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#and i got to that bit where the main character needs to learn how to have fun again and i just went- hey i need that too!
floorpancakes · 1 year
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i refuse to let clamp off the hook for underutilising himawari's fucking fascinating character setup and traits but on a less serious level im obsessed with the concept of her as an instigator of chaos.
like she's way less airheaded than she seems and it doesn't come off like Default Airhead Girl Behaviour or even Default Girl Companion That Ships Her Friends primarily (like not as hard as some other series by comparison I mean she's very I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE by default) specifically she just seems like someone that thoroughly enjoys being a little shit in a sincere way and giggling at her dumbass friends and has a shade of high emotional intelligence about it all. like she's just girl of all time. she's i don't know where im going with this just take this low effort meme from when i watched the holic stage play on youtube this isn't a coherent thought it's like 2am ill come up with better thoughts later
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#ive seen kaguya sama and i know chika is a little bit rotted as a human being but we need to think about himas agent of chaos potential#this is all my personal intepretation but in general i find her a very cool character and working with the barebones framework is still fun#shes got so many interesting character traits#like how shes totally hooked on horror and spooky stuff more than the guys#but it has a distinct contrast with her deep fucking trauma and daily struggles with her curse-but-not-cause#theres smth that feels part coping mechanism part catharsis and part just straight up gap moe abt that#like....girl of all time#also her being depicted a lot either in rly bright sunny tones OR gothic lolita and no inbetween#i mean the joy of holic is everyone is basically posable dolls dressed up in whatever outfits you want but like its still a theme#and like we are given tidbits and small bits and pieces of her personality and interests and its not enough but its rly cool to think abt#they underused her frfr but what we do learn in how she reacts to stuff and bounces off other characters is so AAA#its wild how shes kinda a main character but kinda not in such a deeply fleshed out character driven story#i know shes a key player w loads of strong emotional moments but shes overshadowed a lot and it makes me wanna write mad headcanons#i find myself wondering how she copes day to day with her situation and how itd impact her personality around other people and self image#IDK you could write entire books abt her#but mostly: shes sillay#shes a little bit of a blank slate fill in the gaps but my brain is more than happy to supplement vibes and guesses#hima does not read as het to me because queer friendship groups work on stand user logic#i have a few fic ideas where it deep dives on her life as an adult and her push and pull w social interaction#but its early days on that so any details would b not very interesting past the conceot stage lol#i rly gotta get my ass to writing more fic but brain is a fuck writing longform is haaard unless its like idk visual novel formatting#anyway this is just nothing im not aiming for interaction here i just have half baked thoughts abt himawari the girl of all time#also hima kinda goes through hell and back so doing her dumbass 3 person comedy routine w her dumbass frisnds must be of big fuckin solace#its like that post about just being a girl who wants to have fun . she wants to have fun w friends#AND THAT IS OK justice for hima idk i love her even if she got the short end of the stick for deeply long term focused character writing
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reiding-writing · 9 days
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hi! could you write prompt 6 from the angsty dialogue prompts for the climacteric event? fem/gn reader whatever you prefer, i was thinking that reader finds out something about spencer and it results in this messy situation, but honestly how you want to do it is all up to you!
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JEALOUSY [CLIMACTERIC]
6. “Don’t touch me.”
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WARNINGS: spencer is a bit of a twat but apologises profusely afterwards, arguing, happy? ending
spencer reid x gn!reader || angst || 2.5k || event masterlist!!
main masterlist!!
a/n: majority vote chose this one to come out first 🫶 they also chose for it to have a happy ending bc y’all are really boring /j (i love you guys you aren’t boring i swear 🫶)
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Spencer Reid grew up too fast.
He was remarkably smart for his age, that much was a given, but in terms of emotional development Spencer was forced to skip what should’ve been his childhood.
He didn’t get to experience what it felt like be praised over a rudimentary piece of ‘art’ by his parents, because he was ‘too intelligent’ for that.
He didn’t get to go out on a Saturday morning with his father to learn how to play a ball game because his dad was never around.
He didn’t get to be coddled by his mother when he cried because by the time he was nine he was her full time carer.
Ironically, his childhood was an era of time where he could barely remember a single detail, despite his renowned eidetic memory, and it only seemed to further prove that Spencer Reid’s childhood didn’t exist.
All he could remember was what didn’t happen. The key milestones of his life that he never got to live through.
To say that impacted his emotional availability was an understatement. Spencer had never been one to ask for help from other people, but in instances where he really felt like he was about to fall apart it was even worse. He’d grown up with the expectation that he was responsible for his own well being. That him and him alone was the only thing that could get him through whatever dark patch that he went through.
He didn’t need anyone else. He wasn’t allowed anyone else. It was just him, always.
You were decidedly the opposite. You wore your emotions on your sleeve, and for the most part, Spencer found it entirely refreshing to watch you be able to express yourself with no holds barred and no internal monologue telling you that what you were doing was wrong.
Sometimes he wished he could do the same.
There were times of his career where he wished you’d do something wrong, that you’d make a mistake or cross a boundary and it’d allow him to exert all of the anger and deep-seeded jealously he felt whenever he saw you be so open with yourself.
He knew it was horrible of him, and more often than not the minute those thoughts invaded his mind he thought of nothing more than how much of a terrible person he was. He was wishing ill on you just because you’d managed to have a healthy emotional output.
Because he was inherently broken from all the years of keeping everything to himself.
“Are you okay?”
Spencer furrowed his eyebrows at the sound of your voice, gaze turning upwards from the mug of coffee sitting on the kitchenette counter to meet your face, covered in worry lines as you furrow your own eyebrows.
He hated when you looked at him like that. Like he was something to be pitied.
“I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Spencer presses his lips together in an awkward line of a smile, a staple of his character that seemed much less genuine than usual from your point of view.
“You’ve uh- You’ve been stood here staring at your mug for almost five minutes,” Spencer flickers his eyes up to the analogue clock on the wall at your declaration.
You were right, he’d been stood in a state of dissociation for almost a whole five minutes without realising it. Great, that’s just wonderful. Like his life couldn’t get any worse.
“Everything’s fine,” He gives you another one of those awkward smiles as he takes his mug in between both of his hands, the ceramic barely even warm anymore, which tells him that his coffee isn’t hot enough for him to actually enjoy it, but right now he’d take a cup of warm coffee over standing here talking to you about his ‘feelings’.
But you’ve never made things easy.
“It’s not though is it? Something’s wrong Spencer, everyone in the office can tell,” You sigh softly at the indignation on his face as you prod at what’s going on inside his head. “We’re worried about you…” You reach out your hand slowly to lay it on his arm, and he pulls away from you without a second thought.
“Please don’t touch me,” He takes a step to the side, clearly trying to bypass you and get back to his desk so he can escape the conversation. “I said I’m fine.”
“And you’re lying Spencer.” You step in the same direction that he does, effectively blocking his path out of the kitchenette. “We need to know what the issue is or we can’t help you Spencer,” Your voice is tinged with a small amount of desperation, and it irks Spencer in a way that he can’t even fully comprehend.
“You want to know what the issue is?” He puts his mug back down on the counter with enough force that small droplets of coffee spill over the rim and onto the granite underneath it. “It’s you.”
He leans forward slightly like he’s trying to emphasise his point. “You are the issue.”
His words hit you like a ton of bricks, and all of a sudden you’re regretting caring so much.
God you’re beginning to regret even waking up this morning. Maybe that would’ve spared you from the stake in your heat that was Spencer Reid explicitly telling you that you were the sole reason why he was acting differently. Why he was being cold and distant from the team and their genuine want to just make sure he’s okay.
Because they couldn’t do that. Because you were a part of the team. And as long as you were there that coldness wouldn’t go away.
“Right…” You press your lips into a line. “Sorry for asking.”
Spencer regrets what he said almost as soon as the words come out of his mouth. He watches as that usual sparkle of compassion in your eyes literally fizzles out right in front of him, and all of a sudden he feels like an absolutely horrible person.
As you turn to leave he reaches out a hand to stop you. He doesn’t know what he’s going to say, how could he possibly redeem himself after a comment like that? But his body runs on autopilot and all he knows is that he needs to apologise to you. “Wait—”
“Don’t— touch me Reid,” You pull your arms further into yourself to stop him from reaching out to them, and he swears his heart breaks at the sight of you being dismissive. And then there was the added blow of you using his surname to further distance yourself from him and making him want to cut out his tongue so saying something so rash with absolutely zero provocation. “I understood you the first time.”
It was a complete turn of your character, all semblance of warmth and vulnerability evaporated and replaced with a cold, hard shell that Spencer could see calcifying behind your eyes.
“I-“
“I’ll leave you be now.”
And with that you disappear around the corner, leaving Spencer alone with his thoughts. His terrible thoughts that rightfully pummel him into the ground for so much as suggesting that you could ever be a problem.
When you said you’d “Leave him be”, he didn’t think it meant you’d literally avoid him like the plague. God you’d even roped Emily into switching desks with you so you wouldn’t have to sit opposite him anymore.
How was he supposed to grovel for your forgiveness if you wouldn’t so much as spare him a glance?
How was he supposed to explain to the team that the reason the two of you suddenly weren’t talking to each other was because he’d fucked up so badly that he felt like he was going to implode?
And most importantly, how on earth was Spencer Reid supposed to make you listen to him so he could explain himself and try to reconcile with you?
He’d considered cornering you in the break room, or catching you in an elevator on your way to the parking lot, but he knew that would only make things worse.
He’d considered turning up to your apartment your favourite snacks and begging you to let him inside, but that would be weird and borderline stalkerish.
He was really running out of ideas, and the longer he went without saying something the deeper he felt he was being pulled into the pit of despair that he’d dug himself to the point where he wasn’t sure if he as going to be able to claw himself out of it.
He had to speak to you. And he had to make sure that you didn’t run away.
The opportunity practically handed itself to him during a case. He knew budget cuts would mean that the team paired up when staying at a NYC hotel, and after some under the table begging for the other team members to room with each other so you didn’t have any choice but to room with him, he took his chance.
There was a very obvious blanket of tension between the two of you as you entered the room together, your apparent vow of silence continuing as you dump your bag on one of the twin beds to claim it as your own before shutting yourself into the bathroom to ready yourself for sleep.
He could tell that you weren’t happy about the arrangement, and despite how much you were distancing yourself from him you still wore your emotions on your sleeve, and right now they were telling him that you would literally rather be anywhere else.
You skirt past him as you exit the bathroom in your pyjamas, leaving your clothes and your bag on one of the decorative chairs to climb into bed with the continued silent treatment you’re serving him.
Spencer sighs dejectedly as he watches you take a seat on the edge of the bed with your back to him. “Can we talk? Please?”
“What is there to talk about?” Your voice washes him like a cold shower, your vocal chords dipped in ice and your words a perfect combination of blunt and dismissive. He can’t see your expression as you speak, but has a pretty good idea of the furrowing of your eyebrows and the narrowing of your gaze.
“I want—” Spencer lets out another sigh, raking his fingers through his hair in internal frustration. “I need to apologise to you. What I said was horrible and I’m sorry,”
“I don’t forgive you.”
As much as the words cut through his heart like a knife, he can’t blame you.
“I understand… I just wanted you to know that I really regret what I said, and that it’s been tearing me up thinking about it,”
“Right…” You let out a short, sarcastic laugh that causes Spencer’s eyebrows to furrow. “Because it’s all about you right?”
“That’s not what I—”
“Goodnight Reid.” You punctuate your sentence by shutting of the lamp on your side of the room, officially putting an end to your side of the ‘conversation’.
Spencer wasn’t done with it quite yet.
“I’m jealous of you. That’s why I said that ‘you were an issue’. You’re not. I am the issue and I was projecting it on to you. That was unfair of me and I need you to understand that I am apologising to do right by you, not to make myself feel better.”
“You have no reason to be jealous of me Reid,” You still haven’t turned to face him, but he’d rather be talking to your back than not be talking to you at all.
“Please stop calling me that..” Spencer lets out a small breath at the end of his sentence, words tinged with a small amount of desperation. He didn’t want to be ‘Reid’ in your mind, he wanted to be Spencer. “I have a lot to be jealous of when it comes to you,” Admitting his faults outright made him feel nauseous, but he needed to break this brick wall you’d built around yourself when it came to him.
He couldn’t stand being an outsider in your life.
“I mean, you’re sweet, kind, you have an inherent knack for social situations that I could only dream of possessing,” He takes a small break in his sentence to nervously chew on the inside of his lip. “and your emotional vulnerability makes me so jealous of you that I want to just—” He exhales sharply.
“It’s very easy to be jealous of you,”
There’s a small pause after Spencer’s confession, tension lingering in the air as he watches you aimlessly fiddle with the edge of the sheets whilst you debate how to respond.
“Those are stupid things to be jealous of,”
Spencer physically deflates at your answer. “They’re not, people like you are envied because you’re so open with yourself, that’s something not a lot of people have, myself included,” Spencer takes a small step forward, cautious about scaring you off if he approached too quickly. “even if I wish I did..”
He places a deft hand on your shoulder and you jolt at the contact.
