#Because what is a Second Age fanfic without a ton of pain

[makalauriels]

As much as I’ve enjoyed all the confusion and outrage over Sauron’s identity from all sides, like I’ve said here, I think it’s time I throw my hat into the Sauron guessing ring!

Because we all need as much of the fun kind of speculation we can get.

Anyway I don’t think Sauron is any of the characters we’ve seen so far. In fact, I don’t think we’ll see Sauron on screen until season 2! If we’re lucky, we’ll see/hear him at the very end of the season finale as a kind of hook, but right now we will not know for certain he’s here.

Based on the info we get from episode 2, which I will elaborate on below, I suspect that Sauron is already in Eregion and already amongst the jewelsmiths.

Who would tell you this? Which thrall??

This is not found in any recorded document (or Doylishly, not in any of Tolkien’s writings). Maybe dear old Uncle Maedhros told you this tale.

But that's not it, isn't it? A certain Lord of Gifts has been whispering in your ear, hasn't he?

Why spring? When 20 or even 30 years is nothing to the elves and you certainly do not have the manpower for such an ambitious building project on such short notice.

And damningly, why is this proposed forge in the shape of Sauron’s sigil?!

Spoilers for future events under the cut:

Sauron already being in Eregion but going unnoticed by the people who canonically don’t trust him (Elrond, Gil-galad, Galadriel), because it’s Celebrimbor who is approaching people for this project and making them think it's his own idea, would be delicious drama because it would hurt everyone involved.

Celebrimbor - For… obvious banner related reasons.

Elrond - For aiding evil in the course of duty and letting his admiration and trust blind him. For bringing doom unto the dwarves in the form of 7 rings.

Gil-galad - Because he has unwittingly aided that which has come to destroy his kingdom. Suspicious and politically astute Gil-galad who is already aware that trouble is on the horizon and is doing his best to keep it at bay without alarming his subjects. Except by helping Celebrimbor whom he trusts for counsel, Gil-galad has doomed his kingdom by trusting bad advice. And this would be particularly terrible for a Gil-galad, son of Orodreth, who is most well-known for dooming his kingdom of Nargothrond (founded by Finrod from the prologue) by believing in terrible advice. All Gil-galad’s nightmares are coming true all at once.

Galadriel - Because from episode 1 we see her hunting Sauron across the far corners of Middle-earth. She’s spent so long away from home and has pushed herself and her followers to their limits, alienating everyone around her in the process, because she knows he’s out there. But all this hard work was for nothing, because the call is coming from inside the house and she wasn’t there to stop him.

Everything they are doing, all the missions and goals they have set for themselves? All of this will come to nothing. The road to hell will be paved with their good intentions.

Because… well… They’re Noldor.

Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.

Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death’s shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken.

—Quenta Silmarillion, “Of the Flight of the Noldor”

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #572: A Chat with Santa (Kingdom Hearts)

9:48 p.m. at Halloween Town........

Roxas: (Walks Right Next to Xion While Looking Inside his Trick-or-Treat Bag, Filled with Tons of Candy) Man....Sora, was not kidding when he said this place was going all out with Trick-or-Treating this year.

Xion: (Smiles Brightly and Excitedly) I know, right? This is already a lot better than last year! I'm really happy we get the chance to celebrate the second year of Halloween together, Roxas.

Roxas: (Smiles Softly towards his Best Friend) Me too, Xion. This night would be even more amazing if Lea and Isa were here to join us.

Xion: (Starts Getting a Little Bit Worried) You don't think they'll be too bored or lonely without us, do you?

Roxas: Nah. I'm sure they'll be just fine. Though, I do kind of wonder what they're doing right now......

Meanwhile at Christmas Town, Santa's Workshop.........

Santa: (Simply Crosses his Arms While Sitting Behind his Desk) ...........................

Lea: I know this might be too much to ask.....(Chuckles Awkwardly) You know, given how much of a very busy man you are and everything, buuuuut.......(Slowly Clasps his Hands Together) Would you be so kind enough as to.....You know.... Finally place our names back to Nice List? Please?

Santa: ........................................

Lea: Now, I know what you're thinking: "Why on Earth are two grown adults come by my workshop and ask me something silly like removing their names out of the Naughty List?" Well, Ironically enough, the answer's more simple than you think. You see, since we are now in the age of full maturity, looking after the town, raising two amazing kids and whatnot, I, for one, believe that we are deserving of the spot on the Nice List.

Isa: (Get Up from a Chair He Was Seating) If I may be blunt on the topic at hand, Mr. Claus, I firmly believe that I deserve that spot quite a lot more than my partner could ever hope of obtaining.

Lea: (Slowly Turns his Head to Isa and Glares at Him) Pardon?

Isa: You're excused.

Lea: DON'T try to get smart with, Knockoff Einstein. What in the hell makes you think you deserve to be in that Nice List more than yours truly, huh?!

Isa: (Raised an Eyebrow While Crossing his Arms) Do I really need to mention all the idiotic incidents you put the both of us through when we we're younger?

Lea: Don't even bother. I've already grown past those childish memories. (Points at Isa) But don't you stand here and think that you were little angel yourself, Isa! Need I remind you all the times you pulled those cruel pranks on me when we were kids?!

Isa: I only pulled them because you started pranking me first.

Lea: Yeah? Well, at least my pranks were more simple and straight to the point.

Isa: (Rolled his Eyes) They were all more of annoyance if anything.....

Lea: ('Scoffs') Whatever, man! All I'm saying here is that if one of us goes on that Nice List, it's me.

Isa: (Glares at Lea) And like I said before, I am the one who is more deserving of that spot than you could even hope for.

Lea: (Glares Back at Isa's Face) No! I deserve that spot!

Isa: No. I deserve it.

Lea: I deserve it!

Isa: I Deserve it!

Lea: I. Deserve. IT!!

????: BOYS!!!!

The duo Immediately stop their bickering and turn their heads to none other than Roxas and Xion glaring at them in a very disappointed manner.

Xion: (Places her Hands on her Hips) What is going on here? And why in all of Twilight Town are you in Santa's Workshop?

Lea: H-Heyyyyy there, Kiddos!.....(Chuckles Awkwardly) D-Don't mind us, we were just here to uhhhh........

Isa: We are just here to pay Santa a visit. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Roxas: (Raised an Eyebrow) Oh really? Then why did we just heard you two arguing just now?

Lea: Uhh.....Just....(Shrugged with an Awkward Smile) Cause......

Xion: Axel!

Isa: ('Sighs in Defeat') We're only here to try and convince Santa to put us on the Nice List.

Lea: ('Scoffs') I don't even know what he's even talking about-

Isa: (Bumped his Shoulder onto to Lea's a Bit too Hard)

Lea: (Wince in Pain) Okay, fine! He's telling the truth......

Roxas: So, instead of going Trick-or-Treat with us, you choose to go to Christmas Town, just so you could bother Santa on picking you two on the Nice List?

Lea: ..............Pretty much, yeah.

Xion: I cannot believe you two. Roxas and I did not raised you to be this bothersome and disrespectful. And in front of Santa Claus of all people!

Lea: Hey-ey-ey, hold on a minute there, you little rascals. We are the ones who raised you, not the other way around!

Roxas: True, but this family is a team effort. If you guys try and keep us from getting out of line, we do the same for the both of you too.

Xion: (Simply Nodded) That's right!

Lea: .......Crap. We did say something about all of that, didn't we?

Isa: ('Sigh') I believe so, Lea.

Xion: (Sighs While Softly Pinching her Nose) Look, we'll talk about all of this once we get home. Right now, we want you to leave out of Santa's Workshop and let him work in peace.

Lea/Isa: But-/We not ready to-

Xion: (Points at the Door) Now.

Lea/Isa: ('Sighs in Defeat') Yes, ma'am......(Make Their Way to the Door)

Isa: (Glares at Lea) I blame you for this, Lea.....

Lea (Glares Back at Isa) And I blame you for letting me talk you into this.....

Xion: No fighting, you two.

Lea/Isa: Okay.........(Walks Out the Door Together)

Xion: (Sighs Before Turning Back to Santa) We are so sorry for their behavior towards you today, Santa.

Roxas: Yeah..........They normally don't act like this.....Okay, maybe Axel, but definitely not Isa.

Santa: (Chuckles Lightly and Jolly Like) There's no need to apologise, you two. Your parents weren't a real bother to me at all. To tell you the truth....(Starts Snickering a Little) I do find a little enjoyment of seeing them bicker at each other.

Roxas: (Rolls his Eyes Playfully) Yeah. They do that most of the time.

Santa: I can tell. But beside all of this, they did told me how much they love and cherish the both of you.

Xion: (Heart Begins to Melt While Smiling Softly) And we love the both of them very much too. As much as we would love to continue this chat...(Giggles Softly) We don't wanna keep you from finishing your work any more longer.

Santa: (Chuckles Lightly) I understand, Xion. Thank you two very much for stopping by and have a very Merry- ('Ahem') I mean...Happy Halloween!

Roxas: (Chuckles Lightly as He and Xion Walks Out the Door) Happy Halloween to you too, Santa.

Xion: (Happily Waves Goodbye to Santa) See you in the next two months!

'Door Close'

.......................

'Door Opens'

Roxas: Sooo...... About that Naughty or Nice List-

Xion: (Outside) Roxas!

Roxas: ('Sigh') Coming!

'Door Closes'

Santa: ('Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho!') What a lovely family. (Continues Doing His Paperwork)

@26shann

@khtext

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@italian-love-cake

@ma-lemons

@kh-akira

@albion-93

@seasaltfamilycomics

[achieveandhunt]

live typing extra life 2019

warning: this a fucking LONG post. if you plan on reading it all, godspeed.

i typed all of this as it was happening on stream so this gets progressively less coherent as i grow more sleep deprived. prepare yourselves. i may or may not go off topic at some points

larry vehemently vomiting pure malic acid. we’re off to a great start

what the fuck the soggy ass popcorn in that ranch jesus christ

lindsay in the song from AH the musical. i love her so much

jeremy going YAAAAAAY after someone eats a cursed oreo

matt getting AGGRESSIVELY kissed by larry

“this kiss this kiss” before geoff and jack kiss

geoff “i’m from alabama” ramsey

THIS FUCKING RANCH SEGMENT HAS ME GAGGING

jeremy “the alcohol demon the whiskey goblin” dooley

alfredo “you wont believe what the white people did today” diaz

DUSK BOYS DUSK BOYS DUSK BOYS GET THAT DICK ESSENCE

wait why does it sound like wonderwall

they look like characters from the matrix

the speaking parts. make my teeth hurt

in conclusion: they weren’t kidding abt the tight pants 

okay everyone get ready for eric soundboard spamming YEAH BABEY

“hi i’m from broadcast and i don’t want to be here” they represent themselves well

also, let’s take a second to appreciate broadcast here!! they have a really tough job and don’t get a ton of credit. lots of love to all of broadcast!!! you guys are awesome

i am: foreseeing problems with this eric sound board

which one is eric?? will the real eric please stand up?? was the real eric the one we found along the way??

“i’m... just really worried that i won’t ever find love-” “i really don’t care”

WHY DO THEY HAVE THAT ON THE SOUNDBOARD (what does that apply to? whatever it is you’re thinking of, but mostly “daddy wants some”)

ooh someone’s about to get a fReE tongue piercing from a pineapple

god dammit i went to the bathroom for thirty seconds and now they’re eating chad’s chest hair

owie the shock collar and belly slap look painful, but drinking natty light from a shoe? that’s a true punishment

“and this roast was brought to you by meundies”

ah yes what better way is there to end a segment than people throwing up

“man action” oh no

THROBERT MULVEINY

K A R B is blind in T W O of her eyes

“my last name is cottagecheese”

I HAVE A PIECE OF METAL SHOVED UP MY A S S 

chris has somehow managed to lose 23 years of age and roughly 412 pounds

“just open throat like baby bird” who the fuck is writing this and why is it jeremy

jon. jon you’re breathing in adam’s ass fumes

a summary of this segment: ass and cottage cheese

BARB IS HERE I REPEAT BARB IS HERE

“to fitness” -starts choking-

final fitness coach: tad, here to workout your issues so they can beat you into submission

