#I just need to get the basketball scenes done and then we’re good
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Literally my job is so boring that all I do is think abt stuff for my sim stories but it’s also so tiring that when I get home I have like no energy to work on anything
#I think when I get home imma run batch fixes on my cc so my sliders work again#I think s4s updated to that??#then I’m gonna work on Garcia stuff I’m gonna do it#even if I’m tired#I just need to get the basketball scenes done and then we’re good#then I’m good it’s just so many sims to pose#but once that’s done everything else is fun and I’m looking forward to it#hopefully I can have garcias return next week#plus werewolves gameplay but that honestly is so easy lmao#anyway I have lots of stuff planned it’s just doing that tricky#kk thoughts
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Oh For a Muse of Fire! Part 1
Yeah...I know I said I would be taking a step back but then my muse went “Brrrrr!” and wouldn’t let me up until I had over 6k words and several more scenes I wanted to do, including the end.
Art student!Steve and Live Model! Eddie AU. Enemies to lovers. Eddie is a straight up ass in the first few chapters of this.
*
Steve was in the library looking at his schedule with Robin.
“It’s my last semester, Robs,” he said squinting at the computer screen. “And then I can graduate.”
Robin sighed. “I still have a year to go, you are so lucky.”
Steve was looking at the remaining credits he needed to graduate with art teaching degree and was shocked to find that he only needed one class.
“Shit.”
She leaned over his shoulder to look at the computer, too.
“Shit,” she echoed.
“Live figure drawing,” Steve muttered with an air finality. “The class I failed three times.”
“Mhmm,” Robin agreed. “Once a year.”
He banged his head on the desk. “I hate that class. And it’s always awful. There was the creepy old man that kept hitting on me the whole time.” He had been forced to drop the class. He had been reimbursed for it, but because it happened just after the midterm, insta-fail. “Then there was poor heavy-set girl. The constant sniggering and jeering made me ill and when the professor refused to anything about it...” he shook his head.
“Yeah, that was the worst,” Robin whispered. “But at least that incident got that professor fired.”
Steve nodded. That had been the only good thing that had come out of that class. But getting him fired made for another insta-fail. He tried to protest that one, but the Dean refused to budge.
“The last time was all you, though,” she said, pushing at his shoulder.
Steve cleared his throat and hung his head. Because, yeah that one was on him.
The new professor brought in an extremely fit basketball player. Steve had spent very little time drawing and a lot of time trying not to stare. So when he turned in his final with a blurry face and nothing drawn in the middle, he had failed the class again.
Robin pointed at the screen. “It’s a different teacher again this year.”
Steve lifted his head to look at what she was pointing at. J. Byers.
“Shit,” he murmured. “You don’t think that’s like Joyce Byers, do you?”
Steve had done a lot of babysitting and holding down two jobs to pay for school out his own pocket because his dad wasn’t willing to pay for what amounted to an art degree. He would work at Family Video while the kids were in school and then work at the plant at nights on weekends.
Will Byers was one of those he babysat. The kid had an older brother. But he had been working full time to keep the lights on while their mom got a master’s degree.
Robin’s mouth worked but no sound came out.
“I think this got even more awkward,” Steve murmured.
Robin just patted his shoulder in sympathy.
*
Steve was in hell. That was the only explanation for all of this. It had been Joyce Byers and he had to get the Dean to sign off him being in her class because she might be accused of favoritism. In fact if it hadn’t been the only class Steve needed to graduate he was pretty sure the Dean wouldn’t have allowed it.
Which was fine. Awkward, but fine. Nope. The part that made it hell was who was currently sitting on a stool in the middle of the classroom, (completely dressed, thank god!) was Eddie Munson.
The so-called Freak of Hawkins High. Or as Steve called him in his head “Steve Harrington’s biggest gay crush.” So yeah. All that work to get special permission to take the class and he was going to fail anyway.
Joyce stepped up to stand next to Eddie. “Hello, I’m Mrs Byers. Or Joyce, whichever make you more comfortable. Because that’s the point of this class. You being comfortable. I know this not ideal for a lot people. Especially young people like yourselves. So we’re going to start off slow. Working on different parts of the body and then for your final it will the complete nude form.”
Steve let out a shuddering breath. He wasn’t the only one, thank god, but if Eddie had stripped then and there, Steve would have fainted.
“This will be your live model this semester,” she continued, indicating to Eddie on the stool. “Why don’t you introduce yourself?”
Eddie grinned, his dimples making themselves known. “Hi! I’m Eddie. I was looking for a way to make easy money between gigs with my band. I have tattoos, but Joyce here has assured me that that won’t be problem for you sweethearts as this is an advanced art class.”
Steve gulped. It wasn’t going to be a problem art-wise. But libido-wise? He was in so much trouble.
After class he stopped to talk to Joyce.
“Hey, Mrs Byers,” he greeted with barely the hint of a stammer. “How’s Will?”
Joyce hugged him. “It’s so good to see you, honey. Will is doing great. He’s navigating school better now that we’re back in Illinois.”
Steve nodded. They had briefly gone out to California so that she could get some special accreditation or something like that.
“Tell him I miss him,” he said.
Joyce smiled. “Of course, sweetie.” She gave his hand a squeeze and said she had to get back to work.
Steve nodded again and walked out the door.
“Well, well, well,” Eddie said. “If it isn’t the former king of Hawkins High. I thought I saw you lurking in the back.”
Steve closed his eyes and turned slowly. There he was, leaning against the wall, one leg propped against, while the other stretched out in front of him. His arms were crossed, and his hair dangled in front of his bowed head. Steve itched to draw him oh so badly.
“Munson,” he said trying to keep the tremor from his voice.
Eddie lifted his head. “So you do remember me, should I feel honored?”
Steve let out a heavy sigh. “You do what you want, you always have.”
“I heard you got special permission for this class,” Eddie sneered. “You convince the Dean to take the class for a lookie-Lou? Sorry to disappoint, Harrington. Not some hot chick you can leer at for fifteen weeks.”
Steve’s head rocked back in shock. “Fuck you, man. For starters I got special permission because being the former babysitter for teacher is a bad look for both of us. For another, this is my last class I need for my art degree.”
Eddie raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Daddy let you take art? Must really not need the dough.”
Steve balled his hands to prevent the rage from tumbling out. “No. I worked hard to get where I am. And for the record...they never have hot women. Not if they don’t want to get sued for harassment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to work because not all of us can take our clothes off and be paid.”
He stormed off, tears streaming down his face.
*
Eddie watched him go with a slow lick of his lips. That went differently then he expected. He didn’t think Harrington would cop to admitting that he was there to leer, but his lie about art school? That was a new low.
And babysitting? No parent in their right mind would leave Steve “the Hair” Harrington in charge of their kids. Lie number two.
And then trying to get out of talking to him by saying he had work? Harrington lived in Loch Nora. The richest part of town. He didn’t have to work a day in his life. Lie number three.
And what was that about not being able to take off his clothes and get paid? It didn’t sound right to his ears. It was like he wasn’t dogging the modeling gig but that he couldn’t.
Which anyone who had eyes knew that was bullshit.
Joyce came out and saw him still standing there. “Thank you again for doing this, Eddie.”
“You’re welcome, Joyce,” he said with a charming smile. “I don’t mind. I’m sorry your other model bailed on you last minute though.”
Joyce sighed. “She got a bar tending job that starts on tonight and I’d really prefer not to have my models fall asleep in the middle of posing.”
“Chrissy’s good girl,” Eddie said. “I’m actually glad she got the job at the bar. Some of the guys in the class looked pretty slimy.”
Joyce sighed. “It happens every time. They take just enough art classes in order to get in and then are disappointed when it’s not some pretty girl.”
Eddie nodded, thinking of Steve Harrington.
“And this school has had a problem with a couple of the last models they had,” Joyce murmured. “If another incident occurs, the class will be dropped all together and I’ll be out of job.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” he said, with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder.
Joyce looked up at him with a smile. “You’re so sweet, Eddie. I’m glad Will found someone like you to look up to.”
Eddie blushed, shoving his hair in his mouth. “I like the kid. He’ll do just fine.”
Joyce nodded. “See you tomorrow.” She waved goodbye and walked away.
*
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Epilogue
Just tagging a few of my regulars, but if you want to be tagged let me know in the comments. Thanks!
Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369
#My writing#stranger things#steddie#art school au#gay steve harrington#bisexual eddie munson#ladykailtiha writes
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what comes after the fall.
Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Summary: you’re on the Hawkins high cheer team and they let you down, literally.
content warnings: small amounts of bullying, a couple swears, not much else, a kiss. Not proofread so also sorry for that.
A/N: I have not written anything in years so I’m sorry if it’s wonky as all hell but I saw the prompt from @willowsgrl and felt like I wanted to try. So here we are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, March 21
7:25am
It’s a cold spring morning, the last day before spring break begins and last practice for what is meant to be the most intense cheer routine of the season, slowly coming to a close. You and the rest of the team slowly make your way from the field to the school building, chatting amongst each other about everyone’s plans for after tonights big game. It was mostly innocent conversation, but your ears perked up at the mention of The Big Prank.
As per Hawkins High tradition, the basketball and cheer teams would work together to pull off some sort of prank before break, usually nothing too harmful or extreme. Something like covering the principles’ car with sticky notes. This time however, you were nervous. While normally it was done in the spirit of fun, this year there was talk about a very specific target. Eddie Munson.
You knew Eddie, you two had been quite friendly in your younger years, but him being 2 grades ahead of you back then he got new hobbies, made new friends, and so did you. That left you to drift, naturally.
“Patrick sits behind him in math, I heard Jason tell him to snip the freaks hair.” Two of the girls from the team snickered, your head turning to keep listening as you walked.
“But we also know where he sits during lunch. There���s paint and feathers in the art room. And everyone would get to see the look on his face.”
This was not what you signed up for when you joined the team, and usually there wasn’t as much petty behaviour as one might expect. But when it came to Eddie and his friends, now including the erratic yet sweet kid Dustin you used to babysit for the gloves came off. It hurt your heart but you felt stuck.
“What do you think, (Y/N)?” You felt a small nudge on your shoulder, giving your a head an undetectably small shake.
“Err- I don’t know guys. That seems a little extreme.” You were met with raised eyebrows and scoffs.
“It’s Munson, what do you care?”
You rolled your eyes. Oh that lovely social tier. “I just don’t think it’s worth being benched for the game over it.”
“Oh please, the teachers here won’t do anything.”
You fell silent once again knowing you weren’t going to change their minds. The other girls continued amongst themselves as you bit your lip nervously. Class was going to begin any minute, and you needed to find Eddie.
6:10 pm
The game had begun and half of your team was giving you shit while the others came to your defence, trying not to make too big of a scene as the game continued behind you.
“We’re supposed to be a team, why’d you rat us out? To the freak of all people!”
You winced, not used to being on the receiving end of your teammates wrath. You were about to respond before another girl came to your defence.
“Hey, we don’t even know if she told him anything. And we really could have been benched. Did you really want to waste months of practice?”
“Of course she told, you think Munson just vanished into thin air today by chance?”
“Okay that’s enough,” the team captain barked at the lot of you. “It’s really not the time for this, so get your shit together and work as a team.”
Nodding and apologizing you waited patiently for halftime. As the clock ticked by both teams had accumulated a fair share of points, and it was looking like your school could finally pull a victory.
With big smiles and energy you and your team skipped onto the floor, pompoms shaking while your captain led you all into the routine. So far so good, as you now towered in the air, 3 girls held your right leg while you slowly brought up your left holding it above your head and posed as the crowd applauded and cheered with the buzzing energy in the room. You got ready to dismount, spinning and falling back, expecting fingers to lock around your frame and let you down easily but what came was limp hands and the hard floor.
Gasps could be heard from all angles of the room, most people shocked into stillness as you struggled to receive air into your lungs. It came back with a sharp inhale as one of the girls smirked at you.
Tears of shock sprung to your eyes as you felt every pair of eyes on you and you struggled to stand, some of the other girls trying to help.
Lucas came running over worried, having known you through Dustin and having spent lots of time all together. “(Y/N), are you okay!?”
Your lip was still trembling as you looked between your team and Lucas. “Please get me out of here.” Lucas then wove his arm under your own and helped you scuffle off the gym floor, you waving off the rest of your concerned team. This wasn’t a conversation you wanted to have here.
You heard Lucas curtly call out to his team letting them know he would be back, but you were getting distracted by the pain radiating out of your hip and side. It didn’t feel like anything broke, but it was terrible.
Shuffling down the hallways wordlessly, Lucas brought you to the Hellfire room to find Dustin. As you entered the room more eyes filled with surprise turned to bore into you and you groan.
“What the fuck happened?” both Dustin and Eddie ask as they take in your slumped over figure still attached to Lucas.
“Cheer accident, don’t want to talk about it right now” you answer shortly, trying to wave off the concern. Eddie frowned and furrowed his brows as he waltzed over to you, looking you over for any signs of serious injury as Dustin quickly asked question after question, you ignoring most of them.
“Do you need someone to call an ambulance, or I can drive you to the hospital?” Eddie asked you, surprisingly gentle.
“No no, it’s not that serious. I uh- just needed to not be the laughing stock back there. I could use an ice pack though.”
Eddie snapped his ring clad fingers in Dustin’s direction motioning for Mike as well. “Dipshits, go find an ice pack. Cafeteria freezer should have some. Chop chop.”
Lucas then noticed his sister Erica, was at the table, leaving him slightly jealous. A part of him wished he had come to Eddie’s game tonight. He glanced back to the door, and you slowly released yourself from his support and thanked him before you relived him of his duty and sent him back to the basketball game.
Eddie took over Lucas’ position and wrapped his arm around your shoulders softly. “Are you sure you’re alright, sweetness?”
You nod, giving your old fiend a small smile and slight blush. “Can I- can I just stay here for now?”
Eddie gives you a bright smile, gently leading you towards his throne. He takes a seat and slowly lowers you down to his lap. You wince briefly causing Eddie to apologize but you soon melt into the comfort of his arm gently fastened around your middle. You think to yourself that this is where you really belong.
Dustin and Mike finally return with the ice, and you hold it to your sore body, as Eddie starts to continue on with his campaign. You sit there in his lap comfortably, him stroking your sides with his fingers gently and giving your cheek brief kisses every now and then. Even during the most exciting turn of events he keeps still enough to not hurt you.
8:13 pm
Both the basketball game and Eddie’s campaign came to a close and he helps you out to his van, friends not far behind. He swings open the back doors and takes a seat, you leaning in between his legs, your back pressed to his chest as he wraps his arms around you once again as you all chat. You eventually explain in more detail what happened and why, causing Eddie to tighten his hold on you slightly, a guilty frown on his face.
You give him a small kiss on the cheek letting him know it was alright. “I couldn’t let your beautiful beautiful hair get butchered, now could I?”
He rolled his brown eyes at you but gave you an appreciative squeeze.
“(Y/N)? There you are! We’ve been looking for you, are you okay?” Most of your team was walking up to where you were stood with Eddie and the others, concern etched on their faces.
“Yeah she’s fine, no thanks to you, butterfingers.” Eddie snapped. You gave him a small swat with your fingers but stifled a laugh.
“Look I don’t really want to talk about it right now guys, we can catch up after spring break” you offered, not really sure what you were going to do going forward.
“Or never.” Eddie muttered over your shoulder. You gave him another small swat before your team turned to leave.
Dustin, Mike and Erica were first to leave, followed by Gareth and Jeff, leaving you and Eddie alone.
Eddie sighed and loosened his arms from around you. “I suppose I should get you home m’lady.”
“Mm maybe just a few more minutes.” You turned and gave him a quick peck on his lips. Eddie’s big brown doe eyes lit up and you blushed and looked away as he held you once again.
Yeah, just a few more minutes.
