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#after they’ve changed literally everything else
lady-clouves · 1 month
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I want nasty uncontrollable horrible women this season. I want Nyra to go batshit crazy and be hell bent on getting her throne back, I want her to show just how deep a mother’s rage can really go. I want Alicent to really commit to supporting Aegon, I want to see her be selfish for once and take and keep taking. I want Baela to be the badass dragon rider she is, I want her to be a character we know and feel for and I want her fight with Aegon to be the coolest thing in the entire show. I want Rhaena to show just how political savvy she can get. I want Helaena to be more than just the mad woman stereotype. I want Mysaria to really be the one that’s team smallfolk and actually look out for them and their best interests, especially commoner children. I want Nettles to BE THERE and I want her to wow everybody and put targ stans into an early grave; I want to see her claim sheepstealer, I want to see her interact with the blacks, I want to see her ride her dragon, and be the coolest hottest person there. And I want to SEE Alys and all her freaky witch stuff, while making self insert girlies angry. And by god I want Rhaenys to have the best ending scene a character could ask for.
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mishtershpock · 10 days
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#okay i’m gonna try to keep this short and sweet. 30 tag maximum you are my nemesis lol#my main issue here is not necessarily that the karaoke and other bach party scenes have likely been cut#it’s more that they’re clearly buddie baiting for engagement#journalists were watching the episode as early as saturday. which means the ep was ready by at least this time last week#so they knew that the scenes had been cut. and they chose to continue including it in promotion and interviews#i KNOW that logically the reason they chose those scenes to cut was because they’re less important. and we’d already seen them#they technically already gave us the clips in the promo videos. right? so bye bye#but that’s bullshit. sorry#they used buddie best friendism content as a way to promote the ep and increase hype#and then they just pull it out from under us the day before it airs#this is a madney episode. madney are getting married. buddie having fun is not the most important thing here. i get it#so why did they not promote something else? you’re telling me there was NOTHING ELSE they could’ve used?#nothing else from the episode that was free of big spoilers? at all???#it’s madney’s episode but they chose to promote one clip of buddie talking to maddie. one of chim crawling. and the bach party stuff#they must know that people would focus on the bach party. buddie is beloved buck and eddie are beloved#what were they expecting??#they used buddie as a pairing as bait. not queer bait and not even ship bait i suppose as there was nothing ‘shippy’ shown#but they baited buddie content. that’s literally what’s happened#i would be more understanding if this wasn’t a regular occurrence. it’s normal sure. shows do this all the time with fan faves#but also it is a false reflection of the episode. even journalists are saying the episode is not what they expected from the promo#it honestly feels like they’ve made fools of us. maybe the episode will air and it’ll be better than expected#but i don’t have much hope not much hope for buddie. not much hope for madney getting what they deserve. ZERO hope for eddie’s 7b storyline#frankly i’m expecting b/t to be the main chat after this ep. which is……. anyway#i’m not really liking s7 so far and i feel gaslit when people say it’s great lol#IN MY OPINION it is choppy and too fast and a little ooc and doesn’t make a lot of sense#they didn’t even green light bi!buck until episode. what. 2/3??#so presumably had to change everything from then on#i know that’s partly down to limited episode numbers but… 3 eps for the cruise (unnecessary) but 1 for madney wedding? ok#sigh. if anyone’s read this far pls don’t come for me ok. these are just my opinions#we’re all entitled to them. i’m sad for madney and i’m sad for buddie best friendism and i’m sad for s7 as a whole right now
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ew-selfish-art · 8 months
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DpxDc AU: What’s an adoption paper or two between bros?
Danny is starting to realize that since Jazz left the house for university, his parents aren’t really good at well, being his parents. They’re obsessed with his alter ego to the point that they ignore his normal ego, and that uh, hurts his feelings. Like, a lot. Meal times have gotten weirder and more inconsistent, and he’s starting to wonder if they suspect what’s really going on with him.
They’ve started to say “You know you can tell us anything” these days when he sees them outside their lab (which isn’t frequent) but the normal amount of ghost hate speech hasn’t changed. If anything it’s gotten worse. Just like everything else.
Danny joined the whole-ass justice league to fill his spare time after high school and his parents are literally none the wiser. Like, he's a part time high-school senior at 17 and a full time international hero. His parents only comment on the fact that the menace Phantom is costing them a lot in airline tickets as they try and apprehend him all over the world. Hell, they caught Ellie for a second when he was in Morrocco and it got ugly fast. She's a junior member now but mostly spends her time with some doofus that has a magic traveling house.
And really, he's fine with his schedule of going to school, going ghost and making a difference, and then returning to a dramatically silent house. Really.
Then one day his new friend and co-team lead Red Robin makes a brief mention about his own childhood of neglect and Danny makes a joke, "What, no adoption papers for the homies?"
He laughs as he says it but something in his leader's eyes looks sharp, and Kon is sighing in the background something that sounds suspiciously like dear Rao you've done it now.
Next time Danny is on the Watchtower, he's brought into a meeting with Red Robin, Batman and various other JL team leaders.
"Adoption papers are very much for the homies. I've also included the option of emancipation, as you'll see in the green folder, but I am one hundred percent serious about adopting you."
"Red, you're like, 3 months younger than me." Danny deadpans.
"Adoption is for the homies and I'm emancipated. And If i'm reading Batman correctly, you're facing three outcomes right now."
"Three?"
"One: I adopt you and you become my legal dependent. Two: Batman adopts you and I become your legal brother. or Three: You emancipate yourself while allowing us to provide for you while your housing situation is sorted out."
"... Uh. Door one?" Danny is having too many feelings. Why does batman look disappointed? What is Jazz going to say? What on earth???
"Welcome to the Drake Family." Red shakes his hand up and down, the grin on his face feral and the plan towards being emancipated from the Fentons and adopted by his boss is a weird one.
But eventually, a few weeks later, he's had a pretty delicious dinner by his new adoptive grandfather-tler and is watching a movie with Tim and Kon on the couch and he's just so happy and comfortable and warm...
"Will this make Kon my dad if you two get married?" Danny laughs and it's the closest he gets to being disowned.
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sabertoothwalrus · 8 months
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hi !! just curious because i was looking at your adventure time episode guide and i love hearing other peoples adventure time takes !! how come you don't like finn's characterisation in together again?
I've talked about it before here and here!
But also I'm gonna say more and share some art I did in 2021 for a rewrite comic that I never got around to doing
So again to reiterate: Adventure Time is usually VERY good at making it feel like time passes, even when you're not watching. It's something about what they don't show that tells you everything you need to know.
Together Again did not do this.
It really really felt like they were avoiding showing Finn as an adult, as if they wanted to leave his post-show life ambiguous. Which, now that Fionna and Cake has shown us literally that, it makes Together Again feel even more wrong?? Like. imagine you have to pick a moment from your life that represents You™ the most. Together Again said that Finn, after living his whole life and dying as an old man, feels most represented by how he was at 17. I do not buy this. I am 25, and I cannot fathom identifying by my 17 year old self. I was a completely different person then, I was still cooking. I can imagine most people feel the same. And ok, so maybe Finn DOES for some reason feel stuck at 17? Explain to me why!! What needed to happen to him that made him feel that way?
And before you just say "it's because Jake died," there's still too much that was left out. How old was Finn when Jake died? What was Finn like, at that point? What else had they accomplished? What was he doing at the time that was on the forefront of his mind? Where/with who did they spend most of their time? Where were they living after the treehouse got destroyed?
It was like,,, it was like the story Together Again actually wanted to tell was about Finn's grief, and how poorly he copes, and how too much of his identity is tied to Having Jake, and how he struggles to move on. But that's not the story we got. I honestly think-- as interesting as it was-- everything with New Death and Tiffany and Lich just did a disservice to the focus, which was Finn trying to get over Jake.
I think Together Again should have gone like this:
Finn and Jake had always planned that whoever died first would wait in the dead world for the other to die so the two of them could reincarnate. Jake dies first. Jake would be able to "watch over" Finn as he lives the rest of his life, so Jake wouldn't miss Finn as much as vice versa, since he'd feel like he's still there with him. Eventually, Finn dies.
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Finn's appearance would change with his emotional state. I thought it'd be interesting to show different phases of his life through the stages of grief.
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There'd be a room where they could watch Finn's memories. Finn would walk Jake through the events of his life. We SEE exactly how Finn dealt with grief, with heartbreak, with love, with friends, with community. All the good and all the bad.
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By the end of it, Finn is quiet. "Jake... when we reincarnate, will we.. lose all of this?" "Well, do you remember anything from any of your other past lives?" "No.. But that's the point. I don't want to forget you." Finn, despite their promise, despite Jake waiting for him all this time, declines reincarnating. He doesn't want to move on, because that would mean forgetting everything. He wants to say with Jake!! He JUST got Jake back!!
“What if— in the future— what if they forget about us? What if they don’t know about all the stuff we did?” We see Ooo in its current state. It’s changed, but it’s clearly been affected by the two of them. Every person they’ve saved, every civilization they helped build, every hero they’ve inspired. They’ve left their touch everywhere. “They’ll know,” Jake says with certainty. “We’ll know.” We see the future, with Shermy and Beth. We see the Finn Sword, and BMO with all their old belongings. Everything stays, but it still changes. Will happen, happening, happened. These have always been the themes of the show. They reincarnate, together.
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koimethehorizon · 8 days
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Amazing Digital Circus Theory: Gangle is an NPC
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Sooo, I wasn’t expecting to talk about this show. I was perfectly content to just enjoy Digital Circus as is.
It’s a show that invites theories as to what exactly’s going on with the setting and characters, but I didn’t have much room to think too hard about it. Who’s Abel? Is Pomni really a human? Why is this VR game emulating an N64 game at the start? I like the show plenty, but it just wasn’t as interesting to go hard on any of those questions at the time.
But with this recent episode… a single, perhaps throwaway line got the brain nagging. And it’s kind of a bizarre one to waste hours analyzing.
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Okay, so yeah, it’s a joke on submissive and breedable. (Don’t give them ideas) But try taking it at face value.
What does he mean by this? Sure, Jax is an asshole, and being a bullied kid is Gangle’s whole archetype… but what if it means a little more than that?
Gangle’s trapped for all eternity this asshole and she’s just letting him boss her around. Zooble can choose not to participate, so no one has to. Why does Gangle listen to Jax at all?
Let's entertain a thought: Is Gangle an NPC?
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With Episode 2 bringing so much attention to the autonomy of NPCs, it seemed natural to start pointing fingers at characters being this or that. But this isn't just a random crackshot, I feel that there is a story to tell here.
Look back at Pomni’s “orientation” with the other humans. Ragatha, Zooble, and Jax ease her by saying that they’ve been trapped in this world for years and then bring attention to Kinger being the oldest.
But Gangle… she’s isolated from the peanut gallery, busy moping about the broken comedy mask instead.
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Every character has been given some hints as to how they’ve been coping with the situation. Jax no longer empathizes with anything, Ragatha once had trouble adjusting but now tries to stay happy, Zooble picks and chooses her involvement, Kinger is the eldest and just exists for the hell of it, and Pomni is new to everything.
With Gangle, it’s a blank. No opinion, no hints of her human side, how long she’s been here, no thoughts on the games, nothing. She’s just Jax’s punching bag.
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Even Kinger gets a potshot on Gangle in a rock-paper-scissors game…. and he likely forgot that she doesn’t have hands!
And that brings me to another detail. Doesn't Gangle look different from the others?
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Unlike everyone else, Gangle's just a mask and a ribbon. No hands or legs, or just any limbs in general. She stands out as looking a bit simpler than the others.
Gangle's most interesting design trait is that she's based on comedy and tragedy masks. The ones used old Greek theater to dictate the emotions of their characters.
The first episode seems to imply that with a broken comedy mask, Gangle literally can’t stay happy. Hence why we see her sad most of the time. That's a strange limitation if Gangle's human mind is supposed to be completely intact, especially with how expressive the other characters can be.
It's not delved into too much but does Gangle actually rely on these masks to "feel" emotions?
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The obvious hole is that Caine would’ve just killed her a while ago if she was an NPC, but he's not exactly omniscient.
He even admits that he has to kill them off because it’s possible for him to lose track.
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Now normally I could just stop here, but I’m all about the grand statements. You know, the retroactive readings of an episode once you get a theory going. Why does Gangle being an NPC matter at all? How does Ep 2 change?
While deep diving, I realized that the thematic core of Episode 2 is Pomni and Jax’s approaches to surviving the Digital Circus.
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In Pomni’s A plot, we see her connecting with Gummigoo, the NPC that Caine pitted their group against. After discovering him lamenting his new reality, she finds a strange comfort in being existentially lost together. Because in the end the NPCs and the humans are just as displaced and frightened in this meaningless world.
In Jax’s B plot, he forces Gangle to follow some insane orders. Sabotage the game to let the big chocolate turd monster destroy the Candy Kingdom. To Jax, he is the main character. Helping or displeasing this giant population of fake people doesn’t have any consequence for him, so why humor anyone but yourself?
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A bit of a stretch, but what if Jax already knows Gangle is an NPC and is keeping it quiet as long as Gangle follows orders, hence the “submissive” comment? He’d be a way more unpleasant character with this reading, but it doesn’t seem off the cards with how he treats everyone anyway.
This dichotomy already plays out well within the episode, but when reframing it as Pomni and Gummigoo vs Jax and Gangle, the parallel is a lot more interesting.
Make an NPC an equal, they die. But keep an NPC under wraps as long as they continue to obey you… they live.
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The episode ends with a grim conundrum that NPCs can’t be together with the humans, not because of their differences but because they're just... not allowed to be. But what if one already in the group, proving that they’re just as capable as the humans to play the games and grieve loved ones together?
PS. Despite knowing everyone else's name, I actually forgot Gangle's until I started finding evidence for this intrusive thought. Sorry Gangle.
PSS. I couldn't fit this anywhere, but Gangle's door frame doesn't work as evidence against the NPC theory, because even the mannequins have their own rooms in that hallway.
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inbarfink · 2 months
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The ‘Escapades‘ in TGAA1 are already such a top-tier idea. I mean, I really wish we could’ve had those in any of the other games somehow.... Overall they’re an incredibly delightful addition to the game, and taking them individually, the least good ones are still like ‘well, that was a fun little vignette for these characters, I’m just not sure if it 100% gels with the main events of the game’.
