands up to tidy the table, but all you can do is freeze in place. Perhaps this is what really happens when your mind short circuits. She puts the used dishes properly in the sink, before wiping her hands clean where she then walks to stand near you, the counter facing your back as she is now standing in front of you. Only the surface of the counter and Melissa in between your body, with only a shorter distance between herself and you. She walks closer, making you walk back, but the edge of the counter is now sticking to your lower back. Both of her hands are placed on either side of the counter behind you.

You clear your throat, only able to look her right in the eyes. Her lips were right there, ready for you to lean in closer just to feel what you’ve always wanted to feel. Her. The risk is for you to take. No, for the both of you to take.

“May I kiss you?” Before you could receive a vocal response, you feel her lips coming in closer onto yours. With closed eyes, Melissa’s hands make their way up to your hips, then to your waist, which slightly lifts up the shirt you were wearing; and so the coolness of your untouched waist was cooled from her fingertips.

A smile grows from your lips, returning it. The world feels as though it froze around the two of you. She pulls away only to look at you and your stunned and lovesick reaction, not wanting the moment to end before kissing you again. A groan escapes her lips, relief and excitement. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.” Melissa mumbles in between kisses.

You swoop in and place both of your hands on her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her face on your palms. She takes a short step back as you lean more into the kiss, giving a light bite on her lower lip where she then smiles softly. “You’re the most beautiful person I have ever seen.” You whisper close to her, feeling her pull you closer by the waist. You’re smitten, and finally, she knows.

Your hands find themselves on Melissa’s shoulders as she pulls you in for a tight hug, her arms snaking around your waist as you rest your head on the crook of her neck.

The world froze around us, you kissed me good night.

#melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti #wlw #melissa schemmenti imagine

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therealslimshakespeare · 10 months ago

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Dear John | Part 2

Masters of the Air Fanfiction

Series Summary: Major John Egan wasn’t the pen-pal sort but a couple of hours into a dark night full of writing condolence letters he finds himself wondering why he never tried his hand at the nicer forms of correspondence. Who better to reanimate his numb inspiration than the glamorous Miss Lana Tierney? -the army’s girl next door, the pinup so prolific she was practically a wall paper print and Bucky’s long-standing cinematic crush. It’s not like she’ll read it anyways. Right? Right.

Warnings: suggestive language, crass vocabulary, the vintage form of sexting -honestly this is mostly fluffy in reply to his more overt letter

Author’s note: after episode four I’ve got feelings and fics for this universe that are far ahead of these establishing pieces. So I’ve gone ahead and tossed this preliminary one out but I may very well skip around and ahead to October next. At least now y’all know: she wrote him back. Hehe. If it’s of interest, I’ll probably end up writing John’s reaction to receiving this response as well as Gale’s response to realizing his friend actually went and sent that awful thing.

Date: Early August, 1943

Dear John, (I’m sorry Major Egan, I just had to)

Thank you for your kind letter of the 18th. It’s been many years since I received so delightful a correspondence or so candid an expression of admiration. And you should know I keep most of the letters the sweet people of this country send me. They’re stacked in quite an orderly fashion in my various garages, kept for the rainy days to peruse and keep the blues away and also so I might try very hard to reply. I don’t take such affection for granted. It’s humbling really, always has been, to be so loved by folks but it’s another level entirely to be singled out by someone as brave and impressive as yourself.

I found your letter to be heartfelt and wonderfully brave and in an effort to be equally transparent, you should know that when I finished it I clutched it to my breast and whispered half a dozen prayers for you. Or as you might say, I held it to my knockers.

That’s an awful word, you must know that Major.

As is “rack”, for that matter, but I’ve a sneaking suspicion that you would make it sound charming as even your blotted paper was electric. How could you dare to praise my film set flapjacks and mention making babies? I’m fizzing just glancing at it. You really must be quite the fella and I’m terribly sad now that our rendezvous, such as you say it was, got cut short. You must reprimand your friend -Buck, is it?- and tell him he did an bad deed that night. There’s nothing I like better than duets and hamburgers, we might’ve been one of the great loves by now if he hadn’t meddled. But don’t be too hard on him, if he’s the sort to take it well, kiss him for me, after you chide him.

But since we are being honest, I must admit, reading your letter, being privy to your thoughts, seeing myself through your eyes as it were - dear man, I feel rather riled. Quite riled, in fact. Why, I haven’t felt riled in a while, not like this. Not like an ordinary girl with an extraordinary boy. Do you know what I mean?

Maybe you don’t.

I mean regular, old fashioned flustered. That’s what you’ve made me. And thank you for that, John. Can I call you Johnny? I wonder if you’re the nickname sort, or if you’re real stern and serious, a real John-John. Not a Johnny at all. But either way, I think you deserve a treat, for being so nice, Major Egan. For reminding me I can feel my pulse somewhere besides my wrists before a show -and for all you’re doing in the war, besides. There seems to be no safer hands to trust this to, you do seem so very fond of them, I am led to believe you’d be protective of them, too.

Enclosed is something for the personal morale, I hope you’ll think of me nightly with it at hand, in fact, I’m so excited about it I’ve taken this ill advised measure to insure you do. I’d very much like a report, do they live up to your expectations? They’re homegrown, after all, I hadn’t much say in them but now I’ve got them, I don’t see why they shouldn’t do their bit to keep you alive. A small sacrifice.

One of those reasons you mentioned, John, you’ve so many of them, more than you know. A million souls over here rooting you on, insisting you make it out the other side.

I’m forefront among them, I’ll be scanning the crowd when I come to Europe -because I will, at your invitation. Perhaps if you send me a picture of your own mug I won’t be looking a fool asking every man in uniform if I remind them of an acorn. Are you going to tell me what on earth that means? I’ve tried to work it out but I always end up with some mathematical conundrum and I just know in my heart of hearts you wouldn’t let me down like that, would you Major? It’s something awfully salacious, isn’t it? Please let it be!

I’m a vain little thing and I can’t deny the way this poor heart of mine is all pitter pattering at the thought of you being so awful while also so nice. It’s a strange blend, and rather like my coke, I do prefer my men mixed.

Best wishes, may you have cloudless skies and fresh coffee to your heart's content. My sources -and I’ve excellent ones, an upside of working the war bond circuit- tell me you’re airforce. I think that’s remarkable and I hope you give that picture some thought. Mine, and yours.

Your vain little friend,

Julia Jean Turner

P.S.-I’m only ever ‘The Lana Tierney ‘ to strangers, and we aren’t strangers now, are we? not if you’re to take my picture to your bunk. i suspect you may have already taken that liberty. who’s to say I did not take similar liberties upon reading certain stirring passages of your letter? Xx 💋

__insert vintage titty pic__

Whew this week was a doozy wasn’t it? Here’s some fluff for those of y’all who needed it, and I can promise angst soon for those who want to stay in the soul shattering mood. Hope you enjoy. Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, let me hear your screams.

Drop a comment to let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any of my MOTA fics. Xo

Taglist:

@stylespresleyhearted

@ab4eva

@earth-to-lottie

@suraemoon

@blurredcolour

@steph-speaks

@crazymadpassionatelove

@rubyfruitjungle

@taestrwbrry

#masters of the air #masters of the air fanfiction #john egan #John Egan x oc #mota fanfic #bucky egan #dear john

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corrodeheavenn · 2 months ago

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So with Chapter 2 finished I did some calculations on how long it'd take to binge watch DRDT!

To binge the whole prologue would take a little under an hour (exactly 54:41) To binge the whole first chapter would take four hours (exactly 04:11:56) To binge the whole second chapter would take eight hours (exactly 08:03:23)

So to binge the whole main series, not counting any bonus content, it would take thirteen hours (exactly 13:10:00)

(also holy shit, Chapter 2 is nearly double the length of Chapter 1! (thank you drdtdev, you're amazing and we love you! have a good, long break!)

Okay, for bonus content, I won't be including the demo, any trailers, the chapter 1 recap, or any compilations. I plan to update this whenever new content drops, but if it falls into any of the aforementioned, then it'll be skipped/not included in the calculations. As for what I did include, that'd be the two bonus episodes, the fte video, and the three MVs!

I combined the bonus episodes, and they're roughly half an hour (exactly 25:30)

The three MVs together are actually exactly ten minutes long (10:00) assuming you don't rewatch any of them (unlikely)

You don't need me to say so, but the FTE video is about half an hour on its own (27:39)

Putting them all together, you can get through all of them in an hour (01:03:09)

So if you wanted to watch both the main series and bonus content, it would take fourteen hours (14:13:09)

That means you can theoretically binge the whole series in one day if you have the day off! Which is something you can tell your friends as a reason for them to watch the series! You don't even need to sacrifice sleep to do it! (even with the recommended eight hours of sleep you'd have two extra hours to spare, so as long as you sleep for less than ten hours a day you can spend a whole day watching DRDT!)

#danganronpa despair time #drdt #danganronpa

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mansionofhaunts · 2 years ago

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I don’t think you can call what Brennan did in this episode “holding back,” per se, but I do think that you could see him doing math in his head and deciding to move attacks around to keep players on the table for the entire battle, or at least into the second half of it. The first attack going to Siobhan’s bird, other attacks later aiming for NPCs, Cinderella not finishing Pib...obviously he had another route, with him having a miniature for “corrupted Rosamund,” but I suppose it’s up in the air if he’d built that mechanic into this battle because he realized that Siobhan was going to be fully out of four hours of episodes really early into them.

To be clear: this is good DM work. It’s a horror season, but at this point in the narrative, it’s gonna be way less satisfying to have a character just fully die from a crit so early in the final confrontation (in a an actual play, at least), and his solution to bringing her back was arguably more horrific than her dying in the first place.

Anyways, I assume all bets are off in the second half of the finale, and “there are no happy endings coming,” was a very ominous thing to say about a character, so I’m assuming it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows, going forward.

#dimension 20 #neverafter #neverafter spoilers

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bunskiper · 1 month ago

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Oneshot with Satan? Like- Coffee place au but make it a cat cafe?

Hello! sorry for the super long wait on the reply, I hope you are still interesting in this oneshot because it is ready!!

Cat Cafe! Satan x GN reader!! (2132 words)

Four empty Ramen cups were sprawled out on my side table. I was sitting, bed against my back, with a makeshift seat under my ass made up of the two huge pink pillows that came with my room. I was wrapped burrito style in blankets and was finishing off my fifth ramen cup. My eyes were focused on the 13th season of Shark Tank.

“You know what, I’m out.” My mouth drops. No matter how many seasons I watch I never get used to Sharks pulling out after already putting on a good deal.

I have been in this position since twelve when I woke up only moving to microwave more ramen or use the restroom. I was not bored but, I still could have been doing more productive things like working on my Devildom History homework due Monday in class. It was Sunday. As if he could read my mind, and to be honest sometimes I think he can, Satan buzzed my phone.

What are you doing right now?

I stared at the text. I really didn’t want to tell him for three hours I have run through five cups of ramen and countless episodes of Shark Tank. So I replied

Pretty riveting stuff, why what’s up?

A Cat Cafe just opened up in Devildom. They have used books for sale, some desserts, delicious tea, super cute kittens but sadly no good looking people from the human realm. I’d like to change that.

I giggled. I love it when Satan flirts with me. Makes me all giddy. My phone buzzed again.

I’ll help you with your history as well. I know you haven’t finished it yet.

I chewed on my lip and smiled. He’s so sweet to me. Another buzz.

I’ll pay.

Deal, I’ll be ready In 10! Meet you in your room or mine?

Yours. See you in ten.

