#And if they do well darn oh gosh oh no I guess I'll just have to get more lol ♪

[lawlietscaramels]

Yandere ╾ L Lawliet

Because apparently I fell into a yandere stage and this is my tunnel out.

CW typical yandere stuff (stalking, obsession, overprotection, manipulative, worship, dependence, monopoly, killer)

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

Yandere L is interesting because I think yes, he could absolutely be a yandere

canonically too

BUT only if you defined a yandere by "do they have the traits?" as opposed to "what do they do?"

so first: what KIND of yandere is the detective? top five traits incoming.

STALKER

Let's just get this one out of the way

He obviously to some degree "stalks" people just for his work, through cameras and policemen if not in person

he's a stalker guys. that's it.

so he wouldn't have a problem just turning up wherever someone who interested him was

again

and again

and again...

He's pretty hard not to notice because of his peculiar mannerisms, but he's also literally black and white enough to blend into the background.

So if he was careful (he is) it would take a while before you noticed you were seeing him everywhere you went. And by then you wouldn't be able to think of a time where he wasn't sitting quietly somewhere in the background.

L knows this.

he knows you're going to assume he just happens to live in the same area as you, or something like that.

I don't think he'd actually follow you into your home but he would go when you were out someday to set up cameras

and I think L would genuinely believe himself to be a good person

what if he goes away and you get in trouble? you don't always have a roommate, who would notice? well, now L will, and he is quite able to get you back to safety. but back to the stalkery.

oh man he's gone through your stuff. your closets your phone whatever. he wants to know about you

one day he might just arrange for a little... near accident somewhere you both frequent

and oh my oh gosh oh diddly darn

guess who just happens to be there to save the day

(L. it's L. notice him please?)

OBSESSIVE

There are two things that L is canonically obsessed with: work and desserts

but if he found a romantic interest that list suddenly has a third item: YOU.

especially if you bake him cakes or help him in cases. because then he ties those things he loves to you.

and I'll just quickly mention these traits are always a little bit in his personality but the order I'm writing in is the order they come out more strongly around you.

Obsession is also tied with stalking.

Some days he watches you and dreams about you smiling at him the way you smile at the rain and the sun and the world.

he imagines how everything will work out. you're a distraction to his work: he would have to find a way to integrate you into his life in a way that allows him to be close to you and not distracted. he imagines he imagines

you'd find a way to fit into him while he was sitting, your body pressed up against his torso, legs pulled up, head on his shoulder.

he could play with your hair with one hand. you could feed him sweets.

L is for the first time not in control of his own thoughts. it's new and unpredictable so it's completely terrifying to him, and for a while he'll slink away into the darkest recesses of society and draw away from you.

but it doesn't stop. it gets worse.

he can't look outside without wondering if you're looking at the same skies. can't eat strawberries without wondering if you like them.

so then he does a full 180 and will devote all of his available attention (some must be spared for work) to you. if you don't already work together or if he hasn't made contact during the stalking at all, this is when he does it.

he reaches out to see if you'll take him.

and when you do (it's not a question of if, see manipulative) he will calm down a fair bit.

but he is still, quietly, obsessed

OVERPROTECTIVE

what can I say?

gosh he just wants to keep you safe.

He's seen every bad thing about the world through his work, he knows bad things constantly happen to good people.

but. not. to. you.

L just won't let it happen. he can and will secret you away in a hotel room. never enough for you to become suspicious, to rattle at doors and windows. And you move with him, every couple of weeks, so it's just an adventure, dear.

also I think he'd use darling in a sweeter sense. dear or maybe doll is his yandere pet name for you.

He probably has several trackers somewhere on you. probably not IN you... probably...

also you know that nail polish they developed that changes colour when it comes into contact with common poisons in drinks? he makes you use stuff like that. for your safety.

hate hate hates that he can't be with you all the time. you tend to find yourself with reasons to stay at home when L's not around. once again see manipulative.

he does trust you, he really does. but he doesn't trust the world. men in particular are often disgusting. it's just true. he's seen it time and time again as a detective. who knows what scary things could be out in the world? and if they knew you were dating, that you had ANY relationship with the world's greatest detective? L's afraid he's putting you in danger. please just humour him and stay home for a week, dear. you can work on your baking.

if you started getting really rebellious, thought you were being chained up, whatever, L would let you go and do whatever you wish. He doesn't want you to feel like that! He loves you! he may or may not have organised for a brush with death for you so that you realise how right he is about the horrors of the world and want to stay home like he asks you so nicely to.

you're just so pure. so innocent.

there, there. he won't let them hurt you.

he'll even close all the blinds so the darkness of the world can't reach in to taint your beauty. isn't he the best?

MANIPULATIVE

IT'S CANON.

I can't think of any particularly specific examples but he lies about everything. Whenever he throws out a number (5%) it means he suspects someone over 90%

so he has no issues bending the truth

sigh if L's manipulative side is triggered it's triggered ALL the way. one one hand he hates doing this to you

but on the other it's for your own good and you're being stupid.

He will do ANYTHING to make you believe him. he will manipulate you into thinking he's being manipulative so he can get upset at your lack of trust in him so he's able to manipulate you

did that make sense...

can cry on demand.

but it's not all about making himself the victim, he will also just.. isolate you if you're starting to drift away from him. Suddenly your friends find other interests, your family are renovating the house or your parents won a radio prize for a vacation.

and L is the only one left. and he himself is distant until you cry and plead and apologise

the isolation thing is actually a yan trait itself and the scenarios above are also kind of training. but they're only a part of the bigger trait.

he will also manipulate situations and other people, not just you.

L just wants what's best for everyone

(coincidentally this always aligns with what is best for L.)

he's so smart though. it's really really difficult to realise he's manipulating you unless he wants you to.

WORSHIP

you're so pretty, the most perfect thing he's ever seen

you're an angel, really.

and people who don't respect you as such are going to get a subtle but clear message from L to STEP AWAY.

cold glares.

he will literally turn his head 180° like an owl to stare at them while he walks you away

they might end up fired. I mean someone who can't see what's right in front of their eyes doesn't deserve whatever job they have...

he just wants to spoil you sometimes and he has the resources to do it and more.

sometimes this gets a little suffocating but it's sweet. mostly.

it's nice to have time with your boyfriend instead of big, grand, empty rooms. L just doesn't have a lot of time. He does his job to protect you, protect you from everything in this world because it is all inferior to you.

I do not like to think about how he would react if you happened to meet Light...

I wasn't sure about whether or not to put this in the top five because I don't think he'd see himself as inferior. his IQ is big. but you could still jump from his ego down to his IQ and fall for hours. he thinks you're more good than he is but he's under no delusions about your relative intelligence or anything.

but yeah, I think he's a worshipper.

Just... a quiet worshipper. all his yan traits are kinda quiet tho haha

L wants to give you the world. he would sacrifice anything for you.

he would take a bullet for you

his work makes this a good possibility. he'd prefer not to get shot but he'd still do it for you.

probably the most harmless of his yandere traits. this one comes out when he decides this is it, you are it, forever.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

really quickly a couple of the other traits L might have and express are:

dependence (mostly for manipulative purposes. he will cry if you ever fight. L is honestly quite dependent on you, he might die without you-- or more likely just force you back into his arms-- but he puts on a lot of an act, a puppet master pulling strings behind the stage. he wants to be seen as vulnerable, not just a stoic and brilliant detective. because which one is it easier to lose your heart to? and you must lose your heart. you stole his first.)

monopoly (when he has time, he needs you to have time for him and only him. he doesn't have a lot of time. will manipulate you into spending time with him but it's more of an occasional pest thing than anything. quite harmless. especially because he works a lot. you have plenty of time without him, which makes him sad, but he can't help it. and you wouldn't love him if he stopped you from seeing your family and friends...)

killer (yeah... not in the top five by any means but if someone tries to hurt you? god forbid, if they SUCCEED? you'll be stuck at home for a couple of weeks while L frets over you. and sometime in that couple of weeks.. well.. maybe that someone who hurt you finds themself in trouble with a gang. L's not doing the dirty work himself but he's behind it and you will never find out. if they only TRIED to hurt you L won't be able to justify killing them to himself, but they'll quickly find themselves in jail.)

YANDERE?

so back to what I mentioned in the first part: L is a yandere, IF you're only basing the classification on the fact that he has these traits and the ability to act on them

but as anyone who's watched police or court drama knows, you need more than means and opportunity:

you need MOTIVE.

this is where I can't base my thoughts on canon so much anymore. the only people who we really see L caring about the death of (spoilers‼️) are: the FBI agents (though not on a personal level); Ukita (pretty sure that's his name); and Watari (though L himself dies too soon after for this last one to be useful)

so. Ukita.

L probably wouldn't care enough for the guy to go yandere for him LMFAO but we do see him refusing to rush in and take action without thinking, something which a yandere might be more inclined to do if they cared about someone.

HOWEVER we also see he's trembling. like he's a little in shock about the death and what it means, but also he wants to do something about it.

a yandere urge, brought out by something bad happening to someone he cares about.

My point being?

L has the traits of a yandere, and has the ability to act on any of them any time. he's smart, he's rich, and he has the trust of the entire world (or respect at least)

but he doesn't act unless triggered.

and ofc because he doesn't have a canonical love interest, we can't prove either way what he would do for/to them.

but I think he is more deredere (love) than yanderu (sick).

anyway, L is smart enough to realise that the yandere doesn't usually win the game of love, and that the things are not things you should be doing for/to someone who trusts you. not things you should be doing to someone you love.

but sometimes, when his emotions are high and so is the danger to you or your relationship,

his control just slips

and you might just find yourself locked in a hotel room while he works on the Kira case.

SO IS HE A YANDERE?

no. I'd say that he's a kuudere.

cold, cynical, sarcastic sense of humour, views feelings as a weakness but DOES have them and will open up over time.

but oh...

wait...

according to the dere wiki...,

"Due to the way a kuudere acts, a yandere can easily pretend to be a kuudere when not acting insane."

...

so, what do we think?

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

but hey that's just a theory... a DERE theory! aaand cut.

𝖎𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖙 ˏˋ⋆˖⁺˖⁀➷ 𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖌 + 𝖋𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜

©lawlietscaramels. Do not repost on other sites, claim as your own work, edit, rewrite or “fix,” feed to AI or otherwise use unethically.

[theminecraftbee]

Scar's busy trying to make their rock look prettier. Cleo leans against it. It's cold against their back; good. They still feel the heat of burning mansions and anger and TNT and burning pyres. They don't have long now until they're yellow. Both they and Scar know exactly what they'll do then.

They and Scar do, at least.

Bdubs is loudly muttering indistinct things to himself while repeatedly shoving a hoe into an enchantment table. Cleo watches for a bit.

"Scar and I have some people to get revenge on tomorrow," Cleo says.

Bdubs nods. "Oh yes. Those nasty Bad Boys, they won't know what's coming to them! Just as soon as I finish dealing with this stupid hoe."

Scar snickers from the corner. "But Bdubs, I thought that was -"

"HEY!" Bdubs says. "WATCH IT!"

"Yeah Bdubs, I thought you were good with your hoes," Cleo says, because they've never been one to let a joke like that just go by.

"I'll have you know that I'm excellent at handling hoes. The best at it. The best at hoes," Bdubs says. Scar laughs so loud he nearly chokes.

"Wow, didn't need to know you thought that," Cleo says.

"I'm - no you idiots!" Bdubs says. "You're putting things in my mouth!"

"Like the hoes?" Scar says.

