#Feel free to ignore that last line of backstory if someone makes a student body president and it conflicts

[prismaticpotentia]

Crystallian Equus for @bumblingbunny's Monster Prom!

Crystaliian "Lian" Equus is the first born and only son of the Equus family, heir to their vast fortune and business empire. He has two younger sisters, Snowdrop and Wisteria, and his parents are always working, leaving them in the care of the staff by and large.

Lian has been expected his entire life to take over the family business, but his first love is gardening, the outdoors, and quiet. While academically driven and physically very active, being on the cheer team and student body treasurer, his dream is to move to the country and live off the land, maybe run his own flower shop.

While bisexual, he's been crushing on Nola since 6th grade. While at the time he didn't recognize the feeling, mistaking his crush for hatred. This lead to him writing Nola an anonymous note in pink, strawberry-scented glitterpen that just read "Get out of my school."

Lian has since grown up enough to recognize what a crush is, and slowly come to terms with being pansexual. He's had a few relationships across genders and sexualities, but nothing long-term. He has no knowledge of any relationship with any vampire student body presidents, and anyone who says he did is a liar and slanderer.

Pronouns: He/Him Aspiration: Freeland Botanist Traits: Creative, Vegetarian(Because he's a unicorn and thus an herbivore, geddit?)

Private Download

[sprnklersplashes]

jdronica+I kissed you in front of my ex (also on ao3)

The 7-Eleven is hardly much warmer than it is outside, but at least it’s drier. Veronica shakes the rain out of her hair as she steps in, shaking her head like a dog and sprinkling tiny droplets over the tiles. September announced its arrival in Sherwood with grey skies and bucket loads of rain, and three days in, the downpour shows no sign of stopping. It put a little bit of a damper to show up on the first day of her senior year soaking wet (pun intended because puns should always be intended), and there’s a growing sense of anxiety among students about whether or not the rain will let up in time for football practice to start.

But, where the rain might mess with first-day plans and be a pain for football fanatics, it’s the ideal weather for movie nights. The kind that involves piles of blankets, hot cocoa, and a combination of new releases and old favourites. The kind that, funnily enough, Veronica and Martha had planned for the weekend and scheduled when the sun was still out.

Maybe the weather was on their side.

“Okay, you grab the JiffyPop and drinks; I’ll raid the candy aisle,” Veronica instructs. “I’ll meet you at the counter.”

“Don’t go crazy on the candy,” Martha warns her. “Orange soda or blue?”

“Orange, and I will go completely crazy on the candy.” Martha raises her eyebrow, a fond shake of her head, but there’s little she can do when there’s a five-dollar bill burning in Veronica’s pocket. Veronica shoots little finger guns at Martha before bouncing down the candy aisle, taking stock of all the treats on offer.

She grabs a packet of Milk Duds because they go great with popcorn and a sharing bag of red vines too. She grabs a packet of the little watermelons (Martha’s personal favourite) and chuckles as she picks up a sharing bar of Hershey’s (private joke). She drops her candy stash into her basket and is in the middle of a debate between the packets of Sour Patch Kids and the packets of chips on sale when something, or rather someone, appears behind her.

“Want a Slurpee with that?”

She only jumps a tiny bit, and she’s glad because it doesn’t show how the stranger scared the pants off her. Mostly because she was lost in her head, but still, what was the asshole expecting, coming behind her like that? She turns around, her basket still on her arm, and she has an entire rant about convenience store etiquette ready, but it dies when she sees who it is.

Jason Dean, or as he prefers to be known, JD. New kids are something of a rarity in Sherwood, Ohio, which means he’s front-page news at school. Branded The New Kid, and he’ll probably still be that at graduation. People have done their best to Make Him Feel Welcome, as Ms. Fleming brightly suggested (demanded) they do, and despite some pleasantries, no one’s quite managed to get him to their lunch table. Most of the time, he’s alone, always with a different book. He’s gone from Baudelaire to Dickens to Orwell.

Not that she’s paying attention.

“Well, hello, Jason Dean.” She leans up against the counter and gestures to the cup in his hand. “Not my thing, but if you play your cards right, you can buy me a Big Gulp.”

“Blasphemy, little miss. Slurpee is the signature dish of the house. Did you say cherry or lime?���

“I said Big Gulp.” She lets the smile linger on her lips, feels it grow wider as he turns around. He laughs it off, and she takes note of the dimples in his cheeks, the way his hair falls forward into his eyes in a way that may or may not make her heart pick up.

“You’re Veronica, right?” he asks. “Veronica Sawyer.” He holds his free hand up. “Not stalking. I just sit two rows behind you in English.”

“I remember,” she replies. “Yes, it’s Veronica Sawyer.” She crosses her arms over her chest and chews thoughtfully on her lower lip. “So… may I ask what brings you to Sherwood, Ohio?”

His smile falters then, the spark dimming in his eyes, and his free hand slides into his pocket. She kicks herself immediately, her with her stupid attempts at flirting and her stupid nose poking into other people’s business. This is why she only sticks to Martha and occasionally Heather Mac, and if the universe wanted to remind her, it could have done it less painfully.

“Uh, new foster placement,” he tells her after a minute. “My old group home got too crowded, and it turns out the only other place that would take a teenager with insane daddy issues was all the way across the state.”

“Oh,” is all she can find to say, for all her teachers praising her for her brains. One word, one syllable. “Well, that’s….” Cool? Nice? Fun? Interesting? Nothing is appropriate here, no matter what direction she turns in.

