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#2. i'd like to have /any/ possible explanation at all thrown at me but no doctor has been willing to do that so far
wernerherzogs · 2 years
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hiya kasia! have you gotten a treatment or anything since your diagnosis? sending love and strength, lovely 💗💗
sorry for only seeing this now D: SO lmao so things have got more complicated since then my friend
#i had another more accurate test for borreliosis done after that via western blot method and it turned out that the first one was either a#false positive or that i'd had it in the past but it's not active anymore or some shit??? idk if i understood that correctly#i'm supposed to consult the results with a doctor specialising in infectious diseases but i wanted to get my visit (that i'd been waiting#for for over a month bc the waiting list was that long) with a rheumatologist done first#that was supposed to happen on april 29th but LOL the doctor cancelled the visit a few days before#the first new available date was may 19th so i'm still waiting for that#but tl;dr nor i nor anyone else knows what's wrong with me still <3#good news is that now that it's been 2.5 months since it had begun it HAS got better#but 1. i'm not sure if the meds have helped at all or if it's just time's doing if that makes sense? bc on most days the meds seemed to#have little effect on pain#2. i'd like to have /any/ possible explanation at all thrown at me but no doctor has been willing to do that so far#which i get! they shouldn't be doing that to patients unless they're 100% sure#but it sure sucks not knowing what the hell is wrong with you lmao :')#anyway i might delete this so i hope you see it and thank you for asking 🤧 that's very sweet 💓#hope you're well my friend!#rn i'm on sick leave bc of a basic throat/nose/etc. infection#feeling better now tho back to work on monday for sure#anonymous#a response
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lonesome-witching · 1 year
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Strong Grasp of Social Cues
I'd like to thank the anonymous person that send this prompt. Gonna be honest I slightly struggled with this one so I really hope you like it. If you don't feel free to let me know and either just complain about it or give me a second chance. I understand either way. The prompt was Robin being oblivious to Nancy flirting with her.
As always you can send me any and all ronance prompts here.
I don’t have a filter or a strong grasp of social cues. 
That’s what Robin had said. It had been an explanation, or maybe an excuse, at the time. She had been trying to ease the tension. When she had said it Nancy had been annoyed. And scared. And she had barely known Robin. 
Now she thought back to that moment with a new clarity. Because that must be why Robin hadn’t responded as Nancy had so hoped these past two months. The only other option was that Nancy had been reading it all wrong, that Robin just really wasn’t into her, and that couldn’t be possible. At least Nancy was hoping it wasn’t possible.She wasn’t sure what she’d do if it was possible. So, she chose not to think that way.  
The bell above the Family Video entrance rang through the store. The empty store. Entirely empty. Nancy frowned at the front desk where Robin was supposed to be. She knew Robin always worked on thursdays. Even if she didn't, there ought to be someone present to help with picking out movies and to make sure no one was stealing anything.  
She tapped her fingers against the surface, waiting, thinking, contemplating what her next move should be. When Robin would eventually come out Nancy had to be prepared. 
“Just a second.” A voice sounded from the back of the store. Not just a voice. Robin’s raspy voice. It didn’t take long for the girl to rush into view. “Nance? Hi.” 
“Hey.” Nancy responded, slightly thrown off by Robin’s bright smile. There was no way that Robin wasn’t into her. She had to be into her. Please let Robin be into her.
“Renting or returning?” Robin asked, having positioned herself at the other side of the counter. Too far away.
“Neither. I just wanted to see you.” She slipped into that sultry tone she had perfected before the world collapsed. 
“Honestly, I’m a little relieved. Steve has the day off and I’ve gotten no more than 2 customers today. 2, Nance. It’s not like I particularly enjoy amusing the whims and demands of the people in Hawkins but it definitely beats sitting around and doing nothing for 4 hours. 4 hours, Nance.” It was easy to get lost in Robin’s rambles and usually Nancy would allow herself to. But not today. Today she had a mission. 
“I hope I can make your day better.” She batted her eyelashes and felt ridiculous. But it had always worked on Jonathan. 
“You always do.” Wait, was she flirting? Was it finally working? “I love having my friends around.” Okay, maybe not. 
“You know what I was thinking?” Nancy continued, not giving up. 
“It would be very weird if I did.” 
“I was thinking, we should go out tonight.” That was quite direct. For the first time she saw confusion wash over Robin. Just for a moment before her smile returned and she nodded. 
“Sounds fun. What were you thinking? Movie? Milkshakes? I’ll ask Steve if he wants to join.” 
“I don’t want Steve there.” Nancy said quickly, slightly panicking. 
“Why not?” Robin frowned. 
“You know what, forget it. I guess I was wrong after all.” 
“Wrong? Wrong about what?” Robin was shaking her head as if she was trying to convey that Nancy could never be wrong about anything. 
“About you wanting to go out with me.” 
“I’d love to go out with you. I just said that.” 
“You want to go out with Steve.” 
“Why is it such a problem if he joins? I thought you guys were friends now.” 
“We are friends, it’s just that…” Nancy pinched the bridge of her nose. “It would kind of be uncomfortable to flirt with my ex’s best friend while my ex is sitting next to me.” 
“Flirting?” Robin whispered to herself. “Wait, are you-?” 
“Flirting with you? Have been for 2 months.” Nancy admitted. 
“So when you asked me to go out you meant…” 
“As a date.” 
“And when you said I looked good in a tie you weren’t just being friendly?” 
Nancy frowned, searching through her memory. “Oh my God, Robin. I didn’t say you looked good in a tie. I said you looked sexy in a tie. You thought that was a friendly compliment?” 
“Kind of. Best friends compliment each other.” Robin defended herself.
“How often has Steve called you sexy?” 
Robin shuddered before shaking her head. “Okay I see it now. Sexy is not exactly friendly. In my defense I don’t have a strong grasp of social cues.” 
Nancy beamed at the girl in front of her. “I remember. So, is that a yes?” 
“A yes?” 
“For tonight? Movie and milkshakes and hopefully a kiss goodnight if everything goes well.” Nancy leaned over the counter. 
“Oh!” Robin’s eyes widened as a soft blush covered her cheeks. “Yes! Yes. Definitely yes.”
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iwanttoplayagame20 · 1 year
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Here is my 100 favorite horror movie deaths! These are in no particular order and will have an explanation as to why I like this death and why it has the honor to be in my top 100. Enjoy!!
1. Amanda- Friday the 13th (2009)
Amanda burned to death in a sleeping bag over an open fire. I think its a horrible way to go and definitely deserves to be on this list. I would really hate to go that way and I think it honestly looked really cool.
2. Judd- Pet Semetary (1989)
Judd has his Achilles tendon sliced and had a 2-3 year old zombie like child bite his neck. I'd be freaking terrified and honestly I'd hate to go this way too, even after knowing the kid when he was alive. Who'd want to be offed by a very young child? This also looked extremely painful since any injury involving your Achilles sucks ass.
3. Carlos Chavez- Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead
Chavez had the top of his head cut of by Three-Finger and then had his brains eaten while slightly alive. I was grossed out but thought it was cool to watch. The brain looked like something straight out of a jello mold (And it probably was since it looked like the actor actually ate some. Maybe strawberry flavor?) Another shitty way to go.
4. Chris Hargensen- Carrie (2013)
This version of Chris had her face shoved through a windshield, which in return cut it up badly and left her bleeding severely, and then was incinerated in a gas station explosion. I think this or the 2002 Chris death was the worst for her tbh. The original was tamer than the other two but I prefer this one since she suffered more. (She deserved it).
5. Amusement Park Security Guard- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
The guy had acidic pie thrown on him and he melted. Not much to say other than it was fucking cool and I found it funny when Shorty placed the cherry on top when it was all said and done. It looked really cool too for a weird 80s horror movie. Love it dearly.
6. Kowalski- Leprechaun 4: In Space
Hate this movie, love this kill. Fucking Leprechaun materialized out of the guys dick. Who wouldn't have this as one of their favorites?
7. Zepp Hindle- Saw
Zepp got his head bashed in by a toilet tank lid. Even if you can barely see I think it'll be always memorable to me since you can cheer for Adam as he unbottles his rage on this idiot. And its here for being able to be memorable without being on screen.
8. Good Guy Technician- Child's Play 2
Another highly memorable kill here. Technician gets his own eyes replaced by plastic ones that belong in Good Guy Dolls. I haven't seen the movie in a while but that image is still sharp in my mind and I can recall what it can look like easily. One of the best kills of the franchise.
9. Charlie- Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort
Another example of hate this movie love this kill. Charlie had a fire hose shoved up his rectum and his stomach blew up. The only good thing about this damn franchise is the kills really, characters suck ass (Expect for the cannibals. Which is sad that they're more interesting than the ones we're supposed to root for)
10. Adrienne Hart- Jason X
One of my favorite kills in this franchise. She had her face shoved in liquid nitrogen and had her face shattered. Now that is an extremely cool way to go even if it may not be physically possible (It was explained by Mythbusters)
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Top Executions!!! They can be any for any game and you can even say any of the executions that weren't used. Victims and/or survivors executions
Hmm... This one is really tough, since I'm not the biggest fan of the executions in general, you know? As such, I won't rank them, but I will list the executions (or unused executions) that I liked in general.
Since there will be spoilers here for both DR 1 and 2 (I've still not seen 3, since the GG haven't played it yet and I have no interest in playing these games myself), I'll put a read more. ^-^
Ask me my “TOP 5/TOP 10” anything!
Alright, so here's the list of executions that I somewhat liked. ^-^
Gundham's execution. Obviously it was hella sad, but I liked the touch of him having put his Dark Devas down and having them watch and be all sad. It was freaking heart breaking, but in a good way, you know? I also felt it was fitting for his character to be killed by animals in some way. It was more fitting to his character than some of the executions, at least.