“I’m really sorry.” His voice drops to a point where it’s almost inaudible, and you swear you can hear his voice catch as he tries to maintain his composure. “I don’t want to fight with you anymore… please,”
You let out a small sigh of indignation, and Spencer knows he’s won you over. “Fine,”
“Thank you,” He gives your shoulder a small squeeze, and you return it with one of your own as you rest your hand on top of his.
“I’m still angry with you,”
“I know…”
“You’ve got a hell of a job making up for it,”
“I know,”
“Good,” You finally turn to look over your shoulder at him, and Spencer is glad to see that your expression isn’t one of loathing or frustration. “Get some sleep Spencer,”
“Okay…” He gives you a soft nod and a half-awkward smile, the sound of his name rolling off your tongue one that fills him with more contentment than it probably should. “Goodnight…” He hesitantly pulls his hand from your shoulder to walk back to his own hotel bed, walking as you tuck yourself into yours.
“Goodnight Spencer, we’ll talk about this in the morning,”
“Yeah… Thank you…”
Spencer flicks off the lamp beside him, relaxing as the room is shrouded into darkness and allowing himself to get the first proper night of rest he had in weeks now that he’s finally made his peace with you.
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beggars-opera · 10 months
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Ok, so I live in one of the more liberal areas of the country. Our governor is a lesbian and I literally did not even know until after she got elected, because it was that much of a nonissue.
Lately, I'm seeing more and more local institutions doing things for Pride. Institutions that don't necessarily have to, or do so awkwardly, but they're trying to be good allies. And, even here, I see people foaming at the mouth. This thing is ruined. Unprofessional. Political. Sexual. Boycotting, disgusted, bye.
And a part of me is like, "Why would a random store, a museum, a restaurant, do this?" Part of my mind has been so corrupted by the idea of rainbow capitalism that the thought of someone just...trying to be an imperfect ally is a cash grab.
It's not. Every bit counts, and especially as we see pushback, and see some of those corporations beginning to rethink their rainbow capitalism, the places that continue to speak up are so, so important.
I'm reminded of a rant by Illustrious Old White Man Historian Gordon Wood a few years back where he lamented how fragmented modern history is. Why do we need ANOTHER book about women, about enslaved people, about the poor? Why are we focusing on these people instead of George Mount Rushmore Washington?
And it was an interesting framing, because he insinuated that these micro histories were bad not because they existed, but because they didn't give the whole story, which in Gordon's mind was a story in which they were the side characters instead of the mains. To that end a biography of G Wash that features the bare shadow of Billy Lee in the far distance is a complete history, all that needs to be said, because one of those figures is a God Amongst Men and the other does not deserve to be fully fleshed out as a full, autonomous human being with a family and a profession and a beating heart. And a biography of William Lee, war aid, professional valet, and person closest to the first president of the United States, with the shadow of George in the background, would consequently be Bad History, because no one is saying that this man didn't exist, but his story isn't the whole story. It's backwards; he should be a footnote, and if he's not, that's bias.
But for me, as a historian, I know that the reason these microhistories exist, and are so important, is that they didn't exist before. Before someone can be truly, purposefully, tactfully inserted into the historical narrative, you need to know who they are. Not just as a name, not just as an archetype. You have to get to the point where there are so many books flooding the market about women and children and immigrants that it's no longer controversial to be talking about them, where learning about them instead of someone else is normal.
THEN you can feel good about rewriting the more general narrative. THEN you can actually have the information you need in order to put things into their proper context, to rethink the most important figure in each story, to assess what the full milieu of the time is.
And that's where we're at with Pride. We are still very much living in a time where queer people are shadow characters in the background. They are people that many will admit exist, but for god's sake, don't make them important, don't make them real, don't make them normal. And until we can shove rainbows down everyone's throats to the point where being queer is no longer seen as a thing that is Other, until we convince people that we're not going away, we will never be able to fully assimilate queerness into society.
We can't just be normal about Pride, because normal isn't loud enough to not get drowned out.
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corroded-hellfire · 10 months
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Pixie Dust and Dates - Eddie Munson x Reader
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Summary: Trying to get over your crush on your boss Eddie, you’re going on a date after you finish babysitting tonight. So, why do things seem to get tense between the two of you when he finds out?
Note: Needed a little jealous Eddie in my life. This takes place before part one so I guess it’s a bit of prequel. I hope you enjoy! 🩵
Warnings: older!eddie, babysitter!reader
Words: 2.8k
[As You Wish masterlist]
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“Luke, are you not going to let me leave?”
The little boy hangs onto your waist, his little feet on each of yours. A devious giggle leaves his lips as he buries his face into your stomach. 
“Never!” the little boy cries. “You’re my prisoner!”
“Oh no!” you feign gasp. “Whatever shall I do?”
Ryan jumps up on the couch and does his best superhero pose with his hands on his hips. “I’ll save you!”
“No, she’s stuck with me forever!” Luke says, tightening his hold on you. It’s sweet, but he’s also getting pretty heavy on your feet. 
“She’s got school, ya know,” Ryan says as he jumps down from the couch. 
“She can come to school with me,” Luke reasons.
Ryan rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Can you believe this guy? you can practically hear him say.
“She’s in college, Luke. She could teach your kindergarten class.”
“All right, you two, that’s enough squabbling.”
“But do you have school?” Luke asks, looking up at you. 
“It’s Friday,” you say, poking the tip of his nose with your pinky. “It’s just like you, I don’t have to go until Monday. But I do have plans for tonight and tomorrow. So you can’t hold me prisoner forever!”
“Whatcha doin’ tonight?” Luke asks, grip loosening on you only slightly. 
“Well,” you say as you feel your face getting warm. There’s no harm in telling them the truth, right? It’s nothing bad and you don’t want to lie to them. So, why is there a sinking feeling in your stomach about the Munson’s knowing you’re going on a date? Just because you’re head over heels for your boss doesn’t mean you’re cheating on him by going on a date. But that’s what it feels like for some reason. All of your emotions are so consumed by one man who is married and has beautiful children and now it’s so bad you feel guilty over going on a date with a guy from your history class. The boys are still looking at you expectantly as your mind wanders off. “Oh, um, I’ve got a date.”
“A date?” Ryan asks with the most adorable grin. 
“Yes, a date,” you reply, face getting hotter by the second. 
“Oooooh!” Luke coos, smirking up at you and looking identical to his father. His wonderful, beautiful father. “Where ya going?”
“Dinner and a movie.”
“What’s his name?” Ryan asks.
“Peter.”
Luke gasps and gives your aching feet some relief as he jumps off of you. “Like Peter Pan?”
“Or Peter Parker,” you say.
“Who?” Luke asks, scrunching up his nose. 
“Spider-Man!” Ryan informs his little brother.
Luke shrugs, not caring about the web-slinging superhero. “Peter Pan is better.” 
Ryan gasps and begins to excitedly jump up and down in front of you. “Ooh! Ooh! Can we play Peter Pan?”
“How do we play that?” you ask.
“I mean like, play pretend,” Ryan explains. “I can be John, Luke is Michael, and you’re Wendy!”
“Who’s Peter then?” Luke asks with a huff, obviously wanting to be the main character.
“Daddy,” Ryan says, turning to him. “When he gets home and comes in the door it’ll be like when Peter comes in the window!”
Luke crosses his arms over his tiny chest, not sold on the idea. “Who’s Mom? Tinker Bell? They got the same hair color.”
“Mom is Captain Hook.” Ryan answers so quickly and with such conviction that it’s a struggle for you to hold in a bark of laughter. The kid is right, their mom is definitely the one most suited to play a villain. “She’s Hook because when she comes home, she’ll make us stop playing the game. The bad guy!” The words break your heart. You’re not sure which is worse: the fact that the words are true or the fact that Ryan has learned how cold and uncaring his mother is at such a young age. 
The younger Munson brother looks more convinced of the game now, his arms dropping to his sides and his shoulders relaxing. 
“Where’s Tinker Bell? And Nana?” Luke asks, apparently looking for plot holes in his big brother’s imaginary scenario.
“Well,” you say, “Tinker Bell is a pixie. So she’s so tiny that it’s hard to see her. She could be anywhere!”
Mollified by that answer, Luke nods his head. “And Nana?”
“Nana didn’t go to Wonderland,” you say.
“Neverland!” Ryan corrects, his face full of offense at the fact that you would mix those two up. 
“Right, right, Neverland, sorry. Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning!” 
Ryan looks around the room and gasps, pointing to a spot about three feet above your head. “There’s Tinker Bell! We need some pixie dust so we can fly!”
You stand on your tippy toes, game to play along, and reach your arm up as far as it can go. Concentrating, as if you’re almost reaching something, you close your fist over the empty air and stand back down on flat feet.
“I got her!” you say. “Come here and I’ll sprinkle the dust on you!��
Luke hops over and stands underneath your cupped hands. You pretend to sprinkle some pixie magic on him before doing the same to Ryan. The older boy holds his arms out to the sides like an airplane and runs around to the other side of the couch.
“We can fly!” he shouts. “Come on, Michael, Wendy!”
“We’re coming,” you tell him, ushering Luke to go in front of you. The three of you run around the house with your arms out, pretending to be soaring through the sky on your way to the mystical home of Peter Pan. 
Ryan stops for a moment and purses his lips. He looks deep in thought before he bolts down the hallway and into his room. There’s a handful of action figures in his arms when he re-emerges. It’s an assorted bunch containing The Hulk, a Ghostbuster, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and a GI Joe. You’re even more curious as to what he’s doing when he walks into the bathroom with them.
“Uh, Ryan?” you ask, heading down the hall towards him.
“It’s John,” he reminds you. 
“Right, John. What are you doing, John?”
Ryan sets his action fingers up so they’re sitting on the rim of the bathtub.
“It’s Mermaid Lagoon!” he announces proudly. 
“They’re boys,” Luke says.
“Mermen are a thing,” you say, ruffling his curls. 
“Okay, where’s Skull Rock?” Luke asks. Ryan thinks for a moment before darting out of the bathroom and down the hall again. Luke chases after him but you take your time with a leisurely walk. 
“It’s here! But it shrunk!” Ryan pretends to be baffled as he picks up a chunky silver skull ring of Eddie’s. It was sitting in a bowl that was on the table near the front door. Your only guess is that on days where his hands weren’t covered in dirt and grime, he had the rings in the perfect position to slip them on when he walked through the door. 
“Maybe Tinker Bell shrunk it with her magic! Revenge for when Hook tried to kill Peter!” Luke adds. 
If your logic is right—which you know it isn’t in this case of make believe—Ryan and Luke are talking in terms of the events of the Peter Pan movie already happening. Which means Hook would’ve been eaten (or maybe just chased) by the crocodile. The mental image of a cartoon crocodile chasing Brittany down the street is enough to make you giggle out loud. 
“Wha’s so funny?” Luke asks, turning to you. 
“Hmm?” you ask as you shake the fantasy from your head. “Oh. Just, um… Well, look!” you point up at the ceiling and drag your finger around as if you’re following something that’s moving. “It’s Peter’s shadow! It looks like he lost it again!”
“We have to get it for him!” Luke says.
“How do we do that?” Ryan asks, putting the ring back in the bowl. 
“I think only Peter can catch it,” you say with a sigh. 
“But you can sew it back on him again, right Wendy?” Ryan slash John asks. 
“I will certainly do my best,” you tell him. 
The front door opens and Luke races over. Eddie is prepared for the ambush and hoists his youngest son up over his shoulder. 
“Hey, munchkin,” Eddie says.
“Hi, Peter.”
A confused frown grows on Eddie’s face, and he maneuvers the little boy so he’s holding him out in front of him and can look him in the eye. Luke giggles as he dangles from his father’s grip.
“Whatcha call me?” Eddie asks.
“Peter! You’re Peter Pan!”
Eddie cocks an eyebrow and looks over at you. “Is this some joke about me never growing up?”
You giggle and shake your head. “No, we’re playing pretend. You were unanimously elected to be Peter.”
“Uh huh,” Eddie muses and settles Luke on his hip, even though he really is too old to be held like that. “So, who are you, little dude? The dog?”
Luke huffs and rolls his eyes overdramatically. The apple clearly did not fall far from the tree. “I’m Michael.”
“And we’re John and Wendy!” Ryan tells him, proudly taking your hand in his. 
“Well, why aren’t you flying then?” Eddie asks. Before either boy can ask him what he means, he lifts Luke over his head as the five-year-old giggles and holds his hands out in front of him. Eddie brings him over to the couch where he plops the boy down on the couch. Luke instantly scrambles up and tries to jump on his dad’s back. Eddie lets him and holds his son’s small legs as he wraps them around his waist. 
“How ya doing, Wendy?” Eddie asks as he walks past you into the kitchen. “These lost boys aren’t driving you too crazy, huh?”
“Never,” you say, trying desperately not to ogle your boss. You clear your throat and rest your hands on Ryan’s shoulders, jostling him gently. “They make my days fun. How was work?”
“Eh, loud and greasy,” Eddie replies, pulling a beer out of the fridge. “Glad to be home.”