But then Jason Dean taps her arm, wearing a smile that’s equal parts charming and apologetic, and the smoke in her brain begins to clear.

“Sorry, I probably should’ve been a bit more tactful there,” he says. “I know it’s a bit of a wild thing to drop on someone. My tragic hero backstory and all that.”

“Well, if it means you end up leading a life of crime-fighting and protecting our town, it all works out.”

“Maybe. Not sure if I can pull off the tights and leotard.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve got the legs for it,” she replies, and when he bursts out laughing, so does she. It feels weird, almost familiar. Like she’s known him for far longer than three days. She shuffles closer to him, pulled forward by her curiosity.

He eyes her basket and opens his mouth to say something else, but then the little bell rings at the shop door, and Veronica lets out a soft curse when she sees who it is.

What exactly her ex-girlfriend is doing at the 7-Eleven, she can’t fathom. This was on her list of places she could most definitely keep going to regularly after they broke up, and that list is depressingly small. This is meant to be the part of town Heather Duke, or any of the Heathers don’t grace with their presence, not even Macnamara. If they divided up the assets after breaking up last month, the 7-Eleven was definitely in her pile.

Or maybe not, she thinks as she watches Heather cross the floor in her heels, loose change in her hand.

The universe just will not let her be.

Duke notices her after she does, dark eyes widening at the sight of her. Veronica’s at a loss for what to do, whether to wave at her, flip her off, or just ignore her completely. She needs to think of something soon because Heather is moving closer towards her, and the last thing she needs is a not-so-subtle reminder of how she’s doing so much better than she is.

Her brain turns off, her body going into autopilot.

Instinct says to grab the closest thing to her, and the closest thing happens to be JD.

She whispers, “I’m sorry,” just loud enough so he can hear a second before her lips touch his, and by that point, she can’t exactly back out.

She doesn’t know what’s crazier; her kissing JD or the fact he kisses her back.

His hand is flat against her back, his other one cupping her cheek. She doesn’t know how experienced he is in these matters, but damn, he’s not bad. She’d even call him good. Maybe great. He tilts his head slightly but still lets her keep control, and his lips are soft and slightly cold from the Slurpee. It’s just slow enough to make it interesting, and he doesn’t pull away when she kisses him again.

When she does pull away, Heather is far past them, her pace too quick to be calm, and Veronica smugly counts it as a victory.

That is until she realises her hands are still balled up in JD’s shirt.

“I am… so sorry,” she begins. “I just… I know I shouldn’t have, but I just needed to do something to-”

“Woah, woah, woah, Ronnie,” he says. She only blushes slightly at the nickname. “Just answer me one question.” She nods, words catching in her throat, and he points up to where Heather is. “Ex?”

“Yup,” is her meek response, and to her shock, he laughs.

“Okay, Veronica Sawyer,” he tells her. “No hard feelings.” She untangles herself from him and retrieves her basket from where she dropped it on the floor. She looks behind and finds his Slurpee sitting on the shelf, standing out amongst the candies.

She’s tempted by the Slurpee offer, after all. She needs something to stop her cheeks from burning.

“I should go,” she says. “My friend, she’ll be wondering where I am.” She backs up, her eyes unable to leave his grinning face. “Um, thank you very much. For being so understanding about… that. All of that. Uh, see you around maybe. Yeah.”

She manages to turn herself around and takes the opportunity to stop hiding and let out a silent scream. She moves to go, to run and pay for her candy, and start plan to avoid him as much as humanly possible-or change her name and flee the state, that could work-but then he calls after her, and she stops in her tracks,

“Hey!” he says. She turns to face him again, and while he keeps a respectable distance, she can still see the smile on his face, all soft angles and laugh lines, and the telltale butterflies begin in her stomach.

“You’re busy this weekend,” he says. “What about next?”

That’s the story of Veronica Sawyer and Jason Dean’s first kiss.

For those who want to know, their second involves her pinning up against the wall of a McDonald’s bathroom and him breathlessly whispering her name against her lips.

[mellometal]

Hiyo!

For everyone new here, welcome! Glad to have you here. Hope you enjoy your stay!

For everyone who's been here for a while, Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW WHAT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN.

Yep, this is part two of why I hate Glee so much.

Let's get it. (If there's anything I forgot to mention, go ahead and add them on in the comments or reblogs.)

Obligatory TW: This contains subject matter that may be triggering for some audiences. The following post contains homophobia, biphobia, ableism, underage drinking, faking a pregnancy to manipulate a partner into staying with them, teachers being creepy towards students, mentioned past child m0l3stati0n and invalidation of the victim's trauma, statutory r@pe (between teachers and students), pr3datory behavior....you get the picture.

If anything mentioned above is triggering for you in any way, again, feel free to scroll past this and consume media that's safe for you.

Gentle reminder: This is all my opinion. This is my take on specific moments in the show, plus evidence to back everything up. Not asking for anyone to agree with me or anything.

***If you like the show, good for you. I couldn't care less. As long as you're not out hurting people, I don't care. Live your life.***

Sit back, relax, grab some snacks and drinks, and let's get to this thing.

How about I talk about Artie for a few minutes? He's a character I have a ton of issues with. Not because he as a character is disabled. That has nothing to do with why I have issues with Artie. The issues there have to do with his actor, who I'll get to in a minute. It's because everything Artie says that's considered problematic is excused and/or ignored simply because of his disability. They only focus on the fact that Artie requires a wheelchair to get around and nothing else. Honestly, it feels like they pity him and praise him just for being in a wheelchair. While he has had some rough times in the show, it doesn't change that he's no better than anyone and he's just as bad.

