#but in every show he's in there's this one (1) actor that he just clicks with on a whole nother level

[sixpennydame]

Make. Believe. ❖ Act 2

Actor!Levi x Fem!Reader

Levi has always kept his professional and private life separate…until you came along.

Warnings/Content: NSFW, Minors do not interact, vaginal sex, creampie, angst, mentions of AoT final season episodes

A/N: You know it wouldn't be me if I didn't add a little angst in there. ;-). This story will have a final, third part.

Act 1 | Act 3

“Levi! Levi! You’re needed in hair and makeup in 5 minutes.” His assistant knocked on the locked door of his trailer.

“Yeah…yeah..I’ll be right there. We’re just working on a script analysis.”

Levi currently has you hoisted up against the small kitchen counter, his pants down around his ankles as he’s pounding into you. You’re both sweaty and disheveled, and definitely not doing script analysis of any kind. 

“Don’t go, not yet..” you purr into his ear before nibbling on his earlobe. 

“God, I wish I didn’t have to.” He grabs the sides of your waist and starts thrusting even harder, his breathing becoming short and erratic. His climax comes intensely, even with a quickie like this. It’s just how his body reacts with you, he can’t explain it.

He lays his head on your shoulder. “You vixen, see what you do to me?” He looks down at his watch. “Shit, I’m gonna be late. Aaliyah is gonna kill me.”

He pulls on his pants, runs his hands through his hair, and gives you a quick kiss. “I’ll see you on set later.”

A sigh escapes his mouth as he leaves his trailer. What the hell is going on with him?

Levi had always prided himself on being a professional. He took his job seriously and others respected him for it.

He was sad that Attack on Titan was coming to a close; he’d met some of his dearest friends through the show and it allowed him to make a true living from acting. On the other hand, it had catapulted him into a spotlight he never truly wanted. The paparazzi, the tabloids, the constant prying into his personal life - it drove him mad sometimes.

The press was always trying to pair him with his female co-stars. If he was seen having dinner or even a coffee with any of them, suddenly they were a couple and the rumors would fly. Sure, he’d had some flings here and there, but nothing serious, and certainly nothing he wanted the public to know about.

Between filming Attack on Titan and his various other film projects throughout the year, Levi barely had time for romance or a relationship anyway.

And then he met you.

His first impression of you was that you were cute. But there was no shortage of pretty faces in this industry, and he wondered if you were just another one of those young actresses chosen more for their looks than skill.You fit the physicality and persona of the character of Anna well: you had a timeless, classic look about you that fit perfectly with the 1920’s time period and bright, beautiful eyes. In fact, it was your eyes that he first noticed, because he could see every emotion you were feeling through them. As time went on he’d get to know you better, and would learn how to read your emotions through your eyes. You were like an open book.

Any concern about your skill was quickly dismissed the first time he rehearsed with you. You were serious and hard-working, and you had done your homework on your character. Initially he’d offered to spend time with you because he wanted you to feel comfortable with him, but as the days passed he found that he just ‘clicked’ with you.

He’s not sure when he began to desire more. Maybe it was that first intimate scene when you threw him off guard by taking his fingers in your mouth. More than likely, it was in the quiet moments you two shared together - reading lines to each other, the way you would bite your bottom lip when you were concentrating. Or when you’d rehearse blocking, feeling your warm body against his, weaving your fingers together as your characters held hands.

When he felt himself get hard while shooting the sex scene, Levi knew he was in deep. It was the first time that he’d just allowed himself to lose control, for a brief moment. But seeing you there, your beautiful body displayed before him, your eyes wild and yearning, he couldn’t help himself. Even rubbing against you like that felt like a dream; and then you moaned his name in his ear…

God, he’d loved that. He’s not sure how he was even able to stay in character. Maybe he hadn’t. It was all starting to get mixed up.

——

Levi leaves his trailer to find Aaliyah, his assistant, waiting for him with her arms crossed and a to-go cup of tea in hand.

“Seriously, Levi?” she huffs, handing him his tea. “A locked door again?”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. We just…needed privacy for the blocking.”

“I thought it was script analysis?” Her eyebrow raises.

They stop walking and stand in front of the makeup trailer. “Right..script analysis AND blocking. Thanks for the tea - is this English Breakfast?” He sips the drink, attempting to change the subject.

“Levi, it’s been four weeks of locked-door-script-analysis-blocking-whatever…I know what’s going on between you too.”

Aaliyah moves closer. “And it’s fine. You’re both adults, do whatever you want. But don’t get too distracted.” She puts a hand on his shoulder. “And people are starting to talk. I know you hate that.”

It’s true, the last four weeks he had been distracted. He just couldn’t get enough of you; or rather, you couldn’t get enough of each other. He loved kissing you, holding you, being between your legs. But he also just loved being with you: your loud laugh, your ability to make everything a dumb song, your kind and caring nature. Everything about you was just magic to him.

And he should have known people would start talking: the chemistry was undeniable between you two. The following week included shooting scenes of the two characters being hopelessly in love. There were montage shots of the both of you lying naked in a field, him brushing over your hip bones with flowers; next, it was swimming in the creek, your wet summer clothes clinging to your body as he teased you to jump from the rock; another yet was the two of you reading by firelight in his cabin, your legs propped on his lap as you both laughed at the story. Watching the two of you act together was like watching something intimate and special; even crew members that didn’t work that day would come and observe.

At the end of the day, one of you would end up in the other’s room, opting to be with each other rather than go out with any other cast and crew members. People probably were talking, but for the first time in a long time, Levi wasn’t thinking about what others thought - he was just doing what felt good and right in the moment. For a seasoned actor such as Levi, it was reckless and selfish…

…and very likely driving his assistant Aaliyah crazy.

“If this gets out, the rumors may overshadow the publicity events we have set up for Attack on Titan next week. Just..be cautious,” she warns with a concerned look on her face.

——

The following week, the film’s final, pivotal scenes were scheduled to be shot. Since these concentrated mainly on Anna and her husband, Levi had some free time that his publicist decided to fill with some promotions for Attack on Titan’s final season. Filming wrapped for the last episode months ago, but he and a few others were also called in for some last minute voice over work. Interviews, talk shows, and social media events were the least favorite part of the job for him, but he happily obliged to be able to see some of his closest friends again.

As he boarded the plane he thought about you, like he often did these days. Maybe he could bring you to some of the AoT premiers and introduce you to Erwin, Hange, and the others. It surprised him: he was planning a future with you after filming. He’d never done that with anyone before and it honestly scared him a little.

When Levi arrives at the studio where AoT is filmed and edited, he instantly feels like he’s at home. So many memories shared with such amazing actors. Only a few minutes pass before he sees a familiar face.

“Oh shit.”

“Levi fucking Ackerman.” Zeke steps out of the sound booth. “Look at you, still have a tea in your hand and a scowl on your face. I think you’re becoming more like your character every time I see you.”

“Well I drank it so much on set it just became a habit. But hating you might be the other thing I grew accustomed to.”

They both stare at each other intensely then break out into laughter. Levi reaches out to shake his hand. “Damn, I’ve missed sparring with you. How’ve you been?”

“Good, man. Can’t complain. You?”

“Not bad, not bad. Good to be back in the studio with you all. I’ve missed this.”

“But you missed me most of all, right?” Zeke puts an arm around Levi.

“I never get a chance to miss you, Zeke. They always put us in interviews together.” Levi laughs. “Did you see we’re doing the Vanity Fair one next month?”

Zeke nods as he walks down the hallway with Levi. “Yep. And then we have the WIRED one in a few weeks where we read the google searches about us. I wonder how many of mine will be monkey related.”

“I had to do one of those Tik Tok Challenges with the kids yesterday. God, I shouldn’t call them kids anymore, they’re all in their 20’s now. Anyway, it made me feel incredibly old.”

“Speaking of being old…” Zeke's eyes shine with mischief, “what’s a grandpa like you doing with that new, young co-star? Please tell me she’s single.”

“She wouldn’t be interested in you. She’s definitely not your type.” Levi found himself getting defensive. “And I’m not that old.”

And Zeke saw it immediately. “Ah, fuck. You’re into her.”

“Oh come on…” Levi tries to blow it off with a wave of his hand.

“No no - I’ve worked with you long enough to know that look. But good for you, man.” Zeke pats him on the back. “Press is gonna have a field day with it, though. I can speak from experience. And then there’s the constant juggling of schedules, trying to find time to see each other. You’re in your prime and she’s just starting out - who knows when you’ll ever have time for one another, especially with the schedule we’re about to have. It can strain a relationship.”

Levi’s schedule was packed the rest of the day with recording and media events, but Zeke’s words had planted a seed of doubt in his heart, and it had him troubled. He was right, dating another actor is difficult, especially if they’re both steadily working. Was getting in a relationship the best thing right now, even if it felt so right? Were you both rushing into something neither of you were prepared for?

____

Levi returned to set later that week, his mind a jumbled mess of thoughts and worries. It was late, but he’d texted you to say he was on his way so you were more than likely waiting up for him.

When he arrives to your room, you practically jump into his arms. “I missed you.”

“It was only a week,” He chuckles, then squeezes you a little tighter. “I missed you too.”

You grab his hand and lead him out of the foyer. There were candles lit and a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table.

“What’s all this?” he asks.

“I have big news.” Your face is beaming and you grab both his hands. “Remember that series I auditioned for before we started filming?” She pauses, building up the tension. “Well…I got it. I got the part!”

This was big. It was a huge HBO series that was already being talked about before casting had even started. Actors from all over were competing for roles, so the fact you got a part just solidified for Levi what he already knew:

Your star was rising.

“That’s amazing! I’m so, so proud of you. You deserve it.” He hugs you tightly.

You pour the wine and give Levi a glass. “I just can’t even believe it. First this role, and now the series? It’s happening all so fast.” You clink glasses with him and take a sip. “I’ll have like two weeks at home and then I fly out to London for costume fittings.”

Levi can feel the excitement radiating off you. “When does filming start?”

“In two months. It’s being filmed in Iceland, so I’ll be spending the rest of the year there, from the looks of it.”

His heart sank. He knows how the industry works, and he wasn’t naive enough to think that they could be together forever. He just wasn’t ready for this all to end yet.

“But I have some breaks in between, I think.” You’ve already got your phone out and are looking through your calendar and appointments. “You’ll probably be doing a lot of publicity for the final part of AoT, so maybe we can try to coordinate our breaks to be together?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave for Japan after we wrap here for the start of the publicity tour, then Europe and the U.S. once the final episode comes out. It’s gonna be difficult.” There’s a worried look in your eyes so he cups your cheek. “We can talk about it later. Right now, we have some celebrating to do!” He takes a drink of the wine and gives you a reassuring smile.

That night, he makes love to you softly and lovingly, kissing down your chest, your hips, your thighs. He wants to take in every part of you, treasure every moan and sigh. While you sleep in his arms, he runs his fingers through your hair. He wishes they could stay in this room forever, that the filming for this movie would never end. But the real world - and their careers - are waiting, and it’s not slowing down, for either of you.

It’s selfish of him to want you for himself. He knows that this film will bring a lot of attention for you and that will bring more and more jobs. To ask you to be with him, to make time for him, it isn’t fair to you.

Plus, he’s quite a bit older than you are. He can already hear the tabloids having a field day with that one. They would probably blame your rising celebrity on being with him. You don’t need that kind of negative attention.

He feels a heaviness in the pit of his stomach, fearing what is inevitable.

____

The final scene of the film is shot deep in the mountains, where Levi’s character has moved. In the script, he’s left the estate in order to escape his feelings for Anna, but in the end, she leaves her husband and seeks her lover, choosing to be with him.

It’s a beautiful moment. The sun is just rising over the mountains as you walk towards the cabin. Levi turns around and sees you, but neither of you say anything. The wind whips your hair across your face as you approach him, and he pushes it back, cupping your cheek and bringing you in for a kiss. All the crew watches in silence.

“And cut! That was perfect, you two.” The Director gets up to face the crew. “And that’s a wrap, everyone!”

There’s applause, then the crew starts taking apart equipment and loading it into trucks. You look at Levi and smile. “I guess that’s it then.”

Crew members start coming by to congratulate you both and to spread information about the wrap party later that night. Levi wants to get you alone, to talk with you privately, but you’ve already been whisked off by your assistant.

You ride together back to town in the same car, but since you’re not alone, Levi decides to text you:

Can we talk when we get back to the hotel?

Sure. <3, was your reply.

____

Levi’s palms are sweaty and his heart races as he waits for you in his room. When you knock, he opens the door to see your beautiful, smiling face. He can feel his heart breaking already.

“Sit down. We need to talk.”

“Ok,” you sit down next to him and he takes your hand, “what’s up?”

He knows he has to just say it, even though it’s hard. There’s no way to ease into it. “Now that filming has wrapped, I’m thinking we should cool things off.”

She pulls her hand away. “What do you mean, cool things off?”

“We had fun together, but once this is over we’ll be in two totally different parts of the world. It’ll be that way for a while.” He looks down. “You don’t need to worry about seeing me or being in a relationship.”

