#I could never choose to love another audio

[honeysghost]

In the Middle

Pairing: Lasko/Freelancer/Gavin

Word count: 1,065

Summary: Follows behind Lasko's second bonus audio, based around the poem After the Threesome They Both Take You Home by Sue Hyon Bae

The AO3 version if you prefer: In the Middle - honeysghost

“It’s getting late, do you want to stay?” Freelancer asks, warmth spreading through their body when they meet the Incubus’ eyes.

“Oh, I couldn’t. It’s sweet of you to offer, but you’re both busy tomorrow, aren’t you? If I stayed, I doubt you’d get much sleep.” There’s a coy smile on his lips that sends a shiver down both of their spines. 

Lasko’s hand finds theirs in the dark, rubbing a thumb across their knuckles. 

“We wouldn’t mind,” he mumbles, avoiding Gavin’s gaze. 

He’s grown more confident since the start of this encounter, less stuttering but still shy. It’s cute. Both Freelancer and Gavin delight in seeing a blush creep across his cheeks.

“Really, I couldn’t.”

His tone is light, still laced with flirtation, but it’s obvious he doesn’t want to stay. 

“Can we at least drive you home?”

Home, Gavin thinks. There’s an ache in his chest where home should be, unsure as to what would ever fill that void. Certainly not Aria. His gaze lingers on Freelancer for just a moment.

“You don’t need to trouble yoursel-”

“It’s no trouble at all, Gav. Please, let us do this for you.” 

It’s odd, having people constantly showing how much they care about you. It’s not something he’s used to, that’s for sure. But the Freelancer and Lasko (and Huxley and Damien) have never wavered in their intentions.

A sigh. “Okay.” 

The smile that spreads across Freelancer’s lips is radiant. So much so that Gavin thinks to reconsider their proposal. He could stay, if it meant getting to see them smile just a few hours more. 

Another unfamiliar ache.

Neither of them bother to get dressed in more than pajamas as they lead him to the car, Lasko choosing to drive as Freelancer settles into the passenger seat. 

It’s quiet and warm in the back. Gavin sprawls across the entire row, like it’s his own personal throne. 

The hazy glow of streetlights passing by puts them all in a dream-like state, time passing slowly around them. 

No one will say it out loud, but they wish this moment would last. 

Lasko laughs at something Freelancer said, and the silence is broken. 

“Come on, you really don’t remember?”

“N-no, I don’t! And probably for good reason. My mind blocked it out as an act of self-preservation.”

“It wasn’t that bad, and you know it.” They meet Gavin’s gaze through the rearview mirror, offering him a sleepy smile. 

“Did I ever tell you about Lasko and I’s first date?” Freelancer asks, and Lasko’s face turns a deep shade of red. 

“D-d-do not tell him.” 

They rest a hand on his thigh, squeezing lightly. Gavin can taste his returned arousal at the touch.

“Oh, please, Deviant. I’d love to hear it.” 

Lasko groans in response, making both of them laugh. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“...and it didn’t matter anyway, because all we could taste was oranges. I swear, it was under our skin for weeks.” 

“Now there’s a thought,” Gavin ponders. “Orange flavored kisses.” 

Freelancer smiles as they play the memory over in their head, Lasko still flushed from embarrassment. 

“We tried to find the stand again later that week, but it was gone. Shame. They were the best oranges I’d ever had.” 

Gavin’s apartment building comes into view, and he tries not to linger on the disappointment in the air. It belongs to all three of them. Maybe he should have stayed. 

The conversation slows, all of them hoping if they don’t speak, the night won’t end. 

Lasko finds a space to park, a good distance away—anything to prolong this moment. 

“Let us walk you back.” 

This time, he doesn’t protest. 

When they get out of the car, the first thing Freelancer does is take his hand. Lasko is quick to take his other one, and together they walk. 

Their love is intoxicating, he thinks. He could drown in it if they'd let him. 

“Thank you both, for tonight. It means a lot that you would trust me with this.” 

“We like you, Gavin.” Freelancer rests their head against his shoulder in emphasis, slowing down just a little. “We’d trust you with anything.”

Lasko hums in agreement.

When they reach the door, none of them make a move to open it. 

“I had fun tonight,” Gavin sighs, squeezing both their hands. Freelancer stills rests against him, seeking warmth and comfort in his body. It’s odd, being touched with no sexual intent. It’s taken him a while to get used to it with. Honestly, he’s not sure if he would ever, fully. 

“Me too,” they mumble into his shoulder. 

Lasko frees his hand from Gavin’s and hesitates just a second before kissing the Incubus. It’s soft and sweet–and all too short for his liking. “T-thank you, Gavin.” 

Freelancer pouts, making both of them laugh. “I want a kiss, too…” 

“Come here, Deviant.” 

Gavin kisses them as softly as Lasko kissed him, in no hurry to stop or say goodbye any time soon. They stay like that for a while, trading kisses and hushed gratitude in the dimly lit hallway. 

“You’re always welcome, you know.” Freelancer whispers against his lips. Lasko nods, finally taking a step back. 

“I-In our bed, or otherwise.”

“We meant it when we said we like you. You’re our friend, Gavin, but you’re more than that, too.”

He fights the urge to brush it off, choosing instead to say, “Thank you,” for the hundredth time that night.  

He opens the door, lingering for just a second. “Goodnight, you two.”

“Goodnight, Gav.” Lasko smiles, pressing one more chaste kiss to his lips. 

“Sweet dreams,” Freelancer mimics him, following up with one more to his cheek. 

When the door closes, he allows himself to feel the emptiness that threatens to devour him. Being together with them was so filling it almost made him feel sick, he wasn’t prepared for the gaping hole that would be left when they were gone. 

It takes every ounce of self-control he has not to rift back to their apartment, cuddle up with them in bed, limbs tangled together so thoroughly they’re sure it’ll leave bruises where they’re pressed together. 

For tonight, it was enough. To be chosen by them, worshiped and adored. Any lingering worries were soothed away when he thought of Freelancer’s hands on him, Lasko’s moans, the way they fought over kissing him, neither one of them able to get enough.

[hopestarstudios]

Hope you enjoy my little spin on Welcome Home!!

[kiame-sama]

Distant Horizons (TWST Monster AU)

