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powerfultenderness · 2 years

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An idea for a Halloween drabble with Adrian:

A lot of the staff at Fennel Fields dresses up for Halloween and so do you, but everyone mistakes your costume for something else. It really starts to annoy you and you’re actually on your way to the restroom to change when Adrian arrives for his shift and sees you look aggravated.

Babydoll

Rated: T+

Word Count: 1858

A/N: ty for the request, hope you enjoy! 🎃

[#Vigilante Halloween Masterlist]

[Masterlist]

[Dividers]

It wasn't that you hated the Fennel Fields uniform, but you were a little bored of it. So when your manager said those working on Halloween were allowed to wear costumes, you instantly started thinking about what kind of costume you wanted to wear.

There were a few restrictions, of course. Nothing that would get in the way, such as wire wings or tails that could potentially hit someone or knock something over. Similarly, nothing that dragged on the floor as that also presented a tripping hazard. Not that you had planned on anything with any of the restrictions, but now that you’d been told what you couldn’t wear, every idea you did come up with was restricted in some way!

By the time you figured something out, and collected everything you would need, there were just three weeks left until Halloween. It was somehow so close yet so far at the same time!

Initially you were quite excited about your costume. Despite having to leave the prop weapons at home, you thought it was a pretty spot on portrayal of an awesome movie character!

Come Halloween you’d taken extra time to get the blonde pigtails and sailor girl outfit just right. Maybe that’s where you went wrong…

The first person to greet you after you clocked in was a fellow server, Blake. She wasn’t in full costume, but had cute little devil horns peeking out from her curls.

“Don’t you look cute and hot!”

You grinned, “thanks!”

“Who are you supposed to be, though? Some cute little anime school girl?”

You expected that from her. You’d made countless movie and comic and video game references to her before and she never understood them.

“No. Babydoll from Sucker Punch.”

“Sucker Punch?”

“Yea. It was a movie that came out a while back.”

“Ooh! Gotcha! Well you look good!”

You thanked her again and the two of you started your shift.

Your first table pretty much said the same thing. “What anime are you from?”

You gave a generic answer and hurried onto their orders.

Taylor, one of the dishwashers, walked past you and smiled. “Sailor Moon?”

You wanted to sigh, he wasn’t the first person to make that call. But since he wasn’t a customer, for some reason you thought it was ok to correct him. “Eh, not quite. Sucker Punch.” He raised an eyebrow as if asking you to elaborate. “Came out in like 2011.” Still a blank look. “Zack Snyder?” He shook his head. “Babydoll,” you gestured to your costume, “was played by Emily Browning…Vanessa Hudgens? Oscar Isaac!” You listed off the more famous actors in the movie.

After a few seconds he nodded, “Oooh! Wow! I think I remember that one!”

You smiled with a strained chuckle before returning to your job.

Really! It wasn’t like Sucker Punch was some obscure indie!

Over the next few hours you put up with being called Sailor Moon. For the most part you just smiled and quickly moved onto doing your job and people forgot the costume. But, it was getting increasingly annoying.

By the time your break rolled around you practically ran straight to the parking lot. You had the foresight to bring your uniform and leave it in your car, just in case the boss thought your costume was inappropriate. You were not going to spend the rest of the night feeling moderately embarrassed about your costume!

You were too busy rummaging through your back seat and muttering a few annoyed phrases to notice someone walking by the car, until you heard a familiar voice call your name.

You turned, maroon uniform in hand, to see Adrian dressed in a black and red jumpsuit with a matching baseball cap that he wore backwards. The random, and mostly fake, sponsors on the suit and the big NASCAR printed on the cap made his costume clear. You had to admit, for a costume that covered him even more than the usual Fennel Fields uniform, he looked hot.

For a moment all of your earlier frustrations disappeared. “Wow! Looking good, Driver!”

Adrian stared at you for a beat too long and you worried that he too would not get your costume. Considering how everyone else mistook your costume, the fact that he hadn’t said anything sent another embarrassed rush of blood prickling at your face.

He was quiet, a little wide eyed, until you nervously wrung the uniform in your hands. He shook his head, blinking rapidly, as if he’d dazed off in the middle of talking to you.

“Me? You look fucking amazing, Babydoll!”

Even though he was just calling you by the name of the character, hearing him calling you Babydoll sent your heart racing and the blush on your face burned hotter. You let out a sheepish and nervous chuckle, "oh, thanks…wait! You know who I am?"

Adrian grinned, cute little dimples framing his cute little smile, "are you kidding? Sucker Punch is one of my favorite movies!"

"Really?" You excitedly asked, while internally you were doing back flips. Finally someone got it!

"Yea! It's so cool!" He started but blinked and tilted his head. "Did you just get here too?" He then pointed at the uniform in your hand.

"Oh. Uh. No. My shift started a couple hours ago. I was actually gonna change out of this, because people keep calling me Sailor Moon."

“What? That’s stupid!” He took a few steps so that he was close to you, and you winced slightly as you thought he was talking about your reaction. He just wanted to make a point though, because he brushed one of your blonde pigtails over your shoulder. “Sailor Moon’s hair is way longer!”

You blushed even more, if it were possible, as he continued. “And she doesn’t use guns, so she doesn’t have a holster!” He plucked at the brown faux leather straps at your shoulders. You stumbled forward a bit from the gentle force of the tug, your chest close to his now.

He slowly moved his hand from the leather strap to the rather flimsy material of your top, the back of his fingers softly tracing down your arm to the edge of your sleeve. “And she wears a totally different color.” He paused, his hand leaving you for a moment as he glanced up to his left, “unless you were wearing Babydoll’s white costume.” His eyes flicked back down to yours, “but you’re not.”

His hand returned to your shirt, his knuckles gently dragging across your exposed midriff as he lightly pinched the hem of your shirt. “And I’m pretty sure Sailor Moon wears a one piece.” He let go of the shirt and his hand slid across your bare skin to rest just above your hips. His hands were so large that thumb still played with the hem of your shirt, while his pinky slipped under the band of your skirt.

You shivered under his touch, but you were far from cold. Not even the low fall temperatures could cool your blood at this point, especially with the way he was leaning down slightly, his face so close to yours.

“Adrian,” you whispered, your eyes flitting back up to his eyes from his luscious pink lips.

“Yea?” His voice was low, gravely almost, and his breath tantalizingly danced across your lips.

As much as you wanted to shove him in the back seat of your car and climb on top of him, now was not the time. You licked your lips, he mirrored the action, “my break is almost over…”

“Oh!” He practically jumped back and away from you, and you already missed his warmth. “Y-yea! I need to clock in too!” He scratched the back of his neck and looked away from you.

You tossed your uniform into your car and slammed the door shut, locking it as the two of you awkwardly made your way into the restaurant.

You quickly got back to work, and tried not to think too much about Adrian, but every time someone called you Sailor Moon, you wanted to run to him and tell him. You weren’t sure why, or what he could even do, maybe he could say you looked “fucking amazing” again. That’d be nice.

“Hey, Babydoll.” Adrian caught your attention as your last table for the night left.

You smiled at him and tried not to be too obvious as you stared at his bare arms. Pretty early on in his shift he took off the top half of his suit and tied it around his waist, leaving his incredibly well defined muscular arms on display, as he’d only been wearing a muscle shirt underneath the suit.

It also didn’t help that throughout the night he called you “Babydoll” a few times and it sent an excited rush through you every time.

“Are you doing anything later?” He asked as he stacked the dishes in the gray tub.

You shook your head, “not really. Probably gonna eat a buncha candy and maybe see if there’s any good scary movies on.”

“Sweet!” He grinned, though it immediately faltered as he noticed your raised brow. “Uh, I mean, it’s great that you’re not doing anything!”

You tilted your head and pursed your lips together, even more confused.

“Not that I’m happy that you don’t have any plans! I mean, if you did have plans I’d understand!”

“Adrian?”

“Yea?”

“Are you trying to ask me something?”

“Yea.” He took a breath and spoke quickly. “My friend is throwing a Halloween party at his place, do you want to come with me?”

“Sure!” You smiled, “sounds fun. Much better than what I had planned.”

He smiled too, and he relaxed so visibly that you couldn’t help but act on the little mischievous thought that popped into your mind. You stepped in front of him, maybe a little closer than socially acceptable, but he either didn’t notice or mind. “Can I ask you a question, now?”

“Huh? Sure..?”

You had your hands behind your back, acting like you were hiding something from him, “trick-or-treat?”

He grinned and rocked back and forth on his feet. What an easy choice, a trick or a piece of candy from someone so pretty? “Treat!”

You pushed yourself up on your toes and kissed him. It was supposed to be a quick little peck, but once Adrian felt your lips on his, he acted quickly and grabbed your hips, pulling you flush against him, and deepened the kiss. Before things got too heated though, someone cleared their throat and the two of you pulled away from each other.

“We should finish cleaning up.”

He nodded and grabbed the tub of dishes, “yea.” He only got one table away before he turned back to you, “hey, Babydoll?”

It was official, this costume was your best idea ever. “Yea?”

“What would you have done if I picked ‘trick’?”

Honestly, your plan was to kiss him either way. But you just grinned at him, “I'll tell you later.”

Adrian pouted for a moment before smiling to himself and getting back to work. He liked the treat you had given him anyway.

Tag list:

@lululandd

#vigilante x reader #adrian chase x reader #Vigilante Halloween

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seventeenlovesthree · 8 months

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OPLA episode 2 - first impressions

I swear, I feel like a screamy fangirl, considering I have watched German One Piece since I was like... 12, quite literally, since it aired in 2003. Even though I haven't consistently read/watched the series, I had a stronger phase in 2011 or so and watching the series now brings a lot of nostalgia back. SPOILERS AHEAD.

I've said it before, but the Romance Dawn Trio is giving me SO much life. I have always had a fondness for OT3 dynamics and the dynamics portrayed here are just... Wow. (I told this a friend, but they actually kinda remind of me of the JJK trio here, but let's not digress.) Again, the whole thing with Zoro and Nami doing their best not to give the impression that they give a damn, just to STILL end up doing everything for Luffy and each other is giving me so many goddamn feelings every. Single. Time. Zoro and Nami have always been infamous for having that "One for you, one for me" dynamic, constantly bickering, always looking for that "equivalent exchange" with, apparently, no strings attached, only gains, no emotional attachment whatsoever... But the one thing they (and all strawhats, really) have in common is that they would move mountains (read: die) for Luffy. And that's where they'll always put their differences aside - the moment they smiled at each other, promising to kick butts of everyone they'd encounter (to eventually save Luffy) side by side, was everything to me. Maybe there aren't a lot of emotions between them, but even if they appear to be on completely different ends of the loyalty/motivation spectrum - there is that thing that links them together and that's just very enjoyable, despite all the bickering. ("There's something way more valuable than diamonds - knowledge!!!") Also, a piece of framing I haven't even REALLY thought about before is really nicely done - the fact that BOTH Zoro and Nami do NOT think highly of pirates at this point in time. So Luffy being Luffy, convincing them that he is indeed different... It makes their developing bond so much more special.

The LuNa scene at the beginning - even if we've already seen them in clips -, is just sending me. Luffy's ADHD energy is beautiful, you can really tell how excited he is - and how easily he attaches himself to his not crewmates. I mean, one of his love languages CLEARLY is physical touch after all (the second one is food sharing) and, again, I just love how natural it is. Or maybe that's just me.

... What is it with the way Zoro's opponents have been oozing with sexual tension towards him so far??? And he's not any better, seriously... I mean, we already have the lone wolf facade CRUMBLING HEAVILY, having Zoro basically CONFESS that "this simpleton in a strawhat" changed his way of thinking within HOURS of having known him.... Be still my ZoLu heart.

I love the foreshadowing in Shanks' portrayal, even as someone who hasn't completely caught up to everything that is happening.

I really enjoy that Buggy is actually portrayed to be terrifying, I think they did find a good middle ground in language usage not being TOO on the nose with everything. But the imminent fear of death is always there and his over-the-top, dramatic acting fits SO well.

Again, I really enjoy Koby's acting, his and Helmeppo's dynamics are great and Garp has been intimidating as well...

Luffy's good-hearted-main-character-energy is still through the roof and I love it. Never stop smiling, my friend.

Fight choreographies and CGI still look high quality to me.

Again, for me it's easy to take this for what it is, I feel heavily reminded of my beloved Digimon stageplay and I've known these characters for years, so my bias should not come as a surprise. But really? I enjoy being catered to and the quality speaks for itself!

NAMI FIXING THE HAT THOUGH!!! God, I love them.

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece liveblog #opla spoilers #opla reaction #one piece spoilers #personal #my two cents

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 10 months

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Thoughts I had while watching the 1.5 seasons of Fist of Fun (all I have left to watch is the second half of season 2):

- First up, let's talk physical appearances! Because I know what Lee and Herring look like now, I know what they looked like ten years ago, I'd seen a few brief images of them from the 90s, but couldn't quite remember how they looked in those images. And it is always fun to play "what did some people whose current appearance is familiar to you look like when they were younger?"

This guy looks almost nothing like Stewart Lee as I know him, but there's just enough for him to be recognizable:

You could show me that picture out of context and I'd say "Oh look, a much younger version of Stewart Lee" (actually I think I'd say "Wow, Stewart Lee's let himself go", because I'm very funny like that).

On the other hand, you could show me this picture completely out of context:

and if you were showing it to me last week, before I'd seen Fist of Fun, I'd have said, "Who the hell is that?" You could have told me it's a younger version of a British comedian, and I'd have guessed at least twenty names before I thought of Richard Herring. It looks nothing at all like him. It may be relevant context here to know that I do have autism-related difficulty recognizing faces, I regularly fail to recognize my own friends after they get a haircut, and it's possible that Richard Herring could cut all his hair off and then film something tomorrow and I'd fail to recognize him because I pretty much recognize Richard Herring by his long hair. But seriously, he looked very different.