That makes her scowl at him. “Don’t put this on me, Levi. Because that is not what I want. I want to be with you,” she pauses, searching his face, “I thought you wanted that too.”

“I-“ he thinks carefully about what he should say next. “It’s not realistic.”

He looks into your eyes - those beautiful eyes he’s learned to read so well - and knows he’s hurt you deeply.

He cups your cheek. “You are such a talented actress. Working with you, getting to know you, has been the greatest experience the last few months. But you are about to do big things. You need to focus on your career, and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

“So this was just a fling for you? Something to pass the time?”

“Of course not.” Levi’s stomach is in knots. “I haven’t felt this way about someone since…God, I don’t know if I ever have. But I don't want to start a relationship I can’t give one hundred percent to. You deserve to be taken care of and treasured. I,” he struggles to say the words, “can’t give you that right now”

He sees a few tears running down your cheeks and he wipes them away with his thumb. Then he brings your forehead to his. If this is the right choice, why does it hurt so badly? He thinks to himself.

Levi expects you to yell or push him away, but you don’t. “What we had - it was good, wasn’t it?” you ask, sweetly and sadly.

His adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard, pushing down all the things he wants to say. “It was. Really good.”

He can still feel it - the pull you have on him. He tries to will himself to move, but he can’t, he doesn’t want to. You plant a soft kiss on his lips, then another. He opens his mouth and feels your soft tongue mingle with his, as the kisses grow more passionate.

Your leg moves across him and you now straddle his lap while Levi’s hands grab your ass, pulling you closer to him. You wrap your arms around his neck as you both continue to kiss and Levi’s hands move under your shirt to cup your breasts.

You begin to grind on top of him and Levi adjusts himself on the sofa so that his hardening cock can rub you exactly where you want it. God, he can’t get enough of your body.

There’s a sudden stop in your movements and then you’re hiking up your skirt and pulling off your underwear. In answer to your actions, Levi undoes his pants and pulls out his cock right as you sit back on him. In one fluid motion he slides into you; you’re already so wet but tight, so he wants to take it slow, but you won’t allow it. You raise up your hips so that only his tip is inside you and then you sit back down, taking him in fully.

You undulate on top of him and he can feel you tightening around his cock as you move. Maybe this is your way of punishing him or just a way to use him, but he doesn’t care. If he can be with you, just one more time, then he’ll let you do whatever you want.

He grabs your hips as you move up and down, your pace turning fast and relentless. When he leans in to kiss your neck, you push him away, forcing his back against the sofa. Your hands on his shoulders, there’s not much Levi can do other than let you have your way.

Neither of you say anything, not even through moans, but your sad eyes stay fixed on him. You’re so warm and so wet, Levi can feel one of those intense climaxes coming again for him.

He cums inside you, and a deep guttural moan escapes his lips. Your movements switch to a deeper grinding motion as you pursue your own end.

You lay your head in the crook of his neck as he puts his arms around you. Minutes pass and neither of you say a word or move a muscle.

He’s a fool to give this up.

“Goodbye, Levi.”

You get up, quickly slip your underwear back on and leave without another word.

——

Levi reluctantly goes to the wrap party later that night, only planning to show his face then get out of there as soon as possible. Maybe if he only stays for a brief moment, he won’t have to see you.

But then you show up with a few other cast members. He can tell you’re already drunk because you're talking loudly and hugging everyone. Either you haven’t noticed he’s there or you refuse to acknowledge him, and both pain him. He has to get out of here, but before he can make his exit he’s grabbed by the Director.

“Everyone, let’s give a round of applause for our two leads…hey where is our Anna? Get over here!”

You walk out of the crowd and stand next to Levi. As the Director pushes you two together, you smile and take turns thanking the crew and supporting cast. Your smile is radiant as you speak, but Levi notices one difference:

Your eyes, once so easily readable, were now closed off to him.

You work your way around the room and Levi decides he shouldn’t leave the party yet, especially since he thought a guy from the supporting cast was flirting with you. Jealousy begins to build up in his heart as he watches you from afar; you laugh, placing a hand on the man’s arm then pulling it away. Levi’s own hand grips his whiskey tightly before downing it in one shot.

When you’re finally by yourself and ordering another drink at the bar, he can’t resist walking over to you.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” he says with vitriol and a hint of inebriation in his voice.

You don’t look at him. “Yeah, that’s what you do at parties.”

“And you’re flirting with everyone here…is that what you do at parties too?” The words start falling out and he does nothing to stop them. “Looking for the next person you’ll fuck tonight?”

You turn your head at that last remark, as your eyes flash and shoot him a pained look. “You don’t get to judge who I talk to tonight,” you move closer to him, your voice lowered to a whisper as you speak, “or who I fuck.”

All he can do is watch as you turn your back to him and join your group at the table.

——

The next morning, Levi is awakened by a knock on his door.

“Levi! We need to leave in 30 minutes to catch the flight to Japan. I hope you’re packed in there,” Aaliyah says in an authoritative tone.

Levi rolls out of bed and grabs the water on his bed stand. He shouldn’t have drank so much last night, but it was the only way he could deal with seeing you. He’d refused to leave that party until he knew you went back to your room safely - and alone.

He opens the door to see Aaliyah waiting for him, tea in hand, as usual.

“Ugh, you look like shit. Please put these on.” She hands him her Rayban sunglasses.

As they walk down the hallway, Levi stops at your door and almost knocks. Maybe he can take back what he said last night; maybe they can make this work.

“She already left. A few hours ago.” Aaliyah puts a hand on his slumped shoulder. “Come on, we have a flight to catch.”

Levi sighs, then something shifts inside him. This is over. And he has work to do.

He puts on the sunglasses and prepares to face the growing crowd of fans that have heard he’s leaving the town today. “Right. Let’s go over my Japan schedule on the way to the airport.”

Join my taglist!

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[connabeth]

The first two episodes were wonderful and I really enjoyed the imagery and cinematography along with how every actor embodied the character but here are things I will complain about because I can:

1. I don’t want to see R*ck in it, why did they have to show his face…

2. Sally Jackson still just seems like a Random White Woman™️ to me. The acting was good but something just isn’t clicking for me. Also…the way she was a hardass on grover…i did not like it.

3. WHY WAS THERE BARELY ANY ANNABETH?? my girl is the star of the show!!! she’s supposed to be the one to show percy around camp and have that funny banter where he asks her questions and she answers all of them without answering at all, leaving him more confused than he was before. that was the best part of the intro chapters imo. WHY DID CH*RON TAKE HER PLACE???

3a. the full shot of a little percy standing next to chiron’s absolute wagon while walking into the hermes cabin still absolutely sends me 😭😭. it ALMOST makes up for a lack of annabeth

4. why was annabeth just hovering there in the infirmary and not nursing him like she did in the book😭 they rly made her stalk him instead of just being the person who introduced him to everything. in the book, he was already taking mythology lessons with annabeth by the time the quest came around. she didn’t feel quite as integrated into the narrative as she should’ve been. i did love how blunt she was though. she’s many things, but apparently a liar isn’t one of them.

5. clarisse didn’t call him prissy

6. why was smelly gabe so…sanitized. he’s a loser who doesn’t treat them well but his depiction also doesn’t live up to the abusive pos he really is. the interactions with him didn’t have the same gravity as they did in the books, they just seemed too lighthearted…he also should’ve looked greasier. i know abuse comes in many forms and doesn’t always reveal itself right away but he was a lot more of a pushover than i would expect him to be if sally stood up for herself

7. the plot about the hellhound that sets up luke as the traitor…simply vanishing. annabeth shoving percy’s ass into the water to figure out he can heal was funny though. would’ve been cooler if it healed a giant hellhound claw mark rather than a nick

8. percy doing some half-assed flossing on a rock alone while waiting to be maimed during capture the flag, not knowing who his dad is or if he’ll ever get his mom back is so fucking funny in the most miserably way but also…why is he a fortnite kid, this is supposed to be 2006 😭. the implication that annabeth is standing there silently watching him almost makes up for it. i can’t imagine what was going through her mind…like girl that’s your future husband good luck

[creatingblackcharacters]

also, if you don’t mind multiple submissions:

two other favorite Black characters of mine are Claudia and Louis from interview with the vampire (the show version)

(why did the photos crop so weirdly. if you click on them you should be able to see the full pictures lol) Bailey Bass and Delainey Hayles are both excellent as Claudia, and Claudia herself is a very interesting and tragic character. her anger at her situation and the people responsible for it is a hundred percent justified, and portrayed as such in the show. and she’s also one of, if not the most, sympathetic characters in interview with the vampire. she wants someone to choose her first for once in her life. she also has some of my favorite costumes in the whole show.

Louis! god I love him. I hope he gets a nice vacation or something in season 3. all of the actors, but especially Jacob Anderson, are so good at portraying the wide emotional range of the show. sad, funny, angry, soft, nostalgic, tragic, violent, romantic… all the characters are so delightfully complicated and messed up. including Louis! but at the same time, I can’t help but be on his side. his story about both enabling and escaping cycles of abuse is so well done, and very emotional.

also, a quote from Jacob Anderson on playing Louis: “I feel very proud to be a Black Creole vampire, in the show. I mean, I hope that all it does is opens the gates for more. Let’s tell more stories. Let’s be monsters! And enjoy it! Yeah, let’s be problematic. Give us the space to be a problem.”

Finally, somebody who actually said Louis! I will say, I do think it's interesting how the difference in how fandom treats these two exposes part of the very antiblackness that the show attempted to talk about. I wish more people actually like... Understood it. Claudia's not just "scary girl power" and "never did anything wrong". Louis isn't either 1) the Black lying monster that mistreated their white fave and their Token Black Girl Character or 2) again, "never did anything wrong". Understanding the racial context behind the storytelling makes it that much better. I cannot fathom what everyone was watching, if they did not see it.

And Jacob is right! Louis was such a complex character, and that was worth talking about! We deserve to have characters that cause that sort of discomfort, that take up that kind of space- and be valued for it! But people were so busy being some of the most overt racist shits ever to be worth having that conversation with 🤣 truly one of the worst fandoms I've ever attempted. Sorry to vent. Just don't get how you could have a show with two of the MCs being Black and somehow just... Not get it. So yes, every time someone likes Louis, I have faith that ah, okay, maybe some people walked away with some understanding of the assignment.

Hot Chocolate: That blonde boy that all those people love? Lestat de león whatever? Fuck that guy. Wholeheartedly

[xxmayxx05]

Love at first sight: Enzo vogrincic

Pairing: Enzo Vogrincic x Fem reader! Singer

Summary: You are invited to the premier of the movie of the Society of the snow. It was finally the night that you meet the handsome upcoming and rising actor Enzo. It's very surprising when you find out that he was a fan of you and your music. Both of you get very comfortable with each other in a short amount of time, and he decides to make his first move and not risk it.

Warnings: None!

Author's note: Hi guys! I hope you like my imagine! I was thinking about making this into a small series, please comment if you'd like that and send any requests, they are highly appreciate it! Please heart and reblog. Hope you guys like this story<3

____

Today, was the first big premiere that you have ever been invited to and you were excited about it. After your album hit number 1 in different platforms, you were finally getting the recognition that you truly deserved after working so many years behind the scenes in the music industry but now you were in your dream place. 

You were invited to the premiere for the movie “Society of the snow”. Your manager had gotten the invite to the premier due to the fact that your song was part of the soundtrack and that director of the movie J.A Bayona specifically asked you to be a guest in the premier, was a huge honor. When you wre recording studio,trying to write a song for the movie was bit of a hassle. Having to do your own research about the real life tragic events, you were truy inspired and wrote the song. 

J.A Bayona was truly amazed with the song that you have written for the movies soundtrack and now you were here in the premier. Your limousine pulled up slowly to the blue carpet premier, you saw some of the actors that you saw in the trailer but one caught your eye the most. 

His name was Enzo, you had remembered because J.A showed you photos of the cast when he had invited you out for dinner one day. You were mezmerized by how handsome he was and you couldn’t wait to be able to meet him one day. Now you were less than 10 feet away from him and he was even more handsome. You took a deep breathe when your manager opened the limousine door for you and helped you. 

The black satin dress hugged your every curve, your make up was done to perfection to bring out your eye color, you just felt more beautiful and confident with yourself. Walking up to the blue carpet, you turned to the paparazzi and let them take pictures of you. All you could hear was the screams of paparazzi, telling you where to look and the click of the cameras. Little did you know that you had caught the eye of the handsome man you were excited to meet tonight.  

—

Enzo was feeling nervous but happy that his most important project is about to be released, he was very proud of the cast, the production crew. Today was finally the day that everyone was waiting for. Looking at the cameras, and posing casually for the pictures. He turned his head to the left slightly and saw the most beautiful that he has ever seen. Her dress hugged her beautiful body, her hair slicked back in a loose bun, make up done to perfection, her plump lips looked so kissable. 

“Enzo, you are staring” Agustin said in a teasingly matter. 

