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dreamiehrs · 3 years

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a Christmas miracle ➛ z.cl

genre: fluff, comedy/crack, bestfriend!chenle, gender neutral reader, hurt/comfort somewhat

pairing: zhong chenle x reader

word count: 2,588 words

warning(s): some swearing

summary: Christmas had been the same old same old holiday for you and your family for plenty of years now, fully embracing the tradition of meeting up with family, exchanging presents, and enjoying each other’s presence on Christmas day. however, this year seemed to feel quite different, with your family quite literally forgetting that Christmas even existed, and with you all stuck in your apartment alone in the snowy city, you weren’t so sure what you were going to do for Christmas this year. unbeknownst to you, though, your sneaky best friend had a trick up his sleeve, and he was determined to make this Christmas one you’ll remember forever.

note: this is a part of mylin’s @suh-insane and sunny’s @neocitybynight Walking in a Winter Wonderland collab! this is my first time participating in a collab solely for Christmas, so I hope you all enjoy this fic of mine! Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you all have an amazing and safe Christmas this year, and I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate and love you guys so so SO much! (and to the people who don’t celebrate it, I still hope you all have a wonderful day nonetheless!)

prompts chosen: “when we finally kiss goodnight how I’ll hate going out in the storm! but if you’ll really hold me tight all the way home I’ll be warm.” + “that’s what Christmas memories are made from. they’re not planned; they’re not scheduled. nobody puts them in their blackberry. they just happen.”

for the past few months, time seemed to fly by without leaving a trace behind, and before you knew it, it was already Christmas day. if it was any other year, you would’ve woken up earlier, around 6 AM to be precise, and start your trek to your parents house with their gifts in hand. however, since your parents and the rest of your family got caught up in other ordeals, and quite literally forgot that Christmas even existed, you had woken up quite later than 6 AM. 9 AM, if you were being specific.

you had still bought your family presents for Christmas, of course, and took the time to wrap them and spiffy them up yourself with various different kinds of Christmas wrapping paper you’ve collected over the years as a pro wrapper (in actuality, it was just your mother giving you extra wrapping paper when she accidentally bought too much, so you weren’t entirely a pro wrapper, per se). what you were trying to say is that you put a lot of thought into buying and decorating presents for your family, and you were sort of down about how you wouldn’t be able to give them their presents in person this year.

basically, what you were trying to get across is that you quite literally had no plans for Christmas this year, and you were probably going to spend your entire day wailing away in your apartment.

nonetheless, you pulled yourself out of bed after being in deep thought for thirty minutes straight, and decided to actually not wail away in your apartment for the rest of the day. it was time to be festive, you thought to yourself, as you slowly made your way around your room to move your curtains aside to let some sunlight seep in. although you were in a brooding mood, you didn’t entirely want your room to reflect that.

you huff to yourself as you slide your feet against the carpet floor, swinging open your closet doors and glancing over all of your clothes, none of them really catching your attention. you sigh before closing both of your closet doors dramatically, turning around and heading towards your dresser. you can faintly hear your phone buzz on your nightstand as you pull on one of the knobs on one of your dresser drawers that contains your pajama pants. you grab a random pair of snug pajama pants and opt to keep the same pajama shirt you wore to bed last night on before heading to the bathroom to change.

after taking some time to get dressed and brush your teeth, you finally exit your bathroom and toss the pajama shorts you wore last night in your hamper. you snatch your phone and stash it in your pocket before making your way towards your miniature kitchen. you promptly grab your kettle and fill it up with water, waiting for it to reach the third line before placing it on your stove. you move the dial until its exactly on high temperature, and you’re about to start to make yourself breakfast until you feel your phone buzz in your pocket.

fed up with how active your phone had been for the past thirty minutes, you finally fish your phone out of your pocket and lean against the counter next to your stove.

your phone contained the usual notifications, such as Instagram likes, Team Snapchat sending you a Christmas snap, your best friend chenle spamming your phone- wait, your best friend chenle spamming your phone? that was FAR from your usual notifications, and you were honestly quite surprised that he was contacting you on Christmas day this year. he’s usually spending it with his family all day, and never texts you back until he gets back home, which is around eight PM.

without thinking, you unlock your phone and tap on the messages icon, and your jaw almost drops when you see how many messages he sent you within the past few hours. since 6 AM, chenle has sent you over one hundred messages, and for once, you were grateful that you were a heavy sleeper, because if you were a light sleeper and woke up to every single one of his messages, you would’ve lost your mind.

you [9:45 AM]: please chenle what do you WANT FROM ME

lele the dumdum [9:45 AM]: WOW YOU’VE FINALLY WOKEN UP FROM UR DEEP SLUMBER

lele the dumdum [9:45 AM]: I THOUGHT U WERE NEVER GOING TO WAKE UP

lele the dumdum [9:46 AM]: took u long enough smh

you [9:46 AM]: ...is this really how you’re going to treat me on Christmas day??

lele the dumdum [9:46 AM]: I treat you like this all the time. what makes you think that today’s gonna be any different?

you [9:47 AM]: …

lele the dumdum [9:47 AM]: anyways… MY GORGEOUS WONDERFUL BESTIE WHAT DO U HAVE PLANNED FOR CHRISTMAS TODAY

lele the dumdum [9:48 AM]: DO ANY OF UR PLANS INVOLVE ME POTENTIALLY COMING OVER??? O.O

you [9:48 AM]: is this why you’ve been spamming my phone SINCE 6 AM!?!?!

you [9:48 AM]: also why were you awake at 6 am anyways

you [9:49 AM]: did your crush finally text you back or are you still drowning in loneliness like usual

lele the dumdum [9:50 AM]: I don’t even have a crush??? who told you that false information

you [9:50 AM]: the little elves running around my house whispered it in my ear last night

lele the dumdum [9:51 AM]: I think you’re going to delusional

you [9:51 AM]: I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case at this point

lele the dumdum [9:51 AM]: MOVING ON

lele the dumdum [9:52 AM]: WHAT DO U HAVE PLANNED

lele the dumdum [9:52 AM]: I NEED TO KNOW THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

you [9:53 AM]: me planning to wail in sorrow all day is very important to you??

lele the dumdum [9:53 AM]: ...excuse me what?? UR GOING TO WAIL IN SORROW ALL DAY ON CHRISTMAS DAY!?!?

lele the dumdum [9:54 AM]: this is not acceptable. I am coming over right now to spread some of my FESTIVENESS AND JOLLINESS with you :D

you [9:55 AM]: chenle you really don’t have to-

lele the dumdum [9:55 AM]: TOO BAD IM OMW RN AS WE SPEAK

you [9:56 AM]: at least bring some festivities, games, and snacks with you 🙄

lele the dumdum [9:56 AM]: oh shit you have a point

lele the dumdum [9:57 AM]: BRB ILL BE THERE IN 30

you knew that once chenle had made his mind up about something, he wasn’t going to change it that easily, so it would be futile to try and stop him now. you don't bother replying to his last message, and you shove your phone back in your pocket a few moments before your kettle whistles. you move on from chenle tormenting you for twelve minutes straight and make yourself some tea and breakfast instead.

it was now around 10:30 AM, and you had just finished digesting your breakfast when you feel your phone buzz in your pocket again. you were lying down on your small, beige couch, with your cold tea sat on the coffee table a few feet away. you were still in your pajamas, with no intent of changing into actual clothes anytime soon.

once again, you fish your phone out of your pocket to see what nonsense chenle was texting you this time.

lele the dumdum [10:31 AM]: open up, bitch

you [10:31 AM]: I thought I gave you a spare key??

lele the dumdum [10:32 AM]: shit I forgot it

lele the dumdum [10:32 AM]: anyways OPEN UP

you lazily lift yourself up from off of your couch, grasping your mug of cold tea on the way to the door. you take your time unlocking your door, halfly because you felt like annoying chenle, and halfly because you were just over today in general.

the first thing that stands out to you once you swing open your front door is how different your outfit looks compared to chenle. he was all bundled up with plenty of layers to keep him warm while adventuring the city, and meanwhile you adorned white and pink striped pajamas with socks on. you also noticed that he had a dark grey bookbag on his back, and was holding two full bags in his hands.

the two of you stare at each other for a few more seconds until chenle breaks the silence with: “I think this is the most I’ve seen you look like a complete old person. there have been other times, but the old person persona is just jumping out at me right now.”

you roll your eyes. “don’t say that when you yourself have dressed up as an old person before.”

“yeah, yeah,” he brushes you off, passing by you to slip his shoes off and to take off his five hundred layers. “it doesn’t matter whether you look like an old person, it mainly matters whether you have the spirit of an old person, you know?”

“I cannot comprehend your words this early in the morning. we can have a conversation about whether I act like an old person later.” you say as you watch him remove his large, dark green jacket and place it onto your coat rack. you can hear him scoff at your remark, and you grin as you see the corners of his mouth lift up slightly.

“early in the morning? y/n it’s only-” he pauses to check his phone “10:32 AM. that’s early for you?”

“I woke up at 9 AM, you dum.”

“oh,” he swivels around to face you after taking his shoes off and removing all of his additional layers. “makes sense, I guess. you’ve only been awake for an hour and a half, so you’re probably not fully awake yet. I mean, I’ve been awake since 6 am, and I’m bursting with energy compared to you.”

you give him a deadpan expression in response to what he said, and he can’t help but burst out laughing at your reaction. he steps up beside you and pats your shoulder gently. “well, besides that, I’m gonna be the one who helps you burst with energy like I am right now! follow me!” he whisper-shouts a few inches away from your ear, and you can feel his hand leave your shoulder and grasp your right hand in a matter of seconds.

he leads you back towards your couch, and even somehow manages to help you set your mug down even though he has bags in his hands. the two of you plop down on your couch, and you almost melt at how soft and comfortable your couch was. you closed your eyes for a few seconds as chenle rustled through his bags beside you, and you don’t know how much time has passed when chenle starts to snap his fingers at you.

“y/n, I am not going to deal with your sleepy ass right now. I spent around forty minutes scurrying around the city to find things to lift your mood, and I am not going to let those forty minutes go to waste just because you’re tired.”

you groan and roll to the other side, facing away from chenle. “just five more minutes…”

surprisingly, you’re met by silence in response to your wish of wanting five more minutes of rest, but that silence doesn’t last when you feel something cold touch your face.

you screech and immediately open your eyes to witness chenle pressing an ice cube onto your forehead. you swat the ice cube off of your forehead as quick as you can, and stare up at chenle like he’s gone completely mad. “what was that for?”

he grins proudly. his plan had worked. “awake now? great. now, help me figure out what we should do first.”

“I think you’ve gone mad. I cannot believe you just woke me up by pressing an ice cube onto my forehead.” you complain, still feeling the coldness of the ice cube on your forehead. when you finally move to face him now, you see that he had brought plenty of things for you two to entertain yourselves.

“I could’ve done worse things, like dip my hand into freezing water and press it against your face, but I was feeling generous today, so I decided to spare you the pain.”

you scoff. “right. anyways, what’d you bring?”

he glances at you excitedly before getting into it. “well, I brought plenty of snacks, some fizzy drinks, some board games, some movies I rented that we could watch together, some candy, etc. I honestly brought everything that I thought you would like with me, so I really hope all of this is enough to make your Christmas day a little bit more festive. I may have also bought you a present, but besides that… let’s get this party started! ...y/n?”

he tears his gaze away from the couch to up to your face, and you don’t entirely register that you’re crying until a few minutes after staring into his eyes. “oh, I’m sorry… I just… I’m just really grateful that you decided to come all this way to cheer me up on Christmas day, and you brought so many things with you as well to make me feel better so… thank you, chenle.”

he beams at you even though he can feel a tear threatening to fall from his left eye, and instead of letting you see him cry as well, he quickly wraps his arms around your figure, bringing you into a tight hug. “of course, y/n. you know I’d do anything for you, right? if you’re down, I’m going to cheer you up in some way, shape, or form, and if you feel like watching the world burn, then I’ll be right by your side.”

“awh, stop it, you’re going to make me cry even more.” you faintly hit his back with your hand, and he giggles as a few tears fall down his face.

the two of you stay like that for a good five more minutes, which is enough time for chenle to regain his composure and act like he didn’t shed a few tears in the process. he slowly leaves your grasp, taking a good look at your face and wiping some tears off of your face with his thumb. “you know what I think will make you feel better?”

you grin. “what?”

he smiles before swiveling around to rustle through his bookbag, and your eyes widen when you finally process what he’s up to.

the next moment happens so quickly you can barely register that it’s happening. chenle swivels around with two nerf guns in his hands, throws you one that lands perfectly in your arms, and declares: “me completely destroying you in a nerf gun battle will make you feel better.” before he releases fire on you.

you shriek as you run across your apartment, trying to avoid the plastic bullets that chenle was littering your apartment with. eventually, he does win the battle, and it does make you feel better in the end, but let’s not mention that or else his ego will run wild, alright?

65 notes · View notes

justalittlelemony · 3 years

Text

Cold

Read on Ao3 here.

Word Count: 5,055

Tommy and Tubbo try to work through the aftermath of the festival.

Full fic under the cut

The first thing Tommy noticed was the shivering.

He hadn't really expected to fall asleep right away after the hell of a day he had. None of them really wanted to be around either Wilbur or Techno, so after they had finished listening to Blocks, Niki, Tommy, and Tubbo had pretty much gone straight to bed. It had taken Tubbo some time to fall asleep, and for a while, Tommy worried that he would be kept up all night from the discomfort of his injuries. But eventually, Tommy felt the smaller boy's breathing even out, and soon, he was fast asleep as well.

As expected, falling asleep quickly was not equivalent to sleeping well. Only a couple of hours later, Tommy was awake, eyes blinking groggily. Based on the clock on the wall, it wasn't quite midnight yet, which meant there wasn't much he could do to spend his time. He could tend to the potato farm, but Tommy didn't really enjoy farming that much, and the potato farm was kind of Technoblade's territory, who was certainly someone whom he did not want to see. He could always expand the tunnels, but there wasn't much purpose in doing so anymore. Tommy had become quite adept at sneaking around Manberg, and with Tubbo no longer going between the two places, there wasn't much use in creating any more than the existing tunnels. At least until morning, the only thing he could do that his sleep-deprived brain could come up with was keep an eye on Tubbo.

He shifted in the cramped bed, twisting around to face the other sleeping boy. It took his eyes a moment to adjust in the dark, but once they did, a strike of concern shot through him.

Tubbo was shivering, his arms and knees pulled close to his chest. His breathing was short and ragged as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. Tommy could see the sweat glistening on Tubbo's forehead from the sliver of light coming from the ravine. Without thinking, he pressed a hand to his forehead. It felt warm, warmer than he thought it should. He was pretty sure that meant he had a fever, but he couldn't quite remember. It was always Wilbur or Tubbo in their little makeshift family of three that would deal with colds and fevers. Tommy knew some, enough to keep him alive, certainly, but not enough to tell if someone had a fever.

He stayed still, mulling over his options before making a decision. He slowly climbed out of the bed, careful not to jostle the mattress too badly. Stood up fully, he turned to the bed and rearranged the thin blanket over his friend's shivering form. It did nothing to stop his shaking.

Quietly, he crept out of the room and into the main ravine.

The only way to tell the time in Pogtopia, other than a clock, was by the sounds coming from the ravine. During the day, one could hear the faint movements from the caverns, the soft murmurings of conversations bouncing off of the stone walls, the echoes of footsteps. But at night, it was dead silent. It was a heavy silence, an unnerving silence that conveyed what every inhabitant already knew to be true.

Pogtopia was not home.

But despite the expected silence, Tommy found himself grateful for it. It let him know that, at least for now, he was alone, with no Wilbur or Technoblade lurking or laughing as they had been only hours earlier. He wanted nothing more than to stay alone, or even better, go back and be with Tubbo, the one person who he fully trusted.

But Tubbo was sick and he needed help.

