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#look everyone I made an acronym
secretlythatsme · 2 months
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i've seen a lot of dp fans in the dpxdc fandom talk about not having access to comics so here. it's completely free, good quality scans (for most things), basically any dc comic you could want is there. you should have an adblocker but the ads aren't the worst if you don't, just noticeable and annoying. you're not gonna get a virus, i've been using the site for years, as have many other fans.
if you genuinely want to read the comics, take advantage of the sites comic fans have been using. there's new and old stuff and everything in between. crossovers too. whatever you want to read, you'll find there.
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caiternate · 2 years
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okay different post
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barredandromeda · 1 month
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imsoo normal about guys byw
#sprry this is the start of my downfall im actually going to theow up and vomit and die#fronting daily actually sucks!and i have no restraint on my curiiusity and i have to figure shit out and i literally want to die#cause like i found out shit i didnt want to and its entirely my fault too bro i cant even be upset cause i went looking for it ughhh#i should be allowed to die afterschool so i dont have to feel anything else tbh thatd be a pleasure great thing whwatever#this is genuinelky the repeat of my downfall again literally september all over again and its just march jesus fucking fhrist bro need todi#the nervous system is so dumb what is ooottfvgvsh or whagevr i hate that dumbass acronym i hate healrhcare#serenity save me 🙏 save me serenity 🙏 come home#everyone keeps sayng that but qith donald trump#anyway back to me i need to scream and not just to serenity cause i feel bad🤭 no emojis are tood enougu anymore bro im going to kms#killing myself so fucking hard like a vampire driving a stake through his heart sort of shit ykwim like a siren drowning ro sokething poeti#save me sid 🙏 sid save me actually hed laugh at me for hthis lowkey which is soo deserved cause real bro why am i breaking down at midnight#on a dchool day too bro again and again i dont want to go to mf schooll and be obsessed w k. hes fine but i genuinely cant do my work#lowkey would iet be weird to talk to my ex ab my relationship with him cause like yea i miss him ykwim and i need closure but i got a crush#cause like on one hand its like i was the one who brokenup ykwim like even if the circumstances werewei4d whatever its like why would i hav#the right to even bring it up and i alr crushed on a new guy and like ignoring the uguult i do like him ughh broni want to kms#i love love i just dont love lvoe for myself cause ugh bro i hare one guy idc ab his crushes but he made me hear ab them lke idc idek him#sorry u had a bad experience w bi girls like idk what u want me to say ??? surprise me too ??? tff ugh i hate love girls#i need a gf but the thoigjt of liking a girl genuinely deeply scares me to my core cause i like girls but ppl dont like that i do ykwim#all mu friends are fucking gay bro idek why im so worried ab liking girls like who is there to disappoint but myself and my entire family#noo pressure qt all being oldest and queerest like ok yeah its midnight happy new years. i need this blanket tobsuffocste me#sleep wrappedup alr like a borito burito i dek and its not enoughh i need a soul crushing embrafe to sleep#ok im done i got post vent clarity i need to sleep#post#erics tag#delete later#serenity needs this as a ref in the morning#i beed my mom to cry to but j cant tell her any of this id rather be eaten alive by bugsbro and if i just cry to her without a reason#shell fs go througj my phone and fimd out why anyway so wjats the pointtt my god i tqlk too much and vent too much#gota flair forbthe dramatics ivguess mb
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plaid-maniac · 1 year
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Just found out that the program I am in for college is changing its name. I am graduating next year, so it will be under the new name and not the name I have worked under this entire time. Honestly second worst academic betrayal just behind number 1 which is the superintendent that worked my grade school system was fired a few months before I graduated high school so I couldn’t shake his hand when graduating. Normally not a big deal but he was the biggest asshole and literally everyone my grade grew up memeing on him since 1st grade, so it was a shame I couldn’t meet him in person
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chromatic-corrosion · 6 months
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Character/Show information found on Gooseworx's tumblr (part 1)
I went into Gooseworx's tumblr and made a list of all the info found on there so far.
Note: This will update as more and more posts are made.
Caine named himself before deciding that it's an acronym that stands for Creative Artificial Intelligence Networking Entity (he thinks it makes him sound professional)
Caine does not have an age. He is an AI.
Apparently, Caine is likely the best singer out of everyone in the circus.
Caine would own a circus peanut shotgun.
Caine can't grasp the concept of irony.
Caine is not affected by "this statement is false"
If Caine could remove his clothes, he'd have nothing underneath.
Caine would only bite his eyes or tongue if he thought it's funny. Otherwise, they clip through his teeth
Caine is short.
Caine does not understand verbal pranks (example: 'Joe Mama', 'Updog' etc). Even after having them explained, he'd still take them literally.
Bubble speaks in reverse once in episode 3.
Bubble is a much simpler AI created by Caine
Apparently, Bubble is the biggest slut.
Bubble is Caine's little hype man
Bubble likes being popped.
Bubble is a boy
Out of everyone, Bubble is the most likely to wear drag.
The moon is an AI "like Bubble".
The sun can talk too.
Pomni's hat is a part of her body
Pomni does not like being touched
Pomni's first design looked liked a frog
Pomni's reaction to herself in the mirror isn't a positive reaction
Apparently, Pomni's hair is black.
Pomni is good at accounting.
Ragatha gives the best hugs
Ragatha has been in the circus the second longest.
Ragatha is older than Pomni.
Ragatha likes horses.
Ragatha can play the Cello.
Ragatha can see through her button eye.
There's a particular character who hasn't been revealed yet who's practically a Gooseworx self-insert. (He's the mean one...Jax?)
Nobody likes Jax
Jax doesn't have a tail.
Jax's colour is periwinkle.
Jax deserves to be trapped in the circus the most
There's nothing heroic about Jax.
Jax is morally the worst character in the show.
Jax is the youngest member in the circus.
Jax didn't enter the circus at the age of 14.
Jax mistreats Gangle the most because shew the easiest to mistreat.
Jax is afraid of corn because it reminds him of something called 'the farm'.
Jax is a troubled individual.
If you gave Jax an unholy amount of praise, he'd be confused and frightened.
Jax mainly bullies the girls because he has issues he hasn't worked out with himself yet.
Jax most likely went through an emo phase
Gangle like to draw, specifically anime.
Gangle only has comedy and tragedy masks.
Gangle's favourite animal is Azumanga Daioh.
Gangle has a body pillow with a character on it.
Gangle watched One Piece, and her favourite character was Chopper.
Kinger is not British.
Kinger is the tallest and oldest
There is an episode that heavily features Kinger.
Kinger and Zooble eat like a chao
Kinger saw the gastral giveaway in a vision after eating two spoons of gravel.
Kinger knows how to play chess.
Zooble almost gets no screen time in the first two episodes
Zooble's appearance is based on ZoLo blocks
Zooble has a 'zooble box' of parts in their room.
Zooble does not like hugs
Zooble has been in the circus the second shortest.
Zooble is very grouchy and irritable.
Zooble is half a year older than Jax.
Zooble is alright with any pronouns
Zooble would smoke weed if possible.
Zooble is the worst at giving hugs
Zooble is constantly trying out different parts.
Zooble is the most likely to punt Jax into the abyss at any given moment
Zooble can play the drums.
Zooble most likely went through an emo phase.
Zooble was a tattoo artist at one point.
Zooble was a stoner
Zooble most likely dyed their hair in the real world.
How each member of the cast would react if you called them 'adorable'.
Nobody in the circus is truly sane
Heres the casts ages.
Pomni - 25
Jax - 22
Ragatha - 30
Zooble - 22
Gangle - 26
Kinger - 48
The performers can feel pain
Every character has a reason for the way they act.
The cast doesn't have bones, but they do have a visible skeleton when they're being electrocuted.
The black queen chess pieces name is Queenie
Queenie being a black chess piece and Kinger being a white chess piece has no relevancy to their relationship. It's only a design choice.
Queenie and Kinger aren't siblings.
The abstracted and lost eyes only look similar due to limited creativity in creature design.
Abstraction can't be undone.
The abstracted all look the same
A gloink king exists. It looks exactly like a normal gloink and dies immediately after mating.
There's "technically" a worm in episode 2.
There are "many" characters in the show that we don't know of.
The typical episode length will be 21-25 minutes.
There won't be any romance on the show. Stop asking.
Some episodes are a '1' on the horror scale, some are a '6'.
Apparently, a character we haven't met yet is getting the next episode for them.
As of november 6th, Gooseworx says, "The plan is eight episodes total, one season"
Note that some of this info may have changed since posting (or may have been revealed in the pilot), some may change during the course of the show, and some may be joke answers. Please let me know if there's anything I missed!
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whatsk-poppinhomies · 2 months
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Pairing : Han Jisung x F!Reader TW : anonymous friends to lovers type beat ; physical fighting ; reader is bullied ; angst ; fluffy ending ; Word Count : 8.9k A/N : Haven't even started writing this one yet but I know it's gonna take a bit, I hope the wait is worth it!! I hope that this is good! I kind of changed things a little bit, but I feel like it's still good... right? It has a k-drama feel to it... Not proof read!! Request : Anonny : Hello! If your requests are open can you write something for skz han? Where han is a popular person that everyone likes and he doesn't know the identity of reader but they are able to have really nice conversations. He thinks he found the person he's been talking to and starts dating them and reader agrees to help the person with talking to him. But han actually starts talking to reader and realizes that they were the person he fell in love with. Reader didn't tell him their true identity bc they were told he could never love someone like them. I hope that makes sense.
An anonymous chat room… What could possibly go wrong? It had started as a way for other students to get help with certain subjects without the judgment of their peers over not knowing enough. Soon enough, like most things, it had completely lost its original reason for being made, and now it was being used for anything but studying. There were chat rooms for dissing people, chat rooms for hooking up, and then there was the more… safe chat rooms, for people that were just lonely and wanting to talk, people that were too awkward or shy to have conversations face to face. Everyone had an online identity that no one else knew about… A different persona… It was scary… But sometimes it was nice to just… Talk to someone. 
JiHizzy : Hey! You online? 
Your phone vibrated with the message, and you couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sound of the notification. You had been talking to him for weeks now, and it was the one part of your day that you truly looked forward to. 
JustAnotherGirl : Yeah! What’s up?
JiHizzy : Finally got back to my dorm. I was trying to study for finals…
JustAnotherGirl : I’m gonna guess that didn’t work out for you? 
JiHizzy : Crazily enough, I ended up at the bar instead of the library. 
JustAnotherGirl : I don’t know how you could possibly get the two confused lol
JiHizzy : It’s a friday night, I don’t think anyone was at the library. Weren’t you at the bar too? It was packed. 
JustAnotherGirl : Mm… Nope! I don’t really party like that, I was too busy studying for my finals. 
JiHizzy : Ooh, the innocent type? I like that.
JustAnotherGirl : Are you flirting with me? 
JiHizzy : I might be… You know the acronym of your username is jag… all you need is I and you’d be jagi to me. 
JustAnotherGirl : That must be the alcohol talking…
JiHizzy : Not at all. You’re just my type. I really want to meet you.
JustAnotherGirl : Oh, would you look at the time? We should get some sleep! Goodnight! 
While it was supposed to stay an anonymous chat room, some people were just too popular to stay hidden longer than the first week. One of those people was JiHizzy, better known as Han Jisung, the most popular guy on campus simply because of his looks. All of the girls wanted him, and all of the guys wanted to be him. He was the top of the totem pole, and that put you at the very bottom. 
If the two of you were to walk past each other on campus, he wouldn’t even spare you a passing glance… But with the promise of anonymity, you were able to talk to him every night. You were able to know what it felt like to be liked by someone like him. You could never meet him though, if he found out who you really were… He’d stop talking to you immediately. You didn’t want to lose him… Even if you didn’t truly have him. 
///
JiHizzy : Are you in class right now? 
In the silence of the classroom, the vibration of your phone was much louder than you thought it would be. Everyone turned to look in your direction, and you quickly grabbed your phone and placed it on your lap, hoping that if another message came in, it would be silent. 
JiHizzy : I know you are, you’re such a good girl… WAIT DOES THAT SOUND WEIRD!? I’M SORRY!! 
JiHizzy : I was just thinking that maybe… Maybe you could tell me what class you’re in…
JiHizzy : And I could get a glimpse of you… Or who I think is you… I just want to have a face to go with the name…
You held in your sigh as you felt your phone vibrate incessantly against your lap, chewing on your bottom lip as you attempted to focus on your studies, but it seemed like he wouldn’t let up unless you responded. 
JiHizzy : PLEASE!! 
JustAnotherGirl : Why is it so important? I like being anonymous… I like talking to you…
JiHizzy : Because I like you, and I can’t stop thinking about you, and I want to daydream about you…
JiHizzy : But it’s kind of hard to daydream about someone if I don’t know what they look like.
JustAnotherGirl : Well, daydream about what you think I look like. It’s probably better than how I really look anyway. 
JiHizzy : You’re talking like I’ll stop messaging you or stop liking you if I meet you…
JiHizzy : You don’t think I’m that kind of person… Do you? 
JustAnotherGirl : I don’t know who you are… But it’s just easier like this for me… 
JiHizzy : Alright alright
JiHizzy : I’m sorry if I upset you…
JiHizzy : But hey! I heard that they’re releasing an update soon where we can actually talk to each other on the phone!
JustAnotherGirl : Can’t people tell who other people are by their voice? 
JiHizzy : Idk… But I want to call you when it comes out. Can we at least do that?
JustAnotherGirl : Maybe… I’ll think about it… I have to study now. So do you! 
JiHizzy : Right! Okay, I’ll message you later! 
He daydreamed about you… He thought about you… You wondered what this image looked like, the girl that he thought you were. You were sure that it looked nothing like you, and it was better that way. He was so popular, you didn’t want to tarnish his image if he was even seen talking with you, let alone walking beside you… although you were sure that something like that would never happen. 
///
When the call feature was released, everyone was so excited. People were testing it out as soon as their apps updated… But you were dreading it. Texting guaranteed staying anonymous, but hearing someone's voice, even if they didn’t know what you looked like, a voice was a way to identify someone. Even Jisungs voice, anyone and everyone could tell it was him coming if they heard him talking. His voice was distinct, it was his and his only. You didn’t know how distinct your voice would be, and the only thing you had going for you was the fact that you didn’t talk much at all. 
A time that you’d usually be counting down to now had your stomach twisted up into knots, your knees folded up against your chest as you tried to think of anything but the inevitable phone call that you knew he would ask for. “What’s got you all worked up?” Your roommate asked as she walked into your room. As if things couldn’t get any worse, she just had to be back in at a normal hour. 
Of course you had gotten paired up to dorm with the most popular girl on campus, it was just another way of lifes mysterious twists and turns supposedly. She was absolutely ruthless, and while you had asked to have your room changed at the beginning of every semester, it miraculously could never be done. As if college wasn’t hard enough, having to reside with her was just added stress. 
“Fine. Ignore me. I didn’t want to talk to you anyway.” She mumbled, dropping down onto the ridiculously large and disgustingly luxurious bed that took up almost the entirety of her half of the room. She was rich, of course she was, and she took every opportunity to flaunt her wealth to everyone on campus, and you were no exception, you just got the brunt of it. 
“I’m gonna take a shower real quick… Do you have to use the bathroom before I get in?” You asked, keeping your head down so she didn’t look at you like the peasant that you knew she thought you were. She scoffed loudly, and out of the corner of your eye, you saw her flick her wrist in the direction of the bathroom. 
JiHizzy : You awake? Don’t tell me you’re sleeping already! 
JiHizzy : You haven’t been online in 3 hours! Come onnnnn!
JiHizzy : Are you ignoring me?!?!?! :( 
JiHizzy : Did I do something… Say something wrong? 
JiHizzy : Ahhh… Maybe you are sleeping… Okay 
JiHizzy : Goodnight! Sleep well!!
You never took your phone into the bathroom with you, not just because it seemed unsanitary or unhygienic, you also couldn’t afford to potentially drop it on the tile floor and bust the screen. Maybe you should have, but again, you didn’t think that your roommate would go through your phone. You were pretty sure that she wouldn’t even touch something that belonged to you. You had never been more wrong. 
The vibrating of your phone had caught her attention, and maybe if it had only gone off once she would have ignored it, but Jisung was a spam texter. “Hmm…” She hummed to herself as she snatched your phone off the nightstand, and her curiosity quickly turned to annoyance when she saw just who had been texting you. “No way… There’s no way!” She shrieked, glaring at your phone. 
As the story goes, the popular guy should automatically be with the popular girl… that’s how it always goes! She wouldn’t allow something like this to happen… It just couldn’t. She was being a good person, she had to look out for Jisungs reputation, that’s what it was. Luckily everything was anonymous, you were anonymous… He wouldn’t have to be embarrassed to like you… He wouldn’t even have to know it was you. 
“What are you doing?” She was still holding your phone as you walked out of the bathroom, and your stomach dropped as you thought about what she could have been doing to your phone. Why would she even have it. “Look… I don’t touch your stuff, please don’t touch mine.” You mumbled as you scurried over to grab your phone out of her hand. 
