#there were some good interviews out this week too like the one with the costume designer that was like

[hotwaterandmilk]

Questions are being taken until after episode 8 airs!

Thank goodness someone already asked about the necklace so I don't have to do it myself. I enjoyed all the questions about Kongming's headwear logistics and Maezono Keiji's shorts too.

A+ great show, great fandom, great thighs on Sekiguchi Mandy.

[15-lizards]

In the spirit of the Olympics: ASOIAF characters and their Olympic sports

Jamie Cersei obviously a tennis doubles team thanks @melrosing for ur big brained art. Tywin is their coach and has been abusing training them since they were like seven. Consistent natty champs but haven’t scored a Wimbledon title yet and have yet to get gold at the Olympics (they have one bronze one silver). Mostly because Cersei breaks her racket every time things start going wrong. Also because Jamie is so full to the brim with shame and need for daddy’s recognition that he starts breaking down almost immediately once the point gap starts to widen

Brienne is a long distance swimmer she’s the Katie Ledecky of Westeros no one can touch her do you see her wingspan??? Usually finishes 5-15 seconds before everyone else sometimes other ppl aren’t even in the frame. Has multiple gold medals at this point and has been to the Olympics twice before she even turned 20. Lesbians go crazy over her online

Arya does some type of shooting and she’s like those tiny little teenagers that show up and blow all of their grownup competition out of the water. Steady hand and crazy aim. OR she does fencing and has a super unique style that gets the internet really into it for a couple of weeks. OR judo in the lightweight class. She’s so talented 🙂‍↕️ she’s definitely medaled at her first games when she’s like 14

Sansa is very obviously a figure skater like!!!! Of course she is!!! She is obsessed with her lines and artistry and takes ballet classes in order to improve her fluidity. She’s a young star in women’s singles, mostly for how graceful and fluid she is when she moves, and for her very gentle/pretty/romantic choice of costumes, music, and choreography. But she really wants to do pair skating mostly because she wants to have a romantic story to tell at their wedding (yes Joffrey is the potential partner)

Dany plays field hockey and she is sooooo cute and fun and peppy off the field and is so charming during all the interviews and always gives the girls a great inspirational speech and is just a very good leaderly figure in general. And then the game starts and you see a 5’2 platinum blonde sprinting towards u with blood and malice in her eyes and a big stick in her hands. She wants gold and by god does she get gold. Occasionally body checks ppl but she’s just too small for rugby.

Robb is a young rugby star he’s so handsome and muscular and all of his interviews go viral everyone’s obsessed with his training videos that the team TikTok posts. Soooo good too he’s on the Olympic team at 18 and he’s just sprinting down that field and dominating the game. But he’s so oblivious to it all the love when ppl ask if he’s dating anyone he’s like why would I do that I have to bulk up and focus on my game 🤨 and then runs off to meal prep with Theon (who does not meal prep but is obsessed with him)

Jon is an ice hockey guy to me. So dark and brooding while he’s sitting on the bench and he’s all locked in when it’s time to start playing he’s just so serious ab it he lives for The Game. But every time his buddies score a goal he goes absolutely batshit crazy and just loses all composure. And when they win he starts ugly sobbing. There’s a viral photo of him after winning his first gold just standing on the podium with snot and tears running down his face while the rest of the team is like 😁😁😆😄 him and Robb train together but Jon has absolutely no media training every interview is a disaster

[krunchycrispy]

One thing that’s always nice to come across is an actors au for a show/game. So here’s some of the bad batch

Most of the batchers are siblings in real life. Echo and Fives are twins, they can also do really good voice impressions of each other. During The Clone Wars, the twins had this thing of swapping armour for entire scenes and just play each other. It gave some members of staff trust issues.

For the clone wars and the bad batch the producers wanted actors who looked like each other and the clones to play the bad batch, so when Echo and Fives mentioned they have these cousins who are quadruplets and look quit similar to them, auditions were scheduled.

Wrecker didn’t need to go through any bodybuilding prior to the show, he was already buff enough.

Tech struggled a bit at first with the goggles, since they were more for costume than to actually see. He puts his normal glasses back on between scenes.

Crosshair missed a target once, and hit a member of staff on the forehead. Everyone laughed it off and called it “50 points headshot” but his brothers still don’t let him live it down.

They have photos of posing next to the Padme poster that was originally used on set for their ship before the scene was cut.

When they found out they were liked enough to get their own show they were surprised. For weeks on end after Hunter’s screensaver was Tech looking shocked. It was that funny.

Omega is also a relative. Maybe another cousin, or their little sister. But when they introduced her on set after her audition she ran in to hug her family as everyone was cheering about the coincidence. To quote a director; “How many of you guys are there?!”

Sometimes when someone is talking to another character whose face isn’t shown, actor B pulls faces to make actor A break character.

Omega and Wrecker had to be chased away from the mantel mix a few times on set.

After close combat scenes characters apologise to each other if someone got hit harder than intended. It’s never too hard, but the directors find it a bit jarring to stop filming the clone food fight and see everyone instantly go from aggressive and angry to “Sorry bud you good?”

It took Omega a few tries before hitting a clone of the head to start the food fight.

The family were honestly surprised at Crosshair’s acting and how he needed to go from threatening and cold to “Noooo Mayday!!”

The line where someone say’s “is there an Echo in here” and Echo introduces himself is improvised. He’s very proud of his little joke.

There’s dancing between takes.

Due to how much trauma the character’s go through. The actors all choreographed a few small dance routines they call the trauma dance, there’s actually a compilation of them online. Everyone has their dance

During a take the end of The Outpost a few lines were forgotten, and while there was a solid minuet of visibly hard and painful to look at improvising. Mayday had enough and lifted his head from the floor saying “I think that’s enough. Trauma dance time!” And started worming. Crosshair and the lieutenant cackled needed a few minuets to catch their breath from cackling so much.

Hunter and Mayday recreated the spider man pointing meme.

The batch like to swap helmets on set and wait until someone notices. Hunter and Echo got away with it for over 20 minuets during season 1.

Crosshair liked to fuck with the batch during the season 2 finale episodes.

During a take where Tech and Phee were saying goodbye the little shit started playing ‘can you feel the love tonight’ behind the camera.

They had to pause after Tech’s “death” because too many people were crying off camera.

The cast did an interview while playing with puppies. Including Dr Hemlock.

Speaking of Dr Hemlock, the hand thing he does in the show is actually just a habit he does in real life. The directors liked it and decided to keep it.

Did I mention that the actors mess around during takes?

While Omega was leaning over Crosshair on the table in the s2 finale, he opened his eyes and said “Good morning” with a smug voice. Omega instantly broke character snorting.

Fives once snuck on set where he and Echo decided to try their old clone wars trick. Echo gave Fives his costume and he played the character for multiple scenes until the helmet needed to be removed after a battle and BOOM! It’s the wrong twin delivering the lines flawlessly as if they were filming like normal while the other actors inside the set for The Marauder are freaking out and being all:

[zeriq-5]

[A FNAF Movie Sequel fanfic, essentially]

"Vannesa's Rabbit hole"

___________________________

It's been a week since Vanessa's stab and Recovered, she mostly spent her time at Michael Schimidt's house. Yes they were pretty low on money yet again, but they cared for her and so did her with them.

Until then, She didn't actually return to her house after all of the mess, If It can even be considered a home now or then before all of the Rabbit hole crumbled. She had done some quick in and outs with the Schmidts to get some of her stuff. Never Alone however.

She decides to face this fear. Michael prepares himself for a Interview at Murray's old factory and the moment that fox boy leaves, It's her chance. Mike was always against the idea of her going there alone.

Still Reluctant but somehow filling herself with courage as the car progressed to the location. she had to do this at some point, no backing away anymore.

She arrives at the crooked house. It's considerably far from the Neighborhood, It stood out, Even more so with the forest that anyone can get lost in behind It. As she walked out and took each step towards It, She could feel a sense of dread like she was being watched but that was the usual feeling she would get outside of anyways.

As she walked through the door and into those greenish walls, the feeling didn't change. The loneliness was getting to her, so she gave a shot at lightning the mood : "Hey dead, I'm home ! Get It? Because you died" She tried cracking a joke to shake It off that feeling, It's what Mike would do.

She tries to focus on what to bring that she forgot or just wants to be turned into dust. Did She check the garage ? Yes she did, mostly robotic junk that wouldn't even serve as a good arm for freddy and a bunch of manequins with crappy costumes on.

She also already checked the kitchen and got most of the utensils, She got the books from the living room and sent It to Libraries.

She took all her old toys and decided to donate them to charity, minus the special ones like the Purple telephone and that weirdly oversized finger trap Bunny plushie. Unfortunately, no sign of Garrett's plane yet, She was positive about It and knew She would find it eventually.

But while she thought so much about what she already did, she realizes something she didn't do. The Basement door was slam opened, Like a creature had come out of there. Since she was little, her father William always told her she couldn't come in and that there was Something inside that even her dad feared. That alone was enough for her to never even dare lay a finger on it.

She goes to analyze the situation, Still fearing what would be inside or what was once there. All she can see once arriving closer to It, more mechanical parts could be seen, not too surprising, But the sunlight showed something else that she would never thought would see again.

In the work bench, Close to a Mechanical animatronic hand. Her old bunny mask that she made when she was just a 12 year old girl, The gray part on the side of the Bunny's face had turned brown from time and the purpleish eyes became penetrating red.

She would bring that mask to freddy's from time to time to "work" with her dad, She wanted to be just like him. But that doesn't mean she only wore It there, at home too when she failed at obeying.

She wanted to take that Mask, she wanted to put it on and be able to cry in the ways she cried while wearing It. All the Agony of her life was gushed to that Mask, She couldn't lie it felt like an undeniable temptation. But just like her father said years ago, She left It Alone what was beyound that door and locked It all of It away.

Tomorrow is another day after all and It was time to pick up Abby from School, she promised to eat ice cream with her after all.

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT/FEDERATION MAGAZINE: May 2008

SMACKDOWN INTERVIEW

UNDER THE HOOD

Rey Mysterio sounds off about his nagging injuries, his finisher (which appeared on Heroes), his love of the King of the High Seas and the disappearance of his pyro-tastic pop-up entrance.

BY JEREMY BROWN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HILL

Recently, the injury Gods have not been kind to you. How are you handling the bicep tear?

It’s definitely put me on the back burner again, which I didn’t want. What happens now is that I have to suck it up and try not to think about things too much. I need to get the surgery done, go to rehab, be as strong as I can and then come back–just like I did from knee surgery.

When returning from an injury, do you ever feel 100 percent?

After knee surgery, I struggled at first. I don’t know if the fans noticed, but I definitely felt it, and I tried to improve my ring ability and focus on things I knew I could do. I tried to keep myself from putting too much weight on the knee, and sometimes I'd overcompensate and risk injuring the other knee. But no matter how much you want to change your style, it’s hard to because you’re so used to going out there and performing your best. I always say, “I’m not going to do this or that anymore because it’s hurting my knee,” then two weeks later, in the heat of the moment, there I go again.”

Does this mean no more “pop-up” ring entrances?

That doesn’t strain my knees as much as you’d think. There were some problems with the system that used to pop me up and they haven’t been able to replace it or come up with something similar. I don’t think my current entrance is the best. Don’t worry, we’re working on something.

[Manta-Rey.]

Since returning, you’ve sported increasingly elaborate ring gear. Is that part of this new Rey Mysterio?

I’ve always liked to be unique in my ring attire and stand out from everybody else. I think I picked that up from my uncle, because he always had the best costumes when he stepped into the ring. It’s something I learned early on, you know, to have good presence inside and outside of the ring.

We noticed at Armageddon that you began wearing a hood over your regular mask. What’s that about?

I’m a big fan of skeletons, and I incorporated the half-skeleton/half-mask, and added the rosary to the right side of the pants leg. [PULLS HOOD OUT OF HIS BAG] Before, I had the Aztec cross there. I wear a hoodie on top, which I take off and give to one of the little kids in the front row. I always like to be different. That makes Rey Mysterio, that;s who I am, and I think it keeps the fans always wondering, “What’s he gonna come out with next?”

At SummerSlam you rocked the Silver Surfer look. Before that, The Flash. Which comic book character will we see next?

I think my next one is Iron Man. Hey, I already have the mask!

Speaking of superheroes, on the NBC series Heroes, a character who has the power to mimic anything she sees performed the 619 after watching your match on TV. [REY’S EYES LIGHT UP] Did you know you were going to be featured so prominently on the show?

It caught me completely off guard. I didn’t realize I was going to be on the show. I actually got a kick out of it. You know, when Nacho Libre came out, the little [person] did the 619. And when the latest King Kong came out a few years ago, Kong did a version of the 619 when fighting the dinosaurs. I wonder if they picked that up from me, as well?

Of all the superheroes, whom do you hold in the highest esteem?

I love Aquaman. I haven’t got that outfit, but I need to. There was something about him that really stood out. 

Let’s look into the future: Your bicep is fully healed, and you’re rockin’ a totally sweet Aquaman outfit. Who’s the first Superstar you’d like to square off against, mano a mano?

Triple H. Believe it or not, we’ve never had a one-on-one match, and I think WWE fans would agree that that match would be very, very interesting.

[Uh, Rey, you’ve got something taped to the back of your head.]

[alethiometry]

Rules: list eight shows for your followers to get to know you better.

Tagged by @aeide!

1. black sails. OBVIOUSLY. it's got everything. drama, intrigue, ocean gays, lying little wet rat twinks, anti-colonialist uprisings, caribbean history, grimy period-appropriate costumes, heartbreak, monologues, toby "saturday chillin don't fuckin @ me i'm chillin" schmitz calling himself daddy. everybody slays absolute cunt. it is THEEEE most perfect show ever created.

2. parks and recreation. rewatching p&r is an interesting experience because it was such a product of obama-era liberal america and the optimism just oozes out of every scene. also we don't like crisp ratt anymore. but it's also so genuinely funny and heartfelt and comforting! this show had a massive impact on my sense of humor, as well as i think framed failure in such a positive light: every character failed drastically at something over the course of the show, but through caring for each other were able to pick themselves back up and never let their shortcomings define them. i first watched it at a point in my life where i really needed that, so it has always stuck with me.

3. leverage. my comfort show to turn to when living in a post-capitalist hellscape that continues to reward billionaires for their moral bankruptcy while shitting on everybody else gets too depressing (so… like every day). is it campy and unrealistic? yes. do i care? no. sometimes you need escapism via direct action, heist hijinks, and extreme displays of bisexuality. also aldis hodge is one of the most beautiful human beings on planet earth.

4. supernatural. yeah yeah it's the hehe destiel meme show. but it was also tons of fun to watch every week, the worldbuilding started out fantastic (and then got progressively more and more insane), i think it's really the epitome of "really cool ideas with mostly lackluster execution". the bloody mary episode remains one of my favorite episodes of tv ever, and the fandom drama just keeps giving! i also met some of my dearest friends through the fandom, so maybe the real destiel love memes were the friends we made along the way.

5. twin peaks. the only show that made me so insane i went and got a tattoo of it. impeccable vibes, the experience of watching s3 and then memeing about it on reddit with everyone else who were all equally confused is an experience that will never be replicated.

6. love island uk. listen. fucking listen. i don't want this show to be listed here any more than any of you do, i'm sure. absolute bottom of the barrel brain rot that consumes my life and brings my workday to a grinding halt (thank you timezones) for the 2 months that each season is running. i absolutely have nothing good to say about love island uk other than it's sometimes really funny, usually unintentionally. but iain stirling's voice and those stupid neon pillows/beanbags and atrocious cursive font and catchphrases have wormed their way into my brain and nothing short of a complete lobotomy can remove it.

