#I have to include so many things to give even a full enough picture to make sense in a way I want it to

[misc-obeyme]

cc. your tags on the boudoir post. MAMMON recieving an album of those photos. i'd love to hear your thoughts on his reaction (and everyone else's, if you're feeling particularly inspired?)

Ah, Daisy, my dear, thank you for asking!

I apologize for this late response, but I knew I was gonna be getting wordy with this one. Because I looove the boudoir photos idea in general and OH MAN just thinking about all their reactions is making me crazy lol. I was going to just do my regular sort of response, but this turned into full on headcanons oops.

So just in case anyone missed it, here is the original post!

My thoughts change a little bit depending on whether MC is present when the characters receive the pictures, so I included both! I only did the bros but I might be willing to do the rest upon request!

the brothers react to MC giving them an album of boudoir photos

NSFW MDNI

Warnings: suggestive but that's about it, nothing explicit

Lucifer

When you're with him, Lucifer is calm and courteous, but with a flare of arrogance. Of course you would give him such a special gift. It's only natural that you would trust such intimacies to him.

He asks you if you're trying to tell him something. Has he perhaps been neglecting you, MC? Did you give him this so that he wouldn't be able to help himself? He's onto you.

No matter your reason, he can't look through too many of the pictures before wanting the real thing that's sitting right next to him. Tell him you still have some of that lingerie in your possession. Especially if you happen to have some in his colors.

If you aren't with him, he's going to be a lot less arrogant in general. He will find you later, make no mistake. But he's honestly so touched by your gift that he spends a lot of time looking through the album, simply admiring you.

Mammon

Mammon is freaking out no matter where you are the time. If you're with him, it's definitely a lot worse. Blushing profusely. Opens the album then slams it shut because he can't handle looking at it for very long.

You can't help but giggle at his reaction and then it's all stop laughin' at him MC!! You'll need to take his hands or maybe kiss his cheek, let him know that you genuinely just wanted to give him a nice gift, you aren't trying to tease him or anything.

Ask him if he likes it. You'll get a serious response. Calms down enough to say 'course he likes it. Likes it so much, he suddenly can't keep his hands off you.

If you aren't with him at the time, he buries it under his pillow or otherwise hides it because this is now one of his treasures and nobody gets to see it but him!

Leviathan

Levi is another one who'd be a blushing mess no matter what, but if you're there at the time, he might retreat to his room and not let you in. He needs that barrier between you because if he sees you right now, his heart will explode.

He'll let you back in eventually, but it might be a minute. He needs to calm down. Are you trying to kill him, MC?! Even when he does let you in, he can't look at you directly. He's probably covering his face with his hands.

Reassure him that you gave these photos to him because you trust him with them. They're personal, intimate, and you want him to be close to you. He's going to calm down the more you talk to him. Pull his hands away from his face and when he sees the sincerity in your eyes, it flips a switch. Might even slip into demon form just to wrap his tail around you possessively.

If you're not with him at the time, he's going to need to take care of that raging boner of his right away. He won't be able to focus on anything else until he does. He's so embarrassed, he has to watch several episodes of Ruri Hana to recalibrate.

Satan

He will try to keep his expression unreadable. He's not having any over the top reactions, but as he flips through the photos, he keeps getting redder and redder. You're sitting right next to him, how can he not react? At some point, he has to close the album because he feels like he's looking at something he shouldn't.

Satan is quiet about how flustered he is, but he's having a hard time looking at you. He tries to say something and incomprehensible lines about how beautiful you are fall from his lips. He sounds like a broken record of spoken word poetry or perhaps a very drunk beat poet.

Recovers himself after a minute. As soon as he's composed, you're in his arms. You knew what this would do to him, didn't you, MC? You'll find yourself pressed up against the nearest wall in moments.

If you're not with him, Satan will tuck your album into a stack of his other books. He thinks it's well hidden there - in plain sight. But he's hyper aware of it. Keeps coming back to look at it. Ends up having to put it on the bottom of a stack behind a different stack to make it more difficult to get to.

Asmodeus

Thrilled. Absolutely thrilled in every way. Oh, wow, MC, you look amazing. He's breathless. He's entranced. He's even blushing because he knows what it means that you've given these to him. He's so in love with you, he can't stand it.

Asks you about everything you may be wearing. Comments on the skill of the photographer. Tells you that next time, you should do one together. He has so many ideas. He wants to do one where all you're wearing is jewelry - bright and sparkling, just like your soul.

Covers you in kisses. He's not shy about how this is making him feel, how much he wants you. He just wants to see your beautiful figure here and now in real life, MC! Won't you let him worship you?

If you're not with him, he will find you immediately so he can say all of the things he needs to say in that moment. You can't leave him alone with all these feelings, both physical and emotional. He brings them all to you without hesitating.

Beelzebub

It might take him a minute to understand exactly what he's looking at, mostly because he's never even heard of this. He doesn't know what a boudoir photo shoot is, so you might have to explain it to him. Once he understands, he starts lightly blushing as he looks through them. His expression is serious because he's beginning to see just how special this is.

Honestly surprised that you would give him something so intimate. He's touched. He's going to hug it to himself and look at you with tears in his eyes because he can't believe how lucky he is.

Give him another couple minutes to look through them and then he's having different feelings. He's not sure if he can hold back, MC. Tell him it's okay, that you don't want him to, and you'll find yourself on your back on his bed in zero seconds flat. You're quickly reminded why he's the Avatar of Gluttony.

If you're not with him at the time, he will figure things out on his own, though he'll have a plethora of questions for you later. He keeps it close to him at all times until you answer them because he knows one thing for sure - he doesn't want anyone else seeing these.

Belphegor

Oh, he sees what you're playing at. Trying to fluster him, are you, MC? Trying to rile him up? Are you sure you can handle him when you do that? He's so wound up by the gift he can't act normal about it. He's actually very touched by it, but he's not sure how to deal with the feelings, so he comes on too strong.

You laugh because to you, this is expected. You understand that this is Belphie's way of dealing with his own shyness. You respond by meeting him with just as much intensity. It's all kisses and touching and fumbling in the dark.

It's only later, when both of you are calm, when you're nestled in his arms, that he admits to you how much it means to him. That he tells you how he'll cherish the album you gave him. That he says he's stunned by how gorgeous you are, even more brilliant that the stars in the sky.

If you aren't with him at the time, you'll be dealing with a petulant but horny demon later on. He's going to be annoyed at you for leaving it for him and then not being there when it inevitably turns him on. Just as possessive as his brothers, he hides it in the attic where no one is likely to find it.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[asaedw]

I’m writing a pinklock series and I want to add YOU in my story. (No smut!) (all spots full)

I haven’t thought of plots yet. Or characters. Even my OC I haven’t written yet. But now I’m realizing I have to write atleast the first selection. I wanna say thank you to all the people who like my writing I didn’t expect so many notes and reblogs 😞😞🙁🙁

Now— all I ask of you is that you write me the name of your character in message or asks along with the below info (in the picture) plus the form for pinklock bible.

I’m gonna write it from my OC’s perspective but I want to include as many of you guys in as I possibly can. For the first selection, we need 11x5 (team V, W, X, Y, Z)= 55 characters. I will write the entry test eliminated characters and background characters myself. But I will take up to four OCs per team so that they can move onto next rounds. Which means you guys will be eighteen including two of mine.

(Make sure your character is under-20 so that they can play to be apart of U20 later on and over 15)

Rules:

-wlw is allowed. You are allowed to relate your characters with one another (dating, sibling, parent)

-only female characters, sorry!

-you can give me more than one character (up to 4)

-no oversexualozation of characters please! I refuse to write overly sexualized female characters especially since they’re all minors.

-all must have the required skill to play soccer. And atleast one weapon.

-no characters under 15 years of age, sorry! I want them to all be atleast grade 9-10-11.

-characters must be solely pinklock players and not already world famous (otherwise your story will be boring unless you write that you want things to go downhill for that character)

-also atleast one of your characters must be a player and the rest may be fans/family/friend/another player.

-your character MUST have flaws. (Atleast 3)

-please give me the details based off the following image.

- Animal-like traits are not allowed. Only human characters.

-characters of ALL races/ethnicity are allowed but must play in Japan according to blue lock location and story.

Keep in mind that whatever age you tell me will be the age of your character during first selection which takes place in that past (Nov 18, 2018) this is because both bl and pl exist in the same timeline.

Also do send pics from Pinterest if you really want me to see what you chara looks like. Also explain their dressing style if you want cus it adds personality.

I hope this post will reach some people who are interested. If I don’t get enough responses within a given time, I will fill in my own characters. Thanks for reading and as always thank you for being here🫡🫀

Also fill out this form for our PINKLOCK bible.

Checkout the slots available in my PINKLOCK CHARACTERS post.

I’m so excited and I hope this reaches the people who fantasize about PL daily.

All people who’s character used will be tagged.

[yuikomorii]

AYAYUI IDOL AU: Chapter 4

// Note to self: Never write in places with barely any signal, or you risk losing everything you've written. After all this time, I've finally posted the fourth chapter. I apologize for the delay; it’s been a stressful period, but now I’m free again, so I'll try to stay more consistent! 😇

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Ayato: ( Where the hell is she!? )

( Seriously, what kind of porter suddenly runs away from their job? She’s either a rookie who doesn’t know what she’s doing, or just a complete joke for real. )

*Ring Ring*

( Haa… that’s what was missing. )

— answers phone —

Ayato: What now?

Manager: Ayato-san, where are you? Subaru-san told me you left without a proper explanation, and the recordings need to start soon!

Ayato: ...!

( Oh no, the recordings! Fuck, I totally forgot about that! )

A-Ah, right. I got caught up with something, but it’s okay, I’ll be back soon.

Manager: No, you’ll be back right now. Do you understand?

Ayato: ( Shit, her voice dropped! She must really be pissed…! )

Fine, fine. I’m on my way, don’t worry! Just… give me a second.

Place: Hotel kitchen

Co-worker 1: Gosh, I’m so happy we’ll get to see them up close!

Co-worker 2: I know, right? I wonder how much better they look in person compared to pictures!

Co-worker 3: A friend who went to their Osaka concert told me their skin is even fairer in real life, and Ayato-kun’s face is incredibly small—like, even smaller than in photos!

Co-worker 4: Eeh!? Is that even possible? His face is already so small for his body, so isn’t it unfair to be this beautiful?

Yui: …

( At first, hearing them gush over these boys seemed sweet, but now... I’m not sure what to think anymore. )

*Flashback*

Ayato: Can’t you see? This is her responsibility, not yours, so let her do her job.

If she’s not capable of taking it seriously, then she just shouldn’t be working here anymore and risk damaging the hotel's reputation.

*Flashback ends*

Yui: ( That Ayato boy… so many people adore him, and they say he’s all sunshine offstage, but to be honest, he seemed completely different when I met him. )

( I know I shouldn’t be judgemental, but for some reason… I do feel a little sad that I didn’t leave a good first impression. )

( I guess that’s why he acted like that towards me. He’s an idol, after all, and he must deal with all sorts of pressures on a daily basis. I can’t help but think anyone would get stressed in that kind of situation… )

( Nevertheless, if I ever get the chance to speak with him again, I’ll definitely apo——)

— hears a bunch of screams —

Yui: ( What on— )

…!