“Jesus, don’t have a tantrum.” She muttered, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back to her own phone. “Maybe you should silence your notifications before leaving your phone unattended.” Her words only worried you more, prompting you to check what she could have been talking about, and you could feel the anxiousness creeping up further and further until it had taken you over completely. 
She had seen the notifications, and you’d be a fool to think that she didn’t know exactly who it was that was messaging you. Would she tell him? It would be absolutely humiliating, it would destroy you, you couldn’t imagine the way he and his friends would react to finding out that it was you who he had been talking to. Should you tell her not to say anything? “I…” No… It might make her say something. Maybe she’ll forget about it in the morning. That would be the best case scenario. 
“I think Han Jisung and I would be the perfect couple, right? I mean, we’re both popular, we’re both insanely attractive! That’s why I feel so bad for him, you know? It’s not like he’d willingly go for a complete loser, but this stupid anonymous app is really getting his hopes up.” You were right there, she knew exactly what she was doing, but she still had the audacity to look over at you with the fakest smile. “Were you saying something?” 
“N-No…” You stammered, pushing yourself up off your bed and heading to the door. “I’m gonna take a walk, I’ll be back later…” She didn’t say anything to you as you left, simply laughing along with the multitudes of friends that she had on call. Had she told them? Were they all laughing at you? Of course they were, she was right… Why would he want to be with someone like you? You were a nobody, a speck of dust, no… Not even that. People notice dust… you were less than that. 
But why didn’t you deserve to be happy, even if that meant staying behind the safety and security of your phone screen and a basic username? Were you not allowed to have anything? Not even some sort of happiness brought by anonymous interaction? Isn’t that how everything on the internet is nowadays anyway? No one really knows each other… So why is it such a big deal if you talk to him? Why should you be shamed for doing it the way you have been? Could you not even have this one thing? 
Being outside was like a breath of fresh air, at least for a moment, but those thoughts brought on by the words of your roommate were suffocating. Should you even respond to him? He thought you were sleeping already… you could tell him you had been busy… His messages have the ability to help you feel better in an instant, and you needed that now. You clicked on the notification and quickly typed in your password to open the app, and not even a second passed before your phone was vibrating in your hand. 
JiHizzy : Hey! There you are! 
JustAnotherGirl : Hm… Were you just sitting and waiting for me to come online?
JiHizzy : and what if I was?? 
JiHizzy : you know I can’t sleep without talking to you first. 
JustAnotherGirl : I didn’t know that though…
JiHizzy : well now you know! :D 
JiHizzy : so… the call feature came out! I want to call you! Can I?
JustAnotherGirl : uhm… I don’t know… 
JiHizzy : are you in your room? Is your roommate sleeping? I can talk quiet!
JustAnotherGirl : no… no it’s not that…
JiHizzy : I want to hear your voice… please? We can talk about anything! Anything you want! 
JustAnotherGirl : I guess… 
In a second your phone was buzzing, Jisungs screen name front and center on your screen. What a foolish feature this is, why not just give people your phone number if you’ll just talk on the phone? What’s next? Video calling? What if…? You would never do that… You couldn’t… He wouldn’t want to see you anyway. 
Your hands shook as you accepted the call and brought your phone up to your ear. “Hehe, hey! Took you a bit to answer, I thought you’d just ignore me!” His voice came with a face, one that you could perfectly envision in your mind. His smile, the creasing of his eyes as he probably laid back against his pillow, one arm tucked under his head, perfectly at ease with everything. He was so lucky and he probably didn’t even realize it. 
“Oh… uh… no. I was just… trying to find somewhere to sit.” You lied, looking around at the line of streetlamps that illuminated the sidewalks that led to different buildings. “H-Hi…” You stammered, and you knew exactly why you were flustered, why you were so nervous. Jisung was practically a GOD here, and you might as well have been an earthworm with how much lower you were than him. If anyone found out about this, you were sure that the both of you would be humiliated, but for vastly different reasons. 
“You don’t have a couch or a bed or anything in your dorm?” He asked, and you felt stupid, this whole thing just felt insanely stupid. So what if you didn’t have a couch or a bed in your dorm anyway, not everyone was made of money! What was he going to do, judge you for it? “Well… Look, if you need help or anything… I-” 
“I don’t need help.” You stated quickly, and you truly didn’t. Sure, you didn’t have a couch or a flat screen television in your dorm, but you had a bed, and that was more than what most people had, so you had no reason to complain. “I’m actually-” A particularly loud gust of wind whipped around you, the force so strong that you could almost hear it crackling in your speaker, and it whipped up freshly fallen leaves around you. 
“Are you outside?” There was a slight panic in his voice, although you weren’t sure why. It’s not like you hadn’t braved elements far more atrocious than wind before. But then again, he didn’t exactly know you well. With the image he had in his mind of you, he probably thought you were too pretty, too perfect to be outside in the wind, potentially getting your hair messed up. “Did you go outside just to talk to me? I-If I knew you were going to do that, I would have just said to wait until a different day to call. I don’t want you to get ill.” 
You clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Was he always this caring, or was he just pretending? Only the people closest to him would know, and you weren’t close to him at all. Surely to be as popular as he was, he’d have to be some kind of an asshole… That’s how the movies and the shows always depict the popular guys. They were too good for people like you… But… He didn’t know you were a person… A person like you. “It’s fine, really. I’ve walked home in thunderstorms before… A little gust of wind isn’t going to take me out.” 
There was a sigh from his end of the call, and then the rustling of what sounded like sheets or blankets. “Well tell me where you are. You’re already out, and I wouldn’t mind walking a bit to come see you. I really want to know you… I can get my shoes on real quick and-” You hung up the call before he was finished, your breath held in your throat, and you didn’t let it go until you were certain the call was ended. It was rude, sure, of course it was… But why was he so god damn pressed on meeting you!? Why wasn’t this good enough for him too?! 
JiHizzy : Did the call cut out? Was it the wind?? Are you okay!?
JiHizzy : If you don’t answer me, I’ll… I don’t know… I’m not a computer wizard but…
JiHizzy : I know people can trace things and… Please tell me you’re okay. I’m worried.
JustAnotherGirl : yeah… I’m fine… 
JustAnotherGirl : my phone battery is dying… 
JiHizzy : Oh! Okay! 
JiHizzy : Get inside quick, please. Charge your phone and message me in the morning… yeah?
JustAnotherGirl : yeah… 
JustAnotherGirl : Goodnight…
JiHizzy : Goodnight beautiful! 
This was getting worse, it was only going to get harder… Maybe you should cut ties with him now… It would be better that way, wouldn’t it? It wasn’t paying off to selfishly keep him, basically trapped behind your phone screen because you were scared of the embarrassment that would come along with actually meeting him. You needed to let him go…
///
Your roommate was laying in bed, a sheet mask over her face and the bedside table lamp had been dimmed. She was sleeping, at least that’s what you thought, until the door latch clicked as you shut it and she jumped up. “What were you out doing, huh?” The questions immediately started, and you shook your head, going over to your bed and yanking back the blankets. “I know that you weren’t out with… him. He would drop dead before being seen with the likes of you, ya know?” 
She snickered annoyingly, and you whipped around, your face scrunched up as you tried to keep the tears at bay. “How? How do you know that? How should I know that?! Do you know him?! Do you really know him?!” You asked, or, more like begged for her to give you the answers. You weren’t really sure why you were going to her of all people, maybe you were just desperate to hear that… that you would be good enough… Maybe not for him… But for someone. 
The loud laugh that poured from her lips was like a gut punch, and you dropped down onto your bed, absolutely humiliated, devastated, you felt like a fool. “Listen… I’m gonna do you a favor… You know, since we’re… friends…” This was bound to be an awful idea, you were sure of it, but you felt like she was going to keep talking anyway and… It was beginning to feel like you didn’t have a choice. “I think it’ll be a win for both of us… So, I’ll meet him, as you… And you get to keep talking to him at night. He’ll fall in love with me and my beautiful looks, as everyone always does, and… Well, you won’t be lonely. How does that sound?” 
It sounded terrible, it sounded awful, it was an elaborate ruse that surely no one would fall for… But… He wouldn’t ask you to meet him anymore… You’d still talk to him… She wouldn’t bother you or even have a reason to try to embarrass you on campus. You could stay hidden, it could work… It could really work. “Fine…” You mumbled, running your hands over your face, trying not to think too hard. “You… I don’t want to get involved too much with… What the two of you might do… But if he brings it up in the chat… You’ll have to… Tell me…” It was the last thing you’d ever want to know, but if this was going to work, you’d have to give him up just to have him still… It sounded crazy. You’d never have with him what she could… All you would ever be able to have are late night conversations, living out a fantasy through the tellings of your roommate and him. It would have to be good enough. 
“Oh, don’t worry… I’ll tell you everything!” She clapped her perfectly manicured nails together, and you knew there was something sinister about it, but this felt like the only way. “Get some sleep, we have a lot of planning to do tomorrow. This is going to be great!” 
///
“Where did you tell him to meet me… I mean… you?” She whispered, reading over your shoulder to try to see what the messages on your phone said. This was it… Today was the day… She’d probably tell him to delete the app since he finally met “you”. Was it worth it? Probably not… But you had been alone for the longest time before this all happened, you’d be fine with being alone after this as well. Nothing would change for you… But she would get everything she wanted… As if she didn’t have it all already. 
“The… The fountain, at the center of campus…” You mumbled. Would he really think it was you? The two of you sounded nothing alike… But would he be able to pick up on that? Probably not, he didn’t seem like the type that really cared for things like that. He was so excited that you finally agreed to meet him, the messages were flooding in and she had been right there to read all of them. 
JiHizzy : I’m on my way to the fountain now! 
JiHizzy : I can’t believe this is finally happening… We’ve been talking for almost 4 months now…
JiHizzy : Isn’t this crazy?!?! 
JiHizzy : I’m just a little nervous… I hope you don’t mind.
JustAnotherGirl : I don’t… I don’t mind at all…
Have fun… You thought to yourself as you stood at a distance, watching as Jooyi stood at the fountain, switching between sitting on the edge and standing every couple of seconds. She fumbled with the edge of her skirt, and fixed her hair, then checked her makeup. She was nothing like you… Would he be able to notice, even if you had only talked through text and occasionally on the phone? Was he able to tell your personality through little things like that? 
Then you saw him, practically sprinting towards the fountain, it was like everything was in slow motion. Did he even know who to look for? Would Jooyi fit the image of you that he created in his mind? You leaned against the light pole, your phone clutched against your chest… One message and you could ruin this all for her… But it would cost you too much, and you would have nothing to show for it, nothing to gain. People like you weren’t made for people like him, he would never stoop so low as to even look in your direction. They were made for each other… Who were you to ruin things? 
“Jisung!” You heard her voice ringing in your ears, and you looked up from the pavement to see her waving in his direction, and he paused. Did he know? You watched him closely, and you saw the smile slowly beginning to form on his face before he sprinted over to her. His arms wrapped around her waist in a tight hug, picking her up and spinning her around before setting her on the ground. It would never be you, that could never be you… You made two people happy today… It should feel good, but you felt sick, and you quickly turned away, rushing back to your dorm room. You didn’t have to be there to watch it, you’d hear all about it when she came back. 
///
JiHizzy : It was… Wow… 
JiHizzy : Finally meeting you in person! It’s amazing! 
JustAnotherGirl : Yeah! I’m so happy that I finally got to meet you! 
You sniffled softly as you looked over his messages. They wouldn’t be the same again, nothing would. He’d talk about everything that he did with “you”, and you’d just have to respond as if… as if it were truly you there. This… This deal… It wasn’t fair at all. It was just rubbing into your face everything that Jooyi got to do with him… And he was the one unknowingly telling you… She was evil… But she was a master at being just that. 
JiHizzy : Well… Do you want to talk on the phone? I mean… 
JiHizzy : We’ve already met each other and… I don’t know why… 
JiHizzy : I could ask you for your number… But I don’t want to get rid of the app.
JustAnotherGirl : oh? Why?
JiHizzy : There’s just so many memories on here…
JiHizzy : Sometimes when I’m alone or sad… I go back through our messages. You really know how to make me happy…
JustAnotherGirl : Really…?
JiHizzy : Yeah… Really. 
JiHizzy : Don’t tell anyone though! The guys would totally mock me for that.
JustAnotherGirl : I won’t… I won’t tell anyone.
Jooyi burst through the door, shopping bags lining her arms and she dropped them carelessly to the floor before falling back onto her bed, a loud, ear piercing squeal escaping her as she kicked her feet. “He’s so amazing! He’s so much cuter up close! He wants to take me on a date this weekend!!” She squealed again, and you felt disgusted. Did he want to take her on a date, or did he want to take you on a date? Was it her looks or was it your personality that he liked? 
“I’m… Really happy for you, Jooyi.” You lied through gritted teeth. You hated hearing about it, you hated hearing her in general, but hearing her talk about him as if she was the one who had put in the work over four months to get him to like her… It was unfair. You faked a yawn and rubbed your eyes, acting tired just to be able to wipe your tears without her noticing. “I’m gonna go to the library and study. I’ll see you later.” 
She was lost in her own world, but she sat up as you reached the door, your backpack slung over your shoulder and your hand on the doorknob. “Hey!” You put on a smile as you turned to face her, waiting for her to continue. “Did he message you? Did he talk about me? Hmm?” 
You felt your phone vibrate in your back pocket, you knew it was him, but you shook your head. “Haven’t heard from him… Maybe he deleted the app… I don’t know. I have to study though, I’ll let you know if he does.” She sighed softly, letting her head fall back against the mattress, she was back in dreamland. Her whole life was a dream… And yours was a nonstop nightmare. 
///
The library was practically empty when you walked in, you could hear every squeak of the floorboards as the one or two other students paced the shelves of books. You could almost hear the buzzing of the fluorescent light that hung over your head… You could hear… “Is this seat taken?” The man asked, and you looked up to see Jisung standing next to the chair that was across from you. It was strange, and you looked around at the vast amount of empty tables that filled the large building. Why would he want to sit with you? “I don’t like sitting by myself… I feel like it’s easier to study when I have someone sitting with me.” 
Could he read your mind? Pfft, no! That’s impossible. “It’s not taken…” You mumbled, trying to keep your voice low, hoping that he wouldn’t recognize it from the phone calls. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how furious Jooyi would be if she found out about this. Maybe you should just leave. You could study another night. Then your phone vibrated against the table, your heart froze, and Jisung, who had been smiling at his own phone looked up at you. 
“Heh… That’s a coincidence. I just sent a message and your phone vibrated!” He said rather cheerfully, and the way he looked at you, it was like he was expecting you to check it. There was no way in hell you’d do that though. You awkwardly giggled, shoving your phone into your backpack as you shook your head. 
“Probably an email or something… It is… Ironic though…” You whispered, lowering your head even further into the textbook that you had opened. You felt his eyes linger on you though, like they were burning through you, and you didn’t know whether to feel flustered, nervous, or both those things and everything in between. “D-Do you need something? A pencil… Or-” 
“I know you…” He said matter-of-factly, and it was like your throat closed up and your chest tightened. How did he know you? What was he talking about? He couldn’t possibly know you. “You’re the top student… You’re like, mega smart! I can see why now… Do you always study this late?” 
Relief, a sigh of relief and a deep breath. You were safe… You shouldn’t overthink too much. “Mmn…” You nodded your head once but kept it bowed, trying to focus on the words in the textbook, but it was so hard. “Thank you…” You added, wondering if maybe that was what he was waiting for. 
He chuckled softly, and then you felt the table shake as he dropped his own backpack on the table and started pulling out a bunch of notebooks. “You make it seem so easy. How do you just… Concentrate? It’s so hard for me to do.” He whined, and you looked around as his voice got higher and higher. “Oh… Sorry.” His voice dropped back down to a whisper and then he chuckled softly. 
His laugh was contagious and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him, your hand clasping over your mouth to try to muffle the noise. “It’s easy… You just have to find the fun in it.” He rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at you and you pursed your lips, trying not to laugh at his reaction. “Seriously. Here, let me show you.” 
It was supposed to be a solo study session, honestly, it was just to try to get away from your roommate long enough for her to fall asleep. You never in your wildest dreams expected this to happen. It was like a scene straight out of a k-drama, but you also knew that after these types of scenes, things got bad. But you didn’t want to think about that right now… All you could think about was the way that he laughed with you, the way he smiled at you, the way he talked to you like you were a person and not just the dirt beneath his shoes. 
“You remind me of someone.” He said nonchalantly as you both started packing up your books. You blinked a few times, your head tilting to the side as you waited for him to elaborate, but he was looking at his phone, his smile dropping slightly as he turned it off and slid it into his pocket. “Oh… It’s nothing. She must have just fallen asleep. She’s always so tired. She studies a lot… Kind of like you. Maybe you can tutor me… I’ll bring her too! That would be cool, right?” Cool… Not at all. It was the complete opposite of cool. That… That would never work.
