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thisurlwasnttakenbutnowitis · 8 months

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Every Epic Rap Battle of History ranked

All right folks, sit down and strap in, cause this is gonna be a long one. So I recently got to rewatching Epic Rap Battles of History, as I do once a year or so. As I was watching through them all, I started to feel tempted to rank all the battles in a tier list. However, once I had ranked them, I felt like I needed to explain my reasoning for each battle's placement, and one thing led to another until eventually I had churned out this 14k word monstrosity. So here we go, I will be ranking all 86 current Epic Rap Battles of History from worst to best, explaining my thoughts on each one, as well as giving my opinion of who won the battle and what I thought the best line in each one was (which is not necessarily delivered by who I think the winner is):

F TIER

86. Sarah Palin vs Lady Gaga

Winner: Lady Gaga

Best line: "Governor of Alaska? That's like the principal of a home school."

This one is just terrible, plain and simple. I honestly don't think many people would disagree with me that this is one of the worst. The best I can say about it is that the person they got to play Sarah Palin looks and sounds the part pretty well. But everything else just falls flat on its face. A matchup with no chemistry, lyrics that are purely surface level with no deeper meaning, oh, and some poorly-aged jokes about "transvestites" for good measure. Frankly I'm surprised that Henry VIII vs Hillary Clinton was scrapped because it didn't meet Peter's and Lloyd's standards, yet this somehow managed to make it through all the way to becoming a finished product.

(For reference, I won't be officially ranking Henry VIII vs Hillary Clinton since it wasn't released as a finished, official episode, but it's honestly better than anything I'm putting in D or F tier. It'd probably fall somewhere near the bottom of C tier.)

85. Adam vs Eve

Winner: Adam

Best line: "It ain't Summer, Eve. Don't try to play me like a douche. You wanna bite on my fruit? Well, you can swallow the truth."

Honestly I would consider this the most painful episode to watch. As bad as Gaga vs Palin is, I would rather sit through that than this shit any day of the week. The only reason this ranks higher is simply because the lyrics are a bit more clever. Emphasis on "a bit", because only 5% of the lyrics have anything to do with the titular Biblical characters, and the other 95% are generic "man vs woman" lines using the most tired stereotypes you can imagine. "You're a slob", "Well, you're naggy". There, that's the whole battle summed up for you. What a waste of Jenna Marbles as a guest star.

84. Bruce Banner vs Bruce Jenner

Winner: Bruce Banner

Best line: "After battling me, you're gonna always be pissed. So the Hulk will stay forever, neither Bruce will exist."

There's a reason this video has the highest dislike-to-like ratio of any battle in ERB history. I mean, part of that is probably transphobes being mad at the existence of a trans person being acknowledged, but that alone wouldn't make it so hated if the battle was otherwise good. But as you can probably guess, it's not. For a video that was meant to show allyship to the trans community, how did no one on the staff point out that it might be a bad idea to directly compare a person transitioning to a comic book character transforming into a monster? This was just a bad idea from the start.

The first half of the battle is decent, but once the two do their transformation scene, it completely falls apart. On one hand, it feels like they were too scared to make Hulk really pack a punch with his lines out of fear of coming off as transphobic, so they just gave him barely any lines at all. But one of the lines he does have honestly still comes off as pretty transphobic: "That painted face don't give you class, just one more thing Bruce do for cash". Yikes. And then Caitlyn proceeds to have the most long, rambling verse in ERB history that doesn't have a single line that says anything with any substance except for the last one.

Look, I appreciate that at the heart of this battle was an attempt at showing love for the trans community. It had good intentions, but it's pretty clear that the idea and writing came from two cis dudes who were out of their element, and it really should have been shot down at the concept phase.

D TIER

83. Justin Bieber vs Beethoven

Winner: Beethoven

Best line: "There's a crowd of millions waiting to hear my symphonies. You wanna be a little white Usher? Here, show 'em to their seats.

Man, remember when hating on Justin Bieber was a whole-ass personality trait? I would know, that was me. From the start, this is clearly made to be a one-sided battle with how deliberately annoying Bieber's portrayal is. Peter's version of Beethoven is actually pretty decent though which is what stops this from slipping down into F. It's also a nice touch that a remix of Beethoven's 5th symphony is the background music, though it does get points deducted due to the music not even attempting to switch to something different when Bieber is rapping. Just goes to show how much this battle was made to be stacked against Bieber.

82. Ash Ketchum vs Charles Darwin

Winner: Charles Darwin

Best line: “Your shit-talking mouth is the origin of feces!”

From one annoying portrayal to another, we have Ash Ketchum. I don't think that this one was intentionally made to be bad though. But God, Ash is insufferable here. Completely interrupting the song to make a joke about barnacle dick, and let's not forget the cringiest line in series history - "You've got candy raps, Reese's pieces", a line that has absolutely nothing to do with either character and could have at least been marginally fixed by just changing it to "Rhesus pieces", as in Rhesus monkeys, which Darwin actually did study.

I was actually one of the many people suggesting this matchup before it happened, and I remember when the battle finally came out, I tried to convince myself that I liked it more than I actually did, because hey, cool, they did an episode about Pokemon! I love Pokemon! But the more I look back on it, the more I realize how disappointing it is as a Pokemon fan. Mat4yo of the YouTube series "Chisel This" (which does in-depth analyses of the lyrics and musical structures of ERBs, highly recommend checking it out) was brought in as a Pokemon expert to assist on this battle since it was a series Peter and Lloyd weren't too familiar with, and while that did result in a couple of semi-obscure Pokemon references such as the old man glitch or how Ash had not caught a Ghost type up to that point, ultimately most of what he wrote ended up being scrapped, and the rest of the Pokemon jokes ended up being the lowest-hanging fruit that Pokemon fans had been hearing jokes about for over a decade at that point. "Haha, Pokemon battles are like dog fighting". "Haha, Professor Oak fucked Ash's mom". "Haha, Pokeballs, it's funny because we said balls".

Just like the last one, Peter's portrayal is the one thing keeping this from slipping down to F.

C TIER

81. John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly

Winner: Bill O'Reilly

Best line: "You're Paul McCartney's bitch with less talent than Ringo, and I'd rather suck George Bush's dick than Yoko Ono's."

The battle that started it all ranks near the bottom, but that does go to show that they just went up from here (for the most part). Probably ties with Gaga vs Palin as the matchup that most makes me go "How did anyone even think of this, what link do these two even have". I'm guessing the theme of both battles is meant to be a conservative vs a liberal? I dunno. There's really not much to say on this one. It's pretty basic, but I get it. It was the first of its kind and was apparently produced on a budget of only $50. By those standards, it's all right.

80. Donald Trump vs Ebenezer Scrooge

Winner: J.P. Morgan

Best line: "Don’t panic, Scrooge, but you’re about to crash. I’m J.P. Morgan, the Ghost of Rich Dudes Past! Who’s properly rocking the Monopoly mustache! Yo, I own the railroad, I run these tracks!”

This one is weird in hindsight, made in a time before Trump's voice and mannerisms became burned into everyone's minds. I don't think anyone would disagree that Lloyd's later portrayal of Trump was way more accurate. Peter's impression here is basically just yelling. Speaking of portrayals as well, this is the first battle involving frequent guest star Zach Sherwin on this list, and I have to say, even in mediocre battles like this one, he always knocks it out of the park as whoever he's playing. I don't think there's been a single bad Zach appearance.

This is a battle where I think the idea was really solid, it just didn't turn out as good as maybe it could have. Telling the story of A Christmas Carol through rap battles, while also switching out the ghosts for other iconic rich people was a pretty brilliant move on paper. Just, I dunno, I feel like this is the weakest of the ensemble battles. I think what it comes down to is that it was a bit too ambitious for the budget they had at the time. Something like this would have benefited from being in season 5 or 6 when they could really go all out with sets and special effects. I mean, they go through the iconic scene of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come showing Scrooge his own grave, but it all takes place in Scrooge's bedroom and we don't even get to see the grave.

A sidenote about this one too is that Donald Trump actually saw it and responded to it. I wonder if he ever saw any of the later ones starring him.

79. Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg

Winner: Mark Zuckerberg

Best line: "I've been looking up your family, it gets dark, my God! Couldn't clean your daddy's laundry with Apar-Tide pods."

It's kinda funny that these two actually have more in common now than they did when the battle came out thanks to Musk's takeover of Twitter. I feel like I'm placing this battle lower than most would. Lyrically, it's very clever (rhyming "sprinkle tossed in" with "Winklevoss twins" may just be the smartest rhyme in series history), but I just don't really like the portrayal of either character in this. They're both just kind of obnoxious, which is true to life admittedly, but still.

I was going to say "This was the first battle after they broke off with Maker Studios and went independent, and it definitely shows in the visuals department, because the special effects are rough". And while still think the shots of Musk flying to Mars look pretty bad, I don't think it has to do with the split with Maker Studios; because the very next battle that came out after this one was Freddy Krueger vs Wolverine, and that is still possibly the most visually impressive battle they've ever done. It probably had more to do with the fact that this was considered a "bonus battle" rather than the true season 6 premiere, so it probably was just given a shoestring budget so that the actual effort could go into Krueger vs Wolverine. It's gonna be a while before we talk about that battle, so I think it's safe to say that sacrifice paid off.

78. Columbus vs Captain Kirk

Winner: Columbus

Best line: "Why don't you boldly go someplace you've never gone before, like India, or any destination you actually set sail for?"

I'm noticing I'm saying "I think this character's portrayal was annoying" quite a lot in these bottom 10 spots, but it makes sense that that would really sink a battle for me when I find half of it hard to even listen to. So, yeah, Lloyd does a William Shatner impression that completely breaks the flow, and it's funny as a joke but not very fun to listen to as music.

A sidenote about this one is that I always misremember it as being a season 2 battle. I think for whatever reason it was the one season 1 battle that never popped up in my recommended until season 2 was already underway.

77. Gandalf vs Dumbledore

Winner: Gandalf

Best line: "I leave mics in flames, torched by Gandalf. Touch mine, Dumbledore, and scorch your other hand off!"

This was another battle that could have benefited from coming later, both from a writing and visuals standpoint. Early ERBs were very short with lyrics that didn't run too deep, and both of these characters come from universes with such rich lore that there's so much more you can do with (this was the first battle where both rappers were fictional, actually). Fortunately, both universes would get time to shine with more clever writing, thanks to JRR Tolkien vs George RR Martin and Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker. The visuals for a video between two masters of magic also definitely leaves something to be desired. This was another one that should have been held off on until about season 5 or 6. They probably would have relied less on the "Dumbledore is gay" jokes if that had happened too, so that would have been another plus.

76. Batman vs Sherlock Holmes

Winner: Sherlock Holmes

Best line: "You're shamed and traumatized and haunted by the vast disgrace of watching like a passive waste as momma died and daddy was dispatched with haste!"

And here we have another bad portrayal, one that's so infamous that even ERB itself has acknowledged it. Peter is not a good Batman, just plain and simple. It's a shame that it brings an otherwise good battle down. Zach Sherwin kills it as Sherlock Holmes, and the actor for Dr. Watson also does a great job. Even Robin's part is fun. Outside of Batman, the only part I don't really like is how Sherlock interrupts the song to think about what he's about to do for his second verse. I get that it's in-character for him, but it kills the pacing.

75. Hitler vs. Vader 3

Winner: Hitler

Best line: "Screw you, you big black cunt! I'll kick your balls and your face: a war on two fronts!"

The final entry in the iconic Hitler vs Vader trilogy, and the weakest one in my opinion. I think it's pretty clear that they were running out of things to say about this matchup by this point. I mean, hell, part of Vader's verse is taken up by Boba Fett coming in and just bragging about himself rather than saying anything about his opponent. Feels like it was just there to take up time.

74. Donald Trump vs Joe Biden

Winner: Donald Trump

Best line: "Your campaign's like your family: crash and burn."

This was a battle that was very clearly affected by Covid. Aside from the animated Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker, this was the only battle to come out in 2020. I appreciate that the team put together what they could in the midst of the raging pandemic, but as a consequence, it doesn't have the spectacle of the other presidential battles. What was once planned to be a battle royale with Bernie Sanders and Ronald Reagan joining the fight was cut down to a simple one-on-one, with Abe Lincoln not even making an appearance. As such, while the matchup does feel more fairly written than Trump vs Hillary, it also just has less overall to remember.

Some parts of this battle have aged interestingly looking back on it three years later: Trump condemning "looting and violence" right before January 6th happened; also him saying that Roe vs Wade would get repealed, which ended up happening despite Biden winning. And 200k being given as the death count for Covid at the time, woof, if only it had stayed that low.

73. Oprah vs Ellen

Winner: Ellen

Best line: "So if battling me is your intention, I better mention, you're bout to get licked by a lesbian."

Well, this one hasn't exactly aged gracefully with what we now know about Ellen DeGeneres and how she ran her talk show, but I'm not going to hold that against this battle. What I will say is that this is a battle that I constantly forget exists (side note: in the time between writing this and going back through the list to insert the images, I had already once again forgotten this battle existed). Two current-day celebrities who are both rivals in the same field just isn't much of an exciting idea for an Epic Rap Battle of History; there just isn't too much you can do with that and it shows here. I will say though, the casting on both Oprah and Ellen was great, the two actresses definitely exude all the charisma that the real women do on their shows.

72. Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton

Winner: Hillary Clinton

Best line: "You wanna talk about misogyny? Your Bill's worse than Cosby. He left a mess on that dress like you left in Benghazi!"

And just squeaking by the previous Trump election battle, we have the original one. This one is clearly much more biased against Trump, barely saying anything bad about Hillary and making Trump out to be a massive prick. Which, okay, is true, but in the context of a rap battle, a rapper's own lines generally shouldn't make them look worse. Honestly though, this battle is just more fun and energetic than Trump vs Biden, and that's why it's slightly higher.

71. Hulk Hogan vs Kim Jong-il

Winner: Hulk Hogan

Best line: "You're a freak, a phony, a Rice-a-roni jabroni! I'm gonna bounce you like a check for my alimony!

Before every fanmade rap battle beat the idea into the ground, this was the OG of introducing a surprise third rapper into the mix. This one is just funny. "Beijing is in China, you blond asshole" still gets a kick out of me. This is another early series matchup where the two rappers have absolutely nothing in common, but this one turned out better than you'd think from just looking at the title. Also love the re-edited version of this that brings the special effects up, though sadly it couldn't make Peter's muscle suit look good.

B TIER

70. Billy Mays vs Ben Franklin

Winner: Billy Mays

Best line: "You following me, camera guy? Cause it's about to get furious. You're gonna love my nuts 'til you're bi-focal-curious!"

I wonder if younger fans of ERB even know who Billy Mays and Vince Offer were. It's a sad thing to think about. The ending of the battle where Billy Mays just straight-up dies and Vince comes in to close it out is iconic. Ben Franklin's lines are kinda whatever, it's the salespeople that steal the show, but that's kinda to be expected. Also the person they got to play Billy Mays is perfect.

69. Doc Brown vs Doctor Who

Winner: Doctor Who

Best line: "You're not a cat with nine lives, you're a pussy with thirteen."

Admittedly I'm not too familiar with Doctor Who, so I'm certain some references went over my head on this one. Despite that and my love for Back to the Future, I've gotta hand it to the Doctor. Having him die and regenerate halfway through the battle was a cool idea, and both actors that portray him are really fun and embody the charisma I know the character is known for. The joke about how Doctor Who's special effects suck and you can see a hand manipulating the TARDIS in the background I think is one of the funniest jokes the series has ever done.

68. Dr. Seuss vs Shakespeare

Winner: The Cat in the Hat

Best line: "You bore people to death! You leave a classroom looking like the end of MacBeth!"

This is a battle that would be a lot higher were it not for one thing. Well, two things actually - Thing 1 and Thing 2. The first three verses are utterly fantastic - Shakespeare's first verse written in iambic pentameter, the Cat in the Hat hitting with some of the most clever lines in season 1, and of course, Shakespeare's iconic rapid-fire second verse. And then… Thing 1 and Thing 2. Purely awful. Painful to listen to. Any time I rewatch this battle, I turn it off once Shakespeare is done.

67. Nice Peter vs EpicLLOYD 2

Winner: EpicLLOYD

Best line: "I'm trying to make art, motherfucker, you're trying to find a rhyme for 'erection'!"

This battle feels like it was made more for the crew of ERB than the audience with all the inside jokes about production. It's also noticeably meaner and more personal than NP vs EL 1, and I remember it made me worried just how much resentment the two apparently had underneath the surface. This battle was put out to announce that the series would be going on hiatus, and the way it came off with how sick and tired Peter and Lloyd were of everything, I honestly thought ERB might never come back. Thankfully that wasn't the case. I'm sure it was all in good fun, but man, the frustrations the two expressed in this felt so raw, and I'm sure a lot of that anger was genuine.

66. Frederick Douglass vs Thomas Jefferson

Winner: Frederick Douglass

Best line: "You got a self-evident truth of your own: You let freedom ring but never picked up the phone!"

Like Banner vs Jenner, this is another battle that felt afraid to throw any real punches towards one of the rappers. Jefferson's first verse is mostly just talking himself up, then the whole thing kinda just becomes a soapbox about slavery. It's really kinda lame how Jefferson's entire second verse is solely dedicated to defending himself.

This battle was ERB's one real attempt to push themselves as an educational series, as evidenced by the fact that this is the one and only battle to release a censored version so it could be shown in classrooms, and I think that's kinda why this one comes across a little preachy. That being said, it's certainly not bad.

