#And now since 2023 we've gotten so much for him

[munchkinmarauder]

Quicksilver being a pretty boy this week in Avengers 2023 #15 and Scarlet Witch 2024 #1

[astonmartinii]

careful what you wish for | alex albon social media au

pairing: alex albon x fem norris!reader

be careful what you wish for because sometimes childhood dreams come true (not the way you think though)

MASTERLIST | BROTHER'S BFF MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

yourusername

liked by alexalbon, landonorris and 453,096 others

yourusername: it's sweet treat hour in the paddock

view all comments

user1: oh to be a person in the f1 paddock getting a sweet treat

user2: ummm actually i think i deserve one more than any of the guys on the grid

yourusername: probably true lol

georgerussell63: BLASPHEMY

landonorris: blood is CLEARLY not thicker than water 🤨

maxverstappen1: i can't believe this betrayal

charles_leclerc: puppy play date is OFF

yourusername: not you people proving them right within 0.5 seconds.

user3: y/n really is god's strongest soldier these fools must be so annoying

alexalbon: not me tho

landonorris: nuh uh 😐

alexalbon: sorry to burst your bubble lando but on the scale of least annoying (me) to most annoying (carlos) ... well marketing love carlando for a reason

landonorris: Y/N TELL HIM TO STOP BEING MEAN TO ME

yourusername: i'm not your mum, defend yourself

landonorris: ???

carlossainz55: THERE IS NO WAY I'M THE MOST ANNOYING ON THE GRID? Y/N TELL HIM THAT

yourusername: keep your car away from oscar and maybe

oscarpiastri: thank you grid mum 🫶🏻

carlossainz55: grid mum clearly showing favourites 🤨 does my sleepovers at the norris household mean anything?

yourusername: your old ass does not need a grid mum be fucking for real

carlossainz55: GASP!

alexalbon: nevermind what ever the fuck that was... the sweet treats slapped, thank you very much

yourusername: see this is why you're my favourite

oscarpiastri: i am right here

logansargent: :(((((

yourusername: NOOO MY LITTLE DUCKLINGS I LOVE YOU

user4: the way y/n has taken to oscar and logan makes my heart so warm

user5: her missing a lot of the start of the 2023 season and logan saying he started to feel less lonely when she was back coming to races as she went out of her way to support him

user6: her and alex going to miami a week early and acting more like parents than logan's actual parents

user7: it's like the older drivers are her grid kids but she only goes full mama bear for oscar and logan

user8: i'm gonna need this friends to lovers arc for alex and y/n

landonorris: do you people ever shut up

yourusername: LANDO ???

landonorris: sorry you have to die single sorry i don't make the rules

f1

liked by yourusername, georgerussell63 and 1,405,788 others

tagged: alexalbon, landonorris & georgerussell63

f1: ALBON P5!!! now that's why lando had a poster of him in his childhood bedroom

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user9: i know lando forever regrets bringing that up all those years ago

user10: since we know how close alex and y/n are... i'd bet a lot of money y/n brings it up at any opportunity

yourusername: LET'S FUCKING GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

alexalbon: always knew you were my biggest fan

yourusername: it must be a norris thing

landonorris: alex the literal f1 account is making fun of me and you're SAYING SHE IS YOUR BIGGEST FAN

alexalbon: okay buddy lets calm it down

landonorris: don't put me in time out you're not my grid dad

alexalbon: am i not?

this comment has been deleted

alexalbon: i wouldn't claim you dummy

landonorris: i saw that ............. interesting

user11: the way this is the biggest hint for y/n x alex we've ever gotten but lando is not putting 2 and 2 together

yourusername: i've never had to try to keep a secret from lando i've always had to spell it out for him we're safe

landonorris: who is we?

user11: i see what you mean

georgerussell63: good lord, will i ever get out of the alex DRS train?

alexalbon: NEVER MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

georgerussell63: have you already started drinking?

alexalbon: maybe, you know y/n can't mix drinks for shit

yourusername: P5 in a williams calls for a throwback college tequila punch

maxverstappen1: college tequila punch without me THE FAVOURITISM HAS GOTTEN OUT OF HAND

yourusername: you AND I QUOTE said "never talk to me again, i don't want to see you with any kind of receptacle that a person could drink out of, i never want to see a bottle of tequila ever again i feel like this is a hangover that will be passed on as some kind of generational curse"

maxverstappen1: now you say that i do recall saying something similar

user12: the way oscar and logan were so happy for alex, that's a grid dad for real

logansargent: we knew all of our drinks would been on his tab 🤞🏻

oscarpiastri: and he brought our kebabs!!

user13: how do i get this kind of treatment on my nights out?

logansargent: you have to third wheel alex and y/n when they're insufferably cute 👍🏻

this comment was deleted

user14: i'm on to yall

alexalbon

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1 and 720,987 others

tagged: yourusername, logansargent & oscarpiastri

alexalbon: post night out munch with my favourites

view all comments

user15: oh i can smell the arguments coming

yourusername: no one die i'm putting my phone on do not disturb

user16: so real

georgerussell63: HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT THE SANCTITY OF OUR FRIENDSHIPS I THOUGHT WE WERE PLATONIC SOULMATES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER SEWN INTO THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR BEING

alexalbon: well damn

georgerussell63: well damn? WELL DAMN? THAT'S IT YOU ARE NOT INVITED ON MY ANNUAL EASTER SUNDAY WALK AND BOUTIQUE EASTER EGG HUNT

landonorris: wow that'll really show him george

georgerussell63: LANDO WHAT THE FUCK WE NEED A UNITED FRONT

yourusername: babe this isn't trench warfare

georgerussell63: i thought you weren't getting involved this is a GALEX DISCUSSION

charles_leclerc: i thought this was a twitch quartet dicussion?

georgerussell63: maybe if you people MADE YOURSELF USEFUL IT WOULD BE

charles_leclerc: you know what i don't like your tone. i am very secure in my friendship with alex and am happy he has other thriving friendships especially with those who have recently joined the team and need the extra comfort

alexalbon: finally a normal person

user17: what is happening

user18: i think this is what the kids call losing your shit

user19: kinda feels like it's ended prematurely

alexalbon: he's at my door

user20: oh? should we like maybe be afraid?

yourusername: WHY AM I LIVING IN THE SHINING RIGHT NOW DOES HE HAVE AN AXE?

landonorris: hold on .... why are you there?

yourusername: george russell is at the door screaming for justice potentially wielding a weapon and that's what you took from that?

landonorris: ummm yes? there's something weird going on here

oscarpiastri: i'm also here

logansargent: me too (PLEASE SEND HELP)

user21: well wasn't that just ... delightful

landonorris

liked by maxverstappen1, alexalbon and 903,788 others

tagged: oscarpiastri & yourusername

landonorris: this whole grid kid thins has gotten out of control why is this kid being treated better than ME in my OWN HOME

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user24: how could lando be angry look how pookie oscar is

oscarpiastri: this is what i'm sayingggggg

yourusername: so fuck me i guess

user24: babe that's alex's job

yourusername: you right

user25: HOLD ON PEOPLE IS THAT Y/N/ALEX CRUMBS ???

user26: quick add it to the spreadsheet

alexalbon: there's a spreadsheet?

user26: we don't fuck around about your hypothetical relationship with y/n

alexalbon: that much is clear (send it my way asap)

yourusername: talking about favouritism in the norris household as if i have not lived with this for MY ENTIRE LIFE

landonorris: booooooo let me complain (did you or did you not get your weird kids from my career favouritism in the family)

yourusername: don't weaponise my children against me

landonorris: but they're so annoying oscar is eating all of the ROAST POTATOES THIS IS THE NORRIS FAMILY DINNER EVERYONE KNOWS THE ROASTIES ARE MINE

oscarpiastri: not anymore :P

landonorris: choke

oscarpiastri: don't make me call my dad

landonorris: call him up i'll beat his ass at this point I CAN SEE YOU TAKING ANOTHER POTATO

oscarpiastri: @alexalbon :(

alexalbon: keep my kid's name out your fucking mouth

landonorris: excuse me?

yourusername: ugh that's so hot

landonorris: EXCUSE ME?

user27: well .... add it to the spreadsheet?

landonorris: i'm so close to blocking all of you

yourusername: i thought you loved alex :(

landonorris: not that much

alexalbon: i see....

landonorris: NO I'M SORRY I TAKE IT BACK I LOVE YOU ALEX (YOU BETTER NOT BE SHAGGING MY SISTER HYPOTHETICAL OR NOT)

yourusername

liked by alexalbon, charles_leclerc and 528,095 others

tagged: landonorris

yourusername: silverstone babyyyyyyyyyyyyyy i hope my home treats my boys right

view all comments

user28: i would give a kidney to be there for real

user29: you might have to the prices at that race are INSANE

landonorris: finally the home race which means you actually have to root for me

yourusername: ehhhhhhh

landonorris: girl i did not get much sleep last night wtf do you mean EHHHHH

yourusername: alex is a london boy

georgerussell63: once again fuck george i guess

yourusername: you didn't give me time !!!!

georgerussell63: were you actually going to say it?

yourusername: no ❤️

landonorris: right george i think it's time to unionise against y/n and alex

yourusername: the fuck do you (do we?) know about unionisation babe our family are the capitalist machine

user30: so like when are we getting the full albon pets meetup with sausage?

alexalbon: you always treat me right

yourusername: only the bestest for you

alexalbon: oh wow i'm blushing

yourusername: i can make you do a lot more than that

landonorris: do you mind?

yourusername: LET ME FLIRT IN PEACE GOD I CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING

alexalbon: yeah let y/n flirt with me in peace

logansargent: he's giggling and swinging his feet - we might even get a skip away

alexalbon: sue me

user31: alex and y/n being so tired of lando is so true

oscarpiastri: they match each other's freak and they really need to let that freak flag fly

logansargent: as they should i need to post some of the cute pictures of them my phone storage is suffering

landonorris: i'm throwing my phone out of the window

user32: confirmation? CONFIRMATION?

alexalbon

liked by georgerussell63, maxverstappen1 and 1,359,086 others

tagged: yourusername

alexalbon: bro my nurse is hot as fuck

view all comments

user32: bro nearly died and THIS IS WHAT HE POSTS

user33: is it insensitive for me to celebrate that they're together on a post just hours after he was in a massive crash

yourusername: probably but we'll take the compliment regardless

georgerussell63: let it be known i'm annoyed that this is how i found out about this relationship but i'm so glad you're okay and that you had your person with you as support

alexalbon: my person awwwww georgie you're such as softie, but thank you i'm all good

yourusername: i knew you loved me really georgie

georgerussell63: i'll come round to this i guess

yourusername: so no more morning visits with weapons

georgerussell63: THERE WERE NO WEAPONS

alexalbon: you called me many mean words and sometimes words are our biggest weapons

georgerussell63: shut the fuck up

yourusername: that's not very peace, love and kindness he nearly died russell change up your tone

user34: YESSSSSSSSS WE CAN FINALLY SEE THE TRUE POWER OF THE ALEX/Y/N SASS

user34: also obviously very happy alex is okay

user35: i fear we as a fandom do not have our priorities in check

landonorris: i wouldn't leave the hospital if i were you

alexalbon: is that a threat?

landonorris: very much so

maxverstappen1: he's serious i'm literally holding him back (it's not hard he's like a gremlin)

landonorris: A GREMLIN WHO HAS BEEN GIVEN WATER

yourusername: but i thought you loved alex? surely this is the least offensive option on the grid?

alexalbon: awwwwww babe

maxverstappen1: i'm really not sure thats the compliment you think...

landonorris: NO I DO LOVE ALEX BUT NOT LIKE THIS

yourusername: it could be worse, you're besties with alex - i could've gotten with carlos or pierre!

carlossainz55: excuse me?

pierregasly: what did i ever do to you?

yourusername: whores ❤️

landonorris: true they are whores

alexalbon: and i'm a big ol family man

landonorris: you keep that to yourself

oscarpiastri: get well soon dad

logansargent: we love you !!!

yourusername: don't think we've forgotten about you exposing our relationship....

alexalbon: but we love you anyway

yourusername

liked by logansargent, landonorris and 783,209 others

tagged: alexalbon

yourusername: f1 cars are too dangerous actuallyyyyyyyyyyy you're all BANNED

view all comments

user36: finally some good fucking food

user37: i feel like we've been waiting for this relationship for so long i expect a wedding invitation at this point

alexalbon: yeah soz only the girl with the spreadsheet is getting an invite

user26: SCORE

alexalbon: well aren't we just the cutest couple in the world

yourusername: i fear we are

yourusername: and if any of you hoes try and comment any dumb shit like "us erasure" i'll break your toes

georgerussell63: oh! okay...

maxverstappen1: sure i guess so...

charles_leclerc: i'll let you have your moment for now

landonorris: i'm single but i want to be involved

user38: the lipstick print... i'm weak

user39: they already made me feel lonely before we got confirmation i think i might need to redownload hinge

landonorris: ugh i guess you guys are kind of cute

yourusername: of course we are one of us is a norris

landonorris: TRUE 💅🏻

alexalbon: ??? so you don't want to kill me anymore?