7. how to get away with murder. this wouldn't even be on here if saff and i didn't go on an insane binge of all six seasons last fall. but since we did… here we are. michaela pratt is an icon and has never done anything wrong ever in her life and i will die on this hill.

8. cunk on earth. this is probably recency bias speaking but oh my god i adore this show. it is exactly my brand of humor and i have so much respect for all the experts and miss diane morgan herself for making it through those interviews without breaking, because i would be fighting for my fucking life. this is the show that i will henceforth be recommending like a madwoman to all my friends.

honorable mentions: american vandal, derry girls, naruto, south park, dexter, elementary, orphan black.

i'm tagging: @winedark @seance @assassiyun @thatsouthernanthem @potsticker1234 @ciaramedba @doomcountry @thychesters <3

[siriannatan]

Heroes of Empires City Chapter 7

I was close to giving up on having a chapter for this week since I was not feeling too well this week. But I managed to get a bit of a shorter one put together. Not my best work but it gets us places for the next chapter.

AO3

Tinkerer's second debut was on Scott's day off so he had full opportunity to see it from the civilian's perspective and he had one thing to say - fWhip looked damn cook in a more fitting leather jacket. And all the dark brown made his hair and wings stand out so much more and... And the damn fire was hot to see in action. It was a bit sad the scarf was gone but since it was a gift from Jimmy, Scott guessed fWhip did not want to risk damaging it anymore. A fair and personal reason and something he'd be asked on the talk show...

Scott was dreading it a little. It would be his first time on one of those and Tinkerer wasn't known for much of formal appearances on shows like that. An interview if the media caught him after he caught a villain happened. Obviously. Not even Scott managed to avoid the media as much as he seemed to them to try - as evidenced by the photo that had him and fWhip have to show up on TV.   And fWhip's flying ability. Scott was glad he could see that with some distance because it was frankly impressive how quickly he was learning. They were still meeting to practice some more complicated manoeuvres but at this point, it was more a fun part of the job than the mandatory practice Katherine assigned them. She had good reasons. They wouldn't always fight in conditions that made flying easy.

Unfortunately, good days had to come to an end and Scott and fWhip were herded into a TV studio. Given a quick tour of the main stage and were introduced to the host. Angeline. a pretty but unnerving woman with far too much interest in their private life. At least Katherine was there to force some distance before they were stashed in a greenroom until it was their time to talk. At least it was a short slot...

Jimmy wasn't sure what to do with himself with fWhip and Scott's interview coming up. He did have a bad feeling about it though. But wasn't sure why. He and Scott were just friends and he wasn't even on speaking terms with fWhip but... the idea of the two cutest guys he knows, ignoring the hero problem, and being seen as a couple was... making him annoyed for some reason.

Tinkerer's new costume was really cool. Too cool for the absolute nerd fWhip was under it. The lack of scarf stung a lot. Even if he was angry fWhip included it in his hero costume and thought Jimmy would not figure it out. But even with all that he had to admit one thing - Scott and fWhip looked damn good on their own but when put together... How was he supposed to work with them and be angry at them if he knew the two cute guys under the costumes? And... 

Maybe he should have talked to fWhip instead of just letting him break up with him...

"I know we got the questions ahead of time and all that but I don't feel at all ready," fWhip sighed, staring at the floor.

"Well, if our host gets out of control Katherine'll just cut the show," Scott tried to cheer him up despite sharing his statement.

There wasn't much time to talk since shortly after that they were called to the stage. And introduced in probably the most cringe way possible. "Empires City's guardian angel and the hidden dragon - Major and Tinkerer." Scott was tempted to just leave after that and wondered why the PR team never discussed that with them...

"Welcome and once again thank you for dropping by, I know heroes lead a busy life protecting the City," the host smiled widely shaking their hands before they sat down. Separate comfy chairs but fWhip had some shuffling to do to be comfy. "We can get a different chair in if needed," the host offered seeing said shuffling.

"No need, just still getting used to these," fWhip politely declined. Scott could see Katherine nod behind the cameras.

"Speaking of, I and a lot of our viewers were all shocked how quickly you recovered from that," Angeline, or Angie as she said they can call her. Over Scott's cold dead body... "And flying with so much grace." fWhip would never call his flying that but still smiled.

"Well, I had a good teacher," he explained, gently nudging Scott. "It'd be stuck in the training room for forever without Major being patient with me," he chuckled, getting small applause from the live audience. Katherine kept looking pleased with the conversation.

Angeline nodded but her smile faltered. Scott guessed she was not the biggest fan of Major. "That's great to hear. Any reasons for a costume change this big? I hear people are missing the scarf."

"Well... that was a gift from a friend and after that Shadow Master clash I might have realised I probably shouldn't include something that personal in my costume. On the other hand, flopping coats and scarfs make flying hard," fWhip tried to laugh it off. Costume change was an expected topic but not that the scarf would be the centre. His glance at Katherine was rather obvious and the audience glanced that way too.

Scott was starting to feel he was there just for one topic. The photo. And Angeline would spend all the time talking to fWhip over him. "Yes. That was a big event for the city. A hero's power evolving and a big villain caught..." she droned on and kept talking to only fWhip. And Scott listened nodding and not seeing any chance to put anything in. He could see Katherine arguing with someone behind the scenes. And it was that moment of distraction Angeline used to move to her main topic.

"A lot of the fans wonder about this picture from that day," she asked, very smugly, and the picture of fWhip in Scott's arms showed on screen. fWhip froze. Likely forgetting everything he was supposed to say after Angeline went over his whole rivalry with Shadow Master. "It must have been nice...."

"Well, Tinkerer was obviously unable to fight and even with the both of us there Stratos didn't see a good way to keep Shadow Master in check so he send me away with him, knowing I could get that done fast," Scott took over the answer and the audience clapped a bit.

Angeline was not too happy about him but kept going. "There have been many interesting theories online..."

"I can assure everyone we're just friends. Being a hero leaves little time for other things," Scott carried on talking. Now a bit worried why fWhip was suddenly very silent.

Jimmy was not in the slightest bit shocked the show was cut. There was no way that's how Katherine and the hero PR team wanted the interview to go that way. And... And Jimmy was close to looking what laws might have been broken there  just so he could show up and let out his anger at that unpleasant woman for nearly causing fWhip a panic attack... He was also considering getting Scott a box of chocolates for stepping in before he caught himself. They broke up. He should not be getting so defensive... Why did he care so much still?

No matter the reason he did. And... was fWhip being a hero that good of a reason to just let the break up happen? Maybe he should talk to fWhip. And Scott too... 

Not that he was given much of a chance to think anymore about it.

Shadow Master did not like the talk show and has escaped from prison...

Luckily he managed to buy enough time for Katherine to get in touch with the important people at the station since the show was apparently making problems and cut it all short. The moment 'cut to commercials' was called Angeline, ignoring the two heroes ran up to her superior who was arguing with Katherine and a short man in a fancy suit.

Scott ignored that commotion and turned to fWhip. "You okay?"

"Yeah... I just... I panicked..." fWhip whispered back. The very confused audience was still there whispering and wondering why the show ended so suddenly that they had to keep up their professional appearance.

"The interview went off the rails, it's not how she was supposed to ask. Katherine's arguing with them about agreement breeches and stuff. You two can go back to the Tower," Pearl jogged up to them with an apologetic smile. 

"Thanks, Pearly, and good luck with the mess," Scott agreed and led fWhip out to the parking lot behind the building. There wasn't really any better place for them since the helicopter pad was needed for other things.  

Having Jimmy be the first thing they saw upon coming back did not spell any good things.

"Sheriff? Can we help you? Katherine's still at the TV station," Scott was not at all apprehensive to talk to the man. If a bit worried about what brought him to the tower.

"Shadow Master broke up during that interview, we lost all track of her," Jimmy said sternly, glancing at fWhip. "How was the interview?"

"Went off the tracks. Could Shadow Master have seen it? Do you need any of us to help with anything at the prison?" fWhip was instantly back to Tinkerer mode. "Or should we wait for Katherine?"

Jimmy had no time to wait for Katherine and Amethyst was already at the prison so Scott and fWhip stayed at the tower. And relayed the news to Katherine who was not too happy to hear it next to having to sue the talk show about breaching the contract. 

"Major, you keep an eye on Tinkerer for now, if she shows up I need you two to get to any other hero. NO fighting her just the two of you," she told them before dismissing them.

Needless to say, fWhip was not thrilled about it.

"All this training and stuff and the moment she shows up I'm almost put in house arrest. I can take care of myself," he complained as they changed for training. "At least it's you and not my sister..." he sighed.

Did Scott have any good response to that? No. "Why is Shadow Master so obsessed with you?" so he used deflection.

"I honestly have no idea. As far as I know, it's how she's been since she showed up, obsessed with me and my inventions," he sighed.

They dropped the topic for the rest of the day which was shockingly calm. Shadow Master was not acting yet. Likely plotting her next big move to try and get Tinkerer to switch to her side. What was going to fail since fWhip had no intention of becoming a villain.

Even with the threat of Shadow Master's revenge Scott had a feeling things would all go well. That is until, in the middle of a solo patrol - Katherine decided only fWhip needed extra protection - something knocked him out...

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #19: October 30th - November 5th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from October 30 – November 5, 2022. Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing!

Challenges/Prompts:

The following is a roundup of open challenges/prompts. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

Trope Soup: A Josh/Donna Tropes Fest is open for prompt submissions and claims. Fics were revealed on Saturday, October 22. The collection remains open to submissions. Learn more here.

The November 20 prompts in 20 days are up on Tumblr.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from October 23 - October 29.

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of former president Barack Obama waving at him from backstage at a Wisconsin GOTV event. 

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of The Handmaid’s Tale themed Halloween decor from his trip to Wisconsin. Bradley Whitford tweeted behind-the-scenes pics of himself and others while he was directing an episode of The Handmaid’s Tale: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

Janel Moloney posted a photo with Chris Meloni on the set of Law and Order: Organized Crime.

Janel Moloney posted a Brooklyn Halloween decor photo.

Janel Moloney posted a photo of the Halloween crowd in her neighborhood. 

Dule Hill posted his Instagram live conversation with Wisconsin Lt Gov and US Senate candidate Mandela Barnes.

Marlee Matlin posted photos from a lunch with Philippe Rousselet and Jack Jason. 

Richard Schiff posted a Halloween photo with his castmates from the set of The Good Doctor. 

Kim Webster posted a photo of herself in her Halloween costume.

Mary McCormack posted a throwback photo of her and her brother, along with a birthday wish for him.

Donna Moss Daily: October 30 | October 31 | November 1 | November 2 | November 3 | November 4 | November 5

Daily Josh Lyman: October 30 | October 31 | November 1 | November 2 | November 3 | November 4 | November 5

No Context BWhit: October 30 | October 30 (2) | October 31 | October 31 (2) | November 1 | November 1 (2) | November 2 | November 3 | November 3 (2) | November 4 | November 4 (2) | November 5 | November 5 (2)

@JanelMilfoney: October 30 | October 31 | November 1 | November 1 (2) | November 2 | November 3 | November 4 | November 4 (2)

@downwithneocolonialism_brad_: October 30 | October 31 | November 1 | November 2 | November 3 | November 4 

 Creator Spotlight:

Each week, we will talk to a fandom creator and interview them about their work and their process. We’ll also give you the opportunity to ask them questions, too! Want to be a featured creator? Find us via one of the methods listed at the end of the briefing!

This week’s creator is on fleetwoodsnacc_ on twitter and payback16 on ao3. You can find the spotlight on tumblr or on twitter.

 This Week in Canon:

Welcome to This Week in Canon, where we revisit moments in The West Wing that occurred on these dates during the show’s run.

Season 1, Episode 6: Mr. Willis of Ohio aired on November 3, 1999.

Season 2, Episode 5: And It’s Surely to Their Credit aired on November 1, 2000.

Season 3, Episode 4: On the Day Before aired on October 31, 2001. 

Season 4, Episode 6: Game On aired on October 30, 2002.

Season 5, Episode 6: Disaster Relief aired on November 5, 2003.

Season 6, Episode 3: Third-Day Story aired on November 10, 2004.

Season 7, Episode 6: The Al Smith Dinner aired on November, 2005

Editor’s Choice:

In honor of the anniversary of one of Ainsley’s best episodes, And It’s Surely to Their Credit, here are some of our favorite fics featuring Ainsley Hayes!

B10, C4 by msmarycrawley | Rated T | Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | Complete | “'I like you the way you are.'” Sam wondered if that wasn’t a little too forward and it sounded familiar, like something out of a movie, but he couldn’t bring himself to care because it was true."

Ainsley and Sam find time to get acquainted a little better in small moments. Takes place during season 2.

The Way She Rolls by brutti_ma_buoni for afinch | Rated T | Amy Gardner/Ainsley Hayes | Complete | It's Inauguration Day evening. Amy and Ainsley have different views on the new administration, but a surprising amount in common all the same.

A Very Brief Career at the Hoover Institute by deandratb | Rated G | Ainsley Hayes, Leo McGarry (no pairing listed) | Complete | The nine days Ainsley doesn't tell CJ about, before and after the death of Leo McGarry.

the beauty of their dreams by ephemeralblossom for ariestess | Rated M | C.J. Cregg/Ainsley Hayes | Complete | Ainsley Hayes is not often lost for words.

The Chairman by Maidenjedi | Rated T | Ainsley Hayes, Arnold Vinick (no pairing listed) | Complete | The Democrats are having their convention, and the Republican National Committee is sweating the outcome.

Becoming by humanbean | Rated G | Ainsley Hayes, Sam Seaborn (no pairing listed) | Complete | The Hogwarts AU that absolutely no one asked for, or snapshots of Ainsley Hayes and Sam Seaborn every year between 10 and 17.

Fics:

Presenting your weekly roundup of fics posted in the tag for The West Wing on Archive of Our Own. If you are so inclined, please be sure to leave the authors some love in the form of kudos or comments. Be mindful of posted warnings/tags for each story.

Josh/Donna

Halloween 2000 by kcat1971 | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Brand New Day by Shinyrosa | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

How Will He Find Me by Shinyrosa | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

the fear of falling apart (this is the beat of my heart) by swancharmings | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

the kinktober drabbles by flowersinapril, hanyolo | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Campaign Stop by jeeperschrist | Not Rated | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

CJ/Toby

Double Trouble by krazykitkat | Rated G | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete

we're all riders on this train by jazzjo | Rated G | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete

Voyeur by krazykitkat  | Rated M | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete

Josh/Sam

Good Cop, Bad Cop by Mabis | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete

I'll Be In Denial (For at Least a Little While) by make_easter_gay_again | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete

Danny/CJ

Fireworks by krazykitkat | Rated G | Danny Concannon/C.J. Cregg | Complete

Dueling Drabbles by krazykitkat | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C.J. Cregg | Complete

CJ/Andy

i'm no hero, that's understood by jazzjo | Rated G | C.J. Cregg/Andrea Wyatt | Complete 

Passing Ships by jazzjo | Rated G | C.J. Cregg/Andrea Wyatt | In Progress

critical by jazzjo | Rated T | C.J. Cregg/Andrea Wyatt | Complete

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

by its soft name by jazzjo | Rated G | C. J. Cregg/Carol Fitzpatrick | Complete

Unlikely by eowyn_of_rohan | Rated G | Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | Complete

it started off with a kiss... now it ended up like this by imawkwardlysoc | Rated G | Sam Seaborn/Original Female Character | In Progress

Figures of Speech by Darsynia | Rated T | Toby Ziegler/Original Female Character | In progress 

WHERE THE HELL by dumbchemist | Rated T | No pairings listed | In progress 

Miracle by imperfectirises | Rated M | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

Multiple Pairings

Not Quite the Parent Trap by eowyn_of_rohan | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | In Progress

The Times They Are A-Changin' by mlea7675 | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn, C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Zoey Bartlet/Charlie Young, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Leo McGarry/Annabeth Schott, Helen Santos/Matt Santos | In Progress

objects in the mirror by Gregorian_Trash_Fire | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn, Josh Lyman/Original Female Character, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

And the Pursuit of Happiness by welcometoyourworld | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn, Ainsley Hayes/Donna Moss | In Progress

Game On by mlea7675, Spybaby47 (Gilmore Girls crossover) | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Helen Santos/Matt Santos, Logan Huntzberger/Alexandra Bartlet | In Progress

Red, White, and Boo by fleurfemme (Scream crossover) | Rated M |  C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Dewey Riley/Gale Weathers, Ellie Bartlet/Sidney Prescott | Complete

moonlight in vermont by crossingdelancey | Rated E | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, Andrea Wyatt/Toby Ziegler | Complete

THE WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING TEAM CAN BE REACHED VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

Twitter: @TWWPress

Email: weeklypressbriefing@gmail.com

Feel free to let us know if we missed something, if you have an event you’d like us to promote, or if you have an item that you’d like included in the next briefing!

xx, What’s next?

