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groovegalaxxxy5 · 4 years

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Shut up and eat your breakfast bar, Mercury.

The next chapter of Folie Á Deux is juuust about ready for release so I thought I’d put up a little preview. I know this fic has been overdue for a proper update for ages, and I am sooo sorry to ALL my poor neglected fics, ugh. In my defense I honestly can't recall ever having written anything that required me to consider so many different moving parts. It's been taking me so much time just to organize the timeline for this one, plus I'm trying some new things with it too(like POV characters...7_7;;) which has been...interesting. But it’s going! Pretty well, actually!!

Inane rambling aside, this is only a tiny little snippet of what turned out to be a pretty long chapter, but I really liked this scene in particular. Hopefully my readers will too!

Youcancuttheesexualtensionwithakniiiiiife//

The next time Mercury wakes it’s to a familiar electronic melody ringing out from nearby and a very unfamiliar sensation of softness and warmth pressed along his entire left side. Instinctively he refrains from any abrupt movements, instead carefully easing open granite colored eyes still slightly bleary with the last vestiges of sleep to surreptitiously take in his surroundings.

When he does the young assassin finds his heart jumping up into his throat unbidden at the sight of soft green tresses rustling softly with the constant airflow provided by the aircraft’s ventilation system, practically right up against his cheek. A nice, clean sort of scent — citrusy and kind of sweet but not overpowering — tickles his nose and the dark-haired boy’s eyes narrow sharply in confusion when he realizes that the warm weight pressing into him is actually his partner slumped over onto his shoulder. A careful tilt of his head reveals Emerald’s peacefully sleeping face, half obscured by verdant forelocks, as her chest rises and falls softly with each breath. There’s a slightly worn hardback nestled in her lap, the corner of one page lodged haphazardly between delicate mahogany fingertips, but he can’t move his head enough to get a good look at it without shifting the arm that she’s leaning on—she probably fell asleep reading again.

As the sound of the thief’s scroll alarm drones on, her brow creases and a small groan of irritation stirs slightly dry, full lips. Mercury immediately closes his eyes again, forcefully willing his heartbeat and breathing pattern into submission before she properly awakens and he’s forced to deal with cranky, just-woke-up Emerald and pissy, ‘there’s awkward sexual tension all of a sudden and I don’t know how but this is YOUR FAULT, Mercury!’ Emerald.

The assassin almost immediately regrets his decision. With his eyes closed, the scent of the green-haired girl’s shampoo (Perfume? Body lotion???) and the slight tickling sensation of her hair against his cheek feels like it’s amplified about a hundred times with the shift of focus to the rest of his senses. In response, Mercury desperately tries to preoccupy himself with thoughts of what food joints he’s going to hit up once they finally get back to civilization.

The City of Mistral’s underground may be a seething cesspool of corruption of crime, but it also has some of the best street food in the world—because even criminals have to eat. Emerald will probably lose her shit when he introduces her to the food at his favorite—

‘—Dammit.’

His brief internal struggle is interrupted by the feeling of the young woman in question stirring in earnest, apparently no longer able to ignore the insistent sound of her alarm. There’s a rush of cool air against his shoulder as she finally lifts her head, followed by the feeling of her tensing up against him when she presumably recognizes the extremely awkward position that she managed to fall asleep in. Mercury desperately suppresses the urge to steal a glance at whatever goofily mortified look he’s sure is probably crossing his partner’s face right now and instead directs all his available resources to maintaining the pretense that he’s still sound asleep. The dark-haired boy is keenly aware that right now he’s losing out on some prime “let’s annoy Emerald” material (which undoubtedly would have come in handy later on when he inevitably grows bored of whatever tedious bullshit Cinder has them expending their energy on for the mission) but he’s even more curious as to how she’ll react to the situation if he just plays the whole thing off.

He can hear Emerald crankily jamming her finger into the screen of her scroll just before the alarm goes silent and then an aggravated little grunt—she’s never in a good mood right after she wakes up, but she sounds particularly agitated right now. After that things go suspiciously quiet, though he can still faintly feel the thief’s body warmth seeping into his side, and Mercury experiences a moment of confusion. He can hear her breathing softly nearby, but she doesn’t seem to be moving.

‘What the-...Is she just...watching me sleep???’

It takes every ounce of training Mercury has to maintain his cover at that moment. He can practically feel the thief’s sharp, vermilion eyes roving over his face, and though he can’t actually see Emerald’s expression, her Aura feels strangely concentrated. It feels like she’s scrutinizing him.

‘Shit. She knows.’

A few more seconds of quiet and then the dark-haired boy suddenly feels his heart jump up into his throat again at the abrupt sensation of a single point of pressure digging softly into his cheek as Emerald leans in towards him. Her face is definitely right next to his, so close he can feel her breath tickle his cheek. She gently pokes him a couple more times then, seemingly testing to see just how soundly he’s sleeping.

“Just five more minutes,” the green-haired thief finally mumbles after a small sigh of defeat. He can feel her words roll over his cheek in a gentle rush of warm air before she pulls away. And then, as an afterthought, “You really do look like shit, you know that? …’s what you get for not going to sleep at night like a normal human being….Stupid jerk.”

After that there’s the sound of Emerald shifting in her seat slightly and then the quiet rustling of pages turning. Mercury somehow manages to maintain his composure, but he feels strangely unsettled after the weird encounter—his heart rate refuses to get under control after that despite his pointedly slow, steady breaths, to the point that he’s almost sure that the young woman sitting next to him will hear his pulse any moment now and catch on to the fact that he’s been faking it the whole time.

She doesn’t, however, and in what feels like mere moments Emerald is calling his name as she roughly nudges him awake—for real this time.

“Mercury. Mercury. Get up — we’re almost there.”

“Mn?” He feels like an absolute idiot pretending like he’s only just now waking up when he’s actually been extremely, painfully alert for the last several minutes. This was such a stupid idea.

“We’re going to be landing soon—you need to wake up,” she repeats, giving him another nudge that’s just as insistent but a bit gentler this time, “Brothers…you really were tired—you slept the entire way. Usually you won’t shut the hell up.”

“Aww, sorry to leave you so bored and lonely for the whole flight, Em,” he says smoothly after a small yawn, offering her the best shit-eating grin he can muster at the moment, “Promise I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Just get ready to land,” comes the exasperated reply. For the most part, Emerald sounds as dismissive as ever, but he can’t help but notice the slight waver in her voice. The assassin feels his own mental composure recover just slightly at that particular realization—It’s actually something of a relief to know that he’s not the only one who’s feeling more than a bit out of sorts right now.

Sufficiently satisfied that he’s not going to fall back asleep, the green-haired girl gets to her feet and steps over to where their luggage is located to begin rummaging around inside her bag until she produces a familiar looking small, rectangular package. As he watches the thief tear open the packaging to her rations, the dark-haired youth feels his own stomach start to burble a little bit, reminding him that they departed well before breakfast time this morning.

Mercury stands and gives his shoulders a good stretch before likewise raiding his own bag, and a few minutes later finds them sitting across from one another in front of their packs, both munching away on Atlesian military grade breakfast rations.

