#HI GREG!!! LOVE YA TOO /P

[ciellery]

Hehehehe. I love you (platonically) HAVE A STARSCREAM. Wha- I can't put an image!?

AWH love you lots too Greg /p :]

THANK YOU FOR THE STARSCREAM!!! Also, you can't insert images when anonymous lol XD

[loveforpreserumsteve]

As We Grow: "ALN" Story (Pre-Serum Omega!Steve and Alpha!Bucky Modern Domestic AU)

Six:

It seemed as though all Steve did was blink, and suddenly, his little guy was nearly six weeks old. All of it happened so fast and Steve wished that time would just slow down for a minute so he could further enjoy this moment in Oliver's life. The way Oliver's first smile – even though just mimicking – nearly had Bucky in tears while Steve definitely did cry. How Oliver's little coos were music to their ears, no matter what time of day or how tired he was. Even missing the way he used to pass Oliver to Bucky so the alpha could burp him. Sure, he never got the big belches out of the small infant, but now he could do the act of burping almost as confidently as Bucky.

In those weeks that whizzed by, Oliver had had a busy little life. First with Lucy's first birthday, then his own bris. Sadie's ladybug themed fifth birthday being rained out and taking place inside Becca and Dum Dum's house that wasn't nearly as accommodating as Winnie and George's and felt even more cramped with Sadie's preschool friends running around with ladybug antennas.

Now, it was Rosh Hashanah. Oliver was doing tummy time with Greg on the sofa watching him – even though she pretended to dislike him, it was clear she loved him – and Steve in the kitchen, baking. Every so often, Steve just looked out, seeing how Oliver was lifting his head all on his own, and smiled to himself.

While Steve was chopping up some apples, Bucky entered the living room. Smiling down at Oliver before entering the kitchen. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, Bucky complimented, "Smells good, doll."

"Thank you," Steve preened. Especially when Bucky kissed his temple on the way to the sink.

"What're ya makin'?" Bucky asked, taking a drink of water.

"Um," Steve folded the chopped apple and chopped pecans into the batter. Glancing at the tablet where the recipe was, he repeated the title, "Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Icing."

Snaking his arms around Steve's torso, Bucky hooked his chin over Steve's slender should and told him, "You're too good to us."

"And you're too charming for your own good," Steve chuckled, playfully elbowing the alpha.

Over the spot on his neck where a mating bite would go, Bucky kissed Steve and Steve stifled a shudder from erupting down his spine. As Steve spread the batter evenly into the Bundt pan, Bucky left the kitchen for the living room. Going right for Oliver.

"Whatcha doin', Squirt?" Bucky asked, moving to his hands and knees before dropping fully onto his stomach in front of Oliver. Picking up the colorful rattle, Bucky confirmed, "This is pretty cool, huh?"

Shaking his head, Steve put the cake into the pre-heated oven. While that was baking, Steve started on the caramel icing. Not wanting to pause, get distracted with Oliver, and then being noisy while he slept. So, it was easier to just do it –

"Steve! He's smiling!"

"Like, smiling, smiling?" Steve asked, wiping his hands on a dish towel as he made his way over to the play-mat.

"Smiling-smiling," Bucky replied before adding, "I think."

Dropping down to his knees, Steve leaned on Bucky so he could see that Oliver... wasn't smiling. Brows furrowed, he looked at Bucky and the alpha shrugged, defending himself, "He was smiling."

Moving to his stomach, Bucky made room for Steve in front of their son. As soon as Oliver focused on Steve, a smile tugged at his little lips and Steve melted. Turning into an emotional puddle on the carpet.

"Hi, handsome," Steve gushed, grinning at his baby. Talking to him, "Look at that handsome smile! You're becoming such a big boy! Yes, you are!"

Nuzzling in close to Steve, Bucky kissed his shoulder and said, "He has your smile, Stevie."

Redirecting his attention to the alpha beside him, Steve gave him a sweet kiss. When Steve pulled back, Bucky kissed his temple. As the pair returned their attention to Oliver, the baby smiled again. Steve just couldn't believe it! And although they had pictures and videos of pretty much everything that their little guy had done over the past month of his life, Steve wished that it would slow down. Wished that it would linger and marinate his memory with all those Baby's Firsts.

And just like every other time Bucky's undivided attention was on Oliver, Greg loudly meowed to get his attention. His head a little wobbly since he had been holding it up for so long, Oliver turned towards the direction of the sofa, but not being able to look up at Greg who was rolling around on the couch cushions.

Raising up on his elbows, Bucky told Greg, "We've talked about this."

Not that Greg cared as she meowed again and rolled closer, rubbing herself on the sofa cushion. Bucky put his weight on his prosthetic and reached up to pet the long-haired cat. Steve smiled at the interaction, knowing that the former garage cat was spoiled and slept with them in their bed, which was more than Oliver did.

Speaking of Oliver, the infant was growing fussy with his extended tummy time. Even though he didn't need to, Steve checked the clock to see that it was almost feeding time. Considering how Oliver was starting to drag his head along the play-mat in his sleepiness and frustration, Steve decided that a few minutes earlier wouldn't hurt.

Standing, Steve picked Oliver off the floor and cradled him in his arms. Unbuttoning his shirt and his supporter, Steve guided Oliver and allowed the baby to latch. As he grabbed his nursing pillow, Steve got settled on the chaise. It didn't take long for Greg to lay in a ball at his feet. It also didn't take long for Bucky to curl up beside him with his arm on the back of the couch and his fingers threading through Oliver's thick hair. This wasn't how Steve expected the day to go, but he was going to savor them while they lasted.

TAG LIST: @t3a-bag

[novantinuum]

Contact (Ch. 2/4)

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: T (No TW this chapter)

Words: 3.0K~

Summary: The first (and with any luck, only) time it happens, he’s almost 16.

Chapter Summary: Help arrives. Amethyst struggles to cope amidst the chaos.

So this fic is Steven and Amethyst centric, set during the 2 year time skip. It’s also kinda in conversation with An Indirect Kiss, and explores the idea of what could happen to a hybrid with a cracked gem. This chapter has no specific trigger warnings. It will be exactly 4 parts.

AO3 link and a link to the first chapter can be found in the reblogs! Support there or here (via reblogs) is very much appreciated! <3

____

Chapter 2: The Worry

A frantic phone call and a few minutes later, one of the decommissioned Roaming Eyes that’s been stationed on Earth carefully lowers through the gaps in the forest canopy. Amethyst lets out a sigh as it lands in the clearing with a solid thunk, her fiercely protective grip on Steven’s hand relaxing a little. Stars, she’s never been so relieved to see one of these clunkers in her whole life.

Those passing minutes are what really worry her, though. Transport will be quick now, but there’s still too many awful what-ifs hanging over her like an anvil to her gem. Like, what if they’ve already wasted too much of Steven’s precious time? What if he’s gonna be permanently damaged ‘coz of all this, since he’s a hybrid, so extraordinarily different from the rest of them? Or, what if there’s not enough water left in the fountain to heal him in the first place? Last she saw, its finite supply was pretty lacking. It’s why they’ve transitioned to healing the corrupted Gems at the Temple as of late, utilizing the Diamonds’ bottled essence rather than the scrap leftovers of the fountain water they anointed in person last year.

But Steven never bottled any of his. And now, with the source of his healing magic totally busted, there’s nothing they can do but visit the fountain and hope beyond all hopes there’s some of Rose’s tears still there.

Oh, if only they were closer to a warp. If they were, then Amethyst could’ve hefted him into her arms like she always used to when he was smaller, carried him there, then bam- they could be on location in an instant. No transport ship needed. Unfortunately though, the two of them hiked a good half hour before big ol’ nasty caught wind of their trail. Like it or not, the warp pad is simply too far away. And she’s not about to risk worsening his crack by jostling him as she runs on such a long trip.

So yeah, this particular Roaming Eye may be old, janky tech, but it’ll have to do.

The teen stiffens in her hold again, eyes growing bleary. “A… A-Amethyst?? I think I’m—“

The violent muscle contractions cut off his words as quickly as the slash of a whip. Knowing the drill by now she lightens her hold, allowing him just enough space to seize without hurting himself. She grimaces. It doesn’t even sound like he can catch a full breath as his body jerks and spasms against his control. The helpless, labored wheezing pouring out from him is almost physically painful to listen to, her own form glitching in sympathy for a split instant.

“Shhh,” she whispers, delicately dancing around the innate fear of the situation. “Don’t talk. Save your energy, remember? I-I... we’ve got ya’. Y’see there? They just landed!"

Blessedly, his seizures reach their end by the time the engines of the craft fully shut off. His whimpers slowly lessen, his eyelids fluttering shut in all his exhaustion.

Her fingers comb through his thick dark curls. “We’ll fix ya’ right up, buddy…”

She’s mopping the sweat off his forehead as the door slides ajar, and Pearl dashes out of the ship with Greg practically sticking to her heels. Amethyst braces herself for the inevitable chastising.

“What on Earth were you thinking,” the Pearl in her subconscious squawks, “letting him get hurt like this?!”

But the reprimanding she instinctively expects never comes.

Instead, the ivory Gem sprints to her side alongside the boy’s father, and— dropping to her knees— envelops her in what’s perhaps the tightest hug she’s ever received from her.

“Amethyst!” she cries, lithe fingers gripping at her long lavender hair. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay! What happened?”

Clasped tight in her embrace, she allows herself a moment to catch her breath as the world ticks onwards around her. It’s but a small kindness. Admittedly, she’s still too shell-shocked about all of this to give a swift response, too distracted by the overwhelming reality of Greg’s anguished expression as he takes in the sight of his son lying prone before him, his paleness stark against the soft blue of his t-shirt.

“Steven!”

It’s hard to watch. Humans get so weirdly sensitive on the topic of injury— but then, she figures that’s because humans are so squishy and fragile, and always fixated on how short their lifespans are and how easily they can be cut short. Even if Steven’s special, even if in the end his crack will be fixed and he’ll likely be fine, (of course he’ll be fine, he has to be fine!), she supposes it’s only natural for Greg to worry. When the man collapses to his knees in front of him, he grabs Steven’s hand and babbles reassurances into his ear, words spoken too light for either Gem to pick up. Steven’s eyelids subtly twitch upon this appeal to his humanity.

Her glance flicks towards the Roaming Eye as Pearl waits for her to say something, anything.

“I…” she begins with marked hesitation. “I’ll explain everything once we’re on the ship. Gotta help Steven first, yeah?”

She nods, pulling away to stand. “Y-yes, of course. You’re right.”

Kneeling beside her, Greg’s voice quivers, ever so slightly. “You’re gonna be fine, buddy,” he whispers to the boy, his hand squeeze only barely reciprocated. “You’re gonna be just fine.”

Pearl interrupts his frantic reassurances with a nudge to his shoulder.

“We need to carry him,” she says, voice strained. It’s clear she’s only barely choking back her panic. “One mustn’t waste any time when it comes to cracked gems, after all!” Without skipping a beat, she leads the human’s quivering hands to the teen’s ankles. “Here, you can lift him by the legs like so, Amethyst, his torso, and then I’ll be at front supporting his neck and shoulders—“

Steven gives a soft whine, breath fast and shallow.

Amethyst swallows, drinking in the nuances of the scene. Steven’s jaw is clenched. Clearly, he’s holding back on expressing how much pain he’s in, bottling it up for their sake. Meanwhile, Greg— anxious single father that he is— is about one second away from breaking down entirely. She‘s almost scared what his reaction will be if Steven experiences another one of his seizing fits in his presence. And Pearl? Much as she loves her, uptight and fraying at the ends is most definitely not the sort of leader they need right now. Truth be told she’s not confident she is either, but hey, hard times call for unexpected solutions.

Gently, she stands to her feet and guides her away from Steven’s body. “Hey, Greg-o and I got this, P. No worries. Just have the ship ready for us.”

“I— are you sure?”

“Yeah, we can carry him no problem, right Greg?”

She turns to match eyes with him, every fragment of her being silently pleading for his agreement.

“Uh, I— sure,” he says, although he doesn’t sound so confident. “I think so. Let me just...” He huffs as he pushes himself off his knees, and shifts closer to his son’s head. “I’ll hold him up front, okay? I’m taller, an’ I’ve carried him before, an’—“

Amethyst’s tone softens. “Hey.” Straining to hold herself together for his sake, amidst all her doubts and fears, she moves to pat his forearm. Attempts to ground him. “Hey, you’re good. We can do this.”

She closes her eyes and inhales deeply to calm down her own unsteady form. No panic. Don’t let them see your panic. You’ve gotta be the mature one here. It’s gonna work out, Steven will be fine. You’ll all be fine.

Breathe. Just breathe.

“Pearl, start the ship for us,” she says once she’s balanced herself. Not a question, not a request, no hesitation in her tone. Not a confused, defective Quartz soldier waiting for orders, nor a naïve Gem clinging on the heels of the first living souls she ever saw, nor a loyal teammate constantly deferring to another’s judgement out of insecurity, out of the flawed belief that no one would ever take an overcooked runt like her seriously. No, no. Not today. Instead, as she rises above the shadowed, fettered memories of her past, Amethyst takes hold of the reigns of leadership as easily as grasping her whip.

Pearl offers a weak smile as she nods in confirmation, and starts to scuttle back towards the Roaming Eye’s door. “Yes, of course!”

Good, she thinks. One issue taken care of. Now, as for Steven and Greg...

The two shift in tandem around the cracked boy as they prepare to lift him. In his current state, it’s imperative that they’re careful. She clasps her hands around his ankles, feeling a twisting close to her gem as she watches him instinctively flinch at her touch.

“Shh-shh, it’s okay,” Greg whispers. “We gotcha.”

“Dad,” he croaks, the first words he’s had the strength to speak in a good while.  “Duhh- D-Dad, I... Ahm- I’m suh... sss-so sorry—“

Her hard-light form nearly spikes cold with fear as he continues to mindlessly babble. Shards, now his words are becoming slurred! He’s deteriorating. They gotta make this quick.

“Steven, we’re gonna pick you up on three, capiche?” She locks eyes with his father, her friend, seeking confirmation. “Ready?”

“One,” Greg mutters, solidifying his hold under his armpits.  

“Two...”

“Three!” they say at once, hefting the teen’s full weight up off the forest floor with a grunt.

He produces a sharp gasp in response. The sound makes her cringe. She knows they can’t avoid jostling him altogether if they want to transport him to the fountain, but... geeze, she really hopes they’re not hurting him any more than he already is. And she hopes he doesn’t seize up on them again while he’s off the ground. That could turn out disastrously.

Working together, they carry him across the grassy clearing and up the shallow incline of the ship’s ramp. Slow and steady, as careful as they can be... Greg’s breathing hard by the time they reach the entrance, but his grip holds strong. Meanwhile, Pearl sits at the cockpit, punching in coordinates for Rose’s fountain. Besides her, the ship is empty.

“No Garnet?” Amethyst asks as she leads them inside, finally seeing fit to bring up the obvious question.

She shakes her head in fervent stress. “She’s still away on her mission on the Niessea Belt worlds. I tried contacting her, but—“

Steven gives a painful, keening cry, his entire body shooting rigid in their hold. Her eyes snap open wide.

Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, not now, not now—

“Greg- Greg, hold him!” she shouts, slipping into hysterics as he begins to seize again, limbs jerking and breath coming in quick shallow gasps. She can feel the muscles of his legs spasm in staccato bursts under her hands. “Hold him, don’t drop him, you—“

Pearl jumps up from her seat upon hearing all the commotion. “What’s wrong with him??”

“I’m trying, I’m—!”

“Set him down, set him down! Quickly! We gotta get him back on the floor where it’s safe, I can’t let him get hurt again, I can’t—“

“Sh-shta...” Steven slurs, face contorting as he rides this episode out. “Puh... please, I—“

“I’m starting the ship!” the ivory Gem says, punching the last few buttons needed to close the door and launch them on their way.

The Roaming Eye shakes ever so gently as it lifts up out of the dense forest. Amethyst stumbles, legs slightly wobbling as she coordinates with Greg to deposit Steven safely on the cool metallic floor, his head resting in his father’s lap. His spasms are more intermittent now. Hopefully this means this latest round of seizing has reached its end.

For now, she can’t help but fret, swallowing with a heavy gulp as she watches Greg comb back his sweat slicked curls. Until they can fix that crack in his gem, he’s gonna get worse and worse. She knows this from experience. Simply put, being cracked long-term is a nightmare. You can’t think straight, you can’t speak straight, you lose all control of your physical form... She’d willingly poof a thousand times if it meant she could avoid janking up her gem like that again.

Which is why it absolutely shatters her to have to watch Steven suffer through this too.

She watches silently as the boy lets his eyes slide shut for now, held safe in his father’s embrace. His rest isn’t exactly restful— as evident from how his brow and nose keep scrunching inwards as he seethes from the sensation of it all— but anything is better than nothing in this state.

“So you- you said he’s cracked?” Greg asks, looking up at her with dampened eyes. His hands are shaking now. The man is clearly a hair’s breadth away from breaking down in tears. It’s genuinely a credit to his strength as a father that he’s holding it together at all.

Gently, Amethyst lifts the hem of his shirt to reveal his gemstone. The deep gouge marring the diamond at his navel says everything her words cannot. The others’ reactions are immediate, their eyes blowing wide with fear. Even Pearl, even someone who knows the power of Rose’s healing magic firsthand. Horror clutching with a vice-like grip upon her gem, she notes that the crack has expanded since she last looked.

“We were just tracking down that corrupted Gem that tripped our detectors this morning,” she explains. “But it ambushed us! I... geeze, I thought we could like, poof it no problem, but...”

“It got the jump on him instead,” Pearl says in a blunt, grim manner. She balls up her hand at her chin, expression haunted by the very thought. “Stars, I can’t even imagine how badly this hurts! It must have taken quite the hit to crack a diamond like this.”

His father rubs at the boy’s shoulder, wincing at the sight of his baseline quivering, his jaw clenched like a knife to the grindstone and his eyes twisted shut. “Is there anything we can do right now to lessen the pain for him?”

Hmm. She curls her lip, musing on this. Good ol’ Pierogi probably has human pain killers stashed away somewhere in that pearl of hers. But there’s no guarantee that such a remedy would do a single thing to help, given the nature of his injury. It’s the Gem half of him that’s hurt, not the squishy organic half. So whatever they do it’s gotta be a Gem remedy, and the only Gem remedy she can think of for an injured Gem is...

“Well,” Pearl begins cautiously, her gaze drifting between the three of them, “when Gems became cracked during the rebellion, we used to poof them until Rose could return to use her healing magic, so they wouldn’t have to deal with the trauma of glitching out so badly. But of course, Steven’s different! He’s half human. We can’t expect it’ll work in the same way!”

Although...

“Can we poof him?” she shrugs, playing devil’s advocate for a moment.

The whites of Greg’s eyes expand as he gawks at her. “W-what are you suggesting, exactly?”

“I mean, he can fuse, right?”

“Well, yes—“

“An’ same as poofing,” she cuts back in, holding up a finger for emphasis, “fusion is a sorta... shifting of our hard light forms. His organic half goes somewhere during all that, yeah? If he poofed, maybe it’d be the same.”

The man’s sunburnt face drains just about as pale as Pearl’s as he clutches onto his son all the tighter. “Uh, I don’t think now’s the right time to test a hypothesis like that. Or ever.”

“Greg’s right,” Pearl says. “There’s simply too much we can’t say with certainty about his hybrid nature.” Tears building in her eyes, she brushes her slender fingers against his cheek. “But he’s a fighter, our Steven. He’ll carry through.”

Below her, Steven lets out a soft whimper. Realization hits her with the force of a quartz’s strike that she genuinely has no way of knowing for sure how much or how little he’s aware of his surroundings right now. Her face flushes dark with shame. Held taut at her sides, she clenches her fists tight, mentally pulling away from the conversation in which clearly her stupid half-baked ideas are unwelcome and instead fixating on the quickened thrum of the hard light running in channels through every square inch of her form. A pang of anger swells up within her, all putrid and stale. What on Earth was she thinking?? He’s in agony, he’s broken, and yet she has the gall to suggest such a moronic, risky idea anyways? When his very survival hangs in the balance? Geeze. What the hell.

She’s disgusting.

She hastily stalks away from the trio to catch some fresh air, slouching against one of the windows and pressing her cheek to the glass. A small sliver of her can’t help but admire the view through the Roaming Eye’s wide windows. The ship running on autopilot, they’ve long since lifted through the clouds and into the stratosphere. It’s all white and grey swirls as far as the eye can see. The reds and pinks of sunset edging at the visible horizon greet them with warmth.

With everything else plaguing her it’s a hollow appreciation, though. No matter what thoughts she tries to distract herself with, the memory of that ill-fated fight sinks its claws into her mind more and more by the minute. Every tangible stimulus— the sights, the smells, the sounds, the pains— it all plays on repeat. It’s insufferable, obsessive. Like some self-despairing sapphire she traces each and every decision that led her here, bolds and underlines every mistake.

And no matter how many times she tries with desperation to make up for it, tries to save him, no matter how many loops through recent past she takes, it all brings her to one single, overwhelming conclusion:

All of this... all of this needless suffering...

It should’ve been her.

