#honestly my guy I get it I also wear cute sweaters and am scheming about loved ones and such

[zibah-ho]

watched knives out with my mother that experience alone is enough to make you want to do some family murdering

[reallyhardy]

Bestie, please break down those costumes.Plssss.I am soooooo jealous of U🫀❤️♥️

of course!

the 2018 regent's park open air theatre little shop of horrors production is pretty standout visually because (while they didn't change the script by updating it) they did move away from the typical 1960s historical fashion for the characters and instead played with modern outfits and a blend of textures. the whole show had a strong colour scheme of black and white, neon green, pink, and blue. costumes & scenic design was by tom scutt.

we'll start with seymour, as played by the lovely marc antolin. his outfit is all blue, down to his glasses. (why are the curtains blue? you could say for his boyishness, or that he's kind of a melancholy character, or that white guys always wear blue, take your pick haha)

the main bit is a boiler suit made of different patchworked denim in various contrasting stripes and tied around his waist. his short sleeve button up continues the patchwork vibe with the painted brushstroke-esque check pattern. he also wears a shacket at certain points, and while hard to see in the above image it also had a thin pinstriped pattern. seymour is all about pattern mixing. a fun detail to note is that audrey ii's main colour is obviously green: in the centre bottom photo you can see he wore green band-aids on his fingers :')

also: while in these above photocall pictures that were used in promotion here had him in yellow socks, it's important to note that, at least when i saw it, his socks were pink. who's main colour is pink? it's audrey.

actually, her first outfit is also mostly blue. seymour and audrey have the most similar colour scheme so that gives them a strong visual link. so her first outfit is very much giving sexy: she's got a frilly top that we can see her bra through. we have a nod to vintage fashion with her cigarette pants. also while these photos show her wearing fluffy slide slippers, when i saw it she was wearing the little clear plastic kitten heels shown in the design sketch - we can tell this is her 'im trying to look sexually appealing to my boyfriend' look. she's showing it all off.

but notably, her hair is this adorable bubblegum pink shade, so i thought it was extra cute that seymour had socks to match. just a little hint of who he's thinking about.

anyway, during act 2, when audrey & seymour's relationship is blossoming further, audrey debuts a different look entirely:

(concept sketch shown along with a photo of understudy rosalind james.) in dramatic constrast to her 'sexy-for-orin' look, now she's in dungarees and a cute sweater, and she's swapped the heels out for sneakers. also, she's got on a pair of pink glasses, suggesting that contact lenses were part of her sexy look. this look is all about comfort: because she's happy and in love with seymour, who makes her feel more comfortable than orin did, and this outfit looks nicely like the 'partner' look to seymour's outfit.

this is getting long, so the rest is going under a readmore. click through!

so this is her 'sominex' outfit, the look she wears when she encounters audrey ii just before she dies. the clear raincoat is honestly just fun. i think if i recall right the stage directions in the script do call for her to be wearing a yellow rain-slicker, but pink is this audrey's colour, so she's rocking this. the glasses are still on too.

underneath, she's wearing this fun floaty half-blue half-pink nightie with matching 'mismatched' pompom slippers. she is giving everything in this look honestly. the meeting of the pink-and-blue, because she's wearing both her own and seymour's main colours (she'd still love him, even if he'd never found the plant, and all she wanted was to be with seymour 😭)

i'll do orin next:

absolutely obsessed with matt willis as the dentist. as a busted fan in my childhood, i went to see this production specifically for him :') so he's got a much more dishevelled punk look he's very ghoulish with his white foundation and heavy black eyeliner. also love the detail of him having a blacked-out tooth too, really emphasises how he's probably not the best of dentists. his dentist gear including bloody apron is in a very medical neon blue-green, and i love how utterly sci-fi horror the gas mask harness is. LOVE the ripped off sleeves on his white coat. he also had this amazing leather jacket with tooth design on and the ensemble had matching outfits:

get a load of the teeth print leggings on the backup dancer on the middle left, absolutely obsessed. love the 1980s punky vibe for the 'dentist' number. this production makes great use of matt willis' own tattoos: after seymour kills orin, he came back on stage with some dismembered orin bits, and the creative team had gone to the effort of painting matt willis' tattoos onto the fake arms that seymour fed to the plant :')

okay let's move on and look at mr mushnik, played by forbes masson:

small guy, huge voice, absolute standout. they've gone for 'little greasy man' as the vibe here, complete with a drawn-on pencil moustache. his outfit, much like the ensemble, doesn't have a lot of colour, just a fairly normal grey suit with a work jacket. the most notable thing about his look is that while he starts out in a purple bow tie, once the shop starts seeing success, he wears a bow tie in audrey ii's neon green. like seymour's band-aids, audrey ii's colour (and therefore her influence/impact) shows up in the costumes of a lot of the other characters.

