#the only canon i need is their camera brands

[tequiilasunriise]

Random canonshipping headcanons because I’m invested in this crackship:

Instead of common petnames such as ‘babe’ or ‘darling’, Perrin affectionately calls Viola ‘shutterbug’ bc DUH meanwhile Viola gives me ‘my muse’ vibes but also ‘ma cherie’ because French™️

Viola’s lockscreen is a quick phone pic she took of Perrin’s intensely focused face as she’s about to take a photo of some passerby Santalune Forest Pokémon, but the best part is Viola’s vivillon being casually perched on Perrin’s head the entire time kinda like a comically oversized bow

What can I say when you’re a Pokémon photographer you get used to staying extremely still as not to spook your subject, and sometimes you just get used to becoming a perch fer wild Pokémon who mistake you as a funky looking tree

In this case Viola’s ace just really likes to vibe with her trainer’s girlfriend and Perrin is more than happy with the arrangement even if she doesn’t notice the giant butterfly perched on her half of the time because yeah she’s just used to being a makeshift tree fer randomass mons

Perrin’s lockscreen is a photo she took on her camera of a victorious Viola leaping with joy and a jubilant sparkle in her eye after a hard fought gym battle against a tough opponent she had narrowly beat, the vibrant gym leader celebrating with her vivillon is defo one of Perrin’s favorite pics ever

Yes Perrin loves to photograph Pokémon, but her gym leader girlfriend in action is a very, very close second when it comes to favorite subjects

When it comes to how they met in the first place, I like to think Perrin travels around the world photographing a variety of Pokémon, and when she heard of a Kalosian gym leader who was also a Pokémon photographer specializing in bug types girly just had to visit the region and check her work out

They met in a gallery showcasing Viola’s latest collection of photos, and hit it off real quick with their shared love of capturing the hearts of Pokémon in a single snap (infodumping to each other bout their fave photographers, techniques, praising the other’s work, etc etc)

You know inside jokes with the homies that require seven layers of context and a highly specific sense of humor? Besides a love Pokémon photography itself, Perrin and Viola bond over photographer memes that only they understand like anyone who would overhear the conversation would be so fucking confused

Like, their Pokégram dms are just filled with spamming the other really niche photographer memes/reels because meme spamming is its own love language

Need Viola taking Perrin as her plus one to some Kalos Pokémon League event and Perrin to make some obscure reference that sends the bug type specialist giggling and Korrina leans over to Grant to playfully stage whisper, “Damn, you never made her laugh like that when you two were dating” and Grant would roll his eyes as he goodnaturedly shoves off Korrina and mutter something about weird photographer humor

Grant and Viola as besties who tried dating but found they were better as homies and Grant wingmanning Viola when she was mad crushing on this traveling photographer can I get an amennnnn

Jokes on her while Viola was meticulously planning how she’s going to rizz up this baddie with box dye, Perrin thought they were already dating and Viola preferred to take it slow because useless sapphics <3333

When they’re OFFICIALLY dating not much really changes between the two expect more physical affection (smoochies!!) because ah yes Viola, her calling you all these sweet nicknames and consistently ‘hanging out’ with you all alone at Kalos’ most famous romantic spots is soooo normal gal pal behavior mhm yeah y’all dressing up all cute and stylish to go cafe hopping around Lumiose City was soooo platonic

Perrin and several of Viola’s friends tease the HELL outta her fer this fer pretty much the rest of time but hey!!! Now that the air is cleared, Perrin turns up the blatant flirtiness with her official girlfriend now that she knows Viola is comfortable with going not so slow so to speak >:)))

Rip Santalune City’s gym leader girly got that raging gay panic on a daily basis now

There’s tons of long distance girlfriends shenanigans because Viola has to consistently stay in Kalos to run her gym while Perrin continues her travels, this leads to timezone shenanigans where it’s like three am fer one of them and the other is just casually grabbing brunch but it’s finnneeee gods knows the gays don’t need sleep

Ruining your circadian rhythm fer your gay lover is also a love language guys trust trust trust

Assuming they met and started dating pre-Kalos game events, imagine it’s a videocall that’s like:

“Shutterbug, hey, um, why does every news station say Kalos was hit with a huge mega death ray?”

“Oh yeahhh don’t worry about it the whole thing got resolved by that super tough challenger I told you about a few weeks ago, anyways LOOK at this gorgeous Volcorona I was so lucky to meet today!”

“Viola please- wait those wings are so glossy wow the trainer must be taking such good care of them.”

Perrin says she’s not sure how a single kid can singlehandedly save the whole region from certain doom mixed with legendary Pokémon, the events of the DLC go down (whatever they may be), and then she calls Viola with a, “…okay, okay yeah I get it now.”

Anyways that’s all I got fer now if I decide to make a part two list then yiipppeeeee I love getting invested in total crackships

[pommpuriinn]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪. 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉’𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝑒, 𝑒𝓈𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑜 2

｡𖦹°‧ pairing ｡𖦹°‧ - idol!yeonjun x superstar!oc x idol!jungkook

｡𖦹°‧ synopsis ｡𖦹°‧ - a love triangle between Hollywood’s sweetheart, Korea’s golden maknae, and Gen Z’s IT boy. Estrella is a very busy woman never had time dating with all her photoshoots, movie offers, recording sessions, dance practices, and public appearances. As she’s doing a little world tour promotions for her latest mini album ‘You & Me’, and let’s just say that stop last a little longer and it becomes a little too interesting.

Italics = korean

Interview outfit | makeup | hair | nails

As Megan, Sana, and Daya watch their little star do her interview with the very popular Yoo Jaesuk. “She’s doing so good.” Sana whisper yelled into Daya’s ear. Sana just wants to squeeze Estrella’s cheeks and tell her she’s doing a ‘good job!’. “Shh, she’s about to start talking.” Daya shrugs Sana off of her.

“Yeah, um during 2022 I only release a mini album because I was really busy acting in movies and walking down the runways for all the brands I worked with.” Estrella answers one of the female mc question. “You were so busying how did you have time to record your songs.” Jaesuk was amazed at Estrella’s schedule. “Let me try and answer in Korean.” Everyone was excited hearing Estrella speak their native language. “Right after filming I would go to the company and spent like 4 hours r-recording and producing. Or I would record on…” Estrella looks at Megan asking for help through her eyes. Megan got the memo and mouthed the words to her.

“How cute~” the female mc cooed. “Ah, ah ok! I recorded some on my phone during the filming breaks too and yeah.” Estrella laughs at herself. “I sound like baby.” She covers her face with her hands feeling embarrassed. “No, no you speak good!” Jaesuk attempting speaking English to make Estrella feel better.

They moved on and talked about how Estrella trained like a kpop trainee and how it amazes them that a western artist trained like that. Along with asking if she could sing a bit of ‘Eleven’ because her voice sounds so heavenly. “Of course I’ll sing for you.” Estrella lightly cleared her throat before starting.

🎵but then he showed up unexpected out of blue, saying all these things that I already thought I knew,

yeah, he got the physical I want it all for real, but honestly, what I love the must is how he makes me feel🎵

The room cheered for Estrella, “thank you.” She instantly feels embarrassed again. “Woah, her voice sounds like a siren.” the female mc gasps. “I got goosebumps!” Jaesuk shows his arm. “Once again thank you for coming to Korea and you need to try my recommendations because Korean food is really the best.” The female mc plead making Estrella giggle. “I-I will.”

“We will cheer you on during your promotions and please come back Estrella-ssi.” Jaesuk smile towards Estrella making her ‘awe’ and place her hand over heart. “Thank you for making me feel welcome, and I will make sure the next we see each other my Korean will be better.” The room laugh, as the three hugged each other before signing out. Before fully heading out the two mcs and Estrella took pictures and properly said their ‘goodbyes’.

⭒˚‧ ︵‿⭒ཐིཋྀ ཐིཋྀ⭒‿︵ ‧˚⭒

Fans were waiting outside the studio with their phones and huge cameras ready. The second Estrella stepped foot the fans got even closer. “Woah, woah back up everyone!” Estrella’s security place their hands outward making the fans step back. “Unnie! You’re so pretty!”

“Unnie you did well today!”

“Make sure to eat and rest a lot!”

“Pose unnie!”

Estrella tried her best to thank and listen to everyone, completing hearts, and posing her their cameras. She knew that the people with hugs canon cameras were fansites, she didn’t know if they were specifically dedicated to her. But who cares because she definitely gave them all the right poses and even more, since back at home her fansites were the paparazzis and they LOVE Estrella. Estrella is known to eat up the camera and the people live for it, especially the paparazzis.

Once getting into the car fans still tried talking to her in front of her window which she rolled down. “Um…make sure to e-eat well and…oh! Get home sa-" Estrella was trying to think what was ‘safely’ in Korean. “Ah! Safely, get home safely. Bye bye~” Estrella rolls up her window still waving ‘bye’. “I really need to study more.” Estrella huffs, as she slouches in her seat. “When we get to the hotel I’ll pull out the books.” Megan teases Estrella while petting her head. “Before we do let’s stop at a convenience store to get snacks!” Sana chimes in from the back.

The team may have went a little overboard with the snacks, but who can blame them. They don’t have any of this back at home so they must try as much as they can. “Oh! Is this the alcohol?” Estrella hit the Soju section. “Yeah, want to try some?” Megan asks, while scanning through the flavors. “We should get the fruity flavors.” Sana points. “Let’s gets these four then.” Estrella and Sana each got two bottles. “Ok let’s go before you guys empty out the store.”

As they placed everything on the cashier’s table they notice how the cashier couldn’t hold in her excitement when she saw Estrella. “Oh I’m a big fan!” The cashier spoke in English. “Really? Thank you.” Estrella smiles and gave a little bow to the cashier. “Can you sign this receipt for me please.” The cashier placed an old receipt with a pen. “Sure, what’s the name?” Estrella was making the cashier girl blush with her eye contact. “Heemin.” Heemin was now hiding her smile with her hand covering. “I also plan on going to your music bank promotions.” Heemin adds. “Oh really? I’ll make sure to look for you then.” Estrella hands back the now signed receipt. It didn’t really take long for Heemin to scan their items and bag them, and once she handed over the last bag she gave everyone a quick bow, “thank you again for the autograph!”

“No problem, I’ll see you Heemin~” Once the coast was clear Heemin did what any other fangirl would do and do their little freak out moment because they got to meet their favorite artist.

⭒˚‧ ︵‿⭒ཐིཋྀ ཐིཋྀ⭒‿︵ ‧˚⭒

Back at the hotel all the girls did their night time routine and all gathered to Estrella’s room to gossip and eat their snacks. “I almost forgot! Estrella look, I’m going to tell you this now before anything happens ok?” Megan fully turned to face a confused Estrella. “There will be pretty good looking guys aka idols, and they most likely will try to talk to you but not in front of their fans. Because they will literally be crucified by their female Korean fans, not all but a good bunch. I’m not saying don’t talk to them, but just keep an eye out.”

“So don’t date any?” Daya asks. “It’s just there’s some eyes that we don’t see watching those particular idols and they mostly likely make false claims, and always make the women the bad guy.” Megan explains. “Ah, the double standards.” Sana nods. “Exactly and I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Megan holds Estrella’s hands. “Don’t worry. I understand Megan.” Estrella knows that Megan only means good by this. “Would you get love letters from idols Meg?” Sana gasps. “I mean,” Megan cockily flips her hair back and shrugs. “I got a few.” The whole group squeals at Megan’s attitude. “Shut up!” Daya jokingly pushes Megan’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t blame them though, Megan is a pretty girl and who doesn’t love pretty girls like us.” Estrella makes a point, causing the group to giggle. “Ok, ok we have to go to sleep. It may be a Saturday, but precious star over here has her first music program tomorrow in the morning.” Megan starts picking up the rappers off the floor. “Oh right. What’s it call again? Inki-inkigayo?” Sana asks while helping holding up the plastic bag for Megan to throw the trash in. Megan hums ‘yes’, “we have to run some rehearsals before the actual performances then perform about two or three times to get all the camera angles. Then do it again for ‘You & Me’ stage.”

Estrella groans and falls back on her bed, “it’s going to be so hard waking up!”

taglist»-♡→ @iveivory @jjkluver7 @lively-potter

[vigilanteshtagain]

HEADCANONS BECAUSE I'M BORED

GOJO

- Uses Instagram the way Millennials do (the first and seconds year's get second hand embarrassment)

- Drives like a maniac. Yaga has explicitly forbidden him to drive students around

- NEVER washes his blindfold, and if anyone suggests he should wash it he will get offended

- Cooks very well but settles for takes outs and fancy dinners with his students because he HATES to eat alone and has no one to share his food with back home, makes him even lonelier

- HAS to smell good ALL the time, and has a collection of different colognes, each one for specific ocassions

- Enjoyed taking Megumi to the park and playing with him, and wishes he wouldn't have grown up so fast

- Made hand crafted albums of every single little thing Megumi and Tsumiki have done, bad portraits of him and all

- Kissed sucked Geto's toes at some point, I'm not sorry

- Nevers answers the phone, much to Yaga's annoyance

- His heart warms up whenever his students bring him little gifts, like sweet pastries

- Defends his students with his LIFE, but this is canon already

- Is an ugly crier, like really bad. He yells when he cries. Shoko just stays there giving him the foulest glare.

GETO

- Refuses to cut his hair, no matter how many times Mimiko and Nanako have complained about finding long hairs plastered on the shower walls

- Keeps photos of his time in Jujutsu High in a box, and looks at them on lonely nights (specially photos of Gojo and him SHUT UP THIS IS CANON TO ME)

- Is allergic to nuts

- Has considered getting Mimiko and Nanako a pet, maybe a dog or a cat (I see them more as cats people)

- Definitely drew Gojo's eyes in the middle of class, multiple times because he couldn't get the colors "right"

- Is a tea person

- Sleeps like a victorian child on their deathbed, he's way too dramatic

- Tax evader

NANAMI

- Shops EXCLUSIVELY in brand stores. Dior, Channel, Gucci, you name it.

- Owns an air frier, uses it to it's maximum capacity. As soon as he got one, pots, pans and stoves doesn't exist to him anymore (I don't even know why I included this)

- Is in desperate need of a pet, this man needs some love and comfort in his life but his job as a sorcerer makes it difficult to have one

- Doesn't actually hate Gojo, he just gets heavily annoyed by him. After all, Gojo and Shoko are the only "close" classmates he has left.

- Pets stray dogs and cats on the streets and feeds them whenever he has time

- Actually likes that horrendous tie

- Knows how to play an air instrument, not sure which one but definitely knows how to play at least one

NOBARA

- Follows every beauty and fashion influencer, her for you page is flooded with that

- She's a Tini fan no doubt, La Triple T on repeat for days

- Can't dance to save her life

- Shows her affection through quality time

- Certified Barb along with Yuji, Nicki Minaj's biggest fans. Megumi acts like he doesn't care but he is just as Barb as they are.

- Her cf on Instagram is basically her day to day with the idiots she calls classmates (She likes to document them to have memories for the future)

- Actually very good at math, despite her not liking numbers.

- Gets road rage even if she's not the one driving

- Got Megumi into skincare

- The first one to propose a movie night between the first and second year's, she likes when all of them hang out

- She's the type to create a group chat to plan a birthday party for her friends and organizes everything

- Has a free pass to everyone's dorm, like she sees the door open and enters just to hang out, SHE DOESN'T CARE

- She enjoys training with the second years, specially Maki (NOBAMAKI FOR THE WIN)

- She gives practical gifts

- Gets way too much into TikTok drama, it's the only thing she'll talk about for days and it's overwhelming

YUJI

- Had a dog when he was little, probably named it something cheesy

- Likes reggaeton, in love with Karol G (a ver, quién no?), Jennifer Lawrence who

- Sunset pictures fill up his camera roll

- Doesn't like needles, still gets nervous when he get shots or vaccines

- He does this thing where he chews really fast whenever the food it's too hot to eat instead of letting it cool down. I don't know how to explain it but it's painful to watch, Megumi and Nobara smacks him on the head for that

- Definitely the type to bake a cake for his friend's birthdays, he bakes it with so much love I'm crying

- Gets his feelings hurt rather easily but he is quick to forgive

- Knows every single trending celebrity gossip and talks about it with Nobara and Megumi

- A KING at dancing, he can dance pretty much anything

- He gives very well thought gifts, like he really puts effort and pay attention to what his friends like

- He calls Nanami just to see how he is doing, needless to say Nanami is deeply touched by this

- Snores so bad Sukuna thought he was going to choke the first nights after Yuji ate the finger, now it's just background noise for him

MEGUMI

- Cuddles with his shikigamis on cold nights, and takes his demon dogs on walks

- He's very reliable, the first one out of his friends to find solutions to a problem

- SMART, but this is already canon

- Taught his demon dogs to steal and hide Gojo's clothes just to mess with him, he's a MENACE

- CAN'T TAKE A JOKE, he doesn't understand TikTok references it's so annoying.

- He looks like he's mad all the time when he's out, so bad sometimes people glare at him unprovoked

- The type to say no whenever someone asks him to do something but ends up doing it anyway

- Has thought about getting a tattoo related to his shikigamis in the future, but he's not really sure if he's going to get it done (Probably his demon dogs mark or Mahoraga's wheel because God he thinks about summoning it first thing in the morning, "With this treasure I summon" in italics tattooed on his forearm)

- Neat freak, NEEDS to have his room clean and organized at all times (if he doesn't, that will be his last straw and will summon Mahoraga)

- Gives well thought gifts, but plays it off and says it's nothing

- Bad grammar makes him wince, needless to say he has perfect grammar. His essays are perfect.

- He was that annoying child that corrected everyone whenever they said something wrong, like "Um, actually you're wrong because-", UGH. He's still like that but now he just throws a nasty glare and corrects them.

- His love language is acts of service but quality time is also important to him (despite how he pretends to hate hanging out with Yuji and Nobara)

- A very decent driver, Gojo taught him despite how he drives like a beast

___________________________________________

Sorry this was too long, but one thing led to another. Jjk brain rot is consuming me.

[13thdoctorposts]

I hate that RTD and Tennant and crew can't leave the show alone, that not only does RTD act like his formula is the only/best and not only is Tennant incapable of fucking stepping back from the role even after a grossly egotistical first run in the 00s, but a generation of fans only recognise/like Who when its in that image. And that hurts the show massively, it hurts other actors both in the sense that they aren't allowed from out of his fucking shadow and in that literal workplace abuse and media smear campaigns are excused when it happens around them.

Yeah, considering the most questionable things seem to happen under RTDs watch but the media never has anything to say negative about him compared to the level of shit levered at Moff but then even more so at Chibs, especially when Chibs seems like the most humble of the 3 is crazy.

