#I gotta work through a specific part of a scene

[cedarsmoke4]

Mechanic au Heisenberg still owns my soul and my ass

[reiderwriter]

can i request a fic of pining spencer reid and bau!reader who are brushing up on some hand to hand combat and reader is really invested on winning finally pins spencer down and reader is straddling spencer and they are both like 😳😳

the rest of the bau and other fbi agents are on the side making varies bets about who wins maybe too? (eg that miss congeniality scene)

A/N: Thank you for the request and omg thank you so much for this one specifically - I loved this idea. I had to make Spencer competitive too, because 😊 I wanted to.

Word count: 1.8k words

Warnings: none! Just fluff, however if anyone wanted to send a follow up request wanting a part two where there is some smut I'd be 100% okay with that... Just if you wanted to.

Part two

When Morgan told you that, after an unfortunate shoulder injury you received on the job, you’d have to take another training course to prove that you were up to being back in the field, you almost resigned on the spot. Passing the first time hadn’t been the easiest feat for you, and while you were confident in your skills in the field, you knew that you were, to put it kindly, athletically challenged. 

“There’s no way to get out of it? No exceptions they can make to allow me into the field?” You asked, desperate to avoid Morgan putting you through the ringer. 

“I’m sorry, sweet cheeks, but they’re worried about your ability to perform under pressure, so I gotta push you today, okay? You’re not alone, at least.” 

“I’m not?” you gave the man a questioning look as you followed him to the changing rooms reluctantly. 

“Nah, they pulled up Reid and Garcia as well, you’ll all be doing the work together today.” 

“What that’s ridiculous! Penelope isn’t even in the field and Reid has never passed one of these things.” You throw your bag down on a bench, and look ahead of you into the equipment room, and sure enough, there they are, looks of equal dissatisfaction spread across their faces. 

“You’re preaching to the choir here, sweet cheeks. You’re in good hands though, I’m not going to push you too hard today.” Somehow you didn’t believe that. 

–X–

An hour later you were flat on your back, panting harder than you had in months, dripping with sweat and feeling an ache in your bones that you hadn’t felt ever. Next to you on the ground, you could hear your fellow torturee’s moaning in pain, presumably doing their best to stay conscious. 

“You know, chocolate thunder, I love you, I really do, but you make it very, very hard sometimes,” Penelope squeaked out as the other man chuckled from above you. “God I’m not even asthmatic but I think I need an inhaler.” 

You chuckled at that and pushed yourself up to a seated position. 

“I think I am asthmatic.” Reid said form his position on your other side. You stole a glance at him quickly before blushing and looking away. You didn’t have a crush on him, or at least that was what you were telling yourself, but you did have a keen appreciation for how he looked in his button down shirts and FBI vests. His hair was shorter now than when you first met, and the longer parts stuck to his face with sweat. You were lucky that the strength had been all but zapped from your body because given the chance, you’d be pushing his hair out of his face for him and get lost in his eyes. 

“Come on, guys. You finished cardio, you finished weights, all you got left is some simple self defense drills. Think you can handle that?” Morgan laughed from above you. 

“No! I haven’t been able to handle any of this, what makes you think I can do more?” Reid moaned out on the floor next to you. You stood up, reluctantly, holding out a hand out to the man and helping to pull him to his feet. 

You underestimate the help he needed to get up, though and he has to catch you in his arms as soon as he’s up, as you stumble into him, legs too weak. You blush as the two of you stay uncomfortably close for a few seconds, only pulling apart when Morgan lets out a sharp cough. You jump back from each other then, and pray to god that no one else in the room saw the puppy dog eyes you were unintentionally shooting up at him. 

“Okay, so there’s three of you, so I’ll join in for these sparring drills. Any volunteers?” 

“To tangle my limbs with yours all hot and sweaty on the floor? Sweetie, I thought you’d never ask.” You hadn’t seen Penelope move so fast all day, though you knew she was only half joking. 

“Okay, so Y/L/N, Reid, you head over to that mat over there. You’re going to start a hand-to-hand combat simulation, whoever pins the other down first wins. We’ll do best of three, okay?” 

Reluctantly, you made your way to the mat he indicated to, knowing that you weren’t going to have as much fun as Penelope any time soon. 

“You’re going to start in a common self-defense scenario. Reid, you’re going to be the assailant, you’re going to come up on Y/L/N from behind, okay?” You nodded at Morgan’s words and turned yourself away from Reid, feeling his presence at your back already. 

“Is this really necessary?” He questioned from behind you, and you could practically feel Morgan’s answering look on your back. Finally, he rested a light hand on your shoulder, and your session started. 

You grabbed the hand on your shoulder and twisted it, and yourself, behind his back, gaining the upper hand quickly. 

“Y/N, come on. Take it easy, I’m exhausted. Just let me pin you and we can call it a day.” Reid said from in front of you and your ears burnt at his suggestion. 

“Wait, why would I let you pin me? I have the upper hand right now.” He huffed out a breath and twisted his body underneath your arm, catching you off-guard as he swept your legs from underneath you. Before you could fall all the way down, though, he grabbed you around your waist and held you in what you assumed looked like a ballroom dancing dip. 

“You were saying?” You desperately wanted to wipe that arrogant smirk off of his lips. “Actually, I have a few years more experience in the field than you, and I was probably beaten up a lot more in high school, so I wouldn’t be too upset about losing to me, okay?” 

You returned his smile sarcastically for a second, before lifting and swinging the heel of your foot into his knee, forcing him to hit the mat as you scrambled out of his grip and repositioned yourself behind him, pulling him arm behind his back a second time in an attempt to subdue him. 

“If you have so much experience getting your ass kicked, Spence, why don’t you just let me do it?” You enjoyed feeding his words back to him as he moaned out a little. 

“Because something tells me you’d enjoy it a little too much.” He somehow slips from your grip again, swiping your legs out from underneath you and climbing over you. The two of you struggle for a few seconds on the floor, but he has your legs pinned with his own, and he forces your hands above your head. Your heads are even with one another, and you’re both breathing heavily now. 

You decide to take another approach to get out of his hold this time. Rolling your hips up into his slightly, you let your eyes rake over his body above you. 

“You sure you’re not enjoying this just as much, Reid?” you shoot him an innocent enough smile, but you can see the flush staining his skin, and he loosens his hold on you just enough to allow you to wrap your legs around his waist and use your bosy weight as leverage to flip your positions. 

Now he’s on his back below you and you sit up in triumph, straddling his lap. His arms fight to get yours pinned to your side but you give back just as much as he is, and you can feel the crowd forming around you. He decides to fight dirty as well. 

“Thought you’d enjoy being under me more than you’d like being on top. I was being a gentleman,” he huffs out and manages to flip you over once more, pushing up and wrapping his legs up over your knees and forcing you onto your back. Your legs are now spread wide for him, his crotch pushed against yours, his arms gripping yours and pushing them firmly into the mat. You struggle a few more times but you know this is it. He’s got you. 

“What? Not even going to let my hands go to let me tap out?” you huff out, blowing a stray piece of hair out of your eyes. He pins both of your hands with one of his and gently tucks the hair behind your ear for you as you burn up under his touch, suddenly at a loss for words. 

“What, and let you try to tackle me again? Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll let you go.” 

“Y/L/N, Reid, if you’re finished over there, you can grab a drink and start over. I did say this was going to be best of three.” Both of you suddenly snap your eyes up to Morgan, who has one raised eyebrow pointed at you. You realise that you’ve also drawn the attention of the other gym-goers and scramble away from each other to the sound of chuckles and wolf whistles. 

“Shit,” you run a hand through your hair and get in position to go again, this time swapping with Reid so you take the position of the unsub. 

From a distance, you don’t realise that Penelope and Morgan have completely given up on their own drills. 

“Twenty bucks says Reid gives in and kisses her first,” she whispers to her companion. 

“The kid? No way, he’s being too cocky for that. I reckon Y/N will do it to try and distract him first.” 

“I’ll take that bet,” Garcia says, and they settle back into watching the two of you, completely oblivious to the fact that you’re both enjoying sparring a little bit more than you normally would be. 

“When do you think I should tell them that they never needed to do this training session in the first place?” 

“Derek Morgan, if you are admitting right now that you made me walk through hell and back just so you could force these two beautiful idiots whom I love to recognise their feelings for each other then I am going to murder you and then bring you back to life so I can kiss you for being so smart.” 

“So I shouldn’t tell them?” 

“Take it to the grave, baby.” 

They turned their attention back to you, suddenly way more invested in how this was going to turn out.

[anim-ttrpgs]

How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session & Eureka Song Selections

When our own group plays any TTRPG, we always like to have some amount of background music to help with the mood and tone, and if you do too, then here's a post about how best to choose it, because it is a learnable skill!

I am one of the creators of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

and the idea for this post grew out of making a curated list of songs for Eureka sessions, each sorted into different categories for easy access. The Narrator in a Eureka campaign exercises very little control over the story and pacing of the game, so it isn't very helpful to plan for a specific reveal of specific scene set to a certain song. To that end, I have sorted these songs into various types of scenes, tones, etc. for you to grab as the story is emerging.

You can find these lists here:

Session Intro Music (in case you wanna open each session with a musical theme like an episode of a tv show)

Investigation Scene Music (low-stakes) or Meal Scene

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 1

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 2

Foot Chase Music

Vehicle Chase Music

Scooby-doo-ass Chase Music

Investigators Fleeing/Hiding from Monster Music

Unarmed Combat Music

Deadly/Armed Melee Combat Music

Deadly/Firearm Combat Music

Monster Rampage Music

Monster Hunting Music (as in the monster is a PC who is hunting prey)

How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session

There’s a few things that make a good TTRPG session song that aren’t immediately obvious.

Avoid Lyrics

Lyrics are a no-go 90% of the time. You gotta assume that the players will be trying to read rules and/or do math during the session and lyrics can make that harder.

Avoid Loud, Dissonate, or Disorienting Music

For the very same reasons—and this is especially useful to keep in mind for a horror-themed game like Eureka—it can't be too dissident or grating. A lot of horror video game music is really dissident screechy and offensive to the ears because this induces a tiny sense of panic, but again, like with lyrics, this means it’s hard to actually play a TTRPG while listening to this.

Don't Outpace the Combat

For combat music, a fast-paced “action” song can work, but if it’s too fast-paced it really quickly outpaces the combat itself because TTRPG combat is necessarily kind of slow. I do have plenty of fast-paced actiony songs in those lists, but those are best grouped into a playlist in sequence rather than looped, because then you at least have the rather frequent serendipity of the song changing on a per-turn basis.

The usual better option is something “tense” and “cool” but a bit more understated, usually with a mid-intensity repeating beat. Complex action songs work in other mediums like movies because their notes can be tailored to sync up to the actual actions on-screen, but that won’t happen in a TTRPG 90% of the time, even if just because describing a character throwing a punch takes way longer than a character throwing a punch in a movie.

For Eureka I also had to like make sure there was a good selection of action music in there that wasn’t too “cool” or “heroic.” Eureka characters are not fearless action heroes nor usually trained soldiers. If they are in a fight, it usually isnt cool, it’s scary. If anything, the combat music should be the bad guy’s theme, not the protagonists’, because they’re the ones with the advantage. When a Eureka PC does have the advantage and can be super “cool” in a fight, they’re probably a monster, in which case it’s the other way around, they’re the terrifying bad guy in the NPC’s story, and I tried to pick music to reflect that with “darker,” more “sinister” tracks.

Choose Songs without Shifts in Tempo or Intensity

You want something that is very easy to loop. Lots of cool songs go through pretty dramatic changes in their intensity over the course of their runtime. This is cool like I said when they can be synced up to action in a movie, but they’ll never (or rarely) sync up with anything in a TTRPG session. They’re going to be playing over and over on like a 3-minute loop as you roll dice and occasionally look up rules, and if this loop is really noticeable because of how the song starts out slow and then swells in intensity, that is going to be annoying fast. You want a song that has a relatively consistent level of intensity throughout its whole runtime.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but you can still check out the public beta on itch.io to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, etc.!

You can also follow updates on our Kickstarter page where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more, you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy earlier, plus extra content such as adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[odiesdayoff]

JAIME REYES NSFW ALPHABET?? PLEASE ANYTJING NSFW JAIME 🧎🏽‍♀️

IM GONNA BE SO REAL I HAVEN'T EVEN WATCHED BB YET BUT I YEARN FOR HIM. SO BADLY. this may change when I see it like...tomorrow.

NSFW under the cut <3

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

He’s a cuddler. He’ll plant kisses all over you and hold you against him. He’ll keep telling you how much he loves you.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his arms. Specifically how strong he is and how it allows him to pick you up and spin you around all romantic-like.