[snarkwriteswrasslin]

sprung spring | take you home; adam page [m]

Prompt Used:

  “I’ll feel much better if you let me walk you home.” + comfort sex + drunk sloppy sex + “Oh my god you’re so much better than the last person I was with.” + A breathy demand: “Kiss me” - and what the other person does to respond. + needy/clingy sex

Notes: 

Okay, so… I have literally… Never… used my given name in a work of fiction before and… ya girl found out it’s hard to write dirty things when the OC has your name. Pure self indulgent smut because fuckkit yolo, I needed this. Some of the dialogue prompted above was changed to reflect the situation these two were placed in, fyi. This is mature content, so nobody under 18+ up in these parts. Also, I owe a serious hug to @heelsamizayn​ & @wrestlingismyguiltypleasure​ because no matter how many times I whined and bitched and got all squirmy whilst writing this, they really kept me going and I love them for that.

Warnings: 

alcohol tw ( it’s the OC this time), clingy unprotected sex, sawwwft!Adam, lots of teasing (and hopefully tension, I was  really trying to play at heightening that here) and yeahhh.. It’s tame. I promise ya’ll… I’m going to write actual harder / filthier prompts, I just… had a mighty need. Anyway, that’s all the warnings.

Pairing: 

Adam Hangman Page x OFC, Ashley

Ashley narrowed her eyes at the bottle before glancing up at Shane and shaking her head. “I-I’m good.”

“Aw, c’mon hon. It’s just a little drink.” Shane was stepping closer, right in her space all over again. He’d been plying her with drinks and trying to get her to dance or talk to him -or the most annoying request he’d made so far, “Smile, darlin. Ya look prettier when ya do.” and it was starting to rub him the wrong way, the way she kept resisting. She could almost feel it radiating off of him.

Ashley was at that state of drunk where it was more annoying than endearing and now that it seemed to be irritating him that she wouldn’t just give in, it only gave her all the more reason to resist. It wasn’t as if it wasn’t almost cringe inducingly clear what the asshole thought he was doing and she just wasn’t having it.

At all.

Not even slightly.

Rather than even partially entertain his offer for another drink or to go dance with him, Ashley sighed and rolled her eyes in sheer boredom, taking the drink and taking a sip as she scrolled through her contacts list.

As usual, she hovered over Adam’s number in her phone and that loneliness crept in all over again. More pronounced. More tinged with regret.

She found herself missing him so much that before she even realized it, she’d pulled up the text bubble from their last text conversation and she found herself grimacing at the date.

Had they really not spoken at all in nearly 3 weeks?

And then Ashley found herself going back over the last time they had spoken face to face. Before she realized the true depths of her feelings and Adam drunkenly tried to kiss her and in a blind panic, she’d backed away.

Not because she hadn’t wanted him to kiss her, but because she’d been afraid of what might happen if he did kiss her.

And now, Ashley thought bitterly, hugging herself a little as the thought came, I’m lucky to get a Hi, how are you over text out of him..

With a sigh, she finished scanning their last brief text conversation and then, when Shane cleared his throat impatiently, she remembered that apparently, this guy expected her to pay all her attention to him and she put her phone down. Biting her lip, she settled warm brown eyes on the other man.

“I asked ya if you wanted to dance, darlin. They’re kinda playin our song.” Shane chuckled, holding out his hand. When she started to shake her head no, he gave her a sort of put off glare and muttered something to himself about tonight being a complete waste. All his buddies told him not to walk over and try talking to her; they all told him she was bound tighter than molasses from the knees down and every single night she’d come in this week so far, she’d managed to shoot down anyone who thought they might possibly stand a chance of takin her home. I clearly should’ve listened, Shane found himself thinking, because now I’m out fifty bucks and she looks more annoyed with me each second that passes and that real gorgeous chick I know I coulda won over left an hour ago with Greg.

“W-we don’t have a s-song?” Ashley’s brow quirked and she shook her head, holding up her glass. “I-i’m good, actually.” Ashley muttered as she took a long sip.

Moron, do you seriously think I want to dance to this song… with you? Because no. Ashley thought to herself as she glanced around the crowded bar, face falling when she remembered that Adam wasn’t in town right now, he was on the road. When Ashley realized what Shane had just muttered about the night being a total waste, she mildly shrugged. “I-i don’t r-recall askin y-you t-to come up n’ t-try pourin the booze to me, either. Play s-stupid games, w-win stupid p-prizes.”

As Shane grumbled “Fine, suit yourself, darlin. Don’t come lookin for me when it’s late and you can’t find a ride home.” and made his way onto his next target, Ashley let out a long and deep breath, blowing at dark bangs as they flopped right into her eyes, laughing off Shane’s words.

She went back to her phone, scrolling through her contacts.

“Maybe Shayna’s up.” Ashley mused to herself as she pulled up what she thought was a text conversation she’d been having with her friend earlier in the day while they were both stuck in their office working through lunch.

What she didn’t realize -and wouldn’t just yet, was that she hadn’t texted Shayna at all.

She’d texted Adam… The subject of the earlier conversation.

→ First of all, pretty sure I just completely eviscerated this one guy’s poor ego. *eye roll*. Guess whose NOT having the sex right now bc she gets mouthy when she drinks?

→ This bitch, that’s whomst. In my defense, he was the one who kept pouring the drinks to me. I just took ‘em. You know me, guy stood about as much a chance as… Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I chased him off. Like usual when we’re out at this bar.

→ But seriously though.. Maybe it’s the alcohol and the fact that I’m lonely and I’m salty because I’m not getting cuddles rn like youuuuu but…

→ Okay, u were right earlier.

→ It’s late and I’m drunk, otherwise I’d never say that. Maybe a little lonely too. Enjoy your shallow victory and the sex you’re probably getting rn, lmao. ILY Shayna!

→ I know ur probably busy with Samuel - sexy times and all that but… You win. You’re right.

→ I love him and god… I miss him so much it’s making me an even bigger bitch lately, so.. Sorry for that I guess. I wish I’d just… Kissed him back. Climbed him like an actual tree, giant he is… Shoved him against the wall, tangled my fingers in that hair and tugged his mouth against mine. Maybe even rubbed myself against him a lil bit too, just to see if that yummy cologne he wears all the time rubs off. At least then I’d… Well, I sure as shit wouldn’t be sitting here, shooting down pushy douchebag assholes and drinking alone.

→ Anyway, have your moment. I love Adam Page. I always have and it scares the living hell out of me. You were right. Now there’s only one problem… How do I make the big idiot answer my calls?!?

→ don’t answer that rn. Tomorrow… When drunk Ashley isn’t out and doing dumb shit and can think clearly.

→ Okay, no… answer meeee… I just… I need to know what to do here? Pls. I beg of you. If you don’t answer me, I swear to God, I’m gonna wind up drunk dialing.. >.>

–

The cell phone was going batshit crazy on the bathroom counter and Adam mostly ignored it in favor of soaking under a long hot shower. It had been a long drive; made longer by the fact that he was all beaten and banged up from the past few shows but trying to soldier through as usual. Parts of him admittedly ignored the phone because he thought it was most likely one of three people and none of them he wanted to talk to right now.

No, Adam thought to himself, the one I wanna talk to more than anything I can’t talk to now… He sighed as he thought about the way he got too drunk; out of control. He’d tried to kiss her that night and just the sheer look of panic in big brown eyes right before she bolted the hell away in a hurry had been more than enough to make him realize where he stood.

He couldn’t face her after that either, so he’d been keeping a low profile. Trying to distance from… his actions.

Just thinking about it had him both cringing and feeling that raw surge of pain he felt that night all over again, fresh as ever.

She hadn’t texted him or tried calling either, so that only further confirmed his suspicions. And now, Adam thought to himself as the phone buzzed one last time and he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist after drying off his face, you lost your best friend. The one you could talk to about anything. You messed that up. Being a jerk that night and coming on way too strong.

He picked up his cell phone only halfway glancing at it at first. But when he actually read all the messages, he wound up dropping the phone on the bathroom tiles with a quiet thud. Then he stood there, trying to get his head around everything he’d just read, all the texts from Ashley to what she apparently thought was her best friend Shayna.

About him.

He took several deep breaths and then got himself at least partially together before even attempting to answer the barrage of texts.

← Where are you?

← Are you drunk right now?

At re-reading that her shooting down men when she went out with Shayna was apparently a common thing, Adam let out a few shakier breaths and bit his lip, raising a hand to his head and dragging thick digits through damp hair as he let it sink in.

Blue eyes scanned the next message after hitting send.

← Nevermind, screw it.

← I’ll be there in 10.

← And me and  you? We’re gonna have ourselves a serious talk.

After throwing back on the jeans and tee shirt he’d had on before showering, he grabbed his keys and headed out. He knew the bar she always went to because they’d hung out there on more than one occasion.

“Bastard who was pourin the drinks to her better hope he’s long gone when I get there.” Adam muttered as protective urges reared their head and he found himself more than a little worried. Ashley wasn’t a drinker by any stretch of the imagination. And given the rambling in the texts she thought she’d sent to Shayna just now, it was.. A safe guess that she was at least two thirds of the way to being too drunk to function.

And it had him more than a little concerned because he knew how the guys at this particular bar got when they saw a pretty girl sitting there, drinking alone. His grip tightened on the wheel as he sped towards the bar in question.

When he was in the parking lot, he tried to call her cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. Without wasting any time, Adam killed the engine to his truck and got out, hurrying into the bar, blue eyes darting around all over as he tried to pick her out in the crowd.

Maybe she hadn’t left yet. God, he could only hope.

–

“I-i’m gonna stop you right there. Just because I-i’m a lil tipsy right now..” Ashley stared up at the man who’d taken the seat next to her at the bar after Shane vacated in a hurry earlier. “Don’t mean I want any part of y-you.”

“Aw, c’mon darlin. Pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be sittin here, drinkin all alone. C’mon.”

“I’d a-actually prefer it, if you w-want the honest G-god’s truth.” Ashley waved over the bartender, signalling for more bourbon in her glass. She fixed her eyes on the man and raised the glass to her lips. “Thanks f-for the drink though.”

Before the guy even got a chance to respond, a throat cleared loud; almost protectively, from behind the two. Ashley didn’t even have to turn around to know exactly who was standing behind her, but what she was having trouble grasping in her tipsy state, was what exactly Adam was doing here now.

“Just do yourself a favor and leave, buddy.” Adam stared down the man intently, arms folded over his chest, moving to step closer to Ashley’s stool, lightly pressing against her from behind.

“Adam? W-what the hell?” Ashley drawled, turning on her stool almost immediately, brown eyes locking on him with a questioning gaze. “I… y-you w-weren’t home.” she could feel herself starting to sober up just a little at his sudden appearance. She frowned a little, shook her head sadly.

Adam moved to step between her legs and he leaned in and down, brushing his lips against her own as he muttered quietly and firmly, “Kiss me.” catching her chin with his finger curled beneath it just when she went to look down. ��My eyes and mouth are right here, darlin.” Adam coaxed, gazing at her mouth intently.

“K-kiss me, he s-says.” Ashley drawled, biting her lip, staring right back at his mouth just as intently as he stared at hers.

Her hand raised, resting across the back of his neck, fingers tangling in and tugging his hair free from the bun he’d thrown it into, threading through it once she had. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer and her other hand curled in the front of his tee shirt, tugging his mouth down to her level a little better. Once she’d done that, her lips trailed lazily over his mouth, tracing the shape of his lips, making him give a quiet groan and his eyes flutter open and closed. By the time her tongue was slipping past his teeth, his tongue was fighting against it for complete control of the kiss and he’d leaned into her so much that her back was right up against the edge of the bar. His teeth scraped at her lower lip as the kiss deepened, both of them panting for their next breath and dizzy from it.

His hands slid beneath her ass and he scooped her up, not bothering to break the kiss just yet or untangle her from his body. Her legs squeezed his waist harder and she rubbed against him more than a little. Once they were out in the parking lot again, Adam stopped, sitting her on the railing around an outdoor sitting area, pulling her into another deep and almost bruising kiss.

“I-I was just… about to l-leave. Walk.”

Adam chuckled and shook his head no, nodding to his truck. “I’d feel much better if you’d let me take you home, darlin.”

Ashley eyed him, hints of a pout on her lips. “Y-you s-stopped e-even t-talkin to m-me.” she sighed and shook her head sadly, muttering under her breath, “I-it is m-my fault.” and Adam tilted her chin to make her meet his gaze when she looked down, shaking his head. “It’s not, darlin. Not at all.”

“I-I fucking r-ran. S-seriously?” Ashley whined, her legs squeezing at his waist as she wrapped them around him all over again, staring at his chest for a few seconds, blowing out an exasperated breath, because the more she thought about her choice to run the night he finally kissed her, the more it did truly exasperate her. Of all the times to panic… It had to be then. The worst possible one.

Adam chuckled and leaned down, muttering softly against her mouth, “If it makes you feel any better, darlin.. You made up for it. And it drove me crazy, not talkin to ya.”

“G-good.” Ashley giggled and poked out her tongue as she looked at him. “B-because it m-made m-me really cranky. H-holy s-shit, so cranky.” she giggled again, making Adam laugh and scoop her up into his arms, making his way towards the truck. “I know.”

“H-how?” Ashley’s brow raised as she stared up at him, resting her head against his shoulder. “I-I literally o-only told Shayna…”

“You texted the wrong person, actually.” Adam teased as he unlocked his truck, sitting her into the passenger seat. Ashley’s mouth opened and closed and she palmed her face, groaning in sheer embarrassment while laughing softly.

Adam got into the truck, starting the engine and Ashley was raising the console, curling into his side as soon as she’d moved to the middle to sit, tucking her legs on the seat beside her. Adam chuckled, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “You’re awfully cuddly tonight, know that?”

“Mhm.” Ashley purred, her lips brushing against his neck, making him grip the wheel just a little tighter. By now, the embarrassment over what she’d done was melting away and her internal filter -the little she actually possessed to begin with, was at an all time low thanks to having drinks poured into her all night by random and far lesser appealing men. “Is that a b-bad thing?”

Adam bit back a groan and barely resisted bucking his hips as he felt her lips clumsily moving along the side of his neck as she nuzzled into him and chuckling quietly, he gave an answer. “Not at all, darlin. Except for the fact that you’re getting me all sorts of stirred up right now.” he muttered, the truck coasting to a stop beneath the red light a block away from his place. When he did, he turned to look at her, wasting no time in pulling her mouth up to his as his hand went from squeezing her thigh to slipping between them, rubbing her through her jeans as he swore quietly because he could feel how warm she was and it only made him think about how wet she might actually be.

“Maybe t-that’s what I’m trying to do.” came pouring out before she could stop herself from saying it. Not that she would have either way, but she was at least trying to show a little restraint, still partially shocked that he was there and that she’d somehow managed to confess everything to him under the guise of texting Shayna.

Maybe it was a good thing that happened, Ashley thought to herself as she slipped her hand down, trailing it along the inside of his thigh, then up… Sucking in a sharp breath when her hand settled palm down against the bulge already straining and growing, pushing against his jeans. Adam’s hips snapped and he locked eyes with her, biting his lip, the hand between her thighs starting to move a little harder and a lot faster. Ashley rocked her hips against his hand and sucked in a sharp breath as Adam leaned in, teeth tugging at her earlobe and catching as he muttered against it in a whisper, “If that’s so, darlin.. You’re in for it. Just wait.”

“What if I don’t w-wanna wait, hm?” Ashley muttered as her lips brushed against his neck again and Adam’s breath caught in his throat before making the remark aloud, “Got a lot to make up for, me and you.”

“Mhm.” Ashley could feel herself getting wetter and wetter with every single word he said. She knew he had to feel her thighs clenching tighter with each word he said because his hand was currently buried between them, palm down against her dripping and throbbing heat, rubbing through her jeans and by now she’d trapped his hand where it was. A shiver passed through her body as she continued to rock her hips against his hand, a quiet whimper of frustration coming when all that lead to was him, slowing down way too much for her liking at the moment. She pouted up at him and bit her lip as he leaned in, closer and closer, pulling her face towards his.

“Could take all night.” Adam was turning his head slightly, tugging her neck closer as he ghosted his lips along it, the pressure of his hand reaching an almost feverish frenzy as he growled against soft skin, “Maybe even tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Ashley’s eyes fluttered open and shut and she bit her lip, her hips rocking faster to meet his hand and the way it cupped and rubbed at her heat. Just enough to make a little friction, not by any means enough to give the amount of friction she actually craved.

He was teasing her.

Just the thought had her pouting in sheer frustration as she locked eyes with him. “Tease.”

“Ain’t exactly teasing if I know exactly what I’m gonna do to you when I get you home.” Adam pointed out, giving her a smirk. Ashley swallowed hard, breath catching in her throat at his words. Her mouth opened and closed and it had Adam chuckling quietly because this was one of very few times he’d truly seen her with a complete lack of something clever to say in response.

“Cat got your tongue, darlin?” he practically purred the words as his hand started to massage all over again and almost instantly, she started to rock against it more urgently.

“Adam… Fuck.” she gasped quietly, eyes fluttering open and closed as she started to palm at the way he was strained against his jeans.

The light went green and the careful and almost teasing movement of her hand in his lap felt so good that for about half a second, Adam didn’t realize it had.

“Light’s green, Adam.” Ashley’s voice was teasing, she gave a soft giggle as Adam took a few shaky breaths, nodding as he hurried from beneath the green light, turning down the next street. His house was in view, only a few seconds away and yet… It felt like a million miles away.

Almost the second he was parked at the curb in front of it, he was reaching out, pulling her over the console and into his lap, his hands and mouth all over her, mouth latching onto her neck and leaving a string of hickies down the side as he bucked himself into her from below and his hands disappeared up her shirt, slipping beneath her bra before finally getting frustrated at how in the way it was and unfastening it, gripping her breasts in his hands, palming and squeezing at them as he growled against her mouth when his mouth finally rose to meet and conquer her lips again.

He leaned into her so heavily that her back met the steering wheel and the horn in the center, making them both laugh only to have the sounds of their laughter swallowed by a deep and frenzied, needy kiss. The kiss broke and Ashley backed away slightly, biting her lip, wiggling around in his lap, bucking herself right against the prominent bulge strained and about to burst through his jeans. “I think that’s our sign to go inside, Adam.” she muttered the words as she felt her face burning hot and she bit her lip, squirming around in his lap just a little more, harder, desperate to keep the friction going. Adam nodded, killing the engine and getting out of the truck, carrying her up the steps, stopping to unlock his front door, with her body pinned between his body and the door as he did so. Twice he had to grip harder just because she started to trail her lips down his neck and chuckling quietly into the kiss he stole, he gave a triumphant and joking ‘Yee haw’ when he got the door unlocked at last. Ashley gave a soft whimper as he stepped through the door, shutting it behind him and locking it. He sat her down on a sturdy console table that ran the length of the back of his sofa and stepped away to pull off his boots and Ashley took a few deep breaths, tried to pull herself together.

This was really happening.

Finally.

Adam met her gaze as he straightened to stand again and he stepped between her legs, devouring her mouth hungrily, his hands cupping her cheeks and caressing. “You’re sure, right? Because once we cross the line, darlin…”

Ashley gripped his jaw, guiding her mouth back down against his greedily as she whispered needily into the kiss, “Fuck me, Adam. I don’t wanna remember anyone else but you.”

Adam’s teeth clenched her lower lip; tugging. She was clinging to him and it was driving him crazy because there was… Still too much clothing in between them, keeping them apart. He scooped her up off the console table he’d sat her on to take off his boots and started to carry her down the hall, stopping halfway to put her back against the wall, tearing her shirt up over her head, tossing it onto the floor. Ashley tugged impatiently at his tee shirt, finally getting it up and over his head, tossing it onto the floor a few feet away from where her own shirt lie. Adam did away with the pesky bra next, letting it hit the floor softly, an almost primal growl bursting from his lips as he dipped his head low, dancing his mouth over the tops of her breasts, leaving behind beard burn and littering soft skin with bites with each time his mouth connected with her bare skin.

Ashley writhed around in his grasp, rocking herself into him, gripping his hips tighter with her legs, whimpering aloud, her head falling back and softly hitting the wall as her eyes fluttered open and shut. Her hand gripped his shoulder, fingertips digging into and dancing over his skin, sending a shiver through his body and making him groan as he glanced up at her, biting his lip. Ashley stared right back, both of them struggling to catch their breath but too caught up in the moment to bother putting a halt to the deep and biting and almost bruising kisses. She took his face in her hands, pulling his mouth deep against her own, her tongue trailing over the outline of his lips before parting them, her body rubbing against him even more frantically. Her hand raised to tangle in his hair and in the process, a photo clattered to the hallway floor noisily.

“Let’s take you to bed, hmm?” Adam’s breath against her skin as he mumbled the words into her neck quietly had Ashley whimpering and rocking against him even more frantically. Adam growled quietly as he bucked himself right back against her, starting the walk down the hall to his bedroom all over again. He kicked it open, a quiet creak of the frame echoing through the stillness as he stepped inside and shut it behind him, tossing her against the mattress as he stared down at her hungrily. Ashley went to raise up, reaching for the waistband of his jeans but Adam pushed her back against the mattress all over again, making her pout and give a frustrated whimper as he chuckled softly and leaned down, hands going down her bare skin, sending goosebumps to it’s surface as he lowered his mouth down, ghosting it slowly over her abdomen before raising to whisper next to her ear, “Uh uh darlin. Let me take care of you.” in a husky and firmer tone.

He started to lazily trail his mouth over bare skin all over again, the blunt of his teeth tugging at her nipples as his tongue circled them and he caught her eye, winking at her, his hands drifting down between them, unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans, lingering to rub and squeeze her cunt before hooking in her waistband to tug her jeans and panties down all at once. Ashley tried to rock her hips upward, desperate to feel any kind of friction, frustrated beyond belief by all Adam’s teasing, but almost the instant she dared it, Adam was on his knees, kneeling in front of her, parting her legs with his hands and ghosting his mouth up the inside of her thigh slowly, occasionally placing a soft bite against her skin.