Warnings; short angst, sad lonely Shinigami wanting his Humans to come back, but knows they never will. My TWST Monster AU, Humans Are Extinct TWST AU, little bit of hope at the end but mostly angst,

~~~~~~~~

Each time another boat crossed the horizon, he knew in his heart of hearts that they would never come back. Each warm smile gifted to him by his trusting little wards etched into his memory as the last time he ever saw them so happy. Each soul returned to him, wailing and broken from the horrors they found beyond the horizon, unable to be saved in death as he could have saved them in life.

Why was it so difficult to let them go? They wanted to see the world and see the things that he could not show them, so why did it hurt so much each time they never came back?

Perhaps it was because he knew most did not last long beyond the shores of his island, far from the protection he blessed them with. Perhaps it was the idea that they met their fates screaming and begging for him to save them. Perhaps it was because he knew the soft Humans he loved would no longer be able to return to him.

Even as he stood on the shores of his home, looking out to the far off horizons, hoping beyond hope to see a familiar ship heading back home, he knew he would never get his wish.

How many years had passed since the last left? Was he to blame for the unfortunate ends so many met? If he had kept them safe on his island, would they have that same smile and trust for him or would they spit curses at him for refusing to let them see the world?

He once believed that to love something, he needed to let it go. To love these witty and fragile Humans, he needed to let them live their own lives and seek what lay beyond the horizon. Now, with nothing more than empty ruins where his soft little Humans once played, he wasn't so sure he was in the right anymore. He wasn't certain he would make the same choice to let them go if he were given the chance to choose again.

If he chose to keep them safe and contained in his own home, would they still look at him with that boundless trust and love?

"Papa Hades?"

The voice was a soft and comforting one, that of his youngest descendant Ortho- or a very good hologram of his, as the child was currently away at school- speaking through the visual and audio link. All of his lineage called him that, even the little Humans he loved called him 'Papa Hades' and he longed to hear it again from the soft voice of a fragile Human. The voices he would never hear beyond the wailing souls he had to lay to rest.

"Yes, child?"

His dark cloak of mourning- weaved from the very shadows and held together by the tears he wept for his lost lambs- billowed slightly in the winds from the sea. It had adorned his form for a long time and had been in place since the last Human in his care drew their last breath. It was as much a part of him now as the grief he carried in his heart.

"There's something I think you should know."

"And what would that be, child?"

"A Human interrupted the sorting ceremony at Night Raven College."

His world screeched to a halt and he could feel his chest begin to swell and constrict with long forgotten hope. Had he heard that right? Could it possibly be?

"... What?"

"A Human, like those ones that used to live here, somehow got to Night Raven College and lives there now! I think the Headmage said something about her staying there and being kept safe there, but Idi-nii said I should tell you first!"

A Human? After all this time, there was still one left alive? Impossible, it just couldn't be. He shouldn't get his hopes up. No doubt it was just a case of mistaken identity-

"She's really nice! I got to talk to her today in potions class and spent my morning talking to her! Idi-nii and I are going to be guards for her in a few days, since Idi-nii is a Housewarden, so we thought you would want to know!"

"Is she truly... a Human?"

"Yeah! She doesn't have any magic and is super soft and looks different from everyone. She doesn't even look like professor Divus or a Selkie without fur! The Headmage said we have to protect her because a bunch of Poachers keep showing up on school grounds looking for her, so I thought maybe you could help us guard her if she says it's okay?"

"... It would be my most esteemed honor."

[tenjikufag]

omg such good haikyuu teams i totally agree!! coould i request a bokuto x m!reader with a little angst to comfort bcuz i love hurt/comfort a little too much 🤭

Homecoming.

Bokuto x Male Reader

-hurt/comfort, temporary split, long distance, pro!Bokuto

-this was requested quite some time ago! So sorry for the wait.

Dating an athlete is not an easy thing to begin with, when it’s a professional, worldwide known athlete.. it only further complicates things.

Being with an athlete you never really know where you are on the priority list with them, this sport is quite literally their life and their job but when does a life partner come into play?

Highschool was a far easier time to date Bokuto, you’d see him in class, during lunch, after school, the weekends- basically anytime you wanted he was there! You even travelled to the different schools and districts with parents, siblings, and other players’ partners for the games.

But, once you graduated it got quite a bit harder.

You were settling into your own education and career, as was he. He was set to become a professional volleyball player like he had always dreamed about and what you had always hoped for him..

That meant long periods away from each other while you both did your own things.

It was steady and you both came out the other side successful and happy,

It wasn’t until he started with MSBY black jackals that there were true signs of trouble. It was getting harder to see eachother, even harder to just get a call or text back from one another because of timezones and offset schedules.

It broke your heart, his too.

There was a promise between you two to stick it out and that you’d always be there for eachother but you just.. weren’t sure of it these days.

It’s been two weeks since you last were able to call Bokuto, 6 months since you last saw him. And texts were far and few.

“What am I supposed to do? We can’t even talk about it because we can’t get in touch, it’s not like I can just catch a plane to see him either..”

You sat across from your childhood friend, Akaashi. He was an editor and basically worked from home so you could call him up whenever.. he was there to listen to all your relationship worries and other worries outside of it.

“You’re both my friend, there’s really nothing I can do or say to help you choose what to do, you know that. He hasn’t been in contact with me for even longer, I’m really no help..”

He mumbled, taking a sip of his drink with a frown. You knew he was right, there really was nothing you could do.. not until you could call him atleast.

—

Bokuto picked up his phone, frowning to see no notifications from you.. quickly he texted you and asked if you could call him later because he would have a gap between training sets.

He was beaming with excitement to finally be able to call you, and he had a surprise too! Quickly he showered and changed into casual clothes before heading out of the gym and off to his apartment..

As soon as he got into his apartment his phone went off, a text from you. With a smile he opened it

‘We need to talk, please make sure you actually have the time to talk this time.”

Tilting his head, he knew he had atleast 3 hours to talk to you and do whatever he needed to get done.. he dialed you, listening to the ringing with a smile

—

You paced the room, flinching when your phone started to vibrate and Bokutos contact came up. Sighing, you answered

“Hey babe! How are you? I miss you!”

“Yeah.. I said we need to talk and I’m gonna cut to the point..”

The visual of his face dropping flashed in your head, the disappointment of no loving greeting in the face of his you imagined.

“Oh! What did you wanna talk about?”

“I think we should split up. Take a break.. or end things entirely..”

The audio seemed like it dropped, complete silence on your boyfriends end..

“Huh?”

“I said we should break up.”

“..why? Did I do something? What’s wrong, what are you talking about?!”

Bokuto panicked on the other side, you bit your lip and tried to find the words

“Please don’t do this, you still love me.. right?”

A sob throbbed in your throat, squeezing your eyes shut the tears started to fall with every single one of his questions

“I do.. I love you so much. I just can’t do this anymore, it’s too hard Bo… I’m sorry, I miss you too much and I can’t keep up with the schedules! I feel like I’m not doing enough for you, and I feel like you’re slipping away from me!”

You whimpered into the phone, Bokutos breathe was heavy in the speaker- evident he was ready to cry too.

“We can make it through this! I promise, once everything settles down-“

“And when would that be?! What if it never settles down? It’s not fair to either of us to keep doing this!”

He cried, your heart shattered hearing him cry.

“I can’t do this without you, I don’t wanna do this without you.. I promise-“

“Just stop.. it’s already hard not doing this in person.. I’m sorry Bokuto. I love you, I miss you.. but I can’t do this anymore.”

“..I love you too! Please, just wait-“

You hung up, not wanting to hear what else he needed to say- you knew it would only make this worse, worse than what it was.

There was never a life you’d envisioned without him in it, you both had the whole future planned out.

It was just too hard, and you accepted the defeat.

But Bokuto wouldn’t.

—

“Woah, what happened to you?”

Atsumu raised a brow at his teammate, Bokuto was known for being a lively and energetic person but right now he looked like a wet bird.. drooping and moping around the gym; his body barely moving through the stretches.

His teammates were even more shocked to see the male ignore them and move to the other side of the gym to continue his stretches.

“Maybe he’s just sad about going home..”

Atsumu shrugged his shoulders. Not giving it much more thought but kept an eye on his teammate..

When practice was over, Bokuto continued to sulk and it got even worse through the scolding he got for appearing lazy in his practice.

“Don’t take it too hard, last practice and you gotta keep yourself from getting hurt before you get back to Y/n, hm~”

Bokuto felt an elbow nudge him in the side, he only glanced over to the yellow blonde.. lip quivering at the mention of you.

“He.. he broke up with me.”

Barely above a whisper, Atsumu went pale- he felt like an ass! Cringing to himself he pulled away and apologized.

“Are.. are uh, you still goin’ home then? You can uh.. come visit my brother with me if you want?”

He didn’t know what to say, it was an extended break for the players so he really wasn’t going to have anyone here to keep him company.. Atsumu also didn’t wanna leave his friend alone so visiting his own family was the only thing that came to mind.

“I’m still going home.. I wanna see him at least one more time, maybe he will change his mind!”

Bokuto perked up, no longer looking as soggy and limp. Atsumu forced a smile and mumbled a ‘yeah, sure!’ And watched the owl-ish man stride out of the gym once again..

He wasn’t going to let you go that easily, with a new determined mind he packed his things and caught the plane home, to you.

—

You sat in your living room, a depressed mess of packaged foods and drinks scattered around where you sat yourself down.. it’d only been maybe a day or two but the radio silence from Bokuto was deafening- not hearing his ringtone or a text notification made you sick- you were always on edge trying to hear if any notifications came. You’d gone longer without a notification but the fact that you probably weren’t going to get one again was hard.

“Why did I do this..”

Wrapping your blanket around yourself, you let yourself fall over onto your side. Tears pricking your eyes once again.