landonorris: no i guess not

landonorris: also max put a bell on my chain and my fingers are too fat to open the clasp so i can't sneak out to kick your ass

maxverstappen1: he really is an overgrown toddler

alexalbon: also your 5'2 ass is not beating mine

landonorris: i am NOT 5'2 i am 5'10 at the least

yourusername: girl you're maybe 5'5 and i WILL be getting my lick in if you fight alex - revenge for all those hair pulls all those years ago

landonorris: i'd say stop defending alex but you've always done that... i should've known

user40: so y/n really wasn't lying when she said she didn't have to hide anything from lando cause he doesn't pick up on anything 😭

landonorris: sorry i'm not actively looking for clues about my sister's sex life

alexalbon: bro i am in love with your sister lets frame this better

yourusername: hehehheheeehehhehe

landonorris

liked by maxverstappen1, logansargent and 1,874,036 others

tagged: alexalbon & yourusername

landonorris: i guess i always did say that i wanted alex as a bigger brother, be careful for what you wish for kids

view all comments

user41: FINALLLLY

logansargent: you're telling me we've BEEN waiting

oscarpiastri: i kinda miss having a secret like what do i hold over lando now?

landonorris: DON'T THINK I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH PIASTRI

oscapiastri: okay babe

landonorris: you really take after your mum and it scares me

yourusername: you shouldn't have such good friends that i just can't help falling in love with so really this is your fault

landonorris: sure.... but you have a good point, i'm very happy it's alex of all people

yourusername: you've really come round fast since you realised that we'll pay for your stuff whenever we go out

landonorris: what can i say stuff tastes better when it's free

alexalbon: you literally make double what y/n and i make

landonorris: and i'm the younger sibling so you should TREAT ME BETTER

user42: yeah we all knew lando was the younger sibling but he's giving massive annoying baby brother vibes

alexalbon: and he wonders why we prefer oscar and logan

landonorris: i'm just going to pretend i didn't see that

alexalbon: but for real lando, thanks for being the most annoying norris and having such a lovely and cool (and smoking hot) sister - i appreciate it!

yourusername: i love you too babe

alexalbon: don't worry you'll get to drop the last name soon

yourusername: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

yourusername: i can't wait to be mrs. albon

landonorris: blocked.

user43: i can't believe we got the conclusion to the lando alex poster storyline

landonorris: it wasn't exactly the conclusion i thought it would be but i'll take it

yourusername: you love us really

alexalbon: really you were just manifesting this for like ten years

fin.

note: here's a wee post from brother's bff before the race because i need somehtign to distract me from my horrible NERVES - ENJOY!

[captainsophiestark]

A Bad Idea

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Star Wars

Day 31 Prompt: "It's not your fault."

Summary: Obi-Wan and his best friend/fellow Jedi are getting Hondo's help on a mission. Predictably, things don't go according to their plan.

Word Count: 2,045

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: That's a wrap for Fictober gang! Thank you so much to @fictober-event for putting this whole thing on and to everyone who's read one of my stories! Honestly can't believe the amount of writing I got done for this event

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I think this might be the worst idea we've ever had."

"If you don't count ideas that Anakin came up with and we agreed to, then yes, it probably is."

Obi-Wan Kenobi and I stood shoulder to shoulder on the ramp of our ship, waving as the one and only Hondo Ohnaka came towards us. We'd recently gotten information that the Separatists were using a different group of pirates to smuggle things out of reach of the Republic, and together, Obi-Wan and I had decided the best way to infiltrate a pirate base was with the help of another pirate. On paper, it sounded perfectly rational, especially since we had a pirate contact we could go to. In reality, it was probably going to get us killed.

"Kenobi!" called Hondo once he got within earshot of us. "It is wonderful to see you again! And who is your lovely friend? A girlfriend, perhaps?"

Heat and embarrassment rushed through me, and I felt a wave of discomfort coming off of Obi-Wan in the Force too.

"Jedi don't typically date," he quickly explained, waving Hondo off. "And it wouldn't be any of your business anyway."

"I'm a friend of Obi-Wan's," I continued. "We grew up at the Temple together."

Hondo gave me a quick once over, then evaluated Obi-Wan the same way. Then, he smiled and held out his hand to me.

"Well, any friend of Obi-Wan's is a friend of mine! It is very nice to meet you, I'm sure!"

I forced a smile as I took his hand and shook it. I didn't think he'd meant to, but Honda had hit a very sore spot for me. I'd harbored feelings for my best friend for years now, against the Code, and I'd done my best every single day to hide them from him and from anyone else. A hundred Jedi who'd known me since birth couldn't tell, but this Weequay had hit the bullseye within moments of seeing me for the first time.

"Come on," Obi-Wan whispered to me, leaning in close to my ear so Hondo couldn't hear him as the Weequay moved past me into the ship. "The sooner we start this mission, the sooner it's officially over."

"Can't wait," I muttered. "And you said this guy was your friend?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "More like... acquaintance who tries to kill me sometimes. Although I think he unironically considers me his best friend."

I smiled a little at that, especially as Obi-Wan moved into the ship after Hondo and Hondo immediately flung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. Based on the conversation I could hear as I brought in the ramp, Hondo was trying to convince Obi-Wan to sell him some of our Republic tech at a frankly ridiculous price. To no one's surprise (except maybe Hondo's), Obi didn't budge. He was remarkably gentle in his refusal, though.

After a brief challenge where Hondo insisted on piloting the ship and Obi-Wan had to convince him to sit in the passenger seat instead, we were on our way. With Hondo's help, we quickly found the pirate base we were looking for.

"Do you guys just constantly share locations with each other?" I asked as we came in for a landing not too far from the gates. Hondo shrugged.

"We do business with each other from time to time. Helps to know where your business partners are."

"Hm. Makes sense."

Hondo grinned at me. He clapped me on the shoulder and started walking down the ramp, and a moment later Obi-Wan took his place next to me.

"Don't turn your back on him," he warned. I turned, coming face to face with Obi-Wan. We'd known each other for most of our lives; I'd seen him a million times or more. But for this mission, we weren't in the typical Jedi robes, in an effort to go undercover. And seeing him standing next to me in a dashing pirate costume made my heart beat a little faster.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it." Obi-Wan stared off after Hondo, his expression clouded, so I reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder. "We'll be fine, okay? We've survived everything we've gone through so far. What's a couple pirates?"

"The last time I interacted with pirates, Anakin and I ended up handcuffed to Count Dooku."

I laughed as we started strolling down the ramp together to catch up to Hondo.

"Well, if we find ourselves in a similar situation, I promise to make fun of Dooku even more than Anakin did with you."

"That, I would look forward to seeing." He sighed, nudging my shoulder with his just before we caught up to Hondo. "I suppose there's nothing left for us to do but dive straight in."

"Like you said. Sooner we start, sooner we get to go back to Cody and other, saner partners in crime."

"The fact that Anakin is significantly more rational and predictable than Hondo is... concerning."

I chuckled, and Obi-Wan and I shared a smile. Hondo clapped us both on the shoulders once we'd caught up with him at the door to the pirate's fort, and then we headed inside.

The next thing I remember, I was waking up on a concrete floor, my head pounding. I groaned, lifting one hand to my head, and to my surprise something dragged my other hand with it. I opened my eyes.

I was handcuffed. More than that, I was apparently handcuffed to someone else. I turned to my right to see Obi-Wan, already sitting up and looking at me.

"Good morning."

"What happened?"

"We were played." I sighed and flung my head back. All that talk about having each others' backs and not trusting Hondo, and it had been for nothing. "We were jumped as soon as we made it through the gates. Hondo turned us over and went to collect a bounty for us from the other pirates."

"Oh wonderful," I sighed, slumping back against Obi-Wan. My heart sped up a little bit at our close proximity, but unlike every other time we'd been close, this time I couldn't chicken out. It was lean against him, or very clearly, obviously, and uncomfortably lean away from him.

"I should've known we couldn't trust him," Obi-Wan said. "I just thought that this time we were prepared, so Hondo wouldn't be able to get one over on us. I should've known better."

"It's not your fault. Even I'd started to believe Hondo was honestly going to work with us for this mission. The fact that he'd already double-crossed us, before we even got on the ship..."

I trailed off, shaking my head. Obi-Wan sighed, and we spent a few moments leaning against the wall and each other, hands close together and heads resting against each other. I could've stayed like that for a long time, if we hadn't been sitting in a jail cell.

"So..." I finally started, still not moving an inch. "What did you do the last time you were in this situation?"

Obi-Wan sighed heavily. "Bickered with the Count, mostly. And made a few escape attempts. We would've been successful from the beginning had it not been for Dooku."

I huffed a small laugh. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here instead of him then, isn't it?"

"I truthfully can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck with."

We shared a smile, a warm feeling quickly dominating my chest. I couldn't quite stop myself from leaning forward ever so slightly, like Obi-Wan had his own gravity pulling me in. In this place, out of sight and temporarily forgotten by everyone else, being close to him didn't feel as scary as it did in the Temple or aboard the Negotiator.

To my immense surprise and delight, Obi-Wan leaned in too, a moment after me. He huffed a small laugh, his blue eyes sparkling.

"This is... probably a bad idea."

I didn't need to ask what he was talking about. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"No worse an idea than the one that got us in here in the first place."

"You certainly make a good point."

As one, we smiled and closed the remaining distance to each other, our lips meeting in a kiss I'd thought about a thousand times. It was even better than I'd imagined it would be, especially as I could feel Obi-Wan through the Force. My best friend, the man I'd loved a thousand different ways before I even really knew what the word meant, glowed with a happiness that matched mine.

No one had ever really found evidence that soulmates were real, despite all the mystical forces that did exist in the galaxy. But as I sat on the filthy floor of that cell and kissed my best friend, our energies twining together in the Force, I thought we'd come pretty close.

"Oh, this is very gross. And yet, it's exactly what I'd hoped to find."

Obi-Wan and I broke apart to find Hondo staring at us through the bars of the cell, a grin on his face. We fixed him with matching scowls.

"Come now, what are those looks for? You should be happy, look at the two of you!"

"Happy might be a stretch, since you double-crossed us," I said. Hondo's mouth dropped open and a hand flew to his chest.

"Double-crossed? No no no, I have done no such thing."

"Then why did we wake up handcuffed in a cell?" Obi-Wan demanded. "In my case, again."

"Ah, you see, it was all part of my brilliant plan!"

Obi-Wan and I shared a very, very skeptical look. Undeterred, Hondo pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket, still beaming at us.

"You thought the two of you, two Jedi, could actually sneak in here unnoticed? Ha! It never would have worked. So, I pretended to double-cross you, and while the two of you were in here admitting feelings for each other, I found your documents! After collecting the credits for turning you two over as prisoners, of course."

Obi-Wan and I stared, dumbfounded, as Hondo explained his plan and removed our handcuffs. We stood, helping each other up, both a little stunned that the Weequay had really outplayed everyone here.

"Come on, we must hurry," said Hondo, waving us after him as he headed for the cell door. "It won't take them long to figure out what we've done."

We spared one last shocked glance at each other, then hurried after Hondo through the winding halls of the pirates' lair.

"If you got your money and information, why did you come back for us?" asked Obi-Wan, suspicion dripping from his words. "Why not leave us to be cashed in for a bounty?"

I wanted to smack him for asking that question before we were safely back on our ship, but Hondo just turned to us, looking hurt and outraged that Obi-Wan would even suggest it.

"Kenobi, I am hurt! I would never do such a thing to such a good friend!" He turned, ignoring Obi's raised eyebrow as we at last made it out of the hideout. "Besides, there were no more credits to be gained by leaving you here. The only thing that would've happened was a profit for my competition."

I failed to fight off a smile. Now it all made sense.

Obi-Wan and I trailed just behind Hondo the last bit of distance to our ship, and cautiously, I slipped my hand into his. He gave it a gentle squeeze, turning to fix me with a small smile.

"You know this is going to complicate our lives beyond belief, don't you?"

"Yeah. But I think it's worth it. Our lives are already wildly complicated anyway."

Obi-Wan huffed a small laugh. "I agree."

"With which part?"

"All of it. But especially the part about this being worth it."

He gave my hand one last squeeze, and we shared another tender look before reaching the ramp of the ship and returning to business mode. I let Obi-Wan lead the way, and as I closed the ramp, I could already hear Hondo bargaining with Obi-Wan for credits in exchange for the information he'd retrieved while we'd been in the cell. Despite the exasperation on Obi-Wan's face and in his tone, I could still feel that glowing happiness radiating off of him in the Force, a mirror to my own. We were going to be just fine.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

[pattywinchester]

Suptober 2023 Day 4 -Nimbus

“Cas, I’m telling you, something’s not right. We must be a target or, at the very least, this... What are they calling it... phenomenon is somehow connected to us."

“Really, Dean, I think you are reading too much into this.”

“Seriously? Let's recap. We have been on what? Six hunts in six different cities in the last eight weeks, and in each of those cities, every night that we’re there, the sky lights up like the Fourth of July, complete with shooting stars and shit. You telling me that’s a coincidence? I don’t think so.”

