#because I couldn’t read anything longer than a paragraph without going through the five stages of grief

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

I just realized that I hate being directly talked to (in most situations); but if someone is talking to their friend at the same table as I am, and we’re all working on separate projects, I love listening to their conversation? Like, in art class these two gamer kids would go on and on about Sonic and Overwatch to each other and it was amazing; because I like reading Wikipedia articles on things I have no personal interest in just to know what it is enough to talk about it if someone brings it up in conversation.

Call that benign eavesdropping.

[zosonils]

Crossover you say 👀

OKAY SO. SONIC COLOURS/MEGA MAN CROSSOVER

i don't have much in mind story wise, but i'm thinking it takes place under the same conditions as worlds collide, which i insist on believing also happened nearly identically offscreen in the game timeline because nobody can tell me otherwise. fairly basic setup of eggman and wily teaming up to cause problems on purpose and sonic and rock working together to stop them, and now there's wisps in the mix >:O i'm sure i could think up a fun excuse plot for why sonic colours happens twice and also mega man is here now, but mostly this was just an excuse to put the special interest in the hyperfixation and come up with some fun weapons for rock based on my first and favourite sonic game

each robot master is based on a wisp from either version of the original colours, which causes a little confusion given that you end up with two burst men and drill men but these ones have different EWN-XXX serial numbers and are entirely unrelated to their canon mega man counterparts. i haven't actually drawn the robot masters yet or thought up designs or personalities, just come up with their weapons and what stage they'd inhabit, but maybe i'll do that sometime. the robot masters are something like this

EWN-010 BURST MAN - weak to drill dash, gives bursting blaze, sweet mountain stage

EWN-011 ROCKET MAN - weak to cubic satellite, gives rocket jump, terminal velocity stage

EWN-012 DRILL MAN - weak to spike spin, gives drill dash, tropical resort stage

EWN-013 HOVER MAN - weak to rocket jump, gives hovering shockwave, starlight carnival stage

EWN-014 LASER MAN - weak to frenetic void, gives prism laser, aquarium park stage

EWN-015 CUBE MAN - weak to prism laser, gives cubic satellite, wii game land stage

EWN-016 VOID MAN - weak to bursting blaze, gives frenetic void, asteroid coaster stage

EWN-017 SPIKE MAN - weak to hovering shockwave, gives spike spin, planet wisp stage

i wrote up some really detailed information on how all the weapons work but i'll put that under a cut to prevent this post from getting too long! if you don't feel like reading massive paragraphs of game design ideas, here's the microsoft paint scribblings i did of all of them [sonic is there too]

BURSTING BLAZE

a chargeable attack that blasts out a sphere of fire to deal damage. charging it longer sends the fire out further and increases its damage output, but costs more weapon energy. without any charging it's a pretty standard low-range attack, but at maximum charge it functions as a screen nuke on par with the likes of rain flush, tornado blow, or astro crush. if rock takes damage while charging bursting blaze, he'll automatically release it at whatever charge level it was at when he got hit. in addition to the obvious usefulness of a fucking screen nuke, a less- or uncharged bursting blaze can be a handy way to quickly get some personal space in a tight situation.

cost: 1 unit when uncharged, 7 when fully charged [28 uses uncharged or 4 fully charged from a full gauge]. has five in-between charge levels costing 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 units from least to most powerful.

i came up with this name first because i wanted it to have blaze in it because i fucking love blaze the cat.

ROCKET JUMP

an explosion that launches rock much higher than a normal jump would take him, about the height of one screen. in addition to the explosion at the bottom dealing damage, rock's body deals contact damage until his upward momentum stops, which tears through enemies with low health or a weakness to rocket jump but doesn't protect him against bulkier foes or stage hazards. while he can still move left or right while rocketing upwards, the only way for rock to stop moving upwards is to either naturally run out of momentum, hit a ceiling, or take damage.

some platforms can only be reached by using rocket jump.

cost: 3 units per use [10 uses from a full gauge]

obviously a joke based on the rocket jump technique in a lot of video games, lmao. rock blows himself up and ragdolls so hard he clips out of the interstellar amusement park and sonic watches as he falls past every kill plane and into infinity forever

DRILL DASH

a dash attack slightly faster than the slide going straight down, sideways, or diagonally down-left or down-right, similar to the pile driver but shorter and without upwards reach. has fairly low attack power, equivalent to two mega buster shots, but pushes surviving enemies back, allowing them to be hit again and again with a chain of drill dashes. underwater, it moves significantly faster and further, and can be fired up as well as down, unlocking eight-directional dashing.

if rock hits a solid wall he'll bounce off of it, but if he hits certain types of dirt-like walls he'll drill into them, which can uncover helpful items like health and weapon refills and occasionally 1-ups or e-tanks [probably in scripted locations].

cost: 2 units per use [14 uses from a full gauge]

i've never played mighty no. 9 but i've seen footage of like the dash thingy he can do? because it probably looks kinda like that.

