#About halfway through each one I'm going...I need to write less. For sure

[semperama]

AHHHHHH will you write me buddie for 56 "it brings out your eyes"????????? 😃😃😃

“It brings out your eyes.”

----

"Okay, which one?" Buck asks, holding up two different t-shirts, one sky blue and one salmon-y pink.

Eddie sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. He's been perched on the end of Buck's bed for what feels like an hour, watching him fuss with his hair and then rifle through his closet. "I don't know, Buck." He lets his gaze drift down Buck's body for what feels like the millionth time, trying to ignore the way it gets fractionally harder to breathe each time he does it. "The blue, I guess. It brings out your eyes."

Buck snorts. "I'm going to a club. No one'll be able to see what color my eyes are." He tilts his head to the side and grins. "Not that they'll be looking anyway."

"Oh my God." Eddie looks up at the ceiling and says a silent prayer for mercy. "This is why I told you I wouldn't be much help. What do I know about clubs?" Much less gay clubs.

"Come on, man." Buck tosses the salmon shirt down on the bed and starts peeling the blue one off the hanger. "I'm freaking out, okay? Are you sure you can't come with me?"

Can't? Maybe that was a lie. With Chris gone, he has no good excuse to stay home these days. But the last thing he needs is to watch Buck get hit on by random strangers--especially not if alcohol is going to be involved. He wouldn't even have come over to help Buck get ready if he hadn't begged him. It'll be the first time I've gone out since me and Tommy broke up, Eddie. I could really use a pep talk.

"I don't even understand why you have to go," Eddie says. He watches Buck pull on the shirt, tries not to linger too long on how it stretches around his biceps, over his chest. "Is this really a good way to meet guys? At your age?"

Buck gasps with exaggerated affront. "At my age?"

Eddie raises an eyebrow at him. "Last time we went out with Hen and Karen you puked in my front lawn and then complained about your hangover for two days."

"I did a bad job pacing myself that night," Buck says, his mouth twisted into what could almost be a pout. "Karen holds her alcohol better than I do. And anyway, they're older than us, so if they can go out--"

"They go out like twice a year. Together. As a couple. Not to meet people."

Buck's expression darkens. "Yeah, well. I'm not part of a couple, so." Okay. So Eddie fucked up with that one. He sighs, but before he can apologize, Buck spreads his arms out and swivels his torso a little. "Just...how do I look?"

He looks good enough to fucking eat, of course. The shirt hugs him in all the right places. His jeans make his ass look great. He must have found some new product for his hair, because his curls are perfect and soft-looking, begging to be touched. Eddie wants to drag him in by the belt loops and beg him to stay.

"You look great, Buck," he says quietly. Because Buck asked him for a pep talk, and so far he's failed the assignment. The least he can do is try to turn it around. The least he can do is be a good friend, not a selfish, jealous asshole. "Seriously, you're going to have guys falling at your feet."

The smile that creeps its way across Buck's face make it all worth it. He ducks his head, shrugs his shoulders up, and Eddie is stabbed by a longing so intense he's halfway to his feet before he realizes what he's doing and stops himself.

"I'll let you get going then," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets do he doesn't give in to the temptation to touch. "Let me know how it goes?"

"Yeah," Buck says. His gaze is searching Eddie's face. For what, Eddie doesn't know. "Yeah, of course."

Eddie makes it to the door, breath painful and ragged in his chest, before he hears Buck's feet pounding down the stairs behind him. He turns to look, to ask if there was something else, but he barely opens his mouth before Buck is there, one hand on Eddie's neck, the other wrapping around his waist, pulling him in so close it knocks the air out of his lungs.

Then, Buck is kissing him. Desperate press of lips, tongue licking into Eddie's shocked mouth. It's an electric shock, white heat spreading through him, painfully good.

But then as soon as it started, it's over, and Buck is staring at him, wide-eyed. Eddie wants to dive into that blue gaze and drown there.

"I'm sorry," Buck says. "I just--I had to try. I had to know, before I--"

"Buck." His fingers are curled in the back of Buck's shirt, and he curls them tighter, presses Buck closer. "Don't go," he says. "Stay here. With me."

"Okay," Buck says breathlessly. He looks like he has no idea what's happening, and Eddie knows the feeling, but they can talk later, figure it all out later.

"Good," Eddie says, and pushes his fingers into Buck's hair, pulls their mouths together again.

[inazumatrash]

Some concept art for a discarted comic idea.

But I ended up adapting the script to a fanfic! (It's a little rough and I'm new to writing, so any feedback is welcome) Omori spoilers ahead.

The events of this story happens sometime after Mari's funeral.

///

It's sunset time with blue and soft pink tints all over the urban scenery. Basil is finishing tying up the velcro of his sandals to go out. Grabbing the door knob, he turns his head back to leave one final message before leaving.

"I'll be back soon, grandma!"

There's a chilling breeze outside and the streets are eerily empty. But Basil prefer this way. His head is full of thoughts, he needs the space. Approaching his destination, he stops looking at the sidewalk and lifts his head. He finally spot a living soul a bit ahead of him.

It's Kel. He's in front of Sunny's house. Kel seems to hesitate for a while, but gathers courage and knocks on the door. He vigorously give three consecutive knocks.

"That's a bit too much." Basil observes. Good old Kel.

It doesn't take too long for the door to open, and Sunny's mom appears. She has a dull look in her eyes. She's tired.

"Oh, it's you, Kelsey…" She looks over his shoulder. "and Basil."

Kel also looks back. Basil is suddenly there, a few steps of distance.

"What can I do for you two?"

"Uh." Kel is a little surprised with Basil's presence, but figured out he came for the same reason as him. "Can I- Can we talk to Sunny?"

"Hm…" She looks away before answering. "He's a little more unresponsive than usual..."

Basil feels a pinch of pain in his stomach.

"I wasn't able to talk to him since… the funeral." Kel fidgets a little. "I want to let him know he can count on us!"

Sunny's mom mouth corner's change to a soft, yet warm smile.

"Well, I'm sure he would appreciate to hear from you two, at least."

She steps back, opening the door welcoming the boys in. Kel perks up and calls Basil with a hand gesture. They enter the house.

"He's at their- at his room."

At the living room, the boys can see the glass door that leads to the backyard, highlighted with a menacing reddish orange light of the last sunrays. Kel immediatelly changes his attention to Sunny's mom back, while Basil has a hard time moving away his focus from it. They arrive at the staircase. Kel doesn't think twice and steps halfway through it. Basil freezes.

"Basil?" Kel calls out for him.

Basil tries to hide his anxiety and replies "C-coming!"

They are at front of Sunny's room, Sunny's mother a little further, to give the boys some space. Kel knocks the door, but this time, more gently.

"Sunny? It's Kel and Basil!" No reply.

Basil gives a quick look back at the staircase and Something starts crawling around him.

"Sunny." Kel starts again, leaning his hand on the door. "Sorry for not talking to you until now. But you know that we're here for you, right?" Kel sends a signal to Basil by raising his eyebrows and tilting his head towards the door, asking him to join.

Basil desperately tries to find the words. But the truth is, he wasn't expecting Sunny's mom, much less Kel's presence. It's not that he didn't have anything to say. He couldn't say anything he wanted to.

The creeping silence started to bother Kel, so he continued instead.

"Oh, I know! If you want, we can have a sleepover!" No reply. "Uh, it doesn't need to be anything fancy! We don't need to play games or eat snacks… We don't even need to talk. Just have each other's company, y'know?"

Kel smiled as he placed his other hand and ear to the door, waiting for the answer. He believed his idea was too good to be turned down. No reply.

"Sunny?" More silence.

Sunny's mom sighs, ready to call Kel and Basil back. Kel moves away from the door. He starts playing with his hoodie strings, looking a little less bright than before.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay." He did his best to hold a smile "I totally understand if you just need time alone."

"…like Hero." He completes under his breath, almost a whisper.

Another wave of silence. Is Sunny ignoring them? Is he even listening? Basil's mind go blank as he stares at the door.

"We'll come back tomorrow!" Kel bursts. The "we" took Basil by surprise.

"R-right! We'll be back tomorrow, Sunny." Basil faintly addes to the farewell.

Kel gives one last knock on the door, and starts walking away. Basil follows him.

"Oh, kids…"

"Can we really come back tomorrow?" Basil asks.

"Oh, yes, you may come… I'll let you know if he's available or not." It wasn't very reassuring.

After one last goodbye, the two boys leave the house. A few steps later, they stop in front of Kel's house. Before Basil could say anything, Kel apologizes.

"I'm sorry you couldn't say much. I hogged all the time for myself."

"N-not really. I wasn't sure what to say, anyway…"

"Isn't it strange, though? Sunny… He doesn't like to be alone, why would he…?" Kel stops and shakes his head. "We just have to try again tomorrow!" Kel smiles seems forced, Basil notices.

"W-well… See you tomorrow, then?"

"No, wait- let me walk you home!"

"O-okay." Basil let him be.

In the middle of the walk, Kel turns to Basil.

"I still didn't talk to Aubrey either. Did you?" Basil shakes his head. "I thought about visiting her too, but- I think I'm the last person she would want to see." Basil thought the same of himself, but kept silent about it.

Kel is a open book, he has no reason to hide his emotions and usually can be very blunt with his honesty. But something feels off today. Or since then. That day. Looking better, Basil notices Kel was using a navy colored hoodie at least two sizes larger than it should be. A small letter "H" was embroidered on it. Kel would use passed down clothes from Hero, but this one was clearly borrowed before its time.

He was lonely too.

Soon, Basil's home is right around the corner.

"Hm, actually." Basil starts. "I promised grandma I was going to buy a few things at the convenience store. Do you want to tag along…?" Kel snorts in reply. Was Basil trying to cheer him up?

"Sure, let's go! But let's be quick, mom won't like if I come home too late." He skips ahead.

"Wait! The store is on the opposite direction!"

"Oh!!"

///

It's night. Between the interval of a lightpost to another, Kel can't stand the silence anymore.

"Aah, I should have brought some pocket money!" He comes closer to Basil, using his hand to shield the conversation like he was about to confide a secret. "But I already spent all my allowance."

Basil wasn't expecting chit-chat, but wasn't too surprised either. It kind of gave him a sense of normality.

"…Hero always scolds me for spending it too quickly.

Like everything that happened was just a bad dream…

"But Mari would always treat me instead!"

A shiver passes through Basil's spine.

"Are you cold?" Kel opens his arms as invinting for a hug.

"No, I'm okay!"

Kel stops and rewinds what he just said.

"Sorry."

"N-no, don't be." Basil almost regrets calling Kel over. The uncomfortable silence is back, until Kel broke it again.

"I'll be more careful with my money from now on."

"?"

"So I can be the one who treat everyone out! How is that?"

"Are you sure you'll be able to do that?"

"What? You understimate me!!"

Basil slips a weak smile. Kel smiles back, like he planned it from the beggining. They continue their walk.

///

At the convenience store, Basil goes straight to what he went for. To kill time, Kel explores around until something take his attention at the candy area. Basil approaches too see what was so interesting. Kel only notices his presence after a while.

"Eek!" Kel was startled.

"…Are you going to ask for borrowed money?" Basil teases.

"No!! I was just looking… See, there's everyone's favorite flavor today…"

Basil identifies each flavor and silently pick them up.

They leave the store and Kel lifts his lollipop over his head.

"Basil, you're the best!" The compliment take Basil aback.

"It's just candy…"

"Yeah, it's just candy." Basil didn't expect him to agree so fast.

"It's the thought that counts!"

Basil just nods.

///

They arrive at Basil's house again.

"We're here!" Kel announces the obvious.

"Y-yeah."

Basil moves ahead to the door.

"See you tomorrow!!"

Basil stops.

"S-sure."

///

Basil is welcomed by his grandma with tea and cookies. Putting the groceries aside and with a cup in hands, he stares at the lollipops over the kitchen's table. Strawberry, watermelon and grape. He thinks back when Kel pointed that everyones flavors were available. All six of them. He shrugs the thought away.

