#and when the romance stuff is happening i tune out lol

[simonespeaks]

unpopular opinion: ra-im is by far the most interesting character in operation true love. the writers did a great job making her complex. she’s an absolute mess of maladaptive coping practices because of her unprocessed grief and the inability to fill the void her mother left. she’s knows she’s wrong, but doesn’t know how to get help so she can stop and that results in her sinking deeper into wrong doing. she is hurting and therefore pushing su-ae away despite the fact that she does care for her. with ra-im you get to see how grief and isolation turns her into the worst version of herself and that is why i am the exact opposite of the most of webtoon comments; when ra-im appears i tune the fuck in because i know the writers are gonna do something.

[farmerstarter]

"Songs the Bachelors and Bachelorettes Listen To" Headcanons (Part 1: Bachelors)

This is inspired by @stardew-shitposterino ! I saw their post, where you can read here, and I wanted my own take on it. This was super fun to write. I'll have part 2 with the bachelorettes posted tomorrow. Also, the wildest shit just happened, I got into a biking accident lol! Anyways. Thanks for stopping by! All likes and reblogs are appreciated 🌷🤍

ʚ🏈ɞ ˚ · . Alex :

🏈 I'd like to imagine Alex would listen to the most bubbly songs while exercising. He plays Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY while lifting weights.

🏈 Half his music playlist is filled with music that Haley listens to because he can't be bothered to curate his own.

🏈 Hypes himself up before practicing gridball by listening to "Eye of The Tiger" by Survivor and ends his practice by listening to "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

🏈 Doesn't shuffle his songs so he knows he's supposed to do one exercise when a certain song plays. Like, "Oh it's 'OMG' by NewJeans, I should be doing push ups rn"

🏈 Knows old songs by Nat King Cole, The Ronettes, and Percy Sledge to name a few because his grandparents like to listen to them during the weekends.

ʚ📜ɞ ˚ · . Elliott :

📜 Knows Sea Shanties because of Willy. Elliott reads on the bench by Willy's Shop while Willy was fishing and the fisherman just started singing. It would be cute to imagine that it happened because Elliott was tapping his foot in a slow rhythm and Willy started singing along with it.

📜 Elliott's knowledge on sea shanties gets even more deeper the more he hangs out with Willy. Willy invites Elliott to join him on his boat to do some deep fishing and Elliott knows like ten sea shanties by the time they get back to shore.

📜 He knows some classical pieces and plays them on his piano when he doesn't want to write for the day. Sometimes he'd compose his own songs on the spot.

📜 Dude goes main character mode and listens to songs by Cigarettes After Sex, like "Heavenly" and "John Wayne", sitting on the sand while watching the sun rise.

📜 He's a hopeless romantic, he listens to a lot of love songs. Ranging from old to new love songs, Elliott enjoys listening to the lyrics to somehow get inspired by them. It's funny to think that some of Elliott's compliments are low-key lyrics. Like, "I wish you bluebirds in the spring and to give your heart a song to sing" ('I Wish You Love' by Lisa Ono) and "Mine to have when the now and the here disappear" ('Again' by Doris Day). And it's completely unintentional. He doesn't even realize he's doing that. He just listens to romance songs too much.

ʚ🛩️ɞ ˚ · . Harvey :

🛩️ Listens to The Carpenters. "Yesterday Once More", "Top of the World", "I Won't Last A Day Without You" all that stuff. He plays it in the clinic but only when Maru isn't there because he doesn't want to bother her with his song choices. Sometimes, he'd hum out the tune while examining patients. He just enjoys how soothing they sound.

🛩️ Speaking of soothing, he likes listening to slow songs to fall asleep to. Has a whole playlist for it too that's exactly 8 hours long. He goes straight to sleep when the first song finishes and wakes up just when the last song ends.

🛩️ He has a Walkman Cassette Player. He uses it when he does his aerobics classes. Listens to just about any song on it, really. Anything that makes it seem like time is going faster is great. OH. Wait. Maybe, the ladies end up having Harvey's cassette play on a stationary cassette player that Caroline has after Harvey lets them listen to it. They all found Harvey's song choices delightful.

🛩️ He offers music therapy. They're informal sessions at most but Harvey spends a lot of time making personalized playlists. Like full on carefully and heavily curated to match specific needs and moods for his patients. It skyrockets his music knowledge to the roof.

ʚ🎸ɞ ˚ · . Sam :

🎸 He has the most random and eclectic music taste. Ranges from Rock Music and Skate Punk to Vocaloid and Video Game music. He'd be listening to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses for one moment then listen to the "Donky Kong Country Theme" the next.

🎸 He tries to copy the guitar riffs in some songs, not stopping until he can play it in one go. By the time he's done that countless of times, both Jodi and Vincent know what song he's playing based on the first few seconds of it.

🎸 Is the one to initiate a sing along in the Stardrop Saloon on Fridays. And he's always down to do karaoke. He's even suggested some more music-centered activities to do in town events. And he managed to convince Mayor Lewis to have him be DJ during the Summer Luau but only when he promised not to add anything disgusting into the potluck.

🎸 Teaches Vincent to play the drums when the kid doesn't have any classes. It all started with Sam letting his brother hit the crash cymbal for the end of a song he was playing. Then it all went up from there. Sam starts with the basics then lets Vincent play whatever. It's a noisy few weeks in the household but Jodi appreciates her boys spending more time together.

🎸 He has playlists for all situations.

ʚ👾ɞ ˚ · . Sebastian :

👾 This dude listens to Bonobo and Aphex Twin when programming. Better yet, Sam made him a playlist specifically for when he's programming and Sebastian doesn't skip any of the songs. That's a lie. He skips the songs that Sam put in there to mess with him like "CBAT" by Hudson Mohawke and Sam's poorly sung cover of "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade.

👾 You know how some of us would stay up until 3 am to complete a project before a deadline and listen to energetic songs while doing them so we won't fall asleep? Sebastian does that. Songs like "Caramelldansen" by the Caramella Girls, "Bumblebee" by Bambee, and "Superstar" by Toy-Box to name a few. Just the idea of Sebastian hunched over his computer with those songs playing while Sam is fully jamming in the background is great.

👾 Listens to the dirtiest songs with the straightest face ever.

👾 I'm all for villagers interacting with each other so consider Sebastian and Elliott being unlikely acquaintances after Sebastian showed Elliott the wonders of the synthesizer.

👾 When his mind wanders, he ends up humming out the tune that Abigail plays with her flute.

ʚ🐣ɞ ˚ · . Shane :

🐣 Sings to his chickens. He does, you know he does. Even sings in accents when he's bored enough. Jas found out he does that after going in Shane's coop, thinking a stranger was trying to steal her uncle's chickens. But no, it's just Shane singing "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton with a British accent.

🐣 Always has his headphones on during work at the Joja Market so no one would bother him. There wouldn't even be a song playing, he just wears them. One time Sam tried to get his attention but Shane outright ignores him even when Sam pointed out his headphones aren't even connected to anything.

🐣 I like to think that Shane is a fan of Indie Folk and he listens to songs by Bon Iver when walking to work. "Beach Baby" is his favorite song.

🐣 Since Shane's always the last one to leave the Saloon, Gus would let him pick what songs to play in the jukebox until the saloon closes. Even after Shane stopped drinking alcohol, he and Gus would spend time together at the late hours of the night talking, listening to whatever song Shane played.

[dotthings]

I've been so tuned out of spn and spn fandom happenings, I didn't even learn until just now that some weeks back Jared said at a CE con that he wishes they'd done more with Eileen.

Now I'm laughing. The unintentional comedy stylings of Jared P*d*l*cki, everyone!

Not even mad, tbh. Just remembering his disregard for the character and the Sam/Eileen relationship. How he made comments speaking for Dean pov in a way that flatly contradicted every statement Dean himself ever made rooting for Sam and Eileen, but canon, what's that? Dean who? Dean's actual self-evident hopes, the fact that Dean was the #1 Saileen shipper, totally irrelevant when brosonlies are in a panic about Sam or Dean having anyone, anyone at all, anyone whatsoever, besides only each other.

Watching them scramble frantically a few weeks back when Jared dropped this wish for more Eileen to deny that more Sam/Eileen relationship stuff is even possible also greatly amuses me. "Jared only meant Eileen not Sam/Eileen!!!" lmfao okay?? Breathe!!! LOL

I really loved Saileen but I'll be glad either way just to get Eileen back, while the brosonly Sam stans will be screeching with rage because "spn is only about Sam and Dean not SIDE CHARACTERS *raeg raeg*" after they performatively virtue signaled about how much they love Eileen so long as she doesn't get her icky gross cooties breathing too close to Sam.

They also kept slamming all the Saileen shippers, going on and on how anyone who shipped Saileen was only doing it as part of some nefarious plot to keep Sam away from Dean and no other reason. Meanwhile, the Sam and Eileen dynamic was absolutely delightful, it's one of the best relationships Sam ever had, Jared and Shoshannah had lovely chemistry, I enjoyed every Sam and and Eileen moment. Wow yes how monstrous of me, I enjoyed seeing Sam with a layered, good-hearted human who worked well with him and cared about him and they related to each other and they were good together!! What in the evil Sam hatred!!! LMFAO

Anyone who was on twitter at the time may also remember how they spewed hatred against the ship, gatekeeping, romance shaming, and spewing no-romo and anti-romo hatred, because Eileen somehow would no longer count as a badass female character if she's having sex with Sam, and then they tried to dress their ship hate up as progressive because of how it would supposedly "demean" Eileen.

All of which went in full contradiction of the statements of Shoshannah Stern, a deaf actor playing a deaf character, who spoke in interviews at length about how important it was not only that Eileen was a kickass hunter but why it was significant having a disabled character in a romance with one of the lead heroes on a notable genre tv series.

Meanwhile, the Sam stan twitter brigade pretending to be progressive: "ew icky gross"

As for Jared, yeah, this is just COMEDY. He wasn't supportive, now suddenly he's talking about how he's sorry there wasn't more Eileen. Okay, dude.

He also said he was sorry there wasn't more Michael Dean and same thing. Where was he when Jensen needed support, when that storyline was cut off, and when the ending screwed Dean over while Jared got what he wanted, and when most of his base which pretty much hates everyone who isn't Sam and Dean, got what they wanted.

Don't get me wrong, I'll be thrilled if we can have Eileen back in the revival. I don't know if this means we will or not. But I'm all for it. Yes please let's!!! I just don't think there's substance behind Jared changing his tune. And he did nothing to discourage the hatred from his own base against her and against the ship, and then eagerly went along with how the final eps of spn pandered to their desire for her character and that relationship to be wiped from the story.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Meet the Writer Tag!

(Thank you so much to @mysticstarlightduck for tagging me! Sorry I took so long lol)

This is me!

(I don't normally wear this many accessories/jewellery lol. But I wish I did! I love it sm)

Three Fun Facts About Me:

I have never been in a relationship before. Ever. The only experience I have in that department is through other people's stories, not really my own. And by that, I mean that I'm used to watching my friends/people around me getting in and out of relationships, and listening to songs about romance and love and heartbreak... but not really relating to them due to not having any of those experiences myself (but it's alright, tho. It'll happen when it happens! In the meantime, I always have my made-up ships from my writing lol).

My favourite book growing up was "Matilda" by Roald Dahl. I thought Matilda was such a cool girl growing up lol. And lowkey relatable in a lot of ways. No, I wasn't a child genius. But she kind of fits into the archetype that I always found comfort in due to being that kind of person myself. Smart/intellectually curious, bookworm, introverted/independent, genuinely kind and has a heart in spite of being seen as cold by others (another example of this is Huey from Boondocks. Been rewatching some episodes of that show recently and wow... forgot how crazy it was lol. It's good, tho).

Christmas is my favourite holiday! 🎅❄️🎄I do get why some people may dislike it, I guess (like, my younger sister isn't a fan, and she's explained why... I get it. The over-commercialisation of it takes a lot of the "specialness" out of it, you know? Distracts from the actual meaning behind it and all. Plus, it can suck if you're just feeling sad and lonely during a time of celebration for everyone else. Aside from that, technically Easter is more significant if you look at it from the lens of which Christian holiday is most important). But I love the joyfulness and festiveness. Makes me feel all jolly and cosy inside. Plus, I love singing Christmas carols. And presents. And Christmas movies. I just love Christmas lol.

Favorite season:

Autumn. Or fall, as some others prefer to call it. That's when my birthday is!!

(Second place is summer because that's holiday season. Plus, that's when my sister's birthday is.)

Continent where I live:

I live in the UK, so Europe.

How I spend my (free) time:

Writing (duh)

Writeblr stuff (tag games, making OC playlists, answering questions, communicating with followers and having discussions with them about writing, etc)

YouTube (mainly watching videos... but I do want to start making videos myself at some point. Stay tuned for that, I guess)

Studying/school assignments (I'm in university)

Listening to music

Singing

Watching movies/TV shows

Reading

Eating lol

Are you published?

No. It'd be cool to be, though. Pretty sure I've mentioned this at least once before, but I want to self-publish the Stephanie Smith saga once I'm done with it.

Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert. 100% introvert lol. I feel most comfortable within myself when I'm by myself. As a kid, I was so painfully shy that the thought of going up to someone and asking a simple question would terrify me lol. As I got older, though, I was super duper lonely, and I realised that I had no real friends because I was keeping myself all closed off in a tight shell, so I'd literally force myself to open up and become more social and make friends with other kids. I practised it, like how you do with any skill. Now it's not so bad. I'd say I can carry a conversation with someone fairly well, even if I don't know them so well.

Favorite meal:

Ooooh.... this is hard. I love most foods lol.

I think I'll go with something a little bit more traditional. I'm Kenyan, and one of my favourite meals that I've grown up eating is chapatti and stew (any kind of stew, or soup. But my mum would usually make this stew with kidney beans. That was a big hit growing up). Haven't had it in almost a year, tho.

Aside from that, I love pizza. And Nandos.

Tagging: @clairelsonao3, @exquisitecrow, @mister-writes, @winterandwords, @mjparkerwriting, @e-everlasting-g, @erieautumnskies, @annethewittywriter, @writingwithfolklore, @ashwithapen

[hardlypartying]

Helloooo. I’m very new to the Kiara fandom, being that I just watched OBX for the first time a few days ago. I’m here after reading bad habit and you actually wrote that *before* S3. I read a comment that someone left and you replied that you just got it (the comment) a few hours before the S3 premiere, then I thought WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO S3?!?!? Could you believe your eyes? A riara scene literally taken out of Fifty shades of gray. That whole plot could be a romance book or a fic I SWEAR.

The kidnapping trope, one bed trope, enemies locked up inside a very fancy bedroom (the sexual tension out of the roof) the red dress???? And Rafe super handsome with the suit???? Do you remember when you watched that? How was the fandom at that time???!?!?!

Can’t wait to read your other works. Your other dead dove is flirting with me, so I’m going to read that next! 😅

First of all, welcome to the fandom! 🩷🌟💗 The show is so much fun, I’d give anything to relive that high of watching it for the first time omfg.

YES LOL I THINK I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT COMMENT YOURE TALKING ABOUT! It was with @riaraa I believe (you should check out her work bc she writes riara too, and phenomenally might I add!)🩷🩷 It’s funny because I originally found out that we were even getting scenes because a reader commented on my fic saying “hey btw this a spoiler but maddie and drew are filming rn, together. alone.” The fandom was hilarious at that time, we all collectively thought it’d be kook year flashbacks (despite him having a buzzcut LMAOO)

Hahaha this ask makes me feel like we went through some sort of historic moment— and we did, canon riara scenes that weren’t 2 seconds long!! REJOICE! The riara fandom was livvvingg when season 3 premiered, we got ALL the tropes and people were madddd asf. I had so many people in my ask howling at me like I was in the writer room forcing the Pates’ hand to make this happen. Anyway, the funniest reception to those scenes were casual watchers of the show being like “…wait…is there something going on between…Kiara and Rafe?” and the “guys… what if… just WALK WITH ME HERE…what if they had a thing during her kook year” and I was like yes 🤗 come to the dark side 🥰 it was near impossible to not become a shipper with all the tropes and tension they put between the two! Not to mention Maddie and Drew have such palpable chemistry and they were able to showcase that. I remember that Maddie and Drew ended up doing a lot of the promo for the show together too (also think that was partly due to Rudy not wanting to do promo? I imagine they would’ve wanted to pair the two romantic leads in promotions but I digress) which was great for us. A lot of the promo was shot pre season 3 release so I think that informed a lot of what they said during the interviews, there’s just one I’m thinking of in particular where Drew and Maddie say stuff about how Riara would be weird— I wonder if they’d change their tune knowing how the audience reacted to their scenes. It seemed like the were preemptively squashing anything to make sure people didn’t come for them.

It was a beautiful time in the fandom, personally I’m still riding off the high of having such an insane arc for those two characters 🫂

My other dead dove is actually loosely inspired by season 3! It’s focuses more on the Rafe side of the story and what he probably gets up to with a loooottt of creative liberties 🫣

Thank you for this ask, and welcome to the club once again!

