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chronically-ghosted · 3 months

Text

i wonder if you stopped his world like you did mine

rating: teen

pairing: frankie morales x f!reader

word count: 5K

summary: watching the woman he loves be with someone else is killing him, but for your sake, he manages. But when Benny's birthday loosens him up, he can't help but bear his soul over a phone call. Too bad you don't pick up and he's forced to leave the evidence in a voicemail.

tags/warnings: pining, light angst, idiots in love, country music as a catalyst, romance, tw alcohol, tw drinking, hangovers, ultimately very fluffy

a/n: Happy Valentine's Day @toomanystoriessolittletime! I hope you receive and give all the love you need and want! I've had this idea for a while, but once I saw that Frankie was your fave, I knew I had to do it!

one day i’m gonna do the series of all of my favorite country songs with a Pedro boy. This is one of them: Singles You Up by Jordan Davis. Had thoughts of Me and My Kind by Cody Johnson for our ever-fantastic Jack Daniels and Hurricane by Luke Combs for Joel. One day, my loves, one day.

🤍Masterlist | Frankie Morales Masterlist

Frankie Morales has a problem.

Given the life expectancy in his line of work – all things considered – it really wasn’t that bad of a problem. Sure, his knees were busted, his shoulder aches when it was cold out, and his ex keeps hounding him for money he doesn’t have. But on the flipside, his little family unit of friends and brothers united by combat are (mostly) all alive and healthy. He has a steady job and his little girl, whom he loves and adores, thinks the sun shines out of his ass. All things considered, there’s not much else he can ask for. He’s far better off than some of the men and women at Will’s talks, or in Santiago’s field teams.

So – really, truly, seriously – all things considered . . . he can’t classify this as a bad problem.

In fact, this is a problem he would willingly have. Gladly even. Not quite joyously, but if it’s a choice between this problem and not having the problem at all, he will choose having this consistent, thorny, kind-of-hurts-to-breathe-sometimes problem every single time.

And right now, it’s wearing a dress.

Uh, well, you’re wearing a dress. An off-white, hinging-on-cream, dress that sits above your knees, cuts flat and wide across your chest, and puffs out into cotton sleeves that remind him of those conchas his abuela used to make. Sweet, fluffy, and absolutely forbidden.

Until the time is right, at least. His abuela always made him wait to eat until the time was right.

He calls it – you – a problem, when in fact, it’s the opposite of a problem. There is nothing he would ever want to change about the warm, engulfing feeling that starts somewhere in his stomach and rises like conchas up his spine until it’s somewhere in his ribs, then under his breastbone, right by his –

He would kill anyone who tried to take that feeling away from him. It’s when he feels most alive, most present, most out of his head – like these things in the dark and sleeping corners of his mind that nip and bite at him can’t find him. He’s thrown them off his scent in his search for you and, even for a brief moment, he can step into the light.

There is no problem, in how you look tonight, how you look every night, with your bright shining smile, sweet-smelling hair, cowboy boots, glass of whiskey – you had such a fantastic taste in –

Wait.

That’s not whiskey. Not even a whiskey glass.

That’s –

“White wine?” Benny yelps as he leans forward and his chair legs clatter against the concrete floor. “If that’s Moscato, I’m calling the cops because you’ve been replaced by an equally hot body double.”

You roll your eyes as you sit down and take a long drink from your glass, as if to make a point. Frankie’s eyes are drawn to where your dress hangs over your crossed legs, exposing the curve of your thigh.

“It’s not fucking Moscato, Benjamin,” you say, eyes narrowed, completely side-stepping his compliment, like you always do. “It’s Chardonnay. Nick recognized the vineyard on the menu so he recommended it. Thought I’d give it a try, because I like trying something new, Benjamin.”

He rolls those beautiful blue eyes and leans forward towards you at the table, that grin that brings grown women to their knees plastered across his face. He knocks back his cowboy hat with a tap of his knuckle.

“Well, excuse the fuck outta me.”

“The fuck outta you is excused.”

You tug his hat back down over his face, smirking back at him, just as Nick saunters over – with what looks to be a wine glass of his own.

Okay, in hindsight, you’re not the problem.

His real fucking problem is Nick.

Your boyfriend.

Frankie, who has decided to only drink beer around you since The Almost Incident, takes three long pulls so he doesn’t have to watch Nick and his stupid hands slide across your exposed back and sit down in Santi’s empty chair.

“Happy Birthday, man, thanks for inviting me out.” Nick says briefly, raising his glass to Benny. “But I gotta say, I was a little worried when my girl here said your party was gonna be at a country dance hall. I’ve never been to one of these. I had to buy cowboy boots just for the occasion.”

He sticks his leg out, and rotates his gator-skin boot back and forth as if to illustrate how important to him this whole thing is.

But Benny doesn’t look down, doesn’t approve the boots, or Nick’s attempt at fitting in. Instead, he just smirks, his smile growing fat and lazy, a bit of the warmth fading from his blue eyes.

“Your first time at a cowboy hoe-down? I had no idea.”

Nick grins, because he doesn’t know Benny well enough to see the dig for what it is. But you do. You know him and you know he’s ragging on your boyfriend. You narrow your eyes and shame coats Frankie’s chest. Because he knows also Benny and he knows why he’s giving Nick such a hard time.

See, the problem isn’t you, or even your boyfriend – not really.

Nick is actually a decent guy. He treats you right, if a little delicately, but he buys you drinks, takes you places Frankie could never afford, in a car Frankie could never ever afford. Sometimes, you’ll say something, or tell a story and it’s obvious Nick doesn’t really understand you or your jokes, but he smiles along anyway. He makes good money and supposedly he keeps in touch with his mom. Nick is the kind of guy any brother would want his sister to date.

So the problem isn’t that Nick is a bad boyfriend, but that he’s your boyfriend.

The problem that Frankie Morales has is that he is painfully, achingly, in love with you.

And he’s your friend.

Maybe that would change, if he ever could work up the guts to say something. For fuck’s sake, he’s killed people – asking you out can’t be that much worse (as Santi often reminds him). But if the guys you’re into are like Nick, or even Nick-adjacent, then what fucking chance does he have? He never thought money was important to you, but apparently it is and that’s something he definitely can’t give you.

Or maybe you like the stability of a high-paying job with fucking miraculous health-care. And that’s two things more he can’t offer: stability and health-care.

So, maybe, maybe his problem isn’t with you or Nick or the fact that Nick is your boyfriend. It’s that he never could be. He, with one failed marriage already behind him and a coke rap sheet, has nothing to give you . . .

And you deserve the world.

You deserve more than he can offer you. You deserve better than him.

That’s his real fucking problem. And one he can't ever fix.

Will couldn’t get off work to come to this, so he owed Benny a beer and a nice steak dinner – according to Benny. Santi, despite absolutely swearing up and down for a week he wouldn’t be caught dead in cowboy boots and a hat, showed up tonight in full gear, belt-buckle included because he lost a bet with Benny over the Thursday night game. Santi, like everything else in his life, researched the hell out of the two teams, their past history, older statistics of both the players and the coach. He was confident, so confident, that he put his pride on the line.

Never a good idea with Benny Miller.

I don’t know, Benny said at the sports bar when his team was whooping Santi’s team’s ass, I just had a good feeling. Presumably, Santi did three shots before leaving and with another two in his system at the bar, all anger and frustration and embarrassment and inhibition had melted away and now Santi was doing what Santi did best, especially when drunk: dancing with beautiful women.

“The son of a bitch can dance, I’ll give him that. ” Benny muses as the three of you watch Santi, who despite having been taught the moves three minutes ago by two gorgeous blondes, complete a perfect line dance of Copperhead Road.

“Oh, shit, I could never do that.” Nick shakes his head. “Not even after a hundred classes.”

“Ah, I find that hard to believe, Nicky Boy. You seem like a natural,” Benny smirks over the lip of his beer bottle. He finds Frankie’s eyes and winks.

You are not amused. You glare at him over Nick’s shoulder for the second time tonight.

“It’s really not that hard,” you smile tightly and squeeze Nick’s shoulder. “I can teach you.”

“Oh, yeah, don’t you know your girl here?” Benny leans back in his chair, balancing against the rung of Nick’s chair by the ball of his foot. “She used to put all of us to shame. Dancing the night away, leading the crowd in line dancing. In fact, if I remember correctly, she and Frankie used to get into all sorts a-trouble on the dance floor. Isn’t that right, Frankie?”

Now he drew a glare from you and Frankie.

Don’t, man, just don’t.

Benny shrugs, swallowing his smirk with another sip of beer, hands raised. Just trying to help out.

Over the speakers, the song winds to a close and the crowd does their final spin. Across the dance floor, Santi bows, his hat sweeping the floor, to both of the girls who giggle like high schoolers.

“I’m gonna go get Boot Scootin’ Boogie over there some water before he up-chucks all over those nice ladies.” Benny stands and fixes his hat. “You guys want anything?”

Frankie shakes his head, his own hat that Benny insisted he wear, making the line of sweat across his forehead itch. You and Nick decline as well. You’ve barely even touched your drink, Frankie notes with a certain level of satisfaction.

As Benny walks towards the bar, the next song starts up and you let out a squeal. Bring on The Good Times has been one of your favorite songs since college. And Frankie should know – he introduced it to you.

“This one is the best! A classic!” You grab Nick’s forearm, but he almost immediately pulls it back.

“Ah, babe, my first line dance is not gonna be in front of strangers! I’ll embarrass you and me. Why don’t you ask Frankie?”

Fuck, why could Nick just be a raging, flaming asshole? This would be so much fucking easier.

Frankie swallows his beer empty, an excuse for a refill prepped. He hates cowboy hats, but he’d fucking set fire to the sky for Benny – he just hopes he immolates himself in the process. The giant brim makes him feel like he’s got a neon sign over his head that blinks, I Am A Giant Dork. Only further proven if he gets anywhere near that dance floor with his two left feet.

Your eyes are unreadable as he tries to coax your boyfriend into taking you dancing.

“Nah, man, you got this. Your girl’s a great teacher.” By some cowboy miracle, his voice is steady as he says those two words. On the table, your fingers curl in, your wine glass still untouched.

Nick makes a face, eyes flitting back and forth to the dancers as they start the dance.

“My feet are already killing me in these new boots. Besides, this isn’t really my song.”

Over his shoulder, you find Frankie’s eyes. He knows that look on you – he knows everything about you – and you’re trying to hide how hurt you are.

He’s on his feet before he knows what he’s doing.

You and Nick stare up at him, surprised by how he practically bounded to his feet.

The sweat at the ring of his hat runs down the back of his neck. Frankie does the only thing halfway-normal and extends his hand.

“Alright, princesa, I’ll fill out your dance card.”

He doesn’t care, or even really register, the darkly confused frown Nick sends him when you stand up, take his hand, and smile at him. He feels warm all the way up to his chest.

“Thanks, Frankie. Let’s boogie.”

That was a mistake.

This whole fucking night is a mistake. God help him, he loves Benny like a brother but he should have just said no and promised to take him out later like Will. He would have bought Benny any drink, any ridiculous chicken wing plate he wanted if Frankie didn’t have to be here, right now.

Because right now, right now, that wall of self-control that he uses to stem the reservoir, to stem the flow of whatever you cause to pour out of him, it’s leaking. It’s busted holes and now he’s drenched with it – with the scent of you, with the memory of hair down the length of your neck, the heat of your skin overworked and flushed, the sweet taste of your breath in his mouth when you leaned forward, into his space, his senses, and whispered,

“C’mon, Frankie, you’re a better dancer than this.”

But in his defense, he couldn’t feel his feet, much less make them move when he watched you with your skirt rucked up high in your fists, your cowboy boots kicking like fish in a stream, and that smile – that fucking smile – brighter and sweeter than all the whiskey in the world.

C’mon, Frankie, you’re a better dancer than this

C’mon, Frankie, you’re better than this.

C’mon, Frankie, tell me you love me.

Kiss me, Frankie. Kiss me now.