Kel is on his way back, already appreciating his orange lollipop, while waving the cola flavored one in the air. He wonders when he'll be able to deliver the little gift. He wonders when he'll be able to talk to Hero again. Or to any of his friends for that matter. He shrugs the thought away.

THE END

[pickingupmymercedes]

Show me you care - Lewis Hamilton (NSFW)

SMUT - NSFW

pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Reader!

warnings: unprotected sexual activities (p in v), brat Lewis

Also, wrap it before you tap it

wordcount: <1k

a/n: So, an anon send an ask to @a-moment-captured and it gave me ideas. I didn't really write Lewis as classic anger-ish pissed off, but as closed-off/ brat-ish frustated, hope that's okay. It's also a short one.

Wrote it in one go, so not really proofread

As always, I'm open for feedback, come say hi!

EXPLICIT CONTENT UNDER, -18 DO NOT INTERACT.

______________________________________________________________

Their laughs in the background irked you at all the wrong places, the banter, the photos, online comments they kept checking and laughing at made your blood boil. The whole weekend was frustrating, and sure they were trying to make the air less dense for everyone’s sake, but still, how unbothered the three of them acted was annoying to you.

“Hm… would you guys mind going to that food stall by the hospitality to get me a bowl of something? I could really use some food to get through this thing.” Your voice almost cracking mid-way through, eyes barely looking up from the computer as you reviewed the debrief that would make its way to the amg board back in Germany, your writing relaying how bad the weekend had gone, again.

“Sure… the usual?” Daniel asked already halfway through the door with a chatty Miles attached to him as you nodded and mouthed a thank you, looking back to the screen right after.

“Just write double dnf” Lewis’ voice full of sarcasm echoed in the dark and empty rooms of the almost empty garage.

“Okay, I’m done with the bullshit remarks. That’s not you… not anymore.” You closed the notebook in your laps, annoyance clear in your voice as you approached him seated at the sofa.

“What?!” A testing tone to his voice, he knew what you were talking about and it was almost as if he wanted you to bring it up. You sighted exasperatingly as you reach for his hand.

“Show me you care, Lewis.” Your eyes burned into his, daring him to avoid your demand, to show how the situation truly affected him.

“You don’t want that, love” His pupils got more dilated by the second, his breath hitching in his throat.

“I’m asking you to, show me how much you want this, because I know you do”

He flipped you around in a swift move, his breath now on your neck as one of his hands found their way to your throat while the other pulled you into his chest, his lips finding their way around the uncovered parts of your shoulders.

“I need this last win as much as I need to have you, right now”

The hoarse of his voice while his fingers fiddled with the bottom of your pants made the room grow muffed around you both, his lips leaving ghost like touches after they had left that spot. His heavy breathing mesmerizing as he found his way around your and his pants.

His hand circling around your panties until he put them to the side, his finger on your clit and entrance, your spine curving back almost on its own to feel his radiating warmth.

“You’re always so wet, so needy” He didn’t give you any warning when his dick first stretched you – or maybe he did but you didn’t really listen, too lost in his smell and the feel of his body, only really realizing he had you bent over when you felt the fabric under your stretched arms.

His member reaching painfully slow inside you as he kept going in until he bottomed. Your walls itched for any sort of movement but he kept a tight hold of your hips as you collapsed forwards to the sofa, his hands holding you by the waist as his face contorted in pleasure.

When he finally moved his pace was relentless, each thrust went deep enough to hit your cervix, each time you failed to suppress the moan that left your mouth. Your mind a delicious blank as the only thing that computed was how good he felt around your walls and that his grips on your waist was sure to leave marks.

It wasn’t long before his rhythm faltered, his knees almost buckling as his orgasm hit, holding up just enough to circle your clit for a few moments until you too exploded. Your vision going blank for a while, the only feeling was of his arms holding your back to his chest as his throat left a guttural moan when he pulled out from you.

“Don’t hide from me. I know you care” Your arms reached to his face when you turned into his embrace, his eyes softer now but with a tinge of hurt. His lips went to your forehead, a softness in how he held and moved in striking contrast to his grasp just a few minutes before, his arms engulfing you into his arms in the small sofa of the room.

His friends’ laughter got closer by the second until the lock on the door tried to turn while you and Lewis amusedly heard them call out for you two.

“Shh, let them wonder where we’re at.” He whispered by your head, kissing your head just as his arms held you down.

______________________________________________________________

TAGLIST - @saturnssunflower @xoscar03 @chocolatediplomatdreamerzonk

If you’d like to be added to my taglist you can leave a comment or send me a dm/ask.

[miguelhugger2099]

Oh I love your writing so much! Ur really feeding us so much Miguel fic thank you for ur service 🫶❤️❤️❤️.

I'm just thinking about reader take Miguel to meet their mom and seeing Miguel n her bond with each other and maybe talk shit about his mom( I need Miguel to have a better mom like he deserve😭🙏🙏)

First Meeting

bro its so hard to find a gif of this man NOT frowning or beating miles up 😭 BUT thank u sm <3 hehe i try to feed yall and im glad im doing an okay job i love serving my community🫡 I really loved this request a little breather from smut lol but i hope i did okay! as always, i can write something different if you're not happy with it :'3

Miguel x Reader, Fluffy, A bit of angst, Word Count: 1,950

Miguel clutched your hand in his left hand, while his right gripped a small wrapped gift tightly. His eyes were glued to the front door and feet planted on the wooden floorboard of your mothers porch. He had stopped you just before ringing the doorbell by tugging on your hand. “Wait,” He breathed out. “Are…are we sure it’s today? Are you sure this gift is enough for her? Maybe I should’ve brought food instead…” He murmurs with a worried knit of his eyebrows making his stress lines appear deeper. You sigh through your nose with a soft smile. “You have nothing to worry about. Yes, it’s today and yes the gift is enough. My mom makes too much food anyway so it’s probably best if we didn’t have more.” You chuckle softly and cup his cheek. The warmth of your hand makes his eyes slip off the door and down towards your face. His eyes had softened but they still held worry in them. You knew about his own past, how he didn’t really have a positive parental role model–much less a mother. So, you believed all this worry came from the trauma of what she had done to him and now, he’s trying to seek the approval of another mom. He wants to be good enough and you’re one hundred percent sure he is. “She’ll love you.” You whisper gently, as if the idea itself would spook him. He sucks in a sharp breath and looks off to the side. “But what if she doesn’t?” He asks, looking down at the pretty red bow around the small box in his hand.

“She will,” You assure him. “You are so easy to love, Miggy. I know you’re afraid and that this is a big step for us, but just trust me.” Your thumb caresses his cheekbone. “I do trust you.” He mumbles and looks back down at you. “Good. Then you have nothing to worry about.” You lean up to kiss him and he meets you halfway, pecking your lips in a sweet and quick kiss. You pull away and smile up at him, his cheeks tinged a light hue of red at his vulnerability with you; he was still getting used to it. “Ready?” You ask him. He squeezes your hand tightly in his. “Yeah.” You squeeze his hand in return and then press the little button of your mothers doorbell. You hear the ringing from inside and you two wait patiently until your mom arrives. Miguel’s leg shakes nervously, his finger tapping the box. The door opens and Miguel stiffens into a straight posture. Your mother greets you two with a warm smile and a small cry of joy. “Oh my baby!” She yanks the open wide open and ushers you both inside. “Come in! Come in! It must be freezing!” You giggle and tug Miguel with you with him bending slightly so as to not bump his head coming in.

She turns to Miguel with a big smile after closing the door behind you. “And you must be Miguel! They’ve told me so much about you!” Miguel smiled wearily, unsure and a little terrified with how…welcoming she had been already. He pushes it aside and lets go of your hand to hold the box in his left hand to give your mother his right for a handshake. “Yes, Miguel O’Hara. It’s a pleasure to meet you, señora.” Your mother takes his hand and shakes it, her other hand on her cheek as she coos up at Miguel. “Oh, what a gentleman! Come, let me take your coat.” She holds out her hands as both you and Miguel slip your coats off your backs. Miguel shakes his head and politely declines. “Thank you but it’s alright. I can do it myself.” Your mother sputters and scoffs, waving away his concerns with her hand. “Nonsense! I insist. You’re in my home so you are a guest! Don’t be too gentlemanly.” She jokes at the end, taking his and your coat despite your protests. Miguel takes it harder than you, worrying that she might think he’s lazy and forcing her to be so kind but you loop your arm around his. “She’s like this. She likes doing this and I’ve tried to stop her.” You shrug with a knowing smile. “Don’t worry.” You remind him and kiss his cheek. “Well don’t just stand there! Dinner is just about done.” You hear her call from the kitchen. Miguel fiddles with the box, tossing it from hand to hand. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom really quick.” You tell Miguel, feeling him freeze subtly. You slip your arm from him and he stands awkwardly in the living room.

Miguel swallows the lump in his throat and sets the gift down by the table. He then walks over to the kitchen where your mom is and sees her collecting plates for all three of you. He walks beside her and taps her shoulder to not scare her, underestimating his giant footsteps. “I can help.” He shrinks his size as much as he can to not look as gigantic next to your mother. She brightens up at him. “Oh, you don’t have to but thank you.” She pats his muscular bicep.

“I know I don't, but I'd like to. You've done so much work tonight making a delicious dinner.” He says softly, taking two plates for you and him.

“Of course. I wanted to make a good impression on the man who captured my baby's heart. Especially when they're a real piece of work.” She tuts playfully, shaking her head and laughing to herself.

Miguel chuckles along with her, taking a spoon and scooping out some white rice for his plate. “They're not that bad.” He defends you with a small grin.

Your mother hoots out a laugh. “You weren't there in their teenage years!” She jams her own spoon into the rice cooker to scoop her own desired amount. “I love my children to death but oh, I could've used a break when they were fourteen. So many phases I couldn't keep up. I'm sure your own mother thought the same.”

Miguel smiles to himself, wondering and wishing he could've seen you during those years. He wonders if you two would have clicked. He thinks back to his own days as a teen. They weren't as nice as yours.

He remembers holding his baby brother rightly to his chest as his parents were fighting, making sure his ears were covered. He remembers the fights he had gotten into with his own mother and how he was always compared to his little brother. Everyday in that house was a screaming match–either with Miguel or between his parents.

He sighs heavily, the weight of the past pressing against his ribs. Your mother notices it instantly, growing worried she might have set something off.

You exit the bathroom after washing your hands and approach the kitchen after hearing their conversation. You stop and wait by the wall behind them when you hear Miguel talking again.

“Yeah, uh, my mother and I weren't really close so I wouldn't know.” He chuckles dryly, picking up some tongs and grabbing a bowl of pasta for you. He hopes he hasn't made it awkward.

Your mother stops making her plate and instead looks up at him with an expression he can't decipher. “Did you know her?” She asks.

Miguel nods, shrugging his shoulders up. “Yes, yeah, I did. She was–I just wasn't her favorite, is all.” He puts it lightly.

She juts her bottom lip out in a deep frown and huffs, already getting an idea of how his own mother treated him. “‘Favorites.’” She scoffs. “What bullshit. If you're a good parent, then there are no favorites.”

Miguel blinks at her sudden cursing before letting out a soft laugh. “I could've been better.” He says, feeling defensive strangely enough by blaming his mothers abuse on himself. “I mean she didn't go as far as hitting me yet but–”

Your mother loudly cuts through a large piece of steak, the pan slightly squeaking from the force of her knife moving to rip apart the meat. She mutters under her breath, anger simmering under her skin.

“I know I said teenage years were rough but none of that is ever your fault. Physical or not.” She picks up the slab of steak with a fork and places it on Miguel's plate. She knew he was a big eater via you.

“You were just a boy and anything that woman did to you doesn't deserve a moment of your thoughts.” She says firmly. “And if that woman is out of your life–is she out of your life?” She points a knife at him.

Miguel nods. “For the most part, yes ma'am.” 

The older woman tsks and returns back to Miguel's plate, picking up a tomato and slices thin pieces for him. “Well, if she ever comes back and pisses you off, you come straight here. You don't need all that negativity sucking out your happiness.”

