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mj-ackerman · 2 years

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Tatsuya Endo's Character Commentary from the Official Spy x Family Fanbook English Translation:

Someone might've already translated this somewhere, but I wanted to share my own translation here for those who hasn't read it yet^^. I'll start with the Forgers. Long post ahead. DO NOT REPOST

<<Part 2 Here>>

Loid Forger:

(Endo) He's honest and sincere. His disguise is cartoonishly exaggerated, but it is also important that real-life spies have to be (who they are). "Twilight" also came out simple. I wanted to use cooler horizontal characters, but I already submitted it to the meeting as it is, so... Spy should not stand out, so I thought about putting a modest mole or piercings as a character trait, but in the end, I decided not to add anything. As a last resort effort, I added the WISE badge to his collar, although I know that there is no way a spy will wear a company emblem (?) (Laughs). To make it easier for the readers to recognize him, I had him wear this badge as much as possible even when disguised.

(Hayashi) "Having no features became his features" right?

(Endo) The readers may see him as "actually a very nice guy", but in my mind, he has a more flattering image. Although he is not devoid of emotion, he's someone who prioritizes his mission first.

He is technically managing Franky by holding onto his weaknesses in a constructive way, but I think they understand each other. Like Neil and Mozzie in the drama "White Collar", I would like to see a relationship where they are business partners, but still understand each other.

Anya Forger:

(Endo) She moves on her own, so I don't really have much concept for her. Her visual was created by combining "Ashe" from the one-shot "煉獄のアーシェ / Rengoku no Ashe" and "Misha" from "石に薄紅、鉄に星 / Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi". I came up with several ideas for her design, with the image of something like a decoration attached to her head.

Ashe from Rengoku no Ashe (Left) & Misha from Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi. Both are Tatsuya Endo's manga

Anya is getting more and more deformed as I draw her. Her eyes got bigger and her head and body got smaller. I also like round eyes so much that I ended up drawing them right away. She also has a little bit of Hoshimaru from "Narutaru" (by Mohiro Kitoh) in her. I think of mistakes like saying "Odekeke / ooting" on the spot. I think about how a child might make a mistake, or give priority to a comedic tone.

Narutaru, a manga by Mohiro Kitoh

Yor Forger:

(Endo) She is the character that I thought about the most visually. While referencing various video games and anime, I didn't think even 1 millimeter about an assassin's look.

As for the weapon, I got the idea from the main character from the spy novel "Eyes of the Needle'' (by Ken Follett), who uses a needle-like weapon called "Stiletto". Thinking about it, Izumiya from "月華美刃 / Gekka Bijin'' (one of Endo's previous manga) also used a needle weapon, so I may have an image of "Kill= stab" for myself. That's how I also came up with the name "いばら姫 / Ibara Hime / Thorn Princess."

Gekka Bijin, a manga by Tatsuya Endo

Her name was originally "Yolanda", which sounds like an Eastern European name, and it became "Yoru / Yor" as a nickname. I thought it would be better to keep it short for the speech balloon. Then the readers mistakenly thought "Because Loid is Twilight, that's why she's Yoru''Night ``?''. I actually didn't even think about it (LOL).

My favorite part is the overall design. I wanted to create parts that would move with the action, so I made the costume and the fringe flutter. As an assassin, no matter how you look at it, it's hard to move, but I wanted her to look good. I've always liked fighting heroines , and now that I think about it, Princess Arina from "Dragon Quest'' might be my starting point. I drew my first manga in the "Dragon Quest 4-koma Manga Theater'' with the story of Princess Arina. The needles on Yor's both hands may have been inspired by Killer Pierce?

The way her hair curled under the cover of volume 3...I want you guys to pretend that it didn't happen (Laughs) . I know some cosplayers may have tried to recreate it, but...sorry, that was just a joke I thought of.... I think she just put the back together normally and let the sides hang down.

Bond Forger:

(Endo) At the meeting, we were talking about a large dog, and I remember buying a book about dogs. In the end, I made him white and fluffy like a Great Pyrenees. The black toes are original. It's like inverted socks. I wanted to give it some character traits, and if it didn't have solid colors, it would be too white for the manga, and the balance would be off. The image is more like an "uncle dog" than a "grandpa dog."

By the way, I'm totally a cat person, but cats can't run with Anya, so I rejected the idea. The footsteps sound "te-chi-te-chi"... doesn't it sound like that when the ground is hard? Not only Bond, but onomatopoeia was influenced by Nishimori-sensei. Nishimori-sensei's manga with onomatopoeia is so cute.

I'll do the rest later ^^

#long post #spy x family #spy x family official fanbook: eyes only #loid forger #anya forger #yor forger #bond forger #forger family

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mermaidsirennikita · 2 years

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July 2022 Book Recommendations

I've decided to start posting a mini-wrap up of books I've read at the end of every month (or as is the case here the beginning of the next one, depending on my schedule). But instead of telling y'all everything I read and admitting that a few books here and there were meh or didn't work for me or made me mad, I'm going to keep it positive and list the books I would recommend.

With that being said, here's July.

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera. A hot, heartfelt historical romance about a Caribbean rum heiress going to Paris to expand her late father's business and encountering a Scottish whiskey distillery owner who needs a wife. I'd rather a couple novellas by Herrera before, but this was the first full length novel I'd read by her and it was just kind of great. There's some sparring, some Scottish romance shenanigans (oh, those Scots and their shotgun weddings), a ridiculous will that requires that our hero gets married before he can have all he wants, and the promise of his hot brother fucking the shit out of one of our heroine's friends in the future. All classic historical romance traits, with some much-needed diversity and discussion of things like birth control. Also, he fingers her while they're ascending up the Eiffel Tower. What more do you want?

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. One of Jenkins's foremost classics, this pre-Civil War era novel centers on Hester, who was enslaved as a child and lost her parents to the slave trade. Now devoted to fighting for the freedom of others, she takes in an injured man who turns out to be "Black Daniel", an infamous "slave thief"/freedom fighter, AKA the wealthy freeman Galen. As devoted to the cause as Hester, Galen is simply... a lot sluttier. This is kind of an epic romance novel of the kind you don't see as much anymore of anymore--it spans a good chunk of time, there is a lot of betrayal, a lot of adventure, and a fuckton of passion. Hester is a beautiful heroine. Again, of the "quietly dignified, cooly intelligent" persuasion, while Galen is just... For a short period of time, he just wants to get into her pants, but then the man wants to fucking marry her so bad. It's deeply romantic. If you love a "virgin tames the rake" romance, this is it. It also has one of the best grand gestures I've read in a while. Obviously, the novel deals with some very real and raw aspects of American history--Hester and Galen are literally fighting against slavery and subject to constant racism, especially Hester, who is not only a woman but dark-skinned while Galen is light-skinned and from generational wealth. But if you're up for it, I found this book to more than live up to the hype. It's incredibly well-written and a fantastic love story.

What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston. Historical romance meets "oops we got married in Vegas" but it's Scotland. The recently widowed Georgette has gone to Scotland to visit her cousin, determine to never marry again. Only to wake up in bed, sans corset, with a very handsome Scot who calls her his wife. Neither of them remember the night before, and as they begin to piece together the evening's events, they discover that they may have entered into more than they bargained for. Such a fun book! A lovely, uptight hero who has to learn to let her hair down and enjoy being railed by a Scottish guy. A hot hero with daddy issues and a tragic past. Tons of fun side characters, including a slutty maid and the hero's "bad guy" friend who oops is totally the hero of the next book, I AM SHOCKED. It takes place over the course of a day, which is interesting and keeps it light, but I never doubted the romance. It's just a fun fucking book. That is also a fucking book.

Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig (out 8/2). A spy accidentally compromises a young lady, forcing them to marry. Though they get along initially, his own damage leads him to leave her within a week of the nuptials, and they don't see or speak for another six years. Once back in each other's orbit, he struggles to reconnect with his now-bitter wife and protect her from his past. The rare espionage historical I enjoyed! Probably because it was less espionage, more marriage in trouble. The great thing about this book is that you immediately know that these two have a sexual connection--it's getting him to open up that is the problem. It's romantic and sexy, without getting away from the heart of his trauma. Plus, there's a pretty great secondary romance that involves a man who is younger than his lady love!

Ever Yours, Annabelle by Elisa Braden. Annabelle was always in love with her older brother's best friend, Robert. But when she accidentally causes a severe injury that robs him of his military commission and future, Robert banishes Annabelle from his life. Years later, he's out of seclusion and on the hunt for a wife, and the only woman who can help him? Annabelle. Who is also... of course... the only woman he actually wants to marry. This one was HOT. There is a "furtive fingerbanging in a closet" scene that is..... truly magnificent. But it also does my all time favorite trope of "childhood friends/sweethearts get divided by fate and must reunite and deal with the tension" thing so well. It's a prequel to Braden's Rescued from Ruin series, and I'm just dying to get at the rest of those. It's achingly romantic, kind of funny, and incredibly sexy, with a good helping of angst.

The Scoundrel Falls Hard by Sophie Jordan (out 8/23). Gwen is a lady blacksmith, which can be challenging in her small village. She's thrown off guard when Kellan, previously thought to be the son of the area's new duke, runs into her smithy looking for shelter. Turns out that Kellan and his father were never the heirs, conning the townspeople for a year, and the villagers now want to hang him. In an effort to save Kellan's life, Gwen claims to be in love with him--and they agree to marry. But of course, it will be a marriage in name only before Kellan skips town. Right. Right? Riiiii-- This is a quick, frothy, fun fake dating book. There is much "kissing to convince people we like each other". Kellan is a rake, and Gwen is a tall, big girl who's never been touched by a man before--and he's super fucking into allll of that. As per the usual Sophie Jordan antics, the sex scenes are quite hot--including a truly inspired voyeurism scene. This one does have a bit of a rushed ending for my taste, but if you're looking for a quick book that'll make you happy, it won't steer you wrong.

The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl by Annika Martin. After her boyfriend skips and leaves her at the mercy of loan sharks, Lizzie really needs to get her signing bonus before she leaves New York City and returns to Fargo. When her boss gives her the responsibility of arranging a wake-up-call service for the company's CEO, the chilly billionaire Theo Drummond, Lizzie puts off testing the service, only to be dismayed when it doesn't work the morning of. Worried she'll lose her job, she takes over being Theo's wake up call... and discovers that he enjoys a bit of brattiness in the morning. This was a super fun, hilarious, and yes, hot contemporary romcom. The chemistry between the leads is excellent, and it does indeed deliver. If you read this summary thinking "they better have phone sex"... yes. They do. It is very good. I was a satisfied customer, personally (not as satisfied as Theo, though). There were some interesting word choices at points--cucumber-y dick? But to be fair, if the general idea is a dick the size of a cucumber, sure. I would recommend.

When the Duke was Wicked by Lorraine Heath. Henry, Duke of Lovingdon, did it all right. He fell in love young, married at twenty-one, and had a child, settling into a respectable life of his dreams. But five years later, his wife and daughter died, leaving him to become a notorious rake incapable of ever falling in love again. Enter Grace, a young family friend who (unbeknownst to Lovingdon) has always loved him. Grace has her own past trauma, and she wants Lovingdon to help her find a man who will truly love her this season. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. Such a great book. Sensitive and dealing with some serious topics, yet also hot and kind of hilarious. Take a shot every time Lovingdon says something like "a man who truly loves you will do THIS, Grace" only to do that and then be like "sadly, I can never love Grace". A truly idiotic man who is prone to doing wild shit, like taking her out for a horseback ride in her parents' backyard and fingering her against a tree, just like, as a friend who wants to teach her the ways of men. What a guy! Anyway, I was delighted and charmed and I wish every historical romance TV show had this kind of unhinged energy.

To Catch A Raven by Beverly Jenkins (out 8/23). Grifter Raven Moreaux and tailor Braxton Steele must go undercover to catch the person accused of stealing the Declaration of Independence. Undercover... as husband and wife. She's a con artist, he's an upstanding man with a fat bank account. What could they possibly have in common? As it turns out, "being horny" is the answer. This is a super fun, romp of a book, with some seriously great foreplay. "May I have some cock now, please?"/"Would you like a quick orgasm before breakfast"? Bow down to Beverly Jenkins.

American Royalty by Tracey Livesay. Dani is better known as the successful rapper, Duchess--and she wants to expand beyond music. But her attempts at making a deal for her skincare line have stalled due to some recent bad press. So when she's offered the opportunity to perform at a charity concert hosted by the British royal family, she jumps at it. Prince Jamison, the queen's grandson, invited Dani without knowing much about her--but now that she's staying at his estate, walking temptation, he has no idea how this won't result in a scandal the likes of which the family has never seen before... What a good romance! It's clearly based on Harry and Meghan, by way of Megan Thee Stallion meets Rihanna. And if you love a haughty man who is so horny for a woman he can't breathe--this guy is IT. Jamison has an undeniably thirst for Dani and he can't stand it. But it's very much mutual. This is an extremely hot book, but it never shies away from the realities that come with a white prince falling in love with a Black woman. The British royal family is... really ripped apart in this one. And it's GREAT.