And I think my favorite one right now has to be the first one, ‘In the Defendant Antechamber’. It just does… so much great stuff to the Asoryuu dynamic, recontextualizes everything that comes after in a way that makes it even better and just feels like such an Essential Viewing for really understanding these two. 
It’s just… you can go through the entire game with Ryunosuke constantly calling Kazuma his ‘best friend’, the ‘person I trusts more than anyone else’ and you might just casually assume that these two go a long way back. Maybe not as much as Kazuma and Susato since Ryunosuke doesn’t have all the details about his childhood, but seeing how much they mean for each other, they must’ve known each other for a while, right?
NOPE
THEY MET IN COLLEGE
ABOUT A YEAR AGO
They’ve known each other for a year, just a pretty ordinary year of school, and they’re already got that Unbreakable Homoerotic Bond of Trust, and Ryunosuke is fully willing to lay down his life for the sake of Kazuma’s dream of going to London. And Kazuma is fully willing to abandon his literal Life Mission of clearing his dead father’s name and avenging him in the shame of failing to defend Ryunosuke. And he drags Ryunosuke with him to London because he knows that he’s the only one who can keep him from straying from his path. And then Ryunosuke decides to dedicate his entire life in the memory of Kazuma. His college buddy. 
But they’re not just college buddies. Because in that one year, they did forge such powerful emotional bonds that all of these actions make sense for them. Because they’re just that kind of Ridiculous Human Beings and I LOVE IT!!
And the story of how they met is just… perfection. Like, if you look at the pre-‘death’ Asoryuu dynamic, it’s very ‘Japan’s most amazing promising young lawyer-samurai is absolutely enamored with an Anxiety-Ridden Human Disaster’. Kazuma Asogi is the Proudest Moronsexual and Ryunosuke Naruhodo is dating way beyond his league.
But also….the thing that drew Kazuma to Ryunosuke in the first place is the fact that he bested him at something. Kazuma is this rising star at Yumei University, he’s got the brains and the brawn, it seems like he is poised for success and glory for the rest of his days - and then this anxious innocuous little goofball beats him… humiliates him even. Ryunosuke beat the star student of Yumei University without any ambition or ill-intention, he was just being himself, he is just this silly little linguistic dork who likes tongue-twisters. 
And Kazuma feels no real resentment or spite about this defeat. He was beaten at his own game by such a silly little guy and all he feels is respect and affection and appreciation. A desire for friendship. Maybe even love. 
And meanwhile, Ryunosuke has just kinda forgotten that this is how they met. I mean, it's not like he totally forgotten it, but... it doesn't seem to register as particularly Notable in his own memories. It's just not that important to him. That was probably a life-changing unforgettable event for Kazuma, but when Ryunosuke thinks about their friendship he just thinks about hanging out after class and eating Yakisoba together. Because that’s just the kinda guy Ryunosuke is, and I think Kazuma appreciates that just as much as his tongue-twister skills.
Also, it kinda connects to an idea I brought up in a previous post, that Kazuma Asogi is less of a direct counterpart to Miles Edgeworth and more of a… mirror image, an inversion.
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Phoenix and Miles’ friendship started with Miles saving Phoenix…
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A moment which was a world-changing story for Phoenix that literally defined his entire life, but Miles, although he always kept his memories of Phoenix close to his heart, can barely remember it. 
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Ryunosuke and Kazuma’s friendship started with Ryunosuke beating Kazuma. A moment that is… certainly not the most important thing in Kazuma’s life, but one that has certainly made his mark on him, and one that he is not going to forget. But Ryunosuke just... doesn't really think about it unless it's directly brought up.
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And it’s just… such a good piece of characterization for both of them on every thematic level, I just love it so much!!
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mythunderstorm · 10 months
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Gott, ich liebe dich | MS47
mick schumacher x fem!reader
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This is just a fluffy something, no drama no nothing. I just want to daydream about me and Mick living our best life LOL
word count: 656
Idk this has literally no purpose and the ending is kinda rushed and weird but I wanted to post again hahah
Warnings: maybe the slightest mention of a breeding kink, if you squint.🧍🏽
And i’m pretty sure there are some grammar mistakes
(Btw I know Gina‘s not pregnant but let’s just pretend for the story😭)
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„You know you don’t have to help me with all of this, right y/n? You’re a guest like everyone else.“
„If you think I‘m gonna let you prepare everything on your own you really don’t know me well Corinna!“ you say laughing, continuing to cut the tomatoes for the salad. Corinna wanted to host a nice summer garden party to finally get family and friends together again on this absolutely beautiful day. Even your parents would attend and travel to Switzerland after not seeing them for quite a while.
It’s still early, the temperature is nice and not too hot, which makes preparations a lot easier. Mick and Gina are sitting in the garden, soaking up the early morning sun and enjoying the quietness before all the guests arrive in a few hours.
„I‘m gonna bring Mick a new coffee and check if Gina needs something, i‘ll be back in a second“ you say, smiling at Corinna before you walk towards the backyard.
Your boyfriend has his back to you, you smile, holding the hand with the coffee cup in front of his chest while leaning against his back, giving his neck a small kiss.
„Hey Schatz“ you can hear him smiling. „Thanks for the coffee, you’re a sweetheart.“ „Oh I know“ you giggle, kissing his cheek.
You turn to go back inside but Mick is fast to catch your wrist, pulling you back. „Staay!“ he whines. „You‘ve been running around all morning, just stay here for a bit.“ Mick says while giving you actual puppy eyes. You giggle. „I can’t Mickey, someone has to help your Mom with preparations!“ while saying this you can see from the corner of your eye how Gina is starting to get up so you turn to her, giving her a disapproving look. „Don’t you dare Gina! Sit back down, let me bring you a juice and RELAX. You won’t lift a finger today, alright?“ „If you say so“, she laughs.
„You know you don’t have to do this, right? You’re not here to be mom’s little helper in the kitchen“ Mick suddenly says. You give him a soft look, caressing his cheek with your hand. „Ich weiß Baby. I enjoy helping her, it’s no problem.“ I know Baby
You lean up, giving Mick a soft kiss.
„Gott, ich liebe dich“ you can hear him mumble. You smile. „Ich liebe dich auch.“ God, I love you + I love you too
With that being said, you go back to help Corinna, but not without bringing Gina her well deserved juice.
———
A few hours later everything is prepared, the food is ready to be devoured by the guests and the garden is decorated, with the help of Mick. The sun is standing high on the sky when the first people arrive at the Schumacher home.
More and more people find themself in the beautiful garden but Mick is nowhere to be seen. After running around all morning you are craving a hug and maybe some kisses from the man who stole your heart years ago.
You go back into the house, trying the kitchen first and running into Corinna.
Before you get the chance to open your mouth, she smiles „He‘s in the living room sweetheart.“
You smile back. „Danke!“ Thanks
“Hier bist du! I’ve been looking for you baby.” There you are!
Mick chuckles, “Sorry Liebling, I fled all those people who claim they’ve changed my diaper at least once while I was a baby.” Love
You giggle while embracing your boyfriend in a loving hug. “I think you’re safe now”, you mumble against Micks neck, “everyone is focused on Ginas growing baby bump.”
“Just wait mein Schatz, soon everyone will be focusing on you!” my treasure
You laugh, lightly hitting the back of Micks head “Yea, you’d like that huh?”
Mick places a small kiss right under your ear while squeezing your ass. “Oh I’d very much like that.
———
yea i‘d let mick knock me up tbh
ik this is so short, i‘m trying to write sth longer in the future😭 ideas who i should write about??
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wheatnoodle · 11 months
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i love you, evangeline.
part1
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robin’s been staring at it all night.
eddie munson. their third of a trio bestie they haven’t seen in years. eddie munson is asking about a girl he thinks he doesn’t know. she hasn’t said a word to evie, doesn’t even know how. that’s not something you can just drop into conversation.
“hey that guy you were like gay in love with but never told just asked if you’re single but doesn’t know you’re you, goodnight!” NO!!
so she lays in her full size bed (literally feels like she has so much room compared to her twin bed back in hawkins), contemplating what the good lord above would want her to do. it’s just gone one in the morning when she makes her decision.
robinabucks: hey eds :)) so here’s the thing
robinabucks: yes, she’s single. but,,,i would prefer it if u didn’t reach out to her or anything
robinabucks: ima be honest, idk if she’s ur type n i don’t want her to get excited
seen pops up under her final message only two seconds after it’s sent and she’s slamming her phone down on her mattress.
eddieisdead: robbie!! hey!! :D
eddieisdead: i get what u mean :/ but i also know my type better than u do
eddieisdead: just seeing as like. im me LOL
eddieisdead: gimme a CHANCE bro ill worship the fuckin ground she walks on i swear😭😭
robin can’t stop the little smile quirking the corners of her lips. her evie has been through too much to be treated like anything less than a queen. she knows eddie’s a good guy. but it’s his possible feelings on evie’s…history…that has her placing herself between the two. she knows he’s not homophobic, he tries to set her up with every lesbian he meets, plus he likes kissing boys himself. but they’ve never had the transgender talk. never had the “is a trans woman a woman to you?” talk that has robin building walls before there’s a chance to think of breaking them down.
robinabucks: eddie im serious
robinabucks: i genuinely don’t know if she’s ur type and it could go bad
robinabucks: like bad bad
eddieisdead: so can everything else
robinabucks: eddie
eddieisdead: robin
eddieisdead: i will do the best i can to not hurt her, sergeant🫡
she starts typing a response but watches as his status changes to offline.
dammit munson.
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jealousy jealousy || Changbin x Reader
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Summary: It's as you're working with Changbin on a school project — and he's being as infuriating as he always is — that he invites you to go see 3racha perform in a bar that night. You decide to take the opportunity, because you do find the group talented, and also, what could possibly go wrong?
Word count: 4.3k
Genres: college AU, rapper!Changbin
Warnings & Tags: jealousy, academic rivals to lovers, alcohol consumption, brief sleazy behavior from someone else, consensual kiss while under the influence, light angst, oc has insecurities
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A/N: Similarly to the I.N. oneshot, please ignore the thing about music if you know better and it doesn't make sense, my years of studying music theory are far behind me :') Hope you'll enjoy the piece, would appreciate to know your thoughts on it if you do!
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If you had had your say on this assignment or on your choice for a partner, you wouldn’t be sitting there, across from Seo Changbin, in his fucking studio, watching him nod his head as he’s working on the arrangement you’re supposed to turn in next week.
“The guidelines say we’re supposed to use an unusual time signature,” you say, partly to be annoying and partly because he’s literally using 4/4, which, like, come on. It’s like he’s trying to go against the rules.
“They’re used for a reason,” he replies after a good thirty seconds of silence, which could be because he was ignoring you or because he can’t multitask. “It’s more important to turn in something that’s good than something that follows the guidelines.”
“That’s not mutually exclusive.”
“You can’t let others tell you what to do,” he insists, still looking at his screen. “You have to make your own decisions based on what’s good for—”
“It sounds like you just can’t take a challenge,” you interrupt him and this time, he turns around to glare at you. For a second, he looks offended, which was the reaction you were going for and, you have to say, it brings you an evil satisfaction. Then a corner of his lips lift and he smirks.
You really don’t like how attractive you find that look on him.
“You think that’s going to work on me?”
You grit your teeth. Well, rationale and logic weren’t getting you anywhere so far, so this was at least worth a try.
“I’m not looking forward to you tanking my grade,” you reply with a shrug, attempting, and probably failing, to look nonchalant.
This time he scoffs before going back to the computer.
“It’s not going to tank our grade. The teacher values quality more than following the rules, and even if he didn’t, you shouldn’t change yourself to make someone happy.”
Valuable life advice, you’re sure. It just does not apply whatsoever when a grade is at stake. Unfortunately though, he is right about this teacher valuing ‘quality’, though you don’t like how subjective his view of it appears to be. You think there should be metrics when it comes to grading your students. Either way, so far Changbin’s been fucking breezing through this class because the teacher just adores everything he puts out. You think it’s a gross display of favoritism and you suspect that it has a lot to do with 3racha’s popularity, but everyone’s too busy making heart eyes at the golden boy to think about it.
And, look, you like 3racha. You think they’re talented. You don’t know where Chan finds the time to do music while being captain of the swimming team and all the other stuff he’s doing — seriously, when does he sleep —, you think Jisung’s a very talented singer, rapper, producer — basically a one man group already without needing to add the other two in— and Changbin’s… Yeah. Changbin’s good. There’s no way you could deny that. That’s not the problem.
The problem is that it doesn’t seem to have crossed his mind that there are some people in here who don’t have a record deal lined up for them as soon as they walk out of their graduation. Some people who are not going to have full creative control over their stuff until they’ve really established themselves, if that ever happens. Some people who also just simply enjoy figuring out a way of making something interesting, something good in ways they wouldn’t have thought of if they hadn’t been forced to deal with an obstacle of some sort barring them from picking the easiest solution.
The problem is that, as you reluctantly have to admit, Changbin isn’t picking the easiest solution. In fact, once you notice what he’s doing, you can’t help but lean forward on your seat, all your attention on him and his hands moving on the keyboard. Shit. It seems, infuriatingly, that he had a point.
“What’d you think?” he asks once he’s done, and you blink yourself back to reality after having watched him work his magic.
“It’s smart,” you admit. You’re not the type to lie just because you have an issue with him. “Using tertiary rhythms in 4/4 to give the impression of another time signature… Yeah. It’s good.”
You can practically see his ego getting bigger with every word you say. Dammit, you almost wish he were a hack.
“But,” you add, a little too be annoying and a little because you have an actual point to make, “I think you should start off with binary rhythms.”
Changbin visibly deflates, then frowns, and you realize belatedly that you might have been able to push back on the use of the time signature then and there. You think he’d have given in, if you still didn’t like the end result, but that hadn’t even occurred to you.
“Why?” he asks, folding his — impressive — arms over his chest. “That’d be boring.”
You shake your head, pushing yourself up next to him and taking the mouse out of his hands to start making the changes that are clear as day in your mind. The gesture seems to outrage him, but if you’re being honest that’s actually a plus in your book, so, tough to be him.