He loves your eyes. The color, the way you look at him, the way you squint when you laugh or smile. He can stare into them for days. 

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He’s a bit more traditional and likes to cum inside. He’ll always wear a condom, though. He likes the closeness. Also includes your mouth!

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He’s into cockwarming. Or falling asleep like that. He doesn’t know how to approach doing that. The thought of having to do some work and just you sitting with him inside? Makes him swoon. 

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He went through law school. In GOTHAM. Briefly a city boy. He’s had a few dates before you and he knows how to make you lose your mind. It took a bit of a learning curve to adjust to you specifically, but he’s GOOD. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

When you’re, like, laying down together and spooning while fucking? Idk what that’s called. But that. He loves that. It’s just so intimate. He can hold you close.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He loves to laugh. He enjoys spending time with you and doesn’t let it get too serious.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Trimmed. Dark and curly. That's all I'm at liberty to disclose.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He’s so romantic. Definitely would be the type of person that lights candles and throws flower petals all over the bed. He’s such a sweetie. Will constantly tell you how attractive you are and how good you make him feel.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He’ll never admit it, but he totally jerked off using a pair of your underwear that you had left at his place once. He’d rather not masturbate when he has you, but he has needs!

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Heavy on a praise kink. Whether it’s giving or receiving. He’s also into you being in charge!

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

He’s a little basic. In the bed. He thinks it's incredibly romantic. That, or in the kitchen and dining room.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

When he wakes up in the morning before you and you’re sleeping, he thinks you’re so hot he will actually melt. He would fight for his life not to wake you up and ask to fuck. You getting along with his family gets him going fr. Just seeing the people he cherishes the most getting along with you fills his heart.

Also…neck kissing!!! He looves it.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’ll absolutely NEVER do any of the step-family or things related to family, even as a pretend thing or scene. That’s just way too weird. He’s far too close to his family to think about any of them sexually in any way.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He’s a sucker for making you come and oral is one of his favorite things to do. Bro will literally get under the table and give you head while you’re eating dinner if you even mention being a little horny or maybe someone that flirted with you. He’s gotta show you that nobody can make you feel as good as him. He’s a bit jealous.

He loves to receive, but is far too shy to ask for it. If you put it on the table, he’s giddy. He’ll somehow think that he’s degrading you by asking you to suck his dick.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He takes it slow. Sometimes painfully slow, making you feel every vein in his dick each time he’s inside of you. If you asked him to be a little rougher with you, he ain’t gonna say no! When you’re on top or in charge, he lowkey loves when you kind of use him as a sex toy and go as fast as you need to reach your orgasm. He likes to prolong the moment as long as he can when you’re under him. 

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He prefers not to have a quickie. He wants to spend time with you as much as he can and take his time making you feel good. He definitely would not say no if you asked him right before either of you left for work and after you woke up. He just prefers a night full of lovemaking.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

It would definitely take a lot of convincing to get him to do more outlandish kinks, but he likes to try some things at least once. He’s not a “it’s hotter if we might get caught” person. Very much a behind locked doors kind of guy when it comes to sex.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He can go a few rounds. Again, the scarab would increase that stamina by a little bit. 

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Let’s be so real. Yeah. I don’t think he would have toys for his personal use, but getting things for your pleasure is his favorite thing to do. He loves watching you squirm as he presses a vibrator against you. He would literally ask you to watch a movie, then use the vibrator on you while you sit on his lap the entire time.

Also…that suit? It can literally be whatever he wants it to be…IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He looves to tease you. At the grocery store, while you’re having dinner with your/his family, washing the dishes. He wants you to be completely dripping/rock hard by the time the two of you get to fuckin’.

On the other hand, he likes when you tease him. He’s a firm believer that whatever he does to you, you can do to him. A hand on your thigh under the table at the family dinner? He won’t be surprised when you “accidentally” drop your fork and lean over him to grab it from the floor. 

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Some guys are afraid to moan, Jaime’s in his partner's ear losing his mind. Initially, he’d be hesitant to be noisy and all, but once he gets comfortable (or you get a place alone) he’ll make sure that you know how good you’re making him feel. He’s a whimperer. Hardcore. You can play with his hair and his breathing gets shaky.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

I have a feeling that he would want to try to fuck while dressed as a priest. Maybe he watched Fleabag in college. Or had some religion in his childhood. Either that or have you dress in religious clothing and act that out. He’s not sure yet, but he wants to try it.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He’s about average size, maybe six inches hard? Uncut. Slight curve upward.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

He would be a few times a week guy normally, but after the scarab fiasco, his drive increases. You could bend over picking something up and he needs to have you right now.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

I feel like he would absolutely pass out after a heated night. Like, I'm talking honk shoo mimimi with one leg off the bed and only half the blanket over his body.

[sabertoothwalrus]

predictions for rest of Owl House season 3

I can't see an ending to this show not somehow creating a permanent bridge between the Human and Demon Realms, but how are they gonna get there? I think the answer is in...

✨The Stars✨

One of the first things that brought this to my attention was in Reaching Out, when Luz & Amity send a flower into the sky, and it's directly paralleled by Camila's flower vase:

Amity: Do you think they'll reach the Human Realm? Luz: Probably doesn't work that way, but... it's a nice thought, right?

Now, in Thanks to Them, we have TWO scenes where Luz literally reaches for the stars (the sun a clear reference to the Collector), MULTIPLE shots of light spells floating upwards (into the sky), Gus and Hunter discussing space travel, and the very last shot of the special itself panning up from the cemetery portal to the night sky.

But, how DO they reach the stars? I highly doubt this show would go towards a literal space travel route. I think, obviously, the Collector is a part of it, but I think it's also a matter of someone getting high enough to reach.

Perhaps maybe.... as tall as a titan?

Clearly, there's a lot of shared history between titans and the Collector. And titans themselves have their own fair share of celestial imagery:

(notice the titan skeleton LITERALLY BEING AS HIGH AS THE PLANETS AND ASTEROIDS)

Perhaps this is why the titans and the Collector have been at odds. Maybe, the titans could use the stars to travel, and for whatever reason, the Collector didn't like that.

And if titans can travel through the stars, it might also solve the mystery of King's mother's whereabouts.

We know the Boiling Isles titan is King's father. And the Boiling Isles is OLD. The Hecktaceous Period is a really vaguely ancient era that doesn't directly parallel one specific era on Earth, so it's hard to put a time frame on it. Either way, all life on the Boiling Isles evolved FROM the Boiling Isles, and did not exist prior.

But..... Bill saw a titan somehow? Bill isn't from the Boiling Isles, and he's old, but it seems unlikely that he's older than literally all life on the Boiling Isles. And King HEARD a titan, who roared, "son". King is about 8 years old, but we don't know how long he was in his egg before he hatched.

It SEEMS implied that "the last titan" the trappers were after was supposed to be King, but that might not necessarily be the case...

Bill: But if you think Belos is evil, you've never seen a live Titan. The children out there haven't either. [The trio looks outside the window, but Hooty notices something to his right and stretches towards that direction. Cut to the King lookalike demons cheering at him as he stands in front of a waterfall.] Bill: Don't know a thing about their ravenous appetites, or their terrible cries! Even their babies act like little monarchs. The last living Titan, I saw it once before it disappeared. Its hateful roar blew out my eardrums. How did it go? "Weh!"

Bill: [Rolls up his sleeve.] You like our disguises? [Takes off his glove to reveal a hand.] You gotta look like a Titan to trap one. [Puts on his glove back.] But if I ever find that missing Titan, I'd hunt it down, tear it limb from limb, and mount its head in pride as we release the Huntsman! Then... we can finally go from being Titan Trappers to Titan Slayers! Say, who's your buddy's tailor? His costume looks so real!

it sounds to me like there's a titan Bill saw that isn't the Boiling Isles or King.

And if you look back at the mural of the trapper fighting a titan, the titan is depicted with a longer face than what the Boiling Isles actually has. Maybe.... *that's* King's mother?

So, where did she go? The stars? But if they connect to the Human Realm, where would she be?

Funnily enough, in Connecticut (you know, the state Luz is from), there's geological structure called The Sleeping Giant.

Just a thought.

[nyxi-pixie]

Hiiiii.

Sorry to bother you, I wanted to know if you had any fic recs? Your writing is so good and your tastes are immaculate, and I am starving for any kind of good content. Please?

its not possible to bother me love dw <3

NOW. i dont actually read all that much anymore bc i am horrendously picky but this does give me an excuse to hype up the few authors that have satisfied my unreasonably specific tastes 🤩.

so. a few bsd recs for you (except theyre 99% skk because im horribly predictable forever). everyone go read all of these and tell the authors how wonderful they are in the comments please <3

anything @booksandpaperss has ever written is genius work and everyone should read it. could talk abt all of their stuff for hours (and i have🤩 they put up w so much of me bothering them godbless). also our brains do some accidental crazy mind melding shit whenever either of us write fic so if you like any of my stuff you will like theirs. thats the rules. <3

like twin stars in the dark (we collide)- dead apple skk porn as a vehicle for 22skk analysis. makes me salivate i have read it so many times. they get 22skk better than anyone🙏

my lies are for you to keep (my love for you to lose) - the only take on beastskk that matters to me ever. you can actually see me losing my mind in the comment i wrote on this fic bc of how fucking insane every single line made me. theres SO much packed into this thing its fucking crazy i NEEEEED everyone to read it. thats all <3

till death, I'll give you my breath - dazai death timeloop. this fic terrifies me so much i await every update with my teeth chattering and my heart pulsing so rapidly i should be hospitalised. the first scene of chapter 2 genuinely had me on the verge of tears im unwell about it.

(elli also has some jjk stuff thats REALLYREALLY good and if ur into jjk u should check that out too.)

NOW. aside from being a propaganda machine for my fav writer ever. Heres some other stuff i love.

the second perspective by @wildflowerteas. murder mystery/detective noir stuff w some time fuckery. the au of all time. mashes aspects of beast, canon, and some extra special niko sauce into a mixing bowl and goes crazy w it. just Such a genuinely impressive piece of writing. i could talk abt the technical brilliance of it for hours but i will stop myself. you gotta commit to this thing because it WILL make u crazy. also i loveee the sskk. its like if we had the beast first meeting sskk forever. SOSO GOOD!!!!

did fate guide the gun or did you? by @kanetheo. i read this pretty soon after chapter 109 and it genuinely fried my brain for months. the writing style is beautiful (as for everything they write AUGHH!!!) and the angst is delectable. the way it intersperses more fun silly skk moments with just. complete misery. GOD. it just hits. ive reread it quite a few times and it never fails to make me go crazy. srsly cannot rec this enough.

the decomposition of dazai osamu by @hella1975 this shot several bullets through my brain and i still havent recovered. i keep thinking 'oh i should reread that' and then i dont bc some part of my brain still concerns itself w maintaining whats left of my sanity. BUT its crazy good and everyone should read it and suffer at least once. EVERYONE LOVES YOU OSAMU!!!! EVERYONE EATS YOU!!! line of all time lets all kill ourselves.

smoke held conversations by feralrookie - i havent reread this in a while but it does cool stuff with nlh and the skkisms are really good in this too. ppl often write teen chuuya as less intelligent than he actually is. hes very observant, esp of dazai, and this fic gave me that 🙏

i called your name til the fever broke by forest_raccoon - vampire chuuya. biting is involved. i blacked out reading it. enough said.

[matan4il]

911 ep 709 first watch reactions

The way this ep starts with giving us a clear shot focused on the front, solely on Buck sitting between the man he's dating and the man he's been married to for the past six years, and only on them. XD I'm here for it.

Oh, Bobby. :( Feeling unworthy of his medal, and remembering his dad, and how everything went wrong after he got it. </3

Aaaah. Man, IDK. The openly and explicitly homophobic and racist captain cartoon just feels like an easy target now. Prejudice doesn't seem like it mostly gets expressed that way anymore, and when we only teach people to reject that kind, we not only fail to teach them to recognize subtler forms, we may be misleading them to think those more nuanced ones don't count.

Love Athena trying to "save" Bobby by contacting Amir. I'm always a sucker for a couple where they both save each other.

I enjoyed the little play with "Mother Hen," and I know it's not specifically about Buddie, but it is damn funny that when she's told she's raising more kids, they're the ones the camera focuses on. lol Raising a kid together for 6 years, still a couple of morons in desperate need of parenting from their colleagues. Even when Bobby's "wordless goodbye" moment with Buck is letting him cook for the 118, Eddie's by his side and they're doing it together. I swear, 911 said, "Take note, this is what a marriage looks like" and then just kept hammering the point for 6 seasons now.