I'm now on the tenth episode of this show, and I've only just started getting used to their very different appearances so it doesn't feel so jarring every time I see them. For at least the first four episodes, every single time Stewart Lee appeared on screen, I thought of this one Daniel Kitson quote, addressing the way Kitson and Lee are both considered "comedian's comedians" who eschew mainstream showbiz fame. "Have you seen pictures of [Stewart Lee] when he was my age?" Kitson asked in 2011. "He was fucking beautiful. And he has the temerity to play low status with his own TV show?" Every time Stewart Lee appeared on screen, at least until I started to get used to his appearance, I remembered that Kitson quote and briefly thought, "He's got a point." I mean, I may not be usually that way inclined, gender-wise, but I can recongize that objectively, you could get so lost in those eyes that a search party would never find your body.

- On the subject of their appearances, there are a lot of jokes about how fat Ricahrd Herring is, considering the fact that he wasn't fat. I don't mean that defensively or anything, I just mean if we take "fat" as the value-neutral adjective it is, Richard Herring wasn't. He was maybe only very slightly visibly overweight, but did not weigh nearly enough to make the fat jokes make sense (this being an issue in addition to, you know, the questionable ethics of constant fat jokes on TV).

Maybe it's a win for feminism? Women on TV who aren't dangerously medically underweight are constant subject to jokes about how fat they are. Fist of Fun, doing some solid satire on gender-based double standards by doing the same thing to a man. (I'm joking. It isn't a win for anyone. Sorry Stewart, not everyone can look like a movie star like you do.)

- I’ve been told that Lee and Herring didn’t much like the look of season 2, and I agree with them. I really liked the set on season 1, and didn’t realize how much until they came back with something much more polished, and less good, in season 2. However, the set’s not the main source of the humour, and I thought the jokes were at least as good as season 1, the sketches probably better overall.

- The striking differences in physical appearances aside, I think I was even more struck by how few differences there are in the way they talk and act. I can speak more to Stewart Lee than Richard Herring here, just because I’ve seen a lot more of 21st-Century Stewart Lee than 21st Century Richard Herring, so I have more basis for comparison.

I thought I wouldn’t recognize him at all. Not just physically, but as a comedian. He re-invented himself, right? He spent the 90s doing a double act on TV and radio, then quit comedy for a few years, then came back as a lone wolf who operates outside the showbiz world (despite, as Kitson pointed out, putting out DVDs and occasionally getting his own TV shows), who lampoons the comedy community too much to fit into it and blazes his own unique trail too much to imagine him in a double act, or whatever. I thought it would be a novelty, to see Stewart Lee as the kind of guy he was in the 90s, a totally different person.

If anything, it’s been distracting how much that isn’t true. So often, he’ll do something that will pull me out of immersion in the show, because I’m so struck by how much it reminds me of Stewart Lee The 21st-Century Stand-Up Comedian. Stewart Lee has so many distinctive mannerisms – the way he constructs sentences (That is a distinguishing feature, isn’t it? You can recognize Stewart Lee by the way he ends at least half his sentences with a request that you affirm what he’s just said, doesn’t he?), the speed and cadence of his speech (not a lot of complexity to that one, you can describe it with just the word “slow”), the tone of his voice (sardonic, vaguely passive-aggressive), the way he’ll tilt his head and move his face and whole body back and forth a bit while he’s listening or pausing but will stop and change direction before talking, the smirk that he could almost trademark. All of them are exactly the same no matter what century he’s in. All of them are so strikingly present in Fist of Fun that it distracts me while I watch.

I thought it would be so weird to see him in a double-act dynamic, since his stand-up is so reliant on him being raised above everyone else, but it turns out his double-act dynamic is entirely familiar because it is also reliant on Stewart Lee being raised above everyone else. He bullies Richard Herring in the exact same voice he uses to bully the audience in stand-up. Turns out it’s just as funny to watch Stewart Lee be condescending to Richard Herring in a sketch as it is to watch him be condescending to his viewers in a stand-up routine. I guess he just figured out sometime in the 90s that he does condescending very, very well, and then ran with it for several decades.

I don't know enough about Richard Herring's 21st-Centruy stand-up to compare it to his Fist of Fun character, but I do know that "fairly dim, excitable, gullible, unsuccessful, and the lower status one" doesn't exactly seem off-brand for him.

- It’s mildly adorable that Stewart Lee’s whole thing is being sort of “above it all” in which “it” could be basically anything, but Kevin Eldon can fairly consistently get him to break a little bit, or at least visibly stifle laughter.

- Personally, I don’t find Kevin Eldon’s “Rod Hull” character nearly as funny as Stewart Lee finds it, though to be fair to the comedians involved, I barely know who the real Rod Hull is. The parody is probably funnier if you’re familiar with the source.

- Personally, I find Kevin Eldon’s hobby-obsessed Simon Quinlank character a strong candidate for the funniest fucking thing on the entire show. It reminds me of when I used to read xkcd all the time and the “My Hobby” comics were often my favourite – apparently, coming up with strange things to do and labeling them as “hobbies” taps into a weirdly specific bit of my sense of humour. And Kevin Eldon plays him incredibly well. Played every second of it 100% straight, 100% committed to the bit, it’s perfect. I’d watch a whole spinoff with that guy.

- The self-referential stuff goes through cycles of being too much and not funny, but then the fact that they’ve done so much of it becomes part of the joke and it becomes funny again, and overall across an episode, it always averages out to being funny.

- I can’t go father without mentioning Peter Baynham, also a candidate for funniest thing on the show. And really consistent, I don’t think he had a single weak episode. I mean, he had a lot of horrifying episodes. All of them, in fact. But not weak. I don’t know who’s idea it was to have a gremlin play the third in their double act, but it was a great idea (though he definitely fit better into the set of season 1 than season 2) and he was funny every time he was on screen.

- Another thing they sometimes had in this TV show: women. Those women were sometimes played by Rebecca Front, who’s always fun to see. One time (that I noticed) played by Sue Perkins. Sometimes Ronni Ancona, who once stole the show from everyone else on screen playing a vampire. I thought I spotted Doon Mackichen from Smack the Pony at least a couple of times, but Googling doesn’t confirm that she was in it.

However, on the subject of Smack the Pony, their go-to person for when they needed a female character was Sally Phillips. She was in the show a fair bit in season 1, and even more in season 2. And was always funny. The “type” that she’s good at playing (the she often played on Smack the Pony, anyway) – sort of deceptively demure – fits in really well on this show and always makes me laugh. There's something she does with her eyes when she's playing that type of character, no matter what different situation, where she looks up at people like she's confused, that is really funny and really works with pretty well any sketch they've written.

I was caught off guard the first time she showed up, thinking I didn't know she had anything to do with these people. And then I realized... wait, yes I did know that. Because I've watched the not-very-good (wild waste of the talents of Lou Sanders and Mel Giedroyc) panel show Unforgiveable.

youtube

So not to end this post on tawdry gossip or anything, but that clip is fun context for something like:

youtube

I’ve just rewatched that Unforgiveable clip, before posting this, and I’m reminded of how Alan Davies got in a rather uncharacteristically cruel dig at Richard Herring with his “using comedian loosely” comment. It mainly seemed cruel, I thought, because Sally Phillips hadn’t yet said Richard Herring’s name, and it was safe to assume she wasn’t going to. Meaning it wouldn’t make much sense if he was going for “lighthearted panel show banter”, since there was no way for the audience to get his joke, if they never heard the guy’s name. He only said it to entertain himself and the other comedians.

...Not to end this post on even tawdrier gossip or anything, but watching season 1 of Fist of Fun, I was struck by how weird it was that there was a whole plotline dedicated to the idea of Richard Herring desperately wanting to date Julia Sawalha, Saffy from Absolutely Fabulous, and the joke was that he’d never be able to do that. Which is weird because Richard Herring did in fact go on to date Julia Sawalha. As, it occurred to me just now as I watched him be a dick for no reason on a panel show, has Alan Davies. Why do I know that piece of tawdry gossip? I don’t know. I promise I did not seek out that information. You read someone’s Wikipedia page, things come up. I'm genuinely sorry.

- I can’t end this post on that. So instead I will say, as evidence that most of the useless information I collect in my brain is not on the subject of what celebrities slept with what other celebrities in or soon after the 90s, the running joke of Stewart Lee constantly talking shit about Somerset made me picture where Somerset is on a map, to have an idea of how far away from London the place they’re mocking is. Which is, by the way, not far. Nothing is ever far away if you see English people on a television show making fun of people from a different bit of England, it’s tiny. They talk like they’re exploiting these big regional differences, but everything is right next to each other. Google says the biggest city in Somerset is Bath and you can get there from London in an hour and a half.

Anyway, I became briefly concerned when it took me a few moments to remember where Somerset is on the map, and then I realized I’ve not tested this in a while, and I worried that I may have forgotten all that geographical stuff I memorized for no reason during lockdowns. So I took the test again, I’m pleased to say, I’ve still got it.

Correctly labelled all counties in England on an unmarked map, under 1:15. Then I checked the others for good measure, and it's okay, I can still do them too:

So that's good. Would be a problem if I'd forgotten any of the useless information. Anyway, I'm going to go watch the last half-season of Fist of Fun.

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klaineficroulettechallenge-us · 2 years

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Chapter 14 By justgleekout

“Wow,” Blaine breathed out and cleared his throat. “Just— Wow .” A smile broke out on his face, and he chuckled as he ducked his head, shaking it in disbelief. “Does that mean that-that you…” He swallowed. “Feel the same?” he asked, his voice apprehensive and a little shaky. Nerves suddenly washed over him. What if he got it wrong? What if he had misread Kurt kissing back? He closed his eyes, waiting for an answer.

Now, it was Kurt's time to let out a chuckle. He grabbed Blaine's face in both his hands, lifting it to look at him, and gave him a fierce look. Kurt’s eyes glistened as they filled with emotion. “Blaine Anderson, I’ve been in love with you since the moment I met you.” He pressed another chaste kiss to Blaine’s lips and smiled at him.

Blaine felt like he could breathe again for the first time in months. Those words, god! He had been waiting to hear those words for so long. And now, there they were. Everything would be so different now. Or would it? “So…does that mean we don’t have to break up after Prom?”

“Not if it’s up to me, we don't,” Kurt said. They shared goofy grins for a moment before Kurt realised something. “Wait. I should properly ask you, shouldn’t I?”

Blaine gave him a confused look. “Ask me what?”

“Blaine, would you be my official, not-fake boyfriend?” Kurt asked solemnly.

Blaine threw his head back and laughed. “Yes. Yes, I would,” he said, nodding enthusiastically at the gesture. He pulled Kurt into a tight embrace. When they pulled apart, they stayed close, their noses touching. Blaine leaned in, and they kissed again. Now that he knew Kurt felt the same and had for so long, he felt as if he needed to make up for lost time. Now that he could, he never wanted to stop kissing Kurt. It felt so much better now. So much lighter. So much easier. He let the kiss linger. He wanted to remember what Kurt's lips tasted like, how soft they felt against his own, and the warmth of Kurt being so close to him before they parted again. “Shall I… Shall I drive you home?” Blaine proposed.

“I’d like that,” Kurt said with a shy smile.

Blaine held out his hand and, as Kurt took it, escorted him to his car.

After a few moments of driving in comfortable silence while exchanging excited glances and bashful looks, Kurt broke the silence. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah. Of course. Anything.” Blaine laid his hand on Kurt’s leg and squeezed, his eyes still on the road. It sent a wave of warmth through Kurt's whole body.

“Why did you wait so long to tell me how you felt?”

Blaine glanced at him. “I... I guess I just never found the right moment. I wasn't sure you felt the same. And then I was sure you didn’t when you started dating Alex.”

“Only because I thought I had no chance with you,” Kurt declared. “It was never going to last between him and me. At breakfast the other day, Alex told me he knew that, even when we started dating.”

Blaine shot him a confused look as if to ask what Kurt meant by that, so Kurt elaborated. “He told me he noticed you and I looked ‘obviously in love’ and that we were ‘meant to be.’” Kurt then sighed and shook his head. “I feel like, somehow, everyone around us seemed to know how we felt for each other except for us .”

Blaine snorted at that. “We really are oblivious, aren’t we?” he retorted. They fell silent again. “Why didn't you tell me how you felt?”

Kurt raised his eyebrows at that. “I did ! Remember Valentine's Day 2011? When I told you I wanted to be on the receiving end of your serenade? I think I just figured you’d remembered that. I really didn’t feel like embarrassing myself like that more than once.”

Blaine opened his mouth to speak but couldn't really find the words, so Kurt continued.

“I feel like I gave you so many signs as well. Planning those dates, kissing you when nobody else was around. I thought you would’ve caught on sooner,” Kurt said half-jokingly.

“I did notice,” Blaine said in a defensive tone. “But I think I was scared. Scared I was making it all up in my head. I didn’t wanna lose you, Kurt. I never want to lose you.”

A little later, they pulled up in Kurt's driveway.

“It’s not too late,” Kurt said as he checked the time on his phone. 9:36. “Would you like to come inside for a bit? I’m not really ready to say goodbye to you yet.”

“I would love to.” Blaine smiled at Kurt.