The smile he gives you has your knees feeling weak. Mentally, you berate yourself. This is exactly why you’re going on a date tonight. Peter is a nice enough guy but doesn’t really do anything for you. But when he asked if you’d like to get dinner as the two of you were leaving your shared history class, you agreed. The way you feel about Eddie quickly evolved from just thinking he was attractive as soon as you got to know him. His kindness, humor, gentleness, and wit quickly had you falling down the slippery slope of feelings. Hopefully, Peter could catch you with his own charm before you fell even further down the rabbit hole for Eddie. 
“You gotta catch your shadow!” Luke’s words break you out of your small daze. The little boy is bouncing in his dad’s grip, gesturing towards the tall shadow on the kitchen floor. “Wendy has to sew it back on for you! Then you kiss!”
Both you and Eddie blanch at the five-year-old’s statement. 
“Huh?” Eddie manages.
“After Wendy sews Peter’s shadow back on, she tries to kiss him!” Luke clarifies.
Dear God, I wish, you think. 
Eddie chuckles and shakes his head, avoiding your eyes. He opens his mouth and you’re almost afraid of what he’s going to say. Luke beats him to the punch though, annoyed that the game has stalled.
“Daddy! Shadow!”
“Hurry, before she has to go!” Ryan adds. 
“Yeah! She’ll be late! Late, for a very important date!” Luke laughs against his dad’s neck, finding it hilarious that he was able to quote another Disney movie.
“Date?” Eddie lets the refrigerator door slip from his grip, and it slowly slides closed. You think you’re imagining his hand tightening around his beer bottle but can’t help but hope that your boss doesn’t like the idea of you going out with someone.
“Uh, yeah,” you say, suddenly feeling nervous. That is ridiculous, you tell yourself. Eddie has never made you feel nervous–okay, that’s a lie. But a good, giddy kind of nervous.
“A boy from school?” Eddie asks, bringing his beer up to his lips to take a sip. 
“Yep. From my history class.” 
“He’s taking her to dinner and a movie,” Luke informs his father. Eddie’s head turns over his shoulder to look at his son, as if he’d just remembered he was there. 
“Oh. T-That’s nice.” Eddie’s words have an edge to them, despite how casual he tries to make them sound. Luke releases his grip from his dad’s neck as Eddie crouches down to let the little boy down. He scampers out of the room, officially bored now, and Ryan looks between you and Eddie once before following behind his little brother. 
“You, um,” Eddie says as he leans against the counter behind him, setting the bottle down. “You have to get going now? Get ready?”
Truthfully, you do. But leaving Eddie is always easier said than done. 
“I guess I should,” you say with a shrug. As you move to leave the kitchen, Eddie steps forward and extends his arm as if he’s going to grab your arm but thinks better of it. Awkwardly, he shoves his hands in the pockets of his coveralls and clears his throat when you turn back to him.
“If, uh, you need anything…like, if he’s an asshole and you want to bail or um, anything else,” Eddie says, looking at you from underneath his impossibly long eyelashes, “just give me a call. I’ll come get you. Whenever and wherever.”
The offer has your heart swimming in your chest. Even if he doesn’t have feelings for you, Eddie definitely does care. Being so kind and thoughtful are two of the reasons you were already so crazy about the man, so this offer is doing nothing to dampen your feelings. It’s so touching though, that it gives you goosebumps. 
“Thank you,” you say, giving him a small smile. “I really appreciate that.”
“Of course,” Eddie says before he clears his throat again. “As long as you’re safe.”
Unable to come up with anything else to say, you nod your head. A goodbye with Eddie has never felt this way before. Uncomfortable, yet you don’t want to escape it. How could you ever want to escape Eddie? You blame your own awkwardness and mentally scold yourself for projecting how you want Eddie to feel onto him. 
“I’ll, uh, see you on Monday?” you finally ask.
“Yeah. Sounds good.” Eddie’s smile doesn’t meet his eyes, but neither does yours as you turn to walk out of the kitchen.
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“Your homework better be done,” Brittany says as she thunks down a bowl full of microwaved macaroni and cheese. Eddie moves around her in the kitchen, his jaw squared and tense as he pulls the pork chops from the oven. Brittany and both boys keep glancing at him every time he slams something around on the counter. 
“It is,” Ryan says of his homework as he takes his place at the dinner table. 
“Luke?” Brittany basically snaps.
“Did it when I got home,” Luke says, reaching for the cheesy side dish. “Before we played Peter Pan.”
“Who did–oh, the babysitter?”
Luke frowns, not liking his mother’s tone or how she doesn’t refer to you by your name. Neither does Eddie, judging by the way he practically tosses the pork chops onto a platter.
“Yeah,” Luke answers his mother. “We played Peter Pan and then she had to go ‘cause she had a date.”
Eddie yanks his chair out from the table, the legs squealing against the floor at the ferocity with which he pulled it, so he can take a seat. He doles out a piece of pork to everyone’s plate, his knuckles white from holding the fork so tightly. Brittany just arches a recently-shaped eyebrow at her husband before returning to the conversation. 
“A date, huh? Wow.” Her snark is clear, and Eddie has to bite his lip from barking out something he’ll regret.
“What’s wow?” Ryan asks as he jabs his fork into the mac and cheese on his plate.
“Oh, nothing,” Brittany says with a shake of her head. “Nothing at all.”
The table is quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from knives and forks working on the food. Ryan keeps sneaking peeks at his dad, wondering why he’s so unusually quiet. Normally, Eddie would be asking about their days at school and telling them about anything funny that happened at work today. His silence is making Ryan fidget in his seat. Brittany is the one to break the silence, though the three men silently wished she wasn’t.
“My sister is going to come over tomorrow. Eddie, did you hear me? Eddie?” Brittany glares daggers at her husband when he doesn’t answer, or even acknowledge her. But Eddie isn’t looking her way. Of course, this only irritates Brittany further.
“Eddie! Why in the hell are you staring at the phone like that?”
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David Jenkins was not a Big Name Showrunner before OFMD. In fact, I had never heard of him before. I am not even sure what he did before OFMD, according to IMDB he wrote exactly one other show and it is one I have never even heard of before.
And he somehow got HBO to make his weird little show about gay pirates, and he got Taika Waititi to help with it, and while nobody was expecting anything of it - I mean come on guys, remember when OFMD dropped and everyone only gradually realised what it was - it became The Little Show That Could. With almost no advertising. No marketing. HBO did clearly did not expect this show to be anything, to make any real money or to go beyond one season.
But then it blew up.
Because David Jenkins was so insightful, he was so good, he brought so much fresh wind into a business where we usually can tell how the next three steps of how any show is going to go (and to be fair, a lot of us feared that Izzy's death in season 2 was coming, because all the signs fit), that we put him on a pedestal.
THE FUCKING PEDESTAL.
Yes he is brilliant. He has done stuff with OFMD that you never ever see somewhere else. He has understood that historical accuracy, as well as physics and geography, are merely backdrop for plot and characters. Completely irrelevant if you need them to be, but then suddenly important if you have a bit of story that won't work without. He understood that queer relationships deserve to be told, and when confronted with skeptic fans he learned about queerbaiting.
He took a lot of tropes and put them on their head. He structured his show like fanfic. He put thought into his stories instead of following the beaten track. He single-handedly raised the bar for every showrunner out there.
But it is still only his second show.
If he didn't shine so brightly during OFMD's first season, nobody would have expected so much of him.
And yes. He dropped the ball on Izzy.
I loved Izzy to pieces ever since season 1, I wanted to pin him to a board like a bug and study him and take him apart and put him in a blender and in situations, I loved to hate him and in season 2 I loved to love him. He is such a brilliant, complex character, so well written and so well played by Con O'Neill; the options for character analysis, relationship analysis, various interpretations of everything he has done, are simply limitless. 🤯 That is due to David Jenkins & Con O'Neill.
And David Jenkins, standing in the spotlight of all of our exaggerated expectations, decided it would have the greatest emotional impact if he killed him. He made him a symbol, for the end of The Golden Age of Piracy™, and he killed him.
He was right.
He was not original.
He fell for one of the very tropes he so successfully fought in season 1, and for the most part of season 2.
Procuring an emotional response by having a beloved character, who was just starting to embark on an exciting new journey, die tragically and emotionally, providing motivation for the remaining characters.
It was a cheap move.
It is not a Bury Your Gays. Everyone is queer on this show, you can't call something a Bury Your Gays if that would be true for every character death.
But Izzy was also old, and disabled, and he had survived a suicide attempt (that he was driven into, not chose for himself), and had just had an arc of growth and character development that could have gone on for such a long time after this. He had just learned to trust and be vulnerable and experience (gender)queer joy. God, there were so many places his character could have gone.
I loved Izzy as a character, I didn't relate much to him. But Your Mileage May Vary, and I am so, so sorry for everyone who did. You didn't deserve this.
But David Jenkins? Is still sooo much better than any generic bland showrunner that is going places in Hollywood. You want to boycott anything, boycott the big streaming services that don't have the guts to make their main characters queer, to think that "a bit of both" is inclusive or bold, and who drive out any creatives that object and try to sneak in inclusiveness. They are the enemy. They are systemic discrimination and injustice.
David Jenkins is just starting out. And he did so much better on his very first successful show than anyone who has been in the business for years. If anyone deserves a chance to prove that he can do better, it's him.
I'm sure he'll come to regret his decision. I'm sure he'll see where he went wrong, how he could have done better, and fix it in any show he might do after this. I, for one, would much rather see any show he is involved in than most of the crap that the AMPTP is putting out, now or in the future. He can only get better. And he did do a lot of things right. Never forget that. Because the majority of showrunners can't even do the minimum, and David Jenkins went above and beyond.
I think he deserves a little slack. If anyone in the streaming industry does, it's him.
It's the fucking pedestal that is the problem. It makes people who do good but are not perfect suddenly look worse than the most cowardice, opportunistic mediocre guy. But they are not and they deserve a leg up, or we are stuck with the worse option who gets support from all the wrong places. Don't fall for it.
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vapolis · 6 months
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You’re a mercenary, gun for hire, assassin, information extractor, delivery person – call it what you want, because the people that hire you for your services don’t give much of a shit what you call yourself as long as you actually get them what they want.
Your last delivery ended with you – or rather the body you have decided to take over that day – as well as your delivery getting killed. The boss is pissed now and demands you fix your mistake or else you’ll be a head shorter. Not really a look you think you can pull off so you set out to fix what you fucked up, if it just weren’t for that mask wearing asshole that wants to cut your adventure – and life from the looks of it – short.
REMEMBER, YOU WILL DIE is an interactive novel playing in the fictional city Vapolis, where you take on the job as a mercenary with a very special ability, looking to find out who has their deadly sights set on you.
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gender & sexuality choice
five unique romance options, including one whose gender you can decide
a club called saints & sinners (yes, really) that becomes your second home
and the choice to wear heart-shaped sunglasses all day and if that doesn’t interest you, I don’t know what will
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ORLA [ female ] your boss and the owner of the saints & sinners. orla has been around for as long as you can remember, always working from the safety of her club und gathering as much dirt on people as she can get her hands on. she never tells you what she does with the info she has, but if you know her at all, you can guess why no one tries to run her off the streets of vapolis.
JAX [ male ] as bouncer of the saints & sinners and right hand man of orla, jax knows what is going on in the dark underbelly of the city. he is the man you call when it is time to get rid of a body or you need extra firepower, seeing he is almost as mysterious as he is good with a gun in his hands.
ROYAL [ non-binary ] royal is a little bit of everything. bartender and hacker, they know how to track you down wherever you are. often underestimated, they have learned to see the positives in flying under the radar and are incredibly good with a SocialLink in their hands and a couple of minutes of uninterrupted time.
DANTE/DELILAH [ gender cust. ] only having recently met them in this life, you are not yet quite sure what to think of them. there’s a certain darkness in their mismatched eyes you grow to recognize in your own.
ECHO [ non-binary ] as the arms dealer of your choice, echo has been around quite a lot. their shop has become somewhat of a safe haven to you when jobs got too much, or you simply needed Intel no one else offered for the right price. their disdain for anything orla or the saints & sinners isn't lost on you, though, and it's a mystery you hope to uncover sooner rather than later
THE MERC [ main ch. ] taking on the role as the merc in vapolis, you are somehow infamous for your approach to jobs and are never out of work. you might be a terrifying character on the streets of vapolis, but you’re by far not the deadliest.
