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#sorry this movie does things to me. I am a basic white girl who owns an iPhone and cries at titanic dir James Cameron.
wherethegravelsthin · 2 years
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titanic is the only film ever
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marygodwin-bsd · 11 months
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Rating members of the Port Mafia based on nothing but my own vibes (I haven't seen all of season 3)
This is a part 2. ill post a part 3 with the guild if i wannaaaa and maybe even a pt 4 for some stragglers
Akutagawa Ryunosuke
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3/10 for that lung capacity bro ok real talk his design is alright i give it 7/10 I wish atsushi had kept his black streak so they could be more yin/yan but whatever- he kinda looks like he's trying too hard. I shall throw him a 8/10 for that trauma he's holding onto and how desperate he is for dazai's attention that he THROWS HIMSELF OFF A BRIDGE THING anyways voice fits him so 8/10, the ninja suit thing he wears of rashouman when he's fighting Fitzgerald is 10/10 top tier i ENJOY VERY MUCH thank you overall he gets 7/10
Higuchi Ichiyo
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oh girl. oh GIRL. 5/10 on her thing with akutagawa because idk if it was me but i couldnt tell she was in love with him like at all... anyways her whole look is basic but effective and does the job so 7/10 on that, 10/10 on her loyalty i like that and also her being basic-looking but that plays into why shes so good at her job??? ok overall 8/10
Chuuya Nakahara
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10/10 on looks, we know that, he's not the one I simp for (my heart belongs to Kunikida) but out of all the port mafia dudes this one is a good pic. COOL BACKSTORY 9/10. 8/10 for looks bc he actually looks like a mafia dude who watches mafia movies and despite the weird hair I am kinda into it all the colors go really well im sorry for the abuse from dazai i would throw him a bone but hes already high sooo overall 9/10 because I like the hair but objectively its a weird half mullet
Kōyo Ozaki
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9/10 for how much she wants to protect Kyouka. Love her fit, 10/10, gives the perfect vibes and she's probably difficult to animate and I have a lot of respect for it,the umbrella is great. 5/10 for the atsushi abuse. I don't have much to say at this point other than that overall, 7/10
Motojiro Kajii
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Ok looks are 4/10 he looks like melanie martinez's ex idk his name but also his vibes are like VECTOR from despicable me???? so 6/10 for that its amusing ANYWAYS. The fact that lemons and grenades make lemonade is a 10/10. the sass he gave Nathaniel Hawthorne was 7/10. the way he talked to Yosano gets him 4/10 overall, 7/10 on average and hes ok I don't dislike him
Rando
I cannot find a gif.
He is fantastic and gorgeous and i love him 10/10 on both how COOL his ability looks and how PRETTY he is. love him. but 4/10 for the chuuya abuse. overall 7/10 we dont know a lot about him
Kyusaku Yumeno
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Looks are........ 7/10. very effective and cool but looks like HELL to draw and i don't really like that. the optimal thing would be black and white, but atsushi and akutagawa are black and white, so they gave them brown and purple???? and a weird hat to denote femininity??? I know the point is that no one can tell their gender I'm just saying the hat is unnecesary. Ability is so 9/10 and the resilience is 10/10 because COOL. Tbh i don't actually like how they act so 5/10 on personality i guess but overall 8/10 for coolness
Elise
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MY BABY GIRL 10/10 for the SASS she gives- I know she doesnt TECHNICALLY count bc shes the result of an ability but I love her and i need her to STAB MO- this isnt about mori im sorry anyways moving on. design is 10/10 effective easy to draw and aesthetically pleasing with colors. dress is relatively conservative and she stands out against everyone else bc to my knowledge shes the only blond besides Higuchi. 10/10 because i love her and i need more elise content of her being rude to mori bc he deserves every roast and i need her to hit him
Gin Akutagawa
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Giiiiiiin baby is 8/10 with the design both ways are effective, she looks great either way. I know very little about her but shes a badass and 7/10 for being the less intense sibling I don't know much about her but she gets an overall 7/10
Michizo Tachihara
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10/10 for having the same english voice actor as Ban from SDS. 6/10 for his design, i'm sorry, it doesn't stand out and at first glance I was shocked because i thought he was Junchiro double crossing the ADA.... on his own he's okay but his design doesn't really... tell us anything? although to be FAIR, he basically never shows up so he doesnt have to tell us anything. 4/10 for never being there even though he's super cool overall 6/10 because "I hate to say it i really hate to say it idk who this man is"
Ryuro Hirotsu
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Okay... 9/10 for that design, I like it, good old rich guy persona. 4/10 for the fact every time he snaps it bothers me because he's wearing gloves and that doesnt work that way. 7/10 for the voice its aight. 6/10 for how few times i've seen him so far? but hes around more than Tachihara so points for that. 8/10 and y'all know why
Mori Ogai
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ugh, gods... THIS DUDE..... 0/10 for his taste in women. 8/10 for his design because he looks like he's copying dracula to try and gain control but its not working so its effective. 3/10 for the dazai abuse. 2/10 for the yosano abuse ive heard about but not seen. 7/10 for his real life counterpart having a daughter and that daughter invented yaoi and im not into yaoi but thats pretty cool?? overall 4/10 because his whole..... everything sucks? but at least he looks okay and he has a character and hes not 1 dimensional.
pt 1 here pt 3 here pt 4 here
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sariels-world-ella · 3 months
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This may be an unpopular opinion but I truly believe there is a difference between adding diversity for publicity and adding diversity to actually show off different cultures.
Like, the recent Snow White live action movie, (which I am using as a bases on this because it is what sparked my wish to write about this) seems to be definitely trying to diverse by having a latina actor for the sake of publicity and not for actual diversity, which I really don't like, BUT don't get me wrong, I love diversity, I love learning about other cultures and getting to learn about people who are different from myself, but when it's just there to look good for the company and to look inclusive, really defeats the whole point of why adding diversity in media is a good thing, because the point of diversity, (At least I believe) is supposed to be showing off things beyond yourself, and letting you see into a different way of life that's different than your own, which is a thing that fantasy does with fictional concepts, these are interesting because it is something different to the things we are used too, diversity is like that BUT it is showing real-life things.
Disney, by just putting this for just for what feels like to just look good, really just makes it feel shallow and just to say "hey, look what we did.", If this was remixing the story Snow White, using familiarity using a subject matter we know but retelling it with, let say for example Hispanic cultural setting, since the girl playing the live action Snow White is latina (if “Hispanic” the wrong word to use, sorry, I've heard the term be used interchangeably/associatively by people from that heritage and I've also seen other people from that heritage say "No Latines and Hispanics are two different types of individuals" so I am sorry if "Hispanic" is the wrong term to use) then I wouldn't mind that because they are using a familiar story and being creative to show it off in a unfamiliar way, or if there is a hispanic version of a story that is like Snow White (I am not sure if there is, though I do know "Cinderella" has different versions of it in different cultures, though in the way I am meaning it, not as those retellings of it, but like those stories that have a similar plot, like their was, if my memory is correct, a Chinese story that follows the same concept of Cinderella, in this case I am referring to those type of variants) then I also wouldn't mind because we are seeing a different culture's version of the story, which I find cool!But as far as I know, this new Snow White isn't. I feel like if you're going to add diversity, make it meaningful not just make it feel it's just a white person with a different coat of paint, BECAUSE that takes away the beauty of diversity!
also, racebending is racist, though if you do it in a way to change the story, then it’s not, it’s just a remix of the original story. If they made the Little Mermaid Middle Eastern because the first recorded folktales of mermaids came from Assyria, then I will find that a very clever choice, and an interesting way to tell the story of the Little Mermaid using the folklore of the first stories of the mythical creature to put a new spin on it, which makes it cool and interesting, but just putting a new-skin on it and call it a day, doesn't add anything to it. If they retold the tale to make it more accurate to the original story, like I heard they did for Mulan, I wouldn't mind that because they are using the original source material of the chinese story to make something else different from the animated movie Mulan, it is very different from the animated movie, yes, but it's still the story of Mulan and they were still creative with it, so I find it an actual good retelling.
Diversity is good when you actually do it right and show things beyond oneself, Diversity isn't good if you are just doing it for show and basically putting a new skin on it NOR making it actually meaningful and introducing the audience to the beauty of different cultures and ideas they might not get to have the chance to see otherwise, defeats the whole purpose of having it!
this doesn't just apply to racial and cultural diversity, this can apply to the portrayal of disabilities, mental illnesses, different genders, and sexualities, these are things that make people different and unique, I like seeing that shown in media, but just tossing in there as an afterthought takes away the meaningfulness of it, if you can take it out and get the same story, then what's the point of adding it? Diversity is to show off differences and what makes them valuable and worth knowing, if it doesn't change anything, it just watering it down to just a quirk or aesthetic than an actual character trait, which feels patronizing.
There is NOTHING wrong with adding new viewpoints and expanding your view of the world, thus gaining knowledge to formulate better opinions on things, adding diversity just for publicity, is just like giving a person who only knows what exists inside of their own house and thinks that's all there is and painting their room a different color, instead of opening the front door to show them there is much more to the world than the confines of their home, give them the opportunity if they wish to explore it and learn more they can! Making it surface level robs people of this opportunity.
Tl:DR: Surface level diversity is NOT cool or exciting or neat, but patronizing at most, HOWEVER the deep and accurate actually meaningful diversity is, and that’s why diversity works when you show it off in a meaningful way, it opens doors to new perspectives and ideas that can help expand your view of the world, surface level stuff just paints the door a different color, but doesn’t open it at all.
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obsidiancreates · 3 years
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Born This Way (Because Of Negligence Towards Basic Scientific Safety)
(IDK how far apart the Fenton kids are in age, so Jazz is an Undetermined Age Where She's A Toddler But Also Very Verbal. Maybe it's the Genius Genes letting her learn faster. Let's go with that.)
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Maddie coughs, spitting out another glob of ectoplasm. "Well, at least know it's not an issues with the cooling system."
Jack sneezes out the ectoplasm stuck in his nose, and then grins and stands triumphantly. "Still a step towards success!"
Jazz frowns from where she's playing with her doll, safe within a Fenton Anti-Ghost Toddler Chamber. "Mommy, you should cover your mouth." She points at her own mouth. "Mr. Wummy on TV says dat getting weird stuff in your mouth is bad."
"Mr. Wummy is a cartoon, dear. We're seasoned scientists, we know what we're doing." She wipes herself off, and sits down. "If there were any side-effects to accidental ecoplasmic consumption, we'd know."
"But what if Danny doesn't like it?" Jazz point at her mother's belly.
Maddie pats her belly. "The baby is still just a fetus, sweetie. It can't tell what it does and doesn't like yet. And why are you so sure it'll be a boy?"
"Because I'm your baby girl. So now you need a baby boy!"
Maddie tilts her head and smiles lovingly at her daughter. "Oh, you're adorable." Nothing cuter than Child Logic.
Maddie stands back up, and puts her hands on the workbench. "Now, let's see about that firing mechanism..."
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Maddie brushes her teeth, sighing when her toothbrush comes away glowing green. "We really messed up a lot of experiments today. I think I swallowed a whole ghost's worth."
Jack spits a similarly colored mouthful of toothpaste foam out. "At least it doesn't taste as bad as it smells."
Maddie puts her hands on her belly, the bump now quite obvious. "II hope we're right about it not having side effects."
Jack's expression softens. He gently pulls his wife into a comforting hug. "The doctors all say he's as healthy as can be, Mads. You don't need to worry."
"I still worry anyway, though."
"Of course you do. You're his mom! But we'll worry together, and if you ever need me to, I'll do the worrying for us both! While you relax and give him more tips on how to avoid ghosts once he learns to walk."
Maddie giggles, and sighs. It'll all be fine... nothing to worry about.
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Jazz has her arms crossed, a teddy bear hanging from one hand. "Five times!"
"Yes, and did we mention we're so proud that you can count so we-"
"Five times!" She shouts again, waving her little sticky toddler hand at them. "I saw you eat the bad green stuff five times!"
"We didn't eat it," Maddie says patiently, "It got into our mouths by accident."
"You swallowed it!"
"Only a tiny bit, only on accident, dear."
Jazz puts her hand on her mom's belly. "Danny is gonna be here soon and he's gonna be mad!"
"He won't even know it happened, sweetheart."
"Yes he will! He'll be the smartest ever, just like me and like you and like daddy! And he'll be so upset and never stop crying!"
"Babies do that anyway, sweetie." Maddie rubs her belly. It's true, Danny is due any day now. And yes... there's been some extra Ectoplasm Incidents lately. Maddie just can't stay awake sometimes, and... well. That's not exactly good when working on ghost hunting machines.
"Your baby brother will be perfectly fine," Maddie assures. "He's a healthy baby boy, and he'll be just as healthy when you meet him."
Jazz lights up at the mention of meeting him. She can't wait!
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Jazz bounces excitedly in her dad's arms. She gets to meet her baby brother! Finally! She's going to read him bedtime stories, and protect him from closet monsters, and show him how to throw a tea party!
Jack chuckles. "Calm down, sweetie, you don't get to play with him quite yet! He's still very fragile."
"But he's okay?"
"Yes, he and Mommy are both okay. Better than okay."
Jack knocks on the hospital room door, and they enter.
Maddie is holding Danny, and it looks like she fell asleep. Jazz gasps, even though all she can see so far is the blanket bundle.
"He's tiny!"
"Very." Again. Ah well. Jack had always hoped one of his kids would groww up to be taller than him, but maybe it'll have to be a grandkid.
He walks over, and smiles at his sleeping wife. "Okay, let's be quiet," he whispers. "We don't want to wake mommy."
Jazz nods seriously.
Jack sets her on the bed, and Jazz carefully crawls closer to Danny. She moves the blanket to get a good look at his face, grinning widly-!
She frowns. "Where is he?"
"What?!" Jack hurriedly picks up the bundle, making Maddie startle awake. "Holy-"
"Jack? Honey? What is it?!" Maddie's tone becomes increasingly panicked.
Jack, looking a bit pale, hands the bundle back to her. She gasps.
It's empty, and freezing!
"Where- where is-"
And then suddenly. He's there.
Fast asleep, wrapped up snug and tight. His little face still red from being brand-new to the world, his tiny tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as he snoozes.
He disappears again.
Maddie thinks she's about to pass out.
Finally, Jazz breaks the horrified silence. "I told you to cover your mouths!"
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Danny sleeps all the way home, and all the way up to his room. Jazz is waiting by the bassinet, and peeks in as soon as he's placed down. She frowns. "Mommy, his hair is white. He's not old."
Maddie sighs. "No, he's not. Apparently it just... does that, sometimes."
Danny yawns, and opens his little eyes. Jazz's own eyes widen as well. "He's glowing!"
"Yes... that happens too."
Danny screws up his face, and starts crying. Maddie picks him up and rocks him. "Poor baby... he's so cold."
"Why?" Jazz tilts her head.
Maddie sighs. "Well... your father and I... we think he's half-ghost."
"How?"
"... Probably... the ectoplasm," Shame burns in Maddie's veins.
Jazz, wide-eyed, reaches to to try and touch Danny. "Is he dead?" She doesn't sound sad, because it looks to her like even if he is dead, he's still alive.
"No!" Maddie shuts the idea right down. "He is a very healthy, living boy! But he's... different."
"Are you gonna trap him?"
"Wh- Jasmine, why would you ask that!"
"He's a ghost."
"No! No, we never treat him like any other ghost. And he's only partly ghost, so it barely counts. Now, Mommy has to feed him so he can go back to sleep. How about you go pick a movie for tonight?"
Jazz nods. She takes that job very seriously. There's a science to picking movies.
She heads off, and Maddie looks at Danny's sniffling little face. His eyes are back too baby blue, but his hair isn't quite black yet.
At least he's still visible.
At least the side effects seem mild.
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It's about 6 am when Jack bolts up too use the bathroom. On his way back, he decides to check on the kids.
Jazz is asleep, cuddling a stuffed animal. Jack smiles.
Danny is also asleep, wrapped up in a cute little onesie and floating above the bassinet FLOATING ABOVE THE BASSINET?!?!
Jack runs over and grabs Danny from the air, pulling out a Fenton Ghost-Whapping Baton!
And then he looks at Danny, who's whining, and sees sleepy glowing green eyes looking at him.
"Oh. Um, sorry, son." He puts away the baton. "I thought a ghost was stealing you."
Danny yawns. Jack sees a cold breath puff out of his son's mouth, despite the room being temperature-controlled to keep him toasty during the nights.
Jack puts Danny back into the bassinet. He leaves, and comes back a little bit later with some equipment.
He sets up a rudimentary ghost-shield to keep Danny from floating away during the night, but won't trap him. He can still float a little, if need be.
"The scariest ghost we've faced yet," Jack mumbles. He kisses Danny's forehead, and sits there until Danny falls asleep. By then, Danny is human again.
Jack leaves, and in the morning he and Maddie begin working on some upgrades for Danny's room.
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Danny babbles happily as Jazz plays peek-a-boo with him.
"Boo!"
Laughter.
"Boo!"
More laughter!
"A-boo! A-boo!" Jazz can't stop grinning. She's a great older sister! Look at her go!
She takes Danny's hands, and moves them over his face. "Now, where's Danny? ... Here he is! Oh."
Danny isn't there. But his clothes are, and something's inside of them. And Jazz is still holding two chubby baby arms, even if they're cold and invisible.
Jazz stares for a second, and then speaks. "... Peek-a-boo?"
Danny reappears, and squeals with laughter!
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Maddie sits down to give Danny his bottle. She's brought him out shopping with her so she can grab some replacement parts that fried in their latest invention, the Fenton Ecto-Extractor!
Jazz had thrown a fit when she'd heard the name, and it startled Jack so bad he'd turned it on too early and it completely collapsed on itself! It took half an hour to convince Jazz that they weren't trying to use it to make Danny normal, just using it for themselves now that they know it can cause... strange things, to happen.
Danny drinks the bottle with no issue, and burps as soon as she starts his back. Really, he's a pretty easy baby. Except for the ghost part.
Maddie is getting him back in the stroller when Danny's face screws up. She watches a cold, visible breath leave his mouth, and then he starts to scream. Sobbing, wailing baby screams, attracting the concerned and/or annoyed attention of most people around them.
"He's just tired," she assures loudly. His breath is still puff out in cold clouds, even though it's perfectly warm in the mall.
Maddie quickly picks him back up and hugs him, bouching and singing to try and calm him down.
Danny starts to quiet down. She puts him back in the stroller, but as soon as she does (as soon as he looks behind her with those bright, bright green eyes) he starts crying again.
She sighs and picks him up, hurrying back to the car. She'll just come back for the parts later. Clearly, something is upsetting him.
Something that she just can't see.
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Jazz leans away from Danny, grinning. "There!"
Danny is propped up on her bed. Maddie and Jack needed to quickly decontaminate themselves, and so Jazz had to watch Danny for just a minute.
And in that minute, she's does some redesigning.
Danny's fluffy white hair has a little bow in it, and she's put some of her kiddie makeup on him.
Danny disappears for a second, and the bow falls. When he reappears, it's not on his head anymore. He looks at Jazz blankly.
Jazz crosses her arms. "No fair! I was making you pretty!"
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Maddie stumbles into Danny's room. She flicks on the light, and turns off the Fenton Ghost-Shielding Hanging Mobile. She reaches in and pulls the crying Danny out of the bassinet, shushing and rocking him.
Danny's eyes are bright green again, and Maddie can see his breath. "Oh, you always get so worked up when this happens," she says softly. "Is the cold upsetting you?"
Danny doesn't answer, just cries more.
Maddie takes him to her and Jack's room, and lays down with him on her chest. Jack rolls over in his sleep and puts his arms around her, cradling both of them.
Danny falls back asleep soon, and Maddie sighs. She can still see his breath, but at least he's calm now.
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Jazz holds up her drawing, and shakes her head. She goes back to scribbling, and moves closer to Danny. "This is black," she says to him, pointing at the crayon she's using. She picks up another color. "And this one is red."
Danny stares as Jazz keeps scribbling. Jazz assumes that means he's learning.
"I'm going to let Mom and Dad know I saw this in my closet," she says seriously. "I think people know you're special and want to steal you!"
Danny blows a spit bubble by accident, and laughs when it pops.
Jazz's eyes hold more determination than ever. She scribbles with the fury of a million warriors. "You're very valuable." She learned that word yesterday. "So you need lots of protecting."
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"Do you think this will make her feel better?" Maddie asks as she closes the panel.
Jack lifts his soldering mask and nods. "If one thing can make a person feel safe, it's fifty anti-ghost devices hidden in their walls!"
"I just worry about that doodle. What if something really got in?"
"Mads, you personally handcrafted every single sensor put up in the kids's rooms! If a ghost had gotten in, we'd know! To get past then they'd need deep knowledge of exactly how our deigns work and how they detect ghost energy, and no ghost has that!"
"You're right, you're right. Still, I hate to think she might be having nightmares about something like that. It looked like it had devil horns."
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"Peek-a-boo!" Jazz grins at Danny. "Peek-a-boo!"
It never gets old for him! No matter how many times they play, Danny loves it!
"Peek... a-boo!" Jazz does little jazz-hands.
Danny disappears, and Jazz grins. "Where's Danny? Where'd he go?"
Danny reappears, and-
"B-b-boo!"
Jack and Maddie dart into the room! Maddie swoops Danny up, eyes wide!
Danny giggles, and says it again. "Boo!"
Maddie and Jackie both tear up. In unison they shout, "HIS FIRST WORD!"
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Danny gnaws on the toy with his little baby gums.
"I can't believe it. Already teething," Maddie sighs, holding him. "Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital."
Jack wipes his eyes. "He's growing into a young man already."
"Oh, Jack, stop it, he's not nearly a young man."
"But he will be before we know it!"
Maddie pats her husband on the back comfortingly as he begins to blubber.
Maddie closes her eyes, thinking about those early months with Danny, figuring out how to prepare for his floating and invisibility, learning to not panic when his eyes and hair changed color, learning that sometimes when they do his clothes change color as well...
She's startled out of her thought by something warm and wet on her lap.
She looks down to see the teething toy on her thigh... and a whole lot of nothing where Danny's head should be.
Then it' back when she blinks, and he's beginning to whine for his toy.
She quickly picks him up off her laps and retrieves it, giving it back to him.
So... the ghost abilities are still developing, then. She'll have to let Jack know about this later.
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"Daniel Fenton," Jack says, the most serious Jazz has ever seen him, "You're in big trouble this time, mister. I don't know how you did this-"
Jack shakes the empty tube of baby snacks, safe for teething babies.
"But I will get to the bottom of it!"
"Look like he already did," Maddie jokes, setting Jazz's breakfast down for her.
Jazz laughs, because it sounds like a Smart Adult Joke and she thinks those are funny, even when she doesn't understand them.
Danny babbles, smacking his chair's food tray.
"Oh no you don't, mister! You're getting regular baby food this morning and that's all!" Jack grabs the jar of food, and holds up the spoon. "Now, here comes the Fenton Ghost-Tracking Copter!"
He puts the spoon up to Danny's mouth-
-and right through his head.
He gasps and pulls back, and Danny's head reappears. He babbles, smacking the tray again.
Maddie drops her fork. "I can't believe I forgot! That's what I was going to tell you about!"
Jazz looks at her parents. "You didn't know he does this?"
They both gawk at her. "You did?!"
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Danny reaches up and grabs Jazz's nose. Jazz wrinkles it, and he laughs.
Jazz sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes, and Danny laughs even harder!
Jazz looks at her parents as they finish setting up the picnic blanket. "I'm the funniest big sister ever!"
"You sure are, sweetie!" Maddie scoops Jazz up and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You get it from me."
Jack laughs. "It's true! Your mother could get the whole Ghost Hunting Club laughing out HAZMAT suits off all day long back in the day! ... 'Course it was just the three of us, but still, three's a crowd!"
"May as well have been doing stand-up," Maddie says, setting Jazz down on the blanket.
They enjoy the little outing, the sun shining but not beating down, the cool breeze just enough to crispen the air but not freeze.
And then Jazz looks at Danny. She sees glowing eyes, and a puff of breath come out of his mouth. "Uh-oh. Mommy! He's gonna cry!"
Maddie picks Danny up right as he starts to wail. She hugs him, and is shocked. He doesn't feel cold this time!
Is he just cold inside?
Or is there some other problem?
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Jack rubs his ears. "That child wails like a Banshee!"
"He could very well be doing exactly that," Maddie points out. "We still don't know what other abilities he'll develop as he ages!"
"Or how well he'll be able to control them. ... Mads... should we homeschool him?"
"It's a little early to worry about that, Jack."
"I know that tone, you're worrying about it too."
"... We can't just keep him isolated from the rest of the world, Jack. It'll be unhealthy for him. And what if it makes him lean into his ghost side too much?"
"So you think we should let him go to school."
"Yes. ... But not pre-school. We'll teach him to not use his abilities around other kids, and then send him to Kindergarten."
"... Alright, Mads. If you think that's what's best, then that's what's best!"
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"Come on, that's it! Yes, yes, WHOO!" Maddie picks Danny up as soon as he walks over. "Who's a strong little Fenton? Who's the best little boy at walking in the whole wide world?"
"Danny!" Jazz cheers from the couch.
"Danny!" Maddie and Jack both cheer at once.
Danny laughs and squeals, kicking his legs and flapping his arms. His first proper Walk! Not just a step or two and then crawling, that was real walking!
Jack takes Danny, holding him aloft. "You're a real butt-kicker in the making, son! You'll be as strong as your old man someda-"
Jack feels something bump him, hard.
He shouts as he goes down! Danny going with him!
But as Jack meets the floor, he feels Danny's weight disappear from his hands!
He lands with an "oof", and looks up to see Danny floating above him, surrounded by a faint white aura. Danny looks down and babbles, sucking his thumb. Then... he moves.
He's only ever floated in place before. But as he looks down at his dad, he kicks his little legs and moves! Moving right across the room!
And then he looks behind his dad, and his breath comes out in puffs. He starts crying and wailing hysterically.
Jazz peers at where Danny is looking. "Mommy, hit the air with the stick!"
Maddie gently grabs Danny. "Why, sweetie?"
"Danny is scared! So we have to protect him!"
Maddie grabs her Fenton Baton, and gives the area Danny was looking at a good thwack. She expects it to go right through the empty air.
Instead there's a loud zap! There's a cry of pain! And then a semi-transparent form zooming out of their house!
Maddie's jaw drops. Jack scrambles to his feet and grabs every ghost weapon in radius, forming a protective circle around the family with them!
Maddie looks at Danny, who's now calm.
And his breath isn't visible.
Hmm...
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"We're just seeing if my hypothesis is right," Maddie assures.
