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bagadew · 3 years

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The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Case of the Unbreakable Speckled Band (Part 3b)

Last Time: After being discovered in Miss Pavlova’s cabin, things didn’t go as badly for us as we thought they would. In fact we got to dance around with Herlock Sholmes the Himbo Detective and discovered that Susato (and presumably someone at Capcom) really knows a lot about snakes, Nikolina has a pet kitten called Darka, and Kazuma apparently died by tripping over said kitten in a tragic accident. However, while it would probably be the best explanation for everyone involved, I’m not entirely sure it’s true as it still doesn’t explain the fact the crime scene was clearly tampered with.

Well it seems that, like me, Susato’s not entirely convinced Nikolina’s telling us the truth.

In fact, it looks like she’s sure of it.

You know, I didn’t expect to feel conflicted about finding Kazuma’s killer, but I kind of do...

Like, I came into this fully expecting to feel hatred and anger towards whoever did this. I was expecting to confront some hateful villain on a par with Miss Brett or Manfred Von Karma and to take satisfaction and vengeance in taking them down... but this isn’t that. There’s no conspiracy, no big untouchable threat, there’s just an abused and scared little girl who probably killed Kazuma because she thought he was going to kill her.

I don’t expect to feel good about taking Nikolina down. I think it’ll feel like when we had to go for Adrian Andrews... only this time she’s actually guilty.

I don’t have anything to add to Susato’s speech, other than it feels important to put it up, and it seems like a good show of who Susato is as a person.

You know, I’ve had a little difficulty pinning Susato down until now, but I think I’ve finally got her. Susato Mikotoba is a woman who believes in truth and justice, and will go to great lengths to reveal it... even if it hurts far more than the lie ever did.

Herlock’s been quiet for a while now, and I don’t think he’s still reeling from the snake business. It’s difficult to read his expression with his hat like that, so I can’t tell if he’s running through the crime scene in his mind, or if Susato’s words have struck a cord with him.

Wait WHAT?

Ah, ok. Herlock basically been using this whole thing as a distraction, and was planning to give everything over to Scotland Yard once we arrived home so they could deal with any ‘outstanding issues’.

(Also he’s handcuffed us again)

It hadn’t quite clicked before, but no one’s actually considered what Ryunosuke must be feeling. His best friend has just been murdered, and all almost everyone has done, has been to accuse him of killing him. Even among Hosonaga, and later Susato, Ryunosuke hasn’t got to really talk about his feelings, and I’m not sure if anyone’s actually given him the opportunity to do so.

With the next stop looming ever closer, I know we don’t exactly have the time to talk right now, but I hope Ryunosuke gets the chance once this is all done.

Ok, let’s do this.

Let’s run through what we know doesn’t fit so far:

1) The writing in Russian: not only is it in the wrong language but Kazuma died instantly, meaning that there’s next to no way he wrote this himself, and absolutely no way he did it if he died tripping over a kitten.

2) The ships log has been left blank from after 2am, meaning that who ever was probably in on it.

3) Half of Darka’s bell somehow found it’s way in Nikolina’s bin, meaning someone must have taken it from the crime scene.

4) If someone went into the cabin (which they must have done) they have to have pressed the emergence alarm after they left.

Let’s start with the biggest contradiction shall we? The photographic print.

Oh Nikolina, that’s not the issue here.

Ryunosuke’s got it.

Well done Ryunosuke.

I’m trying to work out what this could be. The bell half perhaps? But that’s something that was taken away surely.

Ok, so just something that proves it wasn’t an accident. Well I’m not too sure if it’s what I’m supposed to be looking for here, but I’ll present the mark on the floor and see what happens.

Oh thank god!

Well, not exactly Hosonaga, while it’s true that the tripped kitten explanation does explain how the bell was broken, it doesn’t explain why half of it made its way out of Kazuma’s room and into Nikolina’s bin.

Exactly Ryunosuke!

So, now that we’ve successfully proved someone was at the crime scene, let’s start working out who could have done it.

(TBH I still think that, while Nikolina killed Kazuma, Stroganoff was the person who tampered with the crime scene. The writing just feels a bit too calculated to be Nikolina, especially if she killed Kazuma out of fear.)

Ah, I was wondering when you’d have enough Stroganoff.

He’s basically saying that we already know I (Ryunosuke) was in the room, and that if what I’m saying is true then it has to be me as the door was bolted from the inside.

However, as I (both Ryunosuke and me) have zero knowledge of Russian, it’s impossible for me to have written the message. What we do have however, is knowledge as to how the door was bolted from the outside, which we must be getting close to revealing.

That’s... a really good question actually. Why didn’t they just take the whole thing?

Ah, I see. I was looking at this from the eyes of someone from the modern era of electric lights, rather than with the eyes of someone who lives with jolly old Victorian lighting. The floor wasn’t visible enough to make out half of a cats bell.

Shit... she’s their kid...

You know, while we still don’t know exactly how Nikolina came onboard this ship, I’d kind of assumed that the sailors (or perhaps someone affiliated with them) had found her trying to stow away or hiding down by the docks, and taken pity on her and decided to help her out. Because, I thought, there was no way Nikolina would reach out to strangers for help, given how scared she is. But the answer is that they weren’t strangers. They were family.

That’s why they’ve all been ready to risk everything without hesitation, even if it means covering up a murder. She’s their kid, and I’m about to make them watch it all be for nothing.

Yeah, Ryunosuke... it is...

(I love the way these spirits combine together. Nikolina looks even smaller and younger next to Stroganoff, and her hiding behind him while his fighting stance partly shields her does a good job of showing how things are for them right now. It makes me think of images of cornered animals protecting their young.)

Because he’s lying, but then I think you’ve already figured that out.

My time has come.

Susato, it’s ok. I’ve got this, you don’t need to make us look bad by suggesting things you know aren’t true.

DON’T PASS THE BUCK TO ME!!!

(Again, me an Rynosuke operate on the same wavelength now)

OH MY GOD, THE HIMBO DETECTIVE MADE A PROPER DEDICATION ALL ON HIS OWN!!!

HELL YEAH I DO!!!

Look at him go! He’s even using Susato’s fancy words to explain it!

And there goes the bolt on the door!

Now we’re explaining that the emergency stop button can be pressed at various different points around the ship, including, crucially, just outside these two cabins.

Oh Susato, you know as well as I do that this whole things had Herlock’s fingerprints all over it.

(Important information, along with not being trusted with a pet, do not trust Herlock Sholmes with any machinery or control panels)

To be honest this is the appropriate reaction. We’re at sea Herlock! Don’t mess with the thing that stands between us and drowning!

Herlock ‘But Did You Die’ Sholmes: Now lets not lose sight of the fact I got us evidence.

And the worst part is that he’s right.

Not if you drugged everyone!

I think it’s finally time to bring up the blank ships log.

Ok team, Herlock’s in charge of our excuses from now on!

We’re going through the fact that the log was blank, which with Stroganoff’s meticulous ritual of writing: Nothing to Report, every half hour on the dot, means that there definitely was something to report.

We sure are suggesting that Susato!

Not if you were drugged Hosonaga!

HE MADE ANOTHER PROPER DEDUCTION!!! I’M SO PROUD!!!

Ok, have the drugs finally worn off on Herlock’s brain, because he’s saying really smart things now. Or is it just that he’s taking things seriously rather than using this whole thing as a distraction?

Susato’s got it too!

So, because it’s such a large scale job, it couldn’t have been pulled off by any one person, meaning that the entire crew must have been in on it.

(Poor drugged Hosonaga, they really identified you weren’t one of them the second you set foot on this ship didn’t they?)

Now see, the problem with this strategy, is that while Bif might not be happy about the rest of his crew getting into trouble, I feel like this is a Murder on the Orient Express scenario, in the sense that everyone involved fully acknowledge the risks and came into this prepared to go down if necessary.

Yeah, he’s not happy, but he’s not cracking.

In fact, I’m not sure anything could cause him to crack. He is the one person’s standing between Nikolina and (potentially) death. I can’t see any way he’s going to back down.

I understand now, Herlock wasn’t aiming for him. Because they’re Nikolina’s family too.

It seems to be just like we suspected. Nikolina asked them to help her escape, and so, as one, the crew agreed to help her. They put sleeping drugs in the chicken so no one would notice what was happening, and got one of their comrades on the shore of Shanghai to take her to the ship at midnight.

Here’s the problem we have now though. Now she’s covering for them. Even if I’m wrong about Stroganoff or another member of the crew writing the message, the ships log means that they either knew or found out, and I can’t imagine they would have sat by and done nothing.

Wait a second though. We met Nikolina in her cabin, which means she must have got back inside some way or another. She couldn’t have done that if she was the one who pressed the alarm. I think this could be a way to establish someone must have helped her.

They’re still fighting, and to be honest I didn’t expect anything else. They’re both protecting each other now and it’s going to take nothing but evidence to make them budge.

I’m going to be perfectly honest Herlock, you’ve kind of lost me.

In fact I think you’ve lost most of the room...

ITS TIME FOR DANCE OF DEDUCTION 3: I WAS HOPPING I’D HAVE UNTIL THE NEXT CASE TO THINK UP A NAME!

Ryunosuke, don’t play dumb. We must dance!

(Or observe, that’s good too)

Right, well we’ve worked out Stroganoff was the one who did the fabrication, so we should probably focus on him first.

Got you.

To be honest I’m at a loss as to how he got some of the ink round there. Perhaps he knocked the ink over when he was sorting the crime scene out.

Or perhaps it was on his finger and he accidentally rubbed it over when he held his hands like this?

... I thought so...

So, just after one in the morning, Bif was patrolling the corridor when a scared an pail Nikolina came up to him desperate for help. He followed her to Kazuma’s cabin and found him on the floor. Apparently the event before went on like Nikolina said, only instead of luring Darka through the vent, she went next door because she was worried about the sounds she’d heard through the vent.

... he’s still shielding her isn’t he?

I think Susato knows it too.

The problem is, that Nikolina’s following Bif’s lead. Perhaps if we had the chance to talk to her alone we’d know we were getting the truth, but not with Bif there. And to be honest I’m not sure I can really blame either of them for that.

I’m not 100% sure to be honest. And I don’t think I will be until this case is closed.

I’ll take that as not being done then.

I have no idea...

(His fist was closed, could that be the issue?)

(Thank you god of video games!)

OPEN WITH THAT NEXT TIME HERLOCK!

Yeah, we’re not going to be able to guess!

Nikolina’s earring!

Which he couldn’t have had if he was dead when she came in!

(Stroganoff’s face seems to suggest that we’ve reached the final curtain.)

I don’t think either of them can explain away this.

(Again, lead with the earring next time Herlock)

Things are in the right order now.

He let her in. He thought she was Hosonaga so he let her in.

It’s all going fine right now, but we know how this ends.

Of course he did, just by looking at Nikolina you can see she’s been through a lot, and besides, Kazuma has a secret all of his own.

Here we go. Whatever it might be, the thing that triggered Nikolina’s survival instinct is coming.

Ah shit...

You know, since the moment Darka disappeared through that vent, I’m not sure things were ever going to end differently. Kazuma was always going to open the door, he was always going to help the frightened girl he found there, and being the incredibly quick man that he was, he was always going to recognize her.

And Kazuma was always going to want to look into the situation, and that was always going to tip Nikolina into a panic. And then sooner or later she was going to lash out in what seemed to her to be necessary self defence.

Here it is.

Oh!?

So this wasn’t the trigger. But then what was?

Oh no. He was going to get Ryunosuke from the wardrobe. The wardrobe Nikolina couldn’t possibly grasp the significance of, but that was right next to the bell cord.

(Also didn’t I say the captain was somehow to blame?)

(What do you guys say we chalk it up to him and put this whole business behind us?)

(And yes I do know that I’m stalling again)

... in a panic you struck out... and he stumbled... and hit his head on the way down...

I see, so Darka put him off balance first. And so when you pushed him he he hit his head on the bedpost.

Fear, adrenaline, and a lack of judgment due to stress and trauma. Perhaps if this had happened on any day other than the one where you’d just fled things would have been different, but maybe not. It’s hard to tell.

And we know the rest...

Stroganoff cleared away as much of Nikolina’s presence as he could find, and in doing so found Ryunosuke asleep in the wardrobe. It must have seemed like fate was giving him a stranger who could take the fall instead of his kid.

So Nikolina was the one who ‘cleared away’ the bell. That explain why some of it was left behind, and why it ended up in her bin. Stroganoff would probably have thrown it overboard.

What’s that?

I see, that’s a good question.

What he said about the inspector...

Oh dear.

Hosonaga, you were literally drugged at the time, and I’m still pretty sure you were set up to fail (which does raise the question of what would have happened to Kazuma if Nikolina hadn’t killed him)

Susato?

I see, she’s realized that he was going for Ryunosuke, thus slotting the final piece of this whole tragedy neatly into place.

(These two cases are really going all out in very different ways. The next one better let me relax and have fun Maskqu de Masque style. I’m not sure I can take much more of this.)

Here it comes, the unnecessariness of the whole murder.

Yeah...

:((

Ryunosuke’s best friend has been murdered because of the misunderstandings of a child, and he’s been raked over the coals because of that. While it might not be the kindest thing to say for Nikolina, it’s an important thing to say for Ryunosuke, and I feel he’s justified in saying it.

In fact it would probably be a bad sign if he didn’t say this. He’s as much of a victim in this whole affair as anyone. I’m glad he’s at least getting an apology from Nikolina, even though it’s unfortunately gone past the point where that would be useful.

It’s finally over, and just as I predicted it doesn’t feel good.

HOSONAGA SATURO YOU HEAL LIKE A CHAMP!

‘It’s just a scratch’, you said.

‘Go to a hospital’, we cried.

‘No need, just give me a few hours to click my face back into position and pass me back my glasses lenses and I’ll be fine’

Hosonaga, you are unkillable and this is exactly why you’re superiors had to resort to shipping you out.

Ok, enough fun declaring Hosonaga to be our new god. Let’s go back to the serious and depressing business of Nikolina.

So, it seems like Nikolina will be handed over to Scotland Yard, and Herlock will sort things out with the immigrations office so she doesn’t have to go back to Russia.

Also the way they’re talking about her future means that she’s not going to be executed (thank god), which makes sense given that she committed manslaughter rather than murder. Whether or not she goes to prison will probably depend on the judge as, while she has the fact that she’s a white female child, she is also not English and speaks with a strong accent, and therefore, is going to be subjected to a lot of Xenophobia.

Hm?

Ah.

Again, I’m glad Ryunosuke’s getting these apologies.

Wait, are you sure Stroganoff? Like yeah, you’re not going to get done for murder, and the whole defending a kid thing will play of pretty well in court (plus the man you accused wasn’t English and has a less white skin tone than you). But you are also a Russian man with a strong accent and you won’t be able to fall back on being a child or let the evils of sexism and xenophobia fight each other.

Well at least we’re free again, even if we’re in a worst place than when we started.

You know he will Ryunosuke. And given how well he was defending her till now, I think he might just succeed.

But we have to get to England to make Kazuma’s dream come true!

Herlock, can you come to us again in our hour of need? I know we have a lot of them but...

(I swear to god this game is shooting for my jugular)

We’re holding Kazuma’s sword, aka, his spirit. Please don’t make me let it go game.

Is it too much to ask for them to hug? I think they both need it.

Hold us Hosonaga.

(Though not me (Eleanor). Instinct tells me we must remain two meters apart so our weird lungs don’t accidentally take each other out.)

(I cannot be the person who killed Hosonaga)

(And yes I am trying to lighten the mood with my talk of genetic lung conditions because I’m aware it’s only going to get sadder)

(Told you)

There was nothing you could have done Hosonaga, and it’s become my own private mission now to find a way to prove that to you.

:(((

Game are we going to have to sail to England on Hosonaga’s guilt?

I’m aware that you’ve got a whole fun game lined up over there, but is this really the only way?

Can’t we just go to Japanfornia instead, track down Amy Fey (if she’s even been born yet) and get Kazuma back on our team?

No... ok...

Exactly!

WHAT! WHY AM I BACK IN HANDCUFFS!??

HERLOCK SHOLMES COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, THIS IS ONLY A LITTLE BIT FUNNY!

He’s amusing himself at least...

(You know what, I’ve decided right now that this is a family friendly blog, so no, I’m not going to say what I’m thinking. You can’t make me.)

Also read the room Herlock, the three of us were having a moment!

Nice save.

Ryunosuke’s trying to throw himself under the buss and send Susato and Herlock and Hosonaga off to go live out the rest of the game without him.

Sorry Ryunosuke, but you’re the protagonist. We can’t leave without you.

That’s it! Ryunosuke, you’re naturally good at lawyering! It’s time for you to take up Kazuma’s mantle!

Am I chopped liver to you Susato?

Are we doing a studying montage on the ship over?

Yes Ryunosuke!

Training montage Hosonaga!

You can help! Teach me how to be the crime scene thief and not give a damn!

(Actually on second thoughts, maybe you should sit this one out and offer moral support instead)

Said Hosonaga, knowing that I wasn’t.

(*Eye of the tiger starts to play*)

I CAN LEARN ENOUGH TO WING IT HOSONAGA!

HELL YEAH!!!

Oh good, I’d forgotten about Kazuma’s morally ambiguities loose end.

(Probably because every character I fancy has one of them and it’s no longer anything to write home about.)

Let’s do this Susato, me an you all the way!

Hosonaga? You cool too?

Wait, now is not the time to be sensible Hosonaga! Remember when we got Miss Brett? That was against protocol and it meant we got to see her take off via her big hat! (Although we didn’t get justice and it ended with you being shipped out, but let’s not dwell on that.)

Hosonaga normally (while shovelling three tables worth of crockery into his bag): Nothing will get in my way! I’ll lay my life on the line if I have to! I will strait up ignore the rules if I think they are unjust!

Hosonaga when Herlock is present: I have never broken a rule in my life, nor would I ever do so. I am the most sensible and down to earth man you will ever meet, please ignore the way I am dressed right now.

What happened Hosonaga, did you watch me and Herlock doing our dance of deduction and immediately decided someone had to be the adult and it might as well be you?

Or... did watching Herlock roll around on the floor and cling like a limpet to the walls make you wonder that this is how you come across?

Because to be honest you were loudly declaring yourself the Crime Scene Thief just last trial... so I don’t think you’ll ever be able to create too much contrast in our eyes.

Come on Crime Scene Thief!

Herlock’s aiming right for Hosonaga’s canonically shit schooling with those words.

Remember who you are Hosnaga! You’re the badass who lay his life on the line for us!

(I like how much Herlock’s talking Ryunoskue up, I guess this makes up for the fact he handcuffed us again for the asthenic)

Hooray!!! Hosonaga’s taking us to Disneyland England!

“Hello, this is Saturo Hosanaga. Just calling to say that I’ve done it again... yes I understand that my breaking the rules makes you sad, but I simply will not stop... well you see, they’re unfair and heavily biased in your favour. Also we both know if you could have stopped me you would have done so long ago. Goodbye.”