“will you buy my wet” well i don’t see that on the raffle items

we’re back folks & i’m loving this walk around segment

moonball wall and gavin&michael will soon be reunited can we get an F in the chat

jeremy getting a borderlands tattoo is very on brand

what’s extra life without a little satan

“starvation army, putting lead back into paint, increasing childhood obesity” people in chat: TAKE MY MONEY

chris “i’m doing a different hole” demarais

ah yes. the game we all play in hell: twister

nobody edit chris getting mustard shot down his throat. i’m scarred enough from the original clip

oh fuck. oh god. the mayo. oh god what the fuck is up with the misuse of condiments this year

this just in: a human soul costs roughly $12,700

D̷̯͑̆̈́͝Õ̸̲͎̥̬͈̬̙͕̲G̸̢̧̠͉͚̙̲̙̓̔̀̇S̷̥̀́͆̈́̇̀ ̶̣̞̗͚̬̭̖̦͇̈́̎̈́̿̓̈́͆̒̋D̷̙̟̩̫͉̺̐̊̚Ö̶̥́̋́̓ͅĜ̵̞̌͋̏̉̌̕͝͝S̵̤̹̣̫̮̻͛̍̑̕͝͝ ̷̧̨̞̙̥̟̜͍̉̍̑̏̇̀̾D̴̻̮̩̯͓͉̖͎̘͐̒͋̓̉͝ͅỎ̶̰͓̳̥͑̅͛͊̒͐͊͘̚G̵̩̻̦̥̠̃̔Ş̶̹͚̩̱͖̀͆͘ ̸̢̢͇̻͔̗̺̼͖̱̏̾̔̚D̴̨̨̫̙̃̾̋̾̆̓̓Ớ̷̡͓͎͊G̶̱̣̣̰̝̖̰̗̓͐̐̊͋̀͊̀̕͝Ş̷̩̺̬̖͙̺̟͗̈́͒͗̀̑́́̕͠ ̷̡͈̼̲͈̳̫̺̝̈́̋͌͗̒ͅD̸̨̬̞̪̗̘̄̑͆̿̈́͘͠͝O̸̡͇͕̻͎͍̅̌͗̄͌̑̉̔͂̎��͉Ḡ̸͙̟̪̞̬̬͕͐̈̏S̶̝̪̼̮̠̜̭̳͖̘̑

urine: to help with aerodynamics

jon: maya, speak! maya: *the smallest arwoo*

today’s mvp: any dog. pick one. no matter which you pick, you’re right

how the fuck did blaine change back from satan so quickly

barb as a cat is... my new sleep paralysis demon

blaine: barbara speak! barbara: climate change is real

#dogsforkids

this just in: extra life killed my wifi

we’re back & kdin is in the business of killing people with spice. she is the spice queen

queue six thousand well-timed 1337 donations

HOLY SHIT THAT’S COLIN FROM WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY

hmm “questionable liquids” is very... questionable

trevor: oh there’s four of them! we all get to join in the Fuckkkk

“what’s your favorite kind of candy” “any meat”

i like pickles and i would rather rip my eyebrows off than drink the juice so i feel for trevor

the only thing worse than drinking apple cider vinegar is shooting it out of your nose

“can you feel the love tonight” “i used to and that’s the problem”

“flubs every word man” damn, really missed the chance to say captain hair

jeremy not being able to intentionally flub his words is so fucking funny

OK BOOMER 

wow i can feel my blood pressure spike just watching these shots

Xavier Woods is here and he wants to know if it’s Christmas

miles doesn’t know what a question is

WHERE’S YOUR HAIR

oh no. oh no helping hands is next. everyone clear a splash zone

CHEF MIKE CHEF MIKE CHEF MIKE

miles bossing around chef mike is priceless

“you leave that fucking dough on the floor”

“you wanna slam your hands down on the table” *pizza sauce goes flying everywhere*

HOEDOWN HOEDOWN HOEDOWN jesus why do i keep doing that

“If Colin Mochrie is listening, I’ll see you here next year” OH FUCK YEAH

--- this is when i take a break so my soul can return to my body (aka i have work to turn in. college will never not be a pain in my ass) ---

oh god dammit i missed all of Always Open. fuck college who needs a medical degree

so... we have some very interesting things happening in family feud and i’m not sure if i like any of them

hmm. is now the time to get drunk

oily twist feels very... ominous

what do you mean you don’t remember gandalf having a taser in lord of the rings?

someone in the chat said “big stupid sleeping thing is what my parents called me in high school”

i think i’m blacking out what’s going on i don’t remember the past two hours

ah yes. voldemort and snape having a talk show together sounds exactly like something J.K. Rowling would make a spinoff book or show or porno of

can we just talk about how much shit chris has been doing this year? what a guy. what a dude

“coldy with voldy” actually means getting knocked the fuck out cold because you only got three hours of sleep last night and you don’t want to miss chef mike and lindsay cooking

this snape poem is summarized by one phrase: “that was terrible sit the fuck down” (sorry chris)

“let’s destroy a weasley” enter chad

fucking called it

“you smell poor” i need a caffeine drip

heh the wheel spins are at 69 heh nice

i’m a grown ass woman

welcome to a section called: we torture chad for your entertainment

“who wants us to kill weasley?” *massive cheers from the audience*

“wait weasley step away from the wideshot so i can masturbate to this later”

“i’m not gonna rub my eye mom”

oh they’re really gonna kill chad on stream huh

i felt that chest slap in my soul

i think i felt my own ribs crack

oh fucking

tumblr deleted my thoughts on the fanfic section

alright. fine. brief summary: my teeth are burning

my mom lindsay is on next and i’m so excited but i’m nearing the point of loopiness so things will go downhill dramatically from here

this is my fucking fourth extra life, you would think i’d be smart enough to sleep the night before

LINDSAY LINDSAY LINDSAY THAT’S MY MOM

JEREMY JEREMY JERE- wait a second... did jeremy get taller

oH CHEF MIKE CHEF MIKE CHEF MIKE

i hope Xavier comes back next year because he’s funny as fuck

m y a t t

oh god the mcdonald’s shade i’m rolling

lindsay “who’s the chef here” jones

chef mike mentioned mayo and i involuntarily gagged

chef mike clowning the big mac. i’m crying

he made the right choice with ryan bc i’ve seen his cooking stream(s) and it’s nothing if not great content

i heARD A MICHAEL JONES

“lindsay you haven’t done anything but warm up cookies so far” “yeah and?? you’re welcome”

you know that classic snack. slightly warm oreos

JEREMY THE LIQUOR GOBLIN DOOLEY IS BACK

oh god him screeching across set is making me cry laughing

why does it remind me of trevor’s voice cracks in the one minecraft ep where they’re singing the lion king

the biggest spoon for the smallest shot glass

i just realized we’re not even halfway through yet and i’m scared for the length of this list i’m gonna end up falling asleep involuntarily at some point

lindsay no your teeth are going to errode from that shot in your mouth

well timed leet donation #1829495

this gorden ramsey bit is so fucking good

jack: what do you think of the arugala? matt: i don’t even know what you said

iT’s NoT jUsT tWo CoOkIeS miCHeAL

jeremy and michael just chillin amidst the choas is exactly my demeanor at any party i’ve ever been to

lindsay scores: ryan = 7 because diet coke, matt = still eating lindsay’s meal so it’s a 10, xavier = also still eating it so it’s an 8. total: 25

“deep fry everything but a remote control”

chef mike scores: ryan = 9 for no death, matt = greens are present, words were said, score is 8. xavier = Gourmet Mcdonald’s, food is edible, score is 8. total: 25

oh fuck it’s a tie

now they fight to the death. death = doing as many shots as possible

i think we’re all going to need liver transplants after tonight

no jesus please don’t vomit oh goD oh fUc k please- oh thank god

okay i’m making a part two this is too much

[n-0-e-m-i]

I’d like to nominate (?) for @everlarkficbackfriday​ some of the great everlark fics I’ve read so far, that are currently unfinished (in no partucular order):

The Project by Ronja

Summary:

Katniss and Peeta were never reaped. During their last year of school they end up partnered for a special project. Slow burn AU and a coming of age story of sorts. Rated M for possible future content.

The slowest of burns. This fic is great! It’s currently 35 chapters and 303462 words long and they haven’t even kissed yet, but it’s so well written and the development of everkark is very realistic in terms of pace and the’re really really cute together 

Love Throughout the Ages by abk1973

Summary:

Katniss Everdeen has just completed her PhD at Oxford and decides to head north to Scotland before heading home. Where she travels to and who she meets will change her and the fate of a clan forever. This is an Everlark fanfic with a little bit of Outlander thrown in. Disclaimer: I own nothing.

This one got me into watching Outlander and then I realized that it’s better than Outlander (I don’t care for gritty shows or scenes at all, I just want to see the period clothes and speech).

The Endless In-Between by Panem, soamazinghere, wincechesters

Summary:

In 2007, Primrose Everdeen vanished without a trace. Since then, her sister Katniss has put her own life on hold, stuck in a rut and unable to move on without knowing what happened to Prim. But with the help of first year detective Peeta Mellark, Katniss may discover more than just the answers to her sister’s disappearance. Modern Everlark AU inspired by The Lovely Bones.

This is not the type of fic I would normally go for, but it’s. so. good.

Quicksilver by Gamemakers

Summary:

Dearest Diary, Two events of note occurred today. First, I realized that Peeta Mellark, who just yesterday I considered an ally and possible friend, is an irredeemable prat. Second, I became betrothed to him.

London, 1793. After a life spent on her family’s country estate, the time has finally come for the Everdeen sisters to be introduced to the London elite. Katniss will do anything to ensure her younger sister does not fall into the wrong hands, but surrounded by strangers, she has no way of judging Prim’s many suitors’ intentions. Enter Peeta Mellark, the youngest brother of the Earl of Panem and a longtime fixture of the ton. He seems the perfect ally, but Peeta has intentions of his own, and Katniss’ spinsterhood may not be as safe as she believes.

Have I mentioned that I love period fics? Because I do. Katniss defying social norms is my jam

One Year and One Day by PatriziaNordsee

Summary:

When one day Katniss found a young man in the meadow she had no idea that this would change her life. He was skinny, and wounded. He needed work and help. Katniss offered him a place in her household. For one year and one day he would be protected by her and her family and work with them. After that year he would be a free citizen of their town. What she didn't could know - she would found her soulmate in him.

This one has a bit of fairytale-like magic a few chapters in, and so far I’m loving every word of it!

Honorable mentions 

These are less than one year old, but too good not to be included on this list

Unmasked by M

Everlark Fic Exchange. Prompt 88

Historical Katniss and Peeta hate each other. They attend a masquerade ball and for some reason end up kissing each other. Sparks fly everywhere. Katniss tries to find the man behind the mask but Peeta knows it was Katniss though he doesnt say anything. They end up bethrothed even if they 'despise' each other. How they fall in love is up to u and how katniss figured out it was peeta is up to u

The last exchange had great fics, but to me this one takes the cake (told ya, period fic Katniss is my jam -- also, I love any and all variations of enemies to friends to lovers (in this case I guess it’s enemies to spouses to friends to lovers, wich is even more fun to read))

Geometry by dandeliononfire

Summary:

Peeta finds himself married to Katniss as the result of a bargain struck between his father and her dying mother. The road forward is unclear, painful, but also Bittersweet. Can Peeta solve the Geometry of how their lives are meant to fit together? Canon-divergent; neither Prim nor Peeta were reaped for the 74th Games.

This Katniss is so conflicted and confusing! She and Peeta never seem to be on the same page, but I guess that’s what makes it such a great story to read

Spellbound by katnissdoesnotfollowback (lost_on_cloud_9)

Summary:

Katniss and Primrose Everdeen lead a simple life, sustained by a shop in a small town and a thriving online business that sells herbal remedies they concoct themselves. They share a lovely home in the woods, isolated from others, where they can be safe, only a cat and a cranky ghost living in the shed behind the abandoned house next door as company. Until a young man moves in next door, intending to restore it and live in it. Primrose just wants a friend and her sister’s happiness. Haymitch just wants to live his afterlife in peace. Katniss wants to get rid of the intruder and keep her sister and herself safe from anyone who might fear what they really are. Witches.

This Katniss is so obstinate! It’s funny to see how Peeta is winning her over and she can’t even see it

Yep, that was a long one! I hope whoever reads it takes the time to check out these fics, they’re all great ones! And I sincerely wish the authors find their muse/motivation/incentive/time to finish them one day, hopefully.

[yawninginf]

Fade: Childish Ch.1

Summary of series: Wind feels he doesn’t fit in because of his age. He just needs an oportunity to prove his worth to the others, and himself.

Notes: Look at that I wrote a second fanfic! I’m sorry it’s not the sequel ti Instict cause I just couldn’t get it flow. Let’s just hope I manage finish this series. Expect grammar/vocabulary mistakes cause English is not my native language, typoes etc. If you bother to read this and spot a mistake while doing so, please correct me.

Warnings: blood description, death (but not death), very little minor angst

Universe by @linkeduniverse

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

Wind is upset.

He feels burried under a ton of worries, questions troubling his mind and lots, lots of anger. He can’t seem to stay still. He wanders around the camp, picking up random rocks and throwing them into the campfire that is slowly turning small branches as well as large pieces of wood into ashes.

He prefers not to look at Hyrule, or his glare will fall onto the head wound he carries and is still pulsing pain into him because of Wind.

The injured hero is sitting on a fallen tree log covered in wild mushrooms and dark moss, surrounded by plenty of ancient, towering oak trees. A bandage stained with mud is poorly wrapped around his scalp and the dried blood makes his tuffs of hair glue together in an unpleasant way. His hairstyle is messy, there are hairs dyed red from the blood that has fallen onto them and mixed with dirt and dust. His expression gives out the rough day he’s been through, but that doesn’t stop a faint smile from forming on his face when he sees the youngest hero.

Wind sighs in annoyance, trying to get away from the guilt and nausea stiring up his stomach. It isn’t his fault the rest of the group always assumes he needs to be pampered.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

“Wind watch out!” An ambush. Nothing more than a few bokoblins and even less moblins. Piece of cake. It should hage been. “I’m fine-I’m fine I swear!” Wind is in the middle of a bokoblin gang, three or four of them staring aggressively at him and softly but threateningly tapping their wooden clubs on the back of their ugly hands. Wind doesn’t wait for them to strike.

He sprints towards the biggest of them who seems to be their chief and lets out a loud clear battlecry. With his increased speed he raises his sword and is ready to stab the flesh of the vicious creature but it turns to the side just before the fatal strike lands at it’s target. Wind stumbles upon the gap in front of him and uses all of his strengh to keep his balance, dangerously leaning to the front. He is about to sigh in relief when he hears the floppy footsteps of the creatures a breath away from him. A raised bokoclub, he turns to try and reflect the hit but he knows he can’t manage on time.

Hyrule is nearby. He doesn’t hesitate to try and protect his younger friend. He runs, not being aware of his surrounding, not hearing Wind’s unfinished protest against his action. Time stops as he falls to the ground, drifting a scared Wind below him.