“Where’s Cinder?” he asks casually, not because he actually cares but because he knows it’s one of the easiest ways to get her talking.

“Still on the upper deck. When I went up to check on her about an hour ago she was poring over maps of the city.”

“Mm. They’re really serious about making this a repeat of Beacon,” Mercury comments. Out of the corner of his eye he catches Emerald’s eyebrows quirk together uncomfortably for a split second at his observation, prompting the dark-haired boy to pause mid chew, gaze narrowing momentarily in frustration.

‘Aaand there it is. Brothers’ blood, Em…You’re really gonna make me do this aren’t you.’

“…You cool with that?” he ventures slowly, surreptitiously shifting his gaze so that he can properly observe her reaction.

“I want whatever Cinder wants,” Emerald replies firmly, pinning him with an irritated side-glare. He really has to give it to his partner—she’s an excellent liar. Emerald’s tone sharpens a bit in response to his inquiry, but her voice is otherwise steady and her gaze doesn’t waver in the slightest when she pins him under it. If it weren’t for the way her breath caught in her chest for just a split second when he first raised the question, he would have been inclined to believe her.

“Just asking,” he says dismissively, backing off from the topic with a disarming little shrug.

“…Fuck you, Merc,” the green-haired girl comments at last, after pointedly glaring up at him in silence for a moment, “Seriously.”

“Wow, Em,” he gasps, adopting a thoroughly scandalized expression, “I know I promised I’d make it up to you, but—”

“Shut up and eat your breakfast bar, Mercury!”

//ActuallyitreallyISMercury’sfaulteverytiiiime

I like that this excerpt gives absolutely NO hint as to where this chapter actually ends up lmaooo Just a nice little innoculation of UST-filled banter and pre-romantic cuteness before shit goes completely sideways and upside down...

#fanfic #rwby #emercury #emerald sustrai #mercury black

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shooting-stars01 · 4 years

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I’ll See You at Three

A/N: Sorry I’ve been gone for so long! I started college and wanted to get back into writing these things. I’m hoping this will be an interesting series, not really sure where I’m going to take it yet. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I also want to start doing requests soon. Not sure if I have the following for it, but I’m up for trying new things. Anyways, message me if you have a request and I’ll get back to you. This story is non-canon, just a story I came up with involving characters from the MCU. Hope you enjoy! Also, any feedback is greatly appreciated. :)

Pairing: Peter Parker/Spider-Man X Reader

Chapter: 1/?

Words: 2,133

Warning: None, some cursing

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College was a fucking nightmare, and nothing could convince her otherwise. Ever since she could remember, everyone had told her she would love college. They fed her lies, saying it would be the greatest experience of her life. Granted, she had only been in school for two months, but she felt it was enough to make the educated decision that college fucking sucked. The weekends were the worst. Unless you were an avid partier or had friends who knew where the parties were, there was nothing to do, except listen to everyone else’s parties. She hated the constant noise on campus. Whatever was happening, there was always noise, never a single quiet moment. It wouldn’t have been such a problem if she could just learn to let things go like everyone else could, but for some reason, she hated when people couldn’t think about others around them, and causing a large amount of noise and being generally annoying, was one of the things she hated most. Y/n just liked the quieter side of life, and that did not include people running around outside her dorm at three in the morning with a megaphone shouting.

It was early in the morning, too early for the sun to be out, when y/n decided she couldn’t take the noise anymore. She hadn’t slept in fourteen hours but decided to take a walk anyway, hoping it would bring her past the point of exhaustion and allow her to rest when she got back to her dorm. It was a Saturday, and for some reason, Saturday’s were the worst. People decided to be extra loud, especially on the floor above hers (she got stuck on the first floor of freshman dorms as if things couldn’t be shitty enough). That wasn’t even the worst part. The worst being that her roommate would stay out until god knows when with friends. Y/n loved having the room to herself but hated the fact that her roommate never bothered to include her in anything. It made her feel less than, just as she had felt with most other people in her life. She had learned a long time ago to let go of people that made her feel that way, but how was she supposed to stay away from her roommate. She tried to convince herself this walk was just to reach exhaustion, but it was also a spite walk. Y/n hoped her roommate would get back to the dorms before her and feel left out herself. Y/n hated the idea that her roommate might think she had no friends or didn’t do anything fun, and so far, y/n was pretty sure that was the exact impression she had given her roommate.

Y/n put on some leggings and a hoodie and walked out of her dorm room, trying not to look as petty and sulky as she felt. At this moment, she felt spectacularly pathetic, but it was her first semester in college, and who could blame her for being so fucked up in the head. This was her first time away on her own and she always thought she would love it, but so far it had been one major disappointment, and all she wanted to do was turn around and go straight back home. Two months and it still didn’t feel any better.

The air was briskly cold which was a nice contrast to how it usually felt. She had to admit that she hardly ever actually went out of her dorm at night. She wondered if it was cold like this all the time at night and made a mental note to go out more. Y/n loved the cold weather, and she didn’t get much of it here, one of the main reasons she had come to hate college so much. She was used to much colder weather back home, and at least when it was hot where she lived it was a dry sort of heat instead of the humid kind here. The winds did help to cool things down sometimes, but for the most part, she hated every single sunny day.

There were some students still meandering about, talking loudly around campus as they drunkenly stumbled their way to another party or back to their dorms. As she walked, she thought about what it might be like if she had that same type of energy, if she could just run around from one party to the other, mingling with boisterous people as if it were second nature. Y/n wished it could be easy to blend in with people, to have a good time without worrying about what to say next or if she looked good enough to be talking to the hot guy in the room. She hated the way she didn’t feel good enough to even look some people in the face, which was funny considering they probably wouldn’t even remember her.

Y/n looked up at the sky hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars, something that reminded her of nights spent outside having long talks with her sister. There were no stars in the sky tonight, or rather there were, but she couldn’t see them through the thick smog that seemed to stick around all the time, another thing she could add to the list of reasons she hated college.

Y/n didn’t know exactly where she was headed on this walk, perhaps to her new favorite spot, a hill overlooking the city. She liked to watch the illegal things that cars did on the street below and sometimes she would watch the airplanes fly overhead. There were so many of them, taking off at least every ten minutes from the airport. They were beautiful in a way which is something she never thought she would admit. When one would pass, she would think about each person on the plane, where they were going, and what they were thinking. Every time she was on a plane, she was always able to find a new perspective, looking at the world from so high up. As she approached the bench she usually sat at to look over the hill, the height did not give her new perspective, but rather reminded her she was stuck in a city she hated more than anything and promised she would never move to. How did she become one of these people? I guess it wasn’t so bad, but at the same time, all these people were so different from her. Every time she headed out of her dorm, or encountered her roommate, she was reminded of this fact, that she was nothing like the people who went to this school. On many occasions, she had spoken on the phone with her mom about it, but over and over again, her mother told her she just needed to find her people, that they existed, and as the weeks dragged on, y/n felt it more and more hopeless.

Y/n was taken out of her thoughts when she heard someone approaching behind her. She expected the sound of their footsteps to fade, but they continued to get closer until they were almost right behind her. Could they not see her sitting here? Y/n thought about saying something but decided it would make the situation awkward. She should have realized how awkward it would be when the person approached and went to sit down but then realized that someone was already sitting on the small bench. Granted, there was room for two people, but they would have to sit rather close, too close for two people who did not know each other.

