#I will say when I try to refresh the accent I've been doing for most of the clowns I go back to vinnie jones the football/actor guy

[birchbow]

do you have voiceclaims for any of your OCs?

I wish! I can describe how I'd want their voices to sound but I'm not a very auditory person and I don't usually stop to think about whether X person could work for any of my characters, so no specifics come to mind--at least not for fan OCs. I've also poisoned the well at least a little by recording my own podfic of several chapters, which does mean half the time all I can imagine is my own voice, which doesn't help anything lol.

[dissociativedollcherry]

ㅤㅤ౨ৎ LETS DROP THE BEAT ⟡ ݁₊ .

₊⊹ TF2 MERCS WITH LUCIO READER

౨ৎ Pst! Cherry says: hello, it's been a while, i've been feeling better these days, but to refrain from feeling burn out again, I'll keep the requests closed and write some fanfics to cope for some time, hope this is okay<3 this was inspired by @papil0nglegs , make sure to check out some of their work 🫶🏼 (little bonus at the end)

｡𖦹° Type: Romantic/platonic, fluff, headcanons, reader isn't necessarily male, just has the same abilities as Lucio but can be seen as any gender u want <3

✧₊⁺ Characters: Scout, Medic and Spy.

♡ Song: PUNK TACTICS

⟡ ݁₊ . SCOUT

౨ৎ He's very normal about you. (he's not)

౨ৎ When Scout first met you, he was already really into your style and personality itself, finally someone who could keep up with his electric self! you two were inseparable at the moment you were put together.

౨ৎ Not only Scout likes your personality as a whole, he enjoys your way of battling, he finds it fun and its refreshing to hear some other noise other than the constant screaming and chaos of the battlefield.

౨ৎ Everytime he needs healing now he'll go to you for help, Medic also thanks you almost everyday from saving him from hearing "DOC!!" in that damn boston accent everyday, all day.

౨ৎ Is amazed by your social skills and how quick you are to befriend (almost) everyone in the team, Scout himself is a social guy but you just beat him easily.

౨ৎ So he matches your energy SO MUCH, everytime you go: "Lets do this team" or something of the genre, Scout always go: "HELL YEAH!!! U KNOW!" he loves when u do that.

౨ৎ Sometimes y'all race in the middle of the battle just for the fun of it, sometimes you win, sometimes he wins, but its always fun for both of you either way.

౨ৎ "Can't stop, wont stop!" "Hey! that's my line!"

⟡ ݁₊ . MEDIC

౨ৎ He's... neutral about you.

౨ৎ While Medic thinks your way of battling weird, he is quite fond of your way of healing, it's efficient and quick, but its kind of a bummer have to keep up with you in order to heal, and keeping up with you is something only Scout can pull off.

౨ৎ This old man also thinks your boom box so annoying, everytime you're near him, he gets an headache, seriously, Medic sometimes gets angry at how "unnecessarily" loud you are, but he doesn't say anything cuz he knows you don't really care about his annoyance anyways.

౨ৎ But like i said: you have some points with him for saving him from Scout: Medic could feel himself aging 3x faster just from hearing Scout calling him.

౨ৎ Doesn't really Uber you since you're also on the healing side too, so he thinks it would be a waste, maybe he would if you asked for i but if not Medic won't even cogitate.

౨ৎ I have to say: Medic's a bit jealous of your tech and healing skills, but his pride would never allow him to admit it, usually would just try to do something alike in secret, if you catch him, doc's going to deny it to the end.

౨ৎ Medic finds you polite too, a bit too electric, but polite, even when he ends up envying your tech and whatnot... you always is positive towards the old doctor.

౨ৎ Not much to say, this man is cool with you.

౨ৎ "You ready doc?" "Let's do this mein Freund"

⟡ ݁₊ . SPY

౨ৎ Oh please stop.

౨ৎ You guys are polar opposites, while he's all sneaky and silent, you're all intense and loud, he HATES that, is it so hard for you to keep it down??

౨ৎ Sometimes he asks himself how do you even is one of the most efficient mercs, Spy thinks the way you work is so unprofessional.

౨ৎ You two have beef and it shows, everytime you two ends up interacting in the battlefield you always got some funny remark to make about him, and so does he.

౨ৎ You may or may not blow up his plan of sneaking behind enemies by making noise to startle the enemy, consequently getting him eliminated.

౨ৎ Spy is getting gray hairs just from people mentioning you, another one that always ends up with headaches because of your music, but unlike Medic he voices his annoyance, but again: you do not care, so you just mock him.

౨ৎ You also sometimes switch your healing area to speed when Spy tries to enter it to heal himself, and your little smug ass go: "We need a healer!" while spy is just 🧍🏼

౨ৎ Spy labels you the #1 stressful merc to be around now, making Scout go to 2nd place! congrats 🎉

౨ৎ "Must you always be so loud?" "not my fault you don't like music."

⟡ ݁₊ . BONUS !!

⟡ ݁₊ . Little interactions dialog you have with them<3

౨ৎ "Yo Scout, you killing it with that bat!" "And ur killing with those skates!"

౨ৎ "We need a healer!" "Very professional..."

౨ৎ "Lets pump this battlefield!" "I like your enthusiasm mein freund."

[dreadfuldevotee]

okay so I've gotta say I just finished iwtv and like it's really refreshing to find someone who's willing to talk about armand (and, by extension loumand) in an interesting way. Because I quite liked them in S2 so imagine my surprise when I go online and all I see is people acting like armand personally kidnapped claudia and also was mind controlling louis 24/7 (tiktok is horrible with that) when that's just the most boring and frankly nonsensical reading of the material ever. (I think it's silly in general to constantly compare loumand and loustat on the basis of who's worse because. come on.)

However, it got me thinking about how some of that might be the show's own fault? Sure, a big amount of the people not willing to engage are loustat shippers who can't comprehend one person loving multiple people, but I've seen that many people revert back to calling armand this big bad who would have let louis die as if it recontextualizes the WHOLE relationship when imo... it doesn't? Like I feel like I'm going insane bc the show presented it as this huge twist and I didn't quite get on with it? (I'm conflicted on the loustat reunion too but whatever). I feel that there's a disconnect there of what was established the whole season and what was said in the finale. And people are just running with it.

Man idek if what I'm saying makes sense but I wanted to hear your takes on it bc I quite enjoy them and value your input!

No, I totally get what you're saying! I think the details of the loumand breakup collapse on itself upon prodding a bit. I can understand why they wouldn't want them to split the way they do in the book (years of travelling together, finally ending up in New Orleans- Armand setting Louis up to meet Lestat who is wallowing, jumping at sirens 'n just generally sad and pathetic; and being fed up that Louis is seemingly unmoved to any real emotion after the encounter. Them exchanging some harsh observations about each other and then Armand walking off into the night) I think the season ending is more interested in serving the direction they're (presumably) heading for Louis, and wrapping up his life story.

I've been thinking of it to myself as a "Straw that broke the camel's back" kind of break. It's the resurfacing of all the myriad of ways Armand fucked up and fucked Louis over- Oh, and by the way not only did he have a more active role in the play than you originally thought, it never even crossed his mind once to lift a finger to save you. Though, even this falters a bit under remember that Armand breaks Louis out his crypt. People smarter than me have put their finger on exactly why it stumbles on the landing, I'm sure.

What makes it work enough for me is that Louis doesn't go back to Lestat. Yes, they see each other and hug tearfully but Louis does not walk out of Dubai with the intent to ask Lestat to take him back. No, he goes home. He ruminates in the sound of the driver's accent and immediately steps out in a saint's hat. The fact that he finds his way to Lestat is a turn of fate and even then its not really a reunion of lovers but of parents, as the only two people who will mourn Claudia. I say this all the time, but I think knowing that IWTV as a contained story is about grieving a child is the puzzle piece I think a lot of people miss. Before its about Lestat and messy romances and aliens, the whole story sprouts from this moment of deep grief. So I love that Louis has this moment of personal introspection and allows himself to feel his own grief and share it with Lestat but also make a promise to try living for himself and still goes back to the penthouse alone.

I think my continued feelings are a little contingent on how the show plays it going forward. The way I see it, if we start taking score for whos worse, Armand or Lestat- They are tied for gold. Lestat is still complicit in the trial, as is Armand ofc, but neither of them wrote it or schemed it, or genuinely personally desired to kill Louis/Claudia/Madeleine. If the show decides it wants to act like Armand is irredeemable in Louis eyes I will be....less than happy, to say the least. But if the show is as interested in engaging with all the character and all their complexities I think it could all come together quite nicely by the end.

[itwasthereaminuteago]

|| No Show ||

Female reader x Matt Murderdock x Elektra

Tags/warnings: threesome, oral sex (female rec), p in v unprotected sex. E 18+

A/n: I've been hoarding this for a long while and finally finished it off. This is what everyone wants, right? 😉

As you down the dregs of your second drink and were considering ordering a third, you finally admit to yourself that you'd been stood up. You checked your phone yet again, the battery draining fast from the amount of times you'd unlocked it and refreshed for notifications just in case. It was even more frustrating that you'd been ghosted as this guy had actually seemed like he was really nice. Well shit, turns out they're all the fucking same.

You raise your head, about to stand up and get the bartender's attention but as you look up a woman was there, right in front of your table, smiling at you. She's very beautiful, with poker straight dark chocolate coloured hair, a deep red dress that skims her curves with a pair of killer heels to match, and dark eyes that draw you in.

"Um, can I help you?" You ask politely.

She smiles again. "If your date hasn't been ambushed by ninjas on his way here, he's not worth it darling." She turns to the bar. "Another round, and whatever the lady wants, bring it to our table."

She has an accent, from somewhere in Europe you guessed. And she smells amazing. You watch her tip the bartender generously before she turns back to you.

"Come join us. I know it's no fun drinking alone. My name is Elektra, and he," she gestured to the low table in the far corner of the restaurant. "is Matthew."

You look over to where your eyes had been subconsciously flitting most of the night. You supposed it couldn't be helped, they were an attractive couple, and the woman, Elektra, had briefly caught your eye when she saw you looking over earlier. The man you already knew was Matt Murdock, the Kingpin, one of the most powerful men in the city. He was famous, handsome, and extremely dangerous. And you were let-down, bored and had nothing to lose.

Despite his blindness, he throws you a grin as Elektra walks you over to their table, you offer your hand and are both taken aback and charmed as he brings it to his lips, kissing the back of it with a softness you didn't expect.

"Who's this you've brought me 'lektra? A new friend?"

You could feel the power almost rolling off him at this close distance, he was sharply dressed in an expensive tailored suit that probably cost your salary, and it perfectly matched the colour of Elektra's dress. His tie was loosened slightly around his neck with the top button of his dark plum silk shirt undone, his eyes hidden behind a pair of deep red oval glasses and red hair slightly ruffled as if someone had just run their fingers through it. It was in no way an exaggeration to say he had devilish good looks.

You introduced yourself to both of them and Elektra beckoned you to sit next to her.

"She had a very undeserving date." She explained, bringing colour to your cheeks as you shyly sipped on your cocktail. "I thought we would could show her a good time and perhaps make it up to her."

"Oh my, of course," Matthew purrs, "men are such assholes, aren't they?"

Elektra cackles and you soon join her, agreeing and clinking glasses and falling into easy conversation with these two utterly entrancing people who, currently unbeknownst to you, were going to show you the best night of your life.

A couple of hours had passed, along with a few more drinks. Elektra fed you canapés and you were laughing more and more as it seemed to bring the most gorgeous smile to Matthew's lips, and somehow you found yourself eager to please him. When you turn to look over the room you realised some of the patrons were looking right back.

"Oh, people are looking…" you whispered, trying to sink down and hide in your drink.

Matt chuckles. "Yes, staring at us. Jealousy is such a terrible thing. Do you perhaps want to go somewhere a little more private, sweetheart?"

You looked between them, unsure, your heart suddenly racing at the potential meaning in the question, as well as the added endearment.

"I-I…" your liquid courage had faded slightly but the soft warm touch of Elektra's hand over yours relaxed you more than you'd have thought as Matt continued.

"No pressure at all angelface, but I do have a nice little room upstairs."

Elektra leans in, "He means a penthouse. He owns this entire building."

You can't help but gawp slightly, this was no cheap diner you were sitting in. "You own this place? Do you live here?"

Elektra smiles and Matthew shrugs like it's nothing. "Some of the time. He flicks a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "Would you like to see? Like I said, no pressure, but we'd both love if you would join us."

You turn the proposition over in your mind - they were two of the most gorgeous people you had spent time with, they even smelled amazing, and they only seemed to want to show you a good time. Your eyes absently follow Elektra's slender fingers to Matt's thigh where she strokes and squeezes. He leans over to her and whispers something that makes her lips split in a grin showing nearly all of her beautiful white teeth.

You finish your drink, licking your lips and picking up your purse, your mind suddenly very firmly made up.

"Show me then."

The ride in the private elevator up to the penthouse is something else. Elektra took your hand in hers, leading you out of the restaurant as Matt was leaving a very generous tip before catching you up. You're all smiles and giggles as Matt presses his key against the lock of the lift and Elektra pulls you inside.