#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson fluff#eddie munson x female reader#eddie munson x you#stranger things x y/n#stranger things fanfiction#eddie munson
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me, starting wg3: okay, let’s see how user evansbby proves that i shouldn’t be team steve! let’s see how we get a CRUMB of potential for team ari—
also me, reading the basketball scene: oh 😶 that’s not—
again, me, reading steve’s room scene: GIRL‼️RUN‼️‼️
me, reading ari at the end: you should’ve got hit with the basketball you 🤬🖕🏼🤜🏼💥💀��
ok, but in all seriousness, YOU‼️DID‼️THAT‼️‼️ omg i know for SURE you gagged all the team steve girlies 💅🏼 we undecided team baddies won today 😌💪🏼 deserved!!!
but THE PLOT⁉️ she’s PLOTTING 😱 like, thank GAWD you added those questions toward the end cuz like i could NAWT sort my thoughts out at all after reading allat 😭 there was too much going on in here in this day 😫
now, jenneyquinn stans (as if i have any PFFT—), here are my responses to the wg3 questions 😁
as of now, i’m on board with team ari! this is literally a man who clearly can’t come to terms with his own feelings—and although a similar case could be brought up with steve given his severe lack of emotional regulation, i feel like something really messed up must’ve shaken him so bad that the mere thought of ari is just a straight up trigger for him (and i’ll get more on that on my last answer!) back to ari, can we FOCUS on the CRUMB that is when he WAS SO close to slipping!!! HE REALLY WAS ABOUT TO DROP THE L WORD FOR OUR GIRLIEPOP READER 😭 yep, this mans DEFINITELY has it down bad for reader… he just needs a lot of time and comfort with his stubbornly engraved fratboy-fuckboy mindset and just let himself be honest and come to terms with his feelings! he wants y/n!!
okay, now we’re getting into the part where i’m not on team steve! whereas ari tends to be a jerk in public around reader and soft in private, steve is the polar opposite!! i feel like the addition of steve in wg just brings more dimension to college fuckboys, cuz when you think about it, it really narrows down to two types: a) the beast from beauty and the beast and b) hans from frozen (i can’t believe i was able to bring disney into my logic but if it works, so be it!) in summary, steve’s demeanor just switches like night and day cuz when he’s in his own territory, in his room, where he doesn’t have to put on a show for anyone, he can shed the mask and let his true nature show (and mayhaps he doesn’t care whether or not reader has a say in that… for all we know, if kira never intervened, nothing or no one would’ve stopped steve 🚩🚩🚩)
i’m just gonna say that wanda could be a friend… i don’t think she’d be a good one though… i could understand the occasional blindness of being dick-whipped (especially when you’re seeing someone like CURTIS) but even as a college student who just wants to have fun and live in the moment, she could’ve done more for reader :/ in fact, sharon has been a much better friend to y/n despite wanda already given that role! WHO got us ice after the basketball incident⁉️ SHARON‼️ and wasn’t wanda sitting RIGHT BESIDE US??? also, i’m not digging the whole dick-shame wanda gives us when we tell her we hooked up with ari 😒 first off, if YEW🫵🏼 didn’t abandon us at the party, then fed us bull saying you tried to reach out to us, we didn’t need to take an uber with steve!!! lowkey, ari incorrectly addressing wanda by the wrong name is starting to be justified…
NOW that we’ve gotten more clues regarding ari and steve’s history, i came up with this theory: ari and steve were friends in high school, maybe they grew up together and were besties for life? eventually, when college began for kira (my memory’s fuzzy but if i’m right, ari and steve are seniors and reader is a freshman so kira could be in-between, maybe just a year older than y/n), kira chose to go to st. andrew’s instead of st. jude’s (either steve also went to st. andrew’s up until before the events of wg or went to st. jude’s the whole time, i think it could work any way) and steve got ari to promise to take care of kira. again, there are a couple potential scenarios for this! for certain, at any point in time, kira must’ve harboured feelings for ari, but how ari handled that information could either be: a) his time at college turned him into the fuckboy that he is and kira was one of his former side-chicks, b) ari genuinely had feelings for kira too but college turned him into a fuckboy and he lost himself, taking her for granted, or c) it was all a misunderstanding, ari didn’t mean to lead kira on and kira was setting herself up for heartbreak because she was too shy to be communicative with ari 🫢 regardless of each scenario, it ends up with kira being absolutely shattered and heartbroken by the end of her freshman year, steve finds out about this and depending on which college he went to he either a) transferred from st. andrew’s to st. jude’s the following year and kira transfers too (but remains super scarred by her history with ari that she has extreme difficulty allowing herself social interaction again at the risk of further humiliation, hence the remote classes) and steve vows he gets revenge on ari, b) devotes the rest of his time at st. jude’s to besting ari and steve wants his sister’s heartbreak to bite ari in the ass TENFOLD, or c) STEVE BEATS UP ARI, CAUSING HIM TO GET EXPELLED FROM ANDREWS AND LEAVING HIM NO CHOICE BUT TO TRANSFER TO JUDES😶 even though reader is definitely not a stranger to the rogers’ household, i still don’t think it’s enough to vouch that steve wants anything genuine with y/n—like, come AWN, did we not just see that steve had his eyes on her EARLIER from the night of the party⁉️ mans is sus, and i don’t wike it 😒 (additionally, steve is praised at st. jude’s for being the misunderstood hero that was looking out for his sister, furthering ari’s rep of being this cocky st. andrew’s fuckboy—either ari is actually self-aware and is scared to shoo away reader for good if got her hands on the whole story, or he’s actually unsure of the events himself and genuinely can’t give her a sound story on the hatred between him and steve)
anywaysss, that’s all i gotta say on wg3! apologies for the extensive use of emojis this time, my mind was going la di da di da and i needed to say EVERYTHING that was on my mind!!! i could NAWT leave anything unspoken🗣️🔊
xoxo 🫶🏼 anon (jenneyquinn)
AHHHH omg bestie jenneyquinn thank you for this amazing review like I literally teared up a bit, it’s always exciting to hear from you and know your thoughts!!! (also excuse my lack of emojis bc I had to get on my laptop to answer this!!!) ps: I’m sure you DO have jenneyquinn stans!! Definitely me for one, bc you’re such a staple bestie of this blog!! <3 <3
You’re so right, bestie – Ari for the life of himself cannot come to terms with his own feelings! He’s just so hell bent on being this macho fuckboy that isn’t affected by an girl ever and that’s why he felt the need to stay with Sharon! I know a lot of people are like “WHYYYY is he with Sharon there must be an underlying reason” but I’ve addressed this before and literally NOPE. He is still with Sharon (or was… depending on if he’s telling the truth that he broke up with her) anyways, he still is/was with Sharon bc he is a fuckboy and he can be! Simple as that. But anyways yes, Ari was so close to slipping!!! AHHH I FOUND IT SO CUTE N FUN TO WRITE THAT PART HEHE. But yeah, you /get/ Ari and his stubborn fratboy mindset which I love!
I love these comparisons to Disney hehe. And truly, I believe this chapter showed us that fuckboys come in different types lmao. But hmm, I find the theory of Steve showing “his true colours” in his bedroom interesting… Were those really his true colours or was he distracted by something that led to a mood change? What exactly is the true Steve? Is charming and nice Steve not also the true Steve? Bc I feel like he can be both! If that makes sense lol.
Agree with everything hehehe I wonder if WG 4 will be Wanda’s redemption arc or if she’s just gonna get worse…
INTERESTING THEORIES BESTIE! Ones that I cannot confirm nor deny… Although I will say that Steve never went to St. Andrews’ lol… he was always at St. Jude’s from day one.
ANYWAYSSS, bestie thank you for this insanely detailed and amazing review!! You are truly so so so appreciated!! And I am so happy you enjoyed the new chapter! Love you sm bestie and I will also say that I read your other ask, and it got buried and I didn’t get time to answer it but oh bestie I can totally understand that you were in a not so great place but you’re doing better now! And I hope you’re doing even better gradually as the days go by! Love you a million xx
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Review: Gods’ Games We Play – Episode 2
By Dustin Cabeal
Usually, I save my reviews for the podcast, that's Let's Anime, but Gods’ Games We Play episode two frustrated and pissed me off so much that not only did I already vent to my co-host Lindsay for at least one-half an hour, but now here I am writing this goddamn review.
The second episode picks up where the first episode left off, which is at the beginning of God's Go hide and seek. In which a giant Titan is smashing a city. We have a group of players, and we are about to explain the rules, even though it seems like the game has already begun when they yelled, “Gods Go Hide and seek.” Instead, one asshole interrupts this little weird floating God turd thing and is like, “statistically this should be a versus God game.” To which the little floating God turd thing goes, “Yeah, no. We’re suddenly bored with doing that.” I mean, you just introduced the concept and the stats for that, but no, we're not going to do that. That's pointless. In fact, we don't even know why we talked about it. We hired someone to say that line just so we could say no. A character and their role on the team was introduced to the story, just for a floating God turd to say, “You’re wrong and now useless to the story.”
The group, mostly led by our main character Fay, starts asking questions like, “What are the rules? How do you win?” This little shitty floating Titan God thing is this like let me give you some abstract ideas. So, they have half the rules. Half the equation to win and then they run from this giant Titan thing. It doesn't take long for the giant Titan thing to just step on someone, but instead of them dying, half of them turn red, but they cheat the story, and you only see the red half. Our main character and the Dragon God figure the shit out and then confront the Titan. Instead of just winning the game and then explaining to us how they won, he allows himself to be smashed, which then reveals his power, which is to never fucking die and nullify all effects. It's a mega cheat. How the hell are you ever supposed to get this guy to lose? But before he's even won, he explains how he's won. I'm like, no asshole. Finish the fucking game. Then tell me how you won. You’re standing on a smashed building, yelling at a giant Titan… finish the game first. They finally do win the game, which I'm like Titan, why are you even letting them compete? They have told you, their plan. Why are you not stopping this? Do you want to lose? You seem to want to lose. And I swear to God, at one point Fay asks, did we win? And the Titans like, no. And then they did win. In the next scene, they're just like adding they won. Okay, sure. Why the fuck do I care at this point I’m just glad this “smart person’s” game is over.
It's also revealed pointlessly that Faye is on a goddamn break or was on a goddamn break before this game. He was on a hot streak, winning three in a row. They need ten to get ultimate wishes, by the way. And he already won three on his own. But they were like, hey, we found this dragon lady frozen in ice for 3,000 years. She wants to play games with you so she can become a God again. Oh, but her cheap power is nothing compared to yours. She smashes stuff, but she's good at games. And then she analyzes the footage of them winning and she's like, we should have gone to this other building instead. I'm like, you already won. The plan worked. What does that analyzation tell me other than you're an idiot and you came up with a different idea to which you could have gone up to the Titan and said, “we're going to win, and this is how we're gonna win.” It added nothing to her character and cheapened their victory because she was like, we could have done better. No, you couldn’t have. You didn't play football, you didn't play basketball, you ran around a city, and you were playing Reversi and there was no fucking way anyone could figure that out because this show is stupid and had to explain it to me before they even won. There was no clue until the characters were explaining the clues. I was like, ohh, that's weird. I didn't see them being half red until you explained it to me. I hate that, analyze mistakes, not things that worked. It worked, there’s no reason to be like, “we could have done better here” because it doesn’t matter anymore.
Overall, I did not like this episode. It wasn't even that bad. It was just the logic behind everything that was so stupid that it was aggravating. It was treating me like I'm an idiot, but it's doing nothing to allow anyone to figure out what's happening. And it wasn't even that good. It's like we're playing three games at once. We're playing tag, we're playing hide and go seek. And we're playing Reversi, and you have to figure that out. Oh, but why would you? Because I used to play battle games. Yeah, so good luck. Especially when we've never apparently built up any sort of situation that you would have been able to pull from before this. But because we found fucking frozen dragon lady, we are switching everything. This guy likes to play games. We're switching everything. Mostly we’re just combing games and ruining all of them at once… but I used to do battle games.
Lastly, the art style was annoying. Everything looked faded. I don't know if that was because they were in the “God Realm,” but it looks shitty and unfinished.
I will probably watch the third episode, but only because it just came out.
Watch or Pass Rating: Pass
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How to win a heart of Floyd Leech?
a/n: Someone requested this; ask got deleted by accident! Hope you will like it, Anon!
Warning!
Once you start walking through the specific points of the guide, your life will be exposed to the presence of Floyd Leech. Interrupting the action at one of the stages may cause many problems; F. Leech categorizes stopping as "boring", which puts the user of this guide in great danger.
The only way out is to get to the very end. Or not to start at all.
You act at your own risk.
1. Be an easy new target.
To one’s surprise, it is much harder not to catch his attention.
You can easily become another entertaining target of Floyd, mostly by doing silly things or him just considering them as ones.
And to automatically get labelled as “silly”, you just need to fall into one of his traps—he prepares them for someone else, maybe for goldfish, maybe for another person given a sea-inspired nickname, expecting to enjoy watching how familiar face twitches with terror as he jumps into the scene and tightly embraces passing student.
But no. You were the one who showed up in the wrong place and time as Floyd jumped out from his hideout, scaring you half to death. With a strangled yelp, you sharply backed away. After gaining a slight flush on your cheeks, you recognised who you just bumped into and quietly gasped.
However, he was much more bewildered than you were.
He had never encountered somebody who wouldn’t just freeze under his touch. Jumping away, gasping, muttering half-hearted apologies and flushing? That’s new.
That’s also entertaining.
Even after your quickly disappearance from the scene, his gaze somehow inexplicably started returning to you.
2. Visit Mostro Lounge often.
“We’re looking for someone who would like to work part-time for Azul~” Floyd said, sliding poster across the table. He popped up in front of you unannounced, having your thoughts return to dark reality.
“Oh,” you replied quietly, packing your things faster. “Good luck with it.”
You got up from your seat, but the thought of letting you go just like that didn’t even cross Floyd’s mind.
“Ehh? Shrimpy, aren’t you going to try?” he asked, frowning. You winced a little at the nickname he called you, not sure how to feel about it. “You know, you won’t work there for free.”
Azul will grant your wish.
You fidgeted a little, questioning your response. You heard—who didn’t?—rumours that Octavinelle leader could fulfil any request for a certain price. Ones were working for it, others were paying, and lasts were trading their request with Azul’s one.
The thought of having anything just by working in some café made you consider the offer again—this time quickier.
“I will go,” you decided.
“Hooray!” Floyd smiled cheerfully, just as if he won some grand prize in the lottery. “But what could Shrimpy possibly wish for, to change your response so drastically~?” he wondered but didn’t get any answer in return.
3. Be honest.
“Shrimpy...”
You passed Floyd, without sparing him a look. Anyone who has known you for a while would notice that your movements were a bit stiff and creaky.
Once you heard Floyd’s voice, a wave of tiredness struck you as if you didn’t get any sleep last night after working your shift in Mostro Lounge.
There were so many people to serve, so many things to do... and yet, you couldn’t help with anything, still not knowing how everything works, messing up with orders and breaking some plates in process.
Floyd buzzing around you, asking you some random questions (“Shrimpy, have you done it before?”). You answered them quickly, but each of them bumped you out of rhythm, making you forget what you were doing. It also didn’t help that Floyd certainly liked you being disoriented, replying with a shrug and grin on his face at your thundering glances.
So now, after gaining a little trauma from working in Octavinelle’s café, all you could do is ignore Floyd’s presence, silently accusing him of your infamous fiasco.
“Hey, Shrimpy!” he called you again, catching you up. “Are you mad?”
“I am not mad,” you snapped and took an unstable breath. “Look, I just started working, and on my first day I made already so many mistakes—”
“Yeah,” he replied indifferently. “And what with that?”
“...I couldn’t even correctly serve drinks—”
“Oh, stop!” Floyd muffled your mouth with his hand, an annoying look on his face. “I know where it is going. And no, you can’t quit a job, after all my efforts to get you there. It will get boring again!”
“But—”
“Stop, stop, stop,” he corrected his hand on your mouth, now not letting even a sound get through his fingers. “Azul knows that you tried your best. And for these plates you broke, he already added them to your paycheck. You need to practice! Not to give up, Shrimpy!”
You looked up at him, quite stunned by these words. Perhaps he quoted someone from the book or heard someone talking like that...
But it was encouraging. In some way, considering that you couldn’t protest, having your mouth covered. But still, it was encouraging.
4. Take classes together.
You can have the power of controlling Floyd’s behaviour, making other students’ life easier. Or you two can be a walking disaster.
Turning alchemy lesson into putting random ingredients into a boiler and praying that the mysterious mixture won’t explode.
History classes started being a regular pinching ritual to keep yourself from falling asleep (you are being pinched more, even when you don’t feel sleepy).
In contrast, flying lessons are peaceful. Nor Jade, nor Floyd, nor Azul are fond of these classes. Floyd is much eager to stand both feet on the ground, watching you practice or having you sulking next to him about heights.
However, if you are a calm, shy, or tranquil person, exchanging little notes or drawings will be a little habit of yours. Handing them discreetly under the eye of sir Crewel is quite a challenge, but it also gives satisfaction once the note was given.
Floyd throws away most of your paper conversations, but the ones he really likes, he cherishes them by keeping them with him, stuffed in his pockets. He will be irritated if anyone would like to see what you two were writing about, even if the talk was about new strawberries delivery for the new recipe.
5. Being ticklish or not.
There are two possible scenarios, whether his new, lovely target is ticklish or not.
If is: prepare for being touched a lot. Observing how you quiver with surprise, when he lightly—he especially makes his touch less fierce, knowing very well that tickling isn’t violent—wraps his hands around your waist, making you hold your breath.
He would tickle you a lot, very often making you cry out of laugh and pain that follows sharp writhing and fidgeting, but never that much, to seriously upset you. That’s some luck in such unlucky situation.
If not: he will try to find other weak point. Or will try to make you ticklish—his hands are particularly cold and pressing them to your warm skin, might make you give him a reaction he would enjoy.
Albeit, if you also won’t return any expression even then, he will seriously search for some other weakness. Slightly biting an ear lobe, whispering next to your ear or anything that could make his smile appear, once he made you put him somewhere between “I despise you with each and every cell” and abstract mumbling with the heat on your checks.
Oh, he loves your reactions so much.
6. Learn all nicknames he gave other people (you will unlock an option to slightly dish other people).
“Oh Lord...” you muttered to yourself, as your gaze followed scribbled list of names that Jade just passed to you. He willingly connected all student’s names with pseudonyms Floyd gave other people and handed the roaster over to you once you helped him with some kitchen cleaning.
“There are so many, right?” Jade replied with a polite smile on his face. “I’m sure you already memorised some of them, being around Floyd that much.”
You nodded mindlessly as you tried to get names into your head. You mouthed them soundlessly one by one, motivated to learn them by the end of the week.
The chuckle that escaped Jade’s lips startled you, and you realised that he still was in the room. Or that you didn’t leave the Lounge even after your shift has already ended.
“My brother surely didn’t exaggerate anything about you,” he said, his tone a bit more buoyant than ever, although you couldn’t be sure as the thick air of mystery still echoed in his voice. “I wonder how it will finally end?”
7. Always share your takoyaki with him.
“What are you hiding, Shrimpy?”
You shuddered at a voice that you did not want to hear at this moment, not for all the world. Unless that the world included a chest filled with takoyaki, which you could give to certain somebody.
You felt that instead of a shashlik of tasty balls, you were holding a knife in your hands, a veritable proof of a crime you had committed. It weighed heavily in your grip, and Floyd's approaching footsteps did not make your situation any better.
It was a time to hide the evidence.
You pushed as much as you could into your mouth and swallowed a few balls without even gnawing them much. You almost choked on them.
“Me? I?” you asked innocently. You sincerely hoped that no sauce or a stray piece of cake was left on your face. “What could I possibly hide?”
"Hmm, hmm~," he drew closer, and you needed all your will gathered, to make yourself stay where you were. Even without looking in the mirror, you knew you were all pale on the face. “With my little eye, I spy something...”
His gaze went down, just to your hands, which you tried to hide behind your back.
Not giving him a clear look at your palms or wooden stick, you turned around on the heel and run with all your might. Your muscles felt somehow stiff as if they also didn’t see a chance to win this race.
Now Floyd was sure you are hiding something, and there is no chance he’ll let it go.
8. Watch him at his basketball practice.
81:30 for the blue team!
“Floyd once again started playing wild,” Ace breathed with clear regret in his voice. He glanced your way, frowning at you. “It’s your fault. Please come at practices when Floyd is in my team, not otherwise.”