“M-Maybe… I don’t know… I tutor a couple other people.” You came up with the lie quickly, and you hated the way his smile almost completely disappeared. Maybe you could make an exception… It’s not like he’d find out… Right? Jooyi would just have to act interested in studying. You were sure that if you told her, she’d be on board… “I’ll… I’ll see if I can schedule you in.” 
And just like that, his smile was back and he was pulling his phone out again. “Awesome! Uhm, how about we exchange phone numbers and…” He trailed off when he saw the look on your face, and you were sure that you looked quite uneasy. There was no way that would go over well with Jooyi, she’d flip shit. “How about Anonny… You know the app, right? Everyone has it!” Oh shit… That was even worse. 
“How about… We leave it up to fate.” His eyebrow arched, and you were really going out on a limb here with the excuses, but you had to protect yourself… Not just from him, but from Jooyi too. You didn’t have much to lose… But it was enough to have you terrified. “If we both manage to come to the library at the same time, if you see me here, I’ll tutor you. I usually come at night though… Just so you know.” 
You bowed your head to him as you got up, putting on your backpack and heading out, and you could hear him following behind you. “I’ll be here. Every night. I’ll study on my own too… Thank you, for helping me.” You hummed in response, pushing open the main door and you were met with a rather brisk gust of wind that had you shivering and shoving your hands into your pockets. “Are you cold? Here…” He shimmied out of his top coat, placing it over your shoulders and smiling when he saw it on you. “You can return it to me next time fate brings us together, okay? Just stay warm, and get home safe.” 
For fucks sake… 
///
JiHizzy : Hey, whatcha up to?
JiHizzy : It’s been like… 3 hours… Are you mad or something? 
JiHizzy : You must be sleeping… I just feel like somethings wrong… 
JiHizzy : Let me know when you get this message… Okay?
Your roommate was fast asleep when you finally got in, and you quickly took off Jisungs coat and slid it under your bed, safe for now at least from the prying eyes of Jooyi. As you curled up under your blankets, ready to just fall asleep, ready to let yourself drift off into a world where you didn’t have to pretend and you didn’t have to lie to the man who had sat across from you in the library when there were so many tables to choose from. The man who smiled at you and made you feel like you were the only person in the room. Then your phone vibrated once more from under your pillow. 
JiHizzy : I was studying tonight… I know how important it is to you and… I wanted to do it. JiHizzy : I met someone there, she reminded me of you a lot! 
JiHizzy : I hope these aren’t waking you up… I know you’re sleeping. 
JustAnotherGirl : I was at the library too. We must have just missed each other…
JiHizzy : NO WAY! Dammit! Well… 
JiHizzy : I was thinking that we can do study dates. Wouldn’t that be cool? 
JustAnotherGirl : It would. I really like that idea. 
JiHizzy : Awesome! Okay! 
JiHizzy : Goodnight cutie! 
Study dates… That’s how you had looked at tonight, or you were just delusional. If tonight had happened sooner… Would you have taken Jooyi up on her deal? He seemed to be just fine with you… He wasn’t embarrassed, he wasn’t ashamed to be sitting across from you and laughing with you… Would he have liked you still if he knew who you really were? 
///
“So, how was your night last night? You got home safe?” Jisung asked and you heard Jooyi giggle loudly, it was so fake, it made you sick. He was such a genuine person, and she was nothing but a stuck up little- 
“My night was wonderful! I went shopping for our date this weekend. I can’t wait for you to see the outfits I picked out!” You sank down onto the bench. Shit… You hadn’t told her… What would happen now? 
“Sh-Shopping?” He questioned, and you wanted to crawl under a rock. You wanted to hide from her and the wrath that you knew was bound to be coming your way. “I thought you were studying? You said… You said you were at the library…” 
She went silent, and even though you were outside, you could feel the tension in the air. “Did… Did I say shopping?! Oh my gosh, I meant studying! I’m a big nerd! You know me!” She laughed again, but this time there was something else… Nervousness? Irritation? Anger? She’d be looking for you. 
“You’re acting weird… Are you okay?” He asked, and she scoffed loudly. Should you spare a glance and risk meeting eyes with her? “Were you just… Lying about studying? Was it to try to… Impress me? You know you don’t have to do that.” 
“I know I don’t. I’m impressive enough!” She said loudly, it’s like she enjoyed making scenes. She was disgusting. “I have to go really quick, I forgot my big ol’ textbook back at my room. I’ll meet up with you later? We can have lunch!” 
“Y-Yeah… Sure…” Something had changed… He wasn’t buying it anymore. But you didn’t have time to worry about that. Jooyi was looking for you, and you were tired of being scared of her. You were tired of worrying about what she’d do or what she’d say about you. Jisung liked you, even if just as a friend… You had been made clear of that last night at the library. She couldn’t even make it one day… The two of you were just too different, and he had noticed. You weren’t sure what would happen next, but you weren’t going to hide away, you weren’t going to give in. You deserved to be happy… You might not have the money, you don’t have the luxuries, but you have the willpower, and you have the drive… And that was worth way more than what her money could ever buy. 
“I need to talk to you… Now.” As if like magic, she appeared in front of you. She was angry, no doubt, but there was nothing she could do to hurt you. So you got up, following her off to the side of one of the buildings, and before you could say anything the palm of her hand connected with your cheek. “You bitch! You said that you’d tell me when he messaged you! Was this your plan?! To humiliate me in front of him!” 
Now it was your turn to scoff, your turn to laugh, and while the sting in your cheek hurt, it didn’t hurt as much as knowing that you almost let him get away, you almost let him get stuck with someone like her. “I didn’t have to plan it for it to work out like this. You humiliated yourself. He isn’t your type… Deal with it.” 
“You…” She started, but it quickly turned to a scream, one filled with pure rage as she started grabbing at the pockets of your jacket. “Give me your phone! He doesn’t want you! He wants me! You’re nothing! You’re poor and you’re pathetic and you’ll never have him! Why would anyone want you!” She just… screamed… She screamed so loud, and with every attempt to grab at you, you swatted her hands away, backing up further and further until you bumped into something… or… someone. “Oh! Jisung!” She full stopped, adjusting her hair and putting on the fakest smile. 
“What are you doing?” He asked, looking between you and Jooyi. “What are you talking about?” His eyes focused on you a lot longer, as if studying you, and you felt the heat of his gaze, but it didn’t burn, it just made you feel warm, it made you feel safe. “Why do you want her phone?” 
Jooyi was stuttering over herself, unable to form a coherent sentence as her head shook violently. “She… Sh-She’s blackmailing me, Ji! She stole my username on Anonny… She’s pretending to be me so that she can get with you… So she can take you away from me!” She whined, and you couldn’t help but look disgustedly at her. She truly was the queen of scenes, stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum like a child would. How pathetic. 
“My… tutor… Is blackmailing… You?” He questioned, and her eyes widened before turning her daggers towards you. “What’s your name on Anonny? If she stole it from you… What is it?” You didn’t have to do anything, he was putting all of the pieces together for himself. You weren’t sure what would happen once the puzzle finally came together… And maybe it wouldn’t work out for you… But to see her get knocked down to size, it made it all worth it. 
“I-It… My Anonny name? You know it! You tell me what it is!” She said, and you knew why, she was trying to get him to say it… But he was smarter than that. He shook his head, letting out a disappointed chuckle, and then his attention was back on you. “Don’t! Don’t look at her! Look at me! You love me!” 
“Do I?” He whispered, but he never looked away from you, his head tilted and a small smile on his face. “What’s your Anonny username?” He asked, and you felt the heat rising inside of you. This was your chance, your moment, you didn’t know where it would lead you to, but it was time. 
“I’m… JustAnotherGirl… Just another girl that has a crush on you… That gets overlooked and forgotten. But I’m here… And I’ve been here for four months…” You murmured, and he let out a shaky gasp. Was he embarrassed? Was he ashamed that you were the girl he had been talking to for so long? “I’m sorry. I’m not popular, I’m not even close to rich. I don’t have much to give… But-” 
“But you’re perfect…” He stepped closer to you, causing you to stumble back as your breath hitched in your throat. “You’re smart, and you’re sweet… You’re kind and you’re genuine. You’re not materialistic, you’re just… You’re wonderful, you’re wonderfully you…” His hand reached up, his knuckles brushing lightly against your cheek. “You’re the girl that I fell in love with…” 
“WHAT!!?” Jooyi screeched from behind you, and before you knew it, you and Jisung were being pushed apart. “Are you serious right now?! Her?! She’s… She’s a roach! She’s vermin! I can’t believe you right now! Have you seen me?!” 
“Sadly.” Jisung retorted, and it took everything in you not to laugh, but everyone that had gathered around to see what was going on laughed enough for you. “I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t talk about my girlfriend like that.” 
“G-Girlfriend?!” Jooyi scoffed, running her hands through her hair. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Just… When you lose all your friends because you’re with a loser, don’t come crawling back to me! Have fun being not popular!” 
“I think it’s time for us to go, don’t you?” He asked, completely ignoring her now as he draped his arm over your shoulder. “You want lunch? Anything you want, it’s on me.” 
///
HanJi : I’ll be at the library soon. I’ve got hot cocoa!
Beautiful Wonderful Girlfriend : Don’t drive too fast, the snow is really coming down now… 
“I know it is…” His voice came from behind you, and then the cups of hot cocoa were placed in front of you on the table. “It’s really pretty, isn’t it?” You glanced out the window, awestruck at just how beautiful campus could look when blanketed in dazzling white snow. “You brought your coat, right?” 
You nodded your head, patting the chair beside you where the coat that he had given you almost 2 years ago was neatly hanging over the back of the seat. “It’s your coat… You just won’t let me give it back.” You teased, and he let out a soft sigh as he dropped down into his seat. He hadn’t changed a bit since the first time you both sat at this table together. 
It was strange how time worked, it felt like forever ago, but you remembered it like it had happened just yesterday. “It’s our coat, babe. What’s mine is yours.” He sounded so serious, but you couldn’t help but laugh at the statement. He was talking like the two of you were… Married? Your laughter subsided as you stared at him across the table, your lips parted slightly as you let out a quiet breath. 
“You’re funny…” You said sheepishly, turning your attention back out the window, focusing on the snowflakes that danced down from the sky, finding the perfect place to rest. “We’re not married, our things don’t have to be shared…” Even though you both had been together for two years and he was the sweetest, most loving boyfriend you had ever had… You still couldn’t get those words out of your head. The words from the past that had been uttered by the girl that had wanted to take your place… He would never want to be with someone like you…
“Yet…” He murmured, the word like a breath leaving his lips. You blinked a few times, feeling the heat rising in your cheeks, your heart thumping loudly in your chest. Did he really love you that much? Could someone really love you that much? Were you deserving of this much love, to be with someone like him? “What are you thinking about, babe?” He cooed, reaching across the table to grab your hands that were folded on top, his thumb brushing lightly across your knuckles. 
“I’m just…” You began, feeling the familiar sting of fresh tears beginning to brim in your eyes, but it was slightly different this time… They weren’t tears of sadness or fear… You were happy. “I’m so lucky… And… I never thought I’d be with someone so amazing… So perfect…” You could barely get your voice above a whisper, your throat closing up from trying to hold back your tears. 
“Mm…” He hummed, pushing away from the table and getting up, walking around to your side of the table and grabbing your hand. “Let’s take a walk… yeah?” One more glance out the window and you saw the snow creating almost a wall of white as it came down harder, but there was no wind, it was just… beautiful. “I’ll keep you warm, don’t worry.” 
You nodded your head, grabbing the coat and slipping it on, the scent of his cologne, although faded, still brought you comfort when you put it on. “Where are we going?” You quizzed, slipping your fingers between his as you both walked out of the library. You were sure that nothing would be open, not with this weather. 
“Anywhere… I just… I want to walk with you.” He said, his voice kind of shaky, like his nerves had gotten the better of him. He led you aimlessly through campus, and you followed right along beside him. You didn’t really care where you were going, as long as you were with him, you’d follow the path he was taking blindly with your hand in his. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ll do it…” 
Was he talking to you or was he just thinking out loud? You looked to him, the snowflakes catching on your eyelashes as you tried to read him, but he was looking straight forward, his lips turned up into a lopsided smile. “How you’ll do what?” Even though you were speaking softly, the silence that surrounded you made every word sound so loud. 
“Propose.” He sounded so calm, but the singular word alone had you pausing, pulling him back so he would face you. “What? Can I not think about how I’m going to propose to my wonderful, beautiful, amazing, sweet, lovely-“ 
“Okay okay!” Even after 2 years, you still weren’t the best at taking compliments, especially when he was looking at you so intently. “Why are you thinking about that right now? We’re still in college and… I want you to focus on graduating. So we can both be successful. You know?” 
His hand slipped out of yours and then his arm snaked around your waist as he started walking again, pulling you along with him. “I can focus on graduating, and I can focus on you. I’ve been doing it since the day I truly met you… the real you.” He chuckled quietly, the sound building in his chest as his head shook. It was funny now, to look back on everything that happened. “And I like thinking about the future, it makes me happy to know that I’ll be spending it with you. But you don’t have to worry about me proposing in college… I wouldn’t want everyone to see. I want it to be a moment for us to remember.” You hummed softly, leaning against his shoulder as you simply listened to him, you let him get lost in his thoughts because you didn’t mind getting lost in them either. They had you looking forward to a better, simpler time where the two of you would be able to be together without worrying about grades and finals. “Flower petals will line the path that I’ll take you down…” He murmured, and your eyes were focused on his face, not noticing the trail of pink and red in the snow. “A gazebo, with fairy lights twinkling brightly, shining in your eyes…” He continued, sighing softly. “Nobody is around, the snow is falling, you look absolutely stunning against the backdrop…” 
“A winter proposal?” You asked, and you were so lost in his thoughts and your own that you hadn’t even noticed how far you had walked until he was leading you up the stairs of a white wooden gazebo, perfect icicles hanging off the roof of it, and… fairy lights illuminated the inside. “Ji…” You whispered his name, a tuft of smoke coming from your mouth as you breathed it out. His arm left your waist and he kneeled down in front of you, his cheeks a dark pink from both the cold and his nerves. “You said… You said you wouldn’t propose when we were still in college…” 
He snickered, fishing a black velvet box out of his pocket, his snow dampened hair curtaining his eyes as he kept his head down. “I meant… not while we were in the college. We’re not on the grounds anymore…” He finally looked up at you, and you let out a shaky gasp as it truly set in what he was doing. “I don’t want to wait any longer, I know that you’re the one that I want to spend all of my life with. I’ve never felt more comfortable with anyone else. I love you, I’ve known that I loved you since before I even… before I even knew you. I wake up every morning and thank everything that you’re mine, and I fall asleep every night knowing that no matter what, everything will be okay because I have you by my side. I don’t care what anyone thinks, I don’t care what people might say… I only care that you’re happy… And if you say yes, I promise… To do my best to make you feel happy and loved every single day until the day that I die.” He opened the box, and the diamond facets of the silver ring glistened and reflected the lights that had been strung up. “So… Will you… Will you marry me?” 
You choked out a sob, dropping to your knees in front of him as you nodded your head yes, and he quickly pulled the ring out of the box, his hand shaking as he slid it onto your finger. “Ji…” Was all you could say as you looked at the ring, cold, yet so beautiful in its place. His chilled hands cupped your cheeks, tilting your head so that your eyes would meet his. “I love you…” 
“And I’ll always love you.” He leaned in, kissing you softly and humming against your lips. “Shall we go back inside and warm up, my beautiful, lovely, wonderful, amazing-“ 
“Stop~” You playfully whined, giggling quietly as you dropped your gaze once more. “You’re so cheesy…” You mumbled, and then you felt his lips against your forehead, his fingers brushing your hair out of your face. 
“And you’re… You’re everything to me…” He pushed himself up to his feet, carefully pulling you up and then hugging you tightly. “Thank you, for making me happy, for loving me… I can’t wait to marry you."
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AITA for making a joke about my sex life to a student? 😏🐓 Nsfw text obv i know the title sounds bad but please read everything
I (Transmasc, 25) work on a school, very open as being gay, pride pins and it all, not as a teacher but I take care of computers, textbooks and the library. The younger folk seem to like me, but it's in high school folks things get ugly. Most just don't care about me, which I can't judge, being a teen sucks. Some hate me for telling them to go back to class. The ones that like me (mostly queer/autistic folk) like me for real.
There's this one boy (he's either 16 or 17 so he's NOT a kid) that always makes fun of me, is always skipping classes, is mean to everyone, implied a old teacher she should be better off dead, bothers everyone, talk loudly and complains about everything on his sight.
And he is. Very bigoted. I saw him more than once hurting the girls he studies with (slapping/punching) and caling the whores and more, telling them to suck him off, ride his dick, gag on his cock, etc, saying very hurtful things on gay men/anyone he deemed gay, and principal can only call his parents so many times before the parents stop showing and taking the concerns seriously. This is an ongoing issue since 6th grade, as far as I know. He hates my guts since I've called the principal on him more than once for going off on me telling me to fuck myself for asking him to go back to class.