"You're such a pretty one," she was like a big cat that has you pinned and ready to devour as soon as the door slid closed, and you blush again as she strokes the side of your face, so very close to you you can feel her breath. "whoever the jerk was that stood you up should be cursing himself right now…"

Her fingers slide under your chin, her thumb resting lightly on your lower lip leaving you dumbfounded as her sultry gaze meets your eyes.

"May I?" She asks, and you're only half certain of what she's asking permission for but you nod quickly, murmuring a soft yes that melts into a moan as her mouth meets your own. She moves her lips against yours so delicately, like she knows you may never have kissed a woman before. She tastes as good as she looks, her scent and the sensation of her warm wet tongue on yours making your body heat up infinitely, and your hands automatically reach for her then halt, unsure of what's allowed.

As if he can hear your thoughts, Matthew answers from behind you. "Touch her, go on."

Your tentative fingers curl gently around the back of her long elegant neck holding her as she deepens the kiss, while your other hand grazes up the outside of her thigh where the split in her dress reveals her smooth bare skin. Her own hands continue to snake through your hair and curl around your waist, holding you closer so you can feel her warmth, feel the soft press of her breasts against your own.

You gasp, leaning against the wall of the elevator and tilting your head back as Elektra trails more kisses under your jaw and down the side of your neck to your decolletage.

Your eyes close and you feel Matthew beside you. "She's good isn't she, doll?"

You moan in agreement as Elektra fondles your breasts through your black strappy dress, teasing your hardened nipples with her fingers, teeth and tongue. You were already aroused at the bar, and you squeeze your thighs together, feeling yourself getting wetter with every passing second, still wondering if this is all a dream.

Then the elevator pings, signaling that you've reached the top floor and the doors open to reveal a tastefully extravagant penthouse apartment before you.

"Oh, here we are!" She says teasingly, grabbing your hand again and Matt's, leading you both to the bedroom. It's the biggest bed you've ever seen and you wouldn't be surprised to learn if it's had many more people than three in it.

Matt's hand sneaks around your waist and you hold your breath as his lips brush your shoulder. "Can I get you anything sweetie?"

Your eyes are drawn to his plump lips as he runs his wicked tongue over to wet them.

"I… no, thank you Mr Murdock."

His grin is dark and delicious. "'Mr Murdock'. Mm, I like that…"

He leaves you temporarily alone with Elektra as he goes to the bar to fix a drink. She guides you to the edge of the bed, her deep brown eyes roving over your form as she raises her hand to your shoulder, pulling the strap to one side, and you shrug off the other, letting your dress to puddle on the floor leaving you in black lacy panties. You reach for her again, your fingers trailing up her arms and leaning in closer as you kiss for a second time. She breaks it off gently to turn around, raising her hair up so you can access the zip of her dress.

"Would you please?"

You oblige of course, taking your time drawing it down, kissing her neck and her shoulders as she did for you, down between her shoulder blades and down her spine to her lower back where you kneel as she pushes the remaining fabric off over her bare hips. She hadn't been wearing any underwear all evening.

She turns again and your face is right in front of her neatly trimmed mound. She looks down at you and smiles, beckoning you to your feet and then guiding you to kneel on the bed, following you and slotting her thighs between your own. You want to kiss her again and she welcomes it, her hands moving yours to her breasts as she encourages you to explore. She's so very firm yet yielding, her entire body is sculpted so athletically but you marvel at her softness, desperate to feel and perhaps taste all of her.

A whimper escapes your throat when you feel her soft touch between your thighs, her fingers stroking lightly over your panties, teasing you through the fabric.

You moan into her mouth, your tongue lapping softly against hers when she slips her hand inside to touch your slick cunt.

"Mmm, so nice and wet darling, good girl." She purrs and you feel your pussy throb and ache at her praise.

"Does she like it?" You hear Matthew ask as Elektra slowly starts rubbing right over your clit then slides two of her fingers down between your soaking folds, gently pushing them up inside you.

"Oh yes, fuck… yes!" You cry out, whining at the sudden loss when she withdraws, licking your juices from them.

"Mm, I'd say so." You can hear her smile.

"It's okay angel, lie down." Matt is at the foot of the bed, now his tie is gone and shirt is undone you can see just how incredibly ripped his body is. Your eyes cast downward to the rather large bulge in his slacks and you can't help how your body automatically clenches around nothing as you fantasize about him fucking you.

"I think she sees something she likes…" Elektra notes and you turn to look at her hungrily.

"I do, oh I do, but I want to… can I taste you first?" You ask her tentatively.

"Oh my darling, of course…" she carefully moves over you, hovering over your face, her gorgeous pussy on display for you. You quickly wrap your arms around her thighs and pull her down onto your mouth, reveling in the sensual sound she makes as your tongue licks a slow, wide stripe right up the middle of her. You discover you love her taste, musky but sweet, and you lap up as much of it as you can, swirling your tongue around and suckling on her swollen clit just the way that you would like, keen to find out if she does too.

You jerk as you feel warm hands on your hips, fingers hooking around the waistband of your panties and pulling them slowly down your legs. The bed dips slightly as you feel him, the kingpin, hitch your legs up and spread them gently apart. You moan deeply into Elektra's pussy as the warm whisper of his breath fans over your own exposed core.

"Forgive me, I just had this overwhelming urge to make you come on my mouth. Can I taste you, beautiful?" Matt asks so sweetly you could never say no, but you feel like he would stop right away if you ever did. You hear him as he takes a deep inhale and groans.

"You smell so delicious, little dove,"

You whimper again, still licking and fucking the beautiful woman above you with your tongue as you feel Matt swipe his thumb through your arousal, spreading it over your sensitive bud before he puts his mouth on you.

Your whole body feels alight. Turned on beyond belief, you encourage Elektra to grind onto your mouth as Matthew's extremely talented tongue works on taking you ever closer to coming apart. When he slides two of his fingers inside you briefly think of a shitty joke about blind men and g-spots before he finds yours with apparently zero effort, making you moan loud and buck your hips uncontrollably. He seems to know exactly what you like as if he's reading your body like Braille, you swear you can feel him smugly grinning against your cunt before he draws away for a second to speak.

"Think you can make her cum when I make you cum?"

"Oh she can Matthew, I know she can." Elektra answers breathlessly for you while you double down, trying your best to keep the rhythm that she likes while Matt fucks you with his fingers just the way you need. You feel your orgasm zeroing in, and you hold her fast to you as you start to shake. He latches onto your clit, flicking the tip and flat of his tongue over and over.

"Yes, just like that sweetheart, that's a good girl…"

And you don't know how but he makes you squirt as you come for the first time, gushing hard over his hand as he pumps his fingers inside you until you can't take any more. Your loud shuddering moans mingle with Elektra's as she throws her head back and you feel her twitching around you as she keeps grinding her wet pussy into your lips and tongue as she reaches her peak too.

You let her ride her pleasure out and she carefully dismounts lying on the bed beside you, turning onto her side to kiss her essence from your mouth as you both pant and gasp from the aftershocks of your orgasms.

"Fuck. I- I've never done any of that before!" You laugh with a warm feeling of relief, your body relaxing like goo into the mattress and they both smile, Matt making you giggle with the soft kisses he's trailing along your inner thighs.

"You are so good for us darling, so, so good." Elektra sighs with pleasure, and you shimmy further back onto the bed, propping yourself up on some pillows as you watch Matt stand and take off his pants and tented silk boxers in one smooth motion. His cock is impressive to say the least, springing up from between his thick thighs to smack against the tempting landscape of well defined abdominal muscles. You can't help but stare as he strokes himself with his hand as if he's putting on a show just for you.

"Tell me you're not glad your date stood you up." Elektra asks, grinning at you wickedly and you're almost surprised you're not drooling.

"So incredibly glad…' you reply, watching as Murdock teases his thumb over the head of his cock.

"Would you like to ride him, pretty girl?" She gestures to Matt as you watch him prowl onto the bed and settle down on his back beside you. "He's very good…" she adds.

You're practically eating him with your eyes. "Please… yes, god, yes please-" the words tumble out of your mouth and you try your best to hold yourself together as he guides you closer, his hands smoothing over your hips as you steady yourself on all fours above him.

Delicate fingertips dance across the skin of your back, your ass and around to your inner thighs making you let out a breath you'd been holding as he cups his hand over your pussy and pulls you down with the other behind your neck to his lips.

He tastes of you at first, but it melts away and lets you become addicted to the deeper, more delicious essence that's just so him. You may be on top but he's entirely in control, his hand slipping around under your jaw to your throat and holding you there as he licks his tongue against yours making you moan with pure want. He teases you, sliding his fingers between your folds through your wetness and leaving you needy as he takes his hand away to spread it over his cock. The action makes you clench and the corner of his mouth pulls up as if he can sense it.

"I think you're ready for me, aren't you sweetheart?"

You let out the breath you were holding, and your affirmation comes out as more of a moan than words.

He smiles, holding himself in hand, teasing you, running the head of his hard cock through your slick needy cunt so painfully slowly you want to beg him to hurry up and just ram you with it. But oh, the anticipation when he's lined up, just before he eases you down onto him creates a sizzling heat that spreads like a wildfire through your body, when you finally sink onto him and he fills you full.

"Mm angel, you feel so. fucking. good!"

His voice deepens to almost-purr, and you close your eyes, let him guide your hips with his hands, let him push a river of nonsensical euphoric words and whimpers from your lips as you begin to ride him.

"This okay for you, kitten?" He inquires with a grin.

You almost splutter out a laugh at the innocence in his question as he's fucking you into oblivion, but you're too lost in the sensation, too cock dumb to form any actual words so you just moan and nod hoping he can feel it.

Elektra's arms embrace you from behind, guiding you to sit up on your knees. Her hands cup your breasts and your head falls back against her shoulder as she teases and pinches your peaked nipples, connecting a fiery jolt of pleasure right to your core. Her body is molded perfectly to yours, moving with you as you rise and fall, her hand snaking down to your hip, her fingers interlocking with Matt's on your heated skin while the other slides slowly down your stomach and between your legs. She touches you again, drawing firm tight circles around your throbbing clit in time with Matthew's hips as they snap powerfully, relentlessly upward.

"Oh sweet girl, I can feel you getting closer…"

A moan escapes from your parted lips, they're driving you hard and fast to a mind blowing crescendo…

"C'mon beautiful, let go for me. Let me feel you come."

It's impossible to deny him or Elektra, crying out with pleasure as you reach your peak, watching in amazement as the Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen follows you into ecstasy as your pussy clenches repeatedly around his cock. He moans so beautifully, bucking up into you as your body milks him for all he's worth. Elektra is pushing you just that little bit farther until you're on the edge of yet another orgasm.

"Such a good girl for us…" her silky voice soothes into your ear until you're coming yet again, shuddering with overstimulation and begging her to stop. With aching thighs you carefully dismount from Matt's softening cock. He immediately pulls you close, kissing your forehead, Elektra curls her arms around you too bracketing you between them both and nuzzling into your nape. A contented sigh leaves your lips

The next morning once you're washed and treated to an incredible breakfast, it's finally time to leave this unbelievable bubble of sin that you'd been swept up into. You linger by the elevator door, Matthew has already called you a car at your request.

You suddenly find yourself blushing as it's time to go, even after everything you've done together.

"Thank you, um… for last night. I'm thinking I should let myself get stood up more often."

Both Matt and Elektra grin before kissing you on the cheek.

"if you give me that asshole's name and number, I'd like to teach him a little lesson in how to respect a lady... and, anytime you'd like to play, sweetheart," Matt says, producing a sleek business card seemingly from out of nowhere, "just call."

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Montgomery Scott

By Ames

Bust out the green booze! We’re spotlighting The Original Series’s resident miracle worker this week on A Star to Steer Her By, where we’re giving you the best and worst moments of each character in the whole dang show. We’re donning our worst Scottish accents to give you a whole bunch of moments from Scotty, whose engineering prowess is only matched by his love of scotch. If you’re going to wear a red shirt on this ship, make sure you’re the chief engineer evidently.

Since we’ve already covered the main three characters (Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are all here), finding moments to highlight from the rest of the crew of the original Enterprise is going to be more and more of a stretch. Cut us a little slack here – the writers didn’t consider the secondary characters most of the time either. See what all we came up with below, listen to this week’s discussion on the podcast (jump to 46:48), and maybe you’ll break the laws of physics too!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best Moments

The best diplomat I know is a fully activated phaser bank We see Scott in command of the Enterprise a bunch of times because Kirk and Spock are on away missions, and his emphatically no-nonsense attitude is honestly refreshing, especially compared with all the times Spock utterly fails at leading. And in “A Taste of Armageddon,” Scott figures out Anan 7 was imitating Kirk and stands up to ambassador Fox about it like a boss!

Deus ex machina, literally Despite it being utterly futile, Scotty stands up to the literal god Apollo several times in “Who Mourns for Adonais?” and it’s a little bit commendable. Sure, he gets his ass handed to him. Multiple times. But we’ve gotta give the guy credit for trying! However, as you’ll see in a minute, his motivation may not have entirely been in the right place.