#book recs #romance novel blogging

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rainy-day-coffee · 3 years

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Helloooo. First of all, I definitely LOVE your writing! Theyre so fun to read! And second, can I request hcs...or scenario (you can choose!) with octa trio + riddle and idia accidentally hearing their fem crush gushed enthusiastically about them to her friends? Thanks a lot!

AH- Thank you so much!! (^///^) I have a lot fun writing these for everyone, I’m super happy you like my posts!

Oh anon, this idea!!! I had so much fun with this!! I hope you like it! I genuinely want to make these all into full-fledged scenarios or maybe just mini-scenarios! If you would like one of those, you are more than welcome to ask for it! I’m going to have brainrot about this idea for a long time now, it’s just so cute!

Finding their fem!crush gushing about them to her friends!

Azul had just been minding his business, making his way through the campus of NCR, students avoiding him as usual.

Walking around the corner, he hears you squealing to your group of friends. You sound so excited! It piqued his curiosity so he hid. Just what opportunity could you be presenting him with?

Very jealous at first, he doesn’t know who you’re talking so highly about. He never had much of a fair chance at a relationship with you, or so he believes. He supposes this conversation can be used as black-mail in the future.

And then he hears his name being followed along by another string of compliments.

Almost lets out the loudest gasp, but stops himself in time. He blushes a very deep shade of red. This isn’t fair. You shouldn’t be allowed to make his heart beat this quickly. And all those words of adoration, goodness! What is he supposed to do?

He’s thankful that he sent the twins off to go do something. Otherwise, they would tease him and push him towards you with no remorse.

He proceeds to go straight to his room, launch himself into bed, hug a pillow, and roll around and squeal in joy.

He can use this to his advantage! Your little indirect confession will be used as coverage for when he ropes you into a contract! A contract of love that is!

Jade and Floyd can’t help but notice their boss is in a much happier mood the following days!

He already knew you harbored feelings for him. Remember, he’s amazing at reading people. Now, he was simply waiting for you to make your move.

He really hadn’t expected to find you and your friends in an empty hallway. You were practically vibrating in place while you told them about a certain crush of yours.

How bold of you to talk about such things in public! You can never know who will be listening.

His outside expression doesn’t change. He’s still smiling like usual. On the inside however, he’s quite happy. Technically, this doesn’t count as an advance on your part, but he can use this situation to his benefit.

He makes his way forward ever so quietly. Wrapped up in your excitement, you don’t even seem to notice him.

Your friends desperately try to tell you about the looming eel that is right behind you, please quiet down before you embarrass yourself further.

It seems to be too late for that though.

You feel a pair of hands on your shoulders, finally alerting you of his presence. It’s no use trying to play off the situation, he heard just enough to know.

No please, go on, he insists. Just what else do you have to say? He wants to hear all of it.

Floyd never made his feelings a secret! This applies to his crush on you too! He’s a lot clingier with you, and he tends to drag you around more than anyone else! It’s quite obvious that you’re his obsession. However, you had yet to confess your love for him. What a shy shrimp you are! He’s starting to get a little impatient.

He wasn’t in the best of moods when he overheard your “confession.” He didn’t feel like working at Mostro Lounge or doing that really long assignment Professor Trein had given out. He was so bored.

His mood does a complete 180 when he hears you absolutely “melting” over a “tall and attractive eel who loves to squeeze you.”

He’s so happy to hear that! He knew you loved him too! He quickly becomes annoyed soon after though. Shouldn’t you be telling him these things to his face? It’s quite rude to not be honest with a person.

Goes up and just glomps you right there and then, it doesn’t matter who you’re with or where you are. It’s time to spend the rest of your day with him now! Go on! Tell him about how much you adore him! You have a lot of nerve making him wait!

He’s going to squeeze you all day! This is your punishment for not confessing sooner! It’s impossible to escape now, when Floyd makes up his mind nothing can stop him.

Trey had told Riddle to take a short break from his paperwork. Not wanting to go far from the dorm, he decided to take a stroll through the maze. It was meant to be a relaxing 10-minute walk, not a stressful be quick and hide situation. He did it on impulse! He really didn’t know you were going to be here talking your heart out.

He knows it’s extremely rude to listen in on a private conversation, but he can’t seem to stop. What kind of person have you fallen in love with while he yearns for you?

He almost starts to cry when he realizes it’s him. You sound so genuine and happy when you talk about him! Even if he isn’t your boyfriend just yet, he feels so loved!

Always having been self-conscious for his lack of romantic knowledge, he’s glad you seem to like him anyways! He’s been trying to show off a bit with his magic and intellect lately, it’s paying off it seems!

Feels very guilty nonetheless, he had no right to hear any of this. When he confesses one day, he’ll do his best to apologize.

Riddle tries to calm his racing heart and stop the intense blush on his face before he leaves. He’s quite grateful Trey forced him out here.

He was watching you through the cams he has set up around school. He wasn’t trying to spy on you or anything! He simply happened to be on the right camera at the right time.

He assumes the worst automatically. His self-loathing increases with every compliment you seem to give this mystery person. It clouds his logical thinking. Of course you would love someone else. He just spends his days wasting your time and doing nothing but hanging out in his room. He’s terrible with socializing too. You deserve a lot better.

The bigger part of him wants to shut-off his monitor, not wanting to listen anymore. The smaller part wants to know who’s the object of your affection. Who matches the description of “beautiful, long blue hair,” “pretty yellow eyes,” “adorable fanboy,” and “extremely smart.” It genuinely takes him a good minute or so to figure it out. It helps that you practically shout out his name too.

His entire being turns red, hair included. A room temperature increase follows suit.

His heart can’t handle this! You’re the heroine to this story! You’re supposed to get with one of the cool SSR characters?! The NPC character isn’t a part of the romance list!

Nearly collapses onto the floor in complete happiness and confusion. He’s not complaining, not at all! However, he does begin to question your taste in men.

Ortho is now rushing to his brother’s room. The levels of heat are getting dangerously high and he is panicking. He knows his brother can get random bursts of excitement, but never to this extent!

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst headcanons #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #idia shroud #idia shroud x reader

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tare-anime · 2 years

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1. A dramatic first chapter….?

(AO3)

prompt: “You’re the only family I have left.”

------------------------

It was dark and gloomy. Thunder could be heard along with the heavy downpour.

Little Anya was crouching at her mother's side.

They never imagined it would come to this.

All this time, what little Anya knew about these things was what she’d learned at school. And Spy Wars had never shown her this ugly side of war at all.

She clutched her Mama’s hand so hard. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, “Mama, please…..”

Yor coughed several times while clutching her side, trying her best to stop the oozing red liquid from leaving her body.

“Stay strong, Anya….” The mother gasped, “You have the power to stop this war…..”

“But Mama…. I can’t…. I can’t do it just by myself…”

“Yes, you can, dear. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever known,” Yor coughed some more, and with ragged breathing, she added, “You just need to believe in your own strength. My wonderful daughter can surely do anything.”

The girl sobbed even more, “Please Mama…. You’re the only family I have left….”

The mother caressed the child’s cheek, “No dear…. you’ll never be alone. Go. Find people who’ll become…. your…. friends…..”

As Yor’s eyes closed, her body went limp.

“No!!!! Mama!!!!!” Anya screamed and hugged the limp body of her mother

CLICK

Suddenly the light was turned on by none other than a soaked-to-the-bone Loid Forger.

“What are you guys doing in the dark?” He asked with an unimpressed tone.

“Papa! You’re back!” Anya stopped her act immediately and ran to her father’s side.

“Oh, Loid! Welcome home,” Yor immediately got up from her position.

Noticing his drenched state, she asked in concern, “Did you not have an umbrella?” She then came closer and helped him take off his wet coat.

“It got blown away by the harsh wind,” came the short answer.

Soon Anya returned with a towel, and after expressing his gratitude, once again the Patriarch asked them, “So, what had happened here?”

For the first time, he noticed the mess in the living room.

“Ah, Anya is preparing for her play’s scenario,” Yor proudly relayed the story.

“I’m going to become an awesome dirr-ector….” The kid said with sparkling eyes.

Loid dried his hair as his memories flew back to their very first play during summer. He cringed at that memory, but asked anyway, “What’s the story about this time?”

“A heroine who emerged from the ashes to save her country!” Anya posed dramatically, “She would become awesom-er than Bondman!”

“We’re just rehearsing the first act,” Yor elaborated, “It’s a very heartbreaking scene….”

The father pointed at Yor’s red soaked clothes, “Uuuh.. involving this??”

“Oh, this is just watercolor. We tried to be as realistic as possible. For the Stella star!” The mother explained cheerfully.

“For the Stella star!!” Anya joined in.

Loid sighed, “After taking a bath, I’m going to need to see that script.”

Because he would not make the same mistake as before and plunge himself into another embarrassing moment of disastrous family play.

-----------------------------------

What Loid meant by “previous disastrous family play”

NEXT >>

MASTERLIST

#spy x family #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #spy x family fanfic #sxf fic

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dragonbabezee · 4 years

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Fictional Crush Series No.7

Have we made it to the 90′s yet? We have!

What’s this you say? The Outlander series didn’t premier until 2014? Well! There just happens to be an antiquated technology called books in with this particular tale was first created.

Let me set the scene. It’s 1993. I’m at the library with my dad. I feel like I’ve read the entire YA section, and I’ve run out of David Eddings and Anne McCaffery books to read. I complain to my dad that I have sucked this library dry. He reaches into the Returned Today Shelf of unsorted books and grabs one at random. “Here, you haven’t read this yet.” It was this, a first edition copy of Outlander:

Perhaps he though it was an historical novel set in the highlands. It kind of is...?

To prove to him that plucking ugly books at random off the shelf was no was to pick a quality read, I read it. First came intrigue, then delight, then fascination and compulsion, then welling tides of love and lust, and the feels! So many feels!

For those very few who are still unfamiliar with the Outlander universe, it’s a genre-bending book and series, especially the first three books, combining historical fiction, time travel, romance, blood, gore, sexual violence, medical ickiness, touches of mythical fantasy and magic, mystery, and a big slabbing helping of hot sexy sex.

https://www.deviantart.com/aryundomiel/art/the-heart-asks-pleasure-first-181601743

Oh, and this hunk of red-blooded, red-haired Scot!

That means “I am ready” for everyone who doesn’t read French or hasn’t read the book. I was 15. I was ready. My parents may have disagreed if they had known what was behind that twee bookcover.

James Alexander Malcolm McKenzie Fraser, Jamie to some, and JAMMF to the old school fandom. Oh course, now we have Sam Heughan to envision Jamie as, but back in the day we used a read words off a page and picture Jamie et al in our minds. I don’t think they did a bad job of casting Jamie. Sam is of course, too short, and his hair is not red enough, but I give it a pass.

What makes Jamie Fraser a worthy subject of a lasting fictional crush that rocked my world? He is an enlightened and modern thinker of the Enlightenment era, meaning that he does still kinda believe in witches and faeries, but also in science, and can eventually be persuaded to not beat his wife for wrongdoing (after a knife to the throat). He is a soldier, a mercenary, an expert swordsman, can ride any horse, even a demonic stallion that no one else can master, a farmer, a landlord, a leader of men, a student of science and progress, a virgin at the beginning of the first book, and a sex-god by the end of it.

Packaged in a 6 foot 6 Viking-esque warrior’s body, like a red-haired, blue-eyed demon set on Earth to sway our time-travelling heroine Claire off the path of marital fidelity. It could be said that he is the ultimate Gary Sue. He does have flaws though, mostly pertaining to pride and being a man of his day, even if he is a progressive one. He is the prototype that launched a thousand Highlander romance novels.

The most singularly swoonworthy thing about Jamie though is how much he loves his woman. The end.

https://www.deviantart.com/ellaine/art/Blood-and-Bone-567354322

https://www.deviantart.com/ellaine/art/Wild-strawberries-576708467

You want more detail? Oh, fine, SPOILERS AHEAD.

He will save his wife from his worst and most feared enemy, armed only with an unloaded pistol, even though he thinks she’s probably an English spy bent on turning him and his folk as traitors to the crown.

https://www.deviantart.com/lehanan/art/Outlander-Take-your-hands-off-my-wife-486871484

He will single-handedly rescue her from the midst of a witch trial that is in the process of condemning her, even though he’s fairly sure she really is a witch.

He will trade his soul and his body to keep her alive. He will believe the insane truths she tells him, and based on them, betray his kin and his King. What impressionable young hetro woman doesn’t want that level of devotion from her man?