Capcom! Stop trying to make me get to England off of Hosonaga’s guilt!

Allow me to come with you, or at the very least please borrow the KBS (Kazuma’s big sword) for protection.

Goodbye Hosonaga... until we meet again...

But (and I need to make this very clear Capcom gods) not my mentor!

The KBS!

We will guard this with our lives!

(Karuma huh? That name sounds faintly familiar.)

(Ok Google, now play Eye Of The Tiger)

WE ARN’T DOING THIS AGAIN CAPCOM! PUT THOSE DEATH FLAGS DOWN!

Oh thank god, she just wants to be even!

Ryunosuke, are you sure you’re even able to do that?

You heard the lady Ryunosuke. (And no this totally isn’t because I want to see if you’re even able to do it.)

Booo

Herlock, I love you, but...

KICK HIS ASS SUSATO!!!

WHY ME!!!

Poor sweet Ryunosuke...

Ah, I see it’s time to be sad again.

Oh Kazuma, what were you up to?

Anyways, that’s it for The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band. Join me next time for The Adventure of the Runaway Room!

#tgaa #tgaa spoilers #the great ace attorney #the adventure of the unbreakable speckled band #ryunosuke naruhodo #susato mikotoba #herlock sholmes #satoru hosonaga #and for what is probably the last time:#nikolina pavlova #bif strogenov #and...#kazuma asougi

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jimlingss · 4 years

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Sugar and Coffee [19]

Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20

➜ Words: 4.6k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

“You guys are together now?!” There’s a high-pitched, deafening shout that has you flinching. On sheer instinct, you’re about to let go of his hand, but you feel Jungkook’s grip tighten on yours instead, squeezing your palm securely. You glance at him with your brows raised and he merely shrugs. “What? This?” Jungkook lifts your interlaced hands up to your shoulders, showing it off right in front of Taehyung’s face. He teases, “Friends can hold each other’s hands.” “You don’t let me hold your hand when I ask,” Taehyung argues with a scoff. The tall brunette is left utterly confused and soon, Jimin is joining the trio. He greets all of you with a bright smile but almost immediately, his eyes stray downwards to your interlocked hands as well. Yet Jungkook shamelessly maintains it in spite of the obvious attention it's bringing, even to your classmates and acquaintances passing by the hallway. Jimin’s grin widens. “Are you guys datin—” “I already asked.” Taehyung cuts off. “They’re just being weird.” “Oh.” The shorter man’s lips become lopsided with his frown and he sends an incredulous expression to Jungkook that only makes said man laugh. Jimin turns around anyhow. “Yoongi and Hoseok are already in the dining center. Do you guys have any classes today?” “No, I think they’re just doing orientation for the newbies.” “You weren’t this excited to tell your parents,” you lean over to whisper into Jungkook’s ear when the pair of you naturally fall behind the two boys. “Well, they’re my parents. I’d rather spare the both of us from….that,” he explains and then smiles. “But is it such a bad thing if everyone here knows? It’ll stop people from making moves on you.” “Moves on me?” You scoff. If anything, it should be the opposite. Jungkook’s always been popular with everyone without even having to try. But you suppose it would be rather helpful if everyone knew that he was taken. It might just save you from a lot of headaches. So you don’t protest further. Yoongi and Hoseok are easy to find in the dining center. They’re at the usual table and it’s like time hasn’t passed whatsoever. Yoongi is picking at his food and chewing gingerly as if it's exhausting for him to do so while Hoseok is tapping on his phone. They look up when you approach. “Long time, no see.” Hoseok grins as Jimin settles beside him with an equally warm smile. “What are you talking about? The group chat has been blowing up because of this guy.” He hitches his thumb to Taehyung who is wholly offended. “It’s not my fault I want to share the cute dogs I come across with everyone.” “Haven’t you muted the chat?” Jimin asks Yoongi with a small laugh, not expecting an answer when he already knows it. Taehyung is exasperated that no one answered his messages during the last week of the break and that Yoongi could possibly have the heart to ghost everyone — accusations the sleepy man doesn’t even respond to. In the meanwhile, Jungkook sighs at how his friends are already making a loud ruckus and ruffles your hair as he gets up from the table. He asks what you want for breakfast and then returns shortly with two trays of food. It’s when he sits down that Yoongi raises his head again. “So, how long have you guys been together?” “We’re not together—” Jungkook answers without missing a single beat. “Cut the crap,” Yoongi deadpans, halting his chewing. “It’s too goddamn early for this bullshit.” “What?” Jungkook’s grin is swelled across his face. “Can’t best friends kiss each other sometimes?” Hoseok’s eyes are enormous, having no idea where this is coming from. Jimin is sitting on the edge of his seat, anxious for the transpiring events. Taehyung is utterly befuddled but Yoongi, on the other hand, wears a completely blank expression. The lethargic man is wholly unimpressed. Jungkook bursts out laughing. “Okay, okay. It’s true. We’re dating.” Immediately, there’s an uproar. But it’s mostly from Taehyung. “I knew it! I knew it!” Jungkook laughs and argues back with a ‘no, you didn’t’. At the same time, Jimin is smiling tenderly and giggling at his friend’s reaction. Hoseok is grinning as well and even the corner of Yoongi’s mouth quirks. The latter man mumbles that it’s about damn time and you’re sheepishly smiling as your face heats under the attention. Jimin curiously asks, “When did this happen?” “In Tahiti,” you answer. “Somewhere along there…” “So it’s been like two months and you never thought to tell us?!” Taehyung is once again exasperated, shaking his head like he can’t believe it. “It’s only been a month and a half,” Jungkook says as he throws a fry into his mouth, chewing in his cheek. “We wanted to see where it would go and stuff…” “Obviously it went well enough that you two are still together,” Yoongi points out. “I think it’s going well.” You turn to Jungkook. “Don’t you?” “It’s been going awfully,” he remarks in sarcasm, making you scoff. Laughter bubbles out of his chest and he leans over to gently knock his head against yours. “I’m kidding. Kidding.” “Wait, does this mean you two are going to be cute and gross together now?” Taehyung’s face wrinkles into a frown. “Of course they are,” Hoseok laughs. “It’s a requirement.” “No, we won’t make things weird,” you protest. “Promise.” “They’ve always been gross together,” Yoongi mutters with his mouth-full, pointing his wooden chopsticks at him and completely ignoring what you’ve said. “Haven’t you noticed?” “Congratulations, you two,” Jimin speaks sincerely with his eyes crinkled into half-moons. “Thanks.” You laugh, leaning into Jungkook. “I lucked out, really.” Your boyfriend clicks his tongue in annoyance. “I’m the one who lucked out.” “Ugh.” Taehyung’s nose wrinkles and he feigns disgust. If anyone looked any more satisfied right now, it was him. You suppose to outsiders, your relationship with Jungkook was a long time coming. “They’re being gross already. Go get a room.” You scoff at him and turn to Hoseok. “Is Aeri coming?” “She isn’t,” he says simply without looking you in the eye, “She and I broke up.” “What?” Several heads whirl over, the focus now brought onto him. This was new news too — information that was much more bitter. “Yeah, it happened during the summer.” Hoseok offers a tiny, reserved smile. He keeps his head down low and that’s only when you notice the darkened circle underneath his eyes, the sickly colour of his skin and his disheveled hair. “It just….didn’t really end up working out.” “Oh.” “Why didn’t you tell us?” Jimin asks gently as Taehyung automatically puts his brownie onto Hoseok’s food tray in an attempt to make him feel better. “It just happened a week ago. Honestly—” He sits back. “—I’m still trying to process it, so yeah.” Yoongi reaches over, stiffly patting him on the back. “It’s going to be alright, dude.” The corners of his lips pull a bit. “Thanks.” You could’ve never fathomed it. They got together long before you and Jungkook did, but you always thought that they would work out. Someone as bubbly as Hoseok with someone as kind and timid as Aeri, it seemed like a match that you wouldn’t think twice about. To hear that they’ve split is shocking. But you don’t pry for details when it’s their personal business. You don’t try to figure out what exactly happened when it was the last thing you wanted to talk about when you experienced it yourself. But you’re also not sure how to feel. And Jungkook picks up on it when you’re quiet for some time. “Are you alright?” He syncs his slow steps into yours as the pair of you head back to your dorms together. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.” After a beat, you turn to look at your boyfriend. Your eyes meet one another’s. “What happens if we break up, Jungkook?” “Then we break up.” Jungkook takes your hand. “But we’d still be okay.” “You think so?” “I didn’t start off this relationship with being your boyfriend. Frankly, I didn’t want to be your friend at all—” “Hey.” “—but we were friends, so it’ll stay that way.” You sigh, keeping your eyes trained forward. You squeeze his hand securely. “You make it sound so easy. It isn’t.” “I know, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make things work.” He moves his fingers to interlace with yours and comforts your worries, “So you don’t have to worry. Every relationship is different, right? Ours is unlike anyone else's as theirs are not like ours...if that makes any sense.” “No, it does.” You share a smile with him. You don’t know if it’ll last — but at this moment, you want to savour every second with Jungkook. // You catch sight of a familiar girl across the dining hall during dinner, and with one glance given to your boyfriend, he responds with a reassuring nod, having already followed your line of sight. So instead of sitting at the usual table, you confidently beeline straight for her. And you take your place across from the girl. Aeri lifts her chin, surprise written across her expression. “Y/N?” “Hey, how’s it going?” You smile, taking your utensils and beginning to eat. “I hope this seat isn’t taken.” “N-No, it isn't.” She peeks over her shoulder for a second and then looks back at you, blinking several times. “It’s going well. How about you?” “Same old, nothing really ever changes.” You backtrack when Jungkook sticks out in your mind. “Well….a few things, but anyway, how was your internship?” “It was good. Great.” Aeri gives a softened smile that’s sad around the edges. She’s playing with her food without eating it. Her voice sounds thick like she’s been crying. “I learned a lot and the people there were pretty nice.” “You worked at a restaurant, right?” “Yeah.” She names it and some small talk is made about internships. Afterwards, you discuss your summers and how traveling went. With time, Aeri seems to ease up again. And when there’s a few seconds of silence, you decide to address the elephant in the room. “I heard you and Hoseok broke up….” “Yeah, it was mutual.” The corners of her mouth move stiffly like she’s been training to smile naturally. Her eyes meet yours. “Thank you for sitting with me and keeping me company.” “Of course I would. You’re my friend,” you reply earnestly. “Why wouldn’t I?” “It’s just…” The girl shifts uncomfortably in her seat, not sure if she should utter the truth. “You’re friends with Hoseok too, so I thought you would side with him.” You adamantly shake your head. “I don’t side with anyone. It’s not fair to leave someone out because of another relationship and plus, you were my friend first.” You place your foot down, fist slamming on the table and while it startles the girl, genuine laughter streams from her. “I know what it feels like too, so I would never do that to someone else.” Aeri nods, eyes glossy. “Thank you.” “It’s not a problem.” Your arm stretches over the table, hand placed on top of her’s. “If you ever need me, I’ll be here.” It’s déjà vu. An out-of-body experience. To be sitting across from someone who’s gone through something akin to what you have, it feels like you’re looking at your past self. A reflection of you more than half a year ago. And you reach out to her as you wished someone did to you. As Jungkook had done to you. You realize that he was there when you needed someone most and it makes you glad he became a part of your life when he did.

It’s another one of those days — of you and Jungkook lying on his bed, tapping away on your phones. The pair of you were cuddling until you each got bored and reached for your phones. And Jungkook got uncomfortable in his position and rolled over, so you’re both squished on his tiny bed, laughing every once in a while and showing one another funny memes or videos. It’s a luxury that won’t last for long. Once you’re both into the semester, it’ll be textbooks in your hands instead of phones and you’ll be sitting up, scratching your heads, being driven crazy with theories that don’t make sense and forced to memorize countless recipes. So you enjoy this sleepy relaxation while you can. “Hey.” Your eyes stray away from your screen to his walls and your brows furrow as a question comes to mind. “Who do you like more? IU or me?” There’s a long silence. The silence draws on. Your arm lowers and your head shifts onto the pillow to look at him. Jungkook is staring at the ceiling. And the silence continues. One second — ten seconds — thirty seconds... Your brows lift. “Seriously?” “What? It’s like asking me to choose between my mom and dad.” “Did you just compare me to your mom?” Jungkook laughs too loudly, too stiffly. “I-I’m kidding. Of course I would choose you.” He reaches over to plant a kiss on your cheek, but you dodge, sitting up. You give him an incredulous expression, hovering over your boyfriend. “You’re a terrible liar.” He grins, sitting up as well. “Are you jealous?” “That my boyfriend would rather get together with a celebrity than me? Nope,” you pop the ‘p’ harshly, making him giggle. “Not at all. Why would I be?” “Jieun’s been a part of my life for longer…..” Jungkook says, then laughs again and tries to backtrack. “But obviously I still love you more because you’re actually here.” “But if she were here..?” you ask him and when it gets quiet again, you reach out to pinch and tickle his side. Jungkook squirms, laughing even harder while you grin. It’s not like you were actually upset or irrational enough to be jealous over a celebrity crush. You’ve long known about his fanboying hobby and love for IU after all. It’s just fun to tease him. “You gonna ditch me for Lee Jieun, huh? You think she can put up with your shit like I do?!” “Course not!” He grips your wrists so you can stop tickling him. “I love you. But if she were to kick down the door when we’re getting married, I might just have to go with her. Might.” “Okay.” You relent. “Fine. I’ll admit, if she asked me to go with her, I’d go too, so she can be your hall pass.” “Hall pass?” Jungkook grins. “Who’s yours?” You hum, tapping your chin in contemplation. But it doesn’t take you long to choose. “Song Joongki. He’s handsome, he’s kind, he’s rich.” “And how does that help?” “Well, maybe he’ll fall in love with me and want to get married — then I’d get rich.” It’s his turn to be put in disbelief, but you have no reservations. “Song Joongki has great proportions too. Have you seen his legs? And have you seen his face? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an angel who descended down on this planet to bless us all. He’s just so boy-next-door one second and then like handsome-handsome the next. I wouldn’t mind if he wanted to sweep me off my feet. He’s just so charming in everything he does, like—” “Alright, Alright.” Jungkook puts his hand on your face. “I get it.” You peel his palm off with a pout. “Hey, you get your crushes and I get mine.” “I know.” He pushes your shoulder lightly and you let yourself fall back onto his mattress. Jungkook moves to hover over you, smiling at your quiet obedience in spite of your defiant exterior. You’re all bark, but no bite. “Jealous?” You cock your head to the side, lip pulling up to a smirk. Jungkook scoffs. “It’s not like you’ll ever get to meet him.” “Don’t ruin my dreams.” Jungkook smiles, unaware of how wrong he would soon be. But for now, there’s not a single ounce of worry or concern in him. He knows Song-fucking-Joongki would never know how amazing you are. And it’s unfortunate since you might actually blow the actor away. He’ll never have you smiling at him, pouting at him, underneath him and crying out his name. But it’s okay — Jungkook doesn’t mind taking one for the team and having you all to himself. // There’s a loud ruckus and it’s early too. Jungkook has never felt more like Yoongi. He wonders if this is how the man feels every single morning. Tired and exhausted and having to hear high-pitched screeches only irks him even more and unintentionally puts him in a sour mood. It was just too loud and too much of everything. “What’s going on?” Taehyung turns to him, arms crossed. For once, the brunette is wholly unenthusiastic. “Dude, I was texting you all morning. Did you not check your messages?” “I might or might not have muted you like Yoongi did.” There are girls gathered and a few boys as well, a whole crowd of people standing together and blocking the way to the dining hall. The sound of murmuring fills the corridor. “Is someone giving out something for free?” “No.” Taehyung sighs. “You know the actor, Song Joongki? He’s here.” “What?” “Beats me.” The tall brunette shrugs. “Apparently he’s sponsoring the university and making a donation to promote culinary arts. It probably has something to do with the commercials he’s been doing. I don’t know. They were trying to keep it on the down low but someone leaked it over Twitter that he was visiting and now everyone knows.” Jungkook is stunned. For a moment, he wonders if you’re actually a witch. It was just too convenient considering the jesting conversation he had with you nights ago. Or perhaps it was the damned world wanting him to eat his own words. But whatever the case is, Jungkook isn’t able to dwell for long. Suddenly, the sea of students split, gasps and screams echoing down the hall. There are professors leading the way with the Dean, ushering students to move aside. There’s one or two bodyguards as well, their arms stretched to keep the actor safe. But as Jungkook stands there at a distance with his friend, he manages a far away peek at the dark-haired actor in his black suit as he passes with a small, polite smile and his head dipped. Holy shit. You were right. He’s handsome — but even more so in real life. “Oh my god. Was that him?! I didn’t get a good look.” — “That was him!” — “He’s so cute!” Everyone is fawning over Song Joongki. And even Jungkook, who doesn’t have a particular taste for men, can appreciate the actor. “My mom loves him. Maybe I should get her an autograph.” Taehyung thinks about it for a second and then shakes his head. “Nah. That’s too much work. Let’s just go eat.” The crowd moves past and Jungkook catches sight of a very familiar mop of head in the midst of the horde of people — a girl whose eyes are wide and excited. But his own damn girlfriend doesn’t even notice him. Instead, you’re holding Aeri’s hand and hopping up and down. “C’mon, Aeri! We’ll get a better look up front.” Taehyung bursts out laughing as the corridor finally clears. “Was that just Y/N?” Jungkook sighs lightly with a sheepish smile. “Yep.” The dining hall has never been so quiet and empty. It’s eerie, almost like someone bought the place out to have a private buffet of sorts. Jungkook finds Jimin, Hoseok, and Yoongi already seated at the table — somehow they had squeezed themselves through the crowd. Everyone greets each other with raised brows, silence desirable after the whole commotion. But Taehyung, on the other hand, is enjoying Jungkook’s astonishment too much. “Looks like Song Joongki is also Mr. Steal Your Girl. Guess where Y/N is.” “She left you?” Yoongi is stunned and then starts chuckling. “She didn’t leave me.” “Well can you blame her?” Hoseok pipes up. “He’s pretty handsome. My sister was a fan of him in Descendants of the Sun.” “Really?” Jimin nods. “I liked him more in Innocent Man.” “I said she didn’t leave me,” Jungkook repeats in exasperation. “And it’s whatever, he’s her hall pass anyway.” That remark surprises all his friends. “So you don’t care?” Jungkook shrugs. The boy slurps up his noodles, not paying much mind. “It would be fucking impressive.” And he means it. If his girl can charm on Song-fucking-Joongki, he’d be impressed. You should do whatever it takes to live your best life and he’ll always root for you. Meeting Song Joongki is probably your dream come true anyway, so he has no reason to stop you and doesn’t want to. “It would be a one in a lifetime chance, so why not?” “Wow.” Hoseok nods, impressed at the carefree attitude and how secure Jungkook is. “Speak of the devil….” You appear in the dining center, running at full speed, grabbing some toast. At the last second, you spot Jungkook and your eyes light up. You sprint over. “Hey!” You plop a kiss at the top of your boyfriend’s head, making him grin. “Did you guys see him?!”

