#could have done without any of the romance things but I'm very thankful they were minor enough to not bother me too much lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

manipulatedstars · 1 year

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We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

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neuroticbookworm · 8 months

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FRIENDS. FRIENDS.

Cooking Crush is undoubtedly one of the best shows airing at the moment.

Today's episode gave me so much life that I don't even know where to begin, but I'm gonna try my best to pull two (2) coherent thoughts out of my melting brain.

1. The Three Must-Eat-eers Conflict and Resolution:

Last episode had set up such a perfect conflict that's rarely handled well in any media: the bruised feelings of the single friend when the rest of the gang gets into committed romantic relationships. Most of the time this scenario shows up in media, one party will be framed as selfish and/or jealous. None of that nonsense here; Cooking Crush has always taken the friendship of its characters very seriously, especially Prem, Dynamite and Samsee. Samsee’s feelings were hurt not just because of his own fears of being abandoned by his friends, he was also (rightfully) mad that he ended up as the only friend who was kept out of the loop of knowing that his best friends had boyfriends now. But Prem and Dynamite did not intend to do this, and they were also right to set their own pace in making their relationship public, but it’s just that the string of accidental reveals happened in an order that made Samsee feel like a third-wheeler in his own home, twice over.

Cooking Crush treats its characters with a lot of kindness and empathy and it shows. Prem and Dy wanting to keep their relationships under wraps for the time being is valid. Samsee feeling hurt and lost, and opting out of the competition is valid. This episode begins with the drama of the cooking competition and works its comedy (thank you for the chuckles, wildly gesticulating White Man) and romance (my poor heart swooned all over my rib cage when Ten helped Prem into his chef clothes). And when the time came for the big reconciliation, the show does not sweep away Samee’s very hurt feelings just because Prem and Dy struggled without Samsee for most of the first round of cooking. He apologizes for ditching them and Dy was having none of it.

(Dy, my perfect child, oh how I love you with my entire heart)

Perfect resolution. and a well-earned, most adorable group hug to bookend it. I truly could not be more in love with this show. Or can I?

2. Miscommunication? Nah.

Well, this episode also featured the Annoying Asshole Chef dude who’s determined to pursue Prem even though it is very clear that Prem is not interested and would reject his advances, if only he stuck around long enough to actually get rejected and not run away from him like a goddamn coward. I was furious when he positioned himself as an actual option for Prem to Ten in this episode, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment Ten chose to call him out on his bullshit.

But y’all. The very inappropriate hug. The well-deserved punch to his stupid face. The storm-off. All of it had me very concerned that this is all barrelling towards a classic miscommunication moment.

BUT NO.

THE SHOW SAID THERE WILL BE NO STUPID MISCOMMUNICATION.

NOT IN THIS HOUSE.

My problem with the miscommunication trope is that it ultimately positions the couple we are supposed to be rooting for as a weak team. Honest communication and vulnerability in a new-ish relationship is not easy, and it takes a lot of courage to take that step to be the one to spell out the facts, and trust that the other person likes them well enough to keep an open ear, and believe them when they say a meddling cowardly asshole is trying to get in the way of their relationship. Ten’s bravery was perfectly contrasted with the sliminess of the Annoying Cowardly Chef (I refuse to learn his name, he is not worth my braincells).

Oh but Ten wasn’t done yet!

I absolutely adore how he moves the conversation away from that pesky little pest of a human towards something that matters more: his desire to make things official with Prem. The Annoying Asshole Chef was not the focus of the conversation, Ten and Prem are. And it all culminates in an incredible kiss and a camera swoop that already has a permanent little shrine in my silly little head.

TAKE MY HEART, COOKING CRUSH. TREAT IT WELL.

#cooking crush #tenprem #offgun #off jumpol #gun atthaphan #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #thai bl

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hannahssimblr · 13 days

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you are SO good at conveying romantic chemistry visually! do you have any tips or advice on how to make romance more romantic?

oh, thank you so much! I love writing romance but it's sometimes hard to know how effective I'm actually being conveying it, so, this is really nice to hear.

I guess that when I'm writing romance the focus is always on the feelings in a person's body. To me, that feels more important than anything the character is seeing or hearing. To be honest, it was always easier for me to write romance from Evie's POV because I know how it feels to be a gal who likes boys, so I guess I always just tried to put myself in her skin.

For her, every time Jude touched her, or almost touched her was A Moment, and I made sure to always make innocent moments between them seem kinda sexual, and build up that tension until finally - omg, finally, he actually is touching her in that way, and it's almost a relief.

It's always in the tension - the things that aren't happening, rather than the things that are, and always, the things that were sexiest about Jude were the things that she didn't know about him - the things she could imagine he had done and was doing with other people. It's like, the weight of his gaze on her, the heat of his body, still on the hoodie he just gave her, him accidentally brushing against her - someone else could do those things, and she wouldn't notice it, but she does with him. I think even mentioning those small things builds the romance.

Two people who like each other will always be aware of the proximity of the other in the room, they'll think of one another using slightly sexual terms, or at least in a physical way, they'll always long for more contact, even if it's just by being close and not touching. Like, the air between them is always charged and hot.

there's a couple bits towards the end of Lucky Girl where the tension is really building, and I'm gonna quote them bc!! I thought they were sensual without being overtly so.

“Worth a try.” He shrugs, and lifts it out of my hands. When he takes another sip he puts his lips against the very same spot where my mouth was, and I wonder if he did it on purpose. The idea of which is strangely erotic. I shiver. “Are you going to stay over?”

This is a scene when they are alone at night in her apartment. Later he asks her why she took all of the little studs out of her ear, and lightly pinches his finger and thumb against her earlobe, which makes her heart pound and she goes to bed and has a saucy dream about him lmao.

When Jude shifts positions next to me and accidentally presses his thigh against mine I wait for him to move it, but he doesn’t. In the dark of this room, where the only light is the glow from the television screen, I risk a glance at his face, and he looks right back at me, saying nothing. But I swear there’s something in his eyes, because at that moment they seem to glitter even brighter than the city lights outside the window.

um, accidentally? This is the day before he finally makes a move on her.

“Oh.” I whisper. “I like those a lot. I wish I looked like that all of the time.” “Yeah, I like them too,” he says. “And actually, you do. That’s just how you look to me.” And in that small moment his gaze feels weighted, so much so that goosebumps erupt on my arms as though there’s an electrical current moving beneath my skin. I feel him watching my face, but meeting his eyes feels risky, it’s always felt a bit risky, because I want him so badly that sometimes it makes it hard to breathe. I fear that too much time spent looking at him might drive me to start doing the sorts of things I know I will spend time regretting.

he photographs her, and she likes the pics, and also kinda wants him to fuck her right now on the studio floor, I guess.

I could go on more and more about what I've learned about the actual getting-together part, and what I know about kiss scenes and sex scenes and depicting actual relationships but! Maybe I'll make a whole separate post for that if I'm not feeling frightened lol!

#ask #tips #romance tips #fun to revisit evie's story #she was down bad

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 2 months

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Just wanted to say that i shared your post about Miraculous being a cross between magical girl (team) and rom-com genres and the failings of it.

It spawned a fun debate as we tried to think of other shows who tried the same thing but stayed in the mid-zone of both genres. All we ended up with was Teen Titans (as you mentioned) and Inuyasha which don't quite fit the bill as they aren't exactly magic girl shows in the traditional sense before we swerved off to try to find examples of other genres that don't mess well but should.

Anyways, just wanted to thank you for the analysis. It spawned a fun discussion.

Thank you for this lovely ask! It really made me smile. I love knowing that my stuff is getting people talking about storytelling! The main reason that I run this blog is not to dunk on Miraculous, but to talk about writing.

I'm a big fan of the saying that "failure is the greatest teacher," but I also like to point out that it doesn't need to be your failure! Talking about the things a piece of media did wrong and comparing it to media that did those things right is one of the best ways to learn about writing and far more helpful than just looking at good stories as there are thousands of ways to tell a good story.

To give my two cents to your debate (without knowing the fine details) the first two seasons of Digimon have some similar dynamics of romance between various leads, though it's also not a magical girl team show and the romance is certainly not focused on like it is in Teen Titans. One magical girl team show that did a great job of having a romance plot play a big role in a story is - strangely enough - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

While it's not really a rom-com (though it could have been and worked just as well), the second season ends with a two-part episode called A Canterlot Wedding and it's very cute. The couple that's established in that special goes on to have several episodes focused on them and their romance.

The reason this worked so well was that the romance was between ponies outside of the core team, so you didn't have to figure out how to make friendship the most important thing while also making romantic love the most important thing. By making both forces important in their own ways, the writers were able to let the couple be extremely close and passionate about each other while also allowing friendship to have a key role.

That's the issue that you have to keep in mind if you want to try to blend the genres: figure out a way to add in a romance without messing up the core team and creating a setup where romance is making friendship take a back seat. You also need to figure out how to deal with someone external to the team warring with the team for narrative importance.

My two cents? Just make some of the magical girls lesbians, bi, pan, or any other sexuality that allows for same-sex attraction. That should allow you to have romance in your team without the nasty complication of trying to make a person external to the team super important. After all, what is a good romance if not a friendship with bonus features? I wouldn't be surprised if there's a story out there that has already done this (not sure if Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon count since I don't think that their romance gets a major story line around it, but if it does, then just mirror that!)

And if there's not a magical girl team show that has done this? Then I'm certain that you can find fanfic that has. After all, people tend to ship the characters who get the most screen time together no matter who the canon love interests are supposed to be. That's why shonen anime is dominated by yaoi ships. Those shows rarely develop the hetero love interest the way that magical girl team shows do and so people ship the guys together. Meanwhile, magical girl team shows assume that the audience wants a good romance and so the hetero love interests tend to feel more fleshed out.