“Shit” Enzo said and quickly looked at Agustin, when he had made eye contact with you. He softly blushed when you gave him a smile and went back to posing for the cameras. “She is here” Enzo whispered in Agustin’s ear and both of them began posing for the cameras. 

“Yeah, Bayona mentioned something about her coming” he said in his ear and wrapped his left arm around Enzo’s shoulder and kept smiling. Agustin knew that Enzo had the biggest crush on you, he kept raving about your album while they were filming the movie. He caught Enzo scrolling through your instagram and liking your pictures, he was a simp for you. 

“You better make a move before the end of the night” he told Enzo and patted his shoulder. Walking away with the rest of the cast. 

Enzo took a deep breath and nodded his head. He had to make a move, tonight what’s so ever.

—-

Finally making your way inside the theater after taking more pictures, did a couple of interviews, and finally meeting up with J.A. He lead you into the theater and stood by your side because he knew you didn’t know many people. 

“Do you want to meet the boys” he asked you as he hooked his arm with yours. You guys had known each other for sometime, so it was something that you guys always did when you hangout together. “Enzo is going to be very happy to see you” he teased and nodded his head when he saw the boys huddled up together talking. 

You look at where Bayona nodded his head and there he was. The guy that you had a small crush on. “Let’s see where this night takes me” you smiled at him and laughed softly when he immediately took you to where the cast was. 

“Guys, meet Y/N” He said as he presented you to the very tall handsom group of boys. 

One by one they greeted you with a kiss on the cheek and saying how big of fans they where to your music. The last one was Enzo. You both made intense eye contact and you were left breathless when he leaned down to kiss your cheek. His cologne and aftershave was a very calming scent to you and you didn’t know why. 

“Hi love” he said and kissed your cheek. Enzo felt a bit nervous on finally meeting you but thankfully the boys told him that you were coming there way and he gave himself a small pep talk to calm his nerves. You were more beautiful up close and you smelled like heaven, he really needed to make a move tonight or he would regret it. 

“Enzo right?” you asked, knowing that it was a risky question. 

“Yes I am” he said, his eyes widened a bit when he realized that you knew him. “Really big fan of your music” he said with a small smile. Enzo looked at the guys and he was thankful that they were all talking with Bayona and it was now him and you. 

“That’s very nice to hear” you smiled, feeling pride that he liked your music. “I’m going to release new music soon, hopefully I’m going on tour next year you told him with excitement. 

“I would love to go see you live, the boys and I would listen to your music during our filming break” he chuckled. He blushed softly when he heard you angeletic laugh. “Really it was me who would put your music” he decided to confess. 

“It’s very nice to know that you are an amazing fan” you said confidently. “Maybe you could come see my first show, I would love to see you there” you said with a smile. 

“It would be an honor to come and see you” Enzo said with a small chuckle. He was feeling even more confidence with himself and liked how comfortable you both were getting with eachother. “Would you like a drink?” he asked looked at the open bar. 

“Yes I would” you said softly both of you walked to the bar. He ordered you both a martini and clincked the glasses together softly as a little pre-celebration. “I’m very excited for the movie.” 

He smiled at you and he felt a lot of pride that the movie was finally going to be shown for everyone to see the incredible movie. Him and the boys went through a lot of hard training before going to the andes and filming in the cold. “Yes, so am I. we all worked very hard to complete this amazing story. It’s the first ever project or huge project that some of us have worked on. Hopefully we all get more opportunities in this industry.” he said and took a sip of his martini. 

“I agree with you on that, this industry is very difficult but i’m pretty sure that with this project you guys will succeed more than you think.” you gave him a heart warming smile. 

“Thank you, Linda” he said and leaned in kissing your cheek. Enzo felt like he needed to do it, hoping that it will show you that he felt someway about you. 

“No problem” you said a bit quietly and blushed softly. “I would like to invite you to one of my future shows” you said while pulling your phone out from your small clutch and handed it to him for him to type his number. 

 He grabbed you phone and type his number, he decided to take a little leap of faith and added a black heart at the end of his name. 

“Excuse me?, could i please take a picture of you both?” a random photographer said, surprising you both. Enzo looked at you with a little smile. 

“Of course” you told the photographer and blushed when you felt Enzo wrapping an arm around your waist. You stood closer to him and softly put a hand on top of his firm chest. Both of you smiled and the flash went of. “ Thank you guys” he said before walking away. 

You looked up at him and blushed when you realized that he was already smiling at you. “Here you go, Linda” he said and handed you the phone back. 

“Thank you” you said softly and leaned to get your drink. Both of you kept talking and finishing your drink. Completely getting even more comfortable with each other and his arm was around your waist the whole time. 

“Um, guy we have to head inside the theater” Bayona said when he came up to you both and was very pleased that you guys have gotten very close with each other in such short amount of time. 

“Alright, we will be right in” Enzo said as he put his glass back on the table and took yours when you handed it to him. “Let’s go?” he asked you, smiling softly at you. 

“Let’s go” you said and both of you started walking inside the theater, Enzo never removed his arm from your waist and lead you both to see the showing. 

—-

After almost three hours, the movie ended and everyone was heading out. You cried practically the whole entire time and Enzo comforted you along the way. 

“I’m sorry for crying the entire time” you laughed softly as you both walked out. He had offered to walk you to your driver. 

“It’s very understandable, it’s a very emotional ride” he said and looked down at you. Enzo say how your teeth were slightly chattering when the cold air unexpectedly hit you when you walked out of the theater. He removed his gray suit jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders. 

“Thank you” you said softly when you felt him covered your exposed arms. Both of you kept walking in a comfortable silence until you saw your driver stand by the limousine. “Well, this is where I go” you said with a chuckle and turned to him. 

“It was really nice meeting you, I hope we can see each other very soon” Enzo said and looked down at you. He loved the height difference that there was between you both. 

“I will make sure of it” you said and got on your tippy toes. Leaning in you kissed his cheek. “Goodnight Enzo” you said with a smile and turned to walk to the car. 

“Goodnight Linda” he said with a smile as he saw you walk to your car and go inside. Enzo was surprised when you kissed his cheek, he wished it would of been a real kiss but he was content with just a kiss on the cheek. He started walking back to meet the boys so that they could go back to the hotel to get ready for the interviews tomorrow. His phone buzzed softly in his pocket and he took it out. 

“I hope I could see you really soon, thank you for tonight… xo Lina” said the unknown number. He smiled and immediately save your number, typing your whole name with a red heart on the end. 

“I would like to take you out on a date tomorrow night, if you are available” he texted, biting his bottom lip at his bold move. 

“I’ll be waiting <3” you texted, right back. 

“Fuck yes” Enzo said to himself. He had a nice feeling about you and he didn’t want to loose this chance. He didn’t want to loose you. 

[nrilliree]

Tbh, everyone keeps saying they found the chemistry between Matt and Milly very hot but personally, I feel very grossed out every time they were together, even on the bridge of Dragonstone. Idk but knowing the dynamic between them as well as the age gap between the actors, it just grosses me out. As for Emma not having a good chemistry with Matt, I think it was intentional. It was supposed to be wooden and mechanical, because Rhaenyra is no longer a child, therefore an object of fascination to Daemon. Now Rhaenyra is older, a mother of 3. She's much grown but still idolizes him. He uses her again, this time mostly to fulfill his thirst for power for the Iron Throne, whereas he previously desired her for both power and pedophilic attraction. A lot of people ship Daemyra are either unaware or being completely aware that it's a relationship between an abuser and his victim. The power dynamic is off kilter and very skewed. I really hope the scene below in season 2 will open their eyes. Better late than never.

https://www.tumblr.com/softsweetmela/751555613328310272/can-i-just-say-how-refreshing-it-is-to-have-a?source=share

And these people think they are intelligent ? Not only do they sound completely ridiculous, but they also disgust me for being happy to follow and adhere to the showrunners' misguided view of adding physical violence to the Daemyra relationship. And once again, the definition of grooming and pedophilia is available in one click on the internet. It amazes me to see so many of our people use such important and serious big words in a situation that absolutely does not lend itself to it. Also, history books and / or historical research to understand what a historical context is and what it implies are not for dogs.

I would really like to understand what they see as grooming in the show ?

Nothing inappropriate is suggested on Daemon's side as long as Rhaenyra is not of age by the standards of Westeros and our modern standards.

He is literally in a relationship with Mysaria.

He is introduced to us as not often at court and has his own affairs to manage between first his work as leader of the goldcloaks and then his quarrels with Viserys.

The fact that he gives Rhaenyra a simple necklace is not proof of grooming. It mostly seems like a nod to the many gifts mentioned that he always gave Rhaenyra upon returning from his travels, as well as emphasizing their deep connection in comparison to their relationship with Viserys.

Rhaenyra seems to have a crush on Daemon, but Daemon doesn't seem to do anything inappropriate about it.

The only moment where Daemon finally seems to have an real ambiguous interest in Rhaenyra before episode 4 is in episode 2, on the bridge, when he sees 15-year-old Rhaenyra (I remind you that at this age, girls in Westeros are considered marriageable) making her flash and she defeats him.

Then, he found her years later when she was 19 and they spent an evening together where he seduced her and she very willingly let herself be seduced, and in the end, Daemon can't even go through with it his objective which yes, certainly, was not very noble.

But to call it grooming ? WTF ?

Not to mention the fact that Rhaenyra's age, from episode 1, disqualifies her from being able to belong to the definition of pedophilia in the case of Daemon.

As you said, we could talk about ephebophile, but there is in fact no tangible proof, especially because we are in a different historical context compared to the vision of the age, but also because Daemon was in couple with adult women both according to Westeros society and our modern society.

He was in a relationship with Mysaria, an adult, married an adult Rhaenyra, did not seem to be put off by Laena when she was an adult, and in the cut scenes, Daemon literally fucked an adult man.

So no. Even ephebophile doesn't work. Daemon is simply a man who lives in a feudal society where age is not perceived as in ours and overall he has relationships with individuals of any type of age as long as these people are legal according to the standards of his society (book or show) which... is not technically shocking.

Again, the people who are offended have probably never opened a history book, done historical research, or even taken basic history classes.

That or they are stupid or deliberately obtuse.

Again, the definitions of grooming and pedophile are freely available on the internet.

There is no excuse for such a lack of logic / common sense in my eyes.

I would also dare to add that all this is probably also due to an increasingly ridiculous hypocritical purity culture in media analysis... Which for some reason is becoming more and more important.

It's not for nothing that most people giving this kind of speech about Daemyra / Daemon are mainly TG (so Aegon II stans, among other disgusting things...), Team Smalfolk and or Alicent stans after all...

The fact is that I'm tired of seeing these stupid people show off their science with big words to give themselves moral superiority, while the definitions are very easily found... And I don't understand that so many people can adhere to this bullshit.

TG stans really don't like it when you accuse them of their lack of logic and knowledge of the definitions of the words they so eagerly use. Just look:

They will use any argument, even the most absurd and strange, just to justify themselves and make themselves look better. All the time, they create themselves and their favorites as victims of the system, and they strive to show that TB are just as bad or even worse.

Aegon is a rapist? Daemon is a pedophile and rapist! Aemond is a psychopath, a bully and a murderer? Rhaenyra's children are spoiled bastards who are just like Joffrey, they have no feelings and are completely bully! Alicent is a lying traitor with no real honor? Rhaenyra is a lying whore!

It gets to a point where they have run out of arguments and the fact that "Daemon had an affair with Nettles" is not enough and can be disproved by "Daemon may be Nettles' father" that now they are creating a theory that… Daemon is her father, he knows it and at the same time has an affair with her :P!

They just want to feel like they're the good guys. That's why they slander TB, compare TG to the Stark family from GoT (and TB to the Lannisters), create their strange theories and cast slander, and then react aggressively when you disagree with them. Because they probably know that TG are the "bad guys" and they don't like it.

I block them, but when I see a real absurdity that got into my searches through the filter, sometimes I can't let it go :P They will still be outraged and portray themselves as persecuted victims, so what? Let them live in their imaginary world, the series will end one day and they will be left with nothing.

[lizziethat]

do you think jiara was rushed this season? or forced? i’m seeing so many people say that even people who like jiara so i want to know what you think about that.

LOOK I GOT THINGS TO SAY. And I'm going to preface this by saying, you don't have to like Jiara. No one has to like any ship. Or any show. And we all do have different preferences re: things like pacing or tropes, which make it so we like one ship more than another.

But rushed? In comparison to ...what? Jarah took like 0.2 seconds. Cleo and Pope took less than a season. And they both objectively work. JJ and Kiara were established as friends -- very, very good friends -- in Season 1, a season which also very much establishes JJ is attracted to Kiara and Kiara is at least interested in JJ's possible reaction to her kissing John B. Then Season 2 deepens their friendship, establishes she'd literally run away with him (surf trip), has Kiara standing up to Luke for JJ's sake, JJ standing in front of a machete-wielding man for Kiara, and Kiara jumping of a ship to save JJ. After that, we have a time jump ...and they've spent that month together, every second of the day, on a deserted island with no one but the other Pogues.