They both got out of the car. Blaine walked behind Kurt, following him to the house. As Kurt was walking in front of him, Blaine couldn’t help but stare at him. How perfectly he moved, the way his dress pants hugged his ass and tall legs so very well, how his shoulders filled out his shirt perfectly now that he had his jacket draped over his arm, and how soft his hair looked. Blaine felt his heart rate speeding up as he realised that he was now allowed to look. He wasn’t creeping on his friend; he was admiring his boyfriend .

When they walked inside, Kurt noticed a note on the counter. “ Emergency call in at the shop. Won't be home until midnight. Hope you had a nice dinner. - Dad .”

Oh, Kurt thought. They were home alone. Finn was sleeping over at Puck’s, and Carole always worked the night shift at the hospital on Fridays. And now his dad wouldn’t be home until late.

“Ehm, it, eh…seems we have the place to ourselves.” Kurt’s voice sounded breathy as he stared at the note in his hand.

“It does.” Blaine felt the weight behind those words. He tried to figure out what that meant for them now they were officially a couple. He moved closer to Kurt until Kurt was standing with his back to the counter.

“Would you like something to drink?” Kurt blurted out, not really sure about what to do either.

“Eh… No, thank you.” Blaine smiled. “But I—Can we go up to your room?”

Kurt swallowed hard and just nodded, heat creeping up his neck. Then, he moved away from Blaine, and they headed up the stairs into Kurt’s room.

Once in Kurt’s room, both boys sat down next to each other on the edge of Kurt’s bed. Blaine was playing with the cuff of his shirt while Kurt just stared at his hands.

“This is weird,” Kurt remarked.

Blaine’s head shot in Kurt’s direction. There it was. Kurt was already regretting this. Now that he had Blaine, he’d realised it wasn’t what he wanted. “Wh-what?” Blaine stammered.

“I mean, I just—I don't know how to act now,” Kurt said, blushing. “I don’t know if things have changed between us. I didn’t really expect today to turn out this way.”

Relieved at Kurt's words, Blaine sighed. Thank god. That was better than he expected. And to be honest, he felt the same. It suddenly all felt very new. Exciting but strange. “Oh, well… I don't think things have to be any different if you don't want them to be. Just knowing that the things we are doing are real now is what matters. We’ve been acting mostly on instinct in the past. I say we just keep doing that.”

Kurt looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“How about we just watch a movie, hm? No pressure.” He nudged Kurt's shoulder with his own, earning him a smile from Kurt.

“That sounds perfect.”

So, Kurt put on The Devil Wears Prada (one of their favourite movies), and they snuggled up together on the bed, linking their arms. Blaine rested his head on Kurt’s right shoulder. This was nice. He felt comfortable and close to Kurt. But as the movie progressed, he kept feeling Kurt's eyes on him more and more often. So, Blaine looked up, meeting Kurt’s gaze, and suddenly, the movie played forgotten in the background. Kurt moved his left hand to cup Blaine’s jaw and stroked his thumb across his skin so softly that Blaine shivered.

“Just acting on instinct, right?” Kurt’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Uh-huh,” Blaine breathed in agreement.

Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine, moving on top of him in the process.

This was new. Blaine felt Kurt's body flush against him. The shift in weight was overwhelming, but god, did it feel good.

Their kisses were tentative but got more open-mouthed as they continued. Their breathing got heavier, and soft moans rose from deep in their throats.

Kurt moved away from Blaine's mouth and started a trail of open mouth kisses down his jaw to his neck.

“Oh, god,” Blaine moaned. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to take in what was happening. Never in a million years had he expected to be there in that moment. He felt so good it was like he was floating. He was happy Kurt was there to keep him grounded.

As Kurt’s kisses turned into sucking, arousal was spreading through Blaine’s body, and he couldn’t stop himself from rocking up his hips. He was getting hard, and he realised he wasn't the only one. And suddenly, he felt a bit overwhelmed.

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed.

Taking hearing his name as encouragement, Kurt rolled his hips down.

“Kurt, wait.”

Kurt stopped his movements immediately and moved his mouth away from Blaine’s neck. “Fuck, Blaine, I’m sorry. Was that too much?” He looked at Blaine with a concerned look on his face.

“No. Not necessarily. What you’re doing feels wonderful.” He gave Kurt an encouraging smile. “But before we continue, I just wanna make sure that we’re both okay. I don’t want anything to happen that one of us isn’t comfortable with.” Blaine thought back to some of his less enjoyable moments between the sheets and never wanted to regret anything else he did with another person in bed. Nor would he want to make anyone feel the way he felt about some of his experiences with Sebastian.

“Oh.” Kurt’s face relaxed. “Yeah, of course. I mean, I don’t really have any experience beyond this point, but so far, everything's been great.” He smiled a sweet smile, which made Blaine's heart melt. “Are you okay?”

Blaine sighed. Of course, things would be okay. He was with Kurt. Kurt would never do anything to make him feel uncomfortable. “Definitely. Let’s just agree that we keep checking in with each other, okay?” he said as he stroked some hairs from Kurt’s forehead with the tips of his fingers.

“Sounds perfect.” They smiled at each other for a while before Kurt spoke again. “Can I…continue kissing you now?”

Blaine laughed. “Yes, you can.”

Kurt pressed a soft kiss to Blaine’s lips and then another, and then the kiss deepened. Soon, they were back where they’d left off. Blaine was grabbing at Kurt’s shirt, untucking it from his pants, and letting his hands roam over his back. It occurred to him that he’d never felt so much of Kurt’s skin before. It was warm and incredibly smooth. Kurt’s hands were moving up Blaine’s chest and started undoing the buttons of his collar, creating more room for his mouth to trail down Blaine’s chest until Blaine's shirt was laying open around his torso. They sat up slightly so Blaine could shrug it off completely. At the same time, Kurt opened only the first few buttons of his shirt and just pulled it over his head. Blaine stared at the way Kurt’s muscles moved and stretched with the movement that seemed to happen in slow motion.

“God, you’re sexy,” Blaine gushed.

Kurt blushed. He had never been called sexy before. “You’re one to talk,” he said. Kurt’s eyes roamed over Blaine’s torso. His olive skin stretched over slight muscles, covered by a soft layer of stomach, and right below that stomach, a pair of very distinct “V” lines that guided Kurt’s eyes right to the bulge in Blaine's pants. Kurt swallowed at the sight. They had seen each other shirtless before, but they were never allowed to really look .

“Can I touch you? Fuck, Blaine, I really wanna touch you.”

“Please.”

They both lurched forward again. Their kisses became wilder, and Kurt’s hand travelled lower until he was cupping Blaine through his pants. He stroked a few times along Blaine's length, and Blaine groaned. “Jezus, Kurt. Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Blaine said between kisses before he bucked up his hips into Kurt's touch. He let his hands glide over Kurt's back until he had hold of his ass. He pulled him closer and felt Kurt’s erection press into his hip. This already felt so much better than anything he and Sebastian had ever done. Probably because it meant something. To both of them.

“Kurt, can I take your pants off?” Blaine asked but regretted it immediately as he noticed Kurt freezing up a little. “We don’t have to!” he rushed to say after.

“No! I mean, that's okay! I was just thinking. I think I would like to keep my underwear on tonight. Is that okay with you? It’s just a little difficult to think straight. It all feels so good, but I don’t want to move too fast in the moment.”

“Of course, that’s okay! That’s more than okay. I am just so grateful I get to do this with you,” he said and pressed a kiss to Kurt's collarbone.

“Then, yes. You can take my pants off. But only if you lose yours, too!” Kurt gave Blaine a flirtatious wink, which Blaine returned with a bright smile. He felt so lucky to be there with Kurt. With good communication and the love between them, nothing could go wrong tonight. So, Blaine then rolled them over so he was on top of Kurt and sat up on his knees. He unbuttoned his fly and wiggled out of his pants. He then moved to unbuckle Kurt’s belt and undid his fly. He pulled his pants down and off his legs and couldn’t help but leave a few kisses on his thigh as he moved. When Blaine sat back up, he positively gaped at Kurt. This was a whole new sight to get used to. Kurt was wearing tight, dark green, army-printed boxers that contrasted heavenly with the lightness of his skin. His long legs were lean, muscular, and dusted with soft hair. “Sorry. I don’t mean to stare,” Blaine said, trying and failing to tear his eyes away from Kurt’s body. “But wow .”

“Stop it! You’re making me blush!” Kurt complained, but there was no real heat in his voice. “Now, come back here,” he said and made grabby hands at Blaine.

When Blaine broke his gaze to look at Kurt's face again, he noticed that Kurt was staring at him, too. “And you’re criticising me…” he murmured but moved down to Kurt again. He straddled him this time, which made the connection between them all the more intense. “Still okay?” he asked.

“Wonderful,” Kurt said and pulled Blaine in by his neck to kiss him again.

They were rocking their bodies together, taking their time, enjoying each other and the closeness they felt. Blaine moved to kiss Kurt behind his jaw right below his ear, and the response he got was immediate. Kurt let out a deep moan and dug his fingers into Blaine's skin. That moan must have been the most beautiful sound Blaine had ever heard. He loved making Kurt feel this good, so he did it again. But this time, he sucked on Kurt's skin there and bit down slightly, right when grinding his hips against Kurt’s.

Kurt cried , “ Omg, Blaine. Whatever you do, don’t stop. ”

So Blaine didn’t. One of his hands moved up to tangle into Kurt's hair. He tugged at it slightly to tilt Kurt's head and give himself more room.

Kurt wrapped his arms tightly around Blaine. His back arched up, and he couldn’t seem to keep his legs still as he tried to get Blaine as close as he possibly could.

Blaine was close alright. He couldn’t help letting out a moan himself. Kurt was so sexy like this, so unashamed in his pleasure. It turned Blaine on endlessly. It also didn’t help that Kurt felt so big against him. He couldn't help but let his mind wander. Maybe in the future, Kurt would let him ride him like this. Or press him against the mattress to just have him. Or the other way around. It didn’t matter. He realised at that moment he would accept anything Kurt Hummel would give him.

“ Blaine, I need—I am—, ” Kurt panted. His movements became uncontrolled, and Blaine felt him twitching below him until Kurt’s movements staggered and stilled and, “Ah…” Kurt let out a last soft moan as his body tensed up before he relaxed.

Realising what happened was what sent Blaine over the edge. He buried his face in the crook of Kurt’s neck, rolled his hips down one last time, and came. It felt like fireworks exploded in his head. He’d never felt this connected to another person. When he came down, he let his body fall next to Kurt’s.

They laid next to each other, panting. That's when emotions got a hold of Blaine. He started laughing softly and bit his lip as tears sprung into his eyes, his giggles mixed with cries. His mind was racing. He felt so happy, so warm and satisfied. He thought of Kurt’s kind words and warm touches but also of quick jerkoff sessions with Sebastian. He was angry he hadn’t waited for Kurt, but at the same time, he felt so relieved he was there now with him, that those times didn’t matter anymore.

Kurt looked over at the shorter boy and propped himself up on his elbow. He layed a comforting hand on his chest and stroked his thumb across his skin. “Blaine?” Kurt gave him a meaningful look. “Are you okay?”

He sniffled and looked at Kurt. “Yeah. Yeah it's just—I just realised that this is what it should always have felt like.” He gave Kurt a watery smile. “I’m just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

Kurt smiled at him. “That's okay. Me, too,” he said kindly. “I am so happy to be here with you.” He kissed Blaine on his temple and snuggled in close. “That was amazing. You were amazing. Thank you.”

Blaine turned to take Kurt in his arms. “I love you,” he whispered into Kurt’s hair.

“I love you, too.”

They stayed like that for a while. Holding each other close, basking in the afterglow.

“What time is it?” Blaine asked after a while.

Kurt looked at the clock on his wall. “11:24,” he answered.

“I should probably get home. I don’t think we wanna wait until your dad gets back.”

Kurt pouted at him but sighed. “You’re probably right.”

“Do you have some, eh, underwear I could borrow?” Blaine asked, blushing.

“ Oh .” Kurt turned an equal shade of red. “Yes. Of course.”

—*—

Prom day

When Kurt woke up the next morning, he still felt butterflies in his stomach. Last night had been incredible. He could hardly believe it. Not only was Blaine Anderson his real, actual boyfriend, but they’d had sex . Kurt covered his face with his hands and kicked his feet as he laid on his bed, the same bed he and Blaine had had sex on mere hours ago. He grabbed his phone to text Blaine only to find Blaine had already texted him. “ Last night was perfect. I love you.” Kurt’s smile broadened, and he texted back, “ It really was. Love you, too. Can’t wait for tonight, Boyfriend. ;)”. Kurt had no idea how he was going to act normally today. Or ever again. Still, he got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. His father was already sitting at the kitchen table.

“Morning, Dad!” Kurt said in what he hoped was a normal, inconspicuous voice, but he couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He poured himself some coffee and sat down across from his dad.

“Morning, kid. Had fun last night?”

Kurt nearly choked on his coffee. “Wh-what?” How could his dad possibly know about last night?

“The dinner party?” Burt raised an eyebrow at his son. “Did you have a good time?”

“Oh…” Kurt cleared his throat. “…That. What else could you be talking about?” He let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah. It was really fun. Rachel’s parents are great cooks.” He tried to recover with an innocent smile. Great job, Hummel. Nice way to throw yourself under the bus.

Burt gave him a suspicious look. “Anything I should know about?”

Kurt shrugged. “No,” he said as innocently as possible, though he failed to keep eye contact with his father.

“Kurt, are you and Blaine being safe?”

Kurt’s eyebrows shot up in horror. “Oh, my god, Dad! ” Kurt exclaimed.

“I just want you to be careful. I don’t want you to do anything you might regret later.”