When her fingers tangled in his hair, he grunted against her skin, grazing his teeth against it, his tongue slowly making a lazy broad swipe upward. Ashley whimpered when she tried yet again to rock her hips against the way Adam had her pinned, just hoping to at least make an attempt to steer him where she needed him most, but he chuckled quietly, the shake of his head that he gave making soft hair brush against her skin and sending a shiver through her body. “I’m holdin you still for a reason, darlin. Now c’mon, be a good girl. Be still and let me take care of you.”

“Adam, please.” Ashley begged, trying again to rock her hips upward, only to pout when she realized just how determined Adam was to hold her in place and tease her relentlessly.

“Be patient, darlin. We got all night.” Adam’s tongue was trailing lazily over her folds as he said it, the taste of her on his tongue making him half growl his words as they left his mouth. He smirked a little to himself when he felt her not only try to rock her hips upward to meet his mouth but her hand curling in the comforter on top of his bed and in his hair, tugging as she whimpered and whined, her cries of frustrated pleasure echoing off the walls of his bedroom and shattering the silence around them.

Her breath caught in her throat as she felt his tongue make a long stripe over one side of her cunt. And then, straight across the middle, finally, another long stripe across the opposite side to which he lazily chuckled “A.” as he met her gaze with a teasing smirk. Ashley rose up slightly, staring down at him, biting her lip as a series of needy whimpers and loud whines left her mouth and her toes dug into the comforter. One long and broad stripe and then another curved stripe had her shivering and arching her back, fingers tangling in his hair as she tugged gently, “Fuck.”

“D.” Adam was at it again with the smirk, lowering his head almost a split second later to get back to what he was doing. His tongue trailed a familiar pattern over her folds and he muttered quietly against her cunt, “A”. and Ashley shivered even more because it hit her what he was doing, spelling out his name. “Adam, please… Need you, baby, please.” she begged almost frantically, desperate to ease some of the ache rapidly building because of all his teasing. Despite the urgent begging, Adam’s tongue rolled lazily, the one slanted stripe required to form one side of the M and then the two stripes required to form the middle of the M and finally, the last stripe. “M.” he groaned as his nose bumped right against her pelvic mound and he buried his tongue as deep in her pussy as he could, tilting her hips upward, pulling her closer to his mouth as he savored the taste of her as it started to fill his mouth. He could feel her body starting to tense up and another smirk came, pressing against her soaked warmth as he started to slow way down on the movements of his tongue. When he felt her fingers tugging at his hair again and noticed that she was digging her toes into the bed too, the smirk on his face grew.

Yeah, he was teasing. Taking his time with her, making this last. He’d waited so long already, now that it was happening, he was just… Really savoring the moment.

“Adam, please!” Ashley choked out, back arching away from the mattress slightly, eyes fluttering open and shut as she tried to keep frustrated tears at bay. When she felt him leaving a string of bite marks on the inside of her thighs, she whimpered and tried to rock her hips against his grip at them to no avail.

“Not yet, darlin. Just a little longer, I swear.” Adam breathed against her cunt as his tongue rolled lazily over the folds before slowly slipping in all over again, starting over with his little teasing torture. Ashley’s grip tightened in his hair and he paused, glancing up at her with lust blown eyes. “Pull as hard as you want while my head is buried between your thighs, darlin. C’mon. I like it.” his tone was firm, almost demanding.

And it only served to make her even wetter, she could feel the wetness coating her thighs, dripping. Adam growled quietly, tongue moving a little faster, flicking over her clit, lingering and trailing a lazy circle, grazing his teeth against the circular bundle of nerves as he chuckled against her, “What’s wrong, darlin?”

“You know what you’re…” Ashley writhed beneath the grip Adam had on her lower body, keeping her legs spread wide for him as his tongue slowly dove into and out of her soaked heat, “doing. Tease.”

“Oh, I’m not teasin at all, darlin.” Adam chucked again quietly, “Just said you better not dare cum yet.”

“Adam, it’s all I want to do! Fucking… ahh, hurts. I’m aching, baby, c’mon… Please?”

Adam continued to lick, adding two fingers and Ashley hissed sharp, her breath catching in her throat, her entire body tensing as she tried to do as she was told and resist the urge to cum. The more teasing she endured at his fingers and mouth, the harder that became.

He could feel her body tense up so tight, the way she was propped on her elbows to watch him had her arms shaking. He definitely felt her toes digging into the comforter by now too. Giving a soft nip to the inside of her right thigh as he stopped for a second or two, he muttered quietly, “Okay darlin. Now.” before raising her hips just a little, burying his tongue back deep inside her, rocking her hips against his face faster, his tongue swirling inside her cunt in a frenzy as he felt her shaking all over, heard her gasping for her next breath as she moaned out loud over and over, her cries of pleasure and his name filling the air and driving him over the edge, making him lick and suck harder, faster. He loosened his grip on her hips and she rocked them against his face almost shamelessly, he muttered quietly against her skin, “C’mon, darlin. Don’t stop.” breathing heavily.

Ashley’s hips started to slow and Adam lowered her legs, crawling up her body after dragging the back of his hand across his mouth, his eyes locked on her intently as he leaned down, pulling her into a deep kiss, breaking the kiss quickly to raise up, his hand lowering and wrapping around his thick length just to trace the tip right over and slightly between her folds, shivering himself in anticipation, growling quietly. His hips pinned her hips against the bed and she dug her nails into broad shoulders as he sank into her slowly, carefully, stopping to kiss her cheeks and mutter against her mouth, “You okay, darlin?”

“Yeah.” Ashley answered, trying to rock her hips against him once she was adjusted to the way he stretched her out and filled her up. Her nails trailed lightly across his shoulders, digging in slightly when he sank into her even deeper, his hips smacking against her hips softly and slowly, placing kisses all over her mouth and face, trailing them down her throat as he muttered lazily, “So sweet I could eat you up.” as he met her gaze and slowly licked his lips. Ashley wrapped her legs around his hips and the new angle had him groaning, his hips sporadically crashing against her own for a few seconds as she took his cock as deep inside her as he could go, buried to the hilt. Her hands moved over his face, raising, dragging through his hair after pulling his mouth against her own for a deep and slow and greedy kiss. The kiss broke and he gave a lazy peck at the corner of her mouth, driving deeper and slower into her as he did and muttering softly, “Gonna get way too used to this, I think.”

“I already am.” Ashley breathed out against his skin, making him shiver. He’d always had a weakness when it came to gentle touches against his neck. The fact that she seemed to be enjoying brushing her mouth against the spot, or gently nipping at it with her teeth only had him giving a quiet growl and slamming himself into her slower and with much longer strokes. When she tried to speed him up, he chuckled and his hands lowered, gripping her hips, holding them so that he controlled the pace as he muttered against the shell of her ear, “What’s your hurry, darlin? We’ve got all night.”

Bleak sunshine was starting to peek through the curtains by now and Ashley giggled softly against his neck as she clung to him and he continued to attempt slowly and deeply fucking her into the mattresses on his bed, “It’s morning, actually.” as her forehead softly bumped against his collarbone and he chuckled as soon as the realization hit him too. “Well then, smarty pants, we have the rest of the day. Either way,” Adam’s mouth trailed lazily over her skin, leaving an erratic trail of marks in it’s wake, “we’ve got nothin but time.”

“You make a good point.” Ashley’s breath caught in her throat as his cock bottomed out, brushing against a spot that felt almost magical with each time he did so. She clung to his body, her moans and whimpers only drowned out by his answering groans and the occasional growl.

“I’m so.. Fuck, I’m so close. Please?” her begging had him giving a soft and quiet laugh, capturing her mouth in a deep and breathtaking kiss as he muttered into it, “Me too, darlin.. C’mon, let go for me.”

He sped up his thrusts, almost frantically chasing his oncoming orgasm as she dug her legs into his sides and her nails into his shoulders, raking them down his back as he growled against her skin, feeling her clench tight around him, feeling her body start to spasm, feeling her biting at his skin gently as he fucked her through her orgasm and straight into his own. He tried to stop but every time he tried, she’d grab hold of his hips and rock against him, begging for more until finally, he was throbbing, emptying inside deep, filling her up as he pressed into her heavily, covering her face in kisses before lazily kissing her mouth and having her deepen it as she breathed against his lips, “ That was amazing.”

“Better than the last guy, right?” Adam was only half teasing, but her answer really went a long way to fully reassure him when as he sank back against the mattress, pulling her on top of him and wrapping his arms around her while staring up, she smiled and gave a soft giggle, nodding as she leaned down and mumbled into his mouth, “You were so much better than the last guy. Ten million times better, baby.” before deepening the kiss he gave…

[day-writingdaydreams]

Who Knew I Was Crossing A Line

Summary: Natsu returns to Magnolia after having left for over a year. He goes to an open mic night and sees that his ex, Lucy, is performing. Songfic, A.U. Fairy Tail and its characters are owned by Hiro Mashima. Who Knew is by P!nk. Crossing a Line is owned by Mike Shinoda.

This was my first fanfic and was written for the #BigBangEvent for @nalugruviaevents. The art is by the amazing @bakugyou with a ton of help from my awesome beta reader @doginshoe. Thanks, you guys! I love ya to bits!

The Magnolia train station was a hub of activity when a rosy haired young man stumbled off of his train. He took a moment to quell the queasiness in his stomach before going in search of a familiar face. Glancing about, he noticed a placard with the words ‘Flame Brain’ being held up by a young man with black hair.

“Hey Popsicle, thanks for being my welcome wagon,” the rosette greeted.

“Nice to have you back, Fire Breath,” The noirette replied, helping him with his luggage. “ you back for good this time?” He asked as he led the boy to his Dodge Avenger.

“Yeah,” Natsu sighed as he settled in the passenger seat after placing a guitar case in the back of the car. “I’m back for good, Gray.” He sighed again before muttering, “I found him.”

Gray’s eyes went wide as he settled behind the wheel, whipping his head to face Natsu. “You did?!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah,” said a somber Natsu, averting his attention to the view out of his window.  “Could we go to Fairy Tail and grab some food? I need ta talk to Gramps, see if I could get a job and a place to stay,” Natsu rambled, keeping his gaze out of his window.

‘Besides, I don’t think she would want me staying at her place’ his heart ached at the errant thought.

“Sure man,” said Gray, giving Natsu a concerned look. He’d never seen the usually boisterous guy in such a state, but he knew better than to question it. “You know, I’d let you stay at my place, but Juvia just moved in.” Casting another glance, Gray started the ignition, and pointed the car to its destination.

“Thanks for the offer, but I really wouldn’t like to butt in anyways,” Natsu said with a small grin. “Besides, I’d like to have my own space again.”

Fairy Tail Bar and Grill was a hole-in-the-wall local watering hole that was a Magnolia institution. There were quite a few regular customers who would stop in, as well as the occasional tourist group or three. People gathered there for the great food, the friendly service, and even for the random chaos that comes about in waves. There was always a friendly brawl going on or a reason to throw a party.

The two boys considered it their second home, as they practically grew up there. The rowdy pub regulars taught them more about life than they had ever wanted to learn, as most of those regulars were perverts.

The drive didn’t take long at all, and soon Gray parked the car and started to get out when he realized something and froze. The sign on the window made him think twice, but Natsu was already halfway out of the vehicle.

“Shit,” Gray muttered, thinking as quickly as he could. “Hey Flame Brain, I don’t think tonight’s a good night for this. It looks really crowded in there.”

Natsu looked at his best friend incredulously “What are talking about? Unless a lot has changed since I left, this looks like a normal crowd!”

‘Man, you have no idea how much has changed,’ Gray thought bitterly. ‘Maybe if you kept in touch better you would have realized that before now.’

Natsu pulled open the heavy wood and glass doors and stepped into the organized chaos that was Fairy Tail. To his chagrin, it was a little more crowded than he remembered. There were also the sounds of instruments being tuned, which was a very uncommon noise for the rowdy bar. Natsu also noticed that the stage in the back of the bar was being set up with more musical instruments by a blonde female with a figure to die for. He felt drawn to her for some reason, but squashed that thought quickly, his heart still longing for the girl he had left behind.

Tearing his gaze from the scene, Natsu glanced around to locate any more familiar faces and was immediately rewarded with the person behind the bar. He walked towards the side of the establishment, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

“Hey Mira, could I get some fire chicken and a cola?” Natsu asked cheekily as he approached the bar.

The white haired barmaid spun around abruptly, catching herself on the bar top to steady herself as her eyes widened with shock and surprise.

“Natsu!” Mirajane squealed, practically throwing herself across the bar top to give him a hard hug. “Where have you been? You up and leave without any warning, and don’t tell anyone! We were so worried about you!” she chastised as she moved away after nearly smothering the male.

“I know. I’m sorry Mira,” Natsu said regretfully. “I had a lead and needed to follow it.”

Mira cupped his face gently in her palm with a soft look in her eyes. “At least you’re here and you’re alive,” she stated. “That’s all that’s really matters.”

She turned to go place his order in the kitchen as Gray walked up to the bar.

“Figured you two would want to catch up,” Gray stated.

Natsu closed his eyes and rubbed his face as he replied, “I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

“Maybe if you had kept in touch better, you wouldn’t’ve,” Gray sighed, struggling to not start an argument. “Why didn’t you?”

“It’s kind of hard to when you’re out of the country with no service, your phone gets stolen and you’re broke as fuck,” retorted the rosy haired man, annoyed. “I had to resort to more than just busking to make enough money for food and to save up to come back.”

“That sounds incredibly harsh,” interjected the snowy haired barmaid as she made her way over to the almost arguing males with Natsu’s order. “You could have written to us, Natsu. We would’ve helped.”

Natsu looked down at his food sheepishly, “I wasn’t really thinking clearly to do that at the time.”

A loud sound followed by a string of curse words came from the stage, drawing attention from the little group at the bar.

“Lucy,” Mira called, “try to keep it clean tonight!”

‘Shit!’ Natsu thought frantically, eyes quickly scanning the area. ‘Lucy’s here?!  

The sexy blonde on the stage looked up as she repositioned a fallen piece of the drum kit and shot a furious glance at the group by the bar. “I make no promises, Mira,” she called back as she finished her setup.

Natsu’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates once he focused his sights on her. ‘Holy shit! She’s even more beautiful than I remembered!’

Mira looked back at the stunned male with a small, sad smile. “Lucy’s started an Open Mic night here once a week with Master’s permission,” she explained.  

“It’s been really popular,” added Gray. “I give real props to her.”

Natsu could only nod dumbly as he continued to stare in awe at his ex-girlfriend, his plate of food forgotten.

Lucy was a vision in her bootcut dark wash jeans, red peasant shirt and brown low heeled clogs. Her long golden tresses were in a loose braid over her shoulder. She slipped on her cedar topped Greg Bennett electric acoustic guitar with her Starry Night guitar strap, making sure that it was tuned and plugged into her amp and pedals as she perched on the barstool on stage.

Her mocha colored eyes scanned the room, landing on a familiar head of pink spiked hair. A gasp left her lips as she nearly fell off her seat.

‘This can’t be real. I’m imagining things. He’s not really here,” Lucy thought, quickly composing herself while closing her eyes and shaking her head with a sad smile. ‘I’ve finally cracked up. Maybe it’s time to finally play that one song.”

With a resolute sigh, she introduced herself and welcomed everyone to the Open Mic. After stating that she had a new song for everyone, she placed her nimble fingers on the strings and began to play the familiar  chords, closing her eyes as she hit her drum pedal and began to sing.

You took my hand You showed me how You promised me you'd be around Uh huh That's right

She slowly opened her eyes, glancing once again to what she believed to be her pink haired delusion. They had so much history together, childhood best friends for years before they became lovers. She hit the loop pedal to keep her chords going.

Natsu felt a piercing pain in his heart. He did make that promise, didn’t he? Yet he had quickly packed his bags and ran out the door, never looking back. Not once. He was such a moron for not keeping it.

I took your words And I believed In everything You said to me Yeah huh That's right

She saw him staring at her, a look of pain and sorrow on his face. That wasn’t right. He always smiled in her visions. His grin being the one he used to give her every day where his dark green eyes would close with how big it was. So why was he sad? She stop this train of thought as she switched up the sound of her guitar with an overdrive pedal to make her guitar sound more like an electric guitar.

If someone said three years from now You'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them out 'Cause they're all wrong I know better 'Cause you said forever And ever Who knew

She closed her eyes from the pain caused by her memories, feeling her broken heart starting to crack a little once more as she poured herself into the mic. It had been too long since she had felt this strongly about, well, anything. She gave a broken chuckle at the thought.

The ache in his chest continued to spread, causing his breath to catch in his throat. His head spun with thoughts of coulda, woulda, shoulda. He couldn’t believe that this was how he had left her. He shouldn’t have left the way that he did. He felt lower than slime.

Remember when we were such fools And so convinced and just too cool Oh no No no

Swamped in memory, she could almost feel his touch on her face, his heat as they kissed.  Oh how she missed him! Months spent trying to block this feeling nearly killed her, but what could she do? He left without saying a word, without saying goodbye.

Without saying he loved her.

And that destroyed her soul.

I wish I could touch you again I wish I could still call you friend I'd give anything

‘Oh Luce, I’d give anything for that as well,’ the heartbroken pink haired idiot just stared at the love of his life, his mouth left agape. He had been a complete and utter fool. The whole time he was gone all he could think of was her, but she wouldn’t forgive him - how could she?

She opened her eyes once again, believing this to be her strongest delusion yet. He was still there! And he looked as just heartbroken as she felt.

It took everything she had to keep her voice steady and strong. She couldn’t let it break just yet.

When someone said count your blessings now For they're long gone I guess I just didn't know how I was all wrong They knew better Still you said forever And ever Who knew Yeah yeah

Her gaze shifted to her fretboard, making certain that she hit all the right chords.

I'll keep you locked in my head Until we meet again

Her gaze shifted once more back to him. It was always back to him.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was a magnet, and she was true North.

Until we Until we meet again And I won't forget you my friend What happened

She started to sing with her whole heart, trying to exorcise her demons with her voice, pouring her feelings into every word. Who cares if the whole world knows now? She had always loved him, and now she was singing to a figment of her imagination.

If someone said three years from now You'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them out 'Cause they're all wrong and

She roared in tune and melody, sounding like an avenging angel. Her guitar strings echoing strongly with her emotions, her heartbreak, her grief.

That last kiss I'll cherish Until we meet again And time makes It harder I wish I could remember But I keep Your memory You visit me in my sleep My darling Who knew

She took gasping breaths, trying to reel in her raging emotions once again, and switched off her overdrive pedal and loop pedal.

My darling My darling Who knew

Her voice came out as a breathy whisper; a little broken sounding as her tears threatened to fall. She closed her eyes against them and forced her voice to become stronger as she almost effortlessly picked up her beginning chords once more.

Natsu was starting to feel confused. He understood that the song was about them, but did she think that he was dead? This was way worse than he thought. He really did screw up this time.

How the hell was he going to fix this?!

My darling I miss you My darling Who knew

Memories of pink hair, kind eyes, and a wide fanged grin assaulted her. She opened her mahogany orbs and locked eyes with his olivine gaze.

Who knew

‘Natsu,” she thought as she stopped her drum pedal and ended the song with a final dampened chord.

“Lucy,” Natsu whispered reverently under his breath, calloused fingers itching to reach out to her. To hold her in his arms to comfort her from her pain he caused her, to breathe in her addictive scent of sweet almonds and honey.

A pregnant pause followed by a deafening sound broke her concentration as the bar patrons applauded Lucy’s performance. She had honestly forgotten where she was and who was listening. She blushed and stood to make her bow, relinquishing the stage for the next performer

Mira turned to Natsu, noting the heartbreak plain on his face. “You know,” she started slowly, “Lucy missed you the most out of all of us. I don’t think that she realizes that you’re actually even here.”

Dumbfounded, Natsu turned back to the barmaid with a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“She means,” interrupted a sour looking Gray, “that Lucy had such a hard time about you leaving that she thinks you’re a figment of her imagination! She’s been to therapy and everything because you couldn’t have bothered to tell her that you were going or if you’d be back!” The boy seethed quietly.

“Gray!” Mira hissed, giving him a deadly glare as he cowered from her in fear. “That’s not our truth to share! How dare you!”

Ignoring the seething barmaid and the cowering dark haired idiot, Natsu became lost in thought. He needed to fix this, he needed her to know. After some time, he came up with a plan.

“Hey Mira, do you think you can get me a performance spot for tonight?” Natsu asked quite suddenly, wiping his palms nervously on the thighs of his work worn jeans. “I have an idea…”

He got up from the barstool as Mira gave a hesitant nod and threw Gray a pointed look.

“Ice breath, I need to get some stuff from the car,” he growled.

As they left arguing for the car, Lucy approached the bar.

“Hey Mira, can I get an iced strawberry mint tea with honey?” the blonde requested as she wearily slid onto the barstool, leaning her elbows onto the bar and propping her jaw with the palm of her hand

With a smile, the barmaid answered as she picked up the forgotten food to place it someplace safe, “Sure thing Lucy! By the way, your performance tonight was amazing!”

“Thank you,” Lucy replied tiredly, coming down from her performance high. That song always drained her both physically and emotionally, even in practice.

‘I guess that’s what exorcising your demons does to you.’ she thought derisively.

“It sounded like you were singing that song for a certain someone…” Mira teased as she quickly served the younger girl.