Okay, I am pretty sure that, while Bobby's acceptance of Buck's first relationship with a guy, is really lovely, "Because we haven't had to talk about it" is not an actual good criterion for discerning whether someone is good for their partner or not. People whose spouses are abusive don't talk about it, either. :/ I am NOT saying that's Buck and Tommy, because it obviously isn't, it just feels like a line thrown in there to be cutesy, but which isn't actually helpful to people, who might take it too seriously.

I AM GONNA LOL FOREVER. So, just like Buck's bi awakening was all about Eddie, now Eddie's messed up whatever he has with Kim is gonna involve Buck, too? Gotcha. Battlefield boyfriends being off-battlefield boyfriends once more.

So... Buck was going to see Tommy, in an ep where TPTB have already paid for Lou in the role, so might as well use him as much as possible, but instead a non-emergency run in with Eddie's current whatever-Kim-is makes Buck ditch Tommy, and run straight over to Eddie's to help him? Look, I'm obviously a One True Pairing kind of shipper, so Buddie are it for me, as much as I can enjoy and see the value of Buck and Tommy as a stepping stone, and nothing will make me stop shipping Buddie (especially not after the tsunami eps), but 911 is feeding me way too well with how it frames these scenes and stories, I don't think the show's trying to get me to stop.

Man, if anyone's ever had a doubt that Eddie is the world champion at denial, this kitchen scene will def cure that.

"I'm worried about you." "Yeah, I'm worried about me, too." And then Buck, the one person who can ALWAYS penetrate through Eddie's denial wall, no matter how thick it is.

Eh, IDK how much the part where they try to re-define Shannon as the love of Eddie's life works, or how much it just serves to show he's still in denial, just a different kind than before, when Buck got through to him that he can't go on like this with Kim. For one thing, in his little retelling of their dysfunctional r/s, Eddie doesn't mention that Shannon was leaving him a second time, even before she died. Literal denial and repression.

So I'm gonna choose to believe Hen and Karen will get Mara back, because I can't deal with that particular storyline otherwise.

Kim's reaction is too deranged for me. Who does something like that, even if we assume the kindest of intentions? And then Marisol and Christopher's timing... I didn't sign on to watch a soap opera, but I guess I'm getting one free of charge?

"Now you gotta save yourself." If that ain't a painful summary of what growing up means, IDK what is. the conversation with Bobby's dad in his sleep was a good, painful scene, built right, leading to him hopefully getting his closure through saving his wife from a fire, and leaving us with just the right amount of suspension for next week and the season finale, where we'll see if he can let go of his past mistakes without a doppelganger dressing up like his dead wife...

Thank you for reading! If you’re looking for more, you can find my s7 reactions tag here, and more of my Buddie meta and content in my pinned post. xoxox

[jishyucks]

Gleam and Glitter — hhj

‣ pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader

‣ genre: fluff, implied friends-to-lovers, rich-kid!au

‣ wc: 3.4k

‣ summary: You’ve quickly established that no one at this damn charity gala cares about the event’s purpose. They were just there to party. And you wanted nothing else but to leave; alternatively, in which Hyunjin saves you from your misery to see the city’s Christmas lights.

‣ warnings: lots of being annoyed at the rich (even though reader and hyunjin are rich), 1st world problems, reader’s wearing a dress and heels but no specific pronouns are used (I’m pretty sure), the pair eat some desserts

‣ an: 2nd part for my True Love Gave to Me Series! It's a little slow at first but the parts near the end are cute! Just like the Mark one, I wish I could write more for these two, I srsly think I could've done more but still,,, ENJOY!

Series Masterlist

The venue was beautiful. 

The ballroom was transformed into the party’s theme, Winter Wonderland, adorned with white, silver, and royal blue decorations. From the ceiling hung giant snowflakes, lit up with twinkling lights that glowed softly within the dim room. 

The dance floor, placed in the middle of the room, was surrounded by tables draped in pearly white table cloths, giving it all a sleek, clean look. You can tell how much planning had gone into the centrepieces—delicate ice-looking glass sculptures of various animals. Within each of them were more lights, drawing out the details of the sculptures.

At the other corner of the room, the live band had already begun their setlist. They were dressed in blue or white, or both, as it was the theme of the party. You couldn’t quite tell what song they were playing, but it sounded nice and classy. 

And guests were trickling in, entering the room hand in hand with their plus ones. You can tell that they were all in awe from the scene. I mean you don’t blame them—the scene looked like something straight from a movie. Whoever had planned and decorated the venue knew what they were doing. 

The venue was beautiful… Too bad most of the people attending were snobby rich bitches who really don’t deserve anything good (respectfully).

The main purpose of the event was to raise money for charities involving children for god’s sake—sure it was okay to go all out and grab the attention of the wealthy, but it was so painfully obvious that two-thirds of the guests didn’t give a single fuck about the charities. They were just there for the publicity, hoping to look good in front of the press and it pained you. 

It pained you because, although you barely had the capacity to have passions for anything, you did know that you wanted to use your money for good. And heavy on the good for children.

The party was now in full swing, guests mingling in practically every corner of the room. The live band had just been replaced with a DJ, party songs blasting through the speakers. A small part of you does want to join in, but you wouldn’t say that you associated yourself with any of the people here. 

There was one person who you did love being around—your best friend, Hyunjin—but you simply weren’t sure where he had disappeared off to since you had greeted him at the start of the party. 

“Shit.”

You’re not sure how you hear Hyunjin groan as he slumps in the seat next to you. He stretches his back over the chair before falling limp. 

You can’t help but laugh, “What’s up with you?” You shift in your own chair to look at him, your blue evening gown getting twisted underneath your ass.

“My parents introduced me to like—I don’t know—six old business owners?” Hyunjin mutters, “I don’t even remember a single one of them.” 

“Well, you gotta start working on that future CEO,” you joke, slapping his back, “Don’t wanna be the boss who calls his employees by the wrong name, do you?” You know Hyunjin hates when you call him future CEO, because, well, he doesn’t actually want to take over his father’s company once he retires. But being the only child in his family, it’s a responsibility that he couldn’t really get out of.

“No,” he pouts, lips jutting out. 

You let out another laugh, this time rubbing his back to provide some kind of comfort. From a nearby group of people, you hear people laughing, though it didn’t seem genuine. You echo them. 

“Y/N, they’re gonna hear you!” Hyunjin nudges your arm. “No they won’t. They’re all just caught up in their own world,” You roll your eyes. Then you dramatically say, “Oh how I wish to leave this place.”

There’s a few beats of silence between the two of you. Just by watching Hyunjin, you can tell he’s thinking, eyes darting back and forth as if he were reading a page of a newspaper. 

“Would it be crazy if I asked you to run away with me?”

Your heart misses a beat, “What?”

“Run away with me,” Hyunjin repeats. He’s almost expressionless, staring back at you as he waits for a reply. 

You blink at your best friend, utterly confused by the nonsense coming out of his mouth, “Hyunjin, you really need to be more specific with your words.”

Hyunjin brings a corner of his mouth up towards one side of his face, trying to word what he was asking of you. It wasn’t that difficult to explain, yet Hyunjin’s short on words right now because of all the introductions he’s just had. 

“Do you know what an Irish goodbye is?” 

You shake your head, “No? Is that even a thing?” 

“It’s when you just leave without telling anyone,” Hyunjin explains, “So… let’s leave without telling anyone.” There’s a youthful glint in his eye and you just know that Hyunjin’s ready to take off. He’s excited, even, just thinking about leaving and getting away from this place. You like the idea, too. 

“And do what?” Hyunjin shrugs and your face contorts, laughing, “You’re the one who’s suggesting to leave and you don’t have a plan?” 

The smile Hyunjin flashes is one that shows off his bottom teeth, brows raised and eyes widened, “Sorry, I didn’t actually think you’d consider it.” 

“Do you even know me?” you scoff, “Of course I wanna leave. Anything to get away from these people.” You scoot forward in anticipation to go, but you still really want to hear what Hyunjin’s plan is. 

Hyunjin searches the room as if it were going to hand him the answer. Then he hums and looks back at you, “Do you want to go downtown?” 

Without any hesitation you nod, “Yes.” 

Hyunijn watches as you scan the room, eyes trying to weed out your parents and his. You could guess they were speaking with people you’ve grown familiar with, so you try to pick them out, too. When you couldn’t spot any of your parents, your eyes darted in Hyunjin’s direction, eyes wide and round. “It’s clear.”

You don’t warn Hyunjin before you shoot up onto your feet, trying your best to keep discrete from any wandering eyes. The heels under your feet almost fail to support your pace, but you pay no mind, eyes dead set on the doorway furthest away from anyone’s attention. Hyunjin’s close at your tail, turning back every few steps to make sure that there was absolutely no one watching you both leave. 

The adrenaline’s causing your heart to pump above the average, and you can’t help but let out a laugh the moment you reach the door, soon finding yourself in an empty corridor of the venue (save for the doorman at the front and the woman attending coat check).

Hyunjin stumbles out after you, breathing heavily, “You didn’t even tell me you were going to take off like that!” 

Ignoring Hyunjin’s exclamations, you start making your way toward coat check, heels clicking against the marble floor. Hyunjin is unsure how you’re moving so quickly in heels, but he chooses not to question you.

“Y/N~” Hyunjin whines, “Slow down!”

“If we’re not quick we’re going to get caught,” you shoot a reply over your shoulder. You kindly ask for your coats, retrieving them within seconds before you toss Hyunjin his jacket. “Yeah, but we need to wait for Mr. Jang to come pick us up!” 

By the time Hyunjin finishes his sentence, you both find yourselves outside of the venue, cold air instantly nipping at your exposed skin. There were cars whizzing past, all probably on their way to your desired destination. Right at the bottom of the steps was a sleek black car, similar to what your family owned, and a man who you recognized as Mr. Jang, the Hwang’s driver. 

“So you did plan this!” you look over at Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin shakes his head, “No, but Mr. Jang will jump at any chance to actually do something.” The boy leads you down the steps and reaches the vehicle before you do. He greets Mr. Jang with a bow and then tugs on the door’s handle, opening it for you to hop in. You can’t help but giggle at the gesture, giving Hyunjin a look before sliding in. He shuffles in after you, smiling out of excitement.

“Where to, son?”

“Downtown, please.”

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

It’s when you both get to downtown that you realize that neither of you knew where to go. 

Sure, the plan was downtown but the city was a big place. Hyunjin should have been more specific, because right now, you were both standing in the middle of a busy street trying to decide which direction to go.

“Close your eyes, spin, and then stop when I tell you,” you suggest to Hyunjin, who’s trying to search his phone for any places you both could visit. 

“How about you do it!” Hyunjin’s brows furrow and he pouts, “It sounds like you’re going to ditch me.” 

“Now why the hell would I ditch you,” you sigh, “Just do it. I would do it, but I’m in heels.” 

You gesture for him to go on with the action, but not before he mutters a ‘the heels didn’t seem like a problem earlier’, earning him a thwack on his shoulder. 

Squeezing his eyes shut, Hyunjin sticks an arm out, using his index finger to point. Then, he begins to spin clockwise. From an outsider’s glance, this man probably looked ridiculous—he was dressed in formal attire and spinning like a top, almost taking out a few passerbyers in the process. 

You were finding this so amusing that you almost forgot that you had to tell him to stop. 

And when you tell Hyunjin to stop, he somehow ends up with his finger just inches away from your nose. You burst out laughing, your hands coming up to clutch your stomach because, for one, Hyunjin took the challenge seriously, and two, he looked absolutely ridiculous just standing there eyes closed and pointing. 

You don’t notice how Hyunjin’s eyes finally flutter open to see what was going on and how his taut expression relaxes the second they land on your bright figure just laughing, even if it is at his expense. His arm drops to his side, making a muted whap against his jacket. This catches your attention.

“I’m sorry,” you say, wiping a tear that has managed to slip out of the corner of your eye. And when Hyunjin doesn’t answer immediately, you take a step closer to him, “Hello?” 

“O-okay, so, that way!” Hyunjin’s brought back from space, head shaking. He side steps and walks around you, leading the way down the street while making sure you were following him. 

Hyunjin has no idea what just happened. It wasn’t like it was the first time he's seen you happy. In fact, you’ve always been happy around him. So, why did he suddenly freeze seeing you happy this time? 

Hyunjin shakes the thought out of his head, dismissing it as the remnants of wine from the party still in his system, and continues walking down the street, just a few paces in front of you.

You and Hyunjin weave through the people walking down the street against you, hands full with shopping bags or stuffed deep into their pockets. The pace Hyunjin had taken began to speed up, as if he had spotted something over the crowd that you couldn’t quite see even with heels. 

