#literally one of the few decent moments that horrible movie gave us

[martianbugsbunny]

I love when the hero chooses their loved one over the world, like to hell with saving everything if you can't be part of it, but I also love when the villain chooses their loved one over the world, like to hell with destroying everything if you have to go down with it

[watchmegetobsessed]

Flatmates - Harry Styles

i listened to kiwi while writing it so i strongly advise to listen to is while reading as well. without any further ado, i present you this flatmate!harry fic with some steamy smut!

word count: ~9k

warning: smut

masterlist

You were desperate to find a place to live, to say the least. You’ve always had trouble remembering deadlines and important dates, and thanks to this charming trait of yours, you successfully missed the deadline of the college dormitory applications. After a day of solid panic you started looking for cheap apartments, but living off campus seemed to be something only rich people could afford. Rents were ridiculously high and you were certain you couldn’t afford to spend thousands of dollars for a room smaller than your pantry back at home. You watched ad after ad, making calls all day for a week straight, but at the end, you always went to bed with the thought that you’ll have to live under a bridge through the first semester of your freshman year.

It was until a friend of yours, Rita, who was mature enough to apply to the dormitory in time called you with the best news you could receive.

“This friend of my future roomie is looking for a flat mate. You gave me his number, maybe you could give him a call and see if the room is still available. Just tell him Kimberly gave you his number, I’m sure he’ll offer you the room on a nicer price.”

“Oh my God, you just saved my life!” you gasped, almost feeling like crying. “I owe you big time, Rita!”

You called right away, not wanting to waste any time and maybe have the room already rented by then. A deep, male voice answered the call in a soothing British accent.

“Harry Styles,” he said in a calm tone.

“Hey! My name is Y/N and I got your number from Kimberly. I’m looking for a place to live from September and I was told you have a room to rent?”

Harry sounded a little hesitant at first, asked a few questions about you to have a better picture of you, but eventually offered the room. You quickly agreed that you’d be able to move in at the end of August. You were thankful you had one less worry about school finally.

August rolled around the corner faster than you expected and in no time, half your life was packed up into boxes and suitcases as you and your dad drove two hours on a Saturday to get you all settled in your new home. Up until this point, you hadn’t seen Harry just yet. Though you did search up his name, but he was the kind to never post about himself, but mostly about guitars, landscapes and animals. His Instagram was dry, no trait of what he looked like or even the slightest hint about himself. There was only one photo that featured the outline of a guy, which makes it clear that the person was fully naked, no trace of any clothes hanging on his body, but it was completely dark, so nothing could be really seen. However the tag on the figure made you think it wasn’t him, so it didn’t matter. His Facebook seemed even sadder, barely any posts, not even a decent profile picture. You were surprised to see there are people who don’t really use social media, but you didn’t take it as a bad sign. Harry must be a private person and you had nothing against that.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to move in with a guy you’ve never met before?” your dad asks as the two of you are unloading the car in front of the apartment complex. Glancing up you shrug your shoulders with a little excitement, knowing that you are only minutes away from finally seeing the person you are gonna spend your next months living with.

“He sounded like a decent person, and I really don’t have any other choice, dad. Or do you want me to sleep in a park or something?”

“God, no. You really should be more careful about those deadlines next time,” he sighs kissing the top of your head before shutting the back of the car once everything is set on the ground.

“Don’t worry, I already bought a calendar so I can keep better track of everything.”

When you first told your parents that you’d be living with Harry, they didn’t seem to be a fan of the idea, but they realized you weren’t really swimming in options at the moment so they eventually come to peace that their daughter is going to be living with a guy. They didn’t make a big deal out of it, knowing well you were an adult now practically who can make choices for herself.

The two of you manage to bring everything up to the third floor and you ring the doorbell since you don’t have your keys yet. You immediately recognize Harry’s British accent as he calls out a “coming!” from the other side of the door and a few seconds later it opens, revealing him.

Your first thought is that he is tall. Very tall and oh my! How handsome! His green eyes find your gaze and his dimples come out as he smiles at you happily. This man is surely a nice sight, you think to yourself, but you quickly bring yourself back to reality as he takes a look at all the stuff surrounding you.

“Y/N, why didn’t you call me that you were here? I could have helped you!” Taking a step outside he stretches his hand out for your dad. “Nice to meet ya, you must be Mr. Y/L/N. I’m Harry.”

“Nice to meet you,” your dad nods at him shaking his head before Harry grabs a box from the floor himself, holding the door open for you.

“Come on in!”

The three of you quickly bring everything inside from the hallway and you finally have a moment to look around. It’s not a big apartment, but seemingly perfect for two people. Walking in you have a small kitchen on the left and a little dining area on the right with a simple table and four chairs around it. Further inside is the living room, it’s nicely furnished very bright thanks to the large windows across the front door. On the left there’s a door that leads to the bathroom and on the right there’s a small hallway, two doors on each side. The two rooms are exactly the same size, so there was no need to have a discussion about who is getting which room. Not that you were gonna go against Harry when he literally saved your life with letting you stay with him.

The place seems tidy and neat, it’s clear that Harry takes good care of his home and that is for sure a relief.

Your room has a double bed, a desk with a chair, a dresser and a built in little closet. Everything is white or a light beige color, nothing extreme and you already have plans about how you want to decorate it to make it cozier.

“I left two shelves free for you out of the three. I have a few hair products, but I figured you’d need more space,” Harry tells you when you put a smaller box into the bathroom that has all your toiletries.

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” you smile at him.

Your dad sticks around a little longer helping you unpack some of the bigger boxes, then you walk him down to his car before he leaves.

“Please call your mother often. You know how much she worries about you,” he asks as he pulls you into a quick hug.

“Will do.”

“And call us anytime you need help. Two hours is not that far away, I can always come and get you.”

“I’ll be alright, dad, but thank you.”

You watch him climb into the car and he rolls down the windows waving in your way as he leaves from the parking lot. You stand there until he disappears on the corner and then go back up to your apartment.

Harry is sitting in the living room when you get back, some quiet music playing from the Bluetooth speaker as he reads a book. He glances up at you and you flash him a smile closing the door behind you.

“Your dad seemed quite okay with you living with a guy.”

“He had time to get used to it. They’re not that strict though.”

“That’s cool. I was thinking, maybe we could order some food when you’re done unpacking and just get to know each other a little more.”

“That sounds great!” you smile, but can’t ignore how fast your heart is beating in your chest. Harry surely has an effect on you that you’ll need to gain control over if you don’t want to make living together hard for yourself.

It takes quite some time to unpack everything and find the right place for your stuff, you don’t even finish by the time the food arrives so you decide to leave the rest for tomorrow.

The Chinese food is all set on the table when you walk out and Harry is getting two plates for the two of you.

“Settled in?” he asks as you take one of the chairs and he sits across you.

“Not fully, but I’m getting there,” you chuckle as he hands you your order. “Thank you.”

You talk over the food, just getting to know each other and you finally get a better picture of Harry. It’s his third year of college, he is studying music and pedagogy, intending to one day use music as a helping tool for kids who have learning difficulties. He is a big fan of collecting vinyls and quite passionate about trashy rom coms.

“Really?” you chuckle when he mentions how his Netflix queue is filled with romantic movies.

“Guilty pleasure,” he nods smirking.

You tell a little about yourself too and he seems genuinely interested, which feels nice. You would have hated if he found your interests boring and negligible, but that’s not the case.

“How come you couldn’t find a roommate for so long?” you ask the question that’s been in the back of your mind for quite a while now. Both of you are done eating and you’re cleaning up the table.

Nothing really stood out about Harry just yet, it’s quite a mystery for you why he couldn’t find someone to live with him.

“Well, you could say I’m a little picky in this field. Lived with my best mate first year, and though I absolutely love him, he was horrible to live with. Felt like his personal maid the whole time. When Niall moved in with his girlfriend and I had to move on my own I promised myself I would choose carefully. Lived with a PhD student last year, he was pretty great, but he moved out when he graduated, and I couldn’t really find someone I liked since then.”

“Glad I passed then,” you chuckle as you take the dishes and start washing them while Harry stands next to you, leaning against the edge of the counter.

“You seemed like a decent person to live with, I hope I won’t be wrong about that,” he chuckles, but you can tell he is still a little scared you might turn out to be a total asshole.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be too much trouble. I’m quiet like a mouse and clean up after myself.”

“That’s all that matters,” he smiles. “Alright, I have some things to finish, I’ll be in my room if you need help with anything.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

He waves in your way before disappearing in his bedroom.

You spend most of your Sunday unpacking what was left and running errands, buying groceries so you don’t have to go to the store every other day during the week. You occasionally meet Harry in the kitchen or the living room, but you both just do your own thing and it’s totally fine by you.

School starts quiet smoothly, Harry was kind enough to give you a rundown of where you’ll find your lecture halls so you don’t really get lost around campus, easily finding your way.

Friday afternoon you and Rita are sitting at a café near campus to discuss the first week of school. You don’t have any classes together, so only grabbed lunch two times all week, but didn’t have more than twenty minutes together before one of you had to run to a class. Now you are both comfortably sat in a booth with two cappuccinos and plenty of time to talk.

“So, how is living with Harry?” she curiously asks.

“He is great! Though we don’t meet that much. He has a band so he has practice three times a week, spends the rest of his time at home reading or watching TV.”

You ate dinner together twice this week, but you haven’t really had the courage to join him in the living room when he was watching TV. It sounds stupid but you figured maybe it would bother him if you were out there with him. And since he didn’t invite you either, you just stayed in your room mostly.

“Kimberly told me he is hot, is that true?” she asks with a smirk as she takes a sip from her hot drink. You immediately feel your cheeks heating up.

“Well, he surely is a good looking guy,” you breathe out.

“Lucky you! There’s not much of those in an all girls dorm,” she pouts and you chuckle. “So are you gonna make a move on him?”

“That’s not gonna happen,” you shake your head laughing.

“Why not?”

“Because we live together and if he rejects me that would be so awkward for the rest of our time living together.”

“But you can’t know for sure if he would reject,” she points out, but she can’t bring up one thing that would change your mind.

“It’s better not to take the odds. I don’t want to end up on the street.”

 As the days go by, things start to get busier in your everydays. Assignments and papers start to pile up so you have to start working on them if you don’t want to leave everything to the last moment. You become a regular in the library, the atmosphere is great for you to get into the flow and get a lot of work done.

It seems like Harry is in the same shoe, he is often in and out of the apartment, sometimes only spends home just a couple of minutes before he leaves again. However they slowly get accustomed to each other, learn the ways the other likes things and work up a schedule for things. Harry learns that Y/N likes to take a shower twice a day and washes her hair usually on Wednesdays and Sundays, so he doesn’t try to take too much time in the bathroom on those days. He also notices how she doesn’t have time to wash the dishes after herself on Thursdays when she just runs home to have a quick bite before she has to leave for another lecture, so they came to a silent agreement where Harry cleans up after her on Thursdays while she takes up on the dishes on Saturday when Harry leaves to band practice at eight.

They work well together and soon enough all of Harry’s doubts about Y/N fade into nothing and he realizes he has made the right choice with her.

Usually she stays at the library until seven on Mondays, but this week they are closing early because they are rearranging a whole department, so Y/N leaves a little after five. She pays a quick trip to the grocery store before she heads home. Opening up the door she immediately hears the music playing, one of Harry’s vinyls is twirling around in the record player and she hears the water running in the bathroom. Setting her bags on the counter she starts unpacking the groceries.

The music and the running water pushed the sound of her arriving down, Harry didn't realize that you were home early when he opens the bathroom door, singing to himself wearing absolutely nothing as he wants to go and grab a pair of clean underwear, but he is shocked to see you standing in the kitchen.

“Shit!” he snaps, hands immediately flying to cover himself as he sprints back to the bathroom quickly grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist.

Your cheeks are heating up immediately even though you didn’t see anything you weren’t supposed to, the counter top covered him just right above the critical line, but it’s the first time you’ve seen his upper body completely naked.

Even though it was just a spit second, the sight of his many tattoos and the defined V-line leading down to his crotch burned straight into your mind, leaving you flustered and shy all of a sudden.

“Sorry! I should have let you know I was coming home early!” you call out turning around, as if he was about to walk out naked again. Harry chuckles lightly as he returns, this time a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Don’t be silly, you don’t have to check in when you come home. It was my fault, I shouldn’t just walk around naked assuming you wouldn’t be home.”

You should, you think to yourself gulping as you turn around and dare to look at him again. You don’t see less than just a few seconds ago, his chest is glistening from the dampness, his curls are still wet and you are having a hard time not to stare at the tattoos on his lower stomach, so you busy yourself with the rest of your groceries as he walks into his room and returns in a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt.

“Any plans for the weekend?” he asks disappearing in the bathroom, but he leaves the door open and you hear him shuffle around, probably fixing up his hair. He uses some kind of mousse that keeps his curls perfectly and also happens to smell like mango and some kind of citrus.

“Um, not really.”

“We’re playing at this bar with the band, wanna come and watch us?” Walking out of the bathroom he switches the light off before walking to the couch and opening up his Netflix account on the TV. His invitation surprises you, but it also feels nice he wants you there.

“Oh, sounds fun! Can I bring someone?”

“Of course! I can have a table reserved for you, if you’d like,” he smiles at you before turning his attention to the screen.

“That would be great, thanks.”

You feel like after your little encounter it’s probably not the best day to join him at the TV, especially because you can’t stop yourself from blushing every time you look at him. The sight of his naked torso pops up in your mind every time and there’s no way you can just casually sit on the couch with him without your body lighting up on fire.

 Rita is excited when you tell her about the invitation, you don’t even have to convince her to go with you since she is dying to finally meet Harry. When he leaves in the early afternoon on Saturday he assures you that there’s gonna be a table reserved under your name, and off he goes to practice, leaving you alone for the rest of the day since he tells you he won’t be back before the concert tonight. Rita comes over around six and the two of you get ready together.

“You have to wear something spicy,” she wiggles her eyebrows at you while you sit at your desk applying mascara to your lashes.

“I don’t want to overdress, it’s just a bar.”

“Yeah, but Harry invited you. I bet he wants you to see him play.”

“Of course he wants, why else would he invite me?” you ask with furrowed eyebrows.

“You don’t get it,” she chuckles turning to you, hands on her hips. “He wants you to see him play because it feeds his ego. Maybe even turns him on.”

“Stop acting like there is anything between us. We are flatmates and that’s all.”

“I think he wants to be more, you’re just too pussy to make a move yourself,” she shrugs turning back to your closet.

“Stop calling me a pussy for not wanting to make it awkward for the two of us to live together. I’m pretty sure Harry doesn’t see me as anything more than just the person he lives with.”

“Then we have to change that. And I think this is the perfect dress for that.”

Rita pulls out a little black dress you bought about a year ago, but never really got around to wear it. It’s so tight, pushes your tits up way too much for your liking, you’re not even sure why you bought it in the first place.

“I’m not wearing that,” you shake your head.

“Are you afraid he might get a boner from you in it?”

“Rita!” you snap at her, but she just chuckles.

“Look, if you’re so sure he doesn’t want you like that, why does it matter what you wear?”

She has a point. It’s not like this dress will change anything and it would be nice to wear at least once in your life this stupid dress if you bought it.

Grabbing it from her hands you throw it to the bed and start undressing as she claps in victory.

You remembered right, the dress leaves close to nothing to the imagination when it comes to your figure. The fabric hugs your figure tightly, and you put on a lacy bralette that peeks out at the top of the dress, kind of covering some more from your skin, since the dress doesn’t do much in that field itself. Rita tries to convince you not to take a jacket, but you throw your denim jacket on, feeling the need to have something give you the slightest sense of being covered.

You arrive at the bar twenty minutes before the concert starts and it’s a good thing Harry reserved a table for you, because the place is packed. You’re not sure if it’s because of them or it’s just a regular Saturday evening.

The little stage is all set up, but you see no sign of Harry anywhere as the two of you settle at your table with a drink. Luckily, the bartender did not ask for an ID, he was too busy looking at your chest. At least there’s one good thing in this dress.

The drum set at the back has the name of the band on it and you smile reading it. The word ‘Stylish’ is printed on it with bold blue letters, referring to Harry’s last name, who is most likely the front man of the band.

The place is buzzing and the two of you enjoy being out at a bar concert. When the lights go down you finally spot him walking out of the back followed by a guy and two girls.

“Welcome, folks,” he greets the audience, his accent filling up the place over the chatters. A round of cheering answers him, making him smile. “Thank you for coming out tonight, we hope to entertain you in the next hour. Our name is Stylish and now let’s get down to business,” he smirks and just as he takes a step back from the mic, the band starts playing. Harry grabs a guitar himself before stepping back to the mic and then he starts singing.

They play a mixture of covers and original songs, the transition between them is so smooth you sometimes forget it’s a whole different song that’s playing. Harry is clearly enjoying the spotlight, his presence on the stage is so natural and capturing, you often catch yourself forgetting about the rest of the band.

One song follows the other and you don’t even realize how fast this hour passes by. Harry sometimes stops in-between songs, entertaining the audience with small jokes and just casually interacting with them.

“Our last song is up next, so let me take a moment to introduce the band,” Harry speaks into the mic while softly playing the guitar so it’s not completely quiet as he talks. “At the drums, the amazing and talented Sarah Jones!”

A round of applause fills the bar as Sara waves around smiling widely, before Harry moves on to the next member.

“Playing the piano, the wonderful Charlotte Clark!”

Charlotte plays a short melody on the keys matching up with what Harry has been playing, before she also waves at the audience.

“The guy who is a way better guitarist than me, Mitch Rowland.”

Harry’s comment makes the audience laugh and Mitch just nods shyly, a smile pulling on his lips under his mustache.

“And this handsome Brit who sometimes acts like a comedian,” Sarah starts leaning closer to her mic. “Harry Styles.”

It’s no surprise that Harry gets the biggest cheering and he smirks sweetly, his fingers still strumming on the guitar. The clapping and screaming slowly dies down and as Harry steps back to his mic they start the last song.

It’s quite an upbeat, funky song, you just can’t resist dancing around on your chair and seemingly Rita is enjoying herself as well, cheering with her beer in her hand. The song comes to an end and they all line up at the front of the stage bowing down together as the whole bar cheers on them as one person.

“Woah, this was… something else,” Rita breathes out once they disappear at the back and chatter fills up the place once again and the lights come back.

“They smashed it!” you nod in agreement. You figured they are good if they get asked to perform, but this was way beyond what you were expecting.

Looking around you are hoping to see Harry somewhere, but they must be celebrating somewhere at the back. Maybe he won’t even come out, you think to yourself as you finish up your beer.

“I’ll get us another round,” you tell Rita as you make your way to the bar.

There are quite a few people waiting to be served, so you squeeze yourself into the crowd and hope to get to the front soon.

“So how did you like it?”

You jump in surprise when you hear Harry’s voice coming from behind you, and turning around you see how close he is standing to you.

“Hi! I didn’t even see you sneak up on me,” you chuckle making him smile as he squeezes himself next to you. The two of you finally reach the front, but the bartender is serving someone a little on the left so you have to wait. “I loved it, you were like a proper rockstar up there!”

“Thanks,” he chuckles and his dimples show up on his cheeks. The bartender finally gets to you and Harry is quick to order for the both of you. “’S probably better if I place the order since you’re not twenty one just yet.”

“Didn’t have any problem ordering the first time,” you smirk smugly and Harry raises his eyebrows at you before his eyes wander down your body for a second.

“I bet you didn’t in this dress.”

Suddenly, you’re very aware of how daring your outfit looks, so out of reflex, you pull your jacket tighter on yourself, Harry’s smile quickly fades as he realizes that he made you uncomfortable with his comment.

“I meant that you look really pretty. Definitely makes you appear a little older though.”

“My friend wanted me to wear it, I would have been fine with something else,” you admit as the bartender places your order in front of you and Harry pays for the whole thing.

“Glad she convinced you,” he grins down at you and you can feel your cheeks heating up once again.

He helps you carry the drinks to the table and Rita quickly puts her phone away when she sees who you are returning with.

“Harry, this is my friend, Rita. Rita, this is Harry,” you introduce them and Harry shakes her head smiling.

“Nice to meet you,” he nods kindly.

“Oh, same goes for you,” Rita smirks and you roll your eyes at her.

“I’ll go get the rest of the band, do you mind if we join you guys here? There are no empty tables.”

“Sure,” you nod smiling before the crowd swallows Harry.

“For fuck’s sake, you have to make a move on him, Y/N!” Rita turns to you as soon as he is gone.

“Would you stop?” you chuckle.

“No! This dude is so hot I forget my name when I look at him! And you live with him! You can’t miss this chance, Y/N.”

“I’m not missing anything. We live together, it’s not worth it.”

“Not missing anything?” Rita looks at you as if you were mental. “You are literally missing everything!”

“I’m done with this conversation,” you tell him just when Harry appears again, this time with two of his bandmates, Sarah and Mitch are following him smiling, hand in hand.

“Charlotte had to leave early, but this is Sarah and Mitch,” Harry introduces them as they join the two of you at the table. “And this is my flatmate, Y/N and her friend Rita.”

You all shake hands as Harry sorts out the extra beers he has ordered so everyone has a drink on their hand.

It’s no surprise, but Sarah and Mitch prove themselves to be just as cool as they seemed up on the stage. And the best thing is that they don’t shy away from sharing funny stories that include Harry.

“So have you been looking for a new place to stay, Y/N?” Mitch jokes. “I’m sure you’ve had enough of Harry by now.”

“Very funny,” Harry laughs at his bandmate’s comment.

“To be honest it’s pretty fine so far. He is a pleasant person to share your home with,” you say with a soft chuckle.

“What’s one thing you hate about living with him?” Sarah asks and Harry pretends to be hurt over the question.

“Who said there’s anything she hates?”

“Shush, I was asking her!” she hushes at him making you laugh.

“I really can’t point out anything in particular. Maybe he has been very careful, luring me into believing that he is the perfect flatmate so I get stuck with him.”

You stay for a while, just chatting and having a good time until the bar starts to empty out and you decide it’s better if you head home as well.

“We have to take care of the equipment, are you leaving or do you want to wait for me?” Harry asks you.

“We’ll just call an Uber, don’t worry about it,” you smile at him.

“Alright, see you at home.”

You say goodbye to Sarah and Mitch and part your ways with them as you and Rite head outside.

“I hope you noticed how Harry was looking at you,” Rita smirks at you when the two of you are sitting at the back of the Uber.

“What are you talking about?” you sigh leaning your head against the seat.

“I caught him staring at you quite a few times.”

“He was just probably looking at me when I was talking. Don’t try to talk something into it that’s not true.”

“Alright, I’ll stop,” she replies holding up her hands. “But I still think you are missing out on some amazing dick.”

You awkwardly glance at the driver who is hearing everything you say, but Rita seemingly doesn’t mind that you’re not alone.

“You know what? We should give Tinder a try.”

“What? Why?”

“If you don’t want to make a move on your hot flatmate, we need to get some satisfaction from others.”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“Oh, you are not,” she chuckles. “But you will be when you match with the hottest guys on campus.”

You let Rita believe that she convinced you to sign up for Tinder, but you get out of the car with the intention of never downloading the app, like ever.

Walking into the apartment you grab a clean, oversized t-shirt and a pair of panties since your sleeping shorts are all dirty, but you were planning to do the laundry tomorrow. You decide it’s not a big deal and the shirt will probably cover enough of your body.

You take a quick shower to get off the thick smell of the bar that’s stuck on your skin, taking your time moisturizing yourself once you’re done. When you get dressed you see that the shirt does cover your bum, but if you lifted your arms up it surely shows a big portion of your ass, so you’ll have to be careful if Harry arrives.

You’re lounging on the couch watching a rerun of House M.D. and scrolling through your phone when Harry arrives.

“Hey there, rockstar!” you greet him teasingly and he just chuckles shyly.

“Is it gonna be my new nickname?”

“Well, you really were one tonight, so I think yes,” you nod making him laugh. Walking further inside his eyes stop on your bare legs and he is quick to notice that you’re not wearing any pants, like you usually do. You immediately tug on the end of the shirt to cover more of your skin, but it’s not really working.

“Ehm, I’ll go and take a quick shower,” he informs you before disappearing in his room first and then rushing into the bathroom.

Looking down at your attire you decide it’ll be better if you threw on some sweats. Harry clearly got a little uncomfortable seeing you so bare, so it’s better to cover up. You’ll just take them off when you go to bed.

