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#he’s like if i had NOTICED i wouldn’t have ever had my season 1 haircut jesus christ
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Stranger Than Fiction
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Part 21: History
Billy Hargrove x Reader (Slowburn)
Part 1,... (Masterlist)...Part 22, Part 23 (Coming Soon)...
AN: Welcome Back!! The next few chapters are going to be the months between season 2 and 3. Kind of filling in the gaps and working on the dynamic between Billy and the Reader.
Word Count: 4,668
Warnings: language
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Things are different when you return to school on Monday. You can’t say for sure, but it feels like Billy is hovering. It’s such a shift that you seem to notice almost immediately. 
From where you sit, in the passenger seat of Steve’s car, you can see him a few spots over. He leans against his driver side door, smoking a cigarette, the smoke curling around his lips as he lingers in the cold. You write it off as him getting one more fix before entering the crowded hallways, something you had to prepare yourself for in your own way. 
“Something's off.” Steve comments next to you. Turning your gaze back to him, he leans forward in his seat fussing with his hair in the vizor mirror. “It’s just not… working, like it normally does.” He grumbles, running his fingers through his hair again. He sighs, sagging back into his seat. 
“You could try a haircut.” You quip, half joking. You would never tell him but in the past few weeks he had let his hair grow out and was beginning to look a bit shaggy. Steve rolls his eyes, snapping the vizor closed.
“Not helping.” He says dejectedly. You shake your head, smiling gently at him. This was not the first time Steve had become fixated on some aspect of himself, it was becoming a weekly occurrence. 
“You look great Steve.” you say, trying to sound as reassuring as you can. Steve turns his eyes to you, lifting a brow.
“Really?” he asks. You nod. “Even looking like a mop?” He asks frustrated, raking his fingers through his hair again. It was interesting at first, seeing Steve so self conscious when he is typically obnoxiously confident. But the more it happened the more you realize that maybe this has always been a part of him deep down. You know that it has something to do with Nancy and him breaking up. He would never admit that though, so instead you do your best to be a friend when he gets like this. 
“Yes Steve, and you don’t look like a mop.” You add. Steve glances at you, his face relaxing slightly at your words. Seemingly pacified, he smiles gently.
“To be fair, I think it’s the shampoo at your house.” He comments, twisting to reach into the backseat for his bag. You scoff at his words, rolling your eyes. 
“To be fair,” you mock his tone. “If you don’t like it, you can shower at your own house.” You respond, Steve chuckling. Both of you know that you are only joking.
Steve has spent many nights at your house since the gate closed. Typically it was on nights when your mom worked and Steve’s parents were gone. You both agreed that it was better to stick together and neither of you would ever admit it, but you both slept better with the other there. 
He spent the night so often that he constructed a makeshift cot that could slide under your bed easily so he wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. You know in the back of your mind that it’s strange for the two of you to spend so much time together, but it was also strange to fight interdimensional monsters and secret government agencies so… you don't focus on it too much. 
“I’m just saying, I’m trying to help you too.” He says, cutting the engine as you gather your bag from the floor.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You ask, cutting your eyes at him.
“I didn’t want to bring this up but… your hair is a bit flat.” He says with a grimace, shrugging his shoulders up to his ears. 
“My hair is flat?” you say in fake disbelief. “I can’t believe you would say that to me.” You place a hand over your chest, sounding hurt. You angrily open your door. “How dare you.” you say glaring at him as you climb out of the car, slamming the door closed for good measure. You can hear Steve laughing as he hops out of the car, following after you.
“Someone had to say it.” He says, jogging to catch up with you. You glare at him again, trying your best to keep up the facade. But, Steve’s smile is contagious and you are forced to crack a smile. 
“Fine, just bring over your shampoo.” You say, rolling your eyes. 
The two of you walk towards the school and as you pass Billy he finishes his cigarette before moving towards the school as well. Part of you wonders if he was waiting. You tell yourself that’s silly. But the rest of the day you feel like he is one step behind you. Like there is an invisible string connecting the two of you. 
You vaguely wonder if it has anything to do with the dance the two of you shared behind the gym. You have to admit, you’ve had a hard time putting it out of your mind. The way he had pressed you against him, holding you securely as the two of you moved together. The way his warm breath had mixed with yours in the small space separating you. How his hands had felt gripping your waist, guiding your hips against his, slowly intertwining your bodies in time with the music. It made you feel silly every time your mind turned to it. It was just a dance.
Although, when Steve had asked you how the dance went you didn’t tell him. You told yourself that he was only asking to hear about Nancy, that he didn’t want to know, not that you didn’t want to tell him. Even now as you think about it, your face feels warm and your stomach flips. But it’s hard not to think about when his eyes are following you through the crowded halls. You feel like an animal being stalked. You do your best to ignore it for the majority of the day, until you get to history. 
You freeze in the doorway as you enter. Instead of sitting in his usual spot, beside the window, in the back, Billy has moved to the seat right next to yours. You don’t know what to do. His head is down, pulling something out of his bag. You could probably run before he sees you. Before you can decide, someone behind you gives you a shove.
“Get out of the way, statue.” the girl grumbles, moving past you. You mumble an apology, stepping into the classroom. The burning in your face is only amplified when Billy looks up at you. Swallowing thickly, you force your legs to move. There are no assigned seats in this class, but it was an unspoken rule that everyone sits in the same spots. You keep your eyes down as you slide into your seat. You can feel Billy watching you.
You busy yourself, pulling out your textbook and notebook. Looking up, you see the boy that normally sits next to you enter. He sees Billy in his spot and there is a moment where you think he will say something. But when Billy locks eyes with him, you know he won’t. Instead he tightens his grip on the strap of his bag and moves to Billy’s old spot without a word.
You feel bad. You hadn’t taken his seat, Billy had. Somehow you feel partially responsible. You want to offer him your spot. You sit near the front to force yourself to focus on the material, but you can sit in the back today. 
You grab your books and bag, preparing to stand and switch seats with the boy. 
“How was your weekend?” Billy’s voice startles you slightly. You stop, turning slightly to see his eyes on you. He watches you, waiting for an answer. 
“What?” you blurt out. Billy sighs, running a hand over his face. 
“I said, how was your weekend?” He repeats, appearing mildly irritated. 
“I dont- It… It was good.” you answer hesitantly, very confused by the sudden question. Billy nods at your response, his brows pulling together.
“That’s good.” He responds, somewhat stiffly. You are about to ask him what is going on when Mr. Willson walks in, instructing the class to quiet down. 
You settle back into your seat, having missed your opportunity to switch spots. You open your textbook to today's lesson and do your best to absorb the information. History is your weakest subject. You enjoy hearing about it somewhat, but when it comes to recalling specific dates and analysis… you were hopeless. You alway leave class feeling drained and retaining little to nothing. 
It does not help that you can feel Billy’s eyes on you during class. Every time you glance at him he is looking away but your gut is persistent. Finally, the bell rings.
“Before you all leave, I have your graded exams from last week on my desk, make sure you grab them on your way out!” Mr. Willson calls over the sound of the class packing to leave. Securing your things, you head to the front to grab your test. Looking over the papers, other kids grabbing theirs, you can't seem to find yours. You’re about to ask Mr. Wilson when you feel a tap on your shoulder.  Turning, Billy stands holding a paper out to you. 
“Here, I grabbed yours by mistake.” he explains. You take the paper, your eyes catch on the red ink scrawled at the top. Your heart sinks at the score. 58%. Fuck. You should have studied more. To be honest, you found it hard to motivate yourself after dealing with yet another world ending threat.
“Thanks.” You mumble, folding the paper hoping to hide the red ink. It’s impossible that he hasn’t already seen it though. You keep your eyes down, your face burning, as you try to step past him. He moves in front of you, blocking your path. Looking up, you meet his eyes staring down at you. 
“I could help you.” He says. Your eyes widen in shock.
“What?” Billy rolls his eyes.
“I’m really starting to think you have a hearing problem, loca.” He comments. “I said, I can help… With history.” He clarifies, gesturing to the paper clutched in your hands. You feel utterly mortified. First, Billy had seen your bad test score and now he is pitying you. 
“What makes you think you can help?” You ask bitterly, shoving the folded paper into your back pocket. Billy smirks, holding up his own test for you to see. Sure enough, his score mocks you in green ink. 98%, with a small smiley face. Billy shrugs, lowering the paper with a smug smile.
“History is one of my strong points.” He adds. You grit your teeth together to keep yourself from biting back at him.
“No thanks.” you say firmly, moving to step around him again. He lets you this time, but quickly falls into step beside you. You grip the straps of your bag tighter. 
“I’m serious. I can help, I’m actually a pretty good teacher.” He says. You keep your eyes forward. You can already feel people watching the two of you walking together. 
“And what do you get out of this?” You ask, quickly navigating your way to your last class. There is a pause before Billy responds. 
“Nothing.”  he answers simply. You scoff. No one does anything for no reason, there has to be an angle, an explanation. But, the failed test in your back pocket is far from your first. You know that if you want to stand a chance applying to schools you need to raise your grade before graduation. You come to a stop outside your next class and turn to him, his expression is calm, his cool blue eyes watching you. 
“Let me get this straight. You want to tutor me in history… for nothing?” you ask point blank. Billy’s eyes remain on yours, wavering only slightly.
“Yeah.” he confirms, glancing down to his boots. You laugh harshly and run a hand through your hair. This is ridiculous. Not only the fact that Billy would offer, but the fact that you are considering it. 
Luckily, the last warning bell rings before you can truly contemplate it. 
“I have to go.” you blurt out, turning away to rush into class. The failed test sits heavily in your pocket for the rest of the day. 
There has to be a better way to raise your grade. You have friends. Friends that aren’t Billy, that can help you. When the final bell rings you make your way to the library, where you alway meet with Nancy. Sitting down at your usual study table, you get out your homework, leaving the test hidden in your pocket for now. 
A few minutes later Nancy arrives, Jonathan in tow. She gives him a quick kiss before he leaves. You’re thankful that they aren’t very physical in front of you. You still aren’t entirely sure how you feel about their relationship, and how it started. Though you know that your friendship with Steve complicates things. 
“Hey.” Nancy greets you with a smile, setting her things down across from you. 
“Hey.” you reply, returning the smile. 
“So, I got a couple more applications for you this weekend.” She says pulling a thick stack of papers out of her bag. “I think it’s a good idea to cast a wide net in case your final transcripts change.” she explains. The casual mentions of your final grades makes your stomach sink into your back pocket. You take the applications from her, doing your best to continue smiling. 
“Good idea Nance.” You say, swallowing past the shame you feel. You stare at the stack of applications in your hands trying to think of a way to broach the topic of your history grade while Nancy pulls out her own work. 
“Hey Nancy, can I ask you something?” You begin, clearing your throat. Nancy glances up at you before returning to her work.
“Yea, sure.” She says.
“Do you think you could help me study for U.S. History? I dont think I’m doing super well.” You admit, your face heating up. Nancy stops what she’s working on and fully looks up at you.
“What do you mean?” She asks, her brows knitting together in confusion. You have to look away, her gaze suddenly feeling judgmental.
“I mean, I’m not doing well in the class and was wondering if you would help me study.” You say again as best you can. There is a pause.
“You’re not doing well… in history?” She asks disbelievingly. You want to scream. Was it really so difficult to understand?
“Yes Nancy. History.” You grit out, hating the shame burning in the back of your throat. Seeming to pick up on your growing irritation, Nancy stops her line of questioning.
“Yea, I can help you study.” she agrees, accepting the fact that you are having trouble in a class normally considered easy. “What are you working on currently?” She asks, closing her own textbook and leaning forward to peer at what is in front of you. You let out a sigh of relief.
“The great depression.” You tell her, angling your textbook for her to see better. Her eyes scan the page quickly, nodding her head slightly as she takes in some of the information. 
“Alright, this will be easy.” She says with a confident smile. “Let’s start with a couple of drills.” She says reaching into her bag to retrieve a stack of flash cards. You smile as well, thankful you have a friend like Nancy. She’s so smart and always has good grades. She and Barb used to help you study all the time. You don’t need Billy. You have Nancy.
An hour later you are seriously regretting your decision. 
“In 1933, this gave the president power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened.” Nancy asks, reading directly from the flash card. You rack your brain, trying to think of which term she could be referring to. There are so many acts and dates rattling around in your brain it hurts. 
“Come on, you know this.” Nancy insists, sounding slightly frustrated herself. Closing your eyes you press your fingertips into your temple, as if that will somehow help the answer come forward. 
“The Federal Emergency Relief Act?” You say, with little confidence. Peeking your eyes open you groan at Nancy’s disappointed face. 
“No.” She says dejectedly. “It's the Emergency Banking Relief Act.” She informs you, setting down the large stack of cards. 
“Fuck.” You mumble, leaning forward to rest your head, face down, on the table. Hearing Nancy’s heavy sigh makes you want to crawl completely under the table instead. 
“I don’t know what to do.” She admits. “We’ve been over it so many times already.” She goes on. It feels like a stab in your pride.
“I know.” You mumble into the table. You feel so embarrassed. You have been over it multiple times and it still refuses to stick in your mind. You want to cry with how frustrated you feel. You don’t remember studying with her being this hard. For some reason, Barb always had a way of smoothing things out for you. To make them more clear and easy for you to remember. 
“Maybe… Maybe you should hire an actual tutor?” Nancy suggests. Lifting your head from the table, you narrow your eyes at her. 
“How much do you think that would cost?” You ask. Nancy shrugs. 
“I’m not really sure.” She admits. That does not fill you with confidence. You are already working hard to save money from babysitting and there is no way you are going to ask your mom to pay for a tutor. 
“I’m screwed.” You groan, lowering your face down again. 
“I’m sorry.” Nancy apologizes, sliding the flashcards across the table to you. She actually sounds genuine.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault my brain is broken.” you tell her. 
“It’s not broken.” Nancy tries to comfort you, reaching across the table to gently pat the back of your head. It makes you feel a little better, enough to lift your head off the table. 
“Thank you for trying Nancy.” You say, giving her a weak smile. She returns your smile, looking equally as defeated as you feel. 
Glancing at her watch she sighs. 
“I’ve got to get going. Jonathan’s picking me up in a few minutes.” She explains, beginning to pack up her things. 
“No problem.” You say, packing up your own things. Being sure to tuck the large stack of flashcards into the side of your bag. 
“Do you want a ride home?” she asks.
“No, it’s okay. Steve is driving me today after he gets out of practice.” you say without thinking. 
“Oh.” Nancy’s voice is small but you catch it. Your eyes widen slightly at your mistake. You always try to avoid talking about Steve with Nancy. You feel conflicted, being stuck between your two friends. There is a pause while you finish packing. “H-how is Steve?” Nancy asks, fiddling with the zipper of her bag. You curse yourself internally.
“He’s good.” You answer simply. You never want to go into too much detail when Steve is involved in the conversation. It feels too much like choosing sides, like you are betraying Steve somehow. 
“That’s good.” Nancy responds lamely. 
“How’s Jonathan?” You ask, hoping to change the subject.
“He’s doing okay, still worried about Will and everything.” She answers. She still fiddles with the zipper on her bag, her mind clearly thinking of something else. 
“Maybe you should ask Steve for help.” She suggests. You lift a brow.
“Steve?” you ask, slightly confused.
“Yea.” she confirms. “He actually likes History.” She tells you, a small smile pulling at her lips. 
“Oh! I didn’t know that.” you admit. And honestly, Steve was not the first person to come to mind when you were looking for someone to help with studying. But, it couldn't hurt. “I’ll definitely ask him. Thanks Nance.” You say, slinging your bag over your shoulder. 
“No problem.” She says, smiling gently. You’re not sure but you think you see something sad behind her eyes. That’s the way she always looks when she mentions Steve. You wonder sometimes if she feels somewhat guilty about how things ended between them. 
The two of you walk outside where Jonathan is already waiting. You hug Nancy, waving goodbye as she climbs into the passenger seat. You watch them pull out of the parking lot before glancing down at your watch. You sigh, seeing that you have another 30 minutes before Steve gets out of Basketball practice. Looking around the parking lot you see Steve’s car among the few remaining vehicles. A few spots over is Billy’s car. You know he’s on the team too, much to Steve's chagrin. 
It was something your friend complained about often. From what you could gather, with your limited knowledge of the game, no matter how much it irritated Steve, there was no denying that Billy was a talented player. They apparently butted heads often. You didn’t play many sports but you can’t imagine it’s easy to work as a team when two of the main players hate each other. 
Making your way across the lot, you grip your jacket tighter, the cold air sending chilsl down your spine. You try to open the door to Steve’s car, the cold metal biting into your fingertips, the door remaining latched. Locked. You curse, shoving your hands into your pockets, trying to keep them warm. You could wait in the library until they are finished, or in the hallway. Deciding that is your best option, you turn to head back to the school. 
The sound of a car horn makes you jump. Whipping around you see a flash of red hair in Billy’s car. Focusing, you see Max, watching you from inside Billy’s car, smiling brightly at you. You place a hand over your racing heart, taking a deep breath. Max waves you over, rolling down the window as you approach. 
“Hey Max.” You greet her with a smile. “What are you doing here?” You ask. Max rolls her eyes.
“Waiting for Billy to get out of practice.” She tells you. “I normally hang out with Lucas and Dustin in the middle school, but they are working on some dorky project.” She explains. You nod in understanding. The boys can get very invested in their projects, to the point of exclusion, you’re not surprised Max wants to distance herself for a bit.  
“I’m waiting around too, if it makes you feel any better.” You tell her with a sympathetic smile. Max glances at Steve's car behind you. 
“Want to wait with me?” She asks. You hesitate momentarily.
“Oh, I don’t know Max.” You say, not sure if waiting in Billy’s car is the best idea. 
“Please! Billy lets me listen to his cassettes.” Max offers excitedly, holding up one to the tapes. You smile at her enthusiasm, you guess that the boys aren’t very into the things she likes, the least you can do is hang out with her for a bit. 
“Okay, but only for a few minutes.” You tell her. 
“Yes!” She cheers, throwing open the door for you to climb in. You glance around and against your better judgment, lower yourself into the driver's seat. Max scrambles over the console to the passenger side, still smiling. You roll up the window and close the door, it’s surprisingly warm inside the car. Settling into the seat a strange feeling passes over you. The last time you had sat in this seat was after you had nearly died, again. 
Now, Max sits, bouncing her legs excitedly, as she looks through Billy’s tape deck. 
“Oh! You’re going to love this one!” Max exclaims, pulling out a tape. She quickly slots it into the stereo, hitting play. Loud music floods the car, Max smiling brightly, singing along to the lyrics. You have to laugh as she plays an air guitar during the solo. You aren’t sure who sings the song but you recognize it as one of the songs you had listened to the day you and Billy had painted the porch. 
“Who sings this?” You ask over the music. Max looks at you, her eyes wide.
“This is Van Halen!” she yells, like it should be obvious to you. You nod, unable to stop from smiling at her shock. “What about Metallica, or Bon Jovi?” She asks, naming bands from the tape deck. You shake your head. “What the heck! Have you been living under a rock?” She asks, laughing in disbelief. 
You might as well have. For the past year you haven't really been interested in music, or anything really. 
“Oh man, you have a lot to learn.” She comments, ejecting the current tape and slotting a new one in its place. 
For the next 30 min Max alternates between cassettes, telling you the artist and her favorite songs. The music isn’t half bad, when you get past how loud it is. There are even a couple that resonate with you, the lyrics standing out in your mind. 
“And you HAVE to listen to Prince and Madonna! Billy dosn’t keep those tapes in the car, but I know where he keeps them in his room.” Max gushes. 
“I’ll have to listen to them some time.” you say with a smile. This was nice. You liked the way the music flowed through the car, Max excitedly telling you about each new song. You lean back against the door, nodding your head along to the AC/DC song currently playing. 
Without warning, the door is pulled open, nearly sending you tumbling to the ground. 
“Whoa!” You exclaim, frantically grabbing the steering wheel to remain upright. 
“Who the hell is-” Billy’s angry voice yells, only to stop after seeing your panicked face staring up at him. He looks shocked for a split second before it morphs into his familiar smirk.
“Don’t be a dick Billy, we were just listening to music.” Max explains, leaning forward to glare at Billy from behind you. Billy’s eyes dart between the two of you before finally settling on you. 
You scramble out of the car, planning on slipping past Billy, but as you stand Billy places his hand on the frame of the car, effectively blocking your escape. Trapped between the car and Billy, you look up to him.
“I’m sorry, Max asked if I wanted to wait with her.” You explain, not sure why you feel the need to make excuses for why you had been in his car. Billy’s eyes remain on your face, taking in your flustered expression. 
“Hear anything you like?” He asks, raising a brow, leaning in slightly. His hair is damp, flattening his curls slightly, his jaw working on a piece of gum. You can smell the peppermint with how close he is standing to you. 
“I-uh-” You stutter, unable to focus with how his body is crowding you against the car. Billy’s smirk only grows wider. He opens his mouth to respond but a voice cuts him off. 
“Hey!” Steve yells, jogging across the lot towards you. Billy takes a step back, far enough for you to slip around him. You hurry towards Steve, meeting him halfway. 
“You okay?” He asks, looking you over, his eyes filled with concern. You nod, putting on your best smile. 
“Yea, I’m good. I was just hanging out with Max while we waited.” You explain, turning to give Max a wave which she returns. You hope Steve can’t see how flustered you are. He turns his gaze back to Billy in a scathing glare. Unbothered, Billy climbs into the seat you had abandoned and slams the door.
Steve grabs your arm, pulling you back against him as Billy whips out of the spot. You feel his grip tighten as Billy gives you a wink, before speeding out of the parking lot.
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Part 1,... (Masterlist)...Part 22, Part 23 (Coming Soon)...
AN: I hope you guys like this!! Let me know what you guys think! Leave a like or a comment!
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ouchmaster6000 · 3 years
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You know I find it kind of funny that one of the biggest critisisms of the anime art style (and some western comic artists) I keep hearing (aside from people complaining fanservice) is about the characters all having the same face, and the only way to differentiate them is clothes, hair and eye color.
And yet here I am with borderline face blindness, thinking "welcome to my world".
It's not as bad as some other people's but bad enough that if two people of the same same sex, and roughly the same age, body type and skin tone exist, unless they're someone I know really well, like my parents, or a close friend I've known for years, there's a good chance the only way I'll tell them apart is from their hairstyle/color. Quite often if an acquaintance, coworker or classmate of mine changes gets a haircut, dyes their hair or puts on a wig, I'll go a whole day before realizing their the same person. The opposite has happened as well, where some who looks vaguely similar has the same name, or is sitting next to some other friends of mine, and I initially think they're same person. (This can sometimes lead to problems if the person is black or asian, since people think it's cause I'm racist, when quite often can't tell white people art either. I also have no idea what subtle facial features are supposed to differentiate a Hispanic person from a middle eastern or Indian one, they all have the same skin tone to me)
I actually think part of the reason I tend to prefer anime over live action (though there are many other reasons for this) is because i actually have an easier time telling the characters for the very reasons that other people complain about. Because using hair to distinguish otherwise similar looking people is what I generally use in real life anyway, wheras Live action generally relies on the assumption that the neurotypical audience can easily tell similar looking actors apart.
There have actually been multiple times a live action show has introduced a clone or robot duplicate and didn't even realize they were a duplicate until they the two characters were standing next to each other on screen (the David robots from Alien: Covenant are a good example of this) because I just assumed it was yet another case of me having trouble telling two similar looking actors apart.
I can tell similar looking characters apart or identify actors with enough time and context, but if the context is confusing, or the time is insufficient it can lead to problems
Like I now Doctor Who to be one of my favorite live action shows, but when I first started watching it I got about halfway through season 1, got distracted, and about a year later, just happened to tune into a marathon about halfway through season 2.
And since it had been a year since last I watched it, I missed the regeration scene, and they were calling him the Doctor I just assumed he was being played by the same actor.
I usually have an easier time with actors who play main characters in tv series I like, since I'm able to familiarize myself with them over time and can sometimes even recognize the actors in other things (Like after watching 7 seasons of next generation, on top of all the X-Men movies, I doubt I'd ever not recognize Patrick Stewart)
But in regards to movies, especially stand alone movies, it can be very difficult, and sometimes I won't realize until looking at IMDb out of curiosity that movies I've liked for years have had the same actors.
Like I remember years ago before either of the movies got sequels. Me and my now-ex-girlfriend went to see Jurassic World in theatres, and then on a later date at my place, decided to show her Guardians of the Galaxy, which I had DVD. And at the beginning of the movie she was like "Oh hey, its the same guy from Jurassic World" and I looked closer for a few seconds before going "Holy Shit, you're right!" since I legit had never noticed even after having watched both movies all the way through.
Anyway, I know I got kind of personal and went on a tangent, but basically I wish people wouldn't bash anime and or artists in general for "same face syndrome", because not everyone experiences visual media the same way, and what could be considered annoying to some people can be beneficial to others.
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hiinnys · 3 years
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love me when it counts
(for @dearginevra: im so sorry this is so late but i hope you like it!! you’re an absolute angel <3) (warning: this gets barely spicy near the end; part 1)
the pub’s the type of packed that has harry rolling his eyes the second he enters. if he’s being honest, out is pretty much the last place he wants to be right now. he started the day in a hellish final that he’s pretty sure he failed, then spent the entire afternoon in the what can only be described as the world’s worst practice (his ankle’s still killing him), and he knows full well that he’s going to be spending all of tomorrow in the kitchen with his father, cooking whatever over-ambitious ‘start of the holidays’ meal he has planned, so harry really just wants to be tucked into his warm bed, catching whatever shut eye he can squeeze in before tomorrow morning.
instead, he’s downtown at a crowded pub with shitty music and even shittier drinks, telling himself he’s there for hermione and ron when he damn well knows his mind is focused on a certain redhead. it’s been a few months, but if he closes his eyes hard enough, he can still see her spread out on the grass of his parents’ backyard, laughing at something he said, a football somewhere to the side of her, long forgotten. they had spent most of the summer like that, harry helping ginny prep for her first season on an official team, and ginny laughing at the worst of harry’s jokes and waving away his congratulations. (“i’m still only a reserve, harry,” she had said again and again.
“and i’m still proud of you, ginny,” he had kept insisting. he had kept the fact that his heart sped up immeasurably at the soft smile she would give him entirely to himself.)
he spots her easily, his eyes apparently deciding that she’s really the only thing worth seeing. she’s standing at the bar, seemingly attempting to figure out how to carry four pints with two hands without failing miserably. his legs are moving before he can really process what he’s doing, and, suddenly, he’s behind her and his mouth is forming words he hopes aren’t as idiotic as he feels.
“need some help?” he watches her shoulders tense up only to immediately fall when she sees it’s him.