“More like to a ghost than anyone, Mira,” the blonde answered sadly as she closed her eyes. “The person I was singing to wasn’t even here.”

“Oh? Are you sure about that?” The older female inquired with a twinkle in her eye.

“I haven’t seen or heard from him in over a year,” Lucy said despondently, opening her eyes to focused on her drink, not noticing the pair of boys walking back into the bar, or the pink haired boy focusing all of his attention on her. “I highly doubt that he’s going to just waltz into Fairy Tail just in time to hear my song… and if I did happen to see him, it’s probably all in my head anyways. Stupid dragon,” she pouted, her attention still on her beverage.

Glancing at the stunned Natsu while grabbing a glass to clean, Mira exclaimed, “Oh, that reminds me! Someone requested a spot for tonight, if possible. It’s someone who hasn’t played here before.” She said that last part with a secretive smile.

This request piqued the blonde’s interest. Raising a brow, Lucy lifted her gaze to the barmaid in question.

“I’ll double check with Levy,” she said slowly. “She’s got my clipboard with the available spots, but I think I saw one open.”

“That’s great!” Mira beamed. “I’ll let them know once you confirm.”

Lucy smiled as she got off of the barstool, turning and spotting Gray and her supposed pink haired apparition as she did. She greeted Gray, trying her best to ignore who she believed to be the figment of her imagination that was standing right next to him as she asked after Juvia. Even though her skin had tingled from being so near to him as she passed by him on her way back to the stage, she still did her best to not acknowledge him.

She felt as if she were crazy enough as it was.

Natsu scowled slightly as he watched her leave. He kept quiet during the exchange, hoping that she’d notice him, but it seemed that Grays words rang true. She really didn’t believe that he was actually in front of her.

‘This is gonna be harder than I thought…’

He set down his guitar case gingerly on the floor, and turned to face Mira with a pensive look. “She really doesn’t think that I’m here,” he said quietly, pushing a hand through his hair to rub at the back of his neck. “How am I supposed to win her back if she still thinks that I’m gone?”

Giving him a look of understanding, Mira said, “Don’t give up just yet, Natsu. I’m sure you can do it.” She brought back out his food and made a gesture to it. “In the meantime, eat up. You’ll need the energy to perform.”

He quirked his lips in a small smile and settled down onto the barstool to eat. “You got it, Mira,” he said as he dug in.

“Hey Mira!” a blue haired fairy called as she came up to the bar a little while later. “Lucy mentioned that you had someone asking for a performance spot?”

Mira turned to her direction, “Levy! Yes, I had someone ask for a spot. It’s for a very good cause,” she emphasized as she directed the girl’s attention to the pink haired man chowing down in front of her.

Levy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Natsu?! What the hell are you doing here?” she asked in disbelief, moving in to give him a warm hug. “Where the hell have you been?  Has Lucy seen you yet? It’s so great that you’re back! Are you back for -”

“Whoa Levy! Slow down! You’re firing off those questions faster than I can form an answer!” He chuckled as he awkwardly returned her hug. “I was in Alvarez following a lead. I’m back for good. As for Lucy…” he trailed off as he let go of her, unable to formulate an answer.

Levy looked at him quizzically for a moment before it dawned on her. “She doesn’t believe that you’re physically here, does she?” she asked quietly.

Natsu eyed her sadly before answering. “No, I don’t think that she does,” he said in a breath. “That’s why I need the spot. I think it’s the only way to convince her.”

She looked at him in kindness, patting his hand. “You may be right,” she conceded as she tucked a loose strand of her blue hair behind her ear. “There’s a spot open after Gajeel. He’s the guitar player in the suit who’s got the long black hair and multiple piercings.” She turned to the stage as she pointed out the man in a white suit and fedora to the pink haired boy. “He’s about to go on next, so you better get ready. I gotta get back to help Lucy. Break a leg, Natsu!”

“Thanks Levy!” He said with a smile as she got up to leave, watching her interact with Lucy and helping the intimidatingly pierced male with his setup.

As he finished his meal, Gray made himself comfortable on the barstool beside him.

“You should watch this Fire Breath,” he said whilst pointing to the stage where Gajeel was strumming his Fender Custom Stratocaster electric guitar. “He’s the Iron Dragon of Fairy Tail, and for good reason.”

Natsu lifted a brow at that, as he was once well known as Fairy Tail’s Fire Dragon. “What has he done to earn that title?”

“You’ll see,” Gray smirked with a laugh.

The man onstage let out his grizzly voice in a greeting to the audience, tilting his white fedora in salute. “This is… Shoo Bee Doo Da.”

As his gravelly bass voice begun his song a few notes offkey and several decibels too high, Natsu turned his wide disbelieving eyes onto a smirking Gray before the pair doubled over in silent laughter

“Oh man! He’s the absolute worst!” Natsu chuckled as he tried to regain his breath. He desperately wanted to cover his ears, as Gajeel’s voice really did sound like iron nails on a chalkboard when he hit yet another wrong note.

“I know, right?” Gray snickered.

“Is that supposed to be jazz? Or rockabilly blues?” Natsu asked incredulously, laughter still ringing in his voice.

“Who cares? Either way, it sounds like something dying!” Gray howled quietly, trying not to disturb the other bar patrons.

After their laughter died down, Natsu started to get off of his seat with a sigh. “I better start getting ready before they boo Bolts for Brains off of the stage,” he said as he grabbed his guitar case and backpack.

Gray grunted in agreement before turning to the pink haired male. “Hey man,” he began, running his finger through his hair, “I might not have agreed with how you had handled everything before, but I hope that you straighten your shit out soon. You deserve it … and so does Lucy.”

Natsu looked up wide eyed from pulling his laptop and cords from his backpack to the dark haired male before him. He stared at him before a smile creeped up on his face.

“Thanks Gray.”

“You better not fuck this up,” Gray’s dark eyes turned icy as he scowled at his childhood friend. Natsu’s own eyes narrowed, all vestiges of their former camaraderie gone. “I hate seeing Lucy get hurt. She’s like my sister, and if I find out that you did something on this level again…”

“I get the point,” he growled as he stuffed his tech back into his backpack in annoyance. “It ain’t gonna happen again. I swear my life on it, Ice Prick, so back the fuck off!”

Before the raven haired male could get out another word, Natsu was already off, dragging his gear to the stage. He shook off his negative energy as quickly as he could, knowing that it would affect his performance if he didn’t. ‘God, I hope this works,’ he thought desperately as he threw a quick grin to an encouraging Levy on his way. He noticed Lucy heading back to the bar and taking his vacated seat, ordering herself another drink. ‘For both of our sakes.’

Natsu quickly unpacked his Apple MacBook Air and hooked it up to the bar’s sound system, logged in and opened up his GarageBand app. Selecting the right file, he quickly tuned his Paul Reed Smith A15AL SE Angelus acoustic/electric guitar and plugged it into the amp as he waited for the file to load.

Slinging his guitar on his shoulder, the rose haired man walked over to the microphone, took it off of the mic stand and cleared his throat. “Hello, my name is Natsu,” he started as he walked back to the MacBook. “I’m going to do an unconventional song for you today. It’s unconventional in the way it’s performed, and it’s dedicated to the girl I loved whom I left behind.” He said this while directing his gaze to Lucy.

Lucy’s breath caught as her attention was drawn to him. ‘It couldn’t be…’ she thought as she blinked owlishly. ‘Since when do my delusions get up on stage and perform?!’ Her mind whirled as she watched him move lithely on the stage, completely missing his song dedication.

Pressing play on his laptop, Natsu let the opening of the song wash over him with his eyes half closed as he made his way back to the microphone stand to secure the mic, his guitar swinging from his back.

He took a deep breath after singing the opening line and dug deep to find his courage, pushing aside his nerves. He looked up to see his friends staring at him in awe. Especially Lucy.

With that, Natsu was ready to set aside his reservations and lay his heart bare.

They'll tell you I don’t care anymore

And I hope you'll know that's a lie

'Cause I've found what I have been waiting for But to get there means crossing a line

He set his eyes downcast, almost lost in thought as the words clawed their way out of his throat.

I don't know how to warn you For what I'm gonna say

The drum line started, a beat that instantly caught on with the audience. Heads and shoulders bopping, all the signs telling Natsu that he’s got them hooked, if he had looked up to see.

'Cause you're holding so tight to What I'm taking away I got demons inside me So I'm faced with a choice

He smirked sadly at that last last line. Oh how true that felt.

Either try to ignore them Or I give them a voice

At that, Natsu lifted his gaze. Lucy was already staring up at him, however, her doe eyes wide as she tried to process what was happening. Natsu was gone… wasn’t he?

‘Is he really here?’ she thought as she made a move to pinch herself. Feeling the slight sting of her nails against her flesh, her eyes widened even further. ‘Holy sh-!’

And it's keeping me up at night Worried it's not alright Holding back things you don't know

His husky baritone voice interrupted her thoughts, the lyrics forcing her focus back to him.

Natsu glanced at Gray, Mira, Levy and Lucy in turn. He couldn’t help but linger his stare at Lucy. He yearned for her to understand that though he had hurt her by leaving, he had to find out the truth.

He had to find where his father was, and what happened to him.

And it's keeping me up at night Worried it's not alright You're not gonna like where this goes

He shook his head and closed his eyes at that line. He adjusted his guitar, securing the flame embroidered strap firmly onto his shoulder and gripping the neck, curling his fingers over the fretboard as he poured himself into the chorus.

And they'll tell you I don't care anymore And I hope you'll know that's a lie

Natsu resolved that he would tell her everything later, after he convinced her of his presence.

'Cause I've found what I have been waiting for But to get there means crossing a line So I'm crossing a line

He played a riff on his guitar, the look on his face showing that he was clearly enjoying losing himself in the music while he directed his next verse to the blonde.

Lucy couldn’t help but stare, watching Natsu’s powerful biceps bunch and flow under the rolled up sleeves of his black button down shirt, his fingers flying as he played the stringed instrument.

It's not about status We know it never was

He let go of the guitar’s neck at this point, but slid his malachite eyes to his girl, noticing her stunned mocha stare.

‘So, it looks like she’s starting to believe that I’m real,” he thought with a smirk.

'Cause what good is the kingdom When you're missing the love?

Lucy covered her mouth with her right hand as her coffee colored eyes went wide at those words. ‘Is that supposed to mean… ? Does he still love me?’ Her heart started to beat a little faster, making her chest feel warm with sensation.

She ignored the small squeak that came from Mirajane.

This is not a goodbye now I'm not going away

He smiled at her as he sang that line, putting a hand to his heart, a not so silent vow.

No, I don't have the answers But I do have the faith

Oh, and it's keeping me up at night Worried it's not alright Holding back things you don't know

Natsu ran a hand through his now slightly dampened hair, in a vain attempt to keep his sweaty bangs out of his eyes.

Lucy thought it was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

And it's keeping me up at night Worried it's not alright You're not gonna like where this goes, no

His voice rang out as the chorus came to a head.

And they'll tell you I don't care anymore

He sent a glare to Gray, full of fire and fury. A silent challenge to the man who held what couldn’t be understood against him.

And I hope you'll know that's a lie

He softened his gaze as he shifted to Mirajane, letting the fire die down and dropping the fury completely.

She sent him a smile back with a subtle thumbs up, letting him know that his plan was working.

'Cause I've found what I have been waiting for

He slow blinked as he moved on to Lucy, the love and longing he felt for her piercing into her soul as she stared back at him. Her lower lip trembled behind her hand, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. He really was… He was...

But to get there means crossing a line So I'm crossing a line

The drum line died down and Natsu started to clap his hands to the beat, encouraging the audience to do so as well, never once taking his eyes off of Lucy. Once that beat was established, he once more readjusted his grip on the guitar, readying himself in anticipation for what came next with a grin.

Lucy waited with baited breath, eyes shimmering as she desperately tried to blink them back into focus.

She was not about to lose sight of him again, tears be damned!

And they'll tell you I don't care anymore And I hope you'll know that's a lie

The drum line kicked in full force once again, with an electronic echo of the last few words, shocking the audience and picking up the energy Natsu was giving off with his riff.

Laughing behind her hand, she allowed one happy tear escape. It was such a Natsu thing for him to do.

And God she loved him for that.

'Cause I've found what I have been waiting for

Natsu sent a heartfelt smile to Lucy, once again hoping that she understood that he loved her, and that he was back for good.

But to get there means crossing a line So I'm crossing a line

He picked up his riff again, eyes never leaving his favorite blonde.

Lucy lowered her hand to smile back with no more tears in her eyes. She understood, and felt the shattered pieces of her heart start to come back together. He was home.

So I’m crossing a line

‘I love you Luce. I’m home.’ Smiling even wider, fangs showing, Natsu ended his song.

So I’m crossing a line

The audience went wild with their cheers, causing the pink haired male to tear his attention away from his intended target for a moment to take his bow. But when he turned his focus back to her, he realized that she was no longer in her seat.

Lucy met him halfway between the stage and the bar, arms crossed over her generous bosom and a passive expression on her angelic face.

Natsu knew he was in trouble. Deep trouble.

“Hey,” Natsu greeted, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“Hi,” she answered

“I guess we have a lot to talk about.”

“We most certainly do,” she said as she motioned for him to join her in a private booth.

After settling in, with eyes downcast, Natsu said with a sigh, “I am so sorry. I-I should’ve told you everything from the start.” His breath hitched just a little, tear gathering in the corners of his eyes. “I should’ve found a way to get in touch with you. I should’ve -”

She reached across the distance between them and placed her fingertips to his lips, effectively cutting him off from his babbling. He finally brought his gaze to hers, his wet jade getting lost in the deep brown of her eyes.

It was the first time that Lucy had actually physically touched him since this whole misunderstanding began. The feel of his lips against her skin set fire to her veins, causing her breath to catch as the intense heat raced up her arm to pool in her chest.

“Don’t,” she said with a shuddering breath, desperate to keep her emotions in check. “...d-did you find him?” She asked gently as she moved her fingers from his lips to his cheek.

With a wince that drew his eyes away from hers once more, he nodded, nuzzling against her fingers and swallowing harshly.

“I did,” he said in an almost broken whisper as he grabbed at the hand that she still held to his cheek and pressed it closer to his skin.

Sensing his pain, she drew him in close, resting her forehead to his with her eyes closed, holding onto her tears. His pain now becoming hers as understanding filtered through her.

She loved his father as her own, after all.

Natsu’s eyes went wide at the gesture, his words lost in utter disbelief. He never imagined being able to touch her this intimately again. A few moments later, he lowered his own dark eyelashes to his cheekbones and let out a quiet sigh, taking the moment for what it was.

It was a moment of grief for what had happened in the past; of the level of trust that they still had in each other.

A moment for the love that they both still shared.

“I missed you,” he spoke softly, his breath fluttering gently across her face. “I thought of you every single day that I was gone.”

“I missed y-you too,” she choked out, tears beginning to fall from her closed eyelids, dusting her eyelashes like diamonds. “I-I thought I was going crazy. I kept seeing you everywhere I went, even when I knew…”

“There were times when I thought I saw you too,” he confided as he slowly opened his eyes.

Lucy opened her eyes in awe. “Really?” She asked, amazed that the boy in front of her might just still reciprocate her feelings.

“Really,” Natsu answered as he caressed her cheekbone with his thumb, wiping away her tears. His love shone brilliantly from his eyes, nearly illuminating them. “And after all of this, I’ve finally found what I have been waiting for,” he said as he leaned in close.

Lucy smirked. “And that is…?” she asked coyly.

“You,” he said simply, taking her breath away as he edged in even closer.

“Natsu …” her voice was lost as he finally, finally closed the distance between them. The feel of his slightly chapped lips against her glossed ones soothed her soul as it simultaneously heated her core. His hand slipped from her face to her golden strands, tangling his fingers in the base of her braid. Her hand had similar ideas, engulfing itself in the pink hairs on the back of his neck.

It was like the missing piece to the puzzle of their hearts.

It felt like finally coming home.

When they finally breathlessly pulled apart, Natsu grinned sheepishly. “So….does this mean I can crash at your place now?”

Lucy laughed lightly, a bubbly feeling in her chest that hadn’t been felt for so long. “Don’t you think that you’re crossing a line?”

“Aren’t I always?” he grinned as he crashed his lips onto hers again

[inevitably-johnlocked]

sup steph! can u plz recommend some short johnlock fics? (short as in 1-2 chapters) ik this is incredibly vague but just give me ones that you may like hehe thanks :D

Hi Lovely!

OHHHHH Gosh, I have so many short Johnlock fics… and I know single chapter fics that are 30K words LOL LOL! So I’ll assume you’re looking for a shorter wordcount fics, as opposed to chapter count, LOL.

First of all, you can check out these past “short fic lists” I’ve done!

Ten Fave Short Johnlock Fics (Easy Reads April 2018)

25 Fave Johnlock One Shots (April 2018)

Fics Under 2000 w.

I think I’ll take this opportunity to post up the next set of “Under 2000 w.” fic list, how about that? :) If you want something other than that, let me know, and I’ll look for something else for you :P As a side note, on every one of my personal rec lists, all my shorter fics are always listed first, so if you like the topic but just want a quick read, go ahead and check out the first few fics until you hit a word count too big for ya

FICS UNDER 2,000w. PT. 2

When Morning Comes by Youarethelightoftheworld (T, 423 w. || Christmas Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lazy Mornings/Morning After, Fluff and Angst, Sleepy Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Cuddling / Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) – “Sherlock,” says John solemnly, “I’m not sure we can go anywhere today.”

The Moment When by drekadair (K, 509 w. || TGG Fic, Friendship, First Person POV Sherlock, Introspection, Worried Sherlock) – Sherlock sees John in the pool, and doubts. Set during the end of “The Great Game.”

Do You Love Me? by whitchry9 (K, 641 w. || Friendship, Family, Epic Bromance) – John asks Sherlock perhaps the most important question.

New World, Old Words by thedeafwriter (G, 641 w. || Deaf Sherlock, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Always John) – It was disconcerting to experience. One second, he was laying on the table, breathing in the gas that would make him sleep, the next, he was dragging his eyes open to look around the bright room, trying to wake up.

Promise of Sussex by LittleLongHairedOutlaw (T, 705 w. || First Person POV Sherlock, Sherlock Whump, Angst, Pining, Ambiguous Ending) – John tries to keep Sherlock conscious after he’s been shot on a case.

Promises Kept by grannysknitting (K+, 844 w. || John POV, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Sherlock’s Violin, Worried Sherlock, John Whump, Post-TGG) – When they were in hospital, Sherlock made a promise to himself. Now he’s keeping it. Set after ’Polygamous Marriage’ but before ’Back in the Saddle’

Possessive by Fang323 (T, 850 w. || John Whump, Hospitalization, Possessive / Protective Sherlock, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort) – His John did not belong. Not here. Not in this blasted hospital. It simply was not logical.

Concussions And Good Old Fashioned Awkwardness by Belldere (K+, 894 w. || Humour, Hospitals, Mild John Whump, Misunderstandings, Platonic Relationship, Concussions, Not-Gay John, Possessive Sherlock) – When John lands himself in hospital… again, all he wants is to just get out of there as soon as possible, too bad his doctor has other ideas about where John may be getting his injuries. Good thing concussions make everything strangely funnier.

Burn Burn by Jenn1984 (K+, 925 w. || Post-TGG, Angst, Worried / Panicked / Possessive Sherlock) – A week after the events of “The Great Game”, Sherlock returns to 221B Baker Street to find it empty.

Devil’s in the Details (Isn’t that what you always say?) by Rae Himura (K, 976 w. || Angst, Sarah POV) – It was the little things Sarah noticed. (Or, some things even the world’s only consulting detective can’t see.)

Sherlock Is Not The One You Should Worry About by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 1,077 w. || Sally POV, Character Reflection, Praising John) – Sally Donovan’s eyes are opened about a certain Doctor John Watson.

Sherlock’s Mind Palace by Valkyrie Of The Dead (K+, 1,091 w. ||  Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Deaths, Self Reflection) – Sherlock needs to change his mind-palace once again. He had hoped he wouldn’t, he had thought he wouldn’t, because they were invincible, weren’t they?

Idiot by Anesthesiologist (T, 1,229 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Alternate TGG / Explosion, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Inner Monologue, John Saves Sherlock, POV Sherlock) – What the heck happened? He remembered the pool and Moriarty, but then what? Had he been dying?

The Simple Separation Will Not Come Between Us by The Circus (T, 1,278 w. || Hurt/Comfort, MCD, Violence, Heavy Angst, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Prose) – The choice is simple. Real, and No John. Or Not Real, and John. For a prompt that says ‘John dies and Sherlock loses himself in his Mind Palace’

God Save The Queen by Alice Day (K+, 1,398 w. || Humour, Mystery, Friendship) – Sherlock has a new case. John is petrified. The Queen is amused.

I Was Wrong by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 1,496 w. || TGG AU, Friendship, Hospitalization / Injury, John’s Self Esteem, Sleepy Sherlock) – Sherlock and John have a conversation a few days after the pool face off with Moriarty. And John hears something quite surprising.

Left In The Ashes by zoltargirl (T, 1,497 w. || Angst, MCD, Angry Sherlock, Brutal Violence) – Rage is a unique quality in all human beings. In Sherlock Holmes, it’s terrifying.

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1,513 w. || Winglock, Friendship, Chromoesthesia, Drugging) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. A response to the challenging request for a realistic wingfic one-shot.

Together is What we Have, Together Protects Us by Phantom of the Black Pearl (K+, 1,566 w. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Platonic or Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Sherlock, Worried Sherlock, Slice of Life) – After a case one evening in the flat Sherlock voices a concern that causes the pair to consider why they’ve chosen to stick together after all that’s happened.

