#I was going to add the Stage Fright tag but I decided not to

[munson-blurbs]

@corrodedcoffinfest Day 15: Let's Talk About That

Word Count: 877/Rating: T/Pairing: None/CW: mention of vomiting and getting sick (not described), stage fright, takes place in 2024, older Corroded Coffin, loosely based on Joseph Quinn's Tonight Show experience/Tags: Eddie Munson, Jeff, Grant, Gareth, talk show, flashbacks

Divider credit to @silkholland

“Our next guests need no introduction,” Jimmy Fallon says from where he sits at his desk. “They’ve been rocking the heavy metal scene since the ‘80s, and their newest album comes out this Friday. Please welcome—Corroded Coffin!”

Eddie, Grant, Jeff, and Gareth make their way from behind the blue curtain, giving the cheering audience a polite wave. Nerves flutter in Eddie’s stomach as he takes a seat on the spot closest to the host. Talk shows have never been his strong suit; he’s not exactly known for his smooth lines. He much prefers songwriting, where he can edit and erase until each lyric is perfected. 

“Great to see you guys,” Jimmy says. “This is a busy time for you, isn’t it?”

Eddie nods, scratching at the gray stubble on his jaw. “Yeah, so, our tenth album drops on Friday, and tickets for our tour go on sale next week.”

The crowd cheers again, only quieting down as Jimmy asks the guys more questions about their upcoming shows and the creative process behind this album. 

“We’re a lot older than we were when we started out,” Grant jokes, “so there’s more stretching involved.”

“Yeah, now we warm up our vocal cords and our quads,” Jeff chimes in. 

Their banter earns a laugh from the audience, as well as one of Jimmy’s signature over-the-top cackles. 

Okay, Eddie thinks. This is good. This is fine. We’re getting through this. 

“Speaking of your younger years,” Jimmy says, “my producers found a clip from your first-ever Tonight Show appearance, way back in 1989.”

Oh, no. No. 

The host looks directly at Eddie as he grins and says, “let’s have a look.”

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut and hopes it’s all a bad dream. To his dismay, the clip is rolling when he dares to open his eyes again. 

A screen displays the guys sitting there, 35 years younger than they are now, and listening intently as Johnny Carson asks them questions. Well, three of them were listening—Eddie was as white as a sheet, sweating bullets and trying not to hurl. 

“Now, Eddie, I understand that you wrote most of the songs on this record.” Johnny leans in, forearm on his desk. “Was there something—or someone—who inspired you?”

“Well, um, th-there’s my uncle. He’s, y’know, always s-supported me.” Eddie plays with the frayed tear in his jeans. Sweat drips down his temples and pools at his collarbones. “And then some of the, um, angrier stuff is about, um, m-my dad, and, like, assholes at school—shit, can I say ‘assholes’? Oh, fuck; I probably can’t say ‘shit,’ either.”

Jimmy cuts the clip and turns back to where Jeff, Gareth, and Grant are poorly stifling their laughter. Meanwhile, Eddie is hoping the ground will open up and swallow him whole. 

“Let’s talk about that.” Jimmy grins. “You seemed a little nervous there.”

Eddie nods, willing the redness away from his cheeks. “Yeah, it was our first talk show, so…”

Gareth shakes his head. “Nah, that’s not what happened.” Ignoring Eddie’s scowl, he plunges ahead. “This idiot was complaining about a stomach ache all day and didn’t eat. We go out to dinner before the show and we finally convince him to eat something. Tell them what you chose, Ed.”

“I, um, decided to eat oysters,” Eddie mumbles, silently vowing to kill his drummer. 

Jimmy raises his eyebrows. “Why oysters?”

“That’s what we said!” Jeff speaks up. “He’d never had them before, and he chose that moment to down, like, a pound of them.”

“He can’t even look at an oyster now without getting nauseous,” Grant adds. 

Jimmy brings the focus back to a now-humiliated Eddie. “So what happened after the show?”

“Nothing.” Eddie shrugs. “Went back to the hotel room and relaxed.”

“Oh, nuh-uh.” Gareth cuts in, wearing a shit-eating grin. “Tell him what happened before that.”

Eddie has to stop himself from lunging across the couch and strangling Gareth right there. He wants to play it off as nothing, but the audience is already too invested. 

Better to hear it from me, he thinks. 

“Well, on the way back to the hotel, I bumped into a fan. Gorgeous young woman with a huge…heart.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, she asks for an autograph and invites me out for a drink. And I’m not gonna say no to that.”

Eddie rakes his fingers through his hair and continues. “So we go to this fancy bar, we’re sipping our drinks, and I’m about to close this deal. And then—”

“And then a waiter walks by with a tray of oysters, and Eddie just books it outta there!” Gareth nearly falls out of his seat trying to finish the story. “Like, Olympic sprinting.”

“I didn’t know he could run that fast,” Jeff muses. 

Jimmy shakes his head. “You guys better hope that he doesn’t tell any of your embarrassing moments.”

Eddie perks up at this. “Actually, Jimmy, that’s not a bad idea.” He glances over at Gareth, the one who started this crusade to embarrass Eddie on national television. “Have you heard about Gareth’s Explosive Diarrhea Fiasco of 1996?”

“Eddie, you wouldn’t dare—”

“It all started when someone thought it was a good idea to participate in a chili-eating contest before we played the Indiana State Fair…”

--

[shadowsong26x]

Because My Roommate And I Think We’re Hilarious*

*because it’s True

From a conversation we had like three years ago, I give you: the Iliad/Oddyssey as a college Battle of the Bands.

Roommate - In fact I really wanna write a modern-day AU where Helen will only date the best rocker so it's a giant battle of the bands and Achilles is closeted until he's really spectacularly not

Me - yesssss that is amazing.

Roommate - and Odyessus is MARRIED and doesn't want to BE here fuck you very MUCH, Diomedes.

Me - "look, dude, you're the best drummer we've got we NEED you here. come on, be a wingman."

Roommate - "DUDE WE HAVE A TWO-MONTH-OLD. MY WIFE WILL KILL ME. I WILL KILL ME."

Me - "bro, come ooooooooooon i'll make it up to you."

Roommate - "THERE IS NO MAKE IT UP TO ME" "THERE IS ONLY EXTREMELY JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE" "BRB TEXTING MY WIFE 'SORRY, SWEETHEART, DIOMEDES FUCKING KIDNAPPED ME.'"

Me - XD

Roommate - and then he sits in traffic all night trying to get the fuck home

Me - gets into a fender bender on a deserted back street with a girl who insists they have to do the police accident report thing and swears she called the cops and of course his phone died and they're there for like three hours and he's pretty sure she did not, in fact, call the cops.

Roommate - then his car won't start so he flags down a cab except it's full of fratboys smoking weed and he's pretty sure they're hotboxing him

Me - then they get pulled over and he spends a few hours in the drunk tank trying to convince the lady cop who arrested them that he was not involved, really, he was just hitchhiking.

Roommate - omg yes ends up getting bailed out by a guy and his teenager who overhear him talking about his infant and begging to go home

Me - yes i love it

Roommate - then the guy and his teenage daughter give him a ride home except the assholes from down the street who keep wolf-whistling at his wife are like, barricading the damn street so he has to beat them up before he can finally. get. home.

Me - he is never speaking to diomedes again.

Roommate - once he tells the saga to Penelope he adds "and if I murder Diomedes will you help me get rid of the body"

Me - "babe, you'll only murder him if i don't get there first."

Roommate - Can't decide if Diomedes is like "BRO :(" or "...yeah actually that's fair"

Me - ...yeah, tough call.

Roommate - Achilles suddenly has MORE fangirls now that he's come out, which is not what his mom/manager expected

Me - nope. not at all.

Roommate - Patroclus is a little worried that HE suddenly has fangirls, he is literally not involved in this beyond tagging along after Achilles

Me - hector is just facepalming at this whole thing and wondering why the hell they decided to host the damn thing, now the house is trashed.

Roommate - Their newest pledge was horny on main for Helen, that's why

Me - ...are we going sweet paris or asshole paris? i prefer sweet paris mostly because it's nicer to helen, but

Roommate - Sweet, but uh God love him not bright

Me - so he loses and helen's like "...but i like him. i don't like the asshole president of the other frat's asshole brother."

Roommate - oooh wait better idea

Me - oh?

Roommate - "I don't like the asshole president of the other frat's asshole brother, and sweetie, you're very nice, but you're also VERY dumb. Hector. Your sister. Introduce me."

Me - oooooh nice! WAIT I HAVE ANOTHER OPTION genderbend paris. her sorority sister egged her on into crossdressing and entering the battle

Roommate - OMG EVEN BETTER PERFECT PERFECT So Helen and Paris run off together, Agamemnon and Menelaus get to sulk, Odysseus gets home... eventually, Diomedes gets a lot of nasty emails, and Achilles and Patroclus have a lot of sex and wake up to find out that shippers are a thing.

Me - and hector is left to clean up the mess after these assholes trashed my house not cool guys.

Roommate - 'cause Achilles is like, legit, he's an actual rock star singer, he's just been closeted because his mom made him and now he's like "...I get to smooch my perfect boyfriend on stage and NOT ONLY do they think it's great, they draw cute pictures of my perfect boyfriend? FUCKING SOLD."

Me - yes! perfect i love it

Roommate - Briseis is Patroclus's bestie who Agamemnon kept hitting on at the party and finally she was like 'ugh Achilles beat him up for me' and Achilles is like "BETTER PLAN HOW ABOUT I JUST DON'T SING YOU DICK"

Me - and agamamnon is like "but dude YOU'RE OUR HEADLINER."

Roommate - and Patroclus is like "great now he's holding grudges for you too" and Briseis is like "I am perfectly capable of holding this grudge on my own"

Me - "helen won't date my brother if you don't sing!"

Roommate - "FUCK YOU SHOULDA THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU HIT ON MY PERFECT BOYFRIEND'S BEST FRIEND"

Me - XD

Roommate - "FINE WE'LL MAKE PATROCLUS SING" and Patroclus gets stage fright and Achilles like bounds up and plants one on him and then they just vanish

Me - yesssssssss i love it

Roommate - and Briseis is like "hit on me again and you will not like the consequences"

[vindicatedvirgil]

only fools rush in / part one: two parties and a lot of crushes

this first part is kind of all over the place. basically i just wanted to establish the dynamics going on here and i figured the best way to do so would be through group hang outs and stuff like that. it feels like i cover a lot here, but future installments will be more focused on one couple or group! sorry for the kind of wackiness and yeah.

i don’t think that there’s anything that i need to tag for this, but this part includes: QPP loceit, Remus making jokes, Roman crushing hard, Emile and Remy very briefly.