HOVERING SHOCKWAVE

fires a shockwave that doesn't hurt any more than a standard mega buster shot [unless the enemy in question is weak to it], but stuns most enemies and has a fairly decent range. if you fire it in midair and then hold down the attack button, rock's falling speed will decrease dramatically, and he'll continue to float until either he hits the ground, the attack button is released, or he takes damage. hovering will cost additional energy, and if hovering shockwave is used in midair it can't be used again until rock hits the ground at least once.

cost: 1.5 units per use [19 uses from a full gauge], plus an extra 3 units per second of hovering, for a total of a little under 9 seconds of hovering taking the initial shot into account.

this one's pretty directly lifted from the hover wispon in sonic forces.

PRISM LASER

a laser projectile that either bounces off or goes through anything it hits a set number of times, maybe three to five. if it destroys an enemy its movement is unchanged; if it hits a wall or an enemy that doesn't immediately die to it then it bounces instead. can be fired in all eight directions, but once fired its trajectory is out of the player's hands. basically imagine gemini laser, then imagine it being obscenely better in every conceivable way. best used in enclosed rooms where it can bounce around a lot and doesn't have much opportunity to get lost offscreen.

some rooms have prisms in them like the ones in colours that automatically redirect prism laser, guiding them to destroy enemies blocking paths and the like.

cost: 6 units per use [5 uses from a full gauge]

cyan laser was my favourite colour power when i was a little baby because haha bright colour funny sound go wheeee. prism laser is probably overpowered because of this bias lmao.

CUBIC SATELLITE

summons four [?] orbiting cubes that shield rock from one hit each. they deal damage to enemies they touch unless said enemy is immune to the power. standard shield weapon, blue cube is a lame overly situational gimmick and i couldn't think of anything better. rock can still fire and charge his mega buster while shielded, but obviously can't use any special weapons. every time a cube is destroyed, the remaining ones spin faster, looking something like the tubinaut badnik from sonic mania. that's just a visual effect i don't know what else to write here it's a shield weapon.

cost: 3.5 units per use [8 units from a full gauge]

i think i'd like shield weapons more if i knew how to use the attacking ones to actually attack. i used leaf shield about 3 times in mega man 2 and every time i flung it in the wrong direction and got hit anyway.

FRENETIC VOID

sucks in any enemies that rock is facing for as long as the attack button is held down, drawing them to a point just in front of him. when released, the blasters on his arms [which in this form morph to look like the purple frenzy mouth] crunch down in front of him, dealing slightly more damage than a charged mega buster shot to anything that's been pulled in close enough and knocking back anything that isn't destroyed. rock can't move while using frenetic void, and if anything hits him while he's vaccuuming he drops the move without the finishing bite or knockback. this move can also draw in most types of bullets, which are absorbed and disappear if they reach the void, or continue in whatever direction they were pulled in if the move ends before they get there.

cost: 3 units per use [10 units from a full gauge]

i thought it'd be cool to combine purple frenzy and violet void somehow. i used void for the robot master name because i believe in sonic colours ds port supremacy, but the decision was ultimately pretty arbitrary.

SPIKE SPIN

what top spin wishes it was. a close-range attack where spikes emerge from rock's body as he does a speen, giving him a somewhat bigger hitbox. when he hits an enemy, he bounces off of it in a manner similar to the way sonic bounces off of everything he hits. the move lasts as long as the attack button is held down, draining weapon energy over time, and rock can still walk and jump while speening. some projectiles will bounce off of spike spin [generally small bullets like those from mets or sniper joes will bounce off while anything stronger will still hurt], and holding the move makes rock immune to spikes, allowing him to walk over them safely until his weapon energy depletes.

some items may be tucked away in places that are difficult or impossible to reach without walking over spikes, requiring the use of spike spin to reach them.

cost: 4 units per second, for a total of 7 seconds of spinning from a full gauge. the first unit is depleted the moment the button is pressed so the move can't be scummed into lasting longer.

honestly now that i'm thinking about this i might change spike spin to act a little more like how pink spike spindashes, but i was overcome by a desire for justice for top man.

i don't know how to end this post lmao but i've been thinking about this crossover for days on end. i know damn well it's a pipe dream but right now i'm in just the right mode of hyperfixation that if sega and capcom announced a sonic/mega man crossover in a video game that isn't smash lmao i would ASCEND

[hopevalley]

S6E3: The Queen of Hearts (Episode Write-Up)

You can also read this on my website here.

Can you believe the next episode has come and gone already? Time sure flies. I’m typing this up from work, so please pardon me if you find any mistakes/errors/etc. I’ll try and proofread it as well as I can and add the pictures in when I get home, but…well, you know, time is money.

(Though I guess…if I’m typing this at work…it could be said that I’m being paid for my time…)

Last episode was pretty low-key: a nice entrance into the new season. This episode ramped things up a bit; there are quite a few threads of drama starting up already, and, well, we’ve only just begun.