My main strategy with him is ignoring him and the second one is answering as I don't understand him. Perks of being autistic I guess, being able to do this with a straight face. So: he calls me a chicken, I tell him they're my favorite farm animal, how did he guess? They're so amazing and cute. He tells me the lunch is gross, I say they can buy their lunch to bring if they want to, school food isn't that good (not true, the school food is amazing. Most students eat more than one plate). The computers are too slow, I ask him to please be patient cause they're old men that don't like to work, be nice to them :(. Guy says that the classes sucks, I tell him that the complaint box is at (governor's address) but yea they suck but at least he has only one year left.
This is where I might be the asshole, because I hurt myself going up and down a chair to organize some textbooks and I already have severe hip/knee pain so this only made me hurt worse so I am already pretty grumpy. A teacher asks for a banner of a periodic table and I have to find the table and go up a chair to hang it, and in the process, I let out a moan of pain becaude my knees dream of my downfall, and the teacher asks me if I am okay, so I tell yea, my hips and knees just hurt like a bitch. And this one student tells me "why, are you beaten up from taking cock in your ass?" And I breath deeply and answer "If it was from fucking I would be damn happy, but it's only from working. Anyways teacher here you go (with the periodic table)" and the teacher looks me with a surprised expression and all the class is silent and uncomfortable so I just left. Now the student can't look in my eyes but at least they're not talking to me anymore and the teacher hasn't said anything. AITA?
What are these acronyms?
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earthstellar · 2 months
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Brave Bang Bravern!: A Review for Transformers Fans
I've seen so much about this on my dash that I had to give it a try, and I gotta say, as someone who hasn't watched any new anime series since around 2008 at the most recent and I also hate the fucking military, this is a pretty good show.
THERE WILL BE SOME MILD SPOILERS. Nothing major. I'm not gonna spoil anything critical or mention characters that are introduced later etc. At of time of writing, only 6 episodes have been released.
Understanding Genre: The Trailer is A Lie
Now, while there is a trailer here, I want you to largely disregard it.
Why is that? Well, we need to talk about the "big two" robot show genres in Japan, which are as follows:
Real Robot -- This refers to a typically military setting or other serious setting, in which robots are handled as realistically as possible in terms of how they work and how they are applied. There tend to be less individual/sentient robots and more "suit" type mechs right along side human-made, more realistic machinery and mech designs, although that isn't entirely unique to this genre. Usually this stuff is labelled as sci-fi/action outside of Japan.
Super Robot (THIS IS THE SHIT TRANSFORMERS FANS GENERALLY WANT) --Essentially borderline seemingly magical robots with their own rules and in universe backstory for how they work, which isn't necessarily tied to realism. Usually this stuff is labelled as sci-fi/fantasy or space fantasy outside of Japan, since a lot of these tend to be space robots. They can be "driven" by pilots or just straight up sentient robots who are vibing with some human companions, although it's not exclusively that. It can be both, it can be neither, but no matter what, Super Robot shows are less about strict realism and more about really cool shit with robots that are basically their own people and exist according to their own rules.
Now, the trailer for BBBB (the acronym for the show is based on the Japanese title, which is Bang Brave Bang Bravern) is a COMPLETE FUCKING LIE.
It wants you to think this is going to be some dumbass GI Joe shit.
While there are elements of dumbass GI Joe shit, this is largely just to set up the premise for why shit is happening in the first place, and to help introduce the main threat (alien space creatures with fucking light beam lasers) as well as bring in our main characters under the premise of everyone having to work together to address this alien threat to Earth.
What we care about here amongst Transformers freaks is gay space robots, and this show delivers.
Getting Into Bravern: First Episode, Mild Plot Spoiler Summary
It wants you to think this is a Real Robot show.
The first episode sets things up as though it will be a Real Robot show.
There is a threat to Earth, a mystery space alien mechanical enemy, and nobody knows what the fuck to do. A military exercise between multiple nations using Titanostriders (which look very much like Shiro Masamune Appleseed-style mechs, human made in nature) to practice battle drills who are now instructed to swap over to real ammunition and go to fucking town.
Nobody knows how to do that.
They're skilled with the Titanostriders, sure, but it turns into a shit show. The alien mechanical enemies are using fucking space laser shit, it's a disaster---
--And then Bravern drops in from the fucking sky and it IMMEDIATELY TURNS INTO A SUPER ROBOT SHOW.
There's a "get in the robot, Shiji" moment where one of the Titanostrider operators, Isami Ao, is encouraged by Bravern to get inside of him.
He does. And immediately has no idea what the fuck is going on, Bravern is largely in control, and starts to blast his own theme song inside his cockpit as diegetic music while Isami is generally losing his shit, as one might do.
Humanity's reaction to Bravern is Real Robot genre type, where it is handled seriously by all the characters and organisations involved in universe, however Bravern is very much a Super Robot genre character who brings more of a Super Robot energy to the show at large.
The serious elements are mostly balanced by how fucking silly Bravern is, and there are some excellent moments in this show (currently only 6 episodes have been released) which make it entirely worth a watch.
Fun Things About Bravern Himself
Braven is very, very, very gay for his pilot.
Chances are, you've seen the screenshots of some of these moments on Tumblr already, but the delivery of these lines is magnificent.
Bravern sings his own theme song. It's the voice actor for Bravern doing the vocals, and the song itself is reminiscent of 1970s orchestrated big band energy mecha themes. For Transformers fans, it has a very Transformers Victory theme kind of vibe to it.
You gotta hear it, it fucking rules. The album cover shows Bravern holding a giant microphone.
Bravern is generally light hearted, doing his best to motivate his pilot while not hesitating to enter the action and try to defend humanity.
Now, why does Bravern care about humans so much? We don't know, but we'll talk about some mysteries in a later section below.
He is surprisingly insightful at times, while also fucking around and enjoying himself. (You may have seen screenshots going around Tumblr of Bravern with a loop of hot dogs strung around one of his chevron points on his forehead. This follows a scene in which he wants his pilot to take a break and associate with his peers for once, as a way to relieve stress. So they go to a bar, it turns out reception is positive and someone even brings weenies out for Bravern since he's too big to fit inside, lol.)
Generally, he's a very interesting mech, because we have so little information about him. He's fun, and clearly vibing, but he's also borderline if not outright obsessed with his pilot and has unknown origins, which has lead to some darker interpretations and audience discussion.
A lot of people have compared Bravern's energy to Rodimus, and generally I would agree with that. He has his high-energy silly moments, and his more serious personal moments (primarily with Isami, but also with Smith), and I think these aspects of his character work well to create a fun mech with the potential to be deep in a believable and effective way, with an equal capacity for being a doofus.
Bravern is obviously the number one reason to watch the show for most people, and I would say that if you're purely here for a giant gay space robot, then this is going to be a decent watch.
The Military Sucks: There Are Militaries Involved Yet Somehow This Is Still Watchable
I hate the fucking military, so at least the military here is depicted in an acceptable way (so far, at least). In episode 2, they waterboard Isami to interrogate him for information he doesn't have regarding Bravern, which is a realistically shitty and awful thing for the military to do-- They don't sugarcoat how fucked up the military is. These people very much have the capacity to harm their own staff, and they will do so if it means they might get an edge over the enemy.
At the same time, the actual characters in the military are depicted as primarily doing this shit out of a genuine personal desire to defeat these horrendously destructive space entities, which have attacked at least some of their home towns and home countries, so it's more personal rather than purely being a military directive that people are being forced to follow.
In this way, it's not really realistic, but everyone is on board for their own largely humanitarian aid type of reasons (there is a mission which is basically just locating survivors of an attack and then getting the fuck out) which makes the military context feel less oppressive and shitty.
Part of why this is more OK than other military depictions is because the military forces involved here are international (collaborating to defeat a global threat rather than kill each other's civilians) and because the military is clearly losing this war.
Because it's an international effort, this brings more diversity to the show-- There's a surprising amount of English interspersed between dialogue in Japanese here and there, and the military board consists of representatives from multiple nations, including some Germans who at first believe Bravern is some kind of secret American operation, lmao.
Bravern calls the military out on its shit, and essentially tells the military board to stop with the suspicious infighting bullshit and drop the internal tension because otherwise they'll all die to this mechanical nightmare creature threat.
They actually listen, which means this is an unrealistic portrayal of the military, lmao. I think they struck a good balance so far between showing that the military sucks and has problems, while also making sure that you're not really cheering for any given military force, but rather, you cheer for individual characters who just happen to be stuck doing this military shit as a premise for anything to be going on in the show at all.
So it's not the worst when it comes to the military shit; At least so far, it's watchable, which as someone who passionately hates the fucking military, is surprising to me.
It's less GI Joe and more "we just needed a reason for these characters to be involved in this situation".
Of course, your mileage may vary, but personally I found it easy to tune out or just skip through any military shit that got grating and I didn't miss anything important by doing so. At the very least, you can skip around and ignore a lot of this stuff and get right to the gay robot if that's all you want to do. It becomes clear pretty quickly what's going on if you skip around a bit, so no worries there.
Fun Speculation: What is Bravern?
Only 6 episodes are out at the moment, so there's tons of shit we don't know yet.
Bravern has a notable resemblance to a type of enemy in the show, called a Death-Drive.
Death-Drives are mecha who are distinct from the "minion" type enemies (which almost resemble flying saucers with laser gun arms and light shields), and have their own unique character designs and names.
Why these things are here, how they are here, why they are interested in Earth, and everything else is currently unknown.
Bravern looks like he could possibly be of the same mechanical species, although we don't know if that's true (yet). He has abilities that the other mecha don't seem to have, but how far this goes and what it might mean is not yet clear.
Bravern also seems to have knowledge of human media (he references The Abyss at one point and he likes 3D printing figures of sentai show characters lmao), and was immediately able to speak to the humans using language they would understand, so it's unclear if Bravern may have been studying Earth for some time before his arrival or why.
He is obsessed with his pilot and cares for him so much that he extends some care towards others purely based on their relation to Isami as co-workers; Why? What makes Isami special?
How does Bravern know seemingly every human language? How does his piloting system work? How similar is he to the Death-Drives-- Are organic beings critical to them in some way? If so, why are the other mechs killing so many of us? (These are big questions especially by the end of episode 6, due to some spoilers and a spoiler character who shows up later.)
We know little to nothing about a lot of the key elements of the show, including any motivations for the Death-Drives or what they are, what's up with the fucking UFO looking laser things, etc.
There's more to speculate on, but that would be getting into deeper spoiler territory so I'm gonna hold back on that for now.
Summary: It's Gay and Cool and Has Interesting Ideas
Bravern's not the sole source of gay vibes in this show, but it's fun that he is also a source of gay vibes in this show.
The designs are great, the Titanostriders remind me of Appleseed style mechanical suit designs which is nice, the Death-Drives are super interesting, Bravern is fucking fabulous but he's not too goofy to take seriously, and the military is unfortunately present but it's clear that they suck and are generally losing (and since the conflict is not between different groups of humans but rather is about human collaboration to defeat a non-human shared threat to our entire planet, this goes a long way to make the military shit tolerable).
It pretends to be a Real Robot show but has so much Super Robot show sprinkled in that you might as well consider it a little bit of both which the show balances pretty well.
I haven't watched an anime since around 2008 at the very latest, so I don't know how this might compare to any other robot animes since then and I am certainly not an anime expert by any means LOL, but this has been a fun show to watch so far.
It does have its problems, of course, but if you can get past the setup for the first episode (when it's still pretending to be a Real Robot show), from the moment Bravern arrives towards the end of that first episode, the show gains momentum and starts to get interesting very quickly.
It has some issues. But we're only 6 episodes in, so at the moment, they have plenty of time to potentially address those issues and we'll see where things go.
I'd recommend it if you want to give it a try!
I think there's enough here to appeal to the usual Transformers crowd and you might end up liking it, or at least having fun while watching it in the background.
If you end up wanting to to tap out then no worries-- I think it's worth giving it a shot and if it's not your thing, no problem.
Each episode is around 25 - 30 minutes, so while the first episode might feel like a slog to get through because fuck the military, once Bravern shows up the show actually gets started and I wouldn't blame anyone for just skipping to that point in the first episode and going from there, because there's nothing in that opening that you won't be reminded of or be able to figure out. It mostly just sets up the intro to the human characters and the collaboration training session, introduces the Titanostriders as a thing, and you can always go back and watch that part later if you want to.
All in all, pretty decent! Obviously we're Transformers people so we're here for the robots, and the robots are interesting and fun, and that's all I need to have a good time.
Hopefully this was a useful summary if you're interested or have seen Bravern stuff on your dash! :)
Thanks for reading!
BONUS: I forgot to mention this somehow, but there's a lot of overlap between Transformers and other Brave shows involving actual Transformers re-used in Japan for these shows; There's a good video about it here on YouTube which explains some of this, but if anyone's wondering, yes Bravern has a grounder alt-mode and it's pretty cool. Will we get a transforming Bravern figure??? We can hope!
There's another video here which mentions some of the Transformers elements in other Brave shows/Yuusha, which might be interesting for those of you who are unaware. :)
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imraespace · 4 months
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20: ..THE PROBLEM..
YUUTA X READER
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The weekend went by quick. Too quick for his liking.
Sadly it was Monday again, meaning school.
Normally Yuuta won't really overthink about it, he gets to see his best friend all the time. But something is different about this school week.
.
.
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The alarm on his phone went off once, becoming silent as his hands hit the phone before it can ring again.
It was 5am in the morning, the normal time Yuuta gets up for school.
He rose from his bed, turning on the lamp that's on his bedside table so he can look for a certain item.
The ring he always wore.
The sight of the ring made him sigh as he left it there until he was ready to leave for school.
.
.
Time passed by and now he was now packed and ready to leave for school, he picked up his phone and ring then left his dorm and walked straight to school.
Normally he would stay by the female dorms for Rika but this time he didn't.
As he entered he noticed a certain black haired girl passing by, making her way towards her own classroom.
In doing so, he too made his way towards his own classroom and did exactly what he said.
The day before, after his chat with Rika, he messaged his homeroom teacher, asking to be switched and fortunately his teacher told him yes he can.
He decided to sit besides Inumaki, his seat was in the back of the class while Yuuta's original seat was in the front.
He sighed, before making his way towards his seat, he placed the ring on her her desk, then began walking towards his new seat.
He sat there for a while until his mind made its way towards the girl he saw this morning.
It was you.
Of course his mind ran back to what Rika said, that you liked him but also he thought of what Rika might do now since he's forcefully separating both himself and her. He especially thought of what she might do to you.
That's when he decided to make his way towards your homeroom class, jogging until he made it.
Opening the classroom door, a few others were already there so their eyes were on him, including yours.
You, obviously was shocked, that Yuuta was here.
This isn't his homeroom, you thought yet his eyes landed on you as he made his way towards your direction.
The closer he came, the more you began to blush. Everyone was glancing at your direction from time to time, causing you to look down at your desk.
But as he came even more close, you heard that he was panting a bit so you asked.
"Are you okay? Is there something you need..?" You mumbled.
His face held a relief look as he slightly smiled at your words.
"Yes, I am I just came to check on you." He replied.
You was obviously confused.
"..Check up on me..?"
"Yes. I don't want Rika doing anything to you. You did nothing wrong.." He said, giving you a more comforting smile.
His words made you l stare at the floor infront of you, hiding the smile that's creeping up on your face.
"That's nice of you but it's okay-"
But! Your words was cut off by a sudden slam of a door and a panting, angry girl staring into your eyes.
It scared everyone in the classroom.
Yuuta was right, Rika did plan on coming to meet you.
She made her way towards your desk, ignoring everyone's confused mumbles but, was stopped by a hand grabbing hers.
She looked up softly the boy yet he didn't have the same look in his eyes.
He was upset that she would've actually tried to hurt you and annoyed that she didn't listen to his words.
"Why did you give me back the ring? I told you to keep it."
"I told you I was giving it back didn't I?"
She looked upset now, snatching back her arm, taking a long hard look at you both and then finally walking away from the scene.
But before she could fully leave the classroom, the last words she heard from him was:
"Leave her alone."
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MASTERLIST | <-PREVIOUS // NEXT->
TAGLIST: @milza12 @jayathelostdragon @instantmusico @aggtslva @norvacaine @polarbvnny @baku-boneless @forgot-the-acronym @zhochikennugget @oreologyx @iluhhjake @diogodxlot @iluv-ace @sasallie @pompompuriina @g0rep1ty @seventhcinema @deezy12299 @br66klynbaby @macimcnaron @mo0nforme @smashingdollz (OPEN)
(if you didn't get tagged, your profile didn't show up.)