“ This can’t be happening,” Kurt said to himself, letting his head fall back. “If you must know, Blaine and I are completely fine.” Better than ever, actually.

“Alright. That’s all I’m asking.” Burt raised his hands apologetically. “But next time, don’t take advantage of an empty house. Just ask me, alright? I trust you Kurt, but rules are rules.”

Kurt wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground. “Yes, Dad.”

“Good.” Burt nodded firmly. “So, are you excited for Prom tonight?” he asked, moving on from the awkward topic.

Kurt nodded. “Yes. I am.” He smiled at his dad. “Blaine and I are gonna wear matching shirts, and I only have to add some final touches to my lapels. But that’ll only take me about an hour or so.”

“Sounds great, son,” Burt said.

They continued to chat about Kurt’s plans for his outfit while they ate their breakfast. Burt might not really understand what Kurt was talking about, but he smiled along just the same. He was proud of his son and happy he had a passion. He knew Kurt would go on to do great things, especially with Blaine by his side.

—*—

That night, Kurt was standing in front of his mirror. Using a lint roller, he tried to get the last bits of dust off of his jacket. He turned around and looked himself over. He looked great. His suit was tailored to perfection, hugging him in all the right places. He was really happy with all the little added details. The embroidered corners on his lapels matched the embroidered stripes along the outside of the legs of his pants and his bowtie, the beautiful golden vintage buttons he found at a flea market once and had saved for a special occasion, and of course, the pleated shirt that would match perfectly with Blaine’s. Blaine would pick him up at 7:50. It was 7:42. Kurt let out a shaky breath. Why was he suddenly so nervous?

There was a knock on his door.

“Yeah?” Kurt called.

“Hey, little bro, you almost ready?” Finn walked into his room, wearing a simple black suit that, Kurt had to admit, looked good on him. Of course, he had helped Finn take it in at the back to fit him better, but still. Honestly, what would the men in his life do without him? “Oh, wow. You look awesome!” Finn said enthusiastically.

Kurt’s heart swelled. He did look awesome. He’d worked hard on his outfit, and he was proud of it. “Thank you, Finn.” He smiled at his brother. “You don’t look half bad yourself,” Kurt said, earning him one of Finn’s signature crooked smiles. “What’s up?”

“Blaine’s here,” Finn told him. “I was just about to head out to go get Rachel, and he was standing right outside our door. He’s downstairs.”

“He’s early!” Kurt said. “He’s usually so on time.”

“Yeah. He apologised for that as well. Honestly, I think if I hadn’t opened the door, he would just have been waiting there until he was right on time,” Finn chuckled.

Kurt smiled at that. Yeah. That did sound like Blaine. “I’ll come down with you. I’m done here.” He grabbed a little box from his desk and followed Finn downstairs.

Blaine stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking like a damn prince. Kurt hadn’t seen him fully styled in his finished outfit yet, and oh, my god, Kurt almost fell down the stairs as Blaine just completely swept him off his feet.

“Easy there, beautiful.” Blaine steadied his boyfriend and helped him down the last few steps.

Kurt hardly noticed Finn when he headed out with a, “ Well, I’m going to get Rachel. See you guys at Prom. ”

“You look…” Kurt started but didn’t have the words to finish. Blaine’s suit fit him perfectly. The silk black jacket was made for him. Literally . But what Kurt noticed most was Blaine's hair. Instead of the thick layer of gel, his hair was styled beautifully. It still kind of resembled Blaine’s usual style, but it looked softer and more voluminous, and you could still actually see that his hair was curly. “Your hair,” Kurt said and reached out to touch it gently, careful not to ruin the shape.

“You like it? Jeff’s sister did it for me. The same one who helped me get my curls to cooperate at Rachel's party that time.”

“Like it? Blaine, it looks perfect. You look perfect.”

Blaine gave Kurt a bashful smile. “Well, I feel like I had to step up my game, knowing I was going to Prom with the most beautiful and fashionable person in school,” he flirted. “Still not completely on your level, though. You look incredible, Kurt.” Blaine let his fingers trail over the patterns on Kurt’s lapels before letting his hand rest on his shoulder and started playing with his collar.

Kurt blushed at the compliment and stepped closer to Blaine. “It’s still missing something, though,” he said softly and presented the little box to Blaine.

Blaine raised an eyebrow and took the box from Kurt. He opened it, and inside were two small, white floral pieces with golden ribbons.

“I made us matching corsages,” Kurt said and took one of them from the box and pinned it to Blaine's jacket.

Blaine was taken aback by the sweet gesture. Kurt had already done so much for him for this Prom. “ Kurt, ” he breathed,“they are beautiful. Thank you so much.” He pulled Kurt into a hug and held him close.

That hug was exactly what Kurt needed to calm the last remaining nerves he had. Tonight was going to be great. He was going to dance with Blaine all night. And heck, they might even win Prom Kings. When they pulled apart, Kurt pinned the second corsage to his own jacket. “Ready to go?”

Blaine nodded, and they went out together.

—*—

When they walked in around 8:15, the Prom was already in full swing. The gym was decorated with balloons, banners, garlands, and streamers; colourful lights danced around the room, loud pop music was playing over the speakers, and people were dancing happily. That year, the Glee Club had agreed to perform only a few live numbers, alternated by a DJ who would fill the rest of the evening with music.

Kurt took Blaine by his hand and pulled him along in search of their friends on the dance floor. They quickly spotted Mercedes, Sam, Tina, and Mike. Mike was performing some sort of complex choreography to “Glad You Came.” The others tried to follow but had trouble keeping up, so they were mostly just laughing and jumping along.

“Hey, guys!” Kurt called over the music.

“Kurt! Blaine!” The other’s greeted them with happy waves and hugs.

“Oh, Mercedes! Tina! You both look beautiful!” Kurt said, and the girls twirled to show off their dresses.

The six of them danced and laughed to a few songs until they were interrupted by a girl’s voice. “Well, well, well. If it isn't lady Hummel and his hobbit bride.”

“Nice to see you, too, Santana,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes, but there wasn't any real heat in the gesture.

Santana looked at them, scanning both boys from head to toe. They were standing close together with their shoulders touching and their hands brushing together. “Oh, my god , I don’t believe it,” she said. A devious smile broke out on her face. “So, Blaine finally popped your cherry, didn’t he, Hummel!” Santana taunted, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Blaine froze and instantly turned scarlet. Kurt just gaped at her.

“I fucking knew it!” she said triumphantly. “Way to go, Twinkle Toes!”

Kurt gave her an exasperated look. “How do you know that!?” he exclaimed in disbelief before turning to Blaine. “How could she possibly know that!?”

Santana pointed to her forehead as if to say “ Mexican third eye ” and laughed. “No, but for real, guys, I’m happy for you. It was about time.” She winked at them. “Well, I gotta run. My duet with Brittany is about to start. See you later!”

“She is unbelievable,” Kurt muttered as Santana ran off towards the stage.

Still looking completely shocked, Blaine turned to Kurt. “I will never be able to look her in the eye again.”

When the song ended, they all turned their heads to the stage as Brittany and Santana walked on.

“Hey, everyone!” Brittany shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to dance?”

The crowd cheered in response.

“The voting for Prom King and Queen isn’t closed yet! So remember to vote ‘Brittana’ as your Prom Queens!” Santana cheered.

“And ‘Klaine’ as your Kings!” Brittany finished.

Santana signalled to the band. The drummer counted down, and Santana started singing the opening notes to “Where Have You Been” By Rihanna. The song suited her voice perfectly, and the whole gym erupted in cheers. Everyone started dancing and singing along to the girls’ happy and flirty duet.

Kurt, Blaine, and the others were dancing and jumping and just having an amazing time. This is what Prom should be like, Kurt thought. No drama, no stress, just having fun. But then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Karofsky entering the gym, followed by—Kurt’s heart stopped for a moment— Sebastian Smythe dressed in a maroon suit. What the hell was he doing there?

“ Blaine! ” Kurt whispered to his boyfriend. “ Look! ”

Blaine turned to follow Kurt’s eyes, and when he saw, he shot a worried look back at Kurt. “Sebastian?” He grabbed Kurt’s hand, needing the support of his boyfriend. The sight of Sebastian made Blaine feel instantly on edge. “Why would he want to come to our Prom? How did he even get in?”

“I don’t know, but I don't trust him. Not one bit.” Kurt’s eyes were shooting daggers at the Warbler.

“I don’t want him to ruin things, Kurt. I don't want to have to worry about him. Not tonight,” Blaine said, his voice sounding sad and worried.

“He’s got nothing on us, Blaine. Whatever he’s planning, it won't succeed, okay?” Kurt glanced around quickly but realised he didn’t care if people saw, so he leaned forward and gave Blaine a quick, reassuring kiss.

—*—

“Alright. I got you in. I’m gonna go find my date now,” Dave said to Sebastian, looking around nervously. He didn’t want to be associated with Sebastian or whatever he was planning for tonight.

“You’re leaving me already? Sebastian said and cocked an eyebrow.

“That was the deal, remember? What you do with your time is your business. I don't want anything to do with it.”

“Oh, please. Just last week, you were still all for capturing Hummel in those sausage fingers of yours. Don’t act all innocent on me now.”

“You aren’t a very nice guy, Sebastian. No wonder Blaine doesn’t want anything to do with you,” Dave said as he turned around and walked off.

“Fine. Enjoy your sad little party while you leave me with the dirty work,” Sebastian spat after him. He looked around until he spotted one of the band members. Time to set this plan in motion.

—*—

After Brittany and Santana were done with their duet, the DJ had picked up again, playing a mixture of pop songs and oldies until it was time for Kurt and Blaine to make their way to the stage.

“You ready?” Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged. “I guess so. A little nervous about his whole Sebastian situation, though.”

Kurt sighed. “Try not to think about him. Don’t let him ruin your night before he’s even done anything at all. Heck, for all we know, he’s here to apologise.”

Blaine laughed. “ Hah! Good one. Sebastian and apologising. I can’t name a less likely duo.” He rolled his eyes but still gave Kurt a smile. “But you’re right. I was really looking forward to singing with you tonight. I’m not gonna let that rat ruin that for me.”

“That's more like it!!” Kurt gave Blaine a kiss on his cheek, and they walked on stage.

Kurt looked at the sea of students and spotted his friends. They were all smiling up at them. He also spotted Karofsky standing next to Landon. So that’s who Landon has been smashing boards with. He chuckled to himself. The one person he didn’t see, however, was Sebastian, which worried him. He didn't have much time to think about it though, as Blaine took one of the microphones in his hand. “Vote Klaine for your Prom Kings!” he shouted into the gym as the band started playing the intro of “ The Promise ” by When In Rome. The crowd applauded, their friends cheering the loudest.

Blaine started off by singing his verse. He walked towards Kurt in a ceremonious manner, swaying to the song, serenading him.

If you need a friend Don't look to a stranger You know in the end I'll always be there

They quickly spun around each other, as they had practised in their choreography, and then Kurt took over, pointing dramatically at Blaine as he started singing the next verse.

And when you're in doubt And when you're in danger Take a look all around And I'll be there

As the chorus started, they went on to harmonise with Blaine singing lead and Kurt the echos.

I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the right words to say (I promise you) I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be (I promise you) But if you wait around a while I'll make you fall for me (I promise you) I promise, I promise you, I will

They were smiling at each other and sharing loving looks as they felt the truth behind the lyrics. Their performance was going great. Their voices sounded like honey and their movements timed perfectly to the music. Tiny beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads from the warm stage lights. Any thoughts of Sebastian had fallen to the background. Until —

“STOP THE MUSIC!” A loud voice tore Kurt and Blaine from their bubble. What in the world? The band faltered as Sebastian burst onto the stage. He grabbed the microphone from Kurt’s hand and shot him a false grin.

“These people—” Sebastian pointed at Kurt and Blaine, who stared at him with stunned faces. “—have been selling you a lie! ” he shouted.

The audience was dead quiet, waiting anxiously to hear what this stranger had to say.

“They are not really dating! They are faking it!” He had an insane expression on his face.

“Oh, please. What a bunch of bullcrap,” Santana shouted from the crowd below. “They literally had sex just last night.” Laughter broke out amongst the rest of the students.

Sebastian, slightly taken aback, continued his speech. “I know what you might be thinking. They look all perfect and in love, but I’m telling you, it’s all an act!” The crowd started exchanging excited whispers amongst each other. They looked from Kurt and Blaine to Sebastian and back.

“Dude, what are you talking about? They are literally in love,” Sam now piped up.

Sebastian looked around. The people in the crowd stared back at him, all with disbelieving looks on their faces. “I-I have been tracking their phones and following them from the beginning!”

“You what ?” a female voice bellowed from the side of the stage, and Sebastian’s head shot in her direction. Sue Sylvester was looking at him with a face that could murder.

#The Prom-us #the prom-us #klaine fanfiction #klaine fic roulette- the prom-us #the prom us #klaine fanfic #klaine #the promus #glee #signal boost

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vro0m · 2 years

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vro0m’s rewatch - 89.1/300

2011 Abu Dhabi GP - PART 1

Alright. Penultimate race. As always at this point of the season I can't take it anymore. Can't wait for it to be over and start fresh again.

(and for those of you who followed the story, this is what I was talking about when I said we got to know more about Lewis' mental state this season 👀)

Blue overalls this time???

Quali report : McLaren has been on top all weekend! Seb went off in practice. It was the worst qualifying result for Williams in their entire history. Barrichello couldn't go out because of an oil leak and Maldonado qualified 17th but will start from the back because of an engine change penalty. Massa cut a chicane and sent parts of a bollard in Jenson's path so quali was red flagged. Di Resta is 10th for Force India. The Ferraris are the third fastest car so of course they are fifth and sixth. Lewis set a very quick time in Q2 so hopes were high but Jenson went quickest only to be beaten immediately by Lewis again. Seb then went out and set his fastest lap of the weekend and he fucking got pole again. Ahh. Well.