At the opening of the book, Jamie has already been through a lot - imprisonment and two disfiguring floggings, exile, the soldiers life. near starvation, serious head injury, family intrigue, the death of both his parents....and he’s only 22. And yet, Jamie is still fairly optimistic character, aside for when he or his wife are getting tortured, raped, nearly killed etc. He’s not one to wallow unnecessarily in his Man Pain. Until he is, and then grab the popcorn and watch Claire drain the pool.

While we’re here, I’d like to point out a few unexpected treats and differences that I got from the show that I didn’t get from the books.

1) Jamie’s knees

2) The flogging and several other violent scenes that were disturbing enough in the books became Extremely Uncomfortable and Upsetting Viewing. If you’ve seen the show or read the books you probably know what scenes I am talking about.

3) they didn’t hold back on the sex scenes. Many gifs from the various scenes would get this post removed from Tumblr. Many were so hot I was blushing whilst watching it alone. DO NOT WATCH WITH YOUR PARENTS.

I have read all the books of course, though I mainly concentrated on the first one here, the one that spawned my crush. IT was a couple of years before I got my hands on books 2 and 3, and the fourth one hadn’t been written yet (I did get to go to a book signing and have my copy of Drums of Autumn signed by Diana Gabadon, Herself!). My parents remembered my love for the series, unfortunately, and tried watching the TV when it came out. My dad finally saw the error of plucking a book at random from a shelf to give to his 15 year old daughter to read.

#fictional crush series #Fictional Crush #jamie fraser #outlander #jammf

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midnight-queery · 3 years

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small world

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28476486/chapters/69885582#workskin

Lena still wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed it, but even though she was the CEO of L-Corp she still got to spend most of her time in the labs, especially the ones for R&D. She even knew most the scientists who worked with her, at least in a casual, work-acquaintances type of way. She knew that Johnson had three grown kids, two in college and one on her third year of the so-called ‘gap year’; she knew Blanchard’s daughter was dating a girl named Regina who Blanchard and her husband did not in any way approve of (from what she’d heard, Lena quite liked her though); she knew Lucas had a crush on French and vice versa though neither apparently knew it; she knew one scientist was seriously considering changing their name to ‘Leg’ since some cats were named ‘Whiskers’ and why the hell not; and she knew that Danvers had lunch with her sister every day. But now they were seven minutes into lunch and Danvers was still there, fiddling with her work.

“Dr. Danvers, shouldn’t you be going to meet your sister for lunch?” Lena asked, trying to sound casual. She didn’t want anyone to know that she usually stayed in the lab for lunch, ignoring food in favor of working on her designs.

Danvers continued to fiddle with the device on her desk another moment before putting it down and looking at Lena, tilting her head and giving her a considering look. “If you’re going to call me ‘Dr. Danvers’ I’m going back to calling you ‘Dr. Luthor’.”

Lena bit her lip to hide her smile, shaking her head slightly. “Alright then, Alex, shouldn’t you be off to see your sister?”

Alex planted her hands on her worktable and shrugged her shoulders, giving Lena a wry grin. “Eh, I’ll go in a few minutes. Kara’s always running late so I may as well get some work done instead of just standing around waiting.”

“How can someone always run late?” Lena asked, arching her brow. It was nearly ten minutes past at this point; surely Kara was here by now.

“My sister is very… distractable,” Alex said cryptically. When Lena’s brow only climbed higher she elaborated, rolling her eyes. “If it’s not a pretty flower it’s a cute dog, or a cat stuck in a tree. God, last week she ran into some kid walking like seven dogs and by the time she got here lunch was over.”

“Ah, so that’s what happened Wednesday?” Lena asked slyly. When Alex’s eyes widened in surprise, Lena smirked. “I couldn’t help but notice you very aggressively eating a protein bar after snapping at one of the interns.”

“I- well, yeah.” Alex stopped propping herself up on the table and crossed her arms, looking sheepish. “I was, as Kara would call it, hangry.”

Lena snorted at the word mashup, but before she could comment on it Alex’s phone rang.

“Hey, Kar, you here?” Alex asked as she hurriedly began tidying up her workspace one-handed, other hand holding the phone to her ear. Then she froze and groaned. “What do you mean you got lost? We’ve lived here for six years, Kara!” Alex used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I wish I could say I didn’t believe you, but that does sound like something you would do. Put her on the phone, please.” Alex shot Lena a long-suffering look before startling so badly she nearly dropped her phone. “Sam?”

Lena really wished she could hear the other side of the conversation. She wondered if it would be rude to go grab the device she’d made for listening in on phone calls (for law enforcement, not spying on her employees, but this could totally count as a test run).

“Yeah, Kara is my sister.” Alex sighed. “Okay, if you have time how about we all just meet at Noonan’s for lunch? I still have forty-five minutes of my break left. Okay, cool. See you guys soon.” Alex hung up and stared at her phone for a solid minute, her face inscrutable.

“Everything alright?” Lena asked curiously.

Alex looked at her, startled, as if she’d forgotten she was there. “I, uh, yeah. My sister just… stalked my girlfriend… cuz she had her dog strapped into a carrier on her back? I… I never thought this was how they’d meet.”

Lena blinked at her several times, not really knowing what to say to that. “Well, since it sounded like you’ll be meeting them at Noonan’s I suppose you can get it all sorted out there.”

“Right, yeah, Noonan’s.” Alex shook her head and slipped her phone into her pocket before shucking off her lab coat and heading for the door. She paused on her way out and turned around, brow furrowed and a frown on her face. “Wait a minute. You’re always the last in the lab before we leave for lunch, and the first back. And we only have like forty minutes of lunch left.”

“So?” Lena asked, averting her eyes and reaching down to play with some loose wires on her worktable. Alex’s eyes narrowed. Lena needed to work on her nonchalant voice, apparently.

“Lena Kieran Luthor, please tell me you don’t skip lunch every day just to stay in the lab.” Alex put her hands on her hips and stared her (suddenly-fidgety) boss down.

“I’m not sure how that’s your business,” Lena tried, not looking up at Alex. She didn’t know how the woman even knew her middle name, but she didn’t like it one bit.

“That’s it, you’re coming to Noonan’s too.”

“That’s not-” Alex was suddenly beside her, pulling the wires out of her hands and giving her what Lena figured was her big sister look. Much to her annoyance it was very effective.

Noonan’s was only a few blocks away, so despite Lena offering to have her driver take them she ended up walking the short distance with Alex and wishing she’d worn shorter heels. Thankfully no one recognized her during the walk, though that might have had something to do with Alex’s stormy expression making everyone coming their way give them a wide berth.

She followed Alex into the small diner and after looking around for a moment Alex made a beeline for a booth in the back, where Lena saw two women sitting. With her back to her was a blonde with her hair back in a ponytail, and seated across from her, a fluffy white dog in her lap, was Lena’s friend Sam. Small world.

By the time Lena reached the booth Alex had already slid in next to Sam, leaving Lena to take the empty seat next to who she assumed was Kara.

“Lena, this is my girlfriend Sam,” Alex introduced, gesturing to the brunette whose eyes were wide with surprise at seeing her workaholic friend out and about, “and my sister Kara, the stalker.” Alex gestured to the blonde and Lena turned to face her, Kara turning at the same time.

“Woah,” Kara whispered, bright blue eyes wide behind her thick glasses. Her jaw literally dropped. “You’re so pretty! And even though I don’t know anything about you if Alex invited you to lunch she must like you so you’re probably really nice too! Are you single? Wait no I should ask if you like women first… Oh Rao you probably know I followed Sam and got lost cuz of her cute dog and Alex just introduced me as a stalker you’re never gonna want to date me now!” The adorable blonde grimaced and hid her face in her hands, muttering something in a language Lena (surprisingly) didn’t recognize.

“Kara this is my boss, she’s not going to date you,” Alex groused. “And do you really not recognize-”

“Actually,” Lena interrupted smoothly, eyes still on Kara, “I get off work at seven tonight, if you’d like to go for dinner?”

Alex made a choking sound and looked at Lena with wide, incredulous eyes, but Lena barely noticed, gaze intent on Kara as she let her hands fall away and gave Lena a hopeful look.

“Really?!”

“Really.”

“Even though I accidentally stalked someone?” Kara asked nervously.

“Hope is an adorable dog, darling. I can’t exactly blame you for following her.” Lena bumped her shoulder against Kara’s and barely managed to stop herself from reaching out and grabbing the woman’s arm after because from the brief moment of contact she was pretty sure Kara was ripped under her soft pink cardigan. Actually, no, she hadn’t managed to stop herself because she was now very obviously groping Kara’s arm, and damn. “Besides, you’re not so bad yourself,” Lena purred. Kara’s adorable blush and quiet spluttering drove any questions about just how she was so fit from Lena’s mind.

“Wait a minute,” Alex blurted, squinting at Lena and trying to ignore how her boss was ogling her little sister. “How did you know Sam’s dog’s name was Hope?”

“Same way I know Lena’s weakness for pretty blondes,” Sam piped up, giving her friend a toothy grin before turning to her girlfriend and shrugging. “We went to boarding school together. I didn’t realize my girlfriend worked for my bff though. Weird.”

“Not as weird as my sister becoming my girlfriend’s accidental stalker before you guys had even met,” Alex grumbled.

“Well I think it all worked out for the best,” Sam said, smiling happily. “Maybe dating Kara will help Lena get over her hopeless crush on Supergirl.”

“Sam!” Lena gave her so-called bff a betrayed look, only dimly aware of Alex suddenly looking constipated and Kara… crumpling the metal knife she’d been fiddling with into a ball. What the- oh. Oh. Guess her crush wasn’t so hopeless after all considering she’d already scored a date with the heroine. Smirking, Lena slipped the twisted ball of metal from a shell-shocked Kara’s hand into her purse before Sam (who was much too busy laughing at her) or the incoming waitress noticed it, Alex giving her a wide-eyed look. Lena just winked and gave the waitress her order.

#supercorp shorts #supercorp fic #supercorp #two in as many days this is the peak of my productivity #based on a pic i linked in the ao3 notes #the dog really is cute #lena luthor #kara danvers #supergirl #alex danvers #sam arias #agentreign makes an appearance #queer up people

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deafeningblizzardturtle · 3 years

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The Lone One

This is Sophia, the lone one... She is a daring warrior who loves to find and finish off the monsters from the bottom of hell, who are a big threat to the mortal world. But, even the best heroines have some or the other weak points. She has only one weak point and it's that she can't tolerate the presence of another person in ten meters range from her. She has a warrior ancestry as her grandad had died in a manticore attack saving the poor mortals. Her father is different and as all know different is the first step towards alone and she is just like him. He was thrown out of his family by his own mother who is all for a typical warrior based family. And she needs everything to be her type of perfect. She and her sister Olivia were for each other till yesterday but now she had left her too. She had died saving her and that's what she hated the most.

She had lost the only one that cared for her, the only one that could manage to make her laugh and the only one who could hug her without getting blasted. She couldn't remember what happened that night, but she knew one thing if would have listened to her this day would have never occurred. Her ability to see through the mist had abandoned her at worst moment but Ollie's experience had not. Now, she was roaming all around New York in search of a place to stay.

One,.: A handsome warrior enters in...

She was brooding over the same thing when she entered the bar and the same thing over her brandy.

Meanwhile, our hero is busy fighting single handed with three wild dragons. He has killed them all and he is very exhausted now. He enters the same bar as Sophie as if by destiny. He came and sat just next to Sophie. Now, she would have beaten him black and blue in normal situation but she was too drunk to manage that. So, she decided to ignore him.'One more bottle please.' She ordered the barman. 'I too would do with a brandy please.' He said. Now, it was not that okay for her. She thought 'This man seems a bit mysterious but he looks handsome too. Melting brown eyes, olive skin and caramel hair. Plain black shirt, tight jeans- battered looks like he has fought three fully grown dragons. I would like to see his battle marks.' He will be thinking the same things for her. 'She's beautiful with those smoke grey eyes, white skin and shock black hair braided down a shoulder. That crop top looks nice on her and her legs look great in those shorts. But, they would look better without them.' 'Hey, beauty... are you free?' 'Now, he's going too far. It's okay that he's a warrior too, but that doesn't mean he'll start flirting with me.' She thought angrily. 'Don't you dare.' She warned him. Just then, a gush of wind came in and her hair flew back her shoulder and the tattoo on her neck line was seen, it said- W-A-R-R-I-O-R. He was shocked to see that, he had thought she was just a mere mortal woman. He showed her his own tattoo and regarded her more politely. He started coming toward her, his eyes were suddenly dark and his smile turned hungry. He was barely an inch from her face when she came back to her full senses and pushed him back to his seat. 'You're a warrior doesn't mean you can come close to me.' She snapped and her hand went to the hilt of her sword. He backed away quickly but she seemed to be regretting already. 'Hey, are you all right?' He asked a little worriedly but she had already started crying bitterly. He did not know what to do, he was sorry that she was crying because of him but he feared she would try to harm him if went a bit more close. Then she did something he hadn't expected she would, she put her head on his shoulder and her hand grasped the collar of his shirt. 'I am sorry O brave William I didn't racognise you your braveness...' She didn't complete her sentence but he was liking it as her strong hand was almost ripping his collar and her eyes wetting his shoulder. 'You are just as brave Sophia the one who killed a manticore bare-handed and I think you were alone too.' he said at last his hand sliding down her back her muscels losening under it. 'It's nice that you said this but mr. William O' the wolves are you spying on me?' She asked her tears had stopped and she had a faint smile on her face but the grasp on his collar. She lifted her head slowly till it came in level with his and her hands closed around his neck. And she moved close to him until they were nose to nose and the smile faded off her face when his lips covered hers. Lust razored through her as his tongue teased the corners of her lips.