I would have gone with him even if he didn’t pay. My contempt left the moment I looked down at myself. I have to move. I have to get dressed. Brush my hair and teeth. Ugh I audibly let out. I unwrapped my arms from my closure and brushed crumbs and noodles off me. When I stood, I narrowed my eyes at the pile of Ramen. I’ll save it for later. I walked to my closet and picked out a normal pair of dark blue jeans and a sweater. Despite living in Hell, it does get cold. Today is a little chilly purrfect day for Cafe!

After my normal everyday getting ready routine I stood patiently at my door. Sack bag strapped to my shoulder and a pep in my step. A knock rang and I opened it immediately.

“Hello Satan!” I had such a bright smile on my face.

“Someone’s excited.” He smirked as he linked his arm with mine, complimented my outfit, and led me to the door.

The outside building was made out of a white concrete. It had a brown trim. A black closed door next to two huge windows. There were some dark wood chairs outside and they looked a little uncomfortable. Next to them were two stools.

“We won’t be sitting out here,” He said cheerfully, peeking into the window pointing out all the cats that were sleeping on tables and laps.

“That one right there. Rubbing against the display case. That’s an American shorthair! They date back to the 1600’s and were originally bred to be worker cats keeping mice off ships.”

He wrapped his arm around the lower half of my back. Lightly gliding me forward to check out the window with him. My face went red but I ignored it by pressing my face into the cold glass.

“The one eating the spider plant over on the table there; that’s an Exotic shorthair. They are a cross between a Persion cat and an American short hair. They’re known for being calm and loyal.”

I nodded my head. I always thought it was cute when people were passionate about something. I will always love Satan’s rambles on books, cats, and plans to take down Lucifer. He’s very intelligent and filled with minnie facts and solutions.

He led me into the cafe, arm still wrapped on my waist. He wanted a spot with the most cats. We settled on a corner couch with a large round coffee table that came up to my knees. I took off my satchel bag and removed my text book. Placing it on the table and picking up the menu for drinks.

Cold day.. Hot Chai? Maybe with some cinnamon and a brownie? Or a cookie. Life or death situation right here. WAIT there’s Macaroons.

Satan broke my thoughts by clearing his throat.

“There’s a test Monday, did you know about that?” His light green sweater was covered in fur already. The cats were flocking to him and he was not complaining. As of right now he holds a Calico dormant in his lap. He’s petting it much like a villain.

“What do you mean?” Of course there's a test.

“There’s no clearer way to say. I’m going to assume you haven’t studied yet? That’s alright, we can work on it now.” my face flatlined. I can’t do another history test. I swear it’s every three days we have another. I’m still stuck on last week's 54% even though I studied each night.

“Let’s take it slow from pages 49 to 67.”

“That’s slow to you?”

“Yes. It’s only two chapters. We need six for the quiz. How much have you already read?”

I blinked at him as my answer. Today is when I would read all six chapters, but I’m sure he can assume they aren’t read without me telling him.

“Oh Diavolo,” He placed his head in his cupped hands and sighed loud.

“Okay I’ll go over key points in each chapter starting with chapter 17 to 23. Listen closely because once I explain I will be quizzing you. Ask if you have questions, okay? Now give me a minute and I'll get us drinks. Chai right? I know it’s your favorite. Would you like a desert?” He gently picked the kitty from his lap, gave it a quick kiss on the head, and then placed it to the side. Standing, he stared at me patiently with his eyebrows raised awaiting my answer, brushing the leftover fur off his chest.

“Yes a Chai, and may I also get some macaroons? I don’t care what flavor. Surprise me!”

“Ok, Y/N, One Chai and some macaroons. Start reading while I’m gone.” He smiled, pushed the book closer to me, and headed to the counter to order. I looked to my left and saw the calico he was just petting staring right at me.

“Hey there,” I put out my hand for it to sniff, and it did. It rubbed against my hand and I could hear the purr start. Satan shouldn’t mind if I don’t read to pet a cat. So, I lightly picked it up and placed it on my lap. It meowed on contact, not annoyed, just surprised. I continued to pet it, purposefully not looking at the book, when another cat walked up to my right. A normal black cat started meowing and pawing at me. I took my other hand and started to pet him. A third cat walked up to my legs and started going around and around them in figure eights rubbing his head on me. This cat was white. I stopped petting the calico to pet the white one. The calico started to meow in protest. So, I began to pet the calico again, but then the white one would meow in protest. Just as I was about to give up, a brown cat hopped on the top of the couch and started to meow in my ear. Holy shit I am surrounded. I started to rotate. One pet for the Calico, one for the black cat, one for the white, and one for the brown. It was a nice rhythm and each cat seemed satisfied with it. That was, until a tabby cat came up to my left, meowing and pawing. I sighed but added the cat to the petting cycle.

My arms were getting tired, it was a real workout, and I was secretly praying that another cat wouldn’t waltz up and start meowing. Lucky for me, but still unlucky, Satan came walking back. Carrying a Russian blue.

“I see you’re getting busy,” He said, sitting down and placing the blue in his lap.

“Please help me.” My eyes were begging for him to take just one cat.

“Maybe, if you read instead of distracting yourself, you wouldn’t be in this situation.” He was smirking. Yeah he was right, but he knew he was right, and in his own words was telling me I told you so. This guy I swear.

“I am in an immense amount of pain, Satan. Please just one cat is all I am asking.” I tried to twist my face in a painful way so he could see my sorrow and feel bad for me.

“Dear, just stop petting the cats. They will move on to another person.”

“Oh,” I can not believe I didn’t just stop petting the cats. So I stopped. They meowed a little but eventually just strolled off to the next victim. All but the calico. It stayed on my lap, purring and contempt.

“Oh, Diavolo. That was stressful.” I sighed while I rested my arms to my sides. It felt so good to not move them.

“Let’s bring that stress back.” Satan said, opening the history book.

“No…” I whined.

“Due to your cat parade, I’m sure you did not check out chapter 17. So I will start with that.” He flipped the pages to chapter 17 and I sunk further into the couch.

“Chapter 17 and 18 speaks on the inhabitants of devildom. Some notable inhabitants are Banshees, Aqua Guardians, and Deathjokuls. Banshees are death spirits. When someone is close to death they appear as a shadow crying and screaming. If someone dying sees a Banchee it is too late to save them. Do you have any questions about Banshees?”

“No, I think I understand the concept. What are Aqua Guardians?”

“I was just about to get to that. Aqua Guardians,” Satan was interrupted by a worker

“I’m sorry to barge in on your study date, but we are closing in 10 minutes. The boss is having issues finding cover for the late shift and we are short staffed. In no means am I kicking you guys out, please take your time, but I will ask you to leave soon!” The worker smiled and walked off to tell another group they needed to leave.

I looked over at Satan to see he was already staring at me.

“That’s alright we can finish in your room. Do you mind? We can take the drinks and desserts to go. Maybe you can fit that calico in your sack bag?” I laughed at his joke however deep down I think he was serious.

“That’s fine with me!” We both carefully lifted our lap cats, waking them both up from their slumber.

“I’d take you if I could,” Satan said, placing the Russian Blue down with a sorrowful face. He linked his arm with mine after I put my sachell on with the book in it and we headed back to the house.

When I got to my room door we were both laughing as I explained my cat conundrum.

“And right when I got the rhythm down, another cat joined! So,” I pushed open my door and it hit me. It was still a mess there.

“Um, just a second,” I said, trying to get in without Satan seeing. He scoffed, placed his hand above my head and pressed the door open wider to see in.

“Woah, Y/N. Is this the riveting stuff you were doing?”

I was embarrassed. The room was messy. There was a lot of empty ramen. Blankets everywhere.

“I forgot the position I left it in. I’m so sorry, just give me a moment.”

“No dear, it’s alright. Do not stress. Save that for the homework we’re about to do. Go sit on your bed and I’ll pick your room up.” Satan was too kind to me, but I can’t allow him to do everything for me.

“No, that’s not fair. How about you sit on the bed while I clean up?”

“How about we work together on it?”

“Fine. But! Tomorrow after school we go back to the Cat Cafe but I will pay this time.”

“Deal. Come on now, hun, let’s get started.” He smiled at me and led me into my own room.

Thank you so much again for the suggestion! let me know if you liked it!! Or if you'd like me to add or rewrite :D

#obey me #fanfics #obey me satan #obey me satan x reader #obey me gn!mc #obey me gn!reader #obey me x reader #obey me x you #obey me x y/n #obey me x mc #obey me fluff #obey me satan x you #obey me satan x mc #obey me oneshot

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markantonys · 6 months ago

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a few more bridgerton thoughts! i've always been only a casual enjoyer who watches just for a few hours of fun and doesn't get super invested, but even so, i'm still feeling pretty underwhelmed by this season so far. i watched it in one sitting and enjoyed it while it was happening but just immediately forgot about it as soon as i was done. maybe all the memorable moments are going to be in the second half of the season, but for these first four episodes, i feel like it was all just kinda bland and forgettable (granted, of all the romance tropes in the world, m/f childhood-friends-to-lovers is just about the #1 most boring one to me, so this never would've been my favorite season regardless)

i adore romance and romcoms, always have, and am pretty happy to watch The Classic Marriage Plot play out a thousand times, yet i feel like bridgerton is maybe becoming TOO formulaic and repetitive. although, to be fair, i WAS giggling and kicking my feet during all the Classic Romance Scenes, but the problem was maybe just that there weren't enough of them, which brings me to my second point of too many subplots. too much padding and filler and not enough Classic Romance, which is what i'm here for.

8 hours is way more time than is needed to tell 1 love story, so to fill up the time they invent 17 random subplots that are ultimately pointless and have little relevance outside of the current season. i would way rather a season be only 4 episodes but tightly focused on the main love story, or that a season be about two siblings and two main love stories at a time, than have all this extra time they need to fill up with random unimportant shit. why have we had 3 seasons' worth of storylines about benedict having one-off non-endgame girlfriends that don't have a lasting impact on his character development? what's the point? he's been treading water for so long that i'm not even going to care about him anymore by the time he finally comes into the spotlight, and same with eloise. god, the thought of eloise's season potentially not being until like 2027 is insane. it's past time to start picking up the pace and doing 2 siblings per season!

and the kicker is that all these subplots, which were only invented to fill up the time, end up filling too MUCH time and taking away from the main love story, which is left feeling underbaked. this sort of happened last season, but it's way worse this season. penelope is an excellent character, but her back is breaking from trying to carry the season because colin is kinda giving us nothing due to lack of narrative attention given to him as an individual. he's supposed to be the co-lead, yet i couldn't tell you a single personality trait of his besides "vaguely nice" because he's just had no development and exists more as a prop for penelope to love than as a fleshed-out character in his own right. there was that whole scene where violet was talking about how he's a people pleaser who focuses on making others happy at the expense of his own wants and happiness, and i was just sitting there going "he is?" because i didn't feel i'd ever gotten to know him enough as a person to see this trait in him.

i also think the "dropping a season in 2 halves" model is just about the worst possible release model. if you drop 1 episode a week, that's constant engagement and allows for longer time to digest and appreciate each individual episode. if you drop the whole season at once, it's all over too fast but on the flipside you can experience the entire story at once without risking forgetting things or losing interest while waiting for new episodes. but dropping in two halves a month apart is the worst of both models (over too quickly yet also makes you wait too long to finish the story).

i do like some of the subplots, though. cressida getting to be more than just a mean girl caricature has been a particular highlight, the mondrich family going suddenly from working class to noble is interesting to see, and as a mega-introvert myself (and a music lover!) whose ideal partner would be someone who's happy to sit in silence with me, francesca and john's whole vibe is THE definition of romance to me and has me absolutely swooning (and it's a nice change of pace from all the loud dramatic romances on this show). violet potentially finding new love is also very sweet and i'm rooting hard for her! meanwhile i am not a fan of the featherington subplot; after s1 portraying regency girls' lack of sex education as a serious issue, it feels.........odd for the show to now be playing that very same thing for laughs this season and it just kinda makes me uncomfortable.

but otherwise there isn't much i dislike about the season, it's just kinda "meh" to me so far. the second half might turn things around if it's more memorable!

