#I didn't mean for each bad kid's raging to get longer and longer but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[the-greatest-magic-of-all]

I hope you don't mind me adding on, but I love the idea of temporary class swaps so much.

Rage isn't magic, but it still taps into a profound internal resource that manifests and fits the body and soul of the person raging. So, if a non-barbarian were suddenly able to Rage, it'd be a lot more unstable but also unique.

At the sight of Demon Prince trying to lay waste to her hometown and loved ones, Fig feels it build up before it hits. And having been around Gorgug and other Raging people long enough and heard how they've said it feels to know it's coming. A little giddy, she wants to enjoy the ride. So she pulls out her bass and starts shredding like she did when she first got it after her parents' divorce. Hard and loud but way more focused. The sound of her riffs fills her ears until it's all she can hear, even when her fingers move to wield her bass against a horde of invading Demons. Her own personal kickass soundtrack as she can't help but pour Divine Smites into every cleave of her bass. Crazier yet, thanks to her station as the Archdevil of Rebellion, she has a certain kind of Wild Magic that surges and allows her to teleport 30ft. at a time. Figerouth the Infaethable's own brand of chaotic justice manifesting in ways that will haunt the nightmares of this Demon Prince and his army for centuries to come.

Face to face with Arianwen once more, surrounded by conjured minions, and watching her cast Power Word: Pain on Aelwen, Adaine Rages. As a fellow Intelligence caster, she's spent quite a few nights as a sounding board for Gorgug’s Barbificer work. So she has a pretty good idea of how to hold concentration on a spell while Raging works. In the seconds, as it overcomes her, Adaine tweaks the components of her Furious Fist to make it a concentration spell and casts it at her highest spell slot. But something else also happens.

Stray remnants from Jawbone's bite all those years ago latch onto the momentum of her Rage. Adaine doesn't feel the changes, too in the thick of it. But Arianwen sees it. The nails on Adaine’s glowing hands sharpen and lengthen into claws. Tawny hair grows on her arms and ears. Her canine teeth grow more pronounced and lethally sharp. And her eyes. The things Adaine got from her, once Elven and bright blue, turned molten gold and wolf-like. Unfortunately, Arianwen will never live long enough to know that at this moment, those golden eyes, those righteously furious eyes, are her father's.

Fabian was this close to taking a Rage Token during Junior Year, and I think that stress is what gets him Raging. Stress stemming from not being clever enough, not good enough, to keep himself and those he loves safe. Chungledown Bim, the bastard, had cast Chains of Carceri and paralyzed Fig with arcane chains around her neck and hands, sent Gorgug hurling through Hell, had Upchungle attacking Kristen as she protected Adaine’s unconscious form, and just sent an Eldritch Blast into Riz’s chest, throwing him against a pillar with a horrible crack. And it's in those split moments, when the people he loves most are being hurt by this fucking creepy-ass Gnome that decided that he wasn't enough of a pirate, a Seacaster, and a man, Fabian locks in and Rages.

By the time he uses his Battlemaster ability to glean that Chungledown isn't currently resistant to fire, Fabian’s chest is glowing. By the time he's broken into a dead sprint toward his nemesis, flames are pouring from his nose, mouth, and empty eye socket. By the time he's within striking distance, the mote of fire he swallowed back in that Smithy has, in turn, completely engulfed him in flames. By the time Fig pulls him away, there's nothing left of Chungledown Bim except for scorched bones and clothes.

It would take a lot for Kristen to work herself up into a true Rage. Off the top of her head, she couldn’t tell you what would make her that angry. Until she gets a desperate, tearful call from Bucky about their parents finding out that he worships Cassandra. They've packed up him, Bricker, and Cork and are heading to a Harvest Men compound in High Court. He doesn’t know for how long, and he's too scared to ask. The following hours are a blur as she and the rest of the Bad Kids race to figure out where in High Court her brothers could possibly be.

There's a crystal clear moment as the Bad Kids & co rush the compound when she finds a bruised Bucky huddled with Bricker and Cork before she blacks out. It's only after, when recounted by a hyped-up Fig, that Kristen learns that she made sure her brothers were safe where they were before coming back onto the battlefield and wreaking shop. Swinging her staff and any and every Harvest Men she could find. And with every hit, Divine Smites cracks ring out as Cassandra's and Ankarna's Divine Fury surge through her. Fuck with her all you want. Reject her. Exile her. She couldn't give two fucks. But Never. Touch. Her. Little. Brothers.

Riz is scared of his Rage. Scared of what it might mean for him as a Goblin to fully let something as wild and savage as Rage take him over. What would people think if they saw him like that? Will they be shocked? Disgusted? Or worse, smug. Thinking that the frenzied Rage is all he is and ever will be. So, in the heat of battle, he fights it. Tries as hard as he can to push the Rage down, shove it into a box, lock it and throw away the key. But when Sklonda, fighting alongside them again after getting swept up in their latest "Who's trying to take over the World this time" mystery, takes a nasty hit from a racist ass cultist that downs her, Riz can feel it rising. It's exhilarating. It's terrifying. He can't, but his mom-

As the Rage reaches a fever pitch and he visibly shakes from the effort of holding it back, he feels a cool hand on his shoulder and then Pok’s voice. Riz risks opening an eye to find a spectral version of his father standing next to him. He looks soft and concerned about why he was summoned, but when he sees Sklonda, Riz sees a face he's never seen his father make. Ears pinned back, fangs bared, eyes slitted - pure rage. Knowing why he's here, Pok barks out a form-up command in Goblin and before Riz’s eyes, ghostly visions of his long-dead family members appear, ready and raring for a righteous fight. Including Riz’s grandfather, a gruff and stern-looking man, who gets a hand on Riz’s neck before bumping foreheads and telling him in a deep voice with a thick back-home accent that he should never be scared of everything he's capable of. Those fangs, claws, and viscousness kept their horde alive long enough to give him a life of endless possibilities. Only hide them so that they won't see them coming.

Filled with a sense of pride and (weirdly) calm, Riz finally lets the Rage overtake him as he turns, casts Haste on himself, and lets out a Goblin Battlecry before surging across the battlefield. His spectral ancestors in tow. One Goblin may not be scary, but a whole horde of them descending on you? Tearing you apart for daring to hurt one of their own? Well, now that's a sight that will haunt you well into your afterlife.

If they could rage, what would each of the bad kids do? Riz and Adaine are presumably biting and punching, but what about the others? And what would make them most likely to go into a rage in the first place?

Not really sure about what would set most of the kids off into a rage but hurting his Mom would probably make Riz snap. He's abandoning weapons and just going straight for the jugular with teeth and claws.

Adaine is for sure going to punch, the furious fist is going to be the INCREDIBLY furious fist.

Fabian doesnt have to pivot far from fighter to barbarian, he might just go unarmed and start punching as well.

Kristen would hit things with her staff, i bet she has a mean golf swing with that thing.

Fig already attended barbarian classes, she knows what she's doing. She's going to hit things with her bass.

[ss-skyearn]

Dormant || Prologue

[miniseries masterlist]

❝ It's wrong to want it still, when what you had with him wasn't even given a name. ❞

「PAIRINGS AND CHARACTERS」

— Han Jisung x afab!reader, Chris x afab!reader

— Hyunjin ; peak Cinderella slash Drama Queen embodiment.

— Minho ; raging bisexual, wanted fuckboy, self proclaimed sex enthusiast.

—Changbin ; the local kinky gay best friend, protective to a fault.

—mentioned Stray Kids members

「ABOUT」

—Angst, Smut, Fluff, suggestive/adult themes throughout, Minors strictly DNI.

—Profanity (reader has a dirty mouth), mutual pining, desperation, obsession, heavy smoking as a cope up mechanism, brief description of panic attacks/anxiety, confusing feelings, themes of demisexualism, explicit sexual content.

—*each chapter will contain seperate warnings.

—inspired by the absolute blessing of a song, Volcano; references to the lyrics can be found throughout. It's my first written series, I hope you look forward to it. Excited to share.♡

「SERIES CHAPTERS」

l. BURN ALL OVER

ll. REBELLIOUS : release date tba

lll. title tba

「PROLOGUE」

Dormant. 

That's what he's been, his heart has been since that night. That night when he had you for himself, that one fateful night. 

He knew it as well as you that that was all it was. 

One night. 

But he'd be a fool to say he didn't wish for more, that his heart didn't ache for you the next morning when he found your side of the bed warm with you nowhere in sight, that his entire being doesn't yearn for you every day since.

It had been a stolen affair, with the city blanketed by the dead of the night, clouds overcast, leaden sky camouflaging all that is morally wrong; when there was no one looking, no one scrutinising, when your tangled limbs were masked by the heavy duvet, he let himself go, finally put his guilt aside and let him have what his body had been longing, craving. 

Too bad no one told him about the side effects cravings present. They become a vice, get you addicted. They give you withdrawals, make you the shell of the person you once were. 

He would know, these symptoms haunt him on the daily, not failing to torment him every second he spends thinking of you, never coming short to burden him with his irreverence. 

He did revere you, still does, always has. But that dawn, you let him revere you, worship you like he's always wanted. 

But those same memories now serve to be nothing more than ephialtes, bring nothing besides anguish. 

Yet if he could rewind time, the only thing he'd change would be to never let you leave, stop you before you left him alone in the chill of his now lonely room, stop you from stopping him love you. And love you he would, cherish you like you deserve, treat you like he never would be allowed to. 

He's already crossed that line when he decided to let go of his inhibitions, might as well go all the way now. 

If he's sinned once, does it really matter if he does it again? Is there some almighty power up there that's keeping records? Will he be punished when his time comes? 

It's fruitless, he supposes, to think of the consequences, for if given the chance, he'd do it a million times over. Time and time again. In a heartbeat. 

For him, you had been a sin. 

From the very start, to the only day he had you in his arms, all the way to now that he no longer does. 

But if the sin tasted so sweet, if it meant he could have you for himself, the gates of hell don't scare him. He'd walk straight through them, if it means there's your hand in his, his heart with you, your soul with him.

[Send an ask if you wish to be added to the taglist. ♡]

© ss-skyearn 2023. All rights reserved. Copying, editing, reposting and translating any of my works is not allowed.

[evita-shelby]

They didn't know we were seeds

Chapter 15

Cw: death, trauma, rage issues, mentions of cannibalism

Heaven Lavey belongs to @call-sign-shark ,Nina to @peakyswritings

@justrainandcoffee @emotionalcadaver

There were always rumors that the lands up north had people no longer subject to Panem, as there are rumors of South America existing beyond the ocean that covered Central America and what used to be southern Mexico.

Those who went looking never came back. The last she heard, Dalton, a man who used to work with Cousin Andres had left and so far, no body had been found.

“What do you mean?” Eva asked quietly fearing they’d still be overheard.

“13 and Panem made a treaty that 13 would fuck off and Panem would let them be as long as they never made contact. Our friends have been working with them to end all this.” He explained, just as quietly as she had spoken. “There’s a network that helps you evade peacekeepers and the like from 11 to 12 and then leading you to 13s first watchtowers.”

So, Lyme knew of it through Aveline, or Chaff and Seeder? Haymitch was somehow involved as the only victor of 12 by the looks of it too.

And now they did.

“We could leave, take Laurie and run.” He takes her face in his hands and begs her to run away with him.

“We’ll talk about this at home, I don’t trust this place.” Eva hides her no well enough for him to fool him. False hope was better than no hope at all.

Maybe they could run away if Heavensbee doesn’t find his symbol before Laurie’s 12th birthday, or if things become harsher for them, but right now isn’t the time.

Even when it will destroy Jack to lose his niece.

“For now, I need you to be strong for Gina’s sake. She’s terrified, Lyme told me about last night’s nightmare and how scared she is.” The woman pulled him closer until he was resting his sweaty head against her, and she could calm him down enough to pretend he’s not broken.

“I don’t know if I can, every time I see her, I know she’ll come back in a coffin. I killed her, if I hadn’t---” he’s too weighed down by the what ifs that Jack can’t even feign strength.

“Shh, I know, Jack, for Gina’s, for me and Laurie, don’t let them know they’ve won.” Eva soothed him as best as she could.

It was no wonder Abilene and the victor before her got so bad, how can you live past this? How can you live when your child is dead?

A freak summer storm stops them from having another pool party on the last day of training, but they have a party with foods and snacks teenagers like in the game room no one uses in this hotel instead. For a moment they are kids, tomorrow they’ll try and hope to charm the Capitol as to why they deserve to live and the day after these kids die at each other’s hands.

Eva shows up with Matty and their kids and try their best to ignore Gina’s death stares at her. She knows her as the woman who murdered her dad whom she had never truly met. She may die never knowing that Eva is her aunt, Jack has no idea how to even tell her.

Jack has done his best to be strong for her, to give her the false hope that she may actually survive this. The blonde tween had beamed at him when the trainers praised her for her agility and skill.

“I don’t know if I’m going to tell her; I can’t send her off like that.” He admits as they sit against the wall while the kids watch some funny movie that’s all the rage in the capitol right now.

“Then don’t, I won’t make you do it.” She whispers as she gave his hand a good squeeze.

“I love you.” He says, turning to look at her thinking no one can see or hear them and even worse kisses her sweetly as if he might never see her again.

“So, its true then? You’ve been fucking this bitch like she didn’t kill my dad!” Gina makes her presence known with a shout and begins throwing anything she can get her hands on at them, at him.

Gina’s shouting loud enough to startle the avox setting out her night clothes.

“They talked about it at school and I told them you would never do that, that you loved my dad too much to fuck her and have a baby with her!” the betrayal has his niece crying and screaming as her image of Jack is shattered by the truth.

“I planned on telling you, once it was safe to do so, Gee. Shit is more complicated than you think.” The mentor still barely knows how to explain it to a child.

As much as Gina thinks she is grown, she is still a fucking twelve-year-old girl.

“She killed your brother, my dad, and you decided to get together with her even if its fucking illegal!” she grows shrill and loud unaware every second of this is being recorded.

“Once you are inside that arena, you have no choice, kid. Even those of us who volunteer.” He would love to tell her everything and hope she could change her mind, but he cannot. “Every victor here has met the victor that took their loved one. I killed two kids she grew up with, Brutus and Wiress had killed her brothers.

Most of us learn to forgive them and even befriend them. If you survive your games, you’ll know what I mean.”

“Did you have to name him Laurie?” Gina asks, having heard some of what he said. She never would understand it entirely because she is going to die this weekend. Something that he hates himself for.

“No, but we wanted to. I’ll never see him beyond pictures, at least I know he is mine and that his name is what I wanted to name my son.” Jack lies through his teeth to a girl already dead.

There is an axe at the cornucopia.

It is a dense foggy forest at the foot of a snowcapped mountain and while everyone has a reason to fear for their tributes, no one has their own flesh and blood in there.

Jack is glued to the screen, digging his nails on the back of the chair he’s sitting backwards on as he mutters as if Gina could hear him. Gina had done exactly as he had trained her to do and with the career pack with her had survived the bloodbath.

Marius and the rest of the careers do their best to protect her, getting her safe and armed with the hunting knife meant to tempt Titus from 6. Titus was too fond of meat, always hungry and prone to biting other tributes and even trainers. Had trained with a hunting knife and had promised to carve out his enemies’ hearts and even Caeser in his urine-colored hair wasn’t sure how to spin that.

His mentor had whispered of a cannibalism charge that led to him being reaped. Said poverty was so bad in their district that it was not unheard of for someone to eat another human being.

The Gamemakers had given him a 10 in hopes of getting the careers to kill him faster.

Jack knows the game is over when Heaven Lavey comes away with the bloody axe and proceeds to hunt the weaker ones hiding about the woods that same night.

Marius had had the hots for her, like Laurie once had for Eva because Jack had made the mistake of saying the girl from 10 was 10 and asked if he agreed with Jack’s assertion. Jack had to warn the boy several times that the hot chick from 7 was there to kill him not take his virginity.