On TV, that's a loooot of setup. And it's not like they even jump to a relationship then, and we didn't see it. No, they have their almost moment, JJ panics, they communicate -- badly, then there's some angst, and then they come together. For me, the pacing is pretty solid -- even if I think we would have benefited from seeing some of the island moments because there is a very clear shift from the end of S2 to the beginning of S3 we aren't privy to.

And forced? I understand this one less. Forced was John B. and Kiara, just because he's the "lead" and she's the only girl in the friend group. Forced was Pope and Kiara, who barely had any romantic chemistry other than his longing glances. JJ and Kiara, on the other hand, is the thing that built up naturally to the point that fans, actors, and writers alike had to take notice. It's a romance built out of chemistry. And, storytelling-wise, what's less forced than falling for one of your friends? That's the most common romantic trope ever because it's the most common thing ever! Friendship grows into love a lot of the time. That's the opposite of forced. It's just that, with John B. and Pope, the chemistry wasn't up to the story and with JJ and Kiara, it all clicked.

[thealogie]

hi! can you pitch true detective season 1 for those of us (maybe just me and my partner lol) that started watching the latest season, got interested in the lore, tried s1 and got severe whiplash from what felt like very edgelord, male gaze-y vibes? the lead actors are good but the first ep failed to hook us bc of aforementioned vibes. is it worth another shot/are we misreading it? i trust your taste and opinions (watched and loved mash bc of your posts), thank you in advance if you answer :)

First of all good to know that the latest season is good. It looks intriguing to me and I’ve heard mixed-to-positive things about it, so I’ll have to give it a try. I trust a fellow mash-enjoyer

Second, I can’t promise you’ll love it but I would say definitely give it another shot because I had the EXACT same reaction as you the first time I tried to get into it and then years later it clicked for me that I had been misreading it and I loved it. First time I watched every time Rust said one of his angsty fake deep college freshman lines I was like “white man im going to KILL you?” and Marty is just an insufferable misogynist. I kind of tuned out after the first couple of episodes and just saw bits and pieces as my friends watched it. And then years later I rewatched the first few episodes (and watched the whole thing for the first time) it really clicked for me from the get go that the show is very very aware of how terrible they are and that the show has a deep sense of humor about both of their special brands of bullshit.

it’s really a story that’s self-aware about the toxic masculinity. Rust, like, does believe some of the shit he says but then you see it’s not the narrative being like “ooooh dont you love our edge lord guy.” It’s like…this man is clinically depressed and traumatized and has built up some insane life philosophy to protect himself. Marty sucks in much more straightforward “masculinity can kill you” ways. And they both cling on to the idea that maybe if they solve this one case that’ll be their salvation. It’s also the story about the friends (or boyfriends) we make along the way.

Anyway it’s been many years since I watched so stay tuned for more nuanced and informed views. These are just my memories of the show. I remember there’s a point at which it fully clicks that the show is more than it seems at first but I don’t quite remember where the is yet

[a-queenoffairys]

Code Lyoko Dialogue Stats

A while ago, I got curious about how much of the dialogue in Code Lyoko is spoken by each of the main characters, and how often some of them might get sidelined compared to others. I decided a quick way to find out would be to write a script to analyse all the fanmade episode transcripts and tally up the line and word count for each character.

So I did just that! And I ended up with a bunch of statistics I find pretty interesting. Image descriptions are in the alt text.

Ranking main characters across the original series

Jeremie was the clear winner when it came to the amount of dialogue everyone has. And it makes sense, given how he's the one who does the most work helping Aelita and trying to find ways to counter XANA, as well as acting as the group's guide on Lyoko, so he's much more likely to be able to get to the factory and help the others deactivate the tower.

Aelita and Yumi scored pretty low especially in the first two seasons, namely because Aelita spent all of season 1 stuck on Lyoko, and Yumi was in a different class to Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie. This meant that both of them had fewer chances to interact with the rest of the cast. Aelita in season 2 is a bit more strange, as she was living on Earth permanently but she just didn't appear in many of the classroom scenes. If there's some sort of explanation for this, I don't know what it is.

It was Odd who had the most lines spoken in a single episode, and that episode was Triple Trouble. So yeah, it's understandable he would have way more dialogue than everyone else in an episode where there are three of him running around.

Dialogue stats per season

Something of note here is how the average word and line count increase quite a bit by season 4. Season 4 is known for audio quirks such as the occasional sped-up voice line and sometimes cutting off syllables or entire words from the characters' sentences. People tend to think this was due to the English dub struggling to match the French lip flaps, but did you know the sped-up dialogue is present in the original French version too? I can't say for certain, but my theory is they did this because season 4's episodes were so densely packed with dialogue, they had trouble fitting it all in.

I think this shows just how big a role secondary and background characters had in season 1 compared to the other seasons. Speaking of which, Jim was the most talkative secondary character in the series, followed by Sissi.

Ranking main characters in Evolution

Once again Jeremie is the clear winner, by a wider margin this time. I have to give his actor credit for doing so many scenes where he was sitting alone in a chair pretending to talk to someone on Lyoko or the phone.

It's nice to see Aelita and Yumi moving up the rankings, but also disappointing that secondary characters have such a small role. Without more prominent secondary characters around to create interpersonal drama, I feel Evolution's writers would often turn to creating drama between the main characters instead, even when it didn't seem like it made sense for them to be upset at each other. Jim and Laura make up the bulk of the secondary character dialogue; all the other characters score very low.

Another thing to note is how low William scored. Even if you don't count the episodes prior to him officially joining the group, there are still a number of episodes where he only has about 4 to 6 lines - low scores not seen since Aelita was materialised at the end of season 1.

This graph is mostly the same as the previous one, but now with Evolution added and William separated from the other secondary characters in seasons 2-4.

Full data

If you click the link below you'll find the full spreadsheet with my methodology and full dialogue breakdowns for every episode, season, main character and top secondary characters, for both Code Lyoko and Evolution. Enjoy!

[gigawatt-conduit]

More actor!AU headcanons for RWBY, continuing off from part 1

• much of Ruby's blowup took shape the day of shooting. Jaune wrote the episode with some of her edits and she was hitting it, but something felt off to both of them+the director. she eventually was like, "hey, this feels like a speech, right?" and it clicked for all 3 of them. It couldn’t be a speech, it had to be rambling, like she was angry and finally let it out. With that in mind, she nailed it in two takes

• to go along with that: J+R's argument was improv'd. Jaune generally wrote "they have a fight," and they kicked ideas back and forth over text. There's a version shot where she hits him at the end, but they pulled back cuz it didn't feel like Ruby

• training for the RWBY/AO fight of V7 was done in the same room as ORNJ v Neo, and sometimes Nora would heckle them (or Ruby/Harriet doing the heckling). One time Nora and Jaune did fighting game commentary and made Weiss burst out laughing as she hit Marrow w her play sword

• from V2-onwards there's at least one point in the season, usually towards the very end, where Blake just takes her ears home with her and doesn't even realize it until she's halfway back to her place.

(B: not every sea--

W: every. Season. Sometimes it happens twice!)

• Ren had to braid his hair in V7+8 because it kept blowing in his face during 5+6, and he also lost a bet with Yang

• as each season is airing, the gang texts Weiss video compilations they find online of her eating shit, and she saves them on a playlist for when she's feeling sad

• Neo+Ruby took acting classes together and were actually good friends. Ahead of V9's back half, Neo texted Ruby saying "I'm gonna fuck you up" and Ruby said, "yaaaaaaaay :D"

• Pyrrha shot her V9 scenes+her RWBY/JL cameo in the same day, and was utterly geeked to find out she got to emotionally devastate her good friend and her boyfriend hours apart from each other

(J: the morning before shooting, she texted me, “I’ll ruin your day later babe! Kbyeeeeeee”

P: *nods while smiling*)

• Jaune tried to do his best to grow out his hair and beard for Old Man Jaune to make it easier on the makeup dept. they eventually had to get a beard because his wasn't properly "old" in time for shooting

• reading her segments of V9's back half made Ruby cry. She showed up to Summer's scenes and cried harder, and they got a picture together. Yang also got one w summer+raven individually, then all of them+Tai

• RWBY's mirror convos were shot as such: first, they'd do the scene in their current outfits, then again in their old ones. One of the other girls would stand in as the other version

• Nora turned out to be pregnant towards the end of V8's shooting, which kinda prompted her being on Vacuo side of things/her+Ren not being in 9 p much at all

• the scene where the Paper Pleasers "die" and Jaune goes "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" had to be reshot like 3 times because Yang broke and cackled at his anguish over paper people

[orionsangel86]

I would like to hear your GOmens opinions! I feel like the fandom is a mix of reasonable and bathshit dumb opinions.

Oh nonny I don't know if you truly do! My opinions are controversial at minimum and likely to get me cancelled by GO fandom at most!

*deep breath* Okay you asked for it. Don't come at me when you don't like what I have said.

I'll put this under a cut cos it'll no doubt get long and ranty and look fair warning to anyone clicking read more, these are JUST one person's opinions. We can disagree on those things. I'm not going around screaming at people that they are wrong and I've kept this all very close to my chest for a very long time now. So please take that with a pinch of salt before you decide to read my rant.

*sigh* this is probably a bad idea but here goes...

The thing is, I love analysing TV and film and literature, and I take an analytical view of things where I try to set myself apart as much as possible from the highly emotional volatile fandom response. (I dont always succeed in this but I try).

One thing I always stress is that characters in TV shows or movies are *not real people* and therefore you can't apply real people sensitivities to them. They are instead frankenstein mixes of what the creative team wants them to be, and every little decision about the characters is carefully thought out. Intention and interpretation matters. My view on a character is not an invalidation of a real persons identity. If I say a character is not X, that does not mean I think that real people who are X are not valid, or that I don't believe in their real life identity. Is this all clear so far? Okay.

Representation also matters and I have seen Good Omens fandom tie themselves up in a frenzie of policing fans and call out posts accusing anyone who wants more from AziraCrows relationship a whole multitude of x-phobics depending on the buzzword of the day. To the point that these fans have convinced themselves that a kiss or love declaration or ANYTHING from AziraCrow that would be considered more explicit than what we got in Season 1 is something they DON'T want because somehow that would take away from the *x-identity rep* theyve decided to claim as canon. But sadly these fans have rather deluded themselves because none of those identities are *canon* in season 1. Even the claims that AziraCrow are gender non conforming non binary etc are not *canon* because *canon* means that any dumbass regular audience member could watch the thing and say "oh. That character is x". Yes Crowley is Nanny Asteroth for a time, but a general audience is just going to view that as male Crowley in drag. Sorry but its the truth. They see David Tennant playing Crowley, they see a male actor playing Crowley, they are gonna view Crowley as a male. Unless it is textually stated by Crowley that he isn't male, then they aren't gonna get it and it isn't the rep you want it to be, because representation should mean that everyone ELSE also notices and learns to understand about those marginalised identities.

Take Sandman. Very gay. Very very gay. So gay that people from the dumbass general audience (the DGA going forward) went online to complain about it being gay because the gay was so very obvious to them, so obvious in fact they claimed *every* character in Sandman was gay and having gay sex and I'll be honest it left me rather disappointed when Morpheus didnt fuck Hob Gadlings brains out in episode 6 like he clearly wanted to, but I digress.

Take OFMD, Jim is a canonical non binary character and the show makes this clear in the canon text without ever having Jim say they are "non binary" or have the clumsy awkward explanation that is clearly for the DGA about it, but instead the conversation flows naturally - are you a woman? I don't know. Are you a man? I don't know. I'm just Jim. Okay Just Jim. We will refer to you by they/them pronouns now. It's all cool.

But Crowley and Aziraphale are characters played by male actors who always use he/him pronouns. Even as Nanny Asteroth no one ever refers to the nanny as "she". So its not clear to the DGA. Them being asexual may be a valid headcanon, but its not canon if its never mentioned. If at some point someone said something to Zira about sex and he said "oh I don't go in for that sort of thing" then sure, that's got some canon merit to it, but otherwise Good Omens can NOT be applauded for being good asexual representation on television.

If your general audience of braindead heteronormative idiots isnt seeing it, its not technically canon. Its implied, subtextual, queer coded, hinted at, etc, but not *canon*. Its not gonna get a GLAAD nomination for representation and a bunch of queer journalists writing articles about it if its only *subtext*.

I don't recall any of the queer media people applauding Good Omens for being queer representation. I recall them all sort of scratching their heads being like "is it...?" and I recall a lot of people getting rather annoyed because NG took a stance online proclaiming that it was an obvious love story when really, from just watching the show... it kind of wasn't?

God this is gonna get me so much hate... *sigh* okay look. I adore season 1. I was totally with you guys celebrating how queer it all seemed to me and loving NGs responses on Twitter to anyone questioning the "friendship" between Az+Crow. I was also online getting wrapped up in the fandom echo chamber claiming it was 100% canon and anyone who didn't see it was a homophobic moron or whatever... yeah... but I've grown up a lot since 2019 surprisingly - the whole Destiel going "canon" and then getting shoved forcefully back into the metaphorical closet was a big eye opener and everything changed after November 5th 2020.