You laughed awkwardly as he walked away.
A moment later, Floyd reached for a bottle with water and a towel you bravely guarded through the whole practice. He smiled wholeheartedly, happy with the win, water, and your presence.
“How did you like the game?” he asked once he changed from PE clothes and you two started heading towards Octavinelle.
“It was really fun!” you admitted, a speck of amusement appeared in Floyd’s eyes. “The red team didn’t have much time to capture a ball before you got hold of it again.”
“Hehe~ I’m glad you liked it,” he said. “I really like to play basketball, even more than ever, when I know that you are watching! That’s why,” he added, sincerity well-heard in his voice, “you need to come even more often!”
You nodded happily.
You just couldn’t mind it, all that accompanying him.
It was... fun.
9. Dance, dance, dance!
Heels tapped on the floor and the sound of these steps would probably have spread through the room, if not for the jazz music pounding through Mostro Lounge’s speakers.
Floyd pulled you closer, letting a playful smile on his lips stretch even more. You couldn’t help but smile back, before gasping as he spun you around your axis. You lost balance and would fall if not steady grip around your waist, as Floyd leaned on closer to you, making you bend on one leg more and entirely rely on his touch.
Last notes of melody faded, and you still were in that pose, facing each other. With each second, Floyd’s face was changing from some form of amazement to amusement, finally letting you properly stand.
“Ha... When did you learn to dance so smoothly?” you asked smiling in wonder.
“Hehe~ With legs you can dance a lot more than in the sea,” he answered. “On land, it’s super fun~”
You nodded at his words.
Floyd was a wonderful dancer.
But you can’t be sure if being a good dancing partner is the only thing that made you feel all warm and fuzzy because butterflies still didn’t leave your stomach.
10. “Let’s do something fun!”
“Here is your paycheck,” Azul handed you a white envelope, sealed with a stamp with the Octavinelle logo. “And you, [Name], was also working for some request, right?”
You nodded as you stared at the envelope.
Somehow, knowing how stupid the lingering thought in your mind was, you couldn’t bear to look up. If you would, your gaze would probably ignore all the elegant furniture of the room, even the owner of the room, Azul, just to settle on Floyd.
If you saw anything more than his shoes, that stupid thought would make their way outside, turning plans into action.
And Floyd unknowingly did everything to make them come true.
“Shrimpy,” he cupped your face with his hands, judging by his voice he seemed quite... worried? When he made you look in his olive and gold eyes, you started holding your breath. “Are you okay?”
With that question, your strong will to wish for something expensive or practical was broken.
You started fidgeting more, not knowing how to express your thoughts in words. “I think I have a request... a question for Floyd, rather than for you, Azul...”
Azul nodded at first uncertain and the room has fallen into silence once again until you spoke.
“Well, Floyd,” you turned to him, trying your best not to wander your gaze away from him, “Please, take your time with answering, but I want your response to be, uh, honest.”
You were tripping onto your own words, embarrassment soaring in your body as you started to think that you should’ve kept quiet. But Floyd was patient with your answer, as well as Jade and Azul who observed the situation as if they predicted it before.
“I mean- Okay, just answer the question.” You took an erratic breath. “Would you like to—”
“Sure!” Floyd interrupted you before even hearing the whole question. “I would like to do everything with you.”
You stood there, all confused. But, by Floyd’s expression you knew that he guessed what you wanted to say. Face heating up, you forgot about Azul and Jade, who hid a chuckle by turning his head to the side.
“How fun,” he said as Floyd wrapped his arms around you, as if shielding you from other people in the room.
“I won’t share Shrimpy with you, Jade. Not a chance.”
#floyd leech#floyd leech x reader#floyd x reader#floyd#twisted wonderland floyd#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland x reader#twisted wonderland imagines#twst x reader#twst imagines#twst floyd#twst floyd x reader#anonymous
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Yin and Yang - Ch 3: Adrien Leads Such An Interesting Life
Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Ao3 Link
Chapter 3: Adrien Leads Such An Interesting Life
Despite Adrien’s assurances, things did not get easier. And she wanted to blame the early wake up times, but as much as she still hated the way her brain woke up in a fog morning after morning, the wake up times were the least of her problems.
The biggest issue was that every moment was scheduled. It was school, basketball, Chinese, fencing, piano, solitary dinner, and then mandatory homework time. Rinse and repeat. And any time there was a gap in Adrien’s schedule it was inevitably filled up with a photoshoot, or a fitting, or with a random interview Gabriel said had to be done without delay.
There wasn’t a single moment to breathe. Not a single moment to live her life. Or to live Adrien’s life rather.
So she stayed up late. Way too late, but she needed a moment to just lay about each day. She tried to draw her designs as a way to remember herself, but she was so exhausted she didn’t have ideas, and ended up mindlessly tracing circles onto her paper.
Despite the bone dead fatigue, she felt restless. She made use of Adrien’s zip line and skateboard ramp, but it didn’t help for more than a moment.
She still felt trapped.
She had been in the middle of a fencing lesson gone wrong when an akuma alert went off, and everyone was directed to evacuate.
“Oh thank god!” Marinette exclaimed.
“Are you happy about an akuma?” Kagami had asked, her eyes narrowed in disapproval.
“Umm… no?” Marinette had squeaked. She totally was. “I gotta run!”
“What? Where?” Kagami called after her. “We’re supposed to evacuate!”
“See you later!”
Marinette ran through the halls and quickly found a place to transform. She took to the rooftops as Chat Noir, running and vaulting towards the screams. And she felt no anxiousness about the attack. It just felt so good to run, to be free.
She wasn’t being watched. She could do anything. She could be crazy, she realized, as she threw herself into a cartwheel for absolutely no reason other than she could.
It was like a revelation.
This was why Chat Noir cracked stupid jokes all the time. Why he loved being Chat Noir! Why he couldn’t sit still or be serious for five seconds even in the middle of an akuma battle. Why he coveted every moment in Ladybug’s company. Why he would transform in the middle of the night and just run.
When she saw Ladybug arrive on the scene, she ignored the akuma entirely and instead tackled him in a hug. “It���s so good to see you!” she exclaimed.
He caught her wild embrace, and laughed. “You too. But maybe we should handle the akuma first?”
“Right, of course,” she nodded, attempting to adopt a serious face, but she couldn’t kill the grin that had taken over her face.
She was actually disappointed when they managed to take care of the akuma in just a few minutes.
When there wasn't an akuma to rescue her from Adrien’s monotonous schedule, talking to him helped. Anytime he was there, she felt at ease, and almost normal despite being in the wrong body, that was quickly becoming more and more familiar.
She saw him during the day, and he often gave helpful hints in conversations with their mutual friends and she did the same for him. And they talked every night. Both to compare notes and to give each other more context and insight. But the second he hung up, the anxiety would begin to smother her all over again. She needed to get out of this room. She needed to be free.
“Are you okay?” Adrien had asked one evening after she had ranted about the daily frustrations over a video call.
And she wanted to cry at the question, but she didn’t want him to see her crying. Not over this. He lived this every day. She had only managed four weeks. She needed to be stronger and more resilient.
So she swallowed her tears and offered him a bright smile. Or, what she hoped was a bright smile.
“Yes. I’m just feeling restless and cooped up,” she said. And it was true even if it was only the tip of the iceberg.
“Transform and go for a run,” he told her. “I can meet you.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. That sounded amazing.
“I can’t,” she told him, her eyes burning on the edges. She blinked back the tears. “If I’m going to keep you in school I need to study Chinese tonight.”
He smiled sadly at her. “I understand.”
Of course he did.
All of it was made worse by the fact that she was terrible at, like, every single one of Adrien’s extracurriculars.
She spoke only six words of Mandarin before the swap. And three of them were “I love you.” Adrien’s tutor was a stern impatient man who had chastised her for her lack of practice. He had delivered a poor performance review to Nathalie and her Chinese sessions had doubled in frequency.
Like that would help her when she was three years behind in lessons.
“Your father would like to hear your rendition of Desbussy’s Arabesque No. 1 on Friday,” Nathalie had informed her that morning at breakfast after listing out Adrien’s schedule.
Marinette’s heart fell into her gut in a panic. She had only had one real interaction with Gabriel since the swap. He had joined her for breakfast one Saturday. He had been stiff and quiet and Marinette hadn’t known how to fill the awkward silence with more than a “Good morning, Father.”
Which had been a mistake apparently because the second his attention was on her, he had proceeded to correct the way she was holding her fork, the way she was sitting in the chair, and chide her for the abysmal performance she demonstrated in fencing practice.
“If you are to remain in school, you need to maintain a certain standard of excellence in all of your activities. If you are unable to do so, it will be in your best interest to return to one on one instruction.”
Marinette’s hand fisted around her fork. Was he seriously threatening to take Adrien out of school? Over one fencing practice session?
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he corrected coldly. “Be better.”
She swallowed an angry retort, and didn’t risk saying anything else. She wanted to argue and scream at the injustice of it all. But she knew that’s not what Adrien would do. But she had no idea what Adrien would do. So she did nothing.
But God, she was angry.
Luckily, Gabriel had wiped his mouth with an expensive cloth napkin and left her there without another word.
She had retreated to Adrien’s room after that.
“Is he always like that?” she had asked the second Plagg had flown from her overshirt.
Plagg laughed. “For Gabriel, that was positively sweet.”
Marinette’s gut twisted unpleasantly at that revelation.
And so she had not uttered a peep at Gabriel’s continued absence. She didn’t want to see him.
And she certainly didn’t want to fail at piano completely as he sat listening in judgment.
“It was one of your mother’s favorites,” Nathalie added.
Crap. She was so screwed.
“Plagg!” she whined. “What am I going to do?”
The kwami shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “You’re creative. You’ll come up with something!”
She had with Chinese. Adrien had given her the idea. She confessed to the tutor that she had been wanting to start over. He had looked at her suspiciously.
“To focus on authentic pronunciation!” she rapidly explained. And then she told him the tale of being in Shanghai and no one there really being able to understand him with such a thick accent. And he had a hard time understanding native Mandarin speakers as well.
Whatever Adrien’s tutor thought of the matter, he had capitulated, and they were starting from the beginning. But man, he was cranky and impatient, and since she had said she wanted to learn the language without an accent, he had become an absolute asshole demanding perfection at all times.
But she was getting through the lessons, and even learning some Mandarin at the same time. Maybe she’d be able to use it when she was back in her own body to talk to her mother and uncle.
“I can fake a lot of things, Plagg! I can’t fake ten years of piano lessons and thousands of hours of practice!”
“Sure you can!” Plagg said, floating along lazily through the air. Marinette wanted to swat him!
“How?” she growled out.
“First, you don’t need to fake ten years. You just need to master one song.”
Her hands shot out in agitation. “Not just any song! A really advanced difficult song that apparently Adrien’s mother used to play!”
“Well, you could pretend that you’re going through a defiant phase. When he comes in, play him Mary had a little lamb or something!”
Her eyebrows arched. “And what am I being defiant about, exactly?”
“The man is cold and emotionally neglectful if not outright abusive. He dictates every moment of how Adrien spends his time minus the times we literally use superpowers to escape! Pick something!”
She wilted. Maybe Plagg had a point.
“Or you could injure your hand at fencing practice!” he brainstormed.
“Won’t they send a doctor who will say my hand is fine?”
“Not if you actually injure it,” Plagg sing-songed back.
“Plagg! I need my hands in working order to fight akumas! It’s hard enough to have a different body and a different power set! You want me to fight injured as well?”
He spun in a rapid circle, stopping right when he was facing her. “Or!” he exclaimed, like her had just thought of it. “We could stage a break in and destroy the piano!”
“Wasn’t that Adrien’s mother’s piano?”
Plagg shrugged. “Gabriel would probably have it replaced within two days anyway.”
“Do all your ideas involve destroying something?”
“You know who you’re talking to, right?”
But thankfully, Adrien’s phone chose that moment to ring, and she didn’t have to answer Plagg. It was Adrien. She answered the call immediately.
“Marinette!” he shrieked. Marinette didn’t know if he was excited or freaking out. It was harder to read him when he used her own voice. “Penny Rolling just called! She wants to know the status of a commission for Jagged Stone! What am I going to do?”
Marinette yanked at her hair. She didn’t have time for this!
“Nathalie just told me I have to play a recital for your father this Friday! What am I going to do?” she countered.
Adrien had been giving her piano lessons, and it was fun and he was patient, and she would have loved it under any other circumstances. But there was just this growing ball of unease every time they sat next to one another on his mother’s piano bench. He taught her chords on the left hand and scales on the right. She learned to read notes on the treble clef, and learned to decipher the strange script of key signatures far more quickly than she thought possible.
But playing actual songs?! She was nowhere near Adrien’s level. She understood whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes and could even play them. Eighth notes and sixteenths she understood in concept if not execution. But triplets?! Arabesque No. 1 was full of them! She could not play them with the proper temp.
And there was no way in hell she could play triplets and eighth notes at the same fucking time!
Adrien laughed, and pulled her hands back from the keyboard. “Don’t think about the notes for a second. Let’s just worry about the rhythm.”
She shivered, feeling his gentle hands brushing the back of hers. It was becoming less weird to look at her own face every day. Because it wasn’t hers anymore. It was his. And his smile, his eyes could bring her peace and comfort the way nothing else could.
“Okay, we’re going to tap eighth notes on your left, and triplets on your right.”
She nodded.
“We’re kind’ve cutting each beat into fours. Clap both hands onto your lap,” he directed. “Then it’s right, left, right. Then both again,” he explained, as he demonstrated clapping out the rhythm repeatedly on his lap. She was soon following suit.
After a month of practice, she could play the first ten measures of Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. Insanely slowly.
“The speed doesn’t matter,” Adrien said. “Just get the timing between notes right and practice it. You’ll pick up on the tempo as you practice.”
And god she loved him more. For his patience and his optimism, but it was never going to be enough.
Because it didn’t sound like magical waterfalls cascading down when she played the notes, the way it did when Adrien played them. And that ignored the fact that the song had another 97 measures for her to learn.
She broke down crying.
His arms were around her immediately.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I feel like you’re not just playing my life. You’re playing it on hard mode.”
She scrubbed the tears from her face. “What do you mean?” she asked, not being able to look up at him.
“You have to meet all the expectations but you don’t have any of the preparation. Meanwhile, when I need help with a project, you can literally do it for me if you absolutely have to.”
“You’re assuming I have a spare moment to help you,” she whispered.
He brushed the tears from her cheeks with the pad of this thumb. “We’ll get through this,” he promised.
She nodded. She didn’t always believe that herself.
“Why do all your extracurriculars have to be performance based?” she had whined.
He barked a laugh. “I don’t know. I didn’t really pick most of them.”
“Do you at least enjoy them?” she asked.
He pressed his lips together, his eyebrows scrunched in thought. “I really like fencing,” he told her. “And piano has become really important to me as a way to remember my maman. It was always something she and I did together.”
Marinette smiled softly. Maybe his attempts at teaching her to play, might remind him of lessons with his mother. She hoped so.
“And I don’t mind the others,” he said, and then shrugged. “I just wish… I just wish there weren’t so many of them, you know?”
“Oh my god, I know!” she exclaimed.
And he laughed. She loved making him laugh.
Of all his extracurriculars, modeling was the easiest for Marinette to pull off. But she wasn’t great at it either. She was stiff and self conscious in front of a camera, and was constantly being told she needed to loosen up and be natural.
“You just need to get out of your head,” he had told her.
Yeah, Marinette was terrible at getting out of her head unless she was in crisis mode.
He had made flash cards for her to translate Vincent’s nonsense directions and she had printed out a bunch of his photos, and taped them to Adrien’s bathroom mirror, and she was practicing reproducing each expression.
Plagg had caught her in the middle of her first practice session and burst out laughing.
She hadn’t bothered to defend herself. It had been worth it. The next photoshoot was her smoothest yet.
But she had failed the piano recital.
“You’re clearly sabotaging on purpose,” Gabriel concluded coldly.
Marinette didn’t say anything, her gaze remaining locked on her fingers that rested on the black and white keys of this baby grand piano. Of course, it wasn’t actually on purpose, but that was as good an explanation as any.
“Why?” he demanded, his voice cold as ice.
She froze in panic. She needed to make a demand. But it needed to be big enough that he wouldn’t deliver, so she’d have a continued excuse to perform horribly.
Her eyes landed on the portrait on Adrien’s desk.
“Will you tell me what happened to maman?” she gambled, holding her breath the moment the words were out of her mouth.
He stared at her in silence. And then he walked out of the room.
She let out a breath, relieved he hadn’t said anything. How horrible would it have been if she had learned more about Adrien’s mother than he himself knew? Hopefully, Adrien wouldn’t be furious that she played that card.
Plagg came out whistling. “Bold move. I’m impressed.”
But she didn’t feel impressive. She felt completely inadequate. She pulled out Adrien’s phone, and swiped to her own contact and called him immediately.
“Hey Adrien! What’s up?” he answered. And that he was calling her Adrien meant he wasn’t alone.
“Can you come over?” she asked softly, not bothering to tell him he should at least make a show of stuttering when talking to “him”.
“Are you okay?"
She forced down the tears that wanted to burst forth. “Not really.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, hanging up the phone.
Ladybug landed in a crouch not ten minutes later. He immediately took a seat on the piano bench beside her.
“Today was the recital?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she told him, her chin trembling.
“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he insisted, his red spotted gloves cradling either side of her face, pulling her gaze up.
“You’re amazing,” she told him, and was rewarded with an immediate blush blooming from under his Ladybug mask.
“So are you,” he said.
But she ignored him. “You don’t have a lot of choices, and everyone expects so much of you. You’re cooped up all the time. And you could be so angry, but you’re not. You’re patient and you work hard. And you’re just so so resilient. And I had no idea. I had no idea as Ladybug and I had no idea as Marinette. I feel like I’ve been such a bad friend.”
He pulled her into a hug. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” he countered.
“I want to be better,” she insisted, clutching him to her.
She would be better, she promised herself. Now that she understood that his life wasn’t all glamorous and fun. Now, that she understood the pressure he was always under, and how lonely his struggle often was. She loved him.
