#and of course my english is fairly good. but it's always just a bit not right

[parablesystem]

being in a system that speaks english fluently, but not being able to speak it 100% fluently myself, is so strange. you'd expect that i would also be fluent in it. but somehow i'm not

- 🟥👾

[illustrious-ia]

＃𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙇𝙇𝘼𝙍𝙊𝙉 𝙃𝙐𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙎 ⠿ 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 AU! 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐄 HEADCANON

✶ ! [ 578 words ]

✶ ! [ CW: dark content, yandere themed, unhealthy obsession, overprotectiveness, stalking, potential ooc, written by non-fluent english speaker. ]

✶ ! [ Uniquant's Note: This abomination has been sitting in the basement for a month... I'm quite cringed at how messy the original hcs was, so it took me fairly a long time to make it acceptable (to me at least). Anyway, I hope u enjoy my monstrosity ♡ ]

✦ Request Status: Open

✦【 Type: Overprotective, devoted 】

: Let's start with how or what the weapon itself sees in you, shall we? Well, just like any other weapon, he himself needs a master in order to have any purpose in existing. And in this case, the master of this particular weapon is you.

: Weapon and master bond are quite complicated to break. The master needs their weapon to protect themselves and the weapon needs the master to have use of them thus care for them.

: When someone threatens its bond, it's either up to you, the master who should command your Blade to rid of such interloper or he'll purge the foul soul himself till they depart unto the afterlife. Oh also, he's a unique weapon. Under certain circumstances, he would moves on his own to protect his master. How marvelous is that?

: Now let's move to how he behaves. He follows you everywhere. To the highest mountain peaks of the Divine Ship, to the bottomless pit of lies built upon the Dreamscape, he is right there, guarding your back from any potential misfortune charging in your way.

: He thinks he is not quite worthy of your attention yet he won't let others bask in it either. Such an abomination like himself shouldn't even breathe the same air as you, yet he appears unwilling to leave your side anytime soon due to his obstinacy and selfishness. He convinced himself that he is doing all of this as an effort to keep the mortal wounds which scarred his past self away from you.

: The only moment when he stands the same step as you is when he deems someone 'dangerous' approaching you. Even if you inform him that the said someone is harmless, at least to you. All he would do is back up and glare daggers at them as his sword long unsheathed ready to dig into the interrupter's neck if they dare to even flash any form of hostility toward you.

: Should he act like a sword, then, should he too sacrifice his flesh to protect you. He'd scathe himself only when it's needed of course. He does not want you to worry your hearts out because he was too careless in his previous battle. He might hurt himself a bit more so your attention lingers awhile on him or his wounds. Will stop if you scowl him for it. But alas, he tends to forget things, including your scoldings.

: Once in a while, he is befuddled by how fast his entire world changed. Was his encounter with you part of Elio's script? But at the same time it doesn't make any sense to him, since Elio has always been open about how any part of the script would go. Was The Equilibrium finally witness his suffering and opted to to alleviate his agony by directing his life changing-encounter with you?

: Either way, those thoughts swiftly vanish as he remembered that nothing really matters as long as he is still by your side.

: As a mere weapon, he shouldn't act this way. Yet here he is. YOU tampered with his broken self and infected it with deuced mortal desire. Since he is yours now, shouldn't you take care of him as a good master?

: He is a bit stubborn and rash sometimes. But it's all for the sake of your safety. So, please forgive him and his wrongdoings, if you see it fit, do punish him. For he believes that you could do nothing wrong.

⋯ Copyright © 2024 by Illustrious-ia. Do not plagiarize, use for AI / Bot training, and re-upload outside of Tumblr.

All rights reserved.

[sleepysnk]

a/n: this is a repost. i hope you guys enjoy! also, my characterization may be shit, so i apologize if he seems ooc!

pairings: kunigami rensuke x fem!reader

warnings: college au, mentions of alcohol consumption, party boy!kunigami, tutor!reader, kinda enemies to lovers, flirting, nsfw, smut, public sex (they’re at the uni library), exhibitionism, use of pet names (baby, princess, baby girl), virgin!reader, loss of virginity, dirty talk, praising, creampie.

synopsis: you were assigned to tutor the infamous party boy, kunigami rensuke. you really didn’t like him and he felt the same way about you, but that all began to change when you two started spending time with one another. you planned to meet him to help study for his english final, but kunigami wanted to tutor you in something other than academics.

study buddies ft. kunigami rensuke

Being a tutor at your university came with lots of good.

To be honest, you hadn’t expected to become a tutor. It was something one of your professors had suggested you do for some extracurriculars and it honestly didn’t sound so bad. You excelled in all of your courses and you honestly didn’t mind assisting those who needed it. The people who often came into the tutoring center were polite and were always looking for help in the right manner. You even helped a few students pass exams they swore up and down that they were going to fail. It was something you genuinely enjoyed seeing. Being able to help someone else made you such a happier person. It warmed your heart seeing their smiling faces when they showed you their exam results a few weeks later. You didn’t think you would enjoy tutoring that much, but it eventually became something you looked forward to.

You were a sophomore in college, so you knew a bit more than the freshmen who were coming into your university. Although the majors often differentiated, you were able to help with basic general education classes despite being a nursing major. You helped mainly with English, since it was your strong suit. You would help the students with writing essays or with homework assignments that required lots of thinking. It was fairly easy and you were able to help them out a lot with whatever they needed. It was rare for you to see anyone come back more than once, but if they did by chance, you would help out no matter what. 

It was a judgment free zone.

However, that zone soon started to fizzle out when a certain someone walked into the tutoring center on a Friday afternoon. 

Kunigami Rensuke.

For a minute, you thought him being there was a complete joke, so that’s why you didn’t pay much attention to him at first. You thought that he was looking for someone in there, but that was untrue when he approached you and asked if he was in the right place. It annoyed you that he was there, but what got you going the most was that he needed help with English. The subject that you tutored people in. 

Obviously the professor who was there recommended you right on the spot, and you wanted to disappear into the floor right then and there. You didn’t want to tutor him if you were being completely honest. You and Kunigami were both in the same grade and you really didn’t like him that much. He was honestly one of those weird party guys that spent his weekends making his liver suffer with the sips of alcohol. You had also heard plenty of things on campus from your peers about him, and he wasn’t one of the nicest guys out there. He had a mouth and often messed around whenever he could. There was a time freshman year when he swore to god he had an ego because he won one of his stupid soccer matches. All he spoke about was soccer and it never really attracted you. It was just some sport to you and you never paid much attention to it. It honestly amazed you that he was still able to play with how much he partied. Though, you didn’t care much. He wasn’t your problem and you wanted to steer clear of him.

That was practically impossible now because he was now another student you had to tutor.

Kunigami was close to failing his English class required for him to pass into the next year, which was no surprise to you. He explained that he had two exams upcoming that he had to ace in order to maintain a good GPA for soccer, so you honestly had no choice but to help him. As much as you tried to oppose it, the professor insisted and you were left to tutor him. 

He never batted much of an eye at you. He had seen you a few times on campus by yourself or occasionally with another friend, but otherwise, that was it. Kunigami spent too much time practicing for soccer or partying that he didn’t really care much for the random people he used to see on campus. Though, he didn’t fail to notice how tense you always seemed around him. You always kept your conversations fairly professional and you never crossed over to personal ones. He knew it was normal to keep it that way, but it was so odd to him. He reciprocated that energy and you never seemed to dislike it. He assumed that you probably didn’t like him and he didn’t know why, so it annoyed him. He’s never spoken to you, nor have you ever had a bad interaction, so what was the big deal? 

For a little while, both of you really didn’t like each other’s presence. 

It was strictly just tutor and student. There was never a moment where you and Kunigami got personal with one another. Hell, neither of you even cracked jokes around each other, which was unusual for Kunigami because he was such an easy going guy. He loves to talk to new people and make friends, because that’s just who he was. Despite him seeming intimidating at times. 

However, that began to change a few weeks after you helped Kunigami pass his first exam. 

He came to you with excitement, for once. He showed you the grade he received on his exam and it showed that he had passed with a high grade. It was the first time in his entire life that he scored that greatly on an exam like that. He couldn’t hide how happy he was around you, and to his surprise, you were thrilled for him. You were actually taken back by how well he had done that it genuinely impressed you. It made you wonder if he wasn’t just some party boy athlete who didn’t have a brain. It sounded cliche, but you wanted to know more. You didn’t know why or for what reason, but it made you so damn curious that it almost kept you up at night.

So, eventually, you began to become more friendly to the athlete.

With being nice came him beginning to open up to you just a bit more. You learned a lot about him in your time studying with him, and it turned out he was actually a pretty decent guy. Despite having such a relevant nature to him, he was actually pretty cool and you learned that you had some similar hobbies. Both of you liked the same shows and even some of the same music. It completely astonished you that he was similar to you in some aspects. You thought a guy like him would be the exact opposite if you were being honest, so it made you even more curious to know more things about him. 

Soon enough, study sessions turned into full on hangouts and you both started seeing one another more often.

Along with that came some interesting things from Kunigami.

Kunigami, although he somewhat hated to admit it, thought you were pretty attractive. You two were on opposite sides of the world, yet that didn’t stop him from finding you to be really pretty. He never thought he would see you that way, but he did. He found himself thinking of you at random hours and even yearning to see you whenever he had free time throughout the day. It was so new to him, but he didn’t regret spending any of his time with you. You made him laugh, smile, hell, any little emotion. He just liked that about you. You were able to make his day better with one small text or smile, and it was honestly amazing to Kunigami. There was nobody else in his life that could do such a thing to him. It was almost overwhelming in some ways. He just didn’t know how to not sound so corny whenever he spoke to you.

That didn’t stop him from flirting with you, though.

He was a big flirt and it was obvious. There were times where he would compliment you or hit you with a pickup line that would make your cheeks burn. You couldn’t lie, some of them were actually really good and they would make your heart flip from it. He knew how to wrap you around his finger and it didn’t help that he was pretty handsome. He was tall and quite a big guy too, so all of it would make you feel nervous. He just knew where to get you. He must have known where your weak points were, because he hit them all at the right moment. It had to be like a talent for him. 

“You look good today, pretty.”

“Yeah? Someone’s excited to see me.”

“Heh, give me a kiss then and maybe I’ll consider studying.”

“Do we really have to study? I wanna check you out right now.”

It’s all he did. You tried to brush it off for as long as you could, too, but your friends constantly pushed you to make a move on him. You have had boyfriends before and stuff like that, but you never became intimate with them. It was all years ago and you honestly forgot how to date somebody. They told you frequently that Kunigami liked you and he wanted you more than just a friend, but you were so unsure of what to do that you refrained from making any sort of move on him. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable with anything, so you wanted to just watch. It just bugged you on the inside that there wasn’t much you could do.

You had to meet up with Kunigami that same day. He had a final exam coming up for his English class and he wanted some help with it. It was honestly no surprise, so you told him to meet you in the library. You didn’t have much going on that day anyway, so it wasn’t much of a problem. You planned to meet towards the end of the day so the library would be extra dead when you both arrived.

You thought it was going to be a usual day. Help Kunigami with studying and then you would go back to your dorm and start your assignments.

However, it was the opposite.

You didn’t expect to be on top of Kunigami with his cock buried inside of your pussy. Both of his hands were on your body. One was on your waist and the other was on your hip, guiding your body as you rolled onto his cock. He couldn’t believe things had ended up like this, but he just couldn’t hold back anymore. There was so much tension inside of the study room that he would be damned to let you go without doing a single thing. He also just couldn’t keep his eyes away from the skirt you wore on that day. Your pretty thighs were exposed for him to see and his mind played the most delicious images of him grabbing them and spreading your legs apart with his large hands. 

He was big, much bigger than you had expected him to be. Sure, you had fantasized about what it might look like, but seeing it in person made your eyes grow with awe. You didn’t know if you could take it, but Kunigami helped you with everything. He made sure to prep you with his fingers, but that didn’t even assist with the incredible stretch of his cock. 

Not to mention, you were a virgin, so this was a lot for you.

You hadn’t expected your first time to take place in such a public space. You were in a study room with Kunigami in the library of your university. It was already pretty late. There weren't many people there, so it was honestly not that bad, but there were still people lingering. Someone could hear you or even see you on top of him. It was so fucking hard to not let out a scream. He was making you feel like you were on fire and he was only pouring gasoline on you to make it burn even greater than before. His cock was splitting you apart and finding places inside you that made you feel on top of the world. If you knew he was going to be that great in bed, you would have fucked him much sooner and maybe in a different spot than this one. 