There are physically disabled actors who play roles of physically disabled characters and they never make it about how they require a wheelchair, a walker, or any other equipment to get around. An example of a physically disabled actor off the top of my head would be Michael Patrick Thornton. He plays Dr. Gabriel Fife on a show called Private Practice, which nobody mentions the chair and his character is a lot more than his disability.

Kevin McHale, Artie's actor, is an able-bodied actor who was cast as a physically disabled character who requires a wheelchair to get around. The way that Glee portrayed disabled characters in general was inaccurate, extremely unrealistic (i.e., Artie joining the football team and then being told that his wheelchair would be a safety risk....like, don't you have sports made for disabled people at that school? Because disabled sports teams do exist.), the storylines with Artie made no sense (i.e., his whole backstory, how he was the lead dancer in one episode and was never mentioned again), and it was offensive. There is a term for this that I didn't even know, and it's called "cr1pface". Basically, that's when able-bodied actors are cast as physically disabled characters. This is a reoccurring theme in live-action media and it's gross.

Glee could cast a Down's Syndrome girl JUST FINE. That's great. Love that. YET THEY COULDN'T BOTHER TO CAST A PHYSICALLY DISABLED ACTOR FOR THE ROLE OF A PHYSICALLY DISABLED CHARACTER. SPECIFICALLY A YOUNG PHYSICALLY DISABLED ACTOR. Because I very rarely see them in live-action media, if at all.

There are more physically disabled characters in cartoons than in live-action media. At least younger physically disabled characters. My point about how younger physically disabled characters need more representation in live-action media still stands. Just in GENERAL, y'all.

Artie isn't all innocent. Here are some screenshots of him sex-shaming Mary Sue and Blaine (a.k.a., Diet Br3nd0n Ur!3) for them not being close in their rendition of West Side Story:

Hey, ummm....news flash, this isn't what directors would actually require their actors to do, let alone request them to do. Unless a director is putting together an on-stage production that has anything to do with sex, they wouldn't do this. (I'm mainly talking about stage productions here, not movie productions. Movie productions are a little different in that aspect.) Also....why would a director who's supposed to be Mary Sue's and Diet Br3nd0n Ur!3's friend ASK FOR THIS? YOUR PLAY WILL NOT SUFFER IF THERE'S NO SEX WHATSOEVER. YOUR PLAY WILL BE FINE.

(I mean it this time. This is your last chance to scroll past this post, click off, whatever you gotta do. This next scene contains mentioned child m0l3stati0n and invalidation of the victim's trauma.)

I want to bring your attention to this scene:

This is the nail in the coffin for me to lose any respect I had for Artie left...which I didn't have much of, to begin with.

Ryder confides in the Glee Club about he was m0l3st3d by an older woman as a child. The older woman was HIS BABYSITTER. A person who was being paid to watch over him by his parents. An eleven year old child...just children in general CANNOT CONSENT to s3x.

(By the way, pedos, this is your daily, unfriendly reminder that your attraction to children is disgusting. Pedo apologists, the fact that you justify pedos being attracted to children is also disgusting. Get professional help. NOTHING can justify grown adults being romantically and/or sexually attracted to children. Stay the fuck away from kids. Pedos and pedo apologists will NEVER be welcome here.)

He didn't ask to be m0l3st3d as an eleven year old boy by a babysitter. When it's an eleven year old girl who gets m0l3st3d by her babysitter who just so happens to be an older man, people are more sympathetic towards the girl and condemn the man. Rightfully so. On the contrary, if it's an eleven year old boy who gets m0l3st3d by his babysitter who happens to be an older woman (like Ryder), people congratulate the boy, tell him he's "lucky", and they don't take what he went through seriously. Why? Because men are expected to ALWAYS want to have s3x, women are pretty much always assumed to be asexual and s3x-repulsed....you get my point. Men don't always want to have s3x. Women actually have s3x drives! SHOCKER.

Artie's response to Ryder telling him that he was literally m0l3st3d AS A FUCKING CHILD makes me SO angry, and I'm about to tell you WHY. They play it off as Artie being naïve and not knowing any better...ALL BECAUSE HE'S PHYSICALLY DISABLED. THEY TREAT IT AS IF HE'S MENTALLY DISABLED TOO, WHICH I CAN'T RECALL IF THEY HAVE EVER DISCUSSED THIS ANYWHERE IN THE SHOW. Seriously? Can you stop pitying and infantilizing disabled people who use wheelchairs to get around all because they use a fucking wheelchair? Naïveté is one thing (this is ONLY IF Artie GENUINELY DIDN'T KNOW anything about m0l3stati0n), but you know, they could've used this moment to teach him about m0l3stati0n and how it fucking affects people. Someone could have CALLED ARTIE OUT because he said something extremely fucked up DIRECTLY TO A VICTIM OF CHILD M0L3STATI0N! But nooooo! Apparently boys can't be victims of m0l3stati0n, according to the dumbasses plaguing the fucking planet, so I guess fuck the THOUSANDS of Boy Scouts who were m0l3st3d by their scout masters since 1944, right? /s

ENOUGH SAID. Let's move on.

The second character in this part I really wanted to get to is Mr. William Schuester, or Mr. Schue for short. Good GOD, this teacher...if I can even call him one at this point, is a terrible person and creepy as all hell. I will call Mr. Schue "Mr. Pr3dat0r" because he's a disgusting waste of splooge who should be in jail.

