#ANYWAY she's coming in like February-ish

[chereid]

೯⁺ 𖥻 𝓗 𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗜'𝗠 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ! ᰋ

ꨄ︎ 𝒫 airing : : 𝒮pencer reid x female!reader

ꨄ︎ 𝒮 ynopsis : : you get drunk on a night out and gush about your boyfriend━━SPENCER REID. he picks you up, takes care of you, and reminds you that you're deeply loved.

ꨄ︎ 𝓒ontents : : drunk!reader. female!reader. jj and reader are friends since high school. fluff. spencer being the most boyfriendest boyfriend ever & ever. both are down bad for each other. mentions of having sex. boys of tommen quote mentioned!! johnnyshannon quote mentioned!! cringe. cheesy. grammatical errors. ooc(?). reader wears a dress and heels. reader is part of the bau but isn't mentioned. english isn't viana's first language. not proofread.

ꨄ︎ 𝓦ord count : : 1.4k

ꨄ︎ 𝓒ase file shelf.

ꨄ︎ 𝒲hispers of viana : : so... it's always drunk! spencer,, what about drunk!reader, chat!?!?( joksies, i love love love love your works sososo much,, i haven't read the nsfw ones but i love them because yes. they're definitely good. ) going back to my oldoldold writing style because i miss it. anyways, this is probably like, my first , first, first s.reid fic in months. the ones i've posted yesterday were made in,,, february-ish,, so this is probably bad-bad-bad. i'm vv sorry in advance!! + how do you guys make friends here lawd. oh, oh, and again, english isn't my first language,, so forgive me !!

the dress you chose wasn't exactly comfortable, and the heels were the type that made you wonder every step of the way. they were cute in the mirror.of course, but after standing for about ten minutes, it seemed like your feet were dying. nonetheless, you'd promised jj you'd attend. and when she mentioned that some of your old high school friends would be there. the ones she still kept in contact with━━you thought it couldn't hurt. it had been an eternity since you let loose, and jj promised you'd be home before midnight. besides, SPENCER said he didn't mind.

"go," he said to you that morning, stroking his thumb over your knuckles the way he always did. "you need a break. and besides, you're with jj, so i'm not concerned.

you weren't even going to drink. really. that wasn't the intention. but then more and more drinks would come and there would be low lights and everyone would laugh and laugh and laugh like it was time machines and it was senior year once more and there were no bills to pay or the need to procrastinate school projects or heartbreak or anything like that. only music and giggles and sparkly eyeshadow and glossy lips.

jj laughed next to you, her wedding ring glinting in the bar lights like a miniature disco ball. they were congratulating the girl for getting married and having kids.

one of the girls leaned in, already a little drunk, her voice teasing. "so what about you?" she said. "you dating anyone?"

you blinked at her, wobbling a bit in your seat, your drink halfway to your lips. "mmhmn," you hummed contentedly. "boyfren. beautiful. so, so intelligent. like, utterly intelligent. my spencer."

jj gagged on her drink. "oh boy."

your friends leaned in, curious now. "wait, that's his name? spencer? is he cute?"

you breathed in sharply, eyes wide. "cute? noooo. he's celestial. like.. a star. with a phd. and fluffy hair. and cheekbones. and when he speaks, it's like... sexy wikipedia."

you laughed, tugging jj's arm for support. "he knows everything. and remember everything i say. even the stupid things. like one time i said birds don't have knees? and he said they do, but he said it all soft and sweet like i hadn't just said the most wrong thing ever."

"he has, like, eighteen phds! it's insane. but it's spencer, so it's not insane."

jj snorted. "he's got three phds."

you brushed her away. "three is basically the same as eighteen. he totally has eighteen."

everyone at the table burst into laughter. jj leaned over and whispered, "you're so gone."

“mhmn. 'm so gonna marry him.”

soon, the heels became your worst enemies. you dropped your chin dramatically onto jj's shoulder and groaned, "jayjjjeey. my feetsies hurt. the heels are murdering me. it's, like, medieval battles down there."

“maybe remove them?" jj suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"then i'll be short," you huffed, offended.

jj rolled her eyes and got out her phone. "i should probably call your boygenius before you start rambling about his hands again."

"his hands are so nice though!"

"yeah, yeah. i know." she began dialing.

spencer answered on the first ring. "jj?"

"hey━━" she began, but didn't get a chance to finish.

"spencer!" you yelled into the phone. saying the “e” in his name longer than it should be.

he stopped in his tracks. "is she━━?"

"she's drunk," jj answered, half-sorry, half-amused. "she's fine, though. just. ridiculously drunk. here."

you pulled the phone away from her like it was your personal offender. "hi, hi. hi again" you drawled, stretching it out like the best song. "guess who?"

"hmm," spencer muttered, tone gentle. "i'm going to go say the love of my life?"

you squealed. loudly. "oh my god, you're so cute. spencer. your voice is like.. silk. but, like, smart silk. is that a thing?"

he was grinning into the phone now, though he was already getting up to grab his jacket. "did you have fun tonight?"

"mhm. so much fun. they asked if i have a boyfren and i was like 'duh' and they were like 'is he cute?' and i was like 'no. he's an actual greek god with brown eyes and a brain that could take over the world.'"

you were slurring more now. even over the phone, he could hear how your words tangled together.

"do you want me to come get you?"

you stopped as if you needed to think very hard. then you spoke softly but loud enough, "yes. yes. come and get me. please. i want to see your face. want to touch your hair. want━━to━━wait. jj! jj, he's coming!"

behind him, he heard jj say, "alright, just sit down and don't trip over, please."

twenty minutes later, spencer entered the bar, eyes sweeping until they found jj and the table of your old friends. he nodded at jj as greeting.

one of the girls blinked. "oh wow. you didn't say he looked like that."

"he's like a hot professor," another whispered.

you saw him. stood up way too fast. stumbled right into his chest.

"spence!" you cried, arms flinging around his neck.

he caught you quickly, his arms tight at your waist. "careful," he breathed, his nose buried in your hair.

you whirled away to your friends as if you'd just won a prize. "he's taken! so taken. all mine. back off."

they all erupted into laughter. jj put her hand across her face, trying so hard to prevent herself from losing it. "okay, casanova. let him breathe."

you didn't listen. your lips began leaving kisses on his cheek, his jaw, the edge of his neck, and his face flushed deep red.

"let's get you home," he said softly, scooping you up into his arms like you were nothing.

"bye guys!" you waved extravagantly. "jj i love you! and you're all so pretty!"

you wrapped both of your arms around his neck even as he attempted to put you into the car.

"baby," you mumbled, holding on. "don't go."

"i'm not leaving. i'm just buckling you in."

"you sing," you commanded as he removed your heels.

he hesitated. "sing what?"

"science lullaby."

"you want me to sing. the laws of thermodynamics?"

you nodded seriously. "yes. they comfort me." his voice did. but the same thing.

when you did finally get home. well, technically his place but now it felt like your home as well━━spencer attempted to get you to put on your heels again so that you wouldn't dirty your feet and so he could lock the car. you complained but wore it anyway.

once inside, you kicked them off like they'd personally offended you. "they betrayed me."

he stooped to put them down tidily beside the door. when he stood up, you were propped against the wall, bottom lip protruding.

"come on," he groaned lovingly, sweeping you up into his arms.

you breathed onto his shoulder. "you're so strong. do you work out? or are you just. spencer-y?"

he chuckled, carrying you into the bathroom. "let's get you cleaned up."

he sat you down on the side of the tub and picked up your makeup wipes. "close your eyes."

you did, scrunching up your lips. "kiss me."

"after i remove the mascara," he grumbled.

his hands were soft, tracing slow, gentle circles. "you always get this little smudge right here," he said, swiping under your left eye. "you never see it. but i do."

"you notice everything," you sighed, in awe.

"i do," he said again, softer.

he handed you your toothbrush then and stood over you like a hawk. "don't swallow it."

"you're like a sexy dentist," you said, toothpaste running down your chin.

he wiped it away. "you're going to regret all the things you said tonight."

after brushing, he put you into one of his large shirts and carried you to bed.( after making you urinate ). you held onto him like a koala, burying your face in the crook of his neck.

"love you," you breathed.

"love you too," he whispered, sweeping your hair aside.

you kissed him, slowly and deep, your hands fumbling with his shirt.

"baby," you muttered on his lips. "i want you."

he pulled away, his breathing ragged. "you're drunk."

"so?"

"so i'm not doing anything until you're sober."

you pouted. "but i want to."

"i know. and i love you. all of you. not drunk-you. tomorrow, okay?"

you scowled but nodded. "for keeps?"

"for keeps."

you wrapped into his chest, exhaling as your body relaxed into the blankets.

and even when your breaths grew slower and your hand remained tucked over his heart, spencer didn't sleep━━not yet. he simply watched you, drawing invisible shapes on your back, committing to memory the precise curve of your smile even in sleep.

even drunk, you loved him.

and god, did he love you too.

© reidscherrygirl

[stsgluver]

𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐏𝐓.𝟒 — gojo satoru

synopsis. nobara can’t find the dvd anywhere and gojo has a decision to make

wc. 4k

tags. fluff, angst (kinda), reader is described as fem, possibly ooc gojo (my bad), cliffhanger-ish, any spelling mistakes blame on my cats, possible plotholes

a/n. several things to address: firstly my description of dvds and how they work ARE SO FLAWED IK DON'T JUDGE. secondly, look I get how rct works so not everything I say is accurate but like this is also about 2d men so who's to judge. finally I'm not too sure about this chapter so if its shit lmk BUT I HOPE YOU ALL LOVE IT THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT <333 ily all but I do have upcoming exams so the ending(s), won't be posted till possibly early February as I have to get back to studying :(

previous part / final part / series masterlist

“guys we’ve lost it.” nobara pushed up her mattress, phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she peered beneath the wooden slats. all there was was her suitcase and a bag from an expensive shop she’d convinced gojo to buy for her. “it’s gone. poof. here once and now it’s not.” the ‘it’ in question being the dvd they’d treasured for the last few weeks (well, yuuji and nobara anyways).

after gojo had taken the dvd – unbeknownst to the first years – nobara had ended up sleeping for the next fourty eight hours, and then afterwards spending several days catching up on the classwork she’d missed. she hadn’t had the time or energy to force her classmates into another movie night so now here they were, almost a week since it was last touched, finally realising its disappearance.

“do you want me and megumi to come help?” yuuji asked tentatively as he heard her curse as she dropped the mattress back down. nobara sighed, glancing around at the chaos she’d created. her room was a mess – drawers half open and half her clothes and books on the floor in case the dvd had slipped into a pile by accident. 

“it’s not in my room,” she said adamantly, pushing her hair back from her face in frustration as she struggled to piece together the final moments she had with the dvd. she could remember sending megumi away, beginning her little day of research and even some of the videos she watched (the arcade and the christmas reunion), but then she fell asleep and everything was hazy from there.

“when was the last time you had it?” megumi asked and nobara felt her eye twitch like she hadn't retraced her steps a million times already.

“the first day i was off sick. i was watching a few–”

“without us?” the pink haired sorcerer cut in with a gasp.

“what else was there to do?” nobara argued back with no bite but he quietened down nonetheless. 

a moment of silence settled between the three as each tried to figure out where it could have been misplaced or who could’ve accidentally picked it up. if nobara had dropped it somewhere outside of her dorm, could one of the older years taken it?

nobara was brought out of deep thought by yuuji flippantly asking: “did you watch any after sensei came to see you?” she froze at the implication of his words. at no point could she recall their teacher ever coming in to check on her – it had always been either yuuji, megumi or maki. 

“what?” 

several hours later, the three first years found themselves huddled on the benches, nobara in the middle and the boys either side of her. in front of them were the second years and gojo – the latter having said something to annoy maki as yuuta held her back from making a swing at their laughing teacher. the second year teacher was off ill today so the larger class meant that the three had a distraction as they tried to figure out what their next step was – if they even had one at this point.

the assumed facts were as such: the first years were no longer in possession of the dvd, and gojo had it. though there was little doubt that this was true, it didn’t stop them questioning the possibility – after all, megumi had pointed out, there’d been no alter in his behaviour whatsoever since the minute he’d checked on nobara. surely, even the strongest would be noticeably affected by a disk that immortalised a happiness and innocence he’d never be able to return to.

but then again, maybe this was just another thing that separated gojo from the rest of society. being the strongest came before all else, he didn’t have the time to mourn resurfaced memories.

“maybe he just doesn’t have it,” yuuji suggested.

“he has to,” nobara reaffirmed. at this point they’d exhausted all other options about where it could possibly be and surely they would have heard if one of the older years found what they had. “would he tell you if he had it?” she asked megumi.

“no,” megumi said quickly, shaking his head and leaning back on the bench as he looked over at gojo, “we… he wouldn’t talk to me about that. about them.”

“could we steal it back?” yuuji offered and nobara debated duct taping his mouth closed.

megumi scoffed, shaking his head, “he has six eyes. even if we tried, he’d know for sure it was us.”

“he already knows it was us,” nobara countered, not that she agreed with yuuji’s solution by any means. “which is why i don’t get why he hasn’t said anyth–”

“oi, you three!” the first years jumped apart from their circle, hearts pounding as gojo appeared before them with a smirk toying at the corner of his lips and his hands clasped behind his back. “whoever beats maki in hand to hand combat gets the day off tomorrow!”

“yuuji if you win, i’m taking your day off,” nobara called out as she trailed behind the aforementioned boy running to the centre of the field. 