“Oh sorry. Didn’t see ya there” the dark figure said. Y/n could tell that they were smiling, probably from the awkwardness.

“It’s ok” she replied, not wanting to start anything, though she wondered how they really couldn’t see her.

“Didn’t really think anyone would be out here at this time,” they said. “Usually this bench is empty.”

“Do you always come out here at three in the morning?” she said sarcastically.

“Yea. Why not? It’s far away from all the noise, plus it’s a nice place to relax.”

“Yes, but at three in the morning?”

“Well you’re out here at three in the morning, aren’t you?”

“Yea, but this is a first time, one-time thing.”

The figure moved out of the shadows and into the light coming off from the city and went to sit down next to y/n, which unsettled her less than she thought it would. So far, this was the easiest interaction she had with someone.

“Yes, well I promise you that you’ll become addicted. I thought the same thing too the first time I came out here, and now look at me, I’m a regular.”

In the light, y/n could see that the figure was a boy, which she had guessed by the voice, but in the light, y/n could see that he was a rather attractive boy.

“So, what’s your name?” he asked, casual as if he was not talking to a stranger on a bench at three in the morning.

“Y/n. What about you?”

“Parker, Peter Parker”

Y/n liked the way he smiled. He seemed to smile with every word he said. It wasn’t the fake two-faced smiles she had been seeing all around campus, but rather it was the first genuine smile she had seen in a long time, except from the few friends she had made. He kind of reminded her of a character she liked in a book she once read, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. His presence brought her a weird sense of calm, which she liked because all she had felt since arriving on campus was an extreme feeling of panic and dread. She felt protected with him.

“What year are you?” His tenor voice melted into the distant sounds of the city.

“I’m a first-year, what about you?”

“Third-year”

Y/n suddenly felt extremely self-aware. She had never talked with a Junior, and it made her feel inferior in so many unreasonable ways.

“Have you been coming out here for three years now?”

“Yea, every Saturday since my third week here.”

“You don’t go to parties or anything?”

He gave her an incredulous look. “Of course, I go to parties, when I feel like it, but I just always leave before three and come here. I need this time to just slip away. If I didn’t, I don’t know what I would do.”

Y/n knew what that was like. She suddenly realized she should probably leave and let him get his alone time.

“Well, I should probably get going then. Wouldn’t want to ruin your Zen or anything.”

“Oh no, please stay. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

“Really? Even out here in your spot?”

“Well, it’s your spot now too.”

“I would hardly say that.”

Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was mildly flattered he was so willing to share his special spot with her.

“Nonsense! Besides, sometimes it’s better to have someone to talk stuff out with, you know. Someone who you feel comfortable with.”

Y/n had missed this. Even with the friends she had made, she still felt like she had to hold back a part of her personality with them. Here, with him, she hadn’t felt that for a single moment, and they had hardly exchanged any words. He was friendly and accommodating. What could be so bad about staying to talk with him? Perhaps she would make a new friend and a third-year at that.

“All-right. I’ll stay.”

He smiled at her and it made her stomach flutter. She could get used to this, to him.

It was nearly dawn when they both said their goodbyes and headed to their separate dorms. They had talked for nearly three hours and even in the silence between their words, there wasn’t a single moment of awkwardness, but rather a feeling of comfort. She was in a state of bliss and her head was buzzing at a thousand miles an hour but she was too tired to comprehend any of it. When she got back into her dorm room, her roommate still had not come back from wherever she had gone to earlier in the night. Y/n was glad. She had the whole space to bask in what happened. She wanted to stay up the whole night so as not to let the feeling of magic escape her, to live in it as long as possible, but as soon as her head hit the pillow she fell asleep, her dreams filled with Peter Parker, the boy on the bench.

#peter parker #spider-man: homecoming #spider-man: far from home #spider man #mcu #marvel #marvel imagine #spiderman marvel #tom holland #the avengers imagine #The Avengers #imagine #fanfic #fanfiction #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fanfic #spiderman fanfiction #non-canon #i'll see you at three

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musutofu · 5 years

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【 Dating Shindou 】

Shindou is good at what he does, even if what he does isn’t good. He’s very careful about how he outwardly presents himself which is to say he goes out of his way to leave a good impression on most people he meets. It’s a logical ruse even if it’s unlikely that he’ll have to interact with them much outside of that single instance. He’s a tactician by nature, always hedging his bets for the outcome that will be most beneficial to him. It’s a disingenuous tactic at best and manipulative at worst, yet it still creates a basis for a more authentic relationship should he desire it. After all, he still has real friends that he genuinely cares for. His fake, overly friendly persona isn’t for everyday interactions but rather fleeting conversations that may prove useful in the future if he sucks it up and plays nice.

Although it isn’t impossible to see through his façade because no fabricated identity is completely seamless it’s hard to distrust Shindou. Most don’t think to second guess his intentions unless they’re a particularly shrewd and distrusting person in general. It’s advantageous, of course, to not be questioned for ulterior motives but it’s always more interesting when he’s called out for being disingenuous. It gives him an obstacle to overcome in a situation that he would have otherwise been completely in control of. Though it isn’t the most desirable situation for Shindou to find himself in he’s always much more cognizant of people that are able to see through him and he likes to keep track of them as future allies or enemies.

It’s what initially drew him to you; his need to want to know how and why you could so easily see through him and yet didn’t draw anyone else’s attention to his charade. There was an underlying reason for it and he was more than interested to know the hows and whys; the motivations of a person such as yourself. His second attempt at approaching you is a lot more genuine and you take note of it, deciding he can’t be all that bad. It takes a while of proving that he has no ulterior motive, that his feelings and interest are genuine, plus a few declined but not unwanted confessions before Shindou can finally get you to agree to go out with him.

With such a meticulously fabricated public persona sometimes things like PDA fall under the umbrella of being more of a tool to support his nice guy appearance than actual acts of affection. Because while Shindou does enjoy showing the world just how much he cares for you there’s a time and place for such things and if holding your hand or otherwise touching you as he usually would doesn’t suit the outward appearance he’s trying to present then he won’t do it. In a more laid back environment where he isn’t worried about putting on his usual airs he’s surprisingly clingy. He likes to hang off of you, but not in a cute way. It’s almost like a show of possession; him marking his territory. Be it by holding your hand, your arm, your waist. Anywhere his hands can touch is free game. And while he’s polite about it he does kiss you in public, just not as fiercely as he would behind closed doors.

Such contrivances make his rampant jealousy hard to reign in. It’s hard for him to flip the switch and turn off his need to make it known that you’re taken when the scenario he’s trying to create calls for the exact opposite of that. But Shindou went through a lot to get you to consider him as more than a friend, so anyone trying to encroach on his hard earned title as your boyfriend is in for a rude awakening. It may not come at the exact time of the offense since he enjoys thinking through all possible courses of action, but it’ll come and the offender will know not to mess with what doesn’t belong to them.

