#Made a new post again. Didn't want to have double length of this on my dash 😂

[wwerasliin-sideblog]

@whatdoeseverybodywant in reply to this POST thank you BTW 😊 appreciate hearing your side.

I was going to reply in the comments section, and then thought about reblogging, but I ended up writing more than I intended to, so I just made a whole new post 😌🙏🏽 bear with me.

You've got some points there, and like I mentioned earlier, *personally* for me, nothing justifies bad/abusive behavior. I'm not saying Sami is completely innocent, I'm not saying he didn't betray Roman, I'm not saying he did no wrong, but to say he doesn't deserve anything? That Roman gets off scot free? Nah. They both need to apologize. They both done wrong. But, Roman did more. Especially when you're a leader, there's a greater level of responsibility and trust and care that you need to emulate, that's above and beyond. A big part of leading is also serving..

Yes Kevin warned Sami, but a lot of the times it doesn't matter how many people tell you to leave a bad situation, no matter how much you realize that you should, no matter who tells you should (even the people who you know love you and that you trust the most). Most times people who are being hurt find it too hard to leave, they feel like they can't and won't, for whatever reasons. And a lot of the times it takes an extremely long time, or something extremely drastic for them to leave. —Some of them never end up leaving.

Eventually, Sami did leave, he did what he needed to do for himself to get out, and in doing so the collateral damage was that he allowed them (especially Jimmy and Jey) to see the truth, to see things for what they really were, how they were being treated and how they could get away form it. Jimmy struck first, but Jey took it one step further and left.

Jey's eyes were opened to the truth (although I think the twins were well aware of the toxic situation they were in well before they even knew Sami existed) and seeing that someone was ABLE to breakaway form this toxic situation and walk away and still be okay, to even thrive outside of it...that is what led to Jimmy striking first and Jey leaving "tearing the family apart".

Unlike Seth, Sami chose not to betray his "brother" Kevin.. Roman manipulated and used Sami, Sami realized this - so when it came down to it, he was never going to choose Roman over Kevin, there was no scenario ever where he would pick Roman over Kevin. — I 100% agree with you, Roman should not be okay with Sami taking that chair to his back, it was the ultimate betrayal, in a way, very twisted. But, that's probably why they both need to say some things to each other..maybe even apologize, but at the very least acknowledge both their actions.

Thanks again for sharing, I appreciate you stating your side of things and how you see it 😁 it's always good to hear another side and be able to see things a bit differently. You've got me sympathizing a little more with Roman (the chair to the back), even though I did before as well, I feel it a little more now.

[whats-she-gonna-post-next]

So I just finished binding Trust Life by the absolutely amazing @chaiandsage (Hello, I am ready to be perceived now, I hope that I have done your story even the slightest bit of justice) and I just wanted to make a post both showing it off, and going through what I learned doing this bind because I did a few new things here and want to talk about it.

Also I'm not going to subject you all to this, so most everything but the final product here is going to be below the cut.

(Also so sorry that the photos aren't the best. I am... Very bad at photography, lmao)

Ok, so let's start off with some of the cool things I learned during this bind. Or, maybe not necessarily cool, but they are things I learned and I think that learning is cool!

First off, I learned how to download and add fonts to Microsoft Word, which while not interesting, does open up a whole world of fonts for future binds. Is it a little late in the game to have found this? Probably. But it is what it is. I actually downloaded a pretty good chunk of different ones, but the fonts I actually used were MF Love Dings for the heart motif dividers, which was a new download, and then a few standard fonts - Edwardian Script ITC for the title pages, Baskerville Old Face for the chapter headers, Book Antiqua for the chapter titles, and good old Garamond for the actual text of the novel.

Here is the divider and the title fonts. I just think they are neat.

Another thing I learned was how to make book cloth! I found these squares of white cotton fabric at a dollar tree and decided to give it a go. The way I did mine was by painting them first (a task in and of itself, and as you can see on the cover, did not turn out super even, but I love them nonetheless) and then I glued down a layer of tissue paper to give it a little stiffness and make it stick to the chipboard easier, it was a super cool process and I look forward to trying it again in the future now that I have done it once and have a better idea of how I can improve in the future

And now onto some of the other cooler parts of the process!

So I had a lot of fun doing the formatting, it's my favourite part of any binding process, I cannot tell you how many fics I have formated that I have yet to print out and actually bind because I enjoy the process so much (the answer is actually 5 that are completely formatted and ready to go, 3 that I am actively in the middle of formatting, 4 projects completed - including this one, which... may technically count as 3, granted 2 of them were gifts for other people - and 3 that I am planning on doing that I haven't gotten to start on yet. Oh, and a 5 part series that I have printed out but haven't actually bound yet. I have a problem, lmao.) As I mentioned, I downloaded a few fonts for this but it just ended up looking so good in the end. Here is what some of the inner formatting looks like (I did just take the screenshots from word, I thought it was easier than getting the pages in the book)

Something else! This was the first time I actually broke a single fic into multiple parts, and I do not regret it. Each section is fairly large on its own, so it would have been a monster all together. I gave them basically the same title pages and such, just used the main stories summary for all of them and copy pasted everything - work smarter, not harder - and kept the same format for the chapters and such. There were 2 obvious spots (at least imo) for breaking things up, those being at the end of chapter 24, and then again at the end of 57, if you know, you know. However, that made the divide be 24 chapter, 33 chapter, 9 chapters. I was a little worried about how that divide to affect the look of the books, but I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked out. Book 2 there is quite obviously the largest part (it's basically double the length of book 1) but book 3 was surprisingly long for being only 9 chapters and I think they look fairly cohesive together. I didn't realize how long the last nine chapters themselves were. The first and third ones are actually about the same size together as book two, which is pretty cool!

When it came time to put together the actual books, I stuck with my tried and true french link stitch, as I find it to be a sturdy stitch, and then used green, yellow, and red card stock for the end pages, I felt it thematic.

I'm super excited to have this as a physical book now, thank again to chaiandsage for allowing me to bind this amazing story and just for writing it in the first place! I read it like twice in the span of a month, and I swear I have read chapter 57 and 58 themselves way too many times to count. Not even going to mention the amount of times I read the last 6 chapters because I just love a good happy ending.

But yeah, I'm really happy how this bind turned out, I still have to put an actual cover in these - which I plan on doing, I have a friend who is going to help me with the cover design when they are free, so there will be an update at some point.

[biggaybunny]

Thinking again about the original Spyro games and 3D space in games.

The move to 3D was a tough one for platformers. I think we can all agree on that. Even fondly remembered titles from the era of the N64 and the PS1 were known for having tough or clunky platforming controls. Camera problems, awkward character control, issues with depth marking, difficult gaps; there were all sorts of problems. Hell, the platformer genre shrank to near-nonexistence in the coming generations of games; Mario Sunshine for the gamecube, the first 3D mario after 64, is considered one of the weaker entries, despite having gone to extreme lengths to try and compensate for the difficulty of platforming in 3D (they gave you the ability to hover in air and correct missed jumps, this wasn't by accident).

But back to when platformers were first breaking out into 3D, you can see that a lot of different strategies were used to try and compensate for the difficulty introduced by the new dimension. Crash Bandicoot is well-known for its tactic of restricting the player to two dimensions at a time, giving you obstacle courses of various types to run through, but mixing them up between and even within levels so you still felt like you were playing a 3D game. Other games would give you a double jump to help correct yourself, though the examples I can think of were games that came out a little later (like ratchet and clank for the ps2), so they had the benefit of seeing what worked and what didn't for the first wave. Mario 64, interestingly, simply toned down the difficulty of the platforming challenge, as well as the punishment for failure in all but a few areas (mario had never had a life meter in the 2D games, and certainly wouldn't survive falling in lava in those). You might expect me to say "and that's why Mario 64 was more successful" or something, but that's not my point, and honestly, I think discussing that would be beyond the scope of what I'm trying to get at.

So what I'm trying to get at is that the move to 3D required anyone who wanted to make a platformer to think about space. How they wanted to handle space, how they wanted the player to interact with space. For the platformer, space itself, the geometry of the game, is crucial. Now, obviously, every game is affected by its geometry. A shooter is drastically different if enemies can only come at you from a corridor or from any direction. I'm not saying it's not important for other genres, I'm saying it took even greater importance for platformers. Because it's not enough to say, okay, the player can move in any direction. You have to go a step further. How can they move through every direction? What limits them? What details are there to the geometry that aid or impede that? How many directions can they move at any given moment? In a lot of platformers of the day, a lot of the actual challenging platforming sections tended to happen against walls, or in areas where the player had only to move forward and back, or side to side, at one time, neither both at once (you see this in basically everything Rareware made for the n64).

Spyro (remember what I originally said this post was about? lmao) embraced the possibilities of 3D like no other early platformer did, in my opinion. While Crash put up guide rails and Mario slowballed the challenges for you, Spyro was about using the depth and breadth of the 3D world. Other platformers jump vertically, but Spyro went horizontally. Your challenges weren't above you, they were over there. Yes, way over there. In the distance. Yes, all the way over there. You can't translate Spyro back in to 2D because it actually used all 3 dimensions. What you could see, you could get to, and not by walking over there, but by using your skills. For me personally, as a child, I never even saw the draw distance limitations as a downside. Gliding over a vast chasm and watching treasure and enemies "come into view" as I got close was exciting! It was exploration! Seeing a place and figuring out how to get over to it was a challenge. Trying to eyeball a trajectory and see if I'd make it was exciting. It was all made possible by using the distance and depth of the world, and the relative height of regions of the land. The entire 3D landscape was there, for you to traverse in fun and interesting ways.