A Long Way To Home by PeaceLoveAndCheese (T, 1,568 w. || Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Reunion Fic) – Human emotions are tiring, troublesome things. And Sherlock wants to be known as anything but that. No matter how hard you try though, you’re only human. And it’s been a long year.

Quite Contrary by Hollyesque (T, 1,805 w. || HLV Fic, Sherlock Whump / After Mary Shot Sherlock, Hallucinations / Flashbacks / PTSD, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Lestrade POV, ) – A short one-shot, alternate scene to Greg’s hospital visit in HLV. Instead of Sherlock disappearing, Greg is faced with an unexpected reaction to a hospitalized Sherlock and winds up figuring out something that he really would have rather not known.

BBCSH 'Poor Mary’ by tigersilver (M, 1,839 w.|| HLV Fic, Canon Compliant, Sherlock Whump / Mary Shot Sherlock, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Missing Scene, Sherlock POV) – As the tin says above, this is a missing scene, set directly after Sherlock awakens in hospital after having been shot by his best mate’s wife. Minor angst, some pining, nothing nasty; please don’t be alarmed unduly.

Like Euphoria and Scotch by FinAmour (M, 1,856 w. || Five and One, Alchohol / Drinking, POV Second Person Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Imagination, Armchair Sex, Fluff, Happy Ending) – 5 different ways it all could have gone + the one way it actually works itself out.

One in Ten Thousand by Blind Author (K+, 1,856 w. || Post-TGG, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Discussions of Violence, Worried then Curious Sherlock, Scars/John’s Bullet Wound, Medical Anomolies) – John seems to have unusual mobility for a shoulder wound…

Caught by Salambo06 (E, 1,859 w. || Frottage, First Time / Kiss, Bed Sharing, Wet Dreams, POV John, Masturbation) – A hotel room. They’re here for a case, hadn’t planned to spend the night and ended up sharing a room. No, sharing a bed. Suddenly John is very much aware of his own hand closed around his hard cock and the ragged breathing next to him. Closing his eyes for the briefest second, John dares to turn his head just enough to confirm what he already knows. Sherlock, on his side, watching him.

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil by PipMer (T, 1,895 w. || Deaf John, Mute Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Fluff and Angst, Character Study, Morse Code, Love Confessions) – John is deaf. Sherlock is mute. There are no two people more suited for each other.

The Adventure of the Mysterious Appearance of Tissues by Gwen’s Blue Box (K+, 1,910 w. || Fluff, Humour, Sick John, Caring Sherlock, Hurt/Comfort) – In which there is a case, John has caught a cold and is not interested in investigating, Mrs Hudson is away and Sherlock does the shopping.

They’re Taking My Wisdom by whitchry9 (K+, 1,939 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Drugging, Dentists, Friendship, Anxious Sherlock, Humour) – Sherlock goes to the dentist. Of course, being Sherlock, things have to be complicated. Oh and drugs. They’re always fun.

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

I’ve had a chat with ~someone~ and guessed it was The Time to publish this rant... SO. Speaking for both Jasper and Hendrik: what the FUCK was that (also beware of post game spoilers I guess)

I may not have continued to watch streams and LPs after the first Mordegon fight, but from what I’ve gathered from various posts and sources, Act 3 gives everyone a more-or-less happy ending, and then there’s that. Not to mention this ‘everyone’ almost definitely includes not only totally innocent people like Michelle, but also the mother who sacrificed fucking people to her ex-son, and Mia, who was literally in the exact same fucking boat as Jasper. (Speaking of which: out of everyone monsterified in any way or form, only Jade seems to remember what has happened to her to a degree- and she’s the only one who was not under the direct influence of Mordegon, SO... similarly to Mia and Carnelian, Jasper also must have little to no recollection from the past 15 to 25 years, but that’s a rant for another day. Someone really hates Heliodor’s top knights... one is fucked in every way, and the other cannot live a single decade without encountering something gravely traumatizing smh.) Time travel shit is hard to write, but DAMN, is this a fucking mess, especially considering everything else.

Like, okay, let’s start with the basic problem regarding these two dumbasses: Jasper has always been a little shit. We know that. But while mischievous, he’s also perfectly fine giving love and attention to people he likes, even if he's rather roundabout in expressing it. Seeing how diligent and eager he was to better himself while clutching that pendant, I’d say he’s one of those people who care a little too much about the people who count--- and feeling un- or underappreciated is the thing that can twist him into an attention hungry beast. tl;dr: he does expect the important people in his life to return the attention and care in due time, otherwise he becomes a ticking bomb and things will spiral out of control eventually. Now, what makes this complicated is that he’s too subtle in expressing himself in the first place, and will never be the one to walk up to someone with a “we need to talk”; thus, his needs or disdain go unnoticed by people like... well, Hendrik. I love that man as much as anyone else, and he’s super, if not comically heroic, but damn is he an absolute idiot when it comes to personal relations, not to mention his almost robotic hulk-smash tunnel vision when it comes to Carnelian. Chivalrous to a fault, indeed. (I actually like that this is treated as a problem, because it damn straight is. Hell, prioritizing work over everything else is a fairly important catalyst in things ending up the way they are. It is the reason he blindly trusts the king even after finally realizing something’s really wrong with Jasper, and why latter had drifted away until the distance became an unsurmountable chasm. (I kind of see the husband&wife sidequest for the coral to be a good parallel to this situation ngl))

Let’s not even complicate things by raking the king into the equation as a likely father figure to both of them who had apparent favoritism going on, and what effects Mordegon taking over him had on Jasper, shall we? (I personally prefer the option of him approaching Jasper soon after the fall of Dundrasil. With Jasper being one of the smartest people in the game, (if not THE smartest motherflunker around,) maybe he even noticed something was off. Which, may I add, makes him the only one who could notice once Jade was gone. Get those two out of the picture, and you’re SET, man.)

To summarize, one’s too roundabout, the other’s too dumb, and this is why these two will keep talking past each other fiveever. Not even a mermaid’s whole, entire lifetime would be enough for these two to sort things out on their own, which is why they’d need an outsider to nudge them in the right direction. The only two who are in the active position to do so are the Hero and Mordegon. We’ve seen how latter plays out- the Lord of Shadows is much more invested in manipulating people’s weaknesses into killing their friends and family (see also: Mia). So it would be on us to kick them in the shin, right? Except we get no fucking options to do so.

The worst part of it is how easily they could have gone with more insteresting shit. I’ve seen some PC mods already regarding costumes, and you know what? Dubbing problems be damned, I’d give my lunch money tenfold for a mod that gets you a mentally unstable monster tamer Jasper for Act 3 into the team instead of Hendrik who’s forcibly mordegonized instead, even though I don’t have the game, and likely never will. Just this one change is a good enough setup to easily throw a decent storyline together, no??? I bet it wouldn’t be hard to keep the ultimate uberboss for after this shit as a nice bonus, either.

Let’s not even get started on the party dynamics. He’d be suspicious of the Luminary and expect to be used and thrown away as soon as he’s outlived his usefulness, bacause apparently that’s all he’s good for... but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Cat fights with the other Black Mage material Veronica? Yes. Chatting with Sylvia about Hendrik being as thick as a brick wall both physically and mentally?? Hell Yes. Hitting it hilariously well off with Serena and bonding over shit like being lowkey savage and cakes??? HELL FUCKING YES. Him and Erik not even remembering who this other motherfucker is so they can start on decent terms? They are basically the dog and cat type of the same person so it would be a fucking treat to watch that mess unfold. (in case it wasn’t clear thus far: I’d rather take an altered Act 2 with an Act 3 on top; still post-apocalyptic and somber, but with better outlooks, and healing time for wounds. Just... striking a better balance of hope and despair, you feel? Not everything has to be 90% perfect or 90% depressing.) And JADE, guys, JADE. She could just be the missing link to break Jaspers LVL 99 Mistrust Barrier and make all those other things possible. Apart from maybe Rab, she’s the only one around who knows him to an extent; it would give her some of that much needed active character development, AND be a display of her diplomatic skills as a soon-to-be-ruler. Two birds with one fucking stone, I tell ya. Just thinking about this makes me feel robbed.

Also, party members mean pep powers. Some sly shit with Erik. An ultimate Charm Nuke feat. Jade&Sylv. A Double Re-Vamp where he beats up shit with former while everyone watches in horror. One last power exclusive for the last boss where Hendrik joins the two of them that’s referencing Heliodor’s two headed eagle.

Ah, and there’s the obligatory face-off with Hendrik... and Carnelian, I suppose. Might keep the old dude around to make sure mr knightiest knight no-brains orders... anyway. That shit. That shit would be 100% psychological warfare directed at Jade and Jasper. And actually Evil™ Greg (aka Hendrik, sorry, I love that nickname from a JP playthrough) could totally bring out the receipts on both of them. It wouldn’t even be OOC because A: he spent time with baby Jade, and B: Mordegon knows like 99% of Jasper’s emotional baggage anyway. That  shittalk would work like a charm, and dig under the lad’s skin, I tell ye. And past the humiliation and hurt, Jasper would also get fucking pissed and just tackle Hendrik to the ground before punching the fuck outta him, because feeling betrayed or not, even he knows that Hendrik would never, ever say something like that to his, save Jade’s face. It would be to no avail as our Wall of Meat could kill p much anyone by just flexing on their neck... But that’s also a perfect moment to pull an “if only there was someone who loved you” that would rattle everyone’s jimmies in- and outside of the game.

Man.

(I seriously don’t expect anyone to program this shit on the spot, but I may or may not be halfway done with some more-or-less episodic fic chapters that I also may or may not finish sometime, and y’all are free to contribute yourselves, too)

[minijenn]

Royal Stedip AU

Oh shit time for one of those AU HC dumps, one that I’ve been fucking meaning to type out for a damn long time, ever since I came up with ideas for it on the UF Discord ages ago (I swear we spend 99% of our time talking about Stedip over there). Anyway, I came up with a fun lil idea to make a royal/medieval AU based around our favorite ship between our two favorite boys, hence this bundle of cuteness right here. Its mostly fluffy adorable junk for a change which is surprising given my usual penchant for angst, but i can’t resist when it comes to Stedip. So here we go: 

Basic gist of this AU is that its more or less the same only everything’s set in a fantasy/medieval/fairy tale sort of setting, with royalty, knights, magic, all that good stuff

So we have our main kingdom, Gravity Falls, which, in an interesting twist of things (because I wanted a prince/knight dynamic for this AU) is well ruled by the Pines family

More specifically its gonna be ruled by Dipper when he comes of age (the parents are dead, cause idk they gotta be for this to work, Mabel is still the oldest twin, but the kingdom’s got this “firstborn son” ruler rule so yeah, and Stan and Ford are sorta more in a supervisory role (basically taking care of things until Dipper’s old enough (which will probs be like 16, but in this AU everyone’s still the same age as usual so he’s 12) 

So Dipper and Mabel are prince and princess of the kingdom respectively, but their personalities are more or less the same (Dipper’s still a fuckin nerd who would rather spend his time investigating all the weird magical shit around the kingdom than carrying out any sort of royal duty while Mabel is all about the glitz and glamor and fancy balls and dresses that come with being a princess lol)

Before moving on, one more quick thing on the Pines: Ford’s like... the court magician/researcher (co intrium ruler with Stan too) and Stan’s still kinda like a showman in dealing with the people of the kingdom lol

So the Crystal Gems here are basically the same as usual, still magical aliens and whatnot who have basically lived in the kingdom for ages and have vowed to protect it (and its royal family) from harm

So of course, they’re on great terms with the Pines and Rose usually acts as their head knight for the king or whatever, but since she gave up her form to have a kid with Greg (who here is like, a court minstrel/musician or something), that role is to fall to Steven instead

So the Gems train Steven and Connie to both serve as knights to the royal family (Connie’s parents have some apprehension about this, but imo the girl is way too headstrong to not train to be a knight lol) 

When the pair is finally deemed “ready” enough, the CGs present them to the royal family so they can properly serve the prince and princess; of course Mabel’s excited about having what she initially thinks will be a ‘strong handsome knight” all her own, but Dipper, being eternally stubborn, doesn’t think he needs a knight to watch over him all the time

Of course he quickly changes his tune when he meets Steven (whose assigned to him) for the first time and its like... goddamn love and first sight on both ends and these boys are bashful and blushy as hell and its CUTE and GAY

At the same time, Connie’s assigned to serve as Mabel’s knight and Mabel is fucking HYPE when she meets Connie, cause like??? A guy knight is one thing, but a girl knight is even COOLER! So they hit it off just as well lol (did I mention there’s Conbel in here too? Cause there is ;P) 

So yeah the twins both immediately love their new knights and spend a ton of time with them and imo what else happens when you get all four Mystery Kids together than they get themselves into fucking trouble

Instead of attending to any sort of royal duties, they basically go hang out in the woods, finding magical creatures and stuff and being kids and having fun and falling in love and stuff

Of course, they kinda do catch some flack from the adults from this, for a number of reasons (mainly the twins gotta do royal stuff and not fool around with their knights while Steven and Connie gotta actually, ya know, be knights and not friends/lovers to the twins lol)

Still, that doesn’t fucking stop them

See, Steven’s great at the “protect” part of being a knight, but not so great at the “attack” part so when Dipper notices this he’s like “well why don’t I learn how to fight so we can protect each other?” and he basically has Connie teach him how to swordfight (without Stan or Ford or any of the Gems finding out lol) 

On the other end of things, Mabel probably teaches Connie (who’s kinda a little uptight in this AU because of her strict training) how to cut loose and have fun lol (Steven basically does the same thing for Dipper, who’s all beleaguered thanks to being a prince and whatnot)

So its all cute and good and gay and eventually Stan, Ford, and the Gems come around and let the kids have their fun and relationships just as long as they attend to their responsibilities and stuff

As for other stuff in this AU, I suppose Bill and Homeworld would still be threats, probably in not too dissimilar of a way as they are in UF itself

And imo that’s about all I got in mind for this one at the moment but I kinda wanna write or draw somethin for it eventually cause I’m garbage for this ship and can’t resist it

If you have something you wanna add onto this one, feel free to ^_^

[advocatewrites-blog]

Into the Unknown Part 4 Chapter 1

Into the Unknown

Fandom: Undertale, Coraline (book), Over the Garden Wall, Paranorman, Gravity Falls (season 2)

Characters: Frisk, Norman B., Dipper P., Mabel P., Coraline J., Wirt, Greg, the Cat, the Frog; Sans, Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore,; the Other Mother, the Beast, Agatha P., Bill Cipher, Asriel D., Chara D.,

Pairings: Not the focus. Alphys/Undyne, with mentions of Papyrus/Mettaton, sans/Toriel/Asgore, and Wirt/Sara. Due to the nature of Undertale and the dating segments, there is also interpretable Papyrus/Wirt, Undyne/Mabel, Alphys/Dipper, Napstablook/Norman, Mettaton/Norman, Mettaton/Mabel, Sans/Dipper, Sans/Norman, and Sans/Greg.

Rated a high +K for violence, mild language, horrific elements that may be disturbing to younger readers,  mentions of child abuse and bullying, character death that is sometimes permanent, and mentions of suicide that may be triggering. These elements remain relatively unchanged from their source material, which most all are for children, but discretion is advised nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Undertale was created and owned by Toby Fox. Coraline was created by Neil Gaiman and owned by Bloomsbury and Laika. Over the Garden Wall was created by Patrick McHale and owned by Cartoon Network. Paranorman was created by Sam Fell and Chris Butler and owned by Laika. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and owned by Disney. Any other work mentioned or homage are property of their respective owners. This is a fan-made, nonprofit work that only seeks to entertain. Please support the original franchises.

“so I’m a sentry in snowdin forest, right? I sit out there and I watch for humans. it’s kind of boring. fortunately, in the forest, there’s this HUGE locked door. and it’s perfect for practicing knock-knock jokes. so one day, I’m knocking ‘em out, like usual. I knock on the door and say ‘knock knock’. and suddenly, from the other side…I hear a woman’s voice.

“‘who is there?’ so, naturally, I respond. ‘dishes.’ ‘dishes who?’ ‘dishes is a very bad joke.’ Then she just howls with laughter. like it’s the best joke she’s heard in a hundred years. so I keep ‘em coming, and she keeps laughing. she’s the best audience I’ve ever had. then, after a dozen of ‘em, SHE knocks and says ‘Knock knock!’ I say, ‘whos there?’ ‘old lady!’ ‘old lady who?’ ‘Oh! I did not know you could yodel!’

“wow. needless to say, this woman was extremely good. we kept telling each other jokes for hours. eventually, I had to leave. Papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. but she told me to come by again, and so I did. then I did again. it’s kind of a thing now.”

The human is still listening, eyes wide and mouth full of burg. Its LV is at 5, meaning it’s still definitely a murderer. But it’s hard to remember that after seeing it pass through the puzzles his bro set up with a smile on its face, watch it engage with them. Watch it Spare.

“one day, though, I notice she wasn’t laughing as much. I asked her what was up. then she told me something strange. ‘if a human ever comes through this door…could you please, please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?’ now, I hate making promises. and this woman, I don’t even know her name. but, someone who sincerely loves bad jokes…has an integrity you can’t say no to.”

He doesn’t know what he’s thinking. He can’t shake the boat in a meaningful way; everything is on a schedule, and nothing he does changes. But he has to know.

“do you get what I’m saying? That promise I made to her…do you know what would have happened if she hadn’t said anything? buddy…

You’d be dead where you stand.”

He didn’t mean to speak so forcefully; slip out of his font and use the tone he uses when he Judges. But the effect is immediate. The human’s eyes widen in fear and it runs still.

In a way, that’s all the answer he needs.

But then it starts crying. The other occupants of Grillby’s start to look at them, and he squirms under the attention. It raises its hands and starts to move them. It’s crude Hands, not helped by how much it’s trembling. He manages to get most of it.

Didn’t mean—accident—thought she would stop—didn’t know—not me—not myself--

How old was this kid anyway? It’s shorter than he is, and that’s saying something. Their hands shake too much and there are bruises on their legs and under their sweater. Old enough to kill? You don’t commit genocide on accident, but if they were half as upset about it then as they were now…

What did they mean by not myself?

I’ll fix, they sign. I’ll go back and save her. I promise.

*RESET

He sees it that time. The world stops. He watches it move backwards, like someone were rewinding a tape.

sans wakes up in his bed, like he always does. Usually, it takes him a long time to gather up the energy to restart the timeline again. He’ll lie in bed until Papyrus wakes him up and demands he go to work, and sometimes after that. This time, however, he jumps out of bed and makes some corrections to his notebook.

don’t trust them

Four are the Stars An Undertale/Gravity Falls crossover By the Poor Sap Advocate

Chapter 1

“How’d you think we ended up down here?” Dipper asked as he looked around.

“We fell, of course,” said Mabel, who was in the middle of making herself a daisy chain out of the more squished golden flowers. She gestured upwards, where just the faintest glint of blue skies and sunlight could be seen.

“Do you remember falling down somewhere?”

“Nope!”

“I don’t remember Gravity Falls having any mountains big enough for…this,” said Dipper.

He tried thinking back to what happened. He remembered Mabel was planning a party for the reopening of the Mystery Shack, they were hanging out in the gift shop…flashes of red and blue…then nothing.

“And how are these flowers growing, anyway? There’s like no sunlight down here!”

Mabel looked back down at her daisy chain in confusion.

“Do you still have your grappling hook?” Dipper asked. “Maybe we can—”

Mabel was in the air before he could even finish that sentence. She loved using the grappling hook, especially when she had a legitimate reason to use it.

Mabel scaled upward towards the highest ridge of the cliff. She grabbed onto the ridge with one hand, then jumped as she tried to grab the ledge above. Her hand stop on the sky. There was a loud booming noise, as though someone has struck a gong. The sky began to ripple like waves in a lake.

Mabel tumbled back down onto the golden flowers.

“MABEL!”

“What was that?” Mabel said as she sat back up, as though nothing had happened. “It feels like I just ran into a wall.”

Dipper’s mind started racing. There was something at the top of the mountain, something not normal. More Gravity Falls weirdness to investigate.

He took another look at Mabel and the distance she fell, and decided he would investigate it once they were looking down at it again.

“There’s a cave this way,” said Dipper. “We can probably hike our way down from here and see if there’s another entrance that’s not blocked by paranormal entities.”

Mabel pulled herself off the ground and dusted herself off.  “You lead the way, bro!”

She had a new sweater on, a blue and violet striped design with a red heart in the middle. And for some reason, it felt very familiar to Dipper.

Frisk found themselves in the woods once again.

It was not the Unknown again, they put together quickly. It felt too…different. In fact, if it weren’t for the heat and the sun above, they could have thought they had made it back to the forests in Snowdin. It felt like magic was in the air.

Another thing different from the Unknown was how quickly they were able to find humans. And how many there were in one place. The sounds of crowds and traffic were audible within seconds, and they wandered towards its source.

It was hard to describe what they found. It was less of a house and more of a hovel.

“Alright, step right this way! The first tour of the new and improved Mystery Shack!”

The Cat wouldn’t be able to find them for a while. They could kill time, at least. Frisk wandered into the group and hid behind legs.

They were actually surprised that they were found so quickly. The Mystery Man leaned close to them, one eye inspecting them closely.

“Don’t think I didn’t see ya sneak in, kid,” he said. “Your parents in this group?”

They shook their head and shrugged.

“You gonna pay your way in yourself?”