#i love it #Written with Pride #warrioress #writing #romance

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juniaships · 3 years

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Vanessa Marble-Whittaker Bio **redux**

I had to delete the old post due to spelling mistakes and to add more info, but here is the official character bio for my AIO OC....possibly the only one in existence 😅 Contains spoilers and subject matter of abuse & postpartum depression; if you're curious you might have to do look into the main story arcs of AIO for easier understanding.

Full Name: Vanessa Crystal Marble Whittaker (nee Marble;)

Age: Unspecified but around late 20s to mid 30s

Birthday: May 15th

Race: African American (with European ancestry on both sides)

Fandom: Adventures in Odyssey

Voice Claim: Cree Summer; Vivica A. Fox is also a good alternate

Character Role: Heroine & love interest/spouse of Jason Whittaker

Items: Cross necklace, Midnight Manor (formerly Blackgaard's Castle)

Relationships

Family: Robienne Marble (mother), Regis Blackgaard (father), Edwin Blackgaard (uncle), Jerry Jr. (son, infant), John Whittaker (father in law), Monty (nephew in law), Jana (sister in Law)

Friends at Whit's End: Whit, Eugene, Connie, Katrina, Angel (pet doberman)

Acquaintances: Nuns, denizens of Odyssey

Love Interest: Her primary love interest and eventual husband is Jason Whittaker. They began as tensse & awkward relationship during the Blackgaard Saga duento their contrasting personalities, before becoming close friends and allies. They do not become completely official until after Novacom. Their relationship is regarded as the bonafide example of "Opposites Attract" in Odyssey.

Enemies: While enemies are far and few, she considers her own father as the major obstacle between her and a peaceful life. She was a major player against Novacom. She had a brief yey tense rivalry with Monica Stone (partly for Jason's affections) but the two made peace at the end.

Appearance

- Average height (say, 5'7)

-Brown skin, light brown eyes, and wavy-curly black hair

-Has an average body type (pear shaped) and seemed to gain a few pounds since giving birth

-Typically were darker shades of purple, blue, with the occasional maroon

-Sense of fashion is put together, professional even if casual

- Still has her nun fatigues

Personality

Vanessa is a composed and reserved lady with a deep connection to God, while respecting other religions (and non religious). While seen as a cold person at first glance, she is actually very kind and open-minded, though she isn't immune to making sardonic comments once in a while. While not really great around kids, she has moments of being supportive. After becoming a mother she is rather clueless, though well-meaning and tries her hardest to be the parent her father wasn't.

One of her biggest obstacle is overcoming her aloof demeanor. She needed to learn to open up to others and to out faith in her new friends. Even now she still has her moments of keeping her true emotions, though she has a wide circle of friends and a spouse to talk to. Vanessa was also ashamed of her Blackgaard blood, though she learns to come to terms with her past in order to create a brighter future for herself and the rest of her family. Sometimes she is prone to feeling inadequate and jealous, especially during brief periods of romantic rivalry.

There is a fierce protective side that comes out when loved ones are threatened, as seen with the Blackgaard and Novacom Sagas. She dislikes staying on the sidelines and does whatever she can to help out. She even broke her vows to protect her mother Robienne when Regis came into town, and later inspired her uncle Edwin to stay and fight her father to help save Odyssey.

While studious snd intelligent, Vanessa is not very tech savvy, naturally preferring traditional mediums such as writing letters and books. While she learns how to use computers and cellphones, don't expect her to be a technophile anytime soon. She expresses curiosity and concerns over the next invention hubby makes.

Abilities

Vanessa can memorize a lot a bible verses which she uses as prayer, or as a quip. She also has taken self defense classes to hold her her own.

- Strengths: In her early years she proved to be surprisingly strong and fast when need be. She can adapt to certain situations and keep her cool. Clever and resourceful, Vanessa often thinks and plans her actions. She can speak three languages (Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese) and plans om studying more.

- Weaknesses: After pregnancy she isn't as physically strong and has to limit herself to recover, and can be overpowered by much stronger foes. Vanessa is not very good at advanced technology, and she is a bad cook (Jason keeps her away from the stove as much as possible).

Backstory Vanessa was the only child of Regis and Robienne Blackgaard. Their marriage had be a short and rocky one marred by neglect, emotional manipulation and mental abuse. Finally, on the guidance of Edwin (Regis's brother) Robienne decided she had enough and divorced Regis when Vanessa was two years old. Robienne moved her daughter to New England to be with family, and the two lived peacefully after that. After graduating high school, Vanessa went to the nunnery and stayed there for a few years, while Robienne moved to the Midwest to pursue a career in teaching.

However Vanessa soon grew discontent, feeling as though she was missing out on normal young adult life. Should she stay as a nun or forge her own path?

She would find clues to her answer in the form of receiving news about her father moving to Odyssey - the same town her mother lived. Fearing for her mother's life, Vanessa requested a temporary break in vows, family business, she had said. Settling in Odyssey (under the surname Newman) she got a job working at Whit's End and as a private tutor.

Following major and minor events including the Blackgaard, Novacom, and Green Ring Conspiracy drama, Jason proposed to Vanessa, and they had a summer wedding (but not before overcoming premarital jitters and a threat from Jason's past). Two years after their union (or as of current Odyssey storyline) they had a little boy named Jerry Jr. (named after Jason's deceased brother). Vanessa continues to work at Whit's End as a curator and artist.

Major Storylines: If she was canon she would've been a major player in some of Odyssey's biggest stories including:

- Blackgaard Saga: Her debut, she came to town to take care of her mother & to confront her father on troubled past. She was hired to work at Whit's End where she met then-owner Jack Allen & the previous owner's son Jason for the first time. The townsfolk were.mesmerized by the seemingly mysterious woman and rumors started to abound. Near the climax, Vanessa revealed to Connie and Eugene that came to Odyssey to protect her mother from Regis. Towards the end of the saga, she, her uncle Edwin, and a few townsfolk helped to set up a trap for her father to save Odyssey.

Novacom Saga: She was a big player in taking down Novacom, using her skills writing letters to raise awareness on Novacom's shady actions. This is where her rivalry with Monica Stone began as Vanessa feelings for Jason turn romantic. After Novacom, she would be involved in more stories.

Green Ring Conspiracy: Following Jason's supposed "death" she briefly left Odyssey in mourning. Her uncle and mother managed to convince her to come back to Odyssey. She was unaware of Jason's secret of being alive and working as the Stiletto, and had several encounters with the Stiletto where the mysterious man left her roses and notes of endearment. The two would later reunite after Jason retuned to town, but Vanessa was angry with him for keeping secrets from her. After a long time (and counsel from Whit) she forgave him, and the two reconciled with the promise of being more open with each other.

Courtship Of Jason & Vanessa: An original storyline where the romance between her and Jason comes full circle, leading to their engagement! If only they could overcome personal inhibitions, a hateful doberman, past rivals and a threat from Jason's spy work!

Junior's Birth & Beyond: A couple of years into their marriage Vanessa became pregnant. She was anxious over multiple scenarios, her growing appetite and mood swings. After her son was born she developed symptoms of postpartum depression and sought medications and therapy. Slowly but surely, her mental health improved, & her anxieties faded away. As of now she has gotten involved with the current Rydell Saga.

Trivia

Vanessa won several awards for her artwork and has them on display everywhere in Odyssey

She is one of my most complex characters, but also one starting to really grow on me mostly out of nostalgia for the series

- Characters that inspired Vanessa's creation are Megara (Disney Hercules), Rei/Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon), Esther (biblical stories), Tzipporah (biblical stories esp. Dreamworks The King of Egypt), Talia Al Ghul, and Elisa Maza (Gargoyles). Other inspos include Maria Von Trapp and Marian Ravenwood.

- Vanessa was made to have a unique female character to contrast Connie and Katrina. Also because I have a soft spot for the Forbidden Love trope (if done right).

- She is the only main character OC of mine that is explicitly religious. She was Catholic and while she converted to Protestant, she still holds on to Catholic values. She is also the only main OC to be a parent as of current.

- Vanessa still visits her old nunnery when she and Jason goes to New England.

- She has bouts of postpartum depression, and takes medication to regulate.

- Her favorite things are the color blue, making her own pigments, and coffee flavored ice cream

Quotes

"Blackgaard already made our lives miserable uncle Edwin! If you leave now you're only giving him more power! You helped mama and I so many times, so it's my turn to return the favor!"

"Connie I'm a nun not a miracle worker."

"If my mother superior saw what I'm doing right now I would've had an early meeting with the Lord!"

"No more secrets. From now on it's just truth and nothing but the truth. Except for my age, don't ask me how old I am."

"Sheesh with all these buttons I'm surprised we didn't destroy Odyssey yet!"

"Jason I know you're worried about the baby but did you have to baby proof the doghouse too?"

"My little Angel! Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl!"

"I can't believe I can still wear this after all these years!?"

"Jason Whittaker you have got to be the most stubborn, reckless, foolhardy man I have ever met, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You call it junk I call it avant garde."

"I'm not responsible for my father's sins but I am responsible for mine. But my mother and uncle are in trouble. If not for me then please, do it for them!"

"She doesn't hate you Jason, she hates everyone equally."

"I guess God had a plan in store for me after all. I would've never met such wonderful people."

"Are you going to keep talking or should I start the kissing?"

Pictures

I haven't drawn any references for her yet, so that's going to be on a separate post

#adventures in odyssey #aio radio #blackgaard saga #novacom saga #green ring conspiracy #canon x oc #oc x canon #jason x oc #jason whittaker #oc: vanessa marble #oc bio #adventures in odyssey radio show #aio #i wanna make aio more inclusive and less er 'christian propaganda' i still enjoy the series tho

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archaeotech3 · 3 years

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So the new script version of the Aphra audiodrama includes a list of the cast introduced in Aphra’s voice. I just have to share.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

DOCTOR CHELLI LONA APHRA: Rogue archaeologist. Weapons and droid expert extraordinaire. Our intrepid heroine.

DARTH VADER: Infamous Sith Lord. Man of few words. Our intrepid heroine’s terrifying boss.

TRIPLE-ZERO: Protocol droid. Favorite hobbies include translation, holo-chess, and draining organics of all their blood.

BEETEE: Blastomech droid. Has a flamethrower.

SANA STARROS: Smuggler. Unfortunate dreamboat. Working with the rebels for some godsforsaken reason.

BLACK KRRSANTAN: Disgraced Wookiee. Fearsome bounty hunter. Do not challenge him to a pit fight.

PADMÉ AMIDALA: The “good” former queen and senator of Naboo.

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA: Rebel royalty. Has a mean left hook.

LUKE SKYWALKER: Yellow-haired rebel humanoid who is supposedly important for some reason?

HAN SOLO: Reformed scoundrel. Always claims to save the day. Actually useless.

CHEWBACCA: Han Solo’s very loud Wookiee sidekick. No match for Black Krrsantan.

C-3PO: Simpering Triple-Zero doppelgänger.

R2-D2: Foolhardy Beetee doppelgänger.

EMPEROR PALPATINE: Our intrepid heroine’s boss’s boss.

BOBA FETT: Bounty hunter. Inspires fear in the hearts of all ( except for our intrepid heroine ).

MAZ KANATA: Badass pirate queen. Incredibly sore loser.

KORIN APHRA: Our intrepid heroine’s father. Obsessed with excruciatingly boring Jedi stuff.

LONA APHRA: Our intrepid heroine’s mother. Obsessed with excruciatingly boring planets.

THE ANTE: Information broker. Sometimes useful. Not to be trusted.

IG-90: Bounty hunter. Overly pedantic assassin droid. Likes to shoot things.

BOSSK: Bounty hunter. Wookiee-killing machine. Does not understand the concept of jokes.

BEEBOX: Bounty hunter. Very short, but carries a big gun.

UTANI XANE: Curator of Quarantine World III. Loves bureaucracy and crushing dreams.

SAVA TOOB-NIX: Sava of the University of Bar’leth. Hates when his lectures are interrupted (especially by our intrepid heroine).

COMMODEX TAHN: Former mortician of Naboo. All-around bad liar.

ENEB RAY: Former rebel spy. Loves to monologue.

GEONOSIAN QUEEN: Really scary. No other descriptors necessary.