The heartbreak made you ill, your stomach ached and knotted up whenever you tried to move, eat, or even think of doing something. Your head pounded and the anxiety washed the colour out of your skin.. the full body fatigue on top of it all made you feel miserable.

This was harder than anything you had ever had to do.. it took everything in you not to call him or text him.

Sighing, you tried to fall asleep.. as tired as you were the sleep didn’t come easy.

You would try to be a normal person tomorrow, maybe this heartbreak would be easier then.

—

The familiar scents brushed in his nostrils and filled his lungs, with a bright smile he exited the plane and made his way through the airport. Unknowingly, Bokuto has started to look for you; only to upset himself when he remembered you wouldn’t be here. He sighed sadly, hailing a cab that waited on the outskirts of the exit.

You were so close, he needed to prove to you why this would all be worth it and wanted to show you how much he loved you and needs you.

The cab ride was long, almost falling asleep only to be jerked out of it from bumps in the road.

Looking out the window, he saw your town, where you’d be! Excitedly he pointed to your complex to the driver, ready to fish out money from his bag to run into the house as fast as he could.

“You’re from the Jackals right?”

“Mhm!”

“Rides on me, I’ve been rooting for the jackals since I was a teen.”

Bokuto beamed, thanking him profusely and hopping out of the car and dragging his bags behind him.

His heart was beating faster than it ever had, even when doing the miles and miles of running this is the most his chest had hurt.

The man calmed himself down, taking deep breathes to soothe his aching heart. Putting down his bags, he fished around in his pants for the key and unlocked the door quietly; sneaking in and putting his bags behind the door. He looked around, and saw the mess and a lump of blankets and pillows.

Quietly, he stepped towards the lump of blankets and saw tufts of your hair peaking out… his heart swelled and he went to kneel in-front of you, watching your sleeping face.

Lightly tapping your forehead with his finger, he checked to see how deeply you were sleeping.. you didn’t react so he figured he’d be able to pick you up and bring you to the bedroom. He slid his arms under your body and softly lifted you, being mindful of the mess in the room to not make any noise.. he would clean it before he woke you up.

He laid you down on the mattress and tucked you in, making sure you had enough blankets and pillows.. he took off his jacket and placed it on the bed before scurrying out and cleaning the living room- he wasn’t a great cook but he could atleast make sure your snacks were out and organized!

-

You woke with a start, the sunlight from opened curtains dared to blind you for a second.. you were in your room. With a groan you tossed over, hearing something fall off the bed. Sitting up, you looked to the ground to see what had fallen and it was a jacket.

Bokutos jacket.

Furrowing your brows, you tossed your blankets off your body and picked it up.. he hadn’t left this jacket here and you were sure of it, atleast you thought so.. frowning you couldn’t help yourself from hugging it- it smelt strongly of his cologne, did you fish this out last night? Come to think of it you don’t remember making it to your room..

Holding onto the jacket, you walked into the living room and saw your mess was gone.. you also don’t remember cleaning it. That was when you heard someone else walking around in the apartment.

You froze, not wanting to move.. did someone break in?! It’s an apartment complex how the hell-

Arms wrapped around you tightly, a familiar scent and body melted into you.

“You’re awake.”

Tears choked you, are you this delirious and heartbroken to imagine Bokuto?!

Whipping around, you met his face. He was worried, looking almost as if a child that had gotten in trouble..

“How.. how did you get here?!”

He nervously fumbled with the hem of his shirt, avoiding your gaze and mumbling.

“I told you to wait.. but you hung up the phone..”

Huh?

“..was going to surprise you to tell you I was gonna come home.. we got a break and.. then..”

He started to cry, you took him into your arms and let him cry. Bokuto still tried to babble out an explanation, clutching onto the front of your shirt and leaving tear stains on your shoulder.

You began to cry too, hearing him on the phone was heart breaking enough but to hold him and hear it in person shattered you.

Bokuto pulled away, wiping his tears with his arm.

“Do you still want to break up with me? I.. I can get my things and leave…. If that’s what you want..”

He hiccuped, distancing himself from you and getting ready to pack his things up again.

“Don’t go.. let’s talk.”

You hugged him tightly, he returned it with even more force and led you to the couch.

The two of you talked for hours, not even just about the split but about everything.

It was like he never left

It was like nothing had ever happened.

As the day grew into night, you found him cuddling you and sitting on your lap.

You kissed him, the two of you kissed for what felt like minutes but what hours.

When he pulled away with slightly bruised lips, his hair and face dropped- a frown glossing his lips

“Is this a goodbye? Is this it?”

Rubbing circles on his hips, you pecked his lips again.

“No, of course not. I would’ve been gone and taken my own things if I didn’t want to see you again..”

He perked up, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth

“We.. we are back together?”

“Yeah..”

He began to shake, catching your lips with his and pressing into you.

“I’m taking you with me, everywhere now. I can provide fully, take your education and job on the road with me! I can’t leave you again!”

“We’ll talk about it.. let’s just enjoy your time here..”

Bokuto smiled brightly, leaving kisses all over your face and thanking you.

“We’ll make it, I promise!”

“I know.”

[fyeahaudiodrama]

Happy @podcastgirlsweek to all who celebrate! While I haven't had the time to properly work on fics (and probably won't this week because oops, hurt my hands yesterday) I still wanted to take the time to highlight some favorite podcast girlies along with everyone else!

The prompt for Monday is highlighting podcasts with women in the leading roles, so here's a few of mine (and hopefully, some new ones of yours if you don't know them yet):

Back Again, Back Again: Ilyaas, you absolutely fantastic disaster of a fantasy ace, never stop trying.

Breathing Space: While the show is anthology with a rotating cast, some of my favorites from across its run include:

Evie Yuriskin

Amity Archer

Any characters who were introduced one episode and then started referring to each other as "my wife" by the end or by their next appearance

Camlann: Some apocalypse survivors interpret dangerous dreams about dark magic to cope. Some knit sweaters. Both are valid and should kiss.

City of Ghosts: Featuring the grungy, disgruntled, tormented-by-visions LADY detective of your dreams.

Desperado: Take note - give your ladies knives. And god powers. And witchcraft. And a sniper rifle, for good measure.

Do You Copy?: I think [REDACTED] deserves three weeks of paid vacation

Fawx & Stallion: Madge Stallion is THE moment. She's six feet tall. She can't stop making innuendos. She's not your fucking Mrs. Hudson (although, she is - no, I shan't say).

Hi Nay: Mari & Laura are my everything - the loving and self-sacrificing hero and the newfound friend who chooses to stand by her side (fire axe and all).

Inn Between: Oh, my Inn Between girlies, where do I start? Fina and Betty, the OGs and life partners that even death couldn't stall? Rosie and Zara, the new best pals who chose to stay together? Phoebe, just one step at a time learning what she deserves and what she doesn't? All impeccable, A+.

It Makes A Sound: Any show focused on music is going to be a slam dunk for me, but Deirdre's quest to reclaim her memories as well as those that tied her to her mother is so damn real and compelling.

The Kingmaker Histories: No female character in this show has ever done anything wrong. Colette gets a migraine pass. Ariadne can turn people inside out. Daphne is owed this for working in a theme park.

Life With LEO(h): Janiiiiiine, so messy and smart and dedicated and she cares so much, I love yoooooou.

Me and AU: Kate's worries and desires and doubts are some of the realest out of any audio drama so when do I find an Ella too

Palimpsest: My faaaaavorite gothic horror anthology, each one fresh with a different brand of haunted, tormented, secret-keeping (and quite frequently gay) gothic protagonist

The Pasithea Powder: Jane and Sophie. Sophie and Jane. What more could you need? <3

The Silt Verses: Women who start cults/leave cults/seek an end to the endless cycle of meaningless sacrifice as so valid. For all your wet cat(fish) woman needs.

Second Star to the Left: Because I always love a good Ishani performance. Hi Gwen, please tell Boots I love them.

Small Victories: You want sad wet cat women? How about one that literally can't stop self-sabotaging (but at least manages to draw the line at sabotaging others...occasionally). She even gets stabbed!

Starfall: I mean, kind of a given, but anyway, Leona definitely exists because she's the kind of action protagonist woman I always wanted - one that could be unapologetically powerful, but still full of flaws and desires (especially ones that weren't about falling in love and minimizing her own strengths). She's even autistic!

Stories From Ylelmore: Keryth! Keryth, Keryth, Keryth! She reminds me so much of the kinds of characters I would make up when I was younger - I love her and her small magic so dearly.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris: Hi queer space pirates <3

Unseen: Another anthology show, but Harry Winters and Never-Ending Circles remains one of the most perfect premiere episodes I've ever heard in audio drama.

The Way We Haunt Now: Get your podcast ladies here, dead or alive!

We Fix Space Junk: My favorite type of repairman is a woman who could kick my ass.

Wolf 359: I don't think I need say much more here - y'all know and love 'em just as much as I do.

[erial-c]

porter audio ramble

(i haven't rambled abt an audio liek this in a good while so expect it to be all over th place)

ooohh back with the classic cassette ,, i kinda missed it

OFF THE BAT???? just right in the middle of a makeout session oh my god😭 what happened to hello . how are you .

sam calling tell porter abt them leaving oohgg . despite porter not knowing about the exact details, it kinda shows us how he feels about the house of solaire, that he sees it more like an obligation. adding onto that, with his relationship with william and his experience with his maker, he probably never thought of leaving the house as a choice he could make since he feels so indebted to william for taking him in

"i'm busy with someone very important to me." the fact he prioritizes being with treasure than talking abt his clan literally falling apart ??? HELLO??? he cares for them so much even if they don't know each other that well i cant take this

porter trying to tell treasure that sam, vincent, and lovely leaving will probably play out without any consequences and them knowing he really doesn't believe it'll go smoothly 🤞🤞 he cares abt the clan but also it probably fucking stings that he JUST recently reconciled with vincent . and with sam previously mentioning that he had a tolerance for porter's bullshit i assumed they were at least closer to one another than porter was with anyone else .

his laugh . end me actually

"the problem will still be there in the morning. i choose a modicum of peace for once. for a while." AUGHHHHHH please for the love of god stop bottling up your feelings challenge

ohhhhh was he an unempowered human before he died . ohhhhh lore