His restraint, his resolve that he will never, ever have you – he can feel it throb beneath his palms. Shudder and wobble under the thundering of his heart. It’s so close to breaking. Too close. This is why he doesn’t drink anything harder than beer around you. This is why he rarely drinks around you at all.

When Nick finally calls it a night because he’s already got a blister from the new boots, you don’t put up much of a fight. You’ve danced with Benny, you’ve danced with Santi and his gaggle of girls, Nick himself went up for a slow dance or two.

Frankie only ever asked for one.

He knows he disappointed you, has been disappointing you because you can feel him layering you away, brick by brick by brick. One of his oldest and longest friends, barely visible now, and he’s going over it with caulk to make sure you can’t touch this fragile, weak, emaciated thing he calls a heart.

The instant you walk out of the bar, Nick’s arm across your tense shoulders, he all but rushes for the bar.

“Six tequila shots, please.”

You wake up where you went to sleep: curled up on your couch, your giant Florida Gators blanket wrapped around you like a mentally-supportive straight-jacket, with Golden Girls reruns on the TV. The empty bottle of 19 Crimes explains the sticky, dry feeling in your mouth and the thundering headache accompanying swollen eyes and cheeks. You’d rather get hit by a train than have to move out of this position, but Nick has always been punctual.

Which, you assume, extends to picking up his stuff from your apartment first thing in the morning, his final threat that ended your conversation last night.

The sooner, the better, you mother fucker.

You blindly grab around for your phone, knowing that it’s most likely shoved into the deepest cracks of your couch, hoping against hope Panera delivers on a Saturday morning. There’s a distinct possibility you might start swinging if Nick shows up before you get a baguette and a coffee into your system.

The things he said about Benny and Santi last night on the drive home. This break up was a long time coming, but fuck, if this is what he’d been sitting on about your friends, what the fuck did he actually think of you?

And the things he implied about Frankie – how Frankie was in love with you and you were willingly not seeing it – ridiculous.

You fight the rancid taste of hope that anything Nick implied about Frankie might even remotely be true when you close your fingers around the shape of your phone at the far end of the couch.

22%

Just enough to order then yeet this fucking thing into another room because there is no way in hell you are answering Nick’s calls.

But, as you scroll through your notifications, maybe you should have answered Frankie’s.

He had called sporadically, starting about two hours after you and Nick had left the dance hall, all the way until four in the morning.

One text at 1AM: com e hang out wit us.i mis s you u

You smile, despite the obviously drunken text. Frankie rarely texted, only if it was dire need – and apparently, you continuing to party with the boys at 1AM was very, very dire. Judging by the eight missed calls.

Eight missed calls, but only one voicemail.

Like you’re about to settle down for some good TikTok scrolling, you lean back into the pillows, rubbing your eyes to clear the hazy fog, and press play.

First, there’s noise. Lots of it. Country music and people laughing and singing. Clearly still at the dance hall. You wish for a minute it is a video instead because you’d pay hand over fist to see those guys falling all over each other.

But then comes Santi. Over the years, you’d picked up some Spanish here and there, mostly enough not to embarrass yourself if you ever went to Miami.

But whatever Santi is saying, you’re not entirely sure it is Spanish, or any human language.

“Comotuamiga, teruegoqueselodigas porfavornopuedo hacerestopormucho mástiempo. Estaríasmásfeliz y ellaestaríamásfeliz. Nomemiresasí, sabesqueloúnico quequiereesqu labeses y la beses y luegohagasotrascosas – ¡Estúpido! ¿La llamaste?”

There’s a shuffling, hushed voices, the music still far too loud to make anything out.

“Déjame en paz, dude.” Frankie. Frankie, very very very drunk. “I’m gonna – I’m gonna say – voy a decirle. Ella lo sabrá. She’ll get it. I know–,”

“Then say something now because you’re leaving a voicemail!”

“Ah, mierda – um, baby?”

In two words and two filler words, Frankie’s whole demeanor changes. You can almost picture him curled around the phone, his hand cradling the phone to his ear as he rests his head against a wall.

“Baby, listen – fuck, sorry, I’m starting all wrong. I shouldn’t even call you that – I shouldn’t call you ‘baby’ because you’re not mine. You’re not my baby or anyone else’s because you’re so fucking independent and I love that about you but I wish you were. Mine, I mean. Not a baby.”

You don’t even remember sitting up, but your feet are on the ground. You’ve dropped the phone onto the table in front of you, staring at it as if it’s been dripping poison into your ear. Your heart is pounding.

There’s silence from Frankie for a second, the music still loud, but it’s dampened. You can hear Frankie breathing, swallow, and start again.

“You looked so fuckin’ good tonight. You look good every night but fuck, baby, that dress. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Even for a second . . . he doesn’t tell you that you look so fucking good enough, you know? You should hear it all the time. I wanna tell you – tell you all the time – he didn’t say it once. Not once and that’s a fucking crime. He makes you drink white wine when I know you fucking hate it – I know you, baby. I know you more than I know myself because you’re all I fucking think about. You’re in here, all the time, all up in my chest, my throat, my gut – and you can have it. You can have it. You can have all of me, if you just . . .”

His voice breaks and your fingers clench around the edge of the cushion.

“If you just . . . look, I know this is so fucking outta line and I wanna say it to your face and I’m gonna but . . . when that fuckin’ moron forgets how good he has it, I’m gonna be there. Gonna be right there. Because –,”

And then like someone shoved a speaker right up against Frankie’s phone, as clear as day, you hear Benny yell:

“IF HE AIN’T HOLDING YOU TIGHT, IF HE AIN’T TREATIN’ YOU RIGHT, I’MA BE THE FIRST ONE CALLIN’ HIM CRAAAZY–,”

“Benny, fuck off!”

And then the call drops, along with it your stomach. In fact, it slides out of your body, slouches off the couch and melts into the floor.

Oh, Frankie, do you even mean a word of it?

The hangover rubbing your nerves raw, tears spring into your eyes, the silence and fear and terrible hope tightening like a band around your head and infinitely increasing the pressure in your temples. You want to cry but your eyes already feel too puffy.

You’re stuck, frozen by every single possible outcome or single next step spinning out like chaotic webbing you can easily catch yourself on.

This was a mistake, it had to be. He didn’t mean to call your phone. He had accidentally called you when he meant to call another girl . . . also with a boyfriend named Nick. Frankie, sweet Frankie, who you’ve all but outright begged to take an interest in you – said it with your eyes hundreds of times – Frankie couldn’t actually have feelings for you.

Not like you had for him. Not like the ones you’ve slowly plucked out of your ribs over the years because god, even just looking at him seared a scar across your heart.

Fuck. Fuck!

You snatch up your phone, wiping your teary eyes and frantically hoping he might have said a name or anything – he couldn’t possibly have meant you – when three loud bangs on your front door sends your phone into the air and your heart into your throat.

The way he calls your name is frantic, verging on hysterical. In a daze, you glance at the clock. 9:04. Frankie’s had about four hours of sleep, if any at all.

“Please, open the door! We gotta talk – there’s something – there’s something on your phone you shouldn’t hear – please, baby, open up –,”

You stare at the phone on your floor.

Don’t they always say you can’t tell the moments that irrevocably change your life until after they’re gone?

Not this time.

You open the door and either way, everything changes.

“C’mon, please, let me explain.” His voice has quieted, no longer shaking, softer as though wounded. “Just five minutes and I’m gone. I swear. We can forget the whole thing –,”

You open the door to a hungover Frankie Morales, still in the same outfit you saw him last in, but his eyes are rimmed with black circles, his patchy beard even more patchy as if he had rubbed the bristle clean off. He reeks of beer, peanuts, and cigarette smoke. His shirt is loose, wrinkled, his belt isn’t even on all the way, and he’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

“What if I don’t want to forget it, Frankie?”

You see the realization strike him through the eyes, the throat, the chest, his gut, his brown eyes swimming with shame and horror. He leans over as if kicked and presses a hand against your doorway. His thumb rubs the corner and he swallows.

“So you listened to it already?”

“Yeah, I did.” He closes his eyes briefly, hanging his head, every apology in every language he knows sitting right behind his teeth. “But did you hear what I said?”

He frowns at you through those thick eyebrows. “What?”

“When I opened the door, did you hear what I said?”

“You said –,” that beautiful bottom lip parts from its sensual top and Frankie blinks at you. The oily blackness of shame has evaporated from his eyes, but that stormy fear rages on.

You inhale, breath getting caught on every knot in your spine, and step back.

“We need to talk.”

He glances once over his shoulder, as if taking in the hallway to your apartment for the last time, and he steps inside. Immediately his height and broadness fill out every empty space in your tiny living room and you’re launched back into the memory of when the boys came over for Christmas and there was hardly enough room for anyone, but somehow you all made it work and after four rounds of DDR, everyone was so tired and drunk, you passed out pillows and blankets and you spent your first adult Christmas at what could have been mistaken for a thirteen year old’s slumber party. It was one of the happiest times of your life.

His thick fingers clench and unclench when Frankie spies your phone on the floor, like a bomb waiting to go off.

Your brain struggles to default to hostess mode because you can’t think of anything to say.

Do you want coffee?

Do you want some cereal?

Do you want to–

“Tell me what happened last night.” You surprise yourself, Frankie, and your whirring brain by cutting right to it. As with the first question when you opened the door to him, there’s something inside of you that has taken on wings, spread them wide, and threatens to soar out of your body. Frankie’s here, he’s here, and he said he wants you –

He called you baby.

You breathe in, trying to scrape up some courage from the bottom of your lungs, wishing in the back of your mind under everything else that you’d chosen literally anything else to go to bed in than your Tweedie Bird shirt from Six Flags.

“I don’t understand, Frankie. Please help me understand.”

With a monumental sigh, he rubs his wide hand across his face and up into his hair, his other hand lifting his cap up off his head so his fingers can dig into his curls. It’s only then that you realize Benny’s cowboy hat he wore last night is gone and his tried and true Standard Oil ball cap is back. Meaning he must have gone home at some point. When did he realize (or remember) that he’d left you that voicemail?

“I’m gonna get my ass kicked,” he murmurs, eyes darting like a fox to your bedroom door. “Maybe that’s exactly what I deserve.”

“He’s not here.” This great thing arcs between you, the emptiness a presence and clarity all at the same time.

“What do you mean? Where is he?”

“We broke up.”

“When? Why?”

“Last night, after we left the bar. We got into an argument. He doesn’t like the way . . .”

Frankie – physically, mentally, emotionally, fundamentally – overwhelms you. He’s across the room in an instant, closer than you think he’s ever been before. But maybe this is the first and only time you’ve ever allowed yourself to enjoy it. Revel in his closeness and let this caged feeling in your chest break free. You touch his chest with the flat of your palm, the size of it, the breadth of him, staggering. You literally feel weak at the knees.

“He doesn’t like the way what?” His voice luxuriates in his throat – warm, deep. He sounds like what you imagine a hot spring feels like against your skin.

“He didn’t like the way I looked at you.” Your fingers make circles where they did into his shirt. His hands have found their way, after all this time, to your waist. “The way I always look at you, Frankie.”

His breath, subsequent to the ghost of his lips, across your forehead is so gentle it makes you close your eyes, to block out one sense to encourage another.

You feel him swallow even though he’s a foot away from you.

“Why –,” he stops, and starts again, just like on the phone call, “why do you look at me . . . when you have him?”

“Oh, Frankie.” His grip on your waist tightens as if you’re about to disappear forever. “I took him because I can’t have you.”

You blame the tears on the hangover, the headache, and the way he takes your chin between his thumb and knuckle.

Grateful.

He’s looking at you, eyes soft, mouth curved into a disbelieving smile, with gratitude.

“He’s the furthest thing from you because I tried to get you out of my system – I did – I promise. I can’t lose our friendship, Frankie, but it’s killing me . . . not having you. Nick said it was obvious the way I felt about you and that was a problem for our relationship, so he tried to make me choose between you and him and every time, without a doubt, I’ll always choose–,”

This is the right time, he supposes.