Kunigami was in heaven with how you felt. You were so tight. Your walls were gripping him like a vice and you refused to let him go. He thought you were lying at first when you said you were a virgin, but that completely went out the window when he saw your nervousness about his cock. He thought it was so cute when you were shivering as he entered your cunt. It was so warm and wet. He didn’t think you’d be that good, but it was much greater than he ever imagined.

His palms squeezed your hips. He was trying to teach you how to ride him and to have that control, but you had no clue. Kunigami wanted to be the one who showed you every little thing that was great about your body. Nobody else deserved to have that access to you more than he did. “Shit.. that’s it, baby, just keep going like that..” he looked up at you like you were an angel sent from Heaven itself. You were so gorgeous on top of him with your tits in his face.

You had your hands on his shoulders, holding onto him for dear life while his cock pumped in and out of your hole. White stars danced inside your vision every time his tip kissed at the button in you. It was so fucking good. “Ah..! Kuni.. I can’t! ‘Too much!” you whined, digging your nails into the fabric of his shirt. 

He knew you were already close. Your pussy was starting to tighten and feel even more wet than it already was before. There was also something about your body language that told him that. Your twitchy thighs, sharp moans, your hold on him getting tighter with every thrust. He could read you like a book. It only gave him motivation to make sure you finished off nicely. He wanted to see you fall apart on his cock. You’d be satisfied once he was done with you and that was a fact. 

Kunigami then gripped your hips harshly. He started thrusting upwards into you, sending you over the edge with pleasure. Your mouth fell agape from the pace he set himself at. His cock was so fucking big that every thrust made your mind become cloudy. It was becoming even more difficult now to stay quiet. You feared someone would hear you or come by to see what was going on between you both, but you just couldn’t resist anymore. He was driving you up the wall that if you stayed quiet you’d probably go insane from it. 

The pit inside your belly was only growing deeper and deeper. You leaned into Kunigami’s ear so you could speak, but to also place your head on his shoulder. You felt so weak. Your body was pushed past its limits and you honestly wondered if you were going to be able to walk out of there after that. “Kunigami..! Fuck.. so good, it’s so good!” your fingers clenched around his shirt, trying your best to hold back any obnoxious cries of pleasure.

He couldn’t lie, he felt the same exact way about you.

He gripped the fat of your thighs and dragged his hands wherever he could place them. You had such a pretty body. It still astounded him that he was the one to take your virginity. “Yeah..? It’s good, princess?” he questioned, smirking. “Then cum on my cock, baby girl.”

You couldn’t hold back anymore and just let yourself go for him. After a few thrusts, your pussy clamped around his cock. Your orgasm hit you, hard. Your whole body practically shook in Kunigami’s hands and you couldn’t stop yourself from crying his name like it was a prayer. A creamy white ring circled around his cock and your walls spasmed while he fucked you through your orgasm. Seeing you act in such a manner made Kunigami all the more determined to finish up. He wanted nothing more than you. 

Kunigami continued bouncing you on his cock. You were tired, exhausted even, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to fuck you. His own orgasm was creeping upon him. His dick was twitching and there was a knot that had formed in his abdomen. “F-Fuck.. ‘gonna cum, baby!” he groaned. “Gonna fill this pretty pussy..”

Within seconds, he reached his high. Kunigami gritted his teeth as his orgasm finally washed over him. His cum filled your cunt, seeping into your womb. It made you shiver when that warmth spread across your belly, but it felt so fucking good that you honestly craved it more than you would like to admit. 

You both sat there for a bit, trying to recover from your orgasms. You were now pretty exhausted and Kunigami was somewhat sweaty. He had his arm snaked around your waist and your head was lying against his chest. You honestly wanted to fall asleep right then and there, but you knew eventually you would have to go back to your dorm which was kind of a lengthy walk. Judging by how your thighs felt, though, you weren’t sure that was even going to happen. You sort of regretted having such a fast pace put on you, but in the moment it was like you were on cloud nine.

Kunigami sighed, looking down at you with a grin. He thought you looked so cute laying on him like that. You seemed so sleepy and out of it if he was being honest. “I still gotta study for my exam..” he chuckled, which made you laugh in return.

You rolled your eyes playfully. “You are capable of doing it on your own..” you said, jokingly.

He placed his chin atop your head, feeling a big smile write itself onto his features. He really liked being with you right now. He never imagined he’d be in such a position, but he didn’t have a single regret about it. “Nah, I’d prefer to have my study buddy with me..” he replied, squeezing you tightly.

[isleofair]

Thank you so much for the tag, @applescabs!!! 🥰💚

Are you named after anyone? After, of all things, a 15th century noblewoman (whom I always thought was a saint, but actually wasn't, I just found out!) My mom saw an amazing statue of her on a trip and loved it, and her name, so much that she named me after her.

When was the last time you cried? I teared up a little yesterday when I got my friend's wedding invitation in the mail. The last time I properly cried was... huh. I think a couple of weeks ago, watching TV. That's a fair amount of time for me to go without crying, so go me!

Do you have kids? No, and I don't want any.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? A bit less than I used to, and not a lot in general. Only when I think it will be funny, or when I need to make an underhanded comment about something that ticked me off but I can't do much about.

What sports do you play? None. I am a very inactive person, sadly. I hope I can at least start going on more walks as the season keeps warming up.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? If they seem friendly or not.

What’s your eye colour? A very, very dark brown.

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings all the way. I can't handle scary stuff very well at all. 🫣

Any special talents? I'm fairly good at languages (I learned them easily in school and I usually have a decent shot at figuring out what a word might mean if it's in a language that has at least some relation to the ones I know/have studied). Sadly, the only one I'm still fluent in (besides Italian, of course) is English, because it's the only one I use regularly.

Where were you born? Italy, smack dab in the middle of the top part of the boot, lol

What are your hobbies? Writing fic, reading fic, scrolling Tumblr, playing video games (mostly just Pokémon), playing D&D, and very occasionally drawing or weaving bracelets or assembling jigsaw puzzles.

Do you have any pets? My two cats, Sasha and Misha 🥹🥹 They're tabby-and-white twins, they're almost 5 years old, and they're the ones I come home to. 💚💚

How tall are you? 164cm, although sometimes when I'm in a hurry I just say 1.65m 😅

Favourite subject in school? All the sciences and Math, though I also liked English when I started having it as a subject.

Dream job? Writing a single novel, or a trilogy or something like that, that becomes inexplicably popular, gets a movie deal, and gives me enough residuals to potentially live comfortably while bumming around on my couch writing fanfic for the rest of my life.

I am tagging (but only if they want to answer, zero pressure, as usual!) @nicoroni, @imaginatorofthings, @zimithrus1, @thekuraning, @saltedpin, @horikoshi-secret-ao3-account, @damedanedameyodamenanoyo, and anyone else who sees this and wants to play! 💖💖💖

[hairstevington]

songs that voices never share

Deaf!Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Summary: Everything's felt a little off since the Fourth of July, and no one's talking about it. Of course, one part of Steve's summer is a bit hard to ignore - he's losing his hearing. As luck would have it, a friend of Dustin's ends up playing a key role in Steve's adjustment to his new normal.

WC: 4K

Warnings: Deaf!Steve, use of ASL, angst/references to events of season 1-3, this fic will disregard the events of season 4 because I said so, canon universe, hurt/comfort, angst, platonic Stobin forever, Steve and Will are buds, some sad stuff but overall it's a love story like come on it's me we're talking about

A/N: Hello! Everyone loved my drabble about Deaf Steve so I'm expanding it into a full fic. The plan is 7 chapters, and I'll probably post them all both here and on Ao3. Please note that ASL is written in all capitals when notated in English, and the grammar is a bit different.

-----------------------

Chapter 1 - I'll take a quiet life

Steve was kind of prone to getting beat up. God knows Dustin never let him forget it.

After the fight with Jonathan, he felt more or less the same. Then, Billy beat the shit out of him, and Steve started getting migraines and hearing a ringing in his ears every so often.

But after being tortured by the Russians for a couple hours? That’s when the real damage was done. 

Everything felt a little off since the Fourth of July, but no one talked about it. Even though so much had changed, Steve and the rest of the group all tried to get back to any normalcy they could find. Steve and Robin got a job together at Family Video and ultimately ignored everything they'd experienced together. It just felt like it was too big to talk about, so they didn't. They pretended like it didn't happen honestly - which might have been more successful had it not been for one fairly major thing.

The ringing became almost constant. Steve’s hearing was piss poor some days and kind of okay other days, but eventually the bad days were more frequent than the good. Steve knew he got beat up a lot, and he figured there were probably some consequences, but he never had time to think about it. Then, when he had trouble hearing one day, he figured he was just swollen and needed time to heal. And then he blamed it on allergies. And then he felt stupid for not taking it seriously, so he ignored it. And then, when he finally went to the doctor, he realized the full extent of it all. 

They called it a perfect storm of injuries. At least, that’s what he thought they said. Apparently he’d had too much trauma to the area and not enough medical attention after multiple concussions and ruptured eardrums. He also apparently broke some of the bones in his ears??? They told him a lot of things that he couldn’t quite understand.

He wasn’t stupid. He just couldn’t hear so well anymore. 

Steve had never been the smartest person in the first place. He wasn’t great at school, especially with English or history, and he never cared that much about it either. He breezed his way through high school and focused on sports and popularity.

So, when Steve couldn’t keep up in conversations with his friends, they didn’t really think anything was out of the ordinary. Classic Steve, always a few sentences behind. 

He got away with it for much longer than he had any right to. Robin was the first to notice. 

They worked together at Family Video most days that summer, and it was a good job because anyone could do it, really. They were never really that busy, so a lot of the time was just Steve and Robin getting paid to hang out.

A lot of times, Robin rambled at him about movies or music or how hot Molly Ringwald was, and he could just nod and smile and occasionally say something like, “yeah, totally,” and she would be none the wiser. If they were looking at each other, he could kind of tell what she was saying based on her lips, but only because he knew her well enough to do so. He couldn’t really understand anyone else, except maybe Dustin sometimes. Then again, Dustin used a lot of tech speak that went over Steve’s head even before his hearing deteriorated. 

Steve was putting tapes back in the proper places, oblivious to Robin calling for him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Shit! Hi!” he exclaimed, realizing he must have missed something again. “Sorry, I’m kind of out of it.”

Ah, his go-to excuse. It worked every time.

“Bullshit, Harrington,” she replied. Before Steve could defend himself, she continued. “You can’t hear very well anymore, can you?”

Huh. Okay, it worked every time, until now. Steve nodded, realizing he had no reason to hide it from Robin anymore.

“How’d you know?” he wondered. Usually, Robin paced back and forth and avoided eye contact during her rambles, but this time she stayed put and faced him head on.

“Steve,” she began. “You’ve always been a little oblivious, but recently it’s like you’re never listening to me at all. Plus, I’ve been throwing random things into conversation to see if you notice. Hey, Steve, just figured out that hamsters aren’t real. Dingus, I just got a tattoo of your face on my face. You know, things like that. You’ve never said anything about it, so at first I thought you were just stressed or depressed or - wait, shit. You can’t hear. Maybe I should write this down.” She went to search for a pen and paper, but he grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I think I got the gist,” he responded. Thankfully this was one of his better days, otherwise he never would have been able to follow. “Wait, hamsters are real though, right?” Robin’s face fell as she genuinely pondered whether Steve was being serious. “I’m kidding. Yes I know what you’re saying.”

“Okay, cool,” she replied, relieved. “Anyway, once I realized nothing was wrong with your psyche, I started doing other tests. But sometimes I’d stomp my feet and you’d react, so I worried I was making it all up. One time I snapped right by your ear, but then I accidentally flicked you on the temple.”

Steve remembered that. She said it was a bug.

He could hear some frequencies, and it also depended on the day and the season. It was best in quiet spaces where he only had to talk to one person. That’s how he got by so well at work, because it was a relatively quiet place. 

Well, except for Robin and her constant rambling. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Steve shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t wanna admit it, I guess, but I think it’s just gonna get worse.” The prospect of losing his hearing entirely and permanently was on the table, especially if he was to get punched again or something. Considering his group of friends and their history of getting into trouble, that didn’t seem unlikely. Robin put a caring hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting smile.

“Well, I talk too much for you to not understand me, so this means we’re both gonna have to learn sign language.”

“What?” Steve winced at the idea. “No way. I took three years of Spanish and I only know how to ask where the bathroom is.”

(He actually forgot how to say that, too.)

“Yeah, but maybe sign language will be different. I mean, it’s visual, right?” Robin put her elbows on the counter and continued. “Come on, you know I love languages, and I’m soooo booooored.” As she spoke, her body slowly sank onto the counter until she was face down. 

