#'What do?' is the big question of our times

[astonmartinii]

day seven: (christmas) star power | charles leclerc social media au

pairing: charles leclerc x fem primary school!teacher

oh how one lie can spiral

MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

yourusername

liked by yourbff, yourbrother and 204 others

yourusername: so ummmmmmm i pulled the short straw and am in charge of the school's nativity ??? AND THEN made a comment about my 'boyfriend' charles leclerc and now the whole school and WHOLE village think he is coming to the show ...

view all comments

yourbff: are you fucking dumb ???

yourusername: YES

yourbff: you told the headmaster that your boyfriend is CHARLES LECLERC ????

yourusername: i said it in JEST

yourusername: like ooohhhh my boyf charles

yourusername: and i guess that my framed picture of him on my desk definitely didn't help ...

yourbff: you have a framed picture of him on your desk...

yourusername: it was a christmas present from my cousin 😭

yourbff: oh but why would you have it on your desk - you're a primary school teacher all those kids do is ask questions

yourusername: why are you VICTIM BLAMING SO MUCH

yourbff: because you're DUMB

yourbrother: oh they're gonna stone you when they figure out it's not true

yourusername: they should know it's not true ITS CHARLES LECLERC

yourbrother: so you're saying you couldn't just go to monaco right now and pull him? disappointing

yourusername: 1. i'm broke as fuck 2. i am me and he is he

yourbrother: ugh such a skill issue

yourbff: bro it's hit f1twt

yourusername: WHAT

yourusername: who the fuck is on f1twt from our village

yourbff: maybe it was me...

yourusername: REALLY?

yourbff: no you actual dumbass

yourusername: no but for real these people are insane detectives they're going to figure out it's me and i'm going to be CANCELLED

yourbff: lol

yourusername: fuck you.

charles_leclerc

liked by landonorris, pierregasly and 1,034,289 others

tagged: arthurleclerc & lorenzotl

charles_leclerc: just a quiet christmas for the leclercs this year

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user4: because we're going to somerset right?

user5: does he know he's meant to be in somerset?

user6: does he know what a nativity is?

user7: girl he may be an f1 driver who didn't finish school but he's not THAT dumb

landonorris: why am i seeing that you're coming to my ends for christmas?

charles_leclerc: am i??? why would i want to spend even more time with you?

landonorris: first of all - rude. second of all i have literally seen posters about you coming to the village?

charles_leclerc: what is a village?

landonorris: okay mr monte carlo some of use aren't from a tax haven

charles_leclerc: also when you're this beautiful, people tend to paste your face everywhere, you can't relate

landonorris: even RUDER

landonorris: my young cousin goes to the school and is completely convinced that you're coming to the show and dating his teacher

charles_leclerc: WHAT

yourusername: oh my jesus christ

user8: and if that one girl on f1twt made it all up...

user9: would be the only good thing to come out of that place

pierregasly: what is this i'm hearing of you having a girlfriend? charles i am HURT

charles_leclerc: where are you all hearing all of this stuff?

pierregasly: twitter!

charles_leclerc: oh jesus christ

pierregasly: you've got yourself in a right mess

charles_leclerc: ME?

charles_leclerc: this is clearly the work of a downright lunatic or a lonely cat woman with FAR too much time on her hands

yourusername: oh he gagged me there

yourbff: heyyy you have a dog not a cat!

charles_leclerc: who are you people?

yourusername: NO ONE

user10: what on earth is going on

user11: and WHO is @yourusername

yourusername: NO ONE

landonorris

liked by pierregasly, oscarpiastri and 1,034,277 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

landonorris: look who came to see me :)

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user13: holy....

user14: oh charles at the nativity is still so on

user15: my hopes are simply too high now good lord

user16: lowkey hoping this is all one big lie from f1twt that has managed to convince ACTUAL drivers to go to a random village

oscarpiastri: how did he get an invite to the norris house before i did ?

oscarpiastri: do my 'heart eyes' mean nothing to you?

landonorris: no babe i can explain it's for the bit

charles_leclerc: babe?

oscarpiastri: stay out of this old man

charles_leclerc: that's no way to talk to your father

oscarpiastri: my father wouldn't do such things for 'the bit" WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN

landonorris: it's a joke osc

oscarpiastri: so i'm a joke to you? i see how it is

landonorris: NO THE TWITTER JOKE

landonorris: has he just put his phone on do not disturb?

charles_leclerc: he said he's going to bed (it is actually quite late in australia dude)

landonorris: how do you know that?

charles_leclerc: he replied to my text :)

landonorris: WHAT

charles_leclerc: family comes before whatever pathetic crush he has

user17: how have we gotten to this point?

user18: just smile and wave boys this is mental illness on show

charles_leclerc: you're right, having a crush on lando is mental illness

landonorris: then it's time to get your son sectioned!

alexalbon: well this has all gotten a bit serious now - can we get back to the actual reason charles is at your house?

yourusername: @yourbff oh brother this is getting TOO REAL

yourbff: to put it quite kindly you are royally FUCKED

yourusername: i might have to move to another country, change my name and get bangs :(

yourbff: NOT BANGS

landonorris: who are you people and why are you always camping out in our comment sections

yourusername: WE'RE NO ONe

landonorris: WAIT I HAVE MUTUALS WITH YOU?

landonorris: NOOOOOOOOO

landonorris: she blocked me?

yourbff

liked by yourusername, landonorris and 304 others

tagged: yourusername

yourbff: take a good look at her folks because i have reason to believe that if a certain someone turns up at the show she will KILL HERSELF. love you queen, rest in divadom

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yourusername: this sounds very dramatic

yourusername: but you are correct

yourusername: my life will come to a short and all round inconsequential end tonight

yourbff: it is dramatic

yourbff: but i understand queen

yourbff: your celebrity crush who you have had a parasocial relationship with for years is coming with the express purpose of embarrasing you because he believes you are a sad, sad woman who has created an elaborate lie that you're in a relationship

yourusername: well yeah that sums it up pretty well - you think you could put that on my head stone?

yourbff: i don't think we can afford that

landonorris: i can pay!

yourusername: AHHHHHHH

yourbff: AHHHHHH

landonorris: oh forgot to say but found you! we have a lot of mutual friends lol

landonorris: actually i think my mum and your mum are in the same book club!

yourusername: you're aware this is creepy?

landonorris: you're aware that pretending to be my friend's girlfriend is creepy

yourusername: THERE WAS A GROSS MISUNDERSTANDING OVER MY DESK DECOR

landonorris: sureeeeeee

yourusername: also charles isn't even the only man i have framed on my desk, i have my dog, justin from wizards of waverely place, jason kelce and marc marquez, he's just the one the old lady picked out

yourbrother: now we have actual f1 drivers in the comments, how can we get free tickets from them?

yourusername: so my impending suicide means nothing?

yourbrother: not really. i might take your car if you die

charles_leclerc: so this was all one big scheme to get tickets? there's no show ???

yourbrother: that's what you're focusing on? not that she has a whole town under the impression that you're dating some irrelevant primary school teacher?

yourusername: rude?

charles_leclerc: a primary school teacher? that's cute

yourusername: wait did you think i was just doing the nativity for the love of the game?

yourbrother: who gives a fuck he called you CUTE

yourusername: oh!

yourbrother: she passed out :/

charles_leclerc: i didn't know i had that kind of effect on people

landonorris: oh fuck off of course you do

charles_leclerc

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1 and 1,539,056 others

tagged: yourusername

charles_leclerc: met my long lost girlfriend (and most importantly her dog)

view all comments

user20: omg i do not know how to feel

user21: WHO WAS GOING TO TELL ME SHE'S THAT BEAUTIFUL

user22: i 100% thought the gal was gonna at least be in her 40s

landonorris: i guess she puts on a pretty good nativity

charles_leclerc: which kid is your cousin?

landonorris: the lobster!

pierregasly: LOBSTER?

charles_leclerc: @yourusername why was there a lobster?

yourusername: ummmm there's a lot of kids in the class and i was running out of roles? all animals are gods creations?

charles_leclerc: seems sacrilegious but it was cute <3

charles_leclerc: just like you

pierregasly: that was awful

yourusername: SHUT UP

yourusername: thank you charles :)

charles_leclerc: no worries princess x

user23: i am losing my mind ?????

user24: bro got tricked into going to SOMERSET and has actually fallen for her

user25: i mean ... look at her

yourusername: i do also have a cracking personality if i do say so myself

yourbff: oh girl you needed it after i held your hair back three times in the lead up to meeting charles

yourusername: and i will repay you somehow ???

yourbff: well.... now you've charmed a certain someone can we inquire about his pool of friends

landonorris: hi!

charles_leclerc: no not that one he's not cute enough

landonorris: you're really mean

charles_leclerc: @yourbff may i introduce my good buddy joris

landonorris: JORIS ???

charles_leclerc: well i regularly want to throttle you so i think it would be better to go on double dates with someone i actually like ?

user26: charles leclerc is the origin of the sassy man apocalypse

user27: i think the paddock was the start of it all

yourusername: i can't believe this actually happened :')

charles_leclerc: and i can't wait to see where it goes

yourusername: see you for new years pretty boy

charles_leclerc: i think i already know who my new years kiss might be

yourusername: i'm already waiting :3

fin.

note: i hope you all had a fun christmas! i had a great day with my family and am workin hard to get the rest of this series out!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs: accordingly, additionally, also, anyway, besides, certainly, conversely, finally, hence, however, instead, in conclusion, lately, likewise, moreover, namely, nevertheless, so, then, yet

Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, ever, hardly ever, occasionally, seldom, generally, frequently, normally, once, twice

Adverbs of time: tomorrow, tonight, yesterday, now, then, today, already, daily, last, next, previously, after, afterwards, early, late, later, since, still, just, seldom

Adverbs of manner: well, fast, straight, hard, loudly, proudly, suspiciously, strangely, kindly, easily, rudely, neatly, quickly, generously, eagerly, accidentally, rapidly, hungrily, foolishly, cheerfully, really (can also be adverb of degree in sense of “very”)

Adverbs of degree: lots, somewhat, barely, very, much, most, nearly, too, extremely, enough, so, slightly, especially, just, almost, scarcely, virtually, fully, far, exceptionally

Adverbs of place: behind, above, nearby, backward(s), toward(s), outside, inside, around, over, overseas, close, away, upstairs, downstairs, here, there, everywhere, deeply, next-door

Adverb - a word that modifies a verb, adjective, other adverbs, or adverbial phrases.