"Screw you guys," Bdubs says, huffing and returning to the steady chime of the enchantment table and grind of the grindstone. Cleo tries to catch her breath again through the laughter to remember her original point.

Wiping at her eyes, she leans back. "To be honest though, I have no idea what your plans are. You sort of just... vanished today?"

"Yeah. We lost you," Scar says. "Not very responsible parenting. Or older sibling-ing."

"Who said you were older?" grumps Bdubs.

"Well you see, the older sibling is normally taller, and -"

"Boys," Cleo says. They both stop.

"Sorry mom," Scar says, sounding not even remotely sorry.

"I regret you two," Cleo says.

"Awww. But you love us," Bdubs says.

"Absolutely not," Cleo says. "Besides, you're dodging my question. Where were you?"

"Well, I can't just tell you that," Bdubs says. "Then people will know!"

Cleo and Scar are both quiet for a long moment.

"That's sort of the point? It'll just be us," Scar says. "Us, your partners in crime, knowing where you were. That's all we're asking."

Bdubs harumphs. "And I said I'm not telling. They'll know if I tell you. The people who are watching. And they don't get to know, you hear me? Nope, I'm a man of mystery. I'm here to keep them guessing, I am!"

Cleo and Scar glance at each other. Scar is grimacing. Ah. He knows what Bdubs is talking about, doesn't he. Cleo's not sure they do. They almost do, but clearly not in the same way Scar does.

Still, they know enough.

Cleo huffs overdramatically. "Fine then. Keep your secrets. See if I tell you mine."

"You can't have secrets! You're our mom!" Scar says.

"You have a bizarre idea of how this works," Cleo says.

"Aha!" Bdubs says. "A - no I read it wrong. Gosh darn it."

He puts the hoe in the grindstone again, washing off whatever he'd enchanted it with. Cleo leans back against the wall to cool the burns they still feel. They prepare for the next morning.

[powderblueblood]

For the old Hollywood AU - dealer’s choice & this quote: “And they'll know - everyone will fucking know that they could never control one goddamn fucking thing."

😘

BABYLON SENTENCE MEME

set in the frenetic grimy screwball universe of BURN LIKE NITRATE, the old hollywood au an: this is 3k words because i am soooo normal about all this. no majorly explicit warnings, just fluff and angst and coarse language and a slight allusion to steve's drinking problem

LOS ANGELES, 1927

Seven frantic knocks on your bedroom door awaken you with a skin-jumping start, and you realize you've fallen asleep with your needlework in hand. Again.

"Oof," you breathe, a hand brushing across your brow as you set the embroidery hoop down on your rickety bedside table. That'll be Pidge or one of the other girls at the door, eye-rolling and telling you it's lights out-- as is the routine racket come ten at night, every night. Bunny Lamelle's boarding house kept strict rules, and they included lights out at ten, no boozing, and no shoes or men past the first floor.

Little do you know, you're about to shatter all three of those sacrosanct commandments.

You barely bother to smooth your nightgown before you crack open your bedroom door-- and regret it immediately.

"Mr Harrington?"

Bleary-eyed and wearing a grin that would knock a nun clean out, Steven Harrington stands in the frame of your bedroom door.

Well, stands is generous. His knees look fit to buckle under the weight of whatever's in that flask he's carrying.

"Evening, Beadie."

"Get inside, quickly! Please!" You yank him in by the crook of his arm, and immediate thrill sparks in you. You'd never think to do that ordinarily! Gosh, you're afraid to even touch the fabric that you drape over the man's frame in a professional setting, and you're his darn costume fitter.

As a precaution, you poke your head out into the hallway, neck swiveling left and right. Clear? Clear. You gently close the door.

"How ever did you get up here?" you question as Steve, as he keeps insisting you call him (but you only ever do in your head-- manners are a girl's best friend!), stumbles a touch before flopping down on your bed.

Your bed. Oh, dear.

"I'm no stranger to the facilities here at Bunny Lamelle's, I'll have you know!" he proclaims, hitching himself up on his elbows. The light in here is terrifically bright, too bright for his liking, and your bed is terrifically soft, but that's just right. "It's no Hollywood Studio Club, but it's not a complete pigsty they keep you girls in--"

The pitch of his voice keeps rising and rising, and you know very well that the walls are thin and the eponymous Bunny can hear everything. Steve is familiar with Bunny Lamelle, having been chased down the stairs of this very boarding house more times than he could count. His early years in Los Angeles were nothing if not, ah, eventful. He knows he ought to be quiet, but he feels mournful tonight. Feeling mournful always leads him down the path to goading, because being sad is a fucking sap's game.

You make a motion, pleading with him to shush-- and sold on the look on your face alone, Steve's voice drops to a stage whisper.

"The back door has a loose lock."

"I know," you whisper back. "I taught Pidge how to jimmy that lock open when we both moved in here."

"That little bearcat lives here too? What a pair you two make."

Steve looks surprised, same as Pidge had looked surprised. A little church girl like you, knowing how to pick a lock. Imagine that. He swears, every time you deign open your mouth, which has become more and more frequent during your little fittings, you threaten to knock the knees from under him. Some turn of phrase, some thread of history he never guessed would be woven into your coat.

You feel a blush flaring at your cheeks, Steve's half-focused eyes resting on you a moment too long.

You force yourself to clear your throat, though breaking the spell of his stare feels like a betrayal.

"What are you doing here, Mr--"

"Bea-die. I insist. I'm in your chambers, for Chrissake."

"Steve." You put a nice fine point on it, finer than your needlework. If he insists.

Ah, yes. The reason for the season. As if punching the air in victory, Steve's right arm thrusts into the air. His movements are like those of a marionette filled with whiskey.

"It appears I have torn a button."

Indeed. A button hangs from a thread, dangling from the cuff of Steve's impeccable satin shirt, part in parcel of his whole satin getup. An outfit designed to make him look the consummate ideal of the American picture star, an image you're positive they couldn't have illustrated without the reference of his good looks and charm.

But now the suit is creased and rumpled and reeking of liquor, and the man inside it, the man you now know to be wondrous and interesting outside of the fascination he inspires onscreen, looks despondent.

This is all getting a little on-the-nose.

"You came over here to... to ask me to mend a button?" You don't mean to let that twinge of disappointment escape your voice.

Steve's mouth gapes and shuts again. He can't tell if it's the whiskey or what, but that feels like flimsy reasoning all of a sudden. "I suppose I did."

You can feel your blood pressure rising. He risked getting you evicted from the only place in Los Angeles you can afford to stay because of some silly button? Well, I never! The gall, the nerve, the-- the vanity! You take a deep, steadying breath and cross the room to the bathroom that you and Pidge share, adjoining both your bedrooms.

"If you'll excuse me."

He starts to speak, but you click the door closed behind you, softly as you can manage. When safely inside, you stuff the shower curtain into your mouth and let out a silent, frustrated scream. So, you'll do the only thing you know to do. You'll consult your most trusted source of a second opinion.

Pidge, how do I go about not murdering the entitled movie star that's currently sitting on my bed?

As if she'd heard you summoning, Pidge comes crashing through her bathroom door, hair mussed and face flushed. Giggling. Until she sees you, that is, and her face drops. She slams the door behind her, and you swear you can hear a muffled, "Ow!"

Louder than is necessary, she says, "Hello, Beadie!"

"Pidge..." Something's off in the body language of the script girl.

At a normal volume, "Hello, Beadie." A beat, as she takes you in. "Is everything alright?"

Oh, forget whatever madness Pidge has indulged herself in now! You're having an honest-to-god emergency!

"No!" you flutter, arms flapping, "No, it is not because Steven Harrington is sitting in my bedroom!"

Pidge's eyes flare for about half a second, which is just the amount of surprise she doles out for any occasion. You could tell her that Victrola records were shrinking to half their size and all she'd do is give you the ol' wide eyes and move onto more logical matters.

"The way you're talking makes me think he oughtn't be."

"Of course he oughtn't be!"

"Why oughtn't he be?"

"Well, other than the obvious, Pidge! He-- he's Steven Harrington!" Most recently seen on the arm of the latest WAMPAS Baby, Steven Harrington. Box office darling, Steven Harrington. Object of many a rabid fan letter, Steven Harrington. "And get this, he risked life and limb sneaking up here so I could sew a button back on for him!"

"That's what they're calling it now? Cad," Pidge says, eyes narrowing. Then they flare again. "Oh, hold the line..."

Your breath stitched up in your throat. "What?"

"Harrington's got a premiere tonight. Seven Slow Dances. It ought to be," Pidge checks her watch and you notice her lipstick is smudged. Hm. "Well, gosh, it'll be over by now. After party at The Roosevelt, natch. Warner Jr will have his guts for garters if he doesn't show his mug."

Your bottom lip trembles a tad, hands flapping with the sheer current of nerves and anger and excitement and dread coursing through you.

"Pidge, Pidge, Pidge, what am I to do?!"

Your roommate and friend grabs you by the shoulders and gives you a good, hefty shake.

"Beadie, snap out of it. You know exactly what you're to do. You're to mend that button and you're to send him on his way." She gives you this stare that's kind of wavering at the corners.

That throat of yours is suddenly drier than Glendale. You swallow, roughly. You dare to ask, "And what if... he tries any funny business?"

Pidge doesn't miss a beat. "Well, I have a revolver in my delicates."

This response makes you abandon the followup question of what if I'd like him to try some funny business. You nod, resolute and terrified, grabbing your sewing box from the commode. Pidge stands stock still stationary in the bathroom, arms crossed and eyes bright with curiosity.

You wonder what you'd just caught her in the middle of.

But the door clicks shut behind you and you find Steve lying flat on his back, his head dangling off the edge of your modest single bed.

"Told half of Hollywood I'm here already, huh?" His tone is languid, but not scornful. Playful, even. Like he could really expect such a thing from you. Wide-eyed, innocent you.

A nervous chuckle bubbles from you, Steve dousing the flame of your irritation as soon as he'd lit it. You edge closer to the bed, suddenly very conscious of the way your nightgown is fitting.

"Certainly not. Just, I knocked into Pidge in the bathroom. It happens, sharing and all. I didn't--"

But before you can lie, "Hello, Pigeon!" Steve calls, and you lurch for him-- too loud! He emits something close to a giggle. "She's quite the hard boiled tomato. How is it you two became so close?"

You shrug. That was a story, but not one you were about to regale Steve Harrington with. He needed to be sewn up, given his marching orders. That's that. "Every lady needs her foil, I suppose."

"Good god, don't sell yourself so short," Steve says, and there's a real edge to his voice. He's truly admonishing you. You can't truly see yourself that way, can you? Playing second fiddle to some studio drone workaholic like poor Pidge, when you and your delicate hands and your brilliant mind had the gall and grace to exist on this earth?

Christ, is he drunk.

Though, you can't help it sometimes. You love Pidge, love her true, but can't help but think she stacks up so much higher compared to you; in experience, in nerve, in dealing with men like him.

"You're the genuine article, Beadie."

Steve says this to you. Steven Harrington says this to you. Even if he's corked and ready to pour, he says this to you.

You have to give yourself an even moment to remember the act of taking a human breath and how it works.

When you recover, your voice is tiny. "Sit up, please."

He does as is told, the same as when you tell him so in the fitting rooms. It's the one time that Steve doesn't mind being told what to do; you go about it gentle, careful not to prick him with your little pins. He trusts that you never will. And, you always asks things like, "Well, how does that feel, Mr Harrington?" and then add that adorable shy addendum, "I mean, to move in?"

You settle next to him on the bed, sewing kit in your lap. Steve presents his sleeve to you and you finger the darling little pearlescent button. Feels too violent for your nature to snap it off of its lingering thread-- and yet you do it. And he can't explain it, but it thrills him.