I've read a lot of comments that Chibs wasnt good enough to Showrun as big a show as Doctor Who he didnt have the skills for it, but lucky RTD is back because he has the skills to do it, the cope from people is crazy!

Especially considering the shit show that seems to exist now, leaks, upon leaks, upon leaks, Ncuti's announcement almost instantly being over shadowed by Tennant's announcement, and the fact that Ncuti's happened on a red carpet... they would have known it was about to be leaked and couldn't have come up with something a bit better even if it was on a short deadline? Didn't really matter I guess Tennent coming back and being announced the following week seemed more important to them. The Bi-regeneration, which within the show lore I don't care about, do canon braking things, but of course that left the 14th Doctor out there doing his own thing with his own TARDIS completely overshadowing Ncuti, the number of comments I've seen about 15th not being the 'real' Doctor or being a clone Doctor etc. and for what to keep Tennent around off camera? So that people would question 15th legitimacy? To make sure Ncuti couldn't have his time alone to shine? Then we have the recent articles saying Millie was dropped/axed... with no evidence spread across the internet and front pages of papers across the UK saying she was dropped/axe for inappropriate behaviour with no elaboration, just trying to ruin a 19 year olds career with nothing to corroborate or evidence given and neither Bad Wolf or The BBC bothered to come out and clarify anything even though these stories also unofficially announced a new companion... one that even Mandip Gill said she has kindly messaged and Radio Times has spoken about, but Bad Wolf and The BBC haven't even announced her and given her that moment. And a side note to that is the new white companion got introduced with the TARDIS by the New Doctor as an official announcement the woman of colour companion got announced in a bunch of papers bad mouthing the former companion, guess like Ncuti not everyone gets to have the same treatment. So Chibs wasnt good enough to Showrun?! No one knew Jodies casting announcement that didnt get leaked, even Dan got his own video announcement as a new companion, nothing to do with his writing but Showrunning the show with the limited BBC budget he had even though he was able to keep his house in order for over 5 years while RTD, with his big BBC/Disney budget doesnt seem to keep anything in order, and Chibs is the one who supposedly doesnt have the skills to Showrun.

I think we really did need a brand new show runner and Tennent should have only returned for the 60th if it was a multi Doctor story, Multi, not as in just with 15 in the last ep but with previous Docs. All the 60th did was give the 10th Doctor a happy ending that was seriously weird for all the Doctors who came after him, so narratively was just a WTF, like you just told a companion you had feelings for them and couldn't settle down and 3 days later settle down with a friend from 1000 years ago (in the doctors time) talk about jarring to watch, the episodes were not celebratory in anyway, wasn't written any better then 13 era despite what we were told we would get and left 14 there so people could make countless videos and write countless blog posts about how 15 isnt legitimate. what a celebration!

I think we needed a brand new show runner, no having 10 and 14 to make Tennent even more special by putting him in every Doctor line up from now on twice and had Ncuti come in. I understand He couldn't film for the 60th, but they managed to put a Christmas Ep out with him 3 weeks later maybe instead of the 60th and Christmas ep it could have been a movie length ep with Ncuti so filming could have started later.

Thats a pretty long rant sorry. But in conclusion we should have just moved forwards instead of bothering to look back, and given the new actors the lime light in the way they deserved.

[baby-yongbok]

Poetry

Chapter Six - Mr.H

Hyunjin x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff with a swirl of angst

Summary: The night that you see Hyunjin again after your date is full of surprises. You can keep your cool but can he?

Word Count: 5,407

A/N: Things are happening, ya'll. I'm so excited to be back in Fan Fiction land <3 + If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the previous parts before this one so that you get the ✨full experience✨. See you next Thursday at 6 💕

Part Five

✧Poetry Series Masterlist✧

✧Main Masterlist✧

There wasn’t a moment of silence after Hyunjin left, you spent the entirety of your breakfast answering questions while giving Changbin and Serena as many details as you could before you had to leave for work. You will admit that you appreciate how involved your friends are, especially Changbin. You were almost afraid that he was going to go full big brother mode and quiz Hyunjin the moment that he met him but he actually kept his cool, let’s see how it goes next time. 

Speaking of next time, you haven’t seen Hyunjin since your date. The two of you have been texting nonstop and you even spoke on the phone two days ago but neither of you have brought up a plan to meet. He canceled your meetup this week because he had to help his roommate Felix with something upstate. You weren’t mad about it though, you took the free time as an opportunity to look into a new hobby. 

You have a bit of a tradition that you started during your second year of university, every autumn you look into building a new skill or taking up a new hobby. You weren’t sure what to get into this year until you saw a flier on your way to work yesterday. Apparently your local community center has a photography club that meets on Fridays where you’re taught everything that you need to know by a professional. There’s no way that you could turn a blind eye to such a wonderful free opportunity. So here you are, walking through the large glass doors and into the quiet lobby. Your brand new Canon camera is placed safely in its case hanging from your shoulder and your tote bag is hanging from the other. You looked up at the digital board by the reception desk to look for the room number for your class. Once you found it you made your way down the hall, humming a smooth tune to try and calm your nerves. You were more than excited but you were almost positive that the club would be filled with experienced photographers looking for community and you are far from experienced.

The door to the room is already open when you reach the room and there are a few people in there talking amongst themselves and fiddling with their cameras. You enter quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself but that fails once you get half way into the room. The group swiftly looks up at you, each one of them studying your frame with furrowed brows and that’s when you notice the elephant in the room… they’re all teenagers.

“Hi, you must be new.” One of the girls breaks the silence. “I’m Mia.”

“Hi, I’m Y/n. Nice to meet you.” You move to sit by the window, right in the middle of the row. You never liked being too far from the instructor but you also hate being in the front. 

“I’m James and this is Olivia, she’s a bit shy.” One of the boys sitting against the wall introduces himself and the girl sitting on his lap. Olivia offers a timid wave before looking back down at her camera. You smile, waving back at her. 

“Leo, stop being rude. Say hi to the new girl.” Mia pushes the boy sitting in front of her and he curses at her quietly before turning to you and waving passive aggressively. You wave back silently as you try to hold back a chuckle.

“Leo is an asshole, don’t mind him.” Mia explains before glancing down at her phone. 

“Two minutes until Mr.H gets here.” James nods his head, only half paying attention as he looks past Mia and over to you, clearly itching to ask you a question.

“Am I crazy or are you the oldest one here?”

“Oh my god, what the hell, James.” Mia’s exasperated voice echoes through the room followed by Oliva’s laugh. 

“It’s an observation, fucking shoot me.” You chuckle a bit, nodding your head. 

“You’re not crazy, I’m probably about seven years older than you guys.” 

“Oh you’re about the same age as Mr.H” You pinch your brows together softly, you didn’t expect the teacher to be around your age. “Maybe we can hook you two up, he desperately needs a girlfriend.”

“What are you going on about, James?” You shift your attention towards the person speaking, that voice sounds so familiar and you realize why as soon as your eyes land on his figure coming through the door. Hyunjin is the teacher?

“I’m just trying to get you a girlfriend, Mr.H” You watch as Hyunjin walks over to the desk at the front of the classroom, he hasn’t looked up from the packet in his hands since he came through the door. You take a moment to admire him, he doesn’t look as dressed up as he usually does, he looks relaxed and cozy. You could get used to this look. 

“Why don’t you worry about perfecting your depth of field instead. You’re not here to get me a girlfriend.” Hyunjin smiles to himself as he leans against the desk, still focused on the paper in front of him. The others in the room immediately start laughing and making fun of James. 

“That’s what you get.” Mia laughs as she moves from sitting on top of the desk.

“Whatever, Y/n is way too pretty for you anyway.” You cover your mouth as you try to stifle a laugh. Hyunjin immediately looks up at the sound of your name, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin asks before turning his head in your direction. He freezes for a second, his eyes glossing over your frame slowly to make sure that it’s really you. 

“Oh um you must be new.” He stands, pushing a hand into the pocket of his worn denim jeans and making his way over to you. 

“Yeah I am.” You grin, playing along with him. Once he reaches you he offers you his hand and you immediately take it into your own. 

“I’m the photography instructor for this program, you can call me Hyunjin.” He smirks down at you and you nod your head. 

“I’m Y/n.” He gives your hand a light squeeze before dropping it. 

“It’s a pleasure to have you in our club.” He winks at you before turning on his heels and stalking back over to his desk.

“Why can she call you Hyunjin but we can’t?” Mia whines, earning a dramatic eye roll from Hyunjin.

“Because I’m eight years older than you.” You chuckle lightly and Hyunjin smiles at the sound.

“How do you know that she’s your age?” James argues and Hyunjin shrugs. 

“Are you guys here to question me or to actually learn something?” The group of teens sigh as Hyunjin starts looking through his bag. “I made a project sheet for today but I suppose I can save that for next week now that we have a new member. Let’s focus on questions and practice for today.”

He pulls a thick folder out of his bag and places it on the desk right next to his massive Sony DSLR camera. You feel a bit intimidated by this side of Hyunjin, he seems to be very in his element here. Maybe he’s been doing this for a while.

“Can we do an object project?” Olivia asks in a soft voice, catching Hyunjin’s attention.

“I like that idea, what do you guys want to shoot today?” You can’t help but stare as Hyunjin talks to the kids, he seems to have a pretty solid relationship with them. You stare down at his Versace bracelet on your wrist as you listen to him talk to the kids. 

“Alright so that’s what it’ll be, four photo’s of your favorite place to be in this community center. It can be a place that you have a positive memory of or just a place where you feel the most comfortable. Today's object is a clock, if you don’t have a clock in the shot then it doesn’t count. Get creative, there are no limits. I want two black and white photos and two sepia.” The kids all stand from their seats, pulling their camera straps around their necks and talking about where to go.

“Be back here in forty-five minutes. I will set a timer, please don’t make me come find you.” The group mumbles a half hearted ‘okay’ before turning their attention back to their previous conversation. You take this time to unpack your own camera, turning it on and flipping through the settings. You made sure to watch a couple of videos before coming here but everything that you learned went right out the window once you saw Hyunjin. 

“I’ll be right with you, Y/n.” Hyunjin smiles over at you before turning his attention towards Leo. He’s been so quiet that you forgot that he was there. Hyunjin kneels in front of the boy's desk, leaning into his space a bit before whispering. You decided to look away to give them some privacy. Maybe you can manage to google some quick photography tips before he turns his attention to you.

You start looking up photography quick guides on your phone as you wait for him. You get so engulfed in the article that you’re reading that you don’t even notice Hyunjin making his way over to you until he’s sitting at the desk in front of yours. You jump a bit, locking your phone quickly.  

“Well this is a pleasant surprise.” He smiles as he leans back against the wall behind him. “You missed me so much that you tracked me down?” 

You chuckle, a light blush creeping up your neck. You look over towards where the kids were earlier and notice that they’re all gone. You must’ve been so distracted by your research that you didn’t hear them leave.

“What if I did?” You tease and now it was his turn to blush. “I didn’t know that you’re into photography.”

“Surprise.” You roll your eyes at him and he smiles towards you. “I may be a little into it. I’ve been doing it for about five years, nothing too major.”

“Clearly it is pretty major if you’re certified to teach people.”

“Are you impressed by that? Because if you are then I’ll agree.” You scoff, pushing his arm playfully. 

“No comment.” 

“That means that you are impressed.”

“Are you going to flirt with me or are you going to teach me how to work this thing?” You ask, holding your camera up in front of you while smiling towards Hyunjin. He surrenders, shaking his head and taking your camera from you.

“You’re right.” He turns your camera on, studying the settings and adjusting things the way that he sees fit. You can’t help but blush a bit as his fingers press the buttons. His gaze turned from playful to focused and serious as soon as you placed the device in his hands. The way that he operates the camera is actually pretty attractive. 

Your eyes widen a bit as you realize the nature of your thoughts. This is not the time to think about all of the things that you find attractive about your boyfriend,wait, he’s not your boyfriend. Not really, not officially, he hasn’t even asked you out for a second date yet. 

“Alright, so, this camera is actually pretty simple. I’ve adjusted some settings, I’ll show you what they all do and we can get you started on practicing the rule of thirds, sound good?” Hyunjins voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you sit up straighter in your seat. You clear your throat and look up at him as he watches you, his eyes wandering over the exposed skin of your neck for a second before looking up at you. 

“Sounds good, Mr.H.” 

“How’s this one?” You ask while looking down at your camera screen to study the photo you just took. Hyunjin steps closer to you from behind, looking over your shoulder to get a look at the photo too. 

“Perfect, I think that you should be fine without the grid now. Maybe practice eyeing it yourself throughout the week and I can check it for you when we meet next Friday.” You chuckle, turning your head to face Hyunjin and he furrows his brows in confusion. “What?”

“Couldn’t you just check it when I see you next Thursday?” He grins at you, shaking his head and tonguing his cheek.

“Nope, I’m gonna treat you just like everyone else in the club.” You narrow your eyes at him, glancing down at the tiny space between the two of you. 

“Like you are right now?” Hyunjin looks down at his hand on the small of your back and pulls his lips into a thin line.

“You’re right, Y/n this is highly unprofessional. I really need you to keep your hands to yourself.” Hyunjins eyes morph into cresents as you push him away from you, scoffing playfully.

“I hate you.” You make your way back over to your desk and Hyunjin walks over to his at the front of the room.

“Are you sure about that?” He pulls himself up onto the desk, sitting and leaning back on his palms. A deep blush runs over your cheeks as he stares over at you with an equanimous smirk adorning his lips. You look down, avoiding his piercing eye contact and now it was his turn to chuckle. “The kids should be back in a second.”

Just as he looks down at his phone the timer that he set earlier goes off. You look over at the door expecting to see them walk through but no one is there. Hyunjin closes his eyes, tilting his head back towards the ceiling and humming softly. Your eyes pinch together in confusion, is he not going to go get them? 

“Are you sure they’re coming back?” Hyunjin hums in response, a small smile pulling at his lips before he starts counting.

“5, 4, 3, 2” He points towards the open door and you can hear the loud pitter patter of the group racing down the hallway. “They’re always two minutes late.” 

“We’re here!” Olivia makes it into the room first, panting as she makes her way over to her seat. The rest of the group follows behind her, trying to catch their breath as they sit. 

“Once you all remember how to breathe we’ll get started.” Hyunjin teases, lifting his head to look at the group. You can’t help but smile, something about seeing him interact with them makes you feel warm. He's a natural leader, in the way that he carries himself, the way he talks to them. He radiates a sense of comfort and confidence in this space and it’s almost rewarding to see. 

“Can I go first?” Mia asks as she stares down at her camera.

“Nope.” Hyunjin quips quickly.

“Why not.” She whines and Hyunjin offers an exaggerated sigh in response. “I want to get it over with, Mr.H”

“And that’s why you’ll be going last.” Mia groans, putting her head down on the desk and stomping her feet. Hyunjin immediately imitates her, kicking his feet against his desk and whining. The rest of the group laughs, you even hear a faint chuckle coming from Mia. 

“Always remember that I'm ten times more dramatic than you.” Hyunjin teases before sitting up completely. “Alright, let’s do this. Show me what you got James.”

“I think that Olivia wants to go before me.” James sinks down into his seat as he tries to dodge a hit from the girl behind him.

“You threw your own girlfriend under the bus? That’s cold.”

You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t impressed. Each of the kids in this club are amazing at photography, if you saw any of the pictures that they took online you’d think that a twenty year professional was responsible for the art. You’re equally impressed by Hyunjin’s teaching skills, he answered all of their questions flawlessly and made sure that you were still engaged even though you didn’t participate in the activity. 

Once class ended Hyunjin texted you offering to walk you home, of course you said yes, you actually did miss him so you couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Your house was only four blocks from the community center but it seemed a lot longer since the city blocks are massive. Usually this would bother you, you’d put some music on and try your best to get the walk over with but you found yourself settling into a comfortable stroll with Hyunjin. You weren’t in a rush to get anywhere, you were grounded, living in the moment.

“How did you start teaching photography?” You asked as the two of you waited to cross the street. 

“My mentor set it up for me, he thought that it would be a good way to redirect my emotions.” He chuckles softly, taking a step forward to guide you across the street. “I told you that I was a bad kid but I didn’t really stop getting into trouble until I turned twenty. I met my mentor's son, Chan, a couple of weeks after my birthday when I was taking pictures of Felix for his portfolio. His dad is a photographer and he took interest in me almost instantly, he taught me some stuff and basically became a father to me. He started the club on my birthday last year when he retired from the community center.” 

“So you replaced him?” You look over at Hyunjin who seems to be deep in thought.

“Something like that, I’m one of the youth counselors but he was in charge of it all. People treat me like I’m in charge for some reason. It’s probably because I’m so smart and handsome.” He sighs dramatically, pushing his hands into his pockets and shaking his head. “It just isn’t fair, it’s so hard being me.”

“Oh yeah, it’s super hard being a model for luxury brands.” You laugh, rolling your eyes at him and bumping him with your shoulder. “I would hate being a role model for the youth.”

“Hey, this is hard work.” He defends as the two of you stop at the next corner. “But, on a serious note, I do enjoy working with them. I teach two more classes throughout the week and it’s probably what saved my life. Now, I get to help save theirs. Every kid that I teach has gotten into some kind of trouble. I like offering them a space to be themselves and learn something new, I like creating the space that I wish that I had when I was their age.” 

You stare over at the crossing light as Hyunjin opens up a bit. It’s so hard for you to imagine the sweet, soft guy standing next to you as an angry teenager fighting everything that looked in his direction. You can’t help but to feel proud of him, he seemed to have really turned himself around for the better. It takes a lot of discipline to correct bad habits. 

You keep your eyes trained on the light in front of you, waiting for it to change. Just as it turns green you reach your hand over towards Hyunjins, interlocking your fingers and offering a reassuring squeeze. He keeps his gaze forward as you two cross the street silently but the smile on his face and the blush on his cheeks speak a thousand words. He squeezes your hand back, running his thumb along the back of your hand as you reach the next block. He doesn’t need you to say anything back, your actions speak louder than any sentence you could possibly speak. 

“On a different note…” He looks over at you with a grin. “What did you tell your friends about me?”

“I am not answering that.” You start to pull away from him but he pulls you into his side, letting go of your hand and putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Let me guess, you told them that I’m the best kisser in the entire world and that I’m so amazing and funny and that you can’t get enough of me.” A goofy smile adorns his lips and you sigh, covering your face to hide your blush. “Aw, she’s shy.”

Before you can protest, your phone starts ringing in your bag and you take this opportunity to escape Hyunjins teasing. Thank god for Changbin.

“Hey, what’s up.” You laugh a bit as Hyunjin presses you into his side more. 

“Hey, are you with someone?” You can hear the smile in Changbin’s voice.

“Yup, coming home now.”