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... Captain Marvel 2019 (#1-5) "Re-entry"

So i've decided to start reading Captain Marvel (2019)! I've heard tons of great things about this run and I am super hyped that I finally get to read it. Captain Marvel has always been a really cool and awesome character to me so i'm excited to explore her stories beyond her movie appearances! And it did not dissapoint so far.

So the story starts off with an absolutely badass team-up between Captain Marvel & Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. I absolutely love their dynamic, they're such a fun duo to see in action. Not only do they kick ass together, they also have some pretty fun dialogue inbetween that. It's amazing to see how well they play into each other's strenghts and weaknesses. After their team-up where they defeated some kind of alien monster they split ways and Carol has a meeting with Tony Stark about joining the Avengers again. Turns out they're all about good PR and stuff now so Carol has to do an interview, to which she annoyingly agrees. Shortly after agreeing to it she meets a young hero called Hazmat, she has toxic based powers that can be extremely dangerous. Tony has been helping her keep it under control but it's safe to say she doesn't like him very much. She's able to have a much nicer bond with Carol. She's a pretty fun hero and throughout these first few issues she was a really good addition. After that she meets up with Rhodey after not seeing him for quite some time, although their meetup gets cut short by the interviewer - Ripley Ryan - who was sent by Stark to do the intveriew with Carol. They once again get cut short as Nuclear Man attacks Carol. This dude is the absolute worst and a such a mysoginist, it's actually extremely satisfying to see Carol kick his ass into oblivion. Their fight doesn't last long as Carol beats him fairly easily. Rhodey did call in the Avengers, although they were too late to the scene. Nuclear Man tries to escape through what seems to be a portal while taking Ripley with him. Luckily Carol is able to get into the portal before it closes, while the other avengers can't. Although what's on the other side of this portal is quite insane. Turns out the portal was actually a barrier placed around Roosevelt Island, the part of city has completely changed into a post apocalyptic warzone where time works differently. Turns out Spider-Woman, Echo & Hazmat all have been trapped there for weeks. It was really cool to see them all in post apocalyptic versions of their costumes, they look super badass! As they fill in Carol on the situation it turns out Nuclear Man has turned Roosevelt Island into his playground. He has captured all the men while Spider-Woman, Echo & Hazmat have been safeguarding the women. It's an all womens camp except for one exception, Som. He's the only man in the camp which raises big suspicious with Carol. How come he was the only one to escape? Regardless, she decides to trust him for the time being and with the others she starts to build up an army. It's really cool to see Carol's leadership skills come in action here, she's so organised and knows exactly what do. It's super cool to see her take things into her own hands and lead this army of women. As the days pass by she also gets a new post apocalyptic look, including a new haircut! Which also just looks amazingly badass (they should adapt it in the movies honestly).

As they fight off Nuclear Man's robot army in order to get more supplies, the one and only She-Hulk falls from the sky. Although she quickly loses power and is just falling from the sky at breakneck speed. Luckily Carol is able to save her. It's interesting to see how she calculates the situation to account for her powers so she doesn't accidentally kill people with it. It's a really cool detail that adds a lot of weight to her powers. As they save She-Hulk they retreat and regroup. Due to the barrier alot of the heroes are getting their powers damped to the point where for some of them they don't even work anymore. Carol has had it with Som and decides to interrogate him as he saw Nuclear Man's robots try to capture him and refer to him as "Prince". Turns out he's actually Nuclear Man's son! Turns out Nuclear Man wants Carol to be his bride so she and Nuclear Man can make powerful children (This guy continues to be the worst and an insane creep). He reveals he knows of a tunnel which he used to escape that might come in handy to free the men who are being held hostage. Carol decides to believe Som but orders Echo to tail him just in case. They go to the tunnel for recon and find out that the men are being put in the robots Nuclear Man is using to fight off the women army, which makes saving them a lot more delicate. Carol decides to send everyone back so they can inform the others while she stays and tries to find out more. While she explores the tunnel she stumbles across Rogue, the person who drained her of her power and memories a while back. It's a pretty hardhitting confrontation for her as it brings back a lot of trauma for her. Rogue even starts to absorb her powers again until an electric shock passes her out. Turns out Nuclear Man is controlling her and wants her and Captain Marvel to battle it out to the death, the winner becomes his bride. Carol quickly passes out as she has no energy left after Rogue partially drained her. Back at the camp of the women army the alarms are being rung as Carol still hasn't returned. A battleplan gets made and they decide to finally start their attack on Nuclear Man's base. They re-engineered their weapons to be emp based so that they can save the men without harming them. Back at Nuclear Man's base a fight for the death between Carol & Rogue has begun. It's honestly such a tragic fight to witness. Rogue has no control and you can see her even cry and beg Carol to kill her. Honestly it was a moment that really stood out and hit hard for me. For Carol too it's an incredibly hard fight as she's reliving her worst memories. Knowing she can't win she decides to let Rogue absorb her but then take control over Rogue's body so they can still both win and defeat Nuclear Man. The plan works and it's honestly such a badass moment. It's really intriguing to see these 2 heroes with such a complicated past with each other team up like this in such a badass way to defeat this creep.

After seemingly defeating him Carol returns to her body and so do her powers. However Nuclear Man explains he has bomb ready to detonate. None of them know how or where the bomb is but Echo does. She reveals that she feels like Som is the bomb and it turns out to be true. This is also a really hard hitting moment for Som, he's questioning his entire life. Was he really Nuclear Man's son or just a weapon all along? They have to come up with a plan fast and they decide to let Rogue absorb the bomb. It works and as they absorb the bomb the dome over Roosevelt Island dissapears. They're back in the real world where time works normally again. Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, Hazmat, Echo & She-Hulk all team up to give Nuclear Man on final blow and the big bad gets defeated. Everyone is safe again and the Avengers show up to help evacuating everybody. Upon seeing Rhodey again he and Carol share a kiss before Carol heads back for debrief. A few days later Ripley also shares her article she made on Captain Marvel after spending a month with her in the wasteland. And the title isn't really flattering. She did Carol dirty, not going to lie! In the final panel of this arc we see that someone was behind the alien monster attack from the beginning of this arc and seemingly has plans for Carol. Curious to see where that'll lead to! This first arc was an amazing introduction to Captain Marvel. I really loved how they showed how she thinks in battle and how she accounts for her power levels. It's super cool stuff and really adds a lot of weight to them. I also love how it ties into Carol as a character. She seems to have suffered a lot of loss and mistakes during battle and kind of struggles with that a lot. She constantly thinks about the cost of things and the mistakes she made. However no matter what happens or what gets thrown to her, she always gets up. Because to put it in her words "if you always get up, then it's never over". I found this to be a really powerful quote that really stuck with me. It's pretty inspiring to me. All of this really sets her up to be an amazing character with a lot of depth to it. And i can't wait for them to explore that further. Carol and Jessica Drew's dynamic was also a real highlight for me. They're such a power duo and their bond with each other is so good. They're perfectly tuned into each other and they work so well together in battle. Hazmat was also an amazing addition to this story, she kind of enriched it in a way i feel. All by all this was an amazing start to this run and it has made me very excited for what's to come. The art is absolutely amazing and there are so many cool and badass moments in this first arc that feel really empowering. It was really cool to see Carol team up with Spider-Woman, Hazmat, Echo & She Hulk. They're an amazing team and I hope it isn't the last we see of them in this run. I feel like they've layed the foundation for an amazing story and i cannot wait to see what comes next!

[ear-worthy]

Cluedunnit: A Rewatch Podcast Of Silliness & Crime Solving

Some podcasts are one-trick ponies. Oh, so good at what they do, but what they do is one thing over and over and extremely well.

 The podcast Cluedunnit is more like the Swiss army knife of podcasts. The podcast exists as an entertainment show, a TV show, a mystery show, a comedy, a whodunit, and an art critic show. 

And all these moving parts work in sync to create a podcast that is eminently worthy of your ear time. The first episode -- about Psych -- aired in late August 2021 and the show has been building interest and listeners since then.

Here's the premise of Cluedunnit: "The gun rings out, the character drops to the floor – another mystery procedural has begun! TV sleuths have 60 minutes (at least!) to figure out whodunit. To Jacob Coakley and Jessica Hird, co-hosts of the Cluedunnit podcast, that seems like entirely too much time. On each episode of their comedy TV rewatch podcast Cluedunnit, they immediately guess the perp before there are any commercials – or clues."

From the Cluedunnit people, they define their show this way: "Each week we watch a show and immediately guess whodunit, without any clues, context, or — apparently — accuracy. Then we spoil everything. We not only tell you who did it but also who made it, with fascinating looks into the careers, lives, and trivia of the artists themselves. If it’s got a mystery, we watch it! Cozy mysteries (we see you Hallmark); police procedurals; private eyes and their fancy cars; TV classics from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and today; comedy mysteries (Psych, anyone?), and lots more. We even go worldwide, with mysteries from Britain (home of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, they know a thing or two about mysteries), Australia, and more." Cluedunnit has guessed on TV case-of-the-week episodes from such different series as the hot new shows Poker Face and So Help Me, Todd, silly series like Psych and Monk, costume pieces like Frankie Drake Mysteries and Vienna Blood, noir thrillers like the ABC Murders, and Endeavour, cozy Hallmark mysteries like Murder, She Baked, all the way to classics like Murder, She Wrote and Magnum P.I. Jessica and Jacob love them all – including ones they haven’t heard of yet. “Every mystery starts a new game,” says co-host Jessica Hird. “Of all the various suspects, who do you bet on? Guy-With-A-Mustache? Lady Germaphobe? Or Sexy-Stranger-With-The-Menacing-Stare?”

“Mystery novels were originally called ‘The Grandest Game’ by mystery author John Dickson Carr,” adds Coakley. “He argued that a good detective story was a hoodwinking contest, a duel between author and reader. Well, in any duel it’s always best to shoot first. So we go off half-cocked, making the best guesses we can, as soon as we can. Of course, we’re very often hilariously, irredeemably wrong.” Each episode of Cluedunnit also includes compelling tidbits from the biographies of the creators and cast of the mysteries. And on top of that, this season includes mini-episode interviews with individual writers from the TV mystery shows covered on the podcast like Sara Saedi from iZombie and Tracy Friedman from Murder, She Wrote. These deep dives make watching the shows even more rewarding. I highly recommend the Saedi interview from March 8th. 

Of course, you must be a TV show fan to enjoy the show. The hosts use the Roku Channel and other streaming services like Tubi as their "go-to" so that listeners can watch the show and the episode in which the whodunit occurs. 

While the premise is wild and mildly neurotic, the co-hosts deliver an amuse bouche of comedy, knowledge, TV reviews, informative TV history, and a wildly over-caffeinated view of their mystery solving skills.

Jessica Hird has created and hosted multiple podcasts, including Grilled Cheese & Gin, a non-fiction podcast about changing careers and This F***ing Stucco House, a comedy fiction podcast following a woman searching for redemption after getting dumped on a famous house-hunting show. As an actor, she appeared in the 2001 Sundance hit and cult office comedy Haiku Tunnel as well as the award-winning stage show How To Be A Secret Agent Girl (SF Fringe “Best of the Fringe”). Jacob Coakley is a writer, screenwriter, podcaster, and playwright. His scripts have been recognized by the Austin Film Festival, Cinestory, Final Draft Big Break, and more. His plays have been developed at the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and the Nevada Conservatory Theatre’s Homegrown Playwright’s Festival. He was editor-in-chief of Stage Directions magazine for 11 years and his writing has appeared in The Las Vegas Weekly, BLVDS Magazine, Desert Companion and others. The co-hosts mesh well together, like plump shrimp cocktail and tangy cocktail sauce. They're funny, bright, and adept at summarizing the often indecipherable plots, characters, and contrived universes of some of these TV shows. After all, how do you describe Haven or Grimm or even Psych?

“It is so much fun to uncover new shows for listeners, but it's the best to watch shows recommended by listeners,” says Hird. “And of course we want our listeners to guess along with us! We share what episode we’re watching and where you can view it, stream it, download it, whatever it takes.” “As a mystery consumer, you are free to make your whodunit guesses quietly to yourself. No one knows if you actually got it right or wrong, and it's fine either way,” says Coakley. “We just guess out loud so our ill-advised, half-baked stabs in the dark end up as your comedy.” Rest assured though, whoever you guess, each episode of Cluedunnit will tell you who was right, who was wrong, and who is dead. The nice thing about Cluedunnit is the journey to learn about these TV shows is just as rewarding as the destination, which is solving the mystery. I recommend you check out the podcast Cluedunnit.You get to listen, learn, laugh, lampoon, and link the clues together. 

And, for the last time, it's not the butler. Or Colonel Mustard.

[black-kitties]

Chapter 6

Start reading from Chapter 1

Brin had returned sometime during her conversation over the phone. When she’d re-emerged from the bedrooom he had placed the ground rules that neither her, and especially Hero, could leave the house. Even the balcony was off limits. In the back of her mind she worried that despite the beacon now being moved, they’d still come to this place since this is where it had originally fallen. To quell her worries she thumbed through TV channels until she’d found WGBS with a ‘breaking update ‘on the missing Superman. Jaz wasn’t really interested in the story herself, but the sudden reaction Hero had to hearing the story made her pause. His head had shot up, his ears were firmly forward and his eyes were glued to the screen as the anchor spoke.

               ‘The Justice league has yet to address the public’s fears that Superman is missing. It has been over a month,’ The screen cut to a shaky camera displaying images of Super man walking out of what looked like the rubble of a building with a child in his arms reuniting her with her family, ‘Since Superman has last appeared to the public. Concerns over Superman’s absence at the libraries opening have grown exponentially as request for comment is continually ignored by the Justice league Media coordinator and spokesperson Abigail Point. As weeks pass with no sign of Superman, the public fears what this could mean for emboldened villains the world over. Superman is scheduled to appear at the children’s hospital next month…’

Jaz glanced back at Hero. He was completely absorbed by the story at this point. She’d never seen a dog act like this. The story had shifted to street interviews with ‘concerned citizens’ who voiced their well wishes and spouted some interesting theories on where Superman was. It ranged anywhere from him being on vacation to him having given up on the world. One that piqued Jaz’s interest was an interview given outside one of the many closed down animal shelters in Metropolis’s suburbs.