Steve chuckled. He wasn’t surprised that she was the first to figure it all out, and her reaction was incredibly on brand. 

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “Let’s give it a shot.”

Steve picked up the alphabet pretty quickly. He already knew most of it from Sunday School as a kid. Then, for about a week or so, Robin drilled him by practicing different signs during their shifts together. There were only a few weeks of summer vacation left before Robin went back to school for her senior year.

Steve was grateful he’d already graduated by the time his hearing got worse. He would never have had the courage to ask for accommodations. Although, Robin probably would have bugged him into asking for it anyway. 

Whatever, He didn’t need to think about that. 

MOVIE, Robin signed to Steve during a standard shift at Family Video.

“Uhhhhh…cheese?” Steve guessed. Robin shook her head. 

“No, but close!” she countered. Steve groaned. 

“How is it close, Robin? How?” he complained. She laughed, then showed him the sign for CHEESE versus MOVIE. They were honestly not that different. “Oh. Okay, yeah.”

W-O-R-K, she fingerspelled next. Steve’s eyes lit up. 

“I know this one!!!” he exclaimed, hitting one of his fists on top of the other to sign WORK.

“Yes!” Robin cheered. She quickly corrected herself and signed YES. Steve smiled. CANDY TIME.

When Steve got a sign right, she’d throw an M&M his way so he could catch it in his mouth. It was something they’d started doing together at Scoops Ahoy with various toppings.

M&M’s were much less messy.

Sure, the study and reward method was a bit juvenile, but it worked. Steve practiced, and he learned some basic signs. THANK YOU. PLEASE. SORRY. I KNOW. I DON’T UNDERSTAND. WHAT? AGAIN. He also learned random ones. BIRD. BASKETBALL. VAMPIRE. SODA.

And then, of course, the two of them learned the other essentials - words that they usually just had shared glances for.

HOT, for when an attractive customer came in. COMPLAIN, for when an annoying customer came in. FINISH, when their shift was over. 

It worked. They started signing to each other instead of talking whenever possible. Robin let him have all the tasks he could do in the back room or by himself, and she handled a lot of the customers to cover for him. The pressure and stress Steve had been feeling started to melt away, and his headaches got better since he didn't have to focus so much all the time.

His parents knew about his condition, but they never talked much in the first place, so nothing really changed at home. He’d go to work and make do, and then he’d go home, and everything was alright.

About a week of study sessions later, Robin had an idea. 

YOUR FRIENDS, she began. Steve stared at her and waited for her to elaborate. She took a deep breath. TELL-THEM YOU CAN. 

Steve continued to stare at her quizzically. She was learning all the grammar and shit, and he was still on vocabulary. 

MY FRIENDS…YES? He guessed, trying to mimic the one sign he couldn’t remember the meaning to. She shook her head. 

C-A-N, she clarified. Steve thought about it. YOUR FRIENDS LOVE YOU, she continued, slower this time. SHOULD KNOW.

Steve sighed. He’d been avoiding Dustin a lot more these last few weeks, because he knew the smartass would figure him out in seconds. 

Steve sighed, knowing Robin was right. 

O-K, he agreed. 

Dustin took it well. He had a lot of questions, but most of them Steve didn’t know the answers to. He quickly decided he would also learn some signs to support Steve. The support made Steve feel so relieved, he told all of his other friends. Well, he told the kids. Max. El. Will. Mike. Lucas. El and Will were planning on moving to California pretty soon with Jonathan and Joyce, so El decided it would be good for her to practice writing letters to Steve, since she’d be doing long distance with Mike and all. Lucas and Mike also made an attempt at learning signs, but they were even shittier at it than Steve was - which honestly made Steve feel even better. They treated it like a secret code they all were learning - kind of like the weird phrases they insisted on saying whenever they used the walkie talkies.

It was all very cute. 

Since Steve wasn’t in school, he ended up practicing sign language during most of his free time. It felt good to be doing something for himself. It made him feel smart, and he didn’t feel smart that often. Robin also picked it up pretty fast, which was to be expected. 

But then, all of a sudden, school was starting again, and everyone was busy. Steve continued to work and study ASL, but he didn’t have as many shifts with Robin. He would drive the kids to school and to their clubs and stuff, but it was impossible to communicate with a bunch of kids in the car. He went on dates, but the talking part of it all didn’t really work out. He wasn’t connecting with anybody, and he couldn’t understand them half the time. Plus, most of his date spots required loud noises - movies, sports games, etc. He’d go out with women, and he’d have a decent albeit exhausting time trying to keep up, and then sometimes they’d have sex, but if he was being honest - he wasn’t even really enjoying sex as much anymore.

Crazy, right? He couldn’t believe it either.

He was isolated, but getting by. He kept spending down-time at work watching videos about sign language that he’d borrowed from the library, and everywhere he went he tried to think of the sign for what he saw. TREE. CAR. LIGHT. RESTAURANT. BICYCLE. HOUSE. BOOK. STORE.

Eventually, it all started coming together. 

-

It was October - Halloween season. Considering what had happened last Halloween, Steve wasn’t too thrilled about it. Neither were some of the kids, primarily Will and El. Times had been tough for El especially after losing Hopper, and Steve knew that. It seemed like she had a decent support system though. Jonathan’s mom had taken her in, and she was dating Mike as well. She’d be okay, Steve hoped.

Then came the big moving day for the Byers and El. Steve had to admit he was a bit jealous. He’d wanted to get out of Hawkins forever, but now he had Dustin and Robin tying him there. 

Jonathan got to escape this town and he was dating Nancy? Such bullshit. 

Not that Steve was pining over Nancy anymore. He’d always love her, in a way, but he’d moved on. They didn’t work together, and that was that. Over and out, as the kids would say on their stupid walkie talkies. 

Anyway, El may have been alright, but Steve had his doubts about Will. He didn’t really know how to broach the subject, but he noticed that when he picked the kids up, Will was usually pretty quiet. 

An outsider, kind of like Steve.

So, when moving day arrived, Steve offered to help. He knew that Nancy and Jonathan would be there and their farewells would be a whole thing he had no interest in being around for, but he was pretty strong and he could carry boxes and help the kids, at least.

But when he showed up, he saw Will in the backyard by himself. Steve gave a small wave, then slowly approached the kid and sat down beside him. 

WHAT’S-UP, Steve signed. It was one of the signs he taught all the kids. Will shrugged. Steve watched Will intently as he waited for his response.

“I don’t want to move,” Will said. “I like my house. And my friends.” Will caught himself, realizing he knew an applicable sign, then added FRIENDS. Steve smiled.

UNDERSTAND, he replied. That was another sign he taught the kids. “This sucks.”

“How do you sign that?” Will asked. “That it sucks.” 

Steve knew that one, obviously. He knew a lot of signs now, but that was one he used a lot. He brought the tip of his pointer finger to his chin and frowned. Will repeated the action, then raised his eyebrows. Steve nodded in approval. Will’s hands dropped back into his lap, and the forlorn look on his face came back.

“I guess I just -” Will began, averting his eyes from Steve and staring in the distance. “They’re gonna forget about me here. They’re already -” He sighed. “It feels like I’m being left behind, even though I’m the one leaving.” Steve nodded gently, understanding the feeling all too well.

Will was the member of the party Steve had interacted with the least, probably because the other kids were a bit - uhhh - louder. Dustin and Steve were like brothers, Lucas and Steve could talk about basketball, El and Max were by no means close with Steve but he still felt like a surrogate older brother to them, and Mike was - 

Okay, Mike and Steve didn’t really get along. That was to be expected, considering everything. They weren’t mean to each other or anything, they were just awkward and mildly annoyed with each other most of the time. 

Will was different. Steve had been filled in on what happened to Will through Dustin, and it was - well, yeah. Will had it rough. And no one ever really talked about it. It was like, Will went through this whole traumatic thing, but he was back to “normal” now, so everything was fine. But it wasn’t fine, and he was getting sick and tired of pretending it was.

Whoops. Okay. Maybe Steve was connecting with Will more than he anticipated he would. 

That was probably where a lot of the disconnect came from with everyone in Steve’s life except for Robin. The two of them had been tortured together for hours underground. Steve got the brunt of it. And they were drugged and threatened and nearly killed dozens of times. But they escaped and got out and then they were fighting a giant monster and fireworks were going off and then people died and there was no space for Steve to talk about what had happened to him. 

He probably needed a therapist, but if he saw a shrink his dad would never let him hear the end of it. Besides, how could he explain any of his trauma to them? He couldn’t talk about it with anyone except his close group of friends, and he didn’t want to burden them with it, so he just…didn’t talk about it. 

Steve wanted to say so many things to Will, but he also felt like he had no right to give any advice on friends or happiness. Steve had left the majority of his friends behind, willingly, and he didn’t regret it, but he also was sad about it. He missed it in some weird, fucked up way he couldn’t explain. Especially Tommy. God, all they did was argue and get in each other’s faces, but they knew each other better than anyone else. The best and the worst of it - mostly the worst, though.

“Well, I won’t forget you,” Steve said, hoping the reassurance would provide some kind of comfort. 

“You don’t know me,” Will replied. “And don’t you hate my brother?”

Oof. Valid argument, but still. Steve’s thoughts on Jonathan were…complicated, to say the least.

“I don’t hate him,” Steve responded. “And your brother isn’t you.” 

When Steve spoke, he tried to translate it in his head. It had become a habit. HATE DON’T. YOU, YOUR BROTHER, NOT-SAME.

He was getting pretty good at the sign language thing.

“I’m probably just going to sit out here and be sad,” Will said with a shrug. 

“Okay,” Steve replied. “Is it okay if I sit here and be sad too?”

Will turned to Steve, confused at first, but then his face relaxed into something different. He nodded. 

Everyone inside seemed to be doing just fine without them, anyway.

-

The Byers (and El) moved to California. Lucas, Dustin, and Mike joined Hellfire club, which they were really excited about. The first few times Dustin had told Steve about it, the dipshit was so excited Steve only got like half of what he was being told. For example, he thought the boys were getting ready to drink champagne for the first time or something, which was weird, but whatever. Kids are weird. And then later he realized they were preparing for a campaign.  

They had shirts. Steve recognized the shirts. Then, it all made sense.

He’d heard of Hellfire before. They were kind of hard to miss. They were the exact opposite of cool, even though Dustin seemed to think that wasn’t the case. An underground sort of cool, he’d explained. 

Yeah. Sure, buddy.

Steve knew from his years at Hawkins High that those guys were not treated with any sort of respect. The only popularity they had was the negative kind. People knew who they were, and they stayed away. They were weird.

At the same time, Steve wasn’t surprised the boys had joined. It was a Dungeons and Dragons club, after all - Of course, Steve didn’t actually make that connection until Dustin had made him aware. He wasn’t sure what he thought Hellfire did back when he was in school, but it certainly wasn’t a nerdy roleplaying game. They gave off a different vibe. Like, a chaotic anarchist kind of vibe. Most of Steve’s perception came from the guy who led it - Eddie Munson, the school freak. That’s what they called him. Steve and Eddie had never really interacted, because why would they have? They were both seniors when Steve graduated, but Eddie was a year older. And he still hadn’t graduated. 

Tough deal.

Anyway, Dustin was obsessed with Eddie. He worshiped the guy, basically. And Steve couldn’t help but be a little jealous - not that he’d ever admit that, of course. But Dustin was around Eddie more often, and they could talk about things they enjoyed freely and without having to stop every ten seconds to repeat themselves.

So, yeah. Steve was bitter about it. 

He usually picked the kids up from Hellfire after school, because the “champagnes” (no, they never let Steve live that one down) sometimes went pretty late. Plus, Steve was the wheels in most circumstances - he drove Robin to school every morning, too.

He was probably at Hawkins High more often than he had been when he attended the damn school. 

Anyway, one night in particular, Steve waited outside the drama club room for Lucas, Mike, and Dustin to walk out and hop in the car like they always did, but they were running late. 

Again. Oh, joy. 

Steve parked the car and headed inside, only to find everything packed up (thankfully), but everyone was still absorbed in conversation. 

Steve couldn’t follow. They were all talking over each other and about things that he didn’t really understand well in the first place. Plus, there was music playing in the background, which muddied everything else in his brain. So, he waited and watched them interact. And then everyone was looking at him, and he didn’t know why. 

“What?” Steve asked, totally lost. He turned to the boys, who all tried to explain what Steve had missed in their own way. Steve caught them flashing a few signs his way. JOKE. IGNORE. HE DON’T-KNOW. 