( They’re in the kitchen! )

Ayato: ( Wait… is that the porter—? )

Subaru: ( Haven’t we seen that girl before? )

Chief: Alright, girls, lower your voices and clear out of the kitchen. We’ve got work to do.

Co-worker 5: What? No way! Are we seriously not allowed to watch the cooking episode live!?

Co-worker 6: Please, let us stay! We promise we won’t interfere with the maknae line!

Chief: ( Haa… they're all giving me puppy eyes now. )

I’m really sorry, girls, but—

Ayato: Wait, I’ve got an idea!

Everyone: Eeh!?

Subaru: ( I don’t like the sound of this… )

Ayato: To make things fair, how about this: Each of us picks one of the girls to help us cook. That way, two lucky fans will get involved too, isn’t it great?

Chief: Actually… that’s not a bad idea at all! In fact, we could turn it into a full-on cooking contest.

The winners… hmm… oh yeah! They will receive ultimate access to all of the hotel’s facilities—including our newest room, the onsen.

— hears gasping sounds —

Subaru: ( I’d rather lose than deal with that… )

Ayato: Hmph, fair enough. I’m in.

— smirks and looks at Subaru —

What about you?

Subaru: ( Ugh… but I guess I have no choice now. )

Fine, whatever. Let’s just get this over with.

— hears squealing —

( Man, don’t make me regret this… )

Ayato: Alright, since no one’s stepping up, this Ayato-sama will go first~!

Eenie, Meenie, Miney… You! The blonde one with pink hairpin!

Subaru: ( Hah? The porter girl? )

Yui: …!?

( He recognized me! )

( Oh no, what if he’s planning to teach me a lesson? He might be an idol, but after all… you never really know what kind of person someone truly is…! I don’t even know what to do right now…! )

( Uhh… I guess I could just pretend I didn’t hear him? Maybe if I act like I didn’t notice, he’ll think I’m not interested and pick someone else instead! )

— starts looking around —

Ayato: Don’t play dumb, I know you heard me, kuku~.

— gets closer —

Co-worker 4: ( I’m so jealous! )

Co-worker 6: ( Ugh… that should have been me! )

Yui: A-Ah, sorry! I was just… so caught off guard, I didn’t realize at first.

— giggles awkwardly —

( This is already so embarrassing…! Now he probably thinks I’m not only unserious but an airhead too! )

Ayato: Nah, don’t worry about it. I get it—you must be nervous getting picked by an idol and all, no? But heyyy, chill a bit, you can make up for it in the kitchen.

— grins and wraps arm around her shoulder —

Yui: ( W-Wait, what? )

Ayato: Until Subaru chooses his cooking partner, let’s settle ourselves in our part of the kitchen, hm?

— starts heading to different section —

Yui: ( Why is he suddenly being so… friendly? )

( Could it be that’s just how he actually is…? )

( A-Anyway! It’s none of my business, so I shouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll be fine, right? )

( …Right? )

*timeskip*

Yui: ( We’ve already set up all the necessary cooking tools, so everything should be ready to go… but it feels kind of weird. )

( He hasn’t said a single word this whole time. I can’t tell if he’s just focused on something or if he’s deliberately ignoring me… Either way, the silence is starting to feel a little unsettling. )

Ayato: ( Tch… why isn’t she saying anything? I thought teenagers were supposed to be obsessed with idols—excited, giggly, trying to get close. But this one? She’s just standing there like she’s afraid to even breathe near me. What’s even her deal? )

( Wait… does she actually fear me now? I mean, yeah, I wasn’t exactly nice when she was carrying the luggage, but are people really that sensitive?)

( Haa… whatever. If this awkwardness keeps up, it’s just going to ruin the mood for everything. I should just suck it up and take this as an opportunity to apologize. )

Oi! You… You’re the porter girl, right?

Yui: …!

( Uuh… I guess there’s no point in pretending… If I try to lie about it, I’ll just make things even more complicated. )

Y-Yeah, that’s so.

Ayato: …Sorry. You know, for earlier.

Yui: …!?

( Did he just… apologize to me? )

Ah, t-there’s no need to! If anything, I should be the one apologizing for my poor performance.

( While it’s true that his words weren’t that pleasant to hear, I still need to take responsibility for my part in this too. )

The truth is… I’m not actually a hotel porter. The only reason I was acting like one was because the real porter couldn’t make it today, so I had to step in.

I know I wasn’t very good at it, and I was so clumsy that I probably could’ve broken something important in your luggage…

That said, I really hope I didn’t cause too much trouble for you or your group mate.

Ayato: ( Well, I really wasn’t expecting all that as an answer, but as long as we’re good, that’s what matters. )

You didn’t, it’s okay.

Let’s just stop dwelling on this and get cooking~!

Yui: Fufu, alright! What do you think would be good to make?

Ayato: Takoyaki!

Yui: Takoyaki? That’s...

( I mean, Takoyaki is surely delicious, but isn’t it a little too casual for a cooking contest? )

S-Sure, it sounds nice, but uhm… wouldn’t you prefer something a bit fancier?

Ayato: Hah? What are you talking about? Everyone loves Takoyaki! It’s a crowd favorite!

Plus, it’s not hard to make at all— we’ll have it done in no time, and it’s pretty much impossible to mess it up, right?

Yui: ( Hmm... he’s got a point. Takoyaki is easy and tasty, so I guess it’s not the worst choice. )

( Actually, I think I’ve got an idea! )

How about making two dishes? We can start with the Takoyaki as a snack and then make something else as the main course!

That way, we can keep things light and fun with the Takoyaki, but also have something a bit more substantial for the actual meal. What do you think?

Ayato: Heh, not bad! That sounds pretty smart.

But what exactly do you mean by "something more substantial"?

Yui: Maybe… Japanese-style Pot-au-feu? It’s healthy and comforting, so I feel like it would be perfect for a main dish.

Ayato: ( Never heard of it, but she seems to know her stuff. I’ll just nod along and pretend I know what she’s talking about. )

Yeah, sounds great! Let’s get started!

*timeskip*

Yui: Wha—! What are you doing!?

Ayato: Hah? I’m just adding vegetables in the pot?

Yui: But you have to remove the stem from the turnip first!

Ayato: Eh? Oh!!

— starts removing it —

Ayato: Done!

— tries to throw it in the pot —

Yui: Wait, don’t! You have to peel the turnip now!

Ayato: Pfft, right. I was just kidding~.

( How exactly does one peel? )

Yui: ( Something tells me this guy has never cooked before… )

( I don’t know why, but I find it kinda cute though. )

( His status is higher than mine but as we’re spending time together, I realize he’s just a normal teenage boy after all. )

( Fufu, instead of stressed, these moments feel a bit comforting. )

I-If you’re not very good with that, I could do it instead! You could cut the rest of the vegetables until I peel the turnips.

Ayato: ( Phew, thanks goodness! I thought I was going to embarrass myself there. )

Hmm… alright then! Let’s switch!

( Cutting can’t be that hard, no? )

( I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time I do that, unlike with peeling. )

( Heh, right. It will be piece of cake. )

Yui: Here are the vegetables that still need to be cut and here is the knife. If you need anything else, feel free to tell me.

— Ayato nods —

Ayato: ( Dunno why but this girl seems low-key cool. Of course, not cooler than an idol such as myself, but she somehow feels… natural? No, maybe that’s not the right word, but it’s just that she’s surprisingly a nice company? )

( Heh, it almost feels like a pity that we won’t see each other after this day. )

( This whole thing reminds me of the girl I met that night. )

( …Huh? Why am still think— )

Ouch!

Yui: Eh? What happened?

Ayato: Ugh, I was cutting those things and accidentally cut myself but haa… it’s fine, no worries.

Yui: Oh no, your finger is bleeding!

Ayato: As I said, it’s fi——

Yui: Quick! Please, take this!!

— gives him water compress —

Ayato: Huh…?

( Wait a little—! )

*Flashback*

Ayato: Hnn... Ngh!

( What... what should I do now!? )

???: Quick! Please, drink this!!

— hands him water —

Ayato: Huh...?

*Flashback ends*

Ayato: …!

( This girl…— )

[creatingblackcharacters]

I suspect you may be kinda tired of the hair questions at this point, but I swear I can't word this question in a way that would make it google-able.

I've seen Black people making jokes and skits on how, when you had straightened your hair and then someone convinced you to, for example, take a dip in the pool, it all just curls right back up, dramatically fast, shocking everyone.

The thing is, I can't tell how much the speed of it all is dramatized for the humor.

As in: how fast does a straightened 4c hair ACTUALLY curl up when exposed to moisture, provided it's not been specifically protected against that? Because something tells me that it's not, in fact, a blink-and-suddenly-an-afro with an optional comedic 'boing' sound, but I may be wrong? And the googling gives me threads with tips on avoiding all that and products for keeping one's hair straight for longer, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to check.

Context, 'cause Ik it's a broad question: I am workshopping a scene where a character straightens their (short) hair, but it's entirely for "trying to be who you are not" plot reasons (Ik that straight hair is often a style choice, it's just symbolically non-typical for THIS particular character), but then a plot twist happens, they decide "fuck it" and go back to doing things their way, which includes a fight and a bit of running during which they get drenched in sweat. And I thought it'd be a cool visual symbolism to have their hair start to/or fully curl back up during the course of the fight (due to sweat), going back to their more typical natural style while they, in their journey, are going back to their truth. BUT.

But I can't damn figure out if a change like that would even be possible or if it would just look plain silly. And how far it'd be realistic (or at least believable) to take it.

(Also: thank you for this blog and your lessons, they've been a huge help, doubly so for someone who lives in a country with little to no Black people and can only learn through the Internet and resources like yours.)

While looking for an answer to your question, I found this cool link:

As for your question, I found this video:

She's doing something extra that I've never done to get her curls back. Tbh, I would just get in the shower or under the sink lmao. But you can literally watch her hair start to shrink as she "pre-poos" it. With a lot of full, continued contact with water, it doesn't take longer than a minute or two, at least in my experience. But don't quote me.

Idk how much she's sweating, but your character's roots will start to curl up as she sweats, as you said. No, she's not gonna go outside with straight hair and come back with a full afro after a hard workout though 😅. She's gonna look the way this lady did with her silk press, where it's puffed up. Now if she's got a very short afro, then the visual effect you're looking for will be close enough, but it's not gonna be like a super shiny defined fro.

Just based off your description, you ought to watch the movie Nappily Ever After. I think it'll help you 👍🏾

[starkitxxz]

I wrote this at 1am

Nightly visit☁

!!non-consensual touching, implied SOMNOPHILIA!!

