#and it's hilarious because they still have the ''rivalry'' set in place so it's like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

heliads · 2 years

Note

hey babes!!! Ive been LOOVING your minho fics a lot since im back in my tmr phase 😘 if you still write for maze runner, could you do a minho x f!reader where theyre both runners and they have this kind of unspoken rivalry between each other and one day they arrive late to the maze’s gates, and theyre about to close when the reader manages to push minho to the gates so that he escapes but the reader doesnt?? and like the next day he sees the reader run to the gates when they open and he like finally admits his feelings for them? im so sorry if this was too specific!! 😘😘😘😘

anon i love this. anything for minho

masterlist

Minho is causing problems. Again.

It’s not even that bad this time. He’s bored, that’s what this really boils down to, he’s bored as hell and there’s nothing left to do in this place until sunrise tomorrow. He likes being a Runner, he’s not sure what he could possibly do that would feel half as right as this, but once he comes out of the Maze for the afternoon, he’s left with nothing to do at all.

Technically, that isn’t true. He could definitely go help one of his friends with their daily chores, but let’s be real, that was never an option. When you chip in one too many times, people start expecting that you’ll be there every time, and Minho doesn’t want to have another reason to let the Gladers down, so he stays by himself.

Right now, he’s by himself in the Map Room, the product of finishing the day’s run early yet again. Minho has already recorded all the twists and turns of today��s venture through the Maze, and his partner, Ben, is long gone.

The guy probably found an empty corner of the Glade and disappeared for a nap, where he can emerge hours later, shaking his head like he’s forgotten where he is. Minho is deeply envious of his friend’s ability to sleep so easily. There are few things he wouldn’t do for a good night’s rest for once.

Ben’s absence also means that Minho is completely unsupervised, which should be a red flag to anyone else. Luckily, no one has noticed yet, which means that Minho has time to set up the perfect prank. It’s fantastic, and no one will have any idea it was him.

A voice from behind Minho makes him startle. Looks like he isn’t the criminal mastermind he thought he was.

“What the bloody hell are you doing?”

Minho turns around slowly to face Newt, another one of his good friends. The blond second in command has his arms folded across his chest, the picture of weary disappointment.

Minho grins as innocently as he can. “What? Nothing. Just another day in the Map Room, you know. As a Runner, I can do whatever I want in here, and–”

Newt cuts him off irritably. “You mean that you’re not trying to hide all the writing supplies so Y/N can’t find them?”

Minho glances conspicuously at the door to the Map Room supply closet, which refuses to close. That might be because he’s stuffed every box he can find in there, but who knows, really?

“Oh, this? That’s just, uh, some spring cleaning. It gets really dusty in here, have you ever noticed that?”

Newt rolls his eyes. “Can I ask what Y/N’s done to deserve this, at least?”

Minho chuckles. “Nothing in particular, but you know that. Listen, this is going to be fantastic. The second she opens the door tomorrow afternoon, every box on this side of the Glade is going to come sliding out like a supply avalanche. It’ll be hilarious.”

Newt groans. “You do realize that being Keeper of the Runners means that you’re actually supposed to be responsible, right? Not doing whatever this is?”

Newt gestures vaguely at the pile of stuff behind Minho. He’s not wrong, obviously, Minho knows that he’s just being a slinthead, but at least doing ‘whatever this is’ keeps him distracted.

Already, though, the thrill of doing something wrong is wearing away, leaving him twitchy and prickly with guilt. His stomach feels hot, like he’s some kid who’s gotten caught trying to skip school. If he knew what school was like, that is. Regardless, it’s probably better than here.

Minho sighs, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “You can skip the lecture, I already know it’s dumb. Just need to do something, I guess. At least this’ll make someone laugh.”

Newt arches a brow, although he’s starting to smile. “Yeah, you and me. Not Y/N so much, though. Really, why is it that you two are at each other’s throats all the time? I would have thought that you’d get along.”

Minho steps away from the supply closet at last, leaning up against a nearby wall. “We do most of the time, it’s just more fun to squabble. We try to see who finishes their daily run faster, who’s more accurate, that sort of thing. Fills the time, I guess.”

Newt shrugs. “Whatever keeps you two on track. Just make sure that your cascade of boxes doesn’t mess up any of the maps, or you’ll have to do some spring cleaning there, too.”

Minho shudders. “Trust me, I didn’t touch the maps. I’m not completely out of my mind.”

Newt smirks. “Only a little bit, then?”

Minho chuckles at last. “Only a little bit.”

He leaves the Map Room soon after that, Newt having done his job of convincing Minho not to start anything else. The rest of the day passes in a blur, as it always does; the Gladers stick with their respective jobs, the sun is hot, the night is cool. The Doors slide shut and everyone pretends it isn’t completely terrifying to be stuck in here week after week. The last Greenie day was far enough away that the newest arrival has stopped crying at last. It’s frustratingly repetitive, but at least they aren’t dead. That’s all Minho has going for him at the moment.

Minho rises at dawn like usual, but this time Newt does too. Minho shoots his friend a questioning glance, especially when the second in command gestures for Y/N and Minho to follow him a few paces away.

Newt speaks at first, voice low to make sure he doesn’t wake up the rest of the Gladers. “I need you two to run together today. The next section we need keeps getting switched up by other Runners, and you two are the best we’ve got. Alby figures that if both of you run together, you’re less likely to mess up.”

Minho shoots a suspicious glance at Y/N, but she seems fine with it, so he nods. “Sounds good to me.”

Y/N lifts a shoulder. “We’ll see you this afternoon. If we get everything right, can we get a day off?”

Newt laughs. “Not a chance. Get running, you useless shanks.”

Minho grins and heads towards the Doors, Y/N at his side. She looks at him just before they enter the Maze, expression somewhat bemused.

“I don’t think I’ve actually run with you in forever. Scared you won’t be able to keep up?” She says, grinning so brightly Minho thinks she might be able to outshine the sun.

If Minho had any misgivings about why today’s section is so difficult to run that he’d need to go with Y/N, they’re banished by the sound of his own surprised laugh.

“Not a chance. I’d be worried about you, though. I’m rumored to be the fastest guy around.”

Y/N laughs too, and they take off into the twisting stone corridors. As they pass tangles of ivy and progress further into the Maze, Minho finds himself secretly grateful that he’s here with Y/N. At least now he can deflect his own paranoia by making jokes, although he’d never admit that to her face.

Truth be told, the longer the day wears on, the more thankful he is for Y/N’s presence. Their ever present rivalry lets him hide behind a familiar shield of sharp tongues and false criticisms, their painted veneers thick as ever. He’s never said a word that wasn’t a lie. He’s never been more true in his life, but man, who even knows that when you’ve been forced to forget all but the last year?

Even beyond his favored coping mechanism, Minho still feels himself getting nervous when they reach their halfway point far past noon. They should have had their lunch break here about an hour earlier, they should have turned back by now. It’s not that the road is difficult, it’s that it’s impossible. The creators of this godless Maze have a new hitter with this section, it’s somehow different from every other segment Minho has run.

He’s used to thinking that he owns the place like he runs it, that he could find his way inside and out, blindfolded, in the dead of night. Today is making Minho doubt himself like he never has before. When at last they reach the turning back point, Y/N and Minho lock eyes and decide not to eat their lunch. There’s no time for a break, not when they’re so late already. He pushes aside the dull ache in his stomach and keeps going.

It’s harder and harder to keep his spirits up. Even though he’s already been down most of the section this morning, it’s no easier to find his way back. His already existing stress just builds and builds until Minho second guesses himself at every turn. Y/N’s no better, he can tell that, but at least the two of them are halfway decent at doing this together. They can keep each other in check long enough to make it out, Minho is certain of it. Or, he’d like to be certain of it. He’s not sure what he believes in anymore, nothing really matters in this face of the Maze.

Truth be told, he’s getting really worried. The sky is darkening at a far too rapid rate, and although Minho would like nothing more than to thrust his hands up and beg the time to stop long enough for them to just get out, it’s far too late in the afternoon. They should have been out of the Maze for at least half an hour by now, yet they’re still running. It’s not good, to say the least.

At last, they make the final turn and spot the Doors up ahead. Minho glances towards Y/N, sparing enough time to flash her a quick grin before picking up his pace even despite his screaming lungs and legs. They’ve barely turned the corner, though, when the ground starts shaking beneath his feet.

It takes Minho a couple of moments to realize what’s going on, why it sounds like thunder even without a drop of rain. He should know this sound from hearing it twice per day, yet for some reason being on this side of the Maze when the Doors start to close makes it completely, utterly foreign.

That’s what’s happening, after all, the Doors are closing and Minho is about to be locked out. His breath surges in his chest, absolutely terrified. He can’t be dying now, not after everything. He sprints with everything he has, Y/N right beside him. They have to get out, but they can’t. They’re too far away.

Still, he tries. They both do. The gap is already shrinking, just out of reach. Minho’s steps start to slow for just a second as he realizes that this is impossible, that there’s no way he can actually make it in time. Just before the Doors shut fully, though, something slams into him from behind and he’s pushed through.

A half second later, Minho is standing on the other side of the Doors. He doesn’t know how it happened until he turns back and sees Y/N still in the Maze, and then he knows. She must have shoved him through just in time, but she won’t make it now. Minho has just enough time to lock eyes with her before the Doors slam together, and then she’s gone, gone forever.

Minho stalks towards the Doors as if expecting them to open again, but there’s nothing, no movement from the solid stone. He raises a hand to them tentatively, then slams his fist into the Doors, again and again until it comes back bloody. There’s a hand on his arm, Newt maybe, trying to guide him away, but Minho shakes him loose as if the boy were a fly.

Minho shouts until his voice is hoarse, begging for any sign that Y/N is somewhere on the other side, but his screams go unanswered. At last, he’s exhausted, and barely manages to drag himself to the Map Room. He has to get this down so Y/N’s sacrifice won’t be in vain.

He walks into the Map Room and stares at the model in the middle of the room, scarcely able to concentrate long enough to register that he’s in the right place. Minho reaches for the door to the supply closet to grab a pencil and paper, and stares uncomprehendingly as stacks of boxes slide out at him, puddling around his feet like a cardboard sea.

It hits him then, that this was his doing, his supposed prank on Y/N from yesterday. It feels like he set it up centuries ago, and the weight of everything he’s just lost comes crashing back down on his shoulders. Minho slumps to the ground, sitting in the mess he’s made. He can’t believe that Y/N would do that, save him when it meant damning herself.

Truth be told, he’s not sure if he would have made the same choice as easily as her. When it comes down to it, would Minho have saved Y/N, or would he have been content that at least he wouldn’t have died alone? Would he have even realized that was a possibility in the first place? He’d like to say that he would have done it every time, but he won’t know for sure until he’s in a position like that again.

Everyone is treading carefully around Minho, he can see that. The second he sits down at a table to pretend to eat his dinner, everyone either flashes him brief sympathetic glances or just looks away completely, as if by not meeting his gaze they won’t have to deal with what just happened.

Minho kind of wants to do something to force them to think about it, like clamber up onto a table and start shouting about how they’re all being useless shanks by sitting around and pretending nothing ever happened. It’s not like any of them could possibly do anything, not really, but at least he’d feel better than this constant guiltiness.

He can’t sleep at all that night, too caught up in the fact that Y/N is out there somewhere, absolutely terrified, if she hasn’t already died. That, too, is almost unmentionable. What will he do if he’s out running the next day and finds her, broken and bloody, no longer able to laugh with him or even draw a single breath? It might kill him too.

The sky brightens eventually, although Minho has yet to be convinced that the day has actually begun. Maybe it’s just one endless night forever, again and again until there is no end to any of this. Minho sees a couple of Gladers starting to get up and stares at them, confused, until he realizes that they’re Runners, which means that he has to get up too.

That’s the worst part about all of this, how he’s expected to go about his day and head into the Maze once more as if he didn’t just lose Y/N. He doesn’t know if he can do this. Frypan asks if he wants to sit the day out, but Minho’s already up, so he just shrugs and says that he has nothing else to do. It’s true, but not a good excuse, and both boys know it.

Minho finds himself standing outside the Doors with a small crowd of Gladers. Most of the others are still asleep, having assumed that today will play out the way every other day does, in which those who stay in the Maze overnight will be dead. That’s the way it’s always been, but Minho still finds himself silently praying that Y/N might be the exception.

Newt walks over to Minho just before the time comes. “You going to be alright?”

Minho lifts a shoulder, voice dull. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

A rumbling sound emanates throughout the Glade, and Minho turns his fragmented attention back towards the Doors. Despite the odds, he still feels his spirits fall when he notices that nobody is there waiting for him. He didn’t realize how much hope he was still holding out that Y/N would survive until he’s faced with this empty corridor.

Minho stands there a moment longer, just staring and watching his very soul bleed away from him, and then he sees it. A flicker of movement, just at the end of the hallway stretching out before him. Minho doesn’t know for certain until he’s already moving, and then he’s running as fast as he can towards Y/N.

Y/N, who is by some miracle still alive, who’s limping towards him around the corner. Minho runs faster than he ever has before until he’s before her. He wraps his arms around her before he knows what he’s doing, pulling her so close that they might become one and the same. His eyes flicker shut, at last dropping off the last bit of his stress.

“You’re alright,” he says, barely able to manage the syllables.

“Mostly,” Y/N mumbles against his shoulder. He holds her closer anyway.

At last, Minho reluctantly lets her go, immediately starting to scan her for injuries. Her ankle looks bad, maybe twisted, but other than a few scrapes and gashes on her arms, she’s mostly unharmed. It’s a miracle.

Y/N arches a brow as if she can tell what he’s thinking. “Surprised to see me?”

Minho laughs quietly. “Something like that. Mainly relieved that you made it out.”

She smirks. “Of course I made it out. Did you really think I’d ever let you stay the fastest Runner forever?”

“Not a chance,” Minho breathes, “I need you more than anyone else here.”

Her smile widens into something genuine. She’s not gone, he’s alright. Nothing could ever be better.

maze runner tag list: @rogueanschel, @ellobruv, @retvenkos, @neewtmas, @hiya-its-amber, @thatfangirl42, @gods-fools-heroes

3K notes · View notes

phoenix--flying · 10 months

Text

I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE TA DISCORD FOR SMTH AND I FOUND AN OLD ACTOR AU AND I AM HERE TO SHARE

PJO/HoO/ToA are the main shows and its sequels

That one scene on the Princess Andromeda before Beckendorf died, when they dump his bag out and it's a bunch of peaches? They had to reshoot that ~27 times

Percy and Ethan are actually best friends, they have SO much fun with their on screen rivalry

Same with Luke and Percy

Luke and Annabeth are sibs, she was adopted by May after she ran away

Jason hangs out on set while he waits for Thalia, he likes the free entertainment

Luke is a child actor

Silena and Lee are best friends

Lee still hangs out on set even after his character dies because he can

Chris breaks characters a lot because he cannot be serious

He is everyones best friend though

The blooper reel/BTS are mostly just the cast being absolute IDIOTS

Percy likes to make fun of (affectionately) of Grover while he gets into his makeup and costume

A lot of the couples are dating IRL(Beckengard, Chrisse, Percabeth)

They do those silly videos where they bring cats on set and that is the best day of Ethans live

There are two spin-off shows that take place during PJO

One about the TA

When Alabaster shows up, everyone is confused until someone just pulls out a screen capture from PJO S5 and points out that Al is standing behind Ethan

"HES A BACKGROUND CHARACTER IN THE MAINS SERIES!??!?!?!"