let's do audrey ii next then, as played by vicky vox:

so this production makes use of both the usual 'audrey ii is a puppet' situation plus then having the drag queen performer on stage to interact with the other characters as like, the plant personified. absolute LOVED it. let's start with the puppet:

we've got the baby form and slightly bigger form i think here, it's a fun alien looking plant, love the spherical head with human teeth. for the plant to 'grow', a bigger version of this plant head is placed inside of a 'mouth' that can open and close sort of like an aperture:

and upon opening it, drag queen audrey ii steps out. she kind of comes in and out of it, and mostly just interacts with seymour.

this outfit is absolutely fabulous, and i especially love the 'HERE IT IS' pointing down to her booty on the back of the jacket.

then a notable progression for audrey ii's appearance is the changing wigs. we can see that her first wig shown here below is the direct partner of audrey's, (after all, the plant was named after her) and is styled the same way.

when i saw the show, both audreys were wearing different wigs that i thought weren't really as pretty as the ones from the photocall, these wigs are on the left of the above image. i'll call these the round wigs.

the most important thing to note though is that when audrey ii first appears, she has that strong visual link to original audrey. and this is played up in the way that audrey ii interacts with seymour during 'feed me' - audrey ii acts quite flirtatious with seymour and he seems receptive to it and has to visibly shake himself out of it. then in the second act, audrey ii switches wigs to the style in the above middle. during suppertime, there was more of audrey ii trying to be flirtatious with seymour, but at this point he is much more disgusted by it: audrey ii's wig no longer resembles original audrey’s, and by now seymour hates her guts.

the final look for audrey ii via photocall features what seems to be the original wig but with the curls blown out, styled to be more messy and windswept, but by the end of the run during the finale audrey ii just wore the round wig, with the added venus flytrap headpiece and feathered cape.

apologies for the terrible screencaps: the fabric the cape was made of featured green rocky horror-esque lips showing teeth. it was mega. the wig also featured some long pink extensions at the back.

let's go back a bit to some other characters who have been wearing audrey ii's green consistently, and that's the urchins:

they wear these punky, i would say more 1990s streetwear inspired costumes throughout the whole show, and don't change until the end. the two gals on the left wear pieces that tie in strongly to the set, which is a crumbling grayscale newspaper-inspired city/drive-in theatre set proclaiming 'GOD BLESS AMERICA' across the top.

we can see the girl on the far left has a grayscale US flag top, while the middle girl has grey cityscape patterned sweatpants. then all three of them are wearing the bright neon of audrey ii, reminded us and the audience who's story they're telling. out of the 3, my definite fave look is the girl on the right, with the green jacket and shiny 'FEED ME' print leggings. i need those leggings. but yes what we can notice is that 2/3 urchins' outfits align strongly not only with audrey ii's green but with the same grayscale/cityscape patterns that the ensemble wear during skid row & other scenes:

anyway i like that the ensemble's look speaks to like... the set coming alive to tell the story. it's cool. this comes back during act 2 when the ensemble put on gloves that resemble audrey ii's vines and push around shopping trolleys with bits of building set inside:

not so easy to see that they were wearing the gloves, but basically they had long fingers that looked like smaller versions of these vines.

and with all this green let's get to the finale, where everyone has a different look. we've already seen audrey ii, here's the urchins.

lovely and shiny looks, this time they're all wearing the same thing. these are their sort of... idk i guess this is circus vibes tbh? welcome to this absolute circus: the finale definitely DOES have a circus vibe, making clowns of the cast, particularly seymour. here's a look at everyone with audrey ii lording over everything at the top:

the enesmble have VERY fun alien plant costumes on, with a big focus on toothy mouths and floppy tongues (we've seen audrey ii's cape with its green lips so it's all on the same oral fixation) let's take a closer look at seymour's outfit, which is definitely giving clown, considering he was the great fool of the story.

so it's this great big fluffy clown suit over his blue shirt that now his this shiny blood appliqued on, love it, with the green on the limbs ending at the shirt with the plant lips and teeth at his shoulders/waist, implying that his limbs have been eaten by the plant. this is great to see in action!

now let's take a look at the rest which i'm gonna have to show via very low quality screencaps because seymour's was the only photo tom scutt posted. here's audrey, orin & mushnik's 'plant looks', these guys are more like... audrey ii's put them in drag.

audrey's achieved her somewhere that's green fantasy, in a great swirly dress with full skirt and ruffly sleeves, still in her blue and pink colour scheme, in her same sneakers and pink glases. she's also got white lace gloves on. audrey ii said 'okay girl you can have this as a treat'. hers is the least alien-plant because it's like... audrey's fantasy look, and i love that.

orin's in a gold sequin mini-dress, but still his same combat boots. it reminds me of a brad pitt photoshoot from rolling stone 1999. look it up and i think you'll agree and i'd hazard a guess that it was a direct inspiration for this look.