There were some drawbacks, yes. Missing a jump in a traditional platformer is often something you find out quickly, and you can quickly learn and iterate on your mistakes. Missing a glide in Spyro often wouldn't be apparently until the 14th second of a 15 second glide, and by the time you got back to where you jumped from you couldn't be sure where, exactly, you had jumped from and if you just needed to try again. The level design was also often hit or miss with clueing you in to the existence of hidden jumps. And by necessity, levels had to full of large open gaps most of the time, which often make the world feel empty and kind of eerie. But I think these are all things that could've been solved with a little bit of iterating on them and some cleverness. Just take a look at how well Crash 4 works after the first 3 Crashes kind of hit a wall with their formula.

I really think that even modern entries in the 3d platforming genre struggle to take advantage of the potential of their world as well as the original Spyro did, at least conceptually. It's a shame the series has been mismanaged as badly as it has for as long as it has, but then again, even the original trilogy was getting pretty bad by the 3rd one. It's just a really hard formula to get right, it was probably a lot easier to copy what everyone else at the time was doing and add more gimmicks and minigames and side characters. So instead of getting to explore rich magical landscapes with a unique moveset as a cool little purple dragon, we got to go skateboarding with Hunter.

I fucking hate Hunter.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #15

Work Her Magic

There is some seriously cruel irony in posting the episode where Hazel's mom clearly wants to engage with her, but can't right now because she's busy (and thus Hazel's upset about how her mom is always working) IMMEDIATELY after the double-length episode where Dev was unable to get his dad's attention whatsoever. What the heck, Hazel? Did you learn nothing?

I love Hazel's parents so much. They're adorable. Marcus being a little jealous about how his wife's always talking to her publisher / coordinator when he wants to plan a date night is fantastic.

-> Assistant, that's her role.

omfg, the title card was grown-up Hazel?? I was multi-tasking on these notes and thought that was her mom. She's ADORABLE.

What the fliiiip? I'm not sure I've ever loved a design more... This is so good. Her color scheme is the same. She's still predominantly blue and those pink bits resemble her shirt stripes, and she's still got green shoes. That's impeccable. A+ thoughtful design.

I love her... I have no 'fic ideas for her at this exact moment, but I like her a lot.

Is the silverware at this school made of wood? Wanda has a funny texture on her disguise.

Hazel is gossiping about herself with her mom at lunch. I'm bracing for Hazel to find out info she'd rather not hear, but so far everything is just Angela gushing over her. I love that.

-> She didn't have a bad word to say, only how much she loves her daughter. Pure...

Antony!! And it was indeed a hand-me-down shirt!

I have some questions about these posters.

Terrible brand name.

I enjoy how Wanda has consistently put on shades this season. I was going to make a joke back in the dinosaur episode about how she did that in the OG series too. I think it was only twice, but those scenes are some of my signature memories of her (The Musical & trying to get her son out of Crocker's house during "Fairly Old Parent").

This was Cosmo as Rice President of Pixies Inc. (to me).

omg, ceiling sprinklers. The detail! Very curious to learn more about how these environments were rendered.

Return of the Meerkat-adjacent voice! Daran Norris!

???

Date night is back on!!

"So, you're probably wondering how I got here..."

Crock to the Future

Crocker?? Huh. Can't say I'm surprised.

-> I've always headcanoned Crocker with witch genes due to the Alden Bitterroot connection. I wonder if he's aged or looks the same (In "Secret Wish," he looked the same after aging 50 years and claimed it's because he was altered to look like that even when he was 10, so it prevented further signs of aging).

-> My theory is that he'll resemble Jorgen and have a patch around his mouth. No justification for this beyond "That seems to be the style to symbolize an older character from the OG series." I still want to know if Doug Dimmadome is dead.

-> If this Crocker turns out to be Kevin, I'm gonna lose my very last marble. Doesn't look likely though due to the freckle placement in that title card. But can you IMAGINE...

Marcus only has 9 toes... Wh- Why does he have more than 8? I thought everyone had 8. Did he cut it one in half with the weedwhacker and count it separately?

The Galax Institute is celebrating its 96th annual event. If that's an in-city location, Dimmadelphia is at minimum 96 years old.

-> He's 100% meeting Crocker at this parascience convention. If he meets the Fentons with that ghost machine, that'd be great.

A.J. NAME CONFIRMATION!! ... I don't love it because I headcanoned him as Archimedes Junior and I think that's cooler than Anthony James Jr., but I'll accept it! Curse my slowness in getting my A.J.-centric multi-chapter out.

-> A.J. founded the Galax Institution at age 10 and is Marcus's hero. First of all, I love that, and second of all... good to know. I was pretty sure Dimmadelphia was still close to Dimmsdale, but it's always nice to have confirmation.

Also, I am once again asking people who have strong feelings that Chloe is a Mary Sue to give me their opinions on A.J., who ends world hunger in Season 2, works with the government at age 10, can build a time machine in 10 seconds with paperclips and string, and who apparently founded the Galax Institute as a child. They would be friends, I think.

Don't actually give me your opinions, but I do think about them a lot.

-> I'm sad my Happy Peppy Betty plotline has her moving to Brightburg instead of Dimmadelphia. It's not like I knew this was coming, but... SHE.

Angela (to me): This is my super hot husband. I love him very much and anyone who calls his interest in parascience dumb will get a high heel to the eye.

I can't believe Mark is banned from the institute. A.J., I have some questions.

Oh, there he is! Baby face...

Huh. I don't have anything to say.

I'm unclear as to why Cosmo and Wanda aren't trying to avoid the magical detectors? Why can't they just leave? I feel like this plot would work better if they'd been sleeping inside Hazel's bag.

I like how Mark, his ship, and Dark Laser's ship are in the mural.

Oh, he has aged:

I'd LOVE to see Crocker interact with A.J. I don't think we'll get that lucky, but it would be fun.

-> I've been thinking this since Episode 1, but I'm starting to seriously debate changing all the times I had Crocker say "cryptozoology" in 'fic to "parascience" instead.

I am super puzzled that A.J. went into parascience after all the time he spent with Crocker. He certainly seems to believe it (unless there's a plot twist that he just wants to give people the opportunity to discover things but he doesn't personally believe in it), but like... that's a STORY. Are we gonna talk about that?

-> This dovetails so nicely into my "Norm & A.J." AU and my head is in my hands but there is nothing I can do about it right now. help.

Oh, I didn't clock that he was a janitor here. Either I was typing and missed that or it was said off-screen. Also I enjoy him crawling without using his hands.

/blinks. Wadjet dying in Age of Mythology sound effect, is that you? Usually in shows, I just hear the donkey sound (I think it's the same one Minecraft uses). This is a surprise.

It is the same sound; I looked it up. I don't know what to do with this information.

Is Crocker going to take Hazel's bag, but open it and ignore Cosmo and Wanda on the outside?

-> Wanda, why don't you just leave? I don't understand.

Wanda: Crocker used to terrorize our last godkid. Cosmo: And before that, he WAS our godkid Roy, Viv, and Chloe awkward monkey puppeting somewhere:

I mean, Chloe was also terrorized a little, but...

Okay, so... Cosmo and Wanda have clearly explained the godparenting basics to Hazel. She's aware she'll lose her memories. But... why didn't we get to see that?

The miserable godkids plot and the memory loss haven't been explained well in this series and I'm a little surprised, seeing as that's one of the biggest pieces of worldbuilding in the OG show. Since Hazel seems to have a loving home life, I wasn't sure if either rule was still canon until Poof-Peri showed up.

Wanda: Crocker would have to cover the entire building in a butterfly net to catch us. Which is impossible! Me: /"Viral Videots" flashbacks

Oh, please give me a sequel to one of my favorite jokes in the entire series...

Eh, I'll take it. I'm disappointed Cosmo and Wanda can still float, though. Hey, you guys aren't supposed to do that!

Hazel: I wish Crocker stopped trying to reveal fairies! Wanda: Oh, we can't do that, squirt. As long as the building's covered by a butterfly net, we're powerless!

W... Wanda? What exactly are you saying? You wanna run that by me again?

I like how A.J. came prepared for Crocker to interfere so he brought a back-up award to give to Marcus, haha.

... Hm. I feel slightly unsatisfied, but I'm not sure I could put into words why. I didn't really have expectations and yet I feel confused.

[thelunarsystemwrites]

Documenting the unknown.

(TW for death and zombie like infections, and being restrained!)

Enter 0.1 - New log - Title: Possible evolution of infection.

Blue found an infected... that isn't.... normal.

We were out on a raid, mostly collecting snow from a post-genocide underfell AU, we needed it for the freezers, helps keep our produce fresh longer. When suddenly we were ambushed by a hoard of infected.

Immediately, we lost our story-shift Torial, and a Swapfell Papyrus, the hoard had atleast thirty in it's cluster, including an Error type Geno.

Somehow, one of the infected started opening portals, and our group was disbanded by force... Blue was missing for twelve hours.

We manged to Dust the hoard after awhile, though we faced a total of three confirmed causalites, having lost our classic Temmie...

Six people were missing. Blue, a storyshift Chara, underfell Muffet, and three different Froggets.

Immediately a search party was sent after them. We teleported across our nearest AUs, found two infected froggets of ours, who had to be dusted. We did recover Chara—As of writing this, Muffet and the other Frogget are still missing...

We did recover Blue... along with a 'survivor.' Which I write that with heavy hesitation, due to the state of said 'survivor.'

Lust, an old friend of Blue's, is currently infected. Physically, he is no different then a fully infected victim, however, he appears to have full sentience, not quite different from an actual survivor.

When I saw Blue helping Lust up, once he was located that is, at first I didn't know he was infected. As Blue had carelessly gifted his protected cloak to the other, it covered the lightning pattern Lust had, along with the greenish tint to his bones. Both were defined signs of being fully infected.

However, once I got a look, I drew my bow, assuming Blue was too in denial to end the suffering life...

Blue begged me not to shoot Lust, Lust begged me not to shoot. Normally an infected has lost all cognitive abilities, such as speaking, and especially that clearly... I decided to spare him, on the condition that we detain him to avoid him possibly infecting others.