#spiritgun92 #writing advice #writing discussion

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razzellyn · 3 months

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Not what i planned to actually post but here it is

Scenario:

Human!Reader offered to give the bots a proper car wash! Or... Plane and ship, and truck wash or whatever.

Also, slight romance <3

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

He was stunned for a few seconds, processing your offer like it's a mathematical question. After a bit of pondering, he agrees. Not without a slightly flustered face.

Blue Cop:

The entire wash he was avoiding looking at you, either by looking away or closing his eyes entirely. He made the mistake of sparing a glance and the sight of your clothes showing even just a bit of your skin...

*revs engine*

"Huh? What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

After you were done, he took a few seconds to appreciate how clean his frame actually became. And then he excused himself and ran off somewhere...

Mega Trucker:

Unlike Blue Cop, he immediately said yes. Man, he didn't even think about it. You're so used to seeing him act all tough and brave that it's hard to determine if he's embarrassed or not about your offer.

He still acted all "tough and brave" during washing hour, except he's much more jumpy than usual. Whenever you tried to scrub the top of his Truck mode he becomes frantic. Not just the top actually, literally everywhere. His windshield? Frantically observes nature. His tires? Frantically keeps himself together... or something like that.

"Can you stop moving around? I can't clean your hood like this!"

"Psh, of course you can! I'm just moving around, nothing else yeah-"

Oh he's definitely flustered. But he's also digging this. Would probably ask you to do it again if he was allowed. Was, because Blue Cop didn't want to bother you so often.

Mega Ambuler:

He didn't think much about it at first. After all, the kids had already done this before, it can't be any different when it comes to you.

Until the time comes for you to actually wash the ambulance when he realizes how this could affect him. Sure, he's reserved and cool-headed, but he's not dumb to not know why everyone else was looking forward to this. For some reason he can't bring himself to look away.

"Is this... truly necessary?"

"Obviously, have you seen yourself?"

Great, that's one of the many ways to escape that had failed. He doesn't mind it really, just not in front of everyone please. He would still like to keep his dignity.

Phoenix Fire:

He's a bit too ecstatic when you offered, beaming with a nonexistent smile as he nods his head. Though you could see a faint... 'blush'? In his.. Eye thingy. Basically (〃• •〃)

Surprisingly he's very still. Probably because he's eyeing you the whole time. Not because he's a perv! No!! He's just so curious on what you're doing. But one thing leads to another and now he's too flustered to look at you again because your wet clothes pressed a little too tight to your body.

"Uhm... Is that really the only clothes you could wear?"

"Well it's all i got."

"Oh, a-alright then!"

Basically a golden retriever if you think about it. When you were done, he thanked you for your work. It's barely 'work' and more 'responsibility' but you learned to just let it slide.

Shadow X:

He was petrified when you asked. He stared at you, wide-eyed and kept asking you if you're sure about it. Eventually he agreed (while being smug), so long as the others doesn't see this happening.

So, you two are off... somewhere, with you cleaning a VTOL and said VTOL kept talking its nonexistent mouth off. It annoyed you, obviously, but it's really just his way to not get distracted by you.

*Nonstop yapping*

"By God, do you ever just quiet down for a second?"

"Well sorry for wanting to have a conversation."

He was salty after that. Didn't stop him from yapping though. You never actually noticed, but whenever you were close to him from his point of view, he always looked up to the sky, avoiding looking at you entirely. Also, his rotors moved every now and then and you're not sure why.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Could you tell this was rushed?

Could you also tell i had trouble writing Mega Trucker?

#metal cardbot #메탈카드봇 #metalcardbot #Razzy's little headcanons

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bloggingboutburgers · 5 months

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hey! just have a quick question about getting into qprs... i have this person i've known for about 2-3 years now and i'd absolutely love to get into a qpr with them; i've tried to hint at it in the past but my autistic ass can't figure out how to say it and have them pick it up (they've never noticed any of my hints before) without explicitly asking "hey have you heard of this thing called a queer-platonic relationship before? yeah i want to do that with you", as that'd just be awkward and i have nowhere fucking near the confidence to do that with all my anxiety and whatnot. essentially i'm asking for your wisdom on how to suggest it to someone without explicitly saying that and with truckloads more anxiety than the average person. any help will be much appreciated, but keep in mind that autism bars a lot of stuff, including the ability to properly judge social situations (this is one area where i particularly struggle). thank you!!

Heya!

I've said it in the past in response to some other asks, but my partner was the one who suggested the idea of a QPR to me, not the other way around (I had no idea what QPRs were at the time), so... I'm not the best person to give advice on this TwT Of course it doesn't help that every person is different and that there's no guarantee that what works for a person will necessarily work for another...

I will say this though, in case it helps in any way: my partner had known me for a year and a half before they offered the idea, and apparently they'd wanted to offer it within just a couple months of starting to talk to me. Thing is, I'd made it clear early on that I'm not interested in romance or sex (as an aroace it's kind of something I'd built a reflex to let everyone know, at that point, so people wouldn't build expectations on me), so they might've thought even the idea of a QPR might make me wanna distance myself... But no, actually, I took it like it was a completely natural consequence with the most anticlimatic "OK sure sounds cool" imaginable.

But most importantly... "Hey have you heard of this thing called a queer-platonic relationship before? yeah i want to do that with you" IS pretty much exactly how they asked me, and that went well. If there's anything that I can offer as advice or comfort, it's that very fact. I can tell you from experience that it didn't make things awkward for me at all. The confidence part of course is another whole issue that I don't wanna downplay, though I'm not really sure what to offer as an alternative... TwT But I hope whatever you go for, it'll work out well for you in the end.

Here's pretty much word for word how it went for us, if it helps at all as well! There definitely was some tension whiplash to bear with, and some discussions that followed to see where that really left us, but in the end, we really are vibing^^ And personally, I feel there's nothing that works better than actually speaking from the heart and sincerely, as terrifying (and socially dangerous) as that can be sometimes. It can slam back in your face sometimes, I won't deny that, but it can also help a great deal other times, and in my experience, it gets easier the more you do it. Heck, I know it's easier said than done TwT But that's the most sincere thing I could say about that.

#...that said i hope it doesn't come to bite you in the future #getting whiplash from speaking from the heart can truly hurt #but yeah i definitely wish you the best of luck and all the courage nonetheless #queerplatonic #queer platonic relationship #qpr #anon #sorry this is so long btw TwT

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psychicsolanum · 2 months

Text

TUA S4 SPOILERS

I have so many thoughts after finishing it.

yet I feel so empty lmao.

I'm gonna put my disorganised rambles under a read more if anyone is interested and/or wants to scream with me about it

umbrella academy is one of, if not, my favourite show ever made for its storytelling and unique art direction yes, but mainly its characters and their dynamic, like everyone who loves this show.

i love the fluffy sibling relationships and how their trauma affects how they live and behave with one another. everything is built off of the characters!! it's never revolved around love interests unless it made sense and I really loved that. patch (mostly), dave, ray, lila and even Delores tied into the main cast's arcs and pushed the plot forward in a way that I thought was really satisfying and didn't take away too much from the family dynamics that the show focuses on.

so why did they choose these random romantic relationships this season to focus on? I thought the twist about Ben's death was actually great and unexpected personally, (and i loved seeing the kids go out on a mission; i always wanted more flashbacks to their childhood) but to boil it down to a virus that made him fall in love with someone he just met? that's so boring and so unlike anything they've done before imo!

also what happened to sloane lmao. I know basically nothing about behind the scenes stuff but what was the point of having her and Luther get together last season if they had no plans, I'm guessing they must have and the actress didn't come back?

and I feel like hargreeves' grand plan that caused everything in this show to happen feels so anticlimactic now. I mean I guess it literally meant nothing now. this feels like life is strange all over again but worse lol.

Klaus! thank god he exists in this series. what a breath of fresh air any time he was on screen. i never thought i'd be so relieved they threw him into another side quest lmao thank god he wasnt burdened by the main plot too much. I don't mean to say I'm completely happy with what they did with him, they started this arc of like, not letting his powers define him and finish his transformation that he's been continuously going through since s1, but because the show ends with everyone killing themselves it just kind of fizzles out? still love him and his careless whimsy, i thought the way he got his powers back and the scene following it was really good. as always wish they explored it moreeeeeee ughhhhh. Omg they never did anything more with the void or God either. I loved that stuff :(((((((((((

I cant even think about the five and lila stuff without getting mad so I'm just gonna say: fuck you for that. what the fuck were you thinking. why. why. why. in my head five is aroace and moves on with his life, maybe takes up golfing idk. who cares. anything else. HE LITERALLY SAID "I WANNA FUCKING KILL HIM" ABOUT DIEGO IN THE LAST EPISODE?!?!?!?!? and he hid the way home to her children from her for months???? I like the very end of the plotline where it explained founder five, very Loki, but that could have been accomplished without the 7 year romance...............

I think the 6 year time jump reallllyyyyy did not help this season at all. it just led to all the conflict with Allison being resolved instantly and her only story being the one klaus is living with. also wtf was going on with her powers why did they just give her telekinesis thats way more boring than her rumours! I like the tiny bits we got with klaus and allison but it was so short! with the time jump we missed so much development, most of them feel like completely different characters for no real reason. the only thing we know about luther is that he became a stripper, and viktor owns a bar in canada i guess??? these guys were most of the main plot in season 1 and they were so one dimentional this season. i feel like we barely got to get to know Claire or Diego and lilas kids which would be fine if the rest of the plot going on with the other characters was good and engaging, which i felt it wasn't. I don't even know the kids names apart from Grace, which is very cute ill give them that.