mushnik's got on the long vine-finger gloves that the ensemble has during the meek shall inherit, and then a spectacular sequined set: blazer, bow tie, and the actor forbes masson said it's specifically supposed to be a kilt, because he is scottish and i think chose this as part of his look. he's also got light up gold sneakers, obsessed, and in the close up you get a look at his gold & green cats eye glasses and green lipstick.

okay i think! i've covered all of the main looks, or at least everything that i could find reasonably clear images of. iirc seymour did have a leather jacket for the scene where he's trying to make himself more like orin because he thinks audrey will like that, but i couldn't find any photos.

thanks for reading! i know this was a long post but i absolutely adoooore the visuals of this production and its a damn shame that it doesn't have a recording 😭😭😭

[obeymeoasis]

Demon Bros React: MC Compliments Them Aggresively

Warnings: A generally thirsty MC, Beel’s react has a brief mention of choking.

Lucifer

It was rare that Lucifer had time off during the afternoon and you were fully taking advantage of it. 

Holding hands, you were taking a leisurely stroll around the garden. Every few minutes you stopped to point out a flower or a bug that had caught your eye.

“Ooh Luci, look at this one! It looks like a rainbow! Oh my god, it’s so shiny, I love it!”

You heard Lucifer chuckling at you and turned to ask what was so funny when you stood still in shock at the sight before you. The glow of the afternoon sun illuminated Lucifer beautifully, his black hair almost glowing, his face open and happy, smiling at you. He looked absolutely radiant. And you were going to tell him as much.

“Oh my god Lucifer, what is wrong with you?”

Lucifer’s smile dimmed immediately and his eyes narrowed. “Love, whatever do you mean?” His voice was careful and tense.

“I mean, it is illegal for you to look that good! Oh my god! Do you see you? You look like a greek god like what in the actual world!”

Lucifer’s mouth opened in surprise at your sudden outburst.

“How are you even my boyfriend? Like you’re literally glowing Luci. Oh my god my eyes, you’re too bright I can’t even look at you!”

Lucifer blinked a couple of times as if to clear his head. Slowly a satisfied smirk replaced his confused look and he moved to press a kiss against the back of your hand.

“Love, what on earth has gotten into you today?”

“What, I’m not allowed to compliment my boyfriend?”

“Of course you are, although I’d prefer it if the compliments were given in a more... private place next time.”

“...Fine.”

Mammon

Mammon had apparently made some money in one of his schemes and he practically dragged you to Majolish one morning to go shopping.

Once in the store Mammon had sped off in a flurry of activity, adding clothes to an ever-growing pile before herding you toward the dressing room. 

"Wait for me outside, okay? Ya gotta tell me how each outfit looks.”

A few minutes later, Mammon stepped out in a pair of dark jeans that hugged his toned legs and a black v-neck sweater that showed off his collarbone. A thin gold chain adorned his neck and the look was completed with a pair of combat boots.

“Well, whattaya think?”

“Mammon. What the hell.”

Mammon’s shoulders drooped a little. “Not good?”

“Mammon. You look so hot. So fucking hot. Like. A supermodel? An icon? You’re stunning!”

He was beginning to blush and you could see how pleased your compliments made him. “O-Of course you think I’m hot! I’m the Great Mammon! I always look good in whatever I wear.”

He expected you to stop at that point and chide him to be more humble but was surprised when you amped up the compliments.

“You do babe, you really do. Look at how long your legs are! And your arms, oh my god. And your chest, wow, I kinda want to lick your chest right now.”

“MC!” Shocked and a little embarrassed, Mammon fled to the inside of the dressing room, swishing the curtain shut behind him. He could feel his cheeks burning. 

“Sorry Mams, I’ll stop if you want me to. But I meant every word.”

“...Please don’t stop.”

Leviathan

You were in his room, cuddled on some cushions, watching a new anime together. 

Your head on Levi’s shoulder, you were so comfortable that you were close to drifting off to sleep, until Levi nudged your shoulder. “Sorry, I have to go feed Henry.”

You watched Levi sprinkle food into the large tank, his face illuminated by the soft glow. The bubbles and movement from the tank created dancing patterns on his face. As Levi watched Henry eat, he smiled a soft, private smile, and in that moment he looked ethereal.

“Levi, you’re so beautiful.”

Levi’s head whipped around to look at you. “W-What are you talking about?”

You got up and moved closer until you were inches from his face, studying his features. “I’m serious Levi, you’re absolutely gorgeous. Devastatingly handsome. I could honestly stare at you all day. You are so so beautiful.”

With each compliment, Levi’s mouth grew a little bit wider until he was gaping at you.

“I-Is this some kind of joke? Are you making fun of me right now? Why would you- You know how I feel about-”

“Levi, please. Have a little more faith in me. You know I’d never make fun of you. I’m being completely serious right now when I say that you’re incredibly beautiful.”

Levi thinks his brain might have stopped working.

His face is burning, his body is all tingly, and he can’t get any words out?