“wouldn’t mind it, actually,” ginny smiles up at him and it’s all he can do to return it, grab two of the glasses and follow her back to the table.
***
it’s another three hours before ron and hermione decide they’re spent and head home, muttering something about ‘single people and their endless energy.’ ginny has the decency to wait until they’re at least out of earshot before cracking some terrible joke about how hermione sounded a million years old just now, but harry doesn’t really notice. he’s too busy noticing her and the freckles scattered across her nose and the way her new haircut suits her too damn well. apparently, he’s been noticing a little too long because:
“earth to harry,” ginny’s saying, snapping her fingers in front of his face, breaking him out of his thoughts. “you still there?”
“yeah, sorry, just got lost in my head a bit,” harry blinks, giving her a sheepish smile.
“you’ve been doing that a lot tonight,” she says, her brows furrowing in concern. “you alright?”
harry pauses, thinking about all the ways he’s definitely not alright, and how he wants, more than anything, to tell her that. to tell her she’s been running circles in his head for longer than he cares to think about and that sitting next to her like this, laughing and talking and pretending everything’s normal, has been slowly killing him, but he doesn’t know the right words, doesn’t think he ever will. so maybe it’s because of the alcohol - or maybe it’s because he’s the dumbest person to ever live - but he doesn’t bother with the words, just listens to the urges, and suddenly, without attention to a single other thing in the world, he’s kissing her. for a moment, she stiffens - and he thinks he’s fucked everything up, blown both their lives to hell - but then she leans as heavily into him as he’s leaning into her and it’s pure bliss.
harry has a half a mind to think about all the times he’s imagined this moment - the two of them finally doing this - and just how wrong he was about it, because no amount of imagining could have ever prepared him for how good it feels. she’s everything, ginny is. she’s more than everything. she’s the earth, the sun, the entire damn galaxy, and when she finally pulls back, it’s like he’s lost all oxygen.
“do you wanna get out of here?” she mumbles against his lips, laughs beautifully when he breathes fuck yes back.
he gets up to pay the tab, if only to give himself something to think about that isn’t her, except that if he could ever actually stop thinking about her, he probably wouldn’t have spent the past year and a half of his life in his own personal hell. she comes up behind him and he doesn’t have the brain space for musing anymore, because she’s interlocking their hands and pulling him out of the door and speed-walking them towards his place, all with a glimmering smile that he’s pretty sure could power all of london.  
it feels endless, the walk back to his place, though he knows logically that it’s only about ten minutes. an eternity when gin weasley’s holding your hand he thinks distantly as unlocks the door. as soon as they cross the threshold of his darkened flat, ginny’s got him pinned against the door, and if harry’s brain was still working, he would marvel at her speed. her mouth’s back on his, but it’s not the same wonderment from the pub. this kiss is hard, insistent, thrilling. it’s scorching harry’s nerve endings and lighting him on fire, like he’s kissing the sun instead of ginny. he wonders, somewhere in the back of his mind, if this is what it feels like to see an angel, burning in its heavenly glory. thinks maybe ginny is his angel, his piece of heaven, leading him to some distant salvation. knows that, even if he’s wrong, he’ll worship her all the same.
they stumble their way to his room, all but fall onto his bed, never breaking their kiss even for a second. when it’s too much, when the oxygen runs out, they pull back, and harry immediately moves to her neck, dragging his teeth against the soft skin and reveling in the way ginny breathes his name. he doesn’t know how long he stays there - kissing her neck, her collarbone, every piece of skin he can get his mouth on - or how much time passes as they explore each other, hands mapping each other’s bodies like it would kill them to forget, but he doesn’t quite care. he could stay with ginny forever and it wouldn’t be enough. so, when his phone rings in the morning, he tells his dad that he’s gonna be late, that it’s unavoidable, but he’ll be there soon enough. then he hangs up, puts the phone on silent, and loses himself in ginny for a few more hours, giddy smile on his face the entire time.
43 notes · View notes
snkpolls · 3 years
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SnK Episode 61 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)
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The poll closed with 359 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here. 
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RATE THE EPISODE 347 Responses
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While this episode wasn’t as big of a hit as episode 60, overall most viewers still enjoyed the content and are looking forward to more next week!
amazing amazing! I'm so delighted with this season so far!
Im so beyond pumped i love everything
Dissapointing but acceptable.
I’m like angry I loved it so much.
I just wish we didn't have to wait a week
It was amazing. We all gotta apologize to MAPPA for ever doubting them.
It's a huge stepdown from episode 1. At times the animation was straight up painful to watch. My expectations were low and yet I'm still disappointed :/
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE/MOMENT? 349 Responses
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Reiner-centric scenes were the highest on people’s radar, with 24.9% of respondents enjoying his reunion with the warrior cadets, and not far behind, 22.9% enjoyed Reiner bringing up the 104th at the dinner table. In third, with only 13.5%, was Pieck and Porco’s formal introduction to the audience. 
Hearing Zeke greet his grandparents with such happiness warmed my heart. I do believe that he loves them. 
They just had to add one last image of Ymir's broken face before she died, huh? :(
WE FORGOT TO ASK LAST WEEK D: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES/MOMENTS FROM EPISODE 60 WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 348 Responses
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Last week we forgot to include what your favorite scenes were. The scene from episode 60 that got the most favor was Reiner’s, “I’m sick and tired… of walls” with 33.6% of the vote. 16.7% most enjoyed Zeke’s titan transforming scream. 14.9% were hyped about Reiner and Porco wrecking Fort Slava.
MAPPA WENT ALL OUT WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CINEMATIC PANS AND ROTOSCOPE ANIMATION? 349 Responses
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Overall, a total of 74.5% respondents have positive feelings about MAPPA’s use of rotoscope animation and camera panning. Some felt like it was akin to watching a movie, while others are just happy to have the dynamic movement. A smaller amount of respondents didn’t have feelings one way or another, and a minority (about 10.3%) really are not a fan of this type of animation style for the series.
It felt odd sometimes as they used it for long scenes (like Udo talking or Gabi telling the story to her family) but overall it was pretty great and I prefer it to WIT's stale animation during season 3
I liked the more dynamic movement during dialogue, but my roommate found it super awkward and off-model. So a fifty-fifty split in a sample size of two lol
It could have been animated better, but I like the extra dimension it gives to scenes
Enjoyed it a lot! However, there were a few scenes that felt a bit off, like some frames were missing. Specifically, when Udo was doing all those gestures while talking with the rest of the Warrior Candidates.
It felt dynamic to the point of looking unnatural - some gestures and expressions just moved wrong
i'm split, in some scenes it was great (like reiner waking up), but in the dialogue scenes the constant movement seemed kinda unnatural and distracting
It was amazing but at the same time I'd didn't look fluid enough, especially at Udo's mouvements which made the character look kind of...video game-ish in constant moving. 
I thought it looked great the rotoscoping,the movements all looked amazing
The animation during Urdu’s scene is so cool!  I was caught of guard at first though lol. It’s so realistic!
NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE OF THE NEW OST TRACKS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK SO FAR THIS SEASON? 344 Responses
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So far, reception to the newer music is overall positive. 31.1% are really enjoying the music and think the songs are being used immaculately, and 40.4% really feel that the song choice compliments the scenes they’ve been used in. 13.1% think the songs are good, but miss having that sole Sawano feel to them. 10.8% just feel the music is “ok” and 2.6% aren’t a fan of the new OST tracks so far. 
I mean it sounds good, but we haven't gotten to important moments that require a memorable track, so we'll see!
First episode slapped because it really complemented the scene but it's more... generic. I didn't like how it was used in this episode, there wasn't enough of it and again, generic. I miss Sawano's unreal scores.
the animation absolutely blew me away, and i love the intense music that played during Reiners monologue 
The music is fine.
I've heard both new and old songs from the previous seasons. Still too soon to make an opinion as we need to hear more.
I am deaf, I can't hear no damn soundtracks 
That music guys when they came back to Liberio and reuniting with they parents, made me tear up but also because the scouts never had the chance to go back home with victory in the arms of their family, I wish I could have seen EMA like this.. It kinda felt unfair X) but I was happy for them nevertheless.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSEUP OF ZEKE’S MOUTH? 346 Responses
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Our first of probably too many crack questions in this poll, 32.7% thought the closeup of Zeke lighting his cigarette was cool looking. 21.4% are concerned about Zeke’s lung health. 19.1% are probably annoyed with us and simply don’t care (lol). 13.3% wouldn’t mind smooching Zeke, and 11% were just plain grossed out.
Does smoke even affect a titan shifter? Surely his lungs just heal themselves
ASMR for the eyes, right there. Aww yiss
It was awesome! Zeke is shown as relaxed person with a big drop of mystery. 
Smoking Bad but he is gonna die in a year anyway
Suuuuuuucc
It might've just been an artistic choice to include it in there, but i gotta say I'm oddly fascinated and idk why
I don’t remember it lol
I didn't even notice.
Zeke looks hotter than he has ever looked
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT ELDIAN ASSES? 341 Responses
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Most of the responses seemed to feel rather positively about Eldian asses, with almost 40% seeking out Zeke’s ass wiping technique. About 17% simply stated their appreciation for them, while almost 13% are just thirsty. In contrast, a little over 17% seemed confused to the question’s inclusion and about 10% were confused outright. 
MAPPA WHERE IS PIECK'S ASS
More into Eldian thighs, really
I bet Levi’s is nice
If only Eren had one
zeke has the energy of a straight man who doesn't wash his ass
Only Shadis' ass
GIVE IT TO ME 😏😏
They are like normal, human asses. Do not turn them into some magical, special snowflakes, just because they belong to Eldians. 
Seek help
Enough
DO YOU WANT REINER TO GIVE YOU A HEAD PAT? 343 Responses
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A definitive majority, almost 59 percent, openly expressed enthusiasm for the prospect of a head pat from Reiner. However, a near 30% fraction of responders didn’t seem too happy about this recent chain of less than serious questions. We’re sorry about that. 😅. The rest either didn’t seem interested in said prospect or noted they wouldn’t care either way.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DECISION FROM MAPPA TO CONDENSE REINER’S FLASHBACK INTO (PRESUMABLY) A SINGLE EPISODE? 346 Responses
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It would appear that the majority of those who took our poll express cautious optimism at the prospect of seeing all (or the vast majority) of Reiner’s backstory being adapted into a single episode, with a near 47% supporting the move, thinking it could make the narrative “more coherent”. Almost 20% argue it would work better pacing wise. On the flipside, just over 17% state that they would rather have a more accurate adaptation to the manga. 11.6% simply say they have no opinion. There were also more than a few write-ins.
I do wish everything could be animated to full detail, but pacing and structure will benefit here
They've done a good job so far, so I'll reserve judgement until I actually watch it.
It will be difficult as they're chapters with loads of dialogue, but they can pull it off if unnecessary stuff gets cut out or changed in some type of way (like watching Marcel's death for the sixth time, them breaking through the wall or even Jean and Eren fighting) 
If they get the pacing right, then the rearrangement will be for the better.
Reiner flashbacks + Reiner suicide attempt + Falco meeting "Kruger" (more than 2,5 chapters) in a single episode? HELL NO! WTF MAPPA!  
Worried and cautiously optimistic.
At least it looks like they're going to stick to just one episode for the RBA flashback. It was mostly just filler anyway, so there was never any need to stretch it out and waste precious time getting back to the Paradis side of the story
I doubt that that's exactly how it is, but if so, then I don't think that that's a wise idea
It’s gonna be rushed as hell
Reiner flashback is very long and there is tons of dialogue, so I dont know how its going fit in only one episode, but if they can make it work then its fine for me
WHICH CHARACTER DESIGN DID YOU LIKE BEST IN COMPARISON TO THE MANGA? 346 Responses
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This question gave us a somewhat evenly split pie chart, but Porco nonetheless managed to gain the bigger piece with just over 55%. Surely due to that bomber jacket and haircut. Nearly 45% picked Pieck (gottem) instead. Must have been the somewhat inconsistent nose. 
WHO’S SEIYUU DID YOU LIKE BEST? 335 Responses
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On the flip side, 68.4% seemed to prefer Pieck’s soft voice. Porco with his (how the hell does Porco sound like… how can you describe his voice) managed to win the hearts of 31.6% of responses.
Pieck voice wtf? I imagined Pieck with a more Hanji-ish voice, not this sweet and high pitched.
DID MAPPA DO PIECK’S NOSE JUSTICE? 345 Responses
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The debacle over Pieck’s POWERFUL nose gave us quite a colorful pie chart. Almost 39% of responses noted that Mappa was on point with Pieck’s nose for most of the episode. Afterwards, 26.7% stated that they thought that Mappa got it right only in some points of the episode. On the flip side, another 26.7% thought that Mappa was generally quite on point throughout the entire episode. A small minority (7.8%) thought that Mappa simply did a poor job. 
The animation is good, and while I don't want to complain, I have a small problem with the drawings themselves. I feel like they lack precision (like Pieck's nose, idk if that's clear).
I'm grateful for Pieck's nose. I always respected Isayama for drawing imperfect characters, because this way he has made them to look more realistic. Even though Pieck has so-called imperfect nose, she is still absolutely gorgeous. Her imperfections are part of what makes her beautiful and unique.
PORCO’S HAIR - WERE YOU TEAM RED HAIR OR BLOND HAIR? AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HIS ANIME COLOR SCHEME? 345 Responses
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A far less controversial debacle concerned Porco’s hair scheme. The folks supporting a Blond color scheme were universally content with his hair color (all 57.4% of team Blond). On the flip side, an almost universal approval was also present from team Redhead (13.6% of those supported his blond hair color). 27.5% of the responses seemed to care not about this issue at all, however.
NOW THAT WE KNOW PORCO BETTER IN THE MANGA, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE *ACTUALLY* DONE A BETTER JOB THAN REINER IF HE HAD INHERITED THE ARMOR AND WENT TO PARADIS? 348 Responses
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Porco inheriting the Armored Titan is a rather interesting what-if scenario. Perhaps of the most interesting as a whole, so it’s no surprise to see a rather divided opinion of those who took our poll. A little over 36% believe that Porco doing a better job than Reiner on Paradis is a definite possibility. Just over 24% believe it’s not likely Porco would have done better than Reiner. On the flip side, 21.6% think that is is likely Porco *would* have a more successful conduct on the island. 9.2% believe that Porco’s success is a given and in opposition to that, 8.9% think that Porco’s success would have been basically impossible.
HOW ABOUT IF PIECK HAD GONE TO PARADIS WITH THE WARRIORS? 346 Responses
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Much less division here, however. 70.5% of responders believe that Pieck’s possible trip to Paradis (in the initial attack) would have not have resulted in a given “mission success” for the Warriors, although she would have been a rather useful ally. Nearly a quarter, on the other hand, think that Pieck’s inclusion would have ended the story right then and there. The rather small minority of the other responders think that Pieck would not have been useful had she participated in the mission.
GABI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER. HAS MAPPA BRINGING HER TO LIFE CHANGED YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD HER? 342 Responses
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64.6% of respondents overall have positive feelings toward Gabi as of right now, with 39.5% having already been enjoying her character throughout the manga. 25.1% now view her more positively with her being brought to life. 20.2% don’t really care about Gabi either way, and 11.7% feel very negatively toward Gabi, without the anime swaying their opinions. 
Gabi still sucks
Sakura ayane as gabi is probably the best thing to happen to me all year
WITH SUCH A DIALOGUE-HEAVY ARC, CUTS WERE INEVITABLE. WHICH CUTS WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED IN, AND WHICH CUTS CAN YOU LIVE WITH?
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Overwhelmingly, the scenes that were most missed by manga readers were “Pieck walking on all fours/scaring Porco”, “Zeke mentioning the Ackerman Clan”, “Reiner’s smirk when his family talks about ‘Island Devils’”, and “The imagery of Eren and Armin wrecking ships”. Smaller character details, such as Reiner mentioning how he acted like Marcel on Paradis, Gabi wishing to understand Reiner’s feelings, Falco pointing out how Reiner almost had the Armor taken from him, were also very missed by manga readers, although just less so. 
General Calvi talking about Zeke’s loyalty, Gabi getting praise from her parents when they reunite, and Magath trashing the Marleyan navy, were moments that many respondents didn’t feel strongly about one way or another, or felt that these were details that weren’t really needed anyway. 
Cutting the scene where Falcon talks about why Reiner kept the AT was really bad.  Also the table scene could have been better. Some imagery when Reiner was describing the 104th and his smirk.
The cuts the anime has done made the spectators less informed about some story background stuff. This is in order to direct attention to the marley's eldians planning how to overcome the world's disparagement towards the power of the titans. 
I'm sad they cut the gate guards. They humanize the marleyans a bit. Hope they add their scenes next episode and do them justice.
I hope we will get the Gabi/Reiner talk about understanding each other through PATHS when she eats him next episode
Gimme crawling best giiiirl
MAPPA cut Pieck's ass so this episode wouldn't be so ass centered with Zeke's ass wiping technique. This is my theory lol
Great episode but U was so looking forward to the Reiner scene talking about Paradis “devils”. In the mange it was a powerful scene really adding to the duality of Reiner and the pain he has, and the animation did not do it justice. Plus some parts of his speech were probably hard to understand for a non mange reader without the flashback. (Like which one is referring to Jean for example).  I really wish it had been better delivered
IS THERE ANY CHANCE WE’LL SEE SOME OF THESE CUTS ANIMATED IN A LATER EPISODE? 342 Responses
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them into different scenes. Overall, the majority answered a big, fat, “maybe.” 15.8% are confident that what’s done has been done, and 12.6% are more optimistic that MAPPA will find a way.
Overall I was a bit disappointed. I feel like the amount of material cut from every conversation included really added up overall and gave it a very rushed feel to me. I really hope they add it all in later.
ON THE FLIP-SIDE, WHICH ADDITIONS/CHANGES DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE?
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The changes and additions that MAPPA made were overall viewed very favorably, with the scene of Porco and Pieck interacting with the warrior cadets being the most liked addition. This is followed closely by the overall character movement during dialogue scenes, the small detail about Pieck’s father being unwell, and Gabi shouting “Watashi!” on the train.
I loved the additional details made it very emotional
IT WAS A GREAT TIME TO BE GALLIPIECK TRASH
Sneakier Eren's a nice addition too
Porco my boiii I'm so happy he's here 💖💖💖💖 if mappa is adding some extra scenes then gimme more of gallirei 👀
WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 338 Responses
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Unsurprisingly, 42% of respondents are hyped about Kenny’s brief return and Annie’s unlikely encounter with him in the Underground. 22.2% are eager to get that sweet Reiner angst as he is rejected by his Marleyan father. 17.8% are looking forward to Reiner’s training days.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
great! it was inevitable they would cut stuff but it hasn't changed any major plot point or thing i would want to see desperately 
It was just really great to see the scenes animated, it adds another level of depth and understanding to the story I believe. 
Loved anime-onlies missing Eren completely. Some even thought it was him but then noticed the leg and thought against it
I think it was very well done. Just need a little getting used to with MAPPA on the reins now. I think MAPPA added some scenes to show how those Eldians over there are still just human after all and they have their own problems to deal with. 8/10 episode.
I feel like they took a lot of emotion way from reiner. made him seemed stoic and determined to go to the island even though in the make he looked scared about having to return. 
I thought the rotoscoping was really well done! I’m happy with the pacing, the fact that the episode felt like it went by fast is good considering it was dialogue based.
Incredible. The direction, the cinematic quality, we are feasting. MAPPA is elevating the story beyond anything I could have imagined! I'm beyond hyped for the rest!! But where is asshole Marley guards/Hobo!Eren's appearance as a favorite moment?!
Incredible, it adapts the source material very well while adding some touches that make it unique in it's own way. As a manga reader, I'm really glad that they're doing this because it feels like a completly different experience from reading it and makes me excited on what changes or directing choices they're going to make during the course of the season, great job so far MAPPA!
Such an amazing episode. Made 20mins feel like 5. MAPPA is doing fantastic. The characters have never felt more alive and the animation style is something I never knew I wanted until now. 
I can't believe they didn't cast Mads Mikkelsen to voice Mads Mikkelsen
The episode was good but the dinner scene didn't do justice to the manga. It didn't have the same feeling to it. I saw a lot of anime onlys thinking Reiner was just trying to talk shit about the 104th. I feel like the flashbacks during that part in the manga gave it a nostalgic feeling that helped convey what he truly felt about his time on the island. His facial expressions were not quite there either. Specially sad because it was the moment I was expecting the most this episode and because it's a big part of Reiner's character, maybe next episode can kind of fix this.
I haven't seen the anime only poll results, but given personal conversations with them I imagine quite a few could care less about the Warriors and are looking forward to the 104th showing up to stir shit up. Boy are those folks in for a treat :)
I knew I'd feel more attached to all of them once they got animated. I didn't expect getting real thirsty for Lainah.
I was so happy with how much detail MAPPA put into the background scenery. Also, I think that an underrated moment during this episode was the Marlian douchebag triggering the Eldian soldier’s PTSD. You could really feel their terror, and THEY KEPT THE HOBO EREN PART IM SO HAPPY!
Its consistently very pretty and well animated which is great of course, but I worry the team won’t be able to maintain this quality for some of the meatier scenes in the later episodes. The fast pace of the episode (compared to the manga) as well as the many cuts make it a bit harder for scenes to stick, I wish there was a bit more breathing room at times. This also makes the fancy animation and frequent rotoscoping cuts feel less impactful for me—with every scene being cut down to its core ingredients, and every scene having at least one cut with more motion and energy than we’re used to, I can’t help but feel it all kind of mashes together without sticking out as much, leaving less of an impact. (I feel really really weird actually complaining about good camerawork/animation, what the hell lol) Also hobo <3
Plenty of questions about ass but no questions about the full ED? Or how we thought the episode did at hiding Eren in plain sight?
rip Reiner's chocolate abs :'(
The episode wasn't as interesting as the first one. I was yawning from time to time. Yet, I think that Mappa did a great job, because it's hard to animate full of  dialogues chapters. I was disappointed of the fact that flashbacks from Paradis have been cut. I hoped to see Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Marco while Reiner was speaking about them. Without the flashbacks we just got the dry speech and this way hard to say what Reiner is really thinking about people he met on Paradis. We - as manga readers - already are aware of his feelings, but anime onlies may not know and see Reiner as cold hearted person. I'm not complaining over animations or the OST tracks because no studio is perfect and some small mistakes here and there won't destroy my fun. I just sit and enjoy the episode. 
Very good, with the exception of the dinner scene, in which the director missed the mark completely with the tone.
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 328 Responses
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Thank you again for participating! We’ll see you again next week!
22 notes · View notes
let-it-raines · 4 years
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your wonder under summer skies (2/?)
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Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory. 
rating: mature 
a/n: I’m so glad you guys are excited about this story! I hope it brings you some levity if you need it, even though things are not always going to be sunshine and roses 😘 thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for being such an awesome beta!
ao3: beginning | current
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“What happened to your hand?”
Killian blinks down at the kid standing in front of him. He can’t be any older than five, and if Killian made money off of every five-year-old that asked him what happened to his hand, he’d be a rich man.
If he had money for every mom whose cheeks went red at mortification from their children, he’d be an even richer man. This mom barely glances down at her kid, though, so she likely doesn’t pay much attention to him to begin with.
“Would you believe that a shark got me and that I had to fight it off?”
“No,” the kid giggles.
“Jake,” Mrs. Hart hisses. “That’s not a nice thing to ask someone. I’m so sorry, sir. I – ”
Okay, maybe she was paying more attention than she thought he was. His judgment might have been wrong, but he’s known the Harts long enough to know they aren’t particularly affectionate with their children. A lot of the parents who come through here during the summer aren’t hands on. He never likes to judge, but he knows what it’s like to have one parent who’s there and another who’s pretty bloody absent. He would much rather have had a parent who paid attention, so he notices.
“It’s nothing,” Killian lies as his hand traces over the red lines of his scars and the black ink etched into his skin. “It’s just a few scars. We all have scars somewhere. Mine are simply on my arm and my hand so everyone can see. I kind of think they make me look cool, though. Don’t you think, Jake?”
“Yeah, you look like a superhero! Like Thor when he only has one real eye”
“Good. I always wanted to be one of those. I think I’d have water powers. What about you?”
“I want to be able to fly.”
“Alright,” Liam sighs as he walks back out from the office with a stack of papers and some keys. Skipper is following right behind him and immediately moves to Mrs. Hart’s side to start sniffing her. “If you can just initial a few of these papers, you’ll be good to go for the month. The cost of the first tank of gas has already been included, but when you need to fill up again, that will be on your own dime.”
“I understand. We’ll really have to get our own boat soon so we’re not renting anymore.”
“We’ll store that for you and do year-round maintenance,” Liam adds in as Skipper starts jumping.
“Skipper,” Killian whistles. “Skip. C’mon. Get off Mrs. Hart.”
“It’s fine,” she promises as she signs. “We have dogs back home. My husband is going to bring them up when he arrives next week.” “We’ll see you at the dog park then.”
“Yeah,” she smiles, leaning over the counter, her shirt sliding down with the movement. “I think I’d really like that.”
And then she’s pushing the papers across the desk, taking her son’s hand, and then walking out the door, looking back at the last minute.
“She wants to sleep with you,” Liam says as soon as the door clicks and the bell stops ringing.
“My God,” Killian groans. “Don’t start with that.”
“What? You haven’t found a girlfriend for the summer yet. Mrs. Hart could be that for you. Though, I think the children and husband could complicate matters.”
“Shut up, you ass. I am not going to sleep with a married woman, and I do not only date during the summer.”
“No, no you don’t. You do, however, usually find someone to sleep with while they’re here for the summer, and then when they go home, you break it off even when they want to try long distance. I’ve seen you do it a million times.”
“First of all,” Killian starts as he files their paperwork, “I date all year. It’s not a summer thing. I’ve just found that some women come here for the summer, we hit it off, and then it tends not to work out when they go home and return to their real lives.”
“This city isn’t some kind of boarded off place. This is real life, too.”
“For you and me, yeah. For the rich people who don’t work in offices in the summer and pay thousands of dollars to rent boats for a month, this isn’t. It’s all a fantasy life to them, and I can guarantee that most of them aren’t interested in a real relationship. I swear the heat gets to their brains, but this is Maine. It never truly gets hot.”
“Says the man who spent half his life in England and complained when the sun started shining.”
Killian huffs and closes the filing cabinet. “What are you still doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be heading to Elsa’s to pick her up?”
Liam immediately blushes, but just as soon as the color appears, it fades away. “I’ve still got time. We’re not going to dinner until five.” “Ah, yes, the early bird’s special.”
“Bastard.”