So without further ado, let’s jump into it!

The Pedals on the Bike Go Round ‘n Round

Bill and Fiona vs. Lucas

Investing 101 ft. Henry

Carson ‘Foot in Mouth’ Shepherd

Clara Stanton Takes a Stand

Sorry in advance; I barely proofread this. :’)

Plot #1: The Pedals on the Bike Go Round ‘n Round

Elizabeth was kind of just…around in this episode. She didn’t do a whole lot and didn’t have too much to say. She did, however, get a plot. Kind of a weak one.

More or less the plot boiled down to “Elizabeth teaches Timmy how to ride a bike.” You may have forgotten who Timmy is, and if so, he’s Wilma’s son. Wilma, Kurt, and Timmy came in for the Christmas film in S4E1: When Calls the Heart Christmas.

On the positive side, the plot was fairly well-acted. I probably couldn’t pretend to need help riding a bicycle if my life depended on it, but you’ll notice in all the scenes where Timmy is ‘learning,’ his front tire/handlebars get kind of jittery—enough that it made me feel a little uncomfortable just watching! He did a great job with that.

Elizabeth did nicely enough plunking away at the piano pretending she was bad at it to try and help Timmy learn that learning is a process. There’s always someone out there who is better than you at something, but 1) that doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to do it, too, and 2) it’s okay to mess up, because that’s part of the process of learning!

Overall, a cute plot. I didn’t mind that it stayed in the background and wasn’t exactly center stage.

That said, I think I could have really gone for something a little less shallow? At the very least, it might have been nice to see Elizabeth ask Robert or Cody to borrow the bike at lunchtime. (I’m under the impression that they belong to them, and not the school.) Instead of Timmy having fallen on a random (?) bike and scraping up his knee, how about something with a little more substance?

Maybe his parents scraped up their hard-earned money to buy him a bike for his birthday because he’d been admiring Cody’s, but when he tried riding it in town, he faceplanted into a horse trough—something legitimately embarrassing! A few grown-ups laughed at the spectacle (even as they helped him up and made sure he was okay), making him afraid to fall in front of others again. But he really wants to learn because his parents worked hard to buy the bike for him…and they can’t teach him because they don’t know how to ride.

A short lesson on balance, and why it’s impossible to stay upright at a standstill (but very easy to stay upright in motion) could have been really fun, too.

And I think it might have been nice to see a few of the kids encouraging Timmy, or at least speaking with him about this. “Nobody’s watching” my foot! They’d definitely be paying attention, if only out of the corner of their eyes. Opal could say she’s too afraid to try, but if Timmy could learn maybe she wouldn’t be so afraid to learn, herself (something that could encourage Timmy to want to learn more); Cody and Robert could offer to help Timmy but their methods, while well-meaning, are a little too harsh. (Maybe they could be the reason Timmy fell into the trough.)

I wouldn’t have even minded someone fashioning Timmy some training wheels to try out! Maybe his internal balance isn’t very good and he could use the assist until he feels more comfortable (and then later in the season, in a couple of episodes, he could get the hang of it and it’d be super sweet). Then the moral of this story could be more about the process of learning and how learning new things takes time and effort (for some people different things take longer than others), and it’s okay if Cody learned in five seconds but it takes Timmy a few weeks to really get comfortable.

Still, I like what we got. Timmy hasn’t had much of a role in the series in the last couple of seasons, so it was nifty to see him getting something! And of course, Elizabeth got to help without it being too over-the-top, which I can really appreciate.

Plot #2: Bill and Fiona vs. Lucas

Overall, this plot wasn’t bad. I enjoyed Fiona and Lucas. There seems to be some tension between the two of them; there should be a pretty serious reason for this. The story flow doesn’t feel very natural without reasoning in place. Unfortunately this isn’t something I can talk at length about; it’s a wait-and-see sort of situation. It’s possible it’ll get addressed later, especially if Fiona is intended to stick around for most/all of the season.

But to explain what I mean about story flow and reasoning, though, it just doesn’t make sense to me that Fiona would care enough about this town to rat out Lucas to Bill—another complete stranger to her. Sure, Bill is the law, but it feels like there’s just a tiny bit of something missing between their meeting and Fiona immediately going to Bill about Lucas.

Now, it’s totally possible the writers weren’t going for anything deep. Maybe what we see is really what we’re getting: she’s a bit of a gossip à overhears that Bill is concerned à Bill is the law à then she overhears Lucas and thinks Bill’s root worry is legitimate and does The Right Thing (which is report her findings to him).

Bill might find the arrangement satisfactory for now, but it means nothing he says on the phone is private. I really appreciated that Bill brought this up in a very straightforward manner, e.g., “Doesn’t your company have a policy against that?” It still leaves it open for future issues, though.