Jazz sobs, clinging onto her leg. "NOOOO! HE'LL GET HURT! OR STOLED!"
"Stolen, sweetie. And Mommy and Daddy would never let that happen."
Jazz scream-sobs again.
"What if we can promise you the ghost will be in a big, big box?"
Jazz looks at her mom with watery eyes. "Like around Danny's crib?"
"Yes, like that."
"But-but he's so little."
"It'll just be a second, sweetheart."
Jazz sniffles again. "... Can I hold the stick?"
Maddie smiles softly. "Yes, sweetie, you can hold the stick."
A couple hours later, Jack and Maddie return home with a ghost in a box. It's yelling something, but the box is soundproof.
Jack sets the box down, and goes to grab Danny. He comes back, and holds Danny firmly while walking towards the ghost. Danny's eyes are covered by a too-big hood on his little shirt. He can't see, or hear, that there's a ghost nearby.
Danny's breath comes out a visible puff about two feet away from the ghost, and he starts crying. Jack steps back a ways, and Danny's breaths become normal again. He settles down.
Jack walks closer. Puff of breath, and crying.
Jack steps back. Normal breath, calm Danny.
"He can sense ghost's," Maddie says, looking in awe at her baby boy. Her face breaks into a grin. "He's his own portable ghost detector! He'll never be caught unawares, he'll be able to always defend himself!"
She runs up to Jack and hugs them both, kissing Danny's little forehead. Danny babbles.
"He'll never be caught unawares," Maddie says again in relief. "Oh, this makes me feel so much better."
"Mommy? ... Does that mean we're haunted all the time?"
Maddie's relief hardens and breaks in her chest.
All those times Danny's Ghost Sense has gone off inside! All those times!
She pulls away. "Jack, we're upping our security!"
Jack nods. "Time for FentonWorks 2.0!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny giggles as his dad chases him around the house. He phases through doors and turns invisible in hiding places, always giving himself away with laughter.
Jack grabs Danny just before he phases through the next door. “Gotcha!”
Danny laughs, happy little kid squeals that you can hear through the whole house. Jack puts Danny on his shoulders and heads into the kitchen. “He’s getting pretty good at running! Say, whatcha making, Mads?”
“Meatloaf. Would you mind helping?”
Jack sets Danny down at the table and helps Maddie make dinner, while Danny eyes something on the counter.
“Cookie.”
Maddie looks over. Danny is staring at the cookie jar. “No sweetie, no cookies yet.”
“Cookie!” 
“Not yet.”
Danny starts to cry. “Cookie!”
Maddie walks over, and gives Danny his binkie. Danny refuses it af first, but once he has it he calms down fast.
He looks at the cookie jar still, though.
And, slowly, he lifts out of his chair. He kicks his little legs, pushing himself forward. He plops down on the counter, and reaches into the jar with an intangible hand. 
He pulls out not one, but two cookies!
He gets so excited that he starts waving his arms, making happy noises.
Jack looks over. “What? Maddie, he’s gotten into the cookie jar!”
“I’ve got it!” Maddie walks over and scoops Danny up in his old Anti-Ghost-Phasing Blanket. Soft, warm, and totally ghost-proof.
Danny whines. “Cookie!”
“I said not yet, honey.” Maddie grabs the cookies and puts them on the counter. She safety pins the blanket around Danny like a little cape, except it takes away his powers.
Danny sits in his chair, throwing a fit! But to no avail. Eventually he just sits there, tear-faced and angry.
And then Jazz walks in. She looks over at the cookies, and then at Danny.
She walks over and snatches them off the counter as quick as she can! She casually walks over to the table, and hands them to Danny.
Danny brightens up. He shoves one cookie in his mouth, and gives the other back to Jazz. His original intention.
Jazz smiles, and scarfs the cookie down just before Maddie turns around.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Why?” Danny looks at his mom with wide, innocent eyes.
Maddie’s heart aches. “People might get scared.”
Danny frowns. “Scawy?”
“No, no, you aren’t scary. But the... idea of ghosts, for a lot of people, can be scary.”
Danny thinks, and then walks over to the fridge. “Scawy.”
Maddie looks at the drawing Danny is pointing at. It’s Jazz’s drawing of The Ghost.
The one that’s been haunting them for months.
Black horns, it looks like. Red eyes. Deathly blue skin. It makes Maddie shiver, knowing it had direct access to her children for so long. 
Danny starts to cry. “I scawy!”
Maddie scoops him up. “No, no sweetie! You are nothing like that monster, nothing like it at all! And you never will be, I promise!” Maddie hugs him tightly. “Oh, my poor baby... how about we take a break? Do you want to help Jazz paint something?”
Danny sniffles, and nods. They head upstairs, leaving the talk for another day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Kindergarten, Jack,” Maddie says, packing the little lunch box. “He’s already in Kindergarten!”
Jack is already openly sobbing as he makes Jazz a sandwich.
“Do you think he understands what he needs to do?” Maddie asks no-one in particular, just worrying.
“He understands perfectly!”
Maddie jumps a little, and turns around to see Jazz smiling proudly. Danny stands right next to her, a shyer smile on his face. Maddie tears up at the sight of him with his little backpack and school outfit on. 
Jazz looks at Danny. “Go ahead! Show them what we practiced!”
Danny puffs out his chest to look strong. “I won’t go through anything, turn invi-invisi- um, turn not-seeing-me, I won’t fly, and, um... and if I feel another ghost, I’ll use this!” He pulls his little Fenton Emergency Pager out of his pocket.
Maddie wipes her eyes. “Perfect, honey,” she says, letting the pride seep into her voice. “Oh, my baby boy! Growing up so fast!” She picks him up and kisses his face. Danny wraps his arms around her neck.
“Do I have to go, mommy? They’ll think I’m scary.”
“Oh, honey. You aren’t scary, I promise.”
“... What if I need to be scary?”
“Mommy will come be scary for you.”
“She very good at it,” Jack chimes in, shivering a little as he remembers the time a ghost attacked while Maddie was buying Danny’s first pair of little shoes. By the time it was over, Jack almost pitied the thing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maddie gives Danny one last hug. “Remember, calls u anytime you need us, okay?”
He nods. “I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Jazz.”
“You’re just going to school, not saying bye forever.” Even as Jazz says it, her lip wobbles and her voice cracks.
Danny floats up to the car window give her a hug, before being quickly held up by Maddie to cover the power use.
“That’s the only time today you’ll do that,” she reminds him. 
Danny nods.
Eventually... the goodbyes are done being dragged out. Danny’s family drives away as the teacher leads him inside.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny sits on a swing by himself, not sure what to do.
Usually at home he plays using his powers. He doesn’t know how to be good at tag without making it so people can’t touch him, or how to play hide-and-seek without turning invisible.
He kicks the sand. This is stupid. He misses Jazz. He can play with her.
“Hi.”
Danny looks up. Another young boy is standing in front of him, holding some kind of electronic. The boy holds out his hand. “I’m Tucker.”
Danny shakes his hand, focusing very hard on keeping it a real hand. “I’m Danny.”
Tucker shows him the electronic. “Want to play my game?"
Danny looks at it. It’s a coloring game. He nods.
They pass it back and forth between each other for a while, both coloring in different parts of the same picture. 
Eventually it’s time to back in. Danny and Tucker ask if they can sit closer together.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So, how was it?” Maddie asks, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she picks Danny up. “Have fun?”
“I made a friend!” Danny yells! “His name is Tucker and he’s really nice!”
Maddie relaxes. “Oh? How did you meet?”
“He let me play his coloring game!”
“That’s wonderful!”
“We made a tower out of blocks and it was the strongest ever! And I never used my powers!”
“I’m so proud of you, sweetie!”
Maybe Maddie can stop worrying now. ... Probably not.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“What if we gave it big scary horns?” Danny says as he doodled something in crayon. “Like the thing that watches my window.”
Tucker looks at him with wide eyes. “A monster watches you?”
“My parents don’t let it touch me. They hunt ghosts.”
“Oh. Do you hunt ghosts?”
Danny shakes his head. “I’m too little.”
“Oh. Me too.”
“You should give it bat wings.”
They both look up. The quiet girl who usually sits in the back is standing in front of them, her hair pulled back in a tight black braid and her clothes perfectly pressed. 
Danny looks at the drawing, and nods. He adds the wings. “We’re drawing the monster from that story we heard today.”
The girl sits down. “I bet it had claws. And could breathe black fire!”
Danny adds them on. “You’re really smart!”
The girl nods. “I am.”
“I’m Danny.”
“I’m Tucker!”
The girl grins. “I’m Samatha.”
“Wow... that’s a long name,” Danny says, eyes wide. “My sister has a long name too. Do all girls have long names?”
Samantha thinks. “I dunno. I haven’t met all girls.”
“Oh. We don’t know all boys, either.”
They spend the rest of free time coloring. Once it’s over, Samantha moves to sit with them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So, how was today, sweetie?”
“I made another friend! She’s really good, and her parents make her have long hair but she wants it short, and we made this with her!” He shows Maddie the drawing.
Maddie grimaces a little, but turns it into a smile. “It’s lovely, dear. Looks... a little like Jazz’s picture.”
Danny nods.”The monster in the story lived in the window. So does this ghost.”
“... What?”
“He lives by my window. But he can’t come inside, so I make faces at him and make him mad.”
Maddie speeds up a little. “Danny, we’re going to be altering your windows when we get home. Okay?”
“Okay.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny leads Sam and Tucker to his room with his tiny arms full of snacks. He brings them inside, and proudly stands in the middle. “This is my room!”
"Cool!” Tucker exclaims. “Whoa, you have a computer?”
Danny shakes his head. “That’s to keep ghosts out. Ghosts hate us.”
“You’ve seen some?” Samantha asks, eyes wide.
Danny grins. “So many!”
“Can we see some?”
“Sure, I can even-”
They hear a gasp in the doorway. Turning to look, they see Jazz. “Danny, you didn’t let me meet your friends!”
Danny looks horrified. “Oh no!” He runs over and pulls Jazz into the room. “This is my big sister Jazz! She’s the coolest big sister!”
“I’m Tucker!”
“I’m Sam!”
Jazz grins. “Guess what I learned yesterday?” She points out of the room. “How to use the remote!”
The trio of toddler’s eyes sparkle. They cheer for Jazz as all of them descend, ready to Take Control Of The TV!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“-and this is The Box Ghost,” Danny says, showing his friends the doodle him and Jazz made at home. “He’s silly. He wants to be scary, but he isn’t.”
Tucker and Samantha nods like it the most important thing they’ll ever learn.
Danny pulls out the next drawing. “This is Scary, the ghost from my window.” It’s a new drawing, a little more detailed thanks to Jazz being better at drawing now. And Danny having seen the face so, so many times. “I don’t see him anymore. Mom and Dad kicked him out of the window.”
“He’s ugly,” Samantha says, wrinkling her nose. 
“He looks stinky,” Tucker agrees.
Danny looks over at the window. “Shhhh! He’s here!”
Tucker and Samantha look at the window. They see nothing.
They look back at Danny. They see little puffs coming out of his mouth, and his eyes are the wrong color.
Danny pulls his pager out. “It’s okay. Mommy will come scare him away.”
“We can’t see him,” Samantha says.
Danny nods. “He’s hard to see.”
“Do you have to have glowy eyes like yours?” Tucker asks. “I have to have glasses. Are your eyes like Ghost Glasses?”
Danny thinks, and then nods. “I guess so. ... OH NO!” He covers his eyes. “You aren’t supposed to see that!”
“Why not?”
“Mommy said it’s a secret! You’ll think I’m scary!”
“But it’s not scary.”
Danny tilts his head, still covering his eyes. “It’s not?”
“No, it’s cool!”
He slowly uncovers his eyes. “... Do... you think this is scary?” He holds out his arm, and makes it invisible.
Tucker and Samantha gasp! Danny pulls his arm back, about to cry. They think he’s scary, they won’t be his friends anymore-
“That’s so cool,” Samantha says.
“I wanna do that!” Tucker exclaims.
Danny can’t believe it for a second. And then he grins. “I can do more stuff too! I’ll show you at my house!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maddie paces the floor while Danny sits on the couch, his little face burning with shame.
Jazz sits next to him, arms crossed. Jack stands in front of him, Maddie pacing beside her husband.
“You told your friends?” Maddie asks again.
Danny nods, keeping his head low. “I didn’t mean to. I saw Scary, and my eyes turned green, and I can’t fix that.”
Maddie sighs. “I know, sweetie, but you showed them more after! We caught you flying them around your room! How can you even carry both of them at once?!”
“It’s easy when I’m a ghost,” he says, still keeping his head low. “Everything’s easy when I’m a ghost.”
Maddie stops pacing. “Oh, sweetie... I know it must be strange for you to suddenly have to hide it.”
Danny nods. He sniffles a little.
“It’s for your own safety, son,” Jack says. “You understand that, right? We just want you to be safe.”
“Other kids can be mean, Danny,” Jazz says. “I’m smart, and some kids are mean to me for that.”
“But Samantha and Tucker aren’t mean!”
“No, they aren’t,” Maddie concedes. “... I guess what’s done is done. Danny?” She kneels down in front of him and gently lifts his head up, wiping his tears away. “We aren’t mad. We’re worried. They’re your friends, but they also don’t understand this the way we do.”
“... Can you make them understand?”
Maddie nods. “We’ll absolutely have a talk with them. You can go get them from your room right now, even. But Danny? No-one else. Okay? These two kids are the only kids you will ever tell. Promise?”
Danny nods, still sniffling. “Promise.”
Maddie puts on her HAZMAT glove and holds out her pinkie. “Fenton promise?”
Danny links her pinkie with his, letting it go ghostly. “Fenton promise, Mommy.”
“Okay. You can send your friends down now.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny waits for his mom to come pick him up, Samantha and Tucker sitting next to him.
Samantha looks up suddenly. “I don’t like my name.”
Danny and Tucker look at her.
She stands up. “From now on, my name is... is Sam!”
Danny and Tucker clap, because they learned that’s the polite thing to do when someone has a dramatic moment like this. They learned it from watching the older kids do a play.
Sam sits back down. “I’m Sam,” she says happily. “Sam.”
“Sam is a good name,” Danny says. 
“Easier to write,” Tucker says. 
“Yeah.” Sam is very proud of her new name.
They wait a bit longer, and a long black car pulls up. Sam stands up, but her parents don’t step out.
A tall, white-haired man does, one none of them have ever met before. He smiles down at them. “Hello, Danny. Hello, Danny’s friends.”
“Who are you?” 
“I’m a friend of Danny’s parents,” he says, giving a slight bow (or maybe just bending over to hear them better since they’re so much shorter than him). 
“I don’t know you,” Danny says, accusatory. “Mrs. Emma told us about people like you!”
The Man shakes his head. “I’m not a stranger, I promise. Your parents and I are very close.”
“I don’t know you,” Danny says again. He steps between The Man and his friends. “I’m gonna tell Mrs. Emma on you.”
“Danny, really, your mother called and asked me to pick you up.”
“You liar! She always picks me up!”
“She’s fighting a ghost right now.”
“She leaves fights to come get me!”
The Man sighs. He grabs Danny’s arm. “Stubborn like your parents. Come on, I promise you’ll be fine.”
“NO!” Danny yanks his arm, trying to get away. “LET GO OF ME!”
“Stop making a scene!”
“LET GO! YOU-”
Danny gaps, a puff of breath coming out and his eyes turning green.
“S-Scary,” he whimpers. “SCARY! MOMMY! MOMMMYYYY! SCARY HAS ME!!! HELP!!!”
Danny yanks again, Tucker and Sam finally running inside to get Mrs. Emma! 
The Man scowls. “I’m trying to help you, little badger!”
“YOU’RE THE SCARY IN THE WINDOW!” Danny looks at him with bright eyes, tearful and afraid. “GET AWAY!!!”
Danny’s little hand glows green, and suddenly The Man is clutching his stomach instead of Danny’s arm. Danny runs inside, right into Mrs. Emma’s arms. He sobs to her as she frantically calls the police, trying to read the plate of the car speeding off into the distance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maddie hands Jazz a Baton. “This is in case this ‘Scary’ come after you,” Maddie says, still shaking a bit. “Okay?”
Jazz nods. 
“Danny, this is for you.” Maddie hands him a black-and-white suit. “This is to keep other ghosts from sensing you, okay? So wear it under your clothes.”
Danny nods, still crying.
Maddie looks at Sam and Tucker. Their parents were late picking them up, but with the attempted kidnapping it was decided that they’ll stay with The Fentons for a few hours until their parents could get them.
“You two get these.” She hands them Fenton Pagers, and Fenton Fun-Sized Ghost Stunners. “They can hurt people too, so only use them on ghosts. Or if someone tries to do... what you saw today, ever again.”
Sam and Tucker nod.
“And Danny? From now on, wait with Mrs. Emma until we come inside to get you.”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“And when I get my hands on this ‘Scary’, I promise you’ll never have to worry about him again.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny looks around to see if anyone is watching. He, Tucker, and Sam are crouched under a desk in the classroom while everyone else is out at recess. 
He holds out his hand to the stack of paper, and closes his eyes. For a second, nothing happens.
And then it glows green, and a small beam shoots from his hand! Tucker and Sam gasp!
“You’re like a superhero!” Tucker exclaims, standing up. 
“A ghost superhero!” Sam says, standing up too. “You need a superhero name!”
Danny shoots up, smiling widely. “What should it be?”
They all think for a long, long time.
Sam perks up. “I know!”
She grabs a book from the corner. The book is a Halloween one, mostly for pictures with just a few words. She flips to a page, and points to it. “This word! It means Ghost!”
Danny and Tucker peer at it. “How do you say it?” Tucker asks.
Sam grins. “Phantom!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Phantom?” Maddie says, looking at the doodle.
Jack nods. “Apparently Sam came up with it! Our boy wants to be a ghost hunter after all!”
“Superhero, this says.”
“Same thing!”
“Jack, what’re you making there?”
Jack holds up the suit, one of the prototype Anti-Ghost-Detection suits for Danny. “I got out my old needlepointing stuff and am making him a superhero costume! See, it’s a P!”
Maddie squints, trying to get a better look at the outline. “It looks like a D.”
Jack looks at it. “Hmm. I guess from some angles. But it’s a P! Or, DP! Danny Phantom!”
Maddie’s expression goes soft. “Awww! Okay, you keep making that, and I’ll hang this doodle on the fridge! But no actual ghost fighting until he’s at least fourteen, right?”
“Absolutely!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny steps into the school “Halloween Party” with his hands on his hips and a bright grin, looking like a mini-version of his dad behind him.
“Aww, and what are you dressed as, Danny?” Mrs. Emma asks.
“A superhero ghosthunter!” Danny says proudly. “My parents made this for me!”
“It’s great,” Mrs. Emma says genuinely. “Alright, go mingle! We’re going to make paper jack-o-lanterns later so now is the time to trade candies!”
Danny walks over to his friends, still striking the pose. Tucker, dressed as a robot made out of cardboard boxes, pouts in slight jealousy as Danny comes over. Sam, dressed as a vampire, grins. “P for Phantom!” she yells.
Danny runs over faster. “Yeah! My dad put the logo on!” He shows it off proudly. “I’m gonna be the best ghosthunter ever!”
“You can work from the inside!” Tucker says, getting over his jealousy thankfully quick. “Make them think you wanna haunt stuff too!”
“Yeah!” Danny strikes another pose. “But I’m actually going to catch them all, because I’m Danny Phantom!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny and Jazz are playing with dolls in the living room. “Pow! Take that!” Danny shouts, making his doll punch Jazz’s.
“Nooo!” Jazz cries out in a husky voice. “But how? I’m The Scary! Nothing can not fear me!”
“I don’t fear you!” Danny waves the hand of his doll, making laser noises. Jazz shakes her doll around, making dying noises. “I’m Danny Phantom, the strongest ghost boy ever!”
“Nooooo!”
Maddie chuckles, watching them. “That Scary better watch out for more than just us.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Where are we going?” Danny asks again.
“It’s a surprise!” Jack says again, still as excited as when the road trip started. 
Danny huffs, looking out the window again. “Why couldn’t Sam and Tucker come?”
“Because they’re spending Summer visiting their families,” Maddie says. “And so are we, sort of.”
“I though Auntie lived in Spittoon,” Jazz says.
“She does! This is different.”
After hours (years in the minds of the kids), they pull up to a mansion. All fo the boredom washes away instantly, Jazz and Danny cramming into the window to see it!
“Are we rich?” Jazz demands to know. 
“We’re well-off, but not quite. Welcome to your honorary Uncle Vlad’s house!” Maddie cheers.
“Vlad was out best friend in college!” Jack says, grinning. “He got back in contact with us a few years ago and we’ve been thick as thieves since! He asked us too come over this weekend, and we thought we’d surprise him and let him meet your two at the same time!”
Danny and Jazz cheer! THEY GET TO STAY IN A MANSION!
The family piles out of the car, and stand in front of the door! Maddie and Jack make sure Jazz and Danny look extra nice, and ring the doorbell!
It takes a long minute, so they ring it again!
Finally, a man opens it up! “Oh, Maddie, Jack, I’m so sorry I didn’t hear-”
Danny shrieks. His eyes are glowing bright as they can, his breaths giant puffs! He holds up his hand and send a little beam right into Vlad’s side!
Vlad falls back with an “Oof!”
“Danny!” Maddie scoops him up. “What on earth has gotten into you? Oh, Danny!”
Danny is sobbing pointing at Vlad. “It-it’s him! The-The Scary! He-he tried to take me!”
Maddie and Jack freeze. Slowly, they both look at Vlad. Jazz pulls out her Baton.
“Vlad?” Maddie says coldly.
“Didn’t I only invite you two?” Vlad wheezes.
Jack points a ghost detector at Vlad. It goes off.
“Now, now, I can explai- AGCK!”
Jazz starts happening him with the Baton before he can finish his sentence. Maddie hands Danny to Jack. “Sweetie, close the door and take Danny back to the truck. I need to have a word with Vlad.”
Jack does as told, holding Danny in his lap and soothing him.
“He-he tried to take me,” Danny sobs again.
“Don’t worry, son.” Jack hugs him tightly. “No-one’s ever going to be able to do that. We’ll always keep you safe. We promise.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“And what do we always wear while testing new devices?” Maddie asks, handing Danny a Fenton Ghost-Zapper that would use Danny’s own ghost energy to work.
Danny grins, and puts it on. “Face mask!”
“Because?”
“Because lab safety is very important!”
Maddie grins. “That’s right! And who do we thank for reminding us of that every time we’re in the lab?”
Danny points. “Jazz! Thank you, Jazz!”
Jazz grins proudly. 
497 notes · View notes
chaeryybomb · 3 years
Text
BRUTAL
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pairings: female reader x best friend!jungwon
summary: they told you that these were the golden years, but to you "golden" was a rusting metal spray painted yellow. the story of a seventeen year old trying to survive high school when all you do is try your best. but your best friend jungwon makes it worth the while. 
genre: high school au, friends to lovers, fluff, tiny bits of angst if you squint, attempt at humour
featuring: jang wonyoung, kim sunoo & nishimura riki 
word count: 4.5k 
warnings: reader having a existential crisis most of the time, strong language, mentions of insecurity
the sour series masterlist
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You slumped forward the moment the bell rang, letting your head hit the table. You could care less if a bruise would form on your forehead, you had much bigger things to worry about. Your teacher left the class wordlessly as the class was busy doing their own thing. And by that, everyone was buried nose deep in studying. You lifted your head to see the different books of the same topic scattered on your desk, a yellow highlighter balancing on the edge of your table.
Reaching over to grab the highlighter, you turned your head over to the side to look at your desk mate. Wonyoung sat there looking straight out from a k-drama, with her hair flowing down her back perfectly and her slender nimble fingers moving as she continuously wrote in her notebook. She was smart too, fluent in English and Korean, great at maths and science. And on top of that she was kind and friendly, everyone loved her. You did too, you had the honour of calling her your best friend. But sometimes you felt insecure around her, everything she did looked flawless and there you were just trying your best.
"Ack!" You yelped as you sat up straight, holding your forehead. Wonyoung rolled her eyes at you with a small smile on her lips, she had flicked your forehead to get you out of your thoughts.
Without taking her eyes off the textbook, she tapped your own workbook with her pen. Silently telling you to stop procrastinating. You pouted at her and looked at the clock, 10 minutes before lunch. Maybe a walk to the girl's bathroom would do you some good.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," you whispered to Wonyoung. She nodded and smiled at you before you walked out.
As you strolled towards the girl's bathroom, you passed by the bulletin board outside your class. A bright blue poster stood out with the words "ENJOY YOUR YOUTH" in white. Scoffing at the message, you continued on your way.
"I'm seventeen now, where's my fucking teenage dream?" You muttered to yourself. You were tired of waiting for your life to end up like a coming of age movie. Everyone told you that these were the golden years and you should enjoy your youth, but you swear to god if you hear another one of those cheesy sayings, you might just cry on the spot.
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Reaching over to open the stall door, you halt in your actions when you heard familiar voices talking.
"I'm so worried for finals, my parents are gonna kill me if I fail English again," a girl complained. You hear the sound of tap water running. "How are you so calm during this time, Mirae?'
"What's the use of studying hard anyways," the second girl, Mirae, said. "We all know the top spots are gonna be taken by Jang Wonyoung and Yang Jungwon, I just study enough to pass."
The other girl snorted at her reply. "Imagine if those two got together, the power couple of the year," she suddenly said.
"Poor Y/N then, she's gonna be over shadowed by them."
"As if she already isn't. I almost forgot they were a trio until you mentioned Y/N," the girl laughed.
"What can I say? They're out of her league," Mirae joined in with her laughter.
The two voices faded away as you heard the door closed. Finally pushing the door open, you looked at your reflection. Your eyebrows knitted in annoyance and your face was morphed in a scowl. You washed your hands aggressively and poked the inside of your cheek. What bugged you was that they were right. You were the black sheep between Wonyoung and Jungwon. Both of them were smart and amazing, and you're just…you.
You love your best friends, you truly do. But you were constantly compared to them and you hated it. Everyone wanted them, you watched as guys tripped over to confess to Wonyoung and girls squealing when Jungwon smiled at them. The two of them always reassured you that you weren't beneath them but you were sick of their sympathy. You're so caught up in the news of who likes you and who hates them. You just wished people liked you more.
Storming out of the bathroom, someone accidentally ran into you and caused you to fell onto your butt. The student immediately stood up and scurried off, not bothering to even a mutter an apology. All I did was try my best and this is the thanks I get, you thought bitterly.
They said that these were the golden years, but you wished you could just disappear. God, it's brutal out here.