“Sure did.” “We saw him alright.” “I’m just grabbing some food for Aeri and I but he’s going to the kitchens later and Miss. Kang says she’s going to introduce a group of us as the baking students!” You’re shrieking for joy, jumping up and down. Yoongi winces at the noise and gives you a dirty look, but it makes Jungkook giggle. You turn to him. “You don’t mind, do you?” “Why would I?” He grins and encourages, “Go get it! I believe in you.” You nod, running along and he watches your backside with a softened smile. Out of nowhere, Taehyung snickers. “You are so whipped.” “Fuck off.” He continues to slurp down his noodles. // Song Joongki doesn’t stay for long — but it sure feels like it. All of his social media is flooded with pictures and clips of the actor being taken on a tour around campus, snapping a few selfies with fans, and real life updates every twenty seconds. Jungkook even gets a call from his aunt who caught wind of what was happening. Jungkook, himself, is kind of over it. He’s not so starstruck and dazzled like he was earlier, but he still checks his phone every so often for your texts. It’s been silent for the entire day and he can only wonder what ended up happening. Luckily, he doesn’t need to wait for long when nearing his bedtime, there’s a knock at his door. Jungkook opens it to see your sheepish expression and your body clad in your cotton pajamas. “Hey, thought I would stop by.” “Did you sneak in again?” “It’s not sneaking when no one notices in the first place.” He notices that you’re shivering from the chilly air outside and quickly ushers you into his small dorm room. The corner of his mouth pulls when you automatically crawl into his bed and pull the toasty covers up to your chin like you were always supposed to be there. “So…” Jungkook turns around after shutting the door, curiosity ebbing away at him. “What ended up happening?” “What do you mean?” You blink at him. “Did you end up….you know….” “No.” Your expression is blank. “I really don’t know.” He sighs, having to explicitly word it. “Did you bed Joongki?” There’s a long silence. The silence draws on. You snort. “What? You thought I was gone all this time cause I was fucking Song Joongki?” “Listen, we agreed on each other’s hall passes. I won’t get mad. Trust me, I’d be pretty impressed, but I want to hear all the details.” “Well, sorry to say, captain, but there isn’t any.” You pull back the corner of the covers, patting the empty spot beside you. Jungkook doesn’t hesitate slipping into his small bed with you and he finds a comfortable position. His arm drapes over your waist, allowing the soft yellow glow of his bedside lamp to cast your shadows on his wall. There’s a beat of quietness and then you’re laughing again. “What?” “I can’t believe you thought I slept with Joongki.” “So you didn’t?” “No.” You give an incredulous look, exasperated at how dumb your boyfriend can be at times. It’s not like you were any better, but still. “You really thought I could get close enough to sleep with him? He’s an actor! He practically had twenty bodyguards around. I barely got an autograph in — which I’m framing on my wall, by the way.” “Oh.” “Sorry that a famous actor didn’t fuck your girlfriend,” your voice drips of sarcasm. “I didn’t mean to be such a disappointment.” Jungkook scoffs. “Why would I be disappointed?” “Well, you’re acting like you’re let down that I didn’t get to use my hall pass.” You’re fiddling with a loose thread at the neckline of his cotton shirt while your other arm is folded underneath your head. He stares at you. “I wouldn’t want to anyway, by the way. Thought I would just mention that. Some things are better left for fantasy. And I have you. Why would I want someone else?” His arms curl around you, pulling you into his body. Jungkook cuddles your frame and you melt against him, smiling. “I’m not disappointed,” he teases. “He could never treat you as well as I do.” “I don’t know about that,” you chime. “He was really handsome though.” “Was he nice too?” “Super. I didn’t really get to talk to him, but he listened to Miss. Kang’s entire spiel about ovens.” You pull apart a little to see him, eyes meeting. “Apparently there are rumours Joongki might come back. Who knows, he might fall in love with me this time and we might get married. You’re not invited to the wedding, by the way.” The boy feigns offence, eyes glimmering in the low lights. “Why not?”

“It’s weird if my ex is there. I’m sure Joong-bear wouldn’t like it.” “Joong-bear?” He raises his brows. “It’s an inside joke,” you playfully taunt. “You wouldn’t get it.” Jungkook scoffs, then laughs. “You best believe I would kick down the doors to the chapel and object to the marriage.” “And what if IU showed up?” He hums. “Polygamy is underrated.” You giggle. “So all four of us in one marriage?” “Sure.” Jungkook shrugs. “Even if it’s just Joongki, I wouldn’t mind if it was us three.” “Me too. Joongki, Jieun, and me. It’s perfect.” “I meant me.” He starts to tickle you, laughing when you do. “Did you forget about me?” “What?” You squirm against him. “Can’t hear you.” It’s an absolutely absurd scenario, completely unfounded and ludicrous. But Jungkook loves to be ridiculous with you. He holds you and his eyes stray upwards onto his wall. Beside his IU’s posters are pictures of you and him — polaroids taken throughout the summer to the one bigger frame that holds the photograph at the wedding. The one where you and him are staring at each other mid-laugh after he caught you in his arms.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenario #welcome to the daily life of dumb and dumber lol #this is a very lighthearted chapter so enjoy it!

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perpetuallyfive · 3 years

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Schnee Week, Day 3: Weiss Ships

So I don’t actually have a finished fic or even a chapter to share today because until my sudden burst of creativity on Monday evening, I have been primarily focused on the next three chapters of Dishonored. (Roughly 31k words written so far across two chapters. It’s coming!) But one little thing I’ve been planning for a long time is on the back-burner and I thought I’d share an excerpt.

Way back at the end of 2019, pretty shortly after we met, @catalyswitch showed me a sketch she was working on of a Schneekos modern day AU and asked me for my thoughts.

This is the beginning of the fic I’ve been wanting to write since then.

Winter drives her (and her things) to campus, but Weiss moves in on her own. There’s some kind of important meeting — lots of covert messages on a blackberry, which is a thing these kinds of people still use — and Winter can’t delay any longer. It’s not like Weiss expected anything else.

Maintaining low expectations for others and high ones for yourself are sort of the Schnee motto. It saves a lot of disappointment in life, in general.

She decorates her room just fine on her own. Minimalism is another thing she’s grown accustomed to in the mansion mom gave up on renovating in between her fourth and fifth trip to rehab. Call the abandoned projects and clutter in the attic a metaphor for something, if you’re inclined to such dramatics.

Weiss has never had any need for those kinds of abstractions or distractions.

She hangs a single picture on her wall.

Unlike the family portrait that hangs in the dining room, this is casual. While that is carefully composed and well lit, this shows Weiss and Whitley amidst of a mess of wrapping paper, faces lit up with excitement and the soft glow of the lights from their Christmas tree. Winter is in the background, distributing the gifts. Mother sips some unknown liquid from a coffee mug.

Father is nowhere to be found, and the photo was surely taken by Klein. That’s clear enough in Weiss’s smile, which is confident and unrestrained.

Her posture is straight. Her eyes are bright.

It’s as if her past self was looking right out into the future, smiling at the person she is today.

First day of orientation, and she’s ready for anything.

Correction: the one thing Weiss Schnee was completely unprepared for is her roommate.

The girl is a whirlwind of chaotic confusion, and so is the rest of her family. At least, Weiss has to assume this mess of (noisy) people is somehow this girl’s family. None of them look alike. The two loudest (by only a small margin) are blond with smiles as big as their biceps.

None of them have really stopped talking since they burst into the room and began hanging all kinds of things from the walls on the other side of the room.

“What—” Weiss begins, but she has no idea where the question is going.

What’s there to ask?

“Yes, hello!” the person who is probably Weiss’s roommate — but looks much too young for it — shouts from just beneath the mattress she’s managed to get stuck underneath. One of the blondes lifts it off her, and she darts back out, flailing. “Hi! I am your roommate, Ruby. If that’s what your what was.” She stands at attention, hands on her hips, as if that justifies any part of this. “I’m the what’s what, if you were wondering.”

Weiss barely has time to catch her breath. She’s not sure this even counts as caught. “… what?”

“Exactly!”

The two blondes exchange looks and both laugh, but Weiss doesn’t think it’s very funny.

“You must be Weiss,” the man who technically looks old enough to be someone’s father says, holding out his hand to shake.

The other blonde keeps her arms folder over her chest. “Weiss Schnee, wasn’t it?”

She says it in the same way that everyone says it. As in, are you one of those Schnees, as in they know her father. As in they’ve turned on the news sometime in the past eight years. Everyone knows the Schnee family name; father hasn’t exactly been under the radar.

But all she says is, “That’s right,” while shaking the man’s hand. Firmly.

Always shake firmly. Father taught all of them that.

“Your father sure has his hands in a lot of pies.”

“He doesn’t, actually.”

“Doesn’t—”

“—know the first thing about cooking.” Another early lesson: know when to make your exit. Weiss stands abruptly, her stack of books completely forgotten on the bed. “Well I,” she begins, but she’s already made a fatal error.

Because the new roommate is noticing the books. “Oh, wow, are you majoring in political science?” She’s suddenly much too close to Weiss’s personal space, though for what reason is unclear. It’s just happening, and Weiss is along for the ride. “That’s so cool! I guess it makes sense, huh, because of your dad and everything.”

There’s the elephant in the room. The very large (very republican) elephant. “I chose my major for myself, actually.” It was not an easy or a quiet conversation, and certainly not one Weiss cares to repeat to these total strangers. “As I was just going to say, I have somewhere to be.” Somewhere far away from here, that is. Literally anywhere else. “It was lovely to meet all of you,” Weiss continues, not bothering to acknowledge the fact that she has learned absolutely none of their names.

The first place Weiss finds to hide that she doesn’t think her roommate will find her is the coffee shop. It’s clear from her demeanor that the child — very obviously too young to be at college, so perhaps some kind of prodigy which would explain the hyper active behavior and poor socialization — is in no need of further caffeination.

Coffee shops are also a useful place to disappear. It’s easy to blend in to a crowd of people all looking closer at their cups than they are each other.

Except of course for the table of jocks nearby. Weiss has absolutely nothing in common with any of them.

Even if some of them are aesthetically appealing.

On day three of avoiding her room and her roommate, Weiss discovers that said roommate — her name is Ruby, a fact Weiss intends to immediately forget again — does in fact require even further caffeination.

If she cared about this particular annoyance at all, she might be concerned about the state of her heart.

As it is, she’s more concerned with her own social standing being seen in public with an infant who only stops talking long enough to consume even more coffee.

“So anyway,” Ruby gasps, practically gargling her last gulp down. “What about you, are you excited for your first day of classes?”

Since Ruby is studying something else — what that is, Weiss can’t recall, although she’s probably repeated it more than once — and will come nowhere even close to a political science course, the answer is very obviously yes. Weiss tempers her excitement, somewhat, just for the sake of kindness.

“I’m overjoyed,” she says, almost neutrally.

“Yeah, me too.”

The jocks are there again today. They’re always there. Maybe the field they train on is nearby? Maybe they come here to study?

No, that doesn’t seem likely.

They’re all laughing (loudly) at something a boy with blue hair just said. Hopefully it was about something other than fashion decisions.

“Weiss?” Ruby says, as though she’s just repeating herself after perhaps even several attempts to get Weiss’s attention.

But all Weiss will offer in return is vague non-commitment. “Hm?”

“I was asking if you know them.” She points at the table that Weiss was very covertly staking out and Weiss slaps her hand back down. But Ruby just repeats the gesture with her other hand. “I only ask because you stare at Pyrrha a lot, and I was wondering if you wanted me to introduce you.”

“What, I do not,” Weiss answers without having any idea who Ruby’s even referring to.

At least.

Unless she means the redhead, because then yes. Weiss has been watching her off and on for the past three days, but surely so has everyone else in the cafe. They all have eyes after all.

Even if Weiss’s are currently bugging right out of her skull as Ruby jumps out of her seat. She can see what’s coming, but it’s already too late. “Pyrrha!” Ruby calls, her voice a clanging shriek.

Weiss recoils so hard from the sound that her eyes temporarily close. It’s such sweet relief safe in this darkness that she is reluctant to open them.

When she does, the redhead is there, at her table.

Her smile is confident but carefully contained. Her posture is relaxed and casual. Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail, with curls carefully framing her face.

“Oh,” Weiss breathes, before she can think better of it, before she can think at all. “Oh, hi.”

Years later, Weiss will wish she could remember what Pyrrha said next. But she doesn’t. She only remembers the way that smile pushed firmly into her chest, opening up an empty cavern of want that she had never known existed before.

The space inside, the empty need, felt almost limitless. It should have been awful.

But the one thing Weiss can remember from that exact moment is how much she was smiling.

#schnee week #schneekos #i swear this fic is schneekos (and some other background ships too) even if there isn't enough of it in this excerpt #i'm trying to focus on finishing the thing with the huge world and plot first! lol #pulling it home at the end has been um work #but in the meantime :)#my fic #rwby #(''background ships'' she says as if she doesn't intend for some of them to be really prominent. but look i'm trying to not make promises #that my brain doesn't end up able to cash etc. it's nice to hope something flows as comes across the way you want.#but it's another thing entirely to actually promise it when you've only written less than 2k words.)#(okay some of chapter two is also written but shhhhh.)

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lawgrain · 4 years

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Appropriate and Inappropriate Comments on AO3

So I mentioned the idea of doing one of these and I think it’s low key needed. But before I start I do want to say, most of you guys are great and the inappropriate section will seem like comments sense to you. But sadly it’s not to everyone and I’ve gotten comments like them. I’ma start on the positive side though. With that, I’ma jump in!

Good Comments

1) Just leaving hearts is actually pretty chill. I know some of you guys get nervous to comment and hearts might not seem like much, but it’s a very clear message: you liked the story. Not every comment has to be in-depth and if you are afraid to go into a deep comment, at leas for me, I don’t mind just getting hearts. Most the time I just respond with hearts back <3

2) Picking out specific quotes or moments you like is kind of cool. I’ve had people pick out a quote from a chapter and I get so excited when it happens to be a section I specifically worked on. I’m like “Yeah! That’s right! I added that for flow and it was friggen appreciated. Take that world!” It can just be something that meant something to you or that you found particularly funny/interesting. These are words writers have worked on and they’ll be happy to see, oh these are the ones that were liked. Sometimes people even point out things I hadn’t thought y’all would like and that’s super cool too!

3) So low and behold, writers sometimes really like talking about their works. In particular, I get caught up in meanings behind things and morals. Obviously not every writer gets caught up in those things but they still like talking about their work. So asking an opinion on stuff is sometimes pretty fun. Asking about what an author thinks of a certain character or what a character would do in a certain situation is like a fun little challenge game. But with this one, it’s important to keep it within the realm of opinions.

For example, I got an ask on here once asking what I think would happen in a certain situation. That was a great way to phrase things. It let me know that they are just asking for my imagination on things. They didn’t suggest that something else should be happening or what they wish was happening. It was just “what do you think?” Here’s a link to that. It was a fun ask to think about and actually made me want to right more. Where things can go wrong is sometimes people ask more into a character while sort of suggesting that I’m doing something wrong with the character or suggesting I should be having more about certain characters that I don’t want to do. So a “what do you think” is a beautiful way to avoid that and keep things to opinions.

4) It’s pretty nice to know people got meaning from a story. I am definitely okay if people just read my work on a surface level. It’s meant to entertain and if that’s all it does, that’s okay. But it’s also really meaningful when I hear that people are taking things away from a story. I love the comments saying “I’m gonna be thinking about this” or “this made me question things.” Because that’s my goal. I want people walking away with a new perspective or something gained. And then I’ve gotten people who thought they were the only ones to feel some of the things I’ve written and it’s kind of amazing to show that they’re not.

And yes, this doesn’t apply to every fic because not every fic is written to have as much meaning. But every fic is written to do something. A comedy is written to make you laugh and the writer wants to know they’ve done that. A fluff piece is written to make you happy and show cute moments and a writer likes hearing you fangirl over those cute moments. And angst is written to make you feel. It might be heartache but if your stomach drops the moment you read something in an angst, that’s far from a bad comment to get.

5) You don’t have to do this, but sometimes it’s nice to appreciate the writers as themselves. It’s nice when people shift the focus from the fic to how you wrote the fic. There’s a sort of meaningful difference between the two. In one phrasing anyone could have done it. In the other it recognizes the writer and how writing is an enjoyable part of them instead of all they are. I think a lot of times for myself I start to think people just like or follow me for a fic I wrote. That has a lot of me in it, but that’s not who I am. I tend to answer questions in a very fic orientated way. You don’t like my writing you like the fic. You don’t like how I worked on a fic, you just like how the fic exists. Again this isn’t something you have to do and it doesn’t detract from the amazing comments left. But it adds something a little more meaningful for the author.

On to the next thing!

Inappropriate Comments

I’m going to precursor this with I know for sure some of you guys don’t know you do a few of these. Some of these are purely things trolls would do but others happen with people who actually don’t mean to bring a writer down. And I know it’s not your intentions to make a writer feel bad but it can easily happen by accident.

1) I mentioned this in a different post which I’ll link here, but be careful with comparisons. Keep things in a positive manner and focus on writer you are actually commenting on. It is not okay to draw comparisons to describe everything the author is doing wrong and the other is doing right. I got a comment doing that once and, surprise surprise, that's very shitty. If you’re going to compare a fic, do it in a way that doesn’t degrade anyone. Say it’s different or the same, and only do that if you’re going to follow it up with you found it enjoyable. I know for a fact that if someone used my fic to hurt another person, I’d be furious. I don’t care if you like my fic better, that’s no reason to make other people feel bad. Authors writings aren't all supposed to be the same fic. It’s gonna be different and that’s okay.

2) It's okay to be very impassionate against characters actions in a fic. Some are written to be disliked. But there are lines. It's not okay to say that a child deserves to be beaten by a parent. A lot of things aren't okay. Directing anger at characters is different then implying real world things should happen to them. People are abused in real life. People who have been abused are gonna read you talk about how you think it’s okay. It’s not. It’s never been okay and it’s a really shitty thing to have to find that in a comment section.

3) It's okay to be upset with things that happens in a story. It's not okay to attack the story itself. You can like a story and still accidentally do this. Saying things are "unrealistic" and "would never happen" are kind of offensive. It starts attacking the author and devalues what they are trying to write. And the other thing about that is not everyones experience is gonna match up. I know I write in a heavy topic. So when I’m told that somethings would never happen and then I have to quietly take it, understand that some of these things have happened. I’m listening to some of you write off things that have even happened to me. And you’re also writing off what might be happening to others. I know teachers might seem unrealistic to people who have had good teachers. I know it seems incomprehensible for everyone to turn their backs on a character to people who have had good friends, who have had people listen to them. And let me just state it plainly, I am jealous of those people. I’m jealous of people who have never been happy one day just to feel completely betrayed and alone the next. I envy you. And I know that’s not the intention with some of you guys when you comment but in the end, not cool.