Fiona’s gossipy tendencies don’t bother me at all. I think they make her a better character than some we’ve had; she’s not 100% wholesome and pure. I dig that. Right now I’m just wondering what about Lucas bothers her so much. Maybe she doesn’t like how smooth he is. Can’t say I blame her.

Lucas himself is a fun character. He’s suave as heck, he can laugh at himself, but he’s vaguely suspicious. Overall, I’d say he’s a smooth operator, a smart schemer. I really enjoyed his conversation with Elizabeth, but the one with Rosemary was awkward in…kind of a good way. I’m fine with getting characters who don’t say what they mean or even lie (without it obviously being a lie).

And so far, my favorite thing about Lucas is how he comes across to the various townfolk.

Some people really like him, think he’s sooo nice for doing these kind things…but then you have the people who are put off by his attempts at kindness. I can see both sides of it, and I know which side I’d be on! He seems like he might end up being a fairly complex character, which I’m really hoping for. Some people might view what he’s doing as a general kindness/attempt to look good right off the bat, but others feel he’s trying to buy affection/a good name; if things get bad, people will say he’s good and they trust him because he’s more or less paid them to feel that way. It’s got a lot of room for good stuff!

(I’m not sure how I feel about the saloon name change, but I think it’s weird that people don’t really care about it? That said, I’ve noticed they all call it “the saloon” so a name change doesn’t really matter. Meanwhile, Abigail’s Café is often referred to both by just “Abigail’s” and as “Abigail’s Café” so the distinction might matter a lot.)

Now...we’ve gotta talk about Bill.

I’m sure nobody really wants to hear more about how much I hate the way he’s been written lately, but just for the heck of it, I’ll dive in for a few paragraphs. My stance is thus: Bill is severely out of character and has been getting worse for the last two seasons. The things he does are cringey and out of character. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to laugh at him or wince at the things he says and does, but if this is intentional, I’m hoping they address it soon.

The most likely bit of reasoning might be the same reason Henry dove into the stock market: he’s restless, bored, feels useless, doesn’t know what to do with that energy. In Bill’s case that energy just comes out in these unconstructive ways: everyone is suspicious until proven otherwise. The judgeship plotline could take care of this, but obviously I don’t know that it will. It’s just a consideration/possibility.

The problem is, they started getting wobbly with Frank’s character in S4, too, with him snooping around on Carson. They’re more or less doing the same exact thing to Bill right now for no reason, so…it honestly seems like they just don’t know how to write him, and I don’t know how they can be at such a loss when they have 4 good seasons of Bill to look back on for character tidbits and plot ideas.

But seeing Bill devolve from a sharp investigator to little more than a joke in the last few episodes? It really grinds my gears. I can’t even enjoy the bits that are supposed to be funny, like when he told Lucas he’d pay for his own drink and then took his money back the second Lucas’s back was turned and let the bartender put it on the house. It’s not funny because that’s not something that Bill of S1 through S4 would even do. When someone refused to tip Abigail more than a few cents, Bill put his own money on the table to ensure she was tipped (five bucks, by the way!). He’s not stingy, he’s not stupid. He chased the same case for literal years of his life and did so quietly, so he’s also very patient. He wouldn’t have called that woman directly, he’d have contacted someone he knew to trace the location of the phone and the name of the household being billed for it. He has the know-how and the power, and he’d use the best way to get his information that he had available that wouldn’t also give him away.

I don’t know why they chose to do this with his character, but I definitely disagree with it.

That said, he has a reasonable enough reason to be suspicious of the man. After all, he’s seen everything. I’m just worried the narrative won’t be sympathetic toward him at all, and in the very end he’ll be wrong about everything and end up in an even worse place than where he started.

Plot #3: Investing 101, ft. Henry

Shockingly, I don’t have too much to say about this plot. It was nice. Henry has a hobby that feels exactly like the kind of thing Henry would do, so props there. I also quite enjoyed seeing Lee stick up for Henry more, and Abigail reluctantly coming around to the idea of investment being a little different than gambling (but honestly not by much).

Even though my stance on Henry and Abigail as a potential romantic end-game is a giant thumbs-down, I could really appreciate the whole plot. Henry lies, but it’s because he feels partially responsible for Abigail’s lost money.

Earlier this year I predicted that maybe he’d lose her money, but I didn’t think he’d lie about it and tell her she’d doubled it. That’s…a bit much. I want to say that that doesn’t sound much like Henry (I could see him giving back the original amount and saying he pulled it before it could go down), but at this point it’s fair to say he’d go a bit overboard because he doesn’t want Abigail to lose faith in him.

After all, he knows she’s the reason he got a second chance at all, and he definitely didn’t deserve that kindness from her; the last thing Henry wants to do right now is make her regret it. It’s a little sad but perfectly believable. It was nice of Abigail to straighten things out the way she did; she was very straightforward about it.

So hey, the air is cleared and we’ve learned that investing is a form of gambling, but not exactly the same thing? Huh.