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"Y/N, wait up!" Jungwon called after you.
You stopped in your tracks as you watched Jungwon waved goodbye to some students before jogging towards you.
"You heading to cram school today?" He asked you as the both of you fell into the same walking rhythm.
You shook your head, clasping your hands behind. "I moved it to Thursday instead, Wonyoung said I had to many things on Tuesday," you told him. Originally, you would be heading to the library to study before heading over to the cram school. But Wonyoung took one look at your schedule and decided that you did not had enough breaks, so she managed to convince you to take the Thursday slot instead. Thursdays are one of the days where you would not go to the library.
Jungwon seemed to be disappointed to find out that you had switched slots. Maybe he should changed slots too, but does he have any empty spots open for Thursday though? He'd have to check later. Instead, he coughed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Do you wanna come over later? The new Demon Slayer movie is out," he offered, hoping that you'd accept.
Unfortunately, you once again shook your head. "Sorry Jungwon, I'd want to cram even more later. Finals are really creeping in and I can't afford to waste any time," you told him with a sad smile. As much as you would like to ditch the books and watch Demon Slayer, the glaring C on your last history paper was telling you otherwise.
You stopped walking when you had reached your doorstep. "Thanks for walking me home, Jungwon. See you tomorrow!" and with that you disappeared behind the door.
Jungwon waved goodbye as he watched the door closed. The smile on his face dropped and his shoulder sagged. Jungwon you idiot, of course she would want to study, he scolded himself. With disappointment on his face, he trudged home with a heavy heart.
"Change of plans, guys," he announced as he swung the front door open, unfazed by the fact that Riki and Sunoo were lounging on his coach. He accepted the fact that Sunoo had somehow gotten the keys to his house (suspecting that his mother probably gave it to him due to favouritism or maybe Riki had sneakily made a copy).
Riki's head poked out from the couch. "She rejected you, didn't she," the younger boy said with a smirk.
Jungwon's face ears turned red as he glared at the boy. "No she did not!" He immediately told him. "She rejected the offer to watch the movie, that's different!"
"That's basically rejection, hyung," Riki laughed.
The other boy just glared at him. "Shut up!" he sputtered out before hiking up the stairs.
Sunoo gave Riki a look, to which the Japanese boy just shrugged his shoulders innocently.
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Jungwon walked out from the shower, a towel around his neck with one hand running through his damp hair. Sunoo and Riki had left earlier, finally giving him some peace and quiet. His phone screen was flashing from his study table, initiating that someone was spamming him (quite aggressively) with text message. With a raised eyebrow, he picked up his phone
[7:09 pm] wonyoung: JUNGWON
[7:09 pm] wonyoung: JUNGWON
[7:09 pm] wonyoung: JUNGWON
[7:10 pm] wonyoung: WHY DID Y/N JUST MESSAGED ME ABOUT HOMEWORK
[7:10 pm] wonyoung: ISNT SHE WITH YOU
[7:11 pm] wonyoung: I THOUGHT YOU SAID U WERE GONNA WATCH A MOVIE
[7:11 pm] wonyoung: DEMON HUNTER OR SMTG
[7:12 pm] wonyoung: WHY IS SHE ASKING ME FOR HW
[7:12 pm] wonyoung: DID U CHICKEN OUT???
[7:13 pm] wonyoung: omg u chickened out didnt u
[7:14 pm] jungwon: jfc wonyoung
[7:15 pm] jungwon: and no i did not chicken out okay
[7:15 pm] jungwon: she declined
[7:16 pm] jungwon: she said she had to study ;-;
[7:17 pm] wonyoung: omg u suck
[7:17 pm] wonyoung: i told u the movie idea was dumb
[7:18 pm] wonyoung: but do u ever listen to me
[7:18 pm] wonyoung: no
[7:19 pm] wonyoung: and now u suffer the consequences
[7:20 pm] jungwon: yea yea i get it im dumb
[7:20 pm] jungwon: now what's ur solution the great jang wonyoung
[7:21 pm] wonyoung: i am so glad u asked :)
[7:21 pm] jungwon: oh no
[7:21 pm] wonyoung: stfu im giving u a better idea
[7:22 pm] wonyoung: a n y w a y s
[7:22 pm] wonyoung: my ynradar is going off and she's s a d
[7:23 pm] jungwon: how would u know
[7:23 pm] jungwon: she seemed fine today
[7:23 pm] wonyoung: stfu jungwon its best friend things u wont understand
[7:24 pm] jungwon: i-
[7:25 pm] wonyoung: and as her future bf u SHOULD start to train ur ynradar
[7:25 pm] wonyoung: anw its exam season stoopid
[7:26 pm] wonyoung: and its when those kids start to talk abt how the both of us are gonna get top scores
[7:26 pm] wonyoung: and they talk down on y/n while doing so
[7:26 pm] wonyoung: assholes
[7:27 pm] wonyoung: so i propose to u
[7:27 pm] wonyoung: a ✨ study date ✨
[7:28 pm] jungwon: i
[7:29 pm] jungwon: that's
[7:29 pm] jungwon: actually not a bad idea
[7:30 pm] wonyoung: obv i came up with it
[7:31 pm] jungwon: can u not
[7:31 pm] wonyoung: anw a study date
[7:32 pm] wonyoung: she's struggling in maths
[7:33 pm] wonyoung: specifically taxes because she said and i quote
[7:34 pm] wonyoung: "why do we have to do taxes when we pay people to do it for us"
[7:34 pm] wonyoung: so pls help her and try to cheer her up
[7:35 pm] wonyoung: and confess coward
[7:36 pm] jungwon: i make no promises for the last one
[7:36 pm] wonyoung: aFTER EVERYTHING I JUST SAID
[7:37 pm] jungwon: what if she rejects me wonyoung
[7:38 pm] wonyoung: WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION A LOT OF TIMES JUNGWON
[7:38 pm] wonyoung: SHE LIKES U BUT SHES TOO DUMB TO REALISE
[7:39 pm] jungwon: sigh
[7:40 pm] jungwon: fine i'll try thanks wonyoung
[7:41 pm] wonyoung: np i expect y'all to be a couple by next monday <3
[7:41 pm] jungwon: i-
Sighing for the nth time of the night, Jungwon sat on his bed. He allowed the towel to slipped off his shoulders as his thumb hovered over your chat icon. Truth be told, he always thought his crush on you was unrequited love. You never showed any signs of returning of feelings so he thought he would just ignore the feeling until it was gone.
But oh boy was he wrong, because he didn't knew that he would be spending his high school years by your side. And now you occupy his mind 24/7. Wonyoung could literally tell that he was in love with you, but somehow you never caught on. He allowed Sunoo and Riki to convince him to do the whole "movie date idea", but that failed. So Wonyoung's suggestion was his only option left.
He typed out the message, ready to send it out. If only he could just press the button. Come on Yang Jungwon, you can do this. Just press the damn button Jungwon. Suddenly his phone pinged loudly, scaring the lights out of the poor boy as he yelped and his phone landed with a thud on the ground. He peered over his bed, as if his phone was a ticking bomb.
Oh, it was a message from you.
[8:01 pm] y/n: hey do u know where wonyoung is
[8:01 pm] y/n: she isn't answering my texts
Oh no. He realised that your chat was open, the two ticks indicated that he had (unintentionally) read the message. He couldn't just leave you on read. That's just evil. Scrambling to get his phone, he immediately typed a reply to cover for the other girl.
[8:02 pm] jungwon: sorry i don't :/
[8:02 pm] jungwon: what do u need her for
[8:03 pm] y/n: mf was supposed to teach me a maths question but she left me on rEAD
This was his chance! It was the perfect opportunity for him to score a date with you. Okay, breathe in breath out Jungwon. Don't mess it up and just ask her, he mentally prepared himself.
[8:04 pm] jungwon: oh i could help you if you want
[8:04 pm] jungwon: yk with finals coming up and everything, i can help you study
[8:05 pm] jungwon: if you want of course
[8:05 pm] y/n: omg srsly??
[8:06 pm] jungwon: pls help me study my braincells are literally dying
[8:07 pm] jungwon: jdsjkda okay how about this saturday at your place?
[8:08 pm] y/n: yeah sure
[8:08 pm] jungwon: cool its a date then!
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You blinked at Jungwon's message. A date? Wait, did Yang Jungwon just indirectly asked you out? Nah, nah. You were overthinking it. Yes, definitely overthinking. Don't kid yourself, why would Jungwon ask you out on a date? Jungwon is just a friend, you tried to convince yourself.
Keyword: tried.
If he really was just a friend, then why did it felt like butterflies were in your stomach when he said "it was a date"? Then why did you frowned when those girls said that Wonyoung and Jungwon would make a good couple?
Oh god, do you have feelings for your best friend?
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Saturday came faster than you would have liked it to. Ever since that last chat with Jungwon, it gave you the sudden realisation that you did in fact had feelings for your best friend. You tried so hard to avoid him in school because you don't want the butterflies back in your stomach. It was basically confirming the fact that you like him. Well, avoiding him also confirmed the fact but you choose to be in denial about it.
You didn't tell Wonyoung about your study date but lately she's been sending you outfit ideas on Pinterest. Specifically, date outftis. And whenever you tried to ask her a question about school, she brushed you off with a random excuse. So it left you no choice but to save those questions for Jungwon.
Speaking of Jungwon, he had texted you 10 minutes ago that he was on the way. You were standing in the middle of your room with your hands on your hips. Both of your parents were out for the day, which left you alone at home. You had taken out the low table to be used later and it was currently in front of you. Colourful workbooks were neatly stacked on top of it.
You did a 360 turn around your room. Was it messy? You cleaned it this morning when you woke up. Did you had any clothes out? No, doesn't look like it. For some reason, you were a nervous wreck. You blamed Jungwon. He just had to call this a date, didn't he.
Should you change? Maybe you should finally look through all those pins Wonyoung sent. Wait, no, why would you have to change into something nice. Jungwon was here to help you study, just that.
Yeah, a study date, your mind emphasised on the word.
The sound of the doorbell pulled you out from your thoughts. You immediately went to open the door. Yang Jungwon stood there on the other side, with his signature smile. Had he always resembled a sheep? He just looked so fluffy.
"Hey!" You greeted him with a smile, internally wincing at your way-too-enthusiastic voice.
But Jungwon didn't seem to mind it. "Hey!" he greeted back.
You moved to the side to let him in. "Thank you for having me," he said as he bowed then proceeded to remove his shoes.
"Uh, do you want anything? Water?" You asked him.
He shook his head.
"Ah, cool. Let's head to my room," you started to walk back to your room.
"Where are your parents?" He asked.
"Out," you simply replied.
That was when it dawned upon you, that your parents were not home. Leaving you and Jungwon, alone. Together. In your room. Alone. With the boy you potentially have a crush on.
"Y/N?" Jungwon tapped on your shoulder. You had stopped walking when you were suddenly washed over by your thoughts. Snapping out of it, you sent him a small smile before opening the room to your door.
The both of you shuffled into your bedroom, you sat down in front of the low table while Jungwon settled down next to you. He moved to take out his books then turned to you. "How about we do some studying and if you have any questions, you can ask me okay?" He said.
You nodded and flipped your own workbook open, immediately starting to work on the first question. Jungwon copied your action and a comfortable silence engulfed the both of you. As the time passed, you found yourself stuck on a certain maths question.
You slightly turned your head to the side to look at Jungwon. He was concentrated at doing his work, you felt a sense of deja vu while looking at him. He resembled Wonyoung when she was studying. At the thought of Wonyoung, you suddenly thought of what those girls said at the bathroom.
They would make a good couple, wouldn't they, you thought. The power couple of the year.
The butterflies in your stomach faded away into an uncomfortable feeling. Just the idea of them getting together already made you sick. You bit the inside of your cheek, you really did had feelings for him. And now it scared you because what if he doesn't feel the same. You made a mental note to consult with Wonyoung later, at least you hope that you'll allow yourself to tell her.
Jungwon must've noticed you staring and gently tapped your head with his pencil. A contrast to when Wonyoung painfully flicked your forehead.
"What's wrong? Are you stuck on a question?" He asked.
You leaned back a bit at the sudden action. You were so deep in your insecurities that you had totally forgotten about the literal problem sitting in front of you. Yet you couldn't even bother to ask him so you just shook your head. "I'm gonna get something to drink," you said instead.
Jungwon watched as you stood up, then decided to follow you as well. "I'll come along."
The boy joined you in the kitchen, perched on one of the island stools as you grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. He studied your movement as you worked around the kitchen. Your features were neutral, you weren't smiling nor frowning. But he could tell that your shoulders were tensed. Wonyoung was right, you did seem down. And he cursed himself for not noticing earlier.
"You okay?" His question made you stopped in a mid-pour stance, the can of soda was tilted but not enough for the contents to be poured out.
You brushed his question off and poured the drink into the cup. "Yeah," you hummed.
Unconvinced by your answer, he pried more. "You know you shouldn't care about what they say, right?"
You furrowed your eyebrows at him, pretending like you didn't understand where he was coming from.
"You're not below us, you know that right?"
You couldn't help but scoffed at his words. Jungwon's lips tugged downwards "I'm being serious here, Y/N," his tone was stern. "You shouldn't listen to what they say. You're more than just-"
The sound of the can being slammed down shuts him up. Your fingers tightened around the can as you looked at him. You didn't had the energy to hear him preach the same old "Don't Listen To Them" speech. You don't need his pity.
"I don't want to hear it, Yang Jungwon," you said through gritted teeth. Not sparing him another glance, you threw the empty can into the trash as you grabbed your glass.
As you walked past Jungwon, he suddenly reached out and held onto your forearm. "Y/N," he said softly. "Please tell me what's wrong."
You sighed and slowly turn around to face him, placing the glass back on the counter. You took in a deep breath before you opened your mouth. "I feel like I'm not enough," you finally said. "Everything I do just doesn't seem enough. All I'm doing is my best but it's just crushing my ego because everyone is telling me that you're better than me."
"I feel like no one wants me and I hate the way I'm perceived. It's always poor Y/N this and poor Y/N that's because everyone just sees me as your shadow and I fucking hate it. I only have two real friends," you gestured wildly. "And lately I'm a nervous wreck cause I keep comparing myself to the two of you. I'm not cool and I'm not smart, and I can't even parallel park!" You threw your hands up in frustration, the feelings you kept inside were pouring out like a waterfall.
Jungwon just stood there as he listened tentatively to every word. He didn't knew that you felt this way, bottling up all your emotions like that.
"And I'm so tired of people telling me to enjoy my youth and that these are the golden years. I might just fucking cry if I hear those words again," you finished ranting. It felt good, it felt like a weight on your heart has been lifted. Then you remembered that you just dumped all of it on Jungwon.
You opened your mouth to apologise to him but he surprised you by pulling him into his arms. At first you were standing stiffly at the sudden contact, but it took a millisecond for you to melt in his embrace. His arms were gently around your back and you returned the hug by wrapping your arms around his torso. The two of you stay in that position for awhile, relishing in each other's embrace. You definitely needed this hug.
Tightening your hold on Jungwon, you realised how important he was to you. He was your best friend and he was always there for you. It was stupid of you to compare yourself to him, when all he did was tried his best for you. The taller boy chuckled when he felt you rubbed your face into his shoulder, he involuntarily released a contented sigh. You felt one of his hands stroked your hair, it felt comforting. That action itself was enough for the butterflies to slowly settled back in you.
After a while, both of you finally (unwillingly) released each other. He pushed a strand of hair behind your ears and said, "You're wrong by the way." Which made you tilt your head in genuine confusion.
"You are cool and you are smart. You're like the coolest person I know. And no one thinks of you as our shadow, you don't hear it but I've always hear the juniors praising you for helping them and how enthusiastic you are," the way he delivered his words was filled with pure awe for you.
"And who cares if you can't parallel park. You didn't hear it from but Jay hyung failed his drivers test three times just because he couldn't parallel park," and that got a laugh out from you. Jungwon smiled proudly that he managed to make you laugh. "And you're wrong when you said no one wants you. I want you."
You blinked once, twice and thrice. He wanted you? "You're just saying that cause you're my best friend," you replied.
"No," he firmly said. "I like you, Y/N."
(Jungwon doesn't know where he got this sudden surge of confidence, but the mood was the perfect time for him to confess. It was a one time chance and he had to take it.)
You chuckled. "I like you too, Jungwon. We are friends aren't we?"
"No, Y/N. I like you. More than friends."
"Oh." Oh.
"Yeah," he scratched the back of neck awkwardly. Oh no, did you not feel the same way?
While you on the other hand, were malfunctioning on the inside. Your best friend just confessed to you and you were frozen on the spot. Why couldn't he had done it over text instead. If he had done it over text, then you could've left the message unread and you could've spammed Wonyoung for help. But the thing is that it wasn't over text and you couldn't just tell him to wait here while you panicked to Wonyoung in your bathroom.
Yang Jungwon likes you. And you like him too, right? Because if you didn't, your cheeks won't be heating up right now and your heart would have not be beating rapidly like it was going to break your rib cage any second. If you didn't like him, there would have never been butterflies in your stomach. Yeah. You like Yang Jungwon, you like him a lot.
"Me too," you whispered, it was soft but it was enough for him to pick it up. Jungwon eyes snapped to you, doe eyed filled with hope. "I like you, too," you said, this time louder. And you made sure you looked him in the eye when you confessed.
You watched as Jungwon's mouth morphed into a big grin. He let out a sigh of relief and dropped to his knees, surprising you. "Jungwon!" you squeaked, bending down to help him.
"I'm fine! I'm fine," he assured you as he stood up with your help. The grin on his face was still there. "It's just that … you like me," he breathed out. "You like me back, wow. I-I can't believe it."
Your face was definitely burning with embarrassment. You punched him lightly on the shoulder, turning away to hide your face. "Believe it, you dork. I like you, okay!" Somehow his grin was able to grew wider at your words, Gently, he took your hand in his.
"How about we stop this study date, and I'll take you out on real date?"
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© chaeryybomb 2021
a/n: thank you so much for reading this <3
638 notes · View notes
honeypiehotchner · 3 years
Text
My Deep Blue Love (Tom Hiddleston x Fem!Reader) -- Soulmate AU one shot
This was 100% born out of boredom and loneliness and those damn Soulmate AU POV Tiktoks that I have seen practically 24/7 for the past WEEK on my fyp
(I’m not sure if I’ll do a part 2, rn I have no plans for it)
quick note on the technicality of this one: you lose all ability to see colors when you turn 12 and you don’t regain the ability until you meet your soulmate. but! you have to meet them in person and it has to be a mutual eye contact. pictures/videos of them don’t work, and if you just saw the back of their head or something in person, that doesn’t work either. it’s all about the shared eye contact babeyyy
small disclaimer: Brie Larson is mentioned in here and she has a wife, but that is very much only in this fic, and as far as i know Brie doesn’t have a wife irl lol (i also don’t know if she’s spoken about her sexuality at all so what i’m saying is take it with a grain of salt ok)
Summary: Everyone around you is meeting their soulmate, but you still see in black and white. You’re ready to give up, and basically have, when you lock eyes with your soulmate.
Warnings: None! Just a bit of angst, lots of fluff toward the end 
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You knock on your mom’s bedroom door at 4:58am. She’s already awake, sitting up in bed, ushering you over.
With tears in your eyes, you crawl onto her bed, snuggling close to her chest.
“I don’t want to lose my colors,” you whimper.
“I know, baby,” she whispers, kissing the top of your head. “It’s okay.”
You were born 12 years ago on this day at 5:08am, so in a few short minutes, when you officially turn 12 years old, all color will drain from your life.
Or the colors could stay, but that’s only if you’ve somehow already met your soulmate. And that’s rare, nearly impossible.
You squeeze your eyes shut at 5:07 and you don’t open them again until 5:10.
The colors are gone.
+++
twenty years later
You sigh heavily as you receive yet another wedding invite. You are invited to witness the official beginning of Olivia and Jeffrey’s lives together as husband and wife, soulmates for all of time.
The glitter sticks to your fingertips, tiny black dots against your skin. Your friend told you it’s gold. You barely remember what that looks like.
Lately it seems like everyone has been meeting their soulmate. Just yesterday, you were having coffee with a friend when she looked up at the girl sitting behind you, and boom.
“It’s like the world just exploded,” she had said. Colors were everywhere. She immediately left you to go talk to the girl.
You don’t blame her for that. If you had met your soulmate, you probably would’ve done the same thing. But you can’t say for sure because you don’t know.
You wouldn’t be so cynical of it all if your boyfriend of five years didn’t meet his soulmate while the two of you were out at dinner. You wish you could say that he was faking it. But it was clear from his face (and the girl’s) that he wasn’t kidding. It was real. He had met his soulmate, and it wasn’t you.
It’s never you.
You’ve had guys cut off dates before they even start, all because they didn’t see colors when they laid their eyes on you. They refuse to even be friends with you.
All anyone is doing anymore is searching for a soulmate and it’s exhausting when none of them are yours. When all of your friends see color now. When everyone assures you that it’ll happen soon. What does soon even mean?
You grab your ice cream from the freezer and fall onto the couch, flicking to whatever channel has late night shows that aren’t complete garbage.
As usual, you find yourself watching a talk show, and tonight Tom Hiddleston is one of the guests.
You’re sort of familiar with him from a few movies, but other than that, you hardly know anything about him.
“So, Tom, we’ve all been wondering what’s going on with you and Brie Larson?”
“Brie?” Tom asks, clearly shocked to hear this question. “We’re just good friends, that’s all.”
“Oh, she doesn’t make you see any colors?”
“Ah, no, actually, she does not,” Tom chuckles, but doesn’t sound sad at all, surprisingly. “Her wife does that for her, not me, I’m afraid.”
“Oh really?” The host brushes past the mention of Brie’s wife and keeps the focus on Tom, of course. “So is that true, you still don’t see color?”
Your ears perk up at the mention of someone else not seeing in color. It’s rare for anyone to talk about this on television. Most celebrities don’t talk about whether or not they’ve found their soulmate, but more often than not, those that have are quite loud about it.
“Yes, that’s true,” Tom answers. “I still see the world in a lovely black and white.”
You snort, harshly jabbing your spoon into your ice cream. Lovely. Yeah, right.
“Do you really think it’s nice? Do you not miss the colors?” The host asks.
“No, no, I do. I do,” Tom admits. “But I like to think I’ll see them when the time is right.”
You groan, going to Google to look up his age. And when you see he’s 40, you groan even louder. He’s older than you and he still hasn’t met his soulmate. That’s just depressing. How can he sound so optimistic?
“Alright, well, if there’s one thing you wish you could tell your soulmate, what would it be? Maybe they’re watching right now, you never know.”
Tom smiles wide. “Maybe, maybe, um… Oh, so many things,” Tom exhales deeply. “I guess I could be cliché and say I can’t wait to meet them and wait for me, but I think I want to say… I think I want to say I understand. It is frustrating, still seeing in black and white, but our paths will cross soon, I’m sure of it. Until then, my eyes are blue.”
Blue. Blue.
You roll your eyes. You don’t even remember what the color looks like.
+++
seven months later
“I am not going to a movie premiere. You’re insane!”
“Please!” Your friend, Catherine, cries. “You’ll love it, I swear.”
You glare at her over your coffee. “That just makes it sound like you have a trick up your sleeve.”
“I don’t,” she says. “I just want you to take advantage of this and come with us! When will you ever have the chance to go to a movie premiere again?”
She has a point. Dammit. “Touché. How did you get tickets, anyway? Please tell me you didn’t spend thousands for this.” You wouldn’t put it past her, even though you tell her not to every time before she does something like this.
“God, no, Joe surprised me with them earlier. He said he went to school with the lead.”
“Oh. Cool. Who?”
“Tom Hiddleston, I think. Have you heard of him? He’s British, but that’s about all I know. Joe just said they ran into each other the other day and reconnected.”
You stop halfway through a sip of coffee, careful to not choke on it. Slowly, you nod. “Yeah. I...I’ve seen him in a couple things.”
“Apparently, he hasn’t met his soulmate either…” Catherine trails away, raising her eyebrows at you.
You roll your eyes. “I heard,” you set your cup down. “He’s probably met them by now though since he blasted it on television like that.”
“Or he’s still searching and you’re still being too cynical.”
“You’re probably right,” you chuckle.
“Sooo, you’ll come?”
You sigh heavily. “As long as you help me pick something to wear.”
+++
“I’m regretting letting you talk me into this already,” you mutter when you nearly trip in your heels.
“Oh, hush,” Catherine swats your arm. “It’s an excuse to get dressed up and look hot for no reason. Take it.”
“Fine.”
Catherine’s soulmate, Joe, was whisked away almost as soon as the three of you stepped inside the venue by some director (you think), but he promised to return in a few minutes. Catherine told him not to worry. She’s used to him being dragged away for conversation. You can see from her face that she’s more proud of him than anything, and not at all annoyed.
Currently, you and Catherine are standing near the small bar, waiting for them to announce that it’s time to take your seats. You desperately want a drink, but part of you knows it would be a bad idea.
One glass of wine can’t hurt, though. Maybe it’ll take your mind off the pain in your feet.
You peel away from Catherine when you see Joe coming back, and you flag the bartender down quickly.
After ordering a glass of white wine, you wait patiently, wishing you had chosen a dress with sleeves. It’s fucking cold in here.
“Darling, you’re shivering, are you alright?”
Your head turns toward the smooth voice, face set and mind trying to decipher whether or not it was a sincere or creepy comment when the world quite literally explodes.
There, standing beside you, concern written all over his face, is Tom Hiddleston. Only now the concern has washed away into awe when your eyes lock with his.
“Oh my god,” he whispers, stumbling even though he’s standing in place.
“Blue,” you murmur. “Your eyes are blue.” Without even thinking or asking, your hand lifts to cup his cheek, and then you pull back, “Shit, sorry—”
But he grabs your wrist gently, placing your palm on his cheek. “It’s alright.” His thumb strokes the back of your hand. “I have been looking everywhere for you.”
“I thought you didn’t exist,” you whisper in reply. But here he is. His eyes are blue, his lips are pink, he has tiny brown freckles all over his rosy cheeks. You look back to his eyes, narrowing your own. “You liar. Your eyes have green in them, too.”
“Do they really?” Tom chuckles. “I never would’ve known.”
“That’s why you have me,” you tease, and you don’t know where any of this is coming from, yet it doesn’t feel like you’re pretending. It feels like you’re finally yourself.
His other hand tangles with yours as he nods. “That’s why I have you, indeed.”
At this time, the lights in the theatre begin lightly flashing, signaling that it’s time for everyone to begin making their way to their seats.
But neither you or Tom move one inch.
The only issue is people are beginning to stare.
