#this is happening is literally my best friend in the whole entire world i can't believe i didn't think of this connection sooner | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inkskinned · 9 months

Text

no, actually, where is the whimsy?

my ex had a best friend named larry who asked me once: what do you think comes after irony?

we were at the bar where larry worked. it was a quiet night, and he'd hopped over to sit with us on the patron side. i swirled the lemon around my limoncello martini.

earnest positivity, i said, while my ex said, art self-destructs.

i stared at my ex. he stared at me.

his argument was the cinemasins argument: look how bad media is becoming! look at the loopholes and the dumb shit!

it was roughly 2011. galaxy print was still in. at the time, i had a favorite shirt that was a wolf howling at the moon. it got ripped in half in the wash and i honestly still mourn it. i dressed like effie stonem, because everyone did. and irony was the name of the thing. men liked MLP "ironically." the internet liked the kind of crass, "anti-mainstream" vibes of things like fuck romance, touch my butt and buy me pizza. we put cats in sunglasses everywhere, which was because we only liked things in irony.

and media had the same vibe in it: anti-hero white men would be "hard to love" and then storm off the scene. nobody was just earnestly trying to save the world: they were jaded, angry, unoriginal. mad you even asked them to try to help.

my ex ends up not being wrong. cinemasins becomes super popular. a lot of people start viewing media with this lens that is the cruelest, most jaded depiction. it's wrong for your character to have unexplained powers, even if the entire movie is about how strange it is she has unexplained powers - that is still considered a "loophole." characters make thoughtless, panicked choices? loophole. characters are actually kind people, despite hardship? loophole. features a woman doing literally anything without assistance? loophole. movies become hyper-aware of scrutiny, and now irony rules the media.

which means you go to a movie, and the character has to turn to the screen and say "beats me!!" or one of the side characters has to have some kind of quip like "are you seriously telling me that you think this is normal?" because nothing can happen in earnest. like a sitcom laugh track, we now anticipate the fourth-wall break: the moment that the media acknowledges it is telling a story. the media has to apologize for itself, or else someone like my ex rolls their eyes.

but here's the thing: i wasn't wrong either.

the difference might be that i am (and always have been) so soft-hearted that any crack in the light of this world will spear me into the ground. and i was the poet in the relationship. (he thought that was the same thing as being naïve and stupid). i was making things daily. i knew how all of us artists are driven by some strange desire to evolve. he notably liked to critique art, not to create it.

so yes, i've made things that are bitter and angry and even ironic. i've made long, sharp poems with all capital letters, and i've made poems about how the silence stretches out like a song. someone wrote once that we will spend our whole lives just circling the place we grew up. i think it's more that we spend our whole lives trying to remake a home. i think it's that as we age, it becomes less exciting to build the castle on the beach - we become aware of erosion, of windforce. we realize what we really want is to come home to our dog, castle or not.

and while art in the foreground is mired in white male violence and irony, and aggression, and not taking anything seriously - i don't think that's true of all art. i think more and more artists are leaning in to the things we love. the world has changed so much. they have taken so many things from us. the only thing we have left is love. at the bottom of the moving box - all we get is the faint sense that we have to appreciate what little we've got. i can't enjoy this stuff ironically anymore: what room do i have for irony? if it makes me happy, that is an amazing thing. there are so few happy places left for me. i want to be happy because of how leaves shiver beside each other like nestling birds. i want to be happy because of the color pink, and how magenta doesn't exist. i have spent so much of this life suffering, i have earned my right to a gentle ending. if nothing matters, i get to assign meaning to the nothing. i get to create meaning. i am an artist first and foremost, which means creation is my thing.

where is the whimsy? wherever i fucking put it. because if this is my last fucking chance to do any good in this world - i want to do it earnestly. i want to write things that make you happy. that make people feel heard and seen. what comes after irony has to be positivity.

it was close to my 21st birthday. in 7 years, i would end up writing a book about this relationship, which is hopefully coming out somewhere around May 2024. i come back to this bar scene in my memories a lot. i keep thinking of how pale my ex was. the look that crossed his face. how i looked back at him. how for a moment, both of us couldn't recognize the other person. like the gulf between us was a suddenly wide and cavernous thing. like we were alien to each other. he never took my opinion seriously, and he always seemed surprised whenever his manic-pixie-dream-girl ever broke free of the plot. like in the whole time we were together, i wasn't human enough.

this knowledge: where he said nothing comes after, my only instinct was what comes after is love.

#spilled ink #writeblr #this is a real story lol #looking back i liked larry as a person SO much more than my ex hollyyyyy shitttt #compulsory heterosexuality will do you DIRTY #edit to correct effies name my apologies to effie and effies family

14K notes · View notes

chuluoyi · 7 months

Text

heartbreak hotel

- gojo satoru x reader

so you're going on a three-day-two-night getaway trip with the one and only Gojo Satoru. the catch? you two have just broken up.

genre/warnings: crack, jealousy, a dose of pettiness, hurt/comfort, fluff, zero angst i promise, suguru being a good buddy to his boyfriend best friend

notes: inspired by a very real life story :))) anyways, it takes place in an au where suguru never left and all is well with our little meow meow catoru the wonderful colored manga panel by the talented @redbluenight! this was so much fun to write (that it turned into a whopping 3k+ word, so sorry) and i even made a playlist while on it ;)

series masterlist | oneshot masterlist

"He's intolerable!"

There were many things that led to the end of your relationship with Gojo Satoru, but if asked one word to sum it, then that was it.

When you started this thing with him, obviously you had never planned on how it would end―who started a relationship with that sort of mindset anyway? But if you could choose, you definitely wouldn't want it to end with dramatic shouting match that left you in tears.

Anyways, some things were just not meant to be. You refused to spend your whole life crying over that smug bastard, and so you moved on.

However, if there's one thing you've learned about plans, it is that whenever you already make a foolproof one, the world always has some funny way to mess it up.

Like this time.

"I... I remembered saving for months," you stammered dumbly, staring blankly at Shoko in front of you. The realization felt like a spiritual ascent. "I paid for that damn plane ticket and hotel with my whole saving. I can't just throw them away."

How could you possibly forget about this? This graduation trip that had been planned between your group of Satoru, Suguru, Shoko and yourself for months now. It was meant to be a getaway, a celebration of your most significant achievement after four years of barely getting by on exorcising curses and not dying in the process. This was supposed to be the ultimate milestone celebration in your life.

"Then don't," Shoko replied simply, twisting the cigarette in her mouth. "I'm still going though. No way I'm wasting that money."

"But!" you vehemently hissed. "He will be there. It means I have to see him for three days straight!"

Your cringeworthy breakup happened just barely a week ago. You had sworn in front of Gojo Satoru that you didn't want to see his face again, and yet in less than a week from now, you and him would literally share the same space―again?

"Can't I get a refund?"

"This late? Nah, it's like yay or nay at this point."

You slumped in frustration. Were the gods making you swallow your own words now? You were left with no other choice. Your frugality and tendency to get broke often compelled you to make the decision.

You were going on this trip whether he was there or not.

Meanwhile, on his end, the said smug bastard was brooding, groaning and pacing over the same predicament. Satoru had two options and had weighed them all, and somehow he still arrived at the more seemingly no-good decision.

"I'm going, duh!"

"You are?" Suguru asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Well, might be the first time I've seen someone agree to go on an overnight trip with his ex..."

"Hmph. I just don't like squandering money."

Suguru snorted, unimpressed. “Satoru, you have an entire fortune. The airfare is just an amount you'd donate to charity. Besides, you have wasted more than that.”

“Well, I want to enjoy my youth too! I’m going—who cares if she’ll be there!”

He was still miffed, recalling the day your argument spiraling out of control. How could you say those hurtful things to him?

“You never take things seriously—heck, I’m not even sure if you’re ever taking me seriously at all! Satoru, you’re always acting all high and mighty, but you’re just a selfish little twat!”

No way. The last time, he was left in the dust, not being able to say anything in his defense. So now, he would use this chance to be the one who had the last laugh. He was going, because he was 70% sure that you wouldn’t let your hard-earned money go to waste.

And he was right when two days later, he found you at the airport with a bitter scoff upon seeing him.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he moistened his lower lip in that obnoxious way. “Missed me?”

You walked past him, tone lacing with disdain. “Get lost, Gojo.”

He couldn’t help the prickling sensation in his chest when you dismissed him just like that. And the use of his last name—whereas you used to call him with all sort of available pet names? Now that was just low.

“Nah, you can’t get away from me that easily, Y/N,” Satoru sniggered. “You’re going to see me for the next three days, so suck it up and enjoy the sight,” and then the idiot proceeded to pump his fist in the air. “Wooo! Kyushu, here I go!”

Suguru and Shoko merely observed your icy interactions in silence, occasionally exchanging glances from time to time.

ITINERARY ::: DAY 1 — BEACH DAY @ SEASIDE HOTEL

After the three-hour flight, the four of you arrived at Karatsu, one of the main highlights in your trip—or back then, one you and Satoru handpicked yourselves.

You swore you still had your heart frozen for him, so you didn’t know what stirred it when you saw him giggling and doubling over in carefree delight, surrounded by those beach girls in skimpy bikinis.

“Hey, handsome~ is this even okay?” one of the girls in pink thong scooted closer to him, asking him with this cheap seductive grin. “Won’t your girlfriend be mad?”

At that moment, you could’ve sworn Satoru threw you a glance from the corner of his eye before replying with a triumphant bark. “What girlfriend? I’m wholly and happily single!”

The hell?

A rush of squeals grated your nerves as they swarmed your ex-boyfriend, prompting you to stalk away in irritation.

Absolutely not. You wouldn’t let this fine establishment be your heartbreak hotel any longer.

Gojo Satoru knew fully that he was petty. He let you see that on purpose just to rile you up, because frankly, he still felt like he didn’t deserve your messy breakup at all.

But when you were no longer in his eyesight, suddenly the urge to entertain these strangers dissipated, and what remained was this hollow sensation in his chest. You not paying him attention somehow made him crave it all the more.

He recalled how you pointed out that playing in the clear waters would be your ideal graduation gift. He specifically recommended this place himself and you had agreed. He remembered planning all of this, dragging Suguru and Shoko too just to make it merrier. To keep that cute smile on your face.

You were supposed to fool around with him in the clear waters of Matsubara Beach, splashing and pulling him underwater.

And yet in reality, he was toying with these questionable women and in your eyes, he was nothing but an irritable twat.

He didn’t see you again until evening, during dinner time. And the sight before him made him want to pull Suguru to the side and trap him inside his unlimited void.

"Really?" Your clear voice rang in his ears, every bit the same as when you would energetically question him with those doe eyes of yours, as you peered at Suguru. "We should go together tomorrow then!"

His eyes twitched.

What has his life come to? Reduced into seeing his ex-girlfriend possibly going on a date with his best friend?

He almost hoped that you'd stage up your pettiness level. It was worse because unlike him, you didn't make this up just to gauge his reaction.

That night, in their shared hotel room, he ignored Suguru completely, as well as silently waiting for him to divulge where he and you were going tomorrow.

"Hey Satoru—"

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep."

It was obviously a wrong move, because Suguru apparently caught the hint and stayed quiet as a mouse throughout the night.

ITINERARY ::: DAY 2 — HOT SPRING @ KUMAMOTO

Or at least, last he remembered, that was the agenda.

Until he saw that only Shoko who was there, idling around at the hot spring area.

"Where are the others? Why is it only you here?"

She shrugged. "Geto said he's going to try the local specialties. Dunno where. As for me, I'm going to enjoy this onsen to the fullest."

Shoko noticed his irritated scowl, and a sly grin crept across her face.

"Heh, jealous much now, Gojo?"

Meanwhile, you and Suguru went to various dessert shops in town as per his invitation. Perhaps he took pity on you because you really seemed not to be having any fun at all after you stormed off from the beach area yesterday.

"Mmm! This is tasty!" you remarked, munching away the three-colored dango happily. You were so engrossed in eating today that you no longer had any room to think about anything else, which was a good thing.

Suguru smiled. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself now." However, he appeared to have something on his mind, prompting you to hum and tilt your head in curiosity.

"No, it's just... so it's really over between you and Satoru?"

You let out a snort. "Yeah. Totally. He's an ass."

"He really is miserable, you know..."

"Nah, he doesn't look like it."

Your friend sighed. "Honestly, what was the argument even about? Both of you usually didn't take it this far."

You didn't want to go back to that topic, really. But Suguru was always the one with cooler head, and after his kindness today, maybe you could spare him a detail or two.

"It's a lot of little things that have piled up, you know," you mumbled. "It's probably just how he is, and I know. But I finally reached my boiling point. Why can't he try to see things from my perspective? Everything that's important to me doesn't seem to matter to him, and relationships need two people, not just one who resigns and the other who does anything he pleases."

And until now, you doubted if Satoru even realized what he did wrong. That was what hurt you the most. Like you were so small in his eyes, like he could toy with you and get away with it.

As you expected, Suguru would understand your point. "So that's how you feel... Yeah, I think I get it."

You thought he would end it at that, but then he went on. "I'm not defending him, Y/N. I think some time away from you would do him good, but later, maybe you can talk this to him? See if he will understand?"

"I already did, so many times." You narrowed your eyes at him. "Not to offend you, but it awfully seems like you're defending him, Suguru, despite you saying otherwise."

"I'm saying this because sometimes we can forget that Satoru is different," he explained sympathetically, and to be honest, you were surprised by his statement. "He is born exalted. He has a hard time comprehending things that come to us naturally. I just think it's a pity if... you can actually fix this, but just because bad communication, you lose the chance to."

Have you properly communicated this to him? Now that you thought about it, most of the times you would just get mad and point at the little things he missed, but never actually told him how it made you feel.