i'm glad porter is aware of the power imbalance in his relationship with treasure and how that has been affecting how treasure has been answering porter's questions . in porter's second standalone audio he does tell treasure that he isn't one to talk about his feelings, so they stopped pushing him. though i wouldn't be surprised that they stopped not jst bcs porter asked, but also bcz they were a little scared if that makes sense . hell, they're unempowered + uninformed up until they met porter , no matter how much they care for porter you can't deny that being with a vampire (which you just found out existed like. a few months ago i would assume) would make you tiptoe around them

a large part of his afterlife was so fucked that he never had the time to think about making connections with people . after getting away from his maker he still felt so indebted to william after being taken in that it was all he focused on . he wants to try and learn how to do all this for treasure because they're the first person in a while that he's had the time and desire to know better . im going to END IT ‼️‼️

"what is something that makes you smile?" STOP IT . im going to collapse actually

[honeytonedhottie]

VALENTINES PREPARATION WITH HONEY (DAY 3/7)⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🎀

welcome to day THREE of honey's valentines day series ✨ in day two, we talked about the self concept aspect for manifesting an sp, for day three we will have some fun and formulate AFFIRMATIONS + MAKE AN AFFIRMATIONS TAPE + VISION BOARD

this is easily the funnest part in manifesting sp's (other than it materializing ofc), at least in my opinion 🙈

when formulating ur affirmations ; in any case, when formulating affirmations we wanna make the affirmations sound like how you would speak to a friend/how you speak normally. for example...

if u wanna manifest ur sp giving u a call that makes u kick ur feet and twirl your hair, an affirmation could sound like this -> "i literally just had the BEST conversation with (sp)"

AFFIRMATIONS TAPES ; if you've never made an affirmations tape i highly recommend it bcuz it's a GAME changer in my conscious manifesting game lately. so basically how i like to do it ...

i'll choose two affirmations (i usually choose one affirmation for my desire, and another that'll say something like "im manifesting this in x amount of time/im manifesting in 24 hours")

find a photo on pinterest (doesn't have to relate to ur desire) it could be literally anything but if u wanna choose a photo that implies ur desire then just do that

then i'll repeat my affirmations into the audio, then put it on 2x speed and DUPLICATE it until i've made the video at least 10 minutes long (time doesn't matter this is just what i like to do)

and thats all, i'll just listen to that as much as i want and it saturates my brain

VISION BOARD ; all my vision boards are on pinterest but how i start off is by writing out about my sp. so for me since im manifesting 3 sp's i'll categorize them (sp #1,2,3) and how they are, how they treat me, what they did for me etc etc.

since this is just a valentine and its kinda no strings attached for me i won't write stuff like "i fell in love with them" bcuz thats NOT my goal, my goal is just to have fun this valentines day ✨

once i've written about the sp's i'll make a little mood-board but its only to help me visualize. my imagination is enough for visualization so this is a step i'd skip but if it helps u to visualize then do that.

lastly for the super fun affirmation of our valentines day series...

im a master manifestor, i am the source and manifesting is so unbelievably easy. im so so excited to enjoy my valentines day with my sp. i do literally nothing, and get EVERYTHING that i want. manifesting an sp is light work.

[motherofdragonflies]

The Elevator Game: A Choose Your Own Adventure Fic

Written by: @motherofdragonflies / bexgowen

Art by: @xfancyfranart

Rating: Explicit

Word count: 95,000

Tags/Warnings: Major Character Death, Choose Your Own Adventure Style, Psychological Horror, Canon Divergent, Post 15x03, Case Fic

Summary: 

The game is simple.

Get in an elevator, alone, and follow the rules. If you follow them correctly, the elevator will rise and when the doors open, they will open onto a world that is not your own.

When his brother goes missing after investigating the death of a teenage girl in a hotel in St. Louis, Dean Winchester is dismayed to discover it involved an internet legend called “the Elevator Game”.

He’s even more dismayed when Castiel—who walked away weeks ago and hasn’t been returning Dean’s calls—shows up, also looking for Sam.

Dean doesn’t want to work with Castiel, and Castiel doesn’t seem thrilled about working with him, either. Can they put their differences aside when  they discover that Sam disappeared after playing the Elevator Game? Will Dean and Castiel play the elevator game and travel to the Other World themselves? Will they find Sam before it's too late? 

The choice, dear reader, is yours. You are in control of the story.

But choose wisely, for once you play the Elevator Game, things may never be the same again.

Excerpt:

“Where did Ali hear about the game?” Sam’s voice asked. 

“She, uh, she loved scary stuff. Horror movies, urban legends, that kinda thing. I think she found it on reddit, in one of those scary story subreddits? I don’t know, I don’t…I don’t like that kind of thing. But, um, she was always talking about wanting to try it but you need a tall building and we’d never been anywhere anyway tall enough until…”

“Until that night. Did you tell the police?”

Lilah scoffed. “I told them. They didn’t believe me.”

“Lilah…what do you think happened?”

“I... I think…I think it worked.”

The audio file ended, and Dean sorted through the rest of the papers from the envelope Lilah had given him. The first page was a print out from a true crime subreddit: Dean recognised it as one that Sam checked constantly. His brother had highlighted a post on the page, one consisting of a single line that was posted four days after Alison and the others had disappeared:

Ali Bleaker played the elevator game.

Frowning, Dean turned to the next page and found that it was an article from a website called “The Ghost In My Machine”, titled “The Most Dangerous Games: The Elevator Game Revisited.”

Dean snorted at the title but read on:

"Some people know it as ‘Elevator To Another World’. For others, it’s the ‘Elevator to Hell’... But no matter the name, this peculiar…game, I suppose—although there’s nothing playful about it—it always said to have the same outcome, as long as you follow its rules to a T: By riding an elevator alone, visiting a handful of floors in a particular order as you go, you can transport yourself to another world entirely."

Dean stared at the words on the page.

Another world.

“Jesus, Sam, tell me you didn’t.”

Once upon a time, Dean might have dismissed the claim of ‘another world’ as something out of a science fiction story. But having visited several other worlds, Dean knew that alternate realities, multiverses—whatever you wanted to call them— were real. He doubted that something as simple as riding an elevator could take you to another world, but the idea wasn’t as far-fetched as he once would have believed it to be.

Snatching up his computer, Dean quickly pulled up the phone tracking site that he’d bookmarked and searched for the location of Sam’s phone. 

He was not at all surprised when the map showed Sam’s phone was at The Millennium Hotel, where Alison Bleaker had died.

Going up at @deancashorrorfest this October!

[bubblergoespop]

justifying why i should be the porter fan ♥︎

@plaqying AH THIS IS SO FUN thank you so much for starting this ilysm

oh my days i’m gonna take this way too seriously and this post is gonna become way too long please vote for me guys

1. okay first of all i’ve been obsessed with porter ever since he was first mentioned by name in the 2023 channelversary livestream at 1:58:41. you can literally see a comment on that livestream from me where i’m talking about it

2. porters symbol alone is cute to me like look at those lil pointy things and AUGH they look like fangs too bc he’s a vampy vamp

3. the man is a brit just like me, we’re literally MEANT TO BEEE and anyone who says otherwise is, as porter would say, a twat x

4. yknow that quotes thingy i do, under the hashtag #bubbler’s top quotes? well, porter was the first character that i did for it, i was literally inspired by porter to do it hehehe

5. i barely post about him on tumblr tbh, and that’s not the only way for one to show their love for a character, but here are some of my posts about him hehe:

6. honestly, just ask roachie (@mokozroach). she knows how much i obsess over the man. here’s some of my messages to her, some are a little NSFW:

7. i have a whole note in my phone dedicated to the man, where i put quotes, lore details, random facts etc etc. here’s photo evidence:

8. the amount of times i’ve watched any audio with him in has given me the ability to recite them perfectly from memory (yes that includes the summit audios where he’s not even the main focus for most of it)

9. thinking about someone else winning this genuinely makes me want to cry but it’s okay i swear if someone else wins i won’t go crazy i promise why would i go crazy i’m completely normal about porter solaire

10. honestly just this post like i can’t help but be dedicated to my man

11. porter is more than just attractive to me, he’s also INCREDIBLY FASCINATING. i could talk about him for hours and the only reason i don’t is because i don’t want to ruin people’s perceptions of me. i think this post might do that but oh well.

12. whenever erik mentions porter in any video in any form, i get flutterbies (butterflies) in my stomach. he just makes me so giddy ehhehehe

13. if i could choose between making porter solaire real and becoming a billionaire, i would choose the former. and that says a lot bc who doesn’t love money???

14. i’m an obsessed tier patron and i chose milo rebane’s card during the fooliverse month just because i hoped porter rebane would be mentioned.

15. i love men in pain. porter is a man who loves pain. another reason we are meant to be.

okay i’m sorry you had to read all this, i am gonna try to restrain myself now and stop talking about porter solairemmemfmfmfmgmgmg. if someone else wins, good for them, but i’ll never accept the idea that someone could love porter more than me.

[rq-producerperson]

Hello!

Basic question: any tips for getting into a career involved with creative stuff? (Anything, but specifically audio design and writing.)

Additional information about my specific situation I suppose: I'm heading into my second year of college, and have been working towards getting my degree in anthropology with the hope of going into artifact preservation/restoration. However that's kind of always been a... Second priority, I suppose, as I've always wanted to make a living off of my writing, but assumed that even if that was really possible, I should get a degree in something else.

Last year at school I was working as a stage tech for the college of the arts there (mainly for concerts, not theatre), and I loved it a ton and genuinely wouldn't mind a career in that vein.

The last three months I've been working a shitty assembly line job (9 hour days in a windowless room doing the same thing over and over and over and-). The only plus side to it is I've had plenty of time to listen to stuff, and I've gotten really into Magnus. The Q&A episodes and things like that made me realize that there are other things I could do (and love) in a creative vein than just writing. I'd also never considered that my enjoyment of doing tech for live stuff might translate outside of that, but I really genuinely think it would.

So next year I'm taking a bit of a jump and I'm going to be taking some of the introductory journalism courses at my school. (There's a film and media production emphasis under the major with plenty of room for more fiction-oriented work. And then grad school is something I've been seriously considering since I learned the word anthropology, so that's still very on the table if I choose to pursue this.)

