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1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt · 10 months

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Sexism in TOS: Worst Offender, or Progressive in Retrospect in Comparison?

I see a lot of folks claim that TOS was the most sexist of the Star Trek shows by a landslide -- and while I agree that it definitely suffered from the sexism of the times, I also have other perspectives to share to give some food for thought.

I am of course not insinuating that TOS isn't sexist -- it is, but I have to ask folks to consider the breadth and depth of Berman's sexism in his run and ask yourself: Was Gene Roddenberry genuinely more sexist in his storytelling and delivery than Rick Berman?

I'm not telling you to feel one way or the other, but all I ask is that you hear me out and consider some perspectives and make your own balanced assessments. Nobody is obligated to share my opinion, but it means a lot just to have folks hear it and see their thoughts on the subject. So here is what I was originally responding to:

Someone's response to this photo:

"Devil's advocate. This was a part of the popular form of cardio during the production time of TNG. Yes, it was heavily sexualised by men, but so is literally every other way women work out. Men have been caught taking pictures of women while trying to do dead lifts, running on tracks and working on sled machines. They post them online to share too. The fact is, there is no way a woman can be shown working out without it going there. And yeah,t hat includes the combat forms of workout they do in Star Trek. Just look at how Dax dresses when she spars with Worf. Yes, they're dating, but still, same goes when 7 does and any other female.

Aerobics routines like this were made dirty and cringy. This was what women wore then by and large. This is how the workout was done. We make it cringy."

My response to them:

"I respect your take, but I disagree on a few fronts.

The miniskirt was chosen by the TOS female cast, not the male cast, specifically requested by Grace LW and affirmed by Nichelle and Majel who would go on to vehemently defend the miniskirt over the years as comfortable and embraced by them.

Grace said it was comfortable and seen as a symbol of female sexual empowerment during the 60s and thought it would be a progressive garment (and turns out that it was, as it was later adapted and worn by male crew as a skant on TNG) -- FYI those were designed by a gay man and Gene approved them.

This was also supposed to be Spock's TMP outfit:

Literally lingerie.

We saw both Uhura (who saves Kirk in from Marlena Mirror Mirror) and Yeoman Landon (the first to initiate combat with a classic Kirk-esque kick to help the Captain being attacked in The Apple) carry out their combat training in their Starfleet uniforms without ever being made to change into any ridiculous workout gear.

In fact, I'd argue Jim Kirk was sexualized even more than the ladies of the week on the show and I saw his naked body more than anyone else's on a fairly regular basis. He wore red yoga tights while topless in Charlie X while the women wore full length gymnastic suits that covered their entire body. If anything, it went out of its way to avoid sexualizing women practicing fitness in those scenes and instead focused on Kirk.

Gene confessed that he asked to have Shatner filmed in suggestive/provocative ways to "give something to the ladies", so he -- as he said -- liked to "film him walking away" or have him conveniently busting out of his shirts in just about every episode as it were, because Shatner apparently had great assets. LOL

Gene made an effort to at least sexualize both if he was going to sexualize one, and he carried that attitude forward in wanting the m/m and f/f scenes in the background on Risa for TNG. He also insisted that the men and women wear skimpy outfits on THAT TNG planet. You know the one. LOL I mean the dudes even had on less than the women:

Gene also gave permission to K/S shippers to have their conventions back in the 70s when he was asked for permission. Gene and Nimoy felt with all the skimpy outfits they had the ladies wear, why not let the ladies and gay men have their fun, too? It's how we ended up with moments like this:

Yes, those are two people dressed up as Kirk and Spock's penises doing interpretive dance. Gene didn't give two damns. LOL

In my eyes, that was a very progressive take on Gene's part for the 60s. It was actually PARAMOUNT STUDIOS who had the big problem with K/S stories and vehemently tried to shut them down. Gene literally hired slash authors on his payroll and even had several slash stories/writers published in his official Star Trek books (The New Voyages & The New Voyages II).

I feel I saw Uhura and women in TOS engaged in more physical combat/altercations defending themselves that Troi or Bev were shown holding their own.

In fact, Kirk used to get furious when someone would "dress up" his female crew members without their consent (Trelane episode, Shore Leave episode) because like his male crew members, he wanted them to be treated professionally and to also have his male crew act professionally.

Berman brought some of his own personal biases into Star Trek that in some ways regressed it. While TOS had blatant sexism and was called on it time and again, that show was made in the 60s -- a solid 21 years before TNG. We as a modern audience understood why some of it was cringe/sexist due to the time period -- look at any other media coming out in the 60s and Star Trek was miles ahead of what other shows were doing.

Compare that to Berman who was churning sexist stuff out when women like Starbuck and Scully were simultaneously on screen on other programs airing, and we had already had Sigourney Weaver and other strong women in Holywood playing respectful roles.

In my eyes, there was no need of the sexism seen in TNG but especially VOY and ENT. There was no excuse for it when other shows were writing women far better and a number of those weren't even set in the future like Trek was, making it age even faster due to having those dated perspectives frequently highlighted.

In the Center Seat documentary as well as "The Fifty Year Mission" book you will find cast members, writers and other studio alumni who attest to this. Some discussions from "The Fifty Year Mission":

"First, Berman was supposed to have been a real sleaze ball . . . According to Terry Farrel, he would go on constantly about how her breasts weren't big enough, how she should do something about it, and how his secretary was a good example to follow as she had huge breasts. She even had to have fittings to get larger bras, and that was all done at his behest.

Later Berman and Braga developed a name for Jeri Ryan's character prior Seven of Nine. They originally called the character "perineum" which if you look it up it is the area between the anus and the scrotum. Later they floated the name "6 of 9". I mean, what does it tell you about where these two were coming from in the development of this character if they had names like that put forward in all seriousness for her?"

Gene Roddenberry also had some of his own more progressive ideas for TNG cut or watered down by Berman. Roddenberry agreed TNG should have homosexual relationships and representation at a con in the 80s and insisted on it in a meeting with his writers -- something Berman later would not honor. Gene wanted the AIDS episode, showing m/m and f/f in the Riza scenes -- these were some of Roddenberry's requests to include in TNG that Berman later stonewalled.

Berman's era was sadly dated by his own misogynist bias, IMO, to the point that it can somewhat hurt the shows he worked on through his cringe egoism and blatant disrespect toward his female cast.

There is a reason why Gene could keep female actresses working with him and Berman had a revolving door of women that he couldn't seem to keep working for him -- he was abhorrent to women, on and off set. Gene wasn't perfect at all, he had a lot of issues himself -- but Berman was a whole other level. Just look at what he did to poor Jolene Blalock, Marina Sirtis and his toxic commenting on her body weight which exacerbated her struggles with eating disorders, or how he treated and talked to Terry Farrell.

Anyway, just some food for thought. I'm not saying anyone is wrong regarding a take like that, but there are a variety of ways to look at this. Gene Roddenberry isn't a saint by any means, but it definitely bothers me how folks will tote the Berman era as if it were the lesser of two evils or the more progressive depiction of women when I felt there were far more concerning portrayals of women in his era with far less justification.

(P.S: I don't event want to go near the sheer amount of "creepy old dude/villain preys on innocent/naïve/scared young woman or little girl" stories there were in Berman's era, either. But that's a whole other can of worms I can write about in a part 2.)

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meanbossart · 2 months

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Lore Ask Compilation: "Every Other Question Is About The Drow's Dick" edition

Oh I LOVE Minthara, her dialogue is absolutely fascinating and in my opinion some of the best written In the game. Experiencing her in my Evil Durge playthrough without having been spoiled to her companion scenes prior was great - the amount of depth they managed to add to her, without it at all feeling forced or rushed, and considering how much less time she gets to develop at our side is really well done. While nearly everyone's quests had me immersed, she was one of the few characters who really made me pause and think about the things she had to say to me, what she truly meant by them, and what they meant for me as an avatar doing an evil run.

We have a lot of characters in this game that are meant to be full of wisdom and experience, who are meant to be the ones who say the right thing at the right time that inspires us to make the correct choices, but I don't think either Halsin or Jaheira (and I love Jaheira) made me feel like I knew so little about life quite as Minthara did.

And, of course, she's absolutely hysterical. 10/10 I wish she had a proper companion quest past being rescued but I understand why she doesn't.

[MORE ASKS UNDER THE CUT]

It doesn't connect to the urethra since the slit in on top, so he nuts and pisses normal.

Also you 100% are not sorry, stop lying to me.

Man, I thought a lot about this one because I play so fast and loose with the content the game gives us that I'm positive there must be SOMETHING I'm completely disregarding, but I couldn't think of anything! I've chosen to pick slightly less obvious interpretations to some lines and text but nothing that completely deviates from canon, I don't think. If anyone has noticed something I neglected to mention, feel free to let me know - not because I want to revise it, but just because I'm curious!

For the second part of the question, not really. Larian did a great job of giving us plenty of room to play around in the dark urge's background, I think I'm yet to see something that I find to truly "not fit" in the ample freedom they've given us. I have my preferences, of course - I'm shocked to find that most dark urge's are NOT big hulking beasts, for example - in fact that seems to be the minority by far, but I realize that I have my... Uh... Biases.

You can see a cute little divot through the fabric if you look closely LOL

And nah, I think his penis has seen enough sharp points for a lifetime.

Well.

Unless someone decided to add some bite-marks to it.

HMMM, I... Don't think so.

He didn't cry as a baby, he didn't cry as a child (and this isn't something I just decided on now - this is a major reason why his foster drow mother even kept him around) he didn't really cry growing up or at any point during the campaign. I think he is capable of it - sadness in him just tends to be far more confusing a feeling than anything else.

He will have emotional moments in ANE, whether or not that will culminate in crying is something you will have to wait to find out LOL

Astarion has noticed this and just took it as a character trait - the drow doesn't cry, he just gets confused, angry, frustrated or simply bottles it up. While he can be demanding of his emotional maturity, he isn't going to try and dictate how he should experience his own feelings. If it did happen it would definitely catch him majorly off-guard, perhaps even shift the perception he has of him to a certain extent.

Oh my god you just know they All managed to be utterly quiet about it for as long as humanly (and unhumanly) possible until like, I don't even know, halfway through the Shadow-cursed lands where one day Karlach finally turns back to the group around the campfire after a half-nude drow has strut past and she's like "SO

"DOES ANYONE KNOWS WHY HIS DICK HAS A SNATCH"

And Wyll is like :0... Karlach you can't just ask people that.

And then she pointedly turns to Astarion and starts trying to interrogate him on how it works while Gale covers his ears and Shadowheart is like:

This is gonna blow you guys backwards but he does not do those things in front of people and thinks its rude if you do.

HMMM Mostly physically but it's a little subtle. He really enjoys interacting with Astarion's (and previously Orin's) hands - kissing, holding, caressing. Touching hair and faces as well. He can engage in more overt physical affection but usually Astarion has to be the one to initiate.

A disarmingly earnest proclamation of love and adoration here and there as well - he isn't shy in the slightest to tell people how he feels about them, he just isn't constantly reminding them of it unless inspiration strikes.

Most of all I think he expects his loved-ones to see his care for them in his tendency to go out of his way to help them achieve their goals.

He went with them to the Shadow-cursed lands but I never helped him fix the curse, so he stayed behind when the gang went onwards to the city. DU Drow didn't really like him so it was good-riddance as far as he was concerned.

If he had come along and propositioned him during act 3 - uh, you know the really mean rejection line you have as a choice during that dialogue? Yeah, that one lmao.

Alas, DU drow is just monogamous. He could entertain group-sex with a partner for fun at the most, but not ever a third person in the relationship. And In my personal interpretation (but by all means - everyone else have fun with their poly arrangements!) of Astarion and his delivery of the "this is about Halsin" line, I also thought he was lying about being comfortable with it, so I write him as monogamous as well.

Nothing. Nada. Not a thing. Say what you'd like about Bhaal but he sure knows how sculpt them out of his murder-meat.

(Thank you!!!)

#ask compilation #DU drow lore #bg3 spoilers

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your-name-is-jim · 10 months

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TOS fans, you may want to read this comic series!

Sooo I recently read this series of comics called Star Trek: Year Five, published in 2019-2021 by IDW Publishing; I heard it was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good!

If you haven't read it, I suggest to check it out! (it's also not hard to find it if you get what I mean)

The art overall is great and, more importantly, the characters act like themselves and there are several references to their canon backgrounds, past and future experiences! What I absolutely loved was also seeing a lot of "old faces" from TOS show, as well as mentions of events from the series and the movies.

As the title suggests, the story takes place during the last year of Kirk's five-year mission on the Enterprise. I'd like to tell you more, but I enjoyed the surprise of a lot of things I didn't expect, so first of all I'll post a few pics without major spoilers from the first 11 issues (there are 25, so you still have a lot to discover!):

I especially love how Bones and Sulu are drawn, they really look like them! Scotty and Uhura too, but that depends on the artist. Speaking of them, if you like a little Scotty/Uhura, this series has something good about it!

The joke about Kirk thinking there's something strange with the way the Klingons look now cracked me up. LOL

Also, I'm not sure Chapel would call McCoy "Bones", but she is very right in that panel. :)

The last panel is classical James T. Kirk's ass appreciation lol

Sulu has a love story with an alien who doesn't understand human genders and uses they/them pronouns. As someone who headcanons TOS Sulu as attracted to any gender, that was great to see :D

I'm also posting this "end-of-the-episode" panel because it's just perfection. TOS in a nutshell. Aww, look at Kirk and Spock just looking at each other! <3

I must say, you may be a little disappointed if you expect to see many moments with Kirk and Spock together, BUT the scenes they have together are really good! I won't say anything more, just read until the end and you'll see! :D

By the way, this series has a Valentine's Day extra, which is the only part where Kirk has a love interest (a female original character). Yeah, you heard me: in the main story, Kirk doesn't have new romances with anyone; Sulu is the one who gets all the action! ;)

The Valentine's Day issue is not linked to anything else and I don't think Kirk's female love interest is mentioned outside that story, so you can easily skip it if it's not for you. However, even if I can't say I'm especially happy with that story, I personally found something interesting there, for example this:

I think I saw this out of context once, but I didn't know where it was from, so sorry I'm just going to lose my mind thinking about ladies or GENTLEMEN in Kirk's life and Kirk not correcting her about his sexual preferences. Anyway, I might make a separate post someday about this special from a Kirk/Spock shipper's perspective, because I do have a lot of thoughts about it :)

So, if you haven't read Star Trek: Year Five, I hope I convinced you to check it out! I hadn't been lucky with other Star Trek comics before, so I had almost lost hope to find something good… and then here it was! Something that made me feel like it was really written with a lot of love for The Original Series! I really needed it!