The starry night sky wrapped the whole place like a blanket, small white dots appeared as the moon glowed in the midst of the void. Street lights flickered every minute, the warm light bulb it had given out. But it was enough to guide Sol Brugmansia to your lovely abode.

Every step he took, it was silent. Emptiness filled him – but he longed to see you. His heart ached, he yearned to have a minute of your time. A minute of your smile on your face because of him.

Or perhaps your lingering touch, brushing against his bandaged hand

He recognized everything about you, including where you place your furniture in your home. He hated seeing that slug in a photo frame. He wished it was him, beside you, in that printed paper.

He wished to be with you, to hold you and know you're his. He could not bear the thought of you being with Crowe. Ugh, the mere mention of his name makes him ill.

What does he have that Sol doesn’t?

He stood in front of his soulmate’s door, a silver key in his palm – inserted into the keyhole. And he knew, You fail to ignore such necessities missing from your ID.

Upon entering, his heart skipped a beat.

"Fuck, you’re so beautiful…"

He muttered under his breath. The glimmering moonlight highlighted your face. Displaying your beauty in front of the beast before you.

Sol approached you, his reddish orange orbs focused on you. He never fully focused on anything but you. You are on his walls. His phone gallery. His mind. Everything possible.

He lifted your arm and dropped it, a chuckle escaped his mouth. A heavy sleeper you are.

Or maybe you took something that made you so sleepy

He better thank Hyugo for this

A grin appeared on his face, it’s funny how easy you trusted him. How easy it took you to take it. So naive, Sol preferred it that way.

The last thing he wanted for you to find out was how awfully obsessed he is.

Heck, the word obsessed isn’t enough to describe what he is

He kneeled beside the bed frame, tucking a strand behind your ear. Taking in your pretty, sleeping face that he adores so much.

Gazing at your lips, he wanted it to meet his – so you will be his, like what he envisioned to happen.

He nuzzled on your neck, taking a whiff of your scent. You smell so fucking good. Like a dangerously addictive drug. It drove him nuts.

He began to nibble and bite a spot on your neck, earning a whimper from you. It sent shivers down his spine, as a mark started to form.

"Oh darling, you have no idea what you’re doing to me," He whispered, sucking the mark. A mark that will surely be visible on your neck, to the eyes of many – especially him, knowing he created that mark.

Another whimper escaped your lips. His breath hitched, kissing the small hickey he created.

"You’re so ticklish, pumpkin – even the sounds you make, it makes me want to fuck you"

Not long after that, he places his thumb on your bottom lip. Caressing it. He craved to kiss you so badly – to feel your lips, to know you’re his.

After all, YOU belong to him.

You’re his soulmate, his beloved, his maiden by the name of Annabel Lee

He pressed his lips against yours, warmth surrounded him. Claiming you as his, not Crowe. He was dying for this, he desired to be with you alone in this room – kissing you.

"I love you so much…"

He mumbled as he leaned back. Looking at you like a valuable possession – too valuable and pretty to be shared with. Admiring your perfect features, ignoring your flaws. To him, you don’t have flaws.

You’re everything he could love about you

Staring at the figure before him, he smiled and took a picture of you. Adding it to his phone album full of photos of you.

He stood up and walked to the door, giving you one last look. Holding his phone in his hand. He hoped that it would be your hand that only he would hold soon.

"See you tomorrow, pumpkin," He said, before twisting the door knob.

And with that, he left.

[heck-theo]

ROTTMNT Pride Flag Icons

The response to my last post about these was very encouraging so I finished them! Here are some examples using popular headcanons and/or headcanons that I like (so hard to pick cause there are so many great ones).

Below these examples are some rules for use and then below that are the blanks with the green flags for you!

Rules: First I wanna acknowledge that there's nothing I can really do to stop people using these however they want, and while I would disapprove, I'm not going to get mad and fight you about it. I won't give you the attention.

If you have any good faith/genuine questions or criticisms about these rules please let me know.

TLDR:Keep it respectful and PG.

Who can use these? I don't mind anyone using these if it follows the rules. Please credit me in some way if you use (even if it's just a text post), and don't claim that they are your own. If you would like to use it in a way that isn't specified here or with a flag not mentioned, feel free to ask.

Editing? I don't mind if you want to add small details, adjust colours etc, but I'd rather you didn't make large adjustments that could really change the overall picture.

How do I use these? I actually have no clue how to mask over a colour in a flat image, these are all clipped over the flag colour layer. If you do know please feel free to leave a comment. If you would like to request a specific flag go ahead and ask. If I only get a few requests I probably won't mind doing them for you. This is not a guarantee though, and it just depends on what I have going on and how I feel at the time.

What flags can I use? This is intended for flags that represent or support LGBTQIA identities. To be clear this does NOT include anything like TERF, MAP or Zoo flags. Also please don't use any flags representing kink and stuff.

Country flags? That is not the intended use and I'd really rather you didn't, however in the end as long as the flag isn't being used in a way that supports war, genocide or bigotry I'm not toooo fussed.

I really hope I'm being paranoid and this won't be an issue but I feel the need to say it cause I've been on the internet long enough to know it's full of trolls, grifters and creeps. If you see anyone being problematic, bigoted or disrespectful with these feel free to let me know. Free block list.

One last thing: There is a more "fem" leaning/alt version and a more "masc" presenting version. I tried not to get too carried away with changing their designs in the alt version. Also I'm still trying to figure out this style so it's not perfect but I was flattered that you guys were interested so I wanted to finish them off. Also they were designed to read well on a small scale so a lot of choices were made specifically to try and increase readability when they're itty bitty and some things might look slightly odd on full scale? Anyway.

Ok without further ado here are the blanks (I hope you can get some use out of them and enjoy ^^):

[minniethemoocherda]

Connect This Space Between

Summary: "PRIME! YOUR SPARKLING IS CURRENTLY OVERCHARGED ON HIGHGRADE IN MY MEDBAY!"

A/N: This takes place a few weeks before the start of my fic Iridescent. But you shouldn't have to read that for this to make sense. In my head Bumblebee is around the equivalent of seventeen here whilst the twins are about nineteen. Also sorry! I am on a hype right now! So I couldn't wait until Sunday to post this! What did you guys think of the new Transformers One trailer? Anyway hope you enjoy! Xxxxxxx

Ao3

FF.net

"PRIME!"

Optimus jerked awake at the sound Ratchet's voice shouting over his internal comms, accidently knocking to the floor a pile of datapads that he must've fallen asleep on top of.

"Yes Ratchet?" Optimus said, bending down to place the fallen datapads back onto his desk.

"You're sparkling is currently overcharged on highgrade in my medbay."

Optimus nearly dropped the datapads again in shock.

"Is Bumblebee okay?" He asked, concern for his ward over riding the many questions that statement posed.

"He's as fine as one can be after drinking an entire bottle of the twins' moonshine." Ratchet answered, the familiar cranky tone, reassuring Optimus that the damage was not too serious.

"I am on my way."

As Optimus marched towards the medbay, the questions previously overridden, now sprung to the forefront of his mind.

Why would Bumblebee be drinking? How did he gets his servos on the twin's secret stash? And what would possess him to drink enough of it to end up in Ratchet's medbay?

It didn't make sense to Optimus that the newspark that he had found in the ruins of The Well could be drinking.

Although he guessed that he shouldn't be too surprised considering that Bumblebee was due to get his final upgrades in a couple of weeks. Optimus supposed that it was only natural that Bumblebee would get curios about such things.

Outside the medbay, Prowl was currently reading Sideswipe and Sunstreaker the riot act, listing off all of their current offences which included but not limited too; indecent behaviour, production of moonshine and serving said moonshine to an underage mechling. The twins faces paled under the scrutiny, whether that was from their own over indulgent high grade consumption or from their dawning realisation of how much trouble they were in, Optimus was unsure. He suspected that most likely, it was a mixture of both.

Inside, Bumblebee appeared the picture of misery. He was hunched over the edge of a berth with his doorwings drooped and his head in a bucket.

His eyes widened in panic when he spotted Optimus standing the doorway.

He opened his mouth, probably to protest that he hadn't been caught drinking when he was cut off by his own spew, regurgitating into the bucket.

Optimus hurried across the medbay to his side. No matter the circumstances, the Prime hated seeing his sparkling in pain.

He rubbed the space between Bumblebee doorwings like he had when he was little until eventually the young bot had finished emptying his energon tank.

Ratchet switched the now full bucket for an empty one.

"Am I dying?" Bumblebee slurred.

Ratchet snorted.

"You're going to wish you are when you're sober enough for me to give you my dangers of underage drinking lecture!"

Optimus thought that was a bit ironic coming from the mech who's nickname growing up had been The Party Ambulance. But since Optimus preferred not having a wrench thrown at his head, he tactfully decided not to mention that.

"I'm sorry." Bumblebee mumbled, sounding so dejected that regardless of the splashes of energon now staining the bot's front Optimus couldn't help but put his arm around him.

For the first time in months Bumblebee didn't shrug him off, instead leaning into his touch. Over the past few years as his sparkling came ever closer to adulthood, Bumblebee had sought comfort from his guardian less and less. Even if the only reason Bumblebee was permitting it was due to his lessoned inhibitions, Optimus felt his spark warm.

"I should hope that this experience has been enough of a lesson for you to learn from without the lecture." Optimus said.

Bumblebee nodded, nuzzling against his shoulder.

Growing up in a war, Bumblebee's childhood had been anything but traditional. He'd never had the chance to go to just school or the cinema or the park. Until recently he'd never even met any cybertronians his own age before.

No, instead Bumblebee's childhood had been a serious of safe houses and self defence lessons.

In a strange way, Optimus was glad that Bumblebee was getting in trouble for normal mechling things for once. Not that he was going to tell Bumblebee that.

At least Bumblebee's first fore into high grade hadn't ended with him throwing up on Alpha Trion's prized organic scroll collection.

"Drink this." Ratchet ordered, interrupting Optimus's thoughts as he thrust a glowing purple liquid under Bumblebee's nose.

Bumblebee looked nauseous again at the idea of anything more to drink, but under Ratchet's glare reluctantly took a sip.

"Good now you shouldn't have to waste any more of my time again tomorrow morning because of a hangover."

Optimus fought the urge not to show his smile. As despite Ratchet's gruff words, he knew that the medic's actions showed the not so secret soft spot Ratchet had for the sparking. Because if it had been anyone else in this position, they would've been thrown straight to the brig to sober up the hard way.

"Now, Prime can walk you back to your room so you don't end up in any more trouble." Ratchet stated as he started to clean up.

"I'm okay." Bumblebee protested.

"Oh really?" Ratchet drawled. "Walk in a straight line for me."

Bumblebee pushed the bucket aside as he stood up on his unsteady feet. He didn't even make it one step before nearly faceplanting the floor. Luckily, Optimus managed to catch him by his scruff bar before he could do any more damage to himself.

Even in his drunken state, Bumblebee must've known that resistance would he futile as he didn't put up anymore fight when Optimus scooped him up.