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note: funny joke this and the chapter before was suppose to come out earlier but I got distracted on royale high.
but yay yuuta is protecting you!
next chapter is gonna be written as well(sadly for me🙄🙄)
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feenick · 4 months
Text
JRPG, CRPG, WRPG... these aren't very useful subgenres, and geologically recent arguments have heated up the debate around them even more. So I propose throwing them out and replacing them with these 26 new, flawless categories:
ARPG - Action RPG: Do you perfom actions? Or are you stuck watching the title sequence over and over because the main menu doesn't work? BRPG - Bethesdic RPG: Can you pick up every wheel of cheese in the game and put it into a single room? Does the game needing to keep track of that eventually ruin saves? Then the game's a BRPG. CRPG - Computer RPG/Console RPG: Everyone will know exactly what you mean when you use this acronym. If need be, refer to games like Ultima IV or Final Fantasy VII, games that exclusively exist on either a personal computer or a console. DRPG - Dungeon RPG: Do you go into the prison cells underneath a castle? If you don't, are you really an RPG of any type, much less a DRPG? ERPG - Erotic RPG: A game where you find love. Did you talk to someone on an internet forum about Final Fantasy IV and get into a relationship through that? That goes here. FRPG - French RPG: Wakfu exists. I'm sure there's others. GRPG - Good RPG: They all go in here :) HRPG - Homeric RPG: Is the plot of the RPG directly ripping off 1) The Iliad 2) The Odyssey 3) A Simpsons episode? IRPG - Idle RPG: Okay, honest question. How much do you idle in these games anyway? Certainly you're setting up equipment and parties that'll auto-grind for you, right? The entire subgenre isn't just Progress Quest, right? JRPG - Judeo-Christian RPG: This category is exclusively for the 2008 game The You Testament. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules. KRPG - Kinetic RPG: You know Kinetic Novels, ie a VN that doesn't have any choices at all? Throw any RPG you want to disparge for not giving you choices in here. Alternatively, this is for any RPG that has Kinect support. LRPG - Luddite RPG: Was it released on a console 20 years after that console ceased getting games? Does it look and act like it should have been released 20 years ago? MRPG - Monster-catching RPG: Any game where you catch monsters and have them battle for you. Notably, Shin Megami Tensei is excluded; you talk, bribe, and cajole demons into working for you, which is totally different. NRPG - Natalist RPG: Does the word 'breeding' come up at any point in the game description? ORPG - Orre-game-esque RPG: Like Pokemon Colosseum or Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness, is this game a spinoff of a larger RPG series that changes a major mechanic and has a small but vocal fanbase? PRPG - Panzer Dragoon Saga-like RPG: games that make SHMUP gameplay more approachable by combining them with an RPG. Other games that fit into this category are Undertale and Sigma Star Saga. QRPG - Questionnaire-having RPG: Does the game, at some point, ask you a series of questions in order to determine something? In that case, all other categories are overwritten by this one. RRPG - 'Real' RPG: You know, in your heart of hearts, what belongs here, and everyone else is wrong. SRPG - Strategic RPG: A game in which short-term tactical gameplay decisions [strategy] are the main focus. TRPG - Tactics RPG: A game in which long-term, strategic gameplay decisions [tactics] are the main focus. URPG - Ultraviolent RPG: Can you kill a guy and have a fountain of blood erupt from them? VRPG - VIPRPG: A category reserved for any game made by someone who frequents 2ch's VIP board, or features that :3 cat person that originated there. WRPG - Weeaboo RPG: Was it made by someone outside of Asia but still have anime stylings? XRPG - eXploratory RPG: A generous term for an RPG that throws you out into the world with little direction and expects you to figure out where the game is. YRPG - Yslike RPG: Does it have bump combat? Then there you go! ZRPG - Zero-loving RPG: Are the damage numbers padded to make them look more impressive? Alternatively, does Zero from Mega Man X show up?
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ghosts-bandwagon · 1 year
Note
ah lovey it's the anon who asked for the sh comfort, I forgot to say that I'd like it for the 141 + könig ( I might be a little bit drunk)
I’m assuming sh means sexual harassment? I’m an internet grandma and suck at acronyms I can’t keep up anymore 😭
tw: mention of sexual harassment, not detailed scenarios, comfort
Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley
God fucking help anyone who tries anything when the two of you are together
Say you two part ways for a little bit while doing groceries, you’re grabbing a few things when you spot someone moving closer from the corner of your eye
You assume it’s someone going for the same items you’re looking at, so you step aside to give them room but they decide to chat you up instead, you’re feeling nervous, eyes flicking to the end of the aisle to see if Simon is close by
You start backing away when he reaches forward to grab your arm, you yank yourself back as hard as you can, crashing into something warm as you stepped back
Simon’s nostrils are flaring, blood boiling as he so gently guides you away from the area, shoving the guy as hard as possible (which took no effort) knocking him back into the display
Simon walked you out, groceries long forgotten, and got you both in the car, the atmosphere was tense as he gripped the steering wheel before starting the car
“Si?”
“Did he hurt you?” He breathed heavily, sorely tempted to give in to the urge to cave his skull in, you shook your head with a trembling lip and he sighed. He wrapped his arms around you and held you, breathing in your scent, feeling your heartbeat
“Let’s just order something, yeah? Could get the orange chicken you like.” He suggested, hands rubbing up and down your back in a soothing motion,
“Yeah that sounds good.” Your voice trembled just a bit and he wanted to turn back around and break the motherfucker’s face, but he knows you need him here and now and he’s more than happy to oblige
John ‘Soap’ MacTavish:
Oh he doesn’t even hesitate to fuck the other guy up
You separated for just a moment to grab some more beer from the bartender and an unruly patron is getting a little too close
But you understand, there’s a football game on and everyone is high energy. You’re waiting for your drinks when unfamiliar hands start to grab your hips, you jerk away hard and look to your side to try to find Johnny
You don’t need to look for very long because he comes barreling into your field of view and decks the guy straight in the face, shouting profanities and curses at him, his accent thickened by his rage
He wraps his arm around your shoulder and tucks you against him as you both make your way out, he’s still a little hopped up on the adrenaline, eyes darting over his shoulder to see if the asshole is following
“Are you ok?” His voice is soft, concerned, eyes swimming with worry, you tuck yourself under his chin, his shirt balled in your fists as you buried yourself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around you and gently swayed you both back and forth,
“Let’s get home, aye?” He pressed his forehead against yours, kissing the tip of your nose, you nodded with a small smile, safe and warm in his arms
John Price:
It was date night, a rare occurrence and always such a special treat, you were all dressed up and John? God so ridiculously handsome, your eyes didn’t leave him for more than a second, you could eat him up
You got up to go to the bathroom, unaware that you were being followed, on your way out of the restroom you found yourself cornered by two men, immediately your heart was in your throat, barely registering the degrading things coming out of their disgusting mouths at your expense
“Gentlemen.” John’s voice boomed as he stood behind them, hands clapping their shoulders, gripping them hard, “Either you get the fuck away from us, or I’ll make you feel every individual bone in your face, have I made myself clear?”
It took them seconds to scramble away, and a fraction of a second for John to check up on you, eyes scanning you for any injuries,
“l-I’m fine, John, I’m ok.” He didn’t miss the way your voice shook, or the way your eyes darted to the entrance of the hallway
“Come on now, let’s get home.”
“But baby, our date.” You protested, heart still hammering in your chest,
“We can still have a date at home, we’ll just change our order to carry out, hm?” He suggested, you had to admit the idea was very appealing, he watched the gears turn in your head before you nodded in agreement,
“There we are, come on then.” He kissed the top of your head and tucked you against his chest, daring anyone to try anything again
Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick:
Game night babey!!! There’s a new adult arcade in town and you both couldn’t be more excited to try it out
He’s kicking your ass at skeeball but to be fair, you annihilated him at the motorcycle racing game, you were breathless with laughter when you noticed you were running low on drinks and snacks, you pecked him on the cheek before making your way to the bar
You’re on your way back with the tray of fries chips in your hand and two beers in the other when you were stopped by a group of guys
You politely declined their invitation to join, anxious to get back to Kyle, you spotted him in the corner of your eye and he saw the panic that flashed on your face, he immediately stopped what he was doing and started making his way over to you
You took two steps in his direction when one of them moved forward to block your path despite the others telling him to knock it off, he took the beers and food from your hands but he wouldn’t get much further because Kyle pulled you away from him, giving him a hard shove,
“Better get your mate in check ‘fore someone else does.” He spoke to the group behind him, glaring at them and tucking you against his chest and away from the offender. He turned you both away and started walking back to your spot,
“Are you alright? Do you want to go home?” He asked, hands on your shoulders, his touch grounding you,
“I-um I think I’m ok.” You stuttered, adrenaline wearing down,
“You sure? Could always have our own game night at home?” he gently rubbed your arms, trying to keep you focused on him
“Can we get pizza?”
“Whatever you need, babe.” He pulled you against him and gently pecked your lips,
“Just don’t get mad when I kick your ass at Smash Bros.” You teased with a shaky chuckle, he laughed and peppered your face with kisses,
“Oh you’re so on.”
König:
He doesn’t let you out of his sight for long, given that he’s quite protective of you
The card terminal at the gas pump wasn’t working so you went inside to pay and grab a few snacks, König was happy to wait in the car until he saw two men walk in behind you
He didn’t want to be paranoid but he wasn’t stupid either, so he walked out of the car and made his way into the station
He didn’t see you at the register, he saw you backed into a corner by the two men he saw earlier, your eyes wide with panic
It took him a fraction of a second to get to you, long legs eating up the distance with ease, he grabbed one of the men by the shoulder and pulled him away from you hard, sending the man falling onto his ass
He shoved the other guy away before grabbing you by your hand and bringing you to him, he marched to the cashier, slammed the money into the counter and went back to the car
He gently ushered you into the passenger seat and set up the gas to pump automatically, his hands were shaking, and he could only see red
He walked to your side of the car and stood protectively against the door, taking the time to calm himself down, once the gas was finished he climbed into the diver’s side, muttering curses in German before sighing deeply, “Are you alright, liebling? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m ok, Köni, just a little shaken.” You answered, voice trembling as you picked at your fingers. He brought you in for a kiss, forehead resting against yours,
“I’m sorry, liebling, I should’ve gone with you.” He sighed, his own heart hammering, mind imagining the worst, “Let’s get you some real snacks and I’ll spoil you rotten, ok?”
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nothorses · 1 year
Note
Aren't you the one with the weird ass misogyny kink
This is such a perfect example of how fucking stupid callout culture is, actually.
For context, nearly two years ago now, a few blogs known for picking fights & starting harassment campaigns picked a fight & started a harassment campaign against first one transmasc blogger, then a bunch of other transmascs they harassed about reblogging his post who either didn't respond to them, or who responded unfavorably.
I won't get into the nitty-gritty here, but I did elsewhere [1] [2] and so have a few other folks.
I wasn't the original person called out. I was tacked on after the fact because I didn't respond.
What I've been "called out" for since then is, essentially, a bunch of complete bullshit made up by people who are pissed off that I encouraged people to think critically about the callout posts they came across.
Even among those lies, my sex life, kinks, fetishes, whatever- none of it has ever come up. Because I don't engage with that online, I never have, and I never will, for exactly this reason.
Would you be surprised if I told you this wasn't the first time I'd been accused of the "crimes" that original person was accused of?
You probably shouldn't be! This shit happens all the time, and it's only a natural progression of the callout culture it all stems from: one person has some shit they said taken out of context and painted in a bad light by a vindictive and usually transphobic internet loser, everyone who doesn't publicly disavow them immediately and without question is guilty by association, and what reason do they have to defend this person anyway, except so they can get away with the same thing? They must be doing it too!
And this ask especially is phrased in such a blatantly manipulate way. There's no good way to answer this: either I say "yes, but" and people stop thinking or caring there, or I say "no, here's what really happened" and I look weak and dubious for defending myself at all. The accusation has been made, the question has been asked, and now everything I say is with the assumption that this is something I am responsible for proving or disproving.
It's stupid and pointless and it's all fucking made up. It's designed to run on instinctive disgust and outrage, and what better conduit is there for rage and disgust than trans people? Especially trans people who talk about being trans.
And even putting all that aside: who fucking cares?
Who cares if one dude gets off to some shit he, in real life, both suffers from and actively tries to combat? Why are you so concerned with the private sexual fantasies of one random internet stranger? Why is it so important to you that everyone in the world know what this one dude thinks is hot when acted out between two consenting adults?
Come off anon and tell me all your kinks, anon. Tell me every single thing you have ever been turned on by, everything you've masturbated to, and why. I want detailed notes. I want links to porn. If you've made art, written fanfic, roleplayed- I want to see it.
C'mon, if this should be publicly available knowledge, let's start with you. It shouldn't matter as long as none of it's weird or off-putting to anyone else, right? You don't need to hide anything, right? There's nothing there you'd be embarrassed about, nothing you'd rather keep private, right? So what's the hold-up, why haven't you done this already? Why are you on anon to begin with; what are you hiding?
If anyone's the "sex freak" or whatever, anon, it's you. Nobody fucking needs this information about anyone, especially if they aren't sexually involved with each other. It's a massive invasion of privacy, and much more importantly it is textbook sexual harassment.
Anyway. Hi, voc and w-oc. I should be more surprised to see you two in my inbox, but I guess yall are obsessive enough to respond to, literally, a couple of tags on one reblog containing undefined, contextless acronyms of your urls. Hope you talk to a therapist about that someday.
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n-anon · 1 year
Text
Anomaly Found: Chase Brody Livestream Notes
-We were hacking into IRIS
-Inspired by Overnightwatch and the zoom commands
-was supposed to last 7 days, was lowered to 3 but then 2 hours went and passed so he sped it up.
-lots of technical difficulties with automod and stuff
-the crashes were unintentional but they were meant to look like they happened in universe
-THE LORRREEEEE
-Jack runs the IRIS twt account
-13 on trending on YouTube heck yeah!!!!!
-$120,000 on working on the game and hiring people for the live action and things
-IRIS is supposed to be a cold sterile environment and is supposed to feel uncomfortable
-Mark was Assistant Director
-Character playing Arin was supposed to be someone else but the person wasn't available so they got Arin
-Mark And Jack friendship wholesome times we love to see it
-HyperRPG did most of the legwork and ran the stream and made the game
-turtle easter egg was by Soph and is named Gerald :D
-This isn't the big huge one
-He has plans for a HUGE thing with lore, and at least 4 more are on the way and will trickle out as time goes on. He has plans for years of content
-Movie, TV show, Comics, everything. ANIMATION?
-No current plans for Choose your own adventure type content. Everythings on the table though.
-Jacks Chase impression is so impressive it's like he plays the character :)
-Takes place immediately after CHASE
-More and More make-up was added to make him look tired.
-Deja vu? No answers to how Chase knows this place. In this world there's a scientific explanation as to why Deja Vu happens but Jack won't tell us.
-ALTR is an acronym and stands for something.
-Arins character is supposed to be cold first to show how closed off IRIS is
-IRIS patch kept falling off
-IRIS can detect he's lying with the WTCHR
-'Very Big Brother is Watching' from Magpie
-the test is based on many actual psychological tests from various sources
-NO ANSWERS ON WHO CHASE IS TALKIN ABOUT WITH THE TWO PEOPLE DAMN HIM
-Chase projecting his divorce issues into a camera man v sad
-The ball hitting his face was totally intentional.
-Weird flex that apparently Jack can throw balls hard lmao
-CHASE SWORREEEEEEE NOT ON MY CHRISTIAN DUDE PERFECT CHANNEL
-The shadows were moving and encroaching on him
-have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?
-He curious about what whispers and sounds we've picked up on
-Robin and Trey did the editing we love them :D
-CHONK BROGEY SWOLE
-Jack did a weird chuckle at the shadowy glitchy form
-shoutout! To Echo. Like he did for Anti. He's not going to tell us who or what it is.
-IRIS trying to be nice :) :) but it isn't working, they're playing good cop
-He smiled at the very subtle Anti giggle how dare
-EVAN HEYYYY (marks assistant)
-EVERYONE SHUT UP ABOUT THE FEET
-Anti took control and did a snowball effect. Consequences happened. We just watched as it happened.
-Anti pulls us through the camera and goes :)))) lemme show ya what I can do.
-Cool shots yay
-Anti tootsies
-First time two egos have been on the same screen together!
-Sound design Inspired by Dune
-Antis voice is supposed to fill your head like he's everywhere, he used the binaural microphone to layer his voice with the whispers and Anti's voice.
-sequel to Overnightwatch
-Antis neck has healed
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Text
training season's over (double chapter)
Chapter 7: Gleaming & Chapter 8: FISH n' CHIPS
Summary:
Gleaming
To describe something as good, desirable or brilliant. A particular favourite of the Guards Division. If something is ‘gleaming’ you’re probably onto a good thing.
FISH n' CHIPS acronyms, Fighting In Someone's House and Causing Havoc In People's Streets.
TF141/female reader, König/female reader
spy reader, forced bonding, slow burn, slow build, military inaccuracies, suggestive language, language, canon typical violence, second chance, domestic fluff, enemies to friends, becoming buddies, referenced torture, hurt/comfort, hugs, bar fights, alcohol, cuddles
previous: chapter six "contact"
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Chapter 7
How to tell a guy has a crush on you?
You immediately groan to yourself for googling this at your grown age. There was a time when you dated, you even had a boyfriend before all of this. Still, it feels like a lifetime ago, those thoughts were pushed to the back of your head for a while, but after your encounter with König you need answers. 