“Well, in either case, it appears to be harmless. People haven’t reported any threats or destruction of property, have they?”

"No, Cas, you know they haven't. Everyone we have spoken to says it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen."

"So, see, Dean, why worry so much. Don't borrow trouble. It's fine."

“Man, what’s gotten into you? Since when do we give crazy shit a pass just because it's 'pretty.'”

Cas shoots Dean a look and raises one brow before remarking, “I do it every day for you, Dean.”

"Oh, you're a wise guy now?" Dean says as he leans in to give his angel a kiss and a slap on the ass.

Their argument is temporarily forgotten when they end up in a tangle of arms and legs and quiet moans, causing them to get little sleep.

As they stow their gear in Baby the following day, the men overhear motel guests, remarking on the previous night's incredible light display.

“Fucking hell, it happened again. What the fuck, Cas? Don’t you think we should investigate?”

“Nooooo, I don't think so... I mean, what is there to investigate, really. What are we going to do, question the sky?" Cas responds as he shifts his weight from foot to foot.

Dean looks at Cas for a full minute before he says, "Man, what is up with you? You’re acting cagey as hell."

“I don’t know what you mean, Dean. I am behaving normally. My responses are completely natural and truthful.”

“Oh, is that right? Cas, you gonna tell me what the fuck is up? This shit is weird, even for you.”

Cas stares at Dean unblinking, not saying a word until Dean gives up, slams the trunk, and makes his way to the driver's seat. "Get in weirdo. We’re going home."

They barely reach the freeway when Dean's phone chimes in his pocket. He pulls it out, glances at it, and hands it to Cas. "It's Sam. What's it say?”

"There is some ghost activity in Lincoln. He wants to know if we are 'up’ for it." Cas says, employing his now famous air quotes that never fail to make Dean both cringe and go incredibly fond.

“I’m good if you're good, Sunshine. What do you say?”

"Sure, Dean, Let's take care of it."

They pull into the parking lot of yet another seedy motel a little after midnight. Too late to do anything at that hour, they decide to get a good night's sleep and start fresh in the morning. After hot showers and Door Dashing burgers, the two men crawl into bed exhausted. It doesn't take Dean long before he snuggles against Cas, kissing him down his neck and nibbling at his earlobe. Cas' response is immediate, as it always is, and he turns his body to feel all of Dean's body against his.

"Dean, you should sleep..." Cas says reluctantly into Dean's mouth.

"Yeah, Angel. I'm way too far down this road. There is no turning back now." Dean says, pressing his hips against Cas as evidence. "Besides, there hasn't been one night since we've been on the road that I haven't felt you inside me, and I don't plan on changing that.”

Cas lets out a strangled groan, pushes Dean onto his back, grips his wrists, and pins him to the bed. Holding nothing back, Cas gives Dean what he wants.

The following morning, Sam calls to inform the men that there have been more reports of strange lights in the sky, this time in Lincoln.

"Well fuck, Cas. Whatever this is, it's definitely following us. I don't know why you've been shrugging this off, but we are investigating right after we handle this ghost."

"Uhh, sure... it's harmless... but I suppose we can 'look' into it if it makes you happy, Dean."

"If it makes me happy? Cas, you crazy son of a bitch, since when do we hunt to make me happy? You know what, forget it. You're going to tell me what is up with you when you are good and ready, and until then, I'm doing my job and investigating this thing."

"I love you, Dean."

Although confused, Dean's agitation leaves him instantly, "I love you too, Sunshine. Come on, let's go ruin some ghost's day."

What they thought would be a routine salt and burn turns out to be so much more. As a result, they both come back bruised and bloody. Dean instantly falls asleep after Cas stitches him up.

In the morning, Dean wakes up stiff and a little worse for wear but determined to figure out those goddamn lights in the sky. He and Cas get ready to head out to start interviewing and researching when Sam calls to let them know that last night was the first night since they've been gone that there has been no anomalous activity.

"See, Dean, it's nothing. We can go home now. Don't you want to go home?"

"Well, yeah, Cas, but let's think about this for a minute. What made last night different from all the other nights since we hit the road?"

"Nothing?" Cas says nervously

Dean laughs and says, "Yeah, the only difference is that I didn't knock your socks off last night like every night."

Cas looks at Dean nervously, eyes wide.

Realization slowly dawning, Dean exclaims, "Holy fucking hell, Cas. It's you, isn't it? You're doing this?”

Cas, at last drops the façade and responds, “Yes... Not purposefully... I'm sorry... I've been trying to control it. I hope this will not impact the frequency or the intensity with which we copulate.”

"So let me get this straight, having sex with me is so good that it causes you to create a fucking celestial light show?”

"Yes, when I orgasm..."

Dean stares at Cas blankly, his mouth hanging open, eyes wide.

"Dean, say something. Are you angry?"

"Holy shit, Cas, that's the best fucking thing I have ever heard," Dean sputters, doubled over with laughter.

[finn-m-corvex]

Whumptober 2023 Day 14 - Water Inhalation

AND WE'VE MADE IT TO SEABOUND ANGST MY FAVORITE MEAL! I am in LOVE with this one I think it turned out so good and I'm so proud of it. Might be my favorite one!

@splinnters second to last one but I think you'll LOVE this one!

Words: 2.2k

Nya winced as he started coughing again, the sound echoing off of the thin gray walls and reverberating. She rubbed his chest soothingly, shushing him, doing her best to help the coughs taper off. Looking up to his mouth, she was hoping that even a little of the water in his lungs would be expelled, but she was only disappointed to see yet another thin string of saliva clinging to his chin instead.

She wiped at it with a napkin, disposing of it in the trash can they had placed next to the couch. It was almost full of napkins that had been used for the same purpose, and Nya’s foot nudged it as she leaned forward to press a light kiss to her Yin’s exposed collarbone. He let out a high whine, struggling against the grip she had on his wrists until she rubbed the thin skin with her thumbs.

“There we go,” she murmured against his skin once Jay finally quieted down, “there we go. You’re okay, honey, I’m right here. You just need to keep resting.”

With a strangled wheeze, Jay tried to say her name. “Nya?”

“I’m here, love,” she pulled the one blanket they had farther up his chest, tucking it around his sides and under the cushions. “Just try and go back to sleep, okay?”

First Master, there had to be something else she could do. Anything.

Jay leaned into her touch when she went to cup his cheek, thumb stroking the eyebags sunked into his skin. It had been so long since he had gotten some good sleep.

The others filed back into the room with gloomy expressions, and Nya already knew that they were bearing bad news from the way they avoided looking at her. Cole made his way to the couch, plopping himself down at Jay’s head and replacing the blue ninja’s pillow with his leg. Nya’s heart squeezed as she watched the earth ninja card his fingers through Jay’s hair to get him to sleep, Cole’s face pinching in worry. Jay relaxed into his brother’s touch, short hums getting caught in his throat as Cole scratched over his scalp. It would be such a peaceful scene if it weren’t so horrid outside.

Looking out of the room’s windows only to stare into a fabricated ocean made Nya’s head swim with anxiety, and she quickly looked away.

“We cannot make it out through the sewers,” Pixal reported, coming to stand next to Nya and lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her tone was professional, but Nya knew the samurai well enough to recognize the worry in her undertones. “They are completely flooded, and the combat craft are not small enough to fit in the tunnels. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Pix,” Nya said, even though she could feel the tears stinging at her eyes. “We’ll just have to think of something else. It’s not the end of the world.”

But it might signal the end of hers.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, messy and unkempt. “We’ve searched this building from top to bottom, Nya. If there was anything we would’ve found it by now. There’s no medicine, there’s no exit, there’s nothing.”

“Can we use the oxygen tanks from the crafts?” Lloyd asked. “Maybe if we get one and try to make a mask-”

“That wouldn’t help him,” Zane said heavily, the words settling over the rest of the room like lead, “oxygen can only do so much. We need to get the water out of his lungs.”

And Nya felt the guilt and the shame crash into her like a tidal wave; she was the master of water, and she couldn’t even save the ones that she loved from drowning in their sleep.

Suddenly, Jay was trying to push himself up on his elbows, back to hacking his lungs out. The sound was harsh and grating against Nya’s ears, and it was one that she had heard entirely too much in the past few hours. Cole quickly pushed him up, thumping the palm of his hand against the blue ninja’s back as Nya held Jay up by the shoulders. Normally they only lasted a minute or two, and then Jay would slump over onto whoever was holding him, exhausted.

Except it wasn’t stopping.

They kept getting louder and louder, and Nya hugged him close to rub his back and try to help however she could. But something was wrong. She could feel his lungs spasming rapidly, and hear him choking as he tried to take in air, gasping.

He couldn’t breathe.

Jay couldn’t breathe.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, starting to whack against the back of his ribs to try and help him. Jay was still coughing, the sound loud and wet next to her ear as his hands clutched at her gi in teror, and Nya could feel him start to tremble. “He needs help!”

“We will get the oxygen tank,” Pixel said, grabbing Zane’s arm and pulling him out of the room. Cole scrambled to grab the bucket they had left on the other side of the room, settling behind Nya. She flinched when she heard Jay start to gag; Cole must’ve stuck his fingers in his mouth and triggered his gag reflex. It wasn’t long before her Yin was vomiting into the bucket, expelling anything that he could except for the water in his lungs. Even a glob of thick blood made a splat in the bottom of the bucket, and Nya started kissing as much of his skin as she could reach as tears soaked into the fabric of her gi.

He sobbed, shaking, and she held him fast. “I know, dear, I know. I know it hurts, and I know you’re hurting, but It’s going to be okay, I promise. It’s going to be okay, Jay. You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay-”

And she repeated it like a mantra, through some of the water finally being coughed up and through Jay’s thick sobs as his chest heaved for air. He was whispering, begging for it to stop, and Nya’s heart broke in two. Kai had sat behind his back, pressing his warm hands to Jay’s shoulder blades in an effort to stop his shaking and reassure the blue ninja, but Nya could tell that it wasn’t working. Lloyd was next to her, pressing a kiss to her temple and putting his hands on top of hers. He was using his power, doing his best to push the energy through to Jay.

Finally, Wu gently pushed Kai away, replacing the fire ninja’s hands with his own. “Son,” he said quietly, and they all watched in awe as their master used his powers, his hands glowing with golden power, “you have to breathe for me, for us. I know it’s hard, but I believe in you, and I know you’re strong enough. In and then out, can you do that for me?”

Jay nodded, and Nya’s hand went to cup the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair and tugging gently to soothe him.

“Good,” Wu said firmly, moving his hands up and down. Gold swirls followed his hands, and to her amazement Jay actually did start to breathe more easily. He pressed a knuckle to Jay’s spine, running over each of the ridges. “You’re doing amazing, Jay. Keep going, we are here with you.”

Minutes passed, and the experience was absolutely agonizing. Nya held him the entire time, whispering reassurances and sweet nothings into his ear as he hacked up anything he could manage, eventually starting to breathe in large harsh wheezes that had her heart aching. Cole took away the bucket and put it back on the floor, instead cupping her Yin’s face and speaking to him softly the same way Nya was doing. Wu removed his hands after seeing that his power had done all that it could, stepping back and letting Kai rub Jay’s shoulders.

Zane and Pixal were back with the repurposed oxygen tank, a hastily made mask in her hands, but that solution was very quickly shot down when Jay shoved it away. He was barely conscious, but he was still aware enough to tell that someone was trying to put something on his face; Nya hated that his first instinct was that he was being gagged. Zane did his best to coax his brother to wear the mask, telling him that it would help, but Jay was having none of it.

“He doesn’t like things over his mouth,” Nya explained softly after glancing at Zane's hurt expression, “it’s nothing personal, I promise. Maybe try making it a cannula instead?”

Pixal started work on it right away. Nya didn’t let herself relax until the wheezes finally tapered off, and even though Jay still couldn’t take a full breath it was deeper than anything she had heard for the past fifteen minutes. The relief in the room was palpable, and she had vague thoughts about how she needed to make the atmosphere at least a little happier. She traced a finger around the shell of his ear, hoping to see him shy away and giggle from the touch, and to her relief he scrunched up his shoulder in response.

“That’s all it takes, huh?” she teased, reaching up and doing the same thing to his other ear. Jay was quick to block her access again, but she just kept alternating until he let out a few raspy giggles. “You make it too easy.”

“Nya,” he whined in protest, and the sound of his wrecked and ruined voice was music to her ears. She relented, instead bringing her hands down to start working at undoing his belt. Jay needed to get out of his wet gi if they didn’t want him to get sick.

Kai caught on and helped to get the gi off, balling it up and throwing it in the corner of the room. He hugged the both of them, his arms coming to rest around Nya’s waist with Jay sandwiched in the middle, using his powers to raise his body temperature and soothe both of them. Cole had gotten up to push one of the other couches to the edge of the first one to make more seating, and he snatched Lloyd up in a bear hug that the green ninja only protested once while throwing his legs into Jay’s lap. Zane looked unsure of where to place himself, but eventually settled for sitting behind Nya, his naturally cold temperature working to balance out Kai’s body heat.