Glancing back, Hyunjin gently latches onto your wrist, afraid that you’d get lost in the sea of people, pulling you closer before he continues to step through the occasional gaps between bodies. 

“Where are we going?” you say out of curiosity. Hyunjin’s too occupied to answer you, still keeping his grasp firm around your wrist. He tugs you along for one more block, and by then you can tell that he did have an idea of where you were. Hyunjin knew where to go.

You feel like you’re able to breathe again when Hyunjin leads you into a plaza, and you let out a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding in. There was more space for people to walk around, buskers at each corner of the opening, and restaurants decked out in Christmas lights and decorations. Some places were blasting Christmas tunes out of outdoor speakers and, from afar, you can see Santa Claus taking pictures with children. You feel your heart fill with warmth in the atmosphere, excited to wander around and kill time with Hyunjin. 

“Do you want to eat something?” Hyunjin questions. The boy halts in front of a food truck, head falling back to scan the menu. The food truck was a dessert truck—candied fruit, ice cream, cake pops, and more. You can see that they also sold drinks. 

You nod, “What are you getting?” 

“I’m thinking a cake pop… you?” The line shifts forward and you both take a step forward to follow. 

You hum and try to decide on your own treat, “Can you get me candied strawberries, please?” 

It takes a little bit to reach the front of the line and finally receive your food. When the man on the truck hands Hyunjin the food, you go to grab it but Hyunjin refuses to let you take it, pulling the treats back to his own body. “Huh?” you frown, “Do you want me to pay you back or something?” Your mouth was practically watering at the sight of the tanghulu. It was almost unrealistically red, like strawberries you’d find in cartoons. 

“It’s cold,” Hyunjin shakes his head, “You can keep your hands in your pockets… I’ll hold it for you.” Then he holds the stick up to your lips, “Here.” 

Your brows furrow and you groan, “Hyunjin, I’m capable of holding it myself, you know.” You’re quick to grab the stick from Hyunjin and give him a look, “But thanks anyway.” 

Hyunjin grins, "Alright, suit yourself." He takes a bite of his cake pop as you enjoy the sweetness of the candied strawberries. The plaza is filled with a festive atmosphere, and you decide to stroll the rest of the area while munching on the treats. 

By the time you were halfway finished with your food, you had been able to properly take in the scene of the plaza. It was actually much larger than it was at first sight, the area stretching down another block or two of buildings. It extended into a wide pedestrian mall, with shops busy on either side of the broad walkway. 

Everyone there looked happy, like characters in the background of a movie. They minded their own business, stopping to watch the street performers entertain the passerbyers, or taking impromptu stops at the local shops lined up along the mall.

And though it did seem like such a first world problem for you to want to experience this without the stress that your parents constantly impose onto you to run a company, you like to think that your feelings still count. Even just a little.

“Look over there,” Hyunjin speaks up. He’s pointing further down the road and into a smaller plaza. There were people skating on a small, man-made, ice rink. 

A gasp leaves your mouth as you when you take notice of the gigantic Christmas tree sitting off to the side of the rink. It had been strung from top to bottom in lights that occasionally changed colours. Ornaments decorated the tree with large ornaments, accented with ribbons and garland. 

It was beautiful. 

It was beautiful and you wanted to go get a better look at it. 

Leaving Hyunjin’s side, you begin walking ahead of him, long forgetting the tanghulu in your hand. And just like earlier, Hyunjin calls for you to slow down, mainly because you were charging through the crowd with a pointy skewer, but also because he cannot catch up. You paid no mind to his attempts to slow you down. You were already dead set on catching a closer glimpse of that tree.

Hyunjin reaches you when you finally choose to stop. Your head falls back to look at the tree from its topper to its base, mouth falling open in awe, “Tell me why I’ve never seen this before.” Then you turn to look at Hyunjin, who’s looking at the tree himself, “How do you think they decorated it?”

Hyunjin lets out a laugh in the form of air shooting out his nose, “Cause all we know is work and school and business. I guess we never really have the time to enjoy these things, do we?” Then he thinks up a clever answer for your second question, but fails, “And honestly, I don’t know. Maybe one of those man lifts?” 

“You’re right,” you laugh, “We need to Irish Goodbye more often if it means we get to see more things like this.” You glance around the area and find a bench nearby. Wordlessly, you grab onto Hyunjin’s sleeve and tug him along to sit. 

You can feel how cool the metal bench is through your dress, but you lean back anyways, continuing to admire the Christmas tree. It was weird because you were feeling this sort of delight growing in your chest just at the sight of the decorated tree, though if you were asked what you were feeling you wouldn’t be able to put words to it. It was like the cherry on top of the sundae, perfectly fitting the ambience of everything that you and Hyunjin have seen tonight. 

And for Hyunjin, sure the tree and the lights strung up all over the plaza were beautiful, but he was having a hard time keeping his attention on them, and instead kept taking glances your way. It was probably the fact that this happiness was different than the ones he’s seen before. It was like your inner child had jumped out, eyes filled with all the galaxies the universe held. 

The corners of his lips had stretched at the slightest, eyes following in pursuit. 

Hyunjin realizes now that if you were happy, he was happy. And he’d do anything to make it happen. 

But he wouldn’t admit that to you just yet. 

Or anyone. 

It was enough for now that he had admitted it to himself.

Feeling eyes on you, you catch Hyunjin looking at you, expression soft. "What's up with that look?" you tease, your eyes narrowing. You lean over and nudge his arm with your shoulder. 

Hyunjin feels heat rush to the apples of his cheeks and the tips of ears. He hopes that you don’t notice, “It’s nothing… just thinking about how we should actually do this more often.” Hyunjin pries his eyes away from you and forces himself to look at the tree which, frankly, wasn’t as pretty as you. 

“We should…” you nod, “This is way better than the gala.” 

Hyunjin agrees silently. 

The two of you sit there in a comfortable silence, just taking in the environment. It wasn’t everyday that you both got freedom like this and it was nice. And you can tell that Hyunjin felt the same. 

Before you finally go to speak up after a while, your phone rings. Glancing at the caller ID, your heart rate shoots up when you see it's your parents at the other end of the line. You quickly answer it to not cause suspicion, already sensing the concern in their voices.

“Hello?”

"Y/N, sweetheart, where are you?" your mom asks. You could hear your father’s voice saying something in the background, followed by another man’s voice. 

"I’m still at the venue," you lie, "I just needed to get air. Why?"

“We found the owner of—” You roll your eyes. Of course. 

“I’ll be right there, mom,” you say flatly, “Bye.” And you hang up. 

“So?” Hyunjin questions. You notice that he had shifted in his seat to look at you, “What did she say?” He didn’t want to get you in trouble. 

“She was talking about the owner of some company,” you shrug, “But that means we have to go.” 

You stand up and take one last look at the tree before you have to drag yourself back into your own reality. It was good while it lasted. 

Hyunjin frowns at your expression and gently takes your hand in his, “I’ll take you back here soon.”

You smile, eyes lighting up at the thought of coming back here again (and in much more comfortable clothes, too). “Promise?”

Hyunjin’s glad to see the joy instantly return to your previously deflating figure and nods.

“Promise.”

an: Thank you soso much for reading! Pls stay tuned for the upcoming members!

[hana-no-seiiki]

YANDERE! BATFAM W/ MILES MORALES (BUT MAKE IT GENDER NEUTRAL)! READER

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] [PREVIOUS CHAPTER ]

GENERAL CW/TW: Spoilers for Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Typical Yandere themes of stalking, violence, and whatnot.

PART SPECIFIC CW/TW: Soft, awfully wholesome scene with your father. Like seriously it’s like the third time I watched the whole movie but this particular scene still breaks me

current status: unedited

summary: you get replaced by peter last minute as the one that plugs in the goober. but you won’t let that happen. not when he still has a whole life to get back to.

Reply if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

WHAT’S UP DANGER

( PART FOUR )

“Aye, Getting old they doubted us, makes it that more marvelous. Sign ‘em up cause I’m on this vibes and I get synonymous.

What’s up, danger?

Aye, don’t be a stranger!”

Look, because of the Spiderman: Miles Morales game I’m a bit biased.

I don’t want uncle Aaron to die damn it. But yeah the Prowler does exist and you have been keeping contact with him.

But for the sake of keeping the dude alive though he’ll only physically come in act 2 of this series, we gucci?

Although this means you lose a lot of the development Miles gets from his death. I’ll try my best to make the events as natural as possible

Anyways, you come back to the spider gang hanging out at Jason and Roy’s apartment.

The gang essentially jumpscares you (thank god for spider sense) with a suit of your own.

Except it was one size too big.

And there were holes at the eye sockets for you to actually see through.

“Ehrm . . . Thanks ?”

“You don’t gotta pretend you like it, kid.”

“Ahaha…”

“It’ll fit eventually.”

You begin sweating quite a bit. Something felt so off here.

You notice that Jason was looking straight at you.

Which I mean, anyone would be m e l t i n g if someone like Red Hood was staring right at them so it’s a miracle you aren’t a puddle at the moment.

Perhaps it’s cause you spent so much time with your crush, Gwen, that you’ve pretty much gotten used to hot people looking at you directly.

Still, you turn away and hide your face. Utterly clueless as to how react in this type of situation.

The relatively peaceful circumstance doesn’t last long as everyone’s spider sense is alerted and the door bell rings. A mechanical tentacle shoots through the lock, completely shattering it.

“Cute place. Real homey.”

Oh great, it’s Liv.

“Get out of here, kid.”

“For the last time I’m a legal adult—“

“Mira todas estas arañitas. (Well, look at these little spiders.)”

Two more of Kingpin’s men show up, Tombstone and Scorpion.

God, fucking damn it—

Olivia spots the new flashdrive Peni made around Peter’s neck and grins.

“Oh, I think I’ll be taking that.”

You hold in your attraction to the woman and duck as a fight ensues.

Scorpion takes notice of you.

“Niñito dale. (Go ahead, little one.)”

“Prepárate a morir (Prepare to die) — Ah, man stupid pillows!”

Before you could get your body bashed in by the cyborg, Red Hood takes a shot his tail just in time.

“You good?”

“Y-yeah.”

Your spider senses were all over the place just like with Damian. What is it with black haired hot guys and their danger levels-

You manage to slip away, flashdrive in hand, courtesy of invisibility finally working in your favor.

“All vehicles in the area we have a disturbance involving multiple spider . . . people ?”

“On my way.”

Dick wasn’t the type to spend Christmas in Gotham.

But the tone of his brother’s voice — how broken and desperate it was — alarmed him.

It seemed that his baby brother finally fell in love.

It was about time really.

Although he was terribly curious as to who the person the Damian Wayne had fallen for.

You couldn’t just be a normal student from school right?

He finds around the scene looking terrified and scared.

A perfect opportunity to get to know you a little better.

“You alright there citizen?”

“Huh? Yeah I’m fine.”

“You seem pretty calm despite being in a police car and all.”

“My dad’s a cop. He gives me rides in one plenty of times.”

“Jefferson Davis, right?”

“You know him?”

“Well, it’s hard not knowing the guy who’s been looking all over for you. He spread the news to several police departments.”

“That . . . sounds a lot like him . . . “

“You don’t have to worry. I won’t tell him where you are. You need some space, right?”

“Right.”

Nothing outstanding so far. You were cute albeit awkward. But he could see that you were going through things at the moment. Early adulthood is a bitch after all.

You kept quiet most of the ride.

You were so distracted that you didn’t even question how he knew what school you went to and the location of your dorms.

“Hey, I’m a little curious, why don’t you have his last name? Family problems?”

“No, it’s something with my grandfather. I don’t think it’s within my place to share.”

“Well alright.”

You two arrive at your dormitory and you make sure to give the place a good old scan just in case you were getting followed.

“I’ll see ya when I see ya, [Y/N]. Give me a call if you ever need help.”

“Got ya.”

You realize that you don’t even know the man’s name much less a way to contact him.

But as you look back, the car he was in had already driven away.

Time wasn’t going to wait for you.

You knew that. You were trying your darn hardest to chase after it.

But you weren’t fast enough.

“[Y/N]. We came to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye? We can say goodbye at the collider.”

“You’re not getting it. You’re staying here.”

“I need to be there, so you can all go home.”

“They are going home [Y/N]. I’m the only one staying.”

“You’re taking my place.”

Your voice trembled as you say those words. And unbeknownst to you, Jason (and to be fair the rest of the spider-people are out there eavesdropping too) shivered as he heard your words.

“If you stay here you’ll die.”

“I’m doing what needs to be done. I just wanted you to hear it from me.”

“What about MJ?”