Steve watches you thread your needle with an intensity that does not go unnoticed by you. Your entire head feels hot.

"You're aware I had a premiere tonight, Beadie."

"Oh, of course I am," and you did, having faithfully followed this man's work for years, "Seven Slow Dances, wasn't it?"

Steve swallows, feeling the paparazzi light bulbs crack behind his eyes. The tense silence in the theater that just kept getting tenser and stickier as the preview of the picture droned on.

"It's set to be my biggest picture to date," he tells you, a slur creeping into his voice, "A thoroughly modern romp, catapulting me to as-yet-unforeseen notoriety. Have you heard this?"

A small smile wafts over your lips, daring to break your focus. "Why, that sounds wonderful."

Steve emits a hearty scoff, and you have to place a hand on his arm to steady it.

"Wonderful? It sounds like bullshit to me. It sounds like the company line," he sniffs, "Do you know why I do all this, Beadie? Why I became an actor? To escape the company line."

You still your needle to an unnecessarily slow speed, taking far longer than you need to with resewing this button. Because he does this, when he's in your hands and you have your points turned towards him. He opens up, to you.

"But it follows you, you know," Steve goes on, voice thickening. That sends a jolt of alarm through you. "Chases you like you've got a target on your back."

You've never heard him sound quite like this before. Cornered.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean..." you murmur, eyes leaving the safe reserve of the needlepoint and button to watch him. Watch his profile. Watch the tears begin to well in his scorched sugar eyes.

"I traded being one kind of stooge for another, do you know that?" he sniffs, bitterness putting a bite in his voice, "I rejected the role that was set out for me, the heir to HH Industries, to become an artist! If you can fucking believe that. Because I thought it meant something. I thought it meant I'd finally have control over my own life."

It strikes you dumb. It's an honesty so blistering, you can't quite believe that it's real, that he's sharing it with you. "I..."

"I don't," have any control, he means, "I'm being prodded around like a prize show pony in front of these cameras, preening to Photoplay and acting like it all means something when it doesn't."

Steve turns to you now, a single, screen-perfect tear cascading down his screen-perfect face. But his vitriol feels ugly and ill-fitting, like he feels in this stupid satin suit.

"And you know what, Beadie? You know what's the killer? The bullet aiming straight for my heart?"

Suspended in shock, your needle held aloft. "No..."

Steve clears his gummed up throat, nodding mirthlessly. Of course. How would you know, you poor, sweet thing?

"Once this shitheap of an Al Jolson picture goes to print, the entire company line is going to change. Sound in the pictures, what a gimmick!" he cackles, "But the public loves a gimmick, and that's who we sacrifice ourselves for. And it'll push me, who has given everything to create something out of nothing, and every other dumb sap like me, right out the door. And they'll know - everyone will fucking know that they could never control one goddamn fucking thing. Our fate, our crushable fate in the hands of those dipshit Warner brothers. The company line. Sundown on Steven Harrington."

It completely befuddles you that he could think this way. Of course, the colony is splintering into two and a dozen camps, each different variants of sound is the death of cinema and talkies are the way of the future. You had heard Pidge's diatribes on it, but hadn't settled on an opinion yourself. Pictures with sound would surely still need costumes, but you hadn't thought for even a moment about how it might effect someone like Steve. How it might... frighten him.

"Oh, Steve. Steve, you know that's not true." That hand of yours that rests on his arm tightens some. His head dips.

"It is true, Beadie," he presses and sniffles, "They'll lose any interest they had in me; for Chrissake, I can't stand up to those booming voiced theater types. I've churned my butter in pantomime! I've wasted my life on something completely null."

His words coax you to near tears. This feels as if he's welcomed you into his cocoon, shown you all the ways he fears he'll fail to metamorphose.

But then, you catch another whiff of the liquor on his breath.

You remember that, despite it all, you need to be careful-- Steve may be sweet to you now, in this moment, but Steven Harrington at large is still a documented rake. He's a mess. He'll do anything, say anything, to get what he wants.

You know this. You love this. And you know that you oughtn't.

You finish the last stitch on his errant button and push an encouraging smile across your face.

"Well. All the more reason to get peeling out to that after party then, isn't it? Make sure they don't forget who you are."

A friendly pat to his arm serves as half an encouragement for him to get up and off your bed.

This is not the reaction he wants. With his head tilted toward you, with all his sparkling tears, this is not the reaction Steve was aiming for. He can't even say he wanted to kiss you in that moment, but he did not expect you to tow that very same company line. Buck up, buddy boy. Put on a good show.

But you're a good girl. Of course you think that's the way things ought to be. He shouldn't be confusing you like this. Sullying your mind against the Warner behemoth.

Steve stands, re-buttoning his mended sleeve. You watch him, eyes gleaming and worried. He's gone all silent and sullen again, like he does. Then again, he may not even remember this in the morning.

"Away I go, then," he murmurs, barely coherent, "into the fray."

"Do be careful," you tell him, chest constricted. "Sneaking back out, I mean."

"Not my first rodeo," he reminds you, and it feels terrifically callous for some reason.

And then Steve is gone, slipping through your bedroom door. As fast and furtively as he appeared, and all that's left behind him is the silver glimmer of his flask folded into the plush of your bed sheets.

[vinziel]

He's still got it

John Dory x Male Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

You four followed Spruce inside the restaurant, while all four of you were following Spruce he suddenly threw a menu at John Dory's face saying "Specials are on the back, don't order the clams don't ask why!" It looks like Spruce is the waiter of this restaurant, he was too busy to even notice, "Spruce!" John Dory yelled, Spruce sighed and said "Look I know you know me from BroZone but could you be quiet about it?" John then responds saying "But Spruce it's us your brothers!" Spruce then turns around "Woah Bitty B!" he says, running past John Dory who says "What?" sounding devastated. Spruce hugs Branch tight saying "Wet willy!" while giving Branch a wet willy, Branch then gets annoyed saying "I am too old for wet willys!" "Oh sorry, a whet william" Spruce answers back laughing, he then notices you "Oh what's up Y/N" both of you fist bumping.

Spruce then introduces all of you to his wife Brandi and their 13 kids, you were all a bit confused on how their relationship worked "How?" John says "Well it's......interesting but hey I don't judge if you're happy then sure" You say, John says "Spruce we need your help-" Spruce interrupts John "Actually it's Bruce now" "Well ok but we need your help Floyd's been kidnapped! And we need to hit the perfect family Harmony!" John says panicked "At my age? I don't think I can, also remember our last show?" Bruce says, one of his kids then says "See guys? I told you dad wasn't in a band" "Oh I was in a band. I was in THE band, ask your mom if I was in a band" "Oh, He was in a band" Brandi says, seemingly daydreaming "We can always practice!" John says enthusiastically "I guess that could work, let's do it!" Bruce says, Both Bruce and John went to the stage but Branch stayed behind "Branch aren't you gonna perform with your brothers?" Poppy says "Yeah Branch" You add "Oh I'm saving it for Floyd" Branch says "Oh I get it, you don't get what it takes, it's fine Branch" Poppy says, you add with "It's definitely fine Branch, your just not up to it. It's cool" "I do get what it takes" Branch retorts, a smile then forms on Poppy's face as she, you and Bruce's children chant "Prove it! Prove it! Prove It!" Which makes Branch finally agree to perform. "Well he was easy to convince" You say, chuckling

While you watched the brothers perform you couldn't help but stare at one particular person, John Dory. Even after all these years he's still great at singing, great at dancing and he's still as handsome, you couldn't lie even with all the resentment you felt towards the troll, you can't help but still feel attracted to him. You see as Branch invites Poppy to dance with him, which she agrees to, you were a bit disappointed when JD didn't ask you to dance with them but it has been 20 years, maybe he still felt awkward around you. You felt a slight blush form on your cheek as you started to daydream about the past, smiling to yourself, as you stared at JD while he performed with his brothers. After the performance ended you still couldn't stop staring at JD, it was like you were in your own world, daydreaming about the past. You get snapped back to reality when Branch snaps his fingers in your face saying "Y/N? Y/N!" "Huh?! What?" You answer, snapping back to reality, Branch looks at what you're staring at and realizes you were watching JD, he then smirks "Still down bad for my brother huh?" He says before chuckling "Don't be ridiculous" You answer back, your blush darkening a bit, it felt like you were a teenager who had a crush right now "Sure, well we're about to leave so come on" Branch says, as you follow him to Rhonda, all of you were driving but don't have a clue to where Clay was

(TBC)

Branch then notices Clay's old Funderdrawers saying "You kept these?" "That's a bit gross" You say a bit disgusted by the thought of how they would be smelling by now, John replies "What? Their memorabilia but I'll be gosh darned if that'll help us find clay" "You sound like a dad right now" You say laughing, John rolls his eyes "Well I'm glad you kept them" Branch says, Opening the case which held Clay's Funderdrawers, it released a not so good smell which may or may not have made you gag, Branch made Rhonda smell it and follow the trace to where Clay is "Welp, Clay here we come" You say.

Author's Note: I now just realized that I forgot to include tiny diamond in the movie. I swear he's one of my favorite characters but he completely slipped my mind when writing this. I'm so sorry. I've only seen the movie once and it was in cinemas. Now I'm just seeing small clips from TikTok. Sorry again if this isn't quite accurate. Also sorry for the slow release. It's exam week so it's hard to release new stuff. Also again this is the first fic I've been fully dedicated to so sorry if my writing is bad, I do accept feedback and any tips on how to make my writing not so messy will be very appreciated

[bobbile-blog]

Arknights Lore Recap: End of 2023

Here I was, thinking my last post would be sufficient, but they keep on adding more gosh darn lore. Half a year has gone by since my last post, so I thought I'd update things and make another post of "where is everyone at the moment" to help keep all these plotlines straight. So, here's the sequel! More events, more organization since it's no longer a half-assed post I wrote on my phone in an hour, and you'd better believe we've got more lore to get through.

(Of course, spoilers for the current state of basically everything in Global, though they'll be the kind of "current events" spoilers to help you understand where we are at the moment)

Currently Active Plotlines:

Main Story act II: Main story chapters/ What the Firelight Casts, Amiya/ Siege/ Stainless/ Shining/ W/ Kal'tsit/ Doctor/ Closure/ etc.

Act 2 is in full swing, and oh boy do we have some politics to wade through. The general idea, minimizing spoilers, is that the Royal Court of the Sarkaz have taken over Londinum and intend to expand further using the catastrophe-creating superweapon The Shard. They're led by Theresis and the (mostly) united Sarkaz lords, and with a mercenary army they basically rule Victoria as an occupying power. Their power is concentrated in Londinum, the only city they really formally occupy, but as they control the seat of the country's power they effectively have the rest of the country at their mercy.

Opposing them are a number of factions. Firstly, the coalition of Victorian Nobles that have ruled the country (and that technically invited the Sarkaz to Victoria in the first place) want the throne again. There are a few specific nobles we deal with in ch12 but the implication is the politics will be elaborated on in the next chapter so we'll leave it there, the point is that they're the Victorian establishment trying to go back to old Victoria which means they suck. They're also working with Dublinn, who are collaborating with the Duke of Wellington(?) who is sympathetic to their causes. The Nobles have just recently gone to formal war with the Sarkaz, but they also all hate each other and will absolutely stab each other in the back whenever possible.