“okay!”

unsurprisingly, all three first years lost against the second year. megumi came closest to winning but when he tried to use his cursed technique, gojo countered it, catching him off guard and giving maki the opportunity to sweep him off his feet with her staff.

gojo found himself still laughing over megumi’s shocked expression as he fell flat on his back as he stepped past the threshold of his office. even after all he’d taught the boy in combat, with no cursed technique it was hard to overcome the zenin girl’s strength and skill she’d mastered to take on her own clan.

he let out a small sigh as the door locked shut and, for the first time that day, he was alone with his own thoughts.

dropping down into his office chair, gojo crossed one leg over the other as he pulled open a drawer. on the top of a pile of unread paperwork for the higher ups was the dvd the first years were so fixated on. 

he wasn’t stupid; he knew eventually they would figure out he had it and, unlike himself, they’d been way less subtle once they’d put two and two together. yuuji’s speech had tripled in speed, nobara was way too keen on being anywhere but where he was and megumi… gojo couldn’t forget the guilt and hurt in the teenage boy’s eyes after telling him you were gone. it was here again, had been for several weeks, and it was only after stumbling upon the disk in nobara’s room that he’d understood why.

gojo gritted his teeth together as he held the disk up between shaky fingers. it was pathetic, he scolded himself, it was just a bit of plastic with memories lasered into divots in a never ending spiral. it wasn’t worth the heartache.

if he looked closely enough, he could see shoko’s name written on the centrepiece in faded black sharpie. after gojo had stumbled upon the old camera several years after graduating from jujutsu high, shoko had taken back the camera to transfer all of the old clips onto dvds and given him, herself, nanami and you your own copies. he couldn’t even remember where his and yours were anymore, in fact he’d pretty much forgotten about their existence until a week ago.

he wasn’t sure where shoko had lost the dvd for the first years to get their hands on it but he hadn’t worked up the courage to speak to her about it. he hadn’t worked up the courage to do anything more than just spin the disk between his fingers, cry about it for a bit, and go back to pretending he didn’t have the last remnants of his youth in his drawer.

gojo glanced between the disk and the laptop on his desk. it was the last step he needed to take to hear your voice again. it had been on repeat for the last week in his mind; you uttering his name and that innocent question, would you last beyond your teenage years?

he missed it, missed you so bad.

raising megumi was a lot harder without you there; you were his favourite after all, bridging the gap between the two when they bumped heads with their contrasting personalities. gojo was all rainbows and giggles and megumi was everything but. you were a happy medium, creating a balance that maintained order in the home you shared. it was a peace that megumi deserved after losing his parents.

gojo clicked his tongue, reaching across to press a button that opened up a space for the disk. slotting it in place, he clicked the device shut and held his breath as he waited. it took several seconds for the files to load and then there he was again, back in those fields under the large weeping willow that was your spot.

the video was paused, exactly where it had been left, except this time gojo could actually see the screen.

your face wasn’t in it, just his. his glasses were off – balanced on your head if he remembered correctly – as he used your lap as a pillow. one of your hands was holding the camera while the other was held over his eyes to block any sort of light. the only thing he could make out was your cursed energy.

you were nearing the end of your first year and whilst gojo was growing more powerful, he was also growing more and more reliant on his glasses to stop himself from becoming so overwhelmed with the constant information he received with his six eyes. he’d overworked himself that day, as he so often did, hence why you’d dragged him away from the school to the seclusion of the tree. 

your questions about the longevity of your relationship weren’t meant to hold deep meaning, you just wanted to take his mind off of the headaches. gojo would choose thinking about you over the searing pain in the back of his head any day. yaga said that once he had a better understanding of his reversed curse technique it wouldn’t be so bad but until then it was just about riding it out.

gojo snorted at the notion. his reversed curse technique only marginally helped. you were what got him through the days when he’d lock himself in his bedroom with blackout blinds pulled down, hiding under his covers till he felt like he could function in society again.

he didn’t unpause the video, however, instead clicking onto the main tab with all of the files stored. 

lifting up his blindfold and dropping it down onto the desk, gojo took a deep breath before he began scrolling. unlike when the first years were simply searching for the ones with their favourite thumbnail, gojo was specifically searching for the ones he knew focused on you.

he needed to hear your voice again, to play it on repeat until it became so ingrained into his skin he could feel your touch.

gojo halted the cursor over the familiar date of your birthday, clicking on it without a second thought as the video filled the screen. it buffered for a moment, giving him a view of the dorm he’d practically spent three years in (despite yaga’s constant complaints and reminders that dorms were segregated on gender).

in the corner of your room was a stack of plushies that he’d won for you at arcades, and your walls were covered in photobooth photos and polaroids of your group of friends. his personal favourite was the polaroid you had pinned just above your desk. it was the two of you on new years eve sharing your first kiss of the year, sparklers in hand and the faint pink of a firework in the background. on the bottom of the polaroid was haibara’s handwriting as he’d scribbled on the date and a small smiley face.

“happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!” seventeen year old gojo sung in the video, swaying the camera side to side above a pile of duvet and pillows. you were somewhere in the middle, half asleep and trying to push yourself deeper into the comfort of your bed and further from whatever the screeching was in your room.

you’d never been a morning person whereas he, on the other hand, had a reserve of energy that never depleted. it was what made getting up at the crack of dawn on your birthday so much more entertaining for him. even as an adult, when the two of you lived together in the comfort of your own apartment, he would either force you to stay up until midnight or gently nudge you awake at 4am to tell you he loved you.

“satoru,” you whispered groggily when you gave up trying to ignore his awful singing, lifting your head up just enough to meet his eyes. he would have done anything to see you physically before him instead of watching you through the lens of a camera. to be looked at with love as you did and not a mix of fear and respect. “if yaga catches you–”

“i’m just singing happy birthday to my girl,” his younger self dismissed, plopping down onto the bed next to you. he preferred your bed over his, a softer mattress he used to argue when shoko would complain about him showing up at your shared dorm several nights in a row. that particular birthday, he was pretty sure she’d been sent on a training mission over in kyoto. gojo’s hand came into frame as he ran a gentle hand through your hair, giving it a little pat when you quietly hummed at the contact. “he can’t hate on me for that.”

“yes he can,” you retorted, rolling your eyes with a tired smile. gojo felt his chest tighten – two years without waking up by that very same smile after almost a decade of having it everyday.

“i’ll blame shoko,” gojo shrugged with a grin, kicking his legs up onto your bed, despite your small protest that he was taking up all of your space. like you weren’t just as clingy as he was.

you huffed out a quiet laugh, your elbow digging into your pillow as you rested your head in your hand to stare incredulously at your boyfriend. “shoko forced the strongest sorcerer of the modern day to enter the girls’ dorms? uh huh.”

“woah woah, i’m the strongest of all time baby, i don’t do second best,” he corrected, leaning down to give you a peck on the forehead. you scrunched your nose up at the contact, but even through the viewpoint of the camera, he can see how your eyes dropped down to his lips.

“i know you don’t,” you smiled and gojo dropped the camera down as he moved to give you your first real kiss of seventeen. present day gojo sucked in a breath, willing for himself to get through at least one several minute video of you until he started crying.

the kiss ended all too quickly as gojo shoved the camera back into your face, the flash causing you to squint and squeeze your eyes closed. “now smile and say cheese, you’re seventeen!”

“woo!” you cheered half heartedly, giving in to his infectious excitement. blowing the camera a tired kiss, you shuffled yourself back deep beneath your duvet. “now can i go back to sleep?”

“as long as i can stay.”

“fine,” you dragged out, though you both knew you wanted him to just as much. yaga be damned. the video ended several seconds later and an odd silence filled his office. 

he’d only ever watched several of these videos once or twice – back when he still had you to curl up into his side and reminisce with him and laugh at nanami’s old haircut. if he was being honest, he didn’t even remember he’d recorded that (though he was glad he did).

gojo was more confident this time when he scrolled, his hands no longer shaking as much as they had been as he smiled at the life he once had. a life with you and geto.

this time he stopped at a thumbnail with the three of you; gojo holding up the camera high as the three of you posed like it was a photo. it was at one of only a handful clan events you had attended together, with both you and geto as gojo’s plus ones. he and geto were in matching suits and you were in a floor length dress that he’d spent way too much money on (but you looked so pretty when you tried it on he couldn’t not get it for you).

“hi this is mtv,” you clapped your hands together, “and welcome to my crib.” his younger self waved his hands around in the background (geto was recording), showing off the spiralling architecture that cost more money than fathomable. 

gojo quietly laughed in his office. the politics of clans and these events were the last reason he’d ever chosen to attend them. seeing you all dressed up and running around buildings with a million rooms were right at the top. his favourite had to be when both the first years, shoko and utahime had also been in attendance, but after haibara’s death, hanging around with the clans that upheld the institution that killed their friend seemed distasteful.

“this is my in house art museum collection.” you led geto along one of the vast corridors, pointing into a room with dozens of framed canvases of art from all across the globe. “this is where i come in for inspiration and to truly just feel art you know?”

“i wasn’t aware you had skills beyond stickmen,” geto interjected and you raised both your middle fingers at him.

“art is subjective, di–”

“woah, i have standards to uphold here,” gojo cupped a hand over your mouth, stopping any expletive leaving you. you hummed in annoyance and the white haired sorcerer grinned, nodding his head over to a partially opened door. “we don’t need to argue when we have a whole cinema room to ourselves.” gojo remembered the stain of red lipstick you’d left on his hand when he let you go (you’d refused to kiss him all evening because of your makeup).

the cinema room was massive: rows and rows of sleek leather seats that looked out of place when compared to the aesthetic of the building. this was someone’s home, though it looked like anything but.

“this is my cinema room,” geto held onto the back of one of the chairs as he loosened his tie. he lowered his voice as he leant closer to the camera gojo was now holding. “we used to have two but daddy converted the smaller one into a sauna so now we only have this one,” he said with an upturned nose, and you could be heard giggling in the background at his faux disgust.

you nor geto were from the same wealthy background as gojo was and loved to poke fun at his high status background.

“oi!” an official that was supposed to be watching for any curses or curse users that tried to sneak into the event pointed a light into the cinema room. “you kids shouldn’t be back here!”

gojo laughed, throwing the camera to geto as he grabbed your hand and led you quickly down the stairs to another exit at the bottom of the stairs. geto turned off the recording once he’d grabbed a hold of the device in favour of focusing on not being caught. it wasn’t like there would be any real consequence – they were with gojo satoru after all.

the white hair sorcerer smiled as he thought back to the rest of the night. obviously, you’d all managed to get away – though he had suffered your wrath at the fact your legs weren’t as long as their’s were and you were running in heels. two strikes, but he’d made it up to you by taking you out for ice cream instead of going back to hear the speeches.

it wasn’t an exaggeration to say gojo would have done anything for you then. 

gojo swallowed a lump in his throat as your last interaction came to mind. you were arguing, as you had been in the weeks up until megumi’s birthday as he inched closer and closer to being old enough to enrol in jujutsu high.

the only wish he’d ever refused to fulfil: keeping megumi away from jujutsu.

“he’s our responsibility.” you were yelling at him, desperate for him to understand your point of view and he was walking away. dodging your anger by going wherever his legs took him – anywhere but where you were. “we need to protect him. we can’t protect him if he becomes a sorcerer too.” 

“i can,” he insisted, halting in his place to turn and look down at you. his cursed technique was activated, though there was no need for it to be, and all it did was frustrate you further.

“i nearly died today!” you countered, pointing to your neck with a faint scar. shoko’s reversed cursed technique was almost perfect, but not even that could fully erase the deep lacerations that had almost taken your life. “where were you? you can’t be everywhere and help everyone at the same time. it’s just not possible.”

“i can try.” his jaw was tight as he responded through gritted teeth.

“and if that’s not enough?” you didn’t need to see his eyes to know his were locked directly onto yours, daring you to continue. he wouldn’t hurt you, would never dream of it, angry or not, but how could you of all people doubt him? “what then gojo satoru?” you uttered his full name like it was an insult, “you may be the strongest but he’s not. i’m not. we’re mortals compared to you.”

“you’re my family,” his voice broke.

“yu and suguru were family once too.”

gojo clenched his fists at the memory, at the reminder he walked out after that. you were trying to get him to see your concerns, and he’d taken that as you blaming him for the outcome of your close friends. that was the last time he ever saw you; tears welling up in the corner of your eyes at his insensitivity, at his inability to admit that maybe, just maybe, he too was just a mortal. 

everything you said was logical and made sense – he had almost lost you that day, having not initially received the message that you had needed backup as he was preoccupied with his own mission. by the time he had arrived, the curse had its claws dug deep into your skin and it had taken everything in him not to use hollow purple and bring the entire infrastructure down in seconds.

despite all he’d done to save you that day, he’d still lost you. he’d only delayed the seemingly inevitable by mere hours.

megumi sat up in bed at the sound of two knocks on the door. he highly doubted it would be yuuji since the pink haired sorcerer had only left several minutes prior, saying something about needing to meet panda. 

to his surprise, gojo stood before him, hands in the pockets of his pants as he half smiled at the younger boy. 

“is itadori here?” megumi hesitated before shaking his head. “good,” gojo held up the missing dvd, “we need to talk.”

taglist. @thefictionalcharacterssimp @hana-patata @mor-pheus @leathairs @sh0ek0 @maliakealoha @levisteeacup @g-kleran @stevenknightmarc @n1kimura @darliingyu @saturn-alone @splxtscreen @leah-rose03 @rinshoe @laurenzitaa @patricia142lilian @sabo-has-my-heart @wooasecret @dahliawarner @kysrion @dreamerdeity @mwah-chia @geromiegerald @arminsarlerts @maliakealoha @cherrypieyourface @k4romis @monsieurgucchi @bofadeezs @777userz @polarbvnny @chonkercatto @tenshis-cake @haitanibros0007 @ba-ks @liaurokodaki @urfavvirg0 @lofasofabread @r0ckst4rjk @vee-ai @aiikuraa @melileli0001 @rinshoe @vinivave @yell0wdreams @sukunasleftkneecap @malikazz243 @sad-darksoul @giannitaa @maliciousmace @name-insert @splxtscreen @kimvmarvel @ieathairs @janbannan @ja-zz @vangoes @starringz @ciscob1tes @theoriginaluzisimp @thirtykiwis @vivienne2000 @whydohumansss @purpleguk @simeon-lovergirl @missesgojosatoru @loveroftheoldestdream @mkaiiserr

if ive missed anyone im so sorry send me a little reminder &lt;3

[styrofauxm]

2025 Book Bingo Plans

I've started planning out some of what I'm going to read for @batmanisagatewaydrug's 2025 book bingo (read more here), and to get myself hyped, I'm sharing the books I've set in stone, as well as recording some ideas I have for the other spaces!

I've been looking forward to Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins for a while now, I'm interested to see if it will live up to the philosophical examination it sets itself up as.

I got the illustrated copy of Eragon by Christopher Paolini/Sidharth Chaturvedi for Christmas, so that's kind of a no-brainer for the re-read.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao I'm also getting for Christmas, but it's the pretty Illumicrate version, so it's not getting here until January or February. I took a gamble with Iron Widow and got the hardcover, and I was not disappointed (I've read it 3 times and am going to reread it once I get HT, and will certainly reread both in the future), so I expect the fancy one will be money well spent (by my aunt but still).

I am just assuming that My Friends by Fredrik Backman is going to be set in Sweden, because all of Backman's other novels are set there. Hopefully I don't need to find a new book for the category lol. If I do this one will probably fit Literary Fiction anyway.