“Not everything works out, kid. I need the goober.”

“That’s not fair! You gotta tell them I can do this.”

It took Jason all his might to not reach out and embrace you.

He knew how it felt to be replaced. Circumstances differ but still, a connection was made.

Although he couldn’t be there for you now as you had to grow into the Spiderman you had to be, he promised to himself that he will in the future.

After all, if you two were partners in another universe, what stops it from happening in this one as well?

“It wasn’t their decision.”

“I’m ready, I promise— ah—!”

Peter knocks you down, jumping to the ceiling and dangling you by a web.

Jason clenched his teeth. As much as this man knew so much about him and his vulnerabilities, and how he knew this was completely necessary it still ached to see his destined partner getting thrown around.

“Then venom strike me right now or turn invisible on command so you can get past me.”

Peter webs your entire body and sticks you to the chair your roommate always used.

“Look I know how much you want this kid. But you don’t have it yet. I’m sorry.”

“When will I know I’m ready?!”

He then webs your mouth and takes the goober from your hands.

“You won’t. It’s a leap of faith. That’s all it is [Y/N]. A leap of faith.”

And you’re left alone, stuck with webs all over your body. Unable to move or talk.

You hear a knock to your door.

“[Y/N]. . . ! Uh . . . [Y/N] it’s your dad. Please open the door.”

Unfortunately you couldn’t so you just use thrust your body closer to him.

“[Y/N] I can see your shadow moving around.”

“Yeah okay I get it. I get it yes… still ignoring me. Look can we talk for a minute?”

You nod. Internally facepalming after realizing he can’t see you doing so.

“Look sometimes people drift apart [Y/N] and I don’t want that to happen to us, okay? I know I don’t always do what you need me to do or say what you need me to say but I’m…”

“But I see this - this — spark in you, it’s - it’s amazing. It’s why I push you but . . . it’s yours and whatever you choose to do with it you’d be great.”

You feel tears falling from your face as your father spoke.

All those days feeling the pressure of everyone’s expectations on you

As [Y/N], as the Spiderman of this universe.

You were an adult in age, yes. But in the face of all these events your youth and inexperience slapped you in your face.

You wanted to run away. You wanted everything to be over and done with.

But you realize, you were the only one who could do this. For the sake of the spider-gang. For Gotham.

You didn’t know if you were going to succeed but wasn’t that what life was?

A leap of faith.

“Look, call me when you can.”

“I love you. You don’t have to say it back though.”

And your father leaves.

You close your eyes. Thinking back to all the moments you’ve failed, all the times you’ve broken a bone or two trying to learn.

Time wasn’t going to wait for you. But why run after it when you can web-sling it up?

You use your venom powers to get rid of the webs and do you best to get to Jason’s place. He had to have an extra, better suit lying around right? Anything was better than what the gang gave you.

You ring the bell to his house completely expecting him to not be there and potentially having to break in.

But you stand corrected.

“Took you long enough.”

taglist: @vanessa-boo @w31rdg1rl @zlatolait-writes @ice-cream-writes-stuff @hakudaru @violet2507 @sleepy-maenad @yell0wdreams @humanoid606 @holybatflapexpert

[five-rivers]

Pretty in Pink (and Other Colors)

For @jadenoryuu!

.

A ghost watched Amity Park.  Specifically, he watched a group of five teenagers walk down a street.  He watched not from up close, not from down the street, or from one of the buildings lining it, but from far, far away, through a ghost-powered device that could see through both space and time, and which could even allow a properly-prepared traveler to pass through it to the place and time it showed.  

In his right hand, the ghost carried a staff.  In his left, he held a wrinkled and creased hundred dollar bill.  He drummed his fingers on the haft of his staff, but was otherwise still.  Watching.  Waiting.  

Then, when the teenagers had reached a position remarkable only to the ghost, he reached out and dropped the bill.  It fell through the time screen and drifted gently to the ground in front of the teenagers.  

The tallest teen, a blonde, noticed it and stooped to pick it up, grinning at his companions all the while.  In the ghost’s lair, other time screens turned to static, flickered, and then turned back on, showing very different scenes.  

The ghost smiled.  “Perhaps this is not the way it was meant to be,” he said, tilting his head to look at the other screens, “but it will be amusing, nonetheless.”

.

“... was bright pink.  And that's why my allowance was cut off, so I can't bring my usual to the party,” explained Dash.  His usual was beer, obtained through an acquaintance who didn’t care much about the legalities involved.  And who, admittedly, thought Dash was two years older than he actually was.  

“Lame,” said Valerie. 

“Extremely lame,” agreed Star.

“Next level is actively pathetic, Dash, and you don’t want to go there,” said Paulina.  “Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.” 

“Well, I should have been able to deliver, it’s not my fault.”  He kicked at the sidewalk, then paused, spotting something on the ground.  “Oh, nice!”  He picked a bill up off the ground and waved it over his head.  “The party is back on!”

“The party was never off,” said Valerie, rolling her eyes.  “Just the drinking part, which I can’t do, anyway.”

“Aw,” said Paulina, jostling Valerie playfully.  “Why not?  Did you become Mormon or something?  Ultra-orthodox super-protestant Christian something or other?”

“Ew, no,” said Valerie.  “But my dad wants me home at a ‘reasonable time,’ he will be sitting up waiting for me, and he has a breathalyzer.”

“Why does he even have one of those?” asked Kwan.  “I mean, I know the school has one for prom and stuff.”

“He used it for work, back when he was just building up the company.  There was an incident where some of his guys showed up drunk for work.  That just makes it grosser, though.  It’s used.”

“Bleh,” said Star and Paulina simultaneously, before breaking out into giggles.

“Bet it’s still, like, full of spit.  Old guy spit,” said Paulina.  

“Ewww,” said Star.  “That’s so gross.”

“Laugh all you want, but I’ll be the only one who can ride my bike in a straight line by the end of the night.”

“Hey, I can just walk home,” said Dash.  

“Sleepover time,” sang Paulina, throwing an arm around Star’s shoulders.  

“Yeah!  We can have a guys sleepover, too, right, Kwan?”

“Uhhh,” said Kwan.  “I’ve actually gotta go home, too.”

“What,” said Dash, “now?”

“No, like, I mean, I have to go home early.  Mom wants me to take school seriously now that I’m in high school, which means, uh, sleep schedules.  You know.”

“Oh, bummer,” said Dash.  “Hope she lightens up.  It’s not like we’re seniors.”

“Yeah, man, me too.”

They continued down the street for a while longer, until Dash and Kwan split off to meet up with Dash’s ‘buddy’ and the girls went shopping for somewhat less illegal things, like makeup.  

They met up again at Paulina’s house.  Of course, they weren’t the only ones coming to the party.  All the cool kids were.  But, even as freshmen, Paulina, Dash, Valerie, Star, and Kwan were the coolest of the cool.  

And, as such, they were there the longest, long after other guests had left, and got the best perks.  Like Dash’s haul.  And the no-holds-barred truth or dare game.  

Dash climbed out of the pool and clambered over to where his friends were lounging. “See?  I told you wusses that I could make it in from the roof.”  He sat back down and spun the bottle sitting on its side between them.  

The bottle spun and spun, and eventually stopped pointing at Paulina.  “Ooh,” said Paulina.  “My turn, my turn.  So, Valerie, truth or dare?”

“Mhm,” said Valerie, looking at her watch.  “Make it dare and make it quick.  I’ve got to go, soon.”

“Okay, so.”  Paulina squared her shoulders and leaned towards Valerie.  “I dare you to… take a shot.”

“Uh, no,” said Valerie.  She stood up.  And with that, it’s time for me to go.”

“Nooo, Val, that’s so lame!” said Star.  “So super lame.”

“Very lame, Val.  You can’t break the sacred bond of truth and dare.” 

“The sacred bond was broken as soon as you asked me to do something that would get me grounded literally forever.  So.  Hey, Kwan.  Kwan.”  She nudged Kwan with her foot.

“Let a guy sleep,” said Dash.  

“He said he wanted to go early.”

“If he tried to bike home now, he’d crash,” said Star.  “Like, look at him.  Dead to the world.  Totally out of it.”

“He can stay, my dad isn’t back until the day after tomorrow.  What he doesn’t know, he won’t care about.  Probably safer that way.”

“Guess you can explain that to Kean when he gets grounded forever,” said Valerie.  “Later guys.  Call me if you need help with clean-up.  I know the name of a service that works fast.”  She took one last look around the back yard, and walked out.  

“Later, girl!” called Paulina.  “So, Star, truth or dare?”

“Hey, wait, you already went,” said Dash.  

“And the one I picked bailed.  I deserve another shot.”

“Let’s just spin the bottle again,” said Star.  “It’ll probably just land on you again anyway, right?  There’s three of us, so that’s, like, three halves.  Two thirds?  Ugh, geez, I can’t do math while I’m duck.  Drunk.  God.  Just spin it, Pauli.”

“Whatever,” said Paulina.  Pouting, she spun the bottle.  It went around and around and around… And landed on her again.  “Okay, so, Star.  Truth or dare?”

“Ughh,” said Star.  “Truth, I guess.”

“You’ve done truth every time,” complained Dash.  “Pick something new.  Pick dare.”

“No,” said Star.

“Dare, dare, dare, dare, dare,” chanted Paulina.

“You’re awful.  I don’t know why I’m friend of you.  With you.  Whatever.  God.  Fine.  Dare.”

“Okay, so… I dare you to… lick Kwan.”

“Oh, gross.  Oh my God.  You’re disgusting.”

“Do it!”

“It’s not like your tongue’s never been on him.”

“Ewwww.  Don’t say that.  You’re such a weirdo.”  Still, she got up on her knees and crawled over to Kwan.  “Such a weirdo.  Weirdest weirdo.  How do you even think of this?”  She leaned down and just barely touched her tongue to his forehead.  “Ew, ew, ew, totally gross.  He’s all sweaty.  Stop laughing, you weirdos.”

“Hey, hey,” said Dash.  “I obj- obje– I don’t like that.  Don’t say we’re the weirdest weirdos.  There’s like.  So many weirdos out there.”

“Yeah, name one,” said Star.  “Just one weirder weirdo than you, weirdo.  Weirdo.  That’s such a weird word.”

“Fine.  Fenderbender.”

“Who?” asked Star, squinting.

“Fenderbender.  Fentanyl.  Fentonail.  Fentina.  Fentodor.  Fentertainment.”

“Wait, Fenton?  Way to go for the low hanging fruit.”

“You calli-calling me a fruit?”

“You did say just one, Starlight,” said Paulina.  “He is weird.  His whole family is weird.  And he looks at me funny.”

“He looks at you like he has a crush on you, Pauli.  Like, every boy looks at you like that.”

“Yeah, but he’s super creepy about it.  He’s all scrawny and greasy, and he’s always got, like, green slime on him, and his shouty parents and his annoying sister.  What’s their deal anyway?”

“Ghosts,” said Dash.  “They’re like, freaking ghosts.  Ghost hunters.”

“Well, yeah, but beyond that, even.  Ghosts could be cool.  Those programs make cash, y’know?  But they’re, like, super crazy, and they have a super weird basement or whatever.  Spin already, Star.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it, Pauli.”  She spun the bottle around.  “Ooh, Dash, you go.”

“Okay, okay.  So, weirdos.  Pauli.  Whatcha gonna pick?”

Paulina took another swig of beer.  “Dare,” she said.  

“Dare.  I’ve got a great one.  I dare you.  Paulina Sanchez.  To break into the Fenton’s house.”

“Oh my God, Dash.  For real.  You can’t ask Pauli to do something illegal.”

“Well, you could always wimp out like freaking– Like Val.  You gonna wimp, Pauli?”

Paulina glared at him.  “Who do you think I am?  I’m not going to fall for some peer– peer pressure, like, you know, the after school special.  You think I’m going to fall for that?”

“So, you’re gonna wimp?”

Star giggled.  “I gotta say, I’m curious.”

“Stop saying that.  You’re such losers.”  She took another drink.  “Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”

Dash cheered raucously.

“I’ll do it,” said Paulina.  “But you’ve– you’ve got to come with me.  Like, to witness.”

“But we’ve– we’ve gotta get there first,” said Star.  “It’s, like, hours away.”

“It’s thirty minutes tops,” said Paulina.  “And we can get a cab.”

“Not if we’re breaking in.  That’s like, criminal one-oh-one, Pauli.  No witnesses.”

Fine,” said Paulina.  “We walk.  Whatever.  The freaking- The things I do for you.  Wow.  Incredible.”  She got to her feet.  “Okay.  Onward!  To the weird ghost hunter basement raid.”