I'm not sure if you also meant the deaths of those who were murdered in this, but I figured I'd also add that I liked the whole situation surrounding Nekomaru's death. I like how it was shown that it was a legit battle between Nekomaru and Gundham, and that Gundham did legitimately win... kind of. Technically using his dark deva and utilizing Mechamaru's sleep switch wasn't super honorable, but it was utilizing his talent and was done in as fair a way as possible. Honestly, the motives of the murders in DR 2 were much better than the ones in DR 1, I think. They all had some good, legit reasons for doing it and it felt more believable than the first game, I think. Even Nagito's motive for his suicide was understandable in the end. Though... dear god, was that whole thing messed up. Nagito, bro, ya got problems.
I'm gonna be honest here; I actually do kind of like Mondo's execution. I know a lot of people don't, and I think some of it has to do with something I don't quite know about (if anyone does want to explain or point me towards an explanation for what was wrong with Mondo's execution, feel free), BUT just based on the execution itself... I did kind of like it. For one, I like the idea of Mondo dying on a motorcycle. I wrote about this in my mini fic thingy, Another Life, but I do think it would have given Mondo some comfort in the end. I always kind of thought that Mondo would be more understanding of dying if he died in a motorcycle accident, you know? It's one reason in TPWM I always have him be so indifferent to the thought of death when riding his bike. He doesn't necessarily want to die, but he's made peace with the idea, especially after what happened with Daiya. Also, dying by asphyxiation seems... tamer than the other deaths. Like... getting pelted to death by baseballs, burned at the stake, or crushed by a machine (not to mention battered up and then thrown into a volcano, killed after fighting off many opponents while realizing you may have accidentally killed someone you love, getting trampled to death, crushed by tetris, shot off into space on an... explicit hand syringe rocket thingy????? seriously what the hell was Mikan's death what)... of all of them, asphyxiation seems like a relatively painless, simple death. The whole Mondo butter thing was weird, yes, but to me that always seemed more like a stylistic thing, not what really happened... you know? Also, even if he did somehow turn into butter, he still would have asphyxiated before that happened, so... it's something.
Honestly, none of the other executions in canon were ones I liked much, so this last one is one of the unused executions from the first game. And this one is Taka's, since I saw this super cool fan animation of his execution, and while I hate the execution in theory, the art is awesome and the execution is somewhat fitting for his character. Very gruesome, and after what happened to the former PM of Japan not super topical (I don't know much about the man, so I won't say any more than this), but it's still an interesting way to go. Obviously it would never have been used, and if it was, I'd have hated the game for having Taka kill someone, but still. A cool concept. Anyway, here's the fanimation if anyone else was curious. Just a warning, but it does have an assassination by gun in it, so, uh... yeah.
Anyway, yeah, not the biggest fan of the executions in the first two games to be honest, but these are my top, I guess. Oh! And I just wanted to say this here even if it's kind of unrelated, but what the hell Mahiru?? Seriously, who the hell says to someone who just found out about the murder of their little sister "you know you shouldn't have sought out revenge for the murder! That's bad!" Like... dude!!! You covered up a murder!! Also, this is someone in the Yakuza and you were alone with him!!!! What did you think was gonna happen!!!!! Sorry, but I just wanted to say that somewhere, it's been driving me mad since I saw it. I was never the biggest fan of Mahiru's character, but that whole thing made me honestly mad. It just seemed very inconsiderate and honestly cruel.
Thanks for the ask!! :-D
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syubub · 3 years
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May 13th Reading
Definitely long awaited and way bigger than I intended it to be so buckle up.
Funky disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as fact! This is my interpretation of the cards!
Oh boy. The continuation of yoongis soulmate saga.
(Note frome future me: it's not proofread but I'm hungry. Sorry for mistakes!)
So so so so
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Let's start.
I started with all the normal jazz. Connecting with his energy and shit. Same as usual same old same old. Platform= same same. I was like, "hey, let's talk about your soulmate and the whole may 13th shit" and we connected via energy stringy thing to the forehead and such. I was intresting bc my end of the string was kinda my energy color! Neato. Looks like some rest has really done me good!
Okay, here's where I start actually asking shit. I made notes at this point before the reading as I usually do. I'm just gonna insert the screen shot here.
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The 14 thing really fucked me up. You'll see later. Also, when I got the whole Pisces Jupiter thing I had to do me some googling bc we established that Jupiter went into Pisces ON May 13th so I was like?? Am I missing something?
I was. I forgot that it goes retrograde and then co.es back to Pisces on December 28th. And I do indeed think it to be significant.
The shit about temperance makes a lot of sense. In yoongis first soulmate read I flipped my shit bc he was like, "You're gonna get temperance reverse" in regards to a card for his soulmate and I was like "pft whatever. Don't play me like that"
And then I got temperance reverse. It's been a significant card from the jump.
I asked him if he had any advice for his soulmate and that's what "Don't wait for big things, you'll miss the small ones that lead you to bigger things" and "Look for facts before assuming" and "Don't try pushing it, forcing it won't make sense" and "A spade is a spade/ ace is an ace" and "Don't make ill informed guesses" all were
Now this part:
"Union has happened , yet to on the physical"
Gave me some hints thankfully because he straight up said no more hints.
This ties back into the whole Jupiter thing too. The seeds are/ have been planted and now they have to grow before they can be harvested.
Well Mr. Yoongi, I'm impatient and I don't want to wait. I want to see you in love pronto.
Anyways
He showed me a little dream box/ trinket box looking thing and a super vague Keychain with no further explanation... so... there's that I guess.
I can't quite decide if "Don't make ill informed guesses" was a tongue-in-cheek pike at me or if it was genuine advice to his soulmate? He just loves to not explain things.
Now let's begin the monster read.
So. The first row of cards
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I asked the question, "what the fuck was May 13th and what was it's purpose in regards to your connection"
Important is what it was lol. I interpret this as them finding their footing and this being the starting point of the genuine foundation being layer. Like they've been manifesting eachother for a while but May 13th marked the start of them making the real life changes in their actual lives that will be the set up for them meeting.
The seven of coins is about thoughtful planning and creating security/ stable plan. The tower is essentially ripping away anything and everything that was built on unstable foundation and challenging/ testing your character (an extremely rude awakeing if you will). Judgement is releasing the past so you can rise above it and confronting yourself as you are (Also legit awakening) the queen of coins is financial security and self confidence in your abilities. Ten of coins is prosperity and abundance and most of all, stability. Eight of wands is explosion of potential and rapid movement. Temperance is awareness and balance between physical and spiritual. It's also that quiet peace where you find balance.
So. Seeing all those cards it really does seem like maybe his soulmate took on something new that could lead straight to union? Same for yoongi. I'd like to analyze and recent or new-ish habits or hobbies he's picked up?
Moving right along though. I asked what the 13th did for each of them in their personal life and personal journey. Kinda like what came as a result of that energy? Let's start with yoongles
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This was really intresting to me. I think he definitely gained some form of clarity about the situation with that sun card. The 5 of cups tells me that either he was kinda forced to confront some of his flaws in a way that he was trying to avoid or he had to consciously let go of something dear to him? Could be something he had to leave behind because it crumbled with the tower moment but he didn't see it coming or didn't know that it was time to part with it? With that queen of wands though fits beautifully with the sun! Its like he's found warmth after a long winter. Definitely found a spark of compassion and generosity from a place of happiness and love rather than anger, fear, obligation or pitty.
I asked for clarity cards/ anything else that may 13th signified bringing in and we got the 2 of cups and 10 of swords. I have two thoughts. Either he let go of a relationship that he was already in because he didn't feel as though they were particularly compatible anymore (Also ties into the above section) OR the 13th had made him very much consciously aware of his soulmates incoming status and he is now preparing and working on himself for when this person comes. The 10 of swords would be him releasing the past and the pain and any ill fitting behavior that don't vibe with him any longer. Yellow really seems to be working for him by the way.
Soulmate time
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Lol. All signs point to his soulmate genuinely starting a new venture. New creative pursuit that will bring them good money. 10 of pentacles is abundance, prosperity and stability. The ace of wands is a new creative spark and passion and it's the first big steps into something new. The 2 of wands is "the world is in the palm of your hands" vibes. Choices need to be made swiftly and with the ace of wands I think they will be. With the heirophant too, it will be a well informed decision because they've been manifesting this and has been searching for all the possible information.
As for clarity, we have the moon. Damn. Soulmates been doing that shadow work. Dredging up all their bullshit and getting rid of it while still taking the time to sit with it and release it so nothing is unresolved. Also probably extra creative due to all the emotional baggage being thrown out. (Definitely helping with the ace of wands vibes tbh)
Now for the bad boys in the middle
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The question I asked is what those individual changes (detailed in the last two sections) will bring for the bond and I just can with them. These fuckers. I am so invested in their love story bc it's so... them? And just so fucking ROMANTIC. UGH I CAN'T.
Back to the point. High priestess, 4 of wands and the lovers. The high priestess is deep knowing and insane intuition, the 4 of wands is the purest joy and marriage and the lovers is well, the lovers.a magical union.
FUCK DUDE I NEED THIS TO BE A ROMCOM.
For the row of bottom cards
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I asked if they had anything at all to add so I'm gonna explain each card individually bc I think they could be individual tid bits of shit.
Knight of coins is good news about finances/ money looking promising and organized work (also dependability!!). Death is all about transformation, the beginning of a new chapter and accepting in order to move foward. Ace of coins is spiritual and material abundance and also a reminder to keep grounded. Page of swords is confidence, important news coming and really good insight! Roots out secrets or hidden things like a truffle pig. The star is promising potential, healing and guidance from an enexpected place. The two of cups is a soul connection, love, intuition especially in regards to another person and a good bind. The emperor is self awareness, foresight, fearlessness to achieve a goal and confidence. Eight of coins rev is poor discipline and skating by on low effort.
Now to the sides!
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Yoongi is the left, soulmate is the right.
So, let's begin with yoongi. The first two cards are anything he wants to say to his soulmate. Wheel of fortune and three of swords reverse. I take this as "its all in divine time/ it's destiny" (wheel of fortune) and "trust your intuition. It's okay to get hurt, you just need to remember you can always pick yourself up" (3of swords rev.)
We have now cards that I asked what he was learning through this process/ in this time. Be positive and first step.
The last two cards are affirmations he wants to give his soulmate.