You notice it first, so you slowly pull your hand from his cheek. This movement shocks him back to reality, too, and he blinks a few times, yet he doesn’t let go of your hand.
“I, um, I have to make a speech,” he says. “But then I can come back to you. Will you save me a seat?”
“Don’t you have to sit up front?”
He nods. “I do, but—”
“Then I’ll come with you.” You aren’t sure if it’s the fact that he hasn’t let go of your hand yet, or if it’s because you’ve been waiting so long that now you don’t want him to be further than an arms length away from you, but you mean what you say.
“Are you sure?” He asks, but you both need to make a decision quickly because you can see someone waving from the wings, most likely trying to get Tom’s attention.
“I’m sure.”
He doesn’t question it, in fact, he grins, and brings your hand up to his lips, kissing your knuckles. “Let’s go, then.”
490 notes · View notes
phykios · 3 years
Text
this one is dedicated to mi amor mari @perseannabeth, who is a beautiful bird and a wonderful friend and i am v v vvvvv grateful to have crossed the airwaves with her :”)
Today Was A Fairytale [read on ao3] T, modern royalty, fun at disneyland!
She stares at him. 
He stares back. “What?”
“Really?”
“What?”
“You really think this is going to be enough?” Annabeth points at her head, the blue Yankees cap squishing her curls. 
“Of course! It’s the Clark Kent effect.” As if to underline his point, Percy slips on his fake hipster glasses, except that stupid grin of his is too bright not to draw attention. 
“That’s not a real thing.”
“Sure it is. Studies show that glasses are actually good enough to alter your appearance if someone doesn’t know you well.”
“Then why didn’t you bring a pair of glasses for me?”
“Because your hair is definitely the prettiest thing about you,” he says, automatically tugging an unruly curl which peeks out from under the brim, a gesture so practiced she almost doesn’t register it--until he blinks, dropping his hand, blushing lightly. “I mean--the most noticeable thing. You know. A hat should be fine.”
He looks away. Heat rises to her face, too. Because it’s so hot out, obviously. 
“Anyway,” he mumbles, “um. No--no one’s going to give you a second look if your hair is hidden.”
Chewing her lip, Annabeth can’t help but worry. Percy’s face is extremely well-known, possibly more than hers, and they’ve both spent the better part of three weeks with their faces plastered all over the media on their diplomatic trip. This is probably a really, really bad idea. Then, a thought occurs to her. “How about,” she says, perking up, “you give me your glasses, and I’ll give you mine.” From her backpack, she fishes out a pair of sunglasses, big and nondescript. He’ll practically be wearing a superhero mask with these.
Percy smiles again, and Annabeth thinks she might fly. “Perfect.”
Which is how Her Royal Highness Anna Elisabeth Ingrid Irene of Sweden and His Serene Highness Perseus Alexandros Ioannis of Thera play hooky from their day of boring meetings, insufferable dignitaries, and stuffy security guards, to go see the eighth wonder of the world: Disneyland Resort in California.
And how Annabeth eats her words as they make it past the security gate unchecked. “Eh?” He beams, nudging her with his elbow. “Eh?”
Rolling her eyes, she shoves him back. “Shut up.”
***
[description: a tiktok video which depicts a line at Disneyland. the op, a black girl with braids, covers her mouth and looking into the camera, turning the camera to focus on the two people behind her. one is a tall boy with black hair and sunglasses, and the other is a blonde girl with a yankees hat and glasses. both are white. video text reads: “p sure the people behind me are prince percy and princess annabeth??? um?????”. background audio is a dubstep remix of the fight theme from undertale. end ID]
***
Maybe it’s a little weird, on account of her being actual royalty and all, but Annabeth has always been interested in princesses, both as a matter of historical record (history is awesome) and in the general sense. Like millions of other people, she, too, was raised on Disney movies and tales of princesses and true love, and she was just as captivated as the rest of them. She and Percy used to watch the Disney catalogue whenever their families held state visits for each other, staying up into the small hours of the morning, sharing some popcorn and singing along. 
Luckily for Annabeth, her favorite princess is holding a meet and greet at the Royal Hall.
“Excuse me,” Percy says, approaching Princess Ariel. Well, her cast member, anyway. “Could I get a photo for my friend?”
“Of course!” she trills, her blue eyes sparkling. “It would be my pleasure.” Holding her hand out, perfectly poised and graceful in a way that would impress even Annabeth’s stodgy etiquette instructor, she smiles, warm and welcoming, pivoting to bring Annabeth in for one of those weird, semi-awkward half-hugs. “What’s your name?”
“Anna,” says Annabeth. Hey, it’s not untrue. She’s a little leery of using any of her names, but Anna is common enough. Annabeth? Not so much. Even with her glasses and hat disguise, a little paranoia is justified, she thinks.
“It’s so wonderful to meet you, Anna,” she says, cheerful, with all the grace and charm of someone who doesn’t spend hours saying the same thing over and over again to excitable, temperamental children. What a trooper, she thinks.
“Don’t you recognize a fellow princess when you see one, your highness?” Percy says, grinning that stupid, smarmy grin of his. 
Annabeth glares. Oh, he thinks he’s so damn clever. 
“Oh, of course,” says Ariel, smoothly. “How could I have thought otherwise? Your highness.” And she curtsies to Annabeth, a short dip, her hand placed delicately against her chest. “Perhaps I can introduce you to my friend Anna, princess of Arendelle?”
Still smirking, Percy takes some more pictures, trapping Annabeth into smiling for the camera. She can’t be glaring daggers in her pictures, nor can there be video evidence of her kicking him--no matter how much she wants to.
And she definitely doesn’t miss the way Ariel not-so-subtly checks Percy out, eyeing him up and down.
“You fucking asshole,” she hisses as they leave the photo area, swatting him lightly, and he giggles. 
“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“Ugh, I hate you so much.”
It’s hard to stay mad at him, though she definitely tries as they enter back out into the park proper, giving him just the barest hint of a cold shoulder. 
“Aw, come on,” Percy says. “I was just teasing.”
“You shouldn’t go around tempting fate like that,” Annabeth says. “Do you want to cause another international incident?”
Percy winces, no doubt remembering the Gateway Arch incident of 2008. 
“If someone recognizes us, we don’t have Zoe or any of her team to protect us,” Annabeth goes on. “Not that I think anyone here would try to hurt us, but…” But it’s a little nerve-wracking, being on her own like this. She hasn’t been alone like this for a really long time.
Wincing, Percy rubs the back of his head. “I guess I forgot you’re a little higher profile than me. Sorry.”
She doesn’t like to think about it, but it’s true. Percy, by his nature as the younger son of a largely defunct royal house, doesn’t have quite the same number of… issues… that someone like Annabeth might have.
Deflating, she uncrosses her arms. “It’s okay.”
“I should have asked you first.”
“It’s really okay,” she says. “No harm no foul.”
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asks, entirely serious. “I can call someone up.”
She knows just how long they’ve planned this, how many favors he’s called in and policies he’s sidestepped. Backing out now would just be a waste of a day. She shakes her head. “It’s fine,” she says. “I’m just… feeling a little exposed, I guess. But, I don’t want to ruin all our plans. Let’s keep going.” She grabs his hand, squeezing a little.
“...Okay,” Percy says. “But say the word, and we’ll call it a day. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” Like he doesn’t have any other expression today, he smiles at her again.
It hits her, suddenly. He’s so much taller than she remembers. Once upon a time she used to be taller than him; now, he’s basically a whole head above her. 
It’s annoying. But also… not.
Spying something over her shoulder, his eyes light up, and he practically gasps. “Cinderella!” he points with his free hand, like a five-year old. “Come on!” And he takes off to one of the park corners, dragging Annabeth along with him. 
He has to wait in line behind a pair of twin girls, six or seven years old by the looks of it, in identical Cinderella dresses for a photo, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, and when it’s finally his turn, he nearly trips over himself to go up and ask for a photo. 
Cinderella agrees, and now Annabeth is relegated to the job of cameraperson. Percy slides in next to the princess, his hand on her waist, but, ever the respectful gentleman, loosely held, so the cast member can slide out of his grasp without any difficulty at all.
Taking a few shots, it does look kind of strange to have Cinderella’s beautiful, shining face, and Percy’s enormous sunglasses blocking his. “Take off your glasses?” she says, lowering her phone for a second. 
Dutifully, Percy slips them off, smiling again for the camera. 
Cinderella’s smile doesn’t falter, a credit to her professionalism, but Annabeth can see her eyes widen, just a touch.
Annabeth snaps off a few more photos, “Got ‘em!” and Percy once again gushes over the princess, thanking her for her time. Grabbing Annabeth’s hand again, he practically skips off, leading them in the direction of a nearby candy shop. 
***
me: IM SHAKING GUESS WHO I JUST TOOK A PICTURE WITH????
sis: prince percy?
me: HOW TF DID YOU KNOW
sis: its on twitter already
***
They’re walking along, Annabeth slurping up a Dole whip, when she suddenly stops in her tracks, outside of one of the many, many gift shops. “Wait up a second.”
“Hm?” Percy says, around the giant lollipop in his mouth. 
“I want to get some Mickey ears.” 
Very quickly they get lost in the sea of Disney merchandise, walking the labyrinth of Star Wars and Marvel and Pixar goods. There’s a surprising amount of black for the so-called happiest place on Earth, but things do brighten up when Annabeth finally turns a corner and finds the enormous selection of Mickey ears. It’s a wash of sparkles, flowers, bows, and occasionally characters, for children and adults alike. Annabeth eyes a pair designed like Baby Yoda, eyes wide and ears adorably huge, before she fingers a pair of white Mickey ears that have a bridal veil attached to them, contemplating its counterpart, the black ears for the groom, each ear emblazoned with a sparkling silver “Happily Ever After.”
She looks around. Where did Percy wander off to, anyway? 
Well, wherever he is, hopefully he hasn’t gotten mobbed by a horde of excitable fangirls. Given that she can’t hear any screaming--well, any unusual, non-Disneyland-relevant screaming--that’s probably a good sign. 
Running her fingers over the ear selections, she finally picks out a pair of silver sequined earrings with a shiny gold bow, a tiny, rhinestone Cinderella’s castle placed delicately in the middle. 
Yeah. This one. 
Percy finds her as she is paying for her ears, a pair of his own already on his head, red balloons inside of plastic circles. The sunglasses, she notes with a tinge of nervousness, are tucked in his shirt, and not on his face, protecting his identity. “Oh, check mine out--they light up!” he says, giddy, pressing the button on the side, not that she can tell in the brightly lit shop.
“That’s not why I was looking.”
Walking out of the store, ears firmly in her possession, she looks around again. Percy’s face is out there for the world to see, and no one is giving them a hard time. 
And her hat is really sweaty. 
Ah, fuck it.
She removes the Yankees cap, shaking out her sweaty curls, sliding the ears on in its place.
And the glasses, for good measure.
“Cinderella?” Percy asks.
“I thought you’d approve.”
Outside the shop, next to a corn dog cart, Percy pulls her aside, out of the way of a whole classroom’s worth of children, holding up a plastic plag. “So, confession.”
“Percy…” He didn’t. “We said no gifts!” They had agreed to it that morning!
“Well, see,” he says, fumbling around in the bag, pulling out a black t-shirt. “I saw this, and I thought--I thought you might like it.”
He unfolds it, and Annabeth frowns at the shirt design. 
It’s… a drawing of a man in a purple mask against a solid black background, glaring at the viewer. Circling him, in distressed, white-grey military font, are the words “BARON ZEMO,” and the logo for the show he must star in, Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. She doesn’t really watch superhero shows, though, and she’s pretty sure Percy doesn’t, either. Maybe he’s started this one and he really likes it? “Thanks,” she says, confusion coloring her voice despite her best efforts. 
But he doesn’t look too disappointed. “I was looking through their pride merch, and they didn’t have any stuff with the ace flag, which totally sucks, but then I thought that maybe you might like something a little more subtle? So, yeah.” He shakes it. “Ace pride!”
Oh. Oh, this boy. 
She remembers, so vividly, visiting his father’s summer home on Kalymnos, a few years ago, the summer she turned nineteen, waking up to a banging in the kitchen, noisy pots and pans making a real racket. Granted, it had been one in the afternoon, and Annabeth probably should have been awake sooner, but she had stumbled out of the guest room into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, to the sight of Percy wrestling with the standmixer, making bright, neon purple frosting. The night before, sometime around three or four AM, that weird, liminal hour where the shadow of night just starts to recede, the sky a sweet, soft, dusky blue, she had come out as demisexual to her best friend, saying the words aloud for the first time ever. Loopy from lack of sleep, the moment had passed without much fanfare.
But Percy, dark-circled and still yawning, had woken up early to make her a chocolate cake. By the time she had woken up, he had baked the cake, chilled it, and made two out of the three frosting colors, a beautiful, moist, dark chocolate cake which ended up being frosted with a marbled mix of purple, black, and white, all folding into each other into a kind of colorless, grey sugar. 
Here, now, in Disneyland, she throws herself at him, wrapping his arms around his neck. His arms automatically come up to circle her, hugging her tight. 
She had been worried it had been some kind of defense mechanism. A young girl with an alarmingly high profile, Annabeth had been the subject of intense scrutiny with regards to any romantic entanglements, with critics, tabloid reporters, and fans alike attempting to invent gossip-worthy relationships with every boy she ever talked to--most usually Percy. They did grow up in the public eye together, attending all kinds of events and functions together over the last fifteen or so years. And they did tweet at each other. Like, a lot. They even had their own portmanteau hashtag. But no relationship ever materialized.
She thought maybe she was just being stubborn, unwilling to play the media game. But it hadn’t been stubbornness. It wasn’t about shyness or inexperience. It was real, and it was her.
And Percy hadn’t even blinked.
“I love it,” she murmurs. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he says, swaying her from side to side, just a little. “It was my pleasure.”
***
What’s happening: #percabeth (Entertainment • trending)
@kndrck__ STREAM CHROMATICA: um @TheraUS @SwedenRoyals i think i found your sick royals? #percabeth #disneyland
@wasabiviking: omg werent they supposed to be at some hospital opening today #percabeth
@ChampionSno brando he/him: LMAOOO NOT #PERCABETH PLAYING HOOKY LIKE IT’S ROMAN HOLIDAY
***
“Holy shit,” Percy moans, his mouth full of food. “Oh my God. Dear God in Heaven.”
Annabeth kicks his ankle under the table. “Don’t be rude.”
He swallows, eyes fluttering. “Oh my God, Annabeth. Holy shit. This is the best damn sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
“A monte cristo?”
“A deep-fried monte cristo! In sweet batter!” Taking another bite, he moans again, just this side of indecent. “Oh my God I love Americans. They are absolute culinary geniuses.”
“Better than Bistrot Chez Rémy?” They had both been to Disneyland Paris, separately, sadly, and Percy had recommended the restaurant to her with great enthusiasm for her upcoming trip. As usual, he was spot on with his food recs. 
He nods, eyes closed in rapture. “By a mile.”
“You’ll have to learn to make your own when we get back home, then.”
He jolts, straightening up, cheeks full of food. Roughly, he swallows. “You’re right! I need to take notes.” And he takes out his phone, hurriedly typing down whatever scent and flavor notes he must be able to discern. “This is definitely challah…”
Plucking another piece of chicken with her fork out of her jambalaya, Annabeth lets her attention wander a little, content to watch the passengers on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as they float on beside them, down in the artificially constructed bayou river. 
Truth be told, she’s kind of tired. They’ve been walking around all day, and even with the brief reprieve of rides, her shoes really aren’t the kind that deal well with huge amounts of walking. She can already tell that she’s going to crash, and crash hard, whenever they get back to their hotel. You know, if their security detail doesn’t eviscerate them first. 
When Percy had first presented his idea to her, she had agreed without hesitation. They had had a long, dense schedule of public appearances planned for their excursions to the states, and the days had begun to seriously wear them out. Together, they had worked out the kinks, coming up with contingencies, negotiating things to do, all over Discord so no one else would get wind of what they were doing. Prior to this trip, she hadn’t seen him in… probably almost a year. She knows his father had been keeping him close to home for whatever reason, and Annabeth had had a handful of official functions to deal with. Their paths just never managed to cross, up until now. 
She hadn’t realized how much she had missed him. 
It’s lonely, growing up in the public eye. It’s cliche, but it’s true. And while Annabeth is afforded a metric ton of various intersecting privileges, she thinks she’d probably give it up in a heartbeat. It kind of sucks being a living, breathing tourist attraction. 
Growing up, she had her cousin Magnus, and a handful of other assorted children to play with, but she would never say that she had a best friend, or even a good friend, until she’d met Percy. Her mother and his father, famous for their mutual dislike, had put aside their differences to host some kind of charitable dinner for the disgustingly wealthy, and had trotted out their respective children in all their finery. Annabeth, being all of twelve years old, hadn’t really grasped the gravity of the event, and had gotten into an itty bitty little food fight with the then-unknown Prince Perseus, the result of an extramarital affair whom his father had so graciously decided to acknowledge and adopt. 
After that night, they became fast friends, and she decided that, if she ever left the royal life, she’d make sure to take Percy with her. He’s one of the few things that makes her life bearable. 
She thinks about it, sometimes. Renouncing her title. It wouldn’t exactly be hard. There was Magnus, just in line behind her. And it’s not like her family held any executive power anyway. They’re just fancy, historically interesting celebrities. 
Would Percy give up his, she wonders?
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
He looks at her oddly over their dessert, two vanilla-bourbon creme brulees. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Just tired. Long day.”
“You want to call it a night?”
She frowns. “What’s left?”
“Well, we did Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, a few others,” he counts off his fingers, “saw the princesses, got Mickey ears, ate at Blue Bayou… I guess all that’s left is walking around the pier, if you want.”
“Sounds like you two had a full day.”
As one, they almost leap out of their seats, Annabeth choking on her spit. “Jesus, Zoe,” Percy pants, his hand over his chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Oh?” says Zoe Nightshade, the head of their security detail, who had just apparently materialized out of thin air. “Funny. I could say the same about you, sir.”
Coughing, Annabeth eventually manages to get her air back. “Hey, Zoe,” she wheezes. “How was your day?”
“Eventful. Let me tell you about it in the car.”
Annabeth glances at Percy, who’s looking a little bit like a deer in headlights. Honestly, she’s surprised they even made it this far without one of their own tracking them down. Still, it looks like their game is up. 
...Or is it?
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a large tour group, approaching on the horizon.
“Sure,” Annabeth says, getting up. Luckily, they’ve already paid, so they can just head out; they don’t need to wait for another big group of people to cross their paths. “Will you let us go to the bathroom, first?”
Zoe squints. She’s always been able to see through Annabeth’s bullshit. But Annabeth has her best, Percy-patented baby seal eyes on, perfectly innocent. Surely, Zoe wouldn’t deny them a physical need such as relieving themselves?
After a moment, she nods. “Make it quick, if you please.”
“Of course,” Annabeth says, looking over at Percy, hoping he gets the message. He stands up, slow and stiff, eyes darting between the two of them. “We’ll be right back.”
They wander through tables and chairs towards the bathroom, her eyes always on the tour group as it just starts to pass by. Reaching out, Annabeth grabs Percy’s hand, and with a turn that would make her track coach proud, sprints out of the restaurant, using the throng of people as cover. 
She thinks she hears Zoe yelling behind them, but maybe it’s just her own laughter. “Come on!” she shrieks, breathless, as Percy’s long legs keep pace with her. “To California Adventure!”
***
darthbingus said: the monarchy are fucking parasites but percabeth is pretty cute i guess :/
ladyofsandwiches reblogged and said: it’s obviously a publicity thing lmao, also prince Percy is gay???
eowynning reblogged and said: he’s dating rachel dare, right? he can’t be gay 
ladyofsandwiches reblogged and said: That was a publicity thing too obvs, and Annabeth hasn’t ever been linked to a guy. The king of thera is hardline greek orthodox, there’s no way he’d let his son come out publicly. They’re both gay and pretending to date because homophobia
lardoftheprks reblogged and said: people can be bi and ace and pan and all sorts of things you know
batgirlcock reblogged and said: can you animals leave them alone fr
***
Zoe only spots them after the ferris wheel starts moving. Sprinting over to them, they’re still a full forty feet off the ground by the time she reaches the operator. “Sorry!” she yells down to her, hands cupping her mouth. “We’ll be down in ten minutes!”
“Ananbeth!” he chokes, giggles still escaping him. 
“What?” she laughs. 
“We’re in enough trouble as it is!”
“Exactly,” she says, settling back on the ride. “You’ll probably be grounded for life.”
“Me?” he squawks, playfully offended. “What about you?”
She scoffs. “Please. I’ll just pin it all on you.”
Leaning back, he pouts, arms crossed. “Wow. I plan this amazing day, violate a few embassorial rules, and probably put both of our countries on a massive red alert, and this is the thanks I get?”
“I helped plan it, too.” But he does have a point. “Thank you,” she says. “I had a lot of fun today.”
He turns his head to her, a grin stretching across his face. “Me too.” 
His voice is so soft, so fond. They share a look, a moment, no words between them, only the silence of a true, deep companionship. They don’t need to say anything else, because they already know what the other would say. 
As one, they break away, looking back out into the California evening. 
They don’t talk much as the ferris wheel climbs higher and higher. Honestly, Annabeth is kind of impressed with how well he’s handling himself--she knows heights are a bit of a weakness of his. He grabs the edges of their gondola every once in a while as it drops a few feet, knuckles white and face a little green, but he manages to keep his dinner down, even as the ferris wheel grinds to a halt, Percy and Annabeth at the top of the world. The swing back and forth a little, hot faces against the cool evening breeze. 
And they stay there. 
And stay there. 
And… stay there. 
Annabeth checks her watch. How long have they been up here?
Percy taps his feet, a little too frantic just to be ADHD. 
Finally, there’s a burst of noise from below them, garbled and static. “Uh, yes, excuse me--” the voice says, amplified through a megaphone. “Yeah, um, it appears we are having some… uh, technical difficulties with the Pixar Pal-A-Round. Please remain calm, as we have our best technicians on it, and we are working on evacuating the ride in a calm and efficient manner.” Then the voice cuts out. 
Annabeth glances towards Percy. He has his hands in his lap, fists clenching and unclenching, over and over again. “Uh… you okay?”
“Hm? Oh, sure,” Percy says, “just fine. Peachy keen.” He squeezes his eyes shut, slowly blowing out his breath through his mouth. 
“Hey.” She reaches over, and takes one of his hands in hers, lacing their fingers together. After a long day of holding hands, somehow it still manages to surprise her, how well they fit together, how her skin tingles as she rubs her thumb against his finger. “It’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna be just fine. They’re going to get us off this ride, and then we’ll fly home and be grounded for life.”
“I thought,” he wheezes, “you’d blame it all on me?”
“As if you could come up with a plan as genius as hiding from our guard in It's A Small World.”
He nods, shakily. “Right. All you. Definitely not my idea. Everyone knows I’d have looped back to Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“Definitely.” She squeezes his hand, scooting a little closer. “Just breathe with me a little, okay?”
They breathe together, slowly and evenly. At some point, Percy takes her hand in both of his, running his thumbs over her palm, tracing her lifelines like a map. His hands are big, and warm, and it seems to calm him down a little, so she doesn’t mind all that much. 
Twilight darkens, stars twinkling against the grey, dusky sky, and still they are holding hands. Eventually, Percy relaxes, slumping against his seat.
“You good?” 
He nods. He still doesn’t let go. “Yeah. Just…” he sighs, stretching his arms up, taking Annabeth’s hand with him. “Not super looking forward to the dressing down I’m going to get.”
She winces. Annabeth’s dad is a little more flexible than Percy’s when it comes to breaches of protocol. The king of Thera is somewhat famous for his paranoia. “I hope it was worth it.”
He whips his head to her, eyes wide. “Of course it was worth it!” he says, as though the opposite were even fathomable. “You kidding? This was the best day of my life.”
“Better than your sixteenth?” His father had officially acknowledged him that day. Annabeth had spotted him in a deserted hallway with his mother, the two of them fighting off a few happy tears. She knows just how special that day was for him. 
“Not even close.” Squeezing her hand, he smiles again, that smile she knows almost better than her own by now. That smile she grew up with, a quiet oasis in a whirlwind of ancient tradition and modern media coverage. That smile is safety, familiarity. That smile was there to greet her when her mother chose to leave her family, when her uncle died without heirs, thrusting the position of heiress on her, whenever she had a rotten day or a bad grade or a lonely night, just on the other end of a phone, or down the hall, or in the kitchen. 
Whatever happens, she knows, Percy will be her best friend. Her anchor. 
Her…
She swallows. “Thank you,” she says again. “I needed this.” A day without an agenda. A day just for them. 
His eyes are dark, and soft, like the water beneath them. One hundred and fifty feet in the air in a broken ferris wheel, there’s nowhere safer she can be. “Me too.”
So she’s not really surprised at herself when she says, “I’d really like to kiss you now.”
Eyes widening, just a hair, he opens his mouth, momentarily speechless. “You--are you sure?”
She nods, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
“Cool. Uh, me too.”
“Cool.”
Neither of them move. 
“So, do--do you want to--”
Annabeth leans in, her other hand cupping his cheek, and kisses him. 
His lips are soft. His mouth tastes like vanilla and bourbon. They are trapped in a metal box, one hundred and fifty feet off the ground, about to get the punishment of their lives when they get down, and it is absolutely, utterly perfect. 
And when Annabeth pulls back, there are fireworks. 
Quite literally.
Percy’s face glows with pink and green and purple, and a little fire in his eyes that’s all him. The pops of the fireworks, loud and brassy, and muted, completely overshadowed by the pounding of her heart in her chest. 
They rest their heads against each other, breathing each other’s air, quiet and intimate, the calm before the storm that is surely coming. But that’s fine. Let it come, she thinks. She’ll be safe with Percy.
When the park technicians eventually get the ferris wheel moving again, Percy and Annabeth disembark from the gondola like nothing’s even gone wrong, waving to the crowd of people, fans, and reporters alike, who have swarmed the pier, phones and cameras held aloft in a constellation of light, before being quickly hurried away by Zoe and her crew, ushered to the end of the pier where Annabeth’s embassy’s car is waiting. 
Percy doesn’t let go of her hand once. 
***
KALYMNOS, GREECE--Prince Percy has arrived on the island for his family’s annual summer retreat, bringing his girlfriend, Princess Annabeth of Sweden, with him for the fifth year in a row, and the third as his official partner. Lifelong friends, the couple were most recently seen at Disneyland Tokyo, continuing something of a tradition for the two royals where they visit Disneyland parks across the globe. Our sources inside the castle are hinting that the family is planning something big this year. Could we see a proposal by the end of summer? Be sure to subscribe for more updates!