Percy and Alabaster are also best friends

The two of them and Ethan are the MOST chaotic trio on the set

Alabaster was also adopted by May :D but he goes between May and his bio mom where his half sister(cough lou cough) lives :))

The TA cast find it HILARIOUS when they see fans shipping Ethabaster

They point out how they look at each other

Ethan and Al are dating IRL, thats just them genuinely looking at each other

Thaluke who've been married this whole time and fans think the actors hate each other

Percy and Al who prank set dad(Luke)

(Thank you to @everythingwasalreadypicked and @totallynotsomeone for your lovely contributions even if i didnt include them all, you can ofc add anything in the reblogs >:D)

153 notes · View notes

abyss-presence · 7 months

Note

Hey, can you write Forrest x reader, enemies to friends please?

A/n: Thank you for the request! I hope the setting and reader's personality is to your liking.

Note: no usage of Y/N, instead [name] is used; second person pov; there are two time skips in total. Reader is gender neutral and they/them pronouns are used like two times.

Trauma Bonding.

You don't really understand why it happened, but that doesn't matter now.

What matters is, Forrest is an annoying piece of shit. By God how much he pisses you off, and that feeling seems to be mutual. You really can't help it, that guy is just a definition of a bastard. Neither of you cares how this stupid rivalry started, but you've been on each others' asses all the time, just constantly being a bother and a menace to one another.

And while you hated to admit it, it was sort of fun. Forrest's reactions to your little stunts were amusing as hell, so it only added fuel to the fire.

And you would be perfectly fine with things staying that way, but now you were stuck at the god damn KFAM building because what? A serial killer is out on the streets? Pfft, whatever man.

"Just so you know, I'd much prefer if the Whistling Man got me than staying here." you said harshly, sitting down at the couch in front of Peggy's booth. Just hearing Forrest talk made you upset. That man had way too much snark going on, he seriously needs to calm down with that shit.

"No one's holding you here." It just felt like you wanted to punch him every time he spoke, which was the case right now too.

"Settle down you two, we have more important things to care about now." Peggy brought you both back to reality. She was leaning her head on her palm and already looked tired of your constant back and forth bickering.

"Peggy, how come you tolerate him so well?" you could swear you saw Forrest roll his eyes.

"You guys just need to stop arguing so much. Why are you even fighting?" Peggy asks, shifting a little to be more comfortable in her chair.

"Because he's/they're annoying," the two of you said in sync, which only made you exchange a glare between each other. The woman laughed at that. It was honestly hilarious how you two hated each other for no apparent reason, even though your personalities would go well together in theory.

"Oh I see how it is. So you two are just being bitter for the sake of being bitter?" Only silence followed Peggy's question...

Hours have passed already. The night was getting more and more intense, and it was stressing everyone out. You were honestly both impressed and surprised by how well Forrest have managed to deal with this situation. Maybe that alone has earned your respect for him.

Even still, it was horrible to hear that kid get murdered. Poor guy, he was probably no older than 16... sure he was an ass, but that didn't mean he deserved to die. That made you think... if Forrest was to meet the same fate, would you feel the same way? Would it be a petty kind of grief? You would rather not find out.

Which is exactly why-

"Forrest man, you know I can't stand you, but no fucking way. I'm going down with you." Your tone was firm, and it was obvious you wouldn't back down no matter what he said.

"Whatever, lets just go already." He knew it would be pointless to try and argue with you, you would just keep being stubborn to annoy him. But maybe, just maybe, he was a little glad that you would tag along. It was totally not because the presence of another person with him, a person who he knows all too well, would make him feel more safe and protected, of course not, you would be foolish to think that that was the case! He'd just use you as a meat shield if the two of you got attacked. Yep, that was totally it, no other reason whatsoever.

You followed him downstairs, taking in the sight of the interior. It was kind of cozy in here, although you had to admit that the place was a mess. Well, on the second floor that is, the first one seemed pretty neat if you don't look behind the reception.

You made your way through said reception, through the basement and finally through the fire exit. As Forrest walked through the door, you stayed behind to hold it open just in case, that thing didn't look reliable enough for you to be sure that it won't shut behind you. Forrest only raised an eyebrow at you but didn't question it any further.

You'd hear him talk to no one in particular and of course you had to make a snarky remark about how this man had went insane while being so up in his own ass. However, just as you heard something that sounded like footsteps followed up with rustling, you panicked and quickly ran to find Forrest, completely forgetting about the door.

"Forrest?! Bastard man where are you?!" You half whispered half screamed, frantically looking around the back alley. When you came around the corner your eyes first landed on the Whistling Man who stood behind the fence and then walked away. Forrest, however, didn't seem to notice him at all... What a dork.

"So you found it?" You questioned him, looking over his shoulder briefly with your hands crossed over your chest.

"Sure did- Wait why are you here? Weren't you supposed to hold the door open?!" after a while, you began to pick up on certain behavior patterns and habits that Forrest had, one of which was that half lowered tone he always used when he was stressed and frustrated. Damn, pulling out all the dirty moves now, are you Forrest Nash?

"What the hell do you want from me! I thought you were about to be murdered!" ohh, you didn't like the way those two sentences sounded coming from you, it almost made it seem like you actually cared about him, which was totally not the case!

Forrest gasps dramatically, covering his mouth with the free hand that wasn't holding the "Lomg Ride Home", "Oh my God [name], is that what I think this is? Are you perhaps... worried about me?" he said in his signature smug tone, handing you the recording while you were distracted fuming over his stupid words. Without even realizing it, you took it from him.

"Shut up." A classic response, one that is usually a sign that he said something frustratingly stupid that you can't be bothered to come up with something witty to say.

"Sure man. We have the recording now, let's return." You hate to agree with him, but nod anyway, and the two of you make your way back to the fire exit.

Of course, just as you had suspected, it shut behind you as soon as you left, which only caused you both to be even more annoyed. This night was already horrible as it was, you couldn't get stuck outside now! Forrest said something about finding another way in, like a lift to the basement or whatnot. And surely enough, there was one right nearby.

Since it had no power, the two of you found a generator, and after that split ways to hunt around for some fuses to replace the burnt out ones. "Does anything work properly in this God forsaken place?" You think to yourself, picking up a good handful of fuses. However, those aren't the only thoughts that were plaguing your mind. You can't help but feel anxious being away from Forrest after you saw... well, him. And of course, it was totally only because you didn't want to help him or drag his body inside if he got killed! But either way, you hurriedly made your way back to the generator, looking around for Forrest. When you didn't see him anywhere, you could feel anxiety rise in your chest.

"Forrest? Forrest where are you?" You whispered again, dropping all the fuses on the crates nearby. Then you felt a pair of hands suddenly slam against your shoulders.

"Boo," you heard from behind yourself. Naturally, given tonight's circumstances, your first reflex was to fight. So as soon as you turned around, Forrest got shoved away and punched in the stomach. "Augh, what the hell."

"Jesus Christ Forrest! Do you have wind in your head or what?!" Even despite the fact that you cursed him out, you still felt kinda relieved to see him again. At least he wasn't the Whistling Man...

"That hurt you know." He said nonchalantly, as if he didn't just give you three heart attacks at once. You also noticed that he brought back some fuses too.

"Good. That's what you deserve." Truly, these two were made for each other. Who else would bicker and argue about dumb things when out at night in a dark alleyway with a killer on the loose?

The two of you made quick work with that generator, turning the power back on and making your way into the building through the basement.

But not in a single lifetime did you imagine finding... whatever the hell this was. You couldn't choose what creeped you out more: the fact that there was a secret hideout in the basement, all the mannequins with red cross eyes, all the photos attached to red strings and hanging in the air, or the board with news article cutouts and stickers with names and places on them. The latter seemed to grab Forrest's attention first though. Overall, this entire situation made your anxiety grow even more, and your thoughts wandered over to Peggy.

Sure, she is supposed to be safely locked in her producer booth, but... still, what if the Whistling Man somehow got to her? And both of you were downstairs, unable to protect her... You didn't want to imagine the sight of the glass being broken and Peggy laying lifelessly on the floor, probably horrifically injured. You didn't want to imagine it, but you did, and it only made things worse. You could feel your body heat up from growing stress, and only a minute or two later did you notice Forrest shaking you by the shoulder.

"[Name], you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." No way, did Forrest sound worried too? That's hilarious. Sort of endearing too.

"What if... something happens to Peggy?" You didn't even want to say it, you didn't want to express your concerns, especially not to him, but it came naturally. You just blurted it out without thinking.

"She's gonna be alright." Forrest was dumbfounded by your sudden serious tone and panicked look. He didn't expect you to suddenly act like this, if anything he expected another snarky reply. However, the fact that you trusted him enough to let him have a peek into your thoughts made him feel responsible for making things better for you. He already had to comfort a bunch of terrified victims today, so he could surely do it again.

"And what if she won't? What if the Whistling Man gets her? We're not there to protect her, but even if we were, would we be able to protect her anyway? That freak is strong and fast..." your mind began to spiral pretty fast.

"Thinks this through [name], how could he possibly get to her if he was at the old murder house and she is here, in her booth with the door locked?" And that was the worst about this. Forrest didn't know. He didn't see. So you took it upon yourself to break the news to him:

"No, no! You don't understand, I saw him here! He was right outside the building!" Your voice was growing more and more hysterical the longer you had to talk, and it was making him panick too.

"Wait, here? You saw him here?" Forrest asked you, mindlessly placing his hands on your shoulders.

"Yes Nash, here!" Oh damn. You usually only used his last name when things went over the line, so it only made the situation more tense.

"Okay, okay, calm down, deep breaths [name]. Let's get this thing," he patted the board you saw on the wall, "upstairs first and then we will check up on Peggy, alright?" After a moment of hesitation, you agreed. You grabbed the keys from the staircase that were on the table, and Forrest took the board. While you made your way back, with you occasionally glancing at Forrest and him giving you a reassuring nod in return, you couldn't help but feel grateful to him for helping you calm down. It was almost disgusting how well this man managed to soothe your worries, even if just a little bit.

When you finally made it back, you were relieved to find Peggy safe, sound and unharmed. That made your respect meter for Forrest go up like 0.5 percent. Still, you hated his guts. Or... or did you?

The second time wasn't so fortunate. Peggy wasn't unharmed, but she was relatively safe and getting help. You let out a breath that you've been holding in for ages, and you could feel your heart rate begin to slowly decrease. You turned to Forrest after he signed off his show, and couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe you're not as much of an ass as I thought."

And with that, you've bonded over your mutual trauma of the Whistling Night of '87 and have been friends ever since. Inseparable and insufferable if you will. So yeah,

You don't really understand why it happened, but that doesn't matter now.

#killer frequency #killer frequency requests #killer frequency x reader #forrest nash #forrest nash x reader

24 notes · View notes

galsgeneration · 2 years

Note

What do u love abt sonadow? :oc

Oh, there are quite a few things I love about them! Sonic and Shadow's canon dynamic is fascinating in so many levels, since their interactions mostly leave something unsaid or not acknowledged directly - the subtlety is the main point for me. I believe another point that made me like and see them as a cool and interesting pairing in the first place is how important their rivalry - in every aspects of life - is and means to them. It pushes them to do better in every way and help them learn/unlearn things about themselves, such as limits and beliefs, even as friends or foes depending on the circumstances.

Their lifestyles are different albeit similar, considering both of them value freedom and act by their own rules, not following orders or what's morally correct. It all depends on their principles (for Sonic) and goals (for Shadow), yet these two lines also can blur. Moreover, their communication through actions (from the games to recent comics) and gazes (like in Sonic X for example) is something I love to see explored within their dynamic, knowing how sometimes they understand each other in a sense, though not always agree with the other's ways of handling a certain situation they're in/a part of.

This idea is also tied to how they don't seek each other actively for anything, but for some reason, whenever they end up crossing paths again, Sonic and Shadow tend to stick together for a bit. Whether for the sake of the world or to basically challenge each other, they do have some fun in their own little ways. It's a very unconventional, impersonal yet meaningful dynamic and that's exactly why I love it.

SEGA JP was right to describe it as a rare, up-close and personal relationship. It really doesn't fall under a common pattern or can be compared to any other dynamics, since the details we get to see are very much them if you look closely and connect to past events/interactions. There's also a little care between them, not in the romantic sense, but they do appreciate each other's "existence" and input/assistance in a few moments.

Another point I absolutely enjoy is how whenever "they're off in their own little world" (Knuckles' words) at times, other people or main conflicts don't seem to matter until they're done with their competition. Sonic also tends to distract Shadow a lot from his goals, which is amazing and hilarious since his cold-hearted rival is very strict when fulfilling those. He has this hidden respect for Shadow (much like the other does), even when their opinions clash. He doesn't judge him when he gets to understand what and why he's doing what he does - even showing eventual trust (such as in Sonic Battle). Still, he is suspicious of him, and it's something fun to point out, because in the end, Shadow's methods tend to prove him wrong most of the time (like shown in Sonic Forces, Team Sonic Racing and the recent Sonic x Shadow Channel story).

Shadow barely cares for what Sonic has to say about him and vice-versa, though they can rile each other up depending on the words they use or the situation at hand. They have a slight effect on each other and you can see that a lot from Shadow's side. He also likes to show Sonic how worthy of an opponent he is, and that's another point to pay attention to, because he doesn't do that to anyone else. This is why I love them, no matter the setting - as potential lovers or simply two guys being dudes, never excluding their rivalry. Their dynamic would remain the same in both cases, since their unusual interactions are what makes them so special to me!

#isda just swimming by #reply

237 notes · View notes

stellocchia · 3 years

Text

Since I really enjoyed yesterday's stream I decided to do one of my overly long analysis on it

So, here's my analysis of (DSMP LORE) Healthy Competition

Dialogues will be color-coded as usual, so here's what I used: Phil, Wilbur, Ranboo

As always I am incapable of brevity, so everything's under the cut

The stream starts with a conversation between Phil and Wilbur in which Wilbur admits that he hasn't been to visit Phil in a while, which makes Phil's later threat about throwing him out feel that much more ridiculous since Wilbur clearly doesn't really live with him either way...

"Alright, it's got one for Phil, one for Ranboo, and one for Techno. Is that all that live here? Just you three?" "Yep, just us three, just chilling"

The only reason why I'm singling this out is that it was right after the mention of Techno's birthday and Wilbur was pointing at the seats occupied by the 4 members of the Syndicate so it feels slightly weird that Niki wasn't mentioned at all. But also it's technically not a lie, she doesn't live there and she only comes around for the Syndicate meetings.

