#i don’t even know which one i’m gonna vote for. i gotta think about it

[lumiereandcogsworth]

please reblog if you vote!!

[nolita-fairytale]

still into you | carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!reader | chapter one: thursday

summary: you, syd, marcus, and carmy return to where it all began: new york city, prompting you and carmy to think a lot about your past... and your future together. (four part series | follow-up to 'make my heart surrender)

warnings: lots of swearing, tooth-rotting fluff, use of she/her pronouns, the lightest of smut, no use of y/n, second person pov

word count: 5k

listen to: 91 - bleachers | now i'm in it - haim | bewitched, bothered, and bewildered - ella fitzgerald (playlist here)

a/n: re: the poll -- yall really said 'let this man be happy please!' and i love that for us. if you voted for the other fic, i want to reassure you that i will be writing that one right after this! please enjoy all of the fluff and joy of this four chapter fic. i also feel like i potentially robbed us of a smut scene so... anyone interested in a bonus smut scene as a companion to this chapter?

Thursday 

“Alright, guys. We only have a few hours to get our day one prep done. I’ve outlined a schedule for today so that we’re as efficient as possible. Tomorrow’s gotta go smooth, alright?” Carmy instructs, laying out the day. 

You listen intently, marveling at your boyfriend in-action. He’s so fearless when he’s in his element, and being back in New York just seems to bring back all the memories of how you met. It’s like you’re twenty seven again, huddling up for a pre-shift meeting, led by recently-promoted wunderkind CDC, Carmen Berzatto. 

Only, you’re not twenty seven anymore and Carmy is the love of your life. 

“I’m gonna start with the mise for our beef dish, so Syd, can you get working on our signature veal stock? I think we should work with one in the pressure cooker just in case we get short on time and have a back up,” Carmy directs, an intense determination filling his eyes. 

He looks from Sydney to Marcus, before continuing his orders. 

“Marcus, I need you to start on the ice cream today, chef. I ordered us some liquid nitrogen if we need to make more on the fly, but I’d really prefer not to.”

And then it’s your turn, and boy, do you love to watch him work. You have to fight the corners of your lips from curling into a broad grin because you know now is not the time. 

“And lastly, I’m gonna have you work on the pasta. My goal is for us to get all of the agnolotti assembled today, so I’ll jump in when I wrap up with my mise to help you with that, yeah?”

“Heard,” the three of you answer in unison. 

Everyone’s got their game faces on because this is a big deal. 

The biggest, actually. 

Representing The Bear at the James Beard House is more than a big deal – it’s an honor. Only a handful of chefs get invited to cook here per year, and after a little fancy footwork in terms of scheduling, the four of you were finally able to agree on a date with the famous organization. You’re more than elated to be a part of the team, even if you aren’t working at The Bear anymore. 

The four of you quickly busy yourselves with setting up your stations. You only have a few hours to accomplish a whole lot of prep, and the pressure sits heavily on each of your shoulders. Tickets to the dinner had sold out within the first hour, which, after all the press, accolades, and media attention the restaurant had earned over the last few years, hadn’t been a huge surprise.

“Think you can keep up, chef? Don’t tell me you’re gettin’ rusty on me,” Marcus quips, already starting the playful trash talking early.

You let out a laugh, before challenging him in jest.

“Damn, Marcus. Hasn’t been that long. Bet I can still kick your ass on a ‘beat the clock’ mise, chef.”

“Oooooh. Shots fired,” Sydney calls out, joining in on your friendly banter.

“Challenge accepted,” Marcus shoots back, almost instantly. 

And then you’re scrambling to get as many prep containers and a kitchen scale, as you race your friend and mentee, all in good fun. 

You’ve missed this. 

It’s only been a few months since you started your new job – a culinary education director at a startup intent on building more sustainable food systems. While your heart would always be at the restaurant, you’d been ready to take on new challenges. The salary pay and benefits didn’t hurt either. You were happy taking a grown-up job, craving a little more stability and normalcy – and so that you and Carmy could stop paying out the ass for health insurance. Besides, you were still working with food. It just looked… well, a lotta different these days. 

You’ve missed the fast pace of the kitchen, your people, and Carmy’s desire for excellence, but it’s not like those things have left your life either. You still have them. 

After you’d left the restaurant, Marcus had taken over as the head pastry chef. In the last few months, you’ve watched him mentor and inspire a new group of wide-eyed, green, chefs-in-the-making, which had made you prouder than you’d ever have the words for. 

You can smell the sharp-allium scent of onions, as Syd quarters them for her stock, and while you have several cartons of eggs and 00 flour, Marcus has gathered all the milk that you’d just purchased for today’s prep.

“Behind,” Carmy says. He passes you by with a few 5 qt storage containers stacked, as he hugs them to his body with one arm. 

You feel his other hand place the gentlest touch on the small of your back as he leans in and whispers in your ear, “It’s good to have you back, chef.” 

You smile, turning your head just enough to lean back to look at him. 

“It’s good to be back, chef.” 

He presses the gentlest, slow kiss to your lips, and it feels like time stops for a moment. As he pulls away from you, there’s a small smirk on his face as Sydney shouts, “Oh get a room, you two!” 

“If we had the time…” he murmurs quietly, planting one more soft peck onto your lips. His face is still only inches away from yours. You giggle in response, the tender moment filling your heart with warmth. 

“Speaking of time… I just bought Marcus a head start,” Carmy teases, your jaw dropping as soon as you realize what he’s doing. 

You pull away from him, your head snapping towards Marcus’ direction to see that he’s already filled a 5 qt container to its capacity with one portion of the milk. 

“Seriously? Damn it, Carmy!” you cry out, shaking your head. “This is sabotage!”

You hear Marcus laugh in the background and as Carmy walks away with a cheeky feeling of accomplishment. You shake your head in disbelief. 

“Sorry, babe. You can deal with a little hazing, yeah? Since you’ve been gone for so long. Gotta give my guy a head start. ‘S only fair.” 

“You’re such a dick,” you scowl, scrambling to catch up. 

Oh it is so on. 

*

By the time you’re done with your day one prep, the four of you head to the hotel. Luckily, it’s only a five minute walk away, and you’re grateful that the James Beard Foundation chose to partner with one so close. The four of you pull your suitcases down the streets of Greenwich Village, before arriving at the luxurious, vintage-inspired hotel. 

You’re eager to get up to your room, as you haven’t had a shower, nor a time to take a break since you all arrived. 

“Woah…” Carmy says, his brilliant blue eyes scanning the high end hotel room. “You sure we can afford this?” 

You chuckle, “I think uh… they have a partnership with the James Beard Foundation, which is the only way I can answer your question with a ‘yes’ without having to tell you that we have to sell an arm, a leg, and our first born.” 

He shoots a half smile in your direction before letting out a whistle as he looks around. The floor to ceiling windows feel way outside of anything you could afford, as Carmy spots the French doors that lead right out onto a terrace. As you continue to explore the rest of the room, you spot a huge tub in the bathroom – something you’re very eager to take advantage of. 

“Power nap?” you ask Carmy, setting down your suitcase in the middle of the room. 

You’ll put your things away later.

“Fuck yeah,” he agrees eagerly.

You’ve barely put your book bag down before you’re both stripping off your jeans and climbing into the perfectly made hotel bed. After spending the morning traveling, you, Sydney, Marcus, and Carmy had gotten off the plane at JFK and gone straight to the James Beard House in Greenwich. Not only had Carmy been antsy to see the kitchen and get a head start on prep, you hadn’t been able to check into your hotel till this afternoon. You’re both spent, and you know that Carmy’s been running himself ragged preparing for this once in a lifetime opportunity. He hasn’t been sleeping all that well either– his thoughts consumed with nailing down the perfect menu, while paralyzed with indecision.

His quest for perfection had made him irritable over the last few days. You could see that the pressure was getting to him. His appetite was down, he was picking fights with you about small, unnecessary things at home, and pushing Sydney (sometimes a little too hard) at the restaurant. 

But today, he seems a little more in control of his feelings, and it puts him a little more at ease now that you’re finally in New York. He knows he’s been driving you crazy all week, and now that you’re all here, he’s hoping he can relax a little. 

Now that you’re here, in the city. 

Now that the dinner is only a day and a half away. 

You’re hoping he’ll slow down at some point too – give himself a little time to enjoy how big of an accomplishment this is. At least by the end of the weekend. Frankly, you’re glad you’ll have Saturday to enjoy the city without any pressure. 

For all of your sakes. 

You’re surprised that Carmy falls asleep with you during your late afternoon nap. He’s been so wired, so high strung lately, but you’ve just been waiting for him to come back down. Now that it seems like he is, there’s no way in hell you’re going to wake him up. You’re curled up together when you wake, your back pressed against his chest, his arms enveloping you. It feels almost impossible to pry yourself out of his arms without waking him up, but his deep slumber confirms your suspicions and you’re more than willing to let him continue sleeping. It takes a few tries to slip out of his embrace, but you do, and it’s off to the bathroom to get ready for dinner.

You try to make as little noise as possible, but by the time you're out of the shower, and your hair has been blown dry, Carmy’s up. You can hear the hotel TV on as you exit the bathroom and see he’s put his jeans back on. He’s perched on the edge of the bed, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. You notice that the dark circles under his eyes that have accumulated over the years seem to sit heavier this week, as his eyes flicker over towards you.

“Damn, my girl’s got style,” he compliments, checking out your all black-ensemble. “We really are back in New York, huh?”

You nod, grinning at his sweet compliment, as you sit down to slip your white sneakers on. 

“You meetin’ up with Liz and Maya tonight?” he asks you. 

“Yeah. Syd’s gonna join for a bit before her thing. She should uh… be here any minute, actually.” You begin tying up the shoelaces of one of your shoes, before slipping the other one on. 

“You sure you don’t want to come?”

“Nah I-, I'll see ‘em tomorrow right? But tell ‘em I say ‘hello’.”

“Of course. I think they’re both really looking forward to seeing you.”

You check the time on your phone making sure you have enough time, before you make your way to where Carmy sits on the edge of the bed. 

“What’re you going to do tonight?” you ask, curiously, stopping so that your body is right in front of his. 

“Well Marcus is staging at per se so… I’ll probably just hang out. Order room service or pick up a sandwich across the street. I wanna run through all this shit so tomorrow goes as well as it can,” Carmy answers, waving his notebook at you. 

He’s like a man possessed, but it’s one of the many reasons you love him. You pull the notebook out of his hands tossing it somewhere on the bed behind you. You place your knees on each side of his hips, before settling down on top of him. 

“Think you can relax a little tonight?”

He pulls you in, his arms moving over your hips. Carmy leans in, placing a small kiss against your glossy lips. 

“Think you can help me with that?”

You giggle in response, twisting your fingers into the curls at the nape of his neck.

“I think… that could be arranged.”

Before anything too spicy can happen, there’s a knock at the door and you know it’s Syd. Carmy groans as you pull away, falling back onto the bed with a sigh of defeat. You climb off of him, heading to answer the door. 

“Hey, you ready?” Sydney asks, as you greet her. 

“Yeah, let me just grab my phone,” you reply, stepping aside to let her in. 

As she enters the hotel room, Carmy’s sitting up. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, he leans over, resting his forearms on his legs as he runs a hand through his messy curls. 

Sydney looks from you to a somewhat pouty Carmy, as if she knows she interrupted something. 

“Staying in tonight, Carm?” she asks him, as you gather your things. 

“Yeah,” he grumbles, and you can’t help but notice how tired he looks. 

Sydney rolls her eyes in response, “Don’t worry. I’ll have her back by nine.”

“Alright, I’m ready,” you say with a smile as you address Sydney. 

“You guys have fun,” Carmy nods, with a half assed wave.

“Don’t work too hard, boss,” Sydney adds, as the two of you turn to leave. “Oh and Carmy. You’ve got a little…” She gestures towards the lipstick you’ve left on his face. 

You laugh in response, and as you close the door, Carmy can hear Sydney’s ‘oh my god, you two are like rabbits’ comment in the distance. 

Carmy allows himself to fall back on the bed, reaching above his head to grab his notebook again. He’s honestly grateful to have a night to himself. He’s never been much for going out, or big social events, so having a night in feels like a good kind of calm before the storm – especially because the next few days will be full of social interactions. He’d always found New York City a little overstimulating. 

Between the dinner and the reception on Saturday, Carmy felt like he was collapsing under the enormous pressure – his only out being excellence. It’s not just the fact that being invited to cook at the James Beard house was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but there’s important business to announce here too. And then there’s the social aspect of it all, and he can’t help but feel like there are high expectations: from the food world, his reputation, your old friends from New York. And he wants to make everyone happy – he wants to impress them all. 

Something about being back here, and being back here with you, has him caught up in his head about it all. This is where you’d met. It’s also where he’d been at his lowest – right before Mikey died. So much has changed, and Carmy feels too large for his old battlefield.

Because that’s what it had been for him: a battlefield. 

A battle for his mental health, to rise to the top of the New York City fine dining scene, fighting with his feelings for you. 

Over the last two years, he had learned that he didn’t have to fight every single damn day. Some days he could just… be – be himself, whatever the fuck that meant, be a friend, and be with you. It felt strange – familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Being back here makes him somehow feel like the total loser he was six years ago when he first arrived in NYC… and a completely different person at the same time. 

While he was over the moon when he got the call from the James Beard Foundation, he also couldn’t fight this uncomfortable feeling that’s been sitting in his stomach all week long. Carmy had never quite been able to come to terms with the whole ‘celebrity’ aspect of the food world. He knew what he could do in the kitchen. That was unquestionable. But the rest of it – the networking, the celebrity chef circles – was the part he felt most unsure about.

Ever since Sydney’s Rising Star win, he’d let her take center stage with her rising visibility in the culinary world. Actually, he’d been grateful that she was so good at it – that it seemed like she enjoyed the part of the job he hated. There was someone to take the pressure off of him – someone who thrived in front of the camera so that he didn’t have to. But he knows at some point this weekend, he’ll have to face the music. 

There were big changes coming to The Bear. 

*

It didn’t take long after the initial introductions for your friends to fawn over Sydney. They were more than happy to meet your friend they’d heard all about, and the incredible chef who was shaking up the Chicago food scene. 

“Well I’m glad to hear that some things have changed and that working with Carmy’s not a total nightmare any longer-?” Liz concludes your conversation about the restaurant, earning an eye roll from Maya and a laugh from both you and Sydney.

“Oh no it’s still tough sometimes,” Sydney says back. “He has his days. We all do.”

“Liz!” you protest, in regards to the Carmy-bashing.

“What?! You didn’t have to work directly under him back then!” she defends herself, before clarifying with Sydney. “And in his defense, Sydney, it was really our exec chef who was the real nightmare.”

“Oh she works directly under him, alright,” Maya jokes, raising an eyebrow at you. 

“And sometimes on top of him, and also-,” you quip back, ready to play along.

“Oh my god, you’re out of control and I am sick of you!” Sydney exclaims with a laugh in reference to your crass comment.

“So tell us more about the new restaurant,” Maya prompts, refocusing the conversation back to Sydney’s previous reveal.

Sydney tells your friends about The Bear’s plans to expand, and shares ideas she has that even you haven’t heard from Carmy yet. As she wraps up her story, she realizes what time it is, meaning that she’s gotta head uptown soon. She really only was supposed to stay for a glass of wine, but meeting your friends has been so fun that she’s lost track of time. 

“Shit. I have to head out,” she says. “But I’ve really loved meeting you guys. You’re coming to the dinner tomorrow night, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Absolutely.”

“And the reception!” you add gleefully, so glad you get to see your best friends three days in a row. 

“It’s been really great meeting you, Sydney,” Liz says, shooting you a look of approval. She squeezes your hand under the table momentarily, before saying, “Thanks for taking care of our girl. She speaks so highly of you.”

“Where are you off to next?” Maya asks, excitedly. 

“Syd’s got dinner plans,” you answer, waiting for Sydney to provide more detail.

“Yeah, I uh-, I got invited to one of the To Be Hosted events and it just worked out that we’d be in town for this the same weekend,” Sydney replies, a glimmer of excitement flashing through her eyes as she shares.

“Damn, you got invited to a supper club?” Liz marvels. “Okay!”

“Yeah because she’s a rockstar,” you cheer your friend on, saying it so matter of factly that even a stranger would believe you. 

You all say your goodbyes to Sydney before ordering food. It feels so good to be back in the city, back here with some of your best friends. Maya and Liz had been the friends that held you up, and you them, when you lived here. While you had met Liz at your last job, a sous chef under Carmy’s leadership, Maya worked in fashion and the two of you had become fast friends after meeting through an ex-boyfriend. Once you introduced the two of them to each other, the three of you had been inseparable ever since. 

They had always been your biggest cheerleaders – especially when it came to you and Carmy.

“She’s great,” Maya says, in reference to Sydney. 

“Right? I’m so excited for her. This is a huge deal: create her own menu, a chance to run kitchen without Carmy…” you agree, feeling deep satisfaction over the amazing people you have in your life. “We’re announcing the big news at the dinner tomorrow.”

“Speaking of, how is our favorite guy? What’s he up to tonight?” Maya asks, guiding the conversation back to Carmy. 

“I told him he could come but I think he wanted to stay in tonight. I think he needs some time to decompress. He’s been pretty high strung all week,” you answer. 

“Carmy? High strung?” Liz asks back sarcastically, earning a laugh from you.  “I’m kidding! I really am looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. 

Maya shakes her head, before taking a sip of her glass of wine. She’s always adored Carmy, but knows that Liz has a different relationship with him, having worked as a line cook. 

“You guys are… getting serious, huh?” Liz asks, glancing over at you. 

“Um.. I think those two were married after their first coffee date,” Maya adds. 

“It was not a date!” you insist, shooting her a look. 

Liz lets out an unconvinced laugh, and you accept defeat because you know they’ve always been right about you and Carmy. 

“Maya, don’t forget. Our girl is and has always been the Queen of Denial,” Liz adds, winking in your direction. 

“Oh ha-ha. You guys are so funny,” you reply dryly. You nod, thinking about you and Carmy’s relationship over the last few years. “Yeah uh… it’ll be three years in the Fall so… you could say it’s getting pretty serious.”

Your friends are beaming back at you in response to your admission, and while you’d love to spend all night talking about how head over heels you are for Carmy, you’re also kind of ready to shift the attention off of you and your relationship. 

“Enough about me. What’s going on with you guys?” you change the subject. 

It feels so good to catch up with your girl friends. You all agree to make it an early night. While Maya’s husband had agreed to put their kid to bed, she wants to make it home in time anyways. Liz has a date later, and before you know it, you’ve wrapped up dinner and are walking back to your hotel. You send Carmy a quick text, because you’re only a few blocks away. 

You: On the way back. 