If you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see your thoughts and see your favorite parts! I hope you enjoyed this little review. :)

#star trek comics #star trek the original series #star trek tos #star trek: year five #idw publishing #james t. kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #montgomery scott #nyota uhura #hikaru sulu #pavel chekov

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amhrosina · 1 year

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Your Pretty Heart (Billy Russo x f!Reader)

A/N: Anyone else widely obsessed with Pedro Pascal and The Last of Us right now? Being back in my Pedro era feels like getting home after a long ass trip. Should I write for some of Pedro's characters?? SOS! Also, I hit 800 followers today??? Like what??? Thank you to everyone who supports me and this account!!

Request: ex’s to lovers with Billy Russo or Matt Murdock. Where Frank and Karen “help” Billy/Matt get their ass together to get back with Reader. Because come on their clearly still in lovee.

Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: When you and Billy break up, Karen takes it upon herself to get you back together. Her plan comes to a head one night at Josie’s, and you and Billy must face the consequences of loving and leaving one another.

(Warnings: so much angst, cursing, Billy is a soft!boy at heart, soft!Billy, descriptions of smut (but like romantic descriptions, not graphic ones??), I think that’s it, it’s literally just really sad until the end lol)

“You look great.” Your date smiled, but he wasn’t looking at your face. Instead, for the third time in less than a minute, his eyes trailed the sloping curve of your cleavage as it disappeared into your dress. You shrugged his gaze off, hoping there was at least something interesting about him to keep you entertained for the evening. Something could be there. Deep, deep, down, but there, nonetheless.

“So, Brad, what do you do for work? When Karen set this up, she didn’t tell me much about you.”

“I’m an accountant.”

Brad nodded his head along with yours, an awkward bob as you waited for him to return the question. He didn’t, instead choosing to fix his gaze on the jazz singer across the restaurant. Zero for two, Brad.

“Do you, uh, have any hobbies?” You tried again to break the conversation dam, but Brad’s attention was so far away from the table you were sharing that he barely glanced at you when he responded.

“I jog sometimes.”

“Oh!” You lurched forward, desperate to grab onto anything that might make this date less awkward. “I like to jog, too. I’ll listen to books when I do it to pass the time. Do you read at all?”

Brad’s eyes flicked to yours, then back to the jazz singer. Uninterested, bored, and inconvenienced. That’s what his glance told you.

“People who need books or music when they run aren’t capable of self-reflection. It’s how you grow as a human being, you know? You should try it.”

You blinked. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? A pompous, arrogant, prick seemed like the winning description, and you chuckled as you looped your purse handle over your shoulder.

“Well, Brad.” You stood from your seat, drawing his attention away from the band. “Congratulations. You win. I think this is quite possibly the worst date I’ve ever been on, and that’s saying a lot.”

You didn’t deem him with an explanation as you exited the restaurant, but a vivid memory flashed in your mind of Billy standing you up on your anniversary last year. Yeah, that date was terrible, but at least Billy hadn’t insulted you after standing you up. He’d spent weeks apologizing with flowers, jewelry, and even cutting down on his time at Anvil so he could spend more time with you, but that date would always stick out in your mind as the beginning of the end.

You shook the thoughts from your head, digging through your purse to find your cellphone. Karen was going to explain where the fuck she met this guy, and why she thought setting him up with you would be a good idea. She picked up on the second ring.

“Karen.” You tapped your foot on the sidewalk. “What the fuck?”

“Hey! How was the date?”

Wherever Karen was, it was loud. You could barely understand her through the speaker, muffled by music and what sounded like a crowd of people in the background.

“The date was so bad.” You almost whined. Almost stomped your foot at how unfair the dating world had become. Almost thought about how much easier it was when you were with Billy. “Where did you even meet this guy?”

“At work. Was he an asshole?” She sounded apologetic, but the volume at which she had to scream her question into the phone made the entire interaction feel a little less impactful.

“Grade-A Asshole.” You groaned. “Where are you?”

“I’m at Josie’s, but-”

“Great. I’m on my way.”

You hung up the phone before she could respond and hailed a taxi. You felt a little guilty for barging in on her evening. Karen was a good friend, one that you’d clung to since you and Billy had gone your separate ways, and she deserved a night out without your moping. But the nagging feeling rolling around in the pit of your stomach told you exactly the reason you had to go to Josie’s. If you didn’t go hang out with Karen, you’d end up calling Billy, and the last thing you wanted to do was let him see you after a shitty date. You climbed into the taxi and hoped you could drink away the memories of tonight with Karen once you arrived at Josie’s.

Billy took a hefty sip of his beer as he eavesdropped on Karen’s phone conversation. Technically, it wasn’t eavesdropping if Karen had whacked him on the arm the second her phone started ringing, but it made Billy uncomfortable anyways. What they’d planned felt too much like a trick, and he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation.

“She’s on her way.” Karen grinned, raising her beer in the air to clink bottles with him.

Billy fiddled with the bottle in his hand, unsure if there was anything to be ‘cheersing’ to.

“C’mon, Bill,” Frank grunted, meeting Karen’s still outstretched arm, “It worked. She’s on her way. Now, all you have to do is be a lesser asshole than her date.”

“Don’t you think she’ll be furious when she finds out her entire evening was construed by her ex-boyfriend and best friends? She doesn’t even want to see me.”

“Trust me, Billy,” Karen angled her head for emphasis, “She does. She just won’t admit it.”

“How do you know, though?”

“I see it on her face, and hear it in her voice, and she’s still sleeping on my couch. And you know what that tells me?”

Billy rolled his eyes. “What does that tell you, Karen?”

Karen’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “That she’s not looking for another apartment. That she still has hope that she’ll be able to go home, to your apartment.”

Billy shook his head. “The market is insane. Maybe she just can’t find an affordable one.”

“I saw three listed in the paper this morning. She’s not looking, Billy. She misses you.”

Billy groaned, dragging his hands over his face. This entire situation was completely and totally fucked, and it was completely and totally his fault. He’d always been warned that his ambition would get the best of him. You’d slipped through his fingers so quickly that he got whiplash when he thought about the end of the relationship. It was like you were there one day and gone the next, and he had no idea how he ended up alone, stranded in his kitchen in the middle of the night because the idea of going to bed without you hurt too much.

“What if it’s too late? What if I can’t fix it?”

“All you can do is try, Bill.” Frank shrugged.

“She loves you.” Karen spoke firmly, tapping her finger on the table, “And you love her. But she needs to know that. You have to show her that you love her.”

“How? I thought I was doing that before.” Billy let out a disgruntled breath and cleared his throat.

“Your priorities need to change. She deserves better than last-minute cancellations and rescheduled dates. You’re your own boss, Billy. You make the rules, and no matter how much money you spend on her, or how many gifts you buy her, she’s always going to remember the times that you didn’t show up.”

Billy nodded. Karen was right, as usual. There’d been a significant change in the amount of time Billy was spending at Anvil, sometimes returning home early in the morning, only to change suits and leave again. It wasn’t your fault – it never was – but Billy couldn’t help himself from falling back into his old patterns. When shit got too real, he retreated, and it ended up costing him the most important thing in his life.

Tonight was his chance to fix everything – to bring you home, to remind you that he adored you, to show you that his life was falling apart without you in it. All he had to do was get you to listen, and he was sure everything else would fall into place.

You took three steps into the bar before swiveling around and marching out in a dramatic fashion. Cursing Karen for conveniently forgetting to mention that Billy was with her, you tried not to stomp down the sidewalk that led to Karen’s apartment. If you had an apartment of your own, you’d surely be stomping your way there instead.

You didn’t make it far before you heard your name being called behind you. Two distinct voices trailed you, but you were more focused on the lack of the third. Had he stayed behind at the bar? You swung around, almost slamming into Frank’s chest. Karen was a few steps behind him, and behind her, stood beautiful and broken Billy, hands in his pants pockets.

“What?” You screeched, eyes flickering between the group.

“I just wanted to tell you thaaaat,” Karen’s eyes twinkled, and you should’ve known that she was about to make your night go from bad to worse, “I’m going back to my apartment with my boyfriend, who is going to do very loud things to me for hours. If I were you, I’d steer clear of the whole block tonight.”

You rolled your eyes and looked at Frank, whose innocent expression gave away Karen’s plan faster than you could piece it together. Clearly, this coup had been planned, and they were leaving you with no option but to spend time with Billy.

“Is that so?” You narrowed your eyes at her, hoping she could read every nasty thought you’d ever had about her in your gaze.

“Yep!” She hooked an arm through Frank’s and tugged him down the sidewalk. “See you tomorrow!”

You watched them until they turned a corner, and you could no longer see them. When you turned to face Billy again, he had inched closer to you, standing a heady meter away with his hands still in his pockets.

“Did you plan this?”

The anger in your voice echoed across the concrete, slamming into Billy. He grasped his chest as if you’d shot him in the heart.

“No. I didn’t even know there was a plan until I showed up at Josie’s earlier.”

You hesitated to believe him, but something in the way he was looking at you told you to trust him. You looked him up and down, focusing on the way he looked worse than you’d ever seen him. For a brief second, you felt triumph over it. He deserved this after everything he did to you. He deserved to feel like shit. The triumph faded faster than it came, and an overwhelming sadness replaced the ire thoughts you were having about him.

There were bags under his eyes, and you could tell he hadn’t been sleeping well. He never did when he couldn’t sleep with you. The facial hair that he usually kept so neat and maintained had grown beyond his usual boundaries, and the fact that he kept subconsciously scratching at it told you he didn’t like it. You tried not to let it get to you. You probably looked like shit, too.

“How’ve you been?” His focus remained wholly on you. You rubbed the back of your neck to try and shake off his stare.

“We don’t have to do this, Bil.” You looked at the ground, focusing on the crack in the concrete that crawled its way across the sidewalk, drawing a line inbetween you and Billy. You couldn’t decide if that was fitting, or incredibly sad. Maybe it was both.

“We’re not doing anything.” He shook his head innocently.

“You know what I mea-”

“Come home.”

There was a pregnant pause in the conversation as the two of you eyed each other.

“Billy, I-”

“Just for tonight. Until Karen’s apartment is...safe again.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, searching for an ulterior motive. And of course, there was an ulterior motive. You couldn’t blame him for it, because you knew if the roles were reversed, you’d be doing the same thing.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” You shook your head, more towards yourself than at him.

“Why not?” He cocked his head to the side.

“You know why.”

He nodded but shrugged his shoulders anyways.

“I’m not going to leave you out here with nowhere to go. It’s either the apartment, or we spend the next few hours in awkward silence at a diner.”

The apartment. Not ‘my’ apartment. He didn’t consider it his when you weren’t there to claim the other half of it. You couldn’t lie to yourself. You wanted so badly to go with him, to see the home that you’d built with him. You wanted so badly to see how he’d faired over the last month without you. It was with all this in mind, and not how much you missed him, that had you nodding, agreeing to go home. Just for a visit, you repeated in your mind, just for a visit.

When you stepped into what was once the living room you shared with Billy, you were struck with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. There was nothing different about it, except that the bookshelf was a little less stuffed than usual. You’d grabbed your favorites on your way out, unable to part with them, even just for a little bit.

“Can I get you some wine?” Billy asked, already heading toward the kitchen to pour himself a glass. You nodded, shrugging your jacket off and trying to ignore the strangeness of being treated like a guest in the home that you’d lived in for years.

When Billy returned with two particularly full glasses, you plopped down on the couch. You didn’t know how to act, or what to say, or who to be when you were around him anymore and falling back into old habits seemed like a grand way to get your feelings hurt again.

“You didn’t answer my question earlier.” Billy took a swig from his glass, sitting on the armchair across from the couch. You silently thanked the universe that he had put distance between the two of you. The closer he was, the less clearly you could think.

“Which one?”

“How’ve you been?”

“Oh.” You took a sip, only because it gave you something to do with your hands. “I’ve been alright.”

He smiled, but the corners of his mouth didn’t reach his eyes. Anyone who looked at you longer than two seconds could see that you’re clearly not doing alright, but you’d grown comfortable living in denial, and you weren’t going to admit how not alright you were.

“Heard your date didn’t go well.”

You scoffed. Maybe it was the wine, or the way he looked smug about the fact that you’d had a shitty date, but you couldn’t help what came out of your mouth next.

“Fuck you, Billy. It’s none of your business.”

Billy looked startled by your outburst. You gulped down another mouthful of wine before rubbing your hand down your face.

“I’m sorry.” You shook your head. “I don’t know where that came from.”

“It’s okay. I probably deserve it.” He shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

“What happened to us?” You asked, gazing at the ceiling.

“You tell me, sunflower. You’re the one that left.”

Your heart ached at the nickname. It wasn’t fair that he used it, especially when you were clearly in a vulnerable mood, but you cherished it anyways.

“You left first.”

It was barely a whisper, said so quietly that you weren’t quite sure he had heard you. If the palpable tension that followed wasn’t indicative of his acknowledgment, the deep sigh that erupted from his chest soon after was indication enough. He stayed quiet, swirling the remaining wine in his glass around in small circles.

You stared at him, unflinching in your assessment of his body language. He didn’t look as miserable as you felt, and a spark of anger ignited in your belly because of it.

“Did you ever really love me, Bil?” You barked. It was bait, and both of you knew it. You’d never questioned his love for you, and he knew you were trying to get a rise out of him, but he couldn’t help stepping up to the plate and taking the bait.

“What kind of fucking question is that?” He watched you closely. You tried not to let your triumph show on your face. “Of course, I love you.”

He stood from his seat and rested his hands on his hips, willing you to do the same. Meet him where he stood, he dared, show him how much you still care. You were nothing if not a daredevil. You joined him in the middle of the room, pressing your index finger into his chest.

“Well then, what the fuck happened?”

“You. Tell. Me.” He gritted from between clenched teeth.

Billy wasn’t being fair to you, and he knew it. You were asking a valid question, and he was cowering behind the anger and frustration in the room.

“I can’t do this again, Bil.” You turned, reaching for your purse. A heavy tug on your elbow had you crashing into Billy’s chest, where he enveloped his arms around you and pulled you into a crushing hold.

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

There was a softness in his voice that tugged at your heartstrings. For a moment, you forgot you were speaking to a grown man and not an orphaned little boy. You blew a long breath out before shaking your head. He rested his forehead against your shoulder.

“No, Bil. I’m not leaving.”

“I always knew I’d end up breaking your pretty heart.” His voice was muffled by your shoulder, but you didn’t miss the slight crack in his words. “I knew I’d fuck it up eventually.”

“I don’t understand what happened. Everything was fine, and then it wasn’t.” You blinked away the tears that had built up on your waterline.