Another thing to add is that Wilbur did notice the chest Ranboo left for him and consciously decided to ignore it.

"I must admit I've come to you with a bit of a- a bit of a proposition. You're into propositions Phil? Are you a bit of a 'propositions' kinda guy?" "Oh, depends, depends. You- you've had some pretty... let- let's just say, uh- not- not a great track record on propositions that you've had in the past" "Alright... I mean, I'm trying to move past that"

I wonder what exactly Phil is referring to here. Because, like, Wilbur did bad things, don't get me wrong, but what's his track record with "propositions" in particular? Because he isn't talking about "Tommy, let's be the bad guys" here since he doesn't know about that. Is he talking about Wilbur founding L'Manburg? But then again, I don't think Wilbur interpreted it that way. I think that, from Wilbur's reaction, he clearly interpreted it as a jab at him exploding L'Manburg (which is the one thing he's trying to move past) which would be extremely hypocritical from Phil since he did the exact same thing but worse.

Also, I really do think that Wilbur is trying to move forward. He's lonely and he has the lowest possible opinion of himself so it doesn't feel weird that he'd want to move on. He isn't putting the work in it right now and he hasn't really changed, but he does seem to want to (though I think he may not know how).

"He [Quackity] didn't seem afraid of me, which is cool. Not many people- I mean you don't seem afraid of me. You aren't afraid of me, are you Phil?" (little look into Wilbur's mind and his fear of isolation once again. And this is fear of isolation, he's worried that other people are afraid of him and therefore are only waiting for him to step out of line so that all their fears would be confirmed)

"'Cause I'm not afraid of you [Phil]" (bold words for someone who spent who knows how long lying to his dad because of a crippling fear of disappointment...)

"Technoblade spent his entire time taking down the establishments, what he left is, as predicted, a power vacuum for a new establishment to come in" (in case it wasn't obvious, Wilbur is not the biggest fan of anarchy. And he actually got this one criticism spot on, indeed all taking down L'Manburg did was getting 4 new governmental-like structures to sprout in its place)

"Phil, I want to make a burger van" *Phil sighs and walks away* (I'm more sure now that Phil really meant "creating L'Manburg" as Wilbur's bad track record with propositions)

Wilbur repeating 4 times that he has no ulterior motive with the burger van managed to make me think the exact opposite. That said that ulterior motive may just be to create a safe little home for himself and Tommy for all we know honestly. Also, the whole thing with Phil trying to convince his grown-ass kid to go play with the neighbor kid and Wilbur throwing a tantrum in response was hilarious...

"If he's [Ranboo] shit you gotta come help me okay? If he's shit you've gotta come be burger boy with me, okay?" (he still is mistrustful to an extreme and pretty childish admittedly)

"Why is he [Phil] treating me like a kid?! Why is he treating me like a little baby?" (remembering how Wilbur treated Fundy I think it may be a family problem)

Another interesting thing to point out is that Wilbur was openly scared of the spider attacking him here, and fights it off, but he doesn't move away from the explosion later on and he didn't move away from the exploding creepers last stream. Other people already made this connection, but I do think it may be a sort of way to punish himself. Specifically, it's brought up later on that he thinks he got off easy for what he did, so he's using what he hurt others with (explosions) to hurt himself now as a sort of punishment for that. Which is another indication of just how much his stay in Limbo didn't help with his mental health.

"Am I being- is this [Ranboo having both cows and wheat] a setup?" (the paranoia never left)

"Ranboo I'm gonna go out on a limb here: do- do you wanna be friends?" "Su-sure yeah, I don't see why not" (I think that at this point it was still just Wilbur following along with what his dad told him to do and trying to find out more about Ranboo. That does seem to change later down the line)

"And then we decided that it [the 'cookie' outpost] was too much trouble so we kinda just left it" (So we have confirmation that the cookie outpost was abandoned)

"We're not gonna annoy Quackity" "That's good" "We can't annoy- we can't annoy him because we're simply put- we're simply put gonna be making...- I got the real estate! He's giving me the area and we're gonna be making a competing business"

Wilbur says this as if he wasn't perfectly aware that this would annoy the sh*t out of Quackity. As if the point of it wasn't exactly to annoy Quackity. Or well, annoying him isn't the end goal, it's just the means to an end. We don't know the actual end goal (though I think Wilbur still wants to either be let into Las Nevadas or actually instate a rivalry between them as he said, one of the two).

"We [he and Quackity] were a part of the same cabinet during New L'Manburg or whatever" "Cabinet?" "Yeah a cabinet is like-" "Was this- was this with Tubbo?" "Yeah yeah" (...) "So you were part of the old L'Manburg? I didn't know that actually, I thought you were a bit of an independent"

Once again: Wilbur is missing A LOT of knowledge. He wasn't aware that New L'Manburg had a cabinet and he wasn't aware that Ranboo was ever part of the country either. He has a lot of misconceptions about what happened during the time he was dead so it really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that his views on a lot of things are as warped as they are. Wilbur is getting to his conclusions with an incomplete and sometimes wrong set of data.

"Do you dislike anyone Ranboo?" "Not too much I don't think. I mean there are other people I don't, like, agree with what they've done of course, but I think that everyone is just a product of what they've gone through and everything so if you understand that then you understand the person!"

There is nothing inherently wrong with Ranboo's reasoning here. It's true that most people are a result of their environment and, once you understand what they've been through you can understand them better as a person. It's also fine that he personally doesn't want to hold grudges. But that way of thinking isn't applicable to those who have been hurt by others, sure they can reach an understanding, but an understanding of a person doesn't justify shit and doesn't change shit unless that person works towards repairing old broken relationships. It just all sounds like a nice way of thinking about things in theory, but in practice, it just takes away responsibility from those who have wronged others to fix things and moves it to those who have been wronged. (Ranboo isn't advocating for everyone to think that way though, but I know the fandom will).

Either way, they arrive in Las Nevadas and Wilbur talks about how their place doesn't benefit the consumer and puts down 3 signs.

"I've been trying to think of a name for it [his and Tommy's area], I'm thinking about 'Paradise'"

There are two possible reasons for the name that I can think of:

1) It's in reference to Las Nevadas itself and how Las Nevadas is based on Las Vegas, the famous city of sin

2) It could be a reference to Tommy insistently calling Las Nevadas Paradise in the last stream and Wilbur trying to convince him that their place is the true Paradise

Wilbur does decide to make the Burger Van right at the border which really feels like a very obvious provocation. The other thing is that he makes it clear that he wants the van to be red and white which could be a random choice, but really feels like a reference to Tommy (since they are famously his colors) or an imitation of their opposition. Or both considering how much Tommy liked the restaurant of the opposition and the fact that Wilbur is still trying to convince him to stay.

"I'm not very fond of blue" (at this point it's obvious that Wilbur has quite a bit of pent-up animosity against Ghostbur. I wonder if it is because it still feels like people liked the ghost more than him...)

"Like, the Cookie Shop, I don't even know if it was a cookie shop, to begin with, because it was a little... fortified if I'm entirely honest, I realize that now" "Really?" "Yeah did you not see- oh wait- that giant stone structure?" (Ranboo really did fail to realize that the cookie shop was actually a military outpost, huh?)

"See, I like Tubbo. He's strong-headed, he doesn't let people push him around, you know?" (this is both an interesting change in what he thinks of Tubbo if he actually thinks that and further confirmation that Wilbur isn't a fan of people he considers to be 'followers')

"Why do you claim that you're so 'peaceful' and 'neutral' and yet somehow appear in almost every conflict this server's had since I died?" (since I saw people claiming this is manipulation already, just know that it isn't. He's just confused because, admittedly, Ranboo is a confusing guy and Wilbur doesn't really know him at all)

"Ranboo, why did you come to help me?" (...) "And then also I just think, you know... you can, you know- I think- I think you're an alright person, you know? So I wanna- I did kinda wanna get off on a better foot with you then what happened-" "Why?" "Just because I don't really like having the thought that people don't really like me" "Nonononono not the bit about the right foot, the 'why don't you think I'm a bad person'" "Well I mean, I think that you did bad things, but like, I think that you also went through things that made you that way and then I also think that you've changed now (...) but I think that now you've- apparently you've been away long enough that I think that if anyone goes away for that long eventually they'll have a thought about their morality and everything and maybe become a better person because of it"

I know this quote was absurdly long, but it is one of the most interesting conversations of the whole stream and it is really important and it tells us quite a bit as well. For one thing Wilbur was left quite emotional from someone simply admitting that he's an "alright person" and that they think he's capable of changing and this does bring him to open up to Ranboo right after. What Ranboo says to be exact is that anyone would have changed after going through what Wilbur went through and that change could be positive and while I completely disagree with it, it's clearly something that Wilbur needed to hear.

Now as to why I disagree with the notion that 13 years of semi-complete isolation could change anyone for the better should be rather obvious. But if it isn't, well, that's torture to put it simply. Psychological torture. Just like abuse it's one of those things that only cause trauma and a worsening mental health state and we see this with Wilbur because he didn't change, he only became more self-deprecating. Hurting someone doesn't make them become a better person all of a sudden, that's really not how it works. Hurting someone makes them become more traumatized.

"I think I scare people" ( as I said, immediately opening up about his insecurities)

"I think that a lot of people share your idea, but they share your idea in trying to- trying to keep me from hurting them" (for a bit here Wilbur talks about how he feels like everyone else is just waiting for him to step a foot out of line, which does really show that he's still interpreting all his interactions with people through the lens of his paranoia and self-deprecation, because no one is really interacting with him with that objective in mind)

"Dream's had his comeuppance and I've not" (this seems to be the crux of Wilbur's insecurity. This idea that he got off scot-free for his crimes, the idea that the only difference between him and Dream is the punishment that's been bestowed upon them which, of course, is wrong, but he doesn't know this, because he doesn't actually know why Dream's in prison)

"I've been investing into the wrong areas Ranboo, I've been investing into the wrong people" (This is either a reference to Tommy, to Phil, to Quackity, or to all of them)

"We're kindred man, we get each other" (the reason why he thinks that is because he seems to think that Ranboo has a similar type of paranoia to what Wilbur experience himself and he's not entirely wrong. Ranboo is deathly afraid of conflict and of being disliked so much so that he never stands up for anything in fear of angering others)

Little definition of "neuroticism" for you all since Wilbur kept mentioning it: neuroticism, one of the Big 5 personality traits, is typically defined as a tendency toward anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and other negative feelings.

I'd say it's quite fitting for both characters...

"I feel like life dealt us the same cards and the difference is that you built your trust by showing people your cards whilst I- I keep them close to my chest and I feel like that may be the big difference" (I felt like this was interesting. Especially knowing how much Ranboo actually doesn't share and how much he actually also keeps close to his chest)

They talk about tubbo in general for a bit and about what's been going on the server in general. Ranboo also that he's part of both Snowchester and the arctic commune (mostly the latter though).

"This has been chill, this has been good, I'm excited to show Tommy. What's your opinion on Tommy?" "Oh, he's- he's great. Tommy's awesome" "I agree I agree" "Definitely gone through a lot but I think that it's made him a good person" "Well you seem to think that everyone going through something at least gives them some merit you said" "I mean, yeah. I mean if- if no one- the only really bad people are the ones who are just evil because- just because and they don't have any reason why"

Included the whole thing here because if I stopped at Ranboo saying that Tommy going through trauma is what made him a good person it would have sounded really bad. As things are I think that that was just poor wording on his part and that this mostly goes back to the mentality he expressed before about how people sometimes do bad things because of the environment they're in pushing them and this idea he seems to have that actual hardships (like 13 years in Limbo or whatever he knows about what Tommy has been through) can encourage people to be better which is... sort of naive honestly. Again, trauma isn't a catalyst for the betterment of a person, and any improvement Tommy has made came from his self-reflection, not what he's been through.

After they're done with the van Wilbur brings Ranboo to their competing establishment and asks him to smash the windows, which Ranboo does with no hesitation whatsoever. After that Wilbur proceeds to place down one single block of TNT in a corner and Ranboo starts being a little more hesitant.

"You trust me right?" (I feel like that was a trick question considering how their common paranoia is the thing that Wilbur praised in Ranboo before)

Wilbur hands Ranboo the flint and steel to detonate the piece of TNT which Ranboo does, albeit with some hesitation.

"You passed the test, good job man, you go back to the van (...) Ranboo- Ranboo... I'm proud of you man. You've taken a side, you've proven that you can choose a side"

Quite a few people have already pointed out how similar this scene was to the time Wilbur tested Tommy in season 1 to decide if he was fit to be his right-hand man. In both situations, Wilbur gave someone a chance to cause some destruction against someone on the opposite side. Tommy passed the test by refusing to do so and showing that he was willing to uphold his morals and what he believed in. Ranboo passed the test by doing the exact opposite, by showing that, as much as he talks about how he chooses people and not sides, he's not willing to prove that even when all he would need to do to do so is doing nothing.

And it's an interesting scene to analyze as a parallel to that, but it's also interesting to note that Wilbur knows about Ranboo and Tommy griefing George together. He knows that Tommy was the only one to face any consequences for it (not that exile was actually the consequence for the griefing, but this is from Wilbur's point of view). Now putting this in the context of Wilbur seeing himself in Ranboo and thinking that he himself got off scot-free explains this next part perfectly in my opinion.

It explains why he made sure to leave this sign:

To me at least. This is only a theory honestly, we don't have an actual full explanation. But I do think that Wilbur may feel like the both of them never got the comeuppance they deserved, which is why he did something that's sure to get a reaction from one of the most powerful people on the server. Though considering that he also left 2 diamonds as retribution + a chest with all the materials he picked up it could have also been Wilbur's idea of a bonding moment and he could actually really be proud of Ranboo.

#long post #dream smp #wilbur soot #philza #ranboo #c!wilbur #c!ranboo #dream smp analysis #character analysis #stream analysis #tw self-harm #tw self-deprecation #tw torture mention #tw abuse mention #I'm sure there are plenty of things I missed #but this was all for now

237 notes · View notes

opaldraws · 3 years

Text

✨💗 Harringrove Feedback Fest 💗✨

This fandom is so full of amazing creators and if you're seeing this post and you've ever created anything for this wonderful fandom, I APPRECIATE YOU!!

✨Artists✨

@awrble Awrble's art is the reason I discovered harringrove! One of their pieces popped up on my dashboard and I was like "Oh! I've never thought of Billy and Steve together!?" and then everything spiralled out of control. Their art is excellent and I go through their art tag frequently! This piece they did for the zine makes my heart so mushy and this piece is just so playful and cute!

@juu-riin Julie's art constantly makes my day better, whether it's a stream of doodles like these, a fluffy piece like this, or something SPICY like this !!

@lazybakerart Ever since I found their blog when I first joined this fandom, I thought their art was the most creative and visually compelling art I had ever seen! I frequently scroll through their art because I aspire to have the same grasp on color that they do! Like this piece is so perfect!! And I completely adore this one!!