Gone were the days when Optimus could lift Bumblebee with only the palm of his hand. But even on the edge of adulthood, Bumblebee was still a small bot. Optimus cradled him close, arms securing the bot's legs and back, allowing Bumblebee to rest his against his shoulder. Optimus easily carried the mech to his quarters.

Once there, he gently placed Bumblebee down on the berth, tucking the blanket of tarp under the mechling's chin.

As Ratchet's potion kicked in and Bumblebee drifted off, Optimus glanced around the room that was the closest place the young bot had ever had to a home. On shelves sat scavenged action figures from shows he'd never watched, attached upon the painted walls that showed sights he would never see. And by his bed, a set of twins knives that Optimus had tried to talk Jazz out of giving to him.

Because as much as Optimus wished that he could, he would not be able to protect the former sparkling from the horrors of the world. Something that even without a war, would still ring true. One way or another, Bumblebee was always going to grow up.

With a new sense of acceptance, Optimus was about to leave he heard a quiet voice mumble;

"Love you sire."

Optimus smiled, walked back across the room to place a kiss on the helm of his sleeping sparkling.

"I love you too."

[bykshre]

STILL WITH YOU ll JJK - 001

CHAPTER 001 ll 2.05K words (song - I Feel It Coming, The Weeknd)

Pairing - CEO Jungkook x Head Of Department Y/N

Synopsis - 7 years ago, you and jungkook broke up after a long-term relationship in high school and college. Never have you ever thought that one day, you would reunite with your ex-lover or the guy you once believed was the love of your life. What does fate hold for the both of you?

Genre/tropes - exes to lovers, angst, slow burn, grumpyxsunshine, a second chance.

Rating - M

Warnings- panic attacks, crying, flirty prologue, alcohol, break up mentions, insomnia. All are mild mentions. Not too severe.

Masterpost | Next

prologue

21st August

I had no classes today, and Y/N did. I took the opportunity to decorate the living room with balloons and many of our pictures together. And when I say many, I mean all of them. Be it selfies, cuddle pictures, date pictures or the randomest pictures Y/N and I took of each other in weird situations. I managed to include every single one of them. I live and breathe to see her happy. She matters a lot to me.

After pouring my heart into the house adornments, I plopped myself on the couch and reflected on the pictures I hung on the walls. One of the pictures caught my attention, the first picture Y/N and I took on our date. We were so young and full of love. Nothing changed anyway.

I permanently kept that picture of us in my wallet. It was so special to me. Our very first date. A cliche photo booth picture. It was so unadorned, but it was unforgettable at the same time. Who wouldn't want to relive that?

.......

4.20 p.m.

I stood in front of our apartment door. Holding a bouquet of roses in my hands.

Shock was graced on Y/Ns face. She looked so happy. I could even see tears welling up in her eyes. Y/N was never a fussy lady or a spoilt brat. She was simple. She never sought for extravagance. She loved the most diminutive things I did. That's what I cherished about her - her unwavering simplicity. She's a gem, rare to find.

"I love you!" I saw Y/N running towards me and hugging me. Lone gone was the flower bouquet. Our kisses and giggles filled the room's ambience. "Happy 5th Anniversary, love." She peppered tender kisses onto my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Y/Niee, that's enough of the kisses. I chucked. "Y/N, how about we start getting ready? We have a date tonight. Plus, I bought a dress for you, which I think you'll adore. You'll be looking like a diva in it." Y/N frowned for a moment. I giggled at her state. She gets upset often when I spoil her with luxurious items. "Just for tonight, love, you deserve it today." I leaned into her and gave her a tender yet aggressive kiss on her ravishingly tempting reddish lips.

......

"What do you think?" Y/N said while leaning on the kitchen counter. I scanned her from head to toe. She looked gorgeous in that red dress accompanied by the long slit at her legs. The crimson fabric drapes softly over her form, embracing her contours with a tailored precision that accentuates her every curve. The richness of the red hue not only complements her skin's natural glow but also exudes an air of confidence and charisma. She looked like a goddess.

"I could have you as main course, mi amour," I said in a flirty tone. She blushed. I saw her cheeks turning crimson red. I love how only I could make her a blushing mess. She was always mine.

"Jungkook!!" She said in a flustered manner. "We're getting late!"

"Don't say that love. I know you enjoyed it." I winked at her. She was a blushing mess.

"Love, you are looking like a Greek god yourself! You are so handsome!" She said while checking me out, not giving an absolute fuck that I noticed she was drooling over my attire and looks tonight. "Your tux perfectly addresses your body shape." She said while pulling me into a hungry, aggressive kiss. Glad to know we're on the same page.

"Are you ready? Let's go." We interlocked our hands, creating a connection that felt unbreakable. "Ready!" I chuckled at her behaviour. She's carefree and happy. She drives me insane but in the most enchanting manner.

"You better be love. We have the whole night awaiting. You'll see stars tonight." I winked again, igniting a spark of intimacy between us.

We laughed, savouring each moment of the day. That's something I treasured about our relationship. We love hard.

"Love you". "I love you too".

Present

JK pov.

"I love you, Y/N, I always will. That's a promise I'll never leave you. Ever."

"I love you too, Jungkook. You will forever be the love of my life. Nothing will be able to make us apart."

One. Two. Three. My eyes opened. I felt a salty bead of water slipping from my eyes. Trailing down my cheeks. I was crying. Again. At this point, it had just become a routine for me. Ever since that day, I have never been able to sleep properly. And even if I would, it was because of the help of alcohol. I miss her and crave her touch. But what she has done has created a massive hatred for her. All those promises and words were false.

I opened my phone to check the time. It was 4.32 a.m. I definitely won't be able to sleep after this. But I needed it desperately. After mulling for a few minutes, I opened my Spotify playlist and clicked 'play' on a playlist she made for us. It was titled "Midnight Love". It would always help me to calm down. These are the traces of items she left with me. And I would never let them go.

♫ You don't need a lonely night

So, baby, I can make it right

You just got to let me try

To give you what you want. ♫

I mentally laughed at the lyrics. Remembering the sight of us back in the day. Sure, we were very horny. But we did have a fair share of emotional rollercoasters. The most important part was that we were there for each other. I do wonder how she's doing. Without me...

Is there someone who can actually love her? Before I could react or think anything else. My eyelids fell heavy with the weight of drowsiness. I eventually drifted off to sleep, welcoming a set of dreams.

"Y/N, you drive me insane."

Y/N pov.

4.32 a.m.

I laughed. Danced. Sang my heart out to "I Feel It Coming". Jimin and I decided to host a party at our apartment with our close friends, Taehyung, Mina and Namjoon. I was absolutely drunk. A mess, broken mess. All thanks to alcohol. We couldn't give an absolute fuck that we had work tomorrow. Emotions were uprising. We were immersed in our feelings. I rarely consented to these parties and would usually be sleeping or watching Netflix. Despite that, a part of my heart said, "Y/N, you deserve this fun, be yourself, express your emotions."

♫ You've been scared of love

And what it did to you

You don't have to run

I know what you've been through

Just a simple touch

And it can set you free

We don't have to rush

When you're alone with me ♫

Although I was super drunk and giggling the whole time, a tiny part of my heart clenched at the lyrics. It held some truth to it. I kinda miss him. No, I miss him... a lot. Whatever. The past is the past. I must move on.

"Hey! Y/N, let's dance, just us," Jimin asked. Everyone else had already left. I was so submerged in my feelings I didn't notice it. Busy reminiscing the beautiful past. "Oh yeah, Jiminiee sureee. Would your girlfriend slash whatever be fine with that?" I said while giggling because I knew that Jimin wasn't the guy who pursued relationships. Whatever interactions he had with women were just to please his sexual desires. Nothing else.

Jimin took me into his arms while I slid my hands around his waist.

The song playing at the back had turned into a faint sound playing at the back. I couldn't hear anything anymore.

♫ You've been scared of love

And what it did to you

You don't have to run

I know what you've been through♫

Oh no... my emotions are controlling me.

The alcohol is starting to get to me. I couldn't hold it back. Jimin noticed me acting weird. My head spun. I couldn't maintain my balance anymore. Jimin's grip on me tightened. I sank my head into his chest. There was it. I started crying. I rarely had meltdowns. But if something triggered them, I would easily have a breakdown. I started blabbing.

"Jiminie, do you know how much I miss him? I would run back to him in seconds? I would cuddle him at night to comfort him and keep his insomnia away? I still remember him vividly." I said shakily. "I wish I could have changed what happened that day. But I couldn't. I wish all of those things were fake. Apparently, it isn't. I should hate him. But my heart never brought me to that feeling. What is wrong with me?"

My breathing became shallow. I knew I would pass out soon.

"Y/N, Are you there with me?" I definitely passed out by the looks of it.

I could feel my back pressed on a soft, comfy mattress. The duvet, a cocoon of warmth and solace, draped over me like a protective shield, its weight a soothing embrace that banished the remnants of weariness. Jimin must have carried me to my room. He placed a glass of water, a bucket, and a strip of pills on my bedstand for tomorrow. "Goodnight, Y/N, sweet dreams.

I mumbled, "Jungkookie, I love you." I went to my dreamland.

Jimin laughed at that. He knew how you still miss him. He whispered to himself. "Your Jungkookie must be missing you too, Y/Nie."

"Just hang in there."

The universe has a silly way of reminding you of certain people. Two ex-lovers were reminded of the same memory. Was it a coincidence or fate?

Taglist : @lovingkoalaface @jk97bam @slapmy4head @vinuhsha

Thank you lovely people ❤️

This is only a beginning chap so it will take time to develop the characters and don't worry yn and jungkook will meet... Soon.

Till then. #Stillwithyoubykshre

[swagcoolcat]

What was Be More Quarantine?

A dive into a piece of Be More Chill Tumblr History, from a participant in the experience.

(This is going to be a long post, so for the sake of those that have no interest in reading it, I’ll be putting a read more in.)

Alright guys, strap in, because this one is a doozy. Picture it. It’s the spring of 2020. Quarantine is in full effect, and everyone is slowly losing their collective minds at this point, so, a tumblr user by the name of @bmc-gift-exchange decided to do something about it! Now, the owner of this account had run a couple of events before this one, including big bangs, but I personally had never heard of something like this before, so it was all new to me. The only thing I’d ever participated in was their gift exchange, which is a lot more simple than… whatever this was.

(Do not ask me who the owner was. I don’t remember. I know the account that Be More Quarantine was ran from but nothing else.)

So, it’s 2020, and there’s a new challenge going around for BMC fans called Be More Quarantine, where basically, you were challenged to write a short story (500 word minimum) based on picture prompts for points. The amount of words you wrote determined how many points you got, as well as how many of the pictures you referenced in your fanfic. Simple right?

Well, in theory, yes. But there were a couple of problems. First off, they had us writing multiple times a week. (I scrolled through to see, and at the end the dates were April 10th, 13th and 15th). If I remember correctly on weekends we were also expected to write double the length because we had an extra day to write.