Your mind was still muddled with the fact Suguru had shed light on even after you got back to ryokan where you were staying for the night. The two of you were in for a surprise though as apparently there was a festival happening there.

Everything seemed to spark with glitters. The bamboo lanterns, lights, the gentle breeze. It created an undeniably romantic ambiance, to be honest.

You didn't know when Suguru slipped away, but suddenly, you found yourself alone amidst the visitors and dim lights.

And you found yourself to be immensely lonely.

Satoru spotted you in all your solitary glory amidst the sea of people in this godforsaken place.

No, actually it was a pretty great inn and attraction, but this trip had been horrible so far, and so he just felt everything was bad.

But at that moment, bitterness no longer clouded his mind, because you were so beautiful, bathed in the glow of the lights that Shoko had forcibly dragged him to see. If it were up to him, he'd spend the last night sleeping his heartbreak away, but now that he was here, he was thankful to see the dazzling sight of you that reminded him once again just what made him hopelessly in love with you.

And why he didn't get his sorry ass back into your good graces faster.

He retraced everything had brought both of you to this point. Your last fight was about what again? Him not telling you any news when he would be back from a mission?

No matter how he thought about it, it was a trivial matter. So what made you mad? He kept thinking, and then he imagined switching places with you. What if you didn't text him at all for three days straight? How would he feel? Oh, he would be despondent, of course.

Now he was starting to understand. He had done that so many times he could no longer keep count. Granted, you would be angry.

Satoru suddenly know how to rectify this. He can make things right. He would be damned if he didn't. He just had to pull you aside, and he was going to when he lost sight you in the crowd.

Okay, now he was frantic, as the longer he didn't see you, the more his opportunity to make amends slipped away. He moved through the crowd, pushing people in the process, earning ire and questionable glares and yet he cared none for it.

He nearly cursed at how his phone kept vibrating incessantly inside his pocket. Begrudgingly, he took it out and almost gasped.

You are calling him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was so incredibly stupid. You just went to pee for a bit and then somehow got yourself locked in the toilet. It might have been fine, but then the lights unexpectedly went out, scaring the shit out of you.

How could such a upscale inn experience a sudden power outage and have doors that wouldn't budge? It was worse when no matter how many times you punched the switch or banged the door, it refused to turn on or open.

You were trapped. Honestly, it took everything you had not to cry.

And so you did the next best thing aside from forcing your way out. You called your friends. First, Shoko, and then Suguru, but both of them somehow didn't pick up the call even after you had called them three times each.

That left you with one possible person left. In your frenzied mind, it didn't even register in your mind what you were doing as the line connected and the last person you'd call on the other side answered.

"Satoru," you shakily breathed out, almost crying—or were you already? You didn't know as you focused on his sharp intake of breath, most likely surprised at how rattled you sound.

"Y/N? What? What is it?"

"I—" you wheezed, hating how helpless you sounded, yet still forced the words out. "I'm locked, it's dark—and it's just so—help! Help me please! I tried getting Shoko but she didn't—"

"Okay, sweetheart, calm down. Calm down, okay?" Satoru's voice brought you some comfort and it helped to reduce your tears, missing how he slipped up by calling you with his usual pet name for you. "Tell me. Where are you?"

"The women's restroom… I think it’s in the east wing."

"I'm coming, okay? Don't panic. I'll be there. Just stay on the line."

You heard his ragged breaths as he muttered several "coming through!" and "excuse me!" from where he was. It made your heart lurch. Despite the spiteful breakup, he rushed to your aid as soon as he realized you were in some kind of trouble.

Was this okay, to let your relationship end just like that?

"I'm outside." And then you heard his voice, much to your relief. "Y/N? Are you there?"

"Yes!" you shouted over the steel door.

You then heard how he rummaged to get the door open, and faintly hear him cursing it. "It won't open."

You wanted to sob, but then Satoru told you with an absolute tone, sounding so sure and demanding that compelled you to comply. "Get away from the door. As far as possible. Take cover."

Oh God, was he going to do what you thought he might do?

...he did. The next thing you knew, the door—and much more than that—was destroyed, and a rush of cursed energy was everywhere. After the blast subsided, you instinctively made a run for it, and you didn't know how, but you ended up stumbling into him.

Satoru caught you in his firm embrace.

"It's okay. You're okay," he cooed, whispering in your ear gently, urging your shivering body to calm down. "You're safe now, Y/N... I'm here. You're safe."

There was always something about your trembling form that made him want to tear down everything and anything in his path just to make you feel secure. And there was always this sense of rightness whenever you snuggled in his arms. Both desires clashed in a contrasting need and want and Satoru could do nothing but keep you close to him, torn between the two.

He kept his hand on your spine, and you clung on him, burying your face in his broad, sturdy chest.

Nevermind the fact that you technically broke up with him. Nevermind that ever since this botched trip started, it was the first occasion in which the two of you held a proper conversation without spewing bravado or sarcasm.

Afterwards, he led you away from the site, and he figured it would be best to go somewhere quieter rather than the festival, and so here you were, at the deserted lounge.

You had calmed down for the most part, and slowly you felt heat in your cheeks. In hindsight, you could've tried using cursed energy to blast the door too, why didn't you think of that earlier?

And yet, unaware of your internal musings, Satoru's thoughts were occupied with another matter entirely, and blame it on his insensitivity—he chose this moment to drop it without hesitation.

"I want you back," he declared, void of any hesitation. "I'll be better, I promise. Those things you hate—tell me, and I'll make sure not to repeat them again."

He wasn't the sharpest when it came to picking up on your feelings, but Satoru vowed that if it bothered you that much, then he would do his best to avoid doing it.

But you... you were still trying your best to grasp the situation. Amidst the plot twist you just experienced tonight, his blatant proclamation was the last thing you expected so you only managed a "What?"

He held your gaze, eerily serious. “I don’t want to break up. It’s hell. We can—I can still fix this.”

He looked sincere, unlike the usual empty promises he’d give you after you went off on him. And suddenly, you understood.

“…really?”

“Yeah. Just give me another chance. I’ll prove it to you,” Satoru said, visibly impatient now. “I won’t give you up. This literally is the fight of my life right now.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, despite yourself. If there was anything that you had learned tonight, it was that apparently you and him were still salvageable.

“And how will you prove it?”

“Just so you wait and see, sweets. I’m gonna relight your feelings!”

It was beyond corny that he took a line from your favorite song. And both of you burst into a laughter at the sheer silliness of it.

You sighed, but this time of relief, in stark contrast to your earlier sighs that afternoon. You were giddy as a smile perched on your lips. “Fine. Let’s give this another shot.”

Satoru felt the tension in his shoulder melt with your answer. A genuine, wide smile emerged from the bottom of his heart and lit up his face.

“Now, this whole trip has been kind of terrible so far, don’t you think?” He made a brief pouty face for a moment before reverting to his mischievous grin His remarkable expressiveness—reminiscent of a child's, in your opinion—never ceased to fascinate you. “I have a pretty good idea where we should go next.”

You furrowed your brow in confusion. “What do you mean? Tomorrow’s our last day.”

“No freaking way!” he exclaimed, whipping out his phone to launch the travel agency app. “We are going to redo our graduation trip. This time just the two of us!”

There were many things that led to the end of your relationship with your dork of a boyfriend, but as you reflected on it, you realized that there were also many reasons for you to stay together, especially when he reached for your hand and held it firmly in his grasp.

You were unable to contain your excitement and bubbling with melodious giggles that he adored so much as he whisked you away from Kumamoto in favor of the last bullet train to Kyoto, where your long-awaited true vacation would begin.

Epilogue

“I told you this was a horrible idea. I fucking told you.”

"Can you blame me? Dude was about to throttle me in my sleep."

"Geto," Shoko scowled, her disbelief at his simple answer evident as she gestured wildly with both hands towards the wrecked lavatory, emphasizing her point. "Look—now that he had gone and done it, we're the ones footing the bill for the destruction of property!"

Gojo had blasted the washroom with a freaking Red. And the innkeeper promptly held both Shoko and Suguru responsible since their roommates were captured on CCTV and had vanished without a trace.

Suguru rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I genuinely thought it was a good idea. I didn't expect Satoru to go overboard though," then he threw her a stink eye. "And hey, you were complicit in this too!"

Shoko mumbled a string of curses as she pulled out her phone, snapping some pictures of the undeniable evidence of Gojo’s doing, and then made a call. Suguru frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm reporting him to the headquarters!"

2K notes · View notes

janewayintersection · 9 months

Text

the amount of people who are like "omg i ditched kaidan for garrus after he was mean to me on horizon!!" baffle me. shit on bioware's writing for making shep work with cerberus all you want, but kaidan calling shep out on this and not joining them is NOT the issue. in fact, him reacting like this is why i love him??

he specifically states he trusts shep, just not cerberus. which is the only rational response in that whole entire goddamn game!! like?? you spend all of me1 stopping cerberus operations. they kill several alliance soldiers and admiral kahoku, try to make a rachni army -- they are WELL known for cloning and ais... miranda even outright states she wanted to plant shep with a control chip. there is literally zero reason for kaidan to believe the shep in front of him isn't some cerberus sleeper agent. or an ai. or indoctrinated. or being manipulated (THIS ONE IS CANON BTW). even if he trusts shepard, he doesn't trust cerberus not to pull any of this. quite frankly, i'm baffled more companions don't have this exact, entirely justified concern.

loyalty is important, but blind loyalty is dangerous.

honestly, the crew in me2 is lucky that the illusive man was so weirdly and uncharacteristically insistent on shepard remaining untouched. things could have gotten very bad otherwise.

being best friends with someone, or more notably, being in love with someone, isn't the end all be all magic potion in this world. being in love with someone doesn't mean you should blindly trust their actions. if my significant other joined a terrorist group, you can bet my ass i wouldn't join them! sorry! if anything, it's healthy that kaidan has his own sense of morals and priorities he follows over shepard. he's his OWN person, love shouldn't be something that makes you suddenly give up who you are and what you believe in.

not to mention kaidan is entirely out of the loop for the whole game. his intel states that cerberus is behind the abductions (the horizon incident is partially a result of cerberus' fiddling btw), and that shep has been alive and never even reached out to anyone. he doesn't have the information we the players have. he doesn't know that the illusive man insisted on no control chip. he doesn't know about the lazarus project or its specifics.

and as for the "cheating" discourse if you romance someone new in me2, i do personally believe shep getting with one of the me2 love interests is cheating on their me1 love interest. to shep, they skipped those two years. they wake up as they did during the me2 prologue. no time has passed. and then they immediately get with someone else after one (1) argument with their love interest over them, may i remind you, joining a terrorist group. even if you don't think it's "technically" cheating, it's at the very least pretty trashy and flakey.

if anything, i'm gonna say it! kaidan is more forgiving than i'd be! the fact that he even sends an email saying he still cares and that they can see what happens after this is all resolved is WAY more than i would have done. the fact that kaidan will find out shep got with someone else, and STILL be willing to give shep a chance is like. man. it's saying a lot. i am just saying.

imagine losing someone. you see them literally die as your ship explodes and they burn up in the nearby planet's atmosphere. you grieve. you put yourself into your work. then suddenly, two years, later. they pop back up again. ALIVE. and with a terrorist group. and basically tell you the equivalent of "just trust me bro" despite the fact that while you trust them, you don't trust the terrorist group. so you're like hey, what the fuck. why are you with a terrorist group. and they're like i'm not with them, we just have common goals. and you're like. i'm gonna say it again. i trust you, not the terrorist group. okay?? i can't join you for this reason. please be careful out there, seriously.

and then they immediately jump into the pants of that one guy you knew back on a mission from two years ago.

what would you do?? would you not feel hurt? betrayed? upset? confused?? i'm sorry, i'm completely on kaidan's side. i'd go as far to say that he's far more understanding than he should be in me2.

me3 is all about regaining that complete and undying trust back, and that cerberus didn't fuck around w shep. or that being with cerberus didn't change them. his "loyalty" quest is just visiting him in the hospital and showing him shepard still cares. that they're still the same. that cerberus truly didn't alter them. that there was more going on. that shepard was forced to work with cerberus out of complete necessity and only did what they thought was right. and i think that's neat!!!!

#mass effect #kaidan alenko #shenko

411 notes · View notes

polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup · 29 days

Note

forever ago you mentioned in an ask post that you have a story in your head about college-aged Matt saving Frank’s kids and in return the Castle family forcibly enfolds him into their tribe. There is literal kidnapping involved, and every word in your little summary was fucking hilarious. I want you to know that that scenario has lived in my head rent free ever since—I am astounded by your brain and that concept makes me want to eat dirt (in the best way)(that is a compliment of the highest degree)

anyways! Please don’t think this is me asking “when will you write that” bc i get it, some plot bunnies are just bunnies, and time/real world is a bitch, BUT—if you ever have any little ramblings about it, I’d love to hear them :) the Castle family is Insane and I love them dearly and I am forever entranced by your characterizations of Matt and Frank

Have a good one!!

Christmas with the Castles my beloved. I love this one so much that I typed out an outline of the fic entirely. It is long. Please, take my ramblings if you want them:

It's Christmas at Columbia, hohoho, peace and goodwill to all mankind. The dorms are closed over winter break to replace the pipes and Matt's out on his ass for the holidays, so get fucked, blind little orphan with no surviving family, and God bless us everyone.

Normally the Nelson clan would have taken him in but Foggy's bitch of a Great Aunt Bertha insists on holding the entire family hostage for the holidays with the will as collateral, and she sucks in many respects but even more in the sense that she doesn't want any blind orphans schlepping around her holiday table. But the Nelson clan will risk it all for Matt, who they think is neat. They'll put the whole fucking will on the line, buddy.

Matt assures them that he's got it all under control and has a place to stay. Yes, with a person. Yes, a real one. An old friend of his dad's. No, he's not going to be homeless. Stop asking questions.

This is a lie.