So luckily, Ink was equipped with handcuffs, and a mask. After making sure the infected put on the mask, he was restrained as a precaution.

We manged to transport him back to our base, the entire time the infected was rather... chatty, with Blue.

Proper equipment was then used. We've put him into a muzzle, one that requires three steps to unlock, and cannot be unlocked without my direct input. We have also required him to wear full length gloves and socks, shackled hia legs and cuffed his hands, and put a double chained collar onto his neck, making head jerking very limited.

He has been detained in a quarantine cell, he has limited body movements aa of now, so we believe he is unable to attack. Even if Blue tells us that Lust was the one protecting him those twelve hours, I have no reason to believe this isn't some sort of trick. For all we know, the infection has now evolved enough to mimic sentences and behaviours of the host, to lure in prey...

I do not have the heart to dust him, I made a promise to Blue... and the infected. Plus, I do think it would be wise to research him first...

I do hope Blue doesn't get too attached again.

Logging off, Dream.

(Author note: this isn't exactly canon, as I want Dream and Ink to not know Lust was infected for awhile, atleast a day or so? But idk lol)

[sewingsillythings]

TOS Dress Failures Post

So as I mentioned, I'm beginning a little post here about things I did wrong with my first (yellow) Star Trek: TOS dress, and in the coming days I'll post a few updates about my second (red) dress, and try to show off what I'm doing differently! I am very much an amateur sewer, so maybe don't expect this to be super comprehensive, but I'm going to do my best to talk about the issues I had and just try to shed some light on what ended up being a pretty bare bones pattern. So much stuff I could have done better, some my own folly, some issues with the pattern.

To give you an idea, this is everything that came with the pattern:

The instructions page is double sided, but the other side is just a sizing chart and recommended fabric types, in fact, the instructions occasionally mentioned diagrams that I did not receive, however, from my scouring the internet, this really is the best pattern if you want the right looking fit of the tos skant dresses, so I went with it anyway.

Some of the issue I ran into were:

Length: The little I saw online did suggest you lengthen the skirt and yeah, they were right. I did try to do this, but my lack a familiarity with the patterns made it really inconsistent.

Although the front is actually a good length, it's uneven because I tried to eyeball it (laziness strikes again), and the back (which I obviously didn't do as well) is waay too short for me to consider wearing in public. But the main issue was, being new to the pattern, I didn't realize that piece 'C' would also be forming part of the hemline, leading to this:

As you can see this was a combo of my own follies and lack of comprehensive instructions.

Solution: add a specific amount of CMs to the pattern length and add it every piece (except the H&D sleeve pieces). I will make a post about this when I begin cutting my red fabric to show you all exactly what I'm doing, because I want to make some more measurements before I settle on a length.

2. Sleeves: The guides also said the lengthen and widen the sleeves, which I didn't do but definitely should have, I ripped so many seams just trying it on because the sleeves were too tight:

I also used super stretchy fabric for this yellow dress, so with the cotton I'm using this time I will definitely have to be careful about adding a fair amount of width.

I will say the sleeve length is more of a matter of taste, but for an accurate costume I want them at least to my wrists, and this pattern's sleeve barely reached them, so lengthening is also a good idea. It's always easier to take something in than to let it out!

Solution: Add a few cm to the sleeve width and length, I will probably be doing 5cm extra for both because it's a nice round number, and gives me some wiggle room. For Americans in the audience this is about 2 inches.

3. Zipper: With the stretchy fabric I used I almost definitely did not need a zipper. So I didn't fully put it in. Basting the zipper is step 5 of the pattern, so I just sort of... basted it in and then never fully attached it or made the zipper opening because I was confused about where it went. This is where the pattern insists I should have been following a diagram I did not have:

But I did have the little picture, where the zipper is hidden in the pleat, like so:

As you can see there is supposed to be a slit in the fabric for the zipper to peek through, but the fabric I used was stretchy enough that I could basically just pull it on. Therefore, I never actually cut the slit and just pulled it on. With my less stretchy cotton I will have to put in a zipper, which will be okay because I figured out how to do it properly.

Solution: Instead of sewing the zipper all the way down right away (what I did) you are only supposed to sew it to the top part of the pattern, and leave the hidden/skirt part to sew in later. To be fair, the pattern does say this, I was just confused about the pleating due to my inexperience which led to confusion about the zipper. Generally though, next time, I will start at the top of the garment and work my way to the bottom... that maybe should have been obvious.

So those were the major problems I dealt with with this pattern, and they're also why I'm excited to try it again and make a better version!

I also had a lot of trouble with the pleating, but that was genuinely just my inexperience and not the pattern giving me issues. I could make another post about the problems I had with that if there are other beginners who might want some tips though.

[internerdionality]

20 Questions for FanFic Authors

Tagged by @dragonmuse, thank you! 🥰

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

39. I've been publishing since 2020, so a relative newbie, and I apparently can't write actual short works to save my life. I'm looking forward to hitting 50 fics, maybe even before the end of the this year, although that might be overly optimistic.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

817,200. Also looking forward to hitting a million! I started writing fanfic in part because of Diane Duane's post about the first million words being for practice, but I've realized as I've gone that fanfic is also just more fun in a lot of ways than original work, because it's lower stakes and more silliness and really all about the community.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Our Flag Means Death and the DC universe. I have a long crossover plotted out in the Slayerverse but I haven't published any of it yet, and one fic (I think my shortest) that I wrote to expiate my feels for the fourth Matrix movie. Oh! And a few Good Omens, only one published so far.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor? , Our Flag Means Death, Izzy/Everyone + Canon Pairings. I started writing this one literally the night after I finished watching the show in late April 2022 and managed to hit the wave of gay pirate frenzy as the fandom was born. I swear I'll finish it. 😅

A Fucking Duel, Our Flag Means Death, endgame SteddyHands with some strong Sprizzy side-action. This started out as crack, again very early in the gay pirate brainrot, and then turned novella size on me when I wasn't looking.

To Err is Human, to Purr is Batman. DC. Shades of SuperBat but mostly Bat-Family focused. I turn Bruce Wayne into a cat. Pure fluff.

Mutually Beneficial. DC, SuperBat. Classic identity porn romcom with a sugar daddy twist. Nonbinary Clark Kent. My first fanfic on AO3!

Soaked to the Skin. Our Flag Means Death, Sprizzy with a side of BlackHands, my take on how things would go for the Revenge right after the first season ended, doesn't include any of the characters who weren't on the ship during SO1E10. Double the length of any other fic I've ever written!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always! I am a praise-gremlin and treasure every comment I receive. I also include answering comments in my total word count for the day (I made a resolution during the HHD 5781-82 to write more, and while it took me a little bit to get started, I have written at least 250 words a day since mid-December 2021). So answering comments often gets me pumped for writing more fic!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Disregarding the prequels in the big dark vampire romp (which aren't really standalone) probably a tie between the surprise twists at the ends of Untethered and Gently in the Night? Both fics end happily but then have a little angsty setup for the sequel at the very end.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely Mutually Beneficial. Most of my fics end happily but I usually try to leave them somewhat open without doing a lot of epilogueish kind of things. MB was an exception where I wrote two fluffy epilogues with lots of romance and sex because I didn't want to leave my boys! Although honestly now when I think back on it I think it would have been a stronger work if I'd ended it right after the climax and posted the fluffy epilogues as separate works.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There was this one unregistered user who went through all my SuperBat fics and engaged in this long comment thread where he accused me of not liking Clark Kent? (Which, almost all my DC fics have Clark as the protagonist, I adore him, so). It was very surreal. I eventually just deleted it every time they'd write a new comment and they stopped after like two or three of those.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Lots of smut! It's actually just in the past year that I've stretched myself to write more Gen-ish fics with WDYDWADS and TEIH, and it somewhat surprised me that those became my two most popular fics in their respective fandoms.

As far as what kind, I really try to diversify but the strongest commonalities tend to be strong power dynamics, bondage, pain-play, and consent-play, with my darkest stuff going hard into noncon. I have fluid squicks so I tend to avoid anything in that area.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

The only one I have published is the Our Flag Means Death/Pirates of the Caribbean (which seems pretty obvious, I'm honest surprised there isn't more). I have the whole arc plotted out where the vampire!DCU series is going to branch out into the Slayerverse. Hopefully I'll actually write it one of these days.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I don't go looking, but my works aren't crazy popular, either.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple! I'm always really honored. 🥰 Many thanks to people who labor for fandom.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did a long entirely cowritten canonized fiction for Steve Stirling's Emberverse—it's published on his site, not AO3, and under my real name, so don't go looking! (Nah, JK, I won't link it but I don't care if people figure it out).

And then I wrote this companion piece to Rimbaud's Give Pearls Away and Rubies. I had nothing to do with his piece, but he consulted heavily on mine. And Dragonmuse and I starting workshopping a Dragonriders of Pern pastiche that we might finish one of these days. 🤣

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Can I say the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one? It's the platonic ideal of a ship, really... 😂

Otherwise I really don't have one, I'm too poly for that. Even the ships I'm most feral about, I'll ship any of them with other people.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I won't say the DCU/Slayerverse crossover because I refuse to doubt that I'll finish it one day. So let's go with the JLA bad orgy crack—I actually posted on that one that it should be considered abandoned. I still love the idea but I kinda just ran out of steam.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Exposition, worldbuilding, delving into character emotions. Metaphors and whimsy.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Having actual plots. Action scenes. Actually finishing/ending anything.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I speak enough French and Hebrew to do either of those (and have).

I've done a very little Spanish for Jim from OFMD, but I tend to just copy actual stuff that they've said in canon. I do have a Puerto Rican friend that I've leaned on occasionally, but she's busy and I don't want to make it her job to constantly write dialogue for me so I usually try to avoid it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Define "wrote." 😂

When I was a teenager I plotted out long self-insert fixits for Star Trek, Harry Potter (look, even then the only thing I wanted to do in that verse was fix its many sins), X-Files, Stargate, and Buffy. I never wrote any of them down, though, just enjoyed the daydreaming.