“Ah, good, could you do me a favor? I forgot to grab popcorn on the way home. Serena is coming over to watch a movie and that’s the only thing that I don’t have.” You nod, looking up the block and spotting a store on the corner. 

“I’ll grab it for you, I’m walking up to a store now.”

“You’re a lifesaver. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and tell Hyunjin that I said hi.” He sings the last part of his sentence before you say bye and hang up. He’s definitely going to question you as soon as you walk through the door. 

“Everything alright?” 

“Yup, I just need to go into this store.” You lock your phone and slip it back into your bag as you walk up to the store. “And Changbin says hi.”

There’s a group of guys outside of the store but you don’t pay them any mind, Hyunjin follows you closely as you pull away from him to enter the store, you’ve been to this shop a million times so you know where everything is. You make a beeline to the popcorn and make your way over to the counter. The cashier smiles at you as you approach, making small talk as he checks you out. Once you’re done you turn to Hyunjin who’s waiting for you at the door but his demeanor seems to have changed. His arms are crossed over his chest and he has a mean look on his face. You smile over at him as you start to leave the store but he doesn’t smile back, that’s odd. He opens the door for you and you take the lead exiting first and tucking the popcorn into your tote bag. 

“Excuse me, you’re looking really good tonight.” One of the guys standing outside of the store steps over to you and you flash him a small smile.

“Thanks.” You start to walk away but he speaks up again, stepping a bit closer to you.

“Can I have your number? I could take you out.” You shake your head, replying with a firm ‘No’ before starting to walk away again. Hyunjin places his hand on the small of your back, guiding you away from the group. 

“Come on, don’t be like that.” 

“She said no.” Hyunjin speaks up, his voice is loud and flat. You’ve never heard him use this tone before. It’s almost scary. The two of you start walking away again, Hyunjin makes sure to keep you in front of him as the two of you make your way towards the corner.

“I wasn’t fucking talking to you.” The guy follows the two of you. Picking up the pace as the two of you get further from him. “Come on, let me take you out sometime.”

“Keep walking.” Hyunjin whispers to you, pushing you forward a bit. He stops in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face the guy following you. You can’t help but to look back as you walk away slowly, you can’t just leave him there by himself. Neither of you know what that guy is capable of. 

“Do we have a problem?”

~ Hyunjin’s POV ~

I’m using every ounce of my self control to keep my temper in check right now. If this guy decided to mess with me while I was alone that would be a different story but he’s messing with someone that I care about and I don’t like that. This has always been a trigger for me, Felix always says that I get scary when I get mad protecting someone else. I really don’t want that to happen right now, I don’t want her to see that side of me but this guy is making it very hard to hold back. 

“How about you mind your business.” He yells in my face, his breath reeks heavy of alcohol, that’s not even fair. If I hit him he’s going to be knocked out almost instantly, drunk people can never take a hit. 

“She is my business.” I cross my arms over my chest and clench my jaw. I have to remember that she’s here. I have to keep my cool. “She said no, leave her alone.”

“Ah, I see, she’s yours. Is that it? That’s your bitch?” I bite my bottom lip between my teeth as his last question rings through my ears. Don’t react, not while she’s here. “She likes pretty boys, huh?”

I look back at Y/n, she’s stopped at the corner watching me. I take a deep breath and uncross my arms, turning back around to the idiot in front of me.

“Leave her alone, alright?” I turn to walk away, trying my best to distance myself from him.

“Is this your boyfriend?” He yells over at Y/n but that’s not the only thing that makes me snap. He touched me, he pushed my shoulder as I was turning away and I felt my blood boil instantly. I don’t even remember what I did, my body went into autopilot. I can hear Y/n’s heavy footsteps as I stand over the disoriented stranger. My hand in a fist at my side, I’m shaking, why am I shaking? I haven’t felt this mad in years, I haven’t hit somebody in years, this isn’t how that was supposed to happen. I was supposed to keep my cool, why did he have to fuck it up? The more that reality sinks in, the more angry I get. 

“What did I just fucking tell you?” I don’t raise my voice, I never raise my voice, there’s no need to. I bend down, making sure to keep eye contact with him as I grab his shirt, and pull him towards me. “Leave her alone.”

I can hear myself, I can hear the hiss in my tone. I can feel the anger getting to my head, I can feel myself losing to it. That’s my problem, I don’t know when to stop, once I get started it’s hell getting out of it. 

“You should’ve listened.” I don’t want to hit him again but I feel like I need to, I need to get this feeling to go away and the only way that I know how is to keep going. 

“I’m sorry, man.” He pleads, I knew that he wouldn’t be able to take the hit but that just makes it easier for me. I push him back onto the sidewalk, letting go of his shirt and raise my fist almost by instinct. Before I can lower it I feel a hand wrap around my wrist, I stop for just a second as I remember who this is about. Y/n is with me, she saw everything. 

“Hyunjin, get up.” Her voice is firm but somehow soft, I wish that I could just listen to her. I want to listen to her, maybe I can?

 Despite my desire to stop, I don't move. My brain and my body are doing two different things and for a moment I feel guilty. This is going to be how it ends isn’t it? She’s going to think that I’m a horrible person, she’s going to hate me for putting her through this. My jaw clenches at the thought of losing her, glancing back down at the man in front of me I feel anger climbing up my spine again. Why couldn’t he just walk away?

“I told him to leave you alone.” I meant for my words to come out softer than they did but I can still hear the hiss in my voice, it’s muffled by the sound of my heart beating in my ears but I can hear it. She steps in between us, trying her best to pull me back, her grip tight and her voice stern. 

“Hyunjin, please get up.” In all of the years that I got into fights there has never been a person who could calm me down. I don’t know why it’s different with her, I don’t know why but I don't resist. I allow her to lower my fist, I allow her to stand between us and guide me to my feet. 

“Hey, look at me.” I listen, taking a deep breath and turning my attention towards her. I expected her to look angry, I expected her to have tears in her eyes or maybe even look scared. My mom would always be angry, Felix would always look scared but she looks calm. How could she look at me like that after this? I don’t deserve that.

“Good, you’re fine. Everything is fine, come on.” Her hands run over my forearms, as she tries her best to ground me and by some miracle it’s working. 

She takes both of my hands and starts to lead me away from him, I keep my eyes on her as we walk over to the corner. I try my best to calm myself down, taking deep breaths through my nose and going through every grounding exercise that I was ever taught. For some reason those techniques aren’t what help me the most, it’s the look in her eyes that's calming me down. It’s the relaxed tone of her voice and the way that she’s guiding me. No one’s ever done this before. I can feel the anger in my body being replaced, it’s that feeling of electricity. That feeling that I only get when I’m with her. 

I’m not sure how long we’ve been walking but when I finally come out of my thoughts and look back I don’t see the guy anymore. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we passed her block. We come up on a busier street, nothing too serious just a couple of people going about their night. She guides me over to a bench at the bus stop and we both sit in silence. I close my eyes, running my hands through my hair and sighing heavily. 

“Let me see your hand.” Her tone is sweet like she isn’t about to check me for bruises. She reaches for my hand, running her thumb across the back of it and I hiss in pain. That’s definitely going to be a different color tomorrow. “You’re gonna need to ice that.”

“I know the drill.” I reply in a flat whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“He deserved it.” I shake my head, turning to look at her and this time I really looked at her. I let her see the worry in my gaze, I let her see the fear that has bloomed in my stomach. 

“I’m not sorry for hitting him. I’m sorry that I almost didn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop and if you weren’t there I wouldn’t have. I would have done everything that I could to make sure that he ended up in the hospital.” I allow my gaze to drift down to my hands and it’s only then that I realize that I’m shaking. I’m still shaking, it must be the fear, not the anger.

“But you didn’t.” Her hand rests over my trembling one, petting my skin softly with the pads of her fingers. I let out a shaky exhale at the feeling of her skin against mine. “I told you that I’d be there to calm you down. I told you that it would be alright if I saw you like that and I meant it.”

“You don’t hate me?” My words leave my mouth in a whisper as I bite my bottom lip. Reluctantly, I look up at her, her expression is still so soft and calm. 

“Not one bit.”

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[obislittleone]

The Winner Takes It All

Episode 10

Pairing: Finnick Odair x Tribute(OC)!Reader

Chapter Warnings: more death, more canon typical violence, some bonding between allies because they gotta survive this bitch as long as they can...

Chapter Summary: Danger lies in places you least expect it. Whether that be in the form of a small animal, or in a harmless capitol citizen. No one is safe from anything in the hunger games.

Word Count: 3.2k

howdy ho, pls excuse my laziness as of lately and enjoy some daily updates (i am not lazy i swear i have been launching a literal fashion brand ToT)

He snapped out of his trance when he heard the tail end of a half whispered conversation behind him.  “I imagine with her it would be marvelous, she certainly has the stamina,” one of the men behind him chuckled, the one on his left nodding in agreement before slamming back his drink. “Not to mention the flexibility.”

Finnick was restless, watching the screen, as usual. 

He’d only gone into the viewing party to stir some chatter, enough to get a sponsor, but then he’d been back on his couch, Mags close by in a chair that was far too large for a sweet little old woman such as herself. She did not care to move, either. 

It hurt her, to know that all this work, all this dedication, and all this commitment to the girl that came here from four might be in vain. But she kept a smile of optimism on her face for him, because she hadn’t seen him care so much about something in a long time. He had almost been numbed to these occasions, dulled to their effects. She held onto the same sliver of hope that he had been clinging to, praying that he would not be crushed if she were to lose. She couldn’t bear to watch him go through something like that again. The first time being when he watched the girl from his district die in the arena beside him. They trained together, they were allies together, and they had known each other before the reaping. Just like you and Lukas. 

Lukas, the dear boy with the longing for a loving mother. Mags hoped she gave him a taste of what it was like, to have someone wrap their arms around you and to be proud of you without any cause or reason. Lukas needed that. Lukas needed a lot of things. She hated the rules of these games, hated the games more than anything. That boy deserves to live, deserves to finally be shown respect from the one person he craves the most… but Finnick’s girl. One who also deserves to live, to come home and to let Finnick hold you in his arms. Mags would never bring it up to him, but she knows the glint in his eye is more than just the protection of a mentor. The look of genuine fear when he feels his prized girl may be in danger is not just one of sympathy for another tribute. He’s latched onto this one, she can feel it. She only hopes that when the time comes for one of them to die, that she will not have to face the streams of tears… her own or Finnicks. 

She watches him, the way he studies your every movement when the screen returns to the career pack, now depleted to three careers and a district seven tribute. A wild bunch they are, but hopefully the game makers will not overestimate their abilities. Lukas may have killed one tribute already, but Mercedes hasn’t. Mags doesn’t think she even could if she tried to. She knows that Finnick thinks the same thing. 

His smile when he leans forward is sweet, seeing her open the note she had crumpled into her pocket. She mirrors his smile on the other side of the camera, not even realizing it. His heart melts as she reads it, and rereads it, and then once more. She’s clinging to it, holding onto that little piece of paper. It’s the only communication she can get from him on the inside of this damned arena. 

-

“We should save those, we need to be using this time to gather other sources of food before more tributes come back to the cornucopia.”

Lukas was taking the lead again, and for good reason. There was little debate when it came to who was pulling the strings of this makeshift operation. He’d been the most confident with his survival knowledge, although he lacked in combat from the other careers. 

“He’s right, by tomorrow, the last tributes are going to try and find us. It’s best we stock up everything we’re going to need before that happens,” Lyra said, throwing on one of the backpacks, one of the smaller ones full of Kunai knives and hunting lures. 

“I w-wove this last night, it’s n-not standard, but it should w-work,” you held up to Lukas the fishing net you’d conjured before you’d gotten so tired the night before. It was far smaller than what he was used to, but it would work nonetheless. 

“It’s perfect,” he smiled, packing it up into another backpack, slinging it over his shoulder as he nodded his head towards the trail ahead. 

You all were going to need to find a river, but luckily for you, Rodey had claimed to see one earlier yesterday, when you were all barely limping back to the cornucopia. 

He was doing really well this morning, probably on account of the sponsor he’d gotten. A new pair of shoes to replace the ones that were torn to bits from running yesterday. His blisters were killing him until those new shoes arrived. Now he was chipper as ever. 

“It was a bit further out, had a waterfall behind it…” he trailed, leading you all in a twisting and turning hike through the foggy forest of vines and trees that were tall enough to be skyscrapers. 

The scenery was something out of an old adventure book, something of an era you wished was alive today. Something where the hero gets the girl, and the danger comes to an end. You don’t see that happening at the conclusion of your story. You see your picture in the sky and the boom of cannonfire, ringing out in your ears before it all goes dark. You just hope it won’t be too horrible, too violent or too messy. 

By the time you reached the river, which was barely even a river, you went to the edge to stand by Lukas. You looked out to the waterfall that was sitting at the edge of the river bank, creating the endless flow. It was pretty, or it would be, under different circumstances. The other two of the group had taken off, finding bushes full of Echinacea flowers, and started harvesting those in case of any possible infections occurring in the future. 

“W-what do I need to do?” You asked the boy next to you, helping him take the net out of the backpack and unfold it enough that it will work to catch. 

“Not much. Can you stand in this shallow part over here?” 

You used his help to step down into the water, the surface level barely reaching your hips. The coolness drenching your clothes was a nice contrast to the constantly warm and overly humid environment. You’d been feeling sticky and gross for the past two days, and this was like a little bath of sorts. It rid you of that nasty feeling, and for once, you were happy to be standing in water.

“You’re good?”

“Yeah, I’m g-good.”

He nodded, hopping in as well and handing you one end of the net, beginning to walk over towards the further side of the small river. It was far deeper on his side, but it didn’t deter him. He kept steady, opening the net and allowing it to start blocking the flow of anything swimming through. There weren’t many fish in the water, so it would take a minute of waiting. 

Meanwhile, Lyra and Rodey had stuffed their pockets full of the flowers and other plants that may be useful to them.

“So, Mercedes,” Lyra began, looking towards the riverbank and seeing you splash your hair into the water. She found it amusing, considering she heard one of the boys comment about her lack of swimming abilities. Maybe they’d been joking. She was from four, so it didn’t quite make sense. 

“What about her?” Rodey’s brows strewn with confusion, he turned to face Lyra completely, setting his backpack down for a moment to sit and rest. It had been a longer journey than expected to get here. 

“You call her Mercy, right?” She asked, and he nodded in return. What was she getting at? He didn’t care to interject yet. “Do you think…?”

“Do I think what?”

She sighed, looking once more to yourself and Lukas, before settling her eyes on Rodey. 

“Do you think she’s actually merciful? I have to think she’d kill either of us if she had to, but something tells me she’s not so sure of herself… She’s strong, man… she’s really strong. But she doesn’t exert it. When she fought me in training, it’s like she didn’t care if she won or lost.”

Rodey’s eyes found your smile by the riverbank, something sweet and warm and full of life, the exact opposite of what these games are supposed to be. You contradicted the meaning the capitol gave them, and he wondered if that would be in more ways than one. 

“She hasn’t killed anyone yet. I think when the time comes she’ll do what she has to, but until then, I wouldn’t bet on it being either of us.”

Lyra nodded, seemingly having the same thought. Rodey likes you, he wasn’t going to say something about you that could get you killed before you had to be. That’s the game, but for as long as he can he wants to take a page out of your book, avoiding the rules.

-

Finnick was standing as straight and tall as he could, his confidence on the outside rivaling that which had been seen for years. The side of him that people knew and loved. His cocky gestures and snarky remarks, the slight arrogance and acceptance of man worship at his feet. It had always been a facade, but it was harder to wear recently. Now he did his best to show that he was back, his original self was on display for everyone to see. 

He’d taken the day to become a little more serious about sponsors. So far, there was only one need of a Capitol gift, but as the last days roll around, he knows that he needs to start racking up the funds. You and Lukas have dwindling supplies, and soon, he’s sure the game makers will be using that against you. 

Mags never felt herself useful for this sort of thing, she always sat quietly in the corner and tried to simply read the room, giving tips to Finnick if he needed them. She was so thankful to have him by her side. He was so much better at being the talkative presence in these Capitol functions. Especially ones that had so much riding on them. Today, yours and Lukas’ lives. Next year, another pair of tributes who will need the same supplies, sponsors, and supporters. It was a crucial part of the games, and now more than ever, Finnick sought after these wealthy citizen’s personal assistance. 

He’d taken a break from circling for a moment, standing before the screen, watching you help Lukas with the fishing net. The water was shallow enough to stand in, and you seemed to be doing alright, the current of the stream not pulling or pushing you in any which direction. You’d even dunked your hair into the water, bringing some relief to your body, having thoroughly been exposed to the heat and humidity of this rainforest. Even though it rained often, it was still warm and humid. 

You’d whipped your hair back over your head, splashing Lukas in the face. He playfully scooped a hand into the water and threw it up in your direction, and you laughed with a wide smile. 

You were so beautiful, your smile was stunning. He was momentarily frozen in wonder… awestruck wonder. Like a moment where you gaze upon a magnificent sunset or a calming scene of nature. Something that you have to sit and admire for a second, because damn… you didn’t think anything could be so lovely without even trying.

He snapped out of his trance when he heard the tail end of a half whispered conversation behind him. 

“I imagine with her it would be marvelous, she certainly has the stamina,” one of the men behind him chuckled, the one on his left nodding in agreement before slamming back his drink. “Not to mention the flexibility.”

Finnick turned on his heels, staring down the gentleman’s face, and acting as though he didn’t know what was going on. 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” He played, tilting his head to entice some sort of response. 

“Oh, nothing. We were just talking about how agile and athletic your tributes are. You must be very proud.” 

“I am, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep bad things from happening to them,” he said with a sarcastic tone on the last bit. He knew that with the look he shot the man to speak, they would consider another topic of conversation. 

Finnick only turned back around when they moved on to talk about other tributes. 

What he’d heard pretty much cemented in stone what he already thought to be true. If you made it out of that arena, you’d be doomed to a life the same as him. Being called into the Capitol for nightly visits until they grow tired of you. It took finnick five whole years to become old news… he can’t even imagine how loved you would be for many years beyond that. You’d somehow charmed him without even trying, and here he was on a mission to save your life because of it. He couldn’t fathom how anyone could grow tired of you. There’s no other tribute, past, present, or even future that has a chance of beating you in sweetness and beauty. There’s no other tribute who has your compassion, your mercy… as much as he hated that nickname for you, he now found himself clinging to it in hopes of repeating it back to you. 

The people around him continue to speak of you, and he knows that his selfishness will use it to his advantage. Your life out of the arena would be filled with comments like these, and the repercussions of them, the work and practical slavery of them, not one ever being your fault. But even through all of it, he still wants you to live. He wants you to come home and have a house across from his and beside Mags’. He wants to keep giving you swimming lessons until you feel confident to go into the water without him. He wants to teach you how to fish like he and his father used to do. He wants to take you into the market and show you all his favorite places to get food. He wants to watch you thrive and grow beyond these games and forget about all the bad things. His want for your happiness, his need for your presence to return… It's what drives him. 