“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”

You cupped his face as he dropped to his knees in front of you. His eyes, now red-rimmed and glassy, pleaded with you, and you couldn’t stop yourself from lowering your body next to his.

“What’s going on?” You asked him, eyes flickering between his fast-blinking eyelids and rapidly shaking hands.

“I was afraid.” He cleared his throat. “Am. I am afraid.”

“Of what? Where is this coming from?” You gaped. You knew Billy struggled with commitment more than most – it had taken him almost a year of serious dating before he could tell you he loved you – but you thought he had moved past that.

“Tom’s getting married.”

Your brow furrowed. “What does Tom have to do with us?”

“Tom’s getting married, and all I can think about is how I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give that to you, and how you deserve someone who can give you everything you want and more.”

You let his words sink into your chest, dissecting every interaction you’d had with him leading up to your breakup. It had been a slow descent, and when it finally became too much, you’d left with no clue how you ended up alone and sleeping on Karen’s couch every night.

“Billy,” You shuttered, shaking your head as tears began to travel down your cheeks, “I never said I wanted any of that.”

“It’s what you deserve.”

“But it’s not what I want. Why couldn’t you see that I was happy with the way things were?”

“I was terrified that you’d leave me. And then I became a shit boyfriend, and you really did leave me, and it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

You wiped the tears from under your eyes and sniffled. “You weren’t always a shit boyfriend.”

Billy snorted, letting a small smile cross his face as he tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“Can you ever forgive me, sunflower?”

You considered his question. If you were being completely honest, you’d forgiven him as soon as you saw his pretty, brown eyes across the bar earlier, so sad and searching for you.

“Can you promise that you’ll tell me when you’re feeling like this again, instead of shutting me out?” You cupped his cheek, eyes flicking down to his lips and then back up to his eyes.

“I can promise that I’ll try.” He swallowed, searching your expression. “Is that enough?”

You lurched forward, pressing your lips to his. The kiss tasted of red wine and salt, and you were suddenly grateful that you’d slumped to the floor earlier instead of waiting until now, when your knees were weak and shaking with anticipation.

“I love you.” Billy mumbled inbetween kisses.

“Show me.” You responded, opening yourself to him for the first time in over a month.

He took you right there on the living room floor, a flurry of intertwined limbs, swollen lips, and skin brushing skin. His lips only left yours long enough to whisper praises against your neck before returning to yours in a bruising kiss. When you came apart underneath him, you couldn’t stop the tears from forming, but he didn’t mind. He kissed the tears away, apologies in their own right, as he continued showing you how much he loved you.

Later on, after hours of reconciliation and apologies, you collapsed next to Billy on the couch. You’d lost your clothes a long time ago, only covered with the throw blanket you’d purchased the year before on a whim, and you watched as he sighed in quiet contemplation.

“We should tell Karen and Frank that their plan worked.” You rested your head on his shoulder. He smiled, pulling you into his chest.

“Let them figure it out on their own. They’ll come around at some point tomorrow when you still haven’t gone back.”

He was right. The next morning, when Karen and Frank knocked on the door, you and Billy were still cuddled together on the couch, so worn out from the night before that you hadn’t been able to muster up the energy to move to the bedroom. You took one glance at Billy before you were on him again, uncaring that your friends were waiting. That’s fine, you thought, let them wait. Let them wait.

Tag List:

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mostofthingsmostofthetime · 1 month

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My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie

I don’t know if I liked it as much as the original films (maybe Mockingjay 1 & 2 as they are pretty emotionally draining), but I still enjoyed it.

I think where it fell a little flat for me is 1. The beginning was a bit slow (tbh I only really started getting interested when Lucy Gray stuck that snake down that girl’s dress & even then I enjoyed the story more when the setting changed from the Capitol to the district) 2. I knew Snow would survive 3. I’d already been spoiled online for a lot of stuff that happens & 4. while I know the director did his best to make Snow as “likeable” as he could for as long as possible, even before he started getting “a little too comfortable” with killing & snitching I didn’t find him as sympathetic as Katniss or Peeta (but that is probably again down to the fact that I know what he goes onto do & there’s no real way around that), this made engaging with him difficult for me.

The world is fascinating. Getting to see all the new locations we never had access to before as well as old locations now in a totally different light (for example district 12 which, while still clearly suffering, seemed like such a bustling industrial town compared to how it is in Katniss’s time). It might have a much more retro aesthetic but there's also just a more vibrant, natural, wild & lawless atmosphere to this movie compared to the others in the franchise. The whole scope of the film just felt more cinematic then I remember the others being yet also weirdly intimate. Maybe because it was one contained story & we knew the main character’s fate from the start. I also loved the title cards signifying the start of each section of the story like from the books & wished they'd done something similar for the other films. It just added a certain flair to the whole thing. Almost gave it the vibe of a tragic play.

The costuming was great. The bright red of the academy uniforms. Flickerman’s snazzy suits. Snow’s dapper black & white outfit. Both peace keeper uniforms (despite one of them giving very ‘1930’s Germany’ vibes) looked great. Grandma might have been a bigot, but at least she was well dressed. Everything Dr Gaul wore (except the top that looked like a used tampon, lol) was exquisite. The main ladies of fashion, Tigris & Lucy Gray slayed. Our Future Capitol stylist looked like some regal yet exotic bird & Miss Survivor was giving Bohemian, country girl realness the entire time she was on screen. Even the extras were serving (like that random couple Snow walked past on his way to the reaping ceremony).

The music was amazing. Every song that played was fantastic (shout out to Olivia for her end credit contribution). The lyrics & instrumentation were beautiful & my god does Rachel Zegler have pipes! Anyone who says the singing scenes are cringy is just stupid like I’m sorry you can’t appreciate art. Also, the words ‘ballad’ & ‘songbirds’ are literally in the title. Plus, Lucy Gray is from the poorest district, so what exactly do those people want her to do in her free time? She can’t exactly hop on an X-box for a few hours. Not too mention that (as the offspring of someone who’s musically inclined) I can tell you, it’s completely realistic for a musician to use their craft to help them deal with trauma & Lucy Gray clearly had more than her fair share of that.

The Grandma'am helped to paint a sadly very realistic background for Snow. As who among us hasn’t met at least one delusional old person who thinks that their/their group’s suffering (regardless of the severity of it or the reason behind their former/newer status in society) means that no one else are deserving of even the tiniest shred of humanity & there are some people who are unlucky enough to not only be related to these people but be raised by them.

Hunter schafer as Tigris is clearly the superior Snow when it comes to things like empathy & overall mental stability but I do kind of wish they’d been more for her to do. Credit where credit is due though her & Tom did actually look like they could be related & I did buy their familial bond (which makes her appearance in Mockingjay so much sadder in hindsight).

Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was a bit of a mix for me just due to his purpose as a character & the limit of film as a form of media. Like sure the audience know that Snow’s going to become an irredeemable monster in the end but without a window into his mind it really does just seem like the Dean is just out to get him & even when we find out why it seems kind of unfair. Like sure his dad sucked but haven’t the Games shown that blaming children for violence caused by others is unjust (& like ok he hates Coriolanus & probably the grandma but Tigris hadn’t done anything to deserve living in poverty, as she can’t control who she’s related to)? Plus, it felt like he could have at least tried taking Snow under his wing at some point to try to hinder Dr Gual’s influence. Saying all of that, though, Peter Dinklage is great at playing an addict with depression & the idea that some drunken rambling could lead to such long-lasting suffering is terrifying. Also its pretty realistic that living with that kind of guilt & in such a cruel environment for that long would make most people jaded & bitter, even if they did have good intentions.

Omg we finally get a Mayor family on screen & they’re assholes! Madge would be so disappointed 😭. It was interesting to see how harsh & overall “boot licky” the mayor & his family seemed compared to decades later, which makes sense as the war wasn’t that long ago for them so the dad probably felt more incentive to align himself with the Capitol as well as not feeling very connected to the district people as 12’s decline probably didn’t fully set in until they really started running low on coal & Snow became president (oh I just know he wanted to blow that district off the map 😆). I also wouldn’t put it past Billy to come up with some sob story of how he really does love Mayfair but wicked Lucy Gray is somehow preventing them from being together. Still no excuse to try to send her to her death twice in one week, though. Definitely not a girl’s girl.

Ok, so a liar. Cheat. Drunk & someone who hits women. Is there anything good about Billy Taupe? Also, trying to get your ex back, while your current girlfriend is literally standing right next to you? Dude, have some god damn back bone! You made a choice, now stick to it. Also, fumbling Lucy Gray, for a girl like that? What’s it like having no brains or taste? Well, too bad, coz you’re stuck with her forever now, lol.

Viola Davies, the actress that you are. What else is there to say? Dr Gaul is almost comic book levels of insane. Like she is how the Right see women in STEM, on crack! I don’t know what she did to get into character, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius Flickerman is a very interesting addition to the story despite playing such a small & seemingly insignificant role. He is strange in how unthreatening he is while also extremely blasé about the abhorrent violence he witnesses that it’s as funny as it is disturbing. Making him come across as more human yet harsher than his son, who at least pretends to care about the tributes (in a very Capitol way, obviously but still). There’s also a polish & confidence to Tucci’s performance that I think Schwartzman did a great job of avoiding copying (despite knowing what audiences were probably expecting) because not only are their characters in entirely different stages of their careers but the whole ethos of the Hunger Games is different in Snow’s youth than it is in Katniss’s. Caesar is a well established presenter & during his time, the games have always been a success (minus the year with the tundra) that the entire Capitol is invested in & seemingly in support of. On the other hand Lucretius had the unique task of not only coming into a job like this with zero experience (I mean imagine going from announcing the weather to presenting the fucking hunger games) but also there were no vibes to try to emulate let alone guidelines to follow because he truly was the first person to do this. On top of that, the "event" his presenting has been panned for years as both boring & unethical. Schwartzman brought a slightly awkward, experimental, yet try hard vibe (like a comedian who's desperate to get a laugh) that I think worked wonderfully for the character.

Tom Blyth's performance was great & he was visually perfect for a young Snow (the power of a good wig! Who knew lol). Even having the cool, analytical stare of Donald Sutherland, down pat. While his appearance was very Eminem during his peacekeeping days, his realisation in the cabin and subsequent breakdown in the woods were crazy. There was so much tension between him & Rachel in that scene that for a second, it literally felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I could almost hear the record scratch for both of them, & all that building paranoia finally coming to a sudden crescendo in the way that it did? Pure cinema!

Josh Rivera, as Sejanus, was honestly a mix for me. Obviously, I agree with his morals, but his way of going about it did seem a little dumb. However I do think it’s pretty realistic that a teenager, especially a rich one, would be rather naive. Also I’ve heard that he’s smarter in the book & I think at times my frustration with him is more just down to the fact that I’m seeing him from Snow’s point of view. Meaning scenes that would be portrayed as noble in any other film instead come across as almost painfully inconvenient because the focus is always on how they affect Snow rather than the actual victims of the situation. Lastly, sorry, Snowjanus shippers, I just don’t see it (especially on Snow’s end), but whatever floats your boat.

Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray with the perfect mix of natural charm & emotional vulnerability with clear pride in her culture & a refusal to let the world around her change who she is. Yet there was also an air of mystery & a subtle resilience to her that makes her potentially surviving out in the woods for years without being detected actually believable (though I don’t buy the theory that she went on to become president Coin). Definitely the highlight of the movie for me.

PS. I'd love to know what you think of my review in the comments/tags & am open to criticism (as long as it's respectful) just remember that I'm only talking about the movie so please don't reference anything spersific to the book.

#some other things i wanted to mention but didn’t seem significant to put in the review (+ it was getting rather long) are:#Clemensia you were so pretty & did not desserve to die #like who hasn't cheated on their homework a little #may my hair look as good as your's if i ever get bit by a snake #dill & wovey rest in peace my darlings #Lysistrata it wasn't your fault #Arachane you got what you deserved tbh #reaper you have my respect forever king #lumina really said kill um with kindness #no but sersiously i love you girl & your 1950's farm girl aesthetic #marcus you did not desserve that & sejanus is sorry & in my heart you guys meet up & become boyfriends in the afterlife #treech you didn't leave much of an impression but at least your hat was cool #bobbin my little germin looking boy #at least you gave Snow a good scare before your demise #coral looks gay like that's a lesbian right there #thg #the hunger games #the hunger games the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the ballad of songbirds and snakes review #thg tbosas #thg tbosbas #tbosas #tbosbas #tbosas review #tbosbas review #thg tbosas review #thg tbosbas review #the hunger games the ballad of songbirds and snakes review #southern gothic is my new fravriote genre #review

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pastelvelvett-2nd · 9 months

Text

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Post info

♡ Word count: (aprox) 2,299

♡ Post type: x reader

♡ Taste: In Between

♡ Yandere: Harper

! Please read the tags for tws!

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♡ Plot summary: Harper is assigned to tutor some fellow students for the upcoming exam, and you just happen to be one of them. By the time your first tutoring session ends, her mild interest in you grew to a degree she didn't expect.

♡ Beginning of post note: This is how I imagine Harper's voice to sound like in case you wanted to know lol anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic!

Yandere!Honor Student x Shy!Reader

Days seemed to blur together for Harper, and this day was no different. Reptition wasn't something that inherantly bothered her, she didn't think, but as she glanced outside her classroom window before the bell got the chance to ring for the first time of the day, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of wrongness in her chest. It wasn't even the first time she felt that, really, and she amounted it down to realizing she wasn't doing as much as she could. Harper assumed it was just a sign she should try harder that day, and that she would.

The classroom was almost completely empty, since she'd usually come to class unusually early. A few fellow students chattered amongst themselves in the background, and she'd normally join in, but for whatever reason, she didn't feel prepared to today. A few confused glances showed that they noticed. Maybe they were upset with her? Harper's stomach bubbled in anxiety at the prospect, but apparently, that wasn't enough to motivate her to turn her charismatic self on.

Maybe she felt... Bored? She honestly couldn't tell for sure, but she thought she did. Maybe even empty. Harper loved them, though. Her classmates. The people she'd help every time she'd get the chance to, and feel proud of whenever they would do well on tests or anything else they'd achieve. The elements in her life somehow didn't seem like they were enough for her in that moment. This caused her to feel a mind numbing amount of guilt, because none of them deserved to have their friend think about them like they're a toy that grew to be boring.

Something different would happen today, though. Maybe this something would give Harper enough satisfaction to feel happier. Because of her great track record in academics, she (and a few other students, of course) was given the opportunity to tutor some students for the upcoming exam. She usually helps her classmates with homework and tests, but this could also give Harper some extra credits, too. Now feeling a bit excited at the image of her telling her parents about what she accomplished, she also felt brighter generally. Almost like a switch being turned on, Harper changed from looking melancholic and unattentive to acting like her usual warm, friendly self, and with this new attitude, she went up to talk to her classmates like she usually would.