Besides them, there are also a couple of smaller underground resistance factions. The Londinum Self-salvation Corps, or Eartha, is a guarilla resistance movement who is currently getting their asses handed to them by the Sarkaz. They basically existed solely because the Sarkaz hadn't bothered to wipe them out yet, and have currently evacuated all of their surviving personnel out of the city. Additionally, there's a group of Victorian soldiers led by Commander Skamandros who have been sticking their noses into things. If I recall correctly, they're trying to evacuate Londinum as well.

Finally, we have Rhodes Island. We're here because of the classic D&D reason of "well all our plotlines seem to end up in this general area so I guess that's where we're going". Amiya and Kal'tsit feel somewhat responsible for not stopping Theresis and Amiya specifically is probably the only person with the right to challenge Theresis for the throne of the Sarkaz. Bagpipe and Reed (and Ch'en) are dealing with Dublinn things, so they have to be around here. Shining is a Confessarius and her evil wizard family is supporting Theresis so she's got stuff to do there. Siege is the last surviving member of the Victorian Royal family, so she's bound by blood and obligation to reclaim the throne, as well as just generally wanting to help the people of Victoria. Hoderer is currently in the employ of the Sarkaz and Innes is working in Londinum as a spy for Rhodes Island, so W wants to head there too. There's a lot going on, far too much to describe, so I'll leave things at "we have half a dozen personal plotlines to pursue there" so I can move on to the actual side events.

The Devil's Dragonball Fusion Dance: Ancient Forge(?)/ Who is Real/ Invitation to Wine/ Where Vernal Winds will Never Blow, Nian/ Dusk/ Ling/ Chong Yue/ Lava/ Kroos/ Lee/ Waai Fu/ Lin/ Zuo Le/Liang Xun

This one is updated pretty regularly as the CN new year event. The short lore overview is that Yan used to be populated by godlike beings called Feranmuts. Feranmuts fought a war with people, which concluded when a Feranmut named Sui betrayed his people because they wanted to be the only one with their kind of powers. After the war, the emperor of Yan (China analogue) split him into 12 fragments which eventually developed their own identities and personalities - these are the Sui siblings, i.e. Nian, Dusk, Ling, Chong Yue, etc. Once all twelve of these siblings meet again, they will reform back into Sui and they'll probably take over the world or whatever. We don't know exactly but it won't be good.

There are currently three parties interested in gathering the siblings, and one trying to prevent them. Firstly, the Second Brother (who is currently unnamed) is just a little crazy, and is currently working with the Yanese ministry of rites to revive Sui. We don't know a ton about him, but we know he's somehow split himself into fragments and scattered himself across the land. Secondly, Ya is another Feranmut that survived the old war and wants revenge on Yan and Sui. They want Sui revived so they can have a proper form of revenge on Them, and are currently in control of the Shanhaizhong bandits kinda just causing issues wherever They can. Finally, Nian and her siblings at Rhodes Island also want to gather the siblings, but not to re-form Sui. She has some sort of plan to bring the siblings together without losing themselves, and is working with Rhodes Island to accomplish it. Similarly, we don't know a lot about her plan, but they're generally the protagonists of the events. Finally, Zuo Le is an official in a Yanese organization called the Sui Regulator, whose job is to monitor and secure the remaining Feranmuts and the fragments of Sui. Zuo Le is doing his best, but he's a little out of his weight class, so most of what he does is follow the Sui fragments around and try to figure out what the hell is going on.

The Call of We Many: Grani and the Knight’s Treasure/ Under Tides/ Stultifera Navis/ Mizuki and Caerula Arbor (Integrated Strategies 3), Skadi/ Specter/ Gladiia/ Kal’tsit.

Was updated pretty frequently as an anniversary event, but they seem to have thrown us a big lore dump with Caerula Arbor and left it at that for the time being, which is understandable. The lore here is the Seaborn are a race decended from some early Feranmuts who are basically a constantly-evolving devouring swarm. They exist to consume and assimilate all of the life on the planet, and unless we are very very careful and work very very quickly they are going to do just that.

The state of the plot at the moment is a little odd. Because Mizuki and Caerula Arbor isn't canon, the plot is still at the end of Stultifera Navis. Specter has recovered her self, and the team of Abyssal hunters is delving deeper into the current state of the seaborn. Their former leader, Ulpanius, has shown up to warn them not to return to Aegir, and while the Stultifera Navis sank the lighthouse was recovered and some trinkets from the ship made it back. We aren't really sure where we're going from here, but it's not necessarily to Caerula Arbor. Basically, the canon lore of IS3 is that on a mission to the Iberian Coastline, the Doctor and Mizuki found a weird seaborn monument, and Mizuki used their connection to the Seaborn's minds to look into alternate timelines and show them to the Doctor. That means that while the events of the story are not canon, the Doctor may still know and reference the events in the story. I'm not going to go over all of IS3 because there's so much of it but you can find a rough summary here.

Fangs of the Signiori dei Lupi: Hinted earlier in the main story/ Il Siracusano, Texas/ Emperor/ Lapland/ Projekt Red/ Lunacub.

This is the newest of these plots, set up in Il Siracusano and presumably proceeding from there. The Feraerus are supernatural talking animals that we’ve encountered a couple of times throughout the story, like the High Priest or the Emperor. They are connected with the land and are almost akin to guardians of it. They don’t need Originium for their magic, and are tied to the setting in ways we don’t quite understand yet. More importantly to us, though, they’re involved in their own power struggles and contests among each other. This underscored the drama in Il Siracusano - the whole Bellone family was propped up by the wolf Feraerus Zarro as part of an ancient game in which the wolves pick champions, called Fangs, who fight each other in a Battle Royale to decide the pack’s next alpha a la the fake wolf study. We know a couple of the fangs - Lunacub is one and Bernardo was another before his death, but Projekt Red is also a Fang, as well as Crownslayer’s mentor, so we’ll probably be coming back to this conflict in the future. It's unclear how we'll approach it, though, as Bernardo and Lunacub's files seem to imply that the eventual goal will breaking free of this game.

Law and Otherwise: Guide Ahead, Fiametta/ Mostima/ Andoain/ Cecile/ Lemuen/ Pope Yvangelista XI/ Law/ Executor/ Enforcer

This one hasn't been super developed yet, but it's worth including with both Hortus de Escapismo and Zwillingstürme im Herbst coming up. Laterano, the city of the Sankta, is governed by immutable laws that are engraved onto the very bodies of the Sankta. In Guide Ahead, Andoain seeks to ask the Pope the question of why the Sankta do not help the people of the world. He learns that the laws that bind the Sankta are real, physical commandments enforced by Law, a robotic entity similar to the Preserver from Lonetrail, and the consequences and exceptions relating to the law are entirely at its discretion. The law is what it is because Law says so.

The Sami Icefields

This hasn’t technically gotten an event yet, besides that one story in Operational Intelligence, but I’m including it as an honorable mention because we’re going there for IS4. The Icefields are up north of Ursus, and they are terrifying. You remember the Emperor’s Blade, the one that kicks your ass in WD-8? Yeah we only see three of them in the game because the rest are busy fighting against the Eldritch demons constantly invading from the Sami Icefields. Let’s please never go there ever, thanks.

Finished Plotlines:

These two are complete plots, which I'm including for posterity and the worldstate. Spoilers for all of these events, but I'll try to keep things to the present so as to not spoil too much.

The Grand Knight Major: Maria Nearl/ Pinus Sylvestris/ Near Light/ Obscure Wanderer, Blemishine/ Zofia/ Nearl/ The Followers/ Flametail/ Ashlock/ Fartooth/ Wildmane/ Justice Knight my beloved/ Gravel/ Platinum/ Roy/ Monique/ Młynar.

Margaret Nearl won the 24th Major and became the Grand Knight, and has since stayed in Kazimierz to improve living conditions for the infected and push back against the General Chamber of Commerce. The Armorless Union has mostly been decapitated - the Platinum defected, the Lazurites have disappeared and taken on new identities, and the Darksteel has promised to stay away from Margaret and Rhodes Island. Pinus Sylvestris and most of the rest of the Nearls are now on the landship, working for Rhodes Island.

A New Age is Upon Us: Mansfield Break/ Dorothy’s Vision/ Lonetrail/ the second Records of Originium comic (which has an official translation that you should absolutely read it’s really good)/ the Friston-3 event whenever Yostar decides to get around to releasing it, Silence/ Ptilopsis/ Saria/ Ifrit/ Dorothy/ Mulesyse/ Ferdinand/ Rosemontis/ Ho’olheyak/ Kirsten.

After the events of Project Horizon, Terra has forever been changed. For just a fleeting moment, every living being in Terra looked up and saw the stars for the first time. The consequences of this aren't totally clear just yet, but it will almost have rippling effects across the world and marks a shift in the game's story as a whole. We also received confirmation of just who the Doctor truly is, and a look behind the curtain of Terra's history. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that nothing is the same after Lonetrail.

In more specific character terms, though, Saria is the new control of Rhine lab, with Silence as her assistant and ethics advisor. Ifrit is a big girl now, and practically a different character entirely from who she was at the start of the game - seriously, her character arc might be my favorite in the game. Rosemontis has also similarly faced her past and come out stronger, and not only Directors Dorothy and Mulesyse but also Maylander agent Ho'olheyak have come over to Rhodes Island in the chaos after Project Horizon. Finally, Rhodes Island has uncovered the real powers lying behind the scenes of Columbian Politics, but have in turn been noticed themselves. We are no longer in the shadows, and it would be wise to keep that in mind.

[tobiasdrake]

Flashback o'clock with Valere and Zale.

Staff Girl and Sword Boy are pretty standard tropes but I appreciate that Valere and Zale think they're being clever by coming up with it. Credit to Valere all the same for using her staff for martial arts instead of spellcasting.

I mean, we're supposed to learn to "use magic without using magic" so I assume they'll both be spellcasting at some point. But my point is, Valere isn't slotted in the Dedicated Caster role. By her own admission here, she picked the staff because she wants a beatstick to bludgeon her enemies with.

She's in the box, but she's being innovative about it.

NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH, you don't get off that easy. What's your weapon gonna be, Garl? We've got beatstick and slashy blade covered so might I suggest something long-range like a bow?

Is that our plan? Because I gotta tell you, I've been down that road before. And while the magical kingdom of Disney Animation is indeed a treasure trove of wonderment, it comes packaged with. Just. The wildest bull crap you've ever heard in your life.

She's nice, but a bit shallow in terms of personality. She was an early character when the writing wasn't all there. Her villain, however, is one of the all-time most popular in the brand.

Ohhh, you mean the Midgard Serpent.

Yeah. No. Don't frick with that. Bad things happen if he wakes up.

Somebody's going to block those holes at some point. I know it. You know it. Any sedative that relies on a geographic feature is easy to interfere with.

Um. Are. Are they.

Did we already harvest most of them? Because this is an awful lot of space for nine crops.

Does our village have problems and no one's telling me about it 'cause I'm just a little one?

And what the hell are these? They are not in the designated crop field.

Is our farmer skimming off the top? Are we going hungry so he can have his own secret blue melon stash?

I found an adult!

These two look like the Pokemon Legends ancient past leaders for Team Magma and Team Aqua.

Oh, she looks terrifying in sprite portrait. Any human being that has more bones outside their skin than in is not to be fucked with. General rule of thumb.

Are we about to see the "Zale smacks a sunball with his bare hand" incident? Because I'll be a little miffed if they repeat that joke but I'll also be too busy laughing to care.

I love her confidence. Valere only wants one thing out of life: Validation for how hard she can hit a person with a stick. She has feral goblin energy and I'm here for it.

Fucking rude. I hate this guy already. I'm going to drown him.