He doesn’t linger on the screen for too much longer before he continues making his rounds.

-

The looks on the other tribute's faces when you offer them a piece of split open fish is hilarious. You can’t help but giggle. You have to sit for a moment and think, because no, other districts probably don’t just tear open a fish and eat it. How strange, that the tributes can be so different in culture, but still all the same. 

You’ve grown up eating fish, grown up being around the smell and feeling the texture. It doesn’t bother you because it is familiar, and mundane. 

They eventually sucked it up and tried some, knowing that by tomorrow they would have to eat it anyway. 

“It’s not terrible, could use some salt,” Rodey joked around, twisting his face into different expressions with every bite he took. 

“My m-mama cooks fish better than a-anyone I’ve ever met. Bakes it with lemon juice a-and pepper.” You smiled, willing yourself to remember your mother and her home cooked meals. 

She hadn’t been able to cook in very large quantities lately, one of the primary reasons you’d been hungry so often.The loss of your dad’s paycheck was bound to take a toll. 

“Sounds pretty good to me,” He laughed, leaning his shoulder into yours playfully. His attempts at affection were becoming more pronounced as the day went on. Offering you his hand to step out of the river, handing you one of the blankets to dry off with, his lingering touches and prolonged stares that lasted just a bit too long. You didn’t mind it. He made being in this hellhole a decent experience. You’re going to die anyways, might as well enjoy the time you have left. 

Out of nowhere, Lukas’ yell of warning stirred everyone. 

“Lyra, watch out!” 

But it was too late. There was a long and colorful snake that had just sunk its teeth into her arm. Lukas immediately grabbed one of the short swords and cut it in half, ridding her of the animal… but the damage had already been done. 

“What was that thing?” She grabbed her arm in pain, writhing around on the ground after feeling the spread of its venom in her veins. It turned them dark, the webbing of black inky venom had already sunk too far into her system. 

“Lyra,” Rodey tried to still her movements, her screams of terror going in one ear and out the other. Lukas rummaged through the backpacks, along with you, to try and find some of that healing ointment that the sponsors had given you the day before. You’d found it at the bottom of the last pack, turning around quickly and trying to help her. 

“Hold her still,” Lukas told Rodey, opening the canister, and applying some of the medical treatment over the entry wound, but it didn’t do anything. She still shook like a leaf, and wasn’t stopping. 

You knelt down and grabbed one of the bandage rolls from the same pack, trying to tie off her arm and create a tourniquet from it. The venom didn’t spread as fast, but it was still going, slowly reaching the top of her arm as it crawled over every vein she had. She had stopped screaming, but took your arm with her other hand. She pulled your forwards, and your eyes widened momentarily in fear. 

“Take it off, please,” she cried, her voice now slightly hoarse from the screams. You shook your head, about to protest, but she nodded. “I’m one less person to kill. Take it off.”

You looked at Lukas and Rodey, and they looked upset, but didn’t tell you anything. They didn’t know what to say. They had been happy to have this girl as an ally, but this is the hunger games. All will die but one, and this is Lyra’s time.

You looked back to her, your eyes welling up with tears. With a heavy heart, you untied the bandaging, letting the venom spread quickly again. Her flailing movements and screaming returned, but you had to step back, turning away and ducking your head into Rodey’s shoulder to keep her out of your eyeline. Once again the screaming stopped, and you looked back… Lyra had a look of peace in her now still eyes. She was gone, and the cannon fired synonymously after. You didn’t stop crying, and neither Rodey nor Lukas said anything to you about it. You felt like it was you. You felt like you’d killed her… 

That’s the thing about mercy. It isn’t always about showing restraint, or holding back. Sometimes, it’s about giving in, and letting things take their course.

-

tags(open): @thepassionatereader @i-voluntears @secretsicanthideanymore @mystargirl-interlude @c4ttheart @lilibrn

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 19

"A Hole in the World" AKA Clothes Call Back Night

Folks, when that first sneak peek came out, I dissolved into laughter in the dining room, and my husband had to momentarily question my sanity (just like every Sunday afternoon). It hit on practically every discussion point from the Chenford Twitterverse over the past few weeks.

I had to sit here and give the world's smallest round-of-applause-by-one to the team behind The Rookie for putting that out there. Genius way to get a lot covered in a short amount of time.

SPOILER ALERT: If you want a spoiler-free take on what's going on in Chenfordland, I'm sorry, you're in the wrong place. Come back when you're ready to be spoiled. Or don't come back at all! You're welcome to do as you choose.

For those about to rock, I salute you! So, let's dive in.

Lucy studying with note cards, written notes, and likely a practice test is just so on-brand, and I kinda love that we start the scene with her in her element.

The domesticity of Chenford never fails. It's insane to remember that as of their first kisses in the midst of undercover preparation (and under covers, of course) was only Tim's third time in that apartment, and first time there out-of-uniform.

Less than a season later, he's practically living at her place (while I head-canon Kojo is doing a great job helping his nephews with the transition to Los Angeles and playing in their yard).

And is Tim wearing the 4x01 almost-sleepover (heh) hoodie!? It might be the same bottoms, too! If they dug those up (and God bless whoever either saved them or bought duplicates), that's just amazing. I had a mini-geek out, and I bet I'm not the only one!

And for whatever reason, Tim's wearing shoes with this outfit, and I can't tell if that's because he instinctively put them on, or someone thought we wouldn't be seeing his feet in the shot. But, it made me chuckle because I'm hoping it's the former.

And is Lucy's hair being held up by a pen!? Okay, I'm officially jealous. I'm of the "chopsticks in hair" generation, and I always needed two. My friends could stick a good ole Number 2 in their hair and be good for the day. My hair's so fine and straight that I just couldn't do it. Rock it, Lucy Chen!

"Hey." "Hey." "When did you get in?" "Uh, depends. What day is it?" "That bad, huh?"

We're getting the first-blush look at these long hours we heard so much about. Remember, Tim's predecessor was dead on his feet. Yes, he had triplets at home, but that was on top of the brutal Metro hours.

"Look, I'm 80% sure it's, it's Thursday." "It's Tuesday."

Yes, it is! And we're all cozied up to our couches, beds, floors, recliners, and dining room tables to soak up the Chenford goodness. And mmmm, does it go down smooth!

"I stayed up anyways. Thought maybe I'd get lucky and he'd turn himself in."

Girlfriend. Girl. Friend! Did you really just use an undercover Tim/Lucy-ism? Throwing me straight back to 5x01 and Lucy/Juicy wondering if they could get lucky three times in the same day.

Lucy definitely wants to get lucky. But Metro hours aren't the best for getting busy, it seems.

"Oh, babe."

And there we've got the long-awaited pet name!! We still don't know what Tim calls Lucy (could also be Babe), but I saw the Twitterverse start to spin in the opposite direction at this particular name-drop.

Lucy Chen, how can you slay an entire population with a single word? You so don't know your power.

Tim sits next to the love of his life at her dining area smiling. He spent so much time last week trying to prove to the camera crews that he wasn't a softie. But we all know the truth. Tim Bradford is soft for those he loves—especially the love of his life.

His eyes trail to the notes spread atop the counter as his hand trails to her thigh.

Can we completely see it? No. But there's enough anecdotal evidence based on the placement of Tim's arm in the two-shot to conjecture, so I'm rolling with it.

Last time I didn't roll with the evidence, y'all crowded into my comments to remind me I was very wrong. It was a fun time.

"What's all this?" "What?" *arm smack*

Y'all, Lucy is so me in this moment. And I only say that because I'm older and she's fictional. To say I'm Lucy would mean I'm fictional, right? And (as far as I know) I'm real. Unless it's a Deckard in Blade Runner situation... in which case... I'm already Rachel.

But the affectionate arm smack is a total Rachel move (as my husband would confirm).

"I'm studying for the Detective's Exam." "Since when?" "I didn't tell you?"

I've seen folks jumping all over Lucy for "not telling Tim about something life-changing", but it'd be great if that could stop. Have you ever loved someone so much that you shared everything with them? I have. I tell Matthew everything.

And, yet, there are still times I'm convinced I've told him everything only to find I imagined the conversation because our lives are just too busy.

Look, Lucy and Tim already have demanding jobs with demanding hours. Yes, her going Detective would constrict their off-time more, but they're already grappling with the realities of cops-in-love juggling duty to a profession they earnestly adore and investing in a still-fairly-new romance.

It's not a choice of omission on her part. It's the overwhelm of juggling combined with the fact that she does tell him everything, so she assumed he already knew.

Communication issue? Clearly! Completely normal? Absolutely!

For goodness sake, Tim didn't even know what day it was. Living in a constant state of exhaustion and somehow functioning is my normal, so I can tell you that try as you might, something might slip through the cracks.

"If I'm gonna work undercover, the best move is to become a detective in some division like intelligence or narcotics, right?" "Right."

First off, Lucy Chen promotion-time, baby! I know a lot of us have been waiting for the moment when she'd get to move up. Heck, Aaron made P2 before she got to move up, and it's driven me nuts.

Look, I have no idea what a realistic timeline is in the real world. But Nolan's Golden Ticket allowed him to move up. Nyla moved up. Angela moved up. Tim's moved up. It's about damn time my fictional bestie got her turn.

Second, Supportive Tim Supremacy for the Win! Like, once he's on the right page, he doesn't skip a beat. Since I am married to the most supportive man in the world, I'm grateful Lucy's gonna marry the most supportive man in The Rookie world.

"So you got the tap." "Harper and Lopez are backing me."

Look at the glee on our girl's face! And that little chuckle from Tim? Oh, swoon!! Yes, I am a sucker for a supportive partner.

If you knew the number of times over the last near-20 years that this man has had my back, you'd shake your head and wonder why he's stuck around with how many times I've leaned on that support. Supportive partners make my weary heart happy.

"All I have to do is score in the top 12, which-" "Which you will."

BAM! Because Lucy Chen can do anything. Tim once held her hand (yes, it was a handshake, go with me here...) and told her to never let anyone tell her she couldn't do something.

Translation: Lucy Chen can do anything and Tim Bradford earnestly believes that.

And Lucy feels that support. In all of her relationships—friendship, romantic, familial—she has yearned for support. Sadly, the most supportive of her friends is gone. Her parents are dead to me (I hope the Mother's Day flowers Lucy sent were dried and shriveled like her mother's heart).

And her last boyfriend tried to persuade her to walk away from her dreams. Contrast that with Tim Bradford who was willing to push her towards them, even when that meant pushing her away from him. And now, as they're together, Tim is still supporting her without question.

My husband is that way. I often ask him about things. Not because he rules me (nope. I'd never survive a relationship like that), but because I believe in communication. So, I'll talk things out with him, and before I offer him my reasoning he says, "Do it." That's been his general answer to me for nearly two decades.

So, seeing Tim mirror my beloved plastered a grin on my face so wide I was approached on the street to be in the sequel to SMILE.

Lucy's got a smile on her face, too, as she hums out her appreciation and leans in for the kiss.

Special Shout Out to the DP and Director for giving us that two-shot with push-in of the kiss with the loud LIPSMACK to counterbalance Chenford's last apartment kiss/near-kiss that left me wondering if coffee tumblers made kissy sounds as the hot liquid settled.

I feel like someone on the decision-making team was like, "They want to see lip locks? No fucking way they'll miss this one! This'll shut them up."

No way to miss Tim leaning on the counter with one arm (bringing him closer to Lucy's height, because this man is taller than her in both legs and torso). And we actually see lips-meeting-lips.

Though it's a simple-enough kiss, there's suction there, which helps imply action and intention rather than passivity. Wow, I'm a weirdo analyzing a kiss this deeply, but whatever. It's my Meta, I'll over-analyze if I want to. It's square-kissing versus Tim's top-lip-sucking action he reserves for more passionate moments.

And that's beautiful. Because not every kiss is about undressing. Some kisses are about being beautifully exposed and fully accepted and loved. That's Tim and Lucy in this moment.

Tim is the supportive lover of her dreams. Lucy is the supportive lover of his dreams.

In a world where both of them grew up feeling unloved and unsupported for one reason or another, they have found more than a safety net in one another—they've found home.

Tim's affectionately rubbing her arm, and she is completely relaxed in his love.

"Well, I guess we should get used to not seeing each other so much."

The Metro move afforded them more time together than Lucy switching stations would have. But this latest move for her will add to her hours.

It's not a reason not to make this move. But... there's another move these two could make together. *hint hint* The kind that involves one set of keys for two lives? *hint hint*

Lucy deserves this. Hands down. And Tim knows that. But he also has a lot of trauma where UC and working long hours with someone he loves. It ended in heartbreak.

Now, Tim doesn't believe that's where he and Lucy are headed... but I think a small part of him in the back of his mind fears it. And that's something the two of them need to talk out.

Also, can we note the interesting choice to use the kiss as an opportunity to change angles? We went from being behind the counter aimed toward the windows to being in front of the windows aimed at the kitchen.

I'm not sure of the motivation for the move, but the film minor in me made note of it. Fairly classic technique.

"Mm, right. Yeah. Between Detective Hours and Metro Hours..." "Well, it's okay. We'll figure it out."

Tim winks to her as he departs, echoing Lucy's words to Tamara when they were first confronted with the difficulties of navigating work and love.

"Is that the sign up list for the Detectives exam?" "Two weeks to go." "I'll be ready." "I have no doubt about that."

Nyla has been a champion for Lucy for a long time. She was the first one to see Lucy's aptitude for undercover, and she's the one who prepped and primed her for her first solo op.

Love seeing women supporting women. There are too many shows that pit woman-against-woman in the name of drama.

Yes, it happens. I had a coworker once who was the most backstabbing person you could ever meet. I once told my boss that I thought she was coming for my job. My boss, of course, told me I was overthinking.

Two weeks later my boss called me into her office to tell me that I was right. Yeah, I knew I was right.

But there were also really amazing women who I worked with—women who uplifted you, who helped you when things were tough, who excelled at the give-and-take of being coworkers.

It's nice to see that type of relationship amplified on a show like this.

"No way you make Top 12. One of the detectives has it out for you. No matter how well you do on the written, they're going to sink you on the Oral."

Smitty might be the unreliable narrator 90% off the time, but that 10% can be crucial, and Lucy's smart enough to be aware of that.

"So you won't be making detective. But, um, there's other career paths, right?"

Aaron can be direct, and that music cue made it seem like we needed to smile and laugh, but it felt pretty final, actually.

I don't want to see anything taken away from Lucy. She's put in so much work and watched as Nolan was promoted ahead of her. As her best friend was taken from her. She helped Tim get promoted.

But now it feels as if her own career is standing still, and I selfishly want more for Lucy than just Chenford.

I am not of the opinion that a relationship can fulfill your every need. In fact, I encourage my husband to go out with his friends and do things without me. I think it's healthy for us to have different interests, even though many overlap. He supports the fact that I love working and abhor the idea of being a stay-at-home mother.

Our relationship works for us. Everyone wants something different in their relationship. But I feel like Lucy really wants to do something more and move forward in her career. And if that's what she wants, I want it for her.

Ball Camera

Anyone else having a BB-8 geek out moment? Or is that just me? Also, we've come a long way from Tim pushing his chest camera into a room with his baton.

"Hey, Harper. Uh, Tim is still in with IA." "Look the Officer Involved Shooting Interview is very thorough. Tim's fine."

Tim is not fine, and his girlfriend wife knows it. Maybe he'll be fine career-wise, but Lucy's worried about more than that. She's worried about his state of mind.

"Hey, Chen. I've got news for you." "It's not a great time Smitty." "It's about the Detective exam. The detective blocking you is Prim."

Ohhhh, that name. I remember that name. From the five-player trade. Lucy tried so hard to be discrete, but as soon as it got out there, it was only a matter of time for the Cop Gossip of this bizarre High School extension to take over.

"I did warn you." "I know."

And we all knew that it was going to come back around, at some point. Is it wrong that I wish Lucy didn't have to deal with this fall out?

And much as this is Nyla's "I told you so" moment, she takes no pride in it. That's why we don't hate her in this moment. She is right and she doesn't like it any more than Lucy does.

"Hey. Let him talk to Grey first." "Yeah."

Lucy wants so much to go to his side. Her Tim Sense is tingling as soon as he walks by, but his brain is on the next thing that needs to be done. He's on autopilot, and she can see it.

Look, Tim's no stranger to having to pull the trigger. That doesn't make it any easier. Tim values human life, so ending one is never going to be a light matter.

And pulling the trigger on someone who wears the uniform? For Tim, that's gotta be even harder.

Remember, this is the guy who stayed inside the lines for years and stood by while racism ran rampant. He rationalized it away, right? But, then he started to really face and confront the darker elements and systemic injustices inherent to the Force.

This is another extension of that—a truly awful cop who used their influence, position, and authority to kidnap and murder little girls. Yes, Tim pulled the trigger because he was about to be the one buried if he didn't. But it doesn't make it any easier.

"Hey, you know you had to take the shot." "I know." "Just because he wanted to die doesn't mean he wasn't dangerous." "I know."

Even Grey can see that Tim's veil is slipping. He is a human being, damnit, and he feels this shit.

Grey stands, trying to make a connection, to get closer to Tim, to approach him man-to-man. But the words coming out of his mouth echo typical talking points of the Badge.

Grey sighs, dropping the list of "reasons". He tries another tactic. My favorite tactic—asking.

I worked for a humanitarian non-profit for almost a decade, and my favorite part of the work was our policy of "Ask, Don't Tell". We never walked into a disaster zone with a game plan. Too many organizations do that, and it doesn't address the immediate needs of the community.

Instead, we would ask what was needed. And I think in life that's also a damn good strategy.

"Is there anything I can do?" "Can I get back to you on that?" "Take your time."

This I love. Two men meeting in the middle. Acknowledging that sometimes shit just sucks and nothing you can say will change that.

But, also, Grey's abandoning the "just throw things at it until something sticks" tactic to earnestly ask what Tim would have him do. And that's so much deeper than empty words.

And the fact that Tim Bradford, who never asks for help, leaves it open ended? That's growth.

Yes, it's important that he lets Lucy in more and more. But it's also important that he lets others in. This isn't just about growing in a romantic relationship, but growing as a person.

Yes, I know I harp on this a lot. But I've seen too many good people backslide horribly because they invested all their growth in a relationship rather than in themselves.

Relationships are great. I'm in one. I'm in a damn good one. But my healing and growth are mine and have to be separate from Matthew. If he dies tomorrow, suddenly, my progress can't die with him. I have to be able to stand on my own.

And that's what I wish for Lucy and Tim. The standing on their own part, I mean.

"You're a badass. And I'm no slouch."