Taking one look at the mangled mask and at the cuddle pile, Pixal left it on the ground, instead stripping off her armor and plopping down next to Nya. She laid her head on the water ninja’s other shoulder, feeling Zane’s arm wrap itself around her waist and hold her close.

“What’s going on?” Jay murmured into Nya’s shoulder. “Are we having a cuddle party?”

“Yup, and it’s all for you, Sparky.” Kai said, kissing the top of his brother’s head.

“Can I go to sleep?”

“It would be most beneficial if you did go back to sleep,” Zane said, “because you need your rest. We will figure out what to do.”

Jay coughed again, and Nya clenched her fists, afraid that it would break out into a full coughing fit again. Thankfully, it was just the one. “Can I lay down?”

“After you stay up for a bit,” Cole said sympathetically. “We can’t let the water sit in one place for too long if we want to keep you from getting pneumonia.”

“Stupid pneumonia,” Jay muttered, and it was so Jay that Nya had to chuckle in response. Leave it to her Yin to insult a potentially debilitating illness that they currently had no way of treating and saving him from.

“Pnuemonia is actually quite a serious condition, Jay. If left untreated it could very well-”

Nya felt her heart stutter much like Jay’s normally did, and of course Jay was quick to notice. “I know what it is, Pixal, now stop talking about it. You’re stressing Nya out.”

“I think I’m less stressed about pneumonia and more about the fact that you can’t breathe properly,” Nya snipped, but she immediately wilted. That wasn’t what a good Yang would say.

Yet, Jay didn’t seem to take it personally, instead tracing the skin of her lower back through a cut in her gi. He didn’t say anything, letting the silence settle over the room and pressing a kiss to the crook of Nya’s neck. Nya rucked up his white undershirt, taking off her gloves and placing her bare hands on his skin. She felt his element react instantly, the small electric current flowing through her and making her nerve-endings tingle. There were so many scars across his back, too many to count, but she made sure to trace all of them as meticulously as she could.

It wasn’t long before soft snores filled the air; Jay had finally fallen back asleep against her shoulder, his full weight leaning on top of her and both of them being supported by Zane.. And that was when Nya finally allowed herself to break down and cry.

[indigoparkwithatwist]

Hide and Seek With Rambley

Warning: This does not cover the main story.

"Let's play! I'm the best at this game! And since I'm a generous raccoon, I'll let you use as much room as you want!"

"Okay, I'll play hide and seek with you BUT I have a rule we need to add!"

Rambley grinned curiously, leaning across the screen towards Kayla: "Yes? What is this rule?"

"You're only allowed to look through one camera in a room! Deal?"

Rambley shrugged, looking at her with a sideways grin as he sang, "Yeah, I guess that's fair. But you never know which one I'm going to look at, so you gotta be more careful~"

Kayla rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. But no cheating!"

"Me? Never!" Rambley looked offended.

"Okay. Now start counting!"

Rambley chuckled and closed his eyes; As promised, the cameras also went offline. Bouncing on her feet, Kayla looked around and began to think in which direction she could run.

"One, two, three..." As Rambley started counting, Kayla decided to run away to the gift shop, which she did.

She looked around and saw a giant Lloyd plushie. She looked at the cameras and saw that none of them could give away her location. She grinned and jumped behind it, waiting for Rambley to finish counting.

After a moment, she heard him sing, "I'm coming to find you now~"

She waited quitly for a while. She immediately noticed that the camera above her was active and grinned.

"Where are you Kayla~" she heard him say on the screen.

"...don't tell me you're behind that giant Lloyd plush... gosh."

Kayla gasped and looked at the screen where a seemingly annoyed raccoon stood, but quickly changed his face when she left her place. He was grinning now.

"How did you-"

"Oh, you really buy it? Heh, I was bluffing to be honest." He chuckled.

Kayla groaned, "You cheated!"

"Me? Never!" He clutched his heart as if he was offended again, but his face betrayed his voice. Though he looked too amused to be sarcastic about it.

Kayla huffed, "I'm never playing with you again!"

Rambley whined, "Oh, come on, we've only just gotten started!" He is genuinely upset if you really decide to never play with him.

"You are a liar!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No. Are you afraid I'll win again?"

"...I'll go find me a Lloyd plushie."

"Wh-wait! Wait! Kayla, Come on! I was just kidding! Kayla..? Hey... Please don't do this to me..."

When Kayla left the store, Ramley moved to another screen in a panic. Trying to see her expression. Was she real for that?

Kayla lifted her bag.

"Kayla?" He was nervous now. He tried to put on his sweetest face, "Come on. No hard feelings? I was just playing."

He froze, when he saw her pull out a Lloyd plushie. How long had that thing been there? It's not important.

Kayla stared at him.

"You really wouldn't do that." He whined as nervous sweat poured down his face.

It didn't help that Kayla wouldn't let it go.

"R-right? Come on."

Seeing her leave with it made him panic. He whined, "Kaylaaaaaa! I'm sorry! Please come back! I won't do it again! Please! I beg of you! Anything but that plushie!"

© KAYLA 2023 — please do not copy or steal my work ★ Do Reblog but Don't Repost; give credit!

[gofancyninjaworld]

The OPM Webcomic in 2023

This is late: it's deleted itself three times, damn!

By the Numbers

There is a reason I call ONE the bad boyfriend. He’s exciting, unpredictable. Swans up, love bombs us with interesting webcomic updates, then ghosts us for months and we can’t say anything as we see him gallivanting around working on other things… and just as we start giving up, he’s back! It makes everything he gives us feel extra precious.

On the other hand, Murata is the good boyfriend. Steady, reliable, shows up when he says he will, lets us know if there’s been a change of plans, and we often have an idea of what to expect from him. It’s easy to start taking him for granted, or even to feel entitled, but that’s a mistake.

So, after ghosting us all of 2022, ONE has returned in 2023 and given us 8 updates! All have been between 16 and 20 pages long.

By the Story

The only game in town is genocide

The problem that Genos has is that he is so very easy to dismiss. He has come to us with wild stories about out-of-control cyborgs destroying absolutely everything in sight, improbable survivals, mad scientists, and blood quests. In a world that is to all intent and purpose a sober, serious, modern world. One that yes, is plagued by monsters, but where apocalyptic destruction by cyborgs is nowhere in sight. So it's easy to think less of what he's got to say. His stories since have only gotten wilder and more improbable… only they're absolutely true.

Finally, the truth of what Genos has been saying, and the thing he's been desperate to prevent, is evident. And it's too late to say that he's right. I'm going to stop here for a second to invite the reader to consider what it takes to kill. Go to a mall with a gun and shoot at least one person? Easy. Shoot and kill at least one person? Probably not too bad. Kill several? Harder. Kill EVERYONE given that there are lots of exits? Are you kidding? It would take sustained bombardment, not a guy with a gun. We see in OPM world that scary and terrifying as monsters are, the death toll they inflict is much smaller than you'd initially expect, even allowing for the presence of heroes. It is really, really hard to kill a lot of people -- people don't sit still and wait for death. So for one individual to walk into town and leave nothing standing and no one alive is an extremely deliberate action of incredible violence. Back to the story. Now, we're no longer talking about the extermination of one town full of people. We're seeing the simultaneous, systematic destruction of multiple entire cities.

Not a single one of the owners of these voices is left alive.

Against such evil, who can prevail?

Well, heroes will, of course. But what's this? Something a couple of Neo Heroes (Ryomon in an interview and Accel when he pressed a suit onto Mumen Rider) said earlier on in chapter 138 about pro-heroes getting culled is coming to pass literally. We've seen for a while that the Neo Heroes appear to be on scene first to deal with monsters. Appear to have the right tools to defeat the monsters effortlessly when it's a brutal struggle for the pro-heroes. Child Emperor has been giving the situation the side eye for a long time as he's noticed that many of those monsters appear to have been modified.

Now it all comes together. While the robot army appears largely hapless in front of the Neo Heroes, it's a different story for the Pro Heroes. The S-Class heroes are managing but the other pro heroes are being overrun. Lightning Max gets not just targeted, but his feet, his specialty weapons, shot out from under him. Fortunately for him, Mumen Rider, no, sorry, Neo Mumen, comes to his rescue. Some other heroes are not so lucky: Bun Bun Man is killed. :( As the surviving pro heroes note, this is a systematic slaughter.

Things are no better at Hero Association HQ. There is nothing half-assed about the robots being sent to target them: at least four million mill around, hemming in the few heroes there and preventing any help from reaching them. Not that there will be help coming their way...

It's a different story for the Neo Heroes. They're working hard to save people, but increasingly, we realise they're in no danger. Even when they can't cope with the robots, all that happens to them is that the robots blow past them. Webigaza is so outraged and stricken by the sight of the neighbourhood she grew up in being obliterated that she pushes herself far too hard -- we hope someone grabs her before it's too late for her.

There is one hero who doesn't appear to be working. Drive Knight appears to be just robot spotting. Maybe he works when we're not looking but he seems to be just enjoying the show.

And what about the people who aren't heroes? Well, anyone with the means to fight back is being targeted too: a group of vigilantes who sometimes take out monsters were eliminated first thing. The Machine Gods are also active, targeting S-Class heroes and powerful individuals like Garou (yes, he's found another job!) and Sonic alike.

Why? Ah, you'll have to see the next section.

In war, truth is the first casualty

A lot of what's happening isn't entirely surprising to us as readers having the luxury of seeing things from high up, but our knowledge doesn't matter. It's how the characters within the story, particularly the characters with the wherewithal to do something about it, make sense of what's going on.

As you might imagine, the tables being tipped in favour of the Neo Heroes means that they're getting cheered on by the general public while the pro-heroes, even those strong enough to make a difference, are increasingly scorned.

The Machine Gods have no trouble explaining what's going on, if you care to ask them a direct question. Zombieman willingly allows himself to be beaten down and be taken to their headquarters to find out. Eguro tells him that in the new world, humans won't have their pesky free will and will thus be happy. They're here to capture and eliminate or reform the 'irregularities,' the exceptionally strong individuals capable of giving them problems.

Elsewhere, we have Genos going through Metal Knight's laboratories. As of the end of the year, he'd gotten through the first one.

Someone else with beef with Metal Knight is Child Emperor. He has finally put together the source of the robots and goes to confront Metal Knight. We leave off without a conclusion, but what transpires is interesting. Reasoning that it's unlikely that Metal Knight would be so careless as to leave his fingerprints on the robots now attacking the world, it's likely that someone is trying to frame Metal Knight. However, his erstwhile mentor isn't off the hook. Has he abandoned his humanity in an attempt to finish an uncontrollable AI?

We leave off with a tense standoff between Isamu and Bofoi, the old man giving nothing away as he faces off against the increasingly agitated boy.

No idea when ONE will return to this. No idea if Genos will crash the party before we can get those answers.

When you chase sweetness, you drink antifreeze

McCoy is at the nexus of the great deception. His help was instrumental in undermining the Hero Association, stealing data and plans, helping recruit pro-heroes and give vital information on manipulating those heroes. As the attack has progressed, he has been having increasing misgivings. He wanted money and the sweet benefits of enjoying a top position with a hero organization. But he never intended to facilitate evil. He's greedy, not evil.

Everywhere he looks, things are increasingly suspicious. Starting with Mr. Fuzzy, whose precognition appeared to have mysteriously failed just when it would have been most useful. What if he isn't actually a psychic at all? The implications are bothersome, but they fit all too well with the rest of the occurrences. The cold refusal to help the Hero Association in any way, not even to save them. The way the Neo Heroes have been stockpiling fuel, raw materials and an insane quantity of weaponry. The way the two wealthiest heroes have mysteriously started preaching becoming cyborgs and giving away their manpower and wealth to the Neo Heroes. The way he McCoy is being pressured to become a cyborg himself as the way Mr. Fuzzy puts it, there's not going to be a place in this world for anyone who hasn't accepted his (Fuzzy's) implementation of cyborgization.

We end 2023 with the sight of McCoy scrambling in vain to try to get either Superalloy Darkshine or Metal Bat to help. The former refuses and the latter is locked up in a self-healing prison. McCoy tries to retrieve Metal Bat's original metal bat, but he's caught by A and Ryomon. The sweet juice he sought to sip now turns out to be poison. Poison that he notes is going to kill a lot of people. Including himself.

I'm praying 2024 sees this arc reach its climax and end! Pray our Bad Boyfriend is in a generous mood this year.

[landinrris]

Lando not spending New Year's Eve with his family makes sense to me. I have noticed a lot of growth in him over the past few years, and 2023 in particular as obvious superior in the team. Especially now he's not under Carlos' thumb anymore he has been able to grow and be himself finally. Which is why I think he is spending more time with Martin and generally more time exploring his interests (not sports that have been thrust upon him by older teammates and his ceo). Finally this is the real Lando.