"When I introduce joy to a situation, I change the vibrational frequency of what's happening around me" and "directing my focus onto what's thriving creates more of what I want"
Now for soulmates cards (same structure)
Strength and eight of swords. "You're stronger than you think. Take every part of yourself and acknowledge it. You're a force to be reckoned with" (strength) and (soulmate snapped at him on this) "the only thing holding you captive is you."
Now we have peer pressure (I think soulmate is learning to say "fuck you" and "fuck off" to people who have a set idea of how everyone should be living their lives), emotional healing and open your arms to receiving.
Then we have "its good to feel good" (lol I feel like yoongi definitely needs this one) and "when I connect to the spiritual realm, I open the door to recieve divine guidance, clear direction, and great wisdom"
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The last stretch my friends.
So. Completion, leave behind the things that no longer serve you. Exist in the present and don't keep mulling over the past or any future happenings. Magic, pay attention to the magic around you. Listen for the signs of the universe and take them as they come (essentially listen to divine guidance) . Be open minded but logical as well. Luminous warrior, try focusing on the good in yourself instead of berating yourself for every small flaw. Spiritual path, self explanatory. The blade, your power can be a weapon when used willy nilly (most often wounding the wielder) or it can heal. Don't fear it but also consider how you choose to utilize it. The give away, be greaful for the sake of being greatful for it, not because you want something in return. The rain maker, manifestation station. Create with the tools you have because you have everything you need in order to manifest. "Don't take life personally"
Now we have heaven sent.
""Let yourself be helped" assistance is coming your way so act on it and say yes"
" This Oracle also comes with the message that you are to trust in the things that you feel and say to others without knowing why. It moves them. You might not understand, but through trust you are allowing yourself not to overthink and censor yourself. As such you are able to become a vessel through which the spiritual gift can be passed on to others. Don't block yourself. Let life happen through you. Only benefit can come from this."
And free from judgment, free to love
" If you have been asking life for a solution to a specific difficulty you have been having, this Oracle comes with the message that a solution is in gestation right now. This situation is already being sorted out and the resolution will come to fruition very soon. Hold tight and wait for the eminent birth of that resolution."
" This Oracle also brings you a message about love. You may find that you are loving, or soon will love, in a different way. You may worry about this love, given that it defies what you have known or been taught about love. Perhaps you are becoming able to love another tremendously, even though you don't have much of a personal relationship with them. You might question if this love is real. It is real Kama it is just happening at a different level to the love and attachment you experience when you are involved in a personal relationship with someone. It is not more or less, it is just a different facet of love. It may be that you are opening up to love the planet and her creatures, including the animals, the ocean dwelling life, your own body, the trees and so on, more than before period you may feel passionately purposeful about giving your time and energy to causes that protect and nurture the Earth and her creatures. You are affirmed in this love too. The universal mother is operating through you to nurture life. She will support you in your work, so that you can continue To come from love and not become drained, depleted or lost in despair or fear of futility. Instead, you will be energised and expanded by your dedicated service to life."
" Finally, this Oracle has a message for those who may be feeling alone or lonely in a need of greater nurturing from others. You are asked to stop, relax, centre and settle into your body to feel your connection with life itself. The air in your lungs is the same as the air that moves through the trees. The water in your blood is the same water that fills the oceans and is moved by the phases of the moon. The flesh of your body is the same substance as the body of the Earth itself. The heat in your digestive system is the same fire and heat as that from the Sun. Feel this connection, then do something nice for another without agenda. Make a donation, even if just a small one, smile, say a prayer, sent out a good thought or make a wish for another. That's it. You have connected to life again and in doing so, life can connect with you. And so it shall.
And that's all for the cards but but but.
Someone (either my guide or yoongi) was like, "do a song. Do a song. Do a song." And I was like, "oki doki, sounds good.
So I asked what numbers I should try refreshing and then it hit me. The number 14 came up before the reading and it seemed a bit misplaced? So I did 14 shuffles and look what popped up
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You gotta be fucking with me.
Istg these fools will actually be the death of me dude. Euphoria is so romantic and I lowkey feels like it describes a bit of what their bond must be like.
YOONGGGIIII
Anyway,
I came back to the platform to be like, "thanks homie" and it was weird bc he was practically pure energy? Like usually I visualize his energy as what his physical body looks like because it's easier to comprehend? But nope, he was just a big shimmery glob of energy.
As I was going to disconnect, a few things happened. I felt tingly and the platform was vibrating almost? So I was like, "hold on, what the fuck is this?"
And then
It hit me
"MIN YOONGI IS YOUR SOULMATE HERE??"
I could tell this fuckin asshole was smug even in his blue glob form.
The color was... blue like yoongi but also a light lavender/ pink kinda vibe. Pretty damn distinct.
I was so stoked and I thought we'd all get to chat and I could yell at his soulmate for being an elusive asshat
But Mr smug butt had different plans.
My dude dropped a little marble thing in my hand and I was like ??? And he was like, "you'll know when you need it" and I was like ?????
My guide took pity on me and said, "it's just a representation on information that you've been given but it isn't the proper time to unpack it yet"
Cool cool so like and energetic zip file that will release itself whenever it damn well pleases? Cool cool cool.
(Asshole)
Anyway, I genuinely think that my excitement of this whole situation must somehow also influence how yoongis energy handles my prodding? Like what the fuck is this marble bullshit?
To top it all off, he gives me a friendly shove off of his platform.
Thanks, buddy.
Now we are here. And as always, I'm left with more questions.
My main take away is that amay 13th through July 28th will be all the foundation and ground work and December 28th 2021 through May 10th (11th? 9th?) 2022 will be a more likely time for physical union and actual relationship stuffs.
Anyone who knows more about astrology please feel free to chime in on this whole Jupiter in Pisces bit! My understanding is super surface level!!
~~~~
That was a big boi and now my thumbs hurt real bad. Hope you were entertained by the chaos.
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Right. So I am an avid reader of high school au fics of any fandom, and since my current obsession is Sherlock that's what I'm spending most of my time doing.
And I've read quite a few fics where John plays rugby, which is entirely apt.
BUT as a rugby follower, I can't help but notice that some writers don't seem to know much about rugby. Which is cool, no need to massively research every single thing you write about. But sometimes it simply doesn't make sense. So I thought I'd make a reference post for anyone wanting to write about rugby.
1. There is no goalie
I've seen this a few times where someone is in goal. This is simply not a thing in rugby. The goalposts are in the shape of an H, and the aim is to kick it above the horizontal bar, so it would simply be impossible to have one.
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2. There are two types of rugby
There is rugby league and rugby union, and although they are similar, there are some differences. I have sometimes seen people mix the two, so I want to clear something. In the original stories (The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire) it says John played rugby union, so that is what I am focusing on in this post. Basically from here on in when you see the word 'rugby' I am talking about rugby union.
3. There are only 23 players in a game of rugby union
Sometimes I see people writing "x is number 28" and that simply does not exist. In rugby union you have 15 players on a pitch at one time (for each team), and 8 substitutions.
4. People aim for tries, not goals
Of course, goals do exist in rugby, but a try scores more. I'll explain basic scoring below. (These are rugby union scoring rules)
A try is worth 5 points. This is when a player grounds the ball over the try line (this is a white line in line with the goalpost). The team then gets a chance to kick the ball through the goalpost. If this is achieved, an extra 2 points is added. This is called a conversion or converted try.
A drop goal is worth 3 points. This is simply kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts. This is not usually done as people go for tries instead.
A penalty kick is worth 3 points. There's some intricate stuff here, but the basic idea is if the other team commits a foul, the team gets a 'free kick' to try and score some points.
So although 'goals' are possible, they are not very common.
5. Other bits of basic play
A scrum is where the forwards of each team join together to try and gain the ball. Basically there's a lot of shoving involved.
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Players with the ball can only pass it sideways or backwards. The defending team tries to tackle them to the floor, where they have to release the ball. It keeps going until a penalty occurs or one team scores a try.
A lineout is where the ball is thrown in from the sidelines. Often somebody gets lifted up into the air to catch it, and sometimes from both teams in order to try and get the ball.
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As you have probably gathered, rugby is a contact sport. That means people get hurt. Injuries are common. Leg injuries occur a lot, and sometimes people can even gain a concussion from playing. This may be a good plot point when writing a fic.
6. Players and positions
Players don't wear protective gear on the whole. They wear mouthgards of course, because frankly it's a pretty dangerous sport, and some forwards choose to wear a scrum cap (see below). But no helmets, shinpads, etc.
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The forwards are players 1-8, and the backs are players 9-15.
The kicker on a team can be anyone, but it is usually 10 or 12.
On the whole the heavier, taller, powerful players are the forwards. The smaller, faster players are usually the backs, especially at 11 and 14. These two numbers score most of the tries.
It is rare that forwards score tries, but it does happen when there's basically a massive pile of people by the try line and it is pure chance that they have the ball. Backs are more likely to score tries, although not number 15 as they are the player that hangs back in case the ball gets booted to the other end of the pitch. As mentioned above, 11 and 14 are the fast, nimble players as they score the most tries.
Personally, I would place John at 2. This is usually played by one of the smallest people on the pitch (I know I'm contradicting myself, but the paragraph above is generalised), and they are extremely powerful as they control the scrum. They also throw the ball into the pitch in a line out. They are arguably the most important forward player, so need a lot of confidence and nerves of steel, which suits John perfectly.
There's loads of intricate rules and other things, but I think I've covered the basics here. For a good description of what each player does, the link below is very handy.
7. Quick note on English schools and rugby
Not entirely related but this does also crop up - I see people writing about rugby matches as if the whole school turns out in a massive pitch with bleachers and the like (what you always see with American football in high school movies). That doesn't really happen in England. Of course, the rugby team would normally be very popular throughout school, but those huge matches you see in films? They don't really happen. It's more like two schools play against each other, not even always on school grounds but a local facility, and parents and mates come to watch.
Also, rugby is MUCH bigger in Wales than in England. It's still popular, of course, but the teams are sometimes local clubs rather than school teams. Of course, if you want to make it a school team go ahead, that's probably what I would do too as it makes the plot a whole lot easier!