Many an argument has sprung up between the two of you over his seemingly touch and go possessiveness. There are days where Shindou will act as if you’re little more than close acquaintances then want to be all over you as he usually is the next. There have been times where you expected–even wanted–him to act on his urge to put someone in their place when they get a bit too familiar with you, but it would ruin the image he’s built around himself in that moment so he left you to deal with the annoyance on your own. It’s such an odd feeling to feel like you only have a boyfriend half the time when you should never feel like you don’t have him completely. And no matter how many times Shindou explains that he’s yours it doesn’t stop you from second guessing yourself whenever he so easily goes off on his own like he’s single. If he can be jealous, possessive, and needy then so can you.

Staying in is always the preferred option when it comes to dates because there’s no chance that Shindou’s personality will change on a dime without people around for him to play like chess. And while going out to restaurants and movies or to just walk together on a nice day are still things that the two of you do, Shindou prefers having you to himself where he doesn’t have to hold back. The days when you order takeout and watch whatever movie or show strike your fancy are Shindou’s favorite. It gives him time to completely shut off the side of himself that’s duplicitously nice and just be his true rough-around-the-edges self. Being so calculating all the time is quite mentally taxing.

People watching is the best way to glean someone’s true personality and it’s something both you and Shindou excel at. Sometimes on dates in crowded spaces you’ll both pick people to watch and make up lives for them based on visual cues. It’s always fun to see how their day plays out while in your vicinity to see if what you’ve been saying is proved or disproved. But even if it’s fun watching others when they don’t notice you it’s rather awkward when you know someone is doing it to you and Shindou does it a lot. It’s not so bad when you’re doing a task that requires focus like cooking or reading because your attention is somewhat diverted, but when your watching TV it’s hard to ignore the way Shindou’s eyes burn into the side of your head as he watches all your little reactions and idle twitches. The worst is when he lifts your chin to make you look into his eyes just to watch you. He says eyes are the easiest way to get to know someone–a true statement since his eyes seem to change the second he turns on his fake, nice boy personality–and he likes seeing how your eyes change just by looking at him. It’s embarrassing for you because your pupils dilate like a cat getting a treat but Shindou finds it endearing since he knows his do the same.

And to be fair you like to watch him, too. Never as intensely as he does to you but still. If Shindou starts playing a video game–he’s partially to games that change based on the choices you make–you’ll be there to watch. He likes going through games multiple times, changing which decisions he makes each time. One playthrough could be a pacifist one then the next a genocide or somewhere in the middle. It’s like playing through a more fantastical version of what he does in his day to day life, changing reality based on his outward appearance and decisions. More than a few stay-in dates have devolved into you watching Shindou play a new game you bought him.

Shindou may not say that he loves you as often as you’d like–especially considering it would be nice to have verbal confirmation every once in a while with how easy it is for him to pretend he’s not completely in love with you–but he shows it enough to make up for it. There are little things he does whenever he does say “I love you” and you’ve come to associate these little touches with the words even if he isn’t saying them out loud. A forehead kiss or him hooking your pinkies are how he reminds you without words.

#shindou x reader #shindou headcanons #shindou #shindou you #mha shindou #bnha shindou #mha you #bnha you #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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welcometophu · 6 years

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Not Your Love Song: Chapter 28

Marked Book 2: Not Your Love Song

Chapter 28

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The stone stairs leading to the top floor of the Madison Center are old and worn, and Rory stares down at every single one as he leads Darrik and Ally up. “It’s easiest to meet here because the Madison is open around the clock, so we can stay as late as we like,” he says. “Plus we can move the tables around if we have a larger group. It can get noisy sometimes, but no one cares if we get loud, either, unlike the library, which means we can Skype Del.”

“It’s fine,” Ally says. “We don’t mind coming over. I figured it was either this or Darrik’s place, and it seems like we’ve got more of you than of us.”

She makes it sound like an us versus them situation, which Rory supposes it is. He wonders if Ally will ever warm up to him, or if she’s just this prickly naturally.

Still, she does have a point about how many of them there are.

“We do,” Rory agrees. He can see where Thorne is tugging three tables together, creating a larger workspace along the balcony. “Normally Kit, Shane, Jess, and I have been working on this after our Coven meetings on Tuesday nights. But because of the long weekend, we didn’t meet on Tuesday.” And because of Valentine’s Day—he feels certain that most people would have skipped it anyway. “So tonight you guys can join us, and Thorne’s sticking around. And we’ll get in touch with Del.”

He glances back at Darrik and Ally; Darrik’s expression is shuttered, but Ally’s brow is furrowed. “That’s the girl you think can help?” she asks.

“One of them. She’s not local, but we think she’ll be more available,” Rory says.

Kit spots them and motions Rory over. Rory raises one hand in greeting as they approach.

There’s no need for introductions, but Rory does them anyway, just to break the ice. He ends up sitting between Darrik and Kit, his laptop at one end of the set of tables in order to let Del see as much of the group as possible. When she comes on the screen, Kit takes over and runs through introductions again.

Del waves a hand. “I’m going to forget everyone’s name, probably, but I’ll do my best. Red-haired guy is Thorne, red-haired girl is Jess. Big guy is Darrik, other girl is Ally. Skinny guy is Rory—he’s cute, Kit. Last guy is Shane. Did I get that right? Is there a quiz?”

“No quiz,” Kit says. “But accuracy is important. We’ve already screwed up one ritual. We don’t want to screw up another.”

Darrik shifts next to Rory, his knee pressing close. Rory wants to reassure him, but he’s not sure Darrik even realizes he’s doing it.

“Okay, so, tell me about this.” Del folds her hands on her desk and waits, blinking brown eyes.

Kit’s fingers brush against Rory’s, nudging him to answer. “Isn’t this your project?” Rory asks Kit.

Kit links their pinkies together. “It’s my independent study, yes, but it started out as your ritual plan, didn’t it?”

There’s tension at the table, thick enough that Rory can feel it. Thorne’s closest to Del, and seems to be ignoring everything but the notepad in front of him as he scribbles notes or lyrics; knowing Thorne, it could be either. At the other end of the table, Jess and Shane lean together, talking quietly. But Darrik and Ally are both focused entirely on Rory. And on Kit.

Nope. This isn’t awkward at all.

“Okay, short version,” Rory says, trying not to think about how he’s seated between his ex-boyfriend and his soulmate. “I’ve spoken to the Shadowwalker that attacked Noah, Lora, and Darrik. She thinks that you—since you pulled her out of the dreamscape—might be able to reach Lora and help her get back, too.”

“What about Carolyn?” Del asks bluntly, tapping her nails against the table.

“Busy.” Kit’s voice is flat. Rory doesn’t remember him sounding this angry when they talked earlier in the week, just resigned that his sister was otherwise occupied.

Del makes a small noise. “So all you need me to do is come visit whenever you plan to do this and try to launch us all into a dream—”

“Or just get yourself into Lora’s dream, if that’s where she is. You don’t need to drag all of us in like you did when you went into Mattie’s dream,” Rory counters. “We can talk specific details once we have more of the ritual laid out.”