New York City has always been so inspiring to you. The city itself feels alive – like there’s an electric undercurrent that always makes you feel so full. There’s never a dull moment, and it feels as if the potential for a wild adventure is always around the corner. It’s also the place that you and Carmy met, all those years ago. It’s funny. The version of you that met him six years ago never could’ve predicted this: that you’d actually get to be here together, after almost three years of loving each other fiercely. 

Your friends were and always have been right about you. 

Back then, you were Queen of Denial and even then, Carmy had been your king. 

But you’re here now: in the city you met in, stupidly in love with the man you’d met six years ago who had seemed terrified to merely have a conversation with you. 

Your phone buzzes in your hand, interrupting your trip down memory lane, as you peek at the text you just received. 

Carmy: Went out for a walk and a smoke. 

You type back a quick, yet short reply. 

You: Love you. 

When you return to the hotel room, you enjoy the quiet of the evening. It still feels like spring in NYC, so you open a window because it just feels too damn good outside. No wonder he’d gone for a walk. You kick your shoes off, placing them gently by the door, before stripping off your jacket and heading into the bathroom. 

As you pull your hair up and out of your face, piling it into one conglomerate on top of your head, you eye the large bathtub you’d admired earlier.  Not only are you in need of a relaxing soak, but you’re hoping you can persuade Carmy to join you – maybe even help him destress a little. You don’t think twice about it, as you strip off all of your clothes, sliding on one of the fluffy robes that the hotel has provided. You flip on the hot water, the sound of rumbling water against tile hitting your ears.

There’s a bath soak in a glass jar that you find on the bathroom counter, before adding it to the increasingly hot water. While it looks like a mixture of some kind of soak and epsom salt, large bubbles begin to form underneath the rapid stream of the faucet, and you inhale deeply. 

Lavender. Vanilla. Chamomile, maybe?

The smell puts you at ease and you can feel your shoulders melting away from your ears. 

It’s not long before Carmy returns, the bathtub is almost at its capacity and the bath soak that you put in the hot water has bubbled up and blossomed into large, sudsy configurations. You’ve put on a jazz playlist, the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald filling the small space as you hum along. 

“Babe?” Carmy calls out to you, as you hear the front door close behind him. 

“I’m in here,” you call to him, turning the volume of your phone down a few levels. . 

You hear a shuffle of shoes, before he’s peeking around the door frame, his eyes lighting up as soon as he sees you. He knows it’s silly. It’s not like he’s been able to be very present over the last week, and it begins to dawn on him that he’s missed you.

“How was your walk?” you ask softly. 

“Good.”

He looks around the bathroom, the air thick with humidity from the hot water. You turn the faucet off, as you’ve now filled the tub to its capacity.

“You look comfy.”

“I am. It’s a very comfy robe.”

You wait a beat before preparing your ask.

“Big tub,” you entice him, gesturing towards the bubble bath that awaits you. 

“Yeah?” he asks, a half smile on the edges of his lips as he takes a step towards you. 

“Big enough for two,” you nod, making your case. 

It’s all the convincing he needs. You’re removing your robe, leaving your bare body on display for him to see, and soon enough, he’s stripping down and climbing into the bathtub with you. You share an awkward laugh as the two of you clumsily figure out how to position yourselves for optimal comfort. Your back is pressed against his chest, and you’re truly in awe of the large bathtub that somehow holds the both of you.

It becomes progressively easier for Carmy to relax. Between the hot water, and your naked body pressed against his, thoughts and worries about tomorrow begin to slip away. The two of you enjoy the quiet intimacy between you, the soft sounds of your favorite jazz standards, and Carmy’s lazily dragging his fingertips across any bit of exposed skin that he can.

You lean your head back against his shoulder, and Carmy buries his face in the crevice where your neck and shoulders meet. 

“Why don’t we do this more often?” he asks, in between leaving a few slow-paced, soft kisses across your shoulders. 

“Hm?” you hum in response. From the way his mouth and hands move across your body, and the silky feeling of the hot water, you barely have a thought left in your head.

“This whole… bath thing,” he clarifies, exhaling a deep sigh. 

This may be the most relaxed he’s felt all week and he likes that you seem to be enjoying this too.  

“Probably because we have a tub that I can only assume was built for a small show dog,” you joke. 

He laughs dryly. 

“Fair enough.”

Carmy waits a beat before speaking again, enjoying how his mind has quieted for the first time in days.

“Let’s put it on the list… for when we’re ready to move to a new place,” he suggests, quietly. 

“Somewhere with a big tub?” you ask, only sort of surprised by his request. 

“Yeah.”

You turn your head to look at him, as Carmy presses a searing kiss to your lips. You feel his hand snake between your legs and you begin to understand exactly why he’s enjoying this whole bath thing. 

“As much as I’m enjoying this…” he whispers against your lips. “Think you maybe want to get out of this tub…”

Another kiss.

“… dry off…”

You slide your tongue against his as his fingertips move higher up your inner thigh, earning a hiss of pleasure from you. 

“…not put our clothes back on?”

And then he’s swallowing your moans in his mouth, as he continues his exploration. Your head is spinning, and it’s not just the hot water that makes you feel as if your soul was set aflame.

“Yes.”

*

The next morning, you wake up alone. On the bedside table there’s a note in Carmy’s scratchy handwriting that reads:

Couldn’t sleep. Went to Chelsea Market. Love you.

You let out a frustrated sigh. Last night had been incredible but you also knew it’d be back to the grind today. While you’re excited for him – and for tonight – you’re also kind of ready for this to be over. You’re ready to have your boyfriend back.

read: bonus smut scene | chapter two

taglist: @allthefandomstogether @gaysludge @sobshoney @harrysmatcha @starbritestarlite @tpwkkmila

[meenatranslates]

[SSR] Taichi | MANKAI Feature

I really like Roy too! I'll go all out for my performance since everyone voted for him~!

__________________________

Today's Star: Roy - Part 1

__________________________

*Director's default name as Izumi

Taichi: Ah, Ban-chan!

Banri: Taichi?

Taichi: So you had class today. Are you heading home now?

Banri: Nah, I still got something to do.

Taichi: Huh, what’s in that bag?

Banri: Some cloth and accessories that can be used as props.

Taichi: Oh~ You’re using them for assignment?

Banri: ‘Course not, these are for you.

Taichi: For me...?

Banri: We have this spin-off project of the supporting role based on the fan survey, right?

It’s your turn next, so I bought all these to go with your outfit.

You’re not the same size as you were then now, so some adjustments are needed.

Taichi: Eh!? It’s already my turn...?

Banri: What, you didn’t know?

Taichi: I didn't~! I gotta ask Director-sensei immediately when I get home!

Banri: Oh, take these while you’re at it then.

Taichi: Woah-! What, this many?

Banri: I’m in a bit of pickle here ‘cause I’ve been tasked with lotsa stuff while I’m shopping.

Taichi: Okay, let’s go shopping together then!

I’m home~!

Izumi: Welcome home, Taichi-kun.

Taichi: D-Director-sensei!

Izumi: Y-yeah? What’s up?

Taichi: I wanna know which of my supporting role is for the spin-off project...!

Izumi: Well, what the fans chose in the survey is...

Taichi: *gulp*

Izumi: It’s Roy from “DEAD/UNDEAD”!

Taichi: ......

Izumi: Um, you okay?

Taichi: I felt both happiness and pressure simultaneously that I froze for a second!

I see, so it’s Roy~.

Izumi: You can leave the script to Tsuzuru-kun. Let him know if you have any requests.

Taichi: Understood!

(If Roy got chosen...)

―Courtyard (Night)―

Taichi: Can I come in, Tsuzuru-kun?

Tsuzuru: Taichi? Go ahead.

―Room 102―

Taichi: Umm, it’s about the spin-off project...

Tsuzuru: That’s what I thought.

Taichi: Hehe, so you expected it.

Tsuzuru: ...So, what kind of story do you want?

Taichi: Well, when I heard that it’s Roy for the spin-off, I have just one request for the script.

You see, I was re-reading the script for our fourth performance in my room just now.

It was decided to be an undead story to put Achan’s make-up skill to good use, but reading it again reminds me that it’s a heavy story with many deaths.

Tsuzuru: Yeah, it is.

Taichi: Roy himself died twice, once when he was alive, and once when he turned into the undead...

That’s why...

I wanna see Roy’s happy scenes if we’re gonna make a spin-off for him, because it was such a sad story!

Tsuzuru: ...Hm, hm.

Thanks for the request. I’ll try writing with that for now.

Taichi: Ok, I’m looking forward to it!

__________________________

Today's Star: Roy - Part 2

__________________________

―Room 105 (Day)―

Taichi: (The script’s finally done. I’m excited to see how the story turns out.)

(Roy’s life with Ivan, before he turns into an undead...)

(He had such a small happiness in his life, although he died a sad death...)

(It’s so... heartbreaking.)

(Since I get to act as Roy once again, I gotta do my best to help him live a happy life...!)

―Practice Room―

Izumi: ...That’s enough for today.

Juza: Right.

Banri: It’s been a while since I last played Ivan, so I still can’t grasp the feeling yet.

Izumi: The spin-off is set before Roy turns into an undead, so the ambience might be slightly different from the main story.

Taichi: ......

Banri: What’s wrong? Something on your mind?

Taichi: It’s true, Roy from the main story is different from the Roy in the spin-off.

There wasn’t that much depiction of his daily life in the main story either...

I thought that, maybe the role study I’ve done for Roy is still not enough...

Izumi: In that case, why not try to think about what kind of person Roy was when he was still alive?

Taichi: Okay, I’ll try it!

Banri: ...Even if that’s the case, you don’t need to cling to me around 24/7.

Taichi: I’m sure Roy loves Ivan a lot, so they must’ve been working together to hunt down the undead!

That’s why I think being with you will help my role study!

Banri: Haah... It’s good that you’re passionate about your study.

Taichi: I’m sure Roy also thinks this kind of happiness doesn’t last forever.

Banri: ......

Taichi: Just kidding- ...wait, huh?

That’s not the way to the dorm, Ban-chan!

Banri: I know, just follow me.

Taichi: ......?

So yummy~! I was just thinking about trying out the new menu here.

Banri: I knew that.

Taichi: Huh, how come?

Banri: You wouldn’t shut up about it at the dorm.

Well, I was also interested from the ads.

Taichi: Hehe...Thank you, Ban-chan.

Banri: Oh right, about the script for the spin-off. Were you the one who requested for it?

Taichi: Yup. As soon as I know that Roy was chosen, I thought that the story theme would inevitably become serious.

I wanted to see Roy being happy before he became an undead, even if just slightly.

Banri: ......

Taichi: But, when I thought about Roy’s feelings while reading the script that Tsuzuru-kun wrote for me, I felt a different emotion.

I wonder if Roy, like Bill, gradually lost his rationality and became the undead.

I think his memories of everyday life with Ivan, will also gradually fade and be forgotten.

When I thought of that, no matter how happy the scenes are, my heart ached thinking about what happened afterwards.

It’s like, a bit different than I thought.

Banri: ...Ain’t that just fine?

Taichi: Eh?

Banri: That’s the kind of position Roy’s in.

The happier Roy and Ivan are depicted, the more believable it becomes that Ivan sought revenge after losing his younger brother.

So, what you felt is possibly one answer as a spin-off of “DEAD/UNDEAD”.

All that’s left to do is for you to accept Roy’s life.

Taichi: ......

...I’ll try to consult with Tsuzuru-kun about the script again.

__________________________

Today's Star: Roy - Part 3

__________________________

Juza: ...So the conclusion’s like this.

Banri: Your lines doesn’t change much before and after the script’s revised, y’know.

Juza: Aah? It’s natural to understand the overall flow of the script.

Taichi: Haha! It’s nice to see you guys still at it today too!

Izumi: Are you ready, Taichi-kun?

Taichi: Yeah! I can start anytime!

Izumi: Okay then, everyone! Do your best!

―Performance starts―

(...This is a story that sets before Roy turns into an undead.)

(Ivan and Roy are raiding a hangout of the undead.)

(Just when he thought he’s winning, Ivan sees something that creates an opening.)

Roy: “Watch out!”

Ivan: “Ah-!”

Roy: “Phew... It’s rare to see you screw up, Nii-chan.”

Ivan: “...My bad.”

“......”

Roy: “What did you pick up?”

Ivan: “Let’s move on.”

Roy: “H-hey! Wait for me...!”

“Hear this out, Doggy~!”

Doggy: “Hm?”

Roy: “I asked Ivan what he picked up earlier, but he won’t show it to me at all.”

Doggy: “Hogging to himself? What a bad brother he is.”

Ivan: “Shut up.”

“Can’t be helped... This is what I picked up.”

Doggy: “Ohh, a tin of candy. That’s pretty rare. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this package.”

Ivan: “Right?”

Roy: “I didn’t know you like candy so much that you want it all to yourself.”

Ivan: “......”

Doggy: “Pfft-.”

Roy: “...?”

Doggy: “So you don’t remember it anymore. Y’see, this is your favorite when you were a lil’ kid.”

Roy: “Eh?”

Ivan: “...From what I see it’s still unopened, but it could be poisoned.”

“I just didn’t want to show you until I can confirm it’s safe to eat.”

Roy: “Even so, you didn’t need to hide it from me!”

Ivan: “You’d steal and eat it out of my sight otherwise.”

Doggy: “Haha, true that.”

Roy: “You guys are mean. I won’t do that, just so you know.”

Ivan: “...Alright. Seems like it’s fine inside.”

“Here, take out your hand.”

Roy: “Okay!”

Doggy: “What about me?”

Ivan: “Yeah, yeah.”

Roy: “...Mmm~ So sweet! Right, Nii-chan?”

Ivan: “Yeah, it is.”

Doggy: “Yum, I forgot this is what it tastes like.”

Ivan: “Here, take this.”

Roy: “Eh? Why...?”

Ivan: “The rest is yours. Savor them carefully.”

Roy: “You’re giving it to me? Thank you, Nii-chan!”

Doggy: “......”

Ivan: “Wipe off that creepy look on your face.”

Doggy: “Such a foul-mouth as usual.”

Izumi: (After receiving the tin of candy from Ivan, Roy eats the candies one by one with care.)　

Roy: “Oh man, I ate the last one.”

Ivan: “Doggy gave me the location of the undead hideout. We can go raid there.”

“You can buy candies or gum with the reward later.”

Roy: “Yeah! And then we’ll eat together with the three of us!”

Ivan: “I don’t really... Oh well, sure.”

Izumi: (And then three years had passed... Roy, who is now an undead, is wandering around being hungry.)　

(He then picks up a tin of candy rolling at his feet.)

Roy: “...?”

*sniff sniff*

“...Smells bad.”

“...Only rocks. Empty.”

"......”

“...I want to eat humans.”

―Candy shop―

Taichi: (Is there a tin of candy here?)

...There it is!

Excuse me, I want to buy this please.

―Lounge (Evening)―

Taichi: ......

......

*nom*

Izumi: Taichi-kun seems kinda down, is he okay?

Banri: Well, that guy’s always been the type to empathize with his role.

I’m sure he’s fine.

Izumi: I see...

Taichi: ...Even if Roy forgets, I won’t forget.

Story Clear!

[shmaptainwrites]

*knocks politely*

Hello hi!

Requesting Bobby with the “kiss me” prompt. Hehe okay byeeeeee

bestie i’ve got youuuu this prompt is so perfect for shenanigans so shenanigans is what you get

Pairings: Bobby Nash x GN!Reader

Warnings: they are two halves of one braincells i stg, breaking and entering, general idiocy, they’re just…so stupid

Amateur Sleuth

“I swear there’s something illegal going on there but no one believes me! Doesn’t help that I don’t have any proof to prove them wrong,” you sighed, sitting back in your chair at the dining table in the fire hall, your arms crossed over your chest.

“You are absolutely insane for spying on your neighbours, you know that, right?” Eddie asked and you rolled your eyes.

“Come on Eddie, if you saw what I saw, you’d be snooping.”

“Which was what exactly?” Buck asked as he joined you.

“She says she has an Etsy store, but people only ever come and buy stuff from her in the dead of night.”

“So like 10:30 for you?” Hen teased and you lightly shoved her.

“No like 3 am, I’m not joking,” you said. “And I found her instagram and that girl is living well beyond her means for a retail worker who has an Etsy shop on the side. I’m talking about vacations every other month, she bought a Mercedes recently, something is up for sure.”

“I agree,” Bobby jumped into the conversation.

“Thank you! Finally someone with some common sense,” you exclaimed. “Now if only I could figure out what the hell she’s up to.”

“You need to stake her place out,” Bobby said simply.

“You say that as if you’ve done it before, Cap,” Chimney chuckled.

“Maybe once or twice off the record, but with good reason and my hunches were right.”

“What do I have to pay you to come over tonight and help me figure this out?” you laughed, but the whole team knew you were being dead serious.

“Just a cup of coffee, I’ll come over at 11,” he smiled and you clapped your hands together victoriously.

“5 bucks says this is gonna blow up in your faces,” Eddie took out his wallet and put the cash on the table.

“I’ll take that action,” Hen nodded. “I’ve seen Bobby do his thing, there’s a slight chance this could go right.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Hen,” you said sarcastically. “Jokes on all of you, this is gonna go great.”

After your shift was over you headed home and ate something for dinner before napping for a few hours so you could manage to stay up late that night.

Your alarm went off just ten minutes before Bobby arrived and you had a pot of coffee hot and ready when he came inside.

“So where does this neighbour of yours live?” he asked.

“She’s the apartment directly across the hall,” you pointed. “If you look through the peephole you can see, that’s how I’ve been doing most of my spying.”

“Alright, we can use that and since you’re on the first floor if the opportunity presents itself, maybe we can see if there’s any clues from the window.”

“Man, I didn’t even think of that,” you chuckled. “Oh this is gonna be so fun.”

You poured Bobby a cup of coffee and you waited eagerly for one of your neighbour’s customers to show up. After a while, no one had come and your neighbour had left the house a while ago so Bobby suggested to get a look through the window.

“We’ve gotta be quiet though, I’m not the only snoopy neighbour, if someone sees me they’ll call the cops for sure,” you noted, grabbing Bobby’s hand and leading him out of the building and to the rear where you could peek in through the windows.

Some of the blinds were drawn and others were open so you got looks where you could, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“This can’t be it,” you shook your head.

“I know, somethings not sitting right with me,” Bobby agreed, there had to be something you weren’t seeing.

You leaned against one of the windows in defeat and looked over at Bobby in shock when it shifted. You exchanged knowing glances, no one would find out about this part.

Since you knew the neighbours better, you stayed on lookout to make sure you didn’t get caught while Bobby carefully climbed inside and searched for clues.

He took a few photos here and there so they could go over them later, but what he was really looking for was what she could possibly be selling that was making her so much money.