[emilybrontesghost]

So not that anybody cares lol, but yesterday I watched Red, White and Royal Blue because it just came out and that’s just what you do, right? I will say in advance I haven’t read the book so I can’t speak to the accuracy of the film, only what I thought of it. I also will say that I’ve been watching Heartstopper for the first time this past week too, so that story is still very fresh in my mind and was while I was watching RWRB. I think it’s a fair comparison too because there ARE surface similarities at least: (l.e. one of the MCs is bisexual, they have to keep their relationship a secret, etc.) I have to say, though parts of the movie were enjoyable/cute, it was overall disappointing for me. I expected a lot more and it didn’t really deliver. Despite the film being about two adult men I feel the depth and maturity of the relationship between the teen MCs of Heartstopper was far better. I felt like this movie focused quite a bit on the physical side of things more between Alex and Henry and less on the emotional side. We got a handful of scenes where they were being emotionally open, (like the museum scene for instance where they dance) but I feel like we just don’t see enough of them going from frenemies to lovers. It feels like it all happens too fast so when Alex tells Henry he’s in love with him and Henry gets scared, it lessens the impact. I realize as a two hour movie that they were under time constraints and that Heartstopper benefits from being a tv show in that way with multiple episodes, but I still feel like the film should have used the time it did have better. The other thing I think Heartstopper does better is that it’s not afraid or embarrassed to focus wholeheartedly on the romance between Nick, Charlie, and the other characters. It’s very character driven rather than plot driven in that way, and it works because it makes the characters feel like real people. RWRB though, despite being billed as a romcom, didn’t focus enough I feel like on the love story, and this was mainly due to the scattered focus of the narrative.

The movie seems to be trying to be a romcom but the other storylines that aren’t Alex and Henry’s relationship are frankly, imho, boring. None of the other supporting characters are fleshed out enough for me to care about them so they feel a bit like props in every scene they’re in. Henry’s sister for instance gets very little screen time though she’s supposed to be arguably the most accepting and understanding person in Henry’s life. We also don’t see enough of the parental dynamics with either character. I’ve heard the book characters are more fleshed out but it seems they cut quite a bit of that. And I realize this is personal preference because I understand the storyline about his mom’s campaign IS in the book, but the whole political aspect of the story really was just uninteresting to me and also pretty unrealistic imho. I know some people had complaints that the book in their opinion wasn’t political ENOUGH, but as far as the movie goes I just wanted to watch a romance so the other stuff I tuned out tbh. I was looking for light entertainment and seeing Rachel Maddow on the news clips and the Texas victory rather than contributing to the realism of the story honestly just took me out of it and made it seem made-up because I couldn’t imagine that happening. The overall feel of the movie also felt like they were kinda not very generous with the budget with this film. There were a lot of shots that showed they weren’t really able to show a lot of exterior views like when it came to the palace for instance where Henry lives. We finally see a bit more of the inside of what I think is supposed to be Buckingham Palace near the end of the movie, but when they are supposed to step out onto the balcony we don’t actually see any people below, even though there is supposed to be a crowd, because they cut away. It just felt like they were trying to take shortcuts that were cheaper with filming wherever they could. I also have to say I felt like the chemistry between the two leads was a bit shaky, especially in the beginning. They seemed to become more comfortable as it went on but the beginning of the movie did kinda feel like two straight dudes pretending to be gay/bi for the film. I looked into the actors and couldn’t find anything conclusive but that was the impression I as a queer women felt while watching. It just didn’t feel super authentic. I do think Henry’s character seemed more believable to me and I think that’s in part because I think the dude who plays him is a better actor. I never really could warm to Alex personally all that much. As happy as I was to see Alex and Henry get together in the film, it’s no comparison to how I felt watching the buildup of Heartstopper’s romance. It was MUCH more satisfying to see Charlie and Nick grow from friends to lovers imho. All in all, the movie was kinda a let down for me. I prob won’t rewatch it and ultimately it was just not a film I was that invested in. 🤷‍♀️

[variousqueerthings]

we did watch end of time last night, and I didn't cry, but also it feels like I ought to, but maybe it's that the story isn't technically finished because there's a coda coming up. but also I feel sad anyway

but just to think about the original epilogue that is the five specials, interesting to think about. I do think that "the next doctor" is the messiest of the bunch, but that's par for the course for christmas specials (and still by far not as messy as some later christmas specials...) however, let's be real, I'm here for the character insights, and this episode eases us into the idea that this doctor will not be with us long, mentions a bit about being alone, and then the doctor has a last christmas dinner, after avoiding it since rose

planet of the dead is an alright episode -- fun general plot, am into the creatures it introduces, and I mentioned before that whatever is happening between christina and the doctor is like an anti-romance (and... not by design, I assume, but it fits in with all of my headcanons, so I'm not complaining here). the main thing here, other than cryptic prophecies, is that the doctor has an offer for a new companion here. and he says "no, because I have a bunch of survivor's guilt, PTSD, and depression, and I wish women would stop suddenly kissing me out of the blue, seriously beginning to freak me out, sure hope that doesn't happen in my next regeneration..." (well, okay, he thinks those things)

mainly those two episodes though, give us a bit of good stuff. people clap and tell the doctor what a good job he's doing, you're like "ok maybe he could keep going like this for awhile and things might get bette-"

and then waters of mars, beloved carrier of The Themes, rtd like, "well you've got two slightly silly episodes to start us off, and we've got a double episode that's very rtd-vibes to finish us off, so lets have a middle episode that is so horrifying on several levels, to really balance us off, yes good." (and it is so fucking good). rtd in the behind-the-scenes talked about how they originally had a whole thing about how yuri and mia being a couple, well were they going to have children, and how would that affect the development of humanity if they were meant to be dead and like... yeah. adelaide knew what was up, but they didn't (maybe they suspected -- what's it like, I wonder, knowing you were really really meant to be dead, and you're living a life that is at odds with time itself...) but we don't have time to get into aaaall of that, the important thing is that the doctor is briefly mad with grief and tries it out against heavyweight (checks notes) The Concept Of Time, and sort of loses and is told it's time to die and responds to it by going-

lol nope. at the beginning of the end of time, the doctor avoids dying by doing a last spot of travelling, and acting like he's having a mental health breakdown and that's fine. and then has to rush to face his death, which as it turns out is (not so shockingly) connected to the master, our favourite weirdo, and they do their whole homoerotic thing where the master hurts the doctor in various ways and ties him up and threatens to kill him and destroys humanity (again), par for the course, except for bringing back the timelords + ofc there's a whooole bit where the doctor's PTSD depression comes to the forefront and he admits that he's terrified of regenerating, but also everything sucks and david tennant is a terrific actor and it's fascinating that rtd brought back doctor who in the way that he did, with a relearning of the wonders of the universe, only to rip it all away again

so you know. get fucked ten, but also it makes sense, there's an Arc, there's Cause and Effect, there's mountains of Sadness. POV you're learning about tragic narrative arcs in the whimsical time travel show after having tuned in for 5ish years since you were 10 (kidding, I watched the animated animal farm when I was five and it made me very curious about why it made me feel so bad and then we chased that concept ever since)

I genuinely cannot remember how I emotionally left things with ten back when there was no proposed special episodes going to happen, but I think if there's any doctor that needs a bit of catharsis, it's that one. and hopefully that'll come with a sense of everything that came next to change the doctor's view on Life this time around. or youknow. more pain. maybe a bit of both

in any case, thank you to the first rtd era, it changed my brain chemistry forever and introduced me to the whimsical time travel show and everything was fine

[phantastragoria]

Hey I’m not sure don’t remember if I sent this too you already or if I sent it to someone else but if I didn’t, I’d like to ask, what would you want in a sequel to the 2021 guardians game if they made one in terms of gameplay, characters and story?

Omg what don't I want LOL. This is opening the floodgates of my mind so reader beware, you're in for rambling insanity...

I'd want it to heavily focus on Nikki! I feel the first game boils down to being her story and I'd like if we continued that but with her having a more direct presence, obviously. Eidos Montréal giving Pete a daughter is the realest outcome ever they were so right for that and I desperately need to see his cringefail dad escapades of figuring out how to raise an emotional preteen girl like this is literally a sitcom setup I NEED to see the outcome of it all.

Joking aside I really want to see how Nikki actually is on the team (Is she allowed on missions? Is she a goofus like her dad and running off into danger??) and how she's dealing with everything post the Magus/Promise/Church shenanigans. The teen years are already really hard to navigate, especially for a young girl, but also adding on having been a bit sheltered from growing up on a Nova Corps ship AND going through the events of the first game... It's definitely going to be rough as hell and I really doubt the Guardians' chaotic lifestyle would help at all. And what's with her immediate connection to the soul stone/gem when it hurt everyone else? Something is going on there with her origins...

I don't want Gamora getting defaulted to a mother figure, but I'd like to see how her and Nikki get along, if at all. I'm sure she's crazy protective of her even if she's not projecting onto her as bad anymore but... only time will tell.

A thought that might not be important to anyone else, but I hope there's a discussion about how Peter needs to deal with Nikki's schooling. I'm sure he'd want better for her than he had had (see- no education past the 7th grade because of the whole being imprisoned thing.) I really really hope he DOESN'T decide to homeschool her though 😵‍💫 She deserves an actual education, but... the Guardians are poor so I'm sure it's going to be a problem of some sort and a struggle unless there's resources for that in their version of the Andromeda galaxy. 🤔

The most important thing ever... I need Drax to learn a musical instrument (saxophone) for fun. Our world will never be at peace until we get to hear him play a little musical tune for real. The character has existed since the 70s and I have no clue as to what kind of jazz music he even played... please let him play :( Less important (jk) but are the eternals like Mentor going to get on his case for not finishing the job with Thanos..?

Obviously, i want to know whatever is up with Richard Rider and his absence. The way the first game continually references him... I don't particularly want it to only devolve into romance, but i do want to know more about what sort of relationship he had with Gamora and exactly why he just vanished without a word to her about it.

Also, why does Peter seem to dislike him? Have they met beforehand? Is he just uncomfortable with another human?? Was he an extreme weirdo to Peter if they had met for real before??? (In the prequel novel Peter saw him during a 3D communications thing, but they didn't speak to each other.) I need answers!!! I want to assume wherever he went, he left willingly, considering he left his Nova helmet with Tivan... but why he trusted the Collector with that, I'm unsure and find it suspicious.

I've seen people suggest there's an obvious setup to some sort of infinity stone/gem and Thanos plot but I dunno... I definitely want to know where the hell his goofy ass went and it'd likely deal with that but if anything, I very much feel the plot would be dealing with more fallout of the War + recent Magus stuff that happened BUT especially dealing with political unease. Specifically the Spartoi Empire and why they went into extreme isolation, cutting themselves off from the dozens of planets they had under their control. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of there being another plot revolving partly around another single stone/gem, or one making a small appearance at the very least, however.

I'm not sure how it'd come together but I think it'd be fun if Mantis + Lady Hellbender + Adam/Pip and Nikki had a B-Team sort of moment if the main team was incapacitated. I'd also be remiss to not mention wanting to see a sort of Infinity Watch reunion/meetup if Heather makes an appearance.

And related to the above, I'd like if we got a moment where specifically Pete is out of commission and we have to play as someone else, if even for only a single chapter (I would love a stealth-like segment where you play as Gamora. Maybe if the team ends up on Spartax she has to snoop around for information?) I do acknowledge that'd be a hard sell for the devs though to add in a completely new gameplay style for just a singular short segment, so I could live without it.

I WOULD like to note I'm in the minority of players who like Peter being the main player character however! I'm biased in finding the concept of the element guns so fun and wanting to be the devil on his shoulder telling him what to say or do lol. That said, I WOULD like to see the base gameplay style expanded upon, especially if it went more of a puzzle focused route! I'm not good at explaining what I'm visualizing in my head, but I doodled a quick diagram that hopefully gets the point across of what I mean about that LOL.

AND!! This is something that bothered me gameplay wise with the first game, with how you can't backtrack to previous levels with your element gun upgrades. This makes sense in-universe since the plot is one linear story but the element additions don't even roll over to New Game+!!! I am haunted by those teal cat beasts on Seknarf-Nine having an elemental weakness icon above their heads and how you can't go back and beat them with plasma and such 😔 I also think it would just add fun replayability and encouragement to find new puzzles in old levels when you get new elements. Maybe this is how you could find more outfit boxes in previously locked off areas? Speaking of outfits...

I NEED new costumes AND all the previous ones used in the first game to be included... this is not a want it is an absolute need. There are so many possibilities for outfits, there's too many to even list here. One outfit related suggestion I have is that, not necessarily having to swap every part of an outfit for different ones, but I'd like to be able to change helmets/hats/hair separately from the clothes themselves. That last one isn't a need, though. I just want more dress up options lol.

Maybe an inclusion of silly in-game visual filters? Like a black and white mode or a faded 70s filter, perhaps one with harsh dark shadows and saturated colors... I doubt this is possible and it's definitely not needed, but who knows where game development will be by the time a sequel happens! (I'd also like silly cheat codes... let me fly out of bounds in godmode and explore the level boundries... jk)

I'd like if the music choices started including 90s/2000s music, perhaps through Nikki collecting Earth junk and her bonding with Peter through that? Very inconsequential, but I would like it if Peter found out that the Star-Lord band DID make a new album at some point and he just never knew. He needs a small win in his little fanboy life (I feel deep within that this metaphorical album would have a blue cover... don't ask me why it just feels right.)

Quick last second list of people I would like to see appear/have some form of significance in the plot:

1. VICTORIA OF SPARTAX!!! Genuinely I want to see her more than anyone, even more than Richard (RICHIE IM SORRY!) I just need to see someone actually write her with respect and not as the second to her brother 😭 I'm absolutely certain she exists in this universe, so please...

2. Phyla-Vell (either as this universe's Captain Marvel or as the new Quasar incase something happened to Wendell between the first and metaphorical second game- Personally I think it would be more creative getting to see how Eidos would adapt Quasar's abilities.)

3. Heather/Moondragon (WHAT is she up to since her Nova Records mark her current whereabouts as unknown? From the same Records she's already been connected to the Dragon of the Moon and -was- prophesized as one out of three people to be the Celestial Madonna, but Mantis holds that title. Did they already fight over the right to it?)

4. SHIP/Aurora/the sentient spaceship from Peter's original 70s comics LOL LISTEN... I have faith in the madlads at Eidos to see the potential in her... PLEASE... It would be so funny.

5. Bug (😔 I know most people don't like him but I swear we can fix him... We already know he exists in-universe by his appearance in the prequel novel AND Mantis literally stating that, in regards to making a comment about Bug during the attack on Sacrosanct "I forgot you guys haven't met him (Bug) yet." Like come on, he's out there!!!)

6. Aradia and Mors, which I know will never happen, but let me believe.

7. ANY of the cosmic/abstract entities... we already know that Lady Death exists + Eternity and The Living Tribunal are known to the general public. I'd like to know where exactly they are because it's a bit concerning that they disappeared when the War had started years ago... perhaps Thanos had a hand in that. 🤔

8. If any Heralds of Galactus happen to show up, even if briefly, I would like the current herald to be Stardust.

9. Halfworlders like Blackjack and Wal-Rus or this universe' equivalents... Theory moment, but the prequel novel confirming that similar experiments happening on Halfworld were also going on in the Mercury base during the War makes me think that they have to be out there. I'd also like to see that Lylla survived and Rocket just didn't know. It'd be nice to see her get to exist outside of being a sad backstory thing that she's been relegated as for the last decade+ in media tbqh.

AND IMPORTANTLY if we indeed get more humans or extremely humanoid aliens in the cast, we desperately need some more diversity because there's no way every single human that makes it to space is white lol...

We're nearing the end now... so miscellaneous wants:

If it wasn't obvious by all my talk of Spartax by now, I want to see what Eidos had in mind for Spartoi culture so badly because the possibilities make my mind race! There's a bunch of little things I took as hints about them scattered throughout the first game, and it's part of why I think the sequel would involve them heavily in some way.

Related to that, I need Peter to think more deeply on his connection to his element guns and the implications of what they're actually capable of. Another gameplay specific suggestion, but I'm SO extremely curious if there being two of them means he could dual-wield two elements at once if he was more confident in using them?? I've been thinking about this for everrr.

And, just throwing this out there, I think it'd be very funny if/when Peter encounters J'son he has the option to just punch him square in the jaw without saying anything LOL.

I hope the epilogue stating that Peter is teaching Groot sign language becomes a significant thing that appears in the sequel :o it'd be really cool to see ASL in a game honestly because I can't recall seeing it elsewhere... and I want the others to learn it to communicate with Groot too!

I want Jack Flag in his prison cube that was drifting off into space to crash land on a tropical planet... but he is then eaten by a space whale RIP...

Finally, Rocket and Drax should start a space Etsy account selling gadgets/knitted items. Perhaps that is how the Guardians will get out of their financial hole once and for all.

[treesap-blogs]

happy saturday y’all if ur in my time zone or any other nearby ones! Here’s a “When The Angels Left The Old Country” by Sacha Lamb!

TUMBLRIANS!! Greetings!! As of the publication date of this review, it will have been about 5-6 days since I finished reading When The Angels Left The Old Country by Sacha Lamb! And ugh! What an excellent book. Up at the tippy top of my mental rankings along with A Lesbiana’s Guide To Catholic School. (P.S., I’m sticking true to my word and developing a weekly schedule! I’m publishing reviews every Saturday! Every other day of the week I’ll just..do whatever I want lol.)