#bridgerton #bridgerton spoilers #i am not active in the bridgerton fandom at all so i don't want to get into TOO much discourse or anything here haha #just recording my thoughts! and curious if any of my followers have similar ones

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destinygoldenstar · 7 months ago

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Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 2 - Is It Good Or Nah?

So, I'm late to the party, aren't I?

Well I've had so much work that I think I'm having an existential crisis. So I had to wait till I had a free day to watch this season because I wanted to watch it with my GF.

We got to Episode 6, and then what did my boss do?

Slap me in the face with long work hours several days of the week.

I feel like I'm in a spiral of work after work after work with no purpose to life besides failure cause I can't trust myself to be capable at anything-

ANYWAY. We finished it now.

You know what the insane part about the season is? That it got the show trending on Tumblr.

That's an INSANE level of hype right there.

So I seriously had to ask myself "What the actual f**k happened in the show that caused THIS much hype?!"

So... here are my thoughts on the season.

SPOILER WARNING

Okay, so this may be a factor of my judgement, but due to my schedule, I was forced to watch only 6 Episodes one day, and then the last 4 Episodes today. Keep that in mind.

When it came to the first half of the season, was it good?

Yes. Obviously.

Was it living up to the insane level of hype?

Uh... not really for me??

Now, don't take that as a negative. This season is still REALLY good.

After the first season took awhile to get started as it needed to set up its characters and this new world, it makes sense for this season to throw the punches immediately.

The season gets started with its main plot right away with Ras immediately putting his plan into action, and by Episode 2, it's very clear the threat level he opposes and it's believable that we should be intimidated by what he wants.

Even though in Episode 2's fight, while AMAZINGLY choreographed, I was just screaming at the screen "HIT THE PERSON HOLDING THE GONG."

Like seriously, more than one of the characters in this fight can use projectiles with their powers AND they have a blaster in the Bounty, and the show never says that Ras has some sort of armor defense preventing him from getting blasted. He's literally standing out in the open. And the gong is clearly what's giving Cinder power. So HIT THE PERSON WITH THE GONG.

GOSH.

Anyway, that's not important. What's important is that this season's fight choreo is genuinely AMAZING. I am obsessed with the way the camera moves with the characters in these fights you have no idea. I was genuinely blown away by the last episode's fight in particular. But more on the ending later.

What also shocked me was how BRUTAL some of the stuff that happens here is, which caught me off guard.

I mean, Episode 2 has Euphrasia getting ambushed and crashed off the Cloud Kingdom with clear injuries, and Wyldfyre getting her leg SHATTERED. Like, WHAT?! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?!! (Even though the latter's healing was unrealistic. Like, it would realistically take months for an injury like that to heal. Not a critique, just saying.)

Ras body slams Jordanna at one point. He puts Arin in a CHOKEHOLD. And also beats him up so brutally... like OMG this guy does not mess around.

The Fear Cave Trial also REALLY got me tripping. Not only was it such a visually appealing moment, but it also, as the same suggests, showed several character psyches that were insane.

Except Kai for some reason. That's gonna drive me NUTS until I get an answer. WHAT DID HE SEE-?!

Then we get to the dragon mentors, and...

Yeah the season kinda loses me in the middle.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character bits here as much as anyone. But with how dyer they made the threat of Ras before, Ras and his forces take a backseat in the middle portion of the season and we're mostly just sitting at these training grounds talking. And for four episodes of it? It's a little grating, even if it is important.

The middle is mostly where most of my issues with the season stand. And here's where I get all my negatives out of the way:

Like I said, because this season is so long, there's an awkward pause in the conflict on the dragons plotline to learn this Rising Dragon Technique. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't FOUR EPISODES of it.

With the exception of the attack at the Land of Lost Things ONCE, Ras's army doesn't go after the ninja at all. I can kinda get the dragons group since they didn't have Bonzle, but he has to know that they ARE a threat, right? They're obviously trying to figure out how to stop you.

And even with the group that has Bonzle, what they NEED, the forces that go after that group is the Administration and the one off magician man villain, the former really didn't need to be in this season even if it was for a compelling Jay cameo, and the latter has overstayed his welcome at this point and I just rolled my eyes when he showed up on screen.

I'm all for Cole being a badass as much as the next guy, but WHY this magician man, who at this point, is so disconnected with the main antagonistic forces that he serves no purpose?

Why not, I don't know, use this screen time instead to explain what in the world happened with Cole when he left?

Seriously, the first season had this huge cliffhanger with Cole's character and him going after Wu's ghost. I wonder what's gonna happen to him and what he's gonna find out-

Oh. He's just back.

That to me is a huge disappointment. What was the point of him leaving the Lost Family in the first place if this journey was basically nothing? He doesn't even talk about it! COME ON NOW.

Also I think Zane should get slay pass on the Administration guy that called him equipment. What do y'all think?

I don't like Egot. Or whatever his name was. He's very condescending and cryptic and talks down to his only hope of the world being saved. But I think I'm supposed to dislike him for it, and there's gonna be more of his characterization revealed later, so don't take this one as a critique. The female one is great though.

The sorceress lady was... a choice in the narrative. My one critique for the ending was the potion shenanigans. Not because they were bad, but because they just felt so out of place among everything else. Like, "Oh, this finale is too dark and intense! We need to occasionally cut to wacky shenanigans with this sorceress's magic to prevent kids from feeling too much dread!"

I don't know, for me, I would've placed this stuff with the Administration instead, and instead have the group fight Jordanna, lose, and have her get away and flow that to Arin getting to her. Especially since the Administration posed such little threat to them and they even say such.

(I also have a theory that this sorceress is Wyldfyre's birth mom. I have no evidence to back this up besides "They both have red hair and similar facial structure")

With Cloud Kingdom getting taken over and Euphrasia captured, I thought she would have more of a role to play in this since this is, you know, her HOME and she's their guardian.

But nope. She does next to nothing up until the very end and plays prisoner and waits for the ninja to save her.

For gosh sake girl, you're the master of wind. FLY.

And finally, my last critique, Cinder.

Yeah I'm sorry, I'm not buying this character so far. Not that I don't think he'll have anything to do in the second part, but for how threatening he was in Episode 2, that threat level kinda vanishes in the middle and only comes back at the end. He does next to nothing and we learn nothing about him other than "He likes power". Jordanna is probably more unlikeable, but at least she has conflict going on with Ras and her magic, and she still serves more of a role in the plan besides being a foot soldier.

And... yep. That's all my critiques for this season. Which all seem pretty minor.

You know what this season is real good at? Characters.

As though that wasn't obvious already.

I did NOT expect Bonzle to play any major role at all, I thought she was just gonna be the dry and cynical side character. But no. She has a history. She has a life. She has emotions. All of which REALLY shine through at the end when you hear her voice have more range in it. The VA killed it. I ended up feeling so bad for her.

Especially considering what happens to her.

They're also not even hiding it anymore with Geo x Cole. They're just NOT. I love them and I hope we see more of their relationship in the future.

I genuinely don't understand the critique of "Geo is so selfish referring to him as Cole's family when it's obvious Cole has other people in his life."

Well no shit, you ever heard of a character flaw?

But it's also a completely understandable flaw. You guys aren't forgetting the part where Geo was abandoned for being a mixed race, right? Of course he's gonna cling to someone as compassionate and encouraging as Cole.

The Jay cameo was nice. I expect him to play no role in this season, but it's really compelling what they showed and I was satisfied with it.

Lloyd's conflict was handled very well in my opinion.

What's it called when it's PTSD, but it's about future events rather than past events? Foresight Traumatic Stress Disorder? FTSD? Yeah let's go with that.

For a kids show that glosses over trauma, (That's not a Ninjago problem, that's a kids show problem), it was really refreshing for them to not do that for once. It's actually explored and talked about and Lloyd is given advice on how to cope with it, and he freezes up in panic attacks when these visions happen and-THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR NOT IGNORING HOW HARD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS.

Seriously, as someone who is going through stuff like this, minus the magic element, it spoke to me a lot. It really shows that this show grew up with me, and I both love and hate that.

I do think this sort of arc is going to hit hard for adults much more than kids.

Are kids constantly terrified of the future and getting paralyzed with these fears and finding it difficult to cope with the traumas that is time and human life?

No?

Kai is also a standout in this, especially towards the end. This is by far the best Kai has been in a long time in terms of quality. I love how one of his most significant flaws gets addressed here, that being his overreliance on himself and his own abilities over the others, who he feels responsible to protect.

And the way he grasps with that and learns to let loose like he did as a child back in the old days through what he loves the most, that being his family. And the flashbacks with him and his sister. And the whole sequence of him learning Rising Dragon - AUGH ITS SO GOOD.

How poetic is it that the character most devoted to family since childhood is only cocky and angry because of his own desire to be the one with power to keep them safe, gets power by letting that go, being a kid again, and joining the same roots as his own family?

AND THEN HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR THEM-

And finally, Arin.

Oh you poor sweet, sweet child.

First of all, yes, I am completely subscribed to the theory that the show is building up Arin turning on the ninja and becoming a villain. It's all there. It all fits. The amount of times they say how sweet he is as though that's gonna get lost. The dragons, the creators of the world, the gods basically, telling him he's not good enough. Ras confronting him. Sora's stunt even after she's been the most encouraging of him, like the BETRAYAL there. It's all there. And I will be posting my theory scenario on this don't you worry.

BUT, I don't think that's the route they're gonna go. Kids show and all of that. They wouldn't do that to one of their main characters. Unless you're Star Wars. At most I think Arin will be tempted by Ras's master's power in an episode and even do it, but then with the power of love and friendship, it'll get fixed.

So instead I'd rather say that Arin, by far, has the BEST power crisis arc of the entire show so far.

I LOVE that he doesn't get powers. That's something the original show would've done. I LOVE that he doesn't figure anything out in the end and his inner doubts get proven correct. That's something the original show would not have the guts to do.

I liked Arin in the first season, but he didn't interest me too much. Mostly because Sora had the lion share of focus in the first season. Here though? He might just take the crown for THE most relatable character. And I both love and hate it so much.

Like, seeing everyone else succeed in mastery while you can't even figure out your own thing. You get told you have a natural talent and a lot of potential and that you're good at a lot of things, only for that to be put to the test in the real world and you end up letting everyone down. Even when your loved ones encourage you that you are good enough and you're special in your own way, you can't get those voices out of your head and you mess up again and again and again to try and meet the world's expectations. Then those in charge tell you you're not good enough and wasted potential. Then you try everything out in the real world anyway and you FAIL, and those that doubt you and your own insecurities get proven correct as you're left a broken mess of a young child who doesn't know what the hell they're doing-

I'M IN THIS SHOW AND I DON'T LIKE IT.

I probably love Sora more as a character, but I will admit I grasp towards Arin more right now. Sora's a great trans allegory in a world that hates trans people. But I'm not trans so I relate to it a bit less. Arin's a great autistic allegory in a world that doesn't know how to help autistic people. And I am autistic so I relate to it more. That's just a me situation.

I am so invested in where Arin's story goes from here. Evil or not.

So yeah, the season was good, but didn't completely live up to the insane hype, which, to be fair, is a high bar.

UNTIL THE LAST FOUR EPISODES.

And then all of a sudden, I AM SHOCKED AND SHAKEN TO MY CORE.