The bokoblin lowers it’s weapon and it’s mark is now Hyrule’s head. It goes down with a hollow thud and red blood starts to ooze from the wound.

Hyrule feels dizzy. The world beside him starts to shake and he can’t keep his eyes open. He feels stinging pain pulsing from the side of his head and a sudden heat has taken over the upper side of his body. His lips are trembling and when his look falls on the scratched but unharmed Wind, he fades away, closing his eyes.

“Please….I won’t forgive you if you die on me” a whisper and Wind’s terrified, panicked face meets with his injured friend’s. He doesn’t have time to care for the injury since the monsters are still threatening their lives. He turns his head up and realises with terror that he has lost his sword.

Warriors is the nearest to them and as Wind sends his glare up to him, he is already pulling his blade out of the dead body of the last bokoblin. Everyone pays their attention to the badly injured Hyrule quietly sleeping on Wind’s lap. Blood is everywhere; on Hyrule’s hair, on Wind’s clothes, even on the ground and the club that did the damage.

“QUICK!…..HELP HIM!” shouts Wind with a cracked voice and immidiately looks down at his friend, then at the vast amount of blood on his hands, feeling terror and a glimpse of disgust at the same time.

Warriors kneels down by them and checks Hyrule’s pulse, the rest of the heroes running towards them, showered in worry. “Is he…” Legend says with a low tone, afraid to let out the words.

“No. But he will if we don’t get him a red potion right now. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

Sky rummages through their stuff and relievingly takes out a glass bottle with a red liquid inside. It has something…magical in it and you can tell by giving it a simple look. You can’t explain it. As you watch the liquid flow in harmonic circles inside the bottle, form assymetrical waves and move like a dancing fairy, a creature made by pure magic, ready to take away all of your pain. Observing it feels like the soft soothing by a mother to her child, it’s gentle movements wash away every worry, they relax every tense muscle of your body.

Hand by hand the bottle is passed down Time’s grasp and with the help of Four he pours the healing potion into the limb mouth of the fallen hero. He subconsiously gulps it down his throat and his breathing immidiately becomes easier.

He mumbles something like an ancient saying in his sleep, then suddenly opens his eyes wide and stares at Wild. His eyes become slits from the pain as his palm touches his wound. He makes an effort to get up and before he can collapse to his knees, Wind pusses him up from his armpits and along with Sky they support his weight until he is ready to count on his own legs. “I’m okay” he says “I just need to wash the blood off, and a bandage…”

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

Wind ignores the gesture politely ment for him because the back of his mind is always returning to the morning battle. He sould have been quicker. And they should have let him take the blow. Why was acceptable for Hyrule to be injured and not for Wind? “Like I haven’t been hurt before” he murmurs under his breath and soon the cook of the group catches his attention.

Wind watches as Wild makes their lunch, a soup made of garlic, boar meat, carrots and….other ingredients he isn’t able to identify. He looks so absorbed into what he’s doing, and the way he lovingly stirs the soup in the pot gives out his passion for cooking. This is the only time his characteristics seem to be relaxed and his muscles not tense. He expertly knows exactly what to add in the pot, when, how and the right amound of it. After a while Wild notices the young pirate’s soft glare pinned on him. He feels confused for just a second, then gifts Wind with an akward, yet pure smile, coming right from the depths of his finally calm soul.

The pirate continues walking around the place their camp is set. On the corner of his eye he can spot Time and Twilight practicing with their swords further at the nearby glade, showered by the light of the midday sun.

A peacefull feeling, able to break into the hearts of the coldest soldiers. A gentle breeze softly moves the leaves to the direction of the dense forest, all tints of green mixing together in a feast of nature. Bright and long grass turns golden under the sunrays randomly falling onto the petals of the prettiest flowers one has ever seen. They say an image is worth a thousand words. A pity Wind doesn’t care for words at this moment. He lets the two related heroes bond together without being interrupted and walks away, taking his moody disposition with him.

Every occasion the other heroes had shown their disbelief that he can manage what they can, comes to his mind as a blury memory, for his brain has found the perfect time to mess with him and play games. He can’t control it.

He tries to get his attention elsewhere–ah, Four is just coming back from the deep of the forest, carying a bunch of cut tree branches that will be used to keep the campfire lit for Wild to cook.

The weather surrounding their camp may be all nice and lovely, but their destination is covered in thick fog and dark mist, so they aren’t moving forward yet.

Four is struggling under the weight of the wood on his hands and is tilting right and left while he’s walking, as if he is about to fall every second.

Wind’s eye shines, the thought of being helpfull washes his pondering away. He starts walking towards the shortest hero, eager to help as he can. He is cut midways by a running Sky that offers a helping hand to Four. “No thank you-I-I don’t need help but it’s kind of y–” he trips over an anomaly on the ground and the hero of the sky grabs him on time to not fall face flat on the dirt.

Unfortunately or not, the branches he was carrying don’t avoid that fate and slip off his hold with a loud thud. As Four turns to face a bright-smiled-Sky and thank him, Wind is brought back to his misery.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

“We need more wood to last us until we start venturing again” Time announces, “any volunteers?” Wind felt more excited than ever to bring the resources back to the camp. He raised his hand up, feeling restless as he put his weight on one foot then the other playfully, imperceptibly hopping from his desire to make himself usefull.

Time looks around in unsatisfactory. Everyone has an excuse to not take the task and so far Wind is the only one available, his eyes faintly screaming “me, me!”. Time sighs and is about to announce Wind the responsibility of the chore when Four puts himself in. “Wind can keep his rest. I’m sure he is tired from the fight.”

“But I–”

“It’s okay, I’ll go. I don’t have anything important to do either way.”

Wind crosses his arms and huffs in annoyance. His breath blowing out of his mouth drifts some of his bang hairs out of the way but they come back at their original place right after.

He accepted it. Partially. Although now, it all makes sense to him. In the back of his head, he always has a suspicion that the others find him too young and a fear that, maybe, they’re right. Now he considers it’s all clear. But he will prove them wrong eventually.

“Right?”

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

Dawn. Everyone is gathered around the campfire, its light seemingly becoming brighter as the colours of the sky begin to fade, taking their last form before nightfall. The majority of the clouds are dyed in a breathtaking way by the setting sun; shades of pink, like the petals of a young rose, darker in some parts and even velvet red in others. The whole sky has surrendered its light blue colour to an orange tint that makes you feel as if you were living inside a dream you wish you wouldn’t wake up from. It feels like observing the life of another being from a far away realm, like dwelling on a parallel universe.

“Technically, we are” Wind points out to himself in an imaginary, sarcastic tone and he feels nausious out of a sudden. He feels moving in all directions, as in a mysterious dance that shakes every bit of his existence. Glaring at a wide eyed Warriors swallowing earlier than he should have done, at Wild tripping over nothing and his bangs moving like choochoo jelly when he manages to get up, at Four as the sword he was inspecting slips through his hands, at Legend cursing under his cut by the seizures breath, at Sky supporting his body by pushing his belly and looking ready to throw up any moment now, at Time and Twilight sending looks of agreement to eachother, he knows he is not losing his mind. It is shaking, just not in the way an earthquake would. Not in the way the sea would move his ship, had it wanted to shake the life out of every member of his crew. No, the place around them still seems as peacefull as a graveyard near the time the sun should start its journey to the top of the morning sky.

They’re changing worlds.

Again.

The beautiful view of the sunset changes to that of the pitch dark, starless night, earlier than it should have, the colours fade more quickly than normal. The trees fall even though they are still proudly standing skyward, the ground is on fire even though the grass and wildflowers remain unharmed.

And suddenly, it starts to rain. Peacefull are the salty droplets, they follow gently one another until they reach their landing spot and meet with falling petals of the blooming nature that were lifted to the sky by the whole process. Wind looks around in surprise. His mouth opens widely, slowly, without being ordered to, as he realises they are still at the same Hyrule. He directs his head to the others and their expression is as troubled and surprised as he feels. “Is it over yet?” the younger hero thinks and a tint of hope brightens his eyes.

He of all people should have known.

It’s calm before the storm.

There’s a fallen tree log covered by various mushrooms, a lot of them could kill you if you attempted to make them your next and presumably last meal. They all subconsiously look at it like they have just witnessed the destruction of the most precious treasure to be guarded in the deepest and most secure place in all of Hyrule.

And just when their eyes are settled on the log, it happens. The sky seems to tear open in a deafening sound not easy to be defined and starts to pour all the mass of water Wind’s Hyrule would offer for the fish to live and the sailors to travel.

Thunder strikes right on the tallest tree in the whole forest, cracking it open just as an apple would be torn in two pieces after you cut it with a decent knife. The Links all flinch back at the sight and their shocked gasps can be heard echoing all over the place.

Wind tries to gulp his fear away but he just can’t escape the panic forming on his face, he can’t slow down his ever increasing heartbeat. With his eyes he searches for a way out of the storm, a way to stop the shivers running down his spine.

Another sharp lightning tears the sky. It doesn’t fade in the horizon, it travels all the way to the more and more unstable ground, it lands a breath away from a hyperventilating Wind and the sock makes the pirate fall to the earth.

“WIND!” He hears a worried cry from one of his friends, he is too afraid and shocked to find who the voice belongs to.

The youngest hero crawls a few steps back and with panic he turns his head, realising the others are slowly turning into dust. Wild is layed on the ground, his hands reaching out and slowly vanishing and leaving a hole where they should have been. Twilight is kneeling beside him, staring at his trembling fingers, slowly turning into dust soon to be caried away with the raging gusts of the wind.

Four glares at the little left of him, his arms and legs are gone, his torso starts decaying as well, the spots his parts once started are covered in mist and dust, spreading all over his body like an infection. He looks up to Hyrule running towards him. His eyes have nothing left of the courageous hero he thought he was.

“FOUR!!” Hyrule screams in despair watching as the last bit of his friend’s existence fades away. “No…no no no, NO!” This can’t be happening. Not to them, not now, not so quickly.

He looks around. Time is now starting to go through the process. Twilight is gone. Wild, Four, gone. Wind is still on the ground when finally he gets up seeking for help and decides that Warriors’ protective arms are the closest to safety.

Wind is sobbing now, not because he is afraid to go, he is just afraid to let go of his new friends, his family.

“Why..?”

The rest?

They fade too.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

The pirate feels like falling.

He is falling and he lands hard as well.

He looks around him. He sees the others. They have some bruises and scratches and most are rubbing their head.

“Are we…dead?” He mutters seemingly confused and scared.

Wouldn’t they not feel pain if they were dead though?

“I–I don’t think so.” Twilight replies.

Wind stays silent and makes an effort to get up. He shoves the dirt off his pants ignoring the stinging he feels from the various scratches all over his body.

Just like everyone else, the youngest hero looks around in awe and tangled emotions. They haven’t died, they have just moved to another world. Nobody seems to recognise this place and address it as his Hyrule. It doesn’t feel like Hyrule at all. The trees are few and odd, they look like none the heroes have ever seen, or every one of the species combined.

The Links are trying their best to understand what has just happened, without success. Whispers and theories are exchanged but the pieces do not seem to stick together.

“Anyhow, wherever we are at the moment, we can’t be assured that the inhabitants are not hostile nor that there aren’t monsters lurking in the corners of this world.” Time lectured, implying they should not be caught off guard. At the sound of the eldest’s voice, everyone stood quiet.

“Now, check your stuff and what we lack. Cherish your wounds and ready yourselves; we have some exploring to do.”

[karmangierr]

Too Bright It Hurts My Eyes

A fanfic speculation about what happened after Banana Fish anime version ending

By Karmangier

Betas: Charlie, @fatwithoutkatsudon

***

Notes: 

My first fanfiction ever!!! This is my speculation about things happened after the anime ending, so SPOILER WARNING! Also in my speculation it should be an ending different from the manga one :) I know this is probably a little bit too long (~2200 words) for typical tumblr ficlets, but I’m still waiting for my AO3 account to be approved. Hope it’s still enjoyable to read :) 

Shoutout to my awesome betas @fatwithoutkatsudon​ and Charlie (who’s not on tumblr)! 

***

“It must be a good dream.”

It was an unfamiliar woman’s voice. And it was odd, not only because the voice was from a stranger, but also because it was speaking in Ash’s head.

Ash tried to open his eyes but he failed, nor could he move or even sense the rest of his body. His ears were filled with silence. It felt like blood had filled his whole head and was pressuring out his eardrum, making any outside sound impossible to enter his sensation system. He tried to get his brain functioning.

Ash Lynx had never had any good dreams, not that he could remember. There were countless nights that he jolted from lucid, dreadful nightmares, with tears and sweat everywhere. As if waking up and going back to real life could stop those scenes from haunting him. Nevertheless, the dream he just had was possibly the worst that he had ever experienced.

Or rather, it was more like, reality?

***

Ash was standing in a rye field. The rye was golden in color. It was hard to tell where its border was. Eventually the golden blanket of rye touched the same gold-colored sky somewhere very far away, Ash thought. No wind, just silence. How odd. As far as he could remember, a second ago he was sitting in the public library, in his spot, reading Eiji’s letter with very blurred vision, bleeding heavily from the wound on his stomach. That was painful. The pain was so extreme that it blocked him from understanding words in that letter. However he did not feel any pain now. His body felt normal, or even better than normal, lighter and swifter than in his peak time. He ran a few feet then slowed down. The rye plants opened in front of him and closed seamlessly as he passed, with no sound made by the plants or his own steps.

He stopped, only then he discovered a figure, not too far away, running away from where he stood. He ran up. The distance between them shortened and he could finally see. It was a child, dark curly hair and dark skin, almost shining under the golden sky.