On the table he found a date book and quickly flipped through it, finding some potentially useful information on the sales, but before he could do anything about it, he heard your voice quietly, but urgently exclaim,

“Shit! She’s back! Bobby you’ve gotta get the hell outta there, but just as he was going to climb out the window you saw something that told you he should wait a moment. So you hid behind a bush and waited for another neighbour to go inside before practically grabbing Bobby and pulling him out of her apartment and closing the open window.

You both ran inside and you fumbled for your keys as your heard footsteps coming closer. Honestly, you thought it looked pretty incriminating, but it was possible the adrenaline was getting in the way of your better judgment.

The footsteps became even louder and for some reason your keys were not in your pocket, so in a desperate attempt to save face you looked Bobby dead in the eye and said,

“Kiss me.”

“What?” he quietly exclaimed like he hadn’t heard you correctly the first time.

“Just trust me Bobby! Kiss me!”

Just as he took your face in his hands and he pulled you towards him you wrapped your arms around his neck and his lips came crashing down on yours. You kissed feverishly as your neighbour came past you and to her door, only breaking apart to nervously chuckle as you made eye contact with her.

“Tinder am I right?” you shrugged and she smiled knowingly before nodding and giving you a thumbs up of approval before going inside her place.

“Tinder? Really?” Bobby asked.

“It was the only thing I could think of!” you slapped a hand to your forehead and shook your head.

“Just like kissing me was the only thing you could come up with?” he asked with a raised brow.

You finally found your keys, unlocking the door and letting Bobby go inside before you.

“Okay, maybe the adrenaline got my wires crossed,” you admitted. “But I could say the same for you Captain Nash, you really committed to the bit for that kiss.”

“Well,” he coughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe my wires were crossed too.”

“Maybe we should cross them again,” you suggested, coming a little closer, “And never tell anyone about what happened tonight, like ever.”

“I can live with that,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing another kiss to your lips.

At the end of the day, both of you knew there was no one else you’d rather commit a felony with, and really, what more could you want in life than a partner in crime.

[faithfromanewperspective]

was just thinking about how easy it is to compare the current president of Israel (whose name I don’t even remember) to hitler. it fits the way we think, doesn’t it, foreign people do bad things, what we see as familiar is good. but then the more I think about it, about how this whole thing has been set up and the extent (which I have to learn more about exactly still) to which usamerica is driving a literal genocide then the person I’ve gotta do that comparing to is actually… joe biden??? like that’s such a curveball in our brains we never expected but if you trace the power structures, yes there’s a fair deal of being a puppet going on but only because he never stands up against it. because he doesn’t actually care to stop it. and actually how fucked up is it that we’re literally talking about how the best thing is to continue voting for him for president because the other guy is worse like ??? none of us expected it of usamerica. we respected that country. we still respect its people and hang out with them every day

but like. let that sink in for a second. the guy encouraging and allowing a genocide is the better of two options?? if that’s the case I’m sorry but the civilians really don’t have any power. I’m sorry but if that’s the standards we have we have to start imagining better. this is like when your parent asks you if you want to wear a red shirt or a blue shirt but you never got the option to wear a dress instead or simply no shirt at all. it’s the illusion of choice. and as a world how do we turn a blind eye to this?? how do we not call out our dear cousin usamerica who is clearly in a bad state right now? whose leadership desperately needs to do better especially if they’re going to be in a position of leadership in the world as the power structures would have that they are?

because people live and breathe economy I was thinking, what if the rest of us simply boycott usamerica like we boycott Israel?? that would send the global economy to shambles. and I know it’s not gonna happen all of a sudden (so no need to hurriedly account for all the people that would get hurt) but what if we did? simply stop buying and consuming things that come out of America?

now I’m probably one of the biggest and most long-standing swifties you’ll meet (tumblr doesn’t count it’s an echo chamber) but could I? could I simply hold off listening to the tortured poets department when it comes out and stick to her older stuff I already own on cd’s and the like? Taylor doesn’t need my money or my numbers next to her songs and I’m going to be missing a lot if I do this but when this is over, her music will still be there. My favourite author is American. that one might be harder since I really want to read the second sword catcher book (I’m not worried about twp since it’s not coming out til 2026). I know a bunch of technology comes out of usamerica but I don’t need to update any of my devices and if I do there’s probably other brands I can buy from. I think because my iTunes is Australian I might be okay with it?? but I’m trying to transition away from it and buy more cds anyway. And I don’t watch tv, I rarely watch movies now so I could probably forgo that too.

I was actually just thinking about how there are so many songs out there I probably won’t get to listen to. what if, in boycotting some this is my chance to broaden my horizons? and I will preface with the fact that I know many non American artists do live and record in LA: im not gonna boycott them for that. In fact I’ll support their music because I want them to come home. and I might make an exception for green day and good charlotte for generally protesting much about usamerica?? but tell me guys, what do you think?? is this feasible? I might actually do it. I’ll make an exception for tumblr probably and use meta social media to the minimum (maybe I should for tumblr too and google). but also. is this racist?? is it going to do any harm?? because damn it I want to support the people. I want to support marginalised groups and native americans but I also want to be part of a boycott that’s meaningful rather than a token gesture. and I know the usamericans of us can’t do this, but please if I do it see it as me supporting your rights to having your opinions heard on a political level because I come from a country that isn’t great colonialism wise but at least we have that and I can’t imagine not having it

[kanerallels]

Re: homeschooling. There is ALOT of stigma, but I’ve heard the stigma is much higher in the USA than elsewhere, and this is an American site so all polls results are skewed to an American world view. So there’s that, what fears exist there that influence the vote? I’ll try to summarize. I’d be interested in a poll from everyone else. Also the points I’m gonna cover are just what I’ve heard over the years, and over the border as a Canadian myself, who only homeschooled for a few of my years, so it’s not iron clad or anything. Just some possibilities.

The stigmas come from the idea that it’s bad because there are, unfortunately, a lot of people who don’t do it right, or for the right reasons. The main objections are these kids are completely isolated socially, underprepared to function in the real world, and that they won’t get a proper education - either from ignorance or malice, or both. There may also be unconscious bias that the state (not the American sense of the word, but the institutional sense) knows best and how can parents know what to teach? Which probably feeds back into factors I don’t really have the qualifications to talk about but basically boil down to “if you educated them better they won’t be mindless minions for the capitalist/military/prison grind” - the state does not want that, so they purport the idea that it’s bad (yes that borders on conspiracy theory, not saying it’s true, saying I’ve heard this said). Never mind public education is a fairly new concept, historically speaking (and it is a good thing in many ways! Mandatory, free, basic education has eliminated illiteracy in many places for example. The concept started out with worthy goals, etc - have they strayed from them and why? Lack of care or just resources?)

Obviously, all of that is going to vary by who is doing it and why and if they have the time and resources and desire to do it properly.

Socially, you can absolutely create community elsewhere - when my mom was doing it with us, we went to the library every single week and met up with a bunch of other kids and planned social stuff and educational group trips to places like the science centre and the art and history museums. We mixed our book learning with practical skills - one person knew a sewing teacher, one person negotiated a discount for swim lessons, the library offered French lessons among its many other programs. And of course to supplement grade standard education lesson books, like math, spelling, etc, we were ALWAYS taking out books from the library, both fiction and non fiction. So there are absolutely ways to get a rounded education and a social life. I would say even more so now than when the concept was new for me 15-20 years ago.

But on the other hand, there are the horror stories, and success stories don’t circulate half so well. The people who isolate their kids to abuse them, don’t teach them anything, make them do chores all day beyond age appropriate responsibility or physical ability, etc. also the deliberate obfuscation of certain information or topics because of personal ideology, usually religious, because you know. Somehow education equates belief (sarcasm. Example: I learned people used to think the world was flat. Guess what? I don’t believe that).

These are just some random thoughts, feel free say it doesn’t make sense lol. I do believe if that’s what you want to do, and you have the love and time and ability and patience etc, and financial freedom for at least one parent to do it (someone’s gotta work unfortunately), then go for it. But do it right, and find as many resources as you can. Unfortunately there are people who go into it without preparation and for the wrong reasons and I can see why people believe kids need access to third parties somewhere in their lives, and school might as well be it. Like there’s very much merit and drawbacks on both sides. I think there’s kids who could come out from both systems with abysmal skills, and from both with stellar skills, (I’ve met both types), it’s just really gonna boil down to individual circumstances.

This is all really really interesting, thank you for the ask!! I knew some of this stuff but not all of it. And I don't think I knew you were homeschooled at one point, that's so cool!! (Oh and you're never gonna hear judgement about conspiracy theory sounding stuff from me lol)

[princesseevee06]

hi eevee!! the recent news on ytr Shins execution has me Devastated. (esp bc Kannas death is my favorite and im very normal about greenblings LMAOO) but that got me thinking about the other executions in ytr! if you'd like to, what are some of the other executions/deaths?? don't gotta reveal all of em yet, just wanted to ask haha :) take care!

HI BREAD i am so sorry about the shin execution thing. i saw the opportunity to do the funniest (most agonizing) thing ever and i had to.

the thing that really gets me about it is like. in ytr shin never gets his collar off at that last moment, he has no chance of really escaping, but he’s still trying to run WHILE HIS BODY IS BEING ROOTED TO THE GROUND and he still manages to even set up the sara ai. he still doesnt accept his fate right up until the very end. And That Makes Me So Sad

buuuuut you probably wanna hear about some of the other devastating deaths! which i am also happy to provide deets on ^^

(WARNING: LONG LONG POST BELOW i am so sorry)

ok im gonna be honest i havent focused super hard on the deaths themselves because it’s always more interesting to me to focus on the aftermath i think…but there are some ive thought about more than others so i’ll go over those!

• nao

this one is Hectic. I wanted it to be kind of a mix of mishima’s death and nao’s canon death, so her collar device is sort of like…magnetic? basically, it pulls her to the wall and starts crushing her neck. i feel like this adds a greater sense of panic to the scene, because unlike mishima’s collar which they can’t touch when it burns, in ytr both kugie and mishima are trying to help nao :,) (spoiler alert they cannot)

• sara

oh this one makes me So sad….it’s fundamentally the same premise as joe’s execution with the wrigglers, but the difference is that ryoko is actually fast enough with the clicker to get them off (it’s always so funny to me that one of the canon things we know about ryoko is she’s good at arcade games. so i imagine she has fast fingers 💀). but at that point it’s already too late because sara has lost too much blood, so she just ends up bleeding out in ryoko’s arms instead. fun fact: because of that, ryoko’s hallucination of sara always comes out of the ground in a pool of blood :,)

• sei

ok i haven’t SUPER worked out the specifics of this one but i do know the general vibes for it so i’m putting it anyways. basically, when sei gets voted for, much like what happened in the assassin game in canon they ask kai to kill them. because they don’t want to be alone as they die and also it’d be a big middle finger to asunaro. kai has the kitchen knife. he could do it. but he literally just can’t bring himself to. if it was himself he could do it, but he can’t bring himself to hurt sei. so instead he just has to watch them die without doing a thing and it ends up haunting him. (i have this vivid image of kai literally having to be dragged away from sei’s corpse :((((((((( )

• sou

ok here’s the big one. sou is my fave bleeby blorbo so you KNOW i’ve put a shit-ton of thought into this one. the funniest thing about this to me is that. sou put his collar on himself at the beginning of the death game. and so when hayasaka is like “sorry :( we’ll have to execute you” sou is like “nuh uh” and literally just takes it back off. THERE IS JUST THIS MOMENT OF. AWKWARD SILENCE ACROSS THE ENTIRE ROOM. hayasaka is like “holy shit what do i do now” but he doesn’t have to do any work because sou ends up dooming himself 👍

he figures. okay well i have to do something quick or people from the upper floors are actually gonna come start trying to kill me. unlike shin, he doesn’t really have any intention of ‘escaping,’ at least not in a direct manner, but what he does try to do is get to the fifth floor where his lab is to see if he can deactivate the collars. because essentially, that’ll take the target off his back at least temporarily— what’s one guy running around without a collar to SEVEN people running around without a collar? asunaro cant execute everyone if they want the death game to continue, right? he knows the facility, so he’s actually able to dodge/avoid the ‘weapons’ really well. atp the other participants are running after him watching him bolt across the third floor and straight up rooting for him. he gets really close to the winner’s stairs (and if he can get there, he’s home free because they connect to all the other floors) and because of that he gets a little tooooooo cocky.

if he can actually accomplish what he’s trying to do, asunaro could literally fall apart from the inside out. if they don’t have control over the participants w/ the collars, the main cast could quite literally stage a mini uprising. sou could finally have the chance to be free from asunaro, to be free from his mother, to live his life how *he* wants to— he’s so close.

so anyways, sou looks back at shin. because of course he does.

and what is he rewarded with? impalement! ^_^ no seriously, at the last moment he steps on a trap that impales him. YES i wanted to harken back to the fake death alice caused in actual yttd. so yeah he uh. does not make it out of that one alive. sorry sou!

(i could talk about how this firmly cements in shin that his mindset of the strong persevering over the weak is correct, because he was the one to pass the role of ‘shin tsukimi’ over to sou, to pass the role of being ‘weak’ to him, and in sou’s last moments that weakness (in this case, caring too deeply for shin) ends up being his undoing. but we’ll save that for another day!)

• mishima

so mishima’s is actually relatively the same as q-taro’s canon death, because tbh i couldn’t figure out a way to make it any different without completely screwing up the banquet. sorry mimimishima :((

the thing that really gets me about this one is the REVEAL though. atp kugie and mishima have built up a strong relationship throughout the death game, and so the fact that mishima’s sacrifice essentially ends up saving kugie’s life is weirdly poetic to me. it is NOT poetic to kugie though. she is so upset that people keep sacrificing themselves for her sake (since yknow. she experienced this first with kanna) when she’s been trying to protect others this whole time. it’s just. agh. really sad.

i haven’t really thought as much about maple’s hinako’s and ranmaru’s sorry,,,, again i thought more of the surrounding circumstances for those ones (other people’s reactions to their deaths so. yknow yknow) but i’ll try to think more on em in the meantime!

I am SO sorry for this post it was SUPER long and SUPER sad. like *I* am sad now and I’m the one who decided what happens. Sorry bread 😭

[courtney-deserved-better]

my fair lady: part five - a gwourtney choose your own adventure!

(part one | part two | part three | part four) (read on ao3)

enough preamble. here's part five!

“I’ve got an idea,” Courtney says, eyes glinting deviously. “What if we offer them both alliances, and not tell the other party that we’re doing so. That way we can stay on top of both of their plans, but make the decisions that serve our alliance, just the two of us, best.”

Gwen gapes at her. “You’re scaring me a little right now.”

“Oh—sorry?”

“No, no, it’s a good thing! I mean, it’s a good plan. You could outsmart Heather with that kind of strategy.”

“That’s the plan. Speaking of Heather, you talk to her and Noah, and I’ll offer Alejandro an alliance?”

“Deal,” Gwen says, as Chris begins to herd the teenagers onto the bus.

“Alejandro!” Courtney calls, grabbing the boys arm and dragging him to a seat with her. “Now that you’re on Team Amazon, let me give you a rundown on how things work here. While we don’t have an official leader, I’m pretty much—”

“Don’t listen to anything she says,” Heather says, making her way to the back of the bus. Noah follows her, Owen gazing at him forlornly.

Gwen follows the two, and sits in the row in front of them.

“Welcome to the team,” Gwen says, twisting around to face Heather and Noah.

“I gotta say, I didn’t see that coming,” Noah says.

Heather nods. “Though I suppose it could make it easier…”

She glances at Noah.

“To eliminate Alejandro?” Gwen whispers.

They both stare at her.

“Look, I overheard your conversation about teaming up against him, alright? Courtney did too, and we want in. To get him kicked off. I haven’t mentioned it yet, because it’s really hard for me to say this, but… I agree with you, Heather. He’s untrustworthy.”

“God, that sounds good to hear,” Heather says.

Nice. I knew making her feel like the smart one would make it easier to lie to her.

“And Courtney’s definitely threatened by him,” Gwen says. “That’s why she’s trying to show off to him right now. Alejandro can do just about anything. Which is great when he’s on your team, but once the merge hits…”

“My thoughts exactly,” Noah says.

“So will you keep us in the loop? Make sure we’re on the same page so we can vote him out together?”

Heather looks to Noah.

Noah looks to Heather.

“Yeah,” Heather says, “we all know I don’t like you, Gwen—”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

“—but I don’t like Alejandro a whole lot more. I say us three—and Courtney, if you want to include your little gal pal in all of this—”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“—work to lose the challenge this round, so we can get him out right away.”

“Losing is gonna be the toughest part of this challenge,” Noah says, jerking a thumb in the direction of the new Team Chris. “We’re up against Stalkerlicious, her reluctant malewife, Tumble Toes, and Owen, who is the only person I consider a friend on this bus, but the guy’s no Alejandro, in that there’s no way he can carry Team Chris.”

“Why can’t we just not do anything?” Gwen asks. “That way there’s no risk of winning.”

“But there is risk of Alejandro catching onto our plan,” Heather says.

“And if he catches on, he could win the challenge himself for the team,” Noah says. “Guy’s super capable.”

“Well, there’s nine of us,” Gwen says. “The merge probably won’t hit next episode, so we’ll still have another shot if we win this challenge.”

“The biggest goal is making sure he doesn’t catch on to what we’re doing,” Heather says. “Even if that means winning this challenge. I do miss first class…”

Noah sighs. “Look, I don’t want to deal with the guy anymore, and I’m sure the four of us working to lose the challenge could beat him working on his own to win it. I say we throw.”

“But if he finds out, it could screw up any future plans to get him kicked off.”

“Alejandro’s not superhuman.”

“He’s very close to it! Unfortunately.”

“Do you really think he could win the challenge on his own, with his team working against him?”

“Well, you—”

“Here’s what I think,” Gwen interrupts.

[bard-llama]

WiP Wednesday: Aang’s Vow of Nonviolence

Big things have been happening in Llama’s life lately, career-wise, and it’s good, but it means I gotta not spend all my time writing and actually, you know, work. (Which I think actually does good things for my writing, because I wrote AND FINISHED Fire and Water (165k words) during fucking Get Out the Vote somehow) (and we kicked ass Getting Out the Vote, just saying)

Anyway, as I try to get back into the schedule of actually having a life and employment, I’m gonna try to get back to posting WiP Wednesdays more often, as well as any finished chapters/fics I have.

SO all that said - this fic is something I started because I have a LOT of feelings about Aang’s vow of nonviolence and his people’s belief in peace. Enjoy!

Zuko: Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers. Aang: But he's still a human being. Zuko: You're going to defend him? Aang: No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's got to be another way. Zuko: Like what? Aang: I don't know.