She loved him more. More than she had before. And more than she ever thought possible.
#miraculous ladybug fan fiction#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#love square#PRPR#body swap#supposedly humor#Marinette struggles#supportive adrien#yin and yang#my own content
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buzzfeed said i like-like you..
— a lee felix x au
(half felix pov half y/n pov)
lee felix x gender!neutral reader genre: best friends to lovers
a/n: this is mainly in felix’s pov since i thought it would fit better, the next felix au will be in y/n’s pov (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ and if you have any requests just ask away and i’ll try my best <3
« masterlist
felix was currently very calm!! c a l m!!
certainly not panicking, nope not him!
it started when he flopped onto his bed in defeat after giving up on his art history essay
he could only analyze medieval paintings for so long >:((
so he ended up clicking on his folder of bookmarks and scrolling for the buzzfeed quiz one
dont judge him it was very relaxing !!
he did a couple weird ones like ‘what type of bread are you?’ (he was a challah bread apparently?!) and ‘what is your horror movie death scene?’ (he was going to be murdered!!)
he started clicking on the recommended ones until he landed on the romance section
he usually ignored these since they were typically very boring but just for the sake of it he chose one titled ‘are you in love with your best friend?
he scoffed as he let the quiz load and his mind wandered off to you
you and felix had met in grade school due to the both of you being the new kids and immediately being stuck together since no other kids wanted anything to do with you
and every since then you had been glued to the hip
he loved you sure, but being in love with you? he didn’t think he was.. he wouldn’t be opposed to it though
‘do you think your best friend is beautiful?’
obviously!! felix thought, choosing said option, how could he not? u were the most ethereal person he had ever been blessed to see, other then himself of course
‘when you get into arguments, are you reluctant to apologize and end it quickly or wait for them to apologize first?’
felix had to think about this one
you both didn’t rlly fight, it was usually over stupid things like the both of you needing to take care of yourselves more and such
but felix found himself apologizing more since he knew you were too stubborn to make the first move even if you wanted to
and whenever he did apologize you always broke down and did the same
he chose ‘i apologize first to get it over with’
‘do you often cuddle and kiss your best friend?’
doesnt everyone? felix thought, hovering his cursor over ‘duh!’
he often gave you cheek kisses and pulled you into hugs whenever he saw you, even if you were always shy and flustered afterwards
he thought it was cute to see you like that
and you often fell asleep in his bed during movie nights and the both of you woke up tangled into one another
now that he thought about it he didn’t really kiss his other best friends, he shuddered at the thought
‘would you get jealous if someone else were to kiss your best friend?’
felix frowned at the mere thought of someone else kissing you
only he could give you cheek kisses goddamnit !!
he wouldn’t be mad if jisung got kisses from someone else though, he’d be happy his friend had found a partner
but if you found a partner...he didn’t know how to feel about that
it would fall between wanting you to be happy and he should be making you happy
he quickly filled out the question and moved on, that was too much for him
the rest of the questions were things like ‘do you know their favorite color?’ ‘do you have their birthday memorized?’ (yes to both!)
he clicked done and waited for his old laptop to boot up the results
oh...O H
WTF ?/$:&:@;
felix squinted at screen once more before pulling up a google tab
he went through multiple wikihow articles before just shutting down his laptop and taking his head into his hands
did he have a crush on you??? weren’t crushes supposed to give you butterflies and shit?
well...he did get butterflies whenever you complimented him,,,
oh shit he did have a crush on you
he dove headfirst into his pillow and kicked his legs before sitting up, coming to a conclusion
he couldn’t just hold this vital piece of information to himself!!
and that’s how felix found himself in front of your dorm building, freezing in nothing but basketball shorts and a hoodie he was pretty sure he stole from you
felix came barreling towards you, picking you up in a hug despite his tiny size
once he finally stopped spinning you and set you down was when you have him a confused look
“your welcome over whenever but why the sudden visit at 3am?” you ask, leading felix towards your dorm room
“fun news!! i realized i’m in love with you, thanks to a buzzfeed quiz!�� he answered, doing jazz hands as you locked the dorm door behind you
“you’re...what now?” questioning if you heard right, ignoring your heart beat thumping loudly against your chest
“yeah like, i’m in love with you and realized it just now so i came here to tell you and-,”
/!&:@:@;@;@@, you were malfunctioning
how was?? felix so?? casual?? about this??
u had known you were in love with him since like /forever/ aND THIS MF JUST REALIZED A MINUTE AGO??
and you told him so, stalking towards him and reaching him in just two strides, shaking his shoulders
“what took you so long oh my god-,”
“wait does this mean you feel the same? cus if not it’s cool we can be homies ahah-,”
you did the cliche thing where you shut him up with a kiss
it made him go ∴◠‿◠∴
“we are not homies-,”
“we’re homies with benefits!”
*deep sigh*
from then on your relationship didn’t change that much
you were just best friends who know kissed one another and made out
bonus: headcanons
felix took on a new routine of coming over to your place at the ass crack of dawn
it drove you mad but you never slept anyways so you always opened the door
which was why felix came over in the first place!! to seduce you into a healthy sleeping schedule ;)
“y/n you would look so good tucked into your covers, all warm and cuddly as i hug you close-,”
“are you really trying to seduce me into sleeping right now??”
“...well is it working?” felix winked
“...maybe.”
(side note felix’s morning voice was to die for so if staying up late got felix to come over then that was another excuse for you to not sleep)
and since he was a dance major you always bought him bouquets and gifts after every single showcase
one time you got him a bunch of red roses and when you guys went back to his place he stuck one in his mouth and pulled you into a slow dance
it didn’t last very long though cus a thorn was left on the stem and caught his lip and you ended up having to help stop the bleeding
he still gave you a smile throughout it all though
“you look so creepy smiling with a mouthful of blood-,”
which made him smile even bigger
college with your best friend was fun but was even more fun with your boyfriend
the two of you often went on double dates with your friends jeongin and jisung, who recently got together, and had a blast going to parties
felix was a clingy drunk
if you thought he was clingy before just you wait
he would latch onto your arm like a koala and let you drag him around
and he would back hug you as you walked around
it was endearing though so you always let him get away with it
but if felix got too much to drink all hell broke loose
you still have flashbacks to that one time he started stripping on the pool table
you got a nice sight of his abs but so did everyone else !!
felix was willing to do anything with you and vice versa
if you even had the smallest inconvenience he was there to help
like that one time your coffee wouldn’t come out of the vending machine he karate kicked it until it did, and dragging you to run away when he spotted a hall monitor walking towards you
all in all he made you happy
it was perfect :’)
thank you for reading !!
#lee felix#yongbok#lee felix imagines#felix x reader#stray kids x reader#stray kids imagines#lee felix x reader#yongbok x reader#lee yongbok#lee yongbok x reader#felix au#lee felix au#stray kids au#stray kids best friends to lovers
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Hey! So, I decided to re-write the one female fic on my blog with male pronouns. The reason I had a female fic up in the first place was because I had a mutual who wanted to do a writing trade, but she never held her end of the deal, nor contacted me once the fic was done to my knowledge. She requested this Akaashi fic, so I hope more of you could enjoy it now that it has been male-readerfied. Happy reading!
-Mr. Mizunetzu
P.s. - the old writing makes me cringe.
——————
Akaashi x reader - Where Are You Going? (Male-readerfied)
⚠️Warnings - cringey old writing, Bokuto never saying “Akaashi” right
Pronouns - male, he/him
——————
“Hey hey hey-Where you going, Akaagjnshi?”
The black haired boy froze in his tracks. Bokuto tilted his head slightly to the side, holding a volleyball he was about to spike. Akaashi gripped his volleyball bag tighter.
“...I’m going home. My mom needs me to help with dinner.”
It was such a weak, foolish excuse, Akaashi told himself. But knowing Bokuto, it would suffice.
Bokuto’s smiled quickly returned to his face. “Ah! You should’ve just said so! Tell your mom I said hi!”
“I will,” Akaashi said, dipping out of the gym quietly. Bokuto paid no attention to the small blush Akaashi was harboring, along with the few beads of sweat running down his temple.
————
“You’re gonna be late today, Aakkaggshi?”
“Yes, I...my teacher wanted to review a lesson I didn’t really understand. I can come to practice a bit late though.”
Another dumb excuse. But Bokuto’s stupidly wide grin assured him it worked everytime. Some part of Akaashi felt bad for lying to Bokuto, but the guilt eventually got buried and lost in all of the ‘I’m helping my mother with dinner’ and ‘I have to leave early to study’ excuses.
“All right! But y’know...I can come with you if you want-“
“NO!”
Bokuto stared at Akaashi with a blank face. Akaashi cleared his throat.
I-I mean, you’ll probably just get bored—and it’s gonna be quick, no need, Bokuto-san.”
Bokuto blinked. Akaashi almost never got flustered or embarrassed. Was he...hiding something?
Eh, probably not.
“O...kay, I’ll see you later dude...?” Bokuto punched Akaashi lightly on the shoulder before leaving. Akaashi sighed heavily, before walking in the opposite direction of the classrooms, into the second gym.
Weird, Bokuto thought. That’s the boy’s basketball gym.
“I wonder why his teacher wants to meet him there...”
—————
“I’m leaving early, Bokuto-san.”
“Ah-is it you’re mom again? You must be a really good cook or something, if she always wants you to make dinner.”
“Yeah. I’m going now, goodbye.”
“Bye, Ajdjsfjdksjfdjkahshi!”
Bokuto waved absentmindedly at Akaashi, who bowed curtly. It’s been happening every other day, so he kind of got used to him leaving early or showing up a few minutes late.
“Oi Bokuto-don’t you think it’s weird that Akaashi-kun’s always leaving practice early?” Sarukui butted in, watching Akaashi as he hunched over, practically tip-toeing out the door.
“Yeah-why does he get to cut practice but we have to stay the whole time?” Konoha joined in, resting a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder. Bokuto brought a finger to his chin.
“Well-“ Bokuto gestured towards the door. “His mom is always telling him to come home.”
“Why?”
“To make dinner!”
Sarukui and Konoha stared at their captain like a child saying “two plus two is five.”
“You can’t be fucking serious, Bokuto.”
“I am!” Bokuto whined.
“What...what about the times he shows up to practice late?”
“That’s easy!” Bokuto clasped his hands together, eager to have another question he knew the answer to. “He says his teacher wants him to stay behind to teach him stuff he didn’t understand.”
“Bokuto...” Konoha deadpanned. “Akaashi’s in class six-he’s a straight A student.”
Bokuto furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, I-I haven’t thought about tha-“
“And Akaashi’s mom loves to cook-why would she make him do it?”
“Well...” Bokuto choked out, voice cracking a bit. “I did find it strange that he took his extra classes in the 2nd gym...”
Konoha and Sarukui looked at eachother. “....Isn’t that where the boy‘s basketball practice goes on?”
They all stood in silence for a few beats. Bokuto squinted his eyes and knitted his brows together. He still didn’t know what was going on.
A light went off in Konoha and Sarukui’s heads, gasping lightly. Bokuto tilted his head, confused.
“You don’t think he...” Konoha mused, unable to suppress the mischievous smirk growing on his face.
“Akaashi you sly dog.” Sarukui and Konoha shared a knowing smirk between eachother, while Bokuto scratched his neck awkwardly.
“Uh-“
“Bokuto...captain...buddyyyyy....” Sarukui sang. “Can me and Konoha leave practice early tomorrow? Around when Akaashi does? We’ll let you come with us~”
Ah yes, the power of friendship. How could Bokuto possibly refuse?
——————
“I’m heading home, Bokuto-san.”
“Dinner again?”
“...yes.” Akaashi was slipping his bag over his shoulder when Bokuto suddenly piped up.
“Oh! Can me, Sarukui, and Konoha come t-“
A foot was firmly jabbed into Bokuto’s own, earning a yelp from the grey-haired boy. Akaashi looked at Konoha strangely as Sarukui put a hand around Bokuto’s shoulders.
“Don’t mind Bokuto, dude. Tell your mom we said hi.”
Akaashi blinked, suspicious. “Al...right..” he waved it off as them probably going to do something perverted or stupid while he was gone, and bowed curtly once more. “Goodbye then.”
The two chorused out a farewell as Bokuto whimpered in pain and betrayal. Bokuto grabbed hold of his foot as Konoha and Sarukui’s innocent smiles dropped.
“Tail him.”
“I know, I know. Let’s go Bokuto.” Sarukui grabbed Bokuto by the sleeve of his shirt, dragging him out the gym door while they kept a safe distance from Akaashi.
“So he was going to the basketball gym...sneaky bastard.” Konoha smirked. They watched as Akaashi speedwalked to the entrance of the second gym, dusting off any dirt on his volleyball shirt and fixing his already pretty short hair.
The three ducked behind the wall of the gym, dashing towards it when Akaashi turned his back. “What’s he gonna do-he’s just standing there!”
Sure enough, Akaashi was standing idly a few feet from the door of the gym, seemingly waiting for something or someone. He messed with his fingers and tapped his foot anxiously, even though his face was completely calm and relaxed.
After what seemed like forever, the door of the gym opened ever so slightly, wide enough only for someone to slip though. Akaashi’s face lit up-even though he still held his neutral gaze-and he quickly let go of his own hands, letting them drop to his side. Bokuto and Konoha gasped, while Sarukui face held a knowing, shit-eating grin.
Standing in front of Akaashi was a boy wearing the Fukurodani basketball team jacket, and holding a basketball in his hands. He hazily tossed the ball back into the gym, before enveloping Akaashi into a hug.
Akaashi tentatively wrapped his arms around his torso. It looked like they were saying something to eachother, but Sarukui and Konoha couldn’t make out the words from their distance.
“Who would’ve thought Akaashi was dating someone...I for sure thought he was buying drugs or something...” Sarukui mumbled, eyes glued to the scene infront of them.
“Well-I thought Bokuto for sure would’ve known, right Bo? ...Bokuto?” Konoha turned to where Bokuto was standing, to see that he had disappeared. The two boys went pale.
“Oh no...” Sarukui broke into a cold sweat as he saw their loud was captian strutting towards them.
“Bokuto! You dumbass! Get back here!” Konoha whisper yelled, flailing his arms to try and grab Bokuto’s attention. It was too late. Akaashi and the boy took sight of him. Akaashi looked like a deer in headlights, while the boy looked at Bokuto with a nervous smile.
“Hey hey hey! Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend Akkaggshi!” Akaashi said nothing, instead tightening his hold on his (h/c)-haired boyfriend.
Konoha and Sarukui sighed, and stepped out from their hiding spot. Well, it’s not really a hiding spot if you aren’t hiding from something anymore.
“Who’s the guy, Akaashi?” Kohona said, smirking at the (h/c)-haired man next to Akaashi. He stepped forward.
“I’m (L/n) (Y/n), nice to meet you.” (Y/n) said. Akaashi deflated, embarrassed.
“(Y/n), please-“
“AWWW-you guys are on a first name basis?! How cute~!” Konoha made goo-goo eyes at Akaashi, while Sarukui held up a heart with his fingers. Bokuto slung his arm around Akaashi, making him stumble back slightly while he yelled things like “hey hey hey!” or “my man bro Alasshshshi!”
Akaashi looked eyes with (Y/n), practically pleading for help with his eyes while containing the last embers of his neutral collected gaze. (Y/n) just laughed, and booped him on the nose.
“They seem like nice people-why didn’t you introduce me to your team before?” Akaashi freed himself from Bokuto’s grip.
“...We’re gonna be late, let’s go-“ Akaashi linked arms with (Y/n) and tried to usher him away.
(Y/n) planted his feet firm and smirked.
“Noooo...I wanna meet your friends, Keiji-chan~”
“OOHHH HE CALLED HIM KEIJI-CHAN KONOHA THEIR PRACTICALLY MARRIED NOW-“
“Shut up, please” Akaashi begged. He pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling sharply. “(Y/n), that’s Sarukui-san, that’s Konoha-san, and that’s Bokuto-san.” Akaashi gestured to each of the boys standing around them.
“Now that you all are well acquainted, please, can we get going-?“
Akaashis pleads were lost in the sound of questions and conversations being flung at them. All going in one ear and out the other. He sighed in defeat.
After what seemed like forever, (Y/n) pried himself from the volleyball players and interlocked his fingers with Akaashi’s. “Okaaaay, lets go” he said with a chuckle.
“Finally...” thank the heavens.
“Where you guys going?” Bokuto asked. (Y/n) glanced to Akaashi for approval. Akaashi nodded.
“We’re going to grab some dinner at this one ramen place, we do it every Thursday.”
“Oh! Oh! Can we come?” Bokuto cheered. He looked like a puppy clinging to (Y/n’s) side. Akaashi deadpanned while (Y/n) laughed internally.
“But-we-“
“Sure! Let’s go!” (Y/n) said, looking straight into Akaashi’s wilting eyes. The boys clamored past him, (Y/n) in their clutches, heading out of the school to wherever they were going.
“Oh! And, Akaashi?” Konoha said, stopping in his tracks and looking back at Akaashi. He had his feet planted into the ground with a devastated look on his face. Konoha smirked, and Akaashi wished he just stayed at practice.
“That’s what you get for skipping practice so much.”
——————
#akaashi x you#akaashi x male reader#akaashi x reader#akaashi keiji#akaashi oneshot#akaashi imagine#akaashi scenarios#akaashi keiji x reader#poor akaashi#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu x male reader#hq x male reader
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I wasn’t gonna say anything until I posted my analysis (which is looking real slim right now) but I’m surprised at the takes on the Special to be honest.
It’s not that I’m claiming anything happened in the special, it’s more so that I feel that it gave us something that the show only presented a small portion of. Because to me what separates the special from the series is that for the first time Fiats care & love for Leo is being pushed to the forefront.