Plot #4: Carson “Foot in Mouth” Shepherd

This plotline wasn’t deep enough that I feel the need to comment heavily on it, but I can appreciate a few small things about it.

First, it was really awesome that Carson went to Lee with his problem.

Sometimes I feel like this series does a pretty bad job of matching up conversationalists: people go to whoever the plot deems the best person to go to, and usually that person is part of the “main” cast and hasn’t had enough lines in the episode yet, so they get the part. Due to this, at times it feels like roles are just being filled by whatever actor is free to fill the spot. So it was nice to see this happen because Lee was definitely appropriate person to go to for this conversation. 1) He knew about Rosemary’s plan, 2) he seemed exasperated by Rosemary’s plan, and 3) he’s married currently so he understands and might be sympathetic to Carson’s little problem of, you know, putting his foot in his mouth.

One thing I wanted to see addressed that didn’t get addressed (because this show has people “fix” problems with weird dialogue choices) was the reason Carson said what he did. He probably said it because he didn’t want to put any pressure on Faith, or on himself. As he said later, they work together; it’s not a good idea to even consider it.

Now, I personally haven’t felt any real chemistry between these characters, like…at all, so I’m not really on #teaminfirmary, but I do think they show some promise. Right now my biggest criticism has been the lack of chemistry. For me, the doctor/nurse trope just doesn’t do it, not on its own. After Carson’s quick attraction to Sofia, I guess I was kinda wanting to see something spark between them!

But I liked Faith being the one who felt awkward after Carson put his foot in his mouth, and then she kind of took it out on him by being short and snippy. That feels pretty in-character for her to do.

I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with them in the future, though. Like I said, there’s potential there!

Plot #5: Clara Stanton Takes a Stand

Another small plot, but I like the drama baked into this one. Jesse’s always had some self-esteem issues, so it was pretty cool to see that coming back. He has a bad past, he just does okay for himself (not super well), he’s not smart or well educated. You know he thinks Clara’s just about too good for him… I mean, he wasn’t always that way; before she agreed to court him he acted pretty cocky. But he was probably acting that way because he didn’t think she’d really go for it. And then she said yes and he was like, “NOW WHAT?”

I don’t like that he tried to tell her what to do (and I’d argue the dialogue choice there could be a lot better), but it felt vaguely in character. I think I wish they’d gone more the “I should be providing for you” route. And the “you work hard enough” route. They skirted around those a little bit, but if they’d landed on them a little harder I think it’d be easier to swallow. But it was still kind of understandable. He already has issues with feeling like he’s good enough and this makes him feel that she thinks he can’t do it by himself.

I was hoping for a dialogue between them eventually about this (not Clara working two jobs, but Clara working at all after they’re married), but I think what they settled on is going to work really well, and hopefully open up the two of them to talk about their feelings a little more deeply—especially Jesse being more vulnerable with regards to his low self-esteem.

My favorite part was definitely Clara taking the job anyway and Jesse trying to kind of accept it, but we all know that’s not gonna work out. ;P I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do for these characters over the course of the season!

Overall? Another reasonably fun episode. I’m having a lot of fun with the new characters; I just hope they don’t throw Bill under the bus for the duration of the season. He’s got the potential to be one of the best characters on the show if they’d just take the time to give him decent storylines. But hey, maybe the good stuff is all coming soon for him. :)

[smilexcaptainx]

Ugly Heart (2)

Chris Evans Drabble (2/3)

| O N E |

Summary: After a vital breakup with the selfish, greedy, Chris Evans, your career has been growing. You’re a famous singer and he’s a famous actor, from the beginning people knew it wouldn’t last. You’ve written a bunch of hit songs, all made for Chris Evans. But when he finally realizes he wants you back, you have to keep reminding yourself, he might be handsome, but his heart is plain ugly.

A/N: Not my gif :) Credit goes to the owner ♥

Word Count: 1,707

Playlist:

All You Had To Do Was Stay by Taylor Swift

Ugly Heart by G.R.L

Warning: None

 Your expectations were built to high. You thought that Chris was still coming after you but it seemed that he gave up. Just like he gave up on your relationship. But you decided not to let that bug you. Your fans were still asking for signatures and pictures. You pull out the sharpie that you always carried with you and started to sign wherever and whatever. People were pushing and shoving, having their phones held high, holding down the picture button.

 You put your arm around everyone of your fans and smiled as they took selfies with you. You hugged everybody one as time before they said their goodbyes and left. You hop into your car and started to drive home. You put the radio on, and the very first song was your song that you wrote for Chris Evans. You lip synced to the song as it played, tapping to the rhythm with your finger on the steering wheel. When you got to a stoplight, it got to the best part with the drums.

 You went full out and started drumming everything like it was a drum. As you stopped, you laughed at yourself and looked to the side, seeing teenagers with their phones out recording you. Your face heated up and your started to blush like crazy. You couldn’t believe they just caught you doing that. The light turned green and you stepped on it, hoping the car wouldn’t see you any longer.