Well, I lie, I did actually write about 60K eventually in an original novel that was based on some of the dynamics I'd created in the HP one, but that's the only one I ever got out on paper and it was altered enough that its origin was pretty unrecognizable.

If we're counting published anywhere, it's Stirling's Emberverse.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Soaked to the Skin. I'm honestly so proud of the actual! plot! in that one, the narrative flow, the emotional arcs, and like. the fact that I actually finished it. Even now a year later, every time I get a comment or kudo on that fic it sends this thrill of happiness up my spine.

Tagging (only if you want it), @thetardigrape, @sunless-garden, and @jupitermelichios.

[yuuana]

Music Monday #249: ATEEZ - WORK release: May 2024 genre: Kpop cw: surrealism

You may have noticed some Mondays missing. That is because May was a raging shitshow and honestly I'm still trying to recover from last week, but I also fully intend to go back and fill in all the missing Music May posts over the course of however long that takes.

The thing with ATEEZ is, even with this being their tenth EP, they are still able to constantly surprise me with new sounds and styles. WORK is both something new and something that feels like a completely normal evolution of their sound. The solid thump of the drum and bass that makes you want to bounce along, the Latin flavor in the instrumentals, especially the pre-chorus with it's tempo shift, and then that almost Gershwin-y, jazzy clarinet track. Making a focus playlist around WORK made it more obvious both how well it fits in with a lot of their existing discography (Crazy Form, Arriba, and Cyberpunk all came to mind quickly, but in the end the bigger problem was trying to keep the playlist in the sweet spot on length) and how unlike the current BG trends the whole EP is. Which didn't stop me from building a playlist of 85 entries, but it did take awhile and I'll probably keep fiddling with it.

As for the video ... well that's a wild ride all right. I've filed this as a lore MV for now, but it might be stretching things a bit. It wouldn't be the first time we've had an MV in a dreamscape (Illusion anyone?), and between Seonghwa riding an ostrich and Yeosang cuddling a chicken, to say nothing of the money burgers or Money Man, this is a fairly solidly unreal/surreal setting. Meaning if this is lore, it's going to take further releases/stages to contextualize it and fit it into the story. If this is A 'verse dreaming again, well, it's a colorful dream world all right.

That said, between the lyrics themselves and comments from Hongjoong and Mingi, it's hard not to see the whole of Golden Hour Part 1 as being a bit meta - ATEEZ have been working more or less constantly from pre-debut and their usual response to being snubbed or other fandoms' attempts to drag them into stupid controversy has been to double down and work even harder. It's to the point now where every time the guys vow to "work harder to become the ATEEZ that is worthy of ATINY," I half want to reach through the internet, shake San's shoulders, and insist that no, they already are. Add on that Mingi called Siren a diss track (which, I either need a better translation or we need to talk about what he means by "diss track" XD) and an argument could definitely be made that this EP is comment on ATEEZ-the-boyband rather than ATEEZ-our-pirate-heroes.

GOLDEN HOUR Part 1 just released last Friday, positioning it poorly for its first charting week, but it is what it is. It's available now wherever you do your Kpop streaming as well as for physical sale online and in select stores. And by "select" I mean both box stores like Walmart and, if you're lucky enough to have such, local pop ups and Kpop shops.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[tarotcard0]

I finally beat Persona 5. Final time, including end credits: 123 Hours, and 54 Minutes game time. Let's just round that up to 124 Hours.

I had a good time, but I would like to continue from my previous post and reiterate the complaint that the game is too damn long!

124 Hours. 124 FUCKING hours!? If I never slept it still would have taken me a week! Why did the game need to be this long? And further, I missed a lot of stuff. I only maxed out, like 4 Confidant ranks, and 2 of them just happened as the story did, so I'm not sure if I can count them. I'm given to understand that there's multiple endings and ending variants, but I've been playing for 124 fucking hours!?!? The fact that I can tell I would have gotten more ending per ending by maxing out more Confidants made me a little annoyed because there's stuff that I missed. Including, I'm given to understand, an entire extra dungeon and ending? - Okay, how many final bosses can one game have?

This is going to be a hot take, I'm certain, but I don't think games this long should have multiple endings. If I want to see more of the game's content, including this extra Palace, I'd have to use New Game + to go through the whole thing again. I'm too afraid to skip cutscenes because I might miss something important, and I just don't think I have the energy to go through the whole thing again.

I'd say that if I played the game differently, then maybe I would have gotten to this bonus, Royal Exclusive, Double Extra Really Final Final Battle For Reals This Time(tm), but honestly, after the whole thing with [Spoiler] and [Spoiler], hearing "Oh, by the way, there's one more dungeon" from any character probably would have given me an aneurysm. I just wanted the game to be over at that point, god damn.

On that subject, I'm pretty sure my lack of picking a romance option didn't help either. I'm not sure if it was because almost all of the romancible characters were outside my age group, or if I'm just that bad at playing as boys now, but I just wasn't interested. Being Not Interested In Romance Right Now however didn't seem to be an actual option, and instead the game mostly treated me like a lonely loser, though it thankfully wasn't as harsh as it could have been.

I wish I had gotten more Confidants maxed out, so that I got some of that extra dialogue and whatnot, but there's a hard time limit imposed on the game, trapping it in this bizarre state of "Holy shit why is this game so long" and simultaneously "Holy shit there isn't enough time to do all of this"

Here's hoping that the next Persona has a female protagonist. And is also half the length.

[infamousengineer]

First off I love this idea.

But imagine how it all started, maybe Bucky did go out on a date with a girl and Steve got heated. Bucky tries to smooth things over and tells Steve it isn't like Steve could just become a woman. But gives Steve a wild and far-fetched idea.

Steve already knew he was pettie, he was smaller than his own ma for goodness sake. So sneaking into her closet one day while she was at work, wasn't all that hard. Finding a dress that fit was even easier for Steve.

Imagine Steve not telling Bucky about the idea until he has perfected his girl form. Bucky almost caught on a few times when Steve's voice was way too high-pitched, but Steve played it off as asthma, which of course only made Bucky worry more.

Then Bucky invites Steve to some technology convention and it was just going to be them. Bucky wasn't interested in trying to find a double date for me. But the surprise on Bucky's face when he knocked on Roger's apartment and a young woman opened the door. She had brown shoulder-length hair, a gorgeous navy blue dress on, red lips, and red heels.

Bucky short-circuited for a second before he heard Steve's laugh leave the woman's lips.

Now there was excitement because the outfit was so convincing and Bucky was beyond excited to be able to take out his lover without all the attention.

Bucky spends some of his paychecks on makeup or new outfits for his Dot. Which honestly became a persona for Steve. Dot was a little more sassy and brattier than Steve and it drove Bucky wild.

It was also impressive how much Steve's makeup skills improved over the short time, but they were constantly going out because Bucky constantly wanted to show off his dame.

Post-Serum was a different story, Bucky would tease Steve when Dot's personality slipped out, but Steve didn't have the supplies or time to dress up as her anymore.

Then once they were both reunited, it would still take Steve time before they brought up Dot again. It wasn't until Bucky saw Steve's Instagram feed over Steve's shoulder and saw Steve was watching how BodyBuilder women liked to dress to feel (more) feminine or how the next post showed a woman with huge muscles in a cute dress and not caring what society thinks. That's when Bucky realized that maybe Steve missed being able to dress up as Dot.

So Bucky goes to work finding different clothing, styles, and wigs before presenting it all to Steve.

"Would you be interested in being my Dot again?"

The small smile on Steve's face made it all worth wild.

[slytherbun]

wildflower

pairing: cedric diggory x hufflepuff!reader

summary: you weren't too sure what to think when a new eye candy transfers to hogwarts and becomes the new seeker of the hufflepuff's quidditch team but you realize in time that he is all of what you hoped for.

word count: 3.7k

tags: @specialagentsoftie

note: so this is all just a bunch fluff. i'm not sure how i feel about it in terms of cringey and hope y'all like it! figured i'd post this anyways either way though lol. i made up the way reader and cedric met at hogwarts so, it's non-canon from the movie.

another note: italics are flashbacks! :)

it was cold.

you could see everybody’s breath in the air outside and knew it was a crime to be out and about now with freezing and chilly weather.

the snow outside coated the ground by inches and the black coats zippered up and wrapped around you only helped so much. you were the type to freeze easily and the climate at hogwarts didn't help your situation at all.

minutes ago before you walked outside, you knocked on the door to his dorm after surveying the hufflepuff’s common room and noticed there weren't very many people around. and when cedric opened the door after you rapped on it a few times—he took in the view of your body wrapped around your blanket before pulling you into his room.

pathetically enough, you were shivering in the halls even with your mitten covered hands stuffed in the pockets of your coat. you weren't about to admit the doubled up socks on each of your feet either underneath the knee-length boots you wore today.

"are you cold?" cedric successfully taunted you when you reached your arm out of the pocket of your jacket and then under the blanket to slap his arm. he hissed and glared your way playfully while rubbing his arm dramatically.

you shrugged with a smirk on your lips and he plopped down onto his soft bed. “don’t get too comfortable.” he suggested when noticing you trying to sneakily get underneath his covers. 

“what i’d do for one of those thermal blankets the muggles use.” you sighed dreamingly while watching him walk towards his closet.