[masterlist]

if you want to be tagged when i update, please send me an ask/reply/reblog and i’ll be sure to add you for the next part! 

read to the end for the title and a small teaser for part two!

next update will be on: Sunday, July 19.

---

“Wait, you have a twin?” Patton looked at Roman in deep disbelief. “Why didn’t you get an apartment with him?” Roman just shrugged, unloading one of his boxes, hanging up his shirts. “Lo, did you know about this?”

“Yes. He’s one of Janus’ new roommates,” the man in the tie said, leaning against the wall, eyes focused on the phone in his hand as he typed quickly. Patton’s jaw dropped, and he crossed his arms, frowning. 

“Yeah, he’s moving in with Virgil Cloud, too,” Roman said, eyes focused forward, but he couldn’t hide the light dusting of pink that appeared on his cheeks. Virgil was the techie for the last school production, and Roman couldn’t help but fall for the embodiment of a dark and stormy night, with his black nail polish and purple fringe and–

“Earth to Roman,” Patton was waving a hand in front of his face. Roman blinked, then smiled awkwardly at his pastel-clad roommate. “You should invite them all to a party tonight! Logan, will you tell Jan to bring his roommates?”

“I- we were gonna…” Logan sighed, then nodded, head hanging in front of him, “I guess so.” He didn’t have the heart to tell his roommates that he and his partner had other plans for the evening, so he texted Janus quickly about the change.

Roman and Patton want you to bring your roommates over for a party tonight. We can leave early, though. -Logan

A party could be fun, Lo. Besides, I think that Virgil has a crush on Roman. ~Janus

I believe that it’s mutual. I don’t really want to stick my nose into their business, though. -Logan

-

Logan opened the door to the apartment to see Janus, Remus, and Virgil standing there. Remus was holding a twelve-pack of beer, Janus had a bottle of wine, and Virgil kept his eyes down on the floor, not acknowledging anything as the three stepped into the apartment. Logan kept the door open since it was already warm in the apartment with the three of them; the end of summer was always unbearably hot in their town. Roman immediately gravitated towards Virgil as the others went over to the kitchen counter to open their drinks.

“Hi Virgil,” Roman said, smiling brightly. “I don’t know if you remember me–”

“Of course I do,” Virgil muttered, leaning against a wall awkwardly. “You were the lead in the play last term.” Roman stammered over his words, his cheeks once again dusted with pink.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, that…” he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You uh, did a really great job as one of the tech guys. It was… awesome.”

“Thanks.” Virgil stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and he still hadn’t looked up at Roman.

“Can I uh… get you a drink or something? Or…” Roman’s words trailed off, he wished that Virgil would just look up at him and meet his eyes and then maybe they’d fall in love–

“Hey there!” Emile stepped in through the open front door, carrying a plate full of baked goods. “I just wanted to welcome you… oh, looks like somebody’s having a party!” Roman grumbled then went up to the man in the sweater, wondering how he could cope in the heat. “Hi there! I’m Emile Picani, I live downstairs!” “Nice to meet you. I’m Roman, and my roommates Patton and Logan are… somewhere,” he said, sticking his hand out. Emile giggled and brought the tall man in for a hug. “Oh, uh…”

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a hugger!” Emile laughed, setting the cookies down on a table. “You all go to the university? I’m working on my psychology doctorate there.” At this, Virgil perked up and came over, and Emile held his arms out for a hug.

“Please don’t,” Virgil muttered, and Emile backed up a little, giving a toothy smile. “Uh… you study psychology? I’m majoring in that…” He said shyly, and Emile pulled him by his wrist to sit down on one of the couches.

“Okay, I’m your mentor now! Let’s chat,” The two went to go sit down on the couch, and Roman frowned. Of course Virgil would be interested in chatting with someone in his field of study, but… he really wanted to talk to Virgil, maybe ask him on a date. He stuffed one of the cookies that Emile made into his mouth and groaned at how delicious they were. Of course he could bake. He’d probably be able to steal Virgil away, too.

Remus was watching this from his spot against one of the walls, and noticed his twin’s distraught demeanor. He thought about saying something, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Patton smiling brightly at something that Janus said, his sweater sleeves pushed up to his elbows, exposing colorful floral tattoos on his forearms, and that was it: Remus was smitten. He didn’t hesitate to approach the trio talking at the kitchen counter, Janus and Logan sharing a bar stool, Patton resting his chin on his hands as he listened to the pair recall how they decided to become partners over the summer break. Remus settled into a chair next to Patton, and silence fell over the table.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, cutie pie,” Remus said, raising an eyebrow at the small man. Janus and Logan exchanged a look and got up to go chat with Roman, and Patton turned his attention to focus directly on Remus.

“You must be Remus!” Patton exclaimed suddenly, eyes bright as his smile beamed at the curly-haired man, and Remus suddenly wished that he was wearing sunglasses. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that Ro had a twin!”

“Ah, you must be Patton,” Remus said, realizing that this was the roommate he didn’t know. Patton nodded excitedly. Remus stretched his hand out and grazed his fingers against the floral tattoos, and Patton shivered. “These are beautiful, though not as gorgeous as you, flower.”

“T-thank you,” Patton said, his face bright red at the fact that he was complimented and given a nickname. “Do you have tattoos?” Remus nodded and rolled up one of his jacket sleeves, revealing a morning star.

“I minor in medieval history. Weaponry is so fascinating,” he mused, and Patton nodded, brushing his short fingers over the tattoo. “I have a few more, but they’re in… unique places… Maybe I can show you someday, flower.”

“O-oh, uhm…” Patton stammered over his words, the blush spreading down to his neck and to his ears. “M-maybe…” Remus smirked, leaning closer to the small man.

“If I’m making you uncomfortable, please tell me,” He whispered, and Patton shook his head quickly, which made Remus smile. Patton wasn’t exactly Remus’ usual type; soft boys never paid much attention to those with piercings and a menacing glare, but Remus quickly realized that Patton wasn’t like the others.

“Y-You’re not…” Patton’s face was so red and warm that he felt like he could explode. No one like Remus had ever paid him this much attention. He was always taunted by jocks and punks because of his softness, but Remus? The dark makeup, the piercings, the tattoos, and the leather jacket, it all made him feel… dangerous. And Patton secretly loved danger.

Roman was leaning against the wall, watching as everyone else had someone to talk to. His twin was hitting it off with Patton, Janus and Logan were sitting on one of the couches, looking at something on Logan’s phone, and Emile and Virgil were on another couch, talking about psychology. He had never felt left out from any situation in his life before, but here he was, alone in a room full of people.

He couldn’t help but focus on Virgil, who had lit up as he talked about things that Roman knew nothing about. Roman was, of course, happy that Virgil was smiling, but he wished he was the one making the very tall man smile. Emile seemed nice enough, but… something about him irked Roman to no end.

“Oh, hang on,” Emile’s phone was ringing, the tune to a cartoon that Roman vaguely remembered blasting out loudly. He answered the phone, and Roman listened carefully. “Oh, sorry baby! I’m upstairs welcoming our new neighbors. I’ll be right there. Okay, bye.” He hung up and glanced around. “Sorry, that was my boyfriend Remy, I have to go!” He gave a hug to Virgil who waved goodbye awkwardly, then went around hugging everyone, and then left the apartment, closing the front door behind him. Virgil looked like he was going to melt into the couch, and Roman took this as his moment. He sat down next to the tall man and gave him a warm smile.

“So, uh, what do you think the production will be for this term?” Roman asked, and Virgil shrugged. “I’m hoping for a musical, but I’m not much of a dancer…”

“I kind of want something that allows me to experiment with fog on the stage, you know?” Virgil said, glancing down. “I’m not brave enough to audition for any roles on the stage, but I really like working behind the scenes…” Roman frowned, watching Virgil carefully.

“Well, when they announce the production and if there’s a role that interests you, I could help you… practice, maybe? To build up your confidence,” he suggested, but Virgil just shook his head. “I used to get stage fright really bad. But… if it’s something you love doing… then it’s worth all of that anxiety, right?”

“Is it?” Virgil’s voice was shaky. “In one of my school plays as a kid I fell on my face in front of everybody during my solo. Afterwards, I found out that someone purposely spilled water where they knew I’d be walking.” He twisted his fingers together, and Roman frowned. “Ever since, I haven’t wanted to be on stage in front of others.”

“No one would do that here,” Roman said reassuringly. “If they did, I’d beat them up until they fell on the ground, too,” his face was firm, resolved, and it made Virgil laugh a little. “I think… you should try. I’d love to perform with you.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Virgil looked down at him finally, and Roman thought he would melt into a puddle on the floor. “Thanks, Roman.”

-

“Remus is so cool, you know? And he’s so sweet,” Patton was blabbering. It was a few weeks after the party, and the three roommates were playing Mario Kart in the living room. In the time since that first party, the semester had started and they were all buried in school work, and had only seen the other three in passing or going out to dinner as a group. “N-not that you’re not cool, Roman, it’s just… he’s on a different level!”

“Yeah, a dangerous level,” Roman muttered so that Patton couldn’t hear, but Logan did, and he sighed. Roman didn’t want to reveal his fraught relationship with his brother to Patton, but he also wanted to protect the soft, small man. But… Patton was so enthralled, and Roman had never seen him that way. He seemed happier since meeting Remus, and had a confidence that didn’t exist in him before. But Roman definitely had a surge of concern for the other man.

“Do you think we should invite them all over today?” Patton suggested as he finally rolled over the finish line, in second to last place. Logan had gotten first, of course, and Roman a close second. This was the usual for their games. 

“I actually have plans with Janus–” Logan started, but then his phone rang. He answered it. “Hello? Oh, hi Janus… what? But we were…” he sighed, then covered the receiver while he looked at the two others. “Remus wants to invite us all to their place for a movie night or something.”

“Yes!!” Patton exclaimed happily. “Oh, I should figure out what to wear. What time, Lo?” He asked, his excitement bubbling over. It was contagious. Roman could practically see the cogs in Patton’s mind moving as he thought about what to wear and how to do his makeup.

“Eight, apparently,” Logan responded, his lips pulled into a taut line. He brought the receiver back towards his mouth. “I guess we will be there. Yeah, see you later. Bye.” He hung up, a frown on his face. Roman wondered if he should dress nice, too, since he’d be seeing Virgil.

“Dibs on the first shower!” Roman exclaimed, dropping his controller and running off to the bathroom. Three guys and one bathroom wasn’t ideal, but it was what they had to deal with.

By the time all three of them had gotten ready, it was almost 7:30. Roman went with his usual attire, as opposed to Patton, who went a little overboard (probably to try and impress Remus): he was wearing a pale green sweater and some shorts, knee-high socks, and his converse, his makeup bright and colorful, the emphasis on his lips and eyes. Logan was wearing his usual attire as well, but had slipped into a coat since they’d be walking to the other building. It was only a few blocks away, but things always got sidetracked when Roman and Patton were involved.