God, at what point I got so disconnected with emotions?
Ah, the good old WikiHow.
 1 - He talks to you—a lot.
Uhm...maybe?
2 - He makes eye contact.
Definitely, it’s kinda unsettling sometimes.
3 - He gives you his full attention.
Uh... I mean, yes. But isn't this like the bare minimum?
4 - He laughs at your jokes.
This is ridiculous.
5 - He tries to impress you.
Eh, perhaps.
7 - He lowers his voice when he speaks to you.
The fuck?
You cringe at yourself, before closing your computer and placing it next to you. I mean, maybe it’s not romantically? He clearly cares about you, after all, you don't just go through that for anyone, at least you wouldn't. Or would you? Fuck, this is hard.
König was---is your friend. You began to remember the first time you met him; you fresh joined KorTac, lined up in a row with other new recruits. Upcoming missions required weeks long deployments, and you were informed that some of you were needed for them as there was a shortage of staff in the base, due to the many operations KorTac was contracted to carry out, and that the commanding officers would pick a few rookies to fill the spots.
The first two officers went past you, not even giving you a second glance, just picking the biggest people in the row and calling it a day. The third of them, an American, just looked down at you and with a sarcastic tone said.
"I think you're in the wrong place, doll."
Cunt.
The sight of the fourth one immediately made everyone on the row stand straight. You heard someone beside you whisper "colonel". He was intimidating, tall as fuck, with a black sniper hood over his face and clear paint smeared on the fabric under the holes of his eyes, looking straight out of a Friday the 13th film.
He walked in silence, taking the time to examine each one of the remaining recruits in line. Opposite to the other officers, or at least the ones he talked to, he liked rookies. They were fresh meat, easy to mould to his liking. You saw him looking at you, slightly tilting his head like a curious dog, and you made yourself hold his gaze.
That might have caught his attention, because next thing you knew, he was in front of you. Looking down, probably standing too close on purpose only to make you look up even more, putting your neck in an uncomfortable position. God, it was humiliating.
"Name?" He asked, surprising you as his voice was not as deep as you expected.
"Sage, sir"
"SAS?" He asked, pointing at the Union Jack on your chest.
"No, sir. I was hired before I could try for selection. Corporal, British Army." You explained, and you saw him narrowing his eyes while looking at your face.
"You're coming with me, Maus." He said before simply turning around and walking away. Leaving you a little dumbfounded, as well as your fellow comrades, but soon you followed after.
And that was it, just like that you were under his command until you had the requirements to try and become a sergeant. You never asked him why he exactly did it, you didn’t want him to feel like you were questioning him. He was your superior, after all. Google just told you that "Maus" was a common term of endearment in German.
Those thoughts brought back to that day in Uzlovoye, Russia. Everything felt calm enough— just a rural town, you thought. You really don't remember much; you remember getting into what seemed like an abandoned building and having to collect a computer with vital information inside a bunker. You remember hands behind you, König's voice asking for updates through the comm, the growing anxiety in his voice at the lack of response, the hands squeezing your neck, and then everything went black. The next thing you remember was lifting your head, trying to move to no avail, something hard behind you, the feeling of restraints all around your body, and the disgusting smell of rust and humidity.
A knock on your door distracts you.
“Who is it?”
“Me,” Soap voice says from outside the door.
“Come in.”
He opened the door, finding you resting on your bed already in your pyjamas. One with bunnies this time. Looking around, he quickly realises you have already made yourself quite at home. The room is fully decorated now, except for some boxes piling up in the corner. He could even bet you would have painted the walls as well, if given the chance. You can tell he’s also ready for bed with a shirt from some band you don’t even know and tartan pyjama bottoms.
“Came for a tour?” You said it with a teasing tone from bed, looking up at him.
“Oh, sorry” He answered clearing his throat.
“I'm here to formally invite ye to our monthly film night” Soap said with a playful, elegant tone.
"Monthly? How come I'm first learning about this? I've been here for four months already" Seeing Soap standing on the doorway with a cocky grin.
"Sure, ye can get mad at us for not inviting ye...or ye can be over the moon we are doing it now" He said teasingly.
"Fine...just give me a minute."
And now you were there, in the usual sitting position, with Gaz in the middle, you on one side and Soap on the other. Ghost and Price are sitting on individual sofa at each end of the couch. All of them looked more casual, in their pyjamas as well. Maybe next time you could convince them to do a face mask and turn this into a proper sleepover, like the ones you held with your girlfriends back in high school. You brought a blanket with you to snuggle as well as a cardigan, the base felt like a freezer in the winter.
They did a rock, paper, scissors competition to see who picked the film. Something in you got suspicious when everyone groaned when Price won, even Ghost, but you gave his taste in movies the benefit of the doubt.
Fucking hell...
He picked Gangs of New York, and about half an hour later, the only thing keeping you awake was the feeling of your head bobbling every time you were close to falling asleep.
The only thing keeping Kyle entertained was seeing how hard you were trying to stay awake. From what Johnny told him, you apparently had trouble sleeping, often waking at night to sneak to the kitchen. So, to try and help you, at some point he shifted his shoulder a bit, so when you fell asleep, your head fell against it.
He felt how your breath slowly became even and calm, and you soon were sleeping like a baby. At least she can spare herself from this. As much as he tried to keep focused on the screen, trying to at least follow the storyline, you kept leaning more of your weight against him, seeking his warmth, to which he felt his cheeks warming up.
He took a look around, Ghost was watching the screen, Soap was asleep as well, and Price was watching the picture attentively.
His hand was awkwardly behind you, not sure what to do with it, as your body was pressed on his side. After a few minutes of consideration, he decided that to be comfortable, or so he told himself, to delicately put his arm around your waist, careful to be respectful and gentle. You shifted slightly, and he almost pulled away, but you just snuggled more against him, making him confident enough to cuddle you some more.
He leaned back on the couch, relaxing. It was surprisingly pleasant to rest like that. He could feel the warmth of your body underneath your clothes and how your body gently moved with each breath.
The light of the television illuminated your sleeping face, your muscles relaxed and a peaceful expression, quite the opposite of what he normally sees in you. You looked like a powerhouse when you trained, running through the o course like it was nothing, doing series after series at the gym, and relentlessly hitting whatever thing you had in front of you to train: the bag, mannequins, or Soap. 
In your sleeping thoughts, the heat coming from an unknown source was soothing, the aroma of cologne appearing in your dreams and the softness of the cotton of his shirt against your cheek.
He tried to remember the last time he ever was with someone like this. Probably before he joined the 141. Since he met Price, his life has been dedicated to the task force, his country, and saving the world. He almost forgot how nice this was.
The thoughts started to drift even more.
He imagined coming back to someone after work, lying like that while relaxing after a hard day of work, ordering takeout, watching the telly, and then heading to the bedroom. He didn’t realise until now that he craved that, the intimacy of a partner and the closeness of someone outside his friends. So focused on his job he almost forgot the feeling of a warm body pressed against him, the softness of the fabric of your shirt under his hand, your steady breath...he felt slightly flustered at the thoughts crossing his head, but he allowed himself to enjoy in silence. Just two co-workers resting on an evening—it wasn't a big deal. You looked adorable, he had to admit. And he enjoyed the moments he spent with you off-duty; going for the groceries, watching reality TV, or going for runs in the morning. All the stuff he dreaded or felt like chores of civilian life was now enjoyable. They almost made him forget he was a soldier, that he was in a base, and that you are there because you are a criminal. Of course, he would never tell you any of that.
"Kyle" You whispered groggily, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at you. You couldn’t even open your eyes, the sight bringing a soft smile to his face.
"How long until it ends?" You added it, making him chuckle silently.
"It's almost three hours long, and we're only one hour in, luv" He whispered back, amused.
"For fuck's sake" You muttered in an annoyed groggy tone, curling up on yourself even more while pulling the blanket up, wrapping yourself as you were still leaning against him, going back to sleep.
He could get used to this.
Chapter 8
With a unanimous vote, or so they told you, they decided to take you to the Battleship, a small bar close to the base opened by a retired SAS member mostly for other soldiers to hang out in.
You decided on putting on a long-sleeve shirt with some open buttons on the front that let it hang open enough for your tank top to peek out. As well as just some normal jeans, your tactic boots, and a jacket. You also decided to leave your hair down with clips to prevent it from falling all over your face. And just the tiniest bit of makeup—you were actually excited to see yourself a bit more dolled up than usual. Still casual enough, you think.
When Price sees you, a realization quickly strikes him. Yes, you were a merc, a spy, and you murder people—all crimes he was already too familiar with, and by the looks of it, so were you. But you were only a girl. When you arrived with a soft smile to meet them in the car park, it was like you didn't belong there with them. In other circumstances, you probably would have finished college by now; you would be getting ready to go out with your girlfriends for a drink after a normal day of work and chatter about your lives; you'd have a flat (a new one); and probably a partner. But instead, whatever life choices you made brought you here, going out on a Saturday night with four war criminals, older than you, to a shitty bar on the side of the road. He almost feels pity for you.
Pity he's quickly snapped out of when, apparently, once you got in the Jeep and you were getting comfortable, Soap got in behind you, accidentally pulling your hair with his arm against the seat, to which you winced and almost instinctively threw a very hard push against his shoulder, making him loudly groan but back out.
"Get off my hair," you said, glaring at him, picking up your hair and putting it over one of your shoulders, brushing it together again.
"I'm trying, but it's fuckin' everywhere. Can't ye put on a ponytail or something? Jesus Christ, no need to dislocate my shoulder." He said it with a small wince of pain, rubbing his shoulder.
"Muppets, behave," Price said with a sigh before getting into the driver seat.
It's probably going to be a long night.
He had yet to ask you for what fucked-up reason you ended up enlisting in the first place. But he saw you were uncomfortable enough when he tried to make you call your parents more frequently, and he didn't want to push any further.
He saw on the rearview mirror that Soap and you had made peace, and he was now telling you about how terrible the new recruits were and how they couldn't even handle a few runs around the base, and he was surprised when he heard a “I give them two more weeks” from Ghost, who was sitting next to you.
You seem well enough, considering your situation. He was glad when Kyle came to him, asking for permission to take you along with Soap to the town on a small shopping spree by the sounds of it.
Soap very much enjoyed the little getaway, even if it was for mundane things such as going to the supermarket, the bakery, and a small shop to get your mug. They made you wait in another aisle while Gaz and him debated between getting you the “I’m not short, I’m just more down to earth than most people!” one or the "Don't be a cuntcake" one that had a little drawing of a cupcake. Ultimately, their decision was the right one when you opened the box and cringed at the mug about your height. He really enjoyed getting to taste the macarons you bought. They were a bit overpriced for his liking, but they were tasty, so it was worth it.
"So... thoughts?" Gaz said, walking beside you as you entered the bar.
"It's...not bad," you say slowly, looking around.
It's clearly not your style or your idea of a bar. The decorations look like they were clearly chosen by a retired soldier (in a bad way), and it reeks of cigarettes; you could be smoking two cigars yourself by the amount of smoke you're breathing. Needless to say, it is quite busy, and Ghost and Price walk in front of you, with Soap behind as they go to the bar. Gaz just chuckled, probably sensing that this wasn't really your cup of tea.
"After a drink, it'll grow in you," he says as you start walking to the counter as well.
"Price! It's been a while, mate, what you've been up to?" The man at the counter asked cheerfully, already grabbing a bottle of whisky.
"Very busy months, Arthur. We are catching a break while we can," the captain answered while leaning on the counter.
"He is the owner," Gaz whispered to you.
You glanced at the man, looking him up and down. Checkered shirt, long beard, curly hair, missing a leg. Probably the reason why he retired in the first place.
"Oh, and who's this? Your daughter?" He said it with the same cheerful attitude, noticing you were looking at him and extending his hand to you. You chuckled as you shook his hand, and Gaz and Soap snickered at the comment as well.
"How old do you think I am? No, she's a new recruit," Price said in a mock-offended tone.
"Sa---...eh, Wire" Old habits die hard.
"Sorry, John. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart.” He said it with a friendly tone, letting you go and putting a small bowl of peanuts in front of you.
“What can I do for you today?"
"Water, I have to drive."
"Whisky"
"Bourbon"
"Guinness, please"
"Do you have absinthe?"
"I actually do! It's been a while since someone ordered, but we serve it the classic way. Give me a moment." The man behind the counter, seemingly excited by the request, left to search for the necessary tools on the back.
When you looked next to you, your teammates were looking at you as if you had a second head.
"What?" Your tone was already defensive.
"Are you an alcoholic, bonnie?" Soap answered with his own question.
"I like the taste! It’s like liquorice."
"That doesn't help your case, luv," Gaz said teasingly, winning a playful scoff from you.
"Fuck off, it's just to warm up."
After Arthur came back, he made a small show of serving your absinthe, ice-cold water, absinthe spoon, and sugar cube, and you were surprised to even see a Pontarlier reservoir glass. After that, he went to serve the rest of the drinks less excitedly.
Once the first round was finished and Soap gagged after asking to try your drink, the five of you left the counter in favour of an empty table next to the pool, dividing into two teams: Soap and Ghost against Gaz and you. Price opted to be a spectator while smoking a cigar. After Ghost broke the aligned balls, their team had the solid ones, while you were left with stripes.
Alcohol must have really warmed you up because you were laughing more than usual at playful banter and at Soap's stupid dick jokes directed at Ghost regarding balls and pool cues.
Simon grumbled, but deep down, he didn't mind. For a change, it was nice to hear your laugh and to see your cheeks flush as you got hot from laughing and the heat of the place. He could see the men from the other tables ogling you, and although he knew you were perfectly capable of handling them yourself, he couldn't help but shoot glares in their direction when you weren't looking, making them immediately turn around at the sight of a man like Ghost catching them red-handed. A strange feeling of protectiveness was brewing in his chest—something about someone like you in a place like this and surrounded by rough men. It was foolish to think; he was well aware, and he felt almost embarrassed to even entretain the idea. Three months ago, he hated you and everything about you, and he let Price know multiple times that it was a terrible idea to have a criminal on the team.
But now...he had to look away when you bent over the table on your turn; suddenly, the inside of his mask was too warm.
"I need a drink," you announced, bubbly, stretching your back before handing Gaz your pool cue.
"No more absinthe, bonnie, won't hold yer hair while you throw up." Soap said, teasing, making you chuckle.
"I'm getting a coke; don't worry, mom."
"And I'm going to the bathroom," Price announced from the nearby table.
"Does anyone want anything?" You asked as you began to walk away.
"No thanks, luv," Gaz said, as Soap and Ghost only shook their heads as they were studying the table, seeing the best way to proceed as they were losing.
You walked away to the counter, which was across the bar, allowing the three men to keep sight of you.
Soap lowered his upper body over the table, hitting a red ball but missing the pocket, making him curse under his breath. Gaz chuckled at this, and they had a small break while you got back since it was your turn. He saw you waiting for Arthur to be done with another customer when a man he didn't recognize but saw on a nearby table approached you, shamelessly putting his hand around your waist as he stood beside you. The men on his table were watching the scene with a smirk on their faces.
This made him annoyed, and apparently, he wasn't the only one.
"Fucking dogs." Soap said, standing next to Ghost.
"Should we go for her?" Gaz asked, trying his best not to sound too eager. He saw you turn around with a scowl, clearly not happy.
"Lass can take care of herself," Ghost bluntly answered. Although his eyes were betraying him, he was still glued to the scene.
When he turned to look back at you, you were saying something to the man while glaring at him. The men chuckled and said something back, and you rolled your eyes. Your face went back to face the front. Maybe you didn't mind?
Then he saw how the man's hand slithered down your back, and he felt his blood boiling. But before his hand could reach its destination, a quick blow from your elbow harshly met its own destination, connecting with the man's nose. Not only making him pull his hand away but making him fall back with a whine of pain, and now everyone’s eyes were on the scene.
"You fucking whore!" The man said loudly before he got up, clearly aggressive. But you weren't backing up, either.
"Fuck," Gaz said before he quickly hurried up to the scene, followed by Soap.
As they arrived, Gaz got in between the man and you, and Soap quickly held you from behind, wrapping his arms around your waist. The man's friends are also holding him back, muttering stuff along the lines of “it’s not worth it” or “it’s just a chick.”
"Put your fucking bitch on a leash," he said angrily, blood pouring from his nose. Ah, a yank.
"Haud yer wheesht," Soap barked at him from behind you, still holding you as you tried to break free from his arms.
"I’ll chop your hands off." Not even you knew you had so much pent-up anger inside you, probably looking for the right situation to explode. Johnny was struggling more than he would like behind you, feeling like he was trying to hold back a bull. Bloody hell, maybe I should do more weightlifting.
"The fuck is your problem, mate?" Gaz through gritted teeth, but before the man could scream back, you were approached by Ghost. The man's eyes widened, and he stayed quiet, all the blood draining from his face.
"L-Lieutenant." He said this while standing straight, trying to sloppily clean the blood off his face with his hand.
"You are?" Ghost asked.