Harry doesn’t take too long in there, and when he joins you on the couch you are pretty sure he took a cold shower since no steam followed him when he left the bathroom. His eyes flicker to your now covered legs, but he doesn’t say anything, just makes himself comfortable next to you.

“You like it?” he asks nodding at the TV.

“Yeah, he is such an asshole, but it’s funny,” you huff. “Hey, I took a few pictures tonight. Wanna see if you like any of them?”

“Sure,” he nods pushing himself up a little as you unlock your phone and show him the photos you took of him and the band while performing.

Some of them ended up really cool, you were able to catch the lights and their movements just the right way, especially one stands out where he was holding out a note, basically screaming into the mic, he really looks like a rockstar on that one.

“Can you send me this one?”

“Done,” you smile at him and glancing over you see that he opens the Instagram app on his phone. You watch him crop and adjust it a little bit, then tag his bandmates and finally, he posts it.

“Wow, this is the first picture on your page with you actually on it,” you tease him.

“So you’ve been stalking my profile?” he smirks at you.

“I wanted to check you out before I moved in, but your social media was no help in that.”

“Yeah, I’m not a fan of posting that much, but this was a cool picture.”

“It’s an honor to know that I took the first one featuring you.”

“Actually, this is the second one, but it is the first one where my face is visible,” Harry tells you before turning his attention back to the TV, but the gears start to turn wildly in your mind, trying to remember which picture could be the other one.

Later, when you’re lying in your bed with your door closed, you pull up his profile and stat scrolling down. Most of the pictures fall out, because they have absolutely no trace of any human being on them. But then you stop at the one that features a black silhouette of a man, the one you thought wasn’t him.

Opening up you tap on the tag and see that it leads to Mitch’s profile, but now that you’ve met him, you’re pretty sure it’s not him in the picture. So you take a closer look and as you go over the small details, like the line of his neck, how wide his shoulders are and the untamed curls, you soon realize that it is indeed Harry in the photo.

You push down a moan when realization sets in, because that means that you’re staring at the naked silhouette of Harry and it immediately starts a fire between your legs.

“Jesus,” you whisper as you let yourself stare at the photo a little longer. You weren’t expecting it, but it’s surely making you feel some kind of way.

Locking your phone you throw it to your nightstand before you bury your head into your pillow. You have to press your thighs together quite tightly to make the throbbing sensation stop so you can finally fall asleep. Well, it takes some time before that happens and it’s quite torturous.

  Unlike how you planned, Rita finally gets you to download Tinder and give it a try. She helps you set up your profile, and though at first it feels incredibly awkward, you slowly adjust to being out there on the virtual market.

You start swiping left and right whenever you are bored during classes or you’re having a break from studying. Your matches start to pile up and soon enough you start getting messages as well. You reply to the ones you like or find funny and creative, giving them a chance, but not many end up going too far. Somehow the conversations always die down and you lose interest in the person.

Only one guy gets as far as asking you out and getting a yes as an answer. Jordan is a physics major and seemed like a nice and funny guy through the messages, good-looking too, so you decided to give it a go.

So Friday evening you dolled yourself up, put on a nice blouse with your favorite skinny jeans and black heels, ready to head out to your first ever Tinder date.

As you walk out of your room you find Harry in the kitchen in his basketball shorts and a simple black t-shirt making himself a cup of tea. The shorts are hanging low on his waist and as he reaches up to get the hones from the cupboard you get a glimpse of the soft skin on his lower waist. You quickly look away before you could have any further thoughts about what else is under the waistband of his shorts.

“Oh, where are you heading all dressed up?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

“I actually have a date,” you admit nervously as you grab your keys and put it away in your purse.

“Lucky guy,” he smiles and you can feel your cheeks heating up again. There’s just something in the way he compliments you, it makes your knees go jelly.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later? I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” you tell him grabbing your jacket from the hanger next to the front door.

“Have fun,” he nods before you walk out.

 Jordan proves himself to be quite frankly the same guy you got to know through messages. He takes you to this Mexican themed bar and you are just chatting over some exciting looking cocktails, but you find yourself zoning out sometimes.

What is Harry doing right now? Is he staying at home? I should have asked if he had any plans. Maybe he is hooking up with someone right now.

You find yourself thinking about way more than you probably should and it’s making you lose your shit. So maybe this is why, or because Rita told you to just go with the flow, but when Jordan asks if you want to go up to his place you say yes.

It’s as awkward and bad as you were expecting, unfortunately. There’s a reason why you don’t hook up with every random guy you go out with once. You are totally on different pages, but when you are lying under him on his bed, you just know there’s no way out.

It’s not that he forces you, because you’re sure he would have stopped if you asked, but it would be so awkward to just walk out because you weren’t feeling the vibe. So at least one of you should enjoy it.

You should deserve an Oscar for that orgasm you fake, it’s so believable. Jordan doesn’t seem to notice that you felt absolutely nothing, just frustration and impatience, he tries to make you stay the night, but you save yourself with a lie that you have to wake up early in the morning so it’s best if you head home.

Your frustration just grows on your way home. You were really hoping to get laid tonight, so maybe that could stop you from fantasizing about Harry, because your thoughts have been wild since you found out that he is the one on that Instagram picture. It doesn’t help that he has been walking around shirtless quite a lot.

Shameful or not, you even touched yourself once thinking about him. You were home alone after a particularly boring day so you thought you’d just get yourself off. Before you could realize where your thoughts have wandered, you were moaning his name as you came hard. You couldn’t look into his eyes that day when he came home, he probably thought you were nuts, basically running away from him.

It’s almost midnight when you get back home, you were expecting Harry to be asleep by now since he has band practice in the morning, but you are surprised to see light coming from his room. As you close the front door, kicking your heels off he walks out, of course, without a shirt, his glorious body on full display.

“Hey, how was your date?” he asks as you step to the fridge to get yourself something to drink. You’ve been so damn thirsty since Jordan was… done with you, you could have asked for some water at least, but you just wanted to leave as fast as possible.

“Ugh, don’t even ask,” you whine, leaning against the counter.

“That bad?”

“Worse,” you roll your eyes and Harry chuckles softly.

“Come on, it couldn’t be that bad if you came home so late.”

“Well, it did start off nice, but I shouldn’t have said yes when he asked if I wanted to go to his place.”

“Oh.”

“Worst sex of my life, I wanted out the moment we arrived, to be honest,” you honestly say, feeling a little weird that you’re talking to Harry about it, but you just want to get it off your chest.

“Then why didn’t you just leave?”

“Dunno, I just… I was hoping for just a little satisfaction, but I guess I asked for too much,” you sigh finishing up your water and you walk past him with the intention to grab your pajamas and have a shower that would wash away the happenings of the night, but Harry’s voice stops you.

“Not everything is lost just yet.” Turning around you give him a puzzled look.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He bites into his bottom lip and lets his eyes travel down your body, his intent gaze sends a shiver down your spine. When his eyes return to your gaze your heart is wildly beating against your chest.

“I mean that… I can make you feel good, if you want.”

Your mouth hangs open and your eyebrows shoot up at the blunt offer he just made. At first you’re not even sure you heard him right, but as you replay his words you realize that you indeed heard him crystal clear.

“Are you messing with me right now?” you ask, feeling like it’s all just a joke. He did not just offer to satisfy you because you complained to him about how bad your date was.

Harry takes a few steps closer to you, a small smirk tugging on his lips.

“Not really. You want to get off and I would love to be the one to help you with it.”

“But… we live together,” you say and realize how stupid this just sounded, but you hope he gets what you were trying to say.

“So? Does that mean we can’t fuck?”

The way he said that makes your legs go weak for sure. You’ve been fantasizing about things similar to this, but those were nowhere near to actually hear him propose the idea of fucking.

“But… it’ll be weird, won’t it?”

“Only if we make it.”

He walks closer, closing the distance between the two of you and he cups your cheek in his hand as his eyes flicker down to your lips.

“Harry…” you breathe out, but you already know you gave in. There’s no way you can say him no, not after weeks of dreaming about the exact same thing.

“Just stop thinking,” he tells you before pressing his lips against yours.

He kisses you hard and you gladly let his tongue push into your mouth within a second, kissing him back with the same passion. You wrap your arms around his neck as his hands travel down on your sides until they reach your ass and they give it a bold squeeze, making you moan into his lips. You feel him grin as his hands move over to your thighs and he urges you to jump and so you do, wrapping your legs around his waist.

Though you keep your eyes closed, kissing him hard, you can tell he brings you to the couch, laying you down to your back, holding himself up above you. He starts kissing down your jawline and neck, sucking and biting on the sensitive skin. His hands grab the hem of your shirt and you lift yourself up a bit so he can pull it off, throwing it away to somewhere behind the couch. While his lips are sucking on your breasts wherever they are bulging out from the lacy bra, his hands work fast on your jeans, undoing the button and the zipper, tugging them down until you can just kick them right off.

“Matching set? You were really counting on having a good time tonight,” he mumbles against your tummy as he kisses his way down on your body.

His right hand reaches up and cups your breast before it slides under you and easily unclasps your bra. You quickly slide the straps off and throw it to the side, so now you are lying under him only in your panties, whimpering and panting at every kiss he leaves on your body.

“What do you want, Y/N?” he hums glancing up at you, sitting between your legs as he slides just one finger over your soaking wet panties, running it along your throbbing center.

“Fuck, I want you,” you breathe out.

“How exactly do you want me?”

“Jesus, just eat me out, Harry!” you shamelessly moan and he smugly smirks before he hooks his fingers into your panties and pulls them down, throwing it to the ground.

Now you’re lying completely naked in front of him, and he pushes your knees farther apart, looking down at you with lustful eyes.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this,” he growls as he gets closer and without a warning, he licks into you.

You moan in sensation as he starts sucking on your clit, his tongue working perfectly against your bud. Your hands find their way into his hair and you grab a handful of it in each. Oh, how many times you’ve thought about doing this!

“Harry!” you cry out when you feel him push a finger into you, slowly pumping it in and out a few times before he adds another to it. He quickly picks up his pace as he keeps sucking on your clit, getting you closer to your orgasm with every lick.

“Fuck, I’m so close!” you moan, your chest rising and falling rapidly as you struggle to even breathe.

“Cum for me, baby,” he mumbles against your wet clit and just a few more pumps later you came, screaming his name.

“Fucking hell, Harry!” you breathe out when he climbs up on you smirking.

“You think you can handle another one?” he asks, pecking your lips softly. Looking down you see how hard he is and even if you were on the verge of dying you would have said yes. There’s no way you let him get up from this couch unsatisfied after the orgasm he just gave you.

Instead of saying anything, you push on him until he is sitting on the couch and you have your knees on his sides.

“I think you are a little overdressed, aren’t you?” you ask teasingly as you bring a hand down to his erection, cupping it through his shorts and underwear.

Harry cranes his neck so his lips could meet yours again as he lifts his hips up, pushing his shorts down along with his boxers. You sit back down to his lap and his erection presses against your wet folds making you moan into his mouth.

“Do you want me to suck you off?” you ask breathlessly, but Harry shakes his head.

“I would last, I just want to fuck you,” he growls and you swear to God that was the hottest thing you’ve ever heard.

“Condom, we need a condom,” you tell him, still kissing his lips.

You get off him and he quickly runs into his room, shortly returning with a condom between his teeth. He rips the package on his way and falls back to the couch, rolling it on carefully. When he is done you swing your leg over him and get on top again, holding onto his broad shoulders. He grabs the base of his cock and lines himself up to your center and you give yourself a moment to admire his naked beauty right in front of you.

You look into his sparkling eyes and leaning down you kiss him hard as you slowly ease down to his length, his cock slowly filling you up fully.

“Oh fuck!” he moans at the feeling of you around him. His fingers dig deep into your waist as you stay still for a few moments, adjusting to his length. “You alright?” he asks breathlessly. Your eyes meet his and you nod a little before you start moving.

It takes a few moments to find the right pace and get yourself comfortable, but when you finally do, you just can’t stop. His hands are on your ass as he guides your hips a little and you feel the rings on his fingers against your heated skin. He buries his face into your neck nibbling and kissing on the soft skin wherever he reaches.

“Fuck, you look so fucking hot, Y/N,” he grunts when you let your head fall back, feeling your orgasm slowly building up again.

“Harry, I’m gonna cum again,” you pant, picking up a faster pace, desperate for release.

“Cum for me, baby. Let me make you feel good!” he moans wrapping his arms around you as he holds you still, stopping you from moving, but instead he starts thrusting into you, his cock buries so deep into your pussy, your eyes roll back into your head from the feeling.

“Yes! Don’t fucking stop!” you scream as he keeps fucking you hard.

It doesn’t take too long until you fall completely apart and cum again, your legs basically turning into jelly. Just a few thrusts later Harry cums as well, thrusting deep into you a few more times as he moans into your neck.

You lie completely numb on him, his fingers gently stroking your naked back as you try to come back to reality. When you lean back and your eyes meet again you are still speechless.

“I’ve literally wanted it since the day you walked into this place,” he admits with a soft chuckle.

“Really?” you giggle shyly.

“Oh, really. Seeing you around, sometimes without a bra under your shirt completely killed me most of the time.”

Your cheeks are heating up, you didn’t think he noticed when you weren’t wearing a bra.

“Don’t be so shy, you have amazing tits, you are not allowed to wear a bra anymore around here,” he teases you grinning as you laugh and leaning down you kiss him shortly.

“I had quite a few fantasies about you too,” you admit making him raise his eyebrows.

“Really?”

“Mhm, especially after you walked out of the bathroom naked, even though I didn’t even see your dick then.”

Harry chuckles lightly as he pushes his hair back from his forehead, resting his head against the back of the couch.

“So…” you shyly start, ”what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that… we live together and we just fucked. What does this mean for the future?”

“Well, I thought that next time we could do it the right way. I could take you out on a proper date, and then fuck you on the kitchen counter.”

You laugh at how blunt he is, but you love the idea he just proposed.

“Okay. Sounds fine by me.”

[blueeyedgeorgie]

Controlling My Friend’s Phone-A.E

“ can u write either Alex or Will's gf going on Callux's channel to take part with the "controlling my best friend's phone for an hour" series, and he totally messes with her, but at the end it turns out he finds cute messages between them or smthing?“

Pairing: ImAllexx x Reader

Word Count: 1.7K+

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"Y/n, Welcome to the channel," Callum had smiled into the camera. "What's up?" Y/n grinned, giving a wave to the camera. "Not much, besides the fact I'll be controlling your phone for the next hour," Callum looked over to his friend, outreaching a hand, motioning for her to hand over her belonging. "I'm scared," Y/n shook her head, hesitantly pulling out her phone. "Oh, you should be," He smirked, snatching the phone from her. "Alright, time to unlock your phone." "Oh god..." Y/n trailed off, beginning to press in her password. The screen unlocked, revealing all of Y/n's apps. "Twitter time first!" Callum pressed open the blue bird app. "Don't post anything that could put me in a scandal, please," Y/n began to bite at her nails. "Like?" "Nothing, homophobic, trans-phobic, racist, or offensive," Y/n shook her head. "Wow, the bar is so low," Callum let out a laugh. He began to type up a tweet. "Boys, come slide in my DMS. I'm bored." "No! Are you fucking kidding me?" Y/n practically howled, "I'm dating someone!" "Oh, so I shouldn't put the kissy-face?" Callum laughed, being to open the emoji keyboard. "Why did I agree to this?" Y/n shook her head. "I'm putting a kissy face," Callum had pressed the 'post' button, sending the tweet out into the world. "Goddamnit, Callum," Y/n shook her head. "Alright, Instagram time," Callum smirked. "I promise I won't leak your nudes." "Wow," Y/n shook her head, looking at the camera. "Guys, I promise I don't have nudes, I'm not a whore." "Let's put something on your story," Callum smirked, swiping to the left to open the camera. "I'm thinking along the lines of... 'Guess what's coming in nine months?' With maybe a few baby emojis." "Oh god," Y/n shook her head. "I am gonna get into some type of scandal, aren't I?" "Probably," Callum laughed with a nod as he hit the 'post' button again. "What else should we do?" "Up to you, I guess," Y/n bit her lip, watching Callum scroll through her apps. "I'm positive you have George Memeulous's phone number," Callum grinned. "What are you planning?" Y/n raised a brow. "Let's start thirst texting him, why don't we?"  Callum had opened up Y/n's text messages. "Oh, no!" Y/n practically shouted. She got up, walking out of the camera frame. "You're really trying to get me canceled, aren't you?" "Alright, I'm gonna text him," Callum laughed, opening her texts between her and George. "Holy shit, your guys' conversations have been so dry." Callum scrolled through their texts, "Seriously? 'Hey, do you want some food, I'm gonna order some dinner.' You guys are so boring." "You're really going to ruin my friendships, aren't you?" Y/n shook her head as she walked back into the camera frame. "Anyways, time to text him. 'Hey Papi, whatcha up to?' Omgod, this is gonna be fun," Callum let out another laugh. "He's gonna know something's up," Y/n shook her head. "While we wait for him to reply, let's text up the other boys," Callum had pulled up Y/n's texts with Will next. "Lemme think... 'You're so fuckin hot, ditch Mia for me, baby.' I love this so much," Callum smiled, beginning to text Will. "Oh, no! Mia and I are so close! I'm not gonna have any friends after this," Y/n brushed a hand through her hair as she let out a long sigh. "James's turn next!" Callum smirked, "I'm gonna say... 'Can you do me a favor and lemme peg you?' You're gonna have to apologize to everyone after this, Y/n," Callum shook his head. "This hurts me. You've hurt me. How could you do this to me?" Y/n cringed. "You had a week to tell your friends something weird was gonna happen on your texts and social medias," Callum looked over to Y/n. "I'm gonna need bleach after this," Y/n sighed. Y/n's phone buzzed. "Oh, George texted us back!" Callum grinned, reopening Y/n's texts with George. " 'Y/n, are you alright?' Oh, he already knows something's up," Callum shook his head. "I told you he was gonna know something was going on," Y/n bit her lip. "I can fix this. 'I'm okay, but I'd be better if we were together at the moment." Callum smiled, continuing to text the commentary YouTuber. "Let's see, James left you on read!" "I'm not surprised. I'm friends with his girlfriend, I feel horrible," Y/n hid her face in her hands. "We're not gonna poke the bear with James because you're already getting into enough trouble," Callum smiled. "Will still hasn't opened your text yet." "I'm scared," Y/n returned to biting at her nails. "You should be," Callum looked over to her again. "Let's open Twitter again." There had been plenty of DMs sent to Y/n on Twitter with a lot of confused replies to her tweet. "This is absolutely amazing," Callum scrolled through the replies. "I'm gonna tweet something new." "I'm gonna get so fucking canceled," Y/n sighed. "Alright, I'm gonna say... '5 likes and I'll burn ImAllexx's Internet Sensation merch," Callum was already typing. "No, not Alex! You've already done so much, why Alex?" Y/n was freaking out at this point. She was surprised Alex hadn't tried reaching out to her yet over what she was posting and texting to his friends. James should've told him what Y/n texted him by now. As expected, Y/n's phone began to buzz again. Only this time she was being called by her boyfriend, Alex Elmslie.  "No!" Y/n yelled, grabbing onto the roots of her hair, "he knows something's wrong!" "Y/n, I'm gonna pick up. You can't talk though," Callum smirked. "Are you crazy?!" "Hey, I'm controlling your phone for the next thirty minutes," Callum grinned, hitting the green pickup button. "Y/n, are you alright? I'm so confused over your tweets, is this some kind of joke? James also told me you sent a sext to him? What the fuck? Do you have something to tell me? Do you wanna break up?" The more Alex spoke, the more Y/n's heart broke. Alex suffered from anxiety, so she could only imagine how he was feeling right now. Y/n bit her lip, making eye contact with Callum, he only put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet. "Y/n, are you there-" Alex had been cut off by Callum hitting the 'end call' button. "That was so mean! He probably thinks I'm cheating on him or something!" Y/n brushed a hand through her hair. Within seconds, Y/n's phone buzzed again. This time she had received a text. It was from Alex. 'Y/n, please talk to me, I know you're there.' "I'm going to end up getting dumped by Alex by the time this is over," Y/n shook her head. "I'm texting back. 'What are you talking about? I am completely normal.' But in all caps," Callum laughed, already typing. "You're so mean!" Y/n's eyes widened. "As Alex texts back, let's look back through your texts with him," Callum smiled, beginning to scroll up. "Oh god, you two really are an adorable pair." Thank you, I guess? I mean, I don't know if we're gonna last after this video," Y/n gave a shrug as she watched Callum. "You two were literally planning a Star Wars movie marathon tonight, now I'm starting to feel shitty," Callum let out a sigh. "Honestly you two seem like such a power couple with these texts." "Thank you, can I have my phone now?" Y/n put out her hand, motioned she wanted her phone back. "I have 15 more minutes left. Now let's look at your photos!" Callum hadn't found anything special. Most photos where just screenshots of random stuff, but finally he found a photo album he really liked. "You have a photo album titled, 'Alex' with a  heart emoji?" Callum grinned, already opening the album. "Oh yeah," Y/n gave a nod, smiling at the tens of photos she had of Alex. There were a decent amount of photos Y/n had taken of Alex. Some of them were funny, most of them were pretty cute. There was a photo of Alex downtown. They had been walking downtown after seeing a movie. As they were waiting to cross the street, Y/n had stolen photo of Alex smiling at her, cars were driving past in the background as the sun was halfway down. There was another photo of Alex, Y/n's hand was placed underneath his chin, squeezing his cheeks together, causing his lips to squish together. Photo after photo, each one had a special memory, it didn't matter if the memory was big or small, they were all important to Y/n. Even though she and Alex had just started dating only a few months back, there were plenty of good memories they shared. Finally, Callum finished gushing over photos, talking about how he thought Y/n and Alex were 'couple goals'. "I guess I can give you your phone back now," Callum gave a shrug as he handed Y/n's phone back to her. "I've got to go and do damage control now," Y/n sighed, already opening Twitter to delete the tweets Callum posted. "Good luck with that," Callum smiled. Callum began the outro as Y/n was texted her friends her apologies. She felt bad that Cal had texted weird shit to her friend's. 'Hey, Alex. I'm sorry about everything. I was filming a video on Callux's channel where he stole my phone for the past hour, none of that was me, I promise. I love you too much to be like that.' Within seconds, Alex had begun to type back. 'It's alright, Y/n. I'm just happy none of that was you. I love you too. Are we still on for a movie marathon tonight?' Y/n smiled at the text she received. Thank god Alex wasn't gonna hold this against her. 'Of course, I'll call you when I get in my car.' 'Okay.' Y/n placed her phone in her back pocket as Callum finished up his outro for the video. "And if you're curious where you can find Y/n, I'll be leaving a link in the description to her YouTube channel," he smiled to the camera. Y/n gave a wave, a smile appeared on her face. "This video made me anxious for an hour," Y/n spoke up. "Anyways, I'll see you guys next time!" With that, the camera was turned off.

Taglist:

@daddydobrock​

@anyasthoughts​

@multifandom-but​

[freshouttaparsnips]

You finally got the upperhand.... a blushing Papyrus at your very words.

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this is the first chapter for a fic for Sins_of_the_Scruff on ao3!! its Female Reader/Slim, so have fun XD

tags: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Pre-Relationship, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Female Reader, Slim is a dork

read it on Ao3

or read Chapter 1 below!

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Being in the cold, unforgiving Underground wasn’t so bad, once you’d gotten used to how things worked. Yeah, if you didn’t wear your disguise and monsters took more than a single passing glance at your stats, they’d try to kill you, but so far that’d only happened in secluded areas where a fight was happening anyways.

It was always your damn luck that some asshole would try to get you cornered, then find out that you were actually human.

You hated that the boys had to kill whoever found you out, but the alternative was you dying a horrible, painful death at the hands of the Queen, so you went with it.

Whatever reason Papyrus and Sans had for taking you in, instead of taking your soul then and there where they found you, was beyond you. All you knew was that Sans was very anal about making sure you ate, and Papyrus was very uh. Protective was a decent word to describe it, but over protective might have fit better.

You assumed it came from a life of having to fight to stay on top, a literal fight for survival, the fact that they were brothers being one of the few things keeping them together.

But you were grateful. You’d been sitting shivering in the icy snow, leg broken and blood dripping from your nose and you knew that no matter what else happened, you were no longer going to just take the hits. That was when Papyrus had found you. You’d growled at him, mimicking the different monsters you’d met along the twisted path that led you here, but he’d just chuffed a laugh.