His plan is to simply be homeless. Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Except Foggy knows when Matt's on his bullshit and insists on speaking to the guy he's staying with, which means he needs to get Fogwell to lie for him. Except Fogwell knows when Matt's on his bullshit and won't let him off the fucking hook until he knows Matt won't be homeless for the holidays.

Matt unequivocally refuses to come home with him. Stop asking. He'll find someone else to do the phone call.

They compromise with Matt staying in the fucking boiler room of the gym. Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Except Matt sort of makes Fogwell think that he only needs to crash for a few days, and Foggy's family is going to take him in for the rest. This is also a lie. He is fucking off to be homeless for the rest of the holiday season.

Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

He's swallowing his misgivings and putting up with staying in the boiler room of the gym for a few days so Fogwell won't freak out. Which he now regrets. Because it puts him right in the earshot of an active hostage situation. Are those kids? Those are fucking kids.

Anyway he tries to call the police anonymously like ten times but this just tips off the hostage takers, who apparently have a mole in the police, surprising no one. Now they're going to kill the fucking kids.

Matt can't listen to this.

Peace and fucking goodwill to all mankind.

Okay. Fuck. He's doing this now.

Fuck.

THE CASTLE'S HOLIDAY SEASON, THUS FAR:

The kids got kidnapped.

fuck.

that happened.

The thing is that some random NSA guy got into contact with Frank and in this AU he actually blew the whistle on the the CIA's bullshit. His family was in protective custody, until his best friend and pseudo brother stabbed him in the fucking back and sold them out. Now they have his kids.

He then kills a lot of people.

Like a lot.

But he can't find his kids. They have his kids.

They're going to kill his kids.

MATT'S NIGHT, THUS FAR:

He's an asshole in sweatpants with a t-shirt wrapped around the top part of his face and no fucking plan, and there are so many assholes with guns in there. Like. So many.

But fuck it. He's doing this now.

fuck.

He fights a lot of guys. He gets super shot. Some guy tries to shoot him with arrows. Like, what the fuck even is this, Robin Hood? Honestly, fuck this night.

Anyway, he saves the kids. Wheee.

It's sort of nice? They bond, when the crying stops. The kids like him a lot. He calls their parents. Sets up a place for them to get picked up. The boy gives him the sweatshirt he's wearing under his jacket, which is kind of him, because it's fuck-off cold and Matt's about ten minutes from going into shock. Anyway, he drops them off at the spot and fucks off into the night before their oddly bloodstained dad can stop him like the world's shittiest off-brand batman.

He then goes to exercise the right of any God-fearing American citizen, which is to bleed out in the basement of his childhood church.

Fogwell's never gonna be okay again if he finds Matt's blood-soaked body in the gym. Matt figures he can just break into that basement no one uses, steal a med kit, make a solid confession about breaking into and stealing from a church if he lives long enough, and hopefully no one will even notice he was there.

This does not pan out.

A really angry nun finds him and narcs him out to Father Lanthom and they bitch him out for "dying" and "not seeking life-saving medical attention" and drag his ass to to the hospital.

NOW THE CASTLE FAMILY, REUNITED AT LAST:

The kids' will be in therapy forever but the danger is gone, because frank killed them all very dead.

He then received a presidential pardon for All The Murder.

Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Anyway he's testified about the CIA corruption, the government is occupying itself with the coverup to end all coverups, and his only remaining concerns is (1) taking care of his family and (2) making sure the bleeding dipshit who saved his kids lives doesn't die in the streets. He's gotta find that dumb asshole.

Then he gets a phone call from a very concerned nurse at Metro General about the bleeding dipshit that got brought in with his kid's sweatshirt. They're calling because he keeps trying to goddamn leave while very fucking shot and he had a jacket with Frankie's information written on it in magic marker. Do they know him? Can they please come pick him up? They think he's going to die in the streets if someone does not pick him up.

And Yeah. Yeah, Frank Can Do That.

Matt.

Yeah.

The magic marker, he didn't.

Didn't

Didn't see that part.

Fuck.

Anyway, Matt's On His Way Out To Be Homeless For The Holiday Season, Peace And Goodwill To All Mankind, As Soon As The Goddamn Nurses Stop Hiding The Leave Against Medical Advice Forms. He lied and said he got jumped by a lot of guys, no, he didn't see who did it, because, you know. Blind. Just a regular ol' blind guy here. Poor fucking blind orphan alone and shot for the holiday season. Just give him the goddamn form.

And then that fucking guy shows up in his hospital room. The suspiciously bloody father of the kids he just got shot over. He's here, he's insisting that Matt's one of his family's closest friends and they're paying all of Matt's medical bills, and he's not commenting on the blind bit, but Matt can literally smell his curiosity. Matt's insisting that some random guy gave him the jacket, no, he didn't see his face, because, you know. Blind. He's not the guy Frank thinks he is. Nope. Please fuck off now.

They do not fuck off. Maria Castle blows through the hospital room like a hurricane, hugs him very genuinely, cries a little, and tells him that the Castle family pays their debts, and they've never had a greater one. Then the kids show up, and they fucking recognize him. Fuck.

Matt: imindanger.exe

Matt keeps feigning ignorance. Then, he waits until they leave the room and he fucking books it.

Anyway the Castle family minivan catches up to him when he's legging it a block away. They keep pace with him, and ask to just take him where he's going, and they swear they're not going to hurt him. They just want to help him out. He saved their kids.

And he can hear that they're telling the truth.

And it's so goddamn cold.

And he can hear his own internal bleeding.

And he's so, so tired.

So he tells them that no one would ever believe them. And he gets in the car. and he gives them Fogwell's address. And he tells himself he'll crash there for a day or two and fuck off to be homeless in the streets, peace and good-fucking-will to all mankind.

WHAT THE CASTLE FAMILY DID NOT SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

A kidnapping.

WHAT THE CASTLE FAMILY DOES:

It's. It's a kidnapping. They do a kidnapping.

Look. Look. they pay their debts. They pay their fucking debts. It's what they do. And they get to Fogwell's boiler room and rapidly fucking realize that the guy who they owe their everything to is a terminally stupid 20-something and living in the rundown boiler room of an empty gym. And they simply cannot have that.

Frank? Frank, show Matthew back to the car, will he? Maria's going to pack up his things for him.

Matt: what.exe

WHAT MATT DID NOT SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

it's.

It's the kidnapping.

it's that.

This fic is fundamentally founded in my premise that the entire Castle family is simply fucking insane. They're just all like that. Frank is not an outlier.

For the Castles, they're being perfectly reasonable. It's obvious that no one's taking care of this lovely young man who saved their kids, so no one will mind if they do it instead. He definitely needs it. So they sit their kids down and explain that sometimes Stockholm Syndrome is for someone's own good, which sounds perfectly reasonable to them. They then proceed to treat this like when you somewhat impulsively get a sick puppy from a Home Depot parking lot, and, well, he's a bit poorly behaved, and he keeps trying to run away, but the kids had wanted it so badly and eventually he's going to settle into his new home and then maybe you can stick felt reindeer antlers on him for the Christmas card, so you keep shoving his meds in peanut butter and forcing them down his throat and keeping the door blocked so the puppy can't slip out into the freezing new york night.

Matt treats this for what it is, which is a fucking kidnapping.

He is now fucking handcuffed to these crazy assholes' guest bed in their suburban home. It's by definition a kidnapping. they're acting like he's the unreasonable one for pointing this out. Except every time he wriggles out of his handcuffs, Frank just lugs his ass back to bed and chains him back up while they scold him. As if he's the unreasonable one for trying to escape his own kidnapping. They make him take his meds and eat three meals a day and the kids watch fucking Christmas movies with him while narrating the screen, as if this wasn't a kidnapping. This is insane. They're all insane.

Which is what he eventually tells them, out loud and to their faces.

And then Maria cries.

Stop.

Stop that.

That thing she's doing with her face. Stop that thing.

And Maria's like. Maybe they were over enthusiastic. But, being a mother, she just wants to take care of the nice young man who saved her little angels. And if that makes her a criminal, then she guesses she's a criminal. Because she cares.

Matt: shoving me into a van and handcuffing me to a bed against my will makes you by definition a criminal

maria: *cries harder*

Matt: stop

And Matt's like. Fine. Fine. He'll give into their crazy fucking kidnapping. Saves him the trouble of being homeless. Just. It's only until Christmas, and then he's gone.

maria, tearfully: and new years too?

Matt: don't push your luck

So fuck it. He's doing this now. But he's not going to like it. And he gets to come and go when he wants.

Frank: no.

matt: seriously fuck you

Except Matt's got shit they didn't pack at Fogwells. Shit they didn't realize belonged to him. His dad's shit. And he's absolutely desperate to get his dad's shit before some well-meaning janitor tosses it. So he very reluctantly agrees to let Frank go in his stead. Just. Just don't talk to people. And don't tell anyone he kidnapped matt. matt does not want to deal with that fucking court case.

Fogwell, immediately catching Frank gathering Matt's stuff for him, when he finds out that Matt sent him: are you a Nelson?

Frank, not a Nelson: Guilty.

And Fogs is just. Thrilled. So fucking thrilled that Matt has the Nelsons. Matt needs people like that, you know? People that'll welcome him home.

He's a good kid. And he hasn't had a home in a good long time. And Fogs--he's so fucking sorry that he couldn't give Matt that. And he. He.

Just tell him Merry Christmas from him? He understands why Matt didn't want to spend it with him.

Just tell him ol' Fogs was thinking of him. Tell him he really, really cares and hopes his holidays are good.

Fuck. Tell him he loves him. Just. Just tell him that. Fogs should have done it a long time ago.

What follows from there is a lot of wholesome, family-friendly Christmas activities, like:

making gingerbread houses

ice-skating

having a total mental breakdown when you get the message passed along from your pseudo-grandfather that he wishes he could have given him a home.

drinking cocoa

getting shit-faced drunk out on the town with the somewhat insane mother of those kids you saved, only to both be lugged home by a very exasperated Frank Castle.

watching Christmas movies

Visiting the grave of your dead father whose loss you've never recovered from

drinking eggnog

Confessing about your superpowers to the crazy fuckers who may or may not have given you stockholm syndrome, as well as your lasting trauma around the fact that you were child-soldierified and your soul-crushing terror that it will happen again

Making paper snowflakes

(Matt may not have meant to do all those things.)

I really like having backstories in communication with each other across my fics taking place in the same fandom? And Fogs is a great example of that. He tends to show up in all of my Daredevil fics, and he usually does something that brings Matt in from the cold in his backstory.

But in this world, that Fogs didn't do it.

In this one, he had the chance, and he failed.

Matt came to him. He ran away from the foster care system when he was a teen, and he went to Fogs as a desperate, last ditch effort. He begged Fogs to still love him the way he did when he was a kid. He begged Fogs to take him in the way he once took in Jack Murdock. He'd help Fogs around the gym. He'd do anything Fogs asked. He just wants to go home.

All he's wanted for years was to just go home.

And Fogs hugged him. He held him. He let him sleep on the couch.

And he called the police.

He wanted to do it the right away around, this time. He didn't want Matt to be hiding from the system for the rest of his youth the way his daddy once did. He wanted him to still get to go to school. He wanted him to be a kid. He wanted to adopt him proper, and didn't think of the fact that no one was gonna let him do it.

And he didn't account for how Matt would never trust him again.

He didn't account for Matt ending up on the streets, and he didn't account for matt refusing to come for him for help again, and he didn't account for Matt refusing to have anything to do with him until he hit law school and barely tolerated hanging around the gym at night again, and he didn't account for Matt not being able to stand the idea of spending the holidays with him.

There's a lot Fogs won't ever forgive himself for.

Anyway, Matt's stockholm syndrome was a great success. They fucking did it. They now have a crazy motherfucker with superpowers who's occupying this space as a the kid's new pseudo uncle. Unmitigated success. God, what an addition to the family. He's just as crazy as them.

Except Matt gets a call. From a very upset Foggy Nelson. Who says that they decided to burn the defunct bridge that was their relationship with their torrid bitch of a great aunt after she said something homophobic to Foggy's sister, and they went to go surprise Matt for the holidays, only to find out that he was already supposed to be with them. Matthew.

The thing is, foggy knows who Matt is as a person. He knows who Matt is as a person. There is such a very real chance that his blind best friend has been living under an overpass in subzero weather for the past few weeks and not telling him. He's having a heart attack and needs to come pick him up immediately before Matt starts selling his body or something.

And like, good news is that Matt was kidnapped by a lovely suburban family who have been keeping him warm and fed and dry, and they're going to be baking gingerbread today. The bad news is that Matt will literally have a heart attack if he has to explain to foggy how he got here so he just. Panics.

And hangs up the phone.

And matts panicking about how he hung up the phone, because foggy will absolutely call the police and report him as a missing person, holy shit will he call the police on him, Matt was literally kidnapped but he likes his kidnappers now and doesn't want them to be arrested, they're making gingerbread you see and that would be inconvenient to the gingerbread making. So Maria and Frank and the kids are watching this weird feral law student they forcibly adopted go through every single stage of grief in a two minute span, wonder how he made it through life so far on his own, and Maria wrangles the phone from him and calls Foggy back and politely tells him that this is Maria Castle, matts basically a part of their family and has been staying with them through the holidays, they've heard so much about foggy, won't he come visit? How about tomorrow at two? They're making gingerbread today.

Matt: MARIA

Matt is panicking. Foggy knows he doesn't have a family. Foggy is his family. Foggy has unlocked his tragic backstory. Foggy is going to wonder how he acquired a family in like a two and a half week span.

Foggy is panicking. He knows Matt doesn't have a family. He has unlocked matts tragic backstory. Matt was in their fucking Christmas cards because he has no family's Christmas cards to be in.

Maria is not panicking. They're taking a step back and making gingerbread now. Take deep breaths, Matthew.