I meant to say that it should be hauled away as garbage Scotty is a genuine delight throughout all of “The Trouble with Tribbles” and he really gets to shine. We learn his idea of shore leave is curling up with a good technical journal, which seems right to us. But his big scene in the commissary in which he starts a massive brawl with Klingons in defense of the name of the Enterprise is just too good not to highlight.

We did it, you and me… put him right under the table Let’s also give Scotty a lot of credit for drinking that Kelvan under the table in “By Any Other Name”! He sacrifices a bottle of very old whiskey for the cause of distracting their captors, and he came out (or really staggered out) the other side a victor. They don’t call it Constitution class for nothing!

No order can stop me from frightening them Again, Scott is left in charge of the Enterprise while the three lead characters get to have an adventure in “Bread and Circuses.” Although under orders not to interfere while orbiting Rome planet over and over, Scott agilely side steps that order by turning off the power on the surface. There was NO reason to think that nonsensical idea would help in any way, but the gamble paid off!

It's the biggest guess I've ever made! Somehow, this is the first moment of actually engineering genius that we’ve included on the list (I suppose we just consider it Scott doing his job at this point), but installing a Romulan cloaking device on the Enterprise in “The Enterprise Incident” is a step above the usual excellent job he does down in the bowels of the ship. Now you see him, now you don’t!

Oh what adventures they’d have! I’m almost saddened we never got a spin-off series that was just the adventures of Montgomery Scott and the slug baby from “The Eye of the Beholder” because that would be a lot of fun. When Scott meets this hyper-genius child, he somehow works out a compromise with its people even though none of the other crewmen could so much as communicate with them! Even Spock!

My sister’s youngest Uncle Scott’s relationship with his nephew Preston in The Wrath of Khan is really quite lovely. We don’t get to see much of it (families in Star Trek are famously fraught), which means the moments we do get of them together are touching and sweet. And then James Doohan’s acting in Preston’s death scene is sure to pull on your heartstrings, something this movie does in spades.

Amazing grace Speaking of touching scenes from The Wrath of Khan, the film culminates in not only the perfectly delivered eulogy from Kirk (which has a special place on our Kirk spotlight post), but in Scotty’s playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes while Spock’s torpedo is spat into space. The fact that this was added at Doohan’s suggestion makes it all the more beautiful.

From one surgeon to another Let’s get further into the movies, where Scott (and the other minor crewmembers) seems to have the most to actually do. All the main TOS characters commit one hell of a treason to go search for Spock in The Search for Spock, and Scott is right there with them, sabotaging the Excelsior by pulling out some of the parts of its notorious transwarp drive.

Hello, computer! The Voyage Home shows us what a crime it was throughout The Original Series that they didn’t pair McCoy and Scott together more often. They play so well off each other as they go off to find material for the trip back to the future with some whales in tow. The comedy is spot on, their timing is down to the millisecond, and their shattering the Temporal Prime Directive is… well, you’ll see.

No bloody A, B, C, or D The Next Generation found a clever way to bring Montgomery Scott into the 24th century in “Relics” and it’s a generally good time! Sure, I have a better punchline for the “it’s green” callback somewhere in our episode coverage, but Scott wrestling with being behind the times, seeking out the familiar bridge of the Enterprise, and having a heart-to-heart with Picard are all lovely moments.

—

Worst Moments

I’d like to get into her toga Despite finding Scott standing up to Apollo in “Who Mourns for Adonais?” sort of endearing because he is so outmatched, his motivation the whole episode long is that he wants to get in Palamas’s pants, even though it’s pretty clear she’s not interested in that way, and he spends the rest of the episode speaking for her and telling Apollo what she wants when she’s right there.

This unit is not perfect Not so much a bad moment for Scott through any fault of his own, but a bad moment in that it makes him look as much like a chump as he did in literally the previous episode, Scott gets freaking killed in “The Changeling” only for it to get undone when Kirk asks really nicely. It was also in defense of Uhura, whose mind had just gotten erased, but there just aren’t enough bad Scott moments, okay?

Alright then, we can do it the hard way We mentioned a handful of times in which Scott did a good job in command of the Enterprise, but sometimes he’s almost as bad as that pointy-eared hobgoblin. In “Metamorphosis,” he decides to search for the missing crew by scanning every single possible one in the 7000 bodies in an asteroid belt, which is just not how engineers solve problems! An engineer would write an algorithm or something. Yeesh.

Is your refrigerator running? Here’s another moment while Scott was in control that he just acted stupidly. In “Friday’s Child,” the Klingons set up the ruse of a false distress signal to keep the Enterprise busy while the away team is on planet, and Scott loses like a whole day to it before figuring out he’s been duped. And then we never even get to see the confrontation with Klingons on his return! What a waste!

I just need a wee bit of rest, that's all We’re scraping for crumbs to find more moments from Scott doing anything noteworthy, and I can’t help myself from bringing up the look on his face when his advanced aging is revealed in “The Deadly Years.” There's nothing wrong with the character, but “walk in and look sad” seemed like a boring sight gag to me. Then Scott barely has any lines despite being one of the affected crewmembers!

A walk in the fog with a bonny lass We’ve harped on “Wolf in the Fold” in both our Kirk and McCoy spotlights, and we’re just not done giving grief to an absolutely absurd inciting moment for an episode. Scotty is literally diagnosed with a medical case of misogyny by Doc, setting up a string of events that gets a bunch of women killed. And this show was supposed to be progressive at the time.

Where they’ll be no tribble at all… in death “The Trouble with Tribbles” is a genuinely funny episode, and the punchline at the end is meant to be a good button. But then you start thinking about it. And you realize that if Scott beamed hundreds (if not thousands) of tribbles into the engine room of a Klingon ship, they were either fried when they went to warp or brutally murdered by Klingons. And that’s less funny.

Look over there, a distraction! Here’s another one to pad out the list that I find kind of dumb. To distract Kara long enough to get a phaser from her in “Spock’s Brain,” Scott pretends to faint and it simply looks ridiculous. As if this episode isn’t bad enough, it’s also so uncreative that it uses a really half-assed plan to get out of this situation. Where’s something as creative as fizzbin when you need it?

Could it be the half a gallon of scotch? Even more half-assed is everything about “Spectre of the Gun,” which sees Scott volunteering to test a kludged tranquilizer on himself only for it not to work because his mind is too weak. Yeah, I don’t follow this train of thought either. How do they know Scott would have woken up in time? What exactly were they going to do if it did work? Force it under the Earps’ noses? Yeehaw!

I’m an engineer not a doctor We’ve already stated how sweet the relationship between Scott and Preston is in The Wrath of Khan, but I still cannot fathom why Scott brings his dying nephew to the bridge instead of sickbay after the attack. It’s only in the movie to get a reaction out of Kirk and not for any rational purpose because Scott is a professional who should know not to go many decks out of his way during a crisis.

How do we know he didn't invent the thing? I’m gonna call Jake out as a hypocrite for putting McCoy regrowing a woman’s kidney in The Voyage Home on his best moments list, but putting Scott giving Nicols the formula for transparent aluminum on his worst list, but here we are. It does break the hell out of the Temporal Prime Directive by a few more factors, so maybe it’s the negligence that makes the cut!

I know this ship like I know the back of my hand And to round things out, we finally reach The Final Frontier, which includes a joke that couldn’t even land if it had a barricade in the shuttle bay. How incompetent does Shatner think Scott is to have him literally concuss himself on a weirdly placed crossbeam (what were those crossbeams doing there anyway?)? It’s a bad punchline to a joke no one asked for and does Scotty dirty.

—

Well, we gave her all she’s got, captain. If you think some of these moments are already scraping the bottom of the barrel, imagine how creative we’re going to have to get for our Sulu spotlight. In fact, don’t imagine it; come back next week and find out! Also keep listening along to our podcast coverage of Enterprise over on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, hail us on Facebook and Twitter, and keep your haggis out of the fire.

[fabbyf1]

Bestieeee your writing is like the benchmark. After reading your fics (after reading and reading each and every single one of your fics, I might say), I have become so picky when reading other lestappen fics just because your fics are always in the back of my mind. Not that other writers’ works aren’t great (i dont want to sound ungrateful) but your fics are just the best of the best.

I literally have notifications for your posts turned on so that I don’t miss. a. single. thing. you. write.

With that being said, I am very curious to know how you feel about other fics when you read them…are you picky when it comes to reading other people’s fics because you have developed a sense of how the “characters” should act in your head? Are you picky when it comes to certain things that you think a fic shouldn’t lack? And do you have favorites, if yes, can you suggest a few for me to read (lestappen, ofc, cuz I live for them at this point tbh)?

Keep being you babe and don’t ever stop! Can’t wait for WAP 2.0!!!!!!!!!

oh BESTIE.

WHAT A LITTLE CAN OF WORMS YOU'VE JUST OPENED.

first off, thank you so fucking much for your kind words. you are so sweet and i'm so honored that you love my fics so much. thank you for taking the time to tell me, it really makes my day.

now to answer your question: YES.

i have been reading and writing fanfiction since i was 12 years old (for reference, that was 2002, before some of yall were born.) the internet and fanfiction in general were MUCH different back then. but because i started at such a young age with such HORRRRRRIBLE fics, it has made me the pickiest bitch alive. i have STANDARDS.

i can open a fic and just by looking at it know if i want to read it or not. because if the formatting is not what i like? i honestly won't even try. if it's written by someone i know and love, i will read it no matter what it looks like, but if i just randomly click on a link? i will know within a second if i'm gonna like it or not.

(pov, you're bailee sending me a fic rec and you had to watch as i opened it and said "immediately no" because of how it was spaced. LMFAOOOOOO. sorry baby. i bet it was great.)

formatting aside, i think it has to be "realistic" to me. but that's also based on whatever reality the fic is set in. for example, if it's a space fic with aliens and tentacle porn, i want it to be Realistic tentacle porn. ya feel me? i want to be able to read it and think "ah yes. i can totally see it. if i had a tentacle cock, it would be feeling this."

...

so when i say realistic, i don't necessarily mean it by definition.

(also, lmfao, i realize how ridiculous that last paragraph was. viva la tentacle porn.)

if it's set in a canon timeline, i want to be able to read it and hear the voice of whoever is speaking. if i'm reading max verstappen but it doesn't sound like anything in my head and i can't hear his cute lil lisp and accent? then i can't read it.

as for the rest of your question, i wouldn't say i compare the characters to how i think they should be written. i like that other people's characterizations of them are different. i have such a clear vision of who they are in MY head that it's actually refreshing to read other people's works and have it be a different max and charles.

it's like a breath of fresh air to get the hell away from my characters and get me out of my head.

i honestly think that's why i don't... read a lot of lestappen... which is incredibly funny. because lestappen is all i think about and what i enjoy writing the most. but it's hard to step away from fics in my head, so when i do pick up a fic, it's usually a different pairing. i think one of my favorite pairings to read is galex because they're SOOOOO different from lestappen. (so please, send me all your galex recs. even though I've probably already read them.)

anyway. i could rant about this for days. fanfiction is my life. fanfiction is my favorite thing to talk about.

[ratboyrecall]

Tenth Post - After putting this off a bunch of times, having a dilemma as to how the make this, and then going completely oblivious to the fact I did not post this, I am finally giving you a story. Now then. Without further ado, I present to you chapter 3!

Worlds Apart Will Soon Collide: Part 3

We had finished the milkshakes, a couple other people showing up after.

One of them came up to me, introducing himself as Sodapop. Sodapop seemed like an enjoyable person, cracking jokes alongside Two-Bit.

To be honest, both had rather curious names so of course, I had to ask.

Sodapop was easily up for it, as he said it was his real name. His ease soon grew into embarrassment as the others started to tease him for it. Eventually, Ponyboy got the other two to calm down.

Two-Bit on the other hand wasn't so keen on sharing whether or not it was his real name; therefore, I just gave up.

Eventually, the other introduced himself, his gruff voice seeming to echo in my mind as if he were some wise elder figure from a movie. This man introduced himself as Darry, Soda and Pony's older brother.

The joy that came from the group messing around with each other was indescribable. Mainly because it was one I had forgotten even existed amongst people. Honestly, the feeling was refreshing.

Later on, the Curtis brothers left, leaving me with Dally and Two-Bit. There was a bit of a light atmosphere as well as a discussion but eventually, the latter left.

So there sat me and the most stubborn man out of this group I've met so far. The only noise present was the voices of others and a clinking that came from Dally tapping his milkshake. We stayed silent until finally, I couldn't take enough of the awkward stress running through my blood.

"So... Is there anything you want to say?"

Dally looked up from his shake, a look of confusion on his face.

"Are you talking to me?..."

With a sigh, I nodded.

"No one else I know is here anymore..."

A grin suddenly made an appearance on his face as he took his thumb and ran it across his lips.

"Huh... The more I think about it, you're more feisty than any of the girls I've tried picking up. Got an attitude to ya. It's sorta funny you have more sass to ya than an eighth year old spoiled girl. Anyway, if yer askin' about our sleepover and if it has any rules, there ain't nothin' to worry about. You just... gotta keep yourself though."

I could help but raise an eyebrow at this peculiar set of words.

"So first, there were no rules. But you then give one?... That was like adding a "but" to that sentence. Just practically cancels out the part before that."

There came a scoff from Dally as he murdered the words smart-ass under his breath. The comment got me to smile, even if it bugged me a little.