Once Patton slung his messenger bag over his shoulder, the three set out to the others’ apartment. On their way down, they passed Emile, who was walking into the building with another man, their fingers intertwined.

“Hey kiddos!” Emile said cheerfully, waving his free hand at them. “Remy, these are the new neighbors I told you about!” The man called Remy raised his eyebrows then nodded in greeting.

“Hey babes,” he said. 

“Where are you all going together?” Emile asked, and Roman thought it was a bit nosy to ask of them, but he said nothing.

“Oh, we’re going to Roman’s twin brother’s apartment–”

“Yes, and we really should get going now. Goodbye Emile, nice to meet you Remy,” Roman began to nudge Patton along the sidewalk, and Logan shot the couple an apologetic glance. 

-

“Ugh, this movie is booooooring!” Remus yelled, startling the others. He had thrown his arms up in frustration. Logan and Janus were on the couch, trying to wait for the right moment to leave since they had their own plans. Remus, Roman, and Patton were on the floor or on cushions, eating the pizza they’d ordered, and Virgil was on the lounge chair, just observing.

“You’re the one who suggested a movie, idiot,” Virgil muttered, crossing his arms. Remus frowned, then finished off his bottle of beer. He made a soft hmmm noise, then began speaking again.

“This empty bottle gives me an idea. Spin the bottle, anyone? Or perhaps… truth or dare with spin the bottle?” He suggested, eyebrows wiggling. Patton’s face turned bright red, and some of the others all mumbled their disagreement.

“Isn’t that game for high schoolers, Re?” Roman asked, rolling his eyes. He glanced at Virgil, though, and wondered what it would be like to kiss him tonight. Not that he’d ever do that, Virgil hadn’t shown any interest in him, but…

“Sounds like fun,” Janus said, smirking from his spot next to Logan, who pouted. Janus noticed this and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Oh, come now, Lolo, just a round or two and then we can go, okay? You know how much I love truth or dare.” Logan sighed, then nodded.

“Fine, a few rounds.”

The group moved the coffee table out of the way and sat in a circle, the empty beer bottle laying in the middle of all of them. “Alright, rule time,” Remus started. “The spinner asks the person it lands on for truth or dare, and then must ask them. The person who last did the thing spins it next. Capiche?” Roman shrugged and then pat Remus on the shoulder.

“You spin first, bro,” he said, settling in as he sat cross-legged on the floor. Remus shrugged and leaned forward, spinning the bottle. It pointed towards Logan, who sighed. Remus smirked, crossing his arms, deep in thought.

“Truth or dare?” Remus asked finally, meeting Logan’s eyes. It was silent for a few moments as Logan pondered his options. Janus leaned over and whispered something in Logan’s ear, and his partner nodded.

“Truth,” Logan said confidently, and Remus raised an eyebrow. 

“Would you wear your best friend’s used underwear if you went camping and ran out?” Remus asked, and Patton giggled, covering his mouth to prevent spit from flying everywhere.

“Uh…” Logan glanced at Janus, who was trying to hide his laughter at the audacity of the question. “Yeah, I would? I’ve worn Janus’ underwear before–”

“Whoah, whoah, too much info, stop,” Virgil waved his hands, groaning. Patton pouted a little, frowning at Logan and Janus.

“I thought I was your best friend, Lo?” He asked, and Logan hit his forehead with his hand. 

“You- Pat, ugh,” Logan was exasperated, and he glanced at Patton carefully. “You’re both my best friends, okay?” Patton seemed pleased with this answer, a smile crossing his features again. Logan leaned forward to spin the bottle, and it landed on Remus. “Uh…”

“I mean, if it’s just you two who get to play, that’s fine,” Virgil commented, leaning his back on the lounge chair behind him.

“Maybe if it lands on Logan again, though, you respin?” Patton suggested, and everyone else nodded in agreement. Remus shrugged, and then nodded to Logan.

“Dare me, Lodaddy,” he cackled, and Janus rolled his eyes, but still slid his hand over to rest on Logan’s thigh, a protective glare directed at Remus.

“I dare you to get an A in one of your courses this semester,” Logan smirked, adjusting his glasses. A few of the others grumbled about how that wasn’t fair, but Remus nodded in acceptance and held out his hand to shake Logan’s.

“Dealio!” He spun the bottle again and it landed on Roman. “Alright, twinny twin, truth or dare?” He waggled his eyebrows at his twin.

“I know better than for you to ask me a truth. So, dare,” Roman said, confident with his decision. An evil look crossed Remus’ eyes only briefly as he glanced between Roman and Virgil.

“Kiss the back of Virgil’s knee,” he said simply, and Roman nearly choked on his own saliva. Virgil buried his face in his hands, grumbling a little. Patton started to defend the two.

“Now, Virgil, you don’t have to–”

“Yes I do, it’s a fucking dare,” Virgil mumbled, standing up. He rolled one of his pant legs up and turned around so the back of his leg was facing Roman, whose face was bright red and who felt like his breath was being stolen from him. “Just make it quick, Princey.” Roman turned more red at the nickname, which probably stemmed from his role in the production from the previous semester. He scooted over to Virgil and pressed his lips to the bend between Virgil’s thigh and calf, and then scooted back, saying nothing. The tall man rolled his pant leg back down and sat down, explicitly not looking at Roman. His pale face was lightly pink.

After a few awkward beats, Roman leaned forward and spun the battle. It landed on Patton, who looked to be in deep thought. “Truth or dare, Pat?”

“Hmmm. I think truth is safer,” Patton admitted, and Roman thought a little. He hoped that his plan would work, but was concerned over what could come from a question like this. He really did want happiness for Patton, even if his brother was involved.

“What are three things you first noticed when you met your crush, if you have one?” Roman asked, and Patton glanced down at his fingers, twisting them together, his face dusted with a pale blush. Remus perked up a little, listening carefully to the answer the small man gave.

“U-um… well… I noticed that he has gray in his hair, that he has a lot of piercings, and that he has a cute smile,” Patton said this so quietly that everyone had to lean in to hear it. Patton’s face was bright red by the time he finished listing off the attributes, and everyone’s eyes trailed over to Remus, who was smirking. Patton quietly excused himself and practically ran to the restroom, grabbing his bag along the way, leaving the rest of the group in an awkward silence.

“Fuck, that’s on me,” Roman said, standing up. “I’ll go… check on him,” he said, and he followed Patton to the bathroom, knocking on the door once. “Pat, it’s me Roman, are you okay?”

“Why did you ask me that?” Patton asked from the other side of the door. It sounded like he was crying, since he was sniffling a little bit. “You know I like him, but I wasn’t ready to say anything, Ro.”

“I’m sorry, Patton, I just… I saw that you liked him and figured a little nudge could help…” Roman explained, then sighed. Maybe he had overstepped a little. “Do you wanna go home?”

“Roman,” a voice came from behind him. It was Remus. “Is he okay?” Concern was etched on his face, and he had crossed his arms. Roman was surprised to see this much care coming from his twin.

“Is that Remus? Oh god, hang on,” Patton sounded like he was panicking. “Where are my makeup remover wipes–” A clattering of things falling out of his messenger bag could be heard. “Shoot!” Remus and Roman exchanged a look as the noises of Patton being flustered echoed into the hallway. “I can’t believe… such a fool… dang it… stop crying, idiot…”

“Patton,” Remus stepped past Roman to knock on the door. “Patton, it’s okay… I uh…” He cleared his throat, “my first impressions of my crush were that he has really awesome floral tattoos, his pink hair is awesome, and he dresses in a really cute way.” He admitted. Roman started to back up, but saw Patton open the door and peek out.

“R-really…?” He asked. It was obvious he had been crying, his eyes were red and his eyeliner had smudged, but he had wiped the majority of it off. “Um…”

“Patton, do you wanna go on a date with me next weekend?”

Roman scooted out of earshot, and stepped back into the living room, but not before he heard Patton squeak out an affirmation. Janus and Logan had disappeared, maybe off to go and do whatever their plans were, and Virgil was scrolling on his phone.

“Sorry about Remus’ dare. If I’d have known about what he’d ask me to do, I would’ve gone with a truth instead,” Roman admitted. Virgil’s face hardened, but the theater major didn’t notice this. “I’d hate to make you uncomfortable.”

“Uh, it’s okay…” Virgil didn’t meet Roman’s eyes, though, as he sat down beside him on the couch. “Actually, um. I was looking at the roles for this next production? Have you looked yet?” Of course Roman had looked. They were going to be doing a production of Wicked, and Roman was absolutely stoked for it.

“Yeah, I’m planning on auditioning for Fiyero…” Roman mused, then remembered the conversation he had with Virgil a few weeks ago. “Is there a role you’re interested in, Virgil?”

“Um, actually, I’ve always loved Boq, but… I don’t know if I’m talented enough for that,” he admitted, twisting his fingers together. “Plus I’m a little tall to play a Munchkin.” Roman sighed, then smiled encouragingly at the taller man.

“Well, I can help you practice for the audition, if you’d like!” Roman said, and Virgil nodded. “I don’t think your height will affect anything, it’s all about talent!”

“Oh. Yeah… I’d uh… really appreciate that, actually.” Virgil responded, still looking down at his hands. “I just… auditioning is really scary, you know?” Roman shrugged, then set his hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Maybe they’ll let us audition together, so that way you’ve got a familiar face on stage,” he suggested. Virgil nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. “Hey, don’t worry, Virge. I think you’re gonna do great.”

---

teaser for part two: a botanical garden and some deep conversations

“I’ve never seen you so panicked over a first date, so I think that means that this is… real for you. You’re going to take this one seriously.”

~

“I want someone who understands how special I can be… but also someone who I can pamper and love with all of my heart.”

---

part two | part three | part four | part five | part six | part seven | part eight | part nine | part ten

---

taglist (send an ask, reblog, or reply if you want to be added)

@winterrose42

@are-you-even--real 

[masterlist]

[wastelandcrown]

logan lark’s adventures in trying to appease his parents

CHAPTER 4: a tight-knit family

Summary: Logan Lark is a fairly average high school student. By all means, he should be impressing his parents on all grounds. Except...he doesn’t exactly have a social life. So after his parents give him puppy dog eyes, he decides to join the local theatre's youth production. Good grief...His life is about to get weird isn’t it?

Warnings: Potential ooc behavior, Roman is a theatre brat to the highest degree (Sorry Roman stans), Remus being Remus, (If I miss something please tell me!)