Ehh, Steve kind of pieced it together. Eddie probably made some sort of comment about how awkward Steve was being without knowing why. It was probably for the best that Steve didn’t hear it. Instead, he turned to Eddie so he could share what was going on. 

But then, Eddie signed to him.

YOU DEAF?

Steve’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He nodded. YOU SIGN?!

MOM DEAF, Eddie explained. Before Steve had the chance to ask a follow-up question, Eddie answered one of them. MOM DEAD NOW.  Eddie turned away to face the boys, then pivoted back to Steve. BEFORE, COULD HEAR. RIGHT? HAPPEN WHEN?

Eddie’s signing skills seemed almost natural. Clearly he’d been doing it for ages. Steve nodded.

NEW, he explained. He was blanking on the sign for “recent” due to the fact that he was so stunned. MY SIGNING… Oh, God. Steve couldn’t remember how to say anything. He wanted to say that he was still learning, so he wasn’t that good. Instead, he did the universal hand gesture for “iffy,” which worked well enough. The boys and the other club members all watched this interaction in awe as Eddie processed this with a small nod.

O-K, Eddie replied. 

And that was it. Eddie went back to talking to the boys, and presumably dismissed them as they all scattered away to collect their bags. Eddie wasn’t even looking at Steve. 

That was kind of a bummer.

Up until then, Steve hadn’t met anyone else who signed (except for Robin), so this was kind of huge. At the same time, it was Eddie. Like, Steve had come a long way from his King Steve days, but the dude was a loose cannon. He was always drawing attention to himself and jumping on tables and shit. They had nothing in common, originally, but now they had two gigantic things in common - Dustin and sign language. 

Steve took the kids home as he usually did, but he didn’t even attempt to focus on what they were saying. Besides, he was still thinking about, well, everything.

A part of him was annoyed, because of course the other older brother figure for Dustin was cool enough to know sign language. Of course. The other part of him was over the moon. He had someone to talk to and practice with. Although, that was only if Eddie was interested, which he very well might not have been. Plus, it was also kind of against the rules of the school. The jock and the freak spending time together? It just didn’t happen. 

Then again, Steve wasn’t going to Hawkins High anymore. He could make his own rules. 

He couldn’t wait to tell Robin about all of this. She was going to lose her damn mind.

------------------

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[maochira]

sorry if it's confuse my english is shitty today 🐑

Can u do some scenarios Itoshi brothers with a super talented middle sister from another sport? they both going into her games; always remembering everyone that them are three talented sibling not two talented brothers; they asking why reader does not like futebol and she said is too easy for her lol; i feel that they will try to make her popular to the media if she felt depressed to not get support from the midia cuz women sport does not get many attention 🥲

Hi!! I get fem!reader requests sometimes but I only write gn!reader stuff, sorry! I'm still doing the request, tho!

Requests open! - current writing event - Itoshi sibling masterlist

Tags/notes: gn!reader, this plays before Sae went to spain so the brothers and reader are fairly young

-even though your brothers have their passion for soccer, you got yours in track and field athletics. To you, soccer is just kicking around the ball and running after it all the time

-your brothers often ask you to play soccer with them, but you always decline

-but they promise they'll join you at your next athletics training if you play only a bit with them, and even to that you say no. But you can't decline anymore when Sae promises your favourite ice cream

-both of them go easy on you, they just wanted to play for fun and don't want you to feel bad about losing

-but they see how great you actually are, so they have to use their full skill. They end up beating you, but regardless of that, they're surprised by how good you are

-Rin really wants you to start playing soccer as well, but you decline by listing the reasons why you think it's stupid and too easy

-as the years pass by, your brothers keep asking you to start soccer. Especially Rin, as he wants you to beat Sae as well. But you decline over and over

-but honestly, on the inside, you're a bit jealous of how much attention your brothers' soccer careers get all the time, while you and your skills are overlooked. You have thought about picking up soccer a handful of times, but always ended up thinking you shouldn't start for the wrong reasons

-at some point, Sae and Rin give up on telling you to start soccer. Sae actually stopped bugging you about that way earlier than Rin did

-they still want the world to know your skill, tho. That's why they try to get the media's attention on you!! Of course only after making sure you're okay with that

[dedicatednotobsessed]

alright, I was wondering if could maybe do an ewan x fem!reader where reader is a fairly new actress but some of her roles have garnered massive attention. she and ewan star in a movie together and soon fall for eachother on set. it's really sweet and nice and they just absolutely adore eachother. please?

(side note: loving the tom glynn carney fic so far, so good!)

Of course you may! 🥰🥰 I hope you enjoy!! 💚💚 If you ever have any future requests, my inbox is always open 😌

Star Crossed Lovers [Ewan Mitchell x Fem!Reader One shot]

Other HOTD stories [requests open]

Summary: You are an up and coming actress, already becoming popular through some major roles. You have gained a recent role in an upcoming movie, your costar being Ewan Mitchell, another up and coming English actor. Throughout your time filming, the two of you becoming closer and possibly something more….

You pushed your sunglasses on the top of your head while walking onto the set of your latest project, a romance film. You may have been a little late because you slept in and you also decided coffee was more of a priority than showing up on time. It was only about ten minutes so you believed it wasn’t a big deal.

You were a big and upcoming actress in England, already having a few roles under your belt that caused your stardom to rise. You were young and beautiful, your manager stating that those two features combined with your talent, you were going places.

“There you are!”

You turned hearing a voice and smiled wide seeing the director. “Hey, Robert!” You greeted, waving.

As he walked closer, a chuckle leaving his lips seeing the coffee in your other hand. “Was the traffic bad?”

“Oh, so bad,” You joked walking closer with a smile. “But I am sorry, I will be on time tomorrow.”

“You better be,” Robert said chuckling and began to walk with you. “At least your costar was nice enough to be on time.”

“Oh, you mean Ewan?”

“The only other costar you have.”

You giggled at the attitude he gave as he led you to a building where you would be doing a quick table read. Your costar was another up and coming young actor by the name of Ewan Mitchell. He was mainly known right now for his big role on the show, The Last Kingdom. You watched it and thought his character, Osferth was the sweetest one ever.

You walked in and smiled seeing the brunette boy turn to you. “It’s about time,” He teased laughing. “Where’s my coffee?”

You smirked and shrugged. “You didn’t ask,” You replied with a small smirk and walked closer, setting your cup down before giving him a tight hug. “It is so good to see you again.”

Ewan smiled, returning your hug. “You too, love.”

Robert clapped his hands together when you released the hug. “So, as the two of you know this is supposed to be a six month long project. Possibly seven.”

You nodded as Robert continued to explain what he wanted the next six months to entail, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Now, your chemistry test was the best, but the best way to be a convincing couple is to get closer,” Robert began to explain. “How about you take a pretty lady out to dinner, Ewan?”

Ewan chuckled a bit and smiled. “I mean, I would love to, but my mum isn’t here.”

You gasped and smiled up at Ewan when he gave you a cheeky smile. “Does seven work for you?” You asked softly.

Ewan nodded a bit. “Seven works perfect, love.”

❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈

You looked in the mirror, fixing your hair a bit. Ewan had texted you to wear something casual and that is exactly what you were planning on doing. You only really dressed up for premieres and interviews. For your original screen test, you wore a plain t-shirt and yoga pants with minimal makeup.

You hummed lightly to the music blasting through your phone, fixing your eye makeup quickly before walking out. You lived in a small two bedroom apartment with one and a half beds. It wasn’t too big but it was perfect for you. You did imagine having a family soon enough, but first you needed a boyfriend. Your mother always said you should get married before having a child, but you needed a boyfriend in order to get married.

You looked down, hearing your phone go off and smiled seeing Ewan’s name come on the screen.

“I can’t really find your flat,” Ewan spoke on the other side.

“First off,” You began with furrowed brows sitting on the couch after grabbing your favorite pair of boots. “Are you on the phone while driving? That is dangerous, sir.”

“No,” Ewan replied laughing. “I’m pulled off to the side, but I’m wondering where your flat is.”

“How can you not find it? I sent you the address.”

“So hostile,” Ewan said jokingly.

“How about we just meet at the restaurant?” You suggested giggling, putting your phone on speaker so you could put your shoes on.

“Now that is not very gentleman like,” Ewan replied with a smirk. He glanced at his phone looking over his maps and furrowed his brows. “Wait, I think I found it. I’ll be there soon.”

You rolled your eyes, but the smile stayed on your lips. “Okay, Ewan.”

About fifteen minutes have passed since Ewan’s phone call before you heard a knock at your door. You opened it and smiled wide at the sight of your costar.

“It really took you that long to find my place?” You questioned with a raised brow.

“Yes!” Ewan exclaimed. “It was so damn confusing,” He said chuckling while running a hand through his hair.

“Well,” You began lightly punching his arm. “I give you a bronze star.”

“What?” He asked, shocked. “Not even a silver?”

“Nope,” You replied with a small smirk while grabbing your purse.

“Rude,” Ewan mumbled but he chuckled, leading you down after you locked the door and opened the passenger door for you.

“Awe such a gentleman,” You said while smiling lightly as you got in. “But you’re still not getting a silver star,” You added with a wink.

The two of you went to a diner not far from your house, sitting across from Ewan. You twirled the straw of your tea, smiling lightly as the two of you just talked.

“So, what made you want to get this role?” He asked after a moment.

You looked up at his blue eyes, smiling softly. “I was interested by the story,” You admitted with a nod. “Something different too from what I normally do,” You added. “What about you?”

“Same for me,” Ewan replied with a nod and a small smile. He took a sip of his water. “I just wanted to try and get more projects, get out there.”

“Well, you are on that show. I love your character by the way,” You said with a wide smile. “Osferth is just the sweetest character ever.”

Ewan laughed a bit. “Well, thank you.” He glanced over you a bit, a small smile on his lips. “I have seen a couple of your projects as well. You’re a wonderful actress.”

“Thank you,” You said with a small smile looking down noticing the way he was looking you over, a small blush creeping onto your cheeks. “It means a lot to me.”

You glanced up when you saw the waitress coming over, setting your cheeseburger and fries down in front of you. You thanked her, watching her leave after a moment and lightly picked at your fries.

“How do you feel about the bedroom scenes?” You asked after a moment.

Ewan shrugged a bit. “I think I’m going to be okay with it,” He replied with a small smile. “It’s easy to do those scenes when your costar is gorgeous,” He said casually.

You laughed at that, your face turning a darker red. “Thank you,” You replied, tilting your head. “I agree with you on that though.”

Ewan chuckled, glancing down at his own food as the two of you went silent while you ate. You noticed the little glances he was giving you causing your heart to flutter a bit. He was really handsome, but you knew he was only flirting with you to get closer, as Robert’s instructions.

Within a month of filming, you and Ewan seemed to have grown extremely close. Other costars have teased the two of you about the little flirting you had going on, yet you still denied any feelings you had for him.

You yawned being on set early, running a hand through your hair. You were there earlier than normal, having promised that you would try to show up on time since you have still showed up late quite a few times.

“Wow, you actually showed up on time,” Ewan teased walking over to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You rolled your eyes and giggled. “I did sacrifice my coffee of course,” You said with a slight pout.

Ewan snickered at that. “Well, if you go into your trailer, you’d see that someone has gifted you a coffee from your favorite place.”

You furrowed your brows at Ewan. “How did you know—“

“I pay attention,” He replied with a shrug. “I noticed you always got the same coffee from the same shop every day so, I found it and brought you a coffee.”

“Awe, Ewan!” You gushed, walking into your trailer and there sitting on the table was an iced caramel macchiato from your favorite coffee shop in London. “You really are the best fake boyfriend ever.”

Ewan laughed at that. “I try my best,” He said with a smirk, kissing your cheek before letting you go as you headed inside.

You smiled, taking a sip of your coffee while Ewan leaned against the doorway. He had a small smile on his lips as he looked over you, turning away when you caught him.

“You know,” You began, crossing your arms as you fully turned towards your costar. “You’re pretty adorable when you’re nervous,” You teased.

Ewan’s cheeks heated up, chuckling a bit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Y/N.”

“Mmm-hmm.” You set your coffee down and walked over, wrapping your arms around his neck, smiling when you met his blue eyes. “You are still adorable, Mr. Mitchell.”

Ewan placed his hands on your waist, looking over you once more. “Well if you insist on me being adorable, I think I know someone who’s more adorable.”

“Oh really now?”

“Yep,” He replied, rubbing your side lightly.

“And who is that?”

Ewan smirked lightly. “I don’t feel like telling you right now.”

You audibly groaned. “I take back my compliment.”

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You blew out a breath, having a plush white robe wrapped around you. You stood beside Ewan, who was wearing a matching robe, while an intimacy instructor went over the scene for the day. There weren’t many intimate scenes, but they still made you nervous.