We can talk about how Mr. Pr3dat0r doesn't have any friends his own age (except for his fiancée, who faked a pregnancy to get him to stay with her), he was literally in the boys' locker room spying on Gary Stu (Finn) WHILE HE WAS IN THE FUCKING SHOWER because he was singing, blackmailed Gary Stu into joining the Glee Club™️ by planting drugs, he has put on racist costumes on quite a few occasions in the show, encouraged his students to twerk to the song "Blurred Lines", and got off on two of his students shaking their asses to the song "River Deep, Mountain High". He's fucking gross. I'll put down the screenshots as evidence so you can see what I'm talking about.

Mr. Pr3dat0r shouldn't be a teacher. I don't think I need to elaborate more. These pictures say enough.

[brtprnce-blog]

name: rune nils lovik nicknames: rune , nils , or even just lovik age: twenty five gender identity: cis male birthplace: stockholm , sweden sexuality: pansexual / panromantic   pronouns: he / him  occupation: business student & drug dealer housing: potentas  sign: aries  pinterest: board spotify: playlist

hey it’s your local demigirl trash demon ! not much to say about me except i go by nary , i’ve been burnt by tumblr rp so many times i’ve literally gone by so many monikers so if you think possibly you might know who i am then feel free to ask about it ! i’m twenty three years old , use she / they pronouns , and live in kentucky ( good luck finding me if ur a stalker lol ) which means i reside in the central timezone. i do work at a local department store type deal , but since the holidays are over it won’t be as time consuming for now and i have until tuesday of next week off thank frick. anyway now on to this new muse who was inspired by an old muse or two of mine leggoooooo

it might be HIS SENIOR year but i still think RUNE NILS LOVIK looks exactly like HERMAN TOMMERAAS and sometimes i think the CIS MALE is actually them. of course i’m wrong , as he’s TWENTY FIVE and studying BUSINESS while living in POTENTAS here at lockwood. the ARIES can be rather BOLD and ALLURING , but also kind of RECKLESS and SUPERFICIAL his most played song on spotify this year was NARCISSIST by NO ROME FT. THE 1975 , so i think that says a lot.

PERSONALITY

element: fire ruling planet: mars — the planet of war & energy body part: head , face good day: energetic , encouraging , unstoppable , bold , devoted , caring bad day: proud , self centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless , jealous favorite things: competitive games , new clothes , road trips ( in fast red cars ) , debating , expressing themselves through stunning verbal and physical feats , money , riches , fame , drugs , sex least favorite things: sharing their toys , being ignored , cramped spaces , losing , the word “no” , relationships , being tied down secret wish: to be number one how to spot him: high forehead , focused or manic energy , aggressive stance , toothy grin keywords: willpower , initiative , determination , passion , beginnings , self belief , self destruction

headstrong and determined , rune can be stubborn and willful. he has a tendency to dig in his heels , stand his ground and absolutely refuses to be pushed around.

he will butt his own metaphorical horns against the same obstacle until he break it down — often with the sheer force of will. confidently rune believes in himself and will champion others.

the essence of his energy shows up as encouraging , unstoppable , bold , devoted , and caring. in its shadow form , his energy can make him prideful , self centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless and competitive. this fuckboy likes a challenge , but be careful because he can definitely be selfish and domineering.

like a match that lights the blaze , he can be a trailblazer and trendsetter.  pioneering and innovative , rune leaps without looking and puts his bold ideas out there.

his ruling planet is warrior planet and energy activator mars. on a positive note , he is filled with unstoppable life force energy. the negative manifestation is that he can become argumentative , confrontational and aggressive at pretty much the drop of a hat.

he is a leader and “idea person” , prizing originality and being first in everything they do. he’s a trendsetter and trend spotter , the one who gets the party started and the crowd hyped. count on rune to initiate a winning idea or plan.

he tends to have a lot of energy , which he applies to everything from tackling supersized projects to unleashing his lusty libidos with a lover.

this confident fuckboy is known to leap before looking , diving into each new experience with a zest for life that few others can muster. he loves to be number one and can be an amazing trendsetter and trailblazer.

rune is a true original who inspires others. with all of his fire power and can do attitude , there’s nothing he can’t ( and won’t ) take on. at times , he can be selfish or overly focused on himself. it can be a “ blind spot ” for him , and friends of rune can try to gently remind him from time to time to share his toys.

this super rich kid was born with an innate sense of entitlement , which helps him shatter glass ceilings but can also be off-putting to people in extreme doses.

this go getter can come across as abrasive or overly aggressive. however , rune will never back down from a challenge and can be a heroic champion of anyone in distress.

being born the sole heir and only son of a wealthy family was bound to have some influence on a young man’s personality. rune is a super rich kid and to this day enjoys making it known.

his father taught him to declare his dominance and money makes you superior , right ? those who knew rune lovik when asked about him would have told you the boy has no time or room to care about anyone but himself , which for the most part is still the truth.

he is a firm believer that money can get you anywhere ( regardless of how you make it ) and that has always held true so he deals drugs now to keep up with his preferred lifestyle.

he has a hugeeeeee ego. honestly , you’ll probably choke on his pride , but there is some part of him that wants real love. the near constant pressure to uphold family reputation growing up , to be the perfect son ? sometimes it’s enough to make him crack on occasion. every break down has only made him push harder and has driven him further away from his family. 