He walked over to the far end of the ravine where he could see the faint glow of a lantern. Wilbur had set up a desk during Pogtopia's early days. It was his own little area, just as Tubbo and he had the bench.

Sure enough, Tommy could see Wilbur hunched over the desk, quill in hand. His grip on it was as tight as he methodically wrote on the paper below. He didn't seem to notice Tommy's presence behind him, engrossed in his writing. It reminded Tommy, a little bit, of the Wilbur before the election. Sat at his desk in the White House, writing important documents that Tommy never cared to read. Wilbur had seemed so distinguished at the time, the perfect fit for president.

Now, Tommy wasn't sure what to think.

"Wilbur?"

His voice was barely above a whisper, yet the man went rigid at the sound. He sat up a bit, placing the quill in its inkpot. Without turning around, he asked, "What is it, Tommy?"

"I," His voiced cracked a bit, not fully prepared to be used. "It's Tubbo. I think he's sick."

Wilbur didn't answer right away. "Are you sure?"

"He's shivering an awful lot, but I checked his forehead and it's warm.”

“Does he have a fever?” Wilbur still had his back to Tommy.

Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was his anger from earlier, coming back in full force. Maybe it was Pogtopia itself, getting to him in the same way it got to Wilbur, who asked each question with the same monotone voice and still wouldn't turn around and fucking look at me. “I don’t know if he has a fuckin’ fever, Will. That’s why I’m talking to you," Tommy snapped. "He’s shivering, his forehead’s warm, and he’s still asleep. That’s all I know.”

If Wilbur noticed the change in Tommy's tone, he didn't show it. He merely waited for a few beats before picking up his quill again and replying, "Get Niki. She can help."

"Niki's still asleep. Can't you just-"

Wilbur turned sharply to the left. "Can't I just what, Tommy?" He wasn't yelling, but his words bit harshly through the air, echoing in the ravine.

Tommy took a step back. "Nothing. Never mind. I'll, I'll get Niki." The response seemed to satisfy Wilbur. He turned back to his desk and continued writing. Tommy stared for a few seconds before turning and walking back the way he came.

********

Respawn sickness.

That's what Niki said, and Tommy certainly trusted her diagnosis more than his own. Even without that, though, he had his own suspicions. It was fairly common, especially after losing the second life. Even more common if it was a particularly traumatizing death, the kind that leaves its mark on a person even after they respawned.

Combined with the chilly ravine and an already poor immune system, Tubbo was the prime candidate for respawn sickness. It wasn't a shock. It wasn't surprising.

But, looking down at Tubbo curled under the few, thin blankets Tommy could scrounge up, wet cloth on his forehead, it was frightening.

It was reminiscent of a different time. Not really a simpler time, but a better time. Of course, it wasn't the same, but it was similar.

This wasn’t the first time either of them had died, after all.

He had started to feel awful a few hours after giving his discs to Dream and ending the war. It wasn’t a gradual progression; it was abrupt. All of a sudden, he was lightheaded, dizzy, and felt like his stomach would jump out of his mouth.

Of course, it wasn’t his stomach, but its contents that came out. 48 hours of the most intense symptoms he had ever experienced: vomiting, congestion, fever, and more. Wilbur was quick to identify it. Turns out losing two lives in the same day was a great way to amplify the symptoms.

He wasn’t the only one to get sick. He might’ve died twice, but all of them had been killed in the Final Control Room. Fundy had something akin to a stomach bug and threw up a few times throughout the first day. Wilbur was extremely congested and couldn’t go ten minutes without coughing or needing to blow his nose. Needless to say, most of L'manberg was out of commission for their first few days of independence.

Tubbo had stayed with Tommy nearly the entire time, tending and watching him when no one else would. Tommy had asked him if he had any symptoms, but Tubbo shrugged off the question every time.

"Seriously, man, why are you here? I'm fine. Go lie down or something. You look like shit."

Sat at the foot of Tommy's bed, Tubbo's gaze flickered from his friend to the floor. Tommy may have been violently sick for the past couple of days, but he knew when something was wrong. "Tubbo?"

"I was scared, I guess, for you."

At the time, Tommy had laughed it off, calling Tubbo some variation of "clingy." But now, in the same position as his best friend had been only a couple of months earlier, he understood. He was scared. He had been scared during the festival and sat at the foot of his bed, watching Tubbo's restless sleep, he was still scared.

Part of him recognized the irony of the situation. It was sort of fitting that Tubbo had to watch him die in the duel and take care of him afterward, and now Tommy had to fill those shoes.

Tubbo stirred in his sleep, mumbling incomprehensibly. Even under the covers, his shivering continued. Tommy absent-mindedly adjusted the blankets, only stopped by the sight of Tubbo blinking his eyes open groggily.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Tommy asked quietly, careful not to echo his voice into the ravine.

Tubbo squinted, clearly still not fully awake. "'M cold."

Tommy shifted in his seat. "I know. Sorry, I don't have any more blankets for you. You've got a fever."

"A fever?" He glanced around the room, his eyes clearly trying to adjust to the dark. He sat up a bit.

"Yeah. Niki said it was likely respawn sickness."

"...Fuck."

Tommy laughed. "That's a fair reaction."

Tubbo pulled the cloth off from his forehead. "Wait, Niki was here?" Most of the sleep that his voice had been thick with just seconds earlier was stripped away.

"Yeah, earlier," Tommy said picking at the end of the blanket, "You were shivering real bad when I woke up, so I went to Wilbur, but he said to get Niki." He paused. "Thought it was weird. He used to be all over that kind of stuff before, when we were kids."

There was a poignant pause as both boys thought. "I don't-" Tubbo started, then stopped. When he spoke again, he spoke slowly, carefully, "I don't think Wilbur much cares for me right now."

Tommy wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that of course, Wilbur cared for him. Wilbur wouldn't just stop caring for Tubbo.

He didn't.

*******

The morning had been far more eventful than he had wanted it to be, but frankly, Tommy should have known that something would happen.

But after going into Manberg, gaining a new ally, and begging Wilbur to hold on blowing up their home, Tommy was pretty glad to have an excuse to check on Tubbo.

Trudging down the dirt and stone steps to the ravine, he listened for the sounds of others, but couldn't hear any. Quackity was still in Manberg, but Tommy wasn't sure where Wilbur, Techno, and Niki were. Hopefully, Wilbur was just somewhere else and not in the button room again.

He made it to the doorway but was stopped by the sight of another person in the room. The figure was seated by Tubbo's bedside but stood at the sight of Tommy. It was the absolute last person he wanted to see there, of all places.

Technoblade.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy asked, fingers curling around the hilt of his sword, preparing for a battle he couldn't win.

Technoblade glanced down at Tommy's weapon, then back up to his face, giving him a bored expression. "Wilbur wasn't around and you were in Manberg. Thought someone should keep an eye on him. Respawn sickness is no joke."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I don't need you to fuckin' lecture me on respawn sickness."

Techno crossed his arms and looked back down at Tubbo's sleeping form. Tommy gripped his weapon a little tighter. "Wilbur said he's on his last life now."

"Yeah," Tommy let the bitterness seep into his voice. He wanted to scream, to yell at Techno that he didn't have to be. That Tubbo could've had two lives left if he hadn't given in so easily, but his anger dies in his throat, stopped by the words of the man stood in front of him, spoken only a day earlier.

"It stays in the pit."

Instead, Tommy let out a resigned sigh. "All three of us are."

Techno turned back to him at that. "The three of you? You and Wilbur too?"

Tommy let out a sharp laugh. "Not all of us can be near invincible. There's a lot you weren't here for."

Techno seemed to ponder the younger's words for a moment. "How'd you lose 'em?" He didn't sound sympathetic or sorry. His voice gave off a morbid curiosity, the words of man to whom death only existed at the other end of his sword, but not as a thing to be experienced himself.

The irony did not escape Tommy. The Blood God, with countless kills to his name, asking a twice-killed sixteen-year-old about death.

"We all lost our first lives together, during the war. Eret, Eret took us underground, into this fucking room, and betrayed us."

"What's this button for?" Tommy asks, pressing it without thinking. Eret seems to freeze at the action.

Behind him, Wilbur stops looking in his chest and turns to face the person who brought them here. "Eret?"

It doesn't take long for Tommy to realize that something is wrong.

A sick grin crosses Eret's face. "Down with the revolution, boys. It was never meant to be."

Dream, Sapnap, George, and Punz pile into the room, swords in hand. There isn't even enough time to process the betrayal before all five four members of L'manberg are killed.

"I lost my second one later that day. I challenged Dream to a duel for our independence, and I lost."

The walk over to the boardwalk feels like a funeral march. Probably because it is.

Tommy isn't stupid. He knows what he signed up for.

The four soldiers are quiet, solemn. Fundy hands him the bow. Tubbo hugs him. Wilbur tells him to follow his heart.

Tommy meets his opponent at the center of the boardwalk. The artificial smile on Dream's mask unnerves him, but he glares defiantly up at it. Wilbur starts the count and the two separate.

At the count of ten, Tommy shoots.

"And then Wilbur lost his second the day you showed up, actually. He got shot while we were fleeing Manberg."

"My first act as president, the emperor of this great country, is to revoke the citizenship of Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit!"

Tommy stands frozen as the crowd turns to look at them. He can't even process what Schlatt is saying. They couldn't have lost, Schlatt can't be president, everything's wrong-

But then Wilbur pulls him along, running, and says, "Tommy, we have to go!"

He listens and he runs.

Behind him, he can hear footsteps, the sounds of others giving chase. Arrows fly from the sky. Wilbur is running in front of him, leading him, but is struck by an arrow and falls. Tommy screams, but he can't stop. He has to keep running or they'll get him too.

He doesn't stop until he reaches Tubbo's bunker (Tubbo's still there. He left Tubbo in L'manberg.) With Schlatt's booming voice echoing through the land he once called his home, Tommy breaks down.

"And, well, obviously, you know what happened to Tubbo." The anger was present in his voice, but Tommy couldn't find it in himself to care.

If Techno noticed, he didn't say anything. He merely made a grunt of acknowledgment before kicking his chair to the side. Without so much as a sideways glance, he walked past Tommy and out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Tommy felt himself breathe again but didn't move until the echoes of the warrior's footsteps subsided. With slow steps, he made his way over to the chair that Techno had used. He sat down in it and faced Tubbo, who was, mercifully, still asleep. He'd let him rest for a little while longer.

Tommy began to undo the straps of his armor, letting the various pieces of iron fall to the ground. He'd never liked armor. He had never understood people like Dream and Technoblade, who never went anywhere without it. It was so heavy and uncomfortable. Tommy wanted to run and screw around. But armor was a necessary evil, especially during a war.

Is this a war?

It certainly felt like one, Tommy thought, glancing over at the bandages covering Tubbo. He wasn't sure how, but the other two wars hadn't seemed this serious, this grim. Maybe it was because the first time it was just a fight over some music discs and the second time they had each other in L'manberg. When they had died before, it felt worth it.

And now?

Sometimes, he wasn't even sure what they were fighting for.

He finished pulling off his armor, setting down the last piece a bit too harshly. A small clang echoed throughout the stone room. Across from him, Tubbo stirred and Tommy froze.

"Tommy?" Tubbo's voice was small, but he still coughed. "'S that you?"

Tommy stood and walked over, sitting back down at the foot of his bed. “Hey, big man. How are you feeling?”

“My head feels like crap, but other than that, not too bad," Tubbo said sitting up. He gave his friend a once-over, giving way to a look of concern. "Did something happen?”

“Not really," he said, the lie slipping out easily. Seeing Tubbo's unconvinced expression, he gave in. "Techno was here earlier.”

Tubbo seemed to wilt at the mention of him. “Tommy, I’m serious. I’m fine with it." He looked down. "I don't want there to be infighting because of me.”

Something boiled inside of Tommy at Tubbo's apathy, his defeated tone. "I don't give a shit about infighting," he seethed, doing everything in his power not to shout, "He killed you! I'm not just gonna let that go!"

Tubbo shrugged, seemingly indifferent to Tommy's anger. "I mean, it could've been worse. I'm still alive. That's all that really matters, isn't it?"

"No, that's not all that fucking matters! He hurt you, Tubbo!" As if to prove his point, he gestured to the bandages encasing the smaller boy.

Tubbo flinched, then muttered, almost to himself, "Why do you care so much?"

"Why don't you?" Tommy fired back instantly. Tubbo seemed to shrink even further into himself. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“'S fine," he replied quietly. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, an unfamiliar experience for the two of them. It was only broken by Tubbo clearing his throat and asking, "It's the afternoon now, right? I haven’t seen Wilbur around much.”

“Yeah." Tommy hesitated but continued anyway. "He’s been at the button room a bit.”

Tubbo's eyes grew wide with fear. “He didn’t-“

Tommy shook his head. “No. He hasn’t yet. Gave Big Q and I quite a scare, though.”

"Big Q was there?"

"Yeah. He's with Pogtopia now. He's gonna help us take down Schlatt." Tommy kept his voice level, but he was truthfully rather happy with this recent development. He wasn't sure he forgave Quackity for that had happened (not yet, at the very least), but it felt good to have someone on their side.

"That's good," Tubbo said, and Tommy recognized his tone instantly. It was his logical, analytical voice that he used to look at a situation from a detached point of view. "At least you'll still have someone in Manberg."

Tommy sputtered a bit at that. "Tubbo, that doesn't- That doesn't matter. I'm not- We're not gonna have him really spy for us. Not after what happened to you. We're not doing that again." He shook his head as if to emphasize his point. "I'm just glad to have someone else on our side. I've a feeling we're gonna need all the help we can get in the coming weeks."

Tubbo looked down. "I'm sorry. I wish I could be of more help."

"Don't. You've done plenty. I'm- We're not gonna let you put yourself in a position like that again." He paused, then continued quietly, letting his feelings spill out. "I should, I should've fucking stopped it. I should've never convinced you to spy for us. At least then, none of this would've happened."

Tubbo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tommy, you didn't convince me. I made my own decision. And the festival wasn't your fault, okay? It was Schlatt's. There was nothing you could've done." He pulled his hand back. "I was dead the moment he put those walls up."

"I had a pearl," Tommy said, guilt lacing his words, "I could've gone down sooner."

"You would've been surrounded or worse, killed. You're on your last life too, remember? At least I had one to spare." He looked down. "Besides, it was only a matter of time before I got found out. I was surprised I even lasted that long."

(That admission hurt a little. Tubbo knew he was doomed from the start. Why didn't Tommy do anything to stop it?)

"I guess we've both gotta be extra careful from now on, yeah?" Tommy said, "Gotta make this last life last a while."

Tubbo laughed with disbelief. "You say that like you've ever been careful!"

And it was just like it was before, during the disc wars, before L'Manberg, just laughing and making stupid jokes. "Excuse you, I'll have you know my name is Tommy Careful Danger Kraken Innit. It's literally in my name!"

Tubbo giggled some more. "Sure, big man. Sure."

*******

The spoils of his mining trip weren't much, but they were certainly better than nothing.

Tommy was not one for mining. He would usually much rather just steal what he needed from the various members of the SMP. But he wasn't really looking for anything in particular. He mostly wanted a reason to stay out of Pogtopia.

But, looking at the clock he brought down with him into the winding underground strip mines, he figured no one would be awake past midnight.

Coming face to face with Wilbur and soon as he entered the ravine, he realized he was wrong.

Wilbur gave him a once-over. "Where were you?"

"Mining," Tommy said, holding up his pickaxe as if to illustrate his point, "Figured we could use some more diamonds." He held out his mining bag.

Wilbur took it from him, glancing at its contents. A smirk came over his face. "Oh, Tommy." His voice was sickly sweet with condescension. "Maybe you should leave the grinding to Technoblade."

Tommy snatched the bag back. "What do you need, Will?"

"I saw Tubbo earlier."

Tommy stiffened but kept his voice level. "Oh? How is he?"

"Wouldn't actually know," Wilbur drawled, "He was asleep the whole time."