The 6 common categories of adverbs are:

conjunctive adverbs

adverbs of frequency

adverbs of time

adverbs of manner

adverbs of degree

adverbs of place

One thing to keep in mind is that there can be some overlap or repetition across the different categories of adverbs, because words can have more than one meaning or use depending on the context.

For example, yet can be a conjunction, meaning “though,” but it can also be an adverb of time, in the sense “in the time still remaining.”

Conjunctive Adverbs

A conjunction is any word that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. They express the relationship between ideas or parts of speech.

A conjunctive adverb is an adverb that acts like a conjunction.

Conjunctive adverbs are often set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

For example: We don’t have time to run to the store. Besides, you already have cereal at home.

Conjunctive adverbs can also go at the end of a sentence, in which case they don’t need to be set off with a comma, as in: I didn’t really want a pony anyway.

Adverbs of Frequency

Detail at what rate over time an action or event occurs.

They answer the question “How often?”

Generally go just before the verb they are modifying:

She always orders chocolate cake.

My brother will never get over it.

Adverbs of Time

Describe when things occur.

They answer the question “When?”

Are very flexible: they can go at the beginning of a sentence set off with a comma, right before thea verb or clause they are modifying, or at the end of a sentence. It depends on the adverb and how it is being used in the sentence. For example:

Tomorrow, the class is going to the zoo.

We last saw her before dinner.

Are you going to Paris next?

Adverbs of Manner

Manner here means “a way of doing, being done, or happening.”

Answer the question “How?”

Can go before or after the verb or phrase they are modifying. For example:

The students quickly ate their lunches.

Our mayor spoke loudly and authoritatively.

Adverbs of Degree

Describe intensity or quantity of an action.

Answer the question “How much?”

Typically go before the verb or part of speech being modified. For example:

We were too hungry to talk during the meal.

The little puppy was extremely energetic.

Adverbs of Place

Describe location.

They answer the question “Where?”

Typically go after the verb or other part of the speech they are modifying. For example:

I think your sister is upstairs.

Go toward the big tree, then make a left.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 9 part 2

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1][2][3] ep7 [1][2][3][4][5][6] ep8 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] ep9 [1][2])

I'm glad nicky came up with a cool new tune because according to period movies and shows greensleeves is the only song anyone ever knew

look at that meek little smile, ughhhh. nicky is like two days old and this asshole has already figured out he's the perfect prop for her murder sprees. and these poor women are calling her sister and are willing to help too.

the spell is te accipimus in circulum, we accept you in the circle, and yes that makes me cry a little. we accept you in our community. and the spell is yellow air magic, which sounds like the most empathic kind if Lilia is any indication.

that's interesting, you can't really tell that well from screencaps but go rewatch the scene, this witch is making mushrooms grow with yellow magic instead of green?? is it just a spell (she is holding a book) or have I been getting it all wrong and color has nothing to do with the type of magic one has?

or maybe??? the color depends on the coven you're in?? the salemites all had blue magic for example. and now that I think about it the stone circle is a protection spell but it's not red/orange.

the meaning of this scene is so glaring dear lord. agatha was never going to give these women a chance to prove that yes, there are people out there who could love and help and accept her. she has shut herself up to that possibility a long time ago.

and she stole the soup too. awful.

I've seen all the different theories about nicky needing to feed on witches too, or nicky needing soul sacrifices to survive because he's the son of death etc. we don't have enough evidence to prove anything yet, but personally I headcanon nicky as a totally normal kid, that makes this story even more tragic.

and aww that baby suckling on the little pudgy fist

nicky doesn't look that happy about what he's been asked to do, does he?

we establish that nicky was sickly (maybe he was born with some internal defect that rio temporarily patched up?) we also see him steal the bell agatha will use for her Road scam in the future.

and we meet yet another witch being kind and wanting to help.

agatha: I love this six year old so much I'm gonna make him accessory to murder

dO yOU ShaME YouR MOtHER

and the big fake gasp too. as usual this bitch has conned a whole community

like, she's convinced herself that other witches are bad and are after her WHILE relying on witches's good hearts to con and kill them. what sort of mental gymnastics???

color goes from yellow to purple. nicky waits outside while his mom commits murder, it's not a good look on agatha. completely fucked up, actually.

(I'm terrified that the goat will end up being an agent of mephisto or something idiotic like that, lemme tell you. I hope they're just keeping it for milk and company.)

and here's the million dollar question. nicky has seen his mom kill literally since he was born, and now he's old enough to start realizing what that means.

oooh I know that look, that's agatha when she's put on the spot. she avoids his gaze, she can't be sincere with him.

and of course she's teaching herself spells from a book. nerrrrrrd

nicky, bless his soul, appears to give it a good thought and then offers a practical suggestion. I guess he wouldn't mind to have a roof on his head and some friends too.

GREAT acting from kathryn here. the quick OH SHIT face followed by the super final NO, with her jaw so rigid. in typical agatha fashion, when she's upset she becomes avoidant.

this is evanora's legacy. despite agatha's immense love for nicky, she is passing all that pain down and inflicting it on him.

remember when she called billy a survivor? this is the greatest asset in her opinion, the one she wants to teach her son. the truth is, she is angry at witches because she is scared of them, she's scared of being targeted again. but look at that kid's dark circles, I can't believe she's making him sleep in the woods, sick as he is!

really really fantastic subtlety. agatha wants to sound wise and strong, but she looks scared, uncertain, guilty.

see how nicky looks at agatha while he sings? he's checking to see if she's noticing, because his mom likes music and likes his voice. he's afraid he has upset her and wants to make her smile. he tried to reason with her, and now he tries to soothe her. this is what happens when you have an immature parent, a child will want to help, they will try to fix things. they'll end up parenting their parent, and it should always be the other way round.

agatha takes the bait. she's relieved that the conversation has moved to a safer subject. but oh, this script is so good. this is a mostly innocent, mostly sweet remark, but with a possessive undertone. don't forget that you are mine, she says.

and still, the love is real. even in a fucked up situation like this, these moment of happiness are precious and genuine and will linger on. look at how adoringly nicky looks at his mom, she's literally the sun and center of his small world, and that's how agatha likes it: she created nicky because she needed someone who could be hers without any baggage or consequences. but it turns out that raising a child is not a cheat code for love, it's one of the most difficult, most significant and impactful decisions a human can make.

go to episode 9 part 3

[sunarots]

merry christmas, please don’t call

pairing: miya atsumu x gn!reader

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

You watch your phone vibrate across the kitchen counter for the third time tonight. His name is plastered across the screen in big, bold letters; the red hearts on either side stare at you accusingly. There’s only so many times you can justify your not answering before you question why his name never changed like your relationship status online.

Every time it rings, it’s like you hear his voice begging you to answer.

Pick up.

Pick up.

Pick up.

You reach out, your finger hovering above the button. Before you can bring yourself to hang up, the screen turns back to the recipe page. Oh.

You knew this year would be hard, your first Christmas separated from him. After so long together, you can’t help but feel out of place this year. It feels strange to not have him with you, ksneaking presents under the tree under the guise of watching Die Hard whilst you bake in the next room. Right now, though, he’d likely be pouring you both a glass of amazake, convincing you that one drink couldn’t hurt before both of you drink it all.

You pour your batter into the baking tray, shoving it in the oven and glad to have a break. You rise back onto your feet, glancing over to your phone.

Once again, his name appears.

Talk to me.

Talk to me.

Talk to me.

If Miya Atsumu is one thing, it’s persistent. He won’t stop, you know it. And though you’re stubborn, you know you won’t have a chance to relax tonight. So, you answer.

You hold the phone against your ear, listening to the silence on the line. When he doesn’t speak, a part of you regrets your choice. Putting your phone on do not disturb would have been a better solution, right?

“Y/n?”

You take a deep breath. It’s just talking. You’ve done this before. This should be easy, right? “Hi…”

“I didn’t think you’d answer.”

“Then why did you keep calling?” It slips out before you can stop it, a pang of guilt striking your chest.

“I-“ He takes a pause, thinking about his answer. “I wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.”

I miss you too, is what you want to say. But even with your mouth hung open, you can’t let it roll off your tongue as easy as you used to. It acts as a reminder. It’s for the best. Your wants don’t align, and they likely never will.

No matter how much you miss waking up beside him. Seeing his name constantly splashed across the news front page. Ignoring all notifications from social media, knowing the second his name comes into your eyesight you’ll be running back to him. As always.