I think I've covered all the basics here. Any questions feel free to drop an ask or message me, I'm happy to help! Also let me know if I've forgotten anything crucial, as I wouldn't put it past me.
8 notes · View notes
ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years
Text
Star Wars 101 (Ch. 2) Episode IV - A New Hope
Masterlist
Gender: Female
Pairing: Peter Parker x reader
Wow, I didn't realize how much I'd written until I hit the tumblr limit. Hope you like it! Comment your thoughts!
Chapter Summary: Steve just wants to do his job, the avengers are the best wingmen, Scott doesn't like porn, and [y/n] thinks all nerds are freaky
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~~~
sci-fi boi: okay which cartoon rivalry was better?? Popeye the sailor man and Bluto or Tom and Jerry?
crackhead [y/n]: dude.
crackhead [y/n]: how is that even a question??? Obviously Tom and Jerry lol
sci-fi boi: explanation pls
crackhead [y/n]: popeye and bluto were always fighting over that girl olive and some other stupid crap but with my two furry buddies it was no talk pete no discussions just murder attempts ON SIGHT. Tell me they don't go harder than any other rivalry
sci-fi boi: haha truuuu
~~~
"Are we boring you, Queens?"
Peter's head snapped up quickly, discreetly turning his phone off underneath the meeting table. "Um-huh? No no no, Mr. Rogers I'm listening. Sorry."
Steve shook his head and continued to speak as he pointed to the pictures on the screen at the end of the room. All of the Avengers of Earth were there, some half asleep, while the others either joked or listened intently.
In two short days, they were going to be taking back powerful tech that Martin Li(aka: Mr. Negative)'s "demons" had stolen from Stark Industries. A simple "get in and get out".
They'd known this plan for some days now, yet Steve insisted on calling meetings to go over it again and again.
Feeling a quick vibration go off in his hand, Peter instinctively looked back down at his phone to see a snapchat text notification from you.
~~~
crackhead [y/n]: According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible🐝...
~~~
Peter shook his head slightly as he chuckled, a smile shamelessly creeping onto his face.
~~~
sci-fi boi: did you really just quote the bee movie at me???😂😂
~~~
"Hey spidey-boy, would you mind sharing to the class what's so hilarious?" Rhodey's voice rang out loud and clear from across the table.
Quick as lightning, Peter turned his phone off and buried it in between his thighs, realizing that he hadn't been as quiet as he'd thought. To his luck, everyone’s eyes were trained on him now.
“It's n-nothing!” Peter squeaked, his voice breaking embarassingly. He shoved his phone into his pocket in fear of someone snatching it from him.
Natasha rolled her eyes and smirked. "So what're you looking at down there?"
"I-i, uh, I was just um, w-watching a funny- very funny video actually-"
"C'mon guys!," Sam laughed, clapping his hands together. "Don't tease the kid. We all know what he was smiling at down there!"
At that, Peter practically choked. "WHAT?!"
Tony snickered. "Personally, I don't think two inches is something to be proud of, but alright."
Peter's eyes widen, nearly falling out of his skull by the looks of it. "I-it's not two inches a-and I wasn't looking at-!"
"Jesus christ, guys..." Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He was obviously just doing something on his phone. Leave the poor guy alone."
Peter coughed as he saw Steve glare at him with that infamous 'Im Captain America and Im judging you' glare. Phones weren't allowed in the meeting room. Well, they weren't supposed to be. No one ever really followed that rule except Peter. But he'd already been so deep in his conversation with you that he just couldn't put his phone down. "No no, um, I wasn't.. I was just zoning out, y'know, and I just happened to be looking-"
"-at your phone?," Steve cut in to ask.
"-at your dick," Rhodey stated at the same time.
"-at porn," Tony said with an all-knowing smile, causing everyone at the table to turn towards either him or Peter, whose face was beet red with embarrassment.
"Peter please tell us you weren't watching porn," Scott begged, his jaw completely dropped. "I mean, no judgment but-"
"Full judgement, actually," Clint corrected, an extremely disturbed look on his face. "Seriously, what were you doing, kid? You gotta tell us now with all these assumptions being thrown around."
"Curious," Thor stated, leaning back in his chair. "What is porn?"
"Something that I definitely WAS NOT watching!," Peter responded as he practically slammed his face into the table and slapped his hands over his eyes. "Does it even matter what I was doing anyway?," he mumbled into the table.
Natasha raised an eyebrow, blowing the smoke off of her coffee. "People usually aren't this defensive when they're telling the truth, Peter."
Peter shrunk into his seat with a loud groan. Can I die. Can I please just die. Like why am I seriously even alive right now??? Some bad guy please just burst through the door and maim me please.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y. pull up Parker's phone," Tony commanded once the commotion in the room died down.
Peter quickly lifted his head. "Wait, what?!"
"Accessing Peter Parker's mobile device, sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded. "Would you like for me to transfer the screen to the meeting board?"
Tony looked back with a laugh to see a frozen, slack-jawed Peter. He turned back around. "Yeah sure, F.R.I.D.A.Y., what the heck let's have fun."
"No wait- are you seriously hacking into my phone right now?!"
"Well why're you so tense, Parker?," Sam asked teasingly. "Thought you had nothing to hide?"
"I-i don't!," he stammered. "I-it's just..." he trailed off, looking for the right words to say. "..that's my private property," he said lamely while staring at the wall.
Tony stared back at him. "Well that's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." He pointed towards the board. "Alright it's coming up."
Scott closed his eyes. "Oh God, please don't be porn.."
Peter rolled his eyes. Everyone else looked to the large board, fully expecting to see either porn or just some stupid game the boy had been playing.
But none of them expected him to be texting a girl.
~~~
crackhead [y/n]: hey u still there?
~~~
"Who's crackhead [Y/N]?," Natasha asked.
Scott turned to Rhodes who was sitting on the side of him. "Is that some trashy porn star?," he whispered.
"Why're you asking me like I know?"
"It's this girl from school.." Peter answered, blushing profusely.
"And you like her," Natasha noted, watching his body language intently.
The boy's eyes widened. "N-no I don't!"
"Why crackhead though?," Rhodey asked, crinkling his nose.
Peter shrugged. "That's what she wanted her name to be," here responded. "Thought it was funny."
Steve rolled his eyes. "Just like you thought 'sci-fi boi' was funny?" Shaking his head, he changed focused. "Guys, are we gonna get back to work or not?"
"Not," Tony answered as he scrolled up all the way to the beginning of the messages from early that morning. "So, you've been texting this girl today off and on since..." He checked the time. "Five in the morning?"
Clint chuckled. "Oh yeah, huge crush."
“No!” Peter protested, his voice an octave too high. Realizing that it isn’t working, he decided to try a different technique. Clearing his throat, he tried to sound and act as nonchalant as possible. “She’s just a friend from school.”
"She's first on your best friends list, even over that computer kid you practically live with. And you and her practically snap each other nonstop."
Peter scratched his nose. "W-well that's only cuz Ned doesn't like to text much."
Bruce took his glasses off and sighed, realizing there was no way this meeting was getting back on topic. "Look Pete," he said. "Friends don't do that. I've seen it all before. If you and this girl are talking on a daily basis all throughout the day starting at five in the morning?" He titled his head in a suggestive way, though Peter stared back at him blankly.
"What?," Peter asked.
"Oh my God, kid," Bruce sighed.
Tony held his head back and laughed. "It means either she likes you and your just too dense, you like her but won't admit it and she's just concerningly nice, or you both like each other and just won't make your moves!"
Sam, who hadn't lifted his eyes from the board the entire time, spoke up. "And judging by these texts, you already got her, it's just not official yet."
Tony kept scrolling. "You two went to winter formal together?"
"Yeah... but as friends," Peter said with a shrug.
Steve cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room at once. He looked at Peter who was doing everything here could not to look him in the eye. "Look, as much as I would love to talk about Peter's sad love life, we have a mission-"
"-that will still be there tomorrow, Cap," Bucky finished for him. "C'mon we've been going over this stuff for hours. Let us have this distraction."
Everyone looked to him, Tony feigning a puppy dog expression. Crossing his arms, he left the room. "Fine, but when someone gets hurt because they didn't know where they were supposed to go, don't blame me."
"...literally no one's ever blaming you, man," Sam said.
Suddenly, the screen lit up and F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke. "Sir, Peter Parker has a new message."
Everyone looked to the board. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Scroll down, Mr. Stark. Scroll down!," Peter yelled frantically. "What's she saying?"
Natasha smirked. "And you're sure you don't like her, Peter?"
His face flushed. "Okay fine...I might have a tiny crush-"
"I'm sorry I can't hear you," Tony cut in. "Can you say that agai-"
"-I SAID YEAH I REALLY LIKE THIS GIRL!," Peter finally yelled with his eyes squeezed shut. He kept them closed for about twenty seconds afterwards, afraid of the judging faces he would see if he opened them.
He carefully opened his eyes to see all of the avengers (minus Cap) staring back at him with stupid smiles and smirks on their faces.
"Well, that's all I needed to hear," Tony said. He clapped his hands together. "Okay everybody, first order of business, checking the text. Sam, you're our reader."
"Got it."
"What?," Peter yelled, reaching for his phone. Tony dodged him and gave it to Sam. "Mr. Stark, I can text a girl on my own. I don't need help."
"Nat, you're our timer. Make sure none of the responses take longer than a minute. We don't want the girl to get bored and go on to something else."
"Check."
"Mr. Stark, c'mon-"
"Sam, you explain stuff to lightning head over here if he doesn't understand it. This could be learning moment for ole Shakespeare. Thor, you listen to Sam."
"Right."
"On it."
"Everyone else, you're with me. We gotta find the perfect thing to say to this girl. I've got a feeling this is probably the only chance he's gonna have to get a girl in a long time."
Rhodes, Scott, Clint, Bruce, and Wanda looked to each other and nodded.
"And Pete?"
Peter raised his head. "Yes sir?"
"You know this girl more than anybody here does, so you tell us if what we say is appropriate for her or not."