This alone was a recipe for burnout, at least for me. I think I participated in three, maybe four weeks before I completely stopped writing. I ignored the discord and just felt really awful for a while. I ended up coming back toward the end, and I only felt worse because of it. I just wanted to get it all over with. The challenge wasn’t fun for me anymore.

Now the other thing that made things a little weird at best were the items. I don’t remember all of the items, but I do remember that some of them were overpowered. This is one of the aspects I remember the least, so I’m not going to dwell on this topic for too long, but the items were essentially to make the points more interesting. There were items to give you more points or take away points from other players, and I believe there was even an item that could cancel out a person’s entire fic of your choosing, so if you know someone has a tendency to write long fics, you could cancel out their fic and they would get zero points.

Reading this, I’m sure you can understand how this could become hostile very quickly.

To make matters more interesting, there were teams as well. Originally there were four teams, (Jeremy, Michael, Christine, Brooke), but team Brooke got taken out because there weren’t enough people signing up. I was on team Michael, at least for most of the challenge I was. There was another aspect where team members could choose to trade one member on their team for someone on another team. I don’t remember if you needed an item or not, but due to my giving up, I ended up being traded to team Jeremy. (I think at the end I may have been traded back but I’m not sure).

Now, following this experience, a chunk of us lingered in the server and just talked about bmc for a while, which turned to us discussing how weird some bmc fans were about George Salazar’s Michael being Filipino. We kept this discussion going in a new server where we were just kind of salty.

It turned to people complaining about some boyf riends fans being really weird about the ship and/or Christine. Which turned to people complaining about boyf riends having as many fics as it does compared to other ships, and how sometimes it’s hard to find other ships to read about because they’ll be tagged when they aren’t the main focus. Which turned to people complaining about how boyf riends was bad and overrated.

This turned me off of the server pretty quickly, as a boyf riends fan myself, it felt very icky and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Similarly, there were definitely some vocal expensive headphones fans in this mix, which indefinitely turned me off of the ship.

From what I’ve heard from a friend that also experienced Be More Quarantine, in the salty BMC server there was also some anti-neopronoun stuff going on.

Now, to be clear, this happened five years ago. Whatever happened in this server happened between a bunch of (for the most part) young teenagers. I’ve grown up a lot since 2020, and I’m sure most of these people have too, so I don’t hold anything against anyone involved.

There were positive aspects of the experience too. I improved at writing a little bit through the experience, and it helped me connect with the fandom a little bit. I also wouldn’t have met my good friend @junietuesday if it weren’t for the experience.

However, despite the positive, it isn’t an experience I look back on fondly.

If anyone else that experienced Be More Quarantine wants to add their experiences or correct any mistakes I may have put in here, please feel free.

[dracrownian]

Alright, I've decided to give you part 1 of the BO!Rei AU. (And, looking at what I've written for it, it'll only be 2 parts.)

Necessary background info: Rei was born into the BO to two parents who didn't have codenames and died when he was very young. From that point, he was essentially raised by various older operatives, including, briefly, Elena and Atsushi. Now he's basically an older brother to Akemi and Shiho. Hiro's still undercover as Scotch; his cover was never blown. I think that's probably all that's needed to understand these two parts.

This one's uhhh. One of the first things I wrote for detco, and some of it's kinda rough. BO!Rei is concept I do want to play around with again, but I'd change a lot about his story if I did it again. Anyway. Enjoy!

BO!Rei Part 1. [ Part 2 ]

“Akai, wait!” Scotch called out to him, pleading. “We’re on the same side!”

It could’ve been a ploy, but the part of Shuuichi that always thought of Scotch as a friend hoped it wasn’t. So, he stopped. But he didn’t turn around, not yet.

“Akai,” Scotch continued, voice low. “I’m an officer with the Japanese Public Safety Bureau. My name is Morofushi Hiromitsu. I would like to be allies.”

Morofushi Hiromitsu. A name – that was something he could work with. “And how do I know you’re telling the truth?” he asked, hedging.

“If I wasn’t, I could’ve already shot you dead,” Scotch answered. He wasn’t wrong.

Before Shuuichi could react to that, though, his worst nightmare came true: Bourbon’s voice interrupted them.

“Both of you are spies? Really?”

Shuuichi turned to him, and, from the corner of his vision, he saw Scotch do the same, but neither of them spoke up immediately, unsure how to proceed.

“And now neither of you has anything to say. Great,” Bourbon snapped, so many emotions flickering on his face and in his voice that Shuuichi had trouble parsing all of them. The anger was obvious, but on top of that – hurt. Betrayal. Fear?

“Bourbon-” Scotch started gently, reaching for him, but Bourbon stepped back.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like you actually care about me!” Bourbon hissed, akin to a trapped, fearful cat. “I thought-” He stopped, expression crumbling. “It doesn’t matter what I thought, because you were just using me all this time. Both of you.”

There was nothing Shuuichi wanted more in his life than, in that moment, to pull Bourbon into his arms and reassure him that what they had was real, that what he felt was real, and worth holding onto. The full force of Bourbon’s glare, though, stopped him in his tracks.

A tense silence passed between the three of them before Bourbon sighed, deflating. “Just go, before I change my mind,” he said, his voice having lost all inflection.

Neither Shuuichi nor Scotch moved, prompting Bourbon to address Shuuichi specifically. “If they see you, they’ll kill you. Go.” Then, he turned to Scotch. “I won’t tell them about you, but I don’t want to work with you any more than I have to.”

It seemed Scotch didn’t want to test whether that was a threat, because he just replied, “I understand,” and that was that.

Bourbon was the first to leave.

---

Shuuichi hasn’t seen him in two years – not since that night. He knows bits and pieces from Morofushi, but not enough to get a decent picture of how Bourbon’s doing.

He’s back in Japan now, has been for a little while, after nearly two full years in the US, and it feels oddly like he’s home, even though, aside from his stint as Rye, he hasn’t lived in Japan in many years. The time passed and the distance between them (both physical and metaphorical) has done nothing to quell his longing to see Bourbon again, to hold him the way he used to on the cold nights, wrapped up in the sheets and each other.

The snow has begun falling in earnest by the time he’s finished with his phone call, but he barely has time to dwell on it, because he turns to find himself face to face with that girl he met in New York a year ago, and the little boy from the bus-jacking case.

“You’re crying again,” he observes, mumbling around his cigarette.

The girl glares at him, not unlike his memory of Bourbon’s glare – and he really has to stop thinking about him. “Do you have a problem with that?” she demands, clearly ready to defend herself. And that’s just what he needs, to have accidentally picked a fight with a hot-headed teenager.

“I apologize for my friend here,” a painfully familiar voice interrupts, sending a shock down Shuuichi’s spine. “He has no manners, and human emotions appear to be entirely foreign to him.”

Bourbon – new alias Amuro Tooru, according to what Morofushi had told him – real name Furuya Rei, if what he learned back in his undercover days is to be believed. He would know that voice anywhere, has heard it in his dreams on loop for the past two years.

“Amuro-kun,” he breathes, disbelieving, almost mindlessly removing the cigarette from his mouth. If Rei is surprised to hear Shuuichi use his alias, he doesn’t show it.

He looks good, like he hasn’t aged a day, in his long, navy blue coat, cream turtleneck sweater, and soft, grey beanie. He’s smiling, but Shuuichi knows him well enough to know that it’s fake – it doesn’t reach his eyes, and the corners of his mouth are tight. Still, he pulls it off well enough that the people he’s trying to fool won’t notice.

“Akai,” he replies quietly. “We should talk.”

Surprise must show on Shuuichi’s face, because Rei averts his gaze. “Alright. Lead the way.”

Rei turns back to the kids, amiable smile back in place as if it had never slipped. “You two will be alright getting home on your own?” he asks. The girl nods. “Okay. Have a good night, then!”

He turns back to Shuuichi and inclines his head as if to say ‘follow me,’ and, honestly, Shuuichi would follow this man to the ends of the earth right now, if Rei asked.

They end up in a hotel room that appears to be in use as some sort of base of operations, someone’s suitcase tucked next to a desk. Once inside, Shuuichi finds himself just watching, almost entranced, as Rei removes his beanie and coat, and sets them aside. Whatever’s happening feels so fragile that he’s afraid anything he says will break it, so he’ll wait for Rei to talk first. He feels lucky just to have this chance to be in Rei’s presence once more.

Before he can even think about moving further into the room, Rei stops him, holding his hand up in a ‘wait’ signal, then moves a finger to his lips to stay quiet. Puling a bug sweeper out of his coat pocket, Shuuichi watches as he makes a quick but thorough sweep of the room, before his shoulders drop, relaxing.

“We should be clear now,” he says, turning back to Shuuichi, whose passing thoughts are of what a fantastic spy Rei would’ve made, in a different life.

The hotel room isn’t large, and the only seating options are a desk chair or the bed – and Rei pointedly takes the chair so as to leave no room for Shuuichi to misconstrue his motivations.

“I may have overreacted,” Rei begins carefully when Shuuichi finally takes a seat on the end of the bed. “Two years ago, I mean. To be clear, you being a traitor wasn’t the issue.”

He pauses there, swallows around a lump forming in his throat, one hand clenching into a fist. “The problem is that, against my better judgment, I trusted you. I told you so much about myself that I’ve never shared with anyone. I let you in when I never should have, because even if you weren’t FBI, you were Rye. You were a sniper in the same organization I wanted so desperately to leave. So, I shouldn’t have trusted you, but I did.

“And I shouldn’t have fallen for you, but I did that, too. To find out that you had been keeping your true identity secret even from me – it shouldn’t have even been a surprise, but it was. It felt like a betrayal. Part of me believed that, if you weren’t just using me for information, you would’ve told me the truth.

“I do realize now the insanity of that logic, because telling me your real name could’ve been a death sentence. You had no real way of knowing how I’d react if I found out you were FBI – and we both know I would’ve found out.” He sighs, shoulders sagging, fist loosening. “Frankly, I’ve been angry at you for two years, and just waiting for the other shoe to drop, for your colleagues to try to bring me in. And I’m tired.

“So, just tell me. What’s next? What are you planning?”

“With regards to you? Nothing. I’m planning nothing,” Shuuichi answers softly, attempting to reach for Rei’s hand, but it’s pulled out of reach as Rei turns away from him.

“You expect me to just believe that?” he asks, voice wavering.

That question, in that tone – tired and hurting – prompts Shuuichi to move from where he’s sitting on the bed to kneel on the floor in front of Rei. “Rei-kun, look at me,” he requests, keeping his voice as level as possible to not spook the other man. “You’ve always known when I’m lying. You know my tells.”

Rei scoffs. “Clearly not well enough.”

“That’s not true,” Shuuichi disagrees. “You always knew I was hiding something, even if you didn’t know what it was. And any time I lied directly to you, you called me out on it. You do know me well enough. Please look at me.”

When Rei turns back to him, his eyes are narrowed, expression wary. “And? You have no plans for Bourbon?”

“The FBI won’t be coming after you,” Shuuichi promises. “I can say that with certainty because they don’t even know Bourbon exists.”

“What?”