Suddenly, what Az+Crow had in season 1 wasn't enough anymore. It should never have been enough to begin with. I recall my very first watch and how I was seeing all the subtext and coding and clear romantic tropes build and build and then we got to that final scene in the ritz and all I wanted was for them to take each others hands, I watched with eager anticipation and... it didn't happen. I can vividly recall the disappointment I felt at that moment. I didn't need a kiss, or a declaration, but I wanted them to hold hands in that scene. They got so close! Zira leans in and places his hand on the table right by Crowley and my GOD it was like being edged without the pay off. I hated it. I HATED it because it would have been SO EASY but they didn't do it.

I also recall getting quietly annoyed at NG for claiming they held hands on the bus. I watched the slowed down zoomed in gifs of that moment and sorry, but no. They don't. Even if the actors actually DID hold hands, the camera doesn't pick it up clearly enough for it to mean a damn thing.

I totally understand people claiming that Az+Crow are already queer. It's totally valid to see yourself in them and want them to represent you. But the painful truth is that in season 1 of the show, they aren't anything of what you claim them to be. They are two characters who are male presenting who are very good friends to the point that its all a bit homoerotic. The DGA isn't gonna take any time to think about the complexities of angel and demon gender or the lack thereof, they are only gonna see two male actors playing said angel and demon. They aren't gonna think about you and your identity, and they aren't gonna pick up the subtext even if it is painfully obvious. Because they won't see it as gay unless it is explicitly gay.

But Saz, why should we care what the DGA thinks?

Because thats what this whole argument has always been about. Because that's what canon means. No one, not even the DGA are arguing today about whether or not Castiel is gay. No one in the DGA is arguing about Stede and Blackbeard, or Lucius. No one is arguing about the Corinthian or Johanna Constantine. They see that these characters are queer, they accept it. Simple. Because of this, it counts towards representation. Because it normalises our identities. By putting our identities into mainstream stories in such a way that they are unavoidable for the DGA, THAT is what representation is.

When characters and stories keep our identities buried in subtext and allusions and queer coding which quite frankly should have been left in the hays code era, it doesn't count towards representation, no matter what your fandom echo chamber may scream into the void. Or, for that matter, what your creator and fantasy genre author may claim in the void either.

Word of God may help us in a lot of ways, but if they aint putting it into the actual text, then word of god is meaningless in terms of representation as well. Disney claiming Valkyrie was bisexual doesn't mean a damn thing if she never discusses her bisexuality or has any scenes where she shows interest in the same sex. Thankfully that changed in the latest movie, but for a long time it was a problem.

Okay then. So what am I saying? Was NG queerbaiting us with AziraCrow in season 1?

No. Gods I hate that word. Queerbaiting is only occurring when the creators involved maliciously add queer subtext with the explicit intention of gaining popularity among queer audiences specifically with no intention to reward them by actually making those characters queer.

Now, I may not agree with people who claim Crowley and Aziraphale are explicitly queer in season 1, but I also don't think NG ever intended GO to be a queer show. He made GO to be a popular fantasy show as a last wish for his friend Terry Pratchet. He made it extremely faithful to the book in every way (in some ways, to the detriment of the show) and that includes keeping AziraCrows relationship in safe platonic territory. Yes he ramped up the romantic subtext, but I fully believe that this was because he had already decided he was going to further develop the story if season 1 was a hit, but I don't think for a second that he predicted that it would gain such massive traction in queer fandom circles.

No malicious intent to utilise the queer community, no queerbaiting. So lets just stamp down on that accusation once and for all. It's bullshit.

But that changes in season 2. So here is where I have been getting annoyed at GO fandom lately with all this "we don't need it to be explicit! A kiss would invalidate my identity! If they do anything it'll take away from ace rep! etc etc" SHUt UP!

Why do all these fans think kissing is something ace people don't do? Why would an innocent kiss invalidate ace rep? Are you HEARING YOURSELVES?! and okay, even if you are an ace person who does not ever kiss, are you so opposed to words of affirmation too? Are you a hater of love declarations now? Why is THAT such a terrible thing? You are deluding yourselves, and I get why. You are trying to protect yourselves from disappointment because you have spent 4 years screaming at people online and policing people who dare to say that AziraCrow aren't already canonically together and in love and have somehow tied your own identity into these characters to the point that you are frightened that season 2 might disprove your words and somehow invalidate your identity. Gods forbid if they DO kiss now you have lost the precious representation you claimed was so important to you right? But its NOT the case!

If nothing happens in GO S2 then it WOULD be queerbaiting. For the FIRST TIME. Because NG knows now how important AziraCrow's relationship is to the queer fans and he himself has been claiming its a love story for 4 years. If he didn't put his money where his mouth is and make them explicitly canonically queer and together in season 2 then I'm sorry but it would very much be queerbaiting. Keeping the loud queer fanbase on tenterhooks, getting them all excited so that GO trends on social media and then NOT following through? That's CLASSIC QUEERBAITING.

But NG isn't doing that. Because they are going to be together. Because it will be explicitly queer. Because even the trailer indicates this is the case. The season 1 GO trailer didn't include any of the romantic subtext if I recall correctly, it was solely promoted as a silly fantasy show. The season 2 trailer leans into the romance. It'll be explicitly clear - because I don't think NG is stupid enough to not go through with it. I understand why he didn't in season 1, there was a lot more at stake and he wanted to keep it totally 100% faithful to the book, but season 2 is a blank page, open book, nothing stopping it from happening. Plus, in 2023, in a post Destiel confession, post OFMD world, not going there would be just the most idiotic bad for business move the man could make.

So can GO fans please stop making bad faith arguments about why AziraCrow shouldn't be more explicitly together in season 2? Because I'll be honest, it is coming across less like you wanna protect the supposed "Ace representation" and more like maybe you are just uncomfortable with the idea of two middle aged male actors being physically intimate on screen.

Also if NG doesn't have the balls to go through with it, then can y'all please stop protecting him? I love the guy. I do. I think he is a talented genius who has done more for the fantasy genre than anyone else alive today. But gods, if he doesn't let AziraCrow at least confirm to themselves or other people that they have non platonic feelings for each other, in such a way that the DGA understands that this is a non platonic love story, then he deserves all the angry asks and queerbaiting accusations he will inevitably get. Personally, I don't think he's that dumb. So perhaps his fans can also have a bit more faith in him too.

**to anyone who may want to address the spoiler in this post, please don't. I am aware of it and have chosen in this ask to not acknowledge it so that all fans can read this, besides, the spoiler itself does not actually change anything I have mentioned here especially with some of the daft theories I have seen surrounding it.**

Okay I'm done. Rant over. Proceed to cancel me if you must.

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

PRELIMINARY POLL 1: A3!

hello A3! fandom, congrats on having the biggest number of unique ships submitted! (unique=non-repeated ship) out of all the ships submitted, soba and i have decided to shortlist fuyupoly and EITHER bansaku OR tasutsumu, as per a previous post where we said we'll be allowing a maximum of 2 ships per fandom into the tournament. both bansaku and tasutsumu have 3 submissions each and strong propaganda, hence this preliminary poll to decide which one will be in the tournament

also if bansaku wins, let us know if you guys want that pic to be their pic or you guys want the act 11 CG where banri and sakuya go on a date to watch the hyakka troupe show (fake blood warning)

propoganda for both ships are under the cut!

-mod deli 🎀

BANSAKU:

Submission 1:

Tough dude getting flustered at literal angel makes happy chemical go brrrrrr

Submission 3:

words cannot express how much i love bansaku. they are so. okay hold on. they met in high school. they're in the same year but different classes. they officially become friends when they join mankai company. at least one mod is a3 liker so i'll skip those details i'm sure you know. they are so. everything. here is the list of things that has happened in canon. like literally in canon.

- they go thrift shopping together. banri gets sakuya clothes since he's got more expendable income.

- they're major theater nerds they both love the stage so much

- sakuya forgot his workbook so he went to borrow banri's and "thanks, banri-kun!"

- EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF ART WHERE THE A3DERS ARE TOGETHER HAS BANRI WITH THE SOFTEST EXPRESSION LOOKING AT SAKUYA LIKE WHAT THE HELL

- they went to go watch hyakka troupe play together... there's a whole cg... i can't believe they go on dates fr (delusional)

banri was struggling with finding a purpose in life, versus sakuya who always dreamed of veing an actor. and i think that. god i'm so delusional but like. banri's always a little sarcastic and unserious but with sakuya he's always kind even though he's still a tease. and the. they bring out different sides to each other you know. with banri, sakuya allows himself to be taken care of and doted over, but also just be a 19 year old teen. normal life . yknow.

they are so friends to lovers ever because they are such good friends to each other and it's always at the core of their relationship. yknow like even if they didn't get together romantically they still push each other to be better and to want more. but they just Want to be together and i think that makes a lot of difference. choosing to be with someone. it's very unconditional and lowkey, their relationship, so choosing it is somehow Something Significant, if that makes sense.

they're so adorable. banri's a very physical person i think. so it's very easy to just imagine him with his arm over sakuya's shoulders or hugging sakuya from behind. and sakuya always thinks of banri and gets him little gifts and "i thought of you"s and they're so adorable. sometimes banri will pick sakuya up from work and sometimes sakuya will stop by amabi and i think they make time for each other.

also one last thing that isn't necessarily friends to lovers coded but i feel is very important about their relationship is how like. you know at the start banri is this delinquent asshole with no plans in life and sakuya is a little good boy who's responsible and a little silly. so i think it's really important that banri is the one who continues on to college, while sakuya goes straight to working. (at a kindergarten he is so cute i love him) because like. you know. first impressions aren't everything. what's good for you may not be good for someone else. we can all still grow more in the end. and i just. man i'm so emo over these two.

(Mod note: The 2nd bansaku submission didn't have any propaganda)

TASUTSUMU:

Submission 1:

(exploding) sorry if this is badly written i am walking rn . Mods know the series but A3 is about stage actors.

TasuTsumu are literally the friends to lovers ever. They're childhood friends, even. They did everything together. They've acted together since elementary school. but then (VINE BOOM) thry both try out for a prestigious acting troupe called GODza... but only Tasuku makes it in (sad horn sounds) Tsumugi lost a ton of confidence after not making it and kinda ghosted Tasuku and ran away from his problems </3 he originally had given up, but missed the stage so he tried out again at the Mankai Company (troupe all of the characters are in). Of course, as fate has it, Tasuku had just left GODza after their... unsavory business tactics, but the troupe had blacklisted him from becoming an actor at any other high end troupes in the area, leaving him to go to the Mankai Company. And of course times 2, he and Tsumugi try out for the same troupe. Tasuku is less than pleased with seeing Tsumugi's face after he just disappeared before, and things between them are tense, especially when Tasuku gets fed up with Tsumugi's lack of confidence after he becomes the troupe's leader. But!! Fate wants them to get along (and be together) and Tsumugi finds this cursed doll that traps them in a time loop of the same day. They're stuck until they resolve their issues. Nothing like a good ol divine intervention to get two friends to lovers back together. tldr Tsumugi owns up to his insecurities to Tasuku and works to overcome it. In the process, while performing their play in an act off (if they end up in the competition ill actually essay about it) Tsumugi feels that his acting is inferior once again and totally bombs a show. Tasuku finally works around his own regrets of not reaching out before when Tsumugi had "quit," telling him how much he loves and envies Tsumugi's acting, and apologizes to Tsumugi. Then boom they pull off an incredibly gay play about angels and become lovers (not canon but Trust me).

please let me write properly about them and put them in i love my blorbos <3 they were made for this tournament

Submission 2:

absolute best friends in childhood who had a very impactful falling out, but managed to resolve things. nowadays they're in a theatre troupe together where their troupe is quite literally married.

Submission 3:

1. CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

2. Their introductory arc was literally a whole divorce-reunion arc. They divorced because Tsumugi failed an audition into the God Squad theatre troupe while Tasuku got in which was a blow to Tsumugi's confidence as an actor and he ran away and Tasuku was mad at him for that. It was literally so bad that the game had to break its slice-of-life genre to introduce a doll that traps people in a timeloop until they're able to make up, and they (and another guy who's kinda a cryptid) are the only ones aware that the day keeps repeating

3. After one of their shows, Tsumugi overhears some audience members criticising him and comparing him to Tasuku, which leads to him changing his acting style in the next show which completes bombs their show. Out of shame, Tsumugi runs away, and it takes Tasuku some hesitating before chasing after him and finally telling him how he REALLY feels -- that he was guilty for not being able to do anything to help Tsumugi when he failed that audition years ago and ran away, and that he admires Tsumugi's acting for what it is. The anime makes this scene even gayer by having them meet on a bridge in the snow and Tasuku holding an umbrella over Tsumugi's head as he pours his heart out to Tsumugi

4. Tsumugi regains his confidence after hearing that, and they finally FINALLY 100% reconcile

[pandasmagorica]

First watch: Kiseki: Dear to Me episodes 1-10

Damn you, Gaga. Okay, it's my own fault for not cross-checking on MDL. And for that matter, for not clicking on the last episode Gaga shows (11) and seeing even that's not showing until next week.