“Skip!” Ash cried unbelievably, slowing down in great shock.

The boy turned back. They were close enough that Ash could tell he broke into a big smile, the exact bright and innocent smile as in Ash’s memory. But Skip did not stop, instead he sped up, disappearing in the color of gold.

Ash ran in full speed in the direction Skip went. To his surprise, after a while he was able to see the end of the rye field. Skip was standing still at the edge, waving to him.

With Skip there were two others. Without a millisecond of thought, Ash heard himself crying out loud, with all the happiness in the whole world: “Shorter! Griffin!”

All three of them were smiling and waving to him. Shorter was wearing his sunglasses, and Griffin was standing. They stood on the edge of the land, all shining from the golden sky in the back. Ash realized it was a cliff.

He slowed down again, and eventually stopped, looking at them with wide eyes.

So this is death. Ash had imagined what hell looked like in countless nights where he lost sleep from haunting nightmares. He had never thought death as a golden rye field, reuniting with his loved ones. He smiled to himself. He made it. He himself had made the decision. He chose his death, not under control by anyone else.

Does he deserve a beautiful death like this? A thought flashed by, and his heart ached sharply. He thought of the smile, the smile of the whole universe’s warmness and comfort, the Japanese boy’s smile. Eiji would miss him.

But it had always been impossible to be with him. When Ash was holding the plane ticket, he thought he finally saw hope in a light color beaming through a long dark tunnel, so tender and so tempting, making him want to reach out his palm and touch. But the stab by Lao pulled him to reality. He actually felt grateful to Lao, who pulled Ash soaring in illusion down to the ground, and more importantly, gave him the chance to choose his own death. A murderer could never escape from his own destiny. After killing the first person when he was a child, what was left in his life was only killing others, and eventually, being killed by someone else. Eiji tore a slip on Ash’s world to let light beam in, but Ash had no right, even just for a second, to dream about being in Eiji’s world. A safe and sound life with Eiji was too bright. It would hurt Ash’s eyes.

Being able to decide to bleed to death, in the only spot that granted Ash some peace in his world, on the other hand, was the best thing he could think of.

***

Ash resumed his steps, running towards the edge of the cliff. All three people were waiting for him peacefully. He would be with them forever --

Without warning, he was hit heavily by something, no, someone. He stopped abruptly, a sharp knife stabbed into his stomach. He looked down at the knife with widened eyes, then his sight reached the stabber. Blonde hair, fair skin, jade colored eyes looking straight into his soul, it was Ash Lynx.

The other Ash Lynx pulled out the knife with a low groan. A faint smile flashed on the corner of his mouth. “Caught you.” He whispered.

Then the world disappeared. The other Ash, Skip, Shorter, Griffin, the rye and sky, all were engulfed by the malleable darkness that was permeating in every direction.

“Nooooooo!” Ash howled with agony that exploded, but at the same time he kneeled down to the ground. Unbearable pain burst from the wound like a sharp fire alarm with flashing lights. His body went back to the clumsy and almost uncontrollable mess as before when he managed to make it to the library. He tried to raise his head but could not see anything but impenetrable darkness. Tears everywhere. Where, where to go --

A pair of soft hands covered and pressed his wound, though not helping with the pain, Ash could feel the hands being gentle but steady. Ash widened his eyes but still could not see anything. Someone was holding him, wrapping arms around his shoulder.

Ash collapsed against the person’s chest. Don’t go… He cried in his mind. “Stay with me…” He panicked. “At least... just for now...” he murmured, like a snobbing child. A hand was gently patting his back.

“My soul will be with you, forever.”

***

Pain. Ash lifted up his eyelids that weighed a ton for a little bit. The blood that was previously filling his head seemed to slowly ebb away. His vision was still blurry, but was clear enough for him to recognize the desk in the library. He looked down -- shit, blood had soaked his coat and had been dripping to form a pool on the floor.

He managed to raise up his head using all his strength. The library was empty, even more spacious than before. It was already dark outside, with lights of the city glimmering through the windows.

That was indeed a bad dream. Or was that really what death would be like? Then why the hell did he come back now? He gave himself a lifeless wry smile. In the end, he still had no right to choose for himself.

Or what if, deep in his heart, though reluctant to admit, he had a different choice that he wanted to make, so badly that even death could not pull him away?

Ash reached for his phone in his pocket. Every movement he made worsened the pain. He called the only person that he could think of.

Max Lobo was not answering.

Ash hung up, then called the same number again. The ringing tone sounded loud and desperate in the empty hall.

“Shitty old man --” Ash could not even finish his swear but inhaled. The pain was real. He needed to get out of here.

***

He had no memory of how he managed to get out of the library. He was on the street, bending his body while both hands pressing on his bleeding wound. It was snowing, and snow had piled up a thin layer on the sidewalk. Had it started snowing when he got into the library? He could not remember.

He moved awkwardly in the same posture. With each step he moved less than a foot. He had been short of breath. Like a ninety-year-old ancient old fuck. He thought, even with a lifeless smile. Will I have that day?

He stopped constantly with the excuse of calling Max, but none of the calls were picked up. He had no strength to curse. After stumbling through a hundred or one and half blocks, he landed on his knees and his vision blacked out again…

***

Ash Lynx woke up. It was too bright that his eyes hurt. He spent some time to realize that he was staring at a very white ceiling. As soon as he gained enough consciousness to realize that he was in a hospital ward, he heard the door cracking open.

He still had no control over his limbs so he could not respond with any reaction. He screamed but only heard himself making a low, almost funny noise. He smelled medical disinfectant.

“Oh my goodness, he is awake!” He saw a middle aged woman’s face lighting up with surprise. “I should call his family!” She shouted to herself, ran out, closed the door with almost a slam.

Family? Ash was more than confused. But that was not the most important thing for now. He tried to move his right arm a little bit. It felt so numb. He was furiously battling with his own body.

The door was opened again, this time rudely. A tall and strong figure walked in. “Ash!” The man cried with happiness.

“Max!” Ash shouted with hoarse voice. Before he realized, Max had gave him a big hug, pinning him in the bed, almost making the right arm that he just managed to move numb again.

“Ash you don’t know how much I have been worried about you!”

“Hold on--” Ash was almost screaming. Max let Ash free, regaining some calmness. “Guess how long you have been in a coma? Two weeks! It was not even anything major, definitely not as bad as last time. You were just losing too much blood… Look at what you did… Why didn’t you--”

“Wait!” Ash interrupted Max’s dramatic speech. “How did I get here?”

Max hestatited for a second, but still began to speak: “Sing’s people found you. Sing discovered Lao’s plan not too long after Lao was found missing. But it was - it was still a bit too late… They only found Lao’s body and the knife, apparently you had been stabbed...”

“They kept searching for you for a few hours in that area. When they were about to give up, someone found you two blocks away from the public library. Gosh how did you get that far with that wound…”

“Sing…” Ash sighed. How should he feel right now?

“They saved you.” Max gave him a steady look. “Sent you to the hospital and when I called in, they picked up your phone and told me everything.”

Ash felt his blood suddenly traveled to his head again. “Why the fuck didn’t you answer my calls?!”

Max gave him an apologizing look: “You know, an old man does not always carry his phone around. When I saw your 6 missed calls, I knew something had happened, so I immediately called back…”

Ash had a thousand curses in his throat. But instead of letting them all go, he had something more important to say. “I want to --”

Max pat his shoulder, then turned back to his bag. He handed Ash an envelope. “Let this be my apology to missing your calls”.

Ash frowned, and opened the envelope with confusion.

A plane ticket, and a passport.

Ash looked at Max with wide, shining eyes that had never been greener. His mouth was forever open --

“The flight is in 10 days. Just bought it. To Tokyo, of course. And your new identity --” He opened the passport in Ash’s hands.

“Aslan -- Lobo???”

Max Lobo broke into a big smile and opened his arms again towards Ash.

“Good luck in Japan, son!”

***

Ash walked along the linking bridge. When he reached the airport hall, everything was so bright that it almost hurt his eyes. It felt so unreal that he flew out when it was evening, and now when he touched the ground again, it was already noon.

He reached for his sunglasses hanging on the collar of his shirt. The cool hard metal frame reminded him that it was so real in reality. He put down his hand, decided not to wear them, and sped up his steps.

Suddenly, something, no, someone hit him heavily. Ash stopped abruptly, so in shock that he thought he was stabbed again.

But this time instead of a cold hard blade, he felt warm arms circling around his shoulder, pressing gently but steadily.

“Welcome, Ash!” Eiji said, with a smile that lighted up everything.

[almostdepraved]

Reignite (Present!Carol/Reader (OC)) - Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! I’m writing my first fanfic. It took me a lotta courage to actually post it, so I hope you like it. Tell me what you guys think <3

Ever since you could remember, you were never certain of your emotions. It was much easier to manipulate feelings rather than wasting energy to solve such a trivial mystery of your mind. That particular strategy, however odd, had been the main factor for not only your success in life, but you assume of your entire family. Varying media had slapped on countless titles like geniuses, progressive-minded, genetic and family goals. Using any silly, eye-catching terms to feed to the public. And they’d eat it up; they always do- like a junkie getting their hands on anything to get a fix out of reality. It’s sad, but the truth can be just that. No one wants their reality, not even yourself.

 You, Lauren Troy, graduated from high school at 12 years old, successfully earning your double major degree in psychology and business by 16 before adding a degree in nursing and completing its master program at the age of 22, and finally working as a regular staff nurse. You, the daughter whose mother is one of the world’s best surgical oncologist, your father, the owner of one of wall street’s most profited firm five years running, the niece of a senator, and a CEO of New York’s number one hospital. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that you could lead a life that is untouchable and almost without consequences. However, it does seem to take a fucking genius to figure out that that life is excruciatingly isolating.

 It wouldn’t surprise anyone from your family though, they’re smart enough to know that something stupid’s bound to happen. So went that ‘something stupid’ thing did happen, which was of you being found directly responsible of several patients’ deaths that were under your care, they just expressed fair amounts of disappointment and without another blink, would have proceeded to make the phone calls needed to fix the legal problem and handle whatever journalists that’d try to scoop up anything and make it a story.

 What they didn’t expect was that you wanted to go to prison, and you wanted to serve the time the judged had given of four years. It confused your father the most. As dirty as he might be playing and winning in the money-making game, he loved you too much to have you stain your record and ruin your own future. You had persisted, barely at the edge of sanity from feeling so bothered by your own emptiness. You did something heinous, and you should face the consequences of it. You thought maybe then you’d be fixed. Finally, he had agreed but made an appeal to the judge for you to be placed into maximum security, away from any potential enemy that your family’s legacy might have made. Fortunately, serving your sentence went as smoothly as prison life could offer, and because of good behaviour and reputation, the board gave you an early release- two and a half years early. That night, you had laid down on your bed back in your expensive family home, forcing yourself to cry from just about anything- nothing happened.

 Perhaps you felt slightly guilty when you realised how easy it was for you to get a job. It almost felt like nothing had changed. Like you weren’t hold up in a cell and only had an hour a day to see partial sunlight for 18 months. Like you hadn’t purposely overdosed vulnerable people and watch as they take their last breath. You ought to feel offended, you thought a second before accepting the offer of becoming a hospital CEO. Bonus point was having your brother as a colleague. Double bonus points for being able to resign comfortably at the age of 32.

 So what if you definitely are an empty, emotionless being? You now have the money and time that could keep you cosy for a decade, and that’s without giving much thought to the calculation.

 “Damn Laure, you’re really going for it huh? Got a plan for after?” Your brother brought your attention back to earth with the tone he used. There was a hint of jealousy that was laced in his first question, and you raised an eyebrow at him, intrigued that he’d feel that way. He wasn’t like you. He liked money, especially a shit ton of it to spend ridiculous things on. “Yeah, I doubt it’ll last long anyway. I get bored too easily.” “That’s true.” You were both just exiting the hospital to head over to a nearby restaurant for some late lunch when your brother phone’s ring. The ringtone was different than usual; it was a pop song that was playing. This meant that it was one of the girls he’d hooked up with called. You snicker at his confused look as he answers it.

 “A babygirl of yours forget the rules or something? Or is she a new one?” You teased. He throws you a death glare before he walked away to have the conversation with some privacy, lifting his index finger for you to wait on. You turn your attention to the street in front and began people-watching. A fun activity to waste time, plus, it makes you think, and you like thinking. This suddenly made your mind run over the memories you had whilst in prison. You realise you didn’t have to do much thinking there. No stimulations, or puzzles, or mysteries that held your attention for long.

 Except for one.

              Pieces of scattered memory flashes in your mind: steely blue eyes; a pair that could read you like how you read your favourite books. Death grips; the kind that’s so painful that you would feel alive in. Greying blond hair; something you didn’t know you have an itch to feel gently against your fingertips, almost like old pressed up leaves. And jumbled up letters that you think forms a name, what was it?

 Cathrine?

 Cassie?

 Cornelius?

 Cape town?

 Cornstarch?-

 “Hey Laur, we need to get back inside.” Your head snaps quickly to where your brother was, almost jogging shortly to reach you. “Why?” Cheekytita? You think the C’s that are endlessly popping in your head are going to frustrate you to no end. “Remember Linda from MCC? Corporate prison people that would be better in prison?”

 “You’re one to talk, but yeah I remember.” It would also mean that your brother had banged her a couple of times and the realisation made you feel repulsed. Cate Blanchett?