I can see your rationale, but I don't personally agree with some of it, and that's fine. I definitely think these last few years have been years of growth for Lando. This year especially, as he's the older and more experienced teammate of the two. I'm very excited to see how he and Oscar push each other next year with a car that hopefully starts out where they finished and maybe even a little farther ahead. Lando's more comfortable with himself and where he fits in with his friends, I think that's obvious. As such, we've gotten a lot more public content of him hanging out with newer friends like Martin and indulging himself in other fixations like photography and DJing last year.

However, I don't really agree with the latter half of your message. I personally am not of the mind that he's ever been "under Carlos' thumb." It's very obvious that they were friends as teammates and have remained as such post-2020. Carlos said himself it's easier to be friends now since they're not on the same team. We also know from Lando that the reason he backed off of golf so much was because of his back issues. If I remember correctly, it was a habit he picked up in 2020 because of covid to get out of the house and still be around people. No one is forcing him to play. He does still play though, as evidenced by Austin, and Brazil most recently (not really counting the Netflix Cup here, but you get the point).

I don't think we've ever been treated to a "fake Lando." His current form is just one that's maybe more comfortable with who he is, as you typically get with age.

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of spring cleaning

11pm monday, april 3, 2023

family in town this week! i've been vacuuming! and cleaned the bathroom! funny how the title of these posts is starting to turn into a pattern, where the X in 'in lieu of x' is becoming an obligation more and more often...i guess as befits a fun little side project that i keep up instead of doing other things? even though it didn't start out with that sense in mind? curious. spoilers for some of the early episodes of dimension 20: neverafter, baru cormorant 3. and the first three episodes of ted lasso season 3!

reading having fun with baru 3 again. the masquerade ball (a masquerade ball! in a series about masks!) was v fun for me. the dialogue lately between barhu and heingyl and iscend and even aminata and shao lune has been great. seeing tau-indi back in action has changed everything. watching aminata fucking evolve and change her position and go against her earlier principles is so really excellently done. i hope to finish this up, since i have a backlog of things now on my phone and piling up next to my bed physically, nona (and rereading harrow) and jasmine throne and the golden enclaves and more, not to mention more victoria goddard and the rest of what we all long for and my various malingering libby loans which i keep asking to be delivered later....

watching caught up on the first new episodes of series 3 of ted lasso this weekend, and oh wow i've missed this show. i have inchoate emotional thoughts about roy + keeley, and about ted and his family shit, about rebecca and ted clashing over the need to 'fight back' as the season progresses, over the nate of it all, but i think none of that has surprised me? i'm here for it, but it's not unexpected (even the roy/keeley situation, that was flagged at the end of the last series). what has so far surprised me, in the sense that, i am pleased to see the show introducing new complications and layers and avenues of inquiry, has been shandy, keeley in management and how that's going, trent's book and watching him relate to roy (that scene with the review, aghhh) and watching them realize that they have the memory, the history of the sport, that beard and ted don't have, the roy and jamie scenes, the way jamie has been really great actually? especially seeing him react to zava? and finally, the chance to get to know colin. we've gotten to know isaac a bit, and sam a lot, and i am here for this deep dive into a new player. and it's not just because he's the welsh player, or the closeted player, i've always had a soft spot for colin and i'm excited to see more of him! and i'm worried for him now, but... not that worried because he is, after all, a strong and capable man. also, because this is apparently the final season, i have some...what's the opposite of trepidation. about how things will go. sure, there will be surprises and probably some heart-wrenching stuff but whatever will happen, will happen with a sense of finality, if that makes sense.

(this is a very silly picture, but it has trent and zava in it whereas most of the cast shots don't, so.)

listening an almost constant stream of dimension 20: neverafter, every time i'm outside the house. i'm still only just through episode 5, trouble in tuffeton, so it's a good thing i'm not waiting to watch these with the video-- having the dropout subscription has enabled me to stream just the audio, which is better for commuting and also is i think good for me this season-- as much as i'd like to see people's faces, the maps and whatnot, the minis are a little immersion-breaking. i may go back to watching alongside an hour or two of stardew, now that i have access to my games again, hooray. anyway i'm obsessed with lou, with zack, with noticing and really appreciating murph? all of a sudden? as a player and as someone playing a character who is flawed and still very funny. ally beardsley my beloved. the premise for this season was exciting to me, and then the multiverse / stories within stories flavor was...less so, it feels like well-trodden fairy-tale territory at this point to get so meta about storytelling, but the more i listen the more i am surprised and pleased by brennan's choices and how these reinterpretations are achieved. i love pitting the princesses against the fairies. i love the overlap between the characters' backstories (pinocchio's mother being the bad fairy!?) and everyone doing so fucking well at being both players who Know Things and unreliable narrators as their characters who Couldn't Know.

playing got to hang out with the lovely @floragraph and play a little stardew valley today! it's been so nice to dip back in, now that my laptop is fixed and functional again. also revisited pentiment with @dimir-charmer and we've absolutely run down the clock on this one bit without a satisfactory solution, and it's stressful! this is a good game!! and finally, d&d yesterday was a riotous delight, a run-in with the fantasy pinkerton detectives, and now a horse-chase. what a good game.

making fucked around in the kitchen yesterday while on the phone with an old friend, and together we concocted an interesting soup, using a quarter of a japanese pumpkin i had. roasted, pureed, mixed with sage and cream and ginger and a bit of roasted carrot...you get the picture. a solid B+ for totally improvised soup. totally improvising soup and adding little things to taste until it arrives at Pleasant, Actually always reminds me of my gran.

working on a bunch of things that aren't actually my work, which is starting to cause a bit of stress. applied for a funding award last week, while also sitting down with a couple of profs to talk about my rejected paper and where to send it next and how to amend it (which i have yet to do), though, so there's that. put several hours into paid work for my RAship though, that felt good. i also filed a bit of paperwork that ended up being easy but was frustrating in the moment, which i can consider a win. i need to finalize and book a bunch of summer travel things, start and finish my taxes, make these revisions and do so in a timely manner so that i can send the drafts to the people who need to read them.... but it all feels sort of far away and dreamy in comparison to the last few weeks of march, for better or for worse. instead, i have begun duolingo dutch and looking up travel phone plans in the netherlands...!

[lesbiansurge]

June 2023 Brawl Talk

OH FUCK DANI IS IN THE BACKROOMS!!!!!!

more below the cut!

the new brawler this season is Cordelius, a, um..... mushroom, guy...? they say he was a gardener in starr park, but the toxicity of the place drove him mad; now he's stuck there. oh shit thats LORE!!!!!! nothing we didnt already know but wow!!!!

most of his kit isnt a whole lot; his main attack seems a little on the weaker end, but he is very fast to make up for that. on top of that, his super transports himself and whomever he hits to another dimension where they fight... TO THE DEATH!!! however, the odds are most definitely in his favor, as he gains a speed(!) and reload speed boost while his opponent can't use any gadgets or supers.

there's also spore mind cordelius, the tier 70 brawl pass skin, but frankly i dont care about it. blah blah blah another evil tier 70 brawl pass skin. this is like the third one we've gotten so far, right?

this skin (haunted house 8-bit) sucks dookey im not talking about it.

STONE TROLL LOU IS AWESOME THOUGH!!!! but its the power league skin *among us sound effect*

i actually quite like wood spirit chester. the face reminds me of el muneco from guacamelee 2 :) might not go out of my way to get it however.

finally...

ughhhh i could talk about my gripes with this skin now, but i'll save that for another post. tldr its a fun design but its also a big day for annoying people

there are more skins coming in The Summer of Pirates (keeping to the theme of summer of x) but i dont really care for any of them enough to cover here. which is funny considering griff and surge both got skins for this event.

its time for the best fucking part of this brawl talk though DOUG!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hes actually so awesome and looks so fun to play mechanically. plus i looooove hot dogs WAIT THATS WHY HES NAMED DOUG BECAUSE. BECAUSE THE THE THE HOT DOG!!!!!!!!!

mechanically he has a range similar to (maybe a little smaller than?) jacky, but with attacks like byron. that is, they both heal and hurt. there's also a bit of a point-blank mechanic in play where the closer everyone is to doug, the more health they gain/lose. i also noticed that the healing and damage arent 1:1, which actually makes me a little peeved since they refuse to do something similar for byron. but its whatever though (-:

moving on, he is the first brawler in the game that is able to revive others and himself! wait what about 8bit with extra life?? ...anyway, his super functions very similarly to gus, but replace the shield with a revive effect. of course, this revive effect doesnt last forever! i noticed that brawlers dont drop their gems if they get revived though, which sounds like he will be really good in gem grab. maybe. idk.

theres also the obligatory recolor skin draco doug. not much to talk about with that though <3

not to mention skin remodels! dark tide carl, iris tara (now stara), smuggler penny, and phoenix crow!!! wow!!! bonnie is also getting some 29 gem skins, unicorn bonnie and footbonnie (LIKE FOOTBALL. GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER!!!)

finally, the moment some of you have been waiting for...! ARE! BOXES! RETURNING!!!

NO!!!!!!!!

i audibly cheered when they said that. however the mechanics are coming back in their own unique way. its in a way that i feel is a lot less predatory, so im overall happy with this, er... rework...?

introducing starr drops! you earn drops through winning matches (any kind of match counts) that can range from rare to legendary, much like the brawlers. you also get four chances to upgrade these drops, but the chances seem very small. drops can give resources, brawlers, pins, sprays, icons, and even skins! small caveat, only skins purchasable with bling that are not limited can be rewarded.

they also go into some stuff about how this is an overall buff to resource gain. i'll take their word for it :)

some extra stuff! payload is back, but the payloads themselves have no collision (basically meaning you can walk/shoot through them now. like hotzone but the zones move). takedown my beloved and wipeout my despised are back in rotation. quests can now be completed with more than one (but not every) brawler. speaking of quests, premium quests can now be progressed, even if you havent purchased the premium brawl pass. this makes it all the more sweet when you purchase the brawl pass after the beginning of the season :D

finally, paula is going to be leaving the brawl stars team. i wish her all the best <3

[anemonay]

2023 wrap up ( thanks @spaceoperetta for the idea, hasn't even considered doing one!)

-very long, been a big year for me-

tw: d/ru/g usage discussed positively

- also worst depression since college, but at least it's not the manic-depressive mixed state I was in for most of those 4 years

- BUT I also found the first ever antidepressant that works for me a couple months ago! I've been on a mood stabilizer that's "worked" for me for years in terms of controlling the hypomania, but I would still sink into low, low depressions. Now I just feel capable of happiness, but I need to rebuild those neural pathways since they haven't been used in so long

- my husband and I's relationship is much, much better. Once we moved things got really not great, and he is a lovely and great person but I think he'd never had to /actually/ deal with anything or question himself before and being in a new place, with someone holding him accountable, who wouldn't just ignore any of the ineffective things he was doing or any of the negative things occurring freaked him out a bunch, especially because he had no distress tolerance skills. I have my own stuff to work on too, but his refusal to accept what he doesn't understand really exacerbated my emotional reactivity and now I have to unlearn all of those habits.

- I found a therapist who works with my brain!

- my best friend moved to my city, and it was only supposed to be for like 10 months but she met her boyfriend and is blossoming and getting opportunities in her field like crazy so she's staying longer which means we can hang out more!

- knees got worse, but I finally went to physical therapy (because I maxed out my insurance OOP with the name other medical things I had to do this year) and it helped a bunch!

- a ton of drama with my husband's family. His youngest sister randomly decided that I am abusive (not even during like any interaction or anything, she just randomly started having an attitude with me 2 weeks before their annual (white, well-off people) family vacation), and then was cold to me during the vacation, and went on a walk with my husband where she essentially tried to convince him that I AM abusive. (Husband also handled it poorly - he's the "everyone is right in some way" type and didn't tell her she was completely out of line, but that has also gotten better thanks to couple's therapy). Then over Thanksgiving she decided to create drama with the older sister over her own poor behavior when older sister was doing absolutely nothing mean or wrong. It's been really stressful, we didn't even do a zoom call for Christmas this year which they normally try to make happen no matter what.

- I lost my job at a startup (blessing in disguise) and got a new job. The company is great, but I hate the work. It's not what I applied to do, it's way more technical and I would like that if ANYONE had the time to train me. But they lost a ton of people going from fully remote to hybrid, so everyone I work with has less experience than I do actually. I'm also struggling to do it because of how lost and flustered I feel.

- I picked up journaling and that's been so great and helpful.

- I went to Portland! I adored it very much. Though towards the end something about it felt vaguely threatening/heavy/scary. But I definitely want to visit again.

- I reconnected with my childhood best friend! We definitely grew in different ways but the foundation is still very much clicking. I'm going to stay with her and her husband in Seattle and visit again in May. She's so, so wonderful and I missed her so so much I'm tearing up writing this. We've continued to message frequently since, and once Baldur's Gate's cross play feature is out (fingers crossed) we're going to play together.

- I learned that stimulants don't work for my brain. ADHD stims caused anhedonia, coffee just triggers migraines, and Modafinil semi kinda maybe works but not well. I've managed to quit coffee for a week or so now. It's definitely an addiction. But chai tea lattes are filling the void. And the void also means that I'm getting back into tea! A childhood Internet friend is the one who got me into tea, and it feels very heartwarming to remember them through it.