“You start out with something familiar,” you explain as you’re working, “to lull the listener into a false sense of security. Then you hit them with the unusual to have a bigger impact and to make them wonder how the piece got there. That way, they’ll think they’ll know exactly what you’re going for from the start and be more surprised when you go for something else.”
There are a few seconds of silence after that, before Changbin also leans forward, his body suddenly much closer to yours.
“You have to work on the transition some more if you’re going for that,” he says, and his breath tickles your cheek. “’cause it’s just gonna feel jarring if you don’t.”
“I was getting to that,” you say with a click of your tongue, elbowing him in the stomach in an attempt to keep him from messing with your work. Through the first, soft layer, you come in contact with strong abs, which doesn’t surprise you considering how much time he’s rumored to spend at the gym.
Not that you’re paying attention to these rumors or anything. It’s just— Know your enemy, or something.
He does manage to use his muscles pretty easily to get the mouse back, and after an undignified shriek when he wraps an arm around your body to lift you up and get you away, you admit defeat. If your cheeks are warm now, it’s just because of the effort.
It’s also the reason your heart beats faster, and it’s got nothing to do with the satisfied grin Changbin shoots back at you once he’s back in front of the computer.
“Hey,” he says as he’s working, “you know 3racha’s having a concert tonight?”
Of course you do.
“I heard about it.”
“You should come. I can get you in.”
You raise an eyebrow. You’ve never actually seen 3racha perform. Tickets to their stuff aren’t that easy to get on campus or around i, and you’re also busy working your ass off most of the time, whether it’s for classes or at your part-time job. But you have tonight off, and considering this assignment is going nicely…
You bite your lower lip as you consider it. You’re not really looking forward to the screaming crowd looking at Changbin like he’s a god, but you are interested in the actual show. You’ve heard so much about them, and the stars aligning for a ticket offer and not having to work…
Ah, fuck it.
“Okay.”
Changbin’s head whips back in your direction.
“What?”
You take a step back, shoulders instinctively coming up to your ears. Your defenses come back up in a matter of seconds.
“If you don’t want me there, you shouldn’t have—”
“No, you should come!” he protests, and then his voice gets softer. “I’d be super happy if you came, I just didn’t think you’d be interested.”
“Of course I am,” you say with a shrug.
Changbin turns around towards the computer, but not before you catch a bright smile on his lips. Not his signature smirk. A bright, genuine smile.
And this time, you have no excuse when your heart skips a beat.
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It doesn’t come off as a shock to you that 3racha are really fucking good on stage. You didn’t have any trouble getting into the bar after giving your name, which Changbin had told you would be enough. It had taken a little more, uh, elbow work to get reasonably close to the stage, because the place was already pretty filled up. The people there are almost all from the college, but there are a few groups of mostly young men — some looking like they’re too young to have been let in — that stick out as well.
You make yourself comfortable as you wait, sending the occasional glare at people pushing you. Lots of girls there, you note, and you don’t think they’re all there for the music, which you find amusing. You certainly don’t judge. That’s something that the people from the labels would have noted, and it’s not like there’s a wrong way of enjoying a group.
The crowd goes wild around you when Jisung — or rather J-One, his stage name — jumps on stage, practically vibrating with energy. You don’t really catch what he’s saying, both because it’s too loud and because he’s speaking too fast. You are, however, acutely aware of the way he presents himself, of his cocky grin, of the way he sticks his tongue out and wipes at his lower lip with his thumb.
He’s followed on stage by Changbin, who, unlike him, barely looks like he’s acting. Yeah, his stage persona is raw confidence, supercharged with charisma, but he doesn’t bother doing much of anything — though you think he’s flexing his muscles a little more than usual. Except, of course, when he gives the audience that fucking smirk of his.
And suddenly, you’re very, very aware of how hot it is in the room.
Chan’s the last one to get on, and he does so with a roar of “Are you ready?”. Everyone goes insane, and you find yourself being pushed around by the people around you jumping up and down. Though you’re not quite giving in just yet, you do enjoy the enthusiasm. If half of what you’ve heard about them is true, they certainly deserve the hype. Seeing the wide, uncontainable smile on Chan’s face at the crowd reaction, as he can’t keep up with his stage persona for a few seconds, just makes your heart swell.
Then, after getting the crowd even more riled up, they get started with their set. You’re familiar with all the songs, of course. Music is ideally going to become your job and you want to keep yourself updated, but also, you do find them to be good. Even the stuff that’s not to your personal taste is always backed up by an actual creative idea, which is not something you’d say about a lot of pop songs that get blasted on the radio every day. It makes their music feel new, and yeah, sometimes it means it’s not that easily accessible and it’s going to turn some people off, but it sure makes you respect their artistic integrity.
They’re also giving themselves on stage, 100%. And, because there’s just no point in denying it now, Changbin looks ridiculously fucking hot doing it. It makes all sorts of things tingle in your stomach and lower when he growls in the mic. You haven't been able to look away for a second.
Outside of the general hotness — you’re human, what can you say — you can’t help but appreciate everything else, everything musical. How easily he rides the beat, how music seems to inhabit his body, how skillfully he’s crafted the verses and choruses and made them feel— You’re not sure how to phrase it. They’re not predictable, but they are obvious. It feels like there would be no other way of doing them, no better way of phrasing them, no arrangement that would be more efficient. It has to be that way.
And it’s as they’re reaching the peak of their last song that dread washes over you, seeping straight to your bones.
You find Changbin annoying. You think he’s cocky, overconfident, and that he doesn’t pay enough attention to others. You also don’t like the way he gets everything handed to him on a silver platter and that, unlike you, he doesn’t have to split his time between work and college. But if you’re being honest, that’s not nearly enough of a reason to dislike him. The guy wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s always happy to help out, maybe even lets people take advantage a little bit. And he’s so, so fucking talented. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find all of that attractive.
The problem, as you’re staring at him on stage, is that the question that is truly at the center of it all, the one you’ve refused to ask yourself all this time as you kept working your ass off and he kept doing better than you, just came up to the surface, and you can’t avoid it any longer.
What if you just don’t have it?
Look, you believe in hard work, but you find it hard to deny that some people just have something else. Call it talent, call it luck, whatever. Changbin’s got it.
You’re not sure you do.
You just might keep working and working and working and never get to the level he’s at. You might just not have the thing that makes him able to come up with hooks that stay inside your head for days on end.
What’s been your dream job for almost a decade now might remain forever out of reach.
As the crowd erupts in cheers around you, and 3racha stay on the stage, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down their forehead, the future you’ve always wished for doesn’t quite shatter completely in front of your eyes, but it takes a nasty crack that ripples onto its entire surface.
You turn around, away from the stage. You hadn’t planned on that, but fuck it.
You need a drink.
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Even as you down two drinks a little too quick and gesture for a third, you know this is a bad idea. You’re running straight into a wall, you’re going to regret this so much tomorrow, and you’re doing it anyway. This isn’t like you. You make the good decision, the right decision, you do what’s smart, what you should do.
Except apparently, none of that is enough, and that thought gets you to ingest the third drink as well, the burning taste of alcohol a welcome distraction.
“You can really knock these back,” a voice comments next to you.
You glance at the guy who’s already way too close in your personal space for a stranger. Normally, you would roll your eyes and you’d never even consider entertaining it. Who even hits on someone after they’ve seen them try their best to get intoxicated in as short an amount of time as possible?
Tonight though, his maths has paid off, because you welcome the distraction.
If you’re going to be making bad decisions, why stop at one, right?
You spin yourself towards him, rest your elbow on the counter and put your head on your hand in a pretty unnatural pose. You’re not quite coordinated — not usually, and certainly not with that amount of alcohol in your blood — but it doesn’t appear to throw him off.
“Sure can,” you say — it might come off slurred, you can’t tell, “but the question is, can you?”
He raises an eyebrow, but he looks amused. Honestly, he’s giving sleazy vibes, a little too happy to be running into someone trying to get wasted, you just— you just don’t give a fuck right now. You feel like you’ve watched the life slip forever out of your reach, and you just want to forget about it, forget about how you may never get a job and never live from what you want to do most in the world, forget about fucking Seo Changbin and how ridiculously talented he is when you’re— Yeah, you’re ordering another drink.
The guy offers to pay for you, and you’re not going to say no. He makes a dumb comment about it which you think is supposed to be a joke and you laugh way too hard, throwing your head back in a tried and tested move.
As you make painful small talk with him while waiting for your drink, you’re struck by how mediocre he seems to be. When you’re around Changbin, as annoying as he can be, the conversation’s just… brilliant. He’s interesting, he’s actually smart, he has stuff to say, and talking to him makes you feel, well, annoyed, sure, but it’s also challenging. He never bores you.
It’s been less than a minute, and you already wish that guy would shut up.
He doesn’t. He seems intent on smothering you with facts about his life that he probably believes to be impressive — his money, his job, his connections —, like you don’t know why he’s doing it. It’s almost insulting that he seems to believe that he’s seducing you with all of that fairly mundane stuff, when really, the attention you’re giving him has nothing to do with, well, him.
He’s moved on to putting his arm around your shoulders in the least subtle way known to man when you hear your name and you turn back around.
There’s Changbin, eyeing you and the guy, looking half pissed, half concerned.
“Oh, hey,” you say. “You were really good.”
His eyebrows knit, but then a smile that he can’t seem to hold back lifts a corner of his lips. It’s not arrogant for once, almost bashful actually.
“You thought so?”
So good that it gave you an existential crisis, so, yeah, you did.
“Yeah, you guys weren’t bad,” the dude behind you chimes in, and since you’ve got your back turned to him, you openly roll your eyes, which Changbin can’t miss. You doubt the guy knows shit about the time and efforts that had to go into that set, or into the writing of the song before even getting onto the stage, for that matter. “A bit derivative,” he adds, like an asshole, “but you might go on to do great stuff.”
There’s nothing bashful about Changbin’s smile now. He doesn’t look hurt or anything, but he seems to be thinking that the guy’s a real fucking moron.
“Thanks,” he says, sarcasm dripping in his voice which the dude doesn’t catch. Then his eyes fall on the glasses in front of you, and back to the hand on your shoulder. “Is that all yours?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m questioning my existence,” you reply with a shrug. “So that seemed like a good idea.”
Changbin looks confused for a second, but not completely deterred by your lack of coherence.
“’kay, then I think I should take you home.”
That’s objectively a good idea, and the more time you’re spending looking at him and talking to him, the less you want to keep talking to the other dude, actually.
“Hey,” the guy in question says from behind you, “I got there first. Find someone else, dude.”
Changbin’s eyes harden instantly and he takes a threatening step forward. He’s shorter than the man, but significantly larger. You just so happen to not be drunk enough to watch them fight. You blame your dad’s genes for making you somewhat good at handling your alcohol, because you wish you were hammered enough not to care right now. You push yourself on your feet, a bit unsteady, and put your hand on Changbin’s arm — totally to stop him and not at all to stop yourself from face planting. His muscles, you discover with some interest, are not just impressive but also extremely hard, perhaps because he’s prepared to fight.
“It’s good,” you say, “thanks for the drinks but he’s right, I need to get home.”
The man’s face contorts with anger.
“You can pay for your own drinks, you fucking—”
One of Changbin’s arms wrap around your waist, and then he takes a step forward, easily getting you out of the way while keeping you against him, to grab the man by the collar.
“Want to finish that sentence, asshole?”
If you were sober, you’d think something judgmental about men and aggressiveness. Right now, you mostly, uh, think it’s very very hot of him. Being pressed into his hard body makes your heart rate spike up, and in that state, it’s so hard to deny how attracted you are to him.
The guy backs down quickly, sputtering an apology, and then Changbin’s dragging you away, keeping his arm around you to ensure you stay on your feet.
“You okay?” he asks. His eyes scan your body, focusing back on your face when he finds nothing.
Alcohol has a tendency of making you even snappier than you usually are. Right now, though, hearing the genuine worry in his voice, you feel that part of you melting away.
“I’m good, Changbin. I think I just— I just need to get home.”
And though he’d be the last person you’d take help from if you were sober, he seems like the perfect pick at the moment.
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You make it to the campus without too much trouble. It’s not like your legs don’t carry you anymore, just that you don’t walk quite straight, but Changbin doesn’t let go of you for one second of that walk, monitoring you the whole time, and then he insists on getting you back to your room as well. At least you live alone, because that is not something you’d like to have to explain.
“Did something happen?” Changbin asks, finally, as you’re making it up the steps, like he just can’t keep it in anymore. Your mind, which had been peacefully quiet this whole time, filled with his warmth and his presence, is flooded with noise again. It takes you a few long, painful seconds before you come up with something to say.
“Do you think I’m any good at this?” you ask just as you’re reaching your floor.
He shoots you a weird look.
“Good at what?”
Right, he wasn’t privy to everything that was going on in your mind.
“You know,” you say with a vague gesture. “Music. Producing. What we do.”
“Of course you’re good at it,” he scoffs like it’s the most obvious thing ever. “You’re super creative. You can follow all the stupid rules the teachers give us and still turn something good in. You think I’d let you work on my stuff in my studio if I didn’t think you were good?”
It’s his tone that gets to you, you think. Changbin’s honest to a fault, from what you’ve seen, but he says this so matter-of-factly, so casually, that it’s hard to question, even for just a second, that he doesn’t believe what he’s saying. You know it will take a moment to sink in, that Changbin has that kind of confidence in you when even you don’t, but, even if the thoughts will definitely come back later, it’s like he dispelled them all in just a few sentences.
It’s as you’re coming to a stop in front of your door that he almost jumps with realization.
“Wait a second. Did that fucker say—”
And then you kiss him. It’s not that hard, from the position you were in, to pivot into wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your lips against his, which you find to be soft and plump. He tenses for a second before his hand tightens on your waist and he kisses you back hungrily. If he can taste the alcohol on your lips, it doesn’t seem to bother him. His hand holds you close to him with almost bruising strength, but it remains chastely on your waist, his only movements coming from his lips and tongue.
His teeth graze against your lower lip, pulling on it, and it sends shivers through your whole body, but this is when you pull away from him. Despite his previous stillness, his head moves forward, chasing your lips for just a few seconds longer.
When you open your eyes, you find him panting, cheeks and ears a pronounced shade of red. It’s— extremely cute, if you’re being honest.