 The car turned another way and you continued on the way home. When you reached home, you entered your house, got an ice-pack and plopped right onto your couch, totally worn out. But before you fell asleep, you pulled out your phone. You loved to check Twitter to respond to some fans, making them freak out afterwards, it made you happy. As you pulled up Twitter, you blinked several times as you read the cruel words that your fans were sending Chris. They sent hate towards Chris’s Twitter account, tagging you as well.

 You gasped as you read some, you couldn’t believe it. Your fans did it. They turned on Chris Evans. You laughed as you read some, some of them were hateful and cruel. You remembered everything that Chris did to you. He let his fame get to his head. He was the one who abused you. You were so happy to have that relationship end. But your laughter soon cut off when a text popped up with the contact as CheezyEvans. It had hearts on the contact. You totally forgot you still had his number, and that you forgot to block it.

 As you opened the text message, you read the super long paragraph he wrote. You rolled your eyes at about everything you read. His lies from the interview came flashing through your mind. Chris was asking you out, but he should’ve known the answer from the beginning. And that answer was no. Chris wouldn’t take no as an answer and demanded for you to go out with him, but you just denied him once more.

 As you texted the last words, saying what really came from the heart, you blocked him. You couldn’t care less about what Chris was going to respond. You set down your phone and turned on the TV. You laid back and let out a relaxed sigh, hoping that nothing would bug you anymore. But it all got interrupted when somebody started to call you. You groaned in annoyance and picked your phone up, wondering who was calling you. It was your manager. You swiped to pick it up and greeted her.

‘’Y/N. I hope you didn’t forget, you were nominated for Teen Choice Awards best female artist. And Teen Choice Awards is tomorrow at 6PM.’’ she reminded.

‘’Oh my–’’ you smacked your head and shook your head.

‘’I totally forgot!! I was so focused on– Ughh! Okay. Thank you Sasha. If I didn’t have you, I’d probably forget. Thanks again. Love you boo.’’ you smile.

‘’Anytime Y/N. And don’t be late, you may win.’’ she says.

‘’Maybe.’’ you shrug.

***

 You hugged everybody who was at the Teen Choice Awards, hoping not to see Chris. You knew that he got nominated for Best Actor Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and you were  pretty sure he was going to win. As you sat down in your seat, you look at your phone and saw that there was one more minute until it started. You watched as the number changed on your phone, surprisingly, they actually started on time this year. For the past years, they were usually an hour late, but it seemed that they finally came to their senses to start on time.

 The show started and so far, it was really entertaining! But soon after, it was time to say the winners for the Best Actor Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

‘’And the winner for Best Actors Sci-Fi/Fantasy is..’’ they started to open up the blimp looking envelope.

‘’Chris Evans!!’’ they shout into the microphone together.

‘’Of course.’’ you mumble, clapping carelessly.

 The crowd went wild with hoots and hollers, they loved Chris. But you had to admit, you used to love him. As Chris made his way to the stage, he got the surfboard and held it with a smile on his face. The fake, forced, smile. He nodded and motioned for everybody to quiet down, and that’s what they did. You sat up straight and gave him your attention, wondering what he had to say now.

‘’Thanks you guys! This is actually.. Wow! I can’t believe it! I honestly don’t think that I’m that good of an actor,’’ chris laughs.

 You could see right through him as he spoke, whatever he was saying wasn’t real. You remember those late night talks that you had with him. He wished that he never became an actor and that he was never famous. He wanted to run off with you and get married without anybody knowing, but it soon got destroyed once Chris showed you the real him. As Chris ended his speech, you clapped like you didn’t care once again.

 And now it was your category, and you were a nervous wreck. You kind of wanted to win to show that Chris he was much better off without him. But you also had a worry that if you didn’t win, Chris would think that you’re still a nobody. As they announced your name, people cheered and your heart was racing.

‘’And the winner for Best Female Artist is..’’ they started to open up the blimp looking envelope.

‘’Y/N Y/L/N!!!’’ they screamed into the microphone.

 Everyone went wild with hoots and hollers. You couldn’t believe it, you actually won!! Chris left your mind and you just focused on what you were about to say. You started walking up towards the stage, giving people high fives and hellos. When you reached the stage, they gave you your blimp and hugged you.

 You went up to the microphone and everybody quieted down immediately. You looked out in the crowd and smiled, you knew you were going to get emotional so you didn’t want to make it to long. As you spoke, you thanked everyone for voting for you and for everything that they’ve done for you. As you ended your speech, you finally spotted Chris in the crowd. You said thank you and he just rolled his eyes and scoffed.

 He didn’t bother to clap. He didn’t bother to do anything but roll his eyes. You just shrugged it off and hugged them and left the stage, giving more high fives to your fans. You wanted to go home because you knew that Chris was here now. But you had to stay for the red carpet, and you were nervous you would run into him. As you took pictures with just you, you did poses and smiled as the cameras kept clicking.