- I lost my first cat together with my husband. You will be missed dearly forever, little man.

- I found my favorite d/ru/g! Technically I think it's 2-fdck that's my favorite favorite if my testing was correct, but basically ke/tam/ine and its analogues in general. It's so amazing and it checks all my boxes. I haven't personally experienced any negatives from it, though if you ever try it please read up on appropriate doseage, periods between use, and all that. It's helped me a ton with figuring stuff out, feeling motivated, and rewiring my brain. I'm weird and drugs have never worked the same for me as other people now have I ever had it impact my life negatively so please don't take my experience as advice or normal.

- I tripped for real for the first time in forever over Christmas break! My meds make it really, really difficult. Most people can't trip at all no matter how much they take on these meds. But I just kept raising my dose and bam, finally! I also had my first ever LSD epiphany and I feel like I can really move forward with my life. Tripping has also always helped my brain reset - like turning a computer off and on instead of just locking it or hibernating. I always feel so refreshed.

- I generally just feel more compassion for myself and more capable of being the person I want to be. Sometimes it hurts because it feels like I was on such a good trajectory, and then a ton of negative things happened to me with no support system and everything in my life just stopped. And then I was getting better and then COVID really broke me - at least when the bad stuff was happening I had stimulation, but COVID liked my brain. I think I still have it in me to be happy in the ways I want.

I hope we live in unprecedented times where history is made! Precedented times and the continuation of the normal just means the rich get richer and people die at the hands of oppressors. I hope things change for the better, greatly and permanently.

[ilkkijangege]

135

Is this a start of another chapter in my life/love life?

Basically, I need to stop crushing on work guys! I recently started liking this guy, who is the brother of one of my old colleagues turned friend. It just happened 😂

I heard he is not available-ish, he is in a situationship. He seems like a really decent guy. I'll try to be friend him gradually and see how it goes.

We've been having small moments here and there with the help of my two friends who are much closer to him. When I was first properly introduced to him, I was shook at how <i>malutong</i> he curses in Tagalog because I have NEVER heard his sister curse in our nearly 4 years of friendship. So I go to one of my friends that I thought he was a church boi, to which my friend went and told him. As his response, "ate ko lang un." 😂

But last week, I was over at his desk with one of my friend and she got called into a meeting, so awkward Bianca ran away from him and said "bye". 😂 Then today, we talked about the Filipino new joiners to our project. He looked them up on our workplace chat and was like "fuckboiis". So I go "it takes one to know one huh?" He didn't reply, was he offended or did I speak too low? 😂 Then last week, my seastar had an idea for me to ask him about his contract (since a lot of people's contracts hasn't been renewed). So I asked him if he was on a permanent contract. He said no, it was gonna expire on the 14th of May and they need to give him 3 weeks notice so he thinks he is safe.

But idk if I should continue this if he is not available. I would like to get to know him as a friend and go with the flow. I'm actually meeting up with his sister and Jacqui on the 18th of May so we'll see 🙈

bye for now 😂

---------

28 April 2023

Mustered up the courage to talk to him today, yieeeeee

So basically, this week, I have been wanting to talk to him but I was so busy that I had meetings after meetings etc.

Basically, today is payday and I also wanted to get boba as a treat.

We have a group chat on Whatsapp and I asked the filo gang if they wanted one. No one replied so after lunch I went around his product group to ask them in person. Initially, he wanted coffee but the place we ordered didn't have one, so he was like 'I'll take chocolate with less sugar'. (ngl was kinda judging his choice but interesting) then he said 'what's your revolut *ate* (older sister in Filipino)?' I replied 'ate???' then he goes 'oh wait I think I may be older than you.' so I asked him 'how old are you? (as if I didn't already know ahahahah), '27 but turning 28 in like 3 weeks' (i already knew this too HAHAHAH) I replied 'ohhhh I'm August so you really are older' YIEEEEE hahhaah

So I go order the boba and when it arrived, the other filo girl on his team gave it to him and he turned to me to say 'thank you' in a really cute way, kilig naman lola nyo. then he was talking to this QA on my team (looks like about f1) and I was waiting for him to go away so I can go talk to him again. So I went up to his desk, I firstly asked him about the update on his contract. He said he got renewed for only 3 months and I asked him if he knows what's gonna happen after 3 months, they said it could be extended for another 3 months but he is really worried about job security cos they can let you go any time, to which I said it's really shitty. He thinks they are doing it to see how many people are leaving before we move to the other building. But I feel so bad for him, hopefully he gets another renewal. (or I will shoot my shot in 3 months ahahah)

Then we started talking about how expensive boba has gotten (we paid 6euro each) and he was so shocked hahaah (jacqui did warn me that he is very thrifty lmao). He thinks Kakilang and Charap are overrated. I told him I think we are quite biased with Charap because one of my sister's boyfriend works there. He was surprised because he thought only family of the owners worked there, I told him he was a distant relative, he said he went there when they were still new, he ordered coffee (who orders coffee at a bubble tea place?!?!? but he seems to like coffee a lot cos I remember his sister's IG stories of him making coffee) and he was skeptical as to why he was not hearing any coffee machines, THEY USED KOPIKO INSTANT COFFEE ahahahah. He said he paid 3 something for it and I told him oh that's robbery. He said the staff looked unhappy and that if it was him, he wouldn't work for the family business. Then he asked me if I have tried their cheesedog, I said 'oh their waffle dog?' haahah then he said White Rabbit's one is really good and I agreed but it is very overpriced, he said because they've gotten really popular. I asked him if he's tried the Korean restaurant before it was White Rabbit, Brothers Dosirak and he said no. He said he only knows 2 Korean restaurant, Arisu and White Rabbit, but he did see a new one recently, he said near Smithfield, so I asked if it was the Korean Table. I said it was good but very expensive, 20euro for a Bibimbap like. Then I told him there is another new one, Space Jaru in the Liberties to which I told him I was having dinner with his sister and Jacqui. Then he goes 'oh she told me about that! we hardly talk nowadays but when we do we talk for like 2 hours.' (sya na nag bibigay ng extra details na I don't need 😂) Then I told him he should join us but he declined 'it's okay, you guys enjoy'. He asked me if it was fusion and all, I said it kinda is but they have great Korean Fried Chicken. Then asked me if I have tried Bites with Kwanghi to which I said, they aren't that good cos they use frozen stuff as per my friend who was being mentored by Kwanghi. He said there were a lot of Filipinos there etc

He asked me how Jacqui was etc then I asked him if his sister has dropped any hints on what she wants for her birthday. He was like 'oh shit it's her birthday?' then I said 'how could you forget your sister's birthday??' HAHAHAHAH then he had to think about it, he said we should just get something for her dog, Louis. But he was also questioning us 'why would you get my sister a gift??' to which I said 'you're such a savage brother' hahaha then he was like 'just tell Jacqui I said not to get her a gift, *his first name* Approved*. I said 'AA approved!* hahaah

Then he asked me if I was QA or a TL. I told him I was a QA for D&S, he thought I was a TL bruh. I said 'i wish' then he was like 'oh really?' then I go 'ehhh I dont like managing people'. Then at one point, he said thank you 'ate' again for the boba and to give him my Revolut. I told him the girl on his team already paid for his. Then I told him 'I thought we already established that you were older than me??' then he was like, I call everyone ate - Vanessa and Mary Jo. Okay whatever you say, bsta ayokong ma-ate zone hahaha

then I think we just said goodbye cos I had so much things to do. I should have asked him how the boba was haahah

But here we go with overthinking again, how or why did his sister mention that we were meeting up? Like how did that conversation come up to be and whether I was mentioned? ahahh

Overall, I was proud of myself today. One of my old friends, GG told me he is really funny and he is honestly. I look forward to many more moments with him. I would definitely like to be his friend. Gosh I was shaking when I was talking to him but I got more comfortable, like compared to when I used to talk to Chad haahah i realized na wala pala talagang kwenta kausap si Chad 😂

I will probably ask him to join us for dinner again closer to the date ahaha but I hope we can get more closer, you never know what could happen ahhahaah

Hay Lord, please take my feelings away kung wala mapupuntahan ahaha

--------

2 May 2023

Yieee so had another courage to talk to him today! <3

I was over at GG's desk and I had been contemplating if I should talk to him and all. Then I finally did. I asked him how he was and he said he was working on a case that he didn't know what to do cos he hasn't seen it before and so he was self learning about it. I asked him if he was working on Pages or Interfaces (his old product that he still helps out with when they have backlog) at the moment, he said Pages but he feels like a Prostitute and he needs Vaseline for his ass. I told him there's a pharmacy down there if he wants to buy and he said 'it's too late for that, there's already a fist up there'. I am shook at how he is, I never expected him to be this explicit and him sharing these things when we hardly know each other.

Then he asked me when I was having dinner with his sister and Jacqui, I said the '18th' and he was like 'but ate's birthday would have passed, that's closer to my birthday, I'm the 22nd' (as if I didn't already know fam HAHAHAHAHAH) I told him we scheduled it sooo early cos it's busy season at Jacqui's department. Then he was like 'I'm away for my birthday' so I asked him where he was going, he said Italy and I asked 'oh with your fam?' he replied: 'with my cousin'.

Then I asked him if he was on the late shift, he said yes, he asked me if I was, I said we don't do late shifts but I started early today (7am) to avoid the traffic. Then he said he prefers earlies because he gets to do a lot of things but the traffic does get him, it would take him nearly 2 hours to get home but when he gets home, he eats, watch a movie and sleep. I told him I don't even have time to do anything ahah. He also said how it will be difficult for him to get to work when we move to Sandyford so I told him 'you said you have car, why don't you start driving it?' then he was like 'yeah I'll start driving it illegally, I don't even have NCT or Road Tax on it and I still haven't fully paid it yet.' ahahahah I told him I should also start driving.

Then I think our conversation just died down from here so I told him 'concentrate ka na dyan sa case mo bye!', he replied 'bye ate!' so annoying stop calling me ate please ahaha but I asked Mary if he does call her ate and she said yes, so it is probably the bunso syndrome in him hahaahah.

Ohhh and I also had a dream about him, he set me as his wallpaper on his work PC and it was funny because it was a cutout of my head, there were 2 and they kept floating around his screen ahahah

But honestly, I am very proud of myself again. I never thought I'd have such great conversations with him. I'm really shocked that he can be so explicit, boy does your sister know you say these things? You really are a bad church boi HAHAHAHH

Once again Lord, I am begging you please take him away from me kung wala akong pag asa sakanya. huhu

----

3 May 2023

Ayoko naaaa, kala ko today we were not gonna talk cos I was sooo swamped with this deep dive in work.

But to my surprise, xa naman pumunta sakin today. Firstly, he was looking for his product QAs, as in he said 'Bianca asan mga QAs namin?" So I explained...but one called in sick, one had a dentist appointment, one is on PTO and the other was hiding in a room somewhere. So I asked him if I could help but he decline because it was product specific. Then he ranted about how their QAs are always not there when they need them ahaha so sabi ko sakanya, if it's not product specific, "you can always ask me." HAHAAH KONTING LANDI DIN PAMINSAN HAHAH (but it's the first time I heard him say my name haha without ate too ahahah)

Then 1 hour later, he comes over my desk, sits besides me, as in he was so comfortable, his hands above his head and all, and ask me 'ate do you still ask your analyst to clone? cos I have a case dalawa ung issue.' Sabi ko we had a task open to get rid of it cos the filers always push back that they can't see the cloned case so I showed him a workaround in case. Then he saw Vanessa messaged me and he was like 'sabihin mo sakanya tumahimik sya' so I replied "di nya maiintindihan", his response: "ay oo nga pala" then laughs ahahah

Then as usual, pumunta nanaman ako sa area nya for GG then I went over at his desk, I asked him how his pwet was and he was like 'I told you it is past the vaseline stage, it's gone' ahahah 'non existent na?' he said 'no, just it's not there' ahaha then he asked me if I found a gift for his sister yet, I said Jacqui got a mug but might something else for Louis. Then he showed me a video of Louis and told me he is cute but makulit xa and said something I couldn't hear about what he wants to do to Louis (something bad anyway ahahaha). Then we started talking about shifts, if he is in all week and off weekends, he said he is off Saturday and in Sunday but he hates it cos 6 days straight and just 1 day off and how I told him MM's schedule is fucked up then he said last week, Interfaces TL asked him if he wanted to do overtime, he said no. I said even if they offer me 2x I wouldn't do it. Then he was like, "if they offer me my whole annual salary then I would do it, my ass will be perk up" (or something along this). Then he saw I kept looking somewhere, so he asks me who I was waiting for, I said Vanessa lol. My bus was soon so I said goodbye to him and said 'see you tomorrow'.

Haaaysss, I think tomorrow mag papa miss ako and not go over LMAO. Ayoko na Lord, masasaktan nanaman ako neto eh ahahah

.....

4 May

So he was off today, not sure if called in sick or what butttt....

I have an answer to the question I have been praying for. Wala akong pag asa sa kanya at never will have.