Hand over your cheek, he holds you still in silence to press his mouth to yours. The final word of your sentence dies on his tongue, muffled by a soft groan of surprise. Your breath is terrible, your skin is oily and damp, he knows he stinks like the bottom of a wet bar, but he can’t find himself to care. Your mouth opens to take him and the hand on your cheek sinks to your neck as you both move past the initial shock of I’m finally getting to do this and you’re not pulling away and into an actual, proper, deep kiss that sends sparks into his toes. Your tongue marks the bottom of his mouth, your arms going around his neck like you want more – you need more – and Frankie pulls back.

Not only because he’s slightly dizzy but because he a) won’t fuck you for the first time on your living room floor and b) absolutely will not do it hungover.

“Breakfast. Do you like . . . uhm, breakfast?” He can’t quite focus on a single spot on your face, eyes half-lidded and gaze blurred.

You giggle, letting his beard tickle your nose as you sneak your face into his neck. He sways a bit with you, his arms around your back, and you don’t think he’s even realizing what he’s doing.

“Yes, Frankie. I like breakfast. I eat it almost every day, in fact.”

He grunts, neck suddenly flushed, embarrassed. “Sorry, I mean –,”

“I know what you mean, baby.” You lean back and run your fingers through the thatch of curls at the back of his neck. Both of you are so grimy but you can’t care. “I’d love breakfast.”

Frankie smiles his Frankie smile and the thing in your chest is illuminated in gold.

“How do you feel about conchas?”

Translations:

Como tu amiga, te ruego que se lo digas. Por favor, no puedo hacer esto por mucho más tiempo. Estarías más feliz y ella estaría más feliz. No me mires así, sabes que lo único que quiere es que la beses y la beses y luego hagas otras cosas. = As your friend, I beg you to tell her. Please, I can't do this for much longer. You would be happier and she would be happier. Don't look at me like that, you know all she wants is for you to kiss her and kiss her and then do other things.

¡Estúpido! ¿La llamaste? = Idiot! Did you call her?

Déjame en paz. Voy a decirle. Ella lo sabrá. = Leave me alone. I am going to tell her. She will know.

#SpaceSistersSecretValentine #frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #triple frontier #frankie morales x you #francisco catfish morales #triple frontier fanfiction #francisco morales #pedro pascal characters

623 notes · View notes

thequietkid-moonie · 1 year

Note

Hi! Can I request a reader who is like bayonetta, with the summoning of demons to fight and using guns and all that for Buddha, hades and shiva? If ur not comfortable with it, that’s ok!

Flirty and elegant S/O use guns and can summon demons

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Buddha, Hades ]

[ Records of Ragnarok / Shuumatsu no Valkyrie ]

× This is inspired in Bayonetta

Bayonetta is a little too sexual for my liking but that girl is amaizing as hell, really she is just ✨✨✨

Buddha

Is a surprise for everyone that you two become a couple because everyone can tell that you two are complety opposites, or at least that is what people think because you two are more similar that what people think, even so Buddha couldn't care less for what other say

Your elegancy and extravagant personality is one of the first things that atracted him to you, he has no problem with saying it to you and that lead him to tease you and flirt with you a lot, dating or not he is always flirting and complimenting you, and since you are pretty flirty too it becomes a go and back of flirting that don't seem to stop, even when you are fighting the flirtation doesn't stop

Also he loves all your outfits, from your witch/wizard suit to all your others more casual ones, he loves every single of them, and even when he may doesn't have the best sense of fashion he can help you choose or buy more if you want

One of the reasons why people could find it surprising is because you are a witch/wizard, but is mainly because people easily gets carried away for the stereotypes, but Buddha is really interested in your powers and your fighting style. Speaking of, he finds hilarious that even for being a powerful witch/wizard you still decide to fight mainly with guns

Buddha is enamored with your fighting style, not only you master any kind of gun but you never lose your elegancy, is almost like if you are dancing and playing with your opponent. Also he finds pretty funny that you fight against angels, he always jokes about it and since he doesn't give any importance to gods neither he isn't going to stop you or anything

Buddha is really curious about all the demons you can summon and he wants to see every single one, although he won't force you to summon them just for him, he will patiently wait to see it while you fight because he loves seeing you fight, he swears that seeing you fight is one of his favorites things to do in the entire world, besides you can't just summon demons but also transform in different creatures and even then he can't help but admire your beauty in another form

Buddha isn't really worried when you fight, he fully believes in you and knows that you are more than capable to handle the fights yourself, he prefers to just be there to enjoy the view, although if you ever have problems in the fight he won't even hesitant and imediatly goes to your side to help you. Also, some times after you finish fighting he tells you criticism or advice in a joking manner

Despite everything, he knows that you are a really good person, caring for the people that are important to you (even willing to do anything to help the people you love), and also he knows you aren't exactly unfair or cruel just fighting the ones who directly have problems with you, and he is in love with that side of you too, he may tease you for it but it makes his heart melt knowing that part of you

Buddha will never get tired of appreciate all your beauty, fight or not, he is just too in love with all you and he has no problem with expressing it (he actually does it all the time), is really strange to see him without a smile whenever he is with you

Hades

Hades isn't someone who judge or get carry away for appearances or stereotypes, so when he falls in love is because he know you really well, and he is in love with all of you. He loves your elegant behavior, even when he himself is pretty elegant he can't help but be amazed by every move of you

Also he has no problem with your flirty behavior, any time you start flirting with him or even get touchy he just laugh at it or answer with more innocent comments or even compliments, but don't misunderstand him, he is fascinated with that side of you, he finds amazing every part of your personality, although from time to time, when the two of you are alone, more in private he reciprocate the flirtation

He loves your fashion sense too, he likes to see every single outfit and hair style, and he actually pay a lot of attention to it (is just that he likes fashion too and tend to always dress pretty elegant), and he will love to help you choose new outfits and even use matching ones if you want to

Also, he is really curious about you being a witch/wizard but he doesn't want to pry, so aside from casual questions (specially at the start of your relationship) he doesn't ask much if you don't talk about it yourself, although he make sure that you have an special place to practice all you want (either in the palace or in the underworld, or even in both)

Now about the fighting is probably that he doesn't see you fighting for a long time after you two have met since he doesn't tend to get into much troubles and, despite for being in the underworld, the palace is pretty pacific, so is probably that he end up seeing you fight for the first time when some angels come searching for you, he was ready to fight them but you were faster and before he can even speak you were already fighting them

Hades tried to help you, he really wanted but you were totally fine handling the situation without troubles and even keeping all your elegancy (even when you are summoning demons you do it with a lot of style and elegancy) seeing you fight is pretty hypnotizing and is that way every time you fight Hades wants to help you but he can't so after a while he decide to step back and watch (but being ready in case you need him)

It's just his nature to worry about you, and even when he had saw you completely fine in the battle, even if you come out completely unscathed he still worries for you. Although that doesn't mean he doesn't like seeing you fight, because he does and a lot, he always says that you look so beautiful while fighting

He becomes pretty interested in your fighting style, if you let him he will like to know about all the guns you use and have used as well about the demons you can summon, there is a chance for him to already know about the demons you can summon a some others that you don't know yet, and he gladly share that knowledge with you

Even when he loves your elegant but wild personality he still loves how caring you can be with the people that are important to you, he thinks that is a interesting contrast and even when you don't show much that side of you he loves it nonetheless

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iluminaru · 3 months

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In honor of Valentine's day, I present you headcanons of my all time favorite Total drama couple: Alejandro and Heather.

Alejandro loved Valentine's day since he was a pre-teen, the atmosphere filled with love and hope always was delightful and appealing him. Heather, on the other hand, isn't a fan of this celebration. She loved watching teenage drama series, movies, shows. All of them had romantic relationships/interests between the main characters, so she dreamed of having one as well. But to be fair, she felt nothing towards Valentine's day, like it was an ordinary day. Although, when she and Alejandro have officially started dating, she's warmed up a little to the Day of love.

Usually, Alejandro is the one who sets up dates, but sometimes Heather takes control over it. Most of the time she doesn't know what she's doing, but they both ending up enjoying their date.

Heather doesn't know how to show affection, it's a complete opposite for Alejandro, who's very affectionate. Because of this, she feels like she's not reciprocating enough to his love and care.

Alejandro's hobby is dollmaking. Once he made a pair of dolls which resembled him and Heather holding hands. These dolls now sitting on a shelf of a glass door closet next to their bed.

Heather often uses Alejandro as a pillow or laying on top of him. She's just likes to cuddle him or be cuddled by him.

After the volcano accident, Alejandro needs glasses. Not in a way that he can't see without them, but his vision was damaged. Problem is, he doesn't like wearing glasses. He tried to use contact lenses, but turns out, he's allergic to them. Heather is pushing him to start wearing glasses more often, every time they're at a shopping center, she takes him to optician's in order to choose a new frames.

They do movie nights quite often. Ever since Heather made Alejandro watch a couple of movies with her, he's started to like television. Usually they would watch a horror movie, sometimes anime or Scooby-Doo.

Heather's favorite dessert is a blueberry muffin dipped in chocolate. Every time when Alejandro wants to surprise her by making something delicious, he's always making these muffins.

Alejandro is easy swooned by even smallest bits of affection by Heather. She gifted him a rose? His happiness is unmeasurable. She commitmented him? Head over heels. She called him "love" or copied his "mi amore"? He will remember this for weeks.

Alejandro's favorite flowers are sunflowers, but he'll be more appreciative if gets roses (his second favorite flowers). It would be weird to have a giant flower in a bucket, because he couldn't find a vase that fits. He did sometimes imagined that, but he wasn't ready for Heather to actually get him a middle-sized sunflower. Thankfully, it was only once and he won't be dealing with a 5 feet (152.4 cm) tall flower ever again.

They're often attacking eachother, but in a harmless, playful manner. Like pushing each other into a snowdrifts or into a pile of leaves. The least thing they want to do is to cause any harm, but if they do accidentally hurt each other, they'll apologize immediately.

#total drama #td alejandro #td heather #td headcanons #aleheather

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makeitastrength · 3 months

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You knew this was coming... what are your fave Chenford scenes? (Same deal, 1 per season, and only 1 honorable mention allowed!). Good luuuuuuck 😘

I did. I knew it was coming, and I can't even yell at you for the evil question because I'm the one who started it. Although actually, once I got started, it didn't take me that long. Somehow this one was easier than choosing my favorite episodes.

Season 1

I gotta go with the same scene you chose here, and that's the 1x20 separated-by-a-wall scene. It's intense, it's emotional, it's vulnerable, and it really illustrates how far these two have come in just six months. Despite the literal and metaphorical wall between them in this scene, it's a lot less of a barrier than it was on day one.

Honorable mention

I've always had such a soft spot for the scene in 1x13 with Tim and Lucy and the woman with the embryos. It's the way he says "But doing this? It won't put your marriage back together, okay? Nothing will. But you will come to hate yourself if you go through with this." Every time, I flash back to 1x07 and Lucy saying "I came here to remind you that you'll regret helping her. Because it's not gonna change her. But it'll sure as hell change you." And just... THE GROWTH! Look at this man learning from his own experiences and using that to talk this woman down. It's such an underrated moment and I love it so much.

Season 2

This season was SO HARD because there are SO MANY good chenford scenes. But truthfully, the end of 2x12 has always been my favorite. In just this one scene we see Lucy struggling with her recovery, we see Tim struggling to find a way to support her through her recovery, and then we see him finding the exact words she needs to hear and ultimately pulling a smile and an almost-laugh out of her despite the tears in her eyes. They're both so raw and vulnerable and I'm pretty sure this is my favorite chenford scene of all time.

Honorable mention

It was a close call here between the hospital scene in 2x11 and the ending of 2x02, but ultimately I have to go with the latter. I mean... she called Isabel to ask about his learning style??? And then she stayed up all night to record a whole ass audio book for him??? And then she helps him see it as a strength??? This man has ALWAYS been worth the effort for her and he's only just barely beginning to comprehend that.