BACKSTORY

( tw: abortion ) born on a chilly spring night , march 21st , to one of the wealthiest families in stockholm , sweden. he was the first and the last , any unwanted pregnancies were aborted immediately. there was no need for anymore children , their heir to the fortune and family business already been birthed. an heir that was hardly a son , because  a son would be loved but he was just an heir to be used.

rune was raised up by maids and nannies , because his parents weren’t around enough. it was a mostly loveless childhood except for the help he was close to , his innocence lost too soon.

the pressures of being the perfect son gripped him before he was old enough to even understand. if he could be what his parents wanted , would they love him then ? would they stay home ?

his youth was pretty successful , he begrudgingly became what was expected of him — the spitting image of his father. his years as a teenager were spent stealing bottles of wine , experimenting with illegal substances , joy rides in expensive cars , different faces in his bed. no one noticed , or they at least they pretended not to , and for the most turned a blind eye to his bad behavior but somewhere deep down maybe rune hoped someone would take the time to care.

( tw: gambling ment ) once he was old enough , he was included in the family ‘business’ which isn’t what made them rich but part of the reason they stay that way. lots of gambling and illegal shit that his father calls ‘business’ to make himself sound like a professional.

( tw: drug ment ) at first he doesn’t take to it , but he finds he likes to not only deal but do copious amount of drugs. it doesn’t hurt that he’s making some money on the side !!

( tw: drug ment ) rune goes to his father in interest of becoming an actual member of the gang in the hopes of dealing for them , but those dreams were shot down. a lovik dealing drugs like a petty criminal ?! not a chance in hell mr. lovik would allow that.

( tw: drug and alcohol ment ) his father was quick to forbid him from ever even considering such peasant activity. so , he kept to luxury items such as but not limited to: cars , designer clothes , sex , drugs , and booze. he didn’t mind returning to all of his expensive things and played his part like he always had.

most would never guess that his lifestyle might not be to his liking , that he questions everything , that real love is something he has always desired.

when you look at him you would see a boy that cares about two things: himself and money. he acts like he is the best to hide the fact that he feels unwanted , unloved , and used. he hid behind family pride for a long time , but it was a facade carefully kept.

a few years ago  basically decided he was completely sick of living anywhere near his parents. he couldn’t do shit in stockholm without the public finding out and him ending up in the tabloids which just had his parents breathing fire down his neck for causing a stir. no shaming the family and the ‘business’.

so after applying to several different places in the states , he was able to get into lockwood and was quick to move out on his own. 

( tw: drug ment ) he is a p decent drug dealer on campus , so if your muse does drugs of any sort chances are they or someone they know has gone through rune at least once or partied with him. 

he doesn’t have any other source of income ( besides drug dealing and the money he gets from his parents for attending college for business ) outside of the occasional fight club shit he does for the heck of it. he’s a p good fighter and often wins money thanks to it.

SONG

super rich kids by frank ocean ft. earl sweatshirt — “ too many bottles of this wine we can’t pronounce , too many bowls of that green , no lucky charms. the maids come around too much , parents ain’t around enough. too many joy rides in daddy’s jaguar , too many white lies and white lines. super rich kids with nothing but loose ends , super rich kids with nothing but fake friends “

[bbbarneswrites]

Bucharest Diaries | THE LIBRARY

Bucky Barnes x Reader*

Summary: Snapshots of Bucky’s life in Romania. In which he meets someone when he least expects to. Genre: Romance/fluff Rating: T Warnings: Swearings 1,568 words

Notes: OKAY. I’ve been thinking about expanding this whole Bucky in Romania thing and I don’t know what happened today that this came out. It’s really corny though, LMAO. Any Romanian readers out here willing to help a girl out with some info, hmu! The poem down there is originally titled Poveste Sentimentală and both it and the book are written by Nichita Stănescu. Guess that’s it! Happy reading! <3

Tied to The Apartment Chronicles and Two Sides!

Pinterest | Spotify Playlist

Life in Romania is quiet. Dull. Repetitive, at times.

But even so, Bucky doesn’t complain about it. After the shitshow that his life has been, he’s thankful to be just another face in the crowd, just another body to bump against in the street. Despite the blood stained past, he’s content in rebuilding his life as just another random person.

(As random as he can be, that is. Somewhere deep down, Bucky knows this is likely to not last).

Getting settled in Bucharest had been fairly easy for someone like him.

He gets a job. Heavy manual labor, perfect and low-key, no paperwork needed but with fair pay. He gets an apartment. Small and old in a communist era apartment building but just enough for someone like him. No neighbors or tenants.

And then, with time – Bucky builds a routine.

Sometimes he works during the day. Sometimes at night. Sometimes he gets days off. The free nights are mostly meant for his journals. Re-reading them is a good pastime and it often sparkles his supressed memories. In the free mornings, he likes to sleep-in. To feel the softness of his blanket, watch the sun slip through the newspapers covering the windows of his place.

But It’s different when he’s got the whole day.

He can go to the market that stays two blocks away, visit touristic points that aren’t too crowded, walk around the Old Town and hide in the mass of people.

Or like today, pick a book in one of the local libraries.

Trying to look as inconspicuous as someone like him can be – because he might not be an assassin anymore but he still has a figure – Bucky walks from corridor to corridor, eyes silently scanning every book’s spines.

As he reaches the poetry section, he stops by a title. O viziune a sentimentelor. Though he normally wouldn’t go for a poetry book, the name catches his attention like no other did so far.

His fingers reach out for the cream colored book and just when he’s about to pull it out–

“That’s one of the best Romanian books. Ever.”

Bucky can’t help but freeze at the sudden appearance, hand tightly closed around the book, too startled at not hearing the steps after him.