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prologue + chapter one, two & three
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DEMO - PLAYLIST - FAQ - CHARACTERS - FORUM
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barbatusart · 9 days
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bit of thinking outloud but for my current tactician run im doing a special wyll origins playthrough im calling the Evil Wyll Run & it’s given me a lot of food for thought about his character (or at least the freedom of psychological movement + exploration afforded to an origin run!)
wyll spoilers abound we’re entering the wyllenium here
wyll always felt a bit underwritten to me - i know that’s partially because there was that big kerfuffle in the 11th hour with changing his whole story and personality on top of having to recast his VA, and frankly hats off to both original VA lanre malaolu & new VA theo solomon for their hard work - both brought tremendous performances, & i sincerely hope mr malaolu was paid well for his work & time even if his voice wasn’t used in the final cut (i would also say warlock as a class itself felt a bit underdeveloped but im 100% OK with chalking that up to me the player not understanding how to play warlock effectively yet lol im more of a fighter barbarian Hit Stuff guy)
but honestly this feeling of being “underwritten” combined with a character with a long history of heroism in his pocket made wyll really interesting to me even in my tav playthrough. for all his accomplishments he still feels like a blank everyman, or like he’s someone who fully believes he’s the main character who doesn’t “need” to do any extra work on himself - and honestly he feels Very much like he could be The Main Character. once his backstory of the son of the duke was revealed too i immediately got the sense of like, rich boy trying to prove his worth beyond his wealth and status by striking out & becoming that hero, or that Prince Charming. basically that perfect happily ever after somebody. and im of the opinion that you don’t get mixed up with a cambion in the first place unless you’re either the kind of naïve “everything will just work out” immature that tends to comes with his status as the son of a noble, or you’re hungering for power. depending on playstyle he’s very easily both of these things
on the naïve front (ie a good wyll playthrough) if anything he feels very believably immature, & from that perspective the events of the game feel as though they’re the prequel to the actual start of wyll's story where he finally finds himself & learns what kind of man he really is. we just dont get to see it alas, but i really enjoyed the thought exercise of somebody still grappling with overcoming his own immaturity. he feels like someone who can still grow and that his tale is just beginning
Evil Wyll (meaning any time mizora shows up he drops everything to enact her instruction & hasnt once tried to find a loophole out of his contract) which ive come to be far more fascinated by is someone clearly vying for power, which is interesting because his noble status would’ve given him all the power he wants had he Played Nice. to me it speaks of someone who wants to be able to take what he wants from life without it being handed to him, which contrasts in a really fascinating way with entering into a warlock pact at all. maybe he thought it was better that it be a decision he made as opposed to nobility given to him by his family ties, maybe there’s still that pollyanna sentiment of “it’ll just work out & ill live happily ever after.” again maybe both. maybe in a sense the fiend, as he calls himself, is a good excuse to shuck off any poor decision he makes or any genuinely heinous thing he does under mizora’s instruction - an identity he uses as power fantasy (and very much in tandem/interchangeable with the blade of frontiers power fantasy) until it means taking ownership for any of his misdeeds, and then a scapegoat.
may be a bit incoherent but im only now hitting act 3 in my origin run & im Really enjoying this difficult characterization ive cooked up for myself lol
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jessequinones · 1 month
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Writing Advice: Chapters
A lot of my advice comes down to, having beta readers, and “it’s up to you” which doesn’t sound like good advice but when it comes to writing, everyone writes differently so there are different ways of doing the same thing. So, what’s my advice when I talk about chapters?
To me, a chapter is a section of the book which talks about a certain event. There’s no right or wrong way for how long the event should be, and there’s no right or wrong way of how the event can start or end. Here’s how I write my chapters and what I’ve learned along the way.
Starting the chapter:
Before I start the chapter, I need to figure out what the main event is gonna be. Will this event be informational? Action pact? Suspenseful? It can also be a combination of a few events as well, such as having my characters find information, but something goes wrong and now they have to escape.
After I figure out what the main event is gonna be, I start writing and once I complete that event I end it and move on. I try not to carry on too much after the main event has finished because I feel like my chapters might drag if I do.
Writing the chapter:
When it comes to a chapter, I try to have a beginning, middle, and end section. (Keep in mind this doesn’t work for every chapter.) Let me explain what I meant about those sections. The event in this example is Nix and Dante are tryna get information, but something goes wrong after they get said information. So the chapter starts at the beginning where Nix and Dante enter a secured location. The middle is where they get passed all of the alarms and hacked into the network. The ending is they got the information but an alarm gets triggered anyway.
Expanding the chapter:
So, I wrote the beginning, middle, and end, the event is done, but it was kind of boring. Let’s expand it to them escaping. This is where I think chapters start to become long. Some people combine two events into one chapter and some events are longer than others. Escaping a secured facility sounds more difficult than sneaking in. So, adding an escape attempt can spice up the chapter, but you need to be careful with how you do it.
I think when people complain about long chapters, one of their reasoning is “This feels like it could’ve been split into two chapters”. It might be the fact there are two separate events, both with their beginning, middle, and ends. If you want to expand upon your chapter, I would change how the beginning, middle, and end originally played out so it feels more natural when you go from one event to the next. This will take practice and beta readers can help if a chapter sounds too long or just right.
So instead of sneaking into a place, getting the information and having to escape. I would get rid of the middle part where Nix and Dante were sneaking and just show them entering the building, maybe talk for a few paragraphs before they reach their end goal because I already know escaping is gonna add several more pages. It’s a trial and error, and some readers might prefer the sneaking portion, while others might enjoy the fast pace. The end result is what do you like?
Continuing chapters:
What about chapters that don’t need a beginning, middle and end? Those chapters are what I call, continuing chapters. The most obvious examples of continuing chapters are the final climax of a story, like a big battle. The big battle might take multiple chapters to get through, and starting at the beginning, middle, and end of each chapter where the main event is the final fight, might get a bit tiresome. A simplified way of taking a large event, like a big fight, and breaking it over several continuing chapters is having each chapter be its own thing. Let’s say it takes three chapters to finish the final confrontation. The first chapter is the beginning, so there’s lots of build-up, but nothing too bad. The second chapter is the middle and is normally the longest out of the three. It’s the one with the most fighting and maybe a character dies at the end as a cliffhanger. The third chapter is where the villain is defeated and the fight is over thrust concluding the three sections.
That was a very simplified way of explaining continuing chapters, but yeah, not every event can be told in a single chapter, sometimes you have to space them out a bit. I would recommend letting the readers know that said event will most likely take a long time to complete so they'll be aware it's gonna be a long read.
Length of a chapter:
People often ask, how long should a chapter be, and there’s no real answer to that. Some can be a page, and I’ve seen others that are thirty. (Looking at you DragonFire). I personally don’t try to go for a word count or page limit. Often times when I try to make my chapters reach a certain goal, I find there’s a lot of filler that could’ve been cut. This is why I like to write my chapters as if I were writing an event and just focus on the event itself. If I need to expand or get rid of something, I can do that later.
My chapters are normally three pages in length, whenever I go over that, I try to tell my readers the next upcoming chapters will be long. This kind of tactic will depend on your story of course, but let’s go back to Nix and Dante.
In the example, Nix and Dante went into a secured location, took some information and got caught, now they needed to escape. If I want to add the escape portion in the same chapter because breaking in was kind of short, I might tell the reader before said chapter even began that “This mission won't be an easy one”, or “You’ll need to be real careful stealing the information because if you get caught, guards will come.” So, by the time Nix and Dante do get caught, the reader should be aware, the chapter will continue for a few more pages.
Oh yeah, if you’re gonna write a long chapter, make sure to have at least one smaller chapter to break it up. (DragonFire) Having long chapters, after long chapters, is, at least for me, very tiring. I don’t like to stop reading midway through a chapter, but reading thirty pages in a day is very difficult. So if you know you have some long chapters, throw in a few short ones.
Readers might also hate long chapters because they feel like there’s a bit too much filler in them. (Filler-in chapters aren’t the same thing as filler chapters).
Filler-in chapters might appear in one of two ways, either there’s too much filler to get to the main event, or there’s too much filler and the chapter should’ve ended already. Beta readers are a good way of telling you if there’s filler in a chapter or not. Keep in mind, that you, as the writer know what’s best for your story. Readers can only tell you how they feel. If you feel the “filler” part isn’t filler, but a lot of people say it is. Finding a workaround can be difficult. Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice on this kind of topic because this kind of writing problem is unique for every writer. Writing groups might be able to help as they’ll have your text and can help figure out what's going on.
Filler chapters:
There’s nothing wrong with filler chapters. Not every chapter needs to focus on the main story. I personally like filler chapters. They’re fun chapters which explore the characters and the world. A bit of a refresher after an intense fight is fine. When people complain about filler chapters, it’s often because there’s a bit too much of them. Or they came out of nowhere and killed the pacing. For example, if everything has been dark and gritty, having a chapter that’s more on the upbeat side is strange. Also if the chapter ends with a character's death and the next one ignores it, readers might not like that. This is one of the reasons why I don’t like POV swapping between every chapter. If someone dies in character (A) POV, and the next chapter switches to character (B) POV where they’re on the beach…I might get a bit annoyed. Even if Character (B) POV isn’t filler, I just witnessed someone die, I wanna know what’s going on and not swap to another POV.
Also filler chapters tend to be on the shorter side as well. If a filler chapter goes on a bit too long, then it might feel like the story is losing its focus a bit.
Beta readers can help point out which chapters are filler and where to add in filler if that's something you want to do.
Chapter Endings:
Ending a chapter is always interesting, do you want to end it with a cliffhanger or not? Does your chapter flow smoothly from one to the other? I don’t mind cliffhanger endings but try not to make every chapter a cliffhanger. At some point it becomes a bit much for some readers such as myself, I prefer to stop reading at a good stopping point. Cliffhangers aren’t a stopping point, I need to see what’s gonna happen next. Creating a cliffhanger after a long chapter, for me is a bit much. Long chapters already drain me, and forcing me to continue to get to an actual stopping point will make me enjoy your book less. (I understand no one is forcing me to read a book, but I just really, really hate stopping at cliffhangers). Not to mention if there are multiple cliffhangers in a row, I might put the book down and not pick it up for a long time because I’ll have no idea how many cliffhangers I’ll have to deal with before getting to an actual pause in the story. Personally, as a reader, I feel like there needs to be good stopping points. Places where it’s safe to stop reading and the reader can pick it back up later.
If you end a chapter in a city and the next one starts in a jungle, that kind of scene change might be a bit confusing so again, just send it through a couple of beta readers and see how you did with the transition portion of going from one chapter to the next. The same thing goes for tone as well. If the last chapter ends with a death, and the next one is in a circus, the tone shift might be a bit much. Just pass it along with a beta reader.
That’s about it for chapters. If you want some more detailed advice on certain chapters then let me know, but chapters are one of those things where it comes with practice. The length, the event, the ending, all of this stuff will be determined by your ability to write. Beta readers are a great way of pointing out how they felt while reading a chapter and you can go from there.
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The case of live-action atla zutara.
First of all, the scarf scene. I won't be repeating myself, here are some main points - there was absolutely no reason for Zuko to act the way he did and for the scene to be shot this dramatically. Even if they did the shipbaiting in this scene - it means there's a ship which is much more than live-action kataang has at this point. Also I don't really think these guys are shipbaiting type but that's just the impression I got.
Then - the second obvious one - Oma and Shu's visuals. We have star-crossed lovers from two towns at war, basically the local equivalent of Romeo and Juliet (as in legendary lovers who are known above all for their love) wearing coincidentally colors that are primarily associated with two of our characters (who shared this dramatically shot scene in the previous episode).
And I know, it may seem so insignificant - but but but but! - you have to think about this. Of course there are creators, writers and showrunners that are unaware of some non-canon ships or don't care about them. But it's not the case for atla. No, creators of atla were so aware of zutara - they wrote a parody scene in a in-world trashy play to mock this fan pairing and it still proved absolutely nothing and just gave zutara more content. The creators and writers of this adaptation clearly had the discussion "what we should do with kataang" - because there is no trace of kataang in the 1st season. So it was a conscious decision to omit that - but where would the romantic subplot go? Well, I don't know, but they are showrunners, they most certainly discussed options. They are clearly very, very, very much aware of zutara. And they still do this? They still show us Oma and Shu wearing red and blue? All they had to do is to give at least one of them any different color. Any. But they didn't. (for fuck sake, it is the Earth Kingdom - yellow and green would do it)
There were zero, no, nada Kataang interactions, implications or those scenes that are filmed just a little bit too dramatically like the scarf one. I don't know, there's still a chance that they will wait for season 3 to make Aang's crush on Katara happen. I'm also not so sure what will happen to Aang failing to open seventh chakra, I mean - his love for Katara has a huge purpose in series, so it still doesn't look very good. But you can't even imagine how glad I am that they didn't do this secret tunnel thing. It was very uncomfortable.
So it was the more fact-based part of my case, let's get to the irrational, almost delusional part, tin foil hat probably needed.
Almost all the scenes Zuko and Katara shared in the first season kept reminding me of another famous enemies-to-lovers ship that actually became canon in the infamous final episode - Reylo, the way it was filmed in The Force Awakens. I mean - the first fight in the woods where she looses, the intensity of him staring at her, the final fight in snowy location where she kicks his ass and shows her mastering this superpower, him trying to talk to her during this fight and mentioning her learning/having to learn...Zuko calling Katara a peasant reminded me of this "Rey is no one" discourse. I don't know man, I haven't thought about The Force Awakens reylo for a very long time and it just kept popping in my head.
All of this - it's like a blueprint for enemies to lovers.
Also I actually think that the look they shared in the 2nd episode was also shot kinda weirdly and dramatically. It's not to the extent of the scarf scene but I do remember thinking that "why did they film it they way? it's too intense".