OMINOUS. Erlina has some damage that she's not talking about, on account of the fact that we're like ten. I'm starting to get the impression that this whole Solstice Warrior thing isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Do they pair a Sun and Moon person for every mission? Or do Sun people and Moon people have their own stuff they do on their own, and they only get paired up sometimes? I'm very curious to understand how that works.

Oh, sweet! THIS IS MY HOLY TIME. Sorry, Zale, but as a Moon person, the night of the full moon is my holiday. That means you have to do whatever I tell you to. Those are the rules that I just made up.

Go fetch me a blue-melon soda.

That sounds like a wonderful place to visit multiple times. I'm there.

Oh, shoot, this is the mistake that cost us Garl, isn't it?

Wait, that's our plan? B&E in a place literally called Forbidden and then run straight to the authority figure and brag about what we've done?

Yeah, I see that ending super well for us. This is a great idea. I'm happy to be a part of it.

Hahahahahaha we're so going to get banished. Well, I guess we might as well--

EVEN MORE SPARKLE MELONS in another random patch! Okay, so maybe he's not skimming off the top. Maybe he just doesn't freaking know how to plant them in the gosh darned field.

[koppiki]

gah, I HATE how long chapter 30 is taking to get out, and I also hate that my ability to translate more chapters is directly tied to my sureness that it will actually COME OUT at any point, given how things are going, it's not really anyone's fault, but when stuff takes so long I start feeling like it'll never happen again y'know?

doesn't help that my cleaner has gone what I would charitably call "minimum contact," so I got NO fuckin' clue what the progress/situation is on ANY of that, I would get more cleaners but I have known this man for like SEVEN YEARS (since high school) so like... I feel like I can't do that

oh also still looking for a typesetter for Q, What is Love, not that anyone here would necessarily interface because of that, but I figure may as well say it anywhere that I can

especially since it seems I can't actually make a damn CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENT when the chapter ain't gonna be OUT

thankfully takeshino works pretty quick (and is communicative) so at least once the cleans are done (as they are now) I get some gosh-darn EMOTIONAL SECURITY for once, feeling like it'll actually get done

I also just feel bad for leaving people on cliffhangers, I guess- chapter 29 is a real cliffhanger, after all. Chapter 30 is not. On account of being... the last chapter of the volume. Those don't tend to be quite so cliffhangery. Except in romcoms. Which this is not. It is a com, though. Solidly a com.

OH I also read a gl that I thought was quite good called "Throw Away the Suit Together." With the period and everything, in the romanized title. I really liked it. The art was great, and was used to good effect in expressing the emotions and whatnot. Good stuff. I also just tend to like any gl that isn't just... schoolgirls. Since, y'know, over-saturated, and not relatable, and tends to have all those issues of like... implying that bein' a lesbian is just a phase, or some weird pure thing to be put on a pedestal, or anything like that. This doesn't have that. It does have explicit imagery though, so don't read it if you don't like that sort of thing. If you don't mind it, though, this is expressly a recommendation to go and check it out.

my sleep schedule has been slipping. I need to get up at 8 now, which means I need to go to bed before 12, and I am not doing that now. I was doing it for a while. Today and yesterday, not so. Probably still fine. I'll get used to it.

Oh, I also started reading the Kamonohashi Ron mango that my dear mutual headinabox posted about, since it looked interesting, and it certainly is! Deeply fun manga. Really enjoying it so far.

I ALSO read Futari Escape (very good), My Solo Exchange Diary (excellent, and I didn't know it existed until just recently), Mizuno and Chayama (quite good, if disjointed- the artistry made up for it though), Hello, Melanchoic! (fun one)... and started and dropped some other stuff that wasn't so good.

When I read My Solo Exchange Diary, I read it in math class. This would've been a bad call if the math teacher was good, because it meant I would've missed out on Crucial Learning, but (un)fortunately he is a very not-so-good teacher (who I have had the misfortune of having before) so... is good. But it was also STILL not a good call, because that mango made me cry, and crying is not really what I want to be doing in Discrete Math. Usually. Really good, though. Sorta wish I had read it at home so I didn't have to tamper my emotional responses.

Also back to the ron mango, I read that one in modern physics. Which was actually a bad call, as that class calls for pretty active participation, so I got in a little bit of trouble. I blame the mango, for being too enjoyable. How dare it distract me (I guess). Ha.

I wanna talk more about mangoes with people. I don't get a ton of opportunities to do it? I mean, I do get opportunities. I got the fishcord, and that has discussion aplenty should the situation arise. I guess I just meant... vocally. In person. That sort of thing. Don't know a lot of in-person folks that share my hobbies, or at least that aspect of them. I got folks I play games with, certainly, and they know me well enough now (and are comfortable enough with their sexuality) for me to talk about that sort of thing, but the mangoes (especially translation, and any gls and bls) remain pretty solidly outside of their zone. Not that that's a problem. I'm content on my own, in this specific case. Mostly. Though I guess half the reason I read these things is to fill that on-my-own-edness, so... sort of a... catch-22? I want to talk about the things I read, but I read the things I read because I don't have so many folks to talk to. Not really an exact cyclical relationship (cuts out a lot of middlemen) but it sorta is? If you squint?

Oversimplification is a bad thing to do, but sometimes it's all you can do.

Anyways, if you actually read all this, hello. How are you? I hope all is well. Enjoy your day, and all that. Reading my solo exchange diary kinda made my brain go funky (in a good way, I think? somewhat?) with respect to conceptualizations of relationships and interpersonal reactions generally. Makes me both... want to try talking to people, and more okay with the fact that I don't talk to as many. Though she is certainly right that it's important to have a variety of people to spread the load amongst, as it were. Can't get all my social interaction (even though I don't necessarily need a ton) from just the same one guy. I imagine it's bothersome, somewhat. Much like this would be if I actually said it to someone. That's why typing is a magical thing. I don't need to say it, and there's no obligation to read it. It just is, and if someone reads it, that's on them. It's not like it's addressed to anyone, it's not like there's social expectation... though I guess on the other side of things, it makes it all that less likely to actually be heard or responded to.

Which, I think, is sort of half the point of saying anything in the first place. So, whatever.

[apompkwrites]

More thoughts on our lil poly group… I’m also lowkey trying to figure out group/throuple puns. So far, I have Octopoly-ing(cause I don’t know how to spell) F-eel-ings. Cause. Well. I love puns. Octopoly cause… octopus… poly… and F-eel-ings cause… well… we got some eels. It kinda sounds like “Occupying Feelings” soooo…

I’m also wondering for lil Leech, they seem to also have a lil ahoge. They seem resemble Jade with what side it’s on, but I can’t help but ask is that their only ahoge? Maybe they have two like Riddle but instead of forming a heart, they just frame lil Leech’s face?

…I’m also wondering about Aster(I’m calling the electric eel aster now)’s UM… Jade’s UM’s phrase is literally “Shock the Heart”, soooo… makes me wonder about our lil electrify friend’s UM… is it electri-terrifying? I feel a lil bad cause I love puns but I know not all folks like puns and may even find them cringy… but puns are so nice…

Ooooh! Would any of them have something like Jade and Floyd’s earrings? Be it two out of the three or all three? I’m also imagining lil Ashengrotto maybe shyly giving them a present and being scared of their reactions so they aren’t really looking at the two and the two just��� look at the gifts… look at each other… and silently solidify even more if not already established their relationship of protecting our lil octo at all costs…

Dang it! I am so soft for them! I did not expect to get so soft and attached to them gosh darn it! I guess you can say… they’re Octopolying my thoughts ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

hehe octopoly

so for leech!(name)'s lil ahoge, i like the idea of them having two? kinda like lil ears in their hair. but but! they kinda look like their fin ear things when they're in human form? like its less obvious when they're in eel form but human form it sorta looks more like fins :D i'm kinda obsessed with the idea that the twins each have designs on one side while (name) has the design in the middle?

like, think they always take photos with (name) in the middle and floyd and jade to the left and right.

so im not actually too sure about aster's UM? because i sorta based him off of one of my electric eel ocs that already exist for twst. so i'll try and give it more thought and probably do a deep dive on him someday :)

so on their own, leech!(name) would definitely have had a pair of matching earrings with their brothers. whether or not they choose to wear them... who knows? but as a trio, they'd definitely wear something that unites them all :))

maybe ashengrotto!(name) has a lil necklace (kinda like ursula) and then the eels have maybe some sort of rings? because leech!(name) doesn't wanna have a connection with their brothers depending on their relationship.

and yes yes if the eel duo gets a gift from their precious lil octopus, they'd freeze and just be like "oh my seven we love them"

[sapphire-strikes]

<Previous -First- Next>

~

"Okay, okay! An animal?" You paused, thinking for a second. "How about a turtle? Can you...do a turtle?" You said, satisfied with your answer.

Ronbo seemed to perk right back up, nodding dutifully and you sighed in relief, at least he wasn't upset anymore. Right away, the clown got to work blowing up and twisting various colored balloons and Kamal even came up behind you once again to better watch him work as well, leaning against the back of your chair. You decided it best to sit and wait this part out quietly. Ronbo seemed like he knew what he was doing, and for now, you guess you had nothing better to do than play along, for Ronbos sake at least.

After a minute he finally finished. "There, all done!" He held it out to you and there was a long moment of silence before you just kind of glanced downward at your restraints. "O-oh, yeah sorry!" He apologized, stepping forward and setting the balloon turtle onto your lap.

"Thanks, it's awesome." It actually was. A turtle just like you'd asked, but you were just a little worried you didn't sound convincing, the oddness of the situations weighing on your ability to sound enthusiastic just a bit. He didn't seem to notice though.

"Well, I'm glad you like it!" He beamed bashfully, clearly happy with your response. "I can do as many as you like, just for you! Just consider this one a demonstration for later!"

"For...later?"

"Yeah, for later! You just gotta tell us when!" Ronbo stated, intertwining his fingers and resting his hands on his chest as he looked at you expectantly.

"What, no, okay, hang on? 'When'? What are you talking about, 'when'. Could you tell me what this is all about?" You didn't want to sound angry but it came out exasperated nonetheless. "Please tell me what is going on, I have never been more confused in my life." You continued, if you were gonna get any answers maybe it would be now.

Ronbo tensed at your outburst, taking a quick step back. He didn't seem upset by it at least, just clearly surprised, but before he could respond-

"Still not convinced?" Kamal stepped up right on queue, wrapping an arm around Ronbo sadly. "Darn, I thought that would have done it for sure."

Whatever question Ronbo was about to ask you, he seemed to take Kamal's words as the answer, looking between the two of you and then lowering his head sadly. "Oh...I'm sorry...." He apologized, speaking to Kamal. "I couldn't bring them around to the idea after all..."

"Hey, I didn't say anything like that I just...are you listening to me?" You asked, but the two of them had their backs turned to you now as Kamal comforted Ronbo.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Don't get discouraged, we've got more than one card up our sleeve. Go ahead and sit the rest of this out, and keep those balloons at the ready." Kamal punched him in the arm playful, trying to cheer him up, and it seemed to do the trick as Ronbo nodded a lot more determined this time.

"Wait, wait, Ronbo, don't go! I'M BEING HELD HERE AGAINST MY-" But Kamal had already ushered him out the door, shutting it closed tight once again. Afterward, he stood there for a moment, hand still on the knob with his back to you and you only glowered at him.

Another long sigh left his mouth. "I'll be honest, I hadn't expected you to be such a tough nut to crack." He approached you and rapped his knuckles against your head lightly. "Probably should be used to that from you now though, huh?"