Notes: This fic is based off an idea from @under-the-blue-moonlight. If you wanna be tagged in chapters, please dm me!! This chapter we see a LOT of Patton, a little of Virgil, and some Roman being an ass behaviour. I apologize if this chapter is lackluster, it’s important I promise!! Also I just finished chapter 5...its 3295 of intrulogical fluff 

Pairings: Eventual Intrulogical, Eventual Rociet, Eventual One-Sided Logicality, Platonic Analogical, Platonic DRLAMP

Word Count: 2269

Tagslist: @under-the-blue-moonlight @why-should-i-tell-youu2 @im-actually-ok @hauntedturkeycalzonedreamer

After a few weeks, not disappointing Remus was a weak reason to be here. 

Though he never considered himself a quitter, god he would love to just quit one thing in his life. The thing being theatre. 

When Thomas arrived Roman bombarded him with questions. Turns out, Logan was cast as Hamilton due to his exceptional rapping. Roman, weaker at rapping but a very confident and strong singer, could provide the extremely skilled vocal performance required by Washington. If Logan were to get sick, Roman would play Hamilton and Remus would hand over Maria’s part to his understudy. Which made sense, of course. The beginnings of rehearsals were, by all means, not entirely awful. They were going to learn the music to the show, song by song. The first problem arises with Logan’s absolutely awful stage fright. After the first run-through of the title number, Alexander Hamilton, Logan almost threw up again. People looked directly at him whenever he sang or rapped. The musical director, Jamahl, assured him it was fine. Jamahl, as nice as he was, would be receiving a solid two on Logan’s chart. It’s okay, Logan, Everyone gets stage fright, Logan. That, quite frankly, sounded like a bunch of bullshit. Especially since every time Logan got too nervous and messed up, Roman laughed from off to his side. 

Which shouldn’t bother him. It really shouldn’t. Except...Well, it was infuriating to be laughed at. For something he can’t control no less. He was ready to ball up his script and pelt him with paper until he stopped being a colossally egotistical idiot. Along with Roman’s frankly abhorrent behaviour, Logan also had to deal with feigning...romantic intimacy. Don’t get him wrong, Patton was a very nice guy. But...how would you feel knowing your first kiss would have to be fake for a theatre production? Bad. You would feel bad. So does Logan. Logan is sick of all of this, and by the end of the second week he finally snaps. 

When he hears that during Helpless he needs to kiss Patton, he doesn’t bother to hide his surprise. Of course, after he does, Roman decides to open his big dumb mouth. 

“What’s wrong, Microsoft nerd? Upset that your first kiss will be on the stage?” 

Patton reels back and glares at Roman almost instantly, opening his mouth to defend Logan, when Logan turns on Roman himself. 

“I am beginning to wonder if you ever just shut up,” Logan snaps, fists balled in anger.

“Because honestly, for the two weeks I have been in this theatre program, you have done nothing but spout off like a tea kettle about to boil over all because I happened to be better than you at one thing. So I am sincerely asking, do you ever shut up?”

Somehow, he has done the impossible. Roman is stunned into silence, his face goes red with anger. 

“How dare-” Is all he manages to get out before Thomas calls for a five-minute break. 

Thomas motions for Logan to come over to him, and he’s still fuming. If he were as dramatic as a certain hoity-toity theatre brat, he would be practically foaming at the mouth. Thomas is an adult, so he tries to pull himself together. 

“I apologize-” 

“Don’t. Roman kinda deserved that,” Thomas says with a smirk, “He’s a great kid, but he has a lot to learn.”

It’s his turn to be shocked into silence, because never in a million years would he expect an adult to enable such an outburst. 

“Really though, Logan, Just try not to let it happen again. I’ll let it slide this time, okay?”

With a nudge to the side and a kind smile, Logan is sent to have his break. 

Roman is quiet for the rest of the day. Logan could not be more pleased. Roman’s anger at him was unjustified and awful, he was overall awful. After today, he would need to add a negative rating to his charts. He doesn’t think he could ever get along with someone like Roman without eventually succumbing to his anger and strangling him. Logan knows his extreme anger is wrong, but Roman was just...just...absolutely, unbelievably, infuriating. Sitting in the lobby waiting for his father like usual, he is approached by Patton. Alone this time, without Virgil. Which is strange. 

“You look like you’re about to rip someone's head off,” Patton giggles out with a sympathetic smile. 

Logan sighs and gives him a little smirk, “My apologies, are you going to be getting a ride with Virgil tonight?”

“No, his dad is picking him up! I was actually wondering if you wanted to hang out!”

“I-” Logan thinks on this for a while, then shrugs. It may be for the best. Patton has been very kind, and he has defended him when Roman was being a jerk.

“Sure, let me message my father.”

Patton’s car is a beat-up looking second-hand thing that looks like it rolled out of a dump. Inside, it’s actually very well taken care of. Patton calls the car “Christine” and pats her lovingly. Hanging from the rear-view mirror is a small frog-shaped air freshener that makes the car smell of strawberries. The seats are comfortable, and Patton’s music is sweet. Eventually they pull into a parking lot in a townhouse area, and as they walk down the street Patton waves and says hello to all his neighbours that are outside. 

“You know them all?” 

“Oh, yeah! Lots of them have babysat me, or my sisters! And I’ve babysat for them too!”

Huh. He didn’t know Patton had sisters. Though, the second they enter his house, it’s entirely obvious. 

In the living room, there are three young girls. Patton’s shoes are barely off when the two youngest ones rush him and engulf him in hugs. The older one walks over and smiles at Logan first.

“Hi, which one are you?” She asks, and Patton laughs.

“Delilah Ann! That’s not nice!”

“I’m Logan, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Lilah, I’ve heard a lot about you. Mostly ‘cause Pat doesn’t shut up.”

Patton looks a little pouty, but Logan thinks he likes Lilah. She doesn’t look much like Patton at all. Her hair is more wavy than curly, and a very nice strawberry blonde colour. She doesn’t have glasses, and dresses very tomboyish, the only thing that ties them together are their freckled cheeks. She’s only thirteen, but Logan finds her interesting to talk to. While Patton is dealing with the younger ones, she tells him about how she wants to be a mortician and is the smartest in her family. Logan smiles a little while they have a mostly one-sided conversation. 

One thing the siblings have in common is certainly their talkative likability. 

The younger two are put to work on their homework at the dining table, and Patton begins to set up dinner. Logan sits next to the girls at the table, Delilah retreating to her room, chatting with Patton as he cooks. He offered to help but was denied at every turn. Something about him being a guest, and how he shouldn’t have to. They’re discussing their roles in the play when the youngest slams her head against the table dramatically.

“Patton! I don’t wanna do this anymore!” She whines, Patton puts some potatoes in a pot then brushes off his hands on his apron. 

“Do you need help, or do you need a break?” 

“Help!”

Logan peers over her paper and sees a bunch of simple multiplication questions, she must only be in second or third grade. 

He clears his throat, “If you’d like, I could help you.”

“Oh! Oh! Yes! Patton can Logan help me please!” 

Patton agrees, despite obviously looking at Logan and saying ‘You really don’t have to’ with his eyes. Logan likes to teach, he’s more than happy to help out. Especially since Elaine is extremely charming. You can definitely see how much she looks like Patton. Big square glasses, blonde hair in pigtails, tons of freckles dotting chubby cheeks. She acts like him too, spouting out awful dad jokes that make Patton lose it laughing in the kitchen. She tries her best to listen, and manages to actually complete her math homework with a pretty good mark. Her teacher will hopefully be impressed. Logan’s dad texts and asks if he needs to be picked up, but Elaine begs him to stay for dinner and...well he can’t say no, can he? Patton says he doesn’t have to stay, but he wants to. 

He’d never had siblings, it had always just been him and his parents. Though he loved them, and they loved him, it was so...lonely sometimes. He had always wanted a little brother or sister, maybe even a pet, but it never really happened. The energy in Patton’s house was somehow a perfect mix of lively and calm, they felt like they were really a family. Logan relished in it. The feeling of community, full of love so openly given and received. The most he had were very quiet holiday dinners with the few Larks who were left. He remembers being Elaine’s age, he felt so lonely. She wasn’t lonely though, she was full of love. So was Patton. It was very nice. He watches Patton cook and he chats with him while realizing he’s been much too harsh on him. His kindness wasn’t fake, there was no way. He was a real person who was actually that nice. He defended him out of the kindness of his heart. 

Ding.

hey logan wyd rn

Ah, Virgil. That was a pleasant surprise. 

I’m actually at Patton’s house. Elaine has roped me into staying for dinner.

He can almost hear Virgil’s little chuckle. 

yeah she does that hows sophie

Sophie? Oh, that must be the third sister. She’s very quiet, her eyes haven’t once looked upwards the whole time they’ve been sat together. 

“Ahem-Uhm-Sophie,” Logan starts, and Sophie looks up from her homework, “Virgil was wondering how you are?”

Her eyes light up, “I’m good. Is he going to come over?”

She’s good. She wants to know if you will be coming over.

hah, sure tell her to give me 20 

“Yes, give him twenty minutes.”

Sophie smiles, and Logan is reminded of Virgil almost immediately. She has dark brown hair that covers her face and a bit of a natural glare. Her smile is shy, and he wonders if Patton secretly stole Virgil’s little sister. 

It seems like it, even more, when Virgil actually gets there. Sophie’s entire demeanor changes. She becomes extremely talkative and tells Virgil all about how she’s got a new villager in her animal crossing town. Virgil entertains her with talking, going and helping Patton to cook. Logan gets up to help as well, but Virgil waves him away. Virgil looks like he belongs here, in this little dining room-kitchen. He’s laughing beside Patton, talking to both girls and Logan, helping cook and set the table. Logan can’t help but wonder how many times he’s done this before. While Patton is putting the food on the table, the door opens and a tired-looking woman enters. Virgil goes to greet her, and she smiles. Her hair is curly and blonde, her eyes are a cloudy green, she is covered in a smattering of freckles, and she looks...just like Patton. 

Logan gets up to go greet her as well. When she sees him she beams and it’s like he’s been confronted by the sun herself. 

“You must be Logan! Virgil and Patton talk my ears off about you!” She pats his head, and continues, “The boys just adore you! It’s about time you came for dinner!”

He almost can’t speak, and both Virgil and Patton whine about her embarrassing them, but he nods, “Thank you for having me, but I’ve only known them for two weeks, Ma’am.”

The woman looks a little confused, then laughs joyously, “No need for that, kiddo! Just call me Lisa, okay?” 

After patting him on the shoulder, she slinks by and greets all her children. Lilah has come back down, and the whole table is now filled to the brim. Dinner is filling and delicious, Patton really has a talent for the culinary arts. Which is strange considering Logan took him as someone who, like him, couldn’t cook to save his life.

After dinner, Patton brings Logan and Virgil to his room to hang out. They play video games, talk about anything they can manage, and by the time it’s late Logan is smiling. At nine, Elaine and Sophie are whining about Patton putting them to bed. Virgil and Logan wish them good night and Virgil drives Logan home. 