These last four episodes are an absolute emotional roller coaster that left me shaking and screaming the whole time.

I actually SCREAMED at multiple occasions.

I actually screamed so many times watching this that I am now HOARSE.

THAT'S how hard it hit me.

The story goes from 0 to 100 the moment the Blood Moon shows up. Which was what the whole season was building up to. And it did NOT disappoint.

The race to try and protect Bonzle. The intense visions and paralysis Lloyd suffers from. Ras and the army coming back to the plot to be absolute powerhouses. The last episode of DREAD the entire time to desperately try to stop this ritual.

HUMAN SACRIFICES?! AM I WATCHING A KIDS SHOW RIGHT NOW?!?!

I was begging for Arin to succeed at getting Bonzle to safety, even though I knew he stood no chance against Ras. "Come on Arin! You got this!! YOU GOT THIS, SWEETIE!!"

And then Ras just goes to TOWN on the poor boy and taunts his utter failure, which HURTS SO BAD MAN.

The entire fight with the army, Cinder, and Ras. The destruction of the mechs which knocks them unconscious for a bit. Kai figuring out Rising Dragon again when his family gets put in danger. The way Nya avenges her brother afterwards.

When Bonzle was getting morphed back into spell form, BEGGING, I was begging too.

But they still do it!

And KAI?!?!

I couldn't even process what happened other than me screaming. From the moment Ras alluded to sacrificing Kai against his consent, I was screaming "NO. DON'T DO IT."

AND THEN THEY SACRIFICE HIM.

LIKE HOLY GOSH THIS FINALE DID NOT MESS AROUND.

I predicted a while back, in the first season actually, that Kai was gonna get sacrificed at some point. Who's laughing now? I DID NOT WANT TO BE RIGHT.

Like, usually in Ninjago the character would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. But here? This is without Kai's consent at all. Ras might as well have killed him right here.

It definitely felt that way with the way the others react and BEG for his safety. The way Nya avenges him.

And Kai giving up his shot at escape for the sake of his family? BRO. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

It hurts even more when you realize that when the Merge happened, Lloyd was ALONE thinking only he survived. He only gained hope again because of his reunion with Kai. His beloved surrogate brother!

AND NOW HE'S GONE.

NYA AND LLOYD LOST THEIR BROTHER.

WYLDFYRE LOST HER SURROGATE FATHER.

THEY THINK HE'S BASICALLY DEAD.

BRO. THAT'S SOUL CRUSHING.

And then Sora?! Why you gotta betray Arin like that?!

The most encouraging friend towards Arin, the person who held onto hope and praises for him the most, betrays that hope and doesn't trust him enough to get the winning blow himself. Then LIES about it.

GIRL. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

That's going to be SO compelling once that gets outed. Like, morally, that was messed up and she was definitely in the wrong, BUT it led to the best possible outcome for them at the moment. They WON because she did NOT believe in Arin's abilities. Which only proves that the doubts about Arin's said abilities are correct.

And I have a gut feeling she's gonna learn Spinjitsu on top of that. And once that happens... double ouch.

Again, Evil Arin Theory.

I really hate to say it, but this reminds way too much of Arcane. If you know what I'm talking about.

I am totally imagining a situation similar to that in my head, that being a rescue mission for Kai, they decide to leave Arin out of it because of the lack of faith in him, he tags along anyway and he ruins their plan and Kai stays trapped there, Lloyd and Sora lash out on him for it, and before they can apologize they get thrusted back by something and Ras and Ras's master find Arin and take him in-

Again, I'll make a post about that.

The finale was by far the best part of this season. It has been a long time since Ninjago has made me HOARSE from being too invested.

That has not happened to me since Sons of Garmadon.

Because, yeah, I actually have NO IDEA where any of this is headed. How are they gonna save Kai and Bonzle? Why did some of Lloyd's visions not come true? What in the world is going on with Ras? Will the Administration help with that? Will the source dragons help with that?

What I probably do know is that Part 2 of this season is going to turn this into the best Ninjago Product since Tournament of Elements. Maybe even top it depending on my rewatches if my problems are still problems.

So... yeah. Good or Nah? Good. Obviously.

The hype is a little overblown to me, but it still deserves the hype.

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eldragon-x · 1 year ago

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thinking about the weirdmageddon timeline because I finally need to put it all out in front of me

So, DaMvtF obviously takes place over the span of a day from morning to evening. We learn in this episode that the twins' birthday is on August 31st and one week away, making this episode take place on the 24th.

Weirdmageddon then starts on the evening of the 24th as the sun sets when Mabel hands over the Rift.

With that in mind, it's reasonable to conclude that the first chunk of Weirdmageddon 1, where Ford and Dipper attempt to attack Bill, takes place right after in the evening/night of the 24th as Ford went "we have to stop this immediately",

he and Dipper only briefly escaped into the Shack, brief enough to miss Stan within the same scene who spends most of Weirdmageddon hiding out in it,

and Bill says this once he notices Ford, implying this is still within the same day Weirdmageddon started.

After Dipper and Ford's attempts fail and Ford is kidnapped, we cut to a later point in time clarifying that it's the third day of Weirdmageddon. Including the 24th as day one, it would mean that that bit of the episode now takes place on the 26th.

Now in theory you could say the remaining episode takes place on that same day, but I'm tempted to say that another night passed, maybe while Dipper was hiding out with Wendy, since the start of Weirdmageddon 2 shows that we're four days in now.

So with that I propose that the latter half of Weirdmageddon 1 and the start of Weirdmageddon 2 take place on the 27th.

I'd actually say all of Weirdmageddon 2 as it seems like the whole episode takes place within a day. Plus in the middle of the episode, Bill realizes that he needs Ford's help to break the barrier and at the start of Weird 3 he attempts to negotiate and I don't think he'd wait too long for that.

As for Weird 3 itself, I have seen people think about wether the montage of building the Shacktron alone already takes days, but I always got the impression that it took maybe hours and I'm tempted to say this still takes place on the 27th. However, there is the campfire scene afterwards which confirms that the final battle takes place a day after the Shacktron is finished, putting the last day of Weirdmageddon at August 28th.

Now, Weirdmageddon ending on the 28th would work just fine as we know the twin's bday on the 31st takes place on a later day than Weirdmageddon ending, But here comes Journal 3 with the steel chair:

Not only should August 25th the second day of Weirdmageddon, but Soos finding the Journals in the morning implies this is the morning after Weirdmageddon ended. Which according to this would be the 24th. The same evening Weirdmageddon started.

And you can point out that Bill literally said "time is dead" therefore time just stopped during Weirdmageddon,

but that doesn't take into account the fact that only the town itself was affected by this. Sure you can say that from the town's perspective it lasted five days while no actual time passed, but time outside is still running normally and Weirdmageddon doesn't affect the actual dates.

And with that I'm going to propose that rather than time literally stopping, I'm gonna go ahead and say that time in general got weird because this is the Nightmare Realm we're talking about and what really happened here is that time within the town passed significantly faster than normal. So fast that less than a day of real time felt like a whole evening followed by four days within Weirdmageddon.

There could be something said about how it doesn't make sense for the screenshot above or the scene directly after Weirdmageddon ended to be light as day with blue sky considering the end of damvtf took place during twilight sunset but I can only reach so far and I'll just say it was done for the sake of atmosphere.

#do I put this in the main tag. sure why not.#gf #gravity falls #hopefully there are no mistakes now I had to correct the dates a few times while writing this

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midnight1nk · 6 days ago

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EPISODE CONCEPT #5

What if... WOTFI 2024 had a very different ending?

[more below cut]

For context, this was an idea I saved in my back pocket, based on my early theories of Marty being the villain for WOTFI ‘24. It obviously isn’t what we got at the end, however, this concept is not out of the realm of possibility…

“You asked for this.”

SMG4 placed a protective hand on Mario’s shoulder, glaring at that cardboard cutout for that comment. This is ridiculous; how did Marty went from creating poisonous spaghetti sauce to building a whole CARNIVAL to trap them here? All because Mario left him behind in prison for spaghetti.

An eye for an eye, there was always two sides of the same coin.

Marty, a cutout whose sole purpose was to take over Mario’s Pizza stand, felt underestimated. Under appreciated. What more did he had to approve to show he was friends with his own creator? Four supposed he could share that sentiment but there is a line where revenge can be mistaken for justice.

Mario, known to be an icon for Nintendo and the Avatar of the universe, has the ability to break reality for two consistent things: (1) spaghetti obviously, and (2) his friends. Mario simply couldn’t help going after his favorite thing, didn’t intentionally leave Marty in prison. To betrayal. Whatever happens, the Crew would stand by Mario's side.

This domino effect of misunderstandings has lead up to this, a feud between a creation and its creator. And this has to end.

From on top of the unmoved Ferris Wheel, Marty looked down at them and let out a robotic laugh. They don’t stand a chance. With a puff of smoke, he disappeared. The Crew, who was watching him from below, exchanged glances at each other.

This was WOTFI, they knew the drill, but what were they supposed to do? Marty without a doubt made it impossible for them to escape when they are playing in his territory. A rather flashy territory, that is. The lights, the theatrics, if SMG4 knew anything, this wasn't Marty’s style.

Saiko: “Well, we can’t just stand around and do nothing. Anyone got any ideas?” Bob: “I’d say we start blowing stuff up.” [*SMG3’s eyes lit up with excitement*]

SMG4, Karen, and Mario shared a look. The three knew Karen still had a mission to finish off Marty and this would be her last chance to do so. With the expertise that she has, she could lead the group, have a plan. But SMG4 and Mario don’t want to out Karen to the Crew that she’s a former assassin. Realistically, Karen wouldn’t be the odd one out of their mix-match Crew. For meme’s sake, they have a melon goddess and a goofy Avatar that could bend time and space.

But the men wanted allow Karen to have that choice to tell the Crew or not, giving her a nod. Her secret was safe. She nodded back in gratitude.

Karen: “It’ll be best if we split up and search around the grounds. There might be something that could help us get out of here.” SMG4: “It’s worth a shot. Just to be safe, guys. Grab a buddy and we’ll meet back here in half an hour.”

They all hummed in affirmation or gave a thumbs up, splitting up into different directions. Since Four was the only one left without an available partner, he decided to join Meggy and Mario.

Going through the game stands, Four prayed to the spaghetti gods that nothing was going to pop out of them for a scare. A cheap one, Meggy added.

Marty has shown to be incredibly resilient against attacks. Not even a nuke could leave a scratch.

Meggy upgraded her Splattershott with some of the parts from a water shooting game, now twice the power.

In a Whack-a-Mole game, Mario grabs a couple of hammers for himself and SMG4. They were similar to the ones he and Luigi used in combat in past adventures and Mario being his Avatar, Four could easily learn a few of his tricks.

Four, unlike the other two, was distracted at one of the stands. With a slingshot in hand, he aimed the small rubber balls at the targets. Perhaps it was muscle memory or something, he didn't miss a single one. He sighed in lament, maybe the Crew would’ve enjoyed spending a day at the carnival if they weren’t trapped here against their will. When Four was readjusting his cap, he felt that a bump inside. In the strange pocket dimension that was Four’s cap, he reached in to find one of Three’s bombs. After a second, it clicked for him. Right, SMG3 hid this back when the cafe went through that fake inspection visit. A bomb and a slingshot, an idea came to mind. He stuffed the both of them under his cap, it might come in handy later.

As he turned around to return to the others, something caught his eye. By where the stands end, there’s a couple of small tents set up. He couldn’t tell from any of them what was lurking in the darkness. Except for one.

Four went to clutch his right wrist. Louder and louder and louder, he could feel his heart trying to burst out of his chest. That…

Meggy: “SMG4! Our time is up, we should head back to the others!”