But not this time. Not anymore.

“You can’t miss me.”

“What? I’m not allowed to miss my partner I’ve spent the last three years with?”

“I’m not your partner anymore, Atsumu,” you argue, already knowing this will end the same as the last call you answered.

No.

It can’t.

Before he can get another word in, you continue, “This isn’t easy for me either, but… We can’t do this anymore. We don’t want the same things in our future. Are you willing to compromise? Because I’m not.”

He starts stammering, unable to get a word out.

Walking through to your living room, your eyes fall to the empty couch. For once, you can’t picture him sitting there.

“Merry Christmas, Atsumu. Please don’t call.”

[marimayscarlett]

Hi I’m back back, back again! With more questions!

The fandom calls Paul and Richard guitars husbands right? But to help a relationship status to married you have to gradually progress through the stages of like: pining, mutual pining, dating, boyfriends and then finally married.

I was wondering what pictures or gifs/videos represent those stages for our dearest guitarists?

If I forgot one feel free to add one or remove one if it doesn’t have any fitting content! 😌 🖤

Hello dear, and thank you for your ask! 😊

I have to admit, though, I found this ask a bit tricky to answer at first. I kept going back and forth, trying to establish a clear timeline for Paul and Richard’s, let’s call it loosely, “relationship.” In some ways, that’s possible. At the start of the band’s history, we have a popular example of looks exchanged that could definitely be interpreted as “pining” or “longing”:

(GIFs by @ukulelette)

Later on, there were repeated moments on stage where they looked for closeness or looked out for each other:

Nowadays, there are wonderful moments on stage filled with cheekiness, emotions, joy, and surely also some kind of love between two people who’ve worked together for 30 years, experienced so many life situations together, endured a lot in the band's life and in general..:

(first gif by @sechsherzen)

And yet... the story between Paul and Richard always seems incredibly dynamic to me. They started out as young musicians who discovered a lot of common ground in their musical visions (I think I recall Richard saying something along the lines of “he completes me”). At the same time, they were also musical rivals in some ways, given they played the same instrument. Two people with strong opinions and firm points of views in things, who sometimes wouldn’t accept any other viewpoint but their own. They are so similar, yet have their struggles, especially to see that they're so similar it seems.

But they always manage to come back together, no matter how difficult working together might be - even going as far as seeking help for their communication (Olsen Involtini apparently played a big role in ensuring that harmony was quickly restored, as mentioned here). They maybe do it simply because they see the bigger picture. They see that enduring personal differences is worth it for the good of the band. They share the same drive to make things happen and, over the years, have learned to listen to one another and give each other space to express themselves.

If we indulge in the “Paulchard” fantasy, we can find moments of connection (body contact or just looking out for each other) at various points in the band’s history. It’s difficult for me to identify a clear chronology here - whether it’s the 90s, the challenging Mutter era, or the MiG tour...:

Of course, their warmth towards each other has exponentially increased in recent years! Longing, hugs, kisses, comforting each other, or just being there for one another.... And sometimes really taking their time with each other during these interactions, like in Frankfurt for the plane watching 🥹.

It feels like they can express these things more freely now, in their more mature years, after all their shared experiences - or at least it appears that way. And for that, I’m very happy.

(first gif by @mrsfitzgerald)

So, yes. Paulchard interactions are varied, dynamic, and ever-changing, just as most likely a relationship between people is. 🤍

And for people who like to see the Paulchard wedding with their own two eyes, there's always lovely edits 😄

(some more picture sources: x x)

[hermanoga]

It's Kinda Nice to Help People Find Their Precious Thing : The timeless journey of love, regret, trust, death and hope through Shiguang's life in Link Click Yingdu Episode 1

part -1

It's a very personal rambling actually, not a very critically sound one, if you still wanna read, just letting you know, you are not alone, I went through a lifetime of emotions while watching this.

What’s wrong with the timeline? : Before discussing this, I want to talk about Lu Guang’s age. I have this formula,

Lg’s age : X + 3n, X= his original age, n= the number of times he has dived back in the past to reach the situation of our timeline where Cheng Xiaoshi survived season 1 and made it to the end of the season 2. I am presuming that ‘n times Cheng Xiaoshi dies’ stopped in our timeline, so let us denote our timeline as ‘n*’, which has successfully changed Cheng Xiaoshi’s fate. (For people thinking, where did I get that ‘3’ in my formula, the episode of the lost child in season 1 says that the kidnapping of that little boy happened three years ago, when Shiguang were supposed to be in Yingdu. Basically Shiguang first met and went to Yingdu in 2018.)

The first four minutes of the episode 1 (Successfully made me cry like a wounded hyena left in the middle of a cold desert): What timeline is it? It is one of those timelines of ‘n’ where Cheng Xiaoshi died. Cheng Xiaoshi dies in every nth timeline, except n*. The first time he dies, let us call that timeline ‘n0’. And the first four minutes, let’s suppose it is nEp-1. Is n0 = nEp-1? If yes, then why Vein is punishing Lu Guang for changing the past? It implies that Lu Guang attempted (and succeeded kind of? since he is accused of changing the past) to change the past before? Why would he? For what reason? I have an answer to this convoluted question – Vein is punishing a past Lu Guang (‘innocent’ Lu Guang who didn’t dive and do shit) for the deeds a future Lu Guang committed. Eh? Every theory I suggest contradict with the thing I say next.

Still what I feel is that the narrator Lu Guang who gives the ‘butterfly effect’ speech is not the one who dives in the given visual. The hesitation in the visual suggests that Lu Guang is diving for the first time. I don’t have galaxy brains to understand the timeline theory anyways. And it is probably too early to start guessing.

Basketball symbolism: Life, death, trust, partnership.

I think now we all understand that the basketball motif really stands for a deeper philosophy of life and companionship. And Haoling actually puts that theme in big fat words in case someone missed, “It is so precious to have a trustworthy partner in life”. It is not about basketball. The exposition of first 1 minute 25 seconds deals with it.

1:26 – I howled. That’s not the point. The point is that Vein is actually interested in shooting Lu Guang, he wants his life, not Cheng Xiaoshi’s, he just physically defeats him. (My poor kitty, what the fuck did you do to deserve this, if my theory is right then…). Cheng Xiaoshi fucking dives to take the bullet.

Now, um. Why am I re-watching this? Cheng Xiaoshi dies and transfers his diving power to Lu Guang, the basketball symbolism recurs. Qiao Ling is dead and captain Xiao is dead too. Good. Cheng Xiaoshi says sorry for some reason and asks Lu Guang to save ‘them’, it’s his death wish. So, I am presuming that Lu Guang started diving because it was Cheng Xiaoshi’s last wish to Lu Guang (I need ibuprofen). From my perspective, Lu Guang when he dives, he is not sure what he is able to achieve. He probably goes back to the past just to relive those moments, those three years again. If everything goes well (LMAO my audacity) and Cheng Xiaoshi survives in this Yingdu arc, I am presuming that is our story then will be directly continuing in the two seasons.

Now let us heal a bit. First of all, congratulations to all, Lu Guang is gay. I don’t care what anyone opines, he is gay. He is the owner of that freaking Shakespearean sonnet book and he is the literal tsundere, come on, guys, it should be canon now.

Lu Guang holds his hand as if trying to say, “Please, don’t go”.

You are in acute denial if you say the visuals are not romantic. The white butterfly sits on the basketball he is holding.

That visual is so pretty! The butterflies remind me of tgcf ngl.

Bro, what kind of house does he live in. He is damn rich.

Cheng Xiaoshi : Partner, lets play basketball together again tomorrow. And the content smile Cheng Xiaoshi gives.

Still, somehow, The Eye is the most moving piece of animation I have ever seen, it feels like life with all heartaches and smiles present. I will carry this song with me till the end of time.

Oh, also. How are Vein fans doing? Just checking :D

This song is causing me physical angst.

I wish I can cosplay in my uni’s anime club’s event one day.

Okay so, a friend of mine pointed out that Lu Guang cosplayed as the hero of that RanXi chronicles when there was an attempt to dress Xiaoshi as the heroine. Ok.

Lu Guang checking that damn watch once in a while breaks my heart.

Parallel narrative, foil characters again – metanarrative, two-folded narrative embedded within the narrative (that girl’s story about perseverance, hope, regret, passion, taking the damn risk and further hope, story of RanXi chronicles and Lu Guang explicitly saying how he relates to the story of RanXi’s heroine)

Now I am saying again, I am Sapphic and Qiao Ling, that is Sapphic behaviour, my love, me and my Sapphic friends approve. “That girl is so lovely” the way she says it. AND YES QUEEN! Link Click never forgets to address social issues. Btw, I personally related to that girl when she was rebuked vehemently for voicing her career choice. My acceptance of what I really wanted to do in my life and pursuing it changed the trajectory of my life too. Life is not a flower path but “there are no regrets in dedicating your life to something you care about” – again it echoes the central theme of link click.

Also, (with a shiver) I am realising how the interpretation of the first and second season is rapidly changing (and I like it).

Cheng Xiaoshi, are you jealous?

The chibi shifts are so cute!

Lu Guang has this deep sense of lack of agency, understandable because it arises from the agony of the death of a loved one and this depressive existentialist mood makes him conform to the ‘power’, even though he can be rebellious but that threshold is only initiated with Cheng Xiaoshi’s active intervention.