"Look, when I tell you not to go snoopin' round, I mean it. My type ain't exactly forgiving when it comes to getting in somethin' yer not 'pose to, you got that?"

There was no chance I could hold off my sudden fit of giggling with what just went on. Dally looking all serious with his choppy grammar was simply making me weak.

"My god- You sure are hilarious... That accent... And who even is your type anyways? Not only that but are you talking about groups you hang out with or the females you choose when you say "your type"? If it's the first one, know I can take on a few females. Besides, it's rude to just keep me awake listening to something like that. I'd rather sleep in a box if you're gonna bring girls over tonight."

Dally growled, looking around before grabbing me by the collar.

"How 'bout you shut your mouth, wise guy. I wasn't talking about girls, I was talkin' about the people I crash with. And unless you want your brains blown out on their pavement, shut your yap- I'm just trying to keep ya from trouble."

As much fun as it would've been provoking Dallas, I decided to give it up, tired of his snappy attitude. Taking a glance at my empty milkshake cup, I shrugged.

"Fine. If you're trying to do something nice, I won't bug you about it. All I want to know is what I shouldn't do so neither of us get in trouble. I don't want to be kicked out of another house by someone's folks."

Dally raised a brow, looking at me funny.

"I thought I told you. Or at least one of the others did."

"Told what?"

"I don't live with my folks. I share a place with one of my buds. Well, more like acquaintance or whatever the word that Ponyboy kid uses to describe people you talk to. I don't really like him because he's annoying at time and doesn't know when he should keep his ass out conversations or such but he is decent company. That and he has a place to crash at so I stay with him. For now, at least."

My mind traveled, sending it's many cars down the paths of thought. On one hand, it was a place to sleep until things rolled over. Sleeping was all that needed to be done there because it was somewhat easy to continue living outside of someplace, especially with school. But on the other, there were still chances that could let me run into the other occupant, something I didn't want. Now I see what Dally didn't want happening.

What if that other man was some pervert or criminal? At any point in time, he could stab me or walk in on me in the shower. That's a thought I couldn't help but shiver at.

Dally seemed to take notice as he gave me a glance of confusion.

"Well, it's sounds okay but before we go, could we get some fries? They're something no one can mess up and I'm feeling a little bit hungry."

With a sigh, he looked around the diner.

"That'd just take up more money from me..."

I couldn't help but snicker while questioning him.

"You act like I'm a black hole sucking up your money and yet you're still getting those fries? I'm starting to believe what you say is the opposite of what you mean."

I only got a groan in response as he flagged down a waitress.

Once we received the "meal," we got up and started the journey to his place.

[maplecornia]

chapter 7

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 2.04K

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢: romance | slice of life | fluff | angst | bts x female!reader | ot7

𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: You watched them from the sidelines ever since you were a young teenage girl. Now you’re grown up, they’ve returned after 2 long years and everything has changed. What happens when you pull back the mask and find the darkness within? What happens when you see that they’re broken?

𝔞/𝔫: so yeah, i've decided to start uploading every day for this story until i'm caught up with the chapters i have. i'll tell you guys when i'll go back to posting once a week.

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: cliffhangers | angst | fluff | slight mentions of self hatred | depression | mental health illness | self harm | occurs in the year 2024 | set in a timeline where BTS went to the military together | slight language

tags:@kookaine |@fangirl125reader |@kookiebbyxx |@taradevonne

You almost faint in disbelief.

It's him, it's him.

Jeon Jungkook.

That's his face, those are his eyes, and that is his body.

Real, and right in front of you.

Heart pounding in your chest, you find yourself unable to breathe, your chest constricting and your mind going blank. You're faintly aware of the towel crinkling in your hands, and your feet propelling you backward, away from him. If he notices, he doesn't show it, seeming almost as frozen as you are.

You would know him anywhere.

The golden maknae of BTS, the one who’s made you laugh over and over multiple times before, the one who's good at everything, the sweet and handsome Jeon Jungkook.

Even after all these years, he still looks the same.

As he looks up at you, his hair falls in strands across his forehead. It's his natural color, a deep midnight black, with brown undertones. It looks as though he tried to do it in the morning, but a little too much dance practice has destroyed his efforts. There’s a slight sheen of sweat on his skin, complimenting the smooth soft complexion and making him shine as though he were a drop of moonlight befallen on the earth.

As he blinks, long feathery eyelashes cast small shadows on his cheeks, complementing the dark brown color of his irises. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words form, the same curve to his lips making it seem as though he were smiling even the tiniest bit your way. In the back of your mind, you recall how those lips would spread whenever he smiled, transforming his sweet face into one similar to that of a bunny.

As he moves even the slightest bit, your gaze travels to his jaw and you swallow hard.

Even his body is the same.

He's still tall and strong, sure and trained muscle rippling beneath his slight build. The coffee has even helped in this aspect, his shirt sticking to his chest and accenting his toned pectorals and sculpted abs beneath. You can see it in the muscle of his thighs, showing through his jeans, and the strong structure of his forearm. It even shows in the veins on his hands.

He looks the same as the day he left with the rest of BTS, leaving you behind.

At the thought, you sadly look away.

You had forgotten those days, forgotten the emptiness you felt in their absence.

You had forgotten about them for a while.

Perhaps that's the worst part.

What are you going to do?

You just bumped into Jeon Jungkook, probably the most beloved and adored member of BTS. Spilled his coffee all over him with not so much as a drop falling on you, and then proceeded to gawk at him.

You can't get all starry-eyed over an idol.

Especially not now.

Inwardly, you remind yourself that he’s just another person. He's just another human being, just someone else who lives on the same planet as you do.

Yeah, he's just another globally renowned person.

Half of the world's population is either in love with him or wanting to be like him.

Not to mention he's incredibly talented, with a great personality and heart of gold.

Nothing to worry about.

Glancing up at him, you can see he seems to have forgotten about you and is currently trying to rub the coffee stains off with the edge of his sleeve.

Smiling softly, you remember the towel you had retrieved moments ago and look towards him, swallowing hard.

“Mr. Jeon Jungkook?” your voice is soft, almost inaudible, and you silently curse yourself. Seriously, how much further are you going to embarrass yourself? Nevertheless, it draws his attention and he immediately looks up. At the sight of his eyes on you once more, your heart skips a beat.

“Here, you might need this.” Noticing the towel in your hands, he takes it from you, your fingers brushing against each other for a split second.

Almost as soon as he takes it from you, you snatch your hand back, trying to ignore the rapid beating of your heart and the faint blush rising in your cheeks. He smiles at you, politely, before nodding his head and murmuring what you think is a thank you, but you can't tell.

Looking away, you spy the mess on the floor.

Eyes widening, you immediately drop to your knees, pulling out another towel and starting to clean up the marble tile. It’s the least you can do after making a mess such as this. As you scrub up the floor, you can hear people whispering behind you and are faintly aware of a janitor in the far corner gazing at you in amazement.

You don't care, this is keeping your mind off of him.

This is distracting you from reality, at least for a moment.

But Jungkook has other plans.

You don't notice it when he pauses from cleaning his shirt and stares at you on the floor. Nor when he kneels and peers at you almost curiously. You don't even notice as he waves away a few staff members who inquire if he’s okay, or if he needs any help. You don't spy the faint smile playing on his lips as you dutifully clean up your mess.

Nor do you see when he takes the towel you gave him and cleans the floor beside you, setting the empty coffee cup to the side.

When you glance up from your work, and his face is there, just a few inches away from yours, you blink, startled.

His eyes meet yours, just like before, but this time they aren't as scared. This time, they’re friendly, almost nervous, but welcoming as they hold your attention once more. He smiles, softly, before reaching forward and taking the towel from your hand.

Inhaling sharply, you flinch away, surprised by the touch.

At the movement, his eyes falter in confidence and he looks away, shutting down once more. Only, you don't want him to shut down again. Frantically, you search for words, anything to say to him.

“I...” As he looks up at you, it's as though all your butterflies are gone and your mind is no longer blank. Things become clear and you know what you have to say.

“I’m sorry.”

At your words, he seems taken aback, as though he weren't expecting that. He blinks, surprised and you continue.

“I didn't see you behind me, and I should've apologized earlier or at least said excuse me or….” Trailing off, you sigh. Rambling won't do you any good now.

“The point is, I’m sorry.” You murmur, softly, before bowing your head to him.

You can't see his face or the way he looks at you tenderly, completely awestruck by your behavior. You don't see the soft, kind way he smiles before he playfully knocks on your head, and you raise it.

“It's alright, you don't have to apologize.” He reassures you and you flush deeply at the sound.

Jungkook’s voice is soft and almost melodic, as though he’s always ready to break out in song, exactly how you've heard it on videos and during concerts.

And yet, now that you're hearing it in person, it's a bit different.

You can hear the soft rumble in his throat as he speaks, a tiny hint of his Busan dialect mixing in with his words. Every syllable is straightforward and clear, every word having a purpose.

It's slightly raspy but refreshed, like the feeling after you've just had a good workout or have just accomplished a really hard dance you've been practicing for a while.

But what's most important is that at the sound of his voice, unexplainable emotions run through your heart.

You have to look away or you're afraid he would surely detect the rapid beating of your heart, the chaos in your mind, the way your body has suddenly gone weak.

Looking away, you spy the discarded cup on the side and lunge for it, startling Jungkook a bit. He dodges you, his eyes widening slightly. Pulling back you smile a bit sheepishly before standing and giving him a small smile.

“Wait here.” You instruct before turning and hurrying to a trash can.

As you look up after throwing away the coffee cup, you notice a vending machine and spy a canned coffee cup on one of the slots.

Glancing back at Jungkook, you watch as he offers the soaked towels to the janitor who has come behind you and is currently mopping up the mess.

Turning back to the vending machine, you pull out your wallet, taking out a couple of won and inserting it into the slot. Pressing the numbers of the coffee can, you receive your change, bending down to retrieve your prize and turning back to Jungkook. Taking a deep breath, you pocket your wallet and hide the coffee behind your back before walking back over to him.

As you reach him, he greets you with a friendly smile, and you return it, almost nervously.

“Here.” You say, and he takes it from you, peering at it in slight confusion. “To replace the other one.”

“Thank you.” He murmurs, opening it and taking a drink. As soon as he tastes it, he pulls back, overdramatizing how delicious it is. At the sight of his expression, you snort, chuckling softly.

“It's really good!” he exclaims, and you laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. He laughs as well, a soft chuckle that warms you from the inside out and makes your smile grow wider.

You open your mouth to say something else, but a voice behind you cuts you off.

“Jungkook!” at the sound, Jungkook looks behind you, and you turn around.

A staff member is standing near an elevator, holding it open. She frantically points to her watch, a phone held desperately between her shoulder and ear. She seems distressed as though she’s late for something, and as you think about it, you realize she probably is.

You couldn't meet with Kim Namjoon due to a meeting he had with BTS, and Jungkook happens to be a member of BTS. He was probably on the way when you bumped into him.

“You should probably go.” You mutter, a bit disheartened at seeing him leave. “It sounds important.”

As you say the words, you turn to him and he seems a bit down himself. He nods to the staff member before looking at you and smiling once more. A bit bashfully, he holds out his hand, grinning that bunny smile as you take it.

“Thank you for the coffee, miss. It was nice to meet you.” He says politely, shaking your hand softly before bowing his head to you.

“You're welcome, I’m sorry again, by the way.” You chuckle softly, and he shakes his head at you almost in disbelief.

“I thought I told you,” he murmurs, letting go of your hand and starting to walk past you. However, as he reaches your side, he pauses, whispering in your ear...

“You don't have to be sorry for anything.”

At the feeling of his breath against your skin, you shiver, a slight blush exploding on your cheeks. You refuse to meet his eyes, unwilling to let him see your blush.

So you don't see him smirk at your reaction before turning away and heading to meet the staff member who has started to pace in anticipation and worry.

As soon as he leaves your side, you turn, watching him as he walks away. When he reaches halfway to the elevator doors, he pauses. As though he could feel your eyes on him, he turns his head, glancing over his shoulder at you.

Smiling, he meets your eyes, raising his hand in the air to say goodbye. Letting out a small laugh, you roll your eyes before doing the same.

After a moment, he turns once more, completing the distance and vanishing behind the elevator door, your eyes unable to break from him the entire way.

And once he’s gone, you hold the same hand you waved goodbye to him with, close to your chest.

As though that would calm the rapid beating of your heart.

𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢: pretty spoicy no? (¬‿¬)

chapter 8 here

check the Infinite Stars masterlist for more chapters

check my BTS masterlist for other BTS content

check out my masterlist for other kpop fanfics

[scullysflannel]

hi :-) i saw you reblogged one set of the new show clarice (maybe there's been more but that's all i saw), and i was wondering if you watched it so far and what your thoughts are? i've been seeing bad reviews for it since before it premiered so that kinda put me off. i think a lot of them were comparing it to nbc hannibal and saying it doesn't stand up. i love hannibal, and the idea of this show intrigues me, too, but i haven't had a chance to try it out yet. but maybe it's not worth my time? i always like to hear your thoughts! thanks! <3

hey! I am bravely going on record and saying I Like Clarice, The Show Most Critics Hate. and I get it. I get that it’s a letdown for people who’ve spent 30 years loving silence of the lambs, a film I just watched (and also loved) for the first time last month, to see clarice starling at the center of what is basically a basic procedural. it’s definitely nothing like hannibal, which was also nominally a procedural; clarice (the series) isn't particularly inventive or transgressive. plus I was really hoping for an x-files season 1 aesthetic (it’s set in 1993) and it doesn’t get there.

and yet I already really like it, in a way that you can only like things when you’re being irrational. clarice activates the procedural comfort center of my brain. it’s better to approach it as a procedural that happens to already have a good main character; if you get bogged down thinking of all the ways they could have brought back clarice starling obviously you'll be disappointed. but as someone who liked hannibal but ran out of patience for the way it disposed of its female characters, liking clarice (the character) is enough for me to like clarice (the show) so far. I like that it’s got a smart, tiny, empathetic woman at its center. I love that she’s got that west virginia accent. (my grandparents are from west virginia. I really am not ruling out that the thrill of seeing a west virginia-ish accent on a cool character is responsible for at least half of my goodwill for this show.) and I like that the show has the confidence not to overplay what makes her cool; it’s just showing us what kind of person she is and assuming we already get it, as opposed to hitting us over the head like “she’s NICE!!!” it’s also refreshing to watch a show set in 1993 because people aren’t in front of 10 different screens all the time.

obviously there's a lot to keep an eye on. the first few episodes don’t do much with clarice’s friend ardelia, even though the producers have said doing the “’black best friend’ thing” would be “intolerable” to them. and I feel like so far the show is saying it’s not ignoring sexism but then kind of ignoring sexism, in the sense that clarice is always taken seriously in the end. that’s not true to the movie. I want to know the show’s worldview. you know right away in the x-files pilot that the government is shady and mulder and scully are not their friends. clarice thee series is pretty cynical about the government already (promising), but it’s not as clear about pitting the characters against it. which is fine; it’s only been a few episodes. shows have arcs. it’s just that right now some of what I like about it is really its potential more than what we’ve actually seen. but until it disappoints me I’m gonna keep liking it.

[goodbysunball]

Bring it on home

Comparatively easy listening from the set of records showcased this time around, but there's a world of grief settin' your jaw to grind. You deserve a neck massage and a cocktail; lean into these after you put your misery rectangle aside for a spell.

Astute Palate, s/t (Petty Bunco)

Emily Robb, David Nance, Daniel Provenzano, and Richie Charles got together and hammered out this LP during "48 sleepless hours" in Philadelphia. It's definitely a fairly rough documentation, but if you know the players, that's generally what you'd be gettin' into with 'em anyway. Gotta admit that I'm not a huge fan of what I've heard by David Nance - respect his hustle, though - and the same goes for the tracks he leads here; in particular, the studied classic rock caterwaul employed on "Stall Out" basically rolls my eyes for me. I am, however, fond of David Nance the Guitarist and his heroics on "Stall Out," and "A Little Proof" definitely has me more curious about his recent solo work I've skipped. These are pithy grievances, though: the album rules, as a whole, but it's just hard to stomach some of Nance's lyrics when they're side-by-side with bonafide jammers like "Bring It On Home" and "Treadin' Schuylkill." "Bring It On Home," in particular, with its Velvets-inspired chug and Robb's bleary vocals coolly beckoning you to do as the title says, heats to a boil with the blustery, fried guitar interplay. For me it wipes the floor with anything else on the album, and pretty much anything else I'll hear this year, so let's put all my petty complaints aside and declare this the Summer of Astute Palate, OK? Looks like the secret's out - the LP's sold out from the source, but can be found hiding in various distros and shops. Hunt it down, crack a tallboy, and embrace the sweltering heat of our melting planet with Astute Palate.

Maraudeur, Puissance 4 (self-released)

New and best LP yet from Leipzig's Maraudeur, self-released with some of the best packaging/artwork I've seen in a minute. My memory's usually a bit faulty, but I recall the band being a three-piece on their last, still very good LP from Bruit Direct Disques. I'm inclined to think that the group's ranks have swelled to five anyway, since the sound here is a bit more bright and full, lots of different moving parts zipping and moving around, giving the crisp recording some effervescence. Compared to older songs like "Computer Dreams," Maraudeur sounds sharper, capable of backing up any threats rather than coming across as deflated and listless. Even the slower songs on Puissance 4, such as "Slow Dress," thrive on tension, guitar strings set to snap amidst the robotic/hypnotic vocals. The band seems to have located a sweet spot between the simmering minimalism of Household and the technologically damaged vision of Chrome, and "TWYWYS" basically sounds like a collaboration between the two groups. Guitars are used as window dressing, favoring instead synths and showcasing the chops of the rhythm section. "Face/Figure" and my favorite track "C'est Caché" are the best examples of Maraudeur's rhythmic foundation, but nearly every track causes inadvertent head bobbing. While accessible and familiar on the surface, Maraudeur's dry humor, the carefully camouflaged layers of sound, and whatever is going on in "I Am Here" keep boilerplate post-punk comparisons at bay. Puissance 4 is a refreshing, addictive brew from the not-too distant future, and probably a blast to experience live.

Astrid Øster Mortensen, Gro Mig En Blomst (Förlag För Fri Musik)

New Gothenburg talent alert! Mortensen is apparently a newcomer to the scene, and her debut LP fits in nicely amongst the Förlag För Fri Musik discography. Gro Mig En Blomst features lonely and debased late-night solo explorations with guitar, piano and what sounds like an accordion, accented by electronic manipulations and the found sound that accompanies most FFFM records. It's dreary and stark, and can quickly bring the mood down when it's on. For me the most obvious reference point is Grouper's Ruins, in that both are recordings so intimate that it feels like an interruption to move while it's on. But I also get bits of Picastro's Whore Luck ("Hvor Kommer Mørket Fra?" sounds like it was plucked directly from that album), and there are similarities to Chloe Alison Escott's solo work, on the title track and "Piano i" and "Piano ii." Gro Mig En Blomst is a far cry from more traditional singer-songwriter music, dabbling in Stars of the Lid-like drone on "Brud ii" and jumping into the "Is there a record on or...?" genre on "Solen Er Et Lille Hus" and "Brud i." I can't say I go out looking for records this fragile and surface-level bleak anymore, but Mortensen's work is more often beautiful and calming than hopelessly gray. Another keeper from FFFM, sure to be one of the most sought-after records from the label, and for good reason.

Nightshift, Zöe (Trouble In Mind)

Travel back in time with me, if you will, to a time when "indie rock" was a genre label that had some meaning. After getting rid of the bad taste in my mouth and shaking off the embarrassment at who I was when I largely listened to stuff that'd broadly fall under that label, I'll allow that Nightshift is making a strong argument for some of the music released during the comparative naiveté of the late '00s/early '10s. Across Zöe, you get shades of Broadcast, Lower Dens' Twin-Hand Movement, the UV Race ("Spray Paint the Bridge"), Belle & Sebastian and A Sunny Day In Glasgow ("Power Cut" and "Romantic Mud"). The trick to Zöe is that it folds all these reference points in neatly and places it on a sturdy percussive base. I won't argue that every song here is memorable, but they're all enjoyable, and the songs that hit - "Outta Space," the title track, "Infinity Winner" - send chills down my spine every time. Guitars are plucked and scraped for leading beats, accentuating shuffling drums and giving the bass the spotlight. The vocals are dreamy and lyrics direct, and for the duration of Zöe you're relieved of the pessimistic present and allowed to rigidly dance to Nightshift's hesitant groove. They've charmed their way through my cynicism, and Zöe's been on heavy rotation despite my reluctance. Take it for a spin, and fall under Nightshift's spell.

Hugo Randulv, Radio Arktis: Samlade Ljud Från Den Norra Polcirkeln (Förlag För Fri Musik)

First solo LP from Hugo Randulv, an active presence in the Gothenburg scene with his involvement in Enhet För Fri Musik, Skiftande Enheter and Amateur Hour, among others. Though typically a guitarist, on Radio Arktis, he drops the guitar and instead fills both sides with glacial synths and dusty samples. The label's original write-up for this record called it "grand ambient," though to me it sounds and feels much more personal than something that would soundtrack the Olympics. His use of samples, most notably on "Radio Reykjavik," sounds intimately tied with some fleeting memory, the music serving to enhance or exorcise the feeling tied to it all. It reminds me most of the Fun Years' "God Was Like, No" in that both records used the tools common to ambient/drone music but applied a much more personal touch, that certain nameless attribute that keeps drawing a listener back in. Can't put my finger on it, but both records just sound like they had to be made, rather than serving as a genre exercise or one-off exploration. I don't know that Radio Arktis is going to change anyone's life, but it could, and I've been hypnotized by its wordless, sparkling gray tones for weeks. Even though the "solo musician embraces synths" thing is usually pretty tired and pointless, Hugo Randulv's contribution shows why it's an alluring proposition at all.

Sunhiilow, Beyond the Cycle (Ikuisuus)

More solo synth, this time coming from Valerie Magisson and her Moog Mother-32. Magisson's Sunhiilow project veers into new age/ambient with its bite-sized kosmische explorations. There's something about the combination of the short length of these tracks and the sense of movement present within each that allows Beyond the Cycle to transcend the lifeless drivel that's usually tagged "new age" and "synth." It seems intentional that Magisson was trying to capture the mood of each track title in its corresponding music, and she is largely successful, though its unclear if the title provided direction or was applied afterward. The somewhat jarring introduction of "Wilderness Bloom" and the stoned growth of "Circle Motion" are my top picks, but the album works best as a whole and played very loudly, the overall effect immersing the listener into heady zones traversed by the Nightcrawlers. Leave it to Ikuisuus to release an "ethereal ambient music" record that satisfies, and sounds and looks great to boot. Sunhiilow's a lot more tame than most of what Ikuisuus releases, but it's an accessible, recommended starting point to one of the best active labels. HOWDY.

[aot-snk-4238]

SNK Meta Part 2: Ymir

In my previous post, I talked about my feelings regarding Historia's character this final arc. Now I'm going to talk about Ymir, her relationship with Historia, and my feelings about her send-off.

Was Ymir a good character?

In my eyes, yes. When she was first introduced, it was clear that she had feelings for Historia, making her one of the only canon queer characters in the series (assuming Historia reciprocated those feelings, which I'm pretty sure she did). She also appeared very snarky and cynical, but us readers came to learn later on that there was a much softer, sensitive side to her deep down that Historia would be the first to witness. These revelations, including her backstory, helped flesh out her character in a way that made her very interesting and mysterious for me. I especially loved how sharp and intuitive she was. I'm going to quote the wiki on this part, because I think it does a great job explaining her impressive observant abilities. "Ymir was extremely perceptive and could discern the nature of the people around her with alarming accuracy, such as Historia's martyrdom mentality, Reiner's split personality disorder, and Sasha Blouse's desire to look good in front of her peers by hiding her native accent and developing an extremely formal way of speaking. Due to her experiences and belief in self-pride, she tended to rudely criticize people for being untrue to themselves. Furthermore, Ymir was very reasonable, as she knew what to do during her kidnapping situation and reconsidered her options to accomplish her goals." I also enjoyed her interactions with other characters besides Historia. Take Connie, for example. When he lamented over the possibility of his mother being stuck as a mindless titan, Ymir tried to distract him, albeit not in the most appropriate way (ch. 38).

Connie complained about this behavior later on, but Historia defended her, explaining that she was only trying to stray his thoughts from that traumatic discovery. There were a few more moments between these two that were fun to see as well.

😂😂😂. Ymir's looking at him like, "You ruined it, Connie..."

I love the way she pats him on the head. Knowing how much taller Connie's gotten I don't think she'd be able to do that anymore.

This becomes one of the many times that Connie calls her "ugly" when she's in her titan form. Too bad she couldn't talk very well as a titan or else she probably would have had a smartass remark to throw back at him. It's looking back on scenes like this where I wish we could have gotten more out of these two. You can tell she cared for Connie and I know he also cared in his own way.

We only saw her together with Eren once when Reiner and Bertholdt captured them, but it was very interesting to see their perceptions of each other.

Eren found Ymir to be mysterious and wasn't sure if he could trust her, which isn't surprising considering this was the only time they ever spoke to each other. One detail that he couldn't miss, however, was Ymir's undying determination to protect Historia, a goal they would both come to share later on. Meanwhile, Ymir couldn't trust Eren because she found him to be too reckless and hot-headed.

These were my favorite qualities from Ymir, although to this day I still question the rationality of leaving Historia behind considering the situation she's currently in. Historia herself called her an idiot after reading her goodbye letter. Now that I've covered my reasons for liking Ymir as a character, let's move on to her relationship with Historia.

Ymir and Historia

I've loved these two together since the beginning for their complex and amusing dynamic. On the surface, you had the selfish, confrontational tomboy and the girly, kind and beautiful goddess. But underneath were two young women who were dealt a dirty hand early in their life and lead empty lives as a result until they found each other. Their story arcs throughout the Clash of the Titans arc were beautiful and complimentary, and it's part of the reason why it's actually my favorite story arc in the series. Everything from Ymir seeing through Historia's charade and urging her to live her life with pride to Historia telling Ymir her real name and the two of them fighting side by side in chapter 49 was some of the most empowering moments for me and I will forever cherish those parts of the story.