FOGGY NELSON'S THEORIES ABOUT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH HIS BEST FRIEND (ABRIDGED):

Matt has started a polycule with a suburban couple and is raising their children with them now.

Matt was switched at birth and that's his newly discovered real family and he just never told Foggy.

Matt has been kidnapped by a family in the suburbs and they've enslaved him to make gingerbread with their children.

Which is true, weirdly enough.

Matt is having a spiraling panic attack because while he's like, not on deaths door anymore, he's still healing and clearly beat to shit and foggys going to think the castles did it and freak out and he doesn't have a lie for this prepped. And the castles are like "okay okay but, quick point, you've even prattling on about this kid for like, a minimum of four hours per day, you are more likely than not in love with him, have you considered the truth"

And Matt doesn't know what to do with that, is the thing.

Foggy comes by. He is four hours early. He arrived immediately after he got the address. Maria is lovely and kind and welcoming. Frank pumps his arm firmly and is built like a brickshit house and sort of intimidating.

Matt is absolutely beat to shit.

Foggy: AHAHAHA HEY BUDDY IMMA GIVE YOU A HUG BECAUSE I MISSED YOU AND LOVE YOU SO MUCH IN THIS THE SEASON OF GOODWILL AMONG MEN. did they do this to you cough twice for yes

Matt: oh for the love of god.

And the problem is. For a family that commits felonies. They're weirdly open about that fact.

Foggy: how did Matt end up staying with you

Lisa: oh we gave him Stockholm syndrome after kidnapping him

matt: ahahaha kids say the darndest things

Frankie: no really dad kept having to drag him off the windowsill when he tried to climb out and we had to be extra welcoming to him so he'd stop trying to escape

Matt: AHAHAHA KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

Foggy told his cop friend Brett to be on standby before he came here and now he's rapidly wondering if he needs to actualize that.

There's a good deal bit more after that, but this is getting long. There's emotional honesty. There's homosexuality. There's confessions about superpowers that Matt may or may not have. There's discussing trauma.

There's the fucking shadow government showing up to recruit Matt.

The thing is that Frank Castle is one of the best military operatives, like. Ever. And SHIELD was interested in recruiting that. And they thought, hey, saving his kids may do that. And they sent Hawkeye to infiltrate the mercenaries that had taken them.

Except they were fuck-off guns there and while he could take them all out if it was just him, he'd have to be 90% crazier of motherfucker than he actually is to try that shit with two kids in the line of fire.

And then an absolutely crazy motherfucker showed up and did exactly that. Caught his arrow mid-backflip. Kicked his ass too. It was sort of sick as hell. He hasn't met anyone so good at hand to hand since black widow.

They couldn't not recruit that guy.

And like. They found him. They found him really easily. The castle family kidnapped him. It was kind of obvious.

So Clint and Coulson roll up with the recruitment pitch and Clints like "hey, haha, I'm Clint, you stabbed me, wow you're like, completely insane, I mean that literally and in a figurative impressiveness sense, want to be best friends" and matts a fucking centimeter from launching himself out the window and starting a new life in Mexico.

And coulson's good at what he does. He can tell that matts not at all buying what he's selling, is more than a little freaked out at the idea of being identified as enhanced, and is almost definitely a former child soldier if their background was accurate about who took him from his orphanage for a few months. He also knows that Matt's abilities are too unique and too useful to just walk away from them. Nothing can be hidden from him. And if a fucking nuke is missing and they need someone to sniff it out, they need to be able to set Matt loose on a city for it. So he makes the pitch of "what if I keep you out of all databases, tell no one your name, and have you as a strictly as needed member of the roster," to which Matt replies with something along the line of "you can go and get fucked with you fascist shadow agency bullshit, you fucking totalitarian nightmare freaks, you try and drag me off to your freak show org to be a fucking dog on a leash for your illegal agency and I'll bite your goddamn face off, the world would have to end for me to come within a hundred godforsaken feet of you," which is… a coarse but technically affirmative answer that Coulson takes to mean as "Yes, if the world is ending, I will come to your agency." He honestly tells him that he'll keep matts secret and leaves. And Matt is still considering the Mexico plan but decides that he has a family to keep him here now in foggy and the castles and decides to risk staying. And that's that.

Which leads into my semi-crack fic of Matt being in the original Avengers, which I won't subject you to here. but some highlights:

Matt misses the first day of world-saving because he took off the second the SHIELD guy came by to pick him up. He managed to hide for 27 consecutive hours before they dragged his ass to the helicarrier.

He wasn't briefed at all because they ask him if he read the files they gave him and he just tosses them on the table and asks "does this look like fucking Braille to you." He repeatedly threatens to sue them for a lack of ada compliance.

He keeps getting stuck in rooms because this nightmare space ship only uses screens for everything, including door handles.

The hulk: *is the hulk*

Matt, has a stick: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT

Tony: in a few minutes I'll know every secret SHIELD has ever had

Matt, has listened to at least eight top secret HYDRA meetings since being locked into this fucking hell ship: MHMM

They save the day, he's in a mask, the press asks them all whats next for the avengers and he's like "well I have a day job, I'm going home" and just. Walks away.

Three weeks later he starts fighting crime of his own volition and whenever anyone mentions hey is it maybe that avenger fellow he replies to the official inquiries with "oh no you see I have a day job" which should not work but does

Of course, Matt learning about HYDRA leads into my other semi-crack fic involving Matt simply immediately telling Captain America about the fucking Nazi's, and Cap rediscovering his life's passion, which is punching some fucking Nazi's. Except, he really needs Matt to spy on HYDRA for this to work, and Matt's identity is still almost entirely secret even within SHIELD and he doesn't want to endanger that. So they embark on introducing everyone to Matt Murdock, his totally normal, blind attorney boyfriend who is not at all a superpowered ultimate spy who happens to be secretly a very reluctant Avenger. It is now a fake dating AU.

#daredevil #christmas with the castles

55 notes · View notes

corxoran · 2 months

Text

The masked apprentice is kazuma but with all his previous motivations and identity as the final remaining asogi stripped from him. This is a version of kazuma who isn't weighed down by his duties or discovering the truth, a version of kazuma who's more tame and reasonable, but also a version of kazuma who has nothing. No history, no overbearing weight of responsibility, no achievements, not even his best friend who he began to lean on. What's worse, having an identity that burdens you, reshapes you, and stresses you, or having no identity at all?

This is also why I love to explore the masked apprentice's relationship with ryunosuke because even with his memories hazy, even if he doesn't recall their relationship in any way, I have the feeling he could fall in love with ryunosuke all over again. Except this time, this version of himself has nothing to hide from ryunosuke, nothing bearing down on him and forcing him to keep that distance. This version of him would want to give himself to ryunosuke entirely because he doesn't have much of any idea what else he's to do. This version of him would allow himself to be a little selfish, a little VULNERABLE, because he has no great purpose to be strong for. He is simply a person, not an asogi.

But ryunosuke knows this older version of him (a version who was idolized and so far from the truth), and the masked apprentice would feel such envy. He isn't kazuma, but he wants to be if only so ryunosuke will love him that way. He wants to remember him.

BUT also even if you lose your memories, MUSCLE memory doesn't just disappear because your brain literally changes when you learn and blah blah brain stuff, anyway - imagine the masked apprentice with habits he can't quite explain, or a feeling that things about ryunosuke just feel familiar. Must talk about ryunosuke's side of this because I most often see people talking a lot about kazuma and not so much about ryunosuke - no way this guy just got into his buddy's suitcase if he didn't trust kazuma and keep an equally large space in his heart for him. Yes yes kazuma needed ryunosuke and loved him and wanted to lean on him, but surely ryunosuke wasn't inert in their relationship. He had motivations of his own, and feelings of his own. He trusted kazuma so much, and held him so high up on a pedestal - he thought the world of kazuma. Now, after all that's happened, all that he's discovered, I don't think he'd change his mind. Ryunosuke's not a "just for show" kind of guy, he wasn't just kazuma's friend for the shits and giggles. After learning all of this, he'd come to realize that he never really knew kazuma at all, only what kazuma wanted to show him to stay that strong, perfect person in his eyes. Because HE WANTED RYUNOSUKE'S LOVE AND REVERENCE BUT ANYWAY - ryunosuke would want to know the REAL kazuma. The guy he followed to britain, the guy he wanted to help in whatever journey he was on. The guy he followed despite knowing he wasn't being told everything because that's just how much faith he had in him. All of this makes me think that ryunosuke doesn't have much going for him. There's no way he's got a whole career plan and parents and all this stuff that he just dropped to go to britain and never mentioned any of it. I believe this indirectly shows us that ryunosuke had no strong convictions of his own, and so this journey with kazuma was something he was able to go on without much holding him back. Even his speech for the contest was apparently shallow, and he doesn't seem as serious about many things as kazuma. He didn't even remember the speech story at first, but every detail was ingrained in kazuma's head.

I think ryunosuke was content just being kazuma's friend, even if he didn't know every single thing about him. He probably found it very remarkable that someone as amazing as kazuma kept choosing him over and over again. But ah... don't take my word for it I'm one of those girlies who hasn't much time or motivation - I haven't even finished the games yet 😢

#cork yap #asoryuu #asogi kazuma #asougi kazuma #kazuma asogi #kazuma asougi #naruhodo ryunosuke #naruhodou ryuunosuke #ryunosuke naruhodo #ryuunosuke naruhodou #masked apprentice #masked disciple

64 notes · View notes

therealtsk · 4 months

Text

What Your Favorite Worm Ship Says About You

some people have found my crusty, old ass tumblr post on this very topic, so im making a new one with my updated opinions! Cause those are, in fact, allowed to change. Enjoy! Taylor x Lisa: you're into relationships that could be dysfunctional or healthy with one push in either direction. also something something sun lesbian moon lesbian. Taylor x Rachel: You love dogs, and you want a girlfriend who can kick your ass. You're also into bomber jackets. I respect you. Taylor x Alec: Sadly, you do exist, and you did make it weird. Go away! Taylor x Amy: You read altpowers on the daily and complain about canon worm being too grimdark. Solid odds on you having never read worm. To be clear, it's worse if you have. also something something FBI OPEN UP Taylor x Victoria: You like the vibes of Lisa and Taylor's dynamic, but you want them to be a little more heroic and a little less dysfunctional. But only a little. Taylor x Clockblocker: You're straight and liked that one joke that cropped up. I also haven't seen any of you in a hot minute, thank god. No offense but this ship is mad boring.

Taylor x Sophia: You've come to realize that Sophia is a great character who gets done extremely dirty by the rest of the fandom. Also, rivals to lovers. Taylor x Emma: This can go one of two ways. Either you adore childhood friends to lovers, or you love enemies to lovers. Either way, you're obsessed with hurt and/or comfort fics. Taylor x Theo: You actually read Worm and recognize that Theo is criminally underrated in the fandom. Now just stop shipping him with Taylor and you'll complete the next step on your journey to enlightenment.

Taylor x Simurgh: I can't say for sure you're a anime fan, but you're definitely at least a little bit of a monsterfucker. also something something inherent eroticism of being world-destroying power couple. Taylor x Greg. You read Worm SI's unironically and get really defensive when people say that Greg is an incel. Completely unrelated, you haven't spoken to a woman other then your mother in five years. Taylor x Cherie: I've been informed this is a ship. I've yet to be informed as of a reason why I should like it. Cherie likers stay mad!

Lisa x Rachel: I don't remember the last time I saw this ship that wasn't also tagged as a polycule with Taylor, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're an OT3 enjoyer.

Lisa x Victoria: You’re into the “enemies to lovers” trope, but more of the "Spiderman x Black Cat" type then the "you murdered my entire home town but i can't help but find you sexy" type. Also you have a thing for blondes

Lisa x Faultline: Your ideal relationship dynamic is bickering married couple. You're also into heist movies.

Lisa x Simurgh: You have a thing for smart girls... who hate you. Also, you really liked Part of the Whole. Contessa x Alexandria: You're fucking based. Also something something inherent eroticism of girlbosses winning Contessa x Numberman: you're friends with Peri and enjoy memes about pants and math Numberman x Jack Slash: You think serial killers are hot and are starved for m/m ships. Danny x Eidolon: You're losersexual and are starved for m/m ships. Also you frequent r/wormemes Danny x Miss Militia: Honestly, i think you all died out. I couldn't be happier, this ship is fucking dumb. Amy x Literally Anyone Besides Taylor: listen, there's like a hundred different jokes i could make here, but all of them boil down to amy defenders always defending the rapist for some reason so let's just agree amy defenders are fucking cringe and move on Dragon x Defiant: You understand that this is unironically the only healthy relationship in worm with some of the best character growth and romance in the entire story, and a majority of all of it happens off screen. You're extremely bitter that so many fanfics do both of them so dirty they get beaten into different characters. Alec x Aisha: You like the idea of this ship, cause two pranksters making everyone miserable is the kinda vibe you enjoy, but constantly run into the issue that Alec is...well. Alec. That or you're into Alec's brand of shit, in which case, FBI OPEN UP Aisha x Missy: You read It's Cold Out There Every Day. I did too. Fuck, this fic is so good. I'm going to go cry about the ending again. Lily x Sabah: Yes, you know the age gap is a little problematic, you just want to be happy with your relatively healthy canon lesbians goddamn it Purity x Literally Anyone: You don't understand why people keep calling you racist. You're not! You're just weirdly defensive of the hot milf who murders people of color and seem to constantly bring up that Kaiser didn't actually believe the nazi propaganda he was peddling. You are racist btw Taylor x Brian: You...are Wildbow

#worm #parahumans #wormblr #shipping #all of my opinions are objectively correct btw #if you disagree with me you are wrong and must improve yourself #@ everyone reading this and being upset i didn't include your incredibly niche ship: stay mad #jokes aside im only including stuff i've actually seen in like.#more then one or two fics

92 notes · View notes

thewritingofspencerrose · 2 months

Text

I know, it's (VERY, im so sorry) delayed, this has been sitting in my drafts since the day his trade was announced and i just got around to finishing it up. enjoy!