“You’ve got a lot of spunk fer someone half dead, human.” he’d said, and there wasn’t much for you to disagree with.

So you’d settled for trying to bite him when he picked you up, swatting at his back as he carried you back through the forest and through the back alleys of town, till you got to a house that would have put the Addam’s Family to shame.

All black paint and locks and general bad vibes but he just hefted you up a little better and strode straight through the front door.

The inside was much nicer than the outside, whoever else lived with him obviously keeping it cleaner than he kept his own hoodie.

But the next thing you knew you were on the couch, bouncing from the fall and wincing as it jostled your leg.

He looked sheepish, at least, citing that “My brother will be here later… don’t piss him off and he’ll fix you up.”

And that was how you’d met Sans, the Captain of the Guard that would rather sneak a human around than give her to the Queen.

Some of it was probably your age; most other humans that fell had been children, and hadn’t survived even because of natural causes. You were an adult, which meant a strong soul, but also meant you were harder to kill.

And they both had a severe hatred for the Queen, so that might have played into it.

So you fashioned up a couple of horns and a face mask for yourself, as well as a pair of gloves that Sans had lying around, and you looked like any other weird ass monster.

Papyrus had always accompanied you at first, any time you headed out for any reason. They’d collared you, which made sense in the long run but since you hadn’t had a choice at the time you were still a little salty about it.

But Papyrus? He followed you around like a dog would, always right at your heel and always posturing for anyone that even thought to give you a second look. It worked (except when it didn’t), and you were fine except for the nasty scar some jackass had left when he’d tugged on your collar a little too hard.

Sans and Papyrus had been... upset about that. To put it lightly.

But your relationship with Papyrus had always been fuller, more vigorous and teasing and well.

That led to today.

“I’m just sayin’ doll, we could go home and watch a movie ‘er something, Sans wouldn’t know.”

You sighed, leaned back against the counter of his station. The thing seemed like it was made out of cardboard, but it held up under your weight okay, so you kept doing it. “Sans would absolutely know, dumbass. He checks over here every thirty minutes, you know he’d find out!”

Papyrus gave you a dubious look, but before he could open his traitorous mouth you continued.

“And do NOT say ‘Yeah well I c’n teleport y’know, its not like we couldn’t time it.’ cause you would forget!”

Now Papyrus was giving you the puppy dog eyes, which… didn’t always work, but didn’t always not work either.

“C’mon darlin’, its boring out here and its nice an’ warm at home, don’t you wanna cuddle up under some blankets and watch Napstabot kill something?”

You rolled your eyes. “That just sounds like a date or something, you big sap.”

There was silence, for a moment, before a strange choking sound came from beside you, your heart pounding as you turned to check on him…

Only to find Papyrus, the big lug, blushing furiously and staring off into the woods as if you weren’t there anymore.

It made the most shit eating grin come across your face, but you hid it quickly before he could see it and think you were making fun of him. “Oh, babe, if you wanted a date you could have just said so.” And with that you leaned forward, leaving a chaste kiss on the side of his warm, bright orange face before hopping up and heading back home.

You didn’t see Papyrus staring after you in shock as you left, or the way he fell off his damn chair when Sans stormed up demanding to know where you were.

That was great blackmail, Sans thought, and some that he’d share with you, seeing as how you and his brother seemed to be getting along so well.

Yeah, he’d have to push things along a little. You both deserved some happiness. And he deserved some goddamn alone time.

[hazbinextgeneration]

Into The Casino Ch13

Disease wa quick to catch up with the pretty pony down the hall and she seemed just a little rattled from the intense asking. Lou seemed to be VERY against the idea, but..she did it. SHE DID IT!! The feeling brought a small proud feeling to her as she silently marveled at her small victory. She can't believe she actually did that! And it worked!...But she would slow down. She only got this far by sheer luck, best not to push it too far. Especially when Disease casually strode up to her with a raised brow.

"Ssso. You wanna go sssee the bird brain?," he questioned raising a brow to her. She paused. It took her a moment for her to gather her senses enough for her to reach into her dress pocket and pull out the small pink business card from it, Disease flicked his tongue at it and slowly took it from her once his senses registered it as harmless. His smile never leaving. "I-...Can you take me there?" Her finger reached out and pointed to the small address under the fancy club name written on it, and Disease chuckled. "Nah. You don't to worry that pretty little head off. Wouldn't be the first time I went down to sssteal a few secrets from there.~" He gestured for her to follow and she blinked before slowly trailing after him. Walking there instead of using the armored limo was a new feeling. It reminded her of the week she spent finally free of that horrible cage, only to wonder the streets for almost a whole week, homeless, hungry, and hoping she wouldn't get mugged when she took short naps in doorways. Everyone always looking at each other like they would suddenly snap and be at each other's throats, and she was always afraid that someone was going to be her. Again those feelings came back as she glanced around the red sky and run down looking buildings. Compared to Lou's casino, these looked much less taken cared of and she couldn't help but shiver at what was inside of them. Strangers? Drugs? Or maybe something much, much worse. Disease didn't at all fazed by what was going on around them though. Humming and flicking his tongue out every so often, like this was just another day on the job for him and for all she knew it probably was. After all he did say it wouldn't be his first time going down there to find out secrets, but she didn't know what secrets he could possibly want. Rita and him despite being on such ...tense terms seemed to get along alright. Or maybe not, what did she know. But her attention went back to the snake when he inched himself with a growl...and she leaned back instantly. Did he have....fleas?! A moment later he seemed back to normal and resumed whistling. ...She had no idea what this man could do. She had a couple ideas for Lou and Cyber with what power they had demonstrated. Lou's plants were a key part of him and he seemed very calculating by his eyes. So did Cyber but they seemed to be calculating in different way. Lou was like a gambling man, watching his every move carefully. Mentally rolling the dice as it was, looking at all the choices and trying each one before going for the one that seemed to work. Cyber's way of calculating was...well like this computer thing Lou told her about. Calculating the most likely outcomes and going straight for it. There was no denying she was as much of a powerhouse as she was smart. But she literally knew nothing about this serpent other that he was apparently married to Midnight and a father. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking because he chuckled and gave her a quick side glance raising a brow. Similar to what Lou would do but coming from Disease it was much less threatening, maybe it was because she was taller than him? "Ssso, any specific reason you're going to a place like Bird Brains?" She blinked before looking down. "W-Well..I-It's not really to see Rita." Disease fully turned to her now, smiling widening a bit and senses all high for what she had to say now. Oh this was interesting. "I-....I w-was hoping to talk to one of her workers." His brow rose further and he hummed. "Which one? Dolly'ssss really nice. Just don't touch her or ol' Jaspy boy'sss bound bash ya sane...Not that Im speaking from experience." She chose to ignore that last bit, and what was the risk of telling? Would he tell Lou?...Most likely, Lou did NOT seem the slightest bit happy about her going at all. So with a breath she answered, "Someone who could possibly answer my questions. I can't not know the answers for m-my sake." Disease rose a brow and his sly mind revolved around that idea for a moment before shaking his head. Remembering Lou's orders to keep her away from people. Eh, the guy was always a spoil sport. "I wouldn't go too far if I were you. Clubs are hotspots for big bad people to come around and cause trouble. Better stick close in places like strip clubs if you don't wanna get caught.~" Her ears went back and she sighed. "Alright." Disease nodded. This job should be easy. "....Hey Disease. W-What's a strip club?" The snake stopped. Completely, utterly stopped. Just like someone paused a movie. His leg was still stuck out like he was about to take a step, tongue stuck out, and eyes wide with his frozen smile....And he slowly looked up to her. She stared down at him confused at his actions but he finally spoke. "...Heh. Well then. I guesss you'll be in for a shocking surprise, eh horn head?" To say she was shocked was an understantement. He was completely. Utterly. MORTIFED at what was presented before her. When they finally got to the Heaven in Hell Strip Club, Disease still hadn't said a word about anything and so when they slunk through a side way he 'just happened to know' instead of using the main entrance where a long line was, her ears were almost immediately blasted with loud obnoxious sounds, and when asked Disease simply told her it was the clubs music.....THAT WAS MUSIC???? The next thing was multicolored bright light that made her go blind for a second. But she wished she was still blinded as the sight that finally hit her was almost like a literally punch to the face. And her jaw dropped in horror at the scene before her. What she could only describe as ....VERY, very exotic dancers were entertaining many guests sipping multicolored drinks and at another part of the entire thing was a whole bunch of demons close together partying and....Was that dancing?! That could not have been dancing! Where was the jazz band and the fancy dresses and the tap dancing??...She wished she was still blinded and not staring at the horror in front of her. Disease didn't seem to mind one bit as his tongue flicked more as he oogled some of the women in the area. He could feel Midnight slapping him and the cute self concious and jealous pout on her face and he snickered. She was so cute like that. He turned back to the frozen look of horror on the women and grabbed her arm to start tugging her away, but she yanked her arm away from him in instinct. The contact finally bringing her back to her senses as she took one last look at the horror show in front of her and looked at him in question. He snickered and gestured around them. "What did ya expect?! Welcome to hell, Horn Head!!" ..Well, he had a point. She really shouldn't have expected anything less by now. But when he started moving from the upper level he was at, she followed closely behind. They were passed by other demons who wore clothes she wouldn't be caught dead in. Maybe a couple making out, the smell of alcohol and smoke attacking her senses to where she coughed and reached a hand to cover her mouth and nose from everything. Everything burnt and hurt her watering eyes and the spinning sights were starting to make her head hurt. How could anyone like this kind of place?! Disease however ever oblivious continued to lead her down the steps and his tongue flicked towards the bar and slitted eyes glancing over all the drinks being served by the bartender. Her eyes rolled, men. Typical- Her shoulder bumped against someone and for a moment she made eye contact with another demon. Red cherry skin and snow white hair staring back at her. "OMG! S-Sorry! I-I'm so sorry!!" She tucked her head down and quickly stepped down the stairs after the still walking away snake. Catching up to him just as he reached the bottom of the stairs and started making his way towards the bar counter. " I-Isn't it too early to be drinking anything?" He blew her off and still headed to the counter. "You kidding me? Cyber interrupted my drinking sssession so Im taking the time to finish it here. Relax your fuzzy face...And speakin' of fuzzy." His smile became sly as he leaned against the counter and rose a brow. " 'Ey, Dolly. How'sss it been, Sweetcheeks?" She blinked her purple eyes as one women standing by the bar turned around and immediately smiled seeing the snake man. "OMG!! Hello, Disease! I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight!" The gal looked...pretty cute. Her eyes big and giggles at seeing the snake like he was an old friend. Guess he really did sneak in here more than once. "You want the usually tonight?" He nodded. "Yeah. And maybe a burger or somethin'. Im starvin'." The lady giggled and nodded her head before bouncing off with a hum. Leaving her standing there with the snake who crawled into one of the barstools and ran his long tongue over his fangs as a bottle was placed in front of him. "HEL-LO beautiful.~" Amalfia rose a brow as Disease began chugging the bottle down like it was his last decent drink, before directing her eyes back to the giant mess of a laughing and rowdy crowd. "Uh...S-Shouldn't we be finding someone here? I-I still want to know something." He again blew her off and went back to looking into the inside of the bottle. "Even if you did ask nobody would care enough to listen anyways. Now stick close will ya? Placesss like this would eat your weak little heart out, Sugar." She scowled at his response. He didn't even look at her, and she wasn't about to even drink that toxic stuff. With a sigh, she coughed a few more times from smells and smokes, turning her eyes to the side. Her eyes almost didn't catch the flash of white within the tall crowd and she paused. She could barely see it, but there was a small flash of white making it's way across the very crowd and those purple eyes followed it until it vanished....Quickly he unleaned against the wall and gave a nervous look to Disease, who was still downing the bottle and not even looking anywhere in her direction. She hesitated. Should she go for it? What if she was wrong and she just got in a heap in trouble for nothing. ....But if she was right- It was decided then, with a hiss intake of air, she sucked it u[ and began pushing her way into the crowd. ...GOD!! It was worse than she thought!! Everyone kept shoving and pushing her, screams and laughs were thrown into her ears so much they retreated against her head and she groaned. Her mind partially blurred as her eyes looked everywhere for a flash of white. But it was hopeless, she couldn't see anything past the flashy lights and moving demons- Until she finally broke through the other side, almost colliding with the wall. Her body gasped as if she had burst from water instead of a small crowd and groaned. Coughing her lungs out once her eyes reopened...And wouldn't you know it, she saw white. Literally. From across from her was a giant white head with a purple strap and purple hat on it. And when the head turned around- She almost smiled from the relief and excitement she felt from seeing the grumpy face of the white skeleton. Charles was standing right across the room from her! Said skeleton was tapping his foot and looking at a clipboard in his hand with a scrutening look, it reminded her of the faces Midnight gave the few times she walked in on the woman looking through her spell books. But her excitement was short lived when he turned and began walking away, which made her body shift into gear and hurry after him. She almost lost him again too, hurrying through another small crowd and trying to keep her eyes on that flash on white. Luckily she glimpsed a small purple hat ducking through a small door in the back. Well of course she followed him right up to the door, and there wasn't anything stopping her from going in...Except for the Staff Only sign right above the door. That's what made her pause and stare dead at the white door in front of herself. Well this was just great! Now she had to wait around for him to come back out! Which could be bad. Someone could wonder why she was standing in front of the door for so long, or Disease could notice she was missing. He would probably make her leave and she wasn't leaving without having those darn answers!...Her sanity as she knew it was on the line, and the mere thought of being a prisoner again was starting become overwhelming and her stomach did a flip flop. That was NOT happening!! With one determined shove, the swinging door was pushed open and in she went without a second thought. The inside was...different from what she expected. It looked quite a lot like the staff's lounge back at the casino only much smaller and less fancy. A few couches, a mini fridge, other kitchen things, a television, and a few other relaxing things meant for the ones who worked the place. But her purple eyes laser focused onto the figure in the middle who was currently pouring himself a cup of coffee while grumbling that sounded like 'stupid creature', being sighing and bringing the piping hot liquid to his lips. She again hesitated. Here he was. Right in front of her, no one around to stop them. But considering she's basically trespassing and the fact he was clearly annoyed....This might not be the best time..She almost wussed out, until that thought of being trapped again crossed her mind..she was not going to back down and become someone's pet or plaything again! With a sharp intake- "C-Charles?" The skeleton jumped, and snapped his head to her. One eye widened in surprise. Clearly he wasn't expecting her to be there, some of the coffee spilling out of his cup and dripping down the sides of the mug he was holding. Both stared at each other for a few tense seconds before his surprised face turned into a scowl, "What are you doing back here?! Can't you read!!" "Y-Yes! But you don't understand. Im here because I need your h-help-" "Then you can wait outside just like everyone else!" The coffee mug was placed back onto the counter and he bagan marching towards her, making shooing motions with his hands. "Go on. Out, out, out!! You can make a complaint with me after my break!" "No, it's not about that!" "Then it can still wait u-" "IT'S ABOUT LOU!!" Her eyes slammed shut. Silence. She was expecting him to still kick her out. For hands to start shoving her back to the door...but nothing but silence greeted her ears. Ever so slowly, she reopened her eyes and blinked down to him. Charles was in a similar pose Disease was in when he froze. Only this time he wasn't all the way frozen and just blinking up at her. His arms still in that shooing position, but soon a scowl formed on his face and his arms were quick to go back to his sides. She could now tell this guy was suspicious by the way he was looking her over. "...And why would you want to ask me about him?," he asked crossing his arms. Well, that wasn't a no. But she had to word her next few words very carefully. "I-I..it's me." His brow rose. "W-W-We met a-at the dress shop? You were with...R-Rubix?" It was like a switch was flipped in his head turning on a lightbulb and his scowl became even more annoyed. He looked her over and finally seemed to recognize her from those months ago. ".....Yeah? Rita told me about how you're his...'lover' now" He made quotation movements with his hand and spat it out like it disgusted him. "What?! N-No! Nothing like that! W-We're not-...H-He's just courting me!" It didn't seem that made him even less impressed as he still scowled. "Well? Whatddya want? If you haven't notice I have a job to do and I don't wanna spend my break playing nursemaid to someone like you! Did he put you up to this?" "W-Wha- N-No! I came here be-because-..." She sighed and looked down, reaching up to rub her arm. SHould she really tell him her reasoning? Would he even tell her if she did tell him? He looked already suspicious and not willing to speak yet..well, she definately had nothing to lose. "I-...Need to know more about him. And you are the only one who knows about him enough to tell me what I want to know?...Please." A small silence followed...and she heard footsteps walking away from her. Those purple eyes blinked up and watched as Charles made his way back to the counter. Grabbing his coffee mug, before taking a giant swig of it. An almost calm look on his face as he sighed and looked up from it. The two stood there staring for a few moments. "You want to hear why I hate Lou to no end?" She nodded and he hummed, almost not beleiving her. "Im happy to tell but what do you get out of it?" ".....Im hoping to not get hurt. That's the most honest way I can word it." There was another pause before he huffed what sounded like a chuckle before looking at her. "You really serious about this?" She nodded and he hummed. "Alright. Since you're so willing to listen I will allow it." A huge wave of releif came over her and she let out a breath, watching as he walked over to a couch and sat down in it. Placing the mug back down and looking up to her with a serious face. "How much DO you know?" ....Shr shrugged. "Not much. Just vague details about his death, but Rita t-told me you two knew each other for a long time." He huffed again and she flinched. Placing the mug onto the coffee table rather roughly and staring at her. "Yes. Unfortunately we did. But beleive me if I had it my way, I would go back and time and strangle him until he wilted sooner." She blinked and remained silent so he continued. "You want to know who he was? To put it simply he was and always will be a slimey, rotten, manipulative b*st*rd who uses others for his own gain and never thinks twice about anyone but himself!..Maybe that metalheaded body guard being a slight acception, but that's besides the point." He pointed at her and her ears went back. "Even if he's telling the truth, I wouldn't trust ANYTHING that comes out of his cabbage patch mouth. He's the whole reason for what happened to me!!" "W-What happened? I don-" The coffee table shook when the smaller man slammed his hands down onto it. His one eye glowing with hatred and when he opened his mouth fangs appeared. "HE FUCKING KILLED ME!! YOU WANT TO REALLY KNOW WHY I HATE HIM SO MUCH!? IT'S BECAUSE THAT OVER GROWN F*CKING LEAF WAS THE DEATH OF ME AND NOW I GET TO SPEND THE REST OF ETERNITY KNOWING HE'S JUST UP THE ROAD AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF RUNNING INTO HIM TOO UNLESS ONE OF US ARE KILLED OFF AGAIN!! AND THIS TIME!! IT WON'T BE ME GOING UNDER FIRST!!" His chest heaved and it took a couple blinks for him to look back to her. The unicorn's body was like that of a scared hellhound. Leaning back with scared wide doe-eyes and looking like she'd bolt any second. His heaving slowly went down and he sighed, slowly letting his body drift back down into the comfy cushions of the couch and relaxing back. The embers of hate slowly burning out and his teeth going back to their normal state. He slowly lifted a hand to grab the cup and again brought it back to his mouth. "....That is what he was and that is what he WILL always be! Life, death, and in between." He took a sip and gave her a glance she couldn't quite understand. ".....Not to mention a womanizer. Men and women have been heartbroken by him but it comes at no surprise to me. That's how he is." She didn't answer right away. Just staring at him in absolutely horror at what she had said and her mind rushing trying to process this new information. She new he must've done something bad to end up here, but...he actually killed Charles. The skeleton demon looked too passionate about that to have been lying and so Lou.....But he hadn't even lifted a hand to anyone as far as she's been there. To her he was WAY more interested in collecting money(or whatever was counted as money down there) and playing his games. ..Or occupying his plants, she had no idea what his garden looked like. But the way she was staring at Charles...Well it certainly wasn't like the scowl he was giving her back, until he sighed again. "There you have it. All laid out. Whether you beleive me or not, I don't care, but don't blame me when something happens." ".....Im s-s-sorry." It came out just above a whisper, but it was still enough to get him to stop and snap his eye back up to her, blinking rapidly. "...What did you say?" She stood there staring at him with a blank but wide eyed face. "I-I...*inhale* I s-said. Im sorry. I don't think you deserved what happened to you...I r-really don't." He just stared at her. She was...apologizing? To him?! For something Lou did that she didn't even do?! ...He stared at her for a moment, but a little voice whispered: But Lou doesn't pick just any sideliner to just make googoo eyes over. Something must be horrific about her to earn her a spot on leafboy's arm. So he looked away with a scoff. "....You came and you got what you wanted. But I suggest if you don't want to end up like this-" He pointed a hand to the eye patch he wore."- I would advise you to get as far from him as possible...while you still can that is." She stood there but looked down again. "O-Oh. I see." An awkward silence filled the air and she took a shaky breath. She guessed it was time for her to go now. So she took a step to the door. "T-Thank you for your time. I-Im sorry to have bothered you, Charles." He still didn't look at her when she opened the door. "Just...don't say I didn't warn you. Good luck. Hell knows you'll need it." She didn't say anything else when she stumbled out the door, regaining her balance and taking a deep breath- Coughing from the smoke and alcohol smell. Well....She couldn't be too upset. That's what she told herself when she began making her way back to where she hoped Disease would still be, not pushing very hard or fast anymore since she wasn't in a hurry, but the sounds and lights didn't bug her much this time. She still coughed though. Her mind was almost a blank and everything was a blur around her as her mind still revolved around what just happened and mixed feelings were still revolving around her head...No wonder the two hated each other, but...She didn't know. Her head still couldn't make heads or tails of one thing. Lou...hadn't hurt anyone as far as she knew? Yes there WAS something definately behind those red eyes she should be worried about...But there WAS something else. She didn't know what but when he spoke she always felt like, he was telling the truth. Maybe not the whole truth all the time, but if there was one thing he always was it was honest. Since when was anyone honest with her? It was more than she could say for everyone else. And it's not like he could've wanted anything from her. What could she have had that made her even worth his time?...Which was a good question she still needed to answer. But for now, she had gotten most of what she needed to decide- Something grabbed and on instinct she whirled around and brought a hand up-....Only to stop when a hair of slitted snakes eyes and a frown stared up at her. "Didn't I tell you to ssstay with me?! Do you know how much trouble we both could've been in?" Her fear quickly went away and she sighed. "I-...Im sorry. I just...wanted to look around f-for..." "For Rita or someone." He narrowed his eyes flicking his tongue. "And DID you find someone?" "Yes." He blinked. Mildly surprised she wasn't trying to deny it like most people, but she frowned. "But I didn't find out anything I wanted to know." She wasn't lying. She wanted to hear good news. Maybe he got sent to hell for merely gambling or maybe something like that. She wanted to find that out. Not what she was told. Disease stared at her for a few more seconds. Tongue flicking out then back in...before he smiled in satisfaction. She wasn't lying. "That's the ssstuff I wanna here. Now you're coming back with me. And try not to wonder off like a lost sheep this time."

All characters except Amalfia belongs to @palettepainter

[venus-says]

Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Episodes 25-49 + Movie

So... this happened.

This second half of Yes! 5 was... boring.

Yeah, it had its moments, but overall? It was pretty lackluster. And, I know Yes isn't the most eventful season, as I mentioned on the first post, this is a character-focused show so the plot won't move much until it needs to, proof of that is the Pinky collecting thing that is never on the front seat and when we see it they are in the final 4 episodes and there's only one missing for them to complete the collection. The thing is that the characters part was pretty... problematic?

I don't know if it's because they knew a second season would be coming that they decided to go very light in character development in order to focus on something else, but this second half lacked a lot in this department. Again, they had great moments, Milk, Karen, and Rin probably got the best development out of the cast, but when we look at everything together we see that there were still things that lacked quite a bit.

Another thing that was weird was the timing for the villains, the pacing in which a new villain would come and an old one would go was very weird, there were villains we spent more time with than we should and there were villains that we didn't get enough time to leave an impression and you can say that the precure stuff is actually the less important part of Yes so this isn't that big of a deal, but it's still an element that is present so I think it's okay for me to complain about it. Also, I kinda dislike how they ended the villains, not the part of sealing Despariah and such, but they were going for a "let's talk our way out of this" approach and they were building up for a good moment but they brought Kawarino back for that moment and it kinda ruined it.

But the thing I hated the most, and that made it almost unbearable for me to watch in this second half, was the whole romance thing. Pick everything I said about it in the first post, multiply that for 10, and that's pretty much how I felt about it in this second half. On the first portion it was bad, but in the second half this gets horrible, they shove you the romance thing in the face in whatever opportunity they have and it's just hideous. They made an entire episode where the conflict was Nozomi being jealous of Coco. They had an episode about marriage and each girl fantasized about their wedding and in Nozomi's fantasy Coco was the freaking groom. Heck, they even made something romantic out of a ghost. This was gross, this is definitely the worst aspect of Yes, and because it was so present in this second half I've lost a lot of my interest for this season.