Pulling back from the blur of his mind, he let out the air caught in his throat he unknowingly had. He released his grip, shaking his hand until he could feel it again. Why here? And why now?

He looked back at the tents once last time, his expression numb.

.・*-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-*・.

WOTFI has ended, Marty has been defeated, and Karen completed her mission by delivering the finishing blow. Three’s bomb came in clutch at the right moment when the Crew was backed into a corner and it was thanks to Four’s aim that got them out of it. Naturally, the Crew celebrated and they all went home to rest after such a long day, leaving Four alone in the Castle. After splashing his face with water, Four gripped the edges of the sink. Whatever made his mind spiral is twisting his stomach. He felt sick but he swallowed it back down. No, it was already too much as it is.

This is what you asked for.

He was never exactly a fan of his reflection. At times, it showed how tired he looked. In others, it became its own person, taunting him. Just as it was doing now. After some thought, he dared to face at the bathroom mirror and his determination looked right back at him.

Karen wasn’t the only one who needed to finish a job.

He dried his face. Grabbing a hoodie, a flashlight, and a cap loaded with his combat tools, he left the Showgrounds without anyone noticing. He made sure no one followed.

.・*-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-*・.

The carnival was mostly destroyed due to their winning battle against Marty, left abandoned. Not even the Ferris Wheel was lit up, its presence only noticed by the shadow against the sky. Retracing his steps, Four let his light guide him through the grounds. The rustle of branches and dirt from under his boots was the only noise that broke through the silence. Despite being here just a few hours ago, it felt like the first time.

Things were never truly the same in the dark.

Long at last, he arrived at the tents that were miraculously still intact. He stopped at the entrance of one in particular. Right above was a simple sign, a metallic ribbon with five golden stars. He took a breath and turned off his light. Marching through the curtain and into the dark, he waited.

“I got to hand it to you: you do know how to keep an audience waiting in suspense.” SMG4, scoffed: “Mr Puzzles.”

Mr Puzzles snapped his fingers and the flame on the candles magically sparked to life, lighting as much as it possibly could for Four to take in. The TV man sat across from where Four was standing, a table being the only barrier between them. The candles, the hanging beads. The typical crystal ball. Four rolled his eyes, how fitting. It seems that Puzzles has read his mind, based on the grin he has now.

Mr Puzzles: “Here for a fortune…? SMG4, interrupting him: “Cut the bullshit. Don’t think I haven’t figured it out that you were the one helping Marty.”

Puzzles, unfazed by Four, merely shrugged.

Mr Puzzles: “Well, he did lack creative vision.” SMG4, a dark aura settling upon him: “How’s this for an idea, you son of a glitch: if you EVER put my friends in harm’s way again, I’ll make sure to TEAR every. Single. Damn wire off of you.” [*eyes narrowing*] “Starting with your throat.”

It took all of Four’s willpower to hold himself back from throwing the nearby chair at Mr Puzzles’ face. His eyes flashed a dim magenta. Puzzles looked up and down at him with an expression that Four couldn’t decipher. Tired? Unimpressed? Pulling out a deck of cards, Puzzles focused his attention in shuffling them.

Mr Puzzles, monotone: “My my, and what will your audience think of your attitude?”

Four steeled his expression, not caring for this "distraction". His hand was on standby, ready to pull out the hammer Mario gave him earlier or a Meme Poké ball from his cap.

Mr Puzzles: ”We're entertainers, SMG4. It's our desire to make the audience happy, no matter the cost.” [*flipping each card in between his fingers*] “And you would know better than anyone that sacrifices are bound to happen.” SMG4: “My friends aren’t for your amusement!” Mr Puzzles: “As if you aren’t doing the same thing.” SMG4: “Getting them in random situations is one thing but I’m not the one using them as puppets.” [*shakes his head*] “So, no, I don’t know whatever the hell you mean.” Mr Puzzles, looks up at Four with an amused grin: “You chose to sacrifice the USB to save SMG3.”

Four blinked. A wave of unease passed over him, just for the fact alone of Three’s name coming out of his mouth…

One of the strings that held him back snapped. He could feel his right eye slightly twitch, pinch a bit of the velvet tablecloth.

Mr Puzzles, mutters curiously: “Hmm. A bit of a touchy subject, huh?” SMG4, forcing himself to recover: “Alright, spit it out already. What do you want from me? Otherwise, I’ll start counting down until sunrise for you to leave the Mushroom Kingdom for good.” Mr Puzzles: “I’m not the one sneaking off in the middle of the night into a fortune teller’s tent, SMG4. Well, since you insist…” [*holds up a card of sunflower being stabbed by a sword, it’s petals swiped with blood*] “Curious to see your fortune?” SMG4: “If this is one of your Puzzlevision tricks—” Mr Puzzles: [*puts the card back in the deck*] “A parlor trick, nothing more. If you let me read your future, then I'll give you what you want.”

Mr Puzzles’ hand gestures to the empty chair. An offer. A risky one at that, Four hesitated. He scanned Puzzles’ face for a sign, anything that would reassure him that this couldn’t be trusted.

…Nothing.

Of course, he could simply leave. But that would also risk Puzzles’ getting away again. Another plan to destroy his friends. He would need to keep an eye on him.

Four pursed his lips into a thin line and took a seat. Slouching against its back, he crossed his arms with the attitude of a moody teenager. Puzzles started shuffling the deck once more.

Mr Puzzles: “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, SMG4. The cards will be doing the talking, not me. They will be the ones that will see your past, present, and future.”

Puzzles played the cards in every way he could with pizzazz, his limbs moving in complex motion. A peculiar dance of sorts. Despite it all, Four didn’t appreciate him showing off. What are you up to, Mr Puzzles?

Mr Puzzles: [*spread the deck into a fan within his hand*] “Just pick three. Let them see through your heart and soul.”

Four did what he was told, leaving the cards he picked on the table. With a twist of his wrist, Puzzles made the rest of the deck disappear. The TV man picked up the first card, showing an image of Four’s USB.

Mr Puzzles: “Now you, young Meme Guardian, were the original glitch, affecting time and space to the universe. Reality was rewritten by your presence.”

Somehow, with a flip or the swipe of the card, Puzzles created a colored moving scene. Where once was a picture, it has changed. What once had a back was no more. It wasn’t any pictures either, they were in a gentle watercolor. Almost as if they were a peek at Four’s memories.

“You were fulfilled with the adventures you went through, the friends you gathered along the way.”

As Four sees, there was now an old picture of the Crew…

“Even having a rival gave you a thrill.”

…SMG4 and SMG3 in their classic models, looking at the other with hostility. Ready to go after each other’s throats…

“Back then, you couldn’t ask for anything more. After all, you had a dream… To make everyone happy.”

On the final swipe, it showed Four’s former self, looking over his shoulder with a smile. Ever so happy he was, editing a video in Peach's castle.

Four rolled his eyes. What does he know about his past? Nothing, that’s what. But he couldn’t deny it, it really was his dream. Nor was it something he tried to hide. Puzzles flip the second card, a picture of people crowding over a cowering Four. Their faces were replaced with large eyes.

Mr Puzzles: “However, it came to a cost. To them, it was never enough. You could never forget all of the things they have said to you, the unimaginable. What is the point of art if it can not survive beyond its creator? What is love if not sacrifice?”

A bittersweet series of portraits came raining down, one on top of the other….

Desti.

Axol.

Terrence.

SMG0.

And…

“Your sacrifice.”

Unlike the other cards, Four’s portrait was in carbon charcoal, his sketchy face staring back at with immense paranoia and horror. Possessed. The only color it had was the pink highlighting his scars and eyes.

“You were lost in your own potential, this addicting high… and you were saved by that man you called your rival.”

With a swipe, Puzzles revealed the next picture: a smiling Three, appearing almost angelic with the light shined behind him, gently holding a broken Four into an embrace. Watercolor and charcoal, blended together like it was meant to be.

Four’s gaze soften. He could never forget the ‘perfect’ incident. Endangering his friends, leaving Peach to a horrible fate. Ruining everything. All because he was selfish. And indeed, SMG3 saved him, in every way he can be saved. If only Four could do the same.

…Focus, Four. He’s just trying to get into your head.

“No matter how much you apologized, it was never enough.”

The picture changed to a white silhouette of Four against a dark background. Floating vertically right above his head were a series of glowing white lines. As if….

“Your burdens became your crown. As heavy as it was on your head, you remind yourself: ‘at the worst of times is when you put your biggest smile’. But you wonder how long will it take your friends, your audience, to see through your lies.”

With swipe, it changed to Four smiling at the viewer. An empty smile but a smile nonetheless. Four reached for his right arm, once again by instinct. His body tensed. Was I too obvious? How did he…? Puzzles paid no mind, picking up the last card and stand behind Four.

Mr Puzzles: “But don’t fret, SMG4, for your future I see: Your efforts won’t be for nothing…”

He presents the card over Four’s shoulder for him to see. The final picture: Four standing proudly on a pedestal, a light shining behind him.

“…for you to become the man you always wanted to be.”

Four slowly takes the card from his hand, allowing Mr Puzzles to sit back where he was. Puzzles crossed his legs, steepling his fingers in anticipation. One might wonder what is going on in Four’s head.

The truth is, Four didn’t know himself. His mind was clouded, spiraling in thought. And yet it also went empty. He’s fine but he felt like he was going to puke. Empowered by emotion but numb. Everything and nothing.

Awaken.

He tosses the card onto the table with a huff.

SMG4, tempting to hide his unease: “There. You read my future.”

Four gets up from the chair and starts to head out. He needed to get out. When he reaches for the curtain with his right hand, he looks back one last time to see Puzzles’ nonchalant smile.

SMG4: “Now, do your end of the deal. You’re lucky you get a head start.” [*turns back around*] Mr Puzzles, hums: [*nodding*] “Why, yes. I believe I should give you exactly what you want.”

Just as SMG4 was about to leave, a sudden pain coursed through his fingers. Four let out blood-curdling screams, dropping to his knees and onto the floor. This agonizing sensation crawled up to his arm, he felt as though he was being boiled alive. Out of desperation, he took off his glove and rolled up his blue sleeve.

The secret that he kept under his clothes, they glowed pink. No one knew of the scars he’s gotten from the incident.

SMG4, gritting his teeth: “How did… What did you do to me?” Mr Puzzles, unfazed: [*stands up from his chair, picking up a prepared suitcase*] “How naive. Did you really think I wouldn’t have a plan in the event that Marty failed to destroy your stupid friends?”

Four felt sick to his stomach and threw up what was clogging his lungs. To his horror, what he saw, was another secret. One he tried flushing away so many times before.

The black goo.

Its consistency was thick as slime, and it was as dark as ink. Just as how he remembered. Puking his insides out in the toilet, hiding the worst parts from his friends.

Only this time, it had eyes, all sketchy and glowing. And they looked back at him.

Mr Puzzles: “I needed a failsafe, and what better option than my fellow showman?” [*winks*] “Don’t forget: you and I, we’re entertainers. The audience demands for more, SMG4.”

From the shadows of the candlelight, the red eldritch creature emerged, its appearance quite familiar for the two men as it was the same one that consumed the old castle and corrupted Peach. To Four’s surprise, a tentacle reached for Mr Puzzles and he responded back with a friendly pat. As if it was a pet.

The pink veins have reached to Four’s neck, his cries being caught in the burning sensation.

Mr Puzzles: “We made sacrifices to keep them happy.” [*walks towards Four*] “Memory and body were the cost I had to pay to be eternal alongside my creation. I understand this must be painful and death may be a mercy, but what good will that do?” [*stops before Four and knees down to meet the other’s eyes*]

Four rolled himself over from his back, his forearms trying to hold him up.