I don’t think I fit into the intended demographic of this book; I have not watched a minute of Good Omens in my life (I only knew that it borrowed a bit from the basic premise/setup based on reviews by people who have watched or read it), nor am I Jewish! The Hebrew and Yiddish glossary at the end was greatly appreciated for the latter reason lmao, although I could guess what some things were based on context clues it was good to have the extra help for visualization. (I picture stuff in my head like a movie when I’m reading, so it can throw me off if I miss a detail.) Regardless, I got sucked into the world of this book, and how culturally rich it felt; the Yiddish/Hebrew/Jewish aspects blended in effortlessly and never felt once like they were being shoved into a line or piece of dialogue. And consequently, I became terribly invested in all of the characters. (“Terribly” meant in an 18th-century-lady-saying-“very much” way, not the negative connotation!) I loved to tune into an angels and demons story that wasn’t exclusively Catholic or Christian(and acknowledged the existence of other religions, too!), and there was something so uniquely poetic about both Little Ash and Uriel discovering what it means to be human, on top of realizing they’re becoming a bit more like that the further along the story they are.

Oh my goodness though, I’ve never wanted a book to be a little more under the romance subgenre than this one. Uriel and Little Ash’s relationship was just..beautiful. I so badly wanted them to get together like the other romantic pairing we get in this story (that one felt a little rushed admittedly, it felt more like infatuation and a fun little fling than genuine romance and we didn’t get a ton of development between the two). (Folks who read the book, you know what I mean.) Although I do think that it would change some of the writing and I wouldn’t want that to happen, I think it’s good as is and I suppose it’s nice that you don’t have that at the front and center so it doesn’t distract from the plot. Not that Sacha Lamb ever rules out the possibility of them getting together, but it just doesn���t get finalized ☹️. You can see how their affection towards each other changes to become a bit more romantic towards the middle of the story, and..goodness. They’re just so sweet. I usually don’t get emotional over a book romance, but these guys?? They’re everything to me!!! They should’ve kissed damnit. LET ASHEL AND URIEL KISS GODDAMNIT!!!

Anyhow! I also really loved the characters. Uriel and Little Ash/Ashel(I call him a lot of things in this review sorry) complimented each other’s personalities well! Although there was a possibility that Ashel’s “always sniffing around for sinners and mischief whenever he can” gimmick has the potential to get old after a while, as well as Uriel’s moral perfection being the foil to that (and acting as a means of keeping him in check), but both characters undergo their own changes and arcs, meaning that neither become “tired”. I liked their banter too. And Rose was a force of her own, a “firecracker” as I’ve seen another reviewer describe, her and the other two worked well as a trio once she became accustomed to both of them(+Ashel didn’t see the point in messing with her anymore lmao) and I liked seeing them become more of a friend group as the story progressed.

Also, this was one of the only times where I’ve felt truly satisfied by the ending of a non-contemporary novel! So that was a nice surprise. (So many sequels and open endings nowadays!) (I sound like a boomer, sorry.) 

Overall, it was a well-written book, one of my favorites at that, and I’ll definitely recommend it to those who read historical fiction. No spoiler section for this review, everyone! I don’t have a ton I feel the need to rant about, which I can’t tell is because of my enjoyment of this book or because this week has been truly exhausting (and it’s taken everything in me to gather up my remaining energy and finish this review). (Apologies for those who saw my deleted post, I haven’t been in the best state.)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars! 

Paz, signing off!

(Book trigger/content warnings: Historical xenophobia and antisemitism, violence, some blood.)

[myshadesofwrong]

Thanks for being the voice of reason this morning! I was shocked to see so many people angry and already boycotting the season..like, what is happening? Over something that, in my opinion, is barely anything new. Same thing happened with the Netflix Turkey “leak” last week. All this drama was made and the information was so, so minor. This character that many probably now hate <for good reason if you don’t like that stuff>…they released photos of them, they wouldn’t do that if the character was going to play someone minor. They say that all press is good press? GT did nothing wrong but people were attacking them and others for sharing the article? It was insane. This is what networks literally want because it hypes up the show and you either tune in to lovewatch it or hatewatch it, but either way- you are tuning in. They know we are tuning in no matter what lol Today, I definitely realized just how strongly “dedicated” people are in this fandom. Not a bad thing, of course not, but some things I saw were so beyond unnecessary. The reactions were…something else. Saying how the cast were probably crying together and heartbroken, essentially “speaking” for them. Yikes! We know the team & cast are great, but this is how press for shows literally works. It won’t be the first nor last time this happens. Again, it was just insane this morning. I wonder if I was ever like that? lol

Thanks again! I am very excited to hear your s2 thoughts!

Thank you so much! I actually cried reading your message. It's been a shitty day at work and the feedback from what I posted this morning has been so extraordinary. I'm always nervous making my first post in a new fandom because I always feel like the outsider having come in so late but the response as been amazing!. I cannot tell you what it means to me!

That was exactly the reason I posted what I did. The info wasn't anything new and I couldn't understand why people were getting so upset over it. Another ask said it best, alot of fans are wanting six episodes of loving, sunshine and rainbow Wilmon but that's such a boring show, no one would watch it. Even the best romance media has some kind of drama for the couple to overcome. Why? Because it's normal and it makes the payoff so much sweeter. I want loving scenes with them, of course. But the drama and figuring crap out is what makes the romance stronger, if that makes sense.

But what really upset me was the babying the actors and creators and being so horrible to GT and the writers of that article. For me, it started with that story on IG from I think RydingBrasil about not sharing the pics and articles and I was like what? This is legit promo. Why wouldn't we share it? Not to mention, it was like you said, "speaking for the actors". This is a common problem across fandoms and one that drives me absolutely crazy. They are professionals, they know how this works. The reaction of thinking they were all crying together was...juvenile. It's like when a celebrity says they have anxiety and everyone seems to think they need to protect said celebrity from literally everything. I said it before, there is being respectful of things like that and then there's babying them. But yeah, this is how press literally works and the whole thinking it was a leak over a spoiler that was frankly inconsequential and wanting us not to share it would have hampered the show, the hype, and these actors we love.

And, as much as I hate to admit it, I was probably very much like that. (Maybe that's why I could recognize it for what it was! LOL)

And thank you again. I actually feel so welcomed in this fandom in a way I never have before so I'll definitely stick around and share my thoughts on s2. I'm so excited for it!

[effielumiere]

Girl of My Dreams: Chapter 1

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader / SUGA x Reader

Genre: Romance, Idol AU, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Soulmates (?). Age gap.

Summary: Every one has always wondered why Yoongi was good with words especially when it comes to the topic of love. It wasn't a question of why, but who. Who made him think of love that way? Who was his muse? Who was the muse that always made Yoongi smile like he won the damn lottery? Who made him laugh even in situations where he had to be serious? If you ask him, he'll just smile and blush, but if you ask the other members they would smile at Yoongi then look at you and start giggling like gossiping high schoolers.

Warning(s): Sentences in italics are English words translated to Korean (that sounded confusing but I said what I said). Cursing. Underage reader at one point (Yoongi didn't know and tried to ask her out)... Spoiler lol. Mentions of MC being tipsy. A bit of angst at the end. UNEDITED!

Word count: 4.5k

A/N: The summary was really the idea or the question that came to mind, though we all know that Yoongi is undeniably a genius in any topic you throw at him, his idea of love is always what gets me. And his part in Girl of My Dreams sparked my thoughts - he's a hopeless romantic. Other might think he's very serious and cold but I think he's very romantic and sweet, even at times clingy. For now here's my idea on how it would be if he had a muse - which one day, of course, will happen when he gets married to his s/o and have kids they would be the lucky ones because they're his muses in life.

Enjoy this one!!!

P.S: this is my 2nd fanfic for BTS lol and I became an Army during the Dynamite era (though I knew them since I saw For You and Idol). sorry if some of the facts are a bit off. Do feel free to correct me but please remember that this is a fanfic, some stuff are meant to be different!! 😅💜

Please don't forget to leave a like, reblog this story and please leave a feedback. Please don't be a silent reader🥺! My ask box is also open as well as my permanent taglist if you wanna get tagged for future stories. There are probably more parts after this, just ask if you wanna be added to the taglist ;)

aaand... Happy, Happy Birthday to the best of the best, our one and only Min Yoongi (lil meow meow). We love you. Stay healthy💜 Borahaeeeeee

< masterlist | next >

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Y/n?" I call to her and she hums in question looking up from her book.

"Do you think I would sound cool if I sing?" ask her twirling my ballpen in my fingers, I stopped myself from murdering the button to click it open and close repeatedly out of being nervous.

Her pouty lips curl inwards to stop herself from laughing and she shut her eyes as she removes her glasses.

"Be honest, please," I beg with a smile already knowing the answer but I wanted to hear her voice she's been quiet ever since she sat on the couch in my studio and hid behind the pages of her book, a romance novel. All I could hear when I put my headphones away were the quiet humming of the air conditioner and humidifier, and her flipping pages on her book.

"I mean, I know I don't sound like Jin hyung or Jimin, or Taehyung or even Jungkook," I explained "Even Namjoon and Hoseok sound good when they're singing," she snort laughs and starts giggling hiding her face in between the book, "I can carry a tune, I'm a rapper, I can sing just not as amazing as the vocal line!" I exclaim and she guffawed "Ya~! I'm serious!" I tease her though she knows I'm not serious.

"Sugs," she starts but ends up sniggering again. She been calling me that ever since we debuted, went to America and met her for the first time and I told her my rapper name or stage name is SUGA. She pronounces it Shoo-g-s, just like SUGA but she replaced the A with an S. It all started when she was texting Namjoon to tell me her email and she typed 'Please pass it to Sugs' and followed up with an email saying 'I meant Suga* :)'. Namjoon started teasing me after that which lead to all of them agreeing that they'll only call me that when Y/n was not around, which was often. But after a while the teasing stopped but it didn't stop them from calling me Suga hyung or just Suga which was alright.

"Sugs," she tries to control her laughter "I like the idea of you singing, trust me,"

"But no?" I chuckle "Is that it?"

"But no," we both end up laughing. We've had memories of hanging out with friends drinking and singing. Yes, singing. And usually, Hobi, Jin hyung and Y/n were the ones who would laugh like hyenas in the corner of the room crying their eyes out when Namjoon sings out of tune and makes me join him.

And like the goofball I am around her, I do a spin on my chair started belting out the chorus to Just One Day causing her to double over in laughter on the couch behind me.

Doing another spin from where I was at the desk, I stop to look at her before continuing my singing, getting up and walking to her. When someone knocked on the door to the studio. I immediately stop not wanting anyone else to witness what just happened and look down at Y/n who was wiping her tears.

In so many ways fate was very kind to introduce me to Y/n, she was a combination of all the members but there was one thing that about her that made me think she was my soulmate and made me fall in love with her.

She was the one who made me realize that I didn't have a heart made of stone, that I deserve love just like any body else in this world and she taught me... love. How love is, how love should be and how to love. But she never taught me how to love her, not just as a friend but something more. Much more.

"Hyung," Jungkook's voice calls from the other side of the door "It's Jungkook,"

"I know, kid," I answer him with a chuckle as I open the door.

"Oh dear, God," Jungkook exclaims as he turns "Y/n, what are you doing here? I thought you were on a vacation. You look scary under your onesie, you scared the living shit outta me."

"I am on vacation," she grins "Destination was Genius Lab"

"Ahh..." Jungkook nods then turns to me "You texted me?"

"Yeah, hand this over to Namjoon when you see him in the gym," I hand him a flash drive and he just nods, "Will do. Anything else?" I shake my head and say thank youas he says goodbye to Y/n and leaves.

"Wanna go somewhere?" I ask her as I turn off my computer.

"Please tell me 'somewhere' has good food." she laughs

"I heard the chef's pretty good," I bite my lip

"Mhmm" she nods grinning "Is he a genius?"

I scoffed hiding my smile "Definitely."

"Then let's go," she smiles closing her book to put in her bag and waits for me to stand up to leave. We both leave my studio a d head for the elevator when I hear her sigh as she turns to me, and asks through her purple face mask, "Can you believe it? I mean it's been years since the building has been up but it's like what? My fifth time inside here?"

"Believe what?"

"That you're here? Right now?" she says as we both get on the elevator and I push the button to the basement parking "When we first met, you guys were in LA doing your laundry and you said you guys were handing out tickets AND you had a challenge, that was not included in American Hustle Life sadly, to flirt with me and ask me out on a date"

"Which failed, obviously" I laugh "I was young, but so were you. Damn it, I thought you were my age. Imagine my shock when I found out you were Jungkook's age."

She laughs loudly in the tiny space of the elevator as the door opens to the basement parking and we both walk out.

"You were a jailbait" I tease her "My heart plummeted to the ground and Taehyung said I looked like my balls shriveled up my body when you said you were Jungkook's age and showed manager-nim your ID" she holds on the wall beside my parked car as she laughs some more.

"You could've sent my ass to jail, woman!" I tease her some more to make her laugh, and she does. This is how it was ever since, she's just as easy to entertain like Hobi, and she laughs in different ways but this was my favorite. Her guffaw was music to my ears, but so was her voice. I couldn't sleep at night without calling her just to talk about how our day went and saying goodnight.

"It wasn't my intention," she says as looks up at me while she sits on the cold ground of the concrete floor with her back to the wall "I thought you were my age too if not a year younger, I didn't know if I was gonna take you seriously when you told me you were... what twenty? twenty one?"

"Twenty, I think," I reach out for both of her hands to help her get up and opened the car door for her "You were probably sixteen or seventeen,"

She plopped her behind on the passengers seat before she starts laughing again as she sits properly and I close the door behind her.

When we arrived back in my apartment, she followed me to the bedroom saying she was gonna help me pack up but was surprised to see that I was already done except for my backpack. She sat on the bed legs crossed, carefully arranging the tangled wires of the laptop charger when she looks up at me when I walked out of the walk in closet with an oversized tshirt and joggers in hand similar to the one she was wearing but slightly bigger, "you can change into these if you want. I'll leave them here," I tell her as I place it on the ottoman.

"Thank you~," she says as she gets up, done with my charger, and she grabs the clothes and hurriedly runs to the en suite squealing. I put all of my remaining things into the backpack as I waited for her to change before heading to the kitchen to prepare cooking dinner for the both of us wondering if she'll return the clothes she's 'borrowed' over the past years.

We were nearly three days away from leaving for the US for the American Music Awards and PTD LA, and I had yet to convince her to leave with me. It was a last minute thought of mine but after I realized I was gonna be able to record Girl of my dreams in Los Angeles, I thought why not bring her with me. I've been doing that ever since I kept contact with her when we first met in American Hustle Life.

----~~----

Back in 2014, while I played with the claw machine and got both Taehyung and Jungkook a plushie while we were being chaotic and she was listening to music while reading a book and our camera man and producer leaned on me saying he has a challenge for us which the younger ones overheard, so we gathered around.

"Who in you three think can naturally swoon or flirt with a girl by rapping?"

Automatically we all turn to where Y/n was sitting reading and as I studied her appearance I noticed that she had earphones on, and you can faintly hear the music she was drowning into while reading what looked like a romance novel.

"Isn't that too straightforward?" Taehyung chuckles nervously.

"It is," I agreed with him "but it also depends on what the reward is if we do the challenge" I state as I avert my gaze from her to our show producer.

"Additional allowance for all of you" the maknaes gasp in surprise and Jungkook starts playfully tugging on my shirt.

"Pity the babiesssss" they cry dramatically "the poor hungry babies"

"I'd do it but I don't know how to rap" Tae laughs

"So, who's up for it?" our manager smiles while our producer starts chuckling.

"I have a feeling Yoongi hyung would do better" Taehyung says looking at me

"I agree" Jungkook says "and besides, she looks like she's more your age, hyung."

I look back at her and she put her book down to lean her head back on the wall, eyes closed for a few seconds before she opens her eyes and starts reading again

"How much?" I ask our producer and the other boys 'ooh' as I square my shoulders accepting the challenge.

"How's $50 each?" he asks and I look at them in question and they smile and shake their heads yes, "Deal," I put my hand out to shake his hand "I have one problem though,"

"Which is?" he asks as he shakes my hand "I can't speak English"

"Just ask her out for dinner" he shrugs "If she says no, I'll give each of you the $50 from my wallet"

"And if she says yes?"

"He and Bang PD will pay for the wedding" Jungkook jokes making Taehyung and I laugh loudly.

"Dinner," the producer corrects him with a laugh "I'll pay for your dinner date"

"Damn,"Taehyung chuckles "now that's what you call sponsored"

"Wait," Jungkook interjected "If she says yes, you pay for their date, but what about the $350?"

"That's mostly what I'm gonna use to pay for their date, you'll all just receive a total of $70 at the end of the day" he declared "but you refuse the challenge, you'll all get nothing"

"I'm okay with $10" Jungkook says with a smile "At least we get something and Yoongi hyung gets a sponsored date" he mischievously grins the others agree with him but it didn't feel right.

"You have to try" Taehyung says when I voiced my doubt, reassuring me "you never know,"

After a second of pondering, I shake my head and get up "Just ask her out and flirt with her right?"