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She didn't understand it. She really didn't. Harper just finished her first tutoring session with one particular enigmatic student, and her head was filled with thoughts she'd call confusing. She sat herself at the bus stop, looking back at how the whole event went.

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"Hello! Y/N, right? I'm Harper, I'm here for the tutoring thing! Nice to meet you!" Her tone and expression were almost unbelievably sweet, like they usually were. Although you never really talked to the girl much, it was clear she'd always make an effort to make you feel more comfortable whenever you did speak. It never really seemed to work, unfortunately. As warm as Harper was, you could never get yourself to feel anything but anxious talking to strangers. Them being friendly only gave you the slightest feeling they would murder you if given the chance, but you realized that you were just being paranoid. If it's an actually nice person that wouldn't murder people, it would be rather unfair to assume such a thing of them. You could feel her lavender eyes staring you down for a second, making you shift uncomfortably in your seat. Chances were that she probably noticed, considering her smile threatened to fall in that moment. Not wanting to seem rude, you tried relaxing your tense body and nodded your head. "Y-Yeah, that's me. It's... Nice to meet you, too."

While it seemed like Harper had no issues keeping eye contact (maybe overly-prolonged eye contact, if you were to be honest) for you it was the complete opposite. As she sat herself at the empty desk to your right, you couldn't help but dart your e/c eyes all around the empty classroom you met up in, anywhere and everywhere but the girl next to you. She was... Intimidating, you supposed. Harper Martinez always seemed like the perfect person, which was concerning, because you knew there was no such thing. So, you had to assume she put up some sort of front. It was like seeing someone wearing a mask. Just because someone is wearing one doesn't necessarily mean that they're hiding a nefarious expression underneath it, of course. But the fact that the person decides to hide their honest feelings their face portray is enough to make someone feel suspicious. You noticed you weren't really the only one who seemed to think Harper was off for this very reason, but it seemed like she still remained fairly popular and well-liked. ...Maybe you were just overthinking things, afterall? She never did anything remotely mean, or anything, so your suspicions felt a bit unjustified.

Just as you were stuck in your own little thought loop, you heard the sound of scraping to your right, and upon glancing you realized that Harper just slid the wooden surface right against yours. Next came the chair, obviously with her on it, and suddenly you felt even more cornered than before. You had no clue if she realized how nervewrecking what she was doing was. She wasn't easy to read, not like how easily she seemed to be able to read those around her.

"So, I heard you transferred to this school a year ago, right?" She asked, inciting a bit of confusion from you. Ah, right. She must be making casual conversation so you felt less pressure. For some reason, you were assuming she'd go straight into the tutoring, but you supposed she thought it would help the learning proccess along. Or maybe she felt pity for you, you did seem really nervous. You simply nodded your head, not knowing what else to add than a simple confirmation. "Right! Knew it, hehe. Are you used to it here by now?" She inquired with a tilt of the head, seeming to take your lack of involvement in the conversation in stride.

You thought for a moment about your answer, not noticing how she slid herself closer to the edge of her seat so she could be closer to you without making a loud sound like before. If her knee was even a tincy bit closer to yours they would touch, and you surely would've realized then. "I... I think so. It was a bit hard to get used to, though, honestly." Harper seemed to take in your words for a second, brows knitting together in concern.

"I see... May I ask what you were struggling with?" Even though Harper seemed to act casual most of the time, some of the things she said sounded polite in an almost stiff sort of way.

"It was just that... I don't know, I just don't think I fit in great with the people around me. Nobody seemed to like me much." You paused for a second, realizing you should probably clarify something. "I-I mean, that's not really to say I'm popular right now or anything, I think I'm pretty much still in the same situation, only difference is I'm used to it now..." Just as you finished speaking, you realized how pathetic you sounded. Harper didn't seem to look at you with amusement or scorn or anything though, she kept a patient, empathetic expression.

"I see... I hope nobody's bothering you?" Harper asked, to which you pursed your lips in discomfort.

"U-Uh... Not really, no." Your response was given with as much confidence as you could muster, but something about Harper's demeanor clued you in that she didn't buy it.

She was silent for a moment.

"Well... That's good!" Just like that, her expression brightened yet again. "If you ever need help with anything, not just studying, let me know, okay?" You could only stare at her smiling face for a few seconds, blinking in confusion. From someone who you never talked to much before, this was a strangely kind thing to say. As much as you didn't want to be suspicious of her, it still rang alarm bells. But you supposed it was just her being nice by saying it, responding with anything but gratitude would be impolite.

"Haha, t-thank you...! I appreciate that a lot." You smiled as brightly as you could, though surely, it could not rival Harper's.

Not long afterwards, you began studying the subject you had the toughest time with. She was so patient despite how much you struggled through the whole thing, you could swear she was a saint. By the end of the session, you realized just how curious you were about the honor student, and you would lie if you were to say that you weren't starting to feel a bit more fond of her. There was a reason she was so well-liked. She radiated a positivity that was contagious, and she seemed to genuinely be invested in seeing you improve. But there had to be something more to her. You could swear she was a saint, but she definitely isn't. She's a normal human just like you, but she seemed to also be invested in appearing to be perfect.

You were somewhat excited to learn more about this mysterious student, having absolutely no clue how excited she was to learn more about you, just the same. ♡

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Although Harper didn't think about you much before having this first tutoring session, she always felt you were... Somewhat alluring. Unlike the sociable, open Harper, you always kept to yourself, never really speaking to anyone unless it was necessary. She wanted to know more about you out of curiousity, true, but she also felt worried about you. What if you felt lonely, and you just didn't know how to approach people? Although, it was still very possible you wanted to be left alone. You didn't seem to make any efforts to talk to people, afterall, so Harper could just be bothering you if she began hanging by your side. She tried talking to you a few times, but you didn't seem terribly comfortable around her, so she assumed this proved her theory.

Once Harper saw you today, though, she seemed to have quite a bit of a change of heart. There was something about your mannerisms that were just so... Enticing to her, for a lack of a better word. Despite you not sharing that much about yourself, just sitting down next to you for an hour helped Harper get to know you a lot better than she could from short small talk whenever you'd bump into eachother in the halls.

Although still not knowing very much about you, Harper was sure of it, that the two of you must be kindred spirits. This was someone that could surely wholeheartedly understand her if she were to ever shed any of that perfect exterior of hers. Maybe... Maybe if it could be with you, she could finally act a bit like herself. Her teeth clenched together the second the thought passed her mind. No... Could she really do that? By the end of the hour, you actually seemed more fond of her than when you started. Your tone was naturally warmer, and you actually didn't seem to be afraid to look in her direction anymore. You seemed to already warm up to her.

As she stared blankly at the concrete sidewalk, she could list each one of your little habits that she found adorable without any bit of trouble. The way you'd stutter over your words every so often, the softness your tone always carried, even just your posture, a small detail that Harper would never make special note of for anyone else, seemed incredibly cute to her. You always held your arms close to your center, often slouching, almost as if you were trying to make yourself smaller and more difficult to spot (despite the fact there was no one there that could spot your except for your tutor).

In you she saw herself, but not the her that everyone else saw, no, the person she truly was behind a confident exterior. For someone who always put herself in the middle of it, Harper had an intense fear of the world that she could also sense in you. Normally, she'd act much the same, if helping people didn't obviously require you to come up and talk to them.

If you'd like this her she projected... Then she wouldn't be able to change it.

Her daze was broken by the sound of a bus stopping in front of her, followed by numerous footsteps mixing with the voices of some of the individuals those footsteps belong to. Harper instantly got up, and with an empty expression boarded. As she sat herself down at the nearest empty seat, she internally marvelled at how much more she cared about your opinion than anyone elses, all so suddenly.

You, who she never spoke to more than a few words every now and again before today.

You, who she never even thought about too much before today.

You, who seemed so much more special than anyone else in her life. She felt mind numbing guilt thinking this again, because there were friends she spoke to every single day since the beginning of freshmen year and she still doesn't feel a bigger attachment to them than you.

Was she a bad person? She musn't pick favorites, she must give every person in her life equal attention, equal help, equal kindness, or else she would be treating someone unfairly. And suddenly, someone comes around and occupies her mind more than anyone else? It just wasn't right.

And yet, she felt a tug in her chest, telling her, no, yelling, that it was right.

...

Tomorrow she'll see you again.

She smiled.

#a serving🍰#yandere x reader #yandere #yandere x you #yandere imagines #female yandere #tw: yandere #tw: obsession #yandere oc #yandere oc x you #yandere oc x reader

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danieyells · 5 days

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Can I see Romeo's voicelines please? He's such a failguy, I need to knowwww

How dare you call him a failguy!

he is THE failguy. don't make him sound offbrand.

i love Romeo he is honestly so ridiculous like. . .you meet Romeo in the first chapter and you do NOT realize he's going to be like. . .that. . .in the Sinostra chapter. . . .

No affinity required:

"Hey! I'm talking to you, BB! If you've got time to wander around, you've got time to wipe the tables!"

i thoguht the pc was supposed to be doing uh background work for you at the casino. why is she cleaning tables!? go ask her to run drugs for you or something.

"Just go! I cannot deal with this WTWUT! Wall-To-Wall Useless Trash, obviously!"

that was a long acronym!

"Time to count this month's protection fees... Not bad. I'll up this group by 2% next month. This one could go a little higher too..."

Affinity 1:

"Why does that DOF want to meet so early in the morning? If I get bags under my eyes because of this, I'm going to slit his throat."

we never learned what "DOF" stood for did we. I assume it's "Doctor Of" something and he's talking to Yuri(he's not talking to Nicolas because Nicolas is "SOP", Smiley Old Prude) (i assume it's Doctor of Failure. If you think Romeo's a failguy you should see Yuri's voicelines that guy is something else. . . .) On the other hand I wonder if it's Hyde? I feel like he spoke to Hyde and called him something else though.

Affinity 3:

"Have you seen Shinjo anywhere? I just asked him to organize some documents and he ran off to make copies!"

Affinity 4:

"Mickey's bar? Yes, I am going again tonight, but it's only because there's nowhere else to go for a drink."

isn't there a bar in the casino. . .i guess he doesn't wanna spend time on the casino floor. also "Mickey" is Rui, if you weren't able to figure that out haha

Affinity 5:

"This is when the regulars usually come, so I have to sweeten the pot. I saw that HNTW out there earlier too."

i hate you and your acronyms LMAOOOO I THINK THIS IS REFERRING TO KAITO??? MAYBE??? he's the only character besides Taiga who frequents the casino that we're aware of!

Affinity 6:

"How dare those Frostheim slugs start whispering the moment they see my face... One day they'll be groveling at my feet..."

oof. . .the frostheimers are gossiping about the collapse of his family. . .yeah i'd be mad too there bud. i'd like to think he wanted to transfer to Frostheim once he became a second year and he ended up not doing it because Frostheim was just so toxic.

Affinity 7:

"...Looks like I'm due for a tune up soon. Keeping my posture beautiful isn't easy, no matter how much I train my core."

i assume he sees like a chiropractor or a physical therapist or something. gets his atlas adjusted. maybe don't lean over your EITS laptops lol

Affinity 8:

"You're smelling the bedtime fragrance I bought from Kurossa earlier. He has a good eye, so I often ask him to pick things out for me."

Leo's lines also reference this! I'm glad they get along so well haha I think they mesh pretty great.

Affinity 9:

"You want to see my Insta? I suppose that's fine, but do you even know anything about brands?"

brand ambassador romeo. . .god he probably does all sorts of dumb beauty shit on his instagram. do you think he participates in those health pyramid schemes? probably not, right, he's fairly legitimate in his business practices. . .sort of, sometimes, kind of, as long as you don't owe him money. . . .

Affinity 10:

"Fuji's pendant? Of course I haven't given up on it. He has no idea of the value of what's hanging around his neck."

neither do we! please inform us!! but on the upside that means that Romeo knows what it is, to some degree. I assume it's some rare, powerful artifact. Kaito at least knows it's important.

Affinity 11:

"I have to drink a cup of room-temperature water, do an electric facial and a mask, apply body cream, do my neck routine... I have no free time in the morning."

Affinity 12:

"Hey! There's a hair on the ground over here! And there's dust over here! Can't you even clean something properly without me holding your hand!?"

this is directed at his underlings, not the pc(or not the pc by themself.) I also appreciate that the Japanese specifies this is one single hair he's pointing out. Somebody get this man a roomba.

Affinity 13:

"I maintain my bullets myself. You really think I'd let another man handle my crown jewels?"

handle your WHAT-- i mean anyone could've guessed you and taiga don't have a very active sex life

Affinity 14:

"What is going on with your skin!? Do you even have a proper routine in place? Unacceptable. Your overnight skin cell turnover is suboptimal and it shows."

Affinity 15:

"That BTH...! I was almost impressed to see him out so early until I realized he's been playing all night!!"

taiga pulling an all-nighter at his own goddamn casino lmao. . . .

Affinity 16:

"What do you mean you don't need any more noni juice? I went out of my way to prepare it for you. Come on now, drink it."

he personally made it for you! now drink the bitter nasty health juice. don't make him feed it to yo

Affinity 17:

"Finally, some goods worth talking about. I have to ring that DOF and arrange the next event..."

so whoever DOF is is an active participant in his criminal activities, sometimes. . .which makes me think it isn't Yuri lol I AM SO CURIOUS. WHO IS THIS GUY.

Affinity 19:

"How about a smoke before bed? I'm joking. If I wasn't selling it, I wouldn't be touching this unhealthy garbage."

quick someone shoop the "quieres" meme with romeo HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY TELL YOU WHAT HE'S HANDLING. . .considering his line of work it could be anything but regular cigarettes or cigars. Is it weed? is it crack?? is it meth???? i find that romeo is essentially the campus dealer hilarious.

Affinity 20:

"What? I'm on my way to the gym for a workout. ...You can join me if you're interested."

you know damn well he probably hates getting sweaty. but he's gotta keep up with his health and all so a little workout's not off the table. also you know he's wearing some fuckin. gucci leggings or some shit.

Affinity 21:

"Why are you carrying that!? What if you drop it and it breaks? I'll get one of our young guys to do it, so put it down already!"

aw he's worried about--oh no he's just worrying about you dropping his stuff.

Affinity 22:

"I won't let anyone destroy what I've built— not even my OAOF."

GOD I HOPE THEY EXPLAIN THESE ACRONYMS SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE. I assume the first word is "Own". . .the last word could be "Family" or "Followers"/"Faction" or "Feelings". . . .