138 notes · View notes
jeonggukookies · 3 years
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too young || five
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summary: you learn about jungkook’s past, and jungkook and his daughter aren’t too happy about that
word count: 4,116
genre: parent!au, single dad!jungkook angst
one || two || three || four || five
As long as you could remember, Valentine’s Day was your favorite holiday. You just loved making cute valentine’s cards, colored paper hearts and making little mailboxes to put your candy in. Not only that, but you just loved your parents spoiling each other on that day whether it was doing cute things spontaneously or putting love poems on sticky notes every where around the house.  
Valentine’s Day was just the day you wanted to be in love, but for the most part, you and your short term boyfriends never made it that long, so it was just mainly you working at schools, doing arts and crafts with the kiddos, spreading the love to them. 
Today was different. 
You invited all parents to come and help their child decorate their mailboxes, and you rescheduled any tasks or meetings that day as you wanted to spend the whole day visiting each classroom to see everyone’s progress and give candy out. 
Wanting to spend the most time with Jules, you visited her classroom last. Her classroom was well decorated for the holiday. The color pink and red along with messages and puns about love and hearts were found everywhere. 
Standing under the doorway, a smile appeared on your face once you saw Jules in Jungkook’s lap. She was laughing with her head tilted back as Jungkook traced his hand onto the cardboard mailbox. “Jungkook, why are you putting a hand turkey on our mailbox?!”
You talked to every student and parent in the class before taking a seat next to Jungkook. “I love the mailbox.” 
“Do you want to put your handprint on it?” Jules asked as she put a heart shape lollypop in her mouth and snuck one into your pocket. “Me and Jungkook have more for you later, but don’t tell anyone.” 
You smiled and grabbed a red marker from the table. “I would love to put my hand on the mailbox.”
“So I have some news,” Jungkook said as you pushed the marker lid off. “I have to leave a day early next week.” 
Jungkook was going on a business trip overseas for a week, and during that week, Jules was going to stay with you. At first you didn’t understand why Jungkook was telling you, but once you realized it, you dropped the marker abruptly. “Wait, that means you won’t be able to be there with me when I meet the girls.”
“I’m sorry, but I promise Jin is going to make sure it all runs smoothly,” Jungkook reassured you, picking up the marker off the table. “We can wait till after you come back if you want.”
You shook your head, not wanting to wait any longer to meet them. It was bound to happen whether you liked it or not. “It’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” He questioned, raising his eyebrows. 
“I promise.” 
After school, you spent the rest of Valentine’s Day making blanket forts and watching movies with Jungkook and Jules, and you knew that you could never get tired of this. 
___________
“Uncle Jin!” Jules excitedly jumped up and down as Jin bent down and wrapped her arms around her. “I missed you!” 
“It’s not as if I didn’t see you a day ago.” Jin pulled away, smiling. “Your cousin is waiting for you in her room.” 
Jules hurried off to take off her jacket and rushed upstairs. “So you’re first meeting Taehyung’s wife first, then Jimin’s and then mine,” Jin quietly explained as he took your jacket along with Jules to put it on the coat rack. “Tae dropped her off first, so you can warm up to her. Jimin’s on his way to drop off Seo-yeon, and Su-ji is still at work and has to pick up tonight’s dinner.” 
He gestured behind him with his eyes where Tae’s wife, Ji-Ho was. You were surprised by her appearance. She looked like a normal human being when the boys had described her similar to the evil queen from Snow White.
"She doesn’t look scary at all,” you whispered in a hushed voice. “Why did you guys try to scare me?”
“Ji-Ho, this is Y/N, Jungkook’s girlfriend. Ji-Ho came early, and we’re just talking about a book idea she has,” Jin said in his normal tone, ignoring the comment you made. “She wants to write a book about being able to forgive and forget.” 
Sitting next to Jin on his white loveseat, you looked and smiled at Ji-Ho who was on the white sofa across from you two, staring at carpet, not meeting your eyes. “I didn’t know you wrote books. Why do you want to write a book about that?”
“The world is a cruel place where people hold grudges over trivial and dumb things. They say they forgive, but never forget. Teaching others and helping them learn to do that will make it seem like you’re mature and able to have peace with yourself,” she explained, now playing with her hands in her lap. “Why hold grudges when you can move on and not give them the power to think about them?”
“I suppose that you can be happier just living your own life when you focus on yourself and forget and forgive.” Jin shrugged his shoulders. 
“Do you think that people who can’t forgive and forget are unhappy people?” You asked. 
“Excuse me?” Ji-Ho asked, finally looking at you. 
“I think what she meant to say is-” You cut Jin off.
“Personally, I think you only need to forgive someone and come to terms that not everyone or everything is going to work out in your favor. Forgetting it is like running away from your problems. It’s not going to go away just because you ignore or forget the feeling; you just will experience it again.” You shrugged your shoulders as Jin muttered an ‘oh god we’re dead’ under his breath. He was shaking in fear, worried about what you were going to say next and afraid of Ji-Ho’s reaction.
Ji-Ho scoffed. “What do you think about forgiving and forgetting then? You think we shouldn’t forgive and we shouldn’t forget?” 
“No, I’m not saying that, and I’m not saying that you’re wrong either because I don’t think we should hold grudges,” you said slowly. “But maybe you can forgive and accept, but you can’t forget, so you can be able to learn and overcome obstacles like that to be a better version of oneself.  Does that make sense?” 
Ji-Ho scoffed, but this time, she smiled at you and looked at you with interest in her eyes. “What is your name again?” 
“Y/N.” 
“It’s nice to meet you.” She released a laugh, which startled Jin. “I think we’re going to get along perfectly fine.” 
Ji-Ho did open up to you right away, talking about her interests and asking all about you as if she wanted to know every single detail. She was a lot like Taehyung, and you realized they truly were a perfect match for each other. They were both kind, observant and funny without even trying. 
After twenty minutes, Seo-yeon and Su-ji arrived at the same time. Su-ji immediately went into the kitchen with some grocery bags as Seo-yeon took a seat next to Ji-Ho, smiling. 
“Hi, how are you?” She asked, not giving you anytime to think or respond before talking again. “We heard so many great things about you, and I am so happy for Jungkook. It’s about time he finally found someone and that we’re able to meet her.” 
Not knowing what to say, you laughed as your cheeks reddened. You weren’t really good at accepting compliments, but a part of you felt happy, knowing Jungkook was surrounded by people who loved him and wanted what was best for him.
“I got a charcuterie board for all of us,” Su-ji said out of breath, coming out of the kitchen. She placed the large plate on the coffee table in front of everyone and took a seat in between the other wives. “Hi, Y/N.” 
Most of the dinner went well. It was basically like an interview where they were trying to see your strengths and weaknesses, but you still felt comfortable with them, talking to them.
“Can we see pictures of you and Jungkook?” Ji-Ho asked. You unlocked your phone and passed it to Jin’s wife as she sat in the middle and could show them. “It really sounds like you two are both happy and comfortable with each other.” 
“It was really nice to meet you all,” you said as most of the plate was gone. 
“You don’t have to lie to them,” Jin joked. “I know my presence is enough for you to enjoy.” 
“No, I do mean it,” you reassured them just in case they didn’t take you seriously. “Jungkook talks about Jules and his support system all the time, and it warms my heart that you guys were there for both of them when they were struggling especially after their loss.” 
“Oh?” The look of displacement was written all over Su-ji’s face. “You know about Sarah?” 
“Yes,” you answered. “Is that a problem?”
“If you want me to be honest, I never thought Jungkook would see anyone after Sarah’s passing,” Jin’s wife absentmindedly said, thinking it was a compliment. In the corner of your eye, you can tell Jin was giving her a warning glare as if he didn’t want her to say anything else to you.
“Excuse me?” If she was trying to make you feel better about yourself, she was surely doing the opposite, but you hardened your face, so she couldn’t see that her words affected you. You knew that’s what she wanted, for you to be hurt. She wanted a reaction out of you, and you weren’t going to give her the satisfaction of getting it. 
“You know, Y/N, from the way you talked about it, your relationship with Jungkook reminds me of Sarah and Jungkook’s relationship,” Su-ji said once she saw the picture Jules took of you and Jungkook laying down, cuddling in the blanket fort during New Years. 
Although hearing the name of Jules’s mother made your heart drop, you kept your poker face on and continued to act like everything was okay. With confidence, you raised your eyebrows. “I’m not sure what that means.” 
“Jin and I actually grew up with Sarah and Jungkook. We always went on lunch dates together while we were still in school,” Su-ji explained with a murderous smile on her face. “Kook’s a romantic, isn’t he? Opening the doors, cooking home-cooked meal, giving his jacket when it’s cold, and writing songs and poems weekly? He did that all the time for girls when we were younger. He did that for Sarah too.” 
Your face softened at what Su-ji listed. They were all things he had never done for you, and you couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. Did he want to do something new and fresh with you? Or did he just not put in effort and care? 
Most of it wasn’t a big deal. There was nothing wrong with opening the door yourself and being prepared for cold weather. You could have easily just asked Jungkook for a piece of his clothing if you had wanted to. But the thing that bothered you the most was in a span of months, Jungkook has never written anything for you.
He was a songwriter, but somehow, he didn’t have any words for you. 
You knew Su-ji was hurting your pride on purpose, but for some reason, you let her continue and listened to every word she had to say. She stared at the pictures on your phone. “The way he looks at you is almost identical to the way he looked at Sarah.” 
“Su-ji...” Jin warned. “Stop now.”
"It’s almost as if you were Sarah.” Her sharp words cut like a knife. If it weren’t your phone that started ringing in her hands, you would have cried on the spot. You felt a little better seeing Jungkook’s name on your screen. “Oh speak of the devil.”
“Why don’t we call it a night? I’m sure Y/N needs some rest.” Jin suggested as you stared at your phone. “How about you girls go clean, I’ll go get the kids, and Y/N, stays here to talk to Jungkook?” 
The girls, one by one, got up from the couch with their plates, heading towards the direction of the kitchen. As they left, each one of them gave you a look. Jin’s wife gave you a look of resentment, Jimin’s wife gave you a look of pity, and Tae’s wife gave you a look of worry.
You slid your thumb on the screen and answered Jungkook’s call. “Hey. What’s up?” 
“How are you, darling?” His honey voice made you want to cry. All you wanted was to cry your heart out and have his voice and touch comfort you, but he was the reason why you wanted to cry. “Doing okay?” 
“Yeah, the dinner went terrific. I really liked tonight,” you lied, trying not to let your voice crack. “I’m actually not feeling so well, so I’m leaving early with Jules in like five minutes.” 
“Are you sure you’re okay? It sounds like you want to cry?” He could read you so easily. “Is something wrong? If something is wrong, I can take the next flight and be back with you as soon-” 
“Everything is fine. Jules and I are fine.” Lie once again. “Please don’t worry.” 
Jules came down the stairs, holding hands with Jin. She ran towards you with a smile on your face, cheering you up a little bit. “Is that Jungkook?” 
“Do you want to talk to him?” You asked, and she shook her head. “Kook, I’m going to help Jules get ready to go home, and I’ll call you back once we’re there. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, of course. Drive home safely, okay? I miss you.” 
“I’ll talk to you later.” You hung up the phone. 
Jules put her arms out once she saw you grab her red winter coat from the armchair. As you helped her put her jacket on, you hear distant arguing. 
“What were you thinking, Su-ji?! You had no right to do that! That behavior was unacceptable and immature of you.” Jin whispered as he scolded her. 
“What are you talking about?” 
“Talking about Sarah and Jungkook like that! Making Y/N feel bad when she did absolutely nothing to you. He paused. “Sarah might have been your best friend, but she would have been extremely disappointed in how you treated Jungkook’s girlfriend.”
“I don’t need a lecture from you, Jin,” Su-ji snapped. “I personally do not think I do anything wrong!”
“I wouldn’t even be having one if you had behaved like an adult!” He argued back. “Even Ji-Ho didn’t say anything degrading about her. She actually liked Y/N and she usually hates everybody at first.”
 “Don’t you think she deserved to know? All I did was tell her the truth!”
“You didn’t help her!” Helping Jules put her black hat on, you tried to listen to more of their conversation. “You’re unbelievable. I am furious with you.” 
“Sleep on the couch then if you just want to defend her instead of me.”
“If something happens between them because of this, I will never forgive you.” 
It doesn’t take long for Jin to come back to the living room with a forced smile on his face. He went closer to where you and Jules were at, bent down, grabbed the white gloves and helped Jules put them on her hands.
“Jules, honey, aren’t you going to say bye to your favorite Uncle Jin?” You asked. “Thank him too.” 
“Thank you Uncle Jinnie for the food and hugs.” She wrapped her arms around him, instantly, making him smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Sweetie.” He let go of Jules and stood up, making eye contact with you as you put your jacket on. “I’ll walk you out.” 
____
[seokjin]
i want to apologize for su-ji’s behavior. i should have stopped her, and i am sorry. you didn’t deserve that. i know you’re going to tell me that it’s okay, but save it. it really was not okay
you know what su-ji said isn’t true right? 
jungkook only loved sarah as a sister
he didn’t love her like he loves you
i promise
It took you a while to respond to Jin’s text. You wanted to believe his words because he knew Jungkook better than anyone, but his wife’s words kept repeating in your head. 
It’s almost as if you’re Sarah.
did he tell you that? 
that he loved me differently than sarah? 
He didn’t respond, and what you’ve learned in the past is that sometimes no answer is an answer.
___
"Why do you like me?” Jungkook was coming back tomorrow, and before his flight, you called him randomly. “Why me? Out of all people? I’m nothing special.” 
“What are you talking about?” Jungkook asked. “Don’t say things like that. That’s not true.” 
“I mean, come on, when you got to know me, I didn’t have a rough upbringing or had a special talent that made me stand out from others. I was just an ordinary person with parents and a few friends.” 
As you waited for an answer, you opened your laptop and went onto a social networking website. Sighing, you looked up the one person that was on your mind lately ever since the dinner at Jin’s. 
“You talk about how I’m so passionate about my dream and how I’m so amazing for growing up and taking care of Jules, but I think about you like that.” 
“How so?” You breathed out, barely audible. 
“Like I know it’s your job to take care of the kids and to make sure everyone is learning, but you take the time to connect with others and strive to make everything better is amazing.” 
Sarah’s profile finally loaded onto your screen. Her profile picture was her and Jules, smiling on a park bench. Scrolling down, almost all her public and tagged pictures were with Su-ji and Jin’s family, celebrating almost every little occasion together. “Really?”
“And I know you want to take care of everyone and you’re okay with being by yourself, but I hope you know that there are people in the world who do care about you and will care about you.” His comforting words made you want to cry. “I care about you.” 
Before you could say anything, the last picture you stumbled across on was a picture of Sarah and Jungkook together at her graduation. Sarah was wearing her cap and gown, holding a bouquet of roses in her hand. She had the biggest smile on her face as she looked up at Jungkook, who was in the middle of laughing. Although this picture of old, Jungkook almost looked the same and had the same features. The only difference was that he never looked quite as happy with you.
“Are you okay?” Jungkook asked, bringing you back to reality. “What’s up?
Clearing your throat, you answered, “Yeah. I just was thinking.”
“I also love everything about you, you know? I love how you have a different, but such an understanding perspective about literally anything,” he said. “You’re special.”
“I hope so.”
“I’m going to sleep now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” You hung up the phone without saying anything, still staring at the picture of Jungkook and Sarah.
“What are you doing?” A gasp came out of your mouth as you shut the laptop lid as quickly as you could and turned your head to see Jules behind you. The look of confusion was all over her face along with heartache. “Why were you looking at pictures of my mom?” 
“I’m not!” You denied, putting the laptop onto the table. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
“You were.” She ignored your question, wanting actual answers. “I saw you.” 
She took a seat next to you, looked at your for a long time and looked down at her fingers in her lap. “I know it’s been a long time, but I know what my mom looks like, and I know you were looking at her.”
“Honey-” Jules ran up the stairs, not hearing your explanation or excuse. 
__
“I missed you so much.” The moment Jungkook saw you in the airport, he ran as fast as he could with his silver carry on suitcase, wrapping his arms around you. It was the tightest hug you’ve ever received, and you never wanted to let go. “I missed Jules too, but I really missed you.” 
He pulled away and saw the tiny red bag in your left hand. “I got you a gift for White Day.” 
“You didn’t have to.” Wrapping his arm around your shoulder, you two walked slowly towards the exit. “Is this really for White Day?” 
“What else would it be for?” 
“A gift for being insecure?” 
You stopped in your tracks, and he took it as a sign to let go of you. “What?” 
“Well, I don’t know what to think when you asked me things I liked about you, and then Jules telling me you were looking up Sarah.” Not wanting to meet his stare, you continued looking down at the ground at your feet. Once you looked back up, he saw the guilt in your eyes. He scoffed and rubbed under his nose in disbelief, taking your silence as his answer. His tone of voice changed. “I can’t believe you.”
“Why does it bother you, Jungkook? Maybe I was just curious. Is that so wrong?” 
“Except you weren’t! You and I both know that!” His voice grew louder with each word he said. It was the first time he was raising his voice at you, and it was a surprise. He was always the one who always kept calm in the most heated situations. “I told you everything about Sarah.” 
“Not the fact that she was head over heels for you!” You cried.
“Oh my god. Is this what this is about? You wanted to see if Sarah was in love with me?” He shook his head. This wasn’t the Jungkook you knew; he was acting different. “Who even told you that?”
“Does it really matter?” You stared at him. “I was bound to find out sooner or later.”
He shook his head. “No one looks pictures of dead strangers unless they want to know something.” 
“Fine! I just wanted to know if what the girls said was true. They said that you two were madly in love. They said I was practically a replacement for Sarah.  I just had to find out if it was true.” You paused when Jungkook looked away, not wanting to look at you. Not only that, but you noticed there were tears that were about to fall from his eyes. “She was beautiful and looked so happy with you. You looked happy with her too.” 
Silence.
“Seokjin told me that you didn’t love her.” 
Silence. 
“Is that true?”
Silence once again. 
“Jungkook, I can’t compete with her.” 
He finally looked back at you and grabbed your hands. “I’m not asking you to.” 
“I can’t do this,” you cried, pulling away. “I want to be with you and want you to want me because you love me. Not because I remind you of the girl who isn’t here anymore.”
“Don’t do this,” he whispered. “Don’t say that.” 
“Do you realize how badly it hurt when they told me that?” Sobbing, you covered your mouth holding back any ugly sounds you were going to produce. “I was humiliated and felt like I would never measure up.” 
“You are more than good enough.” 
“What am I supposed to think when they told me that?” 
“Believe me and Seokjin when I say that I have feelings for you.” You knew he was trying to comfort you, but you noticed that he didn’t straight out admit that he didn’t have feelings for Sarah. 
“You’ve never written me a song,” The color drained out of his face as he heard your voice crack; you got your answer. There were tears falling down your face, but he didn’t wipe them like he always did when you cried after watching sad movies. “You have never written me anything.”
He let go of your hands. 
You walked away, and he didn’t even come after you. __ 
lowkey not proofread but i really just want to continue this hehe thanks for reading
422 notes · View notes
makeste · 3 years
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BnHA Chapter 292: You Say Jeans
Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “well anyway here’s that Touya reveal I foreshadowed like a million years ago, viva la 2020.” Dabi was all “hello world, I’ve killed 30 people and today I’m going to explain to you all why” before he proceeded to explain ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but everyone was so distracted by his tale of child abuse and hero conspiracies that they didn’t much seem to notice. Can’t Ya See-Kun’s Shark Friend was all “IS THIS THE END OF HERO SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT”, and Horikoshi was all “STAY TUNED”, and then Dabi set himself on fire and leaped off of Machia’s back like the chaotic evil, I-just-bleached-all-my-brain-cells weird little fire man he is, ready to burn everyone to crispy bits before they could even react properly to his whole big revenge speech. Fortunately he did not succeed on account of THE RETURN OF THE JING, THE JOAT, BEST FUCKING JEANIST, back from the dead by popular demand in what critics are calling “the best fucking comeback since Jesus himself.”
Today on BnHA: Best Jeanist snatches up Machia and the rest of the League with his fiber steel cables before you can say “more like BEAST JEANIST amirite.” Dabi gets all worked up and lights Hadou on fire which is a real JERK MOVE, and is all “THIS RIGHT HERE IS ALSO ENDEAVOR’S FAULT”, which, NOT SUPER CONVINCED ON THAT, BUT OKAY. Anyway so then he burns up all the cables holding him which is crazeballs btw, and then he and Shouto start fighting, and so basically the whole thing is a literal hot mess and we’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile Tomura wakes up and summons some Noumus, and poor Jeanist has to deal with those on top of the still-attempting-to-rampage Gigantomachia, and everyone else is all “we can’t help you on account of we’re all half dead”, and so it’s looking really bad. And then -- and I can’t stress enough how much I don’t even have the faintest idea how to segue into this next part -- the chapter ends with Mirio!?! just sort of POPPING UP OUT OF THE GROUND all, “SURPRISE, BITCH”, and it literally was so surprising that I am still just kind of speechless. WELL-PLAYED, I GUESS, lol wtf.
lol okay so the first page in the RHA scan is just the “three musketeers” movie promo image that we all already saw a few days ago. but it does confirm that (a) it is indeed a movie, and (b) that it’s set for a summer 2021 release! how exciting
okay so now back to our special Dabi edition of Making a Murderer
“ray of hope” oh hell yes. SAVE US MR. JEANIST
I guess he had a TV in his private hero jet or something?
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gotta say, “dammit Dabi” does not even remotely sound like Authentic Best Jeanist Dialogue to me though. gonna need Caleb to see to this. well but what do you guys think? does Best Jeanist curse?? I personally feel like he’s one of those guys who NEVER EVER swears no matter what, except under the most hilariously trifling circumstances. like he’s eating an avocado one day and he accidentally stains the cuffs of his beloved jostume green and he’s all “FUCK”
btw how fucking rich is Best Jeanist though that he has his own fucking plane? the thought just suddenly occurred to me, you know? like even Endeavor, whose agency has its own on-site luxury apartment suites for all of his interns, still drives around in a dinky little car that Bakugou has declared to be too small. which, I guess we know why he felt that way now, seeing as the guy he previously interned with apparently gets around in Jeans Force One
anyway so back to the part where Jeanist shows up to save the day!! YEAH JEANIST WOOOOO
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ILU JEANIST YOU REALLY ARE THE BEST!! HUGS AND KISSES!!!
lmao we just saw Gigantomachia take out like a hundred guys not ten chapters ago. and Best Jeanist shows up and takes him down in like two seconds. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES LEAGUE OF VILLAINS. BET YOU’RE WISHING YOU’D TAKEN HIS QUIRK NOW, AFO. GET FUCKED YOU OLD SPUD
KACCHAN IS SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM AWW
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SIDE NOTE, IIDA, YOU AND I ARE GONNA HAVE WORDS LATER ABOUT YOU ACTUALLY AGREEING TO PUT HIM BACK DOWN. YOU DO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CHILD IS STILL DRIPPING BLOOD ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM HIS MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS, RIGHT? WAY TO ASSERT YOUR AUTHORITY THERE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE CLASS PRESIDENT NOT THE CLASS CLOWN, COME ON NOW
LMAO DABI IS FRANTICALLY TRYING TO DO THE PLOT MATH
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SHOULDA CHECKED MORE CLOSELY MY GOOD MARK. LOOKS LIKE YOU MISSED THE “MADE IN CHINA” STICKER ON THE BOTTOM. YOU HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED. OR ACTUALLY, I GUESS THE MORE ACCURATE WORD HERE IS JAMBOOZLED, AHAHAHAHA. JEANS
HOLY SHIT DABI
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I legit almost thought that was Tomura for a second. you two look so alike now with the white hair and the crazy eyes
meanwhile, Shouto is still crying and it’s a lot to take, you guys. lotta feels
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ffff come on Jeanist you better do something awesome again here, the mood of the chapter is starting to slip now
YES, GOOD, THAT’LL WORK
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WELL YOU TELL ME, SPINNER. I GUESS THAT MEANS BEST JEANIST IS OFFICIALLY THE STRONGEST CHARACTER IN THE SERIES NOW. SORRY I DON’T MAKE THE RULES
ffff now Spinner is trying to wake Tomura back up. nah, how’s about we not do that
OH MY GOD HADOU YESSSS
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MY GIRL OUT HERE WITH THE “NO THANK YOU” BOUT TO CURBSTOMP THE BIG BAD WITH HER QUIRK KSFHLKLK WHO HERE HAD “HADOU SAVES THE DAY” ON YOUR WAR ARC BINGO CARDS, YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!!
HEY!!!!