On the other hand, now that I've caught up, I can join the Tumblr conversation on this series. Yay! So once I've added my thoughts, I'm going to unblock the tag for this series.

So first off: I very much enjoy this series. While it is totally a crime drama QL, which is not my favorite genre, there is humor sprinkled throughout the series. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but on some levels it's lighter than dark. It's no 3 Will be Free or History 3: Trapped, but it's well worth watching.

There are more than enough coincidences and plot holes. I notice them, and still like the series.

Content warnings

Violence - hello, it's a crime series - dubcon and age.

While I'm not a fan of dubcon, it is at least met here with consequences: confrontation from the victim, regret from the violator - nobody treats it as if nothing happened.

While one character in the main couple is not an adult, they are of the age of consent in Taiwan (16 and over) and the actor is actually an adult (20). Actually, perhaps not in the context of the story, since the adult member of the pair is posing as the other's substitute teacher at the point they finally get it on. (And remembering this is acting, they're not actually having sex, and we don't see the NC-17 part.)

At this point, with either one or three episodes to go, I give it a thumbs-up with reservations.

If you want to avoid spoilers, skip to episode 11.

See also Getting to be a kid in Kiseki: Dear to Me

Spoilers and nitpicks follow

Thoughts about the series

While there were moments that made me uncomfortable, this is an intelligently written series, the acting is good, there is humor, and some good twists. I watched nine episodes the first day, with some time between each episode, and found it quite watchable. I could picture watching it again.

The actor playing Bai Zhongyi does a good job showing the awkwardness of the character. Both leads gradually fall for each other naturally while living a forced odd-couple existence. Just because Bai Zhongyi is young doesn't mean he's passive.

We have the accidental fall trope.

It takes a while for the shit to hit the fan, but when it does, it's intense.

We have to wait until episode 9 to catch up with the opening scene of the series, so be patient. The series doesn't drag.

Nice touches

Fan Jherui's father, the gang boss, has a gay lover.

There doesn't seem to be homophobia.

Taiwan having same-sex marriage is acknowledged and celebrated.

Ai Di looks adorbs in (Red Riding Hood) drag. Okay, he looks cute without drag but there's something funny about a violent gang member dressing up in drag for Halloween for the benefit of his colleague's budding boyfriend.

It's pretty clear without spelling it out that Fan Jherui's father knows the Bai family's every move: Chen Yi and Ai Di have no problem tracking Fan Jherui down at Bai Zhongyi's place and Fan Jherui's father knows Bai Zhongyi's father needs a heart transplant and is on a long waiting list for it.

Fan Jherui's father follows through on the deal for Bai Zhongyi's father to get a heart transplant and medical care if Bai Zhongyi takes the fall for Fan Jherui after Fan Jherui kills a member of a rival gang who was about to kill both Fan Jherui and Bai Zhongyi.

Nitpicks about plot holes

Supposedly, Fan Jherui has supposedly not been accepted into his father's gang because he's not ready to die for them. But when we first meet him, he's obviously been in some kind of battle - which so far we haven't learned anything about - and has a bloody knife that could serve as evidence against him. So, is he in the gang or not?

When Ai Di pretends to be a student, he uses a name that is very close to his real name, which would seem to be not a very bright move for someone who is acting undercover.

How do gang members get to go undercover in a high school with the adminstration's consent anyway?

When Bai Zhongyi goes to prison, he is almost immediately attacked. We learn that someone in Fan's father's empire is responsible. Yet somehow he makes it out of prison four years later without apparent further attacks and further opens a pastry shop without further attacks, at least as of the end of episode 10, even though we learn he is still under threat.

(However, it's not a plot hole that Bai Zhongyi was attacked. I can see the Fan family wanting to ensure Bai Zhongyi never revealed the true story or that the friends of the guy who was killed would want revenge.)

Gang member Ai Di chooses to take the rap for the attack on Bai Zhongyi. How? He wasn't anywhere near the prison. Still, I suppose he could have taken credit for ordering the attack. But somehow, he manages to be assigned to the same prison so he can keep an eye on Bai Zhongyi's safety and somehow he gets released on the same day as Bai Zhongyi four years later.

I don't have a problem with Bai Zhongyi and Fan Jherui having a random encounter in Taichung. The show is going to show us the interesting occurrences that happen during the story line. It's not going to show us all of the times when nothing happens. Still, if you don't like coincidences, you won't like this one either.

Continue with episode 11

See also Getting to be a kid in Kiseki: Dear to Me

[maximaxstreasurebox]

BSD Untold Origins: Anime VS Novel (3)

Quickly trying to finish episode 1 crumbs before new ep ;w; Last part of ep 1 is the theatre! More changes, but this time it involves a lot of the side characters' uhh personalities- Note; i haven't seen the preview for ep 2

Season 4 and light novel spoilers!

Gifs © @the-chikyuu-times

Episode 1 (Part 1) - (Part 2)

Episode 2 (Part 4)

"A theater?" "Yes." The deep-blue evening sky hung over them as they stood before the rectangular theater building. [...] There was a stone monument installed in the wall with the words THEATRUM MUNDI carved into it. Ranpo frowned melodramatically. "This looks so boring." "The owner here is short on staff. If all goes well, then we can probably get you a job." "What did the client hire you for anyway?" "A death threat." Fukuzawa began to walk toward the entrance. Ranpo soon jogged after him. -Page 98

THEATRUM MUNDI or 'World Theatre' is a kind of puppetry show, it can be either comprehended as the mechanical puppet plays or viewing the meaning 'puppet' as 'everyone is playing a role in the world'. A play listed on Wikipedia example (The Great Theater of the World by Pedro Calderón de la Barca):

This particular play's form called Autos sacramentales which has human characters playing as Death, Faith, Sin, Hope, ect. aka giving each allegories a personification. (that's enough art history for today *flops to floor*)

After going through the service entrance in the back, Fukuzawa walked down the staircase to the basement, where the theater owner greeted him. "So?" the owner demanded casually. "What's your excuse for being late?"

The owner was a woman in a suit, probably around Fukuzawa's age- With her chest held out and her arms crossed before her hips, she looked up at Fukuzawa with a defiant gaze. She seemed to have a tic where she would push up her glasses every few moments or so. Her wiry black-framed glasses were shaped like acute triangles. "My apologies, Ms. Egawa." [...] "Sigh. It's fine." -Page 98

Egawa's character went through some changes in the anime version. In light novel she's more ansty, doesn't have most of the confidence/professional feeling she has in anime, easily calling Ranpo from 'uninvited guest' to 'brat', and then Ranpo quickly starts exposing her uhh relationships with people, buying clothes and stuff but not taking care of her hands and nails, necklace that wasn't a gift, about to mention her former relationship when Fukuzawa stops Ranpo.

Different reactions to Fukuzawa's question(s).

"[...] 'Angels'? 'V'? This death threat is ridiculous. I'll bet it's one of the rival theaters trying to hurt the business." -Page 99

"Whatever. Just do your job!" barked Ms. Egawa, trying not to sound flustered. "I like what I do! Ugh! I've had enough of this. I seriously just can't catch a break..." She stomped off, quickly clicking her heels down the entrance hall as she left. [...] -Page 101

Murakami ('Tokio' isn't mentioned when addressing him until the play) has more changes too. He acts more impatient, even bossy towards Fukuzawa in light novel. Anime still shows it slightly, but he sounds more tired than someone on the verge of patience (and it will actually makes sense later).

[...] He was sitting in his private dressing room while religiously reading over his lines. "Uh? Excuse you." The handsome young man lifted his head up from the script and frowned. "What do you want? It's almost showtime, and I'm reading over my script." There was no one else in the room. Perched on the edge of his seat, the young man angrily threw the script to the side. "The show is about to begin. Do you have any idea how it feels to be an actor right before a performance?" Fukuzawa didn't respond. "We dive into the world - become other people. And we practive nearly a year for this moment. If you get in my way, you're dead." [...] "I'm thirsty. Fetch me some water, will you?" [...] After a closer look, the young man appeared to be somewhat pale. Slightly dark bags hung under his nervous-looking eyes as well. -Page 102-103

"Die of boredom"...? Fukuzawa quietly covered his face. Bringing Ranpo with him was a mistake. He'd thought that leaving Ranpo in the lobby was a disaster waiting to happen, but this wasn't any better. He said all the wrong things. Surely the actor was going to blow his lid and stop talking to them entirely... At least, that was what Fukuzawa thought. "It's boring, huh? Well, if a brat like you says so, then it's gonna be," answered Murakami with a solemn expression. [...] "Hey, brat. What would make the play interesting to you?" "To me? Hmm..." [...] "It'd be pretty neat if one of the actors got killed during the performance just like the death threat said." A chill ran down Fukuzawa's spine. "Ha! An appropriately bratty answer." But Murakami cheerfully smirked. "If that's what the people want, then maybe giving it to them wouldn't be such a bad idea." [...] "Obviously, I don't plan on dying." Murakami faced Fukuzawa. "But as someone in show business, you think about these things. 'Would you take your life in order to achieve the ultimate performance?'... I would. Without a doubt. The only reason I haven't is because nobody has come up to me and offered to teach me the secret of acting in return for someone's life...yet. [...] " -Page 104-105

The dresser room scene is the same pretty much. Anime added a few details like the (possible) taxi driver's cameo from season 1, and a funny moment with Ranpo and the actress.

Fukuzawa has more inner monologuing, worrying he doesn't have the power to protect everyone in the theatre. Ranpo startles Fukuzawa out of his thoughts and events happen again similarly in light novel. The short scene when Fukuzawa looks away from the newspaper is a tiny added detail.

"An angel shall bring death, in the truest sense of the word, to the performer. - V." "Why didn't you say anything before?" asked Fukuzawa. "What good would that have done?" Ranpo replied as if he was offended. "You're all adults. Do something about it yourself. What good is asking a kid what he thinks is going to happen? Beside, everyone gets mad when I state the truth."

Was he talking about everything that had happened to him since he came to Yokohama? There was darkness in his eyes. "Seriously, adults don't make any sense to me." [...] "If a kid like me was able to figure it out, then surely you and the police already noticed a long time ago, right? My mother never got tired of telling me, 'You're still just a kid.' And I agree with her. [...]"

"You're still just a kid." Of course you don't understand adults. Because adults are smarter than you. Is that what she meant? It's not hard to understand why Ranpo's parents drilled that into his head, at least to a certain degree, and yet... [...] This kid didn't know anything. He had no idea that most people have no idea what's going on. - Page 110

Only after growing do people learn that others are different - [...]. They assume everyone thinks the same as they do, which often leads to conflict. That was what it meant to be human. Ranpo, still naive, may have fallen into that trap, but he did not deserve to be blamed. Nevertheless, Ranpo was an extreme case. Although he possessed such extraordinary powers of observation, he didn't think he was special. Why? Was it his parents' fault? Was it because he lived a sheltered life with parents who had minds that rivaled his? -Page 111

Random comment here from me is just that I really like how Untold Story/Origins expresses Ranpo's confusion through the whole book, a 'truth-seeing genius' who's living in a (fabricated) world view where everything can be deduced with logic and observation. Probably one of the reasons he's so bad with public transportation because schedules can change any time and reason. It can also count as a part of the 'adult world', where thoughts are not as expressed as an imaginary mind, the set rules real world brings in in contrast to imagination with endless possibilities.

"[...] When you sat down at the café, you unconsciously made sure to sit with the wall to your right, so you used to practice swordsmanship as well. After all, if the wall was on the left side, you wouldn't be able to swiftly draw your sword if something happened. You sat where the entrance was visible, which shows me you've seen your fair share of carnage in your lifetime. The reason why you barely make any noise even while walking on the hard theater floors is that you've trained for street and indoor combat. And the reason why you started to walk with one eye closed a little before we went through the unlit service entrance was so that you could immediately see your surroundings the moment you stepped into the darkness. In other words, you're trained for ambushes in dark places." Fukuzawa could feel his body gradually get colder, He slowly lost the feeling in his toes. His throat dried and tensed up as his palms began to sweat. "[...] A bodyguard's job is to protect people, so you wouldn't need to sneak around in the dark without making a sound. You quit your previous job, but you weren't working in the shadows to kill people for money like that hit man from earlier. You made that clear when you didn't show any real emotion when you talked about assassins. Plus, you didn't seem to be on your guard when you talked to the police. [...]" Fukuzawa felt an intense pain in his chest. His throat was so dry he could scarcely breathe. Everything was flickering red and black. - Page 111-112

"Shut up!" Fukuzawa exploded. As if his spirit were physically gushing into the room, the glass shook, the lights clicked, and the theater employee walking in the distance let out a slight yelp. Martial arts masters employed a similar phenomenon when they attached with their chi. Being right next to him, Ranpo took the brunt of Fukuzawa's unconscious yet fiery attack. After being pushed back a few steps, Ranpo fell on his rear as he if had been hit with a large invisible mallet. He blinked, still sitting, with a perplexed expression. The master class-level chi energy attack had knocked him unconscious for a second. Fukuzawa suddenly returned to his senses, albeit startled.