Killian whistles and pulls out the chair behind the front desk as Skipper settles down at his feet. He needs to take him to the groomer’s. His fur is far too long, and he’ll get hot like this. Maybe he can shave his coat, but that ended up to be horribly choppy last time. It was a mess with the mixture of black and white, and having a border collie is not at all the same as the black lab he had back in England.
At least not when it comes to haircuts.
“Look, I’m not saying that I know what you’re doing tonight, but I do know why you’ve called all of our friends here tonight, so I do know. Or, at least, I have a hunch. The cake in the fridge gives me a little bit of a hint.”
“If you tell anyone and it gets to Elsa before it happens, I will send you out on a boat with not enough gas to get back to shore.”
“I already told Emma, so it’s a bloody good thing that I can swim.”
Liam narrows his eyes and his lips flatten into a straight line. “You have to get over Emma, you know? She’s been with Neal for what? Five years? I don’t think you’re going to have a chance when it comes to her.”
Killian’s stomach twists, and he forces down the lump in his throat. Liam’s got to get over his odd obsession with not liking Emma because he thinks Killian’s making himself miserable over her. He’s not. When he first came to town, he wouldn’t have said no to dating Emma. Hell, he wouldn’t say no now. He’s not blind. He’s simply not counting on anything to happen there.
They can be friends without wanting to fuck each other.
“Emma is a friend. I don’t have any interest in pursuing a relationship with her. You should know that. Didn’t you just talk about how I’m the boy toy of a different woman every summer? Why would I ever change that for a woman who lives here? Then I’d have to be in a real relationship that’s more than sex.”
“Killian, you know I didn’t mean it that way. At some point, you’re going to have to stop pursuing relationships that you know aren’t going to be successful.”
“Fuck you, Liam,” he growls. “I’m nearly twenty-eight-years-old. I don’t need you to be my parent.”
“Little brother – ”
“Younger. I’m younger.”
“I didn’t mean – ”
The front door of the shop opens, that damn bell going off, and Skipper immediately gets up to greet Mr. French. Killian’s never been so excited to see the man in his life when he usually dreads his presence. At least now he can get out of this conversation.
The man is damn particular about how they care for his boat.
“We’ll talk later,” Liam mumbles as he walks around the counter and heads back to the staircase.
“Forget about it, Liam. Good luck tonight.”
-/-
“Oi, I thought we were having beer,” Will mutters as he slams the refrigerator shut. “There’s not any here.”
“You were supposed to bring your own. I wasn’t about to buy it for everyone. I like to have a little bit of money in my bank account.”
“Then why the hell do you have Emma’s favorite wine, your preferred rum, and then nothing else?”
“How do you know Emma’s preferred wine?” Killian scoffs, narrowing his eyes at Will.
“I’m a bartender at the only bar she goes to. I know what all of our friends like.”
Killian sighs and turns the kitchen faucet on to wash the few remaining dishes. Liam keeps leaving his in there instead of washing them himself, and if it didn’t drive Killian mad to not have an empty sink, he’d leave them be until Liam cleaned himself.
This particular load is most likely payback for painting the office on Monday, but it’s worth it. He couldn’t live with that wallpaper any longer. It was awful, and he swears he lost a day of his life every time he had to look at it.
“If you’re a bartender, why didn’t you think to bring your own drinks?”
“I assumed they’d be provided.”
“We literally just discussed this, Scarlet.”
“Just saying. It would have been nice.”
“Next time Liam gets engaged, I’ll buy the alcohol for everyone.”
“That’s all I ask,” Will sighs as he sits down and props his feet on the coffee table. “So, he’s really asking her? Tonight? I heard the rumors, but I wasn’t sure if they were true.”
“Who’d you hear that from?”
“Belle. Her dad overheard you two talking. So, it’s actually happening?”
“As we speak, I believe.”
Will whistles. “Damn. Look at Liam growing up.”
“It only took him thirty-three years.”
“Hello, hello,” Ruby hums as she walks in the door. It was unlocked, and he really should have never expected her to knock. She and Ariel let themselves in all the time without any kind of warning. “I’m here, and I bring Emma, Robin, and beer. What more could you ask for?”
“The rest of our friends maybe?” Will mutters.
“Shut up. They’re coming. You have to be patient and appreciate that we’re here even if I know you don’t care about anything until Belle gets here.”
“I care about the beer Rob’s got.”
Killian finishes washing the last dish and looks up to see Emma walking toward him. She’s been weirdly quiet since he last saw her, but work must be busy for her as the summer season starts. It’s the same thing for him, so he gets it. They usually only cross paths at lunch or at three in the morning when she’ll text him and ask him to meet up to get a slushie at the 24-hour gas station up the road. With all of the cosmetic improvements the city has made over the past year, this summer is going to be a busy one, he thinks, so he can’t imagine that there will be too many of those trips.
He’ll have to go get her drink and bring it to her as she deals with all of the out of town assholes she always has to deal with.
“Hey,” Emma says as she hops up on the kitchen counter, nearly knocking a plate over. “So, not to be a Will because I just know he’s been complaining about not having a drink, but when is the pizza getting here?”
“David is supposed to be bringing it since it’s on his way here from the station.” “You know he’s going to eat half of it on the way here.”
“That’s why I also have Ariel bringing a few boxes.” He leans forward and quickly brushes his lips across her cheek. If he was paying more attention, he’d say that she flinched. That’d be ridiculous, though. She wouldn’t do that. “I have kept Will away from your wine because he has actually been complaining about the lack of drinks.”
“And that’s why you’re my favorite person in the world.”
“Oh really? I’ve risen above all the others?”
Emma pats his chest. “Maybe just for tonight. Tomorrow, you go back down the list and will only be dangling by a thread.”
“I’ll take this honor and cherish it.”
“As you should. It’s the only time you’re ever going to get it.”
“I’ll be sure to take advantage of it. Do you think Liam will kill us if we eat the cake before he gets here?”
“I think that and painting the office will push him over the edge.”
“Then we best err on the safe side. I’m too young to get murdered.”
“No one is too young to get murdered,” David adds in as he walks in the apartment. “I see it all the time.”
“We literally have one of the lowest murder rates in the country.”
“I meant on TV.”
“Oh, yeah, obviously.”
“Thank God,” Will groans. “Pizza and beer. Finally. I thought I was going to die.”
Little by little, everyone else begins filtering in until the apartment is so full there’s not much room to move around. Killian opens up the balcony doors, sea air and the sound of the waves wafting in, and that allows a little more space. Killian has no clue when Liam and Elsa are supposed to be here, neither of them texting or calling to make the announcement they’re all waiting for, but he figures it should be soon based on the timing of Liam’s dinner reservation and how almost comically predictable his brother can be.
It’s a Jones trait. They like their routines, and they’re particular about most everything they do. The Navy will do that to you. Though, Killian does remember Brennan being like that as well. His mother was much more of a free spirit, and she’d likely laugh at the way he and Liam behave.
God, she’d love to be here tonight to see Liam so happy.
Killian would love for her to be here, too.
Killian shakes himself out of that thought process and grabs a slice of pizza from Ariel’s batch and a beer before heading out to the balcony and sitting down on a seat next to Emma and Mary Margaret as they talk about some banquet the club is having to host next week to kick off the start of summer even if there’s technically still a month left until summer begins.
Not in Storybrooke.
Not when this is what this town looks forward to all year.
Everything here is pastel colors and beachy names, and the economy thrives so much over five months that everyone can still make it the rest of the year off the bare bones from people living here and the occasional tourist in winter. He swears it’s like some kind of movie, but it’s nice in a way to not have the worries and the commotion he had when living in England.
After a few minutes, Mary Margaret excuses herself to go find David, and when she leaves, she closes the sliding door. It’s probably a force of habit, something she doesn’t think about, but as soon as the door slides into place, suddenly the noise of the party is muted while the ocean is the loudest he’s heard it in a long time. There must be a storm coming tonight. That wasn’t on the radar. Damn, he hopes that doesn’t cause any problems with any of the people they have in boats out on the ocean right now.
“Liam and Elsa are taking forever to get here. There’s not going to be any food left for them.”
“They went to dinner,” Killian explains. “They won’t be hungry. Hell, I don’t think Elsa will be able to even think about eating with everyone who’s about to bombard her to congratulate her.”
“Ariel is going to tackle her to the ground, and Anna will probably make her lose her hearing from the screech over the phone.”
“We’ll have to make a trip to the hospital.”
“Ah, how everyone wants to spend their engagement night.”
“I think it’d be a bloody good time.”
Emma laughs, but it’s quiet. It’s not her usual laugh, the loud, infectious thing that he’s grown used to in the past five years, and he hates it. He hates that she’s laughing without actually meaning it.
A part of him hates himself for knowing her well enough to pick up on something like that, but he’s always considered himself to be quite perceptive even when he’d rather not be.
“Hey,” he whispers, kicking his foot into hers. “What’s up with you, love?”
“Um, nothing?” Her brows furrow together before rising. “What’s up with you?”
“Simply trying to figure out why you’ve been in a weird mood all week.”
“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”
“We did, but I didn’t get any answers.”
Her eyes roll. Great. He’s pushing her again, and that always goes well.
He never has known when to stop.
“It’s my life. You don’t need answers.”
“We spend half of our time together. I think I do deserve an answer if something is bothering you.”
“Yeah?” Emma scoffs, standing from the chair and walking toward the railing. “You think you get to know about my life? How much of your own do you tell me?”
“Nearly everything.”
“I know when you’re lying, Killian. I can tell. You do not tell me everything.”
“I know you can tell, which is bloody frustrating.”
Emma makes some kind of highly offended noise, and she’s right. He doesn’t tell her nearly everything. He doesn’t tell her a lot, but he could. He would. It’s simply that he and Emma have never had the type of friendship where they needed to get into the dark details every other conversation. They debate more on the merits of different types of chips.
Then again, Emma likely knows more about him than anyone but Liam.
But not enough. She doesn’t know about…she simply doesn’t know.
Killian looks up to see Emma’s shoulders deflate before she turns around and faces him. Her eyes are bloodshot. Have they been like that all night? How did he not notice? He talked to her earlier. He should have noticed.
“I broke up with Neal.”
What the fuck?
She what now?
Killian’s heartbeat quickens, his cheeks suddenly warm, and his first thought is relief. He’s an asshole because his first thought of Emma ending her relationship is relief.
He always hated Neal. Well, not always, but Emma deserves better than someone a man who treats her like Neal treated her. Then again, who is Killian to judge how someone is in a relationship? It’s not as if he knows how to be in one.
After relief, though, and a brief bit of anger, all Killian can really focus on is how utterly broken Emma looks.
Emma Swan has never been one to possibly look broken. She’s always seemed so strong and sure, and he hates everything about the water in her eyes and the quiver in her lips. He hates everything about her having to go through this.
He really fucking hates Neal.
“I – ”
There’s a loud cheer behind the two of them, and Killian turns around to see Liam and Elsa walking into the apartment, their hands twined together and raised in the air. They’re absolutely beaming.
“Looks like it’s time to go congratulate the happy couple,” Emma mutters as she brushes past him.
“Swan, I – ”
But she doesn’t stop. Instead she opens the door and walks away, the glass sliding shut behind her as thunder rolls in the background.
-/-
-/-
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lightsupinthenorth · 4 years
Text
Read me like an open book part 1/2
Hey! :) Here is the first part of a two-part (at least I think ah ah) Harringrove fanfiction. It’s set a few years after the events of the third season (which Billy survived, obviously ^^). It starts on Steve’s birthday just because it’s my birthday today :p 
I hope you’ll enjoy ;) 
*
Read on AO3 
“It’s presents time, bitches!” Robin said, getting up from the floor, where Steve was still sprawled with Billy half-laying on top of him. 
They might have overdone it a little on the weed. Steve didn’t really care, though. He was relaxed and happy. So far, his twenty-first birthday had been the best birthday ever. Robin and Billy had organized a surprise gathering in their shared flat, inviting the kids, Nancy and Jonathan, as well as Joyce and Hopper. After everyone had left earlier in the evening, Robin had gone to her room and had come back with a bag of weed bought by Billy and her for the occasion, and they had gotten positively baked. 
Billy and Robin had insisted to give him his present when it was just the three of them instead of doing it at the same time as the others. When Steve had seen the weed, he had understood why. So, he was confused when Robin mentioned presents. 
“What presents?” 
“Your birthday presents, dingus. I know you’re high right now, but I didn’t think you were high enough to forget your own birthday.” Robin cackled. 
“Hey, I haven’t forgotten. I just kinda thought… wasn’t the weed the present?” 
“Pfff, no.” Billy replied. “What kind of present would that be? As if we didn’t already smoke weed on the regular.” 
He made them sound like potheads. They didn’t smoke that often… Then again, it did happen more frequently than their respective birthdays. 
“Yo, Buckley, can you go to my room and fetch my present for Steve too, now that you’re at it. It’s in the drawer of my bedside table.” Billy yelled, a lot louder than was necessary considering Robin was just in the next room. 
Steve whined. Billy’s voice was reverberating in his head. 
“Sure, you lazy fuck.” She yelled back, just as loud. 
They were so noisy!
“Open mine first!” Robin said as she sat down on the floor again, extending a rectangular package. 
Steve had to detangle himself from Billy, ignoring his mumbled complaints, before he tore into the brightly colored wrapping paper. He uncovered a thick book with a beautiful cover representing a sky full of stars. It was titled Long live the King. 
“I know you’ve taken to reading, these days, and this novel is amazing.” Robin assured. 
“It’s really not that good.” Billy grumbled, with a roll of his eyes.  
“Oh, you read it too?” Steve asked. 
“Uh… yeah, I did.” 
Billy was staring at Robin when he said it. And he was frowning. 
“Don’t listen to him, Steve, he’s being a buzzkill. You’re going to love it.” 
“I’m sure I will. Thanks Rob.” Steve hugged her.
He hoped Billy would still agree to help him with the book, even if he didn’t like it much. Ever since he knew Steve had trouble with written words, Billy would read to him all the time. It had become their thing. Steve loved his voice. Well, Steve loved everything about him, but that was off topic. 
“Now, here’s Hargrove gift.” 
Robin basically dropped the gift in Steve’s lap. The wrapping paper had multi-colored stars on it. Steve unraveled it carefully and found a set of pencils and a beautiful sketchbook. Billy and Robin’s gifts kind of coordinated aesthetically speaking, which was nice. Indeed, on the cover of the notebook was a drawing of the night sky, with the sea represented underneath. “My sea of stars”, was written on the front. 
Steve used to doodle distractingly during class. He’d been doing it since primary school. After he had graduated, his doodling habit had spread to his daily life. He would draw lines absentmindedly while he was on the phone or trace random shapes on discarded pieces of paper when he was watching TV but was too fidgety to focus. He hadn’t been seriously committed to drawing, though. He had only started making it into a real hobby after Starcourt. Billy had been the one to suggest it, in fact. After he’d literally come back to life, Steve and he had become good friends, and Billy had noticed his little habit and had bought him a sketch pad. Drawing helped Steve a lot. Gave him something to do when he was feeling restless, which was the case more often than not after the whole ‘Upside-Down and co’ experience. 
Steve was frustrated by his lack of technique, at first, and had almost given up on several occasions. But Billy had always been there to cheer him up and keep him going. He was certain Billy hadn’t even realized his compliments and encouragements had prevented Steve from calling it quits at least a dozen times. They spent hours together in their living room, on the couch, Steve drawing while Billy wrote in his huge notebook, with his feet on Steve’s lap. Steve was eager to spend many more hours that exact same way, drawing on the new sketchbook Billy had offered him. 
“It’s… it’s really nice, Billy. I love it. Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome, Pretty boy.”
They hugged, and Billy didn’t let him go, half-climbing on him again as they laid back down. 
“Ugh, guys, seriously, get a room.” Robin complained, which led to Steve blushing and Billy flipping her the bird. 
Steve would have attributed Billy’s behavior to the weed, but they had gotten more and more tactile since the beginning of their friendship about two years prior, so the weed didn’t have much to do with it. Except that maybe Billy would have waited for Robin to go to bed before attaching himself to Steve like a koala, if he hadn’t been high.
Either way, Steve was far from complaining: the more Billy touched him, the better. 
Before he went to bed that night, Steve took his secret sketchpad – the one in which he drew his best friend page after page (like an obsessed creep) – from under his mattress, and drew the version of Billy he had seen earlier: high Billy, with his lax body and hazy eyes.
A few minutes after putting his paper shrine back in its usual hiding spot, Steve fell asleep with a smile on his face, and the smell of Billy’s cologne on his own skin. He hoped all his birthdays to come would be similar to this one. 
*
When Steve got up the next morning, Billy and Robin were eating breakfast in the kitchen. 
He heard Billy say:
“Stop it, Robin. I can’t tell him, I just can’t.” 
It made no sense to him, since he had missed the beginning of the conversation, but his interest was picked. 
“You can’t tell who, what?” He asked as he went to the cupboard to get his favorite cereals. No way he would eat oatmeal like Robin and Billy. What a depressing way to start the day. 
“I, uh…” Billy started. Robin interrupted him, though: 
“He can’t tell his coworker that his new haircut looks stupid.” 
“Yeah… ‘Cause it would be mean, you know.” Billy added, before putting a huge spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. 
“Uh… well, it’s true. It wouldn’t be a very nice thing to say, Rob.” Steve agreed. 
He put his box of cereals on the table and sat down next to Robin, in front of Billy, who was looking intently at his bowl.  
“Why do you think Billy should tell the poor guy his hair looks weird?” 
If anyone said that to Steve, he’d be devastated. That was for sure. 
“So he can let his hair grow back and have it cut in a more flattering way.” Robin explained. “It would be doing him a favor, in my opinion.”  
Steve hummed. “Makes sense”, he said. He was more focused on his fruit loops, though. It wasn’t like he cared about the guy anyway. He hadn’t even met him. 
Robin hadn’t either, so Steve didn’t know why she was so pressed on Billy giving him hair advice. Whatever floats her boat, he thought. 
His roommates were weird, sometimes. Nothing could be done about it. 
*
The next weekend, Steve and Billy were both off from their respective work, and Steve really wanted to start reading the book Robin had gotten him for his birthday. 
Billy was occupied with a novel of his own next to him, and Steve didn’t want to be a burden, so he started reading on his own. After a few pages, he was already hooked, but he got tired quickly, as he always did. Frustrated, he fidgeted a bit on the couch and brought the book closer to his face, as if it would help the words stop swimming in front of his eyes. 
Billy sighed. 
“What’s up, Pretty boy?” He asked, only then looking up from his own reading.
“I just… would it be okay… would you read to me? Please.” 
Billy sighed again, a bit louder. Steve’s face fell. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but Steve always looked forward to Billy reading out loud to him. 
“Sorry… I know you don’t like this book… I’ll ask Robin to read it to me when she gets home.” 
“No! I… I’ll do it, I’ll read for you. I really don’t mind.” Billy exclaimed. 
Steve was agreeably surprised by the amount of enthusiasm Billy displayed and he smiled at him when he handed him the book, letting their hands brush. 
“Thank you!” 
Steve kissed Billy’s cheek and laid his head on his shoulder.
“Don’t mention it, Pretty boy.”  
“Sure, I’ll mention it. It means a lot, you know.” 
Billy cleared his throat. “Right… if you say so.” 
Steve could feel the heat of Billy’s blush. 
He always downplayed the nice things he did, but Steve wouldn’t have it. He would keep showing Billy he was grateful for every little (and not so little) attention. Declaring his undying love to him would be a very effective way to make Billy realize how much Steve really appreciated him, but that would also do a lot more harm than good. Steve had to focus on the big picture, here. 
Billy began to read where Steve had stopped, and if Steve didn’t already know Billy disliked the book, he wouldn’t have been able to tell at all. He put his heart into it as he always did. Not only that, but Steve felt like Billy’s voice held even more emotion than it usually did. 
Steve fell into a sort of trance. The story was told in first person, from the point of view of a magician in a fantasy land, and Steve imagined himself as the narrator. In his mind, he could see everything Billy was describing: the village, the fields, the magnificent castle surrounded by a dark forest in which creatures lurked, the King who lived in the castle and whom the enchanter was secretly in love with.
Hours passed before Billy stopped reading. Still, Steve had to refrain himself from begging for one more chapter. He couldn’t be greedy; he didn’t want Billy to tire of him. 
“Here you go, Stevie.” 
“That was great. You’re the best.” 
“It’s just reading, Pretty boy. I didn’t hang the moon.” Billy mumbled. 
Steve nearly said “You might as well have”, but said: “It’s far better than ‘just reading’”, instead. That was a close call. 
They went to the kitchen to make dinner, and Robin came home from work right before the oven beeped. 
Steve ate his meal slowly, without really tasting it, and he didn’t say much, letting Robin and Billy do most of the talking. He was still somewhere far away, in a fantasy land ruled by a beautiful king. And, if the king was a carbon copy of Billy, it was nobody’s business but Steve’s. 
*
On Thursday, Billy went to Indianapolis, and Steve went with him. Apparently, Billy had been asked by his boss to go check and fix a few collection cars over there, and Billy had invited Steve to come with him. Said it would be fun. They’d spend the morning together and Billy would go to his work appointment after lunch.  
“Not that I’m not glad to have the opportunity of going on a fun little trip or anything, but couldn’t that guy find a garage in Indianapolis to take care of his cars? There must be more than a few.” Steve asked Billy, who had just started the car. 
“That’s because I’m the best in fucking Indiana, baby.” He said with a cocky grin. 
Steve rolled his eyes but couldn’t hold back his fond smile. 
“Right. Forget I asked.” 
“To answer more seriously, I don’t really know. But who gives a fuck? The guy paid extra… I mean like, a big wad of cash. So, fine by me.” 
Billy shrugged. 
Steve found it quite weird, but it was fine by him too. It wasn’t any of his business, anyway: he was just tagging along. 
He turned the radio on, and then Billy and he bickered for ages about what station to choose. That was somewhat of a tradition every time they were in a car together. 
“I’m driving, so I choose. It’s driver’s privilege, Pretty boy. Suck it up.” 
“But that’s not fair!” Steve whined. “You insisted to drive, it’s not like I had a choice.” 
“Too bad. You lose anyway.” 
Steve crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, making Billy laugh. The cold bastard. 
When they arrived in Indianapolis, Billy parked, and they chose a direction at random to go wander. Steve got caught up in some window-shopping, stopping abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk to stare at the newest Adidas sneakers behind the glass. 
Steve used to be given everything he wanted. Well, everything he wanted that could be bought with money. Now that he didn’t speak to his parents anymore and was financially independent, however, he couldn’t afford many unnecessary expenses. These shoes sadly fell into the “unnecessary” category. 
Billy had not immediately noticed Steve had stopped walking, so he had to go back on his tracks a little. 
“Hey, Stevie, give a guy a warning, would you? I turned to talk to you and you were not there anymore.” 
“Sorry, sorry. I was just… I wanted to take a look at these.” Steve pointed at the shoes. “I don’t know why I did, anyway… it’s not like I’m gonna buy them.” 
“Right… it’s fine. Let’s go get lunch, Pretty boy.” Billy said, steering him away from the shop, but not without giving the shoes a good look himself. 
They ate burgers and fries in a greasy joint they had stumbled upon. The food was pretty good. As a testament to that, Billy kept trying to steal fries off Steve’s basket. At first, Steve batted his hand away, but he gave up after a while. When Billy gave him a wide smile after finally succeeding, Steve couldn’t even be mad at him. He’d gave up all the fries in the world if it meant seeing Billy smile like that. Steve smiled back at him. 
In the afternoon, while Billy was at work, Steve went to a coffee shop and bought a cappuccino for himself, and a giant raisin oatmeal cookie to go for Billy. He grimaced a little as he ordered the latter. Billy really had weird tastes, sometimes. 
He sat down at a table and put the cookie in his backpack, before taking out his book. He progressed slowly, really slowly, only managing to read a chapter before he had to meet Billy back at the car. Yes, Steve had trouble with reading to begin with, but the fact that this book was making him emotional was not helping him read it any faster. 
He related to the narrator a lot. He, too, was in love with someone close to him yet unreachable. He, too, had to admire them in silence. And the object of his love was as beautiful and as brave as the King was described to be. The only difference was that the King was said to have brown hair and eyes.  
What the characters were going through also reminded him of what had happened because of the Upside-Down, in some way. Life in Hawkins was (or at least had been) so strange that it looked like something out of a fantasy novel. How wild was that? Steve mused, as he was waiting for Billy near his car. 
When Billy made it to the car, he was carrying a thick brown envelope in his right hand and a paper bag in the left. 
“Want some help with all that?” Steve asked. 
“Uh… No, thank you. I’ll be fine.” Billy assured, transferring the envelope in his left hand so he was carrying everything on the same side and could fetch the car keys from his pocket with his newly free hand. He opened the trunk and dropped everything in it. 
Steve didn’t bother asking what was in the envelope, or in the bag. If Billy had wanted to share the information, he already would have. Steve definitely wondered, though. 
“I have an oatmeal raisin cookie for you, if you’d like.” He said once they were in their seats, as he rummaged through his backpack in search of it. 
“Oh yeah thanks! that sounds perfect.” 
Billy took the paper bag from Steve’s hand as he unparked the car. Steve would have scolded him for eating while driving instead of focusing solely on the road, but that would have been slightly hypocritical of him. 
“Well, that’s a relief, because no way I’d have eaten that if you didn’t want it.” Steve made a face again. 
“That’s ‘cause you have bad tastes, Pretty boy.” Billy said, taking a big bite of the cookie and putting crumbs everywhere. 
Steve laughed. If only Billy knew how much Steve loved him, he would certainly backtrack on what he had just said.
“It’s delicious, you don’t know what you’re missing.” Billy said in between bites. 
Steve was watching him with a sad smile, glad that Billy’s eyes were on the road and not on him. It took him a few seconds to reply. 
“Oh I know, believe me. I know.” 
*
The next morning, when he woke up, Steve found the brown paper bag Billy had come back with at the foot of his bed. What the…? 
The idea of Billy sneaking into his room during the night to put it there made something tighten in his chest, but Steve was mostly preoccupied with finding out what was inside the bag. 
He basically jumped out of bed, which was very unusual of him (he was the exact opposite of a morning person), and reached for the bag. There was a box labelled Adidas in it… no way! Steve opened it with shaky hands and his jaw dropped. 
What… how… why? Steve was confused. Billy had gotten him the sneakers he’d been looking at in the shop window. How had he paid for them? Why would he spend so much money on Steve? Especially so soon after his birthday… This was far too much. 
Steve exited his room quicker than he would have if it had been on fire. 
“Billy!” Steve might have called his name slightly louder than he meant to.
Billy, who was sitting at the breakfast table with his back to Steve, jumped and put a hand over his heart. 
“Damn, Pretty boy, calm down. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” 
“What the fuck?” 