This has been a really big switch for me, and quite frankly I'm terrified of getting stuck at a job like the one I currently have for the rest of my life, with a creative degree just rotting in the corner. (At least with anthropology there would probably be another five+ years of school after undergrad, so that was less of a looming issue.)

Just... Any advice on getting my foot in the door? Especially with hopes of eventually moving out of the states?

Sorry for such a long ask, I'm very bad at being brief. :p

Thank you!

Heya, thanks for the Ask. I’ve had this one sitting for a while thinking of the best way to answer, because the truth is that life is variable so I struggle to give what I feel is meaningful advice when the landscape is always shifting.

However, I’ll do my best with what I know.

The keys that I think are best are Patience, Perseverance, and People.

First, Patience.

I’ve mentioned this a few times but it’s important to remember, life changes quickly and the creative market is constantly shifting. Being able to pursue a job in the creative industry means having the patience to wait for the right wave to paddle to, the right gust to lift you up. But like with nature, there is never a guarantee that the winds or tides of fate will flow your way. There’s an element of chance to it.

You have to be prepared to change and take chances when you feel they are right for you. Shoot out before you’re comfortable and you’ll sink, wait too long and you’ll miss a great wave. I can’t give an answer to when is best to know your ready or what the right chance is to take. I CAN however advise that waiting, watching, and learning is the best chance to take that shot. So, learn as much as you can and stay curious and adaptable.

Second, Perseverance

When you have decided a path to trod, a wave to ride. You commit. Know how to move with the current and keep your focus. It’s easy to keep laying out options, but when you have found that Moment that’s right for you to act on your chosen course, you can go in half way.

Before RQ and during the first half of my employment here I was always working two jobs. I’ve done retail, freelance, post graduate work, office administration, accounting, entertainment hosting, you name it. I was an office assistant when I started at RQ but quickly knew that even though I couldn’t make money with it (it was still just Alex in a Yurt at that time), I wanted to commit to it, to make that job the best thing I could do, and I kept a simple day job to make ends meet. I got lucky, I found a mentor who taught me how to advocate for myself and that I had a creative voice after spending years being beaten down. But I also had the conviction and perseverance to know there was something worth building on.

And we did that together.

Which brings me to my last point, People.

You hear a lot in the creative industry that it’s “about Who you Know” and that’s true, but not entirely in the way you think. Learn about people, what their strengths are, how they compliment each other. Surround yourself with likeminded people that want to attain the same goal, have the same passions. Breaking through the creative industry cannot be done in a vacuum. Always make sure you have a support network of other passionate, skilled, and dedicated humans.

Don’t know how to meet people? I bet you do more than you think. Fandom was my in, not just from shooting my shot, but for teaching me how to work creatively with others. (I still try to do art companion work with fanfic writers when I can)

So yea, maybe it’s a standard answer or underwhelming, but the truth is there is no magic key. There’s Skill, Luck, Determination, and Community that make these kind of jobs possible.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Hypocrisy

Alright, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about for today’s episode of Only Friends and @colourme-feral suggested hypocrisy and @writerwithoutsound suggested Nick and or BostonNick, so let’s try to kill two birds with one stone. 

[I was floating the idea of hypocrisy anyway so this ended up being perfect]. 

OKAY SO, if there is one thing that is true about Only Friends it is that every character is judging or hates another character for a behavior they themselves have engaged in and have no problems with.

Sure, Jan.

Which is just such a human trait, “my behavior was justified, but their behavior was not” type of bullshit that we do because we are only ever capable of understanding to the fullest extent our own thoughts and feelings and motivations, and aren’t always capable of extending the same critical thought to others. 

What’s fun about Only Friends is that in order to discuss the hypocrisy that existed in Episode 9, we have to understand that almost none of the hypocritical behavior is new. Everyone has been falling in to the same patterns of the people they judge the harshest.

So, what hypocrisies did we see today? 

Top

Top wants Mew back, Top claims to care about Mew’s feelings, and Top spends the entire episode consistently, continuously, and pointedly ignoring Mew’s established boundaries by appealing to Mew’s moms. After having his own relationship ruined by a recording, Top takes the initiative to get back at Sand and at Ray by filming them making out, as evidence for Mew. And he is fully prepared to use it, to try to show Mew that Ray is cheating on him just like Top did. But he pulls himself back at the last minute, why? Because he knows that Mew has, until their breakup, always considered himself as morally superior, and a strong sense of morality is an attractive feature for Mew.

It is, in my mind, part of why Mew has never been romantically interested in Ray, because Ray engages in almost every single behavior that Mew looks down on as morally reprehensible. By choosing not to share the video, Top is playing to the moral high ground, but he still took the video in the first place, and you know he is holding on to it in case he needs it later, and you know Top had intended to use the video, and had tried on several occasions to show Mew. It was only at the last second that he decided to change tactics. And it worked in his favor, but his actions are still entirely hypocritical because he says he is doing all of this because he cares about Mew’s feelings, when in actuality he doesn’t care about Mew’s feelings, he cares about manipulating Mew’s feelings. 

Sand

We have established time and time again that Sand hates Top, and Top similarly has no love for Sand. We have also heard repeatedly that the reason for this is because Top stole Sand’s ex. I am hoping we get some sort of flash back to what he means by that next episode. But either way there is an implication here that Boeing either cheated on Sand or that Top was making moves on Boeing while he was with Sand, they broke up, and then Boeing started dating Top. Either way, Sand has exhibited zero amount of understand or willingness to move on or move past Top’s transgressions. Except, this episode we see Sand actively be made aware of the fact that Ray is lying to Mew about the fact that he and Sand are still fucking, acknowledges that he is being used as a secret lover for Ray, and deciding to have sex with Ray anyway, therefore helping Ray cheat on Mew, the very thing that Mew was initially spiraling over with Top.

Sand is the one that stole the audio recording and started the distribution train that led to the downfall of Top and Mew’s relationship, so that he could ruin Top’s relationship because Top had ruined his and Boeing’s. I do think Sand did release the audio file to Ray in some capacity to get Ray to go to Mew, either it was going to ruin Mew and Ray’s relationship leaving Ray open for him, or it would bring Mew and Ray together, and allow Sand to move on from his compulsive need to yield to Ray. (Though Sand is, like many of the others, a contradictory character who keeps saying that he won’t wait for Ray, and waits for him anyway; or says he doesn’t want Ray to come meet him, but then they end up fucking when Ray does inevitably show up). 

oh honey, we know.

And like I said in a post the other day, except for the brief moment in Episode 1 where Mew apologizes to Sand on Ray’s behalf when Ray is drunk and trying to fight Sand in the bathroom, Mew and Sand have not said a single word to each other since, yet they keep radically impacting each other’s lives, mostly by nature of playing the world’s largest and most convoluted game of ping pong with a one Ray Pakorn.  

I would like to just acknowledge the masterful way that Jojo and co have handled this show, and the maturing of their characters. We have spent eight episodes watching these boys do everything under the sun to protect what they want, besides you know…talking to each other about it like reasonable adults. But that is expressly because they aren’t reasonable adults. They are barely even adults. Most of them are just learning how to exist in the world as people, how to navigate relationships, how to be mature; and those characters like Sand who have had no choice but to get independent and self sufficient quickly can appear mature compared to everyone else, or may consider themselves more mature than others around them, which I for one think Sand absolutely does think he is more mature than the other people he knows. But he is the same age as the rest of them, he is just as susceptible to being a petty little asshole, to lying, to cheating, to manipulating to get what he wants when talking openly and honestly would have saved him a whole lot of time and heartache. 

Nick 

oh how the camera loves Mark Pakin

Honestly, I am trying to think about whether or not Nick has been hypocritical at all, and I don’t think he was in this episode. I think after his conversation with Boston at the Halloween party he has admitted defeat and was trying to move on. He tried making out with Sand to see how it felt, they both realized they were very much only friends. He tried making out with Daddy Dan and it went fine. But Nick saw Boston at the bar, and decided it was time to finish this once and for all, so he went to go apologize to Boston, sincerely, and to tell him, honestly, what his feelings were. Then he left and went back to his date with Dan without once looking back behind him to see if Boston was following. Good job, Nick, if I am remembering all events of Episode 9 correctly, you made it out the other end of this episode without being a hypocrite!

Boston

It cannot be denied that in past episodes, Boston has been extremely hypocritical. He broke it off with Nick because Nick recorded Boston and Top having sex. You know, something Boston thought (correctly) was an egregious violation of privacy. Yet fails to see how him recording Ray and Mew was doing precisely the same thing. 

However….you know, I don’t think Boston was much of a hypocrite this episode either. I think as a character, similarly to Sand, he is very contradictory. Boston has been saying for a long time that his heart is frozen at sub zero temperatures, he doesn’t want a relationship, he has never loved Nick, etc. etc, and yet we are beginning to see the cracks in that. Boston doesn’t take pictures of himself, yet he and Nick both have selfies of both of them together. Boston tries to maintain some sort of morals, trying to convince his friends younger brother not to sleep with him, but Atom keeps pushing. Boston spends this episode minding his own goddamn business for what appears to be the first time in his entire life. As a result, he gets Nick, interrupting his bathroom hook up to give a truly mature, and expert apology about the ways he has hurt Boston, and how he feels about Boston. Boston says he doesn’t like drama, but he leaves his hook up the second his hook up says Nick is being dramatic. 