––

Zuko did not expose his body idly, Aang had noticed quickly. From what he knew about Zuko, it was easy to see that if he didn’t feel comfortable doing it, he wouldn’t. Which meant that when he took off his shirt during practice, he was trusting Aang with what he saw.

Because there was a lot to see. Like, a horrifying amount.

Zuko was covered in scars. None were as bad as his face, but the sheer number of them…

The only reason Aang had been able to resist going into the Avatar State from sheer horrified anger the first time was because he knew it would just scare Zuko away and make him regret offering this piece of trust.

So instead, Aang swallowed down his temper and acted like there was nothing to see, nothing to comment on. Zuko smiled at him in response, so he knew he chose correctly, but even so, every time he saw Zuko’s bare skin, he was filled with such impotent rage and hatred that it scared him.

It scared him because he wanted to hurt Ozai, he wanted to make him suffer the way he’d caused Zuko to suffer. Ozai deserved to suffer, to die even.

But Aang couldn’t kill him. He just couldn’t.

He was the last of the Air Nomads, the last who understood the true meaning of air: freedom. Freedom from violence was part of that. Aang believed in that. He believed in his people’s pacifism and he believed in nonviolence and yet, he still wanted to make Ozai suffer.

And that was precisely why he couldn’t. Because – because if Aang crossed that line, there would be no coming back. He was the Avatar, he was extremely powerful and the Fire Nation may not like him much, but the rest of the world listened to him in a way that still kind of freaked him out.

If he made the decision to hurt Ozai, to kill Ozai, no one would stop him.

So he couldn’t make that decision. Because it wasn’t about Ozai at all – it was about Aang and what he believed and he refused to compromise his values for the kind of scum that could burn a child.

Extensively.

Spirits, Zuko had so many scars, it made Aang want to cry. Each one was an instance of the world failing his friend. Each one was an instance where someone should have protected Zuko, but no one ever did.

Each one challenged Aang’s belief in nonviolence – but Aang refused to be overcome in this. Ozai deserved punishment, yes. But Aang believed in doing no harm, and his job as the Avatar was to bring balance and justice, not revenge.

He refused to kill Ozai, because as horrible of a person as Ozai was, he was still a human being and Aang had made a vow when he’d gotten his arrows and he would not break it. His people had taught him that every human being deserved life and liberty and compassion and basic necessities no matter what.

Because if Aang did to Ozai all the things he wanted to… he would be no better than Ozai, who took this anger and irritation out on Zuko and on the world simply because he could.

Unfortunately, Aang knew that Zuko didn’t understand, because the next morning after Aang had expressed that he refused to kill Ozai, Zuko’s shirt was back on during firebending training.

Zuko didn’t take it off, even when it meant that he had to concentrate harder to keep the flames from eating his sleeves, and Aang knew what he was truly saying.

I showed you my scars, Zuko said, and you refuse to stop the man who gave them to me. I gave you vulnerability and you threw it in my face.

Aang wanted to cry. “Zuko,” he started quietly, but Zuko immediately turned away, voice terse.

“Next set.”

He blinked rapidly, falling into the next kata just as Zuko instructed. He tried to respect that Zuko didn’t want to talk about it, he really did.

Then he reached out to touch Zuko’s forearm and – Zuko flinched. Zuko hadn’t flinched at his touch since they’d danced with the dragons together.

Aang withdrew his hand instantly and tried not to cry. How could he fix this?

He took a breath and blurted out, “I want to kill him.”

Zuko stopped. “What?”

“The – the Fire Lord,” Aang said, trying to continue, because this was the most willing Zuko had been to hearing what he had to say all day. “I want – spirits, Zuko, I want to make him suffer. He deserves to suffer.”

“Then why–!?”

“Because he’s still a human being. Because I made a vow to never bend with the intent to harm another creature. Because I’m the only one left and I can’t betray my people. I can’t!” He sniffled, aware of the heat in his eyes. “I’m not – I’m not saying he isn’t horrible. He is. The world would be better off without him. But I can’t kill him!”

Zuko frowned, mouth opening.

“And I can’t allow him to be killed either,” Aang said flatly. “It’s not – it’s not about him, Zuko. It’s about me. I made a vow before the Great Spirit Lungta and the Elders of the Southern Air Temple that I would do no harm. This – this isn’t just–” he could feel the tears overflowing, dripping down his cheeks. “This is important to Air Nomads! There were different levels of vows, but just to enter a temple, you had to pledge that you would do no harm. Because the temples were places of peace and nonviolence.” He sniffed deeply, wiping at his eyes. “Nonviolence is core to who we are, Zuko. It’s not just – it’s not something casual. It’s our whole life. And it’s not easy! It’s not supposed to be easy!”

“What?” Zuko’s nose scrunched in confusion.

“All life is sacred,” Aang explained, “but pacifism is about more than that. It’s about intent. We take vows that we will never willfully harm others, that we will never raise a fist in anger, that we will forgive rather than punish. And it’s – it’s hard to forgive. It hurts. But it’s a choice I make because that is what my people would want of me. Because it is hard, but it’s important to do so anyway. Because violence only ever begets more violence and because I will not break my vows. I am the last Air Monk in the world. I can’t betray my people’s teachings. I can’t.”

Zuko absorbed that in silence for long minutes, then he nodded slightly. “Next set,” he said and Aang hopped up to practice, glad that he’d been heard.

Zuko still didn’t take his shirt off, though.

Aang told himself that he couldn’t push, that Zuko could only trust him when Zuko was ready to. But it hurt something deep in his chest to have lost this measure of vulnerability from Zuko and he swallowed down tears, wishing – but what good had wishing ever done? He wished his people were still here, but they weren’t. He wished he and Katara could be together, but they weren’t. He wished the war was over, but it wasn’t. He wished the whole world was at peace, but it wasn’t.

He wished Zuko trusted him, but Zuko didn’t and he couldn’t force that to change.

All he could do was his best, and if his best wasn’t ever enough… well, he would just have to respect Zuko’s choice, no matter how much it made his chest ache.

It was hard, knowing that no one left in this world truly understood what nonviolence meant to his people. Knowing that his friends, for all they tried, couldn’t really conceive of what it would mean to live a life without the need for violence.

Knowing that when Aang said ‘peace’, they heard one word and not the eighty-seven others that had individual names amongst the Air Nomads, but which all translated the same.

Not really sure where to go after this, so suggestions welcome, but yeah. Aang is a PACIFIST and that’s a BIG DEAL!!!! 

[mrsbsmooth]

Scripts - S6 - Episode 8

Leadup to dumping, chat with Ozzy, How well do you know your partner?

NARRATOR: Welcome back to Love Island!

NARRATOR: Previously, the Islanders were rocked by news that the least popular girl will be dumped from the villa!

NARRATOR: My girlfriend also dumped me today! Apparently I was <i>too childish!</i>

NARRATOR: She walked out, which was pretty brave of her… Considering the floor is lava…

NARRATOR: Only joking... She ended up getting cold feet...

NARRATOR: Let’s see if the same can be said for our Islanders!

With news of the approaching dumping; the girls look around nervously.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: The least popular girl?!

LEWIE_SAD: Game changer.

BELLA_SAD: Boooo! Just when I was enjoying the vibes.

IVY_IDLE: Bring it on.

IVY_SERIOUS: I’m not changing who I am.

IVY_FLIRTY: I’m just gonna keep grafting.

BELLA_SERIOUS: That’s one way to stay popular...

IVY_HAPPY: Go hard or go home, girls.

{0}_SAD: Savage.

GRACE_SURPRISED: How’re you feeling about the announcement, {0}?

I’m worried

PLAYER_SAD: Not gonna lie, I’m worried.

BELLA_SAD: Me too, babe.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I’m not ready to leave yet!

I’m confident

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m confident!

PLAYER_HAPPY: I have nothing to worry about!

GRACE_HAPPY: That’s the spirit!

It is what it is

PLAYER_IDLE: It is what it is.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

PLAYER_HAPPY: I’m doing this for me!

BELLA_SURPRISED: Preach, babe!

BELLA_SAD: Personally, I’m pretty nervous.

BELLA_IDLE: I haven’t found that special cuddle partner yet.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Although I’m enjoying getting to know you more, {0}.

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Awks…

GRACE_SAD: I’m just sad someone's gotta go!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Doubt it’ll be me, though...

BELLA_SURPRISED: Charming.

GRACE_HAPPY: I just mean that me and Ozzy are too cute!

OZZY_SURPRISED: Steady, Grace.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: It’s a public vote. No one knows what will happen.

OZZY_SAD: It sucks thinking someone’s gonna go.

{0}_HAPPY: Dry those eyes, lad!

BELLA_HAPPY: Guess we should make this day count, peeps!

You notice Amelia hasn’t spoken since the announcement.

PLAYER_IDLE: Amelia, you all good?

AMELIA_SAD: Just letting it all sink in…

Amelia moves towards you and whispers something in your ear.

AMELIA_SAD: {0}, can we talk?

AMELIA_SERIOUS: In private.

Amelia ushers you to the bedroom for a private chat!

You join Amelia on her bed for a twin-talk.

PLAYER_IDLE: What’s up?

AMELIA_SAD: I’m just a bit stressed.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: I think I’m gonna be dumped tonight.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Hold up! No one’s going just yet!

AMELIA_SAD: I guess…

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: But I haven’t even met anyone I click with!

AMELIA_SAD: I’d hate to leave here before I find a connection with someone.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: I thought maybe Roberto and I had something going.

AMELIA_SAD: But now I’m not so sure.

PLAYER_IDLE: Amelia, chill. Who knows what will happen?

AMELIA_SAD: If I’m honest, I’ve just loved spending this time with you.

AMELIA_HAPPY: We haven’t hung out like this for ages!

AMELIA_IDLE: I miss the old days. Don’t you?

I miss the good old days

PLAYER_IDLE: Of course! I miss the good old days!

PLAYER_HAPPY: But we’ll always be sisters.

AMELIA_IDLE: I know.

AMELIA_HAPPY: Remember when we used to have those twinny midnight feasts?

PLAYER_HAPPY: And sleep together head to toe?

AMELIA_HAPPY: Those days really were the best.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Minus your snoring.

AMELIA_HAPPY: Oops! My bad...

I like focusing on today

PLAYER_HAPPY: I like focusing on today.

PLAYER_IDLE: No use looking backwards all the time!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Let’s enjoy the here and now. It’s exciting!

AMELIA_SERIOUS: Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten our sister midnight feasts?

AMELIA_HAPPY: And then we’d sleep head to toe!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I remember you taking up most of the bed…

AMELIA_HAPPY: Once a star-fish, always a star-fish.

Change is good

PLAYER_IDLE: Things have to change.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: The world keeps turning.

AMELIA_IDLE: But even if we’re miles apart.

AMELIA_HAPPY: I’ll always be here for you.

AMELIA_HAPPY: I hope you know that.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Thanks, Amelia.

AMELIA_IDLE: Remember those twinny midnight feasts we’d have when we were kids?

PLAYER_HAPPY: And then you’d insist on sleeping head to toe?

AMELIA_HAPPY: Exactly!

You and Amelia lie back on a bed. Amelia seems lost in childhood memories.

AMELIA_IDLE: Do you remember when we both missed our school prom together?

PLAYER_HAPPY: And just ate snacks and talked for hours!

AMELIA_IDLE: Those were the days.

Amelia shuffles uncomfortably.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: There’s something I never told you about that night…

PLAYER_IDLE: What?

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: Well…

Before Amelia can finish, Ozzy enters!

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Hey, {0}, could I borrow you for a chat?

AMELIA_HAPPY: Look who’s Miss Popular!

AMELIA_IDLE: Go, {0}. We’ll speak later.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Thanks, Amelia, shall we chat on the terrace, {0}?

You get off the bed and follow Ozzy outside.

You and Ozzy take a seat. He’s clearly nervous.

PLAYER_IDLE: What’s on your mind, Ozzy?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: My head’s a bit all over the place, to be honest.

OZZY_SAD: That news of the dumping has rattled me.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: It has?

Ozzy nods and looks at his feet, struggling to find the words.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Don’t get me wrong, if Grace went, I’d be gutted.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: She’s been my day one in here.

OZZY_SAD: I have so much time for that girl.

OZZY_SERIOUS: I just...

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: I don’t like the thought of someone I care about leaving the villa.

PLAYER_IDLE: You mean Grace?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: I think I mean you, {0}.

OZZY_SAD: I just couldn’t take the thought of you leaving here.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Oh...

OZZY_IDLE: Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m sensing something might be growing between us.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: What about Grace?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Grace is amazing. She’s gorgeous, so hilarious.

OZZY_IDLE: That girl can’t help but make me laugh.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: But I guess this villa was always gonna test us…

OZZY_SAD: Part of me worries it could be becoming more of a friendship vibe.

OZZY_IDLE: And I know we have our flirty banter.

OZZY_HAPPY: Like the time when you joined me in the pool...

PLAYER_HAPPY: How could I forget?

OZZY_FLIRTY: Looking out of this world.

OZZY_SAD: I’d just always regret tonight if…

OZZY_SAD: If you were dumped and maybe there was something more…

Flirt it up with Ozzy!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You might be right there Ozzy…

PLAYER_HAPPY: We’re in the Love Island villa, after all!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: We should be open to exploring each other…

OZZY_FLIRTY: That’s what I mean.

OZZY_FLIRTY: Exploring sounds like fun…

PLAYER_FLIRTY: And I don’t see a ring on your finger, just yet.

Move in for a kiss!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Kiss me, Ozzy.

You move in closer, arching your head towards Ozzy’s.

His mouth meets yours, and for the briefest second, your lips touch. Ozzy draws you closer, before…

…He pulls away!

(A/N - oof, savage.)

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: As much as I want this…

OZZY_SAD: I don’t think we should be doing this yet. Not now.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Huh?

OZZY_SAD: I’m sorry, {0}.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: But I thought…

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Believe me, I wish I could kiss you right now.

OZZY_SAD: But this isn’t respectful to Grace.

OZZY_SERIOUS: I promised myself I’d be respectful.

OZZY_FLIRTY: Don’t get me wrong, those lips feel amazing…

OZZY_FLIRTY: And I never expected this connection.

OZZY_FLIRTY: You really are out of this world.

Run your fingers through his hair

You move in closer and begin to stroke Ozzy’s hair. He holds your gaze, looking longingly into your eyes.

Suddenly, he pulls away guiltily.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: We shouldn’t be doing this.

OZZY_SAD: I’m sorry. I wish I could…

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: But I’ve got to be respectful.

OZZY_FLIRTY: That doesn’t mean that I’m not excited by this.

OZZY_FLIRTY: And by you…

Keep chatting

PLAYER_IDLE: And I’m not closed off!

OZZY_FLIRTY: That’s lucky for me…

OZZY_FLIRTY: Because I do feel a connection with you, {0}.

OZZY_HAPPY: You’re ticking all the boxes.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: I feel my head could be turned by you.

OZZY_SERIOUS: That’s not to say I don’t have a lot of respect for Grace.

OZZY_FLIRTY: But I just can’t shake the feeling there’s something more with you potentially.

Maybe if we were both single…

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Maybe if we were both single, Ozzy…

OZZY_IDLE: I feel you.

OZZY_FLIRTY: Right place, right time.

PLAYER_IDLE: Exactly.

OZZY_IDLE: It’s still early days in here, who knows what could happen…

PLAYER_FLIRTY: The best is yet to come.

OZZY_HAPPY: I hope you’re right.

OZZY_FLIRTY: For me at least, I think something could be developing here…

OZZY_IDLE: I didn’t imagine it would happen so fast.

OZZY_IDLE: But I know I’d feel like a real muppet if I didn’t say anything.

OZZY_IDLE: Like I said, Grace is an amazing girl.

OZZY_SERIOUS: I just can’t shake the feeling there’s potentially something more with you, {0}.

I’m still processing

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m still processing.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: This was a bit of a surprise!

OZZY_IDLE: I respect that.

OZZY_FLIRTY: I’m glad I said something, though.

OZZY_IDLE: I’d feel like a right plank if I kept quiet.

OZZY_IDLE: Grace is amazing, and we vibed from minute one.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more with you potentially, {0}.

OZZY_IDLE: No matter what I do, my head keeps spinning back to you, {0}.

PLAYER_IDLE: Is that right?

Ozzy looks at you and smiles.

OZZY_FLIRTY: You may be a twin, but you really are one of a kind, y’know?

OZZY_FLIRTY: And I won’t be forgetting those lips anytime soon.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You better not.

OZZY_FLIRTY: I hope we get another chance like this soon…

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Me too.

OZZY_FLIRTY: I’m gonna be thinking about your hands running through my hair all day.

OZZY_FLIRTY: This chat is gonna be living rent free in my mind all day.

OZZY_FLIRTY: You’re very hard to forget, {0}.

GRACE_SURPRISED: You guys!?

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: What are you two doing up here?

As Grace enters, Ozzy falls silent. There’s an awkwardness in the air.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: What’s going on?

GRACE_SERIOUS: Did I miss anything?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: We were…

OZZY_IDLE: We just had a chat…

GRACE_SERIOUS: About what?

Before either of you can say anything. Your phone PINGS!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I got a text!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Uh oh, here we go again…

The other Islanders hear your text from the garden and call up to you.

LEWIE_SURPRISED: Oi Oi! Was that a text?

IVY_SURPRISED: Eeeeee! Go on! Read it out!

LITEXT: Islanders! It’s time for the Couples Quiz! How well do you know your partner?

Grace shares an awkward glance with Ozzy.

LITEXT: The person who answers the most questions about their partner  correctly will be rewarded with a hot date with an Islander of their choice. {0}QuizUp {1}CoupleUp

LITEXT: {0}, you will be paired up with Roberto as you’re both single!

Roberto appears in the garden below and calls up to you!

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Reporting for business!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: …And, of course, pleasure!

IVY_FLIRTY: Three words. Bring. It. On.

LEWIE_HAPPY: Let’s take this to the challenge stage!

IVY_FLIRTY: Race you boys there?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Now we’re talking…

LEWIE_HAPPY: Never challenge a sportsman, Ivy...

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Guessing we should head over then.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Let’s go…

With your chat with Ozzy still ringing in your ears, you rush after the other Islanders!

Everyone arrives at the challenge stage, ready and raring for the quiz!

IVY_HAPPY: Heads up, guys... I never lose!

GRACE_IDLE: Guess this will be a good test to see how well we know our partners...

JAMAL_HAPPY: Bring it on!

RYAN_HAPPY: Grace and Ozzy, you’re up first!

GRACE_SURPRISED: We are?

Grace readies herself to quiz Ozzy, who shoots you a slightly awkward look.

GRACE_IDLE: Ozzy, what is my biggest ick?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Umm... Guys who talk with their mouth full?

GRACE_ANGRY: No!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: I told you this! It’s anyone who doesn’t get on with my friends!