I try to talk about this in my analysis and like I said I might not release that but basically I’m giving this without the context so bare with me - Fiat has a sacrificial love style when to comes to Leo. It’s not just his body that Fiat submits to Leo but all aspects of himself. He’s always planned his life around Leo & the concept of maintaining a ‘them’. The first clue to this was the reference to him giving up ice skating for the sport Leo favored. Mind you he didn’t just join to ride the bench, no he surpassed Leo’s position. He became not only the scorer of the team but also the captain. How much dedication he had to have to go from a sport so drastically different from his own and become a fundamental part of the team that they couldn’t get rid of. He didn’t just join the team, he made basketball a them, a Leo & Fiat thing. So here we see him sacrifice a sport that was possibly a dream and at the shortest it was something he enjoyed and was good at given Leo’s claim that he could’ve gone pro.
So when the special starts Leo and Fiat are on a plane arriving back in Thailand after being abroad for 2 years. Fiat could’ve stayed in Thailand since Leo was the one slated to do grad there, but he got the mom to pull strings and did his grad there as well. The first half of the special drops constant hints about how the 2 years were a struggle for Fiat, he was homesick, missed friends, etc and it was clear he was happy to be home. However, at the end of the special we see Fiat receive a job offer that he rejects due to his decision to stay freelance so that he’s never tied down to a job in case Leo’s job ever requires travel or moving. So despite all of the struggle he had with being abroad he’s still actively setting up his job for the future needs of them both. They don’t like to separate and Leo’s job may sometimes require him to leave so this means Fiat takes the initiative to make sure he has the type of career and set up that allows for such things.
There was also 2 kiss scenes that I found particularly interesting and Fiat initiates them both. The first one being when he kisses Leo’s hand. We often see this kiss from Leo to Fiat and it typically is done as a way to show appreciation and devotion to the receiver. The other being the forehead kiss that Fiat initiates during the s€x scene. This was a very intentional shift. While it’s not Fiats first time initiating s€x usually Leo will quickly take the reins and take over control by changing position and tempo, of course because this is him being active in his dominance. This time however Fiat gets a bit of time to lead the tempo, he’s in control of giving the pleasure, and during this time he gives Leo a kiss on the forehead. This is a pair that does not do forehead kisses a lot at all and so this bit does stand out even more. Forehead kisses (not to be confused with the top of the head kisses Leo gives) are one of the most caring kisses you can give because they’re non sexual, and focused on emotional closeness. They’re usually done to show respect and appreciation or give comfort. And when done they release chemicals that trigger joy and mental wellness. So we have these two scenes that are different than the ones we’re used to in DSN where the concept is really just Fiat using physical intimacy to present a sense of respect and devotion to Leo.
Even when they speak about Leo’s old insecurities, it’s still assurance from Fiat to Leo. So his giving emotional consolation.
Instead of seeing Leo feed Fiat or some other visualization of care we get Fiat setting out Leo’s work clothing, prepping him and sending him out in the morning. We usually see this behavior from Leo to Fiat usually with a touch of his Dominance but this time we get the reverse with Fiat with a touch of sub vibes.
All of these things are about Fiat taking care of Leo, from his side of things. Theres really no scene where Leo’s care is in the forefront and that’s intentional in my opinion because it’s about giving Fiat that space for once. That’s what I enjoyed about the Special because that was something that was only sprinkled in DSN. I don’t know if I see Fiat like other people - like I said to me Fiat is very sacrificial in his loving style but also he’s the type of sub and person that you have to keep your eye on and always check in with because he’s the type that give all of himself to his Dom or love and he does it full force. (And yes I do think that Leo is the correct type of Dom/Top/Lover for Fiat as he’s all about care and constantly checks in when it comes to Fiat. I think he allows Fiat to have his love style but also is there to make sure it doesn’t go too far and I think that’s one of the large things they learned in their transition from friends to lovers).
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heres a transcript of that gina & greg interview i mentioned yesterday. literally nothing new is in this, but theres a lot of info in this that was scattered in varying interviews/podcasts and i like having all of it in one place for future reference purposes
(link to vid)
Patrick: Hey everybody, this is Patrick Cavanaugh from comicbook.com here to bring you a very special conversation about Netflix's The Old Guard, which just debuted last week, and everybody has seen it-- I believe people have seen it by now, so that's very exciting. And to dive deep into this film, we're actually very lucky to have the film's director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who also directed Love And Basketball and Beyond The Lights here. Hello, Gina.
Gina: Hey.
P: And we're also joined by the film's writer, as well as the writer of the original comic book series, The Old Guard. Also, you might know him from his DC Comics work, Batwoman, and Lazarus, to name a few of his titles. We have Greg Rucka! Hello, Greg.
Greg: Hello!
P: So this film just first debuted last week, and I know you guys have been inundated with fans, just loving it. And let's just get to what fans want to know, right off the bat; I'm sure you're getting daily questions about this because there's so much for an expanded universe. So let's set the record straight: will there be a Tiger King crossover?
[everyone laughs]
Greg: Uh, we're planning an animated series with giant Mech suits, and, unbeknownst to a certain franchise, we're going to crossover with Transformers and-- no. Come on. [laughs]
P: Okay, alright, we’ll hold onto that big crossover stuff. And I know Netflix, of course, hasn’t fully announced what the future might be for Old Guard, but I'm just kind of curious if you guys have had any recent conversations about what you'd like to do in the future—theoretical, nothing concrete, of course. But since the film has come out and you've seen fan feedback…?
Gina: I will just say, obviously, it's an incredible compliment that people want to see more. It means we did our job in this. It was very important that this film has a beginning middle and end. We wanted to focus on this.
Greg: Yeah.
Gina: And get it right. Having people want more is an incredible gift and I would say those conversations were really… Greg and I, early on in talking through the story... knowing Greg knows where this thing goes --and it's pretty incredible-- helped me in terms of directing this one. So I will say we've had those conversations early on.
Greg: Yeah Gina’s absolutely right. One of the things that I'm really-- one of the many things I am proud of is that the movie is a whole, you certainly leave it going ‘okay, there could be more, I can see how there is more’. But it is a complete work. It is not contingent and does not need anything else. That said, there were plenty of times we were having conversations and would jokingly be like, ‘oh that'll be in the next one, we'll do that in the next one. We had to cut this so we’ll put it in the next one’.
P: I'm sure people would be very thrilled, as would I. So we’ll try to remain patient since it's only been out a week--
Greg: I think that's reasonable.
P: [sarcastic] I mean, fans are nothing but reasonable--
Greg: [very loud laughter] You know what 'fan' is short for right? Fanatic.
P: [laughs] So Greg, I'm curious. You know, since this is a pretty unique situation where you wrote the original books but then also came to write the script-- which doesn't always happen all that often. I was kind of curious what that process was like and if, when revisiting that core story, if you were tempted to kind of go off into a new directions, you know, uncharted territory? And how you managed to stay faithful to that story.
Greg: So when Skydance initially acquired The Old Guard, Matt Grimm and Don Granger were the guys that I was working with. And they were very clear that they had acquired it because they loved the source material. So when I was doing the adaptation, it was ‘adapt this story to be told in a screen format, there are changes that have to be made’. I didn't see it so much as like ‘I can go in a different direction!’ as ‘it's a really rare opportunity to have a second bite at the apple’. Most writers don't get to tell the same story twice. And even with the collaborative nature of comics, making a movie is far more collaborative. So… being able to benefit from a lot of very smart people-- and then when Gina came aboard, and working very closely with her on the screenplay, you know, taking her notes, and talking at length about it was… I mean, I love the comic we made, I'm very proud of it. But I think this is a superior story. Because it allowed me to fix mistakes I had made. And I think that it certainly works as the film that we wanted it to be, but it has a lot more nuance and a lot more ‘shading’ than the comics ever could have had. So yeah, I mean, I'm very proud of the work we've done.
P: Yeah, as you should be, definitely agree with that. And I know, Gina, you've spoken about how you treated the source material essentially as a Bible as the blueprint for adapting the movie. So a question kind of for both of you, I was curious what scene or sequence were you most excited to bring to life? And then what scene were you most apprehensive about whether or not you could pull it off as faithful to that original?
Gina: For me, I mean, there was there were certainly a couple... Joe and Nicky in the van.
Greg: [nodding] Yeah.
Gina: Such a beautiful moment in the comic. And I wanted to get it right. I knew the actors really wanted to get it right. As soon as we started shooting, I was like, 'oh yeah, they're killing it'. Also Booker in the mine, the speech that he gives to Nile, it's everything to his character. It explains both Booker and Andy; where they are, and why they are the way that they are in that moment of time. And I know that as a director, I saw a perfect take. But going into those, you hope that, ‘am I able to evoke what I need to evoke in the audience?’ I think that the hardest really was the Kill Floor, given how iconic it is in the comic. It's just so beautifully drawn by Leandro, it pops off the page. So ‘how am I going to be able to do the same thing on film?’ But it really kind of boiled down to ‘what is the story [of the scene]’ and really focus on that first, but also wanting to really give a bit of a homage to what Leandro did too, which was my use of silhouette throughout it.
Greg: Yeah, I think that… Gina just listed all of the scenes. I mean, I wanted to see the armored car, that was enormously rewarding for me… I couldn't wait to see the killing room floor... You know, when we talk about moments of adaptation, I actually —and I thought this was really well handled in the movie in particular— Nile’s death wasn't wasn't easy in the comic, because it needed to have heart. You know, Kiki's performance and the way it's shot is just, it's phenomenal.
P: And obviously you can't really talk about this movie, which is this big action-fantasy movie, without talking about that scene between Joe and Nicky. I'm curious what both of your reactions have been to seeing that moment hit so hard with so many fans.
Greg: I'm overjoyed that we're able to give that to so many people. I am also frustrated that it's so overdue. While I don't think that either Gina or I felt that this was… It was important and special because it was important and special between these characters. But, you know, I mean I’m in that place where I recognize why we are getting the response that we are, and, I'm frustrated by the fact that it's 2020. And… apparently we're the first people to have done this? And you can say that about a lot of the reactions, you can say that about the reactions to Kiki's Nile. You can say that about reactions about Charlize portraying Andy. There’s a piece of me that's like ‘guys, we didn't invent the wheel here. All we did was show you, THERE’S A WHEEL HERE!’. So.
P: Yeah, it's interesting and it is frustrating that it is 2020 and we have to refer to this as an anomaly. That this is not the norm, that as you said, this is we're showing people that the wheel exists. And so Gina, you know, between having a film with two powered, seemingly super-powered characters, in a comic book adaptation, which is largely been devoid of such characters. [I think he meant to say female powered characters?] and being a black woman, directing a comic book adaptation— again, something in 2020 that we have to treat as a shocking revelation— I was curious, if you felt any sort of pressure about that on set, or if it was like just a confidence in the material, and support from your collaborators, that it wasn't even an issue?
Gina: Um, are you talking about the scene-?
P: Just the project as a whole.
Gina: There was a reason I took this film, because it moved me. It has to start there. There's all these things; I love putting a black female in the world, I love putting Nicky and Joe in the world, I love putting Joe’s character in the world. Those are all such incredible driving forces. But foremost, I have to feel and care about the characters in the story. And I did. And so, for me, it felt... I mean I was honored to be able to be the one to give these characters a life up on screen... or in that big screen in your living room. There's, of course, enormous pressure. Not only just doing a film, like the bigness of it. Certainly me being a woman, me being a black woman, and doing this when nobody has done it before… It's about proving myself and proving that women like me can do this, that we do like action, that we can shoot action… Just changing that narrative. So there's pressure to get it right and do a good job, but I feed off of that. It made me work harder because I felt like I absolutely had a responsibility to get it right.
P: And we've talked about Kiki a few times as Nile, of course. And Gina, I know you said it was within five seconds of meeting her that you knew she was the right one to play Nile. I was curious, how did the rest of the casting process go? Did everybody get hired that easily? Or was it a harder search to round out the ensemble?
Greg: Yes. I’m curious too!
Gina: You know, I knew going into this that I wanted great actors for every role and it's pretty amazing how many of my first choices are in this film. I mean Matthias Schoenaerts who plays Booker is an incredible actor and I knew I wanted him from the get-go. We were told he doesn't do films like this, but he wanted to meet, which was the first thing, like, ‘oh my gosh it’s on me, don't blow this meeting’ and he said again to my face, ‘I don't do these movies, but I love this movie’ and he loved the character Booker. And after that conversation and hearing my vision, he was in, which was amazing. Marwan Kenzari, I saw him in this independent film called Wolf—
Greg: Yeahhhhhh.
Gina: Phenomenal. And he was supposed to read for the part. We had a meeting over FaceTime. Then, Zoom was not what it is now. And it was such an incredible meeting. He was so passionate about the material. So passionate about the character Joe. So passionate about wanting to give that speech. His energy… I just said 'you don't need to read, like, you're Joe'. Luca Marinelli, who plays Nicky, I saw his audition. He has this depth to him, those eyes.. where you just, you felt everything, you felt his soul. But I needed to do a chemistry reading, as I would with any love story. And so, we flew him in to read with Marwan. They did this incredible improv, and it was so obvious that these two were Joe and Nicky. It was a really beautiful moment as a director to just… know, and I was so excited to show everybody what they had. It leapt off the screen, their connection; they’d never met before but, immediate connection. Chiwetel Ejiofor, I mean… [awed silence]
Greg: Chiwetel... yeah.
Gina: Yeah. To hear that he wanted to be in this and work with me on this, I didn't need anything else at that point. He's truly a genius. Charlize, you know, there are very few women who can work in the space and we believe them. And that's the thing about her work, and her action, we believe her. And we needed that for Andy. And of course she's a great actress, so it was, you know, that was kind of a no-brainer. So, lastly Harry Melling, you know our villain. It's funny, Don Granger, at Skydance, says you've done a good job with your villain if the audience wants to punch him in the face. Harry brought that reality of those templates of Mark Zuckerberg and Martin Shkreli and really rocked it.
Greg: I had, you know, I'm the screenwriter, right? And I am pretty much involved in the production at the director’s sufferance, and Gina was so gracious to want me present-- and more than that, want me present and say things, right? As opposed to ‘stand here and be quiet’, but I remember when Kiki… when they knew they wanted Kiki, like in that window before all the paperwork was done and so on. Throughout most of the casting I wasn't hearing a lot from Gina, just the occasional update. Like ‘I think we've got…’ and then the Kiki audition came in, and Gina, you called me, Granger texted me, Grimm texted me. And it was all the same thing. It was all ‘we have found Nile, oh my god, there were these two scenes and she had us howling in one and weeping in the other and she is perfect’. And the exuberant joy, you know, I remember you on that call being like ‘NO, THIS IS HER!!’. It's like, this is gonna be awesome.
P: So, and to open things up a little bit more to the actual mythology of the film and the comic book series, I think one of the coolest things is that this film doesn't entirely explore is why these characters come back to life? But we also don't entirely need to know that to just… witness this slice of time in their journey. So I'm kind of curious, maybe Greg you have more insight on this, but I'm curious if either of you have those ideas in your head of what the root of this, you know, blessing or curse, the curse of immortality? Or is that just stuff that's entirely irrelevant to this journey?
Greg: I think it's irrelevant… to the journey of the first film. That the story is a self-contained story and you don't need to know why they are immortal. And I think that the film actually does tell you, not specifically, but the film does provide you with enough information to allow you to draw certain conclusions. Because there are really a limited number of ways that they're going to get this way, right? We do not, for instance, see Nile fall into a vat of regeneration juice, right? That's not why Nile comes back. There is a mythology. We know the mythology. We know the why and that's for later. Yes, maybe it will become relevant to the story, but for this story that was told as it was told? No, you don't need to know why.
Gina: The striking thing, when I read the script for the first time was I didn't… I didn't care. Like, I didn't need it. And that surprised me because I know Greg had talked about another company who was interested in the project [Gina doesn’t say, but it was Sony lmao] kept asking ‘you have to tell us why though, in this story, an audience needs to know why’. He was absolutely right [for disagreeing with Sony]. Because I didn't need to know why.
Greg: It's the Rian Johnson School of, you know, it's Looper. ‘We can spend two hours talking about time travel or you can accept that we're in time travel. Which is it going to be?’ And I think that that is one of the most brilliant storytelling decisions made in the last 20 years in film! Literally 'here it is—DOESN’T MATTER, MOVING ON!’ you know.
P: Yeah. It's definitely a bold direction to take. And to have an issue with 'oh, well, we never learn [about the] immortality!' proves that you just miss the point of what the movie is, and that that stuff is kind of irrelevant for right now. Although I do kind of hope that because it's on Netflix someone's expecting like a post credit scene, but it's the autoplay feature, right? [Greg and Patrick talk over eachother, laughing]
Greg: We did talk about that button as a post-credit scene, the Booker [scene]—
Gina: That was originally supposed to be a tag.
Greg: And there was, for a while, the contemplation of ‘maybe we can still [put the Booker scene in as a post-credit scene] and really that'll be like a great big reward for those people who actually watch credits on Netflix. It’s like, you got a bonus scene!’
P: So another, you know, people are loving the characters, they're loving the performances, but also the action is so cool in it, and it feels reminiscent of some other films. But the urgency and efficiency of all of the action sequences always feel like they have a point, and they're not just ‘look what we can pull off this week!’ You know, it's not John Wick on a horse fighting motorcycles because we don't need to do that. It's, you know, always to a point. So I'm kind of curious Greg, what does an action scene look like in your script? And then Gina, what was your whole motivation for putting these action scenes together?
Greg: I had two approaches in this script and used both. Sometimes I would write the sequence as you know, as a series-- this is what is happening, ‘he swings and then his head goes flying’ or whatnot. But knowing very well that unless the script needed to see-- because the script has to specify what is a must. It's a must. It's a must document. ‘We must see this’. ‘We must know this information’. So for a lot of the time, I would sort of drop into a narrative voice and say, ‘okay, now we watch the five of them proceeded to kick every ass and take every name that they come across and please bear in mind you are watching over 10,000 years of combat experience, combined between them’. And then that's the description of an action sequence, right? The screenplay… it's a construction document. It's not the interior decorator’s document. It's not even the Foreman's document. It's an architectural document. And then you give it to the Foreman of the whole production, who then goes, ‘I agree, these are the important things’, and then you get out of their way and watch them do the thing that they have, you know, become an expert at doing to make it happen.