Season 3

Season 2 was so hard to narrow down and now here I am in season 3 with the opposite problem. Not that I dislike season 3. I'm just realizing that my favorite chenford scenes aren't really in this season. I guess I gotta go with the wedding scene in 3x14 because like, excuse me you two, you are blatantly checking each other out and you are IN PUBLIC. Absolutely zero subtlety, just elevator eyes and sass and so much flirting.

Honorable mention

I debated between two parking garage scenes here... the end of 3x01 and the end of 3x09. Ultimately I'm going with the end of 3x01, because we all know Tim will go above and beyond his job description to help her and protect her, even if he refuses to take credit for it. And this scene really just shows that she's always been worth the effort for him as well.

Season 4

Probably to no one's surprise, it's the hug in 4x09. Hands down. The vulnerability on display here breaks my heart every time. It's the first time we see Tim really, truly allowing himself to fall apart. I will never be over the way he just sinks into her and lets her hold him together. This is my favorite of their hugs, and seeing the tears in Tim's eyes brings tears to my eyes every single time.

Honorable mention

I waffled back and forth for quite a while between the hug in 4x01 and the kiss in 4x22, but ultimately I had to go with the kiss because it's just such a great scene for so many reasons. I mean, THE KISS, obviously. But also, the awkwardness beforehand, and Tim being so adorably proud of himself, and the absolute disaster they both are in the aftermath. Tim's flustered "You know what? I don't have anything," is one of his best lines ever. And don't even get me started on him standing in the hallway as all the feelings slam into him at once. SO. GOOD.

Season 5

Picking right up from that honorable mention, I gotta go with the hand hold/airplane kiss scene from 5x01 as my favorite (and yes, I'm counting that all as one scene because it's continuous even though I'm sure it was filmed separately). From Tim "if your head isn't 100% in the game it'll get you killed" Bradford reaching up to grab her hand in a way that is definitely breaking character to their completely unnecessary (and very hot) airplane bathroom kiss that I have watched on repeat approximately 12984367 times. These two protect and ground each other in a way no one else can, no matter the situation.

Honorable mention

I... don't know. There are so many. I'm honestly so torn between the scenes in 5x19, 5x20, and 5x21 because there's so much emotion. Clearly I have a thing for moments of vulnerability, and we see those in spades here with Tim's shooting, and then the fear after the shoutout in 5x21 and the complex emotions associated with Lucy working undercover. 5x20 and 5x21 especially are really just digging up so much of Tim's trauma and I think it's pretty clear this is something they're both afraid to face head on. That's not really an answer. Can we count that as an answer?

Actually no, now that I've looked through the gifs I have a real answer. It's the end of 5x21. There's something just so human about Tim searching for meaning in what he went through with Isabel. And the way he hugs her with his hand on her neck gets me every time.

#asked and answered #favorite scenes #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #the rookie

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pois0ntree · 14 days

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So, I feel like regardless of how you view astrology, it's still just an incredibly intriguing psuedoscience in general when it comes to interpreting human nature. And I got curious about Johnny and V's signs and their compatability, and too much of it is just TOO ON THE FUCKIN' NOSE. So, here's some of my favorite quotes from the articles I found about it:

For reference- V's canon B-day is October 12th making them a Libra. And Johnnycakes's canon B-day is November 16th making him a Scorpio. (pfffttt so perfect, really)

"With a Libra-Scorpio relationship, watch out for an increased sense of codependency."

"Both Scorpio and Libra act as mirrors for each other."

"Libras are free-spirits who do not like to be chained to anything or anybody, including their partners, so when Scorpios try to control them, things can quickly go awry."

"For Libra, a Scorpio can be quite useful as they provide useful insights into the process of tackling a problem through their systematic approach. However, they can be equally annoying due to their outbursts of emotions which are challenging for a Libra to deal with."

"Libras would need to be careful not to overgive for the sake of keeping the peace, while Scorpios would need to identify when they need to pull back and spend time alone."

It's all so perfect because it reiterates how these two are the epitome of an "opposites attract" or "yin/yang" type of relationship that can be very challenging but also work so extremely well for both partners because their conflicting traits balance each other out; they keep the other's overbearing personality traits in check while also just bringing out the best in one another. V's Libra nature of being very loyal, giving, peace-keeping, and free-spirited conflicts heavily with Johnny's tendency to be very rebellious, selfish, provocative, and opinionated/set in his ways. And their situation w/ the Relic just CATAPULTS the effects of their conflicting yet complimentary dynamic. V's inherent selflessness eventually rubs off on Johnny and teaches him to care more about the people closest to him rather than only caring about his revolutionist ideals in a rather obsessive way. In other words, V grounds Johnny and brings out his humanity, which even HE thought was long gone by the time he died. And on the other hand, Johnny's brash confidence teaches V to be a little more selfish when necessary and fight for themself for a change rather than typically putting other's needs above their own; he shows V the importance of taking action, of always fighting for what you believe in, and never losing sight of who you are.

Their relationship starts off with their personalities and values in complete war with each other's, but in time, they being to embrace their differences and evolve into better versions of themselves by the end because of their profound influence on each other.

Throughout their journey together, Johnny can't help but reflect on his poor choices and empathize more with the people that matter most to him, all because this little merc that now knows him better than anybody still willingly chooses to help him try and make amends with his past despite all of his flaws and mistakes.

Even at the expense of losing themself faster in the process, V still chooses to embrace Johnny and give him a second chance because that's the kind of person they are. And because Johnny also comes to know V better than anybody, he decides to follow in their suit and do whatever he can to prevent V from destroying themself just for him. He gives the merc his dog tags as a promise that it'll be his life for theirs, and by the end, V is faced with an impossible decision to have to make:

give in to their own inherent nature and sacrifice themself for the rockerboy parasite that they've grown to love and now can't imagine having to say goodbye to, or embrace the side of Johnny that urges V to LIVE and never stop fighting- to not let anyone else change who they are, ever again.

#in this essay i will #ASHGSHGHJK #silverv #cp2077 #cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #cyberpunk v #the contradictions and ways they so perfectly compliment each other KILL ME #they're soulmates your honor #the stars said so themselves #i dont make the rules sorry its just true #and i know all of this is contingent on how you even choose to play the game #but in my head this is the ONLY way to play it #again #silverv is simply just written in the stars baby

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derangedanomaly · 16 days

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What are you favorite sanscest parings?

Well, when it comes to the ships, I don't really ship any of the Sanses together, I see most of them (if not all) as platonic, I don't particularly have anything against it. It just feels... weird to me. I mean- most of them are versions of one another. Imagine if you had a romantic relationship with yourself lmao- (but self-love- that's a different thing)

But If I had to choose which ones I like the most....

Error x me

Joking! Joking! (Or not ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

(I have a serious obsession with Error. There's no use helping me 💀)

Dream x Cross

Error x Dream

Farm x Horror

Outer x Killer

Ink x Dream

1. Dream x Cross

Also known as "Cream". (I literally can't stop laughing anytime I hear this ship name 💀)

I find this ship cute. (That's- that's it- that's literally my reason 😭😭😭)

2. Error x Dream

Alias: Insomnia. I really like the creativity of this ship name!

I feel like Dream is the opposite of Error. Dream protects X Error destroys, Dream is calm X Error is anything but NOT CALM. And many more.. I like this ship, because of their opposite personalities. I feel like the more time they'd spent with the other, the more they would start to reflect the other.

3. Farm x Horror

Domestic cottagecore couple >>>

4. Outer x Killer

I just feel like they'd be an interesting pair. Lmao.

5. Ink x Dream

Also known as Drink

I honestly see this way more than Errorink. Your typical "best friends but there's a spark"

DISCLAIMER, this doesn't mean to be a mean post, it's anything but that. I'm sorry if I offended someone, it wasn't my intention. (Opinions exist)

I overall don't have any problems with people that ship the Sanses together, I just don't do it.

I think I'll stick with everyone having a platonic relationship. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#undertale #undertale fandom #sans undertale #utmv #utmv au #undertale au #vicnityask

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raggstorice · 9 months

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who's your favorite twisted wonderland character, and why?

How do I even choose?

I have different reasons for liking all of my favs

(I will expand on all of these if asked. Please ask. Please. Id analyze any character in twst if asked I love them all)

Ace: I love how blunt he is. He doesn't sugarcoat his feelings as he speaks up for himself, others, and what he thinks is right. He can be an idiot, but I love him nonetheless! Although I feel like canon doesn't do much with his character and he's just used as a way to make other characters have development. (Ex: Riddle in ch.1 deuce in ch.5 the fairy gala remix in his card story) But all in all I think I love him because he's the opposite of me. (I can't speak up for myself...)

Trey: Like Ace, canon doesn't do much with his character and fandom doesn't really do anything with him besides using him as a way for cater angst? (No hate to Cater stans of course) so a lot of his character is my speculation. (He is not a normal guy he is lying to himself.) I love how I can pick apart his character without canon coming in and crushing my dreams. (I project onto him frequently.)

Leona: Oh boy. Here we go. God I love Leona so much. Obviously, he's a depressed bitch and neither canon nor fandom properly recognizes it he also has some serious trauma. (knowing you could be better but, why try? Your goal is impossible anyways.) Also, (as far as I know) he's the only Overblot victim who didn't properly redeem himself. (Ripping up Azul's contracts out of selfish desires is not redemption.) So that's canon mischaracterizing their own character and the fandom, is the fandom. Overall Leona is mischaracterized way too much and I kin him. (That's the reason I love him. I kin him.)

Azul: Azul is literally my baby. I love him because I just wanna give him a hug. The way his ED is implied a few times and then never brought up again is really annoying to me like- if you're gonna give ED rep at least mention in more than his chapter! It's a key part of his character and it's barely there. Oh also he was bullied and I relate to that.

Jamil: The vibes. Gender Envy. The pyromania. The way he hates Kalim even though it's not his fault because he needs someone to be angry at and it's so easy to hate the person directly causing your problems rather than blaming the system behind them. Oh also he's brown and I'm brown so it's like-

Vil: VILLL MY BEAUTIFUL QUEEN. Gender. Envy. The things I could do if I was him- she's so- can you imagine if I was amab? I could be feminine and still not be seen as a girl. Anyways the way he's always second place but doesn't blame the person who's above him but rather blames himself is so sad but so me.

Idia: his gamer talk is so funny sometimes. Oh also I wish I had an older brother like him. Oh also I haven't finished ch.6 but I'm really excited. Oh also technological characters always have a special place in my heart. oh also he's depressed and I find that relatable.

Sebek: I love him. He's so loud and so rude (humans) but I love him he's such a dork. He's trying his best okay? Id really love to see his character when it's not revolving around Malleus though.

Authors Note: tldr: angst, badassery, gender envy, character studys and more not necessarily in that order.

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fioras-resolve · 10 months

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So like, representation in games is weird. It's critically important, but uniquely challenging due to the nature of interactivity. And a big part of this is that there's, by my estimate, two separate tracks for how representation works in video games. I'm going to be talking primarily about queer rep here, because I am a white, American, and (mostly) able-bodied transbian. If anyone wants to add on to this conversation, I absolutely encourage it, so long as you don't fling shit at people. So!

The first track of representation is one that's mostly unique to games. Representation as player empowerment. This manifests as giving players the freedom to be and express themselves in the game world.

So like, character creators are the most obvious example. What gender can you be? What race? What body type? A thing I've seen a few games do that I love is letting you pick any voice set regardless of the rest of your character, so like in Baldur's Gate III, you can pick a masculine voice but a feminine body, and that's just really cool.

Another way it's important is with romance options when applicable. Like, it was a problem with the early Mass Effect games that you couldn't enter a gay male relationship. It was a problem with Fire Emblem Awakening that for all of its marriage options across characters, apparently none of your 30+ units were interested in a same-gender marriage. Functionally, you aren't allowed to be gay in these games. So Mass Effect 3 letting you date Steve Cortez, and Fire Emblem Three Houses giving several options for queer S-Supports (although I haven't played the Mass Effect games and some of FE3H's romances are controversial) were welcome changes.