I've been working my way through my reread of the Hitchiker's Guide trilogy by Douglas Adams, and think I can finish the 3rd in the next few days, so I'm all set up for the 4th going into 2025 :)

I stopped reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey when school got really rough last year and have wanted to go back to it for a while. It was recommended to me by my dad, and one of his favorite books. In the 100-ish pages I've read, I've found it to be amazing as well.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World by Fredrik Backman was going to be my memoir choice until I realized it was actually essays.

I saw Death In Rocky Mountain National Park: Accidents and Foolhardiness on the Continental Divide by Randi Minetor while just wandering Barnes and Noble and was sure I had to read it when the title made it clear it wasn't going to blame animals for the actions of humans.

I've wanted to read Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine for a long time, but the concept alone has always made it a little too sad to convince myself to pick up. This year will be its year though.

I promised my roommate that I would read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson last year so that we could watch the show for Halloween. I'm following through this year instead.....

My reasoning for Thud! by Terry Pratchett is simple. I like Discworld, I like Ankh Morpork, I like the Watch novels, I like Sam Vimes.

Below the cut are some of my ideas for the sections I haven't filled yet (anyone should feel free to send me as many recommendations for these as you want):

Literary Fiction:

All The Names by José Saramago (recommended by my dad)

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (recommended by my roommate)

Short Story Collection:

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, The Answer is No, and The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman (this is not technically a collection, but it is a group of short stories that I really want to read)

20th Century Speculative Fiction:

The Martian by Andy Weir (I just want to read it)

Published Before 1950:

TBD Agatha Christie novel (I stole my dad's books acquired a lot of these and want to read some)

Indie Publisher:

Something from this list

Graphic Novel, Comic Book, or Manga:

Nothing Special by Katie Cook (I read this on Webtoon as it's been coming out, it has some of the best panel transitions on the platform, and I really want to see how she translated that to book form. Also I want to own the books bc I love the story and refuse to pay Webtoon money for it)

Animal On the Cover:

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird (I was looking at the "local" shelf (not at this book in particular though) in Barnes and Noble, and a woman (not an employee) came up to me to tell me this is one of her favorite books ever and now I must read it)

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry (I help run a blog here cataloguing books with little to no romance and/or sex in them for people who are sex/romance repulsed, and someone submitted this. I also read a book years ago that I loved, but I didn't have Goodreads even at that point, and all I really remembered was the cover and opening. I've been looking for a while, and I think this very well could be it)

City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer (I loved her Market of Monster's trilogy and the Webtoon adaptation, and have been meaning to read this for ages)

Descendent of the Crane by Joan He (recommended by my other roommate, plus I liked her book The Ones We're Meant to Find)

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (re: the reasons for Thud!)

2025 Debut Author:

Honestly, no clue here. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it

Read a Zine and Make a Zine:

Scarland fanzine by a whole bunch of people (I've read it before but it's really quite amazing and I would read it again happily)

2024 Award Winner:

Something on this list

Romance Novel:

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane (recommended by a friend whose judgement in books I really trust)

Read and Make a Recipe:

We will see what strikes my fancy this year

Historical Fiction:

Fever 1973 by Laurie Halse Anderson (this one has been on my TBR since 2015)

The Island of the Sea Women by Lisa See (this was a birthday present in 2019)

Babel by R.F. Kuang (the premise is cool, and it says it's a response to The Secret History and I loved that book)

Bookseller or Librarian Rec:

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (in 5th grade, we did a unit where the class was split into 3rds and we each analyzed 1 book. The kids who read this book loved it. I really wanted to read it then, but never did. Then in 8th grade a librarian recommended it to me, bringing it back to my memory, but I still didn't read it. It lives on my TBR because I feel like I need to read it for 10/13 year old me)

[bomberqueen17]

while i've got the file out

So the last bit of time when I was at the farm, I finally gave in to the pressure of @sassaffrassa's art and started reading the Queen's Thief series.

It's... It's great, I'm not as obsessed with it as some (the selective concealment of stuff that POV characters know but the reader can't Until The Reveal is... clever but rubs me the Wrong Way, not enough to throw me out of the book but enough that I do find myself resenting it, but totally understand how it works beautifully for other readers) but it is extremely, extremely ripe for fanfic, I allow that. And I found that it made me think about the fics of Ciri in Nilfgaard again. It certainly made me realize my error in not including any slaves in the Nilfgaard settings-- that's a big dynamic I missed an opportunity to include, but it's not a thing I like to think about and so I had mentally assigned it all to just be slaves working fields etc., which as anyone knows is like. Only a percentage of what societies that contain slavery actually use slaves for. There should have been enslaved people in the households, all through the society, and Ciri objecting to and wanting to change that could have been an entire underlying theme.

But it's not, because I had meant to write that story as a 5k oneshot, and also I'd entered it right out of Goblin Emperor fic-writing, and whatever that particular fictional society contains, it doesn't have any enslaved people. So I just hadn't thought of it.

Anyway, a digression, but-- it made me, on one exhausted evening, reread the next bits I was going to publish of Not A Crest, and then I still didn't feel like writing but I wanted to keep reading so I dipped into my extras/cut scenes/written ahead docs, and I found an entire a/u I'd come up with and wrote 5k of and then realized i couldn't possibly fit in anywhere.

But. It stands alone somewhat, and I could strip it out of this world and create a new backstory and file all the serial numbers off that too, and...

well now I have another book to write, so I've started a doc with the serial number transpositions in it, LOL.

Now that I'm done at the farm, I have December, January, and probably February without any major commitments. If only I can wrangle my ADHD-or-whatever into some kind of shape, I can hope to bang out at least rough drafts of a couple of these things, or at least enough of them to know whether there's anything to pursue. And, I hope, I can achieve some of my other personal goals around the same time as well. If only I could miraculously learn how to operate a to-do list and make/keep a schedule........

Behind the cut, I'm gonna summarize the a/u snippet and my plans for it. We'll see how this goes.

So this plot depends on Ciri's powers of teleportation and time manipulation, so it can't possibly be in the same continuity as the mammoths and the tall ships, but that means I have a ton of leeway in worldbuilding. It needs to be fantasy-ish but it could be sort of cyberpunk if I wanted. Really it could be just about anything, provided that not-Ciri (I've already renamed her Leila) can still uniquely manipulate time and space, and the mechanism of how she does that is unimportant. It should have a cost, of course, which will be part of the worldbuilding.

So the backstory would be that a larger kingdom/nation-state/whatever kind of polity gobbled up Leila's when she was a young teenager, and she spent her youth as a guerilla, fighting or fleeing and honing her survival skills. There was some larger existential threat, related to the as-yet-undone worldbuilding, but the reveal is that the larger polity attacked and absorbed its neighbors in order to fortify itself against a yet larger invading power-- could be another kingdom, could be like, space invaders, I really haven't decided yet.

Leila meanwhile has come into her powers finally, and has begun to be able to manipulate time and space. i'm going to give her a wise and powerful sorceress mentor, Yennefer-like; instead of Geralt she might have a sword tutor slash captain of the guard or something, an older man who loves and protects and teaches her. Undecided; don't know whether he's important for more than backstory.

And this is all backstory, mind. In this backstory, she finally comes to aid the armies of the polity she had been fighting against, to resist this greater existential threat/invader/whatever. And as part of that she's paired up with this universe's version of Morvran-- I've renamed him Corbin since it means Raven but I'm still open to changing my mind on that. Anyway he's got the important bits of Morvran-- he's both a hostage and a presumptive heir, far too young and far too responsible, a strange balance of overly powerful and completely vulnerable. And for the duration of the backstory, he is helping this mystical enemy-turned-ally (Leila) fight a desperate, scrambling battle using powers that none of them entirely fully understands.

And he has an underling, an aide-de-camp, a young woman who keeps track of things and isn't much of a fighter, and that's where Luliana comes in, and I think I'll keep her name since i made it up anyway. She's a relative of his perhaps, a little older than he is, but allowed to be close to him because she's so unimportant, and she's really his only friend. And she of course falls in love with Leila, who to everyone's surprise falls in love back. Corbin is secretly delighted with this.

The war is long and difficult and horrible things happen to everyone, but in the end they triumph. And Leila is brought back to Expansionist Polity, her own homeland being so thoroughly encompassed and destroyed there's no restoring it, and the leader (perhaps he was injured in the war? perhaps he was already dying? perhaps he's just a guy who wants to retire?) begs her to become his heir, which effectively deposes Corbin, who silently doesn't mind it. But the rest of the government does mind it, and insists she marry Corbin to give them stability. Corbin privately proposes that they have a paper marriage; he is not inclined that way himself, you see, and he would be delighted if Leila and Lu kept their relationship and just let him be nearby, the way they did in the war. Leila counter-offers; she'll stick around long enough to make everyone feel safe and happy, but then she and Lu will run off someplace to live in peace, and leave Corbin to rule and to marry whoever he actually likes. Corbin, too used to not letting on his feelings about anything, agrees to this. And so they all rule together for a year and a day or whatever, Leila gets a bunch of the reforms she'd wanted pushed through, they get along marvellously, and then Leila disappears mysteriously, as agreed.

She and Lu go off and live happily somewhere peaceful. She is unexpectedly bored, Lu is homesick and sad, and her sorceress mentor finally finds her and scolds her for running away. "Haven't I done enough?" Leila asks, and her mentor is like obviously not, but doesn't have anything to convince her with. Until a little later, when the sorceress comes back and tells Leila that Corbin is dead, assassinated. He could not in fact get by without her.

Leila uses her powers to go back, but arrives too late, finding Corbin's head on a spike and his hands nailed below. She notices his hand still has both their wedding ring and the ring she'd given him as an engagement gift on it. He was supposed to have moved on and found himself a better partner.

She musters the last of her power and jumps back a little farther, interrupting the assassination attack, but she is again too late; Corbin is mortally wounded. She sits with him as he dies, and with his last breath he admits that he has always loved her and never wanted her to leave. She needs to jump again, and doesn't have the power for it, but sucks the last of his life-force out to do it, which is unethical-- she also draws from his would-be assassins and the guards who betrayed him, knowing it's a terrible thing to do but will be largely erased by her abandoning this timeline. There'll be a cost and I'll worldbuild that in too, however it makes sense once I've written it.

And this is all still backstory, and the story begins as she arrives, just in time, to interrupt the attack and save Corbin's life, wounded but not mortally. But this time Corbin has some self-possession left, and he is still wearing her rings and apologizes for it and merely admits that he was relying on his enemies' remaining respect for and fear of her. We the audience have not seen Leila's two previous attempts and do not know what she knows.

(Yes, yes, I was complaining that the Queen's Thief series relies too much on this, but I admit I'm trying to figure out whose POV this is from, and I may well not use Leila's, in order to make it not dishonest to exclude this knowledge. We'll have to see what seems honest to me as I'm writing it.)

And the story goes from there, as she tries to restore his rule and tries to figure out which version of him is lying, the one who said he loved her with his last breath before she stole the rest, or the one who calmly, collectedly bled all over her and politely apologized for his inability to do as she had asked him to and find a different spouse.

Obviously I need more plot than that, but it will come to me, I'm pretty sure. But that's where I'm starting. As I've said before, I'm a pantser, and that means I can't outline the plot or I'll paralyze myself.

[artficlly]

wip wednesday

it's not wednesday but shhh.

thank you for tagging me @marvelstoriesepic !! so sorry it's taken me so long to get around to doing this. i'm officially done with uni for the year woohoo, i'm free-ish until february so i want to try write a lot. here is a wip i've been working on?? no idea what this is going to be, maybe a one-shot, maybe a shorter series. anyway enjoy, so sorry for the long wait between posting these last few months. much love and btw it's a fantasy apocalyptic au!

i who have known death monsterhunter!bucky x healer!reader

The space where Dregwyn County once occupied had been drenched in a deep, black ink. Any carefully drawn details or delicate lettering was obscured—consumed even. Dregwyn County was a place long forgotten, like many others, just a mere memory lost to the wind. The Bleeding Lands Map was sacred to the Sisters of the Veil, a map of all of history and all that was to come. Massive and weathered, edges fraying, it dominated the chamber room. Looking upon it was like a prayer come to life, a record of life lost since The Blight. Regions were marked with faded names, and where cities had fallen, it was replaced with a lathering of ink, as if one had taken a brush and erased the entire region from existence. The lands the Sisters had once healed were shrinking, drawn back into the grasp of the Bloodworms.

You reached out, finger tracing across the small metal pins pressed into the void which was once Dregwyn County. Each pin was painted black, a record of each sister lost as the region fell. It did not mark the other innocents lost, the families and workers. No, the map could not hold the number of pins needed to represent the loss since the Bloodworm Blight would simply be left as a mountain of metal. The frayed paper turned to ribbons under each prick and pierce. 

Your heart tightened as you gazed at the pins, noting how the map grew smaller each passing year, even within the short years she had called Cloisterwood home. Once vast and thriving, the safe lands were now reduced to small pockets of resistance. The cities had become refuges, safe from the Bloodworms, but there were fewer and fewer of them. And the countryside? The places that had once supported civilisation? They were lost. All lost.

Your gaze swept away from the North, away from the void of dark ink that obscured the borderlands. The Bloodworms pressed in from the west, attacking the small towns and farmers that remained in the red-soiled swamps. The South… well, the South was no better than the North. The Blight rampaged through the plains, thriving in the open where their hosts could make rapid ground, and there were fewer and fewer places for the survivors to hide. No, the one true last fortress of the lands was the East. The Bloodworm Blight was rampant but controllable. Cities offered protection and purpose, and the Sisters of the Veil were always nearby. Colourfully painted pins dotted those Eastern areas, each representing an active sister who was out healing. 

You would soon be one of those colourful pins.

You had completed your training after six years with the Sisterhood of the Veil, or the Faceless as you were often referred to. Healing, Alchemy, even good manners if Sister Niva could get a word in. Six years later, you were ready to be sent out into the world, a world that you had blissfully forgotten. Would the memories of Dregwyn blind you with grief? Or would you grit your teeth, bury those feelings and continue? It would have to be the latter if you had learnt anything; this bleeding world was not one to hesitate in.

The large doors opening echoed through the room, startling you as you backed away a few steps from The Bleeding Lands Map. 

“Sister, it is time.” The Sister’s expression was unreadable beneath her veil, the black lace shrouding her features. Some had even called your Sisterhood wraiths, women who walked the line between life and death—faceless women who stood in the face of evil. 

You nodded, rushing to leave the small confines of the Map Chamber.  The sister at the door, Sister Elara, you could recognise her by her voice alone, grasped your shoulder as you attempted to pass.