Affinity 23:

"Most of humanity's problems can be solved with money. If you put that another way, without money, you don't stand a chance. That's the way the world works."

again, Taiga compared Ritsu's family to Romeo's before The Incident. Romeo lost everything he had at one point. He's afraid of ending up with nothing again. That's all. Even with the Casino, he doesn't want to lose it because it'd be losing everything he has again. Having no money means going back to 0.

Affinity 24:

"Coming here alone this time of night, haven't you made progress? Come over here, I'll evaluate your efforts."

pc's getting brave enough to go to Sinostra in the middle of the night! probably did some shady job for him too.

Affinity 25:

"What could you possibly be afraid of? You're one of my people! Walk with your head held high or I'll step on it!"

BBY YOU CAN STEP ON HER HEAD ANYWAY. PLEASE DO IT. 👀 also you have been opted out of being one of Taiga's people I guess. You have chosen your faction. /joke

Spring:

"This year's AW collection is out... Tch. Not even a hint of taste in any of it. They'll bear this mark of shame for years."

I KNOW THIS ACRONYM! He's complaining about Autumn-Winter fashion!!! lbr romeo men's fashion is kinda boring anyway. I wonder if his family owned a fashion brand. . . .

"I don't mind the springtime in Japan. The mild weather is a bonus, but it's the transient beauty of the cherry blossoms I truly appreciate."

"The new prototype is a tear bomb? A lot of anomalies don't even have eyes, is this really going to be useful?"

i mean it might be useful for the ones that have eyes. . .or for hunting down Kaito.

Summer:

"Summer is all about aquamarine... If you believe that, you're a follower. A trendsetter would know to go against the grain with a heavier jade piece."

"Excuse me!? You really think I would stoop to petty theft!? This scarf and hat are UV protection!"

LMAO HE LOOKED SO SHADY THE PC GOT WORRIED

"This? It's an original hot water blend with salt and lemon I came up with. You shouldn't be cooling your insides just because it's hot outside!"

i mean. i guess it'll technically help you sweat and cool down faster????

Autumn:

"They gave us nothing but useless bottom feeders this year... I'd like to see who raised this bunch of idiots. They don't even have a grasp of basic etiquette."

"I'm going to the training grounds to demonstrate sharpshooting for the first- years. It's a waste of my time, but I'm the most skilled at it."

he just wants everyone to see how good he is lolol

"The SS collections are out. What? Are you telling me you don't pay attention to Paris Fashion Week?"

"The boss won't stop whining about being hungry. Obviously I'm not going to cook. What are you all standing around for, you damn TGAs!?"

lol Romeo has his underlings feed Taiga as much as Taiga demands food of his own underlings. "please feed your father the boss before he eats one of the chancellor's cats again."

Winter:

"You look like a fat slug in those clothes. Keeping warm is important, but couldn't you at least tough it out when you're meeting me!?"

HARSH. how about you get her outfits then!!! lolol he's looking at you all bundled up and doesn't even wanna be seen with you

"I get aches when it's cold... I'm taking off early tonight to go drink, then I'll warm up with a low bath."

"Tch... This is the most profitable time of year for us, where the hell is that BTH!?

well you see Taiga hates the cold so he's probably in a blanket burrito. . . .

His birthday:

"Today is Fico's birthday, so you're dining in style. I'm not going to eat any though, so you can finish it off."

'it's my birthday, so i'm going to treat you! what? me? eat?? no, i'm on a diet!!' i am once again asking the ghouls to EAT PROPER MEALS PLEASE IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY ROMEO HAVE ONE CHEAT DAY. DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE CAKE.

Your birthday:

"It's your birthday? I suppose I can celebrate it for you, but you'd better be aware of how much of my precious time you're using."

he treats you better on his birthday than yours. . . .

New Years:

"Felice anno nuovo! This will be the year I claim Fuji's debt and his pendant!"

oh my god he does speak italian. you hear more tidbits of italian fromTaiga than him. also Kaito's pendant must be super important if that's his new years resolution. this is gonna matter in the long run isn't it.

Valentine's Day:

"Hmph. I'm not familiar with this packaging. If you're giving me chocolate, you better have selected it with the utmost care!"

'this is not brand name. how dare you.'

White Day:

"Here. They're mimosa cookies, a special order from an upmarket confectionary in Ginza. I can't say whether your peasant tastebuds can appreciate them though."

peasant? who are you, jin? fun fact, Taiga's White Day line references this one!

"What's that expectant look on your face? Lulu was harping on about mimosas or something before. That what you want?"

so Romeo gets the cookies whether or not he plans to give you some i guess lol

April Fool's Day:

"Just you try and fool me—I'll tear those rags off you and throw you in a cage. So? What do you want?"

converting your friends into human trafficking victims is the latest new prank sweeping the internet!

Halloween:

"Do you have face paint in your pores!? Go wash it off before you end up with hyperpigmentation!!"

Christmas:

"Buon Natale! Go get ready—that reindeer's around again. This year I'm going to catch it for sure!!"

he's going to auction off one of santa's reindeer. . . .

Idle:

"My drink is empty. Hey! I'm talking to you! Go bring me a refill!"

If you haven't logged in for a while(?):

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Do I have to teach you how to maintain an adult relationship? This is your last chance, got it!?"

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG THE ADHD KICKED IN AND I GOT SUPER DISTRACTED i love Romeo so much he's so. . .silly lmao. he's a very fun character. even though i hate his acronyms. But he's also so worried about his image and his money. . .and as much as he complains I think he worries about Taiga too. And as he comes to like you more he worries about you too. It's just that strictness and maintaining control is how he feels most comfortable and how he expresses his attachments. He trusts you. So he wants you to be able to hold you to a high standard.

#romeo lucci #romeo scorpus lucci #tokyo debunker #tokyo debunker spoilers #datamining cw #danie yells at tokyo debunker #next is TOWA MY BELOVED.

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the-ninjago-historian · 4 months

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New Article! Scrapped Season Concepts!

We've all heard of the scrapped Cowboy inspired season of Ninjago. But few know there was many more ideas that were ultimately scrapped! Today, we'll be looking at this scrapped season, along with many other abandoned concepts from Lego Ninjago artist Matt Betteker! And try to unlock some of the mystery behind them! Let's go!

1: The Dawn Of The Devourers, Lloyd vs Pancho, The Race, and Adventure

Clearly inspired by Western movies, this epic adventure seems it would have pitted the Ninjas against a Great Devourer riding band of outlaws, (One of which is named, Pancho) in search of perhaps some sort of treasure! This concept is extremely interesting, since it shows the existence of multiple Great Devourers! One of which looks a bit like Wojira! This season also seems to take inspiration from Incan civilizations, going by the jungle tomb-like building in the concept Adventure, and the Incan style Pyramids in the background of Lloyd Vs Pancho. Overall, this seems like it would have been an epic season. I can only imagine what the concept titled, The Race would have looked like animated. I honestly wonder why it was scrapped.

(I love the little detail of Cole manning the guns and Wu driving the wagon. Good father and son teamwork. Lol.😂)

2: The Lightning Temple and ThunderTown

What are these concepts for? Who's to say. It could be a very early version of Prime Empire. Going by the circuitry style painting on the temple in the concept called Temple Of Lightning, and the overall lightning themed atmosphere. OR, it could be an early design for the Island of the Keepers. Whose to say? But either way, it's a really cool concept and I'd love if they could reuse it some day.

3: Clockwork, The Ancient Ones Return, The Gold Army Meets Fibo, and The Gold Collector

This concept looked like Crystalized, Master Of The Mountain, and Hands Of Time all rolled into one!!! The gold and white color palette seems incredibly similar to Shintaro's. Meanwhile, clockwork patterns and style are reminiscent to Hands Of Time! And last but not least, the floating island looks almost like the Crystal Kings from Crystalized! This season would have had all sorts of crazy stuff! The main villain, (Known as The Gold Collector,) seems to have been very interested in two things. Gold, and Clockwork stuff. And it seems he or she would have been collecting gold to perhaps bring back the Golden Army shown in the artwork The Gold Army Meets Fibo. Who is this mysterious Fibo? A time traveler perhaps? Look at the flowing swirls of clock styled energy surrounding him. Very intriguing.🤔

If Ninjago had a steampunk inspired season like this, I would have been thrilled! It's to bad this concept was abandoned. But I would love to see what fans do with it!

4: Hunt For The Lava Hammer, and Cole Lava Blade

An early version of Master Of The Mountain, or something else? Going by the mining style machines and side characters in the backgrounds of both these pieces, this could have been a mining themed season centered around Cole. Even Cole's outfit is designed to look like a mining or construction outfit. Almost reminiscent to Lego City's Volcano Explorers line.

5: The Dragons Tribe, and Hunt For The Elemental Shurikens

There isn't much to say about this one. As we can't really take many clues from it. But going by Lloyd's outfit, and the lush green plant life, I believe this could be an early version of The Island. What really interests me is these Elemental Shurikens. What are they? Unfortunately, it doesn't say. But I'm sure they would have been interesting! Also, look at that dragon guarding her nest. The patterns on her are beautiful!

6: The Journey of Lloyd

All these piece were under one title. The Journey Of Lloyd. How mysterious.👀 So what is this collection of concepts? Just by looking, you can tell this was no ordinary season. The muted color palette and the more mature atmosphere all seem to point to something bigger. Was this perhaps a scrapped version of the Ninjago Movie? Or something else? Perhaps a Lloyd centric story, in which he goes an epic adventure all his own! Whatever's is was, it looks amazing. The love how much more mature and darker it feels. Surely a concept worthy of a nail biting, heart racing, action movie!

7: The Dragon Mask

A single concept amongst the others caught my eye. It didn't seem to fit with any of the other concept seasons. What is this dragon mask? It could be an early version of the Dragon Forms seen in Crystalized. But whose to say? Still, a very striking design! Feel free to comment your theories about it!

Want to look at the artwork straight from Matt Betteker himself? Here's his Art Station account with the exact art pieces we went over today.

Thanks for reading everyone!

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago lego #ink dragon #concept art #Matt Betteker #links #ninjago crystalized #ninjago the island #ninjago prime empire #ninjago hands of time #the lego ninjago movie #ninjago movie #lego ninjago movie #ninjago master of the mountain #trivia #Inky's Articles #scrapped concepts

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garbinge · 1 year

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Riding With Angels

Jax Teller x F!Reader

Request by: @justreblogginfics Scenario #1 Decorating the tree Dialogue #4: "I know we said no presents this year but..."

A/N: Okay so I’m either 2 months late for a holiday fic OR 10 months early... you decide lol. If you know me, you know I can’t write anything without making it angsty. This can be read as a standalone but is meant to be a continuation of Home. Thank you for submitting this... I had a really great time brainstorming this up and writing it!!!

Word Count: 4.1k words

Warnings: All my fics are 18+ regardless of content. Cursing, angst, mentions of death, car/motorcycle accidents. Canon-level angst.

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc (happy to add anyone to any future SOA fics!)

The atmosphere had everything going for it to be the perfect holiday evening. There was Christmas music playing lightly in the background, the kids and you had baked cookies and attempted to make gingerbread houses during the day. You had started to hang up some string lights throughout the windows in the house, but currently you were staring at the tree. Abel was dancing around the fake pine roping tinsel around it as Thomas was picking through the storage bin of Christmas items with likely no thoughts but what would taste good. It was a picture perfect moment, but you couldn’t help but miss Jax. You hoped the kids didn’t feel the absence of their father as much as you did but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. A little hand tugged at your shirt, the motion caused you to shake yourself from your thoughts and look down at Abel.

“When’s daddy coming home?”

The question left a weight on you. Your eyes moved over to the clock that sat above the entryway table. 8:17PM. It was technically still early, you thought, even though you knew you were kidding yourself. You always found yourself in this position, waiting on Jax. You were brought back to reality when the doorbell rang.

“Daddy will hopefully be home soon, baby.” You picked him up to offer a little bit of comfort to the kid before making your way to the door.

“Is that him?” Abel said as the doorknob turned. Gemma appeared through the door with her keys in hand. “Grandma!” he called out and wiggled out of your grip.

Gemma hugged the boy as he collided with her while you went to grab Thomas to say hello.

“Sorry to drop by unexpectedly,” Gemma said as she made her way to the living room.

“Are you?” You subtly snapped.

Gemma looked at you with annoyance and a little shock in her eyes. It wasn’t like you to act like that, while you had your opinions on Gemma, especially after reading John Teller’s manuscript, you never showed your cards to her. It honestly had nothing to do with being scared of her, which is what Gemma probably thought, it had to do with the kids, with Jax, the family you built together and the plans you and Jax had for the future, not showing your true thoughts and feelings was for that reason only. And even with all of that in mind, you did love the woman, just not her choices in life. But at this moment, you were taking out your anger on Jax and the club on Gemma.

You quickly responded “I’m sorry, I’m in a mood.”

“Rare for you.” The statement usually would have been sarcastic out of the older woman’s mouth but she meant it, because you always were able to put on a face. Before you could continue to talk, Abel was dragging both you and Gemma into the living room begging for you to help with the tree decorating.

Your eyes were focused on the dish in front of you. It was sparkling clean but you were scrubbing furiously as a way to get your frustration out. The kids were in the living room still with Gemma, you weren’t sure if they were still decorating the tree or had moved on to something else, but as long as Gemma had them under her supervision, your mind couldn’t bring itself to focus on that. You took the opportunity to be by yourself and be upset, you didn’t like showing that to the kids, between that and everything with Gemma you felt like there were rare and few times in between that you could be your true self. If anything, Jax was really the only person you were your true self with and with him being MIA more often than not these days made you feel like you were losing a part of yourself. Which is why you were taking it out on the dishes. You hated the fact you were losing yourself over a boy. And yes, you understood it was deeper than that. It wasn’t just a boy. It was your family. But nothing took the sting of that away.

“Looks pretty clean to me.” Gemma’s voice sounded from behind you.

You took a large sigh and looked back at her over your shoulder. “Where are the kids?”

“Playing in the living room, Abel wanted to wait till Jax came home to finish the tree.” Gemma said, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.

You mumbled under your breath, something that Gemma didn’t hear but she definitely understood what was happening.

“You gonna keep sulking or tell me what’s on that pretty lil mind of yours.”

You kept your mouth shut and moved back to a different dish in the sink, you weren’t going to entertain her on this because she wasn’t approaching the situation from a place with care, she was being nosy.

“You know that ring on your finger doesn’t change anything.”

And apparently now she was being mean. You stopped dead in your tracks, your eyes moved down to your left hand where the silver engagement band glistened under the running water.

“It’s the same Jax. Same club. Same ways of working. There’s gonna be late nights, sweetheart, that’s why you’re here, for the kids, for the house, you keep the foundation solid and they bring the money home for you to keep things solid. The ring doesn’t change that, if anything it makes it more prevalent.”