Eva’s kids had hidden well, worked together to get a handful of things and hid in a tree for the night. Chel was good at climbing, the cacao trees could be up to 40 feet tall or so she had said in her interview last night. Andy had a tree house high up a mesquite, and while not as adept didn’t fare too badly as Eva had feared.

Gina has yet to kill someone, the most she did was maim the girl from 6 that one of Cashmere’s kids finished off. But she was safe as long as the career pack didn’t break off. By herself she was as likely to survive as Alfie and Nina’s kids.

“I’ll stay with you until its over.” Eva moves a chair close to him after having reminded Nina from 9 to keep herself hydrated because she’s in the same shape as Jack.

Eva’s a healer, always taking care of everyone. It’s something he loves about her.

But Jack doesn’t know he’ll ever recover when Gina dies because he was too chickenshit to take them and run.

Gina is killed in the second day. She’d spotted a shock of white hair by the lake and tried to drown her thinking her easy prey.

It was morning when Jack is made to watch as Heaven Lavey buries her hatchet into his niece’s head.

Jack doesn’t come too until he is sitting in a room he destroyed with his bare hands. He is bleeding and hurt and crying like he’s never cried before sitting in the rubble of his room.

“I killed her. I killed her. I killed her!”

[mewnekoice-mecha]

Hello it’s me again here’s another little fun fic while i obsess over this series

Also if it’s not a bother can I be known as 🎵🎤 anon

Y/N needs a substitute actor for her final grade project, after the one she chose bailed on her. Here comes some much-needed help.

Now here we go

@selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU"RE NOT COMING!?!?!," I yelled into my phone. 'This can't be happening, I need to finish this in the next two days or i'm screwed.' I thought panicky.

"I mean exactly what I said, I'm not coming I got a better offer and decided to take that instead, so later," a snarky male voice could be heard before the call ended.

The dead call mocked me as I blankly stared at it before with a short scream of rage I threw it at my bed muttering curses. I began pacing trying to think of a solution but in my rage, I forgot that I no longer lived alone and my 'roommates' tend to be very perceptive.

Running could be heard as my door suddenly slams open as Dazai runs inside. After a quick glance he relaxes. “ Little light mind telling me what that was about,” he drawled at me.

Laughing sheepishly, I explained what happened. “Ah, so you need another stand in correct?,” he said. “ Worry not little light it just so happens you have a house full of people who’ll LOVE to help you out, come on let’s get the others and explain what’s going on.” Having said that he left my room probably to go get the others.

Sighing I follow after him, after gathering everyone I explain what the problem was. Ranpo was the first to speak, " I see the reason you didn't ask us earlier was because of the Theme that was assigned to you." I twitched but admitted that he was correct hoping beyond doubt that he wouldn't ask me what the Theme is but I knew that was impossible, and judging be his smile it was clear he was messing with me a little.

"What's the Theme? It can't possibly be that bad can it," Atsushi said curiously. I blushed before just deciding to get it over with, looking down I utter the words that's gonna break some of them," My themes are Love/Hope and a duet for Pain/Despair, I already have the music and lyrics done."

It was very quiet before sheer madness erupted, lots of yelling and talking over each other before having enough Chuuya used gravity to pull everyone but me and the kids to the floor. " Everybody SHUT UP." Chuuya roared, " Now that it's quiet, Y/N do you have anybody in mind for the songs." Chuuya released everyone after it quieted down.

"I do actually, I was hoping to ask the two people I had in mind, so I can do one today and the other tomorrow." I said. "Who is it," aya asked me. " Well taking the themes into consideration, I choose Tetchou and Chuuya, mind helping me out guys," I asked. Tetchou looked surprised but Chuuya looked ecstatic, they both gave confirmation that they'll help. Smiling I grab Tetchou and junichirou hands pulling both after me yelling to the others that, I'm doing the recording for the first part tonight and will do chuuya's tomorrow but I'll need some volunteers for his part at least four.

~ Time skip Several Hours Later~

And now for the reveal, " Thanks guys, come on let's show the others our hard work." I started stretching, walking out of the recording room with my helpers. Gathering everyone again took less time as it seemed that they all stayed in the living room, going to the TV I hooked up my laptop and waited for everyone to settle down. " Here we go the finished version I named it, " I'LL WAIT"

~ SONG: I"LL WAIT by KYGO, SASHA SLOGAN~

The scene starts with a shot of my bedroom from the ceiling before paning towards the bed where I'm laying on top of a shirtless tetchou, an alarm goes off causing tetchou to turn it off before he turns to me and kisses my head 'waking' me up, and look at him. Before another alarm rings and causes me to wake up showing that the scene earlier was just a dream.

I'll never forget the songs we used to play And when I put 'em on The feeling never fades out my body I hope you're thinkin' of me (mmm) There won't be a night, there won't be a place Where you don't cross my mind Where I don't see your face in somebody (mmm) I hope you're thinkin' of me (mmm)

Another Flashback shows that Tetchou is being sent to military training and both of us promising to never forget the other and wait, Hugging him I 'sent' him away watching his back as he boards the bus and it starts leaving.

People say we're fools, people say we're dumb People say we're caught up in temporary love We don't know what we're doin', they say we're too young But they don't know a thing about us

I'll wait forever, that's what we said 16th of September, lyin' in my bed I'll wait forever, it's never too late Couple thousand miles is just a little space

Now it shows me writing and sending letters and getting them in return as the months go by.

I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) Couple thousand miles is just a little space I'll wait I'll wait

A phone rings, answering it I say the next verse,smiling as on the other end shows Tetchou on the line smiling softly.

There won't be an end, can't forget the start When you're far away, it's like we're not apart I'd play my money Just to hear you say you love me again People say we're fools, people say we're dumb People say we're caught up in temporary love We don't know what we're doin', they say we're too young But they don't know a thing about us

The months turn to years and show that the letters had started to come less and less, faceless people try to tell me to forget about him as it's clear he didn't keep his promise, but I refused.

I'll wait forever, that's what we said 16th of September, lyin' in my bed I'll wait forever, it's never too late Couple thousand miles is just a little space I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) Couple thousand miles is just a little space I'll wait

I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) I'll wait (mmm) Couple thousand miles is just a little space

It's been three years at the this point and the letters had stop coming. The faceless people are whispering and mocking her behind her back but she put on a smile and ignored them. One day it showed her going to a space they always went to when he was here, suddenly a voice called out, She turned around as her eyes widen before taking off running towards something.

I'll wait forever, that's what we said 16th of September, lyin' in my bed I'll wait forever, it's never too late Couple thousand miles is just a little space

Running she throws herself into Tetchou arms, causing all those who doubted to be shocked, even more so when he gets on one knee and shows a ring. Throwing herself into his arms, as she sang the last words.

I'll wait

@selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs

[negative-speedforce]

3, 4, 5, 7, 9 for anyone for the song asks :)

Prompt 4: Somewhere in the end of my hatred there's my grave ahead (YELLOW)

With: My OCs Marie and Qiara

"Marie, you have to start using your head instead of running head-first into situations." Qiara sighed. "You're just... always so angry. Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not, okay?" Marie grit her teeth. "My whole life, everyone's treated me like shit, just because my mom had terrible taste in men. I've been spat on, assaulted in broad daylight, insulted to my face, and called the most horrible things, just because I'm... not like them. Of course I'm angry, Qiara, I had to either cover my ears or pretend to be Vulcan for most of my life, to escape being treated like literal garbage. But I'm not."

"Yeah. I know." Qiara squeezed Marie's shoulder. "I've seen how people go apeshit when they see you, just trying to live your life. You're not a monster or a traitor, you're just a person. You don't deserve that."

Marie sighed. "I know that my temper's gonna get me killed someday, but I can't help it. I'm holding back constantly, trying not to prove them right, that I'm dangerous and volatile, but it's so hard. Then, when someone comes along and pisses me off, I just let it all out. All the rage, all the pain, all the grief for a childhood that I should have been allowed to have. You and Liah were my first friends. Everyone else either hated me or were told by their parents that they were no longer allowed to associate with me."

"That sounds really rough." Qiara said. "I mean, I would offer to turn them all into lizards, but I think you'd probably say no."

"Yeah, no." Marie snorted. "It wasn't their fault, really, at least, not the kids. They were just modeling what they saw from their parents, and they weren't wrong. Romulans don't have a track record for being particularly friendly."

"I mean, that's probably a cultural thing, like, our two societies are so different that we see each other as barbaric. They probably think the same about us."

"Yeah, probably." Marie didn't seem convinced. "The worst part is, when I was in the Collective I- or at least, the tiny piece in the mass that is the hive mind that was me- actually felt like I belonged. I didn't want to leave, at least until you came in. It was the first time in my life that I didn't feel alone, or dirty, or different than anyone else. I was an equal. I was valued. I was powerful."

"I didn't know that you felt that way. If at any point I made you feel bad, or different, I'm so sorry." Qiara kissed Marie's forehead. "But can you at least try not to punch anything that breathes in your general direction?"

Marie shook her head. "No promises."

[bandofchimeras]

I often want to delete this blog and my entire life up to now bc of shame.

today I asked myself where it comes from, this shame.

it comes from being ignored or not interacted with, that interaction lessening as I spiral, it is a feedback loop. I feel like my illusion of control is slipping as people scroll by or unfollow, like I'm beyond help.

being online has just been one long fear driven cry for help since I joined social media as a tween.

I no longer believe people should, or want them to rescue me. I do not let myself indulge in resentment anymore, that's a fast track to inceldom.

but growing in that way left this gap - obviously the part that is angry and resentful about being overlooked is stuck in the past, and there are therapies available to help them - but i don't know how to relate to my past now.

many people overlooked, left, neglected, or didn't intervene or indulged in their own discomfort and told themselves I'd be fine.

my mind searches for a reason, and finds my own symptoms, behaviors, attitude.

forgiveness of them seems tied to self blame.

and forgiveness of myself to blaming them.

then it hit me, I am stuck back there trying to find compassion for people who were simply comfortable letting me be the bad kid, the loser, the weirdo.

I believe with the exception of occasional kind souls, people let other people stay where they are, because it's "nobody's business." you have to put yourself out there, you have to ask for help, and be insistent, to get help. if you're not okay, and you just follow all the rules anyways or act out in harmful ways, there is neglect or punishment. it's either "you're fine" or "you're on a bad path" because the goal is not actual love or care, it's maintaining a system.

In my household abuse and neglect were normal.

My needs, thoughts and desires did not matter, or could not matter bc my parents were fixated on surviving and presenting an image to the world. they did try their best, but they were operating out of their own insecurities. they were operating best they could and defining all of us by our skills and accomplishments.

and what I've been grieving all along is that most people define themselves naturally, by where they come from. but where I came from, I didn't feel myself exist. I was a non-entity.

My parents only related to what they wanted to see in me.And I kept finding more and more people who acted the same. And acting the same to other people. It's fucked my life up a lot. It's a state of denial.

What I value, the way I operate, my presence and true desires - I have to fight for these things, and put myself out there now.

There is no real healing for the mental wound of knowing people let other people slip through the cracks than to become someone strong, loving and full of healthful rage, who refuses to let myself slip any further. Who can lend a hand and not watch people spiral silently and judgementally.

So yeah, I still have a lot of anger at being invisible. I still have ego delusions about proving my worth by being the best and brightest or finally seeming normal or funny or passionate.

When you're cluster B diagnosed, to me it's a code for a spiritual misunderstanding. That most people who find joy and meaning in their life really do what lights them up, and forget the rest. And the anger, the resentment comes from the pain of not knowing your true Self, and all the ways you run your head into the wall trying to figure out an image of who that is.

When the whole point is the Self is beyond, under, the image. It's just existing. And defining your existence by existing, and doing shit and not collapsing in fear every time you try something that violates the suffocating little boxes people put each other in while trying to navigate the world.

Tumblr was where I made my most embarrassing social blunders back in the day so when I get back on here it feels like there's something to prove. But the thing I genuinely love about this site now is that there really isn't. It's people just hanging out.

Anyways that's character count for today 😝🤙 I'm not gonna delete my social media, just do more shit IRL and care less.

[hedgehogcryptid]

Probably no one cares but I need to rant about Fairy Tail now that I finally finished it. Because I feel like it gets a lot more hate than it deserves considering that almost everything it set out to do it did right. Starting from characterization and relationship dynamics. Those were fucking great. They're so fucking fleshed out, I love them.

And I've seen people complaining about Natsu and Lucy's relationship being dragged out but I feel they're missing on the fact that, first and foremost, they're partners, and no amount of romance or lack thereof can change that. Not long after meeting him Lucy jumps out of a window with no hesitation and no back up plan because she heard Natsu's voice and that meant she would be safe. That is not just a high level of trust, that is insane. And that's the entirety of their relationship. Making them romantic wouldn't change anything. It would just mean slapping a different label on it, because their relationship simply cannot be more deep and meaningful than it already is. (And this might be my aroace ass speaking, but I cannot imagine Natsu being stereotypically romantic. Even if they decided that they were, in fact, dating, I feel nothing would change in the ways they act around each other)

Also about Erza and Jellal, really. They're clearly meant to be together, they love each other. But they can't share any amount of time on the same room without it becoming awkward or dramatic because the amount of shared trauma between them is fucking astronomical. They need twenty years of therapy before they can do any significantly romantic thing and that's great. It's awesome! Just because you're in love with someone doesn't mean that being together will be easy! But that doesn't make their relationship any less meaningful or tender.

And the platonic relationships! The family ones! Makarov will risk himself and use the fairy law and Mavis tries to stop him. Tells him she has a plan that will lead to victory. Only for Makarov to say "I know this. But I need it now because the children are suffering and I won't wait a second longer" before obliterating an entire army.

Gildarts might be a womanizer but he's good with kids and he's so fucking delighted at having a child. He's so proud, and so embarrassing. I love him.

The raijinshuu are friends, and it shows, and I kinda love that the one to have a raging crush on Laxus is not Ever, the only woman among them. And the Strauss siblings have such a good relationship too. And thankfully don't fall into any of the worst sibling cliches. Levi and Gajeel spend the whole time they know eachother developing a relationship on the background, and by the time you pay atention they're sleeping together. That's hilarious. It's fantastic.

And speaking of Laxus, he goes from being a crazy fuck to incredibly cool and dependable without it feeling like he got a complete personality transplant. Partly because it soon becomes clear that most dragon slayers are, at any given time, one wrong turn away from completely losing the plot regardless of their best intentions. But also because his core values remain the same. Guild pride is the thing that drives him. When we first see him he's obsessed with making Fairy Tail strong so that it can stand proud on the face of anything. After taking a forceful journey of self discovery he learns that the guild is the sum of every individual person on it, instead of an abstract ideal of power, but the fact remains that the guild is the important thing to him. That's why he gets Natsu to defeat Hades instead of doing it himself. Because at that point he's not a part of the guild, so if he's the one to win it'd mean that Fairy Tail didn't, and that simply cannot stand.

All in all, it does such a good job of depicting good and complicated relationships with care and nuance, and makes a place for the ones that are bad. Lucy's dad has to work to get accepted back into her life, and that's amaizing. Where else have you seen a parent that doesn't get instant forgiveness after saying sorry? It's certainly not as often as I would like.

But I mostly feel like talking about the "darker" things, because it sometimes gets labeled as childish because no one dies (which is a big fucking lie. And I did not sign up for that. At all. I was fucking counting on it, and it was a LIE. And sure, Silver was technically already dead, but still) and like. I get it. Most main characters who "die" get miraculously saved. But that doesn't mean trauma in-world is any lighter.

On the seven year timeskip most people don't care about the characters that stayed behind, because they're secondary, and weaker, and not very cool. But we're told the reason the guild fell behing wasn't because it lost it's stronger members, but because they spent years upon years neglecting jobs for the sake of searching for the missing ones. And that's very fucking big.