The three teens made their stumbling way out of the house and down the street.  

“Are you sure this is the way?” asked Star, squinting at one of the signs. 

“Absolutely,” said Dash.  “Followed Fenfreak enough.”

“This is way more than half an hour,” said Star.  “This is boring.”

“But it’ll be so exciting at the end,” said Paulina.  “Like, we’ll be spies.”

“This street,” said Dash.  “Totally.  This street.”

“Oh, wow,” said Paulina, after they turned the corner.  “Don’t know how we missed that.  Jesus.”

“Is that a freaking spaceship?” asked Star.  “Or, no.  Hell.  It’s a- a–  What do you call it?  Broadcast tower.  Freaking hell.”

“Yeah, wow,” said Paulina.  

“Hey, who wants to be the whack jobs don’t lock their front door?” asked Dash.  He ran up to the door, yanked on the handle, and… it opened.  

“Wild,” said Star, slinking closer.  “I’d’ve thought there was, like, a trap or something.”

Paulina stayed on the sidewalk.  Now that they were here, it all seemed…  Bigger.  Scarier.  They were breaking into someone’s house.  They could get into serious trouble for this.  

But Dash was already going in.  Paulina steeled herself and followed.  Star clung to her side.  

The Fentons’ house felt… small.  Dark.  Dirty.  And there were weird sounds everywhere.  Like, snoring and boards squeaking, and was that awful drone their fridge?  She halfway felt as if every move she made would set off something.  

“Hey,” whispered Dash, loudly.  “I think I found the basement!”

He had.  There was a creepy metal door in the kitchen, and when they opened it, it led to stairs, going down to a faintly green darkness.

“Do we really need to go down there?” asked Star.  

“Well, yeah, duh,” said Dash.  “Duh.”

“You didn’t need to say it twice, Dash.  That’s lame.”  Paulina stalked downstairs with as much dignity as she could muster.  She was maybe a bit tipsy.  Then almost had a heart attack when Dash turned on the light.  “What the hell, Dash?”

“They’re not down here, they’re not going to see.”

“Whatever,” said Paulina, flipping her hair.  She looked around.  “Wow, they went super mad scientist down here.”  There were steel lab tables and bubbling vials.  There were computers and wires.  There were hot plates and bits of disassembled household appliances.  There were things Paulina couldn’t even begin to identify. 

And it was all incredibly gross.  And messy.  There was goo.  

“Y’know,” said Star, “some of this stuff is actually, like, high-end.  Like, serious money.  Do you think Fenton’s actually rich?”

“Not a chance,” said Paulina.  “Even if he were, it wouldn’t matter.  He’d still suck.  Him and his catty little nerd friends.”

“Hey, where d’you think this tunnel goes?” asked Dash.  “Like, are these freaks holding– Not holding.  Drilling?  Drilling to China?  Freaks.”  He laughed to himself.  “Freaking freaks.”

“Wow, you are plastered if you think that’s funny,” said Star.  

“Whatever, shut up.  Hey, Pauli!  Dare you to go down here’n’ see what’s on the other end!”

Paulina walked over to look down the dark and foreboding tunnel.  It was full of electrical wire and metal hoops.  “Maybe they’re skimming off the grid or something,” she said.  “Or trading drugs.  That’d be a break in the cliches.  A Mexican finding the nice, eccentric white nuclear family is dealing drugs.”  She looked over at Dash.  “After this, we go.  Quietly.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go on in, for this win.  You’ve got to do more than us, yeah?  You’re the one who got the dare.”

“Whatever, Dash.”  She walked up to the threshold and looked around in distaste.  “God, they’re so freaking weird.”  She stepped over and started walking back, picking her way through the tangled wires.  

She shouldn’t have worn heels, but she’d wanted to look cute.  Maybe that shouldn’t have been her first priority when sneaking into someone’s house, but, like, what else was she supposed to do?  She was just naturally cute.  Like, for real.

Whatever.

She slipped.  

And the world came apart. 

[ewingstan]

Hm, I think I mostly enjoyed Breakthrough's debate with Gary. As a look at the the different perspectives one could hold on power and capedom, it doesn't work at all; the reader isn't gonna seriously consider Gary's argument's when he's been positioned as a Teacher shill who'll go after a nine-year-old. But then, its not really being framed as an actual clash of ideas so much as a battle for narrative control.

And that's something I enjoy reading more than Ward's physical battles. The attempts at crowdwork, the politics and pageantry of capedom, is something I kind of wish had been a larger focus rather than the extended battle scenes. There's a lot of questions (what attempts at new modes of organization and protection have people advocated for in the wake of gold morning? how has the proliferation of groups that get hired out to "heroes" and "villains" alike affected perception of those categories?) that I wish got explored by the text more. I do wish they got explored in ways outside of an anti-parahuman movement created by a shadowy conspiracy, but hey, better than nothing.

Usually, at least. Exploring those questions gets worse when the character's attempts at narrative control intersect with wildbow trying to advocate for his own murky ideas of justice. Hence why I'm theoretically interested in how Breakthrough sells the public on Rain getting to be considered a hero, but am offput when the answer is "one girl at his trial recognizes that he's repentant and bravely forgives him, to the jeers of a crowd, because the reader is supposed to agree that Rain's willingness to be punished is both laudable and necessary." This section has enough of Victoria going "okay we gotta sell this specific point even if I don't believe it" that I don't really have the same sense that wildbow is actually making any prescriptive claims.

That falters a bit when Ashley disconnects her arms and Gary immediately loses rhetorical footing.

Ashley didn't really respond in a way that I see Gary's audience being swayed by. It challenges the "I'm specifically a monster" point but not his actual "we need to do something about Parahumans being in charge" point. He could and should be switching tacts to talking about Rune being with the heroes, or asking why they sought her as a candidate in the first place, or asking what it means that parahumans can so easily be made into a weapon even against their will. Breakthrough's argument is maybe effective in terms of having the reader reject Gary's claim, but that's because the reader has been following Ashley and knows how significant it is that she's rejecting having been a real member of the nine. As dramatic as the moment is, it doesn't really make sense for Gary to lose his momentum, and it feels like he only does to sell how powerful and important a moment it was for Ashley. Maybe its for the best, he's gotta falter somewhere for the argument to stop circling the drain, but I feel like I would've been more onboard if Breakthrough got the win through something more directly related to the narrative they're spinning.

Still, there were a number of good character beats. Ashley being faced with an accusation that she was getting preferential treatment through housing, and responding to it largely as an accusation that she was being kept as an object by the government, was a pretty great way to get across where Ashley's at. And Rain being the one to jump to "its all of us vs the villains," while Victoria privately disagreed and wanted to focus on "its the heroes vs the villains," did a good job of demonstrated Vicky's casual dismissal of non-parahumans. It was much less jarring way of communicating that to the reader than her earlier "we might have to tell them that we don't care about their concerns" comment to Vista, which felt too self-consciously villainous. Her needing to be pushed into treating non-parahumans as part of the in-group was a much more believable way of communicating the same thing to the reader.

[v-o-i-d-e-d]

May we have a oneshot based on this scene (https://youtube.com/watch?v=BgVJDd5vHfw&feature=share) for Spockxreader?

Omg, I love this scene! Of, course I will do it! I altered some parts just a little bit but the gist is the same. I hope you like it!

Title: Hello Sweetie

Pairing: Spock x fem!reader, implied platonic Jim Kirk x reader, and platonic Bones x reader

Warnings: canon violence, it's implied that Jim meddled for matchmaking purposes, nothing else I think

Word Count: 2924

She really shouldn’t have been here. Pure lunacy had gotten her here in the first place. Doctor (Y/N) (L/N) was never meant for this type of fieldwork and she was willing to bet that her own lack of skill was a huge reason why she was in this particularly dangerous situation. She was stood in the middle of a very ornate room – a sort of banquet hall she surmised – with her hands cuffed in front of her. Her elegant dress was singed at the hem and her hair had fallen out of its elegant updo. She looked around and noticed there were a total of three other people in the room all of whom wore heavy robes with hoods to obscure most of their faces: the alien guard beside her the one behind her and the one standing by the door they just came in through.

            “You know when I get invited to parties, normally there’s food,” She said to the guard who stood closely to her right. He did not acknowledge her at all and his large, bug-like eyes stayed focused on the door at the other end of the room. (Y/N) rolled her eyes, “So much for small talk.”

            As she shifted her weight from foot to foot with impatience she couldn’t help but place partial blame on the genius who thought this plan up in the first place. Captain James T. Kirk. Just a day earlier he had cornered (Y/N) in her office and asked her to take part in a simple recognizance mission.

“I’m telling you this is an easy mission and it will go off without a hitch! You’re in, you’re out, you’re done,” Kirk pleaded as he followed her out into the main area of the medbay. He had just explained how it would be perfect for her because she was sociable and friendly. Of course, he couldn’t help but add in the added benefit of her good looks. “People will be spilling their guts to you! All you gotta do is bat those eyelashes.”

“Captain, this is harassment. I told you: missions like that are not in my job training.” (Y/N) turned to face Kirk and used her hand to apply emphasis to her statement. “I. Am. Not. Going. End of story.”

The door opened after what felt like hours but what was only a few minutes. (Y/N) watched as an alien that looked similar to the guard but larger walked confidently into the room accompanied by a few other guards. The big alien was dressed in fine clothes and had an elaborate and heavy-looking headdress on, signaling to (Y/N) that it would be good for her health to not piss him off. She stayed silent until the alien stood so close to her that she could smell him. He smelled of rotten meat and expensive oils.

“You are Doctor (Y/N) (L/N) of the starship Enterprise.” He said. “I have reason to believe you are a cohort of Commander Spock.”

This took (Y/N) by surprise. Her brows furrowed and her lips tugged into a frown. Sure she had worked with Spock plenty of times but surely not enough to be considered a cohort, or associated with him by name.

“I think there’s been some sort of mistake here. I don’t even know Commander Spock that well!”

“Spock suggested you specifically for the mission.”

(Y/N) paused and dropped her hand down to her side. Kirk could very well be lying just to get her to agree but then why else would he want a surgeon doing a spy’s job.

“No, he didn’t. You just want me to give in,” She huffed and gathered some old patient files that needed to be sorted and brushed passed Kirk and into her office. She couldn’t deny the rush of warmth spreading across her face but she could do her best at hiding it.

“I’m serious! He said you were beautiful and that you would be disarming enough to get people to talk to you about anything,” Kirk once again followed (Y/N) into her office but this time stopped to lean on the door frame. He crossed his arms and smirked as he watched the doctor deadpan at him.

“Commander Spock said that? Those exact words?” She didn’t believe Spock even knew how to actually compliment people, even behind their backs.

The alien huffed and one of his henchmen stepped forward. He was very scrawny and his large eyes darted wildly around the room.

“We have reliable intel that you are close to the Enterprise’s second-in-command and we would like you to divulge his whereabouts. We know that he has been trying to infiltrate our databases and that is a crime that can not go unpunished,” his voice was harsh, like a steaming tea kettle and (Y/N) winced.

“Well, I’m sorry but your intel is wrong. I wouldn’t even classify us as friends. Well, I mean it’s not that I don’t want to be his friend. I actually like him a lot but he spends just about every moment with me in silence or critiquing me so-“

“Enough! Quit your useless rambling and tell us where he is!” The boss alien thundered out so loud that the floor seemed to shake. (Y/N) was officially freaked out.

“Look, I’m telling you, I have no idea where he is! I don’t even know if he’s on this planet!” She pleaded with the aliens and hoped they believed her because it was the truth. She hadn’t seen Spock for a while, even before Kirk made her go on this mission.

“Yeah, he didn’t say those exact words but that’s definitely what he meant to say. I could tell.”

“Kirk, get out of my office.”

Kirk sighed and walked up to the desk, “Just please do this mission. We are so close to our goal we just need a little push. (Y/N)-

            “Doctor (L/N).”

            “(Y/N). Please.”

If there’s one thing that (Y/N) can’t resist, it’s James being sincere. It just happens so rarely that she caves right away. After a moment of glaring into Kirk’s pleading eyes, she rubbed her eyes and sighed, “Fine!”

            “Yes!” Kirk pumped his fist in victory.

            “But I want to talk to Spock first.”

Kirk paused and side-glanced before looking back at (Y/N), “You can’t.”

            “Why not?”

            “Cause he’s on the mission.”

            “I thought you said he asked for me. How could he have told you that if he’s on mission already?” (Y/N) raised an accusatory eyebrow, she was sure she caught Kirk in his lie but he was quick.

            “Because he just left this morning. Now find your hottest dress and meet me in the transport room for your briefing,” Kirk tapped the desk before quickly exiting the room.