Lewis says of RB there's something they do in Q3, they switch something on that they've had for two years and they gain an extra little bit of time but hopefully next year they won't have that. (or more like McLaren will also have it I guess?) (mmmmh)

Lewis segment. Jake says it's notoriously difficult to overtake on this circuit and Lewis says his overtaking hasn't been very good that year.

So Lewis sits in his car trying to show us how it really is in the cockpit. He shows how little the mirrors are. Jake says "well let's start by talking about these mirrors" and Lewis interrupts him : "they're useless!" He says they've been trying to improve them by stopping them from flexing but they flex a lot and he taps the mirror to show the movement it does on the straights. (think about what the porpoising does to them nowadays........). In effect the reflecting surface seems to not be fully wedged in the frame so it does move around a lot. Jake asks how you can design such a car and fuck up mirrors and Lewis answers about the limited time and the wind tunnel. You don't gain speed moving mirrors around. Jake gets uncomfortably close to Lewis trying to look in the mirrors and Lewis complains lol.

Jake says "you don't see anything apart from your car!" He asks if they've been part of the repeatedly hitting Massa problem. Lewis says no, because Massa was mostly in front of him when he hit him. Jake asks if he feels for him in the last race because we saw him looking in his mirrors and Lewis talks over him "no, he knew I was there, a hundred percent, he was defending" he smiles "he should've just left a little more room, we would have both got through."

They agree that in any case given the McLaren’s performance Lewis shouldn't have been anywhere near him all season and that's the real problem. Lewis says he hasn't been putting himself in the right position, and Jenson has. "It's the way it goes". They get back up. Jake jokes : "Alright Lewis great drive well done, another podium to add to the collection" Lewis laughs "yeah whatever."

Jake asks how he feels about the fact that for the first time ever it seems the guy on the other side of the garage is gonna finish ahead in the championship. He does this slightly high-pitched "Erm..." he does when he thinks of how to answer difficult questions. He trips over his words. "At the end of the day he's done a better job but he's in a much better place than me" I don't know what he refers to when he says that. "If you look at him he has..." oh god... My heart...

"He has his dad there all the time, he doesn't get involved in his business (racing-wise he adds). he's got his manager there all the time, he's got his friends, he's got his girlfriend there all the time... He's in a much much much happier place than me."

Wow. So there we have it. I'd finally caught on to it last race (took me a whole season no biggie), that the whole conflict with his dad probably had something to do with the moodiness at the time but here's confirmation then. See I think it's an important thing to note.

[To be clear, we’re now entering a pure hypothetical interpretative rant]

I've always felt like Lewis was a very lonely person, back then and now still to an extent. This is purely my opinion, so agree or not it's totally arguable, but I've always found it interesting for example how you can hear in radio messages that Lewis needs a lot of reassurance. Often, when he's in a hard place, he either asks Bono or Bono spontaneously tells him he can do it, there's still a chance, etc. And I feel like he needs close people in his life to support him and encourage him in that way a lot (we all do, of course).

But life as a racing driver is generally a lonely one. Some of the others, their families are involved so they're there a lot, some WAGs are there a lot (some of them don’t seem to have jobs I guess?)... I think that's also in part why Angela has become so important to him because she's been that person for him, someone who's always there and he has some emotional intimacy with, with whom maybe he can be vulnerable and doubt himself and get reassured and all. It's good to see how in the last few years, at least, he's built himself this crew that travels with him often. That must alleviate some of the loneliness I believe he feels, but not all of it surely.

Anyway he didn't have that in 2011 and then he fired his dad who was the one who actually was there, so that might explain in part the few difficult years at this point of his career. The conflict with his dad may also have impacted other people in his family as it often does and I know for a fact from interviews that it took years for them to get close again. His relationship with Nicole was on and off and of course Nicole had her own busy career. He doesn't look like he has many friends at this point.

[End of the hypothetical interpretative rant]

It's also interesting to note that Jenson was one of the few teammates he had who did better than him while they were working together.

Back to the interview : Jake says probably the most important thing is to not get to the end of your often fleeting Formula 1 career and not have enjoyed it. Lewis agrees but you have to enjoy it with people you love, your family, people who got you there in the first place. "Sometimes it doesn't always work that way. But I'm certain in the future things will work out. And when they do... I'll be in the same position mentally as Jenson."

He says everytime he's been in this position he's never had any problems with his teammates.

"I know that when I'll get it sorted, I'll be there fighting so..."

You know what I'll post this whole snippet after I post this review because that's an excellent thing to keep around to understand him, I think.

See you in part 2 for the race !

#f1 #lewis hamilton #2011 #2011 abu dhabi gp #vro0m's race reviews

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korenlesthe · 1 year

Text

Writing & stuff (Part 1)

So, I think it's time i use this blog for what it is : a blog ! Note : all french terms will be translated in parenthesis.

Writing : how it all started I'm a french writer, almost 40yo, gay, soon to be "Pacsé" (PACS) to my lovely Marine boyfriend (French Navy). Since I was a child I wanter to tell stories but at the time, i couldn't even try, too affraid and never had enough motivation.

Like a lot of people, videogames played a big part in my inspirations. One of the very first game that made me think about how deep a story could be was The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Nintendo GameBoy. I was around 10 years old when I got the game and, as a kid, it blew me away (the ending still brings tears to my eyes 29 years later).

It was so different to everything I played so far on the Amstrad CPC & Amiga. And the first one to make me cry at the end. Not long after that, my brother got a Super Nintendo and I got The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past for my birthday and it unlocked something in me : medieval setting, magic, swords, secrets, exploration... basically everything I loved.

And a few years after that, my brother brought what probably motivated me the most to start telling stories : Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan). I vividly remember when my brother started the game, a loud yet distant cry of a monster is heard while the "Nintendo" & "Squaresoft" logos appears. I said "Wow". My sister said "Why do you 'wow' ? There's nothing !" but then the title screen appeared with the amazing theme song "Fear of the Heavens" by Hiroki Kikuta. I knew there was something more than just the roar of a powerful creature on a black screen.

This game even made me fall in love with dragons ; I loved calling "Flammy" the dragon to fly all around the massive world, always felt sad to kill a dragon to advance the story and even the final one. I didn't knew back then "why" I loved dragons ; I just loved their design, how majestic they looked, and wondered what their stories was, why were they attacking the heroes while Flammy was helping us etc.

Off course, other games added their stone like Breath of Fire III from Capcom, Illusion of Time (Illusion of Gaia in the US), Terranigma, Secret of Evermore and so many more... even games like Metroid and Turrican, two of my most beloved franchises.

I finally started working on my first book : "Denaris I : Le Mot Oublié" (Denaris I: The Forgotten Word) -Note : The title of the first volume was originally "Les Seigneur d'Yseïr" (Lords of Yseir)- in August 2003 (the 08/06/2003 to be exact). It went throught publishing for the first time on the 6th of February 2010 but after my publisher lied to me (no corrections, never read the manuscrit, published the unfinished version instead of the one I completed) and tried to keep selling the books after I ordered their destruction, I got my rights back and took a break. I came back to work on it in January 2011 but I was never satisfied and I left the first volume in a corner to work on the second and third volumes. Then, between 2015 and 2019, I managed to fix the whole first volume.

It was exhausting and massively crushed my motivation. Feeling that I would never write again if I kept working on the first or even the other three volumes, I started another story, more or less linked to Denaris, in a different setting.

Another world, another story

I felt the urge to write something that was NOT about Denaris but yet, always wanted to link both stories, just with a few characters and never, ever force anyone to have read a story to understand the other. Denaris was medieval fantasy, so the next story would be its exact opposite : science fiction with a little bit of cyberpunk.

Thus, Soleil Lirien : Contrôle Total (Lirian Sun: Full Control) was born... but I couldn't even start the damn thing ! I was always fumbling around with the main character : A man ? Ok, another one. Probably gay. What's his story ? Linked to one of the characters from Denaris ? But if I do so, I'll have to tell everything to get to the point where it makes sense in both Denaris and Lirian Sun...

It went like that for a long time until I started watching "The Jimquisition" by James Stephanie Sterling. While I loved the show (and still do), the opening song of their show clicked right away with me. "I love the style and the lyrics", I thought. I searched for the artist, "DrillQueen" and looked at the cover art of her album and "voilà". I instantly knew what I wanted to do. Who would become the main character of Lirian Sun.

Jenneth McGuire was born this day and my brain became filled with lots of ideas. Working on Lirian Sun helped me so much, it made me like writing again. It made me cry, smile and laugh and care so much about the characters. This is also during this moment that I became much more aware of a lot of things I was very late to, like supporting Trans people (and I would like to thanks again James Stephanie Sterling and Laura Kate Dale for everything).

Thank God for them.

End of part 1. Coming soon : what went wrong, how not to write a book (aka : every mistake I did), motivation, troubles, characters, stories... I think I'll use this blog to talk about Lirian Sun & Denaris in the near future. If I'm confident enough, I might talk more about me but that's clearly something I'm not ready yet.

#the jimquisition #writing #lgbt author

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perfecttenth · 1 month

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I think I've set my bias about Chaos and Ultimate Tag aside for now. From the looks of it they're taking a drastically different approach to the time choujin, so I'm really curious about how they're going to implement them into the ongoing storyline.

But I'm still surprised they're going back to them so soon, considering that the Revival started releasing not even 4 months after Ult Tag ended and Yudetamago probably were already working on it by the time they were finishing up the Young Masters vs. Five Disasters match.

It's all kind of pointing towards the 2011 run ending with this story arc. Granted I thought the manga would end with the defeat of the 12 Choushin, because what greater antagonists could they come up with beyond the choujin gods themselves? Although given that they intended the Revival to connect into Nisei as early as right before its serialization started, it'd make sense that the final villains would be the time choujin. I've heard theories about the series concluding with a time reset that'd lead to Nisei's timeline, but wow I really hope that doesn't happen. The Revival has already wrapped up so many loose ends and improved so many characters, it'd feel like a rug pull if things went back to the way they were.

The original 36 volumes were released over an 8 year span, while the Revival alone has been running for 12 years (14 if you include Vol. 37). That's almost as long as base Nisei and Ult Tag combined, which made up 13 years of Yude's career. Assuming they're gonna take at least as long as the Perfect Origin Arc to establish and defeat the Five Great Times & the God of Time IN ADDITION to resolving the energy imbalance crisis and The One's reformation plan and Satan and what have you, then the Revival is on its way to become the longest running Kinnikuman sub-series (Yeah it's a part of the original run, but at this point it's its own thing). Obviously the Revival doesn't have the problem that Ult Tag had where a single story arc had to be stretched out over 28 volumes, but I'm a bit worried if it'll face similar longevity problems, since the Choushin arc felt kinda dull and unclear plot-wise until The Man's and The One's exposition dump.

The time choujin's designs so far don't really do it for me, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to find out more about them. Fanatic stealing Psychoman's appearance and mannerisms feels offensive as hell, but that's exactly what makes him so intriguing. Did the God of Time deliberately clone him from his hat or something? The Exocet Missiles were amazing too, I just hope we'll get to see Aristera and Pirateman in action again. Wonder if they're also gonna bring back the concept of complete choujin, even though that'd require them to bring back Lightning and Thunder as well.

#肉 #kinnikuman spoilers

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amethyst-noir · 1 year

Note

For the writing asks : 💥 💫 ✨ ? :D

So, this sat in my inbox for a while now because rl and allergies demanded my full attention (= I was too exhausted to do anything fun).

Thank you so much for the ask! 💜

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

Well...

Lost is a canon-compliant (yes, including the bitter end) Guardian fic that's also ultra short. I never expected it to get much of a response and I really cherish those 38 Kudos. A lot. I like the style it was written and I especially like the last sentence. It's sad and says everything that there is to say about those two.

For my other account it's Ungewollte Aufmerksamkeit, a White Collar/The Magnificent Seven ATF AU Crossover that's written in German. I only found the confidence to write and post in English in 2018, after all. It was the first thing I posted on AO3, way back in 2011 and it has whole 3 Kudos. Which is 3 more than I've ever expected, considering everything about this. It's some harmless fun and I really like how I wrote Ezra's dialogue and pretty much everything about it, to be honest.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I already answered that one here. So, yes, I love feedback, be it an emoji or whatever. Of course, and I didn't say that before, I love it when a favorite line gets picked out and quoted back at me. That makes it feel extra special.

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

Oh wow, the hard question! I don't think people ever talk about any fic of mine? I'm a tiny niche writer, not someone who bombs the fandom with a masterpiece. That said, I wish walking through the summer's end would get more attention but I know why it doesn't and I knew it before posting that, due to when it's set in the timeline and stuff, it's not something that many people will click on. Still, it's one of those little jewels in my hoard of words that I like a lot and I think of rather often.

#fic writer asks #lumeha #inbox

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skruffie · 2 years

Photo

long sad navel-gazing under the cut, various abuse TWs go here, I think long-timer followers already know the drill

I know exactly what was happening in this photo. A couple days ago I kind of alluded to a thing that happened 10 years ago and this was about a week later when I was incredibly depressed. Not only did Thing happen but the entire weekend including the day immediately after I was listening to the lovely sounds of my parents screaming at each other and slamming doors, etc etc. I was trying to navigate all of that.