But, again. The darker shit. They're not happy go lucky. They're not naive. They declare war no less than three times and every single one they make it clear that it is not about justice, it's about vengeance. About retribution. About "you don't fucking fuck with us". (And, lets remember, declaring war was fucking illegal).

They repeatedly say that they don't do good things because they're the good guys. They do the shit they wanted to do and it might just be that it could be considered good (and if not, they can convince people in high places to overlook it, pretty please. Because they have the friends to manage that).

Natsu has a whole argument with an outright assassin, and it never comes up that "murder is bad". It's framed more as a professional disagreement, rather than a moral argument. Natsu's main problem is that, while taking killing jobs, they call themselves a guild, the thing he asociates with family. The thing he considers sacred above all else. And since killing jobs are dirty (not unethical) they should, therefore, never touch a guild.

Before the final batle he outright says that killing kinda sucks but he will do it if he has to. And then kills around 900 people in a single second. Lucy is ready to kill. She's alone with Brandish in the bath and she's ready to shiv her in the neck. She might feel cornered, like this is the only option she has left. But in that moment she's ready and willing to see it through.

Invel is facing Gray and tells him "yes! Sucumb to the darkness so you may understand and join our purpose". Only for Gray to go "you dumb ass bitch. Do you think I care about going dark? Do you seriously believe I'm playing hero? All I care about is taking you down and if I have to be evil for that then that's how we roll".

All of that. I love that. They don't give a single fuck. Family comes first not because that's good, but because that's the way they are. They don't much care about what place their guild occupies relative to the rest of the world, or where any one member falls on a scale from good to bad. When all is said and done, all that mathers to them is the line between them and us, and they don't care to sugarcoat it.

And so many shows do that wrong. You get good guys who commit untold atrocities that go unaknowledged because they're the good guys! They can do no wrong! And I feel Fairy Tail should get more credit than it does on those grounds alone, but it does help that the character dynamics are good.

And I could write an entire (incoherent) essay on how Zeref is truly the most sympathetic villain I've ever seen. Everything about how he ended up makes perfect sense with his fucked up situation beyond a simple "I suffered so now I'm a self righteous asshole". You can see all the ways his mind had to twist itself into pretzels for him to maintain any semblance of functionality. If you're an hyperempathetic young man who suddenly and involuntarily kills anything he cares about then you really need to convince your brain that you don't care about anything, actually. Problem with that is that you're now convinced that it's true, because it doesn't work unless it's true. But the thing is that you also want to die, and you can't do it while actively wanting to die, so you need to die while thinking you don't want to. What's the best way to do that? You need someone else's help. And the best way to get someone to kill you is probably if they really really hate you. And the best way to do that is to become a supervillain, probably. Which also comes in handy for the whole "convince myself I'm truly an asshole" thing. And you end up becoming a calamity and fucking over the lives of anyone who could have loved you. But at least you can finally die.

And Mavis! The sweet looking, undeniably good person who turned out to be a ruthless strategist, quite detached from the world around her, who has a hard time weighing the value of individual human lives when there's a bigger picture to look at. But she's not an unfeeling stereotype either. She does love people, she wants them to have good things. But that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't relate to people the way others do, even if she could've lived her life without ever realizing (and I love that they tell us the wars the mages participated in were merchant wars. Just a random little tidbit, but yes. Wars do tend to be about money)

And this was a very long post and I said a whole bunch of nothing because I can't keep a train of thought to save my life. I just wordvomited a bunch of things that I liked. Long story short: characteryzation in Fairy Tail is top tier and I won't be taking criticism about it. You can try to critisize me though, I do enjoy arguing when I have enough braincells to put words together in the right order

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

What did he say? - Daniel Ricciardo one shot

Update: I just realized it's Carlos' birthday TODAY! I'm so so sorry hahaha I feel like a jerk, but it's just play pretend ok?

Guys, this is based on a dream I had but listen, it’s so weird cause I KNOW this is not like Carlos AT ALL. He’s kind of the vilan in this one... Please don’t be mad if you’re a Carlos fan, it’s just for fun, I swear. I’ll even try to write something with him later to make it up to you guys! Also, I clearly don't know how vacuum works in racing, so again, just humor me and pretend I got it right, ok?

As always, please take the time to let me know what you think, means a lot to me (even if it’s constructive criticism)! And thank you so much to everyone that always does! 💕 Your lovely messages always motivate me to keep writing!

Warnings: angst, jealous Daniel, kind of a dick Carlos (again, sorry! I know he’d never)

.

I was in the “side stage” at the press room for the Austin GP, the first I ever went and of course, the first with Daniel, as his girlfriend. He was answering questions along with Pierre Gasly on stage. There were a few people besides me, including some of the drivers, waiting for their turn to face the press.

"Coco, ¿quién es?" I heard Carlos Sainz whispering to his cousin, nodding his head in my direction.

"No conozco. ¿Creo que es periodista?" his cousin answered looking at me. I just acted like I wasn't listening, or understanding, not sure why though.

"No, si fuera periodista estaría allá fuera, haciendo preguntas" Carlos continued.

"Sí, pero no me parece estar perdida" his cousin commented, they kept whispering but I could hear them very clearly.

"Qué pena, no me importaría darte direcciones" Carlos said with a smirk and I felt really uncomfortable at that, which only made me stay even more frozen in place and wish Daniel came back sooner.

"Si no te conociera, diría que acabas de romper una relación. Ni siquiera puedes ver a una chica alrededor" his cousin said hitting him playfully in the head.

"¿Y te parece esta una chica cualquier? Siempre debes andar con supermodelos, ¿no?" Carlos joked back.

"Vale, tienes razón" his cousin answered him and I was counting the seconds for Daniel to come back now.

"Pero sin duda es nueva aquí. Me recordaría de algo como eso. Tampoco pienso ser americana, ellas no tienen esta-" Just then someone called him.

"Sainz, you're up next" Daniel walked out, coming by my side. "Hey" he said to me and I smiled. "They just asked to wait 5 minutes, something about changing the batteries of the mics" he said looking back at Carlos, his cousin, and Kimi, who was going to be pairing with Carlos in the press conference and was just hanging in the corner by himself this whole time.

"Alright, thanks mate" Carlos answered.

"Hey, have you guys met (y/n)? Carlos, Carlos, (y/n)... (y/n), Carlos, Carlos" Daniel made the introductions grinning like a teenager, probably finding it super funny that they had the same first name.

"¡Hola! Mucho gusto en conocerlos, soy (y/n). ¿Como están?" I extended my hand to greet them, feeling much more confident now that I had a 5' 9" Australian by my side. They looked startled at me and then at each other.

“¿Hablas español?” Carlos asked me.

“Sí, y compreendo muy bien también” I told him and my tone made it clear I knew exactly what they were talking about earlier and didn’t like it a bit.

"Carlos, Kimi, they're ready for you" an assistant called.

"Good one kid" Kimi said to me when he walked past us, winking at Daniel. Carlos followed him to the stage and since I didn't want to just stand there in the remains of the awkward situation with Dan and Carlos’ cousin, I just walked in the opposite direction, outside the press room. Not too long after, Daniel walked after me.

"Hey, what was that about?" he asked, still smiling. Boy, he wouldn't be smiling for too long after I told him what that was about.

"What?" I asked, trying not to make a big deal. He reached for my hand, taking it in his.

"You know what. Come on, what happened back there? Did you guys know each other?"

"No!" I have to tell him now, or he'll think I have something to hide. I took a deep breath. "They were talking between themselves before you come out, in Spanish. And I don't think they thought I could understand" he looked at me confused but then it hit him and his expression changed from confusion to rage.

"What did they said?"

"Nothing, it's not a big deal ok? I just wanted to let them know I could understand, so I just said 'hello' in Spanish, that's all" I said, walking away from the place where we were standing and pulling his hand. God knows I didn't want to be there when Carlos walked out, or better, for Daniel to be there.

"I figured that much. But what did he said? Just tell me" Daniel looked at me.

"Let's just go? Please? It's not worth it. What are you going to do? Sucker punch him?"

"Do I need to sucker punch him? Is it that bad?"

"No! Dan, please, let's just go. This is not going to lead us anywhere"

"(y/n)"

"I'll tell you. Promise. Back at the trailer, okay?" I tried to negotiate.

"Fine"

When we stepped back inside his driver's room, Daniel closed the door and looked at me.

"Alright. Spill it"

"Promise me you won't do anything to him"

"Absolutely not. The longer you stall me, the more pissed off I get"

"Okay” I knew I had no choice and honestly, why should I protect him really? I’m just worried about how this might make Daniel feel. “They were wondering who I was, his cousin was teasing him saying he was only interested because he just ended a relationship"

"That's not all" he said and I didn't answer, just looked away, shaking my head. "Alright. I'm sorry you had to hear that. But you can tell me these things ok? I want to protect you baby" He said stepping closer to me and hugging me.

"I don't want you to cause trouble for something stupid"

"Hey!" he said pulling away a bit to look at me. "This is not stupid. Nothing about you is stupid. It's a big deal baby, that’s plain disrespectful. I want you here with me, always. And I want you to feel comfortable here, okay?"

"I feel comfortable now" I said hugging him closer. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"Fuckers" he whispered to himself.

"Promise me you won't confront him. He'll deny, or start a fight. Or both. And besides, it’s not so much what he said, it’s more like how they were eyeing me. And I don't want you to get involved in a scandal" I said pulling away and sitting down in a chair. Daniel leaned against the table, looking at me.

"A scandal?" he laughed.

"You do know gossip is the major product of motorsports, right?" I smirked at him.

"Fair enough" he agreed. "Fuck baby, the things I have to deal with for having a goddess as a girlfriend" he was joking now, so the mood seemed lighter, but knowing Daniel, I knew he hadn't completely let that go yet. I just rolled my eyes at him. Hopefully, the events of the weekend would be enough to get his mind out of it.

.

.

Friday and Saturday kept us busy enough so that we didn’t touch the subject anymore, but I could still catch Daniel staring at Carlos here and there. And I could definitely see Carlos staring at me too, which I tried to avoid at all costs, staying out of his visual field. If Daniel saw that, I don’t know if I’d be able to hold him back again.

On Sunday I’d be watching from the garage with Michael and Blake, which was super exciting, to see all the action from the front row. But I didn’t want to disturb Daniel’s routine, so I tried to stay back a little. Yet, he kept coming to steal kisses and joke around. He seemed really relaxed and confident. He was P5 and I took the care to see that Carlos was P8, so I knew they might race each other eventually but I also knew that Dan would be much more preoccupied doing what he does best and overtaking the 4 in front of him to even think about whoever was behind. Everything was going to be fine, no harm done.

“Alright. Time to go” he announced to me. “Kiss for good luck?”

“Good luck. Just go and do what you do best, okay? And try to come back in one piece” I smiled through the kiss and then watched him take his helmet from the table, wink at me, and turn to walk towards his Mclaren. My chest was tight but I could only pray and hope now.

The cars were already outside the garage for some reason, so Dan was walking out when Carlos passed in front of the orange crew. He stopped to greet some of them and that would be fine, except he was not paying any attention to the people he was talking to. He was looking inside the garage like he was looking for something, or rather someone, cause when he saw me he nodded like he was greeting me and checked me out, head to toes. Dan saw it and looked back inside just in time to see me step aside, behind Michael, clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing.

“Hey... man” Carlos greeted Daniel. And his tone made me sure that it wasn’t even about me anymore. Carlos knew how much it must be bothering Daniel and was clearly using it to try and get him pissed off and unfocused. The thing is, very few things were capable of getting Daniel out of his “all good all ways” vibe, but when they did, you definitely don’t want to be on his way. I’m actually a bit worried about the other drivers now, Carlos included, because Dan just turned back to his machine, like he knew exactly what he was going to do and nothing would stop him, getting inside the car a mere formality. He didn’t even bother to take a second look at Carlos.

“Oh boy” I commented.

“Yeah, I saw it” Michael said to me. “What was that about anyway? I thought they got along fine”. I don’t say anything else, and from that moment on my eyes are glued to the screen in front of us, following any micro movement Daniel makes.

They go for the warm-up lap, which feels like it takes forever, and then, finally, Grid formation. That sign must be broken cause the lights also took hours to change.

3, 2, 1... there they go. Thank god we’re wearing masks, otherwise, my nails and fingertips would be long gone.

The first turn is a sharp one and Daniel had an opening to overtake Perez, the first driver in front of him, we could see it clearly from the drone view, but he didn’t take it. What is he doing?

“What is he doing?” Somebody in the garage voiced my thoughts.

“You had an opening Daniel” the engineer said on the radio.

“All under control. I know what I’m doing. How far are the others behind me?” Daniel answered.

I hoped he wasn’t doing what I thought he was doing but I already knew he was. Being the risk-it-all-idiot he was, Dan was waiting for Carlos to catch up to him. Knowing him, I knew he wanted to race and beat him personally, which was crazy stupid, but wouldn’t take long since Carlos had already overtaken Gasly and Alonso, and was now only a few nanoseconds behind Daniel.

“Come on Dan” I said to myself.

“Come on Daniel” Blake practically yelled at the screen.

I feel like throwing up. He’s gonna get hurt and jeopardize all the work the team put into the weekend just to... to what? I don’t even know. If he gets out of this race alive, I’ll personally kill him.

The race’s still going, no major changes after the first turn. Then suddenly Daniel seems to remember he had a gas pedal, finally getting speed in the big straight and leaving Perez behind. Carlos followed him, seeming to use the vacuum in his favor. Everybody in the garage celebrates, but I’m too focused to cheer along. He’s so close to the podium now. Just keep it up, baby. Carlos is still on his tail.

“Good job mate” the engineer says on the radio. “Watch for Sainz on your right. Bottas’ next”

“Keep me posted on Sainz’s time” it’s all Daniel says.

A couple more laps go and he’s really trying to overtake Bottas, not playing games anymore. Carlos doesn’t seem to try to overtake him even once though, he’s too far behind still.

More laps go by and I can’t standstill. When they’re in the 19th lap, with Max and Hamilton battling each other and taking turns in the lead, Daniel’s voice comes on the radio.

“Let’s be the first to box” I’m not sure what he’s playing at, as it’s still too soon to box, but the team seems to agree.

“Copy that. I’ll let you know when. Let’s get a couple more laps in. Keep this up for now” his engineer answers.

“Understood” Daniel’s voice come through the radio. “How’s Sainz time?”

“At least 1.5 seconds behind you” the engineer informs him.

“Understood” Daniel says.

He’s planning something. Not sure what, and I don’t know if I even could, not knowing much about racing strategies, but it definitely has something to do with Carlos and what happened earlier.

“Ouch!” I hear Michael say and nod towards the screen, making me focus on the race again, and not only on Daniel. Max and Hamilton had touched tires. “They're really going at it, definitely using way more tires than necessary"

"If Dan box before them..." I begin to ask.

"He needs a fast box, gaining speed later and for their box to be slower, but yeah, that's his best shot at them" Michael explains to me.

"Come on baby" I whisper to myself.

Daniel seems to finally get close enough to Bottas, but the Finnish guy won't make it easy for him. Turn 11 on sector 2 will be his best shot now and it's getting closer.

The garage and the radio go silent. Feels like the whole world is holding their breaths while Daniel smoothly overtakes Bottas from his left. And then I almost go deaf with all the cheering around me, it's a podium for Daniel, for now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to last too long, cause once he comes to the box all the other drivers will pass him. It's just so frustrating.

"Good job mate. Spectacular time. Box now" the engineer informs on the radio.

"Box confirmed. We need to ace this, boys" Daniels says.

Not even a full minute later, I hear his car and see it on the screen. I look outside to see the orange machine with the big 3 in front of it, but I don't even have time to try and take a look at him, cause 2.3 seconds later (or at least that's what the TV tells me) there he goes again. The good news is, only Bottas passed him. The bad news is he almost crashes into Carlos when he comes out of the Pit Lane.