“Once you enter, I will not see you again. You will choose a name from the bowl and leave for the place immediately.” Her voice sounded oddly strained, tight and nasally. You tilt your head beneath your own veil. It was unlike the Sister Elara to convey such evident emotion. “It has been an honour, my acolyte. I trust you will do well out there.”

“And it has been my honour to be taught by you.” Your voice caught in your throat as you spoke, a sad smile playing across your obscured lips. Six years with this woman, your mentor, your rock… and yet you had never seen her face. When you closed your eyes, you would only be met with the image of who you thought she could be. Was she brunette or blonde? Did she have dimples when she smiled, crooked teeth? Did her hair curl in the rain, and were her eyes a mismatch of green and blue? 

All you would ever know was her voice, soft-spoken and steady. You could only hope that in your last moments, you could cling to those memories, the two of you tucked away in the stuffy, incense-smoke-filled studies of Cloisterwood, how her delicate hands had guided yours, showing you how to stitch a wound or brew a potion. 

“I who have known death,” The Sister Elara choked out, hand raising to her left shoulder as she cut a motion diagonally downwards, the repeated on her right as she drew out an X across her chest.

“I who have known the end.” You reply, repeating the motion. 

There was a sinking feeling as you stepped into the corridor, blindly walking towards the ascension room. A sinking feeling that Sister Elara already knew you were being sent to your death. A mother's intuition, maybe, a knowing within her soul as her faceless acolyte stepped into the beyond. For all the death you had known, it would be nothing compared to the fate that awaited you in the western swampland stronghold of Redhollow.

[bismuthburnsblue]

✨2024 makes wrap up! ✨

this ended up being a big year for me in terms of makes, though it didnt really feel like it at the time! im also realising how many of these projects i never did a proper wrap up post for, so i will try and do some more of those over the coming weeks!

Total sewing projects: 11 Costumes completed: 3 UFOS finished: 1.5 (one was a long-awaited alteration) buttons sewed for coworkers: 13 (ish)

and the full list, with links to posts as i write them!

Anne Pants

Anne Blouse

Anne Corset

Flora Dress

Janet Skirt

Record Bag

Ginny Skirt alteration

Ginny Vest

The Coat

Skirt alteration

Minecraft Guardian plushie

bonus mentions:

(things that werent sewing projects or didnt get completed, but felt important enough not to leave off!)

Anne necklace

Cross stitch progress

design a dress

swallow ita bag

below the cut ive wrote a little about the projects with pictures, if you wanna read more in depth thoughts!

Anne took up most of the start of my year, working from february to may on the parts of the costume. it took me outside my comfort zone in a lot of ways- my first time making pants, and the corset presented a whole bunch of new challenges, being in leather- any seam i made was impossible to fix. i made a whole bunch of mistakes, but im incredibly happy with the overall results anyway.

I took a break after Anne, chilled out, did some cross stitch, only to jump head first into Flora on an impulse (aka my friend said "do you want to?" and i said "say less") In spite of the time crunch, she was quite an easy build, following a pattern, not too much fitting, and most of the problems ended up being of my own making. after coming back to redo her hem in october, im super happy with how things came out!

I floated around for a bit over the summer, messing around with patterning the wing collar for the design-a-dress for a while, working on my Janet skirt, and patterning a couple other miscellaneous things before throwing myself into mcm prep again! as mentioned, i redid my Flora hem, and i also decided to learn a new type of skill! bag making!!!

Looking at my archive, i dont think i ever posted anything about the bag i made for Maggie, which is frankly a crime, because i love this thing!!! it was absolutely a learning curve & i didnt have all the best choice of materials (it was mostly scraps from my job and things from in my stash) but i really did learn so much that i can take forward into the future- which there definitely will be a future! i already have plans for at least three more bag projects, and im gonna figure out how to make ita bags too :D

then it was full steam ahead into november, and i decided i could finish another costume this year, and so it was time for Ginny! She was a mix of refashioning & from scratch work, but every fabric piece was made with recycled materials. I loved making this costume, it was super fun to mess around with techniques with no worry about how professional it looked at the end because she was such an obscure costume!

At the same time i was working on Ginny, i decided it was high time i finally finished the coat i started working on... two years ago ''':) this too was all about learning new techniques and understanding proper construction, and i am so, so happy with the results. theres definitely a couple pieces id like to come back and revisit at some point (looking at you, collar -_-) but i know those are mostly things only im going to see. im so glad i put it down for a while, i think ive done a lot better than i would have done this time last year- and i know when ive given it some time and come back again, ill do better then, too. but its wearable and cute, and i finally have a lovely winter coat :)

I thought i would be finishing the year with a couple of long overdue alterations to my favourite skirts, but i ended up only getting one done when my coworker asked for help making a christmas present for their friends kid. the second she showed me the pattern, i knew i could do better, and so i wrapped up my year with a mad dash to make a plushie guardian in a week before i finished work for the year.

You should know by now i love a challenge, and this sure was something different! i think id do things differently if i had more time, but im super happy with how this guy came out! it was great practice for satin stitching on my machine & working with tricky fabrics, and i think id definitely like to make another one, with a few changes to the design- and the colours of the fabric, as i had nothing to do with those! im telling the kid its a shiny guardian ;) either way, i hope the kid has a great time using him as a mace !!

and thats my year in review!! im hoping next year ill be able to do another one of these and be just as proud of everything ive achieved :)

[clownp1ercer]

THIS POST WAS MADE BY A RQ-NEUTRAL (not a radqueer but I’m not gonna attack you) ALTER. RESPECT MY VIEWS AND OPINIONS.

[Minute . she/he]

My apologies for the yapfest, tldr will be at the bottom.

Making a post now because our stalker found our account. We have been getting repeatedly stalked and harassed since October-ish when we first left this person.

This account is abandoned point blank. None of us use this account anymore because it is not healthy for us to constantly feed an irl delusion that makes us hostile when our boundaries are broken (aka doubles interacting), among other things.

We still lurk around from time to time, but honestly like. The only reason we stuck around was for the community and friends we had made along the way.

Honestly being in this community on tumblr was. Not the best experience?? We’ve grown a lot as a person, February 2nd-ish will be our one year being in this community. We joined when we were freshly 17, originally as a joke with our irls (radqueer-vox, some radqueer tubbo account and some radqueer billzo account) [yes we were radqueer-dnf or whatever it was] but we quickly realized to us it was not a joke and some of us genuinely identified with transIDs. We also realized very quickly the attractions we had felt since we were 6 were para related and a direct result of the brainwashing and manipulation of our programmer. It felt really good to be in a community that understood, however, that left us very vulnerable and open. We let our radqueer life seep in with our irl life and it ruined friendships and relationships. Closeting ourselves is the best way for us to be right now. Every transID we have we do not plan on transitioning to. Every “transID” we “had” anyways was a feature that someone had in headspace that did not come to the body when they fronted. Examples like trans-scene style, or trans-black blood, or source related IDs. It’s easier to stomach claiming to be “transharmful” than admitting point blank that you’re still harmful from your source memories.

We were also groomed a few times in the community. Albeit we were looking for it, asking for said relationships when we knew deep down we did not want them; but a sense of familiarity always felt so comforting to be constantly hurt like we were in all of those relationships. Our current relationship has nothing to do with this segment so please do not attack Branzy as he is a VERY lovely partner.

I’m& not leaving with a terrible taste in my mouth and I will hold my personal beliefs as will separate alters. Some of us might come back, but we don’t know for certain as most of us agreed that being on rq tumblr is not good for us. It’s hard to make this post. We are leaving close friends behind and even closer memories. But this is better for us in the long run, and I hope everyone understands.

No we won’t give you our discord or other socials to keep in contact. We are leaving this behind us.

TLDR:: we’re leaving radqueer tumblr.

[justalilsnail]

WIP Wednesday for 1000 ways to tell the Stoll Brothers apart and I can name you one.

side note: It's about 50% ish written and entirely unedited so ignore the typos and the unflowy scenes lol. I expect the finished word count to be between 11k to 13k.

Second cohort — Honesty/ Round 1/ HearSay/ ??? / alike / relatability / Likability/ Don't know yet

February 2011

OC (17) - Travis (17)

Victoria Nicholas is a lot of things. A daredevil. A shit-stirrer. An enforcer of fairness. A coffee fanatic. A Kpop enthusiast. An even bigger Supernatural enthusiast. A parallel parking champion. A rockstar at claw games. A total diva. A complete asshole to people who say “Chai tea” when chai already means tea and it perfectly suffices. An asshole in general actually. 

“You’re crazy,” Maki tells her straight to the face as she tilts the bag to devour the crumbs of her ham and cheese croissant. 

Crazy fits too.

“You’re batshit insane,” Melvin mutters in his seat behind her, buckling in the seatbelt of her 1967 Impala.

Batshit insane also works. 

Matt shrugs as he gets comfortable in the middle seat. “It’s just a little test of character. Think of it as his Wolf House.”

But above all, she’s a winner. 

“You get it, Matt. You all need to be more like him.” Victoria grins as she checks the mirror again for their guest, and also for campus police. They’re not exactly supposed to be parked here by the curb in the student parking lot like this. But if she parks in an actual lot, it’ll take longer to back out and leave. And then how will they have their fun? 

“And how awful a world that would be. A shit-stirrer and a shit-thrower,” Maki says dryly. “Who even invited him anyway?”

“I did. Our mentor asked me to,” Melvin says sheepishly, “He’s always trying to strike up a conversation with everyone and trying to make plans to hang out but they’re too busy studying. Tera felt bad so she asked me to invite him.”

“You should have told Tera to suck it,” Victoria says, peering in the rear view mirror and eyeing each student apartment for a guy their age with… was it blond hair? Whatever. Who cares even? It’s a boy their age. More importantly, where is the guy? He’s keeping them all waiting. 

Melvin pales. “And have her regret endorsing us? Are you stupid? She’s the reason we’re in the second cohort.”

“Come on.” Matt rolls his eyes. “That favor was from 9 years ago. How long do we have to owe her?”

“Until we retire from the legion,” Melvin says solemnly, ever the goody two shoes. 

“Bleh.”

In Victoria’s opinion, the favor was repaid when Matt took a spear for Tera when they raided Mount Orthr together several years ago. But that’s just her opinion. 

“Can we leave? He bailed on us,” Maki grumbles. “And I rather not spend our free day just waiting like this.”

“Excuse me? We came 30 minutes early. You guys are being ridiculous,” Melvin shoots back. “Just be patient.”

“The early bird strikes the worm,” Victoria says as she drums her fingers on the wheel impatiently. 

“We are 30 minutes early,” Melvin repeats like that’ll change anything. “And it’s 1 pm. Might I remind you that Matt and Maki slept in?”

“Can you blame me? I pulled an all nighter for that integral exam,” Matt groans, burying his head in his hands, “And I barely passed!” 

Maki rummages through her car’s front glove box and pulls out a megaphone, upping it to its highest setting. “That’s it. I’m done waiting. We’re not going to do anything today if we waste away here. What is the guy's name? I’m going to name and shame him.”

“Travis Stoll. And no need. I see him,” Melvin says, stepping out the car to wave his hand high over his head. “Travis! Over here!”

Sure enough when Victoria glances in the side mirror, she sees a boy in the university’s uniform — long-sleeved purple shirt with the text brandished  in gold embroidery inside a laurel wreath. Except, Travis has the sleeves rolled up to just above his elbow, ruining their polished look with this sense of disheveledness with curly, unbrushed hair running towards them from about 15 meters away. His orange backpack slung over one shoulder bounce with every step. 

To be even more frank, not a single thing stands out about this guy. This Travis Stoll person doesn’t look like much. Not strong or charismatic like Percy. Not intimidating like Nico. None of Annabeth’s intelligence either. Nor Leo’s ingenuity nor Piper’s charm. Not a single thing about Travis stands out. Not with that carefree smile. Not with that lax attitude. Not a hint of trauma from war. Not a whiff of loss or grief, nothing to show that he’s been the wringer like the rest of them. 

Jason tells them that Travis has been in this demigod-business since he was seven, has been through the Titan war from start to finish and who knows what else along the way in the long 10 years he’s been at their camp. But that’s not the vibe she’s getting. No veteran can be this lax, this vulnerable. 

To her eyes, Travis Stoll looks like a recently realized demigod with that unsuiting frivolous, jovial smile and uppity attitude. And the fact he’s attending their university, their New Rome University, where they all worked so hard, ten years at least, to get there is insulting. 

Victoria is willing to bet all her allowance that Travis got in via nepotism. Or maybe Travis tricked Jason somehow. That son of Jupiter is too nice for his own good. 

Victoria shifts the car from park to drive and revs the engine. “Time for the test.”

Maki rolls her eyes but stays silent. Matt grins deviously, pulling Melvin back in and shutting the door. Only Melvin, too nice for his own good, rolls down the window and yells, “Run, Travis! Victoria is going to—”

She steps on the gas and peels away from the curb, making a left turn to leave the parking lot and onto the 40 mph road, quickly getting up to speed. She delights in the confusion she sees, but it’s only momentary. The confusion morphs into a crooked grin as Travis tucks his backpack under his arm. Then, in a burst of unbelievable speed, Travis is sprinting towards them. He hurdles over the six-foot fence that separates the campus parking lot from the main road without a hitch, the obstacle not even slowing him down in the slightest Victoria looks back on the road then takes a quick look in the rear view mirror. And holy shit. Travis is right at their tailend. If he stretches his hand, he could definitely touch the trunk of her car. 

Fuck. He’s fast like Belle was too. No… He’s even faster than her. Even with our head start, he’ll catch up no problem. 

She sees double, a line on her dashboard at 70 mph, before it fades away.  

Ah. 70 mph if she wants to win? That’s enough to get her license suspended if caught and Terminus will definitely catch her since she’s inside the boundary. 

Victoria looks at her speedometer in dismay and toes the line by inching up to 44 mph. But no luck. From her side mirror, she can see Travis is already beside the car. 

The window rolls down without her or anyone’s touch (Belle couldn’t do that) and Travis grabs the frame with one hand, pulling himself forward and jumping inside the still speeding car without so much as a hiccup (Belle was as clumsy as a bat. She wouldn't have done it so gracefully). 

He’s not even out of breath as he buckles in next to Matt. (Belle would be gasping right now. That burst of speed in the beginning would drain her for the rest of the day.)

Okay, so maybe she was wrong about the newbie thing. Maybe Travis is as experienced as they say. 

Or maybe, this athleticism comes from Hermes being Travis’s father and it’s just a natural, god-gifted talent rather than coming from a place of trauma. 

Could be either or. Victoria is banking more on the latter. She refuses to believe otherwise. 