"Sorry... You all right?" He approached Ranpo and helped him up. "Buh...?" Ranpo was still idly blinking. Fukuzawa was overcome with sense of shame. It was inexcusable for a martial arts master to use what could be considered condensed bloodlust on an ordinary person. It was evidence of just how disturbed Fukuzawa was. [...] -Page 113

(I feel like) Fukuzawa was so much more upset than it's showed (it was still great tho, poor Ranpo;;;; ). Fukuzawa's offer to Ranpo happened right before Ranpo's observation of Fukuzawa, so the novel continues with both he and Ranpo having barely any time to recover before the bell rings, signaling the beginning of the play.

"Don't... talk about that," Fukuzawa finally managed to say. "I get it now. You're the real thing." No secrets were safe in Ranpo's presence, but he had no idea he was special, which was exactly why this wasn't the time to be getting worked up. There had to be a way to get Ranpo to recognize his abilities; Fukuzawa would need to think of something. [...] "Come on." Fukuzawa grabbed Ranpo, whose eyes were still glazed over, and headed toward the door to the auditorium. He would have Ranpo observe the stage. The boy might be able to figure something out that way. Thoughts raced through Fukuzawa's jumbled mind. He still felt on edge. Having his secret known startled him, and he was taken aback by Ranpo's powers of observation. But was that it? It was as if something else lurked in the depths of Fukuzawa's uneasiness - something he was in no place to deal with right now. - Page 114

[succubusphan]

Two Man Team - Chapter 1

Summary: This is the story of two struggling friends who after many trials and tribulations find their way back to each other and build the life they've always dreamed of.

Or how Phil changed his life by talking to random strangers on the internet.

Rating: E

Tags/warnings: Friends to lovers, Friends with benefits, mental health issues (mainly anxiety), Slow burn, Dan is a psych student. Canon divergence (the timeline is altered and some things never happened), Slutty Phil, Angst with a happy ending. The fic spans many years.

Author's Note: Written for the OSPBB 2023 @oldschoolpbb. Thank you @effingmeteors for being my life saviour and beta as usual and to my artist Lin @anironsidh.

Edits and the art will be added at some point, we are busy bees.

POSTING EVERY DAY UNTIL IT'S COMPLETED.

Total Word Count: 75k ish

Read on Ao3

CHAPTER 1: Somebody to Love

June 2005

Phil threw himself onto his bed and looked around at his neon green walls and carpet thinking how little time he had left in his childhood bedroom. He had one last summer in his hometown before uprooting his entire life and moving to York for uni. It was weird, in a way, to be in this sort of limbo where his basic education was over; he no longer felt like a child but didn’t feel like an adult either. It could be because he didn’t feel like he was fully himself, not to anyone he knew - not even his friends.

Could he really call them his friends if they didn’t know who he truly was, if he couldn’t share his attraction to boys like the others shared their crushes on girls and their flings? Maybe it wasn’t fair to think of them as near strangers, it was not their fault that he didn’t feel ready to talk about it. They had all been there for him his entire childhood and he still wasn’t ready. That was on him.

On the other hand, York presented him with a new opportunity, a chance to live his true life and finally get a boyfriend. That’s all he wanted, just - someone to cuddle with. Ok, also other stuff, but he wanted a proper boyfriend. It didn’t hurt to start looking now though.

Phil sat up and reached for his laptop, lifting the screen and connecting to the internet. He clicked on the Explorer icon and waited for everything to load for a few minutes. He logged into a random Yahoo chat room as per usual and greeted the 60 strangers chatting and sending emojis in the hopes of catching someone’s attention.

Snowdude: Hi. Anyone around 18? ;)

A private window popped up immediately.

DanTheMan: hi snowdude XD i’m dan

Snowdude: Hi. als?

DanTheMan: 16/m/reading. u?

Phil hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t often that dudes messaged him. Still, “Dan” was too young and still in school. Well, he didn’t have anything better to do than speak to him.

Snowdude: 18 m York. Are you in school?

DanTheMan: yeah just the A lvls to go. What’s ur favourrtie game?

Phil’s eyebrows shot up at the typo and he snorted. 

Snowdude: Final Fantasy 7 is ace.

DanTheMan: ace XD favourite show?

Snowdude: Buffy obviously. What is this, an interview? What’s your favourite subject in school?

DanTheMan: ouch, geography and psych and theatre.

Snowdude: hate geo, you act?

DanTheMan: don’t laugh. i always have but i’m cool.

Snowdude: nothing wrong with it. I’m a terrible actor. 

Looking at his ceiling, Phil felt bad for making Dan feel insecure by bringing up school, pointedly marking their age difference. He knew what it was like to be looked down upon by the older kids. He quickly typed another message.

Snowdude: I signed up to art because I thought it would be easy and almost failed. Seems like i suck at art.

DanTheMan: ROFL. ur weird.

DanTheMan: let’s be friends.

Snowdude: Lesbifriends

DanTheMan: forget it lol. I regret asking.

Snowdude: noooooooooooo 

DanTheMan: i have to go my mums calling. add me on msn i’m danosaurXD@hotmail.com.uk

Snowdude: Rawr xD. ACe. Good luck with homework

DanTheMan: fuckoff with your capitalistion and good grammra ttyl

And just like that, Dan exited their chat. Phil smiled and logged into MSN, hesitating only for a second before adding his new friend.

Ian opened their conversation with a buzz as per usual and invited him over to play games with the girls. He hesitated, but another notification popped up and it brought a smile to his face.

GoThic chiK (Anja): coming or not phL?

Phil rolled his eyes, at least Anja would be there and even if he didn’t like girls like that, Anja was always cool. She was like a girl, but also not. Well, she was a girl of course, but she felt like a guy, but not - like him. He didn’t fit in as the kind of man his dad wanted to see in his son and Anja didn’t impress her mother either. Maybe they were losers but they still had each other.

Phil Strikr: omw Annie tell Ian

GoTik chiK (Anja): told you to stop butcherin ma name.

Phil laughed and sent her a buzz before logging out and getting into his favourite blue jeans and a green T-shirt.

--

The night went by in a breeze, with loads of pizza, drinking and a few rounds of TEG that ended in disaster. He mostly enjoyed it until the topic of dating came up yet again. All the guys had some sort of girlfriend or arrangement and Phil had barely anything to show for. For the umpteenth time, Phil considered coming out to them but he could never bring himself to do it. Maybe one of these days when he was drunk enough.

“Phil, Phil!” Someone said.

Anja snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, startling him and causing him to drop the dice he had been shaking for who knows how long. “Mate, what is it with you today?”

“Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about Buffy,” he said.

Anja gave him a look that let him know she was not buying it, but the rest rolled their eyes and continued with their conversation. For a moment Phil thought he was off the hook but Ian looked at him expectantly.

“What?” Phil asked.

Ian sighed heavily. “Sandra asked about you again, mate. When are you going to ask her out?”

Phil tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. “I think it would be weird to date your cousin, we are like brothers at this point.”

Ian snorted and shook his head. “We are like brothers but not actually. It’s not like incest or anything.”

“Ew, don’t say that,” Phil said, paling at the thought of Sandra and her wandering hands. He was not going to repeat the mistake of asking her out. One sloppy kiss was more than enough.

Richard, Noah and Keith laughed at the face he pulled but Ian merely smiled at him.

“Oi! Phil is mine, let him be,” Anja said, shuffling closer to him and resting her hand on his thigh.

Phil’s eyes widened but she gave him a small wink before looking back at their friends.

“What? Are you his girlfriend now?” asked Richard with a frown.

“Yeah,” she said, looking uncomfortable at the question. Anja didn’t like Richard like that, she loved him as a friend, but he had a huge crush on her and he was terrible at hiding it. Phil didn’t need to read her mind to know she didn’t want to break his heart or risk their friendship but it was bound to happen eventually.

Wrapping his arm around Anja’s waist loosely, he set his head on her shoulder. “Tell Sandra I’m taken,” Phil said and Anja relaxed against him, letting her head gently rest on his.

Richard looked disappointed but didn’t press the issue any further.

Eventually, the board games stopped being fun and the alcohol ran out so they declared the party over. As soon as Phil said goodbye and stood from his spot Anja followed him, making the others laugh and howl at them, half whispering about what they were going to do in Phil’s bedroom.

Once they were out, Phil turned to look at her. “Do you want me to walk you home?” He asked, hopefully.

“Nah, I was expecting to crash in your bed.” She began the walk back home and Phil followed her.

“What?” Phil squeaked.

Anja laughed and turned towards him, but her eyes looked a bit misty. “Don’t be daft, it’s not that.” She poked him gently, looking into his eyes. “I just feel sad and I don’t wanna be alone right now. I know I can trust you like that.” 

“Alright,” Phil said, still walking at her side. “Do you want to talk about it? What happened?”

Anja looked away from him, her eyes focusing on the moon for a moment as she spoke. “I was dating someone but they are not sure about it anymore and it sucks.”

Phil stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. “An- you know you can tell me anything, come stay with me too.”

“I know.” She returned the hug tightly only for a moment before stepping back. “Come on!” She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. “Kath will be fuming if we are not there before midnight.”

He snorted and laced their fingers together. “I’ll tell my mum you call her Kath behind her back one day, you know?”

“Meh,” Anja shrugged. “She loves me. I’ll live.”

They stayed silent for most of the 20 minute walk home and had to sneak in, but soon enough they were in his room. Phil gave Anja a big T-shirt and a pair of joggers and slipped into his own pyjamas while she changed in the bathroom. 

Five minutes later they were looking up at the ceiling as they lay under the covers in the small bed.

“Hey, Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think Richard will get over his crush eventually?”

Phil turned on his side to look at her. “Probably, he has gotten over the others.”

She nodded. “Are you seeing anyone that you haven’t told us about?” she asked in a drastic change of topic.

Phil sputtered. “As if anyone would be interested.”

“You have pretty eyes and perfect eyebrows. I wish I had your eyebrows,” Anja said. “You should dye your hair black though, it would make your eyes pop.”

“I don’t know… Would you do it for me?”

“Of course, ginge,” She laughed.

“I’m not a ginger!” Phil whined.

“Course not.” She poked at his stomach. “Good night.”

“Good night, An,” he said and shut his eyes, letting sleep claim him.

---

It was a weird summer. Anja remained sad for the majority of it but refused to talk about her boyfriend, choosing to focus on giving Phil an extreme makeover instead. She dyed his hair black, took him to the mall to pick up black skinny jeans and to the stylist that had given her her emo haircut to tame his mane.

By the end of it, Phil had perfected a nice image for his MySpace page. He had even ventured into eyeliner for some pictures when he’d gotten bored waiting for Anja to get ready for a party. He’d enjoyed the results and even Ian and the guys said it looked cool on him. Even Dan thought he looked really cool when he saw the pics.

He got to talk to Dan quite a few times as well before going off to uni and caught up with life. It was amazing to learn that they were actually super compatible, liking many of the same games, music and shows. The best part was that Dan said there was a chance he would go to York like him so they could hang out and Phil liked the sound of that, even if Dan was still a full year away from it. Dan was honestly super cool and Phil really had come to consider him a friend in the last few months so it would be super fun to have someone close to hang out and play games with. It sounded like a great plan.

Daydreaming about their potential meet-up was a nice distraction from Dan’s home life, which seemed to be in constant turmoil as Phil came to find over time. There was a reason Dan barely mentioned his younger brother and he had vaguely complained about his father’s rage issues, so Phil always let Dan talk first, and let whatever was troubling him be aired so that he could offer his support or advice if it was needed. Phil also shared some of his issues and insecurities, but his problems were not nearly as bad as Dan’s so he tried to keep things on the positive side and help Dan out.

But Phil wasn’t expecting to catch Dan in a lie only weeks later. As it turned out, Dan had never been 16, he was a 14 year old kid. It was a silly lie, but it still hurt Phil, so he asked Dan to never lie to him again. Dan was very apologetic and begged him not to break their friendship, which Phil had briefly considered, but decided against, especially because of the kind of bullying Dan suffered at school on the regular. After the initial shock had worn off, Phil reassured him that they could be friends, even if they would have to be long distance.

Dan deserved to have supportive friends. He needed someone to be there for him and Phil knew he could be that someone. At an appropriate distance, of course.

It was a bit of a rough patch between them, but after they had resolved the issue, life went on as usual. Phil dived head first into his uni life and there were so many changes. He moved into the dorm and met new people at uni, but sadly, he wasn’t able to stay in touch with his friends back home as much as he’d have liked due to his schedule. In a way, he had inadvertently severed most contact with his life back home, but no matter how much things changed, some stayed the same: his lack of a love life and being trapped in the closet.

He decided that it was time to take his life by the horns and that marked the beginning of a new chapter for him, an exploring phase of sorts. After some consideration, he opened a profile on a dating website, hoping to find a nice guy he could date. His new look did seem to help a lot, but his popularity applied mostly to MySpace. The dating scene seemed a bit dry, or maybe he was just too awkward. There weren't a bunch of messages flooding his inbox by any means.