Some of the crew were still celebrating the fast pit stop when they realized what happened. I let out a gasp. They touched tires but Carlos seemed to have managed to get away from Daniel, quickly returning to his side a moment later but struggling to keep it up. Dan, on the other side, seems unbothered. He keeps gaining speed, even though the pit exit is right on the first turn.

"Take it easy now mate, even if Sainz passes you, his time is not enough to stay in front" the engineer informs Daniel, clearly worried that the risk doesn't justify the ends.

"Understood" Daniel responds.

We're on lap 30 now and just as the engineer said, Carlos is a full 2 seconds behind Daniel. Bottas still in front of him (which is frustrating for me because he had just overtaken him before the pit stop), then Hamilton, and finally Max.

"Daniel" the engineer calls him. "How're the tires?"

"All good"

"Good. Ready to race, mate? Hamilton's going to box now"

"Before Bottas?"

"Yes, that's confirmed"

"Understood"

I listen to the conversation between Daniel and the engineer closely, but I can't say I know exactly what the implications are.

"Bottas' going to second, Daniel to third again. Let's hope for a slow pitstop for Hamilton, so when he comes out, he comes in third and races Daniel. That's the best-case scenario, so he needs to gain speed now" Blake explains to me.

"Got it" I confirm to him. "What about Bottas? He should box on the next lap right?"

"Yeah. If Daniel overtakes him still on this lap, the difference will be too big for him to recover after his pit stop. Hopefully" He tells me.

There's a lot of 'hopefullys' and 'best-case scenarios' in this conversation, but I'll take it. I start to silently pray right away, eyes glued to the screen to see exactly what Blake predicted unfold: Hamilton pit stops, Bottas and Daniel are the firsts to go up on the positions, then Carlos, Alonso, and Gasly. The first turn comes again and Dan seises the opportunity to overtake Bottas, who, to his credit, is fighting real hard, but Dan isn't letting him take back his position.

Dan is P2 now. Max is almost 3 seconds in front of him. Hamilton comes out of the pit lane behind Gasly, it should take him long to again his positions.

"Bottas to box on this lap mate" the engineer announces.

"Not worried about Bottas. What about Max?" Daniel answers. A few moments of silence follow.

"Box confirmed for Max on this lap as well. Just get closer to him" the engineer instructs.

"Understood" Daniel answers.

"Come on, baby" I cheer silently again.

"Fuck! He's gonna make it" Michael yells. "Come on Daniel!"

Bottas is 2 seconds behind Daniel, and on the big straight Daniel manages to shorten his time difference to Max to 1.8 seconds. The next thing I know, Max is coming down the pit lane, quickly followed by Bottas. Daniel is P1. I can't believe this. Carlos is P2, but he hasn't boxed yet. Surprisingly enough, Alonso is P3 and, not so surprisingly, Hamilton is already P4 and gaining speed.

"Alonso hasn't boxed yet" Blake comments. That's bad news if we were hoping for him to defend his position against Hamilton. I take a look on the TV and they're showing the conditions of his tires, which to me doesn't mean anything.

"Will he be able to hold him?" I ask Blake.

"Not sure, he's tough though and doesn't want Hamilton to win, that's for sure" Blake answers me.

Then we hear Max passing outside, had almost forgotten about him.

"That took him longer than normal" Michael comments and we look at the screen, his pit stop was 3.6 seconds long. An eternity for the Redbull team. But awesome news for us. Bottas had already left the pit lane, his pit stop was 2.4 seconds long.

The grid is now Daniel, Carlos, Alonso, Hamilton, Bottas, and then Max. Alonso is still holding Hamilton back. Normally, I'd guess Carlos would box soon and maybe even Alonso, but since I know Carlos has some personal motivation against Daniel, I feel like he's going to hold on the longer he can and the same goes for Alonso regarding Hamilton.

We're at the final 10 laps now and nothing has changed, except Carlos is dangerously closer to Daniel now. Alonso still hasn't let Hamilton go by him, repeating the Hungaroring events. I hear the signal of the radio, indicating we're about to hear some communication between Daniel and his engineer, and my chest tightens. It's Daniel's voice that comes on then.

"Something wrong. I'm losing power" Fuck. No.

"Sainz is at your tail. Can you hold on?" the engineer asks.

"I don't know. Fuck. It's just not working. How much's the difference?"

"Less than 1 second"

"Fuck. Why hasn't he boxed yet?"

"His tires are in real bad condition. But I don't think he's going to do it now"

"I'll put some pressure on him"

"Negative. Negative. Stay away"

"Not going to touch him. Pinky promise" Bastard. I can hear the smirk in his voice, even though this is extremely dangerous and insane pressure, Daniel's still having the time of his life.

9 laps to go.

8 laps to go.

Carlos almost overtakes Daniel.

"Engine's not good. Can you do something?" Daniel asks.

"Negative. 7 laps to go mate, just hold it"

"Understood"

On the big straight of the 51st lap, Carlos overtakes Daniel, but then on the next turn, Daniel takes back his position. The sequel of turns that follows is the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever seen in my life, they're so close to each other, and at such a high speed that if they simply touch tires they would fly off the track and everything would be lost to both of them, maybe even their lives.

"Hamilton passed Alonso, mate. Watch out" the engineer informs him, and I look at the screen. Fuck.

"Fuuuuck" Daniel says on the radio.

It's the 52nd lap now, only 4 more to go and Carlos doesn't even signal a pit stop. He's going to try to make the whole race without it.

"Ferrari is not happy with him" Michael laughs a dark laugh. I knew he had a history of being stubborn but this is too much.

"His tires are at less than 10% integrity. How is he still going?" I ask.

There's the big straight again and Carlos falls a bit behind Daniel, but I've watched enough to know that that doesn't necessarily mean a good thing. Just as I predicted, he tries to use Daniel's vacuum to gain more speed and overtake him, Daniel doesn't let him through and get in front of him, making him almost go off track. That would be a "normal" movement, except Hamilton was using Carlos' vacuum in his favor and, when Carlos is forced to change directions, Hamilton hits his back left tire, which makes it blows off and it's a mess from then on.

Daniel is far from the whole ordeal by now, safe and sound, thankfully. But Carlos spins in the track, taking Hamilton with him. They both go off track and Max flies by, followed by Bottas, Charles (where did he come from?), and then Alonso.

"Are they alright?" It's the first thing that comes up to me to ask.

"Fuck! That was crazy. Is everyone ok?" Daniel asks on the radio.

"Positive. Everyone's ok. Keep going, mate. 3 more laps to go" the engineer informs him.

"Who's behind me now? Bottas?" Daniel asks.

"Max. But he's at least 2 seconds behind, we should be fine" I hear the engineer say and it's like I can almost breathe again. Daniel's going to win this thing. He's so close now.

"It wasn't Daniel's fault, was it? Can they punish him in some way for the accident?" I ask Michael.

"Don't know. He was defending his position, but he's been closing in Carlos ever since the begging of the race. Depends on how Ferrari and Mercedes spin this, they'll try anything that favors them" Michael explains to me in a worried tone.

They're in the final lap and Daniel's been clearly losing speed. Something's wrong with the engine. But it's the final lap, just a few more moments, come on baby, you can do it. Max is so close to him though, I wouldn't be surprised if the winner was declared based on the replay of the finishing line. The big straight comes up and Dan has to stay out of Max's front, so as to not give him any advantages.

I can barely see it, but at the same time, I can't take my eyes off the screen.

"Full force now mate, final sector. You can win this" the engineer says on the radio but Daniel doesn't respond. Max is right by his side, he's going to pass him.

There's smoke coming out of his car, the whole thing is going to blow off any second now. Oh my god, please just a few more seconds.

5 turns to go.

4 turns to go.

3 turns to go. Max overtakes him. Shit.

2 turns to go. Daniel wins his place on the podium back.

Final turn. Daniel's in the front, barely. They cross the finish line and the whole garage explores with cheering. There are people running outside to wave at him. I can only smile and hold my own head like it would fall off otherwise. He did it. He fucking did it.

"Woo-hoo! Yes! Yes! Fuck yes!" I can hear Daniel on the radio, screaming his lungs out.

"Good job mate. Spectacular work. First-class, really! Well done!" the engineer cheers on.

The next thing I know, Michael is hugging me and lifting me from the ground just to puck me back down and Blake lift me up again. I can only laugh at their excitement. I'm so happy for Daniel I can barely grasp it!

"Let's go!" Blake puts me down and runs outside the garage. I follow him out, to the place where Daniel is stopping the car, a bunch of smoke coming out and some people with fire extinguishers around it.

He's got his fists up, celebrating. But is still inside the car. Then he takes off the steering wheel and handles it to one of the mechanics waiting outside. He gets out of the car and stands on top of it, smokes still coming out from behind. It's a nice picture. I just hoped he got away from that thing before it explodes, but it's a nice picture, can't deny it.

Then he jumps down and run towards the crew, jumping over them, helmet still on. Everybody is celebrating and cheering, I can only laugh and clap at the scene before me. So much joy and happiness going on, the energy is amazing! Then I can see Daniel looking around, but since his helmet is still on, I have no idea what he's doing. Somebody seems to understand though and they wave at me, calling me to come closer. I approach, but I'm still unsure, don't want to get in the middle of the team's celebration. But Daniel grabs me, pulling me closer and hugging me. I just laugh, can't barely see him with the suit and helmet still on. He's saying something, but I can't understand a thing.

"What?" I laugh at his attempts to communicating with me. He opens his helmet visor and repeats.

"I fucking won baby!" He yells laughing.

"I know! I know! You won Dan! I'm so proud! You're the best baby!"

"I need to get this thing off" he says struggling to get the helmet and the balaclava off, when he finally manages to do it, he jumps over the fence that was separating us and hugs me again, lifting me in the air and kissing me deeply, making everyone around us cheer even louder and I smile against his lips. I wrap my legs around him and he keeps kissing me, only after a few seconds do I pull away to breathe and he touches our foreheads. I laugh again, just enjoying the feeling of pure happiness for him.

"I'm so proud of you. You were so good. This is crazy" I whisper to him.

"Get used to it, cause there's more where it came from" he answers kissing me again.

[y0urlittl3ang3l]

More headcanons cause I fill my head up with this crap

In my rewrite I wanna make 14 months in the Irene Dimension 7 years in the Overworld, I want the people in the dimension to bond you know, and it'll take longer for Garroth to go back to his normal noble self

Garroth's favorite season is definitely Spring, more flowers are blooming and it's not super hot or cold, the weather is just perfect to him, he also doesn't have allergies so no sneezing👌

Laurance however DOES have allergies and sneezes up a storm, he fuckin' hates Spring. But he does love watching Garroth smile as they come across pretty flowers for Garroth to make more crowns with

When Dante first joined the guards and he was sparring with Garroth, he got his shit rocked because Garroth forgets his own strength sometimes

Laurance laughed his ass off^^

When Garroth and Laurance first started dating they hid it from basically everyone, it's not like much changed anyway, they still cuddled and they still have each other compliments so it wasn't hard

Levin was left on Garroth's doorstep, and he raised him happily, often carrying him around town and showing him things and explaining what they were

Garroth traveled to Scaleswind by himself to find Levin's mother when news came along, he really wanted to keep Levin though

Garroth definitely takes time off to take Levin around the plaza

Laurance swears, like a lot

Katelyn has a burn scar on the right side of her face

Garroth has a nice voice and Dante asks him to sing him to sleep a lot

I haven't said their ages have I? Only KC's? If so then Garroth is 28, Laurance in 27 and Dante is 19.

Garroth has had a stutter his whole life, wasn't allowed to speak in public by his father since he'd bring 'shame' to the family

Garroth eventually gained control over it and it began to go away

Whenever Garroth gets anxious or nervous he starts to stutter really badly and he gets mad about it which only worsens the stutter more

Garroth has a flinching problem from the abuse he got from Garte, it got better as time went on but sometimes he flinches at sudden movements

Garroth was Laurance's first kiss, how that happened..it was during training and the two were alone and some shit happened

Laurance is very lean, but it doesn't mean he doesn't pack a punch, he's very strong

Laurance's hair grows fairly fast and he usually cuts it when it reaches past his shoulders

Laurance is also a very good singer, but Dante would never admit it to him

When Laurance and Garroth met Dante at the castle and found Malachi there Laurance immediately felt the urge to take him in

Laurance loves nature a lot and he's like a fucking master at climbing trees

Laurance had a lot of nightmares after coming back from the nether but Garroth was always there for him and helped him calm down

I'm not sure if I've written this already, but Laurance religiously calls Garroth 'Pretty boy', like even before Garroth started to leave behind his helmet(it's because Garroth took off his helmet in front of Laurance to shut him up after he pestered him about it nonstop)

Garroth is bad at thinking of insults because he's simply too nice, but when he's in a blind rage he can literally say the most hurtful things ever

While Laurance and Garroth were best friends and even when they were a couple they didn't have a lot of fights or arguments, most of them were light-hearted but they did have a few ones where it'd escalate to yelling and ended in them not talking for a few hours, but after that they'd go back to how they usually were and act like it never happened

Laurance and Garroth have like..5 kids now that I think about it. Levin, Malachi, Ari, Celestine and Orion. Ages(post-timeskip): Levin(7-8), Malachi(9-10), Ari(4-5), Celestine(3-4) and Orion(1-2)

Dante became Lord of Phoenix Drop while they were gone.

Laurance drinks coffee an unhealthy amount, Garroth has to cut him off sometimes

Laurance can't stand bugs and often calls for Garroth to kill them or take them somewhere else

Laurance's right eye is a pale blue while is left is emerald green, don't ask why just accept it

People often call Garroth out on how squeamish he got sometimes and how he always 'had stick up his ass' like the self-proclaimed royals of O'Khasis and Garroth low key panicked inside

Whenever Katelyn and Laurance get together they're the most fucking chaotic pair out there, Garroth fucking hates it

Aphmau still has Alina and Lilith and Garroth, like the good friend he is, takes them out with his own children on play dates and shit. He almost dies from the cuteness each time

Garroth adores children, and he often makes tiny flower crowns for the children of Phoenix drop

Garroth blushes easily

When Laurance is content he purrs, and Garroth thinks it's the most adorable shit ever

Laurance has super sharp canines and they got even sharper after he turned into a Shadow knight

After turning into a shadow knight Laurance literally stopped getting sick since his body burned up all the bacteria that caused it

Aphmau and Aaron are married and shit but still act like they're just feral best friends

Nekoette has in fact interrogated Nicole about her kissing both of her parents

Laurence has multiple petnames for Garroth, main ones are "Pretty boy", "Blondie", "Honeybee" and "Baby"

Garroth has his fair share of petnames for Laurance, he's just better at keeping it between the two of them.

Said petnames are "Darling", "Sweet boy", "Angel", "Rose" and "My Love". He can't decide on a single one to save his life so he just circulates between them

Garroth cleans when he's upset so whenever people notice how clean the guard tower is they know someone fucked up

Garroth and Aaron are really good friends, bonded over being the dad friends

Laurance kisses Garroth to convince him to agree with him on a lot of things, so more often than not Garroth ends up agreeing with whatever Laurance says lmao

Aphmau can still understand Wyverns and she has to do her best to keep a straight face whenever she's around Raven and Ungrth together, because by god they argue a lot

Laurance has in fact had..dirty dreams..about Garroth and can never look Garroth in the eyes on those days

Garroth has pinned Laurance to the wall before. In front of other people.