“imagine having a postal company deliver the package to hogwarts? dumbledore would have an aneurysm.” cedric replied and you couldn’t help yourself when imagining the scenario playing out in your mind. 

he turned to the side to admire your smile while you were a little distracted while pulling out a coat. then he closed the closet up and walked back over, holding it in your direction to offer an extra to put over your body. you gladly took it with a smile. "thanks ced."

cedric backed up a few steps and brushed a hand through his brunette hair. not being able to help himself he joked, “can’t have you walking around with your blanket wrapped around you. your height already makes you look so adorable.”

you got off from the bed when he exaggerated with your blanket in hand and scoffed. cedric bit his lip nervously while continuing to back up before he felt the wall pressed against him.

he rubbed the back of his nervously while you held the blanket up to his height and above your own head. “i’m just kidding.” he gulped before you took it and put it over his face.

when he tugged it down from his face he spotted you innocently standing by the door with his jacket around you. “i was going to leave it here anyway. just put it on the bed and i’ll come get it later after we get back.”

while you zippered it up you noticed this particular jacket was the one that you often saw him wearing before he ended up buying a new one for the upcoming winter that you were suffering in now.

and it was longer than the one you had previously put on about twenty minutes ago so, you couldn't argue with him on that steal.

"alright.” he laughed and added with a more serious tone. “oh and by the way—you don't need to thank me. you're my best friend, wildflower."

today was the first quidditch match of the season and you were sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation. the hufflepuffs didn't score well last season and you were hoping they wouldn't come out with last place again for the year.

y/g/b/f (your girl best friend) sat down on the stands next to you with an umbrella in her hands. you turned and looked at it with a confused face. but she just smiled at your contemplating thoughts and looked up at the sky once before supplying you with an answer.

“well it looks bright now but i have a feeling it’ll rain later.” she always had a suspicion for when it was going to rain or snow and you never second guessed her because every single time she was right.

“did you know we’re having a new seeker play on the team today? i believe he’s going to be captain too if he plays his cards right this game.” she asked. you didn’t know that.

“wait is he the new guy everybody is talking about? i heard the rumors but you know how they are. i didn’t want to take it seriously until i saw it with my own eyes.” you stated and she nodded. 

“yeah he’s a transfer i think but i’m not too sure. his name is cedric diggory though.” after her reply, you glanced around the stands to see if anybody had diggory signs for the game but with no avail you sighed. before you could respond you felt a few droplets on your shoulder. 

your friend gave you a smart-ass grin and popped out the umbrella to hold it over the both of you. “guess we’ll see how good he is.” you mumbled before seeing the players come up to the playing area with their brooms.

butterbeer was pretty popular during the winter season. many students from school usually went and got some to help regulate their body temperature and keep warm.

everybody else must have gotten the same memo because you were inside the three broomsticks now for some butterbeer and it was crowded.

almost every table was filled with peers and that’s probably why you didn’t see many people in the school. with just one glance around the area, you could already tell the divided area’s of where each school was seated right away. 

your tables were to the left area, the slytherins must have come earlier because they grabbed the back ones, some of the ravenclaw’s were off to the right, while harry and the other gryffindor’s had the middle area.

cedric nudged your side to grab your attention and nodded towards the hufflepuff area. “want to grab us some seats and i’ll get the drinks?” he asked and you nodded. “sure, could you get me a snack too if you don’t mind?” 

he smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “i suppose i could.” cedric walked away with a wink and you shook your head knowing he was just humoring you.

little did you know he already had planned to get you something else even before the two of you left the dorms. it had gotten to the point where asking him for little things hadn’t bothered you because you reciprocated all of the time.

but sometimes cedric would give you little excuses when it was your turn to pay, just so he could end up paying for whatever you guys were having or getting. he always spoiled you.

"ah the golden girl is here." hermione scoffed and watched you walk towards the hufflepuff area. your other best friend was seated already and started talking to you when you sat.

the brunette from the red colored house didn't particularly dislike you since you were always nice. sometimes you chatted with her while working on a project that you were paired for. then other times you gave her a soft smile when catching her eye while walking in the halls towards your next class.

she definitely couldn’t help but respect and admire you.

but the reason she didn’t put herself out there and try to befriend you was because you were one of the girls known in school for your smartness, quick reflexes, and witty attitude. 

when people from school talked about you and referred to you as the golden girl instead of your name most of the time—it wasn’t that you were golden per-say but the fact that it matched up perfectly with the school’s color that you sorted it.

hufflepuff was known for its represented yellow color.

and there’s no doubt about it that hermione was also known around the school. but, she felt it was for all of the wrong reasons. despite not having it any other way as one of harry's best friends, she wondered if not for him that in an alternate lifetime that she would be you. 

“why is she wearing cedrics jacket?” ron asked after following hermione’s stare. harry thumped him on the back of his head and then shook his own. “why does it matter?” the one with a thunderbolt on his forehead replied.

“well it is interesting, isn’t it?” the brunette said in defense of ron’s question. the one who didn’t seem curious at all took a sip of the butterbeer in front of him.

he licked his lips, thinking then replied to them with a response. “i mean it’s not our business but it is an odd find now that you pointed it out. maybe he’s just being friendly?”

“as if! cedric has had a crush on y/n since he met her. she’s just oblivious to it all,” she paused and tapped her chin. “—or is she?” ron gasped at her accusation but took a sip of his own drink before she could hear his outburst.

harry noticed her getting riled up once again and sighed. “well i don’t know what else to say. maybe you should just introduce yourself already and ask her instead of me.” he shrugged and hoped to end the conversation there.

you knew exactly who cedric diggory was when he swiftly passed by the hufflepuff area during the game. of course, he was wearing yellow. 

the game has been going on for a decent amount of time now and he was stacking up the scores on the quidditch board—easily passing by the score of the gryffindor’s team.

cedric was undoubtedly the new eye candy for the whole school with the gasps and ‘awes’ from the other girls sitting in the stand. your friend was so busy watching harry that she didn’t catch the commotion.

you didn’t really pay attention to him to get a good glance at his face so, you thought he was just another arrogant rich boy and rolled your eyes.

what you didn’t notice was the way it was like a slow-motion love at first sight situation for him when he went by. since it stopped raining through the middle of the game he was able to catch a quick view of you. 

the week wasn’t done yet so it was possible he’d be seeing more of you in another class he hadn’t had yet. and cedric hoped you were because he couldn’t help but look over in your direction throughout the game to catch another glimpse of your face.

it was still humid outside and you tried wiping your makeup a few minutes ago since it was under your eyes now, but you only smudged it further. your robe was drenched with your wavy and half-dried hair now lying down the back of it. 

but he didn’t care what you thought about yourself because he knew without a doubt that you were the prettiest girl there.

“cedric’s looking pretty good today.” y/g/b/f voiced for the first time today. you played with the napkin in your hand while trying to get a glimpse of cedric. 

“i don’t think you would know even if he was—since you spend all your time looking at harry.” cedric was up to the counter now waiting for your butterbeer and food.

“uh huh. don’t think i haven’t admired cedric before from afar though.” after a moment of not answering her, y/g/b/f noticed that you weren’t paying attention. you knew exactly what she was hinting towards.

cedric did look good.

his hair had that ‘just woken up’ style to it and he always managed to look even more attractive then he should have. the yellow scarf wrapped around his neck was the one that came with every hufflepuff’s supplied uniform clothing.

he usually wore it when you sat with him in potions on a chilly morning and you caught yourself wanting to take it off of him and wear it sometimes.

he always smelled good and it comforted you in ways a best friend shouldn’t have the ability to.

you seemed to have let your guard down and stared longer then you should have which confirmed what y/g/b/f already knew. “i knew it!” she chuckled and stated more loudly than the last comment to snap you out of the zoned out state you were in. 

“know what?” you asked while placing the napkin back down on your table.

cedric was reaching the table and you wanted the conversation to end quickly. you usually dragged out conversation topics like this so you had time to think of another one to distract her with. but, she always found a way to circle it back around again. 

you had to shut it down before he could hear, already knowing exactly what she wanted to talk about again.

“i’ll tell you later before our curfew.” y/g/b/f smirked and you sighed knowing she would in fact take the time out of her night to find you before bed. lucky you.

“hey y/g/b/f. how has your day been?” he asked your other friend while sitting down and placing your refreshments in front of you and then doing the same with his. 

she grinned at you then glanced over at him, “pretty good i guess if it wasn’t for this weather i would say great. how about you? and how’d you manage to get this one out?” she gestured towards you, causing you to roll your eyes. 

here we go again.

you were walking down the path back to the hogwarts dorms with y/g/b/f and some others. there was going to be a small celebration in the hufflepuff’s common room and other students were trying to hurry back without raising suspicions with any professors nearby.

“hey, i’ll be right back y/n/n. i see luna and i’m going to go ask her if she has a hair tie.” she said and pointed to the curly knots that she had on her shoulders.

you nodded and continued along the path while she walked over to the other side. it was quiet for a moment and you surveyed the peaceful area, a few feet over in the grass was a small patch of flowers.

you were about to take a quick look at them before feeling someone tap your shoulder. it was sudden and you couldn’t help but quickly move to the side and form a fist. you were about to throw it but stopped when you stared wide-eyed at the person who scared you.

cedric felt awful and only after he startled you did he realize that you were looking off in the distance of the area. the way you jumped though seemed that you were quick on your feet and he couldn’t help but smirk at the new name he had for you. 

“hey i’m sorry for startling you wildflower but i just wanted to introduce myself. i’m cedric diggory.” he introduced with a panty-dropping smile.

you weren’t sure if it was some kind of joke so you treaded carefully. “uh it’s okay, it’s my fault really for not paying attention but i’m y/n y/l/n. nice to meet you ced.”

cedric held out his hand for you to shake and you took it, giving him a firm shake. after you let go he smirked and questioned. “ced, huh?”

he crouched down to pick up a flower that you were looking at earlier and it reminded you to ask, “wildflower, huh?” you met his statement equally and folded your arms together so they were across your chest to look more tough.

his cheeks tinted a minor shade of pink and tried to hide his embarrassment by ducking down and ignoring your question. instead he glanced back up to tuck a hair behind your ear and then placed the flower there.