"Kamal, will you just talk to me? Come on, what's going on? What's he upset about? Was it something that I did or said?"

"Eh, more like something you won't say... if you wanna put it that way." He ran his fingers through your hair, ruffling it wildly and stepping back with a chuckle when you tried to headbutt his hand.

"Okay, fine." You rolled your eyes. "What do you WANT me to say?"

"If you really don't know, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet." He leaned in close once again. "You have gotta stop being so gosh~darn~secretive." He poked you in the forehead with each final word and your annoyed expression softened, choosing instead to stare down at the balloon on your lap. "Or...maybe you're just stubborn? So maybe we need to bring in someone good with words, soften you up a bit? It's not an interrogation without a little bit of negotiation after all."

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

A: "Kamal, I'm almost at my limit here. Please, just give me some answers."

B: "You said this is an interrogation, right? Then I want a lawyer!" (Play along for now)

C: *Remain silent*

D: ~Custom Response~

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

[nikibogwater]

Niki Blethers: The Book of Boba Fett--ep. 3

Oh boy. This episode was uh....well it was certainly a thing. Many things. Actually it kind of felt like it couldn't decide which thing it wanted to be, so it ended up trying to be everything. Which only worked in its favor a handful of times.

Also I'm beginning to think that maaaaaaybe Robert Rodriguez needs to work on something....not Star Wars? But I'll elaborate under the cut. Non-spoilery version is ep. 3 felt a little too chaotic and cluttered for me, and once again the action was noticeably clunky and slow. But there were a few good moments scattered in here and there, so I don't feel like it was a complete waste of my time.

Spoilers under the cut:

Gosh darn it, give this poor man a break. You're not even going to give him one full episode as a fully-initiated honorary Tusken before you murder the entire tribe???

Honestly, the sudden eradication of the Tuskens really did feel like Favreau just....didn't need them anymore, and decided to ditch them with a conveniently-timed tragic death. Since the series is still ongoing, I guess there's a possibility that this will be expanded on later, that this event will be given more weight. But as it is, it kind of felt like an afterthought, like something the plot just swept aside so we could get on with other things.

Also felt like this episode was trying a bit too hard to emulate the same kinds of emotional beats that season 1 of The Mandalorian hit so masterfully. Which is disappointing, because a) this show was never going to be The Mandalorian--that's a doomed attempt from the beginning. And b) I really want Book of Boba Fett to have its own unique flavor within the Star Wars canon. We already watched The Mandalorian. Give us something new, please.

That scummy water-dealer made me chuckle a bit. He's not exactly a new type of character, but there's just something amusing about slimy little businessmen trying to suck up to the local rich guy, whilst simultaneously doing nothing to hide the fact that they are indeed little pieces of slime.

So funny story--I was actually low-key expecting Boba Fett to adopt some kind of moody teenager at some point in the series. I wasn't expecting it to be four moody teenagers, but I'm not complaining.

. . . Okay, yes I am complaining because oh my sweet cheese and crackers, these are some of the worst character designs I've ever seen.

Seriously, these kids look like they were yoinked right off the set of Disney's Descendants and given no time to change costumes. They look jarringly out-of-place in the Star Wars universe, especially on a planet like Tatooine. You expect me to believe these poor little street waifs can't afford water? When they look like they've just gone on a massive Hot Topic shopping spree??? That girl's eyeliner is so distracting, I completely missed entire segments of action scenes.

Not that there was much to miss....Yeah the action in this episode was....pretty slow. Boba wrestling with the deranged Wookie looked more fake than your average WWE production. The "high-speed chase" felt more like we were cruising along at a chill 15 mph. None of the new kids did anything particularly cool or interesting, in spite of all the opportunities their cybernetic implants present from a creative standpoint.

This is all incredibly frustrating because I know Lucasfilm can do good action sequences. I love the idea of Boba employing a street gang of ragtag youngsters. I've been excited to see Temuera Morrison throw down with a Wookie. But this episode just...can't seem to figure out how to do any of those things properly.

I am beginning to think that perhaps this is all due to Robert Rodriguez' style of directing and filming. Because every episode he's directed (both in this series and in The Mandalorian) suffered from a lot of the same problems. And with last week's episode being directed by someone else, and feeling perfectly fine, it just makes me think that Rodriguez' style doesn't fit well with Star Wars.

That being said, I am 100% in support of Boba Fett being a stereotypical Horse Girl.

Seriously. The Rancor scene was a blessing I never knew I needed. Boba Fett is now a Grandpa With a Dog, and I love it so much. The absurdity of Boba giving the flesh-eating godzilla-spawn a scritch behind the ear-holes is exactly my brand of humor and I can't wait to find out what he names it.

So yeah, this episode is definitely my least favorite so far, but I can't say it's truly terrible. Again, I'm on board with pretty much every new concept they introduced here, but the way they went about executing said concepts was really rushed and clunky. I'm trying to be as nice to this show as possible (even though I'm REALLY starting to miss Din Djarin), so I'm going to hope that future episodes manage to smooth out all these problems.

. . . . . .Oh shoot, the Rancor's gonna die too, isn't it--

[emachinescat]

II've decided to watch MacGyver from the beginning (again), and I'm live tweeting the experience with every tweet tagged with #savemacgyver. I thought it would be fun to share my collected thoughts from the episodes on here as well.

My Thoughts on S1E3, "Awl"

You're not only going to make it to 30, Mac, but you're going to make it to season 6. #savemacgyver

I love that Jack's bucket list includes finishing the Harry Potter books. Guess he's not a one-trick pony after all with sci-fi. A healthy blend of science fiction and fantasy is just what the doctor ordered.

Dylan Thomas reference! That poem was written about the poet's own father, and is about how everyone, no matter who they are or what they stand for, fights against death in the end. He's begging his dad to "rage, rage against the dying of the light," to not give in to death so easily, to keep fighting. Just taught this poem, actually, so I'm vibing with this reference super hard. Though to be fair, I'd be vibing with it anyway. Love Dylan Thomas.

Oh my gosh, this is the one with the fire extinguisher and inflatable escape! I'd forgotten which episode that came from, but I see GIFs of it all over Tumblr. Poor Mac especially, that looks like it hurts. Why is Lucas Till so good at being whumped?!

Jack hugging the fire extinguisher: Iconic.

I'll never get tired of seeing that polar bear! Do we know if he has a name?

I cannot get over how small and excited Bozer is, not a care in the world except for his movie. It's exciting to think about what's to come for his character growth, though I do wish he wouldn't have to go through all the things he does. :(

Jack's conversations with his dad at the grave are just everything. And I feel cheated that we haven't gotten to see Mac have the same kind of conversations at Jack's grave (though I firmly believe it's a regular occurrence off-screen).

Seriously, the way he talks to his dad is so familiar, so comfortable, so natural. It's like Daddy Dalton is right there with him and it fills me with so many emotions that I can't even.

The smile on Jack's face and the pride in his voice when he talks about Mac to his dad is the purest thing ever.

Also, that's a big-ass tombstone Jack is leaning against.

"Hi, Mr. Dalton. How's... life?" MAC! 😂

I can't tell you how much I love it when other characters talk about how smart Mac is. "He's a genius..."

First mention of Mac's dad. It's sweet how invested Jack is in Mac rebuilding his relationship with his old man. Also, I really wish we would have gotten a flashback of Jack's dad at some point. He seems like such an amazing man.

"If I could have one more day to sit and talk to my dad instead of that hunk of rock, I'd do anything." Jaaaaaaack 😭😭😭

Good old Ralph Kastrati. Single-handedly the most annoying character in all of cable television. Y'all have no idea what you're getting into with this one, dream team.

PUNCHFACE.

"My mom dated a guy like that once." Ouch. I'm about to start a Riley Zinger Counter for each episode. Her comebacks are 🔥

It's not just his face, Jack. Everything about this dude is punchable. Especially the way he says "yo."

Ewwww tightie whities no thanks imma head hom now byyye

Mac just snatched that can right out of Jack's hand as he was about to take a drink. Classic.

If I didn't hate Ralph before (spoiler: I did), then I extra hate him for the foie gras comment.

Yes, Jack, "asshat" is the perfect descriptor for this guy.

Is Mac seriously about to just make him some noise-canceling headphones? Who am I kidding? Of course he is.

I need more of Mac punching people in the face. For science.

Poor Jack didn't get to punch the punch face.

🎵 Snipers gonna snipe, snipe, snipe, snipe, snipe 🎵

Between the foie gras and the calfskin, they are really making this guy so easy to hate just sayin'.

"As soon as you're done saving his life, I'm gonna kill him, you hear that, smart-ass? I'm already dressed for the funeral." 🤣🤣🤣🤣

"He's g-good. He just... got kinda shot." Is that the medical terminology, Mac?

Jack using country music as a form of torture 🤣

"You're going to be seeing Yelp stars if you don't shut up!"

Have I mentioned how much I love the music in this show?

"I don't wanna die listening to country music!"

I love how bossy and grabby Mac gets when he improvises.

Another belt grab! I can’t get over Jack trying to keep his crazy partner from falling out of the window – it gives me life!

Actually makes me wonder if he does it because Mac’s taken a tumble out of a car window before. *fanfic brain engaged*

“You know how I feel about your puns.” C’mon, Mac, pus are the greatest forms of humor, bar-pun. (Geddit?)

Mc made a C in biology? I’m not buying it.

Dwwwwwww the sounds of the surgery. No thanks.

Though I will say this is one of the coolest (albeit grossest) things Mac’s ever done on this show.

What the heck is with that elevator door? It took a whole 10 years to close! I wouldn’t trust it. (To be fair, I don’t trust any elevator, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Sir Bleeds-a-Lot lol

Riley stepping in and taking charge once again. No idea how these two functioned before she came along.

Some seriously cool MacGyverisms in this episode. The whole process of “killing” Ralph and bringing him back with office supplies is so OG MacGyver and it gives me all the warm fuzzies.

Ralph: “You’re not a scientist, you’re not a doctor. So how the hell do you know all this stuff?” Mac: “...I read a lot of books?” I love Mac so much.

“Now go die.” Lolololol

The moment with Ralph wanting to call his mom and grow the hell up is surprisingly genuine and heartbreaking. Character development for a character in only one episode, hello, is that you?

“He’s dead, but he’ll get better.” MacGyver, 2016

Riley’s comeback about Jack’s plan to take out six guys if Mac takes out two is another winner. (Riley: 2, Jack: 0) Still, I love the whole, “Sure it does [count as a plan]. First, I’ll take two. Then, I’ll take the other four.” This is why Mac is the plan guy, not Jack.

“Or I can take them all out.” Mac’s confidence = 🔥

I might need to start a Mac sass counter too. Jack: “You seriously want me to put this on my face?” Mac: “Only if you like breathing.”

Jack’s left fist getting jealous 🤣

They really liked choking Mac in the early episodes, didn’t they? Not that I’m complaining. Actually, why did that stop? That strangled, panicked cry of “JACK?!” is music to my fanfic writing, hurt/comfort obsessed, whump-loving soul.

That cough - it actually hurts me to hear it! They should have given us some more repercussions or aftercare for Mac breathing in that gas!

Ralph fell asleep. Of course.

“You know, it’s weird. I’m glad he’s alive… but I still want to kill him. 🤣 I’m with Jack on this one!

Ralph: “A fresh start. I could use one of those right?” Riley: “Or a whole new personality.” ZZZING!!! Riley: 1 million, the world: -10

Oh he did not just call Riley “little hottie.” I’m back to wanting to kill him, character development be darned. So diminutive, dehumanizing, and objectifying. This guy has more than won the douchebag lottery. Riley can more than stick up for herself, but still. The way he speaks to her here makes me feel all kinds of gross.