I need to do Wopez next. I keep saying that when I catch up on Chenford, I need to go back and do Wopez. And lines like this really make me wanna.

"How are you doing with everything?" "I'll be okay."

It's taken a while, but Tim and Lucy have worked their way up to light PDA in the workplace, and I love it for them. Likely, they aren't seeing as much of each other at home, so it's natural that it might leak out more when they're in public.

I love how Lucy briefly has both her hands on his arm. There's something resembling a hug, there, that I love.

She know Tim well enough to know he doesn't want to hug it out at the station. But she's still trying to find her own ways to let him know that she's there for him.

Also: Is this the episode of the comeback clothes!? Because that jacket is totally the one from Season 4, Episode 3 when Tim and Lucy were discussing how people might get the wrong idea about them if she became his aide, right?!

I know one of y'all will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm leaving it in, because I'm fairly convinced.

Also, Tim and Lucy, y'all didn't need to worry about people getting the wrong idea. We all got the right idea, and y'all are adorable together.

"I want to be helpful." "I know. Thank you."

Her little hand on his chest (right over his heart) is so sweet, but also a little sad. Because she knows that's the part of him that's really hurting right now.

Also, I love Tim thanking her. We're a long cry from all the times when Tim would tell Lucy she was overstepping in the past. Because, they're partners in life, now, and this is her place.

And his little arm tap? It's so cute to get to see them start to be more tactile.

Remember, this wasn't a typical transition. They went from being best friends—the most important relationship in each other's lives—to one-and-only. They had to transition everything over from a very intimate point, already, and add in the layers and figure out what felt right for them as a couple.

But, selfishly I'm loving the light PDA. Feels just about right for them.

Plus, it's more than either of them typically displays at the station with past love interests. Yes, I know there was one kiss way back with an ex of Tim's, but he wanted out of that, so it doesn't count.

"You need help studying? There's no way I would have have scored as well on the Sergeant's exam without you."

Oh, how I love a good call-back. This is going back to Season 2, y'all, and TO Tim era. And I adore the surprise on Lucy's face. She really wasn't expecting him to offer, and it's damn adorable that he did.

Lucy isn't giving up. She knows that Prim's got it out for her, but she's still going after this. And I'm damn proud of her.

"That's right. You owe me." "I don't owe you."

Ah, and there's Tim's bull-headedness coming back to remind us that he's not all warm and fuzzy. And, y'know, it made me chuckle. Because Tim didn't magically change over the course of the show.

Has he healed a lot? Yes. But at the core he was always a tough-outside, smoothie-inside... at least for his people. His trauma and pain caused him to wear that toughness as a roughly-patched-together armor.

And Look. At. Our. Babies. FLIRTING! Lucy even got the finger point in there!

"You owe me." "Okay."

Lucy gets a hand on his open shirt (wow, she has a thing for tugging at his clothing that's unexpected and yet totally in-character), and he's gone. Boy is gone for his girl.

Because Lucy probably wants to spend a little time studying up on other things before they get to the books. And Tim's totally onboard.

And has Lucy been wearing the Valentine's Day necklace most of the episode? It's so small that it's hard to tell, but I think she has. So, we're really owing some love to the Costuming Department this week. Thanks, y'all. We love you.

And I love you! Thank you for reading and taking this ride with me. It's been a really tough few weeks with illness and broken down cars (and bumped into cars) and juggling too many things. So, Chenford night is a nice respite for which I'm thankful.

Did it take Tim and Lucy a while to get comfortable? Sure. I posit this was the first episode written after we got a taste of post-coitus Chenford and folks started vocalizing what they wanted to see out of the duo, because I feel like about 12 boxes were ticked in that first scene alone.

I'm not going to get worked up about the promo for the next episode. If TPTB want to rip my heart out and stomp it, they wouldn't be the first. Actually, the wouldn't be in the first two dozen TPTB to do that.

No, I'm not kidding. When you dream of someday working in television, you watch a lot of television. Inevitably, I ship someone in every show.

But The Rookie's track record with core ships does give me some hope. A little. A microscopic amount. And that's enough, for now.

Stay kind, beautiful humans. I hope to see you on the next.

[aliensunflower-fics]

CHANGING FACES Chapter 1: How We Got Here.

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After years of dealing with each other Lila Rossi win's when she convinces Hawkmoth that Marinette is Ladybug. In order to throw off suspicion and keep the Miracle Box safe Marinette and her supportive parents leave Paris and head to Gotham of all places. In this new place away from her friends and her unhealthy routines Marinette is forced to confront herself and change for the better. Helping her on her journey is a surprising new friend and potential ally. When Alya missing her friend learns about the chance to win a free trip to Gotham she convinces the class to work hard to qualify. When her new life clashes with her old one will Marinette be able to hold on strong to her new confidence or will she crumble under the pressure?

( This fic will be for the most part comedic, fluffy, and sweet, with only a bit of seriousness to tie it together. With only the mildest salt because I don't think the class or Adrien are bad people just that they can be naive and selfish thanks to the canon writing. I hope you enjoy reading this work and have fun with me on this journey. )

Marinette felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched onto her parents and sobbed. She felt like her world was collapsing and yet she desperately held herself back from despair. The bakery that had once made the best pastries in all of Paris bringing smiles and warmth to those who needed it on rainy days, the house that had carried Marinette through her youth with her ever changing height etched into one of the doorways, the pink room that held precious memories of friends and fights and tears and laughter, the balcony that had seen many a hero visit it. All of it was gone. The wild flames devoured every bit of the precious structure. Worse still this was not the work of an akuma, not something that could be undone with a magic swarm of ladybugs, but worse than the permanence of this act was the person behind it. As Marinette’s parents pulled her closer comforting her and themselves the young hero wondered how she was supposed to tell them that Hawkmoth was targeting her?

CHAPTER 1:

How We Got Here

 Lila Rossi had always been an ambitious girl, she knew she was beautiful and prettier than other girls when her father got her that first modeling gig at 6 years old for a well known children's brand. She knew she could act and get what she wanted at 8 when she starred in several commercials, she wowed those behind the camera with her poise and charm!

 Lila knew she just KNEW that she was born to be a star! When at 10 she won a National beauty pageant and they placed the massive sparkly crown on her head while her father stood beside her beaming with pride. Sure the gems were fake but someday she vowed to get real ones!

 Her father always told her how much better she was, he never disciplined her, never worried about her grades, he only expected her to be her best whenever a camera was pointed her way. He treated her like the Princess she was. And shielded her from her mom's constant criticism about her ‘academic’ performance and her concerns over Lila ‘being too thin for her age’ and her constant whining about being ‘kinder’ to her annoying ugly classmates.

 His most important lessons were not the ones about her stance, walk, or looks. No, the most important lessons he taught her were how to use those around her, common people were just tools designed and made to be useful to those better and smarter than them and if they were not useful? Then they had to be removed.

 Her father had ‘removed’ many useless people from her path. He had blackmailed, scared, and tricked those around him his whole life all while wearing a dashing smile on his perfect handsome face. Beautiful clever people like them were meant for better lives, he told Lila, building her dreams for fame, fortune and a life on an easy street. Grades and hard work would never get her anywhere in a world that valued connections, beauty and money. 

 And for years Lila followed her father without hesitation, she lied and schemed and made connections. And whenever she messed up her daddy was there to fix it with a well placed lie and some cash. Lila had hardly needed to try in school for years with her fathers help and a few well placed lies the gullible idiots were always there to help! Teachers and classmates were always a sucker for her story of how ‘she never had many friends due to her mama's career’.  Her life was easy, and the fact that her mothers job made the family move so frequently only helped Lila get away with everything after all teachers notes about her behavior got lost between borders and languages easily!

 Life was great, and it would have stayed that way if she hadn’t made a mistake. At 13 Lila was living in Gotham, a disgusting place full of horrible people and a penchant for crime. But under all the grit and grime of the city was a gem Lila quickly set her eyes on. She went to the right school, studied her target carefully, and then she played the perfect role until her prey was caught. Her father had burst into laughter with a proud grin on his face as Lila told him of her glorious success. If they played their cards carefully they would be living the easy life soon enough.

 But Lila had slipped up, she had thought her victory was assured and let her mask slide at just the wrong time. The result was a messy breakup with her golden ticket, one Lila did not take well she bit off more than she could chew and next thing she knew there was a lawsuit. It should have worked out like everything always did, her dad should have fixed it with money and a charming smile. But that didn’t happen, instead her father's lies were exposed. His several illegal get rich quick schemes were brought to light along with his bribery and blackmail.

 Lila’s mother was horrified and in order to survive the scrutiny that became aimed her way Lila had no choice but to fake her shock and horror as well, leaning on her mothers trust to sneak through. She had to bite her tongue as her father was dragged to jail and her mother divorced him and applied for a transfer. Lila’s life fell apart and her dreams of fame and fortune were severely set back with her fathers connections severed. But Lila was not so easily defeated. She always wins in the end ALWAYS. So as her mother ushered her onto a plane set for Paris France Lila schemed. 

 France as it turned out was perfect for Lila, the presence of Hawkmoth meant that most people acted extra gullible and ‘kind’ and with a weakness that big all Lila needed to do was find the right people to exploit and she’d be back on track. A quick look at the biggest fashion brands with headquarters in Paris soon led to one of her favorites Gabriel, one of the best of the best, and a quick look at the Gabriel’s brand on the internet led to his teenage son. A blonde boy that was JUST Lila’s taste and just her age, from Adrien Agreste’s instagram she soon found his school and classmates and it was the perfect jackpot. 

 Adrien attended an extremely exclusive school the cream of the crop attended, the students were either rich or talented enough to earn scholarships. Lurking through Adrien Agrestes pictures Lila learned about his classmates and it only got better. Nino Lahiffe a musician and wannabee film director who had won a few amateur competitions getting his name out there. Alya Cesaire, a teenager running the most successful blog in Paris with one of the few exclusive interviews with the hero Ladybug. Chloe Bourgeois the mayor's beloved daughter. The rest of the class was just as impressive, a few sports fanatics, a couple musicians, some super nerd who made a sentient robot, some loser who was making superhero comics? Apparently they were popular so whatever. Some girl who apparently won a hat competition with a hideous bowler hat with a feather? A wannabe model who had pictures of herself wearing clothes from a photoshoot she did that Lila would DIE for. But most infuriating was the up and coming actress of the class she had starred in several commercials after Nino’s award winning amateur short films had her starring in a leading role, Lila had to take a deep breath and remind herself that if things went the way she planned that would soon be HER and not some chubby little charity loving wimp.

 Getting her mother to agree to enroll her into Collège Françoise Dupont was easy, if anything her mother was delighted and happy to see Lila taking her education so seriously that she’d looked into schools all by herself. Lila only put on a fake smile and told her mother that she needed a good education if she was going to become a woman half as impressive as her mom. That got Lila’s annoyance of a mother to fold like a deck of cards and she called the same day to book a tour of the school and a meeting with the faculty to discuss her daughters placement and safety after all the whole ‘akuma’ situation bothered Delia Rossi greatly when it came to the safety of her daughter.

 Getting her mother to take her to the school tour and meeting was just as easy as getting her to call and the second they arrived Lila began hunting for the teacher who would help get her what she wanted. While she could still access Agreste and his classmates from another class it would be easier if she could be in the same class and for that she needed to find and meet with his teacher a woman mentioned in a few of his and his classmates posts for being the ‘best’ teacher they apparently even through her parties to celebrate how kind and great she was. Gag. But hopefully if she was as sweet as she said she’d also be just as stupid. Kind people were ALWAYS stupid. 

 Luckily sneaking away wasn’t hard. The second they entered their meeting with the Principle Lila knew she’d thrive in the school. The fat man was clearly nothing but a bumbling fool and the way he bent over to try and please Lila’s mother due to her status and wealth made it clear he was someone easy to use. However when he introduced Lila’s teacher a Ms. Mendeleiev Lila could tell she would only give her trouble. The woman was stiff, serious and oozed no nonsense this would not do at all so Lila acted fast, batting her eyes and asking in an excited tone if she could explore the school while her mom and Damocles continued talking. 

 The second the office door closed behind her Lila dropped her fake smile and went on the hunt. No way was she going to Ms.Mendeleleiv’s class. Luckily Adrien Agrerste and his classmates loved posting pictures on there stupid little instagrams and using them she quickly tracked down the classroom. Luckily she had gotten her mother to plan the meeting for the lunch period of a school day which meant that the person Lila wanted to see was in her class eating lunch. Now all Lila needed to do was convince Caline Bustier that Lila Rossi should be in her class. Putting on an innocent smile Lila shyly knocked on Bustier's open door. 

 Getting the redheaded teacher on her side had been easy. Almost TOO easy. It was like the whole of Paris was filled with gullible morons just waiting for Lila to give them a proper use. By the end of the lunch period Caline Bustier had gone back to the office with Lila to talk her mother and Damocles into putting Lila into her class. And all Lila had to do to get Caline to dance to her tune was play the role of the shy sweet perfect girl who had just lost her father and moved to a strange new city, slipping in how she was the daughter of a powerful woman and sprinkling in details about her many accomplishments in the acting scene as well as her hard won pageants only seemed to make Bustiers eyes gleam with greed. Lila soon figured her out, it seemed Caline Bustier liked to collect the cream of the crop for her class and now she wanted to add Lila to her jewel set. It worked out well so Lila let it happen.

 With everything set up Lila waited eagerly for her first day of class ready to take a seat on her new throne and command her new subjects to help build her an untouchable career filled with fame and wealth. Even if she was using them they should thank her after all by helping her with her career they would be helping their own careers after all Lila needed them to succeed so that she could succeed. If anything they should thank her for selecting them. As Lila headed to bed that night she could not help the grin that slid onto her face. Losing her dearest father had been a blow but Lila would still conquer the world. Just like they had always planned.

Sadly. In every kingdom there is a fire starter. Someone who doesn’t know their place. Lila had met many of them on her journey to the top. In the past her father would have taken care of them but now Lila was on her own and she wasn’t dealing with just one but two.

 Ladybug, the local hero who Lila should never have had the displeasure of meeting face to face, had ruined her shot at wrapping Adrien Agreste around her finger. Worse still Lila’s mother had dragged her back to italy after learning of Lila’s akumatization. It had taken Lila awhile to convince her mother that she was not only safe but remembered nothing of the incident. She also needed to lie about the real reason for the incident claiming that she’d been akumatized after she lost her fathers gift necklace. Luckily while she convinced her mother to head back to Paris Caline Buster the gullible woman that she was let Lila video chat with the class and weave them a pretty lie about her mothers work taking her somewhere much more exotic then her grandparents stupid apple tree farm. 

 However during her second ‘first day’ at her new school Lila met her second rival. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Lila was shocked by the influence she held over the others in class. Her social media profiles made her seem like a nervous shy wreck who could trip over her own feet any second. Yet apparently she was some fashion designer wannabee and class president. Lila soon learned that Marinette held power and popularity and Lila knew she needed her GONE asap if she was going to succeed. 

 But things just kept getting in her way, after getting Marinette booted out of the school Adrien had interfered he’d offered Lila a good deal, worse she still had hopes of making the blonde idiot her’s and since he was ALL about friendship and forgiveness she needed to play the part for him. So she let Marinette slink back to school and prepared herself for their battle. Lila would get rid of Marinette and Ladybug one way or another.

 It took years to hatch the perfect scheme. As seasons changed and Lila got older, her brilliant plan had half succeeded. Now at 16 years old if you looked in magazines or out your window at billboards it wasn’t just Adrien Agreste’s face anymore. No Lila was there too now acting as THE face for Gabriel’s young womens fashion line. Her mother had stopped complaining once Lila’s grades went up which was easy to achieve when she could pay, guilt, or manipulate someone into doing her homework for her or worse come she could use Bustier and Damocles to fix her grades. After all having a supermodel with a mother in Politics looked good for the school and helped bring in donations from wealthy parents so her grades should reflect that.

 But despite how well things were going the thorn in her side had remained. Ladybug continued to be an annoyance that dominated Adrien’s focus. While Marinette continued to ruin her schemes. When they were 13 Lila had tried spreading rumors and lies but Marinette kept disproving them with her perfect little good girl act. At 14 Lila upgraded to sabotaging Marinette making sure she missed parties, deadlines, she even destroyed a dress commission Marinette claimed was for some big shot called Penny Rolling? Yeah Lila had never heard of a Penny Rolling in rock music, what a pathetic lie. Annoyingly however Marinette bounced back when she missed parties the class waved it off as Marinette being busy being ‘awesome’ when she missed deadlines she somehow still came through and the big dress commission Lila destroyed? Marinette somehow salvaged it and Lila saw it on a magazine cover a week later.

 At 15 Lila and Marinette entered a cold war period. Lila had one to many close calls where Marinette almost exposed her and with her job at Gabriel Lila wasn’t going to risk it. However that didn’t mean things were peaceful. Lila had learned she could weaponize her classmates. They were kind gullible idiots but if there was something Lila had learned it was that they were all a little selfish. All of them had big ambitions and goals in life and the talent to back them up its why Lila had chosen them in the first place as thanks to their talent she’d appeared in a few of Nino’s award winning short films which got her commercial work, she’d also used Alya’s blog to create a booming social media presence for herself, through Kitty Section Lila got to meet several music people. But in order to be as successful as they were, the class sometimes made selfish requests of each other and Lila was able to manipulate that. Marinette was crushed under the weight of demands she could never bring herself to say ‘no’ to. Lila even heard from Alya that Marinette had closed her websites commissions just to help her class. The stupid designers dreams got stalled thanks to her ‘kindness’ while Lila’s career took off toward the stars.

 But now at 16 Lila was done playing with Marinette she needed her GONE. Marinette was a threat to her career and her kingdom but the real straw that broke the camel's back was when Marinette used one of Lila’s own lies against her forcing her to back down from starring in one Nino’s newest short films, and giving the role to that dumpy little goody brat Mylene. The film had gone on to win international awards and Mylene had been given a job offer for a tv show. Lila had seen red at that and knew that she had been playing nice too long Marinette needed to go.

 Luckily Lila had learned a few new tricks. Getting rid of Marinette directly would endanger her if things went wrong. She’d seen that first hand with her father. No, the best way to get rid of a threat was to have someone else do it for you and luckily Lila had made friends in very high places. Hawkmoth was a pathetic villain with a losing streak so long it was embarrassing to call him an ally but, Lila found it handy to keep the butterfly obsessed villain on her side.And now he was going to help her greatly. Lila had for years noticed the similarities between Ladybug and Marinette mostly in how they kept interfering in her life. Now did Lila actually believe they were the same person? No, Marinette was too much of a cowardly little mouse to be the bold Ladybug not to mention they looked nothing alike… Not that Lila could actually remember what Ladybug looked like when she tried to think about it. But whatever the point was, Hawkmoth was desperate and Marinette was the perfect person to point his way. 