Miguel smiles as your mother works, feeling warm that he has a home to lean back on. “Si, señora.”

“You come here with them too because they don't visit me often.” She nudges Miguel with her elbow, talking shit about you playfully.

You lift off the wall with a smirk, deciding now was the time to intervene. “I see you two have reached the stage of talking behind my back.” You pipe up, reaching between them to grab a slice of cucumber. Your mother smacks your hand, chitting you for touching the bowl. You laugh and feel Miguel take the hand your mother hit and he kisses the same spot with a teasing smile. You feel your heart flutter and look away shyly.

Your mother pretends not to notice and tries to reach for your plate but you take it before she can. “Alright, c'mon. Time to eat. I know this monumental man is hungry.” Your mother ushers all three of you back to the dining table.

She stops when she sees the small gift-wrapped box on the table. She picks it up curiously. “Is this yours?” She asked Miguel.

He nods and sits next to you after setting his plate down. “Well, it's really for you. I brought something for you.”

The woman sits right across from you two and lets out a small “aww”. 

“You shouldn't have.” She places it to the side. “Oh and we're about to eat.” She laughs, unsure of whether to open the gift or ignore it for food.

“Please, open it. Or don't. Whatever you like.” Miguel chuckles.

She opens the small gift anyway and inside is a simple yet elegant set of earrings and a necklace. Your mother gasps softly, placing a hand over her chest. “Oh, Miguel…” She murmurs, feeling touched that this young man had done everything for her approval when she loved him the moment you talked so fondly of him.�� She looks up at him and his hopeful expression. Despite his stress lines and big muscular frame, her mother instincts saw a little boy with big brown eyes. She cups his cheek and pats it gently. “It’s beautiful.” Miguel smiles in relief, letting out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding. In that moment, he wouldn’t mind this being his new family with you. He glances at you after your mom begins to pull the necklace out and you beam up at him. “I told you.” You whisper with a scrunch of your nose, teasing him. He chuckles and squeezes your hand. “I guess so.” He murmurs with an adoring look, kissing your temple.

A/N: i love making miguel cute and nervous i feel like we don't get to see that side often <3

[sparklepirate]

Alright, final thoughts on Inheritance.

;-;

Eragon continues to be the guy of all time. I love him. He really displayed a maturity in this book that I think supersedes anything we've seen of him in all the previous books, and just like... His strength really is that he is compassionate and thoughtful towards everyone. Even Murtagh, now, too. He had the realization of how close he was to sharing his fate, sought to understand him, and that was ultimately what led him to realizing his true name had changed, tearing down Galbatorix's wards, etc etc. I don't know that I could properly articulate everything about him here, but Eragon definitely became the hero he needed to be by the end of the series, 100%. He is the only person who could've possibly thought of the final piece of magic to defeat Galbatorix. Even the dreams of starlings are equal to the worries of a king. Ahhh, it's so good. ❤️ I'm so proud of him.

On the other hand, Barst was some bullshit. Bro. Like, on the one hand, it was a very good climactic battle for Roran to participate in, and his triumph was the perfect culmination of his character- cunning in battle, cunning in strategy, the intelligence and charisma to sway everyone around him into cooperating and working together, sheer determination so intensely strong that he was able to crush and Eldunarí with his bare hands. His role was perfect! But Barst as a villain was kinda... Well, first of all, he came completely the fuck out of nowhere. He wasn't mentioned at all until they were already on their way to Uru'baen, and then he was only MENTIONED. They didn't hype him up enough before the actual battle in my opinion. And ONE human and one Eldunarí being enough to beat the QUEEN OF THE ELVES in hand to hand combat...? I mean, I guess that could work but... Ehhh... I dunno. It kind of felt like an excuse for Islanzadí to die, and Roran to triumph more than anything. It was cool, but it was probably the weakest part of the plot in my opinion.

That said though I think it's pretty safe to say this was my favorite book of the series. I'm having trouble recalling all the iconic shit (I took a pretty long break from reading about halfway through the book) but there was soooo much cool stuff in here. The Nasuada being kidnapped and being helped by Murtagh arc is GOLD, Vroengard was amazing, and all the battles were SO well written??? I need to study these books more closely just to learn how to write compelling fight scenes. Honestly, it's gripping stuff. I was on the edge of my seat, despite knowing how everything turns out.

Nasuada is amazing, Arya is amazing, Saphira is amazing, Roran is amazing, MURTAGH is amazing... I think I already liked basically every character in this series going in, but I somehow like them even more now that I've read it again. Everyone is so good, and interesting, and I want to be everyone's friend. I think the only character I liked less this go around was Orrin (sorry to my Orrin stan friend out there). That said, though, I don't dislike him, I think I just went from positive to neutral about him.

Orrin honestly just didn't get nearly as much screen time as I remembered? We only see him a handful of times throughout the book and each time the only thing he's doing is getting drunk and making an ass of himself, though... Idk, he also has a point? He has his own unique point of view, and his own unique experiences that lead him to his own ideas of how to conduct things, and it is definitely kind of true that like no one ever really listens to him or takes him seriously, despite being the King of Surda for w while at that point. I don't think there was a more graceful solution to the division of power/territory after Galbatorix was killed than what was decided upon, because like... Realistically, Orrin was never gonna be high king. He had good reason to assert for the throne, sure, but actually ascending to the throne? That is SUCH a far reach for power, unless the aim was to assimilate Surda in and have all of the humans under one crown. Nah, Nasuada giving up territory and ascending to the throne was the better choice, even if I do empathize with Orrin's point of view. It seems like Nasuada did as well, because even though she was persistent, she seemed to be gentle and sympathetic with him. He even had his line about like... "Why do you even want to do this?" "None of you would understand." Idk. Very interesting, but not tremendously notable compared to others, and he definitely was a bit of an asshole at times.

Murtagh my beloved my BELOVED I'm honestly just gonna make a whole separate essay post about him because his shit is Complicated™️ but one little note it was such a small detail at the end but I love that he said to Eragon "Hey check in on Arya about killing Shruikan. It couldn't have been easy for an elf to kill a dragon." And Eragon hadn't even THOUGHT of that and Arya probably would've been the last thing on his mind but he still was just so thoughtful. He is thoughtful like his brother and he cares so deeply and AHHH!!! And actually I want to see him and Arya be buds. I think they would have a cool dynamic. And also I love that he never once hesitated to acknowledge Eragon as his brother and just wanted to be with him and finally Eragon also acknowledged him as a brother too that last scene with them was just so good 🥹

Also I love how Thorn's like only spoken line in the whole series (until November) is to boop Eragon on the forehead and say "Hi. Thank you for not killing my rider. :)" and Murtagh is just like "Yeah thanks for that. 😒"

Love how quick Saphira and Fírnen hit it off lol. They really played tag and wrestled for like five minutes and then were like "Alright we're gonna go fuck like now see y'all later ✌️" And Eragon's like "Is this??? Okay???" And Saphira's like "Pfft dragon's don't mate for life 🤷‍♀️" Their little romance was so cute.

CAN WE FUCKING TALK ABOUT QUEEN AND RIDER ARYA??? That shit is by FAR the wildest endgame decision Chris made because like. That. That's so fucking. Oh my god??? Like, one, poor Arya!! She just wanted to be a rider and have adventures! She probably would've either spent her time happy herrying eggs across Alegaësia, or she would've gone with Eragon to Mount Arngor, but you can NOT convince me that she would be particularly happy as queen. She's grieving the loss of her mother that she barely had a relationship with, and denied the other eleven leaders for a full week before they convinced her to do it!!! Girlie!!! You deserve to be happy!!! And, two, the obvious point of holy shit that is such an enormous power imbalance in favor of the elves. Like, there is a REASON the riders were separate in the first place!! And, you know, Galbatorix JUST died and now there is another rider/monarch and it's the ELVES who have historically been both the most powerful race, and the race with the best relationship with the dragons. And Arya is the ONLY RIDER LEFT IN ALEGAËSIA!!! Because Eragon is gone (and stubbornly convinced that He Shall Never Again Return Oh Woe Is Him) and Murtagh is... Also gone to an extent. He at the very least holds no political power. Basically everyone hates him, and those that don't can't do more than, like, pardon him, for whatever that's worth. I just can't see this not rubbing people the wrong way, and not coming to an eventual head. Nasuada and Arya are both great, but I just get the feeling there is going to eventually be some sort of conflict between them, no matter how much neither of them want it. I do think Arya is perhaps the least corruptible person, other than maybe Eragon but... I don't knowwww maaaan it's complicated!!

Also I regret to inform everyone that rereading the last little bit did make me ship Eragon and Arya a teensy tinsy itty little bit. Just a liiiiittle bit. Like idk the last fairth and the telling each other their true names and calling each other their true names and Eragon's grief at leaving and his vow to love her forever and her insinuation of maybe one day just got to me alright???

There were a lot of cool magic things in this book! Like the pocket space that the Eldunarí were kept in? Cuaroc's body? More shit that I'm forgetting? God I would just love, like, a magical encyclopedia or something idk. Lots of cool shit. And artifacts!! I want to learn about more magical artifacts.

Also at my Galbatorix stan mutual? I'm a certified Murtagh Girlie™️ and therefore obligated to hold a grudge but like. I do get it. He is a... Very competent villain.

Alright I think that's it for now but. Wow. Man oh man. There is a reason I love this series. I'll probably think of some more things to talk about later, and I'm gonna be participating in the Big Bang, and I'll probably post about The Fork, The Witch, and The Worm as I reread that but yeah!!! Can't wait for November!!

[queenjunothegreat]

I have so many MOA scene rewrite suggestions (you obviously do not have to write all of these, but you asked for suggestions so!! also sorry for this being so long)

- (this is a big sad one) Jason reuniting with camp Juptier and realizing he wasn’t very missed and was basically replaced + Leo getting possessed and firing on Camp Jupiter (I can’t remember if this was Leo’s thought process in the books, but Leo would definitely think he was a curse for Jason or something. Like first he ruined things with Thalia and now this)

- I would love to see a one-shot of Leo and Hazel’s relationship being fixed. Cause I hate the fact that Hazel had to deal with two guys crushing on her after being traumatically revived into a new time period. This could also function as a Valgrace/Lost trio fic cause Jason and Piper would definitely get jealous of Leo being constantly stolen away to go on missions without them.

- Jason’s birthday picnic with Piper

- this last one isn’t MOA related but I want to include anyways cause it’s a special headcannon to me. I 100% believe that Annabeth pestered the shit out of Leo when he was building the Argo II. Not in a mean way!!! But, she would definitely immediately try to help Leo in making the ship cause she loves designing things and she wants to see her boyfriend. I feel like she horrible at assuming/accepting that people wouldn’t want her help. Therefore, she keeps pestering Leo on ship progress and ideas. And Leo being the solo worker he is, just doesn’t know how to work with someone else. It could function great as a 5+1 fic like - “Five times Annabeth tries to help Leo, + the one time Annabeth succeeds in helping.” Basically, I just need someone to write a fic about their friendship. As well as Leo accepting he doesn’t need to do everything alone and he can ask for help.

Never apologize for longwindedness to me. I am King President of Yappingtonshireville and I ALWAYS encourage everyone to run their mouths. In fact, I am THANKING you for all these wonderful ideas 😌

First and foremost, um???? Butting heads to work besties Annabeth and Leo??? Hello??? Sign me the FUCK up!! There's not NEARLY enough fics featuring these two and that needs to change ASAP! It will also be a really good chance for me to work on my Annabeth voice for the HoH rewrite. Her being so eager and willing to help to the point where it would be off putting to anyone much less someone like Leo while also not even recognizing it is SUCH an Annabeth thing oh my god. My darling girl mwah mwah mwah.

Also! Yes! Hazel! She deserved so much better than being forced into a weird bad love triangle that didn't do literally anything for the story. Leo will have absolutely ZERO romantic feelings for the traumatized 13 year old, bur he will absolutely flirt with her when Frank is around just to mess with him. I am REALLY fond of the odea of them becoming friends (and Hazel being like "Frank, why are you being mean to Leo? 🥺 He's my friend" and Frank folding like a house of cards) and I'm beyond delighted with the idea of Jason and Piper having a mutual pouting session about Leo hanging out with Frank and Hazel more. That in particular could fold really nicely into the Jason’s birthday picnic thing!