To be honest, he was starting to get really discouraged, thinking he would never meet someone, but his luck finally changed on a mighty weekend when in a hidden corner of a pub, he got his first taste of freedom. He was blonde and tall and three years older than Phil and his lips were on Phil’s, quickly taking him to heaven, making his blood rush south and his stomach tingle. His hands were inside Phil’s T-shirt and struggling with his jeans’ zipper in less than five minutes. It wasn’t too rough or something that Phil didn’t want, but the speed of it all scared him a bit. It was too much too soon and he wasn’t ready even though he wanted to be, so he took a step back and apologised.

“I’m sorry,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “Listen, I’m not out yet, not even to my friends back home, my new uni friends or my roommates.”

The guy nodded and smiled at him. “That’s alright,” he said. “Could I get your phone number? Maybe we can meet up some other time.”

Phil nodded and saved it in the other’s phone, but he was not going to trick himself into thinking he was going to get a text. His chances were slim.

They parted ways with a quick kiss, which surprised Phil. He let out a deep sigh as he watched the blonde disappear into the crowd and surveyed the pub in search of his friends. 

Towering over most people did come in handy and allowed him to locate his roommates in under a minute. Phil tried to put on a brave smile as he made his way to them and accepted a beer, taking a zip and groaning at the bitter taste. It was performative and he knew it, but he didn’t know what else to do, so he followed along with what everyone was doing. He got drunk - and even made out with a girl briefly just out of boredom. 

He felt nothing, nothing at all, but his roommates cheered him on and the girl seemed happy enough. 

That made one of them.

--

Once back in his room, Phil put his phone to charge and turned it on. There were a few missed calls and texts from Dan, asking if he was free to talk. Phil got a bad feeling about it and tried to call him but Dan didn’t pick up. Maybe it was too late and he had fallen asleep. Biting the inside of his cheek, Phil hesitated before sending a text.

“I’m sorry I missed your calls, I was out until just now and my phone had died X.x . I’m free to talk in the morning!”

Phil lay in bed for what seemed like forever, the room spinning a bit around him, as he thought about the blonde guy, the boring night, the girl he kissed - and Dan. He wished he would have stayed home and talked to Dan, maybe played some games, or talked about school. It was sad that he got along better with a 14 year old than his own friends. What did that say about him? He fell into a fitful night of sleep just as the sun rose above the clouds.

The talk with Dan didn’t come the next day, or the following one. In fact, Dan stopped replying entirely for over a week and Phil’s stomach was twisted into knots. Over twenty messages unanswered could only mean bad news, right?

The following weekend, Phil sent yet another text: “Please, Dan. Just let me know that you are ok.”

Ten minutes later, his phone finally vibrated. “im ok. stop.”

Phil’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m so sorry, Dan. I’ve been worried about you. I went out and had so many calls and missed texts, I thought something had happened and you needed to talk. It’s ok if you don’t want to, I just didn’t want you to think that I didn’t care. Sorry I missed your call.”

His screen lit up with a call immediately and Dan’s raspy voice greeted him on the other side. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s ok,” Phil said, trying to calm himself down, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He swallowed thick and attempted a small smile, even if Dan could not see it. “What did you want to talk about?”

Dan was silent for a moment, but then he let out a tired sigh. “Nothing much, it’s fine.”

“You can tell me, you know you can,” Phil said with a frown.

“Last weekend I went to the mall and I had some problems with the usual shitheads…” he trailed off.

“Did they throw rocks at you again?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t care. And on Monday -” Dan paused.

“What happened on Monday?” Phil asked, frowning at the pain he could hear in Dan’s voice.

“One of the idiots grabbed me by the neck and slapped me for like 5 minutes,” Dan mumbled. “And I know what you’re going to say, one of the teachers saw and did nothing. He even laughed.”

“Dan,” Phil said, his heart breaking for his friend. “I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve any of that. I wish I could be there to help you.”

“It’s fine,” Dan said in a monotone voice. “I didn’t react, I didn’t want to give them that satisfaction.”

“It takes a lot of courage not to fight back. You were very brave.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dan muttered. “Almost gave them another satisfaction.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m so tired sometimes, you know? Just so tired.” Then, Dan cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’ve been staying with my grandma since Tuesday, so I’m ok.”

Phil had to clear his throat too, trying not to get choked up by what Dan was implying. “You have to get good grades so you can get into uni and we can hang out, ok?”

Dan snorted. “As if you would hang out with me. You’re cool and I’m just a 14 year old loser.”

“You’re not a loser. You’re kind, and funny, and one of the coolest people I know. I know that one day you will be a great guy. Maybe you’ll be a famous actor, like you’ve always wanted.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Dan said. “Wanna play Mario Kart later? I have homework.”

Phil looked at the time, it was already late, but a few races wouldn’t hurt. “Sure. Text me when you’re done.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Dan said and Phil could picture a little smile on his face.

“No problem. See you later.”

“Yeah. Hey, can I follow your MySpace?” Dan asked.

“You can follow me anywhere,” Phil said. “We are friends.”

“Yeah, ok,” Dan snorted. “See you later, Philly.”

Phil rolled his eyes and hung up the phone.

Letting out a deep sigh, he decided to do the “adult thing” and study a little more for the exam he had the following morning so that he could join Dan online later. It was not a lot, but he felt better now that Dan knew Phil was on his side and he cared.

That night, Phil stayed on his DS until 4, but he managed to get a passing grade on the exam anyway. He rewarded himself with a 10 hour nap afterwards.

--

All through his first term at uni, Phil tried his best to keep in touch with Dan, but with his tight study schedule, the weekends pretending to be straight and attempting to not stress himself half to death with his new chaotic life, it was getting increasingly difficult.

Before long, Phil had to make a drastic choice. Something needed to change and he knew exactly what was the worst stressor for him: his straight-sex-maniac persona. And so it was decided. 

He invited his four roommates to their very limited common space and paced in the square foot of floor he had available to himself waving his hands around without uttering a word until one of the guys asked if he was ok. 

No, Phil was not ok at all, he was nearly crawling up the wall, so instead of giving a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, he stopped short of the wall, turned around and said: “I lied… I am not super experienced, I don’t have a lot of sex experience. In fact, I have zero experience, because… because I’m gay. I’m sorry that I lied, I just wanted you guys to like me, you are all so cool. I wanted to be your friend. I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand. I-”

Peter got up from the armrest of the sofa, causing Phil to take a step back just in case, and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. “It’s ok. We are all figuring things out,” he said. “Also, Sarah will be happy to know that you are not disgusted by her presence, you’re just thick as all fuck and gay. Right, Sarah?”

“You like me?” Phil squeaked, turning towards the popular blonde girl. She was super nice and also pretty, but she was still not a guy, so there was not even a chance.

“I do. I did, but it’s ok. We can be friends,” she said with a smile.

“We can?” Phil croaked.

Sarah nodded. “You’re a good guy, Phil. Why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? And the fact that you are not opposed to a little makeup also plays in your favour.”

Peter clapped once and rushed to the fridge. He got the Malibu out of the freezer, messily pouring the alcohol into various glasses and mugs and other liquid-holding implements before turning around to face the group and raising his glass. “To Phil, the gayest emo York has ever seen - and a good friend too!” He downed his drink without waiting for anyone else.

Sarah walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a shot glass, raising it towards Phil with an encouraging smile. “Cheers,” she said and downed her drink. She then passed a repurposed laundry detergent cap full of Malibu to Phil. 

“Thank you,” he said, hoping that his eyes could convey the gratitude he felt. “Cheers,” he said and drank the entire thing.

Jimmy and Callan, who had been quiet until now, stood from the sofa and grabbed a mug each, raising them to Phil. 

“To Phil, the gay emo,” said Callan with a smirk.

“We can still be friends even if you’re gay and your willy is bigger than all of ours,” Jimmy said with a nod and necked his drink.

Phil laughed. “Stop talking about my dick, Jimmy. You saw nothing!”

“I will when it stops looking back at me every time you sit,” Jimmy cackled. 

Phil threw the laundry detergent cap at his head, hitting the target and causing the group to laugh.  Hours later, he crawled into his tiny bed and felt the effects of all the alcohol he had consumed rock him gently, like the waves in the sea. He let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his lips as he remembered how the night had started. His coming out had been awkward but still a success. Now he could truly be himself, at least in York, and he couldn’t wait until he was able to live his life fully everywhere.

[raybyanothername]

Im obsessed with Jace x Aegon and I blame you, your fics are amazing ❤️❤️❤️ can't stop reading

For ask game, Jace x Aegon

1. What made you ship it?

2. What are your favourite things about the ship?

I am 100% blaming Ty Tennant for this. His facial expressions and the little scenes between his Aegon and Jace just made me want more. Specifically to see their relationship grow and bloom instead of being stamped out by the dance. And then Older Jace's actor (Harry Collett) had even more little facial expresions and that just drove it home! I'd already started a few fics by then though, so we can't blame him..

Once the ship set sail in my head, there was no going back and every rewatch/reread made it worse. When I first read the book I'd actually hovered close to shipping Jace/Cregan, but I didn't really buy in to any ships properly except Aemond/Helaena before the show tbh (which I still maintain is the best one for full 'canon compliant' fics, I just prefer them with others in non-canon compliant fics).

Favorite Things

#1 is all the dynamics that can be explored!

Personality Clash: Duty versus Desire, Anger versus Angst, Family versus Self.

Jace gives my power bottom energy and Aegon obviously likes to let other people run the show while looking like he's in charge.

Aegon as a proper pillow princess?? *chefs kiss*

#2 is the dragons!!

Primadonna Sunfyre and Grumbly Vermax are the funniest thing ever when you consider that they will be forced to spend So Much time together, whether they like it or not.

Also, Vermax is always referred to as a male dragon, yet supposedly delivered a clutch of eggs beneath Winterfell (so much fic potential there) and I take that as confirmation that dragons give no shits about gender.

#3 Potential - I legitimately ship things more when there's more fic potential. With these two? It's endless. Give me any trope or concept, I can make it work for these two in some fashion. I can honestly say I don't ship them with anyone else at all. I'll read fics with Baela/Jace and Helaena/Aegon, but if they're the focus I can't really buy in anymore? That's very rare for me and I think very clearly illustrates just how well these two click in my head.

[gregoftom]

I don't know if you've watched it but if you ever did need something else that has tomgreg vibes…I would thrust Suits upon you. the quality is gonna be a dip from succession, but. marvey. mike and harvey. they.

it's the semi-reluctant but love-stupid mentorship. it's one of them kind of being a fuck-up (and getting high) and the other being high-flying, from the bottom to the top, teaching them how to be rich.

it's the teasing. it's mike trying to get harvey to admit he cares about him -- and as the seasons go on, harvey's care for him worn on every single one of his sleeves, can't contain it. it's the way their humour just clicks and they enjoy each other so much.

it's the heated "good boy" (in the second fucking episode!!!!). the way harvey gets such secret pleasure after mike teasingly telling him "aye aye, captain".

it's the devotion. "he goes, I go." "I'm not giving them you." it's the way whenever mike's love life with a woman progresses harvey's immediate response is lashing out in frustration, and by the end of the episodes he's collected himself to be happy for mike's happiness, because caring about mike is his number 1 above all else. it's the possessivenessss. it's harvey not knowing a single other associate's name, other than "mike ross."

it's harvey imagining mike in drag??? it's the Looks between them. it's their surprise when they're witness to how much the other cares about them. it's them existing in each other's space. it's the outright fucking flirting. it's the heartache.

it's other characters calling them on their shit ("you boys have a nice date?" and harvey, defensive, like why is that funny "couldn't be better. he even paid") (and "I need to know if the prom king and his boy wonder are still an item […] Did Mike and Harvey break up break up, or did they take a time-out and, like, say to each other, 'hey, let's see other people'"). it's "my date just got here" as mike enters.

it's mike turning up to harvey's parent's funeral and being the one person harvey most needed to have there for him.

it's the puppy motif!!!! and calling him with fucking hand gestures!!

it's harvey not even wanting an associate and then being like This One so fast. it's the way they push each other. it's the actor and his wife shipping them! it's "the one person who has the right to treat me like his associate, but treats me like his partner anyway."

it's it's it's.

they're like, otp of all time, imprinted on my heart. and I think why tomgreg is attacking me so badly is because there are a Lot of similarities in the dynamic it's soooooo. anyway I miss them. and any tomgreggers might like em.

(also I adore all your talk about tomgreg, and chewing through all the show has given us. it's not ooc at all and it's so fun and it's such a nice community enjoying itself and you're providing joy and connection and it's great. that anon's just having a sad day and lashing out. have a good one, love you for being here <3)

oh my god?! THAT SOUNDS AMAZING and soooo tg core omfg i NEED to check that out, holy shit. i just read the summary too and!!! omg. omg. YES

and!! thank you so much! that's great to hear, i'm so glad! <333 love to hear it, and i love being here too! <3333