Again saying, idk what kind of concept of queerness people (most of them who are not queer at all, how do they know what queerness is? How are you dictating?) have, but your friend’s image reflecting in your eyes when he brings a moral and ideological change to your mind and shatters your conformity, that surely is. This continuously happens in season 1 and 2, but we don’t get to know, you know why? Lu Guang’s pov was silenced deliberately. Without him soliloquizing, it’s impossible to know what his real emotional undercurrent is. The way Haoling crafted Lu Guang as a complex and delicate character, man. Man, I would die for him.

Btw, I too agree that putting a hand over his mouth is the second best option to silence him.

Ik it's bittersweet, but princess Guang-guang, don't run away from your fated prince! ( HOW THE FUCK AM I CRYING AGAIN)

this roughly wraps up to 34:30. I can't do more pain today, maybe tomorrow.

[earlycuntsets]

"mikey way

"me and gerard, we're the best friends in the world"

Once again, we meet Mikey Way. But this time this guy talks soooooo much. Hi hi hi! Never thought Mikey could be this chatty!

Long coat and black jeans, that's the outfit worn by Mikey Way when he met W at the Malia Hotel, Thursday afternoon, January 31, 2008. Wow, he looked really neat. But when watching MCR's concert a few hours later, it turned out that Mikey was also wearing the same costume, he he he. It's very clear that his long coat and all-black jeans are not just a style but an important part of his identity.

Anyway… Mikey looked relaxed as he shook hands with W. As a small talk, W of course asked him what he thought about Jakarta. He answered honestly. "So far, great. But I haven't been here long. Only 12 hours, only half a day. So, you know." He said as he took a large white plastic cup of coffee from the table in front of him. His hands looked a little shaky.

Gosh, Mikey, the conversation has become so serious, huh, he he he. W reminds me that the name My Chemical Romance was taken from one of the books Mikey read when he was still working at Barnes & Noble bookstore, namely Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance by Irvine Welsh. mentioned by Mikey, here. Wow, it seems so funny to imagine Mikey being a bookworm, huh? Apart from Gerard being the vocalist and frontman of My Chem, he is still Mikey's 'big brother'. So, let's just start asking about Gerard, shall we?

Mmm, maybe we can start with a question that's not too direct, huh…

What's the most annoying thing about Gerard?

"Him? There's nothing bad about him. Even if there's something annoying, it makes me love him even more. Ha ha. Even if there's something bad about him, it's endearing. Gera is a very talented and admirable individual."

What is the annoying side of you in Gerard's eyes?

"Me? Well, I don't know. Ha ha. Maybe you guys better ask Gerard directly, haha ​​ha."

Have you two ever fought?

"We have. It's natural. But not too often. In a few years maybe."

Can you tell us a little bit about how you and Gerard are actually brothers? what kind?

"We're the best friends in the world. We always hang out together. We always talk. Especially when we're on tour, we always share a room in a hotel. only once we fought, ha ha ha. We barely fight."

Do you still have time to read a book?

"Yes, I still am. Right now I'm reading Needful Things by Stephen King. This is actually my second time reading it, he he he."

Wow, you really like horror stories, huh?

"Ha ha ha, yes. I like horror novels and also horror movies. Stephen King is a great horror writer. Many of his books are horror themed. I really like Stephen King."

From early on, it seemed like Gerard did most of the talking.

"I only talk when necessary. Not only me, Frank, Bob and Ray have also. But more often than not we have to take care of our own musical instruments, so we leave that responsibility to Gerard, he he he."

Totally agree, Mikey Unfortunately, Gerard isn't there, hu hu hu!

On stage, Gerard is the same. Have you ever joined in the conversation with the audience?

"Well, yes sure. I have."

Anyway, really happy to chat with you. Lately, MCR has been using piano players a lot at concerts, huh?

"We do everything like other big bands do."

Are there plans to make James Dewees a permanent member of MCR?

Oh, James. He's already become My Chem family member since ama. Even though he is not a member of MCR, he is our friend. We have also known him for a long time. Besides, we like the sound of our concert piano. So, we keep using it.

Why, the hell, is the sound of the piano so important to MCR?

"Piano is the basis for all music. Since we know a cool piano player like James Dewees, we might as well include him in the line-up. Unfortunately, James is currently at sound check, so he can't be here."

My Chem, that's how Mikey shortens the name My Chemical Romance. Frankly, W also knows nothing, he he he. When asked when My Chem (yikes, I'm following Mikey) will release a new album, Mikey said it would be around early or mid 2009. Wow, that's still quite a long time away, huh. When W asked about My Chem's three previous albums, this guy remained enthusiastic, cas cis cus.(?)

Tell us about the metamorphosis from the first to the third album…

"Sure sure"

Album: Bullets

"We were still very young. We were in our early 20s and we had only been in the band for about 10 months. Every song that was created at that time was indeed in accordance with our condition at that time. If you listen to it, you will definitely feel the nuances of My Chem now. The songs on the first album are like 'the younger brother of The Black Parade,

Is the creative process different?

"Let's see… The first album, / was really green, he he he. Gerard was also very young. We felt more spontaneous. The second album, Three Cheers… was more mature, more aggressive. The longer it went on, the clearer it became in The Black Parade. The difference was probably with the presence of Bob on drums. He is one of the phenomenal drummers. Many people say so. Because of Bob, The Black Parade seemed touching on many musical genres."

What if someone says that The Black Parade sounds smoother than previous albums?

"Technically, yes. The first album was made in the basement. The sound was rough. But eventually we had a bigger studio and had more time to prepare the material."

adhika annisa, marti photo: yudha

08/2008 kawanku (indonesia) from mcrhollywood

english translation done by google translate

[lightlycareless]

Merry Christmas y'all!! I hope you had a wonderful time with your loved ones ❤️

I didn't get to enjoy this holiday that much because of... women issues. iykyk But still, I got to finish this and play some games so it wasn't all that bad :)

There's another piece that I also intend to upload soon, probably tomorrow lol but the bottom line is we getting two Christmas specials :> which I hope you enjoy!!

warnings: none. fluff. you and naoya are married and naomi already exists, however, it's not entirely centric on them. Mai and Maki's mom is the protagonist here :')

Happy reading!

“If you go through with that change, you’ll be over the budget.”

Junko doesn’t know why she even bothers warning you so when it always ends up the same way: you go over your pre-approved spending limit, the elders question you about it, Naoya covers for it—or more like demands them to back off and pays for the difference.

In fact, he seemed to encourage it too, given how he never reproached you about it and even admired your ill choices—certainly unbefitting of your responsibilities as the future Lady of the House.

More so since there’s a new motivator behind your actions this time around.

“But it’s going to look so pretty, right?”

If she already thought the enthusiasm you had for your first Christmas at the Zen’in estate was too much, preparing everything for your daughter’s first celebration was beyond her expectations.

“It’s Naomi’s first Christmas, surely you must understand why I need to make this extra special for her.”

No. she doesn’t. She didn’t even do it for her own daughters, did you really expect her to suddenly grow empathetic to your cause?

The best thing you could do for everyone was stop, at least then she wouldn’t have to deal with complaints about the bad job she’s supposedly doing by guiding you through your new responsibilities.

But you’d become stubborn, just like your husband, marking this as the newest bane of her existence for all eternity to come.

“Hurry, Naoya! We’re just waiting for you! I already have everything set up so let’s go!” you urged whilst holding Naomi with one arm, pulling Naoya onto the main garden with the other—and he laughs alongside you while doing so, after days of endless teases, how could he not be thrilled by your surprise too?

“Careful, my love. I’m not confident our dumpling enjoys being jolted like that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” You lament, immediately glancing down at your precious baby —just short of a year old— dressed up in a cozy polar bear fleece onesie that made her look even cuter. Alongside her big, round, golden eyes that told you there was nothing to worry about, for she was equally excited to see what you had in store for her. “My adorable princess, are you ready for your first Christmas?”

The baby gurgles, giving the two the most adorable sound capable of curing all ailments in the world, if possible.

“It’s our first Christmas as a family too.” Naoya notes, and your heart flutters at the thought.

“It is.” You respond, looking up to him with pure adoration—unconditional love. As well as partial disbelief, like you were still trying to wrap your head around the fact that one of your biggest dreams had come true.

A family.

Composed of a baby girl who couldn’t be any more perfect, a beautiful, sweet little thing that wholly compasses your love for Naoya.

And a husband, loyal, dedicated, protective—who wants nothing but your well-being, and of course, your love. Which he has more than enough to return.

You didn’t care for what Naoya had gotten you this year, not even dared to wonder, because the best gift you could’ve obtained was already in your arms.

“You’re making me cry, Naoya, that’s not fair!” You pout, he chuckles.

“Then don’t, just think about how happy Naomi is going to be when you reveal her surprise.”

Alongside the gathering crowd composed of Mai and Maki, whom you promptly invited the moment this idea crossed your mind, eagerly tugging at their mother’s sleeve as they wished to keep up with you.

“Come on, mom! We’re going to miss it!” Maki insisted. “I want to be there when it happens!”

“You two should be in bed by now!” Junko scolds, gently fighting back against their daughters, but ultimately failing against their unparalleled enthusiasm.

“We’ll go to bed as soon as we see it, we promise!” Mai quickly arranges. “Please, mom? I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

At her unwanted impotency, Junko naturally stretches to find a culprit behind their erratic behavior and make them responsible!

Or more like she wants to directly confront you for being their obvious prime instigator and demand you to stop filling their minds with senseless ideas, less you desired to suffer the consequences!