#* IT’S DOCTOR / APHRA.#* YOU EARN AND YOU LEARN / MUSINGS.#* ALWAYS A TRIP / 000 MATRIX.#* MURDER BUCKET / BT1.#* SHE BURNS LIKE CORELLIAN WHISKEY / SANA.#* FLUFFY HAIRED FARM BOY / LUKE.#* I OWE HIM A LOT ( OF MONEY ) / KRRSANTAN.#* TALL‚ DARK‚ AND GENOCIDAL / LORD VADER.#* WORST AMONG EQUALS / CONNECTIONS.

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hows-it-holed-up · 4 years

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Perfunctory Photo Recap: Alias 1x01

After starting off with Gossip Girl and swinging wildly in the other direction for my second post, I decided a happy medium for No. 3 would be that early-aughts ABC classic, Alias. The show premiered basically immediately after 9/11, and I started watching it in 2002 with its mid-season premiere – meaning I missed the first half of the first season and didn’t get to watch it until it RE-AIRED over the summer of 2002. (How did we ever live without streaming apps? Unfathomable.) Anyway, I was obsessed with this show when it was on, and I suspect it’ll hold up pretty well, even though we’re the better part of 20 years out from the pilot. Let’s get our spy on!

My Disclaimer: None of these posts will be in any way comprehensive, because I’m lazy. All of them are probably going to have spoilers of some sort for the entire series…or at least what I remember of it from when I last watched it an eon ago. Exactly what you want in a recap!

The Prophecy: Our heroine Sydney Bristow thinks she works for the CIA, but learns pretty quickly (after they murder her fiancé) that she’s been a bit of a dummy! She actually works for the bad guys – an organization called SD-6. Will she just sit back and accept it? That would make for a pretty short series!

Fresh off his thrill-a-minute action masterpiece Felicity, J.J. Abrams stays brand consistent, opening his new series with some light waterboarding.

We cut almost immediately to Sydney in a college classroom (there we go, J.J.), where she’s scribbling furiously in a blue book and giving me anxiety-induced flashbacks. She meets up with her BF...

Who proposes to her on “the quad” while singing “Build Me Up Buttercup” at the top of his lungs. I remember finding this adorably romantic in high school. If someone inflicted this on me now I would literally walk away and never speak to them again.

Syd here seems to be contemplating the exact same thing. But she (somehow) gets over it and says yes.

Wow, there it is! “The CIA.” Honestly, Sydney really should have figured out this wasn’t legit almost immediately. No way the vibe at ANY CIA office is industrial chic. There’s barely a fluorescent light to be found!

LOOK AT BABY BRADLEY COOPER! (Yes, this screengrab was very strategic.)

He’s so crestfallen when she tells him she’s engaged to Doug or Dave or whatever his name is. Poor BB. Don’t worry Bradley! He’ll have shuffled this mortal coil by halfway through the episode.

Annnnd this is why:

Big no-no!

He freaks out and I guess runs off. When they meet up again it’s at some oil-pumping hoosit in Bakersfield or some such, and she gives him some cringeworthy line about having always hoped she’d find someone to give her life meaning and he’s the one etc. etc. GROAN.

Then she jets off on her latest mission, where the best part is she gets to use her real accent for about 10 seconds.

As a southern(ish) lady myself, I always get a little delight when I hear a good southern accent! Everyone seems to think they can do a flawless one, but it’s almost impossible to find someone who’s not from the region and can do it properly. The attempts are usually skin-crawlingly bad.

Anyway, after the mission, she returns home to a not-very-nice surprise.

J. Garn is VERY good in this scene.

After a wee confrontation with her boss about the small matter of murdering her fiancé, we cut back to the torture scene, where Sydney’s got some jokes!

LOLLL!!!!1! But to be fair they did shoot her full of a big ol’ syringe of something we’ll assume is affecting her frontal lobe, or whatever. You try being funny in the middle of a drug-enhanced torture session.

Anyway, we cut back to Dorian’s funeral, where we get eyes on Will’s (Bradley Cooper’s) sister, who happens to have fire-engine red hair and be dressed like a British goth-punk from the ‘70s. Super approps funereal attire. And also probably nothing to do with Syd’s lil future disguise – just a total coincidence.

Then over to this image of me, every night of this COVID-19 quarantine. Note the bottle within arm’s reach. By tomorrow I’ll probably be foregoing the glass altogether.

When we check back in with our girl, it’s been 3 months since she’s been into the office. Prob b/c of the whole “murdered her fiancé” thing but who can say really. Anyway folks aren’t super pleased!

Like really not super pleased.

There’s a whole fighting thing, and as Syd’s struggling to escape her dad dadus ex machinas on up:

He tells her the people she’s working for are actually the bad guys. And she’s like NUH UH! And he’s like “So then how come you’ve never been to Langley? Also come on have you seen the offices?”

Not really being able to argue with his logic but also not really trusting him, Syd runs off and steals Will’s sister’s identity (SHOCKING TWIST!). Because as all great spies know, you want to stand out as much as possible – so best practice is to dye your hair the brightest color you can manage and dress like it’s Halloween so that everyone will notice you.

Anywho, all of that somehow works, and we arrive at the part of the narrative where she gets captured and tortured. But because she’s the star of the show, it probably won’t come as too much of a surprise that she escapes! She runs off to find the thing she was supposed to find at the beginning of the show:

A highly coveted floating clown nose! (No but actually it’s much more sinister than that and is a big deal later in the series.)

She gives it to her boss so he knows she’s back onboard:

Then heads straight for CIA HQ, where she writes down her story for this handsome fellow and offers to be a double agent for them:

Sigh. I remember being very into these two as an IRL couple and finding out they broke up immediately before a French test. I also remember I did not do excellently on said French test. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I had no interest in studying. I would probably be fluent now if it weren’t for them.

Anyway, the CIA verifies her statement and sends an asset to let her know that she’s in:

Yes that’s what I just said.

It turns out that papa Bristow is ALSO a CIA double agent! What a good reveal to end on! Great job J.J.!

Debriefing:

- After spending 20 minutes searching for a free, not-illegal way to watch this sucker online (because I’m a cheap bitch), I finally gave in, swam around in my massive hope chest and literally dusted off this DVD, which it turns out I still own. Did I buy a DVD player just so I could watch my Alias, OC and Friends DVDs? Who can say!

- I didn’t realize they introduced the Rambaldi mythology in the first episode. It’s actually pretty impressive they could maintain that as a narrative thread throughout the show. Also we’ve got a “47″ alert at 12 minutes in.

- They have Jennifer Garner speaking a ton of languages throughout this show, as I recall. I wonder if she’s any good at any of them? She sounds vaguely convincing in the pilot, to me, but what do I know?

- I think we can all agree that Merrin Dungey is a national treasure and deserves to be a bigger star than she is. I’m always so happy to see her when she pops up in other things. And she’s great in this show.

- Overall, the Alias pilot holds up REALLY well. It does an amazing job of giving depth to all of the characters and really making the audience care about them – even the ones who only appear for a few minutes. The plotting is strong, and the groundwork for the rest of the series is laid without being even remotely heavy on eye-rolly exposition. Plus the actors’ performances are all *CHEF’S KISS*

#tv recap #spoilers #alias #pilot

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vicisintoomanyfandoms · 4 years

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Chapter 2 of Another target

I hope you enjoy this second chapter. Happy reading.

Read it on Ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24792793/chapters/59956513

Join the Miraculous fanworks discord server here https://discord.gg/wcQvjyg

That night

The heroine stayed in her bed, thinking about how she was going to get rid of her long-time crush because he loved someone else. And he had the right to date Kagami, he was a free person and nobody should criticize him for being in love with a smart, interesting and talented girl. The bakers’ daughter felt like a loser, she knew that she never had a chance with the amazing model, but still continued to hope. She had a whole future ahead and a man who truly deserved her, she could just move on. It wasn’t going to be very hard after all.

“Are you ok Marinette?” Tikki asked her with concern. The ravenette just got up from her bed and started looking in the mirror. At that moment her confidence was nowhere to be found. She envied Kagami in many ways because the fencer was perfect. Or at least it seemed like this.

The girl got to her bed and immediately fell asleep.

Next day

Marinette’s alarm started to ring, making the ravenette want to destroy her phone. She usually wakes up pretty late, but this time, she got up from the bed and did her usual routine: washed her tenth, took a shower, changed into her usual clothes, and went downstairs to have breakfast.

“What happened Marinette, you woke up early today, how did this happen? Is everything ok?” her parents asked her with worry on their faces.

“No, everything is ok, I just wanted to make it earlier today.”

Then she went to her room to take her backpack and purse, in which was Tikki already hiding, with her.

Marinette took everything she needed with her and rushed at school, thinking she’ll be late again. When the ravenette arrived, she saw two people kissing in front of the school. She got terrified when she saw that those people Adrien and Kagami. Her world felt like it was falling apart. She was heartbroken and started running away to the toilets. There the bluebell-eyed girl let it all out. Tears were falling down her cheeks and no one knew except for Tikki, who got out of the purse. The sweet creature looked down thinking about a way to change the subject for her.

“So, are you going to patrol today?” the kwami asked. She knew Adrien was Cat Noir, but her owner didn’t and it was a great advantage. The ravenette could trust her partner with her heart and he never betrayed her.

They both heard the voice of a boy, Adrien Agreste, the same guy who unconsciously broke the girl’s heart, the guy who was dating her friend.

“MARIETTE! MARINETTE? ARE YOU THERE?” the blonde asked worriedly. He cared about the girl so much and didn’t want her to be heartbroken.

“Adrien? Yeah, I’m here. You can go to your girlfriend now. I’ll be ok.” Marinette said with a sad voice. The blonde could hear she was crying from her sobs.

“You are NOT ok! I want you to be happy Marinette, I care about you. You are one of my best friends. And I need you to tell me what happened. Please.”

She got out of the girls’ bathroom and met Adrien here. The ravenette had red, puffy eyes from crying. He hugged her tight then let go immediately.

“Marinette, please be honest with me. What happened? Maybe I can help you.”

“You………. You can’t. No one can but myself.” The girl told him with tears running from her beautiful bluebell eyes. She ran from him and went to class, where there was already Kagami.

“Kagami! What are you doing here?”

“Well, my mom allows me to go here to school because of Adrien. He somehow managed to convince her.” The short-haired girl told Marinette. “And I don’t know if he told you, but we made it official yesterday. We are dating, just to let you know.” She knew the bluebell-eyed liked him, but she was so selfish and rubbed with that in the poor girl’s face like the boy was a prize.

“I know. I saw you two kissing in front of the school.” It was hard for her to prevent her tears from falling. Marinette closed her eyes and went to her long-time seat.

Time skip (end of class)

“Are you free today Marinette?” a sweet voice asked the girl who was walking down the stairs. It was Luka, the guy who never left her side no matter what. She felt incredibly lucky and thought that she didn’t deserve him.

“Yes, why are you asking?” the ravenette replied.

“Will you go on a date with me? Plus, I have something to tell you.” She nodded and they both walked together. The boy with blue streaks in his hair took her hand and told her “I’ll always be here for you Marinette.”

At the park

The two teenagers were sitting on a bench and the blue-eyed boy broke the silence.

“I wanted to ask you this a long time ago,” Luka told the beautiful girl who was a complete blushing mess. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you be my girlfriend?”

The ravenette had no words. Literally. She was shocked, but she knew that this day would come.

The girl could not explain what she felt at the time. It was a good thing that the boy confessed, but her heart belonged to someone else, someone who never saw her real side. How can Adrien love me if he doesn’t know who I truly am? she thought. Her mind wasn’t big enough to know what she was supposed to do, but the boy caught her by surprise and kissed her On the lips. She melted into the passionate kiss but broke it after a few seconds.

“Luka, what were you thinking when you did that?” She ran out in tears to her house, leaving him with his mouth wide open. But the truth was, it was not only them in the park, but there was also someone else who was spying on them, and that person was Kagami, whose happiness couldn’t get any bigger. It was officially the best day of her life: Adrien asked her to be his girlfriend and the person who had a crush on him was unavailable anymore. The scene when they were kissing was recorded on the short-haired girl’s phone. Everything went by her plan, now Marinette couldn’t steal Adrien from her, or she only thought that…..

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years

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They said Marinette couldn’t be akumatized cuz she was “too optimistic”. Well, Hawk Moth tried to akumatize her in “Zombizou”, but that didn’t work. Strike 1. He tried to do it again in “Chameleon”, but that didn’t work either. Strike 2. So what’s it gonna take to really crack this clumsy aspiring fashion designer? You’d have to be conning and manipulative enough to orchestrate something so spirit breaking to have the schools Darling akumatized. The culprit achieves this. Find out how:

*Ladybug-Ever feel like you’re being watched? Like, you sense something off, but you just can’t put your finger on it? It’s creepy. Speaking of which, that creeper is Lila Rossi. During her “excessive traveling” she’s been spying on Marinette from her window growing increasingly jealous of all the love and attention she’s been getting. Especially from Adrien. Like how he gave her her own lucky charm bracelet (“Befana”). Season 2’s finale was the last straw for her, so that’s why she came back to school to ruin Marinettes life and take all of the attention for herself (“Chameleon”). After allying with Gabriel to be close to Adrien, she’s been keeping him up to date with Adriens whereabouts and how she says Marinette is a “bad influence” on him (“Miracular”). Gabe of course is only using Lila to trigger negative emotions for akumas. (whispers) She’s getting more wicked!