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Of course! My bad.

{0}_EMBARRASSED: You’re gonna have to do better than that, mate!

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: Moving on…

GRACE_HAPPY: Next question!

GRACE_FLIRTY: What’s my favourite sex position?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: Ummmmm...

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: Uh oh…

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Trouble in paradise?

GRACE_ANGRY: Zip it, {0}.

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: I don’t know…

GRACE_SERIOUS: Are you for real!?

OZZY_SAD: My mind’s a mess today.

{0}_HAPPY: This is classic.

RYAN_HAPPY: Grace, your go.

It’s now Grace’s turn to answer questions about Ozzy.

OZZY_IDLE: Ok. Grace.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Yeah?

OZZY_FLIRTY: What is my biggest turn on?

GRACE_HAPPY: Girls who don’t take themselves seriously!

OZZY_HAPPY: Correct.

GRACE_HAPPY: Yes!

BELLA_HAPPY: Go Grace!

OZZY_SERIOUS: Next question…

OZZY_FLIRTY: What’s my kink?

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Ummmm…

GRACE_SURPRISED: Handcuffs?

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: No.

GRACE_ANGRY: Damn it!

Ozzy flashes you an uncomfortable look.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Not going great is it?

IVY_HAPPY: Awkwarddd!

Grace and Ozzy continued to fail harder than the time I asked my driving test examiner which pedal was the brake...

They should’ve known it was a joke! But how well do Bella and {0} know each other?

{0}_HAPPY: Alright Bel-dog, what’s my biggest fear?

BELLA_FLIRTY: Oooooohhhh…

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: Long-haul flights?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: No, mate! I told you this!

You think whether to chip in with an answer…

Guess {0}’s fear!

PLAYER_HAPPY: I know!

Pigeons

PLAYER_HAPPY: It’s pigeons!

{0}_IDLE: Damn right!

BELLA_SURPRISED: Say that again?

Zombies

PLAYER_IDLE: It’s zombies!

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Nah mate, pigeons.

BELLA_SURPRISED: Excuse me?

Belly buttons

PLAYER_IDLE: Isn’t it belly buttons?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Who gave you that idea?

{0}_SAD: It’s pigeons.

BELLA_SURPRISED: Pigeons?

Keep it zipped

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I’m not sure.

{0}_EMBARRASSED: I’m mega scared of pigeons, guys.

RYAN_SURPRISED: Dude, why?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: They freak me out, man!

JAMAL_EMBARRASSED: Especially when I’m skating.

JAMAL_ANGRY: They stare right at me. It’s weird!

LEWIE_EMBARRASSED: Especially when I’m trying to play footie.

LEWIE_SURPRISED: I’m just not having them stare at me, mate.

IVY_EMBARRASSED: Profound…

Bella’s knowledge of {0} was profound... Profoundly incorrect. She got all her answers wrong!

Will {0} be any less useless?

BELLA_HAPPY: Ok! My go, my go!

BELLA_FLIRTY: {0}, do I like it fast and passionate or slow and sensual?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Ummm.. fast and passionate?

BELLA_ANGRY: Boo! Wrong!

BELLA_IDLE: I like it slow and sensual!

BELLA_FLIRTY: The best things come to those who wait.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Am I right, ladies?

Bella throws you a flirty glance and smiles.

{0}_SAD: Bella, we’re bad at this.

BELLA_SAD: I know. Can’t we do a friendship quiz instead?

{0} also got everything about Bella wrong! They’ve got so much in common.

Surely Amelia and {0} will do better... Well, it can’t go the other way!

AMELIA_HAPPY: Here we go, {0}.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: Am I into PDA?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Huh?

AMELIA_HAPPY: Public displays of affection!

{0}_HAPPY: Oh! 100%.

AMELIA_SURPRISED: Nailed it!

{0} amended the popular saying ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’, by getting two right and one wrong.

Next up, it’s Amelia’s turn to answer!

{0}_HAPPY: My turn!

{0}_FLIRTY: Am I a giver or a receiver?

AMELIA_HAPPY: YOU’RE A GIVER! YOU’RE A GIVER!

PLAYER_HAPPY: Still mega competitive, Amelia!

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: Soz. Yeah, got a bit too into it.

{0}_SURPRISED: You’re right!

AMELIA_HAPPY: I overheard you telling the boys that!

{0}_IDLE: Good memory…

{0}_SURPRISED: Alright, nosey!

IVY_FLIRTY: Sounds like you treat the ladies well, {0}.

{0}_FLIRTY: I don’t get any complaints.

{0} catches your eye and smiles.

{0}_FLIRTY: When I find a girl I like, I wanna give her the world.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Good to hear.

GRACE_SURPRISED: How are you guys getting these questions correct?

GRACE_SAD: You’re already doing better than me and Ozzy!

OZZY_EMBARRASSED: It’s just a game, Grace.

Amelia stumbled over what was already a low bar, getting her next two questions wrong!

Ivy fiiiiinally brought some knowledge to the quiz getting everything right about {0}!

Turns out scientists are smart, who knew?

But has {0} been paying attention...?

IVY_HAPPY: Over to you, {0}. Look alive!

IVY_FLIRTY: What is my biggest turn on?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Toe sucking?

IVY_SURPRISED: Excuse me? No one likes that!

LEWIE_HAPPY: Ref! She want’s a sub!

IVY_ANGRY: Get your pens out boys.

PLAYER_HAPPY: They don’t all have laminated checklists like you do.

IVY_FLIRTY: It’s neck kissing with a sprinkle of sexy breathing.

IVY_FLIRTY: You can write that down, {0}.

Ivy winks at {0}, shooting him a flirty smile

{0}_SURPRISED: It’s noted…

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Spicy lady…

{0} got a hattrick... Of incorrect answers. It was a low bar, which he somehow found a way to lower…

Finally, {0} and Roberto are up! But has Roberto been paying as much attention to {1} as he claimed he had?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Buckle up, {0}!

PLAYER_HAPPY: Ready!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Ok, first up… what is my favourite food?

Seafood Stew

PLAYER_IDLE: Is it… seafood stew??

ROBERTO_SURPRISED: Stew? No!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Don’t get me wrong, I love my mum’s seafood stew.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: But my favourite is homemade burgers, like my dad makes!

IVY_FLIRTY: I knew that… just saying.

Homemade Burgers

PLAYER_HAPPY: I know this! It’s homemade burgers!

PLAYER_HAPPY: You make them with your dad back home!

ROBERTO_SURPRISED: How did you know that?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: You really are full of surprises, {0}...

IVY_ANGRY: Lucky guess…

Steak

PLAYER_IDLE: Is it… steak?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I know I’m a hunk of beef.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: But no, steak isn’t my favourite.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: My favourite is homemade burgers like my dad makes!

ROBERTO_HAPPY: I still make them with him when I go back home. It’s a tradition.

IVY_FLIRTY: I knew that… just saying.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Another question for you, {0}.

ROBERTO_IDLE: What is my most embarrassing story?

Forgetting a girls name on a date

PLAYER_IDLE: You forgot a girl’s name on a date?

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Alas, no.

ROBERTO_SAD: I mistakenly drew something… rude! In a plane I mean.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: It was meant to be a heart…

ROBERTO_SAD: But my artistic abilities weren’t up to scratch.

Mistakenly drawing something rude in the sky!

PLAYER_HAPPY: You mistakenly drew something… rude in the sky!

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Sadly, this is true.

ROBERTO_SAD: A mistake I will never forget.

ROBERTO_IDLE: And never repeat.

Bumping into your ex in a bunny costume

PLAYER_IDLE: Bumping into your ex in a bunny costume?

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: I don’t wear bunny costumes.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Alas, more embarrassing.

ROBERTO_SAD: I mistakenly drew something… rude in the sky.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: It was meant to be a heart, but my artistic abilities were not up to scratch.

LEWIE_HAPPY: Something rude?

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Something, what’s the right word… Phallic?

BELLA_HAPPY: I live for that story!

IVY_FLIRTY: It wouldn’t put me off you, Roberto.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Never again!

IVY_FLIRTY: Ask {0} what your sexual fantasy is, Roberto.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Gladly.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: {0}, what is my sexual fantasy?

Get wet and wild in a boat cabin!

PLAYER_HAPPY: Wet and wild in a boat cabin!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: With a lady dressed in a sexy sailor outfit!

Roberto shakes his head.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I’ve ticked that off my list already.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: A few times in fact... It’s not a fantasy any more.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: But Ivy told me...?

IVY_HAPPY: Wow, babe! You’re so gullible!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I am a man of the world!

IVY_FLIRTY: Man of my world!

Steamy cockpit scenes!

PLAYER_IDLE: The cockpit?

ROBERTO_SURPRISED: No way!

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: That is my place of work, {0}!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I never mix business with pleasure.

IVY_FLIRTY: Rawr.

Getting jiggy in the rainforest!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Getting jiggy in the rainforest?

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Nope.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I like the idea of getting steamy and wild in a dramatic landscape.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: But, there's probably too many creepy crawlies to deal with.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: I don’t want to get bitten, do I?

IVY_FLIRTY: Are you sure about that, Roberto?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Alright, my turn!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Roberto, what is my dream home?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Well, this is easy.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: You’d like to come to Portugal with me…

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: And live in a giant villa like this, but in the Algarve.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Stunning views of the sea it overlooks.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: In the morning we could drink coffee and read on the terrace.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: And in the evenings we could make love under the stars.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Does this sound about right?

Yes!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Yes please! That sounds dreamy!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: What can I say… I can read your mind.

IVY_FLIRTY: Room for anymore in this villa?

{0}_HAPPY: Yeah, I’ll be waiting on my invite, Roberto.

Nope!

PLAYER_IDLE: Nope!

ROBERTO_SAD: Oh, I see.

{0}_HAPPY: Ouch…

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Then what would you prefer?

Luxury Penthouse in the city

PLAYER_HAPPY: I want to live in a luxurious penthouse.

PLAYER_HAPPY: With city views that stretch for miles.

Jamal’s face lights up.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: Sounds perfect to me.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Ah, you want to feel on top of the world.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I like your style, {0}.

Cosy Cottage in the countryside

PLAYER_HAPPY: I want to live in a cosy cottage in the countryside.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Wood fires and walks in nature on weekends. Nice and quiet.

Ryan’s face lights up.

RYAN_FLIRTY: Sounds perfect to me.

ROBERTO_SURPRISED: That sounds different… and cold.

IVY_FLIRTY: Don’t worry, Roberto, I’ll come to your villa.

English Beach House

PLAYER_IDLE: I want to live in a little beach house on the English coast.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Long walks on the beach in the evenings, quiet and peaceful.

Lewie’s face lights up.

LEWIE_FLIRTY: Sounds good to me. Throw a few dogs in there and it’s perfect.

ROBERTO_SURPRISED: Huh, you want an English beach over a Portuguese beach?

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Seems wild to me but whatever floats your boat.

IVY_FLIRTY: Don’t worry, Roberto, I’ll come to your villa.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Ok, next question.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: What is my type on paper?

ROBERTO_SERIOUS: Let me think…

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Tall, handsome and with a Mediterranean tan?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Charming with an air of mystery to them?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Capable of flying a commercial aeroplane?

Spot on!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there.

{0} looks deflated.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I think I saw someone in the villa who ticked every one of those boxes.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I’ll let you know when I find him…

IVY_SERIOUS: I thought you said your type was wild and spontaneous, {0}?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Exactly, didn’t say they couldn’t have a pilot’s licence too…

IVY_SERIOUS: I thought you said your type was romantic and soulful, {0}?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Exactly, didn’t say they couldn’t have a pilot’s licence too…

IVY_SERIOUS: I thought you said your type was a boy next door, {0}?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Well technically anyone can live next door.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Didn’t say they couldn’t have a pilot’s licence too…

Wrong!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Sorry, that’s wrong.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Oh wow, seems I’m way off the mark.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Thankfully that type is nothing like me...

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: So, {0}, what is your type?

PLAYER_HAPPY: I like fun, wild and spontaneous guys.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Guys who don’t just play it safe.

Jamal shoots you a cheeky look.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: Sounds like someone I know.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I think I can be pretty wild...

PLAYER_HAPPY: I like romantic, soulful guys.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Someone who really wears their heart on their sleeve.

Ryan shoots you a bashful smile.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: You know they say latin languages are the most romantic in the world…

PLAYER_HAPPY: I like the ‘boy-next-door’ vibe.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Chill, cheeky chap to settle down with.

Lewie shoots you cheeky grin.

LEWIE_HAPPY: Sounds like someone I know.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Technically anyone can be a boy-next-door. Just depends where you live.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Ok, the next question is easy…

PLAYER_HAPPY: What is my job?

ROBERTO_HAPPY: A Scientist?

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Seriously?

IVY_HAPPY: Wrong! That’s me!

ROBERTO_SAD: Really?

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m an influencer, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m a personal trainer, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m an engineer, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m a charity worker, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m an entrepreneur, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m a trainee architect, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m a fashion designer, Roberto!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I’m not really sure what my job is at the minute.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Course you are, sorry, {0}. We spoke about that!

IVY_FLIRTY: Flying through your thoughts, am I Roberto?

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Just got my wires crossed!

Give Roberto some sass!

PLAYER_ANGRY: Is your head still up in the clouds, Roberto?

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: Maybe it’s jet-lag.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Jet-LAD, more like!

Laugh it off

PLAYER_HAPPY: We seem to have hit some turbulence!

ROBERTO_HAPPY: That’s what happens when you land yourself a pilot!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I guess I just got lost in your eyes, {0}.

ROBERTO_SAD: I’m sorry.

Act casual

PLAYER_IDLE: No biggie.

PLAYER_HAPPY: It’s just a game.

IVY_HAPPY: Keep telling yourself that, babe.

IVY_FLIRTY: I guess we can’t all be perfect!

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Two out of three isn’t bad.

IVY_HAPPY: I guess there’s only one winner, people!

Ivy’s phone pings!

IVY_HAPPY: And I got a text!

LITEXT: Ivy, congratulations, you are the winner! Please choose a boy to take on a date! {0}CoupleGoals {1}DateNight

Ivy smirks and looks at {0}.

IVY_FLIRTY: Get ready, {0}. I’m taking you on a date to remember.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Seriously?

{0}_ANGRY: Are you for real, Ivy?

IVY_HAPPY: I’m as real as they come, {0}.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Aren’t you taking the boy you’re coupled up with?

IVY_EMBARRASSED: I became single as soon as he kissed Amelia and lied about it.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: Oh yeah, soz about that.

IVY_HAPPY: Over it, Amelia.

IVY_FLIRTY: Oh, and heads up, {0}, I’m feeling ready to mingle!

Put Ivy in her place!

PLAYER_ANGRY: Why am I not surprised, Ivy?

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You always want what you can’t have!

IVY_HAPPY: Don’t hate on me because I’m smarter!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I don’t hate you, I just lost some respect.

IVY_FLIRTY: If you trust {0} then you've got nothing to worry about.

IVY_HAPPY: Save those tears, {0}.

PLAYER_HAPPY: As if I’d ever waste tears on you, Ivy!

Keep it classy!

PLAYER_IDLE: Happy for you two.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Do your thing.

IVY_HAPPY: Awww look at you! Putting on your big girl pants!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Maybe you should do the same, Ivy.

IVY_FLIRTY: Sweetie, I’m wearing my sexiest pair…

She turns and winks at {0}.

Warn {0} off

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Watch out, {0}.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Some of the most beautiful flowers can be the most poisonous.

IVY_HAPPY: Awwww, you think I’m beautiful!

IVY_FLIRTY: Thank you, cutie.

IVY_FLIRTY: Shall we, {0}?

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Let’s do it.

{0}’s eyes flit to you, as he and Ivy head off to enjoy a private date outside the villa.

{0}_SURPRISED: Wowzer!

BELLA_SERIOUS: That girl means business!

{0}_SAD: You can say that again.

Suddenly, Grace taps you on the shoulder and whispers something in your ear.

GRACE_SAD: I need to talk to you, {0}. Now.

Grace leads you to the loungers for a private chat. Before you can say anything, she blurts out...

GRACE_SAD: It’s Ozzy!

GRACE_SAD: He’s going cold on me!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Really?

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Especially after that quiz...

GRACE_SAD: I thought we were doing great!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: To be honest, my head’s just scrambled.

Comfort Grace

PLAYER_SAD: I’m sorry you’re feeling like this.

PLAYER_IDLE: The villa can be intense sometimes.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: I know.

PLAYER_HAPPY: You’re an amazing girl, any guy would be lucky to have you.

GRACE_SAD: I just wish Ozzy would think that.

Ask her to elaborate

PLAYER_IDLE: Could you elaborate, Grace?

GRACE_SERIOUS: I just sense something’s going on with Ozzy.

GRACE_SAD: I can’t put my finger on it.

GRACE_ANGRY: Ugh! Why is nothing with boys easy!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Can I ask you something else...

GRACE_SAD: Did Ozzy say anything to you about me?

Reveal Ozzy said he’d miss you

PLAYER_IDLE: Well, he did say something…

GRACE_SURPRISED: Go on!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: He told me he’d be sad if I left the villa tonight.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I think he sees me as more than a just friend.

GRACE_HAPPY: Hah! Good one!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Grace, I wouldn’t joke about that.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Babe, I think you’re confused.

GRACE_SERIOUS: You and Ozzy are just mates.

GRACE_SERIOUS: That’s what he told me!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: That’s not the vibe I got from him.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: He was just being friendly.

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: And I reckon he’s just having a blip!

Deny you spoke about anything deep

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: We didn’t speak about anything deep.

GRACE_IDLE: You sure?

PLAYER_IDLE: Nothing off the top of my head...

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: I see.

GRACE_SAD: I feel maybe this is just a blip?

Tell her it’s private!

PLAYER_IDLE: We did. But it’s private, Grace.

GRACE_SURPRISED: What do you mean?

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I can’t say.

GRACE_ANGRY: Keeping your cards close to your chest, then.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: For now, yeah.

GRACE_IDLE: Fine...

GRACE_SAD: I bet he’s just pranging a bit. That’s all.

Bad mouth Ozzy

PLAYER_IDLE: Between you and me, Ozzy’s not right for you.

GRACE_SAD: Really?

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I sense he’s not being loyal.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: And his eggs aren't all in your basket.

GRACE_IDLE: Or maybe he’s just having a blip?

Grace looks at Ozzy across the garden.

GRACE_FLIRTY: I think I can win him back!

Bella and Amelia appear, interrupting your conversation!

AMELIA_FLIRTY: What’s up, chicks!

GRACE_IDLE: Hi, girlies.

BELLA_FLIRTY: We can’t stop thinking about {0} and Ivy on their date.

BELLA_FLIRTY: I wanna know allllll the saucy deets.