The show ended with the main cast doing a group suicide. ceasing to exist. none of them getting to heal.

I'm sorry I don't want to be a hater and I really do hope that some people loved this season but im just so sad lol. i liked the first couple eps and I really love these characters, judging by twitter I'm not alone in my disappointment though lmao. what was the potential s5 gonna look like?!?!?

I loved klaus and Allison a lot and we got little snippets of greatness, I want a spinoff of them now!!!!!!!

I'm excited to hear other people's opinions, maybe I'll see other perspectives and feel a little better haha.

klaus 4ever 🖤☂️🖤

#tua #tua s4 #tua s4 spoilers #tua season 4 spoilers #tua season 4 #▪️#i've been updating this post any time i think of more stuff i wanna get off my chest lol

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mariaofdoranelle · 1 year

Note

I didn't know you wore glasses and I'm thinking normal and platonic thoughts about you right now I swear - for the drabblefest!

Thanks for the prompt!! I had so much fun writing this ❤️❤️

Short-sighted Gym Crush

Written for my Drabblefest

Warnings: Aelin being horny and everything that comes with that

~700 words

⨯ ⁺ ✦ ･｡ﾟ⨯ ﾟ♡ ✧* ･｡* ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

When you plan to go to the gym everyday, you need to find that thing that’ll make you get out of your house. Could be anything, from setting body goals—those being realistic or not—to getting over a heartbreak.

For Aelin, it was seeing her gym crush.

They did nothing but exchange glances across the room and take turns on gym equipment every now and then. She wouldn’t feed into a fruitless crush like this in any other situation, but having something exciting about the gym and wearing all the fancy, tight clothes she could was worth it.

Besides, the headphones helped to make the gym more bearable, but having a nice view as well was a nice bonus. A very muscled bonus, one might say. So big and spicy, he looked like a whole damn mean. Yes, Aelin liked that bonus very much.

She was doing barbell squats in the free weights area, and Mysterious Gym Bro was lifting weights not far from her. Being in front of the mirror made it easy to shamelessly ogle him without being caught.

The top, frontal part of his silver hair was dripping with sweat, and the entire length of his muscles looked shiny from it. Even fully clothed, he looked borderline indecent like this, or at least enough to make Aelin’s blood seethe.

And he was wearing glasses. She had no idea if those were new or if he was wearing contacts every other day, but Short-sighted Gym Crush looked absolutely delicious with thick, black glasses rounding his pine green eyes.

It was like he could read a book as much as he could tear it in half when he was done with it.

Aelin went down for another squat, but her eyes wouldn’t leave Oblivious Gym Crush. She knew she was supposed to watch herself doing the exercise, but he was so mouth-watering hot her knees got weak, and—

Aelin fell on the floor like a cartoon, but at least she dropped the barbell before it fell on top of her. She felt the ache of her hip and the rapid heartbeat due to crippling mortification.

As if this wasn’t enough, Hot Gym Crush kneeled on her side. “Are you alright?” he asked with widened eyes.

Was he asking about her aching ankle, or her complete humiliation after falling with her weight like a beginner? Aelin felt her whole face heating, but at least she could blame this flush on the exercise.

“Perfect,” her face was somewhere between a grin and a grimace. “you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m a doctor—“

“OW!” Aelin moved to get up, then threw herself on the floor. “It hurts so bad.”

He frowned, taking her state in. “Your ankle doesn’t look good, but…” Dr. Gym Bro hauled her up, settled her on the floor, and placed her arm around him so she could use him as a crutch. He offered to drive her to the hospital, then they both agreed that it wasn’t needed, so Hot Gym Crush was driving her home instead.

“Thanks,” Aelin said with a genuine—if not a little embarrassed—smile.

He squeezed her waist in acknowledgement. “You can ask me to spot you next time.”

“Really?” This was peak romance for every gym rat.

“Of course.” He twisted his car keys in his hands. “Can I get your name before I give you a ride home?”

“Aelin.”

“Aelin.” He looked down, and were his cheeks a little pink? He continued, “I’m Rowan.”

Her eyes lit up with the new information. Rowan. How fitting. Very moanable.

“Well, Rowan, I think you have to stay for dinner as thanks. I’m amazing at ordering takeout.”

Yep, his cheeks were definitely red. “That sounds nice, but I can cook if you’d like.”

She bit back a smile, but Rowan’s response made her vibrate inside. No need to go to the hospital, but Aelin wanted a deep, vigorous examination from her doctor. And if he asked her to stay in bed, how could she say no?

You can get notifications when I update by either following me on @backtobl4ck-fics or entering my (sometimes glitchy) tag list!!

TAG LIST

I couldn’t tag the people in bold, sorry!

@aelinchocolatelover

@autumnbabylon

@bookcide

@booksandteaonarainydayislife

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@courtofjurdan

@dreamer-133

@elentiyawhitethorn

@elizarikaallen

@empress-ofbloodshed

@fangirlprincess09

@goddess-aelin

@gracie-rosee

@leiawritesstories

@lululululululuop

@renxzs

@rowanaelinn

@s-uppertime

@sarahjswift

@staghorn-mountains

@superspiritfestival

@swankii-art-teacher

@thegreyj

@violet-mermaid7

@wishfulimaginings

#drabblefest #rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #throne of glass #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan x aelin #aelin x rowan #ask #rowaelin fanfic #throne of glass fanfic

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jehhskz · 1 month

Text

Thanks for the tag twin @athforskz ❤️

Click here for the questions. Kindly asking for MDNI because there will be nsfw stuff!

I'm tagging @doitforbangchan / @moonchild9350 / @jeonginsleftcheek / @ssickmagnolia8 ❤️

1.Dumbest thing you believed as a new fan?

I was convinced that Han and the actress Shin Se-kyung were sibilings because in my mind they are pretty much twins, i even went to check on Google because i couldn't remember her name and not to confirm they aren't related 😅

2.Favorite duo/ship from this group?

Although hyunlix fics makes my heart warm, i don't ship any of them romantically. But friendship speaking, my favorite is hyunlix and hyunjin and innie, i love how they are with each other 💕

3.Favorite sub group within the whole group (for skz: favorite Racha)?

Danceracha, they altered my brain chemical forever

4.Favorite unreleased song?

Mic and brush and their solos from dominATE tour 🥹 can they hurry up and released it soon, please?

5. Favorite old song of theirs? Favorite song from their most recent project/album?

I love love love Case 143 but i'd say Lonely St too, for their new album i loved everything, but i'd say chk chk boom, because this song instantly puts me in a good mood

6.Has your bias/ bias line changed?

Hmmm, i met skz because of Felix, but even if we had a - weird start - Hyunjin caught my attention right away, and i remember watching the topline mv and thinking if i was dating Felix i'd have those - oh i wish it was you instead - feelings for Hyunjin (look at me being delulu when i didn't even know what delulu was 😵), so yeah i guess it's always been Hyunjin 👉🏻👈🏻

7.What about bias wreckers, have they changed?

I'm torn between Lino and Felix, but it has been like this for awhile, so i'd say it didn't change

8.Which member are you attracted to the most physically? Emotionally?

I think ot8's so hot, i'd feel luck 🤭 but i'd say physically Han, him dancing to lalalala in that cropped top lives rent free in my mind, Hyunjin too and i'm not saying this just because he showed his abs recently, this man fully dressed was already messing with my head, and emotionally i'd say Han or Hyunjin too because i feel like i'd be very safe with them and could just be me without having to worry about what to say or do

9.If you ever actually had the chance, who do you think you’d work out in a long-term relationship with (please remember the first rule of Kpop)?

What's the first rule of Kpop? Without a doubt, Hyunjin. Not to hype me up or anything, but i just know i'd know how to love him right ❤️

10.A favorite kink of yours and choose a member to fit that kink?

Ohhh tmi moment 🫣 i'm obsessed with men neck, it drives me insane and Hyunjin has the most beautiful neck 🤤 and fingers intertwined, it's like my thing, very intimate, very loving, feeling his beautiful hands connected with mine during our intimate moments would make my heart explode, also finish inside, very intimate ❤️

11.Favorite sluttiest choreography/move they’ve done?

Have you seen my bias dancing? That man's moves is really something else 🫣 to highlight some of him and the boys, i'd say danceracha during taste, Hyunjin's hall of fame, that move from thunderous, Changbin's poppin, and Chan and I.N's solo during dominATE, their JJAM dance, oooh and the iconic play with fire!!!

12.Most unhinged fic and oneshot or edit you have enjoyed of them?

Ohh i've got quite a long list 💕 i usually go for the romances, here's some of the favs:

Hyunjin - Deity by @doitforbangchan

Hyunjin - Three days with you @moonchild9350

Hyunjin - Teach me and Too much kitten? By @seungfl0wer

Hyunjin - Sweet Reunion by @jeonginsleftcheek

Hyunjin - TAGAM by @leeknowsallyoursecrets

Hyunlix - Losing my breathe for you by @ssickmagnolia8

SKZ - All bark and no bite by @doitforbangchan

Felix - Of Ex's and Oh's by @athforskz

Han - Weather the storm by @doitforbangchan

There's a lot more, but i think i'm not suppose to make this list too long (?), but it's basically all my babes masterlists: @athforskz, @doitforbangchan, @jeonginsleftcheek, @leeknowsallyoursecrets, @moonchild9350, @ssickmagnolia8 i'm obsessed with their writting ❤️

Edits: This // This // This // This

#This was so much fun to do #cute tag game

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chaosteddybear · 1 month

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How about Eros 1 & 4, Philia 1, 3 & 5, Storge 1 & 3 for Mix? 👀

WOW THANK YOU!!!! ❤️ Answering these all for Mix <3 <3

Eros 1: Is your OC romantic in the traditional sense? Do they enjoy giving or receiving gifts of flowers or confectionary? Or are there other courtship traditions from their culture of origin that are important to them?