P: Gina, what's your reaction when you read Greg’s script saying, ‘oh, you know, just five immortal warriors demonstrating 10,000 years of combat experience’?
Gina: It's like ‘oh shit’. [everyone laughs] Like that's a very cool thing to read—
Greg: But how do you film it?
Gina: Yeah, exactly! Then you start at the beginning of the scene and 'what character can we reveal in the scene'? And when you start like that, it's less overwhelming. Because the best action sequences for me, when I go to the movies, are those that have a story to them and that are character driven, that have an emotion. So I really started there in the vision of what they should be and just working with my incredible, incredible stunt team, Jeff Habberstad and Danny Hernandez and Bryson Counts[? I dont know who that is]. Designing these fights to tell this story, to showcase this part of character, to further the story. And that was important as well, that we never wanted this film to feel like… rushing through the story to get to each action sequence. All of this works seamlessly. The quiet moments are just as important as the action moments. And so that was exciting to me. But being able to tell the story, reveal character, that was fun. And then it's ‘yeah, how do we choreograph so it feels as if these characters finish each other sentences, so to speak, in terms of action, knowing where the other is going to be, knowing when somebody's out of bullets and need another clip?' Like all those things, the way that they're always picking up used guns and used clips, just this dance. And it was very cool, you know, to really put that together and see what the team came up with. And then to see the actors embody that, bring character, bring performance to that. Which is why it was so great that I had the actual actors doing most of the work, so that we can see that performance.
Greg: I think you used a word that I think clearly came from what Gina’s describing and talking about with working with Danny and Jeff and Bryson. Which is 'efficient'. Like, if you watch the film, you will see that there is only one sequence where Andy is ever firing more than twice, and it is on the killing room floor. After that, whenever she fires a gun, it's one bullet. It goes exactly where she wants it to go. Everything she does becomes an issue of ‘her style is efficiency—‘
Gina: Yeah, that was a big—‘brutal efficiency’ is a term we talked about often, where they know a kill shot. They are not the type that are going to go in an environment and spray. It's lazy and not who they are. They are not going to ever hit someone by accident. They are too good. And their moral code is not like an ordinary For Hire who are just trying to get the target by any means necessary.
P: Yeah, and also speaking to what I feel set these action sequences apart from other action films is, we're used to, you know, like thumping techno or hard rock or something kick in. You know, I don't think anyone had like, you know, Frank Ocean being in an action film on Netflix on their 2020 Bingo cards. So I'm just kind of curious how you put that soundtrack together and what that process was like.
Gina: Yeah. I love music so much. It's so much a part of me as an artist. And for me, I love songs for scores, songs that can evoke an emotion, and elevate a scene or the emotion of a scene without taking it over. And music for this film was so important, to the tone. It was such a balance. This is a violent film, yet I never wanted it to feel like a celebration of violence. The fact that there was a cost to the killing and then motion to the killing. So always wanted to keep that in mind-- and music really helped with that. There's also a thing of, you know, I'm the first audience and I actually don't like heavy metal. So, it annoys me when I watch a movie and it's this non-stop thump. In the rectory —spoiler alert— when Andy kills 19 people, the music I chose was important because it took away the sting of that. I didn't want an audience to revel in ‘oh my God, she killed 19 people’. No, it was ‘she killed 19 people and you see on her face that this was not fun, this was not easy’. You see that on Nile’s face when she walks out, and the music helped that. I wanted the music to feel operatic, because what happened in that room did have that depth of emotion, so music again— so important for vibe and tone and it was fun to find these songs that could do exactly what I wanted them to do.
P: Greg, the narrative is definitely very faithful to the first two Old Guard series and, you know, blends together in this compelling and unique way… Just as a —you know, we are comicbook.com— so coming from the purest sense of interpreting the narrative... [Greg laughs] like there's definitely the flashback with Achilles from the comic book, and then also the flashback to Booker's hanging scene. Those are our absent from the film. And I was just curious if those were ever in the script or if you want to rework them for the future…?
Greg: No, I mean we also had, in the original series, the flashback that sort of accounts the Joe and Nicky, ‘we killed each other’, ‘many times’ sequence as well. There were drafts where all of that was there. And sometimes in greater detail than others. There was a version where that hospital scene— [in the movie] you get just the right amount of… when Booker's relaying it to Nile in the mine. But, you know, there was more to that, and you can see sort of Achilles' story’s presence in the mine, right? There's a glimpse of the painting. So those things weren't erased as much as… when you make a comic, every choice you are making is an efficiency choice. ‘You have X many pages, how are you going to spend them?’ And I'm not a filmmaker. I'm the guy who wrote the thing. But one of the things I can tell you when watching is that it's the same calculus but exponentially. It is— every single thing you are doing is asking if it's serving your narrative. And I think the trade —because it is a trade— of the Achilles backstory to build the Quynh story has a benefit that the Achilles story alone didn't have, in that the Quynh story —especially as it's relayed in the movie— not only does it illuminate Joe, Nicky, Booker, and of course Andy, but it's also Illuminating to Nile, in a way that… talking about Achilles would have been repeating a beat. Because as beautiful, and as important, Achilles is to Andy's character… Booker conveys that heartbreak with his story, right? So it becomes an efficiency question as much as anything else. I mean, that that's really what it comes down to.
P: Speaking to some of the changes again, I don't want to get to spoiler heavy but there's definitely a big change with one character and their possible fate. Don't want to ruin anything for anyone, so trying to play it safe.
Greg: [laughing] Yeah, how are we supposed to answer this, Patrick?
P: Why don't we just text each other? [everyone laughs] Well, I'm kind of curious. One character's trajectory has changed a little bit. What were the discussions like over, you know, altering their trajectory and what that could mean, you know, for their future adventures?
Greg: Well, how do we talk around this?
P: Also, if anyone's been watching this for 40 minutes and hasn't seen the movie, they've got to adjust their priorities.
Gina: I would say, it was about adding more jeopardy and stakes. It absolutely did that. What I love so much about the story and what Greg created is that these characters are mostly immortal. So there is always that threat. But it just added another level to that. But it also crystallized so well… the fact that the moment that Andy is truly saying ‘I'm done’ a new Immortal shows up in Nile. So it just seemed to work really well and, you know, obviously having Greg be so on board with that and take it and run with it was really important.
Greg: It externalizes the conflict beautifully. And I believe I think David Ellison at Skydance likes the term downward pressure, I believe. [Gina smiles, Greg sees] Did you hear that? Did you hear that during editing? [Gina nods] But it does. Look, here's a fundamental problem; it's actually one of the problems at the heart of Force Multiplied: what's jeopardy to an immortal? Cuz it's kind of, you know, as Joe says, ‘what are you gonna do, tough guy? Kill me?’ You know, ‘if I go, I go. I don't know when I'm going’. So you you need to be able to inject into the story some level of jeopardy. You want to heighten the stakes. And it also externalizes that particular character’s conflict.
P: Gina, hopefully I don't put you too much on the spot with this question. But, you know, any time there's a big comic book project announced its, you know, fans start saying, oh, I'd love this person who's done action movies to do it’ or ‘this person who’s already done 10 Sci-Fi movies…’, you know, like Taika Waititi can't direct every movie.
Gina: I would love him to!
P: I'm just actually kind of curious, Gina, if there are any directors that you're particularly a fan of who don't necessarily have the same, you know, Marvel DC, Star Wars experience that that you'd love to hear get announced as tackling, you know, a big budget comic book movie.
Greg: I would like to know too.
Gina: Certainly, I'm excited about what Victoria Mahoney's going to be doing-- she just did second unit [director] on Star Wars, first woman to ever do that. I dig her brain so much and her aesthetic. I'm really excited to see what she's going to do in the action space, certainly.
P: Yeah, very cool. Really looking forward to her career for sure. And I think we're just about out of time here. We were down—
Gina: [raising her hand] Can I ask a question real quick? Sorry, I just need a definitive answer on this because I got called out on Twitter and I asked Greg--
Greg: [laughing] Ohhhhhhh—
Gina: So is Old Guard, is it a graphic novel? Or is it a comic?
Greg: You got to answer that Patrick.
P: Oh boy.
Greg: [laughing] Literally he's watching all credibility start to evaporate if he doesn't get this right. [holding up a comic of Opening Fire] This is a what?
P: I mean… part of me, knowing that it is part one of a three-part overall series… You know, my brain goes to ‘trade paperback’, you know, like it's a volume collecting a certain amount of issues. But if you ask me before volume 2 came out, it would be collected as a graphic novel, but… they're all comic books. They're all just comic books, everybody. Let's just take it easy.
Gina: Okay, thank you.
P: That's my answer.
Greg: Thank you. Thank you. I think that is the appropriate answer.
P: They're all just comic books. Take it easy.
P: Yeah, but I am curious. Of course, one of the interesting things about the film is that over the course of hundreds… thousands of years, these characters, the old guard have kind of influenced humanity in some definitely interesting ways… And ultimately for good, is a little bit of what we're seeing in the film. And I can't help but wonder… is it possible that the old guard could have unintentionally influenced the world for bad? And have some negative ripples come from their actions, or do I have to wait for a sequel for that?
Greg: I think that is a very reasonable and logical question to ask, especially when you know, there are 19 dead bodies lying in a church. You know what I mean? There is a certain amount— and it's almost fatuous to talk about it but there is always the doctrine of unintended consequences. I will say this goes to something else— and I'll say it really quickly because I know we're running out of time. I think one of the things that I really, really loved about what's being said, in the movie, is that at the end of the film… The definitive statement is, if you take away everything about immortality, what it's saying is that… our choices matter and our actions matter and they matter in ways and to people that we will never see and never know of. We try to put right in the world by doing right. And we do that without ever seeing what the ramifications of it are. And sometimes we're going to succeed, gloriously, and sometimes we're going to fail and we may never know that either, right? It's the choice paralysis that that you get from cheating in The Good Place, right? I can't eat or drink or move because morally it's all wrong, right? But the takeaway from the film is that, ‘yeah, your life matters and what you do with it matters and it matters to people that you're never ever going to see.’
P: So yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that's a great positive, you know, message for us to leave on. And I definitely think that comes across in the film, especially, you know, from the characters like Joe and Nicky just professing… you know, it's about the time that you have. And you don't know when your number is going to be up. So you just try and do as many good things before that happens as you can, and hopefully the world responds to that. So I really connected with that message in the film. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. The Old Guard has been out for… five days. So I look forward to reuniting--
Greg: Does it feel longer to you. Gina? It feels like it's longer for me. [Gina laughs]
P: I look forward to reuniting in maybe 10 more days to talk about the sequel and spin-off and the prequel and all that sort of thing. [Greg laughs] But for now, The Old Guard is still on Netflix. And of course don't be tricked into watching any post-credit scenes because you might end up watching, you know, The Great British Bake Off. Well, thanks so much guys, it was a pleasure.
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I’ve been thinking about one piece of dialogue Violet has when you’re walking back to Ericson, right before the bridge: “I've always wanted a basketball hoop.”
One of the issues I’ve always had with Violet’s writing throughout the whole season is that it never feels like she has anything to call her own. So much of her story revolves around Minerva and Clementine, which would be fine if I also felt like I got to know her more than I do.
Like... aside from survival, what gets Violet out of bed every morning? What does she like? We always hear about things she doesn’t like, but what does Violet do that is hers? I mean within the text of the story, not headcanons. Aside from her romantic relationships, there really isn’t something so tied to her character, if that makes sense. Something that’s in a more positive light.... though I guess her relationships aren’t always that positive.
I get that when the twins died, Violet shut down a little bit and turned everyone away, but do they ever make a point to be like “Violet used to enjoy doing this, but when the twins died, she stopped and hasn’t picked it up since.” because for the life of me, I can’t think of anything.
Everyone memeified the chicken nugget thing but that doesn’t add much to her character. She makes Clementine a pin, but admits that artsy stuff isn’t her thing. I get that’s supposed to make you feel special because she likes you enough to do something she doesn’t like for you, but again, art isn’t her thing. If you say that she likes stars and that’s her thing, that’s not exactly true since it was Clementine who knows about constellations and Violet admits that she knows nothing about that stuff, so they’ll just make it up. I guess you could make the argument that she took an interest in it because of Clementine, and that’s fair, but that’s the thing.... why does Violet’s romance scene take place up on the bell tower in the first place?
Like.... okay, Louis has his romance scene in the music room, right? That makes perfect sense with his character. It’s where we first meet him, and music is so interwoven with his character that it holds together his backstory of why he broke up his parents marriage, his coping mechanism, how the others view him, and how losing his tongue is even more tragic since he won’t ever be able to sing again. So having him and Clementine tune the piano, carving their initials into the piano, him naming a song he wrote after her, it’s all romantic and it makes so much sense. They didn’t do it just because they thought it would be romantic.
The thing I struggle with the Violet scene is that I feel like if I asked the devs why they chose the bell tower and how it ties into her character, they would say “well, it’s romantic under the stars.” like.... they’re only doing it for the sake of romance without thinking about anything else? because when doing that scene we get the terrible mini-game [sorry, but I reeeeally don’t like the mini-game hahaha] and it feels like we’re wasting a little too much time because I’m not learning anything about Violet through it, but we’re also not talking about anything important. The most I learn is that if I remain silent, then Violet will say that Minerva reminds her of the fish constellation: “Bright, pretty, good with other people. Always moving, tons of energy.”
Which, by they way, Clementine’s face when she says that? Oof.
By the end of the mini-game, Violet finally says something about how she didn’t mean to talk so much, and how how she’s watched people leave before and all that.... stuff that I already know about her, and it’s not that it isn’t important for her to admit that she wants us here and she can’t imagine what it would be like if we weren’t now, because it is.... I guess I just want everything to tie together better?
Okay, when we first see Violet, she’s laying up on a high wall and you could link that to the bell tower [high places], but she never mentions it or how she goes up there when she needs the quiet until that very moment. And the more I think about it, I’m like..... why didn’t they give her something?
Violet’s supposed to be this character who needs to warm up to you, who has shut everyone out for a year, she’s not a people person and has a hard time relating to others, she snarky and can come off as aggressive, she knows how to fight, she was in a romantic relationship with Minerva, she’s close with Tenn, she’s got a strained relationship with Brody and hates Marlon and...... like okay, this is going to sound harsh and I don’t like it either, but sometimes if feels like the writers neglected parts of her character for the sake of focusing on her relationships with Minerva and Clementine, that when you take them away, there isn’t a lot left... as if Violet’s only important or special if she’s in some sort of relationship with Clementine and I don’t like that.
Characters, like people, should be more than just their sexuality and relationships. If Violet and Louis are supposed to be important characters in the game, they need to stand on their own outside of Clementine.
You guys know me, you know every time I play I romance and save Louis, but in doing that, I learn pretty much nothing about Violet and that’s dumb. At least when you romance and save Violet, you know about Louis and his tie to music. The most I tie Vi to is Minnie and aggression because she and I spend two episodes butting heads about most things until she’s captured, and then she yells and attacks me in the cells and what was the plan here writers??
I get that they don’t wanna info dump about these characters and they want to leave things for when you play the different routes but that doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t give Violet anything to call her own because even when I played her route, it still didn’t feel like I got to know her and everything was done because you thought just having a queer option smothered in romance that doesn’t have to make sense was enough.
Are my ramblings making sense yet? I dunno!
This leads me to this piece of dialogue you get when Clementine says silent when Violet asks her what her favorite part of her house was: “I've always wanted a basketball hoop.”
Now stick with me a little longer and hear me out........ why wasn’t basketball Violet’s thing? I know this is a bit of a throwaway line that a lot of players probably didn’t even get, but think of the possibilities of extra layers to Violet’s character?
Instead of hanging out on top of a wall when we first see her, Violet’s off dribbling a basketball and shooting hoops when she spots you and Tenn goes to her, and she stops to stare you down as she holds the ball against her hip, or she continues to dribble but now she’s watching Clementine. A little intimidating, but enough to peak your curiosity about the girl shooting hoops.
When Louis says he used to love baseball and Violet says baseball sucks, it’s because this is an inside joke they have about baseball vs basketball.
“Basketball/baseball sucks.”
“YOU suck.”
“Not as much as baseball/basketball.”
Instead of going up to the bell tower, Clementine and Violet shoot hoops together while talking about how Violet’s feeling about the situation, let her get some of those thoughts about Minerva out so they’re not weighing down on her, and then segway into her talking about how she’s glad Clem is here and let the romance/friendship play out. Hell, you could either do this in a gym or outside if you still want them under the stars.
As far as this tying into her backstory, maybe her grandparents had a basketball hoop at their place, and after church her grandma would grab fast food and they’d go home where she and her grandpa would play while grandma watched.
Then when you don’t save her, Violet becoming blind has a whole other layer to it because now she can’t fucking see to shoot hoops, something she genuinely enjoyed and can’t anymore.
This would also compliment Louis and his tie to music. Violet’s more active, aggressive, sporty whereas Louis is musical, artsy and calmer.
I dunno, what do you guys think?
#twdg violet#twdg clementine#twdg louis#twdg violentine#whoops it got long again#ah well#sometimes I just wanna throw ideas out there#or get something off my chest
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Firefly’s Night - Things That Gradually Drift Away 3
Writer: Mitsuki
Characters: Isara Mao, Kanzaki Souma, Otogari Adonis
Translated by: jewwyfeesh
Summary: After a day's work, Mao sends the transfer student home. En route, they meet up with Souma and Adonis who are on their way to go look at the fireflies. The transfer student manages to resolve the awkward tension between Mao and Souma in a timely manner, and brought up her interest in wanting to see the fireflies as well. Mao requests that Souma and Adonis take good care of the transfer student.
Mao: Really! It’s rare to see Ritsu so motivated. Rather than worrying… I’m actually very happy. He’s found something that interests him.
Season: Summer
Location: Downtown
Mao: Sorry for making you wait till now, Anzu.
I’ll send you home now. Don’t worry, I’ll explain to auntie[1] on your behalf. We’re pretty lucky, the sky hasn’t turned too dark yet ♪
Ahh, it’s been a while since I’ve left for home this early~ I’ve become accustomed to the night scene… so I’m not used to seeing the streets at dusk.