This was taken when I was working in the gallery on campus. The exhibit we had was about boat building. 2012 is right in the middle of what I’ve just started calling my “lost years” because there was a lot of traumatic shit happening basically from 2011-early 2014 that I thought was due to the One Big Traumatic Thing but actually was just a maelstrom of one thing after another.

Let’s observe the details in this photo. The hat I believe was crocheted by an ex friend of mine and unfortunately it wasn’t stretchy so I didn’t wear it too often. The nail polish I remember specifically was a shiny, shimmery teal that I painted to distract myself from the weekend-long argument my parents were having. Looking at this, I can remember very clearly something happening on the night of October 12th, shaking the entire drive home, waking up to the sounds of yelling and continuing to just shake and shake and shake uncontrollably for almost a couple days straight. I painted my nails to try to give myself some kind of soothing distraction. The constant trembling... very odd side effect of PTSD. I don’t get it much anymore thankfully but sometimes still when I’m under significant stress it’ll come back and simultaneously I feel more sensitive to cold. Hence the sweater in the photo.

The sweater I’m wearing here wasn’t even mine.

I’m sitting here trying to remind myself of that old quote of like “your story is yours to tell and if people don’t like it they should have treated you better” but this version of me from 10 years ago is still in my head. They still want to believe that maybe there was something just inherently weird about who they are as a person to warrant what was happening. Everything else was so fucked that a week before this photo they were like “wow, that sure was something that just happened and I am not going to deal with that right now!” and so they didn’t, for years. There’s not a clean way to talk about it, so fuck it. I had a therapist a few years ago that when I told her about the friend I had (who owned this sweater I’m wearing in the picture) she said it was akin to the beginnings of a domestic violence situation. Last year I made an account on this site and compared a few years of memories with this “friend” through their Mosaic Threat Assessment System to see how badly I was abused and what the odds are that it would have escalated further and I scored 6/10 or 152/200. Some stuff I couldn’t answer because we weren’t romantically involved but the scoring thankfully knows that some stuff is just not going to be relevant.

My scoring indicates not just a situation that can escalate but one that already did. I know this now, cognitively, but you know how little resources there are for people who’ve been abused by friends? Ten Years Ago Bek doesn’t know how to talk about it and present day Bek is tired of thinking about it.

Part of why returning to college has been a challenge for me is not just because of the money, but because it triggers me. Once I paid a visit to the campus for the opening of their pride center because I still have friends among the staff and I tried to sit in the gallery for a poetry reading. I literally could not sit in there for longer than a few seconds without feeling like I was about to scream. I have had to purposely acclimate myself into going into specific buildings or specific places over and over again to re-wire new memories and remember that I’m not in 2012 and that my abuser is not there anymore. I don’t have to be afraid of running into her at the gallery or in the bathroom or at club events because it’s not happening anymore. I haven’t spoken to her in eight years. Even calling her that here, now--an abuser and not a former friend--makes me feel weird. That’s the insidious nature of abuse. Sorry, not sorry, but you don’t get to publicly humiliate me and assault me and then expect that I am going to stay quiet for the entire rest of my life. The version of me in this photo can’t see the future and where we ended up now but I know that healing them means that maybe I should venture to talk about this more often.

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ladyofasoiaf · 2 years

Note

I have to say it's so refreshing to see someone unafraid to criticise Ar/ya. It feels like I get more tired of her character on each re-read I do, and her stans' insane, overly aggressive behavior makes it difficult to like her. Although personally like you I don't care for her trope-y type of character either. I think she was a whiny little crybaby in her early chapters and awful to her sister until they were about to sail to WF. How do fans ignore all that but see occasional mean words of Sansa as satanic?? Anyway, that was rant-y, but thank you.

Hello Anon,

Thank you very much.

The thing is I am in this fandom since 2011 and I am too tired and old to try to censor my thoughts at this point. I used to be more understanding to her character and I actually didn't have many problems with her. If anything I even liked her first (I think it was because Arya actor was so cute in the show) and I was looking forward for Sansa-Arya reunion.

At first I wasn't into fandom that much so I wasn't aware of the fact that her fans HATE Sansa for fanon reasons. After witnessing that in the worst way I tried to understand why do they hate Sansa so much. And I realized that it was because they were totally misreading the characters and the dynamics. I also realized that Arya was much darker than I thought when I first read her.

Just like you said, her character really suffers from re-readings. You start to realize that she was bratty, rude, ill-behaved and violent. Her underdog/overlooked persona is just a fabricated false narrative (or maybe I should say written unconvincingly). When you first read her POVs without paying too much attention, you think she suffers as the unsatisfactory sister because of Sansa but in truth she is just jealous and it is HER who makes her sister life difficult. You realize that Sansa is actually the overlooked child who is trying too hard to have the attention of her father but Ned simply ignores her as a real human being with her own feelings and desires while focusing on Arya. When you see this dynamic, AGOT makes more sense. You understand how even a father who loves all his children can totally ruin his children's lives.

People love to say that Sansa was so rude to Arya and she was only truly rude her when she LOST everything (and Arya had a part in those) and Arya had everything she ever desired while being the troublemaker in the first place. Also watch how that scene goes:

Their father sighed. “I did not call you here to talk of dresses. I’m sending you both back to Winterfell.”

For the second time Sansa found herself too stunned for words. She felt her eyes grow moist again.

“You can’t,” Arya said.

“Please, Father,” Sansa managed at last. “Please don’t.”

Eddard Stark favored his daughters with a tired smile. “At last we’ve found something you agree on.”

Look at Arya saying SHE DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE KL.

She is objecting to her father..

WOW what a little betrayer. How can she betray Ned like that? SMH...

Father’s mouth twitched strangely. “Sansa, I’m not sending you away for fighting, though the gods know I’m sick of you two squabbling. I want you back in Winterfell for your own safety. Three of my men were cut down like dogs not a league from where we sit, and what does Robert do? He goes hunting.”

Arya was chewing at her lip in that disgusting way she had. “Can we take Syrio back with us?”

“Who cares about your stupid dancing master?” Sansa flared. “Father, I only just now remembered, I can’t go away, I’m to marry Prince Joffrey.” She tried to smile bravely for him.”

Look at Arya willfully asking sth she DESIRES. (Btw if she couldn't have Syrio she would totally talk to him about this- them returning WF- because that girl is WILLFULL like Lyanna right? You can't call her Lyanna2.0 without accepting this, I am sorry)

PURE EVIL!! (also Sansa is always rude in her thoughts... until the very end she just keeps it to herself about how Arya is not pretty, dirty, naughty etc... she doesn't share her opinion with Arya... But I am sure no one has ever thought harmless but bad things about someone they actually love... no one!! Only too kind to share her thoughts Sansa has done this)

Arya made a face. “Not if Joffrey’s his father,” she said. “He’s a liar and a craven and anyhow he’s a stag, not a lion.”

Sansa felt tears in her eyes. “He is not! He’s not the least bit like that old drunken king,” she screamed at her sister, forgetting herself in her grief.

Sansa is literally crying and losing herself in grief of broken dreams and Arya thinks this is the best time to talk shit about the boy she likes... (Jon says he looks like a girl 2.0)

“I am looking for a fast trading galley to take you home. These days, the sea is safer than the kingsroad. You will sail as soon as I can find a proper ship, with Septa Mordane and a complement of guards…and yes, with Syrio Forel, if he agrees to enter my service. But say nothing of this. It’s better if no one knows of our plans. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

Sansa cried as Septa Mordane marched them down the steps. They were going to take it all away; the tournaments and the court and her prince, everything, they were going to send her back to the bleak grey walls of Winterfell and lock her up forever. Her life was over before it had begun.

Arya as usual gets what she wants while being the trouble child and people pleaser Sansa is once again being punished. Sansa is crying, depressed and she already told us that SHE LOST HERSELF IN HER GRIEF.

“It won’t be so bad, Sansa,” Arya said. “We’re going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we’ll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest.” She touched her on the arm.

“Hodor!” Sansa yelled. “You ought to marry Hodor, you’re just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!” She wrenched away from her sister’s hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her.

I am sorry but it easy to be kind (?) when you win everything and the other person is losing ALL. (and don't forget that this Arya had a heartfelt conversation with her father about her hatred and trauma... unlike Sansa)

And even in her consolation you can see that she is still blind to her sister's desires. Sansa doesn't want to sail and have adventures (LOL THE SHIP GIRL IS LOADING) Arya... that's not Sansa... that's YOU.

Also why the fck Hodor?? Why would seeing Hodor be same as becoming a queen in a place you find magical?? And if my sister tried to console me like this I would freaking lose it too. (let me also say that it wasn't little Arya's job to cheer/console her sister in the first place, it was Ned's but he is... idiot)

So Sansa calls her stupid, hairy and ugly at the end of her patience (after Arya insulting her future husband, after Arya being rude to her future family, after Arya doing sth she wasn't supposed to like playing with butcher boys, after Arya being rude to the prince, after Arya attacking the prince, after losing Lady because of Arya's wolf, after Arya being hateful to her, after Ned being distant to her while being there for Arya, after Arya once again insulting her future husband, after losing the chance for your dreams to come true while Arya having all that she desired).

Give her a break for real. I would be worse ngl. And I am sorry but calling your sister's any hobby/interest stupid and attacking her physically MORE THAN ONCE is just as bad (if not worse... it's worse imo..)

BTW why doesn't Sansa just call her HORSEFACE and done with it? I thought she was constantly bullying her with that name? Can't believe she doesn't use that name when she was the lowest and the angriest.

Because Sansa-I AM TOO KIND AND COURTESY IS EVERYTHING- Stark totally would use that word!! I am sure she uses that name.. Let me find it!! She had to think about it at least... she had to acknowledge that name at some point:

404 NOT FOUND.

Sansa's proper as* has never used that word. She has never even acknowledged that word but Arya can't be wrong ofc because only Sansa is the unreliable narrator... (Arya didn't misremember the name of Joff's sword or Jon didn't misremember that it was actually him who called Tyrion a friend not the other way around but Sansa is the only UN people...)

And it is funny because Sansa acknowledges she has a horsey face:

"Myrcella is a little baby." Arya grabbed Nymeria around her neck, but the moment she pulled out the brush again the direwolf wriggled free and bounded off. Frustrated, Arya threw down the brush. "Bad wolf!" she shouted.

Sansa couldn't help but smile a little. The kennelmaster once told her that an animal takes after its master. She gave Lady a quick little hug. Lady licked her cheek. Sansa giggled. Arya heard and whirled around, glaring. "I don't care what you say, I'm going out riding." Her long horsey face got the stubborn look that meant she was going to do something willful.

"Gods be true, Arya, sometimes you act like such a child," Sansa said. "I'll go by myself then. It will be ever so much nicer that way. Lady and I will eat all the lemon cakes and just have the best time without you." [AGOT- Sansa I]

So why has she NEVER used that name? What was stopping her EVEN in her THOUGHTS? Anyway... in any case Arya was worse as a sister so I understand why her stans are holding so tightly on "bully Sansa" narrative. Sad.

After re-readings you realize Sansa is actually the outsider of the family. 90% of her family simply don't deserve her for real but whatever.

But I want to say this again: My problem is not Arya as a character. It is the fanon characterization of Sansa by her fans and the author's really weak and forced writing when it comes to Arya. Even when I criticize her you can see that I am mostly angry at characters like Ned, the author himself and her fans. If they were more objective toward Sansa then I wouldn't be bothered by her character this much.

Thanks for the ask.

#mine #anon #ask #answered #reply #anti arya stark #anti arya stans #sansa stark #sansa stark defense squad #asoiaf #ned stark critical #grrm critical

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iamnmbr3 · 3 years

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Can I sign up for a Disney- Service where I pay them not to put out any type of new content or interviews? Bc wow I am tired of this show and I’m tired of Mike Waldron shooting his mouth off and spewing grossness. But here we go again. He’s given another interview and I am once again left wondering why Disney had to hire him and not...literally anyone else. Like if they just grabbed a rando off the street it couldn’t have been any worse and statistically it probably would’ve been a lot better.

"I knew that I wanted to position somebody opposite Tom, opposite Tom's Loki, who had the same energy in a way, but also a totally different energy, that female energy”

Female energy??? Can someone please tell Mike that "girl" isn't a personality trait. Remember when I talked about how Sylvie isn’t a good female character because she’s physically strong but not strongly written? Remember when I talked about how she’s an empty “strong female character TM” who is a woman first and a human second because she’s not a good character who happens to be female but rather a character whose defining and only personality trait is her gender? Yeah.

"But it's one thing, I guess, to be narcissistic and to think you're great and everything, it's another thing to really believe that, to project that outwardly. It's another thing to really believe that and to actually practice self-love and everything. So if the show is about Loki falling for Sylvie a little bit, the hope was always that maybe that it's also about him learning to forgive himself."

What. No really. WHAT. Mike’s pathetic attempts to justify his ridiculously bad romance and also pretend like he didn’t straight up lie to us about Loki learning self love are hilarious. this makes NO sense. huh???? This is just a really bad attempt at damage control. Loki doesn’t learn self love. He never says anything positive about himself. The show frames him internalizing other’s harmful messages about him like that he is a villain and a pathetic loser as something positive. What has he learned to love about himself? Mike has yet to be able to name one positive trait he has. His hatred for Loki is so obvious. And how is loving Sylvie him forgiving himself???? she didn't do any of the things he did???? This makes ZERO sense.

"He is just a character who doesn't like to self reflect, and would rather pontificate, and would rather scheme, because he's good at it, because he's very clever. "

Really? He would rather pontificate? Another comment that seems to indicate that Mike really didn’t watch Thor 2011. Remember how the opening scenes established how SILENT Loki is and how he is constantly spoken over? That’s a big part of his other and victim coding. The way Mike constantly shames Loki for speaking is very disturbing given the way Loki is Other coded. And also given the fact that he is now canonically queer. Why must the Other be silenced???