Since everyone seems to love Marinette, Lila thought she could sabatoge that and make her and everyone else miserable therefore she’d have to be akumatized along with them and Hawk Moth will get his miraculouses and Lila will finally see Ladybug fall. Well, Lila still doesn’t know Gabe and Hawk Moth are one in the same, but she’s technically “allied” with him (Hawk Moth) too, so she can get rid of Ladybug. How do they pull this off? Lila frames Marinette for stealing the answers to a test making it look like she cheated, faking an injury that Marinette pushed her down the stairs and even stealing her fox necklace found in her locker. All of which she planted and made look convincing getting Marinette expelled! Damn! She’s good at being a liar and it’s getting worse!

Marinette is so devastated by all this after failing to call out Lila and with that, Hawk Moth akumatizes Natalie as Catalyst again turning him into Scarlet Moth from last seasons finale so he can akumatize another whole army using his multiple scarlet akumas! Oh sh*t! Scarlet Moth akumatizes Marinette and-WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE! IT HAPPENED!? IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED! MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG WAS AKUMATIZED!? HOLY SH*T SHE TOOK OFF HER MIRACULOUS! OH GOD! WE’RE DOOMED! Don! Don! Don! SAY GOOD-BYE! SAY GOOD-BYE! CUZ WE’RE ALL GONNA-Huh!? What happened to Cataylst there!? Phew! Well thank God she’s still sick from the damaged peacock miraculous otherwise it would’ve been the end of the world as we know it. STRIKE 3! YOU’RE OUTTA HERE HAWK MOTH! :P.

Unfortunately, none of this saved the fact that Marinette was still expelled. Sensing fowl play, Alya attempts to play detective and figure out who did this to her best friend. Glad to see she’s siding with Marinette again cuz I’m sure she must’ve learned from her mistakes. During that time Marinette was put under house arrest by her parents to keep her safe while Gabe takes back the peacock miraculous from Nathalie fearing for her health. Not wanting to disappoint her secret love, Nat secretly steals her miraculous to become Mayura and creates a sentimonster of her own. Hmmm, she can do that!? Wow! She creates one in the spitting image of Ladybug! Complete with voice! Oh God! This is gonna be a toughie.

It was a toughie. “Sentibug” was sooooooooooo convincing, Cat Noir actually fell for it and even sided with her over the real Ladybug! 😫 Ugh! C’mon you stupid cat! Didn’t you learn anything!? It was over a love confession and he damn well knew Ladybug loved “someone else”, but his school boy crush just overpowered it. Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Luckily, it was only for a quick moment until he was called out on his stupidity and the dynamic duo (along with the fandom) learned something new today, sentimonsters have feelings!

Before I begin my thoughts on this, I’d like to say that this ep come out on my birthday! Sept 10! 🎉🎈Happy (Belated) Birthday🎂To Me!🎈🎉 I consider it a gift from Zagtoon and Thomas Astruc, so merci! What a treat I got from this as one of the best things about this episode was when the whole class vouched for Marinette knowing she’s a nice girl who wouldn’t steal (anything that wasn’t a smart phone) unlike how they did in “Chameleon” siding with Lila. Much better! Then there was the well calculated plan to déjà vu “Heroes Day” using Scarlet Moth and Catalyst. I could see how it would’ve gone had it not been for Nats growing health issues. From the Season 2 finale, almost everyone was akumatized cuz they were all in shock that their town heroine, Ladybug, turned evil and “killed” Cat Noir in front of ‘em (illusion by Volpina) and it almost happened again cuz the nicest girl in school, Marinette, was accused of being a criminal leaving everyone heartbroken from her expulsion cuz everyone loves Marinette as much they love Ladybug! (Lila is actually good at elaborate plans in a villainous sense). It almost happened! Marinette got akumatized! The fans were right, her akumatized form would’ve been something justice related, Princess Justice, cuz she’s a huge advocate for it and her mother too! As Verity Queen! However, we never got to see it cuz of Nats health, but it would’ve been cool. Since Marinette was taking off her miraculous, was she gonna give them to Hawk Moth or just took ‘em off before she was fully akumatized for safety? During the almost corruption, Alya and Chloe stood their ground keeping cool in case they were needed for battle (didn’t see Adrien there or even the others who already had miraculouses there, so I don’t know what went on with them). Detective Alya’s research went nowhere as she couldn’t find any evidence to back-up her friend, so it was a bust. Damn, that Lila! The debate over Cats guess on who the real Ladybug was was absolutely jarring! Guy was too blinded by his love for her to think clearly! Do what your real Lady said and LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN YOU STUPID BANANA HAIRED CAT! Well, we can’t blame the guy, I mean, it was pretty convincing and we need to remember he’s the Heart Thinker to Ladybugs Brain Thinker. Love will be their downfall. Wait for it. Turns out, Mayura can create her own image of a sentimonster and they actually have thoughts and feelings! Their free will is just controlled by Mayura. Once Ladybug figured that out, Sentibug turned over a new leaf, but sadly was short lived as Mayura destroyed her. R.I.P. Sentibug :’(. Oh God! What is this, the 25, 915th time Cat Noir has to see Ladybug die in front of him!? First it was all those heart wrenching times in “Desperada”, then her capture in “Party Crasher” and now this! Guys gonna be traumatized, I swear. Hawk Moth made another of his rare public appeareances and this was to fight his adversaries in Mayuras defense. A little thing I liked was when Gabe woke up and realized Nathalie was out and about as Mayura and asked Nooroo why he didn’t wake him up, his excuse was “You looked so peaceful!” (Badum-tish🥁). XD! Straight outta sitcom! Hawk Moth and Ladybug have a short Mexican Standoff (he had his son right there!) before calling off the fight to escape with their partners. That was close! They almost revealed themselves there! Nat is out of commission as both Catalyst and Mayura as her health is getting worse from the damaged peacock miraculous (let’s not have another Emilie incident) and with that, they’ll figure out another way to find Master Fu (this is after “Feast”. Master Fus ep). In the end, Lila got no comeuppance sadly and instead, became Gabe’s “muse”, but Adrien put his foot down and confronted her, in all his tranquil fury, to bullsh*t her way into bringing back Marinette since she’s too good of a liar to expose (nobody messes with his “not-yet-aware” love interest). This is one of those rare moments where Adrien is pissed off! The last time we saw him this angry was in the Christmas special! It’s scary! He warned her in “Onichan” and now, she’s gonna pay! You go Adrikins! (I would’ve gone a little more tougher, but still, you did good!). “Things aren’t always what they seem” is the quote of the episode here and it plays it straight (No Marinette, it’s not for your benefit). Lila made up yet another “disease” for herself that involves lying (well, its technically true) and is saved Marinette to get her back in school. A little heads up folks, this episode is after “Cat Blanc” and “Felix” and before the big two part finale. Just lettin’ ya know there, *click* *click*.

#miraculous ladybug #ladybug #miraculous ladybug ladybug

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junionigiri · 5 years

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BNHA Rarepair Month - Day 16 - Love

for @bnha-rarepair-month

Summary: Tsuburaba Kosei thinks that Asui Tsuyu is his 100% Perfect Girl, but doesn't have the courage to talk to her. Luckily (???) Tokage Setsuna is willing to help him out.

Relationship(s): Asui Tsuyu/Tsuburaba Kosei (Tsutsu...? TsuyuRaba?); background Tokage Setsuna/Kaibara Sen (SetsuSen???) if u squint

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: How did this end up 4k words; enjoy this 1-B mess I guess! I got the '100% Perfect Girl' term from one of my favourite short stories ever: On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning by Haruki Murakami; but of course the stories are nothing alike

Links: AO3 | FFNet

Life as an aspiring hero isn’t the simplest thing. Even though he’s fortunate enough to be in the relatively stable 1-B (and not 1-A, to which lady luck keeps a steady storm of shit flowing into their collective fortunes), he’s had his own share of sticky situations.

However, for the first time ever, Tsuburaba Kosei, 16 years old, finds himself facing a conundrum so puzzling that he needs to look up the word ‘conundrum’ to describe it. And that thing which he faces is…

Love.

He covers his mouth shut just thinking about the word. He has to, ‘cause otherwise he’d blow a neat little air prison around him with just enough room for him to rock back and forth and to hit his head against the wall as much as he needs to, until he calms down. Given that he’s contemplating all this in the 1-B classroom with all his other classmates milling about him, it’d definitely cause a commotion and would likely send him to an unwarranted trip to Recovery Girl’s office. Or the loony bin, if her humble little clinic is unequipped to treat vexing emotional problems like his. Which it likely is.

“You’re thinking about that 1-A girl again, man?” Kaibara Sen asks, as he leans against the desk next to him. His usual judgy stare is extra judgy as he watches Tsuburaba struggle against the turmoil of his emotions.

“You don’t get it man,” he says with a sigh. As he opens his mouth, a puff of solid air the size of a dinner plate forms in front of his face and crashes to the ground like, well, a dinner plate. The sound resonates throughout the classroom. This only earns him a pointed glare from half of his classmates. It’s a little embarrassing that the class is now used to the noisy sound of his sighing fits that none of them even flinches.

“Hey, you’re talking about Tsuyu-chan, aren’t you?” It’s Tokage Setsuna who suddenly chimes in, turning her seat around and fixing her reptilian eyes to him. “Well I understand you perfectly, Tsuburaba-kun. She’s awfully cute.”

Ah, yes. Small and pretty and strong and smart and awfully cute. With her huge round eyes and forest-green hair with that complex hair bow thing that makes her look elegant and down-to-earth at the same time. With that cute little slip of her tongue always peeking from her mouth. He can go on and on about Tsuyu-chan--oh, Asui-san--can’t pretend to be too close now, since they unfortunately don’t really know each other then, never really had a proper interaction before apart from that one time she said caught you!In that cute little croak of hers, but--

“Hey, wait a minute--‘Tsuyu-chan’? Since when did you have the right to call her t-t-Tsuyu-chan?!”

The green-haired girl snorts at the way he hesitates over his green-haired goddess’ first name. When he presses her further about how she earned the right to call Asui-san that, she merely shrugs, wide eyes mildly amused. “She told me to call her that. We’re practically close friends now.”

“What? Since when?!”

“Since I made friends with her. Duh. I figured us cold-blooded heroines should stick together.” She sticks out her forked tongue at him, looking absolutely mischievous. “It’s super easy, dude. Just go next door and talk to her. She’s really friendly.”

“Easy for you to say,” Tsuburaba groans in exasperation. Another transparent plate of air forms in front of him, which he catches with one hand and places on his desk before it breaks. “You guys don’t understand. The moment she captured me, I was so sure that she’s my--”

“100% perfect girl. Yeah. We know,” Kaibara says boredly, already spinning one of his fingers to amuse himself. “You’ve only told us that everyday since the Joint Training Exercise, man.”

He’s miffed that Kaibara would say it so flatly, like it isn’t a miracle to know in the deepest part of your heart that the girl who has wrapped your entire body with her tongue and subsequently threw you in a cage during a really violent all-out battle royale is your 100% perfect girl. Damn, just thinking of the way his heart throbbed, how right everything felt when he was enveloped in the warmth, when parts of her tongue covered his m-m-mouth--

“You’ve got that awful perverted look in your eyes again, Tsuburaba-kun. They’re looking extra googly today,” points out Tokage in amusement. “You better not let her see you like this.”

He isn’t being perverted, he’s merely remembering their first tender moment together. Although, granted, one day when he’s giving their two future children his well-rehearsed How I Met Your Mother spiel, he’s gonna have a hard time making the tongue incident sound romantic and magical…

“He’s thinking about the tongue thing again,” Kaibara tells her bluntly, stone-cold as ever. “Definitely perverted.”

“Yeah. That’s disgusting, Tsuburaba-kun,” cackles the lizard-girl with a teasing grin. “Forget about my advice to go up and talk to her. I have to protect Tsuyu-chan from you at all costs.”

Such friends. He’s about to retort harshly and defend the purity of his love for her when Kaibara shoves him with a sharp elbow to the shoulder. “Shut it. Monoma’s back and extra manic today.”

True enough, the guffaw of their fearless, shameless blonde leader reverberates throughout the classroom. “Victory upon our shores again, you deplorable Class 1-A! Aren’t you supposed to be smarter than us? When your class grade average is 0.75 points less than ours?!”