"Yeah, sorry. That would be the weakness pot I gave him earlier." At the mention of the potion, Wilbur perked up. "Should've mostly worn off by now, though."

"The what?"

"Weakness potion," Tommy repeated cautiously, "He had a migraine and he needed to rest anyway, so I gave him a weakness pot to try and sleep it off."

Wilbur covered his face with his hands and started to pace. "Why would you do that?"

Tommy turned to follow where Wilbur was walking. "What do you mean?"

He sighed loudly and pulled his hands from his face. "I don't know if you've fucking noticed, but, Tommy, we're at war!" He had that manic glint in his eye, the same he had when he made the deal with Dream, when he egged Tommy on in the pit, when he almost pressed the button. "We are exiled from our country! We have limited resources! We can't just go around wasting our supplies every time someone has a fucking migraine!"

Tommy matched Wilbur's shouts. "It was a fucking weakness potion, Will. I'll just make another one if you're so bent out of shape from it."

"It's not just about the potion, Tommy! It's the way you tried to decorate with diamond blocks, the way you can't keep a single piece of armor for more than a day. You're thinking in the micro; I need you to think in the macro." Wilbur stopped pacing and put his entire stare on the boy. Tommy seemed to shrink under the weight of it. "You're careless, Tommy. Your solutions are only temporary."

Tommy was never one to back down from a challenge. "What, I'm not allowed to give Tubbo a potion now?" he seethed, "He fucking died for us, man, and you're just gonna let him suffer?"

Wilbur looked unimpressed. "It's just respawn sickness. He'll be fine." He turned to leave.

"People fucking die from respawn sickness! And he's still recovering from the fucking fireworks Techno shot at him!" Wilbur didn't stop, didn't even hesitate. He just went back to his desk, as if Tommy wasn't still standing there. The more rational, less angry part of Tommy realized that Wilbur wasn't right. That he hadn't been right, not really, not since the election. It wasn't worth fighting with him. "Whatever," Tommy said, throwing his bag over his shoulder, "I'm, I'm gonna go to bed."

As soon as he entered the room, he dropped the bag to the side and immediately started towards the bed. He was tired.

Prime, he was so tired.

"Scoot over. I'm climbing in," he mumbled, nudging the other boy. Surprisingly, Tubbo responded almost immediately, pressing himself to the wall to make room.

(They had been doing this ever since they were kids. Wilbur would always find them huddled up close when they were younger. They had stopped when they got "too old" for it but had gotten back into the habit during the war for L'manberg. They always felt safer with the other near.)

Tommy's head landed on the pillow and he glanced over. Tubbo's eyes were wide open, staring concernedly at him. He certainly seemed more alert than Tommy felt, that was for sure. "I heard shouting. Is something wrong?"

Tommy covered his eyes with his hands. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Something clearly happened. You're all tense."

"I'm fine," he lied, "Go back to sleep. You need to rest."

"But-"

"Tubbo, please."

"Okay," Tubbo whispered. A second later, Tommy felt the pillow shift as Tubbo laid back down.

Pogtopia was silent.

*******

The sun was up by the time Tommy woke.

He usually was an early riser, albeit, mostly out of necessity. He couldn't remember the last time he slept in.

Tubbo woke up earlier than him. When he woke, he handed him a carrot.

"What's this?" Tommy asked.

"Breakfast," Tubbo replied, taking a bite of his own carrot.

Tommy sat up and swung his legs over the bed. Tubbo sat down to join him. Tommy took a bite of his carrot, then looked at Tubbo. "Are these the ones from my chest?"

Tubbo looked sheepish. "Yeah, sorry. I couldn't find any other food in here."

"No, it's fine. I was just curious." Tubbo shrugged and continued eating his carrot, but Tommy continued to look at him. He looked healthier, certainly. The sickly tint was gone from his skin, although he still looked rather pale. Unfortunately, there was no good solution to that in Pogtopia. His movements were less sluggish, more pronounced. But what really caught Tommy's eye were the bandages. Loose and yellow, grime having accumulated over the past few days. Tommy was no healer, but he knew that couldn't be hygienic.

Tubbo looked back over at him. "What?"

"Your bandages. They need changing," he said, gesturing with his carrot. He stood up and walked over to the chest and started rummaging through it.

"Tommy?"

"What?"

"I don't think the bandages will do much good."

Tommy stopped sorting through the chest and turned around. "What do you mean?"

Tubbo was looking down. He looked uncomfortable. "They-" He hesitated, then continued. "These aren't wounds. They're scars." He touched the bandaged side of his face. "They aren't going to heal."

Tommy paused. "Still raw, though," he said, turning back to the chest, "Gotta keep them from getting infected."

"Tommy-"

"Tubbo, I don't give a fuck if you have scars or not, okay?" Tommy snapped, clutching the edge of the chest, "But I'm not gonna let you die from a fucking infection or some shit." He didn't mean for it to come out so harsh, but it did. He pulled out a small roll of linen. "Found them." Tommy stood. Tubbo was still sitting on the bed, looking away. Tommy started to speak and he looked up. "Do- does it bother you?"

"That I have them?" Tubbo shrugged. "No, not really. Though, it's not like I've seen them fully." He held his arms close to his chest. "It's just... new." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I'll get used to them."

Tommy sat back down next to him and asked the question he had been thinking since he first noticed the scars. "Do they hurt?"

"I didn't-" Tubbo took a breath. "I didn't know that it could hurt so bad. After I died, I mean. I knew dying hurt, but I thought it would stop, the pain, but it didn't. When I respawned, it felt like I was still on fire." He glanced back over at Tommy. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You haven't done anything wrong," Tommy said, mildly confused.

(Tubbo had been doing that, he noticed, ever since he got back. He apologized for nearly everything, even when it wasn't something to apologize for.)

"I'm," Tommy started shakily, "I'm glad you're still here. Scars and all."

Tubbo gave a faint smile. "Thanks."

"C'mon," Tommy said, holding up the roll, "Let's fix you up."

Things wouldn't really get better, not for a while. They knew this. They weren't adults, but they were realists.

But, Tommy thought, they could make it through whatever the future had to throw at them.

#dream smp #dsmp #mcyt #mcytblr #clingy duo #tommyinnit #tubbo #my posts #my writing

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crystu-cii · 4 years

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OF COURSE!!!! I'd say you're hella close to it!!! Definitely closer than I am XDD 💖💞💝💕💝❤️💕💕❤️ A G R EED /hj XDD

Yeah ;w; oohh that sounds super interesting!! I can understand not pursuing a story tho, stories are d i f f icult-- XD fun, but difficult, and you need an attention span for them! (Why do you think I only write one page stories??)

OMS yessss that's so accurate tho-- like I haven't changed much if I'm being honest (I spend a LOT of time inside.. XD) awww-- I can understand that- in japan we didn't have a backyard, so I stopped going outside much at all-- occasionally I biked to convenience stores or walked to vending machines, that was cool, but no backyard :/ having no backyard sUCks, like where am I supposed to scream into the void?? INSIDE?? /j

OMS-- CRYS XDD what a Mood™ tho- "oh I'm gonna continue this thing!!" *does something else entirely*

XDD It was done Against My Will™ (get Against My Will on the album I Haven't Awoken Well Rested Since I Was A Child by the band The Bags Under My Eyes Aren't Makeup! XD) MOOD-- I spent the quarantine summer doing nothing but staying up until the sun rose and sleeping until it was at its peak- where did the time goooo

I AGREE HOW DARE HE- LIKE EXCUSE?? YOU TINY HEATHEN??? anyways now I'm trying to go back to squirting him with a squirt bottle to startle him(even tho he's a fan of water, the harsh spray startles him) but anyways thank you crysss I'm never getting a cat in my life now bc of this rude child (dogs are superior anyways /hj)

(and now time to reply to the OTHER ask cause I'm efficient and not going to send two separate asks to respond to things that can be responded to at the same time.. ....why did I even ramble about that wtf henry(huh I never refer to myself by name that felt weird))

Okay!! No worries dude, you can always take your time with replies, I just don't trust tumblr XD 💞❤️💕💝💝💖💕❤️💖 of course!!! Thank you!!! 💖💕💕💖💞💕

Oooh!!! That sounds super fun!!! Man I miss hanging out with my friends-- but my closest friend(lives in my neighborhood) has a parent who works in other people's houses, so high risk, and the rest live several hours away :)) but anyways yeah that sounds hella!!!! I love that y'all were just like "okay well. we're gonna hang out anyways." XDD

Aww-- I'm glad you are!! My brother and his bf were supposed to come but I think we have to postpone that cause someone in his workplace tested positive for covid :( YESS FOODDDD-- oooh cheesecake?? I've never heard of having it on Thanksgiving!! Usually we have pumpkin, cherry, apple, and pecan pies!! (We're having pumpkin and cherry ones this yeah!! Two pumpkin pies, a cherry pie, and a cherry cobbler--) I... Have never heard of pineapple pie in my life! Sounds like it would make pineapple-on-pizza haters burst into tears tho--

YOURE WHAT-- CRYS YOU HEATHEN IT IS NOVEMBER!!!!! /j I can't stand Christmas music, being a choir student made me not be a huge fan of it-- too much Christmas music.. ugh. (Straight no chaser is tolerable at least. And Pentatonix. And covers by artists I like. But if I have to hear Jingle Bells ONE MORE TIME--) YESSS BESTOW UPON ME THOU'S PRESENCE AND PRESENTS... Ooh nice!! Pfft XDD Yess- I have multiple on my wishlist-- mostly for the switch-- OMS I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T ASK FOR THSC-- MAYBE IM THE HEATHEN--

Okay, it's January 5th! Literally not even two weeks after Christmas-- Feel free to scream happy birthday at me :3 XDD now I'm curious, what's yours?

awhhh thank you ;w;; 💕💞💕💞💞💕💞

and legiT- and omg- also what i do a lot is thinking i have a story all in control but then i realise that i only focused on the main parts and nOT the transitions and all that shit and then i end up last minute thinking them- XDD and ngl one page stories sound SOO much better- imo- not just for writing- but for reading as well- whenever i go to see a fanfic I always read the ones that has one chapter- dunno how to fully explain it- possibly cause its satisfying to see a story actually have its end other than a long lasting series that will never end- XDD oneshots are my FUEL

buT WoW omg this topic has now made me realise how i barely go outside- XDD i wish there would be other thingd around my neighborhood other than a "park" that has DEAD GRASS and the sprinklers go off like every hour for some reason- duNNo what the builders were thinking but i guess i dont mind- i stay in my house a whOLELE lot xD

and YESS IT GETS ME EVERYTIME- "hey lets draw-" *-WRITES-* XDD AND ABHAHAHAHA (NOW ON YOUR LOCAL MUSIC STORES- XDDDD) and omG MEEE- the times i would usually sleep would be around 3 am to 6 am- ironically my mom has a more screwed up schedule than i do- and SHE STILL HAS- last night she told me that she hasnt slept in 48 HOURSSS- MaMAAA PLEASE SLEEP

GO AWAY CAT HEATHEN- XD and omG a squirt bottle of water yes XDD and awh i definitely understand now how youll not get a cat- sounds like a hecka pain ;0;; i never even had a pet before (or not that i would recall- oh wait i think i had fish but i have an embarrassing story that made my mom ban fish from the household- OH MAN the shame)

and yeahh oh man- i hope you are okay with all these topics XDD and thank you!! 💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞

awwhh i see- i wish you can hang out with your friends without it being too risky! that reminds me of that one time where my friend said "hey so uh you guys can hang out at my house since at my parent's workplace someone was positive for covid" and then immeadiately after they were like "SO WE NEED TO GO TO ONE OF YOUR GUYS' HOUSE" and Im LIKE- UH- NOO??? nOt AfTEr you just say THAT- nuh uh- thankfully we didnt hang out that day- better safe than sorry xD

and omggg those pies sound AWWESOMEEEE- i always wanted to try pumpkin pie before but when i asked my mom that she was like "nO iTS diSGusTing" and im like "*visible confusion*" and lOwKEY SAME- pineapple pie just sounds a bit off but my mom was really hyped to make it xD i'd actually say its not that bad! but im still not a fan of pineapple so uhhh xD (aNd YEAH IT DOES feel like it would make those haters cry-- XDD)

and PFHAOHFA IM A LIVING HEATHEN- XDD omg at this time of year- it gets CRAZYY for me- first off- Tree is a true filipino- right when it was the first day october- youd hear them say "FUCK HALLOWEEN"(and id just whine to them like "BUT HALLOWENENENEN") and then their family set up a whole christmas tree and over-the-top decorations- and omg- if you hate christmas music- you would despise the philippines sO MUCH- when the FIRST day of SEPTEMBER hits- CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON ALLLLL THE STORES- it will drive you WILDDD ( yeah its actually a normal filipino thing- not that i ever went to the philippines myself at tHAT time of year- but my friends and family tell me all about it- filipinos are the true christmas maniacs XDDD)

and awhhh choir must be a pain ;0;;; that would remind me how on one concert- the beginners class of choir screamed on purpose even though they werent supposed to- the teacher got so pissed XDDD and YESSS PRESENTSSSS- and awh man- i actually dont own ANY consoles at all- so the only things i can ask for is steam games- last year for christmas i got just shapes and beats- which was WORTHHH

and oo YAY- now i shall mark that on my calander- XD and mine is february 7!

#the rambles of crystu

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geekygoddesss · 5 years

Text

The Boyfriend tag [Ashton Edition]

Summary: an unfiltered interview with Ashton Irwin and his girlfriend.

Words: 7.7k

“Hello! I'm Ashton Irwin from five seconds of summer” He says when the camera starts rolling.

“ I am (Y/n) his special friend” I continue, showing a big smile.

“This is now our turn to answer everything we can about us” He announces, pointing straight at the camera “We will give it to you straight, unfiltered and sitting on the best f*ck#** chair I’ve ever seen” he laughs, straightening his legs and rocking our chair back and forth.

We were both currently on a bench that just happened to have a spinning mechanism just like office chairs and allowed us to move around if we wanted.

“It’s really the best chair ever” I agreed, laughing along with him.

He loved it. The moment we got to sit here he made me sit by his side and sneaks his arm around me, pulling me closer and getting himself comfy for the interview. It was really nice.

I am just about to say something, to state some weird occurrence that came to my head, but one of the producers steps forwards and he looks like he is about to give us more instructions like before when we were just about to get ready for this interview.

“Sorry to interrupt, I should have mentioned you can’t really curse on this show”

My cheeks heat up just like that, my jaw drops open and so does Ashton’s, we turn to look at each other and he does look pretty surprised by this one. We forgot this was a thing in some companies.

“Oh no sh*t, Sorry about that” He curses again as he laughs, clapping in the air dramatically and nodding at the camera “what a great start!”

“It’s alright, Michael did it too, multiple times, we’ll bleep it out”

“Fantastic” he nods and then reaches for the table, grabbing the Ipad with all the question and handing it to me “take it away, baby” he instructs.

I smile at the camera. Let this wild ride start.

Where and when did we first meet?

“We meet in Spain” he speaks first, taking over the question “We had a gig there and we had a day off, went for a walk around the historic parts of the city and, well...” he says, leaving it hanging and not finishing like he would do sometimes.

I knew what he wanted and I wasn’t going to let that be our full answer, so I look straight at the camera and decide to uncover him with the truth.

“He got lost in the gothic quarters” I reveal, shrugging at the camera lens.

He presses his lips together and sighs. For some reason, he isn’t the biggest fan of this story and is always trying to make it better.

“It makes more sense if I say it” he explains “We weren’t completely lost, it was just a bit hard to know the way out” he said as if that was any better.

Potato-potato. It was both the same thing.