65. Frank Sinatra vs Freddie Mercury

Winner: Freddie Mercury

Best line: "So kiss my ass, Frankie, but you'll have to wait in line."

Here we have a great performance paired with a lackluster performance to make a middle-of-the-road battle overall. Obviously Freddie had more charm than Sinatra, but man, Sinatra's portrayal in this is so boring. The fact that more than half of his disses are just gay jokes doesn't really do him any favors either. Peter's Freddie Mercury though is amazing, and I love how Freddie gets to rap in a style unlike anyone else in the series that mimics the iconic sound of Queen.

64. Nice Peter vs EpicLLOYD

Winner: Nice Peter

Best line: "I drew a mustache on your face and you played a mean Hitler. Take the mustache away, you look more like Bette Midler."

This was the season 1 finale and it was a perfect tribute to everything that had been done so far. Seeing flashes of every character the two had played up to that point was so cool, and it was fun to see the two creators duke it out, albeit in a lighthearted, clearly joking way. It's very interesting to compare the tone of this to the rematch, showing how attitudes change when a fun project with your buddy becomes your job, and how that can leave you feeling jaded over time.

63. Bob Ross vs Pablo Picasso

Winner: Pablo Picasso

Best line: "I am the greatest, the modern art Muhammad Ali. I melt faces, call me MC Dali."

Peter and Lloyd both make really funny foils here, and the visuals of this one really stand out, as to be expected from a battle with two painters. Picasso giving out his ridiculously long full name followed by a deadpan "Back to you, Bob" will always be hilarious.

62. Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye

Winner: Sir Isaac Newton

Best line: "You wanna battle, guy? That's a crazy notion! When I start flowing, I stay in motion!"

Been a fan of Weird Al since I was a young one, so obviously I loved seeing him in this. He definitely stole the show here as he so often does. Not too big of a fan of Bill Nye or Neil DeGrasse Tyson's verses though, and I don't really know why Peter went for that kind of voice with Bill Nye.

61. Jeff Bezos vs Mansa Musa

Winner: Mansa Musa

Best line: "Here's a nugget of advice to get your union problems handled: Want workers that don't piss? Hire some camels!"

Another battle where one rapper blows it out of the water while the other is just okay. Scru Face Jean, a YouTube rapper who had previously done reaction videos for ERB, portrays Mansa Musa and had a hand in helping write his character's verses, and it definitely shows. Every one of Musa's lines is brilliantly crafted with super clever wordplay. Jeff Bezos meanwhile… ehh, more misses than hits in my opinion.

60. Abe Lincoln vs Chuck Norris

Winner: Abe Lincoln

Best line: "I read up on your facts, you cure cancer with your tears? Well tell me Chuck, how come you never sat down and cried on your career?"

This is a certified classic. This is also another completely random season 1 matchup but I think this battle is so iconic that I don't even question it. While Chuck Norris jokes aren't exactly funny anymore, I still get an ironic kick out of the absurdity of this battle. I actually got introduced to ERB through a teacher showing some videos to the class. While we got through Einstein vs Hawking with no issue, the teacher immediately turned it off at the line "I wear a black belt on the beard that I grow on my dick" in this video.

59. Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc

Winner: Joan of Arc

Best line: "Je suis la fille en feu; call me Katniss Everdeen!"

This was the absolute favorite of a high school friend of mine, she's probably the only person to have listened to this battle enough to be able to recite it by heart. Can't say I particularly love it, but I also don't seem to hate it as much as most people. I think it's pretty good! Joan of Arc being a devoutly religious person really contrasts well with Miley Cyrus and kind of acts as a stand-in for the moral outrage that Miley was facing at the time. Both actresses also nail their roles. As much as this battle was clearly a "headline of the moment" battle, I still think it holds up decently today.

58. Stephen King vs Edgar Allan Poe

Winner: Edgar Allan Poe

Best line: "Masque of the Red Death? Barely blood-curdling. Pit and the Pendulum? Not even unnerving. Perving on your first cousin when she’s 13 years old? Now that’s disturbing.”

My main disappointment with this battle is just how many more lines King gets than Poe does. Especially with Poe's second verse being so fast, it just leaves King feeling like he's taking up way too much screen time. King's second verse also isn't all too great. That said, both of Poe's verses are good, and King's first is really fun with all the puns he makes with his book names.

All right folks, so I’ve actually gotta split this list up into 3 parts since Tumblr only allows 30 images per post. Click here for part 2!

#epic rap battles of history #erb

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tiangouaway · 1 month

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thoughts on little goody two shoes

took me a while to get around to it, but i finally finished watching a playthrough of this game and all the endings! i wouldn't say it's a game i would want to play for myself, but it's definitely one i would recommend to anyone with an interest in the genre

spoilers for the game below

positives!!

the game is... a lot less scary than i thought it would be? even with the all the sacrifices and monsters everywhere, aside from some blood, there was nothing too grotesque. no jumpscares either! just running from creatures ^_^

honestly, for all the creepy shit going on, the game is just pretty wholesome? the reason elise does everything really isn't to get rich - she wants love and respect. she mentions that she feels worse after her grandmother passed, and wants to leave the village where she gets pushed around all the time. she just wants to be happy.

the conflict between ozzy (+ his followers) and walpurga is just really cool to me. i like the thought of two beings fighting over a person, and the specific situation this game presents is interesting. ozzy made elise for holle, but in walpurga's grove. her desperation to have a child makes her obsessed with claiming elise as her own, causing a conflict. not to mention ozzy's followers! i just love infighting between antagonists for some reason.

the artstyles are all so pretty! and they all blend together so seamlessly?? the 90s sprites for the dialogue, the pixel chibis for the gameplay, and the more detailed/painted look for the backgrounds!

the music!! it's all so good, and i just love the female vocals even if they're going la la la or ba ba ba ba! i've rewatched elise and rozenmarine's cutscenes multiple times now, and even though i muted the playthrough at times bc the bgm and sound effects were too creepy for me, i always turned it back on whenever a golden girl appeared. the mysterious yet calming music that plays whenever a girl speaks is definitely my favorite track!

i LOVE the minigames being structured like arcade machines. just. beloved <3

negatives...

FUCK that part of the thursday witching hour where you have to play in complete darkness. just fuck off. i know i sound dramatic but this is a "what were the devs thinking" bit for me. no one on earth would want to play that.

some comments of the playthrough said that the puzzles were a nightmare, especially for first time players. and i have to agree to some extent. all the puzzles that take place in the crow's section (the yellow castle/wheat field/maze) just feel exhausting, mainly the shaky bird trees and the saving apfel quest. at times it feels like a "you have to take damage to continue" segment

muffy :/ she's adorable, but she's only used for the suspicion mechanic and stealing your food. maybe it was just the playthough i watched, but food can be pretty costly along with buying regen supplies and oil. maybe she could've vouched for elise in a tense scene if the player helps her! that would've felt nice. also, the joke about elise constantly calling her the wrong name is just... really lazy humor

when it comes with the endings with the girlfriends (1-3 and 5-7), despite how the happy ones are very different, i don't feel like replaying the game to get them is worth it. honestly, the ending that intrigued me the most is ending 4 with father hans because it's so unique

as i said above, the game wouldn't be something that i would want to play for myself, but i would definitely share with others. i'm tempted to check out the original pocket mirror and the remake now!

#waba talk #games #lgts #OH #ALSO #JUST REMEMBERED #why does elise call her “rosmarine”#the voicelines don't even match up #was this mentioned somewhere. am i dumb #waba thoughts

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petrichoraline · 11 months

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Oml, you've been watching back from the brink, ryt??? I'm only at the start of the drama and setting up my watchlist to be able to get ahead with this story too but overall, are there any spoiler-free opinions/reviews that you hv in store for this drama? I'd love to know!!

ana, love, i am sorry! i haven't seen it <3 i saw the tip of your ask, opened mdl and started calculating how quickly i could binge it so i could answer you as quickly as possible but it'd take about 30 hours straight🥹i tend to rb stuff i don't watch and i was honestly wondering if i should mention that in the tags but thought "ehhh no need" and look what happened 🫠

i have two moots i trust when it comes to cdramas and as far as i know neither of them watched it - one dropped it and the other never started it despite wanting to? what i got is that it's somehow childish? which honestly isn't a turn off for me personally, i can go for goofy and cheesy depending on mood, some people can't so it really depends on what you enjoy (which is smth i don't know about you so i can't directly say whether you should go for it or not💕); side note: i personally have fondness for the main actress because she played my cute a xiang in word of honor and i was tempted to start it for her lol

seeing how you've started it already i'd say make an opinion for yourself - the reason i'm not linking you to opinion threads and stuff is cause based on my dash while it was airing, there were both ppl who dlsiked it and people who enjoyed it enough to consistently put out whole gifsets. when i haven't seen a show i can't really discern which reviews do it justice and which could create a damaging impression on any potential viewers for no good reason.

you mentioned schedule so imo you should prioritise your other shows butttt save those moments in your schedule where you have time for a few episodes in a row for this series so you can tell if it's your vibe more easily (binging serves for better flow and you can get an overall feel of the drama) and quickly (which is good in case it isn't your thing and you decide to watch smth else or it does turn out to be really enjoyable and you want to move it up the priority list)

sorry to mislead and i hope this wasn't an annoying answer <3 thank you for the amazing ask, i get genuinely hyped when i get smth like it ❣️💞🥰💖💓

#petri replies #<3333

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jeremy-ken-anderson · 1 year

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Completion

I'll admit, one of the things that made City of Heroes tempting was the fact that you could win.

Like.

You could win the whole MMO.

The CoH: Homecoming servers have been releasing new material in the 12 years since it "died" but you've got a reasonably clear delineation between the "official" and "unofficial" stories.

There are mounds of generic quests you could literally have ChatGPT write and they'd come off about the same, [Recover] the [Sono-Ray] from the [Carnival of Shadows] and so on. But the better-written ones have been compiled in the Ouroboros Time Gate where you can do them as quest chains without so many time-wasting "go beat up 15 Trolls to get the word on the street about this crime" quests.

So I started doing that. I had Nekomusha, the cat ninja (Stalker archetype, Katanas/Agility power sets, teleportation and medicine power pools, and body mastery epic pool). It's kind of slow sometimes, but I really enjoy the rhythm of taking a breath between battles, letting Hide reset, and then starting my next fight with one of the two or three enemies already dead because I started the fight by assassinating them.

At this point I've gone through every quest below max level and about half the ones at max level. I hit three or four that are outright bugged, and won't mark as complete even if you do them (one of them you literally can't complete in the first place), and if I'm honest it was part of my motivation to stop playing for a bit. Knowing that there's a bug in the system that literally just stops the checklist from letting you check all the boxes - even if you did them - really saps the joy out of completing the checklist. And/or makes you admit that you were doing this to fill out a checklist? That has its own direction for sapping joy out of the experience.

The truth is that even as the newer content of CoH has improved their method of delivering content is very limited in the ways it could improve postmortem. The result of which is you generally won't be playing CoH for the story. It has good stories here and there, but a lot of them are beset by the basic problem of having to make assumptions about the main character's disposition in order to tell their story. Which...

Honestly there's some basic "If you're gonna call yourself a hero we're going to assume you adhere to certain things" you can get away with - FFXIV does this a lot - but once you're looking at City of Villains the assumptions they have to make about who you are, why you're a villain, what your deal is? They don't hold up. And there's nothing for this. Go ahead: Write a story that voices both my narcissistic mind-controller who's made herself a self-styled queen in her neighborhood, Royal Amethyst, and my invasive species of lizard from outer space that just wants to eat people now and then, Endolisi, properly. Do you write a schemer? Endolisi isn't a schemer. He's all action all the time, bay-bee. Do you write a love of violence? Royal Amethyst detests property damage, because she thinks of everything as her property.

There are a lot of ways to be villainous, and only people who have some kind of disorder that causes them to

a) call themselves villains AND b) lean into doing things they themselves define as evil

will bear all or even most of these villainous traits. It's a real pickle.

I'm still plugging away at those last twenty or so level 50 missions, but I'm trying to focus much more on just...enjoying the gameplay itself. That's what has held up the best (and/or been improved the most in the intervening years). The story is often barely worth the read, and the completion is literally impossible. But the game itself is still just...fun to engage with.

#city of heroes #review

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shadowsinger11 · 4 years

Text

Inspiration

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Requested by anon: Could you do a Fred Weasley imagine where he falls in love with Harry’s younger sister. (Maybe a after the war where he lives)

Word Count: 3.3k (my hand slipped oops)

Genre: Fluff, childhood friends to lovers, mutual pining etc.

Warnings: Slight innuendo, Fred being cute and hot simultaneously

Tags: @self-ship-love @susceptible-but-siriusexual @hufflexpuff @neovannii @jenniweasley @elf-punk @heart-of-tempered-steel @itseatyourdamnapples

Message me if you'd like to be added!

Masterlist

Ottery St Catchpole, Devon, England, July 16, 2000

It was a chilly Sunday evening. The summer air buzzed with excitement and the tender aroma of magnolia as tiny white and pink petals were gracefully falling from the huge cherry trees, carried by the light breeze. Twilight painted the horizon in liquid gold and fiery red, soon followed by mellow shades of dark blue that brought countless sparkling stars.

It was getting the slightest bit colder, but it did not matter; nothing else mattered but the loud cheers and cheerful music, celebrating the official bond between a Potter and a Weasley under the wide night sky.

You couldn't have been happier for your older brother, Harry, who was currently dancing with Ginny, his now wife - now and for the rest of his, hopefully, but not really likely, peaceful life. For the longest time you've been wondering how he'd always manage to get into trouble even as a small First year with no experience in the wizarding world whatsoever. Or, perhaps, that was the exact reason as to why evil-battling and rule-breaking were such common practices when hanging out with him.

However, there was no fighting that day. There was no room for worry and fear when the entire Weasley family and their loved ones were gathered on the clearing in front of the Burrow, chatting, laughing, dancing, singing, drinking, celebrating and living for what seemed to be the first time since Lord Voldemort's fall. Danger was practically nonexistent in that blissful moment which was frozen in time, once having looked agonizingly distant and impossible to hope for. But that dream was no longer just a foolish fantasy to heal wounded hearts. It was there, and it was happening in the most beautiful way imaginable.

And suddenly, all those clichés of a married life weren't even clichés. They were simply humble wishes of people who had witnessed far too many horrors in such a short period of time, and only craved stability among the massive chaos. So when you glanced at Ginny, a twirling blur of flaming red hair and a gorgeous wedding dress, you didn't feel the need to comment on how banal the color white was. You genuinely smiled, admiring the pure, exuberant joy, visible in her eyes and scarlet cheeks. Harry looked just as, if not even happier than his wife, dancing in the ridiculous but wholehearted way that only he could, and old memories of him winning the golden egg, training Dumbledore's Army and kissing Ginny in the common room for the very first time flooded into your mind.

It had truly been a long time since you had seen Harry careless and free like that.

You yourself had spent an ungodly amount of hours preparing the yard for the ceremony all day; rearranging chairs, decorating, making sure everything was going by schedule, only to then dance your tired feet off, and though you wanted to continue having fun with Hermione, Luna and the rest of the girls waiting for you, you really needed a break. And a drink.

Excusing yourself to leave the particularly interesting conversation you were having with distant Weasley relatives, you slipped off your black flats that, despite looking absolutely stunning, hurt your feet terribly after an entire day of fussing over the color of napkins and flower bouquets. Barefoot on the grass, you walked over to a chair next to a table which seemed to have been occupied, but judging by the mostly empty glasses and plates, the guests weren't coming back anytime soon.

You tossed your shoes aside with a sigh and rushed to rub your aching toes, hissing from how sore they were.

How has Ginny been dancing like that for hours?

"Enjoying the party, I see?" a familiar deep, slightly husky voice commented, causing you to look up.

It was none other than Fred Weasley, dear friend from childhood, staring down at you, his ever-present charming smirk resting on features and hands shoved into the pockets of his dragonskin suit. But it was his flaming red hair that made your eyes widen - it was carefully smoothed back, shining under the moonlight like liquid iron.

Fred's eyes still contained their famous, loveable mischief, except now slightly tamer and calmer. His firm biceps had visibly grown in size, stretching out the fabric of his coat just a bit to give you a prominent silhouette that caught you off guard.

It had been two years; he had changed so much.

And you were afraid to admit you had too.

You blinked in surprise, processing his uncharacteristically sophisticated appearance before realizing what he had asked you.

"Would've enjoyed it far more if my legs weren't killing me," you groaned half-heartedly and leaned back on your chair. "What's with your hair?"

"What's with your feet?"

"I asked you first," you cut him off. "I bet Ginny is responsible for this."

"Actually…" Fred trailed off, and, whether on purpose or not, ran a hand through the ginger locks to keep them in place, unaware of how you suddenly wished the hand doing the graceful motion wasn't his. "Mum insisted that I looked my best. What can I say, it's not like George and I usually listen to her, but we thought we'd make an exception this time; our sister doesn't get married every day. But honestly, Ginny couldn't care less about how we looked as long we showed up."

"So like usual, you mean?" you giggled. "Showing up is an achievement for you even if you're underdressed?"

Fred beamed, pearly white smile complementing his formal outfit. You wondered if he used that exact smile to effortlessly allure costumers and business partners at work.

He rested an elbow on the table as he leaned forward.

"Come on now, darling. I know you find my messy hair irresistible either way."

His cockiness only caused you to laugh, though Fred was quick to spot the flash of nervousness in your eyes; it brought him immense pride to know he was the one to turn you from confident to adorably bashful and flustered in the matter of seconds.