But of course, it all takes her back to the initial point. There is no use in her frustrations if by the end of the day she’ll just get the same result: you’ll promise to be more careful with your actions, ask the twins to be more obedient towards her… and let your enthusiasm get the best of you once more, completely disregarding the Zen’in’s inner workings.

So instead of wasting her time, she simply makes them promise to go to bed soon after you do whatever it is that you have planned and move on; arriving just a few seconds after you and taking their respective positions, the best seats as you’d put it.

And once ready yourself, you’d look over to your staff, signaling them to begin.

A wide smile on your face as the results of all your careful planning comes to life, bright colored lights decorating the garden, from the flowers to the trees, in all its festive glory—in such hypnotizing manner that those present could only gasp in awe at its beauty.

But if that wasn’t enough, you also made sure to pace everything correctly; a combination of dazzling entertainment that proved to be a complete success given the way your enthralled daughter bubbled whenever her favorite color appeared, or when encouraging her to do so.

“I think our little princess likes it.” Naoya declares, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close.

“I knew she would.” You murmur proudly while resting your head over his shoulder. “And you? Do you like it?”

“I love it, just like everything you do.”

Junko looks away the moment two lean in for a kiss, just in time to avoid any further embarrassments—as if she wasn’t struggling enough with her unruly daughters and your senseless spending.

But even amongst all these inner conflicts, a part of Junko cannot keep her away from looking at your work. The one she previously disregarded as unnecessary, but now, before it’s intricacy… she can’t help but feel calm. Nostalgic even, though this sentiment wasn’t uncommon during these festivities.

Yet, to her it was. Almost intriguing that someone like her, that has never taken interest in commemorating such things in the past, less so after getting married, could feel such a way.

Though one quick glance at her daughters, the beaming, wide-eyed children that were equally enthralled as Naomi in the face of your celebration, would provide the answer. Because just like your child, they too were essentially celebrating their first Christmas together. As a family.

After brief consideration, perhaps finding it unnecessary to cut short this harmless moment, Junko decides to let her guard down and enjoy the rest of the evening. Soon captivated by the following fireworks, courtesy of the nearby village, which she was never aware could be seen from there.

Not that it mattered to ponder about such a possibility now, not when she allowed her mind to diverge instead into a universe where enjoyable moments like these were an everyday norm—and not an example of defiance.

ugh I needed to give them the spotlight :') idk why it just came to me; but omg hahaha I'm sorry if y'all were expecting something a bit lighthearted but I promise the other oneshot I'm working on is 🙈 just needed to get this one out of my system.

Now, without anything else to add, I hope you have happy holidays!! Thank you so much for your support 🥺❤️ really, I could not be here without you guys.

Take care and hope to see you soon!!!

[ppssession]

Mystic Shop:Shortcut to success

The path as an actor is quite difficult, that is something I understand very well.Okay, but what I don't quite understand is that almost six years have passed and I still haven't made any progress.

The voice in the head of Has, an ordinary-looking young man, is thinking while working on the set of the film.

He graduated from the Faculty of Acting and majored in acting many years ago. He was praised as a very talented actor by both his teachers and friends, but his chance to act was overlooked simply because he looked ordinary.

While he was thinking about the past, he saw a handsome young man who was the main character in this group.

Raven, the handsome young man who was the hero of this filming, made Ash a little unhappy because Ash could clearly see that his acting ability was very low. He acted stiffly like a robot, or maybe a robot could act better than that. Ash could only think to himself.

After the group of people left, Ash could only hold back his dissatisfaction as he walked along the quiet street, and then he heard someone shout, "Hey, big brother, come in."

เHe turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a handsome young man wearing a simple waiter's uniform calling him into a strange shop. The sign in front of the shop said, "We can help you change your life." As he walked into the hot room, he heard sweet words.

Do you want to be successful? It seems like you are taking a long time but the results are not coming to you yet?

The young employee asked openly.

Not arrogant about anything, Hass admits, “Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve had that opportunity.”

Then you're in luck, we can help you. The young clerk turned under the counter and picked up a leather jacket.

This is a special jacket that allows the wearer to possess his or her body just by wearing the jacket as part of him or her.

We will put your soul into the jacket ourselves. You will fall asleep and wake up in your new body. Do you agree?

Hearing that, Hass was interested, but he had a question. “If I put my soul in it, will I be able to make my new body wear this jacket?” Hass asked suspiciously, but the clerk smiled playfully before answering.

“Of course, our shop will take care of everything.” So to guarantee that we will make you into the shape you want, we will not charge you upfront, but you can pay when it is done. How about this?”

Hus saw nothing bad when the employee just reached out his hand to make a deal. He shook hands with the employee. “I agree.” When their hands shook, it was a contract that the deal was made. Suddenly, Hus started to feel sleepy. He slowly lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was the employee smiling with his eyes full of satisfaction.

Huss came to a strange state of consciousness. He felt that his body was very light. When he looked closely, he could not move at all. He found that he had turned into a jacket.

She said as she walked away that someone had carried him up to the wardrobe and had someone put him on.

Hus found out that the person wearing him was Raven. He was a little shocked, but he felt satisfied to receive Raven's body from him. He felt that he was merging with Raven's body. Everything about Hus slowly turned dark again…

Raven's Corner

Today I have to continue filming this movie. I'm a little bored with the people on set who are gossiping about my acting being too stiff.

**After putting on the jacket**

I feel like I can perform better with this weird feeling like something is flowing through me, but I accept it.It made me able to act more naturally but ahhh the more I accepted it the more my body became uncontrollable. Ahhh the worst it made me horny it made me hard all the time.I can't stand it anymore. Aaaah no, I just finished in my pants and they're so wet now. Why is everything getting darker…,,,

Raven's body twitched for a moment before opening her eyes. Hass had now taken over Raven's body.

From now on, I'll take care of it myself. Let's see how well I can portray you, Raven. Wow, it looks like someone just finished in his pants. I'll definitely continue at your house, Raven, no, mine, lol.

After 1 year

The handsome young actor Raven has been nominated for the Best Leading Actor award. He can give a great performance. The headlines are like this, I feel shy.

Hass in Raven's body lives as Raven. He can act as Raven smoothly without anyone knowing. He gets up and goes to take a photo, thinking to himself, "Thanks to this body, I've come this far, but I should thank the Mystic Shop for helping me get this body. Ah, I feel so good in this body. Ah, it seems I made his brother hard again by accident. I'll have to work so I can have fun."

I'm trying to get my backlog of requests sorted out before the new year. I hope you like it. See you on the next one.

[sir-phineas-lost]

Claudia Deserves Respect

One of the things I think the last(?) season of The Dragon Prince did right was giving Claudia her due as a character. For a long time now, I feel like both the show and the fandom has had the bad habit of either demonizing or infantalizing Claudia and her motives. Even the corners or the fandom who are sympathetic towards her tend to go on about how she is "emotionally immature" or naive and easily manipulated because she wants her dad back and listens to Aaravos when Viren is gone, but that has never been my read on her.

The big shift in Claudia and Aaravos' relationship this season happens when they are at the Moon-Nexus and Aaravos has a rare moment of introspection and vulnerability with her, confessing that he doesn't really believe that Viren is going to be there. This is obviously very surprising for Aaravos to admit because he has no reason to do so other than genuine guilt about manipulating Claudia after bonding with her and also breaking her and Terry up, but Claudia surprises us even more by admitting that she has already done the introspection to realize that her dad is not going to be waiting for her at the end of this. This is one of those moments that I have seen people argue makes Claudia a passive puppet because "she just wants Aaaravos to tell her what to do" but I disagree. It is important to know that until this point Aaravos has not given Claudia any reason for why inverting the Moon-Nexus would be a good idea other than the vague suggestion that Viren might be there, but she has already come to the conclusion that he isn't on her own. When she answers Aaravos with "Good question. Why don't you answer it?" she is not making Aaravos think for her, she is telling him: "I know you didn't suggest this for my benefit, I know you have an agenda, now spill it". In this moment, Claudia demands to hear exactly why Aaravos is doing this and she decides that his is a cause worth pursuing. Aaravos was open with her and she decided for herself that she is 100% on-board with tearing down the entire structure of the world and making the cosmic assholes suffer.

This is also not demonizing her in any way because it is perfectly in-line with her previously established good traits. Claudia has consistently been the most vocal about voicing the injustice of this world in how poorly the elves and dragons have treated humanity so tearing down the cosmic order is not framed as her just wanting the world to end but her usual way of standing up to injustice by breaking taboos.

Her last big scene of the arc is her confronting Soren and Corvus on top of the Storm Spire where they chased her down with the intent of killing her and she lets them go saying that she is still herself, still nice. This is also something I see a lot of people framing as negative because it is Claudia "holding on to a false image of herself" but I see it as her confirming something about herself. Claudia has changed a lot, but the one thing that remains true about her is that she is nice. She will prioritize her loved ones over all else, but when she has an opportunity to be good that doesn't conflict with her larger goals, she will take it. In this moment she is furious with Soren, who all but confirmed that he will kill her when he gets the chance and not even a sworn oath from his king will stop him. She has every reason to toss him off the edge to be broken the same way their father was, but she doesn't. When Claudia is in control, she chooses to be kind, even to people who are never kind to her.