@ihni Ihni's drawings always make me smile! I think that they are so creative and funny and it shows through their art! Like I laughed out loud at this one! And this piece is so perfect for Billy and Steve

@swimbirdyswim Their art is so dynamic and cool! I totally adore this piece and this one is AWESOME! And they have some really cute and soft drawings that just melt my heart!! Like this one!

@b-leach-ing Their art is so sweet! I especially really love this one!! And omg these holiday drawings are just too adorable!!

@dearvenison How could I ever get over this STUNNING piece?! This tender moment is captured so well and if this isn't canon in s4 I'm gonna riot!! Their art is just so amazing!

@ezisdrawing Ez's art is so full of life! I love how they draw Joe and their nb Steve pieces are my absolute favorite! Like these ones! They're just so cute! And this most recent drawing omg! It's so lovely!

@darkmystdrake Annie's art is so spicy and hot! Every time I see it, I notice how dynamic the poses are! And I always appreciate the piercings added onto the boys! This is one of my favs of Steve! And damn! THIS ONE IS AMAZING!

@avalonlights Their art is so so so wonderful! They set a scene beautifully and every piece of theirs just pulls me in! Like I still think about this one a year later! And this piece! Billy and Steve look so in love and the relationship is expressed perfectly! I just love love love their art so much!

@deardmvz Marilyn's art is so fun!! They have so many fresh and interesting ideas and I love seeing what they come up with! Like this vamp Billy is so cool! And this piece is so sweet and beautiful!

@kingsandsaints Their art is unbelievable! Every time I see their art I am in awe of it! Like this piece is insane?! I could stare at it forever!! And omg I love this punk Billy art!!

✨Editors/Gif Makers✨

@memes-saved-me Their photo edits are so distinct and identifiable! And their video edits are always so cool to watch!

@hoegrove I LOVE the gifsets that they make, they're so creative and fun!

✨Blogs I Could Scroll Through For Hours✨

@smashmouth-hargrove - idk how to explain it, but I have actually spent *hours* reading through their writing. You can just tell that they have fun with what they're writing and that makes it fun to read!

@rascheln/@steviespanties Rina's writing is so amazing! They have so many creative and dirty ideas and I can't get enough of them!

@draculcid Not only is their writing amazing, they make some really great edits! I really enjoy reading their responses to asks and they have so much creativity!

@yikesharringrove Yikes has written so many of my favorite fics and I love seeing how they expand on the prompts they receive! I remember the first time I found their blog and I spent like 2 weeks devouring all of their writing,, it was awesome

@ghostofjellyfishforgotten I have read so many ficlets from them and they are always so well written and interesting! And there are so many posts that have paragraphs of tags under them that are amazing! (And they wrote some jestor/king smut months ago that I can't find anymore AND IT'S LIKE ONE OF MY FAV FICS I'VE EVER READ AND I THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME)

✨Fics✨

in the locust wind by @hectordelavega - pls understand that this fic completely ruined me. it's perfect. it's been like a month since i read this and i still think about it all the time.

Walking Home (v)., the Tourniquet by @passivenovember - Jaz's writing is so lovely, I have reread so many of their fics and they even wrote me one that is incredibly adorable T^T BUT back on topic, this fic is everything! Jaz has a way of writing Billy and Steve that is just so perfect, and I love their dynamic in this fic!

orange juice by @aspartaeme - this fic is so fun! I love how thirsty Steve and Billy are for each other and I really enjoyed the whole premise of this fic!

Took it all and took the dirt road home by @nagdabbit - this short lil fic is so soft and emotional,, it just feels so hopeful

with every several pleasure in the world by @rvspberryjvm - I completely adore this fic with my whole heart! Jones is a fantastic writer and their talent truly shines in this fic (and all of their fics)!

Billy Hargrove’s Exploration of Beauty (series) by @mourntheantagonist - this series is amazing! I love how Mandi has Billy and Steve address gender stereotypes and lets Billy explore his gender expression!

Sweet Wonderful You by @cherrydreamer - the way this fic stole my heart! it's just so soft and adorable and Steve and Billy are just the best bfs to each other :') Cherry's writing is so fantastic!

Lonely Hearts Club by @shewritesdirty - this fic (like all of Cait's fics) is so wonderfully written and once I started reading it, I just couldn't stop! It's got the perfect mix of humor, tenderness, and smut!

Plant Your Feet by PeckishDragon - this fic is so sweet,, I will always have a soft spot for dads!harringrove and Billy is just the best dad in this :')

you act so pure (i know you're laced) by @softjish - this fic. THIS FIC. IT IS SO TENDER AND IT BREAKS MY HEART AND PUTS IT BACK TOGETHER IN 5K WORDS.

seventh inning stretch by @holdenduckfield - Idk anything about baseball, but I *do* know that I adore Jill's writing! I love how competitive the boys are in this and how their rivalry evolves!

Bad dog, no biscuits by @catharrington - this is f i l t h y and perfect in every way! Steve is so dominant and he takes care of Billy so well! I am 100% convinced this is how Tina's Halloween party ended.

i'm falling now, but it's so wrong by @hartigays - Ouch this fic has a lovely balance of hurt comfort and it is a great read! I remember I read it all in one go because I just got so hooked!

I Ain’t Fraid Of No Ghosts by @heck-in-a-handbasket - this fic has a special place in my heart bc I love ghost Billy! Reading how Steve dealt with Billy's ghostly shenanigans was hilarious and when they finally become *acquainted*, they work so well together!

@gothyringwald thank you for putting this little love fest together!

#harringrove feedback fest #harringrove #i love all of y'all!!#<333 #if i could I would add like 30 more people and fics #but this already took me hours to make and it's finals oof #fic rec #art rec

135 notes · View notes

hiccanna-tidbits · 3 years

Note

*kicking at your door, smashing it* DING DONG

Hello! 🥰🌸

from "Questions You Should Be Able To Answer For Any OTP" 1,3,4,5,9 and 10 for moanida!😅💜 But you can answer all of them or only few of them is it's too much ahaha

Ily, take care!!

YEAH BOIIII

Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop?

I'm just imagining Moana being a barista at some hole-in-the-wall authentic Polynesian coffee place by the beach, and of course Merida because she damn well needs her caffeine in the morning or she'll pass out, and Rapunzel insists on starting these fucking Squad Beach Days early. Merida was honestly willing to take the first cup of coffee she could get when the gang first went into town, but uhhhhhh oh GOD that girl behind the counter is cute!!! Merida starts "ending up" in there quite a lot, although initially she can barely string a coherent sentence together in front of that cute barista and can't make eye contact for more than half a second. Extroverted as she can be, Merida dissolves into an absolute mess as soon as a pretty girl is involved XD

Merida also pretends to only like black coffee to make herself seem tough, but in reality she kind of hates it and prefers sugar-laden lattes and sweet teas. After a while, when she and Mo have established kind of a friendship, and Merida can have an conversation with Mo without imploding and making an idiot of herself, Mo notices Mer making a face every time she sips her Plain Black Coffee and kinda smirks and is like “You know, there’s no shame in adding sweeteners. I mean, for god’s sake, my favorite drink here is the blonde vanilla coconut latte, and I’m still pretty tough.” Merida is just like “OH THANK GOD” and finally admits that she’d much rather be ordering an Irish crème, toffee, buttered rum, cinnamon, or caramel latte. If the seasonal flavor selection offers any apple-accented or apple pie-esque lattes, Merida’s all about that shit, too! Probably the most “intense” drink Merida actually enjoys is a pretty spicy cinnamon latte. She ends up ordering this pretty frequently to impress Moana with her spice tolerance, even though she really doesn’t need to.

Also, in case there’s any question about it--yes, Moana absolutely memorizes Merida’s orders! Moana also memorizes what flavor syrups Merida seems to like best (i.e. spicy cinnamon, apple pie, caramel, toffee, butterscotch) and gives them extra shots of them in her drinks. When the manager complains about all of Merida’s favorite flavor syrups running out frequently, Moana is like “Oh nooooo, I have no idea why THAT could be! That’s terrible!”

Rivals to lovers AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons?

I love the idea of them having a super-petty sports rivalry in a modern AU! Merida strikes me as being competitive as hell, so I’m betting anything she’d be the one to take it way too seriously and get increasingly annoyed with Moana outdoing her, while Mo kind of gives in and indulges Mer but is also secretly amused and kind of flattered that Mer is like...that into their rivalry. Moana’s just like *Regina George voice* “Why are you so OBSESSED with me???”

Like maybe in a modern-day college AU, Merida has been the star of her college’s archery team basically since freshman year. She wins the championships!!! She gets the trophies!!! She’s very well-known within the tiny niche community that is college archery!!! Then, come junior year, this girl in Merida’s year who Merida’s never even SEEN before shows up out of nowhere and makes the cut for the team. She’s honestly way better than she has any right to be (like judging by how she is with that harpoon gun, Moana’s aim is pretty damn good) and is constantly stealing the spotlight, and Merida is a very angry lass. Like it seems like no matter what she does, Moana can always one-up her, and Merida wants to tear her hair out in frustration. Doesn’t help that every time Moana does ridiculously good on a drill and gets 7 bullseyes in a row or some shit, she’s insufferably smug and cocky about it. Merida very-nearly throws a fit every time Mo outdoes her, and Moana honestly finds the whole thing pretty amusing. She’s sort of flattered that apparently only she can get such dramatic reactions out of Mer, and that just tempts her to push Mer’s buttons all the more.

Then, come the annual Big Archery Tournament Finals! As usual, Merida’s college’s team wins--although this time, it’s through a combination of Merida’s and Moana’s skills rather than just Merida kicking archery ass for like 2 hours straight. On the individual evaluations, Moana scores higher than Merida, but only by a little bit. Merida is, of course, extremely salty, but she’s also grudgingly grateful that Moana being there was able to give their team a definitive edge in the competition.

Afterwards, the team goes out for celebratory drinks. After probably 3 drinks too many, Moana finally works up the courage to try and actually like...have a straight conversation with Merida for once, instead of just communicating with passive-aggressive show-offery. She wanders over, sits next to Mer at the bar, and half-slurredly asks if she can declare a truce just for one night, in honor of their kind-of-teamwork winning the tournament. Merida is also a few drinks in, so she’s just like “sure, fuck it, maybe yer not so bad after all. Now prove to me you’re not a pain in the arse!”

They chat for a while, and it turns out Moana is actually pretty easygoing and fun to talk to when she’s not mega-flexing with her archery skills. After a few more drinks, Moana is like “...can I tell you something?” and Merida’s like “why not?”

And then Moana just goes bright red and looks away and admits that the whole reason she got into archery and boosted up her skills enough to join the team in the first place was because she saw Merida making like 50 bullseyes at the previous year’s tournament, and developed a huge crush on her--to the point where she did all this extra-ass shit just so she could join the archery team and get to know Merida better. Also, every instance of Moana acting smug and cocky after acing a drill or perfectly hitting a target? It was honestly because she was trying to impress and show off to Merida, and also because she’s awkward as hell and has no idea how to actually flirt without being joke-mean and joke-cocky. Merida, a much more emotional drunk than she will ever admit, starts crying and gets super apologetic, because oh god, she was being so mean and rude to this girl who only ever thought she was cool and wanted to impress her from the jump??? How COULD she??? Moana lowkey loses her shit laughing because how mad Merida got at being upstaged was honestly kind of hilarious, and she was actually really flattered that Merida was, again, that obsessed with their rivalry. It made Moana feel weirdly special that only she could get to Merida that much, and she honestly liked the attention, even if it...wasn’t the most positive XD And Merida starts laughing, too, because she’ll admit that in hindsight, this whole thing feels a little ridiculous, and extracurricular college archery really isn’t that big of a deal.

Finally, Merida just rolls her eyes and says “C’mere, yeh bloody show-off yeh” and grabs Moana by the front of her archery uniform and smooches her!!! The entire archery team hoots and hollers because OH SHIT, DAT GAY!!! Merida holds out her other hand and flips the entire team off, which honestly just makes them cheer more.

Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides?

Depends a lot on the conflict, I think! Maybe a war breaks out in an AU where someone other than Moana is chosen to return the Heart of Te Fiti--I’m gonna say Tui, for irony’s sake! Moana and Sina take over as co-chiefs while he’s gone, but he takes significantly longer than Moana did in the quest, so Moana’s tribe is eventually forced to flee Motunui to find new fishing grounds before their island is overtaken by darkness. The people of Motunui sail across the world, trying to find a new place to call home. Unfortunately, every time they find a habitable place, it’s already occupied, and the people who live there are uninterested in sharing their already-scarce food.

Eventually they stumble upon Dunbroch, far enough away from Motunui that the seas aren’t affected by the spreading darkness, and fish are plentiful. Naturally, Moana’s tribe sets up a camp on the shores and starts catching as many fish as they can, hoping they’ve finally found a place where they can have enough to eat again. Unfortunately Fergus and Elinor aren’t too crazy about this, and are like “yo, these oceans and these fish and other game belong to the people of Dunbroch and you gotta leave” and Sina and Moana are like “Pls we don’t have any place to go and we’ve been barely eating for a long-ass time, can’t you spare some food?” and Fergus and Elinor are like “sorry bro, it’s almost winter and we have our own entire kingdom to look after, we don’t need more mouths to feed. You gotta be on your way or shit’s gonna get real.”

So Moana thinks this sounds sketch as fuck because like...there’s an entire forest full of deer, rabbits, and other game, and they have NO food they can spare??? That night, Sina sends Moana to spy on the kingdom, since she can be pretty sneaky when she wants. Moana manages to climb the castle battlements and watch through a window, and she sees a bunch of people enjoying a massive feast in a huge dining hall. Her eyes are particularly drawn to a girl about her age with a head full of bright, fiery curls, wearing a nice dark green dress and gorging herself on pastries adorned with white icing and raspberries.

Moana heads back and tells Sina “actually it looks like these assholes have PLENTY of food to spare, and they just want to keep it all for themselves” and Sina is like “well shit...why don’t we raid their food store, then??? They’ve gotta have one somewhere!” And so the Motunui village storms Castle Dunbroch at dawn, catching them almost completely by surprise.

The first thing Moana does is seek out the redheaded pastry girl, whom she’s developed a particular disdain for. When she rushes her, she’s surprised that the ginger girl whips around and immediately sends an arrow sailing into her shoulder. When Moana gets close, the redheaded girl pulls out a sword. Moana takes out a long, sharpened wooden spear made from a particularly tough oar.

She turns out to be much more competent than Moana expected, especially for someone who was shamelessly shoving sweets into her mouth not 7 hours earlier.

They go toe to toe Raya-and-Namaari style, and the redheaded girl admittedly gives Moana a run for her money. The longer the battle goes on, the more Moana’s rage grows. She taunts the redheaded girl the entire time, calling her a spoiled, selfish brat who’d rather gorge herself with all the sugar in the world than share even one grain of it. Merida, who hasn’t exactly heard good things about these people from her parents, is just like “well, you’re no better, showing up and thinking you can just steal what belongs to Dunbroch and we won’t put up a fight!”