 It only took 30 minutes for Lila to convince Hawkmoth to look into Marinette between the girls track record at never being akumatized her constant absences whenever Ladybug was around. And all the other lies Lila came up with to make Marinette seem more suspicious then she was Hawkmoth was convinced to check in on Marinette. After that Hawkmoth and Lila met a few more times each time Lila pushed him a little farther and whispered in his ear some more fake evidence until finally she got him right where she wanted him. It was a simple suggestion, an idea she acted like she’d only just had and not one she’d been plotting for months. 

 “Why not burn down the house? If she is Ladybug and hiding the other miraculous there she will have to reveal the hiding place in order to retrieve them from the rubble?” When Hawkmoth answered in silence before pulling back his butterfly from Lila breaking there connection and conversation she knew she’d made her mark.   

 Sure enough a few days later Lila turned on the news to be met with a delightful sight. The best bakery in all of Paris was burning down to the ground in an uncontrollably wild blaze. For the next few hours firefighters fought back the fire but by the time it was done burning there was hardly anything left. The family was sadly unharmed as it turns out Marinette and her parents were having a family night which included a trip to the new horror movie hitting theaters. Lila bit her lip annoyed as she’d hoped Hawkmoths unhinged frame of mind would have him remove Marinette permanently as with her home burned there was still a chance she would return to school and continue being a pest.

 The following monday however Lila learned her plan had still worked just fine as a heartbroken Alya sobbed into Lila’s shoulder that Marinette’s parents had decided they could no longer handle the stress of living in Paris and were moving back to Tom’s childhood home in America. Lila had to fight to keep the grin of victory off her lips as she rubbed Alya’s back and made fake promises that it would all be okay and that surely her and Marinette would stay bff’s even with the distance. The look of Adrien looking confused and heartbroken only delighted Lila more. With Marinette gone Lila would finally be able to do what she set out to do 3 years ago. She would replace her and become the one everyone loved and listened to. 

Lila had finally won.

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( Life’s been stressful and busy but I’m happy I can finally post the first chapter of this big dumb stupid idea. I hope you guys are eager for more! )

[accio-victuuri]

there are clowning materials/potential candies that i wanna look into and talk about no matter how improbable they are. then there are those where i’m just — do i even want to do this? lol. only because there is not much to go on and fueled solely by speculation. anyway, this is about the alleged camera gifted to xz ( by wang yibis babie ) and how he took it to milan with him.

i’m making this so i can refer to it if anything comes up in the future. the thing is, if you look at the vlogs/photos — ZZ is using his phone to take pictures and videos. there is nothing wrong that, most people use their phones and he has his team that will take the “content” who brought the equipment. but i just find it hard to believe that GG, a photographer, will not bring a camera? this is a dude who brings it for drama shoots ( for example ace troops ) and that’s at home. so what more for a trip like this. in milan. there are a couple of fan-photos/videos of him roaming around and we don’t see him holding a proper camera. surely there will be other content from that trip and let’s see if we find the cam but right now it seems like it’s non- existent.

this talk started with a made-up 🍉…

i’m saying made-up because all melons that read like this are. especially those that say “xx and xx have a good relationship” or “xx exercise alot”. if this was from a fake rumor house, i would be more inclined to have a positive take on it but it’s not. as i also said before, i don’t endorse this particular account cause they clearly post reliable work-related melons, anti posts and random stuff to get attention. point is, melon accounts are not friends.

anyway, this made some turtles think about last october when some where noticing the appearance of cameras in their promo pics/ videos. and comments came up of maybe it’s a clue that they are giving us. remember XZ didn’t do his usual birthday post last year, same with Bobo.

so now we’re like, why not look into it?

XZS posted very few photos of GG ( 2021-2022 ) with a camera and i can’t really tell what he’s using for p1 and p2. but i think this is the same one he takes with him @ drama shoots.

for the vlogs i found this, but they covered the brand. lol. and well the occasional polaroid cameras are also spotted in his vlogs.

i don’t see any concrete timeline of what cameras he has, i only remember his pd101 guesting and how fans were saying the camera he used is his own. it just never really came up, how many cameras do you have? hahahahahahaha!

In terms of MFW,

the main camera his team was using for photos and vlogs was Canon EOS body and of course the important thing are the lenses which they switch out. I think this was not the “gifted” one and more of something his assistant/photographer owns. 📷

my eye is on the camera he used for the tod’s photoset when he landed in Milan. It was still posted under XZS and they tagged Tod’s, but it’s not exactly a “business photoshoot” that will be released as a proper Ad. It is still work-related, but given the freedom to add his personal touch. popular guess is it’s a sony zv-1, which is a known compact vlogging camera that is good quality. it is a thoughtful gift for someone you know who loves to shoot his day-to-day life. it’s not too heavy or so expensive that you will be afraid to use it casually.

some are saying it might be provided by tod’s for him to shoot but i find that unlikely. they know he has his team. if they need to capture photos/videos of him, they will send their own. knowing how cared for he was by the tod’s team during his trip. and the important thing for a tod’s “ad post” is really the product. the clothes, bags and shoes. so why was this camera featured twice? is he showing it off? for what?

i checked the review and it sounds promising that i almost wanna buy one for myself 😂😂😂

it could be his own and he bought it himself. it is possible too ( by turtle logic ) that it’s “gifted” by wyb. who knows. as with all other candies, we can’t say for sure or confirm things. but for this one, i think we need more evidence and time. 💕

reference sources: one & two

[murumokirby360]

My Family's 2010s Digital Camera (Canon EOS 1000D/Rebel XS) [feat. my Paper Dolls]

DeviantART version → [CLICK ME!]

Hello, May! 🌏☀️ Unfortunately, I cannot continue my upcoming and latest "PC Upgrade Project". The good news was, that I've already worked on it, but I need to adjust the size for the comparison, as well as splitting it into two videos instead of one to reduce memory size, and even timing the subtitles (which is important for the latter). So, my plan was to be submitted by July of 2024. On the bright side, I have another item review that has yet to be revealed, this June. 🙂 Nonetheless, onto my month's share. 😊

BREAKING NEWS: Just recently, yesterday [on May 30th, 2024] my current Power Supply Unit blew up, making my custom PC desktop useless without any power source! 💥😨 As of today, We send it to the "Computer Repair Shop" for a replacement. 🖥️🔧😓 Ouch! Luckily, it was fixed the next day, as in TODAY! And I cost a lot from my earning funds. Double ouch! 💵🤕 So, that topic deserves another month, I suppose...

Now, onto my topic...

• So, another camera from my parent's shelves, and it's the latest abandoned camera, as of 2024. The "Canon EOS 1000D" 😊📸, also known as the "EOS Rebel XS" is a DSLR camera that debuted in June 2008. This old professional camera possessed a 10.1-megapixel camera, a detachable lens like other DSLR cams do, and a whole bunch of features that only professional DSLR cam photographers could understand. Also, unlike the Sony Cybershot's exclusive "Sony" Memory Stick for photo storage, Canon uses the universal SD Card to store photos, on any memory brand used such as Sandisk, Transcend, Lexar, etc... For megapixels comparison, the 90s Olympus Camedia C-2000 Z has "2.1", the previous topic of Sony DSC-T70 has "8.1", and what about the "Focus-35"? Well, let's say it's not as level as the 90s Olympus camera that we've owned. 🤔🤷‍♀️

• So, do you have a story about this camera? Well, there's one I remembered, and it's based on the true story. ☝😊📖 I was 18 years old (late adolescence, may I add) while I was in High School in the year 2011 (3rd year High School). I went to a local 7-Eleven store when I saw a raffle promo poster. For the prize? A bunch of awesome stuff, including the Canon camera itself (the EOS Rebel XS). And since I'm 18, I'm qualified the participate by buying consumed-related stuff from the aforementioned convenience store daily. After the promo ended and my 3rd year of High School ended, a rider came to our house to receive a letter from 7-Eleven, only to find out that my father was the winner of the promo instead of me, and I was shocked. 😲 Damn... That winning camera should've been ME, and I used this cool camera to pursue my future career as a professional photographer; which sadly, did not happen. 😥 Regardless, in the end, I'm happy that my father won the prize, so I have to congratulate him. 👏😊 And the rest was history, we have SO MANY photo moments that we've shared on our main social media(s), unlike our previous digicams. We've been using it for a few years, until 2018(?) (as far as I know). When the camera itself started to get old, bugs were unbeknownst inside the lens (seriously, where did that come from? 🐜), and the built-in flash was unable to work properly. Making use of itself. Also, the repair cost for our camera was expensive, so we can't afford it. 💵😬 Yup, another camera bites the dust (I guess). 😥 And so, we've decided to switch to smartphone cameras over our bulky DSLR camera. 📱➡📷 After all, the cams from smartphones we're superior to those before depending on what brand we've used. Plus, it is ultra-portable, too.

• For ME, however, I would love to use the traditional digicams (big or small) over smartphones because it had a superior quality image over modern phones. 📷➡📱 Yeah, Apple and Samsung had overtaken, but true camera brands like Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm (the trio of Japanese camera brands 🇯🇵📷. Don't forget Sony, by the way.) are already stronger than before; innovate after innovate for the professional photographers and content vloggers. The big boy cameras never gets old, and they're still producing them, to this very day. 📸🎥😁 However, with the rise of "Action Cameras" (not to mention Flying Camera Drones") will soon be surpassed, in the digital image industry. So, I'm not sure who'll die first. We may never know...🤔

• On the plus side, my paper dolls appreciate my story. So, here's my final moment before I put this cool memorable DSLR Camera on the wardrobe. 😊📷📸

Well, that's all for now! And do you have any good "item" memories from the 2000s to 2010s, like mine? Type it down in the reply section! 😊

If you haven't seen my related camera throwbacks, and my previous topic, then I'll provide some links down below. ↓ 😉

• My Family's 2000s Digital Camera (Sony Cybershot DSC-T70) [Apr 30th, 2024]

• Another 90s Camera: Olympus Camedia C-2000 Z [Jan 29th, 2024]

• My Family’s Old Film Camera (from the 90s) [Aug 29th, 2023]

Previous:

• My BRAND NEW SMARTPHONE BY Tecno Mobile [Mar 30th, 2024]

Tagged: @lordromulus90, @bryan360, @shadowredfeline, @leapant, @alexander1301, @coda-archive, @rafacaz4lisam2k4

[humbletumblecrudi]

[𝐀𝐫𝐓𝐰] 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 × 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞!𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 who needs a model

Info on Reader: Reader is intended Masculine and uses he/him/they/them pronouns. Reader is not described to be Summoner, but he can be if you want. Reader is good at photography and is apart of a photography club: only equipment is mentioned, but no other students are. Reader has dialogue in this, so take note of that. Reader is more kind here, less teasing.

Warning(s): Canon Typical Violence & Weapons Used | Fujoshi's DNI | Fem Aligned Individuals may read as long as they have a Masc MC and stay respectful | Silent Reader/Blank Blogs Will Be Blocked

Timeline: No specific time but it's definitely post Chapter 4. Anything else is ambiguous for your sake!

If you couldn't hear his footsteps behind you, you certainly could feel the arm he'd slink across your shoulder as he looks out at what your doing. Before you was just nature一the natural scenery of just outside the boundaries of the Queen Tet Dorm, to be specific一and you can hear his wonder as he speaks to you.

"Oh, interested in the scenery of our humble abode? I would be flattered..." His eyes flicker from green to yellow, but his smirk barely changes, "But I know that your here on a mission. Don't worry, I won't touch the schools precious equipment."

The eye roll you can hear in his voice did not reassure you that he might leave it alone, but all you can do is just have a little faith. Sirius has an eye for good thinks and genuinely cares for objects of value, and surely he won't rip this expensive camera from your neck. So, you get back to setting up the camera for a wide lens shot, when he tries roping you in conversation...

"So, cameraman, how are your RAW's coming out? Landscape, hopefully." The pun is obvious and he let's out a chuckle at his own joke, and you almost want to sigh.

"The landscape is nice, and I do hope they come out nice," You answer Sirius, finally finding the best lens for the snow, high trees, and distant sunset sky. "Because this will be in the newspaper for the school, and I have a chance to go with composers to the East if I get noticed."

"Ambitious!" It sounds like praise, but then he looks out at the frozen ground of the winter horizon. "But it's the dead of winter everywhere, and this dorm doesn't get this much snow often. You won't find a soul outside of their rooms or class."

From the clothes he was wearing, you'd think he just came from a day on the town. His school uniform was ditched for a long sleeved turtleneck in black, with a thick scarf in grey and red. The pants he wore were a generic straight brand of dark slacks, and his footwear were loafers with white socks peaking out. He was the definition of casual, especially with his hair tied back like he hadn't cared about it at all. A very dressy "dressed down" look for Sirius, and you can see his true personality coming through. Serious, yet lax.

"Hm? But your outside, and you look like you just came back?" You question him, and you hear his hum of dismissal before you add: "Did Spica一?"

"一need anything? Yeah, but nothing of any importance. Paperwork, paperwork, and maybe some coffee." He cuts you off with a flick of his eyes turning blue, his shoulders slumping. "I'd much rather be here, with you." He flirts, stressing the much in his sentence.

"Really?" You snap a set of pictures.

"Really." His smirk widens just a bit.

You check the photos and it just... doesn't feel right. The shine of the afternoon sun on the snow makes it a beautiful pink and orange, and the trees are a dark brown that weave through the last sunlight hours like claws. It looks... fine. But fine doesn't move careers unless your just filling out your RAW portfolio. You need something else...

Something like...

You look up at the casualness of Sirius, and you see his lazy lean on his left leg. His hands are in his pockets, and you can see his fogging slow breaths in the slowly growing frigid wind. The sunset was barely warming the air anymore, and you can see the signs of him only starting to get cold.

He laughs. "Finally you look at me, cameraman..."

"Sirius..." You want to ask, but you know he's the teasing type and you have no idea if he'd enjoy this. Yes, he likes attention, but he's never the type to... outright agree to anything.

"Yesssss?" He practically sings it.

"Would you be my model for my winter portfolio?" You ask him, before you quickly add, "Please?"

"Please? My, nobodies ever been so nice before." Sirius answers, and starts walking forward. "Well, I can't exactly say no to you, can I? Your just too nice to turn down."

You gawk at him as he steps forward into the field before you both, and he turns back to face you properly. He has nowhere to sit and nothing to pose with, so he's casual as he waves his hand at you.

His eyes shine with something mysterious, yet they flash pink. "Well? I have nothing to do, so I'll help out my dear sweetheart. Get over here and lead me through the steps for what poses you want, I'm just the pretty face!"

You both knew that last statement was wrong on many, many levels but you both don't comment on it further. From here, you help him pose and get the shots you want. But in turn, he drills you with flirtatious remarks and maybe even throw a bit of snow at you, no matter how watery it is.

Reblogs > Likes, please reblog something during your stay. Requests are open!

[zytes]

what camera do you use?

I learned on a Canon T3 and currently use a Canon T6, an inexpensive DSLR that’s several years out of date - it isn’t exactly professional gear and I usually avoid talking to self-labelled photographers about my equipment because it’s quite insufferable listening to 50 year-old hobbyists tell me that I *need* a mirrorless camera for the Nth time; they’re like $4000 tho, so even if I could afford that I’d be too scared to use it in the ways that I like to use mine.

I think the T7 or T7i is the more current model, and it runs around $500-700 brand new in a basic starter set with two lenses and a soft case. In addition to the lenses that came with the camera body, I also occasionally use a half-dozen different plastic lomography lenses that I bought in a set from a thrift store many years ago — they take sorta shit photos, and are a little inconvenient to use, but they’re really unique; plastic lenses are super underrated imo. The only other accessory I use is a $20 aftermarket battery pack that doubles the battery life and extends the body of the camera to make it fit more comfortably in my hands. Using inexpensive gear has allowed me to be much more adventurous while I’m shooting without fear for rain or snow or dirt - although I do occasionally have to digitally remove water spots and other small shadows that make it into photos whenever my lens is a little scuzzy.

^ the lomo lenses I mentioned, extremely cool vibe but literally held together with tape.

[bikwin5]

more pikmin 4 thoughts

previously i made another post when the trailer in february dropped and finally now we have another major release of information about pikmin. i have a lot to say about a game releasing a month away

Plot details- so first off one thing i was right about is that the main focus of the game is collecting castaways in caves. it doesn't seem that all of them are in caves but i would assume most are. i thought treasures would be like pikmin 3 where they extend your time limit but it seems that collecting enough of them unlocks new areas. when i first heard that they "fix the spaceship's radar" i thought that was weird until i saw the new screenshots on the nintendo page store:

do you see that very carefully in the botton left? that's SPARKLIUM!!!!! HEY! PIKMIN IS CANON!!!!!! FUUUUUUUCK YES!!!!!!!!!!! ok maybe not canon but it's funny they took that mechanic from the 3DS game of all things. now i just need metroid prime 4 to include the mechs from federation force and my dream will be complete.

Gameplay- there are more plot details to get into later but i want to talk about the screenshot above for now. we finally get a proper look at the UI where pretty much everything has been overhauled. first of all nintendo still has an obsession with that font they've been using since miitomo. second the day timer is now totally overhauled to be in the top left instead of stretching along the top. this is a surprising change but i suppose they wanted less UI obstruction due to the new camera angle. there's also no day counter, suggesting you have unlimited days. then there's the pikmin stuff, health bars, and brand new is an objective window and sparklium/gem count. i noticed the latter two things aren't in some gameplay screens and there might be an option to turn it off.

looking at the health bars it seems the dog pretty much does act as a second leader in this one. oatchi has its own health, can be controlled, and i think it can do pretty much any action a leader can, plus more. there's even a screenshot of him throwing pikmin:

and as seen in the trailer you can level up the dog using "pup drive"??? seems to be some kind of points you unlock somehow. anyway the fact that oatchi can do all this while the main character doesn't makes me wonder what the advantage of not being oatchi is. is this a scooby-doo mystery mayhem situation where scooby is objectively better than shaggy because he can fit into tight spaces and shaggy can't? sorry if that's not the most relatable comparison but it does include a dog and a human.

another upgradable feature is various suit upgrades such as the rush boots, scorch guard and all the other stuff you could get in pikmin 2 and 3. it seems those blue gems on the ground are "resources" you can collect and use to get these upgrades. i think this is a pretty neat way of doing it!!! instead of tying it to treasures this makes these upgrades most likely optional and you can obtain them at your own pace instead of the awkward way 3 did it. you could even forgo certain upgrades as a challenge or because the rush boots are so annoying i dont like the pikmin 2 rush boots they just make all the pikmin slow.