Peter rolled his eyes and nodded. After all, what's the worst that can happen?
Tony pointed to Sam. "Okay, read it."
~~~
crackhead [y/n]: u going to flash's party on saturday??
~~~
"She wants to know if the kid's going to some party Saturday."
Tony turned to the boy. "You're going," her demanded.
Flash was the most popular douchebag in school. Totally rich and totally rude and totally determined to use his every breath to spite Peter. "I wasn't even invited," Peter mumbled, shooting a glare towards Sam when he heard him laughing.
"Well get invited," Tony ordered. "A party is the perfect place to make a move. Send yes."
~~~
sci-fi boi: yes
~~~
"Mr. Stark, how am I supposed to get into this party? Flash hates me! And if I crash it and Flash sees me, he's gonna make sure everyone thinks I'm a loser!"
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. "Peter we're trying to help you here. Figure that part out on your own."
Peter sighed, leaning forward in his chair. The last thing he wanted was another assignment, even if it wasn't actually an assignment. On the plus side, he'd get to see you, and maybe have some fun if he actually tried to enjoy himself.
~~~
crackhead [y/n]: cool so i guess ill go too
~~~
Rhodey chuckled while shaking his head. "Kid, if you don't ask this chick out the second you see her again, I'm gonna bodyslam you."
Peter frowned. "What do you mean?"
Bruce smiled. "Whether or not she went to the party was depending on if you were going," he pointed out.
"This girl used to be like that with me back in college," Scott said with a shrug. "Thought she liked me. Turned out she just had social anxiety..."
"Yeah you're really not helping this, bugman," Tony said.
"Wait, you guys think [Y/N] actually likes me back?," Peter asked, getting groans and laughs in return.
"Where have you been the last few minutes?," Natasha said.
"We've literally been saying that this entire time," Sam deadpanned.
Peter stared at his feet below the table. If the team was right, and you did actually like him back, then the movie marathon he was planning was the perfect excuse to hang out with you. "I-i think I might have a plan!," he rushed out, his head flying up. He pointed to Sam. "Ask her if she's free tonight!"
"Yes!," Thor yelled, his fists pumped into the air. "The spider child has grown his man balls!"
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Sam nodded approvingly as he texted.
~~~
sci-fi: r u free tonight??😉
~~~
"Wait hold on," Peter said, suddenly rushing towards the phone in a frantic manner. "Why is there a winking emoji?! I didn't say anything about a winking emoji!"
Sam raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were flirti-"
Peter groaned. "Delete it, man. Delete it before her bitmoji pops up!"
"Okay okay, dang kid," Sam chuckled, quickly deleting the text and replacing it with one without a winking emoji. "There. And ya girl didn't even see it."
"Hey guys," Scott said. "I know we're all freaking out and stuff. But honestly, I'm just glad he wasn't watching porn." He shrugged. "So no matter what happens with this girl, today's still an absolute win."
It went on like this for a solid thirty minutes.
~~~
crackhead [y/n]: yeah wassup
sci-fi boi: wanna come over and watch movies?
crackhead [y/n]: sure what're we watching
sci-fi boi: we can decide that when u get here. how about 4??
crackhead [y/n]: alright sure
~~~
"Okay, last thing," Tony said. "We need a sly compliment. Something not that special about her, but enough to show her that you're tuned in. Gets them every time, trust me."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Wow, lady-killer."
Tony pointed towards her and shrugged. "She said it, not me."
Thor looked to Peter. "So, young spider. What have you observed about your darling love?"
Peter blushed, almost wanting to comment on the Thor's word choice but ultimately deciding not to. "Well, um, her eyes light up a lot when she gets excited and it's really dorky in a cute kind of way I guess," he mumbled, scratching his head.
"Alright I got it," Sam said, typing the words in. He lifted his shoulders into a shrug. "Who knows, kid? There be some hope for you."
~~~
sci-fi boi: btw how do you get ur eyes to sparkle so bright when u get happy about stuff? Just thinking about it lol its cute
~~~
-
Peter blew out a shaky breath as he looked back over the set-up he'd made in the living room.
He'd cleared out space to build a super huge homemade blanket fort and inside it at the end was his tv. Towards the middle were all of pillows he could find inside the house and at the other end were snacks. All around the inside were fairy lights because he knew you liked them, though personally he found them cliche.
He spent about an hour on the whole set and an additional thirty minutes stressing over and making sure everything was safe (with all three fairy lights and tv cords). The last thing he needed was for the both of you to catch on fire while watching the movie.
The two of you were going to be watching Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (or as normal 'not-nerds' like to call it, "the first one"). Of course, he hadn't told the team that. If they'd known what movie he'd planned on showing her, high chances are they wouldn't have even let him out of Avengers tower. But if Peter was gonna be forced to hang out with someone (not that he was really complaining), he would at least pick the film.
Finally checking all the boxes in his head for the night, Peter went to go check the DVD before he heard your knock at the door.
"Coming!," he yelled, quickly chucking the disc into the DVD player. He ran to the door and opened it with an awkward smile. "Uh, hey [Y/N]."
"Hey," you said back, already sort of blushing. "How's it going?"
Peter stared. Are your eyebrows done or are they just naturally that nice? He found his voice after abruptly noticing that he was staring. "Uh-well. It's been going great! How's it going for y-you also as well?" He frowned. "I-i mean, what's been going on with your life lately? No, that's dumb. I meant-"
"Peter, Peter! Calm down, dude," you giggled. "I've been fine."
"Oh," he chuckled. "That's good... d-do you wanna come in?"
"Question. What're we watching, Peter?," you asked, a smile playing on your face. Considering what you remembered from the last time you were at his house, and the fort you could get a peek of from the doorframe, you figured it was special for the nerdy boy. Plus his shirt had Yoda on it.
Freakin' Star Wars.
Immediately, a wide grin spread across his face. "Remember what you promised me we'd watch?"
You rolled your eyes, stepping past him into his living room. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Time to get nerdy I guess."
"Come on, you'll love it,"Peter said, quickly closing the door behind them and then briskly running towards the fort to hold up the side blankets for you. "So, snacks and drinks are beside us. We'll chill on these blankets here. And...um, yeah. That's about it." After stepping outside for a bit to go turn off the lights(for the full "movie theater" experience), Peter laid down on his belly, reaching for the DVD player to press play.
You watched as he fumbled with the wires, making sure the DVD player was plugged in before turning it on. Has your jawline always been that sharp?
You couldn't quite place it, but his texts from before seemed.. weird. But not a bad weird at all. A good, intriguing weird.
And that compliment was pretty nice, but odd for Peter. Sure, he complimented you often, but it just felt different this time. Usually it'd be something like, "new dress?" or "nice shoes". But never "you're eyes sparkle when you get excited." Heck, you didn't even know that about you. Was he paying attention? Did that mean he-
You remember how he acted about Liz Allen and Michelle Jones. Always staring. Never able to even say a full sentence in front of them without stuttering up a storm.
But he was so comfortable about you for the most part. You were just a friend.
"Okay got it," Peter said, laughing excitedly as the screen in front of him lit up. He scooted back to where you were sat. "Prepare to have your mind blown."
The Fort quickly became dark as the Lucasfilm logo shined on the screen.
"I seriously dou-"
"Shhh!," he cut you off. "Wait for it..."
You gave him a look but joined him in his silence to see what he was waiting for.
BUMMMMM buh buh bummmm
Practically jumping on top of him, you flinched at the loud and sudden music. "Crap dude! Turn it down!"
Peter shook his head, reaching for a soda. "You have to get the full effect, [Y/N]!," he laughed. "Just embrace it." He began to sing with the music and mime crazy gestures as if he were directing an orchestra.
Duh duh duh DUH DUHHHHHHHH
Halfway through he stopped and recited the opening crawl, his eyes glued to the screen with a sort of focus that made you sure that not only was this not foreign to him, he probably did this every other week.
"It is a period of civil war," he mumbled, throwing some popcorn into his mouth. "Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic- [Y/N] you have to watch the words, I swear it'll make the whole experience better." It went on for a little while longer until he paused the movie and looked over at you, cowering a bit. "D-do I have something on my face?"
"Huh? Nah you're good," you said, realizing he'd noticed you staring. "It's just-" you remembered his text from earlier. "-you got really excited... It-um..it was cute."
Because of the darkness(the only lighting being from the tv), you couldn't see if Peter blushed or not, but you could clearly see the stupid grin plastered on his face that he was trying to hide from you with his hand. Repeatedly licking his lips as a desperate attempt to stop smiling as he pressed play on the remote control. "A-ah, um, thanks [Y/N]."
The opening crawl was over and soon the movie actually began, showing a huge spaceship.
"That's the imperial star destroyer," Peter whispered, never taking his eyes off the screen. "They belong to the empire." He saw your blank expression, wide eyes as he realized that meant nothing to you. "Uh, the bad guys."
You squinted your eyes at the screen, silently judging the graphics of the energy blasts- space bullets?- or whatever they were supposed to be. "Pete, when was this movie made?"
"1977."
"Oh okay," you said, deciding to give it some leeway for the trash designs.
You scooted a little closer to your friend, figuring you'd get a little bit more comfortable.
Oh how he wished you hadn't done that.
Nothing like actual, physical contact with a girl that you like and you think she might like you back to actually manage to distract you from one of your favorite movies ever.
He froze, not wanting to pull away and offend you, but definitely not wanting to stay because just being this close to you was making his mind run wild.
Does she actually like me back? What if Mr. Stark and the team only said that to get me to make a fool of myself? She's too comfortable with me. She just sees me as a friend. Or maybe she likes me and she's just really chill about it? Ooh my gosh and she's leaning on me right now. What am I 'sposed to do?? I don't know I don't know I don't know!!!!!!!!!
Deciding for a quick compromise, he got up completely to reach for another soda, though his sprite was still half finished. When he sat back down, he wasn't as close. Hopefully, you'd just see it as natural human behaviour and not him wanting to be away from you.
Course you would see it that way, wouldn't you?