And thus the war begins. Motunui is never quite strong enough to get through the guards and raid the food stores, and Dunbroch is never quite strong enough to fully drive Motunui out of the kingdom. Fergus and Moana are both far too stubborn to surrender (despite the fact that Sina is kind of ready to), and so the battles continue. Casualties start to pile up. Dunbroch seeks help from the other clans, but they refuse--they did not take their leaders’ sons being scorned by the Dunbroch princess lightly.

Over and over, Moana can’t help but be drawn to the redheaded girl. She realizes after a few battles that this girl isn’t just anymore, but the Dunbroch princess--her resemblance to the king and his protectiveness over her can’t be a coincidence. It only makes Moana hate her more--but time and time again, she isn’t able to get the better of the princess. Moana can fight hard, and she can be vicious--but so, she’s discovering, can the Dunbroch girl. The princess is clever and cunning, and underestimating her has almost gotten Moana a blade in the throat one too many times.

Merida would be the one to change sides eventually, I think (wooo! Finally got to the actual question!). Once she finds out her parents didn’t tell her the whole truth about their first meeting with the Motunui village and sorta fudged what happened, Merida is livid that they turned away people who needed help. She said if she had known there were people who were tired and hungry and just needed a place to rest, she would have gladly given up some of her own meals for them! To prove this, she gathers up her dinner--plus some apples and some pastries she was going to have for dessert--and puts it in a basket, taking it to the Motunui camp as a peace offering. Moana ambushes her and very nearly slices the basket in half, if only because Moana was convinced it was filled with venemous snakes. After some bickering, Moana finally snatches the food away and, after testing it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, brings it to Sina.

Unfortunately, one basket of food isn’t enough to feed the village, and the fighting continues. Merida tries to convince her parents to share their food stores with Motunui, but they still refuse, saying they need those stores for their own people and the Motunui people killed any chance of goodwill they might get when they attacked. Determined not to see people starve, Merida starts stealing from the reserve herself and sneaking the food out to the Motunui camp. Moana is feeling a lot more kindly towards Merida at this point, and feels a little bad about being so quick to judge her initially.

Eventually, Fergus and Elinor notice the food in the stores going missing, and figure some of the Motunui villagers must be running stealth operations to sneak in and get it. Dunbroch launches a full-scale attack on Montunui--while Merida is at their camp sneaking them food, in fact. Fergus makes a beeline for Moana. Word has gotten out by now of the times she managed to spy on the castle, so her sneakiness is well-known--and Fergus is all but certain she’s the thief. He charges at her with his sword, aimed to kill, when his own daughter steps in the way.

He barely manages to stop himself, but he does just in time. Merida admits she was stealing the food the whole time, and she can’t let Fergus hurt Moana. Fergus demands to know why, and Merida tearfully admits “Because I love her!”

Fergus, in a rage, takes out his sword again and charges Merida. Swords clash between father and daughter, and Merida looks like she’s just about to be overpowered. Moana can see the fear and betrayal in her eyes, appalled that her father would actually contemplate hurting her.

Not wanting to see whether he actually would, Moana steps in and helps Merida to fend Fergus off. “Enough!” she screams. “How can you live with yourself? My father risked his life to try to save his daughter and his people--and you’re willing to fight yours because she doesn’t agree with all this senseless violence?! You make me sick! I’m standing with Merida, because...because I love her too. I’ll leave if you want, but I want this to end.”

This finally snaps Fergus out of it, and he and Elinor decide that maybe the fighting has gone on long enough--and maybe it’s not worth it anymore, if it’s pitting them against their own daughter now. They end up trying to work out something with Motunui. Establishing a peace treaty and figuring out how to proceed forward is a long and messy process, but everyone is willing to put in the work--for the sake of Merida and Moana, if for nothing else.

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate?

Neither of them want to meet their soulmate XD Merida has just been repulsed by the idea of marriage and commitment since she was young, mainly because she can’t not see it as just a means of taking her freedom away and making her be subservient to someone. Besides, given the, um...heteronormative culture of Dunbroch and all, she assumes she’ll get not just stuck with, but cosmically bound to a man and that idea just...doesn’t do anything but fill her with unadulterated disgust XD Like please no, she’s perfectly happy to go where she pleases when she pleases with no one but Angus for company. The last thing she needs is some stuck-up, snot-nosed boy telling her what she can and can’t do.

Moana has similar concerns, although maybe a bit less extreme. She’s mainly worried that when she meets her soulmate and, as per expectation, marries them, she’ll be expected to “mature” into a full adult and fully embrace her responsibilities as chief, leaving behind her childhood dreams of exploring the ocean. Same as Merida, she’s worried the person she’s destined for will tie her down and prevent her from exploring and going on the adventures she craves so badly. She’s also, like Merida, worried she’ll get stuck with some lame, boring dude who she’ll be destined for because...he loves her!!! And will be really nice to her!!! But will not stimulate or interest her in any way whatsoever!!! And Moana is pretty uninterested in romance and dating regardless, so the idea of any kind of romantic partner who she’d hypothetically have to run crazy ideas by before just doing them doesn’t sound too appealing to her. Like, she’s happy where she is and having her friends and family for company, what does she need an SO for??? It just feels like the whole “soulmate” business is just the universe attempting to give her a babysitter, and Moana ain’t about that. She can do things on her own, dammit!!! And what makes the great elder love gods think she wants another person to keep track of on her escapades, anyways?!? It’s enough effort keeping herself safe without worrying about someone else!

Imagine their shocked delight when each finds out their soulmate is a) a girl and b) a girl arguably just as chaotic, adventurous, and rebellious as they are!!! They meet and they’re like “huh...maybe the universe wasn’t being some big dumb fucking idiot binding us together after all. I can work with this!!!”

Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

Merida is the pirate! Or at least...the one who becomes a pirate first! XD Maybe to escape her betrothal she steals a ship and flees Dunbroch, and BOOM trouble on the High Seas time!!! Eventually she sails to the south Pacific on her naval escapades, and stumbles on Motunui. When she finds out Moana is a chief’s daughter, she naturally kidnaps her and holds her for ransom--because screw it, she hasn’t successfully pillaged any merchant ships recently and she needs some cash. But instead of being like “Noooo take me home!” Moana is like “Actually this fucks, I’ve always wanted to sail the ocean anyways and my dad wouldn’t let me before, so you’ve accidentally given me an avenue to achieve my dreams!!! Thank you!!!” And Merida realizes that a first mate would actually be a lot more useful in the long run than a handful of hostage money, so she just kind of shrugs like “aight, yer on the crew.”

Merida is a bit salty because Moana takes to the pirate lifestyle excellently--so much so that before long, she’s arguably a better pirate than Merida XD While Merida is a bit cranky about being outdone in the art of piracy, she also can’t help but admire Moana’s natural aptitude for sailing and propensity for mischief on the High Seas!!!

Their ship is called “The Arrow,” and Merida definitely uses her bow during pirate-to-pirate combat! She teaches Moana how to shoot a bow, but discovers Mo is pretty nifty with a harpoon gun as well!

Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

Oooooh, this is a fun one!!! Admittedly I don’t usually think about these girls in a Childhood Friends to Lovers AU (very possibly due to...geographical constraints lol) so this’ll be a cool thought experiment!

SO in order to fix my unfortunate geographical constraints, I’m gonna say that this is an AU where the people of Motunui were wayfinders from the jump, and while voyaging (admittedly a LONG way), they stumbled upon Dunbroch. Moana’s parents and Merida’s parents immediately hit it off, and established a political alliance of sorts.

Moana, meanwhile, pulled the classic “little girl on vacation/at an event immediately seeks out other little girl and becomes best friends with her.” Moana and Merida naturally also hit it off immediately, and are both pretty bummed out when Tui and Sina want to leave and continue voyaging and such. However, they make plans to visit as frequently as they can and Merida and Moana are super hyped about this! They both always get extremely excited for said visits, and Little Moana nearly falls off the front of her family’s boat several times because she’s leaning over so far and squinting so hard to try and see Dunbroch.

I love the idea that Moana was the one who was totally smitten from the jump, to the point where it took her years to realize she was aspec because she was like “Of course I can fall in love!!! I’m in love with Merida!!!” She just didn’t realize most people have romantic inclinations toward more than one person over the course of their lives XD

It absolutely does not help that Merida is extremely romance-repulsed when they’re kids--mainly because she associates romance in general with being docile and acting stupid to impress some annoying macho guy, and that thought kinda makes her want to puke. That, and given how, er...heteronormative things are in Dunbroch, it doesn’t reall occur to her that romancing girls is like...an option. So poor Moana has always kind of resigned herself to thinking she has no chance with Merida, and keeps her feelings under pretty tight lock since she doesn’t want to ruin their close friendship and all and she doubts Merida even swings that way.

THEN when they’re in their early teens, Merida is like “hmmm...I wonder what it would be like to kiss Moana?” but then IMMEDIATELY feels weird for thinking that and tells absolutely no one. She’s definitely starting to feel something a little different than just platonic friendship though, and of course she’s also convinced Moana only sees her as a friend and probably doesn’t like girls.

Then one day they’re wrestling around out in the woods, like they have since they were little, and at one point Merida leans down and just impulsively kisses Moana. She’s super flustered and apologetic afterwards, but Moana just stares in shock before being like “holy shit, I never thought you’d actually want me too. Holy shit!!!!” After that, they start secret-dating and everyone around just thinks they’re still “very good friends” XD

When Merida turns 16 and gets the news of her betrothal, she’s devastated. It takes her several days to process her emotions, and several times she tries to protest to her mother, but Elinor steamrolls her and talks over her at every turn. Finally, when Merida can get a word in edgewise, she tearfully bursts out that she can’t go through with this because she loves Moana. Elinor, traditionally-minded woman that she is, is horrified by this.

When Fergus finds out, he GOES OFF at Elinor and sticks up for Merida. He basically says that she’s their daughter and they should want her to be happy, and they should be happy for her that she did find someone she loves, even if it’s a bit...unconventional.

Later, at the betrothal ceremony, Merida picks an archery contest for the suitors with the hopes of cheating the system and winning her own hand. Imagine her surprise when Moana rushes in late with a makeshift bow on her hip, shouting “I am Moana of Motunui, and I’ll be shooting for the princess’s hand as well!”

Luckily, due to Moana’s years and years of informal archery training from Merida herself, the other suitors really don’t stand a chance.

It turns out that Elinor and Fergus set this whole thing up, deciding in the end that their daughter should at least be able to marry who she loves if she had to get looped into a political marriage. And honestly, they weren’t going to say no to a stronger alliance with Motunui at the end of the day. Merida is so pleasantly shocked by the whole thing that she forgets to be mad about the fact that she’s still being pressured into a marriage pretty young XD Luckily, Moana has no intention of trying to hold Merida back or take her freedom away! Their relationship really barely changes after they officially become wives, and they’re still just as in love as they’ve basically always been.

As for the issue of heirs, Elinor and Fergus just make Merida’s brothers the heirs of Dunbroch, and Tui and Sina are fine with Moana and Merida choosing an heir for Motunui who isn’t necessarily their biological child. Neither Moana nor Merida are crazy about the “leaders have to be from the chief/monarch’s bloodline” rule anyways, so they’re more than fine with this!

This is in reference to this post! Still answering these questions for Moanida and Hiccanna, if I haven’t done so already!

@takaraphoenix come get your daily dose of Moanida!

#moanida #moana x merida #merida x moana #disney femslash #otp questions #merida #moana #moanaxmerida #meridaxmoana #moarida #merana #meridana #moana waialiki #merida dunbroch #rotbtd #brave #crossover

16 notes · View notes

gayestnerdsinfiction · 3 years

Text

Rivalry

requested by @micapearls (ed hearing jon full body laugh for the first time)

Ever since he first met Jonathan Crane, Edward has had an unshakable fixation on eliciting any type of emotional expression from the other man. To the untrained eye it would appear Jonathan was unable to experience any human emotions beyond displeasure and annoyance. Jonathan doesn’t cry, he doesn’t shout when they argue, he doesn’t allow any facial expression to inadvertently cross his stoic features. Over time, Edward has been able to get a better feel for the subtle cues that indicate his partner’s emotional state, but Jonathan still makes an effort to hold his feelings and opinions close to his chest. Edward wants so badly to break him of this habit. He’s lost count of the amount of meaningless arguments he’d blown out of proportion in the hopes of making Jonathan visibly angry. But perhaps that’s just trauma reenactment.

It was after one such failed attempt to goad Jonathan into an argument that Edward finally got what he was looking for. He had unsuccessfully tried to get a rise out of the other man, throwing out the cruelest, most spiteful things he could think of. Things he didn’t mean, things he doesn’t want Jonathan to think he meant. Unfortunately, this only resulted in Jonathan disappearing off into the lab, leaving Edward to sulk alone in the living room. He’s sitting on the couch, staring absently at the television when Jonathan finally reappears from the basement, his expression as austere and unreadable as ever.

“I’m having a drink,” the older man announces, breezing past Edward and into the kitchen. He removes a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and holds it up for Edward to see. “Do you want one?”

Edward doesn’t particularly care for whiskey but he can recognize a peace offering when he sees one. He nods wordlessly, sliding to one end of the sofa to make room for Jonathan to sit if he wanted to.

Jonathan pours the two drinks, bringing them into the living room and handing one to Edward. He accepts. Takes a small sip, trying to ignore the unpleasant taste.

“What are you watching?” Jonathan asks as he sits down a respectful distance away from Edward.

“News,” he says. “I’m looking at it more than I’m really watching it.”

Jonathan studies the screen for a few moments, sipping his own drink steadily. “Turn up the volume,” he says abruptly.

Edward obliges, directing his own attention to the TV as well. The reporter onscreen is standing in front of the Gotham University campus. There are cop cars and officers crowded around the building, many of them with heavy tactical gear and weapons.

“Shit, I hope whatever this is doesn’t screw up the heist I had planned for next weekend,” Edward mutters as he puts his drink down on the table.

“…As you can see the police are behind me attempting to negotiate the release of the thirteen hostages currently being held on the University grounds.” The camera cuts away from the reporter to show a closer shot of the police officers at the scene. Edward can make out commissioner Gordon speaking into a walkie-talkie at the front of the group. Bullock stands beside him, looking generally burly and gruff but otherwise not contributing much. “The location and condition of the hostages is unclear; all we know is that those thirteen students and faculty members are trapped somewhere in the Joker’s sadistic maze. More updates on the way as we continue to document the most recent criminal exploits of Gotham’s most fearsome criminal.”

“Ouch,” Jonathan says dryly. “Seems unfair that I’m not the most fearsome criminal in this city but I suppose there’s no accounting for taste.”

Edward, in the meantime, is too busy trying to navigate the mixture of anger, surprise, and jealousy that has begun burning in his chest to even register Jonathan’s comment. “He—I feel like I’m having a stroke, I mean, did that reporter say what I think she said?” he splutters, standing up from the couch to gesticulate wildly at the screen.