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fucking son of a... fffkfkff... someone please reassure me that fire isn’t Hadou’s weakness. someone. anyone. also could someone please dial an ambulance and send them to Horikoshi’s house. but not just yet. first I’m gonna need you to wait about fifteen minutes or so while I take care of some things
well all right then, Dabi. so you wanna go on then and explain to us all how this, too, is somehow Endeavor’s fault?
oh I see, you’ve decided that since he’s responsible for “creating” you, everyone you hurt and kill is in truth really being hurt and killed by him! well now, that sure is convenient as fuck I guess
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(ETA: that’s a nice effect with the panel sides getting all warped by Dabi’s quirk though, just noticed that.)
amazing how quickly you used up that sympathy card my guy. Shouto please kick his ass, I’m fucking done lol, you can all sort out the rest in therapy later
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE DIAL BACK DEKU’S EMPATHY STATS JUST A LITTLE BIT, HOLY --
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“TODOROKI-KUN IS HURT THE MOST”, HE SAYS, WITH HIS ARM BONES SHATTERED INTO LITTLE TOOTHPICK-SIZED PIECES. I MEAN, HE’S PROBABLY TALKING MORE ABOUT MENTAL ANGUISH GIVEN THE CONTEXT HERE, BUT STILL. THAT’S ENOUGH HEROICS FROM YOU ALREADY FOR ONE DAY
NOOO JEANIST
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LOTS OF SMOKE IN THE AIR RIGHT ABOUT NOW AND MY BOY’S STILL DOWN A LUNG. GOD DAMMIT
“if the number one suffers a total loss here, this country will fall to pieces” well okay, real talk though, I think the “country falling to pieces” part is pretty much unavoidable at this juncture. you all are just gonna have to try your best to pick up those pieces after the fact and see what you can do with them. if I were you I’d be less worried about the number one’s reputation and more concerned with the half-dozen child soldier interns who are still on the field and very much at risk of being burned to death should you suffer that “total loss.” please try to keep it together here for them
OH FOR FUCK’S
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I really thought RockLockRock was gonna come into play here. USE YOUR QUIRK TO LOCK THE ROPES IN PLACE YOU DIP!! if he seriously just sits there and does nothing when his quirk could be the deciding factor I am cancelling his useless ass cute kid or no cute kid shfkjdls
(ETA: is he even there?? did he and Manual just hightail it out of there?? “well good luck, children.”)
also, we’ll put this aside for now to perhaps speculate about later, but what’s with Tomura remembering his dad’s house yet again in that far right panel?? and being itchy again?? I still have yet to fully work out the psychological mechanisms at work as far as his itchiness goes, so I’ll admit this is intriguing to me. it seemed like it was connected to his decay quirk, but then why is it acting up again now. what is this lol
yuh oh
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forgot about these guys. looks like these heroes aren’t having such a fun time
oh fucksticks
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excuse me ma’am but I don’t like this. you do know that my kids are all there, right. all burnt and impaled and broken-boned and the like. well except for Iida. he’s fine still. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN I FEEL LIKE WATCHING HIM GET TORN APART BY FOUR HIGH ENDS, WTF
HORIKOSHI YOU MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD
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god fucking... okay look. Horikoshi. you win, okay!? congratulations, you win, this is your show and we’re all just sitting here at your mercy. fine. go ahead and just kill off everyone ever, then!! what am I even gonna do about it. stop reading?? fuck
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this whole thing really went from zero to fucked before I could even blink huh. I really thought this was gonna be a turning point chapter for the heroes. shows what I know I guess??
meanwhile this motherfucker is just SCREAMING
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ngl, if I wasn’t currently terrified on account of things suddenly taking such a drastic turn for the worse, this would be the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Jeanist my man, I hype you up like it’s my job because you are the greatest fucking meme character in the history of time, but make no mistake, you are also highkey WORTH ALL THE HYPE AND THEN SOME
seriously, though. don’t fucking mind him you guys, he’s just standing here in the coolest pose of all time taking on Gigantomachia all alone with one fucking lung because the substance pumping through his veins is COLD-BLOODED LIQUID DENIM, and DENIM FEELS NO FEAR
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Best Jeanist really needs to get his own theme song. -- oh my god I just finally thought of a title for this post. lmao and it’s the dumbest thing. omg
MEANWHILE THE TODOROKI BROS ARE OFF IN THEIR OWN DRAMATIC LITTLE FIRE WORLD
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which one do you think is the Mario and which is the Luigi. well, but I mean, Dabi clearly thinks that he’s the Luigi though and that’s why he’s so mad. nobody wants to be Luigi. what a life
THAT’S IT, SHOUTO!! POINT OUT ALL OF HIS HYPOCRITICAL BULLSHIT, I WANT ANSWERS
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JUST TO CLARIFY, IT’S THAT NATSU, NOT SOME OTHER NATSU!! SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!!
OH, WELL IN THAT CASE
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BUT OF COURSE. THAT WOULD MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE, holy shit. okay I’m just gonna go ahead and say it, Dabi is a piece of work. I really thought this arc would make him more sympathetic at long last, but it seems like it’s doing just the opposite?? this is like an anti-redemption arc. I don’t relish the thought of venturing into the fandom tags once I finish reading this lol
(ETA: well folks, I’ve done it. and actually it was pretty interesting because there are apparently like ten different things that people are mad about, and so it’s like. each post is a new adventure lmao.)
so Shouto is all “BRUH HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST IT” and Dabi is all “YES”, basically? like, he says he’s completely lost his feeling for anything. omg. but you were so sweet. how does that even happen
“finally I can kill you” okay for real what the heck is your damage bro?? can we not. I like Shouto just the way he is, un-killed
oh shit and now the Noumus are here
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cue Bakugou diving in to save his mentor, STAB WOUNDS BE DAMNED!! actually it would make more sense for it to be Iida, but if Kacchan is really fixin’ to go full Shounen Dumbass here then he might as well go all out, y’know
-- unless of course, Deku decides to activate another quirk??
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“last I checked, the main character of this series was still me” OH? WELL I SUPPOSE THAT IS TRUE, SO PRAY TELL, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT LEFT UP YOUR SLEEVE YOU SUICIDAL BRUSSELS SPROUT
fucking love how he’s all “HAHAHA WITH MY NEW QUIRKS I CAN STILL DO STUPID SHIT EVEN WITH MY ARMS AND LEGS GROUND TO A FINE POWDER” btw. what can I say. Deku gonna Deku
FMMFHDKUHK W H A T
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HOLY SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. WHAT THE WHAT. QUE THE FUCK
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(ETA: okay look, all the love in the world to the brave scanlators who take time out of their lives to translate the leaks every week just so we can read the chapter a couple of days early like the addicts we are. that said, translating Mirio’s signature “POWER!!” -- which was already written in English in the original scan -- to “POG-CHAMP” is just a whole new level of wtfuckery from them lmao. is the Lida person back at it again?? amazing.)
MIRIO!?!?! SHOWS UP TO SAVE THE DAY?!?! POGS HIMSELF UP OUT THE GROUND TO BEAT THE NOUMUS LIKE IT AIN’T NO THING. JUST LIKE WE ALL PREDICTED!? I’M SORRY, DID YOU NOT SEE THAT COMING?? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOUR DAILY HOROSCOPE FROM ASTROLOGY DOT COM DIDN’T HAVE THAT ONE IN THE CARDS?? WAS IT NOT OBVIOUS?? TODOROKIS PLUS BEST JEANIST EQUALS MIRIO??
hot damn. Tintin really saw the writing on the wall with the impending Dabi Discourse and was all “NOT SO FAST” lmao. “HERE’S A BRAND NEW THING FOR YOU ALL TO DISCOURSE ABOUT” MIRIO YOU WILD CHILD. YOU GLORIOUS THUG
MEANWHILE LET’S NOT FORGET WHAT MIRIO HAVING HIS POWERS BACK ACTUALLY IMPLIES. HOLY SHIT. SUDDENLY WE CUT BACK TO ALL MIGHT’S OFFICE, ALL THE WAY BACK AT UA. ERI BRANDISHES HER TOKOYAMI-GIFTED BUSTER SWORD, A DETERMINED GLEAM IN HER EYE. “I HEARD YOU WERE TRYING TO HAVE A GIRL POWER ARC WITHOUT ME.” OH. MY. GOD
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infernal-fire · 3 years
Text
Long Forgotten
I am choosing to not use warnings. Do not read if you are uncomfortable with themes of infidelity, angst, swearing and sexual innuendos. 
Summary: Your Steve isn’t yours anymore and you’re beginning to understand why. 
Word Count: 3.5k
Pairings: Steve x reader and a surprise appearance ;)
Disclaimer: this is set right after Endgame
A/N: this story was inspired by @nsfwsebbie’s fic please don’t take him (even though you can). it was so damn amazing. i thought of how the situation would go under different circumstances, and added a more strong willed reader into the mix  :)
i tried to proofread but im sort of posting in a rush so all mistakes are my own!
(This GIF does not belong to me)
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Your head was nestled in the crook of Steve’s neck and his arms were cradling your tired form. Dried tears left your face feeling dry and your up do from the funeral was now tousled. Steve let out a heavy sigh and held you a little tighter. 
You could fall asleep if it weren’t for the looming stress of returning the stones so you decided to bide your time by focusing on the super soldier’s unnaturally slow heartbeat. 
“We should go, sweetheart. They’re waiting for me.” his voice broke the placid silence that had enveloped the room. 
You silently got off the bed and Steve’s hand nudged yours, stopping you from reaching the door. 
He slowly pulled you towards him and you met him halfway, face-to-face.
“I know things aren’t great right now. But we’ll get through this,” he spoke lowly as his large hands cupped your face. They felt rough against your supple skin, but his touch was as tender as ever.
You stared into his eyes for a moment before speaking. "I’ll come with you,” you offered.
“No,” he affirmed. His tone was firm yet a touch of softness was reserved in there somewhere, just for you.
“I love you Y/N. I’ll love you no matter what,” he said as he pulled your head into his chest and engulfed your body into his. 
//
You reached the new, mini version of the previously destroyed time travel contraption Tony made. Sam, Bucky and Professor Hulk were engaging in light conversation that clearly, none of them were interested in. You look up at Steve, who was as tense as ever, clutching your hand like a vice. He let go and glanced back at you before joining Sam. 
You knew deep down that Steve would never be the same anymore. Hell, after the Battle of Wakanda, Steve almost ended the relationship because the Avengers lost.
But the Avengers won this time, and things should feel different. So why did it feel like he was leaving forever? 
You recalled the very short conversation you had with him about Tony’s snap.
 “I should have snapped,” he sobbed. 
“You’ve always been selfless your whole life. This was Tony’s time to be selfless, and you don’t get to take that away from him.” You hugged him and cried with him. 
There was nothing else to be said.
How much you wished no one had to die. 
He stood on the platform and nodded at Bruce before locking eyes with you.
Apologetic. He looked apologetic. 
At the time, you thought he just looked sad. You assumed it was residual sadness from the funeral but looking back, you realized he looked apologetic for what he was about to do. 
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Rebuilding your relationship wasn’t easy. Tony and Nat’s death and the trauma of the battle were overshadowing both of your feelings. You salvaged what you could and life returned to a “normal” that never existed. 
Being an Avenger means your living costs are covered by Tony, basically compensating for the missions. Only there weren’t any missions anymore. You were grateful but it meant that you had a lot of time on your hands. 
You took up a job as a waitress and Steve continued running sessions at the VA with Sam. It was humbling to be serving people at a diner after fighting alongside some of Earth’s mightiest heroes. But you needed it. And slowly but steadily, happiness crept its way into the tower. 
You didn’t see Steve around anymore though. You weren’t sure if you were even together anymore, aside from the forehead kisses and lingering glances.
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You and Bucky set the table while you heard Sam and Steve banter over who gets to choose the movie today. Bucky chuckled and called them to eat.
There was relentless teasing, jokes being tossed around and big smiles everywhere.
“The nurse had poked him 2 times at this point and there was no blood coming out of him.” Sam laughed. 
“So she asks me if we can do the other arm.” Bucky snorted through breaths of amusement. 
“This guy pulls up his sleeve and the girl faints.” Sam howled as everyone doubled over in laughter. 
You wiped a tear from your eye and you look over at Steve who was laughing as well. It had been a long time since you’ve seen him so happy. 
Sure, he’d been distant. He hadn’t touched you since he came back. It had been 2 months though, and you wondered if you should try again tonight. You put a hand over Steve’s and he snapped his head to you. He gave you a small smile before slipping his hand out from under yours and picking up a napkin.
He needed the napkin, you told yourself. 
You went up to change into something that he might find more appealing. You were torn between the red lace set or the black corset. You settled for the classic red lace and tied on a robe before heading downstairs to tease him a little. 
“You’re going to tell her before you go right?” You heard Sam’s voice and broke your stride to the kitchen. 
“She won’t be happy.” You swore it was Steve’s voice but it was a little too quiet to be sure. You silently padded toward the kitchen, standing right outside the entrance to hear better.
“Of course she won’t be happy. You went back to be with a girl from 70 years ago and spent 4 months with her. You sort of cheated on her Steve.” Bucky’s voice quipped at Steve. 
You couldn’t be hearing right. Steve went back and got together with Peggy?
“It’s not sort of cheating, he almost got married to her,” Sam remarked in rebuttal. 
He almost got married to her. 
He almost got married to her. 
He almost got married to her.
There was so much information to process. Your shoulder sagged with the weight of the news and you cupped your mouth before anyone could hear your sob. 
“But I came back.” Steve countered. 
“Do you love her?” Bucky lowered his voice and inquired. 
“I don’t know anymore.” 
Your chest heaved and eyes burned. You wanted to gasp for air but you knew if you breathed, you would let out the anguish building in your stomach. 
Your back hit the wall and you slid down, not caring if he hears anymore. 
In moments, Steve, Bucky and Sam appear beside you with startled faces. 
You didn’t look at them as you got up and paced to your room. You thought you heard Steve’s voice calling after you but your thoughts pounded and clawed at the insides of your head. You couldn’t be sure and you weren’t going to turn back now. 
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He didn’t run after you. You had predicted that he didn’t want to deal with your hysterical crying which surely could be heard past your room walls. When you considered it, this new Steve was actually quite predictable; you knew he wouldn’t bother bringing it up to you until you brought it up yourself. Because he was a coward like that, you decided. All of his actions spoke for themself and the one true motive behind his cheating is cowardice. You don’t know if you would have been okay with him going back to Peggy, but if he talked about it, things not have ended the way they did. 
After 2 days of not leaving your room, you knew that there was a better way to handle this. It wasn’t you who should be embarrassed; instead of sulking, you marched to his room with newfound determination. 
You threw open his door that he didn’t even bother locking. Steve was mid-speech with someone on the phone, seemingly a conversation that wasn’t going his way. He seemed tense, his muscles protruding from the tight white t-shirt pulled over him. 
Your jaw ticked as you shifted your weight onto one foot and rested on the doorframe, waiting for him to end the call. 
“I’m sorry to cut this short. We have a lot to talk about but it’ll have to happen in-person.” he concluded the phone call and sat on the bed with his head in his arms. 
“Seems like you planned it all.” you commented, trying to sound like you didn’t care. In reality, the wound was still very fresh. Even though a part of you had known that the relationship was over for some time now, you were only coming to terms with it now. 
“I wanted to tell you before I left, but you were just so upset and I couldn’t …” he trailed off. 
“All of a sudden you care about me? And now this is somehow my fault that you were too chicken to tell me,” you retorted, unimpressed with his answer.
“I have always cared about you and always will.” He got up and walked towards you. He cupped your face but you pushed his hand off, glaring up at him. 
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I admit I could’ve handled everything lot better but Y/N. When you told me Tony’s snap was his moment of selflessness, I realized that all I’ve ever done is be selfless. And I don’t regret any of it. But it was time I chose to do something for myself. Then I remembered Peggy and the life I left behind and I just knew this world would be okay without me so I chose to be selfish. I chose to be selfish, Y/n, and I don’t regret that either.” 
You were crying now, and Steve reached to wipe it off, but you smacked his hand. 
“You used to choose me. You woke up everyday and chose us. The day you decided you didn’t want this anymore, you decided you would just go ‘fuck all’ and cheat on me? You couldn’t have ended it like a normal person?” you questioned through your tears. Your vision was foggy but you kept wiping your eyes, trying not let him see your tears.
He sighed and let a few moments stretch on before he answered.  
“We both know that this relationship was over a long time ago Y/N.”
You noted his use of your name and not the usual pet name ‘sweetheart’ or ‘love’. It saddened you even more to think that he doesn’t associate those words with you anymore. 
“You’re a fucking bastard Rogers. You are the biggest coward I have ever met in my life. You may be the Captain America, but you are the biggest wimp in real life.” You could tell he was fuming because of your comment but you continued your spiel. 
“I tried everything to make this work. The moment that the thought of cheating crossed your mind, you should have broken my heart. Because all you did now was rip it out and stomp on it before spitting on the what’s left-”
“I can’t believe you’re standing here accusing me of not trying to make this work. You know what Y/N? I fucking left Peggy because I thought about you and thought I could make this work. And then I came back and remembered all the reasons why this wouldn’t work and now I regret it. I wish I could go back to Peggy.”
“Go fuck yourself Rogers,” you muttered and turned to leave. “Actually, go fuck Peggy’s skeleton Steve. I curse you with every cell in my body. I hope you never get to see her again. I know you’re trying to go back,” you added before wiping you final tear, once and for all. There was no way you were going to shed another tear on this asshole. 
Except, it wasn’t that simple. You did cry over it more, but if there’s anything you did right, it was making sure he never saw your tears. 
You also found that post-break up glow up’s were a real thing. The lack of missions means you didn’t need to see Steve unless you chose to be in the same space as him. So you chose to make new friends and bring new light into your life. There was no dread clouding your judgment because for once, there was no impending threat on the future of Earth. 
You cut your hair, you changed up your wardrobe and got as fit as you’ve ever been. Your friends made frequent stops at the Tower which eventually turned into dragging you into their bar hopping.
On the other hand, Steve was doing everything he could to go back to Peggy, just like you had predicted. You manifested his downfall. Hank Pym refused to let his work fall into the hands of the Avengers and Steve was having a very hard time convincing him otherwise. The final nail in the coffin was when Hank decided that Pym Particles should not be produced anymore. As long as the world didn’t understand the entirety of the quantum realm, no one should have access to something that could mess with it. No arguments could ensue because there was nothing anyone could say to change Hank’s mind.
As much as Bucky and Sam wanted him to go back, they knew he deserved it for everything you were put through. When Steve found that his friends weren’t on the same page as him, he spiraled deeper into regret and depression. There wasn’t much to be done in terms of world-saving, which is what he was made for. The person he thought was the love of his life is gone now. When the dust settled, he realized that you were the only thing that kept him going for so long. But now he lost you too, and there was nothing he could do get you back. 
While you were out living your new life, Steve was trying to find a life for himself. He would see you around the compound and wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of your love. What he would do to feel that again, he couldn’t explain to anyone. 
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Your escapades were at an all-time high. You knew that single life is the life. Just when you finally concluded that all men were trash, Ransom came crashing into your life. Although he only reinforced this belief, this man wasn’t just any trash. He was your trash. 
He was the mutual of your friends and you seemed to never be able to escape him. Moreover, your friends decided that you wouldn’t escape him. 
The teasing and playful banter between you two turned into something more serious about a year after your break-up. Ransom was everything Steve wasn’t. 
Steve was a gentleman. Chivalrous. Gentle. 
Then you reminded yourself that he had proven to you that he wasn’t any of things anymore. Ransom was the exact opposite, but he wore it on his sleeve. After all the lies and cowardice, Ransom’s blunt and bold attitude was exactly what you needed. 
There were moments you found yourself comparing the nature of the two relationships. With Steve, a lot of it was gentle and soft with some roughness around the edges. Life alongside Ransom was nothing short of callous, but that’s why soft, vulnerable moments felt even more extraordinary and special. 
If you made a judgement based off first impressions, someone like Ransom seems to be more likely to cheat than someone like Steve Rogers. Upon deeper analyzation though, Ransom doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet. He doesn’t claim things easily, but when he does, he would go to any length to make sure what’s his, will stay his. Soon after you realized this, you began abandoning thoughts of comparing the two relationships. 
//
There was a party at the Tower for Sam’s birthday. It was the first time in a long time that you were going to be around Steve for longer than 10 minutes. Doubt began seeping through your determination; how well would you fare under the pressure of pretending to be okay around him? 
“Do we have to match, sugar?” Ransom whined from your bathroom. 
“Why would you even go to an event as a couple if you aren’t matching?” you hollered back. 
You heard Ransom grumble as the bathroom door swung open. The emerald green dress shirt with small gold polka dots complemented his eyes so perfectly. Ransom was about to complain again before seeing the look of awe on your face. He decided right then that he could suck it up for the night. 
You were wearing an emerald green cocktail dress with sheer black net covering your shoulders, your sleeves reaching your elbows. The material was different, but the print was the exact same as Ransom’s. He couldn’t help but wonder why you put so much effort into such little things. He made a mental note to do something like this for you another time before wrapping his arms around your frame, burying his face into your face.
“Ran! My hair!” you squealed as you tried to push him off. 
“Usually it’s me that takes this long to get ready. You trying to impress the Captain?” Ransom winked and sat on your bed. 
“Oh fuck off.” you rolled your eyes and added the big bow to your half up hair-do. 
“You look so innocent baby. How angelic would you look with my cum dripping out of your mouth?” he smirked as you dropped your mouth, looking at him through the mirror. 
“My god Ran, this is not the time.” You shook your head and pulled him with you, finally making your way to the party downstairs. 
You were breaking out into cold sweat for some reason. Part of you really wanted to show Steve how happy you were now, but you felt that it meant you weren’t truly over him. Were you making a mistake?
Right before you opened the door the common room where the party was ongoing, Ransom stopped you and looked right into your eyes. 
“You know, as much as I’d like to make your ex jealous, if you don’t want this, I could think of a lot of other ways to spend the night,” he winked and you blushed. This is exactly why you liked him so much. There was no pressure to be anything but yourself around him. Even if you told him you wanted to go back to your room, there would be no judgement on his behalf. He wouldn’t ever bring it up as a joke either, because he just knew what he could and couldn’t joke about. 
“Let’s do this, bubbles” you giggled. He groaned at the nickname and pulled you into his side with one arm, opening the door with the other. 
One of Ransom’s many talents was making an entrance and this event was no exception. As you walked through the entrance, Ransom kept his head high and pulled you along with him. His confidence began rubbing off you and within a few steps, you stopped slouching. Straightening you back and tossing your hair behind your back, you bathed in the glory of the looks you and Ransom were getting. He took you straight to the bar, smiled at you and ordered drinks. 
“You know, your ex was fuming in the corner,” he remarked as he sipped on his drink. 
“No!” you laughed incredulously, unable to imagine Steve begin angry over Ransom’s presence. 
“It’s true, look for yourself,” he calmly retorted. His eyes flicked to a corner of the room and you followed his gaze there. Steve looked away upon seeing you look at him but it was clear that he was flustered. Bucky stood beside him, entertaining a gaggle of girls, but Steve’s attention was clearly elsewhere. 
“He’s actually pretty hot in person, it’s making me jealous” Ransom nonchalantly mentioned. 
You threw your head back and laughed. Your doubts of whether this was a good idea were dissipating very quickly. 
Ransom chuckled and then looked at you intently. You looked back at him, the high of the laugh wearing off because of his intense stare. 
“I think I’m in love with you.” you blurted. 
“You know, I’m glad you said it because I did not want to say it first.” he snickered and you playfully punched him. 
“Ow! I’m just kidding, don’t go all Avengers-mode on me!” he fussed.
You pulled him into a tight hug. He peeled your head away from his chest to cup your face and give you a light kiss before whispering ‘I love you too.’ You started to tear up, thinking of all the pain you had to go through to get this moment of tranquility with your favourite person in the whole, wide world. 
He cooed and kissed your forehead. 
“I always got you.” he assured and pulled your head back into his chest. You smiled and broke away from the hug, sitting back on the bar stool. 
“I think you transferred your lipstick because you have a dark red lip mark on your forehead.” 
You groaned and frantically wiped your forehead. 
“Hey,” he caught your wrist. “Why don’t we go back up and fix that?” His eyes glinted in the dim lights and you giggled like a schoolgirl as he pushed through the crowd.
In that moment, and every moment after it, Steve was long forgotten. 
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frobin · 3 years
Note
Okey serious question here. How much do you actually believe that Oda ships Frobin? Like do you think he actually have like doodles/sketchs of them in a pairing kind of way? like for the strong world film riding the motorbug? (Personally i would love it to be true but he has stated one piece isn't about romance in that way)
Hey there anon! Thank you so much for your question and I hope I can answer it seriously enough. Also once more sorry for the late response. I felt like a question like that needs some research and that is what I did these last few days.
So... I think I'll start with the tl;dr because that way people can read that and ignore the rest.
So, long answer short: I 100% believe that Oda has one or more sketchbooks with drawings of his characters that are absolutely self-indulgent. I am 98% sure that he has drawn Franky and Robin in a romantic way at least once (and supported the ship). I am 80% sure he still is shipping FRobin.
Little disclaimer: I actually have no idea if any of this is true. I pull everything in my arguments out of my own experiences and knowledge and since I'm not a 46 year old Japanese Mangaka my perspective might be WAY OFF.
argument - reason- example - conclusion... behind the cut (or in the google doc)
So, why do I think that Oda has a secret sketchbook?
Simple answer is that he is an artist. He is drawing a lot and no artist will publish everything. That can have multiple reasons like imposter syndrome or because the artist thinks it’s not good or interesting enough or they just forget. There are even more reasons I forget and every person has their own.
For Oda I can imagine two big reasons as to why he would keep secret sketchbooks.
First: He is a horndog. You can skip this part if you don’t want to read about it, to the second reason.
Anyway, we know thanks to answers in the SBS, the way he likes to draw big-breasted women and how some of his characters are classified as perverts that he can be considered one too.
Let me show you a few of a few lewd SBS questions he likes to answer in a funny way:
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Chapter 228, Page 46
D: How are ya, Odacchi? I know how much you like getting butt-naked, so this must be a favourite season for you. <3
O: Yes, yes. I just LOVE getting completely naked. In the summertime, after I take a bath I just run STRAIGHT OUTSIDE!! And when the girls' softball team running on the sidewalk looks over at me, they say, "Yup, it's really summer now!!" ... AS IF!! I'D GET ARRESTED!!!
(x)
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Chapter 433, Page 68
D: If Lady Robin can use her Hana Hana Powers to make any part of her body sprout somewhere else, does that mean she can do it with her ample bosom as well? "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Boy, I'd like to take a hit from that sometime... P.N. Ero Ero no Mi Devil Fruit User.
O: "Ichirin-zaki" (Single Sprout) "Nirin-zaki" (Double Sprout) "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Very clever!! NO IT'S NOT!! STOP THAT!! I'm sure she CAN do it though ♡
(x)
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Chapter 798, Page 64
D: Oddachi, I'll give you a pornographic book, so please answer my question. Sanji won't allow anyone to waste food, but what will he do if a woman does so? P.N. Smoker's Cigar
O: I think he would grab the plate and eat it up. Now please give me the pornographic book.
(x)
Nowadays I’m sure there is a focus on those lewder questions compared to the beginning because that is what 13 year old boys laugh about and we all know that is Oda's main demographic (of course).
I think a very good picture of that is given by Tekking101 in his breakdown video of SBS Volume 100.
youtube
“Let’s get diving into these questions (...) now, this is a huge moment. I mean, not many Manga manage to reach 100 Volumes, Okay? Now I know Oda usually starts these off with questions relating to boobs and things that don’t really… you know, aren’t really relevant but you know, this is a big celebration so we’re gonna dive right into it. I bet the most important things that we need to know about the One Piece Story are right here in these pages, okay? I printed them out. That is how important this is. So let’s start off, shall we? Epic voice, Barry!
‘Mister Oda, there is a UFO over there with huge big-breasted beauties on it. That memorable 100 Volume of the SBS is about to begin.’
[pause] Yeah, like the first five of these are all related to boobs in some way. You know what Oda? Sticking true to your guns! Godspeed, Sir Oda. Godspeed.”
(end at around 2:30)
So, Oda is a man who likes beautiful women and who draws.
Coming to the conclusion that he will draw his own characters in suggestive poses, naked and even doing adult stuff is not hard.
Obviously he would not show these sketches just around. He would probably keep them in a secret sketchbook that he keeps at a safe location. Maybe his wife and some close friends know about it? Maybe it is his and only his little secret.