The Pikmin- i wrote several paragraphs about pikmin without mentioning pikmin. from what it seems all 8 types of pikmin are available in the story mode which is neat! we got to see a little bit of purple, rock, wing and white near the end of the trailer, and there are night time exclusive pikmin too. i'm flipping between the trailer and the website info a lot so bear with me, but there's a pretty significant bit of information on the site that wasn't touched upon:

that last sentence suddenly makes a lot of sense with what we've seen, like how blue pikmin were never seen alongside ice pikmin. it makes sense that there's enough overlap with different pikmin abilities and oatchi abilities that they would do this. but i fear having only 3 types at once has the potential to make the game more tedious but it really depends on how changing types works. is it from the onion? the ship? can you do it in the middle of a cave? it raises a lot of questions but it could add another layer of strategy to the game because now we have more of a party building factor. purple pikmin might not be as OP as they were when they take up one of your 3 precious types.

small addendum to this, the site also has a "meet the pikmin" segment in a weirdly arbitrary order-- it goes red, blue, yellow, ice, glow, purple, rock, winged, and finally white. is this the order you actually get to see them in game? blue pikmin might finally no longer be the last type you get, and white pikmin being so late might explain their small presence in the trailer. let's hope they don't end up like blues in 3's story mode.

The Caves- i really wanted to see more of these and we got them. i didn't say this in my last post but after watching the previous trailer 10 more times i saw there were these blue lids scattered around that i thought were cave holes, and i was right. and i really like the look of what we saw so far, especially the floor based off of pikmin 3's clockwork chasm and this aquarium:

i don't even have anything to talk about with the screenshot i just love how it looks. it looks like they aren't procedurally generated this time, but then again it might be because if there's anything that's gotten better in the past decade of gaming it's making procedurally generated stuff actually fun to play. i was also wrong about them not having treasures because they definitely do. i get the feeling caves won't take up as much time overall as they did in pikmin 2 but they still seem really expansive and fun.

Night missions- I was very wrong about these. I thought you would play as the rescue corps and have to fend off the big spaceship for the night but it turns out it's just you who goes elsewhere to do... something. i'm not entirely sold on these because the narrator never exactly explains what the purpose of them is. it seems you can choose to go to them from the landing site, which appears to be a hub area with no time limit, i forgot to mention that but that's neat. but aside from having a new pikmin type that does spirit bombs all they mentioned was that you get "valuable glowsap" which is... something??? i can't imagine it's only for extra sparklium, maybe it can be exchanged for special upgrades or whatever. it wasn't really clear whether night missions are even required. regardless the gameplay of turning pikmin into a base defense thing seems pretty cool.

This fucking guy-

i gotta be honest this probably blindsided me the most out of anything-- this and the fact he's the introduction to 2 player battle mode, which seems to imply you can play it against a CPU now? i think it's funny that pikmin is still keeping the tradition of having a tacked on multiplayer mode where you beat each other to death with regular gameplay mechanics. anyway this guy could either be olimar, who died and became a hairy man, OR this guy is just a joker's trick and the real olimar is out there somewhere. the latter seems more likely from nintendo but if they really did want to canonize the bad ending of pikmin 1 than that's kind of wild. it's like making a game where the silent hill 2 alien ending happened.

people are suggesting "split timeline" and i scoffed at the notion at first but then i remembered the short trailer we got earlier this month. it treats olimar crash landing as if it were his first time there, and the rescue corps as the second time anyone has crashed. plus some info on the japanese site suggested olimar had been there for a month and the rescue corps received his distress signal. funny enough, pikmin 1's interstellar radio mentions that it's emitting a constant SOS signal but it would take longer than a month for help to arrive. so i think maybe it's likely his dead ass became a pikmin now???? but they also treat rescuing olimar as the main goal of the game so that makes me wonder what the climax of the story would be if he's unsalvageable. maybe it's about turning him back into a guy, idk.

Misc stuff- There's a handful of other things on the site that were only glanced over a bit. for instance:

it seems there's an ability to rewind not just days but time as well? this feels like their equivalent of a "super guide" option. honestly i hope this means they're not afraid to make a pikmin game that's just flat out mean again.

and on the right side it seems there are multiple landing sites per area. it mentions "each of the expansive areas" so i don't think pikmin 4 is one fully open map but having multiple landing sites is neat. i guess it makes sense because the maps look huge and there are only 2 guys to play as this time.

the site also has confirmation of challenge mode, 2-player battle and story co-op... except it's just mario galaxy style co-op where the second player points at things. like come on nintendo... you made this dog for marketing points and you won't even let the second player be him.

there's a LOT more i could dig into like all the returning enemies and environments and ice hazards but i think this is long enough of a post for now, and probably the last one until i get to play it. there is a demo coming very soon and i can't resist the siren call of that so that will be fun to crack into. ending this post with oatchi and ice pikmin plush

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files Collector’s Edition: Coming Home to Their Unremarkable House

Whether they be road-weary, discouraged at their losses, or happy in each other, Mulder and Scully always carve out a piece of the world for themselves to bunker into. These fics are a few variations on finding their perfect home. 

Loose canonical order below~  Canon Timelines 

@purrykat​/mylifeinshadow‘s Maps for the Getaway

““She’d lost so much, sacrificed so much. Little more than five minute phone calls to her mother on store bought burner phones to connect her to her old life. You’ve considered it so many times, just up and leaving. You’d be doing her a favor, allowing her a freedom she hadn’t known since walking into your office nearly ten years ago. Every time you’ve talked yourself into it, the mere sight of her so small in an over sized hotel bed, clutching a blanket, the last remaining connection to her son, and you’d found yourself breaking down instead. So selfish. So, so selfish. But not anymore.””  

Mulder is so moved by Scully’s noble sacrifices that he puts his “selfishness” aside to get her what will truly make her happy. 

CSM’s Home Sweet Home 

““She can see a rainbow of emotions fly across Dana’s face before she nods her head in agreement. Dana finger’s curl around her own phone, the metallic blue of the Razor glistening in the bright sunlight.

“Do you need to make a call before we go?” Anna Maria asks her kindly.

Dana shakes her head, “I want to see the house before I call, makes no sense getting….I prefer to see the house first.””

Monica’s realtor aunt gets two interesting clients; but loyalty to her niece keeps her nose directly out of their business. 

Chibiness’s Impulse Buy

““Missy told her once her impulsiveness would only end her up in trouble; that no good could ever come from an impulse buy. So she swapped her impulsive attitude from clothes to life choices.

Like swapping her focus from medicine to the FBI.

And getting a tattoo on a dare.

And running away from her respected life to a life on the lam.””

Scully impulsively buys a house for Mulder; but her happiness drops when she thinks Mulder doesn’t want it. Happily, that is not the case.  

@atths--twice​’s (Ao3, Alt. Ao3, FFN) Refuge

““We need food, Mulder. I will be fine.”

“I know. I just…”

“I know.”

Scully sneaks Mulder to their new home; and sneaks back out to surprise him with a little celebration for his birthday.

@crossedbeams‘s (Ao3) Mulder, it doesn't go in like that! 

““Scully’s objections are swallowed by gravity as Mulder risks her wrath and uses his strength to tug her over the arm and on to the seat.””

Mulder cares for one thing and one thing only: to shove his leather couch in. The rest of the furniture can be done later (and he’s successfully convinces Scully with his usual brand of logic.) 

@hipsbef0rehands/Millenial_Falcon’s (WBM/WBM) A Nice Hike in the Woods (Ao3)

““He had been trying hard to make their new house a home, feeling responsible for dragging her into this new life. For Thanksgiving he had attempted to cook a small turkey unsuccessfully. They ended up salvaging what parts of the bird they could and making sandwiches with a side of potatoes and green beans.””

Scully sees Mulder’s desperate scramble to turn their UH into a home for her. She follows him into the woods, and is surprised by his kindness. 

@scullyphile​‘s (Ao3) Unnamed

““The Lone Gunmen were over to her apartment for the first time since she brought their son home. They had laughed with her and Mulder about old times and doted on their son like proud uncles. Before they left, Byers had produced a camera.

“I want to get a shot of the happy family,” he’d said.””

While moving in, Scully finds a happy family photo that TLG had taken... before the dark times.

@seek-its-opposite​ (Ao3, WBM) the second law of motion

““Mulder smiles, grabs both of her palms in his long fingers. And kneels.“Mulder, what—?”

“Dana Scully,” he begins, solemn as a sacrament. “Will you watch paint dry with me?”

This is the man she married under a made-up name in a one-stoplight town, in sickness and in health and under threat of state-sanctioned execution. She loves him.””

Mulder and Scully settle into their house; and agree to never mention any “lost time”, instead savoring the present.

@wtfmulder/@momdadimpoppunk​‘s (Ao3) Unnamed

““Every half hour or so, he called out to her to once again be his watch. “Missed any spots?” He’d ask, careful not to get paint in his eyes when he shielded them from the sun. From her notable distance, nearly swallowed by the shade of their walnut tree, she looked up, squinted, and gave him a thumbs up. He returned to work, and she returned to the same sentence she’d been reading from the time she had sat down.””

Mulder’s blissful ignorance in his new domestic routines shields him from Scully battling emotions as she broods about a pregnancy test... which turns negative.

@scully-loves-ruthie’s Fictober Day 17

““Dusk settled outside the house.  The smooth amber glow snaked its way across the front porch ushering in the promise of twilight.  The air snapped with fallen leaves and a sharp chill, all the ambiance of a movie night. They’d settled into the house 2 months ago, to call the lead up to finally having a real home together harrowing would be putting it mildly.  They had lived life through the rocky crags of tragedy tumbling out the other end shiny worn-down pebbles, necessary in their existence.  As they repurposed their personalities and shorn love affair to fit into a happily domesticated couple, the exchange they had made was causing more than a few growing pains.””

Mulder rents Legally Blonde to shake up his and Scully’s odd feelings.

@vgcam/veredgf‘s Christmas Lights

““It was their first Christmas celebration as a couple. Not that they hadn’t been together during the past number of Christmases but this one was different. This one was being celebrated.

After hiding out in New Mexico for a good number of years they’d finally managed to find themselves a place of their own. No more moving every few days from one motel to another. No more transient jobs for Scully, no more windows they had to draw the blinds on so nobody would find out where he, Mulder, was hiding.””

Mulder’s banter hits a raw nerve of Scully’s, since they can’t welcome William to the new home she bought them. He leaves a sign up for him, anyway.

@tatooedlaura-blog​‘s (Ao3, Gossamer) Her Own

““She lived in five different houses with her family, called Maggie’s current place home since she was eight, leased her condo on a yearly basis and bunked in 427 different hotel rooms in the last two years but now, as she walked into the dusty, slightly sad, sagging, weather-beaten gray farmhouse, she felt the smallest of flames flare in her chest.

She had her own home.

She had her own Mulder.””

Scully is so happy to finally own a house of her own. Mulder is interested in being introduced to ladybugs.

@greekowl87​‘s (Ao3)

Gardening

““He remembered her look of surprise when he mentioned staying in a place for a few months and instead of a few weeks. He shrugged and suggested it would be a nice change of pace for them. She just gave a Mona Lisa smiled and said nothing.

She was smiling even more when she saw the house for the first time. He remembered standing in the doorway nervously as she inspected each room in her meticulous Scully-esque way. She came back, smiling. Tears in her eyes.””

Mulder buys he and Scully some plants to help put down their roots.  

Summer Humidity

““Despite the window A.C. unit spitting out cold air, Scully pulled back the sheets to their bed in a haze of sleep. Sweat clung to her and she felt gross. She was hot and sweaty and she bemoaned the thought how bad summers in Virginia could get with the humidity, even with dying A.C, and how much she had forgotten in the years she had been absent. She rolled onto her stomach ungracefully, her arm making a large sweeping motion, searching for Mulder, only to find the bed empty. Her sleepy mind blinked itself awake as she sat up in bed. Mulder was nowhere to be found.

They had just purchased the unremarkable house.””

Scully finds Mulder awake one hot and sticky night, simply absorbing the feeling of their new house. She joins, content.

@debbierhea​/@i-am-alittle-on-edge​/thexfilesbabe ‘s (WBM, Alt. WBM)

We Wander One - Wanna Dance?

““When Scully returned to the kitchen, they put the groceries away together, picking out the best shelf in the fridge for her yogurt and the most convenient cabinet for his Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. They had fun, teasing each other and flirting as paper plates and silverware were unpacked from the final bag and Scully began making them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sitting crisscross applesauce on the living room floor, Mulder and Scully ate their sandwiches and chips. While Mulder got up for two glasses of iced tea, Scully stole half of his Cheetos off his plate and when he returned, Mulder pretended not to notice, smirking to himself as he caught sight of the red stains on her fingertips.””

Mulder and Scully are so happy with their domesticity that they dance.  

Unnamed

““He’s so in love it’s almost ridiculous. He always had a feeling that settling into a home would feel better for both of them, but he hadn’t realized just how much tension had been stuck between them since they hit the road. The moment she walked up the steps and took a deep breath, turned to him and said, “It’s perfect,” was the moment he realized just how much time they had spent being upset and stressed. She looked ten years younger that day, with a braid hanging over her shoulder.””

Mulder observes as Scully slowly adjusts to calm domesticity, even considering writing to Maggie.  

Lolabeegood’s (mulderscreek) Gardening Day

““I'm not trying to impress anyone," she said as she turned to look at him more fully.  "I just want some flowers; what's the crime in that?"

"Scully, I'm not saying..." he started and then stopped.  "It's just that you've never shown much interest in...in nesting.”"

Mulder questions Scully about her new botanical bent. She finally feels “home.”

@melforbes/@claup​‘s (Ao3, WBM, Alt. WBM)  

““next week, she has an interview with a hospital, but if that doesn’t work out, she’ll pursue private practices, maybe even find a natural medicine clinic or two where she can apply; all she asks is that she ends up in the medical field, starts that part of her life. though she always saw life as a series of linear accomplishments, she’s beginning to understand that life extends in multiple dimensions - “like how the mantis shrimp sees, scully,” she hears him say in her head - and that there will, in fact, be places that want her.””

Scully is elated to have a home, and even more content that she has found a wholeness in her sense of self.  

@lepus-arcticus​‘s

Unnamed

““Silence was absence. It was the echoing emptiness of Chilmark hallways. It was mothballs folded into a pink quilt, and then stowed away in an heirloom cedar chest in the basement. It was a picture frame face-down on his mother’s bedside table. It was waking up from dreams of his son’s newborn squall. But this silence was new. He stood at the open screen door and scratched at his beard, marveling at the pillowy softness of three feet of overnight, unbroken snow. The only sound was Scully’s even breathing from the air mattress in the living room.

This silence was good, was right, was patience, was love.””

Mulder considers the newness of this silence in a home.

O Hushed October Morning Mild

““Mulder, please stop talking.” He pauses, smiling gently down at her, suddenly a little lovestruck. This is their home, he reminds himself. No more motels, no more remote hideaways. They have a home. With a porch, and a gas-burning stove, and a clawfoot bathtub, and a dusty old attic. His leather couch is out of storage, their books together on the shelves. In the last few weeks of living here, he’s felt strange, like he’s been peering in from the outside at the life of another, luckier man.””

Mulder’s joy over his new domesticity with Scully bubbles over in October.

@leiascully​‘s (Ao3) Housewarming (Ao3)

““I love this,” she said, the words cloudy in the air. She’d always been afraid of that before, she thought, that if she told him she loved him, it would linger between them, tangible. She wasn’t afraid now. Whatever she didn’t have, she had him, and they had the house, and they had built something solid between them, somewhere between the Southwest highways and the trail through the woods.””

Mulder chops wood for he and Scully to admire in their new home while they brew up plans for the future. 

FridaysAt9′s Five Christmases - Chapter 5

““I also bought cinnamon rolls and fruit when I was out yesterday, so we can have a nice breakfast.”

“Is there bacon?”

“Maybe,” she said with a smile.

“Dana Scully,” he said with a teasing tone. “Are you giving us an idyllic Christmas?””

Mulder calls Maggie for a home warming and Christmas dinner all rolled in one.

@iwtbscully/@jewish-mulder/@anders-hawke/BananaChef‘s Enigmatic

““He beckons her over and she goes with a sigh as if she truly disapproves, laying down next to Mulder on her side. “Alright, but only because I love you.”

“That’s funny, ‘cause I love you, too,” he replies, rolling over to face Scully with a grin. “I guess we’re in agreement.”

“I love you and our creaky house in rural Virginia. Say hi to your mom for me tomorrow.””

Mr. and Mrs. Egotistical have fun settling into their new routines. Mulder, particularly, loves getting Scully out of work early. 

Canon-Divergent/AU Timelines

@scully-loves-ruthie’s Unnamed

““All immediate reservations aside she’d grab his hand, the slap of the screen door a symphony of forgotten charges, dead bodies being dragged across the threshold finally laid to rest.  

“Here,” She’d say as she beckoned him against what would surely be his office door.  “Is where we’ll fight about you leaving trails of sunflower seeds on the floor.  A chocking hazard if I’ve ever seen one.””

S8 Mulder and Scully map out their son’s future growth on the walls of the Unremarkable House. It all ends squashed hopes. (I like to skip the sad ending and Frankenstein it into my happier headcanon post S8.)

@postmodernpromartheus​‘s Unnamed  

““Life with a baby on the lamb is nothing but a challenge. The endless running is wearing on her and Mulder. Will, however, is just as happy as calm. It’s his normal, and she’s begun to wonder how much therapy he’s going to need as a teenager.””

Mulder helps Scully to heal the broken bond Maggie had shattered when her daughter and grandson vanished onto the open road. In return, Maggie helps them get their Unremarkable House. 

Tess’s (Alt. Ao3) Take No Chances 

““To the funeral," he clarified. 

"I can't, Mulder.  How?  There's no..."  She shook her head in automatic denial. "I can't," she repeated. 

"Scully... your mother's funeral... surely we can find a way.”"

Mulder is shattered to have to tell Scully about Maggie’s death; but he is blown away by her strength and belief in her mother’s love and understanding.  

@iwtbscully/@jewish-mulder/@anders-hawke/BananaChef‘s

Unnamed

““For legal reasons,” she elaborated. “We can get a higher tax return, and there’s marital benefits in the event that one of us is injured.”

He looked away and nodded. “Makes sense.”

“We can go down to the courthouse in a couple days to do it. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Mulder replied, not meeting her eyes.

Scully suggests marriage practically; but Mulder is soon heartened to find out his wife does, indeed, have a romantic streak as well.

@dashakay​‘s (Ao3, Gossamer)

Fabric of Our Lives

““Dr. Cooper-Gowdy, my obstetrician, is one of the foremost specialists in high-risk pregnancy.  She has given me every pre-natal test known to medicine and the results have all come back within normal parameters.  This is the thread I cling to, the only thing that keeps my sanity during this endless waiting.