            “Wait, Now?!”

(Y/N) could honestly say she had not thought of how to get out of a situation like this. All attention was on her – something that she would normally thrive with – but she was at a loss for words for the first time in her life. The big alien grumbled and leaned forward to look closer at her face. She didn’t hide her fear.

            “Look, I swear on my life I don’t know what Spock is doing or where he is,” She couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice but she tried to be as firm as possible.

            “Humans,” the alien spat, “They lie so blithely.”

            “I’m not lying!”

            “How can you claim to like someone but know nothing about them? You are lying!”

(Y/N) huffed and rolled her eyes, “Just because I like him does not mean he likes me! The guy does not even think that way! He doesn’t talk to me unless it has something to do with my job!” She had stepped forward during her rant but was immediately seized by the guards that were closest to her. They gripped tightly on her upper arms but the guard on her left quickly loosened his grip and she couldn’t help but think that the sensation was familiar. It reminded her of her first meeting with Commander Spock.

            She was in a hurry to get to the medbay as she had been sent a 9-1-1 message by Bones. In her hurry she had been completely disregarding the safety of other people in the halls, bumping into several people while shouting an apology over her shoulder. It was while she was giving one of these hurried apologies that she managed to bump into a solid form that barely stumbled while she went tripping toward the ground. With a yelp, she braced for the ground but was stopped by a strong hand taking hold of her upper arm.

            “Doctor (L/N), it’s not safe to be running through the halls. The hazard is amplified when one is not paying attention.”

The monotone voice of Commander Spock caused (Y/N) to snap her eyes open and scramble to stand on her own two feet rather than being suspended by her arm.

            “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry, Commander! You’re totally right, I wasn’t paying attention-“

            “Apology accepted, Doctor,” Spock interrupted her rambling and then walked passed her without waiting for a response. (Y/N) huffed and frowned as she too walked away from the scene of the social crime.

            “Well, isn’t he a sweetie,” She grumbled before picking up her pace through the halls, this time paying attention to where she was going.

            From then on, “sweetie” was (Y/N)’s nickname for Spock. She was careful to never say it to his face since she had worked with him a lot more since the “incident” but in private and amongst friends, the sarcastic endearment rolled easily off the tongue. It got to the point where she even used it with the Captain.

            “Why do you call him that, it’s weird,” Kirk questioned one day over drinks in the lounge.

            “Because every time I talk to him, he’s an asshole. I think it’s funny.”

Kirk laughed and sipped his whiskey. “Well, I think you might have a crush on our favorite Vulcan.”

            “Oh, I definitely do,” (Y/N) was very direct. Kirk choked on his drink in surprise and coughed as (Y/N) continued, “But that’s out of the equation because I don’t even think Spock thinks about anyone unless they’re useful for something he needs doing.”

            (Y/N) downed the last of her drink and shook her head to try to rid herself of the floaty state the alcohol put her in. In the morning, she would regret letting James Kirk in on her best-kept secret but she was not worried about that or anything else except for going to bed.

            “Well, speak of the devil,” Kirk said with a smirk. Spock walked in with his hands clasped behind his back and his usual blank expression. Upon noticing the state of his friend and his colleague he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

            “Oh, hello, sweetie!” (Y/N) laughed at her own words and Kirk couldn’t help but laugh as well. Spock was stunned into silence. He let his hands drop to his sides and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn’t know exactly how to respond, she had never called him anything other than his name and rank before. He decided to ignore the sudden endearment.

            “Captain, you’re needed on the bridge,” He managed to finally say what he needed to say before quickly turning and leaving the room.

            When Kirk took the liberty of retelling the story to (Y/N) the next morning, she was mortified.

            The large alien hisses to one of his henchmen in a language (Y/N) doesn’t understand and then another one of them steps forward. In a tone that seemed to be unsure of the words he was saying, he started,

            “Our studies show that typically when one human likes another, the feeling is reciprocated,”

            “Spock is not human,” (Y/N) couldn’t help but laugh before correcting herself, “Well, not all human.”

            “Then you have no reason to protect him.”

            “That’s not how feelings even work! Not human ones! I admire him and I will protect him but I do not expect any such action from him. Just as I don't expect a sunset to admire me back or for the stars to gaze back at me! Feelings are not about reciprocity!”

            “This does not align with our intel,” The big alien was clearly angry, and (Y/N) had a strong feeling that things would not go well from here but as she said she would do her best to protect Spock.

            “Regardless of your intel,” (Y/N) scoffed, “Commander Spock has much more important things to do than worry about me or what I’m doing so. I’m of no use to you. Let me go.”

            Why did she never know when to shut up?

The large alien’s face stretched into what (Y/N) had to assume was his version of a grin but looked more like he was preparing to eat her. She wouldn’t doubt it if she was being honest.

            “If you are of no use for giving information, you can be put to other uses, Doctor.”

            “What? Wait!”

The guard to her right started to lead her back toward the door they came through and (Y/N) began to struggle.

            “Take her to the nursery, the larvae must be fed,” The big alien ordered with a loud cracking laugh. Just as (Y/N) yanked harshly away from the guard pulling her, the guard to her left took firm hold of her arm once more but instead of leading her forward, he tugged her back into him. Suddenly, he pulled a phaser and shot the other guard. Crying out in fear, (Y/N) struggled once more to get away from this rogue guard as the henchmen began to make their way over to stop him. The guard removed his hood and revealed his face.

            “Commander!” (Y/N) gasped and her cheeks reddened. Everyone paused for a brief moment of shock before the big alien roared for his henchmen and guards to seize the two star fleet officers. Spock shot a few more before looking down at (Y/N) with an almost unnoticeable smirk.

            “Hello, Sweetie,” He said before moving his grip from (Y/N)’s arm to her hand and pulling her to a run. (Y/N)’s face was warm and it was not because of the running. She couldn’t help but laugh as they ran through the corridors, dodging phasers and guards. “We have to get to the front entrance. That’s the only place Scotty can beam us up!” Spock shouted over his shoulder.

            “Right!”

They ran until they reached the front room. Standing in the middle of the room was not the best option but they were only there for a moment before they both felt the familiar feeling of being beamed up to the transport room. Upon their arrival, Spock immediately ushered (Y/N) toward the awaiting Doctor Bones.

            “I’m fine! Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing I haven’t had before,” (Y/N) tried to wave the grouchy Doctor away but he swatted her hands away and then removed the cuffs.

            “I’ll be the judge of that, cupcake. You look like you caught on fire.” He was gesturing to the hem of her dress.

            “I think for a moment I did,” (Y/N) laughed while Bones shook his head.

            “All right, you’re free to go. You too, Spock.”

Bones finally released the two, though he had told Spock that he could leave about twenty minutes ago. The Vulcan had refused. Spock and (Y/N) walked side by side in silence for a while before Spock broke it.

            “You have misread me.”

(Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at her Commander who was still looking straight ahead. “What do you mean, Commander?”

            “My feelings about you. You have misread them.”

Her eyes widened. In the chaos of escape, she had forgotten that Spock was standing right next to her when she basically saying she loved him. Okay, slight exaggeration but she still felt embarrassed.

            “Oh.” That was all she said. All she could say. Another time of silence passed.

            “I apologize if my actions suggested that I do not enjoy your company,” Spock was deliberate with his words as if he didn’t know if what he was saying was the right thing. The tips of his ears were tinged a faint green when he finally paused in his step to look at (Y/N). She noticed the blush on his ears and couldn’t help the small smile that snuck onto her face.

            “So, you like to hang out with me?”

            “Well, I’ve never accompanied you in a social setting so it would be illogical for me to say that I like something that I have not tried.”

            (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

            “However, I do enjoy working with you. You are very good at your job, Doctor (L/N),” Spock clasped his hands behind his back so that (Y/N) would not see him picking at his cuticles. He was nervous.

            “(Y/N).”

            “Pardon?”

            “Call me (Y/N). Outside of work obviously,” (Y/N) shrugged and looked away from Spock’s intense gaze.

            “(Y/N).” She could’ve melted at the way her name sounded coming from his lips. It was experimental and a bit rigid sounding but it was a start. She finally looked back into Spock’s eyes and smiled brightly.

            “Do you want to go get dinner with me, Spock? I’m starving,” (Y/N) resumed her walk, this time in the direction of the cafeteria. She heard Spock’s steps fall in line with hers.

            “I highly doubt that you are starving. You always attend normal meal times which means you must have eaten this morning,” Spock said in a matter-of-fact tone. (Y/N) laughed and shook her head.

            “It’s an expression, Spock.”

[lostsometime]

WHAT IS THE FIGHT SCENE CONVEYING? (an incomplete list)

Part 2! (For the breakdown of the five fights in the first episode, click here.)

Episode 2 - Straw Hats vs. Buggy: Again, we are getting themes of teamwork - they all have to pitch in together to take care of Buggy. However, this also shows us that Luffy is clever in his own way - he strategizes really well on the fly. Even while actively getting his ass kicked, he's able to observe his opponent and figure out how to bring him down. It also shows a bit more of the "captain" coming out - they still don't want to think of themselves as "his crew," but Zoro and Nami follow his lead in battle without hesitation.

(Luffy's ability to win over disparate people's respect and affection is especially poignant when contrasted with Buggy, who has had to force people, with threats of violence, to pretend to like him.)

Episode 3 - Kuro vs. Merry: This is not really a fight, per se, since Merry can't fight back, but it establishes 1) How ruthless Kuro is and 2) How fucking fast he is. Now we know what we're dealing with and can start getting worried (so when they pull out the Slasher flick vibes next episode, we're Right There with Nami and Kaya, feeling that fear).

It's also doing something else that I didn't pick up on my first time through, because it's specifically doing it for people who know the manga/anime. I came into this mostly canon-blind for the original One Piece - I knew broad strokes of some of the arcs and I was familiar with the premise, but that's all. In the time since I watched it, though, I've gotten into the manga a bit, so I picked up on this when I went back to watch the scene again for this post.

It's establishing for fans who know the original that they don't know what's going to happen. That characters they thought were safe might not be safe. That Merry can die - and so, by extension, can others. Now these people, too, will be scared - not just here, but in other fights, too. If they'll kill off Merry, who else might not be safe? Kaya? Zeff? Nojiko? All kinds of lovable supporting characters whose survival is now not guaranteed. It means that all the work they put into making things exciting and suspenseful isn't going to waste, because now even people who know how the manga goes are subject to the same uncertainty as the rest of us.

Episode 4 - Zoro vs. Black Cat Pirates: Okay, this one is mostly for Spectacle, but it also gives a lovely bit of character work since this is the first time we're seeing Zoro fight since getting his Backstory Flashback earlier in the episode. We know what the third sword means to him now. We get it when Sham takes it from him, what that means and why he prioritizes getting it back.

Episode 4 - Luffy vs. Kuro: We got a bit of this also with Buggy, but it's an important theme, so they spend a lot of time on it - how confident Luffy is in who he is and what he wants, and how stubbornly he trusts in his friends. Many, many baddies are going to try and do this, to attack his self-esteem or tell him to Be Less Like Himself, and none of them are going to succeed, ever, because Luffy knows exactly who he is.

Episode 5 - Sanji vs. Those Two Guys: Look, here's the thing. There are two things Sanji is good at and those are 1) cooking and 2) kicking people in the face. So that's what his first two scenes gotta show him doing! It's less than 3 minutes, his introduction, and they hit their marks perfectly. Point one, amazing cooking, point two, cussing at Zeff, point three, kicking shitheads in the face. It's such a neat little package. Beautifully done. This is how you introduce a major character in the back half of an eight-episode season - you need to show us who he is, what he wants, and why we should care immediately. And they do! By the end of Sanji's introduction scene I was sold on him as a character.

I think I'll need to do another post for the rest, but the one last thing I want to point out is that, like my earlier post, this post is also analyzing five separate fights. And it takes us into episode 5. I just want to point that out again because it is remarkable to me that they managed to fit 5 combat scenes into one episode for the premiere. They had so much they had to do in that one episode and the fact that they pulled it off impresses me so much I'm still boggling at it, something like 8 months later.

[ehh-is-the-name]

ii 15's live now... How we feeling?

Really how we feeling guys? I'm feeling-

(I'm feeling a lot of things, there's a lot under the cut, also hope your internet's alright 'cause there's a lot of beefy gifs)

I'm feeling inanimate insane- II 15 AM I RIGHT??

As per usual, I'm doing a post about everything and anything that comes to my mind regarding the new ii episode.

Starting off strong before I devolve into meeple nonsense (gotta show people I care about other characters from the show too) AHHHHH HGHH MY HEART!!! I KNOW- IKNOW I know it wasn't good for her to stay in the game, but a piece of me clings to her like a mite.