"Shadow Company, sir." You heard Soap muttering 'of course' under his breath, still holding you back.
"T-This girl broke my nose!" He said, pointing at you, making your efforts to break free from Soap's grip increased.
"Yer awfy crabbit, mo leannan," Soap whispered to you, not letting you go, trying to get you to calm down.
"Only because you tried to touch her ass like a fucking mutt in heat," Ghost answered bitterly, looking down at the man who looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him.
"What’s the problem here?" Price approached the situation, fresh from the bathroom. At the sight of the captain, the man looked like he wanted to throw up.
"Graves men were getting handsy with the lass," Gaz explained, and he heard you groan in annoyance behind him.
"I can take care of him myself." You said through gritted teeth.
The same alcohol that made you giggle like a teenager is now making you thirsty for blood, as well as annoyed that they felt the need to handle the situation themselves, like you weren't an adult and a trained killing machine, just like them. All the frustration, sadness, and anger that you obediently swallowed in the first months of your new life, not wanting to worsen your already poor situation, is now coming back to bite you in the ass. You wanted to unleash every little one of your frustrations on the man in front of you.
"Mo chridhe, calm down," Soap said again. Gentle but struggling, you were using all your force to get out of his embrace.
"LT, help." He said in a strained voice as he kept trying to lock you in his arms, to which Simon rolled his eyes, but he eventually approached you. With ease, he wrapped his arm around your waist and threw you over his shoulder.
"Fucking hell, Simon," you said, now with a view of the 'Lieutenant Riley' written on his back.
"Some fresh air will do you good, flower." He said as he walked out of the bar carrying you.
This was a rather embarrassing situation, everyone was watching curiously. It was not the first time you were carried out of the bar, and certainly not your first fight. Probably not the last, either. You deep down knew that the gossip of the new girl getting into a fight and being carried away by her lieutenant was going to spread like wildfire on the base.
But, your head felt slightly woozy making you accept your fate as fresh air was starting to sound very nice.
"Sorry, Arthur," Price said with an apologetic look, looking at the bartender.
"Don't worry, John; good to see the new recruits still have some fire on them." He was hinting at the direction in which you disappeared.
"And you," Price said, turning around to the other men again. The main culprit is now holding a napkin against his nose, sitting down like a wet dog. John had a severe look on his face, making the men look more miserable. "Name. Now."
You sat in the Jeep with the door open. Ghost was standing in front of you, his mask lifted as he smoked a cigarette. You notice the blonde stubble; the concept of someone as big and intimidating as him being a blonde named Simon was quite funny, but right now you tried to focus on deep breaths, trying to calm your own anger down.
After a few minutes, you saw the Shadow Company men being pushed out of the bar by Gaz and Soap, followed by Price, who seemed to be on the phone. Your anger, far from diffusing, spikes again. You began to stand up again.
"Let them handle it." He says it in a calm tone, putting his free hand on your shoulder and making you sit again.
"I can handle it myself. My ass is the one involved, not yours," you answer, glaring up at him.
"I know you can, and as much as I would enjoy seeing you beat the shit out of them, you don't have to." He says, voice husky but surprisingly gently, looking down at you. You arched your brow at his words, and he decided to elaborate some more.
"Price is most likely calling Graves; they'll probably get a written reprimand, extra shit to do, and they will be banned from our sector on the base."
"I don't need Price to rat them out for me; I can take care of it."
"My point is that you don't have to. Listen: Despite everything, you are still on thin ice, flower. That thing is not a bracelet." He was gesturing to your ankle monitor.
"We don't give a shit if you kill them; in other circumstances, I would have gladly help you. Shadows are cunts, and they all act like mutts after a bone. But getting into a fight with people who are guests in our base is not a good view for the higher-ups, and Laswell and the Captain can only do so much in your defence." You listened attentively, his words making sense, but you still couldn't help but feel annoyed as you saw the man and his friends being escorted to their car, Price still on his call.
"Besides, you don't have to do it all yourself, you know?" He said that, and you directed your glance back to him.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't have to take care of yourself alone. We are a team; we take care of each other." You can't help but show a hint of surprise on your face.
"Are we?"
"Yes."
After almost four months...the bastard.
A smile slipped from your lips, and he kept looking down at you. In another context, he would be pissed at giving in, but he let you savour your victory, you deserved it.
The moment was broken as Price approached.
"Back to base, muppets," he said, opening the driver door, not before watching the car of the members of the Shadow Company leave the car park.
Soap came behind him to ruffle your hair, making you groan playfully.
"You okay, bonnie?" He asked warmly.
Gaz also arrived behind him, handing you your forgotten jacket and a can of Coke he bought you.
"Thanks, Kyle...yeah, I'm fine. Fuck... I’m sorry." A hint of embarrassment got to you as you rubbed your temples.
“None of that, bonnie. Anyone would have done the same. Not me, though; I would have kicked his balls.” Soap said, shrugging, making you chuckle.
“Not for punching him. For ruining the night.”
“Sweetheart, everything is fine. I talked to Shepherd; he’ll chew Graves ear off. For now, they’ll enjoy cleaning the showers with a toothbrush, and they’re banned from the mess hall and the gym, so you won’t see them.” You listened to Price, and you looked back at Ghost, who was giving you an ‘I told you so’ glance.
“Arthur said that you'd get a free drink next time.” Gaz said, also trying to lighten your mood.
“Thank you,” you mumbled, trying to avoid their gazes. You felt vulnerable, accepting help; it felt both terrible and surprisingly heart-warming.
The way back was actually nice, with Price telling a story from when he was a private and they had a few drinks while camping. One of them got so drunk that they made him believe there were lions in that zone, and he was scared shitless until he sober up enough to realise, they were in the German countryside.
The stories were a bit silly, but the way they were telling them was both endearing and entertaining. There was a fuzzy feeling in your stomach, and your cheeks hurt a bit because you were not accustomed to laughing and smiling this much.
next chapter: coming soon!
Thank you to the lovely people following this! <3: @no-lessthan3 , @blush-haze , @eustassh , @valkyrieunknown
if you like it leave me some kudos or suggestions on ao3! <3
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skepsiss · 7 months
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Modern Problem, Modern Solution pt3
Steddie fic, this is the 3rd part of the mini-series (I guess?) that I'm writing. This is the one where Eddie pretends to be a vampire for fun. More just Eddie being awkward as all hell and teens being teens. The next part (pt4) has the conflict so hang in there angst lovers.
PT1 PT2 PT4
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Eddie chewed his nails as he stood outside the classroom in the mostly empty hallway at school. It was 3:30 and he was debating if he wanted to risk stepping into the club room or not. So, he chewed and chewed on his nail until he bit the top off and then spat it into the nearby bin, not paying attention to whether or not it made it in.
The door before him was decorated with rainbow paper that blocked the little window to see into the classroom. It was an old craft that had obviously been there for too long judging from the faded quality of the coloured parchment. It was Mrs. Goodwin's classroom, but that wasn't why Eddie was there, she just happened to be the "support staff" that advocated for the LGBT-Alliance club. Every club needed an "advocate" even if the teacher didn't participate in anything related to the club after it was made. Hellfire's club was "officially" endorsed by the school's drama teacher, Mr. Lobuskwits, but Eddie could count on one hand how many times he had actually spoken to the guy.
No, Eddie was here–and currently stressing out over whether or not he wanted to take the last 3 steps to walk into the club room–because he was trying to decide if he wanted to join in today. He had been thinking about it for a week or more now and he hated _why_ it had been on his mind. He hadn't a real interest in the club activities, but a part of him felt drawn to supporting some of the members–okay, well, maybe just one of the members. He had convinced himself that he felt bad for Steve being the oldest boy in the club with no one else to really relate to. He seemed to get along fine with Robin–Steve also had sports and Eddie seemed to remember he was part of the Key Club or something–but there was something different about getting to know someone close to your age that also happened to have similar lived experiences.
Who was he kidding? He and Steve lived leagues apart from one another, their lives were completely different, but Eddie couldn't help but feel a certain kind of kinship with Steve Harrington. Eddie had never really had another boy his age around that was also queer. It felt like a friendship that could maybe work out... a type of friendship Eddie had only momentarily glanced at on social media and online forums.
Eddie grumbled to himself and wiped his hands on his pants before finally taking the plunge and letting himself into the room.
Robin was standing at the front of the classroom and everyone else was spread out casually in either the desk seats or up against the wall. It was informal while also having a semblance of structure. Robin paused talking for a moment as Eddie walked in, and everyone half turned to see what the disruption had been–which made Eddie's hair stand on end. But that stopped soon enough as Robin flashed him a quick smile before continuing to talk.
"Okay, refocus. Alright, so that's what we're considering. We just have to figure out what we want the exact acronym change to be." 
She blathered as Eddie quietly found himself a seat in the back of the room until the conversation was over. He didn't know what they were talking about, but there was humming and hawing from everyone before some girl Eddie didn't know spoke up.
"LGBTQ plus alliance?" She asked, or more suggested Eddie guessed.
"You're missing like a bunch of people though," another girl chimed in, sounding annoyed, "we want people who are intersex or asexual to feel welcome too, don't we?"
"LGBTQIA plus?" Will commented, making brief eye contact with Eddie to acknowledge that he saw him. It was a friendly look and Eddie half smiled back before his attention drifting.
This was the kind of stuff he liked to avoid. He didn't understand why they had debates over these things, but they seemed to be wondering if they should change the club name to be more inclusive or whatever. He was behind it in theory, but he hated having to actually put in the effort to figure out what the best thing to do was. Still, it was a good idea at its core, just not an idea that made Eddie want to pay attention.
So instead, his eyes drifted and he caught himself staring at Steve who was leaning with his arms crossed against the wall watching Robin. He wasn't chiming in, but he seemed to be listening. It was sort of hard to miss Steve with how brightly he was dressed–he was wearing a striped white and blue shirt that was partly covered by an open red button-up and gray pants. The red was this deep colour and it stood out rather charmingly against the muted tones of his shirt and pants.
The debate continued and Steve turned to look at Eddie who instantly tensed as they made eye contact. Steve seemed to consider for a moment, looking back at Robin before quietly leaving to walk to the back of the classroom where Eddie was.
"Hey," he whispered, obviously trying not to disrupt the conversation they were having at the front of the class.
"Hey..." Eddie replied, sitting up a bit as Steve took the seat beside him so they could talk in hushed tones.
"We're talking about renaming the club, just like... I guess looking for suggestions to be on the ballet or something," Steve offered as an explanation. Eddie had figured that out already, but he nodded anyway as he clasped his hands together on top of the desk.
"The acronym is too long," Eddie sighed lightly, not wanting to disrupt the room for once. He felt weird sitting here with Steve though, both comforted and anxious about their proximity.
"We should just call it the Alphabet Mafia and be done with it," Eddie joked lightly which surprisingly got a quick bark of a laugh from Steve.
Everyone turned to look at them both and Steve covered his mouth, waving their attention off.
"Sorry, sorry," he exclaimed, putting his hands up in an apologetic way. The room went back to discussing and Steve sat back, crossing his arms again as he smiled.
"You've never heard that before?" Eddie asked, feeling the swell of anxiety be replaced with glee at how big Steve's reaction had been.
"No, it's a thing?" Steve asked, looking amused.
Eddie smiled back at him before slumping across the desk and reaching his hands forward– just needing something to do so he didn't go stir-crazy.
"I have much to teach you young padawan," he joked, putting on a bit of an accent but not leaning too hard into the bit.
Steve breathed another small laugh and grew quiet as he sat there. It was a comfortable silence though and one Eddie didn't feel scrutinized while occupying as they sat there.
Steve's phone buzzed and he took it out before tapping away at the screen and half laughing at something before swiping it away. He started to type and Eddie glanced at him, noting the little yellow border and the casual way Steve was acting while he texted. Steve seemed to notice Eddie staring and then waggled his phone at Eddie.
"Do you Snapchat?" he asked, not having any shame in showing Eddie his screen. Eddie hesitated, feeling put on the spot all of a sudden. He wasn't much of a social media guy and only really existed on platforms out of necessity to stay in touch with friends and the likes, but he didn't pay attention to it really.
"Uh, I think so?" Eddie said, taking his own phone out. He felt a bit self-conscious holding his old, beaten-up phone next to Steve's brand-new one. Eddie's screen was smashed in the top corner and you could vaguely see the hint of pink glitter around the edge that was partly covered by Eddie's phone case. He had gotten the phone second-hand from someone else's trade-in, but he had been unable to pick the glitter off the back of it. He didn't like to think about the little girl this phone probably belonged to before he got it.
"I don't use it," Eddie explained, finding the app downloaded in his files and opening it for the first time in ages. He looked at the screen and then shrugged, trying a couple of times at the log-in before getting into his account.
"Take a picture with me," Steve said, already leaning towards Eddie and holding his phone out to take a selfie. He was obviously intent on sending it as a snap to someone, but Eddie blanched and pulled his hair in front of his face.
"No, no, man, don't. I'm good–" Eddie stammered, putting his hand up to cover up the camera. A part of him was flattered so he was still smiling, but the horror he had felt hearing that sentence was undeniable.
Steve stopped, but he gave Eddie a confused look, half laughing as he put the phone down.
"Why?" He asked, finding it a bit amusing no doubt. He could probably see that Eddie was smiling and wasn't taking the whole thing too seriously. 
"Cause I forgot to do my makeup this morning," Eddie squeaked, hamming it up as he put his hand dramatically over his forehead and then turned his shoulder away like a demure lady.
Steve chuckled and leaned forward, pinching his brows in. It was obvious he was willing to accept the answer, but he didn't really get the joke. Eddie had only started to act silly because he felt uncomfortable, but he didn't want to tell Steve the real reason he didn't want his picture taken was because it would be a picture of them... together.
"I just don't really like my picture being taken," Eddie lied, sounding awkward enough that the delivery had been convincing.
"Okay..." Steve agreed, looking away and not pushing the subject. He seemed a bit amused by Eddie's comment–almost in a charmed way–even if Eddie could tell he didn't really understand. Eddie felt his heart twist at that, appreciating that Steve wasn't forcing him even though it was obvious that he was confused.
"You can add me though..." Eddie offered pushing his phone towards Steve and feeling nervous about the whole thing.
Steve huffed a laugh and then sat up again, taking Eddie's phone and starting to type.
"Snapchat kind of involves taking photos of yourself," he teased lightly, and Eddie felt his cheeks go a bit red. This felt so weird... Steve was adding him on Snapchat? What the ever living hell?
"You have Insta?" Steve asked and Eddie looked back at him, feeling a bit shell-shocked.
"Yeah, uh, yeah. But I uh..." he started, feeling like a fish out of water.
"Don't really use it?" Steve asked back, mocking Eddie a bit. Eddie felt his face getting hotter with embarrassment even though he could see Steve shaking his head and smiling. 
"Here," Steve asked, handing the phone back over, "I added myself."
Eddie nodded and took the phone back, looking at the screen and observing the new follower that popped up on his phone as Steve typed away on his own screen. SS.Harrington, it read with a little picture of Steve standing with his back to the camera in his baseball uniform. It was so painfully jock Eddie didn't know what to do. He wasn't even sure what his icon was anymore and he cringed slightly as he checked and saw his own page for the first time in a while. His username was something he had thought up on the fly years ago, MangledMetalMunson, since just Mangled Metal and Metal Munson had been taken and his icon was just a photo of one of his hands covered in rings. Weird... lame. Super lame. 
Eddie pocketed his phone and resigned himself to unpack all of that later as he tried to force himself to look forward again and pay attention to whatever Robin was saying. They were still debating back and forth and Eddie could feel himself getting frustrated by 'this acronym is better' over 'that acronym is too confusing.'
"We should really just drop the acronym," Eddie said quietly, slouching down again and putting his head in his hand. This was boring... and despite getting a chance to talk to Steve some more, he wasn't very interested in staying.
"What do you think it should be?" Steve asked, crossing his arms again and leaning back. He looked suave sitting like that: superior somehow as if he was some noble and the rest of them were peons.
Eddie shrugged and looked forward again, not wanting to get wrapped up in how Steve was posing.
"Just queer or something. Queer Alliance, Queer Club–I don't know."
"Not everyone likes being called... queer though, right?" Steve asked and Eddie noted that there was less hesitation in how he said the word compared to before.
"I guess, but not everyone likes being called gay either, so like..." Eddie half shrugged, hoping he made his point. He would much rather people individually choose what they wanted to be called and then just use the "big bad Q-word" as the universal phrase instead of cringing at it.
"Queer literally just means everyone who isn't cisgender and heterosexual, that's it. It's not that deep. The only people really pushing the 'don't say queer' agenda are people who hate that we can be united by the word and those who have been tricked by those people," Eddie said, sounding bored and a touch annoyed. He believed that pretty strongly actually, and hated that there always seemed to be this 'separation' between all the letters of the LGBTIQIA+ rather than unity. It was important for everyone to have an identity, but not when it created in-fighting.
"GSA!" Eddie yelled from the back of the room without warning, not even bothering to sit up.