               “I know for a fact that Superman is genuinely missing, know how I know? Because this is happening.” He gestured to the boarded up windows and police tape across his business’s front door, “Here, in Metropolis city we have strange metal reptiles stealing pets off porches and destroying hard working American businesses and where is Superman! Where is the Justice League? People are getting hurt!”

The image cut back to the anchor as she continued the story but Jaz wasn’t paying attention to it. Hero had whined hearing the mans pleas and he genuinely looked… Concerned. He was too expressive for a dog. Jaz’s thoughts were cut off as Brin climbed up the staircase. “Anything good on tonight?” He was wearing what she could only describe as his costume.

“Who are you supposed to be?” She asked jokingly.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Brin sat down in the lounge chair of the couch. Jaz hadn’t seen a super up close yet, at least not one in the full getup. The orange and black spandex moved and hugged his form perfectly and the giant wolfs head emblazoned on the front of it… It looked genuinely good in person. Nothing like the cheap spandex or materials used in cosplay’s she’d seen at Comic-Con’s. It looked well made with small delicate details, little metal emblems and leather accents that elevated the suit from cheesy to cool. “I’m from the future…” She nodded, pretending she didn’t already know that, “But you already knew that…” The blood drained from Jaz’s face. Her heart instinctively began to race.

“What are you talking about?” To her credit, she kept a calm demeanour and tone of  voice.

“You do that really well.”

“Do what?”

“Lie. If I didn’t have this super hearing,” He said, pointing a clawed finger to his ear, “I may have fallen for it.” Jaz grit her teeth. Right, Timber Wolf had enhanced senses on top of his super strength and ability to shoot things with his claws.

She crossed her arms over her chest, “If you already overheard, why are you asking me all of a sudden?”

“I’d like there to be some honesty between us, Jaz.” There was an edge that entered his voice that put her hairs on end. “No more lies, no more deflections. Who are you, who are you really?”

Jaz struggled to come up with some way to get herself out of this, but as she racked her brain a low growl began to rumble in’s Brin’s throat warning her. “Alright.” She threw her hands up, running her fingers through her hair, “You’re from the future yeah?” He nodded, “Well. How bout try another world.”

“I’m not from Earth either, I’m from-“

“I know, and no that’s not what I meant.” She shook her head, regretting even correcting him… But she couldn’t keep up a lie as big as pretending she’s from some other planet in this galaxy. Timber Wolf was part of the legion of Super Heroes, he knew far more than she would about all the other planets and worlds here. “I’m… I’m from an alternate reality. Sort of. It’s… Its really hard to explain.”

Timber Wolf smiled, “Try me, I may seem like a dumb brute but I have the futures knowledge and understanding of the universe.” He shrugged, “Sort of.”

“It’s not so much you as it is me. I don’t honestly know as much as I probably should anyways. I- I wasn’t really supposed to ever come here, or really even supposed to know much about the program that sends people here.” She sighed again, biting her lower lip. Could she trust him? He was a Super and she’d seen some of the shows his character appeared in. He was a good person, albeit very hot tempered and prone to losing his sanity… “Me being here was a mistake. I’m just sort of floating around and making the best of it until the gate reopens and I can return home.”

He nodded, deep in thought. “Is that why you’re homeless?”

“Eh?”

“While you were passed out I searched your bag,” When she looked like she was about to protest he held his hands up in defence, “I couldn’t just let some random stranger off the street stay under the roof without knowing the least bit about you. Not with all the targeted attacks going on recently.”

Jaz glared at him, “Well, no. If I really wanted to, I could probably get a job and a place to stay. It’s just… Why waste my opportunity to explore a new world and experience all these new things as a nine to fiver, ya know?”

“So you decided to be a vagrant that bums her way through this world?” Brin raised a brow.

“I decided to be free. And I don’t bum my way through the world, we call it busking and I’m pretty good at card tricks. I earn my money.” She replied indignantly. Jaz watched Timber Wolfs smiling face warp into a snarl as he sprung to his feet faster than her eyes could follow.

“Stick close,” He barked before rushing down the stairs. Jaz had to scramble, nearly falling over her feet to try to follow him with Hero keeping close behind.

“They’re here?” She whispered, several paces behind him but he heard her anyways, nodding his response without casting a backwards glance. Jason met them at the bottom of the stairs, his laptop clutched to his chest. The sound of the door being busted inwards made Jaz and Jason jump, while Timber Wolf snarled.

“Go to the basement, stick together and call me if they find you. I’ll hear,” And with that Timber Wolf launched himself at the three metal forms that had already piled through the doorframe. Jaz followed after Jason, holding onto the hem of his shirt while he reached behind himself to hold onto her arm. Hero at her side looked torn between joining Brin or protecting them. The sound of Timber Wolf Grunting and the sight of him being grappled by three of the Dino’s decided it for Hero. He rushed into the fray, leaving Jaz to call after him as she was lead downstairs to safety.

 -          -      -

Hero leapt through the air using the full weight of his tackle knock the Dino with its arm locked around Timber Wolf’s neck off balance. Using that opportunity Timber Wolf reached behind himself shooting his claws between the jaw plates on the underside of the Dino. He’d grown so used to the pain that caused him that he didn’t even wince. It’s eyes flashed on and off before it slumped to the floor. The other two Dino’s tried to subdue Timber, but he punched one off balance while Hero slammed himself behind its knee toppling it to the floor. The tail of the second one swept underneath Brins legs sending him to the ground as well, with it falling on top of him. They struggled against each other, hand to hand grappling with each other as Timber Wolf’s claws sunk into its metal gauntlets.

The other Dino was trying to stand back up but Hero kept attacking its tail or its feet, distracting it just enough that it didn’t join the other on top of Timber Wolf. The second Dino came crashing into the first with Hero barely dodging out of the way. Brin landed on top of them, stabbing his clawed hands between the metal plates in the chest of the final prone Dino. He watched its eyes flicker and shut down. He stood up surveying the wreckage. The two arms of the second Dino had been ripped off its body before he’d destroyed its internal circuits, the third’s head was smoking and the final one had a gaping hole in its side.

His smile froze though when he heard Jaz scream.

 -          -      -

 Teresse followed Clara through the halls of the Watchtower. Back in their world Jaz had described it as a massive satellite base that the Justice League used to monitor their world. The place sounded impossible. It was equipped with artificial gravity, a jungle to filter air and a lake under it to provide environments for every league member to hang out in comfortably. Its hull was made of Prometheum, a metal that didn’t even exist on earth, and it was filled with strange technologies from Martians, Kryptonians, and other races that Teresse had already gone and forgotten.

Cyborg was their most frequent babysitter and he was currently walking them towards the research lab. It hadn’t taken much convincing to get him to talk to them about the metal lizard case the league was working on. He spoke as they walked telling them about how the lizard men had only just started popping up in and around Metropolis. They were working closely with the detectives to get to the bottom of it. Just last night they lead a bust on a warehouse suspected of being a base of operations. It led to dozens of arrests and the safe return of over a hundred dogs to their owners.

As they were walking, a sanitation worker dressed in blue overalls with a blue cap pulled down over his eyes accidentally bumped into Clara nearly sending her to the ground. He caught her with a slap against her back, muttering apologies as he rushed off. “Ow.” Clara winced.

“The hell was that?” Terese shot a glare back after the quickly disappearing form of the man.

“Are you ok?” Cyborg’s stopped to check on them. Clara nodded, “We’re almost there.” He frowned as he watched the janitor disappear around a corner.

“Any idea why they’re going after pets?” Terese asked.

“They’re not just going after pets.” Cyborg explained as he keyed in the code that granted him access to the research lab. Inside was a giant circular table with numerous buttons, dials and screens all flashing and displaying different feeds of information. The rest of the room was split into subsections with open halls into other offshoot rooms surrounding the circular main one. There were lab assistants with the Justice League symbol stitched into their lab coats rushing about and attending the numerous machines and whatever experiments and tests they were running. “Last night they all began transmitting the same image, they’ve even gone so far as to distribute it among every petty criminal and thug throughout the city.” Cyborg pressed a button on the giant round ‘war table’ that was at the center of the room. Terese and Clara gasped in unison as a giant image of their friends’ fierce face holding a comically large wrench over her head mid swing appeared as a hologram in the centre of the room. Beside it was the image of the same dog Jaz had sent them a picture of when they’d been talking earlier in the day.

Chapter 7

[your-dietician]

Barney the purple dinosaur was the role of his life. Then came the haters.

New Post has been published on https://medianwire.com/barney-the-purple-dinosaur-was-the-role-of-his-life-then-came-the-haters/

Barney the purple dinosaur was the role of his life. Then came the haters.

“Barney & Friends” was a mainstay of daytime television in the early 1990s, making a star out of the title character: a purple anthropomorphic T. rex who extolled the virtues of love, kindness and cleaning up your toys.

The character was an avatar of goodness, endearing himself to countless young children around the world even as he sometimes grated on their beleaguered parents. He was inescapable.

But not everyone considered Barney a friend, a phenomenon at the heart of a new Peacock documentary series called “I Love You, You Hate Me.” (NBC News and Peacock are both owned and operated by NBCUniversal.)

The docuseries explores how, throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s, Barney turned into a cultural punching bag, the subject of disdain from adults and derision from kids desperate to disavow their childish pastimes. He was the Jar Jar Binks of kids’ TV.

School-age kids added violent lyrics to the “Barney & Friends” theme song. NBA great Charles Barkley beat up Barney in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. Urban legends about the character’s dark secrets sprung up. The internet gave rise to new genres of anti-Barney humor that freely mixed winking irony with seemingly real rage.

“Barney is on the receiving end of more hostility than just about any other popular cultural icon I can think of,” the University of Chicago academic W.J.T. Mitchell wrote in 1998. “Parents admit to a cordial dislike of the saccharine saurian, and no self-respecting second-grader will admit to liking Barney.”

Bob West, a veteran performer who provided the voice for Barney from 1992 to 2000, recalls the production of “Barney & Friends” as a blissful experience that was sometimes shadowed by darker intrusions from the wider world, like a string of death threats he says he received via email.

In a phone interview last week, West (who appears in the docuseries) reflected on the success of “Barney & Friends” and offered a few theories on why Barney proved to be such a lightning rod. In his mind, the backlash was driven in part by kids trying hard to flex their “machismo.”

Thirty years after Barney first showed up on TV, however, West still believes that Barney’s friends outnumber his haters.

The conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

NBC News: I’ve read that you started working as a voice performer in the late 1970s. How exactly did you wind up voicing Barney?

Bob West: I started doing commercial work and narration in 1979 or so. I put together the world’s looniest demo tape. I had done some costumed character work. I worked as a robot character called The Blaster for a hospital in the Dallas area. 

My agent recommended me to Dennis DeShazer, who was one of the producers of “Barney & Friends.” I auditioned with a lot of other folks. Because of a fluke, they had started to build the costume before casting the voice. I was too tall for the costume. [The costume actor] David Voss, who was shorter than me, fit the costume while I got the voice. We just synced up together.

“Barney & Friends” was a genuine pop culture phenomenon. The show was ubiquitous when I was growing up in the ‘90s. What did it feel like to be at the center of such a big hit?

It was completely surreal. We were in the studio so often, and we really didn’t see a lot of the reaction to the show. But then we would go out and do personal appearances, and we’d have meet-and-greets with kids and parents. We’d get to see the love that was being poured out toward Barney, and that was just amazing. 

When you show up at a shopping mall in Hartford, Connecticut, and the sidewalks are lined with parents and strollers, and you get inside, where you expect 600 people but there’s 6,000, that’ll bring you to the present. [Laughs.] It’s a pretty good indication the love was strong.

When did you first start to realize there was all this hatred swirling around the show, though?

I have been online since way before most people accessed the internet. I had heard about some internet groups that were out there doing this role-play thing where they were fighting Barney because he was evil and such. But that turned out to be all in good fun. They were really good at it. [Laughs.] I actually logged in and said hello. They were very receptive to me, very nice.

Every once in a while I’d go out in a Barney jacket and I’d hear, “Oh, I hate that show!” It was kind of sad, but you just have to laugh it off.

In the docuseries you say you received death threats around this time, which is horrible. Did you ever get a sense of the specific motivations behind the messages?

The specific motivation was growing up. The people who sent me those threats were all kids in middle school. They were doing the thing where they’re trying to throw off childhood and trying to be cool. I’m sure a lot of them were having emotional issues or maybe they were having trouble at home. There’s just no way to know. 

But usually when people lash out like that, there’s something they’re dealing with. They’re hurting, and that’s the only way to know how to cope. 

I actually responded to a lot of them  — when I was still on AOL and it was cool to be on AOL — and most of them would write back and say, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize there was a real person that was going to answer.” I never heard back from some.

It’s really part of growing up, although I have to say that we seem to have amplified that phase of life in the United States. I don’t recall that kind of backlash happening in other countries. We would go to Ireland or wherever, and there were kids in the audience who were 12 years old, singing along. I think there might be a cultural difference.

What is it about American culture or the American psyche that fosters what you’re describing?

I think we have this focus on, and sometimes an obsession with, rugged individualism. I won’t go into an analysis of John Locke or anything. But there’s a kind of machismo that kids are encouraged to adopt when they’re growing up, and I think that is a big contributor. 

I think consumerism is a big contributor, too, because a lot of kids are pressured to wear the coolest thing or buy the coolest toy, so that feeds into it. I think we’ve got some growing up to do as a society in terms of learning to live together and support each other, and to put the community before the individual.

If the show premiered today, do you think there would be a comparable backlash?

I think that’s very possible. I think that innocence is valued in different ways by different people. Barney will always have a place in education, in culture, in helping kids grow up feeling safe. Who knows how long this current wave of social and political clashing will continue?

Barney was loved by far more people than he was ever hated. It’s not a true statement to say that he was equally loved and hated. The millions and millions of people who watched the show … they loved it. 

It’s easy to amplify the negative voices, and I think that we examine the negative feedback and call it what it is: somebody is reacting to innocence in a negative way, and we need to find out why. We need to talk about it. If we don’t, that kind of thing can snowball on you.

Did all of this take a toll on you personally?

It’s funny — after the fact, we’re hearing more about the hate than we did then. I have to say it didn’t really take much of a toll on me at the time. 

When social media started taking off, especially when Facebook got rolling, I started to reconnect with old friends from college. Several guys said, “I used to absolutely hate that show. But then I had a child, and now I get it and I love the show because my child loves the show.”

It’s been reported that Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya is developing a live-action Barney film. Has anyone involved in that project reached out to you?

I would say, first of all, there’s been a lot of clickbait about the project. [Laughs.] There’s been a lot of bloggers and folks who love to say, “Oh, this project is going to be so dark.” But as far as I know, Daniel has never said anything about the project being dark. It’s a meme that was created.

I have not been contacted by the production. I would love to take a meeting with Daniel, and I would love to talk to him about doing the voice. I have a vested interest in seeing that the tradition of the character is honored. But on the other hand, I totally understand the impulse to expand the character and bring in new subject matter.

Read the full article here

[lovinkiri]

This time, some male heroes are causing trouble for Quirkless hero S/O! They flirt with her, touch her inappropriately, and when she tries to avoid or ignore them, they tend to get a bit violent, like physically grabbing her hair or insulting her “lightly.” Once again, S/O’s pleas and reports are ignored or dismissed to the higher ups. One day, when they almost went too far, S/O felt dirtied and cried to Villain Deku. This time, Deku had to bring the LoV to get info and then kill them.