“You were lost” I repeat, chuckling at him and taking over the question “I mean, it’s a big place, I understand why you couldn’t find the way out” I say on his behalf, trying to explain myself “I was waiting for my mom outside of this store and I saw them once, then twice, then another time until they stopped to google their location and I came to the rescue” I smile a very heroic smile “it was also low season, so the majority of people there spoke everything but English” I roll my eyes, because that was just an absurd fact

“Thanks god you were there” he mentions, agreeing with me “honestly, hearing someone speak a familiar language was relieving” he laughs turning to kiss on my temple lightly “but yeah, that’s how we met” he wraps up the story with a shrug “After that she walked us all the way back to the venue so…”

“It was good” I continue, nodding “No one got any more lost” I joke, taking over the Ipad and moving on to the next question of the bunch.

When and where was our first date?

He sighs “Our first date” He says in a mumble, really thinking about it and instantly looking unimpressed by the one and only answer we had “it was not really a date, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t call that a date”

I frown. “Hey” I whine, nudging him with my shoulder.

It was a bit rude of him to say that and I wasn’t totally okay with it, even when he was kind of right.

“Babe, it felt more of a get-together, not really a formal thing, don’t you think?” He explains to me but at the same time speaks to the public “rather messy I would say”

I roll my eyes heavily. I could disagree on that “I like to think it was a date, it was the first time we got to hang out” I add, shrugging a bit to then proceed to tell the story “I took him to my hometown which is pretty close to the city and it’s probably the only place around that doesn’t get super crowded and we went for ice cream and everything!”

“It was lovely” He agrees, not really meaning that it was a bad day but he thinks it was not a real date. “But see, I know it sounds like a date but at the time, everyone was invited, they just not wanted to go” he mentions, chuckling at that part of the story.

For some reason, I always manage to forget about that. Those times where I just met them and they wanted a local guide, which I offered my services to with my best intentions to give them a tour of the best beaches, but most of them were tired and Ashton was the only one up to it. Their loss.

“Lazy asses, as you can see” I say, shaking my head at the story “They missed out, but we got something so good out of it and! we were on the beach like all day” I brag, leaning my head on his shoulder and hugging him close.

“You. Lose” he says, pronouncing each word clearly and pointing at the camera.

In all seriousness though, I was glad they didn’t go to that date, that way, I wouldn’t have gotten so much time to hang out with him as I did, look what came out of it.

What was your first impression of me?

“I remember very clearly the first time I saw you and just instantly hoped you were not a fan, I was not in the mood for anything at that moment” He starts, chuckling a little as he speaks and looking down in my direction “but well, uh, I guess the best answer I can give is that I noticed how energetic and honest you were, you didn’t care who we were or what we were doing, you just wanted to help and that really stuck with me” He smiled, showing me that adorable dimpled grin I loved too much.

“Aw” I smile, reaching up to caress his cheek softly “the first thing I noticed about you was your style, for me that was super outstanding and super old fashion vibes, which I love, and also, your way of approaching people, it’s very inviting and welcoming, I felt good, it made me feel like I was meeting an old friend” I shrug, looking up and down at him to then give him a small shy smile.

“That’s good, right?” he asks, raising an eyebrow, almost as if he just wanted to make sure it was all okay.

I chuckle. Was he really asking that to me? To the one person that adored him more than anything.

“Oh no, actually instantly hated you, you just looked like a great bank in general” I scoff, taking my hand off his face and making a move to fake push him away from me.

He gasps at that assumption. “Hey!” he laughs, reaching back for my arms and keeping it hostage “See, she can be a little bit mean at times” he speaks to the camera, as he sneaks his arms around my waist and squeezes.

I yell. I was not expecting him to do that and it was slightly embarrassing, he knows it’s my soft spot. I let it pass through, I will get revenge, but not now, It had to wait a little more.

When did you meet my family?

“That is private and how dare you ask that question!” He speaks harshly at the camera, pointing at it accusingly and shaking his head, but he wasn’t serious at all, he wanted to mess with the producers like usual.

“Stop” I laughed, grabbing his hand and putting it down “he's joking” I let everyone know, just in case.

He laughs too, knowing that maybe it was time to get a little more serious and answer the question instead of trying to avoid it because, at the end of everything, it wasn’t a big deal, it was just a simple story.

“The first time I met your family was in LA, which was also the first time you invited me there for your summer break, spend a couple weeks there, it was amazing,” I say, smiling at the memory. Those were some fantastic three weeks.

“Yep” he nods, stepping in to tell his side of the story “I don’t even need to say it, I met your family on our first date, they were around a couple of times” he says, shrugging a little at his answer, because it was really that easy.

“They liked going on the beach with us but still, I think they were a little intimidated by my presence with an older foreign man, who (by the way) didn’t speak any Spanish and I meet the day before” I say with a weird smile as I shrug. I remember the multiple warnings I had from my mom for doing this and then me, not paying attention, but even when she was right, nothing really happened, we had something amazing bloom from that day.

“As you can tell our thing was kind of the slow-building kind of relationship” he speaks, chuckling a little at the thought.

One day we meet… the other he met my parents...

“Yeah! Definitely” I nod, agreeing with him “in 48 hours we were already… having sex” I let out as if I was totally serious. We can’t help to break into laughter.

I would never do that, not now and not ever.

“I’m kidding” I say to the camera as I keep going with my small fit of pure giggles.

“Yes, don’t actually do that, that’s risky, kids” He warns, being totally serious but also being a taken out of seriousness with his constant laughing. “but yeah that’s how we meet each other’s family” he says, finishing off the question.

“those were some historic moments” I compliment, breathing in to calm my laughing.

he nods. “next question, please”

Who said “I love you” first?

That question can only make me smile and nothing else.

“I did” I say, throwing out a dreamy look. “Funny thing is, we weren’t even dating by that time, I’m just very emotional and thought I would let it out as soon as I saw a chance” I nervously chuckle as I throw that fact out there.

“Hm, we weren’t dating by the time” he confirms, rubbing his jaw with one hand, almost as if he was thinking about it. “I kissed you once or twice and would hang out a lot but we weren’t…” he tries to explain, turning to look at me.

“It was a bit embarrassing” I confess, being realistic about the situation.

For some reason he seems to be surprised of me even saying that, his eyes widen and he is thrown back a little bit, taking a good look at my face.

“Ah babe!” he exclaims, frowning a little bit but then pulling me into one quick hug “Why? It was lovely” he asks, almost concerned.

“Not really” I chuckle a bit. “See, it was on that summer when you guys were back in Spain but not really for a long time, which sucked because I loved to spend time with you but at the end of everything I knew you had to leave and i couldn’t go with you even if I wanted, so in my mind I thought, the worst-case scenario is that you don’t feel the same or just don’t feel ready, and I said it” I explain to him, trying to making it sound like no big deal, even when at the time it was a big deal. “Pff, I remember everything, like the time, weather, place, what I did...”

He nods, seeming to understand “We were on… that park, weren’t we?”

I smile “Uh Huh, park güell” I confirm. It was my favorite place in the world “This place is like giant and it has this part that it’s super tall, you need to do a bit of a hike to get there but it’s super cool because you can see the entire city from there” I explain, trying to make the audience picture the scenario a bit “we were sitting down and just looking at the view and I said ‘can I tell you a secret?’” I mumble in my mic, acting out the scene “He said ‘sure’ and I said ‘I may be wrong but I think I love you’” I let out, with a bit of a proud smile.

“And I said, if I’m not mistaken ‘I may be surprised but I would be stupid to not see that’” he follows my lead, without me even asking “I didn’t say it back and I am sorry but for me this was more of an eye-opening moment when I knew maybe this is the girl I should keep front and center, all the time” He confessed, looking down at me and pulling me more into his hug.

“And we made it official” I say, wrapping up my story.

“Hell yeah” He said, leaning down to kiss my forehead. What a beautiful story to tell.

What dressing do I always wear?

“Easy” he said with the most confident tone he could wear. He goes and grabs the hem of my glasses with incredible skill and snatches them off “boom” he exclaims, sliding them on his face instantly.

“Hey!” I yell, trying to go and reach them but he moves away from me, not letting me get them back. “No, you’re going to stretch them” I whine, trying to reach him but he doesn’t let me “You have a big f*ck#** head”

Oops, I cursed, my bad.

“I have a great head thank you very much” he brags, showing me his tongue teasingly and turning to see the camera through my lenses “Shoutout to all my head fatties out there” he laughs, showing a couple thumbs up in support.

“No” I laugh, reaching for his hands and pulling them down “Rude” I let him know, finally being able to reach in and get back my glasses, I needed them.

Now it was my turn to answer and lucky me, I had no clue on what I could possibly say, there was a bunch of things, but he also wasn’t the kind of repetitive person, it was not that easy.

“I don’t know what to answer” I pout, looking up at him.

He shrugs. “Anything”

That still doesn’t help. I look at him up and down, analyze him, trying to think on what could be the best answer to give to the public, because I didn’t want to sound obvious but in moments like this, I might need to.

“Polka dots” I say, almost disappointed at my lame answer “I hate this answer, it’s most basic ever” I say rolling my eyes “you’re not even wearing them today”

He moves back, looks at me almost acting offended and then says “yes, I am” he assures me, I squint at him, that seemed like something he would say just to make me feel like I was right.

“prepared to be surprised” He said, leaning back on our seat and pulling his knee up, proceeding to put his foot on the table.

Rude.

Very carefully he pulls the hem of his pants up, revealing a very cute black and red polka dot sock “Boom” he smiles proudly, showing me his fun sock.

“Oh dear…” I laugh, leaning in to pull at them playfully. “Sneaky”

he nods “I keep with the aesthetic, honey” he teases me, getting his foot off the table and sitting down straight. “next question”

Weird habit of each other?

“Does Dad jokes count as a habit?” I ask rhetorically, turning to look at him “For you, it’s become one”

I was joking, he knows I was, but still the moment I make that assumption he gasps as he was offended and touches the center of his chest with one hand.

“What?” He asks in disbelief “They’re great! C'mon” he insists, squeezing my sides slightly.

“You’re a dad, it’s weird” I insist, reaching over and squeezing his side too “There’s my answer, your dad jokes” I state, looking at my front “I don’t mind them most of the time, but you’re a dad”

He laughs a sarcastic laugh, next thing a know there is a hand on my face “Shush” he says, pushing my face away “Shush woman” he demands for a second time as he laughs at me moving away from his touch. “you do have a habit and I’m going to tell you what it is” he starts his answer, now getting serious “You repeat everything I say and everything everyone says all of the time”

I gasp. I don’t know how he even dared to expose me like that but it was weird that he chose this particular one, it wasn’t even that dramatic.

“What does that mean?” I frowned slightly looking at him, but after a couple seconds of thinking about it, I get it “Oh no, hold on, I get it, I know what it is” I chuckle, shaking my head at the thought.

He was right, it’s a bad habit.

“Every time I say something funny for you or outstanding you repeat the last phrase I said in that exact sentence and that’s a bad habit, lady” he states, touching my nose and then pinching it playfully.

“I’m sorry” I say in a baby voice, trying to make it just a little better.

“It’s okay” he laughs, shrugging it off.

Yes, it was a bad habit, but it wasn’t even that bad, I would break it off eventually so I didn’t mind him telling the world. It was just something passenger, we could talk about it.

How long have we been together?

“Almost three years now” he speaks firsts, with now a serious tone.

“We turn three years in September” I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“It’s crazy” he nods, raising both of his eyebrows “I still can’t quite believe how we have managed to drag our relationship so far up, it’s insane” he confesses, looking down at me for a second.

“Yeah me too” I admit, keeping it completely real “I mean, I love him and I have always known there was something different in him but at the start of our relationship, things were not looking promising at all” I groan at the memory, our first two months weren’t the greatest.

“Not in the slightest bit” he agrees “We had a good trait and all but distance relationships are hard to keep” he hisses, shrugging a little.

The first months of our relation pretty much based itself on not only FaceTime calls but also text messages and dumb Snapchat pictures sent to each other for updates. It sucked. I don’t think neither of us had many hopes on the life of our relationship, but from there, things scaled a lot and got us where we are now.

“Lucky for us, we handled like masters” I brag, raising my hand and he gives me five.

“Teamwork”

What’s the most public thing you’ve done together?

Oh man, I loved this question for so many reasons. In a matter of seconds, I had the perfect answer to this question, no one needed to wait for me to answer or anything. I knew how to fill this spot.

“He brought me in on a radio interview” I confess “if that was not public I don’t know what is” I let out, heavily rolling my eyes at him.

That was such an uncomfortable moment for me, he thinks it’s hilarious, for me, it was both unexpected and weird.

“Oh man, I forgot about that” He laughs hard, throwing his head back and clapping in the air.

“You forgot?!” I exclaim, narrowing my eyes at him “How can you forget that? You did it!”

He nodded, not denying it but also not saying anything else about the matter. “I would very much like you to tell the story please” he nods at me, giving me the green light.

I nod. “Well, basically, we were in Australia (I think) and they were having this interview with a radio show thing” I explain, totally trying to paint a picture “Ashton was on fire, he really was, he started telling stories, answering everyone and it was just hilarious” I chuckle “I think you noticed I was laughing a lot and started looking at me and kept going with your hilarious self, to the point he stopped the interview and brought me in” I simply say, shrugging at the situation, it was as simple as that, but it felt like a lot more.

“I had to, I’m sorry” he excused himself, still giggling, finding the story super funny “sometimes I need a proof that I am really just this funny all the time” he excuses for a second time but this time just complimenting himself, lame.

“I was crying!” I exclaim in his face, now finding the right time to fight him for this “I started crying and laughing and you showed me on camera” I pout as I look away from him.

He laughs, even more, shaking his head and looking away just like I did.

This is basically our relationship, in a nutshell, he would annoy me at times, I would annoy him… it was a never-ending cycle that was constantly happening. Some would think it’s annoying, but us, we loved it, that’s the thing.

“I also did this on camera” he said, once he had calmed down, grabbing my chin and pecking my lips very softly.

He was still giggling though. Goddammit.

“It’s not funny” I giggle as well, nudging him away with my hand.

For once, he disagrees, shakes his head heavily and says “I think it is” he shrugs “next”

First thing you noticed about me?

“First thing” he says, looking away for a second and thinking about it. I was fairly intrigued by his answer on this one. It only takes him a couple seconds to concrete an answer and turns to me after he knows what to say “Your face” he reveals on a very serious tone.

I smile “Isn’t that just lovely?”

I had to admit I was totally teasing him about it, but he knew that already, he smiles at my answer to his first response and nudges me softly. I just wanted to keep on the mood light and funny for everyone.

“No, no, but I mean, not just your face, the brightness on your face in general” he says, explaining himself a bit better “you were helping us and it was just so kind, the way you approached to us with such a kind smile and willing to help was something that really stood out for me, not many people do that to strangers on the street, especially in such a busy city” he says and it is a fact.

That answer really warms my heart, he was so sweet.

“Aw, I love you” I mumble, leaning in and kissing his cheek “the first thing I noticed about you was your hair, is that weird?” I ask, chuckling a little bit at my answer.

He chuckles as well “Not at all, but why my hair?”

I shrug “I don’t know, I love it, I like the color” I say, lifting my hand to touch a few of his strands, now covered in hair gel and underneath red hair dye “I love how you are naturally blonde but not blonde blonde, it almost matches mine” I smile proudly.

Call me cheesy, but the fact that his hair resembles mine in a way made me proud, it was almost like destiny matches us to perfection. We would make some adorable and blondie babies.

“Yours is darker,” he says, reaching for my hair and touching it as well.

“A touch darker, yes” I nod “so there's that, I don’t have much to say, if I’m honest” I chuckle, turning around and grabbing the Ipad in front of me “next question”

Tell us a fun fact about you

We both stay quiet for some solid ten seconds. Dead silence.

“Fun fact” I speak softly, really trying to come out with something “Do you have something in mind? I got nothing” I say to my partner in crime.

“As a matter of fact, I do” He nods, because apparently he has been waiting for me to answer first all of this time. “We have an age gap, which is pretty large if you think about it-“

“Six years” I speak, just adding up information.