But not everything was worse, in comparison with the first half, the animation has gotten a lot better, there are still ugly drawings and clunky animation, but they improved a lot. Also, the action got better, the attack spam is still there, but they had more fights, they were more creative which made things more fun. Heck, they made Aqua joust with one of the villains in one episode and that was freaking cool. Also, I like that despite having a group attack they only use it to defeat the generals so it feels like something that is very powerful and special and I think this is something we've been missing in precure lately. So, as I said, not everything was worse.

I think that's all I have for general comments, let's jump down to the characters.

It was hard to follow Nozomi around, everything related to her character ended up being about Coco. She was there for her friends and everything, but still, every decision her character made was centered around Coco, even when she finally chose a dream to pursue, that dream was because of Coco, and it's sad that a character with so much potential was reduced to just a planet orbiting around this freaking mascot.

Rin was a bit complicated, I think they've picked the "precure of passion" thing a little too literal and almost all Rin focused episodes had a romantic thing involved. They never pair her with anyone, which is great, but is kinda sad her whole thing was just that, we didn't get to see her interact with her family, we didn't get to see her playing futsal, the bare development we got for her was while she was with Karen as they started to tighten their bond inside their friendly rivalry, which was awesome, don't get me wrong, but I wish she had gotten more. But I like that she decided to be an accessory/jewelry designer as her dream because it wasn't the most obvious path for her, or for a red cure for that matter.

Poor Urara got a bit faded, I can't remember much of what she has done in this latter half. She remains great and all, and she had a very sweet bonding episode with Komachi near the end, but other than that she didn't do much other than just tag along for most of these episodes. And that's pretty sad, in the first half she was my favorite character but after this part where her light was a bit dimmed I'm afraid she may have lost the position.

Komachi had a similar situation as Nozomi, a lot of what she has done had Nuts influence on it, but I think it worked better with her because her entire goal wasn't to get together with Nuts, it was more like he was always hanging around her rather than she pursuing her. It's still an awful relationship because it's an adult and a kid, and Nuts freaking sucks as a human, but it didn't offend me as much. Also, Komachi got to do more stuff that didn't necessarily have to be involved with Nuts, we got to see more of her friendship with Karen, she grown closer to Urara and now wants to write a play/script/story that she can act, and she got great interactions with Rin because the whole telling scary stories thing. So I think her deal was more balanced.

The best of this second half, at least to me, was Karen. She was freaking awesome, I like that they paired her with Milk, it seemed like a relationship that shouldn't work because I didn't see how they could bond, but it was great, and I like that was something that was escalating slowly and it reached its peak in the episode where Milk gets sick and Karen wants to take care of her. Karen and Rin were also great, as I mentioned. I wasn't really into their rivalry in the first half but they got to work it very well here in this portion of the series, it evolved from just a dumb thing to an "I have a strong personality, just like you, and I have this vision of world about something that I won't let go of it, but I respect you and I know how to hear you and comprehend you points", it's a simple but complex thing that worked very well and that I'm glad they went with this route for these two.

Milk was also a tricky character, she was unbearable whenever she interacted with Nozomi (though she had a few points some times), she was in the mix of fun and obnoxious whenever the thing was about Coco and Nuts, and she was absurdly cute when she and Karen tagged along, so her character was a bit of a roller-coaster. I think by now I like her because I understand she just wants to be useful to the people she likes and it's a feeling I can relate too, but I admit she has her problems and she can be a handful to deal with.

Coco and Nuts shouldn't exist, they don't have an arc, they don't have development, they don't have a purpose, they're there just to push this ridiculous romantic bullshit that we don't need. Heck, Masuko Mika did in a single episode more than these double-sided plushies did in 49 episodes and a movie, she grew, she developed, she was fun, we should've got more of her and less of them. Thinking about them makes me pissed, thinking about how they're basically two different persons in their fairies and human forms because they wanna hammer down the idea that they're attractive makes me want to jump in front of a truck. I freaking hate them. Sorry, not sorry.

I wanted to talk about the villains, but there's pretty much nothing to be said. Like, from Bunbees subordinates that remained, they were already doing extra hour at this point, Bunbee being relocated to a new section but with less power seemed like could be fun but they didn't do much with it, the new staff introduced could've been great, but they were around for such a short amount of time, I think Bloody had only 4? episode where he acted as the villain, that's less than Pissard and Karehan got and they were the level 1 bosses, it was pretty ridiculous. Kawarino was cool, I think he's very scary and very creepy, but they kinda ruined him when they gave him his monster form, that wasn't 50% as intimidating as "human" Kawarino was. And Despariah was a letdown, she seemed so powerful and menacing but then her wish was to be immortal because she wanted to be young forever? I know this could be their attempt to make an allegory to how beauty standards are very oppressive to women, but this was in 2007 and I don't know if they would do that so early on in the franchise.

I was going to wrap things up now, but I managed to watch the movie before the post went out even though I forgot to download it together with the episodes, so here are my thoughts in the movie.

The Mirror Kingdom's Miraculous Adventure!

This is going to be short, I promise. This movie was a mixed bag, I was entertained, but this could've been way better. The concept of the Dark Precure is great, and they look amazing, but I feel like they weren't used to their full potential, first because it takes quite sometime before the five of them attack, and also the fact they keep cutting the battles to show everyone else kinda weakens them because I couldn't really feel how menacing or how their psyche was. Shadow was pretty bland, and the movie fairies were also very whatever, but the plot was very decent if we ignore the miracle light portion. But the thing this movie does that I can't forgive them is that they give all cures a power-up but they don't fight in that form, they just perform their attack, and that was very anti-climatic, especially considering the action for this movie was quite good

Wrapping up, Yes! Pretty Cure 5 is a decent season, it tried to do something different and that's worthy of praise, sadly they took some dumb decisions about the things they wanted to work, It's fun and has good characters but the romance element ruins it a lot, It's probably my least favorite of the four seasons I've covered so far. Thankfully they have another season so they can pull a Max Heart and be incredible so I'm both hopeful and excited for starting GoGo in the next week. What are your thoughts about Yes! 5? Share them with me in the comments. Thank you so much for sticking with me and reading this insanely huge post, I really appreciate it. I'll see you all around. Bye-bye~

[minaminokyoko]

The Old Guard: A (Disappointed) Spoilertastic Review

I hate 2020.

For many reasons, of course, but there is this particular nastiness it seems to have, like it’s getting revenge on us for our past and current sins.

And the Old Guard feels like part of that revenge.

I haven’t read the graphic novel, so please understand the following review is based on the film alone. I was on board with getting to see my queen and girl crush Charlize Theron kick some ass and rock that bangin’ brunette pageboy haircut that only she can and yet what this movie gave me is a raging case of 2020. This concept isn’t anything new or original, but it should have been a walk in the park. It has solid actors and a simple premise.

So why was it total bullshit?

I’m so angry. I’ve said before how certain movies feel like someone had all the ingredients to make a hot, delicious pizza and yet when they combined them, they came up with Brussel sprouts somehow. This movie is a lazy mess. It has about a handful of decent moments, but overall, it’s negligent. It doesn’t care. It doesn’t care to show you its potential. It’s just a tired, by the numbers, dull action movie that’s wasting the talent that it managed to gather together. Maybe that’s why I’m so mad. It’s clear that this could have been fantastic, but the apathy in the writing turned into a grey, flavorless bore.

Sigh. Let’s swing the ax already and get this over with.

Overall Grade: C-/D+

Spoilers ahead.

Pros:

·         I signed on for Charlize Theron and at least I got what I wanted, which was her kicking ass but still giving us a few soft moments of vulnerability. This is why I will follow this woman to the grave. Charlize Theron is one of my favorite actresses because she’s so good at showing what women are capable of as characters. She has such a wide range of acting skills, giving us a cold, bitter woman but at the same time showing hints of inner kindness and strength and love. This movie barely has many redeeming qualities, but she’s by far one of the best parts. The movie knows it, as she is the only one we really get to “know” over the course of the film.

·         Joe and Nicky are the only other characters providing any warmth or emotion in the film. It’s badly needed. I was so let down that they didn’t show Nile’s introduction to the team because, to me, I got the sense that Joe and Nicky are the heart. They seem in touch with their emotions and not as cynical and hardened by their “immortality” as Andy. They seem to still care about helping people, even at the cost of themselves, and they could have been such a strong anchor if the movie invested more time in them. Both actors are solid and believable in the roles and it��s a pity they weren’t given more to do than to be the victims who needed rescuing.

·         The action, for the most part, is solid. It’s pretty average, though. Nothing surprising. It’s the moves you’ve seen if you watched John Wick or Atomic Blonde, so keep that in mind.

·         The effects are solid, particularly for their healing factor. It’s smooth and polished looking.

·         What little bits and pieces we see between teammates is likable. They seem genuinely fond and protective of each other and it’s not in focus enough, but when it is, it’s nice.

·         The soundtrack is pretty good.

Cons:

·         Lack of explanation. Look, I get it. You don’t want to load your entire movie up with exposition, but it’s very simple and easy to pace it out. You don’t have to dump it all in one spot, or if you do, then you can simply be strategic about it. Most good movies also know how and where to integrate the exposition and story into sequences where the characters are performing an action so that you don’t notice the exposition as you have something visual to distract you and keep your attention while you’re watching the movie. The Old Guard doesn’t care about all your questions. It just thinks you should accept whatever it jams down your throat, no matter how goddamn unbelievable it is. They explain so little of what’s going on to Nile that after the halfway point, you might as well throw up your arms and forget everything you wanted to know about the group. They answer nothing at all, yet expect Nile to throw in her lot with them for however long she’ll be alive. What’s frustrating is that you have solid actors who could pull off the emotional angles of the hard decisions they chose to make as semi-immortal beings. It pisses me off that they don’t explain anything because the motivations are what make us all care about the characters. For instance, why become soldiers? No one said they had to fight for humanity, especially since they JUST heal wounds. They aren’t super fast or super strong. They could have very easily simply acquired wealth over the centuries and used that wealth to invest in things that help people. Why do they have to be fighters? Oh, right, because it’s cooler.

·         Lazy writing. The number of plotholes in this thing, due in part to lack of explanation, is stunning. I mean, it’s just so goddamn fucking lazy. It doesn’t care about its own material. It just needs to get from Point A to Point B by taking the most shortcuts possible. I can’t handle how little the movie cares about its own content. I can go point by point for laziness. We can start with how no one wanted to ask Nile ANYTHING after she came back from the dead. They just got mad and scared, but they didn’t say anything when she was still on the military base. What the actual fuck is that? And they just left her alone afterward, expecting her to follow orders? Uh, that’s not how that works. Her friends would be asking her a billion questions and the medics would have asked her even more questions than that. She wouldn’t just be walking around of her own free will, especially not in this day and age where science is obsessed with figuring out the why of humanity. They’d have kept her locked up and started examining her the second she healed the neck wound. And that’s just right off the cuff. Don’t get me started on her five second “I don’t want to march in your parade” bullshit that is just so clearly the second act breakdown moment to have the hero come back and save them in the third act schtick. How is Nile somehow calling out Andy for killing those men in the church when she was LITERALLY a Marine, who is TRAINED TO KILL BAD PEOPLE???? That made NO sense. But again, this movie doesn’t care. It doesn’t care about fucking anything. Booker’s betrayal was painfully telegraphed and it was also another plothole, as Andy has been alive for thousands of years and would have felt that the weight of her gun would be off without its ammo. She also would’ve checked her rounds before going in hot. Then there’s even smaller details, like it being broad daylight when they’re brought into that lab and then they have a shootout but there’s NO ONE on the streets when they leave, but then they leave and THEN all the people magically reappear. Go fuck yourself. This movie is an insult to average intelligence. It just expects you to open up and swallow every bit of its bullshit over and over again, squandering its own potential. It’s so infuriating.

·         Cliché placeholder dialogue. The dialogue is so unimaginative that I’m pretty sure a bot wrote it. You can tell beat for beat what’s going to happen fifteen minutes before it happens on-screen. The movie really does not think much of its audience. It doesn’t have a unique take on pretty much anything at all, which is a crying shame, really. There are plenty of juicy angles for character and action that they could have gone for and didn’t.

·         Not enough time is spent getting to know anyone except for Andy, and even she is given drive-by characterization. Nile is a huge loss. As a black woman, I am always dying to see black women in science fiction/fantasy stories because there is a severe lack of representation. I was hoping Nile would get a bigger stake in everything, but she’s just a chess piece. The movie doesn’t delve into her life, her wants, her needs, basically anything at all. They mention her family repeatedly, but they don’t go into detail to make you care and understand what a loss it is to leave them behind. It’s especially shitty when her bonding with Booker could have been a great emotional moment. Their origins line up well. She could have had conversations with him, arguing that she should be allowed to tell her family or at least say goodbye, and Booker could share his own tragic backstory with her to explain why it’s better for them to remain solitary. Then his betrayal would have hit even harder. Then Nile would have felt personally betrayed. It’s so ridiculous that there is all this set up of pain and interesting backstories that the movie just flatout ignores. Especially Quynh. Quynh ’s story will haunt me for the rest of my days, personally, but even that was left as an untied thread. It’s clear from that pompous ending that there’s either already a sequel planned or in progress, but personally, this movie let me down so hard I hope it doesn’t happen. Not unless a much better filmmaker and writing team comes along. Quynh’s untied thread is a blatant show of how they still think they deserve your time after showing you how little they care about their own material. They introduced the idea and then abandoned it without fully exploring what it meant. It’s clear that her horrible fate is painful to them all, so not giving it the adequate time to be explored is just even more insulting to the audience.

·         Lack of imagination. For instance, we have some Mark Zuckerberg-looking villain spouting the same tired dialogue from the idiot villain in the Venom movie. There also is no creativity in the action. We could have done some fun things utilizing their healing factors during fight sequences, but there’s not much to them. Just standard punches and kicks and headshots. Then there’s the boring dead wife betrayer guy who is inexplicably left alive after accusing said cartoony villain of murdering them. He has ALL the information to take to the CIA or FBI or just ANYONE IN GENERAL IN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES and they just bop him on the head and leave him there??? This movie doesn’t have a single original thought. It’s just regurgitating other clichés from much better movies.

I wanted this to be good. I wanted a break from 2020, but it’s clear that this year is unprecedented in how terrible it can get and how it doesn’t want us to enjoy anything. I wish I didn’t have to say these things about this movie, but I do. I honestly don’t think it’s worth a watch and that people should avoid it. It’ll inevitably do well because people don’t have anything better to do, but that’s still a shame. I’m so disappointed in all its wasted potential and I always will be.

Kyo out.

[authorazumarill]

Speaking of Hardenshipping AUs how about a “Shape of Water” one ;) ?

Omg yes. It’s too perfect! One of my fave movies paired up with my fave ship? Yes please. I can see it as Maxie is a scientist working for Team Rocket. Some of the grunts, when searching for Pokemon that could be sold for high prices such as Milotic and shiny Clampearls and whatnot, found Archie and brought him in. Instead of rambling on and on, I think I’ll write a little instead! I can’t guarantee that this will be good, but I just wanted to write SOMETHING.

Maxie Matsubusa hated his job. He truly did. He knew that it was practically impossible to find an amazing job straight out of college. All he wanted was a decent pay and a job in which he could let his intellect do his speaking for him. The world was a cruel place for someone who couldn’t speak, after all, so Maxie had to find a way to adapt, improvise, and overcome. Maxie liked to think that his brilliant mind gave him an advantage over the rest of the general population. Actually, there wasn’t a “liked to think” about it. He knew that his brilliant mind gave him an advantage over everyone else. However, in this horrendous job market, Maxie would be grateful for anything that he landed.

He really should have thought about his standards a little more. An organization known as Team Rocket seemed to have emerged in Hoenn overnight. He didn’t know of them, but they knew of him. They wanted him, and the handful of recruiters that knocked on his apartment door made that very apparent. However, every time Maxie tried to research the organization, no results emerged. He questioned it, writing down his thoughts and slid it over to the recruiter, the answer he received was just as shady  as the organization. “We’re new and still trying to get our name out there,” she replied with a smile. “With you on our team, there is no doubt that Team Rocket will be a household name.”

Maxie still had his suspicions, but they pay was more than he could have hoped for. That pay, however, didn’t matter when he learned what exactly he would be doing. Everything that was assigned to him sounded strange and practically impossible. Find a way to evolve a newborn Feebas into a Milotic. Find a way to alter a Poochyena’s natural dark fur into a shiny, golden coat. The list of impossible demands were endless, but every time he attempted to express his concerns he would receive a “reminder” to not go against his bosses. Such reminders varied based on the mood his boss was in. Sometimes it would be a sharp smack across the cheek. Other times it would be a bite from an Arbok. No matter the “reminder,” Maxie didn’t want to deal with it. He wanted nothing more than to quit, but his bosses had made it very apparent that quitting wasn’t an option. Well, it was to a dead man.

The world was cruel and scary, but Team Rocket was much crueler and scarier. After months of dealing with such abuse, Maxie has learned to tone things out around him and simply try to conduct his work. The desperate mews from caged Skitties awaiting their deathbed just so Team Rocket could turn their tails and fur into profit were tuned out as he made his way to his lab each and every day.

Dragging himself into work proved to be interesting for once. The rut he was stuck in seemed to be the same day after day, but on this day there was some water thrown into his rut. The sleek tiled floor has splashes of water heading in the direction of his lab. He could only assume that the janitor really fucked up with his job this morning.

That didn’t seem to be the case.

After swiping his key card to enter his lab, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a few black clad grunts, white coated scientists, and a green haired executive all gathered around the tank where they kept the unfortunate water types. The water was murky, making it impossible to see what they all were looking at. The sound of the door opening had caught the executive’s attention. Proton turned around and gestured for Maxie to join him. Maxie obediently obliged, curiously looking at the tank himself.

“We got a little surprise for you and your crew, Maxie,” Proton explained. “We found this…thing when a few of the grunts went searching for Clampearl pearls. I’ve never seen a Pokemon like it. In fact, I don’t even think that it’s a Pokemon.”

As the executive talked, Maxie saw movement in the murky water but still couldn’t make out what was in it.

“That’s where you come in. I know you hold a special interest in mythology, so try and figure this one out. See what this thing is good for and let me know asap.” Proton patted Maxie on the back and ordered the grunts from his crew to follow him out.

That explanation wasn’t the least bit helpful, but Maxie knew better than to put up a fight. It was useless since the executive didn’t know an ounce of sign language and Maxie didn’t feel like wasting his notebook paper. The less he had to see his boss, the better.

With the crowd gone, Maxie examined the tank a little further. Now he could see a silhouette behind the glass. It looked human-like. Cautiously, he pressed his hand against the cool glass and quickly jumped back when he felt a thud come from the other side. For a brief moment he caught sight of the creature. It was very human-like. Digits similar fingers pressed up against the glass, but unlike human hands, they were webbed. Webbed and rather scaly. Scaly like the rest of its skin. Before it went back into the depth of the narrow tank, Maxie caught sight of what he assumed to be dark blue eyes.

Maxie didn’t know what this thing was. He didn’t even know why Proton had assigned this thing to him. He hated water creatures, but…he would be lying if he said that he weren’t intrigued.

And thus the research began. The research proved to be as fruitless as a harvest in winter due to the lack of mobility they had with the tank. Maxie could barely even see the creature half the time. He made a request to get a larger, more accessible tank, and to his surprise, his request was approved. They must have really wanted to get some use out of this creature if they were willing to put investments into it.

One day, his normal rut was interrupted again. This time, Proton stood in front of his laboratory door. “Well Maxie, since we like you enough, we were merciful enough to grant your wish. Follow me.”

Raising a curious brow, Maxie followed Proton down the hall into the restricted area labs. Labs where he always heard the most horrible of noises. Labs that he never wanted to step foot in. “Swipe your card,” he ordered once he stopped in front of one of the doors. “I want to make sure we gave your ID access to this one.”

Maxie nodded. He tucked his sacked lunch under his arm so he could grab his card and swipe it on the card pad, hearing the confirming click of the lock moving. Proton moved inside while Maxie followed behind, albeit a little hesitantly. The room was nothing worthwhile, but the treasure lied at the end of the room. A large tank sat there. The walls came up to around Maxie’s hip but something told him that it was deeper than it let on. Almost as if he were in a trance, Maxie walked past Proton and looked curiously over the water.

“I’ll leave you be,” said the executive. “The rest of your crew will arrive shortly.” With that being said, the man left.

The only sounds in the room came from the water running through the filter. He sat down everything in his arms on the cool tile floor and took a few cautious steps closer to the water. What in the world was he supposed to do? Rolling up the sleeves to his white lab coat, he patted the water before quickly pulling his hand back. Looks like stupid ideas really did produce stupid results.

He looked around the room for anything that could help him out. He wanted to see the creature, but he also wanted to be humane about it. No poking, no prodding, no stabbing. That knocked out literally everything in the room.

Everything except for a tasty lunch.

It was worth a shot, Maxie figured. He opened his sacked lunch and rummaged through the items in it. Since he didn’t know what the creature’s diet held other than fish Pokemon, Maxie figured his safest bet lied in berries. Fortunately, he had a plastic baggie of oran berries.

Figuring that it was best to start off small, Maxie placed a single berry on the edge of the tank before taking a step back, waiting with baited breath for the creature to make a move. Minutes ticked by and Maxie was beginning to believe it was hopeless, but finally, he watched as a head poked out from the surface of the water. The creature was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Blue, scaly skin covered his face and long, ragged fins were where its ears were supposed to be. On the middle of his face was a faded scar in the shape of an “X”. For such a fish like creature, the fact it had a head of hair as well as what looked like a beard completely threw Maxie off. He had only assumed the murky water of its previous tank was playing tricks on him. The creature looked at the berry before catching sight of Maxie. It grabbed the berry before sinking back down into the water.

It was hard to say what kind of hell the creature has been through within the past few weeks. Maxie always tried to keep it well taken care of in his care, but he couldn’t say the same for his co-workers. Taking another step toward the tank, he left another berry on the side of the tank and backed away. After another few minutes, the creature emerged, took the berry, and sank back down into the safety of the water.

Maxie repeated this process, noting that after the fifth round the creature didn’t immediately sink back into the water. Instead, there was a moment where the creature simply looked at him with curiosity before sinking back down into the water. Those moments became longer and longer, but every time Maxie tried to take a step further, the creature would hide away.

Finally, after placing the last berry on the side of the tank, Maxie didn’t back away. Instead, he leaned against the cool metal, waiting for the creature to emerge. Without being a disappointment, the creature poked his head out from the depths of the water and stared at Maxie. It was hesitant, but it slowly scooted closer and closer to the edge of the tank.

Maxie could feel his heart pound frantically against his chest. There was a very high possibility of the creature attacking him, pulling him down into the depths of the water just to turn him into a meal.

But it didn’t. It took the berry and plopped it into its mouth, revealing overly sharp teeth. Instead of sinking back down, the creature swam closer to Maxie. It took every ounce of self control to not instinctively back away. This wasn’t a Pokemon. It couldn’t be. It was something else. Something more unique.

Something Team Rocket was desperate to either sell or abuse.

Looking into those dark blue eyes, surrounded by inky darkness instead of white like a human’s, Maxie did see some humanity in there.

Human or not, Maxie had has it with Team Rocket’s shit.

The door opened again and the creature sank back into the sanctuary of the water. Instead of turning his head to see who had arrived, Maxie stared at the water, longing for the creature to come back.

This was one creature that he refused to let Team Rocket to torture, he decided.

They both were going to escape. They were going to escape and rid themselves from Team Rocket.

[roundtableknight]

Morning after ‘The Outsiders’

In which Reagan never interrupted that precious scene of Cath and Levi after they finished ‘The Outsiders’  before Levi had to screw everything up in the next chapter. This may be horrible, and I suck at Levi’s personality, because I’m not a bubbly person, and also some parts (like Wren talking in her sleep) I made up because not that much info is given to us, but enjoy!

Also this is starting from a scene in ‘Fangirl’, and all characters are of course from the lovely Rainbow Rowell!

                                                   ~

Cath had been in quite a few precarious positions waking up into during her short duration of life she had been allowed so far. You don’t get normal mornings living with a twin sister who tends to be so outgoing, she transfers that energy into her sleep.