Boiling. Your blood was boiling. Now your thoughts of losing yourself were being taunted by the thought of being just a housewife, just someone’s old lady.

Gemma might have been right in her time, even if the irony of the fact that she had never been one to sit on the sidelines, she might as well be patched with the sway she had on the men in the club, Jax included.

“You realize you’re lecturing me because I’m upset Jax wasn’t here to decorate the tree with his kids.” You turned to her, you started out the night giving her attitude and you weren’t going to stop now. “You talk about keeping this solid,” you waved your hands around the room, “how do I do that when my kids are asking about Jax all day long?”

“Your kids?” Gemma smiled.

You turned around again back to facing the sink and shook your head. “Why do you start these conversations when you just want to argue, your goal in this is to just come out on top. Those ARE my kids, Gemma. I feed them, I spend my days with them, my nights with them, I placed them in the best schools, best daycares, they call me mom for fucks sake.”

Gemma walked over to you, in a Teller attempt to apologize and clarify herself.

“Those ARE your kids.” She said, “It’s just shocking to hear you say it.”

“Shocking?” you turned realizing now, how close she was to you.

“You’re very hard to read, you know.” She cocked an eyebrow up.

That made you laugh, “I know what you’re saying, about keeping things solid, but you out of all people should know that it's different when they’re at the position they’re in. I’m not just a Son’s old lady. I’m the VPs old lady. I’m Jax Teller’s old lady.”

“You aren’t just marrying the man, baby. You’re marrying the club.”

Those words weighed heavy on you. You weren’t marrying the club. You and Jax had long conversations about leaving the club which is why you were feeling how you felt. Everything felt backwards, he was spending long nights doing club things, it seemed like he was getting deeper in the club when he was promising you that he was getting out. But in Gemma’s eyes that was fact so you quickly flipped a switch.

“You’re right, sorry Gem. Just the holidays and stuff make it harder, you know.” You shrugged and dried your hands off.

“C’mon, let’s get back to the boys.” Gemma tried to move past this whole conversation like nothing happened.

“I’m gonna make myself a cup of coffee, I’ll meet you there in a minute.” You said with the best smile you could.

You made your way to the kitchen table with your cup of coffee. Slamming your head against the table seemed like a viable option right now, but instead you opted to rub your temples.

The door opened, causing your head to jerk up to see who it was. Even though there was only one person left who it could be, it was still surprising to see Jax at the door. Opie was behind him, both of them looking like they had the longest night of their life. Abel’s voice filled the entire house as he screamed in joy.

“DADDY!!!!” His little feet making quick stomping noises as they darted toward his father.

A smile grew on Jax’s face immediately, he bent down to catch Abel in his arms. At this point, Jax was already past the opening in the entryway that led to the kitchen, leaving you unnoticed in the kitchen.

“Someone was waiting for you to come home so you could decorate the tree.” Gemma’s voice was low but you heard it. Your anger boiled in your throat again, that wasn’t for Gemma to tell, that was for you to tell, but you didn’t even get greeted in your own home yet so what did you honestly expect.

Opie looked into the kitchen, his eyes taking in the scene of you. Clocking your frustration straight away, he called to Jax and nodded his head into the kitchen. Jax’s head peaked in and his expression dropped seeing you at the table. With a deep sigh, he entered the kitchen.

“You want a cup of coffee?” Your feet were pushing up from your seat and making their way to the coffee machine before you could think, you knew that one hug from Jax and you’d be pushed over yet again.

“I wanted to say hello to my wife.” You could hear how he was trying to work you in the tone of his voice.

“Fiancé.” You corrected him and handed him a mug.

His eyebrows raised, and a smirk played on his face. “I stand corrected.” A hand moved up in surrender while the other one gripped the coffee mug.

You could hear Gemma and the boys playing together and Opie’s voice with them too. Now that was rare. Opie barely played with his own kids let alone Jax’s, which got you going down the rabbit hole of what that meant and how if Jax’s best friend could so easily dive back into the club after being so against it, was that what was happening with Jax.

“What’s going on with you?” He asked genuinely.

“What’s not going on, Jax? It’s fucking Christmas time and you’re barely home,” you paused to whisper your next sentence, “you told me you were done with this shit and now you’re deeper in than ever and you’re pushing me out, I don’t know anything that’s happening.”

Jax understood your pain, but he wasn’t going to subject you to the club dramatics, he knew what he had to do to get out and he was doing it, despite what it might have looked like.

“I’m sticking to our plan” His voice was firm.

You shook your head and rolled your eyes. “Our plan.” You laughed like that actually meant something.

“Darlin’.” He was getting annoyed but trying to meet you halfway or somewhere.

“No, Jax. This isn’t something you can just sweet talk your way out of. This is our fucking life.”

“Do you trust me?” He said, stepping towards you.

“Less and less everyday.” You said truthfully and it pained his heart but he did understand. “But, yes. I do.”

Jax peered into the living room, seeing Gemma in deep conversation with Opie.

“You out of all people should know why I can’t just leave, why I have to leave everything in a good place. This was the last thing my dad had. I didn’t get a house or some real estate investment when he died, this is what he left me. The club was his and I can’t just let it die because I want out.”

There was so much to argue with what he said, you read that manuscript and even though JT had blueprinted a way for the club to earn legit, you also knew that he ended it wanting to burn it all down. Jax believed that was just a desperate man angry at the world who knew he was on borrowed time, but you knew it was the writing of a man who had exhausted every option. The only reason you didn’t have it in you to say that to Jax was because you got it. This was what bonded you two. This was how you met and got to talking all those years ago…bonding over dead fathers and the irony of how they both had gone from motorcycle accidents. That day you met in the Harley shop, you both stood in the plaque aisle getting something to honor them. The very thing that glued you two together was the very thing tearing you apart.

You understood the pain of trying to live in their honor, do things to carry out their legacy. In fact, it was probably why you were so eager to get out of this horror of a town. But the same very thing is what was keeping Jax here.

“I know I didn’t know JT, but, I can’t imagine he’d want you drowning, Jax. Exhausting your options is exactly what he did, there becomes a point where you have to recognize that before you end up like both of our fathers...”

“Riding with Angels.” He finished your sentence looking at the two plaques that had brought you two together that hung in the kitchen. “That’s not gonna happen. Please, that’s why Opie’s here, I briefed him on everything tonight, I’m gonna give him JT’s book and just it’s gonna be fine, I need you to believe that.” Jax was begging you.

Looking into his eyes, you saw he needed that faith. You thought back to what Gemma had said, that you need to be solid, be the foundation and keep things stable at home. Hating to admit it, but she was right. Even though she had no clue what was truly happening, she was right. And you hated that.

But there was nothing you could do, and that’s what you hated even more.

Feeling defeated, you stepped towards him, letting your hand raise and sit on the left side of his kutte, your fingers lightly swiping over the redwood original patch. Slowly your hand moved down to grip his arm that was holding the coffee mug, your gaze moved up to his eyes, blue as ever, you wished you could get lost in them like you used to, before looking into Jax’s eyes felt like euphoria, it felt like young and wild passion, but lately it felt like you were drowning, looking into them was like a high tide pulling you back in deeper and deeper each time until you were drowning. And they did, because as you looked into them, you gave up and let the waves of baby blue take you in. “Tell your mom to go home, give Opie the manuscript, and decorate the tree with me and the kids.” You demanded those three things, if you were going to give him another chance you at least needed to feel like you were in charge. “I’ll be in the bedroom, waiting, I can’t look at either of them right now.”

Truthfully, you would have said that about anyone associated with the club. You felt defeated, broken, and like you had lost the biggest game of tug o war. Realizing the club took priority over you was a reality that slapped you across the face every time and looking at Gemma and Opie was just pouring salt into that wound.

He tried to smile down at you, trying to offer compassion even though truthfully he was glad that a fight didn’t escalate and he had the opportunity to show you he had everything under control.

You escaped to the bedroom, not even glancing up to Opie and Gemma as you walked down the hallway, their eyes were burning into you but still you didn’t even look through your peripheral vision.

As you stood in your shared bedroom, part you thought to pack your shit up and leave, you could go through the window, take only what you needed and just leave it all behind. You stared at the open closet where your suitcase sat, it was covered by Jax’s duffel, the irony behind it all. Before you could have a thought more, you felt a tug at your pants. As you looked down into the little eyes that were staring back up at you, every thought of leaving escaped you. There was a slight giggle out of his mouth as he tucked his head into you. A pang of guilt hit you for a moment, that you even thought about leaving. If Jax’s eyes were the high tide drowning you, Abel’s were the breath of fresh air to save you.

“Daddy says to come out to the tree.” The boy hid his face again with a giggle.

“Oh, really? Are we going to finish decorating it all together?” You asked bending down to his level.

“He said Santa gave him something to give to you.”

“Santa, huh? I can’t believe daddy knows Santa!” You teased the boy, he laughed and pulled your arm because he seemed eager to see what it was. “Come on, let’s go.” You said picking him up and walking out to the living room.

Jax had been placing ornaments on the tree with Thomas who was trying to pull them off.

“I hear Santa gave you a gift for me.” Your voice had changed, it wasn’t as lively as it was when you talked with Abel but it also wasn’t as rigid as when you were talking to Jax. Somewhere in the middle of that was where you were now.

Jax smiled, and bent down to grab a black bag that was under the tree. "I know we said no presents this year but...Santa doesn’t listen.” Jax smirked as he handed the package over to you. “Santa also didn’t have time to wrap it.” He smiled, his grin was shit eating and if he didn’t have Thomas in his arms you would have pushed him back slightly but you just shook your head and took the black bag in your free hand, the one that didn’t have Abel.

It was a pretty big package, decently heavy. You placed Abel down, he started decorating the tree, handing ornaments up to Jax and Thomas as you stared at the bag.

“You gonna open it or what?” Jax asked, still grinning.

“Open it! Open it!” Abel jumped up and down.

With a deep sigh you grabbed what was inside the black bag to find another bag around whatever the item was. This bag however, was clear with the words ‘EVIDENCE’ printed across it. There was some writing on the white printed square on the front of the bag. A frown filled your face, a fucking evidence bag? What was Jax thinking? Your eyes scanned over the bag reading the red marker notes.

April 28th, 1994 Highway 99 Marker 78 TOD: 11:37

This was all the information of when your father died, your heart started beating faster as you started to come to terms with what this was. Your hand opened the evidence bag and met the fabric from inside. The feeling of the worn leather and patches felt like the cure you needed. It sent something over your entire body. Just when you thought that nothing could beat this feeling, you took it out of the bag. The smell of your father’s cologne was still faint on the fabric but strong as it hit your nose. The tears built up as you let the evidence bag fall to the ground and the leather jacket fully drop open. The brown leather was so worn, it had seen a lot over the years of your father wearing it, many highways, many states. The patches each had a story of their own. Most of them coming from the different states he had traveled to, Nevada, Texas, Arizona and more. Some to honor his time in the military and service to the county. Some just for decoration, a skeleton’s middle finger, a bear with it’s teeth showing, a compass. Then your hand passed over the patch you gifted him when you were a kid. #1 Dad. It was worn, more worn than you had remembered, but that’s when you saw the scuff from the accident. It had ended where the #1 Dad patch was, expanding across a large amount of other ones, making them have loose stitching where the leather was scratched. The pavement probably ripping the threads from them off as he slid against it from the accident. It offered you a bit of closure, seeing how it all happened. You had begged the police department for more information besides a crash, the report you saw didn’t even have an officer sketch of the accident and since foul play was a potential factor, they had kept all the evidence. You gave up years ago trying to get the evidence from lockup, but somehow it was sitting in your hands right now.

Looking up from jacket, your eyes blurry from tears, you stared at Jax.

“How?” It was the only word you could get out of your mouth.

Jax placed Thomas on the ground to crawl around, and turned up the Christmas music so it would be harder for them to hear what he was gonna say.

“Unser owed me one. He was able to pull a few strings at the Stockton State Trooper station. That’s why I was home late tonight, Ope and I went to pick it up and got stuck in traffic on the 99, construction shit.”

You were in awe. After everything you tried, after all these years, you had his jacket in your hand, you had closure in your heart, something that almost felt unreal.

“Unser has the police report, the real one. Figured you’d want the choice to look at it,” he started to explain, “that and it wasn’t up for civilian grabs.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Thought the jacket would be more of a heartwarming gift. There’s something in the inside pocket, too. Pictures. I didn’t look through them, I just wanted to make sure it was really it, based on what you’ve told me.”

“Jax–I,” you had no words, you brought your hands up to wipe the tears from your eyes.

“Why is mommy crying?” Abel said trying to raise his voice over the music.

“Santa got me a really good gift, Abel.” You said looking directly into Jax’s eyes. “Something she’d been asking for for a long long time.”

“Does that mean Santa is going to get me a skateboard this year?” Abel asked excitedly.

You and Jax both let out a laugh, yours was cutting through the tears. “Thank you. So much.” You mouthed to him, it was all you could offer up with how much emotion you were feeling.

Jax just shook his head with a nod, like it was nothing, a simple favor but he knew how much it meant to you.

“Come on, let’s finish decorating this tree.” Jax’s voice got higher as he spoke to the kids, picking Abel up to get the candy cane ornament near the top of the tree.

After placing the jacket safely on the couch for now, you picked Thomas up, so the 4 of you could all be at eye level. You looked over at Jax who was laughing about something with Abel. The music had changed, one of your favorite Christmas songs playing in the background. As the latest laugh left Jax’s mouth, his eye caught yours and he looked at you. Like really looked at you.

The blue eyes you were staring at weren’t trying to drown you in that moment anymore, they had a tint of hope and glimmer in them. You didn’t feel like the tide was trying to bring you in, you felt like maybe they were saving you. So for what you told yourself would be the last time, you forgave Jax, and more importantly you believed Jax. Because he had proven to do the impossible tonight for you, he must have been able to do it again for your family. Right?