"The other way around, hyung" Jungkook laughs "Flirt first and then ask her out"

Just as I was about to head in her direction she gets up, she carelessly puts her book in her bag not knowing she missed it. And walks towards out of the laundromat, my eyes widen and I look back at our manager and producer in panic. Suddenly I was being pushed and yelled at to run after her and I did exactly that grabbing the book that fell from her bag onto the bench.

"Excuse me!" I yell as I run after her "Excuse me, Miss!" I touch her shoulder lightly when I reach her just as she was about to cross the road.

She turns around abruptly, confused as she pulls her earphones out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she says as she watches me catch my breath "I didn't hear you, I was wearing my earphones"

"It's okay" I tell her "You left this in chair? At the laundry?" I point at the direction of the laundromat. Her eyes widen in realizing what I meant.

"Oh," she looks at the book in my hands before slowly taking it "Thank you so much, this book means so much to me"

She looks up at me with tear threatening to fall from her eyes, "Thank you," she says again smiling

"You're welcome," I smile "I want to ask you something before I saw you leave?"

"Oh," she says eyes widening "what is it?"

"I wanted to..." I trail off thinking for the right word to use, where was Namjoon when you needed him "sorry, I'm thinking about word, my English is not good"

"It's okay," she smiles "where are you from?"

"Uh, South Korea," he smiles

"Oh, that's cool," she beams "I have this translating app we could use, my friend is half Korean and we used this when she first arrived here," she says pulling her phone out of her pocket and tapping away then she stands next to me.

"Here, type what you need to tell me so that it will try to translate it" she explains.

I type away explaining the situation minus the cash thingy before handing her phone back to her. And after she reads it and tries to understand the translation, she looks up at me biting her lip as she looks down at her phone again to reread what was translator gave her.

I'm a rapper back in South Korea and I'm here on a business trip with my group. Today is laundry day and back in the laundromat, my manager and our show producer challenged me to flirt with you and try to ask you out on a date. I just did not expect to ask you out on for dinner using a translator. I'm sorry. It's okay if you don't want to go out with me, I understand. :)

She looks up again at me, squinting because of the sun and she grins at me, then looks behind me. I follow her line of sight and notice that no one followed me and that they were all in one space near the van looking hopeful.

"What's your name?"

"Suga"

"I'm gonna guess that your rapper name?" she questions and I nod smiling "I'm Y/n,"

"Nice to meet you, Y/n" I smile shaking her hand

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" she asks "You look seem a bit on the younger side, and I know that age is pretty important for you guys"

"I'm 20 years old," I tell her slightly concern that maybe she thought I was too young and her jaw drops as she starts giggling.

"You look like a really good guy, Suga," she smiles and she reaches out to touch my arm as to comfort me "But the thing is, I don't think I'll be able to go out on a date with you.

"Unless you want to wait in like 2 or maybe four years" she giggles

"Wh-what do you mean?" I ask confused

"Oppa..." she starts holding my shoulders in both of her hands with a gentle grip "I'm 16 years old" she lets go of my shoulders to type it on her phone before handing it to me.

I look up at her with probably a weird look because she starts laughing at my reaction as I type furiously

You don't look 16, I don't believe you.

"But I am," she tries to convince me, eventually pulling out an ID from her tiny wallet and handing it to me. And sure enough, she was born in 1997.

"Ah fuck," I curse under my breath "Can you tell my manager?" I ask her pointing my thumb back at the direction of the laundromat hoping she would go back with me "Please?"

She looks at the direction of where she was headed with a sigh, before looking back at me and nodding, "Okay, I will... you're lucky you're cute," I blush as we walk back to the laundromat where she explains to my manager, the producer with the help of our translator that she was 16 and won't be able to go on a date with me.

"Even if I wanted to, just to get to know him because he looks like a really cool and cute guy, I can't" she laughs

"I think the only one you're gonna be able to go on a date with is Jungkook, but the deal was with Suga," our translator laughs with her "But thank you anyway for letting him try and not calling the cops on us,"

"No problem," she smiles and she looks towards my direction and she says goodbye and teases me that maybe next time we could go on a date. Before she could walk far away I called after her.

"Y/n-ssi," she turns around at the sound of her name, as I stand close enough in front of her with my back to the maknaes and the staff I ask her in a voice only for her to hear "Can I see you tomorrow? Santa Monica beach? I want you to meet other members. At the park near the beach, at 3pm?"

"He means the Pier!" our translator yells out to her and she looks back to my direction.

"I can't make any promises, Oppa," she smiles "But, I'll try. I want to see you again too. I'll see you tomorrow." she waves as she slowly walks away.

Once we were done with laundry and went back to the dorm, I sat down with Namjoon and told her about Y/n. And after we were done talking and the lights were out.

"Hyung?" Namjoon asks as we laid on our own beds in the dark.

"Yeah?"

"What if she doesn't show up tomorrow?" he asks "Did you at least ask for her email?"

After a beat of silence, I squint my eyes and press the heel of my hands on them and groan, "Ah fuck!"

"Ya~! Hyung!" "Yoongi! What in the world is wrong with you!?" "Hyung!" they all yell at me in the dark "Yoongi!" Jin yells at me from where he was laying "Ask for her email at least and be her friend! You don't have to go on a date with her,"

"He has a point," Namjoon says "There's nothing wrong with being friends with her and keeping contact, just keep it rated PG 13."

"Just hope she's going to be there tomorrow," Jimin says

"Or you all can consider me unlucky."

"But at least we have extra cash," Namjoon says "thanks, hyung"

"Mhmm..."

"Get her something to remember you by, hyung" Jimin says "A teddy bear or something"

"IF she shows up tomorrow"

"This would be a good time to pray," Hobi chuckles making the other boys chuckle with him.

----~~----

"YOONGI!" Y/n's voice breaks me out of my trip down to memory lane "The boiling noodles are overflowing!" I look down to quickly at the pot, hurriedly closing off the heat and taking off the pot and pouring the noodles on the strainer waiting by the sink.

"Jeez," she sighed as she stands next to me "You okay, Yoongi? You seemed a bit out of it."

"I'm okay," I sigh as I start stir frying the vegetables for the Japchae "I was just reminiscing some old memories, like how I lamely asked to see you at the Santa Monica Pier."

"Yeah," she laughs "it was weird, I nearly didn't make it that day, I don't know if I ever told you that,"

My forehead crinkles as I look in her direction, "You never told me that," I stare at her fora good second before I paid attention to what I was cooking "What happened?"

"As you know I was only there for the Summer," she sighs as she sits on the floor where she was playing with Holly, but I was still able to see her "I was supposed to leave that day, at that time." I look back at her wondering if what I was hearing was correct.

"I was supposed to fly back home at 3pm the day I was supposed to meet you at the pier. I was already at the airport," she looks down at Holly who was tugging at the toy Y/n was holding in her hand "But when I checked the board, my flight was cancelled because of the weather back home. That's why I was late to meet you that day," I guess I was lucky that day...

I take the pan from the stove after closing it to place on the table, grabbing the two bowls I set on the counter earlier along with two pair of chopsticks.

"Jagiya~" I playfully call out to her and she laughs as she gets up "Call me that in front of the other members and they might think we eloped,"

"They probably think we're married and keeping it a secret from them," I told her "But, we're not," I look down at my food taking another bite. She stays quiet as we eat and once we were done, I took the chance to ask her.

"Would like to join us on the Permission to Dance in LA concerts?" I ask her "You used to join us on tour before anyway, so it's nothing new to you. Oh, and you can stay with me and Namjoon a few more days after the concert if you want to. I just have a project I need to finish while I'm there. You can come back home with Jin hyung, Jimin and Jungkook right after the concert too if you want." I offered the idea.

"Will it be alright with you if I want to stay where you do?" she asks hesitantly looking up at me.

"I'd rather you stick close to me while we're in LA," I stare at her "Don't want you roaming around without me or without security,"

"Oh come on, that was one time," she exclaims grinning

"Which is why we don't want it happening again," I chuckle

A few days later when we reached LA and was done with the American Music Awards, the first place Y/n and I sneaked off to was the laundromat where we took pictures, giggling like a bunch of teenagers before headed off to the beach where we watched the sunset while we sat on the sand.

"So, am I allowed to ask you what is this project of yours that's so important that you have to stay a couple of days after the concert is over?" she asks pulling her mask down to breathe in the salty air.

"A song that I'm producing," I tell her pulling out my phone, searching for the song.

"Nothing new there," she smiles "Still impressive as ever, but nothing new. Everyone wants to collaborate with the best of the best,"

"Hmm," I hummed happily "I thought you might say that," I pass the phone to her as she listens to the first half of 'Girl of my dreams', I had still yet to write and record my rap verse. And once the track was over, I explained to her the story behind it eventually we finally head back to the car waiting for us that was going to drive us back to the hotel, but not before having dinner which ended up with her being tipsy. Her room was next to mine, so I walked her to her room and just as she was about to close her door she calls out to me.

"Oppa?"

"Yes?"

She hesitates for a second before she finally says "Not to sound like a needy bitch but-," she was cut off by the way I laugh, I immediately stop myself and gesture for her to continue.

She sighs heavily, "We've been friends for a while, how come you never wrote a song about me?"

I blush at her question and look down at my feet before looking up again to face her and shot back, "Ya~! You never asked, that's why,"

"But I thought you'd at least write about how you've put up with how annoying I am for the past years," she says playfully.

"I..." I trail off and stop myself before I ended up saying something I wasn't supposed to, "I wrote a song about you,"

"No shit!" she laughs

"I did," I smile at her genuinely "I was in one of the past albums,"

"Which one?" she asks seriously, eye wide "Please don't say it's Whalien 52 and that you're calling me a lonely, lonely, lonely whale."

"Ya, go to bed!" I exclaimed laughing "You've had too much to drink!"

She pouts, "You're no fun,"

"I'm fun," I state "When you're sober. Good night, y/n."

"Fine," she sighs heavily "Good night, Yoongi,"

As she closes the door and I hear the beep telling me it's locked, I make my way inside my own room shutting the door right behind me with my back to the door and my heart on my throat as I take a few deep breaths trying to calm myself. That was the first time I've ever lied to her and hopefully the last. I don't think I'll be able to live seeing my grandchildren if I lie to her like that again. I take a deep breath but tears flood my view as I remember her question.

'They're all about you' I wanted to tell her as I lightly thump my head repeatedly on the door tears slowly rolling down my cheeks, 'Every song I wrote about love and heartbreak, they're all about you. Because, for nearly the past decade, I've been so in love with you and it breaks my heart knowing you might never reciprocate the feeling, and it hurts because there's no one else I want to be with for the rest of my days.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C7 - Goodnight Moon

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter discusses the events of chapter 6, which include attempted murder and being attacked, as well as the use of a taser and general feelings of fear.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 7 | Next Chapter

C7 - Goodnight Moon

     Despite having a day off from both jobs followed by two days working just one job or the other, you did not have a very restful break. Management had sent you an email, saying that you must have forgotten to clock out, you’d only be paid for your scheduled hours, don’t let it happen again. So you weren’t fired. Which meant you still had to go back to work eventually.

     Luckily, the bruising on your neck was minimal, and what wasn’t hidden by a work shirt collar was easily concealed with concealer. No one said a thing at the deli. The day you were supposed to go back to work as a security guard, you were scheduled for a longer shift. Vanessa probably had the day off. You would be there from close to open.

     You distracted by finally doing your shopping and scrounging up enough energy to cook an actual meal, making extra so you’d have breakfast ready tomorrow.

     With the help of some fun tunes while you cooked, afternoon sunlight pouring in through the kitchen window, you actually felt much better by the time you sat down to eat. You ate slowly, finally thinking about what you should do when you went back to work.

     Sun would be there today, so you couldn’t talk to Moon directly. You figured you should probably apologize for tasing him. You worried for a moment that you’d really hurt the animatronic. Electricity probably wasn’t great for them. What would you do if you’d damaged Sun and Moon?? Surely management would have fired you. But maybe management didn’t know it was you? Moon had been malfunctioning for a while now, after all…

     You frowned. You’d been warned several times about Moon’s malfunctions. Moon himself had yelled at you to leave. You felt almost stupid now, for not having listened. You felt even worse about tasing Moon.

     You took a few deep breaths as you sat in the parking lot. You were a little early. Families were still funneling out of the pizza-plex, kids worn out and happy from the day, carrying overpriced merchandise of all the animatronics. You even spotted a few Sun plushies and hats and shirts among the younger kids. No Moon merchandise.

     Sitting around was the worst. You headed in and clocked in early, figuring it’d be better to talk to Sun first thing anyways. This way, you wouldn’t have to worry so much about checking the cameras while you chatted, at least until the place was actually closed.

     You slowly made your way to the daycare, stopping more than once to help people locate the exit. You stood by while a tired parent struggled to convince their upset toddler that they did have to leave, the place was closing, yes they were going to come back tomorrow, don’t you want mac and cheese with dinner?

     It took a little more convincing but the toddler finally relented, and then the path was clear. You stepped through the open doors.

It wasn’t hard to spot Sun, he was busy running around cleaning up after a day of herding and entertaining children.

     You grabbed a broom from the narrow supply closet beside the cubbies and started sweeping. There were lots of little scraps of colorful paper everywhere, the remnants of an arts and crafts project. The little plastic tables were covered in marker lines and glittery glue. There were still some art supplies laying around here and there.

     Sun spotted you sweeping after a moment, fumbling with the giant foam blocks and pillows they were carrying.

     You gave him a small wave and kept sweeping. Sun stared at you for a moment, then slowly resumed cleaning up.

     After you finished sweeping, you found some kid-safe wipes in the closet and got to scrubbing the tables and chairs clean.

     Sun put away the rest of the pillows and blankets (remnants of several pillow forts?) before cautiously coming over to start picking up the art supplies.

     You spoke up before Sun could say anything.

     “So, uh. Is Moon… listening?” you asked.

     Sun paused, then nodded.

     “First off. Sorry for tasing yall. I hope I didn’t do any damage or anything,” you started.

     Sun just stared at you.

     You got nervous at that. You powered on. “Second, sorry for not listening when Moon told me to leave. And third. Sorry for running away after, I should have stayed to make sure you were okay.”

     Sun frowned. You stopped scrubbing and wondered if you should just leave.

     “Y/N,” Sun said, firmly but gently. “You do not have to apologize for anything. You acted in entirely justified self defense. I was worried you would hate us! And never come back!”

     You raised an eyebrow. “Never come back? I still work here. But no, I don’t hate either of you.”

     “Even though we both neglected to tell you the true danger of Moon’s malfunctions?” Sun asked. “Even though Moon…”

     “I mean, I get why you didn’t. I get why that’s… not a great scene, for a guy who takes care of kids. Probably wanna keep it on the down low. But yeah, definitely inform me next time about any dangers to my person. That’d be much appreciated.”

     “Of course!! But that’s all the danger, we swear! There’s just something wrong with Moon’s systems. Usually he can control it well enough… we’re just both sticklers for the rules,” Sun explained, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

     “Right…” You realized Moon had lashed out right after you had said ‘shit’. And the other night, when you swore accidentally and Moon got weirdly upset before you had distracted him with a question.

     “Again, we’re both really sorry…” Sun looked sad.

     “Cheer up, sunflower. I forgive you. I wouldn’t be a security guard if I couldn’t handle myself, you know?” You paused. “Are they gonna fix Moon soon? You’d think they would wanna fix a bug like that ASAP.”

     “They tried once… said it was too risky to remove the faulty coding, that they might accidentally remove Moon too. They said that they needed to bring in a professional, a specialist. Could take four to eight months.”

     “How long ago was that?”

     “…Ten months.” Sun averted their gaze, fiddling with a purple crayon.

     “Hm.” You frowned. “I don’t like how management treats yall. I get it, this is a corporation and they just want money. But its not fair of them to do these things to yall. You’re more than just robots, you know? If they wanted to make sentient animatronics, then that means they’re responsible for all the consequences.” You lightly kicked one of the plastic chairs and folded your arms.

     “Don’t worry yourself, sunshine. I’m sure they’ll fix Moon up in no time and everything will go back to how it was!” Sun said, offering a smile.

     Your frown remained plastered on your face. “What if…” You shut your mouth. You didn’t want to upset Sun or Moon.

     “What if what?” Sun asked quietly, tilting his head.

     You deliberated, then finally decided it was important to vocalize your concerns, even if you upset Sun and Moon. “What if they’re not bringing in a specialist? What if… what if they’re just gonna get rid of Moon?” You thought about the soggy box of Moon merchandise in parts and service. You thought about how you never saw any Moon posters around, Just Sun and the glamrock gang. “Maybe they’re just waiting for an incident to justify it. Or figuring out how to still keep you happy enough to do your job once they get rid of Moon.”

     Sun was entirely still, their face blank and unreadable. You watched him for a long moment. Were Sun and Moon talking to each other right now? You wondered what Moon was thinking.

     “…I don’t know,” Sun finally said. They sunk down to the floor and wrapped their long arms around themself. “I don’t know.”

     Your heart hurt. You strode over and sat down in front of Sun and placed a very careful hand on his shoulder. “Now you listen to me. Both of you. I will do everything in my power to make sure that these speculations stay just that. I will not let anything bad happen to Moon, or you, Sunny. Yall are my friends and that means you’re stuck with me. Got it?”