Ooooh, I am gnawing on this Jason getting to CJ concept. I was planning on writing it from (SURPRISE!) Reyna’s POV, but I think it would be sososo good to then swap POV halfway through and have them mirror each other's thoughts without even realizing it. I am actually in the middle of writing a fic that is immediately post everyone getting back on the ship after firing on New Rome, so I will for SURE be yoinking those "Leo feels like a curse" thoughts to put in there because it is SO good.

[gingerlee-holds]

Chapter One: The Girl Who Snoozed and Won

The following is Chapter One of a fic I'm writing entitled "Wake Up, Keidima!" about an OC of mine in the My Hero Academia universe. I was told cringe wasn't dead yet, and with any luck, these chapters will kill it. Anyways, it's not a tickle fic - sorry to disappoint my followers - it's just a short fic covering the Entrance Exam Arc of MHA, and how my OC fits into it. Maybe I'll post the next chapter soon, who knows. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Word Count: 4377

There are three things you need to know about Keidima Eivi. Firstly, she wasn't a morning person.

"WAKE UP, BEDHEAD, YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE!!!"

Keidima yelped as she was yanked out of bed, the sudden feeling of gravity's pull jarring her from her peaceful slumber. She had just enough time to drag her assailant down with her, and she and her twin brother were sent to the ground in a heap. Jodonaki Eivi swatted his sister like a cat would bap a dog.

"You won't get into UA if you sleep through the Entrance Exam!" he yelled, shaking Keidima to get his point across.

Keidima hummed in thought and yawned, rubbing her eye with a fist. "UA…? Oh, I'm sure they'll understand if I sleep five more minutes…" Her head drooped down a little before snapping back up again. "UA! The exam is today!" 

"There ya go, Bedhead!" Jodonaki chuckled as his sister jumped up, body now filled with adrenaline. He followed suit, standing and walking down to the kitchen as she got dressed. "I'll warm up a bowl of Miso for you. No cereal, you don't need the calories."

Keidima let out a single mocking laugh as she began tearing her pajamas off and throwing more clothes on. "I'm not gonna take health advice from you, Belch!"

She heard the effect of the nickname in the form of a bowl being slammed down on a table, quick footsteps up the stairs, which then stopped halfway up with a sudden burst of coughing, then stomped back down again. "It's a cool quirk! You're just jealous!"

Giggling as she sat back on the bed, she took a pair of socks from her drawer and put them on, wiggling her toes inside. Her characteristic fuzzy pink socks, especially when fresh out of the dryer, were unbelievably cozy to walk in, and if she wasn't so anxious about the upcoming exam, she'd immediately return to bed with them on. As it was, however, she jogged to the bathroom and began brushing her teeth. Once she was finished, Keidima looked up into the mirror at the sweet-looking, button-nosed, freckle-covered face staring back at her. She smiled wide and gave her reflection a thumbs-up, mumbling the famous hero slogan, "Plus ultra," with a nervous giggle.

As she pulled a band T-shirt over her head and put her arms through, Keidima looked down at her waist. "Have I grown taller?" she thought. Earlier, she saw she was around three inches taller than her brother, who was average height. "That's strange. Guess I haven't been paying attention." Pulling down a little, trying to cover her exposed midriff, she grumbled. "Guess I'll fix that problem after the exam." She pulled on her pants, practically desperate for a distraction from the rapidly-approaching exam. She had heard about some of the other students and their abilities, each more powerful and impressive than the last.

UA was a reach and Keidima knew it. Her teachers knew it too, and desperately tried to dissuade her from applying, but the girl was resolute. Every time someone told her about the terrifyingly low acceptance rate - she had heard the phrase "You know you have less than 1% chance of getting in, right?" more than a dozen times by this point - she simply shrugged. She even had a mantra she would repeat to herself whenever it happened. "I'm not worried. I'll be a hero!" This mantra, incidentally, was what she was hurriedly mumbling to herself as she hopped down the stairs, brushing her long red hair with one hand and holding onto the banister with the other.

Stumbling into the kitchen, she threw the brush on the couch and sat down at the table right as Jodonaki set a warm bowl of Miso soup in front of her. Jodonaki chuckled, ruffling Keidima's hair as she began scarfing down her breakfast. "You look weird without messy hair. I'm not used to it. Besides, I think it suits you!"

Keidima huffed but kept her snark to herself, focusing instead on making sure she was fed enough for the exam. What would it entail? Will other people make fun of her? What if she proves everyone right, and fails? These anxious questions only spurred her to eat faster as she shot up from her seat and sailed out the door like a rocket, shouting, "I'll come back a hero!"

"Wait, Keidima! You forgot-" Jodonaki stopped on the doorstep and sighed. "-your medication…" He held the bottle of Provigil in his hand as he watched his twin race off toward the UA campus. "Y'know… maybe she won't need them. The adrenaline may keep her awake long enough to fend off the side effects of her quirk. Yeah… yeah she'll be just fine…" he mumbled, not very reassuringly, to himself as went back inside, closing the door behind him. 

Keidima was running as fast as her legs could carry her, jumping and dodging various obstacles. She jumped over a fire hydrant, swung around a tree, bounced around a corner. 

"I'm gonna be late! Then I'll never be able to become a true hero!" She growled at her own laziness and ran faster. 

Arriving at a stop light, she bent over, gasping for breath as she waited with several other people. The traffic was busy today, so she couldn't count on the crosswalk being quick.

"Where's the fire, kid?" a baritone voice beside her said. She hastily jerked her body upward at the sound, looking up into the bored eyes of a man around thirty with greasy black hair that went down to his shoulders. He was wearing a black coat with a long, thin gray scarf around his neck. In his hand was a bag filled with pencils, pens, rulers, and a lot of erasers. "School supplies…?" His jawline was covered in messy stubble, he looked far too thin, and the bags under his eyes were very prominent. "He looks tired… I wish I could help," Keidima thought. That was the primary thing she always thought about whenever she saw someone: how much sleep they look like they are getting. And this man wasn't getting enough. He tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow, and Keidima quickly realized that she was staring.

"Oh! Sorry, mister!" She smiled a wobbly smile. "I'm gonna be late for my entrance exam if I'm not fast!"

"Another prospective UA student, hm?" his eyes pierced into hers, as if reading the contents of her soul. "Eh, I think you'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so, sir…" Keidima looked down at her feet. Why did this guy care? And how could he tell she was heading to UA? Was he a detective or something? 

"Hey, eyes up, kid. Focus on what's happening now."

"Yeah… that's good advice, thanks…" She smiled softly. The sound of shuffling feet eluded her.

"No, I mean, right now. The light turned."

She quickly looked up, noticing that the small crowd who was with her was already halfway across the street. "Ah! Thank you, sir!" she yelled as she sprinted off, running through the crowd and not stopping until she saw the large glass towers of the UA main building, which made her gasp softly when she saw them. "Focus on what's happening now."

Keidima slowed to a halt as she approached the front gates. Again gasping for breath, she didn't notice most of the students who went by. She leaned back up to crack her back, smiling despite her nervousness. Looking around, she saw a fair few other teenagers showing up to the building. "I'm not late! …That's a first." She giggled as she started walking towards the building, looking over briefly to watch a green-haired boy almost fall flat on his face only to be quickly saved by a girl with a gravity quirk. 

"He doesn't look like he got much sleep either… No! Focus! Like that weird guy said!"

She stood tall and walked forward to the entrance, almost bumping into a kid in front of her. 

"Hey, watch where you're… Keidima?" The girl in front of her turned, pushing pink hair out of her face with a pink hand. 

"Mina!"

The two of them hugged tightly, Mina Ashido rubbing Keidima's back. "Ohmygosh, how are you?" Mina asked.

"Guess!"

"Sleepy?"

Keidima giggled along with her as she nodded. "Golly, I haven't seen you for at least a few months!"

"I know!" Mina made a playful expression as she squeezed the other's arm. "I missed you a bunch. Oh! Did you see Kirishima? Apparently, he's applying too!"

"No way?? I hope I see him! I know he's gonna rock this exam!" She giggled at her joke, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Oh, you're terrible!" Mina whined. "C'mon, let's get inside!" 

They both navigated to the orientation hall, where they got split up. Keidima took a seat as someone began announcing the rules of the exam. 

"That's Present Mic!" she heard a voice whisper behind her. "I listen to his radio show all the time!"

Keidima giggled a little at Mic's appearance and mannerisms, looking very dramatic as he gestured wildly, and then she yawned. "Oh no." That's when she realized she had forgotten her medication, her precious pills that kept her awake. She felt around in her pockets, hoping beyond hope that he had just an extra, but no luck. She was on her own, no medication, all on her own. "Shit… shit!!" She shrunk back into her seat as she realized the danger she was in. A despairing look came across her face as she put a hand to her head.

The second thing you need to know about Keidima Eivi is her quirk. Years ago, she had called it "Goodnight," despite the fact that it may have just been her saying 'goodnight' to the person asking the question. In either case, the name stuck. 

Her quirk gives her the ability to make anything enter a state of rest. When she focuses and activates her quirk, the people around her become very cuddly and sleepy. Within about a few minutes, most of them are out cold, snoozing blissfully for around an hour. If she could harness this power, it could be formidable, but as it was, it was pretty weak. In fact, it had one major drawback: she became sleepy too. Everytime she used her quirk, she got a little bit more tired, until eventually, she couldn't help but lay down and take a nap. Speaking of…

Keidima got a swift swat on the back of her head from the student sitting next to her, jolting her awake. "Jeez, I'm in worse shape than I thought…"

"What did I miss?" she whispered to the blonde boy next to her. He had a black lightning bolt streak in his hair.

"Dude was tellin' us that we need to take down robots, get points, yada yada. Just don't go after the big ones," he quickly whispered back, pointing at the screen.

"Thanks… for helping me stay awake."

"No worries, happens to me all the time."

A kid behind them hushed them both softly and she focused back up on the screen. 

Keidima stood outside the massive gates of her testing grounds. 

"Robots…?" she mumbled to herself. "I'm not even sure if my quirk works on robots…! What if it doesn't have any effect whatsoever?"

"Yeah, join the club," came a tired voice next to her. Keidima looked over and saw a boy with spiky purple hair and half-lidded eyes. "No, not tired. Bored. Or, at least trying to give that effect," she thought.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

He sighed and looked at her. "I bet you have a quirk that you're pretty proud of, yeah?"

"Well, yeah, kind of-"

"But it only works on humans, right?"

"As far as I know-"

He huffed. "Yeah. I know how you feel." Keidima could see a little bit of nervousness in his eyes. "He really wants into this course…"

She smiled wide, giving him a thumbs-up. "We're gonna do great! Those bots won't know what hit them!" The purple-haired boy huffed a little, his expression not changing, but Keidima could tell that he appreciated those words.

"ALRIGHT, GO! NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL BATTLES!" blared the voice of Present Mic as the doors swung open.

Keidima's legs moved before she could think. As the rest of the participants ran forward on the main road, she turned and went down a side road, knowing she may have more luck if there weren't other people around. Or, maybe that's just what she told herself to avoid worrying about making anyone else collateral with her quirk. 

Her instincts led her down a narrow alleyway. From a distance, she could hear the whirring of gears, the clanking of metal, and the destructive capabilities of various quirks colliding with the test bots. "I gotta find some villain bots, or else I won't have a chance to test my quirk!"

Something smashed into a wall in front of her and a boy with spiky, ash-blonde hair made a villain bot blow up with his hands. "THAT'S TWENTY-FOUR!" he shouted, running off. "KEEP UP, YA DAMN EXTRAS!"

Keidima squeaked and ran down an alley, trying desperately to get away from any other participants. "Gotta find a bot, gotta find a bot!"

Suddenly, her wish came true as a two-point scorpion-looking robot jumped down in front of her, aiming its weapons at her.