You nibbled on your lip lightly, a nervous habit you have had since you were a child. You didn’t even realize you were bleeding until you felt something lightly run down your chin.

“Are you alright?” Ewan asked you softly.

You looked up at him, giving him a small smile while furrowing your brows. “Y-yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Ewan reached over, lightly wiping the blood off of your chin. “You gave yourself a bloody lip, love.”

You turned away while wiping at your bottom lip, making sure it was okay. You looked down with a small smile and shook your head. “I’m okay, Ewan. I promise.”

“We can use body doubles if you’re more comfortable with that,” Robert spoke up.

You shook your head, smiling softly. “I’ll be okay.”

“Me too,” Ewan replied, nodding a bit.

Robert nodded a bit before he began instructing how he wanted the scene to start. You reached over, your hand lightly touching Ewan’s before he intertwined his fingers with yours. When he squeezed your hand, it gave you comfort, even when Robert instructed the two of you to take your robes off.

You kept your eyes on Ewan as you slowly untied your robe, him doing the same. The two of you were wearing padding in your most intimate parts for some of your modesty. You could feel the butterflies in your stomach as you began to run through the scene, leaning up and kissing him lightly on the lips.

You never really rehearsed the scene with Ewan, Robert having wanting to make it as real as possible between you and your costar. You felt Ewan push you back onto the bed, the camera following every one of your movements, your lips never leaving his.

The scene got heated rather quickly, a small laugh passing your lips when Robert called cut. You quickly covered yourself with the sheet, looking over at Ewan seeing his cheeks heated red.

“What did I say, you guys?” Robert laughed. “The two of you have some real chemistry.”

❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈

“You know, I think you’re supposed to dine a woman out before you decide to fuck her.”

Ewan laughed, his cheeks never really fading from the red color since the bedroom scene. “Well, I never said I was a full on gentleman,” He joked with a wink.

You laughed, looking over him with a soft smile on your face. You tilted your head while furrowing your brows a bit. You were about halfway done with the project and every day, it seemed to be something new between the two of you. The glances and the way he wraps his arms around you to keep you warm. It always made your stomach do somersaults and you were slowly understanding why.

“Is everything okay, love?”

You blinked a bit, Ewan’s voice pulling you back into reality. You looked at him and nodded, laughing a bit. “Sorry, I get lost in my own world sometimes.”

Ewan chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. “You are truly more adorable than me,” He said, smiling more.

You giggled a bit. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious,” You said jokingly.

When Ewan looked at you though, he wasn’t laughing with you. “You remember when I told you there was someone more adorable than me?”

You nodded a bit, furrowing your brows. “Are you saying I’m more adorable than you? I thought we just discussed this,” You said, laughing a bit.

Ewan laughed a bit. “That’s not what I’m saying, Y/N,” He began, reaching over and taking your hand gently. “In the short amount of time that I’ve known you, I have fallen so much for you.”

You smiled lightly. “Where are you going with this?”

“Where I’m going with this is….” Ewan took a deep breath before he continued. “I wanted to know if you would be willing to go on a proper date with me.”

You stared at your friend, a bit shocked. You never expected this from him. You looked down, nodding a bit with a soft smile on your lips. “I would love to go on a date with you, Ewan.”

❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈

The first date turned into two dates which turned into four quickly. By the time filming was over, you and Ewan became an official couple. It was the last day on set and you had your arms wrapped around Ewan’s neck as he carried you around on his back.

“You know, I’m going to miss working with you,” You said with a pout.

“You act like I’m never going to see you again,” Ewan stated with furrowed brows while chuckling. “We have literally been dating for four months now.”

“Yeah, but,” You whined and laughed when he whined with you.

“We’re still going to see each other every day, love,” He said kissing your cheek lightly when you jumped off his back and wrapped an arm around you.

You looked up at Ewan, wrapping your arms around his waist. “Until we have to go off to do our own projects.”

Ewan laughed and smiled lovingly down at you. “Guess, you’ll just have to come in my suitcase when I’m off filming,” He said with a wink.

You smiled and leaned up, kissing him gently on the lips. You never expected to fall for your costar, but you were head over heels for Ewan and it seemed as though he was the same way. You couldn’t ask for anyone better though or anyone sweeter. It was as though it was meant to be that you were to do this project with Ewan and you were to meet him.

[princelylove]

I think it’s fairly obvious that mafiosi would have at least some sexism going on. It’s just shown differently, and it's hard to put them all in the same category because their psychology is different. For my freaks who happen to be into a little misogyny/sexism:

Call Guido old fashioned, but he thinks it’s wrong to be rough with a girl. It rubs him the wrong way. Yeah, of course girls can do whatever we can, he’s all for them working and voting and all the good stuff, but you just shouldn’t treat a girl like that. He tends to say ‘girl’ instead of ‘woman,’ even when he’s referring to someone that’s implied to be older than he is. 

When Guido interrogates Scolippi in the english dub, he says “I should end you for killing a girl,” and “You killed an innocent girl, psycho,” which could just be intentionally guilt tripping Scolippi, but Guido isn’t the guilt type. He’s an immediate physical punishment type. He hates men that harm women, no matter the degree. 

If he ends up having a crush on someone who is masculine, you might not notice at all (unless you pick up on his hesitation). Guido’s always been fairly handsy, he’ll put his arm around Pannacotta (who normally shoves him off), he picks up Narancia and won’t let him down until he gets his good morning cheek kiss, he’ll bother Giorno until he gets a little smoochie-woochie (said like that because he knows Giorno hates that sort of talk), and he sits way too close to his darling. He’s microdosing physical contact until he gets the nerve to actually touch you like he does Panna and Nara… Guys can play around, too, you know. But it’s different with his darling! He psyches himself out most times until he can find excuses to get handsy- like, he was just hugging Panna, he’s not gonna leave you out. Come on, man, you know you want one. 

With a feminine darling, he tries to be touchy and affectionate in the friend stage too, but he’s a little scared. You may notice his hands trembling as he picks you up, or that when he puts his arm around your waist, his hand hovers instead of resting on you. He’s strong enough to hold you up for quite a while, he’s just nervous. Poor guy. He gets rather panicky when he sees a girl in distress, if he ever scared you off, he doesn't even know what he'd do.

Narancia copies Bruno, but less in a ‘Chivalry is important’ sense and more of a ‘Masculine men don’t do certain shit’ sense. Which is missing the point of Bruno’s philosophy entirely. He doesn’t really have any women in his life, besides from Trish and she is not a role model for him or a spokesperson for all of womankind, so his only experience with women are the old ladies that pinch his cheeks and girl mags. 

He probably has a harder time with a masculine darling. He isn’t gay ‘cause he thinks you’re pretty, or whatever… You’re just, like… pretty, he guesses. Narancia tries to justify it- you’re pretty feminine for a dude! You have, like, soft hands. And soft hair. And… something else that justifies his crush. Oh! Oh! How you talk! Some people just sound feminine, you know? The words they use, and like, their tone. Like- Like Giorno! He’s a feminine guy, but he’s still a guy! Yeah, that justifies it for sure. Never mind the fact that you are not feminine in the slightest, Narancia will find some way to throw it on you so his crush is ‘ok.’

Leone surprisingly has nothing going on in the sexism department. Lucky him. He might speak a bit softer to a fem darling, but other than that, the experience is roughly the same.

Pannacotta’s distrust of women isn’t inherently sexist. It’s not like he thinks less of them, it’s just that it takes a significant amount of time for him to trust one. He gets along with men at the ‘normal, appropriate’ speed, he’d say. Never mind the fact that he’s distrusting in general and having a crush on a stranger is eating him alive. Strangers are never to be trusted- you just don’t know what they’re thinking about or what their intentions are. They could be perverse, or… just generally ill-willed. It’s unnerving. 

Trish is allergic to going fifty-fifty. It’s not that she’s super into gender roles or anything, it’s just that, she’s a girl, come on. Really? You’re gonna make her split the bill with you? She could be spending that money on, like, anything else. 

She has these expectations of you no matter your gender, don’t make her pay, give her your jacket when she’s cold, carry her shopping bags, get her flowers on valentine’s day, things like that. It’s less ‘I’m the girl in our relationship’ and more ‘I’m spoiled and won’t be bending anytime soon,’ but you could argue she has some internalized sexism going on. In fact I am making that argument.  Trish doesn’t have ‘boy’ hobbies, she’s vehemently opposed to doing masculine work. It isn’t sexist to have preferences, but it is sexist to scoff at your partner who is struggling with carrying something and go “You’re supposed to be stronger than that, you’re a guy.” Poor darling. You don’t get out of it if you’re feminine, either. She’s the girl, you’re her not-man. Perfect! When she eventually matures, she’ll help out a bit more, but it’s probably never equal.

[sianagrace]

Bedknobs and Broomsticks and the Beautification of War and Witchcraft: Siana’s Panel Presentation

Robert Stevenson and Ward Kimball’s 1971 fever dream of a musical combines action and animation, war and witchcraft, feminism and effemination, and a classic Disney fantasy touch. Based on the books by English children's author Mary Norton, the story follows Miss Price, the town's "crazy lady", "spinster", and secret witch, as she takes in three young siblings displaced from London during World War II. The four join with scammer/magician Emelius Browne to search for a spell that could “end the war”. Let’s take a closer look!

Narratives and Myths: The Disney-fication of Witchcraft

Stevenson and Kimball Disney-fy witchcraft through Angela Lansbury’s character, Miss Price. Storytellers throughout history often present witches as antagonists or villains: Hansel and Gretel (1812), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and The Sword in the Stone (1963), to name a few. Of course, by 1971, people worldwide could associate “Good Witch” with Glinda (1939), but she was not a catalyst for similarly-natured witches. Miss Price embodies a sense of normalcy and country charm that makes witchcraft seem more like a hobby rather than an all-encompassing characterization of evil. More broadly, Bedknobs and Broomsticks presents magic as realistic, providing the audience with an “anything is possible” mindset.

Depictions of Femininity and Masculinity: Just Feminist Enough

Being a witch simply slots into Miss Price’s identity: she is a single, private, middle-aged woman who lives alone in a large home fairly far from the town center. From our first encounter with her character, we can tell that she does not conform, and has no interest in conforming, to 1940s societal expectations regarding how a woman her age should present herself.

In her article “My Fair Lady: A Voice for Change”, scholar Marcie Ray notes that as America and Western Europe called in second-wave feminism, there came a filmic trend of musicals “[employing] the single girl character to depict the changing nature of (white) female sexuality” (293) as opposed to following a strict love plot. In a later section, “Eliza as the ‘Other’”, Ray discusses the tool of othering the lead female protagonist so she appears to have room for improvement, growth, and assimilation into proper society. Miss Price follows this formula, presenting palatable white femininity and feminism, but ultimately reverting to heterosexual expectations: Mr. Browne, once her anonymous professor of witchcraft, quickly becomes her love interest.

Aligning with the ongoing feminist movement at the time of this film’s production, Mr. Browne’s masculinity, and attached agency, come into question rather than being accepted as fact. His introduction in the film establishes him as a trickster, con artist, and coward. Miss Price turns him into a bunny multiple times, to which he replies “Miss Price, a word about your tactics: if I know I’m being changed into a hawk or a tiger, or something with a bit of flash, but always a fluffy white rabbit? It’s incorrigible!” This power dynamic cements Miss Price, and her playful, modern take on femininity, as the authority and lead throughout the film.

Class and Racial Subtexts: “Portobello Road”

The backdrop of World War II connects all the characters in this film through an environment devoid of abundance, and an expectation of having “less than”. Any hints of wealth or a British upper class can only be seen in what’s left behind during the height of the war rather than through individual characters.

The over ten-minute-long “Portobello Road” musical sequence demonstrates this time of unity through scarcity through color, music, and performance. The street, either through set building or editing, appears gray in itself and tinges everyone walking along the street similarly. This area of London feels communal and bustling while simultaneously being economically disadvantaged. The song, sung by all five of our lead protagonists and by the large ensemble, speaks of riches, fantasy, and possibility: the Portobello Road market is a symbol of hope, even if momentary and unfeasible.

There is little racial or ethnic subtext in this film - past, of course, the significance of WWII and all those groups ostracized, interned, and killed during the time. Portobello Road, however, curiously introduces a densely diverse enclave of London, including spotlight moments of Sikh soldiers, Scottish dancers, and Trini performers. Past their brief musical moments, we do not analyze or revisit these characters. We are, however, shown our five white protagonists interacting with these minority groups in a normalized, meaningful way: dancing, playing, and smiling alongside each other in this utopian street fair. This scene aligns more with the decade of the film’s production (late-60s and early-70s) than it does with the period in which it’s set (1940s). 