Gods, yes. Mix is hyper romantic I think. Romantic++

He is always thinking of his love and wants to take care of them. Some "romantic" things he does for anyone in his pack but the true romance is saved for his love - he's very monogamous. So he may bring gifts back for everyone after a trip, but the one for his love will be much more extravagant and more thoughtful than the rest. There will be more of them as well.

He loves to write his feelings down in letters, and he loves to do things like stick up for them, serve them, all of that!

To be done romantic things FOR would drive him absolutely crazy. Why? Why would they do this! He would be bawling probably every time.

Eros 4: Do they believe in love at first sight? Have they ever developed a crush or romantic (or erotic) fixation upon a stranger based on their appearance alone?

TLDR not based on aesthetics but based on actions he does in a way! Answered here

Philia 1: Does your OC have a Best Friend? If they do then how long have they known each other and how did they meet? If they don't then do they have a close group of friends they love equally? Or are they more of a loner?

I think Sasli, Turgi, and Rowley are his best friends. First he met Turgi - she pulled him out of his Rambling Era by suggesting that he make a new family 😭 He needs her still for a while, and he loves her too (as a friend). They're inseparable and she does a lot of calling him on his shit...

Sasli... he will always be her most reliable and loving friend. Sure he wanted more. But he accepted early that he wouldn't get it, and why would that get in the way of still loving her in platonic ways? He and Turgi met Sasli together and brought her into the pack 🥺 so he knows her the most medium amount of the bunch, I suppose.

Rowley, well, this one is more interesting!!! Sasli is in love with Rowley, which I won't explain here, but that's how Mix meets him! Well. He is so skeptical at first. Honestly, a little jealous. But. He wants the best for Sasli, so he only gives real criticisms and only to his face, to see his reactions. The snark is pretty adorable, actually. Rowley (almost) always wins, putting Mix in his place. After a while, he warms up to Rowley a lot. And not only does he prove he is worthy of Sasli, but he also proves he is worthy for even more. Yea, Mix would kill for him. (tag @dmagedgoods for Rowley <3)

Philia 3: What qualities does your OC most value in a friend? Loyalty? Shared sense of humour? Or something else?

Value? In a friend? How about just existing? They don't owe him anything! How could they? What does he even deserve?

Haha, but really. I think for him the most important thing is loving the people he already loves. Or at least respecting them? Making them happy and not killing them? That would be enough, in some cases. Because his pack is fully under his protection, anybody who threatens them in any way will not make it through his front door!

Philia 5: What is their most fervent wish for their best friend(s)? How far would they go to make it happen?

This is such a tough question for Mix because who is he to decide what they do and don't get!

I suppose safety. His most selfish desire is for his friends to be safe and without harm. And yes, he will use all of his skills to ensure this happens. Maybe a bit trigger happy if I'm being honest.... He would go as far as needed. He would kill to keep his pack members safe.

Storge 1: Did your OC's parents love them unconditionally? If so then has this helped them feel confident as an adult? If not then how has this affected them? What were the conditions their family attached to their relationship?

Mix was lucky. His family loved him absolutely and unconditionally.

It .. Fuck, it DID give him confidence. Too much, really! He feels he really let them down, and it's made worse because they thought the world of him. That bittersweet line between "I'm a failure" and "I'm only a failure because I WASN'T THERE." He really feels like he let them down and he will probably never get over it.

However, they did give him maybe more freedom than a kid should have. So that's important to who he is too 😂 his little solo trips smh.

Storge 3: How far does parental approval (imagined or expressed) impact upon their current sense of self-worth? What might they sacrifice or attempt to achieve in order to ensure the approval of their parents?

Not at all to be honest. He really defines his self-worth on his own, but he sure is harsh about it..

The ask post

#Mix #Ask game #WOW THANK YOU!#Crow #Rowley

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cherish--these--times · 1 year

Note

i just want to tell you how much i loved your post on media literacy & tedbecca!! really well put and what i hope reasonable fans not on our side would read so they’d realize where we come from! 💜

You absolute sweetheart. Thank you for telling me that. I should have been kinder in my approach but I am simply appalled, and sick and tired by a lot of people and now Brendan Hunt (not even gonna mispell his name, I'm fucking mad) for claiming that wanting Ted and Rebecca to get together was purely us silly fans being girly girls conditioned to want the male and female leads to end up together, so we could spice up our dull little lives with some sweet sweet Disney romance. I am INCENSED. I have seen quite a few queer people here rooting for them as well, which makes this reasoning even more offensive. Also to claim that he was surprised people would take it so personally is hilarious to me. Dude... have you ever been a fan of anything before??? Don't you know how much stories matter to people?? Wasn't it the goal when you made this show????

What antis don't seem to understand is that nobody in the TedBecca fandom was claiming that there were any romantic feelings between Ted and Rebecca. That would be insane because it just wasn't the case.

However, anybody with a modicum of critical thinking could see that they were playing with romcom tropes with them. But that's not even why I think most of us began to think we were heading there. What the writers did, in what remains a beautiful, masterful way, was lead the audience paying enough attention to understand that they were MEANT to be together. In a way far more profound than mere infatuation or physical attraction. No. They were each other's guarantee of true, long-lasting happiness. That's what they've established. Because they were similar in fundamental ways (a bit silly and immensely kind for instance). They had gone through similar things, including life-defining traumas on the same fucking day, at the same fucking time, and therefore could provide the other with all the support, the care, the devotion that the other needed. And they were doing just that! They could even communicate without words. They were undoubtedly making the other greater, which is exactly what Higgins wanted for Beard and Jane. They just had not realised it yet. Better still, I thought it was fabulous to have them go on their healing journey first, reach the top of the mountain, and THEN have them realise they were the love of each other's life. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CONCEPT. Truly a spectacular story, and one they hinted at RELENTLESSLY. And until the very end. When in truth, they could have stopped this many moons ago by having Rebecca meet a nice, sweet guy (not Dutch guy, fuck him, he was creepy as hell) as soon as series 1 ended and be done with it. But no. Ooooh no. They kept that shit going until the very last episode. Even Rebecca begging Ted to stay was yet another romcom trope they dangled under our nose. They shot themselves in the foot with that one too, because Ted's determination to leave felt even more stupid and irrational when perfect solutions were handed to him on a silver platter by her (OUT OF LOVE). No wonder he didn't say a word, because nothing he could have said would have realistically justified his departure after what she offered. Nope. He kept his mouth shut because the true answer he had was: "I don't want to leave but the writers insist I must be this Magical Being that comes into people's lives to make them better and then go away in a poof of smoke and glitter. Mostly glitter. Ain't that a damn shame. I appreciate you, though."

To claim their story was never intended to be understood as such and say it was all on us for making shit up is simply untrue (and insulting, and you can fuck off). It was all there. Beautifully woven through every episode, in subtle but undeniable ways. Using, one could argue, The Lasso Way. A series of imperceptible moments all leading to the inevitable conclusion. Even this, I thought, was another hint……

And yeah, on top of that, I am FUMING over the misdirects (Bantr texting and matchbook in Ted's pocket, the latter really making my blood boil) and Dutch Guy being shamelessly Ted-coded (and all of a sudden everybody was overjoyed because he was the perfect guy for her even though everything he did that day, Ted had already done first. Minus the kiss on the ankle, offering her a foot massage and shaming her into drinking because that was fucking creepy and also Ted would never bad-mouth his ex).

I do take some comfort in seeing now a couple of articles online denouncing the way we, as an audience, were treated. You know, people who have media literacy, unlike us, apparently??

I'm angry, annoyed, insulted, but mostly I'm just sad. Because they ruined that show for a lot of people, including myself, and a few of their own characters in the process.

#tedbecca #ted x rebecca #ted lasso spoilers #forever salty #feels good to vent though

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you-know-honey · 3 months

Note

Hello, I also speak Spanish, but I didn't know whether to write to you in Spanish or English (sorry about that).

Just a month ago I started listening to Ghost and fell in love with Copia. Obviously I started looking for stories about him and that's how I read your Tower of Cups post (It really made me cry, but I still loved it with all my being). I would very much like you to do a second part, if it is not too much trouble, (I would like to read how Copia bears all his pain and if possible a little depression for then a happy ending).

By the way, you are very good at writing, keep it up (and I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in my English).

Tower of Cups

Copia x Fem!reader

2/4

Summary: The most beautiful things are done out of love and the most painful follies are done out of guilt.

Word Acount: 5957

🚩suicide mention and attempt🚩

For de Reader: I know I may be a bit TOO late in responding to your request, I had many drafts as I wanted it to be credible. And again it got out of hand, but I promise you a big happy ending. Thank you for your words of support, they really make my day.

@fireolet24 thank you for your contribution, if it wasn't for you the story would have ended ;)

The memories came flooding back, and before he had even taken he first breath the tears had begun to stream down her face and the words she couldn't say that night were still stuck in her sore throat. He had no strength. He didn't want to get out of bed, to even open her eyes, much less face the day-to-day life at the abbey.

Everything had become torture. She stifled a desperate cry into the pillow beside her, after so many nights of crying and screaming his voice was barely audible. A pitiful and certainly humiliating shriek.