Robin darted her eyes between the two of them and announced: “I’ll leave you to it”, before retreating to her room with her bowl of disgustingly bland oatmeal. 
“What gives, Stevie?” 
“You know what, Billy. The shoes. What the fuck? Why did you buy them?” 
“Isn’t that obvious? You wanted them, and I wanted you to have them. It’s not that big a deal.” Billy was not looking at him as he spoke. 
Steve’s heart nearly melted. Because that was so fucking sweet of Billy to do what he did, and then say something like that. He couldn’t possibly accept the gift, though.  
“Not that big a deal? They’re so expensive, Billy… I can’t … I can’t just take them… it wouldn’t be right.” 
“Look, Steve… As I told you, my client from yesterday paid really well, and it’s my money, so I get to decide how to spend it, and I wanted to spend it on these shoes, for you. So please, keep them. They’re your size and not refundable, anyway. Either you keep them or they’ll just rot in the cupboard. That’s up to you.”
Steve was almost certain Billy was bullshitting him on the “not refundable” part, but he didn’t argue. It would be no use: Billy always won.  
So, he just hugged him tightly instead. Billy froze for a second, but quickly let go of the spoon he was still holding to hug Steve back. 
“Thank you so much. I don’t know what I did to deserve that.” 
“You don’t need to do anything in particular, Pretty boy. Being yourself is more than enough.” 
Steve was not a crier, but his eyes were undeniably misty. Billy couldn’t keep being so sweet and expect Steve to reign his feelings in. They were on the verge of overflowing already. 
After finally letting go of Billy (not before leaving a kiss on top of his head, though), Steve put the sneakers on. 
“Steve, seriously… you’re still wearing your pajamas.” 
Steve’s pajamas consisted in frayed basketball shorts and a old Hawkins High t-shirt, so it was fine to wear the sneakers with them in Steve’s book. And he wouldn’t take these off until he absolutely had to. 
“So what?” Steve asked. 
Billy rolled his eyes, but his ears were red. 
*
About a week later, Steve’s nightmares paid him a visit. They had left him alone for a while, but Steve knew they’d be back eventually. He saw Billy die again, which was simultaneously his worst and most common nightmare. 
“Hey, Steve. Stevie. Wake up, please.” 
He was shaken awake.
Thankfully, Billy was the one to wake him up from his dream, so Steve instantly knew he was alive and well. Steve threw his arms around him, buried his face in his neck, and inhaled his scent to calm himself down. 
Billy held him close and rubbed his back, whispering reassuring words in his ear:   
“You’re okay, Pretty boy. You’re fine. It was just a dream.” 
Yes, Steve was alright. But the most important thing was that Billy was. That had been the object of Steve’s concern. 
“I’m sorry… did I wake you?”
Billy sighed. 
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t mind, Steve?” 
“As many times as I have to tell you the same thing.”
Billy’s room was right next to Steve’s. It wasn’t the first time he woke Billy up with his nightmare-induced screams. And Billy’s night terrors had woken Steve up a few times too. 
“Touché.” Billy said. “Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” He added after a pause. 
“I don’t know… Could you read to me again?” 
“Sure, if it helps.” Billy agreed. 
Steve snatched the book from his bedside table and handed it to Billy, who opened it where the bookmark indicated Steve had stopped. 
“You read all this by yourself?” There was awe in Billy’s voice. 
Steve was blushing, but in the low light of his bedside lamp, it was probably not very noticeable. At least, he could always hope. 
“Yeah… uh… I was really into it.” 
He had read about seven chapters on his own, which, added to the ones Billy had read to him the other day, only left three before they reached the end. 
“Steve, you did really good!” 
Steve blushed even harder. His face was burning at that point. Billy sounded so proud of him. 
“It’s not like it’s a great achievement, or anything… but yeah, I guess it’s progress.” 
“Hey, of course it’s progress. It’s a lot, Steve. Don’t diminish your accomplishments.” Billy said in a firm tone.
“Okay, okay. I won’t.” 
“Good.” Billy sprawled on the bed and leaned against the headboard. He then tugged on Steve’s arm. “Now settle down.” 
Steve did as he was told and settled right next to him, resting his head on Billy’s chest and putting an arm over his waist. Steve loved the feeling of Billy’s naked skin against his. When they had first moved in together, Billy wore long-sleeved t-shirts almost constantly, self-conscious as his scars made him. Now, he slept in nothing but shorts. Steve wasn’t the only one who had been making progress.
Billy was barely three sentences into the third to last chapter when his voice broke. He cleared his throat and resumed the reading as if nothing had happened. His voice was now breathy, though. 
“Are you okay?” 
“Yes.”
“You sure? We can stop.” 
“I’m sure, Pretty boy. Now shut up and let me read.” 
Steve effectively shut up and Billy got back to the task at hand. 
In the last three chapters, the King lost his kingdom, the magician finally confessed their love and found out it was in fact reciprocated. Then, the narrator described their first kiss with the King, a kiss that made Steve’s chest constrict with longing. The fact that it was Billy’s voice describing it only made the longing ten time worse. 
As Billy read the last words: “He was not ruling the kingdom anymore, but to me he would always be king. My king, my light, my love, my everything”, Steve was on the verge of tears. 
He regularly went through terrifying nightmares and found himself unable to spill a single tear, but this book might do the trick. And okay, it might have been a bit mushy, but Steve was really digging it, alright? 
He opened his eyes and saw a tear stain on the last page. For a second, he thought he had already started crying without noticing, but his cheeks were dry. It then occurred to him that the tear had come from Billy. 
Steve put the book away from him and had to straddle him so they could be face to face. He then wiped Billy’s tears, but they kept coming. 
“What’s the matter, Billy?” 
Unlike Steve, Billy was a crier. Steve had seen him cry a bunch of times, when he’d been particularly tired, or sad, or frustrated. However, there was something he was not getting: why had Billy pretended he didn’t like the book in the first place? It had to be the book. What other reason did Billy have to cry right now?
“I… I’m sorry.” Billy just said before he started properly bawling and hid his face in his hands.  
Steve was even more confused… and slightly panicked. 
“Hey… hey… please, tell me what’s wrong. I… I don’t know what to do.”
Steve circled Billy’s wrists to ground him, but he didn’t try to pull his hands away from his face for fear it might make him retreat further into himself. 
“I just… this book hits me really hard.” His voice was muffled, but Steve could still make out the words.  
“But… you said it wasn’t very good.”
Billy lowered his hands. His eyes were red and puffy. 
“I meant it… It still makes me sad, though.” 
Steve frowned. He didn’t think a book could elicit such reaction in someone who didn’t like it all that much. 
“Why didn’t you tell me?” 
Steve wouldn’t have judged Billy, he would have understood. He never wanted Billy to feel so bad, and even less if it happened because of something Steve had asked of him. 
“I should have… I should have said something. I’m sorry.” Billy’s breathing was uneven, and Steve could see his tears threatening to come back. 
“Hey, no. Don’t be sorry. You don’t have to apologize. Just tell me next time, okay?”
Billy nodded and Steve smiled at him tentatively. 
“Let’s go to bed.” 
“Yeah, sounds good.” Billy mumbled. 
Steve turned the lights off before moving from Billy’s lap to lay down. As Billy snuggled up with him, Steve couldn’t help but think about his recent behavior. Billy was acting a tad strange these days. He had gotten a lot better at expressing his feelings verbally in the last couple of years, and Steve was positive that the Billy he knew would have told him the book would upset him instead of pretending he would be fine. 
Steve would have to talk to him when he was more clear-headed. The last thing he wanted was for Billy to close himself off again.   
*
Thank you for reading :D 
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mulderspice · 5 years
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have you ever watched an episode of the Emmy award winning sci-fi drama, The X Files?  Maybe you’ve read my original post and yet you’re still wondering where the hell Fox Mulder got all those strands of hair on his jumbo gigantic head.  I am back and here to help you find the answers to some of your burning questions; as we celebrate the hard work and triumphs of the hair and makeup department on the Fox Lot and team up with my big huge brain and my New York State Cosmetology license to give the people what they want once again: another top ten guide to Mulder’s fucking hair..
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upon making this post a second time (rip 😔), I realized that just about every episode (yes, every. single. one. even the ones without Mulder and the latest season where he has to share headspace with [redacted]) has its own important and iconic hair looks... You may recognize that some of these are slightly repeated from the last post but that’s ok! What I'm here to do is enforce! So lets get started..
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#10 s6:e21 Field Trip: Here again we begin our journey into cosmetic superstardom with a personal favorite of mine.  Mulder rolling with the times by getting a haircut fresh off the FTF wave left our nation in fucking shambles. Can’t imagine going to see a major motion picture in theatres jam packed with Mulder’s most supreme hair looks only to come back to my tv screen to see it all gone away.  For students reading this post for educational purposes, this caused a worldwide walkout on popular salon franchise Supercuts in the year 1998.  However, a haircut didn’t necessarily mean Mulder forgot how to take care of his hair.  The precision and placement as each strand of hair perfectly outlines his jumbo head is revolutionary and inspiring.  Mushroom induced drug high? K. Lemme still grab my teasing comb and my hairspray and make sure I look presentable for when my partner walks into my apartment screaming abt “where's Mulder” and wanting “answers”.  The answer is this: this look is about giving people like myself with big heads rights and looking fuckable while doing so. 10/10 for inspiring hope.
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#9 s1:e9 Space: Imagine you’re a few episodes into a show, the core plot is developing right before your eyes and you’re beginning to get to know The X Files three main characters; Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and Mulder Hair Strands #1-3.  All is well except, you still have no clue how crucial, and critical Mulder Hair Strands 1-3 will become to the show and to your life and I am here to tell you that you are in for a very rude and bold awakening.  This message goes out to all the haters and all the people who didn’t believe Mulder’s hair was valid prior to season 4. He is here to tell you he DID know how to use dry shampoo and even the occasional blow dry oil and you can suck a dick abt it. Bold of you to assume he wouldn’t pull the round brush and the biosilk out the drawer to impress a visit to fucking NASA. 10/10 for involving science.
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#8 s4:e6 Sanguinarium: I sit here writing to you today as the song ‘Handmade Heaven’ comes on shuffle; strikingly fitting for this raw and ethereal image of straight up beauty and wonder and magic and heaven in hair. This special, freshly washed and air dried smells like strawberries and sandalwood and fuckability. The look reaches through your TV and wraps its hands around your neck and sucks the life right out of you.  Are you gonna let it happen? You sure are.  Lucky for you, I just so happened to be there when the angels hand sewed each strand of hair onto his head and here’s what they had to say about it:  this is everything and more and the way Mulder has just washed his hair with fresh mountain water droplets hand collected like nothing else mattered. Put his clothes back on and went on his merry way. Can’t imagine being in Scully’s shoes ready to walk on in her partners room unannounced to go over serious case related matters and theories.  Woulda went bonkers. This truly is a handmade heaven.  Hand crafted by Mulder for Scully and for the good viewers of the globe. 10/10 for embracing me in its arms.
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#7 s4:e3 Home: A look from one of primetime TV’s most notorious banned episodes.  Viewer discretion IS advised not only for the horrifying and cringeworthy content displayed in this episode, but for also making it painfully blunt to the viewer that Mulder’s hair follicles are happier and healthier than anybody else's will ever be in their lifetime.  In fact, I can feel my own hair falling out and being respawned onto HIS head as I type this and I’m sure you can too. The way the sun glistens off his golden brown strands makes me want to walk into oncoming traffic.  You might also notice how effortless this look was, as it probably only took a quick run thru with his fingers, and Mulder’s passion and need to look sexy at any time of the day at all times. It’s obvious that this kind of thing comes naturally to him, which just comes off as insulting to men everywhere. 11/10 for striking fear into men’s hearts.
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#6 s4:e20 Small Potatoes: Genuinely took every bone and nerve ending in my body to not put this look in the top 5 even though it so clearly deserves it.  Here at mulderspice we believe in diversity, meaning it wouldn’t be right to make my top five greatest hairstyles ever produced on The X Files just of Mulder’s iconic and revolutionizing middle part (though really who is stopping me..). This screenshot in general has me up in arms at how perfectly the blue background matches his eyes, and how it accentuates his hydrated skin and lips.  But you’re not here for that. It’s the hair particularly that really pulls the shot together, as Mulder took the time that morning to spray it with some tinted dry shampoo that most defiantly and absolutely smells like chocolate.   This look feels like a warm hug on a frigid winter day. I feel EMBRACED and I feel CARED FOR thanks to the wonderful staff and team @ Mulder’s head and hair follicles. What the fuck could be better than this. 16/10 for making me feel some type of way.
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#5 s4:e8 Tunguska: Currently you may not think anything of Krycek to the left of this image though ill have you know he plays an extremely vital part of this look and all the words I’m about to speak to you directly. So listen up: Krycek may have heroically slayed Mulder’s father in cold blooded and justifiable murder, but we thank him for this, as it caused Mulder to lash out in the best way possible: through looks. “Un-shun: Krycek do you think I’m good to bring my Redkin Rewind 6 styling paste with me or will the Russian TSA think of that as contraband? :Re-shun”.  A sweaty, manly and highly illegal treck through a Russian testing facility and a stint in a violent foreign PRISON surely was not going to stop Mulder from keeping his hair properly hydrated, styled and parted. That’ll really ruffle Krycek’s feathers and make him feel sorry for what he did…. The sexiest way to avenge the death of your deadbeat father. 24/10 for you know why.
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#4 s1:e6 Shadows: In the year 1993, Mulder steps onto the scene, young, fresh faced, bright eyed and ready to give men around the globe what they (so desperately) needed: the encouragement to care about their hair.  Any backstreet boy you may know have this scene to thank directly, as this is what encouraged them to reproduce Mulder’s hair onto their own heads time and time again.  What I would give to see with my own eyes Mulder length times width times height his head to equal this perfectly proportionate look of volume and sexy. And who can I write a warrant out to for allowing this shot to take place.  Oh to be the various and expensive hair care products in Mulder’s bathroom …… 899/10 for starting a movement (-1 for making us do equations).
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#3: s1:e10 Fallen Angel: The biggest regret I’ve ever had in my short little life was not adding this moment to the last post.  And tumblr deleted it in order to give me this opportunity to present this to you today.  By the way, that absolutely is in fact a choir of angels singing as you view this image. Go ahead and try to think of something on this earth that could be better than this tossled bed headed im-stressed-becos-my-partner-of-2-weeks-isn’t-seeing-the-big-picture-about-how-we’re-all-key-pawns-in-an-ongoing-government-conspiracy hairstyle hand crafted by Mulder all while holding his head in his hands hard at work trying to break through to the truth.  Scully [insert photo of Scully with her eyes popping out of her head here] and I both wanna rip our own hair out and throw it in the garbage. 2000/10 for making our hearts ache..
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#2: s4:e10 Paper Hearts: Behold- the image I’m slamming down on the desk at full force when I finally get myself a therapist. I need a licensed professional doctor to help me understand the various angles that this purposeful shot affects my life health and well being. In a paranoia induced out of body experience Mulder took his pinky finger and parted his hair down the middle, took a protractor to perfectly round the tendrils falling ever so gracefully on his forehead and ran out of his apartment and through the woods of DC.  Doesn’t matter if he’s crazy? Doesn’t matter if its fuck all 4am? Who knows if the discoveries of this night is finally going to answer the heartbreaking questions regarding Mulder’s baby sister? Fuck it we’re just gonna make sure Scully has something to look forward to after being awoken yet again in the middle of the night and asked to come wrangle and control this stupid idiot.  This just makes me unhinged.  50000/10 for waking up in the middle of the night and doing the most for us all.  
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#1 s4:e3 Teliko: This one will remain number one for as long as I shall live.  I’ve dedicated my life to this cause and I’m ready to make you painfully aware of it. Grab a pen and paper and get ready to do some heavy math with me because this look right in front of your eyes is the equation to happiness and sexiness. Can barely find the words to describe to you how this picture makes me feel. Each strand of hair is personally reaching down and wrapping his head in one big giant hug of protection and solitude.  Unbelievable that Scully didn’t head back to her hotel room and scream at the top of her lungs right after this. There’s no way she went about her day as normal without wanting to kick the shit out of him and then put him back together with soft feathery kisses.  What you are witnessing here is the very turning point of the show where Scully looked into into the very center point of that part and said “guess I have no choice but to fall in love with him 🚶🏽‍♂️”. Chris Carter’s idealistic version of Mulder and the one we actually ended ups seeing as viewers were so drastically different that it’s blatantly clear that he had absolutely no idea the cultural implications that were about to rock the world to its core and tip it on its axis when David Duchovny showed up on set looking like this. I could write a thesis about this. I could conduct research and studies about this.  I got kicked out of college because I cared more about this than I did actual schoolwork. I feel like I’m in a very sexy chokehold. Wish I could live forever in one little square pixel of this image.  Nothing means more to me than this.  1000000/10 no further comments.
and the honorable mentions go to....
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s8:e16 Three Words: Dead? Did you die? Did you die and miraculously defy god by rising from the dead and coming back to life? Just got home from the morgue? Think nothing is the same? Left guessing if you’re a soon to be 5 minute father? Did you just fucking die? He’s lost his family and his job and the world just went on without him like it was nobody’s business.  Walked out of the morgue right to his apartment and what did he have left? His expensive array of hair styling and finishing products that’s what the fuck he had left.  Being an all around reject from society didn’t at all stop him from taking his fingers and dipping it into that Big Sexy styling pomade and fluffing his head to high heavens. As a personal fuck you to god and to John Doggett too.  He’ll never let you know the emotional hellstorm going on in his life in that moment but he WILL make it known to you that despite being 8 feet under ground for 6 months he’ll never give up on his hair. For the PEOPLE. Try and go through the nightmare of death and then rejected fatherhood and see if you come out of it with any hair at ALL.  An itty bitty glimpse into what would have been Untitled Mulder Abduction Story (2001)....
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I Want To Believe (2008): Here you will see the sluttiest moment in major motion picture history.  Shh im not using this opportunity to show you this screenshot for the 800th time I’m trying to keep you educated.  BREAKING NEWS; Man hiding in home office for 6 years fully off the grid has FULL head of hair and is getting regular sex *not clickbait*. So what if Mulder has gone fully unhinged and off the walls bonkers he’s also gone FULL slut and it shows in that sexy thick voluminous head of slut hair.  If you ever for a second thought prior to seeing this movie for the first time that Mulder would show up a full on son-less wreck and a half think the fuck again babes.  He’s managed to hold on to every single little strand ever grown on his head even well into his middle aged madness and its about time we give him the credit he deserves.  (PS. Please know I wrote this entire spiel without even viewing the shot shown here. Its just permanently etched on the inside of my forehead so its there when my eyes roll back into my head.)  For this we say…..; Whore rights.
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s11:e3 Plus One: Incase you were unaware, I have been going through a very slow and painful process of erasing Season 11 from my brain completely.  Its been a long road but its achievable and the end result will save me from a lot of future heartache and trauma.  This however, is a moment I will cherish forever and though you may think its for the hot sex (which is like maybe 30% the case) its actually because it puts together everything I’ve ever loved and believed about the show in only a few thousand pixels. How old is Mulder here? 30? 31? Still has hair and still has an unbelievable amount of love to shower Scully in for as long as they both shall live (which lets face it, she deserves one million times over.)  What this has taught me was to hang up my “Mulder deserved…” hat for good and just be thankful for what I’ve got. I ended up with no son or happy dreamy ending where Mulder gets to die with a family he’s never had in his life, but here we are left with the little things.. Like Mulder and Scully’s unconditional love and most importantly .. The hair on Mulder’s head. Its called growth and acceptance and I am learning it.  Also I just wanted to show you what it would look like if you were like 57 and sexy and still had all ur hair. That’s it :-)
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justphilia · 4 years
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Aubade is a great fic; too bad it’s possibly dead.
Been a while since I did a long long babble on a fic I like, and lately, I’ve been rereading a few fics to fuel my entertainment. I low key notice how rare it is to find a multi-chaptered fic for Ritshou that doesn’t have Terumob as main, which is really funky honestly.
I talked about Aubade once, in my list of incomplete fanfics I missed back in like February. But it’s so good, I’m gonna make a long post about it lmao.
Even though this fic has literally taken the number one ranking in my favorites list, it only took today for me to bookmark it in my ao3 (mostly because I’ve been waiting it for it to be completed before doing so.)
And generally, anything that I bookmark on ao3 is something I’ve cried about at least once, whether it’s because of the story or because I love the story too much. So anyways,
Aubade by Ravenesta is a M rated Ritshou fic centered around Ritsu, who moves in with Shou after Shou declared he was going to stay in Japan for good.
They buy an apartment together near Ritsu’s university and go on a shopping spree in IKEA for furniture and such, which is as chaotic as it doesn’t sound. The tension between them is real and it’s there, so much so you just want them to get together already sometimes.
I’ve read this fic for a total of 4 times, and I will keep rereading it until the day I die. If you asked me what would come to mind if I thought about Ritshou, it would be the fic’s summary;
My dove, my doe, I love you so I cannot, will not, let you go
Ritsu and Shou have been orbiting around each other ever since they were thirteen years old. Really, something like this was inevitable.
It’s so simple and sweet, and somehow, without fail, every time this summary (specifically the poem) comes to mind, I would get teary eyed. Even now I’m getting :’( over the poem, just because it literally speaks Ritshou to me.
The fic starts off with Ritsu heading back home by train to Seasoning City during his summer break from college in Grain City. It’s written in a way where it’s very easy for you to visualize the scenario of Ritsu waiting for the train to come while holding a cup of cheap coffee.
It’s realistically detailed too, going as far as to include little quirks about Ritsu and the people around him (stranger or not).
Both Shou and Shigeo gets introduced during a phone texting scene, where you can easily tell their personality was conveyed right through the way they message Ritsu. Shigeo adds little face emoticons with caring and sweet messages, and Shou shortens his words to ‘u’ and ‘ur’ with chaotic spacings between words and many exclamation marks.
Even Ritsu has his own way of messaging, always adding punctuation to his sentences.
Later on, after Ritsu arrives in Seasoning City, he’s picked up by Shigeo and Teru, who are already a couple in this fic, and you can tell how much Ritsu misses his home.
Teru is such a beautiful mess in this fic, everything about him is dramatic and overtop, going from his haircut to his little diet habits, and he’s still playful with Ritsu. The ‘Little Brother’ nickname will never go away.
(Also, at some point, Ritsu makes a face immaturely after seeing Shigeo drop a kiss on Teru’s head and I think that was pretty funny)
(Also also, they all call Reigen ‘Dad’. Which is hecking adorable, but it did confuse me at some point because Ritsu named Reigen’s contact as Dad and I legitimately thought that was Ritsu’s actual dad until later.)
Fast forward after Ritsu gets a haircut from Teru in Spirits and Such. Pretty funny considering how Reigen did the same thing to Serizawa in Season 2, but I’m mildly sure Serizawa doesn’t exist in this fic so it was probably a coincidence.
So they’re going shopping and Ritsu gets another text from Shou, because Shou isn’t in town, or at least, that was what we were led to believe, until he does pop up. 
And it wouldn’t be Shou if his appearance isn’t random, so of course his first line is to comment on Kiwis looking like balls.
Ritsu, being Ritsu, responds by calling Shou an asshole and proceeds to be conflicted between wanting to punch Teru, because he knew all along, or wanting to hug Shou, because Ritsu misses him so much. He goes for the latter.
Cue Shou and Ritsu hanging out because Shigeo and Teru had to go save Reigen from a spirit job, and their interaction is just so Ritshou it makes you feel fuzzy inside y’know? Because it’s just...friends being friends.
Ok so fast forward again, and they’re sitting around in Ritsu’s room and here’s where the plot begins:
Shou, sleepily, declares he wants them to live together, before suddenly falling asleep.
And Ritsu panics because he can’t tell if he’s serious or just sleep drunk. So he consults Teru to confirm this, who answers that, yes, Shou was being serious, and this just makes Ritsu panic even more because wow he did not expect that and mostly because he can’t afford an apartment.
Shou, being the rich boy he is, offers to settle the payment, because of course he would.
Ritsu weighs his options in his head and convinces himself that he’ll do it. So that’s what they do. They make a little list, which is funny and adorable, and start scouting for apartments online.
Fast forward yet again and Ritsu’s plan was to first gather his shit from his dorm room, crash there for a bit, before fully moving into the new apartment.
Reigen, Teru, and Shigeo are seeing the two off at the train station, and Reigen being Reigen, he’s all double checking that Ritsu has all his shit and it’s just such a dad moment.
Most of their luggage is Shou’s because Ritsu packs light and most of his things are at the dorm, and I brought this up because of this scene:
“It’s my oldest friend!” Shou had argued, trying to wrestle it from Ritsu’s hands. “Six years I have known you, Suzuki, and never once has there been a working bulb in this lamp.”
We get a few more cute scenes of Shou running around and being playful before being tired out and falling asleep on the train, and there’s this tender moment where Shou’s snuggling on Ritsu’s jacket, which the latter had taken off early, and he makes a comment saying how it smells like Ritsu which just baffles the only. It’s...nice, makes me fluffy.
Anyways they reach Ritsu’s dorm to crash and pack, and they have this scene where Shou gets a little emotional about how organized Ritsu is, and he genuinely couldn’t believe how Ritsu is making this work. 
So! Chapter 6, alright! And it’s the apartment viewing chapter, because of course they need to view apartments before moving in (which is as fun as it sounds).
They view 3 apartments, with the third try being the charm;
Apartment 1 fucking sucks! And Ritsu only chose this because he wanted to get a feel of how apartment viewing works, and you gotta hand it to him for thinking ahead. So no matter what, he knows he won’t be buying this apartment.
Apartment 2 was actually pretty decent, the landlord, however, was not. Throughout this scene, she is constantly trying to get into Ritsu’s space, and you don’t exactly know what’s up until the very end where she gets really close. Shou saves Ritsu in the end by dragging him away and making it known that, “THIS IS MY MAN DO NOT TOUCH.” And makes an enemy out of her, so big whoops.
Apartment 3 is kinda awkward but workable, with their landlord being the sweetest man to walk this earth. His kids were born on the viewing day, which made him a little late, though Ritsu finds in understandable. After the viewing, Ritsu asks if they can crash at the apartment even though they haven’t actually gotten it yet, and the man’s like, “Don’t worry, you’re gonna live here anyways so might as well crash here now!” Protect this man.
Next scene we have Ritsu finally moving out of his dorm and into the apartment with Shou and after getting a few groceries, they finally decide they should head to IKEA for furniture. It’s a pretty funny scene because everyone knows IKEA is an equivalent to a bloody maze, so you get to watch them play around in the display rooms and climbing into beds and getting lost.