"Oh my gosh I recognize someone! That's R2D2, right?!" You pointed wildly, glad to not be completely clueless for once with this nerd crap.
"Yeah that's R2," Peter responded, letting out a secret sigh of relief, thankful for the distraction.
"A-and that's that gold dude!"
"Yeah, C-3PO."
"And oh crap that's Princess Leia!," you shouted. "Fucking feminist icon!"
Peter tilted his head. "Wait, how would you know that if you've never watched this?"
You laughed. "I still have access to the internet, doofus! Scroll down the nerdy feminist side of tumblr and Leia is literally everywhere."
Peter chuckled as he finally finished his sprite. "Okay. Valid."
Since that, you stopped talking for a bit. Part of you actually did figure that since you're here, you might as well actually try to enjoy the movie and maybe find out what the fans actually see in it that makes them like it so much. The other part just really didn't want to annoy Peter while he was watching his favorite movie series.
But sometimes you just have to say something.
"Hold up, wait. Isn't that his sister? Oh my God, Pete I swear somebody told me before that Leia was Luke's twin!"
Peter shrugged while nodding. "Well, that's a bit of a spoiler, but yeah. What about it?"
"Oh my gosh, Pete- what about it?! Dude, he's literally making 'fuck me' eyes at his own sister! He's all like, 'ooh you're so sexy I'm gonna bone you all over the galaxy'. That's freaky!"
You grabbed the remote and began to rewind it.
"C'mon now [Y/N]," he explained. "He didn't call her sexy. He said she was beautiful. Sexy is wayyy different from beautiful. You can think your family members are beautiful can't you?"
You paused it once you got to where you wanted.
"Okay Parker, look at that. Look at that and tell me Lukes's not totally undressing her with his eyes!" You pointed at Peter's face with a goofy smile on yours. "Oh wow, I've finally figured you people out now."
Peter's head cocked to the side. "Figured out what?"
"Star Wars nerds are a bunch of horny kids that like that step-sibling porn stuff but can't watch that in front of their parents so they have to use an alternative!"
Peter fell on his back with laughter, practically rolling around like a pig. "[Y/N], what?!"
You gave him an incredulous look. "Who else likes to see two siblings bang each other, Peter?!"
At that he pointed back at you while picking up his other soda. "To be fair, they never do that with each other. They only kiss, like twice and that's it. And one of them is only to make Han Solo mad."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about the Han Solo guy. Where is he anyway?"
Peter smiled. "Well, we're only twenty mintues in. He'll come soon."
To tell the truth, Peter really didn't even know what part you were at. His eyes were watching the screen but nothing was being comprehended. The only thing he could manage to think about was all the tiny things that were going on over on your side of the fort. Did you notice him staring? Was Tony right and you were just concerningly nice?
"I love how everybody at this bar is so chill south everything that's happening. It's like oh wow this guy just shot this green dude at table 8 and nope we totally don't care," you joked, pulling Peter out of his trance. He reminded himself that he should probably try to pay more attention. He didn't want to ruin the movie for you in case you had any questions.
But eventually, like all things do, the movie came to an end.
"So, how'd you like it?," Peter said while neither one of you made a move to leave the dark fort. You were laid out in practically a starfish-type position while he was sitting Indian-style.
You smirked. "I'll admit, it was pretty nice for a movie made in 1977. Still a bit lame though," you teased, pinching your fingers together with a giggle. Suddenly, you gasped. "Ooh, Vader was pretty lit though! Just straight force-choking people who disagree with you is such a power move."
Peter rolled his eyes and scoffed lightly. "Typical..."
"Excuse me?"
He bit back a quick smile. "Look, I'm not saying that Darth Vader isn't awesome. Because he is! Totally and completely but [Y/N], you do realize that in literally every movie we watch you like the villains?," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Because the villains are awesome!," you defended.
"Just saying. I'm sensing a bit of a pattern...," he teased.
You scoffed. "This coming from the guy who actually feels bad about some the people crashing into things when we're watching Ridiculousness," you said, reminding in how Peter was forever the relentless sap. "Well, while you're so busy judging me, whose your favorite character?"
At that, he gave a small sincere smile. "Ben. He's really cool."
"Ben Kenobi? The old guy that literally let himself die? But why?"
He shrugged, the small grin still present on his face. "Eh, sentimental reasons..."
He watched you return his sweet smile and it was then and there when Peter really felt content with the night. Though, you hadn't even known the weight his words carried, he did. Ned was the only other person who knew about it. But Peter knew right then and there that if you had asked, he'd tell you. And he knew you'd understand. Maybe you were just nice. Or maybe you did like him back. But in that moment, Peter didn't care. He just wanted to be here with you. Lost in the warm smell of popcorn and your vanilla perfume, watching a Star Wars movie with Uncle Ben surely smiling down from Heaven. And it gave Peter hope that maybe, just maybe, this was a step in the right direction.
2 hours (and five minutes) down. 22 hours (and forty seven mintues) to go...
---------------------------------------
Taglist: @underoosjae @spn-assemble-seven @of-your-eyes-begonia-skies @parkerpeter24 , @audreylovespidey706
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satonthelotuspier · 4 years
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I'm seeing prompts on your site and does that mean you are accepting them right now? I've never requested a prompt before and I don't know what to do? But if I'm doing it right I'd really like to see 13 for XueXiao from the bodyguard au prompt list? Fluffy or angsty, as you please. Am I doing this right?
OK so Im being obvious, but this contains XueXiao.
Modern Bodyguard AU so none of the complications of canon apply.
Now the disclaimers are out of the way, I have to apologise to the very patient @amaskinamirror bc this took so much longer to write than I expected. The reason being most of my prompt fics end up around the 1k-1.4k word mark and this kept going and kept going because there was a story there. It came in around the 4.5k work mark. Think of it as added value, unless you hate it in which case it’s not ;)
Pompts from this post here
Part 2 now available here
Xue Yang is the enfant terrible of the music world and his manager has pretty much had enough of his shitty behaviour. Features a thorny Xue Yang shaped by the worlds opinions of him, and a hardass yet caring Xiao Xingchen who maybe might just start to see beyond the lies.
Possible triggers/warnings: Also features swearing, man-handling, use of a date rape drug, minor injury and blood. Luckily XXC is there to save the day in all situations.
Xue Yang was woken up from a deep, no doubt alcohol-induced, sleep to the feeling of cold water being splashed in his face.
He shot upright coughing and spluttering and wiping water out of his eyes, trying to process what the hell had happened. The unconscious bodies around him all started to stir and groan back to lucidity.
Xue Yang followed the long line of the leg in front of him up to eventually meet a pair of dark eyes staring down at him without expression.
“What the fuck?” he demanded and tried to get up but someone he didn’t even remember the name of was laid across his legs.
It had been another party. One where they’d drunk hard and passed out before dawn some time; he didn’t know half the people here. That had never stopped him. Being the enfant terrible of the music industry took both time, effort and commitment.
The tall man bent down to extricate him, then yanked him to his feet.
“You have rehearsals in ninety minutes. Get showered, you smell like a brewery” a garment bag was pushed into his hands then he was waved in the direction of the hotel suite’s bathroom.
“Excuse me, but just who the fuck are you?” honestly his head felt a little woolly still from the after-effect of the alcohol he’d been drinking, but he was sure he didn’t know who this man was or what he was doing in his hotel suite.
“Your Fairy Godmother, Cinderella, now go get a shower, you’re wasting time”
Xue Yang grabbed hold of the collar of his jacket, “Don’t bullshit me”
The hand that clamped around his wrist was steel-like, “Your new security. Your manager sends his regards. I won’t tell you to go and shower again”
“Firstly, if you are security you are not my boss, so you can stop with the ordering me around like I’m your little bitch, secondly, you are my security? I’m sure if a duckling gets too close you’ll do a great job, otherwise…” he was going to push the other away, sure because of his willowy frame it would be easy. Quite how he ended up in an armlock and being dragged to the bathroom he didn’t know. He bit his tongue to stifle the cry of pain; no way would he utter the noise aloud. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he snarled as the other kept going into the bathroom.
“I’ve already explained. I’m not going to repeat myself” the man opened the shower door, pushed Xue Yang into the cubicle and pushed the on button.
Of course Xue Yang never learned his lesson; he launched himself at the other only to bounce off the cubicle door as the other shut it behind him, holding it closed.
“New world order, xiao-Xue, get used to being my little bitch” the other grinned as Xue Yang punched the glass then yelled at the pain in his hand, “Clean up, I don’t want to be forced to come in there and clean you up myself”
***
Xue Yang curled himself up as small as possible on the back seat of the car; he was in high sulk. After calling his manager to demand an explanation of what was going on Jin Guangyao had told him in no uncertain terms he’d better get used to the idea of Xiao Xingchen being around. His new security was not only there to provide for his personal safety after a spate of disturbing mail (more disturbing than the usual run of the mill threats at least), but to whip him into some kind of shape as Jin Guangyao was convinced his terrible behaviour, bad reputation and general personality was about to lose them some very large contracts.
Everyone loved a bad boy in theory, but when it began to affect his ability to make his management company money then they were definitely going to act to protect their asset.
And that had come in the form of Xiao Xingchen, who looked as gentle and fragile as an orchid but who had already handed Xue Yang his ass once today already.
“A-Qing, I need breakfast” Xue Yang whined at his assistant as his stomach rumbled for the fourth time.
“You shouldn’t have upset the new bodyguard then” she mocked him quietly, and he retreated even more, pulling the hood of his jacket up and wrapping his arms around his knees as A-Qing took pity on him and leaned forward to ask the driver to stop at a nearby coffee shop.
They did, and A-Qing and the driver returned with coffees for all and a bag full of muffins.
Lao-Xia, the driver, and A-Qing had been with Xue Yang long enough to not meet his gaze as they started on their own food; Xiao Xingchen had no such warning; he was too busy goggling at Xue Yang who had made his own muffin disappear like a magician with a rabbit.
“Are you going to eat that?” Xue Yang asked, pointing at the baked bun in Xiao Xingchen’s hand.