Deadmen Walking

Author's Thoughts: Named it that cause that's exactly what those guys are 👌🏾

Warning: Death, Graphic Death Threats, Torture, Cussing, Sexual Harassment, Inappropriate pictures being taken without consent, Emotional Abuse, etc.

You didn't like your coworkers at your agency snd you weren't a big fan of other heroes.

Most of both groups treated you like shit. Of course, not everyone was like that. But it was so blatant and obvious, no one who hated you cared enough to hide it. It was so tiring and you honestly didn't think it'd get any worse.

Then male heroes at your agency began to target you. Because you were this quirkless little thing who couldn't beat them. At least that's what they supposed. One good right hook and you'd knocked one of them out.

Of course you got reported. You tried to explain yourself but no one listened. Whether they didn't believe you or they just didn't care, you weren't sure. But they gave you a warning saying that if you attacked another hero, you'd be out on suspension and have your hero license removed.

So you had no choice but to endure their advances without the option of defending yourself.

You tried reporting them, but the higher ups again dismissed you. They'd said you were wasting your time. And after a week, they sent you an emailing telling you to stop reporting or they'd suspend you for that.

You just couldn't afford that. Suspension for you could end badly in so many different ways. They surely would try to keep you suspended for as long as they could, stories even circulated of heroes on suspension never getting their licenses back.

And if you did come back, your popularity would decline among heroes and civilians. Newsletters would make up stories, heroes being interviewed would spread their "theories" as to why you disappeared, this theories simply being an excuse to spread gossip.

And if you interfered with any crimes, even if you saved 100 lives, they would throw you in prison without a second thought for unlicensed quirk use.

They had you cornered and they knew it, but hey, anything to make the quirkless hero suffer.

You would've told Izuku but you he was always going out of his way to protect you and you were hoping this would just pass.

All you could do was try to ignore your tormentors. And to your credit, you did your absolute best. But sometimes they'd pull you back by the hair if you walked away. They'd leave bruises that you tried your best to hide or blame villains for.

They would get upset and call you names you'd never been called, saying the most horrible things to you. Things that would make any person breakdown.

But it wasn't until one night in particular that your broke. They'd cornered you like usual, sliding their hands all over you and calling you all types of things.

Then one attempted to get your costume off.

"C'mon, show us those tits."

"You think you're anywhere near our status? We'll show you just where you stand as soon as we get your undressed."

"Oh stop whining, be grateful in touching an ugly slut like you."

They'd gotten your costume halfway down your arms and one of them even managed to take a picture, getting a good shot of your cleavage.

That's when you managed to shake them off all at once and sprint between them. One of them grabbed your hand and you struggled at freeing yourself for a second, but you succeeded and ran off.

You thought about going to your place, but you didn't want to be alone. You couldn't, not tonight. Not after what had happened. So you found your way to Izuku's place. You struggled to get the key in the door, hands shaking and vision blurred with tears.

"Fuck!" You exclaimed in frustration as your dropped your keys, quickly leaning down and picking them up.

That's when Izuku's front door quickly swing open. He looked down at you, eyes going wide at your shaking form. You stood up and immediately buried your face in his chest, sobbing.

Izuku gently pulled you inside, wrapping an arm around you, closing and locking the door behind you with the other.

"Hey, hey, I got you.. You're okay, rosebud, I've got you now." He pressed a kiss on the top of your head.

He noticed you'd began to struggle standing, so he gently scooped you up and sat on the couch. You were placed on his lap and he continued to keep you close to him.

He wasn't sure what made you do upset, but his main priority at the moment was to calm you down and make you feel safe.

After a while, your sobs turned to whines and whimpers, and those turned to sniffles.

"... Are you ready to talk honey?" He once more kissed your head, rubbing your back gently.

You hesitated before speaking. You told him about everything, about the abuse and the sexual harassment. About what the higher ups ignoring your pleas for help and their threats. And then you told him about what had happened that night. You were crying again, but didn't stop until you were finished, and Deku let you finish.

"I'm s-so sorry, Izuku! I should have told you earlier, b-but I just- I didn't-.. I-Just feel.. Dirty.." You whispered the last part, sounding ashamed.

To say Izuku was pissed was an understatement. If you didn't need him right now, he'd already be out the door. You'd given him names during your ramble and that was honestly all he needed.

But he understood that his partner was in pain and needed support. So he'd stay to give it. At least until you fell asleep.

He showered with you, watching as you continuously scrubbed the areas you'd been touched. He cupped your face in his hands, leaning his forehead against yours. "It isn't your fault, rosebud. You don't have anything to be ashamed of."

You hesitantly nodded and leaned into his palms, closing your eyes and letting silent tears fall.

He got you dressed in his pajamas, knowing you liked how baggy his shirt and boxers were on you.

The both of you laid down and he kept you against his chest, rubbing your back again as he hummed softly to the tune of your favorite song, once in a while whispering the lyrics before switching back to humming.

It didn't take you long to pass out, probably from the exhaustion of crying and all the emotions you'd felt.

He managed to slink away from you, kissing your cheek gently with a silent promise to be back soon. After making sure you were under the warm blankets and fully comfortable, he left making a phone call.

Shigaraki answered with an annoyed tone. "What the hell is it? It's late." Shigaraki didn't sleep often, but by the sound of his voice, Izuku caught him on a rare occasion. Not that he gave a shit.

"I need you some people tracked down."

Shigaraki had never heard him sound so.. Serious. "What's going on? Are they a threat?"

"I guess you could say that. They broke someone very dear to me, Im sure you know who. And I need locations in the next 40 minutes."

Normally he would roll his eyes at the freckled man for his Yandere tendencies, but this didn't seem like a typical protective Izuku moment. No, Shigaraki would have assumed you were killed from the tone he took on.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Give me the names."

Izuku gave him the names you'd mentioned and hung up. Waiting was the most frustrating part. He filled the time by doing some simple muggings. He didn't do those often, but he just needed to occupy himself until he got the names.

He didn't even kill his victims like usual. That would mean blowing off steam and he was bottling it all up for your coworkers.

He finally got the names and he dropped by the hideout to get his "tools". Afterwards, he visited each man one by one. He never made their deaths quick. No, he got creative.

Drowning, suffocation, strangulation, bludgeoning, blood loss, etc. Just a few examples of his killing methods.

No one got it worse that the man with your picture. Izuku had him unable to move as he opened the phone. The picture was the first thing to pop up and Izuku felt sick to his stomach.

He felt horrible seeing you the way you were and knowing he wasn't there.

Then the realization hit that when he found the guy, he was in bed on his phone. Looking at this picture of you. He deleted the picture from existence, breaking the phone then snapping the SIM card for good measure.

He grabbed the man by his chin roughly. He'd already activated his quirk, so it didn't surprise him when his jaw cracked and the guy cried out in pain.

"You think that's bad? Imagine how my rosebud felt, you piece of shit." He tightened his grip which resulted in a muffled scream as Izuku covered his mouth.

"Here's gonna happen. I'm going to hurt you in as many ways I can think of without killing you. I'll rip your fingernails out and break every bone in your body if possible. Then I'm gonna cut you dick off, stuff it down your throat, and leave you to choke on it. And that's how you'll be found. Sound good?"

All he received were more muffled screams.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to take some nice pictures too, okay?"

[cherrycheridarling]

dap me up | t.h.

tom holland x actress!reader

warnings: somewhat smut? swearing and fluff

summary: during an interview for your new film, tom exposes your odd routine during intimate scenes and your favourite flower.

a/n: i got carried away. there's a lot going on in here. enjoy?

wc: 2.6k

"Hello! I'm Adrien Fox with Pop Sugar and we are here with stars of the new film 'Week Off', Tom Holland and Y/N Y/L/N!" Adrien introduced you and Tom to the cameras.

You and Tom gave little waves, "Hello!"

"Now, let's get right into it."

Adrien began asking generic questions while you tried your best to prevent any spoilers from leaving Tom's lips.

"Can you explain the movie a bit to anyone who is unfamiliar with the book or hasn't watched the trailer?"

Tom opened his mouth to speak before closing it, "I think I'll let Y/N do that."

Adrien laughed before you spoke, "Yeah, um. It's basically a comedy with a little rated R content. Some romance, but mostly raunchy and hilarious stuff. It follows the employees in this law firm and their vacation away from work. Lots ensues during said trip including relationships, arguments and too much drinking."

"And you guys worked with many famous actors and actresses in this film. Like, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Hart, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and The Rock. How was working with that many iconic people in the industry? You guys are obviously incredibly well known as well, but I imagine some of these people were your idols growing up." Adrien asked and you and Tom nodded.

"Yeah, uh, yeah. It was an honour. Absolutely amazing. Like, I never imagined I'd be making films, let alone films with stars like Kevin Hart and Emma Stone, you know? I'm just really proud of this one and I love everyone who we worked on it with." Tom gave his answer making you nod.

You cleared your throat, "Yeah, Zendaya is my best friend and she has been for years, long before this movie came along, but I still got so excited about working with her. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, so hilarious. You put her and Chris into a room together and it's just comedy central." you laughed with Tom at the memory.

"We've seen in the trailer that you two share many intimate and – may I say – risqué scenes in this film. Was it hard to keep that level of professionalism and friendship while shooting those scenes?"

You let out a little chuckle at the question before Tom rubbed his chin and spoke, "Since Y/N and I are already good friends off screen, I thought it would be awkward filming those scenes, but Y/N does this weird handshake after every take and it wasn't awkward 'cause it just made me laugh."

Adrien laughed a little before speaking, "What handshake?"

You shook your head with a smile as you recalled the first time you ever did the handshake with Tom.

"Ready, Holland?" you had your pyjamas on and were making your way to your mark in the set of your character's hotel room.

Tom nodded before following you in, cameras and crew hot on his heels, "Ready as I'll ever be."

He was shirtless. A pair of loose fitting grey shorts hung low on his waist. His costume for this scene as Niko Sai.

A black silk slip hung carelessly off of your frame. Ending at the middle of your thighs, v-neck dipping low on your chest. Your costume for Kora Patel.

"We're going to take it from Tom's line; 'You want me just as much as I want you'. Okay?" you and Tom gave a thumbs up, "Action!"

"You want me just as much as I want you. Everytime you sneak a glance at me and you think I don't see, but I do because I'm already looking at you, Patel." Tom walked behind you, looking at you through the mirror in front of you. "I don't blame you, I am incredibly good looking." he smirked to himself.

"I'm guessing you couldn't fit your shirt over your ginormous head?" you rolled your eyes.

Tom's smirk only grew, "Is that a little bit of drool on your mouth, Patel? Who knew the Kora Patel had a thing for Niko Sai? Oh, the Lord is good."

You rested your hands on the sink and leaned forward, "This is a useless conversation, Sai." you turned to face him, "I feel nothing for you. Don't you get that?"

He stepped closer to you and cupped your face in his palm, "Yes you do, you just don't want to." his face showed pain, all humour drained from his character.

You shook your head with a dry laugh, "You're only trying with me because it's convenient. The company's quiet little Kora Patel, right?"

He took another step towards you, holding your hip in a tight grip, "That's a lie. Nothing about us is convenient."

You chuckled before your hand flew to grasp his hair, tangling your fingers in his curls. Your other hand pressed against his pec. Nails tracing patterns on his skin. Tom's breath hitched along with yours as his body automatically drew closer to you.

You tightened your grip on his hair, "It is convenient because you know I keep to myself. You know that I won't go running my mouth about how long you last or if size really does matter. You know that I'm an easy one to fuck," you pulled him closer, "And toss aside, right, Sai?"

"No." Tom swallowed, "You're wrong, Patel."

You shrugged, "I can give you what you want," you ran your thumb across his bottom lip, "Physically." your eyes met his with heavy lids, "Not emotionally. That's why you need Remedy. Not me." your lips brushed his as you spoke, your voice just loud enough for the mics to pick up.

He leaned in and nearly kissed you before you pushed him away slightly by his chest, foreheads still touching, "Let me kiss you." he whispered, sounding so desperate that you nearly abandoned the script and pulled him into you.

You rolled your lips between your teeth, "And if I don't?" you raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"I'll leave you alone. If that's what you want, I'll go and have a useless one night stand with a girl who could never measure up to you." he pulled your hips flesh against his, "But if you let me kiss you. I promise to show you how much I mean it when I say that I'll spend all night showering every inch of your body with the love it deserves." he brushed his lips against yours again before bringing his mouth to your ear, "Just say the word, darling, and I'm yours."

Your heavy breaths were the only things that could be heard besides the small sound of shuffling behind the cameras. Your eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips before you closed the distance and pushed your lips to his.

Fighting for dominancy, teeth clashing, hands roaming. Unscripted groans falling from Tom's lips as you tugged on his hair, running your fingers along his scalp. His hands gripped the bottom of your thighs before you jumped and wrapped your legs around his waist.

"I still hate you." you breathed against his lips as he kissed the corner of your mouth.

You felt him smirk, "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

He carried you to the bedroom, gently laying you down and climbing on top of you, never breaking the kiss. His hands running down your sides, squeezing and rubbing. Your lips moving in sync until he pulled away only to attach his lips to your jawline, leaving slow but hard kisses down your neck, leading to your collarbone.

"Still hate me?" Tom mumbled against your skin.

You let out a breathy moan, "More than ever."

"What do you hate about me, Patel?" he lifted up the bottom of your black slip.

"E-everything." you fake gasped as he rolled his hips into yours.

He laughed dryly, "Everything, huh? The noises you're making say otherwise."

"You're such a dick." you moaned.

He smirked against your breast, "You're about to take my—"

"—Don't finish that fucking sentence, Sai."

Soft moans fell from your lips as you wrapped your legs around his waist again and pulled him closer to you. He groaned against your skin as the cameras picked up every noise, every movement, every kiss. You ran your nails down his back, surely leaving marks in its wake. His grip on your hips was almost punishing, as if he wanted there to be bruises the next day.

"And cut! Great work, guys. Ten minute break and we'll shoot it again."

Tom immediately got off of you and sat to the side of the bed before looking at you with concern, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

You let out a laugh before shaking your head, "No, you didn't hurt me. Dap me up." you held out your hand and he stared confused.

"What you up?" he chuckled.

You smiled before lifting his hand and doing the movements for him, "Just like that." he finally got it down and smiled.

"You Americans are definitely odd." he teased.

You tossed him a wink as an assistant handed you a robe, "See you in ten, Holland."

"And that's the handshake. It's not really a handshake, more of a greeting. I just did it after our first intimate scene because Tom was acting weird and I didn't want things to be awkward." you explained with a shrug as Adrien and Tom laughed.

Tom nodded, "I thought I hurt her! So I asked if I did and all she said was 'dap me up', like, what?" he laughed with you.

"You guys have really great chemistry on and off screen." Adrien complimented making your cheeks heat up.

You nodded, "Thank you. It took a lot of work to break through his industrial ego." you joked with an exhausted sigh as Adrien laughed.

Tom gasped beside you, "I do not have an industrial ego!"

"Mhm, sure." you joked before reaching over and giving Tom's thigh a gentle squeeze, "I meant indestructible."

Tom huffed and crossed his arms, "This is bullying."

Adrien laughed again, "We have to talk about something," he started and you already knew what was coming, "Lots of fans have speculated that the romance on screen carries on off screen." he smirked.

You and Tom laughed nervously. Almost awkwardly.

The situations that you went through with Tom while filming definitely built your relationship with him and strengthened it. In all honesty, you didn't know if the feelings you had for him were reciprocated.