“So where are we going?” Travis asks with an unbothered smile, completely disregarding the stunt they pulled, not even a sigh or comment about it. But he is staring hard at them and his eyes are definitely going person to person, taking each of them in, eyes even pinpointing to where their imperial weapon would be if Terminus hadn’t confiscated them prior to their entry to New Rome. There are wheels turning underneath that brown noggin of his. 

Say it. Victoria stares for too long as she waits. Say it. 

But his face — that look. He’s hiding something. He’s holding something back. She’s clocking him as a liar. Her judgement has never been wrong twice in a row. She knows when someone is faking it. 

And there’s nobody Victoria dislikes more than a dishonest person. 

Travis chickens out and that just makes Victoria dislike him even more. 

She decided, then and there.

She’s going to make Travis snap. 

“I’m kinda hungry. Are we stopping somewhere to eat first?” 

“Round 1,” Maki says without a pause either, unimpressed at Travis’s feat. But physical capabilities like those never impress her. It would have to take a lot, like literally Jesus freaking Christ has to be in front of her doing a Simone Biles Olympic routine, if you want even a crumb of excitement from her. And maybe that wouldn’t be enough. So her being impassive like this doesn’t mean much. 

The only thing that excites her are croissants.

“What’s that?”

Victoria scoffs. “You don’t know? Don’t you live in New Rome? Have you been living under a rock this entire—”

“An arcade/bowling place like Dave and Buster, but with a lot more claw games,” Melvin interrupts, red-faced in embarrassment. “And, uh, sorry about my friends, Travis. I swear they’re good people. They’re just extremely assholish when it comes to new people so—”

“We were testing you and you passed!” Matt slings an arm over Travis’s shoulder, grinning ear to ear as he raps his knuckles against Travis’s chest. “Dude, you were cool back there. That seems like light work. How fast can you run? What’s your top speed? Ever thought about competing in the Olympics? You can definitely forge your way to an unbreakable world record. Your record will last for decades. And how’d you open the window from the outside? It was child locked and everything because somebody—” Matt throws Melvin a dirty look. “— Didn’t like that we hopped out of the car while it was in motion.”

Melvin is flabbergasted. “You guys were leaping out of a moving car. Of course, as your best friend, I’m going to treat you idiots like the children you are and child lock it.” 

“We’re demigods. Of course we jump out of moving cars. It’s a staple and a given.” Victoria doesn’t need to see to know Matt is rolling his eyes. “So Travis? Whatcha say? What do you think? Wanna cheat your way to the Olympics and shatter some hearts?”

There’s a moment pause — a long five seconds — where nobody speaks that Victoria almost thought Travis is going to ignore them, but he speaks up in the end with a wide smile, a genuine smile, leaning into Matt’s arm with matching energy.

From the backseat, Matt gives her a thumbs up. Victoria huffs and blows a tuft of hair out of her face as she drives on. 

Looks like Matt’s approval is secured. 

But then again, Matt has always been the easiest of them four to impress. 

xxxx

They’re 2 minutes into the drive and mid-way conversation of all the handy dandy powers children of Hermes have in their arsenal when Travis asks for their names. 

And as usual, Melvin ever the Worrywart is about to have a heart attack. 

“What?! Tera didn’t tell you? And you still got into the car with us? We could have been kidnappers or something. Don’t do that anymore, Travis. You’ll end up as a podcast of some C-Grade youtuber. My name is Melvin. Matt is next to you. Maki is the one in the shotgun seat. And Victoria is the one driving. We’re from the second cohort. You know about the cohorts? Yeah? Jason explained it back at your camp? Great. Then I won’t go any further. We’re actually in our ninth year of service. One more and we’re free. We can qualify for life inside New Rome and the University.” 

“All of you?” Travis leans his arm on Matt’s shoulder then rests his chin on the arm. Look at him. Already buddy chummy with her friend like they just haven’t met five minutes ago. “That’s neat. So are you guys, like, claimed already?”

”I don’t understand why you Greeks always want to classify us by our birth parents. That’s like one of the first things Percy asked too,” Victoria grumbles. She ignores the unsubtle knee into the back of her seat Melvin delivers and the super unsubtle hiss under his breath, Be nice! It’s actually incredibly easy to ignore when Travis is staring at her with this suspicious, almost distrusting glint in his eyes. Seems like he is catching on finally. But to her disappointment, it seems like Travis is going to ignore her comment as he looks away and shrugs.

“I’m a legacy of Mars and Vulcan,” Matt states, “Melvin is a son of Juventas. Maki is the daughter of Fortuna.” 

She can see all the mental calculations Travis is doing to convert all these Roman names to Greek. He’s lost. She can see that and she sighs. “Juventas is Hebe. Fortuna is Tcyhe.” Then as an afterthought she adds, “Mars is Ares and Vulcan is Hephaestus.”

Just in case, Travis isn’t bright enough to know. Oh wait. That’s the perfect amount of asshole. 

“Just in case, you’re not bright enough to know.”

But Travis completely disregards her. “And you? Which god is your parent?”

“And Victoria,” Matt snickers as does Maki and Melvin. “Victoria is the daughter of Victoria. To you, Travis, that’s Nike.” 

Travis doesnt even try to hide it, full out begins to bellow that makes Matt start laughing too and that’s even worse. Victoria debates slamming on the brake. “You were named after your mom?”

“No, of course not. That would be ridiculously pompous of my dad. He had no idea who his one night stand was,” she says, “I was named after my dead great grandma. It just so happened to be my mom's name too.” 

It doesn't quell their laughter a bit and Victoria is really debating on brake checking them. But there’s a perfect parking spot she sees on the other side of the road and so she does the next best thing. She checks all her mirrors — side, rear — no cars. Perfect. 

She drifts into it, turning the wheel all the way left  as she steps on the brake, the tires squealing horribly like a pig getting detusked.

Travis’s surprised yelp as he’s thrown towards the window makes her smile. 

But she pulls the move perfectly, her car sliding into the open space like a glove. And look! Plenty of room, at least two inches, both ahead and behind when it’s time to leave. 

“We’re here,” she sing-songs as she shifts the car to park and removes the key from the ignition. She smiles at her Dean Winchester charm on her car key, a gift from Ida. Ida is more of a Sam fan, but that is a forgivable crime as long as they keep up their Supernatural watch party. 

“Here? But this is still New Rome,” Travis says dubiously, looking out the window to the outskirts of their city. 

“And?”

”It’s literally a ten minute walk from the university. Why did we drive here?” 

“Victoria wanted to show off her driving skills. She has a bit of an egotistical streak with everything,” Maki says with a roll of her eyes as she unbuckles herself. 

“What can I say? It comes with being the only one who has their license,” she says with a shrug. “Now everybody out. We need to Carpe Diem this day and time is ticking.”

“That’s grammatically incorrect,” Melvin tells her, opening the door and holding it for Matt. “Diem means day. You’re basically saying seize the day the day.”

“Out, out, out. The day is wasting away,” she sings. 

New Rome is the heart and pride of their community. A work of marvel from some of the best artists and engineers around. It’s completely walkable. A car is 100% unnecessary to get around Camp Jupiter. It’s just a fashion statement at this point. Every necessity — groceries, laundromat, 24 hr fitness — at least a half mile radius from the residents. It’s supposed to be their paradise, their slice of heaven, when they retire and they’re free from the responsibilities of a legionnaire. 

They want her to feel pride. They want her to be honored that they serve to protect this community. They demand that she respects the civilians here.

She thinks she’s supposed to feel excitement. But she’s feeling nothing. If she dwells on it, there’s a roiling pot of disgust boiling in her stomach. It’s a sensation she’s not entirely proud of, so she doesn’t dwell on it. 

There’s people glaring at her as she walks past them. She doesn’t know them by name, but their faces are familiar. They were definitely at that battle when the Titan infiltrated with his army all those years ago. They glare at her with malice in their eyes and hatred in their souls. She could practically taste their bloodlust. 

She sees double, of herself stepping to the right by about half a foot. So she does so, stepping on Melvin’s toes as she does so. A sizable rock flies past where her head would be. Definitely big enough to give her a concussion if it had landed. 

A bigger person would have walked away. A bigger person would have understood their anger towards her. A bigger person would leave them be. 

But she’s not a big person. Not when she’s barely hitting 5’3”. She’s as petty as petty can be. Melvin gives her a subtle shake of his head as Maki’s eyes narrow to slits and Matt’s smile becomes more of a threat. 

It’s not worth it. Melvin is telling her, a hand against her arm. 

Unfortunately she’s never one to listen. 

She spins around and sneers at the 3 demigods who had thrown the rock at her. “Missed yet again, losers. Maybe some time back in legion will improve your aim. Wanna come back with us?”

The one in the center, Nevada if she remembers correctly a retiree from the fourth cohort, opens her mouth, but Travis cmes bounding back to them, clueless as ever as he interrupts what should have been a good warm-up for tomorrow’s combat training. 

“What’s up? What’s going on between you guys? Natalie?”

Ah Natalie. Close enough. How’d they know each other? Natalie is almost hitting her 26th birthday. 

“It’s Nothing, Travis, but if I were you, I would find better company. Victoria is someone who would—”

“Finish that sentence. I dare ya,” Matt jumps in with a brazen wild smile, “And I’ll tell Travis our side of the story, the full story.”

“We’d still be in the right,” Natalie scoffs but there’s this hint of doubt. 

“Bet.” Victoria smirks. 

“Just find better people to hang out with Travis. The second cohort is a bunch of cowards. Your grade for the lab report will be uploaded soon so keep an eye on that.”

A TA, huh? Definitely not a professor. 

As Nat leaves, Travis turns back to them. “What was that all about? What story?”

“It’s—”

“None of your business, Mr. Nosey,” Victoria interrupts, liking how Travis’s jaw clicks shut and there’s a whiff of irritation on his otherwise passive face. 

Victoria walks down the cobblestone streets of New Rome without taking in much of anything. She ignores the children playing in the grand fountains, the music filling the clear skies, the retired legionnaires chatting underneath grape vines treasses. 

It’s so domestic. It’s so peaceful. It’s so utterly benign and bland that It makes her want to vomit. 

“Victoria,” Melvin whispers, sidling up next to her as Matt, Maki, and Travis roam ahead. She thinks Melvin is going to give her a lecture of being a nicer person but he’s just tapping his nose. “Don’t look so upset. Terminus may sense your ill will and kick us out.”

Victoria musters a grin. “Better?”

Melvin grimaces. “Not really.”

“Well this is all I can do.” 

“Victoria—”

Whatever Melvin is going to say is cut off when Maki twirls on her heel to face them and announces, “I want an iced Matcha latte from Maiko’s before we go to Round 1. And basque cake from Rome’s bakery.”

Before any of them can reject it, Travis’s eyes brighten. “Yes! Let’s go! I always see Tera buying them before our intro to Rome history, but I never know where and I always wanted to try it.” 

Maki, with her massive sweet-tooth, beams. She’s actually smiling, actually ecstatic and for what? Some mediocre cake that literally any home cook can surpass? Maki loops her hand around Travis’s arm, tearing him from Matt’s side. “Finally. A man of culture. You get me, Travis, unlike these philistine bozos. I’ll pay for your drink. My treat. Think of it as a “Welcome to New Rome” gift.” 

“But their specialty is croissants. Everything else is mid. And Maiko’s is overpriced for what it is,” Victoria says, maybe needlessly but it’s the truth.  

“Didn’t ask. Don't care. Go fuck yourself,” Maki says over her shoulder as she pulls Travis along, not that she needed to pull for long. Travis happily follows her with this embarrassing skip in his steps. 

Matt slows until he’s beside her as she and Melvin head in the direction of the New Forum reluctantly. 

“I like him,” Matt says with an easy grin. “He’s pretty cool. You guys know he ran his cabin with his little brother since he was 13?”

“I thought only one person runs the cabin.”

“Travis likes sharing with his brother. He talks about his brother a lot actually. I think he misses him. But can you imagine? Sharing? None of you guys could ever.”

“What about my calculus textbook I loaned you?” Melvin retorts, “And my notes that you didn’t take during class because you always stayed up too late studying the Korean vocab quiz that you still fail? And me tutoring you in English literature?” 

Matt sighs. “I think at this point I should give up on ever getting into New Rome University and settle on becoming a mechanic like my moms.”

“Take a gap year, you’re only 16. You have all the time in the world to decide if college is the right path for you,” Victoria comments, “Take it easy at UC Berkeley as a lab assistant. Or here in New Rome University.”

“You know I won’t retire here. But with my grades? Who’s going to want a C-average student out in the mortal universities?” Matt laments.

“With your personality, I’m sure you can get in anywhere. Part of networking is being personable, you know,”  Melvin says, “I mean, look at us. I’m socially awkward, Victoria is socially aggressive, and Maki is socially apathetic. All 3 of us have almost no friends outside of the cohort.”

“Speak for yourself. I get along great with Lavinia and Bobby.”

“Also rule breakers,” Melvin points out. “Lavinia sneaks out constantly to explore and Bobby shirks his sentry duties in favor of caring for Hannibal.”

“And? They’re not lazing around so does it matter?”

“Actually I was talking with Travis. About my lack of future and poor grades. About how it keeps me up at night, thinking what’s next after I retire from the legion. If I even have a chance out there.”

“And why, pray tell, were you telling the new guy, a total stranger mind you, a completely random person that you met today, all this?”

“And Travis offered his camp. He said the same thing you did. A gap year. He said I could do it at Camp Half Blood if I wanted. Apparently, the children of Ares and Hephaestus would be cool if I want to switch cabins every couple of days or weeks.” Matt grins. “But most importantly, I want to meet the infamous little brother, Connor.”

“You want to move to the otherside of the country to meet someone’s little brother?” 

Matt shrugs and prances forward. “What can I say? Travis is hyping his brother to be someone with quite a personality. I’m curious.” 

They meander slowly to the bakery. 

Victoria won’t say it outloud, but she’s hoping — praying actually — that Maki comes to her senses and leaves Travis. But as they draw closer to the bakery, she sees them through the window — sitting across from each other next to the bay — Travis’s back to them, Maki’s front to them. Maki is — she’s smiling. She’s giggling actually and the fuck? 

She doesn’t need to look to see Matt’s brightening smile nor Melvin’s sigh of relief. 

Maki catches them coming and leans forward to Travis, covering her mouth with a hand to whisper something in Travis’s ears. Travis nods and skidaddles to the front, behind a line of families waiting for the register to buy some overpriced croissants. 

Victoria enters from the back entrance. Anything to avoid Travis and makes her way to Maki. 