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: {0}, you worried about Ivy and {1}?

I’m worried!

PLAYER_SAD: Can’t lie, I’m really worried!

AMELIA_IDLE: It just sucks that she had to pick {0}.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: And that girl doesn’t do things in half measures.

AMELIA_ANGRY: That’s Ivy for you!

His head won’t turn!

PLAYER_HAPPY: His head won’t turn!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m confident about that!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Ivy can do what she wants.

BELLA_SURPRISED: Ok. You’re officially my role model.

I’m focussing on my own graft!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m going to focus on my own graft!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: And make myself the priority.

PLAYER_HAPPY: I’m here for me, after all!

BELLA_HAPPY: You go, girl!

{0} walks over with a cheeky gleam in his eyes!

{0}_SURPRISED: There you are, {1}!

AMELIA_EMBARRASSED: Can we help you?

{0}_IDLE: Just wanted to grab {1} for a quick chat.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Sneaking in a date while {0} is gone? Cheeky!

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: Wait. Maybe I should be doing that.

BELLA_FLIRTY: While the cats are away, the mice will slay!

{0}_SURPRISED: Who are you calling a mouse?

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: They call me the Portuguese lion!

RYAN_FLIRTY: I’m a mockingbird!

LEWIE_FLIRTY: I’m a leopard, mate.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: I’m a cheeky lion, me.

BELLA_HAPPY: We didn’t ask.

{0}_FLIRTY: {1}, can I pull you for a chat?

PLAYER_IDLE: Sure thing.

{0} leads you to the swing seat for some more privacy.

You take a seat and swing gently in the shade.

{0}_IDLE: It’s good to see you, {1}.

PLAYER_IDLE: What’s going on, {0}?

{0}_IDLE: Just felt like we haven’t had a chat for a while.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: You only got here yesterday.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: Very true. Feels way longer already. In a good way.

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Wanted to see where your head’s at?

My head’s here with you!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: My head’s here with you.

{0}_HAPPY: That’s good to hear, {1}.

Some things are playing on my mind

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Some things are playing on my mind right now.

{0}_IDLE: That’s not surprising.

{0}_IDLE: This villa’s been non-stop drama!

I’m not sure right now

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not sure right now.

{0}_IDLE: That’s fair enough.

{0}_IDLE: Totally understandable.

{0}_IDLE: It’s certainly quieter with Ivy away!

PLAYER_HAPPY: That’s true…

{0}_IDLE: I thought we could take this time to get to know each other a bit.

{0}_IDLE: Is there anything you want to know about me?

What is your favourite memory?

PLAYER_HAPPY: What’s your favourite memory?

{0}_SURPRISED: Good question, {1}!

ROBERTO_HAPPY: It would have to be cooking classes with my mum and dad as a kid!

ROBERTO_IDLE: They taught me everything I know!

RYAN_HAPPY: It has to be singing with my family as a child!

RYAN_IDLE: We used to do this concert every Christmas eve.

RYAN_HAPPY: Those were the days!

LEWIE_HAPPY: Playing football with my sister in the park. 100%!

LEWIE_IDLE: We used to play every weekend.

JAMAL_HAPPY: It has to be hitting the skatepark with my brother after school!

JAMAL_HAPPY: Not a care in the world.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Sounds like a good time!

{0}_HAPPY: It really was.

Have you ever been in love?

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Have you ever been in love?

{0}_SURPRISED: Good question, {1}!

ROBERTO_SAD: I have, just once.

ROBERTO_EMBARRASSED: It was a long time ago.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: But it was wonderful.

ROBERTO_IDLE: Being in love is the best feeling.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I hope I find it again soon.

RYAN_HAPPY: Of course! A couple of times.

RYAN_FLIRTY: I love the feeling of being in love.

RYAN_SERIOUS: That feeling of closeness and being able to be fully open with someone.

RYAN_IDLE: Nothing in the world beats it.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: That’s deep!

RYAN_IDLE: I’m a deep guy…

PLAYER_IDLE: Interesting…

LEWIE_IDLE: I have actually.

LEWIE_IDLE: My girlfriend at school.

LEWIE_IDLE: She was the first girl who truly saw me for me.

LEWIE_HAPPY: It was proper class.

LEWIE_HAPPY: Love just makes everything better, I reckon!

LEWIE_IDLE: I can’t wait for it to happen again.

JAMAL_EMBARRASSED: Sadly not…

JAMAL_SAD: I’ve never let myself get that close to someone.

JAMAL_IDLE: I really hope it happens one day.

JAMAL_HAPPY: I’m secretly a bit of a love bug!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Interesting!

Have you ever been heartbroken?

PLAYER_IDLE: Have you ever been heartbroken?

{0}_SURPRISED: Good question, {1}!

ROBERTO_SAD: I have, just once.

ROBERTO_SAD: They say the love that lasts longest is the love that’s never returned.

ROBERTO_IDLE: But that’s ancient history now.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: It’s best to look forward!

RYAN_HAPPY: Of course! Millions of times!

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Millions?

RYAN_HAPPY: That might be an exaggeration.

RYAN_SERIOUS: But I’d rather love a million times and have my heart broken…

RYAN_SERIOUS: Than possess an empty heart forever…

PLAYER_SURPRISED: That’s deep!

RYAN_HAPPY: I’m a deep guy…

LEWIE_IDLE: Yeah, my girlfriend at school.

LEWIE_SAD: She was the first girl who truly saw me for me.

LEWIE_SAD: First love, first heartbreak! All that jazz…

LEWIE_IDLE: I learnt a lot, though!

PLAYER_IDLE: I bet.

JAMAL_EMBARRASSED: I’ve been lucky…

JAMAL_EMBARRASSED: As of yet, no heartbreak for me.

JAMAL_SAD: I’ve never let myself get that close to someone.

JAMAL_IDLE: Hopefully someday very soon.

{0}_IDLE: And may I just say…

{0}_FLIRTY: You look sensational, {1}.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: Unbelievably beautiful!

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: I keep losing focus when I’m around you.

RYAN_FLIRTY: Just so stunning.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: No word of a lie.

LEWIE_FLIRTY: Like, proper fit.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Thanks.

{0}_IDLE: You’ve actually been playing on my mind a bit.

PLAYER_IDLE: I have?

{0}_FLIRTY: You keep distracting me. In a good way.

{0}_SERIOUS: I know that you might be getting closer to {1}.

{0}_IDLE: And I respect that.

{0}_IDLE: But I wanted to take this chance to maybe…

{0}_FLIRTY: Maybe turn your head in my direction.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: You’re really something else, {0}.

LEWIE_FLIRTY: I just can’t drop the ball with you.

RYAN_FLIRTY: Everytime I’m with you, I gotta catch my breath.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: I still feel like there’s a proper vibe between us.

Get your flirt on!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m always down for flirty fun, {0}.

{0}_FLIRTY: That’s what I like about you.

ROBERTO_FLIRTY: You seem to be ticking a lot of my boxes.

LEWIE_FLIRTY: Plus, you’re a total worldie.

RYAN_FLIRTY: And if you were a song, you’d be the best track on the album.

JAMAL_FLIRTY: Plus, I can definitely picture us skating off into the sunset together.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: You’re gonna have to try harder than that...

{0}_SURPRISED: Alright!

{0}_IDLE: Your body is 65% water.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: And?

{0}_FLIRTY: And I’m thirsty.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Wow!

{0}_EMBARRASSED: I understand how cringey that line is.

{0}_HAPPY: It just came to me…

{0}_FLIRTY: But you get the idea!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You’re only human, {0}.

{0} gives you a cheeky grin, looking deep into your eyes.

*Kiss him! Yolo!

You move towards {0} and press your lips against his.

As you begin to kiss, your fingers melt into his hair and he draws his body towards you.

You both kiss with increasing urgency.

Your hands touch his shoulders, feeling his rippling muscles.

Finally, you both pull away.

{0}_FLIRTY: You’re unreal, {1}.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You’re not too bad yourself.

{0}_FLIRTY: I’ll be thinking about this all night.

{0} smiles and leans in closer towards you…

Don’t kiss

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not giving you any kisses just yet, {0}.

{0}_IDLE: I respect that.

{0}_HAPPY: Good things come to those who wait!

Keep it casual

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I’m actually looking to keep this casual, {0}.

{0}_EMBARRASSED: Oh yeah for sure, understood.

{0}_HAPPY: Let’s keep things chill.

{0}_IDLE: I just wanted to tell you where my head’s at.

{0}_SERIOUS: I’d always regret it if I didn’t.

Tell him you’re into someone else

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m into someone else, {0}.

{0}_IDLE: Understood.

{0}_IDLE: Although anything can happen here, it’s still early days.

ROBERTO_HAPPY: No one’s at the altar just yet.

LEWIE_HAPPY: No one is married off just yet.

RYAN_HAPPY: I don’t hear any wedding bells yet.

JAMAL_HAPPY: No one is driving you to the chapel.

{0}_IDLE: I just wanted to tell you where I’m at.

{0}_IDLE: I’d regret it if I didn’t.

Suddenly, you hear footsteps returning to the villa!

{0}_EMBARRASSED: That must be {1} and Ivy.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: They’re back from their date!

{0}_FLIRTY: Well, I’m glad we got this mini-date for ourselves.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: It was fun.

{0}_FLIRTY: You truly are gorgeous.

{0}_IDLE: I hope we can do it again soon.

{0}_HAPPY: I better leave before I get into trouble!

{0} winks at you and heads back to the villa.

{0}_HAPPY: Catch you later, {1}!

You hear Ivy and {0}’s distant voices and head over to find out about their date!

You arrive at the villa entrance and see Ivy take {0}’s hand.

You wait just out of sight and listen to their conversation...

IVY_FLIRTY: Let’s not tell anyone about what happened...

{0}_IDLE: Sure thing.

IVY_FLIRTY: It will be our little secret!

Suddenly, your cover is blown when your phone pings!

{0}_SURPRISED: {1}?

IVY_HAPPY: We’ve got ourselves a voyeur!

IVY_FLIRTY: I hope you brought popcorn.

{0} looks awkward, pulling his hand away from Ivy.

The other girls rush over.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Text! Text! Text!

AMELIA_SURPRISED: You got a TEXT?!

GRACE_SURPRISED: Read it out then, {0}!

LITEXT: Islanders, please gather round the Firepit as one girl is about to be dumped. {0}PackYourBags {1}ByeByeBaby

AMELIA_SAD: Oh here we go…

BELLA_IDLE: Ladies, whatever happens, we need to look and feel our best!

IVY_IDLE: She’s not wrong there!

GRACE_FLIRTY: Time to look fresh and fierce!

You and the other girls rush over to the dressing room to prepare for the dumping.

AMELIA_SAD: Can’t believe one of us is going…

BELLA_SURPRISED: This could be the last outfit we ever wear in the villa!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: If I leave, at least I’ll be leaving in style.

BELLA_IDLE: Defo. I’m confident of making a lasting impression in this!

IVY_FLIRTY: My look’s going to knock the boys’ socks off!

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: Trust Ivy to still be grafting at the dumping.

GRACE_IDLE: Which boy are you trying to dazzle, Ivy?

GRACE_SURPRISED: Is it {0}?

IVY_FLIRTY: Maaaaybe, baby!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: How did the date go?

IVY_FLIRTY: I’m not giving you the juice just yet.

IVY_HAPPY: See you ladies down there.

Ivy winks at you, then leaves.

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: That girl needs to take a day off.

AMELIA_SAD: Guys, I’m beyond nervy!

GRACE_EMBARRASSED: Me too!

BELLA_SAD: Me three.

AMELIA_IDLE: {0}, what are you going to wear?

BELLA_IDLE: Better be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, whether you’re staying…

BELLA_FLIRTY: Or if it’s your exit outfit!

BELLA_HAPPY: Not that I think you’ll get dumped.

GRACE_FLIRTY: And it could be your last chance to show those boys what you got.

BELLA_HAPPY: Wow, you’re smoking in that!

GRACE_HAPPY: Now that’s a last look!

BELLA_HAPPY: Any touch ups?

I’ll do some touch ups

I’m good like this

PLAYER_HAPPY: If I’m gonna be dumped then this is the one.

GRACE_HAPPY: Yes, girl.

AMELIA_HAPPY: You should go all out for tonight!

BELLA_HAPPY: Make sure they remember who YOU are.

GRACE_HAPPY: And that they stay wrapped around your little finger!

PLAYER_HAPPY: You’re right, I’ll have a look.

PLAYER_HAPPY: How’s this?

GRACE_HAPPY: Nah, you shouldn’t be allowed to look this hot.

AMELIA_HAPPY: Oi Oi! You have to wear that, right?

*TRYOUTFIT* This is the look!

I’m going to see what else I’ve got

AMELIA_HAPPY: You do you but that outfit was so cute.

BELLA_HAPPY: With the dumping tonight, maybe have another look?

AMELIA_FLIRTY: We need to look our best!

GRACE_IDLE: She’s not wrong! You gonna look again?

I’m gonna try on that cute outfit again

BELLA_HAPPY: All I can say is… damn.

AMELIA_HAPPY: Knew you loved this one.

AMELIA_HAPPY: No one will be able to look away from you!

GRACE_IDLE: This is the one, right?

*TRYOUTFIT* It sure is!

I’m not feeling it

I’ll check what else I have

I like this

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Nah, I’ll wear this.

PLAYER_HAPPY: If this is my last night, then I have to go out in style.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Show ‘em what you got.

GRACE_HAPPY: You look hot as! Let’s go!

PLAYER_HAPPY: I’m defo wearing this!

GRACE_HAPPY: You look hot as! Let’s go!

PLAYER_IDLE: I like this outfit.

PLAYER_IDLE: No matter what happens. We’re in this together.

BELLA_SAD: Damn, it’s a shame one of us will be leaving tonight.

BELLA_FLIRTY: We’re a bunch of fitties, aren’t we?

GRACE_HAPPY: May the best girl win!

You and the girls strut to the Firepit to face the music.

The Islanders gather round the Firepit, a palpable tension in the air.

Grace and Ivy both look nervous, while Amelia looks at the floor.

Bella leans in and whispers to you.

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: You think you’ll be dumped, {0}?

Yes. I’m bricking it!

PLAYER_SAD: Yeah, I’m bricking it.

BELLA_SAD: Me too.

BELLA_IDLE: Believe me, you have nothing to worry about.

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: But, if one of us does go...

BELLA_SAD: I’ll be sad we never got to explore this more.

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: You’re not only an amazing girl.

BELLA_FLIRTY: You’re a spicy 10/10.

BELLA_IDLE: I guess we should see what the results say.

I’m 100% safe!

PLAYER_HAPPY: I’m 100% safe.

BELLA_SURPRISED: Always admired that confidence.

BELLA_FLIRTY: It’s hot.

BELLA_FLIRTY: Like you.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: If you’ve got it, flaunt it!

Let’s see what happens

PLAYER_IDLE: Let’s see what happens.

BELLA_SAD: Wish I was that zen, babe!

BELLA_EMBARRASSED: I’ll be sad if one of us goes.

BELLA_FLIRTY: I was getting used to having you around.

BELLA_IDLE: Guess we’ll wait and see.

Suddenly, you get a text!

LITEXT: Islanders, the public have been voting for their favourite girl. The girl with the fewest votes will be leaving the villa immediately.

LITEXT: The girl leaving the villa is…

{0} and {1} steal nervous glances your way!

NARRATOR: Drum roll, please!

NARRATOR: No, no, no. I said <i>drum roll</i>. Not maracas! Blimey!

NARRATOR: No Drumroll? What’s the budget on this thing?

NARRATOR: Imagine a drum roll here.

NARRATOR: Come back next time to find out which unlucky lass will be packing her bags for good!

[raraeavesmoriendi]

*ralph wiggum voice* ‘queer people of different genders can’t be in a queer relationship bc ablpblpblpblp’

so -

a. how is this not the cis people thing of reducing people to their genitals again. like, you get genitals that don’t match and suddenly how people understand their own interior life and desires is thrown out the window? is that how this works? are we really gonna be stopping couples that show up to a Queer space while not performing gender the same way and go “hey excuse me can you list off your respective relationship histories so we know you aren’t just hets that have gotten cozy in our midst?” who is that for? no, really, who is that for??? If I’m dating a woman as a non-binary person, do I have to recite Halberstam bc we don’t match gender-wise? Or bc it *looks* like one of us needs a strap to have “traditional” penetrative sex, we’re in the clear. In which case, again, stop trying to figure out what’s in people’s pants, buddy, that’s rude.

b. does this mean Queerness is conditional? does this mean we’re back to box-ticking performances based on seeing Str8ies as Default? “You must be this Queer to ride” well shit. well fuck. who’s gonna tell all the single gays that just like one flavor? how do they tick the box? do we have Gay-approved sex toys they can walk in with to show they’re definitely gay without a relationship? are we printing ID cards or something? does this mean I’m on a probationary period every time I date someone who isn’t my specific shade of genderqueer? fuck’s sake, I don’t have time for all that paperwork. god knows how many Queer Validity hearings I’ve missed by now. fuck me, the census is gonna be a nightmare this year. Does everyone have to stand in front of the Queerness Measuring Tape, or just the people who don’t pass narrow ideas of what Queerness looks like? When did we vote on that? Who wrote this fucking manual anyways?? How do we amend this shit, bc this sounds like someone didn’t read past Queer Theory 101, and we’ve got more to think about here.

c. do people not hear how gender binary-reinforcing this sounds?? “well they don’t LOOK like they’re Queer—“ buddy, I don’t bind bc I get overheated easily where I live and I can’t decide if I can even afford to get my tits removed yet. Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I don’t want bottom surgery. If I tell you I don’t identify as a woman or with the experience of womanhood, are you going to accept how I’m describing my own experience and perception as accurate? Or are you gonna ‘Or/But’ me into the ground until I perform an absence of gender that meets whatever your arbitrary-ass (pretty cis-sounding ngl) standards are? Why are we then saying that if a couple doesn’t “perform”/conform to your narrow-ass caricatured expectations of Queerness that say it can only look like people with matching AGABs, then clearly that overrides everything else about these people’s understanding of themselves? The the way they define their own experiences and their attraction to various genders is suddenly rendered Str8? Is it bc one of them maybe has a penis and the other one doesn’t? Is that why they’re not Queer?? Man, first of all that’s not how dicks work, and second of all, you have got to stop trying to x-ray people’s pants, what did I just say—

d. I am holding your face very gently in my hands. Some of us are more than one thing. Some of us are not cis and like more than one kind of person. It’s not as simple as “Do our genders match? Okay great, we’re gay!!” Some of us have to navigate a few more variables, okay? Trying to police Queerness based on a “same-ASAB only” definition is not only constricting for all the people who have other things going on, it’s reductive to the idea of Queerness as a whole. There’s so many different ways it can look. It’s beautiful, buddy, you just gotta trust me on that. Trying to keep people out of the community bc they don’t match your black and white definition of “You Are or You Aren’t” doesn’t benefit anyone. It genuinely does not. We’re either building a home for all of us, or we’re just doing to other people what the Str8ies did to us the first time. Read a book, hell, read two. And if someone doesn’t match whatever your internal horse-blinders expectations of External Gayness, remember, it doesn’t affect you and it’s not your fucking business, okay? just drink your little mineral water and live your life, you’re gonna be fine, I swear 🖤

eta, nov. 5 - the people who can’t read found this post so I’m taking it away and putting it up on the closet shelf until they learn to leave queer people be. Taps sign, etc.