"Jamie," Is all I can think to respond to my brothers words. "I can't just move to Pennsylvania, you know that. I have three more years left of schooling."

You were supposed to have 3 more years on your contract, I want to add, but I know that's not what he needs right now. He was just traded away from his home with no warning, he doesn't need his little sister giving him a hard time.

"I know, trust me I know. I was so focused on getting my deal with the Ducks because of that. But some kid that was supposed to go to Philly had a change of plans and now I have to be on a plane there from Nashville at 5 in the morning."

"You don't even get to play against the Predators?" I ask, not realizing just how sudden this was all about to happen. "Do you need me to send you things? God I didn't realize this would all be so sudden."

"Kid, let's worry about what I need in a minute, I need to talk to you about you, the apartment, all of that." Oh shit. I can't afford this place. "I talked to Trevor, and he and I think you should move in with him."

"You... what?"

"I-"

"No, I heard you," I interrupt, not even letting him get two words in. "Why on earth is that your first thought? Let me have my sister move out of the apartment we've been living in and in with my best friend? Didn't Trevor literally move out because he wanted more space?"

"I know, and he knows that, but you're my little sister, I don't like the idea of you just finding some random roommate. And Trev promised that he'd look after you," Jamie explains, and I don't want to give him more grief than necessary today of all days, "I just need to know you're being looked after if I'm going to be on the east coast."

"Have you already talked to Trevor about this?"

"He offered."

Oh fuck me.

"Oh, woah," Are the first words out of Trevor's mouth when he walks in the door, two weeks and change after Jamie's move. After my moving in.

"I promise I tried not to touch anything, I just-"

"No, I told you that you should make yourself at home," He reminds, dropping his gear by the door. "It's just, I don't know, feels more homey in here than when I left."

"It's probably because you got so used to living with me and JD that seeing my things around reminds you," I offer, trying to ignore the way he's looking at me like the entire reason this place feels like home is me. "Speaking of my brother, when you offered this little deal to him did you happen to mention that you'd been sleeping with said little sister for months before you moved out?"

I probably should have seen what he was doing when he started to distance himself from me and should have realized I had gotten too attached when it hurt for him to do so.

And I had been doing fine with getting over him until JD had this fantastic idea.

Now he's here, his look shifting from admiration to shock.

"Why- why would I tell Jimmy that?"

"You're basically boyfriends, I would have thought you'd tell him about your torrid affair," I can't help the joke slipping, only earning myself an eye roll as he throws himself on the couch, landing by my feet and making the book on my lap nearly fall to the floor.

"You and everyone else need to stop thinking that we're boyfriends, you know better than any of us that I am not into guys," He returns, pointing at me like he's trying to prove his point.

Now I'm the one rolling my eyes. "Trev, the whole world knows you're into women, have you not seen the photos of you and that D'Amelio sister around? You're hot gossip on the internet."

I hate it.

"Oh God," He groans, head falling in his hands, and it's not the joking one I'm expecting, but genuine discomfort.

"Trev? You okay?" I'm already moving before I've finished asking, my book set aside as I move to his side, hand coming to caress the back of his neck, where his shaggy hair meets his hoodie.

I can't help but take a moment to hesitate, knowing that if he is with her like the tabloids say, I'm far too close to a gray area than I should be.

But it's Trevor. He helped JD move me into their apartment, after agreeing to me living with them in the first place.

He's always been there for me as long as JD and he have known each other, and I have always done my best to be there for him.

"It's the God damn media," is his whispered answer, shoulders slumping. "I can't be seen with a girl without being assumed to be with her, you know?"

"I can't say that I do," It's honest. Also very unhelpful. "You're sitting with the boring Drysdale, I have as much experience with the media as being photographed with you and JD."

His eyes rise up, looking at me for only a second before he's looking back down at his hands, ringing them. "You're not boring, Kate."

"You know what I mean-"

"No," He interrupts, eyes jumping up again, this time remaining on me. "You're not boring, you're normal in the best way. Why do you think I ended things?"

What?

"You deserve normal."

My hand stills on his neck, slowly sliding across his shoulder until it's back in my lap. "Trevor, what are you talking about? If this is because things aren't working with her and I'm suddenly around-"

"I was never with her!" He's yelling, moving to stand in the time it takes me to process his words and turning back on me, eyes wild. "We were in that photo because a mutual friend had a birthday and everyone ran with it!"

"Trev, you don't have to explain your dating life to me," I sound almost desperate, desperate in my desire to not hear about the women he's seen since our last night. My voice is the one who gets quiet now, "I'd really rather you not."

"You're not listening to me," Trev is nearly grunting, pausing to sit on the coffee table in front of my legs. "I haven't been seeing anyone else, it's why the photos piss me off. They have you thinking I'm out sleeping around," His hands rest on my knees, thumbs gently running over them. "You're not someone a person can just move on from, Kate."

"Trevor, you can't do this to me," There's that desperate tone again. "You broke off our arrangement. I was ready to become more and you were the one who said we'd have to just be friends, that I had to go back to being your best friend's little sister."

His thumbs dig in momentarily, the only thought coming to mind being when he last did that, hands slowly guiding my legs apart and -

No!

"Do you not know how much I've regretted every word of what I said?" He looks so genuine. He's Trev, of course he's being genuine.

"What made you change your mind?"

"The idea that you'd be moving to Philadelphia," There's no hesitation.

And I can't help but laugh. "Trevor Zegras, I have one year left of my undergrad and two of my masters. You can't have thought I'd really be uprooting my life," a smile comes back to his face for the first time since he walked in to see me on the couch.

"Are you laughing at me?" Is his falsely offended cry, making me laugh even harder. "How dare you!" His hands find my sides immediately, fingers moving in sync to tickle where he knows I'll feel it most.

His body has moved onto mine, my breathe leaving my lungs faster than they can refill as I wiggle.

"Trev! Trev! Get off of me, you goon!" He just smiles, propping himself up on his arms enough to pop back into a sitting position.

It's so soft, the look in his eyes.

"Give me another chance, please?" That's why he looks so soft.

He's scared.

But I am too. This has gotten more complicated than before.

"Trevor... this has gotten so much more complicated-"

"How?"

"What?" How could he possibly be asking how this could be more complicated.

He's smirking now. "It's actually less complicated. We're still roommates and I still want to be with you, only difference is your brother isn't on the other side of the door, keeping us quiet."

He's not wrong.

Now it's my turn to smile. "If we try this again, we're a couple. No casual sex."

"Deal," His smile is brighter than the lights at the stadium. "My terms were the same."

"And-"

"And? You want a kiss?" He supplies, and while it's not at all what I was going to say, I'm going to let him have this one.

So I nod.

He leans in.

And when our lips touch, it doesn't matter that he's my brother's best friend, or that I'm his best friend's little sister.

We're home.

#original character #the writing of spencer rose #nhl fanfiction #trevor zegras x oc #jamie drysdale #trevor zegras x drysdale sister #trevor zegras

45 notes · View notes

mysecretlittlelibrary · 4 months

Text

Nothing To Chance

Pairing: Jordan Parrish x Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: none really just Teen Wolf nonsense lol

Genre: fluff

Summary: Who knew visiting your cousin in Beacon Hills would open you up to a whole world of supernatural chaos

***

"You know, I'm surprised this old bucket of bolts still works. When your dad told me you drove it to school every morning I almost couldn't believe him- but here it is." You hum. Stiles stops in his tracks, and for a moment Scott does too.

"Y/n?!" Stiles gapes at you.

"Yeah, you gonna just stand there catching flies in your mouth or give your cousin a hug?" You ask. Before Stiles can get to you though, Scott takes off into a full run towards you, lifting you into his arms and spinning in two full circles before putting you down again.

"What the hell just happened? Who are you?" You narrow your eyes at Scott suspiciously.

"Come on- it's me Scott." He chuckles.

"You're saying that and you have his face but the Scott McCall I know wouldn't have been able to pick me up like I weigh nothing and spin me around so what'd you do with him?" You place your hands on your hips. Stiles finally runs at you, nearly tackling you with the force of his hug.

"Dude you have no idea what kind of things we've seen. You're literally not going to believe me when I start telling you all the stuff that's happened in the last couple years, it's nuts." Stiles tells you.

"What'd you do? Start going to parties?" You ask.

"No. Well actually, we have been to a couple but no. Parties are the least of our worries man we're fighting evil, Scott's a werewolf-" Your hand comes up to stop Stiles from continuing his rant.

"What!?" You blink at him.

"Scott's a werewolf. That's why he could pick you up so easily." Stiles says entirely too casually for your liking.

"I would've settled for he's been in the gym lately. Werewolf?! That's what we're going with?"

"I told you you wouldn't believe the stuff we've seen." Stiles shrugs.

"I need some explanations." You frown.

"It all started when Stiles did what Stiles does best." Scott says.

"Stick his nose in something he has no business getting involved in?" You ask.

"Correct." Scott nods.

"Hey it was very important." Stiles protests.

"For the cops maybe!" Scott scoffs.

"The cops? What the hell did you two get into?" You blink at them.

"Well we were in the woods investigating... something and my dad caught me." Stiles says.

"But not Scott?"

"I took off. But trying to avoid Stilinski got me in a bit of a- situation. Something bit me." Scott says.

"Something?" You frown.

"Technically someone. Peter Hale." Scott says.

"Peter Hale?! I thought the Hales died in a fire." You frown.

"All but 2. Derek and Peter." Stiles says.

"Derek Hale is still alive?" You gasp.

"Yes, he disappeared after the fire but he came back a couple of years ago." He nods.

"And his uncle turned me into a werewolf. It started with small changes, better hearing, I didn't need my inhaler, I could- do flips and run fast and my reflexes were suddenly so much better. Derek tried to help, kind of. Peter wanted to use me for revenge. And now we're here." Scott shrugs.

"And now we're here." You hum. "I can't believe the Hales are werewolves. So what's this about evil you've been fighting?" You ask.

"The list is long and getting longer. Actually, you know what maybe you can weigh in on something for us." Stiles says.

"Stiles-" Scott warns.

"Sure, what is it?" You ask.

"There's a new guy in town, Theo Raeken." Stiles says.

"Theo Raeken- that name sounds so familiar." You frown.

"He lived here when we were younger, and we were all friends but after his sister died he and his parents moved outta town. So he's new but not new. You've met him for sure on one of your visits. So technically he's not new he just moved back." Scott tells you.

"Okay and is that a good thing or a bad thing?" You ask.

"Good." Scott says at the same time Stiles says,

"Bad."

"Don't start Stiles." Scott rolls his eyes.

"No no you think I'm a paranoid skeptic right? Well, Y/n has no preconceived notions here, she doesn't even remember him so she can be our neutral third party." Stiles says.

"I can see you two are on the same page about this that's great. Alright, Stiles what's your problem with this kid?" You ask.

"Some necessary background first, Scott's an alpha."

"Okay- I've read enough books to know what that means. That's like a pack leader. Yes?" You ask.

"Yes. Usually, you have to kill someone to become an alpha." Stiles nods.

"Scott did you-?"

"No!" Scott says.

"Scott's very anti-killing anyone ever. Even if they deserve it." Stiles shrugs.

"Stiles!"

"What?! I support your endeavors."

"So how did Scott become an alpha?" You ask.

"Apparently some people can become alphas by sheer force of will and that's what Scott did. He needed to protect the people so he made it happen. It means he's what they call a True Alpha." Stiles says.

"Okay?" You nod.

"See Theo says he came back because word's getting around that Scott's an alpha and he just had to come back to become part of Scott's pack but there's something about him that doesn't sit right with me. He doesn't seem like the same person we knew." Stiles says.

"Okay, so Theo's a werewolf?" You clarify.

"Yes." He nods.

"Okay great and I know we've established Scott was bitten right? Was Theo? Or are his parents also werewolves? Is that even possible? Can lycanthropy be genetic?"

"It is possible for it to be genetic, yes, the Hales are genetic werewolves, but Theo was bitten, so his parents are not werewolves to our knowledge." Scott says.

"And Theo's your age?"

"Correct." Stiles nods.

"So there's one detail I'm struggling with here." You say.

"What is it?" Scott asks.

"How did Theo get his parents to move him back to Beacon Hills?"

"What-" Stiles frowns.

"Theo's a kid. Parents only move for like 3 reasons, work, the wellbeing of their child, or extenuating family circumstances. I doubt he went up to his parents and said 'hey mom, hey dad, I'm a werewolf and there's a new alpha in our old home town so we have to move back there because I have to be where he is' so why did his parents move back to Beacon Hills? Because the story you're telling me makes it seem like it was his decision and that's not how that would work unless he's emancipated and came here alone." You say.

"Do I tell you have much I love you?" Stiles asks.

"Not since you were 12." You scoff.

"I will say it more often."

"You do not have to." You shake your head.

"Oh I do. Because you are a genius. Do you see what I mean Scott?! She's right, that's weird."

"I mean, maybe, but we don't know the circumstances. It might not be as suspicious as it sounds." Scott says.

"But it's weird! It sounds suspicious! He's weird!" Stiles says.

"Okay wait has he done anything worth being- hostile towards him?" You ask.

"Well I think-"

"No, Stiles it's a yes or no question has he done anything?" You ask.

"Not yet." He frowns.

"Well unfortunately a few discrepancies aren't enough to label him a supervillain, but someone should get to the bottom of the moving situation because those are some gaping holes."

"See?" Stiles huffs at Scott.

"If he's a bad guy he will eventually show his hand, just be ready for if it happens. And Scott, I know Stiles is- eccentric but you two have been friends for a long time. He's strange but his intuition is hardly ever wrong about these things so don't dismiss." You say.