But the other track is representation as storytelling, and this is pretty broad. Basically every topic in the representation discourse surrounding other forms of media also applies here. I'm not gonna go into this too much because you've heard a lot about this already, but in my opinion it's important to have positive representation that mainstreams us to society, but also diverse representation because the human experience is vast. We need the joy, the sorrow, the rage, all of it, and games offer a unique artistic space to convey all of this.

...But sometimes, these two tracks rub up against each other. Because storytelling sometimes means disempowerment, but a disempowered player can often be viewed as "bad game design" by people who aren't thinking of video games as stories or art, but as entertainment or toys.

For example, remember when I mentioned Three Houses? That game was a massive stride in queer rep for Fire Emblem. But I had an annoyance as I looked through these romantic options. While yes, some characters can married as the same gender, all of them can also be married as the opposite gender. In fact, there is nobody in this game that a straight person can't date. Opposite-gender attraction is a given and the default. Everybody is either straight or bisexual.

To be clear here, because I know people are going to get at me for this, no I'm not against bisexual representation in Fire Emblem. I'm not even criticizing any individual example, Dorothea is one of my favorite characters. But what I am saying is that, in real life, some people are exclusively gay. There are a lot of men who a woman would never be able to date, and vice versa. I don't think that's a bad thing to want to express.

But from a pure empowerment angle, having a woman that a straight man can't marry is incomprehensible. Isn't having more choices better, rather than blocking someone off for "choosing the wrong gender?" I've actually heard this point from someone, phrased in this exact way, and I can't really sugarcoat this: I find it repugnant.

It's a stance that views these characters as entitlements and not as people worthy of respect. And I know that these are fictional characters and not real people, but a good character isn't just a proxy for audience expression. Also, if we take "romance as player expression" to its natural conclusion, then having a character who is asexual becomes bad game design. A character romantically inaccessible to me, the protagonist of the world? Blasphemy.

I think the real important thing about games is that, even outside of representation, "the player should be empowered" is a view that's often unspoken but unquestioned. A game can be moving, tragic, heartfelt, but it must also be an experience where you, the audience, are fucking cool. Every obstacle exists for you to rise above, every entity in the world that isn't you is either a tool or an adversary. Meg Jayanth calls this "White Protagonism" in her excellent piece that I couldn't do justice here. Keep in mind as always that it's both possible and necessary to enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic aspects.

Empowerment is a valuable tool in game design like any other, but the issue is that it's also extremely popular, to the point where it's just become what games are. And it's worth pushing back against that, so games can grow as a medium. So that we can tell stories, and have characters, and convey themes, that aren't tied up in a game designer's quest to make the protagonist the coolest guy.

But despite how critical I've been, these two tracks aren't mutually exclusive. They do clash with each other sometimes, but ultimately there's room for both. I look forward to the day I can play a bog-standard RPG that lets me change gender mid-game. I look forward to playing a polyamorous character, in a game that recognizes that as valid. But I also look forward to more characters like Guilty Gear's Bridget, an actual character who goes through a genuine journey of discovery, in a way that's warmed the hearts of so many trans women, including me. Ultimately, we just need queer rep in games, more of it, and it's never been a better time to make some. Just remember, there's a difference between letting the player be queer, and having a queer character.

#game design #fire emblem #queer representation

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frostcorpsclub · 8 months

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What are some more obscure Frost kid dynamics between em you'd want to discuss but haven't? Ik you have/had a series about that very idea (which I love btw), but maybe there's some more negative ones you haven't touched!

Hehe, I shall pull from this chart! I'm going to go over the kids that dislike eachother and the mortal enemies first but if you'd like I'll make a "it's complicated" addition, I won't be going over ones that are well known like James and January's beef

Truly, they all LOVE each other but those of you who have siblings know how it can be sometimes, you may love your siblings a whole lot but really really dislike the way they choose to act.

Dislikes

Jolyene and Janet and Judah (combining them because it's mostly for the same reason)

This moreso has to do with the way Janet and Judah interact with JEAN, while usually someone like Jean would annoy her the two have a very close bond and she trusts Jean more than anything. This often involves giving her responsibilities and errands to do that are incredibly helpful for the things Jolyne gets up to. The problem comes in with the way Janet and Judah distract her. Janet loves playing devils advocate almost as much as she genuinely is interested in the conspiracy theories that Jean comes up with. There have been many times Jean has completely forgotten about something she was going to do for her sister because she got caught up in defending a theory that makes less and less sense the deeper you go. With Judah its the exact opposite and Jean will take up all of his and Jolynes time rambling since he's perfectly willing to let him go on and on and on.

January and Julian

Julian really strives like to be his father and brothers, so he often emulates their behavior. He's a misogynist, an asshole, and puts his sense of humor above all else. He TRIES to be manipulative. Except he fails at these things horribly because...of some personal things that would be spoilers to reveal as of now. You know how sometimes you guys make jokes about Suzy and Andrew Tate? 😂 Yeah, Julian actually would watch him and his gaggle of goons. (This is why he's the least favorite kid, lol) Unlike his father and brothers who do have SOME respect for the women in their lives, or at least love, even if it manifests horribly; Julian hasn't seem to have gotten the memo and thinks he's better at everything just because he has a dick. While her sisters and mother mostly just make their view of him as pathetic clear, January seems to think she can argue him out of his position. Julian feels a sense of fulfillment and dominance from these interactions, proving that women ARE just more emotional, despite the fact January frequently terrifies him and could beat him to a pulp. These two can't be left alone with each other, but this is under dislikes because he copes and seethes a lot more about it than she does.

Joy and Jean and Judah (ditto)

Its simple really, both Jean and Judah have destructive special abilities and they are both very impulsive. Even though Jean is a bit more aware of her surroundings Joy still fears that they might cause damage to the nature they live around.

Jasper and Jill

Jill loves cooking so who better to learn from than the woman who cooks all their meals! Jasper is deeply protective over his mother almost moreso than say James for example, being a snowball he has a stronger chemical connection to her as the person who esentially saved his life and part of how he sees his family members comes from being a clone of his father. That's a lot of words for: He's an uber mommy's boy and Jill takes her attention but he knows he has no justifiable reason to be mad.

Mortal Enemies

James and Janet

Janet is quite possibly the only person in the entire family who isn't at least a little afraid of James in some capacity. She likes bothering people in general, but with James, it's actively malicious since...well, he deserves it. Sometimes, when James is tormenting one of their other siblings, she'll purposefully pick a fight with him to give them a chance to flee. Even if she knows she's wrong, she likes to pick at the things he says and pretend he's secretly insecure, true or not it manages to get under his skin, which isn't easy to do. A stranger is a stranger, but she's family. Unfortunately, sooner or later, almost all the Frosts fall in line, and because of her own vices, she is no different.

Jane and Journey

This is another completely one sided thing lmao

It started out as a very selfish and insecure thought process on the part of Jane. She thoroughly believed that having somebody around who could remember practically anything they were told was going to be a severe threat to her place in the family thus she treats Journey as a rival. Of course, she was ignoring that the people who saw value in her couldn't care less how much Shakespeare she had memorized. Still, most of the time she interacts with Journey its through sarcasm and mean snippy responses. Weirder still, her actions don't usually match her words. She says it's for the good of snowcietys "mental and intellectual health," that Jane helps Journey but something tells me that Jane just can't bring herself to genuinely leave a fellow academic hanging. It's a very """begrudging""" relationship.

#jackfrostmutantkillersnowman #jackfrostoc #the frost family #frost family #frost kids

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embarasseddragon234 · 2 years

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Got any more tired dad duckula au headcanons?

This ask is like, years old by now and I doubt the person who asked is still waiting for an answer, (but, if you ARE reading this I am so sorry ) but I'm gonna use this as a jumping off point to share the headcanons I've been concocting

So, headcanon time!

But first, a changed headcanon! I've decided that Duckula and Goosewing are actually Violet and Lena's (great) uncles in this Au! ^-^ Because I realized I really liked the idea of Goosewing having more family that doesn't disown him for marrying a vampire.

So one of Violet's dads is Goosewing's nephew! I haven't figured out which one yet, but it's a win-win for me, the whole Duckula/Goosewing family gets more people who love and appreciate them, and I get two more underdeveloped characters to sink my grubby little paws into! ^-^

Now for new headcanons!

-Goosewing and Junior play chess together on the regular, whether either of them are any good or not is entirely up to you, it just makes them feel smart(I like to think they make up their own rules on the fly)

-Lena and Duckula first bonded over having family members who would much prefer them to be evil and/or dead

-Related to that, Igor has chilled out considerably since the series and Junior was born, Duckula thinks it's because Junior IS interested in villainry, or maybe that Igor's just biding his time until Duckula dies and can be reincarnated again.

-The real reason is that, well, it's so much more LIVELY when the whole family's around, not that he'd EVER admit to enjoying something like that, of course

-Lena calls Duckula her second favorite uncle

-She calls Uncle Donald her first favorite uncle, mostly to mess with Duckula

Duckula: But-but- he's not your. . .?

Lena: Uncle Donald's like, everyone's favorite uncle, you can't fight it. You'll understand once you meet him.

Duckula: ????????

-He didn't pick up on the fact that she was messing with him, but either way, he DOES understand when he finally meets Donald.

-Lena doesn't ACTUALLY have a favorite aunt/uncle, but if she had to choose it'd be Vanna, obviously.

-Junior's obsessed with "normal" life the same way people are obsessed with the supernatural

Junior: Did you know that most people DON'T live in an old castle?"

Duckula: Your uncles don't.

Junior: I KNOW! Isn't that SO COOL! Vati! Isn't it cool!

Goosewing: Hehehe, Ja mien Schatzi, it is.

-He ADORES soap operas and sitcoms. He also thinks that's how non-supernatural families actually act, which causes problems, though I'm not sure what kind

-Duckula calls Junior "Little broccoli" much to his chagrin

Junior: I'm not a broccoli!

Duckula: Hehe, Well, we found you in a broccoli patch and you came out all green, that makes you my little magic broccoli!

Junior: Daaaaaaad!

-It doesn't ACTUALLY bother him, but if he lets up the cutesy nicknames would never cease

-Things Duckula has called his kid

Little broccoli

Pumpkin

Sweety

Little sprout

Duckyboos

Duckling

Ducky

Sweet baby boy

Prince

Princeling

Schatzi(little treasure)

Baby

Junior: Vati! Dad's picking on meeeee!

Goosewing; I'm sorry mein kleines Entlein

Junior: Vati NO!

-Goosewing tends to stick to a couple more common endearments, albeit a couple from three different languages (German, Romanian, and English), that he translates willy nilly

-(I am not at all sure about the non-English endearments, and I couldn't really find any Romanian ones, at least not ones I was sure were used for family members. So if anyone who actually speaks either of those languages want to give me some tips, go for it)

-Junior gets bored with Danger Mouse not too long after DM discovered he was a teenager, because while it's amusing to try and get DM fired for assaulting a minor, it won't really make him FAMOUS.(He actually realizes that it might make DM MORE famous, which is the opposite of what he wants) So he sneaks the castle off to Duckburg while everyone else is asleep to try and find some new ideas

-Junior meets PK and immediately decides he wants to be a superhero.("Superheroes are always like, SUPER popular right?" He hasn't thought this through very much. This is why you never make decisions at 3 in the morning) So he starts following him around calling himself his sidekick

-PK is. . . extremely concerned by this.

PK: You're like. . . 13? Where are your parents?

Junior: I'm 15! Why does everyone-! GAH! Whatever! ANYway, my parents are asleep, DOI, where ELSE would they be, out clubbing?