I don’t think it would be unlikely to learn about this years into the future, maybe the next generation of Anime Fans will hear about this.
And it would not be the first time that something like this happened.
Not that long ago the daughter of Osamu Tezuka - groundbreaking Mangaka, known for his works of “Astro Boy”, “Kimba the white lion” and many more - found his adult Furry art. Source; Japanese article;
It’s a fact that many Mangaka did indeed start their career with art of the more risque kind and/or as doujinshi artists.
So again, I have no doubt that Oda, a known pervert, has one or more secret sketchbooks with „the p0rnography“ in it. Is there only hot stuff in there? Not necessarily.
The second reason to keep a secret sketchbook would be to collect information in there, that could be considered canon but he is not willing to use it in the Manga. Maybe they are not important enough or will be used later.
What am I imagining here? Anything that could be considered too weird for the normal sketchbook but isn‘t too risque. Funny things that might still not be „appropriate.“
Like a sketch of the male Strawhat ding-dongs with the sizes beside it. All the lewd jokes the fans did about Luffy's stretching qualities? I’m sure Oda thought about them too and drew that in the past if he had the time and it made him laugh enough.
But also maybe there are scenes in there that never made it in the Manga. The Strawhats interacting with each other in their daily lives, ideas for colorspreads and maybe chapter-titles. Oda probably has noted/sketched down a lot of unofficial stuff somewhere.
Another example, even an artist like Oda himself would have needed to exercise drawing two people kissing. Why not use Characters he thinks that might work out together?
Why not Franky and Robin? I would imagine he sketched up a few panels of Franky and Robin having a romantic date, going shopping together in Dressrosa, having a conversation that we never got to see because it was too on the nose.
Which brings us to the second point of me being very sure that Oda had drawn FrankyXRobin at one point.
I’m sure in those sketchbooks there is at least one drawing of them doing anything couple-related together. Again it does not have to be downright nasty but it could be them holding hands, kissing or even just Robin leaning onto Franky while reading, like all those fanarts that exist out there.
It’s not hard to imagine. Even for other Characters I think that is possible
And there might even be proof for that idea. The sketch of the Strong World movie you also mentioned, anon. The one movie that can be considered canon is Strong World. It was basically written/directed by Oda. Shiki the antagonist had an appearance in the Manga.
This sketch is drawn by Oda. Robin is holding onto Franky.
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Can it be read as romantic? Yes. Can it be read as Robin holding onto Franky because there is nothing else to hold onto? Also Yes. But couldn't she just have used her power to keep herself secured on the bike without holding onto Franky? WELL YES. Could Oda never have thought in these circles like I do right now? I hope he did not because I hate it and I don’t wish it upon him.
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In the movie Robin is NOT holding onto Franky. Now the really interesting thing - that is neither proof pro nor anti FRobin - is that we can see the sketch provided by Oda as a “between the scenes”.
In the movie Strong World the old trio is collecting information at the Pirate assembly. The next time we see them they use the Batta GT-7000 to slowly approach the destroyed village, which had been ravaged by the animals, and start to look for their friends. No need to hold onto Franky and no need for Brook to lean back. They are looking around.
The sketch is clearly not the same scene as the one we see in the movie.
In conclusion the drawing is indeed a between the scenes drawing. And yes if there exists one, who is to say there aren’t more?
Talking about Animal-Bikes...
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Is there any meaning about the fact that in the opening scene (that is part of the talked intro after the opening ‘We Go’ - a huge thanks to antiherofangirl, ccb0nnet, JFL_Estudios and Maems, over at twitter!) Franky and Robin build another grasshopper-based vehicle? Maybe not but I still feel like it’s quite a callback.
Where did the idea to put this in the beginning come from? a) an editor had the idea inspired by Strong World; b) maybe it’s another sketch that Oda provided.
Neither seems very far-fetched in my opinion.
So yes, I am very sure that Oda has drawn things that we would consider FRobin.
Now to the last point (the first being Oda having a secret sketchbook, the second me arguing that Oda might have drawn FRobin).
As I said in the beginning I’m very sure that at one point Oda did and kinda that he still does ship Franky and Robin. Because even though every Interaction of two characters can be depicted as romantic or platonic, Oda used ROMANTIC TROPES with Franky and Robin.
They have never kissed on screen but we had
finishing each other's sentences
coordinated clothes
one using the others lap as pillow
hand on cheek caressing
and we can’t forget that Robin had answered Franky's invitation to ride on another animal-themed bike with a heart.
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Edit: I didn‘t say anything about „no romance in OP“ so ask again if you want me to talk a bit about that. Sorry!
Those are things an author of Oda's level would not write or draw without being aware about how teasing this is. He has to be aware that every single line he draws will be analyzed to the end of the universe and back. People earn money by saying their opinion and interpretations about the Manga on Youtube.
These interactions are not something outlandish like “There was once an Anime Scene in which Robin was wearing something blue and exactly 28 episodes later Franky was wearing something violet and then 39 episodes later they both stood beside each other for exactly 69 seconds.”
Whenever I think about these facts, things that are not about interpreting but are factual, black ink on white paper but also about the little things, about how Frank and Robin help each other to become better, how they support each other… I want to say YES! ODA IS 100% on board! While in reality I’m 80% sure and 20% of me is wondering if I’m not actually analyzing too much into it. If maybe he really is abandoning ship. Maybe I will become the person who will curse his name and throw my Mangas and fanfictions in an active volcano?
I don’t know and it’s impossible to say what is going to happen.
And with that I've concluded this answer, and it only took me around 2k words and four days.
26 notes · View notes
yelenasdog · 3 years
Text
school girl skirts and metallica (warren worthington x fem reader (kinda) nsfw head canons)
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genre: lemón if u catch my drift. like nothing explicit tho
summary: warren’s a spicy (yet somehow shy) mf w a thing for skirts and tights. that’s literally it
words: 845
warnings: i am a minor, and if that makes u uncomfy, don’t read :), cursing, themes of warren being sub-ish?? very heavy implications of sex, hank being nosy, idk, just warren being a horny fucker, that’s it.
a/n: yeah uhhhh my blog was previously nsfw free, but this has been sitting in my drafts for awhile and i want it oUT. also i put the keep reading in a weird place so that ppl could ignore this if they wanted lols.  k enjoy mwah
⚔⚔⚔
to put it plainly, warren worthington has the hots for girls that wear short school girl skirts.
stop what ur doing and say that 10 times fast
u prolly couldn’t HA ok sorry for bullying u, back to warren
now, he found this out after beginning to attend xaviers, which has no dress code.
but for some reason
you enjoyed wearing this evergreen and navy colored skirt, rolled up. u paired it with a collared shirt, a jumper, and a worn leather jacket that went to your knees.
but what really got him, was the white knee highs you wore with your docs.
drove him absolutely crazy
so when he finally got the nerve to ask you out, he was ecstatic when you (obviously) said yes.
the two of you were known as a sort of punky couple around school
often found sitting together on sunny days underneath an oak tree, leather jackets abandoned in the heat.
the pair would share their earbuds, listening to metallica just loud enough that it would do no harm to your ears (for your sake, he couldn’t care less about his own)
after some time together, he simply couldn’t take it anymore.
it was another normal day, both of you sitting under your favorite spot, watching as the few students walked about, minding their business
it was sparse on the courtyard, though, as it was rather chilly that day, so most opted to stay in, comforted by the fire xavier always had on inside.
and warren’s mind immediately went to how you were still wearing that blessed skirt despite the weather, a pair of tights in addition to the high socks resting under the fabric.
he seemed on edge, which you picked up on immediately.
worried that maybe the cold had gotten to him, you placed a concerned hand on his neck.
“warr? are you alright?”
given his current state, at the brief contact, his large hand immediately formed a fist.
you moved the hand to run itself through his golden curls, and he nuzzled further into your palm.
you smiled sympathetically, allowing him to close his eyes, finding a momentary bliss in your warmth.
“what’s wrong, golden boy?” you barely whispered, hoping to ease whatever illness he might have been feeling.
he opened his eyes, tentatively moving his own hand to your thigh, snapping the elastic of your tights.
“i need’ya.” he muttered, closing his eyes again.
oh.
oh
you tilted your head, heart beating much faster now.
you ran your thumb across his stark cheekbone, feeling a shiver run down his spine, his wings also vibrating lowly.
“what was that, warr?”
he all but whined, “you’re driving me mad in that skirt, ‘s all i can think ‘bout.”
a wide smile spread across your features, still not completely sure where this was going, although you may have had an idea or two.
you can probably guess what happened next.
and no, you heathen
you didn’t do it right there.
did he want to?
oh, no doubt, that cheeky little bastard. (lmao) you had to basically pull him to his dorm.
once you did make it there, though
it was hot and heavy behind closed doors
he was a brat fs, but he was ur good boy or whateva
😳🗿🌝
anywayyy
when he finally, hehhem, ya know
does it
his wings spread out and scratch at the sheets, ripping them basically to shreds LOLS
after that, he has to get new ones every week after you, uh, visit
and of course some of the staff wonder why his door is often closed
and some even begin to notice how he always seems to be visited by you each week with a pack of new linen
(which was strictly for the reason that you get annoyed when ur foot gets stuck in the rips when cuddling, by the way)
and he hates making u upset
so he gives u the cash and u go buy them, as a compromise
(which also confuses the staff bc its a literal boarding school so everything u need is there, but you think it would be too suspicious to go and get new sheets every week at abt the same time)
buttttt back to the store
u would get the linen ofc but not w/ out coming back with some snacks and movies
which usually would lead to needing more sheets AGAIN (if u catch my drift rejkbgr)
but anywho
nobody ever says anything
xavier doesn’t even begin to pick up on it, that poor man
hank kinda thinks something fishy is going on, but chooses to ignore it completely
avoiding any convo of that nature at all costs
(but he does make sure to loudly tell charles about how important it is for the youth to practice safe sex when he sees the two of you near, much to charles’ confusion.)
not to mention relentless teasing from jubilee, who told jean, who then of course told scott, leading to being teased by all of them!
(minus peter, he would just occasionally nudge warren on the shoulder and smirk, but that was it)
but in the end, nothing could put a damper on the relationship of you two, truly.
he loved you (not that he would say it yet)
and you loved him (ditto! fun!)
but let’s be real here
the real savior of your relationship? the real matchmaker, if u will?
that damned school girl skirt.
216 notes · View notes
mae-gi-writes · 4 years
Text
Awkwardly In Love | Mingi (ATEEZ)
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Volleyball player! Mingi can’t seem to take his eyes off the girl on the bleachers whose got her nose stuck in her book.
Genre: FLUFF AND CUTE AWKWARD MINGI SBGKJDGJ I CAN’T HE RUINS ME. 
Word count: you just gotta know that it iz quite a long ride. I apologize for that.
----
She's always got her nose buried in her book.
That's what catches Mingi's attention at first.
See, he's not one to read. Nor does he have any interest in reading and books and the things that come with it. Growing up in a household full of children involved in physical sport, books had counted for nothing but a minimal afterthought. That, and the fact that their financial struggles made it so that they didn't spend on books if it could be helped.
So seeing her always carrying around piles and piles of books has Mingi wonder how much extra cash does she have to spend on all this imaginary stories.
When he realizes that the reason she's always on the same spot on the bleachers is due to her cousin being in the same volleyball team as he is, he can't help but start asking questions.
"Yeah she's my mother's sister's daughter," Hongjoong says with a small affectionate smile, "we basically grew up in the same household so she waits for me after classes."
"You guys close then?" Mingi asks in a forced nonchalant tone. He keeps his eyes on the ball being served on the other side, palms already closed and upturned at the ready.
"Ready?" His teammate calls.
"Yeah!" They both holler.
He serves. The ball swoops in a beautiful arc and Mingi steels himself before receiving the ball with trained precision.
Pack!
"Closer than siblings," Hongjoong answers as the ball flies over the net, "why do you ask?"
Mingi is about to answer when he spots the ball. Hongjoong sweeps in, steering his legs to tap the ball high in the air.
Tap!
Mingi's head swivels up, catches the ball to throw it back at Hongjoong.
Pack!
"In!" The referree calls to signal that they've marked the final point to the game. The pair allow sighs to leave their lips as they slowly make their way out of the court.
"Uhm," Mingi's chest heaves up and down with effort. Sweat dots his forehead as he racks for an excuse, "just curious I guess."
"Want me to introduce you?"
"Uh-- I--That's not--necessary--"
It's too late though, for Hongjoong is already calling out her name, "Y/N!"
Her head lifts from where it's been buried in her book.
Her cousin motions for her to come forward and no sooner is she stepping down from the bleachers that Mingi's neck flushes bright red, and he knows deep down it's not from the fact that he's just exercised.
"Y/N, meet Mingi my teammate," Hongjoong's grin is definitely one that is suggestive, which does nothing for Mingi's confidence.
"Hi," she sends him a warm smile, extending a hand. Mingi shakes it and can't help but notice how tiny her fingers are in comparison.
Delicate fingers, so breakable. Cute.
"H-Hi, I'm Mingi," Oh god, he hopes he doesn't sound like an idiot.
"Mingi's always been on the team. He's the ace after all," adds Hongjoong.
"Ah, that's cool," Y/N nods.
That's how it starts really. At every practice, Mingi makes it a must to talk to her, even if it's juet a tiny greeting, or a slight wave of his shy hand whenever he's already on the court when she stumbles in with her pile of books tucked under her arm. There's just something about her, something that pulls him in like an invisible string even though he can barely make his way through one sentence when he's gazing straight into her eyes.
Once, he musters up the courage to ask her about the book in her lap and the amount of joy flushing up her cheeks makes it so palpable that he feels giddy from her own excitement.
"I'm currently reading Peony in Love," holding up the book so he can see, she continues, "it's a historical novel about this Chinese girl that falls in love with someone who isn't her betrothed, then dies only to realize that this someone is actually her betrothed."
"That's actually really heartbreaking."
"Yeah well, so are most romance stories," she shrugs, "like the titanic."
"I've never actually watched it."
"What?! You're kidding me?"
He shakes his head, ducking his head in embarrassment as he wonders whether she thinks of him as a loser because of his apparent lack of intellectual knowledge.
But instead, he is faced with her enthusiasm, "we should watch it someday! It's like a classic, you'll love it if you like dramatic endings."
"You--" he feels his chest tighten in excitement, "you're serious?"
"Of course I am! I'll let Hongjoong know."
His heart does drop a little at Y/N's cousin's name. He'd hoped that they'd be alone, just the two of them.
Nevertheless, he makes his way over to Hongjoong's flat on the said night and is surprised to find not just the pair of cousins But an entire group of familiar individuals that he's seen hanging around the corridors and classrooms.
"Hey you came!" Hongjoong claps Mingi's back as he steps into the doorway, "I invited some of my close friends too. You probably know them."
As Mingi greets the rest of the group whe exchanging soft pleasantries, he finally catches sight of Y/N's figure darting between tall frames before she emerges, grinning, "hi, Mingi right?"
He can't help but blush right down to his toes, "h-hey, what's up?"
"Sorry for all the noise. The guys just wanted to crash here. Told them we were watching titanic and they promised they wouldn't make running commentaries."
"It's alright. I know them all a little. We're in the same class."
"Ah cool. You guys all in the same major then?"
Mingi scratches the back of his head, "nah I'm in Psych. But since they're all in the sciences like Hongjoong we do have same classes."
"Cool. I wish I could've taken Psych," she puffs up her cheeks into a pout and Mingi's fingers itch to pinch her cheeks.
She can't be that cute. She just can't be.
"So are we starting the movie or what?!" One of the guys --his name is Yunho, Mingi guesses -- calls out.
"The way you're talking Yunho, it's almost like you're the one who really wants to watch it," Hongjoong replies sassily while throwing both arms around Y/N and Mingi respectively before guiding them to the tv room. He dips his head towards Mingi's ear as the group settles in, "don't worry bro, I'll make sure you sit next to her."
Blushing furiously at the older boy's comment, the latter doesn't even have time to defend himself when he is being pushed onto the couch right next to Y/N's figure.
"You a big tears kind of guy?" The girl murmured, popcorn in lap. She extends it out to Mingi, who shyly grabs a handful.
"I guess it depends," Mingi murmurs, "are there animals in there?"
"Oh so you're that kind of guy."
He flushes. What kind of guy is she referring to?
The movie starts with the narration of an old lady gazing at a sapphire necklace, bedore the screen gives way to a shot of the ship itself in all its splendour, glistening a bold black and white in the midday sun.
Mingi knows he should be concentrating on the movie. And it's true, he really should, especially when Y/N had asked him to because it is clearly a classic he can't possibly miss out on. But alas, his eyes keep dashing back and forth between the screen and Y/N's face, stealing looks whenever she is not looking. It's almost like a magnetic pull tugging his gaze back to her no matter how hard he forces his eyes away; flitting over her eyes focused in attention, eyebrows furrowed at the middle with her mouth hanging open like a child amazed with naked wonder.
What can she possibly be thinking? What is going on inside that imaginative mind of hers?
What magical dimension is she traveling to without his knowledge?
It's only when the romance between the two protagonists start blossoming that he finally tears his eyes away to focus on the movie itself, all the while sensing Y/N's heat permeating from her body to his in a way that causes a permanent flush in the back of his neck.
The movie ends all too soon, with tears in Y/N's eyes and some of the other guys as they debate over the ending and how stupid Rose was for not giving Jack some space on the wooden board.
"Well to be fair, he would've probably sunk the entire board," Seonghwa argues. He's the pretty boy that everyone knows of, the one whom every girl has been crushing on since his admittance to their college.
"If I were Rose, I wouldn't want to keep living without the love of my life," Y/N points out, "I would've drowned myself with him."
"Jesus Y/N, that's terrifying," Hongjoong says.
"It's true though!"
The look in her eyes whenever she spoke of movies was a look of naked excitement. Like now, Mingi spots the familiar fire burning through her gaze, a gaze he finds alluring on her. It's like it breathes life into her face. It's similar to the one she wears whenever she's reading.
A few days later on campus, he bumps into her hurrying out of the library as he walks in, almost sending her flying before his arm snatches out to hold her shoulder.
"Sorry," he says hastily while putting her back on her feet and releasing her like she's just burnt him.
"S'okay," Y/N sends him a reassuring smile, "where you going?"
"Assignments. I'm late on my research paper because of practice," Mingi scratches his head. He nods towards her books, "what caught your interest this week?"
"Oh I'm just re-reading A Darker Shade of Magic," she grins like a little child being caught. Something in Mingi's heart softens like butter.
"What's it about?"
"It's so cool, it's like this guy with a super cool coat that has hundreds over coats inside it. And he's a magician and there are parallel worlds that have different wavelengths of magic. So he can travel through the different worlds and--" she stops abruptly then before her cheeks colour in shades of pink, "sorry. I'm rambling again--"
"No no no," Mingi cuts her off, causing her to blink, wide-eyed, "please...continue. I--I like it when you talk about your books. You--You always seem so alive and excited."
"Oh," her face flushes even more as another troop of butterflies tickle Mingi's stomach. She's so damn cute! "Thanks...Mingi."
He tries to analyze the flickering expressions on her face, though he guesses it is close to feeling embarrassed.
"A--Anyway I--I'll get going," Mingi hurriedly says, moving past her with flaming red ears upon realizing what he has just said, only to feel her hand clamp down on his.
He turns to see her, averted gaze and all, little fingers clamped onto his shirt, "do you--do you want to...go see a movie sometime?"
----------
Hongjoong had threatened Mingi with a multitude of ways of killing him in case he broke Y/N's heart, albeit the fact that the taller man stated that no, they weren't going on a date,.and anyway flirting had never been Mingi's strongest points anyway.
"Sure. If it's not a date, what is it then?" Hongjoong had asked with a roll of his eyes.
"It's just two people hanging out," Mingi had protested through red ears and scarlet tinged cheeks.
As per the said man's suggestion, the pair decides to meet up at the cinema entrance to choose the movie of their choice. Y/N is decked in a simple white t-shirt, loose cut-off jeans with red sneakers, and as Mingi silently admires her sense of simple fashion the heat that rises through the back of his neck is enough to make him avert his gaze bashfully.
They settle on a romantic comedy and he volunteers to buy the popcorn so that she can find some decent seats. As he settles into the cinema room and the lights dim into darkness, he places the popcorn box into her hands, waving her off upon her rising protests.
"But you--"
"I'll share it with you, don't-- don't worry," he replies, hand scratching the back of his neck.
Don't sweat it, he says to himself. It's fine. It's not a date. It's just two friends enjoying each other's presence.
Halfway through the movie, Mingi reaches for the popcorn only for their hands to collide. He retracts it like he just burnt himself, causing the said girl to chuckle softly. She reaches over then, with a handful of popcorn, before plopping it straight into his mouth without warning.
Mingi blinks. Heat goes straight to his ears.
When his eyes find hers, she only graces him with a timid smile, before returning back to the movie, totally unaware that his heart is now practically galloping out of his chest.
Jesus, what she does to his heart.
Mingi has never been so whipped in his life, but right now, he's pretty certain that he doesn't mind if that means she can accept his heart.
"Well that was fun," Y/N says the moment they step out of the cinema hall, "wasn't expecting it to be so lovey dovey though."
His head ducks, "I'm sorry," he mutters, "I didn't know you weren't into--"
"Oh no no! Not at all! We both chose it. You have nothing to feel bad about!"
"I'm not that into movies," comes his mumble.
"What?" Y/N stops in the middle of the road as she blinks up at him in shock, "you should've told me!"
"I wasn't interested in seeing the movie, I just wanted to see--" he hesitates slightly, "you."
What the fuck Mingi, he feels like choking himself foe his stupidity. Why was he acting like a total turd? This was ridiculous! She's just a girl, a cute one sure, but still! It's almost like he's lost all ability to make conversation.
He tries once more, "I'm--I'm sorry I shouldn't have--“
“No, I“m the one who's sorry. Here, let me treat you. Ice cream?” and then, her eyes widen, "you do like ice cream right?"
That'a enough for his lips to tilt up into a smile, "I'd love ice cream."
---
Once they settle on a bench at the nearby park, it seems like all nervousness suddenly ease from Mingi's consciousness and slowly, he starts opening up to the said girl as they lick at their ice cream cones. The sun sets over the horizon, turning the blue sky in scarlet hues that reminds him of summer days that last forever.
"Architecture's tough but honestly, that was the only thing my parents would let me study," Y/N says, empty ice-cream stick in hand as her gaze sweeps over the park and its passerbys.
"I guess it makes sense, considering our economy recently," Mingi agrees.
"And you? Why Psych?"
He lifts his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, "I guess I just like analyzing people. It's intriguing, knowing how people think, how they act around others."
"You want to be a therapist?"
"I don't know if I'm strong enough to help people get out of their problems when I can't even help myself."
He feels her eyes on him and finds interest in the way the wind blows across the grass blades.
Her voice is soft when she says, "you don't have to be that kind of hero, if you don't want to."
His heart swells with warmth and sudden affection, though he says nothing but nods in agreement.
It's easily past ten when they trudge back to Y/N's house, with nervousness swimming through Mingi's stomach in apprehension to Hongjoong's earlier threats, though Y/N reassures him that Hongjoong is mostly all talk and no action. That reassures the tall man slightly, until his feet start bristling upon spotting her front porch.
"Thanks for keeping me company today," Y/N tilts her head up, her profile bathed in the backlight of her house, "next time, let's not go to the movies."
Mingi's heart skips, "I didn't mind it."
"I know, but I want to do things that you like too," she grins.
A surge of courage rises through his chest as he tells her that he'd like that a lot too.
Except the thing that falls out of his mouth instead is, "I like you too."
She blinks.
He blinks back, realization settling in like a dull ache in his stomach.
Horror sweeps through him. Oh no.
It hadn't been in his plan to expose himself like this, exposing himself like a dog who wants a tummy rub, but then again there's no sign of rejection that flickers across Y/N's face, which he takes as a good sign as he fumbles for the right words, "uhm, I-- I mean, I didn't mean--"
"You didn't mean that?"
"What?" His eyes widen, "no no! Of course I mean it, I just--"
He gasps at his own words, cupping a hand over his mouth as the girl before him explodes into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"Oh my gosh," her eyes crinkle up into those adorable crescents of hers, "you're so cute."
Scarlet pink blossoms across his cheeks. Averting his eyes, he wishes that the floor can just come and swallow him up right there and then.
"Right," clearing his throat, one hand reaches up to scratch his ear, "well, I-I'll just go--"
He's halfway turning around when Y/N's hand trickles through his, as gentle as water flowing through his fingertips.
"Wait," she murmurs.
His breath stalls. Inhaling a soft breath, he slowly shuffles back, not daring to meet her gaze when he feels like he's just put his heart on the table for her to do with as she pleases.
Her voice is a gentle breath of a whisper, "don't go."
And then, she's up on her tippy toes and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Mingi's skin practically lights on fire as another round of butterflies erupt in his chest at her touch, and he can't help but stare down at her, jaw slack, as she gives him the shyest smile he's ever seen.
Cute! His mind screams. Cute cute cute!
"So," Mingi's mind comes back into focus upon hearing her voice, eyes finding her biting down onto her lower lip, “Well, uh--I guess--I guess this means I--I like you, or something.”
"uhm,” his ears are so hot with heat he feels they might fall off as he forces himself not to gawk at her, though it’s proving to be quite difficult as he’s trying to muster the courage to come out with a reasonable answer. 
“I--well, uh--how does this--I don't know--do you want to...uh possibly,” he swallows thickly, before exhaling the words in a rush,”...goouttodinnerwithme?"
Y/N blinks in confusion, "I'm sorry?"
Come on, Mingi! He thinks to himself in growing desperation. Don't be such a wimp!
"Do you... want to...go out with me? S--Sometime?" His throat is clogged with so much embarrassment he fear he might choke.
But when he feels soft fingers trace his chin, he looks up, right into her dark brown eyes sparkling with a tinge of playfulness, excitement and naked joy brimming at the corners.
"I'd love that," she whispers.
And she lifts herself up once more to land a kiss on his mouth, softly, shyly, a mere brushing her mouth against his.
Mingi stumbles upon impact, hands unconsciously grasping her waist as his back comes in contact with the railing lining her porch.
His eyes are wide when she pulls away, biting her lower lip like she can't help but feel nervous from this bold action that has taken him by surprise.
"What--" Mingi chokes on his words, lapses into silence while staring down at her.
The girl merely glances down. A blush taints her cheeks and even though his fingers are shaking and he feels like his heart is about to jump out of his chest at the mere prospect of their closeness, his body moves before his brain does.
Closing the gap between them, it's his turn to press a kiss now, a chaste one that tells her that he reciprocates these feelings wholeheartedly. And Y/N responds by wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer so that their chests touch, mouths moving slowly in harmony as they chase each other and mold together in a way that leaves Mingi breathless and his heart stuttering like he's just won a race.