"Thank you. I think?" Stiles says.

"Look we have bigger issues than Theo right now anyway." Scott sighs.

"What does that mean?" You frown.

"Chimeras." He tells you.

"I think I need a bit more information. Because I know what the word means, but to my knowledge chimeras are cats or dogs that have a mixed phenotype. Like a cat with the fur of a calico and an orange tabby." You say.

"Same concept- kind of. Someone's been making supernatural hybrids. Mixing the DNA of different ones and turning teenagers into mutants." Scott explains.

"Turning teenagers into mutants?" You blink.

"Yeah- we're not sure why but we know that's what they're doing." Stiles nods.

"And this is just the kind of shit that just goes on in this town?" You frown.

"Sometimes." Stiles shrugs.

"More often than not." Scott adds.

"Why did Beacon Hills get interesting after I stopped visiting every year?" You scoff. Your mom and stepdad used to insist on spending as much time with family as possible, especially after your stepdad's sister, Stiles' mom, died, so summers were spent here in Beacon Hills and winters were spent with your mom's family usually but it got harder to keep up with when you got to high school and started other things so you haven't been back here for a while.

"Well, you're back now! And right in the middle of some chaos." Stiles says.

"Are you staying with Stiles and Sheriff Stilinski while you're here?" Scott asks.

"I always do." You shrug.

You spend the afternoon with Scott and Stiles, learning so much about the way they navigate the discord that seems to now be stereotypical for Beacon Hills. The next couple of weeks are honestly wilder than you could've expected, even with Stiles and Scott's occasional storytimes about the last few years.

"Okay, so we have to go to Eichen. You wanna come with?" Stiles asks and you wish this wasn't a phone call so he could see just how confused you are.

"Eichen as in the psychiatric hospital with questionable at best practices?" You ask.

"Yeaaahhh we'd avoid it if we could but- some shit's going down and honestly we could use your help."

"What do you mean by 'some shit's going down'? I mean- sure I'll help but I need more details."

"Lydia's trapped at Eichen house and we need to rescue her."

"I'm guessing you have a plan?" You ask.

"We- do. Get ready I'll be at the house in like 5 minutes."

"Okay?" You frown. Stiles hangs up before you can ask another question so you throw on a jacket and your sneakers just before Stiles honks outside. The explanation of their plan is very much insane and as you walk through the halls of Eichen with Stiles and the infamous Theo, who he can't stand, all you can think about is how absolutely unbelievable this all is. Even when Theo kicks down a huge ass door and Stiles rushes towards Lydia. You watch him fuss over her as they have a hushed conversation that you pointedly try not to eavesdrop on. Until of course, because nothing normal happens in this town, a shirtless man covered in soot? Or ash? Or dirt? It's hard to tell in these tunnels, but he rounds the corner with glowing orange eyes and beelines it to Lydia and Stiles.

"Stiles!" You shout but the dust-covered man shoves him away too quickly and wraps himself around Lydia, erupting into flames as she screams into his chest. "Woah- why is that man on fire!?" You stumble back as the man picks Lydia up and carries her out of the room.

"Don't worry, he's on our side." Stiles says as he dusts himself off and follows the man.

"That's great to know but that doesn't explain why he's emitting flames."

"He's a hellhound."

"I hate that you said that like that's normal. A hellhound?!"

"You know- at a later date, I'll just give you an appendix of every single creature we know of- allies and enemies because I realize waiting for things to come up organically makes for a lot of this." Stiles says.

"I can't believe y'all just know people that can spontaneously combust and that's all cool and chill." You say.

"It's actually quite the opposite of cool and chill." Theo snorts.

"Oh shut up." You roll your eyes.

The next few days are spent memorizing Stiles' appendix while trying to catch up on everything going on and help stop the most current evil which- you'll admit would be way easier if you weren't so far behind on the information but currently, the goal is read up on these awful things called dread doctors.

Today you've decided to do one totally normal easy thing. You'll take your uncle, the sheriff, lunch at his job. When you arrive at the sheriff's station you head straight to your uncle's office.

"Y/n? What are you doing here?" He frowns when you knock on the doorframe as you walk in.

"I brought you lunch. I wanted something normal to do." You say sitting down across from him as you set the lunchbox on his desk.

"Ah, adjusting well to the chaos of Beacon Hills?" He chuckles.

"You know I just don't get how you don't completely lose your mind knowing what Stiles gets up to. I know my mom would flip if she found out and I'm 21." You shake your head.

"Oh trust me I do but unfortunately Stiles and his friends have stopped a lot of devastation in this town- it would be foolish to pretend otherwise." He shrugs.

"Hey Sheriff, quick question about the- oh sorry, am I interrupting?" You turn your head at the sound of someone speaking behind you. It takes a moment to click but you gasp when you recognize who it is.

"You're the hellhound." You say.

"Excuse me?" The man blinks at you.

"We met at Eichen. Well that's not correct we didn't meet but I saw you at Eichen. You saved Lydia's life. You look very different dressed and not covered in soot, hellhound." You say.

"Jordan." He says, though your words seem to have caught him by surprise, his cheeks are starting to redden.

"Huh?"

"You called me hellhound. Which is- fine technically but my name is Jordan. Jordan Parrish."

"Oh. Well then it's nice to actually meet you, Jordan Parrish." You say smiling at him.

"Wait what were you doing at Eichen?"

"I'm Stiles's older cousin. I'm staying with the Stilinski's for a while and I guess that means being in the middle of all things Beacon Hills chaos." You shrug.

"In that case, I hope to see more of you."

"Ditto." You smile.

"Parrish. What did you need?" Your uncle goes full sheriff mode on his deputy.

"Uh- it can wait. You should- enjoy your lunch?" Jordan frowns in confusion at the lunchbox on the table.

"Get back to work deputy." John rolls his eyes. Jordan walks backwards out of the room, crashing into something on his way and making you giggle. "You stay away from my deputies y/n." Your uncle warns.

"Oh, but that one's so cute. Come on uncle John." You pout.

"No no no no no, even if he wasn't my employee you cannot date a hellhound you and I both know your mom would kill us all if I let you."

"Mom doesn't have to know he's a hellhound."

"Are you suggesting I lie to your mother?"

"Nooo I'm suggesting you turn a blind eye if I lie to her. Plus I'm an adult there's no guarantee she'll even meet him. What if it doesn't get that far?"

"You've already set your sights haven't you." He sighs.

"I mean kind of yeah. He's so cute! And you should've seen him rescue Lydia, uncle John it was- so cool!"

"Just- be careful. Jordan's a good employee and seems like a decent man but you never know."

You spend another half hour with your uncle before deciding you've disrupted enough of his day. On your way out you spot Jordan has his desk and make a detour.

"Hi deputy." You say leaning against the desk. Jordan glances up at you with wide eyes. After a moment he clears his throat and turns back to his computer seemingly to hide the pink creeping across his cheeks.

"Hi. You on your way out?" He asks.

"Yes, but before I go I just want to do one thing." You say grabbing a pen and sticky note from atop his desk. You quickly scribble your phone number on it and place it in front of him. "You want to see more of me. Make it happen. I don't like leaving things to chance." You say and before he can even respond you leave. Let's see if he takes the hint.

***

#teen wolf #teen wolf fanfiction #jordan parrish fanfiction #jordan parrish fluff #jordan parrish x reader

61 notes · View notes

sanjisboyfie · 7 months

Text

one piece smau: dating vivi edition

— IM AWARE SOME OF THESE HAVE RLLY BAD BLUE EDITTED HAIR BUT I WANTED TO TRY IT OUT AND SEE HOW IT WAS 😭

— a little different because its still modern au but i wanted to go with teh idea that vivi was still royalty and reader is her rlly hot bf that the public likes, but tabloids hot bc they dont think hes good enough for her ... whatever that trope is im a sucker for so thats why i made it this way

— male reader B)

liked by king[name], igaram, ttchopper, and 530k others

queenvivi: visited drum island <3

tagged: king[name]

dni_nami: popcrave is gonna love this onneee cuz u look so good here vivi !!

-> queenvivi: thank u nami, i miss u sm !

-> uso_pp: popcrave jus posted on twitter "queen vivi slays in recent photo, shocking the entire country"

king[name]: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE MY GIRLFRIEND ???I FEEL SICK TO MY STOMACH YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL

freeluffy: vivi when r u going to visit us :////

[liked by princesanji, dni_nami, and 70 others]

king[name]: DO YOU NEED A PET? DO YOU NEED A DOG? I'LL BE A GOOD PET FOR U MY QUEEN

-> queenvivi: ??? babe i'm gonna change your password very soon

-> king[name]: WOOF WOOF WOOOOF

-> dni_nami: this why the media hates u [name]

liked by pell, queenvivi, and 70k others

king[name]: will go to as many boring royalty events if it means im by her side <3

tagged: queenvivi

randomroyallyobsessedfan: UGH THEY'RE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM I CANT WAIT FOR THEM TO GET MARRIED

queenvivi: you're so handsome in all of these, im the luckiest woman in the world

roro.zoro: can't you get into a lot of trouble with literally every country for complaining abt this???

-> king[name]: proof?

-> roro.zoro: mf wtf do u mean proof??? THE PROOF IS RIGHT IN THIS POST

igaram: i'm going to murder this dumbass boy.

-> king[name]: oooh im telling on you to miss terracota

[liked queenvivi, dni_nami, and 100 others]

princesanji: i can't believe they make queen vivi cover her blue hair for these events, they are suffocating her natural beauty </333

liked by dni_nami, freeluffy, and 103k others

deuxmoi: do you guys remember when vivi and [name] started dating? the royal couple are everyone's favorite pair !! happy four years to the two of them, to many more in the future to the cutest couple in the worllddd!!! p.s. honestly thank god for [name] because we got to see vivi in his iconic leather jacket, hello?! she looks so good!!

tagged: king[name] and queenvivi

randomroyallyobsessedfan: atp if he doesnt propose to her i will

-> anotherrandom: if she doesnt marry him atp i will

uso_pp: its crazy we r literally friends with the queen of a whole country

-> freeluffy: no we are BEST friends with vivi, usopp :DDD

[liked by queenvivi, king[name], and 200 others]

ttchopper: i remember when they first met, vivi was a blushing mess the entire time

-> queenvivi: please do not remind me. its so embarassing chopper.

-> king[name]: my own girlfriend is embarassed of me </3

princesanji: it should have been ME

-> king[name]: you're a fraud dni w me thanks xoxo

liked by robinkills, king[name], and 450k others

queenvivi: what lana said that one time

tagged: king[name]

dni_nami: i pyo to that song where is my credit

king[name]: stop i am NOT a serial killer the tabloids r gonna have a field day w this reference pls

-> uso_pp: if hes a serial killer then whats the worst that could happen to a girl thats already hurt. im alreayd huurutttt

[liked by queenvivi, king[name], and 200 others]

igaram: QUEEN VIVI BLINK TWICE IF U NEED HELP

-> pell: i'm going to confiscate your phone, she is fine. please relax igaram.

liked by queenvivi, princesanji, and 200k others

king[name]: alexa play seven by jungkook EXPLICITY VERSION. EXPLICIT VERSION. EXPLICITY VERSION.

tagged: queenvivi

robinkills: it's like [name] wants to get banned from seeing vivi again

-> king[name]: the entire country trying to keep me out will not stop me from seeing my beautiful girlfriend

dni_nami: seriously??? of all songs???

-> king[name]: its the way that you can ride its the way that you can ride

-> dni_nami: PLEASE SHUT TH EFUCK UP

-> queenvivi: babe please stop i can't keep explaining these references to my father he might kill you

-> king[name]: LEAVE YOU WITH THAT AFTERGLOOOWWWW

roro.zoro: 3d a better song but alright

-> uso_pp: the way you couldn't be more wrong???

king[name]'s story

i would lay down my life to protect this woman form any harm to come her way, some of you simply will NEVER understand

queenvivi replied to your story: i love you so much, let's stay in tmrw to relax

#≡;- ꒰ ° smau series ꒱#one piece #one piece imagines #one piece smau #one piece modern au #one piece x reader #one piece x male reader #x male reader #male reader #vivi x male reader #vivi x reader #one piece vivi #male reader imagine #vivi imagines

141 notes · View notes

sortasirius · 5 days

Text

"There Goes the Groom" and Buck's Queer Joy

Hey so...remember when I did post ep meta for two years? Anyway we're back like we've never left.

Best Hen <3

OBSESSED with micromanaging party planner Evan Buckley. The clipboard was there in spirit.

"You are late."

I'll take married for several years for $500, Alex.

"Ooo sliders."

"Ah ah. No."

"You didn't just do that." PLEASE

Tommy giving Eddie a bro-y high five and then a soft, sweet "hey" for Buck and a hug??? Fellas I might need to be sedated.

Also obsessed with the tinge of bitchiness in Eddie's tone. It's like jealousy without even realizing it's jealousy. And I think it's an interesting mix of "hey my best friend has a new friend" and something else that Eddie cannot label.

Ryan Guzman you must be studied for that little side eye lmfaoooo

I LOVEEEEE TOMMY HE'S SUCH A BITCH, he said I do not care for your party themes. Me for real.

Why were they all so obsessed with the sliders???? I love them all so much.

"Reach for them and you'll be pulling back a bloody stump." WITH THE RAISED EYEBROWS AND THE LITTLE HEAD TILT RYAN GUZMAN I AM KISSING YOU ON THE MOUTH.

"Wholesome, 80s-themed karaoke."

Buck was a party planner in another life and I stand by that.

"We should totally go as Crockett and Tubbs."

"Absolutely."

They are literally this meme:

The little shoulder rub that Buck gives Tommy <333333333333

The way Buck and Eddie are sitting during the party scene, Buck's arm absolutely SLUNG around his shoulder...yeah okay. Okay. I'm normal about this.