He looked up only to find several dozen empty wine bottles, he had not been a man fond of drinking, but now unconsciousness was the only thing separating him from his own thoughts that wanted him dead. He himself was his own greatest tormentor, he had broken the bathroom mirror, he was unable to look at himself without feeling disgust.

The night you left, the night he ruined everything was his greatest crisis. Sister Imperator had to call Swiss and Mountain, the strongest ghouls to take him to his room, he was unable to move, clinging to the photograph of a romance he had thrown away. He cried until the water of his tears turned to blood, until his lungs begged for air, until the blackness of unconsciousness closed in on him.

The rumour of the rupture, but more importantly the cause of it, spread fast through the abbey, if he had had the courage to leave his room he would have been ashamed, but he was not capable of that either. Sister Imperator was so disgusted that she refused even to look at him, and ordered him to be left in his room as one who sends old clothes to rot in the cellar.

No one cared how he was and he felt he deserved it, he'd been the bastard, he'd been the cheater, he'd been…just like Nihil.

Your words were still burned into his mind, they hurt, he could hear your voice and your pain over and over again pointing a finger at him and jabbing a spear between his ribs until it hurt his damaged heart even more.

He repented, every night while delirious with pain he begged for your forgiveness, he burned with desire for a second chance, he whispered your name between inconsistent phrases, he imagined your figure coming back to him. To return to your arms, to hear your laughter again, to hear you say again when you loved him was his greatest wish, a desperate and now impossible wish.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, the words escaping his mind. He had corrupted the love he felt for you with betrayal. "I love you…" he didn't feel worthy to say that.

He didn't feel worthy of loving you after what he had done, much less would he be able to love someone again, to say 'I love you' or just touching another person's hand would feel like insulting your memory. I couldn't imagine falling in love again with someone other than you.

And to be quite honest the thought of ending his life had crossed his mind more often than it should have, he just wondered what he would do. Would he drink himself to death or would he break a bottle and nail it to his heart or maybe it would be his window, he was so high he doubted he would survive if he took the leap. He didn't know how, but he knew in his tormented mind that without you it wasn't worth another breath.

"My love, ¿why are you crying?" His body inertia lifted off the bed as he heard the echo of your voice in the darkened room.

"Y/N?! Are you here?!" he desperately looked for you everywhere with her eyes, barely moving her weakened body for days without food.

In the gloom of the room, the silhouette of a woman emerged from the dim light streaming through the curtains, like a dancing shadow between reality and the unexplainable. Swaying in the ethereal breeze of the intangible.

Her contours blur as if covered by a spectral mist and her hair flows in an invisible dance.

A faint smile tries to form on Copia's lips, his hands tremble trying to touch the figure, dragging his bare feet across the floor. Desperate at the cruel games his mind plays in front of his eyes.

"Why did you do this to me Copia?" The figure, a clear imitation of you only made by the mind of a madman turns around. There are tears in her eyes that glisten as they are touched by the moonlight, there is a gaping hole in the wraith's chest, where her heart should go there is only darkness. Copia's weak knees give way and he falls to the ground with a dull sound of crunching bones.

"Forgive me! I beg you my love, I change! I am different now! Please come back! Forgive me! I'll do anything for you! Amore mio…!" her voice catches in her throat as the figure raises a hand in silence.

An icy blast blows the curtains wide open, revealing to the moon the most pitiful of her children, a man broken in body and spirit. The light is razor cold and illuminates the pain.

A heart-rending scream cuts Copia's throat and escapes into the air like a last gasp of life, in his hands is fresh blood and a heart that still beats, warm. The sweet smell of blood wafts through the air and churns her stomach, throwing the acid in her stomach onto the sour wine-soaked carpet. On all fours like a dog.

Blood cascades from his eyes as he tries to wipe the blood from his hands, but it only expands.

"It's your fault…" utters the spectral figure, using a cold tone, sneering with anger. "Why did you rip out my heart?! Why did you do this to me Copia?! I hate you! Why you're not dead?! You deserve to be dead! Look what you did to me!"

The figure turned towards him again, the darkness in his chest was beginning to bleed and from within he could hear screams, cries, a desperate and crazed voice pleading for death to end his pain. A new dagger was thrust into his chest as he heard that voice, your voice.

"I'm sorry…I'm SORRY! Please…forgive me" he begged, barely able to understand the words that came out of his mouth between desperate sobs.

"Pathetic…" the figure murmured.

"Make it stop…" She pleaded "Stop it…I can't…I can't…I can't listen to her suffer…" Her eyes were reddening as she tried to cover her ears to stop hearing your tortured voice "Make it stop! I can't stand it, stop it!"

"Don't forget Copia, you did this, you did this to me! I suffer because of you" The figure walked away, standing on the window railing "I will die suffering and it's all because of you, because of your betrayal Copia. You betrayed me."

"Let me fix it, please. Let me fix this, change, I'm different…" On all fours like a dog, without modesty, without courage, only driven by desperation. Copia pressed his beating heart against his chest and crawled to the huge window, at the figure's feet he raised his heart above his head "Give me a chance…Cara mia please…" He looked up pleadingly like the most desperate of Satan's parishioners, like a soul given to suffering, to punishment for his sins.

The figure laughed in his face, but Copia was too exhausted to respond to such a gesture, the icy hand of the figure that he had the face of his beloved rested on his face, it was cold, so icy it burned his skin.

"Do you want to fix it?" he asked in such a loving tone that it hurt even more than all the cruel words he could say to her. His cold hand left the trail of an icy burn as it travelled from her cheek to her hand, tangling her fingers with his, as if digging thorns into her nerves and cooking the flesh with still living. The figure moved away from the window, hovering above the void. "Come with me Copia." The figure tugged his hand warmly, watched him place his other trembling hand on the window sill and use it to propel himself until he was standing fully upright at the window gazing out into the void.

"If I do, will you forgive me? Will I get your love back?" he asked, like a naïve child who only wants to listen to his mother's lies.

"Jump Copia" demanded the figure "Jump and I will love you again" a crooked, eerie smile creased the figure's face.

"Forever?" she asked again, the tears had stopped, now only red strands staining her pale cheeks.

"Forever, my love."

That was enough for him, he sighed the icy air one last time and stretched out a foot into the emptiness of the night. He gave one last crystallized glance at the moon with a faint smile. He was ready to leave, to do anything for your forgiveness.

"Damn wreck!" shouted Sodo hitting the car from underneath.

"Dude, it's 3 in the morning, why don't you accept that the car should go to a REAL mechanic" yawned Mountain, leaning against the side of the car, fiddling with a wrench in his hands.

"I've been driving this car for years, I know it better than anyone, I bought it, I can fix it myself." Sodo slid on the skateboard under the car to look at Mountain, he had been trying for hours to see the problem, but nothing seemed to work.

"You're too stubborn" the murderous look he got from Sodo made him drop the subject. For months now Sodo didn't seem to be willing to receive or be part of jokes.

"Then why don't you leave?" the fire demon asked in an annoyed tone snatching the wrench from him.

"I'm not going to leave you alone with a car with a full tank of gas," the men raised patiently. "Since when did it stop working?" He change the subject.

The silence that accompanied the response surprised him. "Since I made the trip to Y/N's apartment."

Mountain also remained silent.

The entire abbey had heard what happened, even Mountain was perplexed when he had to carry Copia on his shoulder straight to his room, there was silence even at that moment, Swiss and he followed orders without asking questions, for the first time they did not feel curiosity, only icy chills run through their bodies.

No one talked about it when they arrived at the ghoul side, it was not forbidden, but they were still in shock and were sure that it was something that Sister Imperator did not want them to spread that.

"She is fine?" Mountain asked, treading the topic carefully.

Sodo stopped his movements and the wrench hit the ground. "She cried the whole way, she was devastated." There was anger and helplessness in his voice. He wished he had never taken her to that place, he wished he had slammed Copia's face into the sidewalk when she started going there. He felt guilty for not having stopped Copia when it all started. If he had known…

I had always considered Copia a very absent-minded intelligent guy with some gray matter, someone incapable of hurting a fly, someone who would cry for stepping on ants on the ground. But that morning, when he had to help you pack your life into boxes, Sodo saw when he had hurt you, you didn't speak, you weren't even able to look up without your eyes filling with tears. You had only pointed out where to put your things.

"But why he did it? I don't understand…why?"

He remembered your voice breaking in the car.

He had no answer for that, he himself was speechless at the actions of someone he considered a great friend. He wanted to hug you, offer to burn him alive, but he knew you, you weren't the type of person to seek revenge and that made him even angrier. How could Copia hurt someone like you? How could he change everything he had gone through with you for a one night girl? How could he be such a fucking bastard?

I didn't know. He just kept silent.

"That's what I want to think" he returned to the present and responded dryly to Mountain. She knew it wasn't him he was angry with, but, still, he was unable to shake the feeling from his chest. Sigh "She deserves to be okay, that's all."

"I know… I hate it when people talk about her like she's dead, it's so annoying. No one will make costumes as impressive as her." He would miss you, all the ghouls were starting to feel your absence. "Do you miss her?"

Sodo came out from under the car. His mind was too scrambled to solve the problem.

"Yes…" he leaned back in the car next to Mountain, it was difficult to admit something like that "I shouldn't have taken her to that place Mountain, nothing would have happened then…"

"You know how she is, nothing would stop her from finding him. It was just a matter of time" I try to comfort him.

"Maybe you're right." Sodo bit his lip, knowing what question he was going to ask. "How is he?" asked.

"Copia?" Sodo nodded.

"Absolutely broken, he is a shadow of the man we know" Mountain sighed sadly.

"He deserves it" The words came out of Sodo before he could think them.