    By talking in her sleep.

Or having a father, one who you so love but desperately wish would go to sleep rather than stay up during the night and question if one could put a fireman’s pole through you and your twins room in order for a quicker way to the bathroom. 

    All in the name of efficiency.

This was how it had been for too many years to count, since Cath’s mother walked out on them when they were merely eight, because she quote, ‘Needed to figure things out’ and didn’t know how to be a mother. Cath thought that was a load of rubbish. What mother has twins, surrounds them with love, (not as much as their father) and then just decides that she’s had enough when their in third grade, when they needed a motherly figure then more than ever to lean on.  

    Cath was still angry at her sister Wren for speaking to their mother again, but that isn’t why she woke up.

If you asked Cath, she would probably recall the last things before she went to bed that night in her shared dorm with Reagan would go along the lines of something like this;

    Brushing her teeth earlier that night, so not to disturb herself while writing.

    Eating a Blueberry bliss energy bar because she was hungry gosh darn it.

    Getting a decent amount of Baz and Simon fanfic written since they were getting to the good part (all the parts were good to Cath, but some were just a notch or two higher than others).

    Falling asleep writing said Baz and Simon fanfic because everyone knows a laptop keyboard is as comfortable as a pillow (well maybe a wooden one, or one with all those weird feathers in it that people slept on during the 1900s.)

    This routine to Cath was becoming as normal as waking up to Wren talking about her latest boyfriend that she getting ready to dump (Alex, or Alfred?) in her sleep. Not that anyone could take her sister’s place. Reagan was barely in the room to count as a roommate, and when she was asleep she was practically a rock, making no noise until she woke up, and then the dam broke (not a literal dam, though with how hard she opened their door, Cath wouldn’t be surprised to hear about one breaking down from the shockwaves).

    So the fact that she not only heard someone in their room, but that said person was currently encompassing her in their arm, she was a little more than surprised, and also to be completely honest, freaked out. 

    It’s okay, calm down, just...recite the facts of last night, then if they lead to something disastrous I have permission to freak out.

     Cath thought this was a good plan, since she usually freaked out in her head, and no one seemed to notice, well, except Wren, but she wasn’t here at the moment, and they weren’t on speaking terms since she didn’t come back for Thanksgiving, but instead staying the day with Wren’s backstabbing mom. Their mom in reality, but Cath didn’t like to think of her like that, she didn’t deserve the title of it.��

    She lost that when she never came back. 

Inhaling a scent different from her own, one of cigars and a hint of coffee, brought her back to reality, and resumed the pounding in her chest and tingling in her limbs from being caught up in someone else’s body parts during the night. 

    Oh god, thought Cath, trying to remember the night before. She had a hint of Gingerbread Mocha in the back of her mouth, and a Blueberry Bliss Energy Bar flavour on the tip of her tongue. 

    That can’t be right, I haven’t had one of those since before Thanksgiving, Levi ate them all. 

    Levi.

    Oh god.

Cath immediately remembers the late night session of ‘The Outsiders’ that Cath read to Levi as a thank you for… well, everything he’s done. And also because Reagan was out again partying, and forgot she promised Levi the study session so he wouldn’t fail his Lit. Class exam on the book. Cath thought maybe Levi was dyslexia, but didn’t they get diagnosed before the age of College? Cath didn’t know, and she did care, but two things popped into her mind before that strand of thought could harbor any more room in her mind. 

    Levi is in my bed.

    I’m sleeping with Reagan’s maybe boyfriend.

    Reagan could come home at any time,

    Shit.

Okay, make that three thoughts. 

    The last two were obvious encouragement to what she was supposed to do, which was to get out of the bed, her bed, and wake up Levi. Or maybe she could just leave him here and go get a coffee at Starbucks and come back feigning that nothing happened, because nothing did happen. 

     But there were two things wrong with that statement. 

One, Levi made the best Mochas and nothing would compete, so it would be an utter waste of money to spend. And two, something did happen. 

    We kissed.

Cath remembers it now. It’s funny how the human brain works. When we want don’t want to remember something incredibly painful or not possible, it tends to block out said memory, but one thing about memories were that they connected to other memories, and unless she wanted to forget the whole last night, she was stuck with the memory. 

But to be completely honest, Cath quite liked the memory.

Cath remembered the way Levi had hooked her to his side as she read ‘The Outsiders’ to him, and how her drowsy and impaired mind (she blamed it on the mocha) attached all her thoughts not to the book, which wasn’t half bad, but to the feel of Levi’s flannel against her skin, or the passing look of seeing his lips before she quickly looked up to see if he was still awake, which he was. 

    Watching her with his startling blue eyes. 

Now in the morning, Cath had to be reasonable with herself. Which she did sometimes, once or twice. 

    A day.

Look, he probably thought I was Reagan. Or remember that the first time he saw Wren he said with complete factuality that she was the hotter twin, and that was just by a passing glance. I’m just a quick kiss. Okay, yeah, quick. Kiss.

    But Cath realized she didn’t want to be a quick anything. She deserved way more than that. She wrote dozens of Baz and Simon scenes of their love, wasn’t it time for her to get something like that? A love that isn’t fictional and based on a wizard and (presumably) a  vampire. 

    Cath like the idea of sharing these stories with Levi. He seemed to enjoy them (at least tolerate them) and he always had his opinions and questions on them, which Cath actually liked to answer. It wasn’t everyday you met someone who hasn’t read Simon Snow (because watching the movies don’t count).

    But she also had to admit one fatal flaw in her plan, she hasn’t even asked Levi if he liked her the way she did, and also Reagan.

    Shit.

Cath heard the intake of breath, well, deeper breath, and felt Levi move. Now was the time. Was he going to slowly take his arm that he had encompassing her back and leave without so much as a glance, or was something else going to happen, something more magical. 

    Cath didn’t know what was going to be scarier. 

But what Cath didn’t think of was Levi kissing her on the top of her head, and pulling her closer to him.

    Oh Shit, Oh Shit, Oh Shit

She was completely and utterly screwed. 

    Though at that moment she didn’t know exactly why. There was no menace to the name Reagan, or thought of impending doom if she missed her morning classes. No.

    All she could think of was the way he kissed her on the head, with that small but cute mouth of his, the one hours earlier she was questioning if he could easily eat an apple with. The one that caused her whole body to go flush and red just by that little move. 

    She felt more than saw (because her head was still by/on his chest persay, and couldn’t see him) him smile. The muscles coordinating it gave him away like a whale breaching the water for all to see, it was very obvious. 

    Cath looked up, and got a bruise on her forehead. 

    Holding her head, she reopened her eyes and saw Levi, looking a little less beaten and smiling quite a bit more than her, more than anyone really, at her as she felt around her skull for adjustments to her temple area. 

    “Ouch” Cath said, and mentally scolded herself.

‘The first thing I have to say after we slept together, well...not like that.’

    “Sorry, I didn’t know you were awake.” Levi said, putting his one hand on the bruising temple as Cath brought her hand back down. 

    “It’s fine, just if I was sleeping, why were you tilted downward, since I did not hit your chin. The area I hit was definitely smoother.”

    “Ah, so are you a chin expert as well as a Simon Snow lover?” Levi asked with a smile on his face, a continuing smile. 

    “Of course, one must be knowledgeable in all types of things.” Cath waved her arms vaguely around to show all the types of things. 

    Also, Cath wanted to point out that they were still laying together.

    On her bed. 

    Oh Shit?

“So are their any other area of the body that you and that brain have been studying?” Levi shifted, but still kept one arm under her around the waist while the other was free, watching her contemplate the question. 

    She had, and the answer didn’t need verbal response. She turned red. Again. 

“I’m going to deny all wrongdoing to the court.” Cath mumbled and she shielded her face from Levi, instead putting it against her pillow, but he had already seen her face, and had started to giggle, giggle and not chuckle. 

    Cath felt him stretch again and reach for his phone. 

“Oh.”

“What?” Cath said, a little more nervous than she was before. Not knowing what Levi had seen on his phone. Had Reagan walked in on them and saw the precarious position they were in, and had left fuming and given a threat to Levi that whatever they had was over, done with?

    Cath also realized that she picked a good major to go into, since it seemed she was always so dramatic.

    “I’m an hour late to work, I better go before the customers start to get angry that no one knows their order.” Levi untangled their limbs (which caused Cath to finally be able to feel hers again) and rose from the bed. Grabbing the empty Starbucks cups, he maneuvered between her and Reagan’s bed (Cath had a conspiracy that their room was just a walk in closet converted over to a dorm room, but that’s for a different discussion) and brought them over to the trash by the door to be thrown out. 

    Cath really didn’t know what to do in a position like this. Did she start to say goodbye to him? Tell him that she had a nice time reading (and the things that came with it)? She didn’t know, but what she did know was that he was opening the door to leave, and they barely had a civil conversation, and that was only about various studying of body parts. 

    Wait, reading!

“Levi, you forgot your book!” Cath said as she starts to fumble around the bedsheets, and finally produces the same copy (albeit a little dented) of ‘The Outsiders’ that she read him the night before. 

    “You might need this to study from for the exam.” Cath got up, saw her shirt was riding up a little too high, and fixed it. She continued her trek to Levi when he held up a hand for her to stop. 

    “I don’t need it.” He said, smiling at her again like she just said something funny.

 Did I say something funny? Did I look funny fixing my shirt?

     “Well, I might be a good reader, but even I can’t remember everything in this book, and we just read it last night.” Cath was really grasping for straws here, or needles, but straws hurt less. She started to recite what she had done ever since she woke up, and didn’t find any (too) mortifying as why Levi stopped her going to him.  

    Why doesn’t he want his book?

Would it bring back painful memories of last night, of them together. Him (maybe?) cheating on Reagan with her, but they just kissed. And tangled limbs. Did he not like her, and given her that kiss in the head as a friendly gesture, but then why did he watch her sleep?

    Sometimes boys are so confusing. 

“I don’t need it.” Levi says, sounding like he’s been saying this for awhile but Cath hadn’t heard him at all.

    “Why not?” She questioned, she wanted to get to the bottom of this before heading off to her classes, so her head wouldn’t be stuck in the clouds (well any more stuck than usual).

    “Because I’m going to work and I don’t think my coworkers will want me to be reciting ‘Stay Golden, Ponyboy’ to them.” He looked at her however like that would be a fun endeavour, and told herself to warn Levi’s coworkers about him and classic novels. 

    “So what do you want me to do with it.”

    “Keep it”

    “Really, why?” She figured this was the question to get the answer they had both been swimming around for the last two pages, oops, last two minutes. 

    “Because then I have a reason to come see you again, not that I need a reason.” 

Cath starts to speak out of habit from this conversation, then realizes what he means, and starts to go red for the third time that morning. Cath think she broke her record. 

    “Oh, Okay.” Cath looked down at her socks that she left on from the night before (with ‘Carry On, Simon’ on the tops of them. A gift from Wren for her birthday one year).

    She realized Levi had said something. Again. And that she had missed it. Again. 

“What did you say?” She asked as he was about to shut the door, about to end the conversation, one of her favorites to date. 

    “I said six o’clock I’ll be done at work.” Levi said, moving his blond hair back from where it fell in front of his face to look at her. A face full of cute eyes and lips. Oh boy. 

“Great” Cath replied.

“Oh, and also expect the best Gingerbread Mocha to date.” He said, and shut the door, but not before seeing his smile, and heard him walking down the hallway. 

“Even better.” Cath replied to no one in particular, but maybe to the Baz cutout that was currently peeking out from her closet area. 

    ~

And that’s all she wrote folks!

 -Also are Simon Snow Socks available? Because I need so badly!! I also figured out that writing scenes in a characters mind is my favorite, because the two talking isn’t my cup of tea!

[tumblunni]

Hhhh bunni legs pain accomplishment day

I HAVE FINISHED THE SHOPPING OF HELL

Tfw u only get paid 4 days before christmas and have to rush everything aaaa

It was bad enough today so i'm so glad i got it done before it got even more busy!

Misc boring essentials i bought for myself: new phone charger cos broken, new trousers cos i spilt hair bleach on my only two pairs, new shoes cos my left shoe literally snapped in half down the middle like wtf even happened there, cheap pink hair dye from a discount store cos i wanna try different colours but in a thrifty way

Now for EXCITING CHRISTMAS PRESENT TIME!!!!

First off SO MANY pc and xbox 360 games from Every Charity Shop In Cardiff, St Mellons, Rumney and Llanrumney. My sis has been trying to find some games to play but was like 'dont worry about it i can just wait til the charity shop gets something good'. So i thought i'd get some stocking stuffers via all the charity shops on my side of town. By our powers combined we will blitz the entire vale of glamorgan's discount gaming scene!!! I found SO MANY good stuff for £1/£2/£3 like holy shit i love when charity shops dont know the proper price for shit XD

speaking of which i also found a WEBCAM for £2! If its that cheap it probanly isnt great but itd still be fun to play around with! :D and the same store also had an old vintage G1 My Little Pony coffee mug in excellent condition. Oh god the nostalgia! My support worker gave me a lift to llanrumney so i had to awkwardly explain why i had an armful of weird 80s mugs and big teary eyes!

Speaking of vintage, i found this new vintage toys and games shop in cardiff called Galactic Attic! The name hooked me in and then they actually DID have pokemon inside! As well as all sorts of stuff ranging from 40s to 90s, wow! There was even a lil pile of old 90s gaming magazines in the corner, covered up by a bunch of boxes. I'm glad i noticed them! I got the announcemt issues for pokemon diamond pearl and platinum in a weird old pokemon fan magazine that i loved as a kid. Im kinda sad that nowadays we just have one official magazine fpr each console and not the wild madness of amateaur journalists failing horribly to get news from japan. Shame they didnt have Beckett Pokemon cos that one was infamous fot drawing its own terrible interpretations of pokemon sprites to avoid copyright. And speaking of terrible, they even had bootleg pokemon!! I talked to the cashier and he was like "you know those are fake right" and i was like "yeah its so nostalgic thats why i want em" and he was like "lol yeah they actually sell pretty well so i'm not mad my supplier ripped me off". It was a pretty good and awesomely terrible fake at the same time? There was this exact replica of some japanese display stand for the product and then the actual pokeball toys looked perfect BUT the mini pokemon inside were.. Really not. I am so damn happy with the surprise inside my one, surprise inside has never been more accurate! I can't take a picture now cos my phone is charging but REGICHEETO. Just..just imagine that, and whatever you're imagining it is probably worse. I love it so fuckin much. Also less hilariously there were some bootleg mini pika plushies with actually (as far as i can tell) their own unique design? They have cute lil winter scarves and an art style that reminds me of the Magical Pokemon Adventure manga. A really cute and good bootleg that i would have loved to see as a real product! The only way you can even tell its a bootleg is because there's no marking on the tail. I dunno, maybe if i still have some brown fabric in the cupboard i could fix it? Or maybe its unique tail makes it even more special! I mean there's Cosplay Pikachu with its double tail marking so maybe this is her cousin Accessory Pikachu with no markings? He just likes wearing scarfs and hats and stuff. OMG HE'S THE POKEMON GO EVENT PIKACHU!!!!!!

Along the miscness of finding a few things for myself, i also found: cute lil pokemon pencilcase, kingdom hearts blind bag, cheap copy of Fruits Basket volume 1 cos the new remake is coming out soon and i wanna Get Hype! The KH blind bag was really weird cos i didnt know they now have an entirely different set as well as the keychains i bought before. Its kind of a shame the art style doesnt match cos vexen is only in the keychains, alas! But i do really love these ones! Theyre apparantly made by funko pop but dont have the art style AT ALL, they just look like really accurate versions of the characters in mini form. Its kinda like the 'distance animation' style in steven universe? (Incidentally they also do SU ones but they missed the opportunitu to actually use the distance style, lol) I got a Sora in his kh2 outfit and i'm decently happy with that, its not one i really wanted but its not a bad one either. But i think now i've tried the fun of surprise once i'll just buy the actual ones i want off ebay later. They have roxas in his organization outfit! With a happy smile!!!

Oh oh and then EVEN MORE XBOX GAMES OF THE WILD THRIFT STORE VOID! i managed to find the whole fable series, two assassins creeds, saints row, gta, some misc shooter games and racers that she wanted but i dont know much about, mass effect 2 and ff13. I think maybe one or two others cos i cant fully remember right now. Theyre all in separate bags strewn across the room and my shoulders feel like death so i'll sort through them later.

Aaaand i wrote up like 14 paragraphs more but tumblr didnt save my draft fpr some fuckin reason and now im way too tired to do it again

Briefer summary:

* had a huge horrible panic attack getting stuck in a skyscraper shopping centre clothes place full of screaming and every perfume smell and WHY DO I HAVE TO NAVIGATE THIS HELL MAZE TO FIND THE ESCALATOR and seriously i was my most primal animalistic self and i went full fight or flight on this bitch

* had a lovely time visiting Cool Shop Grandma and rambled the story of how i met her and how we became friends but hhh too tired to rewrite. But anyway today i gave her a christmas pikachu plush as thanks for everything and cos her shop is moving on to its next location soon. She got really teary and gave me a big hug! She's gonna be at a comic con in march so i hope i'm able to go to that and see her again.

* went on a wild goose chase looking for harry potter merchandise and eventually found a gold plated replica of the movie prop version of the time turner and HELL YES my sis will love it!

* rambled about several market stalls that were cool but i can make a separate post about that in the morning when i find their contact details to advertise them

* got a plushie delibird and decided to take selfies with it everywhere to try and fight my social anxiety somehow. We went to a neat lil restaurant and had cheesy fries and a coke float!

* asked for a refund on an item for the first time ever and im proud of myself

* went off on a mystery bus trip to buy a preowned 3ds and pokemon games from a lady in an online preowned stuff facebook group and it didnt go horribly and i am glad! She was really nice and i witnessed A Good And Smart Parenting Moment and man it healed my heart and i wish i'd been raised that way. Again i'll probably ramble about the details later when im less tired, it really touched my heart seriously! And now i have MANY GIFTS FOR SIS!

* in total i was out present shopping from 9am to 8pm and i clicked my shoulder out of its socket for a split second from.all the heavy bags. Now im in a lot of aches and i need a sleeps

The End

[alteridolriley]

Totally Illogical

So… I saw (and read!) so many simple one-shots with the prompt from @logically-asexual (this post here) in which Virgil has to be comforted after watching Roman ‘die’ on stage at a production. While I can see (and absolutely adore) this relationship here, my mind kept telling me something.

What about Mr. Literal? The one who takes everything super seriously? What about…Logan?

Basically this is me saying “I see your Prinxiety and raise you Logince.”

Please enjoy~

Word Count: 2,295 Fandom/Pairing: Sanders Sides // Logince Tag List: @availe, @anxious-patton, @introverts-assemble, @pattonspuns (This is my general tag list, not for my other fic The Corruption of Creativity - let me know if you like to be added or removed to this list!)

Logan had so many things he’d rather be doing at the moment.

Thomas’s schedule for the following month still needed to be ironed out completely as well as sorting some of the newly found knowledge that was flowing in at a decent rate, thanks to the new astronomy class Thomas had been taking.

But no, Logan was currently being dragged by the arm into a theatre. Patton wore a big smile on his face as he looked around the building – even Logan had to admit how amazing it looked. When Roman went all out in his room, he left no stone unturned. The theatre was something out of a movie that took place in the 1950s: large lights flashing everywhere, gold and red trimmings around all of the entrances and so… many… people.

Roman didn’t hesitate to add so many humans into this part of his world. So many discussions, pushing and shoving. As the romantic and fanciful side, the prince did nothing half way. Logan felt like he was actually in the real world with Thomas, not in the mindscape. It was pretty intimidating and part of him felt actually happy that Virgil had been called to assist Thomas with something. This would’ve been pretty overwhelming for him.

“I’m so happy Roman decided to invite us to see this!” Patton squealed as the pair found their reserved seats towards the front of the theatre. “I can’t wait to watch him perform.”

Logan shrugged, taking his seat. “I’m not sure. There’s only so much of this professional make-believe I can stomach at once.”

Patton frowned, and lowered his gaze to the logical trait. “Oh come on Logan… lighten up a bit! I know it’s not your “thing” but just enjoy it for Roman. He’s been working on this for so long, you know?”

That was fair to say. Roman had been planning this performance for weeks. He had rattled off a lot of information just a few nights before at dinner, but Logan had kind of blocked him out. It wasn’t on purpose of course; his mind was just preoccupied with more… concerning issues.

Abruptly, the lights dimmed and a single person walked up onto the stage in front of the closed curtains and began to speak. They told of a prince, who abandoned his kingdom, to save his subjects from his own father. To do so, he had to traverse mountains, valleys, and many more obstacles to gain a mystical staff to overpower and take down his family. A typical story of a hero, Logan noted.

The introduction ended and the curtain parted, showing the stage as well as Roman in a prince garb more suited to a Disney prince than what he normally wore, which was surprising.

As the story passed, Logan found himself oddly immersed. Normally he would critique the obnoxious acting and over usage of dramatic effects, but Roman was… pretty amazing. Logan hadn’t ever really considered how talented and how 'at home’ Roman was on stage. The words flowed from him with such conviction, as if he really was a prince trying to save his homeland. His emotions were very genuine. The prince had also chosen the seats for Patton and Logan well; the logical trait had a full unobstructed view of the stage which only helped cement how real it seemed.

About halfway through the play, the King appeared on top of a tall mountain, giving him a very authoritative vibe. His sneer down at the audience was dark and Logan couldn’t lie that he felt a shiver go down his spine.Why did this feel so unnecessarily real? It was a play. Just a play.

“That son of mine… how dare he do this?!” the King snarled, throwing his cape around his shoulder. “I will not tolerate any kind of disobedience! Servant, come!”

A very meek young boy came running up to him looking even smaller than he actually was just because of how large of a person the King was. “Yes-Yes sir?” He asked.

“It’s time for my son to learn his place in the world. It is time for the poison.” the King said darkly. “Ricin is more than suitable for him – a miserable death for a miserable boy.”

Ricin?

It’s now time for the impossible to occur. Logan thought, crossing his arms and legs.

Up until that point Logan had been able to look past the stage and actually into the story but now his logical reasoning was taking hold in his mind. Ricin was a very dangerous poison for sure, however there was no way everything after this could be anywhere near realistic, especially with the amount of time it took for Ricin poison to take affect. Logan couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed – even though he preferred realism, sometimes just a bit of fantasy was okay. He’d never let Roman know that fact.

The play continued to its climax, the meek boy from earlier meeting up with Roman’s character and befriending him. As the play continued, Logan paid a bit more attention to Roman.

It was strange.

Roman’s acting was impeccable for sure, but there was something else. His skin had started to take on a bluish tint, but he hadn’t even left the stage once in nearly 45 minutes. Beads of sweat had begun to appear on his forehead, and his breathing was extremely labored, his voice taking on a breathy tone. None of the other characters seemed to notice.

Logan felt his heart skip a beat and he gripped his own arms tightly.

What if, because Roman is such a 'extra’ person, he actually created the poison? What if he was putting himself in harm’s way for accuracy?

The play continued on as the Prince arrived back to his kingdom with the staff needed to slay his father and save his people. His skin was even bluer at this point, Logan noted, and Roman still hadn’t left the stage. It couldn’t have been makeup – when could it have possibly been applied? Logan abruptly realized that he was sitting on the edge of his seat, his left leg bouncing wildly.

“My son! How are you planning on getting rid of me…” the King taunted. “…in your current state…?”

The prince looked at his hands and arms, and scoffed, a smile appearing on his face as a bead of sweat fell down his cheek. “…you think I don’t know you’ve poisoned me?” The king’s face fell; his eyes narrowed. “Father, I know you’ve been trying to get rid of me ever since I’ve started this journey and I don’t have much time left….”

Logan’s eyes widened. He could actually see Roman’s skin getting bluer with his own eyes. You stupid illogical fool… you actually did this, didn’t you? His mind began to race.

“This staff will speed up time! It will cause you to age and you will die!” The prince shouted, pointing the staff at his father. “…in doing so, the poison will spread through my body faster and I will die as well! But this world will finally be free from your tyranny!”

Suddenly an abrupt wind took hold of the stage and a blinding light came from the staff head, enveloping the king in a red glow. Logan raised his fingers to his mouth – the king’s skin was aging right in front of his eyes. Wrinkles appeared and the skin began to sag horribly as age took hold. The king screamed, his agony echoing throughout the theatre.

How is this real? What is going on? Logan thought as the king character disappeared behind a very tall mountain towards the back of the stage.