And it’s funnier because this is the Shou’s first time stepping foot into an IKEA, and Ritsu makes fun of him for it briefly. Shou gets back at him later on when they’re playing around in a bathroom display room.
he doesn’t quite notice where Shou’s wandered off to until he turns around from a bathroom sink and spots him in a shower stall, calling him over with a wave of his hand. Ritsu steps inside, ducking his head under the bar for the shower curtain
He almost startles when Shou reaches over and pulls the shower curtain closed with a flourish, leaving them enclosed in the shower stall, somehow still mysteriously lit by no lamp that Ritsu can see. He shoots Shou a questioning look, only to snort when Shou leans back against the shower wall, a hand over his heart and eyelashes fluttering.
“Why, Mister Kageyama,” he says, all false coquettishness, “Cornering a young girl like me alone in a place like this? How scandalous.”
He considers giving Shou the reaction he wants, a laugh and a shove on the shoulder and possibly a comment about exactly how classy making out in an IKEA shower stall is, but the reaction he’d gotten earlier was too good to resist playing along with the joke.
He shamelessly uses his height advantage when he steps into Shou’s space, one leg between Shou’s and a hand propped casually on the wall beside his head. He leans down so that their noses are almost touching, and says low, “Well with you standing here all gorgeous like this, how could I resist?”
It’s pathetic joke flirting, some cheesy disaster line out of every old black and white movie he’s ever watched with his mother, so he doesn’t quite expect it when Shou seems to freeze, eyes wide and locked onto Ritsu’s. It’s only for a few seconds, a barely noticeable pause before Shou’s howling with laughter as he pushes past him out of the shower, but Ritsu gets caught on it, on the hitch he thought he’d heard in Shou’s breath, on the way he feels oddly wired, like his skin is buzzing from the proximity, and what the fuck had just happened?
This scene, ladies and gentlemen, had me sold on the fic. Starting with how Shou had playfully dragged Ritsu into the display shower in an attempt to tease Ritsu, only to be surprised that Ritsu had played along because, according to Ritsu, the raven would usually just laugh and dismiss the joke as a joke. 
You can literally see that’s where the subtle feelings come out, where their friendship suddenly moves a bit faster into something more. It’s a slowburn for a reason, because their relationship happens really slow, so it’s moments like these that makes you really warm inside.
We come to a near end to the fic from here, which includes a scene where Shou cooks and Ritsu has a wet dream that’s pretty brief tbh and nothing too explicit don’t worry. Then there’s some scenes where Ritsu’s doing school things and Shou’s being Shou in the kitchen and everywhere.
It slows to a stop after the iconic Shou and Ritsu flies scene, because we’re all suckers for Ritsu trusting Shou that he won’t drop him when they fly.
SO! You can pretty much get the idea of how the fic will end/go from there since the major arc scene has been settled (moving in together). And frankly, if Ravenesta was to stop the fic on chapter 9, I don’t think we’ll lose too much since the only thing we didn’t get is a conclusion to the slowburn.
If you’ve read up to here, thanks for indulging me I suppose. I mostly write little reviews for my own sake since I really talk too much and it’s very hard to collect my thoughts at times.
Is this a fic I would recommend? Most definitely yes, it’s lovely, it’s well written, it’s captivating. It is the embodiment of Ritshou’s romance, and I really wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
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electronicyarn · 4 years
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NOT Live Blogging RWBY Vol. 7
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Guess who has two thumbs and finally finished watching RWBY Volume 7? This gal! So I decided I’d post my thoughts on the volume. I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to properly live blog it, but I guess right now this is the best I can do.
(So is…is tumblr still a thing? Or has whatever company that owns it now finally run the site completely into the ground. Maybe the question I should be asking is: does anyone still follow my blog?)
I think in the interest of not rambling too wildly I’m going to organize my thoughts into broad categories. So, here we go.
Visuals
If nothing else, this volume was a feast for the eyes. I’m impressed that RWBY continues to noticeably improve its visuals with each Volume. Honestly, at this point I don’t see the need for further improvement. The character models are appropriately stylized, the backgrounds are gorgeous, and the last of the kinks have (finally) been worked out of the animation.
What I’m less enthused about is the costume design. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s just not great. Penny’s new design works. Ruby’s outfit is virtually identical to her last one, so she gets a pass. Weiss’s is close, oh so close. I like the basic design, but I think the colors needed some more tweaking. Blake’s outfit is…. Well, I don’t know. I think I’m going to call it mildly nonsensical. I’m digging the haircut though. (Same goes for Jaune!) Yang and Neo’s new clothes are so-so at best, and Cinder’s are downright awful. Strangely enough, it’s Team JN_R that wins the best-dressed award in my book. They’re new outfits look far better than Weiss’s, Blake’s, and Yang’s by a mile.
I guess I should count my blessings. After Neo and Cinder’s new outfits debuted at the end of Volume 6 I was afraid that everyone might end up looking like lampshades. Or maybe fetishists not fully committing to the part.
Story
Up until about Episode 10 I was going to call this volume the good twin to Volume 4’s evil twin. A volume of RWBY that lacked the high-highs and the low-lows that are so endemic of the franchise. The difference between the two being that Volume 4 was painfully mediocre, while Volume 7 was pretty good. But it turns out I was wrong. The entirety of Volume 7 was, in my opinion, nothing more than a build-up to the big finale. And what a finale it was! But maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.
The first episode really won brownie points with me for basically doing the bad part of Volume 6 (Team RWBY spitting in the face of authority) except doing it right. It turns out that authority figures aren’t always “whimsical” caricatures masquerading as antagonists. (Sorry, I really hated Caroline, and not in a good way.) It also turns out that sometimes the authorities aren’t utterly incompetent. In many ways the Ace-Ops arresting Team RWBY reminded me of a less extreme version of the ending of the fourth Hunger Games movie. Specifically the part where Katniss and company decide to storm the castle and utterly fail. You know, the part where the movie transformed from an uninspired parody of itself to the absolute highlight of the entire franchise?
And then a bunch of stuff happened, some of which I’ll discuss in the next section. And then there were some really great fights. Oh yes, and then Salem shows up. Bye-bye Atlas! You. Are. Outta here!
Honestly, the only thing I didn’t much care for story-wise was Penny becoming the new Winter Maiden. It’s not because I don’t like the concept; it’s because it feels like they didn’t put any thought into the idea other than “let’s make Penny the Winter Maiden”. I’ll withhold judgment for now. It’s only fair that I wait and see where they go with it.
Characters
Believe it or not, I don’t have much to say about Team RWBY themselves in this section. Development-wise this volume was almost exclusively focused on other characters. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, although it wouldn’t be my first choice if I had my druthers. Honestly, Weiss, Blake, and Yang’s character arcs have largely been concluded at this point. Only Ruby’s left with outstanding issues regarding her mother. So…yeah. Maybe that bodes poorly for the franchise’s future now that I think about it? Or at least my own personal enjoyment of it? Eh, I’ll worry about that later. I should talk about all the other characters!
Team JN_R – I was a bit surprised at the lack of Jaune-related content this volume. They didn’t even deign to make him suffer much. But with a cast as big as RWBY’s, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a character take a volume off as it were. The big news here is that they actually attempted to give Ren a character and bring him into conflict with Nora. I…. Well, I don’t really think they succeeded, to be honest. As is a common problem in RWBY, there really wasn’t enough time to let the idea be fully realized. But I appreciate the effort.
The Ace-Ops – Oh, I had these guys pegged as the volume’s final bosses from the get-go. And I was not disappointed. As one-off antagonists, they worked. I can’t remember any of their names though. Except for Clover’s, and I’ll talk about him and Qrow in the section below.
Penny – It’s about time she came back. We all knew that was going to happen, right? And while I’m on the subject, Pietro was a nice side character too.
Oscar – He was there.
Robyn – I’m not sure what to say about her, to be honest. She was a good enough character, and played her role in the story well. But I never felt like she rose above her role.
Neo – You know who my favorite RWBY character is? It’s Yang, obviously. And do you know who the most strongly characterized RWBY character is? It’s the late Roman Torchwick of course. But do you know who takes second place in both of those categories? Neo. Kind of ironic for that second one given that she doesn’t speak. Neo did not disappoint this volume. She never disappoints. And I’ve said it before, on this very blog I think. In terms of raw-skill, Neo is one of the most dangerous characters in the RWBY-verse. Team JN_R vs. Neo? No contest. Although I am amused that Jaune got the only real hit on her. I’m even more amused that it somehow felt appropriate.
Cinder – Again I continue to really like post-Volume 4 Cinder. No matter how hard she tries, the universe just won’t stop kicking her in the teeth. And it just fits her character so well. Bravo Rooster Teeth!
Winter – Winter’s battle might not have been the most fun. That goes to Neo vs. some bush leaguers. It might not have been the most creative. That goes to Team RWBY vs. the Ace-Ops. But by God, no one put in more effort than Winter. She has my utmost respect.
Weiss’s Mom – Hey, she exists! Nice!
Dr. Watts – So much smarm. So much arrogance. I should hate him, but I really don’t. He’s just great.
Ironwood – And the best for last. Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my. His arc this volume was absolutely perfect. It was given enough time to be believable, amazing for a show like RWBY, and every step along his journey made sense. He’s become my absolute favorite kind of antagonist, the kind that believes what they’re doing is right. And here’s the thing, I can’t say that Ironwood is wrong. I don’t think he’s right, but I can’t say that he’s wrong. Give me an Ironwood over a Tyrian any day of the week. Please give me an Ironwood over a Tyrian.
The Gay Agenda
*singing* Qrow has a boyfriend….
Er…. Qrow had a boyfriend. And then Clover got Bury Your Gays’d. I’m kind of disappointed, but I’m kind of not. After all, the universe has long since ordained that it is Qrow’s lot in life to suffer.
To tell the truth I’m deeply divided on how I feel about RWBY’s take on the gays. The homoromantic subtext between Yang and Blake has reached levels equivalent to Season 3 of Xena: Warrior Princess. And Qrow and Clover were about there too. On one hand, I’m happily drinking it all up. On the other hand, I want to call Rooster Teeth a bunch of cowards. It’s not 1999 anymore. You can make characters gay. RWBY has made (side) characters gay. At best I’m expecting them to pull a Legend of Korra and only make things “official” at the very end of the show, a resolution I found deeply unsatisfying. But if I were running the show, would I do things differently? Well, yes I would. But would it be the correct decision from a revenue perspective? I’m assuming that RWBY is a, let’s say, important show for Rooster Teeth. I base this assumption on the fact that they announced three RWBY-adjacent spin-offs just after Volume 7 finished. Perhaps they feel they can’t take any risks with something so popular? Perhaps they don’t particularly care. Again, I don’t know how to feel about it.
Conclusion
Homoromanticism aside, (Never!) is Volume 7 the best volume ever? It might be. Only Volumes 1 and 5 can contend with it for consistent high quality. If I had to declare one volume as the best overall, this would probably be it. That being said, I doubt anything will ever supplant the Yang and Blake vs. Adam fight in Volume 6 as my favorite part of RWBY. I still can’t believe they paid that off so well. Three years of anticipation and they fulfilled my every expectation.
Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah. Volume 7. It was good.
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tora-the-cat · 5 years
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OK. So. It had been brought to my attention that I may be speaking from a higher plane of existence earlier.
I'm gonna do my best to lay everything here out both for everyone's peace of mind and because I have more to say then I should and my skull is a meager prison. 
@ lippeeria @ dairymold @ gingersnapdragonspice you DID NOT ask for this but you DID encorage it so I’m dragging you down with me.
Let’s unpack this piece by piece, shall we?
1. “Might Go Feral.”
A warning
2. “Might Galaxy Brain”
A prediction.
3. about Kabuto being Shin after he faked his death
I believe this is where I started to lose people. Hear me out.
I. physical similarities
-they both have grey hair. it's different shades in the anime, sure, but I'd hazard to guess that it isn't in the manga b/c it's all black and white.
-Kabuto's haircut in one of the youngest pics I could find of him had a haircut very similar to that of Shin. It is also the haircut he seems to have when he meets orochimaru.
-thy both have black eyes.
-Kabuto is only 3 centimeters taller then Shin
-Shin has bags under his eyes. Kabuto is the closest thing Naruto has to Long Suffering College Grad Energy, and thus spiritually has bags under his eyes.
-I don't know enough about drawing or character modeling or whatever to add much here. 
-they both have terrible fashion sense.
II. Histories/timeline
Ok, cold, hard facts first.
-Kabuto was taught Medical Ninjutsu at a very young age by Nono.
-Nono named Kabuto. Kabuto means 'helmet'.
-Danzo threatened to cut the funding for Nono's orphanage unless Nono gave him one of the orphans off record
-Kabuto overheard and volenteered.
-Kabuto entered ROOT under Danzo
-He specializes in Medical Ninjtusu and Infiltration.
-He was freqently sent out of village for missions.
-Shin means 'new'.
-We don't know how old Shin was
So, let me spin you a shadow:
Your name is Kabuto. Or, at least, your given name is Kabuto- given by a woman who heads an orphanage and found you in a ditch without memories. You don’t mind, though- Nono is the kindest person ever, probably, and Kabuto means Helmet. A helmet is armour for the head- a protector. You think it was probably meant to be teasing, when she gave it, but you still take pride in it anyway.
She teaches you how to heal because you beg her to, because you want to help her get more money to heal. She was already tight on money before you got here, you’ve heard, and you don’t want to make her life any harder. She deserves so much better then that. She deserves the world, but you don’t have that yet. The most you can give her is your attention, and whatever skill you might have.
Her smile is sad when you ask the first six times, but, by the seventh you’ve noticed a dent in the amount of food she can buy each week, and she accepts after she makes you promise that it’s what you want to do. She warns you that it’s hard, that healing takes years to master for ever seasoned chakra users, and paitently starts you on basic chakra techniques. 
Two months later she gapes at you when you approach her at lunch, hands glowing with green light, and hugs you. She calls you a genius and pets your head, and you can’t tell if she’s whispering it as a blessing or a curse, but you know she’s wrong for the first time.
You aren’t a genius. If you were, then you’d be able to find a way to give her everything she wants. As it is, you can barely help her stay afloat.
Still, five months after you start learning you’ve revived 16 dead rats around the orphanage and are finally allowed to actually help Nono. By now, you’ve come to see the other kids as family- the younger ones bring you dead rodents to practice on, and the older ones pester you into eating and sleeping when you get caught up in your work. You wish you could do more but, for now, you are content.
And then a man named Danzo comes to the orphanage and you spy on him and Nono, and learn that he’s pressuring her into giving him a child from the orphanage for him to train up.
You know what you have to do- have to, because you can’t let it be anyone else, and you can’t let Nono tear herself up over having to pick one of you. You smirk as you slip out of the window the next night.
Kabuto, right? You protect the head- or, more specifically, the head of the orphanage.
You meet up with Danzo, and he demands to know why he should take you in particular. Your heart thuds nervously in your chest, and you have an idea. It’s risky, sure, and you were going to wait at least another week before trying it, but this entire thing is ‘risky’. You hold your hand to the space between your eyes, and you do the only thing you can- you heal, and hope it’ll be enough as you wisk off your glasses with clear vision.
Apparently that works, because you are stripped of your name and put though test after test after test, and then brought down to a bunker, where you are introduced to more nameless kids. Danzo-sama tells you that Konoha is built up by comradere and that this is your team, made up of a boy with coal eyes and a fish mask who looks maybe a year older then you, a boy with skin as pale as paper and a mouse mask who looks much younger then you, and a girl who looks almost exactly like the first boy with a frog mask. They all smile at you and you feel happy for the first time since you left the orphanage.
Weeks later, in quiet whispers, you are telling each other secrets- everything you can remember about your life before Danzo. You aren’t supposed to, you know, but you also know that you can’t forget Nono or any of the others, just like Fish and Frog- Shisui and Sumi- can’t forget their names. Mouse asks you what your name is, and you almost answer, but you don’t.
Kabuto, your mind whispers, but that isn’t right anymore. There isn’t really a head you want to protect- Sage knows you don’t give a shit about Danzo’s well being, not that you’ll ever say it. 
You hesitate only a moment, and answer Shin. It means new, and it almost fits. Mouse repeats it, like it’s a spell, or something special, and you think one day it will.
Mouse looks up at you with big sad eyes, and says that he doesn’t remember his name, and you smile at him. You feel a wave of De ja vu as you offer to give him a name, and wonder if you looked as excited as he did when Nono gave you your name. You wonder if this was how she felt- nervous, but loving.
Your first thought is to name him after amour, like you were- Yoroi, maybe. The idea is a horrible one, though, and you know this. Here, with Danzo, in ROOT where you are now, no one can afford to be a protecter for someone else.
You name the boy ‘Sai’, something sharp and stabbing, and pray to the sage it’ll keep him alive as his eyes light with joy and he almost squeals.
(You make eye contact with Sumi- Frog, you can’t afford to make that slip audiably- and give a bitter smile. No one can afford to be a protecter, here, but you had a feeling it wouldn’t stop her any more then it would stop you.)
//lets put a pin in that for now and move on, cause I’m sure you get the point.
now, I believe we were at-
4. “and Shisui being a ROOT operative”
Ok so first off- I’m not taking Itachi Gaiden as cannon, mostly because I haven’t read it and also I’ve heard it directly contridicts me. Also I don’t have internet while I’m writing this part and probably won’t bother to fact check it, so sorry it isn’t as thorough as the last bit. Anyway.
-This entire idea is based on the fact that Shisui has his Mangyekyo when he’s so young, and it isn’t adressed in the Anime or Manga because he’s. Super dead. 
-But, like, you can only get Mangyekyo by killing/watching the death of your most special person, right? Lets run with that.
5. “who got his mangyeko when Shin 'died' because the two of them were close”
Your name is Shisui Uchiha, and you’re never going to forget that. It’s repeated like a mantra in your head, over and over again, a constant buzz in the background.
Danzo has already taken so much- too much- from you and your twin sister, Sumi. He can’t have your names.
He already took Mouse’s first name, if he ever had one, and Sumi cried after she felt Snake’s chakra flicker and dim as he the two of you watched him give up his name for a lie. He will never have either of yours.
You live with “Sai” and “Shin” for years, and you are closer then anyone else could ever be. You don’t trust much, but you trust each other. You trust Shin to drop whatever he’s doing and heal any of you if you so much as bruise. You trust Sai to be a voice of reason despite being the youngest, even if his voice breaks all of your hearts every time you hear it get slightly more monotone. You trust Sumi to protect all of you, no matter what. And they trust you to be their heart, keep them as close to alive as they can be, with smiles and meaningful looks that are harder to draw from each of them each day.
Sometimes, Sumi and Sai go to sleep and it’s just you and Shin, and you plan. you scheme. 
The four of you won’t die here. You can’t.
One day, Shin is taken away by Danzo-sama for a secret meeting. Danzo-sama tells him something and, for the first time since you tried to ask him about his actual name, he keeps a secret.
That night you watch him sigh, take a pill, and settle his face into something so cold it freezes you. It’s the face he wears when you stay up trying to plan your escape, but different, somehow. More resigned. more distant.
He starts pulling away from the three of you, after that day, and you get sent on more and more missions. A month after he started acting weird, Danzo-sama took the four of you up a mountain and seperated you- Shin and Sai went into the ravine, and you and Sumi went up the mountain. Danzo-sama coldly told you and Sumi to kill one another or you would both die, and left.
You panic. Sumi will always, always protect you, put you first, and you know that, but it’s still somehow a shock when she  takes a kunai and moves to stab herself.
You’re fast, though, the fastest of the three of you by far, but still not  quite fast enough. She stabs herself, and it isn’t fatal, but it makes you almost sob anyway, and you flash over to her and take the kunai from her. She makes eye contact with you, and it’s devestating to see the acceptance there. She expects you to kill her.
It was barely a thought in your mind, until she looked at you like it was the only choice she thought you had. Your hand shakes and you have a monsterous moment of consideration, before you come to your senses and knock her out. 
You need to find Shin.
Shin’s chakra is impossible for you to find, as always- his has always been so muddled, so inconsistant, and you’ve never been much of a sensor anyway- but Sai’s is easy. For the first time in years, the boy is erratic and emotional, until it isn’t. until it’s still and muted, like he’s sleeping, and somehow you speed up even faster to find them. You see them and they’re laying side by side on the ground, almost like they’re sleeping together as they so often do, but dread pools in your stomach anyway. 
You walk closer and neither of them look hurt, but you feel at their chakra and fuck fuck no please no please-
You’re by their side in a flash, and Shin smiles at you, and for the first time ever you don’t smile back. He’s dying. You can feel his chakra fading, and he looks at you and opens his mouth to speak and coughs up blood. 
“You’re sick.” You observe dumbly, somewhere between detached and horrified. He rolls his eyes at you like he’s annoyed that you’re stating the obvious and then he finally manages to speak, and he gets halfway through his final demand to watch Sai before he breaks into a final coughing fit and dies.
Your eyes burn. At first they’re just tears and you ignore them entirely, but then Shin’s eyes go wide as they start to fade and you can see much more clearly, and the ever present mantra of your name gets louder and louder-
6. and then used his kotoamatsukami on Sai to keep him safe and in the dark, sorta morbidly parralelling Itachi a year or two later.
Shisui Uchiha.
Sai wakes up just as you’re finally managing to get a hold of yourself, and you don’t even know what you’re doing when you look him in eyes that are as red as yours must be- fuck- and whisper  “Kotoamatsukami”.
You enter Sai’s head, and it’s tempting to take everything. To take all the happy memories he has of the four of you so he doesn’t feel the pain of killing Shin, but you can’t. He’s going to Danzo, and he can’t afford to have an ounce of humanity left.
Instead of soothing his pain, you tweak his mind so he thinks that he killed Shin himself, and tear out anything that even vaguely has anything to do with the Sharringan. You dull his and box away his emotions, so he never feels strongly enough to activate them again. Then you make him fall back asleep, forgetting you were even at the scene of Shin’s death, for Danzo to collect.
(You leave a child broken purposefully in the most traumatic way you can manage to the whims of a man who only wants to use him as an asset to a village that doesn’t really care about him, and you never get to fully appreciate how history repeats itself only a few years later.)
It’s all you can do. It can’t be enough, but it’s all you have.
You go back to Sumi and you choke on a sob as you do the same thing to her- you convince her that she killed you, that you got a stab in while you could, and that she bured you to ashes with a fire jutsu. You block off her chakra and emotions to avoid the sharringan too, and then you dissapear up the mountain. 
You spend months up there, waiting for Danzo to find you, but he never does. You sneak back into the village, directly into the Uchiha compound, and slip into the Uchiha orphanage on a whim- just to see if you could. It’s not like you have anything left to loose.
You plead amnesia when people ask about your past, and exceed in the Academy, and meet a boy named Itachi and love him even if it hurts. You join the ANBU, and avoid Danzo for years, and never stop trying to find Sai and Sumi for a second.
In the end it’s danzo that almost kills you and you run once again, and you watch another of your most precious people develop the Mangyekyo, and it’s almost funny. 
You fling yourself off of a cliff into a river, and laugh the whole way down, because you refuse to cry in your last moments.
(Your name is Kabuto, again, because you have killed Shin. You work for Danzo for years and never lay eyes on Sai again because you can’t afford to care about him, and you don’t really know what happened to Shisui but you can feel Sumi amoung the ranks, so he must be dead. You don’t have the chance to mourn him as you are sent on another mission, and you aren’t Kabuto for long.
Your name changes constantly, and you can almost convince yourself you don’t care. Years later the Uchiha massacare happens and you can barely bring yourself to care as you go on another mission for Danzo-
And meet Nono. And kill Nono. And meet Orochimaru. You think Shisui would find it funny, how consistantly fucked up your life is.)
7. IDK
A lie. I’ve thought about this a lot and there is nothing I don’t know.
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mydarlingvioletine · 5 years
Text
‘Just a Puppy Crush’
Ship(s): Violet/Clementine
Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)
Summary: a zombie-less modern AU in which two dorks finally get together with the help of their friends.
                        Chapter 1
It started out with an invitation Violet found on her desk. A light purple envelope, her name written on it in beautiful calligraphy.
                 Well, it started a little bit before that.
Violet missed her alarm. And six of the backup ones she had set in advance. Her mother had left early for her shift at the diner and her father didn’t come home last night, so she slept peacefully and uninterrupted.
Until she lazily stretched out with a yawn, eyes opening and landing on the alarm clock across her.
                     7:20
She hardly had time to register what it said before the alarm started angrily beeping again.
        “Holy shit… Fuck… Shit!” Violet scrambled to get up, smacking the top of the alarm clock to silence the robotic screaming. She threw her sheets to the side, grabbing her jacket off the door hook on the way out.
While vigorously brushing her teeth, she looked down at her phone.
            15 missed messages from Pain in My Ass.
[ur uber is Here… am outside]
[got your drink & bagel, where are u?]
[viiiioooooleeet]
[ v i o l e t ]
[did you put the key in a different spot?]
[coward.]
Violet scrolled through the herd impatiently, getting to the latest messages, about 15 minutes ago.
[violet please fucking get up i didnt do my english homework i need to copy off of you marlon won’t let me copy his anymore]
[fuck i have to go i cant be late to pre-session but I’ll have brody come check on you to see if you can make the late entrance with her! ill keep your breakfast with me im sure mr. everett wouldn’t give a shit if you ate in class. i do it all the time]
          As if on cue, there was a faint, nervous knock on the door. God bless Brody.
“Be right there!” Violet shouted, quickly throwing her work messily into her backpack. She grabbed a couple dollars off the kitchen table for lunch, threw on her boots, and booked it towards the door.
     "Hey,“ Brody grinned at the shaggy-haired, droopy-eyed messy Violet in front of her. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Violet grimaced, mumbling to herself as she ducked into the passenger seat of Brody’s truck. She caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror, and pulled up the hoodie of her jacket to cover her shame.
         The drive felt like forever, with Brody’s insufferable choice of music. Who still listens to Coldplay? In 2019? Violet was too grateful to complain, and clenched her jaw to hold her tongue.
Brody tried to hold a conversation, but Violet was too out of it to contribute anything other than nods and the occasional “mhm.”
      “Then Marlon was mad at me! I can’t believe that guy. I swear, if he wasn’t my best friend I’d…” Brody’s voice petered out as she pulled into the school parking lot, backing into her spot next to Louis’ car.
Violet immediately jumped out, gave a quick “thankyousomuchioweyouone,” and booked it towards the front doors of the school. The front desk ladies were distracted, so Violet was able to sneak past them and make her way down to the math wing.
            106… 108… 110!
Relieved, Violet peeked through the window, seeing Marlon’s pathetic excuse for a haircut as confirmation that she was at the right place.
     She tried her best to quietly open the door as to not interrupt the class and draw attention to herself, but wasn’t surprised when the door noisily creaked open, everyone’s heads turning towards her.