He was looking at you intensely, expectantly waiting for you to deny his flirty accusation despite your shyness.

"Nah, Weasley. It only reminds me that even at twenty-two you still do not know how to use a comb."

Fred's eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline, mouth agape. For the first time, he actually needed a second to form a reply.

"Didn't see that coming, I give you that. Courageous one, you are."

Your heart fluttered with joy and you openly grinned, shrugging in half-hearted humbleness.

"Perhaps I am."

Speaking to him felt unusually energizing, as though you had jumped headfirst into a chilly lake. It was unfamiliar and it set your nerves on fire, causing your stomach to twist and turn with sensations that left you dizzy, but unbelievably thrilled. And you wanted more of it, you wanted more of him.

"Fancy a drink?" Fred offered, already pouring champagne into a glass before handing it to you, and you keenly took it.

"Thanks, I've been thirsty with all the preparations I was doing."

"Is that why your legs are killing you?"

"Exactly, I've been running around all day, making sure everything was in order… you know, a lot of organizing and the like."

"It must hurt quite a bit then," Fred commented with a pained grimace. "But I absolutely get you, Georgie and I are just like that when it comes to the shop. It's a lot of accounting if I'm being honest, though I admit he's way better at it. We need to be completely precise; we can't allow any mistakes."

"Woah," you laughed. "Control freak much?"

He wettened his lips, never breaking eye contact.

"Perhaps I am."

You tilted your head to the side, gaze piercing into his in hopes of finding out what those gorgeous brown eyes were hiding. The tiny playful flames in them were eloquent.

Shifting slightly in your seat, you smoothed out your bridesmaid dress and raised your glass, the ghost of a smirk playing on your lips.

"Cheers to us control freaks then."

Fred mirrored your smug expression and your glasses met with a clink. The bubbly liquid tingled your throat, undoubtedly refreshing you and cooling you off. You glanced at the people dancing in the centre of the clearing and giggled - Ginny had apparently thrown away her white shoes long ago, bare feet stepping elegantly on the grass.

"You see, I'd like to chat a bit more with you, but I'm afraid it's a bit too loud here. What about we go to the pond across the field?" Fred suggested, pointing at the woods behind his back. You had visited them countless times when staying with Harry at the Burrow during holidays years ago; the tall trees and the glistening waters had never ceased to bring you comfort.

The noise started to become bothersome, and you felt it even more necessary to continue your conversation somewhere private, the unknown causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach. Fred's presence could only be compared to a shot of whiskey, or the sensation of anticipating a tidal wave to crash into you in less than a second. It was wild and the tiniest bit terrifying, but oh so tempting as it pulled you in.

"I'd love that, but… you know," you grinned and playfully swang your sore feet. "Can't really walk."

But this didn't at all seem like a problem to Fred Weasley who only shrugged and stood up, "You don't have to. I'll carry you."

"Merlin, no! Please, it's not necessary."

Fred frowned, but his confused expression was soon replaced by an amused one.

"You said it yourself that your feet hurt like hell. And even if carrying you around isn't necessary, it doesn't mean I don't want to."

You attempted to tame the butterflies.

"No, no! You seriously don't have to, I promise," you frantically protested as you held up your hands in front of you to reassure him, but he only gave you a weird look. "I can walk on my own. I'll be too heavy for you."

"There's only one way to find out."

Fred walked over to you and leaned down, one hand sneaking around your waist and the other slipping under your knees. You shrieked in terror, arms flying to clutch at his shoulders, and heat rose to your cheeks from the abrupt contact. Your chests were pressed together, and you were afraid he'd be able to feel your racing heart. His skin was warmer than you had thought, and it successfully fought off the night summer chill.

"Are we going?" Fred whispered down at you, lips so close to yours that you recognized the nuance of champagne in his breath, mixing unbelievably well with the scent of cinnamon and sandalwood of his cologne.

Not only is he sinfully attractive, but he smells heavenly too?

"Yes," you breathed and let Fred effortlessly walk across the meadow with you in his arms. They brought this new, odd, yet familiar sense of security, and you allowed your head to rest against his chest, nervous gaze wandering off into the distance in hopes of not meeting his. Nevertheless, curiosity eventually took the best of you, and your eyes would occasionally flicker to his, which were now completely black under the night sky. They could swallow you whole, you swore.

Minutes later, you found yourselves in the company of old, enormous willows which surrounded the pond you so vividly remembered from your teenage years. You thanked Fred as he carefully let you down, and took a few steps forward to look around and drench in the misty moonlight that enveloped the area. The waters were crystal clear and completely still, reflecting the moon and its majestic silver glow. The bushes had grown significantly over the time you were away, and you fondly looked back at the moments when you would pick up colorful wildflowers in the summer before your fourth year.

"Shall we sit?" Fred asked quietly from right behind your shoulder, and you followed him with a nod. You found a comfortable spot on the fresh grass to sit, a few feet away from where the water met the soil and moved back and forth ever so slightly.

"It's more beautiful than I remember," you noted, lips curled up in a barely visible smile. Fred hummed in agreement.

"That's why I always make sure to come here every chance I get when I return. But, unfortunately, that's very rare in my case."

For a moment, there was only the chirping of crickets and the soft bubbling of water.

Fred turned to you.

"Remember when mum used to call for us to de-gnome the garden and we'd hide here? We could stay in the bushes for hours before we eventually came back," he recalled, seeming deep in thought. It was an extraordinary sight; for once the playful spark in his eyes was more mellow, there was no cockiness seeping into the way he was holding himself. He was just Fred, the man who was currently thinking with so much adoration and love about his childhood, the most significant memories of it being marked by you.

You wondered, given you ever had the chance to spend with Fred as much time as your older brother did, if the charismatic prankster would have fallen for you like you had done. You wondered, given the chance you had let Fred get to know you better all those summers ago, if his heart would have belonged to you by now just like yours did to him.

Had you possibly missed your chance?

"Oh, I do," you sighed, the tension in your chest vanishing as warm nostalgia crept in like an old friend. "I also remember when I got this really bad nightmare that night. I was so terrified that you took me on a ride with your broom in the middle of the night to cheer me up."

"That's true! My parents don't know about it to this day," he replied smugly. "I can still hear you screaming like a lunatic."

You jokingly smacked his arm, "I was twelve!"

Fred's grin grew wider.

"Excuses…"

This only caused you to stare at him in disbelief and cross your arms, managing your most serious expression, but Fred was aware you were on the verge of failing to keep your stern facade. He squinted his eyes as a teasing attempt to provoke you, smile threatening to split his face in two.

"Alright then, that's enough about me," you announced, and Fred nodded in mock agreement as he studied your playful pretence. "If you're so much better than me, Mr Darcy, what else do you do aside from stealing ladies away?"

"Stealing their hearts," he said confidently, flashing you a seductive smirk, reserved only for special girls back in your Hogwarts days. You giggled, finding his antic utterly ridiculous, but you hated to admit that it still turned your blood into liquid fire. Fred apparently saw right through you, because when your eyes landed on his, they appeared completely dark once again, but, you suspected, for a reason other than the lack of light.

Your throat went dry, and you found it hard to swallow down the lump that cut your breath short.

He ran a hand through his ginger hair as he began to explain, "I'm kidding, you know. But to answer your question, George and I have been working on this potion that should be able to change the color of the eyes and hair. Fun for those who enjoy experimenting with their appearance, but it can also be useful to the Ministry. They're actually going to send a team of a couple of aurors to visit us next month so we can update them on our progress and negotiate the details."

"Wow! That's certainly exciting!"

"Is it? I mean, it probably is, but I've been having second thoughts lately if I'm being honest." He scratched the back of his neck, and you realised you had only witnessed him being anxious when it came to his greatest passion. "I'm afraid we might not be done on time, there's still plenty left to improve."

You put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, and said, "I'm sure you'll figure it all out eventually. Keep working as you normally do, try not to stress too much over the deadline, and even if things go wrong at some point, don't go too hard on yourself. It wouldn't take away any progress you've made so far."

Fred's body relaxed just a bit and he looked down at you. He couldn't deny the sense of serenity that he felt only when he was with you. Even as a careless young boy, he was able to pinpoint the way his midriff would clench every time you'd laugh at his jokes or ask him to play with you, without knowing what it all meant.

But now, as a grown man, he had a word to describe the bittersweet fire within.

"You know what?" He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "I could really benefit from having someone like you around to give me motivation."

"Motivation, huh?" you raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile. Fred sneaked a hand around your waist and pulled you closer.

"Yes, motivation."

"Motivation for what?"

"Marketing strategies, work projects…" he shrugged nonchalantly, "...among other things."

You quickly caught on, suddenly becoming way too self-aware of the way you were practically cuddled into Fred's side, hand resting on his shoulder while his were wrapped around your waist. But his shining confidence seemed to rub off on you, because you asked.

"What's with you offering me a job all of a sudden?"

His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth as he took his sweet time devouring you with his darkened gaze. You didn't know whether you wanted to hide from it, or expose yourself even further to the way it burned its way straight to your core.

"Well…" Fred dragged out in his low, hoarse voice, and caressed your cheek with his thumb before slipping it under your chin to guide it towards his face. You could nearly taste the remaining flavour of champagne on his lips. "I've certainly been feeling…"

Fred went quiet as he got lost in the way you fit so perfectly in his arms; you had always meant to be there, he realised. His mouth crashed into yours, hands tightly gripping your waist, and you let out a gasp. Fred's lips were soft, although slightly chapped, and they moved gently but firmly against yours, turning you into their slave. Your palms naturally slid up his chest and he closed any remaining distance between your bodies by placing you to straddle his lap. The kiss was a dance of pushing forward and pulling back, two lovers having finally found their rhythm after years of living in fearful desire. You were positively drunk on his taste, on him, and you wished to never become sober.

When your need for air overcame the one for physical contact, you pulled away. Your chests were heaving with rapid, shallow breaths, hearts beating in synch like they had always done. You let a finger tenderly trace his cheekbone down to his jawline, then it came back up to draw different affectionate patterns on his face.

"What were you saying?" you asked, clearly out of breath. "How were you feeling?"

He fondly took your hand that was caressing his skin, and lifted it up to press feather-light kisses on your knuckles. His lips retraced their path until they reached the tips of your fingers, and he kissed those with the gentlest of touch.

You heart ached pleasurably from the way he was handling you with such care, much more than you ever believed he was capable of.

After minutes of worshipping you by the moonlit lake, Fred looked back at you as though you were his entire world. And replied with a smile.

"Inspired."

Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Masterlist

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x reader fluff #fred weasley imagines #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley angst #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley oneshot #weasley twins x reader #weasley twins #fred and george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter imagines #james phelps #oliver phelps

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slashingdisneypasta · 3 years

Text

Human!Freddy Krueger x Fem!Reader || Oneshot

Title: What The Fuck Now, Freddy!?

Notes:

This is not inherently romantic, at all. Or sexual. Just... Freddy being a bastard, and you are caught in the crosshairs- and are forever linked with him because of it.

I've been listening to Lizzie, a lot lately- and this is inspired by 'What The Fuck Now, Lizzie!?'

Also- I'm thinking this will have a part 2. Due to the ending not being quite enough. Maybe a part for the court proceedings!

Plot: Many will know the story of that terrible day Krueger essentially snapped- killing his wife, Loretta Krueger. She saw the basement, they say, and he didn't like that. Their daughter saw the whole thing and suffered a traumatic response to seeing the sight of her mother, strangled to death, by her father- and forgot the whole thing.

But if she were to remember something, one day.

She may remember something no one knows about that day, aside from Freddy himself.

She may remember, that someone else was there.

She may remember you.

Alternatively- you're being blackmailed by Freddy who found out you, another supposedly Plain Jane in Loretta's 'mothers club', is cheating on your husband and calls you up to help deal with the mess he made. Because who else did he have?

Warnings: Okay lemme see, its basically a potluck of triggers. Hm. Murder, swearing, cheating (You, on your husband. Not with Freddy), getting rid of a body, a child gets traumatised (Obviously, Kathy/Maggie), Freddy himself, mention of the basement and all that entails, reader with a very questionable moral compass. Look, I think if you can watch Freddy's Dead, you're good here.

I'm just heading out the door, to go grocery shopping - or, at least, that's the story I tell my husband. When really I don't do the grocery shop until the day after tomorrow. He never notices... - when the phone rings. By very nearly tripping over my feet in my endeavour to catch it before the ringing stops, I manage pick up the phone with very little injury besides an achy, slightly twisted ankle. "Hi! Hi, sorry, I'm here. Hello?"

Pouting, I sit down at the kitchen table; Rubbing my poor ankle to sooth the pain, which would soon diminish anyway. Still- I'm sorry, ankle. I'll try to chill.

When the voice on the other end reveals who it is who's called the house, I lose all need to be pleasant. Damn. I really need to memorise this goddamn number... so I can not answer it. "Whatcha wearin'?"

"Thank god Harrison didn't answer this, you fuck." I deeply roll my eyes. Thank god Har's out. No, this is not my mister, not the man I was going to meet just now- but its bad, enough. In an entirely different way. Its stupid, blackmailing, son of a... hundred maniacs. "What do you want?"

"What a way to answer the phone, Y/N. Gee, seems like every time I we talk, I'm learning how you really aren't in the right place, are you? Cheating on your poor husband, swearing... These aren't really signs of the perfect suburban house wife, is it?" Gritting my teeth, I keep from lashing out. I've learned, if you stay real quiet, Freddy wont have anything to pull from and will get bored quick. "Why so silent, hm?"

"... " Oh, fuck me. I cant help it. "Wondering where you get off judging me on being 'suburban', actually."

"Anywhere I like, thanks."

Oh... oh. Gross?

He doesn't see the disgust tearing my face into two perfect halves right now, but my silence must be enough as he laughs. The sound is directly into the phone, and harsh on my poor eardrums. Ugh... "Oh for gods sake... What are we? Fourteen years old?? Come on- why'd you call?"

"Uhhhh... " Quickly, midway through that drawn out 'um' sound, Freddy's voice transitions, and gets a whole lot darker. Something deep in his chest dislodging, to make it so. Perhaps, his heart. "Well... you might wanna come and see for yourself."

"Uh, I don't think so. I have somewhere to be right now- "

"Oh well you don't, anymore." And its clear what he isn't saying- or else I'll tell Harrison about Carter and set your life on fire. "Tell your boy toy you're takin' a reign check for the day. I think you'll last. In fact... after you come over here, you might be out of the game for a couple a hours at least- maybe days."

Hold on, hold on Freddy what the fuck- "What!?"

"... Believe it or not, I didn't actually mean for that one."

Moron.

Nevertheless, no matter how just... off setting, Freddy is, I had to when he asked. I had to jump when he said so.

Because if not, then he would tear my life apart.

So here I am, about to knock on that big red door he lives behind, wondering what I'm walking into. Where's Loretta? Where's Kathy? How long will the visit be? I told Carter I'd be an hour or two late- any longer and I wont see him at all today. Which would absolutely suck.

Just after my knuckles come down on the wood the first time, a hand comes down on my shoulder and I immediately jump out of my skin... then slowly look around.

There's Freddy, a cheeky grin on his face. It does nothing to set my nerves at ease. "Ugh... Why are you out here?"

"We're going to the backyard. Lets go." Taking me by the shoulders, he marches me around the side of the house, instead of through it for some reason, and into the familiar backyard. I've been here numerous times, as Loretta likes to hold our club meetings here - Barbecue's, tea's... that sort of thing. Just to let the kids play together and so the adults can enjoy some adult conversation. Its a nice yard... but depending on what her horrid husband is about to show me, it may not be considered as such anymore... - , but I'm now starting to develop a sick feeling in my stomach.

Honestly- I don't know much about Freddy at all. Yes, I went to school with him, but that doesn't mean much when he was a freaky loner kid the whole time. I remember he killed the class hamster once- that's about the only splash he ever made in the news pool; But it definitely stuck.

Yes, Loretta cleaned up his image a fair bit since getting married, but now he's blackmailing me, and as far as I know I'm now alone with him.

Suspicious of him suddenly, I slip out of his grip with a dirty look flashed his way. Don't touch me.

He just rolls his eyes, leading me around some hedges.

And then everything stops.

Him, me, the air; The air around me, the breeze, the breath in my throat.

There lays Loretta, on the ground. If I was really really naïve, I could imagine she were sleeping... or passed out, at least, due to the way she's sprawled out. No one would lay down like that willingly.

But... her eyes are open.

For a moment I'm tempted to kneel down; Take a closer look. Find out how, myself. Is she bleeding anywhere that I cant see now? Are her lips turning blue? If I moved some short red hair out of the way- would their be marks on her neck yet?

But then I come to my senses...

And freak. The fuck. O u t.

"What, the fuck, did you do!?" I whip around, looking at Freddy now which entirely new eyes. I mean, before I sure wasn't fond- but now I'm filled with something new, looking at him. Something a lot worse, something that makes me want to run. Run, and hide, and stay there.

And all these, even though he hasn't really changed. He still wears a mischievous smirk, stony blue eyes eating up my reactions... like always. But this time its just so so much worse. "Made some dead weight- now you're gonna help me get rid of it. So!" Finally, though its been only a matter of seconds, he turns his gaze off of me and I'm glad. That gaze is far too heavy. "Ideas?"

Only for a moment am I lost for words, struggling to push anything out. "I... I'm sorry??"

His gaze returns to mine, but this time my eyes are hard as his are dark. "Help. Me. Get rid of her. Fucking. Body. Or do you want your dirty laundry aired for the whole community to hear?"