“And when faced with an actual mirror of himself, he sees things that are attractive and that he empathizes with. He also sees things that are broken and wounded, and it helps him understand those very things in his own psyche"

Wrong. But also? Where? Where is that in the show??? This never happened. He’s just lying here.

"I mean, he has done terrible things. That was part of the work that the first episode had to do, was hold him accountable for that, sort of lay him bare and everything. And the journey that he's been on has been one of reckoning with that. Is it possible to atone for that? I think Loki's still trying to figure that out."

Terrible things? Huh. Kinda like Thor. Remember when he slaughtered all those Jotnar while laughing (which was considered totally acceptable in his culture)? Remember when Odin slaughtered and enslaved thousands? Remember when Loki was motivated by trying to PREVENT a war? And. Remember when Loki was captured and TORTURED by Thanos? Also. The first episode didn't do that. The first episode was about things he hadn't done bc it was him seeing his future. AND FURTHERMORE the TVA can't hold him accountable bc if what Loki did was bad then the TVA has no moral high ground bc what they did was orders of magnitude worse. And if what the TVA did was ok then Loki didn't do anything wrong. Why does the TVA get a pass for their horrific acts of evil???

"I think, for me, that's one of the most important scenes in the show because this is a guy who has been driven by glorious purpose, by the feeling that everything he does is in the service of his grand destiny."

So Mike really just watched that glorious purpose clip and decided it was Loki’s whole motivation huh? What an idiot. So much for the Loki Lectures. Obviously this guy was asleep during them and didn’t bother to watch Thor 2011 either. You know, the movie all about Loki’s backstory and motivations. Guess he also missed the fact that Loki is LITERALLY KNEELING when he comes through the portal and looks awful bc he’s just been tortured is very obviously repeating the stuff Thanos told him while breaking him. Loki is not motivated by believing in a glorious purpose. He cries when Thor tells him to look at the destruction in Avengers.

And in Thor 2011 he is motivated by wanting to avert a war and also more deeply by his desire for love and validation. He never wanted the throne. He wanted to be Thor’s equal. He has a mental breakdown and tries to kill himself when he comes to believe that he is inherently monstrous and that he can never earn his family’s love. LOKI IS DEFINED BY HIS LACK OF SELF ESTEEM AND HIS SELF HATRED! That is. The opposite of what Mike has said. Also Mike contradicts himself. Is Loki someone who is arrogant and needs to learn his purpose isn’t glorious or is he someone who needs to learn self love? It can’t be both. What a disgusting, victim blaming, abuse apologist lying hack.

“In that moment, he sees that no, it was his destiny to get his neck snapped by the bad guy he was working for"

Excuse me? Working for??? Loki never went back to Thanos. He died sacrificing himself to save Thor. WTF!!!?!?

#loki tv series #loki series #loki tv show #loki show #loki 2021 #loki tv series interviews #my post

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valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn · 2 years

Note

Knowing how hard people worked to make Loki a nuanced intriguing character only for 2021 series to say he's a spoiled power hungry narc feels like such an insult to everyone's hard work. I want Sylvie to be dragged through the mud to make them see what it feels like

Wow, hearing Zack was great. Greatest highlights:

"The thing that made Loki so close to our hearts as a villain was that, if you look at the events of Thor from his perspective, he was the hero. He was the one who was saving the kingdom from his hotheaded brother who wasn't ready"

I really like that quote and shows why Loki is such a great character. Most times the villains/antagonists are just there to confront the hero but they don't have much of a backstory, in this case Loki is so wonderfully fleshed out that this thing Zack says shines throughout the movie.

"At the end of the day what we always said we were doing is we're telling a story about two boys who both want their father to love them"

"Loki's plan along […] is all about impressing dad"

This is something the series creators have retconned by claiming Loki is just a narcissist who doesn't care about anything or anyone, or that his only purpose has always been to sit on a throne. We know it's a lie and Zack says as much.

"Odin treats his sons not so well and when one of them calls him on his shit he pretends, he feigns illness"

If this was the intent I'm not sure it translated to the screen, honestly. But it's interesting nonetheless.

I'd like to point out as well something else that stood out to me. Zack says they knew they needed an antagonist to Thor and thought Shield could play that role but Marvel were concerned because to them Shield are the good guys.

I don't know when they decided Shield would have been infiltrated by Hydra since the 40's but I'm going to assume they hadn't thought of that yet back in 2011, but besides that it's funny to me that someone at Marvel would question the validity of an antagonist because they're "good guys" therefore they can only fill the role of heroes? Antagonists are not villains and it's perfectly possible for a character who's mostly good or somewhat morally grey to fit that role. Dunno, hearing that quote from him made me think that Marvel have this black or white thinking of good guys are heroes and bad guys are villains and that's pretty backwards and amazingly limiting, imo.

I don't particularly need Sylvie to be treated like crap, she has already been dragged through the mud in S1 by portraying her as a Mary Sue with no personality and no interesting qualities. They had a pretty good character in her, they just didn't know what to do with it or they didn't care enough to write her well. It truly is a shame.

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thegirlwhobrokeintothetardis · 3 years

Text

Family (Hank Voight x Daughter!Reader)

Word Count: 3,033

Pairing: Hank Voight x Reader (Familial relationship)

Summary: When you were 8 and dealing with a mother who left when you could barely walk and a father who was too loaded to even remember he was a father, Hank Voight found you and took you in. Now as an adult and working as a firefighter at Firehouse 51, you are shocked when your biological parents come back to be in your life again.

Warnings: talks of child abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, swearing, and angst.

A/N: Y/M/N - Your Middle Name. Also, this is probably the longest imagine I’ve written so far, I hope you all enjoy it :)

If you want to be added to my tags, just ASK!!!

“Excuse me.”

A rough gravely voice made 8 year old you look up at the imposingly tall figure above you. You squinted as flurries of Chicago snow fluttered around the two of you, sticking to the cracked cement and dried up grass on the sidewalk. The man had short dark hair and what your child’s brain thought of as “Dumbo-like” ears. He wore a blue and black police uniform and had a shiny silver star badge pinned to his chest.

“Hi,” The man said, moving down to kneel so that you were both around the same height. “Are you lost?”

You stared at the police officer for a second before shaking your head no, “I live around the corner.”

“Oh okay, how about I walk you home? Your mom and dad must be worried about you.” He offered. Again, you shook your head.

“I don’t want to go home. I don’t have a mom and my dad’s mean.”

“Mean?”

“Yeah, he yells and-and one time he pushed me into the tiny table in the tv room and it really hurt.” You explained, not really understanding your situation but something clicked in the police officer’s eyes. “But a lot of the time he gets sleepy from the bottles of smelly juice and the needles.”

The police officer nodded, and looked down the road in the direction you pointed out where you live. There is a long silence as you shifted on your tiny feet, not really knowing what was going on. Then the police officer turned to you and smiled, his eyes warm as they looked at you.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” He asked.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N.”

“Well Y/N, my name is Officer Hank Voight. How would you feel about riding in a police car and seeing a real police station?”

For the first time since he found you, Hank saw your sad expression change into a huge smile, your eyes lighting up like the skyline on Chicago he loves so much. And he knew then that he was gonna help you out in anyway that he could.

---

23 years later...

“Hey, Voight! You got someone outside asking for you!” Lieutenant Kelly Severide called out. You looked up from the cards in your hand and then looked around at your friends on Truck 81 who you were playing cards with.

“Who is it?” You asked, already putting your cards down.

“A woman? Says her name is Carla Jennings.”

Still confused, you got up and made your way out to the bay where the trucks and ambo sat waiting for action. Capp and Joe Cruz were sitting at the Squad table, looking up when you walked in and Joe pointed out a woman who was standing just outside the station. Her light brown and gray hair was pulled into a ponytail and she looked around jittery, her hands popping in and out of her jacket pockets. It was gray outside, another Chicago winter just started and soon enough the snow would fall down on the Windy City.

You walked over to the woman, her jittery motions stopping when she saw you approaching. A smile came on her face, and for a second you thought that you saw her eyes water a bit from the sight of you. “Carla Jennings?”

“Yes, hi.” Carla said, pulling out her hands from her jacket again. It looked almost like she was going to go in for a hug, but stopped and then held her hand out to you. “Y/N, right?”

“Yes, Y/F/N Voight. Is there something I can help you with ma’am?” You asked. Her smile that she had on before dimmed a bit when you said your name, but she forced it back on after you shook her hand and let go.

“Wow, look at you. You’re so grown up now.”

“Excuse me?”

“I-I just, I’m sorry.” Carla wiped away a couple of tears and sniffled, trying not to look away from you. “It’s just its been so long.”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry but I think there’s been some mistake. I don’t know who-”

“Your last name. It wasn’t always Voight.”

You stopped, and looked at her as she walked a little closer to you. You could feel the eyes of your fellow firefighters watching this interaction, then being just as confused as you were. “I’m sorry?”

“Your last name, it was Y/L/N. I’m right, aren’t I?” Carla said.

“Who are you? How do you know that?” You asked. Carla’s eyes started to water again, and she looked at you and sighed.

“Y/N, I’m your mom.”

You look at her, eyes scanning over her trying to piece together what she had said. You weren’t stupid, you knew that she was probably referring to your biological mother, not your mom, Camille Voight who raised you like her own and died of cancer. You had no memories of this woman standing in front of you.

“My mom died in 2011 of ovarian cancer.”

“No, I’m your real mom. I gave birth to you and held you and-”

“Left? You left and you left me with that man.” You said, your voice a little louder then before. She looked stunned, like this was news to her. “I’m sorry but whatever you want, I’m not interested.”

You go to turn away and walk back into the firehouse when Carla grabbed your arm and stopped you. “Please! Please I’m you mom, I’m your blood!!”

You pulled away and turned back to her, “No, you are not my mom. You are a woman who was supposed to take care of me and left me with a drunk of a man before my dad came and took me in. So I owe you nothing.”

“Is everything okay here?” Chief Boden asked, finally walking over to the two of you and trying to catch your eye.

“Yeah, everything is fine. We’re done here.” You said as you took one last look at Carla and walked back towards the house. Herrmann tried to stop you but you walked past everyone and straight into Boden’s office, sitting down and waiting for him to come back inside. The anger you felt before in front of that woman started to settle down, and overwhelming emotions of loathing, sadness, and abandonment bubbled up until you were trying to hold back sobs. The office door opened and Chief Boden, and Lieutenants Casey and Severide walked in, all three circling you in worry.

“Y/N, what happened?” Severide asked, slowly putting a hand on your back and rubbing it up and down. Your crying started to subside, and once you got to a point where you were just sniffling and whipping tears away, you finally looked up to the three men around you.

“Um, so that was my biological mother. And... I haven’t seen her since I was maybe 3?” You explained. You turned to Chief Boden and took a deep breath. “Is there any way I could clock out early? I-I need to see my dad.”

“Of course, you shouldn’t be working with this going on anyway. Take a couple days and come back with a clear mind.”

“Yes sir. Do you mind if I wait inside until she is gone? I feel like she might still be out there waiting for me.”

“How about we drop you off at the 21st?” Casey said, then turning to Boden, “We’ll have our radios on in case there is a call.”

Boden looked at you then nodded, “Go.”

“Thanks Chief.” You said, getting up and patting both Casey and Severide on the shoulders before passing them and heading towards the locker room to change. Your mind was racing as you got out of your work clothes, memories of what felt like a past life, waking up with beer and condiments in the fridge, hand-me-down clothes from the family 2 houses down that felt bad for my situation, but said nothing. Once the image of the red-hungover eyes and gnarled and matted hair came into your mind, you shut your locker, snapping yourself back into the present.

---

Once everyone was on 81, the truck headed off into the city to your dad’s district. It was silent as the truck stopped at lights and turned corners, finally you got to the 21st and was about to jump out of the truck when Lieutenant Casey called out to you. “Yes, Lieutenant?”

“I hope you’re able to work everything out.”

You sent a small smile his way, thanked him and jumped out. “See you guys later.”

“See you around, kid!” Herrmann yelled just as the truck took off back to the house. Turning, you started walking towards the station, the patrolmen mingling with others on the steps outside. Once you got in, you saw Sargent Trudy Platt manning the desk as usual and that put a small smile on your face. Trudy was always funny and nice to you growing up, and she treated you almost like a daughter. When she saw that you walked in, and by how observant she is probably catching your puffy face and red eyes, concern completely took over her stature.

“What is it? What happened?” She asked, coming around her desk and over to you, rubbing your arms comfort.

“Is my dad here? I just need to talk to him about something.”

“He’s out right now with Olinsky right now, but I think he’ll be back soon. You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Maybe later,” You said, taking a deep breath and shrugging, “I want to talk dad first.”

Trudy took a second before nodding, “I’ll buzz you up so you can wait in his office.”

“Thanks, Trudy.” You said as she gave your arm a gentle squeeze and walked back to your desk.

“You know you are the only person that I can tolerate, Y/F/N Y/M/N.” Trudy called out. She and Alvin Olinsky, your dad’s best friend, were the only two who got into the habit of calling you by your first and middle name. Instead of it feeling like you were in trouble like it would when you were a kid, it was always met with love. You were just about to start walking up the stairs to head into Intelligence when a male voice called out.