 So many people were calling your name, you didn’t know who to look at and where to look. You just kept a pose and smiled at each and every camera. As you took more pictures, you suddenly see out of the corner of your eye, Chris walking up to you. Chris didn’t even care and walked straight into your photo shoots.

‘’What are you doing here Evans.’’ you snarl, glaring at him.

‘’I won. If you didn’t know.’’ chris smirks.

‘’I’m not talking about the show. I’m talking about, why did you come into the place where they’re taking pictures of only me?’’ you roll your eyes.

‘’You two get closer! Hold each other! Chris! Put your arm around Y/N’s waist!’’ the photographer calls out.

 Chris did as instructed and wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. You wanted to slap him in the face and barf, but you knew you just had to keep smiling and pretending. Chris continued to talk to you, hoping that nobody would hear his conversation with you.

‘’Looks like not only fate wants us to be back together, but the paparazzi as well.’’ chris smirks.

‘’Yeah, but not of their opinions matter, only mine. And my opinion is no. I don’t want to get back together with you.’’ you smile, concentrating on the cameras.

‘’Well, okay, let’s see what the internet thinks of this than.’’ chris sighs.

‘’Thinks of wh-’’

 Chris suddenly leans in and kisses you. Your eyes went wide as he laid his lips upon yours, mostly without your permission! The cameras were snapping pictures faster than ever as he kissed you. Chris continued to kiss you, his lips completely taking you over. You’ve forgotten how much you loved Chris’s kisses. As Chris ended his kiss, he wiped his lips and winked.

‘’You’ve never lost that touch have you, Y/N?’’ chris winks.

‘’I’m never going to go out with you again. And I am for sure never going to get back together with you.’’ you growl.

‘’We’ll say about that.’’ chris smiles.

 Chris walked off and got pulled aside by some interviewers, making you want to lose control. But you needed to keep it together. You thought he was cute. But you knew he was a jerk. You wanted to give him up. But it was harder than it seemed.

Part 3 will be coming soon ♥

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

first lines meme

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. see if there are any patterns. then tag your favorite authors. i was tagged by @greatestheights. (thanks! if you hadn’t already done this, you’d be on my list for your perfect j/d fic alone.)

(don’t follow a ton of fic writers tbh but) tagging these talented people: @actuallylukedanes, @aerosmiley219, @comepraisetheinfanta, @confidxnteveryday, @andallthatmishigas, @etraytin and anybody else who wants to do this! 

following the example before me, cut for length/divided into WIPs and published fic.

ten WIPS (in order of when I started working on them):

lizzington au, where the fire never happened and she was raised by her birth parents so Red meets her for the first time as infamous KGB operative Masha Rostova: Raymond Reddington spotted her across the crowded room as he waited to be seated. Later, he wouldn’t be able to explain exactly why; her laugh was almost demure and her outfit was only as alluring as those worn by all the other women in the restaurant. He just knew there was a story there. An excellent one. One that hadn’t even begun yet–and he wanted to be a part of it. 

lizzington, post-s2 finale idea that was too sexy to be part of my slow burn chapter fic: “I’ve always been drawn to you,” she told him seriously, a confession no longer laced with shame. “Since the beginning, long before it made sense–even when it made me feel crazy. So I tried to blame you. For everything, really,” she added quietly. Here, there was shame.

josh x donna, the night of “20 Hours in America”: When Donna had finished writing all the letters to family members, she found Josh in the bar. Toby had gone up to his room, seeming preoccupied with something when he passed her on his way up, so she found Josh with a beer, sitting more than he was drinking, as was his way. She would have been shocked if he’d had anything stronger than his half a bottle, anyhow–he’d be nearly passed out, something he didn’t do in unfamiliar places. Sliding onto the seat next to his, she tossed her untidy hair back from her face and gave him her best cajoling look.

josh x donna, during “Inauguration: Over There”: It was all started by the snow. It made sense at the time, he thought, to throw snowballs. She wasn’t answering her phone, and at least snow wouldn’t break her window. The adrenaline rush when he hit the window first had to have addled his brain, made him more susceptible to things he never thought about. How her skin glowed, say, or how soft her mouth looked. He never would’ve told her how amazing she looked if he’d been in his right mind.

donna x amy, during “Commencement”: She doesn’t particularly like Amy. Truth be told, she doesn’t like Amy much at all. She’s pushy, and sees things in black and white, and Josh has an odd reaction to her, like an addict. But as long as Josh is chasing after Amy, she feels safe. Protected from herself. So she tries to encourage him, to help.

josh x donna, after “War Crimes”: They wait through what she thinks must be the longest hour of her life. Josh leans forward on the bench, in a position that looks horribly uncomfortable, his arm resting behind her back. It’s so far back it doesn’t touch her, and she figures it might if he’d sit like a normal person. Oh. Maybe that explains it, then.