“Thank you for taking me home,” you say.
“Y—Yeah,” he says, glancing away when his voice cracks. “Yeah,” he repeats, “any time.”
“I’m gonna go to bed now,” you say, though you still haven’t taken your arms from around him.
“That’s good,” he says with a decisive nod. “’cause, you know, you’re drunk, and I wouldn’t wanna— You should go to bed.”
It makes you giggle, but you still decide give yourself a second more, during which you put your head on your shoulder, and Changbin just lets you, his hand rubbing circles on your back. When you still don’t move, he clears his throat.
“D’you want me to carry you?”
“Seriously?”
His response to that is to lift you up princess-style, one arm under your knees and the other under your back. He lets out a grunt as he lifts you, but then stabilizes himself and manages to get you through the door.
You know that you’ll have some things to seriously think about when you wake up with a throbbing headache, but in that moment, you just laugh and let him carry you to your bed, because having his arms around make you feel safe.
He makes you feel like you’re going to be okay.
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Taglist: @lethallyprotected @jisuperboard
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geeminz · 29 days
Text
ᯓ A CHANGE OF HEART // giselle x oc ; smau
00 | as long as it's you
↳ in which: mihye has been secretly dating giselle, her best friend’s older sister, for four months. what happens when their relationship turns toxic, and their secrets become public?
word count: 1.7k
taglist: @thefckghost @emphobics @jisooftme @xszn
a.n. i was literally so nervous while posting this cuz im not too confident about the quality of the writing T^T but anyways yeah! here's the prologue guys 🥹
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───────────────────────── flashback
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───────────────────────── now
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it’s now 9 in the evening, and mihye is tired of waiting.
she could no longer count the times giselle’s stood her up. she knows her girlfriend is busy — after all, she’s a junior in college. mihye’s well-aware of the fact that giselle’s coursework is much more demanding compared to hers. mihye tries her best to understand — she tries her best to be sweet, to not get mad or outwardly frustrated, but couldn’t she spare a minute for her girlfriend? can’t she just send her a tiny little message? or maybe even call her if she’s too busy to type?
giselle’s lack of communication gnaws at mihye’s heart like a persistent ache, a relentless throb that refuses to dull, no matter how hard she tries to ignore it.
she’s been forgetting a lot lately… how long until she forgets she has a girlfriend?
mihye wonders if normal relationships are like this — after all, love is all about giving and taking, right? it’s about adjustments, understanding. shortcomings are normal — but at this point, shortcomings from giselle are everyday. 
it wasn’t just the missed dates that mihye was frustrated about — it was the constant cycle of disappointment from all of giselle’s broken and hollow promises. mihye wonders if she’s done something wrong to make giselle act so… detached. 
frustrated, mihye sighs deeply. the side of her head crashlands on one of the throw pillows on the couch — while a plethora of emotions swirls inside her. right now, mihye’s stuck. 
should i text or call her?
mihye doesn’t want her girlfriend to think that she’s being too clingy — giselle has told her that before (even though giselle only said it indirectly, mihye isn’t dumb; she knows what giselle meant when she told her about how ‘they’ve been spending too much time together lately’ and that they’ll be ‘tired of each other at this point’). but what else can mihye do? she hasn’t seen giselle for the past three days.
three days too long, the girl thinks. i miss her so much.
a ding! sound popped from mihye’s phone, and mihye swears she’s never gotten up that fast before. reaching out for her phone, she checks out her girlfriend’s reply.
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frustrated, mihye puts her phone back on the coffee table. it was violently buzzing from the endless stream of phone calls that giselle was spamming her with. 
mihye misses her girlfriend, for sure. but despite her desire to just crawl into her girlfriend’s arms and just forget everything else (just like how giselle forgot their own date), mihye also doesn’t want to listen to her poor excuses about how she didn’t forget — she just had a lot on her mind.
hearing those poorly thought out reasons over and over again was gradually draining mihye. not only did it wear her out, she was also hurt by giselle’s lack of a proper and valid explanation to justify her absence.
mihye glances at her buzzing phone once more. let me let her suffer a little, just this once. i’m too frustrated to listen to her right now.
mihye sighs, tired from the endless train of thoughts that looped inside her brain. she lets her phone ring — knowing very well that giselle will stop calling her soon. she always does. she listens to her ringtone as if it were a broken record playing again and again, and her empty pair of eyes stares at the rose petal-filled and candle-scented room she had set up two hours ago. with blank eyes, mihye observes her living room, her body stunned and her heart empty upon the realization that her best efforts to impress her girlfriend were all going to waste.
i really thought we’d get to spend a little time together today.
due to a force of habit, she subconsciously grabs one of the plushies near her — the one that giselle gifted her for their first monthsary — and mihye clutches it against her chest. her nose brushes against the fur of the plushie, and she smells giselle’s signature perfume on its surface. just like that, giselle invades her thoughts once more.
her phone, which was perched on top of the glass surface of her coffee table, stopped ringing after a minute or so. mihye could only lay like that in silence and in solitude, heart heavy, pained and empty. she must be tired now, mihye thinks. but after that thought, three notifications pinged at her phone.
mihye lazily reaches for her phone to check the notifications.
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mihye’s eyes widen at the text, and before she could even register the texts and respond to giselle, a series of familiar knocks came from the front door.
mihye makes no sound to address the knocks, but she recognizes the voice coming from behind the door.
“hye, i know you’re in there. open the door for me, please?”
mihye doesn’t respond to giselle. she stays mum and stuck at her place.
“mihye, baby. please. let’s talk, love.” giselle pleads once more.
mihye slowly shuts her eyes in defeat. she knew she couldn’t resist giselle — she could never. it’s giselle, after all. and mihye loves her enough to get up from her sofa and walk towards the door to open it for her girlfriend, who was currently pleading for her on the other side of the door.
once the door was opened, mihye sees giselle, clad in all black, leaning on the frame of her doorway.
why does she have to be so goddamn pretty! 
with her big brown eyes, and pouty lips, giselle still looked breathtaking to mihye, even if she did make her cry multiple times before. right now, the older looked like a kicked puppy with the way that she was furrowing her eyebrows. giselle’s glossy eyes stared deeply into mihye’s, and just like that, mihye had no choice but to let giselle in her apartment.
mihye stretches her arm to open the door wider for giselle to enter the premises of her apartment. but instead of immediately going inside, the older girl pulls mihye into a tight embrace.
“baby,” giselle whispers, burying her head into mihye’s neck. “i am so sorry. i’m such an asshole.”
at least you’re self-aware, mihye says in her mind, but she stays quiet as giselle continues to hug her, grasping at her body as if mihye will disappear once giselle loosens her hold on mihye’s waist.
“i just had a lot of things on my mind, hye.”
tell me something you haven’t already told me, gi.
“and i was just so tired today, our prof is literally trying to kill us. i almost fell asleep the moment i got back to my condo.”
i’ve heard that one, too.
“i’m sorry, hye. please forgive me.”
when will you ever stop saying sorry?
“you know i love you, right? i love you, mihye. i’m sorry for fucking up.”
“...”
“hye? please talk to me.” giselle’s warm breath hits the skin of mihye’s neck. due to the closeness of their bodies, mihye could feel the quick thumping of her girlfriend’s heart. she could sense the quickness of giselle’s breathing; as if she just ran a marathon and is running out of breath. mihye could feel how tightly giselle has shut her eyes from the feeling of giselle’s long lashes against the surface of her neck.
she’s sorry — she always is.
and you always forgive her.
that’s how this goes.
mihye sighs, slowly giving in and reciprocating giselle’s hug. just like that, mihye feels the older girl’s heart rate increase tenfold, but after a few seconds, the girl relaxes in her arms.
“gi, let’s go inside first.” mihye suggests, but giselle doesn’t budge at all. 
“gi,” mihye calls out to her girlfriend again, and this time, she lightly taps the girl’s back to call her attention. “gi, let’s get in. someone might see you here.”
“so?” giselle replies, not wanting to interrupt the position they were in.
it is comfy, mihye tries to justify in her head.
“so… someone might see you. some of your blockmates are my neighbors on this floor, you know. they might get the wrong idea if… if they see us like this.”
giselle stays frozen for a few moments, before pulling her body away from her younger girlfriend. mihye looks at her, and deems giselle’s expression as unreadable. she neither looked happy nor sad — instead, she looks like she’s just been hit by a ton of bricks.
did i say something wrong?
the couple walk toward the living room together — giselle observed the place with the same unreadable expression. at this point, mihye couldn’t read her, she could only observe. despite everything, giselle was still careful so as to not step on the petal of roses sprawled around mihye’s floor.
when they got to mihye’s couch, they both stayed silent. mihye — truth be told, did not want to speak. she was far too tired to do so.
we may not be okay, but at least she’s here with me now.
no matter how disappointed i am.
it was giselle who broke the silence between them.
“hye… i’m sorry for putting you in this setup.”
mihye looks at her girlfriend with concern. giselle stares at her lap, unable to look her girlfriend in the eye.
“i’m sorry that i can’t publicly show how much i love you. i’m just not ready yet. i hope you understand that.”
mihye nods before responding. “i do, gi. i knew what i was getting myself into.”
mihye stays silent as giselle continues to rack around her thoughts to pick better words to tell her girlfriend.
“i just need more time, hye. please be patient for me.” giselle says, and mihye’s heart has no other choice but to accept what giselle gives her.
mihye has a lot of questions that she wanted to ask — gi, are we okay?
gi, why are you so confusing?
why are you so cold and sweet at the same time?
what happened to us? 
but as soon as giselle pulled mihye into her warm embrace, all of mihye’s questions and thoughts dissolved into nothing, as giselle’s tom ford perfume swoops into her sense of smells and floods her thoughts with how good her girlfriend smells. 
she's here. with me. and she does care. she's just been busy.
giselle loves me. and i love her.
turns out, no matter how disappointed mihye is in giselle — one word, one apology, one hug from giselle, and mihye’s melting into her touch again. 
as long as it’s her, i’ll endure the pain.
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goosewriting · 3 months
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Hellooo goose! it’s my first time interacting here and i just wanted to say how muuuuch i love your writing 🤍 its sooo… GOOOOOD you have no idea, i literally DEVOUR every single rottmnt masterpiece of yours 🫶🏼
with that in mind, i have a request (only take it if you feel like it ofc <3) and i can’t get this out of my head omfg and because its about to be valentine’sss…
The prompt is; you and leo being veeery close friends for a long time.
A friends to lovers situation. his brothers notice and leo asks them (one by one separately because of the teasing even tho they already know lol) to help him out for valentine’s and mikey decides to help with some red velvet choc brownies and (insert fav food), donnie and raph help keeping it a surprise and setting everything up…. (IM SOBBING THIS IS SO CUTE STWAP)
it ends up leo and reader kissing tenderly, very cute, it rises up a bit. they’re so in love. stOP.
pretty please 🫶🏼
i love your writing
-🐨
Be my Valentine 💝
summary: the turtles set a plan in motion so Leo can ask out reader on valentine’s day.
relationship: Rise!Leo x gn!reader
warnings: none! fluff, smooches, second hand embarrassment maybe lol 
word count: 3.1k
A/N: welcome koala anon! tysm for your kind words and the super cute request, this thing practically wrote itself lol i missed writing for Leo 😭💙 as it wasn't specified, i set this some time after the movie. hope that works!
(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)
— — —
The turtle brothers and you have been friends for quite some time now, around two years in fact. And you love them all dearly and equally, except for one maybe… 
Leo has always been the touchy type and isn’t shy when it comes to physical contact. You don’t mind; he’s like that with everyone, after all. Just another layer of his complex personality. 
However, lately you can’t help but feel that something has changed. The passing glances, the casual touches… they feel different. You catch yourself feeling self-conscious when he’s around. And the other turtles are no help either; it’s like when Leo comes into the room, the whole atmosphere changes. Like there’s a sudden tension in the air. You’ll be hanging out with the turtles like normal, but when Leo joins you, his brothers suddenly make excuses to leave the room. 
Deep inside, you suspect what they’re trying to do. You think they’ve noticed your own shift towards the blue-clad turtle, and now they probably think you have a crush on him (which in all fairness, you do), so they’re trying to get you alone with him to confess or something. While you appreciate their attempt to help or support you, it really isn’t comfortable for you, being left like that. It has already led to the occasional awkward moment between you two. You just wish it would go back to how it was; your crush is for you alone and not to be shared, as you cherish the friendship with the turtles too much to risk it over asking out Leo. 
What you don’t know, however, is that Leo is inwardly freaking out every time he steps anywhere near you. For you see, he is down bad just as you are. He’s just better at putting on a façade to hide underneath.
He didn’t fall for you first, though. Your crush developed somewhat gradually over the last months; for him it was a realisation hitting him in the face all at once, like a wall of bricks. And not even that long ago. But that doesn’t make it any less brain wracking for him. 
Unsure of what to do, he went to his brothers to ask for advice. No matter how much he plays the face man of the group, thinking he’s suave and all, he actually has no real experience in this. (In truth neither do his brothers, but who else is he supposed to ask, Splinter? Right.) Besides, you’re not just a passing crush or a random interesting person. No, you mean a lot to him. And he doesn’t want to ruin what you have. 
At first, Leo intended to not say anything and just cherish your friendship, but no matter how much he tries convincing himself that you just see him as a friend and that you’re out of his league anyway, he still has a tiny spark of hope in him that maybe, just maybe, you feel the same.
So of course the first person he asks is Doctor Delicate Touch himself. 
Mikey is delighted that his brother finally admitted to himself how he’s feeling. Truth is, the brothers noticed a looong time ago that Leo and you are into each other, but you’re both too dense for your own good. They have been itching to help out and already started scheming. Hence why they tried to give you some alone time every now and then.
But now that Leo approaches him first, Mikey essentially calls an emergency family meeting. He pulls out a full flowchart showing plans A through G to ask you out, Donnie starts his fully animated PowerPoint  presentation to go with it, and Raph rolls in a whiteboard to brainstorm ideas. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it would be the perfect occasion for Leo to confess.
After sitting down a whole evening and planning everything out with his brothers, they come up with the following plan: Mikey will help Leo bake some delicious velvet chocolate brownies (because you deserve not only good, but the best!), Donnie says he will scope out some empty buildings that could be quickly remodelled into an undisturbed, cosy movie night corner, and Raph will be in charge of getting it all set up. For being the biggest and spikiest, he actually has a great eye when it comes to interior decorating.