“Yeah, It’s six years and a bit more” He confirms “but besides that point, even though I am the oldest, I feel like that’s a lie because sometimes she is totally the older one in lots of aspects” He says, finishing with a smile and then turning to look at me.

Deep inside of me, I always knew this guy couldn’t hold a serious note for five minutes, he had to (in some way) pick on my buttons, like always. He was laughing now at my annoyed face and laughed more when I slapped his arm.

“Ashton!” I exclaimed, pushing him away “You are such a…” I start, pressing my lips together before having to curse “Are you calling me old?” I ask, narrowing my eyes “Are you calling me an old woman?”

He shrugs like he doesn’t mind “You’re an old soul, that’s what I’m trying to say” he explains to me, now sounding a bit softer. I frown, now being a bit concerned, that was a weird twist. “What did you think I was going to say?” he asked, laughing at my weird gaze.

I glance at him anyways “I know you were going to complain about me and my weird… pains” I say, being a bit weird out by saying that out loud.

“I would never” He says, almost offended, touching his chest in fake offence.

I knew he was trying to tease me.

“Yeah, uh-huh” I nod, rolling my eyes. I was going to let it pass, this is the kind of things that we would say just to make me fight him, he loved me fighting him for some reason, it was his hobby.

What's the biggest thing you’ve done for each other?

My heart feels warm by this question, it brings good memories.

“The biggest thing I have done for Ashton it’s probably this time I organized him a date, just to make him feel better” I smile softly, looking down at my hands as I speak “It wasn’t our anniversary or any important date but it was a time when things were starting to gather up a little for him and those things were managing to show up on his regular self” I explain “He was stressed and really not in the mood all of the time, he accepted zero comments on anything work related it was a bunch of things” I continue now turning my head to look up “So I decided to organized a bit of a date to help him take his mind of and relax; It took me all day to organize, I cooked dinner myself and also prepared some dessert, I decorated a little, which was tricky, I am not the best at decorating; and last but not least I just set up a whole mood around the house and decided to make it a place that didn’t revolve around work or things that assemble it, I wanted to make it a place of disconnection and where he could find his peace of mind in” I continue, looking at him with a smile“So yeah, that’s the biggest thing I did for you” I shrug shyly.

He pouts, smiling a little and clearly finding my story adorable. “I remember that day, of course, you were successful on what you intended because I loved it, you know I did” he says softly, kissing my temple softly “It’s also one of the best dates we’ve ever had and curious thing is, we never really even got out of the house” he chuckles softly.

“You’re welcome” I say, returning the favor and kissing his cheek.

“The biggest thing I’ve done for you it’s one hundred percent those tickets to the academy post-award show party thing” He admits, then looking at the camera and wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

I gasped harshly, throwing my head back at the fact. He just won over my best gift to him, this was definitely one of the best days of my whole existence.

“Shut the front door” I say, avoiding the impulse to curse “Yes, those were such a dream” I exclaim, laughing a bit.

“It took me a while to get my hand in those and I made lots of calls, you have no idea how many strings I pulled on that one but we got there!” He cheers, lifting his hand in succeed “We were really out of place at first, people in there were really…” he says, looking for the right words.

“Popular” I complete.

“Exactly” he agrees immediately “but you had fun, right?” He asked, looking over at me.

“Are you kidding? I got to talk to Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger on the same night, it was insanity” I say, completely happy to get that memory in my head “if you don’t know who those are, check your resources, they were in one of the best movie musicals out there, Chicago, they are living classics” I brag, putting a hand on my chest in emotion “Among other actors and actresses, that day was the most overwhelming and crazy days I have ever had and I don’t even mind that one bit”

He smiles, pulls me over to his side and kisses me once again. “She’s a fan of movies” it’s what he says, rubbing my shoulder.

“Number one fan” I complete, more like a correction “Next question, please”

Tell us a secret

“Uh, no” Ashton says, taking the lead and rolling his eyes, almost acting annoyed.

“Ballsy” I say to him, with a funny smile on my face.

“Not a chance” He keeps going, shaking his head “Nice try, you got us, whew!” he acts out, wiping fake sweat off his forehead “Secrets are meant to be secret not to be heard” he quotes, pointing at the camera and leaving that as his last words… for now.

“You did not…” I laugh, being interrupted but the small chuckles that came out of my lips “You did not just quote your own lyrics”

He laughs, probably finding hilarious how fast I caught that one. “I did and I’m proud” he said, sitting up straight to grab the IPad from my hands “next question”

What pisses you off?

“It pisses me off when he goes to tease me in public” I answer first, faster than ever “not even like normal regular teasing, he tries to tease me into making him a fool of himself in public, that’s what he wants” I shake my head, nudging him to the side playfully.

“Lies” He says, nudging me back.

“Nope” I shake my head harshly at the lies “he grabbed my ass in public the other day, so shamelessly, I think a pap got us” I confess, covering my face with both of my hands in embarrassment.

“Which was always my intention” he shrugs, not taking it as a big deal.

“It was weird!” I exclaim in argument “And then I was embarrassed and I decided to go for revenge days after, so I tried to grab his ass on the street but now all there is on the Internet is a picture of me chasing him because somehow, he actually sensed that before it happened and now there are pictures everywhere” I lean back on my seat, giving up on the situation and closing the story.

“I’m a gazelle with public humiliation” he graces himself proudly, to then very gently place the IPad on my hands “Next”

Now, he was trying to get away with this, he wanted to change the topic.

“You b#*ht” I cursed, slapping his arm playfully “I’m going to tell you what pisses him off” I take the lead, not letting this go.

I proceed to turn the IPad on its side and place my slightly long nails over the matte side of it to then run them back and forth repeatedly, making a really scratchy sound. He squirms instantly, almost as if I was running my nails over a chalkboard.

“Oh no!” he said, going immediately to grab my hands “Stop it, stop it, stop it” he whimpers “that’s torture”

“That’s vengeance,” I say, smiling playfully and turning the IPad on its side again.

Now we could keep going.

Favorite feature about each other?

“I love your eyes” I speak first, looking up at him and touching his brow softly “I know it’s very cliche but it’s really my favorite feature about you” I smile softly “I also love your chest, if you have seen his chest you know it’s the hairy type and when you wear those button shirts, it just makes it look extra good” I say playfully.

“Thanks” He smiles, leaning down and pecking my lips short, to then go ahead with his answer “do you want me to be honest?” he asks and I nod “I don’t think I can choose one thing I like about you because I just love everything about you” He says, totally serious and with a small smile on his face “I feel like you and I have something in common not only personally but spiritually and the way we get along so well have to do with the fact that our souls are connected” he says, starting a speech for the public, but specially for me “I’m a very spiritual person and I always like to read about things that have a reason to happen around us and I have always known that the way you were put in my life was one of the most beautiful things I have been challenged to keep with me, that’s why I love all of you, we are meant to live a life or part of our life together and you get along with me just perfectly to affront anything we are meant to do in the future” he says to me directly, reaching in to hold my hand. I let him. “so if I have to choose one thing, I would say, your soul and your heart, because those are the things that always convince me you were meant to be in my life” he finishes, squeezing my hand and lifting it to his lips, kissing it softly.

I feel my lip tremble and my eyes water. These are the sweetest words I have heard from him in a really long time, I couldn’t believe I was hearing them now.

“Ashton” I say softly, trying to blink away my watery eyes “Babe”

He looked back to me, catching a glimpse of my teary eyes and completely surprising himself “Aw babe!” he laughed, smiling down at me “Come here” he said, pressing me onto his chest and rubbing my back softly “there there” he mumbles as a couple of tears leave my eyes.

This is the kind of reactions that he got out of me every time he was this sweet. God damn, I love him.

What do we argue about the most?

“Just everything in general” I answer, once my eyes weren’t spilling out tears anymore and I was back on a serious posture. Although (once again), I was totally joking, I wasn’t answering these questions for real.

“Life, stuff” he continues, following my lead “Everything”

“Here’s the thing” I move over to explain “Our relationship pretty much revolves around who annoys who the most and even though we had fun with that and all, sometimes things end up blooming from that and that usually means we will argue”

“but they aren’t big arguments, I don’t think we actually fight over silly stuff like that, they’re pointless arguments but they aren’t fights, in fact, I don’t think I have ever gotten proportionally mad at you and we’ve been dating for three years” he says, completing my answer.

“Yeah, it’s usually dumb arguments like: “Why do you grab my butt in public”, don’t you think?” I say teasingly, looking back at him with a smile.

His jaw tenses a little bit. “Funny” he says, shaking his head “I was thinking more of a “Why do you hide my phone in your…”

“Hey!”I yell immediately to stop his talking and he does “shut up” I whine, leaning my forehead on his shoulder. I was so embarrassed.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding” he said in comfort, kissing my forehead “See? We argue but we love it” he laughs “Next question”

Do I have any weird obsessions?

“Yes” He answers with total confidence. “you love movies, like, you love them” he emphasizes, pointing at me with his thumb.

My eyebrow raises, I wasn’t expecting that answer. “You would call that an obsession?”

His lips are pressed together, he shrugs. “Maybe, you talk about them a lot, always find a reference for any situation, I think it is weird but I don’t mind it because it’s fun and healthy” He justifies, lifting his finger and laying it on my cheek softly.

“Thanks” I say, rolling my eyes like if I was annoyed, but I don’t say anything, I just go answer my part of the question “I don’t think you have obsessions, you always go through phases but they never really last for long” I shrug.

My answer was dull, but there was really nothing else I could say other than that.

“Meh” he let out, making a weird and careless sound, like if I have just said the wrong answer. I chuckled “I’m obsessed with you” he corrected me, smiling widely and reaching for me with his hand, grabbing my cheek and squeezing.

Squeezing hard.

“Ouch, ouchie, ouch” I whine but also can’t help but laugh “Don’t” I say, pulling away.

“I’m being gentle” he says laughing as well, squeezing my cheek softly now “See this cheeks? I love them” he speaks to the camera, caressing them with the back of his index finger and finally letting go “They are so squishy” he mentions pinching them one last time.

Gosh, it was so annoying. How adorable.

“Stop, Seriously” I laughed, moving away from his touch and holding the IPad up “next question”

Nicknames for each other?

“I call Ashton, Daddy” I say with a big smile on my face “like not even in a kinky way it’s just the regular nickname” I continue, totally with the intention of teasing him “Daddy can we go for ice cream? Can we go to the mall? It works for everything” I mock, bumping his shoulder with mine.

“No, that’s not true” he says laughing, bumping my shoulder back.

He hated that nickname and thought it was completely creepy, but every time I brought it up I managed to get a good laugh out of it. You could say by this point I am emotionally attached to it.

“I mean, you’re daddy, Luke is breadstick, Cal is…” I continue, but my mind goes blank. Everyone had a nickname but right now, it was like they were wiped from my mind “Uh I forgot, anyways” I give up, looking up at him, almost as if I was giving him the green light to answer now.

“She doesn’t call me that” He clarifies before anyone actually believes it. “If one of us needs to be the adult here then I guess I’ll say…” he starts, thinking about it for a second “I like classy nicknames, just revolving around doll, honey, darling, nothing crazy but neither too generic, I like keeping it just a bit different” he explains, making it short and sweet for the public.

“Oh, I go full-on generic” I say, now going for a real answer “but I like it, I don’t mind them, for me it's just natural to say them so I just stick with it” I shrug “I think my stamp by now is definitely, Babe” I explain, looking back at the camera and saying “it’s boring, I know”

Ashtons just shrugs at my assumptions, apparently, he doesn’t mind that I haven’t really taken the effort to come up with some new and innovating nickname for him to wear, I just go with the regular and I use it all the time.

“Nah” he says, shaking his head “I like it anyways”

Complete this sentence “You’re my……..”?

The moment I read this question out loud it’s like he knows exactly what to do because he grabs my free hand and joins our fingers together, holding it on one tight grip and caressing the back of it. That’s the hold of a keeper.

I turn on his direction, wanting to look on his face at any moment and not miss on anything, because this seemed memorable and I wanted to have a presence the whole time.

“My rock” he says as his answer “with the lifestyle that I live, there could be a bunch of things in my life that could be too crazy and unstable but having you in my life is something that has managed to keep me grounded and focused” he confesses. His hold tightens “I love you and I love that you make me a better person, I plan to keep it like this for a long time and even if we aren’t destined to be like that for the rest of our lives, I wouldn’t mind because I will always be grateful for these past years that have been a lot brighter because of you” he says, touching my chest with his index finger as an emphasis. “Thank you so much for everything, Baby, I love you” he mumbles, to then lean down and kiss me on the lips.

How did I manage to get such a sweet man?.

His words made me feel special and I was pretty sure I could perfectly cry at this moment, if it wasn’t because I didn’t want to cry again on camera, but he was being so sweet and honest, it was touching my heart on all the right spots.

“I love you” I mumble on his lips, pecking them a second time “You’re my guide” I say as my answer “I think sometimes I am the kind of person that can be too driven by the things I want over what is realistic and after I met you I have really found a balance between doing what I love and stepping into reality” I explain, making my best to be as clear as possible “You're the only person in my life that has encouraged me to do what I love and learn from my mistakes but also has helped me to see that maybe there are some things in this world that aren’t so easy and that sometimes you gotta take risks to get to the top. That’s why you’re my guide, I’m young and I have a lot to learn, I’m lucky I found someone who can help me bloom in life, love me and get me through this difficult path in life that is adulting, not only giving a helping hand but also making it one of the most beautiful phases I have lived” I continue. My voice trembles with every word but I keep it together, I had to. “I love your personality, I love you and I wish to have you in my life for as long as I am able to”

I have never spoken anything more honest than that and I couldn’t mean it more.

“I love you” He says, laying his hand on my cheek and kissing my lips once again.

A lot of people are staring at us right now, but we don’t care because this is our moment, we have both confessed beautiful things in front of the other and the best we could do was to pretend we were alone, for at least one small minute.

He kisses me softly and slow, making the last five seconds feel like the longest of my life. Once he pulls away and we turn our head to our sides, all of the crew in front of us is looking at us with sweet looks, I feel my cheeks heat up and he just laughs. It’s been quite a moment...

“Whew!” he exclaimed, looking back at the camera “That was something” he laughs after making a peace sign at the camera “Thank you!” he says to the public, but mostly to the crew, who were kind enough to invite us.

“Thank for having us” I say to the camera and everyone in the room, waving at the camera shorty “Ash and (Y/n), singing off” I say, making a fool of myself by making a gang sign.

“Hasta la proxima” he tries to say in Spanish, making another peace sign with his hand and also making it his last goodbye for this interview.

The camera goes off and the interview it’s finished. It was a wrap and one of the best things I have accepted to do in front of the public, I don’t know about him, but I had the time of my life.

What a time to be alive.

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banashee · 4 years

Text

A Sign of Trust

It's still mostly dark in the small, wooden house, hidden in the deep forests of Norway. Only one room is illuminated, warm, flickering lights coming from several candles and oil lights. It looks cozy and romantic – comfortable even, especially given that is technically a SHIELD safehouse.

Early in the day like this, there isn't much conversation taking place.

Phil is busy on the stove flipping pancakes, while Clint is seated at the table, chopping fruit with one hand and holding a pot of pitch black coffee with the other while he drinks from it, not bothering with a mug.

A small shadow creeps in from the door way, silent and stealthily. Then, just a moment later,Phil finds himself with the weight of another person on his shoulders, a flash of bright red hair near his face and a pale hand reaching past him for the top cabinet.

“Good morning to you, too, Agent Romanov.” he replies in that dry, amused tone of voice of his, and a small snort comes from the kitchen table, almost drowned out from the pot of coffee that Clint is still clutching in a deathgrip while he drinks.

A hum is the only answer Phil gets from Natasha though. He didn't expect anything else, knowing that not one single person including himself in Strike Team Delta is of any use in the mornings, unless the world is burning down. Today is not one of those days – they're stuck in a safehouse for the next 48 hours waiting for extraction and it's like a small vacation really, because they don't have to do anything – even debrief and mission reports are all done, because they had to spend the evening somehow and now there is nothing to do but wait.