“Logan, I’ve gotta ask...why did you agree to hang out with Patton?”

“Well...I’m not actually sure. I think that I needed it.”

“How do you mean?”

Logan looks out the window and thinks to himself. Why? He’s never had friends, or much of a close family. He figured he agreed because well…

“Patton has something I don’t. It helped me understand him better to see what he has.”

Virgil accepted that, but Logan wasn’t sure he understood it fully. He’s not even sure he does. 

That night, Roman gets a negative two. Patton gets a ten, and written on his pages are the names and personalities of his family members. Along with that, is a very simple phrase. 

I have concluded that Patton is, indeed, a very good person.

Why it took him this long to come to terms with, he will never understand. 

[in-my-world]

Heaven - Six (Hongjoong AU)

Genre: fluff, angst, suggestive

Warning(s): verbal and physical abuse from a parent, physical assault

Words: 1k

A/N: Ask me to add in warnings or tw

My first alarm for my shift for work sounded. I woke up and had momentarily forgotten about the man sleeping on my couch, that was until I stepped out to get my coffee and breakfast ready. 

I tried my best to be quiet. Hongjoong was sleeping peacefully, he looked so relaxed. I was startled by a knock at my door; it was half past six in the morning, so anyone knocking on my door confused me. I apologized to Hongjoong before walking over the door.

Hongjoong sat up groggily and looked around sending me a sleepy smile before falling back into the pillows. I looked out the peephole and I felt my heart freeze. I tried to think of a way to hide Hongjoong, I pushed his shoes aside and hide his jacket around the corner. I tried to signal for him to hide but my mother called out to me, but his eyes were closed again.

I unlocked the door and barely opened it, greeting my mother quietly. 

“Hi mom, what are you doing here,” I asked, genuinely curious. 

Her face didn’t show any emotion, “I was worried that maybe you were sick, but I see you are awake so you must be fine.”

I nodded, “if this is about the blind date yesterday, I am sorry but Jules stayed over and was so upset over this guy.”

Her eyes searched behind me into my apartment; luckily from the front door you can’t see the couch. I thought she would leave peacefully but Hongjoong let out a cough which was far too deep to be female. 

“So you had a boy over, what would the parish think,” she accused, her eyes turned cold but burned at the same time. 

I held in a sigh, “mom, he’s just a friend he slept on the couch -,” she held up her hand, cutting me off. 

“I don’t want to hear your lies, you already lied to me about yesterday and now today,” her tone was biting and cold, “you are no longer welcome in my house, not until you decide to act proper and not like a whore.”

My mouth gaped open as I tried to find the words, “I don’t want to, you always act so high and mighty but you got pregnant with me at 15,”

I was cut off by the sting of a slap landing on my cheek. 

My mom turned and stormed back down the hallway. I walked back inside and slumped against the door. We had argued plenty of times but she had never hit me before. Her verbal assaults I could handle but the slap was worse than anything she had ever said. 

“Why did she hit you, that’s such bullshit,” Hongjoong snarled, as he started to put on his shoes. 

I stood up and stopped him with a hand on his arm, “please don’t.”

He let his shoes fall back onto the floor and steered me to the couch, he sat me down and went to the kitchen. I heard him open the fridge and rummage through it before he came back with a bag of frozen vegetables. 

I met his eyes as he held the bag to my throbbing cheek. 

“Has that ever happened before,” he asked, his eyes swimming with worry and questions. 

My eyes flicked to my bedroom as my alarm to leave for work rang out. I stood up and went to grab my phone. I sent a message to my boss - who was a friend of mine- and said I wouldn’t be in today because I was sick. 

“You want to go to the beach,” I asked, pulling on my jacket and boots. 

Hongjoong looked at me and gave me a gentle smile. 

                              ___________________________

We sat side by side on the cold sand of the local beach. Hongjoong hadn’t asked why we came here, but I figured it would be best to give him an explanation about this morning's incident. 

He watched me the entire time as I spoke. The words tumbling out as I felt tears falling; I had only ever told Jules about how awful my mother was, but that wasn’t until I was out of the house and living with her. He just listened, never interrupting or taking his eyes from my face as I spoke.

I felt a weight lift off me as I finished speaking. My heart thumped loudly as my tears dried from the breeze off the water. My hand became warm as he wrapped his fingers around mine. He still hadn’t said anything, but I didn’t think he needed to.

We sat in comfortable silence as the sun rose further into the sky and waves crashed on the sand. 

The sun was just over the horizon when Hongjoong finally spoke, “why did you never tell anyone, besides Jules I mean,” he asked, his face gentle and held no judgment. 

I thought it over, and I came up empty, I had never thought to tell anyone. I just thought that, that was how she was as a mother and nothing could be done. The only wall between her and I was my father. The man I had always admired and loved, who would make sure that I was taken care of when my mother neglected me, who would come to my plays and school functions when she refused because my brother needed her. 

“I honestly never considered it,” I confessed, looking at Hongjoong for a reaction. 

He frowned, turning away from me to look at the water. I bit my lip, overthinking his reaction as a negative one. 

“Well, now you don’t have to see her again,” he said, letting out a giggle. 

I tried to stifle a laugh but it came out, he was right, I never had to see her again if I didn’t want to. 

“Thank you,” Hongjoong said, pulling me from my reverie. 

I gave him a questioning look, “why, I haven’t done anything.”

He shook his head, “you trust me enough to open up to me about something so serious, and for Saturday with the stage fright,” he explained, he eyes meeting mine and causing my breath to catch in my throat.

I realized that the feelings I had for him wasn’t just a passing crush, it was a full crush. The kiss last night was barely a brush of the lips because of his busted lip, but it was enough to make my heart pick up it’s pace.

<PREVIOUS • NEXT >

Ask to be tagged:  @violets-and-berries​ @mountainsluna​ @cwejongho​

[experimentaldragonfire-fics]

experimentaldragonfire’s SU Fic Rec List

Stuck at home? Running out of stuff to read? I figured I’d put together a semi-comprehensive series of fanfic recommendations so that all the hours I’ve spent on AO3 over the years can be considered at least vaguely useful. A lot of these are quite old, so if you’ve only read more recent fics, you might find something that you haven’t seen here!

Please feel free to add your own links and recommendations--I personally would love more reading material! This list will focus on SU fics, but I’ll probably make more for other fandoms going forward if anyone’s interested. Bear in mind that, as I’ve mentioned, since many (most) of these were written a while ago, they might not represent exactly how the plot of the show progressed (though they now provide a pretty interesting look at the older fanfic tropes/theories!)

Also, upfront: most of these, when ships do appear, are Lapidot or PearlRose--clearly, I’m very narrowly-focused on what I read. And if one of your fics is on here and you want to be tagged, let me know and I will do so!

Steven Universe Fic Recs

General (None or canonical/background/multiple ships):

histories by avulle (T, F/F, Gen)

“Pearl (pearl) is born in what would have been the year 100,492 BCE. (She is not older than the entire human race—but only just.)”

An introspective look at the Crystal Gems through the years, written in a style that’s practically poetic and absolutely gorgeous.

Inferior Blue by hTeDruknenPotaT (M, Gen)

"Your name is Lapis Lazuli. Lapis is a fun thing to name your child when your last name is Lazuli, and when your name is Lapis Lazuli, blue seem like a nice color to dye your hair. It's fortunate that blue is your favorite color, that you manage not to despise it after all the blue you've been surrounded by all your life."

Lapis Lazuli meets a strange young boy who helps to heal the scars of her past.

The first time I read this fic, I stayed up until 5AM and cried into my pillow through the final chapters. And it continued to make me cry every time I reread it. Massive angst warning, but if you can handle fics that are beautiful but tragic, this is for you.

capacity by broken_halleluiah (G, F/F)

After a routine council meeting, Pink Diamond insists on repairing a broken piece of equipment. The result is far more than she bargained for.

A fic speculating on the nature of Pearls in Homeworld society, written well before we got to see any of that in canon. As such, it isn’t entirely in-line with later canon, but is still entirely worth reading.

Breaking Down by PTlikesTea (M, multi)

Rose's world view is shattered by a black market pearl and the realization that everything she knows about them is wrong.

An extensively long series of shorter mostly-self-contained stories exploring a version of Homeworld society where Pearls are considered as little more than disposable property. Major warnings for Pretty Much Everything--definitely keep an eye on the tags--but this is an iconic series of works, started in 2015 and predating many of the later revelations about canon Homeworld. 

A Gem and Her Pearl (Rose) by Potential Violet (G, gen)

Blue Diamond forces Rose Quartz to get a pearl, changing Rose's life, the pearl's life and the course of Gem history. All relationships begin somewhere, this is the beginning of Rose and Pearl's.

Another take on Rose and Pearl’s meeting, and the status of Pearls in Homeworld society (there’s a bit of a theme here with these recommendations). Again, predates most canon revelations regarding the topics, and predates all of the canon information about the Diamonds.

Pearl, Interrupted by AceyEnn (E, multi)

In August, Steven Quartz Universe was born.

In August, Rose Quartz died in childbirth.

In December, Pearl decides she can't handle any of it.

Or: Pearl Tries To Kill Herself And Ends Up In A Therapy Group Run By Her Best Friend's Mom (Well, One Of Her Moms).

Human AU focusing on Pearl dealing with Rose's death--or rather, not dealing with Rose’s death. Major content warnings for suicide attempts, self-harm, etc (please read the tags), but overall a very well-written story. Still updating, despite being first posted in 2016! 

Lapidot:

in which Peridot is Not At All Surprised by the sudden appearance of a new waiter by gaySpaceRock_exe (G, F/F)

Peridot meets the new waiter at her regular restaurant and immediately falls head-first in love. 

Cute and fluffy, what more do you need in a fic? 

Homesick by DrPaine (G, F/F)

An encounter at the Galaxy Warp.

Short oneshot predating the Peridemption/Barn Arc, can be read as friendship rather than romantic. 

Observation by DrPaine (G, F/F)

Peridot is a technician, meant to catch every detail. Not something she’s very fond of, but making yourself aware of your surroundings can be helpful, when you’re slipping into troublesome thoughts.

Incomplete but very much an introspective look at Peri’s character as perceived back in 2015-ish. Not as much focused on romance as on concepts of identity and anxiety. 

Of Stage Lights and Stage Fright by AcrylicPaint (M, F/F)

All Lapis wanted was to participate in the local production, but there was a minor element she hadn't taken into consideration when she agreed to take the leading role, and that was; dealing with the cute techie's constant staring.

That, and the fact she was beginning to stare too.

Human theatre AU, and an excellent completed multichapter fic. I remember that when I first read this, I was in high school and part of the musical, so it was a very topical read--and now it’s the height of nostalgia. 