#Jax Teller #jax teller fanfic #jax teller x reader #Jackson Teller #soa fanfic #sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction

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assburgerz · 9 months

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this post is me resurfacing a mcsm concept/au i’ve had running around in my head like a rabid animal since around 2019 or so and it’s that Binta and the rest of the fred folk are all collectively blind.

while i know this idea is not actually canon and these guys can definitely see 100 percent, one in-game feature led me to some pondering cause why is this even a thing?

every single one of the fred folk have the same washed out eye color. every. single. person. no one is left out. take a stroll around fred’s keep? you’ll see that every person’s eye color is the exact same pale tint, which looks similar to the eyes of some blind people.

like i said, i know these guys have their vision in canon, and it’s most likely just a theme of pale eye color throughout an entire group of people. i just thought it was too much of a coincidence to go unnoticed because i’m pretty sure no one else in the game has this eye color (either that or i’m just not looking hard enough i’m sure a background character has pale eyes too) so alas, it stays a concept.

but let’s say they were all blind in canon; even then, nothing the fred folk do is out of the equation. painting? farming? totally possible, and even quite common! lots of blind people are very much experts at knowing their surroundings despite their lack of vision. their other senses may heighten to make up for the lost one, so they might develop better hearing, smelling, or even tasting than the average seeing person. this helps give them some kind of visual on their surrounding area. although the skill does take months, or even years to achieve, it is possible. because one thing about blind people; if they want something done, no matter what it is, they will find a way.

other heightened senses in a blind person might also explain why cam is on “watch duty”. it’s possible that she would be able to hear a lot better, and sense when something is near. a common thing deaf people do as well is feel vibrations in the ground, usually when listening to music. this habit could also be something that cam would pick up on. and if she feels some kind of disturbance in the force, she’ll go warn binta.

fred’s keep itself is relatively small as well. it’s an isolated area that’s pretty easy to memorize, and no mobs spawn on the land so that nothing can attack the people without any visual warning. great place for a bunch of blind folk to live if i do say so myself.

(side note i’d smoke the fattest blunt in fred’s keep just look at that place ugh gorgeous anyways)

that’s pretty much it lol i just wanted to get this all out of my head and onto a post so that maybe other people will see it and maybe add onto it

#minecraft story mode #mcsm #mcsm binta #mcsm au

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marinaiguess · 11 months

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I've always imagined a small one shot of Sonic and Blaze having a playful sparring match, I'd love to see your take on that idea (if you want to ofc) x

ahem. this took. 7 months. im so sorry, hope this is worth the wait lol. i hate action sequences but i'm always up for a good challenge, amirite? I'll upload this on ao3 once i'm able to:/ The ending was inspired by a @hishighnesstheprincess fic that I absolutely love. Read it afterwards so that you don't get spoiled:)

playing with fire

warnings: violence, blood

It was a while since the last time he enjoyed a nice and calm afternoon like this one, surrounded by nature and its beautiful creations, like the picture-perfect painting across the sky, the colors seeping through the canvas, staining the grass, the trees, the field.

The table they were all gathered around.

He took a breath and allowed his lungs to be filled with the air that had previously been knocked out of him due to the realization that dawned upon him while looking at his friends.

That wasn’t a regular occurrence, he mentally noted, while the sound of laughing in the background was drowned out by his own thoughts. It wasn’t often that he felt overwhelmed, but of course, when he did, it was because of his friends; only they had the power to knock him down. Yet, what was also quite rare, was them gathering together like they did today, especially without being interrupted by any mad scientists and their evil plans.

A smile was adorning his expression, a small one, directed at no one in particular, as he looked into the distance, behind the pink hedgehog that kept on talking about her adventures.

His ear flicked as he picked up a different sound; a foreign one. He whipped his head to the source of it just to witness another rare moment; Blaze the cat laughing.

Well, it was more of a giggle because she tried her best not to be loud (and was successful) but that didn’t mean they didn’t hear her or that they didn’t see the joy that was written all over her face.

Sonic exhaled softly at that. The fact that Blaze was here, in his world, was a scarce incident on its own. And he was very happy that she was here, that she visited them, deciding to leave her world, lay off from her duties to relax and have some time for herself. On top of that, she chose to spend that free time, with them, with her friends. She sure has come a long way; how could he not be happy?

Gold eyes met his and he soon realized he had been staring at her, judging by the confusion prevalent on her features.

His own dumbfounded face was quickly replaced by a nonchalant and reassuring grin before he turned his attention towards Amy who was talking about… the chao races?

Okay, so, he might have been a little too happy about Blaze, but he didn’t like that everyone else could tell. He’d always hide his emotions quite well and he never enjoyed others knowing how he felt (maybe he never enjoyed dealing with his emotions himself) but in this specific case, something felt off. Out of control.

“Mr. Sonic?” Cream had called out a little while after Blaze’s arrival, when she had been taken away by Amy who was too excited and impatient to show her a photo album she made with Cream’s help.

“Hm? What’s up kiddo?”

“You seem very happy today!”

“Well, I am happy! We’re having a tea party!” he bent down to squish her cheeks, Cream escaping his attacks, giggling. “Isn’t that great?” He smiled widely.

“Yeah, but that’s not what I mean.”

A tilt of his head was enough to make her elaborate her statement and thoughts.

“You’ve been smiling…a lot. From the moment Blaze visited!”

“Huh.” He scratched the back of his quills nervously. “I didn’t realize.”

“You must have missed her.”

He tried to intervene but didn’t have enough time to.

“I’ve missed her too, so I understand! You like Blaze just like I do.” She smiled.

Sonic kept smiling, ignoring whatever weird feelings this conversation had brought up. “Of course, I like her, Cream. Same goes for you and all my friends.” He explained, refraining from opening his heart too much, his face was betraying him enough as it was.

“That’s very nice of you Mr. Sonic!”

If Cream could tell Sonic was just a tiny bit giddier than usual, then Amy would too and who knows who else, so that was a little worrisome. Especially if Vanilla had caught up, then, yep, he wouldn’t be able to save face anytime soon.

His shoulders relaxed a bit when he reminded himself that he didn’t actually care about all that because he didn’t need to have a justification for his delight, he didn’t need a reason to be happy for his friends. Why was he even so worried about it in the first place?

“So, yeah, the maze part was crazy but taking those guys down? Real trouble.” Amy’s storytelling was abruptly cut off by her groaning. “Man, just the memory of it gives me a headache.” She said closing her eyes and massaging her temples to soothe the pain. She really got into the story, huh?

Both Cream and Blaze looked a little taken aback by the whole story and Sonic couldn’t blame them; either of them is used to dealing with robots or having these types of adventures on a daily basis just like he did. In fact, part of why Blaze was here to begin with was that there was no threat in her world, she told them that much. Which was ironic at best, since his own world never seemed to be at peace, they were somehow always fighting against mad scientists who only caused chaos—

Sonic bit his lip as he remembered the one thing that almost destroyed them all: the metal virus. He glanced at Cream as the image of her broken form, of her lifeless eyes, inched into his brain, the way she had lost all hope the moment she lost her mother. It was painful to recall, (guilt still taking the best of him sometimes) but he couldn’t imagine how Cream was handling the aftermath of that—now gone—threat or how hard it would be to handle any other hurdle that life threw their way after that one.

Even now, she looked hesitant, sinking into her chair slowly until half of her face was hidden. Sonic raised a brow at that. Was she…scared?

“Amy…” she squeaked, everyone’s attention now on the youngest of the group, “…that sounds like real trouble. What if you couldn’t beat the robots and get out of there in time?”

Amy cringed visibly at that, Sonic’s eyes widened in surprise and the two hedgehogs were silently sharing the same thought. They knew where this question, this hesitation, was coming from, why Cream was afraid of them losing.

Because they almost did, not too long ago.

But Blaze didn’t know what their shared glances meant and didn’t care to understand at that moment as she only paid mind to Cream’s visible fear, carefully rubbing her shoulder without thinking twice about it.

“I’m sure it was nothing spectacular.” She smiled reassuringly. “They had it under control. They’re both safe, see?”

Cream peaked at the hedgehogs, gaze finally settling on the blue one, on the famous hero who everyone relied on. Sonic’s eyes flicked between the people who were staring at him, Cream and Blaze, like they were waiting for him to confirm that they were indeed safe. Because he was Sonic, he had to be the one who could make that confirmation, right? He was expected to.

The world always fell on his shoulders.

But as the thoughts multiplied and the words dried out in his slightly open mouth, Blaze took it upon herself to take his role.

To help him carry the weight he so desperately tried to carry alone.

And he was thankful for her help.

“They’re right here with us.” She tilted her head closer to the bunny in an attempt to gain her attention, to allow her eyes to communicate whatever else she wanted to add but wasn’t able to say through words.

Cream gulped and nodded slowly, registering what she meant.

“Besides,” Blaze bent backwards. “I didn’t lie before. I’m sure these robots were nothing spectacular. I could have taken them all down by myself no problem.” She smirked cockily as she crossed her arms.

Maybe this was her trying to sound confident enough to convince Cream that no one was really in danger but the way her lips curved upwards, made Sonic think otherwise.

Especially when she popped one eye open to directly look at him.

He knew this was a challenge.

So, he acted without thinking twice. He got up and walked next to Blaze who hadn’t flinched an inch despite having heard him alright. His footsteps on the grass were all that could be heard along with the occasional howl of the wind because everyone else had gotten silent. Was it the look on his face that caused this? Was the excitement too obvious? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t really care.

“So,” he speaks once he reached her side, hands planted on his hips. “you’re sure you could have taken them all by yourself?”

“Oh yeah, I’m most certain.”

Getting cocky, are we? “Then, I don’t think you’ll have trouble taking me down?” Sonic countered, jabbing his chest with his thumb.

“Where did this come from?” Blaze side-eyed him, unable to fully conceal her grin.

“I just wanna see how high you think of yourself princess.”

Blaze scrunched her nose at the nickname. “Are you suggesting we fight?”

“I wouldn’t call it a fight.” He crossed his arms. “Battle is a better word, to decide who is the…better one.”

“We did ‘battle’ the first time we met, Sonic, and it ended in a tie.”

“Yeah, but I was going easy on you. Right now, I can win no problem.” He closed his eyes as if that settled it, with a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“Oh, a bit overconfident, aren’t we?”

“Uhhh, guys?” Amy interjected, suddenly feeling like she was covered in cold sweat. “You don’t have to—”

“Oh, don’t worry Amy, we just need to settle this, it won’t take too long.” He popped one eye open as he bent closer to his challenger. “Right, your highness?”

Blaze inched closer as well, almost making Sonic stumble back. Thankfully, almost. “If you keep calling me that, it certainly won’t take too long, yes.”

Sonic stepped back as his grin widened, cocking an eyebrow at the equally overconfident cat. “Huh.” He exclaimed in amazement. To say he was excited with how things have turned out would be an understatement.

“Whatever you say—” he bowed, still holding her gaze, “your highness.”

His added wink only infuriated Blaze more. She jumped out of her chair, not wasting another look on the hedgehog as she headed towards the open field not that far from where they had been spending their afternoon. Sonic snaked his hands between his spines before following her, his attitude exuding relaxation and assuredness.

They took their positions opposite to one another, a good 10 feet apart. They locked eyes as they prepared themselves, taking the same pose without really intending to do so. Besides, everyone knows bending your left leg forward and stretching your other one far back is the best way to get a good head start before boosting.

“Hey Ames, do me a favor and count down from 3 for me.” Sonic spoke, without taking his eyes off of Blaze.

Amy on the other hand, flicked her eyes between the two of them, waiting for either one to back off. Her hesitation was short lived though, upon seeing as none of the two moved away or towards each other. They were really waiting for her. So, she gave up and did as she was told, grabbing ahold of Cream’s hand to direct her behind her. Yet Cream tilted her head on the side to be able to look at the oncoming fight.

“Fine,” Amy sighed. “3, 2…1.”

Blaze was the first to get on the offensive, wasting no time to lunge forward, her fist directed right at Sonic’s face. Sonic understood her intentions and knew he would be able to outpace her, so he stayed there with a confident smirk plastered across face, waiting to evade at the last moment.

To his detriment, his confidence was predictable.

Blaze retrieved her fist and began sliding on the ground, aiming at his feet with her own. Sonic’s eyes narrowed at the incoming danger as he jumped just before she reached him, avoiding Blaze by a very small margin.

Using the momentum from his leap, he turned around with his right leg raised, aiming right at her, only for his kick to be blocked by Blaze’s arm.

How did she—?

Her other arm charged a punch at him which he easily avoided by landing a backflip. It seemed like he didn’t have much room for mistakes. But he didn’t have to worry about that if he started his offence right now.

And that’s what he did.

He boosted off at her direction with a very clear target. If his smirk had faded away, it returned in no time, especially when he witnessed Blaze dash as well, right at him. Just at the moment they were ready to crash, Sonic dodged by side-stepping, readying his kick at the back of her head.

What he was unable to predict however, was Blaze’s powerful kick that she delivered before he even had the time to comprehend her moves; bending her body forward and pirouetting with an outstretched leg, sent him flying at the bark of a nearby tree. He heard it crack as he slid down, his hand bracing his abdomen in an attempt to soothe the sudden pain that he definitely hadn’t accounted for.

He closed his eyes as he winced, trying his best to pull himself together as quick as possible but that was until something else caught his attention. A hunch. As if on instinct, he ducked, only to witness a punch landing just above his head, one which left another crack on the tree trunk behind him. The severity of it was obvious and Sonic found himself to be very lucky that this specific hit didn’t land on his face.

He shook his head and faced forward again, straightening his legs and launching himself at her feet with his own, using his entire body weight without thinking twice about it, giving little time to his opponent to react.

Next thing he heard was a thump. He craned his head to find Blaze lying on her back.

That was it. That was his chance to deliver the finishing blow. This fight was truly fast after all.

But just as Sonic readied his attack, Blaze raised her legs and gained significant momentum, using it to do a handstand and then land with a back flip. Her attempt to also kick Sonic in the process was in vain, as he was able to evade the hit this time around.

Well, to be fair, he wasn’t expecting such a recovery. Maybe she even faked that fall to trap him. He grinned at that thought as he playfully wiped his nose, watching her back away from him, possibly planning how she should attack next.

“Oh, I see you’ve gotten faster.”

A smirk spread across her lips as she skidded to a halt by planting one hand on the grass, her free arm stretched outwards in an attempt to keep her balance. When she sat up straight, still wary of her opponent’s movements, she turned her head to face him while the sunset in front of her illuminated just the outline of her features with a bright orange hue, making them glow like the flames on her palm.

“Or you are just too slow.” She said as he was approaching dangerously.

Sonic stumbled mid-air, feeling as though time had slowed down and for a short span of time, for a mere millisecond, he was overtaken by hesitation, unable to directly land the punch on Blaze and he didn’t know why. Maybe it was her comeback or that damned smile that accompanied it, but despite it all, it was exactly what Blaze needed to duck out of the way unharmed. Sonic’s fist met the ground not long after, eyes widening as he felt blood rush to his cheeks all of a sudden.

Battle. He reminded himself as he realized he had his back turned-on Blaze (bad decision), quickly side-stepping to narrowly avoid the incoming attack he had predicted with ease.

Of course, it’s getting hot, he tried reasoning with himself, I’m running around trying to take her down, I knew it would not be easy, she’s tough. He grinned at the ground before getting up and turning around, ready to keep up the fight.