Before Aaron and Aphmau got married Aaron lowkey thought Garroth was hot

Garroth was with Laurance and Katelyn when they got turned into Meif'wa's, Garroth was being forced to marry the werewolf Prince. Laurance went apeshit as per usual

Garroth is very possessive

Laurance has memorized Garroth's heartbeat, don't ask why he did

Blaze is in the AU and he will not hesitate to flirt with Garroth in front of Laurance and it ticks him off

Blaze is still a werewolf, he actually tried to help them escape from the palace before Garroth was forced to marry the Prince

Brian used to call Garroth 'The guard who gets no maidens' because it was very much true

Pissed Garroth off more than anything though

And then Garroth started getting all the fucking men and left the other guards speechless

Laurance is the embodiment of Sass

[gyucore]

to reach a happy ending

pairing: beomgyu x reader

tags: fluff, childhood friends to lovers

word count: 1.6k

warnings: beomgyu swears like once

prompts:

017: "A fairytale with a happy ending always brings a smile to my face."

023: "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

— requested by ⛅ anon! sorry this took so long to make. i hope you like it!! ♡

"Ew, look at this." You hand the dusty old photo album to Beomgyu who's sprawled across the floor by your side.

"Wait—" He stops you, rolling away before letting out a sneeze so loud that it managed to echo off the dusty untouched walls of his old room. The poor guy couldn't help it, his room hadn't been cleaned since he moved out in the middle of high school, and his mom preferred to keep things as they were— dust and all. You wonder if it was simply an excuse to clean one less room.

Beomgyu did say he had dropped in yesterday without notice. You'd think he'd want to spend some quality time with his parents first, but he'd decided to invite you over after spending a single night under this roof. Having heard nothing but radio silence from your best friend in years, you were thrilled to get to see him again. And what better way to shed off the ever present awkwardness in the beginning than to go through old photo albums?

"Okay, show me." Beomgyu rolls back to your side, scooting in closer to rest his head on your lap.

You turn the photo album, pointing at one photo in particular of you and Beomgyu dressed as a knight and damsel in distress— Beomgyu playing the role of the latter. Contrary to the roles, you were pummeling Beomgyu to the ground as if having caught a thief, and Beomgyu was shoving his handkerchief to your face, blocking your eyesight. The context behind the photograph alludes you, but this might just be a case of seven-year-olds doing whatever they want whenever.

"The fuck you mean ew? I look great in that dress!" Frowning, Beomgyu grabs the album to stare longer at his past self's glory.

"Lying to yourself isn't good for you, Gyu." You jokingly disapprove. It was fun seeing his reactions right after.

"Oh, look at these."

Beomgyu points at a photo of you and him on stage, wearing the same costumes as before. You figured it was for a play back in first grade when you two had been classmates. The next series of photos included one of you holding out a sword towards a kid in a cheap dragon costume, one of Beomgyu holding back his tears after tripping over and ripping his dress, and ones of you rushing to Beomgyu and kissing away his tears.

"This takes me back." Beomgyu lights up with a smile, failing to notice the surprise on your face. "Remember when your mom made us believe that kissing any injuries we had would make it go away? I knew you wanted to help me back then but I couldn't stop crying and tell you were it hurt, so you started kissing all over my face hoping it'd go away."

You find yourself laughing at your past self's foolishness. "But did it work?" You ask in between laughs.

"Well," Beomgyu chuckles, getting up from his position on your lap. "I don't think it would've worked if another person had done it. But since it was you— Wait." He takes one last look at the album, letting slip a wheeze before placing it back in its box. "Mom wrote something right below the photo."

"What did she write?" You ask, holding out your hands for Beomgyu to grab.

"A fairy tale with a happy ending always brings a smile to my face." Beomgyu tells you as he helps you up, trying his best to keep a straight face after delivering that line.

The two of you burst into laughter at his mother's words. You knew she'd been fond of fairy tales all her life but the caption was taking you out. Beomgyu was literally crying in the photo yet somehow this, to her, was a happy ending.

You eventually take notice of all the photos plastered around his room, some framed, and some simply stuck to the walls— memories of happier times. Most were of you and him, and in some, just you. He'd shown off the Polaroid camera his mother bought for him in seventh grade, proclaiming he'd only take photos of moments he'd want to keep in his memory forever. It never actually crossed your mind that a lot of them would be of you.

Beomgyu notices your wandering eyes and chuckles, placing an arm around your shoulder. The distance between you shrinks as he holds you closer. And at that moment, you take note of everything that's changed.

He'd gotten taller since the last time you saw him. Gone was the lanky boy you knew, evident in the way his muscles flexed with every small movement you wish you hadn't noticed. Beomgyu had grown his hair out; the thick, wavy locks tucked behind his ears, covering the back of his neck. The deepness of his voice had been a surprise when he greeted you at the door earlier, but you held back from pointing it out.

You feared that if you acknowledged all the changes, you'd be forced to face reality. That things weren't the same anymore, no matter how hard you tried. After all, Beomgyu wasn't the only one who changed. You had quite the few character development arcs yourself, and experiences which Beomgyu remained oblivious of. And somehow despite that, in his presence, you started to feel like your old self again.

Beomgyu's invitation had come as a surprise last night. You thought he'd forgotten about you, what with all the silence these past few years.

Life continued on as it should even without Beomgyu by your side, but you could argue that all the amazing experiences you've had on your own would've been better if he were there to experience it with you. And now here you were in his old room, pretending everything was the same as he'd left it.

You look up at your old friend, wanting to tell him what had been plaguing your thoughts the entire day but find yourself tongue tied when his dark eyes stare back into your own. And you wonder, how many times had it been that you'd stared into each other's eyes just like this? How many times had he pulled you close into his arms all those years? And just how many nights had you spent wondering if your feelings for him had grown into something more?

"I missed you." Beomgyu speaks first, his gaze never faltering.

Hearing his voice, you swear you could've melted right then and there. Part of you had wished he'd tell you those exact words, confirming that it hadn't been just you who'd been wanting to see him all these years.

"I missed you too."

Beomgyu could only smile at your response.

His arm leaves your shoulder— hands slowly finding their way to your own. His hold was gentle as he slowly guided you to face him.

"Don't laugh, but," Beomgyu starts. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Love at fir—"

The question throws you off.

"What?"

"I heard you the first time!" You cut him off, wanting so bad to cover your face from the secondhand embarrassment. "I can't believe you just said that. What even happened to you in college?"

"Hey! At least hear me out before you make fun of me." Beomgyu bursts out laughing at your reaction, his thumbs caressing the back of your hands to help you calm down. "Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing your answer is a no. And I honestly felt the same too until a few hours back."

"Okay, you lost me there."

"Shut up. What I'm saying is," Beomgyu squeezes your hands, leaning in closer. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch the last few years. I had a lot of trouble adjusting, and it took a while for me to really get the hang of living alone. I wanted to talk to you as soon as I got there but then I thought that maybe it would've been better for you if I left you to live your own life for a while too."

"Beomgyu.." You squeeze his hands back, sensing the sincerity in his eyes.

Beomgyu shakes his head. "I know this sounds silly and all, but I didn't want you to feel the emptiness I felt when I left. I wanted you to go and make experiences of your own without me."

You frown, refraining to speak until he's done.

"But then I couldn't stop thinking about you. Everywhere I went, I'd think of you and how the place would've been better if we got to hang out there together. Every time I had fun or ate something that tasted good, I wanted you to share the experience with me."

Beomgyu sighs. "Honestly, I thought I could make it through my visit home without seeing you but I passed by your house on my way home yesterday and I just.. I couldn't hold back. And when I saw you for the first time in years at the front of my doorstep.. I knew I had to tell you."

Half of you knew what to expect, and the other half doubted the reality of the situation. But all the doubts instantly melt away as soon as Beomgyu closed the distance between you, pressing your foreheads together.

Face flushed, you stare at him in awe and notice he had his eyes closed shut. "Cute." You thought.

He whispers in a voice so quiet you could barely hear.

"I like you."

You couldn't hold it in any longer, the rush of emotions crashing into you like raging waves against a cliff. The next moment, you find yourself inching closer and closer, face heating up even more as you press your lips against his as a reply.

Beomgyu's eyes widen, body freezing in place. He hadn't exactly expected you to respond so soon, especially not like this. And he couldn't be happier.

You feel Beomgyu returning the kiss, his hands going up to cup your face— his hold gentle. The two of you wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment for as long as life permits, because for once, you could finally see the path to your happily ever after slowly unraveling.

This was just the beginning.

[rainsongdean]

you’re always golden to me

post-mockingjay / pre-epilogue everlark healing together, appreciating the sunset, and maybe even falling in love

"We should head back before it gets dark." Peeta's words rang out in the open air between them, but they were not enough to pull Katniss from her trance-like state.

It had been a rough day. Not enough so to be classified as a bad day, seeing as Katniss had found the motivation to move from the bed to the couch at some point in the afternoon. Now, though, watching the clouds paint watercolors in the sky seemed to bring her back to life. She was encapsulated by the sight.

"Not yet," she eventually spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse from not using it for a while. "I want to stay until it's over. Besides, we could walk home blindfolded from here."

It was true. Katniss had discovered the hill nestled in the woods behind Victor's Village not long after returning from the Capitol. She found solace in being embraced by the wilderness rather than being suffocated in her old home, so when she accidentally stumbled upon the tall mount that overlooked the wide plains and open sky, she knew she had found what she had subconsciously been searching for.

It had taken a few months before she brought Peeta to her secret spot. He'd only returned to District 12 a few days before she had found the hill, and they both needed some time to warm up to each other again. But one day, after suffering through a particularly vivid flashback that ended with him handcuffed to one of Haymitch's spare cages for his geese, Katniss figured it would do them both good to escape into the forest for a while.

That was the first night they watched the sunset from the hill. It had been slightly uncomfortable, sitting inches apart on the dewy grass, no attempt at conversation made by either party. Eventually, Peeta suggested they return home to make dinner before it got too late, but Katniss insisted that she could tell by the shape of the clouds that they would put on an impressive show.

As usual, she was not wrong.

It was the most vibrant spectacle either of them had seen - far more breathtaking than any Capitol party or fireworks display. Sure, they had both watched the sun go down in 12 before, but their view had always been clouded by the thick layer of dust in the air from the mines or obstructed by the cluster of buildings stacked practically on top of one another. Here on their hill, nothing stood between them and the sky. Beyond that, the best part was they got to share it together, just the two of them. 

Since that night, the pair made an effort to hike the two-mile trek to the hill at least once a week, though they typically found themselves there more often than that. Katniss still liked to visit the spot alone, sometimes using the safe space to speak aloud to Prim or Finnick and imagine what they would say back. Other times she just enjoyed the silence.

Peeta, too, ventured to the hill a few times by himself. He had tried on several occasions to paint the landscape, and while he was able to perfect the morning glow and mid-afternoon sun, he couldn't capture the colors of nightfall that he most desired to paint.

Despite the significance that the holy ground held for each of them individually, neither one could deny that they preferred to visit the hill together. Katniss had been unofficially living with Peeta for weeks now, and they even shared a bed most nights, but there was a different breed of intimacy that came with being in the woods, nestled in their own little corner of the universe. 

"Fine," Peeta sighed contentedly, breaking the silence again. "We can stay as long as you'd like." With that, he leaned toward the picnic basket they had brought and reached in, shoving aside the empty containers that once held a selection of berries, cheeses, and breads to reveal a neatly folded fleece blanket he had stashed in the bottom. "I came prepared," he announced with a sense of pride.

Katniss briefly pulled her gaze from the view for the first time since the sun had begun its descent to offer Peeta a small smile of gratitude. The gesture warmed his heart with the blaze of ten thousand sunsets.

Taking care to wrap the soft cover around their legs, Peeta pulled the fabric up to their chests and then eased his back to the ground until he was laying horizontal on the hill. Katniss followed suit so they were both engulfed by the blanket.

Their new angle only served to better showcase the colors stretching endlessly above them. One hue in particular transported Katniss back to a seemingly ancient memory of the two of them.

"Orange. Muted... like a sunset." Katniss didn't break her eye contact with the sky but smirked to herself as she spoke.

Peeta nudged her shoulder playfully in response, easily picking up on what she was referring to. Their conversation on the train about favorite colors was one of the first to come back to him after he had been rescued from the Capitol. Shifting slightly toward Katniss, he reached out and twisted his finger gently around a stray strand of hair that had escaped from her braid. "You're so poetic when you quote me," he mused sarcastically.

"Well, your choice of favorite color is much more poetic than Effie’s choice of wig," she quipped. It was ironic how some of her and Peeta's best conversations had happened in the midst of some of the worst times of their lives. And yet, there they were: safe and relatively happy, just two kids trying to piece themselves back together with some pastel paints, cheese buns, and hidden hills. It may not have been anything profound, but it was living, and Katniss figured that, for time being, that would be enough.

She inhaled deeply, trying to absorb the moment. They had reached the peak of the sunset when every particle in the air seemed to glisten from the giant star's final attempt to remain on the topside of the world. There was only one word to describe it.

"Everything is golden."

And, for an instant, it was.

But as the sun succumbed to the pull of dusk, the raging reds and oranges that had scorched the sky swiftly turned to delicate pinks and purples, paving the way for the black of night.

It was then that Katniss realized Peeta had been uncharacteristically quiet, his sunset commentary usually being much more prolific than hers. When she turned her head to the left to face him, she found he was already staring back at her, still toying with her hair. His deep blue eyes twinkled like he knew a secret and was about to let her in on it.

When they first met, that kind of look from Peeta overwhelmed her. Sometimes Katniss would catch him staring at her like she carried the world in her hands, or spun threads of gold with her words. It puzzled her, annoyed her, and at times even enraged her. But after his hijacking, it had been so rare for that young, innocent Peeta to reappear and give her that look which spelled out his love for her so plainly on his face, and she had grown to cherish it.

"I change my mind." For the third time that night, Peeta's voice sliced open the veil of silence that covered them. 

Katniss abruptly rose to a sitting position, an expression of confusion clouding her face as she leaned over Peeta's resting form. "What do you mean?"

"I change my mind," He repeated calmly, shrugging as if the answer to her question was obvious. "The sunset isn't my favorite shade of orange anymore."

Katniss bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows, causing the wrinkles on her forehead to deepen. Peeta could tell she was trying to keep herself from challenging him, so he decided not to torture her any longer.

"You are my favorite shade of orange," he reached his hand up to caress her cheek, easing away the signs of worry that had risen on her face. "You, sitting here with the sun reflecting in your eyes, your skin glowing in the light." He lowered his voice to a whisper and retracted his hand, slowly guiding Katniss's head to rest on his chest so she could hear his heart beating. "The way you make me feel like I'm on fire inside, all the time."

Girl on fire. The words echoed in his mind and, although he did not dare speak them, he internally admitted they rang true. And it was in moments like those, as he held her under the night sky with millions of stars blazing above them, that he saw Katniss burn the brightest.

"Oh, shut up," she exhaled, turning away from him in an attempt to conceal the blush that had overtaken her smiling face, but Peeta didn't have to see it to know it was there. "You're so cheesy."

"Hey now," he feigned a hurt expression, "I thought you liked my cheese."

Katniss couldn't hide her outburst at his nonsense and they both fell into a fit of laughter together. They hadn't spoken much about what exactly their relationship status was at the moment, hesitant to put labels on anything, but he still wanted her to know how he felt about her. And while Katniss had never been proficient in using her words to convey her love, the way that she clung to Peeta, burying her head in his arm while gasping to regain her breath from laughing so hard, told him everything he needed to know.

"Come on, we should really head back before Haymitch gets worried." Peeta attempted once again to persuade Katniss to return home after they had both calmed down. His stomach was beginning to growl - the small rations of their picnic earlier weren't nearly enough to tide over his appetite until morning - and now that the sun had set, he'd much rather snuggle up with Katniss on their couch than on the cold, hard ground. And besides, while he didn't really think their mentor would be waiting up for them, he figured the argument might be enough to persuade her.

"Seeing as it's past 3 p.m., I think it's safe to say that Haymitch is passed out on his couch," Katniss countered, but her actions said otherwise as she began to gather herself up off the ground. Peeta knew she had a soft spot for the old man.