Before I can help myself, I let out a sharp laugh, only succeeding in making Freddy's scowl deeper. "Freddy- this secret's a lot bigger, then mine. Sure, I might get divorced- but you're going to prison!" Does he get that? He's g o i n g to j a i l. Crossing my arms, I try to avoid looking at my ex-friend's body. I cant. "I'm sure as hell not gonna be in there with you, for being an accomplice."

I really cant look at her... I can only focus on Freddy. And that takes a lot of energy- its taking everything in me, in fact. Everything I have. But I have to. If its him or her, there's no choice.

But... then a creepy smile spreads across his face- a vast polarity to the frustrated glower of before. It makes my blood run cold.

"Ohhhh..." He looks almost ferocious, even in his composed state. Like a monster. Like any moment a fanged, inhuman creature is going to burst out of him and I'm going to wake up, and this will have been a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. The kind where that creature haunts me for a long time, after its over. After this over.

He's going to haunt me.

"You must think this is my first time... " My heart turns to ice, mouth hanging a little open... what the fuck have I found myself a part of!? Suddenly all the children's disappearances on the news lately come to the forefront of my brain... "Sweetheart, give a man his dues. I'm a hard working kinda guy... " I watch his gaze flicker to a door - the back door? No... The basement door, - and when a filthy smirk pulls at his mouth, my heart flies up into my throat. God, it makes me feel sick. I want to be violently ill. "My first was my adoptive Dad... pretty sick, huh?"

The fact that he didn't say anything about the basement, makes my imagination go wild. I swallow it down, though.

I just need to get out of here, and never think about this again.

And to do that I need to help Freddy get rid of this goddamn body- and... probably... testify at court... As the panic starts to finally rise up in my, right up to fill my throat, I immediately take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Okay... " No time to freak out. Now's the time for action.

Gaze flickering to Loretta again, I try to acclimatise to the sight. I think its a lost cause, though. "How did you get rid of him? Your Dad?"

"No, that's not gonna work. He was a drunk dead beat, and I just had to tell the police some guy's he owed money to came over to the house." Freddy grins happily at the memory, but then just as quickly, scowls at his poor deceased wife's body- that certainly cant fight back. I just tack this onto the long list of reasons I hate him. "Lore's such a goddamn goody goody- we cant do the same thing. You don't think I woulda thought of that??"

"Hey." I snap, hands braced on my hips as I flash a glare his way. "This is not the time to get defensive!"

"Whatever... "

Then- suddenly, something occurs to me. Confused, I look around; A deeply horrified feeling disturbing my stomach. "Hold on... Where's your daughter?" Seeing no sign of her anywhere, I definitely start to panic again- especially when I look to Freddy and just see a pert look in his eyes as he looks back at me, a smile that strikes something horrid inside me. My eyes narrow. "You sick fuck- where the fuck is she!??"

"Under the bed."

"What the fuck does that mean!?" I exclaim, frustrated and freaking out. He did not- he did not! Killing your spouse is one thing, but the kid?? Your own kid??

I don't wait around for him to be cryptic some more, and rush right into the house to look for her. Under the bed, under the bed, under the fucking bed...? Which fucking bed!? Forcing ferocity out of my voice, I carefully call out to Kathy. Hoping to god she answers. I try to sound normal. Maybe a little bit cheerful; Excited.

But my voice wobbles.

"Kathy?? Sweetheart, its Y/N! Are you hiding? I have something for you... " ?? You have something for her, Y/N?? God... now you have to figure out some kind of treat.

You know what? Whatever. We'll figure that out later.

Lets just hope we aren't searching for a corpse. I'd definitely be sick, seeing a child... the way Loretta is...

Shaking my head and clenching my fists, I try to focus on Kathy.

I check under the bed in the guest room because it comes into view first and she isn't there, then her bedroom and she isn't there either... and get a sick feeling as soon as I enter the last bedroom. Freddy's and Loretta's.

God, I've never been in here before but its like a museum peace now. A horrible one. Like if you would walk into the Titanic... or the Borden house.

"Kathy? You in here?" Flicking on the light I kneel down on the ground, and check under the bed.

And something immediately crashes over me, as the sight of her covering her eyes down there. It isn't exactly relief, because this whole situation is still phenomenally fucked up for her, but I am selfishly glad to not have to see her body... crumpled, just like her mother.

"Hey sweetheart," My voice quivers slightly now, but I quickly swallow. No. No. Now, you must be strong Y/N. "Its just me. Your Daddy was looking for you, and couldn't find you! It got him worried!"

"I... I don't wanna see Daddy. He hurt Mommy." Kathy doesn't remove her hands from her face, and stays firmly by the wall- too far away for anyone to grab. My heart sinks.

Slowly straightening up again, I try to take that piece of information in. Turning to the doorway, I see Freddy there. he must have followed me. I didn't even notice. Slowly, and quietly ferociously, I say; "She saw?!"

He has the good sense to look embarrassed, even if it is just to make fun of me. "It was spur of the moment... " He shrugs. "I didn't have time to get a babysitter!"

What a fucking excuse. For gods sake.

I'm definitely dealing with a psycho- if that was even a question before now.

Swiftly, I look down under the bed again, because I'm afraid that if I continue to engage with him- I'll scream, and I'll lose my breath, and I'll scare Kathy even more. She's at the forefront of my mind; That's all I can think about.

But what to do with her after I get her out from under this bed, I don't know. I cant give her back to her father... but I cant hand her over to the police either because that would involve telling them about Loretta, and... Freddy will definitely kill me, for that.

This is a nightmare of a situation.

I'm just opening my mouth to say something - what, I don't know yet, - when she speaks, instead. "Is he there?"

"... Yes." I wont lie to her; That would be treating her with not nearly as much respect as she deserves.

When she takes a deep breath and rubs her eyes, as if just trying to keep herself together, my heart clenches. God... and to think I might not have picks up Freddy's call today. I would have been leaving her with this. For the first time today, I'm morbidly glad I came.

She speaks in that loud, hissy way that kids think is a whisper. "Can he... can you please make him go away?"

Immediately I straighten back up and look to Freddy again, my eyebrows raised halfway up my forehead. Like well? "Get out."

"I don't think you're in a position to make demands here, bi- "

"Do you want Kathy to live down there now!??" I snap, trying not to be scared. Not really feeling scared, actually. Just happy to have a reason to tell him to get the hell away from me.

A deep frown creases his mouth, deeply unhappy about the situation, but steps back. I only hear him step out of the way of the door, but its good enough. Quickly, I get up and close the door - fighting with myself not to slam it, - and lock it.

Then I return to the floor, and see this time Kathy has uncovered her eyes. She looks so small, smaller then she actually is, and she looks like she's shaking. Little red bows and piggy tails in her hair are messy from crawling under the bed. "He's gone, sweetheart. And I locked the door."

She just nods, so I take the silence as a chance to offer my hand to her. "Take my hand, sweetie? Come on out from under the bed. Its cold down there, and no one wants you getting sick." I need to upkeep the family friend bit, I need to sound caring and collected. I need her to trust me.

Her big eyes, not Loretta's colour or Freddy's, look nervous as hell. And she shakes her head.

Taking a deep breath, and I conjure all the sincerity as I can. And mean it. My eyes soften and I try really hard, to resent myself as someone trustworthy- which is hard, seeing as I've never really been that. I mean, I'm cheating on my husband. I told Carter today the same lie I told Harrison when i knew I was going to be late. The only person I think who knows the truth behind all my lies is Freddy. That says something about a person, that the only person who knows them is a psychopath.

But I want to, I need to, be good for this little girl. And there's no time for me turn my life around so it has to start with this. How fucked is that?

"... I promise, I'll take care of you. He wont hurt you."

After a few whole minutes, in which I stay silent because yes she's a child, but she's still thinking, she crawls over and takes my hand, letting me lead her out. Crawling into my lap as I cross my legs under her, she buries her face in my shirt- hiding. "You promise?"

Taking a deep breath, because I've really done it now, I offer my pinky for her to see if she turned her head. I know Freddy's listening to all of this through the wall, but I try not to freak out. "Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear." She peaks out from my shirt, and curls her little finger around mine. Okay... "Y/N... I'm scared."

"Yeah... Me too, sweetie."

What am I going to do?

#Freddy Krueger x Fem!Reader #Freddy Krueger x Reader #Slashers #Slashers x Reader #Fem Reader #Freddy Krueger #Loretta Krueger #Katherine Krueger #Kathrine Krueger #Maggie Burroughs #Oneshot #Freddy Krueger x Reader Oneshot

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cinnabun-faerie · 2 years

Text

Things I hope I end up writing/want to write at some point (This may be a wishlist to myself since I haven't been feeling 100% in the writing mood):

{hello btw! It's 5am. holy chicken nuggets. Anyways, yeah I'm very sleep deprived. Whoever is reading, I think you're awesome and I hope you have a great day/night. I'm sorry if this post is annoying}

General Stuff

Character birthdays by zodiac signs 🥰

does anyone else like celebrating fictional characters' birthdays?

Fun fact two of my favorite characters are also Libras like me! (Kirishima & Satan). Tannie's birthday is only a day after mine too

anyways

top 10s ! I like seeing how things evolve over time

Hot takes/People sending in asks about what I think about a particular character or game

like idk "Why do you friendzone Thancred, Grey?" Because my friend is in love with him and I will never take her man. But Estinien we have agreed to share.

or similar, "What characters do I feel is off limits cause my friends like them?" I have a list.

Or "Would you trade your best friend(s) for a fictional character? If so, which character(s)?"

go ahead, someone please ask me this.

I feel like I would be curious of what people would ask me 🤔 I'd be down to answer what I can

like it could even be about characters. Like who I think would friends in crossover situations. There's one that is my absolute headcanon between ffxiv x obey me

please chat with me sometimes, i get lonely and its nice to interact with you

i'd love to talk about my d&d game that is MHA themed!

I'm tempted to make content for Blush Blush 😭 but I've already too many characters to write

There's not a lot of content for it on here

30 Day writing challenge for certain holidays. Like last year I did one for BTS/ViXX on Halloween

This year maybe I can do like a romantic month with a mix of ffxiv, obey me, mha and danganronpa

or OR 🥰 a Hogwarts themed challenge that include the series' I write for

that way I'd have a reason to write it

I'm open to ideas

I'm going to do Halloween again this time (but with the current series') so that will be fun

🤔 there was something else that I wanted to say but I can't remember is

FFXIV

More Fandaniel x reader stuff

why do i love him

he's so attractive and for what 😩

honestly idk I've wrote so much

💕 Haurchefant 💕

writing more about my ocs

they make me really happy

Obey Me!

Lucifer x Reader Arcade Date HCs (i got the idea playing Levi's birthday event. The crane game moment 🥰)

short reader x all of the boys

mostly cause i wanna use the "short people are closer to hell" phrase cause I say it all the time

but honestly why do characters gotta be so tall 😭 I'm 5 foot and y'all gonna run me over

MORE BARBATOS PLEASE 🥺💕

honestly anything chaotic as this point, I will live for it

Danganronpa

Literally anything at this point

Stop being afraid to write anything, Grey

My Hero Academia

💕 Kirishima 💕

okay but faerie Kiri

i want to do mha characters as myth stuff

like Demon Bakugou or Vampire Deku

for some reason I really like the idea of villain deku

idk I'm open to mostly anything

Crossover Stuff

i really really wanna sort characters into their hogwarts houses

just Hogwarts being my fictional comfort place is why I'd wanna see all these characters there

im cool with doing crossovers with anything as long as I know it

#just chatting #i need sleep #ffxiv #obey me otome #danganronpa #my hero academia #is this a rant?#wishlist #to do list

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ms-indifferwnt · 3 years

Text

I'm Cold

"I'm cold"

"And?"

"Can't you give me your jacket or something?"

"Can't you accept my proposal and marry me already?"

In which Prince Donghyuck's parents are forcing him to get married and he decided to propose to the first girl he sees to shut his parents up

Genre: Prince!Lee Donghyuck x Maid!Reader, Angst, Fluff, Arranged Marriage (kinda), Slowburn

Warnings: Curse words, Suggestive (I'll add more if there are)

Word count: 1.9k

Notes: Chapter 1 of I'm cold

Prev / Chapter 1 / Next

The whole room went quiet at Prince Donghyuck's words, even his parents stood agape, Y/n herself was starting in disbelief mouth slightly open "Y-You're highness?" She asks "you've mistaken"

Donghyuck laughs and stands up, reaching to hold her hand "Really my love? Are you that mad?" He lifts her hand and kisses her knuckles softly, smiling softly and lovingly but Y/n knows that there was something underneath that charming smile "I know that you don't want the secret out yet but I can't just stand back as my parents force me to live someone else when the love of my life is right behind me"

Y/n still couldn't get over how Prince Donghyuck was acting and why was it directed at her "but My Lord-" she was cut off by a smiling Prince squeezing her hand a little too hard

"It's Donghyuck, my love." He says as a matter of fact "we've had this conversation before, remember"

She was still shock and Prince Donghyuck held her hand tighter, "play along" he whispered that even she has thought it was her imagination, in all honesty, she should've denied it, she should've said no but if she does the prince will be denoted as a liar so instead she nodded slowly and through clenched teeth "Donghyuck" and just like that a big smile graced the princes' nature "are you still mad at me my love?"

She was sure, she hated the prince, pf all the maids of all the people why her? She shakes her head, still staring at the prince

Prince Lee Donghyuck's parents stared in disbelief at the scene "For how long?" The queen spoke, looking at their intertwined hands "why didn't you say anything Hyuck?"

Prince Donghyuck's acting was on point, he made an effort to make it look like he didn't want to look away from Y/n and smiled sheepishly to his parents "turning two years on my birthday" He confessed, and looked back at her. She tried her best to not roll her eyes at the Prince's words "She was the one who told me to keep it a secret"

She glared at the Prince, Oh fuck you, she couldn't help but think, Prince Donghyuck smiled sweetly at her "Excuse me mother, your highness" he says and bows to Prince Jeno's parents "I would like to speak to Y/n privately" he motions and she bows to the King and Queen only to be dragged out by Prince Donghyuck

"Oh thank you" Prince Donghyuck spoke after they were out of earshot, readjusting his suit as he spoke "it was getting annoying on how they keep forcing me to marry" she still hasn't spoken, one cause she was speechless and two cause he still hasn't allowed her to. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow "speak, you're allowed to, you're my fiancé now"

"Fiancé but my Lord-" she spoke and he cuts her off with a "Donghyuck" and she shook her head "You're the prince, Your Highness." she points out and looks at the prince "I can't-You can't"

"And why not?" he asked looking at her, you do know there are hundreds of ladies who would do anything to be my bride"

She sighs and looks up at him "Than ask them, not a maid like me" he smiles amused "is that what you were worried about?"

"My Lord-"

"Donghyuck"

"My Lord, you are a prince, and your bride should be someone who knows how to be a queen someday"

"Tempting, but honestly I'd rather just marry you, I already made an announcement and you agreed, you could've denied"

"Then you would've been a liar!" she yelled and covered her mouth, bowing a full ninety degrees as an apology "forgive me, but I only thought of the royal families well being if you have been exposed, you're whole family would be in trouble"

He wrapped his finger under her chin so she'll look at him "Oh my love, You do know a little something when it comes to royalty"

She pulled away readjusting her dress and looked at the prince as he sighs and nods "Please, Its the modern age and my father is still worried he won't have any heirs, marry me and I'll make sure you, you're family is safe and will get whatever it is you all want"

Anger bubbled up on Y/n's chest at his words, does he actually think that she will agree by that promise? that she could be easily persuaded by money? Yes, it's tempting, she won't lie but not like this, she won't, She absolutely refused. "Do you actually think I can be easily persuaded by that?" her voice was quiet and The Prince looked at her in shock, in all twenty years of his life he has never encountered anyone, much less a peasant to tell him off, it was always Yes Prince Donghyuck, Whatever you say, My Prince "I'm sorry, My Prince but when we return to the kingdom, I will tell the King and Queen the truth" she replies and storms off and out of the room, taking long and careful steps to back to the dining hall, with the Prince at her heals trying to reason with her

"Y/n can't I attempt to make to change your mind?" He asked and grabbed her wrist pulling her so that she'll face him or even better fall into his arms

"My Prince-" she gasped in surprise at the tug spinning around only to collide face-first to The Prince's chest

"Oh my" Prince Chenle's voice was heard and he smiled at the sight "You and Hyuck Hyung are so cute" he gives a comment which made Y/n blush and shakes her head, pulling away from Donghyuck "No wait, Prince Chenle-"

And he just smiles approaching the couple and bowed politely at her "Please It's Chenle when there are no cameras," he jokes and takes her hand in his, pressing a polite kiss on her knuckles "Noona"

A blush covers Y/n's cheeks at the young prince's words "Your Highness-"

"Chenle" He corrects and grins, pulling away from her "Hyuck Hyung, I can't believe you're engaged, you should've seen the look on You're parents face" he slaps his hand in delight "And Lucas Hyung literally started choking when you left"

Prince Donghyuck was quiet as the younger spoke still holding on to Y/n's hand "You found it amusing?"

"No not really," He confessed "I wish the two of you have announced your relationship early, I would've loved to meet the new member of our family," he hums "what were you afraid of Noona? did we scare you?"