“What’s your problem?” Jonathan asks. “Joker does something like this every week, you can’t be surprised at this point.”

“You don’t understand,” he snaps, ignoring the heat he can feel rising into his face and ears. “I was going to do a sadistic maze at the university. Me! That fucking clown stole my idea! I mean, am I the only person with any goddamn integrity in this vile city?” He collapses back onto the couch, throwing his arms up. “I had the whole thing planned out, all the pieces built and ready to be set up and he just swoops in with his dollar store makeup and awful dye job and ruins everything like he always does. I mean, do you know how hard it is to build a maze from scratch and make it appear with fully functional traps and people in it before the cops show up? It’s not easy, I’ll say that. And it’s not cheap either!”

Jonathan watches Edward’s hysterical monologue in silence, takes a few moments to digest the entirety of the rant, and then bursts out laughing.

Edward’s jaw drops. Usually when Jonathan laughs it’s little more than a sharp exhale or the hint of a smile. But this laugh is a loud, unrestrained cackle, so raspy in places it almost sounds like a wheeze. It’s the first time he’s ever seen his partner seem genuinely tickled by something and he can’t even enjoy it because it’s at his own expense. He can’t tell if he’s more shocked to see his partner’s entire body wracked with laughter, or more indignant that he’s being laughed at in the first place. He snaps his mouth shut, his face screwing up into a scowl. “It’s not funny.”

“It absolutely is. Your whole thing with the Joker is hilarious.”

“It is not! He’s completely destroying my reputation, my career in this town. I mean, now I can never do that heist I had planned because the Joker already did it and everyone’s already accusing me of ripping off his costume and gimmick. If I even mention that I had the same idea, then people are going to try and accuse me of stealing his fucking intellectual property too.” He gets up again, pacing almost frantically around the room. “It doesn’t even make sense for him to do something with a school, I mean, I’m the one whose whole aesthetic and MO has to do with knowledge and learning. He should go terrorize a fucking comedy club or something, leave the higher education to those of us whose brain cells haven’t been fried by a vat of acid.” He glares at Jonathan who is still doubled over with laughter. “Stop laughing at me, I’m serious.”

He raises a hand to cover his mouth, though it does nothing to soothe his amusement. “I’m sorry. But you have to admit, you sound ridiculous right now.”

“I fail to see how this is ridiculous.”

“You’re demanding artistic integrity from a man who dresses like a clown and kills people for fun.” Jonathan manages to stifle his laughter a bit, but Edward knows he’s never going to let him live this down. “Besides, neither of you went to college so I don’t see how you have more of a right to a university based maze heist than him.”

He rolls his eyes. Jonathan loves to point out that Edward never went to college because it’s the only real accomplishment he has that Edward couldn’t easily replicate. Just because Jonathan suffered through nine years of higher education that would have driven Edward into a murderous rage doesn’t mean he’s better than him. “A maze is a type of puzzle is it not? Last time I checked I was the prince of puzzles which, in my eyes, makes me more entitled to use mazes in my traps. I also think it makes me sound cooler. I mean, ‘clown prince of crime’? How pathetic is that.”

“They’re both pathetic,” Jonathan says. “I don’t know why people keep trying to call us princes like we’re not all broke psychopaths.”

“I’m not broke.”

“But you don’t deny being a psychopath?”

Edward continues to glower at the other man who is still fighting against a smile. “I can’t believe you’re not on my side right now.”

Jonathan shrugs. “I mean, you have to admit your costume color schemes are remarkably similar.”

“They are not! My preferred color scheme is green and purple, his is purple and green, okay, they’re distinctly different!”

“Edward,” he says, using that tone he always takes when Edward is acting irrational, “Don’t you think you’re taking this a bit too seriously?”

“Not in the slightest,” he insists, knowing that this is arguably a stupid thing to care about. “You’ll never know what it’s like to always play second fiddle to everyone’s favorite costumed criminal. At least people are scared of you. Everyone just thinks I’m some kind of joke thief.”

“Well, maybe you need to give them something to be scared of. Show them you mean business.”

“Oh yeah? And how do you propose I do that in a way that is both on brand and not derivative of the Joker’s own crime sprees?”

Jonathan’s smile changes, becoming less humorous and more devious. Edward can see the familiar gleam in his eye that indicates the Scarecrow’s mind is hard at work. There’s the Jonathan he’s used to. “I bet I could give you a few ideas,” he says slyly, finishing the rest of his drink in a single swallow. “If you don’t have any qualms about torturing people.”

Despite the fact that he’s still annoyed with Jonathan for making fun of him, Edward can’t help but flash a smile back at the other man. There’s just something about those clever, sinister eyes that always draw him right back in. “What did you have in mind?”

#i know this was a long road to walk to fulfill the prompt but I hope u enjoy #scriddler #scarecrow #riddler #jonathan crane #edward nygma #batman #dc #my writing #joker #just a reference tho bc he's stinky

39 notes · View notes

enn-tea · 3 years

Text

When I was younger, I used to play otome games, which were and continue to be hilarious for their absurdity e.g. getting transported back to the Warring States period and romancing Oda Nobunaga et al. I’d play these with my friends because of the bad storylines, and frankly questionable love interests and we’d spend all our time literally breaking down how bad these stories were, like jfc please actually do something, protagonist. Also in no way feel obligated to read this because this is just...word vomit for my own personal reference haha. Honestly don’t read this. Maybe one day I’ll turn this into some kind of actual essay about the impact on these games on wider culture or something (after I write about why romance in AOT is fine and everyone’s just reading it wrong and actually Isayama is peak romance writer and should write a massive Mills & Boon franchise around uh...some characters). But anyway.

However, amongst all of these was probably the game with the most generic concept was Wizardess Heart, which was this magic school which the protagonist attended. Over the course of two weeks, she would have to be partnered up with a “buddy” and they would help each other with their magic (they also fell in love over these two weeks LOL and quite honestly her best romantic choice was her roommate, which was never an option :( She was, for a while also the only other female character in the school who actually had a personality).

Anyway, the point is - the setting was clearly a riff on certain franchises, the whole system was super basic...but. These stories had no right to be as good as they were. Or perhaps they had every right. Because from the ones I played, they were...genuinely really interesting. Each storyline was a season, and there were three romanceable characters, who all had their own individual plotlines but...tied into one coherent plot, as either a protagonist or an antagonist, which I still find - kind of revolutionary for an otome game haha (I’m not counting Mystic Messenger bc I actually enjoyed getting to set up a bakery and cult investigation).

But honestly? These were within the universe, believable but also super crazy stories. I only ever played two “seasons” fully, because of the ticket mechanic, but the second one has literally stayed with me in terms of really interesting perspective, and the characters themselves because if the first season was mildly crazy, season two was insane and focused on these three characters: Klaus Goldstein (...no comment lmao, I do hate how he’s the figurehead of the game), Serge Durandal (the best character tbh) and Azusa Kuze (a piece of shit and not in a good way, what are the messages this game is telling us). Each season had a mystery as a premise, and the second one was about mysterious animal deaths occurring around the school.

I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to explain Wizardess Heart comprehensively, but the personal lives of these characters? Was crazy. I loved they all had cameos in each other’s storylines and were so tightly linked. Like you have Klaus who does actually have the least interesting plotline, but a shared tragic backstory with Serge (more on that later, because this is literally peak melodrama lmao). You have Azusa who comes from fantasy Japan in that universe, which has been overrun by nature spirits who are taking over because they think humans are overstepping their boundaries, and Azusa has signed a deal with one of them to bring back his dead brother, and in fact is being manipulated by visions of said brother (and even with that in context, he’s still actual trash for other reasons, and I can’t believe the happy end for his route is to get married and have kids with him EW).

My favourite character in this however was Serge Durandal who is also a premium shit-stirrer but never super maliciously haha (apparently I have a favourite character archetype I’m a fan of). Even now he’s literally the best character because he’s such a passive aggressive individual to Klaus (who deserves it). But their shared backstory cracks me up, is kind of sad and ridiculously absurd because they’re both so fixated on the past. I also personally find his storyline interesting from a character progression viewpoint, because he’s the main character’s idol when she starts at the school, but has mysteriously disappeared.

So basically in Klaus’ storyline, he always references this dead friend he’s hung up over (although the “friend” part is debatable maybe haha) and you help him investigate the dead pigeons. Ofc you then find out that polite, charming Azusa is the antagonist of the season and you have to play through the next routes in order to get a better picture of this. But throughout Klaus’ route, this character called Randy March (unfortunate name lmao) keeps on popping up. He’s funny, doesn’t treat the main character as inconvenience (best friend goals right there) but what’s more interesting is how he’s never in the same room as Klaus; as soon as he hears that he’s approaching, he just...disappears. And this continues for the whole of the story until the end, when they finally meet each other face to face, and Klaus reacts badly. Not quite in an upset way, more shocked - but it’s clear that they have a History.

So - cue “Randy’s” route. He is the same as he is in Klaus’ route, and still dodges bumping into Klaus, but then - then, they bump into each other far earlier in his route (one thing I do like about these stories is how the main character does actually have some impact on the plot. It all follows the same storyline, with the same conclusion, but they do diverge because the character happens to interact with different characters and some things can’t happen if she isn’t there for it). Leading up to this, Randy has been very cagey about being the main character’s “buddy” and insists he already has one, and he really, really gets awkward when the main character states that she really idolises Serge Durandal (who in this is like, IDK good at animal magic like the main character).

And then, my god, the reveal. The fact that Randy March is not, in fact, Randy March, but Serge Durandal (which honestly is such a cool name comparatively lol, I named all my other otome protagonists Serge Durandal). And that Randy March, is in fact, the dead friend of Klaus who Serge has been impersonating for literal years. On top of this? Serge was also a best friend of Randy, who was his “buddy” and leading up to Randy’s death, he and Klaus were involved in a rivalry over his friendship (and I’m not joking I do actually think this was some kind of unvoiced love triangle, because both Serge and Klaus genuinely say that they’re attracted to the main character because she reminds them of Randy, they need to get over this before they can actually engage in a romantic relationship with anyone else kthx. Also at some point, Serge actually says he loved Randy in a way that really can’t be construed as entirely platonic, and the main character says it as well, and considering her personality and the way she interprets things, when she says love - she definitely means romantically).

Klaus holds Serge responsible for Randy’s death, as the two were working on a project together which led directly to it. His first reaction on ever hearing Serge’s name is “the murderer” which continues all the way up until the end of the story when they resolve their character arcs (also incredibly satisfying).

Apparently the reason behind Serge impersonating his dead friend is because he felt so guilty and so ashamed and willingly accepted the blame that Klaus placed on him, he felt that if he became Randy, it would basically be like letting his friend experience the life he didn’t get to have, and he’s spent years searching for a cure to revive him. This has taken him to Hinomoto, where he’s become friends with Azusa (drawing him into the storyline) and back to the main setting of Gedonelune. Side note, Azusa, I’m not going to even go into your character because you’re such a piece of shit and I only played through your storyline because I felt compelled to get the full picture.

Ofc, this all links to the main plot - because at this time of year, there’s a whole thing related to a unicorn appearing in the nearby forest. This is a unicorn who has struck a deal with Serge years prior to the main storyline who is Serge’s last hope of reviving Randy, and Azusa finds out about this and wants to bring his brother back etc. and this all culminates in a massive showdown.

Intense.

Anyway, at the end of this, peace returns etc. and there’s a sequel I haven’t actually played but you know what’s perfect about the ending? Serge ends up staying on as a prefect - the same role as Klaus and they have to share a room. I cannot describe how funny their interactions are for the rest of the story and the other storylines they have to live together.

I’m not entirely sure what the point of this was, apart from an exercise in pinning down precisely what I liked about this story but - it’s certainly one that’s stuck with me through a LOT of otome haha.

13 notes · View notes

athenagrantnash · 3 years

Text

Gunpowder Milkshake review

There are four elements to a film that, when all are achieved, can elevate a film from “good” to “great”; and any film that can achieve at least two of these elements is certainly a good and enjoyable film.

These elements are (in no particular order)*:

Aesthetic

Cast (charm, likeability, acting skill, etc)

Characters

Writing (story, script, dialogue etc.)

*While all four elements are important, writing is in my opinion the most important of the four.

So does Gunpowder Milkshake achieve all of these elements? Let’s discuss. (not a spoiler free review)

1) Aesthetic

I cannot say enough good things about the aesthetic of this film. The lighting, the camerawork, the set design, the costumes, it is all top notch. There is never a moment where what you are looking at isn’t visually engaging.

One of my favorite elements is how much is said about each character based on their costumes.

Karen Gillan’s Sam wears an orange jacket for the majority of the film - a jacket she stole because she didn’t like the clothing provided for her. Early in the film it’s established she doesn’t quite know what kind of assassin she is - she is as undefined as her jacket. But there’s a sportsmanship about her, as she won’t kill the three stooges when they aren’t trying to kill her, and she draws the line at ever letting a child be in danger.

Chloe Coleman’s Emily spends the entire movie in a yellow coat - representing the optimism and joy that comes with childhood innocence, an innocence that at the end is marred by the blood red handprint across the back of her coat.

The clothes worn by Angela Bassett’s Anna May, Carla Gugino’s Madeleine, and Michelle Yeoh’s Florence are all very similar, but specific to each character.

Anna May wears dark blue - signifying depth and power - and she has more layers than anybody else - Madeleine has the sweater/jacket, Florence has the vest, and Anna May has both. And just like her clothing, she has layers. You can sense the power and ferocity, and anger that lies rippling just below the surface, only just barely kept in check.

Florence wears green - signifying serenity - , and her outfit has nothing loose or soft about it. She is exactly as she appears to be - exactly as a tiger stalking its prey appears to be - quiet, contained, serene... deadly. It’s her serenity that keeps Anna May’s ferocity in check, but don’t mistake that for safety.

Madeleine wears pink - signifying kindness - and instead of Florence’s vest or Anna May’s vest/suit jacket combo, she instead wears a soft sweater. She is kind, trusting to her instincts, and protective of Emily. But her kindness is not weakness - just look at her weapon of choice if you disagree.

And while everybody else is wearing bright and/or striking colors, Sam’s orange jacket, Emily’s yellow coat, Anna May’s blue suit, Florence’s green vest, Madeleine’s pink sweater, Scarlet - completely at odds with her name - is wearing colors that are practically nondescript. She has isolated herself from the other Librarians, and that’s shown in a beautifully subtle way through her clothing. And yet, in a further note of subtlety, she is wearing soft oranges, showing her connection to Sam (also in orange) and how that connection is what brings her back from her isolation. Her clothing is loose, but not soft, reflecting a deceptive casualness, which matches her personality perfectly.

I’m not even going to touch on the visual brilliance of the lighting, set design, and camerawork because words literally will not do it justice. You just have to watch and see for yourself.

Additionally, an argument can be made that, since “action” is not its own category, that would fit into this section too - and while it’s literally impossible to top how visually engaging the lighting/set design/camerawork/etc. are, the action is certainly on par with it. The fights are all incredibly fun and creative, and they take advantage of the setting they are placed in, the road blocks or handicaps the characters have to work with, and at no point ever feel stale, repetetive, or boring.