You don’t seem to notice though, your input falling unasnwered in the empty corridor for a few moments as your attention diverges for a row of books in the opposite shelf, your hands trailing through the dust until finally picking up a bright red one.

The soft, whispered ‘a-ha!’ you let out is enough for Bucky to turn around.

Eyes trailing from your feet and up, he stops midway through it. It’s creepy and it might make you uncomfortable. He knows he doesn’t look like the friendliest of men. Between the white sneakers, lace trimmed shorts and white top that flashed a silver of your skin, Bucky doesn’t look up to your face.

Until you speak up again.

“It took me two weeks to read this book.” You mention to the book in his hands with your own, an amused smile forming on your lips as you roll your eyes. “The Romanian was a bitch to crack through.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything – feeling suddenly torn about striking a conversation or posing as an uneducated son of a bitch.

You don’t mind the brief silence, taking the time to watch him.

Even though the summer is just a few weeks away, he wears a heavy, maroon jacket. You know the gray top underneath is long-sleeved too. Black cap and black glove and jeans, brown hair brushing against the light stubble of his jaw. He’s tall and his broad shoulders are nothing but imposing.

If by chance you’d met him after a night-out in Old Town with your friends, you’d switch for the other sidewalk.

Right now, he looks somehow familiar. Despite everything, he manages to look soft as he finally talks to you.

“My Romanian is rusty.” He says, lips pursing for a small moment as he shrugs and clears his throat, blue eyes settling on you again. “It will be good practice.”

At the realization he speaks English too, you smile. And Bucky swears it lights up your face, the gloss of your lipstick looking more appearent as you do.

In another time of this life, he knows exactly what his old self would do. For the first time in months, he wishes to be like him again – easy with words and blessed with natural charm. To be the guy a pretty girl would give the time of her day.

He’s on the run but he’s not blind. He knows you’re pretty.

(Even more when you bite your lip. Not that he should be noticing all that).

“Then you should have this one.” You shake the book in your hand, cheeks warming up when his gaze lifts from your lips to your eyes again. “For practice.”

You hand him the bright red covered book and Bucky reads in worn golden letters. Poezii by one Mihail Eminescu.

When he looks up again, you have a smirk playing on your lips, fingers pulling another book from the shelf. A green one with similar golden letters. He can’t read the title, not even when you hold it against your chest and start walking backwards and out of the poetry section.

“This one is yours.” Bucky retorts, two books fitting easily between his metal fingers, lips quirking in an unexpected side smile. “I don’t mind waiting one more week.”

The words feel odd at the tip of his tongue – somehow flirty, almost feeling like an invitation, a plead.

And just before you turn around to leave–

“I don’t mind it either.” You tip your head to one side and raise your free hand, pressing a single finger to your smiling lips. “One week.”

An invitation that you take it.

One week that turns into two and then turns into three and soon it’s a month (and a half).

You become friends.

Bucky learns a lot about you in the short period.

He knows you’re an interchange student that switched the last year of your graduation to try your luck somewhere else. He knows you’ve been reading Romanian novels to improve your language skills because you’re terrible at it. He knows you like fashion and he always takes note on your clothes.

He watches – it’s a natural trait of the soldier – and he learns a lot about you in the short period.

Quirks, likes and dislikes, moods.

Bucky draws a line at friendship but it’s hard to ignore the feeling flaring in his chest everytime you smile around him.

You never ask anything about him. As far as it goes, he’s just an American man trying life in different country. Bucky guesses you might think he’s a veteran, a regular soldier with a backstory similar to many men that come back from war.

(He almost wants to be suspicious at your disinterest. But it’s you so he doesn’t).

His routine is a little less dull now. His days off are spent in the library and each time he comes back home with a new novel to read, often Romanian authors you’ve heard in your classes.

Sometimes his late mornings are replaced for early meetings, like today, as he watches you switch from tab to tab in your laptop, sitting in a study desk at the back of the room with books and papers all around you.

And between watching every little detail from you – to the little flowers in your pants to the glitter of your nails, Bucky frowns in confusion when you smile softly at the screen.

“Look at this poem.” You say quietly, turning the laptop screen to his direction with a knowing smile, your shoulder brushing against his as you rest back on the chair. “Nichita Stănescu.”

As he leans closer, words in Romanian come to him as easily as if it’s in English.

Then we met more often. I stood at one side of the hour, you at the other, like two handles of an amphora. Only the words flew between us, back and forth. You could almost see their swirling, and suddenly, I would lower a knee, and touch my elbow to the ground to look at the grass, bent by the falling of some word, as though by the paw of a lion in flight. The words spun between us, back and forth, and the more I loved you, the more they continued, this whirl almost seen, the structure of matter, the beginnings of things.

Ignoring his ridiculously fast beating heart, and how much the poem speaks to both of you, Bucky turns his head to you–

Already looking at him, with your lips miserable inches away from his own. And he doesn’t pull back. Maybe because he’s too startled. Or maybe because he simply doesn’t want to.

“It’s beautiful.”

You sigh and it falls right into his mouth. Bucky recognizes the poem from the book he got when he met you and he knows what it means, how it fits what you have, if there’s something to think of. He pulls back anyway.

“It  is.”

He doesn’t specify what but he knows you know by the way you look at him.

Bucky draws a line.

And he thinks everything will be fine – at least until the nightclub incident happens.