He simply offered it over; perhaps surprised at the demonstration of the speed at which a muffin could be demolished without trace.
The second one followed the first in quick order and Xue Yang froze as the other reached  over to brush the crumbs that had stuck to the corner of his mouth away with a thumb.
“You don’t want the Paparazzi to catch that” he said simply before turning in his seat to look out of the windscreen and sip at his coffee.
Xue Yang curled back in on himself and held his ridiculously sweet iced coffee to his chest.
“You eat too much sugar” Xiao Xingchen told him as Lao-Xia started the car and set off driving to the studio, “You need something to give you energy for the first meal of the day”
“Good luck with that, he functions on pure sugar and supplements” A-Qing mocked and Xue Yang shot her an annoyed look.
***
Xue Yang didn’t know why he was surprised the next morning when he was awoken by a solid shake to the shoulder.
He hadn’t been able to avoid the other to sneak off to party last night so he wasn’t hung over but that didn’t mean he was any more amenable to the idea of waking up.
“Come on Sleeping Beauty, you have to be at your first interview in an hour”
Interviews. His mortal enemy. The thing he hated most in the world. And he was still no better at dealing with them than he had been as a fresh face on the music scene, where the press had crucified him, thrown every painful fact of his past in his face and then painted him as a troubled bad boy with a temper; a role he’d eventually just given up fighting against and embraced.
He threw the blankets over his head; maybe if he just went back to sleep the interview would disappear.
The blankets were thrown back.
“Dude, what the fuck?” he demanded, was he allowed no privacy at all anymore?
“Get up” Xiao Xingchen jerked his head towards the bathroom.
“Fuck off. I’m not going” he reached out to push the other away.
It went about as well as yesterday had for him; he ended up face down on the bed with his arm locked up between his shoulder blades.
“Are you going to learn any time soon? I mean, kudos for persistence but lose points for stupidity. Now, last chance to get up on your own, otherwise I’ll throw you over my shoulder and you can go dressed like that”
Xue Yang wasn’t sure he believed the other was strong enough to actually carry him out of the hotel room, but he daren’t take the chance he might be dragged out kicking and screaming and dressed in his ratty old t-shirt and shorts.
“Fine, yes, I’m getting up. Let me go, please” as a street child he’d learned to beg prettily and it wasn’t a skill he was averse to using if he needed to, to survive. It didn’t need to be sincere, it just needed to sound it, to be calculated to pull on the other’s heart strings.
It didn’t seem to affect Xiao Xingchen, but he was released nonetheless.
***
Xue Yang of course arrived on time for his first interview, (there were three in total scheduled for today), as far as they went it wasn’t particularly gruelling for him, but he was fully aware he was a mess by the end of it; he’d probably come across like he was on drugs, but it wasn’t like that would be the first, second or third time the rumour would circulate in relation to him.
He knew Xiao Xingchen eyed him in consideration, but he ignored it; he didn’t have the presence of mind to survive the next two interviews and worry about what his new security agent was judging him for today.
He was much worse by the end of the second; he had been left alone a sitting room of the hotel the interview’s had been arranged at and he lowered his head into his hands, trying to even out his breathing and calm himself. His professionalism would be questioned even further if he failed to complete the last interview, or screwed up during it.
He felt the couch dip next to him, “Here” he looked up, poison on his tongue ready to be spit at Xiao Xingchen when he realised the other held out one of those large chocolate chip cookies in a napkin. There was also iced coffee sat on the table in front of him.
“Just relax, empty your head, and focus on the cookie” Xiao Xingchen informed him; raising an eyebrow as Xue Yang didn’t immediately accept the confectionery from him.
He took it with tentative thanks; and it vanished almost immediately once he’d decided to accept the gesture. Once he’d gotten the sugary coffee inside him too he felt much better.
***
Despite his trash reputation he wasn’t late for a single appointment over the next weeks; Jin Guangyao assured him it was perfectly alright to project the rebel for the masses but when you played the brat with the people in the business you’d soon be blacklisted; a risk he wasn’t willing to take with Xue Yang.
Xue Yang hadn’t managed to get near alcohol or a party in that time due to Xiao Xingchen’s hawk eyes and iron control.
Since the second morning though instead of being woken up with a bucket of water to the face or bickering the other had started showing up with a sweet pastry and a staggeringly sugary iced coffee which he traded off for Xue Yang eating better at other mealtimes.
Overall it didn’t seem Xue Yang had a moment of time where the other wasn’t somewhere close, controlling everything, keeping a watchful eye out.
And it bothered Xue Yang; he didn’t get used to the feeling of Xiao Xingchen being there like he’d been assured he would. He was still hyper aware of him, and he didn’t necessarily think it was because he was intimidated, despite the fact they’d had a few more altercations, none of which ended well for Xue Yang.
***
He tried to ditch his new security for his monthly visit to the orphanage his charity had built and ran; the less people who knew about it the better. Of course he couldn’t shake the other off so he had to attend followed by Xiao Xingchen, and explain to the children who the tall ge was. He was a great hit with them, and although Xue Yang pretended to be annoyed at Xiao Xingchen getting all the attention that the youngsters usually showered on him secretly he was entertained as he watched the other romp with the rough kids, or play softly with the quieter ones.
“This is the first time you’ve brought a bodyguard” he turned slightly at the sound of Tian Ying, the matron of the orphanage and the woman who’d helped bring him up in a similar institution when he had been a boy had come up beside him. “Are you in danger, xiao-Xue?”
“Of course not” he didn’t consider the crazy mail Jin Guangyao was filtering from him any more of a threat than any of the other mail he’d received in the last few years, and he definitely didn’t want her to worry about him, “They just decided I needed someone to carry my bags for me”
He didn’t have time to say much more as he was dragged into an impromptu game of football in the yard, where he and Xiao Xingchen were on opposite teams.
They played around half-heartedly until a Xiao Xingchen who was grace incarnate except apparently on a football pitch, stuck his foot out and took Xue Yang’s feet from under him and he tumbled. The fall itself wasn’t bad but he was a little grazed as they played on the yard and not grass.
Xiao Xingchen was unusually all apologies and personally saw to tending the grazes Xue Yang’s tumble had caused, despite his assurances he was absolutely fine. The touch of the other still made his pulse flutter in some odd emotion and the way Xiao Xingchen kept glancing up at him, like he’d discovered a rare and new species, was disconcerting. And pissed him off, because he could guess what it was about.
“Just don’t” he said through his teeth so no one around them could hear.
“Don’t what? Congratulate you on what you’ve built here? On what you’re doing for these kids?”
“Yes, don’t. I don’t want to hear it” he sucked a breath in at the sting of the antiseptic where Xiao Xingchen applied it to his grazes.
“Alright, whatever you want” Xiao Xingchen let it drop but he still looked at Xue Yang with something approaching admiration in his eyes.
And it was addictive, to have someone look at him like that, and not like he was trash. But then it had never bothered him before. Was it purely because it was Xiao Xingchen and he wanted to be more than trash in that man’s eyes?
“I guess you read too many gossip rags” Xue Yang sniped, “I’m not on drugs, in any weird cults, or a complete slut either”
Instead of bullshitting him and denying he’d thought anything of the kind Xiao Xingchen agreed instead, “I’m beginning to see that. Of course that doesn’t mean you don’t have a vile temper, that you don’t ever learn your lessons, or that you don’t sulk like a baby when I tell you no”
He was about to make one of his usual responses when the game of football moved closer and he clamped his lips closed on the curse.
There was a knowing, teasing look in the other’s eyes and as Xue Yang looked down into that finely-boned face he realised why the other’s good opinion had meant so much to him; why he was on tenterhooks whenever Xiao Xingchen was near, which was all the time at the moment, and why his pulse fluttered like his veins were full of butterflies whenever the other touched him. He was in love with Xiao Xingchen.
Well fuck.
***
Xue Yang paced around his hotel bedroom, feeling like a caged tiger. He wanted to destroy something. No, he really wanted a stiff drink.
Was he a masochist? What had made him fall in love with a man who knocked him around for fun? No of course that was unfair, Xiao Xingchen only ever restrained him and only when Xue Yang attacked first. Still, it must definitely be masochism.
Or Stockholm Syndrome; he had been at the mercy of the other, a virtual prisoner, for weeks now.
“I need a drink” he exclaimed aloud; and so he formulated a plan.
He took a quick shower and changed into something black and sexy and flashy, then he he called reception and asked for a taxi cab, and that they ring up to let him know when it had arrived.
He waited by his bedroom door, peeping through the tiniest opening for the phone to ring back; and as Xiao Xingchen got up from the couch to answer it he dashed out and past as silently as possible to give himself as much of a head-start as he could manage.
The doors of the elevator were closing just as he saw Xiao Xingchen enter the hallway and yell at him in rage.
He was in the taxi and away; his freedom all the sweeter for being carefully wrought.
***
Xue Yang was beginning to feel pleasantly buzzed and he was chatting quite happily with the guy who stood next to him at the bar of the VIP lounge. He’d been greeted by the usual crowd who hadn’t seen him around for the weeks he’d been kept prisoner, (OK maybe that was a little dramatic), but he’d never seen this guy before and new people were interesting.
Although he was beginning to get uncomfortable at how the other stared at him intently after he’d finished his drink.
He excused himself to “visit the bathroom” when life finally caught up with him. Life of course being Xiao Xingchen.
He pushed Xue Yang up against the wall of the corridor to the bathrooms, which was surprisingly currently empty.
“Hey” Xue Yang protested, although with alcohol relaxing his muscles it hadn’t really hurt as he hadn’t tensed for impact. Actually being pinned against the wall by the man you’d fallen in love with was quite nice. He had zero experience, bar some awkward kisses with a girl who’d known as little as him when he was younger, but apparently being manhandled was beginning to be something he enjoyed. Maybe because it was Xiao Xingchen though.
“I’d advise you to keep really quiet, I’m this close to spanking the living hell out of you” and really he’d never seen Xiao Xingchen’s deceptively delicate face so twisted in anger.
But of course alcohol impaired one’s judgement; to dangerous levels sometimes.
“Is that what you like?” he asked.