“I didn’t mention you – or Scotch – once. Any reports I had to give, I omitted anything to do with either of you.”

Rei stares at him incredulously, and yeah, okay. Maybe he deserves that. “What-? But that’s – you’re insane,” he sputters. “You do remember you have a job to do, right?”

Shuuichi raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you mad that I didn’t tell them about you?”

“No. I’m just confused. Why?!”

“Well,” Shuuichi starts, standing up to move back to the bed now that he has Rei’s attention. “Scotch is a friend and ally; there was no reason to put unnecessary scrutiny on him. As for why I didn’t mention you, I worry you might punch me if I answer honestly.”

“It’s possible,” Rei admits. “Try me.”

It’s a chance Shuuichi wasn’t sure he’d ever get, given how terribly their last meeting went. He’s going to make the most of it. “My feelings for you were always genuine. I… care for you, Rei-kun.

“I was supposed to use Akemi to get into the Organization, but that was complicated by finding out she’s my cousin – and then a lot less complicated, because I told my supervisor I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Akemi knowingly helped me join, though I never told her I’m with the FBI. I just told her I would get her and Shiho out, and destroy the Organization from the inside.

“You were… something I never expected. There I was, lying injured in a hospital bed, and there’s this pretty man I’ve never seen before yelling at me and calling me an idiot. Thought I was dreaming or something.”

Rei snorts at that. “In my defense, jumping in front of Akemi’s car was idiotic. You could’ve died. I thought it was some kind insurance fraud scheme.”

“I’m way too stubborn to die,” Shuuichi replies, waving him off. “And then, since I was working so closely with Akemi, I ended up spending all that time with you, and I fell so fast. In the interest of total honesty, I did have a girlfriend at the beginning of that. She knew of my cover story with Akemi, but nothing else. I may have misled her into believing I’d fallen in love with Akemi when I broke up with her, so she’ll be pissed if she finds out the the truth.”

“And what is the truth, Akai?”

“The truth is that I fell in love with you first time we worked together.”

[blackcherryvelvet0909]

A Birthday Letter From Lilia

Lil Lilia birthday letter I wrote about two years ago. Because I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with the man (haha), I've decided to expose y'all to him again! Happy Birthday to all the ones I've missed in my absence.

Note: Pronouns of the reader/recipient are not specified. Reader/recipient implied to be Yuu/Ramshackle Prefect

My dear one, 

Happy Birthday! Another year has gone by for you, and yet another awaits. I am sure you are in for the most fond of memories. For someone with such a short lifespan, I can understand why such a day is important. Ah, the throes of youth - surely you will live this day to the fullest. What might you have planned, I wonder? I certainly hope you will include me in the festivities! 

I am sure you have already opened the gift I sent with this little missive. Isn’t it the most adorable little thing? I saw it whilst out in town with the boys and knew you simply must have it! I could not help but get one myself - we’ll match! Perhaps you and I might see about getting our little bears some outfits? It is unbecoming for someone my age, but what is one without indulgences? I hope you will consider the offer. 

As you can see, the stuffed bear is not the only thing I have procured for you. Now, do be careful with that one. The book is in prime condition but, as you might be able to tell, it is quite the antique. I thought you might find some use for it, as you are in charge of both yourself and Grim. Little ones need good nutritious meals to grow strong and healthy, and that cookbook lists many such dishes. Certainly you have cooked before? If not, look no further! 

I will happily take you under my wing; I’ll make a chef out of you yet! Why, I have already taken the liberty of cooking a meal detailed within the very cookbook you now hold in your hands. You will find it on page twenty-three - the one with a picture of a chocolate cake. Now now, don’t fret. It gives me great joy to provide you with such a treat, even though it could rot your teeth. Quite the bad influence, aren’t I? Well, I’ll certainly make up for that once we’re busy in the kitchen. 

I must admit I have never followed most of those recipes. Yes, I do take into account the ingredients, but I have always kept the youngsters’ best interests in mind. In my opinion, you can never have enough fiber, protein, and other such things that make you grow big and strong. Why, just look at Silver! If I had followed all those recipes to the very detail, he would have never grown so tall! I only wish he would let me spoil him like I used to. Ah, but that is what I have you and the other youths for! 

Rejoice, dear one! We will have such fun cooking together - I just know it! Let me know the moment you would like to begin. Oh, but don’t worry about that today. After all, it is a day to celebrate! There is no need to worry about calories or nutrition. Stuff your face full of goodies, take in all your gifts, and bask in the endless attention; you certainly deserve it! 

I hope to see you soon, dear one. I can hardly wait to see the look on your face when you take a bite out of the cake I’ve prepared for you! 

- Lilia Vanrouge

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Dark Blue Moon and the Suffering Sun Chapter 32

MASTAPOST

Samson S. Skulker. Wealthy real estate owner, noted trophy hunter.  Been on safaris in Botswana, Indonesia, India, and other countries taking big game. Guy hunted just about everything. Elephants, rhinos, tigers, elk, only to come to Elmerton Bay, just an hour away by boat from Amity Island.

It didn’t take two brain cells to figure out why. The better question was why Phantom tried to point webbed fingers at him as to the whereabouts of Danny Fenton, a move that was transparently (goddammit Dick and your puns) a lie, according to Bruce. Tim Drake slipped into the man’s more private records without even trying.

Of course, getting the data out and parsing what it meant were two very different things. But he wasn’t trained by Batman for nothing. Skulker did make cursory attempts at hiding his electronic paper trail, but cursory was absolutely not enough to keep 13-year-old Tim out, let alone his current self.

Firstly, the man absolutely hunted more exotic, more illegal creatures. That much was clear. Borrowing some of Barbara’s programmes, Tim found the man travelling to much more remote countries. His little vacations coincided with missing persons reports around the same time.

Missing metas, to be exact. Each person with a power set dangerous to themselves and others. Each person having disappeared without a trace and then never to be found again. The picture Tim was building was getting grimmer.

Secondly, the man was buying parts. Robotics parts, to be exact. Engines, weapons systems, hydraulics. Many of them sourced from Vladco, the company founded by Vlad Masters, an old college friend of Jack and Maddie Fenton, who were the parents to the missing teenager of Tim’s current case.

But Danny Fenton did not have the meta-gene, a fact Tim confirmed after yet another concerning breach of privacy. He filed that detail away for later investigating.

Tim pressed a key, letting his programmes run while he got a coffee. Oh sweet delicious coffee. He had once distilled almost pure caffeine into a syrup. It was the most horrible thing he’d tasted in his life, but the buzz kept him up all night, that was until his heart started giving out. That was less enjoyable.

What was also less enjoyable was the revving motorcycle heading into the Batcave. Two motorcycles, in fact. Just as Tim’s afternoon was looking to be peaceful and quiet.

“Don’t fucking give me that, Dickwing!” Jason called out.

“I’m fine, Jay, maybe you need to stop hovering over me like some mama bear.” Dick put down his helmet with maybe a little too much force.

Jason hopped off his own bike. “That’s bullshit and even Timbit knows it.”

Tim shrunk into the Batcomputer’s chair. He so did not want to be a part of this. He just waited for his older brothers to carry their argument out of earshot, like they had been doing regularly now. The men traded strong words with every footstep across the cave.

“Maybe I’m just a little high strung. It’s honestly nothing.”

“You literally cannot fucking say that when I saw you going full-ass Punisher five minutes ago. Like the traffickers yesterday were one thing. Those guys suck. This dude was literally just a mugger. Are you going out of your fucking mind?”

“Jason, I thought you were supposed to be the one who’s all for going full Punisher style?”

Jason groaned loudly, and then transitioned into a frustrated scream. “Do you even hear yourself?!”

The changing room door slammed shut.

That was the second argument in the last two days. If you told Tim that Mr Heads-in-a-Duffle would be lecturing the Golden Child over excessive force, he’d start working on a machine to send you back to the topsy-turvy alternate dimension you’d come from, but apparently his dimension was the topsy-turvy one the whole time. And he hated it.

Turns out Dick inherited more from Bruce than he liked to admit, including his awful coping mechanisms. And to be honest, he was way too tired to even begin to breach this subject.

He should be happy that his literal attempted murderer was going to be out of his hair for a good while, maybe even forever. But even entertaining the thought made him sick enough to avoid the topic in his head for hours, only to think about it again, and get himself sick again.

So back to Skulker it was. Joy.

It turned out his new friend Skulker had made himself a fucking Iron Man rip-off suit, capable of flight, diving, and packed to the gills with fuck-you bazookas, machine guns, and hydroplasm weapons. Hydroplasm guns that he’d sourced from the Fentons themselves, through a long and complicated chain of buyoffs.

And happy day, the man was kind enough to install cameras and microphones, and kept logs from both.

In a surprising twist, it was fiendishly difficult to hack into those logs. Tim was honestly beginning to sweat. He suspected Skulker’s friends at Vladco (namely Vlad Masters, the sleezeball. Tim never liked him at galas and this only cemented his low opinion) had some secrets that they didn’t want out.

No matter, it was only a matter of time. Tim continued typing.

And typing.

And typing.

What the hell was this firewall?! Tim pinched his arm just to make sure this wasn’t a sleep-deprivation hallucination. He could’ve sworn he’d gotten through that layer of security. It was like it was shifting itself to cover up his progress and force him to start over. Almost like it was alive.

Against the thunderous backdrop of his brothers’ clashing voices, Tim set himself on overdrive. If he could just act faster than it could correct itself, then maybe, maybe.

A plain error message informed him of the results long after he’d already seen them. Tim kicked the table for good measure. The only thing he could extract was two frames of video footage. They showed, respectively, a T-shirt and pair of sneakers that matched what one of the missing metas was wearing when they were last seen.

Was it damning evidence? Absolutely. But it also proved to him absolutely nothing that he wasn’t already suspecting, nothing that could point him in a new direction. Still, it made his stomach churn. He hoped those people would get a better second chance beyond the grave.

Maybe the fact that the data was this well-hidden at all proved something.

The locker room door swung open, his brothers in civvies and glaring at each other, trying to appear civil in front of (right behind) Tim, even though they’d literally just been shouting at each other ten minutes ago.

“Timmy!” Dick called out. “How long have you been awake?”

Tim gestured offhanded to his pile of only two used mugs. “Not long enough. I’m still working. Can you take it upstairs please?”

Jason huffed, and stalked off upstairs without a word, probably too disgusted to be in his and Dick’s presence much longer.

Dick clasped his hands. “It’s fine, Tim. Honestly. Jason and I are just having a little, err, disagreement, is all.”

“Hm.” Tim inputted another set of commands. He was starting to see why Bruce liked to say that now. Avoiding painful emotions felt so good. Dick made a pained noise.

“Well, ok. I’m just gonna head back to Bludhaven now. Say hi to Alfred for me! And contact me if you need anything!” And then he sped off.

Tim shook off the awkwardness like old clothes. Thank goodness for some peace and quiet again. Maybe that was why he was working so hard to help Bruce get the demon child back, so he could return to the status quo, and not this. This hell reality where Dick was as emotionally constipated as Bruce and Jason was the one acting as the voice of reason.