In the conclusion I'd like to say that as much as I like all the season 1 zutara stuff they left out in the adaptation - necklace subplot and implications, pirates and the famous "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" - I think I actually prefer the scarf scene. Yes, it would be so great to see those things in adaptation but in the end of the day they would still be just the things they kept from the original and probably noting more. Like the cabbages or the secret tunnel song or anything else, just things from the source material that implicate nothing. While the scarf scene, the Oma and Shu's clothes - it means they made a conscious decision to make it that way. It means they put some thought into that and some meaning. And this gives me hope there's a chance for Zutara in this adaptation.
P.S. I told about this my sister who hasn't watch the series yet and she said "I think people who made this show are just shipping zutara in secret". I do not necessarily imply she might be right - but creators of animated series (the very same people that made kataang canon, not zutara) DID leave because of some creative differences and because they couldn't control creative decision. Might as well be THAT kind of decision.
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yourimaginationrealm · 2 months
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I am long in to this addicting game ;D Rafayel is from the beginning my main man in this so.... Yeah, I felt so creative with this memory card xD Guess more Rafayel is to come and yes I love my Imagine Picture for this character! I have no regrets that I write something spicy and a bit NFSW sooo yeah... it's my first time writing something like this and be aware English is not my mother tongue :) Of course, I kept the script to the plot. If you are curious see it yourself. Enjoy! :D ----------------_______________---------------------
"You haven't starting unwrapping me. I am gonna be thrown away just like that?" His seductive voice lingers in your ear a while when you begin to smirk to play along
"Oh, but I've seen this gift before. I don't need to unwrap it to know what it is." You tease him.
"Really? You... You think you have me all figured out, do you?"
"Before Pandora Box was opened, no one knew of it held miracles or catastrophes. Or maybe you're just too much of a coward to accept this "big surprise"?"
You scoff at his teasing while you smirk. You start to circle him while touching slightly with your fingertips at his shoulders. He flinches at your touching while you get behind him.
"So tell me..." You start while leaning down and whisper to his ear. "Are you my luck or my misfortune, Rafayel?" You hear him sigh while looking to the side to meet your gaze.
"I believe you haven't learned what surprises mean, Miss bodyguard... Afraid what is really inside?"
You walk again around and hold his gaze. "So I just need to unwrap you...." You grab at his tie and draw him closer to your face. He lets out a noise of surprise. For a little bit, his eyes are big and don't expect your rough treatment yet he got his seductive composure back and has to criticize you.
"Could you not be more gentle?"
"I thought I can handle my gift how I like it..." You play with his tie between your fingers while he looks at your hands and now your face. The tension between you and him just arose higher with each phrases you two throw at each other.
"Woudln't it be a shame if you break it?"
"I haven't been informed that my gift is breakable..." One of your hands let go of his tie while your point finger touches softly a line from his collarbone to his chin. He chuckles while shaking his head.
"Well, I am not That fragile... Are you still concerned? I'm down for a slow, through inspection." He huskily says while leaning towards you. You can see the lust and alcohol in his eyes. You must admit, you feel quite audacious after hearing him say that. Does he mean that...? He shifts a bit while you bit your lip. Your hands aim behind him towards a rose.
"Hm, I wonder where that came from?" You smirk while looking mischievously up. His gaze unwavering.
Suddenly, you tickle him with this new item on his left ear.
He gasps while trying to escape your sweet torturing.
"...Always full of surprises, huh. You're good at catching people off guard."
You chuckle at his remark while saying back. "Who thought I could surprise my own surprise here..." You eyes flicker to his rising chest and find your next target spot. You start to rub the flower on his chest while he squirms under you to avoid the flower."
"Aren't we ticklish, Rafayel?"
"Not sure who suffering more - me or the flower...."
"By the end, I think it would be you...." You laugh at his blushing state.
Any more attempts would definitely lead more for your relationship and there would be no returning after this. Yet, you just had to ask this bold question...
"Can I unwrap my own Pandora box now?" Your body and hands just stop to move and wait for his answer.
"What are you waiting for?" After regaining his cool, Rafayel just sits in front of you and looks up expectedly.
You know, he meant the red ribbon tied around him and wrists. You literally see him draw a sharp breath as you pull open slowly his tie. You other hand link into his clothing while opening the first button. While you start slowly to undress him, he shifts in his seat while trying not apparently to open his legs more. His pupils darkens as he follows your fingers on his shirt. Rafayel felt more than just adventurous now. He hopes you don't stop right know. His eyes are on your form and just hoping your hands continues what they are doing while his head is full of lewd thoughts. You feel his body temperature is quite hot when your finger grazing his skin. After you opened button number 3, your hand leave his clothing. You chuckle deeply.
"All right, that's enough. I'll let you off the hook. Let me untie this-!"
Out of nowhere, he had one of his hands untied himself and grasps your right wrist with his left hand.
"How did you untie yourself...?" You question him in disbelief.
"There are plenty of escapes techniques on the internet." His pupils held a dangerous glint. He just turned from the hunted to the hunter while holding you tightly.
" You can't rile me up like this and leave me.... " He pulled you on his lap while you shudder from the feeling of his bulge in his pants. Your hands position on his shoulders and you try not to move eagerly with your hips. Even you feel the urge to grind and release the unsettling tension between your legs.
"Rafayel…!” You repositioned yourself and he slipped a tiny moan. “We- “
“Yes, this is good, Y/N. I’ll give you a present.”
Before you can ask, he pushed his lips on your neck you feel his wet tongue on your skin. Now, it was your time time to take a sharp breath and moan at his kissing your soft spot. You wonder where he knows directly where your weak spot is.
His only freed hand grasp tightly on your hip.
Your mind gets clouded by lust more and more.
“Rafayel, I think we… the alcohol…” You don’t even know exactly what you babble right now. There was still a tiny self restraint before you believed doing something, you regret later.
He chuckles against your neck.
“Are you really blaming the alcohol what you feel, right now?” His legs opened wider as you gasps at the more intense friction between him and you.
“I don’t feel…” you start when suddenly his nose touch your throat and you hear him inhale your scent.
“Hm.” You hear him smirk. “You are so ready for me... and so am I for you.”
You shudder at his words and completely knowing what he meant. He draws back and you look each other with lust filled gazes. His voice turns suddenly deeper.
“So have you made up your mind? Do you want me?”
Your body screams ‘Yes’. Yet, you just breathe a silent “What?”
The fire place lightens him up and shows off his beautiful face. His eyes were dark and the fire lights are spark in them while he keeps focused on you with a feverish glint. Even so, he seemed serious about his question because he waited for your answer.
You regained your voices as you ask in a whisper.
“…Why did you stop?”
His eyes left for the first time your form as they look outside and realising, it stopped snowing.
“I am curious. Were those your true feelings. Oooor were you too busy acting?”
“Weren’t you just mentioning, I am ready…?” You slowly can think again as he irritated you by his questions.
“No… I mean how it all started…” you shyly avoid his new seen back gaze as you think about his ask.
“If I get too into it, would you keep playing along?”
“Sure, why not?” He huskily said with a sad smile.
“…And what if they were real?” You said almost inaudible. And he didn’t take off his gaze off you without moving. You can’t tell if he stopped breathing.
He turns closer with his face while he breathes...
“Then you should say… You enjoy my company. And that I can make you happy.”
You face move past his and you whisper in his ear.”
“I really liked this acting…” His body tense up.
You kissed his ear while it turned all red.
“…also I enjoy your company….” You hear him exhale shakily.
“…. Until now,… I was never unhappy with your company.” You hand caress his other side of his cheek and you feel that he leaned in.
“You really good at avoiding to answer my questions.” You hear him mumble against your palm while kissing it.
You smirk and move your seat smoothly on his crotch. You both groan at your sensitivity and your armes fly around his neck to draw your bodies closer. The heat from each body radiates of you.
Your lips barely touches his while you can not take your eyes from his purple ones so can’t he.
Like a magnetic field, he silently watches you and can only focus on your lips when they almost touch.
“Yes… Rafayel…” Your voice delicate like a flower.
“I want you so much-“
You can not end the sentence as he smashes his lips on you and you two sigh in content. He tilts your head to kiss you more passionately.
You move your hips while he groans loudly and his eyebrow knit together. His other tied hand appears and holds your hip to stop it from moving. He stopped kissing you but rubs his nose tips sweetly against yours with eyes closed.
“If you continue like this, this ends more quickly and roughly than you expect…”
This riles you more up. Against his saying, you start to move your thighs harder on his bulge while he leans his head back in pleasure.
“It seems you have no idea what I expect…” you chuckled. From his leaned back head, he opens slowly his eyes and watch you dangerously grinding into him.
“I warned you…” he rasps.
His hands suddenly on your dress pushing it from your thighs up and from your shoulders down. Then, his hands find another location to grasp your butt and push you harder on him. He stands up and presses you on the wall while sucking your collarbone.
“Ah-Rafayel …” You moan loudly without holding back. Before, you know it, You land with your back on his bed while starts to unbuckle his pants. Even you throw away your dress after you pulled it over your head. Then, Rafayel starts to place kisses on the other side of your neck and asks playfully. "Missed me?"
You chuckle while your hands trace from his chest to his abdomen along. You finger feel his abs and you realize this mans body is Art himself. You reaches his V-Line and slowly graze the skin lower. He stops his sucking on your neck while he rests his forehead into your nape. You hear him breath heavily while moaning here and there. You palm reaches his destination as you stroke sensually his hard member. "Damn...." He sighs. You feel his size and can only imagine how he felt inside of you.
"Rafayel..." You pleaded him. " I not only want you. I need you. I need you now. And I need you inside of me.!" You grasp more tightly his shaft while he groans.
"Be a good girl and spread your legs for me." Words said and done. You were completely in trance and wanted him so bad. The Lemurian hovers over you and starts to push him inside of you. You moan in pleasure when enters you slowly. He felt your wetness and can not believe how ready you were for him.
Suddenly, he pushed his hips hard only you. You gasp in surprise. "Rafayel!"
"What?" He smirks darkly at you. "Didn't I say, its getting more roughly?"
He does it again and again.
"Ahh, this feels good. Harder."
He chuckles. "Oh, this is getting good." Your fingers grab into his purple hair. You let him have his ways because you totally like it. His lips again come near your shoulders while he gifts you with some bite marks and kisses it softly after it. You are not sure if you like the bites or kisses more. Rafayel stops his movements just to whisper into your ear.
"You know.... this is exactly how I imagined the party. Just the two of us. You wet. Me hard. Together entangled in my bed."
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Note
hi! it's the pregnancy-as-plot-device anon again! thank you for your answer to my ask. I'm so grateful
could you help me on how to write a scene where the readers know that the main couple had (s*x) together but without a smut and a "waking up together nak*d* scene too? I just don't wanna make my main female character pop up pregnant out of nowhere and don't want to write an explicit chapter too.
Thank you so much.
Non-Explicit S*x Scene
** Note: I am choosing to follow the text convention Anon used (s*x) here. If that bothers you, keep scrolling.
There are a few different ways you can handle a s*x scene without being explicit or having them wake up together naked.
1 - Fade to Black - This is where you "fade out" before things get too spicy. What's great about this method is you can control how little or how much you want to show before that fade out occurs. You can do as little as having one lead the other into the bedroom and the door closes (leaving the rest up to the reader's imagination), or you could have them start kissing and then fade out, or you could ramp up toward some spicier making out before you fade out. And the fade doesn't have to be them going into the bedroom and closing the door. You can get a little poetic instead... maybe they start kissing, and the narrator says, "They spent the rest of the night getting lost in one another's souls." It's not explicit... it's not even specific, but it's reasonable for the reader to guess what exactly they got up to.
2 - Implicit Description - With implicit description, the reader is present for intercourse, or at least some of it, but it's described in a way that leaves things to the reader's imagination. It's more about emotion, thought, and feeling than describing body parts and what they're doing. It's poetic, like the "getting lost in one another's souls" bit, but more emotional and descriptive. Just not explicit.
3 - The Morning After, Just Not Naked - You can still skip to the morning after without the couple having to wake up naked together or waking up together at all. A day can begin when one character wanders into the kitchen to find the other making pancakes. Maybe they exchange a sly grin. Maybe one says something like, "Last night was amazing," or teases, "I see you found your underwear..." Here again, it's pretty clear what happened the night before without explicitly stating it. It doesn't matter whether or not the reader figures out they went all the way... they know something happened, so it's not going to be a huge shocker if someone ends up pregnant.
4 - Hinting Through Dialogue - Another option is to have one or both characters talk about it--not with each other as in the "last night was amazing" type of remark, but with other characters. For example, maybe Character A goes to meet friends at a coffee shop the next day, and Character C asks, "So, how did it go with Character B last night?" and Character A blushes, leading Character C to say, "NO! You didn't?! Did you two...?" Now it's out in the open. And this method can be used on its own or to clarify one of the methods above.
5 - Combination of the Above - Just as you can match #4 with any previous method for clarification, you can use any of these in combination to get the point across. You don't need to hit the reader over the head with it--especially if you're trying to be subtle--but if you combine methods, you'll definitely get the point across.