So where does this movie rank in aesthetic? 5/5

2) Cast

There is not a weak link in this entire cast! Karen Gillan, Lena Heady, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Paul Giamatti - every single one of these actors has proven time and again how much talent, charm, and onscreen charisma they have. Relative newcomer Chloe Coleman legitimately holds her own, even among such a star-studded cast, and is simultaneously sympathetic, charming, likable, and absolutely adorable.

Even bit players like the three stooges that Sam takes out, Emily’s dad, the doctor, and Jim McAlester play their roles to perfection.

As a side note, am I the only one who was a little bit disappointed that McAlester’s first name was Jim? It would have been hilarious if his first name was Kevin, and then we could have drawn our own conclusions about the criminal turn Kevin McCallister’s life took when he truly embraced his childhood propensity for chaos.

So where does this movie rank in cast? 5/5

3) Characters

This is where the movie starts to falter a little bit. Every single character is likable, but a lot of that can be attributed to how excellent the cast is.

Most of the characters are fairly cookie cutter, and while there is nothing about them that is particularly annoying or stereotypical, none of them have enough depth to truly be “great” characters.

The closest any character has to having any sort of depth or complexity is Nathan, who - while he doesn’t hesitate to send an entire army after Sam - sends her a private message and provides the only help he can.

Not that any of the characters are bad - I think my analysis of the lead lady’s clothing proves my opinions on that pretty conclusively - but they could have been better

Additionally, at just under 2 hours there is barely enough time to develop them properly. Florence in particular could have been much further fleshed out in ways that are not solely inferred through the costume design and acting.

The relationships between Emily and Sam, Sam and Scarlet, Scarlet and Anna May, Sam and Madeleine, Anna May and Madeleine, and Madeleine and Emily are done fairly well. I understood each dynamic and how it worked in the larger story that was unfolding. Florence had none of that - to the point that (if not for the inferred analysis based on clothing) I’m still not entirely sure if she or Anna May was the de facto leader of the librarians. If they had added something - either her legitimately having a moment where she takes charge or (even better) establish a rivalry between Florence and Anna May over who is in charge that would have done a lot, but unfortunately as it stands Florence didn’t get the development that Michelle Yeoh deserved.

So where does this movie rank in characters? 3/5

4) Writing

If the movie started to falter a bit when it came to its characters, it faltered even more when it came to the writing. In fact it’s the writing that can be blamed for the characters not given the development they should have gotten, even if these are two different categories.

And yes, it’s an action film, so technically the plot takes second place to the fisticuffs and gunplay - and while I’m not going to hold the genre against the film, even as an action film the script could have been a lot stronger.

Most importantly, the movie should have been at least thirty minutes longer in order to allow more growth and development for each of the characters. One scene that should have been in the movie was one of Emily while she was captured by McAlister. He should have tried to turn her against Sam, not realizing that the revelation that he had killed her dad had already done that. But Emily is smart, and the more he talks the more she realizes she’s directing her anger at the wrong person. Then when Sam turns herself in so that she’ll be safe it solidifies it for her - Sam might have pulled the trigger, but she’s not the heartless killer that she should be angry at.

And that is just one example of how a longer runtime and a few more rewrites could have given the story and characters a lot more depth.

Now onto the white elephant in the room.

“There’s a group of men called the firm” (yes, I’m going there... somebody has to).

I get what the film was going for, but this is the most perfect example of why it needed one or two more rewrites. 1) If it’s a group of men, why is Sam working for them and why is she recognized as the best at what she does? The movie is trying to imply inherent sexism, but because it felt the need to slam us over the head with that line all subtlety was lost.

Sam could have just called it “a group” and then we the audience would see that while men and women work for them, the ones calling the shots are all men. And then to turn around and show how much more prepared, professional, and competent the Librarians are would make this point in a much more subtle and compelling way. There is a lot more power in using that kind of storytelling than in explicitly telling your point to the audience in so many words.

However, while most movies that go this route make all their male characters useless or stupid, Gunpowder Milkshake did manage to not do that. Other than the three stooges, which Nathan chose to send after Sam because he didn’t want her killed, therefore by design are supposed to be useless, all of the people that our mains go up against feel like legitimate threats.

And I’m glad, because as a woman I do not like the recent tendency to turn men into useless idiots and then imply that is the only way the women managed to defeat them. I want women going up against men who are at their best, and still win. And this movie did that.

Additionally, I will say that the whole “group of men” thing is a minor quibble on my part, as it doesn’t fall into the pitfalls most other movies who are making this point fall into. But it is unfortunately an example of why the writing could have been much better.

Add in some awkward dialogue that only worked because of how ridiculously charming and likable everybody in the cast is, and we unfortunately have writing that is sub par and does not live up to the standards set by the other three elements. The aesthetic, the cast, and even the characters deserved better writing.

As a side note: Where do these people get their milkshakes that they manage not to melt even after three hours? Because that’s some circa 3000 level galaxy brain and I want it.

So where does this movie rank in its writing? 2/5

Conclusion:

I said at the top that for a movie to be “great” it has to meet all four elements, but to be "good” it only has to meet two, and Gunpowder Milkshake definitely meets two of the elements.

Where it begins faltering and falls short of being “great” is in the characters and the writing, which is a shame because the brilliance of the cast and the genuinely engaging and breathtaking aesthetic deserved to be in a movie that can be called great.

I would love a sequel to this movie that does flesh out the relationships better, provide more depth to the characters, and allows for the writing to match the quality of the cast/aesthetic.

So what is my total ranking for this film? 3.5/5

It’s good, and I will definitely watch it again and recommend it to people, but it so easily could have been great.

#gunpowder milkshake #karen gillan #lena heady #angela bassett #michelle yeoh #carla gugino #look at that I managed to actually be professional and write a whole interview that didn't include simping over A ngela B assett #y'all should be proud of me

17 notes · View notes

stylinbreeze60 · 3 years

Text

Haikyuu Season 4 Reactions

~ A disillusioned ex-film student reacts to the new episodes of Haikyuu ~

Episode 25

I’m sad that it’s over, and surprised that there wasn’t a confirmation of Season 5. That ending was clearly set up for a Season 5, however, so that settles that as far as I’m concerned

The voiceless team hug was my favorite moment of the episode. It was so touching, and by muting the sound on the reaction shots of Ukai and Takeda, Kiyoko, and Yachi as well, it unified everyone in that moment of celebration

Washijou was watching the match. Given my knowledge of the manga, I’m not sure what I think of that fact in isolation, but it does unify the two halves of season 4 by once again recalling the training camp and Hinata’s rocky relationship with the coach of Shiratorizawa

I loved that Tsukishima connected Hinata’s receive to that lauded moment when you fall in love with volleyball. It doesn’t carry as much import in this case because Hinata was already a simp for volleyball, but I think Tsukishima’s narration is more critical: “The second day of the Spring Tournament. That’s the day that he sunk one level deeper into being hooked on volleyball.” This statement, spoken as if with hindsight, would seem to indicate that this particular receive will yet have more impact on Hinata than merely character growth

Bokuto wanting to fight the Miyas is so like him

Tora’s sister Akane overhearing all the Nekoma dissing is great setup for the playing field Nekoma is entering. It also cleverly sets us up for Kenma’s complaint that “everyone’s saying Karasuno’s better than us”

The news segment was hilarious all throughout. Unlike previous segments, where often Karasuno didn’t get much screen time and that was a main driver of the humor (such as famously after facing Seijoh), this time Karasuno hilariously was 75% dissatisfied with how each person was in fact portrayed. Asahi’s line sums up the feeling of seeing your subjective bad side best: “Man, this hurts”

Bokuto’s declaration of victory feels like a looming threat to Karasuno’s chances at taking nationals

The third-years’ conversation on the balcony felt like foreshadowing of what the squad will be like after the third years move on. But more than that, I loved that it concluded with the third years motivated not to “lose” to their juniors

Really, there was a lot of foreshadowing this episode of potential future threats, incredibly appropriate for the season finale: most obviously in the form of the Battle of the Garbage Dump, but also Atsumu’s declaration that they will beat Karasuno in the Inter-High, the third years’ declaration that they will not be shown up, and Bokuto’s declaration that they will take home nationals. Likewise, Akaashi’s line that there are four more rounds ahead: whoever wins the tournament, Karasuno and Bokuto still have a long way to go to the championship, and that promises quite a bit more anime to come if the story takes us that far

They casually squeezed in a mention that Kanoka’s team won their game alsklasfnasas. I’m happy for them, but if you’d blink, you’d miss it

I hate to agree with Kenma, but I also don’t think Nekoma could have beaten Ushiwaka or the Miya twins. That said, the Rock Paper Scissors metaphor was genius in a way: just because Karasuno beat Shiratorizawa or Inarizaki doesn’t mean Nekoma would lose. (Taken even more literally, if Karasuno can beat Shiratorizawa and Shiratorizawa would beat Nekoma, then Nekoma would beat Karasuno)

The Ukais’ conversation was incredibly touching and framed the Battle of the Garbage Dump in more holistic terms. Also, good thing elder Ukai isn’t hospitalized anymore it would seem. [a/n: I’m actually confused whether that scene was supposed to have taken place in the past or the present. If in the past, then it doesn’t make sense for Keishin to talk as if the Battle of the Garbage Dump were guaranteed, but does that mean he really commuted all the way back to Miyagi to see his grandpa in the middle of the night when they have a game tomorrow?]

Using “Imagination” (the series’ first opening theme) as the ending theme was an inspired choice. It solidified the connection back to the very first cour of the anime, when Nekoma was introduced and the rivalry first began. I also adored the recap of Kenma and Hinata’s relationship and what they did to get here during the ending credits. All of it has set us up for the inevitable--even if not confirmed--season 5

Karasuno vs. Nekoma, whenever it comes, is coming

Want to see my other reactions? Click here

#haikyuu #haikyuu season 4 #haikyuu season 4 reactions #haikyuu reactions #karasuno #nekoma #hinata shouyou #kozume kenma #bokuto koutarou #thats a wrap

70 notes · View notes

everybodyscupoftea · 4 years

Text

the plug

college au jj x reader

word count: 3025

warnings: drinking, cursing, mentions of jj’s dad, four year age gap (20yo jj and 24yo reader)

synopsis: you’re the pogues’ alcohol plug and jj’s favorite person

a/n: this was an anonymous request, age gaps are kinda sensitive, nothing here happens until jj is almost 21 but please be careful out there folks; also i got kinda carried away

You grew up in the Outer Banks, spent most of your time surfing or playing soccer for the local school’s team. Your house was near the Heyward’s shop, and you picked up odd jobs working Kook events all throughout your high school years. When college rolled around, you started working at the Wreck with Kie.

The Pogue and Kook rivalry never particularly interested you, it seemed frivolous, and after a brief stint on the mainland, you realized the world was so much bigger out of the scope of the Outer Banks. Your refusal to participate was what originally drew Kie to you. The two of you hung out after work on Friday nights, you had access to good weed and were willing to share. Eventually she invited you to a party her friends were throwing.

Honestly, you weren’t exactly over the moon at the idea of partying with a bunch of 17-year olds, but the idea of free beer and a night on the beach seemed promising. You figured you could say hey to Kie’s friends and slip away to walk by the ocean.

Until the afternoon of the party rolled around, and you found out that they had no alcohol. Kie scrambled to explain that the guy who normally sold them beer underage had moved and someone stricter had taken his place and refused their fakes. You sighed and stood, “How much do you need me to get?”

“Wait, what?” Kie asked, taken aback.

“Beer. You want packs or a keg?”

She blinked a few times, “We normally get a keg or two.”

“Let’s go.”

You led Kie to your car and cranked it up, immediately turning up the AC as high as it could go. She plugged her phone in to play some music as you drove to the nearest liquor store to the Boneyard.

“Stay here, I’ll be back,” you told her, and she nodded, promising to sit still. The guy inside was in fact different from the guy who used to sell to you and your friends underage, so you fished out your ID. You knew you looked pretty young for your age and had to resist rolling your eyes when he stared at it intensely for a few seconds before charging you for the keg.

When it was filled, he helped you carry it to your car and the two of you set it in the back. Kie stayed still and quiet in case he tried to card her for some reason too, but you weren’t too worried. Soon enough the two of you were back on the road, heading toward your house for a quick change of clothes.

“Can I borrow something?” Kie asked, looking a little nervous.

“For sure, Kie, take what you want.”

You were only there for about 30 minutes before leaving to get the keg to the Boneyard before party time. Kie was really excited to introduce you to her friends, they’d been hearing all about the cool college girl she’d been hanging out with in her spare time, and they were really interested to see who had her so enthralled.

Pope was the first to greet you, recognizing you from when you worked with him and his dad. He nodded at you with a small smile, and you returned it. John B shook your hand with a huge grin, babbling on about how awesome it was to have someone willing to buy them alcohol again. The last of the group, JJ, was the quiet one.

You weren’t sure what he thought of you at first, it was easy to see he was hesitant to just accept anyone, but you did buy him alcohol. He offered you a fist bump and a small smile before telling you, “Really appreciate the plug.”

“No prob, new guy was pretty suspicious, sorry for your loss.”

JJ let out a loud laugh and warmed up to you instantly. From then on, he followed you around. Whether it was hanging around the Wreck while you were working and he was free, or asking to smoke with you some weekends. Kie thought your new shadow was hilarious and she would send you videos of JJ talking about how funny you were or how pretty you were. It was…endearing.

And then you graduated college and got into grad. You wanted to finally move off the island, and with the money you’d saved up from the Wreck, you finally had enough money to rent an apartment just off Chapel Hill’s campus. The Pogues came with you to help you move all your stuff, which you were grateful for.

You let them handle pizza and went to go pick up alcohol for the group as one last hurrah before they left. John B picked through the bag you brought back with a watery smile, “Gonna suck throwing parties without our favorite plug.”

“Aren’t you dating Sarah Cameron now? Get Rafe to buy your alcohol.”

“He hates us,” JJ whined, “not everyone is cool like you.”

You pointed the bottle in your hand at him, “That’s right, don’t you ever forget.”

And then that was it. You were onto the next, without the Pogues. Or, so you thought.

You’d gotten a job at a coffeehouse just off campus while working through your grad degree. It was easy and brought in a surprising amount of tips, and the atmosphere was really chill, so you loved it. Mostly you dealt with regulars, until one morning. You had your back to the door when it opened, making another coffee, and you called over your shoulder, “Be with you in a sec.”

A familiar, slightly deeper voice, answered back, “All good.”

Whirling around, you grinned widely at the boy, “JJ! Long time no see, bud.”

His eyes widened and he laughed, “Holy shit, dude, you work here?”

“Have for the last few years. What can I get you?”

JJ smiled widely, “Actually, just got hired, I’m here for training.”

You passed the customer their coffee and wished them a good day before turning back to JJ, “Okay, go wash your hands and I’ll grab your hat.”