"SHIT-!" she dodged out of the way as the car behind her was blasted to bits, landing on top of a dumpster. Keidima began activating her quirk, focusing on the bot as much as she could. A warm, tingling sensation shot down her arms and toward the villain bot. "I'm gonna die! It's not gonna work!"

The villain bot blasted again and Keidima narrowly avoided being reduced to pieces. She had nowhere to go but forward, and as she leapt forward, she landed right on the robot's body. Out of instinct, she pressed both of her hands on the cold metal of the robot, praying that something, anything will happen.

It took only a few moments for the villain bot to realize what had happened, and Keidima suddenly felt very weak as the bot's weapons pointed at her. Tears welled in her eyes as she begged her quirk, "Please, please, please-!!!" The weapons loaded.

However, they didn't get the chance to fire. Slowly, the robot sank down to the ground, the light leaving its eyes as it powered down.

"It… it worked. Holy friggin crap, it WORKED!" She sprang up and squealed, jumping up and down on the bot and flapping her hands happily. "I took down a bot!"

"FIIIIIVE MINUTES REMAINING!!!" came Present Mic's voice, echoing through the mock city.

"Dammit… Okay, no time to celebrate. I gotta find another bot before I run out of time-"

She was interrupted by a sudden crash. It sounded like something large. Like a moth to a flame, she ran to the source of the noise, coming out of the alley onto another street, seeing the same purple-haired boy from earlier, and in front of him was a large villain bot. 

The villain bot was a three-pointer. It walked on two legs and looked like it had rocket launchers on its back. 

"Who sent you?" the purple-haired boy shouted at the bot, backing away with a twinge of fear in his eyes. "What are you doing? Can't you hear me?" He was panicking!

Keidima yells, "Look out!" and dives at the boy, pushing him out of the way of an incoming blast from the villain bot. "Why are you asking the damn thing questions!"

"It's my quirk! I told you, it only works on people!"

"I thought mine did too! Keep it distracted, just don't get hit!" She jumped to her feet and ran at the bot recklessly.

"Are you insane? It'll kill you!"

"I'm not worried! I'll be a hero!" she shouted behind her. Keidima jumped onto the arm of the villain bot, and climbed up onto its neck, and pressed her hands on the sides of the bot's head. "Go to sleep, go to sleep!"

The massive bot swung around, sending Keidima flying into a fake nearby storefront through a window with a shriek. She jumped back up and felt something warm and wet dribbling down her back, soaking her shirt.

She growled with determination as she vaulted through the window again, jumping and wrapping her arms around the bot's leg. "How long has it been since I activated my quirk? Two minutes, I think. It's gotta start turning off soon!"

The villain robot kicked its leg at her a little, before realizing she wasn't a threat as it looked back up back up at the boy, aiming its launchers. In a moment, though, the bot visibly became uneasy, teetering on its legs before crumpling to the ground, powered down.

"YEHEHES!!!! WOO!!" Keidima jumped up and ran to the purple-haired boy, gripping him in a hug and spinning him around. "WE DID IT!!!"

The boy just looked at her with a lot of confusion on his face. "I didn't do anything-" he said as he pushed her off. "Just focus on the test." Then, he gasped and ran off in the opposite direction. Turning around, Keidima saw what it was: a zero-point bot. It towered over the arena, crushing buildings with ease. 

Keidima squeaked and ran after the boy. "It looks a lot larger than I expected!!!"

"Can't you use your quirk on it? Turn it off!"

"It's over 10 stories tall!! It would take me hours of non-stop focus to take it down!"

"TIIIIIME'S UUUUP!"

They both came to a stop and gulped in air as they looked behind them, the massive bot returning to its position. "Thank god…" the boy mumbled.

"Hey," she said, standing upright a little and looking at her fellow participant. "I never caught your name!" Keidima giggled as she began walking with the boy back to the doors.

"Never dropped it." He looked at her, his eyes a mix of appreciation and disdain. "Shinso. Hitoshi Shinso." 

Keidima smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Keidima Eivi! Pleasure to meet you!"

"I probably won't get into the hero course. I didn't get any points."

"That may be, but I think you were very brave! It's not your fault the test was biased against you."

"Well, that makes two of us."

Suddenly, Keidima sank to her knees, wincing with pain as she felt her back. Shards of glass had sliced massive cuts into her flesh, and the whole back of her shirt was soaked with blood. 

"Woah, that's really bad. Let's get you to the gates, hopefully there'll be a nurse or something." Shinso swung her arm around his shoulders, half-carrying her to the entrance of the arena.

They arrived at the gates, and Shinso gently set her down onto the pavement, rolling her shirt up to see how bad the wounds were. Keidima really didn't like the gasp he let out, and by that time, other students were gathering around. 

"Holy crap, how did that happen?" a bystander asked.

"Glass." Shinso looked at the other students. "Is there a nurse or something we can call? Does anyone here have a healing quirk?"

The students looked around, nobody coming forward. Then, the boy with the yellow hair that Keidima saw earlier came forward. "Yeah, there's a nurse. Her name's Recovery Girl. She should be here soon, one of the adults mentioned that she'll be going around to each of the arenas after the exam to make sure everyone's okay."

"So we just have to make sure Keidima's alright until she gets here."

Suddenly, a massive cry was heard bouncing through the mock city. The students parted, and two others came forward, dragging a third behind them. The girl they were holding had a completely broken leg - all bones shattered. 

"G-GUYS, I'M FINE, JUST- LET ME UP-" she thrashed around, punching at the students carrying her. They set her down next to Keidima and stood back. "I CAN DO JUST FINE ON MY OWN, I DON'T NEED-" 

"The girl's delirious… she's only going to hurt herself more with how much she's moving her leg."

"You're all… being ridiculous! My leg is fine, I'm fine! I don't need any- AHH-!!" The girl had tried getting up, and fallen backward with a cry when she moved her leg. "It's just, mind over matter!! I can- I can!"

Slowly, gently, Keidima extended her hand, grabbing hold of the girl's forearm and squeezing reassuringly. "Just relax, alright? You've been working hard and deserve a rest."

"W-what are you talking about! I can still fight you- In fact, I can fight all of you!"

Keidima activated her quirk, really focusing on the girl. 

"She must have so much adrenaline going through her body right now. That must be why she's acting so insouciant," a student around the circle said. 

"Then this is going to be difficult… C'mon, c'mon, just a little more strength…" Keidima yawned and could feel sleep quickly approaching.

"C'mon, who's first!" The girl tried standing again, only for the boy with the yellow hair to press her back down again. Keidima smiled appreciatively as she focused her quirk with all her strength. The wounds in her back felt like she had been stabbed with knives, and her head was spinning with the use of her quirk and the significant blood loss.

And finally, the girl yawned. Leaning back onto the concrete, her eyelids began to look droopy. 

"Yes, yes! That's it!" Keidima grinned widely and managed to stay awake long enough to watch the girl fall into a peaceful slumber before passing out herself. 

The third thing you need to know about Keidima Eivi is her complete anxiety with the wellbeing of others. She hated seeing other people in pain and will do anything in her power to make them feel better. She didn't care about justice, or the fame and glory that comes with being a hero. No, the only thing Keidima sought was to make as many people as possible happy, no matter the cost.  

"I'm sure you did your best, Bedhead," Jodonaki was braiding Keidima's hair on the couch, comforting her about the exam. 

"But the results should have come by now. Mina told me she had gotten accepted this morning."

Jodonaki put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it's taking longer for you!"

She sighed and rested her head against the cushion. "I only got five points. That's not nearly enough…"

"Would you like some tea?" Jodonaki asked.

"...Yeah… I would."

As Jodonaki got up, he saw what looked like a letter coming in through the door slot, landing with a soft thud on the carpet. He walked over and picked up the letter, letting out a large gasp when he saw a large "UA" printed on the front. In fact, the gasp was so large that he choked on his own spit and was sent to the floor in a coughing fit. 

Keidima began softly giggling at the sound, not getting up. "Just be sure not to get any spit in my tea, right, Jodo?"

"K-KEHEDIMA!" Jodonaki managed to cough out, making the girl freeze in place at his tone. "L-LEHE- (more coughing) LEHETTER!!"

Keidima jumped to her feet, running over to her brother, who was on the floor coughing up a lung. He weakly handed the letter up to her, then dug into his pocket and produced a small blue inhaler, which he greedily sucked on for air.

Keidima stood, trembling, and walked over to the couch. Sitting down, she carefully began opening the letter. Jodonaki sat down beside her, looking eagerly at the envelope. Finally, Keidima turned it over, and a round gray disk fell out, landing on Jodonaki's foot painfully. He was about to start cussing out the little disk and Keidima, but suddenly, the disk lit up as a hologram was projected into the room.

"BOOYAH! I AM HERE, AS A PROJECTION!"

Both of the teenagers in the room shrieked and jumped backward as All Might suddenly and loudly began talking at them. "W-why is he-!"

"Truth is, I didn't come to this city to fight villains. You are looking at the newest UA faculty member!"

The teens gasped and looked at each other in astonishment. 

"Apologies, I'll make this short. I have many other calls to make!" All Might cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, Miss Eivi, while you did pass the written test with flying colors, you only got five combat points in the practical exam, which isn't enough to pass. I'm sorry."

Keidima hung her head, sniffling softly. Jodonaki put his arm around her shoulder and held her close, holding his sister's head to his chest as she cried softly. "I knohohow… I trihihied…"

"And that's all that matters, sis, you did amazing! I know I couldn't have possibly done remotely that well!"

All Might spoke again. "Fortunately, there were other factors." Both teens looked up suddenly. "That is why I am here! You see, the practical exam was not graded on combat alone! We have rescue points! A panel of judges watches and awards heroic acts for not just fighting villains. Keidima Eivi! Forty rescue points!"

"WHAT???" Keidima fell forward off the couch, on her knees in front of the projected hero. "B-But that means-"

In a flash, Jodonaki was on the floor next to her. "Bedhead…!"

"You passed the exam, Miss Eivi." He turned and extended his hand toward the camera. "Welcome, Keidima. You have made it. You are now a part of the Hero Academia." The projection hung on his heroic face for a few more seconds before turning off.

Jodonaki squealed, picking up his sister in his arms and spinning her around. "BEDHEAD! YOU PASSED, YOU PASSED! YOU'RE A STUDENT OF UA!"

"C-cahareful, my back!" Keidima began crying again into Jodonaki's chest, clutching onto him like a koala. 

The coming months won't be easy, not by a long shot. But with her brother by her side, Keidima knew that she could tackle any problem that comes her way. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

that's all for Chapter 1! I hope you're all as excited as I am to continue this story!!

Lemme read Chapter 2!

[itsawhumpsideblog]

The Safehouse, pt. 1

Had some ideas, thought I'd start writing. Here goes, I guess?

CW: for institutionalized slavery, mentions of abuse, treatment of people as things

The call came on their anachronistic landline while Angie was washing the dishes and it made her jump. She wanted to grab it right away, but she was in soap suds up to her elbows and had only gotten as far as toweling dry when Tim came skidding around the corner and grabbed the receiver off it's hook.

"Hello?" he asked, breathlessly, as though anyone else would call on that line. Parents and friends would have texted their individual phones; this phone could only ring for one purpose.

Angie finished drying her arms and walked over to lean against the wall, hoping to hear some of the conversation instead of waiting for Tim to hang up and relay the information. To her disappointment, he did a lot of listening and very little talking and there wasn't much she could glean until he thanked the person on the other end and turned to her.

"Well?" she asked anxiously.

Tim sucked in a deep breath as if steeling himself for something serious, which was more or less the case. "They're sending us three of them," he said. "Our contact says we should expect them to arrive tomorrow. They'll be delivered by WRU employees, so don't be surprised by the method of delivery, but he promised the abolitionists falsified records somewhere to get them sent here- no money changed hands. He was very clear about that."

It was no good asking who the contact was or how the delivery orders had been created. For the safety of the whole network, they would never know.