From when this happened and Paintbrush showed up, I knew it was jover. The Bright Lights are lighting up the hotel now, and you know what, I'm ok with that (no I'm not I love them </3)

-

I also love this part. In my heart of hearts, Bright Light ploycule is real and canon.

- - -

Ok it's mephone time 'cause I keep rewatching the ep and that's all I can FUCKING think about

My first reaction to Meeple being mentioned was literally the embodiment of this image

Going back to being serious:

This song is very inanimate insanity coded, and by that I mean MePhone specifically. (Of course, it's a song about Taco and I'm Making it about MePhone, that's what I do.)

Healing is a process, Mepad knows that well, and seeing everything that's happened is probably why MePad quit. Besides the terrible work conditions he's put through, MePad just can't stand everyone being dragged through the mud. Taco was so right, the game's getting really serious and it's taking a toll on everyone (including MePhone, which MePad definitely got front-row seats too). I wonder if he feels a part of the problem and is now trying to rectify it. I mean, it'd make sense why he's helping out Taco now.

I feel even more justified in saying it after looking at the resignation scene again. MePad is thoroughly done with MePhone's shit, and for good reason. Tempting to not REVIVE someone just to make sure the show goes smoothly is fucked up! MePad's had enough and AUGH FUCK YEAH AND AAUGHHH FUCK NO MEPHONE'S REACTION TO HIM RESIGNING-

Ok ok- lemme start from the top.

. . .

So…. what the fuck was s3?

He hints at it actually happening with the "'First without' you have no idea", being connected to him not having an assistant for more than half of s3, and the "for half a day the world actually felt peaceful" referring to the s3 finale. Or at least that's all I'm assuming. But to them, it's only been a couple hours..?

I'mm soooo fuckin' lost, but my theory is that he either alt-reality'd that season or time travelled, or something. That's just not makin' sense, especially with this happening tho

I just can't think of any other way that this would make sense and be canonical other than MePhone himself went into an alternate timeline to do s3. That does give me fic ideas though...

Anyways... Connecting it back to MePad and everything though, I find it both funny and saddening to see that he's gone back to s2 persona (when thinking about it in terms of my theory). It's so obvious that it's a front, from the turn of his heel to change topics away from his "vacation" with the pained "BUUUTTT ANYWAY", to the short pause before going "WELL!" after MePad's resignation, to the "And if you're ready to talk" thing being shot with his cover-up is another-

You don't need me to tell you it's a front, everyone and their mama knows, but I'll continue to do so 'cause I physically have to, or else I'll explode. You can tell it really tears him up from how MePhone reacted when he first saw MePad.

LOOK AT THE SHOCK ON HIS PIXELY FACE!! He probably thought MePad fully abandoned him or something before his "vacation" and this was whiplash that it wasn't THEN MePad ACTUALLY left?!? Of course it's gotta hurt, but s2 means he's got the host role to fill, and that means being a snarky sack of shit (I say that with love, of course).

That also paired with the look of guilt… shame in this scene…. AGH

She's so right here by the way, the years he spent on iii for "something new" shows that he's not trying to move away. Sure it got him to come back to s2 in the first place, but now that he's here, what did he actually learn? Actions speak louder than words, and so far, he's been just the same s2 asshole host we remember. Though you know what could change all that..?

Had to put the vid and not the gif of this scene because the abrupt phone call actually scared the shit outta me.

First things first, I love Knife's little gestures. They're all so sick of his shit, as they should be <3

Secondly, the whole way he's talking about them in the clip is giving his s2 persona hardcore

Lastly, and most importantly, COBS???? UM UH COBS???

I wanna give props where props are due, the sound design, the pacing- everything leading up to this scene was absolutely perfect would cry again 10/10

BUT ALSO COBS??? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING CALLING HIM DIRECTLY???

No seriously. We had him build generations of phones, specifically to take him out, send "insiders" like Toilet and Walkie Talkie (I assume at least) to also take him out in some way or another, and whatever the hell else was going on, all to indirectly take down MePhone, and now he just calls. Calls in the middle of the recording! I assume he knows about s3 and if so just what in the fuck could he want??? WHAT IS HIS PLAN??? I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT COB OF CORN IS TRYING TO DO- IT IS GOING TO DRIVE ME INSANE.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in that scene is just as confused and concerned as I am. (I am just saying things, but you know what I mean.)

I'm so serious though, Knife is like "WTF?!", and Suitcase is like "WTF??" AND GOD DAMN IT LOOK AT HIM HE IS CONFUSED AND SCARED GUYS. If this doesn't shake that s2 persona outta him, I don't fuckin' know what will (besides the show just being over, but I digress).

Cobs is def gonna make an appearance next ep (I'm manifesting, let me cook), and it's not gonna be pretty, but MePhone's gonna get to turn him into a corn tortilla and everyone's gonna cheer and he's not gonna have daddy issues anymore and then everything will be ok. That's my prediction for ii 16.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, I will give more random outbursts of tears for the next one.

[butchhamlet]

some reasons you should watch abigail thorn’s “the prince”

i mean, reasons beyond “it’s about trans women in a shakespeare multiverse and abigail thorn plays hotspur.” because--do you need more? but i have more to say, so i’m going to say it.

1. the exploration of the conflation of death and transition. i think trans people are in the habit of pushing back against the idea that transition is any sort of metaphorical death, because so many cis people say shit about feeling like they’ve lost a son/daughter/brother/sister/niece/nephew/gendered acquaintance/etc. but in truth, taking the plunge in deciding to transition, or deciding even to be honest with yourself about your transness, can look and feel a lot like a death, even if it’s a death that’s necessary for a rebirth (something thorn & other trans writers have touched on before). i can’t cite specific parts because spoilers but just trust me that this does a lot with that that made me want to put my head in my hands and scream

2. the interaction with manhood in the history plays. the henriad is incredibly concerned with what it means to be a man the right way--richard ii’s effeminacy assayed against bolingbroke’s stubborn strength; hotspur’s yearning for glory and love of war tied to his destructive masculinity and abhorrence of the feminine; hal’s gendernonconformity through use of language more often than weapons; henry v’s presentation of the english as a virile “band of brothers” identified in contrast to the foppish french dandies. the way this play examines gender--womanhood, manhood, masculinity, femininity, structural misogyny--is fucking delicious in that context, particularly in that the play turns hotspur’s obsession with masculine glory into something of a defense mechanism, as hotspur strives to be the person northumberland and worcester and kate percy expect. (ALSO THE COSTUMING. AND THE SWORD. AND THE DOUBLE-CASTING. AND THE SYMBOLISMS. FABULOUS.)

3. interaction with 1H4 in general. the way thorn cut up this play and rearranged it. i couldn’t go two minutes without turning to my friend and hissing, “this is a line from the real play! except in context it doesn’t go here!” and then gasping over how shifting the context, length, or speaker of speeches brought new aspects of both works to light. ALSO? SO MANY SPEECHES/SCENES IN SHAKESPEAREAN VERSE THAT WERE NOT IN THE ORIGINAL PLAY AT ALL. WHICH MEANS THIS WOMAN WAS JUST WRITING RAW IAMBIC PENTAMETER. LIKE, CONVINCING ELIZABETHAN-ERA IAMBIC PENTAMETER. WHAT. (also also! you don’t have to be a shakespeare nerd to enjoy this play, but if you like iambic pentameter jokes, boy howdy have i got good news for you!)

4. that said, it’s accessible to non-shakespeare-superfans, too! if you don’t know much about the histories, or if you struggle to comprehend shakespeare, don’t fear! the play is doing more than just riffing on shakespeare. it’s at least 50% modern speech, and the switches from one dialect to another tend to come at the most destabilizing and thus hilarious (or gutting) moments. there’s one particular modern-language-paraphrase of a specific 1H4 speech that i haven’t stopped thinking about since i saw it, because it’s the perfect balance of comedic and agonizing.

5. trans people. not just transgender shakespeare characters, but also modern-day trans women! i love that we get both original trans characters and shakespearean characters hit with the transgenderification beam, and i love how many trans people there are; it allows for a more thorough exploration of identity, and also so many good fucking jokes.

6. prince hal is gay for real. not sure i need to say much else about this

7. who doesn’t want to listen to abigail thorn recite shakespeare? not even just 1H4! but i shan’t say more, because oh, baby, that one’s gotta hit organically.

you can read more about it here if you’re not yet convinced, but come on. if you like shakespeare, or if you like art about gender and transness and narratives and confinement and freedom, or, hell, if you like seeing women with swords, i literally don’t know what to tell you i don’t know why you’re still reading this go watch the prince come on now

[nocturnalazure]

📩 Simblr question of the day: Do you have a process for making your simblr posts?

answer in whatever way is most comfortable for you and feel free to share this SQOTD around, make sure to use the hashtag SQOTD and tag me in separate posts ~ 💛

This question was contributed by an anon in @simblr-question-of-the-day !

Thank you so much for your ask, Anon! ❤️

I gotta say, I had first understood the question at a very basic level. 😅 How do I make a post? Well...

I queue my stuff almost immediately and I keep a few character asks and reblogs for the times when I don't have any story content to post, but I don't like having too many drafts (like, "it's right there, I have to poooooost iiiiiit 🤪").

Story posts get published between 2pm and 4pm CET, at the pace of about 2 to 4 posts per day.

The rest (photo shoots, character asks and rambles, etc) gets published either at around the same time of day or whenever I feel like it.

But now, I see that other people have answered this question by explaining their creative process. So I thought I would also explain mine (haven't I done this before?). My process is quite similar to @kimmiessimmies, but I do things in a different order.

Timeline

I have a timeline and a very messy one! It used to be only in my head, then in a Word document, and now it's finally in an Excel sheet. It includes detailed ideas about the next scenes, where I'm going to shoot them, which characters are going to be involved, some lines that I absolutely need to use, and broader musings on where the story is going within a time frame of about 8,000 years.

It's a beast that's alive and constantly mutating.

2. Set up

Setting up a scene is easy prep work. If I don't have one in mind yet, I roam about some neighborhoods for a nice shooting location. I make sure that everything is in place for the next scenes: dressing up Sims, adding some story-related decor items, looking up CC if I miss something important, making sure I got all the characters I need in the same household and teleporting them on the lot I'm going to shoot in.

3. Pose selection / Shooting

Whenever I can summon enough energy and inspiration, I go in game and the first thing I do is pre-select some poses for the scene I need to shoot according to my timeline. From there, I go with the flow. I need to be hyperfocused because I'm in total improv mode. I use several poses in different angles. Sometimes a specific pose/expression gives me new ideas and I go in a different direction than what I had planned. Sometimes I cannot find the exact pose/expression I want and I have to work around that. Sometimes I'm inspired, sometimes I'm not. Very often, the game crashes and I get very upset.

The dialogues start taking shape while I'm shooting.

4. Picture selection / Writing

When I have enough screenshots to write at least one scene (although I generally wait to have several scenes ready), I start writing and make a prayer to my muse that I'll remember the dialogues I had in mind while shooting. That part is both the best and the worst. The best because I can really get "in the zone", and the worst because I easily have writer's block and get stupidly stuck on a line.

Through this whole process, I use Comic Life. I select a pic, smash it into my story template, select a speech bubble and start typing. Rinse and repeat. I sometimes rewrite entire parts, changing the order of the pics. I use about 40% of the shots I take. I do very little editing, only to correct clipping or lighting. Once I feel like I have enough pics to make an update (about 150-200 - I often have to repeat steps 3 and 4 until I'm satisfied), I export everything from Comic Life in jpg format. My husband is my proof-reader. I hate re-reading my own shit at this stage because it's smeared with my tears and blood and I just want it out.

5. Posting on Tumblr

Next I prepare the Tumblr posts, adding tags and scheduling everything. I post a preview, usually a day before the queue starts. Maybe I should leave some more time between preview and first post, but I'm too impatient to wait. IT.MUST.BE.OUT.

6. Posting on WordPress

I used to prepare the WP draft post at the same time as the Tumblr scheduling, with a date set for publication on the day of the last Tumblr posts. I don't do that anymore because I make minor edits all the frigging time and I then need to update both my Tumblr queue AND my WP draft. So I prepare my WP post once my Tumblr queue has almost run out. Since I use my WP mostly for myself, to keep some sort of table of content, it wouldn't be a big deal if I ever forgot to publish and was a few days late.

Voilà!

Like I said, a lot in common with my fellow Sims storytellers but in a slightly different order! I hadn't intended to write a whole essay, yet here we are. 🙃 Apologies, I'll shut up now. 🤐

Thank you again for the ask, Nonny!