There are so many people, it’s so lively~ The storefronts do look a little different from the usual, I feel like I’m about to get lost ♪ If that does happen, then I’ll have to trouble Anzu to send me home.
Eh? That stationery shop is still in operation?! I haven’t seen it do business for a long time! Every day when I walk past, the doors are always closed tightly?!
Uwah… I don’t know why but… suddenly, I feel very overwhelmed… I’m starting to understand how that junior from the basketball club feels, muttering ‘I’m so depressed, I want to die’ everyday.
I feel like a savage living in the secluded mountains, ruthlessly abandoned by the era of high speed advancement…
…What’s with this tone of an unemployed middle-aged uncle! My apologies, Anzu, it seems that I’m a little dizzy from overwork.
Please pretend you didn’t hear what I said just now.
Eh? You’re giggling? Although I do feel a little embarrassed… as long as you’re happy. After all, you’ve also been through a lot as well.
Some time ago, I had asked for your assistance for the Tanabata Festival. To be very honest, I was quite surprised when I first heard about it, but Sagami-sensei is really too messy, so I ended up handing all the preparations for the ‘S1’ to you.
But the Tanabata Festival had concluded successfully, even exceeding my expectations ♪ There were performances by so many units, and the guests who came to Yumenosaki wore content smiles.
Perhaps you’re actually more competent than all of us. Hmm… that must be it. That’s why you became our ‘Goddess of Victory’ ♪
To be honest, I’m not really complaining about anything in particular… Even though I keep saying that ‘I’m in a dilemma’, or ‘I’m way to busy’ and the like…
Participating in Trickstar activities or with the Student Council… I’m either busy with training, or busy with work.
I know in my heart that I’m the only one who can make the decision. In addition, the members of Trickstar and the Student Council take very good care of me.
I can’t keep on hesitantly deceiving myself, refusing to move forward, just like I had done in the past. I have to work hard on both ends, even though I don’t know how much I’ll be able to accomplish.
At the very least, I can’t lose to Anzu ♪
Hm? You’re asking about Ritsu? That guy said he had some matters to attend to, and left first.
Speaking of which, Ritsu’s been acting rather mysterious lately, as if he’s planning something.
Of course, this shouldn’t be ignored, but for the time being it doesn’t seem like he has any intention of letting me know. Even though I’m curious, I won’t press the matter tactlessly.
After all, that guy’s not some kid who needs to be hand-held; neither am I his guardian loitering in his shadow, watching over him every step of the way.
I’m his ‘childhood friend’[2] and nothing more. When he’s unable to walk, I’ll pull him along. When he wants to do this or that, I’ll cheer for him while standing an appropriate distance away.
Watching each other move forward in life, and not staying in one place playing house forever.
I think… this is the kind of relationships ‘childhood friends’[2] should have, no?
Really! It’s rare to see Ritsu so motivated. Rather than feeling worried… I’m actually very happy. He’s found something that interests him.
…Hm? What’s wrong? Is there something on my face? Don’t just suddenly stop and stare at me, Anzu! It’s really weird?!
Cough… cough cough… Anzu, look over ther—eh?
Adonis: ……?
Souma: What happened, Adonis-dono? Ah, isn’t that Anzu-dono and Isara-dono? Anzu-dono~ Isara-dono~ ♪
Mao: Oh, Kanzaki and uh… Otogari? Good evening.
Adonis: Good evening.
Souma: Good evening. May I ask what are the both of you doing here?
Mao: Ah… um, about that– I’m sending Anzu home.
Souma: Ah. Did you just depart from school? That should mean that Isara-dono is also from the Student Council, just like Hasumi-dono. That’s right, I’ve patrolled the school with Isara-dono before.
Mao: Ah, mm, yes… I think I did patrol with Kanzaki in the past.
Souma: Isara-dono’s complexion is a lot better than what it was before. Looks like the Student Council isn’t so busy after all. In that case, Hasumi-dono should be doing fine ♪
Mao: Ah… yes. Vice President is doing very well, he’s very lively, ahaha…
(Ugh… Really… Just now I had even vowed to Anzu this ‘working hard on both ends’ and what not, as if I had already made up my mind. But I quickly ‘returned to my original state’…)
(At one point in time, I even ditched Trickstar to perform with Akatsuki[3], but also left them soon after that.)
(Although my heart has always been with Trickstar… even though the vice president would keep reminding me that I should treasure the time I have, and do things that I myself would like to do…)
(But from Kanzaki’s viewpoint, he might think that I had ‘betrayed’ them, which is understandable. Because from my ‘actions’ alone, it does seem like it.)
(Though, as for Kanzaki… he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who goes around looking for trouble. He probably just wanted to talk to me normally and show concern for Vice President.)
(With that being said, I still feel quite awkward… ahhhh, my personality’s really troublesome. If someone else were to step in and speak up, that would be great.)
(Otogari… is in the same class as Hokuto. I’ve heard that he’s still not too familiar with Japan, and is also a man of few words.)
(As expected, he simply stood there for the entire duration without saying a single word.)
(Eh? Anzu…? Why did you suddenly tap my hand…?)
Souma: Anzu-dono, are you asking us? Adonis-dono and I are preparing to attend ‘firefly appreciation’ in the mountains.
Adonis: Hm. Anzu would like to know what ‘firefly appreciation’ is? That’s good.
Akehoshi drew a map. On it, there’s an area near the school that is the most suitable for ‘firefly appreciation’.
Mao: (You took note of my feelings, and tried to change the subject of the conversation so as to allow me to relax… is that it?)
(Thank you, Anzu ♪ I am once again in your care.)
Souma: Could it be Anzu-dono would also like to come along? Really? Oh, oh, I’m really happy! I’ve always wanted to forge good relations with Anzu-dono, just like Trickstar!
Adonis: I agree with Kanzaki. With the both of us around, it’s enough to protect Anzu. You need not prepare anything, so its okay if you’d like to head over straight away.
Mao: …Wait a minute, Anzu. What did you just say?
Yes, I’m talking to you. I couldn’t have made a mistake. What do you mean you intend to head into the mountains at night with two boys?
Souma: Eh? Isara-dono, you’re mistaken.
It’s not two guys, it’s three. Adonis-dono invited Oogami-dono, but Oogami-dono will be making his way there first ♪
Mao: Hey hey, that’s not the main point… but whatever you just said sounds even worse?!
Anzu, you said ‘it’s fine’… Have you really never seen fireflies before? When you look at me so expectantly, how could I say no…
Nevermind, it was me who had rejected the invitation earlier on. Otogari and Kanzaki, along with Oogami… then, I guess it should be fine.
After you all are done viewing the fireflies, you must send Anzu home safely, okay? Anzu too, don’t stay out too late, else auntie[1] will worry.
Let me know once you’re home ♪
Adonis: Mm. We will protect Anzu. We won’t let her get attacked by bugs/insects.
Mao: (Insects…?)
Souma: Please entrust her to me, Isara-dono! Should any harm, no matter how small, fall upon Anzu-dono, I will commit seppuku on the spot!
Mao: Wait a minute, there’s no need to commit seppuku or anything… Anyways, that’s the plan, okay, Anzu?
The term 阿姨 (translated as auntie here) is often used as a sign of familiarity in Mandarin. It is usually used for older, married female relatives. Most likely referring to Anzu's mom.
The original term used is 青梅竹马, an idiom which means ‘childhood sweethearts’ or ‘a couple who grew up as childhood friends’.
Most likely referring to the part in the Main Story when Eichi disbanded Trickstar, and allocated Mao to Akatsuki. However, I would like to clarify that I don't think Mao had the chance to perform as part of Akatsuki before reconvening as Trickstar, so this is probably a point of diversion (￣ω￣;).
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Enemies to Lovers | Larry Fanfic Recs
Walk That Mile by purpledaisy | 149k | Explicit
Harry stares at him, the line of his jaw standing out scarily. “I wanted to get the most out of this trip so I planned it carefully.” His voice is low and steady and somehow that’s worse than when he was yelling. “So far, you’ve put your sticky fingers on everything I’ve tried to do.”
“Sticky fingers?” Louis repeats, offended. “Are you saying it’s my fault you got stung by a bee? Had you been alone you would have gotten halfway to the Dotty Diner and ran the car off the road because of an allergic reaction, so don’t go blaming me.”
“Polk-A-Dot Drive In,” Harry spits before getting out of the car. He slams the door shut with a deafening reverb and Louis rolls his eyes.- A Route 66 AU where falling in love was never part of the plan.
Unbelievers by isthatyoularry | 136k | Explicit
It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.
Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.
we're not friends, we could be anything by nooelgallagher, yoursongonmyheart | 115k | Explicit
Louis narrows his eyes at Harry. “What that supposed to be a fucking joke?”
Harry narrows his eyes right back. “It was a good joke.”
Louis rolls his eyes. “Jokes require laughter, Curls.” Louis glances down at Harry’s thighs again, Christ. “Your pants must be so tight they’re restricting airflow to your brain.”
Harry wipes a bead of sweat off his forehead. “Pretty sure yoga is supposed to increase airflow, blood flow, and all that,” he responds dryly, finally jumpstarting himself and walking away from Louis towards his own bedroom.
Louis can’t help but stare at his broad back, still sheen with drying sweat, and his perky bum in the tight yoga pants.
Louis swallows. Christ.
...Or, the one where Harry and Louis are unlikely uni flatmates who definitely don't like each other and definitely won't fall in love (even if Liam and Niall think otherwise).
Our Lives, Non-Fiction by indiaalphawhiskey | 113k | Explicit
Heralded as the next Neil Gaiman, Louis Tomlinson does not appreciate being told that his very serious novel is in dire need of a PR boost. Even worse, that it comes in the form of a joint book tour with the UK’s #1 online romance-writing sensation Marcel Styles. Already turbulent at best, their partnership takes a drastic turn when, overly stressed about his looming deadline, Marcel accidentally blurts out a secret: though he’s famed for his scorching hot literary love scenes, he is, actually, a virgin.
Convinced that the only way to rid himself of writer’s block is to gain some experience, Marcel asks Louis, author-to-author, to sleep with him – for Science. And of course Louis agrees because, well, what on Earth could possibly go wrong?
Or, a lesson in romance that proves that sometimes the best love stories aren’t always by the book.
Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can't Lose by dolce_piccante | 112k | Mature
American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).
Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.
A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?
Dance to the Distortion by Lis (domesticharry) | 96k | Explicit
Louis accidentally breaks Harry's camera lens and in order to get it fixed, they decide to participate in a romantic couples study. The only issue is that they are not actually couple. Well that and the fact they cannot stand each other.
You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) by lucythegoosey | 95k | Explicit
Harry was in the biggest boy band in the world. He was also one half of the best (or worst, depends on who you ask) kept secret relationship in the music industry.
Now, almost five years on, after One Direction has broken up, and Harry and Louis' relationship has as well, a video threatens to put everything at risk.
One determined Irishman, a massive publicity stunt and two begrudging exes are all it takes to bring One Direction back to life and maybe, just maybe, Harry and Louis' mangled love life too.
Or: Harry and Louis are forced to fake-date after an old video from when they were dating emerges.
The Sidelines by RedRidingStiles | 47k | Explicit
"Alright, I know you guys are the best of friends but I'd like you to do this for the rest of the team,” Cowell says, making the rest of the team snicker. "So I want both of you to compliment each other." "I hate your trainers. I mean that in the nicest way possible. They're very...yellow," Louis says, arms crossed as he offers a fake close-lipped grin. "It's really nice of you to blow anyone you find slightly attractive," Harry replies, a sickening sweet smile on his lips. "Thank you, children, let me remind you this is a college hockey team. Try again," Coach says, completely unamused.
Or Harry and Louis play hockey for Penn state and can't stand one another, since they can't keep their hatred off the ice their coach and team do what they can to keep their hard earned spot in the playoffs and their two star players from killing each other
Wonderwall by AFangirlFantasy | 43k | General Audiences
Taking the sheet cluttered with times available for the next few weeks, Louis notices a pattern in the list. The name of the person Perrie had just mentioned: Harry Styles. It’s written at least seven times, and three of which are during timeframes Louis wants.
“Who the fuck is Harry Styles?”
“You’re about to find out,” she answers, pointing over Louis’ shoulder.
Or a Love/Hate College AU where Louis Tomlinson is the lead singer of The Rogue - the most popular band on campus - and Harry Styles is the talented Freshman unknowingly challenging all that.
All the Right Moves by cherrystreet | 32k | Explicit
This is the third game in a row that Harry has been distracted by the noisy boy in the stands, five rows back.
There’s really no reason that he should feel compelled to stare into the audience as frequently as he is, but he can’t help it. This boy is a nuisance. And he’s loud. Even from basketball court with nine other players running by him, shoes squeaking on the shiny hardwood floor, and thousands of cheering college students, Harry can hear this boy nearly shrieking, his laugh more like a cackle than anything.
It’s seriously obnoxious.
Nicotine by KrisStylinson | 32k | Explicit
"We're two different types of people, Liam. He likes sex and drugs, I like theater and tea. Trust me, we'd never date." Except they would, they do, and neither of them plans on letting go anytime soon.
"Just because you can get me hard doesn't mean I like you," Louis whispered. The fact was, he didn't like Harry right now, not at all. Not even a bit.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry murmured, his breath fanning over Louis' cock as he spoke. "You done telling me how much you hate me so I can suck you off?"
Like Candy In My Veins by littlelouishiccups | 31k | Explicit
“Um…” Harry said slowly after a moment. “Okay. That’s… this is… Let me get this straight.” He lifted up a hand and swallowed. “You told your family that you have a boyfriend… and my name was the first one you thought of?” “Harry Potter was on TV, alright? It wasn’t that much of a stretch.” Louis pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe he was explaining himself to Harry fucking Styles. He couldn’t believe he was stooping this low. “Forget it. I’m sorry I even thought about bringing you into this.”
Harry snorted. “What? Did you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend or something?”
(Basically the A/B/O, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, Christmas AU that nobody asked for.)
We're Like Bumper Cars by sincehewaseighteen | 31k | Explicit
“I have won, I won the final cross country. I win, Harry--”
“Whoever gets to fucking nationals wins it, pretty boy,” Harry teases. “You haven’t won. Interhouse is nothing compared to nationals, or interstate. You haven’t even won interschool. You can dream all you fucking want that you’ve won.”
Louis becomes so ignorant he decides to no longer eye the boy taunting him. “Trophies prove it all, Styles.”
“Where’s your trophy for biggest asshole?”
“Where’s yours for winning cross country?”
Harry growls before hooking his fingers in Louis’ belt loops and bringing them together for a flat kiss.
Or the AU where Louis and Harry are rivals of the century and Cross Country competitors before things get complicated and they play pretend.
After Hours by Velvetoscar for shipsdrifting | 26k | Not Rated
Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are the bane of each other's existences. Unfortunately, they're already in love--even if they aren't completely aware of this minor detail.
[A "You've Got Mail" AU]
When It's Late At Night by Rearviewdreamer | 25k | Mature
Louis has zero interest in an ex-boybander turned solo artist when his appearance on the show gets announced, but that's exactly who he gets stuck with when Harry Styles shows up at the Late Late show to promote the release of his debut album. For an entire fucking week.
Or
The Late Late prompt that we all need to get through this excruciatingly hard time.
Love Me Please by angelichl | 23k | Explicit
Louis hates Harry, which is fine because he would really rather prefer to avoid him at all costs.
The only problem?
They're soulmates.
runnin' like you did by orphan_account | 20k | Explicit
“Should we tell him?”
When Lauren is met with everyone either nodding their heads or shrugging, she takes a deep breath. “I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious by now.” She stalls, sounding ominous and Louis doesn’t like it one bit.
“What is obvious by now?” Louis asks. He’s starting getting anxious. “I swear to God, spit it out. Stop being so damn cryptic.”
“I—We think it’s pretty obvious that you’re in love with Harry,” she states simply and shrugs as if she isn’t telling him he’s in love with the second—Nick being the first—most annoying person on the planet.
or, a college au where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles
Three French Hems by 100percentsassy, gloria_andrews | 20k | Mature
In which Louis is a designer at Burberry and Harry spends December wearing Lanvin… and Lanvin… and Lanvin.
once bitten and twice shy by pinkcords | 19k | Mature
This time as his stomach rolls, there’s no doubt about it. He’s going to vomit. And if he does, it’ll be on Louis’ shoes, a nice little parting gift to go with the embarrassment he’s caused the both of them. “I’m gonna throw up,” he says just as Louis turns to look at him, blue eyes swimming with shock and confusion, and asks, “Is that true?”
Or, in a rush of bravery only senior year can bring, Harry confesses his feelings in a letter to his neighbor and best friend, Louis, only for the entire school to hear it and laugh him out of their small town in Wisconsin. Ten years later, Harry's a successful lawyer at Columbia Records, coming home for Christmas for the first time since he departed for college. He plans to work his way through the trip, eat his mom's cooking, and avoid everyone from his past for as long as possible. The only problem is best laid plans hardly ever go as intended.
That's How I Know by allwaswell16 | 19k | Explicit
Louis Tomlinson has just landed his dream job, coaching soccer at Augustus University. When he moves into a new house near campus, he meets his very fit new neighbor, English professor Harry Styles. Although their first meeting leads to an instant mutual dislike, the more Harry gets to know Louis, the more he likes what he sees.
Or the one where Harry’s African grey parrot spills his dirty secrets to his very hot neighbor.
Get Off of My Cloud by Marora_Daris | 9k | Explicit
Harry is the most annoying neighbour that sexually frustrated Louis could have. Niall decides it's a good idea to handcuff them together.
Featuring guinea pigs, animal print leggings and inappropriate boners.
Erase My History, (Expo)se Me by BayouSexual, pacificrimjob for Edandcurly | 6k | Teen And Up Audiences
“My hair does not smell like strawberries.”
Louis blinks up at Mr. Styles. “I never said your hair smells like strawberries. How would I even know that?” Harry’s hair does smell like strawberries, Harry himself smells like strawberries, everyone who’s been within three feet of him knows this.
~~~~~~~~
Or the one where Harry and Louis both teacher history, their students think they should date, and one pink dry-erase marker is trying to ruin their lives (with a little help of course).