     Sun’s face lifted ever so slightly into a smile. “We appreciate you. Moon is… conflicted. Also… you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

     You heaved a sigh. You hated feeling like you couldn’t help, couldn’t do anything to protect your friends. Your face set once more. “This is a promise I’m gonna keep. I promise I’ll keep yall safe. It is my job, after all.” You tried a small smile. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’m gonna go out and buy a phone on my break tonight. Then, if someone tries to come do anything to you, you call me, or text me. I live ten minutes away. I’ll be here.”

     Sun smiled. “Can we also talk just for fun on the phone?”

     “Sure.” You felt much lighter at Sun’s brightening mood.

     “Okay. That sounds like a good idea!” Sun sprang up, returning to their normal bouncy self. “And who knows?? It is still just speculation, after all!”

     “Yeah, that’s true. But even in the worst case scenario… it’ll be okay,” you assured. “What does Moon think about this?”

     “Hmm… you should ask him yourself tomorrow. He needs to apologize for his bad behavior anyways.” Sun paused as a pre-recorded voice boomed over the speakers, informing the occupants that the building would be officially closed in five minutes, please make all your final payments and head for the exit at this time.

     You glanced back through the window. The hall outside was empty. You flipped through your watch, but you didn’t see anyone out and about, besides that gator guy, who was at a machine in the arcade. Chica and the wolf lady were chatting in the hall outside the line of rooms.

     “Looks like everyone’s cleared out. I’d better start my rounds. I’m hoping to make some good progress on memorizing the access tunnels tonight, since i’m working a full shift…” You paused as you thought about the access tunnels. Your hand fell to the key in your pocket. “Oh shi-oot. Shoot. Sorry. I just realized, I meant to tell Moon last night, but…” You pulled out the key.

     “What’s that?” Sun tilted their head curiously. He gingerly lifted the key and studied it.

     “That… was in the box with Moon’s stuff. I’m really sorry for taking it, I didn’t know the stuff was Moon’s at first, and it’s such an interesting key, I thought it must lead someplace cool or unlock some kinda… whatever. Um. Last night I found the door that key unlocks in the warehouse…” You paused briefly, worrying because now Sun had gone still again and was staring at you blankly. You had to be honest and come clean though, so you went on. “It was a room with a broken down, or halfway built? Maybe? Animatronic that looks like Moon. I wasn’t sure if it was… uh… yours? Or something?? And I felt really awkward about it. Again I’m sorry for taking the key.”

     “Neither me or Moon have ever seen this key before. No hard feelings about it, although you should know that stealing is prohibited in the daycare,” Sun scolded. “The animatronic however…” They hummed for a moment. “When we were first built, many years ago, they were originally going to make the two of us separate animatronics. But then there were budget cuts and plans got reworked, and then they had two AI’s and only one complete body, so they re-worked us into just the one body, saving tons of money. They must not have wanted to get rid of the half finished one, having spent so much on it already… and if they ever needed a backup body to replace us, it’d be much cheaper than starting from scratch.”

     “I see.” You nodded. You thought for a moment. “Why don’t they just finish Moon’s body and extract both Moon and the bug from you, and only put Moon back in the other body?”

     “I’m not sure if that’s how it works… I didn’t even know the other body was still around.” Sun waved the thought away. “You should be getting to your rounds. Talk to Moon about all this tomorrow.”

     “Right. I’ll see you later, Sunny.” You nodded and turned, but Sun stopped you.

     “And take this. I feel like it’s safer with you,” Sun said, handing the key back to you.

     “Oh. Okay.” You looked at the key for a moment, then put it back in your pocket. “See ya.”