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SUBMIT THROUGH THE FORM IN THIS POST, NOT MY ASKBOX, FOR YOUR BLORBO'S SAKE. I WILL LOSE SUBMISSIONS IF THEY AREN'T ALL IN ONE PLACE!
Hi! I've never run a poll blog before, but I like the "do you know this character" type blogs and I searched and didn't find one for ADHD characters so I decided I'd make one!
Submission Guidelines
Both canon and non-canon ADHD characters are allowed, but YOU MUST PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR NON-CANON ADHD CHARACTERS! I completely understand just looking at a character and going "oh they have the Vibes" but it's not enough to be posted on this blog. Even just "they exhibit a lot of impulsiveness and distractability" is enough for me to go on - just give me SOMETHING to work with. However I reserve the right to not post a character if I don't think the evidence is compelling enough, i.e., if you don't list any traits that are specific to ADHD.
YOU MUST SUBMIT THROUGH THE FORM, NOT MY ASKBOX. I am, of course, ADHD myself, and I need all the submissions in one place or I'll lose them.
Got it? Here's the link to the form.
About the Mod/Blog
TRYING not to reveal my main yet, but you can call me Mudkip if you'd like. She/her only please, do not use any other pronouns for me including they/them. I am an adult. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age and have it bad enough that I consider myself disabled. So ADHD rep is very important to me! And I'd like to both learn about ADHD rep I might not have heard of, and spread awareness of what ADHD people are like through the characters that people might not even realize are like us.
My icon is the character 707/Seven from Mystic Messenger, I chose him because although it's a bit hidden he is canonically ADHD! There's a call where he talks about how he talks to himself, and if you say "I heard people with adhd talk to themselves a lot..." he agrees with you, as well as displaying other ADHD traits through the whole game.
...is this entire blog partially part of my agenda to spread the word of canon ADHD Seven? Maybe.
Header is Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII; he's not canonically ADHD but there's strong evidence for it and I couldn't resist using the "Me? Gongaga." meme.
I often can't resist making non-poll posts on this blog, although I swear I try. If you're just here for the polls you might want to filter the tag "not a poll"!
Tagging System, for your searching or filtering convenience
#poll - the polls. this only includes "do you know this character" polls, not any other polls I might do. #not a poll - anything that doesn't get the above tag. Including other types of polls. You know what I mean. #canon adhd character - polls for characters that are canonically ADHD. #noncanon adhd character - polls for characters that aren't canonically ADHD, but have solid evidence behind the headcanon. #poll results - a reblog of an ended poll with calculations of how many people know the character and what percentage of those people know/see the character as ADHD. #poll reblog - any reblog of a poll that isn't poll results. #other polls - polls from other blogs. #blog management - anything about the running of the blog. #ask - asks. I don't know what else to tell you. #approval inquiry - asks asking if a character has been approved for posting. #submission inquiry - asks asking if a character has been submitted.
this was part of the original pinned and I always like seeing this part of poll blog pinneds so I'm leaving it
I'm supposed to tag other polls for visibility, right? This was largely inspired by @who-do-i-know-this-man and @doyouknowthisdisabledcharacter as well as @do-you-know-this-queer-character !
If you want to know if someone's been posted, check below:
Polls in progress:
Moritz Stiefel from Spring Awakening (noncanon)
Sydney 'Syd' Novak from I Am Not Okay With This (noncanon)
Yuki Takeya from Gakkou Gurashi/School-Live! (noncanon)
Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series (canon)
Maria von Trapp from The Sound of Music (noncanon)
Lift from The Stormlight Archive (noncanon)
Tim Drake from DC Comics (noncanon)
Finished polls (under the cut):
Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece (noncanon)
Apollo Justice from the Ace Attorney games (noncanon)
Stella from Winx Club (noncanon)
Roy Harper from DC Comics (canon)
Michelangelo from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (canon)
Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (noncanon)
Aiden Clark from School Bus Graveyard (canon)
Serpaz Helilo from Vast Error (canon)
The Doctor from Doctor Who (noncanon)
Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle (noncanon)
Leo Valdez from the Percy Jackson books (canon)
Moth Flight from Warrior Cats (canon)
Ramona Quimby from the Ramona books (noncanon)
Joey Pigza from the Joey Pigza books (canon)
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables (noncanon)
Spinner Mason from Degrassi: The Next Generation (canon)
Lupin III from Lupin the Third (noncanon)
Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (noncanon)
George Beard and Harold Hutchins from Captain Underpants (canon)
Alex Woodroe from All the Feels (canon)
Agent Curt Mega from Spies are Forever (noncanon)
TG from Castle of Nations (canon)
Shawn Spencer from Psych (canon)
Sydney Scoville Jr. from Grrl Power (canon)
Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous Ladybug (noncanon)
Zagreus from Hades (noncanon)
Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock & Co. (canon)
Ash Ketchum from Pokémon (noncanon)
Misfire from Transformers (canon)
Herlock Sholmes from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (noncanon)
Christine Canigula from Be More Chill (canon)
Aubrey Little from The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (canon)
Lt. Columbo from Columbo (noncanon)
Billie from Billie Bust Up (canon)
Wei Wuxian from Mo Dao Zu Shi (noncanon)
Jimmy Casket from VenturianTale (noncanon)
Sara Eriksson from Young Royals (canon)
Magnus Burnsides from The Adventure Zone: Balance (noncanon)
Scout from Team Fortress 2 (noncanon)
Luz Noceda from The Owl House (canon)
Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII (noncanon)
Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians (canon)
April Polls' Day posts, for posterity - ran polls on non-ADHD characters:
Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Zenos yae Galvus from Final Fantasy XIV
P.I.X.A.L. from Lego Ninjago
Brutus the Ducky from Real Life and also Rubber Ducky Hell (our only canonically non-ADHD poll subject)
Sophia from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (please play it)
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flowersbane · 8 months
Note
a scenario with a baker!reader gifting Joshua a little cake… which he happily eats (it’s carrot cake and he has no clue lol)
Idk but I wanted to share my silly little thought because I enjoyed your writing :’3
pls, this idea is so freaking cute!!! i'm so glad i finally got to write it, thank you so much for your request and patience, i hope you enjoy
(=´∀`)人(´∀`=)
The Trojan Cake
Joshua Rosfield x Reader
I might write another, shorter version of this where the reader bakes him a carrot cake without knowing about his carrot aversion, but, idk, let me know if anyone wants to see that. It would have to be a bit further in the future because I have some other things I'm working on that you can learn about here.
Tumblr media
Rating: General Audiences
Word Count: 1.5k
Tags: Baker!Reader, Finally Getting Joshua To Eat Some Gosh Darn Vegetables, Fluff, Teasing, Unedited, Lots Of Appearances From Other Characters, Fun, Cutesy, Joshua Is Just A Big Golden Retriever
A new shipment of baking supplies was due to arrive today. You sway on your feet as you wait. Water laps at the wood beneath you, but you pay it no mind. Cursebreakers and laborers work on moving boxes off the ship and onto the Hideaway’s Pier.
“Carrots? Again?” Gav’s voice sounds from nearby. “And what are we supposed to do with all of these? We still haven’t gotten through the last shipment of them. There’s only so much carrot bisque a man can stomach. Soon enough, half the Hideaway’ll have orange hair and orange skin.”
Otto sighs. “Food’s food, Gav. We’ll find some use for them.”
Gav’s disgruntled expression doesn’t fade. “Unbelievable.”
Your attention is caught by someone calling your name. Mid waves you over from the ship’s deck. “You’ve got to come and see this! You’ll be grinning from ear to ear when you see how much stuff they’ve sent for you!”
You’re already grinning from ear to ear by the time you reach her side. Crates of flour, sugar, and yeast are tied down to the deck with sturdy rope. “And this is all for me?” you ask.
“You’re the one best suited for it,” Mid points out. “Now, I don’t mean to rush you but I’m pretty sure everyone at the Hideaway can already smell all the fresh baked sweets!”
“Oh, certainly,” Cole agrees as he and a handful of other Cursebreakers approach. “We’ll get these supplies to the Ale Hall,” he assures you.
“What are you going to make?” asks Mid.
You miss a beat before answering, “it’s a surprise.” In truth, you have no idea. You know the people of the Hideaway would be happy with anything you baked, but you didn’t want to fall into a boring routine. You wanted to try something new, even if you didn’t need to.
Mid only makes an excited sound from behind sealed lips. “The suspense is killing me!”
You laugh, but you know how she feels. The frustration of not knowing what you’ll bake weighs on you as well. “Well, best get to it.”
You descend from the boat and make your way back up to the main floor of the Hideaway. There are plenty of boxes that still need to be moved, so the lift is somewhat crowded. You wait for a path to be cleared before darting out.
“Have you tried chopping them up and hiding them in a stew?” Tarja’s voice catches your ear. She and Jote are crossing the Boarding Deck, clearly on their way to the Infirmary.
“If he sees them, he’ll claim he’s not hungry and refuse to eat,” Jote replies. “Not to mention, I can’t say I feel very comfortable trying to deceive His Grace.”
“They’re just carrots, Jote. I’m sure your decree says nothing against ensuring the Phoenix eats well.”
“If it were up to His Grace, I’m sure there would be.”
You continue your way into the main hall. It’s not uncommon to hear Tarja complaining about Joshua’s bad habits. You suppose this time it’s his aversion to vegetables. Especially carrots. Unfortunate, given that seems to be what the Hideaway has most of these days.
You’re halfway across the Main Deck when someone else calls your name, their voice sounding from your left. Speak of the devil. Joshua approaches with an easy skip to his step. The smile on his face tells you that he’s heard about your new arrival of supplies, but not that of the carrots’ reinforcements. Well, he might’ve and is simply choosing to ignore it. In fact, that is more likely to be the reality of things.
“I heard about the shipment of goods. Will you get to baking soon?”
If he were a dog, his tail would be wagging uncontrollably despite his cool disposition. You nod, your own smile creeping onto your face as an idea begins to form. “And you’ll be the first to get a taste.”
“Really? I will?”
You nod again. He’s always terribly eager to sample your new recipes.
He’ll have no idea. “Ah, my love, you’re brilliant.” He places a hand on either side of your head and plants a kiss on your forehead. “I’ll look forward to it.”
“You should.” You certainly are.
As he disappears on to the Boarding Deck, you dart over to the bar. 
“Psst. Cole.” You wave the cursebreaker over.
“What is it?”
“Could you acquire me a crate of those carrots that just arrived? I have plans for them. Oh, but don’t let Joshua know. Keep this between us.”
He gives you a curious look, but does as you ask without question. You ask another of the cursebreakers to keep Joshua distracted for the time being. Your plans would be ruined if he were to walk in midway through.
“What, exactly, are you planning?” someone asks from behind you.
Jill runs her finger over the wooden boxes on the counter. You can’t help the little, proud gleam in your eye. “I’m going to get Joshua to eat carrots and like them,” you declare.
“Oh?”
“A carrot cake! He won’t even know they’re there.”
“I’m not sure if eating carrots in a cake counts as Joshua getting a proper intake of vegetables,” she points out.
You shrug. “Gotta start somewhere.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Lots.” 
You, Jill, and a handful of other helpers get to work immediately. With no time to waste, the work is made lighter with more hands to share in its labor. The only thing you can’t speed up is the time of actual baking.
“Do you truly believe this will work?” Jill asks.
“I do. Although, it would be a little funny if he could tell anyway. Like some sort of carrot-sniffing bloodhound. A carrot-hound.”
“Who’s a carrot-hound?” Clive stops at Jill’s side.
“Depending on the results of this experiment, Joshua.”
Clive gives you an almost pained look. “Please do not tell me you’re planning on experimenting on my brother.”
“I promise it won’t become a regular occurrence. Probably. Most likely.”
Clive only sighs and shakes his head.
The cakes finish baking and the air is filled with the scent of freshly baked sweets. You and your assistants–now including Clive–are just finishing spreading the frosting when Joshua arrives, eyes alight with excitement. He says your name with a boyish eagerness that makes your heart squeeze. He truly has no idea. “I hope no one has prevented you from keeping your promise to me.”
You do your best not to roll your eyes. He can still be so childish at times, despite himself. “No, of course not. In fact, you’re just on time. I was about to cut the first slice.”
He smiles. “Excellent.”
He doesn’t even seem to notice how everyone pauses to watch as he takes the first bite. He closes his eyes to savor it. You press your lips together to keep your mischief from showing. “This is delicious, my love, as always.” Your heart soars. You’ve done it. And he’s none the wiser.
You exchange a knowing glance with Jill and Clive. Jill looks mildly impressed while Clive simply seems to be marveling at his brother’s obliviousness. “Alright, everyone,” you announce, “you’re all free to dig in!”
Gav arrives about a half an hour after everyone has already begun eating. He and Otto approach, standing on the other side of Clive, who has taken a seat at the bar beside Joshua.
Gav takes note of the remaining cakes. “Ooo, carrot cake, one of Otto’s favorites.”
You, Clive, and Jill freeze, eyes darting to Joshua. You practically see the life drain from his face. He turns a betrayed expression on you, like a pup who’s found his medicine at the center of his treat. By now, he’s already finished two large slices and is halfway through his third. You can’t help, you begin your apologies but the laughter in your voice steals any sincerity from them.