4) Comment on the actual fic. When you go off about how you wish things would happen or say "it's too bad this didn't happen", you are telling the author that you wish you were reading something else. I’ve gotten very well meaning comments talking about how they just wish something else would happen or “what if instead”. And I don’t know what you want me to say. Yeah that’s great but it’s also not what I’m writing. Be my guest if you want to write that I guess. In the end those people never give me something that I can respond to because they made it about what they want and not about anything I did. If you genuinely want to change everything about my fic but keep the bases, just comment “Do you mind if I do a fic inspired by this one” and I will happily say yes, just make sure to note it was inspired by the fic. Hell I’m chill even when people don’t ask for the go ahead and just remember to cite me as the inspiration. But getting a comment wishing you did something else? Not enjoyable.

5) Don’t comment just to confuse the writer. This one is kind of odd and something that hasn’t happened to me as much. But leaving confusing comments that have nothing to do with the story? Like I don’t know what is expected when that happens. I’m less inconvenienced by this because I like to just roll with things but I know others don’t like this. It starts to feel like you’re being trolled. Again I don’t mind this as much. Like once I got a consistent commenter that I never quite understood what their comments meant and I actually started to enjoy the oddity. They’d do a key smash then Id be like “okay well, when in Rome” and key smash back. But some aren’t me and are going to assume it’s being done to them to annoy them. Which is a safe bet because a lot of writers have probably been trolled or low key harassed by people in the comment sections.

6) If you say you like a fic and then say “too bad you did this in the fic”, you don’t like the fic.

7) This one is based on a comment that I know what done with good intentions but careful on how you ask questions. Writers do like talking about their fics but we like talking about it to people who are curious and like the fic. If you have a question, ask it but let us know that you aren’t challenging the fic itself. So for example, I mentioned when a fics realism is brought into question. It’s not chill to say “It’s unrealistic” because that's an insult. It’s not okay to put “how is this realistic” because that’s gonna put the writer back in defensive after their other bad experiences in comment sections. What you could do is say “how did you come up with the teachers acting like they are in the fic”. Or once I got on the defense because a question was phrased in a way that sounded like a set up to hate on my fic. It wasn’t made to do that and the person picked up on my very obvious defensive mode. What can help if you’re unsure how a question is going to come across add something like “The answer doesn’t change how much I like the fic, I was just curious”. That’d set me at ease at leat.

8) Don’t demand answers. And I’m not talking about the silly “wE neEd tO kNoW LaW!!” thing. I usually know when you’re teasing. I’m talking about people who just want an answer from you and leave. This isn’t bad perse and doesn’t actually hurt a writers feelings. It just tells the writer nothing about how they are doing. Did you like the fic? Was there something confusing about this section that caused this question? Again this one is a very small thing. Writers probably don’t mind answering the question either. It’s just kind of one where it’s less engaging because you feel like the person just wants you for the one piece of information.

9) If you have to disclaim it sounds rude or aggressive, think about who that disclaimer is for. Is it for you to feel like it’s okay to say rude things and then claim “but that’s not how I meant it” or is actually because you’re worried you phrased something wrong. And for gods sake if I get a goddamn comment saying “I don’t mean to start a fight” I’m starting a fight next time. Most of the comments I get that have some sort of disclaimer feel like they are just trying to excuse themselves and have a place they can say “look, right there, I said it’s not rude so it isn’t” as if that changes things. It’s like if someone went “I don’t mean to be a jerk, but here’s an entire list of why I don’t like your story and lol that sounded a bit agressive. Woops! Good thing I didn’t mean it like that!” Bullshit. Take a minute to actually access who the comment is for, you or the writer. I’m actually the most heated about this point. Like I’ve gotten a very specific comment in mind and I really regret not going off. I’m still bitter.

10) This isn’t one I’ve gotten as much but have had someone mention to me. Some authors get a bit pressured when all you ask is for more. Like we’re happy you want more. Very happy. But the way this author explained it to me was “It feels like they just ignore the 40k of free work I’ve just written and feel entitled for more.” I’m paraphrasing it a bit here. But the thing is, it’s very flattering that you want more of a writers work but why can’t what they’ve already done be appreciated. Don’t just demand, appreciate too. A lot of writers are working on more things at once and it needs to be recognized that they are worth more than the one chapter more you need for just one of their fics.

Ending Note

Alrighty! That’s all I can think of for now. All writers are different but I hope this is a good foundation for things. Looking back on some comments I’ve left, I know that they probably weren’t as positive as I thought because they weren’t made from a writers point of view. Now though, I think I’d do a better job after having gotten some of the comments I have. But I don’t want anyone to feel called out or bad. I usually know when you guys are well intentioned and just missing the mark. If anyone wants to add or reblog this, be my guest!

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makeste · 4 years

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I was originally going to send this message declaring my undying love for your metas and chapter reviews aND THEN - AND THEN MAKESTE - I READ THE ANSWER WHERE YOU SAID YOU WERE ARO AND THAT MAKES ME SOOOOO HAPPY. I'm aroace and it is SO FRUSTRATING to want to consume platonic or familial interaction between people and CONSTANTLY only get romantic or sexual. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU CONTRIBUTE

woooo up top! solidarity lol.

for me it’s like... I don’t know if “frustrating” is the word I would use, but I do wish there was more gen out there. and that’s also something I’ve felt awkward about wanting in the past, because my early fandom years took place in a time where slash was much less of an everyday commonplace thing than it is now, and liking it was still a fairly controversial thing. the internet was a much more openly homophobic place than it is now. like, picture the purity police of modern day tumblr, but if they attacked any kind of non-heterosexual relationship as being sick and perverted and wrong. that was pretty much the general vibe. this was before AO3, and people who wrote slash often didn’t post it on ff.net and only posted it to their own private blogs and/or locked and moderated communities instead just so they wouldn’t be harassed. and there was absolutely no canon representation out there at all, or next to none. it was very much a “[rolls eyes] oh the yaoi fangirls are at it again” sort of thing where non-cishet relationships in fiction and fanfiction were at best not taken seriously at all, and at worst were treated with outright scorn and disgust.

and so like, with this being a common attitude at the time, I felt guilty for not always wanting to read slash myself. like, I don’t mind reading about romantic relationships at all, but for me there also has to be some other kind of element in play as well, or else it’s just not going to click for me. if a fic is just romance, just a lot of pining and slow burn stuff without anything else really going on in the plot, I just get bored and disinterested. I almost want to use the word tired, even though I’m not sure that makes much sense. I just can’t connect to the emotions, and so I disengage pretty quickly. and so I tend to steer clear of time-honored fandom staples like coffee shop AUs or And They Were Roommates, just because for me there’s rarely anything there for me to latch onto. I like angst, but I can’t relate to “so and so doesn’t feel the same way about me”, or “I want to be with them so bad but I don’t know how to confess”, or “they’re with someone else and it hurts like crazy every time I see them and know we can’t be together”, because none of those are emotions that I have ever personally felt, and I just can’t make myself feel them. what I can relate to are things like “this person makes me feel safe”, or “I feel a strong connection to this person”, or “I trust this person more than anyone else” because those feelings aren’t exclusively romantic in nature. I can relate to closeness and caring and love and affection and trust, but what I can’t relate to is the feeling of having a single person occupy all of your thoughts all the time, and very badly wanting to be the most important thing in their life as well, and feeling incomplete otherwise.

but anyway I spiraled away from the point I was trying to get to, which is that for a long time I actually felt guilty about feeling this way. because even though it’s rare to find fanworks where gen/platonic relationships are at the center, actual canon is chock full of said relationships. and so it’s like, what right do I even have to complain when I get to read all the time about so and so being friends, but the people who actually want them to be in a relationship in the actual canon so rarely get to see that actually happen. because that much has not changed in the past 20 years, even though society has become far more accepting of LGBTQ+ relationships. most canons are still far more likely to tease a non-hetero ship -- on purpose, even, hence why queerbaiting is a thing -- than actually commit to it. and so I often feel like I have no right to voice my desire for more genfic, because genfic has never faced the same kind of scrutiny as slashfic. gen has always been acceptable, and there is plenty of canon representation of platonic and non-romantic relationships, and so it’s not something I have any business whining about.

and even now I feel fairly uncomfortable voicing this lol. I write almost exclusively genfic myself, and up until very recently, I’ve always defined gen in my head as being just a lack of romantic or sexual content, rather than being its own distinct category. I think that’s one of the reasons it took me so long to realize I was aro (that, and I’d honestly never even come across the term until just a few years ago). for me, my lack of interest in romantic affection always felt more like a lack of identity rather than an identity in and of itself. I always felt like I was missing something. and for a very long time it never occurred to me that this might be a permanent thing; I just figured, okay, I just haven’t had this feeling yet. it just hasn’t happened for me yet. but eventually it would, and I just hadn’t met the right person, or whatever. but it was never anything I particularly wanted, and I never felt like I was missing out on anything by not having it. I never felt any kind of longing for it or felt incomplete without it. I was actually perfectly content!

but because society treats romantic orientation as the norm and places such a huge emphasis on it, I still had the uncomfortable feeling in the back of my head that if I never fell in love with someone and never wound up having a relationship with someone, my life would somehow be less meaningful and whole. like, we’re raised to think that romantic love is basically the pinnacle of the human experience, the purest and truest emotion that anyone can feel. and at the same time, there’s this idea that a life without that kind of love is just sad and unfulfilling and tragic. and so for a very long time my experience with my own aromanticism was characterized by me thinking of it as a lack of something that everyone else said was very important. and it took a long time to realize that that wasn’t the case, and that it was a valid orientation all its own and not just a matter of me being deficient in some way. and that was actually such a relief to finally come to terms with. I can be whole and complete on my own and still have a rich and fulfilling human experience even if I never experience romantic love, and that’s fine. I’m not missing anything. I’m not wrong for feeling like I’m not missing anything. it’s fine to be content with just me as I am. like, holy shit. and that was such a weight off my shoulders to finally get that.

I once wrote a fic which I was and still am very proud of. it was a genfic, and it had a really intricate plot with a big twist at the very end. and there was a ton of emotion in it, and it got very intense at times, because these were two characters who cared a lot about each other and would literally die for each other if they had to, and I’d put them in a situation where that possibility was very much looming over their heads at every turn. and I really put everything I had into trying to convey that kind of bond as strongly as possible. like I poured a ton of my heart and soul into that fic. and the responses were almost universally positive and kind and made me really happy.

there was one response though, that still sticks with me to this day. it was by and large very positive, just like the others. but it ended with a single sentence that, at the time, kind of just lowkey gutted me. Not gonna lie though, would have loved some slash in there.

like, that just cut me. way more than this person actually intended, I think. I’m pretty sure they just meant it as an offhanded comment, not even a concrit or anything. just “haha would have loved it if they’d kissed though lol.” but it stung. because this was something I’d put every ounce of emotion that I could conjure up into. and even though it wasn’t mean to be hurtful in any way, to me that comment read as “this is still missing something.” because there was no romance, the fic was incomplete. the characters’ feelings were incomplete. even though I’d struggled so much to convey all of these complex emotions which to me were so real and powerful, and even though the comment even acknowledged that I had by and large done so effectively, to me the single takeaway that stuck was that the feelings were less meaningful because there was no romance.

and that felt like a failing on my part. I even apologized for it. and here we are, ten years later, and that comment still pops up in my head any time I feel the urge to talk about a popular ship which I support but which I also enjoy as just a friendship. “just” a friendship. I still feel guilt over that. I still feel this urge to overexplain that I’m not trying to invalidate the actual romantic ship. I worry that I’d be perceived as ungrateful and/or a bad ally if I ever just came out and said “I wish there was more gen” like you were able to say so freely, anon. I worry about people getting offended if I were to say “I headcanon so and so as being aroace” because it might be viewed as an attack on their ships, or as latent homophobia, or something. like I have this paranoid fear that people might take it as me being puritanical and all “oh no, icky sex” or whatever, and so I end up just never bringing it up at all.

and that’s the thing about aromanticism, though; it’s so easy to just never talk about it at all, because for so many people it is just defined as a lack of something, rather than a something all on its own. it’s so easy for it to be something you just never bring up, and which just kind of quietly exists as the boring, bland, inoffensive yet uninteresting lack of a relationship; the default blank slate that most everyone is dying to fill in as soon as possible, except for you. and I’ve gone on thinking about it that way myself for so long that I’m still struggling now to sort out how to embrace it as an actual identity. it’s something I still have a lot of work to do on I guess.

anyway! so that all got very long and rambling and personal, far more so than I intended; clearly I have a lot of pent up thoughts and feelings about this lol. I guess I probably could stand to talk about it more, since the evidence would indicate that I clearly want to. but eh, baby steps. but anyways you are super valid anon and thank you so much for the love and comments. <3

#aromanticism #meta #aromanticism in fandom #personal #long post #ask #anon ask #hey um just an addendum this is a pro aroace post NOT an anti-shipping post #just to make that clear #like you can be for one thing without bashing the other #so if you want to reblog this that is awesome and I'm grateful #but please don't use it as a launching pad for any weird toxic 'shipping is bad' takes please and thanks

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wtfockinternational · 4 years

Text

An article about wtFOCK translated from Dutch:

How wtFOCK conquers taboos through trial and error

wtFOCK: for one person a key player, for the other a rather strange combination of consonants. Young people can’t seem to stay away from the successful web series. The new season has started, so we can look back at the previous one. For three months many fans were glued to their screens for a sixteen-year-old’s coming-out. Did this pave a way for more and honest representation of LGBTQ+-problems, or did they occasionally stray from that path?

“‘Secret’ series wtFOCK became the most popular search term on Google in 2019”, various media reported in December. This news seemed to come as a surprise, because many people seemed to have never heard of the term, let alone the web series. And still the series could crown itself the proverbial king of last year’s Google. How did that happen?

The online series that arrived here from Norway mostly seems a hit with teenagers and young adults. In nine weeks’ time the third season got about 11.8 million online views, SBS Belgium said. In total around 400,000 young people between 15 and 34 would be watching the series.

The presumed reason for the success? Young people can follow the characters daily via their smartphones through short, real-time updates and real Instagram-accounts. So ideal in a world where watching linear television, especially for the younger generation, becomes more out of the question. Besides that the series is kept out of the media consciously, to preserve its authenticity and let young people discover it on their own. So far, so good, it seems.

Homosexual main character

Concretely wtFOCK follows the lives of young people in secondary school, where all kinds of teenage troubles don’t get avoided. Since the previous season more social problems are being discussed, too. The series tackled a topic that still hasn’t completely removed itself from the taboo atmosphere: homosexuality, a coming-out, and everything that comes with it. From absolute peaks to the sometimes painful lows we are witnesses to the bumpy road towards self-acceptance that sixteen-year-old Robbe experiences.

But is that a new thing, an LGBT-character in Flemish fiction? Florian Vanlee researches the LGBTQ+-representation in Flemish television series at Ghent University. He clarifies: “About 20 percent of productions is said to have a prominent LGBT-character. Regarding supporting characters, it’s about 33 percent. That’s a relatively large part.”

It does seem the first time that in a commercial youth television the full attention of the main character goes towards homosexuality. “It’s remarkable how instantaneously the focus explicitly goes towards homosexuality. wtFOCK is therefore a very valuable program”, Vanlee says. The question therefore arises how the new form of representation was received by the LGBTQ+-community.

About recognition and self-acceptance

Amver Maselis, a 20-year-old bisexual student from Hove, has been a fan of the original SKAM. When the series ended in Norway, she started to follow the other remakes. Therefore her interest also brought her to wtFOCK. Passionately she talks about a series which she clearly values a lot. “I’ve been following the project for several years, and despite the subtle differences between shows, the main topics are always portrayed nicely.”

Out of all the remakes she thinks wtFOCK is the best one. Then again, the Flemish version connects the most with her own environment. “Now that the series has arrived in Antwerp, in my own culture, it suddenly feels very close to home.”

It helps that she really recognizes herself in Robbe, the main character that comes out of the closet to his friends and family in his teenage years. “It touches me, because I notice that I’ve sometimes said or felt the same things. Back then it was a huge secret I kept to myself. Now I know that it’ll all be fine,” says Amber. ‘ For other young people the series could be encouraging, like SKAM was for me three years ago, when I had just come out of the closet and I has to learn to accept myself.”

22-year-old Fabio Olivieri from Antwerp seems to share that opinion. As a teenager he barely saw a gay character to which he could relate. It comforts him to know that that’s different for the youth today. Besides that he commends the portrayal of the fact that members of the LGBT-community often have to learn to accept themselves, too. “sometimes it’s hard to learn how to deal with it, to know how you feel and if you want to feel that way. That’s portrayed beautifully.”

“Do you have questions?”

So the storyline can be a comfort to youth who can relate to it. wtFOCK also consciously wants to focus on that aspect. Not only by pushing the subject forward, but also by working together with the online platform WAT WAT. This initiative of the Flemish Government is a bundling of forces of more than 70 organizations to inform the youth. Together, those organizations want to make sure that “all young people are confident and can develop their identity in a positive manner.” On the website, youth can find answers about exam stress, problems at home, but also about sex, sexuality, … you name it.

After every clip of wtFOCK the possibility to visit watwat.be is shown, “in case you have questions”. That initiative pleases Ferre Lamber, a 25-year-old man from Antwerp who remembers how he also went to the internet for questions about his homosexuality when he was younger. “Sometimes it’s just hard to tell someone directly that you’re doubting your sexual orientation. So I can definitely imagine that young people will look online for answers.”

This way, wtFOCK wants to do more than just entertain. “Even though it’s fiction, which automatically entails the aspect of entertainment, that is not the essence of our show”, screenwriter Bram Renders says, incidentally also the writer of youth series W817. “We mostly want to show the youth that they’re not alone. That element is strongly present, and it’s nice that we can convey that message like this.”

The harsh reality

Thus, the series carries an important reality, which can be harsh sometimes. Fabio isn’t sure if he can always appreciate that. “I thought that the homophobia in wtFOCK was pretty cruel sometimes. Somehow that’s a good thing, because real life is like that, too. I’ve already experienced that myself. But in series the focus is generally on all the problems gay characters come into contact with. It would have been nice to see that this wasn’t the case. It has two sides.”

One specific scene that, for the same reason, caused a bomb of critical reactions on Twitter to explode, was when gay bashing was shown shortly, but very explicitly. The choice to portray it, is understandable based on the fact that it’s still a real and current problem today. At the end of December, two LGBT-boys in Ghent became victims of gay bashing. In Het Nieuwsblad they called for other victims to not stay silent, but to report such senseless violence to the police. However, in wtFOCK it’s shown how the main character and his boyfriend decide not to go to the police.

Ferre can understand that decision. “As a victim you want to avoid even more trouble and je need the strength to do something about it. I understand that not everyone would have that. One single right way to deal with gay bashing doesn’t exist.”