It’s also good that the few days before Valentine’s you have several exams for your classes and some other errands to run. So you already excused yourself from not being able to see the guys as often as you’d like in that period of time, and they plan to use the time to get all preparations going.
To make sure that you won’t plan anything else that day, Mikey messages the group chat, casually asking if you’re “free next Wednesday” to watch a movie, which is something you do rather often with the guys.
Since your last test is on Tuesday, you say yes, eager to have a welcome reward for yourself for doing all your classwork. Mikey suggests a movie night, and one after the other, the different turtles’ responses pop up in the chat, all of them saying they’re free and that movie night sounds good.
It’s a date then 😉 — you reply jokingly, without thinking much of it. Unbeknownst to you, Leo almost faints when he sees your reply. Raph’s laugh at his brother’s face reverberated pretty far through the sewers, too. 
— — —
After several last minute study sessions, wishing for information to travel into your brain by osmosis while smushing your face against a book, and a lot of caffeine, all your exams are done, and you’re officially on break.
That night you sleep well and long, sneaking in an extra pampering self-care bath before meeting the boys. Earlier that week you went to get some snacks, and as you look at the bag on your kitchen counter after you’re done changing, heat prickles at your cheeks.
On the sweets aisle you kept mainly gravitating towards Leo’s favourites, and only after you were done paying did you realise not only how many snacks and sweets you bought, but also that, on purpose or not, you picked most just because they were blue or had blue packaging, which reminded you of him. 
With a sigh you take one last look in the mirror at yourself; the bath got you in a really good mood, and you’re honestly rocking your outfit. If the confidence continues throughout the night, maybe you’d even find it in you to tell Leo how you feel… Is Valentine’s Day too cheesy for that? And on movie night with his brothers, no less? Maybe you should have invited him somewhere else, or maybe it’s just not meant to be…
With a slight seed of doubt in your heart, you grab your things and make your way out the door, about to start the familiar trek to the turtle lair. Except that you get a message, and the sound alone makes your heart skip a bit; it’s from Leo. You know it’s him because you’ve set a special ringtone for him, a sound effect from his favourite Jupiter Jim movie. But you’d rather fall into a ditch than have him know that. He would never let you live it down. Especially if he saw how quickly you scramble to get your phone out of your pocket at the sound.
Turns out, movie night isn’t in the lair at all, it’s in a place you’ve never been, not alone nor with them. It strikes you as a little odd, but you know the area isn’t dangerous or anything, plus you’ll be accompanied by literal ninja mutants, so, if anything, your curiosity is peaked. You did notice that the last few days, there was a strange silence from the turtles. You assumed it was because they didn’t want to disturb your studies, but something was… off. There was more secrecy than usual. And now they’re meeting somewhere new? It takes every ounce of self-control not to immediately message Mikey and ask what’s up. You’d find out yourself soon enough anyway. 
After taking a bus and a short walk, you arrive at the meeting point. Your eyes travel from the pin on your maps app on your phone to the run-down building in front of you several times, making sure you’re at the right location. And you are. Except that there’s nothing here. You try looking in through the windows, but they’re blocked with old wooden boards from the inside. 
Just as you’re about to walk around the building to find an entrance, a door partially hidden by a pile of rubbish and debris opens with a creak, and Mikey’s head pops out.
“There you are!” he greets you with a chipper tone.
”What in the world is this place,” you rhetorically ask with a chuckle. “I thought we were watching a movie?”
“We are, we are. Don’t let looks deceive you. Come in~”
You step in, and Mikey closes the door behind you. You follow him up some dusty stairs, using your phones’ flashlights to navigate through the darkness, as whatever little daylight remains outside can’t come in through the barricaded windows, and there seems to be no electricity. The air is stale and you can see dust particles floating in the beam of your light.
“Is this safe?” You sound less amused now, starting to get actually concerned. 
“Totally,” Mikey answers, completely calm.
”This was Donnie’s doing, I suppose?”
”Yup.”
”Just what are you guys up to,” you ask under your breath with a playful smile, more towards yourself than at him.
Once on the upper floor, you see light coming from under a door. Mikey opens it, letting you step in first. You enter the room, and as the turtle brothers say “Surprise!” in unison, you can’t help the gasp that escapes you. Never would you have guessed this was inside, given the state of the building from the outside. 
Several low hanging lights emit a warm inviting glow, complemented by some fairy lights. The space has been cleaned thoroughly, and you spot a pile of blankets, pillows and bean bags on the floor by the projector, which is already turned on and the movie on the wall is paused at the studio intro. A little makeshift table, consisting of a plank of wood held up by some bricks, holds a variety of delicious treats, going from pizza to finger food to desserts, as well as beverages.
You let your gaze slowly pan over the place to take it all in, nodding to yourself with a low whistle.
“Not bad,” you say. “Not bad indeed.” 
“Are you surprised?”, Donnie asks with a smug grin. 
“I most definitely am,” you respond. “I love what you’ve done with the place. Not that I know what the place even is.” 
“It’s an old office space, set to be renovated by the end of the year. I just pulled some strings to use it for tonight,” Donnie explains with a swiping motion of his hand, as if saying no big deal. “Raph here is the one who brought out the real shine. Quite literally, too, he waxed the floor.”
You look down and sure enough, the wooden boards are shiny, slightly squeaky against your shoes even. 
“You really went all out, huh,” you say, and Raph sheepishly chuckles.
Smiling, your eyes jump from one turtle to the next until they finally land on Leo, and you slightly clench your jaw at the heat you know is spreading on your face, unable to stop it.
“Well, you deserve it,” Leo says with a grin. 
“Especially after being done with classes,” Mikey adds.
”True, but you guys deserve this too! You’re literally helping people and protecting the city all the time.”
They look at each other and nod in agreement. 
For a second, you think Leo is going to say something, as he gives you what must be the third once-over since you’ve arrived. But he remains silent. You hope your outfit choice isn’t weird…
“Alright,” you exclaim, both to distract from your current thoughts and to fill the silence. “Now that we know how proud we are of each other, how about we start? I’m actually starving.”
— — —
You take the last bite from your brownie just as the credits start rolling.
”Ah, what a classic,” Donnie says with a content sigh, and he and Raph get into an argument about what fight scene from the movie was the best.
You sigh at the delicious treat melting on your tongue, savouring it.
”You like them?” Leo asks from his spot next to you with an amused smile.
”I love them! They’re so good,” you reply, turning to look at Mikey. “Compliments to the chef.”
Since Mikey is the one to usually cook and bake out of the group, you assumed it was him who made the brownies. 
“Actually,” he says as he stands up to stretch, “The chef is right there.”
You look to where he’s pointing: next to you, to Leo. 
“You made them?” you ask genuinely. 
“I mean, Mikey helped,” Leo says with a slight shrug.” But, yeah.”
”He made them for you,” you hear Mikey say, and your head whips around back to Mikey.
”What?” you ask. 
You look back to Leo, who’s giving his youngest brother a panicked glare, while Mikey sticks his tongue out at him. 
Suddenly, the room is silent. Raph and Donnie stopped their discussion and once again, the atmosphere has abruptly shifted. You open your mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, as your brain is reeling. Did Mikey just mean what you think he meant? What you… hope he meant? And what was with Leo’s reaction and lack of sassy comeback?
You turn back to the turtle in question and meet his eyes, the slightest rise of your eyebrows indicating you’re expectant of an explanation. All five stages of grief seem to pass over Leo’s face in the matter of a split second, and he looks at such a loss for words that you almost burst out laughing. The fact that he isn't teasing you or dropping some corny one-liner at his brother’s comment to play along, is proof that there’s something else there. Your confidence from earlier that day resurfaces, and as you decide to tease him a little (because those chances are rare), you lean back slightly onto your hands. One quick glance to the side and you realise the other turtles are long gone.
”For me, huh?” you say in a teasing tone. “You wanted to impress me that much?” 
He wants to play along so badly, tease you back. If only he knew that just with a grin and a touch he would disarm you entirely. Instead, he goes the rare honest route, and gives you a short nod.
”I did, actually.”
That’s not the response you were expecting. You slightly lean forward to sit upright again, taking a second or two to word your response properly, unable to tear away your eyes from his.
”Well, you did. But you do know that you don’t need some grand gesture to impress me or make me like you, right?”
He chuckles, visibly relaxing his shoulders, leaning in ever so slightly. 
“I’m just that extra and you know it.”
You hum, bringing your hands into your lap, and you look down at them. You really hope he can’t hear your heart pounding against your ribs.
“And is there a reason in particular you wanted to impress me?” you ask him, voice significantly smaller. 
“As a matter of fact, there is,” he replies just as gently.
Leo’s hand inches closer to yours until his fingertips brush over your knuckles, and it sends a tingly shiver up your arm and down your spine. You involuntarily take in a sharp breath through your teeth and look up at him. You were not ready to be met with the sweetest, most vulnerable expression on his face. All words leave your brain. 
“And?” is all you manage after a moment.
Equally unable to put his feelings into words, Leo chooses the next best thing. By now, you’re both so close to each other that you can feel his breath fanning over your cheek. He quickly closes the gap, and his lips meet yours. The kiss is soft and warm and sweet and for the amount of pining you’ve both endured, it’s not enough.
Your hands travel up to cup Leo’s face, but he suddenly goes “hm!” like he just remembered something and pulls back, holding you by your shoulders. You give him a confused pout; it was just about to get good.
”I forgot to ask: will you be my Valentine?”
That is so massively out of the blue (pun unintended), that you can’t help the hearty laugh coming out of you. 
“A little late to ask that now, isn’t it?” you ask with a chuckle, running your fingers over his jawline.
”You know what they say, better late than never,” he replies with a shrug, leaning into your touch.
You lift your chin ever so slightly to look at him through half-lidded eyes.
”I bet that whoever said that wasn’t in this particular predicament.”
With that, you pull him back to you, kissing him more intensely this time, and he understands. Your tongue meets his, and his kisses taste like chocolate. You only pull back ever so slightly for a moment to take a breather, both of you panting. 
“And for the record,” you say between breaths, essentially whispering the words into his skin. “The answer is yes. I will be your Valentine, if you’ll be mine.”
Finally, he sports his signature smirk. 
“As if you even need to ask,” is all he remarks before capturing your lips again.
One of his hands snakes around your back, pressing you to him, while he balances the weight on the other, leaning you back onto the pillows so he can climb on top of you. 
However long you have the room for, wherever his brothers are… Leo is set on using this chance with you to the fullest while uninterrupted.
— — —
Bonus:
The other turtle brothers have been spying through the crack of the door until you started making out. After carefully closing it, they move a little further down the empty hallway. 
Raph pumps his fist in the air as a sign of victory, Mikey holds Donnie by the shoulders, shaking him back and forth with a silent squeal. But now that the plan worked, and you and Leo are busy… what are they supposed to do?
The three silently look at each other in the dark hallway for a moment, until Mikey looks at Donnie.
”So… you got games on your phone?”
~~~~~
🐥 taglist: [link to join in my pinned post!] @theoriginalmintyyyshake, @dybynyght, @lieutenantlashfaz, @galaxtic-writings, @Lovestruckfictionadict, @salty-s-r, @sleebykei, @miso-sopas, @duckanon, @wings-of-sapphire, @ashtheboookworm2, @xxnoxx, @crystal-crax
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lilislegacy · 2 months
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you may have gotten a similar ask before, but I'm new to your blog, so i just wanted to ask: what do you envision Percy and annabeth's post-college life to be like? how many kids? girl/boy? names? (If they have kids at all?) their jobs? where do they live? what does their house look like? do they have pets? what are their relationships like with the other demigods? This might be a lot for one ask but you seem like you can literally dive right into percabeth's minds so I just thought I'd ask 😅
ok. you have just asked me a question that i instinctually want to answer with a 3,000 word essay. so i am going to keep this as short as possible (which is not short at all.) i’m also open minded, so my headcanons can be changed if i see a take i really love. but these are my own beliefs
i think they get married. definitely after college. i know some people think they don’t marry because of hera, but i can’t stand the thought of them not doing what they want because of a god. (i also have a hc that they kinda blackmail her lol. as in she goes to them needing help - a quest - and they say they’ll do it only if she swears on the styx to never interfere with or harm their marriage)
i think they both do a lot of things over the course of their careers. annabeth is an architect, but she does multiple things with that. she creates some big famous attractions, she designs a greek version of new rome, aka “new greece” or “new athens” or something, maybe she builds hideouts for demigods (suggestion from a previous asker), etc. and for percy, i think he definitely does something that involves helping marine animals. he can literally speak to them - something no one else can do. he also is very protective of all sea animals he encounters in the books. so he needs to be doing that. personally, i love the thought of him becoming an aquatic vet. but there are several other marine animal related jobs that he could do in replacement of/in addition to that. i also see him doing several things throughout this life, and i made a big post about my thoughts there. i’ll link it at the end of this post.
they definitely have kids. no doubt. they’ve been thinking about having kids together since they were 16. i love the thought of them having 3, maybe 4. i think their first is a boy with short blonde curly hair and sea green eyes. i also think he has a “p” name, since his dad is named percy and his paternal grandfathers are poseidon and paul. but i don’t have names for any of them. ive always imagined them having 2 boys close together and then a girl later on. but i don’t have exact ideas, you know?
i think they live in a few different places. they probably start off in new rome, then eventually in new athens/new greece, and then i think nyc again at some point, maybe when the kids are grown. but i think they always try and live on/near beaches or lakes, when possible. (for obvious reasons)
they do a lot of traveling throughout their lives. because annabeth loves it, and percy loves seeing her happy.
they definitely have a family dog (look in the linked post for my thoughts on that.) plus horses/pegusi will always be around their place.
i don’t have exact house details in mind.
and they keep in great contact with all their demigod friends. both roman and greek.
all i know for sure is that they remain best friends who are deeply in love. they’re always each others battle partner. and they do everything in their power to not only protect their kids, but to make sure their childhoods don’t contain the same darknesses that their own childhoods did. they’re amazing parents, and they’re gonna do great things. they’re both going to use their abilities to help so many people and creatures. and their lives will never be dull or “normal.” not even for a second. and they love it.
my thoughts on percy’s career: ⬇️
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tealfloyd · 2 years
Text
A COSTUME-SHIFTING HALLOWEEN
"MC's first Halloween ended up being disastrous a marvelous one~!"