"We'd better get ready," Angie said needlessly. They had a checklist, but it made her feel better- more prepared- to say it out loud. "We'll have to make the beds, make sure we have food they can eat- did they say anything about allergies?"

"No, nothing." They knew better than to ask about preferences. The rescued box boys likely wouldn't be able to have preferences for some time, or at least not express them.

"So beds, food, soap and shampoo for their bathroom, fresh towels." Angie counted items on her fingers. "They'll need clothes- did they give you any information about sizes?"

Tim shook his head. "Just said they were coming tomorrow and that there were three of them- all men. They'll be with us permanently, until they're rehabbed well enough to live independently or in a halfway house. They're-" he winced slightly at the next phrase "-'second hand' so we should be prepared for them to be in... pretty bad shape. Maybe very bad. Our contact didn't know." Tim's voice had gone very quiet as he spoke and he was looking at his shoes.

Angie nodded. "We'll do everything we can," she said. "Do you want to split up and go shopping separately? Get it done faster?"

"Can I go with you?" Tim asked. He looked up at her through his bangs, smiling sheepishly. "I'm- I'm a little nervous. I didn't think I would be. But it would help to go together, maybe talk things over on the way."

"Of course," Angie said. "We can go together if you want. We should get started."

"I'll put my shoes on." Tim went to the front hall and returned a minute later wearing sneakers and a hoodie against the cold weather. He pulled keys out of the pocket and they let themselves out of the single-family home and got in the car parked out front.

The house was not really theirs and neither was the car; Angie and Tim had only known each other for a few weeks and both felt that it would be a while yet before they were comfortable living and working together. They had been paired up after training, a mostly-virtual affair offered in secret and only after volunteers had passed several levels of security and background checks and the like. The abolitionists could not afford to operate too overtly, but they managed to create and staff safehouses and Angie and Tim, along with others they would never meet, had been deemed to posses the qualities necessary to help rehabilitate rescued box boys.

And now, as of tomorrow morning, they would be the caretakers for three young men rescued from... whatever it was that WRU had done to them.

The pairing seemed to have been well made, or at least Angie and Tim thought it was. They had quickly become comfortable with each other and Angie's organized, energetic determination was a useful foil to Tim's quiet, gentle nature. She looked around and saw what needed to be done; his strength was in finding the right way to do it.

As they passed through stores, they talked and debated and made choices as if intentionally demonstrating these choices. It was Angie who steered them directly to the linens and quickly put her hand to the best financial choices, while Tim made sure the items were available in different colors and patterns, so that the new arrivals would each have something to call their own. Later, he ensured that the towels did not match the bedsheets, so the young men would not feel color-coded. Thanks to Angie, they kept the whole thing under-budget. "That leaves more," she said, "that we can spend on them later, when we know what they need."

That night, they ate pizza and stayed up until the early hours setting up the bedroom and bathroom. There was a bunkbed and another single bed to match it, mattresses to haul upstairs and put on the beds, a bathtub to wash out and curtains to hang. The house had come partially furnished, but they had expected more time to get it ready.

No matter, though. By the time they went to their own rooms to sleep, they felt confident that they were ready for the new arrivals.

Next time: a knock on the door and the population of the house grows.

Master Post

[lynnarang]

Purpose: A Human's Guide to Angelkind - Draft

Note: Doctor Kuri here, the following is just a few draft entries of the larger project I'm working on. The members of the board have been on my ass recently so I needed something to tide them over until my research is done.

1) He-Who-Inspires-Tears

You might think upon hearing this angel's name that his stated Purpose, to bring sadness to mankind, is a thing of horror. We've all heard stories of angels with far less intimidating Purposes committing atrocities, but I assure you he is quite harmless.

The first time I met He-Who-Inspires Tears, it was side by side in the dumpster near the local bar. As you all are likely well aware, angels who fail to adequately uphold their Purpose (through varying definitions of the word 'adequate') often dispose of themselves into these.

However I was surprised to learn that he was digging through the dumpster as a method of fulfilling his Purpose, and not as a result of failing it. He told me he was looking for material for his latest novel, that the best way to bring sadness to many was through writing.

To a human, we might expect that he would perform mass murders, torture loved ones in front of each other, or other such horrible things, but to him those actions inspire different emotions than the ones his purpose drives him towards.

He told me he isn't terribly creative, so his main method of bringing sadness is to write about broken and abandoned things he finds and make sure as many people see it as he can. He calls it 'dollposting', a rather preposterous title but one doesn't simply argue with an angel.

2) She-Who-Bleeds-Skin

Another horrifying name for an angel that was surprisingly tame. I first found her in the middle of the road, halfway through a procedure with scalpel in hand. Beneath her was a little doll-thing, surrounded by the scraps of the human it failed to be.

An angel performing a doll conversion is a strange sight, but she told me that it was the best way to fulfill her Purpose and I had learned at this point not to voice my doubts (see Section 4: Taboos). Still, it is certainly better than it using that scalpel on actual people.

Her criteria for choosing which future non-people to convert was different than the standard state-mandated conversions or even those of the Witches from Beyond, but she wouldn't explain them to me. This professor can't help but pity those dolls a little though.

The sight of her red crackling halo as she performed conversions with nothing but a scalpel and too many rows of teeth was utterly horrifying, so I ensured this was my only encounter with She-Who-Bleeds-Skin.

3) They-Who-Flutters-Hearts

As is evident by me writing this, my encounters with They-Who-Flutters-Hearts were all performed from a safe distance and beyond several layers of fae-crusted steel plating. Information hereon is limited to what the Bureau of Rehabilitation approved.

They-Who-Flutters-Hearts is a Class 4 cogitohazardous bio-anomaly. They are currently held 3 kilometers underground in a state-run facility in [REDACTED]. By authorization of [REDACTED], they are currently utilized for administering the death penalty to [REDACTED] criminals.

Visualizations of They-Who-Flutters-Hearts, whether in-person, recorded, or through text description (experimentation shows readers with a high degree of Aphantasia are safe), will instantly lead to the perceiver's heart undergoing [REDACTED] and expiring shortly after.

They-Who-Flutters-Hearts enjoys warm tea and watching sunsets, and seemed quite distraught about their current circumstances. They however have had little trouble fulfilling their Purpose, so they have had made no effort to escape.

Note: Jesus, that last one had to go through sixteen revisions before I could finally get it approved. I know I accidentally killed the first reviewer since my first draft made a few mentions of the angel's appearance, but how was I supposed to know I had Aphantasia before then?

[pansexual-opera-house]

Kinda upset at Transformers: Rise of the Beasts... Spoilers Ahead, be warned. (Edited bc I'm dumb and forgot the mid-credits scene.)

Firstly, we got very little "beast" action compared to the Autobots. They were there and cool as hell, but we didn't see much of them in their other forms, or fighting, they just helped the plot along. It sucks because they had so much potential, yet we got "they're animals but ooh here look at Optimus, he's got explosions!"

Secondly, I spotted WAY too many Transformers: Prime "references". The giant spire that summoned unicron looked nearly IDENTICAL to Darkmount, the spire that Megatron erected in TFP. It was way too much to be "inspired by" to me. Also, Bee dying trying to save Prime and being brought back by some mystic energy which nobody knew was possible is another thing. (I'm less picky about that on its own but added onto the other things, it was too obvious to not call out.) There were a few more I can't remember, but I knew about halfway through the movie how it was gonna end not because it follows a timeline or was from Micheal Bay, but because it was a mix of both Transformers Prime movies.

The main human character, Noah, wears a fucking CORPSE, which just made me unsettled. Mirage dies giving Noah a suit made from himself. I thought maybe Noah would find a way to bring back Mirage or Mirage's spark would still be alive considering the suit HAS POWER. It still fires the guns and has a jetpack! It was even able to come off easy! I understand Mirage wasn't in the next chronological movie in the timeline, but that felt really cheap and just disgusting to watch. He literally was walking inside a corpse, and when I saw him pat the suit at the end, both I and the people I went to looked at each other in what I can only call shock.

Edit: I was wrong, Mirage wasn't dead, he was alive and I forgot about it. I'm gonna keep that part in because

1. It isn't revealed Mirage isn't dead until the mid credits scene so for a hot minute i was still really weirded out. And 2.I'm bitch enough to admit I was factually incorrect.

He was still wearing a fuckin' coma patient! (Though that's a little better than a corpse.)

The first time Optimus Prime fights Scourge, he gets his ass handed to him. I mean, he gets his ass beat so bad he can't even get up to save Bee. Then in the last fight sequence, he beats Scourge nearly flawlessly. I understand that he was injured because of Noah and Mirage and they both did some damage before Prime got there, but if I told a master of Tai Chi to only use one leg to stand on and let me punch him a few times but to still fuck me up, after I'd hit him, I'd STILL be on the ground in four seconds flat. And Scourge was still able to use his foot (although limited), so there's no excuse other than "plot convenience" and less-than-okay writing. It was messy and felt weak.

And the last twist, the G.I. Joe inclusion... I understand that maybe it was an answer to the question "Where do all the people go after the Autobots don't need them or they move on?" It's not my thing, but it's a nicer explanation than "They go on with life." But if they try to bring G.I.Joe and Transformers together, good luck. I'm into crossovers but that's a lot, and I don't know how much I'd be up to watch that. Maybe I'm in the minority (because the person I went with immediately looked at me with a gaping jaw excited as all hell) but that's gonna be hard to pull off. And given the past few movies, I'm not sure how well that's going to work out.

That being said, I liked a few things.

They make Wheeljack a Hispanic Nerd, which was a nice change compared to the "Rooty Tooty Aim and Shooty Badmouths" that we get a lot of in Tranformers. He was witty and a nerd and a damn "hippie van" and was just overall really cute.

Acree was a strong, independent femme bot who don't need no man. Not trying to point out "feminism shit" to make people mad, just trying to say usually Arcee is pictured with Optimus or some other mech, and she held not only her own, but Wheeljack's as well without seeming aggressive or spiteful about it. She just seemed like a bot who was bright pink, which I enjoyed.

In all, I give the movie a solid "Don't ever do that shit again" 5.5/10. Writing this I've changed my rating from 5 to 6 about four times so that's why it's got a .5.

[greenapricot]

2023 fic year in review

Doing my 2023 fic year in review in February bc that's how things are going in 2024 so far.

Total number of fic: 5 (1 still in progress)

Total word count: 24,217

Fandoms written in: Lewis (3), Endeavour (1), Our Flag Means Death (1)

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? Less. Though I didn't really have any specific expectations about quantity, just that I wanted to write things I enjoyed writing regardless of the reception, as opposed to past years when I was fixated on the idea of writing a certain amount of fic per month. 2023 felt much more relaxed writing-wise and I'm also about halfway through a super self-indulgent fic that is probably going to end up being around 20k and I'm very pleased with that.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? The Names of All the Winds (Lewis, James/Robbie, magical realism au, alternate meeting). The aforementioned fic that's half done. I am having so much fun reliving my own holiday on Lake Garda by sending slightly alternate universe Robbie and James there and also writing magical realism which I hadn't done in a while.

Did you take any writing risks this year? I wouldn't call it a risk exactly, but Patterns Unfamiliar (Lewis, James/Robbie, hurt/comfort) was a fun challenge. My writing is usually very visual and it was interesting to have to describe what was happening in the story when the POV character was in complete darkness.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? Finish TNoAtW, which I'm actively working on and hope to manage by the end of March.

And I've said this the last two years running, but I really do want to finish the sequel to Lead me wild to your dark roads my Lewis/Shetland xover (currently titled The last place we left off). I did do a fair amount of work on it before I entered the fic challenge that spawned TNoAtW, and wrote a good portion of the Shetland fic interlude that I've realized needs to go between the two stories. So both of those are next in line after TNoAtW.

Then there's the Blackbeard's Building & Renovation fic idea that was spawned in discord, in which Ed is a builder and Stede an interior decorator (each with their own crews) and they are both hired to work on the same house at the same time. Some kind of OFMD/Grand Designs-ish fusion. And, as ever, those three Lewis casefics that are mostly plotted and not anywhere close to completion.