Ymir's departure

And now the part I've been most excited to talk about! Ymir's glorious, memorable and emotional departure.

Her ending...was not what I expected it to be. She left Historia at the very last second and gave herself away to the enemy because she felt guilty for something that was not her fault. Now as we know, Ymir is selfless at heart and she felt indebted to Reiner and Bertholdt for inadvertently helping her return to her human form after 60 years of wandering the earth as a mindless titan. She also decided that Historia might be safe after all after learning that Eren possessed the coordinate. I understand all of that, but what I don't understand is...well...everything else.

This was Ymir's last real appearance. We see that Ymir has willingly chosen to accompany Reiner and Bertholdt back to Marley to give up her titan powers at the cost of her life. Many people weren't so sure if that was truly the last of her though, because her death was not explicitly confirmed for a long time. We spend the next 33 chapters hoping to get something more, and then this happens...

A glimmer of hope. Finally there's a real chance we'll hear from her again, and it's got a lot of people buzzing with excitement. Sure enough, we finally get to see what's in that letter a few chapters later and are given Ymir's backstory. Here's where the disappointing part comes, though. Ymir makes it clear at the beginning of her letter that she will be dead by the time Historia receives it, meaning that this is the only goodbye they're gonna get. The last time they saw each other, Ymir wasn't even in human form. Instead of a proper goodbye, all we get is a short letter. The anime even tried to fix this by giving us Ymir's backstory earlier, but by doing that, her letter was cut short by a lot. All that was really left was, "Hi babe, sorry I left you like that. Oh well, I'm about to die anyway. Sorry we couldn't get married." And then this happened:

Historia touches Ymir's letter and is suddenly bombarded with visions of Ymir's past, including her chained up and about to be eaten. That is definitely not what happened in the manga and its honestly very confusing to me. How was she able to see all of that just by touching the letter? I get that she has royal blood and was able to access memories when she touched Eren, but Eren is a human who just so happens to possess the founding titan. The letter is just a piece of paper. Also, I'm guessing the last thing Historia saw was Ymir chained up so that there will be no need to bring her up again like Reiner and Porco did in chapter 93. I don't blame the anime team for making that change because I'll be honest, when we saw that one panel of her in her death chamber it felt very out of nowhere and I had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the chapter after that. So here are my main problems with her death:

1. It was off-screen

If I recall correctly, Ymir is the only major character in the series whose death was off-screen. All we got were her final moments, and there wasn't even any dialogue. That part especially bothered me because you can see that Ymir and Porco are looking at each other and Ymir's mouth is slightly open, implying that she's speaking. But what was she saying? You seriously don't mean to tell me that they both just sat there and stared at each other the whole time. She must have had some last words, but for some reason we never got to know what they were. At one point I even thought that Historia and Porco might cross paths at some point and he would be able to give her closure that way but no. No closure, just a last minute goodbye letter and a glimpse of her final moments that I now consider completely useless and unnecessary because we never got more out of it. I mean really, we even got closure and an on-screen death for Marco for crying out loud. Why give him that kind of attention and not Ymir? Not to mention one of the more recent guidebooks. Her character has the diceased sticker and it talks about how she went back to Marley with Reiner and Bert, but that's it. Not even the guidebook makes it clear what happened next. Yeah she died, but did anything else happen before then? That's what I wish we could have gotten more details on like, I don't know....her final words???

2. It was anticlimactic

We didn't get enough focus on Ymir's point of view after leaving Paradis in order for her death to have any kind of lasting emotional impact. As I mentioned above, it just felt out of place and messy. There was nothing memorable about her death either. It was quite simple and boring.

3. It contributed to an ongoing literary issue that has anti-LGBTQ roots

Yep. I'm talking about the infamous Bury Your Gays trope. Now before I go any further, I am not accusing Isayama of being anti-LGBTQ, I'm just shedding some light on something that's been continuously repeated in countless forms of media, not just anime and manga. Truthfully, I hadn't heard about this trope before reading Attack on Titan, but when I did hear about it, it only made Ymir's death even worse for me. I'm not surprised that it exists and I realize that this is a manga where death is inevitable, but keeping both women alive in the end would have certainly been very refreshing. At this point, all I could ask for is that Ymir and Historia get to see each other one last time. Obviously since Ymir is dead it will have to be through other means and I don't care how it's done. It can be in a dream, a vision or through Paths (which I think would work best). Seriously, there's nothing I've been more curious about than how Ymir would react to Hisu's current predicament and what she would say to her. It would just be great for them to have one last conversation face to face because for me, the letter just wasn't enough. Of course I'm hoping for too much, though. We've only got 1-2% of the story remaining, leaving no room for further closure. It's disappointing and frustrating, but no story is perfect. I'm grateful for the content that we did get, but I hope one day I can find a story like this one where the queer characters get to live for once. I'm aware of other shows like Steven Universe, Adventure Time and Yuri on Ice that give them good endings, but those shows are much friendlier towards younger audiences and aren't nearly as dark and grim.

Conclusion

Ymir was a very intriguing character while we had her, but her death was unsatisfactory and only left us with more questions. I am not going to trash Isayama for it, but I will leave this critique here so I can unload all my thoughts for others to read if they wish, or possibly share their own thoughts. We are coming close to the end of the manga, so now would be a great time to reflect on what we read and enjoy what's left of it.

[chanstopher]

resending this so i'm really sorry if i miss answering anything from your reply rip jdksdj but hi again dreamy, hope you got better 🥰 it's refreshing looking at someone take it seriously though, most people lightly answer it and, even though i like hearing all kinds of answers, it tell a lot about the person too i believe! i feel like i'd also pick someone who has good survival skills/is a fast learner over someone i'd have to worry about on top of being stranded on an island and thinking about food, shelter communication etc.! then maybe a spare change of clothes? they can be used as bandages, to keep warm if it's chilly/cold & you can alternate between that and what you're wearing instead of sticking to the same set of clothes you arrived in haha as for my final choice, hm... maybe transceivers? something that can help us get in contact with people who can help as i think you can always use wood/leaves/bones as tools/weapons! that is a lovely combination of colours too⏤i immediately imagine a room/interior when people tell me their favourite colour/s and yours is a lovely mainly black/dark grey + whites room with rose gold + slight mustard accents; very elegant & chic! i myself like neutral tones a lot :D but these days i'm into deep greys, muted blues/lilacs and gold! oh and i just saw the languages ask, i must've mixed things up, my bad! but i see, did you learn korean + italian or grasped it/grew up with it? i think english is the only langauage i can say i'm 100% fluent in kdjfdalk but other than that i can speak arabic, enough french and korean to be able to get by if i were to be randomly stranded in the countries, an embarrassingly small bit of chinese despite it being my mother tongue and a teenie tine amount of turkish and swedish. my maternal grandpa knows like 8 languages and he'd speak to us in all of them ever since we were younger so we started understanding a bit of each & my uncle's entire family speaks swedish so we like asking our cousins to speak it 😂 do you like travelling/is there a place you'd like to travel to? oh, and! what's your favourite dessert? - 🌨

oh im glad it came through this time!

most of my apartment is pretty much white and black so you're definitely on to something with your visualization lol i do have a few lighter pinks thrown in but sadly no yellows. most of my decor is like witchy like black cats and moons and things so I don't know how well a lot of color would really work lol

the italian i can speak i learned from my grandfather growing up and i think its starting to leak out of my brain the more i try to stuff korean into it lol korean i've tried to learn through books and videos and things to grasp it so kpop is a little easier to get but i think i have the ability of a like a preschooler lmao so not too helpful but i think i could get myself some basic needs if i was lost in korea fssgd

i havent traveled a lot because its so expensive to go places here, but ive been to disney world before, and nyc a bunch of times. I’d really love to go to australia or new zealand tho! australia has so many sharks and philips island which is supposed to be so cool! and ive been a big lotr nerd forever so new zealand is very big on my list lol

as for dessert im a big cheese cake person and i love tiramisu <3

i cant believe its already almost christmas i feel like we started this so recently!

[fourgaymuses]

He chuckled with them about his accents. It was refreshing to being forced to say everything in the right accent to avoid getting in trouble.

Matthew looked over at León when he asked that question and smiled taking a moment, "Can you try my accent." He parroted right back getting it nearly perfect, "Buenos dias." The Spanish made the accent better mostly because he hadn't heard those words before.

"The longer I'm with people the better it gets.... Right now I probably couldn't do words I haven't heard you say." He said in his own voice. "And I've been paying more attention to León because he translated the stories all last night. Spanish is an awful lot like Latin so I'm learning quickly." That was the thing most healers from countries with a romantic root language could speak Latin fluently and had to because the songs they had to sing to activate their spells were all in Latin. Normally it was a big impressive show, healing, with beautiful songs and lights they were all aids to the healer. But Matthew for some reason didn't need to do that in fact he was one of the few healers who didn't have to sing.

fourgaymuses​:

Matthew sat and ate talking with the men on and off. He had noticed Telemachus taking all the credit for the food for a little bit and remembered León’s advice. He shrugged figuring he had been outwitted in this one but at least the food was good. It came a bit of a surprise to him when he heard Telemachus admit that Matthew had helped. The blonde getting some thank yous as well to which Matthew replied, “I had a very good head chef.” In a bit more of his true French accent.

He honestly swapped accents around going from a British one to a French and anywhere in-between as he spoke not fully landing on either side for an extended time.

Matthew’s accent was what the group around him was talking about when León sat down. “Morning.” The blonde nodded before going back to answer the question another crew had asked him, “I can do one that mimicked every man on that ship no two were exactly alike and, the English like hearing themselves or at least the same accent…” He shrugged.

“How do you do it?” One member asked

“Most of the time it was natural I heard the way they spoke and just copied it right back especially with new words. When I’m actually trying and have no one to copy it’s like singing you have to actually think about changing the shape of your mouth when you speak so the sound and style you want comes out.” He shrugged

‘Buenos días, Matthew,’ León said as he settled with his breakfast. Greene reached over to try and grab a stray slice of potato but received a slap on his hand for his efforts. 

The men conversed, laughing at Matthew’s impressions of the English. ‘León’s always struggled with accents,’ Jonah said. 

‘Oh yeah? You can’t speak any Spanish, así que puedes callarte!’ León flicked some egg at him. ‘Can you try my accent?’ he then said, turning back to Matthew, a mischievous glint in his eye. 

[estrxlar]

The Ghost Of You

04 - Learning To Receive

These chapters songs:

Moonlight On The River; Mac Demarco

Nostalgic Feel; Bedroom

New Flesh; Current Joys

——

TW: Self-harm, death.

(Not done by you, don't worry)

——

- K.S. Perspective

      Only two or three days had passed since high school had started, which meant only a couple more walks home with Y/n. They were shorter and quiet, and of course, there weren't any swerving cars.

But so far, what I had suspected was correct. She and I made amends and became buddies, thankfully.

      The only times she was left alone were when I had morning practice, and she had to have one of her friends drive her home. Either that or she would have to walk home alone. I would've loved to accompany her, but volleyball was something I didn't take lightly, and my priorities were important to me.

      Both I and my younger brother participated in volleyball and gave it our all ever since we were able to balance on our feet. Sadly, our parents were far too busy to go to any games, or even help us practice at home. But their goal was for their kids to grow up strong and steady with good grades and good stats, so that's why they made sure my younger brother and I were on top of our shit.

      Once my first year ended, I didn't expect that I would have to carry so many burdens all in one year. That's around the time mother had died from sickness, which left me with doubts, wishes, and an unaccomplished relationship with her.

      After the sudden death, our family didn't move on very well. My brother developed anxiety and depression, and he eventually had to take a break from school and volleyball. Then, my father became dull and increased his hours at work to avoid coming home to such a depressing home, leaving my brother and me to continue caring for ourselves, by ourselves.

      I, on the other hand, had barely anything to say about it. All I could do was pose as if I were handling it better than I had. Truth is, my mother's death changed my entire persona. I grew grim and gummy, deprived myself of rest, and repressed the trauma I've received. Not only did I overwork myself because of volleyball and stress, but I also grieved in harmful ways. It'd either be a blade to the wrist, or a night with a girl; anything that could help distract me from my state of deep dejection.

      It's been that way ever since. Only recently have I realized that I'm ruining whatever recovery I built up. That was all because of my best friend— Daichi— who had helped me come out about my feelings towards my mom's passing. Ever since, I've been able to learn from my mistakes, and slowly pick my life back up. I was beginning to become a better player for my team, better support for my family, and a better person for myself.

      That only happened recently. So now, I'm left with lots of things to mend, and relationships to make. I'm determined that I'll mourn more healthily than before.

——

      "Y/n!" A hopeful call leaves my lips, turning her head. As assumed, it was Y/n. Today she looked even brighter than before; she just has gotten more sleep. Not to mention she wore long socks instead of leggings, which must have been pretty hard in this weather.

      I didn't get to see her this morning due to morning practice, but I did catch her before lunch. Just enough time to tell her I won't be riding the bus tonight either.