Just as quick as she climbed onto his shoulders, Natasha hops back down with a jar of Nutella and a satisfied look on her face. She leaves it on the table, then makes a turn for the bathroom.

Phil looks back with a question mark over his head.

“You'll get used to that. She does this sometimes.” Clint shrugs.

“Not to me.”

“Apparently she does now.”

“That happened to you before?”

“Yup. Happened since a few months or so. I don't mind.”

Phil chooses to take this as a compliment. Natasha Romanov has been with SHIELD for a little over a year now, and he's happy that she seems to be comfortable enough to trust them – well, mostly she seems to trust Clint and himself. But it's more than he would have hoped for in the beginning.

“You know, it's still better than you throwing knifes at unsuspecting people.”

“Hey, that's a sign of affection and you know it!”

“I do. But most people don't.”

“Well, there is a reason that you're my favorite, Sir.”

“That's both flattering and concerning, I'll have you know, Agent.”

“Noted, Boss.” Clint grins, and lifts his almost empty pot of coffee in a toast.

*+~

Natasha Romanov is many things. Ex-Red Room and Ex KGB Spy, Assassine, SHEILD Agent. Friend, colleague, sparring partner. Secret lover of cheesy novels and bad puns. Highly intelligent, capable and deadly all over.

She's also too short to reach the upper cabinets without climbing a kitchen counter or unsuspecting co-workers. When she needs to reach the bottom of the deep chest type freezers in grocery stores, her feet leave the ground and she's hanging into it with her entire upper body.

One time, on a mission with multiple teams, one of the gigantic sniper dudes walked in on her pulling stuff from the pantry with BBQ tongs and walked right back out, too scared to offer help and offend her or worse, being unable to stop the laugh that just threatened to leave his throat. No one is brave or stupid enough to make fun of her, knowing it'll be a one-way-ticket to a cold, anonymous grave in the ditch somewhere.

The only person occasionally poking her and being allowed to do so is Clint, but he holds a special place in her heart, so that's okay.

Trust doesn't come easy for her, and yet she finds herself trusting her team. She likes them both, on a personal level even, which is more than unusual for her. She's also not the best at expressing her feelings.

So when one day, she just uses Clint instead of furniture to reach a high place, he doesn't blink an eye and just lets her do it, calmly moving on with whatever it is that he's doing. It becomes a thing after that. Just something small, not something either of them ever talks about, but it's clear to both of them that it is what it is – a small sign of friendship and trust.

At first, it's just him and that's how it goes for several months. Then, one early morning in a wooden cottage in Norway, she uses Phil as a human step ladder without thought or hesitation, and if she knew how happy that makes Clint, who watches the whole thing, she'd totally accuse him of being a sap and getting soft.

Very few people ever get this special treatment, and even fewer recognize it for what it is. Over the years, the number consistently stays the same. That is, until several months after the Battle of New York.

*+~

Natasha does it without thinking, early in the morning to reach her favorite spread in the giant pantry. Of course it's too high up once again, and Steve startles, not expecting anyone to be awake at this hour, much less to be climbed like a tree by one of his teammates.

“Isn't that more complicated than just asking for help?” he asks Natasha, who starts eating with a spoon straight from the jar.

“You're telling me you always asked for help when you were small?” she asks, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

“No, but I also didn't just... Climb people. I don't mind!” he adds quickly, “but that might just be because I couldn't breathe right, so...”

“You totally would have.”

Steve laughs at that. “I probably would have.”

*+~

“What the fuck.” Natasha is not impressed.

“Yeah, quick question, why did you think that I of all people around here would be tall enough for you to reach up there? The ceilings are way too high.”

“I had faith in you, Stark.”

“That's your own problem, I'm afraid.”

She sighs heavily. “Is Thor around?”

“Yup. I think he's in the kitchen. The microwave fascinates him.”

“Of course.”

Natasha hops down again and leaves the room.

*+~

It happens more and more frequently, her seeking out the people around her.

Part of it is new and exciting, part of it scares her – she's never had so many people to care about. Caring about someone always comes with the risk of losing them, and it's even worse when that involves more than two or three people.

Natasha also learns that she'd rather take this risk any day than being alone again. She doesn't like thinking about this, because there are the dark corners in her mind that whisper to her late at night or when she's tired or alone.

“Useless.” it whispers, “Weak, depending on people!” but she firmly tells it to shut up, pushing it far, far back. Then, while it's quiet, she seeks out the company of her people.

Most nights, she ends up with Clint and Phil, who always have a place for her, be it on their couch with a movie and snacks, at the table with hot drinks and a hearty meal or a space in bed where she fits perfectly just in between them and calms herself to the presence and even breathing of these two people she loves most.

Some nights, later in life, she'll seek out the common floor and finds company there. Being an Avenger comes with insomnia, so finding companionship and a warm, living person to share a space with is always possible. Sometimes, the whole team ends up there, and those are the nights when they move to the rec room, where the whole floor can be turned into one single cozy space with cushions and blankets, more than enough for all of them, and those are the nights they all sleep best.

*+~

Prompt No. 60 – Human step ladder

You can also find me on AO3 ♥

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22419073

#banashee writes #marvel fanfiction #platonic clintasha #phlint #domestic avengers #ao3

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deniigi · 5 years

Note

Confused anon and I found it!! I can now definitively say that one conversation is the 45th time MJ is typed and then the second conversation is typings 46-48. And now that I've found that, what thoughts/musings do you have/want to share about how Peter met Matt and when their meeting falls with respect to Pete and MJ. That was also a confusing question, sorry. But I love your writing!!

AHA.

I know what you’re talking about now. ITSV Matt and Peter’s relationship! (I was tripped up by trying to figure out which verse you were talking about, but I got it now!)

Right, so ITSV Matt (Little Red) is around 18 months older than Blondie, so they’re much closer in terms of age than other Matts and Peters, but they have reversed starting points.

Blondie became Spiderman way before Little Red became DD, so basically, Little Red starts out around 24ish as DD and runs into Blondie who’s been doing the vigilante thing for like, around 8 years by that point and so Blondie sees this new guy on the scene who’s kind of feral and very skittish and decides that they’re gonna be friends. Blondie sees Little Red, at first, as kind of a pet project–like trying to gain the trust of a stray cat. And about six months or so into this gradual trust exercise, Blondie and MJ break up after a rough patch. And that lasts about 2 years. So in that time in between, Blondie and Little Red grow pretty close, as people/friends, and start fooling around. It’s not serious until it is and about when Little Red works up the courage to ask for something a little more committed is when MJ comes back into the picture for Blondie. He makes the decision to go be with MJ and Little Red is hurt by that, like, really hurt, but does the typical Matt thing with smiling and saying, ‘no, no. that really is for the best. You absolutely should do that.’

Blondie feels really really bad about the whole thing and makes an effort to show Little Red that he is absolutely not being cut out of his life because of his and MJ’s marriage; his and Little Red’s relationship is on the mend when he gets tanked.

In Into the Multiverse, after Blondie comes back, he and Little Red kind of struggle to re-find their place with each other, trying to make a Team Red among themselves and Miles without being weird about it.

But straight up? Blondie still has major feelings there. And Little Red is still very hurt–relieved that Blondie is okay and totally willing to work with him, but hurt. Little Red has finally decided to try to move on by attempting to seduce his Foggy (I am actually calling this Foggy ‘Blue’ in my head atm, it is very cute) and Blue is starting to reciprocate and be charmed. He and Little Red have just started dancing around something a little more committed/stable around the time Blondie comes back, which is why MJ (all four, MJ, Blondie, Little Red, and Blue are friends, more or less) freaks out when she learns that Little Red is DD.

Anyways, I wrote a practice piece a while back, trying to sort through what ITSV Wade is gonna look like and in that, there is a lot of that tension between the many bodies involved here, so here’s a bit of that, below the cut.

I am very interested in this version of team red and the relationships here right now so this was great timing anon!

—-

Matt was pissed at him for havingmade him say words about emotions the day before and so refused to answer anyof Peter’s texts. But Peter had the day off and zero shame. He caught the trainto Hell’s Kitchen and opened the office door.

The place was the zoo it usuallywas, although this time, Karen the Blonde was sitting at the desk in the centerof it, directing people to chairs in front of offices.

Karen was unspeakably beautiful.Too beautiful. Peter smiled at her and said he was there to see Matt Murdockand she didn’t know his face and so told him to take a seat. Foggy came out afew minutes later to fetch his next client and his face went wide on seeingPeter.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked.

Karen behind him went stiff inrealization that she’d made a mistake.

“Not much, just waiting for ourfavorite problem child to have a minute to chat,” Peter said.

Foggy frowned at him.

“He’s not in,” he said, “Took ahalf day, said he wasn’t feeling well.”

Yeah, sure. Of course he was.

Karen apologized for themisunderstanding and Peter waved her off with a smile and a dull throb in thebottom of his heart. She didn’t mean to be upsetting Matt. And given that Fogsdidn’t seem too worried about anything, he certainly hadn’t talked to him aboutanything yet.

“Right, well. I’ll go see if he’sat home, then,” Peter said. He left.

Foggy caught him in the hallwaybefore he could hit the stairs.

“You okay, Peter?” he asked.

“Hmm? What, no, I’m fine. Why?”

“No, it’s just. Uh. Listen, I’msorry for going off on you the other day.”

Aw.

“It’s no problem, man,” he said,“Boundaries and all that.” Foggy’s smile flickered a little. Peter made surethat he saw him notice it.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“What? Oh, sure. Ah, you know.The usual. Matty’s been spending a lot of time out the last few weeks and I’mjust—well, you know.”

He did know.

“Has he been with you?”

Nope, but Peter had a feeling heknew who he was with now.

“I’ll go see if I can find him,”he said. Foggy was relieved, his forehead smoothed out a bit.

“Thank you.”

Uh-huh. Don’t mention it.

–

Matt wasn’t back where thesniper’s nest had been, so Peter went and checked the other Wade’s junk-foodpoint. No one was there either. He then searched out the favorite haunts of theother versions of Murdock he’d encountered. It was getting dark when he finallypuffed out his cheeks and headed down south to Brooklyn to meet Miles. Twoheads, he thought. They needed two heads.

—

Miles got on with Matt with acasual ease which Peter kind of envied. To be fair, those two spent more timetogether than he and Matt did these days. Matt was very concerned about Miles’sabysmal lack of fighting form and practice. He dragged the kid to half of theabandoned gyms in the city on the regular and put him through some thoroughlyunnecessary routines.

Miles, for his part, seemed toenjoy them. He also like to take the piss out of Matt when he could and Peterwas pleased to find that Matt accepted this more easily than he’d originallyaccepted Peter’s presence. They’d gotten there but it had taken some work.

Miles made a perfect sad facewhen Peter told him what was up. Then he declared that he’d find Matt, noproblem.

“I don’t doubt it,” Peter said.Miles squinted at him in suspicion.

–

Two hours in and Peter was tryingto believe his own words.

“Maybe he went home?” Milesasked.

Maybe.

They headed south to check.

–

No dice.

–

Maybe Peter was fixating on this.Maybe Peter was more worried about this than necessary. Maybe Peter was stillfeeling a couple of feelings towards Matt.

He couldn’t help it, they werejust there.

“Why’re you so sad?” Miles asked.“Matt’s a ninja, he’ll be okay.”

Mmm. Okay was relative.

“You’re married, Peter.”

Fuck this kid. Peter didn’t needgremlin interference in his head. He already had anxiety interference in hishead.

“We’re just friends,” he said.

“Kay, so why’re you mad aboutKaren then?”

Dude, what? Who said he was madabout Karen?

“You keep making this face whenher name comes up.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yeah, you do. Are you jealous?”

Aigh. It always came back tothis, didn’t it.

“I’m not jealous,” he said. “I’mjust, I dunno, protective. Matt’s one of my people, now. I don’t like anyonewho hurts him. He’s already got enough people hurting him.”

Miles cocked his head and lookedout at the twinkling lights of the city.

“Maybe that’s why he likes DP,”he said. “He doesn’t worry about him. Probably makes him feel less guilty.”

That was.

Remarkably insightful.

He waited a second and then gaveMiles a playful shove.

“You’re a smart cookie, you knowthat?” he asked.

Miles shoved him back.

“Duh.”

–

“Matthew.”

“Jesus, Pete. Wear a bell orsomething.”

He shouldn’t have to. Matt wassupposed to have superhearing.

“MJ’s out for a thing tonight.I’m lonely. Come eat garbage with me.”

Matt laughed and shrugged on hisjacket. Loosened his tie.

“Sorry, man. I’m booked.”

Peter made sure to put on hissour-puss face.

“Fogs?” he said.

“Nah.”

“Wade?”

Matt paused and then turned hishead in his direction and cocked it.

“What’s the matter with you?” heasked.

“Nothing. I’m just being nosy.”

“Why don’t you like DP? He hasn’tdone anything to you.”

“Oooooh, well. You know. He’s amurderer, for one. And—yeah, no. Mostly because he’s a murderer.”

Matt’s face was smooth while heconsidered him. Then he finished pulling on his coat.

“Not all of us are so squeakyclean, Pete,” he said.

“You guys fucking?”

“Peter.”

“I’m just askin’, man. I thoughtyou and Fogs—”

“Can we not?”

Peter was taken aback by thetone. He recoiled without meaning to and caught himself doing it. Made himselfstand up straight.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Whatever,” Matt grumbled. “I’mheaded out. I’ll catch you around.”

Peter watched him go. When thedoor closed and locked, he ducked back out of the window and clicked it shutfrom the outside. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like quiet Wade. He didn’tlike sad Matt. The only thing going for them right now was Miles’s seeminglyendless enthusiasm.

Shit was giving him heartburn.

#fic #into the multiverse #into the spiderverse #there is a lot happening here I get that #but we gotta make miles a team red! we gotta!#also his wade is super interesting I don't want to spoil anything but yeah.#ficlet

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everlark-your-own-adventure · 7 years

Text

Powder Keg - Ch 3

Happy Monday, Everlarkers! Last week’s episode of EYOA’s Powder Keg left our Katniss with a dilemma - call in Grumpy Gale on his day off, or spend an entire day with archnemesis Peeta, who somehow broke her heart.

You chose for Katniss to throw caution to the wind and spend the day with Peeta. What happens next? Our own @burkygirl continues the drama (hang on to your hats, kids, this one’s a doozy!)

As always, you have 48 hours to vote, until noon, Wednesday, November the 22nd. Remember, vote in the comments or reblogs, not in the tags! And as always, share with your friends, more voices = more fun! Ready? Here we go…

The door to the staff room slams behind me as I storm away. I have got to get some fresh air. I need to be alone for 10 seconds or I’m going to scream. Fucking Johanna. She might as well have stuffed us into a get-along shirt like a couple of bratty kids. And what kind of choice is that anyway? As if I’m going to drag Gale up here on his day off to deal with a bunch of kids just because Dickwad is doing a tap dance on my very last nerve. That's not fair to Gale. He works two jobs to help his mom take care of his brothers and sisters and this is the only day he gets to sleep in. And anyway, I definitely don't need him running up here and trying to save me.

The cold air slices through my lungs the minute I step outside. I close my eyes and breathe deeply; each sharp, frosty inhale forcing the red haze just a little bit farther away. When I’m calm, I go back inside and find Peeta in the staff room packing up his gear to go home for the day.

“What are you doing?”

His expression is flat, emotionless as he methodically packs his bag. “What does it look like? I’m obviously not going to get any work here today. I might as well go home and help Dad at the bakery if I’m going to work for free.”

My attempt at another calming breath comes out like an impatient huff instead. “We have a class, like, any minute.”

His eyes snap to mine. “You didn’t call Hawthorne?”