The prince dropped the staff and it clattered loudly, bringing everyone’s attention to him. His skin was nearly completely blue at this point. Roman walked towards the mountain, his legs wobbly. He coughed into his hands, the force shaking his entire body. Blood and mucus covered him but the prince seemed none too worried. His face was pained but he wore a smile across his face. Roman turned to the audience.

“My kingdom… will be safe. They will prosper…” he trailed off. His right hand gripped his chest as his left hand covered his mouth as he coughed more blood. “…I am…happy.”

Suddenly his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, collapsing completely onto his chest. His hand was outstretched towards…Logan.

Logan met gazes with Roman as the prince’s eyes glossed over. The music that had been playing in the background swelled as the curtain began to close. The audience began to applaud loudly as the music came to an end. Logan felt everyone around him stand to continue clapping at the amazing performance they all just saw, Patton included.

The logical trait looked at his hands and all he could see was Roman’s last expression before the curtain closed. He tried to reason with himself – it was a play… it was just professional make-believe. The blue skin was makeup (but it had appeared without anyone applying it) the sweat was just water (but where had it come from) the blood and mucus was just more makeup (but it had been coughed up on the spot… the iron smell could not be ignored).

“Logan!”

He jerked his head at the sound of his name, turning towards the source: Patton.

“Hey… are you okay?” Patton questioned, his eyes full of concern. “…Logan… are you…” The moral side sat back down in his seat, reaching his hand out towards Logan. “… are you crying?”

Logan immediately shook his head in denial but instantly felt a small drop roll down his face.

Why am I crying?

What is this burning in my chest?

What is happening?

Why…?

This is… totally illogical.

“Oh my…” Patton put his hand onto Logan’s which was on his still bouncing knee. “…was that a bit much for you? I have to admit Roman did a fantastic job with this performance. I was really impressed by our creative kiddo!” Patton said with a smile.

Logan just stared at the floor, Patton’s words helping to ground him.

“Patton! Logan!”

Both men turned towards the left side of the stage to see Roman jogging towards them. Logan realized at that moment that the entire theatre was empty save for the three of them. The creative side jumped down from the stage to the floor to their seats in the second row.

Roman wore a huge smile across his face, the beads of sweat still on his forehead and the bluish tint to his skin still there. The closer he got.. the faker it looked. Logan stood along with Patton as Roman stopped in front of them. He pushed his hand through his bangs to get them out of his eyes.

“So… did you like it?” Roman asked eagerly, his voice still breathy. “I went with a more dramatic story this time and tried to lock in as much realism as possible. I wasn’t sure if it would really come across that way so-” Roman abruptly stopped talking as he felt Logan’s hand touch his own. “…what’s up, Specs?” The prince asked. He noticed how Logan’s eyes had a slight redness to them. “…are you alright?”

Logan didn’t answer as he inspected Roman’s skin. He rubbed his fingers across the bluish tint on Roman’s arm, inspecting his fingertips to see that the blue was in fact a type of paint. Logan then turned his attention to Roman’s forehead, inspecting the sweat. In Roman’s hair was a small strip that looked a bit like a balloon with pin pricked holes in it, clipped in place by a couple of bobby-pins. Then Logan looked closer at the sides of Roman’s face where some of the blood had dried. Upon looking closer, it definitely looked more like chocolate with a bit of red dye mixed in.

He couldn’t hold it back anymore.

Logan laughed. It started light and airy before just a boastful laughter that shook him to his core. Of course it had all been fake – it was a play for goodness sake! He felt tears rolling down his face but Logan couldn’t care less. How totally illogical he had been while watching. Of course Roman hadn’t died. Of course he was here with them.

Patton and Roman looked at each other and both smiled sheepishly before looking back to Logan.

“I am… a very ridiculous fool.” Logan replied after taking a shaky breath, ignoring the tears still rolling slowly down his face.

Roman shook his head. “I don’t think that’s true, Logan. I know you don’t like these “professional make-believe” shows… but your reaction is definitely what I, as a performer, strive for.” The prince grabbed Logan’s shoulder and pulled him into an embrace.

Logan’s eyes widened in shock of the sudden physical contact but the warmth felt… nice. Roman was here. He didn’t die on stage. Logan was enveloped in a familiar smell. It was the scent of rain and forest, the familiarity of his fellow trait who was still here. Logan felt Patton join in on the hug, the scent of sugar cookies and lavender filling his nose. The two pulled away from Logan, and Roman put his hand on the logical trait’s face, rubbing away a stray tear.

The three of them just stood there with each other, taking time to chat to calm the atmosphere.

Logan returned to his room in the mindscape later that night, realizing something very important. He had found a new appreciation for performance and a new appreciation for the romantic trait in a way he never thought he would.

Sometimes things were illogical, like professional make-believe, but that didn’t make it wrong to enjoy them.

[hamtarominecraft]

My person for the @falsettossecretsnowmen exchange this year was @officialwhizzer ! He asked for something domestic or involving Jason- I’ve never written anything domestic, so I hope it isn’t too horrible.

Here is a link to the oneshot I did on AO3, and I’ll put it under a cut!

I also drew this, which literally is just the last line of the fic (I think my computer might have killed the quality so I’ll probably send you it on like discord or smth too):

Oneshot under the cut, I hope you like it and have/had a good holiday season!!!

“I don’t know. He seems like he’s been bummed out ever since we picked him up from school yesterday.”

Marvin leaned against the kitchen counter, glancing across the room to Jason’s bedroom door. They’d all gotten up late today- it was already 11. Whizzer wasn’t wrong- normally, Jason was decently excitable, always filling his father and Whizzer in on the events of the past week. Marvin would have expected Jason to have been happier than normal, seeing as Friday had been an early dismissal day, but Jason barely talked on the drive home, even when prompted about the upcoming ball season or whether or not he thought he’d go on the class trip to the science museum. Jason had shrugged, shifted in his seat, and put his head against the window.

Marvin sighed. “You’re right. I’ll do something to cheer him up. He usually gets excited for movie night.”

“He gets excited for movie night as long as you aren’t the one picking the movie,” Whizzer corrected him, cracking an egg onto a pan. He glanced up at Marvin, a small smile on his face. “And I have to say that I’d agree with the kid on that front.”

Marvin scoffed lightly and bumped shoulders with Whizzer, turning when he heard the toaster ding. “Maybe he’d want to go for ice cream,” Marvin guessed as he started to butter the toast absentmindedly.

Whizzer wrinkles his nose a bit. “Isn’t it a bit cold out for ice cream?”

“He’s thirteen. I really don’t think he’d care.” A light creak offered a new sound in the conversation, and the two men turned to see a sleepy, somewhat disheveled-looking Jason, promptly taking his seat at the dining table. Marvin brushed the crumbs off his hands before folding his arms. “Morning, Jase.”

“Good morning, dad. Good morning, Whizzer.” Jason tugged on his shirt, playing with the salt shaker.

“Good morning, Jason,” Whizzer sent back in a cheery tone. He finished plating eggs as Marvin held out dishes for him, bringing his and Jason’s over to the table. “Long half day yesterday?” He asked, sliding Jason’s plate in front of him.

Jason took a bite, not bothering to swallow before responding. “I guess I didn’t sleep as much as I want. I have some homework I need to do, too.”

Whizzer swallowed his bite of toast and propped his chin on his hand, some of his bangs falling onto his face. “Middle school is rough. It’ll go by fast, though. Soon you’ll be in college for med, or law, or-“ he sipped a glass of water. “-or whatever brainiac field you end up going into. What’s the assignment?”

Marvin ate silently, watching the two converse. He was jealous of Whizzer; Jason and Marvin’s relationship had improved immensely, sure, but the two always seemed to have such a good, easy relationship, as if they were peers, rather than son-and-dad’s-boyfriend. If it wouldn’t have been for Jason’s partial semblance to Marvin, he’d be sure that Whizzer would be the one who looked like Jason’s dad.

“It’s an essay. Two and a half pages,” Jason muttered, as both the men chuckled at Jason’s disdain. He reached for the glass in front of him, downing a few gulps. “I’ve been trying to start it in my head since she told it to us, but I can’t.”

“How fun,” Marvin said, dully. “Well, how about this- after breakfast, we can go to the shops, and we can get things to have a movie night tonight.” Jason grinned, pushing another forkful into his mouth. “But, you have to work on the essay first. At least get it halfway done.”

Jason let out a little sigh. “Can we at least buy more popcorn?”

Marvin couldn’t help but feel a grin form on his face. “Yes, we can buy more popcorn.”

“Deal.”

—

“No, you hold the lid on-” Marvin lifted an eyebrow at Jason, who quickly reached back to the pot’s lid to secure it. “I swear, if it’s a repeat of last time-” Jason grinned, still thinking that the time he and Whizzer had both left the popcorn unattended while Marvin was in the other room was one of the funniest incidents. It would have been funnier if his dad hadn’t gotten so mad. Whizzer patted the kid on the shoulder, pushing himself up to sit on the counter.

“It’s only popcorn, Marv,” he teased. Marvin stopped in the doorway, turning and giving a half-agitated, half-amused look to Whizzer.

“You’re not the one who cleaned it up. Let me just do these faxes in peace.”

Jason snickered, cautiously moving the pot off its burner when the popcorn was done popping, turning off the stove. Whizzer immediately took its lid off, jolting a bit when there was one final pop and a few loose pieces bounced out. He gave Jason a it-could-be-worse look before scooping them up. “So how’s the essay coming along?”

Jason’s face showed disinterest as he reached into a cupboard, on his tiptoes, to grab a few bowls. “Fine, I guess.”

Whizzer nodded, not having much else to say as a response. He watched Jason pour popcorn into each of the bowls, miraculously not spilling any of it. Jason handed Whizzer one of them, and for a moment, the two just stayed in silence. “What’s it even about?” Whizzer finally asked, sifting through his bowl.

“Well, we just read this story that was about like family, or whatever,” Jason replied, and Whizzer snorted. “So we’re supposed to chose one person in our family and say how we’re like them and what we like the best about them or our favorite memory with them… that garbage.”

Whizzer grimaced. “I can see why you’ve been reluctant about it.”

“Well, no,” Jason sighed, sitting at the table. “It’s not because of all the dumb stuff. It’s not like I have to write about that.”

Whizzer huffed out a breath of air. Dumb stuff indeed, he thought. “Then what’s the issue?”

“I just don’t know who to choose for it. I don’t have any sisters or brothers so obviously I’d have to choose a parent, and there’s my mom but then I have three whole dads- and I know it’s really not that big of a deal I make it out to be, but-”

Whizzer glanced up at Jason, somewhat shocked. “Three?” he asked dully.

“Um, yeah?” Jason gave Whizzer a confused expression. “You, dad, and Mendel.”

Whizzer’s face softened. “I-” he stopped as he heard Marvin’s footsteps coming back. “Your dad’ll really like it if you chose him.”

“Are you only saying that ‘cause you love him?”

Whizzer couldn’t help but laugh as Marvin came back, VHS tapes in hand, looking tired as he always did after doing anything related to work. “What’s the laughing about?” Whizzer shook his head dismissively. “Do I get popcorn?” Jason pointed toward the bowl as Whizzer leaned across the counter to hold it up. Jason hopped up, snatching the movies from his dad’s hands and headed toward the living room, taking the liberty to start the movie on his own. Marvin scoffed, crossing the room to where Whizzer was perched on the counter. “What? What’s with that face?” Marvin asked, addressing the light in Whizzer’s eyes.

“Jason was telling me about his homework, he’s gotta write about family- and said that he had three options to chose for dads.” He set the half-eaten popcorn down, loosely looping his arms around Marvin’s neck. “Kid considers me a dad,” Whizzer said in a sweet tone. Even Marvin couldn’t help but smile dumbly, resting a hand on Whizzer’s knee. “I know!” Whizzer cooed in agreement to Marvin’s change in expression. “I figured that he was going to say something about Mendel, since he’s actually his step-dad-”

“Just because we can’t get legally get married doesn’t mean he wouldn’t consider you his step-dad, either.”

Whizzer sighed. “Well, I know, but-”

“And he’s a smart kid,” Marvin smiled at Whizzer. “Compassionate. He’s got his mind in the right place.”

“I know, but there’s all these awful people in the world. I guess you just assume everyone’s gonna be against you.”

Marvin gave Whizzer a confused look. “I thought that you didn’t care about homophobes.”

Whizzer rolled his eyes. “I mean, no, but you know what they say to kids, and I love Jason.”

Marvin nodding, not responding for a long minute. “And he loves you, too.”

They heard Jason call from the other room, “It’s starting without you guys!”

Marvin smiled, giving a sincere look to Whizzer. He made a small head movement toward the door. “Kid’s gonna get mad if we miss any of it.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Whizzer murmured, moving to hop off the counter, but accepting a kiss from Marvin first. “Coming!” He hollered back to Jason.

They slept soundly that night.

[madamekyberpunk]

Film Diary (July 12, 2020 - Dec 28, 2020)

JULY

July 12, 2020: KNIVES OUT (Dir. Rian Johnson)

We get to see Rian Johnson finely tune his craft in real time, and I find it exciting. I’ve been on a binge of his work as-of-late and a recurring theme of most of his movies is them being a commentary on themselves or the genres they’re working within. I think this movie nails that trick on the head without patting itself on the back too much. The ensemble cast is expertly chosen and works together really well, and you can tell just by watching it that they were having fun on set. The cast is grounded by Ana de Armas’ quietly brilliant performance. My favorite Rian Johnson movie is still reserved for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but I do think this is his best work so far.

July 13, 2020: MERMAIDS (Dir. Richard Benjamin)

A slightly more absurd version of Lady Bird, if Lady Bird was made in the nineties. A good addition to the strained-but-loving mother-daughter relationship cinematic universe.

July 15, 2020: THE UNTOUCHABLES (Dir. Brian De Palma)

This is actually the first mafia movie I’ve ever seen, and honestly...it was probably a bad one to start with. Although it was entertaining and tense at all the right moments, the whole thing just felt empty. Every character seemed half-baked and none of them really had any development. De Palma could’ve gone grittier for an R-rating and made his interpretation of Al Capone a little less cartoonish; Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness was doing the absolute least, and Robert De Niro’s Al Capone was doing the absolute most.

July 31, 2020: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (Dir. Marc Webb)

For some reason I have unintentionally seen almost all of Marc Webb’s filmography, and I have to say that I’m underwhelmed by all of it. While watching I found myself reflexively comparing this to Webb’s The Amazing Spiderman and maybe it ruined my viewing experience a little bit. Both of them have lots of super mumbly, drawn-out conversations and an interpretation of an “indie” style that just seems...bland to me. (Also, both of them have pale women with bangs and men with undiagnosed depression.) I don’t know, I just feel like if you want a rom-com with a realistic depiction of romantic relationships, you should just go watch The Big Sick.

AUGUST

August 14, 2020: LATE NIGHT (Dir. Nisha Ganatra)

Emma Thompson was great in this, and I think Mindy Kaling is very underrated as a writer (in some ways, I think she is the modern Nora Ephron). I’ve seen quite a few reviews claiming that this movie plays along with conventions, but I don’t necessarily think that conventions are inherently bad as long as they’re executed well. In this case, they were.

August 22, 2020: THE FAREWELL (Dir. Lulu Wang)

I’d classify this as a really good movie that just didn’t click with me. It was a complete, “it’s not them, it’s me,” situation. It was smartly directed with a focused, sharp script and an excellent leading performance from Awkwafina - I can see why people were upset that it got snubbed at the Oscars - but it just wasn’t my thing. The only time I really connected with it emotionally was the ending.

August 22, 2020: KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (Dir. Rachel Lears)

The only piece of media currently in existence that somehow makes me feel a sense of patriotism for this hellscape of a country.

SEPTEMBER

September 5, 2020: BARRY (Dir. Vikram Gandhi)

Speaking of living in a hellscape of a country, I have mixed feelings about the Obama presidency - but this movie isn’t about his presidency. It isn’t indicative that he’ll be president at any point. It’s essentially a piece of historical fiction about race and American identity that happens to use Barack Obama as its protagonist. You could replace him with any other dude with a background similar to his and it still would’ve been interesting.

September 8, 2020: UNICORN STORE (Dir. Brie Larson)

If there’s one word to describe this movie, I’d say, it’s cute. Not in a patronizing type of way, but in a this-movie-feels-like-a-warm-hug type of way. I like this Brie Larson vehicle much more than Captain Marvel, mainly because I feel like she’s having more fun in this and she gets to wear more colors and Samuel L. Jackson has tinsel in his hair and also there’s a unicorn in it. I’m a simple girl with simple needs. I also think Samuel L. Jackson should be adorned in tinsel in every film he’s in without explanation (I might actually watch Pulp Fiction if Jackson’s character had a sparkly afro in it). This movie also made me stan Mamoudou Athie - I think he plays a good straight man and I hope that they don’t waste him in Jurassic World: Dominion, although I’m not getting my hopes up.

September 11, 2020: LADY BIRD (Dir. Greta Gerwig)

I waited a criminally long amount of time to finally watch this. I can’t really say anything about this movie that hasn’t already been said. It’s good! It’s genuine and sweet and I liked seeing Timothée Chalamet play a pretentious asshole.

September 12, 2020: THE BROTHERS BLOOM (Dir. Rian Johnson)

Upon a rewatch, I’m taking my original score of 3.5 out of 5 and bumping it up to a 4 out of 5.  Adrian Brody and Rachel Weisz’s performances pretty much make this movie with their earnestness and chemistry. I think you could qualify this film as a romantic dramedy that just happens to be about an international con job. It doesn’t do the greatest job of explaining itself plot-wise, but it makes up for it with stylish direction and a charming cast.

September 18, 2020: EVER AFTER (Dir. Andy Tennant)

The best Cinderella adaptation currently in existence (next to Nickelodeon’s Rags starring Keke Palmer, of course). It’s so good that I’m willing to forgive Drew Barrymore’s attempt at a British accent. I also think this is one of the few movies that could be a decent remake if you gave it to the right director.

September 19, 2020: BRICK (Dir. Rian Johnson)

I love Rian Johnson, I think we’ve established that already, but I kind of sort of hated his film debut. It seemed so caught up in its own concept that it ended up seeming like a shell of a movie with no theme to ground it. Sometimes I don’t care if movie has no theme if it’s entertaining, but this movie was not entertaining, so...

September 25, 2020: ABOUT LAST NIGHT... (Dir. Edward Zwick)

Alternate title: Toxic Man is Horrible to a Woman Who Literally Does Nothing Wrong Ever and Also is Gorgeous, They Break Up, Toxic Man Gets a Different Job and Toxicity is Gone Now, Like His Personality was Sifted Through a Brita Water Filter, then the Toxic Man Gets an Unearned Happy Ending with Gorgeous Woman. It might be a little bit long, but at least people would know what they were in for. Still better than (500) Days of Summer, although every male character in About Last Night... deserves to be in jail. All of Demi Moore’s sweaters get five stars.

OCTOBER

October 3, 2020: ENOLA HOLMES (Dir. Harry Bradbeer)

During the first draft of this post, I gave this movie a pretty good review. Then I rewatched it, and...huh. It’s not exactly a bad movie, it’s just an aggressively average movie. Enola Holmes would have benefited from a) a shorter runtime, b) a better mystery, and c) a weirder style. I think that if the character is going to repeatedly talk into the camera, which is kinda weird, you should just make everything else weird too. Give it a Birds of Prey-esque unreliable narrator and non-linear storyline. It’s still a fun movie, and the inevitable sequels have potential, but it just felt like they could’ve - I don’t know - made more of an effort?

October 10, 2020: HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (Dir. Taika Waititi)

This is the first Taika Waititi movie I’ve seen besides Thor: Ragnarok. I liked seeing how his style transferred into Ragnarok, and it probably has the funniest funeral scene ever written (do yourself a favor and look it up on YouTube). Hunt for the Wilderpeople knows when to make a joke without getting too goofy, and it knows when to be sentimental without getting too sappy. It also has dozens of glorious one-liners.

October 11, 2020: LITTLE WOMEN (Dir. Greta Gerwig)

The best Little Women adaptation. (I haven’t seen the one with Katharine Hepburn but I’m just going to assume that this one’s better.) This movie was clearly made for people who know and love the story, which can be a good thing and a bad thing - it means that it took some creative liberties that enhanced the story and added subversions that made it feel meta in a satisfying way. But it also meant that it could be potentially confusing for people who aren’t familiar with the story. Personally I wasn’t lost, but I think Gerwig could’ve used some more visual cues to let you know when they were in the present or when they were diving into the past. I wouldn’t want her to eliminate the jumping back and forth, though, because I think it allowed the characters to be explored a lot more than a linear story would’ve allowed. Gerwig also did a great job of letting you understand the motivations of the supporting characters - specifically Amy - in a way that prior adaptations never really did. Every character felt like their own person instead of accessories to Jo’s life.

October 16, 2020: THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Dir. Aaron Sorkin)

Siegel, a very good Letterboxd reviewer that I follow, said it better than I can: “Aaron Sorkin is way too good a writer to be forced to work with such a mediocre director as Aaron Sorkin”. I didn’t mind the beginning - I thought the quick editing, upbeat music, and cuts back and forth between historical footage and fictionalized scenes were engaging, but the ending was clunky and didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the film. The Trial of the Chicago 7 was a little confused politically and wanted to desperately cling onto a centrism that didn’t let the film fully embrace the anger that it could’ve ended on. Despite all of these things, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The performances were all excellent, and if any of them get nominated for an Oscar it’s well-deserved. I’m also a sucker for Aaron Sorkin’s speechy, tangential dialogue. It makes me feel smart whenever I listen to it.

October 20, 2020: HALLOWEENTOWN (Dir. Duwayne Dunham)

This movie does it for the girls and the gays, that’s it.

October 26, 2020: BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) (Dir. Cathy Yan)

This movie also does it for the girls and the gays, that’s it. Seriously, I honestly don’t know why people don’t love this movie. Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quinn is Oscar-worthy. That’s not a joke. I actually think that if the Oscars knew how to have fun, she would get a nomination. She is this character. It feels so lived-in and she never does too much - and with a role like Harley Quinn, it would be very easy to do too much. I also have to give props to the type of feminism that director Cathy Yan inserted into this film. I really enjoyed Wonder Woman and didn’t mind Captain Marvel, but there was something so formulaic and studio-approved about the female empowerment in both of those films. Birds of Prey, however, didn’t really give a single fuck. It was a nuanced, violent, funny as hell story about flawed women forming alliances and finding meaningful relationships in a world that actively abuses them and ugh, I love this movie. It’s probably my personal favorite of the year.

October 27, 2020: DOLLY PARTON: HERE I AM (Dir. Francis Whately)

This documentary was strangely edited and offered pretty surface-level information presented in an uninteresting way. I enjoyed myself while I was watching it, but I just wish it would’ve gone deeper. Dolly Parton is one of the most interesting figures in music history, and there was a lot more they could’ve explored.

NOVEMBER

November 1, 2020: ATTACK THE BLOCK (Dir. Joe Cornish)

This 82-minute movie gave John Boyega a more satisfactory arc than the almost seven hour long Star Wars sequel trilogy. Seriously, this movie fucking slaps! It hit all the right notes at all the right moments. I honestly think that a lot of sci-fi movies would be better if they worked with smaller budgets and shorter runtimes. Something about working within limitations makes a film feel more authentic and cuts out a lot of the excess fat. This movie is funny and earnest and surprisingly has a lot to say about the world we live in, with a budget that’s 200 million dollars less and a runtime that's 45 minutes less than a lot of sci-fi movies out there.

November 18, 2020: A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS (Dir. Michael Damian)

*Lady Gaga voice* Amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely-not-ever-been-done-before... My go-to shitty Hallmark Christmas movie every year :)

November 19, 2020: THE LEGO STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL (Dir. Ken Cunningham)

I’m giving this a five-star rating completely unironically. This movie uses the mechanism of time travel better than Avengers: Endgame.

November 20, 2020: THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES (Dir. Clay Kaytis)

There’s a scene where Kurt Russel does a musical number in a jail cell and then Winston from “New Girl” quits his job as a cop. What more could you want from a Christmas movie?