Significance to the Audience and Temporality

As briefly mentioned earlier, the character development in Bedknobs and Broomsticks is critical to ensure the comfort of 1970s audiences. Miss Price is just feminist enough, the children as just boisterous enough, Mr. Browne is just crass enough, and everyone is just poor enough. There are many things a contemporary audience can problematize about this film: Miss Price’s reverting to patriarchal expectations of marriage, love, and motherhood; the romanticization of war and, specifically, WWII; Mr. Browne’s sexist remarks about women's memories and professional capabilities. At its core, however, this is still a Disney fantasy with loveable, quirky characters, catchy musical numbers, and an entire additional animated world to fall in love with. There’s a steadfast formula that makes this film enjoyable despite its generational immobility.

Critical Discussion Questions

How do we create lovable characters whose backgrounds are classically/traditionally/stereotypically rooted in horror, antagonism, and/or villainy (ex. witches, con-artists, monsters)?

What generational differences do you see embedded in your film / what changes should/would be made in a remake?

Are love plots actually necessary to the plot of your film or other musicals? What would look different about the trajectory and public reception of the film without a love plot?

@theuncannyprofessoro

[girlweepinginstairwell]

I need advice which im not sure how much u can help me since I know all schools are different, but im a very broke (transfer) uni student & im thinking about becoming an English tutor since I’ve always gotten As in English. Im a bit scared because English is subjective up to a point (I know essays follow a formula and such) and I don’t want students getting a bad grade because I gave them bad advice for writing their papers :-( anyway I think im just asking for tips on how to be a potentially good tutor?

omg so honored you’re asking me this... i realize i took a while to answer so i hope i can still be of some use to you!

i personally worked at my university’s writing center, which meant there was a mandatory rhetoric/pedagogy course i had to take as i first began tutoring students—i found it to be immensely helpful and reassuring during that first semester of work. depending on your personal situation, you may not end up doing the same, but i would still highly recommend engaging with some pedagogical theory before/as you become a peer tutor... i think that it truly gives u a solid framework that is essential in this line of the work and bolsters your confidence in yourself! so um... sorry to assign u homework hehe but here are a few of the readings that helped me & defined my approach towards engaging with my students and proffering feedback on their assignments:

the banking concept of education by paulo freire from ways of reading: an anthology for writers

chapter 3: the tutoring process from the allyn and bacon guide to peer tutoring

chapter 16: writing comments on students’ papers from engaging ideas: the professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom

learning to praise by donald a. daiker

on students’ rights to their own texts: a model of teacher response by lil brannon and c.h. knoblauch

i found that as i tried to put a lot of these ideas into practice during my sessions with students, i got a hang of the fundamentals of english tutoring fairly quickly & it turned into really exciting, rewarding work. i hope that it’s the same for you & i’m wishing u the best of luck! 💝

[unperceivable-future]

Narcissus [Chapter 1/?]

Hawks/Keigo Takami x Reader

Content warning: My own take on the Hanahaki Disease. English is not my best language. Foul language. Angst. May not feel like a Reader-insert considering that Reader has a given quirk and other parameters (except for appearances) [I'll be updating the list as I go]

Synopsis: In a world where humans have further evolved into having redundant traits, you are simply trying to survive life while assisting the Winged Hero.

Note: I did not expect comments and got a bit jumpscared lmao 💀 I absolutely have no clue how this story pans out. I'm just here to write a bit of angst and geek out. A part of me does feel bad that the MC has a bit of a character and backstory and not a super blank slate but I also enjoy having a certain dynamic between Hawks and MC. There is a bit of a projection here unfortunately.

0 1...

===============

You bite back a snort when Hawks' eyes widen at the statistics in front of him.

"Oh shit, that's actually quite a lot." He mumbles under his breath as he reads through the financial report.

"Are you...are you sure these are all for me?" He turns to you, baffled at the numbers. 

"Seems like it, they're all your fans." You shrug in amusement.

"Sucks to be popular huh." One of Hawks' veteran sidekicks chimes in.

The last Thursday of the month is often when the revenue comes in. When Hawks' agency is paid for all the hero work Hawks and his sidekicks have pulled through. Next day is when salary is distributed amongst the staff and...

Monday, first Monday of the new month is when a portion of the revenue is put through a charity system that helps people get their surgery to remove any traces of Hanahaki illness that's caused by Hawks' pretty existence.

The system is rather intricate, involving psych doctors that quite literally use their quirks in determining who is the cause of such a flowery mess of a disease to approve such financial aid.

"I told you to not drink your ass off this weekend." You taunt your boss who cradles his head in his palms.

This always happens. Hawks does something big, makes a grand appearance in the public doing cool heroic villain take downs then do a bit of fan service and celebrate the big victory with his office staff and sidekicks on the weekend then get a bit wasted and regret it by Monday morning as his popularity comes biting him back on his ass.

Normally he gets away from financial punches such as these by rapidly taking down villains without a lot of the public spectating him, his sidekicks barraging in the scene for clean up as he moves to the next villain. That also means less people seeing him and getting the idea that wow, this man is GREAT! Let me just fall in love with him real quick!

But as of late, he has been making a lot of appearances as more daring villains show up and take up his time, attracting viewers and all the shebang. Then added by a little bit of misfortune where he gets invited into interviews he could not turn down since...well, they produce revenues and good public image and that money goes to bettering the agency and of course, goes to helping his unfortunate fans that catch feelings like it's the flu in winter seasons.

It is a balance, really, Hawks is a big believer that a hero's presence itself should be able to put citizens at ease but it does come with a price and in this case, a fairly hefty one.

"Pidge?" Hawks calls you out and you can already guess what he's about to ask of you.

"Yes?"

"Two shots of espresso, please."

"Right on it." You turn to his sidekicks who are fighting back their snickers as they look at the PowerPoint presentation of last month's damages caused by your boss' presence.

"You guys want anything while I'm at it?" You ask them, knowing damn well that they are also fighting a hangover from the weekend's shenanigans.

"Water."

"Coffee."

"More alcohol?" Everybody turns their heads to the youngest and newest sidekick.

"Take it from us, kid, more alcohol doesn't actually get rid of hangovers. It just delays the inevitable." Hawks advises, finally lifting his face from his hands.

"I think it's also worth pointing out that you're on the clock...?" You point flabbergasted at the rather ballsy request.

"Okay, wow, geez I guess I'll just have orange juice then. Damn." The newest recruit mumbles sarcastically, his youthful humour finally coming out of his shy shell.

"Good. Now let's discuss about this month's patrol route." Hawks sighs and clicks for the next slide to continue the monthly briefing and you make your way to the cafeteria to grab the heroes' beverages.

Working with Hawks, after proving yourself by sorting out the administrative side of his business and in turn saving his then crumbling sanity, is not actually that bad. He is chill when the day is chill, he keeps his cool even when the day goes wrong and he learned to stop micromanaging everything and learned to trust that his employees will be able to keep up and keep the system up and running. Over the years, he found the perfect momentum along with his team and knows when a mishap is a mishap and when to actually let go of someone because they are ruining the equilibrium.

He always claims that it was all you, that how you helped set up his office and all the admin side of things is what eased his mind. You personally think that he simply matured and let go of his overly-independent personality.

It made an unlikely partnership between the two of you where there is mutual respect but not in a way that you respect Hawks because he is your boss then he treats you with bare minimum kind of respect because you did things for him through beck and call. It was mutual respect where you both actually work in tandem and you get the perks of calling him out when needed and him being able to actually have someone who does not put him up a pedestal and inflate his head, something like a friend even.

"How was patrol?" You ask, munching on your lunch. Hawks and his sidekicks have just come back from their afternoon patrol just in time while you're on your lunch break, his sidekicks heading to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

"It was hot outside." Hawks yawns and stretches his wings. You hum in response when your phone vibrates.

"Who?" He leans curiously when he notices you tapping on your device singlehandedly.

"Some dude I matched with." You respond nonchalantly, typing up a response as to why you were not in a rush in meeting this man you have been chatting with for the past three days.

"Don't you think you're rebounding too quickly?" Hawks asks.

It was an embarrassing ordeal, having gone through a cordial break up with your partner of one year only to call in sick as you sneeze and cough up petals of lilies. The painful realisation that your ex-partner has moved on quicker than you could when they started to discuss about healthily distancing and setting up boundaries in order to salvage some semblance of friendship. Embarrassing and a punch to the ego, you suppose even when they claimed that they occasionally cough up petals that look eerily similar to the first ever flower they have given to you.

"If I drown myself with men, there's nothing deep to feel." You try to make yourself sound poetic which earns you a snort from the winged hero.

"Yeah and you're probably causing these men to throw up flowers because you've been turning down the second dates." He points out.

"They don't know me well enough to cough up anything." You retort, setting your phone down.

Despite the gruesome and useless trait of coughing up flowers whenever you feel some semblance of unrequited love or care (or when the parameters dwindle and become unresolved), it is quite merciful that such illness only manifests when you feel strongly about it. Maybe it is the self-limiting nature of evolution, that no matter how crazy the body can behave it will always loop back to the baseline so that a petty crush does not decimate your lungs. Biology sure does work in mysterious ways but you would like to thank whoever is out there for making the Hanahaki Disease to follow a negative feedback loop rather than a positive one.

You let out a sneeze, covering your nose and mouth when you feel something lodged in your throat. You get up and leave the lounging area in a hurry, Hawks shooting you a concerned look knowing for a fact that you have not yet gotten over your ex.

It happens, people fall in love and when it goes both ways they do not fall sick. Sometimes people start getting sick even when they are in a relationship, a symptom that their union is tilting to its end. Other times when people feel so unhappy about the circumstances of their dynamic with their partner, they cough up petals as if a warning sign that the couple better start sorting themselves out.

Scientists believe that the social nature of humans is what caused such an evolutionary trait, that with a good and stable union leads to good offsprings eventually. This makes sense, really, because better offsprings are produced from compatible parents. You could imagine how much less generational trauma there should be if your parents got along well.

Others believe that someone or something out there is playing matchmaker, theists and those who believe in fate and destiny. But regardless, the truth remains that the illness seems to exist to supposedly benefit the social personality of Homo sapiens. The tribe is stronger in numbers and when there is less conflict, after all.

Though the whole ordeal is a little bit dramatic, you won't lie. It's not like people are stupid enough with their emotions that they need to cough up a whole ass lily just to remind them hey! You got an unsorted out feelings for this person! Get your shit together, dude! But you digress, sighing as you hack out yet another petal of lily---a sore reminder that a cordial break up will always leave lingering and unresolved feelings at first.

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Don’t Blame My English Blood For This American Heartache

Prologue

AO3 info prologue one two three four five six seven eight nine ten

All my work is 18+.

I was born in America, but I feel like I was raised on Mars. No matter how hard I try, I still feel like an alien.- Forever the Sickest Kids, Ritalin (Born in America)

May 1974

Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern California

The first time Seraphine Malfoy used magic at the age of eight—or noticed it, at the very least—, it was entirely accidental. Most magic used by children is accidental, but this particular incident was especially unexpected because no one expected Seraphine to be able to use magic at all.

Or at least, Seraphine—Sera—assumed as much. Mainly because her parents never performed any magic, or if they did, it was never in front of her.

The family cottage was small, but it was high up in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California, and as such, despite the diminutive size of Sera’s bedroom, the chair beneath the slender window was perfect for reading with the sound of leaves rustling outside. This was exactly what Sera was doing when she reached for her glass of juice on the arm of the chair, exactly where her mother had always told her never to put it. Unfortunately, she was so engrossed in whether or not Arwen could ride fast enough to escape the RingWraiths that her hand bumped the glass instead of grasping it, and she looked up, horrified, to see it tipping over slowly, and then very suddenly, and all Sera could think about was how desperately she wished it wouldn’t fall, that it would just go back to resting on the arm of the chair, and then—

And then it did. In fact, the stream of juice that had started towards the floor went straight back into the glass, as if someone had rewound one of those fancy new video cassette tapes and Sera had never bumped the glass to begin with.

She stared at the glass, at the juice settling back into complacency. Her heart was racing from the adrenaline caused by the fear of her mother’s wrath, and it was several long moments before Sera realized her mother, Marianne, had opened the door at some point.

“Mama,” Sera greeted shakily. “Did— did you see—“

“See what, darling?” her mother asked, her eyes tight and voice a little bit off. 