So if this is the end of the show, I am glad with the position it left my favorite character, because it respects her in both her motives and her autonomy. She is still out there, still scheming to bring down the injustice that our heroes won't even acknowledge. And she is confirmed to not do this out of blind devotion or even blind love for Aaravos, but a genuine conviction in that goal. And above all, she is still the wonderful person who proves that you don't have to be a paragon or follow the arbitrary rules of "good" to be a good person. To just be "nice".

[sephirthoughts]

For the Winter/Holiday prompts:

3, 26, or 31 with our special boy Benjamin (Bellhop) and whoever you want to put with him? Let him have something good, after all the shit I put him through. XD

BEHOLD I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE CHRISTMAS WASTELANDS BEARING GIFTS

(from this ask game)

since i already did 31, i chose 3. Family (Found and otherwise) and 26. Snowball fight!!

All's Fair in Love and Snow-war

“This is the crucial choke point,” Sephiroth said, pointing at a spot on the map. “You and I will flank them here, and push them to the choke, where we’ll have our support units waiting in ambush, to take them down. With any luck, we’ll be done in time for supper. Any questions?”

“Couple,” Cid said, scratching his head. “By support units, you mean Cloud and Vinnie, right?”

“Yes.”

“And, uh. What’re these blobby things, here?”

“That’s the hedgerow.”

“So, you want to set up the ambush in the hedges, and hem ‘em in at the workshop?”

“No. That’s the house. This is the workshop.”

“They kinda look the same.”

“I didn’t have much time to make a map.”

“It’s kinda wrinkled, too. And the ink’s runnin.”

“I dropped the napkin in the snow. You understand the plan, correct?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Good. Father, Cloud, how are the munitions coming?”

“Be a lot faster, if you two were helping,” Cloud returned, from their improvised bivouac, a few meters away. “My fingers are gonna freeze off.”

Sephiroth frowned. “I told you to wear your mittens. Why are you wearing those gloves?”

“I can’t do anything with mittens on, it’s like having flippers.”

“You really won’t be able to do anything without fingers.”

“That’s one advantage of being dead,” Vincent said sagely, as he scooped up snow with his bare hands. “Cold doesn’t bother me, at all.”

Before anyone could reply to that helpful nugget of paternal wisdom, something came whistling through the air, toward the group. In the blink of an eye, Masamune flashed out and sliced the incoming missile in two. It burst in a puff of white. 

“We’re under attack!” Sephiroth shouted. “Fall back to defensive positions!”

Cloud and Vincent ran for the hedgerow, while he and Cid dove behind the corner of the house, just in time to be missed by the barrage of snowballs that rained down on their former positions, to disintegrate harmlessly, on the white ground. 

“How many?” Cid asked. 

Sephiroth leaned out for a split second, and drew back just before another snowball exploded against the side of the house. “Two. The others must be attempting to outflank us.”

“What do we do now, general?”

“Plan B. Hold the line here, and try to draw them into the ambush. I’ll circle around the other way, to head off their reinforcements.”

So saying, he vanished, a silent blur of silver, in the snowy night. Cid picked up a big snowball in each hand, from the pile Cloud and Vincent had left for them, and took a deep breath, prepared to face the enemy down. With a battle-cry, he leapt out and fired off his two shots, before high-tailing it toward the ambush.

His retreat, however, was in vain. Nero was using his darkness tentacles to make and throw snowballs, with dizzying speed, and unleashing them in a nonstop fusillade, like a gatling gun. Regular, un-augmented, human Cid had basically no chance against the onslaught, and was knocked flat on his face. 

“Man down!” Benjamin shouted, popping out from behind Nero. “Mr. Highwind, are you alright? Is anything broken?”

“Come on, now, I ain’t that old yet,” Cid protested, as he scrambled up. Luckily, he had landed in a deep, soft drift, and only suffered from a faceful of snow, and some minor bruises to his pride. 

Just as he got to his feet, several snowballs came flying out of the hedgerow at extremely high velocity. Two were stopped by darkness tentacles, but one struck Benjamin square in the chest, exploding and knocking him backward. He didn’t hit the ground, since a darkness tendril caught him, but he was doused from head to toe.

“Tss! Ah! Cold! Cold!” he yelped. “How did so much of it go right down my collar!”

“Get back to cover, quickly,” Nero said, holding an arm up, to shield him. “I will avenge you, little brother!”

All Cid could do was get the hell out of the way, as Nero restarted his snowball gatling-gun and advanced toward Cloud and Vincent’s concealed position.

“Since we’re out, we may as well go get some dry clothes,” he said to Benjamin. “I gotta check on Ollie, anyway. That robot cat’s the only one watchin’ her, and she might outsmart him and get into mischief.” 

“B—but I can’t leave Nero on his own,” Benjamin objected.

“Rules are rules, Benny,” Nero called back to him. “Besides, I don’t want you getting sick. Go ahead inside and get changed. I can handle those two, just fine.”

“You heard him, big brother has spoken. Y’all have fun!” Cid was already pulling Benjamin away, out of the icy shrapnel that was hailing down on them, as Nero’s darkness swatted the incoming snowballs from the hedgerow. 

As they were running toward the house, there was a noise like a sonic boom, and a huge plume of snow erupted into the air, on the other side of the large property, out by the workshop. 

“Looks like Weiss and Sephiroth found each other,” Benjamin observed.  

“Those two idiots better not demolish my shop,” Cid groused, as they stepped in the back door. “They’ll be spendin’ their winter buildin’ me a new one, no matter how cold it is outside.”

Sephiroth and Weiss had indeed met, and were chasing each other to and fro, throwing up plumes of snow in their wakes, and huge explosions wherever they clashed. 

Sephiroth’s pale lips curled, with a cold smile. “You’re out of your depth. May as well give up, now.”

Weiss’ booming laugh rang out, only somewhat muffled by the blanket of snow. “Ha! Not a chance! I’ve been itching for a proper fight with you!”

“This is a snowball fight,” Sephiroth reminded him, as he pulled a massive, drum-fed auto-cannon out of nowhere. “No non-snow weapons.”

Weiss grinned broadly and leveled the barrel at him. “Oh, but this fires snowballs.”

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and summoned Masamune. “Then this blocks them.”

On the other side of the yard, the others were in something of a similar scenario, as Nero’s fusillade was being frantically blocked by Cloud’s huge sword. 

“You’re not supposed to use weapons!” Nero shouted, through the barrage of white.

“If darkness tentacles don’t count as a weapon, then neither does a sword!” Cloud shouted back, blocking another dozen snowballs, in that two-second interval.

“Whatever, blondie! Let’s see how long you can hold out!”

“Tch! You’ll run out of snow before I give up!”

It was then that Nero realized he hadn’t heard or seen his father, who should have been with Cloud in the ambuscade. Just as the thought occurred to him, he heard an ominous snarl, behind him. He whipped around, in time to see the gigantic, sinuous body of the Galian beast looming up from the snow, lifting something over its head with both titanic arms.

“Fuck.”

That was all Nero managed to say, before he was struck with a snowball the size of a family sedan, and sent hurtling backward. Unfortunately for team Vincent, the snow-boulder rammed directly into Cloud, too, who went rolling along with Nero, both of them stuck into it like some kind of slapstick cartoon. 

The gigantic projectile had been thrown with tremendous force, but it wasn’t packed very tightly (so as not to injure the target), and before it even reached the back wall of the property, it lost momentum and collapsed, leaving both Cloud and Nero completely buried.

“You’re—out,” Cloud panted, as they pawed their way out of the snowbank.

“So are you,” Nero retorted. “Friendly fire still counts.”

Cloud grimaced. “Damn it, Vincent. He was supposed to be our secret weapon, not a liability.”

“That’ll teach you to rely on a big, dumb beast.”

“You’re one to talk. You have Weiss on your team.”

As if on cue, they heard Weiss laugh, from the other side of the workshop, to which they were now fairly close. However, a whirlwind of snow kicked up at the same time, turning the entire area into a howling blizzard. Nero threw out a mesh of darkness tendrils, shielding them from the icy blast, as they huddled reflexively together.

“I guess no one’s playing fair,” Cloud remarked.

Nero shrugged. “With this family, what did you expect?” 

“Mn. True.”

Meanwhile, Sephiroth’s supercharged blizzaga spell had sufficiently blinded Weiss, rendering his cannon useless, and soon he succumbed to a volley of snowballs, coming at him seemingly from all directions at once, under the cover of the gale. 

When the last one struck him full in the face, Weiss collapsed onto his back, laughing breathlessly. “I yield, I yield! You win this one!”

Sephiroth appeared, towering over him in the grey haze, and extended his hand. “Good game.”

“Good game, indeed,” Weiss said, as he was pulled to his feet. “But for whom?”

Catching the mischievous glint in his silver-blue eyes, Sephiroth instinctively turned to look behind him. The whirlwind of snow was dying down, and as it cleared, an eerie and chilling spectacle was revealed to him. He was standing at what was now the center of a ring, comprised of…snowmen. 

Normally, a snowman is a charming winter sight, but normally, they don’t appear from thin air, in large groups, surrounding and silently staring at one, with those soulless, charcoal eyes. 

“What…what is this?” Sephiroth asked, bewildered.

By way of reply, he was rushed by the army of snowmen, who threw their powdery bodies at him with reckless abandon. He obliterated many of them, but even with his superhuman speed and strength, he couldn’t avoid being swarmed and dogpiled by the hundreds of kamikaze snow-soldiers, and was quickly submerged.

The moment he was down, the ones who hadn’t jumped on the pile simply stopped moving and fell apart, where they were, returning to the snow from whence they came.