“What?” Xiao Xingchen was confused, his hand tightened on Xue Yang’s collar as if he suspected the other was planning something.
“Spanking, do you get off on it?”
“You really have no fucking self-preservation instincts do you?” Xiao Xingchen demanded and if Xue Yang hadn’t been so muddled due to the reaction of his body to the other, and the alcohol humming through his bloodstream he might have realised how much trouble he was in; he had never heard the other curse before in all their weeks together.
Instead he gave in to the urge pounding at the base of his brain, unable to control it anymore. He threw his arms around Xiao Xingchen’s neck and kissed him.
Well, it was clumsy and unskilled, but it probably still counted as a kiss.
He was pushed back against the wall unceremoniously, “What do you think you’re doing? You are my client. You are drunk. You are so out of line right now”
Of course he hadn’t really expected a different response. He somehow managed to pull himself free and stumbled back out into the VIP lounge.
Actually he seemed to be more drunk than he’d realised. He was suddenly barely able to control his body and he felt like his head was full of cotton wool. A hand touched his back, “Oh, you look terrible. Do you need to lie down? Should we get you out of here?” he was vaguely aware the voice wasn’t Xiao Xingchen’s, it belonged to the guy he’d been talking to at the bar, as he was guided towards the door but he really did need to lie down right now. He was about to nod his agreement when the supporting hand was violently removed.
“What the fuck did you give him?” that was Xiao Xingchen, although he couldn’t work out what the question meant. He felt the iron-grip of his security’s hand and he was pulled close to the other; he recognised the familiar scent of his aftershave and it set his mind at rest.
***
It had been days since the nightclub incident; and he’d managed to act completely clueless about the entire evening. In honesty there were huge swathes of Xue Yang’s memory that were completely blank, but he was cursed with vague recollection of him kissing Xiao Xingchen.
He wanted to die from embarrassment. He wanted to mope around at the rejection. He had to pretend like he was completely clueless about everything that happened though and let the other just write it off as a side effect of the Flunitrazepam the random guy at the nightclub had put in his drink.
He had been in touch with Jin Guangyao and begged the other to find him new security. He couldn’t carry on being around Xiao Xingchen all the time, feeling like he did, and scared to death he’d do something stupid to reveal his feelings in a way that couldn’t be pretended away like that stupid kiss.
He had faithfully promised he’d keep up the good behaviour Xiao Xingchen had bullied into him so long as Jin Guangyao replaced him with someone who wouldn’t cause Xue Yang such pain to have close.
His manager had promised to at least look into it.
Xue Yang didn’t realise he’d been wool-gathering in his head and managed to separate slightly from Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing until he saw a face in the crowd that made him uncomfortable.
He didn’t recognise the man but the fear that skittered down his spine was very real; he turned to try and get closer to Xiao Xingchen who called his name and dashed over; the flash he caught from the corner of his eye had him raising his arm in self-protection. He was dragged out of the way and thrown to the floor, catching nothing but a glancing blow as Xiao Xingchen took out the threat.
It was all very chaotic after that as the crowd helped keep the attacker captive until the police could arrive, and ambulance was also called as both he and Xiao Xingchen had taken knife wounds.
His was a cut to the arm that didn’t particularly bother him, it was the wound on Xiao Xingchen’s side that scared the life out of him. He used his folded jacket to keep pressure on the injury.
A-Qing fluttered around trying to get him to let someone else take over so they could do the same for his arm but he just waved her off; it was nothing.
“You really have no fucking self-preservation instincts” Xiao Xingchen told him in annoyance; luckily he seemed fully conscious at the moment.
“I know. I‘m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll be better from now on” he felt close to tears but fought them back brutally.
Xiao Xingchen nodded at what he said and looked into his eyes, “At least you’ll get your new bodyguard now, silver linings right?” he reached out with his left hand to thumb away one of the tears that Xue Yang hadn’t realised had escaped.
Fucking Jin Guangyao and his stupid big mouth.
“It’s for the best, xiao-Xue, in light of everything”
Which meant Xiao Xingchen was aware of his feelings and agreed the best way to deal with it was to move on. Well there went his dignity.
“You’re too precious for this cruel world in the limelight, anyway” Xue Yang tried to mock, his voice a little strangled.
“Which of us do you mean?” Xiao Xingchen asked and it was both an arrow to his heart and salve to his ego to hear such an opinion from the other.
He was glad when the paramedics had arrived and he was shuffled away to have his own wound dealt with so he could save some face. If the paramedic thought the tears were a reaction to the pain or shock of being attacked then good.
They were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. Xue Yang’s cut needed a few stitches so he was ready to be sent away reasonably quickly, but he stayed in the waiting room until A-Qing came back to report Xiao Xingchen was fine, he’d be kept in for a few days as his would was deeper and nastier but he was stable and in no danger.
“Aren’t you going to visit before we go?” she asked, but he shook his head. And honestly she was smart enough that she probably knew what was going on and why he didn’t want to impose on the other. “Alright, lets get you back to the hotel. I think Jin Guangyao will be waiting, unfortunately, I can’t do anything to put him off this time”
Xue Yang sighed and accepted his fate.
One Month Later
The stage lights faded for the last time and he was finally able to slip offstage. He was lathered with sweat and completely exhausted. Xue Yang’s knife wound hadn’t been particularly deep or damaging but it was surprising how much it had knocked him down. He still tired out so much more easily than he was used to, but he hadn’t wanted to put this concert off, preferring to get it out of the way so he could take a holiday for a couple of weeks and use it to think about the next steps in his career, and indeed life, with nothing hanging over his head.
The man who had attacked them had been the same who had drugged his drink in the nightclub, although due to the effects Xue Yang couldn’t identify him; it had been lucky his subconscious had reacted to the man though, or it could have been so much worse.
He accepted the towel A-Qing held out for him as he met his entourage in the back stage passages and dried off, pulling on the coat she had also brought him.
There was an oddly smug look on her face and he questioned her.
“Nothing, just something funny is all” she refused to be drawn on what caused her to smile so.
They made it back to the dressing rooms and he was bundled inside.
He wondered, uncharitably, if she was on drugs.
“No rush, your car won’t be here for quite some time yet” A-Qing told him as she shut the door behind him and he turned to find his street clothes. Except he wasn’t alone.
Oh.
Suddenly he daren’t move from the doorway, not sure whether to tear it open and flee or move into the room and act like he wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
In the end he compromised, did nothing and stayed exactly where he was.
“Why are you here?” he tried to keep his voice steady, and luckily it didn’t shake too much.
“Why do you think?” Xiao Xingchen asked him.
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005 and 014 felt like Flesh to you? Could you explain that a bit more? (I'm divided between Flesh and Spiral for 'Piecemeal', but I'd never had any idea what 'Thrown Away' might be.)
Okay firstly, it was confirmed in today’s QnA that Thrown Away was a very early idea of Hans and the Flesh. So keep part of that in mind once I go full explanation. Secondly, even when I say this, it’s not FULL Flesh because there’s other factors working there as well. 
That Being Said.
Piecemeal has ALWAYS been very fleshy with me. The second closest one to me could be slaughter, but 1) slaughter is always associated with music or war in some way or another. 2) Not violent enough. The pieces just came off, and not in a bloody fashion. Also the line “Some hungers are too strong to be denied’” is very very fleshy to me. 
What connects Piecemeal to Thrown Away has been pieces of another. 
Thrown Away had four trash bags. 1) Doll heads, 2) the one long string of the lord’s prayer with pieces of is burnt, 3) the bag full of teeth, and 4) the final iron heart. 
Now, keep in mind, this is a VERY early version of the Flesh before Jonny learned more into the meat angle of things. So, instead of meat, the flesh was more about pieces of the self. 
So in this case, the doll heads were pieces of the head aka one piece of the doll and the teeth were the same exact tooth, rotting a bit because while they were the same tooth, I don’t think they were from the same person. The heart is just as much of threat as a sign that a piece of the guy was thrown away into the trash as well. 
Now, the second trash bag is the most interesting to me and the one that makes the statement feels the most fleshy. 
“Of this Eustace Wick’s smile, if it were even possible, got wider and he said that we had all the food we needed. He stared into the fire and began to mutter something. It sounded like a prayer. I think he was in his own demented way saying grace.I remember the words exactly. He locked eyes with Benjamin and said, ‘Come, meat. Be my guest. And let thy gifts to me be blessed.’” - MAG 058, Trail Rations
And
“The prayer apparently spoken by Mr. Wick is a perversion of the old Lutheran grace: ‘Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let thy gifts to us be blessed’.” -MAG 058, Trail Rations
Compared to
“Inside was paper, as I expected. It seemed to be a single strip of thick white writing paper, maybe an inch wide. The paper was long, so longthat it seemed like the whole bag was filled solely with this one piece of it, wrapped and curled and crumpled to fit inside. There was writing on it in another language, I think Latin. Matt, who was raised Catholic and never shut up about it, said he recognised it and claimed that it was the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, written over and over again.” -MAG 05, Thrown Away
And lets not forget the cannibal priest which the entire thing could be Flesh messing with religion mixed with the Spiral and Web. 
The Flesh has always been associated with the act of eating, but also prayers. Like prayers before meals and such. At the very least, the distortion of religion for use of meals is very much a Flesh thing. 
ALL THIS BEING SAID, all these things are small and can be considered for other powers. For the longest time, I thought Thrown Away was the Stranger with a side of Beholding. The guy’s need to find the truth of what happened with the bags still feels like a Beholding tendency, and the pieces within the bags seems to be affected by other powers. Like the doll heads idk what happened to them, but the long strip of paper seems to have been attacked by the Desolation while the teeth could have either a) been there long enough to rot or b) been partially attacked by the Corruption as well. Who’s to say? 
Either way, Thrown Away is a weird statement because a lot of the ideas in it weren’t exactly fully realized or at the very least, were shown in other ways, so it ends up being a bit of a black sheep within the universe. I still like it, and I adore the mundane trash men no matter what, but I will always laugh at the fact that this statement made me realize that the flesh has a thing about wrapping things like gifts or presents.
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