November 21, 2020: INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen)

What was originally intended to be an Oscar Isaac thirst watch turned into what might end up being one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s one of those movies where it’s hard to articulate why it was so good, it was just good, but for the sake of this post I’ll try my best. Oscar Isaac was phenomenal in this - and I’m not just saying that because I’m a simp. His performance, combined with the script, made you root for his character even if he was a douchebag a lot of the time. The movie did a great job of blurring the line between what Llewyn Davis brought on himself and what was the result of just really, really bad luck. The use of sound in Llewyn Davis is excellent, too. Instead of using an instrumental score to emphasize emotion, they used sounds from the character’s environment, which really let the occasional musical moments pop - whenever anyone started singing, it almost felt cathartic. The Coen Brothers also provided moments of levity with perfectly-timed comedic moments throughout. It’s one of those movies where at the end of it, you’re kind of jealous that someone could make something that good. The fact that Oscar Isaac didn’t even get an Oscar nomination for this is - not to be dramatic - a fucking war crime.

November 22, 2020: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Dir. Rian Johnson)

Listen, I know The Last Jedi is such a hotly debated movie that it’s almost political, but it happens to be my favorite movie of all time. Like, number one. It even beats A Princess for Christmas. I’ve had my fair share of slander for loving this movie so damn much, but I will defend it until the day I die, and then I will have my tombstone engraved with “Luke Skywalker’s portrayal in this movie makes sense, you guys are just poisoned by nostalgia.” I’ve seen this movie several times, but I actually haven’t given it a rewatch since The Rise of Skywalker came out last December, and it still holds up. There’s a couple of things that I really appreciated a bit more this time around: every shot in this movie seems so intentional and emotionally charged. Pause it at any point and you’re going to have something interesting and aesthetically pleasing to look at. I really enjoyed the dialogue, too. In most of his movies, Rian Johnson makes his characters talk in a slightly heightened (or in Brick's case, very heightened) way, and it lends well to the Star Wars universe. I'm never going to to not gush about this film. The Last Jedi is the movie that made me love movies, and for that I will always be grateful.

November 25, 2020: HAPPIEST SEASON (Dir. Clea DuVall)

I have similar feelings toward this movie as I did toward Crazy Rich Asians; it follows most of the conventions that populate the rom-com genre, but for the marginalized people the movie is representing, it’s actually pretty fresh. Hot take, but I don’t think that Kristen Stewart’s character should’ve ended up with Aubrey Plaza’s character - I just think the film could’ve done a better job of empathizing with Mackenzie Davis’s character. If we focused on her perspective a bit more, maybe she would’ve seemed less...shitty and distant. I’d also appreciate it if we just stop doing the Gay Best Friend Trope after this movie because - let’s be honest with ourselves - no one’s going to be able to top Daniel Levy’s rendition of it.

November 29, 2020: MANGROVE (Dir. Steve McQueen)

See my Mangrove review here.

DECEMBER

December 5, 2020: RED, WHITE AND BLUE (Dir. Steve McQueen)

I may need to give this a rewatch at some point, mainly because it seems like I didn’t fully grasp the themes it was conveying due to my own skepticisms going into it. Here’s my original review.

December 13, 2020: THE PROM (Dir. Ryan Murphy)

I really can’t critically engage with this movie because my brain just turns off the minute the first song starts. Most of the criticisms you’ve heard are valid - though perhaps a little bit blown out of proportion - but it’s so much damn fun. I’ve watched it twice now.

December 19, 2020: MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Dir. George C. Wolfe)

Chadwick Boseman’s last performance is haunting, transformative, and magnetic. The same can be said about Viola Davis’ performance, which is a surprise to no one, but this is really Chadwick’s vehicle. I just wish the directing was as interesting as the acting. This film was adapted from an August Wilson play, and directorially it was treated like a play, which doesn’t necessarily translate that well to film. The space around the actors wasn’t really utilized, and the way it was shot was pretty lackluster and static; oftentimes, the only interesting thing to look at in a scene was an actor’s performance. Maybe I’ve just been a little obsessed with Steve McQueen’s directing style lately, but this movie probably would’ve been five stars for me (instead of the four-and-a-half I gave it) if it was directed by him.

December 19, 2020: LONG TOAST (Dir. Karsten Runquist)

Fuck yeah, Karsten Runquist! Shout out to his monthly “what I watched in [insert month]” videos for giving me the inspiration to write this. 

December 23, 2020: LET IT SNOW (Dir. Luke Snellin)

Weirdly enough, this may be one of my favorite Christmas movies. There’s nothing all that remarkable about it, but it has a sweet, simple holiday vibe with innocent performances and low stakes. I don’t really ask a lot for Christmas movies, and this pretty much delivers.

December 25, 2020: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DREAM ANALYSIS (Dir. Rian Johnson)

This short film from Rian Johnson is the earliest thing I could find of his filmography on Letterboxd, and it was a pretty engaging watch. It was essentially all of Johnson’s quirks as a director condensed into ten minutes. It reminded me of those trippy short stories you had to read in middle school.

December 26, 2020: PLUS ONE (Dir. Jeff Chan & Andrew Rhymer)

I’ve seen a lot of rom-coms - like, an ungodly amount - and my love-hate affair with this genre has made me realize that predictability isn’t the issue with rom-coms (a lot of genres are very, very predictable). The issue is a lack of authenticity. Yes, this film is predictable, but it’s authentic. The humor in this movie actually feels like something that would happen in real life, not something heavily contrived or exaggerated for the sake of entertainment. I don’t have anything against the contrived and exaggerated, but it’s refreshing to see comedy being delivered so naturally in this genre. Plus One also has a more realistic (but still sweet) perspective on love and relationships which you don’t normally see in any genre.

December 27, 2020: THE HALF OF IT (Dir. Alice Wu)

I watched this at the beginning of the year and didn’t enjoy it all that much - partly because I was in the closet and aaaah girls kissing aaaaaah - and partly because I just thought it was boring. On a second viewing, I really appreciated it more. I think it’s the smartest and most well-shot movie directed toward teens that I’ve seen on Netflix. Although the script can be a bit pretentious, it’s directed in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s either trying to be too indie or like an hour and fourty-five minute long single-camera sitcom episode. The character of Ellie is also a really interesting and nuanced character, and a good example of how to write and portray queerness on screen.

December 27, 2020: TAYLOR SWIFT - FOLKLORE: THE LONG POND STUDIO SESSIONS (Dir. Taylor Swift)

I would die for Taylor Swift and/or Jack Antonoff.

December 28, 2020: MANK (Dir. David Fincher)

I went into this movie as a) someone who has never seen a David Fincher film, and b) someone who has never seen Citizen Kane. Unsurprisingly, Mank was definitely not my thing. That doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it. It’s a fucking good-looking movie. But it’s kind of like the himbo of movies - it’s nice to look at, but there’s not much going on underneath. I’m hearing this complaint from a lot of people: it’s a technical masterpiece, but it feels pretty damn hollow. Personally, it’s not enough for me to recognize that a film looks and sounds good - I have to care about and know the human beings within it in order for me to think that it’s a good movie. To me, a film is only as good as the emotional relevance of its story, but sadly emotional relevance is where Mank falls short.

What movies kept you sane during 2020? Let me know!

[bronzeflower]

Who The Fuck Writes A Ten-Page Rant?????

Chapter 11: Matesprits and Moirails

Also on ao3

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

CG: ROSE.

TT: And who might this be?

CG: THIS IS KARKAT. CG: DAVE GAVE ME YOUR CHUMHANDLE.

TT: And what caused you to contact me on this lovely day.

CG: DAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE FREAKING OUT ABOUT KANAYA’S BIRTHDAY AND NEGLECTED TO CONTACT YOUR’S TRULY FOR ADVICE.

TT: Ah. TT: Believe me, I have everything under control.

CG: ARE YOU SURE? CG: BECAUSE DAVE WAS KIND OF WORRIED ABOUT YOU.

TT: Dave? Worried?

CG: YES.

TT: You know I jest, correct? TT: Dave is always worried, but he hides that worry under shades and a poker face.

CG: DAVE HAS THE WORST POKER FACE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. CG: HE’S EASIER TO READ THAN JOHN, AND THAT GUY PRACTICALLY WEARS HIS HEART ON HIS SLEEVE.

TT: I think that may be more due to the fact that you spend so much time with him rather than Dave having a horrible poker face.

CG: THAT MAY BE TRUE, BUT WE AREN’T HERE TO BLABBER ON AND GOSSIP ABOUT DAVE THIS ENTIRE TIME. CG: WE’RE HERE BECAUSE DAVE EXPRESSED THAT YOU MIGHT REQUIRE MY EXPERTISE.

TT: And what kind of expertise would that be?

CG: ROSE, YOU’VE KNOWN ME FOR HOW FUCKING LONG? CG: AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT MY EXPERTISE IS IN?

TT: I have known you for several weeks, and I still do not know.

CG: ROMANCE, ROSE. ROMANCE. CG: I AM A CERTIFIED EXPERT IN ROMANCE. CG: AND, BASED ON WHAT LITTLE DAVE TOLD ME, YOU NEED HELP GETTING A GIFT FOR KANAYA. CG: IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE TO BE ANYTHING BIG. CG: YOU CAN LITERALLY JUST USE ME AS A SOUNDING BOARD, AND I CAN TELL YOU HOW MUCH KANAYA WOULD LOVE A CERTAIN GIFT.

TT: I… TT: I suppose I could let you offer help.

CG: I GUESS THAT’S THE BEST I’M GOING TO GET OUT OF YOU. CG: WHAT WERE YOU PLANNING TO GET HER?

TT: A handmade scarf with some crochet flowers sewed onto it. TT: In hindsight, it is rather embarrassing to say that out loud. TT: Maybe I should try doing something else.

CG: ROSE. CG: ROSE. CG: I’M GOING TO NEED YOU TO LISTEN TO ME FOR A QUICK MINUTE. CG: JUST, TAKE A MOMENT TO BREATHE. CG: IN, OUT, IN, OUT. CG: FORGET ANY AND ALL WORRIES ABOUT EVERYTHING. CG: NOW, LISTEN TO ME. CG: YOUR IDEA WAS FANTASTIC, AND I CAN’T CONCEIVABLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO SCRAP SUCH A GREAT IDEA. CG: FUCK THE PART OF YOUR BRAIN SAYING THAT WAS A BAD IDEA. CG: IT’S IDIOTIC AND STUPID, AND YOU SHOULD REFUSE TO LISTEN TO IT.

TT: I don’t believe it is that simple to merely turn off that part of your brain.

CG: WELL, WHY DON’T YOU LET MY WORDS SOOTH YOUR MIND AND SOUL? CG: I, KANAYA’S MOIRAIL, AND THEREFORE THE INDIVIDUAL WHO KNOWS KANAYA THE BEST, AM TELLING YOU RIGHT FUCKING NOW THAT KANAYA WILL LOVE WHATEVER GIFT YOU GIVE HER. CG: SHE WILL ALSO LOVE GETTING A HOMEMADE SCARF. CG: I HAVE NEVER MET A SINGLE PERSON MORE APPRECIATIVE OF HANDMADE THINGS THAN KANAYA. CG: I GUARANTEE SHE WILL LOVE IT WITH ALL HER HEART. CG: HAS THIS HELPED YOU AT ALL?

TT: … TT: You know what? TT: It actually has. TT: I appreciate your help, Karkat.

CG: IT WAS A PLEASURE.

TT: I apologize for asking this, but would you go to the knitting store with me? TT: I want to find the right kind of yarn to use for the scarf.

CG: SURE, I’LL GO WITH YOU. CG: WHERE DO YOU LIVE? I’LL PICK YOU UP.

Once you had successfully secured Rose’s address, you went there to pick up Rose. She got out of her place and into your car.

“Okay, so you’re going to have to tell me where the fuck we are going to go because I have never been to a single knitting store in my lifetime. Fabric stores? Sure! I can navigate anyone to any fabric store in the entire goddamn town. I can also tell them which ones are full of shit and which ones are actually decent. But, knitting stores? That is out of my jurisdiction.”

“Take a right at the next intersection, and then you go straight before taking the first left you see. There will be a parking lot with a bunch of craft stores nearby.” Rose explained.

When you get to the knitting store, you are somehow surprised at the amount of yarn in it.

There are so many kinds of yarn. Thin yarn, thick yarn, colorful yarn, scratchy yarn, soft yarn, yarn in balls, yarn in these weird oblong shapes, gradient yarn. You were pretty glad it wasn’t you who was trying to find a specific material to use to make a scarf or sweater or something because you were pretty sure that you would have absolutely no idea what to do or even where to start.

Instead, Rose wondered around the store, while you stared at various objects. Like yarn. So much yarn. Who even needs this many types of goddamn yarn.

Eventually, you got to the point where you gave up attempting to help Rose find yarn and went to a box of clearance yarn to feel the yarn and squish the yarn balls.

Rose comes up to you with various things of yarn.

“Karkat, I request your assistance. I would like to know what kind of material Kanaya would like the best.”

“I’ll try, but, like I said earlier, I only have any sort of prowess when it comes to fabrics.”

“You can tell me what colors to use for the scarf. I was thinking of using this gradient yarn for the scarf.” She hands you some yarn that is several shades of green. “Do you have any advice for what color to use for the flowers?”

“I would use lavender for the flowers.” You decide. “A lot of trolls wear the color of their quadrantmates as a way of telling everyone who they’re with. Usually, it’s the blood color, but humans only have one blood color. You do type in lavender though, and trolls have the habit of hemotyping, so, at this point, I kind of associate the color with you, and I’m sure that Kanaya does too.”

“Oh.” Rose blushed and chose out some lavender yarn. She also grabbed a few more of the green, gradient yarn. Once she bought all the yarn she wanted to buy, the two of you returned to your car.

You drive Rose back to her house, but, before she goes, she turns to you.

“Thank you, Karkat. For going to the knitting store with me.”

“It wasn’t really any big deal. I mean, I barely did anything.”

“I still appreciate it.”

Rose left, and you just drove back home.

What to do. You guess you could troll Aradia for the first time in years. It would be nice to hear from her again.

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling apocalypseArisen [AA] --

CG: I CAN’T BELIEVE NEITHER OF US BOTHERED TO CONTACT EACH OTHER FOR YEARS. CG: HOW HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? CG: DAVE TELLS ME THAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING ARCHEOLOGY. CG: THAT’S PRETTY COOL. CG: OH YEAH, THIS IS KARKAT BY THE WAY. IN CASE YOU DIDN’T RECOGNIZE MY HANDLE.

AA: hello karkat! AA: its very nice to hear from you again

CG: HOLY SHIT. CG: YOU DON’T PUT ZEROS FOR O’S ANYMORE.

AA: yes it is quite the development AA: you still type in all caps

CG: AND I STILL HAVE NO VOLUME CONTROL. BIG WHOOP.

AA: the amount of swearing you do seems to have lessened as well

CG: I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM A MATURE ADULT WHO IS FULLY AWARE THAT ONE DOES NOT NEED TO SWEAR TO LAY DOWN AN INSULT THAT IS GUARANTEED TO BURN AT THE HIGHEST DEGREE POSSIBLE

AA: people still tell you that you swear too much dont they

CG: YEAH. CG: I’M PRETTY MUCH USED TO IT BY THIS POINT THOUGH. CG: ONCE I SAID HELL IN FRONT OF THIS LADY, AND SHE CLUTCHED AT HER CHEST LIKE I WAS LUCIFER HIMSELF. CG: I INFORMED HER THAT I WAS, IN FACT, A DEMON SENT BY SATAN HIMSELF THAT WAS THERE TO BRING CHAOS, DESTRUCTION, AND SIN UPON THE WORLD ONE CURSE WORD AT A TIME.

AA: did you really

CG: NO. CG: IN REALITY, I IGNORED HER AND WENT ON WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE.

AA: that was very mature of you

CG: YEAH, WELL. CG: I’M NOT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ANYMORE. CG: I’VE LEARNED THAT I SHOULD CHOOSE MY BATTLES VERY CAREFULLY.

AA: that sounds fake but ok

CG: WOW, RUDE. CG: I AM TOTALLY CAPABLE OF FIGURING OUT WHAT BATTLES I SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT FIGHT. CG: FUCK YOU. CG: BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, I AM GETTING BETTER AT IT. CG: BY THE WAY, I ALSO HEARD THAT YOU WERE DATING SOLLUX? CG: HOW’S THAT SHITHEAD TREATING YOU.

AA: speaking that sollux and i have been in a committed relationship for several years AA: really well

CG: HOLY SHIT. CG: SOLLUX COMPLETELY NEGLECTED TO TELL ME ANY OF THIS. CG: WHAT ABOUT YOUR OTHER QUADRANTS?

AA: ive only really filled the one quadrant AA: its difficult to find someone who would be willing to go out with someone who they are unable to contact for months at a time

CG: I GUESS THAT WOULD PUT A DAMPER ON THINGS.

AA: what about you AA: are you still moirails with gamzee

CG: *GOD* NO. CG: WE BROKE UP A LONG ASS TIME AGO. CG: MY MOIRAIL IS KANAYA NOW.

AA: i bet that nepeta was both disappointed and excited at that

CG: I THINK AT SOME POINT SHE RECOGNIZED THAT GAMZEE AND I WEREN’T VERY GOOD FOR EACH OTHER AND UPDATED HER SHIPPING WALL WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE, SO SHE WASN’T NEARLY AS DISAPPOINTED AS SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAD WE BROKEN UP WHILE OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS STILL PRETTY HEALTHY. CG: ACTUALLY, NO. CG: IT WASN’T A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP FOR EITHER GAMZEE OR ME, AND I’M GLAD WE WERE BOTH MATURE ENOUGH TO REALIZE THAT.

AA: it sounds like you have a lot of experience dealing with pale romance now AA: what about your other quadrants

CG: EMPTY. CG: NO ONE REALLY WANTS TO DATE SOMEONE WHO VACILLATES LIKE A FUCKING MADMAN TO THE POINT OF IT NOT ACTUALLY BEING VACILLATING ANYMORE. CG: IT JUST BECOMES A WEIRD SORT OF MESS OF FEELINGS THAT CAN’T REALLY BE ORGANIZED INTO THE CATEGORIES OF RED OR BLACK ANYMORE.

AA: i guess we are both in similar boats of not being able to date because of our respective circumstances

CG: YEAH. CG: … CG: YOU SOUND LIKE A VILLAIN.

AA: how so

CG: THE ENTIRE “YOU AND I ARE THE SAME” TROPE THING THAT VILLAINS IN MOVIES AND TELEVISION SHOWS DO A LOT.

AA: i suppose so AA: certainly not the worse thing to be told that i sound like AA: but karkat AA: i have something to ask you AA: youre still a self proclaimed romantic master correct

CG: YOU BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR I AM. CG: WHAT DO YOU NEED? CG: I’LL HELP YOU FREE OF CHARGE.

AA: i sorry to ask you something like this when our first time talking in a long time AA: but not many of the people that i know and talk to have any sort of knowledge about romance AA: particularly pale romance

CG: GO ON.

AA: im pale for someone

CG: NO SHIT, SHERLOCK. CG: I THINK I KNOW WHO IT IS, BUT TELL ME WHO IT IS ANYWAY.

AA: its dave AA: i dont even know if he does quadrants or anything like that AA: but i wanted to ask you if you knew how i could best ask him out

CG: ARADIA, THIS IS MY ADVICE TO YOU. CG: BE AS BLUNT AS POSSIBLE AND DON’T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH. CG: I HAVEN'T KNOWN DAVE FOR LONG, BUT WHAT I KNOW ABOUT HIM IS THAT HE’S AS OBLIVIOUS AS A BRICK FUCKING WALL.

AA: so just go for it

CG: YEAH.

AA: thanks for the advice! AA: sorry to cut this conversation short but if i have to do this while im feeling motivated to

-- apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

You figure you should probably leave both Aradia and Dave alone for a while, so you decide to spend some time reading an old romance novel that you’ve had in your collection for years.

You’ve probably read this book a thousand times, and you practically know the words by heart. It’s your favorite one because of the complex quadrant vacillation included in the story, and the romance was much better done than in most romance novels you’ve read.

It was about the main character, Epiciu Goshum, a blue blood who became flushed for a jade blood despite their moirailship with a purple blood. Meanwhile, they also struggled with their moirailship with another blue blood, a morailship that soon dissolved. With the dissolution of the morailship, Epiciu soon finds themself pale for both a yellow blood and a rust blood, feelings that they struggle with because of their status in society.

Oddly enough, it was one of the few troll romances that focused more on red romance than black romance. While there was some black romance and vacillation, the majority of the story had feelings that showcased the complex dimensions of emotions directed towards a singular individual, which might have been part of why this was your favorite story.

Anyway, in the end, Epiciu ends up with both the jade and purple blood in a polyamorous flushed relationship, which was something that sounded like a bad idea, but the sequels to the book showed that it ended up being perfectly healthy.

As for their pale interests, they ended up only becoming moirails with the yellow blood, but they did become very good friends with the rust blood, and they ended up becoming an activist for blood color equality.

While there were sequels to the book focusing more on the actual relationships the protagonist was in, something you appreciated because of the way most romance novels ended when the protagonist and the love interest got together, the first book had always been your favorite.

You get maybe a quarter way through the book before you find that someone has started trolling you.

At first, you thought it was going to be Aradia messaging you back about how asking out Dave went, but, to your surprise, it ended up being Sollux.

-- twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

TA: KK TA: ii need two a2k you 2omethiing

CG: WHAT IS IT?

TA: ok 2o dont freak out but iim planniing on proposiing to AA

CG: WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, HOLD UP CG: YOU’RE GOING TO FUCKING PROPOSE? CG: HOW LONG HAVE THE TWO OF YOU BEEN DATING?

TA: KK ii told you not to freak out TA: but yeah iim goiing to propose TA: ii’ve programmed a viideo game about fiindiing artiifacts and 2tuff for her TA: and the fiinal level has the fo22iil2 2pelliing out that ii want two marry her

CG: THAT’S ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE, AND I’M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU. CG: HOWEVER, AT THE SAME TIME, I’M PISSED THAT YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU WERE DATING HER SOONER CG: I LITERALLY LEARNED YOU WERE DATING HER TODAY FROM HER CG: AND THE ONLY REASON I TALKED TO HER WAS BECAUSE DAVE OF ALL PEOPLE KNEW HER FROM COLLEGE OR WHATEVER CG: AND I HADN’T TALKED TO HER IN FUCKING YEARS

TA: wow ii’m 2urprii2ed you only u2ed one cur2e word

CG: OKAY, WOW. CG: FUCK YOU.

TA: ii thought you in2ult2 were more creatiive than that, a22hole

CG: MY INSULTS ARE PLENTY CREATIVE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CG: I JUST DIDN’T FEEL LIKE WASTING MY CREATIVITY ON YOU.

TA: ii’m hurt KK ii really am

CG: SUCK IT UP

TA: anyway ii need 2omeone two te2t my game out who i2n’t me two tell me iif there are any bug2 or whatever that iive overlooked

CG: I’LL NEED TO KNOW TWO THINGS BEFORE I AGREE TO THIS: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DATING ARADIA, AND HOW LONG WILL THE GAME TAKE TO PLAY?

TA: we’ve been datiing for a few year2 and the game wiill probably take about an hour or two dependiing on how much you take your tiime

CG: ALSO, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR REASON THAT YOU’RE CHOOSING ME OF ALL PEOPLE TO REVIEW THE GAME?

TA: ii don’t really talk to many other people and you’re the 2uppo2ed “kiing of romance”

CG: ALRIGHT, I’LL PLAY THE GAME. CG: SEND ME THE LINK OR WHATEVER YOU NEED TO SEND ME IN ORDER TO TEST THE GAME.

TA: yeah here you go TA: (link to game) TA: tell me any problem2 you miight have

CG: WILL DO.

TA: thank2

-- twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

You click on the link to the game, trusting that Sollux didn’t just send you a virus and began playing.

It was actually a pretty well-made game with Aradia shown as the sprite, and each time you found a fossil, a message box popped up talking about what a great job you did. All of the messages talked about how much Sollux loved Aradia, and it was honestly sickeningly sweet.

It really only took you an hour to play, and the final ending honestly made you tear up with how open and honest Sollux ended up being in his proposal, and you immediately messaged him the moment you finished the game.

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling twinArmageddons [TA] --

CG: SHE’S GOING TO FUCKING LOVE IT. CG: SHIT, FUCK, I’M CRYING. CG: YOU BETTER INVITE ME TO THE WEDDING, ASSHOLE.

TA: 2o no bug2 found?

CG: NO, IT WAS PERFECT, AND I DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD BE THAT SAPPY AND ROMANTIC.

TA: yeah yeah shut up there2 no need to announce iit two the world

CG: THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT MARRYING SOMEONE IS FOR, BUT OKAY.