It took them a little over half an hour to walk home, leisurely following the path that their own footprints had created over time. Upon entering the house, Peeta made a beeline to the kitchen to heat up some leftover stew from the night before. While he ate, Katniss headed to Haymitch's house, opening the unlocked door to find him asleep in his living room as she had predicted. She pried the half-empty bottle from the arm that hung off the couch and set it on a nearby table before turning the lights out and closing his front door behind her.

She had recently made a habit of checking in on her friend, especially during the weeks when Effie travelled back to the Capitol for work. She knew he had done the same for her countless times. Haymitch never seemed to question why he would sometimes wake up with a blanket draped over him or a pillow propped beneath his head, and Katniss didn't plan on bringing it up. Like most things between the two of them, it went unsaid.

Later that evening, tucked under the covers of Peeta's bed - their bed - Katniss felt more at ease than she did most nights. Maybe it was the serenity of the particularly striking sunset, or maybe it was Peeta's roundabout confession of the feelings he still had for her. Either way, she was pleasantly content. 

On the other side of the mattress, as Peeta danced on the cusp of sleep, his mind dragged him back to something Katniss had said on the hill. Everything is golden. He knew what she meant; that the landscape had been blanketed by the radiance of the sunset. But he felt it was true in another sense, and that maybe this new phrase was an even more appropriate way to describe the true essence of Katniss Everdeen.

Before drifting off herself, Katniss heard Peeta mumble one last line of admiration, causing her to fall asleep with a smile ingrained on her lips.

"You're always golden to me."

[platonicteenwolf]

Second Chance At First Line

(S1E2) Part I

Teen Wolf x Reader Series Rewrite

A/N: I AM BACK!! Got back into my Teen Wolf interest so will be writing a LOT MORE soon so look forward to that!! :D Also apologies there's not as much reader in this one, I didn't want to shove them into the plot-line but deffo more in the future :]

They/Them Pronouns Version

He/Him Pronouns Version

Next Part / Masterlist

Warnings: none

Walking into the boys Lacrosse locker room, Scott slowly drops his bag in front of his locker, gloves falling to the floor next to it. He seems to be moving in a trance. Turns, back against the locker, his eyes look over the crowd of teammates staring in shock.

Stiles pokes his head out from around the corner.

“You apologize to Allison?” He questions.

“Yeah.”

“So she’s giving you a second chance or..?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah! Alright! So everything’s good?”

“No.”

“No?”

Giving a heavy sigh, Scott explains his dilemma to his friend “Remember the hunters? Her dad is one of them.”

“Her dad?”

“Shot me...”

“Allison’s father?” Stiles seems shocked to hear this new information.

“...With a crossbow.”

“Allison’s--“

“YES. HER FATHER!” Speaking louder than necessary, his voice carries across the locker room and a few heads turn to see the commotion. Scott snaps out of the daze and into a full on panic. “Oh my God, oh my Godddd. What am I going to do?”

“No, Scott. Snap back. Ok?” He lightly tapped the side of Scott’s face trying to bring him back in focus. “Okay, okay--did he recognize you?”

“No, I don’t think so--“

“Does she know about him?”

“I- I don’t know, what if she does?” Scott’s face contorts in anguish as he realizes how much danger he could be in. “This is gonna kill me man.”

“All right, okay, we’ll figure it out. Just--just focus on lacrosse. Take this, take this,” Stiles begins picking up his practice pads and handing them to his friend. “Just focus on lacrosse for now, that’s all you’ve got to do.” Now patting him on the arm, emphasizing every word, Stiles tries his best to help Scott’s panic. “Here, we, go.”

—————

A whistle rings throughout the field.

“Let’s go!” Coach Finstock yells as the players slam into each other during practice. “One-on-one from up top!”

As Jackson jogs towards the bleachers Coach calls his name.

“Jackson, take a long stick today... Attaboy.”

Coach Finstock tosses the ball to the first player, a kid named Greenberg. But Jackson is on him in seconds, smashing his stick down on the poor kid’s gloves, sending the ball flying out of the pocket.

“Nicely done, Jackson,” Coach praises. “Greenberg, that was a pathetic display of amateur ability. Do a lap.”

As Greenberg takes off into a run, the next Player charges. Scott, gazing off with far too many thoughts swirling in his head, doesn’t notice the other players backing up behind him.

“McCall, what’re your waiting for. Let’s go!”

He snaps to attention, realizing he’s at the head of the line. Coach tosses the ball. Scott goes for the shot. Running towards the goal, Jackson steps up to meet him half way and slams into Scott. A moment later he lands on the ground with a sickening thud. Coach is walking over to where Scott lays stunned on the ground.

Chuckling he asks, “Hey McCall, Hey McCall!”

As the werewolf looks towards the sky, he cradles his forearm where Jackson’s stick came down especially hard between his glove and elbow pad.

“You sure you still want to be first line, McCall,” Jackson taunts.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Scott looks up to see Jackson walking away.

“McCall, my grandmother can move faster than that and she’s dead! Can you move faster than the... lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother, McCall?”

Now seething in his rage, Scotts reveals his brown eyes which are rapidly brightening to yellow. “Yes, Coach.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes Coach!” He says slightly louder.

“Then do it again.” As Scott jogs back to the front of the line, Coach calls to the rest of the team. “McCalls gonna do it again!”

The whistle blows and Scott shoots forward again as Coach tosses the ball to him. Stiles steps away from the rest of the team, noticing the change in Scott. His speed, the extraordinary agility with which he moves.

An oblivious Jackson goes for a cross check, heading for Scott with his stick horizontal even as the smaller boy hurtles toward him with ferocious speed.

They collide like two goats locking horns. Both go down, Jackson hollering as he hits the ground.

The sickening sound of bone dislodging from socket sends a cringe through Coach. While everyone else runs over to check on Jackson, Stiles hurries to Scott’s side.

“Are you okay?”

But Scott won’t lift his head, won’t reveal his face to Stiles underneath the helmet.

“Scott?”

His head tilts up to reveal the sharpened teeth jutting out from his lower jaw.

“It’s happening. I can’t control it.“

“Come, on. Now? Get up, get up.”

Grabbing him by the shoulder pads, Stiles pulls him up. As Stiles drags him off the field and toward the lockers, neither of them notice someone watching from the sidelines... Derek Hale.

—————

The door to the darkened locker room clangs open, Stiles dragging a hunched over Scott inside.

“Get back,” Scott warns.

“I’m just trying to help--“

“Get away from me!”

His voice comes out with a frighteningly demonic rasp, head snapping around as if to rip out the other boy’s throat.

Stiles retreats, almost stumbling over his own feet at the sight of Scott’s eyes. The sounds coming from him are painful, animalistic and frighteningly aggressive.

Turning back, Scott doubles over in pain. He tears off his lacrosse gloves to reveal his sharpened claws.

Stiles keeps stepping away in fear, accidentally backing into a fire extinguisher against the wall.

The clang of metal causes Scott to whip his head around. But it’s no longer Scott under that helmet or behind those rage-filled yellow eyes.

He hurtles toward Stiles, rounding the corner of the lockers, jumping onto the wood bench and up as Stiles lifts the fire extinguisher and pulls the trigger, blasting CO2 from the nozzle. Scott’s clawed hands come up to shield his face, plumes of white surrounding him.

Darting around another corner, Stiles backs against the lockers, waiting for the next attack.

“Stiles?”

Slowly, Stiles peers around the locker row to see Scott on the floor, chest heaving with each difficult breath. He pulls the helmet off to reveal he’s back to normal. Face drenched with sweat.

“What happened?”

“You tried to kill me.”

Stiles drops the extinguisher to the floor. Still shaking and unable to conceal his anger at his friend.

“It’s like I told you. It’s the anger, your pulse rising. They’re all triggers.”

“But that’s lacrosse. It’s a pretty violent game if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Well, its gonna be a lot more violent if you end up killing someone on the field. You can’t play Saturday. You have to get out of the game.”

“But I’m first line.”

“Not anymore.”

—————

An emotionally and physically exhausted Scott tosses his school bag on the floor and falls face first onto the bed. Melissa McCall looks in.

“Late shift again for me, but I’m taking a night off to see your first game.”

“Mom, you can’t.”

“I can and I will. One shift won’t break us. Not completely. And what’s wrong with your eyes?”

Scott glances up in alarm.

“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“Oh. It’s nothing. Just kind of stressed.”

“Just stress? Nothing else? You’re not on drugs or anything?”

“Right now?”

“Right now?! What do you mean right now? Have you ever taken drugs?”

“Have you?”

A question she clearly doesn’t want to answer.

“Get some sleep.”

Car keys in hand, Melissa leaves.

Scott drags himself up from the bed and hits the mouse on his computer. The moment it wakes, a web chat invitation from Stiles pops up. Scott hits accept and Stiles and James appeared in the voice call.

—————

As Scott pops up on my screen, Stiles spins around in his chair holding a nerf gun, shooting at the camera.

“You’re such a nerd Stiles,” I chide.

Defending himself, he mocks back. “You’re such a nerd Stiles”

Interrupting our tom-foolery, Scott asks, “What’d you find out?”

“It’s bad,” I warn, “Jackson’s got a separated shoulder.”

“Because of me?”

“Oh please,” Stiles says. “It’s because he’s a tool. It’s not your fault.”

“Is he going to play?”

Relaying what Coach told me earlier, I tell the boys “They don’t know yet. But now they’re all counting on you for Saturday.”

As Scott sighs, Stiles leans closer to the web cam window, squinting his eyes at it. He seems to be looking at something in Scott’s room.

“What?”

A text window pops up the screen and Stiles types:

It looks like--

Scott’s screen starts lagging and a notification comes up across his screen saying he has a bad connection. As I zoom in on Scott’s image trying to see what Stiles is talking about, I finally see it. A dark shadow is standing behind him in his room. Leaping from my chair, I run to Stiles room and slam open the door. Pulling up a chair next to him, I meet his face full of worry as Scott’s screen continues to load.

—————

The cursor turns into a spinning wheel, the computer momentarily hung up. Stiles’s web cam image freezes.

“Looks like what?”

A moment later, the cursor finally stops spinning and the rest of the text appears:

It looks like someone’s behind you.

Scott stops breathing. He doesn’t turn around.

Staying very still, his eyes move to his own image in the bottom corner of the web cam window. He slowly clicks the mouse, re-sizing the window, making it larger and larger until he sees his own reflected face, an expression of pure fear on it. And behind him a strange silhouette. Someone is standing there in the shadows of his room.

Scott spins around and Derek grabs him, yanking him away from the desk, sending the laptop clattering to the floor. Dragging him up, he slams Scott face first to the wall.

“I saw you on the field.”

”What? What are you talking--“

“You shifted in front of them. If they find out what you are, they find out about me. About all of us. Then it’s not just hunters after us. It’s everyone.”

“But they didn’t, didn't see anything. I swear--“

“And they won’t. Because if you try to play that game Saturday...” Derek comes terrifyingly close, right next to Scott’s ear.

“I’ll kill you myself.”

He pulls Scott from the wall and sends him tumbling across the room. When Scott looks up from the floor, Derek is gone.

The bedroom window lies open where he must have leapt with incredible speed, leaving Scott alone in his room. And shaking in fear...

—————

Tag List: @linkpk88 @mochminnie @im-a-stranger-thing @that-winged-rat @avengersgirl1221

[callonpeevesie]

I don't know what I'm going to unleash with this question, but I'm asking it anyway — what are your opinions on Charmurti (1978)?

Oh man you unleashed all my petty rage and nitpicking, god bless. Heads up for anyone who likes it, I'm going to BITCH. And disclaimer that I haven't watched the movie in a couple of years and I'm going off memory.

So. To start off I'm super nitpicky about adaptations especially when the source material is something so important to me so I rarely like any adaptations of Tenida. And my criticisms are possibly too harsh. I don't mind changes to minor story details, I really don't. Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies did that. Minor adaptations don't bother me as long as the general essence is faithful and changes are often necessary for book-to-film adaptation. My problem with Charmurti is that Umanath Bhattacharya does not seem to Get the essence of the story and characters.

First of all What was that ending oh my god. I don't remember exactly what happened but there were some dumbass fight sequences which. what was the point? The book had a perfect climax, it was dramatic and funny but not over the top, it was Handed to you on a Platter and you choose to drag it longer for no reason? Eijonyo desher kichhu hoy na. Even more than the disservice to the canon ending, what bothers me about the ending is that. they're not meant to be op. They're literally just kids who want to have a good time. They're not meant to like, fistfight criminals while cops uselessly hang around in the background. I cannot stress this enough, they're average humans. Chaotic and dumbass yes, but they're not Fight Sequence people. Adaptation directors be like "this generally peaceful domestic character can fistfight. As a treat." (Byomkesh Gotro I'm looking at you)

Anyway moving on. Manna Dey's intro song was nice though the other songs were So random. The comedy was. well. I don't exactly remember why I'm not a fan of the comedy but it seems like the sort of easy-flowing humour of the books translated to pointless yelling and slapstick comedy in the movie? I think it ties in with the director not Getting It but I don't remember these things very well so I'll give it the benefit of doubt.

Now my favourite part: the characters. I did not like Chinmoy Roy's casting At All. I don't get why he's so hyped up in that role because it was objectively bad casting? I mean I know why, it's because people interpret Tenida as slapstick comedy with no depth, but I don't understand. He just didn't have that Personality or even look the part tbh. And you know what? Prabhat Mukhopadhyay whom Tenida was based on didn't much like his portrayal either. Validation right there. (I wish I could link the article I read that in but I can't find it rip)

Habul, Pyala and Kyabla were good appearance wise. Vibe wise not so much. Kyabla was. Idk he's so chill in the books, but he was just? yelling all the time in the movie? He honestly felt kind of dull compared to book Kyabla's bright personality. I really wish I could appreciate the part with Kyabla being emo about Habul being kidnapped but I can't, it's just so over the top. Like the movie does show that they care about each other but it's hard to take seriously because everything is so extra, unlike how in the books there are wholesome parts and they seriously Experience Things even though the style is lighthearted.

And speaking of Kyabla, why are the filmmakers so obsessed with his mother and if they are why don't they show her properly? They rushed through the main plot while wasting half the time on her. The 2012 movie did that too, she's there in the movie all the time and serves no purpose except moping around. She's Not Like That. She was super chill in the books (Kyabla came from somewhere right?). She's the only functional character in the series imo but that's just my opinion. I just? If you must drag her into the story for no reason then do it properly jeez.

Habul was one of the few redeeming qualities of the movie though. And Santosh Dutta. Shantosh Dutta being in the cast is always a good thing. Jhonturam was great, and as far as I remember I liked Satya Bandopadhyay and Rabi Ghosh. I don't remember anyone else rip. Habul was accurate to the books, they somehow miraculously retained his subtle humour and the actor did a Wonderful job with the whole joking with a straight face thing. Genuinely made me laugh in the same way book Habul does, love him for that.

I saved Pyala for last because ofc I'm most passionate about him. He was SO UNDERPLAYED. He comes across as just super try-hardy and extra™ and all he does is whine and get dunked on all the time? Not that I'm surprised, he's always underplayed everywhere. If I were to voice all my grievances about his misinterpretations we'd be here all day but my biases aside: Pyala is super important in the books right? The plot follows him because he's the narrator obviously and that's enjoyable because the reader has that extra connection with him. He affects the narration so much. Sometimes he has more protagonist energy than Tenida and that's fine, Tenida is not meant to be More Capable than the rest like Feluda is.

This is what adaptations go wrong with. They always hold up Tenida as the MVP and don't bother to establish the relationship between Pyala and the viewer. Yet the plot follows Pyala anyway even though he's not established as that special. Why? Why would anyone care so much about him? Either give him the importance he has in the books or nerf him and change the narration accordingly. This is just lazy.

Adapting books with first person narration to movies without first person narration is hard. Afaik some of the Byomkesh movies keep Ajit the narrator and that works. Feluda movies don't keep Topshe the narrator and that also works because the narration is adapted accordingly. In case of Tenida I honestly feel the best way is to keep the first person narration just because the narration affects the story so much.