 “She’s brought in someone from Max. Inmate suffered extreme blood loss, and is in a fucking coma right now.” You were confused by the lack of context. You hated not knowing something. “Then let the medical handle it. I don’t get why you’re like this.” He bites his bottom lip, hesitant to answer. “I owe her a favour, and now she’s claiming it. I’m worried because not only is her ass on the line, but my ass is dependent on this prisoner’s survival. Linda’s got major dirt on me, and I intend on not having it spread.” You nod, the gears in your head turning. Your brother starts to head to the ER room that the prisoner and Linda is. You follow him in quick steps. Half-shouting another question. “What does she want then? You said the guy’s alive?”

 “She wants full recovery. Guy better be better than before he was stabbed. But she wants it hushed, as far away from bad PR as possible. A prisoner’s gonna get his own dedicated team or some crazy shit like that.” Both of you were close now, a couple more turns. “And you’re actually considering to follow every request?” The door’s to your left, and you automatically wrapped your hands around it before stopping yourself. “Sorry, you do it.” You take a step back for your brother. “Exactly, I have to.” He mirrors your words as he opens the door and steps inside.

 As your mind recognises Linda’s face, you felt a wave a disgust and turn your gaze elsewhere. Your brother can sort this out, you convince yourself as his voice fills the room as he greets the black-haired woman with fake warmth. The hospital bed was to your right, and you see the outline of a body at the corner of your eye. You mind thought of multiple scenarios at once for a prisoner to be in this position, now completely filled with curiosity. You head over to see the luckily unlucky man. What was it?

 Gang capture gone wrong? Then there should’ve been multiple sent here.

 Cage fight? No cages there, cell fight more like it.

 Castration? Obviously not, but it does start with a ‘c’.

 What it was had frozen your body and mind; an upward curve at the torso, thin, pale hands at the sides with veins that pushes high against the skin, lined complexion- wrinkles. Shoulder length dull blond hair, it seems to be greying. Something in the back of your head began pounding to be released. A locked information that you wanted to know as well but can’t recall. Something had reflected light into your eyes. A glint from beside the bed and your eyes searched for the source. Big framed glasses, it reminded you of a style you barely recognised, like in the 80s.

 A piece of a puzzle manifests in your mind. Whether it’s the final or the first, you don’t know.

Oh, wait- oh no.

 C is for Carol. Carol Denning.

[dramallamadingdang]

Wee-plies.

Or, not-so-wee-plies, as the case may be, because, you know, me. *eye roll*

First of all, thank you to those who wished me a happy birthday in comments as well as to @kairisu and some anons in my ask box! It was a quiet day -- we’re celebrating both our birthdays this year with a cruise in August -- but it was a nice day, so we took the horses out riding in the morning. Then I got the usual phone call from my bro with the usual razzing about being older than him again. (We’re only 10 months apart in age, so for about seven weeks out of the year, we’re the same age.) I talked to all three offspring I birthed and to their SOs/kids, too, where applicable, so it was nice. :) Oh, and I yakked with my mother-in-law for an hour, but we do that quite often, anyway. She’s only a few years older than me -- the perils of having a younger husband. ;) -- so she’s more a buddy than a mother-in-law. :) (She called to tell me she’s sending me birthday tamales, yum!)

BUT ANYWAY! These are for @katatty, @didilysims, @alawren4ever, @catnip-sims, @deedledops, @criquette-was-here, @penig, @tamtam-go92, and @immerso-sims...

katatty-main replied to your photo “iCad Does Urban Planning. AKA: iCad Is Nuts.  Buuuuuut, on the plus...”

oh, i love seeing this sort of thing! always gives me a ton of inspiration :)

Yeah, me, too. So, that’s pretty much why I shared the image, to maybe give other people some ideas AND in the hopes that they’ll share those idea in turn. I kinda love how Simmers feed off of each other that way. :)

didilysims replied to your photoset “This morning, because my hand needed a break from painting hair...”

Ugh that stupid disappearing Maxis bridge. I thought your monorail bridge looked kind of cool, honestly. :)

The monorail bridge is growing on me. It works best on that particular suspension bridge, though, because then the train doesn’t smash through the girders. :) Can’t really say the same for the others, but we just ignore that on the other side of town. *cough* In any case, though, it IS better than the endless monotrail track magically hovering over water, so there’s that. :)

That being said, I HAVE crossed bridges that were shared by road and train traffic where the train tracks ran above or, more often, to the side of the road-deck. Which probably isn’t often the case since trains and vehicles don’t often share road/track beds like that and most often railroad bridges were built before large, modern bridges for automobiles, but it’s not TOTALLY unrealistic. 

And yeah, I totally hate the stupid Maxis bridge. One, it doesn’t always fit in with the look I want for a neighborhood. It’s often too modern or not-modern/urban enough. Two, it isn’t visible from lots, which often looks stupid. Three, you can’t get rid of the damn thing other than by “sinking” it below the terrain in SimPE. And then four, after you sink it, you still can’t modify the terrain around where it was, so it might not be suitable for a replacement deco-bridge and....ARRRGH! Hate it hate it hate it.

didilysims replied to your post “Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

The curse of this open game!

IKNOWRITE??? It’s hell playing this game. HELL, I TELL YOU! :)

alawren4ever replied to your photoset “So yesterday, I posted about this fire hydrant object that randomly...”

Very cool that you can control the level of traffic by the number of hydrants!

It IS cool. And I didn’t find out that it can work that way until I accidentally had more than one on a lot when I was trying to figure out why the remeshed one I made was invisible. SERENDIPITY! :D

But it makes sense, I guess, because the “calls” it puts out to summon a vehicle seem to be randomly timed, not at regular intervals. So, if you get a bunch of them on a lot, each putting out calls at random times, rather than all at the same time in the same time intervals, it makes sense that the traffic level would increase with the number of objects on the lot. I shoulda thought of that sooner, really.

didilysims replied to your post “Info and testing things RE: the number of visitors that show up at...”

Ooh I've never see that mod to up the lot visitors before. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

It works pretty well, although it does have its pitfalls. The obvious one is that you might have to experiment a bit to see what “level” your machine can handle without the game lagging on you. The other is if you play community lots of widely variable size. Like, if you put in the mod that ups the visitors to, say, 25, that’ll be fine on a big community lot if your machine can handle it, but not so fine if you have any that have a “1″ in the size dimensions, where you’ll end up with an overcrowded lot full of stomping, complaining Sims who can’t move. :) 

I kinda wish there was a customer/visitor-number adjuster that could be used on ALL lots, not just owned ones........Although maybe that object can be used on regular community lots. OOOOH EXPERIMENT FOR SCIENCE!

catnip-sims replied to your photoset “This morning, because my hand needed a break from painting hair...”

I like parking filler lots too! I recently came up with a 1x3 lot with just a bunch of bushes along the street & a big "YOUR AD HERE" banner, lol. It looks nice from the neighborhood view :D

THAT IS A GREAT IDEA I THINK I WILL STEAL IT THANK YOU! :) Except now I need to make banners. *growl* And maybe billboards, hmmm....

deedledops replied to your post “Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

This, but a whole neighborhood tailored to each specific thing with a special downloads folder I can switch out for each theme. But I know if I did it I'd want all the Sims to know each other next

Yeah, “ whole neighborhood tailored to each specific thing with a special downloads folder“ is kind of how I play in general. :) Only I use separate user accounts on my computer, each with its own Documents/Sims 2 folder tailored specifically for it because I don’t trust myself to put in the right folder before I load up the neighborhood I want to play. (Did that once with the wrong neighborhood deco loaded, and POOF! All the painstakingly-placed neighborhood deco in that neighborhood was gone. NEVER AGAIN!

But yeah, how I play is pretty much this: Step 1: Come up with idea/theme. Usually, this happens like a bolt out of the blue, things just blooming fully-formed in my head, just like how story ideas happened to me back in my fanfic-writing days, so it must be how my brain works. Whatever the case, it’s very jarring. Step 2: Create an unnecessarily complex rule set for playing out the idea/theme. Step 3: Create a complex spreadsheet to use to keep track of the neighborhood. Step 4: Build a neighborhood around the idea/theme.  Step 5: Play the neighborhood. 

Currently, I have some neighborhoods that are at each step of the above process. :) Often, steps 2 and 3 happen concurrently, and sometimes steps 4 and 5 happen at the same time, all BACC-like. But not always!

criquette-was-here replied to your post “Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

@dramallamadingdang ***laughs for a second and then cries thinking of road and terrain DR project*** I feel your pain,lol! @immerso-sims you actually can (I'm on mac) ***cries even harder***

*laugh* Yeah, this is probably a pain that all serious simmers feel at least once in a while. For some of us, though, it’s more like a constant thing. Chronic pain. *sigh* :) So then you’ve got all these ideas but not the time or stamina to work on/finish them all.

penig replied to your post “Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

Alternate between play and projects. You'll get Better Ideas as you play anyhow. Also, projects are play if you choose to do them.

Yeah, that’s pretty much how I do things, in general. It’s just that sometimes my brain/imagination is particularly fertile, and I get lots of big ideas that require big projects all at once, and it all gets a little overwhelming sometimes. It’d be nice if the brain kind of spread out the big ideas a little more....

tamtam-go92 replied to your photo “Let’s call this a “Cool CC That I Think Everyone Ought to Have” Post....”

THIS is just amazing!!! #things you didn't know you need until you see them

Right? I was surprised (but also kind of not-surprised, because it is a really old object) that more people didn’t know about that thing. I only learned about it a while back because of a stray post in the MTS forums that mentioned it, and fortunately that was at a time when the Graveyard was working reliably. I don’t often bother using it in less-densely-populated neighborhoods, but it does add a nice touch when playing downtowns.

immerso-sims replied to your photoset “I needed a bit of a break from hair retexturing and alpha-painting and...”

Looks great and I really like the idea. Looking forward to following the challenge :)

I’m not sure I’m going to document it, unfortunately. When I first play one of these ideas I get in my head, I like to see if it’ll actually work the way I think it’s going to, first. So, the initial playing is more like a dry run, where I’m still experimenting and coming up with new ideas and tweaking the rules and such. I have played the first batch of “runaways” through three seasons, and three of them have “escaped” from the vacant lot into better housing, one of them skipping the “livin’ in the slums” stage entirely because she married someone who came with a ton of skill points, whose LTW career came up in the newspaper right away, and who got a bunch of job promotions one right after the other. I haven’t decided yet if it was all too easy! *laugh* I should probably take out the “no friends needed for promotions” mod when playing this, now that I think about it. And maybe I shouldn’t even allow marriage when they’re still homeless -- because who wants to marry into that?! -- but she got “risky woohoo” pregnant on a date, and.... Well, anyway, I plan to play these initial four for a while, and once I have them all established so that I know everything works, I’m going to add a new group of “runaways” for a less-dry run, and perhaps I’ll document them. 

Anyway, I might post some highlight pics from this first batch of runaways, and maybe I’ll write up the rules once I know they work. I mean, you don’t HAVE to build an elaborate downtown to play this way or anything. It can be just a mini-challenge that you play within something else...although longer lifespans kinda help with this, at least with the rules I’m using. Anyway, the downtown’s just something I’m doing because I want to, and it seems to go along well with this rule set idea.

[peterpparkrr]

Changing the Tide: An Avengers Fanfic (5/7)

Summary: Wanda Maximoff is the new girl in town and also reconciling with the death of her twin brother, Pietro. As she starts to navigate her new life she manages to stumble into friendship with a group of teens who are surprisingly similar to her

A/N: This is basically just a highschoolAU for the Avengers without powers.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

The next day Wanda got to school earlier. She made sure to keep her head down as she walked the hallways before first hour. If she was going to make sure that Clint and the others left her alone she was going to make it as hard as possible for them to try and talk to her.

She made sure to walk into History seconds before the final bell rang. Wanda handed Thor back his notebook. She had started with the notes last night and copied down all ten pages of his notes in a few hours.

“Thanks,” She said, trying to be kind yet distant, before Thor could try to say anything Mr. Coulson was starting class and Wanda felt like she had jumped the first hurdle of the day.

After class Wanda got up and was out the door before Thor could register that she was gone.

Biology was much harder. Wanda had taken her time walking to the room but when she got there Steve was sitting at their table, waiting for her. She smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to do, the only other open spot in the room was next to Tony, which didn’t exactly seem like a more preferable option. When she sat down Steve tried to catch her eye.

“I just wanted you to know that I don’t see being kind to you as some sort of job I got put up to.”

“Okay,” Wanda replied, her tone neutral. Wanda wasn’t sure if she could trust Steve, she barely knew him after all, she barely knew any of these people. Wanda had never trusted anyone other than Pietro and she still wasn’t ready to admit that she was alone now.

Steve left her alone for the rest of the hour. Her conversation with Natasha during french was very similar, though Natasha admitted that Clint was stupid a lot of the time, but added that Wanda would be stupid to ignore that he was trying to do the right thing.

Philosophy was more of the same, Steve lefter alone (so did everyone else) but it was after philosophy that Wanda realized that she was going to have a problem. She didn’t have anyone to sit with at lunch. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, Wanda had always sat with Pietro or by herself (at her old school she had essentially been invisible) but when she walked through the hallway to the lunchroom and noticed people were watching her it was then that Wanda had somehow gotten mixed up with the most popular kids in school.

Normally Wanda avoided popular kids like the plague, unfortunately, Wanda hadn’t realized that they were popular, at her old school the popular kids had been the rich kids who could have parties and nice clothes or the varsity players. These guys weren’t who he would have assumed to be the popular kids, sure, Tony was rich and his dad was famous, and Thor and Steve were super athletic, but he could barely see them being friends with each other, let alone people like Bruce or Natasha.