And Mulder, of course. Through the years in the FBI, working on the X-Files, we kept each other sane.  The terror, the tragedy, the loss were enough to send the healthiest of psyches completely to the brink, but we managed to keep each other from splintering apart.””

Mulder and Scully are married, mortgaged, and medically bed-bound all in the hopes her IVF miracle won’t succumb to the placenta previa diagnosis. She quilts for her family while she waits.

Bound Together With Invisible Cord

““I once told Scully I'd walk through fire for her.  I did not say those words lightly.  She would do the same for me.  She has, a hundred times over. It is getting late.  

She has been asleep for at least five hours.””

Mulder waits for Scully to wake from her drugged sleep, reminiscing over their relationship and their daughter.  

@lyndsaybones’s (Ao3) 

AU where Mulder and Scully move in together circa S7?

““She wants grass, a place where they can see the stars. The more she thinks about it, the more she likes it. 

“You wouldn’t be able to just go around the corner for milk and bread, you know,” he reminds her, looking at the real estate ads.

“I know.”

He nods and smiles, goes back to searching.””

Even though the IVF fails, Mulder insists he and Scully still buy the UH. 

Follow up AU where Scully gets to rock William in the white chair 

““She’s too tired to get up on a sunny Saturday morning. They were meant to be pulling the million year old tile backsplash out of the kitchen today, but she’s just so sleepy.””

After Scully collapses during their home renos, she and Mulder speed up their house projects before the impending arrival of their son. 

There we go!

Enjoy! 

[nocapesdahling]

Hold My Hand

Gen Fic: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

My Masterlist

Summary: Bradley Bradshaw grows up without his dad, but his mom and Uncle Pete are there every step of the way. Snapshots of Bradley’s life told from his POV. Top Gun: Maverick spoilers.

“So cry tonight. But don’t you let go of my hand. You can cry every last tear. I won’t leave til I understand. Promise me, just hold my hand.”

Rating: T

Tags: Canon character deaths; References to illness; Angst; Fluff; Hurt/Comfort; Top Gun (1986) references; Time skips to conversations and scenes set post movie; Pete “Maverick” Mitchell acting like one of Bradley Bradshaw’s parental figures; Mav has never been a dad before but he's trying his best

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: I really enjoyed the movie and wanted to write something that showed more of Bradley's life pre-movie and delved into his relationship with Maverick. I also posted this on AO3 a few weekends ago if you’d prefer to read it there, my username is SnowLeopard167. Thank you to the lovely @inklore and @clints-lucky-arrow for encouraging me to post this here <3 Hope you enjoy!

His dad is dead, and it hasn’t sunk in yet. There’s no laughter anymore, no music. All they’re left with are the effects he left behind, just like he left them behind. When his mom gives him the dog tags, they’re both crying and they can’t seem to stop.

She pulls him close to her chest and they fall together, pulled into and lost under an ocean of grief. It may have been hours, but it feels like minutes. Time has no meaning anymore anyway. Not now.  

When her tears have begun to dry, she pulls back from him and runs her hand through his hair. “They’re yours. He would have wanted you to have them, Bradley.”

She lifts them over his head, even though they’re much too big for him and he falls asleep with the tag clutched in his hand — the letters branding themselves on his palm. From then on he wears them every day without fail, keeping his dad close to his heart.

As he grows older, Uncle Pete comes by often. Bradley calls him Uncle Pete while other times he’s his Mav, depending on the day, and sometimes Bradley can barely look at him. He’s Dad’s best friend and the best uncle — all of his friends are super jealous that his uncle is a cool pilot — but Uncle Pete’s alive while his dad is not. Maverick was flying the plane and as much as his mom tells him it’s not Uncle Pete’s fault, he can’t help but blame him sometimes at night when he can’t sleep.

During the day, he forgets about that because Uncle Pete is his favorite person. He can’t control his laughter when Mav plays catch with him or his shouts while Mav teaches him how to ride a bike. He watches avidly as Uncle Pete teaches him how to work on his motorcycle and how to tie a tie with the added comment of “You need to know this just in case, but don’t wear ties Bradley. Not if you can help it.”

These are things he should have done with his dad, but his dad’s not here.

It’s only years later when they’ve all come back alive and he’s back to speaking with Maverick — he’s back to loving Mav, though he never really stopped; instead, he attempted to smother the embers of love with a blanket of bitterness and hate — that he realizes that no one could ever put more blame on Maverick for his dad’s death than Maverick puts on himself. And it’s time to let go. His dad loved Mav, loved flying with him, and Rooster does too.

It’s his first piano recital and he couldn’t be more nervous. He’s confident in his skills, having practiced for his Mom and Uncle Pete and received claps and enthusiastic calls for an encore, but that was at home on his dad’s piano. This is here. In front of everyone.

He peeks around the curtain and his mom is right there in the front row, poised with a video camera, but the seat next to her is empty. He tries not to feel disappointed. It had been a long shot for Uncle Pete to get here anyway with his posting, and he’d just been to his baseball game a couple of months ago yelling and telling him as he ran the bases that, “Now was the time to feel the need for speed. Run home, Bradley!” He’d scored the most runs out of anyone on the team that game.

There’d be other piano recitals. He nods to himself and listens as his predecessor begins to finish their song. It’s time.

He steps onto the stage as his teacher announces him.

“Bradley Bradshaw in his first recital, playing for us the —“

His mom’s waving at him brightly and making motions for him to smile while gesturing at the camera. It’s who’s next to her that almost makes him stop before he gets to the bench. Mav made it. Uncle Pete’s here in his customary leather jacket that Bradley had spent his childhood trying on with a pair of his dad’s sunglasses, hoping he could look as cool as his Mav. He’s made it. And somehow, Uncle Pete’s smile and his thumbs up make all the nerves go away.

He doesn’t need to think while playing his piece. He’s done it hundreds of times by now. It’s more natural that way. His family’s here and that’s all that matters.

Later, much later, he’ll tell Mav about that first recital and how much it mattered that he was there. Maverick would laugh and say, “Do you know how many speed limits I broke to get there, kid? I wasn’t missing it for the world.”

He’s in high school, playing baseball and getting the grades he needs to go to the Naval Academy, when his mom gets sick. First, it’s just headaches but then it’s more. Much more. Then, she’s in the hospital and they say she only has months. That’s it.  

Most of his life it’s just been him and his mom with Uncle Pete showing up as much as he can, but he’s not there all the time and now Bradley won’t even have his mom. He’s in high school and his mom is dying. She’s not supposed to die until he’s older, but when does life ever go the way it’s supposed to? If it did, then his dad would still be here and his mom would still be healthy and smiling. Alive instead of withering away before his eyes.

He goes to visit her every day before school or after practice, whenever he can. He doesn’t want to miss the few times she’s awake.

He’s working on his homework, his hand grasping hers and trying not to hold on too tightly even as he wants to grip it with all his might and make her stay with him. Her hand feels fragile in his, breakable — like with one wrong move it would shatter like his world is shattering around him.

That’s when he hears steps across the floor. Steps he knows like his own. A hand rests on his shoulder and it’s only then that Bradley realizes he’s crying and he doesn’t know when he started or how to stop. The calloused hand reaches down to grasp his and Bradley grips it with all of his strength. He’s not alone anymore. Not in this.

Uncle Pete’s voice is soothing, “I’m here, Bradley. I’m here, kid.” And he loses it, crying in a way that he hopes doesn’t wake up his mom. He’s only 16 years old and he feels too old and too young all at once. All he wants is a hug from his mom, but a hug from Mav will have to do. When he drops his books on the table and throws himself against Uncle Pete’s chest, his warmth and his scent that’s never changed since he was a kid bring Bradley more comfort than he’s felt in months. Uncle Pete is here, his Mav is here, and he can breathe again.

Later, while they’re working on Mav’s plane with Mav teaching him as they go just like when they used to work on his motorcycle, he’ll ask Mav for the first time what his mom said to him before she died. He never asked before, the grief too heavy and too near with her last words to him echoing too loudly in his ears for him to worry about what she’d said to anyone else. Mav pauses as he reaches for the next tool and his voice when he speaks is rough, “Your mother was an extraordinary woman, and she made me make her a promise.”

“A promise?”

Mav nods and hands him the tool, “Move it to the right a bit. That’s it. You’re a natural at this, kid. You always have been.”

Bradley already knows that he won’t get more out of Mav, not when he doesn’t want to talk. He never finds out what that promise was, but he assumes knowing his Mav that he kept it and that’s good enough for him.

His mom deserves that much.

He hasn’t been this nervous and excited in a long time, maybe since that first piano recital actually. He’d applied to a few other colleges and academies just in case, but his heart is set on the Naval Academy. His heart is set on flying just like Mav and his dad.

Today’s the day the letter will be arriving. He’ll know today. Whether or not his dream will become a reality.

The mailbox when he gets home is full of the usual, bills that he’ll set aside for Uncle Pete to look at when he gets home tonight and coupons, but there’s three letters mixed in. One from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and two from state colleges.

There’s nothing from the Naval Academy.

He throws the mail on the table and frantically checks through it all. Still nothing. It couldn’t have been delivered to the wrong house because all the other mail is here, so where is it? He doesn’t understand and will not understand until he calls Uncle Pete a few minutes later.

“Today was supposed to be the day, Mav. The letter from the Academy was supposed to come today. I don’t know where it is.”

The other end of the line is silent.

“Uncle Pete, do you know where it is?” Bradley knows that his voice sounds desperate, pleading for his Mav to make it alright again.

“I do. I —“

“You do? Is it delayed in the mail? Does Uncle Ice know where it is?”

There’s a moment of quiet and Bradley thinks that maybe the call dropped when Mav speaks again, “I pulled it. I pulled your application.”

There’s a moment of disbelief. A feeling of disconnect. As if this is happening to someone else. Before the betrayal burns through his chest.

“You pulled it?” The anger comes swiftly mingling with the betrayal. “You made it so I couldn’t even be considered? How could you do this to me?”

“Yes.” There’s a pause before Maverick speaks again, “You’re not ready, Bradley. Not yet.”

The feelings of safety and love that Maverick had always brought him are evaporating as though they had never been, pushed down deep and buried. Who is this man? Had he ever known him at all?  “That’s not for you to decide, sir. How could you? I trusted you.”

“Bradley, wait I — “

“I never want to speak to you again.”

He can’t listen to what else this stranger wants to say — he doesn’t want to hear more excuses from the person he trusts, no that he trusted, the most in the world — and hangs up. That man is no uncle of his. He can’t forgive him for this.

A few days afterwards in between ignoring Maverick’s attempts to talk to him, he’s calmed enough to consider his options and decide on his future. He sends in his acceptance for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Screw Maverick and his high-handedness. He’ll show him. It doesn’t matter what setbacks he���ll face, he’s going to be an amazing pilot and nothing and no one will stand in his way.

Bradley grows a moustache at the academy that looks just like his dad’s and starts wearing Hawaiian shirts when not in uniform. His dad’s sunglasses are an ever present accessory. It makes him proud to look in the mirror and see how much he looks like his dad, even as there’s a twinge of pain every so often that his dad isn’t there to see it. That his Mav isn’t there to see it.  

He works hard at the academy and graduates top of his class. He has something to prove because Captain Pete Mitchell decided for some reason known only to him to set Bradley’s career back four years, and it still burns.

No matter what, he’s determined to fly.

When he graduates, there’s no one there for him and he misses his mom more than ever. What he wouldn’t give to feel her arms around him and to see that video camera that he’d always shied away from again. Before he gets lost in what if’s on what should be and is one of the happiest days of his life, his buddies drag him over to each of their families to introduce him to their parents and grandparents. At one point, he thinks he sees a familiar figure in the distance but shrugs it off as he turns to take a picture with his friend.

If he’d looked closer, he would have seen Maverick walking back to his motorcycle with a wistful smile. Bradley didn’t graduate alone today after all.

After years of work, it’s all paying off. He’s been invited to Top Gun. To Top Gun! See Maverick, not ready my ass. He’s one of the best and now he has the invitation to prove it. His goal is to graduate top of his class again while living through training.

The only one standing in his way is Hangman. Hangman’s good and he knows it. He’s also an arrogant pain in the ass. They’re neck in neck through every exercise, even as Hangman has to be one of the worst wingmen in existence. He lives up to his name by leaving people out to dry more often than not.

“Hangman, where are you? Do you have my back?”

“I’m in position, and do I need to have your back? I thought you wanted to be the best, Rooster.”

Rooster’s “dead” before he can blink and Hangman ends up edging him out by a couple of points to graduate at the top because of that exercise. Rooster comes in second, just like Pete Mitchell.

It doesn’t sting as much as he thought it would. He’s still graduated Top Gun among the best of the best, and most of all he’s graduated Top Gun alive. To fly another day, and that’s more than his dad got. Bradley hopes that he’s watching, proud and singing along every time he plays Great Balls of Fire. He hopes that his mom is sitting on his dad’s lap, cheering him on.

Later, after the mission from hell where it turns out that while Hangman may be an asshole he’s a life saving one and someone he might be able to call a friend in the future, they all meet up in The Hard Deck for a celebratory drink. Hangman joins in on the Great Balls of Fire sing- along for the first time, just as into it as Phoenix and Fanboy. He’s got a surprisingly good singing voice too.

“What do you think, Hangman? Better than Slow Ride?”

“Well, I don’t know about that. You might have to sing it again to convince me, Rooster.”

When everything’s all said and done, they’re working on the plane again in the garage in silent camaraderie when Mav clears his throat awkwardly.

“I’m not one for big speeches, Rooster.”

“You never have been. Where are you going with this, Mav?”

“But there’s something I keep meaning to tell you, so let me get it out. Without any sarcastic comments.”

“Me? Making comments? Using sarcasm? Never. Who do you take me for?”

“Very funny, Bradley. All kidding aside…” Here Mav looks at the wall of pictures, his eyes lingering on Goose before speaking again, “Goose would have loved flying with you. I think even more than he loved flying with me, and that’s saying something. Then again, nothing can beat how much I loved flying with him and now you, kid. You’re a great pilot and a better man. Your mom and dad — well, they’d be proud of you. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Uncle Pete.”

“Uncle Pete? That’s the first time you’ve called me that in years.”

“That’s the first time it’s felt right in years. Not to ruin the moment, but I have to ask. Who’s the better pilot, Uncle Pete? Me or you?”

Mav shakes his head and smiles, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Rooster. You still have a long way to go.”

“And you’ll be there every step of the way?”

“And I’ll be there every step of the way, I promise.”

“Well, I know you don’t break your promises.”

“I never have and I never will. Sometimes to my detriment. But especially not to you. Now, I think it’s time we go for a flight in this baby.”

“I thought you’d never ask. Drinks are on you after. We’ll invite the whole team.”

“Aren’t they always on me?”

“Yeah, they are.” Rooster’s tone changes from joking to serious, “Thanks, Uncle Pete. For everything.”

His Mav claps him on the shoulder, hand a comforting and warm weight as always. “No, thank you kid.”

“Now, let’s go. I feel the need —“

“The need for speed. Last one there gets the passenger seat.”

“You’re on, Rooster. Be prepared to lose.”

Reblogs, comments, and likes are always much appreciated!

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear what you think. I do have some thoughts for a potential Reader/Original Character in the Top Gun universe as well that I'm excited to work on.  

My Masterlist

[13xwishes]

Thoughts on the core trio? If you don’t want to answer them in one ask then you can just do Frankie

CHARACTER OPINION MEME || { ACCEPTING }

Anonymous Wishes || Core Trio Gen 1 (Frankie, Draculaura & Clawdeen)

Good thing I have the braincell! I decided to do all three. This is gonna be a bit of a long post so bare with me.

Frankie is the perfectly imperfect main ghoul

As far as it comes to the main, even as one of the ones shown the most, I feel like they did a good job with Frankie's character. She's not just a teen monster at Monster High, but THE teen to help you guide through it and relate to. I thought I wasn't going to like Frankie as much because of how they constantly show her most of the episodes but she balances out with her freaky flaws and difficult struggles.

Frankie's personality is what you expect for a teen experiencing High School life for the first time and is trying to fit in while going on a journey. And she takes us on the journey pretty well. She understands and learns along the way, is VERY protective of her friends and loves them enough to even DIE for them. She gets major credit for that. Plus even when the movie does focus on her, she never really overshadows the other monsters. Instead it feels like she brings them into the fold.

If there's any teen you can relate to the most, it would be Frankie in this series.

Clawdeen the fashionista is a good main that struggles

Ngl, Clawdeen was annoying at the start of her introduction, coming off as a bit of a hypocrite to contradict what she says. But eventually she builds up better from that. Clawdeen is the kinda ghoul that you wanna see throw down and look good doing it. Like her only time she threw hands was during 13 Wishes (best boovie of all) when she finally got to PUNCH someone!

Clearly Clawdeen is the tough ghoul who dreams big and even though she wasn't expanded as much ad Frankie and Draculaura, there were times I understood her plight. Like wanting to impress the people you look up to (she and Howleen are alot alike than they think), dealing with complicated younger siblings in the same school and trying to NOT knock the other monster who is giving you and your friends flat so you don't get suspended.

Scaris happens to be one of my favorites because of how it balances out and how Clawdeen got to balance herself out and learn along the way. She started off stagnant but develops along the way. She's honestly the one in the trio that needs to be exploited more.

Draculaura... the over populated one

Yeah I'm gonna say it: she's overrated (Love you Sam but not sorry!). I mentioned before that Draculaura is listed as one of my top five LEAST favorite characters, but it's not because she's a bad character. She has good morals, she supports her friends and deals with her own struggles. But its more like she's... overly spoiled? Like it's clear she is the brand favorite if you look up how she has the most amount of dolls in the franchise. And even in the remakes she lives one of the best lives in the monster world.

As for her character in itself, I honestly have a hard time sympathizing with her. Even when the movie focuses on her such as WHY DO GHOULS FALL IN LOVE or FRIGHTS,CAMERA, ACTION, the movie instead overshadows the plot for something Laura wants rather than something important such as NOT LETTING DISCRIMNATION RUN FOR THE MONSTER WORLD VAMPIRES!

Draculaura can also be invasive at times to the point where its uncomfortable for the ghouls such as GHOULS RULE on trying to force Clawdeen on a date with a guy (before she's canonically a lesbian). She WAS the head of the gossip pool before Spectra came along. And also she tends to be over-materialistic. If it wasn't for the amount of money or hierarchy she has, I'm pretty sure she and Cleo would be banned from every kind of transportation system EVER. I'm also kind of bitter for the webisode 'Draculocker' of how instead of giving her some kind of infinite purse like Jimmy neutron style, they fill up the school with giant lockers so she can store stuff. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU SOLVE YOUR HOARDER PROBLEM!

So yeah for Draculaura, not hate but they could've done better with her character and humble her down. There are other monsters in the franchise that deserve limelight time.