In Tom's head, he was adamant that you had no feelings for him beyond the big screen. Both of you were too timid to confess first. His feelings for you developed a few weeks into filming and since then have only gotten stronger as your friendship grew and you spent more time together.

The amount of times that this topic had been brought up today was tiring. Every answer was the same: "No, no. We're just really good friends."

You decided to joke around, "Honestly, I've asked Tom out at least twenty times and he keeps rejecting me." you pouted and sniffled.

Adrien let out a joyous laugh as Tom gasped and choked on air at your words.

"That is not true! She has never asked me out!" he defended himself.

You shook your head with a deep frown, "He's broken my heart too many times. This is probably my last time acting with him." you continued on with the joke.

Tom shook his head furiously, "That is one hundred percent false. If she had asked me out, we would already be dating." he let the words fall from his lips without a second thought.

You fought the instinct to snap your head towards him. His confession catching you off guard. You played it off with another pout and shrug. Unsure if he was joining in on the prank or not.

Adrien raised a suggestive eyebrow, "What I'm hearing is that Y/N just needs to ask you out and we have our new couple."

You fake gasped, "Why do I have to ask him out? He should be asking me out with a million roses and a horse drawn carriage." you flipped your hair over your shoulder.

"You don't even like roses." Tom laughed, "You like dandelions because they turn into those fluffy things that you can make a wish with." he remembered the information off of the top of his head, "And because it sounds like you're saying 'dandy lions' when you say their name."

You nodded with a smile, "A million dandelions then. And maybe I'll think about it." you joked with a yawn making the two men laugh.

"You heard it here first. We have a new couple on the rise. Tom just needs to find a million dandelions and a horse drawn carriage." Adrien laughed again.

Tom scoffed dramatically, "Find? I already have them in my garage, ready to go."

Adrien cheered as you felt a heat creep up your neck, "Did I say dandelions? I meant daisies."

"Got those, too." Tom smirked making you roll your eyes.

"Okay, we need to end this interview before Tom buys all the flowers in Berlin." you joked.

After the interview ended, you said your goodbyes to Adrien and the crew before you and Tom made your way back to your temporary hotel suite for the week of press junkets.

Tom walked you to your room, stopping at the door, "That was an odd interview." he chuckled.

You nodded, "Indeed. It was fun, though." you smiled and he returned the expression.

There was an awkward beat of silence before he spoke again, "T-that whole asking me out thing. You were kidding, right? Like, just a show for the cameras?" he laughed nervously.

You swallowed air before replying with a timid smile, "Y-yeah. Totally. Just for the fans." you nodded again, "Um, I should head to bed. More interviews tomorrow. See you in the morning." you gave him a little wave before turning to your door and pulling out your key.

He nodded with the smallest of pouts before turning on his heel and starting the walk back to his suite.

Just as your hand was turning the knob, Tom's voice called out to you again.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" he spoke in one breath.

You bit your lip to conceal your smile, but it was no use. His question sparked a flame in your stomach that wasn't dying out anytime soon.

You turned with a bright grin, "I'd love to."

His features went from pure fright to relief in a matter of seconds, "G-great. I'll- uh, I'll text you the details. Goodnight." he gave you a little salute making you laugh.

"Sounds good. Night, Holland." you nodded your head before entering your hotel room.

You leaned against the door as soon as it shut. A euphoric glow radiating off of you. You were going on a date with Tom Holland.

Tom happily punched the air. Skipping down the hallway, a new found joy in his step. Chris Hemsworth walked out of his room and examined the gleeful boy.

"What's got you all smiley?" he chuckled.

Tom stopped and smiled, staring at the ceiling, "I just got myself a date."

Chris raised an impressed eyebrow before laughing, "You really are Peter Parker. Night, kid."

"Goodnight, Chris." Tom's smile never faded as he made his way back to his suite.

Not even ten minutes had gone by since he last spoke to you and he already missed you. He pulled out his phone and pressed on your contact.

Tom: sorry i didn't have any dandelions. hope you can make an exception x

Y/N: i suppose but the horse drawn carriage is a must x

[sevlgi]

hit and run

requested: no

group: blackpink

pairing: rosé x fem!reader

genre: a  shit ton of angst, some fluff

contents: idol!rosé, actress!y/n, closeted!rosé, costar!au, slight enemies-to-lovers, unhappy endings because i’m a bitch, a lot of attempted cinematic parallels, italicized dialogue is when they’re speaking as their characters

warnings: slight homophobia

synopsis: There’s absolutely no reason for you to get involved with a costar who you should hate by all accounts. But of course, you manage to forget that love is usually more like a hit-and-run than a cruise ship. 

a/n: while i was writing this, i  imagined this as what happened before rosie sang “gone”, so maybe you can think of it like that too? i’m honestly so terrified of this flopping lmao... 

for a little background on the film: Y/N plays Luna, a pirate captain who unknowingly sacrificed her family in order to have the power to fight the regime that Rosé’s character Helen is a part of. Helen approaches Luna, determined to help her bring justice, but Helen is unable to choose between the benefits of staying with the regime, and following what she knows is right and destroying her life as a result.

word count: 6.8k

The last thing you want to hear on the morning of your first script reading is that the actress playing your love interest in the film has changed.

“What?” you say loudly, straightening in the backseat. Your manager frowns, and you sit obediently, but the scowl doesn’t leave your face. “What do you mean the actress changed?”

“Yeah. She had to leave the movie at the last minute,” he sighs.

Sooyoung was chosen alongside you, after lengthy interviews testing whether the two of you would be able to handle your characters’ dynamic. It took weeks for the director to decide that you were the pair that she wanted, so the news that you’ll be meeting your costar for the first time in front of paparazzi is quite the shock to your system. “Shit. Then who’s the replacement?”

Your manager presses his lips together firmly before answering, “Park Chaeyoung. She’s an idol.”

You groan and slump down again. “Great. Another idol actress? Please don’t tell me that this is her first role too. Oh god, is she straight?”

“Yes to all of the above,” Chan says tensely.

Maybe you’re being dramatic, but it’s honestly a big deal. It’s the first leading role you’ve bagged, especially in a mainstream LGBTQ+ movie, and Sooyoung was the best costar you could’ve picked. You’ve never met Park Chaeyoung before, and you already know that all your plans are going to be messed up.

Chan pulls the car into the parking lot, and you scowl when you realize that most of the paparazzi have arrived. “We’re going around the back. Y/N, promise me one thing: don’t make a scene, okay?” your manager pleads. “I’m not happy about it either, but Chaeyoung has a good reputation. You’ll just ruin yours if you blow up at her.”

“I promise,” you answer through gritted teeth. You slip through the open side door as soon as you get out of the car, ignoring Chan’s call after you to have a good time like you would’ve.

To make matters worse, you don’t even get a chance to talk to the director or Chaeyoung before you’re swarmed by a crowd of reporters, even if that ‘talk’ would’ve consisted of more yelling than anything. “Y/N, Y/N!”

“Okay, let her up!” Seulgi shouts, pushing her way through. She grips your arm to lead you towards the cast table, whispering under her breath, “I’ll explain later. But just run with it, okay?”

You have plenty of problems with idol actresses, but you’ve never been inclined to say all those problems to their faces. Until now, that is.  Now, you’re sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a girl you know has absolutely no credentials to be playing the other role in your upcoming movie, resisting the urge to ball your script up and throw it in her face.

There’s nothing wrong with Park Chaeyoung as a person-- she’s admittedly gorgeous, probably sweet, and you’re sure she isn’t a bad actress in any sense. The only thing wrong with the situation is that she’s painfully straight and auditioning to be your love interest in what might be Korea’s first mainstream lesbian film, and that you have never spoken to her before.

Chaeyoung avoids your stare with a clenched jaw, and in normal circumstances, you would already be apologizing profusely for making her uncomfortable. In this circumstance, though, your obvious grudge against her only contributes to the dynamic her character is supposed to have with yours.

“Miss Kang, is it true that the actors were only picked today?” 

The director grimaces, and the both of you turn to look at the cameras flashing by the sides of the room. It was never the plan to allow paparazzi to sit in on the first reading that you and Chaeyoung would be doing together, especially since it’s true that Chaeyoung was only chosen hours ago, after the original actress bailed. Even though your grudge should be against the girl who left, it’s easier to glare at the one sitting next to you. “Not exactly. Y/N has been confirmed for the role of Luna for months, but we recently added Chaeyoung as Helen. But we can assure that their chemistry will be wonderful,” Seulgi reassures the audience. What a lie.

Yet another reporter calls out, “How much of the script will we be seeing today, and when will the trailer be released?”

“Since the casting was changed today, the trailer has been delayed,” Seulgi says. You can hear the panic in her voice, and clear your throat. “As for the script… we’re only doing part of one scene that will show up in the trailer today, so we’ll just let them begin. Y/N?”

As you take a sip of water to prepare yourself, you almost hope that Chaeyoung messes up her part. It would be bad press, sure, and it would only contribute to Seulgi’s stress, but it would be satisfying for her to realize that she doesn’t deserve her part. She’s just an idol, after all, and she’s taking away representation from the people who need it.

“Are you saying you’re better than me?” you begin, your voice ice-cold.

You watch Chaeyoung’s throat bob, but her voice is steady and clear when she says her line. “No! I’m not saying that I’m better than you… but by all accounts, there’s no way you should have this power.”

“Would you be less scared then?” You pause, watch as Chaeyoung’s expression changes to the panic that her character’s would. “I’m kidding, Helen. I did things to get these powers, things that I’m not proud of.”

“Why would you do that? You’re strong… you don’t need them.”

“I’ve never been-- shit.” The tips of your ears start to burn, and suddenly, your lines are swimming before your eyes. Maybe all your hoping and wishing that Chaeyoung messes up has reflected onto you instead.

She attempts to remind you, “I haven’t always--”

“I know,” you hiss, but your voice is too loud in the silent room. Chaeyoung turns bright pink, too, but you still can’t seem to say your lines out loud. Shit, shit, shit--

“I’m just trying to help,” she sighs.

You whip your head to glare at her, and she winces at the daggers you send in her direction. “Shut the hell up--”

“Okay, the script reading will end here,” Seulgi announces loudly, and you bite down hard on your tongue. You don’t dare to look at the other cast members, don’t dare to think about how they must be guilting you for cutting their PR short. “Thank you everyone, please leave with security.”

You stay in your seat, staring at your script with burning eyes until you feel a hand on your shoulder and jolt. “Hey,” Chaeyoung reminds you, “we can leave.”

“Don’t touch me” is your only answer, and you storm out of the room. Alone.

The next time you see Chaeyoung is the next day, at a script-reading that the paparazzi knows nothing about. (You do see a friend request from a Park Chaeyoung the night before, but you ignore it.)

Seulgi attempts a smile, but it doesn’t hide the bags under her eyes. She claps and raises her voice to get the cast’s attention. “Okay, everyone. We didn’t get what we wanted yesterday, but that’s fine. Um… let’s try yesterday’s scene from Chaeyoung’s part, okay? From ‘you don’t need them’.”

Chaeyoung nods. “You’re strong… you don’t need them,” she starts, worry tinging into her voice.

“I haven’t always been strong,” you reply, your voice harsher than it should be just to stop yourself from messing up again.

“Still. Powers aren’t everything, Luna, it’s too hard to have them.”

You sigh. “Newsflash, princess. It’s harder not to.”

“But--” Chaeyoung interjects.

“Did you ever think,” you cut her off, “that I didn’t care that it’d be hard? Did you ever think that the rest of us are tired of you abusing the thing that you’re given, but we have to fight for?”

You look right to Seulgi once you finish, ignoring the part underneath that says you should look to Chaeyoung at the end of the scene. The director smiles anyway. “That was great, you two. I think you capture the tension perfectly, which is a relief.”

You fight the urge to laugh. “I know that changing our main cast so close to the actual production is really difficult,” Seulgi sighs. “And I’m really sorry to inconvenience you all. The schedule is really squished now, and we just have to work through it. Chaeyoung, Y/N, all I ask is that you try to work together, okay? I know you’ll be amazing together.”

Chaeyoung speaks, possibly for the first time besides her lines. “Of course, Ms. Bae. I’ll do my best.”

“I’m sure. We have to cut this short, again, but we’re scheduled for costume fitting right now,” Seulgi groans. “We have to at least get the outfits for the trailer to fit. Sorry, everyone. Down the hall, okay?”

Of course, you and Chaeyoung have to get fit together. The only sound in the hallway is that of her heels clicking on the wood, and you resist the urge to shout at her to stop. Luckily, you arrive in the fitting room before you can.

Your eyes widen at the dress hanging there. It’s incredible, even without the layers that would support the skirt-- you can’t even imagine how the beading and pink silk would look on Chaeyoung. Ethereal, probably. “Y/N, yours is here,” the costume director laughs, beckoning you over.

Even though your own outfit isn’t nearly as opulent, you can’t help but admire the gold detailing on the cuffs and the tailoring. “Thank god yours doesn’t take so much sewing,” the director grunts, pinning the side. “You know, the two of you are going to look fantastic in these, even if we have to spill all that blood on them to shoot the trailer.”

“Sooyoung would’ve looked better.” It’s mean, and it’s a low blow, but the director doesn’t take your bait.

She pokes her head out to where Chaeyoung’s being fitted. “Now? Okay, Y/N, go out there. We need to take a look at the two of you together.”

You can’t stop your jaw from dropping when you see Chaeyoung. She’s all candyfloss hair and gold adorning her tiny waist, and in all her glory, you can’t stop yourself from thinking that maybe she was made for the role. “You look really good,” she compliments softly.

Nodding stiffly, you turn for the seamstresses. Chaeyoung moves to fiddle with her gloves when she realizes that you have absolutely no interest in continuing the conversation.

Well, if there’s one thing you can nitpick about her, it isn’t how she looks; she looks absolutely perfect for the role of Princess Helen, maybe even more perfect than Sooyoung. 

One of the costume directors steps in. “Okay, you can get changed out, but you have to come back in a few hours,” she tells you. “We have to make a lot of changes, then fit you again.”

You step down from the podium, going towards your dressing room without a second thought until Chaeyoung calls for you. “Y/N? Do you want to have lunch later? In your trailer or something?”

“Sure,” you answer, barely glancing back. When you do, all you see is her with shiny puppy eyes, and in her giant gown, it’s eerily similar to the role she’s supposed to be playing.

“It’s nice. You’ve decorated it?”

You nod absentmindedly, clearing the narrow couch off for yourself to sit on, since Chaeyoung has taken the only chair that could fit in the trailer. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve had it for a few months, so.”

She winces. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” you frown. Chaeyoung apologizes too much, but at least she’s upfront about whatever she has to say.

Your costar sighs, “For usurping the role? You must’ve gotten attached to Sooyoung, and it’s got to be horrible for me to just… arrive like this.”

“You know… that’s part of it.” You can’t lie; a big part of the resentment you hold against Chaeyoung is the fact that she took a role meant for someone else, someone you were friends with. “The other thing… I don’t like idol actresses,” you tell her.

Chaeyoung’s brows furrow, and she leans forward. “Why? I mean, why don’t you?”

You pause to think about it. “Well… I mean, think about it like this. Sooyoung and my auditions went for weeks before we were chosen, as a pair. Didn’t you get this role because you were an idol? You had to audition, sure, but I bet you just flashed a few smiles and read the script and got chosen. How is that fair?”

She opens her mouth to speak, but you hold your hand up and continue, “And the other thing. You’re straight.”

Chaeyoung chokes on air at that, spluttering, “What? You hate me because I’m straight?”

“No,” you say incredulously, “Well, I don’t hate you. But you being straight, and landing the lead role in a film like this… you’re taking away representation. And that’s kind of shitty of you.”