The rest of your shift was spent goofing off with JJ, every so often interrupted by a customer, and you showed him the ropes. He picked up on it pretty quickly, only stumbling through using the register a few times.

“What brings you here?” you finally asked.

JJ took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair a few times, “Family shit. My dad was an asshole and I wanted to get out. I started picking up extra hours at the hotel, but my dad knew where I was, so I decided to just move to the mainland and start over.”

“Fuck,” you muttered, “sorry to hear that. Everything okay now?”

He nodded, “Yeah, um, started taking a few classes at Chapel Hill, and Pope’s family is helping me keep rent until I get my feet under me.”

“That’s nice of them.”

“Yeah, I just, I needed to start over. And I saw the hiring sign on the door, so I stopped in a few days ago to apply.”

You nudged his shoulder gently, “If you need anything, gimme a call, yeah?”

JJ blushed and nudged yours back, “Yeah.”

Because of the small number of customers, most shifts at the coffeehouse were solo shifts except for opening and closing. You and JJ both had mostly afternoon classes which meant that the two of you were scheduled several times a week together opening and closing.

One night you had soft music playing while he was doing dishes and you were sweeping and mopping the dining area. JJ watched you dance around with the broom, small smile on his lips, and when you caught his eye, he looked away with a blush.

“J,” you called out, trying to catch his eye again.

He looked back, blush still present on his cheeks, “What?”

“You hungry?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I could eat.”

You motioned out the window, “That place has fire po-boys for cheap if you want to get one with me after.”

JJ stared at the lit-up restaurant across the street before shrugging, “Sounds good.”

Thursday closing shift dinner became a thing after that. One of you would call in your food and pick it up before going back to one of your apartments to eat and do homework. JJ had a quiet focus to him that you liked, it helped keep you calm while scrolling through mounds of research you needed for your final paper.

He had one afternoon shift a week, unbeknownst to you, and walked in for it one week to see you laying face down on one of the tables near the counter. JJ paused, glancing over at the guy he was replacing in confusion. Your coworker shrugged and clocked out without saying anything else.

You felt someone crouch down next to your table a few minutes later and he softly called your name. Opening your eyes felt like a chore since you’d had them squeezed closed for so long to block out the anxiety over your paper that for some reason wasn’t writing itself.

“Want some coffee?” he asked, as soon as he finally saw your eyes.

The thought of caffeine made you want to throw up, and you made a face before finally responding, “How about some tea.”

“What kind?”

“Surprise me,” you told him tiredly.

JJ squeezed your shoulder once and walked back around the counter to start making you a drink. You woke your laptop back up to see the word count of 406 staring you straight in the face, and just as you went to put your head back down, a steaming mug of tea was placed in front of you.

“That should help,” JJ told you, smiling softly.

And shockingly, it did. It was warm, and with JJ’s steady presence, you were able to knock out over 1000 words before you had to leave for your afternoon class. He called your name just as you went to push the door open and you turned around, “What?”

“Text me if you need anything else, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Unintentionally, you let JJ worm his way back into your life. One of the classes he struggled with you’d already taken so you fished out your old notes and tutored him for the rest of the semester through it. Sometimes he’d show up at your closing shifts he wasn’t scheduled on and sit at the bar doing schoolwork and distracting you. He did at least always help close which was a huge improvement from when you worked at the Wreck and he showed up to cause problems.

One night was interrupted when the door swung open five minutes from closing. You sighed, not wanting to dirty anything you’d just cleaned, and forced a customer service smile on your face. To your surprise, Kie walked through the door, beaming widely at you.

“Long time, no see!” she called out, opening her arms for a hug.

You beamed and set the rag down on the counter, wrapping her up tightly. She squeezed around your middle hard and you sighed, “Missed you, Carrera.”

“Missed you too.”

She sat next to JJ and the three of you caught up while you and your coworker finished the closing duties. You nodded at her to leave when she held up the garbage bag to let you know she was heading out after a trip to the dumpster.

Kie stood, “Okay, we have to meet up with everyone else, none of us have seen JJ’s apartment yet.”

“Hope you cleaned, JJ,” you told him, bumping your elbow into his side with a laugh before continuing, “last time I was there it was questionable.”

“It’s clean,” JJ defended himself, “you caught me on a bad day.”

“Bad month, more like,” you retorted, laughing when he flipped you off in response.

Kie watched the two of you, amused, “Wow JJ, you’ve come a long way.”

John B and Pope stepped out of the restaurant next door, hands full of food bags, before you or JJ could respond and greeted you just as eagerly as Kie had.

“Getting the gang back together,” John B cheered, lifting two of the bags in the air.

You originally had plans to drink wine and watch the new season of Stranger Things, but the prospect of seeing some of your old friends was too enticing. JJ’s eyed you as you shifted on your feet, “You sure you guys want me butting in.”

Kie rolled her eyes, “We thought you knew we were coming in. JJ said he’d tell you.”

“Hey, don��t pin this on me, I wanted it to be a surprise!” he defended.

Pope spoke in what you think was meant to be a mockery of JJ’s voice, “Don’t bother bro, I’ll just text her and let her know.”

With a laugh, John B added, “It was just like old times whenever we needed alcohol and you’d be all ‘I’m going to visit her at work today, we’ll just swing by and get some after, I’ve got this’. The nostalgia was overwhelming, J.”

JJ scowled at his friends as the teasing continued. You’d known about his crush on you back then, tried not to encourage it because you knew you were leaving and because of the underage situation, but it was funny to hear about it from the other side.

“Okay, so we headed to JJ’s place?” you finally interrupted, saving him from the merciless teasing.

“My place,” JJ confirmed and you broke apart into two separate groups, one in JJ’s car and one in yours.

Kie rode with you and took control of the music, like always. You smiled, “Really is just like old times, huh?”

A few weeks later, one of the Thursday night shifts, JJ seemed less enthused than normal. You didn’t want to pry but you were worried about him. After a few more half answers from him, you finally stopped drying the dishes, “Maybank, what’s going on?”

“My fucking-“ he trailed off for a few seconds before shaking his head and continuing, “my dad called asking for money. Apparently, he’s broke and he owes his dealer. I just can’t, god I can’t fucking escape him.”

He wasn’t crying, but you’d never seen JJ’s jaw so tense before and your heart ached for him. You dried your hands off and pulled him into a tight hug, “Your dad is a piece of shit and you deserve better.”

“Do I?” he asked, almost hysterically, while he tried to pull away.

You didn’t let him go far, “Yes, you do. You’re a good guy who deserves to be happy and successful and far away from his dad’s reach.”

“I wish I could see it like that,” he murmured, voice breaking halfway through. JJ’s whole body shuddered a few times as he fought tears harder than he ever had before. He didn’t want to break down in front of you and look like a child.

“How about you go get dinner, I’ll go buy some alcohol, and we meet at my apartment and watch movies tonight.”

JJ’s lips quirked up into the briefest smile you’d ever seen, “Stepping back into that plug role, huh?”

“Turn 21 then,” you told him, shoving him away gently.

“Two months, and then I’ll finally be able to start repaying my alcohol debts.”

“You’re going to be buying me drinks for years, J.”

He held his pinky out, looking significantly more cheered up, “I promise.”

You linked pinkies with him before pulling him into one more hug with one last thought, “You’re going to have to stick around for a while to keep that promise.”

He cleared his throat, almost nervously, and you pulled away, confused. JJ wouldn’t look you in the eye when he spoke, “Surely you knew.”

“What?” you weren’t really prepared to have the conversation that seemed to be happening.

“That I liked you, idolized you practically. You were so cool and older and you dealt with all my shit.”

“J,” you warned, not sure if you liked where it was going.

He let out a sad laugh, “Please just be honest with me, you knew right?”

With a sigh, you pulled your hat off and clutched it in your hands, “I knew.”

“Fuck,” he mumbled, hands shoved deep in his pockets. JJ looked up at the ceiling with a sharp inhale before continuing, “Fuck, I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable. And then I came here and started doing it again.”

And you had to stop that train of thought right there, “Woah, wait, it doesn’t bother me, JJ, you know that right? Like I do enjoy having you around.”

Eyebrows raised, JJ finally made eye contact with you, “What?”

“Well I mean,” you shifted your weight from one foot to the other, suddenly unsure how to continue, “I guess it was a little weird when you were in high school, but it’s not so bad now.”

“What?” he repeated, faintly this time.

You rolled your eyes, “Fucking hell, JJ, really?”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I was walking into this conversation ready to get rejected, let me be surprised.”

“I cannot deal with you, go buy the food, oh my god.”

JJ grinned at you cheekily, “Is this a date?”

You hated him. So much.

He grabbed your hand and squeezed, “Are you asking me out right now?”

“I’m about to rescind the offer if you don’t quit.”

“I can’t believe the day has finally come. Kie is going to flip her shit,” JJ told you, leading you out of the empty shop.

“God, what have I gotten myself into,” you muttered.

JJ stopped walking and looked at you with a soft smile, all traces of teasing gone, “Hey,” he got your attention, “thanks for everything, now and then.” Before you could answer, he continued, “Best plug I ever had.”

“God dammit, JJ!” you exclaimed and his laughter echoed down the empty street as the two of you walked to the po-boy place, hands swinging between you.

#jj maybank request #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x you #jj maybank fic #jj maybank fluff #outer banks fic #outer banks #obx #the plug au

244 notes · View notes

iturbide · 3 years

Note

Seeing the Sumia breakdown reminded me no one asked about Chrom, so... Chrom character breakdown so the whole trio is together? :D

You know what, you’re right, we do need the whole trio together

How do I feel about this character?

He’s just. So amazing. I didn’t go into Awakening completely blind, but I had no idea what Chrom was really like when I started, and within basically five minutes I knew that I wanted to marry him. (This was a problem because I went with the beanpole on my first run and was playing the game straight, meaning I had no gay romance options; I consider this a travesty and it may have contributed to Future Built). I showed a friend of mine the opening movies, and when we got to the one with Chrom and Lissa, right after Chrom helped Robin up off the ground and smiled she said, entirely unprompted, “I feel like I’m being seduced.”

And what’s so amazing about him is that it’s entirely uncalculated. He’s not trying to charm people, he just has that way about him: he’s open and earnest and wants to help people, even if that means getting into dangerous situations -- and on top of that, he wants to trust people even if he’s told he shouldn’t. He and Lissa might make fun of Frederick and his wariness, but honestly the man has a point; the fact that Chrom would rather let Frederick watch his back for him and give people the benefit of the doubt, rather than letting that mindset infect him and distrusting strangers, is so heartening to me, and one of the many things I really do love about him.

He’s also flawed, though: he’s by no means a perfect person, and is susceptible to doubt and anger both. Even if the game doesn’t give it the attention it deserves he has conflicting legacies that he’s trying to measure himself against: his father the warmonger, who he doesn’t want to be like but fears he’s becoming...and his sister the pacifist, who he wants to live up to but fears he’ll never manage. It makes a fascinating internal character conflict and helps round him out further into his own person, rather than being just another generic blue-haired Lord.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

ROBIN. From day one it has always been Robin, because the entire game revolves around the bond between these two people. Even if you don’t marry Chrom, the fact is that he and Robin trust one another implicitly, such that Lucina’s herself knows that the person he trusted most in the world took his life; she might not immediately put the pieces together, but it speaks volumes for their relationship. And honestly, the way it’s built, especially in the M!Robin supports, is so incredible: the trust and care between these two people who want to help each other and who can and do rely on one another is incredible, and makes a rock solid foundation for romance down the line. They’re just amazing together and I love it.

Also I wholeheartedly ship him with Sumia because she’s wonderful and brings an entirely different set of skills and outlooks to the table that I think can and would be very useful to the halidom as it continues to grow under Chrom’s watch. And yes, it’s improved 5,000% when he’s with both Sumia and Robin together (because I stand by my OT3).

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Sully, hands down. I’m pretty sure in their supports they talk about how they’ve known each other since they were kids, and I really love the idea of these two growing up together, training together, becoming super tight as friends and being constantly ready to have each other’s backs. Sully also makes a fantastic wingman for Chrom, let’s be real here. Vaike is another that I really enjoy, because the idea of them having this friendly rivalry where they’re constantly sparring and trying to one-up each other is really fun. Having them be just a chaos trio together is one of my favorite things and I really need to find a place to put that in because it’s arguably hilarious to think about Chrom getting terrible advice for how to flirt with someone from Vaike and getting smacked upside the head later by Sully after failing spectacularly with it.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

He’s really not that dumb, you guys. Fandom loves to play up that one line from Gaius’ support with Olivia about Chrom eating an unpeeled orange (which may not even be true, it could have just been Gaius trying to make Olivia laugh), and conflating it with the idea that he’s dumb as a box of rocks. There is very little that frustrates me more than the whole “moronsexual” joke that runs around fandom with regards to him and Robin, and it’s just not fair to Chrom as a person. He’s not an idiot: he can do dumb things, like most people, but he is also a very capable and considerate person, and an accomplished fighter: if he were really as stupid as fandom likes to play up, he’d have been dead before getting any kind of proficiency with a sword. Just because he can lose focus and mess up doesn’t mean that he’s a hopeless idiot.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Okay so this is probably weird but I honestly wish that he’d tried to talk to Grima in the end. Most of the conversation after Validar’s death at the Dragon’s Table is between Robin and Grima, and the final battle starts with the call to arms rather than any attempt to engage with the Fell Dragon; basically Chrom writes Grima off as unreachable and a force that needs to be destroyed based solely on Grima’s words, Lucina’s news of the future, and Naga’s insistence that it has to be done...even though Grima doesn’t actually hurt them at any point before the final battle.

Do you see how weird that is? Grima could, logically, have gone ahead and shot Chrom through the heart with a Thoron at the Dragon’s Table, since they state flat-out that they were the one who killed Chrom in Lucina’s timeline and that they share the same Heart of Grima with Robin, so it arguably would have fulfilled the same purpose regardless of whose hand summoned the spell -- but they didn’t. They talked a big game and the giant dragon came back but Chrom at no point took fire from Grima -- heck, even after raising the dragon form Grima lets them go, flying off past Origin Peak and letting them parley with Naga.

Considering the fact that Chrom made an attempt to talk Walhart into a laying down his arms and forging an alliance, and willingly engaged twice with Validar in good faith (once after the events at Port Ferox, once after returning in hopes of acquiring Sable), it seems bizarre to me that he wouldn’t do the same with Grima. He’s been trying so hard to hold true to his sister’s virtues of peace, of trying to talk rather than going immediately to arms the way his father would have, that it feels like he’s backsliding in the final battle when his quote facing Grima in combat is literally “I come to end you.” I just wish he’d remembered Emmeryn’s ways in that moment, and at least tried; even if it failed like it did with Walhart, it would have been a powerful reminder that he’s still trying to live up to the best influence in his life.

Give Me a Character

#answered #unsuspecting-person #meme #fire emblem: awakening #chrom #wow this got long #i have a lot to say about chrom apparently #but then he is pretty great all in all

20 notes · View notes