“Levi? Come back to me, Levi! Hello?” You’re waving your hand in front of his face but you think he might be broken.

You take his hand and slowly lead him back toward the cushions for kisses and more cuddling. 

Satan

Reading with Satan was one of your favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

You sat in opposite armchairs and let the comfortable silence fill the room. The only disturbance would be if either of you wanted to share a line or passage from the book you were reading.

Legs curled against your chest, you watched the flame of the candles make flickering shadows against Satan’s bookshelves.

He tapped you on the shoulder and you turned to see his outstretched hand holding his book.

“Love, look at this line.”

You read in amusement as the hero of the story made a witty joke. "That was a good one-"

You turned and saw Satan, his eyes crinkled in laughter, a light blush dusting his cheeks, his lips bitten in an attempt to hold in a giggle.

"Satan... you're so fucking cute."

Immediately one of his eyebrows cocked in confusion. "What-"

"You are so adorable, wow. I want to squish your cheeks and like keep you inside my pocket or something."

"Love, I am the Avatar of Wrath. I am not... cute."

"Yeah? Well I beg to differ. I call it like I see it and right now, I can see that you are the cutest being I've ever seen in my life. The way your eyes light up and you get all blushy. So adorable, I can't stand it."

Satan seemed to be stunned by your exclamation, his features frozen in a mixture of confusion and shock.

You walked over to him and began pressing kisses against his eyelids, on his cheeks, nose, and then finally, lips. "I'm gonna keep kissing you because you're so cute, okay?"

He ended up tugging you against his chest and holding you in a princess-carry, trying to bury his face in your hair so you couldn't see how flustered he was.

Asmodeus

You were in Asmo's room helping him pick an outfit. Well, more like you were scrolling through your D.D.D. while Asmo went through his entire closet complaining about how he had nothing to wear.

He had some sort of big business meeting coming up with a perfume company who wanted his help in designing their new line of products.

Every outfit so far had been beautiful and Asmo looked amazing in each one, as always. You weren't sure how to help him.

"MC, this next outfit is a little different. It's not really my style but it was a gift from the designer so tell me what you think, okay?"

Asmo swished aside the curtain of his dressing room and walked out in a formal black business suit. The shirt was open at the throat, exposing his delicate neck, and he had added a pink pocket square. A large silver watch shone on his left wrist. His shiny black shoes clicked against the floor as he walked toward you.

"So, what do you think?"

"Asmo... If I'm being honest I kind of want you to pin me against the wall right now."

"Darling! You're usually never this forward."

You stood up and twirled him around. "My god Asmo, you look incredible. You look so sexy and professional. Like a rich CEO or something. Scratch the wall thing, I kinda need you to bend me over your desk."

Asmo had never been more surprised by you, but his shock didn’t last long.

"Do you really like it, MC? Do you like when I wear this sort of thing? I should wear suits more often if it means you talking like that. I love this side of you darling!"

He began stalking toward you until your back was gently pressed against the wall, his arms making a kind of cage around you. “Is this what you pictured, MC?” He began kissing you fiercely and you grabbed onto the lapel of his jacket to keep yourself steady. 

“Asmo?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Don’t go to the meeting today.”

Beelzebub

You were in the gym with Beel. He was lifting weights and you were bouncing on a medicine ball next to him.

Even though you didn’t exercise at all, Beel said he liked you being there with him. And since it was such a hot day outside, you didn’t mind spending the afternoon in the cool air-conditioned building.

But despite the chill of the room, Beel’s shirt was soaked with sweat. He was lifting enormous weights and you could see the muscles of his arms straining with the effort. 

Beel was, well, absolutely ripped. His arms, legs, and stomach all looked like they had been carved from marble. And you spent enough time cuddling with him to know that his body felt exactly like it looked, solid and incredibly strong.

People who didn’t know Beel personally would have found it hard to believe that the demon with an eight-pack had the personality of a hungry golden retriever.

A grunt from Beel startled you out of your thoughts and you realized you had been staring at him this whole time. Uncomfortable at the way his shirt was sticking to his body from sweat, Beel peeled it off of himself.

“Beel?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re killing me here.”

He looked at you in confusion, worried he had done something. “MC, what’s wrong?”

“Beel, do you even see yourself right now? You literally look like sex on legs. How are you even real? I want to touch you all over. But I also kind of want you to choke me.”

“MC!” Beel cried out in surprise and you could see his neck was flushed. “You know I would never hurt you.”

“I know big guy, I trust you.” You let out a low whistle and reveled in how Beel looked, a combination of pleased and a bit embarrassed. “Beel, you’re so perfect. You look like you could protect me from the world.”

“I would you know,” he whispered. “I want to protect you, I don’t want anything or anyone to hurt you.”

You smiled at him. “I know Beel, and I love you for it.” You let the silence hang in the air for a moment. “But also, can I lick your abs?”

“MC!”