The whole party was two idiot best friends pointing at each other and saying "exactlyyyyyy." Yes, I would die for them.

I just want to say that every single thing about Chimney's journey this episode was heartbreaking and scary and I HATED that I didn't know what was going to happen to him the whole time. Ok thanks for your time.

From that guy stealing his car to every Doug jumpscare, I think they did a really good job freaking the audience (at least...me) the fuck out without actually revealing what had happened. Like..we know he's sick, we know something's wrong, but it was a well-paced episode, even if in my perfect world it would have been like two hours long lol.

And the fact that Maddie is always going to look for him, always going to find him, just like he would do for her...don't look at me I'm emo.

Chim essentially pushing the fact that he is actively dying from encephalitis to the side because being a paramedic and saving lives is so deeply ingrained in him it's something the can't forget? He's so important to me.

Then...Kevin. He's such a huge part of Chim's life, his arc, how he became a firefighter, and it essentially include him in the wedding (even though it was in a very scary way), I think it's a really great take on the idea that our loved ones who can't be there for milestones are there even when we can't see them, especially with his line "you invited me, remember?"

Doug was never there, but Kevin was, Kevin will be there even when Chim can't see him.

"I was trying to get back to you the whole time." THEY ARE EVERYTHING HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THEM. ALL THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH, ALL THEY'VE HAD TO DO, AND THEY STILL FOUGHT FOR AND CAME BACK TO EACH OTHER!!!!

Bobby officiating and saying "and the Los Angeles Fire Department" THEY ARE A FAMILY!!!!

And then...perhaps one of thee most important scenes ever aired on television ever:

"Sorry I'm late, that fire was a beast."

"So are you."

And STRAIGHT in for a SERIOUS kiss??????? 911 writers room you can have my life, take it, it's already yours.

Tommy's little huff of surprise and then hum of "yeah okay I'm down for this." PUT THEM IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO THE CUTEST COUPLE OF ALL TIME

And last...Buck coming in to the room where his family, both blood and chosen, is, with soot all over his face, and a smile so bright that it had to have lit up the entire west coast, not caring who saw him or who knew exactly what he had just been doing...yeah, that's what this shit is all about.

EDDIE'S beautiful smile when he realizes how happy Buck is they are best friends FIRST and that is all that matters to me!!!

Hen being like "it's about damn time." SO TRUE QUEEN OF COURSE SHE KNEW!!!!!

I haven't really been able to put this into words yet, but the way they are handling Buck's bisexuality and his first relationship with someone of the same gender as him is just...it's almost astounding. It's been handled with such care, from Oliver to Lou to the writers to the NETWORK, everyone is so clearly fully onboard with this and not afraid of it.

And there's no pain here, his coming out is not born out of trauma or being forced or caught or guilty. Tommy made him feel something that he had never been able to put a name to, and Tommy is helping him figure it out. He's letting Buck be overeager without taking advantage, he's letting him move at his own pace (which, of course, is at light speed) but is also confident enough in himself to pump the brakes when he feels like he needs to.

I just can't get enough of that smile, of how fucking happy Buck is. Happy in himself, happy with Tommy, happy to finally have a name for who he is, and not be afraid to share it with the people he loves. His parents' reactions don't matter, because he knows the people that matter to him most won't care who he's with, as long as he loves them and they treat him well.

It's such a huge step for Buck, who has so often fallen prey to what other people might think, it's so refreshing to see him get to explore this without fear of what others will say. Tommy is a steady constant, experienced and knows who he is. He teases Buck and calls him Evan and flirts with him shamelessly, and it flusters him in the best way.

To see a character like Buck, who was, essentially, billed as straight from the beginning of the show, be able to come in to himself and experience real queer joy...wow. For me, it just can't be overstated.

I can't wait to see where Buck's journey goes, and I am just so...grateful to be able to watch it.

#spoilers #my meta #dusting off this tag lmao #lilly liveblogs 911 #911 abc #911 7x06 #911 #buddie #bucktommy #madney #evan buckley #buck is bi

41 notes · View notes

worstqueerbaittournament · 11 months

Text

Before you complain about the picture: I asked people to send in better pictures of Grif and Simmons and NOBODY DID

Submission message for Janis: Mean Girls - Janis + Person who submitted Janis here. Yes, I meant the movie. The whole time it is implied she's a lesbian only for her to end up with a dude lol

Submission message for Grif and Simmons: Hi! I’m submitting Grif and Simmons from Red vs. Blue. I think they’re the worst personally because I’ve spent a third of my life being queerbaited by someone’s fucking halo ocs.

Additional propaganda: Meanwhile Janis from Mean Girls IS queerbaiting:

She’s presented as a lesbian throughout the film

She gets very emotionally attached to girls and tries to sabotage them after they ‘betray’ her and become more interested in boys/popularity (Regina in the past, Cady during the film)

Proudly declares herself a “big lesbo” to half the school during her trust-fall scene

Wears a suit to Prom and kisses her gay best friend Damien, they both show complete disgust afterwards

But in the LITERAL LAST SCENE OF THE FILM, she’s shown dating a guy and kissing him.

((I also haven’t seen the musical yet, so I can’t comment there))

Vote Janis, she’s the only right answer.

this ain't enough information about Grif and Simmons; these two are literally the intro character for the entire series. The first conversation they had became a running joke and repeating theme to the point that, years later, it was used in a dramatic moment so Grif could identify Simmons while fight an evil look-alike. When one of them got injured, the other donated various body parts, including skin and organs, and then became a cyborg, thus having the metaphor of "becoming part of each other" and "you have my heart". They still bicker constantly and and trade insults. They've been glued at the hip for more than a decade. The one time they were split up, it was treated like a devastating divorce, with one of them using the line "I quit you". They then both proceeded to have mutual pining and emotional withdrawl from being apart because they're just THAT codependent. They've been forced to share living space, and immediately devolved into having old-married-couple situations. During a planet-wide sex party, they fooled around in a closet, everybody knows this happened, but they refuse to fully acknowledge it. The VA for Grif even plainly stated that "Grif is in love with Simmons". Simmons once mentioned that he and Grif carved their initials into a tree. When we see the "inner worlds" of their minds, Grif's is almost empty except for a tiny Simmons that runs around to annoy him, and Simmons imagines a Grif that has to do whatever he says, but STILL insults him because Grif can't stop being Grif.They had a talk show together and even called themselves their ship-name "Grimmons". They've been having one long conversation for 2 decades. They're slow-burning like a tire fire. They're married, but they'll never properly get together. IT'S BEEN 2 DECADES

Let's not forget Tucker's actually-in-the-show commentary when he's spying on them over the radio of "I've only been listening to them for five minutes but I can tell they're really in love. Why can't they see it?”

It's literally been two decades.

#janis #janis mean girls #mean girls #simmons x grif #red vs blue #tournament

209 notes · View notes

nourrris · 1 month

Text

I hate, and love Steve Rogers.

there is no character who's given me as many conflicted feelings as he does, i can't tell if i absolutely hate his guts or adore him helplessly, one side is coming from the fact i love tony stark, and steve rogers is an absolute cunt for the way he's treated him at times (which some instances are understandable, but i still hold civil war against him) and then theres the version of him that i hold so close to my heart, excluding his confident demeanor and severe savior (guilt?) complex, he is still the man who couldnt help himself and risk his life for everybody else, the man who was pushed into a situation so life changing, experiencing the quite literal horrors of the world and humanity, both pre and post serum, he lived a rough life, especially with the timeline he lived in originally, and then the entire ordeal with bucky, the horrifying realization what's happened to one of the closest people in his life, what he's become, and the fact he's alive. (not that he ever got the chance to mourn anyways)

and thats not to talk about how his life was ultimately changed completely within such a small time frame for him, prior the modern years, living through a whole different world, about to sacrifice his life to mankind, then he wakes up 70 years later, the love of his life has aged in a way he didn't get the chance too, the world has became something completely separate to the timeline he lived in, he has to learn new social customs, new ways to adapt to how society exists, how is he meant to grieve or mourn through any of this at all? he had absolutely no time, he was consistently put into the highest of stress situations.

i hate how civil war went down, he gave away his life he had began building, of course there were multiple different ways to act and he definitely did not choose the right one, but i'll give the smallest inch of credit and say i'm not sure how i'd act either if i found my best friend (who was supposedly dead, now a deadly assassin) was back in the limelight for the worst reason possible, one that was causing the entire world to hate him, but not only that - his identity of actually still being alive is now public for the entire world to see, even if the man they saw hadn't actually been him.

i can't say i would have taken his side as confidently so brashly, almost killing a person you could almost consider a close friend in defense when they just found your supposedly dead (now assassin) bestfriend is at fault for who killed his parents, tony acting irrationally was rather reasonable, i'd understand bucky defending himself, steve through? i'd say its different, maybe?

he's also rather arrogant in same situations, especially in 'the avengers' when he says 'Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?' as if tony wasn't the genius behind making every little detail in the suit, constructing it all single handedly, and the prototype that had been created in a very spontaneous manner which still worked miraculously better than any person managed to create in a much larger time frame, and a much less stressful situation.

i cant pretend and believe that steve must know this information of course, they seemed like they had been roughly introduced to eachother, but also to make such a claim against somebody like him who's father was also an insanely credible genius, he should have given him at least some benefit of the doubt, or actually attempted to learn more about him before going straight for eachothers throats like a bunch of kids.

another part of that quote that irked me was the sacrifice one, i frankly do not understand that part, the entire idea of iron-man is one big ol' self sacrifice, there is no safe (or really sane) way to make a machine like that and go into conflict way too big for one person to overtake, he's almost died multiple times for the sake of helping society, the idea of getting his information right isn't even the biggest issue, its that i just genuinely dont understand why he keeps spouting out things with absolutely no context? he says he see's the videos, but its a little hypocritical steve rogers of all people is letting other people define who tony stark is when he lived his entire life being defined what society deems of him just by a single glance, unless of course he just saw one random iron-man video of the stark expo performance with the girls. (which god, i cringed at myself.. why tony, why)

still to act as confident as he did, i would have assumed he attempted to well.. learn more about the guy. i genuinely think this part itself is a poor writing issue though, it felt weirdly out of character, but i can understand it from a certain viewpoint i guess.

once more, another point i wanted to make this time was somewhat against tony's actual response to what steve said, of course in a way hes completely correct where "everything about him came out of a bottle", in a physical sense, but steves over eager need to help was always very evident, his courage in place since the dawn of the world. although, he realistically would likely have never been able to become the man he is without the serum, so well technically theres not much to fight back there, but the serum could have distinctively (and quite literally has) gone to the wrong hands, i'm not sure if i should be applauding him for having morals, but at last, its difficult to say how anybody would react to such a life altering experience, and not really even getting the chance to understand whats happening, or how it works.

i've likely gotten off track, but point is i think he's a very flawed character, but at the same time still one of the kindest people with a heart made out of gold, albeit a bit of a blockhead at times, he truly tries, and he was frankly put in a very unfair position, no matter what he signed up for, there was no world it could have possibly entailed what he's gone through so far, even if he doesn't regret it, or would do it a hundred times more.

anyways, i hate him and love him all the same, and still very strongly hate his ending in endgame (as a total writing issue, i cannot possibly blame the character).

thank you for reading this ramble, so sorry if this upset you, or if i actually got any of the lore wrong, do correct me if i have!

#steve rogers #captain america #tony stark #iron man #marvel mcu #mcu

21 notes · View notes

icedragonlizard · 2 months

Text

DMK and Daroach friendship headcanons

I headcanon these two being close buds. Heck, I'd actually even go as far as to consider them these two shadowy bozos to be best friends.

Dark Meta Knight doesn't have a lot of friends in my headcanons... he's really only friends with Kirby and the rest of wave 2, as he couldn't care less about the rest of the dream friends. But he's grown to be quite endeared to Daroach. And Daroach genuinely thinks that DMK is the coolest person in existence. These two are literally bros.

They met during Star Allies. Even when they first met, they... were already drawn to each other? Daroach was very intrigued to meet a shadier counterpart of Meta Knight, and figured that he'd go and hang around with the guy. Fortunately for him, that ended up working, as DMK ended up being drawn to the vibes and style that Daroach had, something he didn't do for most of the other star allies.

When the star allies split up into groups, these two were in the same group alongside Adeleine and Ribbon. Wave 2 as a whole was a group adventuring together during a lot of the time in Star Allies' events.

DMK and Daroach enjoyed kicking the asses of the cult's forces together. Daroach was generous enough to give elemental powers to DMK's sword on many occasions, beating up enemies in new ways.

They both also protected Adeleine and Ribbon from the cult's forces.

The wave 2 quartet bonded more closely after Star Allies, as they had a fun road-trip together (wave 1 also had a fun road-trip together, as did wave 3). Adeleine and Ribbon were already besties before Star Allies, but the road-trip made Daroach and DMK become besties.

Post-SA, Daroach and DMK visit each other regularly. DMK has set up a dimensional mirror somewhere in Sacred Square that Daroach uses to get to the mirror world to visit him. The first few times DMK attempted to vacation on Popstar, Daroach was the guy that helped show him around on the planet, and the squeaks' hideout is the place that DMK resorts to whenever he sleeps in Popstar on vacations.

The entire squeak squad likes DMK. They think he's the most badass dude ever. They ask him to show off by destroying random things.

What friendly activities do DMK and Daroach to together? Many things, in fact. Daroach has dragged DMK out of his comfort zone to do fun stuff. The things they do together include board games, truth-or-dare games, drinking beer, and some mischief during nighttime.

When Daroach visits the mirror world, DMK joins him in robberies in random places there. It's just some stupid fun they have together.

Daroach knows that DMK is still devoted to Dark Mind, but that doesn't really bother him all that much. He's able to keep DMK in check from going too far in nefarious plans with Dark Mind, even.