I throw myself in a scruffy armchair that must have gotten dragged in here when it was no longer presentable for the guest area. “No. I am not going to do that to Gale on his day off. Just stay away from me, Mellark, and it’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to do that if we’re supposed to work together all day.” Peeta runs his fingers through his hair until it’s standing on end. “I just don’t get why we can’t be friends, Katniss. We used to be, or at least, I thought we were. I don’t understand why you’re so determined to hate my guts.”

“Are you kidding me right now? You completely humiliated me and you don’t even remember it?”

He leans against his locker with a puzzled grimace painted on his features. “No. Elaborate.”

I don’t - I can’t - answer that. Three years later, the wound is still too raw. I’ll cry or kill him. Neither option is acceptable so I jump out of my chair and go back outside to wait for the kids.

The worst, most painful part of all of this is that he can't even recall what he did to me.

Three years ago, I thought Peeta and I were well on our way to being a couple.

Nearly every morning, he’d greet me on the slopes, his eyes as bright and blue as the sky behind him. We’d spend the day carving up the slopes, skiing in and out of each other’s turns just like he did today. We drank hot chocolate in the lodge while we warmed our toes by the fire, Peeta’s arm thrown over my shoulders. I’d laugh at his corny jokes and tell stories about the time I spent here with my dad. Some nights, we’d stay for night skiing and we’d fly down the mountain together, the snow beneath us a sparkling carpet of sugar as we whooshed along under the glow of the lights. Then Peeta would drive me home and we’d listen to classic rock as we bumped down the mountain.

Gale tried to warn me about him. He said I was reading too much into Peeta’s friendly gestures, that he was a player and I needed to be careful. Gale had been hinting at wanting to be more than friends with me for awhile, so I just brushed it off. I told him he didn’t know Peeta, that he wouldn’t do that to me.

A few days before Christmas, Peeta and I were lingering in the warmth of his truck, listening to tunes and reliving the best parts of our day when he turned toward me and his crooked smile grew serious.

“You’re a really great girl, Katniss,” he said, and then his gaze flicked away. His teeth sunk into his bottom lip and his thumb drummed on the steering wheel.

“Thanks,” I managed to choke out. “I like hanging out with you too.” The drumming stopped and Peeta reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. My pulse skittered as his fingers trailed along my jaw. I stirred in my seat, my body yearning to close the space between us. As if of a will of its own, my chin lifted and I admired the way the dashboard lights made him look like he’d been sculpted from marble.

His lips were firm and warm when they met mine and my body melted beneath them. His fingers threaded through my hair tugging me closer and I gasped in response, giving him the chance to capture my bottom lip between his own. My hands flew up to his shoulders, enjoying their strength and revelling in the warmth of his presence and the spicy goodness of his cologne. He tasted of chocolate and cinnamon and it made me greedy for more. I welcomed his tongue as it slipped past my lips, sliding against mine, twisting around it before flicking across the roof of my mouth and backing away, forcing me to chase it into the warm darkness of its cave where I plundered its depths.

A light flickered on the front porch of the house and Peeta dragged his lips away, framing my face in his hands and lowering his forehead against mine.

“I think someone is sending us a signal,” he panted. “I should let you go inside.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Peeta pressed his lips against my forehead and then climbed out of his truck. While he got my skis out of the back, I pulled the rest of my gear from the cab. He carried my skis to the door and then a shy smile crossed his face. “Did you hear about the party in the dorms at the lodge tomorrow night? The instructors have been inviting some of the guests our age. Are you going?”

I’d heard about it. Gale had asked me to go with him. I’d said no. Parties weren’t exactly my scene, especially with the out of town ski instructors, but with Peeta at my side, it might be worth my time.

“Yeah, I think so.”

His smile turned to a grin and he bent down to kiss my cheek. “I’ll see you then,” then he turned back to his truck, his hands stuffed into his pockets. I went inside and, ignoring the questioning looks from my mother, headed straight to my room.

When I arrived at the party the next night, it was in full swing. The air was filled with smoke and the clinking of bottles as people relaxed to the music. I scanned the room for faces I knew. Johanna, not yet a manager, was wrapped around a hulking blonde instructor named Gloss. A guy named Finnick had his head in the lap of a shy girl whose name, I think, was Annie. Gale was scowling in a corner, his beer clutched in his fist. And in the middle of it all was Peeta, his arm wrapped around another girl our age named Bristel who was snuggled up beside him. A wave of emotions crashed over me, extinguishing any flame I might have been tending for Peeta. It was a potent brew, a blend of humiliation and disappointment. Tears threatened and I bit down on my lip so that I didn’t give them both a piece of my mind.

I stood there, waiting for him to notice my arrival. When his gaze fell upon me, he gave me a wave and returned to his conversation with her. I’d been dismissed. Clearly, the night before had just been a lark, something to do because he was bored. He was a jerk. An ass. A party-barge-sized douche.

My thoughts were swirling so fast I heard nothing as I walked out, starting back for my mother’s car that I’d borrowed for the evening. As I sat in the dark trying not to cry, I heard a tap at the window. Gale needed a ride home. I told him to get in and we drove back to town in silence.

I never spoke to Peeta after that night and to this day, Gale has never so much as offered me an “I told you so.”

My dismay when I heard Peeta and I would be both hanging around the instructor’s lounge this winter was almost too much to bear. I was going to have to deal with him everyday, just to have a shot at this sweet job that is double what anything else pays in town. And now we have to spend all day teaching a bunch of nine-year-olds to ski? My life sucks sweaty balls.

The bus rumbles up the road and I can see the kids bouncing up and down in their seats. The door opens wide and they all pile out, jabbering away at the top of their lungs.

A young teacher is the last to disembark. She makes her way to me and shakes my hand with a smile.

“I’m Madge Undersee,” she says, “and this is my class. As you can see, we’re very excited.”

“Katniss,” I tell her. “Welcome to Mt. Mockingjay.”

“And I’m Peeta,” says my nemesis, who has appeared beside me, and I watch as Madge falls under his spell. She giggles. Giggles! It’s disgusting.

“We’re your instructors for the day.” He turns to me. “Shall we get started?”

At my nod, Madge claps her hands and calls out to her students who soon fall into silence.

When they are quiet, I speak up, unwilling to let Peeta establish himself as the leader for the day.

“Welcome to Mt. Mockingjay,” I say to the wriggling masses. “I’m Katniss and this is Peeta. We’re going to get you on skis in a bit, but first we have to go over some rules. These are for your safety and-”

And just like that, they’ve tuned me out and returned to talking to each other. A sharp, “Class!” from their teacher brings them back in line.

Peeta holds up his orange helmet. “This is your brain bucket,” he calls out and the kids laugh. “You put it on before you put on your skis and you don’t take it off until you take your skis off. Got it?”

Twenty-two heads nod.

“Peeta and I are your teachers today,” I tell them. “No one leaves the bunny hill until we say you’re ready.” A couple of boys in the back of the crowd roll their eyes.

Beside me, Peeta clears his throat. “But we know you all can do it and even if you don’t get down a big hill today you’ll learn enough today that you might be able to do it next time.”

Ugh. He’s so good at this stuff. It makes me crazy. I’m the one who’s been practically raising a kid since I was one myself and with a cheesy grin and a bad joke, he's won them over.

It’s a bit like the way my dad used to handle his students, which annoys me further.

“Are we allowed to have snowboards?” pipes up one of the eye rollers.

I look to the teacher who gives a slight nod. The potential for a clear division of labour emerges.

So now I’ve got a choice to make. I can divide them up, boarders and skiers, and cross my fingers that they won’t all choose boards just to hang out with Peeta, or we can go with them to get their equipment and test them together.

One option means Peeta and I each have a separate class to teach today, lowering the risk of a blow-up. It also means I run the risk of having his success compared to mine, again, when I’m already in serious jeopardy of losing this job.

What should I do?

#EYOA #powder keg #Peeta you dog!#You'd better fix this!#What's Katniss going to do now? YOU get to decide!

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marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer · 7 years

Text

MTVS Epic Rewatch #167

BTVS 6x15 As You Were

Stray thoughts

1) Don’t you hate those loser guys who are working the same job as you are and yet they still believe they’re better than you? I hate them with the firey passion of a thousand suns. Pretentious twats.

TODD: You see, Buffy, the thing you gotta learn about the Palace, and this takes a while, is that job security all boils down to one simple thing. Politics. Now, I'm not a political animal, but you learn fast around here or it's wham! Hello, glass ceiling. I mean, it's not like we work at Burger World, or the Happy Bun, where the power structure is simple. No, here at the Palace, you gotta keep your friends close, but your enemies? Closer. It's like Machiavelli says. You know Machiavelli, right?

BUFFY: Tall guy, bleached mullet, works day shifts? TODD: I'm sorry. My bad. I keep forgetting you dropped out of college. BUFFY: I'm reapplying. TODD: Good luck with that. Well, gotta motor! Don't wanna be late for night school. BUFFY: You go to night school? TODD: I'm working on my MBA. Think I wanna spend the rest of my life cleaning grease traps?

2) Now, this truly was a low point…

VAMP: What's that smell? Geez, Slayer, is that you? BUFFY: I've been working! VAMP: Where, in a slaughterhouse?! BUFFY: Double Meat Palace. VAMP: Ohhh. You know what? Let's just call it a night. If it's all the same to you, and you've been eating that stuff, I'm not so sure I wanna bite you. BUFFY: You're dead! You smell like it! How do you get to say I'm the one who's stinky? VAMP: Really, it's, it's cool, I'll just catch you next time.

A vampire walking away from you because of how awful you smell? That must hurt… It’s no surprise she needed a little comfort after that...

3) Low point, meet lower point...

BUFFY: Oh, for Pete's sake. Spike?

SPIKE: Ah, it's a fair cop, you caught me, Slayer. However, in all honesty, I think we have to say this one doesn't count. After all, I wasn't exactly hiding.

BUFFY: No, Spike. SPIKE: No? What kind of answer is that, you haven't even heard the question yet. BUFFY: I don't have to. We both know what you're thinking. SPIKE: And we both know... that I'm not the only one thinking it.

BUFFY: No! Not here.

And yet...

The writers really wanted to make a point of how this was their dynamic as a couple (or whatever they were), with Spike always pushing, Buffy always saying no and yet eventually giving in. Of course, the situation was quite different when she said no and really meant it. But there’s no need to get ahead.

4) Oh, we get it, the sex was rough.

DAWN: Rough night? BUFFY: The usual.

WILLOW: Hey, workin' lady. Rough night? BUFFY: Why does everybody keep asking me that?

DAWN: Some vamp get rough with you? BUFFY: He's not getting any gentler.

5) Look, even if you find Dawn annoying, you gotta admit that her being the biggest Tara/Willow shipper is the cutest (and enough reason to love her a little, okay? so please try and love her a little?) And Willow is actually acting so mature about the whole thing, so much progress for her!

DAWN: Big wedding coming up... lots of date possibilities... you and Tara are speaking again. You wanna call her? Invite her over? WILLOW: Oh, no. Too soon for so bold a maneuver. But if I did call? She wouldn't hang up on me. DAWN: That's progress! WILLOW: Hence the happy.

6) Poor Buffy…

Was she really ready to go back to college at this point, though?

Riley: *shows up* Me:

I’m mostly kidding, though. I don’t really mind him in this episode, and his presence gave Buffy the much-needed perspective to try and get her shit together.

8) Iconic!

RILEY: I want to explain, I just don't have time. I've been up for 48 hours straight tracking something bad, and now it's come to Sunnydale.

9) I get why she left with him. Buffy was in her prime while she was dating Riley, and she had been feeling like shit for so long she’d almost forgotten what it felt to be great and heroic, to just feel good. She’s so excited to leave the Doublemeat Palace because she’s probably reading into what Riley is proposing as her chance to get her fire back, to go back to her glory days.

This crappy screenshot doesn’t do justice to her facial expression, but she looks hopeful and nervous and excited. She’s feeling something other than numbness, and I’m kinda happy for her, even if it was because of Riley.

10) I love the joke, but at the same it made me wonder... didn’t Riley keep in touch with Xander or anyone? Or didn’t he keep track of Buffy from the shadows? Didn’t he know she’d died? Did no one bother to try and tell him? I mean, Willow traveled to L.A. to tell Angel, but Buffy’s “love” during season 5 was Riley... (this only proves my theory that not even the characters cared about him, but in real life, no matter how bland and boring Riley was, someone would’ve told him his former girlfriend had passed away.)

RILEY: I hear ya. Got some, uh ... big stories to tell you to. If we ever get half a second. BUFFY: Did you die? RILEY: No. BUFFY: I'm gonna win

11) So, anyone else thinks Riley omitted mentioning he was married on purpose? They were hanging out for quite a while before his wife showed up…

12) This reminds of Buffy in the Prom.

ANYA: No! I've been through too much planning this wedding, and it is going to happen. It is going to be our perfect, perfect day if I have to kill every one of our guests and half this town to do it.

13) Yeah, that face… he was keeping quiet about his marriage for a reason…

14) This is how you do BFing.

WILLOW: Just so you know? I'm prepared to hate this woman any way you want. BUFFY: Thanks, but no. I don't wanna seem all petty. WILLOW: Well, that's the beauty! You can't, but I can. Please. Let me carry the hate for the both of us.

15) Yes, I’m Willow.

Xander: *compliments Sam*

Wilow:

16) Come on, can we really believe that the guy who couldn’t even kill himself right was behind this international scheme? Because I can’t.

BUFFY: So, demon eggs. Any timetable on when they're gonna hatch? RILEY: Hatching's not the problem. SAM: We think they're gonna be sold on the black market. There are some foreign military powers that would love to have their own Suvolte. You could never train it, but drop it on an urban population... RILEY: And it cleanses the area. DAWN: Is that a nice way of saying it kills people? SAM: Lots of 'em. Money's been exchanged. There's a dealer in town, calls himself The Doctor.

17) Buffy was kind of oblivious about how obsessed Riley had been about her.

SAM: Maybe not for you. I gotta tell you, Buffy, I'm a little bit intimidated. I mean, patrolling with the real live Slayer, you're like... Santa Claus, or Buddha, or something. BUFFY: Fat and jolly? SAM: Legendary. And it's not just slayer status I'm talking about. It's you. BUFFY: Riley talks about me? SAM: He didn't say anything for a long time, but I could tell. He was ripped up inside.

That sounds about right.

18) And of course, she goes to Spike. I mean, she was feeling like crap, and even though being with Spike would make her feel like crap afterwards, it was a quick fix to make her forget how shitty her life was and to make her feel loved and cherished and also powerful.

BUFFY: Tell me you love me. SPIKE: I love you. You know I do.

BUFFY: Tell me you want me. SPIKE: I always want you. In point of fact- BUFFY: Shut up.

And it’s all very clinical, there’s no passion or heat or desire.

19) And then...

Spike was such an idiot, though, mostly because he’s a fucking vampire and he can’t help but be self-involved and apathetic. Like, he cared more about gloating about how he’d gotten Riley’s girl more than about how Buffy was feeling while she was sitting right next to him, embarrassed and humiliated.

20) Okay, this is why, in my opinion, it didn’t make sense for Spike to be the Doctor.

BUFFY: Look, the Doctor, it can't be Spike. SPIKE: No need to defend me, luv.

BUFFY: Look, it can't be, okay? He-he's too incompetent. It's just Spike, Riley. RILEY: Right. Deadly... amoral... opportunistic. Or have you forgotten?

I’m not saying Riley was wrong in his description of Spike. He was completely right. “Deadly, amoral, opportunistic” describes Spike to a tee. But he doesn’t have the kind of smarts necessary to come up with and carry out this type of scheme. He lacks the ability to actually follow-through with stuff. He’s impatient and reckless. He doesn’t think long-term. And even though he is opportunistic, he’s more the “steal the change from the tray”-“go shopping at the dump”-”get a kitten loan to play kitten poker” kind of opportunistic. He really never thinks or plans large scale. His mind just doesn’t go “worldwide smuggling demon eggs” scheme. That’s just not how his brain works.