They had to dig through their pockets a bit, but they managed to find a gold coin from the Underground and handed it to him. What shock he had that a child was carrying gold wore off on him quickly. He inspected it carefully, even going so far as to biting on it, before deciding he was satisfied and turned back to them.

“I don’t see too many kids with solid gold on them,” said the Mystery Man.

Frisk responded by giving him another gold coin.

“Good answer! Right this way, kid!”

Dipper took a step, and fell through the floor.

This was about the fourth time he had done that, and frankly it stopped being funny after the second. Mabel propped herself up on the pedestal and waited for him to come back.

“Hey, Froggit, you’re looking good today!” She called.

The Froggit in question gave an embarrassed burble, dropped a few gold coins, and hopped on its way.

“Why do they have so many puzzles leading up to their house?” Dipper asked as he emerged from the vent system.

“Maybe it’s a monster thing,” said Mabel. “Did the journal have anything about a kingdom of monsters?”

“Not that I remember,” said Dipper. “I just wish Grunkle Stan had given the journal back before all this happened.”

He took another step, and fell through.

Mabel took a bite out of the spider doughnut.

“Ew…crunchy…”

Dipper tumbled back upstairs.

“No journal’s gonna make you good at puzzles, bro,” said Mabel.

“The answer’s down there,” said Dipper. “I just can’t remember it all the way. Here’s another question: why would monsters have puzzles that are so easy to solve?”

“Maybe they’re just waiting for a stupid enough human to solve them,”

“They wouldn’t be waiting for human down here.”

“Toriel was.”

“And you trust her?”

“What?” Mabel asked. “She’s a delightful goat mother, how suspicious can you be of her?”

“I’m just saying,” said Dipper. “We’re stuck in the land of monsters, you were literally bounced off a shield preventing us from escaping, I almost got killed by a flower, and there’s this nice old goat woman who wants us to be her children.”

“You’re just being over-suspicious. She’s perfectly fine!”

“There is something I must do,” said Toriel. “Please stay here.”

She put her book down and made a beeline for the staircase. Dipper’s blood ran cold.

“…perfectly fine….” Said Mabel.

“We’re going,” said Dipper, already running to catch up with Toriel.

“That was a pretty cool snail fact though!”

It was hard to describe the Mystery Shack. If Frisk had to, they would say it was not worth the 2G. The decorations were fake; some insulting so, and some just insulting. The real mystery of the mystery shack was how readily everyone bought it.

They exited through the gift shop, fitting considering the rest of the tour, bought a map of the area with what gold they had left, and returned to the woods.

They had hiked through the forest long enough that they were decently hidden when it started to get dark. The Mystery Man may have taken their gold, but it was unlikely that anyone else would.

There was still no sign of the Cat.

Once they found a clearing far enough away that they wouldn’t be spotted, they curled in on themselves and fell asleep.

They were only asleep for about an hour when they woke up to the sounds of the Cat’s low growl.

He stood in front of them, ready to pounce. His eyes were focused on the bush in front of him, so much so that Frisk wondered if he could even see them. When they shifted and waved at him, he jumped into the bushes.

A very human-sounding voice screamed out.

It took Frisk a few tries of trying to grab him and pulling his tail to get the Cat to withdraw from the bush. Something was in its mouth. No...someone.  They were humanoid, barely the length of Frisk’s arm. Most of their hair was tucked under a red cone of a hat.

It was some kind of monster, Frisk realized. A gnome, if they had to guess.

Frisk looked to the Cat disapprovingly. The Cat rolled its eyes, but put the gnome down all the same.

The gnome didn’t respond. It ran past before Frisk could ask it any more questions.

The Cat said something, complaining about the gnomes trying to capture him and ride him into battle, but Frisk was only half paying attention. There was magic in these woods.

Author’s Note:

[jenhedgehog]

A New Addition To The Family - A Lapidot Fanfic

Chapter Five – “What’s a Candle?”

A couple of weeks after Dr. Maheswaran had given Lapis a successful check-up, life was continuing to go swimmingly at the barn.

 On the doctor’s advice, Peridot was now wearing her limb enhancers almost constantly – and had used her newfound energy to make some slight changes to the barn’s layout.  She had moved the television set from out of the truck, and put in onto a stand next to the bed.  She had also taken the old sofa from up in the barn’s rafters and placed this in front of the TV set, so that she and Lapis could sit together and watch their favourite show without the Ocean Gem having to exert herself to get up inside the truck; after all, Lapis was now almost two months into her pregnancy and it was beginning to really show.  Peridot estimated that she must be around two-thirds of the way through now, and absolutely insisted that her girlfriend continued to take things very carefully indeed.

 With some help from Greg, Peridot had also installed a refrigerator and a food cupboard in the barn.  Lapis was acutely aware of the doctor’s advice of “three meals a day”, and this is something that Peridot was helping her with.

 Amethyst was also of assistance – gleefully introducing Lapis to lots of different types of food.  Peridot was unsure about the nutritional value of certain of the food items at times (“Are you sure that these... donuts... are healthy?”), but appreciated the help nonetheless. Lapis was enjoying herself too, and that was the most important thing to the small green Gem.

 The barn also had a toaster now... and Peridot went hurrying over to it as two slices of bread pinged forth from its top.  She smiled to herself as she grabbed a plate and began buttering the toast, before putting it onto a tray and taking it over to her girlfriend, who was just waking up.

 “Good morning, Lapis!” Peridot said brightly, “I brought you some breakfast!”

 “Oh, thanks Peridot!” Lapis beamed as she took the tray from her girlfriend and began to nibble on one of the slices of toast that had been prepared for her.  She got a few crumbs on the bedsheets, much to Pumpkin’s delight – the little orange veggie leapt up onto the bed and helped herself to them.

 Peridot chuckled while she watched Pumpkin eagerly running around on the bed beneath Lapis’ plate.  The technician then sat down on the sofa and brought up her limb enhancers’ built-in screen.  

 Now that she had the fridge and the means for cooking food (thanks to the engine-powered stove that she and Pearl had rigged up together some time ago), she and Lapis had been making meals together.  Today, however, Peridot wanted to cook a meal by herself; for Lapis.  After doing some research, she’d found out about the romantic tradition of a “candlelit dinner” and was eager to prepare something like this for her beloved Ocean Gem. She was scuppered, though, by one small detail...

 With a sigh and a furrowed brow, she typed into Google, “What’s a candle?”

 “I see...” she murmured to herself as she scrolled through the website that had been brought up by the search engine.

 “What’s that, Dot?” Lapis called through a mouthful of toast.

 The green Gem jumped in alarm and quickly lowered the screen, “N-nothing, Lapis!  Nothing...” She wanted to keep the meal as a surprise, for now.

 “I’m just going to make a quick video call, I won’t be long” she continued as she got up from the sofa and made her way outside. Once there, she used her limb enhancers to call Steven.  When the young boy answered, Peridot immediately asked to speak to Amethyst...

 “Yo, P-Dot!” the small quartz called out from the floating green screen, “What’s up?”

 “Hi, Amethyst,” Peridot replied, “I need to ask a small favour.”

 “No problem!  What can I do for ya?” she asked with a grin.

 “Well...”

 ---

 A few hours later, Peridot heard the familiar zing of the nearby warp pad being activated. She looked over as her friend materialised – carrying a bag full of food and candles.

 “It’s all here, dude,” Amethyst cheerfully told the technician, “Let me know how it all goes down!”

 “I will do, Amethyst!” Peridot said with a nod as she took the bag, “Thanks a lot for your help.”

 “Any time, sis!” Amethyst answered, “But I’m gonna make a quick getaway now before Lapis gets suspicious.”

 The purple quartz hopped back onto the warp pad and waved to Peridot.

 “Later, Dot!  And good luck with everything tonight!” she said with a grin and a wink, just before her form disappeared in a flash of bright light.

 ---

 The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, washing the landscape with a warm orange hue.  Peridot was sat in the sofa again while Lapis napped peacefully on the bed next to her.  The technician was poring over videos on her tablet, flicking between them, trying to find just the right one...

 She glanced up and noticed that Lapis was beginning to stir.  With a huge smile, she put the tablet down and ran over to the side of the bed.

 “Hi, Peridot,” a groggy Lapis murmured to her girlfriend as she rubbed her eyes.

 “Did you sleep well, Laz?” Peridot eagerly asked her. Lapis nodded in reply before stretching – and letting out a huge yawn.

 “I, um...” Peridot began with hesitation, before deciding to just blurt out what she wanted to say, “I’m going to cook a romantic candlelit dinner for you tonight!”

 Lapis snorted, “Is this another one of those human rituals that you’ve been reading up on?  Like... what was it... marriage?  And dating?”

 “Yep!” the green Gem gleefully replied while grinning at her girlfriend.

 “That’s really sweet of you, Peri” Lapis said with a warm smile, “Do you need me to help at all, though?”

 “No, it’s fine, I want to do this for you!”

 ---

 Peridot took the ingredients that Amethyst had bought for her and laid them all out neatly across the work surface that she’d made, alongside some freshly-picked vegetables from the field.  The technician held out her tablet and then let go of it, allowing it to hover in place using her ferrokinesis.  She traced one of her limb enhancers’ floating fingers across the screen, loading up the cooking tutorial video that she’d decided to use.

 She looked over to the barn, making sure that Pumpkin was nowhere in sight, before picking up a knife and beginning to chop the vegetables.

 ---

 Peridot prepared the table as the meal neared the end of its cooking time.  She had draped a nice, new tablecloth over it and adorned it with several lit candles. They provided a subdued level of luminosity along with the moonlight that was now beaming down on the barn, creating just the kind of atmosphere that Peridot had hoped for.  

 Once the meal was prepared and served, the technician went back inside to fetch her girlfriend.

 “Peri, this looks amazing!” exclaimed Lapis after taking a seat at the table, looking joyfully at the feast of food that had been lovingly prepared for her.

 “Wow, thanks!” came Peridot’s reply.  The green Gem grabbed a seat and sat down next to Lapis.

 As the Ocean Gem tucked in to her meal, she couldn’t help but notice something – Peridot seemed to be very nervous.

 “Are you ok, Dot?” she asked, looking over at the green Gem.

 “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Peridot answered with a small chuckle.  She discreetly resumed reading something that she’d scrawled on a piece of paper, over and over again as she held it out of Lapis’ line of sight underneath the table. She was also carefully keeping an eye on Lapis, to see how far she’d got through her dinner.

 The Ocean Gem finished her meal and set down her cutlery. She opened her mouth to thank Peridot for all her hard work, but the technician did something that completely caught Lapis off-guard; for Peridot had reached over the table and taken Lapis’ hands in her own.

 “Peridot...?” breathed Lapis as she gazed across at her now-blushing girlfriend.

 “Lapis, I, uh...” Peridot cleared her throat before glancing down at the piece of paper that was now in her lap, and continuing on.

 “Lapis, I... I love you,” she said softly, “I really love you.  You’re perfect in every conceivable way and I enjoy every moment that I spend in your company, more than I can verbally express.  You’re the Percy to my Pierre, the meep to my morp.  I would be incomplete without you, and... I’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity by your side.”

 She slid out of her seat, still keeping hold of one of Lapis’ slender hands as the blue Gem looked on in wide-eyed awe.

 Peridot dropped down onto one knee.  She retrieved a small box from underneath the table with her free hand and flicked it open – revealing a slim gold ring inside.

 Blushing furiously, she looked up at Lapis.

 “Lapis Lazuli, will you marry me?”

[britishchick09]

sherlock s2 ep 2 livewatch

after seeing so many sherlock posts on my dash today, i’m in the mood for some johnlock! and what better way to get that than with one of the most iconic stories? :D

fun fact before i pop the dvd in: in samantha’s first mystery, ‘the curse of ravenscourt’, she reads the original ‘hounds of baskerville’ book! :D

YAS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY YYYYAAAASSSS!!!!!! :D

also i love how my dad put ‘series II’ instead of ‘series two’ or series 2′. classy! ;)

masterpiece yaaasssss :D

aand we just jump right in with DOG REDRUM >:)

DRAMATIC INTRO YAASS!!!!!

yo lockie civil war wut?

john: “you went on the tube like that?” why did he go on the tube like that

john: “another photo of you with the-“ sherlock: *BIG SIGH*

sherlock: “nothing of importance... OH GOD!!!!!” LOCKIE IS P-I-DOUBLE S- ED YO!

sherlock: “i need some, get me some!” john: *plays john lennon’s ‘cold turkey’ at full blast* lol this didn’t happen but i wish it did :D

NO LOCKIE DON’T CALL FOR MRS. HUDSON SHE’S YOUR NOT HOUSEKEEPER NOT YOUR NOT DRUG DEALER

lockie be like ‘Y E E T !”

john: ‘you’re doing great, don’t give up now!” THE TONE IN HIS VOICE LOL :D

mrs. hudson: “yoo-hoo!” big tea blowout, yah? :D

they just played the racist ‘oriental’ tune from ep 2 ugh :/

omg DID SHERLOCK JUST MAKE MRS. HUDSON CRY??

sherlock: “I NEED A CASE!!!!” oh so it’s not drugs?

someone needs to find a bunny awww :)

sherlock: “this is brilliant call lestrade” i think this is a stuffed bunny AND THAT’S SO CUTE!!!!

samsung THAT BE THE BRAND OF MY MONITOR AND TV!! :D

he’s twitching his fingers cute lockie ♥

welcome to dateline nbc!

OMG HE’S ACTUALLY AT THE FLAT :D

henry: “i was just about to say it on the-” sherlock: “i prefer to do my own editing” same :D

geez the dog redrum was his dad violently killed geez :?

john: “did you see the devil that night?” i think you mean cujo ;)

ew cujo tore the dad apart :(

cujo’s a genetic experiment according to sherlock woah :o

wowza that was 20 years ago :o

of course sherlock knows everything that’s happened to this guy earlier!

sherlock: “please smoke mr. knight, i’d be delighted” you can join the smoking guy i saw outside of cvs yesterday ;)

sherlock: “i’ve been cooped up for ages!” covid quarantine who

i love how sherlock infodumps about people it’s so cool :D

henry: “how did you know that so fast?” sherlock: “it’s my job, now shut up and smoke” ...daaaang :o

john: *is asking henry questions* sherlock: *SNIIIIIIFFFF* yo what up lockie O_o

woah henry has to ‘face his demons’ :o

sherlock: “if i wanted to read poetry, i’d read john’s emails to his girlfriends” OHHHHH

but what about emails to lockie? ;)

sherlock: “bor-ing! goodbye mr. knight, thanks for smoking” lol :D

henry: “they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” masterpiece trailer moment! :D

sherlock: “repeat those words exactly as you said them a moment ago” he wants it for the trailer

he didn’t say them exactly as he said them a moment ago :/

awww john is sherlock’s ‘best man’! ♥♥♥♥♥

AND LOCKIE’S TAKING ON THE STUFFED BUNNY CASE AWWWW!!!!! :D

sherlock: “a monstrous hound, i wouldn’t miss it for the world!” says the guy taking a different case

frozen 2 much?

john has a jeep how very army of you sir

i paused this at just the right moment ;)

henry tells his therapist he’s been seeing ‘liberty’ and ‘in’... liberty in the hound?

hotel guy: “it’ll be a double room for you boys” john: “that’s fine, we’re not-”

p

he knows ;)

OMG ISN’T THAT THE GAY INNKEEPER??? :o

the innkeeper’s accent is cool B)

sherlock’s talking to a shepard fairey guy woah :o

p

a smiley little lockie!!!! ♥♥♥♥

sherlock bet this guy 50 quid that sounds like a lot!

p

:/

p

aww he gave a little snort! :)

sherlock: “ooh, is it haunted?” his sarcastic soft voice tho :D

guy: “he said i’ve seen things i’ve never seen again” like henry! :o

guy: “rats as big as dogs and dogs the size of horses” oh noes

so when is that bunny thing showing up?

they just snuck in as mycroft SHERLOCK WHY

p

a good ol’ salute! :D

p

another johnlock screenshot ft antiques roadshow! ;)

p

JESUS CHRISTMAS MONKEY

the corporal guy is so nice! :)

p

ooh word wall! :o

p

a sarcastic happy lock!

dr lady: “i have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies...” wut

p

THERE’S THE BUNNY!!!!! :D

it glowed in the dark! :o

john: “did we break into a military base just to investigate a rabbit?” indeed you did ;)

p

OH SNAP MYCROFT :o

he’s like ‘ugh what’s my little pesky bro doing now?’

sherlock: “23 minutes, mycroft’s getting slow” lol :D

oh no the major looks crankyyy :o

OMG WHY ARE THE LIGHTS FLICKERING

the dr guy thinks sherlock is mycroft!

sherlock just goes with it lol :D

p

someone’s not convinny....

the dr knew it was sherlock the whole time! :o

he’s read the blog! and he wants sherlock to wear the hat lol

the dr guy likes ‘the pink thing’ ;)

dr guy: “i’d love to tell you what i do, but i’d have to kill you!” sarcastic yet >:)

p

that’s a look of luv bby ♥

john: “don’t be all mysterious with your... cheekbones and turning your coat collar up so you look cool” cheekbones?

sherlock: “i don’t do that” john: “yeah you do!” yeah lockie you kind of do...

p

happy john! :)

sherlock says the mystery words are liberty in death! :o

his plan is to go out at night and john’s like ‘that’s not a plan’ lol

p

squinty smile!!!! ♥

p

sherlock 2 NOW

a kid scream just played twice in a few seconds... transition perhaps?

i’ve always thought sherlock was darkly lit, but night takes it to a whole new level! :o

bird tweet!

maybe the scream is actually a weird bird idk

p

ooh a code!

john whispering ‘sherlock!’ over and over ♥

henry after sherlock mentions his parents: “look at you and john” ;)

OMG IS THAT CUJO

p

cujo see you... ;)

sherlock claims to not have seen cujo BOI HE WAS RIGHT THERE

p

two bros sitting by the fireplace, five feet apart ‘cause they’re not gay!

john: “i guess it’s morse” boi that was definitely morse

oh no sherlock heavy breathing?

john: “maybe we should just look for whoever has a big dog” lol :D

sherlock: “i saw it... i saw it too... i saw it too, john!”

john’s the rational one AND SHERLOCK SAW A RATIONAL HOUND BOI

sherlock: “look at me john, i’m afraid... i’m afraid!” :(

did john just call him ‘spock’

aww john wants lockie to take it easy ♥

sherlock: “there’s nothing wrong with me!” that shaky breath tells otherwise...

sherlock nervously infodumping although there’s ‘nothing wrong with me’ shows that there’s something wrong with him! poor bby :(

john: “i use my senses unlike other people” ooh sick burn lockie B)

john: “why won’t you listen to me? i’m your friend!” sherlock: “i don’t have friends!” john: “no... wonder why” aww :(

p

ooh johnny carson :o

p

OMG WAS SOMEONE DOING IT IN THE CAR WTF???

john: “...oh god.” same john same

p

nice blackberry john ;)

henry’s watching home movies and the lights are suddenly way bright! :o

HENRY JUMPSCARE!!!!

he’s so freaked out poor guy :(

p

ooh john’s on a date!

he’s talking to henry’s therapist so maybe it’s not?

john: “i have another friend who might be having the same problem” aww it’s lockie :(

franklin: “don’t you read the blog?” we all read the blog ;)

therapist: “sherlock who?” HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW SHERLOCK FLIPPING HOLMES???

franklin: “this is his p.a” john: “p.a?” franklin: “live in p.a” therapist: “live in...” ;)

p

eyyy reusing the same shot but with john digitally removed ;D

p

lockie’s so happy to see henry! :D

p

coffeelock! :D

john: “funny doesn’t suit you, let’s stick to ice” yep!

sherlock wasn’t afraid of the hound... he was afraid of his doubts! :o

john’s not too convinced...

sherlock: “i don’t have friends” you have- “i just have one” AWWWWW HE HAS JOHN!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

john: “...right” thanks for making it akward bud

sherlock: “john! you are amazing, fantastic-” john: “don’t overdo it” :)

p

cool font ;)

LESTRADE IS HERE!!!!

sherlock: “is that why you call yourself greg!” john: “...that’s his name” lol :D

john: “scary inspector from scotland yard could put in a few calls...” lol :D

sherlock apologized to john with coffee aww ♥

IT’S THE GAY INKEEPERS YAS!!! :D

p

that smirk tho ;)

wait the hound is dead?

omg sherlock has asbergers! :o

lockie saw a glowing superdog huh

p

sherlock: “hello brother dear! how aaare you?” lol his sarcastically sweet tone :D

and john’s look tho!

henry jumpscare!!!

man that one scared him so much poor guy!

john’s sneaking around ;)

brightening sherlock screencaps be like:

p

also why isn’t the show lit closer to something like this all the time

john muttering: “what the fu ‘ell” OMG JOHN BASICALLY SWORE :o

now it’s super dark!!!

OMG MONKEY SCREECH JUMPSCARE

john swiping the card over and over is like my dad trying to get his debit card to work at the store

or like that thing john did at his own grocery store ;)

john’s breathing heavy just like lockie.... :(

OH CRAP CUJO GROWL

RUN JOHN RUNNN!!!!!!!!

cujo’s out there

john just made a noise that sounded like that puffy fish eating a carrot :o

john to phone sherlock: “it’s in here with me..” OH CRAP HIDE IN A CAR FOR A MILLION HOURS

john’s whisper squeaked awww :(

sherlock wants john to keep talking awww :(

john doesn’t know what he sees but he’s scared af

AND HE CAN’T SEE CUJO

p

super sherlock!! :D

p

awww he was hunkered in a cage poor guy! :(

john: “jeeesus i saw the hound! it was here sherlock it was here!!! did you see it you must’ve seen it-” sherlock: “it’s okay john-“ john: “NNNOOOO IT’S NOT!!!!! IT’S NOT OKAY, I SAW IT, I WAS WRONG!!!” OMG JOHN :o

wait now sherlock’s denying what he and john saw wut

...they’ve been drugged?

is cujo just drugs?

dr lady: “are you okay? you look very peaking...” very what now

oh so it was a real bunny? when i was researching a sherlock return, i saw a website saying sherlock went through london for a stuffed one what was that about

what if cujo’s real and not a drug hmm lockie?

the drugs were in sugar?