      I look both ways of the cross hallway, before grabbing my book bag strap with both hands and jogging towards Y/n. I wasn't sure why I was so eager to see her, but all I knew was I needed a refreshing moment, and she could give me exactly that.

      "Why hello, Mrs. Refreshing!" I joke, bowing my head towards her while she giggled. Looking up, she stands there, shining by the sunlight that reflected on the windows.

      'If I could, I'd take a photo of you right here, just to show you how gorgeous you are.' I quickly put a halter on my thoughts, snapping back to a respectful filter. 'No, I can't do that. Not to myself, most definitely not to Y/n.'

      "You look nice today!" I exclaim, awkwardly patting the side of my hips while smiling at her. Hopefully, I hadn't made her uncomfortable in the first ten seconds of talking to her. The last thing I wanted was to ruin yet another relationship with a girl.

      Thankfully, Y/n responded with kind appreciation to my comment. "Why thank you, sir. And what brings you in my presence?" Her words curl in a formal British accent, adding onto our joke.

      Standing normally, I explain, "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to say hi, and to tell you I might not be walking home with you today. I'm really sorry,  practice has been very necessary for our team. I-I hope you understand." I stutter on the last part, with a gentle tone to add on. Ditching Y/n for most of the week wasn't what I had planned at first, but what I had told her was 100% true. The first years, as well as the rest of us, we're in bad shape. With our spring tournament coming up, we had no time to waste.

      "Oh, that's alright. I understand. I was in volleyball too, after all. Although, I do wish you could still accompany me. It gets a little lonely.." She looks down for a minute while I contemplate my existence entirely. 'So it does bother her.' But she quickly caught onto my thoughts by my expression and came up with a solution. "If— if you'd like, I can simply stay near the gym until practice is over! That way I can see you and your boys in action, yeah?"

      Her fists pop up into the air, as a bright smile appeared on her face. If you didn't know Y/n personally, you would expect them to be cold stone and dull. But in reality, I find they're like everybody else, and have a bright side to them, just like the one that was being portrayed right now.

      Nodding with her statement, I reply hesitantly. "Hm, I'd have to ask the captain, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind—"

      "Oh, Daichi? We're buddies, he'll be alright." I'm dazed by what she'd said, pausing the motion of rubbing my neck. She and Daichi hang in completely different groups, though! 'How is it they know each other? They hang around two very different friend groups.. that is unless they have some type of history I'm unaware about.' I think to myself, trying my best to find a reason they would be friends, but I couldn't. And so, I begin my questioning. "You two know each other?"

      Suddenly, Y/ns gaze twists. "Suga, you introduced me to them during our first year, silly. Remember? I went with you from practice once. And besides that, my good friend Miya is close to him."

      "Oh, yeah! I remember that. That means you only know Asahi, Daichi, and Kiyoko, right? I've gotta introduce you to the rest of the team! I'm sure they've missed you!" I chuckle, throwing an arm around her shoulders cautiously, expecting her to reject it. But she goes on casually with our discussion.

      "That's right.. well... I'm also— sort of— friends with them. Well, except Asahi. But Kiyoko and I are pretty close."

      '?' I tilt my head at the uncertain tone she spoke with. "Pretty close?" I ask, turning into the cafeteria with my arm still around her. The room is, of course, crowded as hell.

      Still, I manage to draw out what Y/n was saying to me, leaning my ear close to her mouth for better audio. "Yes! She's one of my best friends.. we used to date and it didn't work out, but we're pretty tight!"

      'DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT?!' My eyes widen, and I immediately let go of her, tightening my hands around the strap of my school bag. A gulp falls down my throat before I ask, "Did you say.. date?! You mean you two went out?!"

      To my surprise, Y/n nods proudly. "Yes! Why, did you not think she'd go out with a girl? Or is it so astonishing that I could ever get a girl like her?" She teases, while I'm still puzzled. So many questions ran through my head at the sudden fact: was Kiyoko gay? Was Y/n gay?! Does that mean she's gotten closer to Kiyoko than anyone before??

      "Suga, calm down. It's not like we're still together. As I said, it didn't work out!" She smirks towards me, putting a finger up towards her cheek. "Why? You got a little crush on her..? I wouldn't blame you."

      "N-no! It's not like that! It's just— she never told any of us. I guess she just keeps to herself more than predicted." My sentence comes out to sound like a question, rather than a response. It wasn't that I didn't support it, or that I was surprised Kiyoko would be her girlfriend. Honestly, I was just a little jealous of both of them.

      Either way, it seemed it didn't work out. So it didn't matter now. "Anyway, we're about best friends now, so I'm pretty familiar with your team. I don't think they would mind if I came, but just in case, I'll ask Daichi and Kiyoko." She explains, before looking back towards the slowly dying crowd of students in front of the cafeteria. "I better go soon, Suga. I'll let your captain know I'll be heading over there later—"

      "Wait!" I shut my eyes out of nervousness, as my brain wires work to come up with an excuse for why I yelled that. "You used to play volleyball, right?"

      An awkward nod from Y/n is given to me, followed by, "Yes, but I was sort of just a bench warmer. Nothing big." The hands that held her lunch box gripped tighter, as she suspected I would ask her a favor much larger than a lunch.

      "Mind helping me teach one of our new members how to receive?" I say. "His name is Hinata, and he's a first year. He has great talent and has great potential, but he kind of... sucks at volleyball. I mean, from what I've heard, he practices a lot. But I just think he needs some guidance. So, want to?"

      "Uhm... I'm pretty rusty.. but sure! It wouldn't hurt, right? Besides, I think I need a break from my friends wouldn't do any harm."

      'Yes, I did it.' I thought to myself, before leading her towards the doors that led to the gym. "Alright then, right this way!"

      "Suga! Don't you need your bag?" She immediately asks, tugging on my collared shirt. But I shake my head, responding with a light smile.

      "It's already outside, I just came to check on you, is all."

——

      Up, down, and up again went the ball. Each receive that Hinata had tried had failed every time. At this point, I wouldn't blame Y/n if she wanted to leave. But there she sits against the concrete wall of the outside of the gym, licking white rice off a spoon.

      "Hinata, drop your hips down more," I say to him, demonstrating the position I had stated. "Hit the ball like you're trying to return it where it came from. Got it?"

      Hinata's light expression appears on his face once again. "Yeah, got it!" He exclaims, before getting right into position. I signal the ball is going in the air before my palm hits it in the right spot, sending it towards him.

      And it shoots right back, along with a slap against Hinata's wrists. "Nice!" He praises himself, leaving a feeling of proudness deep within me.

      I'd never been able to teach somebody one of my special skills and having them accomplish it, not the way I did with Hinata. But that was mostly because he was driven by his entire body and soul to memorize every movement in his muscles to create a perfect receive. And who had taught him that? Your one and only.

      "Would you like me to start setting for you tomorrow morning?" I ask the ginger with confidence he'd reply with a yes. Thankfully, that's exactly what happened. His eyes light up in the sun, and his hands take full hold of the ball. "Y-you mean it, sir?!"

      The cold wind hits me, as well as another dosage of serotonin from the first year."Well, I am Karasuno's official setter after all! And you wanna practice spikes, right?" I ask, placing my red hands onto my hips.

      "Exactly! I love to spike! It feels so good when you get it right, and it's cooler than anything!" He shouts. I couldn't help but laugh at his excitement, even if it wasn't the first time he'd portrayed it. Hinata sure reminded me of my past self, and I'd do anything to help first-year Sugawara.

      Y/n suddenly joins our conversation, digging into a reason why Hinata is the way he is when it comes to spikes. "You must have a thing for spiking, don't you?"

      Hinata nods, putting a fist towards his face. "Yes. I didn't have a setter throughout middle school, and I was actually the only club member until my third year of junior high. I used to get my friend in the Basketball Club to toss for me, but after I had dropped out of the club, I went to anybody that could help me practice. Take the first years, and the ladies and setters from the girls' team, too. I've made a lot of friends along the way, but none of those people could ever become my real teammates. That's why I was dying to find out what kind of setters were in high school— but now.. you know."

      Hinatas pure passion dies down once he reaches the word 'setter', and I wouldn't blame him. The person he's supposed to be paired with is his complete opposite, and frankly, a dick-head. "Well, as I said, I'm a setter too. I'll toss you a few, Hinata! Don't get all down."

      I was expecting further satisfaction, but instead, his expression twists into envy. "But it's just that if I have you throw to me now, it kind of feels like... I'm losing." He frowns, looking away from my figure in anger.

      "You're just like someone I know, Hinata!   Always competitive." Y/n says, placing her small bento to the side, and lifting herself from the shaded spot she sat in. Her hands dust off her navy blue skirt, and her blazer comes off. "Why're you so competitive when it comes to Kageyama?"

      "If you ask me, it's better to avoid making enemies with those kinds of people." I join in.

      She wraps her hands around Hinatas shoulders, leaning over his shoulder. "You know, Hinata, you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be. Wanna know a secret about Kageyama?"Without hesitation, Hinata is fully interested in what Y/n had to say. Frankly, so was I.

      "Whatever you see from Kageyama is something he's learned from other players. He wasn't always so snobby; he used to be calmer and kinder. But once he was shown what he could do with his talent, it went to his head. Don't let that become you, Hinata! You have so much potential it's insane! I've never met anybody with as much love for volleyball as you." She pulls up her sleeves, getting into position for a receive, signifying I could rest now. "

      "How do you know what he used to be like, Y/n?" Hinata asks her, sending the ball into the air. My eyes follow it, but my ears listen intently to their conversation.

     "Well, I went to the same middle school as him. When he was a first-year, I was a third. Me and my friend we're on the girls' team, while my other three friends were on the boys' team. The four of us practiced every second of the day, which meant the two teams spent a lot of time together. Everything Kageyama knows is from another player; don't think he's just magically good at volleyball. Anyway, I don't know much about Kageyama, but I do know that he's changed dramatically." She explained. Just then, the bell for our sixth period had rung, and doors were heard opening and closing, as well as students fluttering around hallways.

       The three of us pause our mini practice and gather out things where they were settled. Thoughts ran through my head as I put my school blazer back onto my torso. If Y/n went to the same middle school as Kageyama, that must mean she knows a lot about Aoba Johsai: one of our greatest enemies in volleyball. And if she knows him, could she be familiar with his playstyle? In that case, having her around would not harm the team.

      "Sugawara, I'm off." She's heard saying from behind me, while she put her school bag over her shoulders. "Thank you for having me here with you and Hinata, I'm glad I could be of help."

      I nod in response, nervously breathing through the teeth."Yes, of course. Uhm— would you like me to pick you up from your classroom later on? Either that, or you could walk to the gym after band practice." I ask the young girl, longing for more time to hang about her.

      Then, she began walking backward, meanwhile talking. "I think I'll be just fine, Sugawara. No need to worry about me all the time. I've managed without you the past couple of days haven't I?" Her h/c danced with the wind as she did so, and the corners of her lips rose as she said so.

      "That's right.. I'll catch you later then!" I manage to shout out, raising a hand for a gentle wave, but it was too late. Y/n was already turning into the doors of the school, returning the gesture.

      Somehow, she always found a way to make the chains around my heart tighten a bit more. What was it that drew me towards Y/n? Hell, if I knew. "Wow, Sugawara. You've got yourself a pretty friend! She seems nice, too." Hinata expresses, looking agar with me. "Is she your girlfriend, or something?"

      "No, Hinata. Just an old friend. Someone who may know me better than anybody, you know." Y/n; The girl who knew her way around my heart.

—

Hey everybody, sorry I've been M.I.A for a while. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on my ff!!! I would never do that. This fan fiction is super duper important.

Please note my chapters!! It lets me know you guys enjoy them.

Make sure to be taking care of yourself: drink water, go outside, eat something, and heal yourself after hard work:) It's currently mental awareness month, and it's very important to be taking time for yourself.

love you guys

- Sugawara's beauty mark

[crystallofolia]

I'm new to flight rising and all the guides I've read have been very vague on dragon pricing, simply stating its very subjective. Could you help with "ballpark" figures, or qualities guaranteed to add value and around how much? I know gen 1s and old dragons are worth a lot but that's it.

I’m honestly not the best person to ask about the current dragon economy since I just got back from a year long hiatus last month, but I’ll try to help you out anon using what I remember from when I was super active! Unfortunately pricing is super subjective, so a lot of what I’m about say is probably similar to guides you’ve read. :/For general dragons, a good rule of thumb is to look at what’s selling best and price match! Things like pastels are still super popular from what I can tell, same with color pairs that have matching accents in their primaries and secondaries from genes like Butterfly, Petals, Toxic, Poison, Skink, and Spinner. Good color ranges usually include blues, reds, pinks, the upper white ranges, the lower black ranges, and sometimes greens. Gold is a popular tert when paired with red or black primaries and secondaries. Bright ‘ Lisa Frank ‘ like dragons are still popular too I think, but I might be wrong. Usually above all else the hatchlings with the newest genes are going to sell for the most within a month or so of releasing, but you still need to be conscious of what colors your pairs can produce before you just slap new genes on them and wait five ( or six? ) days hoping that you’ll eventually make back the treasure/gems you spend on the parents.