“I almost knocked a glass over,” Sera pointed out, “but then I wanted it to stop falling, and it did, and—“

“Sometimes things don’t weigh enough to fall all the way down, honey,” her mother explained patiently.

“No, no,” Sera rushed in, “but it was going to fall all the way down! The juice was coming out of the glass already, it was almost on the floor, and then it went back up into the glass, just like I wanted it to!”

Marianne tensed further, taking several deep breaths.

Her mother knelt down, took Sera’s small hands in hers and held them tightly. “You have a very active imagination, darling,” Marianne said, her smile not reaching her eyes, which looked almost afraid, Sera thought. 

But that didn’t make sense, did it? No, of course not. Who would be afraid of stopping juice from falling with the power of one’s mind? Not her mother, surely. Her mother was fearless, Sera was fairly certain. In fact, several years prior, three different men went on killing sprees in the county they lived in, and Marianne’s response was to shrug casually and shove a small handgun into her purse before she went into town to get groceries, the same way she’d done every week for as long as Sera could remember.

“I wasn’t imagining it, Mom,” Sera told her with a frown.

“Of course you were,” her mother assured her. “That’s alright. But let’s not tell anyone, hmm? It’s a secret.”

She knew better than to argue with her mother, so she simply asked, “What about Daddy?”

Marianne smiled tightly. “I’ll tell Daddy.”

Sera’s frown deepened, as did her confusion. “Okay,” she reluctantly acquiesced.

“Good,” her mother said with a relieved-sounding sigh, then gave Sera’s hands another squeeze before she stood back up and turned back around to leave the room. “Run along now. I have to prepare Shabbat dinner before the sun sets.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Sera went outside, and the incident was largely forgotten. 

That was, at least, until several years later when, shortly before her eleventh birthday, she was riding her bike through a trail amongst the redwood trees one afternoon.

There was a sharp turn, one she’d made dozens of times before without issue, but it had rained the night before, and so the mud on the ground made the wheels of her bike slide, and she went straight towards a tree that the storm must’ve knocked down.

The tree was huge— perhaps a foot and a half in diameter, and there were rocks on either side of it. If she couldn’t stop or jump it—and she certainly couldn’t manage either—she may hit her head on one of the rocks and die, just like Leslie Burke in the book she’d read earlier that month, and she wished desperately that she could simply sail over the tree instead.

And then she did. She sailed right over it, far higher than she ever could’ve managed to jump on her bike— four feet in the air, or perhaps even five, and she looked down at the ground in awe as she slowly moved over the tree, and then back down to the ground until the wheels of her bike met the dirt gently, far more so than they could’ve done had it been a normal fall. 

Sera hastily leaned her bike to one side, planting her foot on the ground firmly so as not to fall.

What on earth had just happened? Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, and she could hear blood rushing in her ears, whooshing like ocean waves rising up from the surface.

She raked a hand through her blonde curls, pushing them back from her face as she tried not to hyperventilate.

“You’re okay,” a voice said.

Sera whipped her head around, only to see a girl about her age standing between two trees. The girl was small, much like Sera herself was, with dark skin and long black hair. Her clothes were well-worn and covered in dirt, the same as Sera’s.

“Who are you?”

“Taana.” The girl stepped forward, onto the path. “I’m like you.”

Sera blinked at her. “Like me as in… almost eleven?”

Taana smiled. “Well, yes, but I’m also a witch.”

Sera raised an eyebrow. “A witch? Like in Wizard of Oz?”

“I don’t know what that is,” the other girl admitted with a frown. “Did you not know you were a witch?”

“I’m not a witch,” Sera insisted indignantly, “and neither are you. Witches aren’t real.”

Taana laughed. “‘Course we are.” In lieu of an explanation, she lifted her hand, palm-up, and from her hand emerged a seaside daisy. Before Sera’s very eyes, it grew from bud to blooming flower. The last of the daisies would’ve died out earlier in the month. How on earth had this girl managed to grow one out of her hand?

“You really didn’t know?” Taana asked, picking up the flower with her other hand and holding it out for Sera to take.

Putting down the bike’s kickstand and dismounting it, Sera took a few hesitant steps towards the girl, accepting the proffered flower. “Alright,” she acquiesced, “you’re a witch, clearly. But that doesn’t mean I am, too.”

“This can’t be the first time you’ve made something happen,” Taana pointed out. “There must be something.”

Sera looked up from the impossible flower and into the girl’s dark brown eyes. “I… I’m not sure, I…”

“You must come and meet my parents,” Taana decided.

Sera didn’t have many friends. Other children found her parents’ British accents strange and off-putting. Tentatively hopeful for some companionship, she nodded, and off they went.

“Mama,” Sera said, bounding into the kitchen when she arrived home that evening.

“Yes, darling?”

“I made my bike fly,” Sera told her. “Right over a fallen tree, I imagined it happening, and then it did, just like when—“

Her mother rounded on her, a tight smile on her face. “Of course you didn’t, love. You imagined it. You must’ve jumped very high on your bike.”

Sera frowned. “No, I—“

“You imagined it, darling,” her mother insisted firmly. “Let’s not mention it again, yes?”

Sera looked at her feet, deciding it was best not to mention Ta, her family, or the fact that she was apparently a witch and had a friend who was, too. “Yes, Mama.”

October 1976

“You’re a remarkably fast learner,” Taana’s mother told Sera with a smile. “It doesn’t surprise me that your parents didn’t want to talk about it with you, though.”

“Do you think they don’t have any magic?” Taana asked her mother from across the kitchen table they were sitting at.

The woman hummed. “I’m not sure. Either way, we can teach you, Sera.”

“Really?” Sera asked, excited. She was a witch, apparently, and she had someone willing to teach her.

“Of course,” Taana’s mother assured her. “Can’t have you running around without any idea how to control your abilities, can we?”

Sera smiled brightly in excitement, eager to learn all there was about being a witch.

November 1976

A few weeks later, on Sera’s eleventh birthday, an owl perched outside the window where she and her family were eating breakfast in the kitchen.

Sera thought nothing of the hooting owl, but her father, Septimus, turned towards it with wide, horrified eyes, and quickly rushed outside for a few minutes before returning.

There was another owl the following day, and her father went outside to “deal with it,” as he said.

A couple days after her eleventh birthday, Sera awoke to see a woman in strange clothes walking out their front door. Her parents brushed her off when she asked about the woman.

This did not strike Sera as odd in the slightest until the summer before her nineteen birthday.

That was when everything changed.

I’m reposting this bc my bestie said that the tags weren’t working properly, so… repost it is, I guess.

Biiiiiig thanks to @lilmaymayy for betaing this one, it makes much more sense now lmao

Tag list:

@ellamaianderson @shika1200 @blackqueenstarseed1 @gatoenlaciudad @esmaada @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @softhecreator @timolaurence @timmymyluv @oddlyenoughiamweird @leecrunchybones @s-we-e-t-t-ea @almostg @leespparker @bubblebuttwade @glizzymcguirex @starberry-cake @camille-1019 @lixzey

To be added, please ask 💗

[lifmera]

Heya, I was wondering if I could have a matchup for Hazbin Hotel? Male please x

My pronouns are she her, I'm fairly average height for a girl and my favourite animals at the moment are either cats or goats!!

I have black hair, dark eyes and pale skin, my hair goes just above my breasts and is layered. I wear a lot of black and hardly own any clothes that aren't!! (It’s just so flattering) I have a few large tattoos as well and am definitely getting more. I also have a lot of ear piercings, a nose stud and 🍒 piercings. I’m also English (northern, not southern) so I do have an accent

In terms of personality, l'd say l'm rather outgoing, witty and a bit nerdy. I wear a lot of studs and chains but I think they look badass, however I wear them causally so I guess you could also say I’m pretty bold? I've often been told l intimidate people, however I like to think they don't know me well enough to judge. Ive been told I can be quite loud, and I have some blunt, dry sense of humour which my friends seem to like. I'm an ENTP through and through and am currently in law school, stereotypical as fuck ik. I can sometimes struggle to trust people due to past experiences, however I think I’ve got the hang of reading people now to know when they’re my kind of cunt or not.

I can have a short temper and struggle with my emotions sometimes, (diagnosed bpd/adhd, looooove to see it) but am in the process of learning to manage them quite well.

Hobby wise, I enjoy drawing, painting and going out with my friends to concerts and festivals. I Love music, specifically Goth, Metal (Death, Goth metal, Nü metal, all sorts) and a little bit of rock obviously. I'm tempted to start learning how to play the drums or guitar but am not sure where to start, plus school takes up so much of my time.

There's of course no rush to reply, I adore your work I think your matches are always spot-on and I'm really curious !!

-🕷️🕸️

HEY 🕷️🕸️!!!

Honestly I was so TORN between these two. So i decided lol… why not both?

Its okay hun!! I major Pre-Law right now 🩷

I’ve decided to pair you with… VOX & HUSK

Vox first though. Cus i read this and i was like.. VOX but then when i showered i was like .. wait husk… and then i was like FUCK… anyways

He’d definitely talk to you more because you reminded him of Velvette. And what probably went thru his head was “ooh new model :)”

But he LOVES ur personality. If you intimidated VOX? He would literally purr at ur feet and BEG you to join the Vee’s.

Even if you are dry, its okay, cus everything else makes up for it to him.

He definitely isn’t surprised if you don’t trust him at first, but he’s think that “nothing a little hypnotizing cant fix ! ;)” (take that as you wish.)

Vox is kinda pretty shitty himself- and probably doesnt really care much about you unless you blow a fuse on him. But honestly he’d like that.

Though he’d also be glad that you are managing your emotions! He HATES tantrums . (Cough cough Val)

He would probably make you draw you guys together lets me honest. He’d think it’d be funny. Till he actually enjoys it.

He would make fun of ur music taste. Then he would love it. Cus hes such a LOSER like that……

Honestly he’d love it sm he’d have them as theme songs D:

If you learned any instruments it’d probably cause him to want to as-well….

Ok Husker time…

Not gonna lie. You guys give off the same vibe, and he’d probably like you the most out of everyone at the hotel.

Especially at first glance?? Like finally… someone normal

Says him anyways.

Husk HATES cats, and obviously… i think he would also let you pet him or brush his fur… after becoming in a relationship. Otherwise he’d literally bite you.

I think he would talk to you first at the bar, and man is he good at finding shit out???

I think you guys would become close friends within a finger snap-

And honestly become inseparable. Totally have backhanded shit to say and it would be so funny. (Great duo)

He definitely would be super proud of you for seeking help! He would say that not much people have enough balls to do that.

Honestly i also think Husk would enjoy painting too. He seems like a gambler but i think in his free time, something like painting would relax him?? Or atleast looking at paintings and analyzing them.

Your music taste? Probably same as his. He’d love to listen with you, and Everytime you are at the bar he’d ask if you wanted to play a song you both enjoyed.

If you learned the guitar he’d be SO IMPRESSED. Like “okay dayum… ❤️”

~~

I HOPE THIS WAS OKAY HUN!! And AWUGHS THANK YOU SO MUCH?? i always try to make the characters accurate because i feel like if they are ooc .. its just.. weird ?

[littlemisskittentoes]

get to know kittentoes!

this is such a fun way to strengthen connections around the little pod of us that interact in the same fandom space! so a MASSIVE thank you to @happiness-of-the-pursuit for thinking of me to tag!

without further ado, get to know me better under the cut!

First Set

Last Song: Valerie by Amy Whinehouse

Last Film: the new Mean Girls movie!

Currently Reading: okay, this is kind of like, a two part question--

fic-wise: the PJO AU (by Rhys, Manu, and Beas ! and i'm also doing an in-depth portfolio crawl through Sarah's ao3 !

outside of fic: i'm working my way through volume five of Lore Olympus, and reading Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica, and of course, i fall asleep every night to the RWRB audiobook, so that's a constant bip

Currently Watching: i've been informed that i'm supremely late to the game, but i just finished season one of True Detective! and, of course, i'm staying tuned for the weekly episode release of PJO

Currently Consuming: some good old h2o! the last thing i ate were some sugar snap peas!

Currently Craving: an aunt of mine makes these really really tasty salads with different sprouts and seeds, fresh tomato and cucumber from her garden, some avocado, and her own dressing. an Aunt Paula salad would slap right now

Second Set

Were You Named After Anyone?

Yes! Sarah comes from my paternal great grandmother, my middle name comes from my maternal great grandmother!

When Was The Last Time You Cried?