Ferre is concerned by, is the way in which the show depicted the incident as a while. The scene depicts how Robbe and his boyfriend get verbally abused and attacked. It end abruptly with the two left injured. Only the next day do we as viewer get to know if everything is okay. “Two years ago, when I hadn’t been with my boyfriend for that long, we were followed, too. After, we cuddled, drank tea, and watched a series, … at moment like that you just want to be together lovingly. You want to know if everything will be okay. But in wtFOCK nothing happened on the night itself and the matter was resolved quickly afterwards.”

Criticism

So more clarity would have been appropriate. The possibilities that you have as a victim after such an incident weren’t emphasized enough according to Ferre. Especially not for a show that has the support of a platform like WAT WAT.

This is clearly not the first time that Bram Renders hears this criticism. He has already given up on reading reactions on Twitter, he jokes. Hesitantly he does admit that they could’ve handled the scene better.

‘How it was protrayed, is more intense than how I imagined it during my rose-colored writing process.’ He says. ‘ That’s no criticism towards the director, because you can never know something like that beforehand. But in hindsight it would have been appropriate to show a follow-up-clip, in which they come home for example. As writeryou always have moments of which you think that it would have been better if you handled them differently; this is one of them.’

Besides that it was a conscious decision to make wtFOCK more heavy than the original SKAM. That decision came after prior conversations with people from the LGBTQ+-community. ‘According to the most people I talked to, was the internal struggle of the main character in the original version too small en was the world around him to rose-colored. So we made that world more raw.’ said Renders.

Ignorance

Then again, benefit of such heavy scenes is the awareness it brings about in viewers outside the LGBTQ+-community. “If you don’t know anyone who’s gay, then you also don’t know how we feel and how we experience certain things,” Fabio emphasizes. “I think that because of wtFOCK people can become more aware. Especially with the amount of young people that watch the series, it can provide more understanding and tolerance.”

Ferre also thinks that larger audiences are show what LGBT-people have to deal with. “Nowadays we don’t know enough about each other’s lives. I noticed that when colleagues or friends asked surprised if certain scenes are really like that, and if I’m really scared to hold hands with my boyfriend in the streets. The different seasons of wtFOCK provide good insights into different problems and how people handle them”, he decides.

Of course, purely scientifically it’s hard to determine such an impact on the audience. But intuitively speaking, that impact is already very logical, researcher Florian Vanlee (UGent) clarifies. “On one side, it can be important for people who do not meet the social standard to see their own experiences portrayed. On the other side, it can make those experiences for those who have less knowledge about it more obvious.”

New insights get subtly imparted throughout the series, but sometimes also in a more explicit manner, like in the part about the Gay Pride. At one point Robbe sneering tells his homosexual roommate that he isn’t the kind of person to dance around at Prides with “plumes in his hole”. That roommate is a more extravagant character that is mostly portrayed as support, with wise advice. He offers Robbe (but mostly the viewer) rebuttal with a short, but emotional history lesson. “Do you know that those people had to fight to be who they are?”, it sounds.

The show is undoubtedly referring to the protests of Stonewall which later grew into the Gay Prides all over the world. Something that is often forgotten, gets emphasized here: that people in the LGBTQ+-community had to travel a long and difficult path to have equal rights today and to be able to completely be themselves.

Amber thinks it’s very important for that history to be highlighted. “That people would rather die than not be able to be who they are, is the basic principle of the Gay Pride. There’s more behind it than semi-naked, dancing people, as some still see it.”

Better representation

Referring to the Gay Pride, Ferre admits to be somewhat disappointed about the type of main character in this season of wtFOCK. According to him it also could’ve been a more pronounced type for once. According to him, LGBTQ+-representation is focused on the so-called ‘mainstream’ LGBT-people too often.

At the start of September the topic got a lot of attention, when radio-dj Wanne Synnave (MNM) made the following statement in the talkshow Vandaag: “The biggest problem is that all the role models you see conform to the cliché image. I’ve never been able to identify myself in that area. I think that there’s a need for more mainstream LGBT-role models, the normal man and woman in the street. So not those flamboyant role models, which are pretty cliché.”

That statement caused a lot of outrage in the LGBTQ+-community. Many people didn’t agree, and had the opinion that there were already plenty of LGBT-people portrayed according to ‘hetero standards’. Florian Vanlee (UGent) confirms that in Flanders very little stereotypical characters are portrayed. “You could almost go so far as to say that the majority of the LGBT-characters are a sort of reverse-stereotype. For example, you will very rarely find very flamboyant gay characters.”

So television program makers represent (admittedly with good intentions) in a very general manner. “But exactly because of that, a large part of the LGBT-community are kept out of the picture”, Vanlee says. So there is need for more varying representation.

Balance

In the specific case of wtFOCK we can argue that the show follows the original format from Norway, and takes satisfaction in the extravagant gay character Milan, the roommate. “It’s hard to find a good balance”, screenwriter Bram Renders says. “In this case I thought that that balance with the ‘out in the open, take it or leave it’-roommate was enough.

In addition, according to Florian Vanlee, it’s not fair to judge individual series on those choices. “That’s not the right way to deal with what we want to see in media and popular culture”, Vanlee thinks. “Nowadays, in Flanders, it’s normal to represent LGBT-characters, for example Kaat in the soap Thuis. That was already an important step. What could be better, isn’t the responsibility of the television-industry, but also the discourse it generates,” he decides.

Finally, representation in Flemish media doesn’t just concern LGBTQ+-characters. It’s also important to look at the portrayal of people with a migration background or with different religions, for example. But wtFOCK doesn’t shy away from that either. In the fourth season, the show takes a new taboo by the horns by making Yasmina, a Muslim character, the main. It remains to be seen how the young, but critical audience will find the new theme.

#wtfock #wtfam #skam

298 notes · View notes

gb-fics · 3 years

Text

A Useful Gift

Fanfiction:

Kiryuuin Shou x Kyan Yutaka (Golden Bomber)

Note: It’s Shou’s birthday! (^-^) The fic is set during Gekkan and no one has to keep social distance ... because it’s funnier that way :D

„Now, let’s get to the good part”, Shou announced and eyed the three gift bags piled up in front of him. “Though your presents are usually shit. You never get me anything useful.”

Yutaka thought of rolling his eyes, but decided that it would be a little over the top. He felt self-conscious when the cameras were on them and tried to keep his expression as indifferent as possible. The viewers were supposed to laugh about the presents without getting distracted by their bickering.

He rolled his eyes mentally, though, because Shou always overdid it with the usefulness of his presents.

“Well, we’re only allowed to spend 1000 yen!”, Jun defended himself. “You don’t really get anything good for that.”

“I think you just suck at picking gifts”, Shou muttered and grabbed the first gift bag.

For a moment, Yutaka felt nervous that Shou would pick his one first, although he had put it out of his reach further than the others on purpose. But Shou seemed to understand the hint. Yutaka felt confident, that he had come up with something funny this year and they usually tried to put the most ridiculous gift last for the joke to hit harder.

Shou fumbled with the bag.

Yutaka hoped that neither Kenji nor Jun would steal the show, but he doubted they had thought of anything nearly as good. He had really outdone himself this year. He couldn’t wait to see Shou’s face.

“Oh, great”, Shou said dryly and held up a book. “Another photobook by Kenji. I can add it to my collection.”

“The new one was released after your birthday, so I thought you might want a copy!”, Kenji chimed. “It contains pictures of me. Isn’t that an amazing present?!”

Shou looked down on the cover with slight disdain.

“Because I don’t see enough of you on tour”, he said and put the book down.

Yutaka knew that he wasn’t going to open it. Shou felt that looking at his bandmates’ photobooks was somehow inappropriate. Which was ridiculous in case of Kenji specifically, because they had all seen plenty of nude pictures of him already. Sometimes, Yutaka thought that he knew Kenji’s body better than his own.

“Aren’t you happy?” Kenji was shouting. He sounded cheerful and it was hard to tell if he expected Shou to be overjoyed for real. His voice was teasing yet proud at the same time. Kenji loved showing off his body.

“I’m delighted”, Shou said sarcastically.

“If you liked that, you’re going to love my gift”, Jun said.

Shou made a face, indicating that he was expecting the worst.

He picked up Jun’s bag.

Yutaka licked his lips nervously. He really hoped the gift was going to be as unspectacular as Kenji’s photobook.

Shou reached into the gift bag, making a big show out of feeling around in it.

“There is nothing in there!”, he complained. “Did you get me something this small?”

“It’s not about the size”, Jun said.

Yutaka smirked, but refrained from making a joke.

Finally, Shou pulled something from the bag and held it up. If anything, his expression was even more grim this time.

“Thanks, Jun”, he said without any enthusiasm. “Just what I needed.”

Yutaka looked at the acrylic stand in Shou’s hand, that showed Jun mostly dressed in white.

Shou placed the item on top of Kenji’s photobook and looked down on them for a moment.

“Do you really hate me this much?”, he asked.

“Oi, those are good presents!”, Kenji shouted.

“You can put it on your shelf, so I’ll always be watching over you!”, Jun added.

“Sounds like my personal nightmare”, Shou muttered and pulled the last gift bag towards himself. “This better be good, Yutaka. If it’s something with your face on it, I’m going to scream.”

“Don’t worry”, Yutaka said with a grin. “This one is going to be good.”

Shou gave him a doubtful look, before he put his hand into the bag.

Yutaka’s heartbeat picked up pace. He really hoped this was going to turn out as funny as it had in his imagination. Shou talked about his AV watching habits openly, yet he got flustered by things like looking at a bandmate’s photobook. Yutaka was curious into which category this gift would fall. A part of him really was curious how Shou felt about these things, although that intention had been secondary of course. Yutaka was mostly aiming for a laugh here.

Shou felt around and his eyes widened in a comical expression. He was clearly putting on a show for their viewers, but it still made Yutaka feel giddy with anticipation.

“Well, I know exactly what this feels like”, Shou observed. “But I doubt …”

He pulled the gift out of the bag.

“Oh, never mind”, he said and held the flesh-coloured dildo up for the cameras. Yutaka wondered, if they were going to blur it. He had gone for a naturalistic look. “This is exactly what it felt like.”

“You said you wanted something useful”, Yutaka said, pleased with himself. Even from where he was seated, he could see that the comment section was going wild. “And this is the only one of the gifts you can actually use.”

“Oi!”, Jun protested.

Yutaka looked at him with a stern expression.

“Name one thing you can actually use an acrylic stand for”, he challenged him.

“That … that thing isn’t much better”, Jun said and pointed to the dildo, that Shou was still weighting in his hand.

“Well, I can name one use for it at least”, Yutaka countered. “If you want me to elaborate …”

“Shut up!”, Jun shouted and nearly broke down on his table with laughter. He always laughed harder, when he felt embarrassed.

Kenji was cackling as well.

Shou put the dildo down on Kenji’s photobook quite carefully.

“I thought the other presents were giving me the finger already, but this one takes the message of ‘Go fuck yourself’ to a whole new level.”

Yutaka couldn’t help laughing. This was what he had always liked about Shou. He was funny, not just when it came to writing shows and developing concepts, but he was also spontaneous and never missed a beat. Secretly, Yutaka had hoped he would get a little more flustered about the present, but he took it with dignity; not giving away how he felt about this kind of toy in general.

“You’re welcome”, he said.

“But isn’t it too big?”, Kenji chipped in. “I mean, look at how big it is! And Shou is so small!”

“Fuck you too, Kenji”, Shou huffed.

“Seriously, get up, get up!”, Kenji shouted.

Shou sighed loudly but got up from his seat.

Yutaka snatched the dildo and held it up next to Shou’s hip for comparison.

“Kenji’s right”, he agreed. “If you shove it up your ass, it’s practically going to come back out of your mouth.”

“Oh god, do you have to talk like that!”, Jun complained hysterically. “Just put that thing away.”

Yutaka noticed that he eyed the dildo as if it was a weapon that might attack him anytime.

“There is no way it will fit!”, Kenji repeated. “It’s even bigger than Jun. Look at the girth. And Shou’s anus is so small!”

“Could we not discuss my asshole in public?”, Shou asked and sat down again.

Kenji leaned over the table and formed a small circle with his fingers, that he held right into the camera. “It’s this tiny!”, he shouted.

Yutaka turned and slapped the dildo right into Jun’s face.

Jun started screaming.

Yutaka laughed maliciously.

“Kenji, stop that, put your hand down”, Shou scolded, but he had to laugh in spite of himself.

“Take that thing out of my face, you are being gross!”, Jun shouted, while Yutaka still tried to rub the toy against Jun’s face. Jun raised his arms to defend himself, but he did it so uncoordinatedly, that he nearly fell off his chair.

“It’s not gross. It hasn’t even been used”, Yutaka disagreed. “Yet.”

“Don’t make me think of it!”, Jun protested.

“He’s not going to use it. It’s too big”, Kenji insisted once again.

The only one, who didn’t say anything about possibly using it or not, was Shou himself. It only made Yutaka more curious.

Jun finally lowered his arms to stop fighting and Yutaka lost interest immediately. He put the dildo back down onto the photobook. He still wondered, if they had blurred it. If so, his attack on Jun must have looked pretty ridiculous to the audience.

“You still have to chose your favourite”, Yutaka pointed out.

“Right!”, Kenji agreed. “Please pick your favourite gift.”

“It’s really going to be a tough decision”, Jun said. As usual, he sounded nervous for no specific reason.

Shou stared down on his gifts with an indifferent yet somehow resigning expression.

Yutaka licked his lips. He wasn’t sure what Shou was going to pick. Of course, it would be the gift of which the choice would be funniest to the fans. Shou was that type of person. Yutaka felt oddly stressed, because he himself wouldn’t know how to play off any of the choices as a joke. Maybe he’d pick Jun’s acrylic stand and claim it was at least good for throwing things at.

“I pick the dildo”, Shou finally said after a long pause. “It’s an awful present, but it’s the only one where I don’t have to see one of you idiots.”

“I knew you’d like it, homo”, Yutaka said smugly, but he couldn’t deny that he felt a little surprised. He would have expected Shou to be too uptight to even joke about it. Just sometimes, he wondered about Shou sexual orientation, but he had never dared to ask.

One of the staff members rushed in to collect the items from Shou’s desk to create space for him, although they had already reached the end of the stream anyway. The opening of the gifts had been the climax so to speak.

“That was it for today”, Shou started and Yutaka tuned out while he continued talking next to him. Shou talked a lot on these programs. Occasionally, Yutaka felt like he might as well stay home. A nap would have been a nice alternative.

He only sprung back into life to wave everyone goodbye and wish them a good night. He himself had to suppress a yawn.

“Ah, today was fun, wasn’t it?”, Jun asked as the cameras stopped running. He seemed to have forgotten that someone had slapped a dildo into his face earlier.

“Did you enjoy your birthday, Shou?”, Kenji asked.

“You could have tried a little harder with the presents”, Shou pointed out. “But thank you for participating.” He always scaled down his grumpy act when they were in private as if he was worried it was his duty to motivate them and tell them they did a good job as their band leader. Neither of them had ever viewed Shou as that type of leader, though, and he always seemed a bit helpless when he tried to thank them. Yutaka thought that it was somehow adorable, though.

“Well, I’m going to remove my paint before we leave”, Kenji announced.

“I’m coming with you”, Jun agreed and jumped up.

The staff members were busy carrying the camera equipment out of the room. Yutaka always felt a little uncomfortable watching them do actual work, while he just earned his money sitting around and letting Shou do the talking. He felt useless, but if he offered to help, he’d mostly be in the way, because he never knew where to put the equipment and one time, he had even dropped a pretty expensive mic.

Shou got up and stretched himself. He always seemed bothered by sitting for too long, but it was probably only because of his bad posture.

He looked around the room.

“Did you see where they put the gifts?”, he asked.

“What?”, Yutaka teased. “Are you that eager to look at Kenji’s nudes at home? Just follow him on Instagram like everyone else.”

“No, of course not, I want the dildo”, Shou said. He spoke seriously and not like he was joking at all. It was hard to tell, though, because he was still looking around the room instead of facing Yutaka.

Yutaka’s throat felt oddly tight.

“You do?”, he asked, keeping his voice flat to not give away his emotions.

“Sure”, Shou confirmed. He walked around the tables and started checking the floor as if the staff might just have dropped his gifts.

Yutaka got up awkwardly as well, leaning against the table as he watched Shou. He didn’t really know what to do with his body, but it felt wrong to just remain seated.

“I wasn’t lying, it’s the best present. I mean, I always wanted to get a proper dildo, but then couldn’t bring myself to actually spend the money. I’ve been using a plug for years.” Shou was just rambling on while walking the room that was now empty aside from them. He didn’t look at Yutaka. “Not one of those small, glittery ones, mind you. You know, the mean-looking, black ones, that are more spikey.”

He turned around and indicated a quite impressive size considering he was only talking about a plug.

“You know?”, he repeated and looked at Yutaka so expectantly, as if he really assumed he knew exactly what kind of sex toy Shou was talking about. He’d probably seen it in AVs before and assumed the rest of the world watched as much porn as him.

Yutaka shrugged, hoping to look more knowledgeable than he was.

He tried not to imagine Shou using anything dildo-like on himself. How flushed he would be and how aroused and how naked.

“Glad my present turned out to be …” He cleared his throat. “… pleasing.”

Shou turned around again, continuing his pacing through the room.

“I just wish you hadn’t picked one that’s the size of Godzilla’s cock”, he complained.

“Oh no, it’s not. Godzilla’s cock was too expensive”, Yutaka said dryly.

Shou laughed.

“Seriously, I wonder if Kenji is right though. I might not be practiced enough to make it fit.”

Yutaka licked his lips. Shou’s casualness made him insecure. He did not want to think about how practiced Shou was in this regard or what that practice looked like in detail.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you were actually into gay sex toys”, he huffed out to defend himself.

Shou turned around again and frowned.

“What are you talking about?”, he asked, sounding annoyed. “It’s a toy. It doesn’t have a gender. It says nothing about your sexual orientation. It’s gay when you are with another man. But when I’m doing it by myself, there is no other man involved. There is nothing gay about enjoying some additional stimulation. It’s physically pleasing regardless of whom you are attracted to.”

As much sense as Shou’s words made, they still confused Yutaka. He felt a disappointment, that surprised himself. He hadn’t gotten the gift with a certain intention after all. It had been meant as a joke, something that would make the fans laugh.

“If you say so”, he mumbled, making it sound sarcastic. He felt like he wanted to avenge some sort of hurt that he couldn’t quite name. Shou’s statement hadn’t invalidated him in any way after all. “I just wasn’t expecting it from you.”

“Oh, trust me, if you can do it by yourself, I’ve tried”, Shou said.

Yutaka tried to laugh, but his throat felt too tight for it to come out naturally. It sounded as if he was coughing.

“Whatever”, he said, scared that Shou would offer any more details that he wouldn’t know how to deal with.