josh x donna, for a smut request where donna is in charge: When she practically crashed through his door, Donna took him by surprise. She kept doing that. What was it Amy said once, that he needed to get hit on the head? Water balloon aside, there was something breathtaking about the way Donna didn’t hesitate. He couldn’t claim the same confidence; he hovered somewhere between awkward and anxious, and it was worse with her because she was everything. And it felt like he’d been waiting a lifetime to reach this point.

blaine x liv, post-s2 finale: Vivian Stoll, brain-eating leader of Fillmore-Graves Enterprises, left her with a business card and the ominously friendly, “Be seeing you.” Liv was too relieved to be alive–well, relatively speaking–to feel guilty for fleeing the scene at the first available opportunity.

ravi x major, post-s2 finale: Things can change so fast. Too fast, Ravi thinks, as he downs the shot of tequila and pretends it doesn’t remind him of Peyton. 

peyton x blaine, post-s2 finale: Major personally escorted Peyton to the safe house, despite her half-hearted protests. Since he was the closest thing she had to a big brother, deep down she had expected nothing less.

ten published fics (in chronological order, most recent first):

a very brief career at the hoover institute: By any unit of measurement, Ainsley’s first day at the Hoover Institute could not be called a success.

lost in the forest of this heart: Lizzie drops into sleep almost instantly, her weight pressed lightly against his side as the road rumbles beneath them.

for tonight: Her hands were trembling as she laced up the back of her dress, but she managed to tie it securely. Nerves, Liz thought. Silly, really. They had shared dinner dozens of times since going off the grid. Local dives, upscale hotel cafes, five-star landmarks.

leave us in pieces, scattered everywhere: “Why did you tell me?” CJ’s voice is broken glass across the satellites. He wants to be looking at her instead of talking over the phone; he wants to be able to touch her face, to apologize, to offer comfort. This is not that conversation, or she wouldn’t be calling.

if we only tried: Lorelai answered the door less than a minute after Luke knocked.

where the past comes back to life: Their flight is delayed in New York. Josh decides to steal a few moments of rest while he waits, grabbing a seat slightly apart from the other staffers. It’s not exactly peaceful, but he can mostly tune them out.

mine: “This is completely unprofessional,” Josh mutters. He can almost hear the murmur of conversations in the ballroom from the tiny space Donna tugged him into–but not quite. Hopefully the distance works both ways, because her mouth on his ear is making it hard to keep discretion in mind right now.

just give me something to hold onto: “She gave back the ring,” Sam says, head hanging so low that he’s talking more to the carpet than to Josh.

the deepest of needs: CJ goes to him; he’ll never come to her. Not while the pain is still an open wound…not while Toby keeps it that way in order to be a father.

what you’re running from: She didn’t have anywhere else to go. Free didn’t mean in the clear, not after the manhunt and the Post Office and the plea deal. So Red showing up when she was released–Red being the only person she could count on, again–was a welcome surprise.

WIP CONCLUSIONS: I cannot do brevity. Seriously, the difference between what my work looks like in progress and what sees the light of day is startling when you just compare opening lengths. 

I use just as much punctuation and italics, though, so clearly I think in the tones as I’m writing, rather than adding the emphasis later.

There’s almost no dialogue in my openings for WIPs, despite their length. I ramble about character’s internal monologues (and then thankfully clean that up later).

It’s possible to read a whole paragraph and be left with no idea whose perspective I’m talking about, in a WIP. Fun to know. 

PUBLISHED WORKS: Considering how much I love/am good at dialogue, I don’t open with it as much as I would’ve expected. I have little interest in setting/description as a reader but clearly, I make an effort to set the scene as a writer--even though I’m sure I don’t manage that until the late stages of editing. So it’s good to know that before I publish, I’ve remembered to keep my audience in mind. That’s comforting.

Compared to my WIPs, I’m incapable of having a first sentence without a character’s name in it, even when the fic is only about one character, and the reader would know who I was talking about. That’s sort of weird.

I don’t do succinct starter sentences, unless I’m starting the sequel to a previous story that had a cliffhanger ending, which is why two of my examples are actually from older stories whose sequels are in the recent ten list. It felt like cheating to use the sequel sentences when they didn’t make sense without the context of the first story, so I used the real beginnings.

Italics and interesting punctuation are essential to me. I think that’s because playing with mood and tone is necessary but I’m not as good at it using just words?

I’m kind of all over the place otherwise, which is fair and true to my personality...I vary up my style (as much as I can) depending on what I’m writing. For example, the shortest starter sentence was for Lorelai Gilmore, and the sentences that follow it are more staccato than usual for me, which makes sense when the world I’m writing in is rapid-fire dialogue and lots of back-and-forth.

This took waaaaay longer than I expected but I feel like it was also much more educational than I thought it would be. So yay. :)