Most popular story of the year? One thing at a time (Lewis, James/Robbie). It was spring, I had allergies, so I wrote a fic in which James had allergies. It seems to resonate with folks :D

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Nothing like poetry (Endeavour, post-s6 Ronnie Box angst). It has the least number of comments and kudos, but I don't actually think it's under-appreciated. Ronnie Box ruminating on the terrible mess his life is post-s6 is just very niche.

Most fun story to write: TNoAtW for all the reasons I mentioned above and adding my own photos to it. And it remains fun.

Most unintentionally telling story: I should probably make up another question to go here bc I never have a good answer for this, but The Most Remarkable Thing (OFMD, Ed/Stede, domestic fluff) was basically me putting my love of gardening and living a quiet life in the woods into fic form.

Biggest disappointment: I wouldn't say it was a disappointment, but I really did think I was going to finish the Lead me wild sequel in 2023. I think I'll finally finish it in 2024 though (this time for sure).

Biggest surprise: TNoAtW growing into what looks like it will be the third longest fic I've ever written.

Tagging people just for the fun of it (no pressure though): @bryndeavour, @thankyouforbeingsowrong, @vita-s-west, @mcgstarroar, @mr-iskender, @ronniebox

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 4x20 The Muse thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!) [12 July ‘23]

I had no idea Jake's mind-nomming happened in the same episode as the Lwxana/Odo marriage - okay let's gooo!

"I won't let him do it, Odo." "Who? What?" I guess being telepathic, she might forget she actually has to start from the beginning of a story and explain it rather than have people pick up from what she's thinking?

This alien talks in the weirdest way. I'm glad Jake starts out uneasy, at least.

I hate when Jake picks something over spending time with his dad. Like, it checks out, he *is* a teenager, but Sisko's always so disappointed 😭

"What do you want me to do about it?" "Either cheer her up or get her to leave." Love how Quark thinks Odo could cheer her up rather than just be security getting her to leave.

Oh!! At Quark's request Odo does go and give up his routine and free time to make her happier :3 I do love these two.

Odo's war with himself over being unpleasant to ward her off from his quarters but also not wanting to. :3

"Major Kira and First Minister Shakaar are involved now." "How sad." "Not at all. I'm happy for her." For most of the time Odo is actually such a good bro. I don't like the framing later on that he somehow 'deserves' Kira just because he likes her, but he really is so respectful.

"Well, just don't go do what I did. Look for someone to fix your broken heart then end up pregnant and on the run." "I don't think there's too much danger of that happening." His little laugh. I am sad he and Lwxana couldn't be together.

"[I feel] Like a changeling who's had to hold his shape too long." It's sweet that she puts it in understandable terms, I think?

"Lwxana? Your replicator isn't really broken, is it?" Aww it took you that long? Call yourself a detective XD

"I'm sorry if I made you feel unwelcome." You literally did less to make her feel unwelcome than you do to any other person who comes your way though!

Oh damn I had paused this halfway through and once again forgot Jake's storyline was the other half of this episode!

Why do I feel like that pen should write in Jake's blood?

This alien is so creepy and I hate this so so soooo much

Haha! Odo laughing! I love how much they enjoy each other's time

Why not lie to Lwxana's husband, and tell him that she's not here??

IT'S ODO'S IDEA TO GET MARRIED??? I HAD THOUGHT IT WOULD BE LWAXANA! HE IS THE SWEETEST

Odo's so tender as he helps her up to the stage thing!

Miles' uncertain look at "add her to what is mine"

Quark's wistful sigh at Odo's "I didn't need anyone else."

"The truth is, I was ashamed of what I was, afraid that if people saw how truly different I was they would recoil from me." *camera pans to Julian* OH THESE TWO GIVE ME FEELINGS. They would just have the ability to relate so hard to each other! Tell me that that quote couldn't belong to Julian in DBIP.

"The day I met her is the day I stopped being alone." *Kira looks down* Oh, I wonder what she's feeling about that. Because she definitely thought they were good friends.

I am still surprised the husband doesn't fight harder. All he needs to do is doubt it. I guess some part of him really did love Lwxana?

"What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic!" Really, Quark? Sure.

"You know, for a minute there, I really believed you wanted to marry me." Oh, he DID.

"Orange juice." Sometimes Jake does things that make me remember how young he is. (Even though I'd be ordering apple juice all the time though... But everyone else usually guess got tea or coffee or alcohol.)

At least Jake's in a public place when he collapses. Glad he didn't go back to his quarters.

"He was the youngest I ever found. So eager, ready to give everything he had in one great burst." Apart from he hadn't agreed to give everything, he didn't know that was what you were doing and he wouldn't have consented if he had!

"You really should stay." "I'll miss you, too." Ohhh. Lwxana's ability to cut to what Odo is feeling.

"I could stay, try to make you fall in love with me, but we both know that won't happen. Then I'd end up resenting you, and our friendship is far too important for me to let that happen." I love these two so much though ❤️❤️

"The dialogue is sharp, the story's involving, the characters are real. The spelling is terrible. I especially liked the father." SISKO :3 I love his dad-ing

"All you need to do is learn to find them by yourself." Sisko is such a wonderful dad. And so good at advice and saying the right thing!

Anslem - he wrote that in the alternate timeline where Sisko dies? But on his own? I guess in that timeline, at this point was he too sad for the alien to find him an alluring target? I like how we know it's his - and I'm guessing Sisko does too from his memories of that timeline. :3

[hopetorun]

tagged by @bropunzeling and @postoperation 💕

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

first fic (on ao3): perspective, a star wars (legends) eu rarepair fic that i wrote for yuletide in 2011 that honestly was like pulling teeth at the time and i don’t think i’ve ever reread. i crossposted and then deleted some social network fic but i honestly don’t remember if i ever backdated any of it correctly anyway so this is probably the first one regardless since i got an ao3 specifically to participate in yuletide in 2011

last fic: make a better mistake, the brady/quinn home by now timestamp i put on here the other day. i don’t have much to say about this really except that it was fun to write out one of the bits of their backstory, which i have a lot of thoughts and feelings about

fic for a fandom/ship i only wrote once: don’t read the last page, broadchurch pornography i wrote in the year of someone’s lord 2021 after rewatching because my mom hadn’t seen it and wanted to. i wrote so much het porn in 2021 and yet i still can barely bring myself to write any of the common slang terms for vagina 💀

favorite fic in the fandom/ship with the most works: well in the summer of 2012 i was possessed by demons and wrote two then-avengers/now-mcu fics but i can’t say i like either of them. i guess i think this one is better, if pressed. honestly i don't feel a need to delete them but i am glad that no one ever seems to read them lol

fic i wish more people read: the sky is big enough, which i feel like i've said before! i really like how it came together but dropping 15k unannounced and unheralded on a medium-sized fandom and peacing out isn't exactly the best way to attract readers 😂 at least it exists for me to pretend is part of the game of thrones canon

fic you agonized over the most: this is kind of a toss-up. on the one hand, it took me the better part of six months to write preference, which clocks in at a not actually all that long 37k, because for mysterious reasons it was just a really slow story for me to pick through and i had to put a lot of thought into what i could do with each scene since the structure (which i imposed on myself btw. i made this problem) is so limiting. on the other hand the actual writing sessions for home by now were easy and productive but the story took ten whole entire months of my life, a major characterization revision just under halfway through, and a major pacing evening-out three quarters of the way through. both involved a lot of crying about whether the story was actually good.

fic that sprang fully formed from my mind without any effort: okay this is a throwback and also such a rarepair as in the only fic in the tag but years ago i wrote jt compher/his college teammate kevin lohan and it was just such an enjoyable story to write because i had a clear vision of the arc and it came together neatly and the non-linear structure meant i got to play with some fun juxtaposition. anyway: instructions for dancing

a story i'm proud of: this is not the end. was this a ridiculous thing to write in any year, much less the year 2020? sure. but write it i did, and it was the first novel-length story i ever successfully wrote, much less completed and edited and posted. and i think it's a nice story! proud of myself for getting over the long story hump and proud of myself for doing it while also doing graduate school. and proud of myself for finding something to do with my time so that my entire life didn't just become work and grad school in 2020.

[hils79]

Hils Watches My School President - Ep 8

These episodes really do vary in length. Some of them are less than 50 mins, this one is over an hour. I may need to pause halfway through this one and go and get some dinner :D

I see we're starting straight with the sadness. Gun's band is performing at the next stage of the competition and Tinn can't be there because he has what looks like a university interview

There is definitely going to be some kinky roleplay in their future

Oh no Tinn is back to having an imaginary Gunn talking to him

Oh, I see where this is going. Tinn is totally going to offer to 'supervise' after school band practice

By 'secret deal' do you mean 'we want to be each other's boyfriend' in which case yes

That's two dramas in a row I've watched with a team cuddle pile. I demand this in every drama I watch from now on

Haha! Oh my god Tinn has gone full horny teenager

I love that I jokingly referred to Tinn as a cop in the first episode and now here we are

Yes, definitely the only thing to do when you're about to be caught with cooking alcohol is to neck it

Are you sure about that?

Dude, she literally just went outside to look for you and it was bone dry. You are so bad at lying

I'm so invested in these two

Nooo...he guitared so hard he sprained his wrist and didn't want to tell them in case it made them sad so he's been quietly going to physical therapy by himself. MY FEELINGS.

Yeah, he can :D

I love how many Thai BLs involve the romantic gesture of putting a helmet on the boy you like. Protection is important.

So many filthy jokes I could make here

HAHA! Busted!

Oh shit now they're feeding each other. IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING

Is he ever going to tell Gun why he ran for school president in the first place?

Oh no. I remember how this episode started

Gun is such a good kid. Look at him comforting Tinn who is sad he can't go and watch Gun play. I am legit tearing up over them

God, even when it's for a product placement scene they are stupidly adorable

KISS IT BETTER

Yes, I am all about the team huddles

Definitely not me crying because the two people Gun loves most are both in the audience watching him sing. Look at his happy little faaaace

Please write a song about how much you love Tinn (not Sound obv I mean Gun)

[derfisch]

okay, I said I was gonna do it! below the cut:

a brief review of every anime I watched this season (no battle shounens, guaranteed)

there are 11 that I watched! wow!

to start with, I watched some less recent anime:

Fruits Basket (2019)

I can see why this one is a classic. if the original is anything like the new one (I haven't watched that either), this is held together by excellent, deep character writing and a fantastic sense of place that never falters. the main character, whose archetype of "ditzy genki girl" would usually be written as very one-dimensional and fluffy, has loads of interesting facets of her personality, and goes through plenty of character growth along with everyone else around her, all without feeling the need to make her less girly or compromising her agency in any way.

for negatives, the humor fell flat more often than not, and the melodrama felt a little heavy handed, especially toward the end when they need you to know The Stakes Are High. I'm also unsure how I feel about how it decided to portray some really incesty relationships? but as a CCS enjoyer it's not like I can complain too much there, lol

despite those flaws though, I would still absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama. I found it pretty good for sleepytime watching too, if you need something like that.

My Roommate Is A Cat

while I did like it a lot, there's not a whole lot to say about it. I like all the characters, even though they don't go too deep. it's fun, it's cute, and it's funny. there's a cat. I like the bits where we get to see from the cat's point of view, and they totally misunderstand the situation. it's not the prettiest anime out there, but I'd still give it a watch if you have the time for a short one

Love Stage!!

absolutely gutted by this one. as a BL anime from about a decade ago, there's a genre-required sexual assault scene. I cannot recommend it to anyone on that basis alone. this is not a triggering subject matter for me, and I was made deeply uncomfortable by it

which really, really sucks, because outside of that I'm super into its characters and its scenario. the tonal whiplash between the sexy seme raping the innocent uke and a few episodes later when he's genuinely regretful of it, and they actually have to work through their feelings over what happened, I appreciated it so much. and even outside of that, the relationship between the two is really interesting. the character writing is super strong, and the conclusion is satisfying and somehow feels earned

if you're absolutely sure you can handle the uncomfortable stuff, maybe give it a watch. otherwise, there's much better gay media out there for you that doesn't subject you to uncomfortable shit like that

Oshi no Ko

I literally cannot tell you anything about this other than you have to watch this. even if you don't give a shit about idols. I'm serious. watch the entire first episode (and I mean the whole thing! don't quit halfway through), and you'll probably know if it's for you or not. but it is gorgeous, and the storytelling and characters are phenomenal. there's a reason no one will shut up about it. I am chomping at the bit for season 2, and the only reason I'm not going to read the manga is the anime is so beautiful

A Herbivorous Dragon of 5,000 Years Gets Unfairly Villainized

[kenny lauderdale voice] is chinese animation anime?