“I didn’t take you to be this prudish”, Shou bit out sharply, seemingly aware that Yutaka was trying to change the topic.

He had crossed the room completely now and had stopped short in front of the tables again.

His words were clearly meant as an accusation. Yutaka felt like they were fighting, but he didn’t know about what. He felt angry at Shou, although he couldn’t explain what kind of reaction he had been hoping for. And Shou seemed angry at him, although Yutaka felt like he had stayed pretty neutral.

“Well, not all of us need to stick to toys to enjoy themselves”, he said, although he knew it was Shou’s weak spot. He was sensitive about not feeling attractive enough to be desirable to others. It was the kind of comment, that was aiming to hurt Shou, even though Yutaka still couldn’t explain his reasons for that.

“So, you prefer real cock?”, Shou shot back immediately.

The question came so unexpectedly that it left Yutaka speechless.

It wasn’t what he had meant to say, but he didn’t know if he was supposed to deny it either. Shou had sounded angry, but also a little insecure. Yutaka couldn’t tell what answer he was hoping for. The mood shift had come too suddenly.

“I …”, he stuttered. “I mean … I did before, yes. Sex with men, I mean. By no means often, though. I …”

He broke off, because he didn’t know what else to say. He had wanted to tell Shou for a long time already, but he had never known how to bring it up. He hadn’t been sure about his reaction. Whenever it was not outright introduced as a joke, the topic of homosexuality always seemed to make Shou somewhat uncomfortable.

Shou nodded.

“I thought so”, he said quietly. He no longer sounded angry at all. “I’ve always wondered.”

“I was wondering how you would react to the dildo”, Yutaka confessed. “I was curious.”

Shou walked towards Yutaka and sat down on the table next to him. His feet were dangling just a few centimetres above the floor. Again, he was sitting hunched over.

“How does it feel?”, he asked. “Sex with another man?”

Yutaka shrugged. Both of them were looking into the same direction instead of facing each other.

“Good.” He paused. “I mean, it’s much the same as sex with women. It depends on the partner and the situation. But generally speaking, it’s good.”

“I always felt silly”, Shou confessed. Yutaka didn’t know when their conversation had turned this quiet and serious. Shou right next to him seemed fragile all of a sudden and Yutaka wanted to hug him, and was scared he’d fall apart under his touch all the same. He remained sitting still.

“I’m attracted to men like I’m attracted to women, but I never had sex with a guy. I just don’t know how to get there. It’s like I’m still the same sad virgin I was in my early twenties. Like, a half-virgin. I turned 37 today and still haven’t unlocked half of my sexuality.”

Yutaka snorted with laughter, although he knew that Shou was serious.

“I thought I’d feel less stupid if I used a proper dildo at least. Like, less as if it’s all just in my head.”

Yutaka snorted again and shook his head.

“You define your sexuality yourself. It’s nothing you have to unlock”, he pointed out. “And what happened to toys being inherently genderless?”

“It’s a silicone cock, Yutaka”, Shou said. “That’s gay.”

Yutaka burst out laughing. Suddenly, he felt very affectionate towards Shou.

“I should probably ask the staff where they put it”, Shou added and sighed.

“Really?”, Yutaka mocked. “You’re just going to ask where they put the sex toy you were meaning to stuff up your ass?”

Shou groaned and made a face, that caused his nose to wrinkle. He still wore his makeup, which usually made him more conventionally attractive, but once he made faces, he looked more like himself again. In Yutaka’s opinion, that made him a lot cuter too.

“You are right, I should just write it off as lost. Too bad, tonight promised to be fun.”

Yutaka’s neck felt hot at the thought of Shou actually planning to use the dildo tonight.

He pushed himself off the table, so he could face Shou, who kept his eyes lowered.

“You know you don’t need to have sex with another man to validate that part of your sexuality or your identity, right?”, Yutaka assured.

Shou nodded reluctantly.

“Yes, intellectually, I know that.”

“And you wouldn’t do anything stupid you’d regret just to prove something to yourself, right?”, Yutaka carried on.

Shou nodded again.

“I’m not stupid”, he muttered.

“And it still means so much to you?”, Yutaka asked.

Shou finally looked up. He wasn’t wearing contact lenses tonight and his eyes were dark and clear.

“It does”, he confirmed. “I’m curious. But I don’t just want to do it with anyone. Then it wouldn’t be so hard. I want it to be with someone I feel comfortable with. Someone I care about and who’s willing to put up with me when I’m being awkward.”

“Yes”, Yutaka confirmed. “Sounds like a dildo alright.”

Shou reached out to slap him.

“Asshole”, he said with a slight smirk.

“Seriously, though”, Yutaka said. “It’s my present that got lost, so I feel like I have to compensate you.”

Hesitantly he reached out and took hold of Shou’s hand. It felt warm and Yutaka hoped that his palm didn’t feel sweaty. He was nervous.

“Let’s go home and celebrate your birthday properly, what do you say?”

He looked at Shou and for a moment feared that he would pull back and get angry at him. Not for liking guys, at least in that regard they seemed safe now. But for risking their band and their friendship and offering something to Shou he might not even want.

“You know, the dildo was nice”, Shou said and broke into a wide, unashamed grin. “But I told you, it seemed too big for me anyway.”

#Golden Bomber #Kiryuuin Shou #Kyan Yutaka #kirikyan #fanfiction #fanfic

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years

Text

Motion Sickness Chapter 84

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I watched my hand tremor.

It could have been caused by so many things. The meds, Mother's influence on me, or something else entirely.

My hand still shook.

I clenched it into a fist. I wanted to draw my weapon but there was nothing to slay. I was sick. And what was the best I could hope for in terms of recovery? Nothing in the longest term. Maybe even nothing on the shortest term view, either.

Ruby and Weiss were all I had to keep me going. And they did after I ran into my sisters. That had been hard. It had been difficult to see them. It had jarred me more than a little to see Lavender, Violet, and Saphron. I could only imagine what seeing the others would do to me. And I was doomed to run into them eventually.

I could feel them on the surface of my mind. Crawling around on the surface of my skin.

"Launch is in two months," Ironwood debriefed. "And I have more to share with you. However…" he leveled a look at me. He wasn't sure if he could share it with me. Everyone else, sure. But me, the possible traitor, it was harder to tell.

"We can trust him, James. He brought the relic to us after all," Oscar tapped his cane against the ground in an Ozpin like fashion. "And he killed Tyrian. Who knows what damage he could have caused in the city if Cloud hadn't stopped him."

"Very well. It concerns the winter maiden. She passed. Winter Schnee is now the winter maiden."

"Is she well…?" Weiss trailed off. Concerned for her sister. I watched Ruby give her hand a comforting squeeze from my position closest to the door.

"She's recuperating," Ironwood informed her. "The process of transferring the power is not entirely easy on a person. Fria is gone, however."

The winter maiden is dead. Long live the winter maiden.

"Should be easier to hide this way. The bunker was a bit conspicuous," I muttered, arms crossed by the elevator. "I was able to find out what was in it. There's no reason Cinder wouldn't have been able to learn about it too."

"I should hope that trade military secrets are harder to come by than that and that you are the exception rather than the rule," Ironwood returned.

"Then be disappointed and surprised. Cinder was able to find the fall and spring maidens. Then she killed them. She's dangerous and resourceful," I shot back. "Why wouldn't she be able to find winter?"

"We'll be doing everything we can to keep Winter safe while she learns how to use her powers. In the meantime we will be relying on you and Ace Ops to hold off Cinder when she comes. Or to take her down," Ironwood calmly stated.

"She's in town according to my criminal contacts." Qrow gave me a look at that.

"You built up a network? Earned some favors?" He asked.

"Pretty much."

"How good is it?"

"It's decent but it's got holes in it. My sisters were able to dodge detection and attack us. Three of them. The same three that attacked you all in Argus."

Qrow nodded but he eyed me warily enough. Which was fair I suppose. I deserved to be watched. I needed to be watched. Who knows what might come roaring through the cracks in my psyche. At least Qrow was watching me. He was onto me. That was good news. I trusted him to do his duty when it came to me where some people like Ruby or Weiss might falter. He'd kill me if he had to. Or try to, at least. I wasn't sure where we would come up these days in a fight.

I might still have an edge on him. But he still had decades more experience than I did. I had more combat time relative to my time alive than anybody else on the planet except maybe Penny and I was pretty sure I had her beat in that department.

"What about Robyn winning the election?" Yang asked. "Are you going to tell her about the tower?"

"She knows," I said. "She found out from the same source I did. I was there."

"I need to jam these leaks…" Ironwood muttered. "Though that explains why she's been leaving the supply trucks alone and hasn't brought up changing their course anymore. How long did she find out ago?"

"Maybe a week before my voluntary incarceration. So like three or four weeks ago."

"I've got a meeting with her about keeping my council seat. I could use every edge I could get. Do you know anything else, Mr. Strife?"

"Not really. She's got a lie detection semblance."

Yang let out a low whistle. "That's handy."

"The range is short but it works. I saw it in action."

"I already knew that. Do you have anything else for me?" Ironwood asked.

"One of the members of the Happy Huntresses has the ability to make an invisibility field. That's about it for me, though."

Ironwood blinked. "I didn't know about that."

"I can do some more digging around. All my contacts owe me a big helping of favors."

"Do it," Ironwood ordered. "I want to know all of the Happy Huntresses' semblances."

"I can go with," Qrow grunted.

"If you insist," I returned. "I'll probably mostly just be making calls on my scroll. Not even sure if I'm headed into town but if I am I'll shoot you a message."

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I made my calls once the meeting was adjourned down in my room. I'd just come back and meet with Ironwood before the meeting he had with Robyn Hill.

"Bisque here."

"Hey Bisque. It's Cloud. I need to know about the Happy Huntresses' semblances."

"Calling in some of your favors, I see."

"Don't even start. You owe me a blank check after I pulled your asses out of that fire."

"Well you already know about May's semblance. The invisibility field. But Fiona Thyme's got this wicked matter absorption semblance. It's touch based but she can just snatch up a whole plane if she needs to. Figuratively putting it in her pocket."

"Is that all of them?" I asked.

"Not quite. They have another member. Joanna Greenleaf. Her semblance is more combat oriented. It's super strength."

I typed a note of all that in my scroll so I wouldn't forget it.

"I'll give you a call if I need anything else."

"You're all business, Cloud. You could stand to relax," Bisque voice came through the little speaker a touch teasing.

"I relax all the time. Just not with you. Nothing personal."

"Who do you relax with?" He wondered. He sounded actually curious. Too bad. I wasn't about to tell him it was my two girlfriends.

"None of your business. Is that all you can give me on the Happy Huntresses?" I asked. Ironwood would want to know more if I could get it.

"Pretty much. Maybe there are a few details I'm forgetting but that's about it," he answered. "That's the important stuff. Their semblances. They all use crossbows. Including Hill herself. The others use these staves."

"Tell me about the weapons."

"They're crossbow staves. I don't know." I could imagine him shrugging. He really was clueless. He needed to be taking in these kinds of details. It could save his life against hunters.

"What kind of bolts do they fire?" I pressed him further. "Are they magnetic accelerated rounds? Do they use dust bolts?"

"They're not magnetic or anything like that but the bolts can probably be modified with dust, yeah." He said. "A lot of weapons are like that. Easy to modify with dust. My new gun is like that too."

"How big are the bolts?" I demanded.

"Coin sized. Maybe, one tenth piece. Then they're a few inches long. Four or five. Hill's weapon has these blades on it too. It's like some kind of fan or accordian. It's got blades to either side of it. But it's a crossbow as well," he answered.

"Thanks. Keep an eye out for the people on my list and contact me as soon as you hear anything. It's important," I returned. "People could die."

"I'll let you know if I run into anything on them. Taurus hasn't been by again. He must be laying low. Not everyone has an illusionist like you do. Some of us lowly people have to play hide and seek with the law."

"Boo hoo," I deadpanned. "I feel so sorry for your terrorist asses. Just let me know about the list. These people are bad news on a good day. They don't care about faunus rights. They actively want good people to die."

"Alright, alright. We'll keep an ear to the ground. See you around, Cloud," he began to wrap up the conversation.

"Laters," I hung up on him.

I shot Ironwood a message. He fired one back almost instantly with his implant. He didn't have a scroll. He had a thing in his head. The orders were to kick back until he got some free time. He was a busy guy, after all. I practically just left one meeting with him. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late before his meeting with the leader of the Happy Huntresses. My information could give him an edge.

"Hey kid. We headed into town?" Qrow asked me.

"Doesn't look like it. I got what I needed. Just off the one phone call."

"We haven't had the chance to talk," Qrow said.

"Sorry. I guess we both were busy. Don't tell me you missed me."

"Don't give me that snark. I'm not sure I like you around my nieces. Knowing what we know now. You turned on us. Even if it wasn't on purpose. I'm not sure I like the idea of you and Ruby alone."

"Ruby keeps me sane," I defended. "I need that in my life. I'd lose it without her. I'm pretty sure she likes being alone around me, too."

"Kids don't always know what's good for them. That's when an adult like me has got to step in."

"I can't help but notice you're talking to me alone about this rather than with her. What? Do you know she wouldn't take it well?"

"Come on kid. You can't tell me you think you're good for her. Do the right thing."

"What the fuck is the right thing?" I wondered. As though this asshole knew what the fuck the right thing was.

"Staying away from the people you could hurt. I did it cuz' of my semblance when I was younger. Hell, I did it my whole life. It was the right thing to do," he lectured gruffly.

"So I should leave again? That would break her heart," I argued back.

"In the short term. But she would be alive. Or doesn't that matter to you?" He asked rhetorically.

"It means the world to me," I countered. And it did.

"Then do the right thing. Stay away from her. Even though it hurts you. Even though it might drive you mad. I've been there. It sucks but it's what things like you and I have to do." He didn't call us people. We didn't deserve to be called such.

"I can't. I just got her back."

"Damn it, boy! It's what you should do! She'd move on eventually. Even if you never do," he was shouting at me in my room now.

"Uncle Qrow?" There was a small but firm voice from behind him. It was Ruby. Her eyes were fierce. "Leave him alone."

Qrow sighed. He shook his head but he left. He knew he couldn't beat her. It was what she wanted.

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"Cloud?"

"Ruby," I answered.

"Do you think you'll have kids?" She asked. She laid on my chest in my Atlas Academy bunk. She was so small. She fit comfortably on top of me and I traced small circles on her back with my fingers as we lay together.

"Probably not. I hate my father for consigning me to this." I waved my free hand down at my body. "It would be immoral for me to have children. To do the same thing to somebody else. It would be selfish," I responded.

"What if Salem was gone?" She pressed on. Her palm flat against my chest. I needed her to understand but I didn't want to break her big ol' Ruby heart.

"Well… maybe. That's a big if, though. I've never really thought about it. Where's this coming from?"

"I've always wanted a big family," she returned. "And I want you."

"Gotcha…" I was quiet for a long time but it seemed like she was content to wait for me to speak again, her big silver eyes looking up at me. Something large in them… so I thought about it. Mostly aloud but I gave it some thought. "I don't know what to tell you, Ruby. What if I'm just passing along the worst parts of my life? The mind control? I can't do that to somebody. I wouldn't wish that on my enemies. Let alone my own children."

"What if you're not? It would be a new life. It would be something wonderful." She put her chin on my chest and looked up at me while I held her in my arms. I paused in tracing shapes on her.

"Another big if. At least to me," I confirmed.

"Do you want kids, though. Do you want them? You've just been bringing up reasons you shouldn't have them."

"I really don't know. I hate my own parents. Like I really hate them for doing this to me." I gestured at my body like it meant something. "It's hard to imagine my own children not hating me. I don't want that, couldn't live with myself that way."

"We might never know unless we try."

"Could you do that to someone that you love? Could you do that to your children? Experiment with their life like that?"

"It was always going to be an experiment. That's what having children is."

"That's fucked," I said. "A baby would have no defense against Salem. We'd be raising Saphron or any of my sisters again."

"What if you already destroyed her body so much that she wasn't capable of that. What if you got the ideal scenario."

"We don't even know if that will work…“

"So, ‘no.’ You don't want kids."

"I don't want to shut you down. Not if it's something you always wanted. You could always find somebody else. Especially after I'm dead."

She hit my chest with her tiny fist. "I don't want somebody else. I need you."

"I don't know what to tell you. I might not be long for this world. I want you to be ready for that."

"I don't want to lose you. I can't imagine my whole life without you. Like that last month. It sucked. It hurt so much. I can't imagine that for years and years."

"Ruby… I will die from this," I leveled it against her. The raw truth.

"Stop saying that," she protested.

"Ruby…" I trailed.

"I don't want you to go," she dropped a nail in my coffin with that. It felt like she took years off my life by saying that line.

"I've got to go." I returned gently. "You'll still have Weiss," I reminded her softly. I kissed at her but her lips didn't move against my own. I drew back after a moment. The kiss was sad and passionless. I planted another on her forehead soft and reassuring as I could make it.

"I need you both. I told you that," she fired back.

I squeezed her close to me. She let out a little groan as I did, it was practically a squeak.

"I don't want to die either. I'd rather stay here with you," I sighed. "But this is the burden of my life. The curse of my birth. One of them at least."

"Sometimes it doesn't seem like that. Sometimes it seems like you want to die."

"Sometimes I do. Maybe a little. Can you blame me?"

I realized Ruby was crying. Soft silvery tears falling from her eyes like mercury. I brushed them away as best as I could. It left my thumb and her cheeks wet.

"Rubes…"

"I don't want you to go. I'll find a way to save you."

"I hate to see your heart breaking over this. Over me."

"You're worth it. You know that, don't you? You're worth getting upset over losing," she pleaded with me.

I was human garbage. Why couldn't she see that? I was trash and I was meant to be thrown away. That's what I was supposed to do and be. It's what would happen, too.

"Stop. It." She snarled up at me. She hit me again. Fairly hard. It was like she could read my thoughts. She surprised me. I looked down at her in shock. Her fury surprised me. It was raw and full of power. I could taste it on her aura where before there had been sadness and melancholy there was a touch of rage now.

"Rubes…"

"You're worth it. I won't abandon you. I'll not leave you, my loved one."

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-WG

#rwby #ff7 #ffvii #motion sickness #ruby rose x jaune arc x weiss schnee #war of the roses #white rose #whiterose #whiteknight #white knight #lancaster #james ironwood #qrow branwen #biggs #cloud!jaune arc #sephiroth!jaune arc #cloud strife

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chvndlcr · 3 years

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hey everyone, i’m elle! i’m in the est timezone. i’m nonbinary and i use she/her pronouns. i’m very bad at doing short intro posts but i’m gonna try to keep these short and sweet. so now let’s talk about my boy chan. he is my oldest oc - i've been writing him since 2014.