The air inside the trailer becomes suffocating, and Chaeyoung’s fiddling with the jacket in her lap finally stops when she throws it aside and stands up. She sounds like she’s about to cry when she says quietly, “Have you ever considered that I’m not straight? It’s not… it’s not that easy to be out about it--”

“Oh, cry me a river,” you groan. “Look, I apologize for assuming, but if you want to act in lesbian roles, you can’t pretend to be straight. It’s all for your fans, isn’t it? Another part of being an idol--”

She stands up, then storms right out of the trailer without another word, the door banging closed. The only thing you can do in response is sigh and utter a quiet, “Shit”.

Perhaps it’s just your luck that the first proper scene you have to film with Chaeyoung is your culminating kiss scene.

It shouldn’t be in the trailer at all-- according to the scene schedule, the two of you would’ve filmed your scenes together in chronological order, and the kiss would’ve been at the end, hopefully after a reconciliation between the two of you. However, for some inexplicable reason, it’s going to be the first one you do, without a single second of rehearsal.

You’re a one-take wonder, and you always have been, but you can’t help but think about how impossible it’s going to be to pull off such an intense scene with someone you just fought with. Sighing, you lean over to fiddle with your hair; it’s slightly tangled now, and there’s a fake scrape on the side of your cheek. 

At a side, Chaeyoung is similarly beat up, fake blood smeared on the left side of her face. Her long hair has been put in an updo and then taken down, and parts of her dress are ripped; to you, she looks more like Helen than herself now.

“Okay, everyone, are we ready? Positions, please!”

You arrange yourself on the ground where you should be, holding a handkerchief to your cheek like instructed as Chaeyoung stands by the camera to run to you. Exhaling sharply, your eyes meet hers for the first time in days. “Action!”

Chaeyoung sprints to you as soon as she’s cued, falling in front of you in a heap. “Luna,” she gasps, reaching a gloved hand out to the ‘injured’ half of your face.

“I’m fine,” you smile weakly. The camera hovers by Chaeyoung’s shoulder, and you soften your gaze as much as possible as your hand comes up to hers.

The other girl only moves closer, her eyes scanning yours and her dress surrounding the both of you like a sea of gauze. Her nose is almost brushing up against yours, and you mutter softly, “Be careful. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want.”

“Well, what do you want?” Chaeyoung implores, almost inaudible. Her breath quivers, and you feel it when you reach forward to cup her jaw. “Luna, what do you want right now?”

“I’m not making a move until you tell me to,” you shake your head. 

The blonde’s hands slip off your face, and she braces herself on your thighs instead. She laughs breathily, “Coward.”

“Your coward, huh?”

Chaeyoung pauses, scraping her teeth across her bottom lip. It’s so quiet that you think you could hear a pin drop, and the torches held up by the crew flicker across her face so naturally. “If you want to be.”

There’s probably another line that comes after, but with Chaeyoung so close to you, it swims blurrily in your mind. So instead, you just lean up, pull her down, and connect your lips.

She plays along, thankfully, stumbling slightly in her character’s eagerness to get a little closer. The only thing you can hear is Chaeyoung’s slight gasp when you let your hands wander down to her waist, and it’s almost scary how absorbed you are in the scene.

“Okay, cut!” Seulgi’s shout breaks you from your trance, and you hold your hands up as if in surrounder. Chaeyoung’s cheeks are red yet again when she sits up, staring anywhere other than you.

Your director hops off her chair to run towards you, a huge grin on her face. “That was perfect,” she shouts. “Y/N, I think you forgot a line? But it worked out amazingly. The one-take wonder, right?”

You grin when she pats you on the shoulder, a little harder than necessary. Apparently, all your worries were for nothing, as you and Chaeyoung stand to monitor your own shot in the screen next to Joohyun.

You can’t even hear all the praise she showers on the two of you, and you pay no attention to all the details she points out that apparently showcase your perfect chemistry with your costar. All you feel is a slight squeeze on your hand, hidden in the mess of fabric by your side.

You jolt awake at the sound of your phone ringing loudly by your side, finding an unknown number as the caller ID. Accepting hesitantly, you greet, “Hello?”

“Y/N? Did Chan give me the right number?”

Oh. It’s Chaeyoung. “Yeah.” You clear your throat in an attempt to sound a little less drowsy, then repeat, “Right number. Why’d you ask Chan?”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to find you when you never accepted my request,” she laughs quietly. “Um, I have to record the OST today, and I was wondering whether you’d want to come watch? Chan said you didn’t really have any scenes later today.”

“Um. Okay. I’ll ask Chan to bring me,” you answer, then hang up. Your head swims slightly, partially due to the fact that you woke up to the piercing sound of your ringtone and partially because you just don’t understand why Chaeyoung’s reaching out again. You should be the one apologizing, after the tangent you went off on, and you highly doubt that your kiss scene doubled as an apology. Of course, you’ll take it.

Your manager is more than pleased to pick you up this time, but thankfully, he doesn’t question you. If he did, he’d probably be the one you shouted at.

The studio is honestly too small for two people, probably hastily set up, but you recognize the recording equipment from a video of Chaeyoung recording one of her group’s songs. And you recognize the girl already standing in the recording booth, waving you over. “Hi,” she smiles, and for all you try, you don’t see a hint of malice.

“Hey,” you mumble, taking a seat. “Uh… I’m sorry.”

“Wow, straightforward,” she tries to joke. “What for?”

You scratch the back of your neck, sighing, “For assuming, for blowing up on you, for… I don’t know, kind of everything. I’m an asshole, even if what I said wasn’t wrong.”

Chaeyoung chuckles, fiddling with the mic. “I mean, I appreciate the apology, but I wasn’t great either. You definitely had some truth behind what you said, even if it was kind of too to the point.”

“I know. You were just trying to apologize and help us become civil, and I kind of ruined it,” you hum. The other girl adjusts the lyric stand as you continue, “But I’m hoping you understand why I had to say what I did?”

“I do,” she agrees. “You’re definitely right that it’s not good representation at all, I just wish you had heard me out.”

You nod uncomfortably, changing the way you sit on the couch just to distract yourself. “So… you’re gay? I’m just asking because I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about it, and I’ve seen plenty of your interviews.”

“So you watch my interviews?” Chaeyoung teases. When you scowl, she just smiles, “I can’t say specifically, but I am confused. You said last time that it’s just another part of being an idol, and you’re… you’re right. It’s taboo for idols to be gay, even though Korea’s opening up to it a bit more now. So even though I want to, I don’t think I can ever be out about it.”

“I understand. And I’m sorry,” you say quietly.

She swallows, throat bobbing. “Thank you. Hey, Y/N… would you mind singing with me?”

“What?” You stare up at her incredulously; it’s not like your singing would make the other girl faint on the spot, but you definitely don’t possess an angelic voice like hers, either.

But maybe it’s an olive branch. “Just… can you match this note?” She hums, and you attempt to create the same pitch. “Okay. Can you do the chorus part in that key, while I do it in the main one? We’ll sound better like that,” Chaeyoung offers.

Against your better judgement, you stand, and shuffle into the recording booth next to her. “If this sounds bad, you’re taking the blame,”  you warn, and she giggles while twisting the stand so you can see.

You do sound good together, maybe to a level that you would’ve never anticipated.

You know that something’s off when Chan doesn’t wake you up bright and early on your birthday, even if Seulgi already promised that you wouldn’t have to go to work on the day of. After spending many a birthday with him, you’ve already gotten used to him tugging you up just to take you outside and celebrate somehow.

You know something’s especially off when you hear a female voice cursing from your kitchen, and smell something burning.

“Who the shit-- Chaeyoung?”

The girl turns in surprise, caught red-handed with a piece of burnt toast pinched between her fingers. “Um. Hi?” she offers weakly.

Suddenly self-conscious, you cross your arms over the faded sweatshirt you wear. In your own apartment, Chaeyoung is leagues more put-together in the summery dress she wears, her dyed hair tossed in a braid and glitter shining at the corners of her eyes. “Hello?”

“Chan said you wouldn’t be awake for a few hours,” she sighs, shaking her head as she tosses the toast in the trash. “And I wasn’t supposed to burn the toast.”

“What were you supposed to do?” you question, stepping closer. There’s a cake box on the counter, as well as a couple suspicious tubes of icing right by it, and you think you know what’s going on.

Chaeyoung huffs out an exasperated breath. “I was supposed to surprise you. Chan has something going on at home, so he sent me to supervise your birthday instead. Obviously, I messed that up.”

“It’s fine,” you shrug, taking a seat at the counter and reaching for the icing. “I’ve always wanted to decorate a cake anyway.”

She looks surprised at that, but a smile breaks out across her face. “Really?”

“Really,” you confirm. It’s partially a lie, but you’re decently sure that Chaeyoung will refuse to let you do most of the work anyways. “Uh. I’ll just change first, and then we can get that going?”

“Yeah,” she grins, and you take it as your cue to scurry off to the bedroom.

By the time you come back, there’s a plate of not-burnt toast on your counter, and Chaeyoung’s pouring out two glasses of the juice that you can never bring yourself to buy because of the price tag. “I hope you like it, this is one of my favorites.”

“Like it? I love this,” you gasp, surging forward to pick up one of the glasses. “It’s expensive as hell, though.”

“Well, I couldn’t get you a gift, so I thought a nice morning would suffice,” Chaeyoung laughs. She unties the bow on the cake box to reveal a completely bare vanilla cake, a few packets of sprinkles that you hadn’t noticed now lying next to it. “Do you want to start?”

“Oh, sure.” You choose the blue icing after a bit of debating, and pick up the spatula that your costar offers you. “You didn’t have to, though, I would’ve been okay on my own today.”

Chaeyoung shrugs, “I mean, I didn’t have anything else to do, and I wouldn’t like to be alone on my birthday.”

“How do you usually celebrate?” you question, glancing up at her.

She pauses to think, then answers, “Well, I do live with my members, so we’ll get something to eat. Sometimes, we’re on vacation, so we just do what we can, but I like staying in the dorm to receive the things that their families send me.”

“It sounds sweet.”

“It is,” she grins. “I honestly don’t know what I would do on my own, it seems lonely-- Oh. I’m sorry.”

“What for? It is kind of lonely,” you admit, squeezing a glob of icing out. It’s definitely not as graceful as you would’ve appreciated, and you catch Chaeyoung stifling a laugh. “Chan lived with me at the beginning, but he eventually moved out when I got a girlfriend. Obviously, that didn’t laugh.”

“Sorry,” the other girl repeats again, and you wave a hand out. “When was that?”

“She moved out two years ago,” you answer. “And I’ve been alone since. Or, lonely, not always alone.”

Chaeyoung nods just so that you know she heard you. She accepts the icing tube when you hand it to her, making a spiral that’s infuriatingly better than yours. “How about you? I know you said you aren’t out, but have you dated yet?” you question.

She shakes her head, admitting, “Not yet. I don’t really know how to, you know? You assumed I was straight when you first saw me, so I think everyone else does too.”

“Sorry,” you say, an echo of her.

Your costar doesn’t respond, only setting the spatula down once the basic blue icing is smooth. “I think we’re supposed to refrigerate this before decorating, right?”

You grimace. “Well, I don’t know. I stopped watching cake videos years ago, so I’ll just listen to you.”

Chaeyoung hums and ties the box back up. “Okay, then I’ll just do it. Um, do you mind ordering chicken or something while we wait?”

“Sure.” Reaching for your phone, you ask, “Would you be opposed to romcoms?”

“I’m never opposed to romcoms,” the other girl answers.

You have to remind yourself to order two servings of chicken, something that you haven’t done in a while. But it’s comforting, in a way, to not be alone again.

“Can you believe we’ve only got a week left of filming? I feel like I haven’t seen you at all.”

You wince guiltily, even though you know that Yerim doesn’t mean it. Acting with your friend was originally a huge incentive for you to accept the film’s role, but the two of you quickly discovered that you had almost no scenes together, and with your push-and-pull with Chaeyoung, you forgot all about it. “Sorry, Yerim.”

She makes an incredulous expression, swatting your arm. “Don’t be ridiculous, Y/N. I’m happy you’re pursuing love and all that, and besides, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to act together.”

Blinking, you set your cup down on the counter. “Pursuing love?”

Yerim raises her eyebrow and says, “Yeah. Aren’t you and Chaeyoung together yet? We’ve been filming for two months, I’ll be shocked if you still haven't kissed and made up.”

“Uh. Well, we’ve kissed, but I don’t think it counted,” you frown. 

Your friend sighs and rolls her eyes. She’s all too used to how dense you are, and apparently, she’s finally gotten tired of it. “You’re an idiot. You literally met the morning of your first script reading, and you knew each other for… what, a week before you had your kiss scene? There’s got to be something there.”

“No.”

Right on cue, a few of the other cast members arrive, Chaeyoung sandwiched between them. “Have you seen the articles?” Nayeon grins, waving her phone around in the air. She’s drunk, obviously, but you have to indulge her.

“Which articles?”

She shoves the screen in your face as an answer, and you cringe when you find a screencap of you and Chaeyoung. “You won’t believe the chemistry-- nope, I’m not reading that.” You hand the phone back to Nayeon, then press it in her hand when she doesn’t take it. Yerim sends you a knowing expression, one that you definitely don’t like.

“Aw, come on! It’s good press,” Nayeon whines. “And a great kiss scene.”

“Don’t be weird,” Chaeyoung warns. She doesn’t seem to be drunk at all, though she does look fantastic in the silver dress that she wears. Your eyes linger on her for an embarrassing amount of time.

Nayeon pouts. She’s bubbly-- you’ve learned that much through acting alongside her in a total of three productions so far. You note that your costar doesn’t seem to be so accustomed to her temperament yet. “You’re no fun, Chaeng. We all know you enjoyed it.”

She goes bright pink at that amidst Yerim’s joking coos. “The token straight, converted?” your friend gasps, and you elbow her to stop her from going too far.

Apparently, it already has. “I didn’t!” Chaeyoung defends herself.

“Prove it,” Nayeon demands, slipping when she attempts to lean on the counter next to you.

Chaeyoung goes silent at that, apparently unable to find a way to ‘prove it’. You finally sigh, “Okay, I think that’s enough teas--”

If it wasn’t for the fact that you’ve long since memorized your entire script book, you would almost think that Chaeyoung reaching forward to tug on the front of your shirt is a scene between your two characters. After all, it’s perfectly in character for your eyes to widen comically as the other girl kisses you right on the lips. 

It’s also in character for Nayeon to start whooping next to you when your hands wrap around Chaeyoung’s waist to pull her in closer. You part at the noise. “You certainly look like you liked it,” Nayeon grins. 

“Yeah, get a room,” Yerim follows, and you shove her.

“You know what? Maybe we will.” Ignoring your friends’ jeering, you grab Chaeyoung’s wrist and lead her down the hallway, though not to a bedroom like you joked you would. “Hey. You okay? I didn’t know if that teasing crossed a line,” you whisper worriedly.

She bites down on her lip, but instead of answering you, Chaeyoung tilts your face up and leans closer, only stopped by your hand on her wrist. “Chae…”

“I’m sorry, this… this isn’t what you want, is it?” She steps back, mouth already opening to apologize, but you stop her from leaving you alone in the hallway.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” With the flashing neon lights echoing in her eyes, you can’t tell what Chaeyoung’s feeling, and you can’t tell if she’s willing to answer you properly at all. “I’m not making a move until you tell me to.”

Still, you don’t hear her say a word, until your grip starts to loosen on her wrist. “Did you drive here yourself?” she finally asks, barely audible. You nod hesitantly, and Chaeyoung’s voice grows firmer when she says, “I’m telling you to make a move.”