Mountain turned to look at him "No Sodo, he is self-consuming, he is letting himself die. The Clergy will soon find out about this and you know what they could do to him…"

His mind entered into conflict, until now Copia was the Pope with whom he had become most attached and although if he deserved some kind of punishment for his betrayal, he did not expect it to be that. He remain silent for a long time.

"Do you need a moment alone?" Mountain continued, receiving a nod of head as his only response. "Do not be late."

Sodo heard Mountain's footsteps leaving. He sighed, exhaling a cloud of cold air, the moon illuminated even the smallest corner of the enormous patio where he was and when he looked at the sky in search of advice, the center of him was traveled by an electric current that stole all the air from his body.

It was not an idea of his imagination, it was not a shadow or an optical illusion not for eyes like his for which day and night were equally luminous.

Standing on the windowsill he could clearly see Copia, extending his trembling hands as if to reach for something that was only in his mind, giving an exhausted and demented look at what only he could see. He knew what he would do even before Copia extended his foot out of the sill and he wasn't going to allow it.

His horns grew longer and tangled in his hair, the darkness in his veins spread over his arms, there was fire in his gaze and running through him. He didn't waste a single moment before climbing the building with superhuman skill and throwing himself at Copia to fall into the room, breaking a couple of bottles that lived on the floor and causing a big scandal.

"What's wrong with you?! Are you crazy?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sodo shouted, shaking Copia, like a wild animal would do before devouring his prey, the blood rushing to his brain too quickly.

In a moment everything had gone from zero to a hundred and there was only one thing on his mind. ¿Why?

Copia's face twisted into a grimace of sadness.

"I saw her, Sodo. So beautiful…" Copia's eyes soon shed tears as the fog faded from her eyes and she returned to reality "I was going…she was going…she would forgive me, I just had to do it." …please…let me do it" He seemed to believe in his own words even though they were crazy.

Sodo could see how in his wounded mind it was now difficult to differentiate reality from fantasy. He was falling fast down the slide of dementia.

He didn't know the man he now had in front of him.

"Copia… What were you trying to do?! Do you want to die?!" He told her, hoping that a shock of reality would be enough to make him grab the thread of sanity and follow him, but all he received was a silent cry.

"I don't deserve to live… I want to die! I want her!" She seemed to have a moment of lucidity. As if all her emotions had been swallowed by the black of her eye. "Sodo… there is no life without her, there is no merit or reward that is worth as much as her, she loved me… I love her and I ruined it."

Sodo sighed and plopped down next to Copia.

"Bro, what happened to you?" She did not recognize the man her eyes saw, as Mountain had said he was a shadow of the man she had been.

"I ruined my life, that's what happened. I lost everything." She murmured and after a few minutes of silence she spoke again "It wasn't real, right?"

"She would never have asked you for something like that. She would never want to see you dead, not even now." Sodo turned his head away from him, feeling sorry for Copia.

"You don't know," she replied.

"It's not her style" Sodo replied and Copia remained silent. Once again he had been trapped by her own mind.

He didn't know if he should interrupt her thoughts or if she should continue talking about you. He had no idea how to treat someone in the Copy state. Until his infallible sense of smell detected a horrible smell.

"Shit!" He covered his nose. "How long has it been since you've had a bath?"

He didn't really care that much about the smell, but he didn't expect that kind of carelessness from Copia.

"I don't know, months maybe? It doesn't matter" I played it down, but her discomfort was evident. He didn't expect visitors and was embarrassed that Sodo saw him like this.

"Man, you can't lie down to die like this." Copia looked at him in silence, he didn't care if he was buried alive. "Come, get up." Sodo stood up and thanks to the strength he possessed in that state he was able to help Copia stand up.

"What are you planning?" Copia asked, letting herself go, dragging her feet along the cold carpet.

"Help you," Sodo decided. He wouldn't let his friend become a living corpse, he had never been heartbroken, he didn't understand why Copia felt that way but he didn't care, he would find a way to make him the man he had known or at least something close to that.

Sodo dragged Copia to the bathtub and helped him sit in it. The light in the bathroom was dim, but unlike the rest of the room, it was filled with purer, cleaner air.

"Where do you keep the shampoo?" Sodo asked, as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and left his shoes on the side of the toilet.

"Behind the mirror," Copia pointed out weakly. When Sodo turned around, he looked at the remains of the mirror spread across the sink along with a few drops of dried blood. "Don't ask."

"I wasn't planning on doing it," he replied and as if it were nothing important, he opened what was left of the mirror and took out all of Copia's cleaning supplies and left them scattered on the floor.

"Do you plan to bathe me like a baby?" Copia joked, in his way it served to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"Yes" he didn't expect that answer, he supposed deep down that he never expected Sodo to make those kinds of gestures for him. "You can take your time to take off those rags, I'll throw away the broken glass."

"Thank you" was the only thing he could say before Sodo took the crystals one by one and left them outside the room.

He turned on the hot water and out of old habit activated the dinosaur-shaped bubble machine. He took off his dirty shirt and tossed it in the corner along with his pajama pants. When there were enough bubbles he also removed his underwear.

Feeling the hot water on his body relieved his physical pain a little, he could know that that moment of lucidity was just that, a moment, when his brain numbed all his emotions to avoid more pain. But he still didn't like him, because he realized that he was becoming a burden.

"What are you thinking about?" Sodo asked as he re-entered the room and knelt next to him in the tub. He didn't know whether to tell him, but how to deny something to those always so intuitive feline eyes.

"I'm becoming a burden Sodo, I'm not being useful." The ghoul's back bristled, he knew what he was implying and he wasn't ready to even plant the seed of doubt in his head.

"Bullshit" Sodo uncovered the shampoo and the aroma of macadamia filled the bathroom. They both smiled. "Put your head closer, I'm not going to go into the water."

Copy bowed his head, the truth was that he was sorry to be so misaligned, to the point that his hair was a mess but he knew that someone as in love with his own hair as Sodo would make his hair again as silky and soft as before. .

"You really scared me" Copia's eyes widened with a start, he was starting to fall asleep "I thought… you know, that you were really going to take the plunge"

"I planed it…I'm sorry," he sighed, he knew the apology didn't carry much weight anymore. "My mind…" he sighed even harder. "My mind is killing me. I see things where there aren't any… I'm not even sure that this is true." be real" Like a scared child Copia sank part of his head into the water, leaving his nose inches from the water to breathe.

Before a fatal thought could arise in Copia's mind, Sodo slapped him roughly, earning a groan from him and a frown.

"It hurt you. That means it's real." He knew there was some malice in that act, a slight punishment for almost ending up like mush on the floor, but it was also a symbol of friendship, he was there. Sodo was there, holding out his hand to give him a break.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Sodo's fingers worked wonders on his skull, perhaps unintentionally, but it was great how he massaged everything, going from one product to another, sometimes letting it sit and other times washing it off immediately. His mind was finally focused on the present. He even thought about whether he really wasn't dead and so would be his eternal rest. He moved his feet under the water like a child excited by bubbles, for a moment he was the same old Copia again. He even hummed some old songs that he listened to when he was young. But he couldn't escape his punishment forever, and when Sodo's hand traveled to the hair behind his ears, his hand quickly emerged from the water and gripped one of Sodo's slender wrists.

Sodo's look of bewilderment made him take control again and he slowly sank his hand back into the water.

"Forgive me, it's just that she…" had a hard time saying your name, or even referring to you in a conversation. Not that he had many since then, though. Sodo was the first person he dared to talk to. "She used to do it"

It was a nice memory, when he invited you to an open-air cinema and the rain created mud puddles everywhere, in their escape from the rain they had both fallen several times and when they got home he had the courage to invite you to take a shower with him, without ulterior motives, just more quality time as a couple. He smiled as he remembered how the bubbles had overflowed the bathtub, the sound of your laughter and the sweet humming of a song they had heard on a television commercial. He could remember perfectly how you caressed his hair on that occasion and how you adjusted him before each show, running your hands through the unruly hair behind his ears that was always more work.

The demon sighed "I don't understand" he exclaimed as he leaned his head against the wall of the bathtub.

"The fact that?"

"How does everything remind you of her?" asked. He didn't understand love, at least not the love that Copia professed for you. "How come you let yourself die without Y/N?"

"She…" he felt a chill in his heart when he heard how he pronounced your name "She is my everything Sodo, she encouraged me to go as far as I could, I will always see her in everything I love. In everything I once It was ours. There was a before her, you know? Everyone was passing over me, my brothers, my father, even those who were inferior to me. She put the microphone in front of me and silenced the whole world so that they could hear me, she celebrate each one of my attainment as if I had achieved miracles. She showed me the world outside of the Ministry, outside of who I am. She didn't sleep for days to make the perfect outfit for each of the rituals, she only asked me one thing, to take care of her heart, and what did I do? I broke it."

"But you love her, that's what matters right?" Sodo replied. He didn't understand if you had done so many things for him, if he would have been able to end his life just because of your forgiveness. How would it all end like this?

"But I don't deserve to love her. I damaged everything beautiful we created, I made her cry, I humiliated her, I trampled on her confidence. I was equal to the rest, equal to Nihil, she said it herself" he didn't like to say it, but it was true. And like Nihil he would live his entire life (however short) in the shadow of the love he ruined and the infinite longing to return to the arms of the one he loved.

"How complicated you humans are."

Copia did not respond, they both looked at each other for a long time, perhaps searching for a solution in their minds or just giving each other some silent support. Until Copia's stomach growled with hunger.

Sodo raised his head like a curious cat. "What was that?"

He was a little embarrassed, he had forgotten the last time he consumed anything that didn't have more than 15% alcohol. "I think I'm hungry." In fact, he was pretty sure he was hungry.