However, before Wanda could worry more about who she was going to eat with Steve was next to her, “Are you going to eat with us?” He asked.

“Um...yeah,” Wanda replied. She could tell that Steve was surprised by her response but he tried to not look to pleased.

When they got to their table everyone tried to be nice to Wanda without making it too obvious. Wanda almost felt worse because of the fact that they were treating her like a rabbit that they didn’t want to scare away than she had yesterday when she felt like they were all pretending to be nice to her.

Maybe Wanda had over-reacted? Should she just let go of her assumptions and let them in?

No.

At least, not yet.

Wanda stayed silent for most of lunch, after everyone relaxed slightly the conversations started up like normal and Wanda listened quietly while she picked at the sad excuse for a sandwich she had made herself before leaving the house. She didn’t even like turkey, so why had she slapped three pieces of it on the bread she had found in the pantry? Wanda was so wrapped up thinking about her poor sandwich making skills that she didn’t notice when Clint sat down next to her.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said, breaking Wanda out of her train of thought, she looked up, no one else was listening to them, they all had their own conversations going.

“Okay,” Wanda replied. She hadn’t really forgiven Clint for what he had said, but Wanda wasn’t exactly one to hold grudges - at least not outwardly. The internal battle Wanda was having was fierce. She had always been a fighter, but right now she just wanted to give up.

Wanda couldn’t help but think back to being at the hospital after Pietro’s accident. When Clint found her she was hiding in the storage closet bawling her eyes out.

“Um… can I help you?” a boy about her age asked. Wanda looked up, startled by the intruder before she realized that she was the one who wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Sorry, I just- How could I have let this happen? It’s all my fault.” Wanda sobbed.

“What?” He asked, crouching down next to her.

“M-my brother was in a car accident, he’s in the ICU right now,” Wanda told him, “They don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

“I’m still not seeing how this is your fault,” He said gently.

“I was the one who told him leave.” Wanda cried, “We needed milk, I told him to just go find some, so he did and then he ran a red light a few blocks from our house. He got T-boned and now he’s here.”

"Hey, look at me. It’s your fault, it’s his fault, it’s the other driver’s fault, who cares." he replied, “Sitting here is going to change what happened.”

“They won’t let me or our parents back to see him,” Wanda said, pulling her hands away from her face.

“Oh, well I can probably sneak you into his room,” he replied nonchalantly as he stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

“Really, you would do that for me?” Wanda asked him as she got to her feet.

“Sure, as long as we don’t get caught.” He replied with a wink before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the closet.

The two of them snuck down the hallway and around a few doctors into the ICU.

“What’s his name?” The boy had asked her when they got to a nurses station.

“Pietro Maximoff,” She replied quickly, glancing around nervously.

“Hey, if you keep looking around like you’re not supposed to be here they’ll realize that you’re not and kick you out.” He told her while typing into the computer.

“Right, sorry,” She replied.

“Room 324,” He announced, looking up from the computer, “Right this way.”

Wanda nodded and followed him down the hallway.

“You can’t go in, unfortunately because there’s a bunch of nurses right now, but you can look into the room,” He told her while they walked briskly, “Are you ready for this?” He asked her, glancing sidelong at her.

“Yes,” she answered definitively.

“Well, this is it.” he said, gesturing to the room number next to the door right in front of him, “You’ve probably got five or six minutes until his doctors come back.”

Wanda nodded and walked up to the doorway. She hadn’t know what to expect, but she figured it would be something like on all of those doctor shows on TV, that Dr. McDreamy would be bossing around people and her family would be able to go home by the end of the episode.

That’s not really what it was like.

I mean, there was a nurse who seemed busy enough, but she hadn’t realize that he was actually hooked up to tons of machines, everything about the situation seemed wrong and -painful-. Wanda could barely see Pietro’s face, there were so many wires and tubes connected to it.

After what had felt like mere seconds to Wanda at the time but must have been several minutes in reality she had felt the hand of the boy on his shoulder.

“We need to go now,” He told her, his voice soft.

“No.”

“If we don’t I’m going to lose my job.”

Wanda sighed and turned away from her brother’s body.

At the time Wanda hadn’t know that would be the last time she would see her twin’s body while he was still alive.

“No, like I’m really sorry about what I said yesterday, that was super out of line,” Clint replied, snapping Wanda back into reality.

“You were there for me when no one else was, you have no idea how much that meant to me, I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” Wanda said, dutifully examining the bread of her sandwich so she wouldn’t have to look at him, “It’s just...I haven’t really talked about Pietro since it happened. I can’t.”

“That’s okay, we don’t have to talk about. Just know that whenever you’re ready, I’m here - we’re all here for you.” He said, “Even Tony, especially Tony.”

“Thanks, can we just drop it for now?”

“Of course,” Clint said with a slight smile, taking a bite of his lunch, “How are your classes? Catching up?” He asked through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah, I’ve had to do work every chance I get though, these teachers really do not take it easy do they?”

Steve looked over at Wanda when she said that, “That reminds me, we have a Philosophy study group that meets every Thursday after school to hash out ideas and help with the essays and stuff, you should join.”

Wanda nodded, “Oh, awesome, that would be a huge help.”

“And we all tend to get together every afternoon at someone’s house to do homework and hang out,” Clint added, “So you have a standing invitation for that too, we don’t always get a lot of work done though, so just know that if you show up you’re going to get distracted any time you try to do actual work.”

Wanda laughed slightly, “Okay.”

“We always figure it out in the groupchat, Peggy interjected, “can I add you?”

“Um.. sure,” Wanda replied, quickly rattling off her phone number as Peggy typed it into her phone. The moment Peggy was done Wanda heard her phone start pinging and pulled it out of her backpack.

(216)355-7654 (12:42) Omg is the new number wanda???

(216)355-7654 (12:42) heyyy wanda

(216)787-3584 (12:42) Yes. You heard our conversation, please stop texting the group chat for stupid reasons.

(216)355-7654 (12:42) sorry peg. Luv youuuuu

(216)651-4599 (12:43) we’re all sitting at the same table just talk to each other

“Um...” Wanda muttered.

“Here,” Clint said, putting his hand out, “I’ll but everyone’s contacts in so you know who’s who.”

Wanda nodded and handed her phone over to him. After a few minutes Clint handed her phone back and Wanda scrolled through to see the names of everyone at the table were now added into her phone, along with a few that she didn’t recognize.

“Who are these other people?” Wanda asked, pointing to their names.

“Oh, those are a few of our other friends, they don’t have this lunch though. Peter Parker is Tony’s stalker, Sam Wilson is Steve’s best friend, Hank Pym is another science nerd, I don’t really know why we need another one but I guess he’s cool, T’Challa’s another one of the exchange students, Carol Danvers is a badass who can do whatever she wants, and Bucky Barnes is basically Steve’s boyfriend.”

Wanda was still trying to take in all of this information in order to make sure she’d remember who everyone was, “I thought Steve and Peggy were…” Wanda replied, confused.

“No one really knows which one he’s actually interested in,” Clint replied, offhandedly, “Well, do you think you’ll come over this afternoon? Study group is at my house.”

“Sure, it’s not like I have anything else to do.” Wanda replied with a slight smirk.

[ark-of-eden]

Fanfics for Appreciation.

(R:) This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of every awesome fic author or awesome fic that I love, because that is a huge list and I am honestly writing the following recs based on what comes up first in my mind or in my collections and how long I can write this before my brain melts. ^^;; Please do not assume that if you aren't below then I don't read or like your stuff; if you write fic, assume that I love you and you deserve all the treats and affection. :D

Uh, just for the record, in the course of compiling this list, I learned that I seem to like more darkfic than I thought I did, so...C_C;;;

The World's Translated Thus by Abyssal1/Aleph_Abyssal: I believe that @12_drakon deserves thanks for reuploading the PDF in Google docs? The above link is literally the only place I can find it anymore. The prequel, Red Letter Days, is downloadable here in EPUB. This fic is one of the famous ones, IIRC. I love it because it has the very best alien worldbuilding for G1 Cybertron that I have ever read. This is one of the fics that is so well-contained that I feel like I could easily rec it to anyone who knows nothing about Transformers and they would be able to grasp it all just fine, provided that they were cool with the quantum alien goo sex and tons of angst. (And if anyone out there knows what Abyssal1's pro name is, tell me so that I can buy the shit out of her novels and whatever else she's writing these days.)

The collected works of Anax (Imperator): Anax is technically on AO3, but most of his TF fics remain on LJ. All existing chapters of Five Million Years are there, while only eight were ever uploaded to AO3; LJ also holds the two incomplete sequels. Please send ups to this dude so he will Rite Moar because he is brilliant. His worldbuilding is magnificent, depicting early-war military life with all sorts of brilliant politicking and character interactions.

Starcrossed Duology by gatekat & Verilidaine: Another infamous fic, IIRC. Amazing character development and breadth of story, and the most tearjerky ending I have ever seen on a fic. The first fifth to fourth of the main story is the most soul-numbing stretch of extended horror and torture that I've experienced (and I have read quite a bit of horror and torture), but the really great thing is that the echoes of those events continue for the rest of the entire fic, shaping the lives of the people involved and prompting a very realistic recovery/adaptation in the wake of the trauma. The rest of what these two wrote together is also good; I especially like Judicium and The Making and Breaking of a Trine, but all of their work is hugely detailed. (Just really pay attention to those tags.) For even more of the even more if you find that you need more, search gatekat's immense outpouring for the more. There is so, so much. x_x

Borealis by tainry: This fic is amazing. It starts with the discovery of how the Bayverse Cybertronians can reproduce after the loss of the Allspark and a way of turning salvaged human minds into new Cybertronians, and then it expands through ages of time and cultural advancements until it's beautiful and huge. Science and technology are wrapped into the setting with special skill so all the tech feels believable.

Sound and Fury Series by fractalserpentine & HopeofDawn: One of my favorite pieces of fiction ever, and another series that I could rec to non-TF-fans and feel confident that they wouldn't lose their grip on the setting. This is some goddamn beautiful worldbuilding focused on the culture of carrier and symbiote mecha with Soundwave and friends as a focal point. I cannot overstate how great the work on the setting and characterization is. Even cooler, the "interfacing" in this whole series is asexual (based on data transfer) and is intimate without being truly erotic. The end of this series wraps up in the end of the Giants of the Earth series (another badass piece that I, being ignorant of Iron Giant media, didn't expect to like as much as I did).

Domesticus Series by femme4jack, fractalserpentine, HopeofDawn, and Sakiku: The premise is that Earth is exporting humans to be turned into sex slaves for Cybertronians who don't see them as sapient beings. But the stories are way more than shallow xenoporn (though there's plenty of that in many lovely forms). Various Cybertronians end up learning more about the human species and work for greater human rights, especially after humans and Cybertronians are discovered to have a natural symbiosis.

Everything written by peacewish: She is intimidatingly brilliant. These Games We Play is the main story, and it's such a carefully-crafted epic in which Soundwave becomes too attached to Jazz (his postwar slave) and there is a great deal of politicking among the Decepticion elite, plus the small-scale mind games in which Jazz and Soundwave jockey for power in their relationship. It's so complex and it unfolds so perfectly.

Book of Hours by Kemmasandi: An in-progress fic that I love because of all the careful attention to worldbuilding (probably you can see a theme to my picks here). Cybertronian society and technology are written in a natural, effortless way that makes the whole setting feel very alive, and the characters are so well-crafted. I've yet to come across another fic that does the prewar development of Orion and Megatronus' relationship so believably.

Across the Great Divide Series by dragonofdispair and Rizobact: I freaking love this series to bits because it addresses disability in such an interesting way. Prowl has a sensory issue that makes it painful for him to touch anyone, but he wants to have a relationship with Jazz and they make it work. Involves other people learning about and respecting a disabled person's needs and a couple working to accomodate one partner's difficulties for mutual pleasure. Also cool cultural details and robot Mafia.

what you are in the dark by Enfilade: This is actually my favorite one-shot fic, the one I think of first after setting aside all those epic Great Cybertronian Novel fics mentioned above. The appeal for me is the simple setup of erotica in which one person cannot see and the other doesn't speak. The descriptions and everything else about this fic just amaze me... It's beautifully executed and I hold it very, very close to my heart.

Soooooo many other things by Enfilade: There's just...so damn much here to love...TT^TT The agonizing denial desert of These Shackles You Forged, the great character interactions in Mend What is Broken, the more great character interactions enhanced by extra added Tarn and Deathsaurus in On My Dark and Lonely Side... It's all so good. It's all so painfully good. TTT^TTT

oh god so many things by ultharkitty i'm pretty sure i have a problem: I confess that my favorite pieces by her are the extremely twisted ones that are permutations on the theme of sociopathic monster Vortex fixating on innocent angel First Aid. I'm just gross with how much I love the things she does with that pairing purely because it's her doing that pairing; otherwise, I couldn't give a damn about Vortex/First Aid. I have to make some specific recs here: -- Mind Games and Dream Fragments: The Fave. Vortex is cruelly kind in giving First Aid what he wants the most. -- What You Wish For: If you can handle very dark darkfic, PLEASE READ THIS. It's actually Vortex/Dead End, but the main storyarc involves Dead End becoming addicted to the experience of other people's deaths and eventually graduating to terrible misuse of spark bonds. All the characterization is razor-sharp, the pacing is perfect, the character development is wow, and the ending is inevitable. I love this horrible lump of pain. -- Rain: Sad, minimalist story of fallout from fraternization. -- The Wages of Compassion: First Aid sparkbonds with Vortex to save his life, and there is some twisted Combaticon culture and First Aid literally reformatting a dude. Characterization is lovely despite how dark this is. -- Euphoria: A non-war, sane-Vortex AU in which First Aid gets a membership at an exclusive kink resort and Vortex is his amazing dom. Downright cockle-warming!!