-This answer, while true, certainly doesn't make PK LESS worried, he starts assuming Junior's an orphan or something, and decides to keep him from getting himself killed playing hero

-(On that note, there's definitely an Au of this Au where Junior IS a reincarnation of 80s!Duckula, gets separated from the castle somehow, and gets adopted by Donald. Because that would be both hilarious and adorable)

-Eventually someone notices Castle Duckula showing up on the outskirts of Duckburg and Danger Mouse shows up. Not really sure how that goes down yet, but there are definitely hijinks involved

#tired dad duckula au #duck avenger #paperinik #duckula #count duckula #duckula dm15 #pkna #duckverse #all duck media exists in the same universe sorry i dont make the rules

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yourasianchingu · 2 years

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A Judo Player Becomes A Webtoon Producer | 'Today's Webtoon' Review

There are so many ways to relieve your stress. Some like to watch funny movies whereas some likes to play games. The same goes for a long long walk and some go to the gym. Nowadays there is kdrama therapy which so many people prefer to use. Ma Eum used to read webtoons whenever she was stressed. She started to take interest in comics when she was going through a lowest phase of her life. Once a judo player she decided to work as a webtoon producer. At the time of the interview, she meets Joon Young who himself is coping with loneliness. He's smart but 'minding their own business' type of guy. Both of them shares completely different perspectives which makes Ma Eum attractive to him. Without him knowing he starts to like her.

Today's Webtoon revolves around webtoon. It's all about

1. How Webtoon Artist and Webtoon Producer's relation works.

2. The problems both have to face.

3. Not just this but how life works.

I want to tell that this drama got an amazing cast. It's not just about main leads but it have some amazing characters like more than main leads I became attached to them!!! One of my most favorite is Shin Dae Ryuk he got his personality development but maybe there will be people like me who will not find his past story much trustable.

Now talking about main leads I feel so happy to tell you that I can't seem to decide who was the actual main lead. Like till episode 12 I wasn't much sure myself. Even though there were so many little hints towards Ma Eum's actual lover/partner, whatever you say. But yes it was frustrating not knowing and I was constantly praying ( Please Let Her Choose Him, Yeah he's so good for her, they're look so good together, they are so good together.) and literally they share some amazing chemistry that I was dying for them to be together but after all the confession and the way drama ended it was kind of open ending of their story. (No, I'm not crying at all hehehe).

Ma Eum is being a bubbly girl she's smiling all the time. She try to give her 200% in everything she does. Joon Young have some past breakdown which you get to understand little by little. He's so closed off and complete opposite of Ma Eum but once he got to know her he starts to feel way more things. In short he becomes much more friendlier. Their sunbae Seok Ji Hyeong is there to guide them. Sometimes he directly tell them what they should do but time to time he indirectly gives them hints about how things should be done.

There are several quotes from some of the most popular comics which works in motivating our characters. 'Popular Comics' not just include Webtoon but Mangas also.

Till Epsiode 12 everything is so jolly obviously because there's not much angst but after episode 12 there were scenes which made me feel pain. But there are also scenes throughout the drama which gave me butterflies. One thing to be clear there's a almost no romance but it's worth to watch cause the main leads share some extraordinary chemistry that even though they didn't shared the romantic feelings for a long long time, they do develop a nice and good friendship which made me believed that for Joon Young MaEum is his best friend and its good to watch. Because you know what they say 'You Will Fall In Love Many Times In Your Life. But The Best One Will Be Falling in Love With Your Best Friend.

#todays webtoon #kim sejeong #nam yoon su #choi daniel #kdrama #viutv #rakuten viki #asian drama review #kdrama review #kdrama recommendations

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mekorausada · 2 years

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Review/Walkthrough of Sweetest Valentine (Ichigo Route, all endings)

Warning: Spoilers Ahead.

Includes: Mild gore, depictions of blood, murder, suicide, animal death/abuse, abuse, yandere.

Link on itch.io: https://syllphana.itch.io/sweetest-valentine

Game Description on itch.io:

1 day later, and it'll be Valentine's Day.

You're playing as Aimi (name changeable) (I will be playing under the name 'Mekora') and, of course you're not going to miss out going on a date during the special day. The problem is, you'll have to choose between your childhood friend or your crush who doesn't seem to like you back.

Unfortunately, that isn't the only problem you'll be facing.

In your hometown, some people have gone missing without a word. Whether they are killed or kidnapped, nobody knows. You might want to be careful so that you don't become one of them.

Opening thoughts

From last time (playing the Yuzuki route), I have no fucking clue what to expect from this.

Ichigo has 4 endings, 2 bad, 1 normal ending, and 1 true ending. I'm staring at the walkthrough for this one.

I'll also be writing this as I play

Ending 1 (Bad Ending 1):

To begin his route, you have to choose him when the mc decides who to give her valentines gift to.

You bring him inside your house and give him your cake, a strawberry shortcake. It's his favorite.

The MC tells him that she'll give him a cake every week. Ichigo goes home with the guarantee of a date the next day.

The next day, the MC wakes up with a pep in her step and early. She plans to go to Ichigo's house today to surprise him but finds that her door is unlocked despite her locking the door and her parents are definitely not home. Her house was broken in.

She hears footsteps and goes to investigate, taking a knife. To unlock this ending, you have to 'Ambush him first'.

Surprise, surprise. That was Ichigo. You stab and in effect, kill him.

Ending 2 (Bad Ending 2):

The same thing, pick the opposite of what you picked (Pick 'Stay and Hide')

You hide under the table instead of attacking, before you call the police, Ichigo stops you. Turns out he was trying to find you. Ichigo offers for you to stay at his house for a while due to your broken lock,.

You are both late to school, Ichigo decides to flip the switch and skip school instead. Dragging her to their date.

They arrive at a donut shop. They order their donuts and godamn I wanted donuts after this.

Honestly from seeing this, I just don't think anything can go wrong except a few oopsies. This is probably just some lighthearted stuff compared to Yuzuki's route.

See? Can't be bad.

He brings the two of you to their favorite coffee shop, we cut away to the guy who dropped his gift box that had a dead bird inside. He seems to be watching them, questioning why the MC is doing *something*. He implies there's someone we should be worrying about. Considering his role in Yuzuki's route, I'm a bit confused.

Ichigo and the MC seemed to have eaten all day. MC's stomach is beginning to hurt and they head to the old playground they used to go to to rest. They recount their past memories (One is a bully cutting open a rabbit's stomach...jeez). They talk about how they became friends and after almost confessing that if the MC didn't approach him, he would stay the same, he interrupts himself and changes the subject. The MC brings up the subject again and Ichigo confesses to her his home life.

He then confesses that he has loved her, always even if she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. He tells her that he knows she likes Yuzuki. To unlock his ending, pick 'That might be true, but there's no harm in giving it a go.'

You begin dating, begin having a happy life, and this all seems to not be a bad ending after all! ...yet. The police arrive one day and arrest Ichigo, accusing him of the murders.

Surprise! Kind of expected this honestly, anyways he gets killed because of a death sentence. Why does he kill these people though? No idea.

Normal Ending

The same thing, pick the opposite of what you picked previously.

They continue being good friends, and I feel like this is gonna be fine. I mean, it is the normal ending, right? They hear Yuzuki and someone else and Ichigo drags the MC...once again. When the MC questions him. He's extremely nervous, reasoning since it's their date, Yuzuki shouldn't be annoying them

They go to Ichigo's house. Ichigo reminds the MC NOT to go to his parent's room because his parents went missing. Though...from the last route, I highly suspect why he doesn't want us going inside there.

The MC wakes up late at night with Ichigo nowhere to be seen, and the MC goes back to sleep. We are brought to where Ichigo is, where he seems to be threatening someone and who is it? Dead bird guy of course! His name is revealed to be Haruto. He seemed to have seen Ichigo murder someone so when Haruto was watching you two, turns out he was trying to protect you.

It is revealed that Haruto was trying to tell you about Ichigo and the dead bird thing was that the bags were switched up. Ichigo reveals his plan to frame Haruto. He then murders Haruto.

We are brought back to the MC where she is panicking about Ichigo's disappearance. The MC, while investigating, finds a trail of blood leading to Ichigo's parent's room. To unlock this ending, you have to search elsewhere.

The MC searches everywhere and when she comes back, turns out Ichigo has been searching for her aswell. MC talks about the blood and Ichigo gaslights her, telling her there is no blood. They eat, forgive each other and they continue their lives, Yuzuki became depressed because of the death of Haruto. Years later, Ichigo goes missing. He leaves to run from the police.

True Ending

Same stuff, pick the opposite shit.

MC enters the door, going into a secret entry. Before she can get to the end, a blood-stained Ichigo stops her. Ichigo shows you Haruto's severed head.

He tells her that the reason he kills is because of her. Now tell me, if you were in this situation..y'know, best friend is really really in love with you and stuff that he kills for you. What is the correct response? a. Run b. Try to attack him c. call the police d. Totally be in love with him.

You might say it's the first three and you'd be totally right. However, the MC isn't like normal people

Sheesh, her love is way more obsessive than Ichigo's. She weirds him out! MC forces a confession out of him and Ichigo breaks confessing that his first murder was his parents but in fear of losing the MC, didn't turn himself in. MC confesses that she likes killing animals and that she killed the bunny...bro.

They become like Bonnie and Clyde, running away and pretending they were missing

We are given a look into the future

Peachy.

Final thoughts:

This was...wow. I thought that the MC wouldn't descend into this whole thing again after the last route but surprise for me yeah?

What do I think is more insane? No idea, they're both so odd and surprising. MC definitely needs help though...That is not something you should be getting turned on by. It's one thing to love someone and still love them after they killed someone and it's another thing to love someone BECAUSE they killed someone. Really cool game though, if you aren't that sensitive to gore, its really worth checking out.

#Sweetest Valentine #game review #review #walkthrough

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nakachuchu · 3 years

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The Café on Sundays | Gojo Satoru

SYNOPSIS: You meet him in line at your favorite café.

READER: blind!female

WORDS: 863

WRITTEN: 03/02/2021

NOTES: Thank you for requesting!

You looked normal. It was why he never noticed you were blind when the two of you first met.

You didn't wear those black, round glasses like the Blind Mice or walk with a cane and stumble around like in the movies, nor were your eyes clouded over like the blind witches in horror movies.

You had a fluffy Samoyed dog as a guide dog. He was lively and alert and was the best guide dog.

You had met Satoru when you stopped by your favorite café for a cup of coffee.

"Iji, Ijichi, come here," you called out.

Iji, for short, loved interacting with people and sometimes he wandered off. You felt him brush up against your leg when you heard someone snicker.

"Is something funny?" you asked.

"No."

You noticed that it was a man who was behind you in line, so you turned around and tilted your head up based on the sound of his voice.

"You snickered," you pointed out.

"I have a...friend whose name is Ijichi. I just thought it was funny," he explained.

You couldn't see him, but he was wearing his Jujutsu Tech uniform that was completed with his blindfold. You would have probably laughed if you knew.

"Y/N, front's free!" the barista called out.

"Sorry," you said as you turned around and walked to the counter.

Iji panted and looked up at Satoru for a moment before waddling after his owner.

He did, however, notice how your hands touched every surface of the café as a guide. He put two and two together and figured out you must have had a vision impairment.

Once his order was ready, he walked to the counter where you were standing. Your order had been ready for a while, but you were playing the Iji outside.

Satoru grabbed your order and placed it into your open hand.

"Oh, thank you."

"No problem."

You tilted your head. "Are you the man who was behind me?"

"I am."

"Oh, thank you again. Have a nice day."

It wasn't like he had never met a blind person before. Hell, the elders seemed blind enough on their own. But, he was intrigued by you. Mainly it was because you named your dog Ijichi.

"Can I take you out?" he asked.

You paused in walking away and turned around, guessing where his head was so you could tilt your head up.

"Why?" you asked.

"I don't know."

"Are you busy right now? I'm asking because I'm not. We can sit here and talk," you offered.

"I have a few minutes," he said.

He decided that his students could wait, but quite frankly, they usually always waited for him.

Satoru stepped forward and placed his hand on your back as he guided you to an empty table. Iji waddled after the two of you.

The two of you started talking. You thought it was odd that a stranger would ask you out, especially since you were blind.

"Can I touch your face?" you asked. "I don't need to, but I just want to feel you."