Sodo's yellow eyes rolled and he started to pull to my feet.

"Where are you going?"

"Did you look for some food," replied the demon, "do you think you can stay alive for about 20 minutes?"

He joked.

Although Copia knew that he just wanted to be sure that when he returned he would still be on the earthly plane, he had gotten used to Sodo's strange way of worrying about him, as if he didn't really care, but that little demon had a good heart, one more bigger than his pride. So he nodded his head.

"Great." He said and disappeared, the sound of his bedroom door closing letting her know that he was really gone.

Copia sank under the water, his hair rose up on his head and the shampoo came out of it in small blue threads. The world was very silent underwater, nothing but his own heartbeat reminded him that he was alive. He felt some relief that Sodo had found him in time, but he also felt lost, there was no direction or clear path to follow now, he wouldn't find a way out of that fog that had now covered any exit, he could only stay on a strange limbo between absolute pain and total emptiness with slight signs of lucidity.

He shook his head trying to get the thoughts away at least for a few hours. He emerged from the water only when his lungs warned him that he should breathe again. The water was starting to get cold, so he had to finish bathing.

Sodo closed the bedroom door with a thud, sighing loudly trying to put his ideas and thoughts in order. He had something clear. No one could find out how bad Copia was.

He was the oldest ghoul and knew that the Clergy would soon ask for reports just like they did with Terzo who was given a bitter end for much less than what Copia was going through.

She leaned against the door trying to rack her brain for some solution, all the options she had were ridiculous.

"Sodomizer?" The air was trapped in his throat for a few seconds, he raised his gaze little by little, trying to calm himself in the process so as not to give away anything that was happening inside the room behind him.

"Sister Imperator" kept her gaze lowered, as a symbol of respect.

"Is something happening inside Copia's room? I heard a loud noise." He exhaustively scanned the ghoul's rigid posture, like a sentinel at the door. "Did something happen? I just wanted to see if he's okay."

Her attempt to open the door was quickly stopped by the demon's agile hand. Something she hadn't expected and that Sodo hadn't wanted to do on purpose. He already saw himself back in hell for that action, of course he didn't overlook the look she received from Sister Imperator, he had to think of something quickly, something that was credible that he and Copia could do together.

"I'm sorry," he said hesitantly, "Copia is a little drunk."

"Is my son drunk?" He noticed the annoyed tone in the woman's words although she still maintained that 'kind' smile.

"Copia found a very attractive video game and he invited me to play this morning. We are having what humans call a 'boys night', we drank a little and he doesn't have much resistance to liquor, I throw the bottle, you know how clumsy he is. I head to the kitchens in search of dinner and cleaning supplies."

As such it was a truth wrapped in huge layers of lies, Copia and he didn't have anywhere near the same taste in video games and Sodo didn't like to drink anything other than a bottle of brilliant midori and he definitely wouldn't ever get drunk, it was practically something impossible. But those data were something Sister Imperator did not know.

"Then I'll accompany you, I would also like a midnight snack." With a practiced smile Sister made a gesture to allow Sodo to walk next to her, like a cat he kept his distance from her and did not try to make small talk. Both gave each other fleeting glances in search of finding some delight in their attitude to discover the truth behind the lies that, being honest, neither of them had completely believed.

Only the sound of Sister Imperator's heels and Sodo's boots could be heard walking in unison through each of the long hallways, descending the polished and shiny stairs in absolute silence, both trying to keep their guard as high as possible.

The always-on light from the kitchen made its appearance at the end of one of the hallways. Inside there was a huge table where food was prepared and hundreds of pans, pots, ladles and long spatulas hung from the ceiling above it. That place could perfectly compete with the kitchen of a cruise ship of the highest standard, large and powerful kitchens and a huge refrigerator stocked with anything you could imagine.

Sodo cracked his knuckles and took a breath before taking a large tray and placing it on the table while thinking of things that could revitalize Copia quickly and effectively. He still kept an eye on Sister Imperator, who moved slowly humming a slow and gloomy old song.

The fire in one of the kitchens lit up, and when she turned her eyes startled she met the feline gaze of the ghoul, as if he knew that was going to happen.

"Something happens?" he asked, looking for another reaction.

"Absolutely not"

They both continued their tasks in silence, the only constant noise that could be heard was Sodo rummaging through some cabinets in the kitchen and cursing when she realized that the pans were out of reach, much to her chagrin, she had to climb over the table to get them. Sister shook her head and a small laugh crossed her face.

"How is he?" She asked doubtfully as she entered the kitchen.

Sodo quickly lowered the heat and let the vegetables and diced chicken finish cooking, his tail bristled and he remained alert like a cat.

"Papa Emeritus IV is fine, I do my duty to keep his health afloat." I pronounce Sodo as if I were reading it from the manual. Sister was Copia's mother, it was not a secret to anyone, but before being a mother she was loyal to her position, loyal to the Clergy and he had no doubt that she would do the same thing she did with her other son's this time, she would get rid of Copia.

Sister Imperator stepped out of the refrigerator with a flan in her hand, she moved as if she were stalking him, touching the ceramic of the kitchen island with her fingernails. Sodo was a prey.

"You're kind of his friend, right?" she uttered slowly as she approached Sodo.

"That's what he calls it, so I guess I am." He ended up saying Sodo, trying not to look nervous as he gathered some plates from the china cabinet.

"You are the leader within the ghouls right?" Sodo nodded, he had earned the position by being the one who had been on earth the longest "Then you know how important it is to have a qualified leader and… in a position to lead, a disturbed leader and everything falls like sand, it must be make a change in time rather than suffer the consequences." A disappointed sigh left Sister Imperator's throat, leaving the flan on the tray with a shiny layer on it. "Copia loves flan, give him this one for me… Good night Sodo."

The sound of heels walking towards the exit with a proud bearing echoed inside Sodo's head incessantly like a nightmare. Looking at the shiny flan wondering if Sister already knew about Copia's status and was trying to get that "change."

"Excuse me," he called carefully, the heels stopped their walk and turned to him, half of his figure hidden behind the kitchen door. "He said he wanted a late-night snack, but I don't see that he has anything in his hand… "He left the idea in the air, looking into her eyes for the first time, thinking about what was going through that dark mind.

She responded with a kind smile, "I guess I lost my appetite."

She said and swayed like a ghost out the door, humming a funeral song.

...The End..?

If you like what you read please reblog and if you would like me to write about something my DMs are always open.

#sodomizer ghoul #the band ghost #sodo ghoul #copia #cardinal copia #papa emeritus iv #copia x reader #ghost copia #ghost band #dewdrop ghost #copia emeritus #papa copia #angst #sad things #cry #copia ANGST #just pain

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hottiemcdottie · 2 months

Note

Hello. I hope you are doing well.

I'm a new fan of Monk, and I have a question about Tony/Monk and Bitty/Sharona.

I have started to read your fanfiction novel, Mr. Monk and The Port, and I like Monk's and Sharona's chemistry already. The only thing I dislike is the cursing, which is just a personal preference. I know you are a big shipper of the two, and so am I, but I just was wondering if you ship Tony and Bitty as well?

In some of your post, you mentioned both Tony's and Bitty's choice of action. I never put that much thought into it. I just thought the two are incredible actors, which they are.

I sense that you ship Tony/Monk and Bitty/Sharona behind the sences, and with their unmatchable chemistry and double act, do you think anything ever happened between them behind the scenes? I'm not counting on it because Tony is married, but I would like to hear your thoughts.

Another question, how do you think Tony, as well as the main cast, responded to Bitty Schram leaving? There's no comment on anyone's behalf, besides the network's statement. The cast's chemistry is really good. Everyone played their part well. It saddens me that Bitty left because of a contract disruption, or the reason she truly left, because she truly made the show. This is talked alot, but the way the writers have written Sharona's leaving was horrible.

Anyways, thank you for responding in advance. Take care!

Hello friend!

I see you have caught onto my not-so-subtle hints!

Unfortunately, as Bitty Schram is currently out in Idaho and appeared recently on a MAGA podcast (without video), I have had to give up my ship, as I can of course not support anyone who stands with MAGA. She was not asked to appear in the Monk movie, and that's justified in my opinion.

But yes, before this I did think Tony and Bitty had at least done a tiny bit of kissing off-screen. I don't think he would cheat on his wife in any substantial capacity, so that's just speculation. They had major chemistry though, and it was clear they adored each other and that never changed. It's the root of the double act they were able to create.

And I still think Adrian and Sharona would have been a good match when he'd done some recovering. I think Monk very obviously was in love with Sharona and she loved him back. I think Bitty was pretty clear on it because she said in an interview that Sharona (and she herself) "loves him no matter what" which is a nice statement. And of course Tony said he couldn't think of any other guest star in the 8th season that mattered to him, which was VERY sweet. The writers even said they wrote Sharona as the exasperated wife.

It was also so sweet to see how excited and happy he was to have her back for the 8th season. I hated the storyline but you could see the love and chemistry had gone nowhere. Their acting choices really did reflect their feelings for each other and I loved that.

I'm disappointed in Bitty Schram, of course, given that I would have expected much better from an East Coast, NYC-adjacent artist, but I have to shrug at it too. When MAGA loses in November, they'll go back to whatever they were doing before and maybe she'll come back to the East Coast. Who knows?

So the original reason for her firing was stupid and inept management, and she did deserve better than she got. And I do think she had massive chemistry with Tony Shalhoub and that for me translated into potential for romance once Monk did some recovering.

I like to think that now that he lives in New York with Molly, Sharona comes to the city to see him.

Also thanks so much for reading the fic! It's the ending I would have wanted for them before the movie came out.