[the-nysh]

Saitama Cares Masterpost

PART ONE

Yep, THIS IS a comprehensive and ongoing list + commentary (with pictures!) of every moment Saitama shows care/concern for Genos in the story, to eliminate the common misconception that Saitama is either ‘heartless’ (no way) or that the sentiments between them are only one-sided from Genos (not true; the characters just express their outward emotions differently). To establish that Saitama does not treat Genos with the same indifference of a complete stranger/acquaintance, but rather in fact grows fond of him to the point he treats Genos noticeably different than others. With particular emphasis on moments from the original webcomic, AS PROOF Saitama’s subtle way of caring originates from the source material itself. Feel free to use as a reference list or supplemental material to enrich fan content or expand people’s positive perspective of the egg!

Current chapters covered: up through the meteor arc (ch23) Words: 1800+

Chapter 6, the moment they met. They don’t even know each other, yet Saitama genuinely thanks and compliments Genos as ‘awesome/amazing’ for saving him from the mosquito hoard. Not even caring or noticing that his own clothes have been completely burned off in the process. No complaints from him at all, just that he’s pleased and impressed by Genos, even making chance lighthearted puns during the moment too:

Chapter 10, vs Asura Rhino/Carnage Kabuto, which was their first outing together, the same day as, and immediately after Genos arrived to Saitama’s door, with his backstory given and disciple proposition declared.

The ‘Modern Art’ scene, where Saitama stares in stunned, confused concern at Genos getting embedded into the wall, IGNORING the face of the monster, with his attention only on Genos until he declares, ‘you’ll pay.’ The manga increased this to two pages, with wider body shots of Saitama’s stunned reaction, however, his ‘ignore the monster’ pose was changed to 90 degrees instead of how the webcomic shows his head turned at an opposite 180:

The catching scene, (the ‘leg hold’ in the anime). The manga has an extra panel of Saitama watching Genos’ fight (and swoops in off-panel to catch him), but the webcomic has Saitama suddenly appear at his side. His supportive hand on Genos’ shoulder was changed to his waist in the manga too. The manga further shows Saitama kneeling at Genos’ side while supporting his back for the ‘don’t push yourself so hard’ panel.

The ‘afro’ scene. The egg OVERTLY CONCERNED if Genos is ok from the blowback, yelling with visible sweat drops over his condition (same worried reaction in the manga). The webcomic’s ‘son of a bitch!’ line in response to the monster doing this to him is a personal fav of mine (even if it’s just the translator’s personal choice to use that language). 8D As is his raised fist with his serious expression, ready to dish out retribution. He looks angrier here, so I definitely prefer it to the manga’s version:

Chapter 11, when prompted by the monster to explain his strength training regimen, rather than simply answering him, Saitama directly addresses Genos about it instead, instructing him to ‘listen up’ and focus on the important parts:

Two birds with one stone here, yes, but Saitama makes sure he has Genos’ attention first and performs his ‘teacher role’ mainly for him, and not caring as much for the other two in the audience (barely even notices the scientist in the room). When Genos responds in a furious fit at him, Saitama is visibly shocked (stress sweat included), but CALMLY meets his distress with open honesty. Caring about Genos’ reaction and making sure he understands the truth. Not caring at all for the monster’s version of rage (sales are more important than that).

Chapter 15, while Saitama is at first in shock over the news of his nonexistent popularity (and wants to be left alone in his distress, telling Genos to go home), after learning why, he’s then interested whether Genos has already registered as a hero or not, with neither of them wanting to register alone. (Genos was never interested in joining in the first place: “no, I wouldn’t do something like that/I’m not interested.”) Genos gives him the necessary background info and exposition, but Saitama is the one to initiate the idea they register together, with the deal that if Genos comes with him, he’ll make him his disciple ‘for real.’ Of course Genos elatedly flips his mind right there and agrees to go along! (This agreement was allll on Saitama’s insistence here; in fact, you could say it was Saitama who bribed him to register because he didn’t want to do it alone.)   

Chapter 16: Upon passing together and Genos beaming to him that he’s looking forward to his official teachings, Saitama contemplates that maaaaybe he was too quick to make that promise, especially to the type of guy Genos is (cyborg, upstanding, diligent, serious, hardworking, loyal, overeager, honest to a fault). Essentially, feeling wholly unprepared to have signed up for a task (and tutelage over a person) that’s much more than he’s comfortably qualified (or even really wants) to handle. But, he has to step up and take this teacher role (and hero job) seriously now. Does he fall back and refuse? No, he takes responsibility for his actions and makes the most of it. When alone, he reviews their hero ranks, with himself in Class C and Genos in Class S, contemplating the gap he has to climb to reach him and thinking about him: “could it be that Genos is actually really amazing?”  

Chapter 17, their spar. Indulging on Genos’ request for a match, as their first test bout as newly appointed teacher-student. Saitama keeps it playful and not too serious, as it’s not fighting ‘for real’ to him. Tagging Genos with the cute cheek poke (with a fun smile!) and forehead flick after demonstrating a fist of his power to his face. Important to note that a parallel scene happens much later in the manga vs Suiryu in the martial arts tournament. Also not fighting ‘for real’ there either. Both of Saitama’s ‘opponents’ want him to get serous and display his power, but the difference between Saitama’s two punches is that he shreds Suiryu’s clothes in humiliation (Saitama’s close-up afterimage behind Genos could have shielded him from some of the blast too). Saitama was not having the same fun in the tournament (or smiling during that match), unlike in his spar with Genos, nor does he care for Suiryu the same way (flat out refusing his disciple request in comparison too). Saitama asks Genos out for udon, which the anime even shows in full with a competitive, fun eating match (which Genos wins this time, and Saitama, genuinely impressed, tells him he’s amazing again).