“You do have a perfectly good Dreamwalker on campus,” Del points out. “And I may have gotten us to your Shadowwalker, but Carolyn was the one who got us out. You weren’t there, and I think things are more complicated than you’re making it,” her gaze flits from Kit to Rory to Darrik. “But I’m willing to try. Keep in mind that this is a natural Talent, and not one that I’ve had a lot of control over.”

“I’m hoping that if I can put us in contact with Lora, your natural ability will take over, like it did with Mattie,” Kit says quietly.

“There are still a lot of ‘ifs’ in this plan,” Ally mutters. Rory suspects that Darrik nudges her, because she snaps, “What? I’m telling the truth. I thought the entire point of planning out a magical ritual was to be absolutely sure of every step. At this point, for all you know, you could call another one of those shadow things. And it’s not like any of you have a bit of focus.”

Del makes a small mm-hm kind of noise.

“Those two won’t stop talking with each other and ignoring the rest of us,” Ally gestures at Shane and Jess. “Darrik’s in this complicated headspace, and I don’t even know for sure what’s going on with the two of you, and when did your brother get involved in this? I thought he was just the singer of your band.”

“Ouch,” Thorne says. “I’m the pretty face, and the one who actually likes to deal with people, not just the singer.” He leans in, past Kit. “I’m also here to support Rory and help in any way I can. We grew up creating ritual together, and if he needs another brain thinking this through, or another body when it happens, I will be there for him. I’m a Mage as much as anyone else at this table.”

“Ally,” Darrik says quietly. “They’re trying to help. And yes, this is a mess, but they aren’t trying to make it worse. If we can reach Lora—”

“It doesn’t change the fact that Noah’s dead,” Ally says bluntly.

“No, it doesn’t,” Darrik admits. “But it means that Lora’s alive. I’ll get over Noah eventually. Stop taking it out on Rory; I’m not crushed that he’s found his soulmate.”

“It’s awkward,” Rory says, and Darrik huffs.

“It’s definitely awkward, but I’m not angry,” he says quietly. “I think Ally’s expecting us to explode with jealousy, and I don’t think any of us are there.”

Rory’s gaze shifts from Darrik to Kit and back again. He can’t fully read their expressions; all he can do is speak for himself. “I’m still trying to figure things out, so no jealousy here right now,” he says.

Kit’s finger tightens where he’s linked with Rory. “I’m not jealous.”

“Which is why you’ve laid claim in view of everyone else,” Ally says.

Kit pulls his hand away.

“Stop it.” Rory’s voice goes low, hands pressed against the surface of the table. “That is not what this is about, okay? Ally, I know you were close to Noah and Lora but if you’re just here because you think I’m going to somehow make Darrik miserable, and you’re going to snark at us the entire time, then leave. Shane, Jess, could you at least attempt to pay attention? And Kit—”

He stops abruptly as a hand falls on his shoulder, shoving at him. Rory turns, trying to pull himself closer to the table as Pels pushes past in the narrow space next to the wall. “Sorry,” she mutters. She wavers as she walks, and Rory would almost think she’s drunk, but she looks more furious than anything. She rocks with each step, bumping into Darrik, then Ally.

At the end of the table she stumbles hard, and Shane reaches up and catches her. “Hey, are you okay?” he asks. “You look like—”

“No,” she says, pulling back quickly. She twists her right arm up, stares down at her wrist. Even from a distance, Rory can see the shadows of ink forming there. When Shane reaches for her, she pulls back, ends up flat against the wall. “I don’t have time for this,” she says sharply. “I don’t have the brain for this. It’s not going to happen.” She looks behind herself. “Fuck you, Dad. Fuck you and this grand plan you have, because this soulmate thing is not going to happen.”

Jess gets halfway to her feet, and Pels’s eyes go wide and she shakes her head. Jess freezes.

“No thanks,” Pels says quickly. “I really need to go. Sorry. This just—it’s not me.” She slides down the hall, sticking close to the wall and not touching anyone else. As soon as she’s away from the group, she picks up her pace.

She’s gone.

“What was that?” Del asks. “Because from here, it looked really weird.”

“Everything around Pels is really strange,” Thorne says quietly. “But that was probably stranger than just about anything else I’ve observed this year.”

Jess sinks back into her chair. “I think I’m crushing more,” she grumbles. “Shane, I’m crushing on your soulmate. And your soulmate seems to hate you. I am so, so sorry for all of that.”

Shane turns his wrist to show them; the ink is still clouded, soft on the inside of his wrist. “She’s not my soulmate,” he says, shaking his head. “I have no idea what just happened, but my ink’s still a cloud. It hasn’t resolved.”

“She got ink,” Rory says slowly. “I saw it. I didn’t see what it is, but she definitely got a magical tattoo after touching you, and that’s what happens.” He gestures between himself and Kit. “We’re proof, if you need evidence. The marks are easy; it’s the rest of the mess that’s complicated.”

Kit’s finger twitches against Rory’s.

“You’re not the mess,” Rory says quietly, turning to look at him. “The unwilling and unplanned participant part is the mess.”

“Mm.”

Rory can feel the discomfort rolling off of Kit, and it feels natural to untangle their fingers and lift his arm so that he can let it fall across Kit’s shoulders. Rory tugs him close, presses his face to Kit’s temple, and Kit slowly relaxes.

Del coughs.

“You okay?” Rory asks, and when Kit nods, Rory withdraws.

Thorne holds up a piece of paper with a list on it, briefly shows the table, then turns it toward Del. “Things we need to figure out. Will Kit still be the lynchpin for contacting Lora, and will we still use his art? What is the best configuration of Mages to feed power to Kit in order to do this, and how can we avoid destabilizing in the middle of the ritual? Who is going to be the one to ask Pels to see her new ink?”

“No,” Shane says, scrubbing his hand across the air. “Leave Pels off the list. I’ll talk to her. I’m not sure we’ve even said three words to each other outside of Coven before today, and I don’t want you all getting involved in whatever’s going on there. She’s obviously spooked. Jess and I will figure out how to get that sorted out.”

“I have some ideas for the ritual.” Jess pushes a notebook down the table, leaving it in front of Darrik. “I’m trying to take into account the fact that we have multiple types of Talents—different kinds of Mages, different natural abilities, as well as one Clan and one….” She trails off as she looks at Ally.

She shrugs, her arms crossed. “Call me a Hunter,” Ally says. “My father was Emergent, way back before the big Emergence actually happened, and my older sister and I both inherited it from him. We think it’s probably, when broken down to the essentials, some kind of one-note Mage. Mostly, I see weaknesses. If there’s a fighting style, I can learn it enough to take care of myself. I’m really good with weapons. I’m better with ranged weapons, and Kelly’s better at hand to hand. Dad’s all big picture—if you show him a battlefield, he can tell you where to drop a weapon to do the most damage, and what kind of weapon is best for the situation.”

“Your family sounds terrifying,” Thorne says quietly.

“Is your father in the military?” Kit asks, and Rory’s glad he did. He wants to know, but at the same time, he’s not sure he wants to hear the answer.

Ally shakes her head. “No. And he won’t be. Neither will Kelly or I. We try to stay under the radar in general, because we don’t want to become weapons. Most people don’t believe me when I say that my Talent is knowing ten ways to kill you where you stand.”