An Education by zuzeca: Sequel to Fading Embers by spaceliquid. Galvatron starts brooding after battlefield sex with Optimus and Cyclonus, worried that he won't ever be able to satisfy his lord again, starts taking pleasure lessons from the Prime. It sounds like it should be lolcracky, but it's actually gentle and bittersweet with very lovable characters. This is one of the fics that I keep rereading every so often because I enjoy experiencing it that much. Zuzeca's Pillars of the Temple series is also several stories of TFP AU win that include too much awesome to sum up here.

Fics and Fears by 12drakon: Damn, I love this fic so, so much. The underpinning of the whole thing is the function of fiction in different areas of life. Some people use it to cope with past trauma, others to spin events in their favor, others to prop themselves up with hero fantasies... It's like fanfiction about the concept of fanfiction, but the TFP story packaging it all is really great too.

Robots, Robots Everywhere Series by oriflamme: Each fic is very different in nearly every way, but holy shit, her use of language and world design is just amazing. I wish I could be more specific, but every story really is too different to write a capsule of the whole thing. :P IT GOOD. READ.

Just about everything by spockandawe: It took a bit for me to get used to the second-person narration, but the stories are so great that any delivery method is perfect. I love the character interaction. I love the narrative voice (it constantly makes me want to read them out loud because the language she uses is so fun). The sad bits are piercing but beautiful.

War Without End Series by AzarDarkstar & dracoqueen22: Finally, a series based on the enormous question of why Bayverse Optimus is so chill about his people getting killed and why he keeps bending in favor of the humans to the point of destroying his own species. The other Autobots are just as disturbed by these events. Eventually, Autobots and Decepticons gravitate together to save their own kind and learn to reproduce without the Allspark. This series is just designed and executed in a damn cool way.

Prisoner by hellkitty: I have such a soft spot for this one because it focuses on linguistic differences between Autobots and Decepticions that have developed over the war. The POV is of a human grad student who is given the injured Starscream to study because the Autobots and NEST don't care about her research.

Just about every other damn thing by hellkitty: For your convenience, the above link goes to the first of the 19 pages of fic she has. Just chug those damn things. Most aren't very long. Also, it's hard to pick out certain ones to rec without my notes elsewhere, because she tends to not include descriptions or link related stories into series, so reading oldest to newest is how to get most things in order. :/ I remember her fondly because she writes quite a bit of prewar Drift (including interesting stories of how poverty and sex work manifest in Rodion) and Deadlock, and I am just ragingly onboard for that content. Be aware that there's some twisted stuff in places, especially with her super toxic Turmoil/Deadlock. One specific rec I might make would be Meridian, a fairly dark AU in which Deadlock really did sell out the Knights and took Wing as a war prize when he returned to the Decepticons.

Upon a Star Series by dracoqueen22: I love this series so much. It makes my heart tender and my eyes tear up. TT_TT It really does feel like a fairytale and I love all the tiny details about Prowl and Sunstreaker and even poor, desperate Starscream. Turbocharged comfort fic like a fuzzy pillow fort.

So many things by Lycaste: There's just so many damn delightful pieces here. It helps that a lot of it has to do with the DJD and the like. XB Wired for Action, The Autobot Justice Division, Cry Havoc (In Quatrains), and Sibling Rivalry are some of my very favorites. After spending too much time stuffing my brain with darkfic, I really need well-written humor, and these are definite repeat reads.

Nearly everything by Owlix: Owlix writes a little bit of everything. I recall a lot of his pieces being small, carefully-made sketches of character interactions.

Dear Lies Series by dracoqueen22: I honestly like this one not because I enjoy the dynamic, exactly, but because it shows how insidiously and gradually abusive elements can enter into a relationship. Features Jazz as the too-intense antagonist. (TBH, I have a weird liking for fics in which Jazz is subtly or overtly sinister.)

And I'm pretty sure everybody likes something from Bibliotecaria_D: You can't really go wrong with her work. ^^ Highlights in my mind include White Lies (great postwar DJD sads), Constructicon Lite (Constructicons feeding Prowl), Gone Fishing (the wonderful adventures of the guy with Megatron's voice), Walk the Line (realistic, educational BDSM fic), and Playing the Long Odds (another cool realistic story about falling in love with friends and how that changes things).

There are so damn many more but my eyes are starting to get blurry from too much shuffling around in my archives. =_= I love all you wonderful fic writers. You bring me so much joy.

[lucius-morningstar]

Next Gen Fan Fic Ideas?

These particular ideas revolve around my RWBY next gen. It will also pre determine the histories that unfold for my characters seeing as that’s the only thing I never really grasped on much. Not all of them will revolve around it’s canon compliant which ever I so chose it to be but let me give you an idea of what routes I’m taking.  Note: These stories we’re created a while before Yin and Shion’s introduction. More so Shion’s then Yin’s. Shion may not be in these stories. Yin will be in one or two of em maybe more lol.  ----------------------------------------------------- Title/s: Slave Trade/To Be an Animal: (Title is debatable.) Summary: Mai enjoyed the life she had, her, her sister and parents sure there we’re times when things could be a little dull. But excitement always reared it’s head though Mai wouldn’t lie when she kinda hopes for something more exciting. Sadly sometimes it’s best to just be content with what you have. Plot: Mai separates with her sister for a short time to go and retrieve something she had forgotten only to be knocked out cold. She and two other friends find themselves chained and working in an unknown area with tons of other faunus. Mai must do her best to overcome the horrible conditions all while protecting her friends from the horrible men who have enslaved them. She only had to be strong until their families found them question was how long could she hold out?, and when they do finally save them, will their daughters be the same person they knew before, or a former shell of themselves. Simplified: Mai, Onyx and Cinna are kidnapped and traded to a faunus slave labor camp. Where they must endure punishments of all sorts, verbal and physical.  What the story may contain: Abuse, Death, Rape (Mention), Trigger warnings such as PTSD, Anxiety, ect will be implied. This fanfic is mostly from Mai’s P.O.V. but will transition to Cinna’s, Onyx as well as Yin and even Blake an Yang. I will include a little Velvet/Coco as well as Neon but their roles might be minor.  --------------------------------------------- Title: Born In Happiness, Raised In Hate:  Summary: Blake and Yang are living their days of peace quite happily with their two daughters Yin and Mai. Both fairly young but happy and content which is more then both of them could have asked for. With the thoughts of any danger far beyond their mind, Blake and Yang decide to have a date night leaving Sun in charge of the little ones. Little did they know that would be the last time they’d see them for years to come.  Plot: While Blake and Yang are out enjoying a double date with Weiss and Ruby. Yin and Mai only five years old at the time when The White Fang struck their home. Sun nearly losing his life in the process unable to protect the children as he’s forced to watch them get taken out of their beds and dragged into the shadows. Blake and Yang as well as Weiss and Ruby search frantically for the children only to find their tattered clothing stained in blood and a fellow white fang member dead and shredded while Grimm laid scattered. The grief fills their minds and assume the worse. Mai and Yin are dead. Ruby trying to be that beacon of hope wants to believe the girls are still alive and somewhere safe despite her sister and sister in law’s worries. Plot Continuation: While the search does continue for a couple years they all have but given up hope. Unaware that Adam had taken them in and had Ilia as well as a few other members of the White Fang train, watch over them. As they grow older Yin and Mai both begin to question their origin and why they can’t remember their families despite Adam telling them they we’re long gone. The only source of comfort they had growing up was Illia who serviced as both a legal guardian and fight instructor. When tensions rise and the sisters question they’re loyalty Adam uses both of them against the other as leverage to keep them in line. His favoritism tends to go more towards Yin. Mai senses an impending hatred from Adam yet can’t place why. Simplified: Yin and Mai are kidnapped by Adam’s men in the White Fang at a very young age and trained under his watch and they must go through trials in order to get what they want. What the story may contain: Abuse/Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Death, Trigger warnings will be implied. (Given they’re 16/17 during this story may hint at age difference as well given the sexual abuse mention so warnings all around.)  This fanfic will be from Mai and Yin’s P.O.V. as well as transitioning to Blake/Yang, Ruby/Weiss and even Ilia and Sun. This idea came from another RWBY fanfic known as Surrender which was written by an amazing writer known as SimplyKorra.  ------------------------------------------------- Title/s: Who Am I?/Where Do I Belong (Alpha/Omega Verse) Summary: Blake left Beacon. Left her friends, her family, her partner, unable to deal with the guilt of the pain she had caused she goes back to Menagerie to find some peace but comes to the startling conclusion she did not go back alone. Aside from Sun tagging along Blake brought back another one she wasn’t aware of until weeks later. Discovery of an unexpected pregnancy puts Blake in a rather scary situation luckily she is not there alone. Her parents and even Sun offered to help but without Yang it just didn’t feel right. Plot: Blake giving birth to Mai was both a blessing and a curse. Her mother explained to her that it would be impossible not to love the child the second she saw it. It was far too true for many reasons. While it was a faunus like Blake, it looked like Yang, Mai had darker blonde hair then Yang did but it was a constant reminder and that only served a higher purpose when Mai first opened her eyes. Her bright red eyes. All Blake could think of was Yang’s reaction to her unknown child and to how and to how angry she’d be for not only never contacting her about it but leaving int the first place. The eyes we’re a constant reminder for Blake, many regrets, many heartaches but her having Mai was never one of them. Sun had even offered to help in any way he could but as Mai got older she saw a little more of herself. Mai wasn’t an oblivious child, she knew Sun wasn’t her father, she’d constantly ask and Blake would never know what to say, she never confirmed nor denied Sun being her father which only made Mai question it more. Which made things worse when Mai would try to make friends, she was an odd looking Faunus it wasn’t so much the blonde hair that made her stand out, it was her eyes, other children refused to play with her even the parents refused to let their children near her. The more she aged the more she questioned who she was, where she came from and who her other parent was. Why mother never spoke of her why she always looked so sad when Mai would bring it up or those times when she thought Mai didn’t notice the off stares her mother would send her. She had all but drawn the conclusion that her other parent was dead, around the age of eight she had even slowly come to accept it. That is until she bumped into someone in town. A human woman one that resembled her far too much for it to be a coincidence.  Simplified: When Blake fled Beacon she settled in Menagerie and soon gave birth Mai a child she wasn’t even aware she had at the time of leaving. Raising her with or without Sun was difficult for Blake mostly because she was just too much like Yang. Life is somewhat peaceful until a woman comes to menagerie wanting answers and Mai is one of the biggest questions she’ll have trouble answering among others. What the story may contain: This will be more of the lighter stories so it may contain cursing, bullying, fighting and a lot of emotional turmoil but it’s a much lighter story. This story will only contain Mai out of my Blake and Yang Next gen children. I had this idea in my head longer then any others long before Yin was created so I figured I’d add it. It will also be in Mai’s P.O.V. along with Blake/Yang, Sun, Ghira/Kali and maybe others only time will tell.  -------------------------------------------- These are just a few I’ve had in mind for a while. I wouldn’t mind some ideas or feed back on which one I should do. Now to be honest I am not a hundred percent sure if I will write it due to the fact I am horrible with grammar and other things. But I might if people are genuinely curious. 

[occupyasgard]

A few years ago @mhayeson made a really fantastic post on Stiles’ Jeep, because let’s get real, who didn’t fall in love with Stiles’ Jeep.

Personally, I fell in love with Jeeps the first time I watched Jurassic Park as a kid and again when Teen Wolf premiered in 2011, the year I graduated high school and started college. Now that was when I started seriously looking into purchasing a Jeep, mhayeson’s was one of the first that I found related to Stiles’ jeep that really broke down the functionality of it when it came to fanfics.

I’m making this post to add to the knowledge of owning an older Jeep, mine is a CJ7 (‘76-‘86, mine is an ‘85). Stiles’ is a CJ5 (‘54-‘83), Jurassic Parks is a YJ (‘87-‘95). This leans far more towards the CJs. I just want to break down my reality of owning this beautiful car and add to the information available for all you people like me, who fall in love with the character of something though you may not necessarily be a car buff but you want one.

note: This is not going to be a reflection of everyone’s experience owning an older jeep.

First things first, buying a Jeep:

You’re going to want to ask a lot of questions. I personally lucked out and when my family heard that I was looking to buy a CJ, my grandparents offered to sell me theirs. I bought Apollo for a steal of $5000 USD, whereas when my grandparents were looking into selling it a few months before, they had an asking price of $10,000. I made the rookie mistake of not asking a lot of questions, though I did go for a test drive.

Personally I was not a well-versed car person before buying this Jeep and I still am not but I have definitely gotten better.

Things I wished I knew before purchasing the Jeep: What specifically has been worked on before? How is the exhaust system fairing? What is the state that the electrical is in? What about the seats (if they’re covered, ask to look under them)? What is the state of the floor? Are the mirrors attached to the body or to the doors (more on this later)?

Older Jeeps have a lot of rust problems. My Jeep has trouble spots all over but not as bad as many of them that I looked at prior to purchasing this one. I’ve seen ones where the floor has holes in it that have rusted through or even the walls of the Jeep. Sometimes older Jeeps have been sitting for quit some time, and if you’re like me, those are the ones that are within your price range.

Owning a Jeep:

You’re going to learn a lot. 

Before this, I knew basically how to add oil, windshield wiper fluid, coolant, and brake fluid to my cars. I knew how to change my oil. Kind of how to change a tire but never had to. How to swap fuses.