As an aside, I absolutely loved every single one of Boston’s reactions to everything Nick was saying about him. Because Boston for the last x period of time, since the reveal that Boston and Top fucked while Top was dating Mew, Boston has literally been getting his ass beat repeatedly, and has been explicitly told that he was not welcome in the events the rest of the friend group are in. He’s always given off a kind of lone wolf vibe to me, but I don’t think he actually is one, and I think he is actually starting to feel the impacts of his decisions. As @shortpplfedup says “when Boston starts realizing that not everybody thinks like him, he’ll be okay.” 

Anyway, good job Boston and Nick for managing not to commit egregious acts of moral failure this episode. So proud of you!

Cheum 

Okay, listen. Jojo is content in showing that The Lesbians are a) capable of doing the thing all these boys need to learn and communicating openly and honestly about their issues in order to preserve their relationship and b) are simultaneously capable of being messy bitches. I love Jojo for this. Cheum this episode, as with every episode, continues her attack on Ray, “the evil spirit left you already, huh?” and sure there is an argument here that she is speaking generally. But I am holding fast to the read that she is talking about Ray, because at no point before this has she blamed Mew for his own behavior. She spends all this time praising Top, and then finishes by saying “but what he did was damn evil. It’s too much to forgive. I understand that.” 

Ma’am. 

My dear. 

Darling. 

Were you not the one desperately trying to get Top and Mew back together? Were you not the one ignoring that very knowledge in order to try to get Mew to forgive Top? Were you not the one that gave Top the invitation in the desperate hope that these two would get back together? Are you really only now seeing what Mew was so upset about, or have you understood the entire time, and were just okay with potentially making Mew uncomfortable for the sake of preserving the relationship you want your friend to have? These are rhetorical questions, I know the answer. 

Mew

Mew has, in my opinion at least, not been the most hypocritical person out there, but he certainly has been one of, if not the most judgemental people out there. In this episode, though, we get a kind of hypocrisy from Mew that doesn’t actually bother me, or really make me roll my eyes because it is so effectively utilized, and it all has to do with Mew’s relationship to Ray. 

Because Mew went scorched earth on Top when he found out Top cheated. He felt hurt, he felt betrayed, he spiraled into a wave of insecurity so hard he adopted Ray’s aesthetic and personality. He started partying, he started drinking, he tried to change every part of himself. And he was fucking pissed. He wouldn’t talk to Top, he flaunted Ray around because he knew it would piss Top off, he got escalated on multiple occasions, and fought Boston cause he was so upset about being cheated on. 

And then Ray goes and does the very same thing that Top did. On multiple occasions. He kisses Sand at the Halloween party, he makes out with Sand at school, he lives in the middle of the night, drives two hours out of his way, just so he can meet up with Sand, interrupts A GAY BOY CUDDLE (it is the sin of all sins to break up a gay boy cuddle) and then has sex with Sand all while he is still dating Mew. 

You can imagine after Episode 8, how my brain was spinning thinking about Mew finding out that Ray cheated on him at the party, getting super pissed, and having a blow out fight that ended in a break up. So you can imagine my (very pleasant and happy) surprise at Mew and Ray at the end of Episode 9 just talking it through. I say Mew’s hypocrisy this episode is something I really liked because it felt like such a natural and organic demonstration of where Mew and Ray’s feelings for each other truly lie. Mew is using Ray to get back at Top. Ray knows Mew is using him to get back at Top. They have a calm conversation and an amicable break up, and Mew doesn’t seem at all upset that Ray cheated on him. Because Mew does not care about Ray like that. 

I do think Mew truly loves Ray, as a friend. I do think that Mew certainly has some compassion fatigue from navigating Ray’s substance use issues for multiple years, at a very young age, but it seems very clear to me in the way that friend group interacts with Ray that the only reason Ray has any friends at all is because Mew keeps him in his life. 

Ray

Ohhhhh Ray. Ray, Ray, Ray I love you dude, but Jesus Fucking Christ. Here you are once again, proving my point. Ray, I don’t know if you are *the* biggest hypocrite of the evening, but you are certainly in the running. I know you’re hurting, but damn dude you’re self-sabotaging. Ray has spent so much of his time in this show simping for Mew, wanting to be with Mew, saying that he loves and cares for Mew. And the second that he is able to shoot his shot and have Mew even remotely entertain the idea of them being a couple, he shifts all of his attention to Sand. 

Which, to be clear, Ray being interested in Sand is not the hypocritical part of all of this. Because, despite the fact that Ray was being kind of a massive piece of shit when he said it to Sand, he’s not wrong that he is allowed to like as many people as he wants. BUT Ray fucking hates Top, for a number of reasons, primarily because he is dating Mew and therefore getting in the way of Ray being able to do the same. 

But also because Ray jumps in to play hero, Ray tells Mew repeatedly that Ray has been nothing but good to Mew, and that Mew has been nothing but good to Ray. And, then the second that Ray has everything he thinks he wants, he turns around and pulls exactly the same bullshit that Top did. Ray cheats on Mew, multiple times depending on what Mew’s definition of cheating would be. Whereas Top was able to wait to have sex with Mew, Ray after however many denials of sex erupts on Mew, he gets upset about it, and Mew calls him on his bullshit a bit, but the fact remains that as much as Ray says he cares about Mew, he isn’t showing it when push comes to shove. 

I want to wrap this post up by saying that I think Jojo, Ninew, Den, and the others have done a truly remarkable job navigating the mentality of 21 year old boys. I love that after two months of watching these kids constantly come up with the most convoluted shit to hold on to the things they want, including recording intercourse, stealing said recording of intercourse, low-key stalking someone, and timing a playlist to incorporate the sounds of said recorded intercourse, they have finally finally started thinking “hmmm…what if we just…talked about it?” All our boys started showing some impressive blossoms of maturity this episode and I cannot wait for their inevitable backslide because they are- and I cannot stress this enough -all suffering from a chronic illness called Being In Your Early 20s.

[upsideofutopia]

Vox x Alastor (One sided or platonic, you choose)

Trying out posting some fanfic on here. It’s also on Ao3 under the same username if that format is more your cup of tea.

_________

“Come in.” Alastor’s voice bounced around the radio tower before Vox had the chance to knock. 

“Show off.” He growled as he stalked into the room. 

“Don’t be jealous,” Alastor chided, spinning the chair around to face him. “It’s not good look on you.”

“Don’t be a prick,” Vox rolled his eyes and Alastor laughed. 

“Is this a social call or do you want something?” 

“I actually have a proposal to make.”

“Hmm, I don’t wear bridal well.” Alastor mused, his eyes lighting up as Vox struggled not to laugh.

“Not that kind of proposal. You know Velvette?”

“The doll?”

“Well we were talking and we want to ally ourselves, form a team. I want you to join us, join me.”

“There’s a catch.”

“Wh…” Vox started but Alastor cut him off.

“You aren’t looking at me, what is it.” 

“Valentino.”

Alastor stood up from his chair and grabbed his microphone, his previously relaxed posture dissipating in an instant.

“You wouldn’t.”

“He’s powerful, Al. You know he is.”

“He gets his power by taking advantage of anyone desperate enough to sign their souls away for a paycheck.”

“How is what we do any better, really.”

“There’s honor in death, Vox, and even in being consumed. There is no honor in what Valentino does to those under his control.”

“You won’t have to take any part in it.”

“No, because I won’t be going anywhere near your little team.” Alastor said the last word with such distaste that Vox cringed back a step.

“Just think about it, Al.”

“Leave.” 

Alastor gestured towards the door with his microphone as dark tentacles began to creep along the edge of the room. Vox lingered for a moment, pleading with his eyes as Alastor stared at him with that unhinged smile still plastered across his face. 

Without another word he turned, leaving the door open as he exited. He didn’t hear it slam shut until he was already down the stairs and out of eyesight. 

“Did your little radio demon reject you yet again, Voxy?” Valentino’s syrupy voice assaulted his audio processor as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Fuck off, Val.”

“Now that’s no way to talk to your new business partner. We both know he would have been a weak link anyways. Why, his name doesn’t even start with the right letter.”

“I said fuck off.”

“Don’t sulk, your little crush was depressing to watch anyways. He barely even tolerated you. I told you he would never understand but you didn’t listen so it’s really your fault. Poor little Voxy, heartbroken over a washed up radio host.”

“Just go away.” Vox was almost shouting now, fighting against the small human part of him that still wanted to cry.

That part didn’t get to exist around Valentino. This was a deal made for power, a deal that Alastor was more than a little bit right about. Vox may not have signed a contract but he might as well have given his soul to the demon standing in front of him. 

“You don’t want me to go away. I can make it better.” Valentino pulled a small pink vial of love potion out of his coat and held it out.

It was a blessing as much as it was a punishment; the headache that came after would be worth not having to remember what was about to happen. 

He could stop it if he wanted to, he could call off the deal. Maybe that was the worst part, that he knew this was his choice, and he knew it wasn’t the right one. 

Vox took one last look at the radio tower before downing the viscous liquid in one gulp, feeling his fans kick into overdrive and his thoughts slip away from him as he was lead away to wherever it was they were going. 

He woke up on his own couch, a small mercy he supposed. His clothes were destroyed, although most of them were still on his body in some capacity. His circuits throbbed unpleasantly in his head and he couldn’t bring himself to stand up. 

What would Alastor think if the he could see him now. He probably deserved the ‘I told you so’ he was going to get at the meeting today.

Oh shit, the meeting. 

He scrambled hastily to find himself a suitable outfit before running out the door with his tie still only halfway done. 

When he slid quietly into the meeting room, he noticed the only unoccupied chair wasn’t his usual one next to Alastor. No, Velvette had taken that one, putting him right between her and Valentino. 

He caught a slight dip in the radio demons smile as he sat down and Valentino slid one of his hands down his thigh, smirking at the rest of the room as he did so. Vox tried to shift his leg away but only succeeded in causing Valentino to dig his claws in. 

He could see Alastor sneaking glances his way for the next hour, but he kept his gaze averted. Eyes trained straight ahead and fans spinning just loud enough to drown out his racing thoughts. 

The moment the meeting was over he stood up, attempting to shake off Valentino’s hand. He felt the claws draw blood before retracting and he left without another word, feeling the glare follow him out of the room. 

As soon as he closed the door behind him a small shadowy tentacle wrapped around his wrist and lead him down a corridor and into another meeting room. Alastor sat at the end of the long table, feet propped up and twirling his staff. 