SMG4, his voice cracking: “B-but it’s impossible! The keyboard is gone, along with Peach’s castle!” Mr Puzzles: “Oh, SMG4.” [*his face changed to red with realistic eyes and grin*] “It never left. What other explanation is there when you need a second more of speed, a hand of strength, or your good aim?”

Puzzles reached for the black goo but it squirmed away, hissing.

Mr Puzzles: “Though, I never understood why my own creation hated me, and chose you as its host. Not that it’s my problem anymore.”

Puzzles stands up, swiping away the inexistent dust off of his clothes, before heading towards the exit with his suitcase. The red creature slithered inbetween the wires of his body.

SMG4, wincing: "You... liar..." Mr Puzzles: “I haven’t told a single lie. I gave you your future and I’m giving you what you wanted: a chance to become the man you always wanted to be. You had unimaginable power right between your fingers and you foolishly gave it all up for him. Hmm. I suppose, if I put it that way, I can see why he did the same for you."

Four’s body begged for the end of its pain, his limbs twisting and turning in all the wrong ways. He could hear the sound of cracking from his bones. His clogged-up lungs searched for air as the veins spread across his eyes. The goo he puked was immediately attracted by the vulnerability of its host.

Four’s eyes fully turned magenta.

Mr Puzzles: “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll leave the Mushroom Kingdom. Whatever you end up doing to your friends, it's their blood in your hands.” [*his voice glitches*] “Now, may I remind you: I get a head start.”

Puzzles leaves the tent with a wicked laugh, a gust of wind from his exit blows the candles out.

SMG4: “Puzzles…. When I get….”

Four could feel the goo slithering up his severe wounds. It whispered, dozens of voices merged together into a mess of words. He tried everything to get this thing off of him but it only made the goo consume more of his body.

The host must survive.

Suddenly, hallucinations of the Crew appeared. He tried to reach out, pleading to be saved. Their vacant smiles were the only response. One by one, they faded away as the goo dripped from his mouth and the corners of his eyes.

Meggy... Mario...

…Three.

I never wanted this!

But this is what you asked for. P̶͖͙͕͓̒͘é̴̖̔r̶̼̱̰̼̰̂͐͒͘f̶̞̐͗́̓̄͜e̴̬̮̜͕̻̐̈̋͑̈́c̴̢̛̅̂t̸̢͓̩̹͒͠i̷̲͈̪̱͐͋̔͝o̷͈̎̃͗̚n̸̘͌͆͐.̸̡̣̋̌

#smg4 #:)#smg4 mario #smg4 marty #smg4 meggy #smg4 bob #smg4 karen #smg4 smg3 #smg34 #< implied #ink episode concepts #👁️

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winter-leftovers · 1 year ago

Text

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter fourteen: How To Steal A Bridge (14/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Y/n, Claire and Toby steal Killahead bridge. Al and Y/n have a little fight

Word count: 2358

Warnings: no need

(Season 2 Episodes 1, 2, 3)

Song?: He ain’t heavy he’s my brother by The Hollies

Previous - Next

Masterlist

Y/n was at the grocery store when she got Toby’s call. The boy sounded desperate, he pleaded her to come to trollmarket, fast, something had happened with Jim.

She dropped her groceries to the ground and ran to TrollMarket, forgetting all her responsibilities like the apples on the floor.

“Where is he?” Y/n jumped over the small stairs in Blinky’s library “Where’s…Jim?” She panted.

“He was right there” Toby caressed the amulet, he looked defeated.

“Why is the amulet here?” She walked to Toby. Next to him stood Claire cradling a baby.

Tears pooled in Y/n eyes “Who…is that baby?”

“Jim…He got him back. He kept his promise” Claire gave her a half smile. They didn’t have to explain, they knew the sacrifice Jim had made.

Y/n’s bag fell to the ground, she shook her head. It couldn’t be. No. Not her little brother.

“Has…has the amulet called for anyone?” She whispered, afraid of the answer.

Toby shook his head.

“So, he’s alive”

“They destroyed the bridge. This is my fault. I could’ve done more” Blinky was turned to an Aaarrrgghh made of stone.

“We can do more! There has to be a way” Toby slammed the amulet on the table “There has to be something we haven’t thought of” Toby scratched his head “You said it yourself. As long as the amulet doesn't call to anybody else, we know he's okay”

A strong blue light started to pour from the amulet, lifting itself from the table.

“James Lake” called.

Y/n got close to observe the amulet, but before she could get to the table, the amulet went flying to Aaarrrgghh and started to speak in trollish.

The four of them surrounded the bigger troll.

“I don't understand. It's not making any sense” complained Blinky.

“What’s it saying?” Asked Claire.

“‘The troll is the key, the key to the hunter’ Over and over. It must be a glitch”

“Is it broken?” Asked Claire

Toby got closer to the amulet “No. They’re helping us!”

“Who?” Asked Y/n.

“The voices in the amulet. The ghost council” Toby turned to her.

“Well, what are they trying to say?” Asked Claire.

“Aaarrrgghh is the key?” Y/n tilted her head.

“But that's impossible, he's...” Blinky was unable to finish the sentence.

“...gonna get us Jim back! Did you hear that? If we save Arrrgh, we save Jim!” Toby jumped.

“I don’t believe it” Claire smiled.

Y/n laughed and hugged her. She didn’t have any other option but to believe. She couldn’t lose her brother. She would hang on to any hope the world would throw at her no matter how small.

“Now, that is some glitch!” Blinky screamed and joined Toby's celebration.

—

“Still no sign of Jim?” Asked Claire.

“Nothing but barren Darklands. And I'm running out of nougat nummies” Complained Toby as he threw a new nougat nummie through the small portal.

Y/n, Claire and Toby were looking for a place deep into the forest to hide the Killahead bridge from the troll council.

A couple hours before, the teens went by the store with the news that the council had signed Jim's death sentence by getting rid of the bridge in a dark and far away place where no one could find it against the complaints of the trollhunters, and a plan. Claire had sent Not-Enrique to hide with the pieces of the bridge so she could have an anchor to make a portal and steal the bridge back.

“You think this is secluded enough?” Y/n moved her flashlight around seeing only trees and darkness.

“For a magic bridge? This far out, we could hide a few dead bodies” Toby joked.

“Okay, let’s do this quick” Claire took out the shadow staff.

Y/n sighed. After seeing it so many times, she had learned to handle the strange grief that would bring her seeing the staff.

“Making portals is exhausting, and I don't know how many I've got in me” with a quick move Claire made a portal.

“Wow! You're turning pro with that magic shadow stick” Toby complimented.

“Well, it's powered by emotions. Getting the guy I like out of the Darklands? Plenty of emotions” Claire took a couple steps but stopped when she realized Toby was following her “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? Helping” he lifted his shoulders.

“I have no idea where we are. I need you here, to be my emotional anchor”

“But what am I supposed to do?”

“Get ready to catch” Y/n smiled and jumped through the portal.

On the other side, she hit herself on the chest with a box. The place was dark and narrow. The only source of light were the flashlights they had brought.

Out of the corner of her eye, Claire saw a box starting to move. She looked at Y/n in panic. Y/n stood in front of Claire and the box quickly opened.

“Took you long enough” Not-Enrique jumped out of the box

“What are you doing in there?” Claire relaxed.

“I…uh, Suzy's a little scared of the dark. And, with all the freaky noises, this place is giving her the heebie-jeebies” Not-Enrique lifted his stuffed bunny.

The girls chuckled.

“All right, come on” Claire put her flashlight on top of a box and Y/n did the same “Where are we?”

“All I could make out was someone saying "starboard" or "captain." We could be on a spaceship, for all I know” Not-Enrique explained as he helped the girls push a box through the portal.

A siren made the three of them stop.

“Yeah, yeah, the paperwork says dump it here” said a man.

“Dump it"?” Y/n looked at Claire with her brows furrowed “We're on a cargo ship! They're dumping us into the ocean!”

The movement of the container made the three of them fall to the ground.

“The ocean?! But I-- But Suzy can't swim!” Screamed Not-Enrique.

“Hold on!” Screamed back Claire.

“You never said nothing about no water! I knew this idea was lousy!” NotEnrique folded his arms.

“Let’s just stick with the plan and let's get the pieces out of here before it's too late” Said Y/n. If she let the changeling keep complaining he would drive Claire crazy.

“The metal can't hold for long! The water's going to pour in at any minute! Hurry!” Claire screamed.

The tree of them tried to take the piece out as fast as they could but the movement of the water wasn’t helping. Claire was losing strength from the amount of portals she had to make.

“Oh, no! The portal” screamed NotEnrique as the portal disappeared.

‘You’re a wizard. Use your magic’ the voice of her sister came back to her.

“I think I have an idea” Y/n shook her hands “Claire, can you open one more portal?”

“I can't. It won't work. I got nothing left” Claire’s arms could barely hold the now white staff.

“Right. I knew you'd get us killed!” Said NotEnrique.

“What?” Claire and Y/n screamed at the same time.

“You wanna know the truth? Fine. About to die, anyway. I decided to stick around 'cause you're a pushover. I can do whatever I want, and you're too weak to stop me!”

“Excuse me? How dare you!” The shadow staff was turning black again.

Y/n smiled. They really were siblings.

“I use your toothbrush to clean me ears. I steal cash from your purse. And you know your lucky Papa Skull jacket? I like to call that my snot rag! Hilarious!” NotEnrique continued.

“Ugh, why, you... you...” Claire realized NotEnrique was trying to help her “you baby genius!”

“Yeah, I know. Now, come on! We've just got a few more!”

Claire opened a new portal.

“Okay. Move” Y/n lifted her arms and focused her eyes on the portal.

“Woah” said Claire and NotEnrique.

Suddenly, the boxes were illuminated one by one by red light. They lifted themselves from the ground and flew through the portal.

“Wait a minute. You didn't really do that stuff, right?” Claire turned to NotEnrique.

“Uh, don't use your toothbrush” he answered “Whoa!”

The pressure started to wear out the container making the water start to pour in. Y/n tried to throw the last box through the portal but the shock made Claire close it.

“C’mon” Y/n complained to herself as she lowered her hands.

The three jumped on top of the last box that didn’t make it through the portal.

“We're never gonna get 'em all! Time to bail out of this death trap!” Screamed NotEnrique.

“No! We lose the bridge, we lose Jim. We need this last crate” Y/n screamed back.

The water started to rise up. Soon the box where they were standing wouldn’t be useful anymore.

“Come on, kid. Last pice!” Cheered NotEnrique

“Oh, I can’t! I’m exhausted!” Cried Claire.

“Yes, you can! You have to!”

“It’s not charging! Ugh! I can't get it to work.”

“Claire, look at me!” Screamed Y/n. Claire was panicking, she couldn’t look at her in the eyes “Take a deep breath. Come on”

The three of them took a deep breath together.

“Anger isn’t the only fuel to magic. You must find a stronger emotion and use it” Y/n looked down. The water was almost at their necks.

“I can do this. I can do this” Claire said to herself.

“Yes! You can!” Y/n looked at her hands “Make the portal and I’ll guide us through it”

They took a last deep breath and they submerged.

Claire tried and tried to open a portal but she couldn’t. Her body was exhausted. She felt her arms loosen up and started to sway to the current but then, she saw among all the darkness NotEnrique lose consciousness and Y/n grabbing him. That’s when she did it.

Suddenly, Y/n felt like she was falling. She looked down and saw a familiar darkness, a portal. Y/n smiled. Claire did it. She closed her eyes and protected NotEnrique from the fall.

When Y/n opened her eyes, they were back in the woods. She turned to her side to give the changeling space to breathe.