Really, Ericson? Ever heard of WD 40?
Violet shyly ducked her head, placing herself between Louis and Aasim. Before she could say anything, Louis placed her coffee and bagel on her desk, a patient smile on his face.
         Violet was able to manage a “thank you” while she was scarfing down the bagel. Cheeks full and a dab of cream cheese hanging on her top lip, it’s safe to say that she did not expect Clem to approach her desk at that moment with the worksheet she’d missed.
“Hey, Vi,” Violet’s head jerked up, meeting eyes with Clementine. Embarrassed, she took a tissue and wiped her face, swallowing before she took the worksheet from Clem’s hands. “Grabbed this for you.”
        “Thanks,” Violet managed to stammer, giving a sheepish smile while pulling her pencil case out of her pocket. Clementine hadn’t moved.
Violet tensed up, waiting for Clem to make a comment on her appearance or tease her. Instead, she placed an envelope on top of the worksheet, uncertainty embedded in her actions.
         "Uh, that’s for you. I’m having a birthday party tomorrow night at my house.“ Clem pushed the envelope towards her with emphasis, and cleared her throat nervously. "You don’t have to come if you don’t want. It’s on a Friday night and I know you probably have pla-”
“No,” Violet interrupted her, her voice louder than she anticipated. She received an exhausted look from Mr. Everett. “I’ll totally be there.”
      Clementine immediately perked up, a dorky smile on her face. “Awesome. Oh, and it’s gonna be a sleepover. You don’t have to stay for that.”
Violet frowned, cocking her head and looking at Clem under a suspicious lens. “You don’t have to invite me, y'know.” She sighed, placing the envelope back into Clementine’s hands. “I get it.”
        Clem froze up, visibly upset. “No, fuck. I really want you to come. I just didn’t know if that was your kind of thing.”
Violet, unconvinced, lowered her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. Cold. The heat of Clem’s hand covering her own was a nice contrast to that.
            Wait.
“I want you there,” Clementine insisted, squeezing her hand between her own. The heat from the touch quickly flushed to Violet’s face, her pale skin unable to mask the blush that covered it. “Please come.”
     Louis and Aasim exchanged an annoyed glance at the useless sapphics. Mr. Everett had stood up and taken an interest to their conversation at this point.
“Clem, go back to your seat please,” Mr. Everett cleared his throat, to which Clem recoiled, dropping Violet’s hand. “Violet is more than capable and doesn’t need hands-on help.”
       Clem, face red and flustered, ducked her head and moved back to her seat in the front of the classroom. “Sorry, da- I mean Mr. Everett.” She squeaked, glancing over her shoulder one more time at Violet, uncertainty and sadness on her face.
Mr. Everett continued the lecture, but Violet was too busy staring out the window. She was completely zoned out. She figured she’d just get the notes from Aasim later. She saw Louis give her the occasional worried glance out of the corner of her eye, and kept her focus on the kids playing in the courtyard.
      The class couldn’t have gone any slower, but eventually the bell rang, and all the tension that had built up in Violet’s muscles was relieved.
She didn’t know why this class stressed her out so much. She was pretty good at math, only the second highest grade in the class behind Aasim. Mr. Everett made her feel uneasy.
     He wasn’t a bad guy. Quite the opposite, really. He was a fun teacher who had gone to great lengths to help Violet out with her work. A little by-the-book, but a big sweetheart.
   Plus, he picked on Louis a lot. So he was pretty likeable in her eyes.
Clementine had gone up to Mr. Everett and they were now talking, Clem dropping the classroom decorum to tug on his arm and take a $5 dollar bill out of his wallet for lunch.
        Violet didn’t realize she was staring until both of their gazes landed on her. Startled, she pulled her hoodie back over her head and started gathering her books as quick as she could. She could hear distant murmuring, but couldn’t make anything out.
Her panic was interrupted by Louis swinging an arm around Violet’s shoulders, holding an almost identical envelope up in front of her face, but it was green.
     "If it’s about transportation, I can pick you up. C'mon, the Vi I know and love would never miss out on a chance to get her ass handed to her in Super Smash Bros.“ Louis teased, earning a playful punch on the shoulder from Violet.
"Yeah, right,” Violet rolled her eyes, looking over at Aasim to see he also had one, but orange. “You going?”
       "Nah, my moms are taking me camping this weekend.“ Aasim chirped, a glint of mischievousness in his voice. Noticing the curious glances from his two friends, he cracked an evil grin and spoke one word. "Campfire.”
“Smokey the Bear, Aasim,” Violet giggled, shaggy hair falling in front of her eyes. “What can you do to prevent forest fires?”
       Louis laughed while Aasim rolled his eyes, picking up his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder. “I’ll see you guys at lunch.”
Aasim was gone for what seemed like half a second when Clementine appeared at her desk again, followed by Mr. Everett. Violet froze, her grip on her books tight.
      “My dad wants to introduce himself. Not as Mr. Everett, but as ‘Cool Dad Lee.’” Clem raised her hands to make air quotes, while Le- Mr. Everett held out his hand to shake Violets’.
        Bewildered, she shook his hand.
“Hello, Violet,” Mr. Everett looked happy, glancing between Clem and she. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
      That line earned an elbow in the stomach from Clementine. Violet, still frozen, gave a robotic laugh.
“Oh, I wanted to tell you to ignore that part of the envelope where it says 'presents mandatory.’ My mom is a bit of a smart-ass.” Clem snorted, before cocking an eyebrow over at Louis. “Not you though, rich boy.”
       Louis gave her some finger guns, a big, goofy smile on his face. “Respect for that.”
The second bell rang, interrupting the conversation. Violet threw her backpack over her shoulder, and shot a glance towards Louis. “Fuck, Ms. Martin is gonna be so pissed.”
       "I’ll write you a pass. Don’t worry about it.“ Mr. Everett pulled a notepad out of his pocket and took the pen that was perched on Clementine’s ear. "Just.. try to make sure he actually gets there.” Mr. Everett gestured to Louis, who gave a mock gasp at the implication.
“Will do,” Violet promised, grabbing Louis by the neck of his coat. “I’ll uh.. see you two tomorrow night.”
      “You’re coming?” Clem squealed, her eyes giving away how happy she was. Violet nodded sheepishly, looking back at Mr. Everett before dragging Louis out of the classroom.
“I like that girl,” Lee stated, capitalizing on the blush that had taken over Clem’s cheeks. “Reminds me of someone.”
     Clementine rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently as he made up a pass for her. “That’s good…”
Lee tore off the front page of the notepad, and held it high before giving it to Clem. “You have my blessing.”
Clementine’s flustered state turned into a fit of anger, as she jumped up to try and grab the pass out of his hand. “Shut. Up.” Clem grabbed onto the slip, wrenching it out of his arm. “I introduce you as my Cool Dad and this is how you repay me?”
      Lee chuckled, putting the pen back behind her ear. “If you think I’m bad, just wait ‘til Carley sees her.. Oh, boy.. Her cheeks are gonna be red from all that pinching.”
Clementine huffed and stomped out of the classroom, putting all of her weight onto her prosthetic foot, so it noisily clattered. She kept up the noise until she knew she was out of ear shot, and smiled to herself, bunching the bottom of her sweatshirt up in her hands.
          Her seventeenth birthday was going to be perfect.
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inomana · 7 years
Text
Okay listen up losers I'm about to prove a fucking point.
So my presentation will be about proving season 3 Shiro is a clone and why DreamWorks made it too easy. I rewatched a crapton on episodes to make this, I need to sleep. 
If you guys didn’t notice the first thing Clone Shiro, umm wait imma call him Kuro Kuro looks at is his hand and a Galra symbol.
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And that in and of itself is a big clue because there’s already a lot of meaning behind that since season 2. In which, Hunk and that team discussed how the arm can be used against them.
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Memory is key! How could Galra have Shiro’s memories? The arm! Like Hunk said, if it could create memories than it’s pretty safe to say it can record them too.
Linking that with the shot of the Galra emblem is a huge deal in symbolism. Trust me I’m an English major, I deal with this shit all the time.
(I’m writing this on my laptop and phone at the same time, godspeed)
Speaking of symbolism, Ulaz made an appearance when Kuro was dazed
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(Is that even Ulaz? I can’t tell I’m bad with faces)
This does two things. Reaffirm Kuro’s undying trust with his arm, and make a connection with Galra as a comrade. Lemme explain;
During Shiro’s ‘I can suddenly remember shit’ scene in season 2? He die-hard believes the memories are his and not a [insert dream here] from Galra, by showing him Ulaz they are trying to recreate that same feeling.
By showing him a Galra (regardless of being evil or not) you’re connecting the dots with trust.
That could be a good reason why the Galra decided to give Shiro a weaponized arm in the first place. Why would they power him up for shits and giggles? Haggard herself even said this:
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(Bitch, no thanks.) They wouldn’t have given him a cool fighting arm just so he could be cooler in the arena. That’s fucking idiotic to arm a prisoner. (sorry)
This wouldn’t even be the first time Haggard had some evil version of Shiro
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Remember this scene from season 1? Cuz I sure fucking do.
Speaking of that arm, why would they take it in the first place? Listen, it’s already pretty fishy they gave him a super arm but why would they take it at all? Dare I say, D N A ?
This leads me back to this scene here:
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Why would Kuro hurt himself? A French term can explain this, ‘L’appel du vide’ translation: The call of the void. Basically, your brain is telling you to self-destruct in order to take control of a situation.  Now we already discussed how the Galra controls his brain sort of so that’s that.
Now I know what you’re saying: Oh! But that’s so he could close the wound!!
Listen, man, I did training with an Army doctor on quick fixes for medical emergencies. Now I’m not saying I’m an expert cuz I’m not, but if Kuro did that do it to heal himself up it wasn’t done correctly. Or at least done accurately…. Especially with an unknown power. This might be wrong, it was a brief training,  so don’t take this part too seriously.
Adding to this point:
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If you’ve ever seen anyone wake up from a long coma, and I mean  l o n g  coma, they don’t have full feeling in their muscles and tend to fall because they do not have full control of their limbs. I’m assuming by the hair this hasn’t been up and about for enough time to get that effect.
Speaking of hair, yes guys, Kuro’s hair is WAY too long to be Shiro.
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(Lmao, Shiro/Kuro w/ long hair; hit or miss??)
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Kuro’s hair shows that he hasn’t cut it in at least 1 ½ years. There might not be much context of how long he was missing but I’m sure as hell it’s couldn’t be more than a few months since Keith was searching through the Glara rubble.
<Man, all these analytical essays are finally paying off>
This scene here:
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Is a big clue. For real why would the Black Lion do that? Send him into more danger? That’s not right.
Well, guess what, she didn’t.
Remeber this gem? I sure fucking do.
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She sent him with someone he trusts, Matt. This really makes sense cuz mATT JUST HASN’T SHOWED UP BUT IS OBVIOUSLY REALLY IMPORTANT *cough* sorry, I don’t know what came over me….
Not only does Shiro trust him but so does Pidge, and I know those two never really had a connection but they kinda all share a state of thought while forming Voltron…
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So the Black Lion theoretically has seen Pidge’s thoughts and stuff. Theoretically Black has two reasons why to trust Matt.
The Black Lion has so many reasons to send Shiro to Matt and not some Galra base.
This can also help understand why the Black Lion didn’t trust Kuro.
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From what I’ve seen (or remember seeing at 4 AM, I haven’t slept in 45ish hours guys, help) all of you guys think that Black knows that’s not Shiro from the Connection they have but that might not be it!
Kuro thinks he’s Shiro, he has the same memories, the same body, the same scar on the face! So the Connection can still be there, what he doesn’t have is Matt with him.
Which wouldn’t make sense because Black sent him there, so it’s ridiculous cuz “hey I sent you to be with your buddy? Why didn’t you bring him along to see his sister who has been searching for him like crazy???”
That could be why the Black Lion found Kuro and trusted that was the OG but then changed its mind and was like ‘no thanks’ when she saw Matt wasnt with him.
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I mean look how….happy?? She looks when they find him!
Why would that change after the fact? The Connection had to be there in order to sense him in the first place. It just makes sense.
Also look at the symbolism here again:
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Kuro is in a Galra ship, it’s so subtle you might not even catch it (unless you’re used to over analyzing everything in order to fit 3 more pages into a term paper like me)
Instead of animating Kuro getting physically off the fighter they show them apart, separated from Black. They show him in enemy weaponry.  
As an enemy kinda…
(I’m getting too into this…)
This is Kuro while he’s being cloned
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This is Kuro after he’s ‘escaping’
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Sounds like the plan was a success, but all that happened was Kuro getting away? I don’t know about you but prisoners stay locked up, unless they aren’t.
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They even say Kuro’s is approved for Operation Kuron!
Also from that scene:
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Kuro was given that codename ‘Subject Y0XT39′
But Shiro already had a codename, and it wasnt that.
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Its ‘Prisoner 117-9875′
Subject and Prisoner are two different things and two different codes.
Kuron is already a huge fucking clue. I donno know if you seen this yet but,
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Shiro’s name is literally White and the opposite is Black or Kuro which sounds a lot like Kuron
If you think that’s just a coincidence then try this:
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Just try telling me this isn’t legit?
To add just a bit more, Kuro and Keith clashed a lot while both trying to lead Voltron.
He also made it so Keith looked like a weak leader, which he was not once he got more use to the role.
Appearance wise, Kuro is different from Shiro in a low key way. First off both haircuts he has where different from Shiro’s. They’re all horrible but that’s a different story.
His cloths is different too, it shows more skin. The sleeve shows his arm and he took off his glove. Symbolically this means he trying to be more open, more free, more approachable.
This would make it easier to give the wrong feeling of trust to the team, which is the plan Kuro was given
*searching through my notes* okay did I miss anything…? Ah Yes!!
When Shiro first meets those two freedom fighters the transmission radio picks of two things; something less important about Lotor and Voltron.
Which one was ignored and which one was heard?
Yes guys, Kuro didn’t even pay attention to Lotor cuz that’s not what he was told to do. He was told to find out about Voltron which, he did.
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Also with those freedom fighters, we learn this:
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It wouldn’t have been easy to escape injured and tired. When he escaped the first time it was with the help of Ulaz. They didn’t even try keeping him there, he wasn’t restrained and didn’t have any guards. The only thing trying to stop him were those androids they know Kuro/Shiro could easily defeat.
And last thing.
And I think this is the most important thing.
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He didn’t finish that sentence.
He didn’t say he wasn’t a traitor.
He didn’t have too.
This concludes my presentation on ‘Proving That’s not Shiro but Kuro the Clone’
Thank you for your time.
For my next presentation, I will talk about why we should save Kuro and love him indefinitely
Help Me Out?
13K notes · View notes
bigdudez · 6 years
Text
Innocent Game pt. 1
It started out pretty innocent. We were still in high school, so at the time we weren’t fully aware of what we were doing. His name was Nate. Obviously not really, but that’s what we’re calling him.
Nate and I had been friends since freshman year, but our social circles never intersected enough for us to get to know each other very well. It wasn’t until senior year when we had about 4 classes together we started to get to know each other very well.
Physically I had always been somewhat attracted to Nate, even if I never really thought about it. He had an adorable face, with a strong jawline and bushy eyebrows that outlined his strong features. He was one of the guys who always needed a shave, but even on the days he’d shaved that morning he had five o’clock shadow. Even back then he was tall, quite a bit taller than me. I hadn’t asked, but I figured he was about 6’0 or 6’1”. He had broad shoulders, thick arms and wide chest. The shirts he wore covered him, but always stretched at the arms and around his pecs. His legs were pretty meaty too, and even his neck was surprisingly huge. Apparently this was because he played a bunch of sports like football, wrestling, and lacrosse in the different seasons, so he worked out a lot. In addition to that he had a thick gut, not huge, but just enough to show through his shirt and drive me crazy. Thanks to the fact I’d always been into bigger guys, he was eye candy on top of being a fun dude to talk to during class.
We would mostly talk about school work in the beginning, but when we both found we had the same taste in music and sense of humor, we started to hang out during lunch and before school as well. As we got closer, I noticed myself gazing at him more and more. I liked how tight his sleeves fit, the way he filled out his jeans, and how his tummy was always visible through his shirt. He had this way of standing right up near me so that I couldn’t help but smell him, raising his arms while leaning on the wall to show off his hairy, sweaty armpits from his morning workouts. When he lifted up his arms like that, of course his midriff and belly button would show, along with his treasure trail. With his height he had to look right down at me to talk, and his smile was so pure and earnest I would feel myself blush whenever I made him laugh. It was pretty great, but somtimes it felt like torture.
We began a game one lunch, I don’t remember how we got on the topic, but we started talking about how much he seemed to always eat. At first he seemed a bit shy about it, but when I expressed how cool (but mostly hot) I thought it was, he seemed to relax about it. He even started to get cocky about it. That was when it really started, and it was kinda my fault. Well mostly, okay maybe like 90% my idea. At the time it was just to see if he would say yes.
“You should see if you could eat everything I feed you” I said with a smirk. He looked at me and chuckled with that adorable smile, but I just kept looking to show I was serious.
“Alright, lets do it little man.” He said, flexing, puffing out his chest and patting his gut. I knew he liked to eat and show off, but this was going to get me hard in the cafeteria if I wasn’t careful. Somehow my suggestion had brought out a weirdly cocky side to him I had never seen.
I went into the lunch line again and came back with two trays. The lunch lady had given me a slightly confused look, but ultimately said nothing as I paid. On each of the trays there was a serving of pasta, cheesy bread, milk carton, and a pudding cup. This wasn’t actually much of a challenge, so I went to extra mile to buy a large bag of chips.
Knowing this still probably wouldn’t be enough, an evil idea crept into my mind.
***
“What took so long? Jeez I’m only gonna have like 15 minutes to eat whatever you brought.” He said impatiently when I returned. I just silently smiled at him and set down the trays. He looked at them and smirked back.
“Is that it? Thought this was supposed to be hard or something” he said, laughing and grabbing the plastic fork from one of the trays. He immediatly started to chow down and was making good progress. The pasta from both trays was gone within a few minutes, and the bread and pudding soon followed. The chips took a little longer, but in the end he ate them all too. When he got to the milk he popped open the cartons and downed them both within 30 seconds. The entire time I was struggled to sit still, partly because I found suprisingly cute stuffing his face like that, but also because I couldn’t wait to reveal my suprise.
“UUURP! Well, done with no problem” he said with a wide smile.
“Here, for good measure,” he said, picking up one of the trays and actually licking it clean of the sauce and grease from the pasta. I thought I was going to loose it for a minute there. Then he picked up the other tray and did the same thing.
“Well, admit it. I won easily,” and patted his stomach. Bloated a bit, and I wished more than anything to reach out and rub it. But I had one more trick.
“Hold on, we said whatever I gave you to eat, and I still have one thing left,” I said with the most evil smile I’ve ever given. I grabbed a bottle from behind me, but not just any bottle. A two gallon bottle filled with water.
“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, Nono. First of all, this was an agreement over food, not water. Secondly, we’ve only got like 5 minutes left, and I’d throw up if I tried to chug that thing. Third, where the hell did you get that.” He questioned, looking fairly queasy all of a sudden.
“Actually, you already drank the milk cartons, and I already added some water flavoring so that part is invalid. Secondly you’re the one who said he would eat everything by the end of lunch so that’s on you. Thirdly I told one of the football guys you wanted to borrow one for practice, and he had and extra if you can believe it. So what’s it gonna be?” I asked challengingly.
I wasn’t sure if he would go with it, but he just stood up, looked me dead in the eye, popped of the cap, and started chugging. It was when he stood up that people noticed. Most people ignored it until he actually started to make progress. Not even stopping to take a breath, he kept chugging that bottle. As he went on he definitely started to look queasy, but after he had half of it drained people around us actually started to cheer. The whole time I’m not sure if he even noticed, because he never broke eyecontact with me. It was exciting, but also kind of terrifying. His dark brown eyes were like daggers into my soul, and in three more heavy gulps he was done. Almost the entire 5 tables around us all applauded and cheered, even if it was in a sarcastic way. He sat down after that, looking seriously bloated. His stomach was most definitely sticking out more than it had been a 15 minutes ago.
“UUURP!” He let out a wet sounding burp and covered his mouth, like he was about to hurl.
“Shoot, okay you know what, I’m sorry about that. That was just mean of me, bad idea. Are you good dude?” I asked concerned, and genuinely unsure if he would throw up, “Wanna go to the bathroom or the nurse?”
“Nah I’m good. Thanks though,” he said standing. He was a little wobbly, but his gut was defiantly bigger than before. He didn’t quite seem alright, but the way he was rubbing his gut with his big hands made me loose my focus.
“Honestly that was pretty fun dude. It hurts now but man, in the moment it felt almost hot.” He said, I figured he was messing with me, and when I looked up to study his expression he started chuckling.
“Don’t worry yeah I was kidding,” he said, “although I’m gonna piss like a fucking fountain later today.”
We walked off to our next class, which was one we didn’t have together. The whole time taking notes in class I was pretty hot and bothered by the image of Nate’s gut sticking out like that. The way his arm flexed while holding up that bottle. I felt bad that I had used him that way, but damn his shirt had gotten so much tighter in such a small amount of time. It got me thinking about the possibilities.
“Crap I should stop now. Maybe I should go for a walk to take my mind off it,” I thought to myself. After our teacher got through the notes, i finished the inclass worksheet we were assigned . With nothing else to do to take my mind off it, I asked to go to the bathroom to kill some time.
When I walked in I saw a familiar haircut from the back, with Nate of course standing at the urinal.
“Nate, how are you? You seemed pretty queasy after lunch,” I said, trying to gauge if he was angry with me at all.
“I’m alright dude. No worries, the only thing is I’ve been pissing for like two minutes already and I haven’t let up yet.” He said, looking back at me with that smile.
I listened to the sound of a strong stream hitting the side of the urinal, doing my best not to look like I was looking.
“Oh damn. How much longer do you think you can keep it up?” I asked, mostly just intrigued by the thought of him holding himself.
“Not sure, but probably for a while still, I feel like the tanks still pretty full,” he said as he shook himself up and down a bit to adjust.
The incredible thing was is that he was right. The stream went on strong for another few minutes, and even as it died down it still kept going for at least another 2. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I found it somewhat hot.
“Damn that took forever, but wow did I need to piss,” he said relaxing, leaning his head back a bit to smile at me.
“Holy crap Nate that was at least like 5 minutes! Jesus have you not used the toilet at all before this!?” I asked, amazed at how long he had gone.
“No I guess not, but when you gotta go you gotta go,” he replied, shaking himself off and zipping up his fly. He went over to wash his hands, and wiped them on his shirt.
“Damn though man, my gut feels stretched super high still,” he said rubbing it, “you gotta feel this man!” He said, going right up to me in the dominating way he did. Suddenly he was grabbing my hands and pushing them into his stomach. It was rock solid, the fabric was stretched tight, and it felt like his skin was too. It was too much, and I felt overstimulated with desire. I had to get out before I did something would regret.
“Yeah, damn, tight. Look I’ve been gone a while better get back to class,” and I ran out the bathroom door and back to class, kicking myself for bailing so quickly.
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Text
(Ice) Princess, Part 3
Title: (Ice) Princess, Part 3.
Pairing: Taehyung x Reader
Type: Fluff/ Angst (this one is pretty angsty, but I promise it will get fluffier soon!)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,915
Link to:  Part 1, Part 2
A/N:  It’s 12:30AM on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but I wanted to get this up on schedule for you, dear readers!  I wrote this in two hours with minimal editing time, so please let me know if you see anything I should change or have feedback. I had no idea which direction the story was going to go in until I actually sat down and wrote it. As of right now, I’m thinking there will be two more parts! As always, thanks for reading 💝
Your head drooped forward as the stylist did your hair for the day. You had thought that you had been tired when working the grueling hours you put into the family business, but that was nothing compared to the schedule you kept now. In an attempt to protect Tae’s image after your “sort of” date, you had used all your family and business connections possible. While you were able to keep the photos of your and Tae’s outing out of the press (though every now and then, speculation would pop back up from the fan blogs), it had come at a cost. One of the biggest media conglomerates in South Korea (name redacted for legal purposes) offered you an exchange: the disappearance of the photos in exchange for unprecedented access to one of the wealthiest  (and most reclusive, or so they marketed you) young heiresses in the country. Nothing in this world was free, as you had quickly come to realize.  
The price you paid was this: a reality TV show. The show followed you around to different meetings and work trips, presenting you as a high flying, 21st century woman. But when that proved not “exciting” enough, the directors had scripted additional outings, shopping sprees and brunches. At first you had been hesitant to present an image that wasn’t your reality, but the producers assuaged your guilt by reminding you that “no reality TV was really reality.” You knew it was pure justification, but what could you do? You didn’t really have control over your image, what with the photos that the company still had filed somewhere. You now had more Gucci, and every other designer brand, than your closet could hold, but you had never felt more trapped or unfulfilled than at any other time of your life.
In a mere six months, you had become one of the most recognized faces in South Korea, with your show garnering record viewership in the 18-25 category, a number of sponsorship deals, and a spinoff was being planned (though your down-to-earth parents were strongly resisting, trying to protect the family’s privacy). It had also garnered cameos on variety shows, though this was the first series where you would be a recurring guest. The show basically paired up celebrities and simulated what it would be like if they were married. It was to be your most intensive filming yet, but it was this or live in the jungle for two weeks. You couldn’t afford (literally or metaphorically) to be gone from the family business for so long. Despite your filming, you were still responsible for running the business. You had never slept less, or felt so worn around the edges, but your public image, and that of the family business, had never been better. 
You were nervous about who you might be paired up with, hoping for someone laid-back. You knew that the producers would find ways to create drama somehow, but you didn’t want this to be too much additional stress. In order to make the reactions as authentic as possible, they weren’t going to tell you who your “husband” was until the cameras were rolling. You sighed and lifted your head back up as the stylist finished your hair. For this first episode, they had everyone at the studio to reveal the pairs, and then they would give you the first mission for the week.
As you were guided to your studio chair, the crew was checking the lighting, and stylists were doing last minute adjustments to wardrobes and hair. In going with your public image as Korea’s young, trendy professional woman, they had put you in a classic black dress, spike heels, a blazer, and a silver statement necklace. A few weeks ago on your show, the producers had mandated that you get a haircut, so you ended up with a super sleek, asymmetrical bob. Looking around though, it could have been much worse. Another woman had hair down to her butt, which the stylist was still desperately trying to finish curling, and another was in a skirt so short that you were grateful for the business concept. You would never have been able to sit comfortably in that.  Your hair and wardrobe weren’t low maintenance compared to your life before, but it struck you that it was all relative. One of the guys had so many gold chains, you thought he might topple over, and another had guyliner that would give Marilyn Manson a run for his money.