Yeah I think that's all I have. All that being said, I don't actively hate it, I'm mostly meh on it (especially after seeing the 2012 movie, the 1978 one seems like heaven by comparison) and I guess I only have so many grievances because I'm extra possessive about the books. I don't think it can be judged separately from the books either because it's Supposed to be a direct adaptation. The plot mostly follows the book (other than that ending) so that's good. Overall I guess it's fun but lacks a lot of nuance of the books. THANK YOU for the ask, it was super fun to let off all this steam.

[roseyserpents]

Delicate

Summary: after you lose everything you made friends with some Serpents, but you worry your new feelings would ruin what you have

Word count: 2,616

Warnings: mentions of sex (that's about it I think)

A/N: This is a song fic with Taylor Swift's Delicate! this is the first fic I've posted in a few months so it might be pretty bad :|

This ain't for the best

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me

You used to be at the top of the social ladder in Riverdale High. You walked the halls with Cheryl Blossom and Reggie Mantle and the like. You were a co-captain of the Riverdale Vixens, proudly wearing the uniform and looking down at the people who could only wish to be like you. To be someone everyone knew and was invited to every party. Someone who could get a boyfriend with the snap of her fingers and get everything she wanted just by saying it. You used to be that person. Until your mom lost her job sending you both tumbling from the richest parts of the Northside to Sunnyside trailer park. It was nothing like your old life where you had a closet the size of the entire trailer and any type of food you had a craving for. Now you had a small dresser and two cabinets that held Cheerios, Graham crackers, and ramen noodles. You traded your high and mighty life at Riverdale High for being the new soft kid from the Northside at Southside High. It was as if you were standing on the top rung of the ladder and someone pushed you off, sending you crumbling down to the bottom not even getting a grip of it. Your reputation in Riverdale was ruined.

That's why you were surprised when on your third day in hell a certain Serpent named Fangs Fogarty decided to take a chance on the Northsider that stook out like a sore thumb and invited you to sit with him and his friends at lunch. Fangs didn't have much of an issue with your past but it took the others about three months for them to consider you worthy of being called a Southsider. One of the people who scoffed and rolled their eyes every time you appeared or spoke was Sweet Pea. But he even came around to you eventually, you becoming part of the group. Part of the Southside.

We can't make

Any promises now, can we, babe?

But you can make me a drink

You were finally okay with your new life after a year and a half when the news of Southside high closing traveled around. You were sent a letter in the mail that you would be transferred to Riverdale High effective by Monday of the next week. Riverdale High where everyone who used to adore you would now glare down at you for being one of the transfered students. Riverdale High where you knew there were rumours about what happened to your family and you were had been receiving hate for it. As soon as you read the letter you threw open the door to your trailer and made your way to the Whyte Wyrm, sitting down with a heavy sigh and your face twisted into an expression of rage.

"See the letter?" Sweet Pea asks, appearing in front of you from behind the worn bar counter. You don't reply, simply nodding and drumming your stiff fingers on the wood. "It'll be fine. You already know everyone."

"You don't understand." You say with a humourless smile and a shake of your head, "They're ruthless to anyone with remote connections to the South. I'm not going to be able to walk the halls by myself without getting the shit beaten out of me."

"Serpents wouldn't let that happen." Sweet Pea says referring to you joining four months prior. "That's a promise."

"Might be a hard one to keep." You sigh. "Can you make me a drink?"

As anticipated by you the first two months of being back at Riverdale High was horrid and filled with you getting pushed becoming the students physical and verbal punching bag. They threw words at you about how now you're Southside Serpent scum and no longer one of them. But eventually most of the Northsiders got bored of bullying you all and dropped it, mostly only Bulldogs and Vixens starting feuds. You'd eventually made friends with a few Northside kids you'd never noticed when you went there through Jughead including Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Archie Andrews.

"So, I convinced my parents to let me use our lake house for the break." Veronica says as she sits down in the student lounge. "I figured we could all use it as a romantic getaway."

"Sounds great." Betty smiles for her and Jughead.

"You guys have fun with that." You sigh, leaning back in the couch.

"Aren't you going to come Y/n?" Archie asks, everyone turning towards you.

"I would but I don't exactly have someone to go with." You answer.

"Why don't you bring Sweet Pea?" Jughead suggests, raising his hand that rests on Betty's shoulder.

"Sweet and I- we're not like that. We're just friends." You stutter, trying to stop the heat creeping up your necks and onto your cheeks. You didn't want to even admit to yourself you'd grown to like the tall, quick tempered Serpent as more than a friend. The butterflies that flew in your stomach every time you saw your friend scared you because you knew it would change things so you stuffed the feelings way down inside of you and locked them in a box. That nobody was allowed to unlock or even see. Those feelings were off limits and would just turn everything into a mangled knot.

You see Veronica and Betty have a conversation with their eyes before turning towards you. "Bring him, it'll be a friend thing instead of a romantic getaway."

"No, you guys can have your date thing I'll just hang out with the Serpents." You reject, not wanting an extremely awkward week or to ruin theirs.

"Hangout with that Serpent with us." Veronica says with her "I'm not going to stop bugging you until I get my way" look. You sigh and press your lips into a line, looking between the two of your friends before speaking.

"If you guys can convince him to go, I'll go." You finally give immediately regretting it as the two of them look to Jughead.

You'd decided to leave to go to your locker, the others waiting for you to be out of ear shot before talking.

"Y/n and Sweet Pea like each other right?" Archie asks, turning to Jughead.

"Oh yeah definitely." He answers, stuffing a Dorito in his mouth.

"Which means we need them both to come." Veronica adds, quirking a brow as she smiles.

Your stomach flipped at the texts as you realized you just accepted to go on basically a date with Sweet Pea that you were technically forced to do. Still in disbelief the next morning you packed a bag filled with clothes and your basic necessities before walking outside, confused when you see Sweet Pea standing there.

"I was expecting to meet you there." You say, explaining your expression when he quirks a brow at you. He shrugs, hand scratching the back of his neck before falling back to his side.

"I figured I could give you a ride." He says, gesturing to his motorcycle leaning on its stand.

You look to your own propped against your house and look back at his, debating the decisions before walking towards Sweet Pea. He flashes you a small smile before swinging his leg over the seat, you doing the same and wrapping your arms around his torso. He revs the engine before pulling away from the trailer park and makes his way to the lake house using the directions Veronica had sent that morning. You tried to ignore how your heart seemed to stop whenever you remembered how close the two of you were, trying to keep your focus on the passing woods.

After about forty-five minutes you slowed to a stop in front of a house the size of the entire Sunnyside trailer park. The others approached you as you and Sweet Pea gaped at the building.

"You made it!" Veronica smiles, taking back your attention. "You two can set your stuff in your room."

"Room?" You ask, slight panic rising in your chest at the lack of a mention of separate rooms.

"My uh parents only gave me permission to use three so we're all two to a room." She says, not fully convincing you but you say nothing else knowing it would be a pointless conversation as you follow her into the house. "Last door on the right." Veronica says, you nodding and walking up the stairs with Sweet Pea behind you.

"Holy shit." You hear Sweet Pea breathe as you step inside. "This room is as big as four trailers."

There was a queen sized bed on one wall facing a wall made of windows with a door leading to a balcony. Another door sat on the wall next to it leading to a bathroom, the room complete with themed decorations. You both set down your bags and meet the others downstairs, the sun setting below the lake outside as you made small conversation and played a few games.

About an hour after the sun was out of sight you were all sitting in the hot tub with a drink in hand. While the others sat practically on top of one another you and Sweet Pea stayed a safe distance apart sometimes your arms brushing against each others causing your breath to hitch in your throat. You'd easily finished two drinks trying to loosen up and not be so tense when everyone was having fun. You just couldn't stop thinking about every little thing Sweet Pea did from the smile that grazed his lips when the others made jokes to how you could swear he was getting closer to you.

Events seemed to start blurring into each other, you hardly being able to give any of your focus to the others conversation. You hardly realized you were leaning against Sweet Peas side, his arm lazily hung around your shoulders.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." You excuse yourself climbing out of the hot tub.

"Are you okay?" Betty asks, observing your wobbled way of walking.

"I'm fine." You say, waving a hand at her right before slipping, twisting your ankle and landing hard on the stones around the water. You hear multiple people climb out as you groan and turn over on to your back, squinting your eyes.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Sweet Pea asks, helping you sit up as you rub your head.

"Totally." You groan, looking around at the others who give you looks of concern. "I'm probably gonna go uh lie down."

With that you attempt to stand up but wince and lift your leg at the pain from putting pressure on your ankle.

"Need help?" Pea asks, standing up next to you. You nod and he wraps an arm around you, trying to help you walk but you find it awfully hard to hop on one leg in your state. He shakes his head before scooping you up in his arms, carrying you the rest of the way inside. He gets you upstairs, setting you down on the bed but falling over and ending up on top of you, his cheeks burning bright red.

"I uh..." He says, opening and closing his mouth to finish his sentence but no words come out.

Third floor on the West Side, me and you

Handsome, your mansion with a view

Do the girls back home touch you like I do?

Long night, with your hands up in my hair

You look into his eyes, your hand coming up to cup his face before bringing your lips to his. He hesitates a moment before returning the kiss, moving himself fully above you. The once small kiss quickly turns heated, your hands roaming his body. Your lips trail down to his neck, sucking on the soft skin. His hands lace in your hair, tugging on the y/h/c locks occasionally.

That night you did something you'd never imagined would happen between you and Sweet Pea, not even thinking about how many boundaries were bring broken and how you weren't thinking of your delicate friendship.

The next morning when you woke up you immediately felt yourself go hot clammy finding your head on Sweet Peas chest with nothing but the bed sheets separating your skin from his. Your heart tightens in your chest as you back away from him, having to pry his arm from around your waist before retreating to the opposite side of the bed. Sweet Pea groans and opens his eyes as he sits up, the blanket falling off of his upper body as he does so. Your cheeks and ears burn bright red when he looked to you, your eyes holding his for a quick moment before looking down at the mattress.

Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it chill that you're in my head?

'Cause I know that it's delicate

Is it cool that I said all that

Is it too soon to do this yet?

'Cause I know that it's delicate

"Shit..." He mumbles. "Look I um-"

"It's fine." You cut him off in a small voice. You didn't mean to sound so scared but you were utterly terrified of this ruining everything the two of you had. "I just... I don't want this to change anything."

Sweet Pea nods, meeting your eyes again. You don't know why it hurt you to see regret slightly on his.

"I like you, Sweet Pea." You say, everything in you freezing as you say the thing you had barely admitted to yourself. You don't see any reaction on his face prompting you to rant out of nerves. "I thought that if I just ignored it it'd be fine but I can't get you out of my head. I know that you will probably not want to see me after this and I understand that it's just-"

Sweet Pea cuts you off by cupping your face, his thumb running over your cheekbone. Your mouth went dry and you couldn't get any words out as your eyes scanned his face finding something you couldn't quite identify. One of the things on your mind was how you were practically shattering the delicate relationship you had. You felt like you were ruining everything and you just lost one of your closest friends because you were stupid and couldn't keep your emotions to yourself.

"I'm sorry. For all of this." You manage to say.

"Don't be." He says quietly. Neither of you quite understood the reason for being so quiet, maybe not to scare the other away with anything above a whisper. In seemingly slow motion he leans forwards until his lips are on yours soft and warm in a delicate kiss made of rose petals. Everything between you two was delicate from the way his hand gently held your face to whatever your relationship was now. But something that wasn't delicate was the fireworks you were seeing even though your eyes were closed, the colours exploding between the two of you. You both pull away, not getting very far as your foreheads press against each others.

"You're okay with this?" Sweet Pea asks, his breath lightly hitting your face.

"Of course." You smile before connecting your lips again, finally breaking through that delicate phase of your friendship and into a relationship that you'd always thought would never happen in that bed, a kiss being the bond in front of the sunrise over the lake making the whole moment even more perfect and warm and golden.

Cause I know that it's delicate

Delicate

[dayawantstosleep]

Love & Zombies Nov 4, 2020

Summary: All I wanted to do was survive, not get involved in a love triangle with Changbin and Chris. Things spiral out of control from there.

Genre: Dystopian, Apocalyptic

Word Count: 2,834

Warning(s): Swear words, implied cheating, jealous 3RACHA

I ran a hand through my hair for the billionth time and shut my eyes tightly. The bed seemed too big for me now that Han is not here anymore.

A quiet sniffle came out of me and I wiped my tears with my hand covered in my sleeve. I turn around to bury myself in my pillow and sobs wracked my body.

"He's still here with us." Changbin's hoarse voice said next to me. I must have woken him up with my crying.

"I should've been bitten instead of him." I said, sitting up. I hug my knees and bury my head on my arms.

"It's not your fault. He wouldn't want you to be like this." I snort softly. Han gone must have taken a toll on Changbin if he was comforting me.

"I just miss him. He's my buddy and I let him down. I was supposed to have his back, but I didn't. Now he's one of them."

"Just go to sleep, Aria." He said exasperated. I sighed and laid down on the bed again, the jackass I know making an appearance.

"Goodnight, Changbin." He hummed and I took that as a goodnight before closing my eyes.

It was past midnight when I woke up to go to the restroom. Chan words echoed in my mind.

We have a buddy system. If you want to leave at night tell your buddy. Things will be bad if you don't.

"My buddy was turned, Chan. Turned into a monster." I said rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

I sighed deeply and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pitiful. Dark half circles perched under my eyes and my skin looked paler than usual.

I unlocked the door and turned the lights off, heading to my room. I stopped in front of the door and sighed again.

I slipped inside my room and walked towards Changbin's sleeping figure on the far end of the room. I took a deep breath and prepared myself mentally.

"Changbin." I whispered, but the sleeping boy didn't even move. I sighed and reached for his shoulder.

His eyes shot open and he grabbed my waist, slamming it into his mattress, knees on either side of me. I let out a yelp as he glared at me menacingly.

"Can you get off me, Changbin?" His eyes soften slightly as he rolled off of me. I sat up and I heard him grunt.

"What were you thinking?"

"That I could wake you up. I need to show you something."

"Why?" I rolled my eyes and sighed. Why did I think this would be easy? When it comes to Changbin, things are never easy.

"You're my new buddy." Was all I said before leaving out the door. I heard footsteps behind me and I ventured further into base.

"Where are we going?" He asked. I didn't answer until I stopped outside.

"Don't freak out, ok?" I asked as I walked towards a ladder on one side if the building.

"What do you mean?" He asked, following me up the ladder. I walked towards the coffee table in the middle of the roof and clicked a small switch.

The coffee table parted and a large thin glass tube appeared out of the floor. Inside, a beast stared back at us; its eyes were a dull brown and the skin was grey and decaying.

"What the hell is this?" Changbin asked loudly.

"What do you think? This is him." Tears appeared on my eyes as I stared at the beast. The beast I used to call a best friend and confidant.

"How the fuck did you bring him here without none of us knowing?"

"Easy. Remember when we had Chris' party last week?" He looked at me as if I had two heads.

"No." I nodded.

"Yes. He was Chris' huge present. I feel super bad for lying, but I couldn't just leave him at the shopping mall. You know how much he means to me." I looked sadly at the beast before me.

"So, you've kept him here for a week?" I nodded again.

Han let out a gutteral sound and clawed at the glass. With one bite, my best friend had been reduced to a mindless being, with a knack of biting people.

"It's been really hard and Chris almost figured me out the other day. I need you to keep the secret." I turned to him.

"What?"

"I know you don't like me, but you're my roomate. We need to have each others backs, Changbin."

"What we need to do is kill that thing."

"No. He's my best friend. Han is gone and I know its selfish of me to keep him here in this state. But if there's any way to save him, I'll take it."

"This is for our survival, Aria." I suddenly felt consumed with rage. He was closer to Han than any of us, and he wants to kill him just like that?