There’s a collective sigh of exasperation and gloom inside the 1-B classroom. Tsuburaba feels lucky that Monoma doesn’t know about his raging crush on someone from ‘deplorable 1-A’. But it’s true that ages ago, he’d rather have nothing to do with any of the competition, especially not the class that keeps upstaging them. Now his distaste for 1-A’s lessened, and limited only to the other 19 students in that class.

Isn’t it funny, how love changes a man for good?

Someone argues incomprehensibly against him--from the sound of the voice, it’s probably Red Tetsutetsu who’s talking back to Monoma--before the blonde’s undeterred cackle resonates around the room once more. “Who cares if it’s just in English? I didn’t read the entire list! Aren’t you supposed to beat us in all the subj--”

The loud smacking sound that everyone’s accustomed to comes next, and they instantly knew that Kendo-san has taken care of it. Soon, the very capable redhead apologizes profusely to the other students in the hallway. “Sorry ‘bout that, friends. He’s just a liiiittle jealous that Shinsou-kun transferred to your class, and not ours.”

A muffled croak comes out through the door, and that beautiful sound is enough to snap the wide-eyed boy out of his disinterest. “It’s okay, Kendo-chan. I don’t think Monoma-chan’s any different from his usual self, ribbit. You’re doing a good job of keeping him under control.”

His heart actually stops<. There’s an entire second where his heart forgets what to do. He isn’t being dramatic when he makes an ugly, embarrassing sound and clutches his chest comically.

“Aw, I’m so glad my efforts are appreciated~ Tsuyu-chan, you are such a bright spot in a thankless day!”

“Ribbit. I do what I can. Keep working hard, Kendo-chan.”

He catches a peek of her long, green hair flowing behind her as she walks away with the redhead from 1-A. Not like he’s spying or stalking or anything, but what’s red Tetsutetsu doing, just walking together during lunchtime, just the two of them?! Never mind that they look terrible together--they look like an incomplete set of traffic lights, they look like bad Christmas decorations, they’d have horrible looking children together, not like the potentially cute round-eyed wonderkids he already fathered in his head--

“Chill, Tsubu,” Tokage breaks through his off-the-rails mental rant with a shit-eating grin and a cackle. “Is my poor boy jelly of Kirishima-kun? Now that’s just priceless.”

“Who’s jealous? Not me. Maybe you’re jealous.” he mutters, as he crashes forehead-first into his desk. Over and over. Who’d be jealous of that hardening rip-off who deems himself worthy of having lunch with his 100% perfect girl, just the two of them? Not him, definitely. And there’s definitely no need to remember Red Tetsutetsu’s name and to put him in a kill list. No need at all.

He practically hears Kaibara roll his eyes at him. Might be spinning them like a drill, with how bored he is of this discussion already. “Dude, seriously, just man up and talk to her. If she’s really your 100% perfect girl -- whatever the hell you mean by that -- you probably owe it to yourself to at least have a real interaction with her.”

A real interaction with her does sound nice. They can go to a nice cafe and have a nice conversation. He’d listen to her talk about swimming and rainy days and other things she might like. He’d talk to her about classes and heroism and the things he likes. Maybe invite her to watch the next Giants game with him, if she’s up to it. And then they’d have so much fun, she’d ribbit in that cute way of hers and ask him if they can do this again, and--

“Interactions in your head don’t count,” Kaibara interrupts rudely, cutting in through the very vivid pleasant images he’s formed in his head.

Tsuburaba scowls at his friends. “I know that,” he grumbles. “I just--you know, I have to be ready, I can’t just walk up to her and talk to her--”

“That’s what I did. Literally,” Tokage supplies flatly, to which he makes an exasperated sound. “Look, it’s not hard, okay? She’s cool, she can talk to literally anyone, even a disaster like you.” She makes a face of enlightenment in the next second, and puts a fist in her palm. “Hey, I think I have an idea how we can help you out, Tsuburaba-kun--”

“I’m not helping,” Kaibara cuts in, which Setsuna ignores blatantly.

“--all you have to do is come with me and Kaibara-kun later, after class. I’ll take care of the rest.” There’s no malice at all in the excited, almost manic grin that she flashes the hapless brown-haired boy. Still, he can tell that it reeks of trouble, and he makes his disdain plain on his face.

“Or… you could spend the rest of the school year pining over her and whiling away in obscurity. Your choice.”

Well… even though obscurity’s a safe place to be, he’s sure that if he pines over her, it won’t be just for the rest of the school year. Such are the cruel throes of love.

The first bell rings, cutting their discussion short. Present Mic-sensei’s shrill voice resonates inside the classroom, forcing most thoughts about his green-haired goddess to the back of his mind, in favor of conjugations.

Later, Tsuburaba finds himself staring at the back of Tokage’s green head as the girl marches her way quite cheerfully towards the 1-A classrooms. He’s trailing behind her with his hands in his pockets, cool as a stone-cold cucumber that’s progressively shriveling over a piping hot BBQ grill.

“Keep cool, Tsuburaba-kun,” the lizard-girl whispers conspiratorially at him as she stops by the back door. “Just follow my lead. I’ll take care of ya.”

“This is dumb,” he hears Kaibara mumble behind him. For all his complaints though, he still followed the two of them all the way there, under the pretense of making sure neither of them do anything to embarrass 1-B in front of 1-A anymore than Monoma has.

Well, he can say anything he wants, Tsuburaba’s pretty sure that the guy’s out there just to watch over Tokage. At the moment though, said lizard-girl is now peeping through the doors and catches someone’s eye. “Hi, Tsuyu-chan!”

“Kero? It’s Setsuna-chan! What brings you here, kero?”

The two green-haired girls hug each other as if they’re old friends. Tsuburaba tries to convince himself that maybe it’s all a green-haired-solidarity kind of arrangement and that it’s stupid to be jealous that Tokage’s somehow on a first name basis with Asui, but he feels himself turn green all the same.

“Listen, Tsuyu-chan, I was hoping to ask you for a favor,” she says, gesturing to the two boys ever so casually. “Me and these guys are having trouble in Heroics history… I know you guys are like a couple of lessons ahead of us, so I was hoping we could study with you? We’re really desperate.”

Asui glances briefly at them. When her dark, round eyes fall over his, Tsuburaba feels the moment stretched out in slow motion. Flowers blooming in the background, twinkling lights, all that shoujo mangashebang.

“... sure, I don’t mind, ribbit. I was planning to go to the library myself to study.”

He struggles to keep his cool, even though again, there’s another couple seconds where his heart seems to forget what the fuck it’s supposed to do. Tokage’s response barely registers with him. “Cool! But the library’s so boring. Lucky for us, Tsuburaba-kun’s feeling generous today and was planning to treat us all to coffee at StrumBucks--”

Wait, what? Tsuburaba feels his eyes going wider than ever possible as he glares at the undeterred Tokage and her runaway mouth.

“--so it’ll be a fair trade. Your notes for coffee. Tsuburaba-kun, you don’t mind buying Tsuyu-chan coffee too, right?”

Of course he doesn’t mind buying her coffee. Heck, he’d buy her all the coffees she wants. Cakes. Parfaits. A three course dinner. A house and lot. What he minds very much though that Tokage’s just teasing him so freely in front of his hopeless crush, and somehow swindling him out of his allowance at the same time.

“I think that sounds fair. I want a grande vanilla cold brew, Tsuburaba,” adds Kaibara dully. He also minds very much that he’s also suddenly obliged to treat these two jerks to expensive coffee. True friends, indeed.

For all his rage though, all Tsuburaba can do is gape at them like a fool. And Asui’s looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Okay. I’ll go with you guys. But it’s also okay if Tsuburaba-chan doesn’t treat me to coffee, ribbit,” she answers coolly.

Tsuburaba-chan. Oh, the sheer rush of emotions that run through his chest hearing his own name from her mouth. It gives him enough strength to somehow say, “No, it’s cool, Asui. You get coffee too. No big deal.”

“Look at you, Mister Moneybags,” he hears Tokage mumble behind him. Wow. He sounded cool just then, didn’t he? He probably did, judging by the little smile on the lizard girl’s face. (He’s pointedly trying not to look at Kaibara’s face, though).

“Well, okay. But I’m okay either way. Promise.” Her big round eyes crease ever so slightly as she looks up at him. “By the way, call me Tsuyu-chan, ribbit.”

He’s done it. He’s on Tsuyu-chan terms with Tsuyu-chan. If he has any less self-control, he would have already jumped for joy and clicked his heels in mid-air and made a giant invisible sky scraper out of all the breath inside his happy little lungs.

“Same goes for you, Kaibara-chan,” she says, turning to the darker-haired boy next to him. Tsuburaba instantly feels the skyscraper shatter into tiny little bits, as if he just let OG Tetsutetsu and beast mode Shishida-kun and a pack of rabid dogs loose inside it.

Tokage looks like she’s about to burst out laughing when she glances once more at the crestfallen Tsuburaba, but she’s able to keep it together as she suggests the four of them start walking to the cafe.

Conversation flows naturally between the two green-haired girls, while the complete opposite happens with the two brown-haired boys. He can only hope that the silence makes the two of them look like the cool, brooding types of guys that girls seem to like (i.e. Todoroki Shouto, whose allure has also somehow infected the girls of 1-B and the rest of the school. That half-head really has everything dammit).

When they make it to the cafe, Tokage drags Kaibara with her to secure seats, or so she says. “I’m having what Fidget-Spinner-Boy’s having. Tsuyu-chan, order anything you want,” she says rapidly, not giving any of the three any chance to protest.

And so Tsuburaba Kosei finds himself standing next to his 100% perfect crush, in a line to buy her coffee, so they can spend time together in a coffee shop. There are couples in front of them and behind them and he can’t help but think that they now look very much like a couple on an actual honest-to-goodness date.

“Ribbit. Setsuna-chan’s really hyper, isn’t she.” She croaks humorously. The top of her head only reaches his shoulder. Ahh so cute…!!!

“... yeah.” He hopes that steam doesn’t blow out of his nose--he doesn’t want someone nearby to get aircuts.

“It must be interesting in your class, Tsuburaba-chan.”

“... yeah, it gets wild sometimes. But I’m sure it’s not as wild as your class, though.”

Tsuyu-chan stares up at him blankly. Shit, did he say something offensive? “N-not that I mean you guys are a pack of wild animals--I mean, have you seen my classmates? Compared to you guys, we’re practically a zoo--”

A pleasant sound emerges from her mouth and into Tsuburaba’s ears. Hearing it makes him forget about the very concept of anxiety. “You were right the first time, Tsuburaba-chan. Our class is pretty wild too. That’s why I think we should work together more, ribbit. The Joint Training Exercises were fun.”

Hngh, thinks Tsuburaba, as he thinks about her tongue around his body again. Now is not the time to think of that totally-not-perverse memory! He turns his face away from her in a stupid effort to keep his stupid face in-line.

“Oh--Tsuburaba-chan must be remembering our fight too, ribbit.”

Oh shit, she noticed?! Whatever happiness he might have felt knowing that she, at some level, thought about him too, shatters as she keeps those discerning eyes on him. Shit, did she see him with that unmistakable lecherous glint in his eyes?! Is this it, is it over? Is she going to run out the door screaming, crying, swearing on the graves of her ancestors to never have anything to with him ever again?! “W-well, about th-that--”

“It’s as I thought, ribbit.” She sighs, suddenly despondent. “I thought it’s weird that Setsuna-chan left us alone, even though we’re not friends. She must be trying to patch things up between us, isn’t she, ribbit?”

Eh? Come again?

Tsuyu-chan tilts her cute little face at him with a look of concern on her usually unreadable face. “I’m right, aren’t I? I noticed that you were awfully quiet in the cage after I captured you, ribbit… ever since then, I was worried that Tsuburaba-chan definitely hated me--”

Hated… hated Tsuyu-chan?! That’s not the case at all!

“--but I wasn’t able to talk to you guys after the exercises, so I wasn’t able to apologize to you properly, ribbit.” Her eyes are downcast as she says this. She twiddles two large, webbed fingers together cutely. “So… I’m glad I have a proper chance to say sorry to you now…”

No, that’s wrong, Tsuburaba would never hate on Tsuyu-chan. Never, you hear?! Tsuyu-chan’s too cute, too wonderful, too perfect to be hated. Besides, I mean, who would hate on their 100% perfect--

“... ribbit…?”

“Um,” the cashier tells him awkwardly, as his mouth is frozen open with the impassioned words dying within. “S-sorry, you’re having 100% what, sir?”

Tsuburaba turns to the cashier slowly, googly-eyes twitching, neck cracking with each gear-like shift of his suddenly stiffened body. “U… uhh… 100%, perfect… roasted… coffee beans… in milk…?”

The poor cashier, who looks like she isn’t paid enough for this shit, is staring at his madman’s antics in confusion. “So… a latte?”