Following popular trends is a good way to make treasure/gems if your lair has the space and you can afford it. Back when I joined FR XXXs were all the rage and were still relatively rare compared to the massive amounts of them available today, so I ended up structuring my entire lair around breeding XXXs for a good year or so. You can see the remnants of that fad in the very back of my lair with a triple lemon pair I still haven’t been able to let go of. Even though half the pairs I had were colors I weren’t exactly fond of, the fact still remained that I ended up making a ton of money off them everytime I breed them.

Ballpark prices are hard to suggest, unless you’re selling dragons that have similar color schemes to dragons that you know are already selling. Generally I feel like if you have an interesting pair that has some people asking for pings and stuff when they breed you can probably get away with asking for upwards of 50kT+ for hatchlings, with more if they have newer genes. In the case of newer genes ( as in during the weeks immediately following release ) I feel like it’s best to price lower than the cost of the genes themselves for potential quick sells. Pricing dragons around 100kT+ each when they have new primaries and secondaries you can find in the treasure marketplace isn’t unheard of and I’ve seen some dragons sell at the price. As for brand new gem genes I think pricing really depends on how popular the gene seems to be. For release day hatchlings that have been boon’d it isn’t uncommon to see ones in the AH for 500g+, but I’m not sure if most people would ever consider buying at that price unless the colors are really good and they’re disinterested in waiting to see if prices go down.

Oh, as I said above more or less, some people will be happy to pay more than what you expect for dragons that they’re especially fond of. So, if you’re not getting any bites off just putting them in the AH and advertising them in tags, don’t be afraid to go promote them in the Dragon Search forum so long as you’re paying attention to what people are looking for in each thread and offering accordingly. Sometimes having a hatchery in Dragon Sales helps too as far as gathering potential buyers, but I haven’t had experience with running one in forever.

Either way, regardless of what you originally start off as pricing your dragons at, don’t be discouraged to adjust prices if your dragons don’t sell! Sometimes a person won’t consider buying a dragon for more than a certain amount, but might reconsider if they see that you’ve dropped the price to something more affordable to them. That said, never drop them below fodder prices because you can make at least a quick 10~15kt off them yourself via leveling them up in the coli if they haven’t sold by the time they’re adults. A good way to make money in general if you have the lair space and time to waste in the coli is to just have an exalt fodder pair or two that breeds every 15 days, put their hatchlings up for adult fodder prices, and then if they’re not sold by then just train them to level 7 or 8 or so to exalt.

Also, like you said, certain 1st generation and older 3~6 digit dragons are worth a lot of money to the right person! 

First gens with desirable colors and matching eyes sell way better than ones with a completely random unworkable color scheme, but there’s always the possibility that someone might be interested. If you don’t know how much a gen one is worth when you feel like it’s colors are good and work well together there’s several places on the site forums you can ask around for price checks full of people that regularly sell and buy them who might help you. If you have enough starting funds and feel confident in knowing what might sell well, I know that some people have had luck flipping first gens they find on the AH for low prices in dragon sales and auction threads after pinging the gen one collectors list. But that said, I wouldn’t really recommend it since the market for them is always changing it feels like. ( Personally I don’t enjoy the gamble of buying and hatching eggs, so when I do end up with them I usually sell them as soon as possible l o l )

Older dragons are worth more just for the fact that they have lower digit ids, in most cases. Most people who buy super low digits seem to have enough funds not to care what the dragon’s current colors and genes are and are likely to just use scatterscrolls until they get a roll they like. Things that make older dragons more desirable: Unbred/Low # of Offspring 1st Gens, Unbred/Low # of Offspring 2nd Gens, bred dragons that have no Unnameds or weird/vulgar names on their Offspring list, ones that are already breed scroll’d into Wildclaws and Coatls, older 2nd Gen Imperials are especially valuable to the right person ( even more so if both their parents are Imps too! ), and things like that. Back when older dragons were first taking off in popularity it was easy to browse the AH for older 6 digit dragons and filp them for an easy 50kT or so, but I think that’s harder now.

As a closing note, it’s probably super discouraging to hear this, but hatching and selling dragons for treasure outside of making your own exalt fodder isn’t as profitable as it used to be a few years ago. Some of the easiest ways to make money is grinding in the coli and selling all your drops, buying low priced popular apparel/genes in the marketplace every 5~10 min refresh and selling high in the AH, maxing out your fairgrounds earnings daily by playing artifracture, and trying your hand at accent making if you’re able to.

Anyways I really hope that at least one thing I typed up there was semi useful, if anything, for you anon! D|

[thegirlwholied]

So I've been reading your posts about Rebel Rising and the inconsistencies are driving me crazy. I just can't see her having been adopted by a family and her NEVER thinking about them after they're killed. And of course they had to give her a love interest. I literally can't imagine her having romantic feelings for anyone before Cassian, or even having an emotional connection to anyone until she meets the R1 squad. Does she actually fall in ~Love~ or is it just a passing attraction?

Very Telling here is that I didn’t even mention that Jyn’s Temporary Found Family dies… but you immediately Knew It To Be True.

And it is.

Here’s the rub with Jyn never thinking about them after they’re killed, though-

RebelRising!Jyn thinks about them again. Plenty.

Novelization!Jyn doesn’t, and we’re fully in her head, but she maybe wouldn’t have reason to.

Movie!Jyn, our only insight into her thoughts is the acting, the dialogue and how it’s delivered, and how of course we then take it. There’s more backstory-room.

But STILL there’s inconsistencies, which I’d describe as:

RR!Jyn’s characterization doesn’t feel in line with movie!Jyn and comes closer to directly contrasting Novelization!Jyn.

Small but specific example of what I mean:

RR!Jyn has a “bit of luck” in that the stormtroopers inspecting her mistake her kyber crystal necklace for a bit of glass.

Novelization!Jyn ‘managed to keep’ her necklace, smuggled into the prison when she should have ‘been worried about weapons or a comlink.’

Movie!Jyn has the necklace; we don’t know why; either works but the two are pretty incompatible as presented, both Factually and Characterization-Wise.

More overall example:

RR!Jyn, while she of course has her canon combat skill set, avoids fights whenever possible, after Saw leaves her. She never starts one.

Movie!Jyn, on a covert mission, when somebody just bumps into her:

…That is not the face of someone who is not looking for trouble, but okay. It’s not… factually incompatible.

Novelization!Jyn, chapter 1, as we’re introduced to Jyn on Wobani and who she is as an adult: considers rising a second time ‘solely to irritate’ her cellmate (who is threatening to kill her), but decides against it only because “If she was going to pick a fight, better be awake enough to enjoy it”.

“It’s not a problem if you don’t look up” - Novelization!Jyn explicitly says this just to hurt Saw. Felicity’s acting suggests the same in the movie- and maybe partly that she’s trying to convince herself, but her heart’s not in it.

RebelRising!Jyn legit comes to believe this and stews a lot about the Rebels drawing the Empire down on people who might otherwise be left alone…

The Inevitable YA Love Interest is honestly the least of things I took issue with, my friend. But let me break it down for you, so as to answer your actual question, under the cut:

We make it 213 pages - over half the book! - without a love interest.

This was refreshing, and I say this as someone fond of a strong flavor of romance in my plot (Empire Strikes Back style, say, or Raiders of the Lost Arc - childhood favorites that probably set the tone of Things I Like).  

Attraction was largely not even on Jyn’s radar. She was busy, being Saw’s surrogate daughter, training to trying to be included on missions - not that she ever gets sent on many, for the ‘best soldier in his cadre’ - working on her forging skills (the development of Jyn’s forging skills was my favorite part of the book by far)…

But this is YA, a YA book fully intended to be a bestseller and have all the bestselling YA things, so I was waiting for it.

Every single newly introduced character near Jyn’s age, I considered like I was playing mental Clue.

-Could it be young Rebel group leader Reece Tallent with his YA-romance-ready name and blue eyes?

-Could it be one of the Partisans Jyn asks after in the novelization, who all show up here?

(Note: the YA-sounding scene referenced in one line of the novelization, Codo trying to kiss her and then not speaking to her when she refused, is Not In This Novel.)

-Could it be the Imperial Lieutenant Colonel with the perfectly chiseled face Jyn “felt inexplicably drawn to” and is struck that he doesn’t say the “Empire was already wonderful, just that it had the potential to be”?

(Note again: I thought he might be the novel’s central villain when he again shows up on a news report, now missing an eye. No, this is just a character introduction that goes absolutely nowhere but is just kind of episodic.)

-Could it be the young man Jyn grabs to get off a planet under bombardment, since she’s got the forged clearance codes to get by and he says “I work transport; I can fly anything”?

…Who immediately opens a potentially interesting Rogue One esque dialogue by saying, racked with guilt, “We could have saved someone other than ourselves”?

(A Note of Nope: …don’t get your hopes up on this dynamic. They might scrape through near-certain death together but Jyn never even learns his name.)

I was pretty pumped by Jyn’s first post-Saw team-up. She gets a temporary job with a woman freighter pilot who ships for the ‘little guys’, family-run mining companies, not corporate or goverment…

…But winds up just moving into this woman’s house where she immediately meets her son, the first character all book described as:

“a boy about Jyn’s age.”

Anddddddd before I even made it to the next line, I knew, we have a winner.

His name is Hadder Ponta, and he’s fine.

And yes, I’m sure he’s “fine” as in “hot”, though the writing’s solid enough we don’t need that kind of direct descriptor, we get, “same dark brown skin with red undertones that [his mother] had, and the same black hair, though his was cropped to chin length”; later we get that Jyn’s attracted to him because it’s “very distracting” when he runs his fingers through his hair and the “silky locks fluttered around his ears. He needed a haircut…”

But I mean “fine” in the general sense. He’s just a boy, who really likes Jyn.

…I mean, his mom brought home a cute mysterious girl and put her in their house one wall away from him, and then just the two of them hang out while his mom’s off-planet doing her job; if other people their age are around we never meet them, so…

The most interesting thing about him is probably his dead sister, and I don’t mean that in a mean way -

Tanith Ponta, the real Tanith Ponta, died because she had bloodburn, a new!canon disease that impacts pilots, and actually, she overdosed on the addictive treatment for it. This is… a lot of interesting information, for a plotline that is otherwise irrelevant, but, tangent, odds in favor that bloodburn is what  killed Shara Bey? I’m not aware of any other diseases existing in the Star Wars universe likely to carry off a young fit pilot when her son is six.

The purpose for this is that Hadder’s mom is afraid it runs in their family and won’t let him fly, though he and Jyn secretly take out a shuttle together.

in other words his main personality characteristics are

wants to be a pilot but parental figure won’t let him

thinks being a Rebel sounds like a good idea but has no concept of the fight/gray areas

just wants to get away and see the universe

admires strong women

… wait why does that sound famili-

…I’m actually fine with this, but the execution of the concept was a little lackluster.

Book-wise, it wound up being not quite I was Here For - I was hoping for some more of the ‘disorderly conduct’ and ‘escaping custody’ and ‘creating a public nuisance’ promised by her charges in the Rebel Dossier (I still thought that would be coming, but uh, yeah, that never happens)…

But here we get about 100 pages of Jyn trying to live a settled life in a nice place for ~ a year with these nice people who remind her what the word family means again, obviously both the Empire and Rebels show up and there is crossfire and the Inevitable again happens…

But, while Hadder’s kind of boring, he’s fine, and I *can* see Jyn going for someone naive and genuinely caring at this point in her life, and part of me is like, whew, okay, it’s nice to see Jyn grab ANYTHING nice for herself, especially for her strongly implied first time and when Rebel Rising is drilling home that her life is A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The word ‘love’ is never thrown around, except once, by Hadder: he goes “Copy that, love” and I mentally go… “wait my default America reading accent may have been a mistake here”. The word “forever” is, in Jyn’s thoughts, and I was pretty bummed we never get older her reflecting back more cynically on how likely that would have been, even if he lived…

But no we don’t get that, and this becomes her big losing hope/’maw in her heart’ event/feels she doesn’t deserve good things and then the remaining 100 pages of the novel have so many Imperial collaboration issues, still seeming sixteen when she’s supposed to be her movie-age now, that I barely had a groan to spare for Hadder being something of a Lost Lenore.

But yeah he is, so it teeters pretty close to “L” on that scale you were asking about- but still, for me, fell pretty evenly in between “Could’ve Been Worse” and “Could Have Been Better”.

The big question, for me, which pushes it more one way:

Is that line I’d seen circulating Tumblr before I read Rebel Rising - of Cassian seeming “familiar” but she can’t place it- meant to imply, as we’re finishing the book, that he reminds her of Hadder?

(Hadder does have a “We need to do something” line at one point, she sees something “steely and fierce” in his dark eyes that Jyn thinks would make him a hero in the Rebellion, he’s the only character I can think of getting a laugh out of people… this is not a book with much in the way of humor…)

…so while that’s thankfully left open, there really isn’t much in the way of other in-book contenders she might be thinking of, that is a solid “probably” on intent there.

In summary of my whole long explanation: believe me when I tell you, even though there are some really good scenes in this book and aspects I like a lot… when I say Mistakes Were Made, Jyn’s teenage love interest and how important or not he remains to her, not even registering on my scale of frustrations.