Belphegor

It was a rare occasion that you and Belphie were outside, as you both usually preferred to stay in.

You had both woken up late and decided to stop by a local cafe for some lunch because you were too lazy to cook. 

Belphie sat across from you at the small table and sipped his tea delicately while you polished off the rest of your sandwich. You had one of your ankles hooked around his.

He was looking out the window, his face turned toward the side, and you used the opportunity to study his features.

Long black eyelashes framed his piercing purple eyes. His silky dark hair stood out against his pale complexion and your eyes traced the high bridge of his nose, the softness of his lips.

As if feeling your stare Belphie turned toward you with a smirk. “Something I can help you with?”

“Belphie... you’re really pretty.” 

You could see that you had surprised him a little with your honesty. “You’re so pretty, Belphie. I know a lot of people would kill to have eyelashes as long as yours. And your mouth looks so kissable. You kind of look like a doll. You’re honestly so gorgeous.”

His face was completely blank for a moment then morphed into a calculating stare. “Are... are you being serious right now?” His gaze suddenly turned cold.

“Why would I joke about something like this? I’m telling you right now that think you’re pretty. You’re beautiful.”

Belphie's voice betrayed no emotion. “Nobody’s ever called me pretty before. Or beautiful.”

“Oh, Belphie.” You took his hand from across the table and pressed a kiss against his palm and then the inside of his wrist, the way he did to you all the time. “I’ll repeat it everyday for the rest of my life if you want.”

He scrunched up his nose and whispered, “Don’t. You’re being embarrassing.” But you could tell he didn’t really mean it by the way the corners of his lips quirked up.

He was mostly silent for the rest of lunch, apparently deep in thought, only nodding occasionally at your comments.

When it was time to leave, however, he reached to hold your hand and didn’t let go the entire way home.

[letstrywritingmaybe]

Nothing’s Changed

Summary: Technically a 5+5. In which everyone is scheming to get the otp together, but here’s the thing: they’re already together.

A bonus written purely because I do still love this ship a lot. Happy Holidays! I send my best regards and as always, Lots of Love <3

It’s been ten long years, a way overdue Christmas miracle is the only way to get these two insufferable idiots together. Literally everyone in their life agrees they would be perfect together, especially since they’ve both been crushing hard on each other. They just need a little push, or maybe five hard shoves from their well meaning friends. Operation CoAi is a go. There’s just one minor problem… they’re already official.

Ran

It’s winter in the city of Beika, with freezing temperatures enough to send any ill prepared person who dares to brave the cold weather without proper attire into a quivering mess. As the designated mom friend of the group, mostly due to the fact that she’s older than these kids by a whole decade, she decides on knitting all the Detective Boys sweaters this year. She’s just about finished with the project, when the kids arrive for their early Christmas present. They’re meant to wear it for Sonoko’s holiday party next week. She happily welcomes everyone inside, eyes not so subtly lingering on Conan and Ai as they’re the last to enter as usual. She smiles seeing these two, they’re just so cute! Lost in their own world, keeping a minimal amount of attention towards the group, honestly she doesn’t know why they’re not together with how much time they spend with each other.

“It fits perfectly! You guys look great! I have to take a picture! Remember to wear these for the party!”

“… Ran-neechan…”

“Yes Conan-kun?”

“Um… have you been sleeping alright?”

“What Edogawa-kun is trying to say is why did you knit our sweaters together?

It’s true, Ran’s plan was simple. They can’t go anywhere if they’re next to each other, not that they’re ever apart, and maybe it’ll force them to confront their feelings and get together already! Plus they look so stinking cute wearing their getalong sweater, flushed red cheeks and all. She simply smiles, telling them this is not a flaw in design; it's a calculated move.

After finally escaping the contraption, it was time to go home. Naturally Conan and Ai leave together since they are neighbors. Once left alone, they start a silent commute back. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here, and she’s unsure how to feel. A gust of wind blows past them, making her shiver. She should’ve known better than to wear a thin cardigan out. Ever the gentleman, he quickly takes off his coat to wrap around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“It’s my job as your boyfriend to keep you warm.”

“… but you didn’t tell her.”

“I thought I did, but I guess I must have forgotten… I’m sorry, I’ll tell her next time. Promise.”

“It doesn’t matter, you don’t have to.”

“I want to, I’m not keeping you a secret. It’s exhausting keeping your fanboys away from you.”

“I don’t even complain about your fangirls.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Should I be?”

“Never. Let’s go home, Ai.”

Ayumi

The best presents are ones that are homemade, it’s why Ayumi decides to take a page out of Ran’s book and knit a scarf for her boyfriend’s birthday. Now of course she needs some support, and who better to ask than her best friend? Yes, it is absolutely necessary that Ai also knit a scarf with her. As to what she does with it later, well she has some suggestions. Surprisingly the strawberry blonde takes her advice and gives the hand made gift to Conan. Yet, nothing’s changed. They still act the exact same, which means it’s time for plan B.