SUMMARY: During the last day of Halloween, MC encounters a singular ghost who drags her to a confusing situation... (Everyone x Fem!Reader)
WARNINGS: Death mentions at the end, jealousy (?)
CONTENT: I didn't have any ideas for Ortho :( The ghost has a sad backstory, and, uh— That's it, I think. WORDS: 7K+
A/N: Okay, I know Halloween has already passed, but I got an excuse since this is a repost, so bear with me here :)
Some costumes were hard to describe, but I think they're not that bad. They're acceptable tier, I guess.
After this fic, everything else published will be the requests I've saved, so I ask for some time before starting to work on the new ones!
Now onto the fic~
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Halloween was just around the corner, and you’re still trying to figure out what is happening.
It was a strange surprise when Grim and you returned to your dorm, not expecting to see it covered with paper and cloth; somehow looking a lot like a Ghost Festival entrance.
Lilia was on charge of the decoration placements, and while you were okay with it (it actually made the Ramshackle dorm look good), Grim was demanding an explanation for this.
After he got it, you wondered if everyone was doing the same thing, and now that you think about it, you haven’t seen any of the first years after class during the recent days; most likely preparing everything for the arrival of the spooky season.
It wasn’t till the next day that you got a more detailed explanation of how Halloween was celebrated here; your troublemaker friends being overly excited for this event, and you had to admit that the joy was contagious.
And you may be wondering: “will this finally be the event where the only requisite is to enjoy it and not engage in any unusual thing?”
And to answer that question, I must ask: “MC, are you really attending NRC if not?”
8 DAYS FOR HALLOWEEN
A week before Halloween arrived, a steering committee session was scheduled so everyone could show the work they’ve done so far, talking about the venue decoration and the costume related to it.
Since a stamp rally was going to be held, everything had to be in perfect condition for when the guests would come to visit.
You got to see every dorm’s venue location and costume, amazed by the amount of work and effort they’ve put into it.
Vil tried to make you a costume, but you declined, stating that you were okay without a one. He really wanted you to have one, fuming slightly when you refused again, the response being that you didn’t want to take advantage of him. At the end, he reluctantly agreed to it, understanding your position.
However, that idea changed (non-voluntary) when the last day of the Halloween week started.
THE LAST DAY OF THE HALLOWEEN WEEK
Before I narrate the occurrences that happened the last day, first I must narrate what happened through the entire celebration.
You visited every dorm’s venue periodically, just wanting to have a fun time with your friends and talking about how cool their costumes were, along with some compliments of your own costume, the one that the ghosts gifted you in spirit of Halloween.
Everyone was trying to beat everyone, non-literally, of course (well, most of them). More like they were trying to show off in front of you, looking to gain your attention and appreciation.
It didn’t work at the end because they were all your friends, and you genuinely appreciated every performance they’ve put since that meant they were trying their hardest, and as much as they love your thoughtfulness, they wished you could have chosen their dorm.
Overall, everything went great. You were surprised at the way some of them interacted with children, finding it cute as you continued to stroll with Grim, the little creature receiving a lot of attention because of the viral picture the ghosts posted some days ago, leaving you to wait aside. This, shockingly enough, made you feel at ease, since now you weren’t the only girl roaming in the campus, which was now filled with children and their parents and/or brothers.
However, you weren’t invisible to a certain ghost, who decided to approach after seeing you for some time.
“Why are we here again? We’re missing all the fun!” Whined Grim, his little paws making it difficult for him to catch up with your fast pace.
“We won’t be here for long, but if you really don’t want to be with me then I guess you can go and—“ He didn’t let you finish as he ran away, excited to be once again the centre of attention. “—Leave me alone… Just when you think they’re going to listen."
You shocked your head in disbelief, returning your gaze to the pond, looking for something.
“Hey, little fishes~ Where are you~?” You called, gaze tracing the water to see if they were hiding. “It’s me, so there’s no need to hide—"
“I see you’ve grown quite fond of these creatures."
The unknown voice startled you, and you backed away in surprise, almost falling into the water.
“Oh, thank the Sevens…” Exhaling in relief, you exclaimed. “You scared me!"
“Isn’t that the purpose of this event?”
It didn’t come off as a surprise to be spooked by a ghost; you’ve grown accustomed to it since it was Halloween, yet it did seem weird that this one was the one spooking you, thinking that it took advantage of your unawareness.
“Can I help you with something? I don’t have candy right now but if you wait, I can bring you some," you said, hoping that your words convinced her.
“Oh dear, I’m not looking for candy," you turned your head, furrowing your brows. “I was looking for you”.
Baffled, you pointed at yourself. “Me?”
“Indeed, I’ve noticed that you are the only female student here," she floated closer to you. “I wonder why~”
You sighed. “It’s a large story, but that doesn’t explain why you’re looking for me."
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”.
“If I’m being honest ma’am, I’m more scared of Lilia’s cooking than your presence."
“Well, that works for me~," she chuckled at your response, seemingly thinking about something. “Where did you get that Halloween costume?”
“This?” You signalled the costume. “My ghost friends made it for me, since Grim and I were the only ones without one."
“I see~” She inspected it, humming in disapproval as she checked every detail. “Some of the seams are incomplete, and the colour palette can be better…”
“Hey, what are you doing—"
“I’ve decided!” The abrupt yell caught you by surprise, looking at her in shock. “You’re going to be my new muse, and your friend’s designs are the perfect way to start!”
Now you’re confused, completely and utterly confused, because you can’t comprehend what this ghost is talking about.
“Muse? I… I’m afraid I don’t understand…" You said, tone hesitant. “You shall not worry, dear! You will get it pretty soon!”
And with that final note, you seemed to have no other option than to let this ghost drag you outside the outings of the campus, floating towards Diasomnia’s location.
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FIRST PARADE, DIASOMNIA: RAMSHACKLE DORM – A MIGHTY “LOONG”
The costume didn’t have any major changes on it; most of the original design was kept untouched, but what differentiated Diasomnia’s costume from this one is that it had a golden necklace, and in the centre of it was a shiny chrome diopside, the green gem contrasting with the solid colours of the entire outfit. But what did change was the head accessory, the hat being replaced by a golden crown, vaguely resembling a dragon.
“What are we doing here…?” You asked, seeing how everyone was walking around the intricate decorations.
“Now, stay still…” And just like she was using a magic wand, she started swinging her hand with grace and after some seconds and several sparks, she proudly smiled. “Done! Now tell me what you think!”
You looked down, surprised to see that your old costume was replaced with Diasomnia’s one, feeling somewhat conflicted. “I… I don’t know what to say…”
She took this as a good sign, happily exclaiming that she did an excelling job, attracting the attention of the visitors.
“Woah, look! It’s a ghost!”
“Is that girl part of the presentation? Her costume is so elegant~”
“She’s so pretty! Is she supposed to be an empress? The head ornament is really cool~!”
And with that, the people who were previously taking photos of the decorations now are asking to take photos with you.
The commotion being heard by the Diasomnia students, who approached to confirm everything was right.
Malleus is baffled. At first, he doesn’t know why you have a Diasomnia costume, but that thought is quickly forgotten as he steps closer to you, complimenting you in his unique way, accidentally making the visitors think that you were a couple. He doesn’t do anything to deny those claims, sighing sadly when you explain that you’re not, feeling slightly betrayed at that. He knows that you’re beautiful, and he understands the people who think the same, but he can’t help but apart you from anyone even the ghost that he thinks is too close, hiding you behind his intimidating form, leading you to calm him down so he wouldn’t scare the customers off. Sometimes, he wishes he could keep you safe in a tower. Just sometimes.
Lilia is enjoying the whole situation. He notices the female ghost that’s part of the “main show," and he guesses that maybe she could be the reason why you’re using his dorm’s costume he likes to play detective. He’s delighted with the design, saying some strange compliments that only Lilia would say, expressing his endearing feelings for you in a… Complicated manner, one that rivals Rook. He’s the first one that poses with you, happy to see your cute attempts as your fingers try to adopt a scary pose. He had to restrain Malleus at some point from hissing at a customer because he tried to flirt with you. He gets it, but he can’t let him hiss at anyone that tries to flirt with you!
Silver is the only normal person here, but in everyone’s defence, he’s the only person there. He compliments you too, yet it ends up sounding a bit… Frigid? He doesn’t mean it that way, you caught him, the normally collected Silver, off guard showing up with his dorm’s costume. His mind wanders from helping Lilia control Malleus, to you. He knows he shouldn’t be glancing at you; his priority is the sovereign of Briar Valley, but he supposes he can let himself be distracted when the life of his master is not in danger.
Sebek is yelling at you because “you didn’t get permission to use and change Diasomnia’s costume!” Shutting up after some seconds of this because of his master’s ominous glare. He doesn’t mean to appear so rude and the fact that he made Malleus angry is something that he would never forget, but how do you expect him to react after seeing you so… Empress-like? The royal aura you’re emanating makes him want to bow down before you and patiently wait for your orders, so that’s another bodyguard for you. He also sets aside anyone that is near you, accidentally blurting a: “haven’t you learn that royalty doesn’t interact with commoners!?” and now he’s a blushing mess, screaming: “I was talking about Lord Malleus, not you, human!”
Thanks to their unrequited actions, everyone mistook the scene as a comedy skit, fortunately helping their image because right now they’re a disaster.
They didn’t really ask about the ghost beside you, maybe a ‘why?’ and ‘what?’, but they’re pretty chill about it. Yes, even Sebek.
Lilia suggested that you all should take a selfie, and since Lilia’s the shortest he took it while floating, sending it to the group chat, most likely to annoy the other students.
As you were about to be engaged in another exhausting photoshoot with the visitors, the ghost decided that it was enough for you… In this costume.
She holds your hand, and you bid your Diasomnia friends goodbye as she leads you to the next location.
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SECOND PARADE, HEARTSLABYUL: BOTANICAL GARDEN – A SKELETON GOTH LADY
The top was tight, the laces on it being identical as the original ones, while the cuffs were a bit more open. The pants were changed for a torn-up skirt, a little bit higher than the knee. Black stockings covered your legs, having a bone pattern so it would match with the skeleton concept. You didn’t had gloves, some white chains replacing them as they attached themselves to rings on every finger. Instead of a hat, you wore a skull pin on the side of your hair, a bit of black tulle added to it.
“The botanical garden, great… Why’re we here again?” You asked, a bit nervous because of the attention your costume was getting.
“My, haven’t you noticed? To change your costume, of course!” That easy going attitude wasn’t wearing off, and much less now that she’s got to see you as a source of “inspiration."
“My costume? Why? I thought it looked nice…”.
“It does! But my creativity has reached levels that I cannot ignore, so we will be changing your attire a few times today~," you couldn’t even have time to protest as she started doing the magic wand trick again, sighing at the lack of communication.
Once the magic was over, you looked down, seeing the new costume that resembled Heartslabyul’s skeleton idea.
“And…? What do you think~?” She asked, impatient for your answer.
“It’s—"
“Woah, look there! They’re holding a magic demonstration!”
“That’s such a cute costume! But I thought the students were the only ones using them?”
“I’ve heard that there’s a girl studying here, and to top it off she’s very pretty~”
“Oh no…” Indeed, here comes the photoshoot session again.
Riddle doesn’t even know where to start. He wants to scold everyone that it’s crossing your boundaries, and then he realises why it’s that. His face becomes redder than his hair, and he’s conflicted with his feelings because on one side, you look beautiful (he doesn’t understand why you’re using a Heartslabyul’s costume, but he guesses he can set it aside for now), and on the other side, some teenagers are getting too close to you, much to his and your like. He steps in, trying to be a good friend that helps another friend romantic interest, but he’s mistaken as a, and I quote, “loyal skeleton husband," Don’t worry MC, Cater’s been recording since the start of the interaction so you wouldn’t miss his flushed face. He ends up getting collared for that.
Trey chuckles, and you can’t help but think that Jade’s mannerisms had finally stuck to him. In reality, he’s doing it as a way to cover up his bashfulness, thankful of the veil covering his face. But that doesn’t mean he won’t tease you about it, saying some funny compliments in order to hide his flushed state. He’s the calmest out of the five when it comes to people approaching you, asking them to not invade your personal boundaries, his high figure making it easier for them to listen to him. He hears a comment that has him coughing out of the shock, stating that they wished they had such a gentle partner. You pat his back, completely worried because, Trey? Why’s your face so red?
Cater doesn’t know where to start; by the fact that you’re slaying in that costume or the fact that you’re using his dorm’s costume in the first place. He decides that is not important because the only relevant thing here is that you are using his dorm’s costume. He feels so proud as he announces that he was the one that came up with the original idea; not exactly this, but you know what he means. He’s the one that teaches you how to pose for photos with the visitors, snapping some quick selfies of you both and the rest of the students because it’s necessary, and no, he’s not taking any criticism. He posts it immediately, adding some fun captions and hashtags as he continues the photoshoot.
Ace remains quiet for five seconds, and you’re scared because you think he may mock you for using this. So, imagine your surprise when he muttered that you looked good in an unusual shy tone. The Ace Trappola complimenting you directly and with no teasing involved? It seems too good to be true, and it was as soon as you were about to say something nice too, he reverted to his normal personality and stated that it was because the costume itself made everyone look good. As some say, all good things must come to an end, so prepare yourself, because he’s going to tease you non-stop during your entire stance in the venue.
Deuce stays still, mind trying to elaborate the sentence he’s been meaning to say to you since some minutes ago. He’s so nervous that he ends up saying: “you look MC, beautiful." You laughed so hard that your stomach started to hurt, and the same thing happened to everyone else; even the visitors let out a chuckle at his innocent comment. He quickly tries to retract himself, blabbering that he didn’t mean it that way. He knows he just made the situation worse for him as you continue to laugh your ass off. Once you recover from the accidental joke, you tell him that’s fine, you understand what he meant by that. He’s relieved, but also concerned because he knows that Ace and his upperclassman are going to use this against him.
The whole scene seemed like a stand-up comedy show, the unintended funny comments made everyone think that it was a special performance since it was the last day.