No Regrets by Raptor_Red (E, F/F)

No Regrets, or, the story of how Peridot tried to romance the blue-haired tattoo artist from the parlor across the street

A personal favorite! The writing in this fic is just so nice to read, and though I’m not usually a fan of tattoo artist AUs, this one really managed to make the whole concept make sense within the story. I can’t count how many times I’ve read this fic. Please read this.

12 O’Clock at Your Local King Soopers by InsomniacArrest (T, F/F)

Lapis works late night shifts, Peridot is somebody's overworked assistant, they both need more sleep and better people skills: the grocery store story.

Is it a Lapidot fic rec list if I don’t include 12KS? Probably the most iconic fic for this pairing, with good reason. Also, consider this a recommendation for literally everything IA has ever written--there are too many good fics to name them all individually, otherwise they’d comprise half of this entire list.

Of Meteors and Minimal Speech by Waypaststrange (moonbeatblues)(F/F)

In which things at the barn settle down, nobody speaks much, and strange lights appear in the sky.

Vaguely fluffy oneshot, very cute!!

Awkward Office Encounters by SilverEyedRukia (T, F/F) 

Due to a broken down air conditioner on a scorching hot day the computers' overheated systems need fixing. Luckily for everyone a blonde technician is up for the job, but unbeknowst to them the IT nerd turns out to be someone they didn't expect her to be, especially not Lapis who kind of asked her out on a date already.

Human workplace AU, starts off relatively comedic but gets into Emotional Territory towards the end.

Camp Pining Hearts by kamanzi (M, F/F)

Peridot and Jasper return to summer camp after their freshmen year of college--this time, as counselors. Peridot is disappointed to learn that nothing is quite the same, especially her relationship with her best friend. Whose fault is this? She blames Jasper's girlfriend.

“‘Let’s go back next year and be counselors,’ she said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ she said.”

Human summer camp counselors AU that’s definitely long enough to use up some stuck-at-home-self-isolating time.

A Week by teamchaosprez  (E, F/F)

Who knew that a single night of drunken sex could push Peridot and Lapis from being roommates with a mutual crush to regularly fucking and maybe - just maybe - eventually becoming girlfriends and standing up to the homophobia surrounding both of their family lives.

A human college AU focusing a lot on working through interpersonal relationships and coming to terms with emotions

Set Me Free by cym70 (T, F/F) 

Being roommates gives Lapis and Peridot a lot of time to get to know each other and, despite their rocky history, they might just be able to make something entirely new.

A friends-to-lovers fic, post-Barn Mates. Very sweet!

Waltz of the Nian by QuickYoke (T, F/F)

Lapis doesn't understand fusion at heart, but she does know she's an unideal partner for it.

 Lapis' relationship with fusion, and also Peridot. A fic that basically encapsulates the ideal of profound prose that makes you feel things, even if you don’t precisely know how or why.

Pushing by Like Hearts by mautadite (T, F/F)

“Sounds like you’re really counting on that road trip magic.”

(Peridot and Lapis do Midway City, and Empire City, and Plateau Ville, and all the places in between.)

Canonverse road trip, because every rec list needs a “the characters go on a long journey together and find themselves, and each other” fic. And because this fic made me feel so many emotions.

A thousand years (F/F)

I have died a thousand years, waiting for you.

 Childhood friends-to-adult-lovers human AU, one of the fic tropes that always just punches me in the face with feelings.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 290

I’m going to skip around a bit, because much of this episode is just the bracket being filled out while the fighters all stand around chatting.  It’s supposed to be a random draw, but Goku asks Buu to cheat for him, much the same way Chiaotzu once rigged the 22nd World Tournament.

Also, 18 calls Krillin a chicken for not entering the tournament himself, and I have to assume this is some sort of weird foreplay they do in public.

Marron’s a teenager at this point, although you can’t really tell by looking here.   I have no idea how old Bulla is supposed to be, but I can’t help but think Dragon Ball Super got it wrong.   Master Roshi has different sunglasses in this future world, but if I were Krillin and Bulma, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near my daughters.  

ANyway, the whole reason Goku wanted to enter this tournament was so he could face this Earthling who’s supposed to be incredibly strong.   Vegeta tagged along to see what he was talking about, but he still doesn’t get it.    Goku is using Buu to fix it so he can fight his dream opponent in the first round, but who is he?

Turns out it’s this kid.

Here’s the deal: When Goku killed Kid Buu, he wished for him to be reincarnated as a good guy, so they could fight again some day.    Goku thinks King Yemma must have decided to give Goku what he wanted, so he arranged for Kid Buu to be reincarnated as a human.    And that’s why this part of the story is set ten years after the Kid Buu fight.    It was the only way for Kid Buu’s reincarnation to grow up to an age where he could fight Goku.  Also, this works out nicely, as the boy is about the same height and build as Kid Buu was. 

Goku isn’t sure how he knows this kid is Kid Buu reborn, but he just does.   Also, the boy’s name is “Uub”, which is “Buu” backwards.  That’s bullshit, but I believe it!

Up in the VIP room, Piccolo and Dende overhear this with their Namekian super-hearing, and Dende seems surprised.    Pretty sure there was a scene in Dragon Ball Super where he already knew about Uub before this, but okay.

As for Uub himself, he’s starting to question his decision to enter this tournament.   Like Nam in the 21st tournament, he entered to use the prize money to support his village, but he’s starting to realize that there’s a lot of strong people here, and maybe he’s not good enough to win this thing.

As for the tournament, there’s only thirteen participants.   Twelve of them fight in brackets, and the winner goes on to face Mr. Satan in the final round.    I don’t know if that means Satan is in the tournament with a lot of byes, or what.  The matchups are as follows:

Pan vs. Mo Kekko aka Wild Tiger!

Son Goku vs. Uub!

Captain Chicken vs. Nareg aka Kirano!

Majin Buu vs. Goten!

Trunks vs. Otokosuki!

Vegeta vs. Knock!

Yeah, this lineup sucks.    Let me work through the small fry real quick.

Wild Tiger is this big dude who resents being pitted against a four-year-old.   His job is to recreate that match Krillin had with the big fat guy at the 25th Budokai.

Otokosuki is a leatherboy and probably another sign that this cartoon hasn’t aged well in places.   I want to say Otokosuki is an offensive stereotype, but I don’t know enough about him to say for sure.   I’m pretty sure Toriyama didn’t draw him this strip to add diversity to the cast.  Anyway, he really wants to fuck Trunks. 

Knock sucks, so Vegeta hits him once and he has to be stretchered out of the ring before the matches start.    

Nareg is a pretty boy, and I keep thinking he’s Jewel from the 25th Budokai, but he’s a whole other blonde pretty-boy type.  We learn absolutely nothing about him, so let’s just make up a backstory for him.   Uh, he entered the tournament to take revenge on Mr. Satan for murdering his sister, but it was actually King Choppa wearing a Mr. Satan costume.

“Goten”, sometimes referred to as “Son Goten”, was actually a minor character in the Buu Saga, but he got killed off-screen when Buu destroyed the earth.   He’s only in this tournament because his dad made him enter.

Anyway, Bulla really liked the part where her dad killed Knock.  Good for her, because he won’t be doing anything else for the rest of this show.

All right, let’s get on with this.  I’m glad the World Tournament Announcer is still enjoying these things, but this tournament’s a joke and the matches are all rigged.   

I dig this girl on the left.   That’s a cool look.   Is her boyfriend wearing a Potara earring?    The Knock merch looks better on him than it does on Knock.  

Anyway, Pan obliterates Wild Tiger, so that takes care of the only match in this thing that goes to a finish.  

EVEN CAPTAIN CHICKEN IS AFRAID!

Next, it’s Goku vs. Uub, the match Goku’s been waiting for all these years.   But Uub’s got stage fright, so Goku has to use HEEL HEAT to get him in a fighting mood.   

#HEELGOKU

Goku runs down Uub’s favorite sports teams and tells him his hometown sucks.  

Then he threatens to kill Uub, which is kind of going too far, buddy.   Just tell him your shoes are worth more than his house. 

I don’t know what’s dumber, that Goku is using all this nonsense, or that it actually gets a rise out of the kid.

Then Goku just flat out says Uub’s parents are made out of shit.   Insert Vic Mignogna Defmation Suit Joke here.

Then he kicks him in the face.   #HEELGOKU taking no prisoners.

HE’S UUBING UP!

Uub’s out of control!  He’s had all he can stands, and he can’t stands no more!   He’s ready to beat the crap out of Goku...!

...Next time!  

[where-fading-princesses-live]

What is your opinion on Rolf’s scenes in the movie?

((Sorry this is going to be long. I’ve been trying to finish this for the past three days.)) So just going off from what everyone else said, I agree that Rolf’s scenes could have been trimmed down some, or at least utilized in a more productive manner. He’s all geared up like some hardcore Indiana Jones, looking ready as ever to whoop some serious ass, but he never really does anything. I mentioned it before, but it’s as if the writers just didn’t know what to do with him…

(Credit for art goes to Marlushion)

That pretty much sums it up.  

Granted, I don’t hate Rolf’s scenes. Far from it, actually. I just feel like he could have been slightly more on track. His scenes not only go on for too long, but in the entirety of his screen time, all he does is… fry an egg (???), pour some ‘’Rö suk’’ on a car seat, yells at Wilfred, mutilates a perfectly good muffin, yells at Wilfred some more, milks a cow, drinks unpasteurized milk, yells at Wilfred, gets a meat grinder stuck on his head… so yeah, basically, Rolf’s scenes are, as everyone described, just the very definition of filler. Which is a shame, considering Rolf is one of the most interesting and complex side characters.

In fact, Rolf isn’t the only three-dimensional supporting character that had less to do in this finale. Jonny and Jimmy also take back seats in their subplots, and they, too, have been the most developed of all the supporting cast. Maybe it’s just because these three characters had so much character development throughout the series that there just wasn’t anything left for them to do, and so the writers decided to shift focus onto characters that had very little development, like Sarah, Kevin and Nazz. The before mentioned characters were always the least interesting and least popular among fans, so I was surprised by how much screen time they received in BPS. Not only that, but their subplots are fairly interesting, at least compared to the more popular secondary characters like Rolf. I suppose it all boiled down to time constraints. It was more important, anyhow, that the Eds had their dramatic conflicts resolved and their time to shine– the rest of the cast just had to pick up the left-overs. Still, it would have been nice if Rolf, Jonny and Jimmy had the opportunity to be as great in BPS as they normally are in the series– even if they had plenty of development prior to BPS, this was going to be the last time we would ever see these characters, so to have them do nothing due to time, well, again, it’s a shame. EEnE was one of the few shows of its era that had a very strong supporting cast, so even if we watched it for the Eds, it was still a treat to see the others, too.