He practically whines your name, saying, “how could you?”
“But you liked it, didn’t you? Before you knew what it was?”
You can practically see his invisible tail and ears drooping. You’ve never seen him look so unlike the Phoenix before. It only makes you giggle more.
“I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know how I’ll recover from this.”
“Alright, my love, no need to be so overdramatic.”
He pouts. He actually pouts. “You’ll have to find a way to make this up to me.”
“Up to you? I did all of this for you.”
“You did all of this for yourself. I hope you’ve had your fun.”
You lean over the counter, smug as one could be. “Oh, I have.”
“Mhm.” He leans forward and places a soft kiss on your lips. You can still taste the frosting. “You better have. Otherwise, I will have eaten this for nothing.”
“You would have, at the very least, learned that you can stomach carrots. Isn’t that something?”
He laughs. “No, absolutely not. Just promise you won’t do something like this again.”
“I promise,” you draw out the word, “that it won’t become a regular occurrence.”
He rolls his eyes, but a smile toys at the corners of his mouth. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“Something really good, I imagine.”
His smile grows. “Must have been.”
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sunyandmony · 2 months
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"As the founder of Playtime CO. I, Elliot Ludwig, announce the grand opening of the Playcare! Where we hope that we can bring a smile to all the children visiting and more happiness in their life... F̘͍͖ͫ͘o̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ẹ̿͋̒̕v͒̄ͭ̏̇ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ ḿ̬̏ͤͅo̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ẹ̿͋̒̕.."
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More under cut ⬇
Hihi everyone, it's me!! Your silly:D
After starting this series I knew that all my characters would need a introduction, and with that I also came to the conclusion that I'll give extra the effort to make even some fun facts! For now yes there's only one au for Poppy Playtime, but I plan on making more that I'll take a darker approach with towards the series! (As I myself was not TOO pleased to find out how much cool stuff was scrapped in the newest chapter just to make it merchandiseable..Not saying it's bad, but could've been better!)
Anyways, aside from that all, I present you with the facts!!
Head canons for any aus I have made/will make! (counts for both reality universes and cartoon universes):
🌥️Dogday is actually a very timid being, even if he's brave on the outside when in danger. He is actually the softest at heart and this has got him in trouble with staff/kids/parents/teenagers...Dogday and Catnap were originally made to perform together on a stage, a show for kids that happens once per week. The idea was scrapped and they became attractions at the playcare with Miss Delight. Dogday also likes sightseeing, which is why his area is made specifically for that!!
🌙Catnap definitely is a mood, since he's always distant from people he doesn't like. He opens up so hardly that he mostly gets along with Dogday and the other smiling critters only. He hates adults/parents for a reason... He is very chill and laid back around kids. Catnap was originally supposed to wear clothes, but the idea was scrapped and he was simply given a charm. His prototype outfit did have a blue nightcap, but it was thrown away. Catnap however found it and kept it to himself. His tail can also infinitely stretch!
❤Bobby is the more motherly in nature, and she's always the one to help out overwhelmed kids, since it's part of her. She always helps the others to find the good in themselves and helps them with their emotions, mostly Kickin' and Hoppy are her main focus. She's always gonna be there to listen to you and give advice, or directly try to help(which once get her in trouble, since she's not supposed to go out of the playcare without permission). Over time she has made a quiet corner in the outskirts of the playcare and helped kids find their way there in case they don't like the playcare as is.
🍰Picky is the chef! Something you don't know about cooking or food? She knows it! She's the one that makes food for the orphans and kids, during the day she also secretly sneaks snacks outside to give to the kids since usually they were getting thrown out on a daily. She hasn't been once caught, her stealth always helped out. Picky can also secretly sing just as good as Catnap, since she's there most of the times during nap time to help him out. She just doesn't sing in public.. She also has her own restaurant!!
🧘‍♀️Hoppy is the most agile and has the best reflexes (alongside Kickin'), she always exercises which made the staff make her a separate area which is now a free daily course for kids to learn sports. She always slows down and repeats even twenty times what she said just so the one listening to her can understand what she's trying to say! She always leaves a cold first impression, but the more you know her, the more she opens up! She's the enthusiastic one of the critters!
🏃‍♂️Kickin' is the fastest out of everyone! He's a bit competitive but he never goes too far!! Since he doesn't want to hurt anyone or overdo anything (such as the races in the race away area). He won't bother you if you say 'no' ever again. He respects everyone just as much as they respect him. He looks up to Dogday as a leader, taking examples of kindness from him and trying to recreate them(half of the times failing and actually needing one of his friend's help) to become a better critter.
🎨Crafty is one of the best art teachers! She helps out the kids that like art to improve, giving advice and examples!! She will do the same lesson even ten times just so everyone understands. She doesn't let anyone fall behind! She always gets free time to help everyone, from making people happy to doing bets with Kickin' or painting the 'sky' with a disabled kid, nothing is too much for her!! Dogday keeps calling her out, but she doesn't want to admit it every single time he says it. Crafty always takes her time with her work even if it takes hours, or even days. She won't hurry anything up, because a job is only properly done if it's with patience! Crafty has (asked for) made her own art atelier, in which she does everything with the kids or adults that are interested. She does not have any exceptions just because of age!
💡Bubba is as smart as can be, of course smarter than the average person in their life. From helping kids that go to school with homework to helping the orphans learn anything they want, he will do it all! He won't judge you if you can't learn as fast as other kids, or anything of the like. He has no favorite students. Bubba works alongside Miss Delight in the school, entertaining the kids and being the teacher for other lessons that the Miss Delight teachers won't teach/aren't able to teach(even if they want to).
This all will also be linked in the master post just so anyone new can find it!!:3
Asks are open for everyone, so don't be shy! Even if you're not from the fandom or don't know anything, don't be afraid!
Anything about the au you want to know from me? Just specify it's towards the mod and I'll answer!
Anything directed towards the characters doesn't have to be specified!(if it's in context with everything happening, if not, specify!!!)
Some time later I'll also make a FAQ(frequently asked questions) in case some of them get repetitive! (Which will also be linked in the master post!)
Hope this was worth your time:(
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armythings-love · 3 months
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I’m gonna cry… I had an entire analysis for this typed out but my wifi is shit so it refused to post😭😭 anyways, this is based off of the @ladybugout-au permanent superhero team. I decided against doing Luka’s Cadmeancio suit because I 1. Didn’t want to draw him in orange and 2. I was already pushing it with making a purple/red Neurofoxin. Only reason I made her purple is because natural coloring obviously doesn’t mean shit to the character designers if Juleka gets to be a purple red tiger. Anyways, here’s my take on their suits!
Hecattack: I wanted to diverge from the furry/bdsm influences Chat’s suit got, so I gave him looser fit pants, a hood and combat boots. His suit was lowkey inspired by Red Hood’s design because, dammit, DC may be super dark, but they know how to design characters well (something MLB could stand to learn from ಠ_ಠ) anyways, along with the hood and paneled top+cargo pants+combat boots, I gave him cat-shaped knee pads, similar to Ivan’s turtle shell knee pads. You will also notice a trend with a lot of my hero suit designs, which is fingerless gloves. Yes, this’ll take away from the cat claw thing Chat had going on, but I’m ok with that. To go with his punk/rock band aesthetic, he got combat boots with the signature cat paw steel toes. His tail is pretty much the same along with the ears. His mask is also different, covering the bottom half of his face. This also takes away from the cat sclera thing the original Chat had, but Luka isn’t a furry so… also, the mask covering his mouth alludes to his calm nature and quiet personality, not feeling the need to play around, especially during a battle,which was where the original Chat erred most often. Luka also has very expressive eyes, so I wanted to push that, like, even if he doesn’t talk much, he’s still a good communicator. Plus, when cats are hunting, they’re quiet! Which the original Chat cannot relate to!
Ladybug: ok, so her suit is still pretty basic, since I wanted to stick with he AU’s canon description of her suit. The main bodice/legs are similar to the season 4 suit after she calls on the lucky charm, but the sleeves are slightly different. I also got rid of the “reverse” polka dots cuz they just look ugly imo. Her gloves are also fingerless, since I feel like that would 1. Lend better to doing yo-yo tricks and 2. They just look better (u_u) anyways, her hair is still the same, as well as her mask. It’s pretty basic but eh…
Neurofoxin: her design is also super simple, but I also wanted to veer away from the gaudy orange normally associated with the fox miraculous. If she can make her tiger suit purple and red, I can make her fox costume reddish purple!! She’s goth, she’s not gonna walk around in *o r a n g e*. And I stand by that. Anyways, like I said her suit is relatively simple, the panels of the suit modeled after Volpina’s actually, because despite how I hate Lila and her stupid sausage link hair, her volpina suit was pretty cute. Instead of giving her a jacket w/coattails or a belt/sash to be her tail, I decided to make it her hair, cuz even in civilian form it’s pretty long. I also decided that instead of a dark grey/black to purple, I’d make the tips the same cream as her “underbelly” panel, as I wanted to incorporate the cream in more than just that singular spot. I also pulled her bang back because even if she’s goth, she still needs to be able to see properly as a superhero. Plus, I like Juleka’s eyes, and I feel like Trixx would like her to show off more. Anyways, besides the morph suit and her hair being a bit longer than normal+a different color, she has a cropped leather jacket,same color as her suit. There’s also paneling on the side/back of her thighs/back that’s a darker red/purple color. Again, to go with her rockstar/alt aesthetic, I gave her combat boots as well, though hers are knee high, plus I forgot to draw the laces, but eh. Fun fact: I headcanon the Couffaine twins as being super tall for their age, but Juleka is taller than her twin for now+her boots are heeled.
Fukiya: for Kagami’s suit, I pulled inspo from someone else’s LBO AU fanart, although I can’t remember who’s it was. Originally, I was gonna go for a suit similar to Kagami’s fencing gear, but decided to go w the suit she has now so it’d be more reminiscent of a bee. I gave her a sleeveless, cropped kimono, the bottom of which has a honeycomb pattern and an ombré going from dark yellow to black. Her obi has two layers, the bottom layer being a bright yellow and the outside layer being black. Her sleeves are similar to Queen Bee’s, but with an added black line. Her legs are completely black with the exception of her knee pads, which are a bright yellow and octogon shaped. I wanted her to look more bee-esque than Queen Bee or Vesperia (her character design is 🤢) so I gave her the yellow torso with black limbs, than made the kimono collar thick to look like a neck ruff or smth. I honestly struggled with her design a bit but it looks ok in the end so I’m happy with it :) also, Kagami is the shortest because I said so!
Heavy Matal: oh, Ivan, you absolute teddy bear of a guy. I adore the Iván of this AU, he’s so sweet, a gentle giant, so I wanted to focus on making him look slightly softer than the rest of the heroes, despite being the turtle holder. I gave him his signature cargoes, although they’re pants instead of shorts when he’s transformed, a sleeveless hoodie, and “turtle”-neck compression-esque undershirt, the sleeves long enough to be, you guessed it, fingerless gloves! The only reason Kagami is the only one with full gloves is because I wanted to giver a more serious/conservative look. Mari’s been ladybug so long she deserves to have cute, fingerless gloves! Anyways, back to Ivan! His hoodie is two toned, like a turtle’s shell, with the front being a light green. It’s patterned to look like a turtle shell underbelly, with a nice big pocket to hold whatever. He wears elbow- and knee-pads, which are shaped like little turtle shells. He wears regular Vans-style tennies, and his mask is similar to Carapace’s, except it cover the majority of the front of his face (think Kid Flash), and is colored/patterned similarly to a box turtle, with red accents along his cheekbones and his little tuft of hair is his usual blond with an ombré to that same red. (Ignore the ear I forgot to color in plz, I don’t feel like editing anymore T-T)
Ok, so that’s it for today’s character designs! I’m working on redesigning pretty much everyone’s civilian and hero costumes. I haven’t mentioned on this blog, but on pretty much every Gabe!Salt fic I’ve read, I will tell you, whoever the hell designed most of the characters in MLB, you deserve to be fired and then arrested. I’m so sorry, but there’s no way ur gonna convince me Fashion Designer™️ Marinette Dupain-Cheng walks out of her house every day, wearing ugly ass ballet flats+”denim” jeggings in that shade of pink. No way. And don’t even get me started on Gabriel’s candy-cane, red pants and duck hair headass, because omg… that man is supposed to be a world renowned Fashion Designer™️, one of the best in Paris. IN. PARIS!! No fucking way. No way. I get, you want ur characters to be simple and easily recognizable, but that doesn’t mean they have to be ugly!! And I get it, Adrien’s supposed to have a model-off-duty look, but wth are those shoes? Plus, why does he never change for his photo shoots? He’s a MODEL! I get it, you can’t even spend money to change the transformation animation to whatever the characters are actually wearing but wtf??? If you were gonna have any kid’s show where we get to see a lot of different clothes/outfits, this would be the show!! Two of the main characters are fashion designers, one of the minor antagonists is the daughter of a fashion magazine owner and your other main character is a model. IN PARIS!! A city known for its fashion and “romance”. And ur telling me you can’t add a few more outfits to the show??? That’s called lazy writing/animation.