“It does sound like an exaggeration,” Del says blandly.

“I don’t think it’s mathematically helpful,” Jess muses. “Keep in mind that I don’t know how magic or ritual theory works, but I’ve been trying out stable structures and lines of force as a method for how you could set yourselves. I’m sure that traditional star-like structures were created because they do balance the magics equally, if you assume that all the Mages in the ritual are also equal. But having the same distance doesn’t mean anything if you have one person producing power like the sun, and another one barely letting out a trickle. And in this case, you don’t want to spread the power out, you want to concentrate it into Kit, so he becomes a focal point.”

It makes a kind of sense, on a theoretical level, and it could explain why everything went haywire before. “Don’t forget about the Shadows,” Rory says.

Ally’s gaze narrows. “I thought you said she’s friendly.”

“I did. I’m not worried about Mattie,” Rory explains. “But she’s not the only one. Shadowwalkers aren’t legends. They’re Emergent Talents whose souls have been trapped elsewhere. The Shadows themselves live in the split—Mattie could explain that better than me. But one thing we learned last semester is that they’re attracted to high levels of magic. And they are really attracted to new and different magic. Emergent magic. It tastes good to them.”

“So even though your friend Mattie’s not going to attack Lora again, someone else might.” Jess scribbles on the page. “I can work that into the equation as a variable.”

“I like this train of thought,” Thorne says. “I’d be happy to help you work it out.”

“I got the idea from Rory, actually. Music as math.” Jess’s gaze narrows. “I’m going to say yes, but that had better not be some kind of a pick up line. I’m into girls, in case you couldn’t tell.”

“Not everything I say is flirting.” Thorne looks hurt.

“Look, do we have some kind of a plan, because I have somewhere I need to be tonight,” Del asks, gesturing at something out of view. “It sounds like you have some details to work out, and honestly, I still think you should get Carolyn involved. She can’t be that busy, Kit.”

Kit shrugs.

“We’ll get back to you,” Rory says. He reaches past Kit, taking the laptop when Thorne slides it toward him and closing the lid.

Darrik sits back, his arms crossed. Ally leans in to say something quietly to him, then gets up and starts walking away around the balcony.

“Do you really think this is going to work this time?” Darrik asks.

“I do,” Kit says firmly, and for the first time, Darrik looks directly at him.

“Then thank you,” Darrik says, expression sober. “Thank you for the effort you’re putting into this, and thank you for trying.”

Rory takes Kit’s hand in his and squeezes. They’re in this together, now.

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#welcome to phu #welcometophu #not your love song #phu marked #marked

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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SkamFr 2.7 reaction

Emma exposed as RPF shipper

Episode 7

Clip 1 - Lucalex

Ahhh, a relaxing afternoon hanging out with friends, being on your separate phones. That seems like an OH YOUTHS complaint, but I’m saying it in recognition.

“They seem really close … imagine if they’re together?” If they were a couple they’d be pretty brave about posting pictures of them together on IG at this stage, even non-coupley pics, and even if you assume they are out and not closeted.

Emma is so into this concept of Lucas and Alex together. She was biting her lip in excitement over two dudes getting into a car together.

She also is quick to come up with that ship portmanteau (Lucalex) so you know she’s on Tumblr.

Manon, you sounds very reasonable about this Lucas-Alex situation, but you also brought up the car incident to your friend who is clearly ready to start drafting her Lucalex 100k slow-burn masterpiece. You can’t expect to dangle such a tasty morsel in front of a salivating person and hope to take it back.

But at least Manon isn’t like, wow what a fun game this is after her conversation with Lucas last episode.

“This guy is gay, I slept with him two days ago” - Mickael always taking everything Eskild said or did just a few steps more scandalous.

Mickael and Lucas are hair twins.

Clip 2 - Ate a dick

Their kissing is passionate so I give them props for that. On a scene by scene basis, just evaluating them in this moment, they’re fine. I don’t know how big Noorhelm fans feel about this actor, but Charles, whatever his character faults, has more intensity than William and I read more affection in his expressions. I found the comment about his boner far less awkward than in the original.

I still love Manon’s lamby cardigan!

Bless Daphne but the “ate a dick” comment and the subsequent reaction were about 10 times more unintentionally awkward than the original.

I mean, Manon is right. What obligations do these girls have to these dudes at all?

Julien is a little effeminate ... Daphne sure won’t let that concept of lesbian Manon go, huh. I guess if Emma is writing Lucalex fanfic, Daphne is all about those f/f epics.

Also mentioning how beautiful Manon is … Daphne … girl….

(Daphne’s fic is all Manon/Female Reader amirite)

Clip 3 - Bedroom makeouts

Uhhh … in the previous clip, released on Tuesday, Charles says he has to study later on Tuesday. Then he says “Tomorrow? We could go to your place.” Manon agrees. Yet this clip was also released on Tuesday. They’re wearing the same clothes in both clips. Like … what? Am I hallucinating this glitch? Sloppy.

I don’t even know how they made this mistake considering it can’t be a post-production error, or that someone just uploaded it by accident on Tuesday, since they’re wearing the same outfits. This is a writing/filming mistake. Did they have a text where they changed the meeting time or something? They should have just changed the timestamp and released it on Wednesday, even though it’d be noticeable with the clothes, or edited out the bit with where Charles suggests tomorrow. Do some awkward ADR.

The whole joke about her waiting for marriage to have sex has never sat right with me because of how he didn’t accept no as an answer when they got together. It’s one thing if they got together in a healthier way, you could give it the benefit of the doubt and take it in a lighter way, but because they didn’t, moments like this are kinda tainted for me. (Plus the classic line in the final clip of the season ... but we’ll see if they keep that line.)

Heh, Mickael’s comment about if it were his room, the guy would be naked, and Charles laughing at that, was good.

As well Mickael talking about announcing people are straight. “It’s not a stigma!”

So far Mickael seems more of a blatant comic relief character than Eskild - he’s just more, if that makes sense, and we haven’t seen some of the more nurturing, affectionate moments between he and Manon - in fact I’d say Manon has seemed more annoyed with him than Noora did with Eskild. However, we haven’t yet gotten to the more serious scenes with his character, so I hope that we get to see Mickael pull off the heavier material.

Charles takes this whole incident well and laughs and smiles a lot, so that’s nice.

I applaud them for leaving out that annoying line about William’s pals being excited to party with a Muslim girl. Charles’ crew definitely has the same idea in mind, as seen later, but I mean ... I don’t need that Our Hero being so casual about the ideas of his buddies fetishizing a Muslim girl. Because that’s what it was.

Clip 4 - Call me

Manon just sank Emma’s ship. For a moment, anyway.

Emma’s like, either I get to hook up with Alex or my OTP is canon, win-win!

“Maybe he made a move and Lucas turned him down.” I think Mickael is the kind of person who would assume if he got turned down, the guy must not be into dudes at all. Because how could you resist Mickael otherwise?

More setting up S3/Lucas’ story. That’s fine, it’s fair to lay that foundation, and Emma obviously knows heavy stuff is up with him. It’s nice that they show some concern over what he’s going through.

Manon’s joke about Emma’s strong body odor and Emma’s resulting sadface was very cute.