Basically, Mary Jo told me she talked to him last night on the late shift and asked him if he would be willing to date while he is on this situationship. He asked, 'bakit, sino?' then Mary said, 'what if it's from work?' Then he responded that he doesn't want someone from work cos it is awkward. (side note: mag reresign na ako bukas CHARING).

Okay naman sakin mag move on kasi sanay na ako haahah but I told Jacqui about this and she said feelings can change and since he only got renewed for 3 months, if ever he does get laid off then I can shoot my shot then, IF EVER di pa ako maka move on. Butttt di na ako aasa.

I think I will defo just consider him as a friend from now and get to know someone new. I need to keep feelings detached haha.

But I do wonder if napa-isip xa kung ako ba ung tinatanong ni Mary? Like do I avoid him now or what? How do I keep a normal conversation going? Kasi if I suddenly avoid him, then baka mahalata nya. But honestly, not once have I shown na I was nervous around him tbh so di ko alam if may na sense xa. But Lord, this is the answer I prayed for so thank you.

Another chapter closed sa blog na toh. BYEEEEE FOR A LONG TIME AGAIN

----

8 May

I knowww I said I wouldn't update again but gosh I feel like he is avoiding meeee.

Like earlier, he was looking for their QAs and they were busy, on holidays or sick leave. Like I asked him "do you need help?" But he just ignored me 😂

Then, I went over to GG's desk cos we were gonna have lunch together, we bumped into each other and he really didn't say hi. But after lunch, (I think he ate on his own today) we bumped into him again at the plate carousel, idk if he just said "hi" to GG or he also said hi to me. Maybe he's just really off today, it's a Monday afterall 😂 I haven't talked to him in a while though. I'll see if I ain't busy tomorrow and I'll chat him up. 😂

On a side note, his sister's bday is today, I greeted her and she said she cannot wait to see me 😂😂😂😂 idk if I will still execute my plan with Jacqui. We'll see 😂

----

9 May

So I really feel like he is avoiding me and I am overthinking it. Like today he came to our area again but a simple hello would have been nice but he didn't say anything at all. Like does he know tlga?? I am curious.

But I did ask my friends and Mary said he messaged him but he didn't respond so maybe he is going through some things. Break na sila? ahahah is it my turn to sweep him off his feet? Charing

But my gosh I'm already stressed out as it is so I do not need this anymore. Hahaha

We'll see tomorrow if I am less busy, I think I may have more time but we shall seeeee

Update 9 May, 23:59

I have been checking his IG, he unfollowed someone and also lost a follower. On top of it, he also archived his posts. He is defo going through something haha baka nag "break" na sila nung ka MU nya

.......

11 May

So he was back to work today and he is not ignoring me anymore, he probably was going through something

So I saw him when he got in, he was going to a meeting room and I smiled at him and he asked me "you good?" While smiling 😂 He seems better.

Then after lunch, I saw him alone at his desk, went up to him and I asked him if he's had lunch, he said not yet, 1.30 cos he is on the lates, he swapped shifts and fucked himself over cos he is on the earlies tomorrow but he likes the earlies.

Then I thought he had chika because he was like "nakita mo toh?" but we were interrupted cos someone needed help (the husband of my ex bff). I came back like 2 hours, to ask about it again, I said "uy ano chika mo?" He was like "what chika?" "You asked me if may nakita ako" then he remembered and showed me this QA development thing. He said he wants to be a QA, so I said "oh you want to be a QA?" he replied: 8-5, weekends off and I said "BH off too, just be prepared for deep dives" and he just laughed 😂 but idk if he still knows something cos our convo died and I told him "sige see you soon", he said "see you later" 😂

....

12 May

So we didn't really interact much today. But he got on the same bus as me, the seat beside me was EMPTY but he chose to sit in the one in front of me (which was not empty btw) and I'm like Y U NO SIT BESIDE ME 🥹😂 but the guy beside him left eventually and he sat directly behind me and he smelled good 😂

Then our next interaction was when he got of of the toilets, I was walking past and we said hello to each other.

BUT YOOOOOO a few hours later, the QAs and I decided to play hide and seek because our TL left early and we were all alone. So I decided to hide in GG's corner. Along the way, I had to go through Airplane's row and on that row, there is an unstable section of the floor AND IT FUCKING COLLAPSED AS I WALKED BY 😂 it was fucking embarassing, he even got up to see what the commotion was but didn't ask if I was okay char sana kunwari nadapa ako para tinulungan nya ako 😂

Anyways yeaahh un na 😂 I think he is already off on Monday for his birthday trip. I think he's gone for nearly 2 weeks? So no interactions till he get back. But I'm seeing his sister next Thursday so I'll update if my plan goes through. 😂

.......

15 May

So he was in today afterall but we did not speak to each other because I was busy and I was still embarrassed from what happened on Friday 😂

BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWWWWSSSS WALA NA SILA NUNG KA SITUATIONSHIP NYA 😂😂😂 MY INTUITION WAS RIGHT! GALING KO TALAGA! Though he told Mary that he wants to focus on himself, bro just you wait, I will get the green light from your sister 😛

Buttt, one of my sister has an admirer in work and she gave us idea on what the date should be. She gave us the idea for an Escape Room, she said I should find a horror one so I can clutch onto BCB 😂 I found this one where the teams will be divided into two, prisoners and the solvers, so naturally, I wanna be a prisoner with BCB 😂 yieee jk

So Mary asked him if he is down for it and he said yes buttt we need to find a day where all of us are available and it's super hard 😭😭😭

He's going to Italy tomorrow yeah HE CANNOT FUCKING FIND HIS PASSPORT 😂😂😂😂 My gosh bunso syndrome tlga!!! 😂😂 I hope he finds it 😂

But Mary said masasaktan lang daw ako kasi hindi sya nag rereply. Sabi ko: araw araw ko naman xang makikita 😂 and that I am used to getting hurt, Martyr Nyebera 😂 Rupok Mae Quinto daw ako 😂😂😂😂 But whatever will be, will be. At the end of the day, if he's willing to put in the effort, we can make it work. 😉

But he's gone for a week now so I'll miss him 🥹 but I'll see how things are with his sister on Thursday 😂

......

18 May

So I had dinner with his sister today and Jacqui...

We casually talked about BCB during dinner but I did not say anything. There was a point where I told her how BCB keeps calling me ate and she said he asked her one time 'wait, how old is Bianca?' Then sis told him 'she's like 2 years younger than me.' then he said 'Oh shit I keep calling her ate!' ahahaha then I told sis I am only 1 year younger than her, 1995 so we're the same age ahaha

She started asking me how her brother was, if he's good and if he actually does his job etc I told him he always looks busy when I see him haahaha

Jacqui was trying really hard to bring up the convo about BCB like asking like 'sila na lang kaya' etc etc but it was not going anywhere. She asked me "type mo ba?" Sabi ko, "pwede, he's funny" 😂

So we went for dessert after dinner and as we were leaving, like 30 mins before. I told them 'I want to say something but I'm shy'... then they were like 'ano???' then they had all eyes on me and I finally said 'I have a new crush....' they were like (well Jacqui acting) 'who??? is it from work??' 'yes' and I just kept looking at the sis all this time and I was shaking like maaaaddd 'it's BCB', she was shocked 'why didn't you tell me earlier??' they were teasing me "ooh she has an office crush!" Then she asked me how our chemistry is, if we talk and I told her we do, and how long has this been going on, I said just a few weeks. She said he is really weird. She was trying to tell me things about him, like how his dream is to open a cafe and he is saving up for it and I was shook because this is also a dream of mine, if ever I get sick of Law hahah

She said his brother is reaalllly nice, magalang, humble and she would really recommend him to anyone. He's a very family man. She said he's very private of his love life to the point where she didn't even know about how he was in a situationship until they ended things. She said they ended things because they were at different stages in their lives. (EG the girl already owns a house). She said he thinks he is not gwapo but she thinks that he is the most gwapo out of his friends and she's just not saying that because he is her brother. She said he's not really into social media, which is great in a way that he is really private. He's a foodie, one of his friends is a chef and they go to fancy restaurants together. I SWEAR WE CAN BE FOODIES TOGETHER HUHU

She also said that he's a really good conversationalist to the point where people (girls) have construed them to be something more. (I'm an ovethinker pa naman 😂)

She said he is good at making first moves and I shouldn't make the first move because I've already done it. She said he's expressed feelings about being pressured (being in an Asian household) and feeling not good enough. She said we could be in the same boat in where we want to pursue something higher than what we currently have. She also said he does not like playing games, which is very fair because we are too old for that and I am the same. She said the previous girl he dated, she was playing hard to get and he did not like that. Don't worry, if I like you, I like you and I will not make excuses. It's seems we are very alike, she said his friends have been the same since high school and she said that's just like me with my seastars.

She asked me if I liked going out because he does and that's something he has besides work. (this is the Gemini in him 😂). I'm such a homebody but I can compromise 😂

I asked her if I have the green light from her cos this might change the trajectory of our friendship (if things don't work out with me and him). She said that she will not meddle with his relationship but I should pursue this but go with the flow and let things happen naturally. Then Jacqui was like I should call his sis "ate" now and she was so against it 😂

Oh and earlier, during the dinner, before all of this, she said he's had 2 exes, one half black, half Northern Irish and the other one was Pinoy. Then she said how her mom would call her and ask her if she knows anyone she can set up with her brother hahaah

Hay Lord, I leave everything up to you. I will continue to talk to him and see where this takes us and hopefully something happens, but if not, c'est la vie.

.....

20 May

I had a dream about him. I was over at their house and he gave me a tour 😂 It seems that they have a converted attic and it's his room but the funny thing is that he has to use the attic ladder to get to his room and the entrance is very small 😂

.......

24 May

Delikado na toh.. I keep dreaming of him again.

So I had this dream, I was with my seastar in work and for some reason we had these big Brown Thomas bags with us. We had just finished lunch in the canteen so we went up to our floor. We went to the MK and BCB was there, I was behind him and he was besides my seastar getting snacks. I said "hi" but he ignored me and for some reason, I ran away to my desk as in not even fast walk. 😂😂 WTH

But I'm off for the next 2 weeks now because of work related stress. Miss ko na xa 🥹🥹🥹

.....

27 May

Soooo at 8.56pm last night, I followed him on IG 🤭🤭🤭 then he requested to follow me at 11:57pm 😂 (ate es encouraged me to follow him and I did 😂)

And today I checked, he watched my stories 😂😂

oh and I've decided that I'll ask him out end of June/early July. bahala na si batman 😭

....

28 May

HOY LAHAT TLGA NG STORIES KO VINI-VIEW NYA 😭 KALA KO BA HINDI KA MAHILIG MAG SOCMED? 😂

Pero bawal mag overthink 😂

.....

30 May

So I created a reel today and posted it on my story. He viewed story but did not like the reel. YO WHY like mo na pls. 😂

....

2 June

yo crush, y u keep watching my stories but no likey my posts? 🥹🥹🥹 I know you like other people's posts, do u no like me? 🥹

.....

4 June

OMG SO FUNNY. my big seastar has been asking her friends to set her up with guys yeah... we have this mutual (ish) friend, who was also close to BCB's sister in college, she sent big seastar a photo of a guy she found for her. IT WAS BCB 😂😂😂😂 she told her na set up na lang ako with him instead 😂

But apparently... BCB's mom wants an accountant for him. HELLO FUTURE SOLICITOR OVER HERE 😂 ako na lang plsss 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂

.....

6 June

So it was my first day back to work... I made cookies for my team and close colleagues, including GG. My plan was to offer him what was left over from what I brought but it turned out GG wasn't in today so I had the idea that I should just give the cookies to him. But let's backtrack a bit.

Basically, remember our escape room plan? So I already booked the escape room over the weekend because the timeslot was running out. I planned on talking to Mary and bf and the guy who's crushing on my seastar to see if they are free this Saturday. Then I will ask BCB of his plans. But in the end, Mary was sick so I cancelled our escape room.

Then when I found out that GG wasn't in today, I had really been debating whether I should message him or not and when to do it. At around 4.20pm, I mustered the courage and messaged him "yoo do you like cookies? I brought some for GG but he's off today pala and I don't want them to go to waste. Do you want it? 😂" He replied a few mins later "nope I'm okay 🙂 thank you though!" Bit disappointed that he said no. I know it's nothing personal but you know ovethinker nanaman kasi 😂 it just made me think, would he reject me when I ask him out? (I actually decided that I'll ask him out end of the month or early July but now idk if that's a good idea.)

I actually didn't see him properly today even though I walked past his area a couple of times so we didn't talk in person. I'll see tomorrow and the following days. I think I need to discern this more.

....