“I approve,” Maki says without any preamble, her head tilting back on the chair as they come closer. “Travis can join in any of our future outings.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

Maki’s eyes shine and her smile widens. “He’s pretty good at negotiating and striking deals. See this?” Maki waves at their table with dozens of baked goods. “He got them all for only $10. He sweet talked the cashier to give him a discount. Plus, and the most important factor, he knows Mikaela.”  

“Mikaela? Mikaela who?” Victoria says blandly. “Do you know how many Mikaela we have at the legion, let alone inside New Rome?” 

Mikaela Phamar from the first cohort. Mikaela Zhou from the third. Mikaela Diaz, a retired legionnaire from the fourth. Not to mention Mikaela Nguyen, the newest addition and the second youngest of their cohort. Mikaela Rodriguez, another retiree. Mikaela the Second, Mikaela Zhou’s pet hamster. Mikaela Grove, a faun. The list is endless. 

But it seems Melvin knows which Mikaela Maki is talking about. His eyes are about to bug out of his sockets. “Mikaela, that 20 year old genius with a doctorate in astronomy at UC Berkeley?!”

“Mikaela the baker with the best bakery in all of the Bay Area,” Maki corrects, sipping on her matcha iced latte. And ah. That makes sense. “But yes, also the one with the doctorate. They’re one and the same. Travis knows her. He’s friends with her. He knew her when he was child. She personally bakes him Strawberry Shakes. She personally makes him caramel frappes. She and he are friends. Do you get what I’m saying? Do you understand what is at stake here?” 

Maki squeals the last part. She actually squeals it, stars shining in her eyes as she tears into her croissant, bright and energized. 

Victoria has never seen Maki so excited or happy. Not when her mother claimed her. Not when they survived the battle with Krios army at Mount Othrys. Definitely not when she got her score back for English literature with a barely passing 71% and can move from the 9th grade to 10th last year. 

 “She’s a demigod?” Victoria asks, surprised. “But she’s so accomplished academically.”

“Don’t be an ableist, Victoria,” Melvin reprimands her without any heat. “Which god?”

“Athena, I think. Or maybe Aphrodite? Demeter? Maybe Poseidon or Zeus, I don’t know, I stopped listening for a minute when Travis said her name. It’s one of the 12 Olympians. I know that for sure. And he’s trying to get her to visit our camp. But in between her busy schedule and Terminus’s dislike of strangers not here on official business, it’s been a struggle. I promised I would throw in a good word for them,” Maki says blase as always then takes a long sip to finish the last of her latte. “Either way, I approve of him.” 

And to complete the picture, Maki gives them a rare smile, reserved only for the happiest of occasions — like scoring a one free bagel a day coupon. 

It’s so unbelievably, incredibily lucky that Travis knew the one sole person that Maki admires and worships. 

xxxx

Round One is a relatively new establishment in the Forum, built just a couple months ago. The first in the United States actually! It was supposed to be built in Los Angeles, but someone in the Senate pulled some strings, did some Mist magic, and viola. Paperwork of approval to start construction. 

It’s hidden away underground, beneath their century old movie theater. Why is it not on ground level? Something about not ruining the Forum’s cohesive atmosphere with flashing neon lights and message of gambling.

Which, alright, fair. She can see why it’s bad to place a store with cool gadgets and flashy lights with its addictive swipe to play near so many kids. But come on. It’s such a drag walking 5 staircases. 

“So, Travis,” Matt begins, slinging an arm around Travis’s shoulder as they’re starting stairset 3 of 5, “As a son of Hermes, the god of tricksters, any tips you can give to us unenlightened and uncultured philistines?” 

Travis blinks at them, clueless. “Tips? There’s tips for the claw games? It’s kinda straight forward, isn’t it? You insert the coin, move the little doo-hickey, and press the button.”

“So you don’t know.” Victoria sighs and shoulders pass Travis to start walking down stair set 4. “All claw machines are rigged. They only apply more pressure after an X amount of tries. Then you have some that rotate the claw as it falls so the angle is all wrong. Others have a mirror on the back that messes with your depth perception. It’s inherently unfair from the start, even more so machines managed by demigods.”

“I used to be able to sense how many tries are left. Maki’s luck gets her a prize every other try no matter what. Victoria knows which is a guaranteed win. And Melvin is really good at sweet talking the employees into positioning the prizes better. Our first day, we each walked out with two gallon-sized bags stuffed full of plushies. Each of us! Can you imagine it? It was enough for all 50 in our cohort!” 

“But that’s super bad for business. So the staff did some work on it and now Matt can’t sense anything and my luck only works on the last swipe. Sucks, huh?” Maki grumbles as they as she rounds the corner to climb down stairs #5

“I still get us prizes,” Victoria argues. 

“Yeah, but only the ugly ones,” Melvin tells her as Matt and Maki nod in agreement. Ungrateful brat, all of them. “It’s never the ones we want. So any tips, Travis? Come on, you gotta know some. Your dad probably had a hand in making this scam super profitable.” 

Travis’s smile is unbearably nonchalant. “None whatsoever.”

“Typical,” she says, turning around to face the son of Hermes and resting a hand on her hip as she sneers, “You know, there’s a stereotype I heard about children of Hermes having none of their dad’s wit and expertise. Guess it’s true.” 

Travis’s eye twitches and his smile stiffens just a fraction. But the guy still doesn’t do anything about it, not even a single snide comment. Not even a roll of an eye. Not even a scowl. 

She waits for something, anything. But there’s nothing as Travis simply turns his back on her. 

Just how emotionally-constipated is this guy? 

Usually people punch her by now. Or at the very least, yell at her. 

“Let it up,” Melvin hisses at her, “before you really drive him away.”

“He’ll be fine. He’s tougher than he looks, you know,” Maki says, sipping on her fresh, new matcha latte that Travis swindled the barista into giving him for free.

“Amp it up. I lowkey want to see him snap,” Matt says with an easy smile, “He seems like the kind of guy to really lose it.” 

Three conflicting messages. Three different paths. But only one that’s even a slightly bit appealing. 

“You always get me, Matt. You and I—” Victoria swings an arm over Matt’s shoulder, leaning too heavily against his side. But Matt knows to correct his stance to support them both. “—We share the same brain cells. It's why we’re such a good team.”

“I can’t believe this,” Melvin moans. “Travis is going to hate all of our guts by the end of the day.”

But Travis hasn't run off yet. He is still there, at the front desk trying to swindle the poor worker into giving him  $100 worth of credit for just $10. And by some miracle, it works. Unbelievable. She tried that once and had to be escorted out of the premises. 

Travis proudly presents them with his own Round1 card, a standard sized red all round card with the company name. Victoria . 

Travis was not lying when he said he doesn’t know any tricks. His first five attempts were lost at these ugly 4 inch Goomba dolls. It’s horrible. Awful. It doesn't even clamp down on the prize. It doesn’t even pick it up. That plushie he’s trying to get is also jammed deep into the pile of other Goombas. 

Victoria watches him fail five more times trying to pick up the exact same plushie. Out of pity, Matt is giving him advice that travis isn’t heeding. Or maybe he’s incapable of heeding the words. Either way, Travis Stoll is not good at claw games despite Matt’s and Melvin’s craziest hope. Looks like Travis inherited none of Hermes’s wit because anybody with working eyes would have move on. The plushie is too deep for the claw.  

Victoria watches in dismay and amusement from the back as Travis uses up all his credit on a single claw and comes away with nothing. 

“That,” Travis begins without a hint of frustration on his face, “Was the fastest $10 I ever spent. Oh well.” 

“Technically $100 since you swindled. I could have gotten 20 plushies,” Victoria says, “.”

Travis’s eye twitches some more, but he forces a smile on his face, words stilted. “Neat. Then you can compete with Connor if you ever get a chance. He’s also good at these kinds of things.” 

“At what? claw games?”

Victoria tilts her chin up. “And that’s all? Lame~ Your brother sounds as much a loser as you are.” 

Travisms jaw clenches audibly. The smile stays frozen. His grip and he’s not The He’s grinding on his teeth definitely. 

And all because she dared to insult his brother. How typical. Predictable even. Why didn’t she start there? Travis seems like the type to adore his siblings. But at least she knows what grinds his gears. And now all she has to do now is —

She sees double, her head tilting to the left by a few centimeters. 

So she does the same, just in time for Maki’s matcha latte to sail past her. She doesn’t avoid it entirely. Splashes of the drink splatters against her cheek as the plastic cup hits a supporting pillar. The lid flips open and the drink spill all over the carpet. 

When she turns, Travis is smiling at her with a sweet smile. But it’s barely concealing the malice underneath. 

“Whoops. My hand slipped,” Travis lies beside a shell-shocked Maki, a grinning Matt, and a wide-eyed Melvin. 

“What the fuck,” Maki says flatly, hand still in the air clasping nothing, like she’s not processing her lack of drink anymore. 

“Oh my god it’s soaking into the carpet,” Melvin panics, racing over to the puddle, his eyes shifting left and right for the nearest staff member. 

“Lucky you,” Travis continues, “Dodging that even though you couldn’t have possibly seen it. You have eyes on the back of your head like Argus?”

Victoria can’t help but smile. Now it’s getting fun. 

She steps closer and closer until she can brush her nose against his if she stands on her tiptoes. Hands locked behind her back, she gets into his face with a malice filled smile of her own. “You sure that was an accident? Seems pretty intentional to me, Travis.”

Travis’s smile curves smoothly into something sickeningly sweet. “Of course it was accidental. I’m not an asshole who picks fights for no reason.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I feel like you might have the same nasty, vindictive streak as me. Or is that more of a Connor thing?”

“Nah, Connor only picks on those who deserve it. He has a rhyme and a reason unlike someone who just does whatever she wants willy-nilly.” There’s this dangerous gleam in Travis’s eyes. A warning for her to stop. A threat that any more pushing and she’ll regret it. Like a dog baring its teeth, like a skunk lifting its back legs, like a rattlesnake rattling its tail. A warning to back off. A warning that he's about to attack. A warning that he’s done tolerating her. 

How nice of him. 

Too bad she’s not anywhere near as decent. 

“Well, you know what they say. Everybody is the hero in their own stories.”

“So you’re saying we’re liars?” Travis says, his voice catching on the word ‘liars’. He’s sensitive about that. She grins internally. Bet someone accused him of being a traitor or a spy before. Got to be something big like that.  

She continues to push.

“I’m saying you’re biased,” she corrects. 

“Same thing.” 

And push. 

“It’s really not if you’re even just a slightest bit intelligent.” 

“Not if you read in between the lines.”

And push.

“Then stop twisting my words,” she says sweetly. 

It’s a subtle thing. She wouldn’t have noticed it if she wasn’t so close to Travis. The cloud that dampens the lightness in his eyes. His posture straightens, hand resting suspiciously close to his hip where his shirt hem hides his pant’s waist, a finger on top of what is definitely a weapon. But that’s impossible because Terminus takes all weapons upon entry into New Rome. He’s a son of Hermes though. He might have found a way around it.

It’s a subtle shift, just a fraction of a twitch in muscle, but Travis goes from blithe to frigid, from civilian to soldier. It has Maki standing straighter and coming closer to her backside like they would in battle, has Matt losing his smile and reaching for his gladius that’s not there. 

Jason wasn’t lying then. This guy has been in battles before. He’s been in wars. He saw the shit that comes with it. He knows how to fight. And he knows how to hide it well behind a facade of nonchalance. 

Travis disregards her friends and stares down at her with a blank smile that’s no longer friendly, no longer warm, a stony and detached smile that barely has an inkling of cordialness. 

“You know, maybe Connor had the right idea about who deserves a prank or not. I always thought it was a bit mean-spirited, but I see his vision now.”

And still she has to push some more, leaning closer until their noses brush with a coltish smile. “Meaning?”

Melvin is the only one brave enough to jump in with a nervous laugh, eyes darting between the both of them. “Maybe we should drop this and focus on cleaning up the mess, yeah? Accidents happen and I’m sure that we don’t want to cause a —”

But Travis sneers as he’s tilting his head back to look down at her and like this, she can almost believe he might have an inkling of cruelty in him. his face turning a tad bit sadistic. “Meaning dickheads deserve what’s coming for them.”

He’s mad. She almost bounces on her feet in her sheer excitement. It’s game on now. “Is that a threat?”

Travis’s eyes harden, though the smile remains. “It’s a promise.” 

She likes that look on his face, dangerous and deadly, but above all, earnest. She likes it a lot. 

“Alright then, Travis Stoll, I will be looking forward to it.”

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Not sure if you're actually interested in talking more about this, but I'm jumping in anyway because I relate so hard to being confused about the spiderverse timeline. Not only did everything about the society and Miguel happen fast, but a bunch of other stuff don't add up either? Like.

The first film takes place in early December 2018 according to Miles' test (if we can trust that? It does snow several times) and Peter's headstone, and Across takes place less than a year and a half later... or in July 2023 according to the bodega's security cameras?

Also, the news anchor says Peter was 26 when he died, but the headstone says 1991-2018. Then his birthday was in mid to late December? And he died right before it? That's sad. Oh! Speaking of birthdays: Miles asks why he can't go back to Brooklyn middle school. Soo... he's 13 (which the art book claimed, I think??) and skipped a grade? Is his birthday also late in the year? It has to be imminent if he can be 15 in a year and four months.

And Mayday! Babies typically start crawling at 7-10 months. 9 months of pregnancy + 7 months of living baby = 16 months, or a year and four months! MJ must've gotten pregnant immediately after she and Peter B reconciled. That's effecient of them, but I guess she'd waited long enough.

If we disregard the security cams, it's actually April-ish 2020. How long has Gwen been with the society? She says "a few months", yeah? If that's the truth, it must be between two and five months, because Jess' belly was noticeably big in the prologue, but she's yet to give birth by the end. So! Gwen joined in December or January? Maybe February? That's winter. Is it common to be dressed in shorts, tights, and sweater but no coat in New York during winter? Because that's how she's dressed. And the people around her are wearing t-shirts.

Gwen and Hobie has been on "a couple dozen" missions together. That's at least 24, if he meant that literally. Nearly one every day for one month. But it can't have been continuous because he's got shit to deal with in his own dimension in between. How do they manage their time? Do they have a schedule? And this has less to do with the timeline and is really something that just hit me:

Did Miguel deliberately gather all those spider-people to intimidate Miles with? Because HQ is teeming with spider-people doing mostly nothing (and that's only in the lobby). Don't they have villains to catch at home? I'm picturing Miguel sending a mass dm to everyone about how he needs them to come in and act natural – they have a 15 year old that has to be put in his place!

All this to say: I don't think you're dense about this. I think it's the writers that can't math.