#larry fanfiction recommendations#larry fanfic rec#larry fic#larry fanfiction#larry stylinson#louis tomlinson#harry styles#one direction fanfiction#one direction fanfic recs#larry fanfiction masterpost#enemies to lovers#enemies to friends to lovers#hate to love#enemies with benefits
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[CN] Shaw’s S2 R&S - Glacier Navigation
🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a Rumours & Secrets, 冰川行舟, which has not been released in EN! 🍒
This R&S features S2 Shaw
In terms of sequencing, this is Shaw’s first S2 R&S!
[ Chapter One ]
On this rare break, a phone call from Shaw brings me to the entrance of Loveland University.
At the school gate, a huge “Welcome New Students" banner waves in the wind. The osmanthus petals at my feet exude the unique scent of late summer and early autumn.
I follow Shaw through the bustling crowd and towards the graduate student registration point.
MC: The registration office... this should be it.
Shaw: Are you sure it's here? Just look at these registering students - how do they look like graduate students?
MC: You’re clearly the one who doesn’t look like a graduate student, okay?
Shaw glances at the long line outside the door of the office. Clicking his tongue, he eventually stands at the back properly.
Not having to wait for long, the both of us reach the head of the line.
MC: You don't need me to accompany you for the registration, do you?
Shaw: What are you thinking? Are you treating me like a kid?
MC: Then why did you drag me along to school...
Shaw: I just took you out for a breather after seeing you squatting at home for a few weeks.
He waves his hand at me in self-assurance, turning his head and entering the office.
I lean against the wall, waiting for him. As soon as I take out my phone, the tall figure walks out of the office fiercely.
MC: ...how did you settle it so quickly?
Shaw doesn’t respond. He suddenly leans forward, his eyes almost within reach. His half-squinting eyes contain slight irritation.
MC: W-what do you want... Ah! Don't touch my hair!
I raise my hand to protect my hair, but my cheek ends up getting pinched twice by two of his fingers.
Shaw: This is your punishment for leading me to the wrong place.
MC: No way, we really went to the wrong place?
Shaw: This is the registration point for the Chinese Department. The Archaeology Department is in Zhi Hua Building.
MC: Zhi Hua Building... I remember now. I think we passed by it earlier.
Shaw: Really?
Knowing that I was in the wrong, I quickly lift both my hands up as a guarantee.
MC: Really, I definitely won’t be wrong this time!
Shaw: Fine, I’ll reluctantly believe you this time. The last time.
-
[ Chapter Two ]
Since heading to the wrong place led to quite a delay, the door to the registration office of the Department of Archaeology is completely empty.
Shaw knocks on the office door. Inside, there’s only one middle-aged teacher who is currently reading the newspaper.
Teacher: A freshman? Come, fill in this form. Did you bring a copy of your ID card? If you didn’t bring it, give me the original. I'll make a copy for you.
Shaw: I brought it.
Teacher: What about the one-inch photo?
Shaw: Here.
Teacher: Oh, the boy's ID photo is so handsome! Sit for a while, I have to make a record.
Shaw: Mm, thanks for the hard work, teacher.
The teacher sits in front of the computer leisurely, then casts a curious glance at the door.
Teacher: Is that young lady outside your girlfriend?
Shaw: No.
Shaw pauses, then adds on.
Shaw: Just a friend.
Teacher: Oh... I understand~
The middle-aged man reveals a meaningful smile, and can’t help but gesture at the young man in front of him
Teacher: Young people have to be braver. How can a boy be so shy!
Shaw suppresses the urge to roll his eyes, squeezing out words one by one from between his teeth.
Shaw: Teacher, are you done with the registration?
[Note] There are different ways of saying “you” in Chinese, depending on formality! When being polite and respectful, especially to an elder, 您 (“nin”) is used. When talking to friends or someone younger, 你 (“ni”) is used. SHAW USES 您 HERE BECAUSE HE IS A POLITE BOY
Teacher: Yes yes, sign here. There’s one more thing I have to tell you. Because you filled in your identity as an Evolver on the form, I’ll have to trouble you to submit a copy of the Evol inspection report.
Shaw: The notice didn’t mention that I had to bring it.
Teacher: It’s a new requirement. It conveniences the school in terms of management, so I hope you can understand. Last semester, an Evolver lost control of his ability and almost lifted the entire classroom. The STF were called down for a day, and it was very troublesome.
When he hears the term “STF”, Shaw’s expression stirs slightly. Then, he clicks his tongue impatiently.
Shaw: So troublesome...
Teacher: What did you say?
Shaw: Nothing. Can I hand it in another day?
Teacher: It's fine, just come back within five working days. Here, your notice.
Shaw: Thanks.
-
[ Chapter Three ]
Schoolmate A: Schoolmate, want to check out our e-sports club? We organise competitions every month, and you can receive exquisite merchandise!
Schoolmate B: Schoolmate, come take a look at our basketball club! Handsome guys and beautiful girls gather and keep fit...
Today happens to be the club recruitment day. When Shaw and I pass by the public square, students constantly stop us, asking if we wish to join their clubs.
I look at Shaw curiously, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in any clubs. He walks quickly, not even giving them a glance.
When we’re about to leave the public square, we are once again stopped by a student.
Schoolmate C: Schoolmates, I can tell at a glance that you’re both from the Arts Department, right? Tsk tsk, your outfits have such an artistic quality. I’m from the rock club of our school. Even though the club was only established this year, I believe we have great potential! Usually, the club will organise activities introducing various instruments and music appreciation for hobbyists. Our club president even formed a band himself! They’re performing over there. Do you two want to have a listen?
I initially thought that Shaw would once again ignore him and leave. Unexpectedly, he suddenly stops in his footsteps, then arches his eyebrows with interest.
Shaw: Oh? You guys have a band?
Schoolmate C: Of course! We don't do covers. They’re all original songs!
Shaw: Let’s have a listen then.
MC: Do you actually want to join this rock club?
Shaw: We’ll talk after listening.
After saying this, he walks towards the area surrounded by a cluster of people.
The venue is simple, but there’s a sizeable number of audience members. The band members in the middle are wagging their heads while performing a song.
The vocals are discordant, and the sound quality is inferior. I’m unable to hear the lyrics clearly, but the melody is really catchy.
MC: I didn't expect them to look like an actual band... Shaw?
Shaw: ...tch.
Shaw grabs my arm, leaving the scene without saying a word.
MC: What’s wrong?
Shaw: Hearing plagiarised songs dirties my ears.
MC: That song from before was plagiarised?!
Shaw: They copied an unpopular old song from the 80s. No wonder these people didn’t realise it. You should also improve your musical literacy so you wouldn’t be confused by copied songs.
MC: So what you mean is... I should listen to your band’s songs more?
Shaw: Of course.
I burst out laughing, and Shaw raises his eyebrows in dissatisfaction.
Shaw: What are you laughing at?
MC: No, no, I just think that you’ve always been very serious about your band...
Shaw: You seem pretty concerned about my band?
MC: Mm. I know that you really like this band.
Shaw glances at me, as though verifying the sincerity of my words.
Then, he turns his gaze away, and sunlight touches the corners of his sharp and slightly raised mouth.
Shaw: Even if it’s just for fun, I’ll do even better than everyone else.
He says these words matter-of-factly, as though so long as he’s willing, every difficulty can be stamped out by him.
Shaw takes a final look back at the noisy public square. Retrieving a pair of earphones from his pocket, he hands it to me.
Shaw: Wear it properly. I’ll let you listen to truly good music.
-
[ Chapter Four ]
Shaw: Let’s go. Also, we’ll stop by the supermarket along the way. I’m buying some daily necessities.
MC: I really couldn’t tell that you’d be willing to stay in a dormitory.
Shaw: Who said so? I don’t plan to stay in a dormitory.
MC: Huh?
Shaw: I never stay with outsiders.
Shaw: Anyway, there’s a small room in Live House, and I plan to live there. Rehearsals will be convenient too.
MC: Oh... but your place is really too empty. Aside from a bed, it doesn't look liveable.
Shaw: Hm? How’d you know that my place is empty?
MC: I...
I bite my tongue, hurriedly tossing out a reason to muddle through it.
MC: I don’t even have to think about it to know. Judging by your personality, your house definitely has nothing but bare walls.
Probably because of my self-assured tone, Shaw retracts his scrutinising gaze, pursing his lips.
Shaw: That’s not how you use “nothing but bare walls”. Did you even pay attention in school... Let’s go.”
[Note] The reason why Shaw says this is because what MC used was 家徒四壁 (“jia tou si bi”), which is an idiom literally translating to “nothing but bare walls”. However, this idiom is supposed to describe someone who is very poor!
Shaw has always been very proactive. When he finishes speaking, he quickly takes me to the nearest supermarket from school.
After a short while, the shopping cart is stuffed to the brim.
Shaw: ...wait. I asked you to get a washbowl for me. Why’d you get me three? Do you need to use three washbasins to wash your face every day?
MC: These three washbasins have their respective uses! This one is for washing your face, this one is for washing your body, this one...”
Shaw: Washes what?
MC: Fruits!
Shaw: So troublesome. I might as well buy fruits that I can eat directly without washing.
MC: This is a refined life, okay? If you think it’s too much, then I'll reduce... Hey, what did you put into the cart?
Shaw: Daily necessities.
Lowering my head to take a look, I see three boxes of animal-shaped clothes hangers. The chubby little animals have their cheeks puffed out, lying in the washbowls I’m buying.
MC: Wow, so cute! You’re quite good at picking things too! ...but why are you buying three boxes?
Shaw: I learnt from you. One box for clipping towels, one box for clipping clothes, and one box...
MC: Huh?
Shaw doesn’t finish the second half of the sentence, and I subconsciously look up at him, meeting his sly eyes.
Shaw: Since you came out to run errands today, I’ll give it to you.
-
Shaw leans against the door of Live House, quietly watching the taxi drown in the neon glow. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrates slightly.
An unknown number appears on the screen. Shaw frowns, then lifts his hand to tap the answer button.
?: I heard you reported to school today?
Shaw: Looks like you guys are really free. You even have to bother about my enrolment in school?
?: How is it? Is everything going smoothly?
Shaw: It’s fine. Some situations cropped up, but I’m still in a pretty good mood. Also, you guys have to help me with something. The school wants me to submit an Evol inspection report. Forge one for me.
?: No problem. You can collect it from the usual place. Is there anything unusual about Nox from BS recently?
Hearing this alias, Shaw subconsciously glances into the distance. However, all that is visible is the gorgeous night of the city.
Shaw: She's been very busy recently, and seems to keep working overtime. That's it.
?: You know that’s not what we’re asking about.
Shaw: ...what’s the rush? I haven't finished investigating what you guys want to know.
?: Let me remind you not to mix in unnecessary emotions. Don't forget your mission either.
Shaw: I know. I'm hanging up.
The streetlights lining the long street light up in succession, dyeing Shaw’s hair in a warm colour.
He looks at the phone for a long time, and an untamed smile surfaces on the corners of his lips.
Shaw: I have the final say on how to deal with her.
He takes the long skateboard he had set by the side, lifts his ankle slightly, and skates into the night without hesitation.
More from S2: here
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Katabasis and Anabasis: Billy Is The God-King Who Dies and Lives Again, Pt. 1
I’ve already offered evidence that Billy is a Christ figure. Mythologically speaking, the story of Christ fits into a larger tradition - that of the god-king who dies and lives again. This is an ancient mytheme that occurs over and over in wildly disparate cultures. It just really speaks to us for some reason, no matter where we’re from. If you want to tell a story that packs a punch, you can’t go wrong by tapping into this ancient myth.
With Billy, the Duffers have done precisely that. (Intentionally, imo.)
Proving it will take some work, so I hope you’re ready. ;) In this post, I’ll explore the extensive king symbolism that Billy has already been given. In my second post, I’ll explore his extensive god symbolism. In the third, I’ll explain the concepts of katabasis and anabasis and show how they apply to Billy.
>>In S2, Billy is a king in the making.
Billy may be a scruffy street rat when we meet him, but he has grand ambitions. From the second he struts into S2, he’s shown as having one primary goal: replace Steve Harrington as “King of Hawkins High.” He constantly stabs Steve in the back, undermines his manhood, and claims superiority in everything from playing sports to bedding women. And he does so with startling intensity.
We need only a handful of scenes to see this dynamic in action.
In our first scene with Billy and Steve, Billy’s just beaten the school’s keg record. “We have a new Keg King!” proclaims Tommy, Steve’s former hype-man. As the crowd chants Billy’s name, Billy struts inside, where he catches sight of Steve across the room. He then approaches him, climbing up onto a symbolic royal dais to present himself as a challenger to the throne. “We have a new Keg King, Harrington,” Tommy crows, informing us that the record Billy broke was Steve’s.
Old King, meet the new King.
In their next scene, they’re playing basketball, literally competing with one another. Billy seizes the chance to taunt Steve. “Harrington, right? I heard you used to run this school. […] Then you turned bitch.” He punctuates his taunt by shoving Steve to the ground and scoring a basket.
Undermine Steve’s manhood? Check. Imply his days as king are over? Check. Show him you’re gonna take his place? Check.
As if to emphasize the point - that Billy’s after Steve’s crown - the Duffers give us another basketball scene, this time with “Push It To The Limit” as the soundtrack. Here Billy taunts Steve by asking, “What? You afraid the coach is gonna bench you now that I’m here?” Then he shoves Steve down again, scores another basket, and comes back with an outstretched hand, presumably to help Steve to his feet.
Not so. He just wants to undermine Steve further by suggesting he's incompetent.
“You were moving your feet,” he says. “Plant them next time. Draw a charge.” With that, he shoves Steve down a third time and walks away.
In the shower scene that follows, Billy offers a superficial olive branch, except it’s patronizing and dripping with disdain. “Don’t take it too hard, man,” he says of Steve’s breakup with Nancy. “Pretty boy like you’s got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea. Am I right?” Then he walks away with a parting shot: “I’ll be sure to leave you some.”
These scenes paint a picture of two alpha males vying for authority. The dialogue refers to kings and rulers, Steve and Billy literally compete at every turn, and Billy symbolically kills Steve by shoving him to the ground. By the time he offers his “olive branch,” Billy clearly believes he’s won. He’s King of Hawkins High now, with everything that entails. Steve’s once-loyal subjects are now his, and he gets first pick of the women. Steve has to make do with the leftovers.
>>By the beginning of S3, Billy has settled comfortably into his “kingship.”
Alas, poor Steve. While he’s been reduced to pauper status, dishing out ice cream for children and struggling to land a date, Billy has ascended to the symbolic throne of the Hawkins Community Pool. In his first scene, he emerges gloriously into the sun, with the perfectly coiffed hair of a spoiled monarch. Then he struts to the throne the lifeguard chair from which he will rule the citizens of Hawkins. Along the way, he spots a citizen breaking the law, and he lets his displeasure be known. Loudly.
“No running on my watch! I catch you running again, and you’ll be banned for life. You wanna be banned for life, lard-ass?”
Brutal. But Billy is king of the pool, and the king has total authority.
He even has a symbolic harem: the middle-aged women who wait at the pool every day, clamoring, “Pick me!” “No, me!” When Billy chooses Karen, he’s picking her out of the harem. She has won the favor of the king.
That night, as Billy drives his royal chariot Camaro to their meeting place, he’s smiling and laughing. He has everything he (supposedly) wanted in S2 - power, glory, sex. No one can dim his star.
Then the Mind Flayer strikes. Like an assassin, He waylays the king’s chariot Billy's Camaro on the road, then symbolically kills him by dragging him into the underworld the basement of the steel mill.
At the height of his powers, the king has been dragged off his throne. It’s a fuckin’ good twist, full of high drama and mythological meaning.
>>Even after he’s been “killed,” Billy’s kingly spirit shines through.
Yes, he’s the Mind Flayer’s puppet when El meets him. Still, their meeting is framed as the street rat visiting the prince or king in his castle. He’s presiding over a royal banquet for his subjects the Holloways, in a room decorated with gold and elegant chinoiserie. His hair is still beautifully coiffed, and he’s wearing a princely blue shirt.
(Here, have some graphics, because this is one of my favorite looks for him EVER)
In addition, lions are mentioned multiple times in Stranger Things. In S1, Nancy compares the Demogorgon to a lion: “And it seems to hunt at night, like a lion or coyote.” In S2, Steve tells Dustin you can pursue girls aggressively like a lion or stealthily like a ninja. (THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LINE OF DIALOGUE! I’ll make a post about it eventually.)
For several reasons, I’ve come to believe Billy is the lion of Stranger Things.
1) His coloring is similar.
2) The sound design of the Camaro incorporates the roar of a big cat. (So does the sound design of the Demogorgon. Just fyi.) Listen to the Camaro in the first few seconds of this clip. Hear the roar? :)
3) When El comes to him in the Void, he’s made up to look like a lion: dark shading around the eyes, a golden “mane,” tan skin.
4) The Void scene evokes the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. El is Daniel, trapped in a symbolic cave with Billy, the lion who just might eat her.
This is such common knowledge it hardly bears mentioning, but lions have long been regarded as regal, noble creatures. They’ve been called “king of the cats” and “king of the savanna.” Even Christ himself was called “the Lion of Judah.”
A lion is the perfect symbol for Billy. He’s fierce, lethal, but ultimately noble at heart. Piss him off, and he just might eat your face.
By showing us his kingly “lion” side in the Void, the Duffers are saying his star may have been dimmed for now... but it’s still hidden deep inside him, waiting for the chance to shine again.
In my next post, I’ll explore how Billy evokes not just general god symbolism, but three gods in particular - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the three brother-gods of Greek mythology.
»»————- ✼ ————-««
The “Billy Is Alive” Meta Series
For updates, follow the hashtag #billy is alive meta
#billy hargrove#billy hargrove is alive#billy hargrove meta#stranger things#stranger things theory#stranger things 2#stranger things 3#stranger things 4#stranger things analysis#stranger things meta#mythology#billy is alive meta#el hopper#eleven hopper#steve harrington#karen wheeler#christ symbolism#christ figures#ohbillyboy
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