Chapter 18, Genos moves in. It’d been 5 days since their spar in the webcomic/manga, but the anime changed it to that very same night (after the udon). Webcomic Saitama doesn’t mind that Genos regularly comes over, but moving in is another story. Immediately changing his mind upon seeing Genos’ loaded rent money (offering payment upfront IS polite & proper boarding manners, whether or not Genos was aware of Saitama’s tight finances then to legitimately bribe him). However, ONE’s stated that Saitama has never used Genos’ rent money. 

Genos came prepared and eager to learn (with his notebook), but conversely, Saitama believes he has nothing to teach him (muscle training is useless for a cyborg after all), and importantly, doesn’t want to play at this teacher charade any longer if it’s like he’s deceiving or taking advantage of Genos:

It would become all the more morally unacceptable (really, Saitama would feel bad) to continue half-assedly and meet Genos’ high & honest expectations of him with deceit like that. Genos has raised the bar to the point Saitama’s been put on the spot and can’t simply mess around with this anymore. Establishing right here how much Saitama’s conflicted about this: even if he’s empty handed, ideally he wants to match Genos’ eagerness with open honesty and NOT deception or having to abuse his position of power. (Saitama is a good egg and he’s TRYING to do this teacher thing right!) But he doesn’t know how or what else to teach him aside from what he already knows, (knowing Genos won’t simply accept his training method either). Scrambling and pressed for time (gotta juggle his hero quota deadline), he settles for a temporary, on-the-spot goal for Genos to aim for in the meantime (top10 hero spot). Saitama assumes the advice he gives is bullshit, but it DOES logically consider Genos’ limitations and key mental aspects he needs to improve, so it is viable insight and not as far-fetched as Saitama thinks (it’s actually pretty spot-on): 

Chapter 20, interested whether Genos has done any hero work yet to raise his rank too (popularity a different story). RECEIVES GENOS’ PRAISE HERE. In contrast to the comments from fans who don’t personally know him, Genos gives his honest opinion of Saitama, ‘the most incredible man he’s met,’ since he knows him. While Genos doesn’t value what his fans have to say (and Saitama shocked he isn’t embarrassed reading them out loud), the same can’t be said whether Saitama doesn’t appreciate what this particular ‘fan’ has to say about him. ;3 He brushes off Genos’ words as flattery (in anime, as ‘buttering him up’), but the manga and anime show him with a little pleased smile. So while Saitama is bad at receiving/taking compliments from him, on some level he IS glad there’s someone who finally appreciates him.    

Chapter 21, THE METEOR. Arrives in impeccable timing to save Genos. Saitama probably heard the news on his own, geared up and rushed to the scene, witnessed Genos’ whole flashy attempt to blast the meteor, stood back for him, and only approached at the last possible moment when Genos absolutely needed his help. He personally instructs Bang to take care of Genos for him and evacuate to safety while he takes care of the meteor:

The manga has Saitama arrive in extra dramatic flourish (+color in the digital version), hidden behind his speech bubble until Genos turns and lightens up in astonished recognition (complete with shoujo sparkles). :’) Saitama went through the trouble to do all of that and arrive directly at Genos’ side, when he could have simply destroyed the meteor by jumping from the vicinity of his apartment. Not only that, but he gave Genos room to finish his attack without rushing in and ‘stealing his thunder’ so to speak. Saitama knows Genos is usually strong enough to take care of himself, which is a reoccurring sentiment from him (even repeated by ONE & Murata in interviews), so he only intervenes and steps in when he sees Genos rendered helpless to fight anymore, which here, also revives Genos’ hope at his lowest moment (when he pretty much accepted his grave). :’))) 

Chapter 22, the meteor aftermath. Genos laments that the HA didn’t call Saitama in the first place (instead of him) to more effectively handle it with Metal Knight to reduce damage to a minimum. But Saitama immediately rationalizes Metal Knight wouldn’t have been a team player anyway and that he (himself) handled things just fine since no one died. Coolly assuring Genos not to brood/worry over what didn’t happen and to focus on the positive outcome instead. Like for instance, interested in whether their ranks went up (specifically asking Genos in terms of ‘we/our,’ not just for himself). Plus, when Genos starts talking threat levels, Saitama freely asks him to clarify what they mean. At this point in time, Saitama is comfortable with Genos’ level of intel/knowledge, and is fine asking him about things he doesn’t understand. (aka when the student informs the teacher, and the teacher’s totally cool with it! :D Never has been seen again, ch7′s 20-words-or-less policy!)

Chapter 23, the tank top rookie crushing. Where Saitama bellows to the crowd how he doesn’t care about their approval or whether they hate him. Interestingly, neither the webcomic nor the manga show how the scene resolves (it just cuts to a several day’s time skip), but the anime resolves it by having Genos arrive at the scene to pacify Saitama’s anger with a simple but effective, ‘let’s go home’ (with sustained, sincere eye contact too). This is ALSO where the anime places Genos’ praise from ch20, now as the iconic ‘sunset confession scene’ with Saitama’s ‘you don’t have to butter me up like that’ line as he turns around with a pleased little smile. Here, it’s in direct contrast to how Saitama views the public, because he DOES appreciate and care what Genos thinks of him (no matter how humbly he accepts it). When even one person’s support more than makes up for the combined hypothetical cheers of a whole fanclub or the voices of the public – right now, just Genos’ words are enough for Saitama. :’)

TO BE CONTINUED