I remember my roommate watching the first episode of this with me around when Dragon Goes House Hunting was airing, to compare the two, and he ultimately passed on it. with that no longer fresh in my mind though, I went back and gave it another shot, and I'm glad I did

it's really short, the usual 12 episodes of a season being made up of 15-minute episodes. the characters don't have a lot of room to breathe, and the story doesn't have enough time to build on its premise for the climax to feel justified. but despite that, I loved the characters themselves, and their interactions with each other. The humor was pretty good, and I found the main duo super endearing. It's not much of a time commitment, so you don't have much to lose by giving this one a shot. oh, and watch Dragon Goes House Hunting too when you're done

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?!

[kenny lauderdale voice again] is live action drama anime?

I saw this recommended a lot when I went looking into popular BL drama. maybe I expect too much from my media, but I wasn't really into this. the main character has barely any personality beyond "anxious wreck," and his love interest comes across as a bit creepy, but otherwise not very interesting. In fact, it takes a flashback for us to really have any hint of why the love interest likes the main character at all. this is also peak "why do japanese dramas have such ridiculous acting"

I couldn't really bring myself to finish it. I made it about 2/3 through, seeing if it got better, but I just really couldn't go on any longer

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

another drama! this one was much, much better. it starts with the couple already together, and focuses more on how they cohabitate and work on their relationship. the characters in this feel very real, and their scenarios never feel particularly contrived or unnatural. also, it features characters who are properly middle aged, which is pretty rare for Japanese media in general, let alone BL

this was the hardest one to watch though, because it's only available on Netflix and it's blocked in my country! I couldn't find a good site to pirate it either, so I had to use a VPN. I hope it becomes more easily available some day

now, into the newer stuff:

My Happy Marriage

what interested me about this is it billed itself as a "historical drama," which is surprisingly rare for a culture that seems to have no problem commodifying its history. unfortunately, that's only half true. the setting seems to have one foot in meiji-era japan, and the other in a poorly explained fantasy setting with nonsensical magic powers

I could put up with that, except I really can't stand the characters either. the main character is Tradwife Prime, who's incapable of mustering an ounce of agency except to simp for the man she was forced to marry by her very abusive parents. said husband is nice, but bland as they come. she has a sister who is a huge jerk seemingly just to mess with her.

it has two things going for it: there is some catharsis in seeing husband guy treat this poor woman right, and also it's drawn and animated really well.

maybe it gets better after the first half, but I dropped it about halfway through. if you are the straightest, most misogynistic man, who only sees value in media that reinforces your pitiful worldview, and think all women should exist to be subservient to their husbands, maybe watch it. except even they probably shouldn't, or they'll risk feeling inferior to the most boring man on the planet. but maybe watch it if you like pretty pictures, and don't have a functional brain? or just watch it in a language you don't understand, I guess. make up your own story! you'll probably do better than the writers

Yohane the Parahelion

I watched this because, I kinda liked love live when I watched it a while back, and I thought putting the girls in a fantasy setting sounded neat. also, there's a cute dog, and I wanted to see more of the cute dog

unfortunately, the story is too busy expositing about the characters themselves and their nothing personalities to tell us about the setting, which feels underutilized. every few episodes, there's a hint at some spooky magic stuff happening, which is then stopped after a couple minutes to go back to light drama and fluff

and I started out liking the dog, who kinda feels like a big sister character, but that's literally her entire personality, and I got bored with her after a while, and the show itself just as quickly. it feels like a story yohane (the one in the love live world) wrote herself while she was bored, without consulting an editor or anything. can't recommend unless you really like looking at the cute dog

Sweet Reincarnation

this is a bad anime. I can't believe I watched it all the way through

the premise sounds fun. a patissier gets sent to the shadow realm and then gets isekai'd into life as a prince in generic fantasy world (do all these isekais take place on the same world, you think?), and is totally unhinged about turning the world into a sugar utopia under his command

what are the implications of this? the consequences? we'll never find out, because instead he just does really boring political drama shit. also he's like really good at diplomacy and negotiation for some reason? I don't think candy makers normally have to do that

it's kind of a shame because there are brief moments where the anime remembers what its stupid premise is, and those are genuinely fun. dude bankrupts the treasury buying fucking apples or whatever. uses his OP isekai power to invent irrigation and scare the shit out of everyone in the surrounding area. super fun stuff. but it lasts like 3 minutes every episode, and then it goes back to boring shit

also more arranged marriage, and this time it's with 10 year olds! no commentary whatsoever on how fucked up that is either, main character who is mentally about 30 years old at this point, totally stoked about his actual 10 year old wife to be. real normal shit

you already know it's shit though, right? you don't watch isekais to see a good anime anymore, right? you'll watch your garbage anime and you'll enjoy it anyway, right? okay

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

I love this anime. it follows the lead that Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill took of living life with a gruff, much more capable giant animal domestic partner. but instead of a cool magic wolf, yukichi is the masterful cat in question, and he fills the role of what I can only describe as the perfect house husband, with some sass and kitty antics included. he's also a big soft boy, which naturally gets bonus points from me

the series is pure slice of life. I haven't read the manga, but you can feel where the chapters begin and end within episodes, which makes them feel like short vignettes, rather than full stories. that's all this anime needs to convey its characters though! everyone feels well fleshed out, and their interesting personalities shine through

I do have 2 content warnings though: one, the main character ends up drinking alcohol a lot. you might know this is a trigger for me in certain scenarios, and this did make me uncomfortable. I was able to manage because the scenes in question are so short and tend to avoid portraying it as much more than an annoyance for yukichi, but if you're more sensitive to it than me, you're gonna have a rough time. second, probably less serious, but in an episode, the main character gains a bit of weight (which you would never guess by looking at her, but you'll have to trust the writers lol) and they make a big deal about her having to diet and exercise. might be kind of uncomfortable for some people who are used to having their weight pathologized, so feel free to skip that bit.

aside from those two complaints though, I really recommend this anime! it's super fun and really sweet

I ended up really watching a lot this season! I hope next season has some good ones too

[duskyvision]

m. l. rio - if we were villains

Hi, it's been a while! I've been itching to write a book review because it's been over a year now, and sometimes I just have to scream about books in other places than on Discord (I still scream about books on Discord, but shh).

So why not just write a book review about a book that I did not enjoy? Haha, what a funny thing nobody has ever done before! I sure wonder what this funny guy is going to say about this book he didn't enjoy.

Anyway, this is going to be pretty long, and I'm gonna bitch about a bunch of stuff in here. Will contain spoilers.

Content warnings:

substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)

cheating

suicide

This book was my first venture into the dark academia genre/aesthetic, something I'd seen a bunch of stolen Tiktoks about on my Pinterest feed, but never paid too much attention to, mostly because I don't really care about stories centered on students. Maybe that should have been my first warning sign.

Initially, I wanted to read The Secret History by Donna Tartt because that's apparently what's seen as the dark academia staple, but I decided to stick to this because it was the only book I'd found an audiobook of on Scribd, and audiobooks are more digestible. Read a bit of the blurb and thought, "okay, sounds like it could be interesting".

Man was I wrong.

Reading the blurb, I already knew I'd have to handle pretty pretentious characters, because there's nothing more pretentious than a group of more or less wealthy white theater kids obsessed with Shakespeare (except for rich white business majors and law majors, put one of each category in a locked room and they'd maul each other within 0.5 seconds like wild beasts trying to one-up the other), but holy shit, it was worse than I'd anticipated.

The writing makes everyone and especially Oliver (the narrator) sound insufferable to the point where I wished they could simply shut up. Unfortunately, this book has slug-like pacing and bitches who love to talk on top of chapters that are padded with lines copied verbatim from Shakespeare plays because admittedly you need a very high IQ to understand the nuances and intricacies of Shakespeare plays and how it influences the characters.

And while we're still on writing: while in theory, the script-like snippets are a fun nod to how plays are formatted, it simply doesn't work in audiobook format. Really grating to hear things like "James: Cock" "Me: So true bestie" when my patience was already wearing thin the more I listened to it.

Yet, the writing wasn't the most infuriating aspect of this book to me. I think what infuriates me the most about If We Were Villains is that, ultimately, the entire book tries so hard to be deep and emotional regarding its plot and its characters when said plot is predictably boring and the characters have the depth of a single sheet of paper.

So let's talk about the plot! By the halfway point in the first part of the book, it was made obvious who would die between the main characters, but comically so. The moment Richard started acting up, I felt like the author slapped a huge sign on his head like "Watch out! He's either the bad guy or... THE VICTIM! OMG!" because there was no way Mrs Rio could come back from turning Richard into a goofy Sunday morning kids cartoon villain. And as soon as Richard died, I also predicted the twist itself, because it was so goddamn obvious it felt like it was screamed into my ears.

Now, I usually don't mind if a plotline is predictable. Actually, I enjoy it! It makes me feel smart to predict things and figure out what's happening, and it usually keeps me engaged rather than plot twists that are pulled out of the author's ass! The problem with this book, though, is that I wasn't engaged in the characters to begin with, so following them going through their problems after Richard's death just made me feel a total sense of apathy followed by "so... when are we getting to more plot?"

It focuses too much on trying to give emotional depth to characters whom, in my opinion, severely lack it to begin with. The main characters aren't interesting to me, they're just puppets with names on them at this point. They can really just be summed up into archetypes that are barely explored in a way that feels compelling:

Oliver: The average joe. Oh, look at him, he's so average and surrounded by people who are so much more interesting than him (this is a lie)!

James: The guy. I'm struggling to find anything interesting about him, besides the fact that he's Oliver's best friend and roommate. You can tell he's important because he's Oliver's roommate. I think a loaf of white bread would be more memorable as a character than him.

Richard: Probably the most interesting character in the cast, ironically, solely because he's a fish out of the water. By that, I mean that he's just a jock in the middle of theater kids. Besides that, he's laughable at best: the author tries so hard to make him devoid of anything sympathetic in the moments leading up to his death that it nullifies any emotional investment you could have in any of the characters.

Meredith: The hot girl but like not in an objectified way, in a gaslight gatekeep girlboss way (this is a lie). Richard's girlfriend. Can't catch a break because everyone and their mom objectifies and slut shames her. She usually breasts boobily, not in written script but in spirit due to how her role in the story is pretty much "piece of meat".

Alexander: The weed-smoking gay literature major stereotype, except in a special way because he objectifies Meredith too, for some reason. Diversity win! Gay man is also gross towards women!

Filippa, Wren and Colin: Filippa and Wren exist for the sole purpose of not turning this cast into a complete sausage fest (& Knuckles Meredith). Filippa is the good friend who covers everyone, and Wren is the fragile frail uwu girl. Colin exists solely to be Alexander's boyfriend.

What a totally charming cast of characters who are oh so full of depth, and completely developed throughout this book. There's also a detective guy, but I completely forgot his name because the book spent too much time on this group of pretentious theater kids whining about their interpersonal relationships.

Man, just talking about how much this book bored me is becoming a pain in the ass, so I'll just summarize what I thought about the book here:

Pretentious, flowery writing with sluggish and often jarring pacing

Characters who are equally pretentious and whose high airs desperately try to hide the innate nothing burger-ness of their existence

Extremely predictable plot that's handed to the reader on a platter by the first part, making the reading experience that much more boring when you have 0 affinity nor sympathy for any of the cast members

Final rating: 1/5 (2.29/10 on CAWPILE). I should have dropped this book when I predicted the entire plot instead of being stubborn.