Now though, I’ve done a lot of my own work on my Jeep that I never had to touch before on my previous car. Again, these are all fairly simple things when it comes down to it, but things I never expected to learn or need to know. Some of these I learned with help and some I’ve done alone. I’ve fixed vacuum leaks, changed my seatbelts and extended parts of them, removed and replaces my seats (both front and back), swapped gaskets on the engine, removed and replaced the center console, taken apart the doors and replaced locks and fixed window crank mechanisms.

this is what the door looks like when all the facade pieces are taken off in order to get to the lock/window mechanisms. this is also how my jeep has been for the last year.

Currently I’m working on finding the last parts I need to cover my locks so that can replace the siding as well as changing the seal on the top.

Now why have I done this?

Because Jeeps are expensive and can always be a work in progress.

And if I can do it myself, I’m not going to pay someone else to. Things I’ve had to pay people to do and am going to have to pay people to do: rewire pretty much the whole thing, weld cracks in the doors, reupholster the seats, and put in a new exhaust system. As well as going through about three starters and a flywheel (which for anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, is a massive pain that while fixable, isn’t something I wish on anyone).

because my Jeep’s handles had crumbled from old age, the doors have been closed for the last decade by pulling on the window frame which has caused cracks like this that I have to get welded to keep from getting worse.

Now even though Jeeps are expensive, they are doable. Jeeps are fantastic and there are so many resources for owners. If you know mechanics or are related to them, join a Jeep Club, or have a second car, owning a Jeep on a budget is far more doable. I realize these are privileged things. I honestly would not be able to be driving my Jeep right now without them. My Jeep has sat around for months not running before, which is not something I would have been able to do without having another car because I can’t afford to just take it into the shop.

say hello to my taped up wire mess under the hood. where do some of those wires go? who knows? not me.

Often times these things have popped up without a warning for me. Probably because I don’t have a ton of car knowledge so I didn’t see the warning signs. Things that have happened while driving my Jeep that needed fixing immediately:

- my brake fluid stopped flowing correctly while going downhill and I almost crashed into a barn (but I didn’t and that’s what’s important, pump your brakes kids and remember to downshift to slow yourself down and to an eventual stop)

- someone cut me off and when I hit the brakes and downshifted the choke literally jammed itself shut and I got stuck on the side of the road

- while on a trip driving about 350 miles north a vacuum seal gave out and the jeep would die every time I stopped which in turn meant I was starting the Jeep more often, which destroyed the starter because of a preexisting issue with starting the Jeep (aka I had to be towed the morning after literally rolling into my friend’s apartment complex and pay about $400 to stick a bandaid on it and drive it home and fix it there)

- while on a trip the other direction about the same length, a tire tore apart on the way home, a stranger helped me change the tire and make sure I didn’t ruin my Jeep by putting the spare on the wrong side so we actually had to change two tires (turns out my spare tire was actually smaller than all the rest) and I had to buy four new tires before I could go home.

It’s great to have a community.

Not going to lie, one of the most awesome things about having a Jeep is that there are also so many other people who do and love them. I’m part of a Jeep Club where people get together to go on rides, go fourwheeling, hold classes on learning how to do those things, as well as things such as scavenger hunts, recommendations for parts, swapping services, or doing repairs for cheaper or helping diagnose problems instead of just fixing everything. Also it’s fun to wave at other Jeep owners while you’re driving down the road.

It’s honestly a little rough if you’re a major introvert or have social anxiety like me, but it can be fun.

Driving a jeep is super fun (for a lot of us)

Do you like not hearing yourself? Do you want the wind to almost constantly be running through your hair? Do you want to feel the car you’re driving? Do you want to feel like Indiana Jones when you’re headed to the grocery store?

Then driving a Jeep is great and if you don’t already, you’re going to have to learn to drive stick shift which means a lot more pedals under your feet:

Left to right: emergency/parking brake, clutch, brake, gas

Personally, I learned on a manual car so switching to a Jeep wasn’t a huge leap for me. For those of you that have driven manual before, a Jeep may be way looser than what you’re used to. The distance between gears in my Jeep is basically a wider range than all six gears for my other car. Also most only go to fourth gear, mine (because it’s been upgraded), goes to fifth which makes driving on the highway and interstate so much nicer.

Also a plus of driving stick as per my dad: you will always survive a horror movie. You get to that car to make your getaway and you can drive anything.

Another plus of driving a Jeep means you can go topless, your Jeep anyways. And you can go doorless! Basically you can take apart that beloved tin can you call a car like a Mr. Potato Head. It also means that during the summer months if you have long hair you will need to invest in so many hair ties. Rock the bun, the ponytail will whip you in the eye.

you also can get off roading tags and go explore your area and eat pizza with a great view.

If you want to take the doors off:

You’re going to need to get a Jeep with the mirrors attached to the body of the Jeep. It’s illegal (at least in every place I’ve been) to drive without mirrors. Many Jeeps and cars have mirrors attached to the doors. The reason for this as far as I understand it is because you can’t see jack all out of the passenger mirror when it’s attached to the body. You can see a bit, but not a lot, though once the doors are off, you get some more motion out of it.

I’m mentioning all of this because I was talking with my uncle recently who was looking at getting a Jeep. He wanted something a little newer (because it’s less upkeep and work) but he wanted to be able to take the doors off and where the mirrors were at weren’t something he’d thought of at all and admitted he’d probably not have thought about it until after purchasing.

Mirrors attached to the body:

See how the mirrors are attached to the body and stretch out from there? The mirrors have motion to pivot back and forth and the actual mirror portion can pivot wherever you need it.

Mirrors attached to doors:

On this Samurai the mirrors are attached to the doors and like most mirrors, just pivot back and forth, up and down.

Great for if you’re not planning on ever taking the doors off, but if we wanted to take the doors off then we’d have to get a second set of mirrors to attach later. You can buy mirrors that go into the hinge for when the doors are off that you have to assemble and disassemble each time. New they’re just under $50 and they are stationary once you lock them in.

These would be fine as well. I’m just lazy af and if I feel like going somewhere with the doors off, I like being able to just lift, set them aside (with something underneath to protect the paint because bust up your doors and that’s no fun unless you’ve got the money to fix them) and go. PS: the doors are fairly heavy. Mine are full, but you can always get half doors. When taking my doors on and off, I sometimes end up with a slight bruise on my thigh from lifting it up. I don’t mind it, but some people might.

Also if you have a top on your jeep, those full doors aren’t going to fit in the back (I tried). So no getting off work and deciding you want the wind in your hair a little more than usual if it’s a solid thing.

On the note of taking things off:

You can’t take the top off by yourself if it’s a hardtop and you don’t have a lever and pulley system set up.

Like Stiles’ Jeep, mine is a hardtop. They’re not very heavy, but you’re probably not going to want to take it off alone. You could but personally I don’t like taking the risk of smashing the corners or losing my grip. Hard tops are expensive (like $2,500 expensive) and mine is original so it’s 32 years old and in my experience a little more fragile.

If you have a garage and are handy, you can set up a sort of pulley system to lift it off, or if you don’t, then you might have a friend or two that would be willing to help you.

For me, I get help, and it means that once it’s off for the summer, it’s off until the end of the season. If it starts raining, you can’t just go and put it on. For my Jeep, there are several bolts and screws that need to be put in place in order to keep it on there. Which leads us to:

Everything you love will get wet, & possibly get paint and/or rust on it.

The thing about old Jeeps is that they are not water proof. Honestly, they will probably never be waterproof and probably were never waterproof, except for maybe that first golden winter that they were driven off the lot. But then the top came off. My Jeep has holes in the floor specifically for the purpose of draining the thing if it ends up with too much water.

Mine had (from what I know) the original radio and newish speakers, as well as a CB radio. Speaker and CB radio both stopped working, the radio turns on but honestly without speakers, who even knows? My bet was on it not working. Eventually I’ll have it removed. Currently I use a bluetooth, waterproof, and shock proof speaker that I lock to the inside of the Jeep.

All that white? Paint from the roof draining down when it rains or when it gets humid inside and the condensation forms on the ceiling.

I used to carry a roll of paper towels for emergencies and I used it mostly for cleaning condensation off the inside of my windows while I was driving and it was raining. I carry around a towel now because that’s more environmentally friendly and then if it pours while the top is off, I just hang it out to dry rather than end up with a giant soggy mess.

My heart goes out to my friend who went on a 350 mile trip in this thing during a snow storm and downpours. He was in the back seat and because the back of the Jeep curves up, where it leaked from the hinges of the back window, he got soaked. He also suffered through hearing a tire blow out right under his head (he was resting it on the wheel well).

Some of these are fixable in theory, but for me? Not yet. I have new seals to put in. It’s safe to assume if you get an old Jeep? Things will leak. I’m trying to reseal my center console to keep it waterproof, and for Christmas I got a lock box to put in the back that is waterproof. I carry my laptop around and the last thing I want is it ending up soaking wet.

Things to know about the security of a Jeep:

I am such a Nervous Nelly, so let’s preface this with that.

Last year where I live there was a span of about three weeks where a Jeep was being stolen a day. They were being taken everywhere. Outside of pizza places. Out of driveways. From parking lots. At least two people in the club I was in had theirs stolen. What the police said was making it so easy? Older Jeeps (and Toyotas) all use extremely similar keys. It meant someone just needed a single older Jeep key and they were able to get into people’s cars and start them.

My sister’s old Toyota used to be able to be started with a flathead screwdriver (it was also stolen not long after she sold it by a guy who used a different Toyota key as well.).

This was where I learned to take out an electrical cord from the engine that stopped it from being able to be started. When I bought my Jeep the locks were busted and I couldn’t lock my Jeep, so I was more comfortable with one more step of protection. One of the members from the club literally chained his Jeep to a pole during this time.

These Jeeps can also have their hoods opened without having to get into the cab. For ones like mine where everything under the hood is fairly super old it’s not really an issue, but regardless still makes me sort of nervous. You can buy latch locks if you want.

Hard tops with full doors are nice for being able to actually lock your Jeep. I can lock my Jeep and know that more likely than not, it’s going to stay locked and not be messed with. With soft tops/half doors etc., leaving nothing of importance in your car is a better practice. From what I’ve heard, it’s better to leave your doors unlocked than risk someone cutting your soft top or windows to get to your CDs (though that’s funny, CDs in a CJ).

You’re also going to want a locking gascap. You can buy these at pretty much any autoparts store. Without one, anyone can steal your gas. For me it’s very helpful because my gas gauge doesn’t actually work right now so if someone stole my gas I wouldn’t even have a warning.

look at that thing, so good. also if you live somewhere where you can’t pump your own gas, be prepared for people to try to lift up your license plate looking for a gas cap. my license plate is looking super sad from people bending it when I go to the gas station.

If you take care of your Jeep, someone will always want to buy it.

The good of it is that for me, my Jeep is a bit of an insurance policy. I know if something bad happens, I could sell it and make some quick cash. I don’t ever want to sell it (I want to be able to give it to someone in my family and keep it in my family), but it’s an option that’s there.

The bad of it is that this honestly can get annoying if you’re someone like me (aka stubborn). What gets annoying is that often times this happens completely unsolicited and in my experience not usually ever in a good way. It doesn’t typically happen in a bad way, but not a good way.

For background info: I am a girl. Jeeps and offroading vehicles are usually a male dominated space. This means if you’re a girl, or coded girl, then you may have some similar experiences.

There’s some sexism within offroading communities/offroading culture.

When I bought my Jeep, I was working at an autoparts store. One of my coworkers who had seen my grandparents’ Jeep before was almost legitimately mad that I’d bought it from them before he could. He also told me he’d give me 10k cash for it if I ever wanted to sell it.

Since then most of the men who ask if I’m selling my Jeep are persistent at best and straight up creepy at worst. Often times there’s some condescension in there. 

I picked up my dad from dropping his truck at the dealership and while waiting for him a salesman came up and tried to convince me to sell him my Jeep. He told me how much work they were, how much trouble they were, what he thought was wrong with mine, and how if I ever decide that it’s “too much” that I need to call him despite me telling him that I like the challenge and won’t be selling it. Gave me his card and told me to put it in my glove box and keep it until I was ready to sell it (recently that card died in the center console). 

Another time I went to the grocery store later at night (like 10pm) and when I was walking back to my car, the guy who had parked in front of me asked me if I was selling it. When I told him no, he ignored the answer and asked for a test drive (note that this is in the dark, later at night, and I was alone). I told him that I wasn’t giving him one and he ignored me again and asked me to give him a ride right then. When he ignored my answer for a third time I was thankfully in my Jeep, shutting the door and leaving. Wholly uncomfortable.

However when girls ask me if I’m selling my Jeep, it’s never been that. My current coworker just asked me if I could let her know if I decided to sell it because she loves it. I also haven’t had any issues within my Jeep club when it specifically comes to this and my ownership of my Jeep.

What it honestly comes down to is if you love your Jeep, you love it.

For all the frustrations my Jeep gives me, I love it. I can’t think of getting rid of it. I’ve learned so much and done so much in it. It’s an adventuring thing. It’s got so much character. Gas mileage might be terrible (for real though, it’s so bad), but there are reasons why they become iconic and why we love seeing them so much in things like Teen Wolf and Jurassic Park and why they resonate with us in this way even though we might not necessarily start off as car people.

This was super long, so if you made it all the way through, I definitely applaud you. If you have any questions or if anything was unclear, you can definitely ask me. There are also Jeep forums you can go to (some specifically dedicated to Jurassic Jeeps) that you can find more information in as well and I definitely encourage you to. For me, the forums were a little difficult to understand/get into in the beginning, so I hope this will help bridge that gap a bit for people like me.

Have fun Jeeping!