Y/n bows her head but didn't reply and Prince Chenle smiled softly "Don't be shy, we're family now" he says and walks back towards the dining hall, leaving Y/n alone with Prince Donghyuck

She looks down at where the prince has her wrist, pulling it away and taking a step back, bowing and following after Prince Chenle

Upon entering the dining hall with Prince Donghyuck behind her, looking at her from the corner of his eye

"Did you guys fight?" Prince Mark asked and stood up greeting Y/n with a kiss on the knuckles "Hyuck here looks like a kicked puppy" He leads you through the ball with Hyuck sitting on his chair

"Prince Mark" she murmured cautiously as he laughs and shakes his head

"Mark Oppa" he pats his chest and motions to every prince in the room "Lucas Oppa, Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung"

She shakes her head, not wanting to call them by their first name when all of a sudden Prince Donghyuck's Parents stood up and bowed. She yelped "No please your highness, don't bow," she says and shakes her head

"We're sorry, My Child" She spoke "It must be been uncomfortable when we spoke about Hyuck to get a girlfriend when you're here," she reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her head "Forgive us for being selfish, and causing the fight between you and Hyuck"

She didn't reply in shock and bowed to the King and Queen just as Hyuck goes behind her, holding her shoulders to lead her to the seat "sit down and eat with us"

"Have you eaten, Noona?" Jisung asks as he takes a bite of his meal, he runs his fingers through his hair as he looked at the girl, cheeks stuffed with food

She shakes her head and everyone started ushering her to eat while she sat down on a chair beside Prince Donghyuck "no please eat, I'm not hungry" She looks around but there was no maid or butler around, this won't be an easy conversation later, and a sigh left her lips, playing with the steak In her plate

There was a chorus of whines and groans, ushering her to eat and that she shouldn't be so polite, Donghyuck on the other hand watched her play with her food. He started cutting his steak into small bite-size pieces, grabbing his plate and looking at her "let's exchange plates"

Y/n looked at him, "what?" She asked but it was too late, Prince Donghyuck has already exchanged their plates, the cut-up, bite-sized pieces for her and an untouched steak for him

"I already cut it up," he shrugged and smiled "it's yours"

As the room started to giggle and whisper with the conversation, Y/n took a bite

The room was quiet other than the pleasant atmosphere of conversation when Renjun spoke "Y/n" he calls making the female stand up on impulse, her head bowed and hands on her lap held politely, ready to answer to what the Prince might ask of her.

Her suddenness made the Prince Renjun stand up as well, thinking he may have offended her only to see her stance and smile "No, No" he says shaking his head and his hands "please" he motions for her to sit "I would just like to ask for a question"

She sits down and nodded "yes of course, how can I help?"

He smiles "How did you and Hyuck meet?" He asks with a slight tilt of his head

Y/n looks at Prince Hyuck and he looks back "at the palace" she answered factfully

"Aww really?" Chenle pouts "boring"

"How else would we meet? She is a maid of our kingdom" Hyuck replied and laughed moving to place half of his baked salmon on to her plate, in an outsiders point of view it looks like Prince Donghyuck affectionately giving half of his meal to his fiance, but in reality, Y/n knows that the prince doesn't eat salmon, being a maid into the family for years she isn't surprised anymore, she nods and takes a bite of the fish

Finally giving up, he returned to eating his meal while Jaemin pretended to be disgusted by the sight of affection in front of him

Prince Donghyuck and Y/n were walking in Prince Jeno's Family Garden, her hand out touch the petals of the flowers. The royals will be staying the night, Prince Donghyuck's parents have issued for their son and his fiance to stay in one room

"Is that how your future bride will be treated, My Prince?" She started and stopped to bend over and sniff on the Pink Camellias

"Yes, if you become my bride, my parents, my friends, will treat you like this, you your family will never worry when it comes to financial ever again"

"I'm sorry, your highness. But the world, or at least mine, doesn't revolve around that"

"Be my bride Y/n," He says getting annoyed at the lack of cooperation "I promise you, you won't ever regret it"

"No"

#haechan smut #nct donghyuck #donghyuck imagines #nct x reader #donghyuck x reader #7dream #nct dream #lucas #mark #renjun #jeno #jaemin #chenle #sungchan

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downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles · 3 years

Text

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 4)

[Donnie x fem reader]

sfw, chapt. 3, pt. 4 here

Sighing, you set your phone face-down after sending your last text to Bo. What an abrupt end to something that had been so good. You were confused, a little taken aback and honestly sad. You'd thought the two of you were getting along well. Bo was smart, well-spoken, funny, and all around, a really nice person. He listened to your venting and seemed like he had a response to everything. Always, he had some random fact to hit you with whether it was about biology, chemistry, astronomy, language—you weren't sure where he got all his knowledge from. He'd never mentioned school, if he went. He didn't mention a lot about himself, actually.

People come and go, someone had once told you. You guessed that he was one of those passersby, as much as you wanted it to be more.

More?

When had you started thinking that? More what?

You were tempted to pick your phone back up, to check and see if there were any new messages. Not that you could expect much; Bo had been so curt about his exit from your friendship that it was left at his last text, "Again, I'm sorry." You wanted to say something, but what was there to say? It was his decision. A sudden, uncharacteristic, and frankly odd decision, but still, his. Thinking back on it, you tried to remember any instance you might have crossed a line, or maybe said something you shouldn't have. That's what made you open up the messages again, scrolling up and up and looking for anything weird, but finding nothing of the sort. It had all been normal up until when you texted him about the clamor you'd heard outside your apartment building. And then it went flat—he didn't even respond to it, just said his apology and his goodbye before going offline.

You wanted to take your mind off it with a game, but as you looked through your list and saw the one you and him had played together, you knew it was near ruined for you. It just wasn't the same to play alone or with your acquaintances. An otherwise boring game made fun by one particular person, but now it was barely what it used to be.

Unfortunate.

The next morning might have felt more normal if it weren't for the fact that everyone was pretending like it was. For the sake of secrecy from their father. As far as Donnie knew, Splinter still didn't know anything was or had been going on, and he intended to keep it that way, too. He wanted to tell his father, he did, but all he saw coming of that was reprimanding, or at the very least an awkward discussion, and possibly, time in the Hashi. He was already feeling the aftermath of his actions; he didn't need any more. Especially as he checked the messaging app one last time, only to find it empty, aside from her goodbye.

Donnie stood at the kitchen counter, mask off and groggy as usual, scrounging for something to eat. Maybe a cup of coffee (if they had any), which he was looking for when Mikey bounced in. Normally, his brothers would avoid him when he was in one of his "moods". He hadn't a passionate temper like Raph but a slow-brewing one, the kind that festers until it's alleviated or boils over. Cold quiet was his thing.

But Donnie knew why he was here. So did Mikey. He had that familiar glint of mischief in his eye.

There was no coffee, so he settled for some kind of pastry they'd found while looking through the dumpsters. Really, the item was fine—only the packaging and appearance was defective. It was a wonder just how much food grocers wasted over arbitrary reasons, but regardless, he was happy to oblige his secret sweet tooth.

From the corner of his eye he could see Mikey waiting eagerly for him to turn around and regard him. To listen to whatever he was about to talk his ear off with. Their youngest brother was more often than not bright-eyed in the morning, something Donnie's morning fog could not always entertain. He picked at his food at the counter for a moment, mind wandering back to his night and subsequently, the unresolved feelings. Dreadfully unresolved, he groaned inside. And they probably would continue to be, as after sleeping on what had happened the previous night, thinking about her, he realized something that made his face flush. Oh, no.

He froze in his place, suddenly very awake. He looked over his shoulder and found Mikey was distracted rummaging through the food for his own breakfast, and with a faint cringe, tried to sneak out of the kitchen undetected. No way would he admit to Mikey's words on the rooftop that night, the ones that made him flinch with embarrassment. The same ones that bounced around his head despite all attempts to stuff it down. "You like her, bro."

Things involving him could never be simple, could they?

Abandoning his plate, Donnie began tip-toeing out of the room right behind Mikey. His foot hit the leg of a chair and caused a creak—he winced. As he thought, Mikey looked back, "Why are you sneaking around? You didn't finish your breakfast. Can't go on patrol on an empty stomach, dude."

Before Donnie could even answer, he continued in a whisper, "Plus—"

"Whatever it is, Mikey, not now," he cut his brother off, "last night was the end of it, alright? You need to let it go." It sounded harsher than he would have preferred, but he felt the need to drill it into Mikey's skull that it was over, that it was just something he'd have to deal with. There were a lot of things they dealt with despite not liking it. With time, he'd forget—more accurately, be able to ignore— and maybe he could find the same enjoyment in his brothers once again. That sort of friendship. But at the moment, it was ruined for him—he got a taste of something more and it was taken away what felt like second later.

Mikey's face fell. Donnie couldn't stand that, seeing him upset over something he'd said. He had a bit of a soft spot for their youngest, no doubt. Just wasn't always obvious.

"Aren't you afraid you'll regret it?" he asked, voice soft.

Fear was a strong word, but of course Donnie was anxious. It was the thing holding him back from being able to simply compartmentalize everything, to put it in a box and on the metaphorical "deal with this later because it's uncomfortable right now" shelf. Or to deal with it at all, as ignoring his problems with studying and unrelated research and experimentation wasn't exactly prime management. He knew that.

After a while of thought, Donnie was able to give him an answer. "Well…I mean, how could I not be?" he inquired in return before leaning out of the doorway to scan the lair. Everyone was either in their room, the dojo, or there, in the kitchen. Mikey has always made him feel most comfortable, and he was sure that was the case for the other three, just that they had other ways of showing it. He was certainly easy to talk to; if Donnie weren't so careful of his mouth and what came out of it, he could probably spew way more to him than he liked. Mikey could come through sometimes, though, which prompted him to keep going, "It was a big thing for me. We've been disconnected from everything else for so long that it was just...exciting, to get a look into what it's like. Being 'regular', you know?"

Mikey sat down on one of the bar stools, feet idly shuffling against the floor as he folded his arms and rested on them. "You didn't hear it from me, but I'm a little jealous," he said playfully, but Donnie was aware that it was the case. "Maybe I'm pushing you to go after her because I'm trying to live vic–vicrous–v–…"

Donnie smiled, he couldn't help it. "'Vicariously'?" he suggested.

"Yeah! That," Mikey beamed, nodding. "You get what I mean."

"I understand."

The conversation died off soon after as Donnie decided to get breakfast over with and do whatever needed to be done before they left for patrol that night, darkness falling earlier due to the upcoming winter. It wasn't too cold for them to be out yet, though, so that still meant a chilly patrol in the Autumn breeze. He hated the cold.

As Donnie was making himself busy at a circuit board in his lab, he heard the beads in the doorway shift, and to his surprise, Splinter came shuffling in.

"Sensei?"

He put down his soldering iron, spinning around in his chair. "Something the matter?"

Splinter ran his fingers along a shelf on the wall as he wandered by, careful to not disturb any of the items lining it. Beakers, recently-repaired electronic parts, projects put on pause, things that would loathe to be broken.

"There is always something," Splinter replied enigmatically, "I would not be here if that weren't true. Would you agree?"

I'm compromised!

Donnie had a strong but hidden dislike for vague speaking, even if he did it himself sometimes. When spoken to you it's much more bothersome.

Splinter waited for his answer, looking at him expectantly. "Donatello?"

"Yeah, um…yes, I would—I would agree. I suppose. So...what is it again?" Damn his stutter, he couldn't get away with anything, hardly. He was only able to stifle it just enough.

Picking a random pipette on the desk next to Donnie, Splinter studied the green liquid close for a second before his nose twitched, and he put it back down. "You have been very busy lately, it seems. What is it that you work on all day in here? Or are you playing games?"

Donnie's heart thumped. His hand found that particular spot on his neck and began to scratch, and Splinter looked at him dead in the eye. He should have known; there was no hiding anything from their father, he was too good. Stupidly, infuriatingly perceptive. Donnie caught himself scratching that spot and slid his hand away, he hadn't even noticed he was picking at it again. He knows, Mikey told him, I probably look like a guilty idiot right now, I'm—

"I haven't been playing games," Donnie blurted out.

Quizzically, Splinter gestured at the computer screen on the other wall, which had the menu of the game he'd opened up just earlier. Reminiscing over it even though it had been only a couple of days since he and his friend had last played together, but he stared at the screen as if it had been years. It made him realize how easily he'd gotten attached to that. Well, to her. He was on the fence about whether he wanted to try playing again or not and left it on.

Oh, you have to be kidding. I'm a fool in a man's shoes.

Donnie laughed uncomfortably, "You caught me, Sensei," he said, "I guess I have been playing games more often lately."

It was honest enough, right?

Splinter hummed and cupped his hands behind his back. "I see."

Straightening out, Donnie dipped his head a little. "I'll...lay off on them. Sorry for lying. I've just been really distracted recently."

"Liars never prosper, my son. Take care of yourself."

He then left.

So he didn't know. Donnie still couldn't say it with any degree of confidence, because Splinter would trip them up here and there, but it was assurance enough to know that if Splinter was aware of what had gone on between the four brothers and his new—rather, former—human friend, he would have confronted Donnie about it. Or all of them, considering it was now a secret they were all in on actively hiding. And on top of that, Raph and Leo didn't know Mikey was conspiring. Layers and layers, he sighed.

With Splinter gone, he let out a breath of relief. Too close. Much. But, swiftly evaded. A chuckle left him, not of humor, but more because he was actually feeling a little confident. Just a little. They were really hiding something from Splinter; it was reason enough to pat himself on the back, nothing got past Splinter. Except for him.

Briefly, he thought of Mikey's outlandish idea as he spun back around in his chair. "Mikey, you are crazy," he mumbled to himself as he took his soldering iron, resuming his work from before. "But..."

Chapter 5

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douxie-casperan · 4 years

Note

I'm very tempted to see what you'd make of Trolls, fried chicken and walnuts.

"You're adapting to this whole... trolls were under Arcadia thing rather well."

Douxie has honestly lost count how many people have asked that very question, give or take a few words, ever since the Eternal Night mess happened. His boss at Benoit's had asked, co-workers too, heck even random people on the street whispered and made gossip between them and were left to simply put it down to his general laid back nature. Truthfully this all managed to work out spectacularly for him in having genuine plausible deniability and the ability to enjoy the fact there was at least one small thing out there he didn't have to pretend didn't exist anymore. Been a long few centuries since that last happened, fae were still around if he remembers correctly.

It likely helped too that there were just two changelings, of which one was frequently seen with a human Doctor, and an old General who couldn't look more harmless if he tried didn't exactly inspire any ongoing fears. Them plus the blind one who very rarely ventured this far into town unless on the arm of one of the seniors he sometimes spotted playing chess. Their very existence became old news before reconstruction was even completed and the news cycle moved back onto the more mundane happenings of the human world bar a few persistent conspiracy theories still desperately wanting to eye them with suspicion.

Of course the change in the status quo did bring along some rather odd instances too, such as having to make space for an unusually large Krubera wanting to join a couple for dinner for reasons he could not possibly fathom. He was swiftly nudged into being their waiter and escort through the kitchens with everyone else seeming to find an excuse not to which, okay? Thus here we are trying not to send an incredibly amused smile at the changeling who had done a horrified double take the moment he realised whose face it was and had to desperately hide it before any company present notices by taking a quick sip of wine.

Heh

"I hope he's not causing you guys too many problems, I know it's a little awkward but he was... insistent?" She looks a little embarrassed, looking between himself and AARRRGGHH who has seated himself in the open space they'd by the table looking round curiously while sniffing the air intrigued by all the different scents wafting from the doors he'd just passed through.

"Oh no! You're absolutely fine if anything it's an honour having Arcadia's resident troll in our establishment, and thanks for the heads up by the way it's taken a bit of doing making a good pathway through."

"Quite, it seemed only fair," Stricklander slips another sly glance his way before back to the menu.

"Though it seems you expanded your selection since certainly I was last here. I do however have to question why on earth somebody thought frying chicken with a garnish of walnuts and a side of chips or salad was considered the "fine dining" experience."

Dr. Lake frowns peering at the menu herself for the culprit while the troll takes a sneaky bite out of one of the plastic plants before sitting up again a picture of innocence. Douxie caught it but he won't rat him out as it'd be rude to do so to a guest after all so instead he lets out a chuckle to help mask the blatant crunching noises whilst tapping the notepad with his pen.

"Ah that one's easy to explain, sometimes it's fun to let the culinary arts students go nuts with the menus and the brave can try it out. Personally? Call it fancier KFC."

#Anonymous #No facts truer than a good meme #Stricklake #Welcome to the modern world

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onewaigu · 4 years

Text

Soulmates

Genre : soulmate!au

Theme : fluff

Pairing : Harin(Onewe) X Reader

Description : people your age were thinking about who their soulmates were. you were more interested in a certain boy who already knew who his soulmate was.

The concept of soulmates having their fates intertwined together by a common connection seemed like something out of a fairytale. Since your whole life, you had become accustomed to seeing people find their soulmates. Which always left you wondering, when were you going to stumble upon yours?

As if someone was listening in on your thoughts, your foot got caught in a pavement hole which sent you stumbling. You closed your eyes to brace the impact but it never came. Instead, an arm firmly curled itself around your waist and pulled you back to your feet. There was no need to turn around to know who this person was because as soon as you heard a strangely familiar laugh, you instantly knew it was your bestfriend, Ju Harin.

He slung an arm around your shoulders and slowed down his pace to match yours. He was towering over you so you had to look up to meet his face which annoyed you sometimes.

“Clumsy as usual”, he humoured while showing off his pearl white teeth.

You punched his arm lightly and shook your head at the insult.

You loved having Harin as your bestfriend because not only was he kind but he was also easygoing. Always managed to make any day better just by his witty and funny jokes.