Too bad for Deuce, now he’ll never hear the end of it because everything was recorded from start to finish. Don’t let him know that people are posting this, he’s not prepared.
Contrary to Diasomnia, they did ask about why you had a ghost accompanying you. You tried to explain them the situation, confusing them further. At the end you gave up because you didn’t understand it either, so you just dropped the topic.
After a few more photos, Cater took a surprise selfie, posing while everyone else was distracted. He also sent it to the group chat, with the captions: “Look who decided to join us~!”.
Not for long though, the ghost lady dragging you off to the following place while they were attending some customer, making them sad skeleton boys upon realisation.
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THIRD PARADE, OCTAVINELLE: LABORATORY – A MUMMIFIED YOUNG RULER
Instead of the black shirt underneath the white button-up one, it had a crop top; a black harness belts covering it. An oversized white dress shirt was tucked into the skirt, some loose bandages wrapped around your waist, along with some leather belts to secure it. Your nails were painted black, and a boater hat was placed on top of your head, slightly tilted to one side.
“Are we visiting every venue because of your inspiration stroke?” You said, already getting tired of being dragged off.
“Now you’re getting the hang of it!” She exclaimed, stopping in front of the laboratory. “It’s time to change, aren’t you curious about my next work?”
“I would be lying if I said that I’m not."
She did her magic, and in a couple of seconds your costume had drastically changed; Octavinelle’s concept, you guessed.
“Do you feel comfortable in it? I don’t know if you like the top…”
“It’s fine, it’s not usually what I would wear but it’s comfy." Relieved, she exhaled, as if she could breathe for starters.
You were wondering if nobody saw you, and that thought vanished as you heard the now expected comments of the customers.
“Is that a ghost? She looks so cool!”
“And that girl over there, is she using a mummy costume?”
“Maybe she’s the female student everyone’s talking about!”
Both of you entered the laboratory, and that did nothing to soothe the stares and whispers; if something, it enhanced them.
Azul mind’s is multitasking. One part is processing the fact that you showed up, out of the blue, with a ghost and an Octavinelle costume; this is not something he can ignore, although he can’t ignore anything that has to do with you. And the other part is thinking of possible promotions for the Mostro Lounge with you on the cover; a businessman never stops being a businessman after all. He salutes you as always, cordially asking what brings you and your ghost companion there. Azul can be a great actor when the time requires it, and this is the time that really requires it; if he embarrasses himself in front of these amount of people, the tweels and you… Be certain he isn’t leaving his octopot anytime soon.
Jade knows that when something involves you, there’s always a twist, and what a charming twist you’ve made today. He’s entertained by this scene, softly chuckling as he puts on his best smile, greeting you with his gentlemanly demeanour. He’s checking your reactions at his planned compliments, finding all of them utterly adorable. The laboratory had a fair amount of people before you arrived, but since you showed up the visitors have been doing the same; and for this situation he has a subtle way to make the customers apart from you, and by subtle I mean scaring them off with “discreet” threats and a sinister close-lipped smile.
Floyd’s mood is constantly changing from happy to hostile. Happy because of you appearing with his dorm’s costume on and with a ghost; just when he thought his Shrimpy wouldn’t get more interesting! He’s stuck to you like a koala to a bamboo tree, happily talking until someone asks for a picture, and that’s when the hostile mood comes; he can’t stand anyone that comes near you in a ‘flirtatious’ manner, ominously looking down at them. You have to distract him with funny comments so he wouldn’t squeeze anyone, but there’s definitely an unspoken condition there: he’s going to appear in every picture taken, no complaints.
They’re lucky you visited two dorms before theirs, because if not people would start to suspect that maybe anything of this wasn’t planned at all.
At this point, everyone saw the two videos that went viral on Magicam, Lilia and Cater’s courtesy, which had the only female student at NRC magically changing her costumes with the help of a friendly ghost.
The three of them had seen the photos sent to the group chat, but Floyd was the one that spoke out loud, placing the phone real high, kind of not giving time for you to pose appropriately.
He sent it immediately, bragging off about the fact that they had the coolest selfie, creating a discussion under his message, giving start to a selfie war,
The ghost lady noticed the behaviour of the sly students, and so she took the advantage when they were distracted to drag you off there to continue her inspiration spree.
Less to say that they weren’t very happy about this.
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FOURTH PARADE, SCARABIA: SAM’S SHOP – AN ARABIAN WEREWOLF PRINCESS
The main thing that differentiated this costume from the original is the top, which was red with some golden patterns on it, a translucent material covering your belly, same thing with the long sleeves. The pants were still baggy and white, a golden chain wrapped around your waist. You had a water drop head chain, making it easier for you to wear the wolf ears, while the clawed gloves were replaced with long, black nails.
“We shouldn’t have done that, now they’re going to look for us," you sighed, already thinking about the outcome.
“Don’t be silly, it would take a while for them to find us in this crowd," she seemed accustomed to it, and you don’t know if you should feel relieved or scared.
“I got lost in the mall once while shopping with Jade and Floyd, and they found me two minutes later. Two!"
“I know a thing or two when it comes to escaping~" Scared, that’s how you feel right now.
“I—" You thought for a second before re-doing your sentence. “What do you have planned for Scarabia?”
“I’m sure you would love this one!” She spoke with so much confidence that you were getting excited about this, staying still for the transformation.
Once it occurred, you were happy with the outcome, speaking your thoughts of it before she even asked. “This one’s great! How do you make these costumes?”
“You can say it’s my speciality~”
“Did they invite a princess?”
“I think she’s the female student of the videos; her werewolf costume is so cute!”
“MC!”
Oh, that was a different one.
Kalim acts like a puppy every time he sees you, all giddy and if he had a tail, it would be wagging. He was surprised to see you appearing in a different costume, and he happily complimented you, not realising at first that it was based off his dorm’s costume and not one of your ideas. You present him to your fashion ghost, who instantly loved his carefree personality, stretching hands with big smiles on their faces. It was cute, and that was a common sentiment as everyone asked for a photo; the supposedly ‘scary’ expressions only gained more attention, making Jamil act as a guardian for you both.
Speaking of Jamil, you thought he was mad at you for something since he didn’t say anything from the moment you arrived. He’s perceptive, so he probably knew this from the concerned look you unconsciously sent at him, muttering a small: ‘It suits you’ after. You don’t get to see his face since he’s hiding it, but you don’t mind, glad that you didn’t make him mad. As if you could make him mad in the first place; if anything, your presence makes him feel at ease, and he would’ve said something else if it weren’t because of the fact that you were dressed like an Arabian werewolf princess and the amount of people surrounding you right now.
Kalim already attracted the people, his cuteness being the cause of it. So, add to the formula you, the dress-shifter with a stylish ghost, and that equals: More people.
Jamil literally acted like a bodyguard, trying to control the crowd as you both posed for more pictures.
At some point, Kalim gave his phone to a girl and kindly asked her if she could take a picture of you three. She complied, shuttering a few photos until she was satisfied with the last one.
It was the typical best friend group photo; the lively Kalim, the annoyed Jamil and the one that’s in the middle, you.
Everything was fine until you heard a loud yell, which screamed: “Shrimpy~!” And that was the moment the ghost knew it was time to go.
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FIFTH PARADE, SAVANACLAW: COLOSSEUM – A SOPHISTICATED CAPTAIN
The coat was larger than the original one, almost touching the floor; the ends were a bit thorn, but it was considered more elegant than the boy's version. You wore a fancy shirt, which was under a leather, black vest; you also wore the same pants, just a little higher and tighter. You wore several silver rings, and high leather boots. You didn't have an eyepatch though; what you did have was a pirate hat, with golden feathers neatly placed on it.
“Hey— Wait! You’ll make them angry!” You could barely stand by how fast she was floating, and you swore you were floating too because you couldn’t feel the ground.
“We are short on time; we don’t have time to worry about them!”
“But they’re 6’2! And Floyd can do parkour. It’s a matter of time before they find us!” Without context, it would seem like you both were escaping from the mafia; and with context… It’s the same, but for different reasons.
“You’re right!” She abruptly stopped, leaving you to fall face first on the sand of the colosseum. “This is the perfect situation for the next costume!”
“That’s what you’re thinking about? My personal space's on the line here!” You yelled, spitting the sand that got in your mouth.
“Shhh!” Shushing you, she helped you get up, doing once again the costume transformation. “There! Aren’t you the prettiest pirate here~”
“It does fit the context, though—”
“I didn’t know the Savanaclaw dorm had pretty girls~”
“I don’t think they do, maybe she’s the student from the videos.”
“She’s such a cool pirate~ I’m going to ask for a picture!”
“When will this end…?“
Leona was napping inside the boat in a secluded place, but he got up after hearing the commotion outside. He tried to sleep again, but the noise was too much for his sensitive audition, so he went to investigate the source of it. Less to say that he froze in place after seeing you; ‘why are you using a pirate costume’ and ‘what is a ghost doing beside you’ are some of his questions. He walked up to you, asking why you are wearing that, an unconscious smirk travelling up his features. He didn’t mean it in a bad way, it’s just his way to express interest, and you seem to get it because you thanked him. You drop the topic and explain the situation, and he’s baffled because he doesn’t get how you understand his actions yet don’t realise he’s in love with you, like, how does that even work?
Ruggie chokes. He was drinking water since his throat was starting to get dry after so much talking, and that’s when he saw you. He makes enough noise for you to notice, so you try to help him, unintentionally making it worse. Once he’s done with the coughing, he asks why you’re using his dorm’s costume; he didn’t understand the explanation, maybe because he was busy staring at you. He knows he has to say something, so he compliments you; not directly though, saying that the costume looked good. You agreed, toying with the golden buttons of the coat, failing to see his flushed face. Good, because if you did, he would have to lie, and his mind can’t elaborate a lie right now.
Jack was absent for the majority of your stay, returning from Sam’s because Ruggie asked him to bring some snacks. He did hear something about a female student changing costumes, but he didn’t imagine it was you at first, thinking that maybe a girl was taking advantage of the rumours. Now he knows that he was wrong. You spoke to him first, even retrieving his bags so you can place them aside, all while people still ask you for pictures. He only begins to move when they start to cross the line, hiding you behind him so you could take a breath from the sudden fame like a good friend would do, and not a boyfriend like the customers think- Wait, a boyfriend, your boyfriend? All the efforts he made to not blush go out of the window as his tail wags and his cheeks become red.
The visitors in Savanaclaw were more controlled than those in the other dorms since you had three scary beastmen by your side Ruggie can be scary, I’m sure of it, literally, and that reduced their shoving and overall craziness.
The idea of taking the photo was from your ghost companion, seeing that none of them brought it up.
It ended up being a pretty funny photo. A boy snuck behind you all, and before he could even pose, Leona grabbed him by the collar. Jack tried to set free the poor teenager, Ruggie was laughing, and you still stood there in the middle, smiling to the camera.
There wasn’t a second chance, she liked it too much to delete it, instead sending it to the group chat.
She decided it was enough fun for this venue and continued to the next one.
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SIXTH PARADE, IGNIYHDE: LIBRARY – A MYSTERIOUS PUMPKIN DAME
Ignihyde's costume wasn’t changes in the slightest, it was the same black and neon blue armour, just that yours was adjusted so it would fit you. But instead of the greenish pumpkin head that Idia had, you had an orange one. The face in this one also changed, with mischievous eyes and sharp teeth forming a terrifying smile.
“Can I ask you a question?” You said, tilting your head to look at her.
“But of course, dear! What do you want to know?”
“Why me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not really an interesting person, and I’m sure there are a lot of people who are more befitting of these clothes than me."
“I see… Well, that is a topic I would discuss later, when I depart, but you were my only option for this, and I sincerely mean it," instead of the cheerful tone she always spoke with, she had a nostalgic one replacing it.
“Okay…” You both didn’t talk for a few minutes, only conversing again when you arrived to the library, a crowd of people inspecting the place. “Are you going to turn me into a knight?”
“Not a knight, dear. A dame!” She made her magic, and soon enough you had a new, shiny armour and a pumpkin helmet, unaware of how scary it looked. “How does it feel? Replicating that boy’s technology is extremely difficult, so I tried to make it as light as possible”
“It’s not too heavy, but this thing surely is suffocating me," removing it from your head, you organized your hair, a bit squashed because of the sudden pressure.
That movement was enough to get you a whole fan club.
“Kyah! Who’s she? She’s so cool~!”
“Right? She must be the girl that’s trending on Magicam, she’s prettier in person~”
“Who needs a prince? I want this girl to rescue me.”
“Wow, they’re getting more creative."
Idia first thought that a devoted fan of “Pumpkin Hollow” appreciated his work and decided to show up as the character to show his respect. He didn’t expect to see you out of all people but consider him a part of your fan club with that hair movement. His hair becomes pink, and he tries to deviate the conversation from your costume to the movie. To be honest, he felt betrayed when he knew that you didn’t watch the movie at first, yet he knows he can’t blame you because you were isekai’d into this world, so he asked you if you wanted to watch it. He thinks you loved the movie just as much as him, but when you told him that your new ghost friend made it for you he deflated a little. Not for long when you told him that you did like the movie, already planning a marathon for you and Ortho to watch.
Going to Ignihyde was fun from the start. I mean, sure, some of the people were annoying, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
At some point, you acted a bit, reciting a few lines of the movie that you remembered, making the visitors intrigued about the movie, muttering that they were definitely going to watch it Idia thinks he’s in love with you.
For the selfie, you took two: one with the helmet and one without the helmet. Idia wanted to delete the helmet-less one, but you pressed send before he could finish the sentence plead.
It was getting late, and you knew that the next location was going to be the last one, so you took the initiative and told the ghost (that suddenly became more thoughtful) that it was time to move, and so you both exited the library.
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SEVENTH PARADE, POMEFIORE: MIRROR CHAMBER – AN ENCHANTING VAMPIRE COUNTESS
The Pomefiore costume really had major changes; you wore a Victorian dress, which had the same pattern and colours as the original, a black sash covering your waist. The cape had the same design, a bit larger so it could embellish the shape of the dress. You didn't have any accessories besides your black gloves. Your makeup was also done; a dark eyeshadow and lipstick complimenting your skin.