Mmm, two or so weeks ago i got into an altercation with one of the feral cats i take care of while trying to capture them to go to the vet. it did not go well, and i felt awful that i scared him

Do You Have Kids?

i do not! i was in a four year relationship where i took on a kind of 'step parent' role from the time the child was a newborn onward. so, i do occasionally see her. but outside of that, no. and i'm not someone that ever pictures themselves changing that

What Sport Do/Have You You Played?

sigh alright, so i played soccer as a very young child-- not great at it. tried basketball for a bit-- also terrible at that. went for volleyball-- gave a girl a concussion trying to serve overhand. FINALLY, i started cheerleading and ended up as cheer captain for a number of years!

Do You Use Sarcasm?

i think so! i'm pretty sure i use some dry humor occassionally

What's The First Thing You Notice About Other People?

probably smile, or if they have a more general welcoming aura/body language!

What's Your Eye Color?

brown!

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

as much as i'm an absolute hopeless romantic, my go to is actually horror! i'm an adrenaline junkie and LOVE to be scared! i can easily be pursuaded into a romance movie though

Any Talents?

i'm actually a very confident public speaker. i still have some of my cartwheels and splits from my cheer days. and i'm decently okay at keeping up my score during jeopardy! lastly, i'm pretty good with some watercolor paints and a micron pen

Where Where You Born?

Northern US!

What Are Your Hobbies?

i help run a local poetry open mic night, i'm fairly active in my local bdsm scene, and i have a constant revolving door of hobbies i entertain for about a week and completely forget about (most recently it's been crystal 3d puzzles, painting book edges, and making shrinky dink earrings)

Do You Have Any Pets?

so many... i live with my parents at the moment, and they have one dog and eight cats! we also care for a colony of feral cats that live on our property

How Tall Are You?

5'3 (1/2)" ! am smol gorl

Favorite Subject in School?

english! i was also a massive studio art nerd though

Dream Job?

you know, all through undergrad and my master's program, i always said that i would have loved to have been a manuscript editor. i even had an internship helping edit poetry chapbooks! but now that i've found myself in a sphere where I get the privilege of beta-ing for a handful of friends, it feels like that skill set is already able to be used and stretched. so, i'm not super sure! maybe something with animals?

alright!! sending out a no pressure tag to some of my beloveds @inexplicablymine @read-and-write- @affectionatelyrs @gayrootvegetable @anincompletelist @leojfitz @leaves-of-laurelin @matherines @wordsofhoneydew @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @user-anakin

[emotionallychargedtowel]

this bittersweet fragrance

I’m a bit of a fragrance nerd, so when the scent of tea olive/osmanthus started to be a sort of symbolic theme in Utsukushii Kare season 2 I looked into what osmanthus is supposed to smell like and how it’s been used in the fragrance world. Among other things, I was curious about how someone who doesn’t live in a region where tea olives generally grow might experience something resembling the smell of the actual flower. I thought I’d share what I learned here in case other folks were interested. 

The tea olive, or osmanthus fragrans, is a specific variety of osmanthus, and it’s the one that’s used in perfumery, so either term is correct here. Normally I’d use whichever term was more specific (in this case, “tea olive”), but in the perfume world, it seems the term everyone uses is the more general “osmanthus,” so that’s what I’ll use here.

Caveat #1: I’ve never smelled osmanthus in real life, nor have I smelled any perfumes that feature it heavily (at least, not that I know of--it wasn’t really on my radar before). I’d love to hear any thoughts from folks who’ve experienced it firsthand, especially if they know of a fragrance that captures the smell faithfully.

Caveat #2: I really am just a bit of a fragrance nerd, so apologies if I flub any details here. There are so many levels to this hobby that while I’ve been getting increasingly into it for some time now, I’m still very much a beginner. A couple more things to note first:

The processes for preserving the scent of osmanthus tend to result in an end product that is fairly different from the smell of fresh osmanthus. Of course, this is hardly unusual in perfumery. But the distinction matters if you’re curious about the scent that comes up in the show. (Personally, I went into this curious about both approximating the smell of osmanthus on the branch and about how the preserved form is used.)

Also, osmanthus mostly grows in East Asia but a lot of the biggest fragrance producers are based in the U.S. and Europe. So a lot of folks end up smelling osmanthus in a perfume context while having no way to tell if it resembles the actual plant. This means well-regarded osmanthus perfumes may smell good but not resemble the real thing much at all.

So, what do we know about what the tree in Hira’s backyard smells like? I mean, for those of us who don’t live somewhere where osmanthus fragrans is plentiful. There aren’t a ton of detailed descriptions of the smell of fresh osmanthus flowers online (or, not in English, anyway), but I found a few. It’s almost always supposed to have a jasmine-like quality as well as a sweet, fruity component. One person on BaseNotes described it as “buttery, warm, bright, only slightly fruity, with hay-like and wine-like qualities” (they seem to be in the minority in downplaying the fruity aspect). Some describe it as having a more noticeable green note than the osmanthus absolute used in perfumery, including a bitter greenness that could help to account for the “bittersweet” descriptor used in Utsukushii Kare. I also noticed that reviewers of osmanthus perfumes that are supposed to be on the realistic side often included references to suede, green tea, and/or soap, but I’m not sure how faithful those really are.

Then there’s the osmanthus absolute smell (or osmanthus extracted into other forms, like “concrete”). Not the fresh flower, but the scent that you get when you preserve it. People tend to describe it as having three main components. One is a fairly standard (and apparently, quite pleasant) white floral smell, similar to jasmine. The second is a fruity aspect. People usually compare it to stone fruits, especially apricot and peach, sometimes adding something about honey (e.g. “apricots in honey”) or even cream. The last of the three is a component people usually describe as “animalic” and/or smelling like leather. (”Animalic” refers to scents like musks that, when done right, stop just shy of actual stank and instead smell to us like sweat or a person’s skin scent, with all the affecting associations that come with that. In the past, the materials used to create those notes were usually from animal sources like civet oil, hence “animalic.”) This makes sense given that chemicals called indoles that show up in white florals are also often somewhat animalic (with the potential to cross into being downright foul). In addition to these three main aspects, osmanthus in its absolute form is also sometimes described as having green notes and/or woody notes, especially really resinous woods like oud.

If this sounds more complex than the average floral scent, that’s because (according to everything I’ve read, at least) it is. There’s a reason osmanthus is such a sought-after perfume ingredient. The complexity is a big part of it. Complex smells are just more interesting. Also, since it straddles a few different classes of scents (floral, fruity, and animalic), it’s useful as a note that can blend those types of notes together or place them in a more harmonious composition with one another. It’s also just more distinctive and novel than the typical floral scents we’ve all encountered time and again, at least to European and American noses.

Getting back to the smell of Hira’s tree, there are a few osmanthus perfumes that people say smell a lot like the real thing. Some of these are scented only with straight-up osmanthus, while others are sort of like collages, putting together a lot of different scents to create an osmanthus-like gestalt.

In one forum post I read, someone recommended the osmanthus balm from this China-based Etsy shop, saying that their wife, who was very familiar with the real thing, said it was the closest perfume she’d smelled to the real flower. It was also one of the most affordable options I saw. Some folks praised L’Occitane’s osmanthus line or the osmanthus soliflore oil from Dame Perfumery, but both have somewhat mixed reviews. (They’re also both on the affordable side, though the L’Occitane line doesn’t seem to be for sale from them directly in the U.S.) Inlé (Memo) is also supposed to be good, and on the realistic side. Osmanthus by The Different Company seems to have a big fan base, but also some detractors. The most well-regarded osmanthus perfume I ran across was Miyako (Auphorie). It gets great reviews and is supposed to have convinced legendary fragrance critic Luca Turin to come out of retirement to write about it because he was such a big fan.

In addition to all of these soliflores (single-flower perfumes) and perfumes where osmanthus is exclusively centered, there are a lot of interesting perfumes where osmanthus plays a notable role, but in a more varied context with other scents. A search on Fragrantica yields a long list of fragrances containing osmanthus, many of which sound promising. A few of the ones I ran across in my search made it onto my “to sample” list: Gucci’s Flora EDP, Serge Lutens’s Nuit de Cellophane, and Perris Monte Carlo’s Absolue d’Osmanthe.

Of course, while reading about all of this I got to thinking about what all these qualities of osmanthus might mean for Utsukushii Kare’s story. It has been brought up in a couple of ways on the show so far. The tea olive apparently blooms twice a year, in June and September, but it’s the latter that’s been referenced on the show. For Hira, it’s symbolic of the passage of time. Osmanthus represents his and Kiyoi’s “autumn of immaturity” that comes before “a winter of judgment.” He has a related belief, almost a superstition, that because he was separated from Kiyoi in the winter once before, it’s bound to happen again.

The bittersweet quality of the fragrance is also highlighted in the show. I think this is in reference to the combination of sweet fruity/floral and bitter green aspects some describe in the fresh flower scent. It’s fitting that bittersweetness, commonly a metaphor for ambivalence, is mentioned almost in the same breath as both Hira’s and Kiyoi’s contradictory feelings about their relationship.

Although the smell of osmanthus absolute is a further step away from what’s represented in the show, I think it has a kind of resonance with the story’s themes that is worth exploring. Basically, the combination of notes within the scent suggests youth, innocence, and sweet romance on the one hand and a kind of sweaty, dirty sensuality on the other. To break this overall picture down a bit: At the core is the jasmine-like white floral scent. White florals are associated with romance, femininity, and on the indolic end of the spectrum, a kind of heady, hypnotic sexiness. The apricot/peach aspect provides literal sweetness that mirrors the metaphorical sweetness of a loving relationship. The combination of apricot/peach and white florals is also often associated with youthfulness, even innocence. At the same time, the animalic aspect of osmanthus is sweaty and suggestive. When it links up with the indolic aspect of the white floral notes, they balance out the innocent associations with something more libidinous.

This combination could be said to be metaphorically fitting for any number of BLs or romantic dramas in general--what romance story doesn’t balance sweetness and sexuality?--but I think it’s a particularly good fit for Utsukushii Kare, in which a thread of somewhat warped sexuality is often intertwined with something surprisingly innocent and fundamentally sweet.

Well, I hope this is as interesting for others to read as it was for me to investigate. At some point I’ll probably give some of these osmanthus fragrances a try in sample form, and if folks are interested I’ll report back about that.

[hils79]

Hils Watches The King's Avatar - Ep 16

I love that all the pros logged in to fight Ye Xiu and see what his new weapon can do and he's just 'well, nice to see you all, bye'

Oh no I thought everyone knew but my sweet son Baozi doesn't know! I mean he does now but before he did not!

LOL there is an English book on Assassin's Creed on the table

Uh, he doesn't even work for her, does he?

Aww is he going to ask Chen Guo to be his manager?

I'm not sure what he actually ordered but I'm fairly sure it wasn't this

Ooh the official forming of the team is beginning. Love that he went to ask permission to poach Yifan. Also, lol, no I won't join your team because green doesn't match my complexion

I love that we're over a third of the way through this drama now and we're only just getting into what I thought the plot was going to be. Excellent amount of setup

LOL she saw Ye Xiu and Wang Jiexi together for like 2 mins and has decided she ships it. I mean fair.

LOL! Wang Jiexi is in on his plan to get Chen Guo to be his manager. That's also my 300th screenshot and I'm still not even at the halfway point

He's so good at manipulating people into doing what he wants. And, you know, she's been trying to think of a way to help him so everyone wins. She just needed a bit of a nudge in the right direction.

This is a trope that always annoys me. Like I get characters need to learn and grow but Chen Guo was so determined to do a good job but then just took a bunch of naps and hasn't even learned the rules of the game. You don't have to make people lazy and stupid just to show them getting better later. It just makes it look like she's not taking her new job seriously.

But, also, what kind of stupid rule is it that if your guild fails to kill a boss within a certain amount of time then you have to disband. It makes no sense.

YOU CAN'T KILL A UNICORN

OH YOU FUCKING SABOTAGING BASTARDS!

Oh no even her girlfriend is upset with her. But, also, she runs an internet cafe which seems to be pretty much just for playing this game and she's been following Ye Xiu's career for ages. Surely she must have learned at least a bit about the rules during all that.

Like I know very little about WoW, but if I ran a place where everyone plays WoW all the time and my idol was the best WoW player in the country I like to think I'd learn a thing or two about WoW.

I am very fond of him. I'd love to know if those are actual calculations or just fiction maths

Incredible! The spies attacked the wall so much they accidentally flattened the boss

Ahhh! Of course he knew what they were doing. That's what all the maths was for! I love this!

He's touching his boyfriend again. This makes me very happy.

Okay what I actually need is Baozi/Yifang/Luo Ji OT3. You've got the brawn, the brains and the heart in a nice little package

Uh, it wasn't just him that upset her

No liveblogging tomorrow as I'm on babysitting duty after work. Back on Saturday