He just said “ya heard” unironically. Can we let Jack punch him now, please?

Jack offering to let Ralph keep the cash he lifted if he gets to punch him is great, but even better is Mac and Riley offering to chip in money for The Cause.

Oh, yeah, Bozer was in this episode. I’m excited for when he is utilized more!

Bozer’s monster Mac is nightmare fuel!

“A letter? That you put in the mail? It’s 2016.” Hey, as someone who has an actual, old-school type pen pal, step off, Jack.

Mac: “You just gonna watch?” Jack, offended: “Not anymore.” How is it Jack is like Mac’s dad but they also bicker like 5-year-olds? This relationship is so strange, so wonderful, and the heart of the show in so many ways. I love them.

Mac’s words of wisdom about the nature of life are actually super encouraging and exactly what I needed to hear today.

I’d forgotten how much I love this episode – t’s so fun! Although the Codex storyline in season 4 is probably my favorite plot-wise, coming back to these early episodes is like a breath of fresh air! Excellent, excellent episode with so much to offer!

What are your thoughts on "Awl?" I'd love to discuss! :)

[avengernerdone]

Me playing Skyrim: Aw yes, my daughters would love these mountain flowers. No chicken shall be harmed on my watch. My beautiful, amazing, talented, sweet wife Serana would probably like this view of the land. Oh gosh darn, bandits? Well I guess I'll have to go take care of them. No, no need to thank me. It's the fact that I helped a poor town is the true reward. I must bring honor as Harbinger, I must have the wisdom of all to lead the College. My purpose is for this land, and this land will be saved as long as I can weld my sword. Hear my thu'um!

Me playing Saints Row: Vroom vroom on side walk. Quicker. Punch people and they drop money which means I am rich. Rich means chicky nuggets. Pew pew pew pew pew. I hit you with big penis bat while wearing a towel. Gonna steal a plane to just jump out of it lmfaoooo. Maybe break into prison, I got nothing to do. Hey, hey Johnny look. Johnny. Johnny. Johnny? Perfection.

[guillermomo]

Live reaction for season 3 episode 8 (major spoilers)

Love Guillermo saying creepy paper, playing an instrument that looks like bagpipes. I love that outfit, very orange

New intro music????? I'm guessing it's Farsi? Fuck yeah!!!

The Guide taking part in the celebration too, does she just live there now??

Omg the puppet gift, why are the puppets in a nest. (LOVE NEST) Guillermo puppet has beady little eyes

Colin as a belly dancer, jesus christ

Not even Colin goes to bother Nandor when he's upset ahh

Oh no everyone avoiding him...

It seems like some new letters were added to Guillermos picture board, there's one with a butterfly, or maybe I just missed it before

*Gay little Gasp* "Nandor's in crisis"

Love Nadja trying her best to cheer him up, especially after her own feelings of unimportance in the last episode

Ooh Nandors so grumpy

Wellness Vampires... a concept

The bean bags... the synchronized smiles... Nandor this is a cult

Actually this is like an evangelical church

oh my god she removed her teeth... fucking hell Jan. Oh no they all have

Was that Michael Jackson on the wall of ex-vampires..?

She can drink water... yeah no she's vomitting the water lmao

He's not going down easy though, Nandor knows a trap.

Takes a candle with him, priorities.

Okay he's just horny again, that would explain him bypassing his fragile skepticism, i did see his eyes flicker when Jan went back to her desk

"Knoblord" thank you Laszlo for your endless supply of vaguely british insults

Oooooh Guillermo holding onto the bag and not letting go, fuck me

Oh my god.. Guillermo youre free, go baby go

"Ive been trying to find happiness too!"

Guillermo smiled but even he knew it wasnt for real. You can see the second his heart breaks

"IVE GROWN TO HAVE SOME AFFECTION FOR YOU"

"AND I FOR YOU" "Well obviously"

(Wwdits writers... you want to mirror this later on sooooo bad)

"Vampirism is a curse and I care for you too much to burden you with that. Boop. There's that smile " just end me.

Guillermo crying fuuuuck. I think this is the first time they're physically eye to eye given Guillermo is on the step. God. Poetic cinema.

Nandor left for a month omg...

Guillermo in total grey clothing... plain grey with no patterns. That says so much.

Holding the puppet to sleep.. he thinks this is payback for him leaving???? What are you ON my love. Why are you still here???

Ummm hip thrusts 👀

Nandors human clothes, theyre so cute and colourful. His skin looks darker, his hair... oh no. Well its growing on me I want to ruffle it.

Rips out their fangs every night, how brutal.

I wonder if the smile lesson will help Nandor interpret peoples emotions better

Guillermo being in denial still like "im going to check on him but not because i need to but because i need to"

Colin fart scent marking things is... a writers choice

Nandors little cheeky grin... smile lessons paid off

Guillermo really knows how to start but not how to finish a fight huh, almost like this was an impulsive, unplanned, thing for him to do. Completely loses his confidence lmaoooo

Hissing isnt a fang thing, huh

Yes yes yes see your bodyguard fighting!!! Its kinda weird to see Nandor be so passive

Accidentally hold Nandor's hand during your adrenaline fueled escape my man

"You need to chillax my friend!!"

How long is Nandor going to avoid using his powers for? He could easily have escaped Guillermo. Hm. Maybe he doesnt want to...

Hula hoop weaponry

"Pretty gosh darn human"

I wonder what made Nandor happy those decades ago..? The macarena probably. He wants to feel useful and powerful... baby. And Guillermo looking at him like "oh so being a vampire means I'll still feel powerless and like I don't belong" maybe being a vampire really isnt his end game, which sucks because he DESERVES to drink the blood of his enemies at least for a century.

The little smirk, Guillermo you dog

How the turn tables turn tables Nandy!!!

Ah Jan take lessons of tax evasion from Guillermo

[rixxy8173571m3w1p3]

Sweater Weather

I enjoy the headcanon of Doofus Rick having a variety of sweaters. And after looking at stock photos, I was inspired to write this fic. Hope you guys like it.

In this fic Ricks sweater causes some conflict.

____________

In the great vastness of space, one could learn the true meaning of loneliness. For miles upon miles, floating upon nothing, you could say it was like sailing across the sea. Yet, unlike the salt or crashing waves of the ocean, you two would navigate across star systems or avoid asteroid fields, while at the same time enjoy the peace which comes from being somewhere uncongested. However, as fascinating as it was to go on intergalactic, space adventures, one of the things you didn't enjoy was the extreme temperature changes; most of the time, you'd stay in the ship or stay home if a planet's climate was too cold for your taste, but on this occasion, Rick needed an extra pair of hands when you two stopped on Mars after spending most of the day at the Jerryboree.

After Zeta-7 had traded a few items of his own to obtain what he came for at a reduced price, you two ran as fast as you could back towards the ship, but by the time the ship was out of the Martian orbit, you were chilled to the bone. Rubbing your arms, you shivered. "I wonder if I'll ever get used to this."

Your breath came out like a cloud of smoke and the cold that had seemed mild at first had numbed your face and extremities. Rick turned up the heat, as well as turned on the seat warmers and offered you a freeze-dried Phytonian branch worm, but you passed on the offer. You knew it would have warned you up straight away, but the last time you tried one of those things, you had a stomach ache for three days. Concerned, he placed the ship on autopilot and did his best to search around in the back seat for anything you could use to warm up, but then as though it struck him on the head he groaned. "Darn it, I-I forgot that I removed the spare blanket to wash it."

"Where is it now?"

"I-I left it in the dryer."

You thought of telling him that it wasn't his fault he forgot it since you had distracted him this morning with a video about ninja cats, but it wouldn't have helped the situation. "Ricky," you tried to ease him with a weak smile but your teeth chattered. "it's not a big deal. Besides, we're not that far from home."

However, he wasn't convinced. You weren't as experienced when it came to space travel, but you knew well enough of the possible dangers associated with extreme body temperature shifts. The chill you had spread deep into your bones until you thought you'd rattle if shaken; a lick of fear traveling down your spine but otherwise you didn't feel too bad. Nonetheless, Rick was concerned for your well-being, and knowing you two were hundreds of thousands of miles away from your dimension's version of Earth, he made a decisive decision and started removing articles of his own clothing. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

With a blush, he handed you not only his knitted Jerry sweater but also his labcoat; leaving him in a thin t-shirt which had a snoopy patch on the right shoulder; how cute. "I hope it'll s-suffice until we get home."

"But what about you? What are you going to wear?"

Flashing you a stern look which left little room for argument, you slipped on his sweater and lab coat, and was delighted to feel a little more like yourself and relaxed by its scent; it was his essence; that of vanilla, of his home, and something you couldn't quite think of; chemicals perhaps. "Hmm, your clothes are a lot more comfortable than I expected them to be. How um…..how do I look?"

Turning down the lights and switching back to manual, he nodded. "It suits you m-mi corazón."

You admired its softness and passed your hand over the tight, twisted knit. It was a lovely shade of light sage green, and had a picture of a smiling Jerry holding a titanic ship model; you thought it was sweet that it was a picture of his friend. So many things this man-made or owned had a purpose or a story; this piece was most likely made to brighten up the day that the Jerrys in his care were having. Your Rick really was a good man; better yet because he saw the value in regular folk who probably didn't see it in themselves. "I like your clothes, Rick," you commented; your heart warmed by his goodness. "they seem to carry bits of you in them."

"Th-that could be said about any piece of clothing that's been worn. They carry bits of our DNA." he stated matter of factly.

"Eh….that's... I mean I get that, but that's not where I was going with this. I meant that they're soft and warm like you Ricky. You enjoy dressing comfortably, don't you? You own a variety of sweaters."

"Wh-who doesn't? I've sort of been dressing th-the same way for the last twenty or so years but when I met you, I had more opportunities to dress up. However, the older I get, the more often I'm in need of something a-a bit warmer and gentler on my skin. Actually, some of my clothes are locked to my particular genetic signature so that they'll or adjust according to the weather or climate. That way, I'll have less t-to carry on certain excursions."

"Incredible, that'll certainly come in handy, but can I ask you something?"

"Y-yes?"

"I know you're focused on driving," you started, wondering if your assumptions were correct. "but is there a reason why you haven't looked me in the eyes since we left Mars, or am I just thinking too much?"

He visibly stiffened, but he still didn't face you. Rick seemed troubled, for he tightened his grip on the wheel. Maybe this hadn't been the best time to ask, but what else could you have done? If you didn't ask, how else would you have known? Still, if you had waited, you would've noticed the red light blinking on the control panel sooner. It was a caution light, but you weren't so concerned, but you should've been.

Rick had opened his mouth to answer, with a faraway look in his eyes, but in the blink of an eye he made a sharp left turn around some space junk; jostling you two as well as the cargo. That was another thing you hated about space was Earth's contribution to its pollution. Unknowingly, you two had deviated from the usual course by a few miles, leading you two into a dangerous situation. Whether it was the fault of his navigation equipment or his lack of focus you didn't know, but it took a couple of minutes of evading space junk before you two could breathe a sigh of relief. And at the first opportunity, he switched the ship back to autopilot. "I'm s-sorry about that. I'm usually a better driver." he started, scratching the back of his neck as he glanced out the window in search of an answer in the emptiness of space. You couldn't see anything except for a few stars and the Earth straight ahead, but you had a feeling that where he was looking was somewhere you couldn't see. When he was ready, he turned around in his seat to glance at you, but then quickly turned back to face the steering wheel. How odd. "T-t-to answer your question," he stammered. "y-you're not thinking too much. I've just been distracted."