Tsuyu is staring up at him with eyes as wide as vinyl discs, stunned beyond belief. Like someone just told her that the sky isn’t blue, that global warming isn’t real. Or that she’s some 1-B weirdo’s 100% perfect… perfect something that he isn’t able to properly finish, she might as well think that she’s his 100% perfect cause of death, for all he’s good for. Shit, why the heck is he like this?! How much did he say out loud?

“R… ribbit,” she croaks after what seems like an eternity of just staring at him. Trying hard not to be too mortified, she turns to the cashier, face suddenly red and voice suddenly timid, “We also want two grande vanilla cold brews and a soy latte…”

“Okay…” He doesn’t even hear how much the total is. Instead, he shoves a 5000 yen bill into the cashier’s hands, looks down on the floor, and rushes to the other side of the counter, not daring to look at the face of the girl who just heard the worst confession ever on the face of this planet.

As he makes his way to sulk over the counter, he sees Kaibara and Tokage staring at him, and he isn’t sure if they’re sympathizing with him or trying their hardest not to burst out laughing right in their seats. He has half a mind to put ten tablespoons of cinnamon in their drinks for leaving him unsupervised, when he sees a small, green form in the other side of his peripheral vision.

“Ribbit,” Tsuyu-chan says, shyly holding out an array of bills and coins in her large hands, “You forgot your change…”

“Thank you,” he says quietly. He feels the tips of her fingers on his palm as she carefully places the money within--he momentarily forgets his shame as he feels their point of contact, only to have it come back full-force when he is forced to see the way she couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Asui-san… I’m really sorry for, you know… making things awkward for you,” he tells her in the most honest, heartfelt way he can. “Yeah… I’m being really honest, but… I d-don’t mind if you change your mind about studying with us. No need to pay me back for the coffee--”

Again, he feels his breath just die in his stupid throat when he notices her tugging on his sleeve. He feels his already-wide eyes widen even further, like they’re going to come out of their sockets.

Before he can figure out what’s going on and maybe pick up after his eyeballs that have surely popped out of their sockets by now, Tsuyu-chan looks up at him with an odd look in her eyes. ”Um… Tsuburaba-chan… I don’t really understand what’s going on…”

Of course she doesn’t. Tsuburaba himself doesn’t understand what’s going on. He’d pay another 5000 yen if someone gives him a good explanation as to why the hell he is like this. Bonus tips if the guy gives him a good and thorough beating and whisks his fried-egg eyes for him.

“... and I really don’t know anything about you, so…”

He shuts his eyes, tries not to look too much like the insides of his chest is being thrown into a blender. Hopefully, with the way he’s struggling with his stupid face, Tsuyu-chan just thinks that he’s had an acute case of constipation.

“… so I can’t give you a proper reply yet, ribbit. But… but I don’t mind if we try to be friends first, ribbit.”

Friends. The term echoes in his head, like the sound of the microwave dinging in a cold and hungry night. He snaps his head up to face her, and he’s treated to the sight of her shyly trying to meet his eyes for just a second.

“Yeah… okay.” The weight disappears from his shoulders, and for the first time he’s able to look at her calmly. “I’d like that.”

To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the two of them are able to walk peacefully to the table, where a giddy Tokage and a suspiciously-relieved Kaibara are waiting for them. They’re able to study their coursework, as promised, and Tsuburaba is proud to say that even though he spent 100% of the time fawning over his 100% perfect girl, the girl spent about 40% of her time interacting with him. Plus, he’s able to answer at least 50% of the coursework this time!

Now, when’s the next Giants game…?

#bnha fic #bnha rarepair month #tsutsu #asui tsuyu #tsuburaba kosei #tokage setsuna #kaibara sen #1-b #this is a mess #100% perfect girl #need help tagging help

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writinggeisha · 5 years

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A kiss speaks beyond words, whether it’s between lovers, between mother and child, or between friends. It can be a simple peck against a cheek, a soft brush of two pairs of lips, or a soul-deep press of open mouths and tangled tongues. A kiss arouses the senses and triggers an elaborate system of nerves and chemicals, taking us on a momentary journey of love and desire that needs no description.

Unless you’re a romance writer.

Words are the only tools writers have to translate the feeling and meaning of a kiss for their readers. A kiss happens when one person’s lips connect to another person’s lips or skin. Though on the surface it might seem simple, it’s one of the most intimate experiences two people can have. A kisser must surrender to having her senses fully entwined with the person on the other end of her lips. She’s face-to-face, nose-to-nose, and breath-to-breath with her partner. That alone is a lot of input, not to mention the emotions and the chemical reactions a kiss ignites.

So where to begin?

Call me a science geek, but I find that having a few facts inspires my imagination to build the rest. (These facts are taken from research scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum’s book, The Science of Kissing. It’s a very readable book if you’d like to know more.)

Kissing Truths to Ponder While You Pucker

Evolution has made us partial to red lips. They lure us in like the ripe, red fruit at the top of the tree.

Lips are one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies. They are densely packed with nerves and are sensitive to heat, cold, and pressure. A larger section of the brain is dedicated to our lips than any other erogenous zone.

Some physical reactions of a “passionate” kiss are: heart rate increases, pupils dilate, cheeks flush, breathing becomes deeper and more irregular, blood vessels dilate and deliver more oxygen to the brain.

The average person remembers his/her first romantic kiss better than the first time he/she had sex.

Our noses can sense genetic differences in potential mates. We’re more likely to find the scent of someone with genetic differences appealing. Conveniently during kissing, our noses are pressed against our partner’s skin. Sniff, sniff.

When it comes to kissing, men and women, on average, have different preferences. (Surprise, surprise!) Men opt for a wetter kiss with open mouths and more tongue. Women prefer a tidier kiss with less tongue and less spit.

There’s a reason men prefer wetter kisses. Men pass testosterone to their kissing partner through their saliva, a plus since the hormone raises a woman’s sex drive. This effect builds up over time. It’s not a one-kiss wonder.

Likewise, there’s a reason why women prefer a more delicate kiss. Women are more sensitive to taste and smell; therefore, it only takes a small amount of saliva to evaluate her kissing partner.

The whole ‘kiss and make up’ thing has a scientific basis. Kissing releases oxytocin, the ‘love hormone,’ that’s not only released in a mother nursing her baby, but it’s also released in response to hugs and kisses. Thanks to this hormone, a kiss…preferably more than one…makes a woman’s forgiveness a little easier to come by.

Kissing is good for you. A German study showed that husbands who kissed their wives before they left for work earned more money and lived longer than those who left the house without a smooch. The reason? It’s likely because the kissers had a happier attitude toward life and a healthier lifestyle compared to the men who didn’t pucker up. (Picture it in your own mind. It’s hard to kiss someone when you’re bitter.)

Now that you’re armed with some facts, let’s outline some rules on how to pen a pucker…

Rae’s Rules for Writing Kisses That Will Rock Your Readers

First off, I’m not really one for rules. Especially when it comes to writing. But I do like alliteration, so please forgive the section heading. Rae’s Suggestions for Writing Kisses just doesn’t have the same ring.

Rule #1: Build the Anticipation.

Even if you’ve been married for fifty years, we all remember the thrill of wanting, the tingles of excitement, the jittery nerves, the infatuation…will he or won’t he? These reactions build inside us because of a cocktail of hormones. Thanks to these those chemicals, these feelings are legit. They’re not made up by some crazy romance writer who likes alliteration.

As writers, we need to create this feeling of anticipation on paper. Hormones in literary form, if you will. Make your reader anticipate the kiss along with your characters. Let your characters’ hands brush, let him caress her cheek, have their eyes lock. Start doing this pages, maybe even chapters, before your characters’ lips meet.

Of course, keep in mind, rules are made to be broken and suggestions are meant to be ignored. Who’s to say the first kiss can’t happen on the first page…in the first paragraph…as the opening sentence? Not me!

Rule #2: Action/Reaction

If you break down a kiss in a novel, you’ll find two parts. First there’s the physical action, the choreography of the kiss, if you will. This is the who, what, when, and where aspects of the kiss. Where do his lips go and what are they doing? What is her tongue doing and how she doing it?

The second part is how a character reacts to the action. For example, how does your heroine feel when her hero presses his mouth to hers? What does she think? What does she do in response?

The physical actions, such as lips parting or tongues sliding across lips, are the skeleton of the kiss, but the characters’ emotional and physical reactions are the muscles and the skin and the hair…and everything else that makes a body beautiful. These reactions complete the picture, change a charcoal sketch into a grand masterpiece filled with such color and detail that the reader wants to step inside and live there.

The same action/reaction principle applies for all that sexual tension you’re building along the way to that kiss. What does the hero do when his pretty girl leans her head on his shoulder? Does he want her closer? Does he tilt his head and let his cheek rest against her hair? Peppering your manuscript with these tidbits draws the reader in.

Rule #3: Study Up

To become better writers, nothing beats studying your favorite authors. When you’re reading, pay attention to how the author builds up the need for that kiss in her characters. Stay alert for how she increases the sexual tension before the big moment.

Here’s a short cut for getting to the parts you need to study. (Call this the data-mining version of studying a kiss.) Bring up one of your favorite books in your e-reader. Search for the word ‘kiss.’ You’ll get a list of sentences and their locations. Don’t click away from the list just yet. This list is a study guide all on its own. Scroll through it. It’s a quick source of examples on how to write a sentence that describes a kiss.

Depending on how the author uses the word, your data-mining might also catch sentences before the kiss happens, sentences that talk about how the character is yearning for the kiss. This can provide insights on how to build that anticipation.

Granted, this is a quick and dirty way to get to the stuff you want to study, not a comprehensive analysis of kissing in a particular book. And, of course, it will only catch the sentences that have the word ‘kiss’ in it.

Rule #4: Seek Inspiration

In order to create our fictionalized worlds, we must first observe the real world. Yes, we must spy on people. Therefore, in addition to keeping a pen and a notebook in your writer’s bag, you also need a pair of very dark sunglasses, especially when you’re seeking out lip-locked lovers.

Though they’re hard to catch, they could happen anywhere…under the umbrellas at a suburban Starbucks, the hockey game after the home team scores, outside the movie theater, even in the grocery store. Keep those sunglasses at the top of your bag or purse at all times. You never know when a pair of lovers might spontaneously pucker up. Ok, so it might be awkward to whip out sunglasses in the grocery, but at least I’m not telling you to whip out the cell phone and take a picture. Although…

When you finally catch a pair in the act, observe shamelessly from behind your dark glasses. Study the moves, the tilt of her head, how he reaches up to touch her cheek, how she puts her hands on his arms, his smile down at her, her smile afterwards. Good heavens…you get the picture. Write it all up in your notebook. Capture it while the moment’s hot.

If you’re going to be indoors on this little inspiration excursion, here’s a hint. Take a couple of girlfriends with you. That way when you’re sitting at your dark table with your sunglasses on, passers-by won’t suspect you’re spying. They’ll just think something’s wrong with you, and they’ll admire your friends for so kindly taking you for a night out. What nice friends you have.

In case all of this is creeping you out, another way to seek inspiration is on the big screen. There are plenty of movies and TV show that have magnificent kisses. One of my favorites is Thor. Natalie Portman has to wait almost the entire movie before she gets that kiss. Oh, that kiss! Talk about building the anticipation! Look for the moments that build up to it, the looks, the little touches, and then observe the character’s body language afterwards. What does it tell you about what’s going on in her mind?

Naturally, the Internet has plenty of opportunities to observe kissing. A couple of months ago, a video of strangers kissing for the first time went viral. Turns out it was a clothing company who’d hired actors and musicians to kiss. Though we all fell for their gimmick, it’s not a bad source of inspiration. You can find it here: First Kiss.

Another source of inspiration is photos of kissing couples. (Check out my Kiss board on Pinterest for photo inspiration.) Compared to movies, photos let your imagination fill in the details for itself, garnering inspiration from the tilt of her head, the placement of his hand against the back of her neck, the expressions on their faces that give hints to their emotions.

My favorites photos are of real life lovers, couples who are unknowingly caught on film in the act of that most intimate connection. That’s where the true romance is captured. Photos of models and actors are great, but real life holds a genuine vulnerability, a risk that reaching out to that other person will end in rejection. If you can capture that vulnerability with your written descriptions of the characters’ physical and emotional reactions, you’ve got gold, baby.

And last, but not least, in the inspiration category, if you have your own partner who’s willing to practice puckering, by all means…go ahead. If you happen to do it in public, just ignore that woman over there wearing the dark sunglasses.

So go forth, my writer friends. Study the experts. Don your sunglasses and seek inspiration from the lovers of world. Pen your stories with promises of kisses to come, building up with amorous touches and lingering looks. When your characters lean in, hover for a moment a breath’s distance away, and then press their lips with a soul-melting touch, they’ll steal your readers’ hearts as well as each others.

Kiss, kiss.

currently wrestling with this, trying to describe soft kisses in a way that doesn’t sound non-romantic.

#links #tools #advice

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