[ alex fitzalan, cis man, 22, he/him ] did you see who just walked in? it was that SENIOR, the ╳ + ASSIDUOUS AND - GUARDED ╳ one? you know, the one who lives OFF CAMPUS, CHANDLER LINWOOD! i heard they are majoring in BUSINESS and they can’t wait to get out of here to FIGURE OUT WHAT HE WANTS TO DO. crap! stop staring, here they come!

name. james chandler linwood // when chandler was five, he found out about middle names at school. after asking his dad what his was, he immediately decided that chandler was a way cooler name than james, and has gone by his middle name ever since. one of his pet peeves is people referring to him as james. hometown. wayzata, mn // suburb of minneapolis major. business // chandler has no clue what he wants to do with his life. he’s been doing some photography gigs on the side since his freshman year of college, so he decided it wouldn’t hurt to get a degree in business so he could run his own shit better. he knows he doesn’t want to do photography as a career long-term, though. birthday. february 11th, 1999 // twenty two years old. gender. cis man orientation. biromantic asexual // chan is completely out as ‘bi’. most people assume that means he’s bisexual and he doesn’t correct that idea. he’s a lot quieter about being asexual. a lot of people don’t understand what it is, and ask invasive questions, and he’s a naturally private person who wants to avoid all of that entirely. hobbies. photography, cooking, video games phobias. acrophobia // fear of heights allergy. bee venom

[ BIO ] [tw. abuse/neglect, alcoholism, drug addiction, self harm, depression]

chandler is the only child of john and susan linwood. susan is a doctor while john works for an advertising company. susan has always been a bit ‘out there’, with no brain-to-mouth filter and some very problematic viewpoints and opinions. john started drinking when chan was eight. actually, he relapsed into drinking again, but chandler doesn’t know he had an alcohol problem before that. chandler knew his parents loved him; one of their better parenting traits was making sure he didn’t forget that. but they weren’t mentally present enough to be very good parents. gradually his dad became angry and violent while he was drinking and that, coupled with chandler’s rebellious teenage years, made the linwood home a less and less safe place for chandler.

in high school, he was known for hanging out with the “wrong crowd”. he partied a lot, trying to mentally escape from his home life and normal teen angst stuff. he often mouthed off to teachers and got in trouble on a regular basis. but he also worked really hard in school, taking mostly AP classes while managing As and Bs. not many people knew what to make of that, and acted like he was just a troublemaker that was naturally gifted. but in reality he was juggling challenging school work, a busy social life, and doing all of the cooking and cleaning at home.

another thing chan had a reputation for was quickly rotating through girlfriends (and boyfriends, but there weren’t anywhere near as many guys to date at his suburban high school). but it wasn’t the situation everyone thought it was. as relationships became more physically intimate, he became more uncomfortable. as soon as sex was suggested, he would end the relationship. in hindsight, this wasn’t the best way to approach dating. but at the time, he had no idea asexuality was a thing and that he didn’t owe anyone sex just because they were in a relationship.

his longest high school relationship was madison. they had mutual friends and started hanging out. madison had a fairly obvious drug problem, but that didn’t bother chandler. a part of him was more attracted to her because of it, although he’d never admit that to anyone. plus she was asexual. this not only was how he found out that was a sexual orientation, but it also took a lot of anxiety out of the idea of dating and chandler fell hard.

madison easily grew jealous. she was biphobic, hated sharing chandler with anyone, and was often bossy and controlling. yet chandler noticed none of the red flags until it was too late. by the time he started trying to untangle himself from her, he couldn’t. he was scared what she would do to herself if he ended things, and as she became physically violent he was scared of what she would do to him as well. since he couldn’t get out of the situation, and had never learned healthy ways of coping with the stress and trauma in his life, he turned to binge drinking and self harm.

his way out came in the form of an acceptance letter from suffolk university. as soon as he graduated high school, he left for boston and never looked back.

while he had a great inner drive in high school, that came to a screeching halt once he started college. his motivation had always been to get out of wayzata. but now that he was finally free, he had no idea what to do. at the same time, he was dealing with the aftermath of both his dad and his ex-girlfriend’s abuse towards him.

while he continued pushing forward, he never found that motivation to really care about school or his future again. he’s in his final year of college and still hasn’t figured out what he wants to do with his life. he feels stuck and frustrated.

most people don’t know about his parents, or his struggles with mental health and self harm. he’s in total denial that he has a problem with alcohol. he simply doesn’t open up easily, preferring to surround himself with a shell that can become spiky if he feels uncomfortable. but he’s always cracking jokes and acting like he doesn’t take anything seriously, putting up a front so nobody looks too closely at the cracks.

[ HEADCANONS ]

while chandler is shit at taking care of his own needs, he’s amazing at taking care of other people. he will hold your hair back at a party while you throw up, make sure you drink enough water and electrolytes, then make you breakfast in the morning. he’s definitely a bit of a ‘mom friend’, although he doesn’t think he is.

he may act apathetic, but he cares. a lot. he’s a rather empathetic person. unfortunately he has the emotional intelligence of a spoon, so this isn’t always a good thing

sometimes when he’s drunk, chandler starts rambling about video game and/or cartoon conspiracy theories

his yearbook quote was “would you woohoo me in sims yes or no”

also he really likes cooking for other people so if he asks to cook for you please just humor him and say yes

[ WANTED CONNECTION ]

some sort of family member // he’s an only child, so probably a cousin. they don’t have to be from minnesota.

exes // guys, girls, nonbinary people....doesn’t matter.

fake relationship // for some reason, these two pretend they’re dating. maybe more happens, maybe not.

restaurant service // they can’t cook, so they’re always coming over and eating what chandler makes.

roommate // they could be the best of friends or hate each others guts. lots of room to find the right dynamic

best friend // one of the only people chan trusts, and they know everything about him

classmate // self explanatory

[ DISCLAIMERS ]

i know some people get really touchy about aces being portrayed as sex repulsed so often. asexuality is a lack of sexual attraction, that’s it. some aces like sex. however, chandler does not and that’s okay too!

also i know he has some heavy topics in his writing. i will tag any post that involve these topics accordingly, and always do my absolute best to handle this kind of material in a respectful and empathetic way.

[ FINAL NOTES ]

so yeah that’s chandler. so much for making this short, but i actually left a lot of small details out. please like this post or send me a message to start plotting with my son.

#suffolksintro #(intro.)

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beastars-takes · 4 years

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Zootopia Takes: The Power of Really Liking Each Other

Our main event, Beastars Takes, will resume soon, but in the meantime I want to talk about one of my favorite movie relationships:

Has this been talked about to death by other people? Yes. But this is my blog and I write it for free so I can do what I want.

Note: this is not a shipping post--this is just an examination of their canonical relationship in the movie and why it rules.

At first glance, this is your typical enemies-to-friends story. I love those. But while the typical arc tends to involve two characters who can’t stand each other, who eventually develop a grudging respect for one another (often through some kind of shared ordeal) and maybe thaw into actual friendliness at the end. Zootopia packs all of that into the first half--by the midway point they are clearly not just allies, but friends, and by the end of the film they’re inseparable.

It’s important to recognize this isn’t just for the hell of it, or just to be cute--the closeness and trust they build is the linchpin of their success in the final moments of the movie.

All the reasons why, after the jump.

Something I talked about in the previous post was the messaging of Zootopia, and I don’t want to rehash it too much here. It’s a movie about prejudice, and the work it takes to overcome it. A key theme (one that it shares with Beastars, incidentally) is that friendships with those who are different from you are hard--but they are worth it.

Part 1: They Hate Each Other! (Right?)

Now...it goes without saying that when these two first meet, they bounce off each other hard. Each is seeing the other at their absolute worst.

Judy can’t stand Nick because he takes every bit of optimism she has about this world and throws it back in her face. She want to use him as a prop in her vision of an equal society, where “not all foxes” are crooks. He laughs at her. He humiliates her. All he has to do is walk away, but he takes his time. He twists the knife.

For his part, Nick sees a laughably ineffectual bunny who condescends to him and threatens him with jail for the crime of...humiliating her. She may not personally be a threat to him, but she wields the institutional power of the ZPD--a power he has plenty of reason to be afraid of--and she does it irresponsibly.

On first viewing, Nick inarguably wins this exchange. He avoids arrest, reads her to absolute filth and leaves her stuck in cement.

And he makes her really sad. Nice!

But, and I don’t pretend to be the first person to have pointed this out, on second viewing it’s obvious he can guess her story so well because it’s basically his story. The only difference, in his mind, is that he’s accepted the reality that he’ll never be allowed to live the life he wants, while she is still vainly pursuing hers.

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but the people I’ve met who have always most pissed me off are the people who remind me of things I hate about myself. The people who seem to embody the flaws I’ve worked to minimize. Nick’s naive hope is what has brought him the most pain in his life. He sees this bunny full of the same naive hope, surmises that she’s facing the same failures he did and yet stubbornly refusing to learn from them. It’s irritating.

Pictured: irritation.

Maybe I am projecting, but if Nick is anything like me, he probably didn’t walk away entirely happy from this exchange. Yes, he “won,” but he was also reminded of everything about himself that he least wanted to think about.

Part 2: They Are Not Very Good at Hating Each Other

So, the thing about Judy is, she is naive. By default, she assumes people are her friend. But she’s not stupid.

Nick assumes she is stupid, not least because she hasn’t wisely given up on her dreams like he has, and...he learns that she maybe not so fun to pick on after all.

So they wind up doing the first part of this enemies-to-friends routine, allies of necessity.

So, naturally, because he is Him, he makes it his mission to torment her.

In fact, we get two whole scenes where all he does he does is watch her struggle and make this face.

The first read of this behavior is that he’s just enjoying the failures of someone he hates. He says as much later. But I would also argue--from a viewer’s perspective--Judy is ridiculously entertaining and charming throughout these encounters. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and it’s hard not to like people like that.

Is there more happening here than just schadenfreude? I won’t pretend to know for sure. But worth considering.

By the time they’re investigating the limousine, his sabotage has diminished into something more like gentle trolling. And you can’t see this face, in context...

...and tell me she isn’t starting to like him, at least a little bit.

He’s also starting to help! By the time they’re past the minor detour of almost being murdered by a mob boss, he’s entirely cooperative, helping her conduct interviews and look for clues. The movie doesn’t call particular attention to this, but it almost did.

Finally, let’s look at Nick’s behavior when they’re being chased by a rabid jaguar. He could have absolutely booked it, with no regard for the cop who was blackmailing him into helping her.

These moments go by so quickly, but they’re hugely revealing of his true character, even before he defends her in front of Chief Bogo.

He picks her up when she falls.

More importantly, when he gets to the skytram, his first instinct isn’t to jump in--it’s to hold the door for her:

He sees she can’t make it, and she even tells him to leave without her. He doesn’t. He holds the door until he can’t anymore, and as a result he’s nearly killed.

Nick is a good boy.

Part 3: They Are Friends Now

She save his life, so he saves her job. This is a key story beat, and it’s a Disney movie, so there’s not a lot of subtlety (except how the specular highlights in Judy’s eyes fade as Bogo asks for her badge--the light literally goes out of her. Go watch).

But it’s such a sweet moment of teamwork--he was contemptuous toward her from the start because she believed in herself. This is the first time she’s simply given up in the whole movie, and he steps up. Because he believes in her now.

And she believes in him! Or, she wants to.

Judy’s supportiveness here is sweet, but it’s also still a little selfish. It’s not that different from their interaction at the ice cream shop, really: she wants to meet a fox who defies stereotypes, who is easy for her to like. Someone who ticks all the boxes to prove her family wrong.

When he starts being more foxy, later--self-identifying as a predator, showing his claws, challenging her--we learn that her supportiveness is conditional.

Am I being too hard on her? Sure. She’s been in bunny country her whole life. She’s new to this and she’s trying. But that’s where she’s at.

But still! They’re friends now. They’re no longer pretending they don’t like each other. Judy’s openly encouraging, Nick is fully in her corner, and we get a few cute sequences where they keep being more and more impressed with each other.

He’s still not above affectionately messing with her, and she’s getting worse at pretending to dislike it.

And he trusts her enough to let her flush him down a toilet...

Which gives us this heartbreaking shot where he thinks she’s drowned. He cares a whole lot about this bunny.

She likes him too! Enough to want to team up on a more permanent basis. This is pretty standard-fare enemies-to-friends stuff now, but considering where we started, and considering they’ve known each other for all of two days? Not bad!

It’s clear this moment means far more to him than it does to her, too. It’s actually taken very little persuading from Judy to get him to step up and be brave and helpful and trustworthy. The fact that he’s turned around and opened up to her so fast suggests he’s been ready for an opportunity like this for his entire life, and never got it. I mean, look at his face.

The foundational flaw in her worldview is still there, though, and it’s about to do almost-irreparable damage to their whirlwind friendship.

Part 5: Fuck!

So Judy gives her press conference, and gives a great example of why police usually answer every question with “the matter is currently under investigation,” or “we’re not prepared to comment further at this time.” Honestly, though, this is on Bogo--I had coworkers who once did some press interviews, and they spent over a week doing media training. They didn’t even break a major kidnapping case. So, you know.

So she repeats some weird race science stuff she assumes is true because someone in a lab coat said it, which is amusingly similar to how race science (or “race realism”) often propagates--people with low-rent doctorates from crappy universities write a bunch of scientifically shoddy material and people say “well, he has a PhD!”

And then Nick has a PTSD flashback? I don’t want to be irresponsible and make an armchair diagnosis, but also...that is absolutely what is depicted on screen.

You’re not immediately “better” after something like this, which is why I cut Nick a bit of slack when he basically blows up their friendship.

Judy...doesn’t get it. It’s completely heartbreaking, because she likes him, and doesn’t understand why he’s mad, and isn’t self-reflective enough to stop and think maybe he has a point. Not until it’s too late. He tests her, and she fails.

Their friendship has always been a little inequal. He’s trusted her with everything, shown her his deepest vulnerabilities. She’s never trusted him completely.

So he leaves.

I don’t want to impugn her professionalism by suggesting she wouldn’t have quit the force if she hadn’t had that friendship-ending fight, but, you know. Maybe.

This is the second time she gives up, and this time he’s not there to pick her up again.

Judy is intensely goal-oriented, and I don’t think she realized what Nick’s friendship meant to her, as the first person in the city who truly believed in her, until it was too late. Judy is sweet and well-meaning but emotional intelligence is not really her strong suit (which is actually cool to see in a female Disney protagonist, imo).

So, while it would have been nice for her to track Nick down immediately and apologize, I think it makes sense for them to spend time apart. Her own self-perception has been shattered, and she needs time to figure out how she went so wrong.

So when she does come back, she delivers one of the best animated apologies I’ve ever seen. Only AtLA compares, in my mind.

Part 6: They Are Much Better Friends Now

Nick forgives her, because of course he does.

(Sidebar--people talk about how he kept her carrot pen the whole time they were apart. He also kept his handkerchief from Ranger Scouts, AND he only wears shirts that match the wallpaper in his mother’s house. He desperately needs a hug.)

Credit to Nick also, who can’t fight and has no police training whatsoever, who has multiple times been almost killed helping her out, now agreeing to help her out again. She’s not even threatening him with jail this time!

We, the viewers, are then rewarded with this great montage of them being best friends.

She’s finally stopped pretending not to be amused by his shenanigans.

(One other sidebar here--Nick is canonically a really gentle character. For all their adventuring, this is only time in the movie he gets physical with anyone: to protect the bunny. Again, he definitely can’t fight and immediately gets smacked across the room. But it’s the thought that counts, right?)

Per the post title, more visual evidence of them really liking each other.

Judy trips on a dead body, and here we get the second time in the movie that Judy tells Nick to leave without her, and he won’t--this time, he refuses explicitly.

Which then gives us the opportunity for the big moment--the culmination of all this care and intimacy and trust.

In order to con Bellwether, she lets him stalk her, and bite her throat. This has been often pointed out, but it’s important--throughout the movie, Judy’s wriggling rabbit nose has been used as a signifier of fear and suspicion. It wriggles when she’s spying on Nick at the beginning. It wriggles like hell when he confronts her after her press conference.

Not here. Doesn’t move. It’s a great, clearly intentional animation choice that tells a close observer (or more likely, a repeat viewer) that she’s completely unafraid.

She trusts him.

I could write a whole other post about how well-scripted this movie is, how every scene is doing half a dozen different things, but the way the personal and the professional come together here, the way the threads of prejudice and friendship and the police case all tie together in this moment. It’s good shit.

This is basically where things end, in terms of character development, but we get a bunch more shots of them clearly adoring each other:

So there it is.

To sum up, certainly not suggesting this movie invented “characters liking each other,” or anything like that. But it goes above and beyond in portraying a friendship that’s not just one born of circumstance, one that’s authentic and unmistakably loving. Characters who enjoy spending time with each other, regardless of what’s going on around them.

I hope everyone is able to experience friendships like that. I absolutely treasure the few I have.

Appendix: The Shipping Thing

I hope I’ve made all this ship-agnostic, which was my intention. I personally like the ship, and I think the reason it resonates with people is because that love and trust and closeness is clearly there, and a romantic relationship creates a lot more easy opportunities for dialing those things up even higher.

I would also argue, if pressed, that the amount of teasing and physicality that happens reads as pretty flirty. If they were humans I knew in real life, I’d definitely think there was something going on there. But I’m an American, where touching and emotional intimacy tends to be read as romantic. Also, animals are a lot more cuddly than humans. So who knows? I think it’s perfectly reasonable to read them as platonic friends until the end of time.

But, one way or another, they love each other a lot. Shout out to this, one of the most emotionally rewarding relationships I’ve ever seen in a cartoon.

#zootopia #zootropolis #zootopia takes #judy hopps #nick wilde #disney

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quietnqueer · 4 years

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How my queerness keeps me shy

The older I get, the more self-conscious I become of how my ‘backstory’, the narrative of my life thus far, differs from most people’s. On account of my being aro/ace. I haven’t done what most adults my age have done. Never had a partner never been on a date never been kissed fucked or in any way intimately touched.

This means I find a lot of everyday adult conversation awkward, uncomfortable, alienating. Office banter social chit chat conversations with family; so much of it winds up being about people’s dating/relationship dramas their partners; the life they live in relation to a significant other. And even if you’re not currently coupled up/married, it’s assumed you’ll have had some snogs/bad dates/boyfriends in the past; that you’ve got a few sexual/romantic skeletons in your closet; and therefore, some experience to share, some anecdote to bring to the party.

But no; not me. When talk turns to ‘who was your first boyfriend?’ / ‘have you got a partner?’ / ‘how did you meet?’ / ‘so-and-so’s getting married’ / ‘ever tried online dating?’ etc. I feel my queerness acutely. I squirm, shrivel up inside, hoping that the conversation will pass me by, that no one will ask me. Because what am I supposed to say? My life hasn’t been like everybody else’s; I haven’t had those same experiences. But to admit that? To say I’ve never had a partner never been on a date never been kissed fucked or in any way intimately touched? It scares me. So, I stay schtum. Or simply smile and laugh along, pretending to be relating to straight girl drama, like I know it, I’ve been there, ‘yeah yeah yeah’.