Ugh, sorry abt that rant, but the character designs genuinely piss me off. It’s bullshit.
I digress.
I’ll be releasing the main 4 kids’ redesigns probably on the 15th!!
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Tears In His Ferrari || Chp 2 - Bucky
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Character: Bucky Barnes x Farmer!Reader
Words Count: 2,414
Series: Chap 1 , Chap 2 , Chap 3 , Chp 4 , Chp 5 , Chp 6 , Chp 7, Chp 8 , Chp 9 ,-
Main Masterlist || support: Ko-fi
Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 
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Y/N led Bucky across the vast expanse of the empty land, gesturing to the possibilities it held for cultivating crops like potatoes, barley, and corn.
Bucky turned to Y/N, inquisitive about quick profits, "Which crops would bring in fast returns?"
Y/N replied with a smirk, "Barley. You could make beer."
A grin spread across Bucky's face, "Now that's more my style."
Y/N's smirk deepened, "It's not as easy as you think."
Little did Bucky know, he was about to learn the hard way. The first challenge came from a seemingly simple piece of machinery—the farm tractor. Y/N led him to the garage, revealing the aged tractor that awaited Bucky's command.
Inspecting the tractor skeptically, Bucky remarked, "Is it still working?"
Y/N chuckled, "Don't underestimate this machine. I bet it's stronger than your sports car."
Feeling a pang of offense, Bucky couldn't let his beloved Ferrari be belittled. "Hey, now, don't diss my Ferrari. It's a beast on the road."
Y/N raised an eyebrow, "Roads and fields are a whole different story, city boy. Time to see if you can handle the horsepower of a different kind."
With that, she gestured toward the tractor, silently challenging Bucky to prove himself in the unfamiliar realm of farming machinery.
Unfazed by Bucky's awestruck expression, Y/N rolled her eyes and led him toward the storage building. As the creaking wooden door swung open, Bucky marveled at the sheer size of the space.
Pointing towards a massive bag of seeds, Y/N explained, "Your father has provided you with various types of seeds – barley, potatoes, corn, tomatoes."
Bucky's eyes widened, his initial enthusiasm dampening as he took in the overwhelming array of possibilities. The enormity of the task ahead made him question the wisdom of his impulsive bet with his father.
Interning with a photocopier seemed like a more appealing option at that moment. "How am I supposed to plant all of this?"
Without missing a beat, Y/N tossed the tractor key in Bucky's direction, and he caught it reflexively.
"That's why you need to learn how to drive the tractor so you can plant the seeds," Y/N explained matter-of-factly.
Grumbling under his breath, Bucky muttered, "I'm a race car driver. This should be a piece of cake."
Y/N smirked, her eyes challenging, "Show me what you got."
His usual confidence wavered as Bucky settled into the tractor's driver's seat. The buttons and controls before him were a far cry from his sports car's sleek, modern interface, and his mind went momentarily blank.
He turned to Y/N, whose expression seemed to say, 'I told you so.' Y/N casually climbed into the tractor and closed the door, leaving Bucky trapped.
"What... what are you doing?" Bucky stammered, caught off guard by her sudden actions.
Y/N, seemingly unfazed, responded, "I'm going to teach you."
As Y/N took her place beside him, she explained the functions of the various levers and buttons. "This lever controls the speed, and these buttons engage different gears. It's not as fast as your sports car, but it gets the job done."
Bucky furrowed his brow, trying to absorb the information. "Wait, how do I steer this thing?"
Y/N couldn't help but be amused by Bucky's struggle. "Grip the wheel. It's not a race car, but it will go where you point it. Just don't expect it to handle like a Ferrari."
Bucky, feeling a bit challenged, took hold of the steering wheel. Y/N guided him through starting the tractor, adjusting the speed, and even how to handle turns. As the tractor chugged along the field, Bucky's initial frustration gave way to a sense of accomplishment.
Y/N, with a playful glint in her eye, remarked, "See, not so hard, is it? Now, let's tackle the next challenge: planting those seeds. Just follow my lead, and you might survive this farm life after all."
As the tractor rumbled across the empty plot of land, Bucky's initial confidence in driving the machine began to wane. Y/N, seated beside him, looked over and noted, "Now comes the real work, Bucky. We need to prepare the land before planting. First up, we're plowing the field."
Bucky, still grasping the basics of tractor operation, nodded hesitantly. "Plowing, got it."
But as the tractor started breaking up the soil, turning it over in preparation for planting, Bucky's initial sense of ease gave way to a growing realization.
Y/N continued her instructions, "After plowing, we'll need to disc over the field to break down any remaining clumps. Then comes harrowing to create a fine seedbed. It's all about setting the stage for a successful crop."
Bucky, now fully immersed in farming, couldn't help but feel the weight of the responsibilities. The tasks seemed to multiply in complexity as Y/N guided him through each step. "Checking soil moisture, adding amendments," Y/N listed the next steps.
Stress crept into Bucky's expression. The carefree city boy was now confronted with the intricacies of farming, and the reality of the challenge ahead began to dawn on him. The initial thrill of learning to drive the tractor now seemed like the calm before the storm of agricultural tasks.
As Bucky navigated the tractor through the various steps, the once-clear field transformed into a canvas of potential but also of hard work and uncertainty. Farming, it turned out, was not as straightforward as Bucky had initially assumed.
The complexities of each step weighed on him, and the realization that success required more than just driving a machine left Bucky feeling a bit overwhelmed in the vast expanse of the field.
Y/N, with a critical eye, examined the two rows Bucky had managed to plow. "Good start. Now, the most crucial part is marking the rows. Proper spacing is vital for each crop to have enough room to grow."
Bucky, feeling a renewed sense of determination, listened attentively. "Spacing, got it. I can do this."
With a pat on Bucky's shoulder, Y/N remarked, "I'll leave the rest to you. I'm heading to the storage to set up the planter. Just follow the markers and maintain that consistent spacing. You've got this."
Bucky nodded, a mix of confidence and a hint of nervous energy. He watched as Y/N walked away toward the storage building, disappearing from view. The vastness of the field lay before him, and the responsibility of marking rows and maintaining proper spacing now rested squarely on his shoulders.
As Bucky confidently guided the tractor with a touch of creativity, he failed to anticipate the storm brewing in Y/N's eyes. When she caught sight of the unconventional row, frustration and disbelief etched across her face, transforming the once tranquil farming lesson into a battlefield of precision.
Bucky, riding high on a renewed sense of confidence, guided the tractor with newfound ease. The once-daunting task of marking rows now felt like second nature. As he envisioned the thriving crops that would soon fill the marked rows, a touch of creativity struck him. With a confident smile, he decided to deviate from the straight path and add a unique twist to the rows.
However, when Y/N caught sight of the unconventional row, any expectations of praise were shattered. With a furrowed brow and an exasperated sigh, she approached Bucky.
"Are you an idiot?" she exclaimed, her voice mixed with frustration and disbelief.
Bucky, taken aback by the unexpected outburst, stammered, "I thought it added a bit of flair, you know? A touch of artistic expression."
Y/N, unamused, shot back, "This isn't an art project, Bucky. We need straight, evenly spaced rows for the crops to grow properly. Precision is key in farming, not whimsical curves."
The contrast between Bucky's expectation of admiration and the reality of Y/N's frustration added a comedic twist to the scene.
Bucky once again reminded of the challenges of farm life, begrudgingly adjusted the tractor's course to adhere to Y/N's insistence on precision in agricultural practices.
Y/N, initially poised for a straightforward mentoring session, found herself grappling with unexpected stress. The deviation from the meticulous plan heightened her frustration, but she pushed through, determined to teach Bucky the intricacies of farming.
In the heat of the moment, Y/N's instructions became more pointed, her tone reflecting her unexpected challenges. She corrected Bucky with a mix of exasperation and dedication, her initial ease replaced by the demanding reality of mentoring a city boy in the intricacies of agriculture.
For Bucky, who had never been lectured in such a manner throughout his privileged life, each correction felt like a blow to his ego. The vast gap between his accustomed world of opulence and the demanding simplicity of the farm became painfully apparent.
After tirelessly plowing the empty plot under Y/N's scrutinizing gaze, Bucky retreated to the solace of his Ferrari. The familiar sight of the sleek, modern interior provided a momentary respite from the challenges of the farm. However, as he looked around at the sophisticated simplicity of the car, a single tear escaped his eye.
In a moment of vulnerability, Bucky muttered, "It's not as easy as I thought." The weight of the unfamiliar reality sank in, and the contrast between the comfort of his luxury car and the toil of the farm highlighted the stark challenges he faced in adapting to this new, humble way of life.
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As Bucky wiped away the unexpected tear on his first day, he couldn't shake the surreal feeling accompanying the shift from the farm to his new home. As he stepped inside, the scene awaiting him was anything but ordinary. A group of middle-aged women buzzed around his house, each engrossed in various tasks—cleaning, arranging, and transforming the space into a semblance of order.
Bucky, clearly taken aback, couldn't contain his shock. "Who are you people?" he exclaimed, his eyes darting between the industrious women.
The group paused their activities, turning to face Bucky with warm smiles. In their midst stood Y/N's mother, a matronly figure radiating hospitality. Their collective greeting washed over Bucky, and he found himself amid an impromptu welcome party.
This practice, a tradition among the locals, was their way of extending a warm welcome to the new neighbor. Unaccustomed to such communal gestures, Bucky appreciated their kindness, although hunger and fatigue urged him to seek some solitude.
Summoning a sweet smile, Bucky politely asked the woman to leave, expressing his need for rest. Understanding his request, the guests bid farewell, leaving Bucky alone in his newfound abode.
Just as he thought he could finally catch his breath, Y/N's voice cut through the silence with an unexpected remark. "They're here to butter you up," she deadpanned, her unfiltered words catching Bucky off guard.
His gasp was met with Y/N's nonchalant dismissal. "That mouth of yours," Bucky retorted, feeling a mix of surprise and amusement at her audacity.
Ignoring his comment, Y/N dropped a bag of groceries at his feet. "Your family sent this," she informed him, the gesture a mix of duty and detached concern.
Bucky, leaning down to inspect the contents, discovered essential supplies that betrayed a hint of paternal consideration. The realization that his father hadn't wholly forsaken him stirred conflicting emotions within Bucky. Gratitude mingled with the sting of newfound humility.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Bucky questioned Y/N about her earlier statement. "What did you mean with 'butter you up'?" he inquired, trying to decipher the cryptic remark.
Y/N responded with a disinterested glance, "Don't you know? Your family owns almost all the land around here."
Slowly shaking his head in disbelief, Bucky muttered, "Wow, really?" The weight of his family's extensive holdings began to sink in, and Y/N's nonchalant tone left him dumbfounded.
"Can't believe one day you'll be the head of the company," Y/N remarked casually, her tone a mixture of disbelief and detached observation.
Without waiting for Bucky's response, she turned on her heels and left his residence, leaving him grappling with her animosity's mysteries.
Left alone, Bucky found himself at a loss for words. "Why does she keep being angry with me?" he mused aloud, frustration building. He slammed the door shut in sheer exasperation, the resounding thud echoing his bewilderment.
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As Y/N entered her home, exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Her mother, Samantha, observed her daughter's weary expression and couldn't help but smile. Y/N wasted no time in expressing her discontent, questioning the rationale behind the warm welcome extended to the new neighbor.
"Why did you and others welcome him?" Y/N's bitterness toward large companies like Barnes lingered, casting a shadow over her perspective.
Samantha, with a knowing glint in her eyes, let out a light giggle. "Oh, you, you have to welcome the new neighbor, besides, he's cute."
Y/N responded with an eye roll, unamused by her mother's seemingly lighthearted take on the situation.
Samantha sighed, aware of the pain Y/N still carried from letting go of the land they once owned. She took a moment to address her daughter's lingering resentment. "I know you don't like him because of what happened. But without them buying the land, all the farmers here would have ended up losing their source of living."
Y/N raised her head to meet her mother's gaze. Samantha continued, sharing a piece of history that shaped their community. "Back then, when your grandparents were still alive, there was a lean period where nothing could grow. Everyone was losing their source of income. Until the Barnes family stepped in because one of their own had grown up here."
"The Barnes allowed the farmers to live and work; they just needed to pay rent."
Y/N interjected, a hint of bitterness in her voice, "And the rent keeps getting higher."
Samantha shrugged her shoulders, acknowledging the harsh reality. "Well, that's how it is, but none of the farmers have complained, though."
She tenderly stroked her daughter's head, offering a comforting perspective. "Be kind to him. Just see him as a little kid learning how to walk."
Y/N nodded, absorbing her mother's words. She decided to take her mother's advice to heart, even if the road ahead seemed fraught with challenges.
Meanwhile, at Bucky's location, an unexpected sneeze escaped him. "Did someone talk about me?"
Unaware that he had just been likened to a learning child, Bucky continued navigating the unfamiliar farm life territory, oblivious to the nuanced dynamics at play.
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Chapters: Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3 , Chp 4 , Chp 5 , Chp 6 , Chp 7
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