Everyone stopped and looked at him, the silence drawing out a bit. It looked like someone was looking for an explanation before Eddie spoke up again.
"Genders and Sexualities Alliance," Eddie explained, sitting up a little now and crossing his arms again, "or Pride Club or something. You're never going to fit everyone into one acronym, so it's better to go broader."
"Okay..." Robin replied, obviously a little annoyed. She didn't seem to dislike the idea but probably wasn't grateful for the way the information was delivered.
"I still like LGBTIQA plus," someone offered which got a murmuring of replies.
Eddie shrugged, not too concerned about the attention being taken away from him again as the club went back to discussing.
"Y'all doing anything else today?" Eddie asked Steve quietly, sounding a bit put out. 
"I don't know," Steve snorted slightly, taking his phone out again and just sort of surfing. 
The next thirty minutes or so continued like that until the group had settled on four options to put on the ballet–two of which Eddie had suggested and that privately made his ego swell–before calling a close to the discussion. They had a week to think it over and then hand in their ballet at the beginning of the next club day before they came to a conclusion.
Much to Eddie's relief though after the discussion the club seemed to devolve into something more fun. Games were brought out and there was a rousing round of Cards Against Humanity that Eddie actually enjoyed. People broke off into little groups after some time and just socialized, with no real structure to it at all. Robin and two other girls–Hannah and Vickie–split off to gather with Steve and Eddie as the club's older members. Hannah was in Steve's grade and rather sporty from what Eddie could tell–volleyball or something–but he had never interacted with her at all. And Vickie seemed to be Robin's age; Eddie could remember vaguely seeing her at a house party or two he had been to in the past. He couldn't be sure, but at the time he had thought she was with a boyfriend and had quietly noted that he seemed like an ass. He was from out of town or something, and seemed to be older than Vickie–maybe out of high school old. He hadn't really liked that all too much, especially since the crowd they were all hanging out with was a bit rougher. That didn't mean much to Eddie himself–hanging out with pot-heads and punks was kind of a given for him–but Vickie was 15 and already seemed to be getting in over her head.
It was an enjoyable visit and Eddie decided by the end of it that he liked Vickie and confirmed that he thought Robin was pretty cool too. She was a nerd and while Vickie seemed to be much softer-spoken and a bit more "basic," she didn't lack interest or involvement in the conversation. Hannah on the other hand felt just too... sporty. It wasn't even like a butch sporty, Eddie couldn't really put his finger on it, but it felt like she just didn't have a ton of options for queer people her age so she hung out here even though it wasn't really her scene. Whatever though, it didn't really matter, Eddie was the odd one out too in this scenario.
Club closed and Robin locked the classroom door as they all left, the younger crowd having filtered out earlier while Steve and Robin had stuck behind to close up. Eddie had lingered and secretly hoped Steve would offer him a ride home again. It felt a bit presumptuous of him, but they lived near one another, and... they seemed to be getting along. Robin had stuck around though and was even bumping shoulders with Steve as they walked out towards the parking lot. It was nice actually. It was nice seeing that Robin and Steve got on so well and Eddie couldn't help but think that Steve’s smile looked a bit more genuine compared to how it was in the hallway when he was talking to his jock friends. 
"You need a ride?" Steve asked, half looking over his shoulder at Eddie. 
"Uh, yeah, sure," Eddie stammered a bit, hands stuffed in his pockets. He had been looking for that question and he privately hoped he hadn't come across as desperate for having hung around. 
"No complaining about what we listen to, Munson," Robin threatened as he trotted towards Steve's car and got to the passenger's side before anyone else could.
Oh, great. Robin was coming too.... Eddie supposed this was their routine after weeks and weeks of club meetings. Steve probably gave her a ride most days. That was nice, but Eddie couldn't help but feel a jealous twist in his gut.
"You're a proper chauffeur," Eddie commented, trying to keep the moodiness out of his tone as he went to the back seat and got in.
Steve shrugged and didn't make a fuss over any of it as Robin fiddled with the radio dial before settling on some kind of pop station. Charming.
Eddie stayed quiet for most of the ride and despite being annoyed that he wasn't up front he had to admit he liked watching Robin and Steve interact. They were both animated and would talk over one another, arguing here and there about nothing in particular. It was fun and had Eddie smiling by the time they got to Robin's place. Even then, Robin had sat in the car for an extra 10 minutes so the two of them could finish their 'fight.' She didn't leave until Eddie chimed in finally.
"Okay, Jesus H. Christ, Buckley," Eddie grumbled in a good-natured way, getting out of the car and going to the passenger's side door. "Get going, Lord, not all of us have until midnight to get to their front porch. I'm sure this conversation can rage on tomorrow."
"Jealous much?" Robin asked, scoffing and crossing her arms. "You're just trying to get Stevie here all to yourself."
Eddie scowled at her, still holding the door open. While that was partly true, it wasn't for anything nefarious and genuinely Eddie was getting bored with waiting in the backseat while Thing 1 and Thing 2 hotly debated whether or not Justin Bieber's "redemption" was real or not. Eddie seriously did not care about celebrity news and had zero interest in learning more. 
Robin did eventually get out and say her goodbyes which had Eddie sighing dramatically before he eventually climbed into the front seat where she had been previously. The first thing he did was turn off the radio and then glance at Steve who was laughing a bit and leaning on his steering wheel. Eddie paused, his stomach turning before dramatically putting his hand to his forehead.
"Aaaalllooooonnnee at llaaaaasssstt," he sang, putting on an exaggerated version of the piece 'At Last' only to realize that the song was something of a love song. 
Steve chuckled anyway, shifting his car back into gear. 
"What?" He asked, looking amused but confused. 
"Etta James?" Eddie asked, lifting a brow at Steve. He was shocked he didn't know the song. It was a classic and even though he didn't listen to a lot of music outside of punk, metal, and rock, he still knew Etta James. 
Steve gave him a confused look, obviously not recognizing the name.
"Come on man," Eddie egged on, "At Last by Etta James. Release in 1960? You gotta know her, it's like... a really popular song."
"A popular song in the 60s? You know I wasn't alive, right?" Steve teased back which got an eye roll from Eddie in return.
"Har, har, and I was?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Steve quipped, driving off towards the trailer park, "I'd believe it if you told me you were a vampire."
Eddie snorted, leaning back in his seat before taking his fingers and putting them up by his mouth to mime fangs.
"Ah, yes, it is I–you have discooovered by deeeepest secret. I, Edward Munson, am in fact a vam-PIRE! And I simply love attending high school like a freaking weeeeiirdo as if I lived in Grand Forks. Curses, you must keep my secret Steben, for I know where-ist you liiiiive," Eddie joked, putting on an over-the-top Transylvanian accent which spurred a laugh from Steve in turn.
Eddie smiled at him before lowering his hands, feeling pleased with himself.
"Grand Forks?" Steve asked for clarification, pinching his brows together.
"Yeah, Twilight or whatever," Eddie answered before pausing for a moment, "I think it's Grand Forks? Maybe just Forks? I don't know man, I never actually read or watched the damn thing. Kind of ruined vampires in my opinion."
Steve laughed a bit again, obviously not having much of an opinion on the matter. The Twilight movies had been pretty big in the last couple of years and it was hard to avoid retaining at least some knowledge about it. Still, Eddie had avoided the books and the movies like the plague and had felt pretty strongly that Twilight truly had ruined the legitimately cool image that most fantasy vampires had before they sparkled and crap. 
"Ruined vampires, huh?" Steve asked, sounding entertained by the idea.
"Oh, shut up, vampires are cool–or were cool, whatever," Eddie quipped back, crossing his arms and looking out the window. Honestly, he was a bit embarrassed for having gone on about vampires and nearly sung a love song to Steve. He liked that Steve was friendly, but he sort of forgot that they weren't really friends and his usual weird antics might not be cool to bring around this space, yet. 
"Name one," Steve said suddenly and Eddie looked at him with shock. He was being invited to talk about vampires of all things? Did Steve even care? Or was he just on an argument kick from his conversation with Robin?
"And it can't be Dracula," Steve explained further, the two of them starting to get close to the trailer park.
"Oh, I can't comment on thee classic vampire, and I only get like 5 minutes to convince you?" Eddie asked, smiling despite himself.
"Tick-tock, Munson," Steve sighed sarcastically.
"Fine–jeez. Uh, vampire? Well, we can get all into Buffy the Vampire Slayer if you want–and no, it's not just about killing vampires. Some vampires are pretty chill, good even, but you've got Camilla and Spike–"
"Spike?" Steve interrupted, laughing incredulously. 
"Don't! His name is stupid, I get it, but he's pretty cool. Him and Angel are–"
"Angel?"
"Oh, shut up! Angel is a bit of a priss until he turns evil, but Spike is like kinda evil but then a begrudging good guy. Anti-hero style," Eddie could see his trailer coming up, and felt pressed to explain in length why Spike was a cool vampire after all. 
"Okay–I'll just leave with like, my fav line he's ever said. Classic really," Eddie was unbuckling as Steve crept up towards his place, still looking amused.
"So he's like going by Buffy's house or whatever and she comes out all accusatory and is like 'what are you doing here?' and before he can answer she cuts him off and is all 'explain in five words or less.' So, Spike–who dresses like a total punk by the way, bleach blonde hair and red leather jacket and stuff–looks so put-out and lifts his hand and goes: out for a walk... bitch," Eddie explained, half posing and delivering the line with the same level of enunciation Spike originally used in the show. 
Steve snorted slightly, pinching his brows together at Eddie's rushed explanation, watching him. Eddie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but Steve seemed entertained at least.
"Sounds... interesting," he finally said and Eddie could tell he wasn't actually all that interested.
"Whatever man, you have to see it. If you ever have time, I highly recommend 'What We Do in the Shadows.' It's a mockumentary about vampires in New Zealand and it's genuinely hilarious,"  Eddie said, trying to cover his anxiety with a hand wave as he let himself out of the car. 
"Okay?" Steve answered, confused in the same way he had been when Eddie explained why he didn't want his picture taken.
"It's good, trust me," Eddie huffed, half hanging out of the door of Steve's car.
"Alright, man. Let's watch it sometime then," Steve offered nonchalantly. 
Eddie didn't process the offer right away, too busy trying to get his limbs to work properly so he could climb out of Steve's car without face-planting. He was standing with the door open before he realized what had been said and he had to bend over to look at Steve inside the front of the cab. 
"What?" Eddie asked, knowing full well what he had heard, but not really believing it.
"Yeah, we'll watch it sometime or whatever," Steve repeated, not even looking at him as he adjusted his stick shift.
"Oh... sure," Eddie replied a bit weakly before swallowing thickly. He had been lingering for too long already, and he felt self-conscious about prolonging Steve's stay any longer. 
"Well, later then," Eddie concluded, carefully shutting Steve's door and hovering for a moment before Steve pulled away. It wasn't night this time so Steve didn't really need to wait for Eddie to get inside–not that Steve really had to wait at all for something like that. Well, maybe for girls he guessed....
Eddie covered a flush as he walked to his front door considering the fact that usually you'd wait for someone to get inside if you were either their parent or their date. It was something you did for girls you took out to make sure they didn't get jumped going to their house at night, which... sort of made Eddie feel soft for some reason. It wasn't like Steve was teasing him or calling him weak, maybe it was just habit, but Eddie couldn't deny that it had been a vaguely romantic gesture.
Eddie shook the thoughts off as he rolled his shoulders and walked to his room. He felt utterly stupid and he hated that he wanted to impress Steve. Maybe impress wasn't the right word, but he wanted Steve to like him. It felt like such a desperate plea for a friendship and he quietly wondered if he was barking up the wrong tree. He wasn't going to college next year–he wasn't even going to apply, he couldn't afford tuition and there was no reason to go into debt over a degree he didn't want–which meant he was stuck in Hawkins for a while yet. Sure, he wouldn't get as many opportunities to meet guys his own age he didn't already know sticking around here, but it sort of felt lame to be holding out for a friendship with Steve. They really didn't have anything in common. He wouldn't be trying so hard if Steve wasn't so... nice. Like he was surprisingly nice and Eddie wondered idly if he had always been this nice or if that was a new thing that came along with coming out.
PT4
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weirdmarioenemies · 11 months
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Name: BaNaNa Boy
Debut: Mario Kart 8
In the past, we have gone over some of the most silly and notable fictional sponsors appearing in the Mario Kart series, but one has always stood out as the most a-peeling, even back then! That is none other than BaNaNa Boy. Who is this mystical Boy? Why does he capitalize such seemingly unimportant letters? Let’s discuss.
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BaNaNa Boy is, I must assume, the provider of the Banana Peels that are so important to the Mario Kart series! It is quite obvious, I must say. The peel is in the logo, and the slogan, “Let one slip!”, refers to slipping on them. I am also reasonably certain that this slogan is based on the phrase “let one rip”, referring to farting. Awesome!
I have to wonder how BaNaNa Boy got their start! I don’t know how long lore-wise banana peels have been used for kart races. Maybe at first the Kongs were more than happy to donate their used banana peels for the races, but as the karting franchise grew and grew, they needed more, a dedicated provider... a BaNaNa Boy! Someone BaNaNas for Bananas! Or maybe it is a more humble origin, and BaNaNa Boy was a small novelty shop, providing banana peels and other items to prank your friends with. When a large amount of banana peels were needed, one of their loyal customers suggested this small business, and that was their big break!
It may seem like producing large quantities of bananas only to use their peels would be incredibly wasteful. But do not fret!
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Let One Slip right down your esophagus! As seen if you look closely at the vending machines in Super Bell Subway, BaNaNa Boy sells beverages, presumably made with the peeled bananas! You can find them wherever you find canned water from Toad Harbor and canned Roy Smooth Sounds. I would also like to assume that BaNaNa Boy provides bananas for other establishments, like Coconut Cafe, which we also see in Super Bell Subway! I know I would love a BaNaNa muffin!
I have been writing “BaNaNa” so many times here. I love the wacky capitalization! It makes me pronounce it in my mind like “bah nah nah” rather than “banana”. Do you think it stands for something? I think it can be a sort of acronym, representing their three main products: Bananas, Nanners, and ‘Nas! All brought to you by a Boy. A Boy with a dream.
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A Boy with a dream of stardom! Advertised in New York Minute, Da Big Apple itself, is BaNaNa Boy, the musical! The smash hit musical! Is BaNaNa Boy such a huge and popular brand that it has become a multimedia franchise? I like to think that it is not. It’s still just a banana supplier. But now it has a musical, and everyone loves it! Wouldn’t you want to see what it’s all about? I would!
Maybe it follows the story of the company’s rise to worldwide success. Or maybe it is an entirely fictional adventure about BaNaNa Boy the banana peel and his wacky friends... and foes! BaNaNa Boy would be the hero defending the banana trees and the entire ecosystem around them, and the whole thing would distract people from the actual environmental damage the brand is actually causing just like any corporation. What a fun spectacle! Visit the concession stand and treat yourself to a BaNaNa peel packaged in its own single-use plastic wrapper!
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Did you know that Super Bell Subway contains this incredible city map? That’s the subway terminal itself in pink, with train lines leading out, and you can even see Toad Harbor in box A2, and Moo Moo Meadows in box D3!
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And did you know that this city is, in fact, the one seen in N64 Rainbow Road? It is so so SO cool and awesome to see such continuity in a franchise where there is so often none at all! As a wise woman once said, “More like Mario Kart Lore!” But how is this relevant? Look at the first map again! It’s blurry, but the text on each side is the names of a whole lot of the sponsors seen advertising throughout the game! This is not just any city, but apparently a capital of the racing world, full of storefronts or maybe even headquarters of businesses from BaNaNa Boy to Undead Motors. Hey, BaNaNa Boy! That’s the one we were talking about before this tangent!
According to section A, BaNaNa Boy (misspelled Banana Boy) is located in box C3. The labels on the map itself are nearly unreadable, but as they list some the same businesses multiple times even in the same boxes, I am inclined to ignore them. So let’s look at box C3, home of BaNaNa Boy!
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Here it is! Somewhere in this image is BaNaNa Boy (location). It certainly looks like all residential buildings to me, though! Are you telling me they did not want to take the time to model individual unique businesses on this background setting far away from the actual racetrack, and/or did not plan in advance that a DLC track would establish that these locations are unique in the first place? Preposterous! Clearly BaNaNa Boy works from home and you can come visit him. In real life!
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One more thing! Mario Kart Tour is very insistent upon people playing as Miis, with multiple racing suits available, each treated as its own character. I am not a fan of most of these, as they are usually just based on a character who is already playable, so I would rather play as the real character! However, there are some really fun and creative ones based on other things from the Mario series, my favorite probably being this one based on the end-of-level castles! If they can make a suit based on this, surely they could make one based on Banana... and maybe even BaNaNa Boy itself, seeing as this game celebrates the sponsors wherever it can, to the point of even putting their stickers on some racing helmet! It would absolutely become the best racing suit to me instantly. You could pretend you’re playing as THE BaNaNa Boy! I love selling out! BaNaNa Boy paid me to write this post! (in exposure)
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