Clip 5 - That escalated quickly

Daphne said they were the only girls Charles invited but there are clearly other girls on that bus? I guess the emphasis is that they’re the only ones Charles invited, and that the other Raptors invited the other girls. Just pointing this out because the squad were the only girls at the Riot Club party.

That is some champion hair-flipping from Daphne, what a queen.

Well he can’t be French Julien Dahl if he has a face and is not just some mystery man shrouded in smoke.

I want to knee those dudes Imane is speaking to in the nuts. She is showing a ton of grace and patience here. And like, they’re not being OTT bad. They’re being just casually ignorant and annoying enough.

Ha, I know you don’t want to be set up but this is like the easiest small talk in the world, Manon. It’s Madrid.

Daphne talking to Charles, oh my God. Give it up already. This is agonizing.

Manon has been looking extremely pretty with her lovey-dovey face lately. Although the cuts from her looking gorgeous to Charles - who is not an ugly guy, to be clear - with that somewhat unnerving look on his face was kind of jarring.

“Promise me not to move from here.” OK I’m cracking up because they easily could have seen this fight from inside the bus. From a perspective of ensuring her safety? Sure, stay on the bus, good advice. From the additional POV of Manon, you’re not supposed to see me like this? Lmao, you guys are fighting like 10 feet away.

THIS FIGHT, MAN.

I was laughing during part of it? I know it’s not supposed to be a well-choreographed fight scene or anything, it’s just a bunch of teenage idiots roughhousing but they just looked so ridiculous.

And then the dude just shoved Charles and it IMMEDIATELY ESCALATED into him smashing the bottle over the guy’s head!

What

AND THEN HE FUCKING KICKED HIM IN THE RIBS WHEN THE DUDE LANDED ON THE GROUND

WHAT

AND CHARLES PUT THE GUY IN A HEADLOCK AND STARTED PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE

WHAT

I mean, if they wanted to make Charles seem more like a real ~bad boy~, this worked? It was so OTT, my dudes.

And all the girls look horrified and concerned except Emma, who is too drunk to give a single shit. Bless.

General comments:

For what it’s worth, in terms of charisma level, my personal ranking is Edoardo > Charles > William > Alexander. Don’t know anything about Daniel yet to determine his ranking.

Ummm why are these dummies posting pics of their matching Starbucks cups on Instagram? Do Manon and Charles not think that Daphne is going to stalk every fucking thing that Charles posts on social media and realize that Charles and Manon were at Starbucks at the same day … or that the other cup in Charles’ pic is labeled “Ma-” and has the exact same lipstick print as the cup in Manon’s pic ... Save it for when your relationship is no longer a secret, you twits.

Not to be harsh because I’m sure that would be cute later in the season, but come on.

I don’t speak French so if I missed the context of something, feel free to correct me.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#skamfr reactions

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cutterl · 7 years

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Hats off to Miiverse

Just gonna copy my sappy story from Miiverse....it's very long and still chopped into 400 character blocks.

{Cutter's Corner #387} Mario doesn't have as good of quotes as Zelda games, but these lines from Jump Up Superstar! are pretty good.

My Miiverse “ending” with how it all “began”. It was about 3 years ago now. I had already been on Miiverse for about 2 years prior, but I didn't do much except for an occasional dumb post or quick joke drawing, or something for Splatfest.

There was a Miiverse announcement made to honor Mario's 25th anniversary, and some details about Mario Maker. I “took a chance” and randomly decided to draw an ugly cartoony Mario in the comments of that post. And to my surprise, lots of people liked it! So I later redrew the picture on the Mario Maker community, and once again gained more attention than I usually ever did!

I'd always wanted to be more active in Miiverse, but I wanted something unique, and I wasn't very confident in my drawing, but at that moment I realized that just maybe people would actually care to see me do more drawings. And a new journey started, a new world calling out to me.

I began drawing really simple cartoony versions of Nintendo characters (the first ones I can remember drawing like it was just yesterday) to different communities. Slowly learning which communities were best to post to, or at what times. There were so many great inspirational artists I was already following on here that I wanted to be ore like, and become friends with.

But I never annoyed them about being friends, I knew that wasn't the way to go, plus I've always been shy. At this time I was also getting my start in Mario Maker, creating the Maker Meetings, and beginning to actually make some new friends. It's hard to tell if at that time people truly liked my drawings, or if they were just giving a yeah to support a friend, but either way I appreciated it.

One thing I did begin to notice while here on Miiverse was the fact that most people liked to draw humans, and for primarily one game, but I wasn't super interested in that. I like all of Nintendo's games, and the weird monsters included in them, so I think that's always been something unique about my drawings.

I'm guessing most of you have at least tried making a drawing on Miiverse, so you know that it's not the easiest form of drawing, and at the time I started taking an art class in high school, but I just really wanted to get better and improve my skills, and maybe start gaining some more attention for it.

I tried to draw whenever I could, but you know how school can keep you busy, but I was inspired by a different Miiverse user. I decided to take on the challenge of posting a drawing here every day, thus my Daily Doodles were born! Of course there were a few days I missed, but I really kept on top of the goal well, forcing myself to at least do something small if possible.

Even simple looking drawings can take lots of time, but doing this taught me how to manage my time even better, and of course really helped me improve my skills. There were hard times, I had very few actual friends in school, and I'd say I was actually depressed at the time, but I'm a strong person in a that aspect, and never really let it bother me.

But posting the drawings on Miiverse really helped me feel good, I think. As I continued, everything about it just got better. I started gaining more followers, but the real joy was noticing the people that would actually yeah the drawings, or frequently read the comments I always write, and maybe even chat a little bit.

I remember distinct mornings where some popular artist randomly would yeah one of my drawings, and it would just make me happy for the whole day. I felt like I was actually starting to fit in some place, but I still knew there were certain “restrictions” about where I should post drawings to the most successfully. And I dreamed of a day where that wouldn't exist.

I'd say the Summer of 2016 was when things really started to pick up for me. Since there was no school, I could really focus on posting a drawing every day. It gave me the opportunity I wanted to spend as much time on a drawing as I wanted, and get more work out on Miiverse. It was also the first time I tried asking for drawing requests, which a new experience

and I found it immensely fun to do for friends, and I think it even made me feel closer to some people. The requests also challenged me to draw some things that I would have never done otherwise. That was also the Summer I was playing Paper Mario 64 and Zelda Majora's Mask, with drawings to go along. Which were both really fun to do, and oddly makes me feel nostalgic thinking about it.

I think that it was about this point that I realized that I really didn't care about ever becoming friends with the more popular users, because I'd found my own friends that I'd come to cherish more. After that Summer I think I became more comfortable with myself in general. I was still really shy and introverted, but that's just who I was.

I came to completely enjoy being left to myself at school. Finding it more fun to play my 3DS or draw something alone than trying to join some group of people I wasn't really interested in. I was confident in my loneliness, awkward situations made me laugh instead, and I think people at school may have noticed some difference.

I wasn't very different, but people actually said that I seemed cool, or chill, nothing really effected. No one ever really bullied me in school, but when someone tried, I usually wouldn't even realize what they were attempting, and since I was somewhat friends with everyone at some point, a different person would always stick up for me.