“yes, wildflower.” 

and how could you argue with him when he was being so sweet?

the two of you made it back to the common room after an hour of eating, then chatting with cedric and your other best friend. he was sitting on the bed with you sitting next to him.

you’ve been sitting for only about a minute or so—only enough time to shrug off your jackets and place them on the desk chair between that time after walking back to his dorm.

“would you like to lay down for a few minutes?” cedric asked when he noticed the tiredness shown clear as day on your face.

“sure” you agreed and you laid down while he shook your blanket out for the two of you to use. his eyebrows scrunched together when he realized it wouldn’t make much of a difference in comfort with how small it was.

you chuckled watching him trying to maneuver it around and he glanced your way with a smirk of defeat. “hmm, seems this blanket is a little small. would you like to go under the covers?”

cedric was giving into what you wanted earlier before the two of you left and he knew that too. the three broomsticks' food was delicious as always and you just wanted to relax for a few minutes after getting teased by your friend.

he grinned watching you get comfortable after the both of you were situated under the sheets and yellow comforter. there was a hufflepuff patch ironed onto it and you rubbed your thumb over it while laying down.

it wasn’t that awkward since you’ve fallen asleep in his arms a couple of times before already. class exams were frustrating and took a lot out of the students so he took comfort in you and vice versa when there was some down time during the weekends throughout the school year.

with an arm around you—he pulled you close to the point where you could feel his warm breath along your neck. “i don’t think you realize how much i treasure these moments y/n/n.”

he spoke breathlessly and you gulped slowly. you were dumbfounded with how seriously he said that. as if it had some kind of hidden meaning behind it. “me too.” you agreed and wondered if he would leave it at that.

but you knew better and cedric never left well alone when he wanted to get a point across. he turned your body slowly with the arm he had around your middle and you faced him with confusion.

he glanced down once before looking back up and continued on with his confession while staring into your doe eyes—a color he deemed his favorite the day that he met you.

“i’ve been fighting myself for a while on whether or not i should tell you this because i didn’t want my feelings to ruin our friendship. i’d rather be your friend than not be a part of your life at all. and i always look forward to seeing you e-everyday.” he paused when his voice cracked.

after cedric cleared his throat he continued, “and i totally understand if you don’t share the same feelings with me but i just couldn’t go on another day without telling you how i—” you cut him off by leaning in and brushing your lips against his.

he moved closer on the bed, so his skin was touching yours. cedric wanted to get as close to you as he possibly could. your hand swept through his brunette curls and you surprised him by tugging it.

he never knew what you were going to do and his friends teased him that you were a wildcard, to which he’d correct them and say you were his wildflower.

cedric smirked into the kiss and you groaned knowing he was being a smart-ass. but in return, he shocked you when he placed a hand delicately on your cheek to cup it rather softly.

he rubbed your cheek while your hand massaged his curls and then moved them downwards to the nape of his neck.

cedric pushed the hair back from your neck with his hand and then placed it back so his thumb splayed across on your cheek in a loving gesture. and you only wanted him closer after feeling sensitive about the whole astonishment that still had you stunned to the core.

you tugged the collar of his shirt and he pulled away with puffy, red lips and a smile. “what’s wrong?”

“i don’t know, i’m just emotional.” you voiced squeakily and full of embarrassment about it. cedric shook his head and before patting his chest, he held up the comforter over the both of you and let the minimal cold air in.

“oh, baby it’s okay. come here and let's cuddle a little before curfew.”

you bit the bottom of your lip and nodded, giving him a smile in return to the one he gave you and then crawled onto him. “i think i like baby better.” you voiced and laid on his chest with your head over his heartbeat.

he let go of the comforter when he noticed you were settled and tugged it firmly around both of your bodies. “better then what?” he asked.

“wildflower.” you admitted and hummed nervously while awaiting his response. you felt cedric shake his head and he put his arms around your body so you were pressed firmly against him before he kissed your forehead.

“you’ll always be my wildflower.” you closed your eyes after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek in response.

after a moment of laying back down you could feel his chest rising up and down in an odd pattern so, you put your head up to see him laughing again at you.

“what now?” you questioned trying to keep a serious facial expression but failing when he grinned.

“guess you got what you wanted, hmm?” cedric said—referring to the fact that you were finally under the comforters and you smirked.

“of course i always do. including finally getting you, ced.”

[wwerasliin-sideblog]

Hey there @whatdoeseverybodywant !! Thank you for responding (YOUR POST) so graciously! Haha it really IS nice to talk wrestling with someone! who sees some things a little different and still doesn't bite your head off 😁

[I don't think Sami or Roman needs to apologize tbh. They should just stay clear of each other's path. Since Sami is on Raw, there's no real reason for them to come face to face. Even if Sami becomes Jey's voice of reason. He needs to stay clear of Roman and vice versa.]

— Personally I would love for them to interact again, because of their history, that whole storyline they had together was pretty amazing to me. They all just worked incredibly well together and their characters were just pushed to a different level (they've all said this in interviews); depth and complexity but also humorously simple.

- If they end up interacting I would still expect at least some kind of acknowledgement from both parties. - (an apology would be even better) I think this is one thing we disagree on haha which is okay!

- BUT, if Sami isn't getting involved in the Bloodline story, then I completely agree, now is not the time for them, staying away is a reasonable choice to make. *Although, I don't know if Jey will be okay with that... I guess in a way it all depends on him.*

[Jimmy struck first bc of this. To me Jimmy wasn't gonna bust a move w/o jey. But I believe this was the 1st time Roman put his hands on Jimmy and Jimmy DID NOT like that.]

— Oh I actually agree with you about Jimmy, I never meant Sami was the whole reason for being the catalyst to Jimmy making a move, I just meant it showed him that it WAS a possibility. That it could be done. Even without Sami, he most likely, eventually would've done it himself (like you said he wasn't exactly happy, hasn't been for a while, and then Roman laid hands on him), but Sami might've given him that extra little push/courage/encouragement he needed to not wait any longer, like he'd already been waiting for so long.

— Off topic, but, Jimmy is a good brother, well his intentions are good and his heart seems to be in the right place, and sure he's made his set of mistakes and questionable choices, but he's highly underrated and takes a whole lot of blame (sometimes too much) if you ask me.

[NOW JIMMY! HE needs to go on a apology tour. Starting with Jey and ending w/ Sami. BC he made Sami belive that they were close. He was the one to make Sami comfortable in The Bloodline and he switched up on his.. so damn fast lol. ion even think it was a good 5 seconds before Jimmy pounced on Sami.]

— Friend! You hit the nail right on the head about Jimmy apologizing (I already mentioned Jey in some previous posts) to Sami and exactly why! I was going to say exactly the same thing, but decided not to because I'd already written so much and didn't want to push it 😂 But you are RIGHT. RIGHT. The way he turned up on his ass so fast.. 😭🫠🙃

Thanks again! Absolutely loved hearing from you and your side of things!! 🥰

[pennylanewrites]

＊Smile＊

minors dni!

description: Armin Arlert loves sweet, innocent things, especially when he can ruin them with his very own sickening sweetness.

pairings: Armin Arlert x gn! reader

word count: 2.4k

contains: smut duh, modern au, private college richboy armin, mild obsession with reader, oral (male receiving), use of the word ‘whore’, like one slap, unprotected sex (nothing spills inside dw), lowkey manipulation (what else y’all expected from armin?)

!!reader is afab(assigned female at birth), gender neutral and of legal age (around their 2nd year of college)!!

)^o^(

Whatever Armin Arlert wanted, Armin Arlert got. Cars, VIP seats, answers to exams, anything you can imagine. Being one of the most well-respected alumni of Paradis Institute's only son definitely had its advantages.

Girls and boys begged for a chance to be noticed by Armin Arlert, who wore his Prefect pin proudly and monitored the halls with his head high, but to no avail. Armin had long forgotten about sex, he found it appalling and unnecessary, unless it was with you.

You, who walked with your head high just like him. You, who would talk with classmates and wonder why they sprinted away as soon as the Prefect turned a corner. You, who could swear you heard a few camera clicks every time you used the communal showers. You, who despite being beautiful and charming, could not get a significant other for the life of you. Yes, your classmate, Armin had made sure the only person available to you would be himself; the handsome, smart and rich Prefect.

"Can I help you, Arlert?" Were the only words you spoke to him when he entered the science lab you were trying to work in.

"Am I bothering you, ___ ? I can leave." You took one look at his big, ocean blue eyes and sighed, taking your glasses off.

"No, sorry."

"Rough day? I'm sure it's nothing a massage can't solve." He offered, walking around the table you were working on and immediately placing his hands on your stiff shoulders. You shrugged them off quickly and faced the other way.

"Are you sure you don't want a massage from the person paying for your scholarship?" He whispered in a low voice, which would be very attractive if you weren't intimidated by him. You gulped and nodded, allowing him to happily massage your shoulders and upper back.

"I heard you're having a hard time with the new lecture."

"I-I do." You tried withholding a pleased sigh. The massage was definitely working.

"Be at my dorm around seven. I'll help you with it, ___." Armin left with a polite smile and bow of his head, leaving you to wonder how he looked so sweet yet acted so bitter.

At seven sharp, you stood outside of Armin Arlert's dormitory, patting your hair down, fixing your shirt underneath your uniform pants and looking around nervously. With a deep breath, you finally knocked on the wooden door, which was opened almost immediately.

"Come in, ___!" Armin's face lit up the moment he saw you and he stepped away for you to enter his room. A kitchenette, a double bed, a desk and a bookcase filled all the space, just like every other dorm on campus. And as you set your books on the desk, you could have sworn you caught a glimpse of tiles, running water and a nude person as the lock screen on his laptop, which he was quick to close before you took another look.

"Would you like a coffee, ___?"

"Yes, please."