[occult-roommates]

Airport interlude

Around a month later, Akva finally had some time to take a few days aside and go to Del Sol Valley visit Paisley and her family. And then some of her friends showed up at the airport with her to have conversations I really wanted to write but had nowhere else to put idc this ain’t a professionally written novel I do what I want.

Akva: Thanks for coming with me guys! Bye everyone! Dawud: Ciao. Rudi: Welcome, that was a nice walk. Now I gotta go home, it’s the Eurovision tonight and I don’t wanna miss my country humiliating itself yet again. Daniele: Rud, it’s like 8 am, I know Europe is a few hours before us, but I think you’re overestimating it a bit. Rudi: I wanna be ready. Oh and by the way, I’m rooting for your country. Daniele: Aw, thanks. Dawud: No idea what you guys are talking about, but I know a few German songs cause you know, I took German classes in high school. Like Rock me Amadeus or 99 Luftballons.   Rudi: Literally everyone knows 99 Luftballons.  Daniele: To be fair, I don’t think I know any other songs in German but that one, so kudos to you Dav. Rudi: You dont- You don’t even know Rammstein? Like...Rammstein! They’re famous as fuck and they’re icons from my dad’s hometown. He even brought me to one of their concert when I was 10 which...In hindsight he 100% should not have but you get my point. To be fair, I don’t think my dad really knew what he was getting himself into, we had been invited by his best friend. Daniele: Eh, I know them by name, but it’s not really my type of music so I don’t think I know any of their songs.

It was now Dawud’s turn to leave the conversation, as his mechanic lessons were just about to start. Hopefully that day, he was not going to injure his hand. Whelp, now Rudi and Daniele had no reason to stay at the airport, so they just left the scene too.

Daniele: By the way, the other day, don’t remember why, I tried looking at all of the burger joints in the city, and did not see the restaurant you work at. Why? Rudi: Because I don’t work at a burger joint?? I work at a Filipino restaurant??? Daniele: Oh...I just thought...Ok you’re gonna make fun of me but it’s because the place is called Bob’s House and I don’t know, that has strong burger joint energy. Rudi: It’s because their logo is a pineapple, duh...No that’s not a joke, the name was their daughter’s idea and she was like, 5 years old back then. She told me personally while we were smoking weed together behind the art museum. Daniele: I don’t get the joke? Rudi: Ok, I can believe you don’t know Rammstein but...Spongebob??? How the fuck do you not know Spongebob??? Daniele: I did not made the connection alright, calm down. Rudi: Wait, I just realized, but the daughter, her name is Marisa by the way, she’s a mermaid...Well, obviously the entire family are merfolks, but she’s also the same age as Akva, give or take a year or two. And like, she’s bi. I know it cause one time I was talking about wanting a tattoo and she showed me hers, and it’s a heart shaped bi pride flag...Do you see where I’m getting at? Probably not, but I’m still asking just in case. Daniele: Matchmake her with Akva? Rudi: How the fuck did you guess on the first try? But yes, that’s my plan. I think they’d be cute together. Daniele: I think they need to have more in common than just being mermaid. Like, I don’t think Akva would be the type to date someone who smokes weed. Rudi: Ah, come on. Akva’s been through a lot, she deserves a nice girlfriend. Daniele: Please, first you wanted ruin Dawud’s relationship with Matteo, which I get you wanted to do that for me but still, now this? You’re aroace Rudi, stop trying to interve in people’s love life you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. Rudi: Um fuck you, and I’m no longer rooting for Italy, my vote is going to Finland now!

Rudi did not care, as soon as Akva came back from California, they were gonna try to make her and Marisa meet. They would be so cute together, or at least that’s what the werewolf thought.

Prev - Next

[meenatranslates]

InsteLive 3 - Akigumi Etude (Text Version)

InsteLive 1 - InsteLive 2 - InsteLive 3 (Text ver.)

(Live version here)

Translation under the cut!

Akigumi Etude - Valentine's Day Story of High Schoolers

Banri: ...Looks like it’s starting.

’Sup. It’s Akigumi from MANKAI Company.

Comment: I’ve been waiting for this!

Comment: I voted in the survey

Omi: Thanks for the voting.

Juza: I wonder which theme‘s been decided.

Taichi: Even we don’t know what’s the result, so it’s kinda exciting~!

Banri: Guess I gotta hurry and announce it then. Our theme’s gonna be...

“Valentine’s Day Story of High Schoolers”.

Comment: Brilliant lmao

Azami: Ain’t possible for this old geezer to act as a high schooler.

Sakyo: What did you just say?

Omi: Seems like casting will be decided through this lottery. Here, pull one.

Juza: Mine’s... I see.

Banri: Hey, this just got even more difficult.

Azami: ...Seems hard to express this one.

Comment: I wonder what kind of role is it?

Comment: So excited

Sakyo: Let’s hurry up and get started.

Banri: Damn, guess I gotta do it with the flow then.

Aight guys, we’re starting the Etude now.

—————

Juza: “This day has finally come...!”

Azami: “What are you talkin’ about?”

Juza: “Isn’t it obvious? Today’s Valentine’s Day, a sacred day that comes once a year!”

“I wanna get some chocolates from Angel-chan, the Madonna of the school!”

Azami: “Hmm, so she’s that cute?”

Juza: “Yeah! Those cute eyes of her can make ANY man fall on their knees.”

“Angel-chan, when will she come~?”

Taichi: “Hey, what was that about Angel-chan?”

Juza: “The heck, Taichi’s here? Man, I don’t wanna interact with this annoying guy~”

Taichi: “A frivolous guy like YOU won’t ever get a chocolate from Angel-chan.”

“Learn your place, buddy.”

Azami: “He sure acts tough... This type of delinquent still exists?”

Juza: “Hah! Girls would never give their chocolate to a delinquent like YOU nowadays.”

Taichi: “Jokes on you! I actually received some already~”

“There’s one from Yukko, Marippe, Sacchan and also from Yocchan!”

Azami: “Those nicknames sounded like they came from a Yankee manga...”

Banri: “Hey, be quieter. I’m trying to link my thoughts with the universe here.”

Taichi: “What the heck are you tryin’ to link for? ’Sides, d’you even get a chocolate?”

Banri: “It’s just a chunk of jet black, yet receiving one or not makes you feel emotional roller coaster...”

“You guys are still children, I see.”

“I’m crazy for not being interested in Valentine’s Day even though I’m a high schooler?”

“I take that as a compliment, thank you.”

Taichi: “I haven’t got a clue of what you were sayin’ at all.”

Juza: “As usual, Settsu sure is a weird guy.”

Azami: “Eh? Ah, yeah...”

Omi: “What’re you guys talking about?”

Juza: “Valentine’s Day!”

“Surely the popular guy Omi-kun received lots of chocolates, right?”

Omi: “No... I refused all of them this year just to get Angel-chan’s.”

Taichi: “Seriously?!”

Omi: “The number of sacrifices I’ve made is different than you guys.”

Taichi: “Tch...”

Juza: “He sure is on a whole different level than us...”

Sakyo: “Excuse me, what are you all doing here?”

“That is a path that you are standing on. You will be a bother to other students if you keep chatting there.”

Azami: “Here comes a typical honour student. He’s even doing the glasses thing.”

Taichi: “Oh shush! Don’t act so bossy just because you’re the class prez!”

Juza: “Can’t we make a fuss at least on Valentine’s Day?”

Banri: “President. If you want to pass through here, go over my corpse!”

Azami: “Just shut your mouth for once.”

Taichi: “You look serious and all, but aren’t you the one who thinks about today the most?”

Sakyo: “What are you talking about? I have no interest in that.”

Juza: “There you go again~ Admit it, you’re also fidgeting for Valentine’s Day!”

Omi: “I don’t know about these unpopular guys, but should I tell you about some tips on how to be popular?”

Juza: “Ugh, so pretentious!”

Sakyo: “I must read this reference book for the qualification exam before getting carried away by such an event.”

Azami: “The book’s upside down though.”

Sakyo: “Urk...”

“Choc— I mean— Today, I think I’m not doing well...”

Taichi: “He just said chocolate for a sec there.”

Juza: “He might as well think about returning gifts for White Day already.”

Sakyo: “W-what? I don’t think I’ll knit a muffler for the White Day and make it so that two people can wear it together. No, not at all...”

Taichi: “Dang, he really DID think about it!”

Juza: “So in the end, we’re all waiting for Angel-chan, huh.”

Banri: “It’s about time we settle this matter. Let’s end the futile conflict here.”

“My right hand... it’s aching...”

Taichi: “You just wanted to say that, right?”

Azami: “...By the way, who’s Angel-chan?”

Taichi: “Wait- You’ve been conversin’ without knowin’ that?!”

Omi: “Actually, who are you in the first place?”

Azami: “I’m Azami Izumida, who transferred to school here today.”

Juza: “You’re a transfer student?”

Taichi: “You should’ve said that first! You’re actin’ way too familiar with us!”

Sakyo: “Everyone, the teacher just contacted me. Seems like Angel-chan took a rest at home today.”

Juza: “Aight, disperse.”

Omi: “Bye, guys.”

Banri: “Everything has turned into nothingness...”

Taichi: “Just go home!”

Banri: Aight, that’s the end of Etude. Great work, guys.

Comment: Good job!

Comment: It was too funny lol

Comment: Juza-kun was really cheerful

Juza: My role was a “Frivolous guy”.

Taichi: And mine’s a “Delinquent”! I tried using Ban-chan as reference~

Azami: No wonder why I thought it was kinda similar.

As I said at the end, I’m a “Transfer student”.

Omi: I was a “Popular guy from Class 1” but I’m not sure if I did it well...

Comment: I laughed at the popular Omi-kun lol

Comment: Please accept my chocolate too

Comment: Was Banri-kun a “Chuunibyou”?

Banri: Yup. Man, I had a hard time comin’ up with those lines.

Y’know, I really like how Sakyo-san acted as the “Class president”.

Taichi: Sakyo-nii was being teased a lot that it was hard to hold back my laughter!

Azami: Pretty rare for you to do funny acts that many times.

Sakyo: It’s easy to emphasize comicalness with that kind of serious character.

Banri: Oh, it’s almost the time.

Omi: Everyone, thanks for watching us today.

Juza: I wanna do it again if we get the chance.

Sakyo: Also, thank you for voting. Thanks to you viewers, the Etude was successful.

Banri: See you in the next Inste Live.

Taichi: Bye bye~!

[applcrumbl]

Ralphie Eddie

Pairings: Steve Harrington X Reader, Eddie Munson X Reader Warnings: Alcohol, Strong Language, Drug Use (Marijuana), Potential DUI Author’s Note: Based on the song ‘Ralphie’ by Post Animal. Be sure to vote for the next part! Summary: Cause Steve went to the party and he left his pretty baby with Eddie

It's not the way that you walk that gets me off It's the way that you think It's the way that you talk

The bell rings, signalling the departure of the final customer of the night. Steve rewinds returned movies absentmindedly. Robin straddles the counter, writing down that day's takings from the Cash Register. She writes with a Family Video pen that is running out of ink. She shakes it infuriated. “Hey, Dingus do you have another pen,” She asks. “You hear me? Hello?”

She throws the pen at her co-worker, hitting him square in the side of the face. Steve’s head whips towards her in confusion. Eyes leaving the group of teens that stood outside the window of their small video store. “Pen?” she asks once more.

“Oh uh yeah,” Steve replies, eyes unashamedly wandering back outside, focused on one girl in particular. His hands pat himself down weakly, in a pathetic attempt to hand over his own pen, before giving up and forgetting about the pen entirely.

Robin sighs exasperatedly, rolling her eyes before jumping off the counter and towards the boy. She crouches to his level, following his gaze.

“Will you stop staring at her?” She says, “ I want this shift to be finished so we can go home”

“Yeah, yeah I’m done,” Steve replies, Putting the wound tape back in its case. “And I wasn’t staring”

“yeah, and I didn’t pause Sixteen Candles at that one shower scene” Robin deadpans, returning to her writing with the newly acquired pen she took from Steve’s pocket. “She’s hot, I get it”

The brunet boy strides to the glass door, turning the once open sign to read ‘sorry we’re closed’ with a large cartoon sad face. “It’s not just that, she’s…”

The thought was interrupted as he watched her, laughing with friends. Y/N catches his eye through the window and gives him a quick wave. Steve smiles back. “Different” He finishes

Robin doesn’t reply, Instead shrugging off her green ‘Family Video’ vest, and pulling on her oversized blazer.

“She’s like the smartest person I’ve ever met, but not like just in an academic way. She cares about shit, man. Politics and stuff.”

A strong chuckle from Robin, “God you’re so pussywhipped.”

“Quit it, Robin, we’re just friends”

“Friends don’t picture friends naked.” Throwing his bomber Jacket at him, she swiped the keys from the counter, preparing to leave the store. “Steve is in luuurve” she jests, ruffling his hair as he protests.

“Yeah, yeah.” He says, fixing his hair in the reflection of the sunglasses from his jacket pocket, “I barely even know her”

At that statement Robin turns slowly, A look that screamed ‘ are you dumb’ widely apparent on her face. “Then get to know her. Take her to that party” She states, “She’s right outside!”

“I can't”

“Why not”

“‘Cause then you’ll be by yourself?”

“Oh, my God!” she exasperates “Eddie is gonna be there, Wheeler is gonna be there. Vickie is gonna be there! Now stop making excuses! If you don't, I’ll do it for you.”

And she did.

And when I see something I like you know that I gotta pounce All the things that you say, say, say I can trust every ounce

It wasn’t a shock to Y/N that Steve wanted to take her out. She’d noticed his lingering stares, and heard from her friends the questions he’d asked about her. And yeah, he was cute, but unfortunately for Steve, Y/N thought he would just be a pretentious prick.

What was a shock, however, was how genuine the proposition of going to the party with him was.

He’d gotten Robin to ask her. Which was strange considering she’d never spoken to the girl before, so a mutual friend introduction was off of the cards. And her previous opinion of the cocky, overconfident, self-proclaimed ‘King of Hawkins High’ had her assuming he would have the balls to ask her himself. Nonetheless, she found his nervousness, and reluctance to ask himself, endearing. And she told Robin that he could pick her up at 8 on Friday.

Robin herself was surprised it would work, it felt all too juvenile for her. It was like she was back in grade school and breaking up with her friend’s boyfriends because they couldn’t do it themselves. Or that time in freshman year when she helped ask someone out by passing a note. But alas, Steve was her friend, and she cared about him.

Steve was over the moon when he was told. He’d prepared himself for the worst: who needs their best friend to ask a girl to a party for him? She probably thinks I’m so dumb. So dumb and awkward that I can’t even ask a girl out by myself.

And it's true, Y/N did find it dumb and awkward, but obviously, she didn't mind. He ran out of the store as she waved goodbye to her friends. 

“You’re sure” He panted, out of breath from his very short sprint, “You- you wanna go out with- me?”

“Yeah, Totally” Y/N smiles, ripping a spare leaf of paper from a small notebook in her bag. She scrawls on it quickly. “But next time, just ask me yourself.”

She walks off and into the backseat of her friends car. Steve lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Turning on his heel and speeding home to choose his outfit as if he were a teenage girl.

I can't tell this girl what's on my mind And it seems it's getting closer all the time (ooh girl) I said I can't tell this girl what's on my mind (oh no baby) And it seems it's getting closer all the time

Steve counted the minutes until he would pick her up on Friday: 4,212 if you account for the time he needed to psych himself up before ringing her doorbell. 4226 if you accounted for Robin being late. 4208, if not. He laid out 3 possible outfits on his unmade bed. None of which felt good enough. He knew that she was just going to look so effortlessly beautiful (even if she also took hours getting ready) and he knew that he would never compare. He could never compare.

I should make my bed in case she comes back here afterwards. He thought, But he swatted it away. She was too important to take home for a one-and-done. No matter how much he wanted to see her in his bed.

Eventually settling on a navy striped polo shirt (the original choice), he checked himself once over in the mirror. Hands running through brown strands, trying to tame the locks that grew greasier with every pass of his fingers. Just stop touching it, Steve.

He picked Robin up before heading to Monroe, she elected to sit in the back seat, leaving the pride of place -girlfriend spot- in the passenger seat empty for her.

Despite Steve’s protests that she was ‘making it too obvious’, He was secretly glad to have Y/N sit next to him. Eyes on her thighs as she drew circles on the denim of her jeans.

'Cause I went to the party and I left my Pretty baby with Ralphie Eddie, baby and now I'm alone

The party was in full swing when the three got there. They weren’t even sure who’s party it was, but it seemed like nobody else did either. Robin wandered off soon after, leaving the pair alone. It wasn’t awkward, thank god, but Steve still felt glued to the spot. She bopped slightly to the music, Roxanne by the Police.

Old enough that it was her taste in music, but still new enough that it would play at a party like this. Steve caught himself staring. “So,” he trailed off, trying to find a conversation starter “want a drink?”

“Aren’t you driving?” She questioned, eyeing Steve as he swung the keyring of his keys around a finger. A nervous habit.

He hesitates, “Yeah, I don’t drink anymore. But I’ll find you one” 

Eyes scanned the room for someone he knew. Robin talks with Nancy on a nearby sofa. They both have cups of something in their hands, Smiling and giggling, he wonders how they’ve both gotten so drunk so quickly. Jonathan stands near, a gentle hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Are you sure? I can stay sober with you? Don’t feel like drinking anyways.” Y/N offers, taking Steve by the hand and leading him away from the door. He doesn’t focus on what she said, and instead on the static that succumbs his palm in hers. Steve just stutters in response. “It’s no worry” She adds.

He smiles, wordlessly thanking her for her offer, and hand still in hers the pair of them walk through the house, and out a pair of sliding doors into the backyard. People are jumping from the roof and into the pool below. Others swing unrhythmically, trying to dance. She knows nobody, but some seem to know Steve.

“Harrington, What you doing here?” A voice shouts, approaching the pair and enveloping the boy in a strangely effeminate hug. It was refreshing to see. Someone so unbothered by conformity. “And who’s this?” He asks, turning face to look at her. Untamed hair swaying in the wind. An unlit spliff hanging between his lips. Her eyes lingered on them slightly too long.