“One taste of power and you’re just going to let him do whatever he wants to you. You’re better than that, Vox.”

“No I’m not.” He dropped to his knees and Alastor quickly moved to kneel beside him.

“You are.” The tinny sounds of the radio were less evident in those words, they sounded more human than Vox had heard from him in a long time. “And I hope you realize that someday. But this isn’t the answer.” 

“You don’t know that.” Vox splayed his hands out on the cold tile floor and Alastor gently set his hand on the edge of his screen. 

“No.” He admitted, running his fingers along the thin frame. “But you do.”

He stood up, giving Vox one final touch before walking back towards the door. “You know how to find me when you come to your senses.”

Two days later when Vox showed up at the broadcasting tower with bruises on his wrists and the effects love potion still clouding his judgement Alastor wasn’t there.  

All the cameras in the tower were smashed, hanging by their ripped wires. 

He gave himself ten minutes to collect himself. Ten minutes to sob in the wreckage that could have been his last chance at salvation before he picked himself up, dusted off his coat, and began the trek back to the Vee’s tower. 

[kajaono]

„Do you only consume Sherlock Holmes media for Johnlock?!“

I can not tell you how grumpy this comment makes me. First at all, everyone can enjoy media for their own reasons, but that’s just a side note

The main reason why I hate this comment is: it implies that we have the freedom to choose. It implies that when one Sherlock Holmes adaptation is not making Johnlock canon we can just turn around and say: „Pah! They are not making Johnlock canon. I am watching/reading another adaptation instead.“

Nothing could be more wrong. We do not have this freedom of choice. So far we have TPLOSH which implied gay Sherlock, Elementary with implied queer Sherlock, Sherlock & co which might make Sherlock gay… or not… only time will tell, and The Irregulars which made John canon gay and in love with Holmes. That’s it. Looking at the major adaptations… that’s it. One, ONE (!) canon gay John Watson. And that’s it.

I love the Sherlock Holmes stories because I know that I can witness my favorite detective duo solve mysteries not once, not twice… but for my whole life time. In every universe, past, present, future, audio, movie, book, series, as mice, gnomes, dogs, robots, women, thieves, everything. I can choose my Holmes adaptation based on my mood

But what do I watch when I am in the mood for some gay stuff? What do I watch?! Nothing. Because there is nothing.

And that’s why i am so grumpy. I am queer, and I am a fan, and I can not unsee the irony that we live in 2024, where Holmes and Watson can be everything, but not in love. They can’t even be queer on their own, for goodness sake.

I am consuming Sherlock Holmes media despite knowing that Johnlock might never be canon. Two or more Sherlock Holmes adaptations are in the work right now. In one of them Holmes is dead and Watson leading a hospital, in the other one Holmes is young and appearently has a female love interest, no Watson anywhere near him.

So don’t you dare to tell me that I only consume Sherlock Holmes media for Johnlock

Also the amount of people i saw recently making fun of the Johnlock fan movie is just disgusting. Queers did something for themselves and the only reaction you have for this is hatred. If you ask yourself why Johnlock isn’t canon yet in a major adaptation, maybe you are part of the problem

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol.5 Sakamaki Laito Animate Tokuten CD

Original title: DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol. 5 逆巻ライト アニメイト 各巻購入特典ドラ

Source: Diabolik Lovers Para-Selene Vol. 5 Animate Tokuten CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Hirakawa Daisuke 

Translator’s note: Bowling master Laito kind of threw me for a loop, but it also makes sense? Like he strikes me as the type of guy who would be unexpected skilled at a bunch of random things. In general, I’ve been really enjoying these ‘date scenario’ CDs. They actually did a good job making every one of them unique and choosing fun locations for each boy. I know the chances of us getting another DL anime are really slim, but if they do decide to make one, I really hope it’s not a season 3 based on DF or LE but a bunch of OVAs instead based on the drama CDs.

“...What’s this? There’s quite a lot of people here despite it being so late at night. I guess bowling is pretty popular. I thought I’d be able to do all sorts of fun things with my Bitch-chan, such a shame! ーー Ah! Our lane is over here. Ah! Check out the monitor over there! It actually displays our names as ‘Laito’ and ‘Bitch’! I love your name. It really stands out amongst the others! I would have loved to be able to input ‘Bitch-chan’ instead, honestly. I felt pretty bummed when they told me that I could only input up to five characters. Right, Bitch-chan?”

You frown. 

“...? You’ve been quiet this whole time. What’s wrong? Did you want me to add the ‘-chan’ as well?”

You shake your head.

“Then what’s the matter?”

You complain about him wanting to come here. 

“Eeh~? Is it really that strange? Even I feel like playing a game of bowling every now and then. There’s no ulterior motive behind it!”

You squint your eyes. 

“Oh dear. You’re still suspicious of me? ...Fine. I’ll fess up the truth. ーー We actually gave here today because I wanted to do you a favor.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“Mmh. We’re usually active at night, so most places where high schoolers like to hang out are closed by that hour, no? So we’re limited in the things we can do, right? Well, you might be fine with that, but you’re still a blossoming high school girl, so I figured that you might fantasize about the kind of cute dates depicted in shoujo manga and such. ーー I thought it wouldn’t hurt to go on a typical high schoolers’ date for once, so I started looking around for places which are open 24/7, which brings us here today. How’s that? Do you understand now?”

You nod.

“Nfu~ I’m glad. With that misunderstanding lifted...Now that we’re here anyway, why don’t we get started? I’m up first, aren’t I? Let me think...Which ball should I pick? ーー Ah. This one will do.”

*Thud* 

“It has the same color as your hair. I’ll throw it as hard as I can, imagining its your head instead~”

You protest.

“Nfu~ Oh come on, you may say that, but I know you’re happy deep down! You love to get pushed around by me, don’t you? ...Ah! When it’s your turn, why don’t you pick a ball in the same color as my hair? I don’t dislike the idea of being at your mercy either~”

You refuse. 

“Geez...You’d be able to get so much more of of life if you just enjoy it as one of many fetishes. You’re so easily embarrassed. Fine. ...I’ll throw the ball, okay?”

Laito faces towards the lane.

“Let me think...I’m supposed to throw it leaning down...or from up top? 

You seem surprised he has never bowled before. 

“Eh!? Bitch-chan...Do you really think I’ve come to this sorta place before? Today’s obviously my first bowling experience!”

*Rustle*

“But don’t worry! Experience isn’t what matters...It’s all about chemistry...!”

Laito throws his ball.

*Clatter clatter*

“Huh? I knocked all of them over. Is this what you’d call a ‘strike’?”

You seem very impressed.

“...Nfu~ I got praised~ Anyway, is this really so amazing?”

You nod.

“Heeh...I wonder if I am a natural at bowling? Control is key, so it might be the perfect game some someone who is very technique-minded such as myself. In that case, I’m quite curious what you are capable of, Bitch-chan~”

You frown.

“Now, now, no need to be so modest. Show me what you’re made of. Go give it a shot! ...Nfu~ I’m very much looking forward to this.”

You walk towards the lane.

“Break a leg, Bitch-chan~! Throw it with everything you’ve got!” 

You throw the ball. 

*Thud thud* 

“Nfu~ Ah-ahー I guess the excitement ended up being her downfall. What a shame. ...They call this a ‘gutter’, don’t they? I can’t believe you didn’t even manage to knock over one of them. ...Ah, come on. One more try, no?”

*Thud* 

You try once more.

*THUD*

“Ahー You really suck at this, don’t you?”

You seem disappointed.

“No need to be so sad. My strike might have been just a fluke. I’ll go next, so watch me, okay?”

Laito walks up to the lane again. 

“...Hah!”

*CLATTER*

“Aah~ I guess it wasn’t just beginner’s luck! I might have a knack for bowling after all! ...In that case, Bitch-chan, why don’t you come over here with your ball?”

You pick up your ball and approach him.

“Okay! Let’s practice how to hold the ball!”

*Rustle*

“Geez, no need to be so surprised. We came here to treat you to a good time today, so I’ll teach you very gently~ Come on, hold the ball.”

*Rustle*

“Hmー That won’t do.”

*Rustle rustle*

“You need to stretch your arm a little more.”

You try to scoot away from him, asking why he is touching you.

“What are you saying? I’m fixing your posture! I think I proved earlier that my bowling skills far exceed yours, so don’t you think it’s in your best interest to take my advice?” 

You frown.

“I mean, it’d be kind of difficult to tell you what to do without clinging to you like this, is it? I’m positive that it’d be so much easier to teach you good posture through direct touch!”

*Rustle*

“Come on, lean back against me and stand straight.”

*Rustle*

“Don’t move! You want to be able to throw the ball properly don’t you?”

You tell him to move away. 

“How mean, telling me to back off! I’m only trying to show my good heart by teaching you! I mean, if you lose this duel against me, you’ll get punished, remember?”

You seem surprised by that. 

“I mean, duh? Didn’t I tell you? All games have some kind of punishment game attached to it, don’t they? You have to expect those kind of things! By the way, now that you’ve already thrown once, you’re part of the game, so there’s no backing out~”

You ask him if he would punish you right here in public.

“Fufu~ Why would you ask that? ーー I get it. You’re curious about what this punishment would entail, aren’t you~? Were you perhaps hoping that I’d suck your blood~?”

You deny it.

“Nfu~ No point in trying to deny it~ I bet you imagined my fangs sinking deeply into your fair nape, didn’t you? Aah~ I suppose I have no other choice. That wasn’t the plan, but I’ll live up to your expectations and make the punishment something deliciously painful~ Please look forward to this punishment...which will turn both your body and soul to putty~”

You try to make a run for it.

*Rustle rustle* 

“Ahaha~ Oh come on, hold up! I told you that there’s no way out, didn’t you? You better behave...or I’ll do it right here, right now.”

You immediately stop resisting. 

“Nfu~ Good girl. Besides, there’s only a 50% chance that you’ll get punished, so just remember that you could always win and try to make the best out of it!”

You sigh in defeat.

“Well then, let’s continue your lesson. Now, where’s your spine?”

*Rustle*

“Nfu~ Found it~ Mm~

*Rustle rustle* 

“What are you saying? I’m helping you straighten your back! By tracing my fingers across your spine like this...See? You pushed out your chest which improved your stance! Try to hold this proper posture, okay?”

You ask him if he knows what hte proper posture for bowling is.

“Eh? No idea! How am I supposed to know what is the ‘right posture’ for bowling when I’m still a newbie at the game myself.”

You ask him what he has been teaching you then. 

“You’re just so terrible at this, I’ve just been giving you random points and then it was up to you whether or not you’d take my words for granted. ...Anyway, ahaha~ They’re really hard to miss when you’re standing looking straight ahead like that.”

You tilt your head to side.

“Over here. These bite marks on・your・neck~”

You squeak.

“They’re the proof of the love we share with each other every night~ It’s too bad you can’t really see them unless you move this close. I promise I’ll make them stand out even more by biting you nice and hard when we get back home, so rest assured~”