He cracked a grin at how dirty that last part sounded but grabbed your hands to place on his cheek as he leaned forward.

"You have free reign," he said.

Your fingers were soft and delicate as they traveled across his cheek, down to his chin and jawline, then stopped once they reached the bridge of his nose.

"What's this if you don't mind me asking?" you asked as your fingers fiddle with the cloth over his eyes.

"I have sensitive eyes. I can't go anywhere without something covering them," he said.

You chuckled, then withdrew your hands from his face. "You can see but choose not to, while I can't see at all."

"Opposites attract," he teased.

You laughed. "Maybe they do."

The two of you met up each week at that café on Sundays. He always treated you to coffee and started bringing treats for Iji.

Each time the two of you met, he was convinced he liked you. He was sure you liked him too, so when he finally asked you to be his girlfriend, you said "yes."

It all started with your inability to see. He was jealous of you whenever he thought about it, but realized how sad you always seemed when you looked afar in the direction a breeze came by or when Iji had to hand you something you dropped on the floor with his mouth.

You weren't jealous of him because you were envious of everyone, but all that mattered to you was that you were able to enjoy life without worrying about the aesthetic of things.

"What are you thinking about?" you asked.

"Hmm, nothing," he said as he leaned forward to kiss your forehead.

Iji jumped onto the bed, panting and rubbing against Satoru before wiggling himself in between the two of you.

"Iji!" you exclaimed with a laugh.

He barked in response and Satoru began laughing as he rubbed Iji's belly.

It started from a snicker at your favorite café on a Sunday. It turned into two smiles at both yours and Satoru's favorite café every day.

#Jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #headcanon #imagine #sfw #fluff #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru #Satoru gojo #Satoru gojo x reader #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jjk #jjk gojo #jjk satoru #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jjk imagines

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desertsquiet · 3 years

Text

I was trying to make a list of my 10 favorite Townes Van Zandt songs and then I realized it might be useful for someone who wants to get into his music. The problem with his discography is some of his albums are a little overproduced and that’s why you always find different versions of the same songs on later projects. So I’ll be listing my personal favorite versions of all of these (also including live performances) and a runner up for the ones where it’s tougher to choose a clear winner.

1. I’ll Be Here in the Morning

Lay your head back easy, love/Close your cryin' eyes

I'll be layin' here beside you/When the sun comes on the rise

I'll stay as long as the cuckoo wails/And the lonesome bluejay cries.

Close your eyes/I'll be here in the morning

Close your eyes/I'll be here for a while

Runner up: version on For the Sake of the Song (1968)

My current musical obsession, truly one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Gentle, dreamy and in a way the complete opposite of his most recurring theme: a lot of his songs are about flying away, always living on the run, never being tied down, while here he tenderly reassures his lover that he’s not going away this time. He’ll be there for her when she wakes up.

2. Pancho & Lefty

Lefty, he can't sing the blues/All night long like he used to

The dust that Pancho bit down south/Ended up in Lefty's mouth

youtube

Runner up: version on Emmylou Harris’ Luxury Liner (1977)

What can I say? Undoubtedly his most famous and popular song and for good reason. It may seem quite simple at first, a classic straightforward western tale of two bandits. Yet it’s so much more than that. Perfect songwriting, no line is wasted and they all are capable of emotionally destroying you if you let them. So in love this performance from Heartworn Highway. He’s at the top of his game (and charms) here. Emmylou’s version is also beautiful.

3. Tecumseh Valley

She turned to walkin' down the road/From all the hate inside her

And it was many a man returned again/To walk that road beside her

As much as every single lyric of this song is masterfully written, I chose these because in later versions he always changed them to “So she turned to whorin' out on the streets/With all the lust inside her/And it was many a man/Returned again/To lay himself beside her” and I personally prefer the original. I don’t have a problem with making them more explicit, but I just love the more poetic and metaphorical way he gets that same point across.

4. Faree Thee Well, Miss Carousel

When the battle's been fought and they all been taught/That the trick is just not being caught

Will you give them hell, Miss Carousel/When they're begging you to hide them

This not only has amazing lyrics (as always), but it also has probably my favorite studio arrangement of any of his songs. Wonderful playing, great instrumentation and everything comes together perfectly when the harmonica comes in.

5. If Needed You

Well, the night's forlorn and the morning's born/And the morning's born with the lights of love

And you'll miss sunrise if you close your eyes/And that would break my heart in two

Runner up: version on The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1972)

He loved saying he wrote this song in a dream. Well thank god he had that dream, because it’s the most gorgeous thing. Some of his most simple lyrics, but he manages to put them together in such a way to create a magical result. Townes at his most vulnerable is really “a sight to see”.

6. For the Sake of the Song

And it's plain if I stop I will fall

I can lay down a tear for her pain/Just a tear and that's all

Runner up: version on Townes Van Zandt (1969)

Kinda like I’ll Be Here in the Morning, it’s hard to decide between these two versions. There aren’t a lot of differences and I love them both. They both have that great Spanish guitar riff going on so it’s really a win win situation.

7. To Live Is To Fly

Goodbye to all my friends/It's time to go again

Think of all the poetry/And the pickin' down the line

Runner up: version from High, Low and In Between (1972)

Again I only slightly prefer the live version here. To Live’s To Fly is the title of a Townes biography and it’s really appropriate because I swear every single line from this song seems it could have been his motto. The ultimate example of what I was talking about earlier. His vagabond, bohemienne soul is full on display here and it makes it sound so wonderful.

8. No Place To Fall

Time, she's a fast old train/She's here then she's gone

And she won't come again/Won't you take my hand

I don’t even know how to describe this song. Every time I hear it I melt into a puddle. Very similar theme to If I Needed You, but in a more direct, less dreamlike sense.

9. Quicksilver Daydream of Maria

So as softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her footsteps/And I'll chase after shadows that offer a trace of her sight

Ah, they promise eternally that she lies hidden within them/But I find they've deceived me and sadly I bid them goodbye

Runner up: version on For the Sake of the Song (1968)

Another instance where you can’t go wrong with either version. It’s hard not to repeat yourself when it comes to all of his songs but I seriously cannot overstate how incredible these lyrics are. So many of his most beautiful metaphors and pictures he paints with his words are right here. They are so vivid it’s like you go into another dimension as you listen to it. Pure poetry.

10. Be Here To Love Me

But the poets are demanding their pay/And they've left me with nothin' to say

Except hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today/Just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today

Surprisingly cheerful arrangement (well, for his standards at least), especially since Our Mother the Mountain is by far his most heavy and depressing record, but I think it works very nicely. In fact I don’t think it’s a sad song at all, it’s very “in the moment” and full of passion and there’s a playfulness to it I really enjoy.

#yeah I know nobody asked for this #but I had a lot of fun writing it #townes van zandt #fave songs #journal songs

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years

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(Written for Adrien August... I'm not sorry)

Bad Luck: Frozer

Summary: Adrien struggles to move on from his first crush so he confides in one of his friends. Or is she more than a friend?

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

Chat Noir smiled sadly down at the red rose in his hands. Passion, romance, true love, he recalled in his head.

"Chat?"

Hiding the rose behind his back as he turned around, Chat Noir grinned at the question in Ladybug's eyes. "I have to say that rescuing civilians without a supervillain around is a nice change of pace. Don't you think, My Lady?"

"Not every day you see a hang glider delivery service," she agreed, smiling at the nickname.

Chest suddenly constricting Chat Noir's smile became a touch strained. "Love to stay and chat but this cat's gotta run!" Taking out his baton he extended it, launching himself away.

"Oh! See you la... ter..." Ladybug called to his retreating form.

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

Landing in the empty locker room Adrien detransformed in a flash of green light. Plagg stretching as he came out of the ring.

Eyeing Adrien's downcast features, Plagg pried at his holder. "It's not like you to leave Ladybug so abruptly."

"Yeah..." Adrien absently offered a wedge of Camembert to his floating friend who promptly swallowed it whole. "Guess I just need some time to myself."

"So she turned you down. There's plenty of other kinds of cheese!"

Despite himself Adrien smiled. "You need better metaphors."

Plagg shrugged. "You could always take it literally. You can never have enough cheese!"

Adrien rolled his eyes as he changed into his fencing gear. Plagg wasn't as articulate as he thought but... he wasn't wrong...

These thoughts swirled in Adrien's head as he joined Kagami at practice.

A mistake he paid for when Kagami knocked him off his feet. Standing, Adrien parried as Kagami lunged. She always gave her all in beating her opponent. Scoring a point he smiled and they retook their positions.

But his heart still wasn't into the sparing session and her next lunge drove him off balance. Her foil poking into his chest.

"Predictable," Kagami chastised.

Eyes narrowing, Adrien's more competitive nature surged forward at her words. Heart beating faster, grip tightening on his foil and-

It was gone as soon as it came.

Leaving Adrien vulnerable to Kagami's strike...

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

Adrien stared pensively at his fencing helmet. He knew Ladybug didn't like him the same way he liked her. That wasn't anything new. So why was he-

"What's wrong, Adrien? Usually I like beating you but it's no fun when you make it this easy." Kagami stood in front of him with an unreadable expression.

Adrien gave her a bittersweet smile. "You ever feel like you're stuck, Kagami? Like, no matter how much you try to move forward, nothing will ever, ever change?"

Kagami blinked in surprise as Adrien opened up to her. This wasn't what she was expecting... Sitting next to him Kagami took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Adrien. The biggest mistake a fencer can make isn't choosing the wrong technique. It's choosing the wrong target."

Oh. She liked metaphors too. Well, with his luck to was bound to-

Her hand gently cupped his cheek and turned his head to face her. "So, switch targets."

...Oh. A rose tint colored Adrien's cheeks. Kagami was always beautiful but for some reason... it was especially true just then.

Smiling in encouragement Kagami grabbed her things and walked out of the locker room. Leaving Adrien to his thoughts.

He stared after her for a moment... Launching to his feet Adrien raced after her in a moment of sheer panic and recklessness.

"Kagami!" Adrien practically shouted.

Not having gone far Kagami turned around, puzzled.

Taking a deep breath, heart pounding against his ribs, Adrien let out the thought that propelled him to his feet. "Would you like to go out some time!?"

Kagami's eyes went wide. "Out? As in a date?"

The color on Adrien's cheeks bloomed into scarlet. Suddenly even more self-conscious he rubbed the back of his neck- "Um," -and nodded. His mouth refusing to form words.

Half turning, Kagami gave him a small smile. "I'd like that."

Adrien felt his lips pull into a grin. Heart somersaulting in his chest for some reason.

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

"What should I do, Plagg?" Adrien bemoaned. Head thunking onto his computer desk. "I've never been on a date before!"

"Wasn't this your idea?" Plagg flipped through his favorite cheese magazine. He swore this romance nonsense was the silliest invention humans had ever come up with. "If you ask me it's about time you expanded your palate."

"You're no help," Adrien grumbled. Lifting his head up Adrien swiveled around to look at Plagg. "What if I asked Father or Nathalie for advice?"

"Sure." Plagg stretched lazily. "If ya want them to know about you and sword girl."

Sighing, Adrien discounted that idea. "Oh! We can ask the Gorilla!"

"I don't know," Plagg mused, "doesn't seem like a good idea."

"You just don't like it 'cause he found your Camembert stash that time," Adrien teased, poking Plagg lightly.

"It was perfectly edible! How could he!?"

Chuckling at his antics, Adrien thought about who he could go to for advice...

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

Adrien tried not to hurry ahead of Kagami into the ice rink proper. The chill making his arm hairs stand on end. His breath sharp in his throat. Heart beating with a mix of excitement and nervousness. Asking Marinette had been a great idea!

He turned back to see Alya and Nino slowly catch up. If only she could have made it. But that essay on periwinkle migration sounded important to her... Oh, Chloe's dad was here.

As they put on their skates Adrien glanced at Kagami out of the corner of his eye. Scooting closer to Nino he whispered: "Thanks for coming last minute, Nino."

"Hey, no problem dude! Anything for my bro." Nino's grin was a tad forced and his eyes drifted to something behind Adrien before snapping back.