She did the transformation with no funny puns and old-styled jokes, and you thought something was… Off.
“Are you okay?” You said, calmly walking towards the mirror chamber.
“Of course, I’m okay. Why the sudden question, dear?” She replied, a forced smile making her way past her lips.
“You seem a bit… Sad." She widened her eyes at this, lips forming a gentle smile after a couple of seconds.
“It’s nothing to worry about, dear. This will be over soon."
“Huh—?”.
The usual three comments you got used to were replaced by the voices of your distressed (except Rook) friends, looking for an explanation as soon as you arrived.
“Potato! What’s the meaning of this?”
“Ma chérie, I’m glad you’re finally here!”
“I can’t believe we were your last choice…”
Vil felt offended and outraged. How can you decline him making you a costume, but you so gladly accept the same offer from an unknown ghost? He does realise he shouldn’t be mad at you; he doesn’t know if you gladly accepted after all, but he can’t help but feel betrayed. And you didn’t come visit them first; you know he’s a beauty guru, why would you hide this from him? He found out when checking his Magicam, the trending topic being: “NRC female student magically changes costumes with the help of a friendly ghost!” He calms down, not wanting to get a pimple out of stress; he does think the costume is great, sure, there are a few errors here and there, but nothing he cannot fix.
Rook is delighted. This man would praise you if you used a trash bag as a dress, so imagine the amount of compliments you’re getting from him using his magnifique dorm’s costume! He found out too when he was asking Vil something, strangely zoned out, so he decided to see whatever had him so mesmerized; but if isn’t his belle prefect! Of course Roi du Poison would be enchanted by this! He patiently waits for you to come visit, hopefully with a new costume based off his dorm, and he sure wasn’t disappointed! He even thanks the ghost at some point for enhancing your effortless beauty, and then he just straight up starts confessing in French. He knows you don’t know French, but he enjoys seeing you so confused as you try to decipher what the hell he just said.
Epel is also offended. MC! You’re one of his best friends and romantic interest and you decide to visit him last? How could you? He starts lightly scolding you, and in the middle of it, he shuts up, noting that you were indeed using your own version of his dorm’s costume. He becomes so red that he’s not a vampire anymore, he’s a tomato. Because of this, he lets you be, uttering a small compliment while looking away, not wanting you to see his blushing face. You get distracted by Rook, and he silently thanks him as he organises the stand; the gratefulness doesn’t last long because, well, it’s Rook, and Vil also added himself to the conversation, fixing a few details of your costume. He groans, discreetly commenting something so you would talk to him too.
The Mirror Chamber didn’t have any customer, and you felt a sense of relief washing over you. People would start calling you names if they noticed that you were friends with Vil, and you didn’t need that right now.
Since this was the last venue, you stayed with them until they finished cleaning, helping a little as you couldn’t really move freely in the dress.
You all went out, taking a break before returning to their respective dorms to prepare for the upcoming party, clearly taking a selfie before it which ended up winning the contest because Vil was the one who took it.
You were almost spotted by the tweels, but manage to hide before they saw you, carefully running with your friend towards your dorm.
Once you got there, she made her magic again, transforming the dress into a simpler one, white with some flowers on it, all while a heavy sigh leaving her mouth.
“What’s wrong?” You asked, now concerned because of this.
“MC, you know why I chose you for being my muse?” The sudden question caught you off guard, and you shook your head in response. “I had a daughter, just like you: young, beautiful, and had this charisma that made every head in the room turn into her direction. Truly a charm."
You stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. “I was a fashion designer when I was alive; I rarely saw my daughter, maybe once or twice in the week, and that if I had time."
“She got sick one day. I thought it was sudden, but the doctor said that it had been going for months, and that she had only a few ones to live. It turned out, it wasn’t like that."
“One week later I was rushing to the hospital, carrying her in my arms because she collapsed."
You guessed the end, but that didn’t stop the feeling of dread. “She died that day, and I couldn’t even tell her that I loved her…”
“I’m sorry…" You muttered, not knowing what else to say.
“When I saw you, I saw her; smiling and living contently with no worries, as if she was fine and healthy," she stopped to look at you in the eyes, and asked one more question. “Do you know why I’m a ghost?”
Your eyes widened in shock, and you shook your head again. “I promised her I would dress her with beautiful clothes; I promised her that I would be there …”
“Do… Do you mean that—"
“I think that this day may have given me the chance to encounter her again… That you gave me the chance to encounter her again."
“I…” You stopped for a brief moment, a warm smile forming on your lips. “Thanks for today. I really hope you can meet your daughter again."
She chuckled, slowly vanishing as she stroked your hair affectionately. “You’re such a kind girl. Those boys are lucky to have you."
And with that, she disappeared completely, white sparks fading as silence invaded the room.
You felt something wet on your cheek, only realising after touching it that you were crying.
“Henchman! Ace told me the party’s already starting! We better get there before they run out of food!“ Grim said, abruptly yelling as he passed the opened door.
“Yeah, sure, just, uh— Give me a minute…" Hurriedly wiping your tears, he stood there dumbfounded and concerned.
“Are you crying?” He asked, frowning in confusion.
“I’m okay, it’s just that… I remembered something” You smiled in order to ease him up, knowing that down deep his egoistic façade, he was worried about you.
And it worked, since he scoffed, quickly changing the topic as you two walked towards the location of the party.
There was one thing that she was right about, they were very lucky to have you, but you were just as lucky as them.
THE END~
DON'T REPOST.
EVERY CHARACTER BELONGS TO DISNEY AND YANA TOBOSO AND I DON'T TAKE CREDIT FOR THEM.
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kookidough · 3 months
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i know world tour rewrites are probably overdone by now but i wanna see an alenoah world tour rewrite where pretty much everything is the same but (predictably) it changes at/around i see london
so in this rewrite, pre-london, similarly to canon alejandro is flirting with other teams to get them off their game and eliminate them (cough cough bridgette, leshawna, etc) but he thinks it’d be a good idea to flirt with someone on his own team- not to throw them off their game, but to get a closer bond with them and hopefully a steady alliance once merge rolls around. after all, it’s easier to get closer to a team member than an enemy right now.
he’s weighing up his options and he Hates owen, izzy is Insane, and tyler serves no use to him, which leaves noah.. alejandro thinks he’ll be a good choice since while noah is weak he does somewhat try in challenges and he is very smart, so having him as an ally will benefit alejandro, also he genuinely enjoys noah company, viewing him as being on the same level as him in levels of wit/intelligence/humour, so boom it’s settled, noah will be his ally post-merge
anyway back to i see london, the episode goes the same up until the elimination ceremony, alejandro yaps in the confessional about it being unfair that chris let team amazon win since his team were the ones that actually caught the ripper-type guy. he also knows that since he was caught before the challenge even started, he’s probably going home !! so he needs to figure out a way to gaslight gatekeep girlboss everyone and stay in the game
he, like in canon, is of course irritated at noah for talking about him behind his back and thinks about eliminating him, despite previously thinking he’d be a good ally. this is where i diverge fully from canon and say he can’t really risk losing an ally here and maybe, without noah having the influence of anyone else, he’ll be able to turn things around with him. izzy is already gone so if alejandro eliminates owen, then noah will have no other allies and most likely be searching for one, so this is where alejandro can swoop back in and continue to ally with him (while definitely planning to use him for his intelligence and double cross him later as revenge for gossiping about him, and also because alejandro wants to win)
so with 2 votes for ale and 3 votes for owen, the big guy is sent packing and things are playing out the way alejandro wants them to. when he approaches noah for an alliance he’s surprised at how little convincing it takes, and he thinks this plan will be easier than he thought
hoooowever noah is also planning to double cross him and he approaches heather, despite disliking her, because he knows shes currently the only other one that can see through alejandro. he may not like heather but he knows she’s smart and a very capable player and hey, if things go south then it can’t be that hard to get her eliminated, because she’s literally heather
so just . AUFHHR i need this dynamic of noah and alejandro thinking they’re one step ahead of each other and they’ve got each other all figured out but they’re actually both just playing each other’s game and they have all the stupid flirty rival banter while they tango around their feelings for each other it’s great
and they dont even have to be final 2 !!! maybe their plans crumble and they end up voted off and get into some tense aftermath segment and have a very chaotic game of “truth or volcanic eruption” !!
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artist-issues · 4 months
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Wait, hold up. You wanna run that by me again? People are saying he didn’t deserve to be turned into a beast? When he literally was rude for no reason to that “old lady”?
Yup. Like he was just a teenager, he should be cut some slack, she was setting him up.
But it’s like
Yeah
She was setting him up because she knew he had no love in his heart. Do you know how horrible a King with no love in his heart would be when the Prince grows up? Do you know how awful the “little poor provincial town” would have it in the shadow of a Prince who reaches adulthood with the kind of character and heart that shuts old women out in the cold? The Enchantress did. So she cursed him so that he’d develop into a kind, gentle, loving man. There’s a reason the curse lasted until his twenty-first birthday. That’s adulthood. He had till then to learn to love.
And you know what else?
Of course the castle and servants would be cursed too.
That’s the Beast’s first lesson: you’re being cursed because when you have no love for anything but yourself, it’s the people closest to you who suffer for it. His household is a living object lesson for him to be faced with, day after day, for ten years, about how the consequences of your actions affect more than just you—they affect the people who depend on you. Really important lesson for the King of a kingdom to learn.
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And even if that weren’t enough, which it is, don’t come griping to me about the servants being cursed for something the Prince did. Riddle me this: why is the Prince answering the door? Why isn’t a footman doing that? Why isn’t Lumiere doing that?
Why is it they’re turned into furniture instead of little beasts? Why is the first scene they’re introduced in an old MAN begging for shelter from the bitter cold, and choosing to welcome him in despite “The Master?”
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Why is their big number “Be Our GUEST?”
The answers to those questions aren’t given but it’s strongly implied that, instead of doing their jobs, and instead of standing up to their Master up to and including the incident with the Enchantress, they used to just stand to the side, making no sacrifices, taking no risks.
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The theme of the movie is “true love is self-sacrifice.” Hospitality is one of the most self-sacrificial practices you can engage in. You’re literally making yourself vulnerable: you’re inviting someone into your home, you’re putting their comfort before your own, you’re giving them your hard-earned food and heat and drink and time, you’re allowing them to come into your sanctuary, your safe space, and judge it while you make them comfortable. Be Our Guest, indeed! Standing up to the Master, indeed! They’ve learned their lesson by the time Belle and her father are on the scene.
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The thing is, we love to try and excuse away the responsibility of the main character because we love to try and excuse away our own character flaws. Blame it on trauma. That’s not the point. The point is, for the story to work, and for the fictional kingdom to have a happy ending with a Prince who’s like that, the Beast has to grow out of his character flaws. He has a problem, and it needs solving—how he got the problem is irrelevant.
And there’s just so little chance that a Prince, who has everything in life that he could ever want and is dependent on nobody, for anything, would ever feel the need for love. Or worse, he’d never feel the need to correct himself, or change, or grow in any way. He needed to have some discipline—some MAJOR discipline, some KINGDOM-SAVING discipline—in order to even be the kind of guy that could notice a peasant girl’s self-sacrificial loving nature, much less value her and fall in love with her.
Thank goodness for the Enchantress and the Curse. Or else this fairy tale could’ve turned into the French Revolution.
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“Nice girls also aren't going for a 40-something "but Daddy I can fix him" junkie drunk with untreated mental illness and possibly a paranoia disorder.” Sometimes I wonder if they regret marrying. They both had people tell them to slow down and get to know each other and we all know how that turned out. I’d say she’s back to where she started when they met but she’s not. She doesn’t have a blog like the Tig (it wasn’t big but it was something and it had a focus). Yes, she’s given out jam but that’s it, there is nothing else so far. ARO is just a website right now. Yes, her house is bigger, but if rumors are true, it’s not insurable due its location (fires and mudslides) and its daily maintenance costs have to be a drain. Yes, she has a title but no one cares about it except her. Yes, she’s more well known now but does not have a good reputation in several countries and most people just aren’t interested.
As for him, for as awful as he’s shown himself to be, he did give up pretty much everything for her. Again, it was a choice he made even after his friends and family warned him. I’m not surprised he’s floundering now.
I wonder if they’ve had moments of whether or not this marriage and all it entails is worth it. Sometimes getting what you wish for comes at a price.
I think Meghan still thinks everything she’s gone through has been worth it. Her life has completely changed - she has a $14 million mansion in Montecito, she’s besties with the Kardashians, she’s spent private time with the most iconic royal family, she has designer clothes, she has people working for her, she gets to talk about herself, she has her own Netflix show and a podcast, and she gets to travel for free around the world on other people’s money.
Remember where she was in 2015 when this started: a 2-bedroom rental condo in Toronto, a job she wasn’t very important in, Canadian socialite friends that no one in the US knew at all, mall clothes, a blog no one followed, she had to talk about work instead of herself, and she had to pay for her own traveling (which she subsidized through her blog that no one really paid attention to)a
Yeah, she also has money problems and a husband who doesn’t give two cents about the way he looks and smells (allegedly) and her kids are the subjects of some nasty conspiracy theories. But all that can be ignored with “out of sight, out of mind.” So she doesn’t really see this as consequences, the way you or I would.
She loves this life. She loves that people know who she is and she loves that we have opinions of her. It doesn’t matter if we love her or hate her, as long as we feel something about her. Indifference will be what kills Meghan; we see this in the way the BRF and Hollywood bigwigs are treating her. They’re completely indifferent to her and what she does and it’s fun to watch her scramble and beg for their attention.
Unlike Harry. Harry wants to be loved and respected. He wants us to fall over ourselves in worship and praise of his name. Indifference kills him too, but hatred and dislike are even worse. That’s what William does - he’s not indifferent to Harry, he’s actively staying away and making his dislike known by refusing to meet with him or answer his phone calls.
So Harry sees the consequences of this marriage much more than Meghan does because he has literally lost everything; he lost the status that made people respect him, he lost the friends that liked him, he lost a public that adored him, and he lost the family that loved him.
That’s why Meghan has to be really strategic with the divorce, if she’s the one who leaves. Harry has literally and metaphorically given everything up for her. She’s going to have a very hard time convincing the court of public opinion that she’s miserable being attached to Harry because of all that he’s lost and gave up for her.
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