Sometimes you wonder if there was ever a chance for your friendship to become more than it was if the world didn't depend on the idea of soulmates. People would be free to feel whatever they wanted towards whoever they wished to be with. That's the reason why to you, the concept of soulmates sucked.

It sucked even more because you knew Harin had already gotten glimpses of his soulmate while you only dreamt of homework and stress. On the inside, you were kind of jealous of the girl that would end up with him. Although, if it really was meant to be, then you promised to abandon any feelings you had for him.

“You would not believe what I dreamt about last night”, he told you excitedly.

“Is it about your soulmate?”, you teased him and wiggled your eyebrows suggestively.

Even though you didn't want to talk about soulmates, you felt bad dismissing Harin's excitement so you had no choice but to resist the painful throbbing in your heart.

“Yeah, I actually saw her face!”

Ah. It hurt.

“Well that's good, right! Now you could go meet her and hey, you could even ask her out on a date”, you masked your sadness with a smile.

“I'm a little nervous to reveal myself to her because she's someone I know”, he mumbled softly as an obvious shade of red crawled up his neck.

“You're lucky she's someone you know, mine's probably some creepy pervert”, you shuddered in disgust at the possibilty.

“Hahaha I really doubt that, Y/N”

“I'm just saying, there's a possibility”, you exclaimed without any hint of seriousness in your voice.

After that, the two of you just talked about random stuff till you reached the school buiding.

The rest of the day was boring. Everything waskill the usual routine. When you got home though, you had the greatest shocking news of your life.

Through a text message from your best friend, you got to know that he was going to ask his soulmate on a date. You were frustrated. He only saw her face once that day and now, he wanted to go out with her without taking his time to think over it. As much as you were happy for him finding his soulmate, you couldn't just ignore your feelings. You sunk your head into your pillow and that was how you spent your entire night, crying over a broken heart till you fell asleep.

Drums.

You jolted awake in the middle of the night. Sitting upright on your bed, you placed your hand on your forehead in confusion. Was that a glimpse of your soulmate? Whatever it was, you buried your face in your hands as you sobbed quietly. The last sign of hope that Harin was your soulmate was gone because..Harin didn't play drums.

You dreaded the moment you had to face Harin in the morning.

It wasn't making it easier for you when Harin kept on approaching you more than usual. He was an absolute nervewrack. He would stumble on his words and constantly shake his leg. He told you that he was honestly nervous and afraid the date wasn't going to go well. Giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, you reassured him that whatever he had planned, you were sure that anybody would fall for him.

Like that, the rest of the day went by in a blur. You were trying hard not to think about Harin's date while he was busy panicking over it.

Once you were home, you immediately entered your room and plopped yourself on your single-sized bed. You were exhausted and drained but as soon as you heard a notification on your phone popped up, you rolled on your bed lazily and reached for your phone. Swiping the screen, you saw that you had a message from Harin. Glancing at the time, you were confused because he should already be on his date. Without thinking much, you read the message.

Hey Y/N, could you come over my house? I need some help preparing for the date :)

You typed furiously before clicking send. When that was done, you got up from your bed and grabbed your black hoodie that was hanging from a chair. Slipping it on, you left your apartment to go somewhere familiar with the image of your reply still in your head.

Sure, Harin :)

Knocking on his door, you hid your shaky hands in your pockets. Why were suddenly feeling nervous? It's not like it was your date-

The door clicked and opened to reveal your bestfriend, Ju Harin. Just like that, you were speechless. No words could truly describe how handsome he looked standing in front of you. He didn't need a suit and tie to look good. Cladded in a simple striped t-shirt and plain jeans, Ju Harin had completely taken your breath away by his charms.

“Uh Y/N?”

You unfroze yourself from your daydream. You could've sworn you saw a little smirk.

“You needed my help?”, you tried to sound cheerful.

“Mhm, could you put this blindfold on?”, he hummed as he unclenched his fist to reveal a black cloth.

Before you could question him, he explained that he wanted the date to be perfect so he wondered if you could stand in for his soulmate for a dry run of the date. Truthfully, you applauded his dedication to planning a perfect date even if you weren't his date. So in the end, you agreed.

You wanted to grab the blindfold and wear it yorself but Harin beat you to it. He shifted behind you and wrapped the black cloth around your eyes, tying it at the back. You felt yourself stiffened as his fingers brushed the your ears lightly. You mentally scolded yourself.

“Okay, I'm going to bring you somewhere now”, he whispered in your ear, his close proximity caused your cheeks to blush.

You couldn't see anything but you did feel Harin locking hands with you. You took in calm breaths.

It didn't take long before you finally stopped getting dragged by Harin.

“You can take them off now, Y/N”, he said.

Fumbling with the knot, you took the blindfold off your eyes. You had to blink a few times for your eyes to adjust to the surroundings.

When it did, time stood still. His normal living room now had beautiful fairylights hanging on the walls. The dining table at the side had vanilla-scented candles and a vase filled with baby's breath. The atmosphere of the whole living room was perfect for a chill yet romantic date. Your heart involuntarily clenched.

Harin, who was at your side, walked to the middle of the room. How you didn't notice it at first was a mystery but there it was, a drumset sitting in the middle. Your eyes shifted to Harin who had drumsticks in his hands.

“So here's the part where I tell you that I lied“

“Y/N, I didn't need your help with the date cause you are my date”

You didn't understand.

“Remember how I said she's someone I know? Did you ever think about the fact that the only girl I've ever talked to..is you?”

“Dammit, Y/N..you're my soulmate”

“I don't care if your soulmate isn't me, I just need you to know that I've been in love with you since the day you stood up for me against others”

Blinking your eyes, you felt a tear falling. You didn't realise you were crying this whole time. It all made sense now and you felt your heart warmed by Harin's confession. All that worrying and it turned out that Harin's been your soulmate all this time. And you were his.

You were overwhelmed by emotions but that didn't distract you from the sight of the drums. The only thing that didn't make sense to you. Why were drums in your dream?

“Ah, the drums”, Harin cheekily grinned.

“I kept it a secret because I didn't want you to think I'm lame”, he scratched his head with his drumsticks.

Wiping your tears from your eyes, you smiled softly at Harin, “You're absolutely amazing, Ju Harin”

His face reddened in an instant but he kept his composure. “Uh- so with everything planned, I think it's time for me to make you fall for me”, he shyly looked away from you.

Now, it was your turn to blush because that sounded really familiar as if someone he knew had said that to him the other day.

[a/n]

someone was craving for some harin content 🤷‍♀️ of course I was tempted to write something fluffyy > <

stan weus and ju harin please stahp being rude boi

#onewe #onewefluff #onewefic #oneweoneshot #juharin #harin #oneweharin

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bunnyhani · 5 years

Text

Take A Deep Breath

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

Genre: Fluff and angst

Warnings: Panic attacks!

Summary: You've started getting these attacks, where breathing was difficult, your body shaking and sweating. You're very afraid and concerned, who wouldn't be. You have no idea what could be wrong with you. For some reason, you thought that it was a good idea to hide this piece of information from your boyfriend, Chan. But what if Chan had the solution for your problem?

--------

When it happened for the first time, you were so afraid. And you didn't know what was wrong at all. They became more regular, mostly happening during the late hours of the dark nights. Yet you still kept quiet. You really didn't want to bother your busy idol boyfriend, Chan. He had 8 other people to look after, you didn't want to add anything more to his already full plate. Only your best friend and mom knew about this. If only you would have known that it would've been a whole lot wiser to just talk about it with Chan...

Your undereyes just kept getting darker and darker. You weren't sleeping much at all, these weird breathing difficulties keeping you up at night. You might be wondering, that why didn't you just ignore it and sleep? Well... Easy answer: these breathing difficulties caused you feeling like you were choking, like there was something in your throat, blocking your breathing. Yet when your mom had monitored your breathing during when you were over at her house, visiting her, she said that nothing sounded out of ordinary, except your slightly shaky breathing. It only caused more worries and you began questioning your sanity. During those "attacks" as you called them, you were afraid of dying. You felt like you were out of your mind, your hands and whole being shaking and you were sweating. And you really thought that you might be dying. Your mom was very worried, so was your besg friend. Anyone would be.

You hadn't seen Chan in a few weeks, you of course kept in touch by calling each other and texting. You had some Facetime calls too, but you rather avoided those. Going on a Facetime call usually meant that you had to hide your darkening eyecircels (which were already porminent, thanks to your genetics) and pull a tired smile on your face. That didn't take too much effort, when you saw Chan. A smile would automatically frame your face when you were with him. But hiding this from him felt wrong, but you didn't want to say anything. You didn't have any explanations of what was going on so why would you honestly bother your boyfriend's head too? One night you got a text from Chan, saying that he would be visiting you soon, since they were getting a break. A small one, but you still took it. If it meant spending some time with him, of course. A smile already tugged at your lips. You bit your lip and then smiled gently. You still worried. What about your attacks? Should you talk about them with him? Yes, you definitely should. You started tidying up your apartment in hopes that it would look a bit more presentable. You knew that Chan didn't mind, if there was a small mess, but you still did it anyways.

Before you knew it, the day that Chan was visiting you, arrived. You still got the attacks, but they were easing up a bit. You didn't get one last night, which you considered a win. But at the same time, you knew that it could creep on you during the day then. And that honestly scared you. I really didn't want Chan to see you in that state. He himself would probably panic too. Those thoughts caused you even more anxiety. You truly wished that everything would go fine and you could breathe today. 'Please, body stop for today. Don't come at day, when Chan is here. The least you could do is to come at night', you begged in head, when your dear boyfriend knocked on the door. You ignored your hammering heart in your chest and answered the door. Chan was there, eyes tired but his full lips stretched into a beautiful, bright smile that made your breath hitch and mind blank. Before you even knew it, you were smiling back at him as he wrapped his arns around you eagerly. His body pressed against yours and you could feel his warm breath on your neck. You shivered a bit, but still returned the hug wholeheartedly. You breathed Chan's scent in and you felt so safe. You tucked your head closer to Chan's neck to press your cold nose agaisnt it. Chan whined at the coldness, but refused to let you go.

"Chan, we should get in. The cold is going to get inside", you coaxed, the only response you got back was a sulky 'no.' You chuckled and with that, you two awkwardly waddled together inside, closing the door behind you, not letting go of each other.

You could tell, that Chan was tired. Even your tired brains understood as much. But Chan kept smiling, talking energetically. You honestly had no idea who on earth was he still standing and talking with so much energy. You just felt like sleeping. You yawned for the third time in the span of 15 minutes and Chan glanced at you worriedly.

"Are you okay? Have you been sleeping?" He asked, now actually taking in your appearance. Your body didn't look like it had changed, not lost or gained weight. But your eyes seemed so tired, skin a bit dull and he could see your makeup creasing a bit on the corner of your eyes. Wait... Makeup? You usually never wore makeup, you didn't have much knowlodge on it and you just didn't want to go trough the trouble of putting it on. Chan looked closer and saw that you didn't seem to have any foundation, just covered your eyes. That got him thinking. He knew that you struggled with insomnia quite often, but had it got out of hand? Or was something keeping you up at night?

"Yes, I'm ok. I'm just tired. I've working hard with my school work, you know the usual", you easily gave a reply. It came out so easily, since it wasn't a lie. You truly were busy with school work, but you just had left out an important detail. Chan didn't need to know that though. Your boyfriend nodded in understanding, but you could visibly see the wheels turning in his head, as he racked his mind of any other possible reasons why weren't you sleeping properly.

"Chan... Don't worry ok. I got this. I'm okay", now you were just flat out lying. Again, Chan didn't need to know. Chan nodded, uncertainly but decided to let it go. For now.

The day went on, the converstation seemingly forgotten (it wasn't) and you two just enjoyed company. Neither of you wanted to do anything spontaneous, both feeling a bit dazed by sleep. So you settled with the next best thing: talking. You coudln't comprehend how much and for how long you two could just talk. At one point, you and Chan had been sitting in the kitchen, drinking some tea and talking about everything that you could possibly think of, while gazing each other fondly. Then when tea was all finished, you moved to the living room. You cuddled on the couch, wrapped around each other. You were just talking about something funny, that happened with your friends two days back. You were interrupted by Chan. Chan had just looked at you and he couldn't believe that he could call you his. With that thought, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to your lips. You immediately stopped talking and for a moment you didn't even move. However, when you did finally understand that Chan was actually kissing you, you did respond. You brought your cold hands to his neck, he shuddered at the temperature change, but didn't pull away. He deepened the kiss and lifted himself so that he was hovering over your body. He leaned himself down even more, muscles twitching as he held himself up from possibly crushing you.

He pulled away breathlessly. The lack of air made you immediately think of your attacks and you discreetly took a deep breath to test that were you able to breathe. You were and your eyes quickly flickered up to meet Chan's eyes, when you felt his breath hit your face. He was looking at you again in concern. He opened his mouth to say something, you just leaved over to him, putting your hands on his chest, then pushing him gently to lay down on the couch, on his back. He looked so confused. You straddled his hips and just looked at him. He was just so beautiful. You simply loved everything about him; his curly hair, his lips, his expressive eyes, his voice... Everything. Chan was looking up at you, expectantly. You smiled softly, lowered yourself that you were laying on top of him. You pressed your head against his chest and listened to his heart beat. He sighed contently and wrapped his arms around you. This time, no words were exhanged. You just were silent, enjoying each other's presence.

The next time when one of you spoke, it was getting late. Chan poked at your shoulder gently to get your attention. You turned your head to look at him questionably. He smiled at your slightly confused, yet expectant face.

"Would you mind if I'll stay over at your house today? I forgot to mention that I can stay over and it's getting a bit late", he explained, with a sheepish smile playing on his lips. You smiled. Of course you wanted to spend the night with. You coudln't even remember the last time you had slept in his arms. The whole idea seemed so tempting. So you said yes. Chan smiled brightly and pecked your lips. You decided to get ready for bed, like Chan had said, it was getting late. You both were excited to sleep and get some well deserved rest.

Chan and you slipped into your bed and lied there comfortably. Again, you talked about everything. Talking with Chan was one of the most comfortable things you could do. But when Chan fell asleep, you were alone with your thoughts. You tried to shake them off and closed your eyes, trying to sleep. You didn't even know for how long you lied there, awake and the block in your throat felt suffocating. Your breathing started to feel difficult, your body started trembling and sweating. You were painfully gasping for oxygen, but it felt like you just weren't getting enough. You clumsily scrambled off of the bed and stumbled to your bathroom. You locked the door and slid down against the wall. You pulled at your hair helplessly as you tried to breathe. 'Am I going to die?' You asked, as you felt like you were about to lose your mind. Tears started fall from your eyes and panicked feeling inside scared you even more. By now you were sobbing, gasping and panting. You gribbed your throat desperately and squeezed your eyes shut. You heard footsteps on the hallway, you covered your mouth, but your gasps were still were loud. Then there was frantic knocking on the bathroom door and you heard Chan call out to you. You coudln't focus on that at all. As much as you wanted to get up and open the door for him, you physically couldn't. You didn't know how much time passed, it felt like hours while it could have been just 3 minutes, but the bathroom door was thrown open. Chan hurried inside and fell to his knees in front of you.

"Oh my God... Y/N, what's wrong?" He asked as he tried to get your attention. His eyes were wide, his shoulders were shaking from the adrenaline, as he had just woken up.

"I-I... I can't breathe! I'm.. So scared!" You finally managed to stutter out with difficulty. Chan quickly observed your state and it finally clicked. He calmed down, when he realized that you were not in danger and asked in a calm voice:

"Can I touch you?" You took some time process the words, but when you did, you nodded hastily. Chan took a hold of your shoulders and said:

"You are okay, Y/N. You are not dying or choking. I need you to inhale, through your nose for 4 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds and exhale for seven seconds through your mouth. Come on, start with me." You did as he told, but you questioned it. How could a breathing exercise help you now. Chan encouraged you and praised you for doing so well. If you panicked again, he reminded that he was there and that you weren't alone, while keeping his hands on your shoulders without making you feel suffocated. To your surprise, your breathing slowly but surely became easier and the block in your throat decreased. Your body didn't stop shaking and yiu were still sweating, but your mind wasn't clouded by panic anymore and you could finally focus.

When your breathing finally normalized, you were exhausted. You leaned your head tiredly against your wall's cold tiles as you savored the feeling of being able to breathe normally again, without any suffocating feeling in your throat. For a moment, you forgot that Chan was even there.

"Are you okay now? Can you breathe?" Chan asked, breaking the silence and you jumped at the sound of his voice. He was silent, while waiting for your reply.

"Yeah... Thank you. How did you know that a breathing exercise would help?" You asked, while fiddling with the hem of your fluffy nightdress.

"Because... It seemed like you were having a panic attack and breathing exercises help get you through them", he replied. You felt your jaw drop open.

"These... These are panic attacks? These two weeks that I've been having these were panic attacks? How on earth I didn't realize this before? I've helped my friends with these yet-", you cut of your ranting and leaned your head against your knees. Now that you thought about it, you remembered every symptom. Almost all of them matched with yours. How could you've been so stupid?

"You've had these for two weeks? How often? Why didn't you tell me?" Chan asked, expression now between hurt and concerned. You bit your lip, but refused to lift your head up.

"I started getting these out of nowhere two weeks ago. I was staying at Jisoo's place and I got this.. Panic attack. We just thought that it was because of the cat. But then... I started getting these every night. If I didn't get one at night, I got one during the day", you said. Your shoulders didn't feel as heavy anymore, but then guilt started pressing on. You heard Chan sidling closer to you and he tapped gently on your head. You lifted your head shamefully and met his gaze. He started stroking your cheeks with his thumb, his hand supporting the weight of your head. You leaned your head against his hand and let yourself just stare at your boyfriend.