I'm getting sidetracked here, and not sure where I'm going with this, but in the end I guess just saying thank you sums it all up. I started here with just a sudden decision to follow a small dream, and I've come so far by sticking with it, so as Miiverse comes to a close, just make some kind of start to follow a dream of yours.

You never know how it might open up new pathways with just a little work. I plan to do one more drawing after this, not sure what I'll talk about during that, but thank you for reading this if you did, and thank you in general. I'll see you later.

#miiverse #Miiverse Drawing #mario #supermario #super mario oddessy #nintendo #nintendofanart #fanart #videogames #Video Game Fan Art #long story

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theagentsharoncarter · 7 years

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Promotion || Sharon + Maria

Sharon was hardly going to deny that being around Maria - ever since what had happened with Nate- made her a little uneasy. But the pair of them went a long way back, they were both professionals in a field that wasn’t the easiest to get into, and they at least shared some respect for each other. She could at least put aside her differences with the woman for the sake of work and being civil.

Sitting across from Maria in her office, Sharon looked out at the stunning view of the office. Being deputy director had its perks, of course, but an immense amount of stress. Working under Fury wasn’t an easy job as he was hardly the ideal boss, and Sharon was well aware of that considering she had filled in from time to time.

There was something about the way Maria shuffled the papers on her desk that set a different tone in the room. Sharon didn’t like serious meetings, especially when there was no one else in the room but the pair of them. It was as if she was delivering the worst news she could.

“Fury’s retiring.”

Sharon’s eyes widened at Maria’s statement with the blunt delivery attached. Maria was usually a blunt person, of course, but this was even more so than usual. The dark haired woman had surprised her for once.

“I was not expecting that anytime soon,” Sharon eventually replied with a frown once she processed the news for a moment. It was always on the cards, but Fury was the type of guy to get through anything. SHIELD was an organisation that was built around him, it depended on him more than most agents wanted to admit. SHIELD was his organisation, if anything. He had made it what it was, agents that were feared and loyal.

“Trust me, neither was I,” Maria sighed, running her fingers through her short hair. It was very clear that the other woman was beyond stressed about the situation, considering that it did mean she was the one to take the top job. The next words leaving her lips contradicted that thought directly. “-but I’m not taking the job. I can’t.” There was a hesitation to her tone and Sharon tilted her head slightly.

“It has to be you,” Sharon replied, crossing one leg over the other. She was still a little unsure as to why she was in this office but James and Natasha were both teaching at the Academy, so otherwise they would be in the office as well. They were the most experienced agents in the business, and no decision went past without their knowledge.

Maria shook her head. “I’m more than happy with deputy director, I love the job but I’ve been at it too long. I need to focus on Ava. On Phil.” While she didn’t go on missions herself, there was a lot of stress on the job that took a toll on family life. Her relationship with Ava wasn’t exactly on track at the moment either. “That’s why I asked you here. We’re offering the job to you, if you’ll take it. You’re more than qualified and no one will question the decision.” Sharon was better at balancing family and professional life than Maria. Somehow she managed to keep her image of Steve Roger’s wife, mother of his children and an agent with a body count to be feared all at the same time. Meanwhile Maria was barely holding onto it.

Many seemed to think that Sharon worked in Steve’s shadow, that her work at SHIELD wasn’t anything compared to Steve’s dedication, but she had been an Avenger back in the day as well. She had had her fair share of work cut out for her, and the offer was at least an honour and a testament to her hard work and dedication. “So you didn’t think to ask James or Natasha first?” Sharon managed to tease Maria who just laughed. She was trying to buy time to think about was really being asked of her.

“Barnes wouldn’t leave SHIELD standing after a week if he was in charge,” Maria pointed out and Sharon not disagreeing one bit. “And Nat? We both know she would never take it.” Natasha and James were unconventional. They were spies and assassins before they were agents, and while they were dedicated to SHIELD just as Sharon was if not more, their techniques pushed the boundaries more often than not. Half the time SHIELD were covering up their techniques because it wasn’t technically legal under some international conventions. They were trouble but they were irreplaceable.

“I’m honoured, I really am…” Sharon began to say, thinking over it a million times a minute. The first thought that had come to mind was her kids. Maria had Ava, but Sharon had four times as many kids to think about. While being Director meant no physical missions and in that sense it was good, but there was a lot of responsibility with it. Nate, Lee, Lily and Amber had to be on board with it before she could ever agree. And Steve too.

Maria seemed to have read Sharon’s mind. “Steve already knows. We asked him if we could ask you, and he said to go right ahead.” Before Sharon could say anything else, Maria put everything onto the table for her to consider. “I’m not trying to sell it to you. I think you’re the only one who suits the job. Half the idiots want it for the insane pay grade, the others the power, and you don’t need either of those things.” The Rogers were practically royalty, after all. There was nothing that they didn’t have. “Plus, we can’t pass up on SHIELD being run by two women. We’ll get Nat as the United Nations ambassador and put everyone in their place.”

Sharon couldn’t help but laugh at that. No, she didn’t need the money nor the power of such a position, it was more about doing the right thing by SHIELD and the responsibilities that came with the job. “She’s too Russian for that. She doesn’t play nicely,” Sharon pointed out to Maria. “I need to speak to my kids and see what they think, I don’t want to make anything awkward for them.” They were all involved with SHIELD and having their mother as the Director of the whole organisation would mean accusations of special treatment left, right and centre. “But I want to do it.”

Maria smiled. “Fury’s holding a meeting in three days about the resignation, we’re telling everyone that a new Director will be announced the next day.” Fury was popular, but Sharon had a gentle yet stern touch that he didn’t. She was certainly a lot more approachable than a mysterious man with an eyepatch. Besides, there were a lot of Peggy Carter fans out there. “It does mean you’ll give up Agent 13, though.” Maria pointed out, only just thinking about it. “Director Rogers does have a certain ring to it.”

Agent 13 was a title Sharon had kept to herself for a very long time. She had been an Avenger with it, but like Steve had given up Captain America for Nate, Sharon knew that she had kept her hands on it for too long. While it wasn’t exactly a legacy like the shield or the red, white and blue…it was a part of her identity. She wasn’t just Peggy’s niece. “I’ll keep it for Lee, Lily or Amber.” There was nothing stopping Lee from having it, and she knew Lily would love the idea. Amber was more of a wild card, but Sharon couldn’t imagine her doing anything other than being an agent. That attitude was too much like her own.

Maria slid over a document folder to Sharon from her side of the desk, the blonde taking it. “Read over these, talk to your kids and then come back to me and let me know. Otherwise I will have to offer it to James, so you better accept the offer if you want an organisation to work for in a month,” Maria teased.

Sharon quickly flicked through the files before closing it and standing up after she checked what time it was. There were plenty of meetings today and she was going to be running late at this rate. Having planned a handful of missions this week meant she was a busy woman. “I’ll let you know,” she promised. “Thank you.”

“Thank me by taking the job,” Maria rolled her eyes, watching as Sharon left the office and closed the door behind her. She would be back with a signed contract, that Maria was sure of.

#para

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