The first night when Bruce called home, the entire family was in an uproar. Dick got a pale look on his face, and was halfway about to take the Batplane and go searching for Damian himself, only for Bruce to remind him that they were all still needed in Gotham and Bludhaven, and whatever few leads there were, Bruce would pursue. It was effortlessly logical, but it was clear Dick hated it. He stormed off in a rage that Tim had only seen when Ethiopia was fresh, when he and Bruce were at their lowest.

And Jason? He got this look on his face that he’d never, ever seen before. Tim had laid awake one night just contemplating it for ages.

Actually, no. He had seen it once before. It was Tim caught Jason looking into what Bruce was doing in the months after Ethiopia. Tim had subtly hacked the phone camera, and the look Jason had then was the same as how he looked when Damian was declared missing.

Tim shook his head. It was a gruesome image, what Bruce had sent them. Damian’s clothes ripped to shreds. The ground stained with his blood. No body in sight.

A little brother who may or may not be dead, something he may or may not be glad or sick to his stomach about. Brothers who were acting like completely different people, and a monster of a man who had to be connected somehow.

A ping appeared in the corner of the screen. The government siren hunting branch appearing in Panama?

Sam Manson sat up in her bed, her body finding some way to release the dread and tension. She looked on at her phone in horror and macabre fascination in equal parts.

This had Danny written all over it. She didn’t even need to hear the anchor confirming it to know.

On the one hand, she really wanted to applaud him for fucking them up this bad. The comment section was ripping into the GiW for their actions in Panama, treating the country like it was some vassal state they could romp around in. She personally screenshotted the fucking beautiful mass car crash the GiW had gotten into trying to catch him, and saved it into her favourites folder.

On the other hand, she really wanted to slap him for fucking up this bad. This could’ve easily gone wrong. Danny what were you thinking?! They could’ve got him that time!

And finally, she wanted to yell in frustration, because they had a radio communicator there. Goddammit! If only Tucker had known, they he could’ve hacked in and they could’ve talked to their best friend and actually got an update on what the fuck was going on.

And finally, finally for real, she was so glad, because the GiW would’ve announced it on every news channel if they’d actually managed to catch him. Thank fucking goodness.

Ugh, this headache. She really needed to lie down again.

Knock, knock knock knock knock, knock knock.

Dread pooled in her stomach. “Come in,” she said, resigned to her fate.

Grandma Ida, the person she least wanted to see right now, opened the door. She was the kind of woman who never carried herself very seriously, except for in matters of sorcery, and especially when warning Sam on the dangers of her craft. Dangers that Sam had ignored in order to go all out. Now she marched into Sam’s bedroom like an executioner.

Grandma stood at the foot of Sam’s bed, scanning her closely. “I knew I smelled tinged blood.” She went up to the side, and palmed Sam’s forehead. Her hand was freezing cold to the touch. “You should’ve called me immediately.”

Sam averted her eyes. She should’ve, but she didn’t.

Her parents never failed to get a rise out of her; she rejected their notions of female beauty and social etiquette in every way, their attempts to hook her up with Tim Drake-Wayne, then Damian Wayne, and she hadn’t cowed to them or submitted since she was ten. But with Grandma’s withering disapproval, she couldn’t feel more like a child if she tried.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“I warned you many times of the risks, Sammy. You’re lucky to be here, and not in the hospital or worse.”

“I know.”

Sam moved to lie on her side, facing away from Granny. Granny had questioned her decision to fight alongside Danny, but allowed it under the condition that she did so safely, and turning your body into a popping water balloon, but with blood, was so not the definition of safe.

And Danny’s fate was still in question regardless. He wasn’t able to cross Panama, and who knows what Damian was doing. What if it was all for naught?

A hand was put on her shoulder. “Did you accomplish what you were set out to do?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah.”

“And was it worth it?” Yes. Absolutely yes. Danny bled every day for this god-forsaken town of ingrates. He’d bled for her mistake six months ago.

Granny seemed to understand her feelings. She nodded, and ruffled Sam’s hair, and the tension in Sam’s body drained away.

“Then I trust your judgement. Can you sit up? I’ve brought some more medicine for you.”

Sam pushed herself against the bunched-up pillows at the headboard. Her head spun from the motion, but she was never one to let her body’s limits confine her. “Thank you, Bubbe. I love you.”

Granny passed her a brew of herbal medicine, dozens of dried spices and mushrooms brewed together into a blackened sludge that felt like knives into your tongue, but which never failed to get her feeling better. It was a leg up from what big pharma tried to pedal for ten-fold the price.

Sam lifted up the mug to her face. And, oh yeah. Nothing like bitter liquid pain to help with a migraine. She let the hot tea flow over her taste buds, pathing them in cinnamon, star anise and a million other things.

She finished her tea in one satisfying gulp, running her tongue over her teeth and scratching out the lingering aftertaste. As she put the mug down, it revealed Grandma’s face hovering right in front of her. Sam yelped in shock. “Bubbe! You gave me a heart attack!”

Bubbe smiled devilishly. “So what did you do?”

Sam’s mouth gaped open. Leave it to her Grandma to almost kill her from emotional whiplash.

“Now come on, this is a monumental moment for a budding young sorceress like yourself. Why, when I was twenty-two, I used to run with some heroic types myself. We had all sorts of hijinks together.” Bubbe cackled and clasped her hands, eyes going wispy. “My friends got a heart attack when I pulled off my own hare-brained scheme to topple the evil overlord of the week’s central command. Hah!”

“What?!” Then Sam coughed, and lowered her volume. “What do you mean ‘heroic types.’ You just told me you went to some stuffy academy and eloped.”

Bubbe shrugged. “I did do that. Must have forgotten the extra stuff.”

Sam blinked.

She moved to sit beside Sam on the bed. “We got up to a lot of fun back in the day, and a lot of pain too. I did what I did to protect those I cared for. Did you, bubbeleh?”

She held Sam’s hand with a look that reminded her just how many years Grandma had lived, and how many adventures or stories she had yet to tell, how much heartache she’d had to endure to become the woman she was now. “I projected an illusion all the way off the coast of Panama. It hurt like nothing else in my entire life, but…” She paused. “We got Phantom out. He’s safe now, I think.”

Grandma Ida nodded solemnly, the kind of understanding that Sam craved from her parents every waking moment of her teenage career.

“I don’t want this to be a regular occurrence, ok?”

“Yes, I promise. This was an extreme circumstance.”

“Good. Now, are you well enough for some meditation? It would do well to keep your soul energy flowing.”

Ok, but you have to tell me what you got up to back in the day.”

Granny chuckled, and agreed to it. Sam kicked off her covers, letting her legs get some fresh air. She was probably pushing it, but she needed to recover as quickly as possible. Who knew when she would be needed again?

Maddie Fenton kneeled in the sand. Her hands clamped down on her gun. Her knees shook. Tears prickled in her goggles.

Her baby was right there. He was so close. So fucking close. She could almost touch him, even now.

And he ran away from her. And at first her heart shattered into a million pieces, just like it had when he’d come home after his first disappearance and flinched when she hugged him.

Then she realised. He was protecting her. Some metal menace was shooting at her defenseless son like it was some kind of sick game. The monster of a man had laid fucking landmines on a public beach.

It should’ve been her protecting him.

Bruce Wayne returned to her side, empty handed. They’d scoured this entire beach. Danny couldn’t have gone far, she had thought, only for their search to turn up with nothing.

That left only one option. That her enemy doubled back after fleeing, and snatched Danny up without either her or Bruce noticing. Maddie’s heart sank. She should’ve aimed for the head.

A name pinged in her mind. Phantom had whispered it to her. Skulker.

With nary but nod, she and Bruce mounted their jet skis again.

[dreamylyfe-x]

Hi, I am pretty new to the Shameless/gallavich Fandom but first I LOVE YOUR FICS

Second, I've read some of your meta and I don't know about soaps but novelas and kdramas under my belt, I agree the come and go of Noel probably saved them from drama in later seasons, they probably have had them broke at one point also, they refused to make Mickey a principal, but one of my fav parts of s4 is that he finally gets his own arc (pimp and all that apart) and I'd have loved to see him explored outside his relationship with Ian

Hey! What an amazing surprise this is!

First of all, thank you.

Second: Novelas, kdramas (I have watched my share of t-dramas -- Devil Besides Me and Meteor Garden forever), Shondaland -- they will all give you the gist of that soap experience. My feeling is that we'd get a season six where both Mickey and Ian sort of struggle to figure out their adult lives -- and that's probably a decent enough story. They likely marry them in season seven. And then they spent seasons 8-11 (or however many seasons they get to keep them) messing them up. Not because Shameless burns plot the way soaps and novelas do, but because 11 seasons is a lot. And at some point they will decide they need conflict for Gallavich and that conflict will be in the era of Gay Jesus-type writing and I'm confident we'd have been very upset by it.

I will say I don't think they so much refused to make Mickey a principle as they didn't know for sure what they wanted to do with American Mickey or where he fit into their pretty full roster. Like, there was always a chance for him, since I believe his British counterpart sticks around, but he's not filling the same role that US Shameless Mickey does. Also, shows has a budget and I can completely see how they might not have had the money for him until season three.

In season five, Cam and Noel did an interview with Buzzfeed where the EP, Etan Frankel, talks about how Mickey turned into the character he'd become at that stage, and it's clear that they don't quite know where they're going with him, and then once they shoot 1x7 they know they've got something interesting to pursue. There are a lot of moving factors in making use of that, though, including Cam's age and how ian's character balances out with his siblings in terms of storyline. Gallavich get one of the most dramatic moments of the entire series in season three and I think that's really when they shift into being primaries on the show. More and more, they start to drive fan engagement online and that sets up season four where, absolutely, Mickey vaults ahead in terms of how much the show is paying to his inner life.

Part of that is because Cam is off filming The Giver, so he's not around for half the season, but I think the other part is what Etan is talking about in the Buzzfeed article -- they just know Noel can deliver. I particularly always think about this quote, in regards to both Noel and Cam as individual performers, but also when I think about their creative partnership:

As a writer, you feel secure writing a scene knowing they're going to knock it out of the park and they'll find things you didn't necessarily intend, so you find beautiful moments. It's exciting to see those dailies come back and saying, Oh wow, that wasn't even a moment in the script, but they've made it become a moment.

I know this is why we get so much Mickey in the first half of season 4. Not just that he needs to carry the torch for Gallavich by himself but because the writer's room knows they can give him that scene with the picture in the bathroom and the performance will convey how much Mickey misses Ian. This is also clearly when he essentially becomes a point-of-view character -- and he continues to be until he leaves the show in season six. So many key moments in those two seasons, particularly around Ian's illness, rely on the audience seeing Mickey's reactions and moments of realization. His confusion in 4x12. His reaction to the suitcases. His meltdown after Ian is hospitalized, where virtually his entire reaction is silent across two episodes. It's really great that they trusted him to do that. It's one of the reasons I think the story works so well.