     You both waved goodbye, and you started at last on your rounds. You felt much better after talking with Sun. You swung by the break room to grab an energy drink and started your rounds just as the place closed for the night.

~~~

     Giving Sun a phone turned out to be an absolutely horrible idea for your easily distracted brain. Sun kept texting you all through the day, starting with a cute little ‘Good morning sunshine! ☀��’ text that was actually really nice to wake up to.

     You texted back until it was time to go to work at the deli, stating that Sun could message you if they wanted to, but you were unlikely to answer during work. You made it clear that if something happened, Sun should call you instead and you would answer.

     You weren’t in the kitchen today, which meant you didn’t have as much opportunity to check your phone. It also meant that you closed later, having just enough time to drive between jobs and nothing else.

     Hopping out of your car and locking it behind you, you skimmed through the massive wall of messages Sun had sent you up until the lights went out at closing.

     ‘Hey Moon. Tell Sun he’s a dork. Bout to clock in’ you typed. You chuckled at Sun’s shenanigans with the toddlers. Apparently one of the kids lost a pair of star shaped shades in the ball pit and was very upset about it. Sun turned it into a game for everyone, promising that whoever found the glasses would get a piece of candy.

     ‘Will do.’ Moon replied.

     You finished your energy drink before you even made it to the daycare, finishing your first sweep of the main building in record time.

     “Howdy Moon… how ya feeling tonight?” You called as you stepped inside.

     “…Better.”

     You spotted Moon sitting at the edge of the ball pit, his back to you.

     You sat down next to Moon, your legs and knees protesting the whole way.

     “Are you alright?” Moon asked softly.

     “I’m alright. I’m a tough lad, I’ve been through worse,” you assured. “Are you alright?”

     “I… I am sorry. For scaring you. For hurting you.”

     "Yeah, that wasn't cool. However, I accept your apology. And I still want to be friends," you assured.

     "Why?" Moon asked, looking at you.

     "Are you seriously asking me why I want to be friends with one of the coolest people I've ever met?? Besides, like I said before to Sun, I'm very easy to impress. Literally anyone who's even slightly nice to me I would die for."

     "I'm not nice to you." Moon slouched forwards, looking away from you again.

     "Oh, is that why you didn't let me fall to the ground after I jumped off the top of the play structure? Or why you put a band aid on my hand?"

     "Neither of those incidents would have occurred if it weren't for me."

     "Maybe. But it's not like you're ever trying to hurt me or anything. In fact, you always seem to be trying to be nice. Unless all the playful teasing was actually just mean teasing all along?"

     "You shouldn't be around me," Moon argued.

     "Well too farting bad!!"

     Moon gave you a weird look, something between surprise and confusion, nearly smiling.

     You went on. "That ain't up to you, is it? I get to decide what I do. That's what's great about being my own person. I do what I want. And what I want is to be friends," you declared. "Is that what you want?"

     Moon stared at you blankly for a long moment. "…Yes."

     "Love the enthusiasm." You smiled. "Now enough sulking around. You wanna do something fun before I need to get back to my rounds? We can keep talking? Or I can head out early if you need some space."

     Moon considered the options briefly. "…Naptime?"

     "That was not one of the options." You rolled your eyes.

     "You need sleep."

     "I'll sleep when I'm off work."

     "Hmm." Moon squinted suspiciously at you.

     "Truth or dare?" you asked, hoping to distract Moon from your poor sleeping habits.

     "…Truth."

     "How do you feel about what Sun and I talked about last night? About my speculations?" you asked.

     "You and your stupid prying questions…" Moon grumbled. "It's never 'what's your favorite color' or 'do you have a favorite season'. It's always 'hey Moon, lets pry into your deepest troubles and fears'."

     You looked down at the colorful plastic balls in the pit. "Oh. Sorry, you don't have to answer. Remember you can always pass."

     Moon sighed. "It's fine. I'm just teasing you."

     You raised a suspicious eyebrow, but Moon went on before you could say anything.

     "I'd by lying if I told you that what you said hadn't crossed my mind. It's already like they're trying to erase me… and Sun had to argue with them for a while before they agreed to turn the lights off every other night. They wanted to keep them on all the time. And now they're hiring more human security…"

     You frowned.

     Moon explained before you could ask. "It used to be my job to patrol the building. Vanessa was there just to watch the cameras and call authorities if anything went amiss. But then I got this… bug. This malfunction. And they placed me under 'temporary dismissal' until I can be fixed."

     You realized you’d basically taken Moon's job, replacing him. "Is that why you don't trust me?"

     "It's part of it."

     You nodded. "I see." You thought for a moment. It did seem like management didn't want to deal with Moon. What they'd do about it exactly was still uncertain, but… you couldn't help but worry.

     "Truth or dare?" Moon asked, interrupting your train of thought.

     "Oh. Uh… Dare." You quickly added as Moon's face broke into a wide grin, "-and DON'T dare me to take a nap, dream boy."

     Moon scowled. They took a moment to think. "I dare you… to sing something for me."

     "…When the moon hits your dish, and you mispronounce fish, albacore!" You sang loudly, quoting a silly post you’d read on the internet.

     That got a laugh out of Moon. You smiled triumphantly.

     "Truth or dare?" you asked.

     "Dare."

     "Ah hah, I dare YOU to sing something!" you declared.

     Moon rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I did say I would." They sat up straight.

     Moon began to sing softly, swaying ever so slightly with the slow beat like a metronome.

     'Now it's time to say good night… Good night, sleep tight. Now the sun turns out his light… Good night, sleep tight. Dream sweet dreams for me… Dream sweet dreams for you. Close your eyes and I'll close mine… Good night, sleep tight. Now the moon begins to shine… Good night, sleep tight.'

     You didn't mean to stare, but Moon's voice was downright enchanting. You couldn't imagine any child having trouble being lulled to sleep by Moon's soft singing.

     'Good night, good night, everybody… Everybody, everywhere, good night.' Moon finished.

     You let out a sigh. "Alright. So you weren't just teasing me when you said I wasn't as good as you."

     "Hush." Moon looked away, shuffling awkwardly.

     "I think you melted my anxiety?? I feel so relaxed."

     "Truth or dare?" Moon asked.

     You smiled at Moon's embarrassment but said nothing more about it. "Truth."

     "Why are you alone?" Moon asked again.

     "This is payback for my ceaseless prying, isn't it?" You sighed.

     "Yes."

     You chuckled. "Fair enough." You took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll tell you this. I used to not be alone. I lived in a big house with three friends and… and someone I was very close with. Then… just. Sometimes, no matter what you do or how hard you try or how nice you are, how good you… you still just… you loose it all, and there's nothing you can do about it." You cleared your throat. "Lost the house. Lost contact with everyone. I was kinda thrown to the wayside for a bit there. Had to really step up my game in order to afford my own place in short notice. I'm lucky I found the place I did. Living in an RV on a lot I own isn't exactly glamorous, but by golly the area is lovely, and its nice to have my own place, just for me. There's a big structure that covers the RV and the spot next to it so I can park my car, which is really nice. And since I own the land, I've got a little garden and I'm working on building a fence myself. I plan to adopt a dog sometime in the future, but I'm worried I won't be there enough during the day to properly care for it…" You trailed off, realizing you’d started to ramble. "Man. Sorry, I dunno what it is about you and Sun, but you guys get me rambling like nobody's business."

     "We don't mind," Moon said. "We're sorry you lost your old house."

     "It was for the best, in the end." You sighed. "Just the way it happened sucked." You straightened and put it out of mind. "Truth or dare?"

     "Truth."

     "Do you have a favorite season?"

     Moon smiled at the question. "Winter."

     "And Sun's is summer, right?" You smirked.

     "…How'd you know??"

     You laughed. "Just something about his… sunny disposition."

     "Ugh." Moon deadpanned at you.

     "Oh common, Sun loved that one." You rolled your eyes.

     "He did and you're both ridiculous." Moon sighed.

     "Okay, one more and then I need to get back to my rounds. Truth or dare?"

     Moon slumped a little and hummed. They tapped their fingers thoughtfully on the rim of the ball pit. "Dare."

     "I dare you to call me if anything happens to yall," you said seriously.

     "Sun already told you-"

     "I know Sun did. That phone is for both of you."

     "…Am I also allowed to text you an obscene amount of messages?"

     You rolled your eyes. "Sure. Go wild, man."

     "I… will notify you if anything is amiss," Moon said.

     "Promise?"

     Moon sighed heavily, but reluctantly held out their pinky. You smiled and linked your pinky with his.

     "Good deal." You got up and stretched out your sore legs and back. "I'll see ya later, escalator."

     "Good night, rule-breaker."

     You finger-gunned Moon as you started back towards the doors. Moon threw their hands up, as if you were actually holding them at gunpoint.

     You laughed and 'shot' Moon, making a 'pew pew' noise as you did so.

     Moon dramatically clutched his chest and twisted around, then fell backwards into the ball pit. You snorted and quickly fell into a fit of laughter.

     "Sorry partner. This town just ain't big enough for the both of us," you said, putting on a silly cowboy voice.

     "I'll get you next time, sheriff." Moon peeked up over the edge of the pit and chucked a plastic ball at you.

     "Till next time, then." You whistled the classic cowboy showdown tune as you left the daycare.

[licolobodos]

Idk what I'm doing with this au but I've got a couple things I think for like, baseline stufffff??

-shadow knows whats going on bc he's experienced things like this before, but def not to this degree (which is just way higher bc of sonics abundance of chaos signature as well lol)

- sonic very much does not

-seriously wtf is happening why do you have squiggles

- would probably be an eventual romance thing if not off the bat

-the reason it starts happening in the first place is bc shadow actually starts letting down his barriers and both of their chaos reserves start going off the SHITS

- "THAT'S NEW THAT'S NEW WHAT'S THAT LEMME SEE IT GIVE IT TO MEEE" - their reserves

-bc of that whole "there's chaos in everything" thing in the series, it'd be funny if they could leave messages for eachother on things around them without needing to use any actual objects like pens and papers n stuff, instead it's like a little chaos imprint that lasts however long

-it basically ends up being a self-acceptance story from both ends, shadow with letting people in and coming to terms with being on the same field as someone who needs to be seen as an equal instead of him needing to be perfect anymore, and sonic with accepting all the crazy chaos that's just chilling in him and what it means for himself and those around him

-100% adopting that hc of flowers and stuff blooming with enough chaos energy THAT'S SOME SERIOUSLY GOOD SHIT

-"I'm an empath and can tell you're mad"

-Shadow, mid call out rant after sonic just had the aUDACITY "??????????????"

-depending on the situations, the visuals that get paired with the overflows (moments where they can actually straight up see eachothers chaos reserves flowing around) can look more frantic, lethargic, excited, etc.

- you can't tell really well in drawings but the swirly bits which are the reserves I draw on them are constantly moving, sonics doing more of a rolling motion and shadows doing more of a zipzip kinda thing. For both of them this is the neutral state kinda

- as time progresses their movements start adopting the others movements and they start overlapping some, the mix making shadows flow a little smoother and making sonics almost do more of a thrash thing, but like not aggressively just more active bc of tuning into it more

- the movements of chaos going around on them aren't super telling per se, but the vibes are there when it comes to understanding something without words

- as time goes on it starts becoming easier for them to understand what the other is feeling by poking around with their own chaos but this takes a HOT sec

- it's basically mostly a telepathy thing for the entirety of like this whole au but give it shiny rocks that can rip apart universes for some spice

-after they actually understand eachothers signatures it's like:

-shadow, on like a whole ass different continent somewhere stressed/agitated over something

- sonic, yeeting as far off the nearest beach onto the furthest boat in the water he can reach, latching onto the railing like some frantic gremlin freak: "WHERE'S MY BOY-"

As for a name I don't know lmao but I'm gonna go through and tag stuff as Chaos Connect AU for now!!

Jazz hands that's all I got!

[wheresmynaya]

Hate to Date Ch.6 | Brittana

A/N - Exciting news, we're out of lockdown and I'm back to work. Not exciting news, I’m back to work LOL. As always, thanks for the reviews and those who have bought a coffee for me through ko-fi! Both instantly make my day & encourage me to keep up with these weekly updates so I really appreciate it!💙

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & under the cut!

It takes a whole ten seconds after Brittany closes the car door behind her before Puck’s hitting Santana with a barrage of questions. Santana does her best to ignore them because she knows Puck’s been dying to hear about their trip, but Brittany hasn’t even pulled her suitcase from the trunk yet and she can totally hear them still.

“Aren’t you going to help her or something?” Santana asks instead.

“Aren’t you? You’re her girlfriend.”

“You’re the guy. Isn’t lifting things meant to be your specialty?”

Puck narrows his eyes, “That’s not very girl power of you.”

Santana just huffs her way out of the car, but by the time she gets around Brittany’s already got her suitcase out. The blonde gives her a questioning look as Santana lingers by the trunk.

“I was coming to see if you needed help,” Santana explains.

Brittany chuckles, “Little late for that.”

Santana feels her face flush with embarrassment. Damn Puck making her look like an idiot.

“Besides, I’ve seen how you are around a suitcase,” Brittany smirks. “Probably best if I do the heavy lifting.”

“Nice one!” Puck calls out.

When Santana turns to flick him off, she finds that he’s halfway hanging out of the driver’s side window watching with interest. Brittany only laughs as she pulls the handle up on her luggage.

“You’re both dicks,” Santana grumbles as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“I mean, she’s not wrong though?” Puck reasons.

Santana just cuts him with a steely glare and that shuts him up real quick.

“Anyway, it’s been fun. Thanks for the ride again, Puck,” Brittany says before turning to Santana. “And I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Santana nods, “Yeah. Same time, same place.”

“I’ll remember you said that,” Brittany quips before waving goodbye and heading inside her apartment complex.

Puck’s still hanging out the driver’s side window looking back and forth between Santana and Brittany’s door with a slack jaw. Santana rolls her eyes at him as she pulls open the passenger door.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” He asks eagerly.

Santana sighs, “Can you just get in the car? You’re too damn big to be hanging out there like that.”

The reluctance to answer has Puck acting even more giddy. It’s a classic Santana tactic: deflect and insult. Puck listens anyway though and gets himself inside where Santana busies herself with buckling up.

“So what’s happening tomorrow?” Puck asks again.

“We’re working on that assignment together for Prof Martinez’s class,” Santana finally answers. “Because someone decided to fuck around with the teams now I have to actually spend time with her instead of lie about it.”

“Oh, boring,” Puck frowns and goes to start the car.

Santana looks back curiously, “What’d you think we were doing?”

Puck starts to smirk.

Santana scrunches her nose, “Actually, nevermind. I don’t want to know.”

“I’m just joking!” Puck laughs. “But seriously, will you tell me about your trip now? I was a little nervous that one of you wouldn’t be coming back.”

“What? Why?”

Puck shrugs, “I don’t know because you hate each other?”

Santana pauses, “I don’t know if hate’s the right word anymore.”

“You’d probably trick her into boarding the wrong plane or something. Is that not hate?”

Santana smirks, “Now that would’ve been funny.”

“See?”

Santana shakes her head, “I don’t know. She still frustrates the hell out of me and I find a lot of things she does super annoying, but to say I hate her doesn’t really fit anymore.”

Puck looks at her curiously, “You feeling okay? Did you finally get your heart back from Lima?”

Santana laughs, “You know Lima doesn’t have it.”

Puck chuckles along with her, “Well something big must’ve happened there if you’re changing your tune like this.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Santana replies. “I guess – I don’t know – I understand Brittany a little more? That doesn’t mean we’re going to braid each other’s hair anytime soon.”

“Right. What about your fam? How’d they feel about her?”

“We did what we were supposed to do. Mom likes her, Abuela not so much.”

“Shit,” Puck cringes.

“Yeah. It’ll work out though,” Santana answers. “This was a good start, we just need to put more time into it. I’m getting into that firm.”

“Hell yeah, you are!”

“In the meantime though, I’ve gotta up my game,” Santana says. “I can’t have people thinking Brittany’s a better girlfriend than me.”

Puck quirks his brow, “And how are you gonna do that?”

“Well after spending all this time with Brittany, I’ve learned me two things,” Santana smirks. “She’s a pushover and she’s a total sucker for the romantic shit, like the kind of shit that’s in movies. You know, real cliché stuff. Just look at the stuff she does for me.”

“Okay?”

“I just have to do it better than her,” Santana says simply, “I have to be thoughtful and sweet and take her by surprise. I’ve gotta be one step ahead at all times! And maybe I can embarrass the crap out of her in the process? It’s a win/win for me.”

Puck looks skeptic, but Santana’s already crafting her game plan.

\\

Santana spends all night watching cheesy rom-coms just to get some inspiration, because as it turns out – she’s not really familiar with romantic gestures. She’s never really needed them because hooking up isn’t about romance and that’s how she likes it. But this fake relationship thing is really pushing her out of her comfort zone – good thing it’s all an act.

Puck joins Santana after getting back from weight training and together they make a list of all the possible ways Santana can fake-woo Brittany. Puck jots down a couple ideas for himself, lord knows he needs all the help he can get!

The only downside of a rom-com marathon is that most of the movies are predominately straight and Santana struggles to relate. Meanwhile, Puck’s trying to hide the fact that he’s tearing up during certain scenes.

Despite the string hetero content, Puck does end up getting his hands on a bootleg copy of Imagine Me and You. Now it’s Santana’s turn to pretend she’s not tearing up and Puck wastes no time in teasing her about it.  

\\

Santana decides she’s going start off slow with something simple; bringing Brittany snacks for when they study together later on. Where it lacks in romance, it makes up for in thoughtfulness so Santana’s sure it’ll be a winner.

She’s already stopped off somewhere on her way to cheer practice to get what she needs just incase she runs late again. At least if Coach Roz goes on another rant again, Santana will meet Brittany bearing gifts.

It’s a pretty perfect plan, but what Santana doesn’t expect is to find Brittany waiting outside of the gym for her. Apparently, the blonde had a similar idea in mind and has beaten Santana to the punch.

Not with snacks, but with something much more valuable.

“Uh hey,” Santana eyes her hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”

Brittany lifts the cup in her hand, “I got you this.”

“You got me a coffee?”

“Yeah, I was in the area and I knew you’d be coming here for practice.”

Santana’s brows furrow, “Did Puck put you up to this?”

Brittany frowns, “What?”

“Nevermind,” Santana shakes her head and moves closer to take the cup. She stares down at the lid and looks to Brittany, “What is it?”

“Coffee?” Brittany answers. “Strong and as black as your heart.”

“Just how I like it,” Santana lies as she masks her disappointment.

She braces herself for the bitter taste, hoping her facial expression doesn’t give her away. Surprisingly though, it tastes nothing like she expected it to – it’s sweet, just like she actually likes it.

Brittany starts to smirk, “Plus a box of sugar and bunch of milk.”

“How’d you know?” Santana asks. “I pay the barista extra to keep her mouth shut.”

“She did, but I’ve seen the inside of your purse,” Brittany chuckles. “It’s nothing but sugar packets and tiny creamers. Plus I���ve spent the last couple of mornings with you, I’ve noticed things.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Who knew this leather-jacket-wearing badass cheerleader secretly likes her coffee super sweet?”

“Exactly. It doesn’t fit the aesthetic,” Santana brushes off. “I can’t have that little detail about me getting out. What would people think?”

Brittany quirks a brow, “Do you really care that much about that?”

“Don’t you?” Santana says simply.

Brittany shrugs, “It’s just coffee. So what?”

Santana pauses. Sometimes Brittany can make the hardest things sound so simple and Santana can’t tell if it’s because Brittany’s naïve or Santana’s just so used to overcomplicating things. It doesn’t matter, she’s not getting into it right now.

“Thanks for this,” Santana replies. “I’ll see you after practice.”

Brittany bites her lip as she nods, “Yeah okay. See you later.”

\\

Despite having a duffle bag full of all kinds of snacks, Santana holds off for the time being. It’s too close to Brittany’s little act of kindness and she can’t have the blonde thinking that she’s inspired Santana’s gesture.

So, she waits a few more days because timing is also important. Being surprised with snacks doesn’t mean a thing if you’ve just ate, so Santana keeps that in mind as she falls back into her usual routine of classes, cheer practice and studying.

The opportunity doesn’t arise until the following week.

Apparently one of Brittany’s classes has a test scheduled at the end of the week and it has the blonde stressed out more than usual. Santana only knows because Puck mentioned something about Brittany rescheduling a tutoring session which rarely happens.

So Santana thinks it’s finally her time to shine and really show off how thoughtful she can be!

As Santana makes her way inside the library with her bag full of goodies, there’s this big grin on her face because not only is she going to show Brittany she’s got some competition on the best girlfriend front there’s also quite the crowd around.

Again, it’s a win/win for Santana!

She finds Brittany in her usual spot at the back of the study area and makes her way over. Students studying at the various tables around watch as Santana saunters down the aisle in her cheer uniform. Santana can hear the whispers starting up and tries to keep from smirking at how good this is going to make her look.

“Hey,” Santana greets once she gets to Brittany’s table.

Brittany’s taken by complete surprise as she looks up. Santana can tell because the usual confidence is no where to be found, in it’s place is astonishment.

“Uh hi,” Brittany finally greets. “What are you doing here? Is it 3:30 already?”

“No. I was just in the neighborhood,” Santana shrugs as she takes a seat in front of Brittany. “Thought you might need a little afternoon snack break.”

Brittany looks questioningly until Santana starts pulling out various treats she knows Brittany loves. There’s a theater box of DOTS, a packet of Goldfish, a Mounds bar, and a few other goodies that are the healthier side.

“Awh, that’s so cute!” A girl from the table beside them coos before turning to her partner. “Where the hell are my snacks?”

The guy just frowns at Santana, “Thanks a lot.”

“Step your game up,” Santana tells him before turning back to Brittany. There’s a pleased smile on her face but she wants to hear it from Brittany herself, “You like?”

Brittany’s hesitant to answer but when she does, she can’t help but smile, “I like. I actually forgot my lunch today so this is perfect.”

Santana pumps her fist triumphantly before realizing people are still staring.

“You know, how long I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to give you all this stuff?” Santana admits. “I felt like a hoarder having to hide them in my room so Puck wouldn’t eat them.”

Brittany chuckles, “I don’t know how I’ll be able to top this.”

Santana smirks; that’s exactly what she likes to hear.

“Woah, who hit the jackpot?” Puck says, surprising the both of them as he comes up to the table.

“Jesus! Where’d you come from?” Santana gasps. “You know this is the library, right?”

“Yes,” Puck rolls his eyes. “I was studying with some guys from the team since Britt cancelled on me but I see why she did now.”

“Oh no, I didn’t know she was coming here,” Brittany explains quickly.

“It was a surprise,” Santana says proudly.

Pucks brows rise as he reaches for one of Brittany’s snacks, but Santana’s quick to swat at his hand.

“Paws off,” She tells him. “I got that for her, not you.”

“Damn chill,” Puck frowns as he holds his hand.

Brittany only chuckles at the pair, “Thanks for this. It’s been a much needed interruption but I do have to get back to studying.”

“Oh yeah, sure!” Santana nods as she goes to stand. She looks around to see if people are still watching and starts to grin when she finds that they are. “I’ll just be at practice, but let me know if you need anything else.”

“Okay,” Brittany smiles back.

“And I’ll just be over there,” Puck adds as he heads back to his table leaving Santana alone with Brittany.

“Thanks for the brain food,” Brittany mentions again. “Very sweet of you.”

Santana only shrugs although there’s a bashful smile on her face, “You know me, super thoughtful.”

“Uh-huh,” Brittany smirks before pulling her down gently for a kiss on the cheek. It takes Santana by surprise a little, but Brittany’s lips linger by Santana’s ear as she says. “I know you’re just trying to work the crowd. You’re not fooling me.”

Santana eyes go wide but she keeps a poker face, “Can’t have them thinking you’re the best girlfriend around.”

“Can’t help it if it’s true,” Brittany chuckles before letting Santana go. In a much louder voice she waves goodbye, “See you later, Fluffbottom!”

Santana pastes on a fake smile, but she can’t exit the building fast enough. The cringey terms of endearment are such a low blow!

\\

With Brittany onto Santana’s little plan, the blonde starts to up her game too. Over the next couple of weeks, the two go back and forth just trying to one up the other in romantic gestures. They sort of make a game out of who can pull the biggest awh from the spectators that always flock the couple.

Currently, the score is pretty even but Brittany’s never too far behind.

Santana doesn’t get it, but she tries harder anyway.  

\\

The next time Brittany decides to show Santana that she’s always one step ahead of her, it’s during one of the basketball games Santana cheers for. At first, Santana didn’t even notice her in the crowd because when has Brittany ever come to a sporting event?

In fact, it’s probably the last place she’d ever expect to see Brittany.

And yet, there she is…waving eagerly with Puck by her side to get her attention.

“Awh! Santana, your girlfriend’s here to watch you cheer!” One of the girls on Santana’s squad coos. “That is so cute!”

“Yeah,” Santana answers as she keeps her eye narrowed on Brittany. “Real cute.”

It’s not until after the halftime performance that Santana’s able to make her way over to Brittany for the first time since spotting her. There’s this smug grin on the blonde’s face and Santana struggles to keep from rolling her eyes at the sight of it. She just knows Brittany’s mentally adding a point to their ongoing tally.

As Santana reaches the bottom of the bleachers, Brittany’s about halfway down the steps. Puck’s not too far behind, his entire face painted in white and Columbia blue for the occasion.

“Well this is a surprise,” Santana says once she’s close enough. “You never come to these things.”

“That’s because I’ve never dated a cheerleader before,” Brittany quips.

“I invited her,” Puck admits.

Santana looks between the two of them skeptically, “I get why Puck’s here, but you? Do you secretly like women’s basketball or something?”

Brittany shakes her head, “I don’t know a thing about it.”

“Then why are you here?” Santana questions.

“Like I said, you’re my reason.”

If anyone else was listening in, they might’ve found Brittany’s statement a little cute. Maybe if Brittany wasn’t Brittany, Santana might’ve found it cute too but she knows the blonde’s true motives. She knows she’s just trying to work the crowd so it rolls right over Santana’s head.

Instead, she looks from Brittany to Puck.

“I’m starting to question where your loyalties lie, Puckerman,” Santana tells him.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t think she’d actually say yes! I was just being nice.”

His hands are instantly thrown up in defense.

“Uh-huh.”

“He didn’t do anything. I was already thinking of coming,” Brittany interrupts with a sweet smile. “I figured I might as well add supportive girlfriend to the long list of things I’m great at and this was the perfect opportunity.”

Santana laughs off the jab, “Perfect girlfriend my ass.”

“I think it was pretty smart thinking on my part,” Brittany replies as she nods over to the entryway. “Did you know Eddie would be here?”

Santana glances in the coach’s direction and does her best to hide the fact that she forgot all about him possibly being around. “Duh. Of course he’d be here, he comes to most games.”

“Guess I should start coming to most games too then,” Brittany suggests. “Keep up appearances.”

Santana hates that Brittany’s got a point. Now’s about the time Santana would move on to the next girl and Eddie’s sure to be taking note so he can report back to Maribel. Damn Brittany and her quick thinking!

“Sure whatever,” Santana brushes off. “I need to get back. I hope you enjoy the rest of show.”

“I’ll try,” Brittany smirks before lifting the book in her hand. “I’ve got this just incase.”

“You brought a book to read at a game?” Santana tries not to laugh. “Can you at least try not being so nerdy? It’s hard to pretend to like you if you’re making it so easy for me to make fun of you.”  

Brittany sighs through her smile, “It’s only a precaution incase I get bored.”

“Bored? Our performances aren’t boring,” Santana tells her. “What’s boring about a full twisted layout?”

Brittany only shrugs, “I don’t even know what that is.”

“It’s a dope move that requires skill and talent.”

“So something you can’t do?” Brittany smirks.

Santana fakes a laugh, “You’re so funny.”

“What about the skirts? You like them, right?” Puck suddenly asks Brittany, still hung up on finding the games boring.

Santana nods along with him, “Everyone likes the skirts.”

Brittany’s eyes rake up Santana’s lithe frame slowly while Santana poses.