BRUH ACTUALLY DEADASS

HOW LONG HAS JESSICA BEEN PREGNANT??????

Because her pregnancy and Gwen's time there PLUS pavitr joining in under six months is SO JARRING AND CONFUSING.

I assumed Gwen was with them for like 6 months, but that seems way too long so maybe 3? And we can (generously) say Jess was maybe 5-6 months pregnant? So okay, she's about to give birth.

And as someone who lives in NY, nah Winter here is a good 40F(4C) here or lower - even spring you have to wear a hoodie and it's like 60F(15C) until July so I don't know when they recruited her tbh

But for some reason I always assumed that Gwen joined before Pavi did, but I guess not?? But Pavi had only been Spider-man for six months? So did they recruit him right away or was HE the 'new guy' before Miles???? And why would they recruit him right away?

Yeah and with Hobie's work schedule - like I'm assuming they don't go on missions only together because she knows Pavi and LOTS of the other Peters, so either shes going on other missions with other people too- meaning Gwen has done a couple dozen with Hobie and THEN some, or she has a lot of time between missions to meet a lot of Peters around campus.

But then that adds up to like 50 something missions. Unless anamolies are happening every single day, that's still 10 weeks, five days a week - at the least.

And they have training rooms!! So i'm assuming Gwen didn't start going on missions right away with the way Miguel was treating her - so what the hell?????

It's like....

If MJ got pregnant right away, at the same time Miguel got the watch - how long did it take him to meet Peter B.??? Was Peter B the first one he met? And how long did he know Peter B before he lost his daughter? Mind you - all in under a year or so. How long was he with his daughter?????

This makes NO SENSE. NO SENSE WHATSOEVER

And also to answer your last point:

Personally I think, yes Miguel actually made a concentrated effort to do that.

I wrote about it in my Hobie dialogue break-down - but the entire Spider Society scene was propaganda meant to intimidate Miles. Hobie even points this out, telling Miles 'propaganda bro'.

Their watches can take them anywhere - Jess goes to the bridge in Mumbattan. But when they need to see Miguel, they make Miles look at the all (trained) Spider-people. Then they take him to the prison area, then the go home machine. They could've just teleported into Miguel's lair, but instead Miguel made them do this whole tour (things Hobie and Gwen have seen), before meeting Miguel.

In my opinion Miguel absolutely planned that, theres no other reason for them to have been there and for the three of them to have to walk through all of that.

They even make them go to the food court for Miguels empanada like how petty can Miguel be lol He literally just wanted to scare Miles

[solsticelosthermind]

The beast timeline makes no fucking sense. The timelines don’t branch off until the slum kids die. Akutagawa has to be somewhere in his fourteenth year. That means post March. Bsd seems to pretend winter and fall just. Don’t exist. I guess. But if akutagawa is a March baby, gin is a February baby, Atsushi is may and Kyouka is fucking NOVEMBER. Are you telling me she was like. 12. And like 8 when Atsushi got picked up at presumably 12. And since they say gin looks around Atsushi’s age. Then. She was also like 12. When Dazai took her, and would be about 16-17 in beast. Because 4.5 years. That half a year literally has me making diagrams actually. Because again!! Bsd never seems to have seasons it’s spring-summery-ish. But. If I try to keep both events during a not-winter/fall month then that’s obviously like. Half the year gone,,,, so. It’s. Entirely possible. Aku was 19, gin was 17, Atsushi was 16 and Kyouka was. 12. During beast. Because birthdays. If I want to keep Akutagawa at 18 it gets. Weirder.

Although to be fair they do repeatedly stress that Atsushi is so fucking young and Kyouka is even more young so like. I don’t. Think I’m wrong. I’m just. Cackling about it.

Literally why did they slap 4.5 years in. That’s. Why. Why. Never give me numbers I get so stupid trying to make them Fit

ANYWAY choosing to use this to further my “atsushi spends a year in the orphanage and leaves right about the same time he was kicked out in canon because that’s when Canon Fuckery Starts re: time passes and then A Wild Higuchi Appears in the ada office” agenda that I’ve come up with in the last like two weeks

[jqmalikhsgib]

crescent moon

first meeting

may 18th, 2023

you wanted to be anywhere but here at this restaurant. you could have been reading a good book in your living room with a glass of wine. instead your best friend had set up a blind date for you.

you tried getting out of it. coming up with an excuse as to why you couldn’t go. but she jessie wasn’t having it. she wanted you to put yourself out there. considering the last relationship started when you were sixteen and ended on your twentieth birthday, a very shitty way to break someone’s heart, you hadn’t dated anyone since.

after you were accepted into harvard your boyfriend wasn’t very happy. he started to picks fights here and there and you tried to keep the peace. you’ve been dating for a while and you loved him. you knew he was just lashing out because of the long distance. you kept reassuring him that nothing will change.

after about a year he calmed down. he would occasionally come and visit and you were back to being the happy couple you used to be. but it turned out to be nothing but lies.

in your twentieth birthday he came to visit you. you’d been excited to have him, your parents, your friends from high school, and your friends from college attend your birthday party.

unfortunately your boyfriend only came to tell you he was in love with someone else. he broke your heart at your party with everyone around to witness. you told yourself you’d rather be single forever than allow someone else to rip your heart out.

ever since birthdays have been a bit of a soft spot for you. you celebrated with a small cake, in your apartment, alone for your last three birthdays since.

well, you tried. this february jessie stormed into your apartment and demanded you come out with her. you tried to tell her no but she wasn’t having it. you got dressed and went down to the bar a few blocks from your apartment.

you saw a few friends and let loose a bit. you hated to admit it but you had a great time. after, when you went back to your apartment, jessie stayed the night and the next morning she told you about this guy she thought you’d be perfect for.

you tried to tell her you didn’t need to date. you wanted to focus on school and your career. you didn’t have time to date. jessie wouldn’t let up though.

she’d bother you over and over again about the guy until finally you gave in. here you are now waiting for some man to sit across from you. you looked at the time and sighed. he was already twenty minutes late. you grabbed your purse and walk towards the bar.

you ordered a drink, then another, then another when you suddenly felt someone staring. you turned and smiled at the man sitting across from you at the bar. he smiles back before raising his glass.

suddenly he walks over to you and you start to recognize him as he gets closer and closer.

“mind if i sit here?” you nod.

you knew of him so you knew he had a thick accent.

“what’s a beautiful woman like yourself sitting here and drinking alone?”

you blush.

“got stood up.”

“no way.”

“it’s fine. it was a blind date that i didn’t want to be on anyway.”

he chuckles a bit. “i feel that. i hate blind dates.”

“yeah. can’t be easy i image. with your line of work.”

he smirks. “so you know me?”

you nod your head before taking a sip of your drink. “i listen to a few of your songs, yeah.”

“let me guess, you’re into the band more?” he asked with a smirk.

“naw. i mean, it’s good work, sure. but i prefer your albums. icarus falls is one of my favorites.”

“yeah? what’s your favorite song on the album?”

you stop to think before speaking once more. “insomnia.”

“good taste.”

you giggle. “thanks. you’re talented, mister malik.”

“you are too, miss yln.”

“ah. so you know me too.”

“i watch black-ish and grown-ish. watched a few of your movies here too.” zayn states.

“thank you. i appreciate it.”

“you’re welcome.”

“so, what about you? what are you doing drinking alone?”

zayn shrugs his shoulders. “just needed to unwind a little.”

you hum understandably. the two of you get to chatting a bit more, laughing, and just enjoying one another’s company.

“last call guys.” the bartender walks over to them. you look at the time and your eyes widened.

“wow. can’t believe we’ve been here this long.” you state.

“i can. i enjoyed talking to you.”

you and zayn exchanged numbers before you both say goodbye and go your separate ways.

[rikki-roses]

Fluffy February Day 10: Care

SWTOR

Time Period: Early Chapter 3 of Consular storyline

I think Nadia is "supposed" to be older, like 21-ish, but honestly I headcanon her as closer to Ashara's age based on how she acts and how her father treats her, and I think Ashara is about 16? Definitely picture an older sister/younger sister dynamic between her and my Consular, bordering on a mother/daughter dynamic; Setra's 25/26 here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Setra and the boys gathered around Nadia, trying desperately to provide comfort to her after the death of her father, all four of them woefully unprepared to care for a grieving orphaned teenager. While Setra could formally make Nadia her Padawan as per Nadia's father's last wish, ensuring the girl would be cared for and still have a Responsible Adult in her life, it didn't provide solace in the moment. And Setra certainly hadn't expected it to come about like this, the months of them training in secret notwithstanding.

In the end, they situated Nadia on the couch in the ship lounge, keeping a steady stream of tea (Zenith promptly tried to mix it with brandy - "that's what we do when we're grieving the loss of someone in the Balmorran Resistance, and 17 is totally old enough for alcohol" - but Setra quickly put a stop to that) at her elbow and practically burying her in lap blankets and stuffed animals. The remaining diplomats, for their part, provided comforting words to her but otherwise stayed out of Setra and her crew's way.

When Nadia hadn't moved from the couch after several hours, leaving her lunch untouched, Setra gingerly perched on the edge of the couch next to her. Nadia looked up at her, eyes welling up with tears, and leaned into Setra hard as she wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck, weeping into her shoulder.

For the briefest second, Setra froze; she was not used to providing comfort like this - normally, when she dealt with someone experiencing high emotions, it was anger or fear, not sadness. But her Jedi training came through, and she wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close.

Relax. No different than comforting Kiki when we were children, before...

She closed her eyes and gently swayed the two of them, reaching out to her Padawan through the Force, letting her presence in the Force wrap around the girl's. Nadia gratefully seized upon the offered connection, steadying her breathing to match Setra's. She pulled away after several minutes, sniffling; Setra handed her a handkerchief, brushing the hair out of Nadia's eyes.

"There's my girl. Do you think you can try eating?"

Nadia's lower lip trembled, but she nodded and grabbed the untouched plate. Nadia picked at the food, offering bites to Setra, who in turn politely declined. Setra herself had eaten little, but she didn't want the girl to worry or get distracted. Not that she had an appetite after the recent events, anyways. Nadia got through a good chunk of her food before finally speaking."

"When...when are we going to Tython? Does the Council know yet that I'm your Padawan?"

Setra took a long moment to respond. "Master Syo knows I was planning on training you regardless of what your father had wanted, but he and the others know yet what happened, or that you're officially my Padawan now. We can go to Tython and tell them in person whenever you're ready, but I didn't want to rush you so soon."

"Will they be angry?"

Setra quickly shook her head. "No, no; this isn't the first time a Jedi has taken a Padawan in these conditions. Master Kaeden on the Council might complain since I technically didn't get Council approval beforehand, but he'll be an outlier. He's...more rigid about the rules. And again, Master Syo is on our side."

Nadia bobbed her head, mimicking how Setra often nodded. "Can...can you read one of your texts to me, tonight? Daddy always read to me before bed."

"Of course, sweet girl. We can make for Tython tomorrow, if you think you're ready?"

Nadia bobbed her head again, and Setra felt a weight lift that she hadn't realized was there. She looked up and saw the four men hovering in the doorway; she gave them a thumbs up, and they left to prepare the ship to leave.

Setra hadn't expected to have to care for a Padawan so soon, but if the Force willed it, she would follow.

[astral-athame]

((Life for me has pretty much been: Wake up at 8am. Desperately try to get more sleep until 9 (usually I doze off for, like, 2 or 3 minutes at a time and that's it). Get ready for work. Leave between 9:30 and 9:45. Work from 10-1:30-ish (it's supposed to be until 1:15 but I'm never out of there on time). Get home around 1:45. Leave for work part 2 around 2:30. That goes from at least 3-7, usually closer to 7:20 when I finally leave (sometimes stay until 8 or 9). Get home between 7:30 and 7:45. Make a quick dinner, shower, etc. Around 8:30, watch Ba.tt.le.st.ar Gal.act.ica with a couple of friends (if things work out, this couple may eventually be more than just my friends, but we'll see how that goes ^^;) until about 10:30, then chat with them for a bit after that, usually until almost 11. Bedtime routine (wash face, brush teeth, etc etc). Then stare at drafts until midnight when I realize I need to get to bed because I know I'll be up earlier than I need to be. Then the weekends have consisted a lot of babysitting, running errands, and trying to finish unpacking here and there because it's been 4 months and finding time to unpack has been a pain in the ass with everything that's constantly going on. Also, I spent 3 hours on Saturday putting together a kitchen cabinet- thankfully we have extra screwdrivers because the phillip's-head screwdriver they included was such bad quality that it was messed up and unusable less than half an hour in because the metal of it was so soft -_-

ANYWAY- Work both shifts the rest of the week (except Friday, but only because I don't have to do the second shift, still have the first). Saturday we're going out for my dad's birthday (which was actually last week, but we couldn't make things work for going out last weekend like we'd wanted to). Saturday night is also game night, as usual. Then Sunday I *should* have some free time, but I also desperately need to get some cleaning done that's being semi-neglected throughout the week. So what I'm saying is Sundays are chore days.

If things go well, I should, soon, only be working the first shift in another week or two (with the second shift just being Fridays and when absolutely needed)? Right now both my sister and I are stuck doing the second shift every night (and have been since before mid-winter break last month) because the custodial staff is down two people (one girl broke her leg and has been out since October, I think? And the other has been on temporary (paid) probation since early February while they consider whether or not to fire him and go through all the legal jargon of all of that). But they should be coming to a decision about that soon, I would hope, which would mean that if he gets to come back, then we won't be working nights unless someone calls out. And if he doesn't come back, then they should be hiring someone to fill his place so we'll just have to wait until someone snags the job (hopefully, in that case, they'll offer it to my sister first because usually they try to offer it to substitutes and she really wants it, but we'll see). They're also slowly running out of budget for substitutes, so, that's something to consider, too.

ANYWAY- TL;DR: I've basically had no writing time / personal time and that's why I've not been around. Hopefully work stuff will calm down soon because leaving the house around 9:30am and not really getting to be home until usually after 7:30pm (sometimes 8:30pm or 9:30pm) has been exhausting ^^;

I'll try to be around on Sunday (probably focus on Rogue's blog because I've been writing the fic in my head at work most nights so I have a lot of muse for her AND her blog has been sorely neglected for at least a few months now WHICH MAKES ME SO MAD AT MYSELF). If I can even get one or two asks done, then I'll consider that an accomplishment at this point!