"Is this what's been keeping you up at night?" He asked. You just nodded in reply and Chan let his eyes sweep over your face again. Now that the makeup was off, he could see how dark your undereyes had become. He wasn't even surprised. After all, you hadn't slept properly in two weeks.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered. You lowered your eyes to the floor and whispered a reply:

"I didn't want to bother you. You have so much on your mind already!" Chan shook his head.

"You're never a bother. Never. What gave such an idea?" He asked, while his other hand started carding through your hair ever so softly.

"I just felt like it. I mean... What was I supposed to say? I didn't even know what was wrong with me", you responded helpessly. You gribbed Chan's arm and stared at his brown eyes. Chan sighed, but nodded. He understood. Of course he did.

"Well... What is done is done now. But if you ever get any kind of troubles, please tell me. I want to help you. You're still my girlfriend", he said and kissed your temple. You nodded, without saying anything. You glanced at his eyes lips and leaned forward to kiss his lips softly. After the short kiss, you leaned your forehead against his, your breaths mixing together.

"Thank you."

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imaginetonyandbucky · 7 years

Note

I see a lot of prompts in which Bucky loves Tony but thinks he's with Steve (and in the end he's not). What about a prompt in which Tony really is with Steve but Bucky is in love with him anyway? Tony would be totally oblivious, but Steve would find out. I'm curious about how Steve is gonna react, and what Bucky would do when confronted about it.

Bucky doesn’t know what it is that finally gives him away—his usually stuttering replies when Tony addresses him directly, the constant blushing, the way his breath hitches and his heart skips a beat when Tony smiles at him, something else he hasn’t even noticed doing yet—but he can see the exact moment Steve figures it out; his brows draw together into a confused frown before his eyes suddenly widen, hand freezing halfway to the beer he’s reaching for.

There are few things Bucky wants to do less than admit to his best friend that he’s been dumb enough to fall in love with said best friend’s boyfriend, so Bucky pushes to his feet instead, ignoring everyone’s curious looks, and flees. He jabs the button for the elevator with much more force than strictly necessary, and slumps against the mirrored wall, defeated, as soon as the door has closed behind him.

“Fuckin’ stupid,” he scolds himself, thumping his forehead against the wall.

He runs agitated hands through his hair, yelling out a choked, “Fuck!” when some of it gets caught in his prosthetic fingers. He’s still trying to untangle the mess when the elevator arrives at his and Steve’s floor, and no. Just no. Steve’s undoubtedly already on his way to make Bucky talk about all this, and their apartment is the first place he’s going to look.

The gym is out as well, unfortunately, because Bucky really feels like punching things right about now. He can’t go to Tony’s ‘shop, either, for obvious reasons, but the thought of that does give him an idea.

(Watch out for the break, everyone!)

Somehow, despite his negative associations with labs and creepy machinery, Tony’s workshop has become a sort of safe haven for Bucky. Watching Tony in his element, somewhere far off inside his own head, is almost hypnotic, and never fails to calm Bucky down after waking up from nightmares, or remembering something particularly gruesome from his time with HYDRA. He often takes a book or his tablet down to the ‘shop, letting the background noise of Tony working wash over him, and curls up on the couch to read, or plays fetch with DUM-E until he’s worn out enough to fall asleep again.

The garage isn’t the same, of course, but it’s deserted, and it smells of oil, metal, and gasoline, which is just similar enough to the workshop to settle Bucky’s nerves a little. He chooses one of the limos, and sprawls out in the spacious backseat, closing his eyes, and tipping his head back with a sigh.

Bucky’d tried so damned hard to not be obvious about his feelings after finding out about Steve and Tony, but he should’ve known better. Steve knows him, probably better than Bucky knows himself at this point; he was bound to find out eventually. Bucky can only hope that Tony hasn’t figured it out, too, and that Steve won’t be angry enough at Bucky to tell Tony. That’s a disaster Bucky doesn’t want to deal with, at all.

He’s not sure how long he’s been beating himself up for when the door opens again, and Steve ducks into the car, lifting Bucky’s feet into his lap to make room for himself. He squeezes Bucky’s leg, which means he can’t be too pissed at Bucky, and Bucky manages a wobbly, uncertain half-smile in return.

They’re quiet for a couple of minutes, which suits Bucky just fine. They never have to talk about any of this, as far as he’s concerned. Denial is a beautiful, friendship saving thing.

Steve, of course, doesn’t agree with that, and breaks the silence eventually. “Tony and I,” he starts, slow, like he’s picking his words carefully. “We’re—we’re not—it’s like,” he trails off, waving his free hand around helplessly.

“You’re not,” Bucky prompts, doing his best to not give in to the sudden, bubbling hope in his chest. “You’re not—not together?”

It’s not like either Steve or Tony have ever confirmed being in a relationship with each other, but Bucky’d made certain assumptions after walking in on them, obviously post sex, still partially undressed and all snuggled up together. It had been pretty telling, or so Bucky’d thought.

“No, we are,” Steve says, and ouch.

Some of the hurt must show on Bucky’s face, despite his best efforts, because Steve winces, apologetic, then goes on, “We’re together, but we’re not exclusive.”

Bucky’s shaking his head before Steve’s finished talking. “Stevie, you know me. ‘M not the casual type. I lo—I like him, a lot. Sorry.”

“No, Buck, I know that. I’m not suggesting you, I don’t know, sleep with him once to get it our of your system, or anything like that. I know that’s not like you,” Steve says. He rubs at his forehead, looking sheepish. “I’m not doing a good job explaining this, huh?”

“Always been a dumb punk,” Bucky teases, and grins when Steve rolls his eyes at him.

“Okay, uh, how about—why do you think we haven’t told anyone about us? Not even the team, our friends?”

Bucky arches a pointed eyebrow. “‘Cause they’re a bunch of nosy, meddlin’ assholes?”

“That, too,” Steve allows, laughing softly. “And we didn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”

“Which would be?”

“That we’re in love,” Steve says, without hesitation. “Or permanent. Don’t get me wrong, I care for Tony, and I know it’s mutual, but we’ve always been on the same page about what it is that we want from each other. There’s attraction there, no doubt, and he’s one of my closest friends, but neither of us went into this relationship with the intention of settling down, of a happily ever after. That’s not what we are, we’ve always had an expiration date, and we’ve always been okay with that.”

Bucky blinks, taken aback, not sure what to say. “You were always seein’ other people?” Steve nods. “And now. Now you’ve, what? Broken up?”

Steve shakes his head. “I didn’t think you’d want me to tell him about, well. You.”

“Yeah, no,” Bucky says, worrying his bottom lip. “So. What is it you’re tryin’ to say, here?”

“You should talk to Tony, I think.” He holds up both his hands, cautioning. “I’m not saying he feels the same, I honestly don’t know, but it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? You’re friends, you like each other, he thinks you’re hot—”

“Wait, what?”

“—so why not go for it? Tony and I have always agreed that we’d step back if one of us found someone they wanted to try a closed, committed relationship with.”

It’s a lot to take in, Steve’s confession, and Bucky says as much, making Steve chuckle. He can’t say that he isn’t tempted, though, but he can’t rush this, no matter how much he wants to. He’s got to process everything Steve’s said, think about it, figure out where he wants to go from here.

“Whatever you decide,” Steve says, and flops down on top of Bucky, as if he still only weighs ninety pounds, and isn’t crushing Bucky’s kidney, “I’ve got your back, Buck.”

“Sap,” Bucky accuses, but he does pull Steve closer, and plants a wet, smacking kiss on his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. Sap.”

(Bucky does end up talking to Tony. Tony is surprised, but seems happy. He asks Bucky out on a proper date four days later, after talking to—and amicably breaking up with—Steve. Steve is smug, because he’s an ass.)

- Potrix

A/N: Committed, monogamous relationships between two people aren’t the only ones with the potential to be happy. Open, honest communication is the key, no matter what.

#winteriron #tony x bucky #tony stark #bucky barnes #pre-slash #background steve x tony #background stony #implied open relationships #break-up #amicable break-up #stony break-up #getting together #monogamous winteriron #these tags #everyone is okay with everything #healthy communication #prompts #potrix

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themostrandomfandom · 7 years

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Hey JJ! I'm new to glee (currently in the middle of s2) so I don't know much. Something that has confused me so far is Brittany' characterization. On one hand, she's portrayed as a genuinely good person who accepts everyone (her friendship with Becky, the guilt she feels when she hurts Artie, her love for Santana) but she can also be very cruel (deserting Quinn during her pregnancy, and making fun of Finn, Quinn, and Rachel when they were vulnerable). What is your opinion on this contradiction?

To add on, Brittany also didsome morally questionable things such as accusing Beiste of harassment(although eventually backing off) and being willing to dine and dash. Can youexplain why Brittany can be one of the most loving, accepting characters of glee,while at the same time being one of the most cruel characters (and, unlikeSantana, Brittany doesn’t have self-hatred to explain her meanness)

Hey, @chickennuggets66!

First off, welcome to the Glee fandom! Sorryit has taken me so long to post a reply to your question. It took me a while toget my thoughts in order.

Second, RE your question:

Brittany Pierce is a complicated person—and,unfortunately, Glee doesn’t often give us a lot of insight into what’s going oninside her head. Between the inconsistent way in which her character is writtenand the fact that she is most often wielded as a side character within thenarrative, her actions can appear random and perhaps even contradictory,especially when it comes to how she treats the people around her.

Undoubtedly, Brittany has her reasons for actingthe way she does—it’s just that those reasons are often hard to tease out.

Sometimes it comes down to preference. It’sabout her likes and dislikes.

Other times, it has to do with politics andsocial maneuvering, because even though her classmates and teachers oftenunderestimate her, Brittany did not get to be one of the most popular girls inschool for nothing. She knows how to play the social power game, and she playsit well when she needs to.

Additionally, Brittany has her own personalethics—a sense of what is right and wrong, of what is fair game and what isn’t.

Her own personal experiences and evenSantana’s experiences can also figure in to how she treats people. There arecertain individuals she is sympathetic to because she knows where they’recoming from. There are also certain individuals with whom her personal historyplays into how she reacts to them.

Because the motivations for her behavior areso diverse, I think it’s best to just take them case by case, so let’s startwith the first example you mention and work out from there, okay?

More discussion after the cut.

I’ll try my best to stick to examples fromSeasons One and Two.

____________

Inepisode 1x09 “Wheels,” the New Directions hold a bake sale to raise money forArtie’s bus. Popular kids Finn, Puck, Quinn, and Santana are manning the table.Just then, Brittany saunters up, holding Becky Jackson by the hand.

“Ohmy god!” Quinn exclaims, scandalized that Brittany would willingly associatewith someone like Becky in public. Finn and Puck explain that they believeBrittany and Becky are kind of friends, though it is clear they alsodisapprove.

Brittanyand Becky approach the table, and Brittany not only helps Becky to purchase acupcake, but she also speaks kindly to her and tells her that buying cupcakesis cool.

Throughoutthe whole exchange, Santana can hardly look at Brittany and wears a sourexpression, obviously displeased that Brittany is taking such a big risk byhanging around with Becky, who, at this point, is not even a cheerleader.

Ifyou compare Brittany’s behavior in this scene to Finn, Puck, Quinn, and Santana’sbehavior, then there is no question: Brittany is far more accepting than theyare.

Whilethey’re all concerned about their respective images, Brittany is concerned withmaking Becky feel welcome, and she doesn’t seem to particularly care that hangingout with Becky is considered uncool.

Wesee a similar pattern play out in her Season One interactions with Kurt Hummel.

Brittanyis also friendly to and accepting of Kurt at a time when both other kids atWHMS and Kurt himself are struggling to understand and accept Kurt’s sexuality(see here).

While others mock Kurt, bully him, or try to push him out of the closet beforehe is ready, Brittany allows Kurt to run the show when it comes to how heidentifies, both to her and to others, including his own father (see here).

Consideringthat Brittany takes this tack at the same time when other main characters onthe show, including Finn, are being downright cruel to Kurt, she (again) lookspretty accepting by comparison.

ThatBrittany could be compassionate towards two people whom many would consider themost outcast of the outcasts at WMHS—remember, both Becky and Kurt are at timesrejected by the glee club, which is supposedly a group that takes in those whohave no other place to go—makes it tempting to say that Brittany is able to“accept everyone.”

Butas you point out in your question, that generalization isn’t actuallytrue—because while Brittany shows great acceptance for Becky and Kurt in theaforementioned instances, she also shows cruelty towards others, like Finn,Quinn, and Rachel, on numerous other occasions.

Brittanyisn’t actually nice to everyone—and, in fact, I would go as far as to say thatjust as often as she is nice, she can be equally mean.

Honestly, the only person she is pretty much universally compassionate towards throughout the show is Santana. Telling, no?

Likeyou say, Brittany has the capacity to be fairly vicious at times, as much as orsometimes even more so than Quinn and Santana.

Sowhy would she choose to be nice to Becky and Kurt, who are so far below her insocial status and who are generally considered “undesirables” by the otherpopular kids at WMHS?

In thesetwo cases, Brittany’s personal experiences seem to contribute to her ability tobe compassionate.

On asurface level, Brittany seems like someone who is fairly confident in herself.Not only does she make frequent reference to her own hotness and popularity(“You look terrible. I look awesome”), but she also seems content to do her ownthing and not pay much mind to what people think about her—and particularlywhen one compares her to Quinn and Santana, who, at least on a surfrace level, seem to maintain their public images much more fastidiously than she does.

Buthere’s the thing: Even though it seems as if Brittany doesn’t care what peoplethink about her, she actually does. The truth is that Brittany has a majorinsecurity, and that insecurity has to do with how people perceive herintelligence.

As welearn throughout the show, most people perceive Brittany as stupid, and theyhave no problem telling her so to her face. Rachel talks to Brittany in a loudvoice, over-enunciating each word, as if Brittany were a toddler. While they’redating, Artie tends to infantilize Brittany. Several times, Kurt makes his lowopinion of Brittany’s ideas known. Even Mr. Schue, who is supposed to be hisstudents’ champion and biggest advocate, meanly insinuates in front of thewhole glee club that he believes Brittany is lacking in smarts (see episode2x17 “Night of Neglect”). Sue Sylvester is even worse, frequentlybelittling Brittany’s mind both in public and in private.

—andBrittany is fully and painfully aware of these perceptions (see episode 2x19“Rumours”).

Throughout Season Oneand early Season Two, Brittany actually has fairly low self-esteem, because foras much as she is aware that she is desirable on a superficial level, she isalso aware that some of the most quintessential parts of her person are alsothe things that people most often and most vehemently reject about her.

Yes, people like the way she looks. Yes,people like that she is a cheerleader. Yes, people like her fashion sense. Yes,as a member of the Cheerios and Unholy Trinity, she wields a lot of socialpower at WMHS.

But people tend toreject her thoughts. They tell her to her face that she is an idiot. Santana isthe only one who ever seems to get her jokes. Even the people who are nice toher are often “nice” in a condescending way. They coddle her as if she were achild. She opens her mouth to say something that makes sense to her, and shegets blank stares and muttered comments disparaging her intelligence inresponse. She tries to talk about things she cares about, and people shut herdown.

Brittany knows whatit’s like to be ostracized because people think she’s somehow unequal to them.She gets that it hurts when people talk past you or devalue your thoughts andfeelings because they think those thoughts and feelings somehow don’t count.

—andthat’s where her ability to accept Becky comes in.

Brittanysees other people rejecting Becky because they think that Becky is “less than,”underestimating Becky’s capabilities and the depth of Becky’s humanity, treatingBecky’s thoughts and feelings like they don’t matter, etc., and, frankly, shedoesn’t like it.

Beckyis a person just like Brittany is a person, and neither one of them should beminimized just because people think they’re unintelligent.

Sothat’s why even when other people—and particularly the popular kids—blow Beckyoff, Brittany doesn’t and instead treats Becky like the human being that sheis. Brittany sees Becky’s humanity and knows that Becky longs to be accepted.She also knows that Becky can’t change the thing that causes others to rejecther. Her Down syndrome is part of her identity, just like Brittany’s divergentway of thinking is part of Brittany’s identity. Neither one of them can changethose parts of who they are. They shouldn’t be ostracized just because aquintessential part of their identities makes them “different.”

Thesame is very much true when it comes to Brittany’s acceptance of Kurt.

Kurtis gay, and that’s just part of who he is. He can’t change his identity, thoughGrilled Cheesus knows he tries to. He shouldn’t be made to feel less thanbecause he is gay, just like Brittany shouldn’t be made to feel less thanbecause she is bi, or Santana because she’s a lesbian. Brittany gets that, soshe can have compassion even when other members of the New Directions don’t.

While Brittany is out herself, Santana is (at this time) closeted and in deep denial about her sexual orientation, so Brittany can be sympathetic to Kurt, who struggles with the same issue.

Soall of this is to say that Brittany tends to be very accepting of people’sessential qualities, and she also tends to understand when people feel insecureabout things they can’t change about themselves. She is particularlysympathetic to people whose personal plights are similar to her own or toSantana’s. However, though she is able to accept certain people whom thepopular majority at WMHS reject, she isn’t universally accepting.

Justlike there are some people Brittany can really empathize with, there are alsosome people who Brittany flat cannot stand—and those people are often the oneswho choose to behave in ways thatBrittany finds obnoxious.

Theprime example here would be Rachel Berry.

Now.

Wedon’t know Brittany and Rachel’s history prior to Season One. It seems that theUnholy Trinity are acquainted with Rachel and bully her prior to the start ofthe show, but we don’t know for how long this scenario has been in play.