I wish I could look people in the eye, and tell them, confidently, unabashedly, that I’m not sexually attracted to people / I’ve never had a partner / I’m not made for marriage / I’m happy being alone etc. But I dread what they’ll think/say about me; that they’ll see a loser loner lady, a social malfunction; and that they’ll feel sorry for me, pity me, because women can’t be happy alone, can they? Sad spinster souls…

I think people will think this because of what I experienced as a child/adolescent. I was a quiet/shy kid, who didn’t talk a lot at school. From the age of 10, my friends started to turn on me because of this; I wasn’t rowdy enough for them, and they didn’t want to know me no more. So, I became a loner; the girl who’d hang out on her lonesome in the library at lunch, who struggled in PE to find a partner. I experienced even more social stigma, bullying and emotional abuse as a result. Not just from my peers/former friends, but from my parents and teachers as well.

They all sent the message, overtly or covertly, that it was weird/shameful/just plain wrong, to be shy and to struggle socially, to be on my own so much. Why couldn’t I just speak up and join in? Mix well with my peers get invited to parties? I was a billy-no-mates; and there’s no worse thing when you’re a teenager…

I remain a loner to this day. And I like it. I don’t get lonely. It’s just the way I’m wired; that’s why I reckon I never felt the need to speak much at school; sure shyness definitely had something to do with it; but innately, essentially, I’m just one of those people who doesn’t need other people all that much; I’m naturally solitary.

However, I still carry some of that stigma and shame I was infected with as a child, that told me that being solitary hanging out in your own company is weird/embarrassing/just plain wrong. A part of me still holds onto the poisonous notion that my quiet solitary nature is something to be overcome, transformed, fixed. That it makes me not good enough, not a proper grown-up… ‘if only she could come out of her shell, socialise more’.

So, if I were to tell people that I’ve never had a partner never been on a date never been kissed fucked or in any way intimately touched, I worry that not only will they think me strange, because, in an allo/amatonormative society it IS strange not have experienced these things, but that they’ll put my lack of sexual/romantic experience down to the fact that I’m simply ‘too’ quiet/shy… ‘I don’t fancy anyone’ – ‘you just need to get out more’; ‘I like being alone’ – ‘you’re just saying that because you don’t know how to be with people’.

Instead of accepting my singleness/asexuality as an orientation, as just-the-way-I-am, I worry that people will instead put it down to me having a social skills problem; that they’ll think if I were to just knock back a few shots of outgoing-ness scrubbed myself up a bit left the house more, I would eventually find myself keeling over with lust, I would ‘find someone’.

I think people will think this because I used to think it myself. Before coming across asexuality and aromanticism, I did put my lack of sexual/romantic experience down to my shyness; that maybe my social emotional development was ‘stunted’ in some way, so I lacked the ability to attract people and pursue relationships. But coming across aro/ace-ness has helped me to understand that it’s not my lack of social skills that’s stopped me from dating or having sex; it’s the lack of any innate desire to. Shy people can still get crushes, they can still want relationships. I’m just not one of them; because I also happen to be aro/ace.

Now, that’s not to say that my quietness has nothing to do with my queerness; it does intersect with it; but it’s not the cause of it. Let’s say I did become more socially confident; that doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to start developing sexual/romantic attraction towards people. Personality and sexual/romantic orientation are separate things.

I know this, and as a result I feel a lot more confident in myself. But still the thought of telling anybody else, of disclosing my backstory, my sexless/dateless narrative; of coming out as asexual aromantic; it makes me queasy. ‘Cause I don’t want people to see me as I was seen at 12/13/14- years-old. As the loser loner girl, a social malfunction, who just needs to learn to speak up go out more. I worry I won’t be seen the way I want to be seen, as the woman I am now.

So, this is why when talk turns to ‘who was your first boyfriend?’ / ‘have you got a partner?’ etc. etc., I stay schtum. Hoping that the conversation will pass me by, that no one will ask me. Or I’ll simply smile and laugh along, pretending…

This is how my queerness keeps me shy.

#shy #shyness #quiet #introvert #aro #aromantic #aromanticism #ace #asexual #asexuality #aroace #single #single life #solitary #loner #socially awkward #social anxiety #asocial #acephobia

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ninafms · 4 years

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* 𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐰 , 𝐢'𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 around to posting nina’s introduction , but my theme made me upset so this will be viewed on dashboard only for now ! my name’s 𝐛𝐚𝐲 , i prefer either she / her or they / them pronouns , and i reside in the est timezone . i’m in my final year of college so sometimes i won’t be around all day , but since i only work two days and all of my classes are online , chances are i’m around ! i’m starting this little introduction at exactly 2:30am , so chances are this will be posted at like ... 4am ( lol ) , but i’m super excited to write her out as this will be my first group in about a month or so ! i’m comfortable with messaging through the im’s if that’s better for you , but we could also plot on discord if you’d like ! also , don’t forget to stream blackpink’s new single ‘ ice cream ’ with selena gomez !

💀 * [ jennie kim + cis female + she / her ] —— have you met na-young “nina” min ? they are a twenty - three year old senior currently studying business economics with a political science minor . they live on farrow house , and word around campus is that this gemini is spellbinding + perspicacious , as well as combative + malevolent . i wonder if they’ll make it out alive . biting the corner of her thumbnail when focusing , never being ashamed of back - to - back walks of shame , the infectious sound of her laughter traveling the hall .

NAME : na-young ‘ nina ’ min .

NICKNAME(S) : nini , neens , and nana ( by her parents ) .

AGE + DATE OF BIRTH : 23 + june 2nd , 1997 .

ZODIAC : gemini sun , taurus moon , gemini ascendant .

MYERS - BRIGGS PERSONALITY TYPE : istp .

MORAL ALIGNMENT : neutral evil .

ENNEAGRAM TYPE : the achiever .

GENDER + PRONOUNS : cis female + she / her / hers .

PLACE OF BIRTH : gangnam , seoul , south korea .

PLACE OF RESIDENCE : ivory falls , maine .

SEXUAL ORIENTATION : bisexual .

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : biromantic .

OCCUPATION : senior at holloway university .

NATIONALITY : korean - american .

ETHNICITY : korean .

LANGUAGES SPOKEN : english , korean , and japanese .

i . prosopography .

nina’s story begins during the chance meeting of her parents , ara kim and hyun-woo min , when they were in their early twenties . most would assume that they weren’t compatible for one another as ara was the spoiled child of the kim family , who were known around south korea for owning various luxury buildings and apartment complexes in the gangnam area . hyun-woo on the other hand was your regular college student who worked a job he hated to pay his tuition , but he had big dreams as he wanted to someday own his own architecture firm . when the mindless ara wrecked her fancy car into hyun-woo’s beat up toyota , it was love at first sight .

it was a whirlwind relationship as the couple was engaged within six months of their meeting , and married within eight . with their access to unlimited funds , the couple had a lavish wedding , and hyun-woo no longer had to worry about his tuition payments . now focused on his degree without having to worry about money , he found himself on the development team at his new family’s company shortly thereafter his graduation .

with hyun-woo having his dream job and ara having her dream husband , the couple was thriving . they lived in a beautiful apartment that overlooked gangnam , and they had gone on vacation to bali when ara revealed that she was pregnant . the couple was overjoyed to be welcoming their baby into the world , and to say that they were obsessed with her from the moment they saw her in the first ultrasound and she was the size of a lime . the couple welcomed their little baby nine months later , and they loved every inch of her the moment she was placed on ara’s chest .

growing up , nina enjoyed the spoils that her family provided for her . she went on amazing trips , wore the best clothes , and even got pushed around in a six hundred dollar stroller . despite that , though , nina was a very precocious child , picking up on her developments quickly . as she grew older , nina’s parents saw that their daughter was interested in a variety of things , so when she was five , she began taking piano lessons , and it was evident that she had a natural gift .

as the years passed , nina continuously excelled in her academics and the extracurriculars that she tried out for . as she attended the best schools in seoul , nina was the one who answered questions first , she was the first to sign up , and the first to complete tests . nina was the one who constantly won awards from her school , and she was definitely the one who never allowed for someone else to take her place .

it was something of a shock to her parents that she wanted to attend college in the states , but her parents were not the ones to tell her no . so , nina went on to be accepted into holloway , and she majors in business economics with a political science minor ! i’d say that she’s involved in a lot of student organizations like student government , and she’s a member of the tennis team ! as nuts as it sounds , she’s on the tennis team for the cute outfits , but she loves the sport as well .

ii . temperament .

alexa , play ‘ i don’t care ’ by ariana grande ! she doesn’t care about what other people have to say or how people feel about her , especially considering how shameless she can be in most of her actions . she’s ridiculously blunt , but really hates when people are bitchy for no reason ? i don’t know , a paradox considering that she can be bitchy for no reason too FKNDSFUDS . responds heavily to the energy that she’s given . fully believes that the sun and moon determines her mood for the day .

sUpErIoRiTy CoMpLeX ? gOd CoMpLeX ? sounds about right . she doesn’t outright brag about herself all the time , but she’s definitely the type to bring it up when it applies to the conversation . nina is the mean friend that everyone needs , and has a weird dislike for people who are too nice .

nina isn’t a stone cold bitch , though . she likes having fun , she likes to laugh , and she especially likes to spend time with her friends . she’s capable of empathy and compassion , yes . will she show that all the time ? of course not ! considering that she’s an only child , nina is used to having all eyes on her , so she has no shame in her fame when she comes back to farrow house wearing last night’s dress and carrying her heels .

iii . headcanons .

she already knows that graduate school is in her future , but she hasn’t decided on where she wants to go yet .

nina resides in farrow house , and she’s probably the worst kind of roommate there is considering how type a she can be at times . her room ( or side of the room i’m not sure of the setup ) is relatively organized at all times . she’s a lover of white , but white with color , so she keeps the tones light with soft shades of pink scattered throughout ! she likes a gold accent , and everything has its own place .

doesn’t like to leave her bedroom without making her bed or picking things up . at night she may just slip out of her clothes and go to bed , but she’s definitely going to pick it up that next morning , even her walk of shame clothes KNJFDISF .

despite her behavior at times , nina is someone who studies hard because she doesn’t like anything less than an A . although i will say that she obsesses over her grades , but she knows that if she slacks then she’ll get slacker grades .

this is pointless KFNDJSF but i draw a lot of her style inspo from itsyuyan on instagram , but she also loves to dress in a quality th*t dress when she had the chance to NFJDBSFDS . i love jennie’s long hair , so nina’s own is canon to that , and she definitely had the iconic e-girl streaks .

iv . wanted connections .

i would love to have literally anything that ya’ll throw at me ! some basics that i’d like to write out are best friends , academic rivals , friends with benefits , confidant(s) , frenemies , good / bad influence , one night stand(s) , flirtationship , enemies with benefits , and a current or ex fling !

i love a good women loving women scenario , so i’d like to have an ex girlfriend for her ! i see them as being on good terms and they simply drifted apart , but they’re really close ! sometimes they can get a little touchy feely with one another so hello 👀 .

i would die for literally any form of angst that you could possibly think of ? angsty friends , angsty exes , angsty anything . i love to put myself through misery so honestly … bury me six feet under and i will literally thank you .

all aboard the heartbreak train ! this ties back into my love for angst , but some form of an ex or maybe even someone who she go close to but it didn’t really work out ?

maybe even a will they won’t they ? but essentially , clearly these two have feelings but for some reason things didn’t work out for them and now they’re probably in a limbo or trying to determine where they’re headed but they absolutely refuse to talk about it ! all of their friends notice but they blow them off and ok let me relax and actually allow us to plot , but just some potential ideas !

i will have a desired relations tag that i’ll be updating as frequently as i can , but if none of these work for you or if you have something you see araminta filling , then please let me know ! we can totally brainstorm or if you want , then we can work on chemistry !

#holloway.intro #i finally did it ya'll NJFJDHBSFDS #instead of posting this at 4am i'm posting it at 5pm but alas .. it's here my friends

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larryfanficwriter98 · 4 years

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Chapter One

Harry was lonely, ever since his first album kicked off so successfully he had learned that people are assholes and liked to use people for fame. He has also learned he couldn't do casual hookups. He could never allow himself to go the whole way no matter who it was with or how drunk he tried to get himself just so he wasn't a 21-year-old virgin. He wanted to date. He wanted to be in love.

Which was how, after drinking an entire bottle of wine by himself in his hotel room, he found himself on Anonymous, a discreet dating app that matched people based on sexual orientation, commitment level, and interests. No pictures, no personal information except your name and age. He was debating on it, whether or not to do it, or to delete the app when he felt the sudden urge to just do it and get it over with.

He started with the first name box and typed Harold, moving on to the last name box he typed in Stones. He then filled out his other information such as his age, 21. The next step was his likes and dislikes which was pretty easy. Afterward, he made sure his sexual orientation was marked gay and made an age group he was comfortable with then made his profile public.

He went to his bio and after a bit of thinking just decided on a quick sentence to sum it up, Looking for someone to come home to after traveling. With that, he closed the app and put his phone on the charger then turned over and went to sleep knowing it could take up to 24-48 hours for the app to start matching you.

Louis walked into the townhouse he shared with Zayn, Liam, and Niall after dismissing the horrible date in his car. He knew he should have driven himself, but he and the guy had been talking for two weeks, so he figured it would be fine. It wasn't fine. Louis likes sex, he was always having sex back in uni, but recently he hasn't been happy with just a quickie. He was ready to start settling down and making plans about the future and was in it for the long haul now. Apparently no one else near his age was at that point. He was 23, 24 at the end of the year, two of his best friends were getting married to each other in eight months.

"How was the date Tommo?" Niall asked turning back to look at him from the sectional.

"He was in love."

"That fast?"

"I understand some people fall in love quickly and all, but I mean come on. We've been messaging each other for two weeks." Louis pushed himself off the door he had been leaning on and moved to sit on the sectional sofa, "what are you watching?"

"No idea." Louis snorted reaching for the bowl of popcorn Niall was munching on, grabbing a fistful of it and putting a piece into his mouth.

"You know I've been on the new app called Anonymous. Its actually pretty cool, you just give it your interests, likes and dislikes, hobbies, age, name, and commitment level. No pictures, no personal information. Just your personality and what you like. I've been talking to this girl on there and we actually click really well." Niall told him, Louis scrunched his face up

"That sounds risky."

"Nope. Everyone is verified. A matcher will contact you and ask you questions about yourself and make sure you are real and if a person has a verified check by their profile that means they've been checked over. After that, you start getting matched to five people and you can decide if you're into talking to them. If not just press decline and if you are press accept. You're only able to talk to three people at once so you have to be specific."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

"Says the guy who is on his fourth dating app." Louis paused as his thumb clicked on the dating apps folder on his phone showing he actually had six installed, "oh sixth dating app, my bad. Did you really download Grindr?"

"No." Louis said as he uninstalled said app without looking at Niall as he cracked up beside him. "I'm going to bed, have work in the morning. Night."

"Night Grindr boy." Louis sent his laughing mate a glare before hurrying up the stairs to his bedroom.

If he just happened to go to the app store and install Anonymous...well that was his business and Niall will never find out. Louis laid in bed going through the somewhat familiar steps by now. The only difference was that you had to list more than ten likes and dislikes and more than five hobbies you do or would like to do. Nothing like the other dating apps which was completely optional and mostly ignored. After his profile was completed he closed the app and went to sleep.

Three days later Louis was on his break when he got a notification from Anonymous that he was matched to five potential interests. He had hesitated but clicked on the app then click on the matches section reading the first match.

Name: Dan Stevens Age: 26

And that was when it went downhill, the guy was heavy metal punk and Louis was not into that do he declined it. The next three weren't that much better, but the last one for the day seemed alright.

Name: Joshua Wilder

Age: 22

His hobbies were a bit more athletic than Louis was okay with, but that could be compromised on. His commitment however was "something casual/nonexclusive" which Louis was definitely not okay with. However, he figured everything starts causal in a way so he accepted it getting a popup his next potential matches will be ready within 12-24 hours. He had to wait to see if Joshua would match with him before he could send a message so he locked his phone and finished his lunch.

Harry hasn't been having any good luck with the app, he had completed all of the requirements for verification but had declined nearly every match so far. He was too nervous to actually go through with it and the few he had accepted and accepted him when he told them he was demi-sexual and wouldn't be having sex anytime soon stopped talking to him and Harry got notified the match declined him. It was a week after the making of the profile, Harry was feeling stupid for doing it when he got notified of his daily matches. Sighing heavily he clicked on the notification and looked through them.

Name: David Brockman

DECLINED

Name: Franklin Bottons

DECLINED

Name: Stewart Wesley

DECLINED

Name: Kyler Jennsons

DECLINED

Name: Louis Tomlinson

Age: 23

Commitment Level: Committed/Looking For Someone To Marry

Hobbies: Skiing, Surfing, Writing, Reading, Singing, Playing Guitar, Playing Footie

Interests: Skiing, Surfing, Writing, Reading, Singing, Playing Guitar, Football, Traveling, Watching Movies, Musicals

Dislikes: Hiking, Cats, Cycling, Running, Yoga, Avocados, Cooking, Horror Films, The Vegan Craze, Trendy Shit

The last few things threw him off a bit, but Harry shrugged and accepted him. He was the only one that was lining up with his interests and if he turns out to be just another one around for a bed partner Harry would delete the app and pretend it never happened.

Louis got the notification that he had a new match while he was playing fifa with the lads. He ignored it in favor of scoring a goal then he grabbed his phone and opened the app.

Name: Harold Stones

Age: 21

Hobbies: Singing, Dancing, Baking, Cooking, Travelling, Reading

Interests: Singing, Dancing, Baking, Cooking, Travelling, Reading Swimming, Surfing, Skiing, Snowboarding, Canoeing, Musicals, Films, Photography, Writing, Playing Guitar, Volunteering

Dislikes: Horror Films, Spiders, Mountain Climbing, Skydiving, Archery, Paragliding, Mountain Bungee Jump, Volcano Boarding, Heights, Roller-coasters

Louis remembered why he accepted him, he had drunk a lot of beer one night and thought, "if this guy doesn't like volcano boarding that means he actually did it and he had to ask him why" and so he accepted him. The guy seemed like fun and they had a lot of similar interests so he messaged him.

Why volcano boarding?

Louis honestly wanted to know who in their right mind surfed a volcano slope. He locked his phone, tossed it to the side, and continued the game.

"Yellow card! Foul! You tripped me! Louis shouted looking between Zayn and the game.

"I admit to nothing." Zayn said as he scored a goal

"I saw it mate don't worry." Niall said as he stole the ball from Liam, "take that."

"That was low." Liam said, "I didn't even do anything."

"No, but your fiance did." Louis said

"HE SHOOTS HE SCORES!" Niall shouted as Louis scored the winning goal of the match

"Night lads." Louis grabbed his phone and headed upstairs to his room putting his phone on the charger before he took a shower for the night.

#larry fanfiction #larry stylinson #new story #work in progress

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