If it is, then it's the most importance race of his life.
It is only when they pull apart, breathing into each other with barely millimetres separating their mouths, that he can't help but laugh at the realization that this girl in his arms is his.
"What?" She says while smiling up at him. So gorgeous, so breathtaking. And she's his.
"Nothing," he can sense the heat flooding his cheeks once more, "I just-- I'm just...happy."
And there it is, that same smile that he loves so much. The smile that holds magical words and countless secrets to the amazing mind she beholds. He can't want to delve into her thoughts and pick at her brain, knowing that all of them are going to be precious memories he'll hold dear to his heart.
That smile.
Hongjoong's voice suddenly erupts out of nowhere like a nightmare, "don't think I didn't see you guys kissing out there!"
---
I’m so whipped for Mingi and he’s like 2 years younger so I feel like such an old noona *sighs*. 
Anyway, let me know if you’d like more Ateez content! <3 Stay safe guys, and thanks for reading! 
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Millie headcanons!!
- I see her as having more of a gothic lolita/almost Victorian gothic style tbh? Basically she dresses like Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice. However I love throwing in more mall goth aspects too. Fancy black dress, messy looking makeup, demonia boots, Victorian mourning jewellery, and spiked choker & bracelets kinda thing you get me?
- Bullied kid with comorbid probably undiagnosed ADHD and depression type beat
- I imagine ITP takes place in like, early or maybe mid 2010s. I've seen on this blog once or twice the idea of Millie being around the pizzaplex and i love that idea but I always saw her as like, a closer to classic Freddy Fazbear's kid.
- Her family is pretty well off. That's why she can actually afford to dress the way she does (yeah I'm jealous what of it)
- She likes horror a Lot. It's something of a hyperfixation of hers, but it leaves her grandpa quite concerned because My Granddaughter Has Been Holed Up In Her Room Watching Horror Movies All Day Is She Mentally Stable
- I know in canon she was only going to stay with her grandpa while her parents were away but I got the vibes that her grandpa basically helped raise her. (In my own weird au where millie and sarah like, band together with the other protags to investigate freddy fazbears and specifically the bite of 83 and shit she just full on lives with him lol)
- She's intimidating as Fuck when she gets mad.
- Her hair is not naturally black (not sure what color it Is tho, maybe blonde??), but she dyes it (I also imagine she likes to throw in some purple streaks or a black to purple ombre sometimes)
- She has like 3 piercings on each ear. The second set no one knew she was getting until she came back home from going out to do so. She was banned from getting piercings as a punishment so the third one was also a secret no one in the family noticed for like months.
- She would love FNaF. I feel like she'd make "man behind the slaughter" jokes. Is that old? Me and my sister still do it.
- She is absolutely awful with kids, but they love her. She goes out to the park with a black umbrella to brood dramatically in the shade and from the playground she just hears "Millie!!" And then a small crowd of children runs up asking if she'll play with them. She always gives in and agrees to play in the end. She can never even remember their names or anything but they see the sad girl in all black and immediately know She's Friend. She would die for them.
- Oswald is her surrogate brother and ok now that I'm thinking abt millie in the pizzaplex era Gregory would be too 100%.
- She likes chocolate. She gives me the vibes of someone who just, chocolate everything. Her grandpa buys chocolate chips for baking and Millie eats them all.
- As a kid she cried a lot and didnt know how to/was too afraid to stand up for herself. She has a lot of repressed anger from those years and tends to dramatically overreact as a result (I'm not projecting what do you mean)
[TW for implied abuse for the next three]
- OK BOUNCING OFF THAT ONE HC THAT DYLAN HAS DID AS SOMEONE WHO MAYBE HAS IT MYSELF I LOVE THAT. I have an Idea for how it would've formed which is that his familial situation is Very Not Good. Anyways I think, he has probably abt 10 ish alters, Millie would get along with most of his alters. I think Dylan would have multiple persecutor alters which r alters who formed from trauma who harm the body or other alters to try and protect them. Millie actually gets along surprisingly well with one of them.
- On another note w/ Dylan tho Millie's grandpa meets Dylan, finds out just a little bit abt his family and basically tells him like "my home is your home, if you're not safe there, you're always welcome here" so <3 he likes to spend basically all his time at Millie's grandpa's house and he doesnt say it but he worries hes like is your home really that bad do I need to call CPS?
- Millie's parents come home at the end of the year and are like well what'd we miss? And her grandpa's like look at my new grandson Dylan :) Dylan come out and say hi!! And out comes a teenage boy with bright red hair, a bunch of piercings (also a scar on one ear), wearing spiky platform boots, spiked bracelets and choker like Millie's (but in white w/ black spikes) and patched black jeans, wiping Pop Tart crumbs off a My Chemical Romance shirt and he just looks up at them totally nonchalantly and goes "Heyo" and walks off and they're like MAURICE WHAT THE HELL?!? WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THIS KID?!?! JUVIE?!!?!??
- Millie's grandpa doesn't Know Dylan has DID 100%- Dylan hasn't told him and doesn't plan to- but he notices major changes in personality from time to time and catches Millie, Sarah or Brooke calling him different names occasionally. That plus his vague knowledge of what goes down at Dylan's house, he's sorta put the dots together on his own, but he hasn't said anything yet.
- Ok so like, I love the idea of Brooke having like a pastel/bubblegum-bitch aesthetic. One time Brooke dressed Millie up in a pastel goth style (and Dylan gave her a scene/emo style) and at the time she was like it's so BRIGHT it's so SOFT WHAT but shes been thinking about that ever since and occasionally while shopping she'll pick out a pair of cutesy/pastel earrings or a neon accented choker or something like that.
- Brooke introduces Millie and Dylan to Marina. Millie introduces Brooke to MCR (or something, idk, for as much of a goth as I am I mostly listen to Penelope Scott). Dylan introduces them both to FaLiLV (a Japanese band). Brooke does not like their taste in music.
- Millie's idea of calming down is laying on her bed and listening to screamo.
This took me an hour and a half I'm sorry
ADHAKFJHSJKJHKDSSJFD I LOVE THESE-
The one about Millie being terrible with children but them loving her anyway, is so accurate to my Millie as well. She can take care of a child about as well as she can take care of herself (not much at all-), but her cousins absolutely love when she babysits them, and Gregory looks up to her as a role model (Millie's just like "thanks, but reconsider!" lol)
And the one with Millie's grandpa practically adopting Dylan, I swear ur trying to kill me with wholesomeness, I love them sm. In my AU if Dylan was having issues with his family and Millie's grandpa found out, he'd just calmly stand up and walk into the garage, coming back with a baseball bat. He'd calmly tell Millie and the others that he's just going to have a "talk" with Dylan's parents, while Millie knowing damn well just what he means by that starts chasing after him telling him not to do this, Dylan not far behind.
Dylan's parents would just hear someone pounding on their door, and when they answer there's just an extremely tired and pissed off 60 something year old man on their doorstep, and two teens attempting to hold him back, all while Millie's grandpa is shouting a load of expletives at them.
The whole time Dylan is just panicking, and is all like "M-Mr. Fitzsimmons, you don't have to do this!", whereas Millie knows that her grandfather will not calm down until someone is at least hospitalized.
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A Sick Hope
"Great! I'll be there in ten!" I hung up the phone, jumping off the sofa. I grabbed my (F/C) backpack from the coffee table and made my way into mine and Nagito's shared bedroom. It was going to be the first time I'd be seeing my best friends in a while. Between finals coming up and wedding preparations for me and Nagito, we barely even had time to breath. Luckily Sonia invited all her closest girlfriends to her place to blow off some steam before finals week, which many of them agreed to
One of them happened to be me!
As I was stuffing my pjs and my toothbrush into my backpack, I felt a pair of skinny arms snake around my waist. I yelped at the sudden pressure placed on my stomach, but turned my head, seeing my fiance. As I sighed in relief, I let go of my backpack strap, letting it gently plop on the bed
"Ah, there's my angel of hope," Nagito chuckled lightly, planting a gently kiss on my cheek. I smiled only for a split second before prying away from his arms, slapping his arm gently
"You idiot! You don't usually get off classes this early! I thought you were a robber or something," I scolded him, pouting. As I crossed my arms, the white haired boy frowned, sulking
"I'm so sorry, my angel. I didn't mean to upset you," He sniffled, looking down. I mentally sighed to myself. Nagito and I have been together for almost five years and he still goes on about how someone as beautiful and hopeful as me shouldn't be so blind to date a piece of trash like him. Well, better shut him up before he goes on his usual "I don't deserve you" rant, no matter how many times I assure him
I placed a kiss on his lips, smiling gently at him. "Nagito, I was joking. But you did startle me. It's not even 6 yet and you usually get home from your night classes at 8:30. What happened?" I asked him. His face light up again, relieved that I wasn't mad at him anymore. He crossed his arms, smiling at me
"My professor ended early since we're ahead of the syllabus. But enough about me. Where is my angel of hope going tonight?" He asked, pointing to my backpack
"Oh, Sonia called me and a few of our friends. We're going to have a sleepover at her place to blow off some steam before finals," I explained, grabbing the straps of it again. I double checked that I had everything I needed as Nagito grabbed a water bottle from the table, taking a sip from it
"I see. I hope you girls have fun. But you'll text me once you get there, right? Oh! And please stay safe, alright? I can't have anything happening to my ray of hope. I know you're allergic to nuts so double check with Sonia if the food you have has any. Oh! And if you feel sick, and Mikan isn't there, call me and I'll be there t--"
I shushed Nagito with a peck on his lips, chuckling. I shook my head, knowing damn well after all this time, Nagito was still overprotective of his 'angel of hope'. I couldn't really blame him though. I don't say that to sound conceited, but besides Hajime and sometimes Chiaki, I was basically his only support system. To say he was a bit clingy was an understatement. For the first few weeks of us dating, I would've been lucky if he let me use the bathroom
"Marshmallow, don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. Sonia knows all my allergies and Mikan will be there in fact. So I'll be A-okay!" I smiled, slinging my backpack across my shoulders. Nagito smile, kissing my forehead
"Alright, whatever you say, angel. But please text me when you get there atleast," He pleaded, throwing his own backpack onto a chair. I promised him one last time before slipping on my converse sneakers, heading out
***********************************************************************************************
"(Y/N)! It's been so long! How have you've been?" Sonia welcomed me into her home with a warm smile and open arms. Since we finished Hope Peaks Academy, Sonia decided to settle down in Japan for a little while longer to go to college with her friends. Her apartment wasn't far from mine and Nagito's. Which also meant that it didn't look anything out of the ordinary from a normal apartment. Well, Sonia did say that she wanted to be treated like a normal girl
"Hey Sonia! I've been great, thanks for asking. Well....aside from school and the whole...learning thing," I chuckled, as I set my backpack down on the floor. I saw Mikan, Ibuki, and Chiaki all sitting on her couch, bundled in a bunch of blankets, watching Mean Girls on the TV. Ibuki was the first one to notice me and hollered to me
"YOOOO-HOOO!!! (Y/N), Ibuki is so glad you made it! Sit with us!" She patted an extra space for me on the couch, right between her and Mikan. I chuckled at Ibuki being...well Ibuki, but gladly accepted her offer, squeezing myself between them
"Hey girls, did I miss anything?" I asked them, as Ibuki handed me a bowl full of white cheddar popcorn. Mikan smiled lightly, shaking her head
"Not at all, (Y/N). We just popped in the movie before you came," Mikan gleamed happily, but her rare cheerful expression was replaced with her usual anxious face in a moment
"O-Or we can pick out a-another movie for you, (Y/N)! OH! Or do a-anything you want to do, (Y/N)! It was stupid of me to assume you even wanted to watch a movie in the first place! Please f--"
"Mikan, please relax. That is nothing to stress over. I'd be more than happy to watch Mean Girls," I calmed my close friend down, as I gently took the popcorn bowl from the musician
As I was reaching for a greedy handful of popcorn, I felt a sudden pain spike across my forehead. I winced, pressing three fingers to it. My slight grimace was apparently enough to snap the gamer girl, who was playing Super Mario Brothers on her Nintendo Switch, look up at me.
"(Y/N)? Are you okay?" Chiaki asked, pausing her game. Sonia frowned too, seeing me press my hand against my head
"Yeah. I heard you suck in a breath, (Y/N). I hope you're alright," she said, kneeling down to the side of me. She offered me a can of ginger ale, which I smiled and took
"Thank you for your concern, girls. But I'm fine. Really," I assured them, gently peeling off my hand from her forehead. Mikan's nervous expression quickly returned to her face, hearing my side
"E-Excuse me for interrupting, but you don't really sound so confident, (Y/N). If you really aren't feeling well, you should rest for a bit," she suggested. Before I could reassure her once more, she squeaked, blushing
"Eep! I'm so sorry, (Y/N)! I didn't mean to call you out on lying. I understand if you totally hate me and never want to—"
"Mikan, Mikan, calm down. I'm okay, I promise. And besides, even if I did have a little headache, that won't stop me from having a great time with my girls!" I cheered, pumping my fist. This caught Ibuki's attention as she encouraged the sleepover to go on as well
"Now that's the spirit! Come on, Sonia! Let's play this bad boy already and get our sleepover on! Ibuki even has a mixtape she prepared for us to jam out later!" She smiled proudly. Sonia gave her an approving smile, as she pressed play on the remote and sat down next to Chiaki, already on the third level of her game
The rest of the night wasn't so fun for one single person.....
"Wow, I'm pretty exhausted if I say so myself. What about you girls?" Sonia asked her friends, turning to the couch to talk to them. Chiaki didn't need to answer as she was already asleep on the floor, hugging her Nintendo close to her. Mikan was spraying some setting spray on her newly painted burgundy nails, and Ibuki was clearing up the music CD's she brought along
"I am getting a bit tired myself," Mikan yawned, putting the spray back on the table. "Maybe we should get to bed. After all, 22 year old girls should be getting a proper 8 to 10 hours of sleep," she smiled, but it suddenly turned into a frown. She ran her hands through her hair, panicking once again
"U-unless you guys aren't tired yet! If that's the case, it's fine! We can stay up all night and tell ghost stories! Or watch more movies! I didn't mean to sound boring! Please forgive my ig—"
"Mikan, chill girl! In fact, some sleep does sound like a great idea. I'm a bit b-....." I was about to agree with Mikan, but I just stared at the floor, not....doing anything. Why wasn't my body complying with me? Why....didn't I want to move?
"Huh? Hey, Ibuki to (Y/N)! You hear Ibuki?!" The ultimate musician practically screamed at me, waving a hand in my face. Nothing. I...I didn't feel like getting up. Almost like I was out of fuel, despite the snacks we all filled up on
"(Y/N)? Are you okay? What are you thinking about?" Sonia asked, sitting next to me. She tried shaking my shoulder, not getting a response from me. Ibuki got up and retrieved Mikan for me. The nurse crouched down to my height, feeling my forehead
"Eep! (Y/N)?! You're burning up! You have a serious fever!" She squealed, standing up. I mustered all the energy left in my body to even look at my shy friend, but my eyes looked glazed and cloudy. Sonia gasped, as she felt my warm cheek with her hand
"Mikan is right! (Y/N), you feel really hot!" The blond exclaimed, getting up. She ran to her landline, dialing a number
"N-No! Don't call...." I tried to shout at her, but something that was barely above a whisper came out from my pale lips. Suddenly, the sharp pain from earlier sent hurtful waves through my stomach. I yelped in pain, falling to my knees from the couch. Ibuki gasped, as she tried to steady me with Mikan. Mostly because I was an inch away from crushing a sleeping Chiaki
"I'm calling Nagito," Was all I heard Sonia say before my world got black, blocking out all my senses
***********************************************************************************************
When I woke up, I felt something ice cold resting on my head. I felt a heavy pressure next to the bed I was lying in, the sheets pulled loosely, but comfortably to my chest
Wait? I was in my bed?!
I looked up and saw Nagito looking at me as if I was a dead body. I saw that his eyes were a bit puffy and red around the edges. And wait....were those dried tears that rolled down his cheeks?
"(Y/N)! Oh, my ray of hope," he immediately yanked my hand from under the blankets and kissed my hand all the way to my forearm
"(Y/N), I was so worried! When Sonia called me and told me you felt ill, I felt despair building up inside me. How can I be so blind not to notice there was something wrong with my hope? I'm such a disgusting excuse for a human...." he mumbled, not looking me in the eye. I frowned, caressing his cheek
"Naggie, you aren't a disgusting excuse for a human. Never talk bad about yourself again, I keep telling you this. I didn't even feel sick until I arrived at Sonia's. In fact, I'd say you arrived just on time," I gave him a weak smile, making him flash me a gentle one
"Do you really mean that? Oh, it makes me so happy that my darling angel is praising trash like—" I cut him off with a death stare, scary enough to even make Gundham run away. He cleared his voice, continuing with his statement
"My angel is praising me," he corrected himself, making me smile again. However, that smile only lasted for a split second as I grimaced again, feeling another painful headache rush through my skull. I sat up quickly to get a better grip on the ice pack on my head, but Nagito gently pushed me down
"No, no, no, angel. You're too weak, don't get up so early. I'll be back with some medicine and tea. After that, I can prepare a bath for you. I was about to get in the shower before Sonia called me, so I didn't wash up either," He got up from the bed, only for me to grab his arm with a feeble grip
"Can I rest a bit more with you before we take that bath?" I asked him, making him grin sweetly at me, nodding
"Of course, darling. I'll be back in a minute with some tea and medicine for you," He told me before he placed a loving kiss on my temple, going out of our bedroom. I smiled, snuggling against the sheets. I took in the scent of toasted bagels and a hint of chocolate chip cookies, knowing damn well that was Nagito's scent (and that he was snacking on the bed earlier). I felt myself drift off into another sleep spell, smiling at the fact that me and Nagito were both lucky enough to end up with each other
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hoefette · 3 years
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All the petty things I hate about fate!winx and their shitty universe/world building because
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I'd added most if these in tags of other posts but I'm still so mad lmao
The way characters, Aisha and Mrs Dowling specifically make references to explicitly human or American things like instagram and Harry Potter
These people are from a different dimension for ffs why are they concerned with or are even aware of this very earth-specific shit? Do they teach earth classes at school over there?
I understand not wanting to have them be oblivious so Bloom wouldn't have to explain it to them, but it simply could be ✨omitted✨
Why would you go out of your way to date your work like this lmao ew
Ms. Dowling calling Tinkerbell an air fairy.. I cannot breeve with the stupidity why did they keep that in there
Why is Ms. Dowling.. the headmistress.. teaching classes? Where are the other teachers?
We ended up with a trio of antagonists (I guess you could call them that?) by the end of the season anyway so why not give us the trix, why have the characters play double roles as friends of our protagonists and also the villains/bullies? They clearly wanted a delinquent trio, in which case they could've gender bent the trix if they wanted to keep all the unnecessary sexual tension.
It just feels like the production team was lazy, they didn't want to hire more actors, they didn't want to bother with making the world immersive or lived in or believable at best, they just didn't give enough of a fuck
They wanted to make this show and attatch Winx to it for.. what? Like did you even google the main plot points? The abridged version or sparknotes to get details on the very literal, basic characteristics of our main characters or their roles or the world they inhabit????
It lacks wonder and intrigue.. I mean Bloom moves to another dimension, a school for fairies and we don't see her marvel once at anything.. and that's because she might as well have been in Switzerland because she's in exactly the same environment she would've been in over there anyway.
They could've said Alfea was in Europe and I'd believe it because nothing about the setting makes it feel otherworldly. I'm sorry but I'm not impressed.
Why do the teachers and graduated specialists communicate via facetime ?? In the magic dimension. ??? Why do they text each other and those texts then appear on screen like .. oh look, like a bad netflix teen movie ????? HELLO ??? it's the way technology and magic could've blended in so seamless into the world THE WAY IT WAS ALREADY DONE/SHOWN. Missed opportunity. it just takes you out of it imo every time you see the ugly, bland, gray text bar. Some fucking flavour pls I'm begging
How stupid the specialist must feel clonking around with the skinniest shreds of armor, plastic swords on their backs and battery powered flashlights and cellphones in their bags. R we larping?? I know I'd be laughing and asking why we hadn't already come up with something more effective .. idk like guns. I'm surprised I ain't see one gun in there.
In the beginning Ms. Dowling says some nonsense about fairies having lost the ability to transform to explain why there are no wings, which means they could've transformed before. So are we to assume that this supposed to be set in the time proceeding the original then?? Because something is not adding up with where they should be as a magical society technologically if that's the case
How does the production team want to keep the dark academia vibes with torches lining the walls and also want them to be face timing each other, presumably from miles and miles away in the dark forest???
Pls pick an aesthetic and stick to it everything was so unnecessarily dark. Where do they charge their phones since it's the only device we see that is the slightest bit modern and dont fucking tell me they charge it with magic I will punch you in the face
Why is there only one major monarchy that we are shown? Why are Solaria the only ones contributing to the efforts to defend the school and where is this mysterious battalion we never see lmaoo it's all so bad its laughable.
Is this set in the kingdom of Solaria? And why does the queen of an alleged interdimensional superpower monarchy pull up in black SUVs??????????? Why does she pull up with Andreas?? Is he not the king of Erakleon?? Where are his soldiers and his battalion and just?? Huh!? The world just feels empty like nobody lives here fr
Are we supposed to believe that the specialists get paired up with fairies just as a normal occurence and that they have to 'trust each other' and not because the plot demands it suddenly half way through when all we've seen so far are the fairies doing normalish school and homework, and the specialists outside, being physical everyday all day. This was never even implied that they'd have to work together apart from when we see the faculty as youngins with Rosalind. But even then.. it's like well why are they even together lmao? Is this a special team formed from Rosalind’s protégées? Were they formed after graduating from Alfea or what is this?? Are they the ONLY team of specialist/fairies hunting every single burned one?? What?
Are we now supposed to buy that Musa is being switched to 'support' because that's where her strengths lie and not in combat?? Are we supposed to believe that these girls know hand to hand combat?? When was this established? We see Terra wrapping some baby vines around a dude and I'm sorry is that the practical application of her power? Is this what the fairies are supposed to do once they graduate? Or is it just a switch in curriculum because of the threats outside the barrier?? This is never made clear.
Because if not then what's the point of this?? Why do they suddenly have endless classes together when the expectation was never set for the fairies to be like soldiers or out in the field fighting ?
Where exactly are they supposed to be what was the purpose of including Aster Dell and why is it a joy ride away from Alfea lmao?? Where Bloom is from and also not from?? Plot pls make it make sense
Why are fairies from another dimension vaping or smoking weed?? They are not human so why are they engaging in specifically human vices, yol couldn't come up with anything else to characterize 'delinquents'?? Very lazy very como se dices.. no effort. Nothing a little more spicy yol could invent, at least change the name and some properties holy shit did yol even try ??
So its fairies everywhere, having a lil party in the east wing of a phat castle.. and they are playing beer pong and dressed in t shirts and jeans..
Can you hear me screaming? Can you hear me vibrating with rage?
Not one floating decoration or magical anything in sight. Just purple lights and subpar vibes
Stella's costume design: tragic. I won't discuss further because we don't have the space or time but just know that it was absolutely atrocious and I hated it. Giving very debutante vibes
The entire budget going to that lame transformation sequence that was not a transformation sequence and those horrible, barely-there fire wings
Edgelord bloom and all her fucking leather jackets. Why do 30 yo, white cis men think girls exist in a binary? They could keep her earlier characterization and make her a hothead.. Bloom literally screamed herself into a couple power upgrades in the original come ooonnnn
Let girls be feminine without it being a character flaw what is wrong with yol its 2021. They could make her more mature, more angsty or whatever the hell else and not style her like that
The way Aisha's abilities flipflop between episodes and scenes. Very inconsistent. One minute she's struggling with a drop of water and the next she is moving an entire body of water for her bestie Bloom to fake transform because the plot demands it. Why even add in her struggles at all if you're just going to ignore it?
Why was Stella with them in that scene? She didn't do anything literally.. Aisha pulled the water and she did .. nothing.
Who the fuck is Rosalind? Why would they add her in,, to add nothing to story? The company of light was a thing, they could've plucked one of them hoes to be the antagonist. Why did the winx club need their own Delores Umbridge? Valtor was right there if you wanted an evil educator type character.
The camera work was so bland during the down beats, stagnant and fixed during a fairy party and erratic and ugly and disorienting during the fight scenes
I'm not getting over the fairy party because it was a good opportunity for the production and everyone else to show the differences between where Bloom was and where she is now but instead it just looks like a regular teen high school party?? This could have been set in Switzerland fr.
Everyone's just kind of standing?? You mean to tell me these people are from all different places in the magical dimension and their customs are all the same? They all throw parties like this ??
White and flavorless I am very bored
I guess the main question or takeaway I have is just.. who is this for? Because everyone, including the showrunners keep saying that it's for us, the fans of the original. But apart from the characters sharing some names, there are really no other similarities. So again, who was this supposed to appease or placate or satisfy? Because it sure as hell wasn't the winx club fans.
Overall, this feels very much like something I wrote and probably published on ff.net when I was 13 because I thought girls couldn't be taken seriously if they liked pink, and injected angst into everything that didn't need it and had no idea how to structure scenes or dialogue. It's just bad, objectively and N*tflix will keep making shit like this because apparently some people have bad taste??? Idk yol, be easy
#im never gonna stop i dont care i dont care#and i dont even usually make my own posts i just be reblogging and vibing#but im passionate abt this because he originak was the reason i wanted to learn how to draw#it was the reason i wanted to learn how to write and tell stories#it shaped a lot of shit for me because it was the very first one of its kind id ever seen#i ran home from school to watch it and argued with my friends about who got to be flora#i forced them to make cardboard wings with me and to perform the opening song during a school talent show#thank god we didnt get to perform otherwise we would all have died of embarrassment in hindsight#but ye i just hate to see things that obviously are very dear to a lot of people be treated with such casual indignity and its a disservice#a disservice to the fans and to the people who had probably want to create it as a passion project#to the people who spent hours and hours in rewrites and fanart amazing fanart and post series continuations#no one is saying the original is sacred and cannot be touch#this fandom actively calls out the bullshit rainbow has done and continues to do to the characters we love.. i havent spoken to one fan who#doesnt have an alter dedicated to their downfall. we found a piece of ourselves in these gorls and they were stripped and caricatured and#played for laughs so netfilx can make money and its just very upsetting to see.#so again fuck you brian young fuck you ignio and rainbow and fuck whoever the costume designer was#mine#text#fate winx club#fate: the winx saga#f:tws#winx club
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