7 Jun

So I saw him today when I went over to GG's. We didn't talk cos I was shy. He probably looked at me briefly because he was facing towards me when I walked over with Vanessa. Mejo nangitim xa 😂 pero cute pa din 😂

But it's funny, Vanessa and I were talking to each other about BCB before lunch. She said he thought he was the same age as her because of how he is as a person (the way he talks and have banters etc 😂) because compared to him, I am very mature. I told him it's probably the youngest child syndrome etc She also said that he seems to easily get moody. Which I've kinda noticed and it's the Gemini in him 😂

Let's see tomorrow if I'll have the courage to talk to him 🤣 nearly 1 month na kami di nag uusap like what 🤣

[triviareads]

Releases on March 28th, 2023

Summary

Eliza Pierce is a widow who runs Elegant Occasions, a party planning business, with her sisters. She's approached by her late husband's best friend Lord Foxstead with a request: His ward Mrs. March is a widow of a fellow soldier with a two year old son, and he wants Elegant Occasions to help her come out into society with the aim of finding a husband. Foxstead is inconveniently attracted to Eliza who comes to reciprocate, but their family histories have a way of catching up with them.

Some background:

I read The Truth About Lord Stoneville and How to Woo a Reluctant Lady from Sabrina's Hellions of Halstead Hall series a few months ago on the recommendation of my friend @viscountessevie. I also read the first book in her Designing Debutantes series for research (What Happens in the Ballroom is the second).

I could see a clear difference in Sabrina's writing between then and now. In the decade since she published the Hellions series, her dialogue has gotten less cutesy since, though no less humorous, and her heroines have gotten more *knowing*. Like, we've come a long way since Minerva asked Giles if that's a pistol in his pocket. Now, the Harper sisters get their sex ed from "Fallen Females" and casually insinuate they want to have an affair with the hero. Good for them.

My review:

I liked What Happens in the Ballroom's take on husband's-best-friend-pining-after-his-widow because it was less about the guilt of it all and more about dealing with the fallout of the husband's death, if that makes sense (although I do enjoy when a man feels aaaaaall the shame and guilt).

I also liked that Eliza (and Diana in the previous book) is willing to embrace the grey when it comes to her and Foxstead's relationship. There's not much holier-than-thou railing about him being a rake; instead, she just hooks up with him because she knows he'll make her feel good. Foxstead and Eliza are at their best when they're sneaking around to have sex in random carriages and failing So Hard at being cool ("They'll know we did it if your flowers I tucked between my tits are wilted!" "Dw babe just take them out and put them back in after we fuck in this carriage."). Foxstead is an ex-rake who was reformed by war. I think this makes for a more steady love interest (which, I suppose was the point here, especially compared to Eliza's late husband), but not necessarily a more entertaining one, particularly since his rakishness was diminished by the beginning of the story itself.

Speaking of familial obstacles, the situation with Mrs. March (the situation being, who is she?) carried throughout the story. There were some parts where her subplot and other family stuff overshadowed the romance. Like, I think even the Big Grovel was hijacked by it? The revelations kept coming even as the story neared the end, and that kinda took away from my enjoyment.

On a separate note, I liked the theme of sisterhood that continues into this book from the last one, particularly when it comes to sticking together through scandal, and how women navigate scandal. It also carries into Mrs. March's situation, which I did appreciate.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[mcmcntomorii-later]

@kismetkiss

( Thanks for the Valentine's day ask uwu ) Byakuya was extremely grateful for everything Mukuro did for him for Valentine's day. He actually quite enjoyed receiving flowers and wasted no time planting them in a vase. He'll think about her every time he walked by them. He also had her drawing framed, commenting on how artistic she was. Byakuya wanted everyone to see it and he made sure it was hung near the entrance of his home. Now, he had his own surprise in mind. Gently taking her hand after showering her in so many kisses she'd be light headed from lack of breath. Byakuya lead her into the kitchen. He made sure this surprise was kept extremely secret until the day of Valentine's day. A cake shaped to look like Mukuro was placed on the table, then Byakuya would hand her a jewelry box, with a bracelet that was encrusted with golden gems resembling her eyes. He takes her hand and kisses it, "Mukuro Ito, words cannot even begin to describe the love I have for you. The days we've spent together have been filled with nothing but happiness. I hope to continue as we have been. I love you, my dear."

When Byakuya displayed enjoyment in the gifts she had gotten him, Mukuro was over the moon, happy that he really liked the gifts she picked out。 Especially when he chose to not only frame the drawing she had made but put it in a very public spot of his home。

If she wasn't already a bit breathless at the comment of the image she made along with the reception she had got from the gifts from him, the kisses he'd give her also did a number on her breathlessness。There was already a heavy blush on her face as he guided her towards the kitchen, where she'd gasp softly at the cake image of her。

「Oh-- wow~」 Mukuro's has never had a cake made to look like her before, and would it be a bit weird to eat a cake that looked like her? Probably。 But Mukuro has too big of a sweet tooth to deny to eat a piece of cake, and besides the possibility for some sort of dirty joke was also too good to pass up。

But that would be something to think of later, since her attention shifted from the cake to the jewelry box Byakuya held out to her and she'd let out another soft gasp。

「It's so beautiful~ thank you so much, Byakuya」 Mukuro said as a large and loving smile grew on her lips。「I love you too, my dear heart~♡」 Mukuro spoke as she gently reached to caress his face, Mukuro was confident in her assumption that they'd continue to days filled with happiness。 He made her so indescribably happy and Mukuro didn't see them ever parting ways。

【 valentine's day 2023 】 ♡ 【 accepting 】

[ladyaceofspades]

Current life update as proof of life:

* not sure where I left off last time but I was a dental assistant for a bit in the Oral Surgery department at work, then went to become a CBCT tech in the Radiology department. OS was not happy, so I lost a friend (one of the attending doctors was a friend) and my supervisor wasn't speaking to me for a very long time. My supervisor at the time also wrote really unprofessional emails to my now supervisor and department head so they both blocked my old supervisor.

* before I left OS, they asked that I take a certification test for Dental Anesthesia Assistant so I did. It took me two times but I passed January 2024 and now I'm certified!!

*I began working for Radiology in May 2023. I love it. My supervisor treats us very well, and we are close as a department. We are a small department of 3 techs, a supervisor, a department head, and a department head in training. I don't usually include the other radiologists because we don't see them, but there are 2 of them besides the department heads, who are also radiologists. My supervisor bought us a coffee machine and a coffee subscription, and brings us treats like pastries, sweets, snacks, drinks, and various creamers.

*there's always inter-departmental drama but the most recent was my old supervisor from OS, who is finally speaking to me again, offered to hire me back after I passed my test, at a much higher rate than she was paying me before ($5 more than she was paying me, and $2- something more than I make now). I told her I like where I am because I like working with the dental students and teaching them, but she's so committed to misunderstanding me that she just said "it's understandable you don't want to work with the patients". Not what I said, but I know what my truth is.

*Zelda, Princess of the Toe Beans is doing well and captures my heart every day with her adorable way she is herself. We are currently being lazy on the couch as I'm avoiding adult responsibility. Plus we both have our periods and she kept me up all night by not settling and pulling out her pad we've chance she got.

*I've started going to the gym! I'm trying to get healthier, and I was doing well but the week of the test threw me off because I was stress eating like crazy, or not eating at all. Trying to get back to eating healthier choices and at home more. I've been craving McDonald's a lot though so it's hard.

*got Ben to go to the doctor for his blood pressure finally. I'm so proud of him. I've been begging him for like a year to go to the doctor, and we have only gone to PatientFirst if there's a near heart attack or possible heart event. His blood pressure had been through the roof so now he's on meds and had appointments to see other doctors. First he saw his primary care on a Telehealth visit and I felt like I had to coach him through his symptoms and time lines for those symptoms. Like the doctor would ask him a question and Ben would look at me, for me to mouth the answer. He even looked at me when the doctor asked him to come into the office for an in person visit early in the morning and I had to remind him that he's not a morning person (meaning his making it to the appointment in time would be slim if it was early, if it was in the afternoon, he would have a higher chance of showing up on time). When he went into the visit, I had texted a bunch of questions for him to go over with his doctor, including a reminder to ask about checking for blood clots since there's a family history of embolism. Apparently Ben just handed the doctor the phone to read, but because of the mention of family history, Ben now has to see a pulmonologist so that'll be good. Yay for him!!

*I'm going to drag so many people out of the Prep department at work. It's the department I started in, and it's a good way to get your foot in the door and network with the dental students and attending doctors. I'm so proud of my friends that have gotten into school and are trying to get certified to become dental assistants. I've offered my help to help them study, and I'll have to retype up my practice tests from when I took the radiation safety test so I can test them on it, and I've offered to help them take practice x-rays when the time comes. I've offered them my books and everything, and even if all they need me for is to hold up flash cards, I'll do it. They deserve all the success in the world!

*I'm going to re dye my hair purple, take a break from the blue

*I may be starting a cookie business at work. I made butter crunch cookies for the floorvtech for his birthday and he LOVED them. I make batches sporadically and hand them out and people LOVE them. One of the girls at the front desk was calling and texting me for like a half hour before my lunch asking for her cookies but since I was working with students and patients, my phone was off. She got her cookies but apparently she was bugging my coworker about where I was for awhile. I gave a cookie to a lady in the Prep and one of her coworkers fussed that she had a cookie and he didn't (he loves the cookies) so she gave it to him and didn't have it so I owe her a few for that. Same Prep area, different make coworker had his mind blown when he tried the cookies for the first time and thought they were snickerdoodles with cinnamon (no cinnamon at all and they're butter crunch). Took them to one of Ben's family events and there were none left to take home (GOOD because we didn't need them, but now Ben's mom is asking for them for her birthday present and had asked for them for Christmas, these may be at the same level as carnitas because I made carnitas so many times for family events that I can't even eat them anymore). The ladies at the Cafe love the cookies too, and so do their families. Apparently the families ate all the cookies before two of the ladies could try any, and the other lady tears them up with her girlfriend so I always give her a lot. It's gotten to the point where I'm making 4 batches at a time and they're wiped out. If I had more space in my apartment and could consistently brown butter well, I'd make like 8 batches and hang up signs to sell them. Anyway, I have an instagram for it but no pics yet.

*got hired to make a cake but can't decide on a recipe so that's what I'm doing this afternoon lol

*trying to outsource some chores around the house like sending laundry out since our washer can't handle laundry like that and the laundry room downstairs has been locked for months. Apparently they changed the locks and didn't give us a key even though we've been in the same building for going on 5 years now. Our apartment complex is getting shittier and shittier.

*house hunting but not seriously, trying to decrease our debt

*made new friends!!

More later

[yuuana]

Music Monday #234: ATEEZ - MATZ release: December 2023 genre: Kpop, K-hiphop cw: jump scare: kidnapping, flashing lights, violence

Oh no, not Jagu being a completely predictable simp for her best boys. Yup, all month long, one per week, ATEEZ is releasing music videos for the unit songs produced for WILL, so guess what I'll be doing for the next four weeks, too. XD ATEEZ spoils ATINY so much, how can I not want to shower them in love right back?

Because Seonghwa has such an angelic singing voice, for the first few years it was one of those "secrets" that would catch new ATINY by surprise that he initially auditioned to be a rapper. It was a talent of his we didn't see until late in Mingi's hiatus, but like a cat in a bag, once it was out, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle, apparently, as we've steadily gotten more and more appearances of rapper!Seonghwa. And I for one am not going to complain about that.

So given that this is a two rapper subunit, shouldn't really be a surprise that MATZ is more rapped lines than sung. There are sung interludes but the bulk of the lines are delivered in varied rap rates - Hongjoong's delivery leans towards speed while Seonghwa's delivery is purposefully slower to contrast. Given the lyrics, even before the MV's release, there was theorizing that this song was less about lore and more about calling out saesangs for their shameless behavior (putting trackers on idol's vehicles, selling supposed idol phone numbers), especially since this was the one track on WILL that did not pass broadcast muster (presumed for the line about the "carnival," a reference for a make of KIA vehicle). On the other hand, the chorus is definitely a reference to the way these two do have an almost magical chemistry; there's good reason fandom calls them pirate king and pirate queen. ;)

Despite the energy of the track, the video has a muted blue tint over most of the scenes, a coldness that makes this feel very Halateez. There's a story going on between the performance scenes, but even most of the story scenes are cross-pollinated with the performance. There's not much dance by the two members for this one and yet Hongjoong in particular is constantly in motion while delivering his lines. It makes it hard to sit still while watching him, to be honest, so be careful to do some warm ups before getting into any head banging. ;)

As for lore implications.... Hokay, so according to comments in their behind the scenes for WILL, the second half of the album is supposed to signal the unspooling narrative's return from the Z universe (aka Halateez) to the A universe (aka Heroteez), which would put this in A. On the other hand, from comments in the MV behind the scenes video, it feels like MATZ is actually still Z cluster. Or maybe in a 'verse that's halfway between the two clusters? The faceless background actors feel more in keeping with the "the disease is human emotion" that we've seen as the throughline of Z cluster, but the mere existence of a music shop kinda flies in the face of that, sooo ... as per usual, more questions than answers. And if we are returning to Heroteez for the next segment of lore, who knows when we'll get answers.

As noted previously, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is out now for streaming wherever you prefer to do your Kpop listening and for physical purchase at a large array of shops, including domestic US stores that report to Billboard - WILL debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, in fact. I even picked up a copy (Diary version) via Wal-Mart...and got a very lovely San PC for my trouble, so count me a happy ATINY.

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