“Eddie, This is Y/N. She’s my uh-” Steve thinks for a second, looking into eyes which were not looking back at him “-friend.”

It hit like a pang in his chest to say, but he pushed the feeling down. His grip subconsciously tightened around her fingers. Steve took a deep, but quiet, breath. His hand was still in hers after all. He had nothing to worry about.

Until it wasn’t.

“M’lady,” Eddie Munson bent down on one knee, offering a palm for her to place in. She broke the contact with Steve, allowing Eddie to kiss her knuckles, “Look into my eyes, you will see who I am-” He starts as if reciting Shakespeare on the Globe Stage.

“-My name is Lucifer, please take my hand” Y/N finishes, mimicking his tone. 

Steve stands unsure of what is going on. The static feeling in his left hand was long gone as he watched her giggle a way around her sentence with Eddie. He felt lost.

The messy-haired brunet stands from one knee. “You know Black Sabbath?” He asks, stunned. Taking the joint from his lips and placing it gently behind his ear. 

“Yeah, a little” She smiles, “Who doesn’t”

“I don't” Steve pipes in, trying to worm his way back into the conversation. “I never knew you were into that crap,” He asks, unable to help the slight glance at Eddie when he says so.

The older boy scoffs, offended. “You wound me, sir” 

“It's maybe not my usual scene, but I can admit when music is good, Harrington”

She’d called him that before. But why did it only hurt now once Eddie had said it? He followed Y/N sulkily as Eddie led her to where he was originally sitting. Some loungers someone had dragged into the corner of the lawn. Clearly trying to avoid the hoards of drunken teens.

“You were in our year, weren’t you?” She asked, ‘Class of ‘85”

Eddie smiles cheekily, sitting on the lounger opposite. Steve took it as his opportunity to sit next to her. He held his knee close enough he could feel the warmth of her thighs. “Uh yeah I was, technically should’ve been ‘84”

“Shit, you had to resit?” She almost felt bad for bringing it up, but Eddie never seemed to mind. “I don’t think I could have done 2 years, Think I would have dropped out.”

“3 years actually” he corrects, “I’m still there now”

Steve felt bad for the laugh that came from his throat. He tried to cover it with a cough. He might not know Metal music or play the guitar. But, at least he finished his final year of high school in a one-er. At least he still had that one up on Eddie. 

Steve leaned back slightly, Slinging an arm behind her back. He didn’t touch her, but he did move closer. Almost a sign of dominance over the metal head in front of him. A sort of ‘fuck you, I had her first’ move.

Eddie noticed it, Y/N did not. “Unlucky.” she grimaced at his answer.

“Yeah, it’s shit but I’d rather take my time than end up with some deadbeat job for the rest of my life.” He continues, watching Steve as he spoke. “What about you Harrington? What have you done since you left?”

A harsh jab. Steve didn’t think Eddie would have it in him. They were friends, and Steve never would have said anything against Eddie. Thought it? Definitely. But said it? No.

Luckily, Y/N jumped to his defence, “He works at that Family Video near the highway. You're up for the supervisor promotion, right?” she states, blissfully unaware of the ongoing feud between the eyes of her two suitors. “Big fancy boss man, Steve Harrington”

“Is that right,” Eddie’s voice is deep, testing.

It’s not that she was naive. Y/N knew Steve liked her, and she could tell from the twinkle in Eddie’s eyes that maybe he did also. But, she never realised quite how much. And she definitely didn’t realise the tension between them. And so Y/N struck up a conversation with Eddie again, eager to get to know the boy she seemed to share so much common with.

A small sense of defeat flooded Steve as she chattered away. He wasn’t going to sit there uninvolved in the conversation and let Eddie feel like he’d won. So he took his own initiative and excused himself. Claiming that he was going to check on Robin, for her sake. Absolutely not because he needed advice from his best friend.

Was doing much better when you weren't here And now I'm feeling something And I know she's doing better without me

He’d find the girl standing with a short redhead. She cracks terrible jokes and snorts through her nose. It is possibly one of the least endearing things he could think of, but for some reason, it is completely working for her. And the redhead, who he now recognises as Vickie, is laughing away, smile plastered to her face.

How is it so easy for some people? he thinks, Interrupting their conversation.

“Rob, I need your help” he whispers into the girl’s ear.

“Not now, Steve” She stays through a smile.

He runs his fingers through his hair, “She’s with Eddie, I need to get her alone”

“Oh my god,” she exasperates, breaking from her conversation with Vickie, “I asked her here for you, I think you need to do some of the work yourself. I’m not a fucking lamp you can rub and expect to do your bidding”

Under normal circumstances, he would have maybe laughed. Laughed like Vickie was laughing. But right now his mind was preoccupied. He stole the cup of beer from Robin’s hands.

“Hey, you’re my ride home?” She protests but is met by a widespread hand.

“I’m just having one, for confidence”

It was a lie, of course. But Steve knew he wasn’t going to be able to talk to her sober. And so he drank. And then drank some more.

He drank until 11 pm, when he was in - by far- the worst state of the party. He wandered aimlessly through the halls, before finally plotting himself on the carpet of a quiet hallway on the second floor. Unbeknownst to him, Y/N dragged Eddie through those same halls trying to find him. Flirty banter rife through the air

“He’s probably just gone home” Eddie exhausts, dragging his feet as he walked, “We can smoke just the two of us”

“He wouldn’t just do that,” she counters, “plus, he took me here. It’s only fair”

“If it's a ride you’re worried about, I’ll just take you home.”

She jokes back, “what kind of ride?” and Eddie’s face flushes red. “He’s still here, I know he is.”

Eddie rolls his eyes once more, catching Y/N gently by the arm. He takes the spliff from behind his ear and offers it up to her mouth. “You’re too nice, for your own good” he almost whispered, a frisky tone peeking through his clichéd words, “Harrington can wait”

Y/N could only blush in response, taking the blunt with her fingers. Eddie flips the lid of his colibri. Arguably much too nice of a lighter for him to just have handy. Though the engraved ‘Wayne Munson’ gave away it’s true owner. He holds the flame high as she takes her first drag. “Why have we never spoken before?” She asks, genuine.

“We’re just different kinds of people i guess”

“What makes you think that?”

He just shrugs, “You’re here with Steve Harrington, for starters”

“What’s that mean?” her brows furrow, handing the joint over to Eddie.

He takes a toke, speaking on his exhale “You’re full of questions, Lady Y/N”

“You’re not so full of answers, Master Munson”

“Master,” A sharp inhale, “I like that one”

A sharp -yet soft- tap to the stomach for Eddie as the two giggled at his inappropriate joke. Y/N slides down the wall she was leaning on, knees together and perched tp the side as she sat. A sort of mature class in her mannerisms, yet entirely juvenile at the same time. He couldn't help but watch her as she descended. He couldn’t help but watch her as she did anything.

“Whats your shirt mean?” She asks, patting the floor next to her, urging him to sit. He wore his famed Hellfire-Club Tee.

“Just some club i’m in. It's pretty fun. Dungeons and Dragons. You know, the game?”

“That Satanic worship thing?”

“It's not actually” Eddie defends, “It's just like fantasy, adventure stuff.”

Y/N just nods, taking her penultimate draw of the joint. “I think i’d like it, you should teach me to play”

Eddie finds himself at a loss for words. For the first time in his life, he chokes. “Uh- yeah. Maybe”. His eyes follow the roach on its travels between Y/N’s lips. Never jealous of a piece of card before he doesn’t register that the girl is even still speaking.

“Right, enough chit chat. I need to go find Steve before this kicks in fully” She grunts, pushing herself off the floor. “You can finish this,”

She offers up the end of the joint in one hand, and the other helps pull the boy from the floor. Her hand stays in his as they wander. Eddie finishes his toke.

Baby guess I'll go home Whether that's with or without you.

The final corner in a strangely long line of right angles reveals Steve, drinking from the bottle and murmuring to himself. Y/N call his name as she approaches. He hiccups, looking up at her with big brown eyes.

“I thought you didn't drink?”

“I don’t”

“Then why are you drunk?”

“I'm not”

Eddie rolled his eyes as she tried to pull the boy to his feet. He should have helped her, he wasn’t sure why he didn’t. It wasn’t going to make her like him more if he was being a dick.

“C’mon Stevie” she entreated, walking him down the hall. “Let me take you home. Where are your keys?”

He mumbled a small ‘pocket’ before keeling over, and into Eddie. The long-haired boy caught him, holding him upright as Y/N slid her hands into the front pocket of Steve’s jeans. If Whiskey Dick were not a thing, Steve would have popped at semi right there. 

“You’re gonna drive him?” Eddie asks, to which she only hummed. “Y/N, you’re stoned”

Steve allowed Eddie to take him down the stairs, but as soon as he reached the bottom, Eddie pushed him onto a nearby chair. Not in the most kindly way either. She thanked him regardlessly, mind foggy with the aftermath of the bud.

“Yeah, I’ll probably let him crash on my couch”

Eddie’s eyebrows furrow, she wouldn’t even take him to his own house? “Can’t Robin or someone take him?”

“She doesn't drive” Y/N excuses, picking Steve’s head up as he lulls to the side, “Hey, Harrington, you gotta stay awake for me.” He just groans, “C’mon party animal, you’re missing out”

“Yeah Y/N, I can’t let you do that” Eddie tries, big brown puppy eyes boring into hers. He almost convinces her with the beautiful twinkle in his eye. “C’mon, it’s not safe”

“I am peachy”

“Oh yeah? Bend over and touch your toes”

Confused, but compliant. Y/N folds, fingertips getting as far as her knees before she stumbles forward. “I’m just clumsy,” she tries to excuse.

“Yeah sure. Hey Wheeler!” He calls, catching a couple as they go leave the party together. “Can you do the lovely Y/N here a solid, and take Steve home”

“Not Nancy,” Steve murmurs suddenly, reaching for her Y/N’s hand. He takes her fingers gently, toying with them as Eddie watches. Jealous.

“Yeah, he probably wouldn't appreciate that, I’ll take him” She states, “Look me up in the phonebook, or get my number from someone.” Steve swings an arm around her, ready to leave.

“No, Y/N, stay!” Nancy insists, “He’s on our way anyways. You enjoy your night!”

She takes a second, thinking through her options in their entirety. One side is screaming to stay with Eddie, Have a good night, avoid a DUI. She could get Steve to forgive her in the morning - if he even remembered. Plus, Nancy and Jonathan are leaving anyway, so nobody would be missing out. But the other took one look at Steve and filled her with worry. What's going on with him? If he found out Nancy and Jonathan took him home, that would break him. He’s a sensitive soul. But she was fried out of her mind.

“I’d uh-” Eddie interrupts her thought. “I’d really like it if you’d stay. Y/N”

And so she chooses…

STAY WITH EDDIE or LEAVE WITH STEVE

[ginnypark]

In which Ginny pays a visit to @ijemmaokafor. (tldr: ginny tells jemma that she's going with sol on his next trip out of redwood. it doesn't go over terribly well.)

Ginny: [knocks, then calls through the door] Jemma? It’s Ginny. Are you home?

Jemma: -calling out from her desk- Yeah, door’s open!

Ginny: [lets herself in] Hey, you. Busy?

Jemma: -setting her pen down- Never too busy for you. What’s up? Council meeting go okay? Did Sol crawl out of his skin there in the spotlight?

Ginny: [closes the door but hovers by it, obviously uneasy] Sol squirmed plenty. He hates that sort of thing but he did well. Had plenty of information to share. I’ll, uh, I’ll have the minutes for you to look over tomorrow, if you want.

Jemma: -turning in her chair, growing concerned- Okay. Something bad happened.

Ginny: No, no. Nothing bad. It’s just, um… [she sighs heavily then crosses to finally sit on the edge of the bed, folding her hands, looking down at them as she talks]

Sol’s here for now but he’s headed back out in about a week’s time. There were some things he discovered that… well, the council thinks they warrant further investigation. Out west this time, for a couple of weeks, at least. And it’s not a trip he should be taking alone. So… I’m going with him.

Jemma: -clenching her jaw- No. Nuh-uh, Gin, you don’t—I came from that direction, I—the council approved this??

Ginny: They did. It's just recon, Jemma. I'll... I'll be back before you know it.

Jemma: Just recon, it's dangerous out there no matter what you're doing! We build this place, put these walls up 'cause it's not safe. And folks still keep finding reasons to go out there. If I had a vote on council, I wouldn't have approved Sol going, he just got back. And what's so important out there to investigate, huh? I'll tell you what's out there. Assholes and zombies. You gotta put your neck on the line just to confirm it?

Ginny: That’s not the only thing that could be out there.

Jemma: -dropping her head forward- I won't take it there. I'm not gonna argue that, you know I'll never argue that. But there are other people here that can look for him. And I love you, I believe you can do anything you damn well please, but you're so much more valuable here.

Ginny: [finally looks up, looking thunderstruck for a moment before speaking] You’ve never said that before. That you…

Jemma: -pausing a moment to play back her own words- What? That I love you? I do, though. That's why I'm so fucking furious right now. -closing her eyes and sighing- I'm sorry...if I was supposed to wait for some big romantic moment or something, I never understood the fuss of all that. I love you. Statement of fact. And right now I'm kinda losing my shit.

Ginny: No, no. You did it all right. That’s… it’s good. It’s… Furious, though? That’s not fair. You know how much this means to me. [pauses to listen, then sighs again] Jem, I… [stands then crosses the room, brushing Jemma’s hair back, searching her expression before pressing their lips together]

Jemma: -holding onto Ginny's biceps like it's keeping her tethered- You've already decided it for sure, then?

Ginny: [at a whisper and with her eyes closed] I have to. It’s been ages since someone’s been out west. I have to check.

Jemma: -nodding and trying to put on a brave face- I know you do. I'm not gonna pretend to be happy about this 'cause I respect you too much for that bullshit. But I'll be damned if I'm on a sour note when you leave.

Ginny: I think if you were happy, I’d have even more to worry about. [opens her eyes, tries for a smile, though it fades; lifts a hand to cup Jemma’s cheek] I’m sorry, Jem. This isn’t me trying to hurt you. Is there… can I do anything to help you… not lose your shit?

Jemma: -perking up- Yeah, actually. Have one of the many first-person-shooter dudes around here give you a refresher on gun safety. And see if Renee's got some kinda zombie first aid kit you can take with you. I know Sol's unabomber ass is probably out there duct taping wounds shut, but we can do better than that.

Ginny: Okay. Okay, yeah, I can do that. … This probably isn’t fair to say, but… I’ll really miss you while I’m gone.

Jemma: -clicking her tongue against her teeth in dismay- Jesus Ginny, I'd never begrudge your affection. -settling on a tired smile- I'll miss you too. Y'know, in case the freak out left you wondering.

Ginny: I never wondered. [kisses her again, slowly, keeping them close when she speaks again] And, listen. If anything happens… it won’t, but if it does, the house by the graveyard is yours. If you want it.

Jemma: -shaking her head- We'll talk about the house when you get back. -mores softly- I hear you, just...not right now?

Ginny: [whispers] Okay. Not right now.

END.

[docholligay]

Madrid Preparty: Vocal Highs and Lows (part one apparently there is a video limit)

First of all, because I know I’m gonna put someone in here that people are gonna fight me about: This is (mostly) about the vocal delivery. Because I care. I actually don’t think how well they can sing is going to affect all but a few of the semi qualifiers.

People who pay the money to vote in semis go INTO Eurovision knowing who they like, and much to my chagrin, they often vote for who they liked before, not who performed on the night. This is why Cyprus, who warbled off key all stage (She was in my top ten last year, I also loved the song right up until I saw her do it) would have qualified last year. Any of these fan favorites that have, uh, vocal issues? They are still going to qualify. Am I annoyed by this? Yeah, of course. I think how the night goes should be the determiner. And there ARE people like me, but there are far more that vote for the song they intended to vote for before the semi even started. But this is the backhand of non-jury semis, which I am in favor of. Nothing in life is perfect. So if I point out issues with your fan fave, know that it probably won’t matter to the qualification.

SECONDLY, let’s all acknowledge that there were some fairly huge issues with sound in Madrid. Some people kicked ass in spite of it and some folks, like Loreen (Sweden), just kept going because it’s whatever man, I can sing this all day, but it really did throw some people off. Poor Parsha Parfeni (Moldova) had no mic for a good chunk of his song. He still brought it, but it was not great for him.

This is why I generally take the AVERAGE of preparty performances, and encourage others to do that same. Everyone can have an off night, and by the same token, everyone can have a stellar night for no reason.

OKAY

High: Armenia

I fucking hate this song, but my god can she deliver it. I would have said there’s no way she could sound like the studio version but, I GUESS. She’ll qualify even from a terrible position, I think, being in the easy semi.

Low: United Kingdom

Oh Mae. I love you, as a person, so much. I love your GCSE 5 Spanish* intro here, I love your energy, I love the fact that when you actually do this song onstage you sound a LOT more like you fucking talk instead of the accent level(l)ing of the studio version.

But this is not it. She’s out of breath (Stop trying to sing and dance!!! It’s hard!! THIS IS WHY IT’S IMPRESSIVE WHEN IT’S DONE) and off and I think it is saying something that the top comment on this is someone (In spanish) saying, “It’s a preparty, it’s for fun, not for competition” and you know when that’s the top comment, what you’re getting. A few other comments taken from the top ten.

Middling translation to colloquial American English by me: They gotta think of something for Eurovision, because this is a mess.

 * I actually don’t know how difficult the GCSE Spanish exam is. Or even if there is one. Anyway, pretend I said she got a C in Spanish if you’re American.

High: Australia

I am INCENSED about how much I love Australia’s entry this year. These guys are an established band who know what the fuck they are doing, and it’s so GODDAMN COHESIVE and TOGETHER, and it’s amazing watching how he knows how to carry a crowd. A few vocally shaky moments, because apparently he lost his in-ear (Not the first or last one) but altogether a fucking TRIUMPH. They will qualify, and I need them to.

Low: France

PLEASE KNOW THIS GRIEVES ME. She was another one that lost her in-ear (You can see her frantically signaling), but unlike Voyager above, she couldn’t make it happen. It threw her for the whole performance, I’m not sure she even ever got it back, but she sure as shit did not recover. It is a TRAINWRECK of a vocal performance. It’s a shame, I’ve heard her sing this live before I have faith she actually can, but if this were the only time I’d seen her live I would be sweating it. It’s no good, folks.

High: Sweden

Anyone who says that this song will only so well because it’s Loreen or because of her staging is really, I think, doing her a disservice. She’s fucking incredible. She was one of the last performers, it was extremely late, she’;s jumping up and down at the end and you can barely tell vocally. Absolutely fair not to like the song, but she’s an exceptional fucking talent.