It was getting past ten and your head could barely stand up on its own. You leaned back on the chair and stretched your arms out, yawning into one of them. Armin noticed and closed your book, his hand lingering on it.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" ,he exclaimed and opened a drawer, "I have some flash cards for you!"

"Oh, it's not necessa–"

"I insist." He said firmly and looked through some neatly filed papers. Once again, your eye caught a few pictures of someone's back profile and you could swear they had the same lower back tattoo as you. You, however, dismissed it once again. Boys tend to have pictures of pornstars, right?

Flipping through the flash cards, a picture fell out and Armin rushed to pick it up before you could. This time, however, it was loud and clear that the person in those photos was you taking a shower. At the time, you didn't know that all those pictures were set up on purpose. For you to see and become vulnerable in front of Armin Arlert.

"Armin, what's that?" Your voice came out in a hoarse whisper instead of the clear and stern tone you were planning on.

"Just something I'm planning on posting on the college's site tonight." He grinned.

"Wh-what? Why would you–"

"I don't know, ___. You tell me." He leaned closer to you, holding his weight on the arms of your chair. His blond hair fell over his eyes, making it the perfect shade of dark blue under the shadows.

"I have to go." You said sheepishly and started picking your books up, but an arm around your waist stopped you.

"Why do you keep on resisting me, ___?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I want you. And you want me too, right?"

     You were confused. Heartbroken. You always thought of Armin as nothing else than your classmate. So, what was this sudden urge to lock your lips with his?

     Looking up, you were met with a dark look in his eyes and a grin that seemed almost evil. You knew deep down he had dark intentions, but at the same time, you needed to know what those intentions were.

“I’ve never seen you wearing a skirt or a dress...you always act so modest, but the way you touch yourself so desperately in the shower...” his hand ghosted over your clothed thigh and stopped at your hip, “you just want to get fucked like a whore, right?”

“A-Armin...”

“Why don’t you put a little show for me? Undress yourself.” He sat on his chair and opened his legs, shamelessly showing off the tent in his uniform pants.

With a blush decorating your cheeks and a trembling bottom lip at the embarrassment suddenly hitting you, you slowly unbuttoned your white dress shirt and let it drop on the floor. Kicking the Oxford shoes your school required off, your hands made way to the side zipper on your pants. This time, your eyes locked with Armin’s as your pants dropped on the floor next to your shirt.

“Those too, doll.” He ordered, referring to your underwear. His demanding tone went straight between your legs, which you rubbed together in an attempt for some friction. You quickly unclasped your bra and removed your underwear, but before you could do anything else, Armin extended his arm and pulled you closer to him. With his arms around your waist, his forehead came in contact with your lower stomach, taking in the sight before his eyes with a deep breath.

“On your knees.”

You did as he said and watched his hands, decorated with a few gold rings and a bracelet, unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. Pushing his boxers down slightly, his member spurted out and hit his lower abdominals. Chuckling at your wide eyes, he led your hand to his cock.

“Consider this a thanks for your scholarship.” He leaned back on the chair, one hand behind his head and the other gripping your hair. You nodded and brought your mouth closer, licking on the tip that dripped with precum. As one of your hands massaged his balls and your mouth started taking more of his length in, a few groans escaped Armin’s lips and the grip on your hair tightened. But he had had enough. Both of his hands found your hair and pushed your head down, earning a gag at the sudden contact of his tip with your throat. You swore you could hear the smirk in his groans as your tongue worked around his length while he pushed your head up and down rapidly.

“Just like that...good...take it all.” You would be lying if you said his words didn’t make you rub your thighs together, desperate for something, anything to fulfill your need.

Before you could lead one of your hands between your legs, warm ropes of cum hit the back of your throat. Armin thrusted in your mouth a couple more times, milking his orgasm and overstimulating himself enough that a few more drops of the hot liquid joined your saliva. Removing himself with a squelch, he grazed his thumb over your bottom lip.

“Good. Swallow like the whore you are.” You did as he said, your eyesight blurry and your head dizzy from the facefucking you just went through. Without wasting another minute, Armin got up, pulling you with him and leaving a rough, needy kiss on your swollen lips. With a knee spreading your legs and rubbing right at your core, he kissed down your neck and collarbones, allowing you to let out the most quiet moans.

“Look at you. At this rate, you’re gonna get off using my leg.” You could only respond with a hum as he tackled you on his bed, not wasting any time in taking his clothes off before getting on top of you. His hands roamed your curves and yours stayed around his neck, fidgeting with the gold chain around it. A sudden moan escaped your lips when two of Armin’s fingers scissored your slit open and entered with ease. His eyes fixated on your face; the way your lips trembled and your eyes rolled back with every pump of his slender fingers, oh how he wished he could spend every second of the day looking at you like this; so sweet, so vulnerable, almost too innocent, yet so perfect for him to ruin.

“Please, Armin...’m gonna-”

“Aww, too bad.” He removed his fingers and laughed at your disappointed face, which soon turned into a surprised one when he grabbed both your legs and placed them over his shoulders. You both let out a gasp when his pink tip entered your hole. Armin was not like anyone you’ve been with. He didn’t care about letting you adjust to his girth, thinking it was much more pleasurable to see you struggling not to make a sound.

“Armin...”

“Yeah, say my name, love.” He thrusted harder into your walls, hands gripping your hips to ground you in your spot. Another thrust from Armin and another moan from you, each time the thrusts getting quicker and your soft voice louder, not even beginning to think that there were people on the other side of the thin walls.

“Why so quiet, love? Do you not...like...the way I’m fucking you?” He said between quick thrusts, not giving you the time to make out a single word. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as the knot tied low in your stomach was ready to come untied.

“Answer me.” He ordered, the grip on your hips now almost painful. You opened your eyes to see him leaning down, your legs now almost next to your head on the pillow. Armin hovered over you, now fucking your hole with more ease. You noticed he let out soft, needy whines every time your walls clenched around his cock, to which you grinned slightly. Bad choice.

“Do you think it’s funny? The way you let me fuck you so easily?” A hand now met your hair, pulling your head back into the pillow a bit.

“A-Armin!”

“That’s right. Say my name, whore.” He closed his eyes, taking in the sound of his name coming from your mouth. Your walls clenched around him as the knot finally came undone, and you were sure your juices were spilling on the sheets.

“Please...too sensitive...I can’t-” Your words came out in stutters, your legs closing involuntarily only for Armin to push them open again every time.

“Say my name.” He moaned out, thrusting inside your cunt now almost inhumanly fast.

“Armin!” Your second orgasm was on the way and your legs were starting to shake from the overstimulation. Armin didn’t fail to notice it and he wouldn’t lie if he said he wasn’t close as well, but he had learned to control himself. He couldn’t let it be over so soon. Not when he finally had you where he wanted you all along.

In the heat of the moment, it took you a few seconds to notice a stinging on your cheek, but when you did, you looked up at the blond, who was smirking down at you, hand still on your red cheek.

“Who’s fucking you? Huh?”

“You! You’re fucking me, Armin!”

“Louder.” He grunted, finally giving some attention to your nipples by slapping them teasingly.

“Armin! Armin! Fuck, I’m gonna–”

“Cum on my cock...fuck, ___.” Armin couldn’t take it anymore when your walls clenched around him once again as you orgasmed for the second time that night. Between moans and gasps and whispers of his name, you felt a wave of air hit your core and you realized Armin had pulled out.

He was now rubbing his swollen cock over your stomach, the other hand desperately massaging your breast. To help him, you led his hand to your other breast and took his cock in your own, thumb grazing over his red tip to make the beads of cum coat the rest of his length. Armin tilted his head back, not shy to moan loudly at the way your hand rubbed his length so...perfectly.

“Fuck, just like that. Just like that, love.” His legs shook slightly as his warm cum drew on your stomach and breasts, shooting almost up to your neck due to the overstimulation he went through. Exhausted and out of breath, Armin fell on the pillow next to you and planted a rough kiss on your lips.

“Let me take a picture of you. Don’t move.” Shocked, you couldn’t even blurt out a word at what he suggested, but something deep inside you made you nod in agreement. Maybe that tiny crush you had on Armin for one month on your first year finally decided to come out and play.

“Look at the camera, love. Now, smile. ” He ordered, getting on top of you with an old-fashioned polaroid in hand. He took one of your breasts in his big, soft hand and snapped a picture that he’d later pin over his bed, a reminder for himself and everyone that Armin Arlert always got what he wanted.

~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~

Lmao I hope y’all liked this otherwise it’d be embarrassing. Anyway, requests are always open, leave some for me to do while I procrastinate! <3

[lacunafiction]

hey! I'm sooo in love with the characters and so invested in your story that I keep reading your blog everyday!! It brings a lot of joy to my day!! so thank you haha!! Also, I saw that cute ask about saying to RO that they fall a little more in love with them everyday. Can I request that for J? :D

Hello Anon,

I hope the day/night is treating you well so far. 💚

Aw, I'm honored that you would check the blog each day for new content/posts and I'm so grateful that it can help brighten your day!

I will pass along your message to J. (B's version is: here.)

_ _ _

Middle romance.

MC: “...I fall slightly more in love with you each day.”

J pauses at your soft-spoken words, not quite freezing up like they used to, but they are now unmoving with their hands raised in the air from where they were about to gather their raven strands of hair into a low ponytail. They probably look comical staring at you in the reflective glass of the mirror with their arms raised up, elbows bent at near right angles and the tips of their fingers touching their scalp. J knows they need to say something in return and they want to, but they left your shared bed to take a late night walk after feeling restless and unsettled. You being so sincerely sweet is throwing them for a loop when they feel tired and a little shaky; they are really awake, right? This isn’t a dream. 

They have so much they want and need to say to you...

It’s taking them a while to work through all the unsaid things that built up over the years.

The two of you have time now, or at least they hope you do.

“J?” You prompt, no longer leaning against the door frame and choosing to join them in the bathroom. 