"Oh, okay."

"Are y-you alright? Nothing hurts does it?"

"I mean, other than feeling wide awake now, no harm was done I guess, but what happened? It isn't like you to let your mind wander while we're out here. Rick, would you like me to take over the wheel so you can straighten out your thoughts?"

"No, it's not - I can do it. I got this."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm, as long as I-I focus on the wheel."

He hadn't really answered your original question, but since you guys nearly avoided death, it probably wasn't a good time.

________

He parked the ship in his garage, and since it wasn't that late, you two walked over to your home. Rick hadn't said much since earlier, but you figured he'd let you know what was bothering him later. As soon as you crossed the threshold of your home, you started a pot of coffee for Rick to drink when it was ready. Then, you got a blanket from the closet and offered it to him just in case he was cold, but he didn't care for one. He was still in a mood, and you wondered if the reason you'd upset him was that you were still wearing his sweater. "You probably want this back right?"

Slipping out of his sweater and labcoat, you felt the temperature difference immediately and took up the blanket you had taken out and wrapped it around yourself. "Thanks for letting me borrow them. I'll be sure to pack something with me next time."

"I'm n-not sure if that's such a-a good idea." he said with seriousness.

"What do you mean?"

The lines around his eyes deepened, as well as the creases of his forehead, and there was a pensive cloudiness of his usually electric blues. Frustrated, he bit down on his lip almost hard enough to make it bleed. "B-because it's distracting."

"What?"

He continued. "I-I should've brought you home first or gotten the parts a different time."

"But I thought you wanted help." you sniffled.

"Y-you don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" you retorted; sinking into the couch as tears stung the back of your eyes, and threatened to come out. "You...you don't want me to help you anymore? I thought we were a team."

Your saddened state shifted his sour mood, and he apologized. "Gosh, please don't cry mi corazón, I-I didn't mean it."

"But you sai-"

"I'm not upset at you," he reassured you. "I'm disappointed in myself for allowing this to happen. I've become complacent and I-I should've been prepared. You could've gotten sick, hurt, or worse just because I got distracted. Next time I'll bring you your own sweater and snacks or whatever you want."

"Is it because you don't want me wearing yours? Did I ruin it or something?"

"No, it's because," he swallowed, unsure how to broach the subject. "cuando lo usas, es… es apretado."

What? You understood the part where he said you used it, but not the rest. Pulling out your phone from your pocket, you asked Google what all of that just meant, but the answer you got didn't help. "Rick, should I be offended?"

"I-I hope not. I promise it's not what you're thinking."

"Then what is it? I'm not getting any clear answers here."

"I um - I'm sorry if I offended you. It's not what I intended to do. I know what I'm about t-to tell you sounds silly since I had hoped I'd outgrow this, but I still feel shy around you."

This much you did know. He was overly conscious of himself, his actions, and how he might disappoint or be lacking, but most of all was hateful of his own inadequacies. Yet, for where he found fault, you found virtue and you would remind him of that, but in this case, you simply needed to listen. "That's okay, I already knew that."

"I don't feel like that all the time, but today I got embarrassed all of a sudden. I-I don't know what happened. Y-you were wearing my clothes and I saw your silhouette in the starlight and I got nervous."

Huh? That's what was bothering him?

"Why?"

"It um - it made me wonder what it'd be like if we lived together and…oh, it's embarrassing."

The hand which he had resting on the couch gripped the fabric tightly, and he was mortified because he had been distracted by you; which under normal circumstances he'd be able to remain calm. Covering his hand with yours, you gave him a squeeze."No, I would like to hear what you were thinking about very much."

Lacing his fingers with yours, you two sat there for a matter of minutes as he gathered his thoughts together. When he calmed a little, he confessed. "I thought about what it'd be like t-to wake up right next t-to you and not be alone anymore. I-I think about it a lot."

"Oh." That hadn't been what you expected. However, was it really so strange? He had intended to propose months ago, but ever since the moment had been spoiled he hadn't attempted to try again; if it had gone well, you two might've been married by now. Though, who was to say he didn't dream of it? Of what he'd always wanted, of a family or of the life in which he needed? Perhaps gentle encouragement wouldn't hurt.

"You know," you responded with a serious, but gentle candor. "you're not the only one who thinks about us living together. I'm very happy here and I love what we do together. And although we've had times where we respected one another's space, I don't mind if that changes. However, there are things that aren't so simple. For example, if I would've known that I could borrow your clothes whenever I liked I would've done so more often. Though, only if you hadn't been concerned about me getting accidentally poisoned by chemicals or radiation. Remember that time you literally fought with the laundry?"

"I do remember," he answered wistfully. "it's what prompted me t-to teach you how to use the freeze ray and laser gun correctly."

"I think the longer we're together, the more our lives will intertwine. Meaning, the more we move forward, the more training I'm going to need to fit into this lifestyle of ours. I think I'm going to need a portable scanner that'll allow me to check your clothes before I think of putting them on."

With serious, but tender eyes, he studied you. Then, he picked up his sweater which sat between you two and wondered. "Y-you want to wear my clothes? A great deal of them have seen better days. Are y-you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," you brightened. "because I love the way your clothes smell. If you were away, it'd make me think of you and it...I don't know, makes us seem more domestic. Is that along the lines of what you were thinking?"

"Y-yeah."

"Cool. Glad to know we're on the same page."

Relieved, he pressed a kiss to your temple and seemed ready for that cup of coffee. And as you stood, ready to head to the kitchen to prepare it for him, you mentioned. "And by the way, I gotta tell you something important."

"Gee, what is that?"

Striking a pose, you made him chuckle; that was a good sign. "That it's totally cool to be into me and check me out. I don't mind, and it makes me happy that I know what it takes to catch your eye. However, there's an exception: when we're driving around in space, where anything could kill us, we gotta keep our eyes on the space around us unless on autopilot. Only then," you winked. "might it be okay to be a little distracted."

Fin

[moistmailman]

*After a successful bank heist*

Neo: *Proudly twirling Pyrrha's tiara around her finger*

Roman, sighing: Did you honestly have to steal that girl's headpiece during the fight?

Neo: *Proudly kisses headpiece*

Roman, sighing: God damn it, Neo.

Neo, signing: I regret absolutely nothing at all.

Roman: Of course you don't. Why would you. It's not like you probably just pissed off the strongest student at that damn school or anything. That's totally not going to bite us in the ass for the next time we run into them.

Neo, signing: Chillax, I have a plan, Roman. So stop complaining.

Roman, sarcastically: Oh really? What is it then? Having bragging rights that you manage to steal Pyrrha Nikos' tiara or something.

Neo, signing: What? No! My plan is much more complicated than that, so shut that mouth already and trust me.

Roman, sighing: It better be one hell of a plan then.

*days later, during another heist*

Roman, hiding behind cover: Shit Neo, not only the cops are here but also those damn Beacon brats, with that Pyrrha girl! What are we going to do!?

Neo, smirking while wearing Pyrrha's tiara: *Salutes farewell Roman*

Roman: What the hell are you doi—

*Neo pokes her head out of cover*

Pyrrha, pointing: HEY! THATS THE GIRL WHO STOLE MY TIARA!

Neo: *Blows Pyrrha a kiss and winks at her before running off*

Pyrrha: H-HEY! G-GET BACK HERE, MISSY! THAT'S MINE! *Chases after Neo*

Roman, impressed: Holy shit, she got the most powerful student out of my hair actually. That was actually pretty smart of her. Hmm, I guess I shouldn't underestimate her.

*Literally not only 5 minutes later*

Roman, running away: Oh shit oh shit! This is bad! I still need help! The other brats are after me! Where's Neo!? I need her right now!!! Oh shit, oh fuck! Neo help me!!!!!!!!

*Meanwhile, after a fight between Pyrrha and Neo*

Neo, straddling a pinned down Pyrrha while smirking: *Still wearing her tiara*

Pyrrha, blushing: G-get off m-me.

Neo: *Seductively trace Pyrrha's jaw line with her finger*

Pyrrha, squeaking: W-what are you doing— l-look, c-can I j-just please have my t-tiara b-back? I-it's really special to m-me.

Neo, licking her lips: *signing* Whats in it for me?

Pyrrha, awkwardly: Uh.....the satisfaction of doing the right thing?

Neo, signing: Nope~

Pyrrha: O-okay u-uhm then.....I-I'll turn m-my back and let you go if you give it back to me, I promise! I won't try and pursue you at all.

Neo, smirking: *signing* You'll let me go, a known criminal, if I would actually give this to you? Wouldnt that go against what you believe in as a huntress?

Pyrrha, shamefully looking away: W-well uhm....l-look, can I just please have it back? P-please? I-I'll let you go. Swear on it:

Neo, signing: Hmm.....that's a very tempting offer to be honest, I might just take it.....but if you don't mind, I have another offer I will like to throw on the table.

Pyrrha: Another offer? W-what do you m-mean?

Neo, sighing: Question, did me stealing your tiara last time we fought make you angry?

Pyrrha, awkwardly: Well uhm.....yeah, I guess. Why?

Neo, with a happy glint in her eyes: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Pyrrha, blushing: Uhm...w-what's with that face?

Neo, seductively smiling: *signing* I'll give you back your tiara if you.....punish me~

Pyrrha, confused:.......eh?

Neo, signing: I want you to punish this little bad criminal for stealing this from you and making you angry in the first place, because I've been a very bad girl that need to be put in her place~

Pyrrha, eyes wide:........*voice cracking* W-what?

Neo, signing: You heard me. I want you to punish me for being naughty all night, and I'll give you your tiara back.

Pyrrha, squeaking: L-look, I'm not in the mood for jokes. I-I just want my tiara bac—

Neo, signing: I'm not joking. I'm dead serious. I find you absolutely gorgeous and I want you to punish me for as long as you want, doing whatever you please to me. And don't worry being too rough, cause I'll be able to take ALL it.

Pyrrha, mouth open in shock:..........

Neo, signing: *smirking* So come on, let me help you get rid of that pent up anger I caused. It's the least I could do after all~

Pyrrha, wide eyed: .........*Embarrassed whimpers*

Neo, signing: So what will it be, Red? Are you going to punish me cause I absolutely deserve it? Or would you rather have the boring option?

Pyrrha: *Pyrrha exe. has shut down*

Neo: *silently giggles*

Roman, panicking in the distance: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, NEO!? *Loud explosion* OH MY GOD, HOW MUCH AMMO DO YOU HAVE!

Nora, laughing manically in the distance: A SHIT TON!!!

*explosion*

Roman, high pitched in the distance: AHHHHHHHHH HELP ME!

Neo, signing: *rolling eyes* Oh shoot. Well that's my call. See you around, Red. *Winks* And make sure to consider my offer. Oh and don't worry about your tiara, I'll keep it safe for next time we meet up. See you around. *Winks* *Teleports away*

Pyrrha, too exhausted to even attempt to find her: *face on fire* H-hey wait! G-get back here! *Sighs* Gosh darn it.

Jaune, running up: Hey! Is everything alright?! I tried to keep up with you two but I fell behind. What happened? Did you get your tiara back? Where did that girl go?....hey, why is your face red?

Pyrrha, squeaking: N-NO R-REASON!

[gottagobuycheese]

That moment when you finally decide to get your crap together so you head to your doctor’s appointment early so you can start studying early only to find out you got a 15 mm positive Mantoux test so you have to walk half an hour to the hospital to get an x-ray and possibly cancel your three flights in the coming week