“Hey?” She whispered.

“NotEnrique?” Claire crawled to him “Ah! Toby, Y/n he’s not breathing!” Claire scream.

“Oh no! NotEnrique” Toby ran to him.

Y/n sat up and saw Toby giving NotEnrique CPR.

Quickly, the changeling regained conscious.

“Ah, thank you, Ms Janet” Toby lay down.

“I told you I can’t swim” NotEnrique complained

“Claire! You got all the pieces! We did it! We stole an entire freaking bridge!” Toby threw himself at Y/n making her laugh.

“Yeah. Don't let Jim ever say we never did anything for him” Claire panted.

“Thank you. You did good back there, kid. What emotion did you use to get us out of that tin can?” NotEnrique panted.

“Fear. I was afraid... I lost you”

Y/n felt a tear fall down and quickly wiped. She understood.

“I'm the king of the ocean” Steve mumbled.

“What are we gonna do about him?” Asked Claire.

—

The sun had long set in Arcadia. Y/n sat at her desk, her eyes glued to the old book Douxie had borrowed her, but her mind was unable to follow the stories, it had drifted somewhere else. Her sister.

Who was she? Did she have a sister? Was she real or just an invention of her mind to keep her sane in the last couple of months?

“I don’t think that’s good for the water” Al stretched his front paws.

“Huh?” Y/n look away from the book and realized she had been changing the state of the water “Oh. I didn’t realize” she stopped her hand from moving.

“Is the book any good?” He jumped to the desk, almost dropping the glass of ice.

“Uhm…I don’t know” she mumbled.

Alfred twisted his head to the side.

“I’ve been thinking” Y/n closed the book.

“Oh” Al sat down and looked at her.

“Do you…” she took a deep breath “Did I…have a sister? You know…Back in my old life”

Alfred's jaw fell open, his pupils shrank in surprise.

“Al?”

The cat shook his head “Why…Why you ask?”

“I’ve been…seeing”

“Seeing?!” He stood up.

“Well, yeah…when…”

Al stood with his front pawn on her shoulders “You been seeing Mor…” he jumped back to the floor and lay down “Oh lord. This isn’t good”

“Al, you’re scaring me” Y/n kneeled down next to him.

“You’re not supposed to see her. Maybe dream of her BUT SEE? No no” he lifted his front paws.

“What?”

“Where did you see her?” He stood up on his back legs “What’s she planning?”

“Planning?! What are you?! What?!” Y/n sat on the floor and grabbed her head “I’m just having visions of this woman that calls me sister”

“Visions? Oh…that’s good then…” he jumped onto the bed and lay down with her back to her.

“What do you mean ‘that’s good then’ “she stood up “Explain and don’t you dare say I can’t” she point a finger to him

“But I can’t” he turned.

“This is getting old” Y/n stood up and grabbed her bag.

“Where are you going?”

“To fix my problem once and for all” she closed the door behind her.

—

Blinky’s library was deserted, not even Aaarrrgghh statue was there. Y/n looked at her phone to see if she had missed an update from Toby but no new messages appeared.

Y/n looked at Blinky’s books, one of them had to have at least a clue about her sister, about her old life. This time she was going to follow her sister's advice from the start, she was going to use her magic. She closed her eyes, stretched her arm and with a deep breath she called for the right book to come to her. A big gray book flew to her hand. Y/n smiled, satisfied with herself. She opened the book and the title caught her attention: The Pale Lady.

A/N: Season two is here!!!

#tales of arcadia #douxie x reader #douxie #toa #trollhunters #hisirdoux casperan #hisirdoux x reader #my writing #Til The End Of Eternity

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sam-loves-seb · 2 years ago

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the fruity four but make it hollywood au (3/x)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

so, nancy moves into steve's old room and completely rearranges the furniture--much to robin's dismay--and paints the walls a different color. she doesn't touch the rest of the apartment, save for putting her shampoo in the shower and her toothbrush in the same holder as robin's.

they don't talk much. at first, they don't even really talk at all. but one night, after nancy comes home half an hour into a date with a takeout box filled with pizza, robin emerges from her bedroom and tentatively asks what happened.

"He didn't really want to know me," nancy shrugs, handing robin a slice. "He just wanted to be my date to my movie premiere next month."

"He said that?"

"He didn't have to."

robin rolls her eys. "Guys suck."

nancy taps her pizza against robin's, like a toast. "Guys suck."

and thus, a friendship was born, over battered hearts and cold pizza. they start talking more, start getting to know each other over late night dinners and early morning call times. they talk, and they laugh, and they have fun in their big apartment just the two of them.

robin thinks it's nice to have another friend, a female friend, a friend who is a girl, and definitely not a girlfriend. just a friend. just--friendly.

until one weekend when nancy's little brother (her real brother, mike, not her on-screen-brother, dustin, who she's still close with today after growing up together on the same show) and little sister fly in to LA to visit some family and they end up staying at nancy and robin's place place. robin doesn't mind, especially with how big nancy smiles when she brings them home from the airport, and mike and holly seem like good kids.

it's all fine until that night, when nancy puts mike in the guest room and holly in her room, that robin starts to feel the vibe shift.

nancy grabs a spare pillow and blanket from the closet and lays them down on their couch, but robin stops her, tells her they can share her bed. tells her no one should have to sleep on the couch.

(even if it is an expensive, ultra comfy couch that both of them fall asleep on regularly. though this point does not get brought up when nancy follows robin to her bedroom wordlessly.)

they stay up for maybe an hour, talking about everything and nothing and staring at the ceiling while they giggle. the clock reads 1am before robin's eyes start to close on their own, and nancy falls asleep in the middle of her sentence.

robin watches her for a while, noting the rise and fall of her chest, the slope of her nose, the way her eyelashes twitch just slightly in her sleep. robin falls asleep watching nancy breathe.

in the morning, when she wakes up and finds the other half of the bed empty, with nancy and holly already up and in the kitchen, robin feels a pang of sadness running through her chest.

then panic.

she shoves those feelings way down deep and blames it on the wine they had with dinner (they had one glass each) and the late hour (they've been on sets later than that) and the whirlwind of a night (they ate pasta and watched a movie with nancy's siblings).

things go back to normal--mostly--and robin and nancy's budding friendship continues to bloom as the weeks go on. nancy finishes shooting a movie--her return to mainstream american media--and robin lands a new contract--a twenty episode horror series that reads good enough to go for two or three seasons, at least--and things are good. great, even.

so why is it that robin feels an overwhelming amount of joy when nancy asks her to do her makeup for her red carpet premiere? like, a truly staggering amount of happiness from something she usually gets paid to do. she doesn't think about it too hard.

"Nancy are you ready yet?" steve yells as he walks into their apartment, his hair perfectly floppy and his tux neatly pressed.

"Almost!" nancy yells back from the bathroom, where robin is putting the finishing touches on her mascara.

nancy's agent told her she needed to find a date for the red carpet, and rather than trying to find someone new to accompany her, nancy asked steve if he'd go with her as friends. her agent was more than happy with that--television's princess showing up on the arm of hollywood's latest heartthrob, hello--and steve agreed, roping nancy into doing the same thing with his movie premiere next month.

(steve and eddie have been living together for three months now, and the tabloids still haven't caught on. once a week their names pop up in an 'unlikely friends' article or an instagram series of hollywood's closest 'bros', whatever the fuck that means. steve and eddie are fine with that for now, keeping their privacy for as long as they can even if half of all sets and stages in hollywood know their a couple by now.)

"Perfect," robin tells her, capping the mascara and setting it to the side with an almost sad smile. she tries to make it meet her eyes

nancy thanks her profusely, even stopping to give her a long, lingering hug--which is unprecedented, for fear of wrinkling her gown, but nancy doesn't seem to care--before grabbing her jacket and meeting steve by the door.

steve kisses robin on the cheek, tells her that eddie's coming over after rehearsal and he's bringing booze. robin makes him promise to bring Chinese food--and nancy--back by midnight. steve laughs, but he says okay.

so, that's how robin ends up on her couch, watching the live stream of the red carpet on her tv, passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth with eddie. they drink every time they see steve, or nancy, or steve and nancy, with his hand on her hip and her head on his shoulder.

it's all fake, robin knows it's all fake. well, the romantic undertones are, at least, she knows nancy and steve love each other the way robin loves eddie, or the way robin loves steve--platonic, with a capital P.

so why does it still hurt to watch them walk into the theater hand in hand?

"It sucks," eddie says unprompted, practically reading her mind. "it's not... It doesn't ever really get easier, watching him like that with someone else. Even if it isn't real."

robin swallows thickly, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. "How can you stand it?"

"I don't," eddie tells her, a little bit drunk. he takes another sip of the whiskey. "I just wait for him to come home, wait for him to hold me through the night. He'll tell me that he's mine and no one else's--and I believe him. Every time."

robin falls sideways on the couch, letting her head drop on to eddie's shoulder. he pats her knee in an unspoken understanding.

they stare at the tv until the live stream fades to black, and then for a little while after. they're well and truly drunk by the time steve and nancy get back with Chinese food, and robin goes to bed without taking a single bite.