You complain. 

“You’re adorable when you pretend to dislike something. However, no losing on purpose because you want to get bitten ,okay?”

You insist that you would never do that. 

“I wonder~? You’re a naughty girl who seduces other by feigning discomfort. You want me to completely overpower you, run away with the victory and inflict pain upon you as a result, don’t you? And then you’d try to play innocent by saying ‘Oh I don’t actually want this, but it can’t be helped because I lost the game~', won’t you? ...Sure. Two can play that game. I like that sort of thing as well after all. I’ll make sure to slowly drive you into a corner...and then tease the living hell out・of・you~”

Your cheeks grow hot.

“Oh? What’s wrong? ...Nfu~ You’re flustered, aren’t you? Oh come, you are so shy~ ...Anyway, let’s get this game going! Try throwing the ball following my tips from earlier.”

You nod and throw the ball. 

*CLATTER CLATTER*

“Wow~ You actually knocked them all over! I’m shocked!” 

You rejoice.

“Nfu~ Congratulations, Bitch-chan. Judging from your sheer excitement, could it be that this is the first time you’ve ever hit a strike?”

You nod.

“Mmh, mmh~ I’m happy for you! In that case, why don’t we end on a positive note and wrap up the match right here? It’s obvious you’ll lose after all.”

You protest.

“I mean, even if continue to bowl one strike after the other now, you already threw a gutter once, so you have no chance at getting ahead of me.There’s no way I’d give away the win now.”

You shake your head. 

“Ah~ We can keep going until I have a slip-up if you want, but in return, your punishment will get more and more severe, the longer the game lasts. I believe you’d be much better off admitting defeat right now and simply heading home with me. 

I’m fine with either scenario. We’re here on a date today for you after all. You can choose whether you want to call it a day right now and quickly get your punishment, or if you’d rather have me tend to you thoroughly after I’ve messed with you a little longer.”

You call him out on being unreasonable. 

“Nfu~ Exactly. I might be messed up. But you love this crazy guy, don’t you? In which case, you have no other choice but to play along with me and slowly become insane as well.”

You sigh.

“Fufu~ Since you sighed in defeat, does that mean you’ve made your choice?”

You choose to go home. 

“Nfu~ Sure. As you wish. Well then...Shall we head home, Bitch-chan~? I’ll treat you to plenty of the good stuff which you love oh-so much~”

ーー THE END ーー

[the--highlanders]

I hope you don't mind me asking but what are your favourite Jamie EU stories?

oh my god not at all, I never mind being asked about my favourite little guy <33

I'm gonna break this down by media type, but there's some parts of the eu like comics that I'm not super familiar with, so if anyone wants to add some of those on (or any other eu stories) then go ahead!!

putting this under a cut because it got LONG rip

big finish

the jigsaw war

jamie is trapped inside a puzzle, experiencing events out of order, and has to figure out how to escape. this is THE audio for me in terms of like. recognising that jamie isn't stupid just because he comes from the eighteenth century. he really gets to shine on his own rather than being relegated to 'dumb exposition prompter' (which I feel like some audios can be kinda guilty of.....) also the fact that two and jamie canonically have a strong enough connection to form a psychic link over long distances makes me chew through glass. this audio GETS it in a way some others just don't.

the glorious revolution

two, jamie, and zoe travel back to the time of the glorious revolution, the event that set the jacobite cause in motion, and jamie grapples with not being able to change the past. if you saw that audio snippet going around a couple days ago you'll have an idea of why I'm reccing this one. it has been a while since I've listened to it & I do really want to relisten and check it out for historical accuracy. but regardless it's another one that gives jamie some of the depth he deserves, this time in terms of emotional depth and his feelings about his backstory.

the selachian gambit

two, jamie, ben, and polly get caught in the middle of an alien bank heist. this one is pretty focused on ben, polly, and jamie as a trio - they're largely taking on the action while two keeps the detective work of the plot chugging along. jamie doesn't hugely stand out here in terms of the audio really adding something to his character, but it does show his dynamic with ben and polly pretty well. in particular there's some great scenes with him and ben working together, and I love their friendship a lot so that's always a good time.

honourable mentions: helicon prime (I do feel this one underutilises jamie a bit and undersells him in some weird ways, but if you're looking for two/jamie content you can't get much gayer than this. plus it's the origin of the whole 'jamie and kirsty get married' thing which I hate on principle & am obsessed with in practice), the phantom piper (it's got so much more potential than it gives imo but the tidbits that we get are so good. jamie's relationship with his grandparents.... his best friend taking a bullet for him and dying in his arms...... I just wish I could explain to the author that there's no such thing as a bedroom door in a blackhouse)

novels

the roundheads

two, jamie, ben, and polly travel back to the 1600s, and get largely split up by events unfolding around them. this is a pure historical and it delights in that. if you're after ben and polly content, the roundheads delivers on that too - but it really is some great early twojamie content. (whatever way you choose to read them - it's definitely a shippable book if you're into that). they spend the majority of the book together, both for plot reasons and just hanging out (they go to a frost fair!! two buys jamie treats and then makes himself a flower crown!!) and you get a great sense of jamie figuring two out early into his travels, and how he's far more interested in the doctor as a person than some other companions - he's the only one to show interest in susan when the doctor namedrops her, for instance. this is the best two-era book to me.

the wheel of ice

two, jamie, and zoe visit a space station built a little before zoe's time, and find that not everything is as it seems. again, this is a great one for zoe content as well as anything else, and for some very sweet moments with zoe and two. I don't necessarily feel this one always nails two and jamie's dynamic, but they don't spend a massive amount of time together here, so it's not too jarring. really I'm reccing this because of the scenes where jamie falls in with a bunch of teenagers from the space station, and finds himself kind of responsible for them. it's just nicely done and gives a good sense of jamie as a caretaker character and someone who feels a drive to be responsible for other people.

honourable mention: the episode novelisations (these are a lot of fun, especially if you have particular episodes you enjoy. they often add in extra details, background for side characters, or just little things from the episodes that were cut from the script. I really like them for adding a bit more depth and life to existing stories, and just little things that make you go 'yeah I'll add that to my belief system').

short stories

the time eater/across silent seas

two and jamie give a massive time-eating creature a funeral, and save a space whale from being turned into a weapon. both from the compilation destination prague. literally nobody gets me like the destination prague stories get me I'm not even kidding. these are THE eu two stories to me. both of these are arguably 6b, and they really work in that position - both in showing two and jamie with a very settled, devoted dynamic and in their themes and subject matter. the time eater is a story with no villain, and even the incidental threat of the dying creature causing havoc in time is secondary to the emotional keystone of jamie helping two accept death rather than running away. across silent seas has jamie nearly being aged to death and two absolutely losing it. they're both really about age and death and loss, which hits hard for 6b, with jamie's determination to stay with two forever and two's growing realisation that even if jamie doesn't choose to leave or survives their adventures, his lifespan is still going to be far shorter.

the age of ambition

two, jamie, and victoria land at the house of one of victoria's father's friends, only to find he has been trying to reanimate the dead. from the compilation life sciences. this is really a victoria story, probably the defining victoria story for me. it's got backstory, it's got gothic horror/victorian scientific ambition vibes in a similar way to evil of the daleks, it's got victoria character moments. but it's also a really crucial story for jamie, to me. as a character, I don't think jamie never quite forms into the brawny action man stereotype he was originally drafted as - and that's one of the things I love most about him. again he's too much of a caretaker, he's a piper rather than a soldier. he's rarely truly angry, even when he fights he never seems out to cause much actual harm, and you get the sense his protectiveness over his friends wars with this almost inability to do harm. the age of ambition GETS that and pushes it to the extreme, with jamie being unable to fire a killing shot to save his friends, to the point where victoria has to do it herself. it's such a compelling character moment for both of them and their dynamic.

on a pedestal

two, jamie, and victoria travel back to meet william wallace, who jamie idolises. from the compilation the quality of leadership. this is another one that really gets and hones in on a particular nuance of jamie's character - in this case, the strength and rigidity of his morals and sense of responsibility, and his dislike of people who fall short of that. he's faced with the fact that someone he admires was once careless, lax about taking responsibility for their actions even when other people are at risk, and just a bit childish. it shakes him, and he spends much of the story grappling with that. it's such a good look into the qualities that jamie admires versus the ones that he can't stand. but that's balanced out with some very sweet moments (the whole scene with two, jamie, and william wallace going fishing is very fun and again gives a nice little snapshot of two and jamie having this very settled, secure dynamic). AND jamie gets recognised as a basically supernaturally gifted piper which. love to see jamie actually getting to be a musician, love to see him piping without it being the butt of a 'bagpipes suck and everyone hates them' joke.

honourable mentions: that which went away (this is the 'jamie turns into a bear' story I'm always talking about. I do think it has some major issues in terms of weird primitivism, both in terms of the side characters and how it treats jamie, but also. jamie turns into a bear. and two begging him to come back to him is just *chefs kiss*), undercurrents (two vanishes from the tardis and another man mysteriously appears. jamie believes this newcomer has done something to harm two, and very nearly kills him for it. this is one of the few moments where jamie gets really, properly angry and is willing to actually cause harm and I LOVE to see him pushed past the breaking point of his usual moral code), the slave war (two, jamie, ben, and polly in the roman empire. also really good for ben and polly content, but there's some interesting stuff with jamie grappling with the idea of becoming involved in another rebellion, but ending up getting involved anyway)

[potatoees]

Teruhashi: I could never choose to love another

Saiki: Maybe one day I can learn to love you, too

I kept getting TikToks with this audio of Journey To Bethlehem, and I couldn't stop thinking about Saiki and Teruhashi. Please, God, if you hear me, someone make a video of them.