And that’s the fun part of it.

“I can’t catch a break, can I?” he flicked his nose, grinning at her.

Blaze answered with a smile of her own, using her flames to boost herself towards Sonic at unprecedented speeds.

Sonic blocked her attack with an air cancel, a trick that helped him use the air to his advantage, by raising dirt from the floor with his feet. That would be enough to mess with Blaze’s sight for a little while. But as he was upside down, not yet stopping his “attack”, his head was momentarily close enough to the ground to notice fire shooting from underneath Blaze’s shoes. It was minimal and if he weren’t in that position at that time, he wouldn’t have noticed it. So, he steadied himself by landing on both his feet.

He witnessed Blaze shooting upwards with her makeshift rocket shoes, in an attempt to avoid the debris. This gave him a few seconds to think about it as he relaxed his body, the realization hitting him like a brick.

“You’re holding back?” he asked, not sure if she heard him.

She hadn’t used her flames to attack him or even restrict him yet. She was giving him a hard enough time as it was so maybe it was because she knew her powers wouldn’t contribute much to stopping him or slowing him down. But she also knew he liked to play with fire. If anything, he was concerned.

Blaze kept looking at him, the hint of a smile she wore until now suddenly gone as she extinguished her flames and used gravity to her advantage by doing another back flip. As she descended, she aimed a kick right at Sonic, clearly never letting her guard down. In order for him to be able to block the attack, Sonic had to use both his arms and even that got him pushed a couple feet back, planting both his feet firmly on the ground so as to prevent his fall.

A series of kicks and punches followed all of which were avoided by Sonic. Though, each time he evaded, he found it increasingly harder to get out of the way in time for the following attacks.

“Does it look like I’m holding back?”

Well, she was right to an extent. She wasn’t holding back physically. Heck, here he was hyperventilating, trying his best to keep his breathing in check.

However, he smiled, closing his eyes.

“Where’s the fancy fire then?”

Blaze blinked, lowering her fists, just a tiny bit. “I don’t need to use fire to defeat you.” She said expressionless.

It reminded him of that cold-blooded girl he met a long time ago. That expression; her way of hiding her emotions. Sonic didn’t like that. He didn’t like what that implied. Blaze was one with her flames; without them, she wouldn’t be the same. Her being hesitant to use it in this battle only meant that she hadn’t fully come to terms with her powers yet. Or even worse, she was afraid that she might hurt him and that’s why she was holding back.

“Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.” He winked, smirking at her and her surprised face.

----------------------------

A punch sent him flying backwards. His eyes widened in realization when he saw what was in front of him and managed to curl himself into a ball to minimize the damage from the unavoidable hit. When he hit the rock, he couldn’t do anything but allow his body to land on the sand, thankfully a few feet away from the sea water.

The damage wasn’t that bad. But it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.

He kneeled on the ground as he coughed, holding one hand around his abdomen to support himself.

He looked up through blurry vision to find his opponent looking back at him, waiting for him to get up.

That look… A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

He suddenly recalled their last battle. The one where he was worried about her holding back.

He huffed a short inaudible laugh at that while mustering whatever energy he had left to stand on his feet, wiping his sweat with his forearm. He remembered how, if he were being honest, that he himself was also holding back during that battle, lest he hurt her.

The situation right now was similar, at least on his part; he was still holding back against her. Then again, he always had. From the very first moment they met.

But she wasn’t. And she was more ruthless than the first time they got into that fight.

She was burning everything around her to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes in her wake. No hint of fear could be seen on her emotionless expression. No remorse. No hesitation.

Her dark eyes were piercing through him, as he was focused on her glowing form, glowing brighter, more fiercely than the sun rising behind her. The sun that overtook the darkness, that started painting everything beyond the hills, except for her form, as her fur remained white, that unfamiliar color on her which he had learned to despise already. He wished the sun had the power to paint her fur back to its normal color. He wished her real self, the one that wasn’t affected by the fake Sol Emeralds, would come back to him.

And Sonic silently wished, if nothing else, that she would hold back against him, even a tiny bit, just like she had back then.

Or that he could find it in him to not hold back himself.

Sonic forced a grin as he spat out blood. “Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.”

He was always up for a good challenge.

#A LONG ONE #3.7K WORDS LETS GO #hope you like this guys:)#why am i so nervous help #why did it take me so long lmao #sonaze #sonic the hedgehog #blaze the cat #sonic #sth #sonic idw #fanfic #fanfiction #sth fanfic #sonic fanfiction #amy rose #cream the rabbit

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redhoodinternaldialectical · 17 days

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I don't know if you're still doing the ask game, but how about 1, 22, and 25? For Jason, and Steph too if you're up for it :D

--Cologona

Because I could still find it: yes! Still doing this ask game :3 Sorry it took so long to answer!

1) Why do you like or dislike this character?

I spent like seventy years attempting to find the post with this meme on it so I could give credit lmao, but I could not for the life of me, so uh, just know that I'm remaking this thing from memory I guess???

Jason is the bee in my bonnet, the rock in my shoe, and I am chewing on him forever and ever - meanwhile I will enjoy pretty much any comic about Steph simply because I love watching her do her thing :3

But to go into more detail I really enjoy Steph's narration style and the way she navigates the world. She feels very refreshingly street level and hopeful. Also as someone who grew up as the only "girl" (trans man but egg) in my martial arts class which was taught by a detective with a very drill sargent/tough-love approach to teaching and got an extra helping of PTSD as a result... watching her struggle, get dismissed bc of her gender, and go on to become a great hero despite Batman and his bullshit feels really fucking good. Def love Batgirl 2009

Jason on the other hand is just so deliciously messy. He's hurt a lot of people, but at the same time his anger is super justified! He's intimately familiar with violence in a way that I think makes him unable to conceptualize trust and gauge what an 'appropriate' response is. There's been several times where he's expressed the idea that serious violence by him against others is just normal and forgivable and not a big deal. There's something so compelling to me about that bc I think he really does see it that way, and it comes from a place of him being extremely used to receiving violence and being expected to forgive and not hold it against them. That wall of text in the meme picture is a tiny fraction of one of my essays on him. He's got so many fascinating layers and I love peeling him apart and putting him back together like a robot performing surgery on a grape.

Sometime after I finish Chained, I really want to write Four and Twenty Blackbirds, which is a fic concept I've had for ages now that puts them together in a lesbian/gay man queer relationship. The premise is that somehow or other Steph comes back to Gotham secretly/early and Jason is the first one to find her and they end up building a weird organized crime/community support organization called The Blackbirds.

Not sure on the timeline. Maybe it'll start before Under the Red Hood? Maybe after a modified Hush plotline?? In any case: Jason offers to preform High Vengeance against Black Mask either for or with her. She does not want him killed! She would feel like that went completely against everything she died for. However, she does want that fucker taken down, and is touched that Jason clearly genuinely cares. Also I'm going to have Jason assume without question that she is fully competent and his equal. Unlike every other vigilante in town, she will never have to prove herself to him. So anyways she tells him that yeah, she wants her revenge, but it's gonna happen her way, and the plot moves on from there, as together they destroy and co-opt Black Mask's organization and establish a territory for themselves :3

22) If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

Unless given a reading suggestion by someone else, I exclusively read JayTim fanfiction, which heavily skews what I look for and see in fic. I'm also pretty damned picky lol I write much more fic than I read these days

Even the most basic, stripped down version of Stephanie's core concepts and background ought to be enough to conclude that she would have very complex feelings about both Jason and Tim and them dating each other. She had a supervillain father and a character arc about learning to value the lives of even her worst enemies. Now her ex is dating a guy who had a henchman father and the same character arc in reverse, a guy who specifically targeted her killer in order to get back at the mentor who bears some responsibility for both her death and his own. They are so uniquely poised to understand each other from across this fascinating chasm, both in terms of approaches to vigilantism and dating Tim. You could not ask for a more fertile storytelling ground, regardless of if you want her to be supportive or not.

So yeah, for Stephanie I like it when she has a personality outside of cheerleading Tim while being vaguely sweet and quirky.

The bar is in Hell here folks, and out of the hundreds of fanfics I've read I've only ever seen it cleared twice. And that's only if we include my own goddamned writing. This goes beyond normal fandom simplification, especially when you factor in that Cass, famously against all killing Cass, gets similarly denuded of all internal motives and qualities in favor of being (sometimes literally) wordlessly supportive for no apparent reason, while in those same fics the male characters get to have opinions and internal viewpoints. JayTim nation, I am praying for us to learn how to write women, truly.

Now on to Jason!

I think of Jason as someone who is intense in every facet of himself. He can be cruel and mistrustful or tender and romantic, but no matter what he is I want him to be a little unhinged with it, a little too deep, a little too incapable of not giving a fuck. I want this man lost in the sauce, whatever that sauce may be.

I dislike him being overly apologetic, which practically translates to me disliking most fics in which he is apologetic at all lol I do think he would come to regret some of his actions, but I tend to think those would be different actions than the ones he's usually depicted apologizing for. For instance, I can absolutely see him apologizing to a victim of the Joker for not killing him when he got the chance, but I don't really think he'd have the framework to consider his fights with Tim to have been all that far out of line.

25) What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Ohhhhhhh boy that was fuckin ages ago??? I'm not honestly sure I remember, though I do know that I read JayTim fanfics before anything else that involved these characters, so it had to have been based on that.

...Gah, I don't even remember how I found this ship lol! I mean I started with Boostle?? Maybe JayTim was in the background somewhere of one of those fics? idk

I suppose my first impressions were that Jason was a Big Mood deeply traumatized and lashing out bc of that, and Stephanie was gir waffles XD random rawr means I love you in dinosaur.

Anyhow, thank you very much for the ask @cologona! As per usual with these things I hope it was a fun read and you have a good day and all that jazz :3

#damian's tomfoolery #jason todd #stephanie brown #jaytim

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annymation · 2 months

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Hi Anny!! Got a writing prompt for ya!

So I’ve been seeing your little snippets of the KOW! Swapped AU between Star!Asha and Human!Aster, and they’re all soo cute X33

But now I’m wondering, what would the “At All Costs” scene look like? Or whatever song you swapped for AAC.

Would it be Aster who goes somewhere else private to practice his music? Would it be Asha who’s encouraged by their friends to confess to Aster? How does Aster react? How does Asha handle confessing?

Imagine the 7 (or 6 in this scenario) teens in the background being like: “JUST KISS THAT BOY ALREADY-!!”

Like I said in my original post about the AUs here:

Asha would sing "You Chose Me" from the musical "Breathe" as I think it fits her bubbly and happy personality very well. Now as for how a scene of them would play out, let's see...

After a lot of encouragement from the seven teens, Asha finally makes her way through the woods, following the sound of Aster's music. She finds him standing near a river, with his mandolin strapped on his shoulder, as he practices the magic she has given him.

(As I write this I realize that whole scene in KOW when Asha and Aster are hiding and Asha draws clones of themselves would have to change... Cause drawing is relatively silent, but playing music ain't lol so I guess Human!Aster's approach would be different, in this moment that is about him showing his growth... Maybe something more about him not being afraid to be loud and clear...)

Aster is trying to sing and hit a high note as loud as he can, by doing so he creates sound waves that make the water of the river tremble, but it's not enough, it wouldn't be strong enough to, let's say, knock someone out of balance for example, he gotta try harder.

Aster was so focused on his high note he didn't notice the light coming from behind him, till he feels a finger tap on his shoulder. He stops playing and turns around quickly

"AH- Oh hey Asha" the human didn't quite notice how nervous Asha seemed, like she was anxious to tell him something "Did Simon finish his dinner? We're good to go?"

"Umm yeah, everyone's ready, but- well... I wanted to ask you something first..." Asha can practically feel the 7 teens staring at them behind some bushes, waiting to see her confess... But instead Asha blurted out "Whatcha doing?" she asked awkwardly

"Just trying something different. I wondered if I could cause a sound wave strong and loud enough to be more destructive ya know... But no matter what I feel like my voice is like, stuck in my throat, ya know? Like it should be louder, but I'm holding back, even though I want to let it all out..." He explained with a pondering gaze on the mandolin

"... It takes time to find your voice, but I think the power you already have inside is more than enough to defeat them" The star smiled warmly as she spoke from her heart

"Let's hope. But yeah, what I can do is already pretty great, like, check this out" Aster plays a fast paced melody, and suddenly, the strings of his mandolin start to burn and he creates a fireball "I can make fire! That oughta be useful, right?" They try holding the fireball... It is- "HOT!" He exclaims as he throws the spell in the river "... Ya know, on second thought, maybe I'm not ready to go to the castle yet, maybe we should leave the plan for tomorrow or-"

"I know we'll win." Asha reassures him "You got a lot more power than you think, and that goes way beyond my magic"

Aster smiles and feels his cheeks getting warmer "Heheh thanks. I guess I'm just nervous cause'... Well, everything HAS to go according to plan"

"And what if it doesn't?" Asha tilts her head with a knowing smile

"Then Queen Amable kills us, I guess, or throws us in the dungeon to be her hubby's little lab rats" He shrugs, finding the outcome quite obvious

"... I don't know if things will go according to plan, but..." Asha holds both his hands, looking at him in the eyes with a radiant and optimistic smile that could make any shred of doubt fade away "As long as you follow your heart, you'll find a way... That's what made you wish upon me in the first place, right?" Asha giggled

Aster looks at her fondly, she's like the embodiment of hope...

"OH MY GOD- JUST KISS THE B-" Hal yelled from the bushes, to which Asha used her magic to make a wall of trees in front of the 7 hidden teens to hide them

"What was tha-"

"NOTHING!" Asha blurted out nervously

"Maybe the others are calling us, we should go" Aster begins to walk towards the trail that leads to their camp. But then, he feels her warm hand holding his wrist

"A-Aster wait!" Her voice shakes as she holds him, he looks back at her confused, so she tries her best to explain "I just... I think I discovered something new about how I feel about you... Well your friends did, but that's not the point" She mumbled the last part to herself "And I have so much I wanna tell you, but I don't know how to even start..." Then, Asha glances at Aster's mandolin for a moment, and that gives her idea "... Maybe I could try speaking your language... Can you give me a tune?" She asks with a soft smile

Aster is not quite sure where this is going, he raises an eyebrow at the request but complies "Uuuh sure ok" He starts to play a simple melody

And we get the song "You Chose Me"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I SPENT THE WHOLE AFTERNOON WRITING THIS LMAO @flicklikesstuff YOU BETTER APPRECIATE IT- just kidding, I had fun, but man, everytime these two are cute together I just covered my face blushing and giggling, kicking my feet, theyre so precious I cant hhidhefheljehbgfhhe

#wish rewrite #wish reimagined #kingdom of wishes #ask

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