“I thought you said you were done with the scarf.”

“I am, this one’s for you, Ai-chan! Here, let me help you put it on… you look so cozy!”

“… is there a reason you made this extra long?”

“Did I? Oh that just means it’s perfect for you to share… Oh look! Conan-kun is here. Just in time for you to go home together! I’ll see you two tomorrow!”

Once again wrapped together, this time with a scarf, Ai lets out a sigh. Conan wears a smug expression, one that she pointedly ignores. Because of this, he refuses to allow her to take the accessory off. Besides, they look so cute walking home all bundled up together.

“So I guess it’s my turn. You didn’t tell her.”

“She’s been stressing over the holidays and making the scarf, I didn’t want her to worry about anything else.”

“Why would she need to worry about our relationship?”

She stays silent, not wanting to voice her thoughts aloud, but he knows what she was thinking anyways. They enter the professor’s home, untangling themselves from each other. Ai takes care to neatly fold up the scarf, she looks up to see the detective’s eyes upon her. He smiles before pulling out a familiar material she knows all too well. She spent nights staying up to make it after all.

“As much as I appreciate Ayumi’s efforts, I still prefer this one.”

“So you don’t have to be tied to me.”

“No, that’s not it. Because you made this one, for me. So of course it’s my favorite.”

Sonoko

There is absolutely no shame in being more direct, what’s the point of beating around the bush and pining when both parties are interested? It wastes too much time and they’re not getting any younger. It’s simple, just kiss and get together; all they need is an opportunity. Luckily for these brats, she’s the queen of creating romantic settings. Her plan is super easy: cover this entire ballroom in mistletoe and since they’re always next to each other, just let the Christmas tradition take over. There’s just one slight problem, these kids have sharp eyes and are somehow maneuvering their way out of the hoard of mistletoes. Darn all their close brushes with death making them extremely observant and cautious. They’re even staying on separate sides of the room.

“You two are making this so difficult!”

“I thought you wanted us to help set up, Sonoko-neechan?”

“You’re hopeless, I’m trying to help you out kid. Now go over there and help Ai-chan.”

“But she doesn’t need any…”

“Go!”

Of course he’s noticed the minefield of mistletoe above them, but Conan doesn’t have a death wish. As much as he would love to just take Ai in his arms and kiss her, she’s not big on public displays of affection. It’s the whole reason why she suggested splitting up the moment they stepped into the room. Guess they have to add yet another person onto the list of people who aren’t aware of their relationship status.

“That was an exhausting three hours. We are never doing this again.”

“You know, she probably would’ve left us alone if you just let me kiss you.”

“And give her the satisfaction? Never.”

She’s still peeved since she had to go out of her way to avoid her boyfriend. How is it no one in their immediate circle knows they’re together? Do they not seem like a couple… but then all their friends are trying so hard to set them up! She’s confused, maybe they’re better off as friends. As soon as the thought enters her mind, it’s almost as if he could sense her uncertainty. Right at her doorstep, free of any holiday decorations and prying eyes, he does the one thing he’s been wanting to do all day. He kisses her, it’s just a simple press of his lips against hers, she melts nonetheless.

“You’re right as usual Ai, I don’t need an excuse to kiss you.”

“For the record, you stole that one.”

“I’ll let you steal the next one, just don’t make me wait too long.”

Agasa

As her adoptive father and longtime surrogate caretaker of their neighbor next door, it is his duty to ensure these two lovebirds do not make the same mistake he did in his youth. What better way than with an invention? One that finds who holds the other end of the red strings of fate, and to keep with the Christmas cheer, it comes with a ribbon that automatically ties the two soulmates together. What could go wrong?

“What did you say this robot is supposed to do again, Professor?”

“You’ll find out soon enough Ai-kun!”

“You’re sure this isn’t going to explode?”

“I triple checked! Wait! Don’t press the button yet, we need to wait for Conan-kun.”

“Why?”

“It um… requires two people to make it work.”

“There’s two of us here right now.”

“Well… oh good! He’s here!”

Before Conan can even ask why the professor needed him to rush over right this minute, disaster strikes. In his haste to get the machine going, Agasa presses the red button way too hard and now the robot is going haywire. The good news is it works, the bad news is it won’t stop. Conan and Ai are the intended targets, which means they’re now wrapped together with a bunch of red ribbons. What is it with everyone trying to force the two of them together?

“I can’t believe this is happening to us again.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t know! I literally come over everyday and we don’t exactly keep our distance when I’m here…”

“I think this is a sign, Conan. None of our friends know we’re together even though we thought it was obvious.”

“What are you thinking then?”

“I don’t know… maybe we should go back…”

“Not a chance. I don’t care that no one knows, it just means I get to tell them. We can do it together, gather everyone and announce it.”

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“It’s better than your plan. You’re not getting away from me that easily. It took me ten years to get you to say yes, I'm not letting anything stand in our way. Especially something like this. Besides, they mean well.”