#rainbowbanana-blog #asked and answered #monk x sharona #tony x bitty

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tathrin · 9 months

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Writing Year Wrapped (2023)

Ooh, thank you for the tag @sallysavestheday!

3 Favorite Fics You've Written This Year:

Of course we have to go with my current obsession, And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, an as-canon-compliant-as-possible Fellowship-AU that asks, what would happen if Celebrimbor got himself re-embodied and came back to Middle-earth to try and make up for his mistakes by helping to destroy the One Ring (and brought all his unhealed trauma with him)? Plus a slow-burn romance for Legolas and Gimli, a whole lot of delicious world-building for Mirkwood, and a more active role for Arwen too!

Five Times Gimli Died (and One Time He Didn't) is, I think, despite the simplistic and trope-y title, one of the most elegant things I've ever written, and I am very much in love with it. It's the story of Gimli and Legolas's romance, from beginning to end (well...not really end, because the joy of them is that they're a story that doesn't end—Gimli Immortality Agenda, you can't stop me!—but the story ends with the beginning of their happily-ever-after, which is a sort of end, no?), told in a series of scenes that takes place from Moria to the Undying Lands, and could almost slip right in between the pages of canon if you squint enough to overlook a little bit of meddling from Mahal on behalf of his new favorite dwarf (don't tell Durin).

To Live In Undying Lands is a series of snippets set in Aman after Legolas and Gimli cross the Sea, focused on both their new life there and that of our beloved Hobbits who went over before. And I went back and forth several times deciding whether to swap the placement of this one and Last Temptation... below, but I ultimately think that was a bit more of a stretch than this one, despite the fact that I Never Write Hobbits and am writing quite a lot of Hobbits for this one, and also I Never Write Snippets Without An Overarching Plot—and because I'm such a sucker for Gimleaf that if I have to pick a favorite between any two comparable stories, it's always going to be the one with them in it! (Also: Gimli Immortality Agenda, always!)

3 Fics That Stretched You the Most:

Dead Faces In The Water; Dead Faces Everywhere - I don't write present tense, I don't write modern AUs, and I don't write zombie stories...but here I am, writing all three at once! (Thanks, @katajainen! This story is 1/3 your fault, 1/3 @roselightfairy and @deheerkonijn's fault, and 1/3 Mira Grant's lol. And you were the inciting incident, so you get first blame!) And somehow having a great time doing it! (So much world building! I'm in paradise!)

The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm - probably one of the most overtly ambitious stories I've ever done. It's likewise in present-tense, although that's considerably less daunting now after almost forty chapters of zombies; but there were a lot of other balls to juggle on this story, including my first time properly writing both of the main characters as well as anything set in Ost-in-Edhil; and of skirting right up against the line of how close it came to all ending differently and making that (hopefully) feel almost like it could have gone differently and avoided all that tragedy in a way that, hopefully, both satisfies and distresses the reader.

And (I suppose this is a bit of a give-away, but it's not like I tried very hard to hide anyway; the anonymity is mainly designed to make people feel more comfortable offering con-crit, which I have no idea if it actually helped or not but I did get some lovely and helpful feedback on it, so I'm going to say the tactic has been a success) definitely Cliffside Revelations, which has the honor of being my very first explicit smut fic...even if most of the smut is an excuse for world building, which I'm sure shocks all of you lmao!

(And sneaking in an honorable mention of On The Far Side of the Sundering Sea, because my name isn't on the previous one so it probably doesn't technically count...which means I can slip in an extra story as a technicality, right? Right. Shhh, it's fine!)

3 Favorite Lines You've Written (loosely interpreting "lines" as sallysavestheday has cleverly demonstrated):

Oh this is difficult. Most of my best lines are only their best because of the context around them; and it's hard to remember them as distinct lines after their sections have been finished and posted. But this does at least save favorite and not best, so that helps; let's give it a try, then.

First, from Five Times Gimli Died (and One He Didn't) we have a moment of a revelation on Gimli's part, as he discovers that his heart might not be as alien to his Maker as he feared it was:

He stood in silence, staring at the unseen form of he who had made all Dwarves; of the Maker of stone and rock and mighty mountain. Mahal, who had made the Dwarves…Mahal, who loved the green.

This is one that definitely needs the context to make it work, so we're including the whole preceding paragraph from Blows Uncounted, a little AU-take on Helm's Deep where either the uruks are stronger or Gandalf is slower, and the battle has a darker ending.

For Legolas was not simply any elf: he was an elf of Mirkwood. Taur-ne-Fuin, the forest under nightshade; Taur-e-Ndaedelos, the forest of great fear. These orcs and uruks of Isengard, used to preying on earnest horse-lords and forthright farmers, had never met an elf of his sort before. Their northern kin could have told them stories of what befell orcs beneath the black boughs of Mirkwood…but orcs did not often come alive from those dark woods, not at least without Nazgûl to guard their travels.

And there were no Nazgûl here.

And taking a complete one-eighty in tone from the previous, I am quite inexcusably delighted with this one from Honeysuckle and Cider, and still giggle to myself whenever I re-read it:

"Uh," says Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor, first of the House Telcontar.

(The line after it definitely qualifies as a runner-up, but I do think this one beats it out. Sorry, Faramir!)

Actually there's one other line I really wanted to put in here, even more than the one about the Nazgûl, but I'm not going to, because it's the very last line of the story it appears in, and reading it before you read that story would suck all the wind out of its sails, I think; so if you want to know what that is, you'll have to go read The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm for yourself.

3 Characters You Enjoyed Writing (that surprised you):

Anntar (Sauron), actually! I got to play with him as more than just a Menacing Presence in The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm and oh, he was so much fun! This was Sauron in full-on seducing-the-Gwaith-i-Mírdain mode, with maybe just a hint of how he actually wanted to be stopped, so that he could let the schemes for world-domination go and just be happy here with his smith-lovers...or maybe that was all wishful thinking on Narvi's part. Regardless, it was great fun to play with both failed and successful manipulations here, as well as to actually write something with my new favorite OT3.

Boromir may have come as even more of a shock to me, actually. I very quickly went from "distant fondness but very little interest" in Boromir to taking great delight in him, thanks in largest part to Dead Faces in the Water, Dead Faces Everywhere (and a little bit to Two Fell Into Shadow, although most of that was written or at least sketched-out earlier; but I'm counting it, because I don't think I realized how much fun he was fifteen years ago or so when I was writing it initially). Also, of course, his part in And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, although I haven't gotten to the point of posting any of his Grey Company chapters yet (shhh). He's such a wonderful sort of "I did not sign up for any of this; I have no idea what's happening; but I Am Participating Anyway!" sort of character, dragged out of his element commanding Minas Tirith's armies (where he's an extremely competent and confident fellow) and tossed into this baffling world of weirdness full of elves and magic and nonsense, for which he is so ill-equipped and ill-prepared. And yet he gamely goes along with it, because it needs doing! Whatever the fuck it is! He has no idea!

And last but certainly not least: Gimli, although this one may be less of a surprise; but it was a surprise to me how often I ended up writing from his perspective. I did not expect that, because I'm much more interested in elves (especially Mirkwood elves) than I am dwarves in general, and I've done a lot less world-building (a lot less) for Erebor than I have Mirkwood; but it's so much fun using Gimli as "the sensible perspective" (as well as an excuse to get really flowery with my wording sometimes, shhh!), not to mention an extremely astute and observant one, that he makes for a very addictive viewpoint character. I actually ended up having to make a conscious effort to switch to Legolas's pov sometimes, in fact, because it was so easy and charming to fall into Gimli's head and stay there! That was definitely a surprise to me.

3 Unexpected Inspirations:

This fucking dream! I still don't know what the hell happened to me that night, but it sure was unique and extremely unexpected!

And quite startling was the time where seeing the Legolas-always-looks-back-for-Gimli gif-post from the LotR movies cross my tumblr dash right to an Orpheus-and-Eurydice poll basically popped this whole-ass story fully formed into my head in one big rush of inspiration. Although the same thing happened with this post and And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow, so maybe I should stop thinking "random post on tumblr" is unexpected inspiration...

And uhhh....this XD

3 WIPs You're Excited About in the Upcoming Year:

And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow which I swear I will get back into working-on as soon as I get some of my other ongoing stuff finished, because I absolutely adore it! and I definitely want to write more on it! very much so! but the vibes required for writing it are so different from the other stuff that it's hard to switch back-and-forth between it and them (same goes for the zombie-fic).

An As-Yet-Untitled story set many, many, many years after the end of the War of the Ring in the Undying Lands, where our three beloved Hobbits (and one Dwarf) living on those timeless shores discuss their mortal lives, and decide when and whether to let them end.

The sequel to The Dark Reborn, because I am at some point going to drag my brain back into the galaxy far, far away enough to start reading and writing Star Wars fic again, and I fucking will finish this fucking awesome sequel trilogy fic I started, kriff it!!!

3 People Tagged to Share Theirs:

Tagging with zero pressure: @babybat98 @bifuriouswaterbender @katajainen

#if you've already done this and i just tagged you again forgive and ignore me #i haven't had a chance to look at my dash yet today (i was at work and then reading the new murderbot ahhhhhhhhhh so good!!!!)#or! if you'd like to take the opportunity to talk about even MORE stories! feel free to make a second post with the runner-up fics lol #writing year wrapped #my writing #my stuff #ask meme #lotr fanfiction #gigolas #gimleaf #silvergifting #legolas #gimli #celebrimbor x narvi #silverdoorsgifting #that's right i'm MAKING UP MY OWN SHIP NAME for this ot3 and NOBODY CAN STOP ME

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