Overall, these are shadowy partners doing shadowy stuff.

Adeleine and Ribbon also come by sometimes to hang out with them.

Another big thing is that Daroach puts in effort to increase DMK's sense of humor, which was rather low at first. Daroach keeps cracking bunches of bad jokes. DMK at times can't admit but have dumb giggles to some of those terrible jokes every now and then.

They're also just about always right beside one another during star ally meetings that happen four times a year. This is partially because DMK is unpopular in the group and is prone to getting into fights with some of the other star allies. Daroach sticks right beside him to be emotional support and to help ensure that he doesn't get into fights.

The statement of DMK being rather unpopular in star ally gatherings is not an exaggeration, by the way. He fails miserably at getting along with the other ex-villains, with Daroach being the sole exception.

Dark Meta Knight does not at all get along with Marx, Taranza, Susie and Magolor. He despises all four of them. He's very prone to getting into fights with any of those four by just simply being nearby them.

And he doesn't really get along that well with the mage sisters either. He doesn't necessarily hate them as much as Marx + Wave 3 as they don't quite bother him as much, but he still doesn't care about them.

This means that overall, DMK has a rather poor track record in how he interacts with most of the other ex-villain dream friends. But Daroach is the pure exception to that. DMK and Daroach are buddies.

Daroach knows and understands that certain people do not like DMK, but that doesn't deter him. He himself thinks that the guy is super cool regardless, and he's not trying to get everyone to like the guy. He understands that DMK has moral issues, but he still sees the good in him and lets him know that he's appreciated. He believes in him.

Despite DMK being rather detached, he genuinely really likes Daroach. DMK really likes his fellow wave 2ers, but Daroach can be considered his best friend. He's let his guard down around Daroach.

And so that basically sums up the friendship of these dark dudes.

Yeah. I know that I portray Dark Meta Knight to have poor relationships with certain other dream friends, but he and Daroach are genuine pals. Although it's a little funny how much they differ in personality, as Daroach is very chill and laidback while DMK is bad-tempered and brutal. But Daroach is very easily capable of putting up with assholes, in my opinion. He's got all the patience in the world.

See y'all on the next one.

23 notes · View notes

being-of-rain · 4 months

Text

My thoughts on The Church on Ruby Road! I literally can't write one of these without it being much longer than I expect. You think I'd simply expect it by now. But apparently I just had a lot of thoughts to put down about this one!

I really liked it! Going by friends' reactions, I think I liked it more than most of them. Maybe that's because I was expecting the more straightforward fantasy than usual from Doctor Who after hearing about it from RTD. I hope they dive into that more in the upcoming series, and make it explicit that it's because of the edge-of-the-universe-superstition stuff. That's such a fun direction for the show to go in.

I mostly have good things to say. Ncuti Gatwa was an instant fit for the Doctor, I can't wait to watch a whole series of him. His outfits were fantastic, especially that very first shot of him with his hat. And his deduction and reassurance scene with the policeman reminds us that the character has a powerful magic even without the goblins and skyships. Oh and the Doctor loving the name Lulubelle, what an adorable moment.

The goblins and skyships themselves felt very Peter Pan to me, and I love the urban fantasy feel it gave the episode. I also simply adore the fairytale logic, narrative magic that the Doctor was talking about. "The language of luck" and "coincidence is what makes the baby tasty" and "vocabulary of rope" and "if you have lots of accidents, it stitches you in. It weaves you into the day." I eat that stuff up, urban fantasy at its best in my opinion. Creeping into our world around the edges. And of course Doctor Who had to have a line suggesting that all coincidences might be because of goblins, I love it. The unexpected goblin music number felt very appropriately pantomime, and led to yet another moment that made me fell in love with this Doctor; him continuing the song rather than stopping it. Again, adorable.

As for Ruby Sunday, she's fun to watch and well acted, and I don't have anything bad to say about her, but she does feel a little generic-companion to me at the moment. Sometimes companions take a while before they go from 'like' to 'love' for me, but they usually make it eventually, it just takes one really great episode or plot. I do love her family though, they're so much fun, please can we have the Doctor spending more time with them. It's so cute to see a foster family depicted so positively and wholesomely.

Which leads us to the hardest-hitting part of the episode, when Ruby's taken and the timeline is rewritten, and GOD it's bleak. It's another look at that classic RTD cynicism that's just under the surface, but it works soooo well here, god damn. The way a lot of minimal changes made the setting go from "queens of the sky" to "stuck with my old mum up here in the attic" was so Powerful. The performances of Michelle Greenidge as a depressed Carla and Ncuti Gatwa as a raw and heartbroken Doctor was just. Chef's kiss. This time it's sci-fi at it's best; something impossible happening and then the story really digging its claws into the emotional impact it has on people.

The Doctor really showing his emotions is something I love and want to see a lot more of. I assume that's the main change to the character after Tennant Doctor's mental health retirement, which is a relief after Thirteen's years of brooding and hiding negative emotions from friends. So I don't mind Gatwa's Doctor having issues and brooding moments, because obviously you can't permanently fix all your problems forever anyway, especially not in his life. But all that said, specifically his line "I've got no one" really stood out to me as being strange considering the previous episode seemingly solving that in the short term. I know Gatwa's Doctor might potentially be a long way past that now, but surely it robs the retirement ending of its entire point if we immediately skip past not only the healing, but the getting-worse-again-about-the-exact-same-issue as well.

Speaking of Thirteen, it was nice to see RTD once again bring back the Timeless Child from Chibnall's era and give it a bit more depth. Chibnall definitely acknowledged the Timeless Child's emotional impact on the Doctor, and she had an arc surrounding that. But if I had to describe that arc I'd call it rather one-note and uninteresting; going from 'desperate to know more about adoption' to 'accepting it without question' without really any character beats in-between. Seeing how Gatwa's Doctor was dealing with it, how he related to other adoption stories and thought about himself, adds more dimensions to that, and I hope we get more glimpses of it.

When it comes to Ruby Sunday's adoption, I like that there's something of a plot bait-and-switch with the Doctor staring at (presumably) Ruby's mother in the cold open, then the Doctor being more concerned with saving Ruby later in the episode, and deciding not to follow the mother. If the series spends more focus on that plot, I hope it's mostly Ruby making a similar choice to the Doctor, because I'm an absolute sucker for 'it's not biology that makes a family.' I mean, basically my favourite Doctor Who story is Izzy Sinclair's from the DWM comic, and it was basically this. Izzy's story might've even been a direct influence on Ruby's, since we know that RTD was a DWM reader at the time and loved it too, enough to send a letter in praising the final Izzy comic! Anyway, I should probably try not to compare the two arcs too much, because I have my favourite and I'm biased 😂

How does this Thoughts Post feel even longer than usual!? I guess new Doctor, new companion, and new story arcs might do that. So time for random points!

-After checking, the clock on the eponymous church is absolutely the same one on the Christmas Town tower from The Time of the Doctor. I hope I'm not the only one who immediately noticed that aha. -I've seen people diss the narration at the very start, and I get disliking purposeless narration, but I think this one serves a purpose well. It adds even more of a fairytale vibe to a very fairytale scenario in a very fairytale episode. -Random nitpick: one thing I'd change about the episode is how much stress the camera and music give to some comedy minor characters, specifically the lady with the pram, Mrs Flood in her first scene, and the other neighbour. Focusing on them so much felt like it dampened their little jokes a bit. -Random highlight: I love when the Doctor says random throwaway stuff like they always do, but side characters actually pick it up and start trying to pick meaning out of it. So it made me happy when Ruby came back to the Houdini namedrop at the end of the episode. -The international version of the episode had a random Disney Plus ad before the final few lines (rather than that being a mid-credits scene like in the UK) and god I hated it. Praying that doesn't happen again. -I know RTD has said there'll be more about the "mysterious" Mrs Flood in future, but to me she genuinely just felt like a minor character with a christmas fourth-wall break. I really don't care about getting more of her, so if there is then I hope it's more interesting. -The murder of the Goblin King sure was more violent than usual for Doctor Who, and it can bother me a little bit when TV shows start letting things like that go by without comment, but I don't really mind it this time. The goblins vanished like the mythical creatures they were, the Doctor was cool as hell jumping off the church tower to bring them down, and this time the classic RTD Emotional Manipulation was working on me perfectly. -It's hilarious that they're keeping up the 'mavity' thing, I wonder when they'll actually do something with that.

Final thoughts! The Church on Ruby Road was a fantastic start to The Gatwa Era. It had a simple plot and villains, which worked wonderfully with the delightful characters, magical aesthetic, and powerful emotional beats it landed. It definitely felt more like a first episode than a christmas special, which is to it's credit, but with the singular downside that it has me impatient for more episodes!

If you made it all the way to the end, then Happy New Year! I hope you (and Dr Who) have a wonderful 2024 😘

#my thoughts #woof my thoughts always look a lot longer written down than in my head aha #but it's nice to feel like I have things to say about something yknow. I can put some opinions into words.#and I left a little present at the end for anyone who gets that far <3 #doctor who #ruby #fourteen #I may have to start tagging him fifteen soon to avoid confusion tbh

33 notes · View notes

findafight · 1 year

Note

I apologize, you hit another one of my buttons but like I have mixed emotions on the whole basketball/DND thing in season 4. The way the show punishes Lucas choosing basketball over DND, as if other party members don't have interests outside of DND, is so frustrating. Lucas has to realize that "normal is a raging psychopath" when it's really not? He wasn't dropping his friends or interests to play basketball. He just had a conflict on one day. And if the Duffers didn't have an agenda, this is all it would be. Lucas likes two things and once they unfortunately happen to collide and he has to skip one of them. It's not a punishment, but rather something that people have to deal with sometimes. It's just so frustrating that the show punished Lucas for having interests outside DND, when Will has art, and Dustin has his radios!

But as someone who organized events when I was in high school, it is so hard to schedule things so that everyone can attend if they want to. Especially in the evenings. And at some point if you can get most people that you need at a time, you take it. So I can understand where Eddie is coming from, that it might not be worth it to cancel/reschedule the last session at the last minute when only one person can't make it. So I understand why Eddie might not want to move it. But again, they shouldn't have made it seem like it was a punishment for Lucas doing jock things.

But like Dustin and Mike! These two chose a game over supporting their friend and then they dragged that Lucas's sister into the game as well, so she wasn't there either! And Dustin and Mike did have a choice to say to Eddie, no, we want to support our friend, you can run the campaign with or without us. Because missing one person is one thing. Missing three is an entire other ball game.

And like all of this could have been resolved if they talked about it but now Eddie is dead so it's just a loose thread and a win for the Duffers in the nerd vs jock battle that only exists in their head.

Seeeeee the thing for me is, while I totally understand trying to coordinate a time to meet with everyone being difficult. It is! Group projects in uni are bonkers. But, Hellfire is directly called a club, meaning it has regularly scheduled meetings, presumably scheduled at the start of the semester (January) if not the school year. So it's not like they have to rearrange their schedule for this particular meeting, it's already ON the schedule. The make up might take work but. Postponing two weeks to do it on regular night isn't the end of the world. If the space is in use for whatever reason, people have basements and dining room tables.

I think it's mentioned that the championship game wasn't scheduled until like, a day or two before? If not it was likely at most a week and a half. With how Eddie talks about basketball, despite one of "his sheepies" being on the team, I don't really blame Lucas for being nervous to ask him directly. So like, there's a scheduling conflict, and literally any other session I wouldnt be upset. Stuff happens, sometimes you're down a player! You work through it with them doing something off screen. It's whatever.

It sucks but it can drum up whatever conflict they want from it I guess. It'd be a dick move to bring Erica (and his best friends) in when she could be supporting her brother at the championship but whatever. (Also. Introducing a new player character is kinda complicated? That's not something I would want to do in a finale?) It can be worked through. But. My experience playing dnd with people is that, y'know. The whole point isn't to beat the bad guy, it's to have fun with your friends? In S3 they sort of address this when Mike and Lucas half ass their way to finish Will's one shot faster! He's hurt partially because winning isn't what it's about! So having a player not able to make a major session for me just doesn't compute. I want my friend there! Who's been there from the beginning! I want to win with my friend.

Listen. I love Eddie! But he's clearly stuck in highschool clique mode, despite his anticonformist talking points, (something that is never brought up! Eddie's like stick it to the man! But as soon as someone steps out from the box he views as acceptable, he doesn't know what to do with them) and thus does things that are dickish. Someone in hellfire is on the basketball team, yet Eddie rails against them, doesn't even try to understand there's nuances. No wonder Lucas got Dustin (Eddie's favourite) and Mike to ask for a raincheck. Dustin and Mike could have stuck up for Lucas and said they couldn't find one, let alone three subs between them and the game. They could have gone! They should have gone! And the fact the didn't isn't brought up when it's already been an issue in S3 with Will, is a shame.

Having to cancel plans you're looking forward to sucks, but honestly it's more fun to reschedule big things (like a campaign finale) so everyone can make it than just. Replace them. Idk that's just me and my experience playing. We don't actually know how hellfire usually goes so maybe it's normal? Idk.

The show has this very bizzare view of jocks v nerds. As though every person who has ever touched a ball willingly is automatically a terrible person and only likes sports. There's sooooo many layers to it. Because people are complex. My brother was on like three teams in school, and a guy he was on football with that had a friend of a friend in common later said that he wasn't a jock! When I would have said he absolutely was. A nerdy one, absolutely, but definitely a jock.

It's annoying that the show just. Doesn't accept that people have many interests and sometimes those interests are sports. Sports are fun! Exercise is good for you! While, yes. Absolutely sports teams can cultivate a toxic environment, they can also be incredibly fulfilling.

It just feels like the Duffers want to punish anyone who dares like sports in any way tbh.

#lucas sinclair #eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things meta #anonasaurus #findaanswers #finda's rambles

123 notes · View notes