It’s true, their friends are only trying to help. It just makes her question things, are they really that helpless? She sighs, he reaches over to finish brushing off the last of the ribbon from her hair. He smiles as he cups her cheek, eyes staring at her in adoration. He pulls her close, interlacing their fingers together while keeping her in his embrace.

Heiji

It’s taken him a very long time to realize that actions mean jackshit when there are no words to back it up. After all, it took years before he finally got his girl. Now that he’s way ahead in this race, it’s time to help his friend out. What better way then to coerce a confession out of Conan and record it as evidence? He has the perfect setting for it too, it’s Christmas Eve and everyone is at Sonoko’s party. This should be a piece of cake.

“So… we’re five minutes away from Christmas.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you up to, Hattori?”

“I’m just curious how much longer you’re going to put this off.”

“Put what off?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talking about.”

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on, Conan! You’re really going to keep her waiting?”

“Who? Ai? She’s not waiting for me. She’s talking to Ayumi.”

“… you already have a plan. You keep looking over at her. Maybe you don’t need my help after all.”

“No, I don’t need your help with my own girlfriend.”

“I knew it! Wait! What! Your girlfriend!”

Conan smiles as he now successfully has everyone’s attention. All eyes are now focused on them in the center of the room, but his eyes are on her. Timing it so that he stands in front of her just as the clock strikes midnight. He takes Ai’s hand and finally lets everyone in on their unintentional secret.

“Yes, Ai and I are dating. Have been dating for a while now. We appreciate your help, but we’re good. Promise.”

The crowd erupts into a chorus of congratulations, they manage to slip away before they’re bombarded with questions as to how it happened. Instead their friends are now trying to prove who gets the credit for helping them realize they’re meant to be. Even though they had nothing to do with it, feelings can’t be forced after all.

“How do you feel now that everyone knows? We are still good right?”

“We are, I don't know what I was expecting but… nothing’s changed. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing.”

“I’ve had enough surprises for a lifetime, but it was worth it. We’re doing fine the way we are, there’s nothing we have to prove to anyone. It’s you Ai, I choose you.”

“Sometimes you really know what to say to a girl.”

She wears a small smile, but it’s enough to send his heart leaping. They can still hear the sounds of their friends arguing in the background, but it doesn’t bother them in the slightest. Nothing in the world could break them apart right now, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Also available on ao3 <3

[lovedinapastlife]

Riverdale Reaction - 3x17 - “The Master”

They could’ve renamed this episode “The Snacks” and it’d be pretty damn accurate

The Serpents are slithering in the name of justice and laser pointers! I’m already 10/10 all in

No necklace on V! Is that growth? Can Betty get her a BFF chain thing? Like a heart with two halves and they each wear them? Ohhhh look at my scheming girls.

HA! The Serpents pool table replaced the dining room table. I mean, priorities. Really.

There is an obscene amount of orange juice in the Jones house. Commentary on the acidic relationships? Sunny dispositions? Maybe not. The photos on the fridge have changed and transferred! Woo! OH NO SHE DID NOT grab Jug by his hair and hat. Momma is going down. I’m siccing the girls on her.

Omg Betty’s “ritualistic drowning” line and Veronica’s big smile like “That’s my girl” made my heart swell. Love them when they’re fighting evil instead of perpetrating it.

Did Kevin just put “garden” in air quotes? It sounded like he did. They do have a garden. We saw it. Multiple times.

Alice looks good in white. And crazy XD Wear a silky camisole out in the world as a shirt. You do you, girl. I love the orange/red "yeah I used to be a Serpent” outfit from S2 and hope that comes back at some point.

Why do they choose the creepiest area of Mercy to do interviews? I enjoyed it, weirdly enough. Made their facial expressions reminisce of unimpressed teens sitting in on a scary story. Also, I love how it’s just a check mark box of YES or NO on whatever’s on the sheet and Evelyn didn’t bother marking the last one.

Hermione, the whiney ex-wifey. What was she gonna do if Hiram actually stayed down during those 2 murder attempts? Girl, all you had to do was hold those tubes of oxygen and he’d be taking a dirt nap

Archie’s face as he makes a healthy shake while Jughead noms on chips made me laugh. Classic. Also, any time Archie eats something unhealthy he looks anxious like it will immediately deflate his abs. The prison storyline is silly. Still. Am I the only one who’s still confused by Mad Dog’s status?

The Varchie scene. Sigh. Sometimes I want to bite Archie’s nose because I’m not passionate enough to slap him but I’m frustrated enough I wanna leave a pointy little imprint for a minute. “You worked so hard…before…” Oh like Mary, Sierra, and Betty did as well when you were in trial? And yes, Veronica worked her butt off too and made CUPCAKES for your return! THE CUPCAKES! I’m still upset about it.