If there’s anything Santana’s more confident in, it’s her looks. She’s hot and she knows she’s hot, it’s not even about being conceited it’s pure fact. That combined with the power of a cheerleading uniform has never failed her, so it’s only a matter of time before Brittany’s admitting defeat.

When their eyes finally meet, there’s a smug grin on Santana’s face but Brittany is expressionless.

“It’s okay,” Brittany tells them with indifference.

Puck’s jaw drops, he’s practically besides himself with the news, while Santana only stares. She might not be able to read Brittany most of the time, but what she has become good at is noticing a blatant lie.

And it’s okay is one of them.

It’s like Santana’s finally found a weakness in Brittany’s front because why lie about it? If you think someone’s hot then say so, it’s no big deal – at least, to her it’s not. You don’t have to like people that you find attractive, clearly, so what’s Brittany’s deal?

Maybe it’s the lack of flirtatious banter or the build up of sex deprivation, but testing Brittany’s willpower sparks Santana’s interest and gets her thinking of a slightly better game.

“So this does nothing for you?” Santana asks again with a little shake of her hips.

In all of her years as a cheerleader, she’s never met anyone who could resist. Even without the uniform, Santana’s just got this confidence about her – this undeniable sexual magnetism – that kind of makes her irresistible.

Like she’s always said, she can’t help that she’s attractive. It truly is a gift.

Even Puck looks to Brittany for an answer. Funny thing though, Brittany doesn’t take the bait. Instead, she just maintains eye contact with Santana – unyielding and a little unnerving.

“Honey,” Brittany says sweetly. “If you’re looking for someone to drool over you keep looking.”

“Wow,” Santana laughs. “Some girlfriend you are!”  

“I’m not that shallow,” Brittany quips. “I don’t care about what you wear. I’m more interested in your heart.”

“God,” Santana scrunches her nose. “Who knew you were such a cornball.”

“I thought you’d like that,” Brittany chuckles. “But seriously, you can’t distract me with a short skirt.”

“I’ll remember you said that,” Santana challenges with a smirk.

Looks like Brittany’s a harder one to crack than she thought.

\\

Thankfully though the odds are in still Santana’s favor because what holiday is only weeks away now?

Valentine’s Day.

And it’s never too early to start the scheming! Santana’s been going pretty soft in the weeks following the game Brittany surprised her at, but it was all for a purpose. She’s letting Brittany create a false sense of security, she’s letting her think she’s totally got this in the bag. And when Brittany least expects it, BAM! Santana will pull out all the stops!

That’ll definitely put an end to the Brittany’s so thoughtful, Santana you’re so lucky! The roles will totally be reversed and that’s the ultimate win – another she can add to her figurative trophy shelf!

And although Santana won’t be getting laid this year, which is so depressing, the thought of being dubbed the best girlfriend ever over Brittany is pretty up there.

\\

So when Valentine’s week finally rolls around, Santana’s as eager as ever. She has the heart-shaped chocolates, she has the cute stuffed animal in it’s little red bowtie, but most importantly – she has the outfit.

And the outfit is everything.

“Woah,” Puck skids to a stop when he finds Santana in their kitchen dressed in her short candy striper dress. “Where are you going looking like that?”

Santana smirks as she finishes off her breakfast, “I’m going to see Brittany.”

“Dressed like that?”

“Yup.”

Puck tears his eyes away and looks at Santana like she’s crazy. “You know she’s in class, right? Not camped out a strip club.”

Santana brushes him off, “Obviously. It’s all apart of the plan.”

“What plan?” Puck laughs, “Give the girl a heart attack?”

“Sort of,” Santana starts grinning devilishly. “I’m gonna break her.”

Puck rolls his eyes, “This about the skirt thing again?”

“Yes!” Santana groans. “Don’t you think it’s weird that Brittany won’t admit that she finds me attractive?”

“Maybe she doesn’t.”

Santana eyes him like he’s lost his mind.

“Impossible,” She says.

Puck shakes his head, “This is trouble. You know that right?”

“It’s just a game between friends.”

“But you two aren’t friends,” Puck laughs as he makes a coffee.

“Shit. You’re right,” Santana pauses to think before shrugging. “Well then this is purely for my enjoyment. I haven’t had sex in like a month or made out with a hot stranger. I’m not allowed to flirt with anyone because technically I’m taken. The only joy I have left is being better than Brittany and or embarrassing the hell out of her so just let me have this.”

“Do whatever you want, Lopez.”

“Thank you,” Santana smiles angelically. She reaches for her basket of Valentine’s Day goodies, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make some jaws drop.”

Puck only lifts his mug of coffee in salute as his best friend leaves.

\\

So far, Santana’s outfit works like a charm. She kind of missed the way heads would roll for her whenever she walked by. She doesn’t really get that anymore with a girlfriend around and god, has she missed this attention! With Brittany, the compliments are all for show so it doesn’t really do anything for her but this – the helpless bystanders she leaves drooling in her wake?

There’s nothing fake about that.

Now when it comes to making her entrance, Santana’s a little merciful.

At first, she considered interrupting the class but she knows by now Brittany wouldn’t like that too much since she’s the biggest nerd she’s ever met and takes class super seriously. So instead, Santana waits in the hall until class finishes up. It’s an even better plan than the first because not only will she take Brittany by surprise, she’ll have an audience too without the threat of a professor telling her off for an interruption.

Santana counts the minutes, eagerly awaiting the class’s dismissal.

As the first few students start trickling out, Santana moves to stand taller – ready for showtime. There’s a sultry look on her face – one that’s been known to make knees go weak – as Brittany finally makes an appearance.

This time, Brittany’s the one taken by surprise; so much so that she does a double take when she sees Santana standing there.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Santana greets in a seductive tone.

It takes a second for Brittany to answer, her eyes struggling to stay on Santana’s. The brunette’s already taking this as a big win.

“It’s…not Valentine’s Day yet,” Brittany finally replies although she’s still visibly stunned.

“I figure I’d start early,” Santana flirts shamelessly with a soft touch to Brittany’s arm. “My girl should get a week’s worth of Valentine’s fun. Don’t you think?”

Brittany gulps, “Well…I was sort of waiting until the day to give you my gift.”

Santana smirks; she swears sweat is starting to bead around Brittany’s brow. The will power is definitely strong though, Santana can give her that!

“That’s okay,” Santana bites her lip seductively. “I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.”

Brittany’s eyes flicker to Santana’s lips then back to meet her eyes. Something flashes in those dazzling blues and it’s like a trance has been broken. Brittany moves to stand a little straighter, her hands falling to Santana’s hips – strong and sure – as she begins to match Santana’s smirk.

“It’ll be so worth it,” Brittany flirts just as shamelessly which makes Santana falter. “Although, I don’t have anything like this is my wardrobe.”

“Only a select few have been able to pull it off,” Santana replies.

“I bet,” Brittany comments. “Looks like a lot of laces and buttons to get around.”

Santana falters again; she didn’t expect Brittany to take her words so literally but it kind of does something to her. It gives the slightest tug to something growing restless within her. But she shakes it off, keeps her eye on the prize.

“It’s quite time consuming. Have to be good with your hands,” Santana tells her.

Brittany cheeks go a little red at that and Santana quickly capitalizes on the moment.

“On top of the goodies I’ve brought, I also have these,” Santana says as she lifts her little basket. “Chocolates, every heart-shaped candy I could find, a teddy bear…”

“Looks like you’ve really outdone yourself,” Brittany notes with a peek into Santana’s basket. “How will I ever top this?”

There’s the slightest bit of sarcasm there, but Santana smirks anyway.

“You know…that’s the second time I’ve heard you say that. You might want to admit defeat while you still can.”

Brittany rolls her eyes, “You’re playing a dangerous game, Santana.”

“That’s the only kind of game I like to play.”

Brittany quirks her brow, “Okay.”

Santana wavers, “Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Brittany chuckles.

“But – “

“I really have to get to my next class,” Brittany explains as she takes Santana’s basket while pressing a kiss to her cheek. “This was cute though.”

Cute? Puppies are cute. Kittens are cute. Hell, some babies are kind of cute. But this? Santana wasn’t going for cute. She was aiming higher than that! Much, much higher!

“Wait,” Santana calls out just as Brittany’s take a few steps down the hall.

Brittany turns, looking back at her expectantly.

“You’re talking about the basket right?” Santana asks, “The basket is cute?”

Brittany sighs tiredly although the smile is still there. Her eyes dip down to Santana’s exposed legs, that short, ruffled skirt, the corset and the amazing things it does to her cleavage then back up again.

“The outfit’s not bad too,” Brittany tells her with a smirk before turning away.

Not bad, Santana thinks. It’s not the statement she would’ve gone with but it’s a step up from cute so she’ll take it. The expression on Brittany’s face when she first saw Santana was way better though.

\\

Santana spends the rest of Valentine’s week doing cute little things here and there, but she kind of regrets starting off so strong with the outfit when the actual day comes.

It’s so typical of her to jump straight to the knockout punch instead of doing things slow and steady. She’s never had the patience for that and it’s biting her in the ass now, because all she has left up her sleeve is this giant heart-shaped balloon that she made Puck buy the night before and a bouquet of flowers.

She’s just hoping the simplicity of it is enough to get a good reaction out of the crowd, because walking towards their first class of the day together with a big ass balloon is already turning some heads. Not in the way heads turned for her on Monday, but hey – at least she has range.

When she finally does reach the lecture hall, it’s no surprise that Brittany’s already seated inside.

“Really Santana?” Professor Martinez sighs when Santana struggles to get the balloon through the door. “Don’t you think that’s a little distracting?”

“You know what else is distracting?” Santana quips as she sets her eyes on Brittany. “The adoration I have for my girlfriend.”

“Here we go,” Professor Martinez laughs. “I almost like it better when you two were constantly fighting.”

Santana brushes him off as she makes her way to Brittany, “This is for you.”

Brittany looks up at her reflection in the shiny red of the giant balloon, “Of course it is.”

“And also these,” Santana then presents Brittany with the bouquet. “I went with something a little out of the ordinary, you know, thinking outside of the box. I know how much you appreciate – “

“I’m allergic to sunflowers.”

Santana’s heart drops, “What?”

“Yeah,” Brittany leans back. “Deathly allergic.”

“Shit,” Santana instantly jolts away from her but Brittany starts to laugh. “Wait, seriously?”

“No, not seriously,” Brittany giggles as she accepts the gifts. “Who’s allergic to sunflowers?”

“Uh, I don’t know!” Santana frowns. “I’m sure someone out there is.”

Brittany quiets down, “Sorry. That was a little mean.”

Santana shakes her head as she takes the seat beside Brittany.

“And people say I’m mean,” She says.

Brittany leans over and kisses her cheek, “I don’t think anyone says that.”

Santana lets out a laugh, “You say that.”

“It’s not as bad as I thought,” Brittany shrugs. “Anyway, since we’re doing gifts already I can take you to part one of yours after class?”

“Part one?”

“Mhmm,” Brittany hums. “It should be ready by then. Part two needs a little more time.”

Santana gets to thinking what Brittany could possibly have planned, but Professor Martinez interrupts with the beginning of his lecture. Once again, Santana’s lack of patience has her completely distracted all class.

\\

“It’s in the art wing?” Santana questions as she follows after Brittany who has been tight-lipped since the end of class.

“Looks that way,” Brittany chuckles. “You’ll find out soon enough if you just quit asking questions.”

“I can’t help that I’m impatient.”

“Sure you can.”

Santana sighs and continues following Brittany until they reach their destination just a few minutes later. It’s a narrow hallway with a line of wooden doors and they’re stopped at the very first one.

“It’s in there?” Santana asks.

“Yup,” Brittany grins. “I’ll have to blindfold you though.”

“Kinky,” Santana smirks.

Brittany blushes through an eye roll, “Just turn around so I can put this on you.”

Santana continues joking as she turns for her, “I should’ve known, the quiet ones are always the kinkiest.”

“I’m not quiet,” Brittany replies as she tightens the blindfold around Santana’s head.

“I mean,” Santana snickers, “Just wanky.”

“Can you see anything?”

“Obviously not.”

“Perfect,” Brittany says and takes Santana by the hand.

Santana can hear the door creak open and she’s instantly hit with the scent of flowers. The blindfold’s kind of pointless now because the floral aroma gives away the surprise almost instantly, but just as she’s about to say something – Brittany pushes her to sit down.

Now, Santana’s been blindfolded a handful of times in her life. Santana’s also been pushed to sit down a handful of times in her life too. The combination of the two - historically for her – has lead to some pretty steamy times.

Obviously that won’t be the case here, but God does she wish it were.

The thought makes her wonder if it would matter if the person on the other side of that blindfold was still Brittany, but she doesn’t get to come up with an answer as the blindfold is soon pulled off.

Santana blinks at the sudden bright light to find that she’s surrounded by flowers. Like, a ton of them! They’re in buckets, in pots, in glass vases and in…red solo cups?

“I ran out of space,” Brittany comments when she notices Santana looking confused.

“Right,” Santana breathes out and as she turns to admire the entire room she’s even more surprised by what else she sees – a bunch of people staring back at her through a glass window.

That’s when she realizes that Brittany’s led her to an art display case, a display case that nearly everyone in the entire building walks by on their way to and from class. Santana quickly plasters on a smile while she’s on display in front of the crowd as Brittany comes to wrap an arm around her.

“Didn’t think you were the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve, huh?” Brittany whispers through her smirk.

“How’d you even get access to this case?” Santana wonders. “Don’t you have to book them like three months in advance?”

“I know a guy,” Brittany teases. “Now wave to our audience. They’re all here to witness this, they’ve known about it all week.”

Santana fights the eyeroll and waves, “You know, just because you fill a room full of flowers doesn’t mean you win this.”

“They’re not just any flowers though. I did my research,” Brittany defends. “They’re the lesbians of flowers.”

Santana looks around the room and deadpans, “Oh wow.”

“Didn’t know that was a thing, did you?”

“I can’t say that I did, no.”

“Just wait until part two of your gift,” Brittany tells her.

Santana looks back at her hesitantly, “When’s that gonna be?”

Brittany begins to smirk, “When you least expect it.”

Yeah, Santana’s really regretting starting off the week strong now.

\\

When you least expect it ends up meaning later that day during Santana’s cheer practice.

They’re out on the field for training because Coach Roz loves reminding everyone how much of a privilege it is to be able to practice in a heated gym. Apparently when she trained for the Olympics, their gym didn’t have heating so now once a month they train without heating too.

With it being the middle of February in New York, it’s fucking cold. Santana’s past complaining about her tits freezing off and is now just trying to get the hell out of there as fast as she can now that practice is finally over.

She almost gets away with it too, until all the lights in the stadium suddenly turn on causing everyone to stop and look around.

Santana’s been on edge ever since the whole Lesbians of Flowers incident took place earlier in the day, so she eyes her surroundings suspiciously – waiting for Brittany to fall from the sky dressed like cupid or something ridiculous and over the top.

What she doesn’t expect is to see the school’s Glee Club take the stands with Brittany leading them.

“Oh no,” Santana mumbles as microphone feedback echoes throughout the field. “She better not.”

“Attention all Lions,” Brittany’s voice booms over the loud speaker. “As a final Valentine’s Day treat, I’ve enlisted some friends to help me dedicate a little song to my favorite person ever.”

Santana’s face suddenly feels red hot. She barely feels the cold February air now as everyone turns to look at her. If there’s anything that embarrasses her more, it’s being serenaded in public – especially without any alcohol involved.

“This one’s for you, Sweet Cheeks!” Brittany says before the Glee Club starts up with their harmonizing.

As soon as they start singing Britney Spears’ (You Drive Me) Crazy, Santana doesn’t know whether to laugh or take offence. The song choice is actually kind of perfect for them in the literal sense as Santana gets to listening to the lyrics.

Obviously not every line is accurate, but Santana finds herself giggling as the performance goes on. Brittany’s totally feeling it though; dancing along with the Glee Clubbers in her own way although she looks so out of place next to their bland, choreographed steps.

She actually ends up dancing down the bleachers and Santana eagerly awaits a misstep, but it never happens. Leave it to Brittany to be able to dance down bleacher steps while other people usually struggle coming down the things normally.

Slightly out of breath, Brittany skips over to Santana with the smuggest grin yet.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” She says.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Santana replies.

“What’d you think about my part two?” Brittany nods over to the performance still going on.

“Definitely not what I had in mind,” Santana chuckles.

“I’ve paid them to repeat the performance until I give them a signal.”

“Give the signal now then,” Santana urges with a laugh.

“No way, I love this song!” Brittany starts to shimmy her shoulders, “Picked it out myself, you know. Britney’s kind of iconic.”

“Brittany likes Britney,” Santana quips. “Why am I not surprised?”

The blonde rolls her eyes, “You can go ahead admit defeat now.”

“I’ll be doing no such thing,” Santana crosses her arms. “Game’s not over until I say it is and since public humiliation is apparently on the table – “

“A sing-o-gram is hardly public humiliation,” Brittany argues.

“Maybe if they weren’t tone deaf losers then sure.”

Brittany puts a hand on her hip, “That was mean.”

“Just keeping it real,” Santana shrugs. “But seriously. Make them stop.”

Brittany sighs, “Fine.”

Suddenly, she takes Santana in her arms and dips her. A kiss lands on her cheek but to everyone else still watching them it looks as if it’s made contact with Santana’s lips. Santana hangs onto Brittany’s jacket for dear life, just hoping that the girl doesn’t drop her.

She doesn’t and soon Santana’s being stood upright again. The smug grin is back again as blue eyes sparkle with mischief.

“That was your signal?” Santana questions when she realizes the singing finally stopped.

Brittany shrugs, “Felt like it fit the moment.”

“Didn’t think it was a little dramatic?”

“My adoration for you is a little dramatic,” Brittany quips.

Santana just shakes her head and laughs. She knows just what to do to give Brittany a taste of her own medicine. Like the blonde, Santana just has to wait until she least expects it.

\\

The moment happens to arise a couple weeks later when Puck mentions something about Brittany inviting him to some big Brainiacs’ match.

“I can’t go though,” Puck tells Santana. “Got a hot date.”

“Right,” Santana replies – the gears already turning.

“You busy?” He asks. “Maybe you can go instead?”

Santana smirks, “I’m one step ahead of you.”

It’s pretty short notice, but Santana acts fast in gathering her necessary supplies. The pure embarrassment she felt on Valentine’s Day fuels her as she breaks out the posterboard and markers. She even takes it a step further and scours Brittany’s social media for some headshots, anything that won’t go all pixelated on fabric. She narrows it down to a select few and gets to work. In all her years as a cheerleader, Santana’s become well acquainted with showing a little spirit and her decorating skills are on point!

\\

When the night of the match finally comes, Santana arrives to the building in her freshly bedazzled t-shirt donning pictures of Brittany’s face along side a giant Number One Nerd as well as a poster decorated in a similar fashion. There’s no denying who Brittany’s number one fan truly is.

“Santana!” Tina greets her at the entrance. “Hi! This is a first. Oh wow, I love your shirt!”

“Just being a supportive girlfriend,” Santana grins – loving the publicity she’ll be sure to get with Tina around. “I never get a chance to go to Brittany’s matches with cheer practice. Thought I should go all out.”

“It’s a tough match tonight,” Tina tells her. “I’m sure you know that already. The Brainiacs will be grateful for the support.”

“Brittany will crush it,” Santana replies confidently.

When Santana gets inside, she quickly finds a spot near the front so Brittany won’t have any trouble spotting her in the crowd. Not like she could when Santana’s holding a bright blue poster.

She walks the narrow aisle like a tightrope and settles in an empty seat between two older couples. They’re probably here to support someone on either team or maybe just here because they lost a bet – who knows. Santana, however, is here on a mission and there’s nothing more exciting than the suspense in embarrassing the crap out of Brittany.

Once the match begins, an announcer strolls out to introduce the teams.

Santana doesn’t pay him any mind or the geeks that slowly start making their entrance until she hears Brittany’s name. She’s on her feet in an instant as she goes into full cheerleader mode.

“Go Brittany!” She calls out – her voice louder than the sound of applause – as she waves her poster excitedly. She can feel those around her staring, but she doesn’t care because the look of complete disbelief on Brittany’s face is even better.

Suddenly the couple next to her stands and starts to cheer, “Go Brittany!”

Santana eyes them curiously, wondering if she just started something or they’re just chiming in along with her. They’re just as loud, if not louder, but what’s even more curious is the way Brittany shies away from the attention.

Still though, Santana continues to wave as Brittany walks across the stage to her seat. It’s not until Brittany’s seated that Santana tops off her antics by blowing her a kiss then watches with a satisfied grin as she sees Brittany’s face go red.

Safe to say, Santana won this round.

\\

Despite the fact that academic decathlon club is just a glorified way of saying trivia team, Santana’s kind of surprised by how well Brittany actually does. The girl hasn’t missed a question yet which is saying something because Santana hasn’t heard of half of the things these questions consist of.

Another thing that sticks out to Santana is the fact that Brittany’s the only girl on the team. She wonders what that must be like, especially considering most of the guys on Brittany’s team seem really…fucking pretentious.

Their team captain? An absolute dickhead, Santana’s sure of it judging by the way he didn’t clap for Brittany’s correct answer. Some team captain he is and the others just follow his lead.

And Santana doesn’t know why, but seeing the way they interact with Brittany just makes her want to cheer even louder. She doesn’t even care when the rest of Brittany’s team glare at her, she’ll probably never see them again after this.

“Go Brittany!” Santana yells when Brittany answers correctly again. This time she makes eye contact with the couple next to her and explains, “That’s my girlfriend.”

The woman blinks, strangely similarly to Brittany, “I didn’t know Brittany was dating anyone.”

“Brittany’s dating someone?” The man next to her asks. “What happened to Artie?”

Santana tilts her head to the side, “Who’s Artie?”

The couple share a look while Santana starts connecting the dots. The woman’s blonde hair and striking blue eyes, the man’s t-shirt donning Brittany’s name and face – which she didn’t realize until now.

Suddenly, it dawns on her.

“Wait. Are you,” Santana stammers. “Are you Brittany’s parents?”

The woman smiles as she nods, “I’m her mom, Whitney. This is Pierce, her dad.”

The man next to her waves, “Hi. I’m Pierce.”

“I just said that,” Whitney whispers to him.

“Did you? I didn’t hear.”

Santana’s stunned, unsure of what she’s meant to do. She already introduced herself as Brittany’s girlfriend but Brittany doesn’t need a fake girlfriend – does she? And who the hell is Artie?

She’s starting to panic a little as Brittany’s reaction earlier starts to make sense. All this time, Santana’s been sitting next to her parents and she couldn’t do a thing about it! And when it comes to parents, she’s not like Brittany. She’s never been the girl people take home to meet their parents!

This is unknown territory and she can’t believe she’s even thinking it but where’s Brittany when she needs her?

“And you are?” Whitney asks – breaking Santana out of her thoughts.

Santana blinks, “Sorry?”

“Your name, dear.”

“Oh!” Santana blushes, “Duh. Sorry, I’m Santana.”

“Pretty name,” Whitney compliments.

“Santana,” Pierce repeats the name like he’s trying to commit it to memory.

Santana nods, wondering if she should be giving them the well-rehearsed spiel about their relationship or if she should just wait for Brittany. She’s really at a loss here and keeps looking to Brittany for some type of signal, but the girl is too focused on the trivia.

“So you have classes together?” Whitney asks, “You and Brittany?”

Santana swallows dryly, “Yeah. We have a couple together.”

“That’s nice,” Whitney replies. “You know our Brittany is the first in the family to go to college? Technically she’s gone to two so that’s even better.”

Santana’s brows rise at the information, “I-I didn’t know that, no.”

“She’s really something special,” She tells Santana. “We try to go to as many of her matches as we can. She’s just so smart.”

“We don’t know where she gets it from,” Pierce jokes. “Definitely not me.”

Whitney sighs through her smile, “It did take us all by surprise.”

Santana briefly remembers her and Brittany’s conversation on their flight back to campus. There was something about Brittany being left behind, about people not seeing her potential and giving up. It makes her wonder if her parents were lumped into that group, although it’s hard to imagine such a nice couple doing something like that to Brittany.

\\

When the match ends awhile later – another win for the Brainiacs – Santana anxiously awaits Brittany’s entrance. So far the conversation with Brittany’s parents never exceeded surface level stuff which is a relief but she can tell there are questions and she doesn’t think she can answer them on her own.

“Mom, dad,” Brittany greets. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“We thought we’d surprise you since we’ve missed your last couple of matches,” Whitney says.

Brittany nods and looks to Santana.

“We had similar ideas,” Santana explains. “Being that I’m a supportive girlfriend and all.”

“I see,” Brittany catches on and wraps her arm around Santana’s waist. “It was a great surprise.”

Whitney and Pete look between the two and start to smile.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were dating someone, Britt-Britt?” Pierce asks.

Santana’s brows rise at the nickname, “Yeah Britt-Britt. Wanna keep me a secret?”

Brittany forces a laugh as she subtly pinches Santana’s side.

“Kidding,” Santana amends.

“I was going to tell you this weekend,” Brittany explains to her parents. “I’ve been really focused on preparing for this match. It’s been a pretty busy week.”

“That’s okay, dear,” Whitney replies. “We just want to be kept in the loop.”

Brittany frowns, “Yeah sure. Well, we’ve got to get going.”

“What?” Santana quirks her brow.

Whitney and Pierce respond similarly, “You don’t want to go for dinner or ice cream or something? You know, like we used to?”

“Santana and I have plans already,” Brittany tells them. “Maybe tomorrow though if you’re still around.”

Whitney and Pierce exchange a look, “We were going to drive back tomorrow morning.”

“Right,” Brittany shrugs. “Well maybe next time then.”

Santana watches as Brittany begins saying her goodbyes to her parents. She can sense the awkward tension and it makes her feel weird for intruding, but it doesn’t last long as Brittany loops her arms with hers and drags her away.

“Uh, what was that about?” Santana questions when they’re outside. “You don’t want to hang out with your parents?”

Brittany ignores the questions as they get to walking, “Sorry if they were annoying or anything.”

Santana grows even more confused, “They weren’t. They just want to cheer you on. How's that annoying?”

“I forgot I was talking to the captain of the cheer squad,” Brittany deflects again with a smirk.

“I'm not captain.”

Brittany looks to her, “You're not?"

Santana shakes her head, “Nope. People suspect favoritism when your step dad is the football coach.”

Brittany scoffs, “What's he have to do with cheerleading?”

“Exactly,” Santana says before getting back on topic. “Anyway, your parents seem sweet.”

“I guess.”

Santana looks at her, “No?”

It takes Brittany a second to answer, “They just, they haven't always been there for me growing up. They had no problem handing me off when something more important came up, you know?”

Santana shakes her head, “What could be more important than their kid?”

“Beats me,” Brittany shrugs. “But I guess they're trying to make up for that now.”

Santana nods, noticing the forlorn look on Brittany’s face and how misplaced it looks. Her comment gets her thinking about her dad and how he wasn’t around that often either, but he never let her forget how proud he was of her accomplishments. Even if he wasn’t around a lot, Santana never doubted how he felt about her.

With Brittany, she doesn’t think she returns the sentiment.  

“Well, that's pretty fucked up,” Santana admits. Brittany looks back at her questioningly but Santana only shrugs, “I'd totally be there for my kid especially if they were half as smart as you.”

Brittany starts to grin and that forlornness suddenly disappears and morphs into something Santana’s a lot more familiar with.

“Didn't know you knew how to give compliments,” Brittany quips.

Santana rolls her eyes, “And there you go making me regret it.”

[larentsaloud]

I FELL IN LOVE WITH KOREA FIRST

I’ve come to appreciate BTS in 2021. I mean I knew of their existence. I am not a barbaric creature. I think early spring after clocking them out and chatting to Wheatus on Twitter about their music I was quite taken aback by their talent. Didn’t really understand what the fuss what about at first. 😅

Oh in case you don’t know that band that composed the iconic Teenbage Dirtbag tune? Yeah. <IM JUST A TEENAGE DIRTBAG BAAAABYYYY> screaming in high pitch* also jumps* {Jimin joins. *pause* Jungkook joins* GUYS!! I’m in the middle of a story about yall.}

Cough.

We got into a polemic about shipping, because I was and still am someone who supports one direction. From my user name you can probably guess I am / was a Larry.