I'm so sorry about the long absence. I'm sorry to everyone for neglecting replies. I'm sorry to everyone I was writing with and haven't had the time / social and physical energy / emotional capacity to reach back out to in a while. That's on me. I dropped the ball on that. I've never been good at ooc communication anyway, tbh. I was really hoping things would be a little bit calmer after I moved, but instead they went in exactly the opposite direction and haven't really slowed down any since November. In fact, they've just gotten more hectic over the last few months ^^;

I adore you all so much and I really do hope that I can get back to writing soon. I've been missing it (and all of you) terribly.

Take care and I'll try to be around soon <3))

[blankcreator]

Hello sorry to bother you with this all of sudden ,and this might be coming out of nowhere, and I’m not trying to force you or be pushy but I m trying to get more people into this show with great potential. If your not interested it’s fine but Have you heard of or watched moon girl and devil dinosaur? Season 2 comes out February 2. 

The main character i love she gives me autistic vibes I’m autistic. The show has interesting characters, action ,great music, and animation ,good themes and representation, Anime references, it even has an eyecatch season 2 is going to be more story driven if you find that interesting. It also shares the same animation studio as rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles.

It be good if you watch the first 2 season 2 episode when they air so the ratings will be higher. And watch the other season 2 episodes when they air.

I think Disney might be trying to sabotage the show with them probably dropping 14 episodes on Disney + on February 3. They did similar with season 1 and the ratings where low ,please watch season 2 episodes when they air on. But more importantly also watch it on Disney + on feb 3 and when they air it on YouTube. Unfortunately they are dropping 14 episodes on Disney + so watch them all in one day but also when they air the first time.

I’m not just saying only cable just also. I’m saying please support this show. Despite that it still won 5 Emmys. Also if it’s no trouble could if it alright with you spread the word about this show to others you know like either online or irl. Time is limited!

GIRL- I AM ALREADY IN THAT FANDOM! plus, the animators a.k.a flying bark production worked with this show and also worked with my other fav cartoon rottmnt. I have join other cartoon fandoms like star vs the forces of evil, ben 10, spider verse, TMNT, LMK, and other fandoms. My fav is currently rottmnt. But i do have some moon girl and devil dinosaur fanart! Its just small doodles though, not full put drawings.

And dont worry, you didn't disturb me. I was bored as heck anyway! So answering this was actually fun ^^

ALSO! Yeah! This show barely gets support! SOMEONE PLS WATCH THIS SHOW! I swear i love the comic-ish art style! Its bootiful!

[natgoodmans]

Hi! I was just thinking about you the other day and hoping you were okay. I wanted to reach out but totally understand your break or being busy. I'm sorry for the things you're going through and hope you are taking care of yourself as much as you can be, even though I know it's hard sometimes. I also went thru a hard time in February last year so I understand and just want to offer my love and support. I will also probably be sending shorter asks from now on probably..in general and I also don't want to overwhelm you. So this will probably be more like an update mostly..rather than responding to every single thing we were talking about before.

Haha why would there be a bird chirping in the glovebox and that would be distracting for sure so I understand your reaction and the giggling but at least something memorable. Nice to know about the escape rooms..especially a lot of having a lot of hints. I don't know much about it but could be fun and the thing about patterns in NYT games is helpful for me to understand it better and an hour seems like a good amount of time. Thanks for the link too..it seems cool.

Aww I'm happy that you are going to go to Waitress soon and hope you enjoy the show! Sorry your Hamilton show wasn't the best..but thanks for sharing your favorite part anyway. I totally understand why the cast would try to do that though but I also get how it could be distracting watching the show. I didn't get to see any shows yet, I passed on Back to the Future because of my other concerts and ran out of time sort of for Some Like it Hot, but it's okay. The new season was announced and I think I definitely want to go to The Notebook and Stereophonic. Maybe Shucked or Suffs, but idk if it's really for me. I never actually listened to Shucked though. I'm still hoping for Parade possibly but we will see since I haven't looked into exact dates yet and only here for a week I think. Phantom isn't until next year. Unfortunately Outsiders was not announced probably cuz they are starting with the east side lol. It's totally okay you haven't watched it yet, by the way. No pressure and I just hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts comparing to some of the songs even if it doesn't fully make sense to you yet. My sister is like that too and then I have to explain it haha.

It's crazy about TTPD to me too, but it almost doesn't feel that long to me either. Like I am used to the songs but I guess all of her albums feel like that lately cuz she has so much I guess? Like the songs on 1989 TV still feel pretty new too. I think..Seven, Robin, Never Grow Up, but it's close between those two maybe. Seven does the idea the best in a relatable way but Robin grew on me too. I just don't play Never Grow up as much or at all but it doesn't mean I don't like it either. Ooh i see the 1975 thing now and get the Olivia thing even if it's pretty different still. Maybe it just doesn't fit the album or at least just the anthology at all to me and it's almost out of place. People love it though and it reminds me of something on rep ish, so I should, but idk. I might have to listen to the full album again soon to celebrate but my opinions won't really change. I find it hard to know where to rank the album compared to other albums. I also go back and forth whether I like it more than Midnights or not. They're somewhat similar but so different at the same time but maybe the anthology is more of a similar theme to it actually. What do you think and which one would you pick? Midnights almost seems like it has more favorites, but with the 3AM and anthology it almost comes out the same so I don't know! I just wanted to ask your opinion cuz I was thinking of the albums recently and comparing them. It's also the 2 year anniversary of the Eras tour and that's crazier! I do miss it sometimes, but usually just watch old performances or mashups and i'm happy she's taking a break right now. But we might see her at the Heart awards tonight cuz they're honoring the tour!

Ooh I definitely am interested in Maybe Happy Ending. I've heard snippets of some songs only and watched a recent performance on late night but a lot of people really love it. It also seems like my kind of show, about two lonely robots with some more emotional or slower songs. I also love that it's a new musical and Darren Criss helps cuz I love him. The cast album just came out but probably won't get to it until closer to the Tony's cuz that's what I usually do. I'm also interested in Boop and Smash, music wise for Boop and the changes that they made in Smash. I saw a few mixed reviews but apparently Boop is a fun show. I do wonder how the show within a show and working improving it will even translate on stage lol. Bombshell could be so good by itself though too. Operation Mincemeat is very popular as well from people who see a lot of shows but I actually don't know much about it except it's compared to Oh Mary's humor.

My opinion on Nick hasn't changed yet, and I even think some people exaggerated or just expect him to be bad. Like I get that but people were saying they couldn't even understand him or he was pronouncing words weird or it's hard to understand him when he sings. This also is one criticism of some of The Outsiders cast or songs that I don't get or agree with, but that's why I was afraid to recommend it to you if you don't like it and maybe it's just I heard a few Last Five years songs this week though and it reminded me of the production. I am used to the movie and obviously Adrienne's voice is different than Anna's but still good. Unfortunately it might just be okay when it had the potential to be great and excited about it.

I'm glad you've kept up with Duolingo. I feel the same with similarities with Spanish and French haha. I wonder if Italian is in the middle of the two. I'm mostly doing music now though which is sometimes hard but I'm getting used to it. I found that once I made it part of my routine and use the app it's easier to keep the streak if that helps. It's reassuring that you don't cook that much either but I do wanna get better at it. What baking recipes do you wanna try? I made Oreo cake recently and turned out okay. I've also been pretty good at gym and reading more and on the way to actually finishing a few books.

For music, we were playing Lady Gaga and her new album all week! I think it's pretty good and recommend it. Maybe better than her last few albums but I was feeling pretty nostalgic listening to her old stuff too so it's hard to compare. I'm also going to listen to Selena old albums this week since she has a new album coming out. I will probably fit Tate somewhere in there too and haven't gotten to any others yet but they're on my list. I liked Sabrina's deluxe and my favorites were Busy Woman and 15 minutes. I also liked Make it any Harder which sounds similar to Hopelessly Devoted. I feel like I liked her pop upbeat songs more on this album than the slow ones, but I liked Opposite and things I wish you said from the last one. Some people feel like she has a country sound to her voice and my sister said it about Please Please Please so it was funny that she sang with Dolly but I prefer the original. The Giver is fine..feel like I liked the concept more than the song and how she wanted to make a fun gay country song, but it's not as catchy as other songs.

The Soccer Mommy concert was great and might've been the closest I have ever been in a show so we had a great view this time. It was nice to hear the songs live and sing them, but I missed some of the fun songs from her last album too. Omg I don't know how to answer your question, but I think Sabrina and Beyonce's concerts would be fun but they weren't coming near me. Also Gaga I guess since I listened to her album and she would potentially have crazy costumes. What about you? But I also have three more shows lined up so far. I have a concert in April which is more of a pop punk show which will be a different vibe haha. I also got tickets to Halsey's tour and one of my favorite artists named Lights and both of the concerts are in May, and seeing MCR in July. So the cool thing is it will be like I went to a show almost every month so far which is wow and makes me happy cuz I missed out on a lot of shows the last few years. Do you have anything you're looking forward to? I really hope things can turn around for you this year. I know I said it wouldn't be long so no pressure to respond that soon, but maybe I just missed you! Also happy St Patrick's Day since it's supposed to be lucky and green is my favorite! 🩷💚

hello my friend!! don't worry! i love seeing your messages, even if i can't reply to them at the moment — no matter how long they are! i hope your february+march this year has been treating you nicely, my love!

i have NO idea about the bird but it's become an inside joke now! when my friend and i went to a hockey game a little bit ago, they got a motion activated cat toy and made sure it was on before they came to pick me up and it was chirping the entire time and i thought i was going crazy — really put a smile on my face. and i bought them a birdwatching 101 book, just for fun.

i really liked the escape rooms! i think i liked the art heist one more — i just love a heist, but also i love art, and i geeked out over seeing the art they had (including la grande jatte, which is one of my personal favorites). but both were very, very fun! i met up with a friend who lives in the area on saturday and we were walking around the mall and she asked if i'd want to do an escape room and the only one that was available was timeliner, so i said sure, and then told the two friends i was traveling with that i was doing an escape room and they were like oh that sounds sooo fun so i checked and was like guys there's a 9:00 timeslot for the art heist tomorrow if y'all want to do that ... which we did! in hindsight, that might not have been our wisest idea (we did the escape room, grabbed lunch, walked around for an hour and a half, and then went back to the hotel, really quickly packed the rest of our stuff up and then had to head to the airport by 1) but it was really fun! i highly recommend it if you're looking for a fun thing to do.

it looks like i'm not going to be able to see waitress, unfortunately :( landed in urgent care earlier this week (i'm fine, they gave me some meds) and have some Things (not fun) going on next week which puts it to the end of the run. i hope you love the notebook & stereophonic! i'm hoping to go to both as well — not sure yet about stereo (i'm out of town for most of the run) but will definitely do everything in my power to go see the notebook which we all know i adore dearly. i don't think i'll be able to see parade either, but i'm not sure yet! it really depends on how things shake up. phantom is also coming here next year and i'm excited for it, and also les mis is coming too!

i think that tortured poets feels more like separate albums to me, rather than one combined long album? but i don't necessarily think it's like 'ttpd' and then 'the anthology', just that there are some very different ... sounds/themes/etc.? it just doesn't feel very cohesive as one whole album to me. maybe more like 'chapters'/eps? i'm not sure. i haven't had the impulse to listen to midnights lately (that being said, i haven't been listening to a lot of taylor as of late, what with my album of the day & being sick & family stuff going on). i randomly had so high school stuck in my head for like two weeks but the eras tour surprise song version a while ago. i am really glad she's taking a break!

have you listened to the maybe happy ending cast recording yet? i did and i loved it! and i am continuously rooting for its success 🤍 i saw some changes about smash and i am ... not very enthused. i think what i wanted, more so than a smash musical, was just bombshell? or even hit list... but now we have this... i don't know! it looks like operation mincemeat is doing quite well! i haven't been keeping track with grosses as of late but i know they've extended a couple times, which seems to signal good sales + success! i've heard jasmine is phenomenal in boop, but haven't seen anything (although i have the pre-broadway boot & have been meaning to watch it forever).

i used to do duolingo in the mornings but lately (because of the plague) i've been sleeping in a little bit more which means i have to scramble to keep up my streak + my friends quests + my spot in the leaderboard. oooh an oreo cake sounds good! my mom really likes baking bread and she keeps trying to get me into it but i'm more interested in cookies & cakes, but i do want to learn how to make her recipes so i should really try to do that! one of my current crafty projects (upcoming, actually) is illustrating her recipes and making her own cookbook which i was originally going to give her for mother's day, but have decided to do it for her birthday (october) so i'm not rushed + have more time to work on it! especially since i have another crafty project (a scrapbook) for my best friend's birthday that i'm trying to wrap up before may!

i also really think that hopelessly devoted + you couldn't make it any harder sound very similar! i didn't love please please please ft. dolly — i think the mixing just sounded very odd, but i do love the concept and wish the sound had been mixed better. and i like the giver, but it's definitely going to be a song that grows on me!

i would love to hear more about your soccer mommy experience! and have so much fun at halsey! i thought about going but did not want to drive (i hateeeeee driving) that far. i have a couple concerts lined up too — sam fender, alix page, and sara kays! and i'm seeing mandy patinkin next month. nothing super super far out though. i wish i was seeing sabrina's tour again but she's not coming near me and i couldn't swing it. and i'm really bummed i'll be missing tate + alessi rose (i love alessi's music), as i'll be out of the country.

grief is weird! but i will be better in time 🤍 i'm really looking forward to 1) feeling better, 2) the concerts! (bailey is also coming to visit which will be really fun), 3) i might try to go to another hockey game before the season's over! happy belated st. patrick's day! i didn't know your favorite color is green! would you like to switch to green heart anon? totally fine either way! 🤍 🤍

i hope you are doing well & that march wraps up nicely for you my love!

[fatimahwritesthings]

december-ish February

Today our tutor called us to come to UNI even though today was supposed to be a day off. We came, we had debates with some other people from russian group and I met my oldest friend, I was so happy to meet her, we didn't really get to discuss a lot of things but I was genuinely just so happy to see her, she has changed a lot but she still has such a good personality and I wish we could see each other more, not just during debates.

Well, anyway, after debates we played snowballs because it's snowing today, we took a lot of photos with my friends and it was just so much fun it almost felt like we've known each other for ages. Sometimes I think that I don't care about my University friends and I like my school friends more but today was the day that I'd realized that they are so important to me too. They're really good people (not all of them) but most of them. Yeah I love them.

I'm thinking about changing my teeth again.... once in a while I always think about how they look because I'm so insecure about them. I actually hate how my teeth look so I'm thinking about like getting braces again because I have a deep bite so my upper chin is a bit incorrect so I want to fix it maybe that will fix my face and make me less insecure about my looks I don't know (and my IELTS exam is coming it's so stressful) I'm studying for that....

yeah that's that's all for today