“Yes, they wear white after Labor Day…” Is it intentional that Cheryl’s wearing white in this scene? Foreshadowing? Love the little detail on her sweater and Betty’s red sweater as if she’s an ally for the Blossoms.

Ok I’m loving the over-the-top nonsense of Jughead with a switchblade demanding they look for gargoyles on telephone poles and confiscate “gaming equipment.” The Serpents oughtta get a PS4 or something. I love Deputy!Serpents. SOMEONE has to actually do some investigating in this town. And ass-kicking? And pin-pushing? Hilariously enough. Did anyone else notice Jughead thanked a kid named “Jason” on the walkie? Is there a Serpent without a stupid nickname? Or is that a codename?! So many questions.

Ha! FP is mad the Serpents “ruined” his bust. Like, sorry for doing your job before you, sir.

BETTY SNOOPER! What a nickname. Love you, girl.

ELUCIDATE THAT. Damn, sir. You know how to use that vocabulary. I never had an affinity CMM as a teen but he’s got some vibes I’m digging. Like the colorful candles intermixed with the regular ones.

I love how Elio shows up in a full suit to antagonize men he doesn’t know and walks away after it appears Archie is more interested in Fight Club Light

Ok Cheryl has a daddy kink. I know she’s a canon lesbian but canon also has her very interested in the DILFs as eye-candy. Ooooh I cringed when she called him “Eddie.”

I had to rewatch the Archie and Juvie Crew Pop’s scene to get the significance of the guy saying “If I never ate anything but these burgers again, I’d die happy.” WHELP! Good news, person I presume is “Baby Teeth!”

People are terrible at assassination in Riverdale. Why send her a fish? That’s a decent dinner if she could cook. Which I somehow doubt, despite her waitressing at Pop’s. Now her apartment smells.

Betty stands alone in a sea of psychos

Oh my god Hiram’s little SPOOOON! He’s just trying to eat his tiny snacks in peace. He is so done with being accused of everything XD Honestly, he’s probably as sick of his storylines as we are. Also, is that a man with the Olympic torch on the left? Is that gonna be his S4 storyline? Hiram goes for Gold?

Uuuugh I know it was a useless but cute scene and Bughead are so soft I wanna cry. They’re glowing.

Are there ribbon-cutting ceremonies for prisons? Only in Riverdale, I guess.

Maybe there’s a good reason Betty didn’t ask Archie to be her mole at the Farm. He’d definitely join them or just break stuff with his new boxing crew and be like, “LOOK, BETTY! I DID WHAT YOU ASKED :D”

So the juvie guys know the same Serpent deputy secret signals, huh? This sequence is so Riverdale. And Jughead takes NO ONE up with him except Mr. Crowbar? Look at this crazy fight sequence. Good thing the Gargoyles choose to wear masks that limit their vision or our boys may have been in trouble. Because in this DARK SHOW with 99% leather and jeans on boys, how would they know who was who otherwise?

Omg Rhino!Archie is on the loose! I have mixed feelings about the raid sequence.

The ascending window-escape wasn’t really a build-up? They needed some creepy dialogue or something more than that one line. That fall looked pretty painful though? At least he didn’t snag the beanie on a stray plank.

Ok this show doesn’t get how marriage and annulment works. But that’s okay. Hiram can be like Henry VIII and make his own rules. It’s Riverdale.

VERONICA! You schemey schemer! I’d clutch my pearls if we still had any!

Okay does Gladys genuinely not care if Jughead gets shot? Like, she doesn’t actively want to murder him but she’d be fine if he was gone? Because that SUCKS. And giving the Gargoyles guns, she knew that was a possibility. Okay, lady. Game on. Jug should tell his dad. Oh man. My heart.

Betty, my precious snoopy angel! Find Edgar’s tapes and Evelyn’s if you can!

“Like a seance?” anyone else having flashbacks to Jason’s wake and Betty and Juggie bein’ cute lil detectives? Cheryl…oh Cheryl. You saw Jason move on. CARRY ON MY WAYWARD BLOSSOM~ Also, I know the Toni breakup thing was a ruse, but uh…where is she? Just pretending to be broken up with Cheryl? Not caring that she’s in a cult? Alrighty then.

I wonder if Archie or Hiram kept the random trophies in the gym. Again, I’m gonna randomly say that’s gonna be a future season storyline. Forget state champs, these teens wanna get to the Olympics, only to be undermined by their jealous parents!

Okay Betty in a scooped/V-neck? Nice. Also, it looks like Alice is wearing a sheep pin which makes me laugh and also die a little inside.

Alice. You have a daughter. Two, in fact. Neither of whom you have a good experience with because you’re a crap mom, so of course the imaginary dead son is your favorite.

Betty vs. Evernevers! Hell yes! Can we have V join Team Betty more actively as a badass and ignore the speakeasy/divorce stuff in favor of righteous awesome? ‘K thanks!

The Baby Teeth stuff was gross. No thanks. Next.