~~~~ let’s not fight about this ~~~~

I love one direction and support their solo careers, there’s something about them that made me feel things, I’ve not felt for a long time. Ultimately it’s why I and the rest of the planet consume art. To feel stuff. It’s kind of safer than having a broken heart. It’s why certain songs are so addictive. Like that’s the whole basis of POP music / culture. Create consumable goods we can all be addicted to. Capitalism. All that jazz. *Tae throws hands* <Yes, Tae I know. I shouldn’t have brought jazz into it.>

Back to business.

I think Zayn and Louis are my most played artists this year. Which is funny because I was a huge rock fan and wouldn’t go near boy bands. It’s kind of like I said I won’t touch the hot stove and here I am all over the fucking thing. Even running a blog. Lol. 😭😭😭

No surprises there! Anyhow.

Wheatus’s song has been covered by 1D and he engaged with me a little. We chatted about Ani Di Franco whom we both love and then he followed me. I was so 🥺🥺 because he’s such a cool dude. Sorry about this prelude, but I promise that it will be a point to this. <Jin stop asking us whats for dinner>

Anygays, he shared a BTS song and loads of army flooded his replies trying to gate keep BTS from a ‘Larry’ so I got freaked out. God bless Wheatus because he publicly defended me saying music was for everyone. <Jhope just hugged me guys!>

*leaves room for 5 minutes. Comes back confused. Where’s my flute? Can’t hear due to the sound of jikook playing it super out of tune. FFS guys. Lemme write this post.

I used to play flute back in the day. Not like Lizzo, it was a lot less sexy.

So after that I felt all sorts of feelings about BTS. I followed them on Twitter and checked out a few videos. Never thought much of it. Cute lads I said to myself.

WORLD WIDE HANDSOME 🌎🌍🌏🥰🥰 *cue in namjoon eye roll

In a recent bout of existential crisis I decided to pursue writing as a career and entered some competitions, wrote a novel or two that needs to be edited and finished off. LOL.

While in that space, one direction fandom saved me. Literally saved my life, because I wrote a fan fiction in which I discovered my love for the art of sentences! I took the FF down once I evaluated some hard truths.

This meant being honest with myself about breaking the fourth wall. Once I cleared my conscience I ached to create stories and longed to write until my eyes bleed just not about THEM.

Amidst the pandemic I was safe in my bubble where I found new friends and pals from all across the globe. We talk. We share dreams. We laugh. We cry. We watch Grammys together and scream. Internet is fucking powerful.

Of late I got attached to K-Drama. Initially I attributed this to the fact, that Korean dramas have original plot… and told everyone who was asking me about

#howisyourbook?

~~~regrets ever mentioning the thing ~~~

🔪🔪🔪💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻

So I called it

#research

But let’s be honest.

I needed a break from my book. I wanted romance. I want to cry on cue and laugh. I wanted to yell at yet another predictable story line when amnesia >>> arrived.

I live for that shit.

They do follow solid plot developments and I LOVED the cinematography in them, or their beauty, language, food, the intricate language and culture?! Maybe all of it.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I just fell in love with Korea first.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Once I crossed that path and starter messaging my mother in Korean when saying good night and telling her I love her, she confessed that she fell into the Korean loop hole, too. It was a truly beautiful moment for us both.

And from k-dramas it was only a matter of time before I started listening to BTS, watched their YT crack videos, in the soop, BTS run.

The thing about Jikook…

Kind of happened despite me trying. I fell in love with whatever they have.

💜💜

[giantroboticplatypusbutt218]

Okay so I was looking at the Loonatics Unleashed fandom wiki for no particular reason I swear and I have come across some mildly interesting discoveries about the content of said wiki. I guess this is like... kind of a weird partial wiki review? Is that strange? Under the cut, some spoilers, yadda yadda yadda.

1.  Something I couldn’t stop thinking about after watching the show was the fact that Ace and Lexi have like... no interesting personality. Since the wiki was right there I figured, “Hey, there’s usually a personality section on their character pages, maybe I just didn’t notice something.” So I looked at Ace’s page. 

His personality section is tiny. And what is there is stuff like, “he may have a sweet tooth,” and he’s, “cool, calm, and collected,” three words which basically mean the same thing. 

Next I checked Lexi’s page... which... hilariously... did not even have a personality section. But don’t worry guys! She’s got a section unique to her called, “fashion sense,” which goes into great detail about her not wanting to look fat.

Curious, I checked the other characters pages as well. 

Slam, unlike Lexi, has a personality section, which is incredible, considering he’s on screen for a fraction of the time she is. But Lexi is not alone in having no personality(according to the wiki) as Rev apparently doesn’t have one either. Like, come on. Nobody editing the wiki could think of one trait that he has? Even Slam got a line about having great battle strategy. Nothing about being enthusiastic or fiddling with Tech’s things or desiring his dad’s approval? Uh, okay then. Speaking of Tech... he got one line about being warm hearted and protective of his inventions... Yep. That’s... definitely all his traits... Totally... Ugh... 

Duck has a fully fleshed out personality section, which, makes sense since he has a very well defined personality and most interesting interactions with the rest of the cast. There are still problems with it though, like talking about his powers in the wrong section and another thing I’ll go over later.

2.  Also along the lines of the “Ace is bland” thought I had, his Powers and Abilities section is pathetically short. I mean, he has four tiny bullet points: One is about having great agility which isn’t needed because another point is that he’s skilled at martial arts which requires great agility. There’s his laser vision, and then apparently he has infrared vision? I mean, I’ll believe the wiki this time but I straight up do not remember that. It must have been one of those things that wasn’t brought up much. (Also it didn’t mention his swordsmanship which is strange.)

Most of the other characters’ sections of their abilities are pretty standard, but I have to note that Rev’s section is MASSIVE. One of his listed “abilities” is literally the ability to talk which uh... is strange. It’s noted that he talks fast, but that just seems to be a common trait of roadrunners as far as I can tell. Rip was the strange one for talking at a slower pace. Either way... I guess the ability to speak is an ability. Strange to put it side-by-side next to things like “super speed” and “flight” though...

3.  There is straight up incorrect information and strange assumptions in a few places. A lot of those things come from Rev’s page and specifically his Trivia section. 

Small complaint first, the page mentions the sound the original Roadrunner makes a couple of times and spells it as “meep, meep,” which the actual sound is “beep, beep,” an imitation of a car horn. Pedantic, I know. 

Okay first true complaint, the wiki assumes Rev’s the youngest solely based on the fact that he’s hyper. Uh... he could also be hyper because, and stay with me here, his power is super speed... and also some people are just hyper? IDK. I have to mention he seems like someone that would’ve gone to college given his family’s wealth and history with being engineers, along with his own technical knowledge, making him similar in age to Tech and Lexi. But odds are all members of the team are college aged and none of them are notably older or younger than the others. (Wait the Trivia page mentioned him being hyper but he still didn’t get a personality section with “hyper” in it???)

Another incorrect “fact” in the trivia section is that Rev’s the only character whose family is shown in the show. It was brief, but we saw Duck’s parents in the flashback of him and Pinkster in the orphanage. Yeah they’re just some boring humans but they’re still his parents. 

I guess this counts as a complaint? Uh, maybe I’m missing something, but the wiki claims Duck has sibling relationships with both Ace and Lexi, which... like... I swear I don’t recall from actually watching the show. I do recall him calling Lexi “sister” at least once, but like, in a sassy friend sort of way? And I just... straight up don’t recall him and Ace having any interactions that would denote them as being brother like. Is this just someone deciding that being Good Friends that learn from each other constitutes a sibling relationship again? I’ve seen it happen before. (Don’t ask, it’s stupid.)

Lastly, whoever wrote Lexi’s page seems desperate to ship her with Ace, but like, as professionally as possible. The section on her relationship to Ace is like “their relation is unclear, but she could possibly LooOOoove him~” Then it goes on to scrape for every time she showed concern for him, but also says she keeps her emotions hidden? Guys there’s a word for when someone is in a mutually caring relationship that isn’t a romance. It’s called being friends. Best Friends if it’s a little deeper than normal. Shhh. It’s okay. I know a man and a woman being friends is scary but it can happen. Everything will be fine. 

4.  As I’ve ironically noted a few times already, there are a bunch of redundant pieces of information on some of their pages. Most of the time I think it’s just due to padding. Like, Lexi has 4 bits of trivia and one is, “she likes video games,” and another is, “she’s good at video games.” You uh... couldn’t just make those both one point, huh? I’m not gonna count information being repeated through sections because sometimes context is important. 

-

Yeah so reading the wiki was... something. I mean I don’t blame the wiki of a 2005 Looney Tunes spin off for not being the most well loved and complete, and I’m sure it’s probably been vandalized a few times for lols, but I just thought this stuff was worth noting nonetheless. Mostly it means I can’t entirely trust the wiki when it comes to information regarding the show.