Anyway. I find it a little jarring, when Mickey comes back, that he isn't quite the POV character he was. It improves in season 11 and we get more Mickey-centred storylines. But I feel consistently (particularly in the late seasons when I'm really not that invested in the rest of the story) that there was a lot more room to use Mickey the way they used to. But by then, it's a different kind of show.

[wordy-little-witch]

Is it bad to want to see more of Ghost Roger shenanigans? Because now that the man knows he can talk to the living world... The conversations, Perona is getting so many stories about Buggy and Shanks as children. Poor Buggy

OUGH yes absolutely give me an excuse to write about this bc it's so silly and it's arguably one of my most favorite things ever aaaaaa

Roger is just SO excited, and while he does have HUGE Girl Dad energy, he's hitting all the Dad Points. He's a Capital D Dad. The D in Gol D Roger stands for DAD and I cannot articulate this enough. It's hilarious. He's an idiot. He made so many mistakes but he always always ALWAYS did his best to do right by his kids and he loved them with every cell in his body. He was the type of parent who would have a wallet solely for the opportunity to flip it open dramatically and unroll a mile long strip of baby photos.

Even being dead won't stop him from gushing about his sons and embarrassing them.

Perona ultimately becomes his main focus because Fresh Meat, and she's just gobbling this up. They're mutually trying desperately to figure out how to get ghost pictures into the physical world. She has all the tea.

Up to and including walking up to Buggy one day during a cross guild meeting, no regard whatsoever for the "uncute and stuffy vibe" to instead redirect focus onto the Important Stuff.

"Hey Buggy, did you really once dress in drag ad a child to get free food at Fishman island"

Crocodile chokes on his cigar. Mihawk damn near does a spit take. Buggy just sighs.

"Yeah."

"Are there pictures"

"Somewhere probably"

"Can I h-"

"No"

"Booo you're mean! Grandpa Roger said I could"

Buggy then manages to somehow snort and gasp, coughing harshly as his whiskey drips from his nose. "GRANDPA WHO?!?!?!"

Meanwhile Roger is floating in the upper corner in full gremlin pose as he cackle like the menace he is. ((And no he does not flinch when Buggy side eyes him aggressively while cleaning his face.... he just..... decided suddenly and with no particular reason to avoid his clown child's room for the next three to five business weeks. Pranks can be played elsewhere. No, he isn't scared of his most unhinged child.... of course not............ ((the old scar from a tiny mouth clamping on his ankle aches a little, but he's very good at ignoring things))))

All of this is, ofc, not even touching on the hijinks the kids got up to together. Perona has SO much blackmail!!!

[pain-is-too-tired]

Honestly,I think one of the reasons I hate how quickly the writing in TLO onward dropped mentioning Michael so fast is, not only cause I think he's a really interesting character and I love the Lil guy, but-

It's very likely that without his quick thinking, Kronos mightve won.

That, theoretically he dies before he can point out the fault in the bridge to Percy, maybe he's one of the demigods that Kronos knocks off earlier in the battle or something.

Percy is too focused on his fight with Kronos to notice the fault of have the same plan that Michael had, even more so with Annabeth being hurt and Michael being dead his fighting with a lot of grief and rage at that point (I mean, if he screams so loud it carried off into the air after he can't find Michael in canon, I imagine seeing him knocked off by Kronos along side Annabeth being hurt as well is gonna have him pretty upset.)

But at that point he's fighting mostly on his own, even if the living members of the Apollo cabin jump back in to help they're still highly outnumbered.

Percy might be mostly invincible with the Achilles curse, but it doesn't give him infinite energy. And not only is he fighting Kronos, but if Kronos told his army to back him up again they very much will. And 1 on gods know how many monsters and demigods ain't gonna do good

Especially since I'm sure Kronos is fully aware that Percy is gonna to avoid killing demigods as much as possible. And Kronos is willing to kill his own demigods so he's not holding anything back.

Maybe Percy's grief and rage might get him to be a tiny more reckless, but it's just a very bad situation if he doesn't notice the fault or manage to break the bridge in time.

Now if Kronos manages to wear Percy down enough to overwhelm him or whatever, idk exactly what he do after that? Find a way to keep him contained or attack every spot until he finds his weak point(like tigerclaw telling bluestar he'd keep killing her until all 9 lives were gone.) And we already know he had some close idea of where his weak spot was after Annabeth jumped in front of the knife sooo-

Anyway, yeah- so if both Michael and Percy are taken out the picture in the first battle, and Kronos marches on, there's multiple things that's gonna probably ensure his win.

1. He's likely gonna wipe out the rest of the Apollo cabin once he deals with Percy, which includes Will, and 11-12 year old Kayla and Austin(I'm mentioning their age mainly cause MY GODS THEY WERE BABIES)

2.Without an Apollo kid to heal Annabeth, I'm pretty sure it's heavily implied she wouldn't have made it. Like the Hunter's healing would not been enough. So they're out Annabeth too

3. The party ponies don't come until after Hyperion and all that iirc(like the end of the second night i think?) So there's no saving from them unless Chiron manages to convince them earlier but I'm running on the idea that it happens about the same as in canon with the Party Ponies.

4. Ares cabin doesn't come until the final day in canon. Now with this maybe Silena is able to report that Percy, Annabeth (if she dies before Silena goes to get the Ares cabin, at least she able to say Annabeth not looking good.),Michael, and the whole Apollo cabin been wiped out, and that might knock some sense into Clarisse to get her going earlier. But even then if Clarisse doesn't manage to get blessing of Ares somehow or whatever, they still might be cooked on that end in some form.

5. Hades, Persephone and Demeter probably wouldn't have made it in time either, maybe if Nico gets even more pushy after sensing Percy's death they might, but it's really up in the air how that'll work out and what would happen if they did get there earlier.

6. Poseidon is still focused on his fight in Atlantis, and without Percy he probably would jump in to take out Typhon. Maybe he might somehow go full rage of he manages to sense/ learn of Percy's death, but that's up in the air and, Like with 5, no telling how exactly that'll play out.

7. Gods likely will keep fighting Typhon. Which if the demigods and nature spirits are wiped out then Kronos going really have more freedom to tear down the thrones and wreck Olympus.

8. Rachel is a wild card, like maybe if she senses Percy might die at the bridge she might try to get to Manhattan before the battle even starts. But there's a lot of uncertainty if she could get there in time and everything. So that's up in the air at least

Over all, the BoM was 3 days of very close calls. The fact that the managed to push through each time by the hair of their chin is incredible and was built on a lot of lucky events.

Like a tower of cards. Remove one card the whole tower goes down.

And Michael's sacrifice was one of the cards that definitely kept Kronos from winning. And the fact that Rick doesn't even bother to finish his arc (We don't see Clarisse reaction to his death nor do we learn if his body was found or not, not even a burial shroud described, the chariot situation was solved off screen and then completely destroyed the next book. Like Rick did not give a care in the world about Michael after the bridge dhdyd)

It's very much a frustrating thing to me because how much Michael's death could've been something that really drove Percy in battle at least in one of the battles after Williamsburg Bridge. Heck, not only him connecting Ethan to Annabeth getting hurt but with Michael's death because he was there(even if he had nothing to do with it, Percy's at least gonna be frustrated with grief.)

The scene after Percy breaks the bridge is one of my favorites, because the small details. Kronos still looking a bit smug when he retreats. Percy's frantic search when he sees Michael's missing, HES SCREAM CARRYING INTO THE MORNING.

THE FACT MICHAEL DIES AS THE SUNS COMES UP,THAT HIS FINAL MOMENTS HE STILL GETS TO BE UNDER HIS FATHER'S LIGHT. THAT WILL RISES TO HIS POSITION AT DAWN-

And just. Michael Yew my beloved.

[sleepingdeath-light]

verosika mayday!friend hcs ; angel dust

requested by ; anonymous (28/02/24)

fandom(s) ; hazbin hotel

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; angel dust

outline ; “Hii ! I hope you’re having a good day! If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to ask for charlie, Lucifer, and angeldust with a verosika mayday reader? Romantic for luci and Charlie, platonic for angel dust (omg angel and verosika would be SUCH a power couple..)”

warning(s) ; suggestive content here and there, but mostly fluff!

angel dust is quite possibly the most supportive friend you’ve ever had in all your years in the industry — sure his status as a sinner means he’s confined to the pride ring and he’s not able to go in person to all of your gigs/shoots/appointments, but he more than makes up for it with how enthusiastically he supports you online and in person when you’re able to come up to visit

not afraid to tell weirdo fans or stalker paps to go fuck themselves if they start getting too close or too handsy for comfort, but will generally let you speak for yourself in that regard unless you’re… you know… a bit too inebriated for that kind of thing

listens to all of your songs on repeat from the second they get released (both on his own and with cherry bomb if there’s a particular song of yours that really resonates with her) and knows all the lyrics better than you do sometimes — like without question you’re his number one artist on every app he uses to listen to music, and it’s not even close

every time the two of you meet up you end up taking so many photos that it’s not even funny — like you’ll be up in pride for a day and suddenly angel’s socials are all being spammed with pictures of the two of you trying on each other’s clothes, doing each other’s makeup, and partying like there’s no tomorrow

wouldn’t mind working with you if you decided to branch out beyond music and work at ozzie’s, and would absolutely use his existing fame to boost your career as much as possible (partially because he loves you to bits, duh, and partially because he doesn’t want you to get stuck under the thumb of someone like val)

whenever you bring him a souvenir from your tours in the other rings and the human world you can guarantee that he’ll do his damndest to keep it safe — even if it’s something small like a bottle opener made in greed or a merch shirt from a specific gig in europe — because he appreciates the efforts you go through to make him feel included

the type of best friend to hype you up both in person and in the comments under every post you make on social media — he gives you approximately zero room to doubt how awesome your music is and how hot you are, and has been known to get into fights with weirdos online under your posts when he’s particularly drunk or high

if you ever asked him to act in a music video or to dance with you on stage for a gig in the pride ring then he’d take the opportunity in a heartbeat — after all, why would he pass up the chance to hang out with his best friend (and favourite musician) while getting paid a shit load of cash to just… look hot? gets him out of the studio and away from val for a while, if nothing else

(also would love to collaborate on a song or even a full album with you — don’t even get him started he has so many ideas!)

is the first one to alert you if you have an outfit malfunction on stage or out in public — and he’s also more than willing and able to fix it himself if you ask him to (after all, he has more than enough experience with corsets and lace and latex and all of that shit so there’s a pretty good chance of him knowing exactly how to prevent you from ending up in another clothing-based scandal)

he shows you all of the best spots in pride to get stupid drunk and stupid high, but he’ll also give you the details of the stylists he usually works with for shoots (or, at least, the ones he knows can work with your preferred aesthetic) — and, in return, you’re happy to send his measurements and style preferences to all of the people you work with across the other rings so they can either work on stuff for him remotely and send it up with you, or so they can come up to pride to work with him in person (all paid for by you as a gift to angel for being such a lovely friend, of course)