“I thought you were questioning?”

She swallows hard and takes your hand. “Not anymore.”

You don’t taste any alcohol when you lick your lower lip, and so, you nod. It’s stupid, especially considering how quickly your time together is about to end.

But for once, you know what you want.

“Good luck out there, Chae,” you smile, arms wrapped around the girl’s waist. 

“Thanks,” she hums, adjusting her hair yet again in the mirror. “We’re almost done filming, I have to promote us well so that we have enough money to at least put the damn film out.”

“Mm.” Your thumb smooths over the sliver of skin exposed by her top, and you place your chin on her shoulder to look at the two of you together.

She glances down at you. “What? Are you thinking about something?”

“Sort of,” you shrug. “I just can’t believe we’re almost done, but we… we just started this. You know, this thing between us.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a thing. But it doesn’t have to stop with filming,” Chaeyoung says offhandedly.

Raising an eyebrow, you question, “Doesn’t it? It’s going to be suspicious for us to constantly be seen together after filming together, I’ve seen the way your fans behave. Especially while you’re not out.”

“I think I can negotiate that with my company,” the other girl shakes her head.

You joke, “What, you release another two albums if you get to come out about having a girlfriend?”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Chaeyoung responds immediately. Her ears pink endearingly, and you wait for her to clarify, “In secret for now, obviously. But… one day, I’ll be out about it. I promise.”

“Don’t make empty promises, okay?” You press a kiss to her bare shoulder and let her go when you hear a knock at the dressing room door. “Do good!”

“Alright, Chaeyoung, it’s about time that we ask you some questions about your upcoming film, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” your costar smiles, and you raise your head from your phone to watch the screen. She’s sitting cross-legged across from some of the most famous idol interviewers in Korea, absolutely poised and natural even in front of the crowd that cheers over the interview.

The woman behind the podium clears her throat. “A huge talking point in Korea right now is your chemistry with your costar, Y/N. How exactly do you pull that off, since you’ve never experienced a relation like that?”

Chaeyoung laughs nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Oh. Well, um, I don’t have much experience with relationships at all, so--”

“Really? A pretty girl like you must have had a boyfriend or two before.” You despise the way that the interviewer leans in conspiratorially, as if the prying questions weren’t completely scripted. “But you seem a little to pretty to have experienced that, am I right?”

The crowd laughs with her, but Chaeyoung glances behind the scenes, probably to where her own staff sits. “You know, you can tell me if you ever felt… uncomfortable during filming,” the interviewer continues on. “Y/N has been out for years, hasn’t she?”

“Oh, she has…” You’re practically fuming, but you also can’t seem to pry your eyes away from the screen. All of Chaeyoung’s practiced idol-charm has seemed to dissipate into thin air, and she’s practically blending into the wall as she sits there.

The Chaeyoung you know-- no, the Chaeyoung that you’ve come to know, wouldn’t stand to hear something like that. You’ve watched her argue with a scriptwriter, and you’ve watched him get fired because he said something incredibly offensive, even though it wasn’t about you. But here, she sits still and just listens to the interviewer discuss you behind your back, and she says nothing about all the disgustingly backhanded comments.

The thing is, you don’t care about Chaeyoung not being out. You were closeted for enough time yourself, and you know how hard it is, so you’d never wish it on her; but watching her completely let go of all her personal principles just for a stupid interview is just another reminder that you’re letting go of your own. Chaeyoung won’t ever speak up, you realize, because her career comes before anything else. And you can’t stand for that.

“I’m leaving,” you tell the guard standing outside of your door. Only increasing your anger, tears start to burn in your eyes, and you scrape your sleeve across your face as roughly as you can. Chan picks up on one dial, and you say furiously, “Pick me up. It’s over.” In more ways than one.

Chaeyoung shivers at the top of the hill, where she’s supposed to be filming her closing scene with you. She hasn’t seen you for the past week, and after how disastrous her interview was, she’s pretty sure she knows why.

“Where’s Y/N?” she finally asks her makeup artist, giving in to her own curiosity.

Felix shrugs, reaching to mess with the blood on her hairline. “I have no idea, honestly, I haven’t seen her yet. She’s never late, though, you don’t have to worry. You’ll get your scene done.”

“That’s…” Chaeyoung sighs. That’s why she should be worried. “Right.”

“Okay, can we start?” Seulgi shouts. It’s started to rain, but with the excited look on the director’s face, Chaeyoung figures that it suits the scene even better than the gray clouds that had been planned. “Great. Chaeyoung, Y/N!”

Your hair is plastered to your forehead with the rain, and water makes your blouse cling to your curves; with the grim expression on your face, Chaeyoung could easily just mistake you for your character. “Hi,” you mutter, taking a seat on the grass right next to your costar. You say nothing else.

When cued, Chaeyoung takes a deep breath before her line. “Luna. I love you.”

For a second, Chaeyoung thinks you won’t respond, but the rasp to your voice proves her wrong. “No. No, you don’t.”

“I think I’m the one who should be deciding that, don’t you?” The blonde raises her eyebrows, reaching forward hesitantly for your shoulder.

Of course, you dodge it. Blinking the rain out of your eyes, you’re resigned when you ask, “You have your birthday gala tonight, don’t you?”

“Yes, but--” Chaeyoung swallows, lets her hand make contact, then continues, “I’m spending as much time as I can with you, aren’t I with you right now?”

“But you’re going.” It feels like you’re staring right into Chaeyoung’s soul when you speak, as despondent as your voice is. She nods, and you stand, her hand slipping off of your shoulder and into her lap. “Then go. You’re still a princess at the end of the day, aren’t you?”

“At the end of the day, yes…”

“You can’t do that. You sneak out onto my ships, get my people to love you and protect you, and then turn right back to your family to stay safe while we die for you. You can’t say you support our cause and then go back on it when it’s inconvenient for you, it doesn’t work like that!” Chaeyoung flinches at how intense you sound; at this point, she barely knows if it’s still acting. She can only hear her own heart in her ears, can only see your chest heaving from how quickly you spoke, and it all feels too real.

“What, do you want me to get found out?” Chaeyoung demands, getting to her feet as well. The rain becomes harsher, angled so that it perfectly blurs her vision of you. “I’ve saved your ass just as many times too, don’t pretend like I’m not a valuable part of your ship!”

“You’re still pretending.” Realizing that it’s not the right line, Chaeyoung opens her mouth to stop you, but your voice chills her into silence when you speak again. “You’ll always pretend, as long as it benefits you, won’t you? You can’t do that, Helen, not if you ‘love me’. Putting a crown on your head doesn’t mean that you’re a princess. Until you realize that, and until you’re willing to embrace it, you don’t love me. and I don’t love you.”

None of it is the script. None of it is the scene that you rehearsed a thousand times together in your trailer, but somehow, it makes Chaeyoung’s heart quaver in her throat so much more than the original lines ever did.

And when you drop your gaze to the ground, turning to walk off into the rain alone, she knows that to you, your entire relationship is already done.

[pingutats]

For the “ways to say i love you” prompts, 43 please!

thank you for the request! from this list, prompt 43: "I picked these for you."

warnings: none! this is just fluff!

word count: 1.8k

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This is definitely Harry’s domain.

Y/N hugs her shoulders as she stands in her bedroom-turned-dressing-room, staring at the rack of expensive clothes that have been left for her. Through the door, she can hear the noise of the crew bustling around her living room. This house has, of course, been the site of many Harry-hosted parties that had packed in a lot more people than there are present here today — despite that, this smaller group is threatening to become overwhelming for her.

She’s doing this for Harry. A couple of months ago, he was approached by AnOther Magazine to do a big feature with them — a kind of sequel to the one that he did when they were still called Another Man — and he’s been pouring his heart and soul into it since then. It feels like every single day, he’s been off chatting with a writer or meeting with the creative director. He dragged boxes out of storage to rifle through for mementos of his life as a solo artist last week. Y/N knows that some of their friends have been interviewed to talk about Harry. She’s pretty sure Stevie Nicks is one of them.

The centrepiece, though, is a photoshoot more intimate than he’s ever shared before. In the same way that the shoot set in his hometown years ago illustrated where he came from before he rocketed to stardom, this one will reveal who he is underneath all the make-up and glamour of fame.

Harry as he exists in private: in his home, with his girl, sharing this image of himself for the very first time.

Y/N was apprehensive at first — hell, Harry was too — but they’ve discussed it at length. He’s always been a private man, but his ethos is that honesty is integral to his art. He sings in detail about her in his music and puts that into the world with minimal censoring. This magazine feature, at its core, is just another artistic venture. He doesn’t want to hold back. When she understood it like that, it was easy for her to agree.

Her conviction that this is an important thing to do for Harry doesn’t stop the nerves, though. She’s never been a model, or even remotely a figure of interest beyond her connection to Harry. It’s his limelight that she’s stepping into. She can’t help but feel nervous about it.

The first outfit she’s wearing is a boldly patterned dress, custom-made by Gucci at Harry’s request. This isn’t the first time she’s wearing something this expensive (there are no compromises on fashion when you’re with Harry) but it still makes her feel like a fish out of water. She holds the hanger at arms-length for a moment, vaguely anxious that she might have put on weight since the fitting and it won’t fit her anymore, then carefully slips it off. She steps into it gingerly and shrugs it over her shoulders, then reaches behind her to pull the zip up as far as she can reach. She stands in front of the mirror and looks at her reflection, frowning.

Her make-up, which was done earlier, is colourful and dramatic. The point of this home shoot is to show the dichotomy between Harry’s celebrity persona and his private life, illustrated through the elaborate costuming inside their relatively normal home. She doesn’t recognise herself in it.

There’s a knock at the door, startling her out of her thoughts. She whips around, back straightening. “What is it?”

“Can I come in?” It’s Harry’s voice, and just those four short words in his gentle tone are enough to dissolve some of her anxiety.

She takes a deep breath, steadying herself into a calmer headspace. “Yeah,” she answers.

He opens the door discreetly and slips inside, careful not to reveal her to the people in the living room while she’s not properly dressed. She appreciates his caution. Although he’s apparently comfortable enough to walk around near-strangers half-naked—he’s only wearing his boxers right now—she definitely isn’t.

“Everything alright, darling?” he asks. Every step that brings him closer puts her more at ease. She’s always been an anxious person, but he’s like a drug to her. From the very first time they met, he’s been the person she feels most natural with. They just work. Things feel right with him.

She smiles at him. It’s a weak stretch of her lips, but a smile nonetheless. “Yeah. Can you zip me up, please?”

“Of course.”

She turns back around to face the mirror and reaches behind her head to pull her hair out of his way. His fingers are warm against bare skin of her back, finding the zipper and dragging it up, his knuckles brushing against her skin more than is probably necessary. He fixes the way the straps sit over her shoulders with the same attention to detail that she’s seen his stylists give for him a hundred times before. His lip is tucked between his teeth as he does so, glancing from the mirror back to her, his face the image of concentration.

Finally satisfied, he takes a step back and rakes his gaze up and down her figure. “Y’look gorgeous.”

She shrugs, staring at herself. “Thanks, H.”

“I mean it.” He plants a kiss on her cheek, holding her by the waist as they look at each other through their reflections. “Pretty dress for a pretty girl.”

Heat rises in her face and she drops her gaze to the floor. “Now you’re doing too much.”

He shakes his head. “‘M not. Promise I’m not.”

She hums, appraising their reflection with a frown. Even in his underwear, Harry is Harry, and she… She feels like she’s playing dress up in someone else’s wardrobe, dipping her toes into someone else’s life. Harry is at ease in a place like this but she certainly isn’t.

Harry seems to sense this. “Something the matter?” he asks her gently.

“No, just —“ she wrings her hands in front of her, searching for the words. “I don’t feel like me.”

He furrows his brow. “I know what you mean. ’S weird when you do all this—” he flutters his hand around the room, at the rack of clothes and towards the door where they can hear someone giving directions to shift the couch slightly to the left “—just to get a photo done. And I know you’re not used to it.” He squeezes her waist gently. “But you look beautiful. Just like you always do.”

She can’t suppress a small smile at that, bumping her head against Harry’s shoulder with a quietly mouthed, “Thank you.”

He turns his head to kiss her hair, then releases his grip on her waist and moves over to the rack of clothes. “But did y’see…” He bends down to pick up a plastic container marked Look 1 from the shelf at the bottom. He opens it up to reveal various pieces of jewellery inside, and delicately picks out a couple pieces with nimble fingers. “I picked these for you.”

They’re her earrings. More specifically, they’re the earrings that he gave her for their first anniversary. A couple of dangling pearls—he’d bought them during his obsession with the gems. They’re a sweet memento of that time of their lives, of the honeymoon phase that felt like it lasted forever, that never really fizzled out even to this day. They’re her favourites.

She realises her mouth has dropped open. “When did you sneak those in?” she asks.

He shrugs, smirking. “I have my ways. I’m sneaky.” He returns to his previous position standing behind her, nudging her hair behind her ear with his knuckles. “May I?”

She nods, trying not to shiver as his fingers brush against her ears.

“There we go,” he says, stepping back. “Is that a bit better?”

The girl in the mirror looks familiar now. Despite the make-up and the dress, she can see herself. The same face, framed by the same earrings, that has accompanied Harry through all sorts of days and nights. Today is just another one of those things. Something they’re doing, together, and isn’t that all she wants, for them to do everything together?

Being with Harry is a dream she never wants to wake up from. They’ve built a paradise together and now they get to share a tiny part of it with the world—not for the world to share in it, but to see just how beautiful it is.

There’s a little part of Y/N that hopes it makes the rest of the world jealous. They should be, she thinks.

“It’s perfect, H,” she tells him, glancing over her shoulder so she looks at his real face, not just his reflection. “Honestly. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” He looks proud of himself—his eyes are shining and his dimples are on display as he looks her up and down once more. “It’s all you.”

Y/N mirrors him, her gaze travelling down his body. She bites her lip.

Harry seems to remember suddenly that he’s only in his underwear—his hands fly to cover his thinly-clothed privates and he looks at her, his mouth open in a sly grin. “This is not the time,” he scolds, his shoulders shaking as he suppresses laughter.

Y/N rolls her eyes, grabbing him by the shoulder and pushing him to turn around. “Go get dressed, you dork.”

.                               .                           .                               .                           .

The suit that Harry wears is made out of the same material as Y/N’s dress, bright and bold colours. The photographer is accomodating of her nerves as he has them sit on the couch. The window is wide open to allow the natural light to illuminate their faces, and the Y/N can feel the warmth of the sun on her face. The sky is a brilliant blue. It’s a perfect day.

“Okay, look this way,” the photographer tells her, drawing her attention from the window to the camera. “A little closer, Harry.”

Harry shifts over, his thigh pressing against hers. His hand comes to rest on her knee, then lifts suddenly as if he’s remembered something. “Hang on a minute,” he says to the photographer, holding up a finger.

He twists around to face Y/N and carefully sweeps her hair back over her shoulder, tucking it behind her ear to ensure the pearl earring is on clear display. She smiles at him, which he returns in a quick unspoken exchange of gratitude and care.

“Alright,” Harry says, settling back to face the photographer. His hand finds Y/N’s and he squeezes it. “We’re good.”

The camera clicks and the flash goes off. Their hands remain joined on Harry’s lap.

.                               .                           .                               .                           .

hope you enjoyed this!! if you did, a reblog & any kind of message would be really appreciated. i'm open to any requests, from the prompt list linked above or from your own imagination, which you can send here. all my other writing is linked on my masterlist. have a lovely day!