Weiss practically passed out from laughing, but did manage to compose himself enough to reach into the heap of dismembered snowmen and haul Sephiroth out, bedraggled and fuming, like a wet cat. 

“What in Gaia’s name was that!” he demanded, as a fire spell flared up around his person, quickly restoring him to proper dryness. “I didn’t know you had the ability to animate objects.”

Weiss looked innocent. “Me? I had nothing to do with them. It seems you’ve forgotten my other teammate.”

“Nonsense. Nero and Benjamin’s darkness doesn’t—”

“He meant me,” a third voice called out. 

The two young men turned to look in that direction. Emerging from behind the hull of an old helicopter, which Cid was keeping around for who knew what reason, was a dark-haired man with a neatly-trimmed beard, wearing a parka and ushanka cap, and sheepishly waving his mittened hand. 

Sephiroth was dumbstruck. “Commissioner Tuesti? You’re responsible for the snow golems?”

“Yep, those were mine. Uh…ha ha, sorry about that. I’m no match for any of you, so I had to improvise.”

“But how? Since when can you animate snow?”

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t think it’d actually work,” Reeve admitted. “I’ve only ever used my inspire on mechanical devices, since I can visualize the internal workings. But Weiss thought I should give it a try, so I did, and voila! Army of snowmen! They weren’t very strong, and they didn’t have minds of their own, like my Cait Siths, but they were good enough in a pinch.”

“It was…very impressive,” Sephiroth conceded, eyeing the man with new respect. “I shall have to take care not to underestimate you, in the future.”

“I think this means you won, Commissioner. Which means team Weiss takes the victory!” Weiss declared, slapping Reeve heartily on the back, and then catching him, as the friendly pat nearly sent him sprawling.

“That depends on the rest of our teammates,” Sephiroth pointed out. “We don’t know who’s still standing.”

“We’re both out,” Nero’s voice piped up. He and Cloud were just coming around the corner of the workshop, to join their respective partners.

“Benny and Cid are out, too,” Cloud told the group. “What about you guys?”

“All out, but Commissioner Tuesti,” Sephiroth said. “So, that leaves only my father unaccounted for.”

“I wonder where he went,” Cloud said, peering around. “I didn’t see anything, after he used us as bowling pins. He might be lying in wait, somewhere nearby.”

A shadow seemed to deepen the night, as Nero sent his superfine darkness tendrils out to search the general area. After a few seconds, he rolled his eyes and withdrew them. “Lying in wait, my ass. He’s curled up in the workshop loft. The beast must’ve gotten sleepy from the cold.”

“Aww, why does that sound so adorable?” Cloud laughed.

“So, he took out one of our own, and then went off to nap,” Sephiroth sighed. “Father wins most unreliable teammate, at least. But it would appear that team Weiss does, indeed, take the victory.”

Nero trotted off to wake his father, and the two followed the rest of the group back to the house.

When they tromped inside, rosy-cheeked and glowing from the exercise in the cold—stopping to remove boots and coats in the entryway—the scent of baking cookies wafted over, and made the atmosphere cozy and cheery.

In the kitchen, Cid was stirring up a large pot of his famous spiced hot-chocolate, and Benjamin was just taking a tray of cookies out of the even. 

“We won!” Weiss announced proudly.

“Well, Reeve won,” Cloud corrected. “Vincent forfeited, by falling asleep.”

“There was a blizzard, all the sudden. The beast doesn’t like not being able to smell what’s going on,” Vincent defended, through a deep yawn. Then his eyes lit on the wire rack of cookies, cooling on the counter. “Hey…is that a gingerbread me?”

“Yep!” Benjamin chirped. “I made everyone! This batch is still hot, though, so we’ll have to wait a bit, to decorate them.”

“Am I the one with the spiky hair, or is that Cloud?” Weiss wanted to know.

“That’s Cloud. This one’s you,” Benjamin said, setting the second cookie sheet on a trivet. “See? You’re a lot bigger.”

“No fairsies!” Cloud complained. “I have to decorate a smaller cookie, just because I’m small?”

“Sephiroth can share his with you. Look how big it is.” Sure enough, the Sephiroth cookie was not only quite a bit taller than the others, its long hair and coat added a lot of area to its silhouette. “Besides, there’s no rule that you have to do your own.”

“I’m doing Weiss,” Nero announced. 

“I’m doing Nero,” Weiss added immediately. 

“Alright, but what about the cookies?” Cid interjected, with a grin.

Everyone groaned, and there was a chorus of ‘ugh, terrible’ and ‘no more dad jokes’ and ‘such vulgarity, in our goddess-fearing household’ and so on, till Cid chased them out of the kitchen with his ladle, and they all ran upstairs to change clothes, before the cookie decorating commenced. 

Benjamin stayed in the kitchen, carefully transferring cookies from the sheet pan to the cooling rack.

Cid, who was adding more Fireball cinnamon whiskey to his already almost flammable hot chocolate brew, heard a sniffle, and turned to look at the boy. “Hey, kiddo, you ok?” 

“Hm? Oh. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Benjamin answered, hastily dashing away a tear. 

Cid was unconvinced. “You’re cryin’ over them pretty cookies you made, for nothin’?”

“It’s stupid. I don’t want to s—say it out loud,” the young man mumbled. 

“Suit yourself, but if ya don’t tell me, I’ma tell your brothers you been cryin’ and they’ll—”

“No, no, no!” Benjamin sputtered, waving his hands. “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”

“Go on, then,” Cid prompted.

“It’s just that sometimes, this starts to feel like…a real family.” His voice wavered with emotion, and he cleared his throat to steady it. “It’s like…everything I ever wanted, all at once, a—and it’s too much. It hurts, in my chest, but not the way bad things hurt. I know it’s a dumb way to say it, I—I can’t think of the right words. Just forget it.”

“Nah, I know just whatcha mean,” Cid said, with a sympathetic smile. “That’s the way I feel every time I look at Vinnie, holdin’ Ollie. Hurts, kinda. Like my heart’s so fulla happiness, it swelled up a couple sizes too big. Ya know?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” Benjamin laid a hand on his chest and frowned. “But…why does it hurt? Why would happiness make us cry? That doesn’t make sense.”

Cid shook his head. “Dunno. Some things just don’t make sense, kiddo. But I do know that when you get that swelled up feelin’ in your heart, it’s better to just roll with it, insteada overthinkin’ it. Live in the moment, and save it up in your memory. Cause life goes fast. Y’never know when there won’t be any more of them moments to make into memories.”

Benjamin considered this, then nodded. “I will. Thank you, Mr. Highwind.”

Cid opened his mouth to say the boy could just call him Cid, but the rest of the group came traipsing back in, just then, in the midst of a voluble dispute regarding what counted as an illegal weapon, during sanctioned snowball fights. 

Weiss maintained that a sword was a real weapon, but a snowball cannon was not, Sephiroth argued that if cannons of any kind were allowed, then so were swords, Nero was saying that darkness was organic to his body and could not be considered a weapon, Vincent was agreeing, clearly applying the same logic to his Galian beast form, Cloud was explaining to Ollie that his name was ‘Cloud’ not ‘mama’, Ollie was blithely squeaking ‘mama’ at him, and no one was listening to Reeve, who was insisting that their family snowball fights were absolutely not sanctioned events, since there was no governing body responsible for setting regulations and overseeing the tournaments.

Cid glanced at Benjamin, who had a strange expression on his face, and whose eyes had turned dewy and pink-rimmed. “Ya havin’ one of them moments again, kiddo?”

“It—it’s not that,” Benjamin choked out, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I just tasted the hot chocolate. I think…can sinuses catch fire?”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS THANK YOU FOR THE ASK 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[archivewriter1ont]

Long Story Short...

banner by @pandorademos

Gift fill for @kybercrystals94 for the @galactic-gift-gathering!

Prompt: Cadet Batch, fluff/humor. Word Count: 854

After Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Tech are turned into cadets, Echo is supposed to be the responsible big brother and keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately, this job falls to an unwilling Rex because Echo is just as much a chaotic kid as the time-swapped cadets.

Sneak Peek:

“So, how do we get you, anyway?” Hunter asked, gazing curiously at Echo.

Rex groaned. He thought they had successfully avoided this line of questioning.

“It’s, uh, a kind of a long story…” He began.

The cyborg downed the rest of his caf in one hit and grinned at his now-little brother with a suspiciously mischievous grin.

“Oh, you didn’t get me,” he said confidently. “Tech built me.”

He had that old gleam in his eye that Rex knew spelled utter and complete chaos. The captain could already feel his tension headache forming.

The long-haired cadet blinked blankly at his cybernetic sibling. “What?” he squeaked.

[the rest is on Ao3 at the link above!]

[heeheesang]

#jieun_out ! ── .✦

written & smau at the bottom ! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

“ HOW ARE YOUR SCARS ? “ DONGHYUN ASKED AS HE PICKED ME UP FROM MY HOUSE . I SMILED AND SHRUGGED IN RETURN , “ FEELS NORMAL ! “ I LAUGHED.

“oh c’mon, get on my back.” i raised my eyebrow at his offer, “your feet will hurt… plus we’re a little late and we both know you can’t walk fast.” he replied, adjusting his sling bag before i sighed and got on his back.

“y’know, my mom asked me what we were…” i started as he hums, “what did you say hm, pretty?” i blushed at the nickname, “i said we were… something! i said that we’re still best friends but i don’t want to out a label on anything just yet…” i replied as he giggled and agreed.

as soon as we reached the gates of school, i told him i could walk from here but he insisted to carry me all the way til my locker. i didn’t feel embarrassed, more like i felt shy. why? because all the attention would be on us!