As your eyes wandered around the studio, you noticed only one empty chair, directly across from you in the semi-circle. You wondered who would cut it that close to a filming. Before you could even finish the thought, a familiar face plopped down. Tae. You felt a blush immediately form on your cheeks and neck. You were feeling a weird mix of nostalgia, yearning, and….anger. You hadn’t heard from him since that eventful day six months ago. You knew he had been touring internationally, but it wasn’t THAT hard to send a text, or grab a coffee in between concert obligations. Did he even realize how much your life had changed because of him, and what you had traded for him to get off scot-free? You could feel your pulse in your neck, and took a few calming breaths. You had learned how to suppress your emotions and control your facial expressions for the camera. He was looking at his phone, while his stylist fixed his hair. Everyone was fawning over him, as BTS had just won a Billboard award. You were proud and happy, but it was always bittersweet to see him on TV. You wondered if he ever watched your show or other appearances. Would he even recognize you? Here you were sitting across from him, but he hadn’t even acknowledged your existence.
Before you could descend further into self-pity, the camera crew gave the countdown and you were recording. You were having a sort of out of body experience, where you were physically present, but your mind was elsewhere. Before you knew it, the other couples were paired up, and the MC was calling your name.
���And for the final couple this season, we have Y/L/N Y/N and…..Kim Taehyung!” The MC was drawing it out for maximum drama, but you felt time stop as his gaze locked with yours. If you were having an out of body experience before, you didn’t have words for what this was. Your face remained impassive, but on the inside, the same hurt and anger were surging. You guys were given the concept of “power couple” (whatever that meant). Were you being subtly bullied by the media company? The first mission was to get to know more about each other by “scheduling” time for an elegant dinner. Since their was an airdate though, the production crew of course scheduled things between his team and yours. You were whisked away for individual filming, where you gushed (appropriately) about how excited you were, how attractive Tae was, and how you were looking forward to getting to know him more. God knew what he was saying about you.  It wrapped up quickly, and you were herded by your manager back to your house, where your show would be filming a “spa-day” with all the best aestheticians in the city. Hopefully it was a fraction as relaxing as they would make it out to be on TV.
To film the first mission, you found yourself back at the French restaurant where you and Tae had quite literally run into each other at your mother’s birthday celebration. You rolled your eyes that this was the place your staff had chosen. You were pretty sure it was bullying now. You were in a red turtleneck sweater dress and nude heels. You opened the door, cameras following you, and smiled to them.
“I can’t believe he chose this place-it’s like he already knows me,” you beamed. “I have so many good memories here, like my mother’s birthday party.” You always tried to put a grain of truth into your lines for the show, hoping it felt more real. You felt like an imposter, but Tae played the role perfectly. He briefly hugged you, pulled out your chair, and was charming the entire time, keeping the conversation going. You felt yourself smiling more naturally than you had in months, and had to remind yourself to keep your walls up. There were cameras here, and it was all an act. Hadn’t that been the reason your mother had liked him to begin with? His acting skills? And you weren’t the type of person to let yourself make the same mistake twice. So you tried to deflect the charm back to him, leaning in close, laughing at his and making your own jokes,  and sharing your hopes for the program. With both of you on your best behavior, the filming sped by, and the meal was over before you knew it. The crews then separated you to get the “behind-the-scenes” commentary, and asked what you thought.
You looked “nervously” into the camera. “I hope the whole show can be like this,” you murmured. “I knew he was talented at singing, dancing, and acting, but who knew he was so charming!” You felt bile rise in the back of your throat at that one. You had pushed the truth a little too far, there. “I hope we can spend more time together!” you said, trying to redirect to safer, more generic commentary that wouldn’t test your emotional control. The crew adjusted the lighting, got a few more angles, and you repeated your lines with more or less enthusiasm. After what felt like ten years, your car arrived and you excused yourself. You had actual business to attend to at the company, and you were grateful for the excuse. Managing the company, and knowing that your parents, brothers, (future) children and grandchildren were provided for was one of the few things that gave you genuine happiness anymore.
A few days later, as you were looking through the dividends paid to investors and the residual earnings you had left to put back into the company, your phone began to ring. It was your manager- the footage of you and Tae and the restaurant had been the most popular of any of the new couples, and garnered the highest viewership of any episode that season. People on social media were speculating about “the chemistry” the two of you supposedly shared, and the “tension” between you. If only they knew what that tension was really comprised of. Due to this, the producers were working on a “special surprise” (you cringed at this) for the next episode. Your manager told you to clear your schedule for the following week, and when you protested, she negotiated that you could keep your phone with you to take business calls. You knew this was as much as she would budge, without bringing up “the collateral.” She wasn’t a bad person, per se, just one trying to protect her own cash flow.
An hour later, you found yourself in a coffee shop, sitting across from Tae. He was in full on-charm mode, and you again found yourself fortifying yourself with your anger. You were both there to learn about the next mission. The staff handed you a piece of paper, which you unfolded and promptly dropped to the floor. No amount of anger could have prepared you for this. The producers were sending the two of you to his hometown, where you would meet his parents and family, and work for a week on their farm. The idea was to see how the modern professional woman would cope with small-town values and expectations. On Tae’s side, it would allow him to show you his upbringing and to show you the ropes of rural life. It was clearly meant to be a touching moment, but you were in shock, and there was no way for you to cover it.
“Look, she’s so excited, she’s speechless!” Tae bubbled, buying you some time. When it was clear that they weren’t going to get any better reaction from you, they cut and suggested that they follow you as you packed and prepared for farm life.  You knew they would dub that section over later and play up your shock. You numbly agreed to let them follow you around, still not processing anything. Only when Tae gave you a goodbye hug did a little color return to your cheeks. You actually did have a lot to do, as you had to get everything ready to go by tomorrow (since BigHit had cleared Tae’s schedule only for the following week, just for this show. You rolled your eyes-had anyone thought to consult your schedule?) and take care of as much business-related stuff as possible before leaving. Your mother looked concerned when she saw that you were still up at 3AM. She had come down for a glass of water, and the glow from your computer reflected throughout the cavernous white and silver kitchen, casting the space in an eerie, artificial blue glow.
“What are you still doing up?” she tsked her tongue.
“Trying to get these reports done before I leave for Daegu at six,” you muttered.
“Daegu? Why?”
“Well, not even Daegu, if we’re being specific, but a farm outside of it.”
“My daughter? On a farm? You’ve never worked in manual labor or lived outside Seoul,” she chuckled. “You’re the brains of this family, not the brawn.”
“Tell that to the producers, please,” you replied acerbically.
She came around the island you were seated at, and gave you a warm hug. It was the most comforting thing you had experienced all day, and before you knew it you found yourself crying into her shoulder, explaining everything about the new show you were on, and your partner. She already knew why you had your own show in the first place (nothing was a secret between you), but she still sighed as she rubbed soothing circles in your back.
“You’ve given up so much to protect someone who hasn’t given you anything in return. For a supposed ‘ice princess,’ you’re going to awfully long lengths to help someone else. Are you sure that you want to keep up with all of these filming and shows? You were never a person who wanted the spotlight.”
“I know. And I feel like the more they pile onto me, the more I resent it, and him. I just want to run the family business and spend time with you all,” you sniffed.
“Is there a way you can turn them down? Say no and stand up for yourself! The daughter I know wasn’t scared to speak her mind or to negotiate,” your mother countered, trying to give you a pep talk.
“Not without hurting his image and our business.”
“The business isn’t everything,” she replied, pulling you tighter. “You’ve done more than enough for this family.”
It had been too long since the two of you had sat down and spent time together. You were normally so composed- you rarely cried, and didn’t want to burden her. But it was the best feeling in the world to know that you had someone in your corner no matter what. She made you feel strong and brave, and you decided then that whatever happened on this trip, you were going to be your truest self. If you and Tae had a second away from the cameras, you would maybe even be honest with him about how you were feeling. While you guys hadn’t had anything serious, it still hurt that he had dropped you without a word and no inkling of what you had done to protect his career.
You stayed in her arms awhile longer, before you sent her back up to bed. At some point around 5, you woke up with a keyboard imprint on your face.  You knew that it was as much sleep as you would be getting, and got ready for the train ride to Daegu. You had to be at the station by 7. Though you knew there would be cameras, you decided you didn’t care. To test how much “reality” they actually wanted, you slipped on your favorite oversized hoodie, yoga pants, and a pair of bright New Balance sneakers.  You grabbed your duffle and were out the door. As your driver sped expertly through the early morning streets, you messaged your manager that you were on your way to the station, where the camera crews and staff would meet you. Your trip to Daegu had officially started.
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kwonhozhi · 7 years
Text
Everybody Needs A Nervy B Now And Then
or 
Bitch In A Uniform 
On the verge of turning 18, grown-up-to-be James sets his sights on the new girl at school, “gorgeous sex-god” Lily, bass player for the Stiff Dylans. Unfortunately Lily appears to already be dating James’ evil archrival: the greasy and bitter Snape. With his ridiculously named cat Sir Jeremy and his band of brothers, the Ace Gang, by his side, James sets his mad schemes in motion to nab a snogtastic girlfriend and have the best birthday party ever. 
it’s here !!!! its here despite my computer shitting itself and drawing a total blank on a title and not being able to leave it alone its HERE we MADE IT
my eternal love to @alrightevans and also @alrightpotter @prongsyouignoramus and @gxldentrio 
AO3
James Potter to Ace Gang: cnt believe u wankers fucking abandoned me
Remus Lupin: james we were RIGHT THERE
James Potter: NOT DRESSED AS HORS D’OEVRES
Sirius Black: it’s spelled hors d’oeuvres
James Potter: i think you’ll find its spelled ‘betrayal’
James Potter: why did you all bail???????????????
Peter Pettigrew: Mum wouldn’t let me go as a cocktail sausage, seeing as she’s veggo and all
Sirius Black: jam you KNO yellow washes me out idk what you were thinking trying to make me be a cheese and pineapple stick
Remus Lupin: i’ll square idk how the fuck i was supposed to be a vol-au-vent
James Potter changed the group name to Betrayal Gang.
Sirius Black changed James Potter’s nickname to olive boi.
-
Sirius Black to James Potter: u should have been at mine 2 minutes ago
Sirius Black: wher r u
James Potter: coming
James Potter: was talking to mum and dad abt my party
Sirius Black: howd it go
James Potter: :///////:
Sirius Black: double ended :/
James Potter: yeah.
-
Sirius Black to Ace Gang: just saw snape on the way to bio. god hes so wet up close
James Potter: wearer of the wettest haircut known to humanity thy name is snape
Peter Pettigrew: Omg i kno i saw it this morning like imagine turning up for the first day like that
James Potter: youd think hed have least timed his yearly bath to coincide with the start of school
Remus Lupin: you guys shouldn’t be so mean about him
Remus Lupin: im just kidding can you imagine
-
James Potter to petition for dumbledore to make a rule about school bathing regulations: lupin we all saw u go off with that bird at break
James Potter: whats the 411 lil mama
James Potter: whats the hot goss
Remus Lupin: nothing, she’s the new exchange student i was showing her around
Sirius Black: sure
James Potter: that hickey under your collar get there by itself did it
Remus Lupin: we’re not talking about this
Peter Pettigrew: Guys shut up i have English and McG is giving me the worst look
-
Sirius Black to now taking bets for how long it takes sirius to get a detention off mcgonagall: where have you and the swedish girl got to on the snogging scale???
Remus Lupin: shes danish
Remus Lupin: and what the fuck is the snogging scale
James Potter: me and siri invented it
James Potter: 1) holding hands                        2) arm around                        3) good-night kiss                        4) kiss lasting over three minutes without a breath                        5) open mouth kissing                        6) tongues                        7) upper body fondling—outdoors                        8) upper body fondling—indoors (in bed)                        9) below waist activity                      10) the full monty
Remus Lupin: why am i friends with either of you
Sirius Black: we were thirteen
James Potter: oh so suddenly now that you’re 18 you’re too COOL for the snogging scale????????
Peter Pettigrew: CAN YOU STOP HAVING IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS WHILE IM IN CLASS WITH MCGONAGALL
Sirius Black: o i thought this was the chat without peter
Peter Pettigrew: Fuck off
-
Peter Pettigrew to Remus Lupin: You don’t really have a chat without me do you ?????
Peter Pettigrew: ??????????????????
Peter Pettigrew: Remus
-
James Potter to Ace Gang: NEW GIRL ALERT
Peter Pettigrew: Yeah, we’ve already seen her. You were there when we walked in on lupin in that EXTREMELY compromising position
Remus Lupin: if you don’t drop it im leaving the chat
James Potter: NOT HER
James Potter: ANOTHER ONE
James Potter: SHES FRIENDS WITH ALICE THE LAUGH
James Potter: SHES THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
Sirius Black: you walked in on remus doing HWAT
Remus Lupin has left the chat.
James Potter has added Remus Lupin to the chat.
James Potter: THIS IS IMPORTANT
James Potter: WE NEED A PLAN
James Potter: HOW DO I GET HER TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ME
Peter Pettigrew: Maybe say hello to her
James Potter: WHAT
Remus Lupin: pete don’t be ridiculous. james would NEVER do something that easy and straightforward
James Potter: i am having a CRISIS here
Sirius Black: please tell me what you walked in on remus doing with the danish girl
Remus Lupin has left the chat.
James Potter added Remus Lupin to the chat.
James Potter: everyone is on intel until further notice
Peter Pettigrew: Yeah okay
Remus Lupin: alright
Sirius Black changed the group name to Lupin’s Nonspecific But Indisputable Lovers’ Tryst With Eddie Redmayne.
Remus Lupin has left the chat.
-
Remus Lupin to Ace Gang and don’t you dare change it sirius black: her name’s Lily Evans
Remus Lupin: Marlene McKinnon says she just moved here from Derby
James Potter: omg remus i could kiss you
Remus Lupin: Mar also said her family’s opened an organic shop on high st
Sirius Black: how nutritious
James Potter: no one asked you
-
James Potter to Sirius Black: what categories have you come up with for the physical attractiveness test
Sirius Black: skin hair eyes nose figure mouth teeth
Sirius Black: all out of ten
James Potter: fab ill do up a table in word now and go to the library first thing at break to print us 4 copies
Sirius Black: marvy
-
James Potter to sirius no one is going to dare you to hack into the school and play gasolina over the loudspeaker at assembly on monday so stop angling for it: which of you fuckers gave me a 3 for my eyes
Sirius Black: it was purely based on their functionality
Sirius Black: you can barely see without ur glasses
Sirius Black: very poor eyes
James Potter: so it wasn’t abt how i look
Sirius Black: i didn’t say that
James Potter: sirius uve rly hurt me
James Potter: what about the 4 for my mouth
Sirius Black: that one was bc you ordered pineapple on the pizza
James Potter: i told u it was an ACCIDENT
Remus Lupin: im retrospectively docking 2 points off every single category for both of you
Peter Pettigrew: Im docking 3
-
Remus Lupin to Ace Gang: have to ditch saturday afternoon lads
Sirius Black: um why
Peter Pettigrew: Yeah whats more important than season six of the simpsons
Remus Lupin: i got a job
Sirius Black: where
Remus Lupin: Evans’ Organic Trade
James Potter: YOU GOT A JOB IN EVANS’ SHOP AND YOU DIDNT THINK TO TELL ME
Remus Lupin: im literally telling you right now dickhead
Remus Lupin: also it’s time travel
Sirius Black: it is NOT time travel it is CLEARLY an alternate universe you dithering FOOL
Peter Pettigrew: You’re both wrong its a time loop
James Potter changed the group name to donnie darko is BANNED from the group discourse.
Peter Pettigrew: Just because YOU thought it was a dream
-
Sirius Black to Friends Of James Potter Support Group: OMG
Sirius Black: PETTIGREW I CANT BELIEVE UR MISSING THIS
Peter Pettigrew: Whats happening tell meeee
Sirius Black: we just went into lupins shop
Sirius Black: evans wasn’t even here
Sirius Black: she just came out with a cup of tea for lupin and james ACTUALLY screamed,,,,,,,,,,,, evans almost dropped the mug
Sirius Black: lupin just introduced us and shes given him this look like “they better not be loitering” so hes selling me onions so she doesn’t kick us out
Sirius Black: lupin i dont want these and i shant pay for them
Sirius Black: evans is trying to talk to prongs but hes just giving her heart eyes
Sirius Black: she just asked if hes in her french class and he SQUEAKED
Sirius Black: day 13. james has still not spoken a word of english to evans
Sirius Black: day 27. hes said “mfngggg” instead of yes the stupid git
Peter Pettigrew: Fucking hell im still in this stupid mother son bonding thing for another half hour
Sirius Black: MOTHER SON BONDING
Sirius Black: siri set a reminder to mock peter later
Sirius Black: lupin just took the tea and evans has revealed shes in a BAND
Sirius Black: prongs has found his voice (!) and hes making the aziz ansari :D face which, unfortunately, makes him look like a total prat
Peter Pettigrew: Rookie error
Sirius Black: she just told him they’re called the stiff dylans and he just nodded really seriously and said “great name” im going to knock him out if only to stop him embarrassing himself further the stupid git
Sirius Black: fun facts about lily evans: she plays bass and she thinks james has brain damage probably
Sirius Black: JAMES JUST INADVERTENTLY TOLD HER SHE HAS REALLY BIG HANDS AND SHE WAS DEADASS LIKE
Sirius Black: “……………………okay”
Peter Pettigrew: BIG HANDS
Sirius Black: HER CAT just came out and prongs has jumped on the opportunity my boy he did it he managed to steer his way onto a topic he knows something about
Sirius Black: more fun facts about lily evans: her cat is called elizabeth bennet and she thinks james has brain damage definitely
Sirius Black: evans laughed at “we just call him sir jeremy but his real name is sir jeremy cattington the third, prince of purrsia and king under the meowntain” thank god
Sirius Black: he told her about how he used to take sir jeremy on walks by the beach but he ate his collar and his lead why is he like this
Sirius Black: prongs my man you sound like an eharmony profile gone wrong
Sirius Black: she mentioned hr sister,,,,,,,,,,,petunia
Sirius Black: the evans parents had a thing for matching names me and evans have so much in common
Sirius Black: FLEAMONT JUST WALKED IN PETE I CANT BELIEVE U ARENT HERE I SWEAR TO GOD YOU COULD NOT WRITE THIS
Peter Pettigrew: Noooo omg
Sirius Black: monty: “james????? what are you doing here? you hate vegetbles”
Sirius Black: james: “haha dad you’re so funny but of course i LOVE vegetables as we all know”
Sirius Black: monty: “james. the last time your mother tried to serve you broccoli you threatened to run away from home”
Sirius Black: james: “haha i was a picky kid, wasn’t i”
Sirius Black: monty deadass just looked right at evans and said “james that was wednesday” that man is my Hero
Sirius Black: lupin literally ducked behind the counter so prongs couldn’t see him laughing the lucky git prongs is glaring daggers at me
Sirius Black: evans is giving him the WORST pitying look omg poor jam he looks like he did when chelsea lost the final last year
Sirius Black: evans is gone holy shit i cant believe u missed this pete
Peter Pettigrew: :(
-
James Potter to Sirius Black: how am i ever going to be able to face her again ??????
James Potter: i love my dad but he can be so beyond the valley of the thick sometimes
Sirius Black: he wasnt that bad
Sirius Black: i dont think evans even took any notice
James Potter: are u SURE my dad hasnt ruined it ????
Sirius Black: j
Sirius Black: it was reaaaally fab
James Potter: fabbity fab?
Sirius Black: with knobs on.
Sirius Black: besides im sure evans will understand
Sirius Black: all parents say stupid things sometimes
Sirius Black: shell probably like u more bc shell feel bad uve got a dad who’s BEYOND bonkerdom
James Potter: you’re right
Sirius Black: i kno :~)
James Potter: i love you but don’t ever send me that face again
-
Peter Pettigrew to James Potter: I can’t believe you told evans she has big hands
James Potter: you werent even THERE
-
Remus Lupin to Ace Gang :~): anyone seen black
James Potter: hes in detention
Remus Lupin: what for this time
James Potter: handing out onions at assembly
Peter Pettigrew: The onions from sunday??
Sirius Black: no peter, a completely different set of onions
Peter Pettigrew changed the group name to Sirius stop being mean to me.
-
James Potter to everyone be meaner than usual to peter: what the fuck is evans doing with snivellus
Sirius Black: wot
Peter Pettigrew: We just walked past them and it looked Really Bad
Peter Pettigrew: She was holding his hand
James Potter: what the FUCK has he got going on that i dont
James Potter: this is fucking ridiculous. snape. who the fuck does he think he is
Remus Lupin: ill see what i can find out at work on monday
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James Potter to Peter Pettigrew: is it weird to like evans’ band on fb if we’re not friends
Peter Pettigrew: Just fucking add her dude
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Sirius Black to James Potter: look ive been doing some thinking and if u rly want 2 impress evans ur gonna have 2 up ur snogging game
James Potter: what the fuck
Sirius Black: dont argue im the best judge of this
Sirius Black: ur like. ok at kissing but i feel like u could b better
Sirius Black: there’s a kid on andy’s block who does snogging lessons after school his name is frank and hes a 7 maybe 7 and a half if u don’t wear ur glasses
James Potter: what is wrong with u
Sirius Black: u say that like ur not gonna look into it
James Potter: fuck off
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Peter Pettigrew to the queen does NOT wear a 44DD: Hes just gone in
Peter Pettigrew: Cant believe neither of you came you missed OUT
Remus Lupin: what happened
Peter Pettigrew: He knocked on the door and this bloke came out and like. Objectively and all but he is Fit™
Peter Pettigrew: And he looked prongs up and down and was like
Peter Pettigrew: "I dont usually do boys but christ if you dont look like the saddest git ive ever seen"
Peter Pettigrew: I gave him a thumbs up on the way in
Remus Lupin: cant believe i missed it
Sirius Black: how did u get the tm thing like that
Peter Pettigrew: Copy it and save it as a keyboard shortcut
Sirius Black: ™™™™™™™™™™™™™™™
Peter Pettigrew: Stop
Sirius Black: no™
Remus Lupin: what have you done
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Sirius Black to James Potter: so its like THAT is it ??????????? my kissing not good enough for you ?????????
James Potter: babe
James Potter: ur my first kiss ull always hold a special spot in my heart
Sirius Black: i need time
James Potter: YOU’RE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME ABOUT LONGBOTTOM IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU TWIT
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James Potter, Snogging Sensation to i, sirius black, am giving james potter the cold shoulder: he put on careless whisper
Sirius Black: WHAT
Sirius Black changed to group name to i, sirius black, am now only giving james potter the lukewarm shoulder.
James Potter, Snogging Sensation: and hes from saliva CITY hes got nothing on u babe i promise
Sirius Black changed the group name to in light of new information, james potter and i, sirius black, have reconciled.
Remus Lupin changed the group name to Ace Gang.
Sirius Black: buzzkill
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James Potter to gasolina is a Bad Song: mum’s got a promotion???????
Remus Lupin: tell her congrats
James Potter: it’s back in india though??????????????
Remus Lupin: oh
Sirius Black: you’re not moving are you
James Potter: i honestly don’t know
James Potter: im freaking out
James Potter: come round please
Peter Pettigrew: Holy shit
Peter Pettigrew: Ill pick everyone up
James Potter: they’re ruining my life and they still won’t let me have a party
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James Potter to Rip in pieces james’ life in england: i have a plan
Remus Lupin: here we go
James Potter changed the group name to don’t message me in that tone of voice lupin.
Sirius Black: whats the plan
James Potter: evans likes cats. i like cats. i have a cat. and if that cat got lost i would be distraught. and if evans knew how upset i was shed help me find him.
Sirius Black: but sir jeremy isnt lost
James Potter: evans doesnt know that OBVIOUSLY
James Potter: honestly sirius sometimes i think youre half boy half turnip
Remus Lupin: jesus christ
James Potter changed the group name to im warning you lupin.
James Potter: i “””lose””” sir jeremy but you lot have him at the park then when u see us coming u let him loose and evans will chase him down and shell feel like a hero and shell get so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that shell kiss me and realise that we’re perfect for each other
Remus Lupin: ur insane
James Potter removed Remus Lupin from the chat.
Peter Pettigrew: You GUYS you KNOW im in english right now
Sirius Black: ffs peter just turn your phone on do not disturb when ur in mcg’s class
Peter Pettigrew: But i always forget to turn it back
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James Potter to Sirius Black: i went round her shop but she said she was too busy helping her mum
Sirius Black: rip™
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Lily Evans has sent you a friend request. Accept / Decline
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Lily Evans to James Potter: begged off work. kno id be devo if i lost lizzy. wher r u?
James Potter: the beach
Lily Evans: be there asap x
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James Potter to Sirius Black: plans back on
Sirius Black: oh okay
Sirius Black: small prob™ sir jeremy actually got loose
James Potter: she ended her message with an x
James Potter: does this mean she likes me
James Potter: wait WHAT
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James Potter to Lily Evans: thanks so much for your help on sunday
Lily Evans: it was my pleasure. even if your cat IS mental.
James Potter: im telling him you said that
Lily Evans: noooooooooo
James Potter: so
Lily Evans: ominous.
James Potter: are you glad you moved to eastbourne?
Lily Evans: i guess. it's pretty chill
Lily Evans: have u always lived here?
James Potter: yeah
James Potter: its called gods waiting room
James Potter: because people come here to die
Lily Evans: ur being dramatic.
Lily Evans: i heard eastbournes the new brighton.
James Potter: yeah
James Potter: as if
Lily Evans: idk i like it here. its more peaceful than derby and the beach is soo good for ~song writing inspo~
James Potter: what do you write ur songs abt ?
Lily Evans: idk. life
Lily Evans: the universe
Lily Evans: how reality tv’s brainwashing us
James Potter: wow
Lily Evans: ikr
James Potter: careful, you’re starting to sound like my dad
Lily Evans: i dont mind so much, your dad’s pretty cool.
James Potter: ????
Lily Evans: he comes into the shop a lot.
James Potter: oh my god
James Potter: promise you wont take anything he says about me seriously
Lily Evans: no problem aha
James Potter: what about your dad? does he work in the shop too?
Lily Evans: no, he’s :/
Lily Evans: he died.
James Potter: oh. im so sorry, lily.
Lily Evans: its okay. its why my mum moved us out here and opened up the shop.
Lily Evans: she always wanted one
Lily Evans: eastbourne is such a step back from derby and i like it because it means me and petunia can keep an eye on her you know?