OMG WHAT IF SMOKING IS THE DRUGS???

sherlock needs to go to his mind palace YAS!!!!! :D

oh no is this the cringe mind palace clip on tumblr

p

OH DEAR BLOODY GOD NO HELL IT IS

p

change the font I’M BEGGING YOU CHANGE THE BASIC AF FONT

p

elvis?

good it’s over!

henry’s running from the cujo drug!

oh no there’s a lady crying!

DID HENRY HURT THE LADY????

ooh it’s project h.o.u.n.d in liberty indiana? why would a cia project in the us be in the uk?

ew henry has 5 biographies of margaret thatcher :/

p

first off what pretty eyes! and the hound is names!

h.o.u.n.d was hidden in 1986... courtney did moore than reagan ;)

20 years ago for them is 1992 but the drug was hidden in ‘86 so lockie’s probably not being specific since it’s 2012 there and not 2006

the dr guy is american because he says ‘cell phone’?

oh no henry’s missing! :o

HE HAS A GUN WTF

did smol henry take the drug before ‘86 and hallucinated his dad’s death?

OMG HENRY DOESN’T KNOW ANYMORE

a man murdered his dad!

the guy sounds like darth vader :o

awww john’s comforting henry but it’s too dark to see :)

man henry’s so messed up poor guy!!! :(

lestrade: “oh my god! oh christ!” lol :D

oh no is henry reliving the murder?

the drug is in the fog!!!!!

THE DRUG IS IN THE FOG!!!!!

OMG THEY’RE SHOOTING AN INNOCENT DOG BECAUSE OF THE FOG DRUG

HENRY SCREAMING NO :(

RUN FRANKLIN RUN!!!

frankin’s down!

p

OMG DID HE DIE????

p

domestic eating right after that!

also why does sherlock never eat :(

did sherlock just say ‘is this ketchup brown’

sherlock put the drug in john’s sugar and locked him in for an experiment BOI

that explains why he appeared so fast...

p

flashback! with that face HE BEEN KNEW

i think there’s an s4 thing where lockie plants a bomb or something and laughs at john so this is unfortunately a thing :/

sherlock: “won’t happen again” WHAT DID I JUS SAY

sherlock: “you’ll be fine once you’ve excreted it” ...ew

john: “i think i’ve already taken care of it” EW

p

omg so many sherlocks

p

spooky...

is that moiarty setting up for the fall next ep?

p

and it ends with only the winky man knowing...

this was a very suspenseful ep! there were so many heartstopping moments and cujo being a drug was really clever. i can see why samantha liked reading the original book!

[lattetimes]

So How About Them New Episodes, Ammirite Ladies??

here’s what i thought of the new episodes via live reactions as i watching them!

overall, it was kinda underwhelming but there were parts that i really did like! and if you liked these episodes, that’s awesome!

MAYOR DEWEY WINS

was this title a reference to the movie/book John Dies at the End, cause if so then i’m shocked i caught that

apparently it is, would you look at that. btw i kinda liked the movie.

damn, Sadie took this hard. and Steven never told Lars’ parents. so i guess Sadie has to do that herself.

why tf does Steven care if Dewey wins?!

OH, IT’S BECAUSE HE DON’T WANT SHIT TO CHANGE AND HE THINKS HAVING A NEW MAYOR WOULD BE BAD WTF DEWEY DOES NOTHING

ok wow, there’s only 24 people in Beach City and he never noticed that Lars was gone!?

“is that why the donut shop was closed?”

“we’ll hire a new donut boy!” DEWEY. DUDE. ARE YOU FOR REAL?!

“high school mayor” lmao

how did he run unopposed for 10 years!?

LARS’ MOM KEEPS A SHITTON OF TOMATOES IN HER PURSE SHE READY TO THROW DOWN ALL THE TIME

i don’t like that Steven is so adamant on Dewey winning.

jesus, Steven, let Nanefua win. she’s obviously the better person for the job

“i’m done pointing my finger at you, and now i direct all my fingers on both my hands to the citizens” top 10 anime deaths

NANEFUA WINS, OH MY GOD YES

STEVEN, DUDE, REALLY?! LEAVE CONNIE ALONE!

“i don’t know what you’re talking about, but i need to get a new job” 2018 mood tbh

episode rating: 2 tomatoes out of 5. i can’t stand Steven in this episode at all. but hey, NANEFUA WON!!!!!!

RAISING THE BARN

....was Lapis’ main concern that Steven dropped his phone on Homeworld? not the fact that he was... idk... ON HOMEWORLD?!

ok Lapis is ready to bail immediately and tbh i dont blame her

did she just uproot the entire bard wtf?! 

BARN THE DIAMONDS, BARN THE DIAMONDS, BARN THE DIAMONDS!

episode rating: 1.5 barns out of 5. BARN THE DIAMONDS, BARN THE DIAMONDS, BARN THE DIAMONDS!

GEMCATION

^ mfw Amethyst basically spat an egg out her mouth (it was kinda gross)

well. Greg got some kinda house.... still don’t get why the crew is so against having Greg get a house

also, where’s Peridot?

“remove all shoes before entering” Pearl fucking THROWS A RANDOM ASS PAIR OF SHOES

OKAY PEARL SCREAMING “PARTY GUY, NO!” WAS ACTUALLY KINDA FUNNY

S H O W M E P A R T Y G U Y Y O U C O W A R D S

“Steven, you should join me. become a raisin” ok Garnet

did. did Steven completely cut Garnet off as she was talking about Pink Diamond and the Gem War with the whole, “yeah, yeah, i get it, Mom. i already heard this story” kinda thing? B R U H that ain’t okay

AND GARNET JUST SHUTS UP AND WAS LIKE “good, you understand”

PEARL WAS GONNA STRAIGHT UP ADMIT TO SOME HUGE THING AFTER HER “THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO EXPLAIN” LINE AND HE CUTS HER OFF WITH “CONNIE HATES ME”

WHY COULDN’T STEVEN AT LEAST TELL THESE FOUR THAT HE WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT CONNIE HATING HIM?!

I’M KINDA GETTING SICK OF SEEING STEVEN MOPE LIKE THIS FOR 3 EPISODES STRAIGHT AND I HOPE HE DOESN’T KEEP THIS UP FOR THE NEXT 2

OH NO, PLEASE DISREGARD ALL OF THE MESSED UP THINGS YOU SAW ON HOMEWORLD CAUSE CONNIE IS (rightfully) UPSET WITH YOU. LARS D I E D.

GUITAR DAD SAVES THE DAY

i love Greg Universe

how would you not notice if you aren’t getting any service on your phone? your phone tells you when you’re getting service or not

bruh you almost made your dad drive off a cliff for you to get phone service

Greg Universe is a ride or die kinda guy

this ending shot is cute, i’ll give you that. 

episode rating: 2 party guys out of 5. Party Guy should’ve bitten Steven’s phone and his shit attitude. also PEARL WTF ARE YOU TELL US ALREADY

BACK TO THE KINDERGARTEN

Connie i miss you

“of the three things i have to do in the sink now, this is the one i least mind you seeing” B R U H

 Peridot listens to country music, this is disgusting

HOLY SHIT AMETHYST IS TOSSIN’ PERIDOT AROUND LIKE SHE WEIGHS NOTHING AND I’M CRACKING UP

“can i bring my music?” “NO.” damn Amethyst you already threw Peri around like she ain’t nothin’, let her bring her music if it’ll help her

aaaay, they’re in the train again!

dang, Peri really loved the barn.

i kinda like that Amethyst is going around trying to figure out which member of the Famethyst came out of which part of the Kindergarten. kinda cute. 

so everything is seriously determined by the nutrition, right down to the style of a Gem’s hair? ...huh. iron deposits determine hair styles.

damn, Peri went with a sucker punch to the gut with her little speech about how Kindergartens kill off life and are just “lifeless husks” once all the Gems are done being formed. and Amethyst feels awful about it, dang.

ok. there’s a flower growin’ in the Kindergarten, and that should technically be impossible due to all of the nutrients in this one area being used up. this could be interesting.

ok, so now the trio is gonna farm & see what happens. ok, ok, i can roll with this i guess.

FARMING MONTAGE

look at them flowers

they proud

don’t make Peri live here

why the flamingo thingy taller than both of them

gods i didn’t need to see Steven happily showering

they’re talking about how the flowers are probs gonna look beautiful i bet they all died, they’re too positive about this. $5 them flowers are dead.

them flowers are dead,

...now they’re arguing, cause Peri blew up on them. alright. this ain’t good.

aaaaaaaaaaaand Peri crushed the original flower that grew here. both Steven & Amethyst made pained whimpers. ok. this ain’t good.

oh it’s a Gem creature- haven’t seen one of those in a while!

IT ATE PERIDOT HOLY FUCK

SMOKEY QUARTZ IS BACK

ngl i like Smokey’s theme music

btw there’s no dialogue from Smokey, just a quick 2 second thing

Peri doesn’t reform with a star on her

ok, that was kinda cute. and having a technician that also likes gardening is cute too

episode rating: 3.5 dead sunflowers outta 5. it was an okay episode & i did like it. 

SADIE KILLER

heh, i get it. cause lady killer.

oh god, that looks bad

WHY IS THAT MOP SO BIG

instead of reading off a long-ass list to the overly worked employee, just hand Sadie the list so she won’t fuck up?

“and a coffee. hold the coffee.” same tbh

oh. he’s in a band with the Cool Kids. WE GET TO SEE THE COOL KIDS!

“...i hope he [Lars] is safe and all, but working all these shifts by myself has been a huge drag” GIRL, LARS DIED IN SPACE AND IS STILL THERE

Steven stealing all the napkins is something i’d do tbh

man, i love the Cool Kids

is my girl Jenny rockin’ the bass? aaaaaaaaaaay!

Sour Cream, what the HECK IS RAP-A-BILLY?

“Doo-doo. Butt. The government corrupts” Buck is the voice of this generation

welcome to EB Games

they... they admitted to following her home from work....

“doo-doo. i think i broke your bed” Buck wtf

also, i guess them watching all of Sadie’s horror movies gave them inspiration to do that weird donut-brain-eating song. weird.

“we are the working dead, and we lurch for minimum wage” same Sadie

......ok, she’s freaking everyone out. and they look uncomfortable. Sadie, seriously stop. they’re concerned.

...she. put lipstick on her eyes.

see, if she wasn’t freakin’ everyone out with this, i’d say this song is a bop. 

ok they’re fine now & thought it was lit ok cool cool cool. i ain’t a big fan of the lyrics tbh, but i do like the song.

 “aww, doo-doo”

ok so Steven’s askin’ for advice on how to write horror-themed songs from Sadie. how about LARS DIED ON HOMEWORLD

SADIE’S ADVICE IS:

LOSE YOUR LIFE TO A BORING JOB

LOSE THE ONE PERSON YOU WERE CLOSE TO

LOSE YOUR MIND WORKIN A TON OF SHIFTS

GIRL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Steven puttin’ Sadie on blast, good lord he just sang an accidental roast tryin’ to sing shit like she does

HE STOLE ALL THE NAPKINS AGAIN

“you can’t help being cute no more than i can help being cool” Buck, you’re a blessing

“yoooooo, what if this is all a dream?” Buck, wtf?

oh. Sadie’s goin’ with them. okay. 

OH. SHE QUIT HER JOB. UM. OKAY?

episode rating: 3 funky riffs out of 5. Buck Dewey is great.

KEVIN PARTY

I DO NOT WANT TO WATCH THIS EPISODE, BUT IMMA DO IT ANYWAY

DIDN’T EVEN START THE EPISODE AND I STILL FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE

let’s just get this over with...

why’d Steven wait this long to track down Lion?!

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, here he is......

gods, i still hate him

stop being gross to kids, leave Steven and Connie alone ya freak

at least he knows they use they/them pronouns. 

how did he find out where Connie is? doesn’t she live far away from Beach City? did he track down these two kids just to “invite” Stevonnie?!

“no one turns down an invitation to a Kevin party” i sure as fuck would

lmao Kevin has an old phone

“your name’s Steven? weird, i thought your name was Clarence” OI, DON’T INSULT CLARENCE LIKE THAT

rude, Steven brought snacks and ya just toss ‘em into the void?

ok. he’s creepily obsessed with Stevonnie cause apparently they make parties and shit like that hella fun. um. stop? being obsessed with kids??

WTF WHY IS LION AT THE PARTY

Connie actually showed up. and had Lion the entire time. that’s. super fucked up. Lion is the ONLY way to get to Lars directly!

and also, there’s TWO KIDS AT A PARTY WITH OLDER PEOPLE?! NO ONE BUT DERRICK QUESTIONS THIS?

Kevin’s gonna try to get them to talk to each other... so they can form Stevonnie... so his party won’t suck...

also, he keeps calling them 7-year-olds........ siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, ok Kevin.

KEVIN YOU IDIOT LET THEM TALK TO EACH OTHER SO HE CAN SAY SORRY DON’T GIVE HIM YOUR “COOL GUY” BULLSHIT

“i need those old people to whisper my name when they die” tbh goals

“who’s Sabina?” Kevin got all red in the face and almost lost his cool

so Kevin’s gonna try to make Steven look like he’s moved on from Connie or some shit. this won’t end well.

NO, NOT DERRICK’S JACKET

now we get a montage of 2 kids being uncomfortable surrounded by older people at a party they should’t be at, ok.

at least Connie looks cute. and she got a haircut! so cute!

NOT CUTE NOT CUTE NOT CUTE

GOD, I HATE KEVIN

Steven, what are you doing?

STEVEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

ok, quick recap cause i didn’t mention this: Kevin thought Steven & Connie were dating, so, Connie only went to the party to see if Steven’s okay and if they could talk. Steven decided to follow Kevin’s advice for some reason, and Connie thinks Steve’s new BFF is Kevin, and Kevin has no concept of what friends are.

so. Connie didn’t text Steven cause she preferred talking face to face about this, and that texting him wasn’t good enough to work out these issues. very fair point. still don’t get why you legit stole Lion from him, but the not texting back thing makes complete sense.

ok, she rode Lion to his house while Steven, Greg & the Gems were away (the episode Gemcation). and that’s when she bumped into Kevin and got the invite. ok. now Kevin is slightly less creepy, but still disgusting nonetheless.

oh, yay! they’re talking it out! and Steven isn’t disregarding Connie’s anger!

yay! they’re friends again!

don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie, don’t form Stevonnie.

LMAO GET FUCKED, KEVIN, THEY AIN’T FORMIN’ STEVONNIE

episode rating: 1 Lion out of 5. least fave episode, tbh. but hey, we got Connie back!

[upalldown]

Run The Jewels - RTJ4

Fourth studio album from the two hip hop heavyweights Killer Mike and El-P featuring guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Zack de la Rocha, DJ Premier, Josh Homme, Greg Nice, Mavis Staples, and Pharrell Williams

11/13

At this time, political rap heroes Run The Jewels and Rage Against the Machine were supposed to be on a break in the middle of their co-headlining international tour, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. Now, in the midst of economic turmoil, a pandemic and altogether uncertainty, the tragic death of Minneapolis’ George Floyd has sparked nationwide protests against police violence.

“Fuck it, why wait.” was the cue written in neon pink letters that signaled RTJ4’s arrival two days early, for free, in standard Run The Jewels fashion. Both the album’s accessibility and message are intended to highlight the ongoing revolution, which is clearly a cause the duo readily supports.

The second single, “ooh la la,” featuring East Coast icons Greg Nice and DJ Premier, which was released back in March, is a mellow, feel-good summer track that served as an ode to old-school New York hip-hop. But in context of the whole album, the song now sounds like the calm before the storm as police sirens blare in the distance while two friends reflect on their fears: El-P reminisces “I used to be munchkin, I wasn’t ‘posed to be nothin’/… I’m afraid of nothin’ but nothingness, ain’t it something?” and Killer Mike breaks the fourth wall in Run The Jewels’ cinematic universe, addressing the impending chaos: “I used to love Bruce, but livin’ my vida loca / Helped me understand I’m probably more of a Joker / When we usher in chaos, just know that we did it smiling / Cannibals on this island, inmates run the asylum.”

El-P’s distinctive production style is evocative of a technological apocalypse, with broken computer parts strewn on the ground and a slight burnt smell lingering in your nose. However, with Run The Jewels, that style takes on a new shape as a rough-and-tumble, hypermasculine, face-punching marathon with distorted bass and clicky percussion. This formula has served the duo well since their inception in 2013: El-P and Killer Mike rapping about the myriad ways in which they can beat you up over beats best suited for a high-speed car chase with guns ablaze. There is no shortage of that vivacity on the equally fun RTJ4, but the dynamic between the two has since settled into something far more mature.

This tonal shift was not accidental. While always politically active both personally and musically, it was not until Run The Jewels 3, released a month after the 2016 presidential election, when their music took a decidedly angrier turn. It was not recorded with the outcome of a Trump presidency in mind, but the album’s references to “masters” and its unadulterated rage was a clairvoyantly perfect reaction for many people.

RTJ4 is no different, looking back on an entire presidential term ahead of the 2020 elections with even more fury and an inadvertent timeliness for current events. While technically the messaging is “unintentional” and “inadvertent” in its relation to our very specific current events, it certainly speaks to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. “And everyday on the evening news they feed you fear for free / And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me,” Killer Mike reflects on “walking in the snow.” “Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper ‘I can’t breathe’/ And you sit there in house on couch and watch it on TV / The most you give’s a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy.” Although referring to Eric Garner’s widely publicized death in 2014 at the hands of a police officer, much of this lyric was echoed in the recent death of George Floyd, who uttered those exact same words as Garner. History repeats itself, and Run The Jewels are simply the messengers.

This is especially true on another album highlight, “JU$T,” which features Pharrell, Zack de la Rocha, minimalist hi-hat beats that dissolve into whispers and manipulated vocal loops that serve as a stage where everyone’s soapboxes get equal time and attention. Killer Mike hopscotches over the beat like the sonic version of a pimp walk as he namedrops pedophiles and marijuana moguls. El-P laces his stuttery flow with literary and philosophical references ranging from Confucius to Kurt Vonnegut. Then, Zack de la Rocha kicks through the door with a dominating presence that makes the postponed RTJ/RATM tour that much more heartbreaking, with his impeccable word choice and enunciation pounding through the speakers: “A clean look, a poet pugilist / A shooter’s view, Zapruder flick / Too rude for ya rudiments / Who convinced you?” Combined with an effortless Pharrell hook, this track feels like a barbershop quartet of street preachers.

El-P’s various abstract thoughts bounce perfectly off of Killer Mike’s more fleshed-out observations, much like the “show your work” motto drilled into elementary school curriculums. Although, in this case, Run The Jewels are bashing you over the head with it. They expertly weave in and out of the recognizable and the undiscovered, which El-P alluded to in a GQ interview where he said, “First of all. . . two dudes who were born in 1975 are not supposed to be allowed to be at the cutting edge of music. We’re not supposed to be allowed to be at the table. It’s supposed to be that all of our influences and all of the things that we came up with and love are supposed to have been replaced by a new group of influences that people are rightfully into cause they’re younger and they didn’t experience the moments that we did.”

RTJ4 serves as a loving ode to the old school more so than on any of their other albums, with the aforementioned Greg Nice and DJ Premier feature, Killer Mike’s references to 2 Live Crew on “never look back” (“Uncle Luke don’t stop, get it get it Magic City”) and a brilliantly manipulated Gang of Four sample on “the ground below.”

This hodgepodge of styles and references emphasize what their music is all about. El-P’s New York roots meshed with Killer Mike’s Dirty South origins seem strange at first, but it’s their shared love of hip-hop’s history and politics that make the duo unlike anyone else. They treat hip-hop as a universal and political language that transcends identity, relying on the mechanics of the genre as a vehicle to tell meaningful stories, even if it means driving that vehicle directly into the building. RTJ4 is the perfect soundtrack to the revolution, especially the one not televised.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/run-the-jewels/rtj4-review/

[stephaniejuhnay]

Prince On Every Tour: Parade

Alright peoples. It’s been a little bit since the last POET post (heh, I love that the acronym for this series is a real word). I intended to watch and rate my enjoyment today, but last night I somehow ended up watching the entire show. If you happen to be one of the few who pay attention to anything I do here (and I LOVE you for it because honestly, I am a real mess), you’ll know that I also just watched the Detroit ‘86 birthday show at the Cobo Arena while physically in Detroit this past Friday. Two shows in one. With that, here we are. Our next stop(s) on the POET train:

PARADE. DETROIT/STOCKHOLM. JUNE 7/AUGUST 22, 1986. LET’S GET INTO IT.