TA: iim goiing to do a few more ediits before 2endiing iit two her but iim defiiniitely doiing iit 2oon

CG: I’M JUST SO HAPPY FOR YOU. CG: LIKE HOLY SHIT; I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!

TA: diid you ju2t u2e a 2emiicolon

CG: I DON’T NEED YOUR JUDGEMENT FOR WHAT KIND OF PUNCTUATION I USE. CG: IT’S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE A SEMICOLON.

TA: ii know how to u2e a 2emiicolon but iim not enough of a nerd to u2e them

CG: YOU LITERALLY DESIGNED A VIDEO GAME TO PROPOSE TO YOUR GIRLFRIEND. CG: YOU ARE JUST AS MUCH OF A NERD AS I AM.

TA: yeah but ii’m a cool nerd

CG: DON’T THINK I WON’T FIGHT YOU!!!

TA: aha good luck wiith that

-- twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

CG: HEY! CG: GET BACK HERE SO I CAN FIGHT YOU!!!

But Sollux was gone. Whatever. You didn’t really care as long of you were invited to the wedding. You would probably actually fight Sollux if he didn’t invite you because that would be a real dick move.

You may or may not be salty about the one time someone didn’t invite you to their wedding. But you wouldn’t name names.

You get back to your book, and you actually get pretty far before being trolled again. This time, it was Aradia.

-- apocalypseArisen [AA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

AA: karkat! AA: thanks for your advice!!!

CG: ARE YOU MOIRAILS WITH DAVE NOW?

AA: yeah!!!

CG: I’M SUPER HAPPY FOR YOU!!!

AA: yeah im glad we got that sorted out AA: it took a while to iron out the details and stuff but weve basically established our moirailship AA: but yeah you were right i did have to be very blunt AA: which i should have maybe known since ive known him for longer but you know what they say AA: hindsight is twenty twenty

CG: THAT’S A REALLY WEIRD PHRASE.

AA: it is AA: i wonder where it came from AA: … AA: hindsight means thinking about things after theyve happened and twenty twenty refers to perfect eyesight AA: which in hindsight makes it pretty obvious

CG: A LITTLE BIT, YEAH.

AA: well i should get going! AA: i need to pack for the next trip im going on!

CG: GOOD LUCK! CG: I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME.

AA: i always do! AA: ill be sure to troll you when i can

-- apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

TG: holy shit karkat youll never guess what just happened

CG: I’M GOING TO GUESS THAT YOU BECAME OFFICIAL MOIRAILS WITH ARADIA.

TG: shit howd you know TG: did ara already tell you TG: you already had a sick ass convo with her

CG: I HAVE.

TG: awesome TG: well i was just here to drop the news on your fine ass TG: i mean TG: you know what TG: fuck it TG: you do have a nice ass but forget i said that TG: i was here to give you the official dave strider seal that ara and i are now rails but i guess youve already got a hold of that sweet info so im gonna ollie out of here k TG: got others to bless this information with TG: dont be stranger

CG: I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF IT.

TG: awesome cool right message you later karkat bro

-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

You basically spend the rest of the day reading your favorite series. Thank god for days off.

[dingoes8myrp]

No One Asked, But (Redux)

Waiting for my nose to decongest so I can (maybe) sleep. So, here are some answers no one asked for. I'm going to throw a smattering of fandoms in here.

what is your absolute favorite ship?

One Tree Hill: Nathan and Haley

In a show that wasn't always the most realistic (i.e. high school kids owning nightclubs...), Nathan and Haley felt like a very genuine relationship that became one of the healthiest in the show (after some work on both sides). I think Nathan makes Haley brave by believing in her and encouraging her when she's uncertain of herself. Haley makes Nathan reflect on himself, makes him empathize and rise above himself. They have their ups and downs, but these two always stick it out and they make each other better people.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Oz

These two are almost an OTP for me. I think Tara was a better fit for Willow during season 4 and onward, but I feel like Willow and Oz could also be an OTP under the right circumstances. They were so adorable and genuine with each other, accepting one another - flaws and all. They were very much ride or die. I could nerd about them for hours.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara

These two are a natural OTP for me. They bring out new sides of one another, and each is more confident with the other. They truly make each other better people. If it hadn't been for Tara's death I think these two would have always found a way back to each other, no matter what. Easily one of the healthiest relationships on the show.

what ship do you hate most?

Supernatural: Dean and Lisa

I didn't mind Lisa, but this relationship wasn't earned at all. They took a skeletal character, gave her no layers, and expected us to buy that this lady was Dean's happy ending. Cassie or Jo would have made much more sense.

The Walking Dead: Andrea and The Governor

I have a soft spot for Andrea. I hated her in the beginning, but she became one of my favorite characters. It bothered me when she became wrapped up in a man or when her plot became dependent on a man (it bothered me when they paired her with Shane too). She was such a powerhouse character and she grew so much by the time we got to the Governor. It drove me nuts that they backslid her and had her become overly invested in a guy she barely knew. Also, it literally killed her so there's that.

Angel: Connor and "Cordelia"

There was a lot I didn't like about this. First, that they ruined Cordelia by making her a villain, then had her pair up with Connor (who was kind of her surrogate son for a minute there). That pairing then also ruined Connor. Just, ick. So much wrong with it.

Lost: Jack and Kate

Least interesting ship in the show, and it was always the one that got shoved in my face. I didn't really have anything in particular I disliked about it, other than it was made so prominent when there were so many more interesting pairings we could have been focusing on more (i.e. Jack and Ana).

what was your first ship, and what fandom is it from?

Interview with the Vampire: Lestat and Louis

I was pretty young when I saw the movie (Maybe 9 or 10), and I always saw Lestat and Louis as a couple. This was reinforced when I eventually read the novel.

explain why do/don’t ship [pairing]

Angel: Angel and Cordelia

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd never write them as a couple, but I like Angel and Cordelia so much as friends and colleagues. I just don't see a romantic thing there.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Kennedy

This one didn't at all feel earned. Kennedy felt like a rebound, but was treated like an endgame. I just didn't buy it. Kennedy reminded me of high school Cordelia, with her venomous, selfish streak and I didn't see that very prominent trait being attractive to Willow.

One Tree Hill: Lucas and Brooke

These two never made sense to me. Brooke seemed to only like Lucas because Peyton liked him, then she moved in on him knowing that. Not a great start. Then that led to the whole cheating Lucas and Peyton plot and it felt like the whole ship was created as a plot device to make things difficult for Lucas and Peyton.

what’s a ship you like that most people don’t?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy and Riley

This was just a healthy ship for a while, and I really liked seeing Buffy in a relationship that was stable and reliable where she didn't have to worry about the guy deciding to maim one of her friends for shits and giggles. I do wish we'd gotten more time to get to know Riley better as his own character before they paired them. He couldn't really stand on his own. I also think he would have been more interesting if he was just a normal guy trained in combat instead of that whole "Initiative drugs" thing.

Lost: Shannon and Boone

Okay, the thing I liked about these two was that they were basically Kathryn and Sebastian from Cruel Intentions stuck on an island together. Their dynamic had so many twists and kept me hooked. I wish they'd stuck around longer.

what's a ship you hate that most people like?

Friends: Ross and Rachel

I just think these two bring out the worst in each other. I don't think they could have ended up with anyone else because they always seemed to find their way back to each other, but it was such an unhealthy relationship. It makes me cringe.

what is the most underrated ship, in your opinion?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Xander and Cordelia

Normally I don't like it when two characters who can't stand each other end up together. But, I think they helped each other grow. Cordelia became less shallow, choosing Xander over her popularity, and became slightly warmer because of it. Xander became less judgmental and more humble. I think their relationship is an important cornerstone in both of their arcs.

Penny Dreadful: Vanessa and Dorian

These two were just ridiculously hot, for one. But also, Dorian found the darker parts of Vanessa fascinating. He accepted her and wanted to know more about her. Vanessa didn't have to hide who she was around him. I wish they'd done more with them, particularly in later episodes.

why do you think [pairing] is so popular?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy and Spike

Again, these two are hot. Also, Spike sees a side of Buffy no one else does, and he accepts her entirely. We also see a kinder side of Spike in his quiet, intimate moments with Buffy when he's comforting her or giving her advice. Spike also becomes a part of Buffy's family (which includes her friends). He forms a close bond with Dawn in particular. He makes an effort to be a part of her life.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy and Angel

This is a Romeo and Juliet level "forbidden love" story - a classic romance. Angel and Buffy are passionate. They're partners, working together and fighting alongside one another. They're equals. Angel will do anything to help Buffy or to make her happy, and she'd do the same for him. Neither of them parted because they wanted to. Angel wanted to give Buffy a chance at a normal life, and she had no choice but to accept that and try to move on. This left a perpetual "will they, won't they?" vibe for the rest of the series runs.

what’s your favorite canon moment of [pairing]?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy and Faith

My favorite moment for them - one of my favorite scenes in anything ever - is the coma dream at the end of season 3. I believe this reflects Buffy's feelings for Faith. The cat symbolises Faith and Buffy inquires about who's going to take care of "him." Faith corrects that it's a she. I think Buffy wanted to take care of Faith, and felt she'd failed to do that. Faith also gives Buffy everything she has in the dream, and Buffy is overwhelmed, saying she can't use all of it. Faith tells her to take what she needs. This is Buffy acknowledging that Faith gave all she was capable of giving to their friendship/relationship, and that Buffy couldn't accept all of it. Faith tells Buffy how to defeat the Mayor. I think Buffy hopes Faith will eventually come around and join her side of the fight again. I could go on and on about these two.

One Tree Hill: Clay and Quinn

This is morbid, but I loved the episode that was one big coma dream for these two. It was such a well done episode and they had kind of a perfect fantasy day inside this horrible moment.

Penny Dreadful: Vanessa and Ethan

The exorcism when Ethan will not give up, and he's terrified, but he keeps going. He's not leaving that room alive until Vanessa is back. Such a powerful scene.

One Tree Hill: Lucas and Peyton

The school shooting episode when Lucas carries Peyton out of the school. They're not even a couple at this point, but it's such a vulnerable moment for both of them in the midst of one of the show's most raw, powerful episodes.

favorite AU ideas for [pairing]?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy and Oz

I'm not sure where this would fit, but I always wondered how these two would have fared.

have you ever written fanfiction/drawn fanart of [pairing]? would you consider it?

I wrote a fanfic ages ago that took place between Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat where Lestat and Louis reunited.

I also wrote a fanfic for David and Michael from The Lost Boys.

I don't typically write for a pairing. I kind of start with a plot and see where it goes. But I'm trying to write for a few pairings. If anything comes out decent I'll post it up.

[ardynium]

New thingie for Dad!Cor, Uncle Ardyn and the sunshine boy, still for the #kinkmeme. This one is long. And comes in parts. And has a title. Rest of the stories is collected here on AO3, for your reading pleasure.

Family Reunion 1

When Prompto's phone buzzed the tenth time in a row, he decided that it was probably important enough to step out of the movie he was watching. All messages from Noct. [prom] [PROM] [prompto are you home?] [is your UNCLE home???] [its finally happened] [my dad has TIME] [you know what that means right??] [of6 hes on his way now] [tell me your uncle isnt home] [fuck this ill call you] Visitors? Today was not a day for visitors. Nobody had told him there would be visitors today, and today was a bad day anyway, and he was in his pajamas only because Cor had promised him something nice when he put them on. Ardyn opened the door nonetheless. Stared. Stared at polished shoes. Pinstripes. A legbrace. More pinstripes. A beard and a friendly face. "Oh no. Not you." He closed the door. Breathed hard. Opened again, just to make sure he was really there.

Regis Lucis Caelum, current ruler of this city and country, was indeed there, and blinking in mild confusion at the scene unfolding before him. Checked with a side-glance if this was the right place. The sign on the door did say Leonis - it was. "Good afternoon," he said. "This is probably not the right place." The red-haired mess stared at him with an utter lack of respect. "Well, this is probably the right place, but this is... Tea?" This had to be the 'other relative' Cor had mentioned a few times - the one he did not talk about unless necessary. He was starting to get a vague idea why, and as he looked at him, a vague memory scratched at the back of his head. Hadn't he himself...? Oh well. He would simply have come back another time, but it had taken him literal years to carve this afternoon out of his schedule. He smiled. "Yes, please."

It had been hard enough to convince Clarus that he would be good up here on his own, that it would be really enough to place some of his men outside, and in the end, his shield had agreed to keep things as discreet as possible, for Noct's sake.

"You may sit there." He pointed at a rather comfy looking chair. "And you are here because of your son. Want to see how his friend's home looks like. Reasonable, very reasonable." He busied himself in the kitchen, fixing tea. Staring at the cake. It was his cake, but it had too many nuts, and while he wasn't opposed to nuts, everything had to be in regulation. "That is indeed why I'm here, yes. Thank you." Regis sat in the designated chair and looked around. It was a decent place, and it looked lived in, in a reassuring dents in the couch cushions, pictures on the walls kind of way. A surprise - not really what he had expected Cor's place to look like - but a pleasant surprise.

"You, of course, are acutely aware he is not feeling well." Ardyn had decided to share this cake, so he brought some slices to the table, together with the tea.

A frown. "I was hoping he'd fare a little better while he is here, at least." "Oh, he does. Does not even notice himself, and neither does the fledgling but I..." He dipped some of the cake into his mug, "...I see the shadows of his ancestors quite clearly." Regis' hand stopped on the way to the tea cup, just for a moment. He resumed to pick it up, then took a closer look at his host. There was something about that face that seemed familiar, quite literally so. Couldn't be, though. "Who are you?" "If you don't know that, I might as well be... John. John is a nice name, don't you think?" Ardyn beamed at the king. Close up, he seemed to be a rather nice person. Worth of cake. "It is, and this is some really good tea." He smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm sure my son mentioned your name at some point, but I seem to have forgotten." "Oh, I'm rather sure he did not. Calls me uncle, like the fledgling does. But what's a name for a boy his age? Nothing more then a name. No stories, and no memories. How pleasant that must be." Moods flew through him today like clouds over the sky on a windy day. "To be carefree is the privilege of the young and the foolish. Best we can do is let them enjoy it while it lasts." A shadow over the king's smile, just for a moment. “This may be true for most, but not for all, and not for one that bears the world's fate upon his slender shoulders.“ A part of his cake had fallen into Ardyn's tea, so he looked rather sad. The shadow grew darker, and the smiled started to fade. "That's not exactly common knowledge." “Oh yes, I know. Would you like cream with that? I would like some cream.“ Ardyn beamed. He liked having the Lucis Caelum some well deserved bad mood. Regis took a deep breath. Tea, and cake, and a potentially dangerous secret. "Certainly, if you don't mind," he said. "Then how do you know?" Again, it was the face that made him ask. "What is your part in this?" Ardyn wandered into the kitchen to get some cream in a spraycan, for the easy fix. “Take a wild guess, Regis.“ Pushing denial out of the way was hard work for most people on their best days, but the boulder Regis had to move was large, and heavy, and not exactly shaped to roll easily. Ardyn could watch the whole process play out on his face. He sprayed a smiley face on the slices of cake and watched him in delight. Another deep breath, and a little more tea, staring at the face on his cake. Regis finally cleared his throat. "You look taller in the murals."

“And I gained a few pounds since then, but then you always look like a better version of yourself in official portraits. Would you like a drink? I am quite sure Cor won't mind.“ If there had ever been a moment where a drink had been more appropriate, Regis couldn't remember it. He nodded. Ardyn brought him a glass with ice and, after a moment of hesitation, the whole bottle of gin. “Cor drinks this on really bad days, and I suppose this counts as one for you? Oh well, I do not blame anyone who is not keen on family visitations.“ "... not as bad as it could be." Still, he poured, and he drank.

The prophecy certainly didn't say anything about a man in a bathrobe who  looked as tired as Regis felt, or about the young Chosen King hanging out with his 'nephew'. Something wasn't  going quite as it was written, and maybe there was a chance in that. There was a number of issues that could be addressed here, a whole lot of questions asked. He summed them up in one. "So," Regis said, "where do we go from here?" “We could play something. Chess maybe, or Scrabble. Or we could talk about if it wouldn't be a grand old idea to lock me up somewhere where I can hurt neither you nor your boy.“ Coming from a man in pajamas with bunnies on them, even if they were quite obviously tailored, the latter sounded rather strange. "I thought about it for a moment, but somehow I get the feeling that locking you up would be a pointless exercise." The king picked up the plate with his slice of cake, and calmly cut a piece off with his fork. "And then there is the curious fact that you had plenty of time and opportunity to hurt Noctis, and yet never harmed a hair on his head." “Even though he might need a haircut, but who am I to talk.“ Ardyn stuck with tea and cake, and he smiled shyly. “Your boy has done nothing to deserve being part of horrible game they decided to play, and I... I'm so very tired of it.“ "I can only begin to imagine." This was difficult. Not hard as such, if it meant possibly saving his son, but difficult. As his ancestors before him, his whole life had been informed by his duty, and his duty was bound to devotion, to the Crystal, to Bahamut, to the Gods. If he remained faithful, if his family literally gave their life to the cause, the kingdom would be safe. Only that wasn't true anymore

It seemed that after more than two millennia, the bargain was finally off. It had only been meant to be upheld until the appearance of the Chosen King. That he was going to die early was a matter of fact he had come to terms with, but it became clearer year by year that in the end, the sacrifice would be for naught - no Wall would keep Niflheim at bay. Neither his kingdom nor his child were safe. This was difficult, and uncomfortable, but then again, the last ten years had been nothing but a chain of difficult and uncomfortable decisions. "What keeps us from laying down the cards and leaving the table?" “That your boy will have to kill me in the end, because he might be the only way out for me.“ Ardyn seemed to shrink with these words. “And that I fear his sickness is part of the Prophecy, and that they might try to end him if he does not play along.“ Blackness welled up in his eyes, and he wiped his nose with his sleeve. “I'm not ready to die yet. Have hardly lived.“ Regis frowned. "I think we can agree that even if we play by the rules, all of this is meant to happen once Noctis is king, and I plan on delaying that for as long I can. Time we can use to find a way around all of this."

“How I wish you to be right, child, and wise. There is one thing I have to ask of you, though.“ "Which is?" “Do not blame your Heart. I do not know if he knows by now or if he just prefers not to think about it, but he took me in out of sheer kindness, and he was the first to show such kindness in ages. He bears with me, and I am grateful for it. Not as my Shield, but as my friend, and those are hard to come by.“ The golden eyes were very focused now, shining like coins in the afternoon sun. "I won't."

The king smiled. "One of the few things I can promise, these days." Ardyn nodded slowly. "I do not envy you, child. Too well do I know your burden." Being called "child" was more than just a little odd, even if it made sense here. He was just about to reply when there was the staccato sound of a key being too hastily fumbled into a lock, and the door opened. "I'm home! Uncle Ardyn?" There was a slightly panicked edge to the voice that the boy wasn't good at disguising. "Ah, fledgling. Fancy meeting you here. Would you mind a round of Rummy with two old men? It is rather boring if only we play." Prom knew that air of seriousness that hung over them only too well from grown-up-talks, but there was at least no bloodshed, only cake. Nobody was in chains or threatening anyone with anything sharp or black, either. A short glance out of the window - no flying garulas. Noct owed him lunch.

"Sure," he said with a relieved smile. "I'll... just take my stuff back to my room first." "Do that. And hang the laundry while you're at it, will you?" They waited patiently until they heard the door to the boy's room. "You wanted to say something, child." "Only that the chance to turn the tide, as small as it may be, lifts that burden a little. Now, just to clarify," Regis said, "I would be correct in saying that everyone involved in this - everyone who is not a God - simply wants to live a normal, dignified life with a somewhat respectable mortal life span?" "I think this is what I want, indeed," his ancestor answered after short silence. "I'd be willing to help, even. Might have to." "I agree. Any plan with any chance of success would hinge on your cooperation, at the very least." The king thought for a moment, his eyebrows slowly knitting together in a frown. "And on Noctis being aware of it." "And him being willing. I thought about forcing him, but... there is cake, and puppies, and the fledgling, and..." Ardyn's voice broke. "I am glad that you found a place to call home." Nothing good could have come of leaving him to his own devices. Neither for the man himself, nor for Noct, or Lucis, or the world at large. "I am very aware that this is what keeps me here, child, and I try my hardest to let it." Some of Cor's gin ended up in his empty mug. His hands shivered. "The young oracle. You may not allow she follows my path." "How so?" Ardyn emptied his cup. Put it on the table. Started pouring tea. "This is her taking the pain of strangers, like I used to do. Taking their darkness." He kept on pouring. "Things are good for quite a while. She'll bear it. Get used to it. Won't hurt that much anymore. You can keep smiling." And he kept pouring. The mug spilled over, dark tea running over the table, dripping down on the carpet. "This is me." "I see," Regis said. After a moment of thought, he added, "On the long run we will need her support, too. I don't think she would knowingly work against a plan that leads to less bloodshed. Then again, I haven't seen the girl since she was twelve. It does defy divine will, and she is the oracle." “Doing what she does isn't exactly the best for your sanity.“ Ardyn's grin had more than a tinge of desperation, and he only now noticed that his little demonstration might leave stains on the carpet, so he went to get towels. "So we have not only Noctis and you to save, but Lunafreya as well." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "And there is a deadline, so to speak - we need to act before the girl loses it and sets events into motion that we cannot stop." Like waking the Gods. That would be a problem. "She might be reasoned with, if she is alone. You know how to play Rummy, don't you?" A slight nod into the direction the boy had disappeared in, and a door opening. Regis nodded. "I do." "I can take a little longer with the laundry," Prompto said, with an awkward smile and both eyebrows raised, pointing a thumb over his shoulder back out of the room. "If that helps."

"Will you stay for dinner, Regis? That would be nice. It has been a while since we had a guest." "With pleasure. I haven't really had the chance yet to see the rest of the family, have I?" “Then I shall make a dinner fit for a king. Fledgling? Grab a pen and join us for a while, I have a list to make!“ Prompto rolled his eyes - he was sixteen, it happened automatically - and turned to grab that pen and paper. “So. I will need...“ He dictated a whole lot of things, and after he was half through his order, Prom knew what it would be: homemade ramen. In uncle's world, serving someone a bowl of that stuff was close to a confession of love. His Majesty must have done something really right. So that had gone a lot better than expected, and he was getting ramen night out of it, too. Sweet. The only question that remained was how dinner would go once his dad came back home. He should probably give him a warning that yes, Ardyn was home. Prompto simply assumed that Cor knew where the king was. So the minute he went out to get the ingredients, he wrote a text, [guest f dinner, all ok, uncle makes ramen] That should about cover it. "Do you have preferences for dessert, Regis?" Prom's phone vibrated. [Surprising.]

[a freakin miracle. need anything from the store?]

"I think you can never go wrong with ice cream." [May need a drink.]

"Oh, I do think you can go quite wrong with ice, but never with chocolate. So, fledgling, you'll bring...," and his list continued. The evening would end in a coma, but one that was caused by food. [gin's open] Another text before Prompto went back to taking notes, this one to Noct: [ur dad stays f dinner, u owe me lunch.] [Shit. Have an eye on him. I'm coming.]

The last time uncle Ardyn had been seriously drunk had been years ago. Prompto had been at a sleepover, and Ardyn had been worried . Dad never told him exactly what happened, but there had been blood and tears, and Dad had been to hospital. With a few drinks and a good mood, uncle was simply excellent company. [will do]

"Okay, right, I think I'm gonna need a truck for that." "Why don't you get your friend? Should be enough for one more." It easily would be, and maybe for breakfast. "Really?" Excitement or annoyance? There was no way to tell. He looked down at his phone again pretty much immediately.

[u just got invited. (help. ><)] [am i beesee? Oo]

“Why not? The whole family gathered. That would be nice, wouldn't it?“ The look that Ardyn threw him gave Regis the very distinct feeling that his ancestor was just screwing with the teenager and enjoying himself immensely. [no ur not ffs] [it's my uncle + ur dad] [my dad? here soon] [get me out or haul ur ass over here] Regis had a hard time hiding his grin. The beard helped a little. [are we getting ENGAGED?!] “Do you think you can be back in half an hour, fledling? Then I'll start with the dough now.“ ( "Yeah, sure." [凸(｀△´＋）] “You want to help, Regis? You can sieve the flour. That is a pretty important part.“ Even Prompto noticed this uncle was talking to the King like he was a kid. And that the King was, very patiently, letting him - at least in these four walls. Still, he needed to get out of here now. Prompto grabbed his backpack and fled.