I understand that it was convenient to have Riley show up and be a righteous hero while exposing Spike in all his vileness. It makes for a very striking contrast and juxtaposition. Or it’s a “metaphor” for whatever the writers had in mind. But I don’t care how much you hate Spike, I think we can all agree it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have him be the Doctor, right?

21) This was a much needed moment, though.

RILEY: By mission parameters I'm done here. But I have authorization to take the Doctor out. Do you want me to do that? BUFFY: Do I want you to... How can you ask me... I'm sleeping with hi-him. I'm sleeping with Spike.

It’s the first time Buffy had admitted it so bluntly. When she broke down with Tara, she merely implied it and let Tara fill in the blanks on her own. And here she is, admitting she was sleeping with Spike to the one person who probably hated Spike the most, and to whom admitting it was probably the most humiliating for her. She almost chokes on the words, but she gets them out. And I think saying it out loud made it real. And owning up to it opened up her eyes and helped her made the choice to break things off. I mean, as long as she kept it secret, it wasn’t real. She could pretend it didn’t happen, you know?

22)

BUFFY: And then you come back... and did you wait until your life was absolutely perfect and then send that demon here so you could throw it in my face?

I think he actually did.

23) Poor Buffy...

RILEY: Hey! You want me to say that I liked seeing you in bed with that idiot? Or that blinding orange is your very best color? Or that that ... burger smell is appealing? BUFFY: You smelled the smell?

24) I do appreciate his words for Buffy, though.

RILEY: Buffy, none of that means anything. It doesn't touch you. You're still the first woman I ever loved... and the strongest woman I've ever known. And I'm not advertising this to the missus... but you're still quite the hottie. (...) So you're not in the greatest place right now. And maybe I made it worse. (...) Wheel never stops turning, Buffy. You're up, you're down... it doesn't change what you are. And you are a hell of a woman.

But... I kinda feel this was the writers' way of redeeming Riley, to give him the heroic Nice GuyTM sendoff they messed up in Into the Woods. You see, in that episode, they actually tried to make us root for Riley, to cheer Buffy on as she ran after the boy who had treated her like shit. They had Xander spewing a supposedly inspiring speech to encourage Buffy to follow her heart, while he only knew one side of the story and then quickly dismissed the facts he ignored because they didn’t fit the Riley is a Perfect Boyfriend and You’re Underestimating Him narrative. But I think fans didn’t buy that bullshit. I know I didn’t. When Buffy broke up with Riley, I was rooting for her. Just as I was rooting for Buffy when she broke up with Spike in this episode. Both were the right calls at the time. But the writers probably still wanted us to think Riley was Good, as opposed to Spike, who was Bad. Well, guess what? They’re both Bad. Riley might have a nifty-looking scar now and cool gadgets and an awesome wife, but he still treated Buffy like shit.

25) Don’t you find it ironic that the guy she thought she loved or who she thought was deserving of her love basically told her the exact same words the vampire who she swore she would never love will later tell her? (”You’re a hell of a woman.”)

26) Ugh they’re so extra, I hate them.

I repeat, I’m Willow.

27) I love this moment so much…

SPIKE: So she's back. Thought you'd be off snogging with soldier-boy. BUFFY: He's gone. SPIKE: So, you come for a bit of cold comfort? The bed's a bit blown up, but then, that was never our... BUFFY: I'm not here to... And I'm not here to bust your chops about your stupid scheme, either. That's just you. I should have remembered.

SPIKE: So this is worse then, is it, this is you telling me... BUFFY: It's over. SPIKE: I've memorized this tune, luv. Think I have the sheet music. Doesn't change what you want. BUFFY: I know that. I do want you. Being with you... makes things... simpler. For a little while. SPIKE: I don't call five hours straight a little while. BUFFY: I'm using you. I can't love you. I'm just... being weak, and selfish...

SPIKE: Really not complaining here. BUFFY: ...and it's killing me. I have to be strong about this.

I love it for the honesty. She's not hiding behind her righteousness, and she doesn’t shame him or humiliate him by calling him a thing, a monster, disgusting (even though he is all of those things.) There’s only truth about her feelings. She wants him, he makes her feel good, for a while. But she doesn’t, and she can’t, love him, and it’s unfair to both of them to continue like this. And she apologizes to him and calls him William. He’s a not a thing anymore. He’s an equal, deserving of the minimal human deference on her part. And even though I am a Spuffy shipper, I love Buffy first and foremost, and I wouldn’t want them to be together if it was at the expense of her own sanity and well-being. So yeah, they needed to break up if they were ever to work out as a couple. (I was so naive!)

28) And I love how she walks out of his crypt because you can see she understands that getting better and letting go of this unhealthy behavior is going to be a challenge but she’s finally ready to face it. She’s not scared anymore.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #BTVS #Buffy Summers #Spike #Riley Finn #Spuffy #MTVSepicrewatch #BTVSrewatch2015 #As You Were #mine #recap #btvsrecap

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exactlywhoyouthinkiwas-blog · 7 years

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[2/27/2015 9:48:23 AM] Evan: sup [2/27/2015 11:23:51 AM] YV??~: (So I was not ignoring this i just only ever wake up around 12 and i never change my status because i dont plan when i go to sleep. just felt like i needed to explain i was not ignoring this) [2/27/2015 3:28:38 PM] Evan: I kinda figured. heh [2/27/2015 3:29:23 PM] YV??~: so you wanted something? [2/27/2015 3:30:49 PM] Evan: Haha not particularly. It's going to sound pretty random, but I actually wanted to ask you a question. [2/27/2015 3:31:01 PM] YV??~: Ok [2/27/2015 3:32:21 PM] Evan: Cause I'm curious, and I can't remember if I ever asked. [2/27/2015 3:32:30 PM] Evan: Heh. Sorry if this is too personal, but [2/27/2015 3:32:45 PM] Evan: Why do you consider yourself a terrible person? [2/27/2015 3:42:39 PM] YV??~: Oh. Well you are in luck because i accidentally did a lot of terribly depression introspection earlier this week and have just the answer for that. From what i can put together from my somewhat incoprehansible whining. I've gotten through a lot of my life manipulating people through lying and gaining their pity all for my own gain...and probably will continue to. I tend to not do ANYTHING in every situation that would be optimal for working. I am able to somehow make people angry just by expressing emotion. and even when i find things i could fix i never try to change anything. [2/27/2015 3:42:54 PM] YV??~: just a short list of some of the things [2/27/2015 3:43:57 PM] Evan: I see. [2/27/2015 3:44:13 PM] Evan: It sounds to me like you're a human. [2/27/2015 3:46:21 PM] YV??~: Ehhh. I mean im not gonna tell people what they can think but i dont have to share anyone opinion [2/27/2015 3:47:23 PM] Evan: Haha, fair enough. I'll spare you the optimistic bullshit. [2/27/2015 3:47:28 PM] Evan: Why don't you change anything? [2/27/2015 3:48:51 PM] YV??~: That takes time. and effort im too lazy to put out. Ive tried to fix some things but i forget like a week later and stop trying [2/27/2015 3:49:40 PM] Evan: Do you not actually want to? [2/27/2015 3:52:05 PM] YV??~: Honestly, hell if I care anymore. I'm trash and thats that, Im not really worth the time or effort. [2/27/2015 3:52:29 PM] Evan: Not even your own? [2/27/2015 3:54:23 PM] YV??~: Im not really worth pretty much anything for anyone. Even thinking deeper about myself makes me feel like that was just a waste of time. [2/27/2015 3:54:49 PM] Evan: What do you do, then? [2/27/2015 3:55:50 PM] YV??~: Weh, theres a reason I have so many OCs and roughly 12 titles to my name with 6 running congruently at various stages of development. [2/27/2015 3:56:27 PM] Evan: Why do you make art and tell stories? [2/27/2015 4:01:07 PM] YV??~: I dont really have any other people around, and I dont really move from one spot like 22+ hours of the day so I gotta have somewhere to go, and someone to be. Even before I ended up like i am now barely leaving the house, I didnt have more than like 1 friend ever so those were my friends. I ended up picking up drawing from my sister seeing her do it because i thought itd be a good way to be able to really see these characters [2/27/2015 4:03:03 PM] Evan: Why do you animate them? [2/27/2015 4:06:56 PM] YV??~: Ive always been able to make up stories but when i create them i dont think of it as words, as a story would be if i wrote it down, I actually see the story's progression moving. When I create a story and characters I see them move and create the story themselves with small things i put in, and I hear them actually say what they have to say. out of all mediums of visual story-telling, animation is the closest to the original "being" of the story. [2/27/2015 4:07:38 PM] Evan: Why do you share them? [2/27/2015 4:10:20 PM] YV??~: I do that with pretty much any work i finish. Like "here i made this, heres proof it exists." Basically so i have something to show for myself, that i do have the ability to make things. [2/27/2015 4:12:29 PM] Evan: Does it make you proud? [2/27/2015 4:15:32 PM] YV??~: euuhhh...Proud? No. Satisfied with actually being able to have a finished product of some kind, even if its less than the original plan, is a little more like it. Even if I hate it later because there are things that could have been done better if given the time, its still better than nothing. And even then usually the ones i hate the most give other people the most enjoyment. [2/27/2015 4:17:22 PM] Evan: Do you make things that you hate? [2/27/2015 4:20:59 PM] YV??~: Oh yeah. Serious things that just went wrong early on and i was unable to fix, and joke things that ive put too much effort into that got too big compared to real work. I usually dont hate projects though. Even when I feel like theyre going no where and i retire the idea completely i dont usually hate those. Mostly art and animations, actual stories are different. [2/27/2015 4:28:05 PM] Evan: Does art make you happy? [2/27/2015 4:32:56 PM] YV??~: Not usually while im in the process of making it, im mostly just mind set on what it SHOULD look like. But stepping back to look at everything come together and finally become something finished usually is satisfying at the least. Some i never look at after that final moment of its creation, but some im really happy with the way it came out and end up looking at it over and over. So I suppose once the peice is made it does, in a way. [2/27/2015 4:34:34 PM] Evan: Are you proud when your art makes others happy? [2/27/2015 4:36:44 PM] YV??~: Well, i mean, i guess its nice when other people can find enjoyment out of something ive done. [2/27/2015 4:37:13 PM] Evan: Do you like making people happy? [2/27/2015 4:39:21 PM] YV??~: depends, usually i try not to sacrifice too much for other people, but sometimes i can be generous with somethings. really it depends on how I feel pretty much. [2/27/2015 4:41:55 PM] Evan: What makes you happy? [2/27/2015 4:47:07 PM] YV??~: I dont know, I tend to spend most of the day in a neutral 'emotionless' state, and most of the time any emotions I do have are very miniscule that I dont usually remember them. Though I enjoy being in the presence of other people, even without participating, people tend to ignore me 90% of the time. Thats a question that im not sure has a real answer [2/27/2015 4:50:26 PM] Evan: Do you have a dream? [2/27/2015 4:53:07 PM] YV??~: I try not to make solid plans more than 3 years in advance, so im not really sure. There's not a whole lot, at this point, that I could really accomplish by 2018, who can even say I'll still be alive by then. [2/27/2015 4:54:04 PM] Evan: But is there something you would want to do? [2/27/2015 4:58:05 PM] YV??~: Usually I just put goals on my characters, and I just exist to help them get there. I dont really see it so much as my life and things I want to do. Really the only thing id regret in dying is not that im stuck nowhere and im not going anywhere, but my characters not fufilling their roles and reaching THEIR closure. [2/27/2015 4:59:23 PM] Evan: Is there anything else that you do? [2/27/2015 5:02:50 PM] YV??~: All of my hobbies relate with art and story-telling in someway. Voice acting, singing, creating costumes and clothing. pretty much all of it is art and in some way has a story behind it. [2/27/2015 5:06:28 PM] Evan: What do you want to be better at? [2/27/2015 5:09:51 PM] YV??~: wehh..I dont know, theres a lot of things i could be better at and somethings i should be, but...im not really sure. [2/27/2015 5:22:15 PM] Evan: What do you think you're best at? [2/27/2015 5:28:41 PM] YV??~: Ive practiced various methods of drawing for years but, even though i just picked up sewing as a craft 3 years ago im better at that than i was with drawing early on. Everything else has taken since around middle school to get to a good level where i can still do it comparatively quickly, where sewing only took a year to get to that point. Overall for me it went from a beginner level to at least moderately experienced much faster than everything else. [2/27/2015 5:38:07 PM] Evan: What's your favorite thing to do? [2/27/2015 5:41:19 PM] YV??~: I dont know. Usually if im bored, and not too fed up with holding a pencil, i end up idly drawing....Its really like the only thing I do. [2/27/2015 5:50:40 PM] Evan: What inspires you? [2/27/2015 5:53:13 PM] YV??~: Usually things just pop into mind on their own. Sometimes they happen while im listening to, or watching something. [2/27/2015 5:53:40 PM] Evan: What sorts of things do you watch and listen to? [2/27/2015 5:57:06 PM] YV??~: Usually I put on miscellaneous gameplay footage or lets plays, and i pretty much switch between that and music. [2/27/2015 5:57:49 PM] Evan: What kind of music? [2/27/2015 6:00:23 PM] YV??~: It usually depends what i feel like. somedays its lighter faster stuff, somedays its heavier stuff. Somedays a combination of both, sometimes i just let my music shuffle and play in whatever order. [2/27/2015 6:02:12 PM] Evan: Is music important to you? [2/27/2015 6:05:52 PM] YV??~: I guess....I mean some ideas wouldnt have happened without certain songs, and some projects probably wouldnt exist. [2/27/2015 6:07:53 PM] Evan: What's your favorite project? [2/27/2015 6:10:21 PM] YV??~: Honestly, there isnt a lot of public information on Mahito but ive been working with it for 2 years, and it was actually the first thing I envisioned myself actually animating. [2/27/2015 6:11:00 PM] Evan: What's Mahito? [2/27/2015 6:22:17 PM] YV??~: Its something I came up with one day, I guess the best way to describe its themes in short would be Madoka-esque even though i came up with the basics including designs before i even watched it. I guess one could say its very "magical girl" though it is not a straight female cast. It follows a team of 6 highschool students, their leader being a socially withdrawn, sucidal girl whos only real support are her brother and his best friend. These 6 people are given powers and forced into a battle thats been going on for centuries, for supremacy within a group of supernatural beings known to the humans involved as "gods." Many of these gods have no regard for the people they force to fight so long as they are able to take surpremacy in someway, since they are unable to kill each other or be killed. The team has to fight both other human fighters and "monsters", that are the remains of humans who tried to rebel against their "god", which live beyond a barrier and can threaten to destroy inncent human life. At first they look at it as their chance to help people, but eventually their powers become a burden. [2/27/2015 6:24:26 PM] Evan: That sounds really interesting. How much have you done with it? [2/27/2015 6:29:45 PM] YV??~: So far I have designs and short biographies for the main cast. As well as designs for a few of the mosters they will face, and bios for a few minor characters that still have some influence on a part of the plot. A lot of what i have written besides characters is mostly world building, information on the roles and powers each member of a 6 man team can have. Descriptions of the basic behaviors of monsters on different intelligence levels. I plan to have all the designs done at the end of this year, and the timeline for the plot fully written in detail at the end of 2016. [2/27/2015 6:33:31 PM] Evan: Cool. O: I assume it's also going to be an animation? When do you think you'll start making it? [2/27/2015 6:38:45 PM] YV??~: Ive been saying since around last year or so itll come out in 2018. It was the first thing I considered animating seriously, things before that where like that would be cool, or this scene could be animated. But this, i decided, this was going to be fully animated, i tried to start it out in a static format just to get things laid out to be adapted into an animation, but it never worked. While 2018 may be a little too ambitious, this is going to be nothing but animated [2/27/2015 6:44:46 PM] Evan: I see. [2/27/2015 6:46:57 PM] YV??~: yeh

#said evan to vriska

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