James Potter: i think i understand why you like it here
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James Potter to evans showed prongs her O face: mum and dad are fighting about india again
Remus Lupin: fuck
Sirius Black: ):
Peter Pettigrew: )):
Sirius Black: stop trying to one up me, pettigrew
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Frank Longbottom has sent you a friend request. Accept / Decline
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James Potter to longbottom has the hots for prongs: mum’s just left
James Potter: so thats that then
Peter Pettigrew: Drinks at mine?
James Potter: yeah
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James Potter to Remus Lupin: will you mention how shit snape is and how good i am when ur on shift with evans today
Remus Lupin: no you sad git i will not
James Potter: remus i LOVE her
James Potter: ill buy you a twix from the vending machine
Remus Lupin: alright
-
Sirius Black changed the group name to twix are grim.
Remus Lupin changed the group name to twix are grim but not as grim as curly wurlys.
Sirius Black: you’ve really hurt me, lupin
Remus Lupin: good.
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James Potter to Remus Lupin: ???????????
James Potter: ur off shift now did you talk abt me ???????
Remus Lupin: no
Remus Lupin: and i already ate the twix so dont ask for it back
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Peter Pettigrew to evans thinks snape is a clingy sod #confirmed: Watch out prongs
James Potter: for what
Remus Lupin: for that, i assume
Sirius Black: im in lunch detention what happened
Remus Lupin: longbottom’s making a come on at james
Sirius Black: McYikes
Remus Lupin: “why havent you accepted my friend request?” – longbottom
Remus Lupin: “because were not friends” – james
Sirius Black: james ur gonna get urself decked one day
Sirius Black: so can u stop being a little shit when im not around to watch thanks
James Potter: no promises
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Remus Lupin to twin peaks season 3 fan theories club: sirius can you link me to that compilation video of diego luna saying he wants to touch jabba the hut
Remus Lupin: i want to show it to lily at work this afternoon
Sirius Black: ya sure
Sirius Black: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGKrc3A6HHM
Remus Lupin: if i follow that link and it isnt to the video i asked for im not going to be your partner for the history assignment
Sirius Black: ………………..
Sirius Black: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDU3PojzaHk
Remus Lupin: thank you
Peter Pettigrew changed the group name to Gasolina is banned from the group playlist.
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James Potter to Gasolina (INCLUDING all derivative remixes reimaginings and covers) is banned from the group playlist: EVANS LIKES STAR WARS
James Potter: ???!?!?!?!??!!!!!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?
Remus Lupin: james that was three hours ago get with the times
James Potter: but i was at P R A C T I C E
Sirius Black: too bad so sad
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Remus Lupin to Peter Pettigrew: WHOA
Peter Pettigrew: U watching from chem window?????
Remus Lupin: ya what just happened??????????????????
Peter Pettigrew: Snape tripped up james on the way to goal
Remus Lupin: is he ok??????
Peter Pettigrew: Hes got a bloody nose but hes okay
Remus Lupin: i meant snape
Peter Pettigrew: O na
Peter Pettigrew: I think james is gonna murder him lol
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Sirius Black to marauding fools quote unquote minnie mcgonagall: mary mcdonald in the year below is having a party tomorrow night n i charmed her into giving us all invites
Sirius Black: well, she invited ME and i guess u lads can come as my collective date
Remus Lupin: im already invited
James Potter: me too
Peter Pettigrew: She invited me three weeks ago
Sirius Black: i got invited after PETTIGREW ????????? who the fuck
Sirius Black: Im Not Going™
Remus Lupin: yes u are
Peter Pettigrew: Yes u are
James Potter: yes u are
Sirius Black: Yes I Am™
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Peter Pettigrew to Ace Gang: Why did you tell her i lost a SOCK ??????
Remus Lupin changed the group name to kickstarter to find peter’s missing third sock.
James Potter: i had to say SOMETHING
Remus Lupin: james, ever ridiculous under pressure
James Potter: besides, YOU’RE the one who pushed us behind a bush as if she would have thought it was weird that we at SCHOOL
Peter Pettigrew: I panicked
Peter Pettigrew: Lily said she thought snape tripping you was a dick move though  
James Potter: trying to distract me by mentioning evans, huh???
Peter Pettigrew: Is it working
James Potter: i wish i could say no
Remus Lupin: id like to point out lily also said you should go up for the school team
Remus Lupin: so she clearly doesn’t care enough about you to know that you’re already. captain
Sirius Black: lupin stop being a flaky bitch
Sirius Black: thats my job
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Peter Pettigrew to pres at james’ because its closest to mary’s NOT because its in any way a superior house to any other house accessible 2 the group: Did i just hear ur dad call u a minger
James Potter: if u have 2 ask u already kno the answer
Sirius Black: In Fleamont We Trust™
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Sirius Black to party boiis: PRONGS IS THAT YOU OUTSIDE WITH FRANK LONGBOTTOM
James Potter: he fucking ambushed me
James Potter: evans didn’t see did she ?????????????????????????
Peter Pettigrew: Nah dont think so
Sirius Black: hes lying she absolutely did
James Potter: fuck this im going home
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Remus Lupin to Sirius Black: i swear to god if you’re the one who just put on gasolina im blocking you
Sirius Black: (:
Remus Lupin: we arent friends
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Remus Lupin to James Potter: me and lily are going to the pool this afternoon
Remus Lupin: 2:30pm
Remus Lupin: in case you wanted to coincidentally turn up
James Potter: what so i can aggravate her by drowning snape?
Remus Lupin: snape isnt coming
James Potter: oh. why not?
Remus Lupin: probably afraid of water
James Potter: explains why he never washes
Remus Lupin: lmao
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James Potter to Sirius Black: me and moony are going to the pool and you’re coming
Sirius Black: as in the public pool????????
James Potter: obvi
Sirius Black: excusez-moi, c’est très grotesque
Sirius Black: im NOT going to the public pool little kids pee in that and the chlorine makes my hair go all frizzy
James Potter: i cant believe you’re abandoning me, your best friend, in his time of greatest need
Sirius Black: and you say IM dramatic
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Remus Lupin to Ace Gang: what happened after we left yesterday???????
James Potter: idk it was weird
James Potter: we did handstands and she made fun of my pale legs ): then she tried to drown me but in like a ~playful~ way
James Potter: and i told her im not with frank longbottom in any capacity and she said “well that’s good then”
James Potter: and then she kissed me
Sirius Black: SHE KISSED YOU
Sirius Black changed the group name to EVANS KISSED JAMES EVANS KISSED JAMES EVANS KISSED JAMES EVANS ! KISSED ! JAMES !.
Remus Lupin: get in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peter Pettigrew: Result omg
James Potter: but then she said she had to go sort some stuff out and that she’d text me
Remus Lupin: oh, james
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James Potter to Sirius Black: evans should text soon then that’s sorted and we should step up the party plans
James Potter: we’ve got so much left to sort
James Potter: venue, fashion statements, colour scheme
Sirius Black: you should do black and white
James Potter: ! marvy
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James Potter to Remus Lupin: what does it mean when a girl kisses you and says she’ll text you does it mean she’ll /text you or does it mean she’ll message you on facebook
James Potter: because there’s a big difference
James Potter: remus ???????????????????????????
Remus Lupin: james its 4 in the morning
James Potter: so???????? ur awake arent u ???????????????? what does it mean ??????
James Potter: remus uve kissed the most girls u have to know
James Potter: remus
James Potter: remus please
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Frank Longbottom has sent you a friend request. Accept / Decline
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James Potter to Sirius Black: i need a drink
Sirius Black: what happened????
Sirius Black: im omw btw
James Potter: mum called and she wants me and dad to move out to india with her
James Potter: dad doesnt want to go but he also doesnt want to be away from mum any more im freaking out siri i might actually move back to india what the fuck
James Potter: and on top of that longbottom showed up at my house and tried to apologise how did he even get my address
Sirius Black: im here come open the door
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Alice theLaugh to James Potter: is it tru that ur gay?
James Potter: idk i dont reckon
Alice theLaugh: didnt think u were, lily said u werent
James Potter: really? what did she say ???????????
Alice theLaugh: just that she knows 4 sure u arent
Alice theLaugh: are u going to the stiff dylans gig saturday?
James Potter: not sure yet
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James Potter to Sirius Black: she kissed me and then left me on read at 3:45
Sirius Black: aw :/
James Potter: shut the fuck up
James Potter: she didn’t even tell me abt her gig in brighton
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James Potter to james’ wet dream about evans: sirius i cannot believe you told my father about lily evans
Sirius Black: thats not fair
Sirius Black: u kno monty has an uncanny ability to get info out of me
Sirius Black changed James Potter’s nickname to the naff boy who had the sad party that no one went to.
the naff boy who had the sad party that no one went to: stop taking advantage of my vulnerability !
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Remus Lupin to Everyone sign up for hindi on duolingo out of solidarity to james: watch out lads james has his plan face on
Remus Lupin: brace for impact
Peter Pettigrew: Oh geez
James Potter: fuck off then lupin i wont tell u then
James Potter removed Remus Lupin from the chat.
James Potter: now that we’re alone
James Potter: im gonna make evans jealous
Peter Pettigrew: Im afraid to ask how
James Potter: im going with alice the laugh to the stiff dylans gig
Sirius Black: christ james that’s pretty shitty
Sirius Black: that was lupin
Sirius Black: i say first, what could possibly go wrong
Sirius Black: second, what the fuck is alice the laugh’s real last name
Sirius Black: ive known her for 6 years and i dont know what it is
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Peter Pettigrew to Friends Of James Potter Support Group: Say aye if ur completely unsurprised to learn i just overheard james respond to alice the laugh telling him he looks good tonight with “thanks, you’re very honest”
Sirius Black: aye
Remus Lupin: aye
Peter Pettigrew: “Alice you make me laugh like a loon on loon tablets”
Sirius Black: #yikes
Sirius Black: i have the shot
Remus Lupin: take it
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Alice theLaugh to James Potter: i had a great time tonight
James Potter: haha me too
Alice theLaugh: best night of my life x
James Potter: o.k. see you at school on monday
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Lily Evans to Sirius Black: so ur the one who put on gasolina at mary mcdonald’s party.
Sirius Black: what makes u say that ?
Lily Evans: you shouted “play gasolina” no less than 11 times last night.
Sirius Black: that doesnt sound like me
Sirius Black: are u sure it wasnt lupin ?
Sirius Black: that worldly bastard he sure does love puerto rican music
Lily Evans: i just texted him and he said “im surprised sirius even knows what puerto rico is”.
Sirius Black: fucker
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Sirius Black to James Potter: oi cheer up
Sirius Black: what are you thinking about?
James Potter: poor alice
James Potter: i keep seeing her face when she tried to kiss me
James Potter: god i feel like such an arse for leading her on
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James Potter to Alice theLaugh: you okay? you looked pretty upset in maths
Alice theLaugh: hope your plan worked
James Potter: what?
Alice theLaugh: marlene mckinnon overheard black telling lupin that you only went out with me to make lily jealous
Alice theLaugh: you’re a heartless user
Alice theLaugh: what you did, that’s just pants, that is
James Potter: i’m really sorry, alice
Alice theLaugh: i really thought you thought i was a laugh
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Sirius Black to James Potter: i told you im sorry
Sirius Black: are you really going to ignore me over this
Sirius Black: like for real james pull your head out of your arse for twenty seconds and realise how shitty you’re being
Sirius Black: all your scheming and pretending
Sirius Black: honestly it’s no wonder evans never fucking texted you
James Potter: don’t talk to me again.
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Lily Evans to James Potter: you’ve really pissed off a lot of people.
Lily Evans: alice is really cut up. she’s my mate, james.
James Potter: i didnt mean to use her.
James Potter: you never texted me when you said you would
Lily Evans: i handled it really badly, i know
Lily Evans: things got messy
Lily Evans: i didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
James Potter: so you were thinking of breaking up with snape and then you were gonna text me?
Lily Evans: lmao what
Lily Evans: severus and i aren’t together.
James Potter: but you hold his hand
Lily Evans: i hold marlene’s had too but that doesnt mean im dating her.
Lily Evans: you know how much he hates you and it makes it hard, james, but yeah, i was gonna text you.
Lily Evans: and then i saw you with alice at my gig and i was gutted.
Lily Evans: but that’s different now.
Lily Evans: i thought YOU were different than that james but you’re not, you’re just some fuck off rich kid who only thinks about himself.
Lily Evans: i think it’s probably best if you don’t message me again.
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James Potter to Remus Lupin: had a talk with lily. turns out shes not actually with snape.
Remus Lupin: i actually do not care, james. work things out with sirius or fuck off.
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James Potter to Peter Pettigrew: i think i might have just gotten my mum fired
Peter Pettigrew: Go on, i guess
James Potter: i went to her office and talked to her boss and i think i just made things worse
Peter Pettigrew: Yeah, you’re getting pretty good at that
James Potter: i guess i am, yeah.
James Potter: im cancelling the party and ive told dad i want to move to india
James Potter: if either of the others ask
Peter Pettigrew: I’ll pass it on.
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James Potter to Lily Evans: hi.
James Potter: i know you didn’t want me to message you again and i don’t blame you for that but i have to say this and then it’s done.
James Potter: what you said really hurt, but you were right. it wasnt me. it was beyond pants, and i really am sorry. i messed everything up with you, and with alice and with sirius and i guess i just got caught up in my own idea of how our lives should be and i got carried away
Lily Evans: i cut all ties with severus last night.
James Potter: oh.
Lily Evans: yeah.
Lily Evans: you know, i wrote a song about you.
James Potter: really?
Lily Evans: its called Bitch In A Uniform.
Lily Evans: i wrote it when i was pissed off with you.
Lily Evans: but i still like you, james. even though you’re mental.
James Potter: no you don’t
Lily Evans: i do.
Lily Evans: i cant stop thinking about you. i was hoping
Lily Evans: maybe
Lily Evans: we can go out?
James Potter: oh, fuck
Lily Evans: ?
James Potter: im moving to india
Lily Evans: what the fuck is wrong with you
Lily Evans: you’re so
Lily Evans: random
James Potter: 100% legit this time.
Lily Evans: that’s a goddamn shame.
Lily Evans: im at the beach if you wanted to come hang out.
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James Potter to Sirius Black: feels really shitty without you
James Potter: im so so sorry
James Potter: can you ever forgive me?
Sirius Black: ur gonna have to buy me at least 16 curly wurlys
James Potter: its done.
Sirius Black: happy birthday you massive tosser xxx
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joe to the jonas brothers: operation stun-the-pants-off-james-with-an-amazing-surprise-party is a go
joe changed the group name to Friends Of James Potter Support Group.
nick: oh thank GOD
kevin: I was wondering how long you’d hold out
nick: you’re both so stupid
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James Potter to prongs is finally legal ;): cant believe all you wankers are busy tonight
James Potter: like i know we were all in a fight but you ALL have plans ????????
James Potter: dad’s taken pity on me and is taking me to a club this is the saddest 18th ever
Remus Lupin: sry fam
Peter Pettigrew: Lol
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JAMES POTTER’S SUPER SECRET 18TH BIRTHDAY PARTY Private º Hosted by Sirius Black and 2 others.
312 going º 167 maybe 27 March 19:30 – 28 March 8:00
Details james is a prat but hes our best friend so lets all get together and show him that being legal to drink doesnt take away the fun of it !! event will have an open bar courtesy of mr & mrs p
theme is black and white !
only one rule : DONT TELL JAMES ABOUT IT anyone who does will be blacklisted from the party loool good luck telling your grandkids about how you didn’t get to come to the most important party of our generation
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Peter Pettigrew to Fleamont Potter: The eagle has landed i repeat the eagle has landed
Fleamont Potter: Thanks son :~) Jem’s going to be so excited to see his mum.
Fleamont Potter: We’re up on the balcony by the bar, send her our way :~)
Peter Pettigrew: Will do, sarge
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Lily Evans: happy birthday xxx hope you like ur present.
James Potter: my present?
James Potter: OH MY GOD
James Potter: YOU WROTE ME A SONG ?!?!?!
James Potter: lily evans i honestly think i love you
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Marlene McKinnon to Remus Lupin: we can’t hear properly from up the back what did snape just say
Remus Lupin: “james potter is a girl-nabbing letch who can’t keep his slutty minx hands off other peoples’ girlfriends”
Marlene McKinnon: WHAT
Remus Lupin: “you’re just a big fat minging minger with horridious eyesight and the opposite of a haircut”
Remus Lupin: don’t worry, black’s filming the whole thing im sure it’ll be on youtube asap
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Sirius Black to Ace Gang except all of us are legal™ now: id be lying if i said i remembered anything past monty and effy swing dancing
Remus Lupin: im fairly certain i walked in on frank longbottom and alice the laugh fucking in the mens
Remus Lupin: but i, too, am fuzzy on the details
Peter Pettigrew: I woke up at the lido. No idea how i got there
Remus Lupin: i just found this in my camera roll
Remus Lupin set a photo.
Peter Pettigrew: What the fuck
Remus Lupin: i have no memory of taking this and im glad of that fact because the camerawork here is shameful
James Potter: YOU’RE KIDDING
James Potter: YOU DON’T REMEMBER PETER FINDING A RAT IN THE BINS BEHIND THE CRICKET CLUB
James Potter: AND NAMING IT INIGO MONTOYA
James Potter: PETER YOU STILL HAD IT WHEN I LEFT YOU FOUR HOURS LATER
Peter Pettigrew: I mean that definitely sounds like me
James Potter changed Peter Pettigrew’s nickname to cryptid: ratboii.
cryptid: ratboii: Cheers
cryptid: ratboii: Where did you get to, anyway?
James Potter: me and evans went to the beach
Remus Lupin: cuuuuuute
Sirius Black: and you didnt invite ME
James Potter: sirius you were passed out by 11 o clock
Sirius Black: WHAT
James Potter: yeah, evans poured you a quadruple shot of jager after you played gasolina through your iphone six times in a row
Sirius Black: you convinced me to drink JAGER??????????!?!?!?!??!!!!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?
James Potter: i told you it was sambuca black and somehow that was okay with you
Sirius Black: wtf™
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James Potter added a life event. DIDN’T move to India 56 likes
James Potter commented: love reacts only pls
Peter Pettigrew commented: A N G E R Y R E A C T
James Potter replied to Peter Pettigrew’s comment: ???????
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Peter Pettigrew to James Potter: I did duolingo every day even though ur not actually moving and im not gonna let it go to waste
Peter Pettigrew: बकरी मेरी प्रेमिका है
James Potter: peter you know i. cant read hindi i can only speak it right
Peter Pettigrew: ):
James Potter: i showed mum and she laughed and said it was cute
Peter Pettigrew: (:
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Sirius Black shared a video to James Potter’s timeline: “Stiff Dylans performance interrupted by GREASY RACIST exclusive”
Lily Evans commented: tag urself im the girlfriend
Remus Lupin commented: im peter in the background trying to get out of the shot but sirius keeps moving so hes still in frame
Sirius Black commented: im prongs’s slutty minx hands
James Potter commented: im the look on snapes face when lily kisses me
Peter Pettigrew commented: Im james drawing attention to the fact he conned lily into kissing him because he thinks weve all somehow missed him telling us every two seconds for the last three days
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James Potter is in a relationship with Lily Evans. 346 likes
Peter Pettigrew commented: Love react
Sirius Black commented: jealous react
Remus Lupin commented: L O V E R E A C T
1K notes · View notes
joebuscus1031 · 7 years
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Samurai Jack season 5 episode 7
First off before I get started, let's have a moment of silence for jacks beard. As someone who has a beard....I kinda died a lil inside when I saw the beard go..... ..... ..... Okay now that being said last nights episode was friggin' amazing as always ! A-l-O-T Of things happened and I'd be lying if I said I didn't watch it for more times afterwards.... I am probably going to watch it over and over the rest of this week before episode eight comes out lol. So we start off like how I predicted, with a Flashback on how Jack lost his sword. He is traveling up a mountain in which she heard has a time portal at the top and is joined by three little rams, when he has reached the top One of the Rams guided him towards the portal. He eagerly jumped it (which I think is the closest he's ever gone to going back to the past) until aku pulled him back out (fuckin' DICK) Jack that attempts to jump back in but aku destroys it before he can get back in. It is then revealed that that was the last remaining time portal in existence (highly doubt it because I don't think he knows about the one the Guardian is watching) in doing so in rages Jack and of course being a coward that I aku is he flees and summons demonic bull like creatures which Jack quickly disposes of. And just when you think aku couldn't be more of an asshole ! It turns out the monsters were just the baby Rams under the spell of aku....I literally shouted "WHAT A DICK !" At my TV screen waking my poor dog up lol. This causes Jack to drop his sword and fall down a seemingly bottomless pit. We find out that Jack was telling ashi The entire story while on the back of some type of giant...falcon/owl ? Anyway they both float down the hole where the sword was supposed to be but find out it isn't there, when Ashi asks if someone could've taken it ? Jack has the realization that he didn't lose the sword... The sword left him. Which actually makes total sense because the sword is magical and probably linked to him, so it probably sensed his anger and because the sword was used against an innocent it probably need to go into isolation until Jack got back on track again. So after they return to the top of the mountain Jack tells Ashi he "doesn't know how long this will take" when ashi offers to go with him, he tells her that this is something I must do on his own and proceeds to say in a meditative stance while Ashi takes watch. While she's doing so notices in the distance a small army is approaching the mountain, Ashi's eyes read " awww HELL NO You ain't coming near my man" lol And it cuts to Jack having a spiritual journey through his mind to try and figure out the location of his sword, he then gets on a raft and float is towards what looks to be a mini monastery, with a little man that resembles Buddha slightly and seeds to ask him "are you lost" ? Jack of course replied with yes and then the man invites him in to make some tea. Then cuts back to the army marching up the mountain is immediately stopped in their tracks when Ashi asks them where they're going, once they tell her that they are here to kill samurai Jack she stances up and ready to defend him saying that she's "here to stop them" of course in a typical ignorant fashion they begin laughing because it one on what appears to be hundreds and she looks to be harmless....well, the moment The leader said they are there to kill Jack that was the moment they sign their death wish because as soon as they started advancing towards her she immediately punches him in the face and uses him as a battering ram to knock A good portion of the army off the mountain. Then fucking leaps into the rest of the army like a fucking beast and begins to laydown the pain, One of the parts shows her breaking the spears and a half and throwing it back at them while she was doing a war cry and completely snapping one of the guys arms off..... like I said in my last post, she's one-of-a-kind Jack and she wouldn't be doing this if she didn't care deeply for you. Throughout the entire scene we go back-and-forth between ashi fighting the army and Jack making tea which in itself was a little comical because we get a burst of intense fighting and a little break in between of him making tea which is therapeutic. Once he's done making the tea and offers it to the Buddha like figure it then cuts back to Ashi who has completely decimated the entire army and covered in blood (queue god of war theme) but that notices there's still so I left on the mountain she then calls the falcon/owl over to carry her up the rest of the way, then noticing the mysterious figures about to fire an arrow towards Jack she jumps down and grabs it, only to find out that shortly after a barrage of arrows comes raining down which she easily lifts a Rock to block him. is the revealed that The person responsible is...THE HIGH PRIESTESS ! (Dun dun duuuun) out of FUCKING nowhere! has Somehow managed to track Ashi and jack down claiming that she knew she would fail her mission and even though she was the strongest of the seven was the least focused of the group. And offered her a chance to do a complete 180 and kill Jack which of course she refuses because let's be honest 1) the mother is a fucking bitch 2) at this point do you really think she's going to kill him after developing feelings for him lol After hearing her say Jack showed her the truth and that she was wrong about him continue to say she will kill her too ! And I'm over here looking at her like "this FUCKING cunt" she says it in such a way that you truly sense that she does not give two shits about her and she was only to be used as a means to an end. Which I'm sure you could gather from the flashbacks, by her saying she's going to kill her only made it even more of a point lol She then proceeds to take off her robe (when that happens you know shits about to get real)and Ashi and her have a dagger/baby ram horn dual and asks ashi how could she betrayed her family like that, that even after Jack killed her sisters she still allowed him to live. She that replies that wasn't jacks for but they died that it was the mothers fault they died because they we're born only to kill Jack and were doomed right from the day they were born (meaning no amount of training they did could compare to Jack's skills) and is she saying that the pillar collapses on top of her giving the high priestess a chance to kill Jack. Ashi seeing what's about to happen bursts out of the rubble grabs an arrow and with "The strongest throwing arm in history" throws it at her mother piercing her through her chest seemingly killing her (I don't think that's the last we'll see if her, she's definitely still alive and Will come back probably the finale) and falls off the mountain, Ashi tired from the long intense battle passes out. Then we cut back to the Buddha figure drinking the tea saying that the tea is terrible, Jack confused by it wonders why. The figure states that even though it has all necessary ingredients it's missing one important ingredient "Balance" this confuses Jack even more, begging him to help tell him where the whereabouts of his sword is. However he says it's not up for him to decide, and that he will have to "earn it" then we get a appearance from I rather angry version of Jack's consciousness where she's out saying that it's a bunch of "fortune cookie nonsense" Jack then proceeds to tell his conscience that he is the reason why he's lost his way and his sword and now that he sees clearly purges the anger from himself and therefore finding "balance" Jack is then teleported in front of the three gods that helped forge the sword (Odin, Ra and Vishnu) they state that like his father he has been chosen to defeat the ultimate evil (aku) and that he is worthy. Then proceed to transform Jack back to his old self (without his beard 😡) topknot and all. Which I have to admit it's a little jarring to see him back in his samurai robe again, and has also been given his sword back which was a pretty epic moment almost like he was reunited with an old friend. He has then awakened from his meditative state and sheaths his sword, and finds Ashi unconscious on the ground and rushes to her aid.....and ACTUALLY knows her name ! I was like FINALLY! She probably told him her name off screen but I still would've liked to have seen them exchange names on screen...oh well Then she awakens in shock to find Jack restored to its previous self saying how he found his sword in the process complement him on his "shave and haircut" (I said to myself...oh yea...that's One step closer to them becoming a thing ❤️) fun fact I actually yelled at the screen " just kiss already" !!! And woke my poor dog up again lol he then says that she has been busy keeping him safe while he was searching for his sword, and then thanks her for doing so. She then asks with a smirk on her face "what's next ?" And Jack sternly says "Aku" and then the episode ends This episode had so many surprises in it that it almost caught me offguard because I wasn't expecting some of it. I really really really enjoyed it ! And of course there's the preview weekend of Jack and Ashi running from a creature that seems to be hunting them down AND this is the episode where they're supposed to have a "burgeoning relationship" which of course because you guys know I support and ship Jashi I believe it's going to be something on the romance side 👍🏻 I mean for god sake's she "killed" her own mother to protect him ! Her own mother ! If that's not love I don't know what love is lol Well I'm really hoping that this week goes by fast because I already want to watch episode 8 🤞🏻😭 at least I get to watch last nights episode a bunch of times to get me hyped up for it lol What did you guys think ?
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