“Y/N? Y/F/N Y/L/N?” You froze, that voice immediately sending anxiety through you like a bucket of cold water. You slowly turned around and found a man trying to stand up from a bench, but was handcuffed to it. He looked exactly the same as he did when you were 8, exactly from when you would see him in your nightmares after moving in with the Voights. His hair was matted and looked unwashed, his eyes red and teeth yellow, and even from how far you were from him, you could smell beer wafting off him. “It is you. Where’ve you been, girl?”

“Danny.” You said, trying to keep your cool. You could see that Trudy had picked up the phone and was whispering something into it, you only catching your name and “get here now”.

“Danny? What happened to dad, huh?”

“You stopped being my dad the minute I left that hellhole called a house.”

“Sorry darlin’, but that’s not how gen-et-tics works. You’re my kin and I will always be a part of you no matter who raises you.”

“Shut up.” You yelled. Others in the station were watching your interaction, you even heard the gate open at the top of the stair and figured that whoever was up at Intelligence came down to see what was wrong.

“Oh, don’t like that now do you? You can try and hide where you came from and clean yourself up, but you will always be Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, and you will follow in your families footsteps. You’ll either leave like that junkie-whore mama of yours, or you’ll end up like your dear-ol’-daddy.” He smirked as you started shaking, him noticing your reacting and smirking more, “You can’t run from what you’re made of.”

Just as he said that, Hank and Alvin Olinsky rushed into the building, Hank noticing you and turning to Danny who looked like he just won something. “Get him out of here.” Hank said, pointing to a patrolman near Danny. As the officer uncuffed Danny from the bench and recuffed his hands together, he started yelling.

“Ha! Now you got your crooked cop to come and save the day! Just like when you were a kid!” Danny started putting up a fight with the officer, trying to stay in the area, then turned to Hank, “You can take her and gussy her up, but trash is still trash.”

“Get him out of here!!” Hank yelled again, and two more officers ran over and finally took Danny out of the space. You were still staring at where he was when you felt a hand on your arm and harshly flinched.

It was just Hank, and he frown at your reaction to him, not seeing that happen since you first came to live with him and Camille. “Hey, lets go upstairs.”

You nodded, and the two of you walk up to the Intelligence Unit, you can feel the people downstairs all watching after that spectacle. Once you were both safely in Hank’s office, you both sat down in the chairs in front of his desk, Hank’s eyes still on you as you avoid his.

“Why aren’t you at the firehouse?”

“After what just happened, you won’t believe me if I told you.”

After a few seconds of silence, you finally looked up at your dad, and he gave you a look you remember a lot from your childhood with him. It basically said, ‘try me’, which made you sigh and rub your hands over your face.

“This woman came to the house asking for me, Carla Jennings, and ended up telling me that she was my mother. My biological mother.” You explain. Hank looked shocked, him never even knowing your bio mom. “I wanted to come see you so Chief Boden gave me a couple of days to get my head straight. And then that happened.”

“Yeah, Trudy said he was arrested on a DUI that almost killed a little girl.”

“Jesus Christ.”

You sighed, hating that you came from him in the first place. You dropped you head into your hands as the information sunk in.

“Hey,” Hank said, putting a hand on your back and rubbing soothing circles, happy that he didn’t have to see you flinch because of him again, “Don’t you dare listen to his words.”

“Isn’t he right though? I was lucky to get out of that hell of a home because of you, but his and that woman’s genes are in me. Its a matter of time before I screw everything up.”

“Genetics don’t mean shit. Hey, look at me,” You looked up and he had a determined look in his eye, “You may have came from them, but their mistakes don’t rule over what you will do. Look what you have done without them here; you graduated top of your class in high school, and then again when you graduated from the Fire Academy. You showed all those sexists bastards that you are just as good, if not better, than any man on that truck, and now there is word that you might be up for a promotion to squad?”

“What?” You said, shocked with the information.

“Boden called me last week saying that you had been taking the classes needed to get on rescue squad? And because you are amazing and smart and strong, there was word from the higher ups that you might get that open spot on Squad 3 as the first woman in the Chicago Fire Department history to be admitted to rescue squad.” Hank explained. You started to smile as some tears escaped out of a mix of happiness, confusion and some residual feelings from what had happened earlier today. “They’re just finalizing some things but they’re going to announce it at the Fireman’s Ball later this month.”

“Oh my god.”

“And you did that all without them. They had no say on these things, and they will not have say on the rest of your life.” Hank said, pulling you into a hug. The two of you hugged for a while, your tears subsiding as you basked in the feeling of love you were getting from your dad.

“Thanks dad.” You said as you finally pulled away. He smiled and patted the top of your head, sneaking a kiss into your hairline while he was at it. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Goose. Taking you in was the best decision I ever made.” He said, making you smile wider than you were before. A beat of silence passed before there was a knock on the door and Alvin came in, his eyes bouncing from you to Hank in worry.

“Everything okay in here?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks Uncle Alvin.”

“Yeah, no problem kid.” He said, smiling at you and messing up your hair before turning back to Hank, “Ander’s girlfriend was picked up, she’s in interrogation.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.” Hank said, turning back to you as Alvin leaves.

You turn back to your dad and smile, “Can I stay in here? I kind of don’t want to go back to my apartment right now just in case that Carla woman knows where I live.”

“Yeah, take a nap on the couch in you want. We’re winding down with this case so when we’re done, you and me can go grab some dinner and we can talk about getting a restraining order on this lady.” Hank said. You were about to argue but you knew he was right. So you you nodded as Hank stood up and left one last kiss on your head before heading out of his office. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Be careful.”

Hank turned just as he was passed the doorway and smirked, “I’m always careful.”

“Oh-kay.” You said, sarcasm in your voice as you could hear your dad chuckle then head towards the interrogation rooms.

TAGS: @l4life @ithoughtiwasflying

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capricorn-stark · 3 years

Text

Smoke and Mirrors

pairing: jason todd x reader, childhood friends

warning: language, slightly heated towards the end but it’s very mild, smoking - i’m not a smoker nor do i condone it, don’t do it kids

a/n: references some early stuff from RHATO (2011)

“The girls at the diner used to call those cancer sticks.”

You thought it was pretty ironic for him to say that when he plucked the cigarette you were holding right out of your hand, leaning against the railing of the balcony and seeming utterly unabashed. You hadn’t even heard him landing beside you until he started speaking.

You made a face at him as he unlocked and slid his helmet off while grinning at you in a typical self-satisfied fashion, bringing the cigarette to his own lips.

“Let me guess,” you started dryly, watching a plume of smoke swirl out of his mouth as he took a drag. “That’s why you took their warning very seriously and told yourself to never, ever smoke one.”

“I never said that,” he protested with another obnoxious laugh as he turned to glance over at you. “You made that shit up yourself. Not my problem.”

You rolled your eyes at him before moving to fish out your pack and lighter out again, half-heartedly settling another one between your lips and lighting it up. Jason’s eyes followed the smoke back to you, his own expression unreadable.

“And I thought you said you quit this shit.”

You shrugged, not quite looking at him when you opened your mouth to answer.

“People say stuff all the time, Hood. What did you expect?” Your words were directed towards a little more than just smoking. A beat passed before he shrugged it off.

“Hell if I know.”

You both sat there for a while in silence as you smoked, watching the grey clouds stray towards the hazy glow of the setting sun on the horizon. The city beneath you was beautiful tonight, a seemingly endless stretch of dark gleaming buildings reflecting the pinks and oranges of the sunset. You wanted to relish that moment more than anything for a while, and you did.

You closed your eyes and let the cigarette leave your mouth, clouds falling from your lips, nicotine buzzing in your bloodstream.

It would be a beautiful night. You could tell.

When you opened your eyes, you felt Jason’s eyes on you again and your turned your head to meet them. In the sunset, they really did glow a strange hue of green - yet another marker from his swim in the Lazarus. You hadn’t seen those eyes in quite a while.

“What, you want to take a picture?” you started in a somewhat jestful tone at his expression. “It’ll last longer.”

“Would you let me?” was his rather cocky comeback as he took his own cigarette out of his mouth, another smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “‘cus I don’t have anything against that idea, per se-”

“I was joking-”

“Right, totally.”

“I was!” The look on his face was infuriating enough to let you know that he didn’t believe shit. You let out a rather long and weary sigh. “I thought you weren’t planning on coming back anytime soon.” And at last, the disdain you had been trying so hard to contain from him was surfacing in your tone.

And clearly, from the way he was staring at you, he seemed to notice.

His latest adventures with his new friends, dubbed The Outlaws, hadn’t exactly been on the down-low. You knew one of them, Roy Harper, from being his best friend from a long time ago, and you had seen the glowing orange alien chick who accompanied them for the past few months on the news after he had taken off from Gotham.

You couldn’t deny the fact that you had been more than a little dismayed by the fact that he hadn’t even bothered to give you some sort of goodbye before they left, either - no visits, no phone calls, no letters, not even a poorly placed sticky note on the front of your apartment door left to get swept away by some janitor when it fell off.

You woke up one morning and heard from his brother that he wasn’t around Gotham anymore, no real explanations as to why the hell that was.

He just disappeared.

“You’re not thrilled to see me?” he attempted with mock hurt, and you gave him a very unimpressed look. “Sure, doll. I see how it is.” You acted like the nickname didn’t affect you as much as it did, because he didn’t deserve the satisfaction of otherwise.

“You know what I mean, Jason.”

“I thought it was Hood?” He caught your look again. “Jeez, I’m just fucking around.” The silence stretched on and he at least had the sense to look a little guilty when he spoke again. “Y/N. Listen, I’m - I’m sorry.”

You didn’t say anything for a while, your eyes still fixed ahead on the horizon. What did he expect you to say?

“I didn’t plan on leaving like that, I just - shit happened. And I didn’t want to stay in this shithole of a city for longer than I had to, anyways.”

Of course. He was bad at goodbyes, so he never said them. You were above chasing after him, so you never did.

“You could’ve at least made a call after you left.” The cigarette was still burning in your hands, the white filter crumbling away in the wind. “Or, I dunno, sent a text, or even a damn email or something. Anything.” Even you were surprised by the contempt lacing your voice with every word you spoke. You had told yourself he had to have had his reasons for leaving and that you wouldn’t waste your own time being angry at him. But somehow, you couldn’t help it. It had hurt more than you chose to realize. “It’s been months.” For once, his passive expressions and sarcasm had been replaced with something else.

Remorse.

“I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal to you.” You almost let out an incredulous laugh at that.

“Not a big deal to me? Are you serious?” You turned back to face him and he pursed his lips, clearly having realized that he had said the wrong thing. “After you came back - from the dead - and after everything that happened, you seriously thought I wouldn’t care what happened to you?” Jason opened his mouth, then wisely closed it while you tossed your cigarette down to crush it beneath your heel. “Wow, Jason, you knew me way better than I thought you did.”

“I didn’t mean to leave,” he tried again after a beat, taking a half-step towards you. “I wasn’t - I was on a mission, and this submarine thing with the dudes I was dealing with blew up, and then I woke up like a week later on this island thing with a Tamaranean alien princess who thought I was Dick, and then I found out Roy was gonna get executed, so-” He seemed to realize how incredulous that sequence of events sounded from the look on your face. So he let out a sigh, wringing his hands. “Okay. Yeah. I was kind of a douche.”

“Kind of?”

“I was definitely a douche,” he amended with another sigh, running a hand through his dark hair. He took a breath. “But I did mean it. I’m sorry.”

And you knew he meant it when he said that. Even back in his unruly days as a Robin, when your friendship had first formed, you had figured out that it was ridiculously hard for Jason Todd to let go of his pride and apologize for basically anything. When he got older, it admittedly hadn’t gotten all that much better.

Until now, apparently. Just a little. And you could never stay angry at him for very long, as much as you might have tried.

You let out a sigh yourself, glancing up at him.

“When did you even get back?”

Jason made a show of fishing his phone out of his pocket and taking a look before answering.

“About - twenty minutes ago.” He cleared his throat a little. “I wanted to see you.” There it was again - that infuriating feeling in your chest.

“Did you?” You tried to keep your tone as neutral as possible as he rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat awkwardly glancing away from you before he spoke again.

“Yeah. I missed you.”

Well fuck. That was a big one.

“I guess I missed having you around. Sometimes.” He chuckled at your attempt to be nonchalant, stepping even closer to you.

“That’s it? That’s all I get?” You rolled your eyes at him, refusing to say otherwise. You weren’t about to give in to him.

“Yeah, that’s all you-” Before you could finish, he had cut you off with a kiss. And in another moment, after his arms wrapped around your waist to pull you in closer, you realized your entire train of thought had been derailed completely because your best friend was kissing you.

“Get?” he offered when he pulled away again, another rather smug smile playing at his lips when you managed to look at him again, clearly flustered. “You sure about that?”

You appropriately told Jason to fuck off before you pulled him down towards you again for another kiss. And that kiss turned into another, then another, and another.

Your seemingly blasé attitude towards him and his constant teasing towards you had always helped you both shy away from whatever it was that you actually felt towards the other. It was easier to laugh at each other, or flirt, or push each other away than to actually move past your pride and admit how you felt.

But then again, between tender caresses and heated kisses, you didn’t think there was a need to really say anything out loud. Where his hands were on your body alone could tell anyone what was going on in his head.

You had missed him more than you could express in words, and it was increasingly clear that he had felt the exact same way. Your relationship had always toyed at the fine line between friendship and something more, and your actions in that moment had firmly moved you both past the former.

For so many years, your respective egos had provided a cover from a truth neither of you had been ready to come to terms with. But now, beneath the haze of cigarette smoke, sheets, and Gotham sunsets, you could finally see what exactly that was. There had always been something more underneath all of your smoke and mirrors.

And although it wouldn’t be right then and there, eventually, you’d clear all of that smoke away.

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