Overview: Oh Parade Prince. Probably amongst the most infuriating iterations of our beloved Prince. He is so unapologetically arrogant and there is nothing any of us can do about it. He changed up on us in a major way after cutting the PR tour short and putting out ATWIAD so quickly afterwards. 11 months after that, this man has another album AND feature film. Visually, he has forgone the curls that are near and dear to my heart for short, slickback that I cannot argue with. And it might have left some of us confused, shocked, wondering why he would take a complete left when the PR era was still in full swing. It’s because he could. He’d made it to megastardom and afforded him the flexibility he needed to REALLY throw us for some loops. This was the time for him to push the boundaries of his creativity in his music and his visual presentation of himself without too much worry of how it would be received. He already had us, and he knew it. 

Parade Prince is that guy that knows he’s fine, that knows YOU know he’s fine, and will exploit it to no end. Because no matter how much you might protest to his face, the reality is this: the the moment he makes eye contact with you during that particularly rude rendition of Do Me, Baby, you both are fully aware that you will be patiently waiting for him in his limo at the direction of his security guard after the show. Against all better judgments. And he delights in the fact that you (try to) resist him. He loves the conquest, especially when he knows he wins. It’s fine. Let him win. Enjoy the life changing. Cherish it for the rest of your life thereafter.

ESSENTIALLY, that is what the entire Parade era is. Prince having a grand ol' time as he quite literally does whatever he wants with no regard for our sanity. Meanwhile, we just try to pick up the pieces of our life as he continues to ruin it with each new era he ushers in. He’s running around looking like a vision out of a 1940′s noir, giving us new music that is very different but oh so great, throwing hip chains into a crowd of unsuspecting onlookers after what might be the most infuriating performance of Head known to us, and we are expected to deal with it. As if Purple Rain didn’t just take place. And no matter which side of the spectrum we fell on when it came to this new era - utterly opposed or completely on board -  we were still here for it in some way, willingly or begrudgingly. Just like he knew we would.

Prince starts these shows shirtless, so you know you're in for a ride. ATWIAD is GREAT live and a great song to open up with. It set the pace for the rest of the show: fun and full of grooves. And he does not hesitate to get into them. Christopher Tracy’s Parade, New Position, I Wonder U, Raspberry Beret are all in the first 15 minutes. We get songs spanning his entire career up to that point in both shows, and he is well aware of the fact that he has HITS ya understand? 

His confidence has transformed into unabashed cockiness ( *sings* I ain’t go no money - THAT’S A LIE). It’s in the way he moves, the way he sings, the way he plays with the audience, everything. I’m frustrated just sitting here thinking about it all. And yet, here I am, unable to resist the overwhelming charm of Parade Prince. One, because his face. Two, he's earned it if we want to be 100. The boy has put in insane work, and it finally skyrocketed with PR. Now he gets to enjoy it all. He deserves to be gassed. We’ll allow it.

Boyfriend didn't get sloppy or plateau here either when he probably could have gotten away with it. A true professional, after having reached that level of stardom but deciding not to just phone it in or coast. Production value is still great, although less busy than the PR tour. No poles to slide down on, no bathtubs to take a shower of pearls in. Costumes are still great, albeit, again, not as busy as PR. Band is even tighter now with the expanded Revolution. Their sound is more dynamic with the addition of Eric "Sith" Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and Atlanta's God-awful ponytail. He was playin' tho, so I'll relax about it. They have proven that when it came time to execute on stage, they could handle the constant changes in sound and personnel quite well. But again, testament to his leadership and dedication to excellence. 

Then there is the addition of official dancers in Jerome, Wally, and Greg. I know some may have felt "but why" about them, but man, do they add a really fun element to the show! We have full on routines now folks, and there are few things I love more than to see Prince work it out on stage in a routine. Yes, we saw some minor coordinated steps previously, but we hadn't really had routines. With these three though, we see choreo that gives the show some more life,  Prince being part of some of them (the 1999 album medley in which they did the PR balcony dance to Lady Cab Driver is A+), and even incorporating the band into them. It's a real treat. 

Favorite Number: There are a few numbers I love from this tour. Detroit clearly has some great ones. Controversy/Mutiny is ALWAYS a fave, if not for the fact that they are good songs, then for the dancing during those numbers. Head...for very obvious reasons. It is already a jam, and Prince decides he has to one up himself every time he decides to perform it live. Of the four Parade shows I’ve seen, Detroit’s Head is by far the best. Paris gets an honorable mention though because there is a breath hitch that stopped me cold in my figurative tracks. It was...so authentic. Even if it wasn’t. Life Can Be So Nice was also another jam from the Detroit show, which was a nice surprise for me because it isn’t my fave from Parade. In the end though, I can confidently say that Pop Life is my favorite number from this show. I adore the live arrangement of this song so much. And he is incredibly cute during that performance, so there’s that.  Stockholm’s lineup is very similar to this one. But instead of Mutiny (sad about it), we get 17 Days, which, surprisingly I really enjoyed. 17 Days is one of my favorite songs ever, but it’s one of the few I prefer the studio version over the live version. It’s perfect the way it is, and for some reason, to me, the live versions don’t really capture the magic of that song for me. However, this one came close. And throwing in the I Wanna Be Your Lover instrumental at the end was a nice touch. However, vocally, visually....Do Me, Baby wins. It’s a song that P can never not SANG on, so it usually wins vocally for me. But then the addition of the horns and the breakdown at the end just really pushed me over the edge. 

I would like to give a shoutout though to that 1999 album medley I mentioned earlier because it JAMMED and I might have yelled when I heard Automatic. Also Anotherloverholenyohead from this show was phenomenal and deserves to be mentioned. Lisa unleashed an insane piano solo that really showed off her skills. The girl is bad.

Favorite Outfit: While I do love Prince in a crop-top, I am a huge proponent of the suits from this era. Even the unforgivable shoulder pads aren’t enough to deter me. Something about Prince in a tie..... The yellow suit from Detroit is iconic. Period. In Stockholm we were greeted with a nice blue one. Both 100 cuts above. Honorable mention to the polka dot vest from both shows. The man looks like a 5 course meal in polka dots. 

Still Would Rating: Angrily. Begrudgingly. Without a shadow of a doubt and no hesitation, honey. 

Overall Rating: If you’re looking for something to lift your spirits and also groove extra hard to, either of these shows are what you need. His carefree spirit during them is contagious, and you can’t help but share in the joy he puts on display. He’s serving us some LOOKS, some ridiculous and quite frankly irresponsible onstage antics, and some of my favorite music from him (I adored both ATWIAD and Parade). As the creator of the gif directly above so eloquently put it: “ Yellow suit and the band were rocking. What’s not to like?” Indeed. 

PREVIOUSLY, PURPLE RAIN                                            NEXT UP, SOTT

[iztarshi]

Boston Stunt Spectacular

Yeah, if this is post Crystal Kingdom then it probably is early spring, because Crystal Kingdom was literally midwinter.

"Griffin: Who you befriended on the— let’s see if Dad can even, do you remember?"

I dunno if "befriended" is QUITE the word. I guess she appreciated the day being saved.

Ooh, calling on them to solve a murder… well, they DID solve the murder last time. I still might have gone with Angus, personally.

"Neverwinter’s justicars discovered the bouquet had been cursed by powerful magics"

That's actually a fair thing to want Taako in on.

And she wants Magnus to fight alongside her, which is also a pretty good choice! At any rate, he's enthusiastic.

"Jess: If you’re still in touch with him— just a thought, but could you bring the boy detective too?"

Oh, she DID ask for him, although apparently as an afterthought. Or, I guess, she had no idea where to find him or whether they did.

Why does Clint/Merle hate Angus so much?

Aww, Travis got him a birthday present. And it was either a carved wooden duck or a carved wooden stag, because I don't think Magnus has heard of non-handmade gifts.

"the BattleFest franchise, which is the WWE, essentially, has been around in this world for about a decade or so."

This is probably not significant, but that's also about how long the relic war has been forgotten. Maybe it is significant? Everyone settled down and immediately started wrestling :P

"Justin: Taako is only familiar with the television show, because ‘Sizzle it Up with Taako,’ his cooking show, was on up against them on basic cable. Basic fantasy, fantasy cable,"

There's a disagreement between Justin, who persistently describes Taako's show as a TV show, and Griffin, who persistently refers to live shows from the cart only. Taako would really like TV to exist, but it doesn't. Maybe people just scry at events they'd really like to see and it kind of counts? Maybe TV existed on Taako's home world and he's slightly confused as a result?

"Griffin: [beat] 15 years in the future, he opens up a Magnus Park."

*cracks up* You just KNOW this guy reached the Day of Story and Song and realised he had the merchandising rights to 3/7ths of the heroes they'd just heard about.

Magnus BROUGHT HIS BEAR MASK.

"Jess: [beat] I am regretting how I have assigned the most important job. [all laugh]"

*pfft* Taako DOES get the good perception rolls, though.

"Taako: Yeah, carves, he’s good at carving stuff. I don’t understand what you’ll need him for, but… yeah."

Pay attention, Taako. What do you think they'll need Magnus for at a wrestling show?

Merle's like… stripes. That is it for his costume. Meanwhile Taako has a whole THING. Even if Taako's thing is 100% a good excuse for a costume he can snoop in.

"Merle: Son of a bitch cut my arm off. That’s what the hell happened—

Magnus: I SAVED. YOUR GODDAMN LIFE.

Merle: No, you cut it off!

Magnus: By Pan’s name!"

He doesn't even… this is 100% about getting at Magnus, not about the arm. Or he'd be angry with Kravitz.

Taako's allowed to keep his umbrella! And now I'm wondering how conscious Lup is of this, because I think she'd enjoy wrestling. Well. Maybe not personally, unless she's allowed to set things on fire, but like hell she wouldn't want to watch.

They're actually not being as awful to Angus as they sometimes are. Magnus is TRYING to be nice.

And Angus doesn't want to work, he wants to watch the show.

"Justin: At home? Uh, no, I’m gonna cast Leomund’s Secret Chest? Which lets, creates ‘an exquisite chest’ that I can hide on the Ethereal Plane."

You know, if Taako remembered the Hunger at all, he'd probably be much less inclined to use the Ethereal Plane for storage.

Taako just stole everyone's weapons which makes sense. If things get bad, he would really like them to have access to those, I suspect.

"Jess: We’re heels. [beat] Do you know what that means? [audience begins to laugh]

Magnus: No, what?

Merle: We make people feel better?"

*cracks up* Aw, Magnus is going to be disappointed. Being the villain really isn't his thing.

Ah, yeah, Magnus hates it. But Travis LOVES it.

Also, it occurs to me that it's really unfair that Jess can summon her weapon in the ring and no one else is allowed one? I guess she's trusted to be responsible with it?

"Clint: Kill him.

Justin: I’m not gonna kill -"

And THIS is why you send Taako rather than Merle. Dear god. This is like the thing where Merle tried to make Tom Boddett step in front of a train.

"Taako (as Tuff Greg): You got it, bubbeleh, any direction you want it aimed, or what?

Gruff voice: [beat] The -- FIGHTER-wards!"

*snort* I love that Taako often comes up with really smart plans, especially smart uses of magic, and is also still like… this. And once caused someone to say, in all seriousness, "the gum is not a lich".

"Griffin: Yeah, I think… uh, no, this is a different franchise probably than the one that Merle was a fan of."

What with thirty years ago being on a different planet and all.

Magnus randomly applauds Jeff Angel, which is very Magnus of him.

Magnus is better at being a jerk when he's NOT trying to be. (I love him, but just ask anyone from the Rockport Express.)

Taako just jumped into the wrestling match. Dude. This is great, but isn't watching out for murderers a TINY bit more important?

I forgot Arcane Eye was still active. Jesus, Taako. He's just everywhere.

"Griffin: The- It can get you up higher? Levitation, but like, a super efficient form of Levitation?"

*cracks up* Ladders, everyone.

Oh, no! Darts from above. There's an assassin in the catwalks and Taako is… NOT in the catwalks.

Oh my god. Oh my god! It's Klaarg!

"Taako: First off, let’s say the obvious: I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to try and kill ya."

I don't think that's exactly something you can do by accident…

OW! I don't think Taako HAS a whole lot of HP, if he's actually getting suplexed -- by a bugbear no less -- I think he's going to need Merle pretty soon.

"Clint: ―there’s a bunch of people underneath this!"

It's kind of funny considering how into killing Catwalk Boy he was, but, yeah. In a fucking wrestling stadium is not a great place to summon POISON GAS. At the very least he's going to kill the security guards!

"Griffin: As they get this bad bad poison damage and then they cast Gust of Wind to push the poison cloud directly downward into the ring."

You SEE? Idiot!

"Taako: I’m but a humble cooking wizard whose ratings are bound to improve if people start dying on this show."

Dark. Dear god, Taako. Daaaaark.

Aw. We're getting things fast forwarded because as it's a live show, Griffin can't let it take another episode.

Aww. Magnus runs to grab Angus.

Taako gave everyone's weapons back, proving that was a really useful bit of foresight.

Oh dear, Taako's down to one hit point, please avoid paradoxes by protecting the squishy wizard.

"Taako: THAT’S MY BOY! THAT’S MY BOY!! MY BEAUTIFUL, MAGIC BOY."

AWWWW.

"Taako: Toss it to the guy with the fork. [beat] [audience cheering]"

Oooh, my god. But I think this is probably MAGICAL, and we've been down that road once.

'k vetoed by virtue of size, probably a good thing.

"Taako: I can’t die. Literally, I can’t die! Don’t worry about me, I live longer than this!"

Taako's just going to rely on the fourth wall to protect him.

Do they have to win by saying NICE THINGS about one another? …Good luck with THAT.

Oh, Taako. But, come on, it's not that hard to compliment Angus. You were yelling about how awesome he was a moment ago.

Nonononono don't cast Zone of Truth, that's the LAST thing this needs. *laughing*

Thank goodness it was charmed!Klaarg. Really.

"Klaarg: That’s amazing, thank you for tying up my storyline like this."

*pfft*

*cheers them* They all did really well, even if Taako nearly DID poison an entire audience. Er. Again. (Sorry, Taako.)

And they were nice to Angus on his birthday!!!

[mybctexperience]

Creative Audio Research 5, Music Dump

Create Audio “Research?” Not sure if I’m meant to document anymore, though I feel it is effecting what I’m creating.

A huge list of music that I have been listening to recently, everything from my boyfriend’s pretty cool music taste, to recommended things on YouTube as I’ve been just passing by, or autoplay, to some of my older music I haven’t touched in years. It’ll mostly be in order of first listened to, then most recently listened to. A little bit sectioned as to who’s music or what I was thinking about the music.

Undertale Full OST Xenoblade Chronicles OST DeoxysPrime • I Made A Song Using Only Deltarune Sounds

A taste of the Boyfriend’s music taste:

Little Dragon - Wanderer Shiki(TMNS) - Senpai [MajorLeagueWobs Remix] SIAMÉS "Mr. FEAR" [Official Animated Music Video] Ark Patrol – Curious (ft. Victoria Zaro) (Lyrics) [CC] K.Flay - Giver Feint - Vagrant (ft. Veela)

Music from my childhood, Dad would listen to them often:

Madness - Baggy Trousers (Official Video) GBH No Survivors Greg Kihn Band - Jeopardy (extended version) Generation X - King Rocker NEW MODEL ARMY - 51St State - 1986

NEFFEX - Backstage🤘💋 [Copyright Free] [Underverse Remix] SharaX - Vive La Verse

Fascinating science, not exactly a song:

How I broke a wine glass with my voice (using science!)

Discrepancies - Not Alone (Official Video)

A little of my old stuff, more soon:

Daleri - Electro Wobble [Tasty Release] Define Light & Miles Dominic - Elsewhere [Tasty Release]

Marshmello follows a very strong narrative storyline both with it’s audio and visuals:

Marshmello - Alone [Monstercat Official Music Video] Marshmello - Together (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Blocks (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Take It Back (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Tell Me (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Power (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Paralyzed (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Rooftops (Official Music Video) Marshmello - Flashbacks (Official Music Video)

Everything Is New OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO Jaimie Wilson Madeon - Pop Culture (live mashup)

Lots of my old music:

Electric Joy Ride - 365 [Free Download] MINECRAFT CREEPER RAP | Dan Bull | ENDING A Revolvr - Feel Good Spooky Scary Skeletons (Remix) - Extended Mix ♪ "In Love with a Villager" - An Original Minecraft Song Animation - Official Music Video Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" Sequence Animated Performed by NateWantsToBattle (Male Version) BIOSHOCK INFINITE RAP | Dan Bull [Electro] - Insan3Lik3 - The Other Day [Monstercat Release] Undertale - Dummy! - Remix Waters of Megalovania (ORIGINAL) Dancetale All Themes (Undertale AU) Vicetone - I Hear You [Monstercat Release] Direct - Too Far Away [Monstercat Release] P-Holla- Do It For Love Vicetone feat. Kat Nestel - Angels [Premiere] Lady Gaga - Applause (Official) DaLaBengBa (Undertale)(Animatic) “HARD DRIVE” Determined Cover by Shadrow | UNDERTALE SONG

More of the Boyfriend’s music:

[MV] REOL - Hibikase RΞOL · Σ コノヨ Konoyo Loading...【English subs,中日歌词】 [MV] REOL - 宵々古今 / YoiYoi Kokon

Then mainly mine with a few of his mixed in:

"FISHY LOVE" - UNDERTALE ALPHYS SONG | by Griffinilla (ft. Eile Monty) Scanty & Kneesocks Theme - I Want You (With Lyrics) UNDERTALE SANS SONG "Judgement" by TryHardNinja Momotaro Caro Emerald, Tangled Up (Lokee Remix) Caravan Palace - Lone Digger Emigrate - Eat You Alive (Feat. Frank Dellé) Undertale OST - Megalovania (Launchpad cover) FAKE TYPE Nightmare Parade RIME EPIC RAP | Dan Bull ProleteR - April Showers Undertale - Spear of Justice [Electro Swing Remix] Cuphead - Die House [Electro Swing Remix (ft. OR3O)] King Dice Live • CUPHEAD Cuphead OST - Die House (Mr. King Dice Main Theme) [EXTENDED] + Lyrics Say My Name - Odesza / Joseph Tsosh Choreography ft. Dylan Mayoral / URBAN DANCE CAMP Kenshi Main Theme

[Underverse Remix] SharaX - Inking Mistake (Ink vs Error Battle Theme) Here Comes The Sun (Remastered 2009) Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (Official Movie) ft. Billy Ray Cyrus You Can't Pray The Gay Away | Skitso Music | Skitsofrenic Undertale - Battle Against A True Hero [Electro Jazz/Swing] Undertale - Gaster's Theme [Electro Swing Remix] 20,000 subs | Undertale - The Swing Brothers [Electro Swing Remix] 10,000 subs | Undertale - Death by Glamour [Electro Swing Remix] Emigrate - Rainbow

I found out that I’m not a fan of Low-fi HipHop:

Hazy Year - quit asking me for sandwiches

The Boyfriend’s music then through to letting YouTubes autoplay do it’s magic, and still ending up on some more if his music:

She's My Collar (feat. Kali Uchis) SIAMÉS "The Wolf" [Official Animated Music Video] Caravan Palace - Lone Digger (album version) Electro - Swing || Jamie Berry Ft. Octavia Rose - Delight Charlie Puth - Betty Boop (but with a more fitting drop) Ken Ashcorp - Absolute Territory

YouTube autoplay from one of the BF’s songs:

Ark Patrol – At All (ft. Veronika Redd) (Lyrics) [CC] Ark Patrol ft. Veronika Redd - At All Annella - Perfume Inova - Disowned Jynjo - How do you Like it (feat. Spritely) AViVA - HUSHH Felix Cartal - Runaway (feat. REGN) Two Feet - I Feel Like I'm Drowning Skott - Porcelain (AWAY Remix) AViVA - GRRRLS AViVA - BRN Papa Ya - Sunny Sickick - Mind Games Swingrowers - Butterfly (Official Music Video) - ELECTRO SWING 【Electro】OVERWERK - Toccata The Glitch Mob - Take Me With You (feat. Arama) DROELOE - Kintsugi CloZee - Secret Place CloZee X VOLO - Soul Search CloZee - Harmony (VAGO Remix) 【Chill Trap】CloZee - Get Up Now Of The Trees - Dream Atlas (CloZee Remix) Egzod ft. Sinego - Marianne Alex Skrindo - Ease Mickey Valen ft. Noé - Meet Me BLOOM - Just Lay Down FusionNFire - What We Were 【Chillstep】Soulfy - Skyfall [Free Download] SizzleBird - Imagine Vexento - Eyes Closed Vexento - Never Letting Go Unlike Pluto - Everything Black (ft. Mike Taylor) Inova - Immortal Odd Chap - Midnight Sway 【Chill Trap】CloZee - Koto 【Tropical House】Diviners ft. Contacreast - Tropic Love 【Chill】Ark Patrol - Tokyo (Subranger Remix) Xan Griffin - Capricorn (feat. WOLFE) Danrell - White Noise (feat. Ryder)

Gosh people can chomp their way though music. I didn’t realise how much I had consumed since I last tried document to taking a deeper look at what I was listening too.

I think that I’ve traversed quite a few music genres and lots of different styles. I personally have a very open music taste and have enjoyed listening to almost every piece. This list will be very helpful for me in future wanting to look back on what I’ve listened to, and what I will like then. I feel there is a strange mixed influence over the audio I am trying to create. I don’t have a lot of knowledge and skill in the craft, but feel minor undertones form the music that I’ve been opening myself to. I still don’t particularly lean to music with or without lyrics. There are songs that fit lyrics just fine, and there are others that are just wonderful without them. I like it when the audio has a balance and doesn’t need the lyrics to convey the whole message; blending the instruments and effects of choice with the lyrics themselves.