I think the majority of fans dislike Rolf’s story arc mainly because it lacks comedy (or at least, the usual Rolf antics we’ve come to expect). I like @mundane-ededdneddy-headcanons theory in that Rolf has been alienating himself further from the group and becoming more and more introverted as the series progresses. This is true. Towards the end of the series, Rolf has had some more serious moments than usual, moments that reflect his more introverted nature. For example, in ‘’Too Smart For His Own Ed’’, it’s revealed that he suffers from stage fright and has a phobia of public speaking. Yes, this same kid who bravely performs in front of his friends without a hint of shyness…

… loses the Spelling Bee due to social anxiety. 

‘’No Speak Da Ed’’ is perhaps one of the darkest Rolf-centric episodes, the plot which heavily draws upon past childhood trauma. So it’s not as if Rolf was never serious before BPS. Even before Season 5-6, Rolf had some heavy material in his episodes, such as ‘’Wish You Were Ed’’ and ‘’Dueling Eds’’.  So again it’s not like Rolf can’t be serious– but because he’s more beloved and popular for his comedic timing, I guess his story in BPS fell a bit flat for some. I think the criticism mainly stems from the fact that even in his more serious episodes, the writers always made sure to pull it back to comedy. In ‘’Wish You Were Ed’’, it begins kinda sad, but then it gets pretty outrageous. 

Same goes for ‘’Dueling Eds’’, which handled a pretty serious topic of Eddy unintentionally hurting Rolf’s feelings… it begins normal enough, but then escalates into… insanely… weird… shit… 

Even ‘’No Speak Da Ed’’ ended on a comedic note. So if BPS handled serious frustrated Rolf in the same way they handled these episodes, maybe fans wouldn’t be so nitpicky about it?

Maybe the meat grinder was meant to be hilarious, but it’s actually just kinda sad. I mean, the kid loses everything… all the possessions he can carry, his pig, his shoe… I mean, he’s kind of a wreck at the end. I don’t know about anyone else, but I wasn’t laughing, and maybe I was supposed to be?

But going back for a moment, maybe fans just weren’t thrilled with the idea of Rolf being so cut off from the rest of the group. Granted, he has really always been an introvert, just not in the pure sense of the word like Jonny and Edd. Rolf’s more of an extroverted introvert, in that he enjoys the company of his friends, but he’s also not afraid to go solo. We’ve seen moments of Rolf alone before– but that’s all it was, moments. He’s revealed to be a slightly different person when he’s alone as opposed to in a group. In fact, he’s more serious when he’s alone. In ‘’Pick an Ed’’ we see him sitting alone under the bleachers, dwelling over his poor grades. His frustration here mirrors exactly how he is during the entirety of BPS: talking to himself, talking to his pig. But I think because we’re not used to seeing him alone so long, it was maybe a tad unsettling to not have him bounce off of anyone and vent his anger and frustration in other ways– such as through comedy. The same would be true for the rest of the cast. It’s interesting to see how the characters react when by themselves, but they are much more interesting when bouncing off each other. I could say the same for the Eds– they wouldn’t be nearly as interesting by themselves. So because Rolf is alone for the majority of BPS, he doesn’t have the opportunity to be as fun as he usually is.

He isn’t playing comic relief in his story at all. Like Kevin, he’s terribly frustrated and solely focused on revenge. But even though we as fans sit here and analyze these characters like we created them, we didn’t, and maybe there was a creative reason why Danny–who obviously knows his own characters better than we do–decided not to go with comedy for Rolf. Maybe he felt it would be too inappropriate for this type of setting? I mean, all the kids have pretty dramatic moments in their stories… but then again, even in their most tense situations, they still have room for comedy. I’ve seen several responses already suggesting Rolf should have at least tagged along with Jonny or acted as a third wheel in the Kevin X Nazz X Bike subplot. Either one would have been good, but maybe Danny just didn’t want him around to crack jokes? Maybe he felt as though Rolf could be more than that? Maybe he just wanted to give us something we wouldn’t expect? The way they paired up the kids was a no brainer– but again, maybe there was a reason why they wanted Rolf alone with his pig instead of with his friends. I think there were other ways to make his story work without interfering with the other kids, one of the suggestions being the previously mentioned pitch that all he needed was more comedy. He could have still bounced off Wilfred the same way he bounces off the other characters, and in a less cruel way. That’s another criticism of mine, having him be so unreasonably harsh towards Wilfred. Rolf has never been shown to be extremely abusive of his animals before. Maybe he was just taking his anger of the Eds out on Wilfred… but it was still a tad extreme and slightly out of character, even for Rolf. I’m almost glad Wilfred bit the shit out of him.  

One last thing to add. Towards the end of the series, Rolf has been taking on subtle traits of Double D by not only improving his English and expanding his vocabulary but also…

Not only does he better his English, even though he can’t excel in school despite working his ass off to little avail, but Rolf also starts to embrace science and technology, as if an excess of Double D’s annoying habits rubs off on him. Season 1-4 Rolf is behind the times, often resorting to animalistic tactics and do-it-yourself conduct, using natural resources and living off the land. The only hint of ‘’technology’’ in his antique-ridden old-world colonial-style home is a dated television set with foreign characters on the control dials and limited channels. But in BPS,  he goes full Steampunk mode while tracking the Eds, which, as cool as it seems, is a little out of Rolf’s passé character. Though Steampunk incorporates modern technology with the aesthetic of 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery, it also seems very advanced for Rolf, who in previous seasons, would use traditional, natural remedies like Carbuncle of the Flesh Stew to heal acne and other skin blemishes. Analyzing egg whites to uncover evidence of missing persons in a forensic-styled science experiment sounds more like Double D’s mojo, not Rolf’s, no matter how DIY. Oh well. He may have temporarily stolen Edd’s thunder but he looks badass, so who gives a flying cow?            

Oh, also…

It might be safe to assume that science and agriculture aren’t so different after all, so perhaps Rolf’s retrofuturistic tendencies in eventual installments isn’t so bizarre.

[rook-jensen]

The Dere Game: Rook Jensen

DEREDERE [x] You tilt your head when you’re confused. [x] You love sweets and cute things. [  ] You are often confused and lost in conversations with your friends. [x] People often call you cute. [x] You care a lot about your friends. [x] You embarrass yourself a lot with silly question or statements. [  ] You like bright, soft colours. [  ] You enjoy listening to cute, sweet, gentle songs. [x] You add things to the end of your friend’s names. [x] People often say “aww” when you’ve done something clumsy/silly. [x] You like anime/movies about romance, love and friendship. Total: 8

TSUNDERE [  ] You come off as tough and confident on the outside when you are actually soft and emotional on the inside. [  ] You often hide your true feelings for someone. [  ] You are caring but deny it when someone tells it to you. [x] You are protective. [x] When someone bugs you, you tell them right away strongly, but are still worried that you’ve hurt them. [x] You are easily embarrassed. [x] Compliments make you feel awkward and you always deny them. [  ] You tease and bully the one you love to hide your feelings. [  ] You can be violent at times. [  ] You may hurt people a lot, but regret it right away. [  ] You never cry in front of others. Total: 4

YANDERE [x] You are often loving, caring, sweet - until someone upsets you badly. [  ] When angry, you normally hide it until the time for revenge is right. [x] You can at times, be obsessive. [  ] People have said you are “two-faced”. [  ] People tell you that you’re nice, but can be creepy at times. [x] You scare the crap out of your friends when you get upset. [x] People find it weird to see you anything other than gentle and smiling. [  ] When you’re upset, sometimes you still smile, even when saying something harsh. [  ] You can get very violent. [  ] You love to help people, but often love to help yourself more. [  ] You like colours like dark blue or light red. Total: 4

KUUDERE [  ] You don’t show your emotions to others. [  ] When you become close to someone, you slowly open up. [x] Although you don’t show it, you are easily made happy. [  ] You care for others a lot, still, you don’t show it. [  ] People think you are mysterious. [x] You can be shy. [  ] You aren’t very loud, rather silent. [  ] You know who to trust and who not to. [  ] You choose which friend you can trust wisely. [x] You like simple colours, like light purple or white. [  ] You are rather mature. Total: 3

DANDERE

[x] You are a shy person. [  ] You are quiet and don’t speak up for yourself. [  ] You look down instead of straight forwards when walking. [  ] You sometimes go to extreme levels just to get out of public speaking. [  ] You have stage fright. [  ] You are stoic and not very open. [  ] You hide yourself with your hair at times. [  ] You speak very quietly in case you say something silly or you sound weird. [  ] You are afraid of meeting new people. [x] You are a hard worker. [x] You do not have as many friendships as others, but those you do have, you’ll cherish it very much.

Total: 3

Final Result: Seems Rook is a Deredere...whatever that means XD

Tagged by: No one, saw @lalaliya do it and decided to snag

Tagging: @tidusyumemiru @cadrenebula @elisiaheartnet @ylaziel @ffxivaltstars @eorzean-wayfinder and whoever else would like to/hasn’t done it. Just tag me so I can see :)

[plockd]

Heyyy, i read that you read the 2nd Luke Jennings book and I’d love spoilers! Defo don’t tag them, but as I won’t read the books, I’d love to know what happens with V and Eve :)

[Note added: Alright, the book should now be available everywhere, so this will be tagged underneath ”KILLING EVE SPOILERS”, so anyone who doesn’t want to see this shouldn’t be able to, and if they do, sorry! The following ask answer contains all the stuff with Eve and Villanelle from Luke Jennings’ second book, ”Villanelle - No Tomorrow”.]

Alright my buddy, SPOILERS for “Villanelle - No tomorrow” it is! This is going to be loooooong. I will tag this for the fandom once the book has been out for a while.

Yeah, right.

Following an interview with Cradle (the equivalent of Frank), Eve gets a call that there’s been a break-in at her house (guess who...) and she’s on the motorway when she gets pulled over by a female police officer. Said officer pats her down, then reveals her eyes and Eve realizes it’s Villanelle. She’s shocked, especially when she notices Villanelle is wearing her bracelet, and Villanelle tells Eve that she crept into her hotel room in Shanghai to watch her sleep. You can imagine how Eve feels after this. Villanelle takes off with Cradle, and Eve is left in the middle of the motorway. 

Villanelle’s break-in wasn’t so much a break-in as it was a gift: she’s left Eve a 6250 euros worth bracelet (I think it was that amount and this, I believe, is the equivalent of her stealing Eve’s suitcase and filling it with all that fancy stuff from Berlin). Eve, conflicted, ends up wearing the bracelet, as she attempts (and succeeds) to track down where it was bought. 