"What do you know of survival?" I ask. He tightened his jaw and frowned.

"I lost Han already. I don't want to lose you too."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused. I'm killing that thing." He walked closer to Han and took out a knife from his jeans.

"You can't kill him. He's-"

"He's what, huh? He's not just your friend. You love him. I've seen the way you look at him." His voice was growing louder.

Love him? Have I really loved Han all along and not notice? No, Changbin is just misinterpreting things.

"No. I don't look at him in any way." He sneered.

"What would Chan think?" My blood ran cold. What would he think if he knew I had Han locked up in here?

"He would want to save Han."

"So, what? You can dump him for Han?" What the hell is he on about?

"No. Listen, I-"

"No. You listen. You think I like it that Chan is with you? Or that Han used to talk about you every fucking second you weren't there? When you were with Chan."

"What's that gotta do with keeping Han a secret? You're mixing up your shit."

"No. You just don't want to talk about this now."

I walked closer to him and flipped a switch on the tube, making it slowly go down from where it came from. Changbin's frown deepened and he let out a tch.

"You're clueless." He crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Don't patronize me. Now, cut the bullshit and talk straight."

"What's the point? None of it matters now." His eyes turned sad and he turned around, walking away.

I stood there, watching his receeding figure until I walked into the base alone.

Changbin didn't speak to me the next day or the day after that. Whenever one of the guys asked about his behavior, he would either shrug and give one word answers or ignore them.

"What is up his ass?" I asked Chris after a week of Changbin being unresponsive. He shrugged and put an arm around me.

"I think having Han gone hit him hard." My breath hitched and Changbin's words resonated in my head.

What would Chan think?

I turned to Chris and saw Changbin sitting at the dining table, looking at something behind us. I'll confront him later, when I'm done with Chris.

"I have to tell you something." I said. He nodded and turned to me.

"What is it?" He looked concerned and I suddenly felt my stomach started hurting. I grabbed the arm that was on my shoulder and pulled it off of me.

"This is kind of hard to say but-"

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" He let out a nervous laugh and I shook my head furiously.

"No. No of course not. I just...it's a bit more complicated than that."

"Complicated?" I took a deep breath and prepared myself mentally.

"Han's not dead." His eyes widen and his breath became ragged.

"What!?"

"He's a zombie. And he's on the roof."

"He's what?"

"I trapped him on the roof and I know this is wrong but we can save him. We just gotta wait a little longer."

"What a little longer? Aria, why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know how you'd react, Changbin said-"

"Changbin? You told him before me?" Please tell me this wasn't going to be a fight? Please, please, please.

"He's my roomate, Chris. I couldn't just not tell him."

"It's good that you told him, but you could have told me first."

"You're kidding, right? What does it matter who I told first? That's not even the damn point. The point is that I want to save Han." Out of the corner of my eye, the guys retreated to the kitchen.

"You want to what? I'm sorry, but he can't be saved." My heart broke then and there. My best friend can't be saved.

"Bullshit." I whispered softly.

"What?"

"Bullshit. He's one of us, he's always have been." He ran a hand through his hair, seemingly trying to formulate words.

"Where is he?"

After showing Chris and the rest of the guys the zombified Han, they freaked out. Half of them wanted to save him and the other half wanted to kill him. It was chaotic, until all of us went back inside.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked Changbin as soon as I walked into our room. He was laying on his bed with earbuds on.

I walked closer to him and yank the earbuds off, making him curse. He glared at me and sat up.

"What do you want?" He barked out.

"What did you mean back there?" He let out a tch and looked away from me.

"Changbin." I growled. I sat next to him and he turned away from me again.

"Why have you been so mean to me? You never liked me and it bugs me so much."

"You really wanna know?" He inched closer to me, we were centimeters apart.

"Yes. I want to fucking know." I growled. His lips slammed into mine roughly and pulled away.

"What the hell?" He didn't answer me just unbuttoned his jeans and took them off.

"You think that just because you kissed me everything is fine?" I was beyond pissed. All this time he was jealous of Chris and Han. That's bullshit.

He inched closer to me and kissed me roughly again. He pulled away and smirked his usual 'you're beneath me' smirk.

"Shut up."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do."

"What are you gonna do about it?" There he is again, feeling superior. Well, I've had it.

I raised an arm and slapped him. He just stared at me, I didn't wipe that smirk off of his face.

"That's hot." He pulled me in again and I pushed him away.

"I'm with Chris, Changbin."

"That's not fair. You can't pull that shit on me. You can't let me kiss you and pull that shit on me." He glared at me expectantly.

"You can't just kiss me and expect me to come running to your arms. It doesn't work that way."

"So, you just expect me to throw my feeling away?" He was getting angrier.

"You can do whatever you fucking want." I growled. His lips crashed into mine but this time, I kissed him back.

I don't know why I did it. Maybe I wanted to release my pent up anger at him for being an inconsiderate asshole all this time. Or maybe at the very back of my mind, I knew I liked him back.

He pulled me closer to him and I laced my hands on his neck. The kiss became more heated, and his lips travelled down my neck.

I grabbed his shirt and pulled it off of him, glazing over his well toned abs. I suddenly remembered the first time I saw them, when I barely got to base.

I didn't think nothing of it because he was rude to me and I didn't like him at all. But now, I find myself oogling.

"Look at you, Bin." I barely registered that I called him by his nickname.

"Don't call me that." He growled, capturing my lower lip with his lips and bit me.

"I'll call you whatever the fuck I want." I growled, biting where his neck and shoulders meet.

He moaned out and I would be lying if I said that it wasn't sensual. He grabbed my hand and led me to his bed, getting on top of me.

The beast in front of me tried clawing it's way through the glass. The attempt was futile, Han stopped and just looked at me with soulless eyes.

"I don't know what I'm doing." I whispered. Last night flashed in my mind and then I sat down on the couch.

"This really wasn't supposed to happen, you know? We're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I didn't come here to sleep with anyone. I came here to survive."

Han just stared at me, dull brown eyes staring into my ones. I ran a hand through my hair and looked at the tube.

"You must be lonely in there, huh? I can't exactly let you out, but I can do this." I stood up and clicked a switch on the tube.

A small opening parted in front of his facex big enough for one hand only.

"Rawwwr!" He snarled and reached his hand out towards me through the window. I sighed deeply, taking out my dagger from the inside of my jeans.

Changbin is right. I can't save him even if I try. He's my best friend and I'll always love him. But, having him here is a huge risk.

"I'm sorry, Jisung." I raised my dagger and sung it. I winced, blood coming out of my hand.

"Fuck it. I can't." I looked at the sky and let out a yell. I looked at Han and then I heard the door to the base open.

"Aria?" I walked towards the edge of the roof and look down. Chris was looking at me as he climbed up the ladder.

"Yeah?"

"I heard someone shout so I came looking for you." He said as soon as he got to the top.

"I'm fine. Just talking to Han." I put my dagger behind my back but he quickly grabbed my hand.

"Aria what did you-?"I cut him off and yanked my hand back.

"I said I'm fine." He stopped and let his hand hang at his side. I sighed, feeling guilty for raising my voice at my boyfriend.

"Sorry. I'm just very on edge." I turn to the tube where Han is imprisoned and frowned.

It was now or never. I flipped a switch on the tube and the glass slowly started opening.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked next to me.

"What I should have done a long time ago." I take my dagger out and then Han pounced.

I heard Chris shout my name and the dagger went flying out of my hands. Han snarled and bared his teeth at me, trying to claw me.

I put an arm under his chin to try to stop him. He roared and I did the only thing I thought of. I grabbed his arm and bit into his grey skin.

His eyes rolled upward and he fell on top of me. I scooted away from him and felt Chris arms around me.

"That was risky." He said kissing my cheek.

"I needed to do something, he was gonna eat me." I turned to Han and gasped.

My best friend stood up and started walking towards me. His skin wasn't grey anymore, and his eyes were soulless either. They were brown.

"What happened?" I malfunctioned. He could form sentences. He was human again. What the hell?

I ran to him, arms extented and he extended his arms too. I slapped him as soon as he was within arms reach.

"Oww." He said, rubbing his cheek. I ignored him and pulled him in for a hug.

"Don't you fucking do that again." Tears pricked my eyes as I began sobbing.

"You were gonna get bit. I needed to do something." I let out a laugh.

He was still the same Han I knew. I pulled away and he grabbed my hands.

"I've been meaning to tell you something, but I just couldn't. And then when I got bit, I was gonna say it but...well, you know" I nodded and then he cupped the sides of my face and closed the gap between us.

My eyes widen and I pulled myself away from him. This is what he wanted to tell me? That like Changbin, he's been liking me all this time.

"I- Han...I'm sorry. I can't. I'm with Chris." He turned to Chris behind me and his face fell.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I um, have to go..." I clicked my tongue and pointed at the ladder before walking away.

[juicemitio]

Alright I went to Louisville Galaxycon and saw Travis and Clint twice, for their worldbuilding workshop and their Q&A. Here's some interesting stuff I learned (I didn't include stuff they talked about that's pretty common knowledge or they talked about on the last ttazz)

Graduation 

Fitzroy was originally going to be a jock that was weak bc he no longer had a team, Travis told Griffin that that didn't really work for the world so they reframed it as him training to be a hero, was great academically and behaviorally, but had a problem no one had seen before and no one felt like dealing with. It specifically wasn't "barbarian fails bc he can't keep his rage in check," it was that no one was willing to deal with his magic so they shipped him off

Someone asked Travis to explain fitzroy's magic, so from the DM's mouth- he's a barbarian subtype with elemental magic which has a random effect while raging, which we haven't seen yet (path of the wild soul if you want to look it up and see what he can do) and he took a feat which gives him the ability to cast 3 cantrips of his choosing. What I thought was interesting was that Travis described Fitz's magic using the word "elemental" twice, even though that isn't specifically stated in the path of the wild soul entry

Travis knows Argo's secret and is very excited about it 

Clint has a pirate fiction book he reads every night before they record to get into the headspace to play Argo, he told us the name but I forgot it 

There is one small little concept that made the whole of graduation make sense to Travis and is what the arc will be about, and he only figured it out a few days before recording. Obviously he didn't tell us what it was

Originally it was going to start with everyone starting at age 11 and slowly killing the other kids off, but Justin didn't feel comfortable playing a game surrounded by kids dying 

The accounting scene is already one of Travis' all time favorite taz scenes

The pegasus scene informed Travis on exactly how he was going to treat the firbolg

Also Travis referred to Justin's character exclusively as "the firbolg," which means "master firbolg" is solely a thing going on with the npcs in the game which I find hilarious. They just all decided to give him a dope title bc he deserves it, meanwhile no one will call Fitzroy "sir"

To Fitzroy, social threats are an extremely real and serious thing, like the Biggest thing to him (we were talking about what characters found threatening in the workshop, for context)  

There's some big concept/idea that comes up in the next episode that travis almost let spill and had to quickly stop himself from saying it

Someone mentioned eating breakfast in their question in the workshop and Travis goofed on it for a second, then said "cereal world" suddenly, and Clint had to pick up the question bc Travis had to take a second to make a note of it in his phone 

Travis started brainstorming graduation in March and they recorded the first episode in October, and his main job in that time was working on graduation 

Before Buckminster was adapted for graduation he could not fight at all, if he got into a fight he would die, he poured everything into charisma and could talk his way out of any fight (even the big bad of the game he crit 20d his check and the big bad walked away from the fight) 

Travis is really into psychology and how if you assign a label to someone they're going to act more like it (ie you tell a kid they're amazing and smart and talented and they become more like that, you tell a kid they're annoying and dumb and a problem they become more like that), and how that was a major contributor to play into hero/villain/sidekick/henchperson dynamics, you get assigned this arbitrary title of good/evil/subservient and you become like that to fit the role, and then the inevitable pushing against that mold

Travis is fully aware of his story being compared to harry potter and he doesn't care bc it's apt (people in a school arbitrarily divided into four groups and one of them is the Bad One), also he knows people describe it as "sky high meets Harry Potter meets my hero academia" and he actually finds that really flattering bc he thinks that sounds cool and like something he'd want to watch 

On that note, Travis is a self-identified Slytherin and he's always upheld that the reason Slytherin is depicted in a bad light is bc Rowling decided she didn't like them, and he's always sympathized with the idea of a first year Slytherin working their ass off following the rules and doing their work and getting points, and Dumbledore rewards three idiots for breaking like every rule and pulls the trophy away from you. This was a big inspiration for graduation, of one group getting a bad rep and being portrayed as evil for literally no reason 

Amnesty

Clint & Travis's favorite scene they've ever done together was Ned & Aubrey's final scene together 

Aubrey and Dani do move in with each other at the end of amnesty

Balance

Travis' main emotion around taz is pride and he's most proud of the scene in stolen century with the spirits in the robots, bc they had to record it a second time bc it got way too dark and ended in a really grim way and about 20 min after they finished they all decided that they weren't happy with it, that it didn't fit the tone, he's really proud they didn't just leave it be and they took the second pass at it to make it right

I'm pretty sure he's talked about wanting to kill Magnus off at the beginning before but he mentioned that it was only at the end of petals to the metal he actually realized he wanted Magnus to live, bc Hurley had to sacrifice herself to save Magnus bc Magnus had been so reckless, that hit Travis really hard. Travis realized that Magnus' recklessness was getting people hurt and so Magnus did too, so Magnus become a bit more cautious and took up rogue training to try not to get anyone killed again 

Dust

Dust wasn't designed to be anything more than a one off and the workload was completely unsustainable, the document of notes for dust was about 100 pages and only about 10% of it got used

The reason Travis loved it so much was bc it was a mystery and he found it really fun

Commitment

Clint would love to revisit commitment, but probably not in podcast form bc he didn't find himself really being in the moment as much bc of all the different things he had to keep track of, he'd like to see a comic adaptation/continuation if possible

It was based of a comic he wrote that never got published bc the company producing it failed (he still cashed his paycheck) so he reused it bc he still liked it a lot, it was about how America was founded as a monarchy instead of a democracy and what that changed in the usa's (united sovereignty of america's) history, and how people now were fighting to establish a democracy. Also there were cowboys and spaceships and other cool stuff he put in there bc he liked it

General adventure zone

The reason why they're are able to do romantic relationships w/o being weirded out by it (they joke about it but they don't actually care) is bc it's never done in an explicit or sexual way and since it's the decision the characters would make to pursue the relationship then that's the decision they make. He reframed it as it wouldn't be weird if a family were writing a script together and there was a romance and one person wrote lines for one character and the other wrote lines for the other. He did mention that two siblings playing characters in a relationship as actors on screen wouldn't be cool though

They sometimes get comments that some of the stuff they do is "fanservice," but they feel that they owe their success to their fans and they owe some to them 

They are both aware of and proud that Justin is the best at character creation, Clint specifically really was talking about how Justin's strong suit is definitely character creation and characterization

General mcelroy stuff

They walked pretty close to me when they entered the stage room for the q&a and like… they're short, like shorter than you think

Travis referred to his unborn child as "baby dod" (I'm not 100% certain but I'm pretty sure) which I looked up and is a nickname for George, and given with their older kid being named Barbera and nicknamed BeBe and Travis talking before about how he and his wife like classic names with cool nicknames it makes sense

Travis had an earing in his right ear, I didn't get to see his left ear and I couldn't tell if it was an actual piercing or a fake, it looked really good though. Also his tinted glasses look a lot cooler irl than they do in pictures

Clint told the teenage mutant Ninja turtle story with the signatures that griffin told on mbmbam, but Clint remembered it as happening at King's Island, not Disney. This story was prompted by the question of the biggest lie he ever told his kids, and he only came clean about this a few months ago

Travis told a story about how he finished a videogame when he was younger and was so excited that he picked up a plastic knife, yelled "throwing knife!" threw it directly at Griffin who dodged it and it hit and shattered a window