nancy brings her coffee in bed the next morning, and robin wishes she was just a little less perfect. maybe then, this would be easier.

~~~

("Nancy, you gotta tell her."

"Eddie. No."

"Nancy--"

"Shhh," she shushes him over the fried rice. "She'll hear you."

"She's asleep!"

"I'm with Eddie on this one," steve says around a mouthful of food.

"Stay out of this," nancy tells him, pointing a chopstick at his face.

"Nance," eddie brings his hands together quietly. "I'm like, ninety-five percent sure she feels the same way."

nancy shakes her head at her food, not looking at either of the boys. "I--I can't. I can't risk it, she's..." she laughs sadly at the realization that just dawned on her. "She's my best friend."

steve and eddie share a look over the kung pao chicken, but neither of them says another word.)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | ko-fi

#...anyways #ronance #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #fruity four hollywood au #fruity four #hollywood au #my ronance posts #ronance fanfic #steddie fanfic #steddie au #ronance au

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artsekey · 1 year ago

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I'm not super into Lackadaisy, but I am super into animation, and...

How are they planning to finance an entire season with just 1,000,000?

(Everything below assumes that they're aiming for episodes that are comparable to the pilot & that they plan on fully financing the season with solely the donations on Backerkit. It's likely they have additional financing through merchandising, the pilot, and/or Iron Circus's other projects, but since that information is not available, I'll go off of what I know. Additionally, production management and budgeting are extremely project dependent, so the "averages" listed below may be far off what the PM on Lackadaisy's got quoted.)

[EDIT: It’s been brought to my attention that the episodes are 10-12 minutes long, which means it’s MUCH more doable than I was expecting! They budgeted for a lean (but doable!!!) production. Thank you to those who clarified! I’ll leave this post as-is for those interested, but read it knowing they’re considering roughly half the time I used to calculate everything below!]

Quick preface as to why I wanted to talk about this and Why I Feel I May Have Valuable Things To Say: I'm an indie filmmaker and professor of animation, production management, and VFX. I'm not trying to call out the company or the production because-- and I cannot say this enough-- I truly do not know what's happening on the back end. Every production is wildly different. Their original goal was 125,000, with 45% going to animation-- that includes rough, cleanup, & color. That means that for a ~27 minute animated episode, they've got $56,250. If we collect all facets of production together-- story, layout, animation, compositing, and editing-- we wind up with a grand total of $82,500. Even if we estimate at the lowest average production cost of $8,000 a minute, this budget would account for ~11 minutes of animation.

An animator's average hourly rate is ~$36. With the outlined budget, the Lackadaisy production would be able to afford ~1562 hours of animator manpower. Let's assume (for the sake of this discussion) they'll split that over at least four animators, leaving us with about 10 weeks of full-time work (~390 hrs per person) for four people.

Now this may seem like a lot of time, but as far as I can tell, the pilot was largely animated frame-by-frame without the use of 2D rigging. This means every frame needs to go through roughs, then cleanup, then color, then composite. Every frame you see on-screen has been worked over at least four times-- six if you count layout and story. Ten weeks is simply not enough time to finish 27 minutes of 2D animation.

Now, I know what you might be thinking; Artsekey, they never said their production period was ten weeks! And you're right! However, that's how much production time they can afford. Whether it's split over 20 weeks or a year, they only have enough money to pay their animators for 1562 hours of labor.... if they're paying them a competitive hourly wage. To be completely clear, I am not insinuating that they're low-balling their animators; there're a dozen unknown factors that play into this, such as:

The level of animator they're hiring (an apprentice animator may make ~$17-$23 an hour whereas an experienced pro may make ~$43-$45.)

Whether they're actually hiring animators as opposed to contracting animators (I assume their model is likely relying on the latter based on the fact that I'm seeing a lot of animators that worked on 1-3 shots). They may be doing single-sum deliverable based contracts rather than hourly.

The use of tools like EBsynth (which is listed among the programs they're using) and smart frame management (which they're definitely doing!). This can, if used properly, cut down on the number of in-betweens animators need to get done.

The amount of money the studio is planning to re-invest on their end. The goal on backerkit may just account for the additional funds the studio needs to enter production, meaning their budget may be far larger than what's listed. However, if this were the case, I'd hope they'd disclose it! If I were considering backing the project, knowing that the studio was going to be buying in would increase my faith in the fundraiser.

Obviously, the team loves animation. It shows through in the pilot, and I think that it's clear in their mission statement that they stand against the exploitation of animators. But... I also know that indie production is like trying to wring water out of a log. I'd personally like a more comprehensive breakdown of their expenditures not because I think there's anything suspicious happening behind the scenes, but because as someone who teaches production management for animation and who has an interest in indie production specifically, I'm wondering what choices they're making to stretch their funds.

And what about sound?

While I'm not an expert in audio design, I do live with a professional voice actress/audio engineer, and she had a few thoughts I'd like to share.

At their original goal, roughly ~12500 was set aside for:

Sound Design

Music Composition

Voice Acting

Now, I can only refer to my own experiences as an indie filmmaker regarding price, but the rate I received-- from friends-- for sound design was roughly ~325 per minute, and this was a very, very good deal for what I personally needed. The audio engineer can be responsible for collecting and/or recording foley, or the sound effects you hear in film. This can be expensive and time consuming. They're also responsible for editing all the foley, music, and voice acting together in a way that feels seamless. If we were going off the rate I was given (which was very reasonable given the amount of work that needed to be done), ~27 minutes of full foley, complex sound design, and mixing would run about ~8,000. This number could fluctuate significantly depending on whether they need the sound designers to create the foley, get some ADR in, or just mix the audio, but let's assume that Lackadaisy has a pre-existing foley library and that the price falls in a lower range of ~5,000.

Music's a complete wild-card. In my experience, most composers charge per-minute, and most of the indie composers I've worked with were at a rate of ~$100 per minute of music. That'll land at a nice $2,700.

Now where my friend got particularly heated was the rate for the voice actors. As a voice actress herself, she was floored that the budget for voice was so low-- particularly because the project's pilot pulled industry voices like ProZD. Obviously, the price for voice can vary wildly based on how many lines an actor has, their experience as a voice actor, their personal terms, ect. The cast for the pilot included 11 credited actors. I can't assume their rates or whether they charge a fee to even get in the booth (my roomate charges $100 flat at the start of a session), but if my other estimates are in the right ballpark, their goal budget accounts for roughly ~500 per VA (and it's extremely unlikely that it's divided equally for obvious (and logical) reasons). Honestly, for a full episode of animation, that's... about average. But average in the voice-acting community doesn't necessarily mean good. Voice actors are notoriously underpaid, and-- as previously mentioned-- bigger names with more lines are going to be taking in more of that pay-pool.

And, of course, the Production Managers.

I'm not going to speak on this for too long, but the original budget held 8750 for the admin team. I assume admin includes their PMs, director, and leads (if they have enough specialization to need leads). Assuming it's just one PM and one director, they're pulling in ~4375 a person. For the duration of the project. There's no way that prepro, production, and post would take less than 8 months. Of everyone involved in a production, these roles are on-board from start to end, and it's simply not enough! PM's are absolutely critical to success!

Not to mention the editor!

In animation, the editor is the director's right-hand man, and is working to edit the storyboards, reels, scratch music, and the final cut. This role is also on the production from pre-to-post, and their original budget allows for.... $2,500. What? If I go extremely low on the hourly for the editor, you maybe get one part-time weeks' worth of work for several edits of a 27 minute episode. With most everything else I've talked about, I've mentioned there's a lot of wiggle room because of all the factors I simply don't know, but in no universe is $2,500 enough for this editing job. (Even at the current budget of 1,000,000, $4,000 an episode is super low.)

But, hey! They've got more money now!

Of course, all of these concerns go out the window when you consider that the team's already raised a whopping $953,000 (as of 7/31/23) with the fundraiser only up for five days... right?

Well... It certainly alleviates some of the strain, but their stretch goals were scope increases! This means that once they reach their 1,000,000 stretch goal, they're adding on four additional ~27 minute episodes. This increases the budget-per-episode to 200,000 (yay!), but that still leaves the project with about $7,400 to spend per-minute... which, in the world of animation, isn't much!

All in all, I think that the original goal of 125,000 -- if there was going to be minimal investment from the company-- was completely insufficient, and it would have been irresponsible to try to produce a 27 minute long pilot with that budget. At the same time, I imagine the PM/Admin team could reasonably expect a strong outpouring of support from the fans based on past success and low-balled the original goal. Now that they're near 1,000,000, I think- and hope - they'll be able to swing it.

If anyone has any insight into the production of the pilot (either because you worked on it or know someone who does), please feel free to add context to this post! Again, I am not trying to call out Iron Circus. I'm fascinated by indie production and have been following the successes and failures of crowdfunded animation since it started picking up, and while the goal for Lackadaisy raised some concerns for me up-front, I think they're making strategic choices based on hard data (that we the public are not privvy to). They've already done it once, so they should be able to do it again!

#lackadaisy #animation #indie animatio #long post #production management

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player1064 · 9 months ago

Note

Prompt from this post: https://www.tumblr.com/xtsukinoax/673521724855402496/it-cant-be-better?source=share

DO WHAT YOU WILL if you choose <3

SO obsessed with this tweet I can't stop thinking about it like why did he say that. why did he say that. SCREAMS.

thanks for the prompt!! here's 933 words of just. fluff.

---

“I honestly don’t understand how yous’ve made it this far in life, Gary, look at the state of you.”

Gary blinks a few times, unsteady on his feet, as he takes a second to process what Jamie’s saying.

“I’m fine, Carra. ‘s been a busy couple’a weeks, is all. It’ll slow down again soon.”

“You’ve been havin’ a busy couple of weeks for the last ten year! How many times’ve you gotta be told to slow down before you actually listen?”

Another pause.

“Jamie. I’m fine. Look, I jus’ need – I just need t’go home, have some dinner, get me eight hours. I’ll see you in the mornin’, yeah?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No, I’m not lettin’ you get behind the wheel when you’re like this.”

“So, what, yer gonna drive me home? Bit of a detour, that.”

It’d be a lot of a detour, considering they’ve just finished covering a match at Anfield. Jamie’s half an hour away from comfy clothes and a pizza delivery, it’d be a shame to have to drive all the way to and from Manchester and delay it.

Only one thing for it, then.

“You’re comin’ home with me.”

After the second’s delay for Gary to process again, he scoffs. “Am I fuck.”

Somewhere, buried very far in the back of Jamie’s mind, a little voice is reminding him that Gary is a multi-millionaire and could afford the cab fare home. He ignores it and steers Gary towards his car instead.

The drive to Jamie’s house is done in near silence, the radio volume turned low because Jamie knows when he’s this tired any extra noise’ll just give Gary a headache. When they get in, he leaves the overhead lights off and turns a lamp on instead, then leaves Gary on the sofa while he wanders off to order the pizzas and to get changed.

He’s pulling on his tracksuit when he realises Gary’s still stuck in his work clothes, which just doesn’t make any sense if Jamie’s insisting he stay the night, so he digs around for some things that might fit him and carries them back downstairs, stopping to grab the duvet off his bed as he goes.

“Pizza’ll be here in ten,” he says as he enters the living room. He drops the change of clothes onto Gary’s lap. “Here, there’s a bathroom down the hall you can get dressed in.”

Gary blinks, looks at the clothes in confusion, then looks at the duvet that Jamie’s unceremoniously dropped onto the empty side of the couch.

“Y’re bein’ weird, James,” he says, but gets up and wanders off down the hall without complaint.

When he comes back, Jamie pats the sofa cushion beside him and asks “what channel d’you want TV on?”

“Ugh. Anything but football.”

Jamie scrolls through the channel guide for all of ten seconds before deciding that a) it’s only background noise, so he doesn’t actually care what they watch, and b) he’s got the perfect opportunity to be very, very annoying.

“Sex and the City it is, then. What’s it say… season four, episode twelve. You seen this one?”

Jamie’s never seen an episode of the show in his life, and, judging by the glare Gary shoots him, he hasn’t either. Well. First time for everything!

The pizza arrives, and they eat in front of the TV, Jamie ‘hmm’ing and ‘ahh’ing at all of Gary’s annoyed comments about the show.

“Who’s this now?” (“I don’t know, Gaz, it’s my first time watchin’ it too.”)

“D’you ever find American accents quite tricky to understand?” (“I think you’re probably just tired. You’re understandin’ me just fine.”) (“Been stuck tryn’ta understand your Scouse mutterin’ for last ten year, would hope I’ve got the hang of it by now.”)

“Oh! Y’didn’t tell me there’d be sex in this and all!” (“It’s literally called Sex and the City you twat.”)

The duvet remains draped menacingly over the back of the couch until Jamie comes back from putting the empty pizza boxes in the kitchen, at which point he sits back down, ever so slightly closer to Gary this time (though not close enough to spook him), and pulls it onto his lap.

Gary looks at him, spooked.

Christ, but he’s hard work sometimes. Jamie figures the best thing to do is pretend like this is perfectly normal, just two grown men sharing a duvet, so he spreads it out to cover both of them.

Gary still looks spooked, sitting there rigidly upright with wide eyes fixed unblinkingly on the TV. Jamie shuffles closer to him. Throws an arm over the back of the couch, no part of him making contact with Gary but still very much… there.

Slowly, slowly, Gary leans back.

By the next ad break, he’s asleep, his head lolled forwards, chin resting on his chest. Jamie pulls the duvet up higher around him and turns the TV volume down.

By the ad break after that, Gary’s slumped further into the couch, and if Jamie shifts just an inch or so – their sides would be pressed together. Gary doesn’t stir. Jamie lets his arm drop to his shoulders. Still nothing.

Gary’s warm, his weight solid at Jamie’s side. Jamie shuts his eyes, just for a second.

When he opens them again, it’s still dark out but the TV’s gone into standby and his watch tells him it’s still too early an hour to really be called morning.

There’s also a Manc drooling into his chest, one arm draped across his waist.

There are worse places to be, Jamie thinks, and lets himself drift back to sleep.

#probably will be a bit slow w drabbles now that weekend is over #but to anyone who's sent one I See it and I Am thinking about all of them all the time #so I Will eventually get to all of them i prommy #carraville #drabbles

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