During the preparation for a mission, Villanelle gets restless and goes out to find a quick fuck. At a club, she finds a guy whom she orders to go down on her in a back alley, and while he’s at it, Villanelle imagines what it would be like if it were Eve (her eyes, her mouth, sound familiar?) who was doing what he was doing. I think it’s plainly obvious here that Villanelle’s obsession and attraction is as physical as it is mental: she wants to bring Eve’s ethics down, sort of destroy that special thing about her righteousness, all while wanting her at the same time which... yeah. You know wassup if you’ve read the fanfics out there. 

Eve, hah, Eve’s not up for sex with Niko, but as she gets into bed, she ends up masturbating about Villanelle. I’m dead serious. This sort of just happens: she closes her eyes, boom, it’s Villanelle who’s on her mind, and it’s a mixture of fear and longing, as I interpreted it. And let me just say: oh my god. Reading this was such a fucking thrill because it was a green light for the argument that no, Eve’s obsession is not platonic. There is something there, and the KE writers better fucking believe that! 

A lot of stuff happens, but Eve goes off to Russia and literally goes through hell (her feelings resemble that which I suspect she feels after she stabs Villanelle in the series), and when she returns to London, she says she’s out. She’s managed to identify Villanelle as Oxana Vorontsova, and she reports it to her superior (who is supposed to be Carolyn Martens right), and then she claims that she’s out. She had such a fright in Moscow, and Niko’s leaving her, so she is, simply put, out. 

... or, not so much: back home, guess who’s in her bathtub--naked? Oh yeah. No kidding. So she asks Eve to wash her fucking hair and Eve does so, while Villanelle is hanging out in the tub, naked. And Eve looks. Of course she fucking does. This is also the first time she sees Villanelle’s whole face in the flesh, because she was wearing this balaclava thingy on the motorway. Safe to say, this tub part is where the iconic bathroom scene came from, although it’s a little different than in the series. 

Okay, so, what’s Villanelle doing in Eve’s house? Basically, she’s been sent to kill Eve (there’s a fucking name drop in this book, like, literally “Killing Eve”!), because Eve got too close, so Anton ordered Villanelle to take her out. What Anton doesn’t know is, Villanelle’s clever enough to realize that by getting identified, she’s become a liability, aka she’s next on the kill list. What Eve doesn’t realize, is that all this time, her boss (”Carolyn Martens”) has, indeed, been working for The Twelve, aka bulletproofing the organisation. Eve tells “Carolyn” she’s identified Villanelle, “Carolyn” tells Anton, Anton decides to have both Eve and Villanelle eliminated. So, shit. After Villanelle’s out of the tub, she tells Eve all of this, and tells her that if they both want to live, they need to disappear. Like, right fucking now. And Eve agrees; she knows it’s over for her, and she feels incredibly betrayed (as she should) by “Carolyn”. Villanelle stages Eve’s death and hauls her the fuck out of Finchley, and together, they take off into the shadow world where neither one exists anymore. 

That’s the basic gist of it. I’d like to add that this second book was, in my opinion, so much better than the first one. The character development felt on-point, and even though I’m not the biggest fan of Jennings’ writing style, I can promise that I will read this book again, and not just for the Eve/Villanelle scenes; Villanelle in action is magnificent in the book. But what got me here, especially, is the fact that while on a mission, she hides in a suitcase. Yes, a suitcase. Now, when did that happen in the series? Fucking episode one. I don’t know how much of the books was written by the time they started filming S1, but if No Tomorrow really was almost done, then I hope and pray for a similar ending to the KE-series. Hope this little run-through helped! 

[lettythepetty]

Tagged by @brokenflashbackgypsy (I should've done this since so much time ago and i'm so sorry i forgot about it 😓)

How to know you're in a "The Guy in the Purple Hoodie" novel:

You're back to your country and hometown and you're going to live with your childhood best friends

Weird nicknames between you and your friends, that go from "firehead" to Mordu

Everything feels nostalgic

You meet one of your best friend's older brother and turns out he's the only person in the world with natural purple eyes (pretty realistic, ik)

That brother is always wearing a purple hoodie for some reason

There's a traditional winter festival in your hometown where there's ice-skating, marshmallows, and you end up reuniting with a childhood crush of yours

You find out that the purple eyed brother have depression and decides to help him with it because of a past loss you had involving depression

There's a plan between you and your purple eyed friend to get you and your crush together

A party where you get drunk and is this close from kissing your purple eyed friend. Which, may I add, you danced with.

You have to play the piano on a recital as a favor to your crush, but you're insecure and have stage fright due to a pass trauma.

Healthy sibling relationships? Maybe just yours and your sister's

You're clumsy asf

Night walks, star gazing, fireflies inside jars

Flowers with meanings

You may or may not have a crush on your purple eyed friend...

How To Know You’re In A ____ Novel Tag

(Or wip/Short Story)

Thanks to @wolvesofarcadia for tagging me. It’s been a while, but I’ve finally gotten to do it. I think someone else also tagged me, but I’m not quite sure. 🙃

How to Know you’re in a Spirits of the Shadow Novel:

It’s always windy

A demon randomly appears from behind

Everyone is either at your throat, terrified of you, or dying to be your friend. No exceptions.

Everyones eyes mean something. Maybe except you. Definitely except you.

It’s forever cloudy

What are animals?

There are voices in your head.

You’re scared…

[fandom-jumper01]

Tagged once again~

I got tagged by the lovely @queenmaj !!! Love ya Mel 💙

Rules: tag ten people you want to get to know better

• Nicknames: Angel, Angie, Ang, Agueslash, Agues, and Tiny Satan (the last three have reasons I swear)

• Height: 5'2" and ready to bite someones shins

• Time right now: 3:42 am (and I have to be at school by 6:45 because detention is stupid. Save me)

• Last thing I googled: “Proponenet(s) of Marxism” I’M DOING A PACKET FOR AP WORLD I PROMISE

• Fave music artist: Still don’t have one so I’ll go back to my last answer: Rhianna, Beyoncé, or Nicki Minaj

• Last movie I watched: Logan and I cried like the bubble blowing baby I am

• Last TV show I watched: Legions or Fude? I can’t remember which I saw first

• What I’m wearing right now: A pj tank top that says “pizza made me do it” and my favorite pj shorts with pockets!!!!

• When I created this blog: Fuck if I know lol I’m gonna guess 3-4 years ago

• The kind of stuff I post: A random assortment of shit that I’ve lost track of hehe

• Do I have any other blogs: Nope. But I did have at one point because I was debating over changing my url but I decide not to change ‘cause My Brand™

• Do I get asks regularly: Not at all. My inbox is a desert my dudes. But the last one I did was from a YouTuber I follow here thanking me for a compliment I left on her selfie and I only happy cried for 5 minutes

• Why did I choose my url: I have a pretty short attention span and I like a lot of things so I thought it fit me well

• Gender: I am a female!

• Hogwarts house: Slytherin boi!!!!! 🐍🐍

• Fave colors: I love light blue and all shades of purple

• Average hours of sleep: What is sleep? I’d say about 2-3 school nights and 9-10 on weekends.

• Lucky numbers: Don’t really have one but I’ll go with 12 cause of my birthday

• Dream job: Fashion designer or mechanical engineer. Also maybe a voice actor (‘cause I like acting but I get stage fright like you wouldn’t believe)

• Number of blankets I sleep with: As of right now 1 but if it gets colder 2

• Number of people I follow: about 164 amazing peeps (if I counted correctly)

Alright! Now my beautiful people are @blue-gold-demigod-clouds @suckaflute @starwarsisgay @nottheordinarytype @atomiktaco @keithmccclain @suzanscookie @starpuffin @drowned-in-books and @yukicutie (I’d love to add more lovelies but the rule was 10 lol)

[davidrsmithlove]

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #374

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS; chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO; Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another: 

How A Burning Man Camp Project Became A Multimillion-Dollar Business - Fast Company. "I've stayed in a Hexayurt at Burning Man, and they're fragile but brilliant: A shelter that keeps out dust, heat and cold made from 12 sheets of reflective foam insulation and some tape. But they're hard to put up and take down. A couple of years later, these tents started popping up; now, you can deploy an entire emergency village, with a central command, from a shipping container." (Alistair for Hugh).

What it really means to 'seize the day' - BBC Culture. "Popularized by the Dead Poets Society, the phrase has interesting origins. Given that I'm headed to Burning Man -- either the world's biggest Carpe Diem, or Emergency Housing for Rich People, depending on your point of view -- I figured this was appropriate." (Alistair for Mitch).

Grace Hopper on Letterman - YouTube. "Grace Hopper, born in 1906, was one of the first computer programmers in the USA, and Navy admiral. Here she is on David Letterman from... the 1980s?" (Hugh for Alistair).

Here's a Crazy Idea: Let's Agree on the Facts - Bloomberg. "Steve Ballmer just wishes we would all get along!" (Hugh for Mitch).

The Purpose of Life is to Be a Nobody - Zat Rana - Medium. "After all of these years, I still get jitters and anxiety when I have a presentation. It's just the way that I am wired, I guess... or, I have to deal more directly with issues of self-esteem and stage fright (maybe?). Still, I was waiting to take the stage the other day in Colorado, and came across this post. Everything about my physical and psychological chemistry changed after reading this. Seriously. Who am I to think that I matter?... and that's a good/real thing. So, here's to the nobodys out there like you and me!" (Mitch for Alistair).

Did This Book Buy Its Way Onto The New York Times Bestseller List? - Pajiba. "People who write books really need their creations to hit the bestseller lists. It matters. It's credibility. It's social proofing. It sells more books. It can even score you a major movie or TV deal. Over the years, there have been countless services and ways to 'game' the system. Like any loopholes, the publishers and retailers have worked diligently to keep adapting to those who are trying to work outside of the system. Still, some things get through. Like this incredible story. The other side of this story is: journalism. We're inundated with problems in the world of journalism (fake news much?). Take a read and spend some time reflecting on what this world might look like if this journalist didn't have the budget or resources to scratch, dig and uncover a story as fascinating as this one." (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Tags: advertising agency alistair croll author bbc bbc culture bit current bit north bloomberg book a futurists manifesto book writing brand burning man business blog complete web monitoring computer programming david letterman dead poets society digital marketing digital marketing agency digital marketing blog emergency housing facebook fake news fast company gigom grace hopper harvard business school hexayurt hugh mcguire human 20 iambic j walter thompson journalism journalist jwt lean analytics librivox link bait link exchange link sharing managing bandwidth marketing marketing agency marketing blog medium microsoft mirum mirum agency mirum agency blog mirum blog mirum canada mirum in canada mitch joel mitchjoel new york times new york times bestseller list pajiba pandemonio personal growth press books publisher resolveto retail retailer shelter six pixels of separation social media social proof solve for interesting startupfest steve ballmer strata tilt the windmill year one labs youtube zat rana  wpp