Theoretically,Brittany may have known Rachel for years—since kindergarten, even—or she mayhave only met Rachel more recently, circa the start of ninth grade, when they both matriculated at WMHS together.

In any case, it is clear that Brittany has ahistory of antagonizing Rachel that predates the start of the show by a fewmonths, at the very least.

Ofcourse, part of Brittany’s willingness to antagonize Rachel probably hassomething to do with the “pack mentality.”

BothQuinn and Santana, Brittany’s two best friends and social guides, openlydespise Rachel, and they often take jabs at Rachel when Brittany is present. Whileit is one thing for Brittany to show kindness to people towards whom Quinn andSantana for the most part ignore, like Becky and Kurt, it would be anotherthing entirely for Brittany to outright go against Quinn and Santana and showkindness to someone whom they are actively bullying.

—andespecially when you consider that Quinn and Santana aren’t the only influencesin Brittany’s life who tend to antagonize Rachel.

SueSylvester, Brittany’s cheerleading coach, has a vendetta against Racheland the glee club. Independent of the Unholy Trinity’s own personal motivationsfor bullying Rachel, Sue sometimes specifically gives them, and Brittany andSantana in particular, orders to terrorize Rachel so as to sabotage the NewDirections (see episode 1x14 “Hell-O”). That’s a very strong directive comingdown from on high, and Sue’s willingness to attack Rachel does a lot tonormalize that behavior to Brittany, as well.

However,as demonstrated above, there are times when Brittany is willing to deviate fromUnholy Trinity and Cheerio social norms—she doesn’t avoid Becky, though bothQuinn and Santana do; she actually likes glee club, though Sue only intendedfor her to be a spy there—so if Brittany is willing to bully Rachel, then thatimplies she has her own reasons for doing so, independent of wanting to pleaseQuinn, Santana, and Sue, and she isn’t just succumbing to peer pressure.

Asstated, we don’t know Brittany and Rachel’s full history together, so it isimpossible for us to say exactly how Brittany got into the habit of callingRachel names, fucking with Rachel’s mind (see here),stealing Rachel’s boyfriends, etc.

That said, from the very beginning, Racheltalks down to Brittany as if Brittany were a toddler, and, in general, Rachelhas a massive ego, which Brittany seems to find annoying. Rachel can be veryholier-than-thou and condescending, even when she is trying to be nice, and itseems that that attitude is perhaps a Brittany pet peeve.

(Morediscussion on that point in a minute.)

Itisn’t simply that Rachel is unpopular that bothers Brittany because, frankly,Brittany ignores Tina and Mercedes, who are also unpopular, throughout most ofSeasons One and Two. It’s Rachel’s attitude and actions—the way that Rachel chooses to behave—that really grindBrittany’s gears (see here).

Brittanycan’t stand Rachel’s constant grabbing for solos, the way Rachel acts betterthan people even when she’s not, Rachel’s frequent sanctimoniousness, Rachel’sincorrect assumption that her singing talent makes her superior to everyoneelse in glee club, etc., etc.

Soeven though Brittany wouldn’t be mean to Becky for having Down syndrome or Kurtfor being gay, she will be mean to Rachel for being a diva—because once someonemakes the choice to be awful, then, in Brittany’s mind, they’re fair game.

Dittofor her meanness towards Finn.

Finnis supposed to be this nice guy and the leader of the glee club, but hisactions oftentimes complicate Brittany’s life, particularly as it relates toSantana (see episodes 1x14 “Hell-O” and 1x15 “The Power of Madonna”). He can bebrash, arrogant, dismissive, and homophobic—and though he is far from thesharpest tool in the shed himself, he sometimes looks down on Brittany for whathe perceives as her unintelligence. Like Rachel, his niceness can come off ascondescending, which is, again, a party foul where Brittany is concerned.

—andall of this has to do with how Finn choosesto behave, not his quintessential identity.

Again,in Brittany’s mind, that makes Finn fair game.

Withour Rachel and Finn examples in mind, we can add another summation to ourunderstanding of Brittany’s behavior: Just as Brittany will show kindness topeople whom she believes are unfairly ostracized for benign essential parts oftheir identities, she will go after people whom she believes choose to behavein ways she finds repugnant—and especially those who have an inflated (andunjustified) sense of ego that causes them to condescend to others.

Basically,if she thinks someone is too uppity, she won’t hesitate to take them down a pegor two if she gets the chance.

So isthat what we see going on with how Brittany treats Quinn? How do we account forthe fact that Brittany once seemed to be friends with Quinn but viciouslyturned on Quinn once Quinn became pregnant with Beth?

Here’swhere Brittany’s ability to play the social game comes in.

Asdiscussed by numerous characters on the show, the halls at WMHS are a cutthroatenvironment. It’s “eat or be eaten” out there, with popular kids at the top ofthe food chain, and everyone else miserable below them. Popularity can be wonand lost based on how one dresses, what extracurricular activities one isinvolved in, the people one hangs out with and dates, and even the way onestyles their hair (see episode 1x18 “Laryngitis”).

Particularlyat the start of the show, the kids who get to the top of the social hierarchyfrequently do so by putting others down. They stand on a pile of the hapless “losers”they’ve wrecked, and the more “losers” they can wreck, the better. That’s whybullies like Puck flourish, and that’s also why it is so easy for even the mostpopular kids in school to suffer downfalls after they make the slightestmisstep.

BrittanyPierce is certainly one of the most popular girls in school, along with Quinnand Santana.

—andthat “along with Quinn and Santana” point is important.

Asdiscussed above, when compared to Quinn and Santana, Brittany looks much moreaccepting than they are.

Shealso seems more unassuming.

Whileanyone can see that Quinn and Santana are dangerous HBICs who are not to betrifled with, Brittany seems more docile by comparison. But that docility is, frankly,an illusion, because the truth of the matter is that Brittany is just as dangerousas Quinn and Santana. It’s just that her dangerousness is more difficult todetect because their dangerousness, in a way, camouflages it.

It’seasy to identify Quinn and Santana as social predators.

Just watchtheir scheming against each other in episode 2x01 “Audition,” and particularlytheir knock-down, drag-out fight during the hallway scene, and there is noquestion that they are the quintessential Mean Girls™,capable of waging the most brutal social warfare. Standing next to them,Brittany looks like an angel—and, indeed, in the aforementioned hallway scene,Brittany appears horrified to see her two best friends coming to blows againsteach other, and she quickly conveys Santana away as soon as Mr. Schue breaks upthe fight.

Within the context of the Unholy Trinity, then, it is very easy to thinkof Brittany as “the nice one.” It’s also easy, by extension, to think thatBrittany doesn’t social climb in the same way that Quinn and Santana do or thatshe isn’t as preoccupied with popularity as Quinn and Santana are.

—but,again, appearances can be deceiving, because the thing is, Brittany does socialclimb, and she is preoccupied with popularity, and, honestly, she can be everybit as ruthless and cutthroat as Quinn and Santana can be.

Sheisn’t as harmless as she seems.

Brittanyis highly aware of social rules, and the way she conducts herself proves asmuch.

Beingfriends with Becky certainly isn’t a great way to boost one’s social status,but Brittany knows that it’s something that she can get away with—both becauseof how people perceive her (“That’s just Brittany being Brittany”) and becauseof how people perceive Becky (“Well, I personally would never hang out withBecky, but Becky needs to be indulged, so I guess it’s okay that Brittanyindulges her”).

Bythe same token, Brittany would never hang out with Rachel Berry, even if shecould stand the girl, because hanging out with Rachel Berry is social suicide.There are no loopholes that would allow a popular person to make friends withsomeone as unfashionable, obnoxious, and blatantly uncool as Rachel Berry andstill maintain their own social cred.

—whichis part of why Brittany is so willing to mock Finn for his romantic interest inRachel.

He isbreaking a “set in stone” rule of popularity, and, since his behavior is out ofline, he can rightfully be punished for it.

Dittofor how Brittany treats Quinn.

As Idiscuss in thisanalysis, we really don’t know Brittany’s personal feelings toward QuinnFabray. The two girls are certainly are part of the same social unit at thestart of the show, but it is unclear whether any genuine personal affectionexists between them or if they’re more friends for the sake of socialconvenience. Do they ever hang out outside of school and cheer practice? Dothey even have a relationship independent of their individual relationshipswith Santana? Really, it is impossible to say.

Allwe know is that, to start the show, Brittany and Quinn run in the same pack,with Quinn as the leader of the Unholy Trinity and Brittany as her lackey.Along with Santana, they present a united social front, which is mutuallybeneficial to all three members of the group.

As Isay in the previously linked post,

Becauseall three members of the Unholy Trinity keep secrets that they don’t want thegeneral populace of WMHS to know, they benefit by forming an impenetrable groupwith an even more impenetrable reputation.

Whowould guess that the members of the mighty Unholy Trinity feel small or insignificantor broken or inadequate—and particularly when they project so much confidenceand crush their competition so unflinchingly?

Bybanding together, they can put down their competition. Anyone who becomes anenemy to one of them becomes an enemy to all of them, and no one can outmaneuverthem as a group. They’re basically unstoppable as long as they stick together.

Butjust because they mutually benefit from their bond doesn’t mean that said bondis stable—in fact, just the opposite.

To quote again from my previous post,

It’s fairly obvious to anyone who watches the first season ofGlee that the Unholy Trinity divides up into Brittana + Quinn as opposed tointo Quinntana + Brittany or Quitt + Santana. Not only do Brittana have thematching friendship bracelets to prove that they’re a pair, but they alsofrequently operate as a duo in the absence of Quinn, just like she frequentlyoperates solo in the absence of them…

In anamiable friendship, the fact that Quinn is the “odd friend out” might notmatter.

But theUnholy Trinity friendship is not always amiable.

Especiallywhen it comes to Quinntana, there exists a distinct adversarial dimension totheir interactions.

Quinntana’sprimary dynamic is one of social power negotiation—i.e., of Quinn and Santana“jostling” over which one of them is dominant within their social sphere.

Interestingly,Brittany is actually the variable that allows this dynamic to exist betweenthem.

On theone hand, by all rights, Quinn “should be” dominant in Quinntana’srelationship. She represents the majority power in their culture—the heterosexualWASP cheerleading captain. Not only does she enjoy majority privilege thatSantana does not, but she is actually literally on top of their social pyramid,as yearbook photos of the Cheerios well-attest.

On theother hand, Santana’s relationship with Brittany actually gives Santana someleverage over Quinn. Basically, Brittany’s loyalty to Santana makes it so Quinnis “outnumbered” within her own clique.

WhileBrittana must ostensibly follow Quinn’s orders, they do have the power to workagainst her if they want to—which is what we see in 2x01, when Brittany leaveswith Santana following Quinntana’s fight.

Beyondjust the simple matter of numbers, Santana has an advantage over Quinn becauseshe possesses the one thing that Quinn has always craved—i.e., real love—andQuinn knows it. The fact that Santana has a relatively stable relationship withBrittany causes Quinn to feel insecure.

Furthermore,beyond these interpersonal dynamics, there is also a dark unspoken truth whenit comes to Unholy Trinity friendship: namely, that, at least during the earlyseasons on the show, said friendship is only viable for as long as it issocially beneficial.

By acting as a unit, the Unholy Trinity maintains theirpreeminence in the WMHS social order, ruling the school as three queens. But thesecond one of them does something that jeopardizes their supremacy, the groupwill divide down into its aforementioned parts, with Brittana going one way andQuinn going the other.

That’swhat we see with Quinn’s pregnancy and Brittany’s treatment of Quinn whileQuinn is pregnant.

Essentially,Quinn “breached the contract” and broke the social rules.

Populargirls are supposed to be sexually active without getting pregnant. Popular girlshave to stay on the cheer squad, and if they can’t or won’t, then they must beshunned. The group will do everything in its power to keep a girl from falling,but if she causes herself to fall, then she is on her own—and, even more so, shebecomes fair game. The group attacks the individual it once protected because,at WMHS, if you’re not going up, then you’re going down, and no one wants to godown, not when the fall comes at such great personal expense.

Again,as I say in the other post,

We have to keep in mind that, during Season One, Brittany andSantana were two very insecure fifteen or sixteen year old girls. When Quinnbecame pregnant and the whole school found out about it, Quinn went from beingthe proverbial queen bee and most popular girl in school to a target for dailyslushie facials. And what’s more? Anyone who associated too closely with Quinn,even Finn the quarterback and Puck the mega popular bad boy, became targets fordaily slushie facials, as well.

Remainingfriends with Quinn would have put Brittana in danger.

And nomatter how much they personally liked Quinn, at that point in their lives,Brittany and Santana were not willing to risk their own high social positionsor endanger themselves for Quinn’s sake.

Sothat’s why we hear Brittany say cruel things about Quinn during Quinn’spregnancy (see episodes 1x06 “Vitamin D” and 1x15 “The Power of Madonna”).Brittany is playing the social game. She is distancing herself from someonethat could potentially ruin her reputation, even though that someone used to beher friend.

BecauseBrittany is Brittany, she gets some leeway when it comes to how she acts andthe people she associates with, more so than the other popular kids. The otherpopular kids think she is weird, so they let her get away with things that forother people would be social suicide. Hanging out with Becky and Kurt and other“invisibles” won’t ding her reputation too much. But hanging out with andshowing open kindness to someone like insufferable Rachel Berry or pregnant Quinn or Finn when heis dating insufferable Rachel Berry would.

—andfor as much as it might seem like Brittany is oblivious to the rat race, sheisn’t. She is highly aware of what she can get away with and what she can’t,and she works the system, especially early on the show, when she is still relativelyinsecure and doesn’t fully recognize her own self-worth.

Now.

Inall this discussion, it has become clear that even though there are “rules”that explain Brittany’s behavior towards others, there are also instances inwhich Brittany behaves hypocritically, seemingly breaking her own rules—suchas, for instance, when she dates unpopular Artie—or acting with impunity.

Andthat’s very true.

Becausethe bottom line when it comes to Brittany is that she is human, and humans canbe messy—especially as teenagers.

Yes,Brittany can be incredibly compassionate at times, and oftentimes she is wisebeyond her years. But other times she acts very much like the high schooler sheis. She can be petty and contrary and mean. She can be disloyal. She can lether biases and assumptions take control of her.

Withoutgiving away major spoilers, I think that’s one area where we see Brittany growover the course of the show: She becomes more conscious of her own motivations,and she starts to be more deliberate about how she treats others. That self-awarenessdoesn’t always translate to her being nicer, but it does make her takeownership for her behavior and for her expectations of how people interact withher in a way that we don’t necessarily see during Season One and early SeasonTwo.

Now.

Atthis point, the one example from your question I don’t think I’ve reallytouched on is that of Brittany’s willingness to falsely accuse Coach Beiste ofsexual harassment, and that’s because I think that example deserves specialdiscussion.

Makeno mistake: That action is deplorable.

Butalso make mistake: That action is not one that Brittany takes independently.

That’snot Brittany going after Coach Beiste because Brittany dislikes Coach Beiste.

Rather,that is Sue Sylvester, an adult who is in a position of extreme authority overBrittany, coercing Brittany to behave in a way that is contrary to Brittany’sown personal volition.

Atthat point in her development, Brittany is justifiably terrified of Sue Sylvester, who has the ability to make her lifehell in ways that most of the faculty members at WMHS don’t fully understand.Brittany does not have enough personal power to defy Sue without posing greatpersonal risk to herself.

Remember:Sue often threatens Brittany’s safety and is both physically and emotionallyabusive to her. While it is no secret around WMHS how Sue mistreats Brittanyand the other Cheerios, none of the other faculty members, including Mr. Schueand Principal Figgins, does anything to stop the abuse.

Sowhen Sue says that Brittany has to accuse Coach Beiste, Brittany does accuseCoach Beiste, even though she undoubtedly knows it’s not right for her to doso.

Noticethat Brittany recants her story as soon as Mr. Schue makes it safe for her todo so. Notice that she casts frightened glances at Sue even with Mr. Schuesitting by her side while she recants, indicating that she still fears what Suemight do to her in retaliation.

Whilethere are examples of Brittany being mean and vindictive to people on the show for her own reasons,this instance isn’t one of them.

So.

Tosum up everything I’ve rambled about, here are what I see as the keys tounderstanding Brittany Pierce as a character in terms of how she treats people, particularly in early seasons ofthe show:

ThoughBrittany may act like she thinks she is the best, she actually has somedeep-seated insecurities related to her intelligence, and her self-esteem is insome ways low.

She is sympathetic to individuals whose plights she can personally empathizewith—and especially to those who have things they wish they could change aboutthemselves but can’t, and especially when they are unfairly maligned for it.

She is unsympathetic to individuals who act in ways she finds personallyrepugnant, and especially to those who are condescending.

She is unsympathetic to popular individuals who break social rules though theyshould “know better” than to do so.

Her reputation for being odd allows her some social leeway to be kind tooutcasts.

However, she still is careful to play the social game when it comes to socialrule-breakers and individuals she finds repugnant.

She is capable of knowing right from wrong, but she still sometimes behavespoorly, particularly when it socially benefits to do so or when she feels she needs to do so in order to please Quinn and, even more often and more so, Santana.

Her behavior can appear idiosyncratic, especially in comparison to Quinn andSantana’s behavior, but she has her own personal reasons for acting the way shedoes. It’s just that those reasons don’t get much play in the main narrative ofthe show.

Anyway,really sorry for jabbering so much. Thanks for the question! Hope this helps.

#Crazy Brittanalyst answers #chickennuggets66

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