“thank you, hyun… what’s your first class?” i thanked him as we looked through our schedule, “maths?” we answered at the same time and chuckled, “guess we have to see, you know who…”

as soon as i closed my locker, he had his arm around my shoulder as we walked to class. it was almost eight in the morning yet the teacher wasn’t in yet. donghyun and i took our seats before student after student came up to our table.

“oh my, ynie! are you okay?” were most of the questions. i found it weird, how would anyone else know about this? there were only the six of us…

“ynie! oh my god, i saw you yesterday… i saw what happened with jieun, are you okay?!” wonyoung asked as i nodded my head, ah she was there?

“i’m fine wony… but, how does the whole class know..?” i asked as donghyun paid attention to the conversation.

“i was doing a live stream in the park… and then i guess the camera must’ve shown it by accident… i’m so sorry ynie…” she apologised and got on her knees.

i widened my eyes, gasping as i tried to pull her up. “it’s okay seriously, it’s not a big deal wony..” i hugged her.

“sorry to interupt… but did you hear?” another student chimed into our conversation.

“hear what.. exactly..?”

“it’s all over twitter. hashtag jieun underscore out.”

⤶ back | mlist | next ⤷

⟢ permanent taglist ( can be requested to be taken off ! )

╰┈➤ @hooneverse @sol3chu @yourssincerely-mimi @reikaxslvr @petralovesbonedo @enhabooks @mwahvvis

⟢ accidental confessions (acc) taglist

╰┈➤ @rairaiblog @voikiraz @veerooniicaa

hhs notes! so sorry for the late update ㅠㅠ

[tumbling-through-deepspace]

The amount of Christmas decor everywhere was nothing short of nauseating. She was no scrooge, but this holiday was her least favorite.

Her mood wasn't on the happy side all day, plus it didn't help that at the association's christmas party, some idiot tried to but failed epicly to get her under some mistletoe.

The wicked grin she sported at the memory of the slap she bestowed upon his person had some of the staff at Asko hospital staying clear of her. It looked like she was on a war path.

Nah. Lyssa needed to cool down, and who better to do so than Dr. Zayne. Her boyfriend should be on his afternoon break right around this time, so it wasn't a surprise upon entering his office that she found him reclined in the chair she presented him the previous year. It was such a comfy piece of furniture.

She could tell he was in a light doze, glasses slightly declined down his nose, and his hair ruffled. Gods, he was a gorgeous man.

Lyssa closed and bolted the door before making her way over, carefully climbing into Zayne's lap and resting her head on his chest.

The scent of him - crisp air, caramel, coffee, and powder - soothed her. She giggled a bit at the thought that he must have had a confectionery, hence the caramel smell.

"Back from your outing so soon?"

She raised her head to see him wide awake, curiosity in his eyes. Lyssa pouted, followed by dramatic eye rolling. Zayne smiled at the action.

"What happened?"

"Some idiot tried to kiss me at the party. I swear mistletoe should be banned."

Tick. Tock. A moment of silence except for the ticking of the clock on the wall before the room's temperature took a nosedive. Lyssa shivered but not from the sudden cold... no, it was from the possessive grip Zayne had on her hips.

"The idiot got a name?"

She could hear the strain in his voice just from asking the question. The tightening of his jaw, dilated pupils, followed by heavy breathing. She knew her boyfriend wasn't the jealous type, but from time to time, when he got like this, it left her hot and bothered. Fucking needy.

Lyssa leaned forward, ignoring his question and began trailing kisses along his jaw, working her way up until her lips touched his ear.

"Calm down, babe. Took care of it. The slap he received rewired his brain and gave him some common sense. The only people kissing me are you and our big crow."

The firm grip on the back of her neck, and him pressing his lips to her skin caused her to moan. It was now his turn leaving kisses, alternating a few times between nipping at her flesh and leaving hickeys.

"Z-zayne..."

Whatever was about to be said fell short when his lips covered hers. The kiss was passionate, conveying the message that no one else could get to do this to her.

He pulled back slightly, gaze intense. "You're mine, sweetheart."

Lyssa nodded, too dazed to speak. He kissed her again, this time more gently.

She may not like the holiday season much, but at least something good came out for it. Zayne's breathtaking, mind-numbing kisses.

[itz-skyline]

"Back to another time" historical fanfic

a question to all napoleonic fans out there:

What should be changed or improved if a time travel were to travel back into the Napoleonic era?

So it's no secret of mine that I've been planning of writing a historical fanfic of a surgeon leonard dunard who's a pretty big napoleonic era nerd travels back in time during 1794 the siege of toulon. I've been kind struggling piecing this story together because of the not so many sources that I can go off

I just have alot of questions and not so many answers.

Now of course I'm not really thinking about giving napoleon the biggest W of all time there are going to be struggles but I think we can all agree that the peninsular wars and the attack to Russia can be avoided.

But I'm not only thinking of the way of how napoleon could've won but I was also think of how our modern surgeon Leonard could improve the medical field more.

I know that our boy larrey is definitely going to be involved since he was in most of the campaigns.

So I will just write down my questions under here and hope that some of yall can answer it I'll even organize it from which battle/chapter it would be used for you can ask me to explain further if some of it doesn't make sense.

Siege of toulon:

-how would a young surgeon inlist themselves into the medical field of the army?

-what was expected from a chirurgien sous aide major?

-what were the major issues the in the 18th century medical field? And how can they be fixed?

- how could dunard(oc) meet larrey? (So in what way could they have met eachother and stay in contact without napoleon introducing them to eachother)

Italian campaign 1796-1797:

-was is it common practice for surgeons to be in the midst of an active battle rescuing patients ?

-could a surgeon be given command to a battalion if it was needed?

-were nurses a thing in that time? And if not how could dunard incorporate them in the medical field?

-why wasn't there symbol for the medics to indicate that they're medical staff?

Egyptian campaign:

-how did the French army handle the spreading of the plague and could it be more improved?

-if the French fleet would have won at the battle of the nile against the British fleet would the British do more to sabotage the French army? Or would they just give up?

-> and would the Egyptian campaign only have taken 1 year to finish? Instead of 3 years

Italian campaign 1800

- what if desiax lived would he and davout been a unstoppable duo?

-if messena got navy support would he have continued fighting?

-should napoleon not have split his army that much in the battle of marengo?

Napoleons reign 1804-1812

-would it have been better if napoleon didn't become emperor?

-is it possible for a surgeon to become a marshal?

-could alot of the coalitions have been avoided if napoleon took the right steps?

Now I'm asking these questions because I struggle to find answers to these questions and I genuinely want to discuss more about my history fanfic so that I can maybe make fun fic to read that doesn't completely go of the rails i do kind what to keep it "realistic" if you know what i mean. so if your interested in it as I am I would love to talk about it more ^^

[halfagone]

For Lex Luthor's Ascent, what made you decide to do the social media chapters and keep them going thru the fic? They're probably some of my favorite parts, just because of how the outsider perspective shifts and varies wildly compared to the usual characters that we know. Also thanks for sharing your writing, it's really good! <3

sjhdfjghfgh I don't know why I always get so flustered when people mention that the social media parts are their favorites, they're my favorites too. Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy those chapters. 🥺

But onto your question! There are a few reasons for the social media chapters. On a more personal note, I just. Really like social media aus, so it was absolutely self-indulgent on my part. 🤣 I also really like outsider POVs and social media aus are one of my favorite ways to depict how outside characters, even OCs in this case, view and look into our characters and the things happening in the world.

On a more meta note, I liked how it made the world feel so much fuller and alive. The scope of LL's Ascent is absolutely massive, and it can be hard to truly show that properly. And I may still be missing the mark on that, but it still suited my purpose and that's enough for me.

I like the way social media aus can help us fill in the blanks for what the in-universe world looks like. We see through these chapters how Lex's actions have consequences and colors people's perspectives of him. There were times where I felt like I made Danny or Lex or, any character really, too good and too perfect. As if nothing they do is suspect. So these chapters are my way of acknowledging that, yes, this is suspicious. Yes, I know-as the author-how this looks like to the audience.

It's also just a helpful avenue to disclose cover stories and cover-ups for Danny's (and other heroes', ofc) secret identity without having to monologue about it. (Which is a shame because I love a good monologue, but this is still for the best lol) Chapter 52 "Road to Recovery: Two Steps Back" is probably one of my favorite examples of this within the fic. The news reports and trending hashtags tells us all we need to know just how big the situation has blown up, how many eyes on our protagonists. It puts pressure on the characters with very little dialogue and prose. Low volume, high reward.

It's such a fun way to relieve the tension. I like showing how beloved Danny is, how Danny has made a name for himself. I put Danny through so much in this fic, it's good sometimes to show how it is better here, how it can be better here.

And yeah, sometimes social media isn't pretty. Sometimes there is nastiness and hate that you absolutely don't deserve. I've seen it too, I see it all the time. But social media also helped me meet some of my closest friends. There is good in the bad and bad in the good. There's nuance in everything. I wish I could say all the social media chapters are just for the laughs, but there is some realistic points it's based on, and I like to think that also helps ground some of the more eccentric elements of the plot.

Sorry, I kinda got carried away for a second there. But thank you again so much for your kind words. I'm so happy you enjoy my writing, and I hope I can continue to provide it. ❤️✨