"I don't know what to do with Kagami."Adrien admitted, leaning in. "Should I... offer to hold her hand?"

"Yes!" Nino snapped his fingers and held up finger guns at Adrien. His eyes flickered away again. "I mean, no! I mean- Why don't you take it slow?"

Adrien turned around to see what Nino was looking at but it was just Alya smiling politely, hands behind her back. Probably waiting patiently for him to finish with her boyfriend.

Straightening, Adrien smiled at her. "Thanks for coming, Alya."

"No big deal! Just a double date, right!" Alya smiled wide in an attempt to draw attention away from her accidental inflection.

"...Right." Adrien politely declined to comment on it.

"Anyway!" Alya grabbed Nino's hand and dragged him off. "We'll let you two get to it!"

Adrien turned back to Kagami, who was tying her skates. Hesitantly, he made his way over and stood beside her.

"Don't be scared," Kagami promised conspiratorially as she looked up, "I won't tell anyone."

"About what?" Adrien asked slowly.

"That you don't know how to tie your laces," she teased, kneeling down to do just that. Once done Kagami smiled at him, grabbed his hand and led him onto the ice.

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

"I can't believe you agreed to this!" Alya stage whispered. Arm locked tightly around Nino's elbow as they skated on the opposite side of the rink.

"Aw, c'mon Als. Y'know I couldn't leave my bro hanging like that!" Nino widened his eyes and tried to sparkle them like Adrien had. "He gave me the look. How could I say no to that?"

"I know..." Alya sighed. The crease between her eyes softening from accusation to guilt. "I just..." Adrien and Kagami caught her eye as they skated hand in hand. "Feel like I'm betraying my girl just by being here."

Nino patted her hand and gave her a soft smile. "I'm sure the dudette will understand." His gaze drifted towards Adrien and Kagami. "Besides... I don't think she'd want to see this."

"Hey, young man! Have you ever thought about signing up for ice skating lessons!?"

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

Kagami turned her head as Alya and Nino skated past them on their lap. "Did you invite them because you were scared of being alone with me?"

"Of course not!" Adrien lied, waving his hand to ward off her words. "It's just... that I asked Nino to help... me."

Her brow creased. "Help you with what?"

"Uh, to perfect my figure skating skills!" Adrien decided.

"But you don't need him for that." Suddenly, Kagami let go of his hand and launched into a short routine of spins and twirls.

Adrien blinked at her presentation before an appreciative smile graced his lips. Kagami has so many talents, Adrien thought as she talked with that man who had been discussing something with Mayor Bourgeois.

Seamlessly, Kagami interlaced their fingers as she took his hand again and pulled him forward with her momentum. Glancing at his smile through the corner of her eye.

"Adrien Agreste, I can see it now!" The skating instructor (that's what he was) was suddenly beside Adrien. "Grace and style model! And professional ice skating champion! If you take lessons with me I'll have you shining like the candles on a birthday cake!"

Skating? Adrien had never thought about it before. "Uh, may-beeee!"

Kagami switched their positions so she was closest to the instructor. "He already does fencing with me," she informed him. And sped up with Adrien in tow.

Adrien stared at the back of Kagami's head. She was very assertive in her desires, bold even. Kagami knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go for it. He admired that about her, was drawn to it. Kagami would meet any challenge without backing down.

Just like Ladybug.

His fingers slipped from Kagami's grasp as he slowed to a stop. Staring at the floor as his cheeks burned not with embarrassment but shame.

"Adrien? What is it?" Kagami asked as she circled back.

Adrien smiled. "Nothing. I just have to use the restroom real quick." Turning, he let his smile fall as he left the rink.

Plagg poked his head out of his pocket once they were alone. "What's gotten into you, kid?"

Adrien stared at him. "I don't know."

Worry started to prick at Plagg's fur. "Adrien-"

"I don't know what I want, Plagg!" His heart hammered against his chest, pulse rising to his throat. "Kagami knows. Ladybug knows. Chat Noir thought he knew but... but I don't." Adrien wrapped his arms around himself, making himself smaller.

"... Listen, you're young right? Even by human standards? Like a freshly made wheel of Camembert."

Adrien frowned, turning away. "Plagg-"

"Hear me out!" Plagg zipped closer to Adrien's face, keeping in his line of sight. "But freshly made Camembert is terrible! It's got no flavor! No delicious scent! You need to let it age to bring out all the good stuff."

Adrien glanced at Plagg. Seeing his tail twitching in concern even if he wouldn't voice it. Strangely, Adrien understood what he was trying to say.

"All cheeses age differently. There's nothing wrong with taking your time." Plagg finished, not quite satisfied with how it came out.

Adrien smiled at him, reaching out to pet his head. "Thanks, Plagg."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Plagg let himself be petted. Not because he enjoyed it, of course. It just happened to make Adrien feel better.

Suddenly, ice started crawling up the walls. Magic coming from the ice rink. "Oh, no. Guess we have to go save the day," Plagg said, very disappointedly, yes.

Adrien grinned as he brought out the transformation cheese. "Uh-huh."

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

Chat Noir's good humor lasted until he spotted Ladybug on a rooftop. Oh. He didn't... want to see her right now. Reluctantly, he landed beside her. Doing his best to keep the conflicting emotions wrestling in his chest off his face.

"Chat Noir! We need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink." Ladybug anchored her yo-yo onto a nearby building, ready to take off.

Say something. Say something! "My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack." Ha! Nailed it! Chat Noir scooted closer to the roof's edge as he scanned the frozen city.

Ladybug gave him a puzzled look. "What? Since when?"

Chat Noir pouted. "Rude."

Shaking her head as she fought back a fond smile Ladybug inched towards him. "We have to work together on this."

His hand rubbed the back of his neck, catching her eye. "I don't know. We don't have to do everything together. If we split up we'll have a better chance of finding him." Chat Noir jumped. "Race you!"

"Chat Noir, be careful!" Ladybug called out as he sped away. "... Okay, so he's acting weird. Not the first time he's acted weird. It'll be fine!" She cast her yo-yo and swung off. I hope.

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

Being by himself helped Adrien order his thoughts. His feelings were all over the place so he focused on doing what he told Ladybug he was gonna do. It was child's play to follow the only imperfection on otherwise smooth ice. Leading him to the Eiffel Tower where the akuma victim was hiding.

Okay. Now I just need to-

Frozer launched himself at Ladybug!

Acting quickly Chat Noir tackled Ladybug out of the way. Grabbing her hand and leading her onto the frozen Seine. Skating away at top speed to put some distance between them and Frozer.

"Thanks, kitty!" Ladybug smiled.

And Adrien smiled back. Confusing questions forgotten for the moment. Then Frozer launched shards of ice; Chat Noir letting go of Ladybug's hand so they could dodge it. Only then realizing that he'd been holding it at all.

"He's too fast!"

She was right. Frozer easily kept pace with them. Leaping into the air to launch more ice shards. Rounding a bend in the river they were out of sight for a second. Taking advantage of it to hide.

"I'm positive the akuma's in his skates," Ladybug stated once Frozer passed them.

"My Cataclysm could destroy them but he'd have to be up in the air... You were right My Lady. We're going to have to set a trap."

"You were right, too. We observed and now we know enough."

Chat Noir smiled. "Seems we're just missing a little push of luck to get the edge on him."

Ladybug nodded. "Lucky Charm!"

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

Adrien raced back to the ice rink. In the end the plan had been pretty straightforward. Ladybug baited Frozer into following her while Chat Noir laid in wait.

Business as usual. Except...

'Are you sure you're okay? You've been off since yesterday.'

'...I'm just figuring some things out. Might take me a while but that's okay... Thanks for worrying about me.'

Being around Ladybug didn't make him feel quite so sad anymore. Chat Noir meant it when he said her friendship was important to him, after all. And... Adrien was happy. That he could be normal around her.

He spotted Alya and Nino discussing something, waving at them as he looked for... There. Kagami was returning her skates. Adrien walked up to her, fidgeting with his ring. "Uh, hey, Kagami. Sorry I ran off like that."

"It is fine. We were interrupted anyway."

Adrien couldn't tell how she meant that but he took a deep breath and forged ahead. "So, I know I'm the one who asked you out and all. But..."

Kagami frowned. "Are you saying you do not wish to date me?"

"No!" Adrien waved both hands emphatically in the negative. "No, no, no! I just... wanted to say that I think we should take it slow."

She raised an eyebrow. "We go any slower and our pace will be glacial."

Adrien was 90 percent sure that was a joke... 80 percent. "W-well if you think it's too much of a challenge..."

Kagami's eyes widened at Adrien's audacity. She poked him in the chest. "Don't flatter yourself, Agreste."

Without thinking, Adrien grabbed her hand and kissed the back of her palm. Kagami's answering blush nowhere near as radiant as Adrien's. Why did I do that!? Who froze for a moment before turning around. "W-wouldn't dream of it... Ryuko."

"Ryuko?" Kagami raised a brow at the nickname.

Adrien's hand went back to rubbing his neck. "I can call you something else if you don't like it."

"No," Kagami decided, a small smile on her lips as she passed Adrien on her way to the exit. "Ryuko will do just fine."

"... So, that's a yes?" Adrien sprinted to catch up.

"Mm, perhaps if you define what you think 'taking it slow' is."

Adrien leapt in front of her and held out his hand. "Let us drive you home?"

Kagami blinked at the offered hand. Slowly reaching out for it. His palm was warm in hers. "Going slow is not too bad. I suppose," she relented.

Adrien beamed. "Oh! Just one last thing!"

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

Kagami entered the Agreste car as Adrien held the door open, sliding in behind her. "You're still doing what other people want."

"No, I just want him to be happy," Adrien countered. Giving the skating instructor free advertising didn't cost him anything. "Besides, how're we supposed to come back if it's a Chloe catered gym?"

"Back?" That sounded promising.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and couldn't quite look at her but he smiled. "Since our first date was cut short I was hoping we could try again."

Kagami gazed at Adrien as he fidgeted. "Just the two of us?"

"Y-yup!" Adrien's face burned.

"Good. You're crush on Nino was distracting."

"Wh-what!?" Adrien spluttered.

"... You're crush on Nino? I thought everyone knew. Personally, I prefer Alya but-"

"I don't- That is- I..." Adrien's shoulders slumped. "His eyes are so beautiful, it's like he stares into your soul."

Kagami's hands hovered awkwardly. "I am sorry. I thought you knew."

Adrien buried his face in his hands to muffle his yelling. "I thought I only had the one thing! This is... I don't even know how many things this is!"

Reaching for his hand again, Kagami squeezed it reassuringly. Back straightening as his grip turned out stronger than she expected.

He peeked at her through the splayed fingers covering his red face. Breath speeding up. "I... I don't..."

"You don't have to say anything. I know it is not easy to come to terms with."

Nodding gratefully, Adrien slowly took his hand away from his face. Taking deep breaths.

Kagami relaxed as Adrien did the same. This wasn't what she was expecting. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Turns out, Kagami had been aiming at the wrong target too.

Adrien's grip eased as he looked up at Kagami. That was... certainly a lot. But Kagami hadn't turned away from him. Only a handful of people had ever seen him so vulnerable. And two of them preferred to pretend otherwise. But Kagami didn't pretend. And Adrien admired her for it. He smiled, wobbly and honest.

"Thanks... Ryuko."

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

In case it's unclear the two people Adrien's talking about are Gabriel and Nathalie.

*Rewatches Frozer (again) for this fic* ... If my friend fell and they said they didn't feel well I'd check up on them too. IDK why the the fandom- I mean, Plagg, is so hung up on that part.

I have taken liberties with the production of Camembert for this fic. Please, forgive my transgressions cheese enthusiasts.

@adrienaugust

#adrien august #adrien agreste #kagami tsurugi #adrienaugreste #adrienaugust #adrigami #adrimi #frozer #ml fanfic #ml rewrite #bisexual adrien agreste #bisexual kagami tsurugi #ml #miraculous ladybug

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