“Thank you. You too.” J lowers their arms abruptly, dropping the hair tie on the counter top and turning around to properly face the real you rather than watch your reflection. They messed up saying those three words. “I mean, I love you too. So much. I really didn't mean to wake you up..."

You tap the tip of your tennis shoe clad foot against the tiles of the bathroom to make a distinctive smacking sound. No one is going to be awake at this hour to judge you for going on a late night stroll in pajamas. “I know,” you assure. “I’m going with you.”

“You really don’t have to...”

“I want to.” You pick up the hair tie from its place on the counter top, stepping closer to J and then behind them. Collecting their hair is easy enough given its medium length, but you take your time working your fingers through the soft strands to gather them together for the ponytail. J takes a small step back as if wanting to be closer; they brush against you before going still again as if the touch made them aware of the subconscious action. “Let me help,” you quietly request. There is a clear double meaning to your words that neither of you address.

You finish the ponytail, resting your hands on their shoulders in a way that prompts J to turn their head to the side to catch your eye with an undeniable softness to their expression.

[george5259999]

Week 4 - Secondary Auxiliary and Perspective Drawing

Before the class on Friday, I first completed the week 3a optional exercise on Secondary Auxiliary Drawings. I found this really challenging, and it took me a lot of external research as well as reviewing the slides in order to fully understand the second auxiliary projection. Having the paper model with me at my desk made understanding the way the form rotates much easier, as well as labelling the points in the Secondary view on the Top and Front views.

Once I understood the way the form rotated, I drew a sketch of the secondary auxiliary view on the drawing (Image 1 + 2). After verifying the positioning and view with reference images, I transferred the skills from weeks one to three onto the page (Image 3). I am quite proud of the result, because it was a skill I had never seen or completed in my life before this week, and I would be interested in expanding my technical drawing skills with other new concepts.

For the week 4 tutorial class, we focused on Perspective Drawing. One thing I found really interesting with the content this week is that I didn't realise how technical a perspective drawing could be. I really enjoyed looking at a creative visualisation of forms through this lens because it is always rewarding to explore new ways of doing something. I have attempted perspective drawings for concepting and ideation, but never to try and replicate an object in front of me.

The first exercise was to create a two point perspective drawing of the paper model chamfered cube. I basically followed the method of the pre-class interactive activity, and kept it open to check my progress at each step. When first starting, I underestimated how much room I would need on the left for the 30° angle perspective. So I flipped the page over and started again.

When completing the activity the second time around (Image 4), I realised that it wasn't important how far apart I place the PP and the HL, but the final perspective view was based on how far apart the HL was was from the GL. I found it really beneficial to have the chamfered cube in front of me when completing the first activity. I had it on the table, and picked it up to align my view roughly to what I had on the page. It is really exciting to see that I had transferred it correctly to paper. I was glad I restarted this drawing because it made me realise how important it was to consider the space on the page before starting a drawing in perspective.

I found the second exercise (Image 5) much easier after proceeding from the first exercise. Basically followed the exact same steps as the first exercise, and the only thing different was that I approximately doubled the length of SP. It really interesting to see that when you increase the distance of the viewer, the top faces become less visible. I used the chamfered cube on my table as a test, and when I moved away from it, I noticed that I could see less of the top face.

I decided to trace the result from the first part of task 2 onto a new piece of paper, so that I could extend the box in a way that was visually clearer (Image 6). There would have been intersecting outlines and a messy page layout, so I decided to move it it a new A2 sheet. I am really happy with the decision, because the linework is really clean and legible. I found the process of extending the boxes quite easy, as the initial linework simply was elongated to create the extruded form.

The final activity (Image 7) was to create a layout on the page of a cube to practise ellipses in perspective. I decided to try and be efficient with my page layout and time by drawing multiple cubes with varying distances from the Horizon Line. I have always found drawing circles and ellipses difficult, so I wanted extra practise with it. This is definitely the skill I believe I have to practise the most, because I find the more I concentrate on getting a line to look smooth, the shakier it ends up being. I was moderately happy with the results, but I decided to label the Major and Minor Axes when post processing the image.

After completing all of these exercises I realise how much room for improvement there is for technical drawing. I think as I continue to practise and refine this skill over years to come, many of the guidelines and concepts will come naturally without having to draw them. The opportunity to make the process of drawing more efficiently will come with time. I am keen to keep practising this skill, as it was a really interesting mix between technical drawing and artistic concepting; which I think fits so well into the field of Industrial Design.

[eryiss]

Fraxus Week 2020: Day 3 - Losing Control

Summary: After a crappy post-college first year, Laxus jumped at the opportunity to leave town for a week for a road trip with his friends. He intended it just to be a week away with his friends, but when he meets an unfamiliar stranger, the vacation turns into something much more. [Fraxus Multichapter]

This is the third part of my Fraxus Week admissions, hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​. This year I’ve made the prompts into a single multi-chapter fic. You can see all the chapters in the Masterpost linked below. Hope you enjoy.

You can read this on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and under the cut. Read the other chapters from this masterlist.

Chapter Three – A Small Diversion

Laxus hadn't expected to enjoy driving the RV as much as he did. He thought it would have been a lot heavier, more susceptible to the wind of the open highway, but it was actually quite pleasant a vehicle. Well, it could be pleasant. The pleasantness was slightly affected when, out of nowhere, a strong hand slammed onto his shoulder with overexcited glee, and then another hand interrupted his vision while pointing to a billboard.

"We have to go!" Bickslow exclaimed. "We just have to."

"Go where?" Evergreen asked from her seat in the van.

"To the largest and most splish-splashiest waterpark in this and the surrounding states," Bickslow almost yelled as he read off the billboard. "Now fixed with a wave pool, lazy river and two new splashtastic waterslides that are a thrill ride for the whole family."

"You sound like a poorly produced radio advert," Freed commented from the passenger side seat, smiling. "Also, I don't think any of us packed swimsuits."

"There's a town right before the park," Bickslow said with glee, and it was clear that he had set his mind on the idea and it would take a lot to convince him otherwise. Laxus wouldn't have been shocked if Bickslow had planned it out beforehand. "They'll have a clothing store with swimsuits, right? It's be weird if they didn't. Come on babies, we have to go!"

"That actually sounds quite nice," Evergreen commented, flicking through her phone. "It'll be nice to get out of here for more than the length of a meal. And it's not like we have to rush to the canyon and back."

"Are you sure?" Freed asked. "I thought Laxus worked, you probably only had a limited time off."

"I claimed two weeks," Laxus shrugged. "Knew we might get distracted, and I was planning on working on some shit around the house before I went back to the office, so I'm not worried about time."

"So we can go!" Bickslow cheered.

Laxus grinned a little at the mans near childlike enthusiasm, and then glanced towards the large billboard to see which exit he would need to leave at. He too was looking forward to spending some time out of the RV where they wouldn't be in a coffee shop, fast food place or a diner. Despite the fact they had only been on the road for three days, Laxus had wanted more than a rushed hour of eating crappy food out of the truck. Even if it was just an afternoon at a water park, that was better than stretching his legs in a parking lot.

It took him a moment to realise that Bickslow hadn't removed his hand from his shoulder, and Laxus frowned a little. When he glanced to the man behind him he saw him grinning wide at him, and Laxus suddenly felt quite unnerved.

"Just thought it fair to warn ya," Bickslow began again, his voice quieter now. "Freed swims as part of his work out. He wears a speedo, and I know from experience that he's one of the guys who can pull it off. So have fun with that."

Bickslow patted his shoulder firmly, and Laxus spent the drive into the next town trying desperately not to think about it.

Mercifully the drive wasn't that long, and they soon found themselves in a sports clothing store that boasted a wide range of swimwear. Another mercy for Laxus' sanity came from when he caught Freed picking out a pair of swimming shorts, meaning the blonde wouldn't be tormented by the sight of the man in nothing but tight spandex. When he diverted his gaze from the man, he saw Bickslow grinning at him, and he started to wonder how easy it would be to leave the guy at the roadside. He doubted that Freed or Ever would have any complaints.

When they entered the water park itself, Laxus was thankfully distracted. The place was a lot more impressive than Laxus had expected, with multiple waterslides coming from a central 'volcano'. There were many simple pools bordering the more exciting parts, a large river with people lounging on inflatables, and even a floating obstacle course that would have looked perfectly in place in some kind of game show. There was multiple food outlets and seating areas scattered through the premises. The fact that schools were still open meant that it was relatively empty as well, meaning the crowds that Laxus had been expecting didn't exist.

It had earned its title as the best and most splish-splashiest water park in the area. Laxus hated that he remembered the damn slogan.

"Well, since you boring bastards are probably gonna take for ever to do something fun, I'm gonna guess I'm going up the slide alone for now," Bickslow grinned, tugging his shirt over his head. "See ya later, kids."

Laxus shook his head slightly as he followed Evergreen and Freed towards one of the seating areas where they had both chairs and sun loungers.

"I bet you that he planned this," Freed commented, stepping in line with Laxus.

"I don't take bets I know I can't win," Laxus grinned, watching as his friend ran towards the plastic volcano. "Honestly, wouldn't be shocked if this was the only reason he wanted to go on the road trip at all. Going to the canyon is just an excuse."

"Perhaps," Freed chuckled. "I wouldn't mind if that's the case, I'm enjoying myself either way."

In a weird way, Laxus was glad to hear it. It wasn't as if he had to look after Freed; if he was anyone's responsibility, he would be Bickslow's. But after finding out that he had recently gotten out of a relationship that he'd been in for months, according to Bickslow, it was nice to know that he was enjoying himself. At the thought, Laxus had to wonder if that might have been the reason why they were at the water park. To give them all a day of stupid childish fun where they could forget about their problems.

Or maybe Bickslow just wanted to go on a slide called the Spine Snapper. Was that appropriate for a kid's ride?

Evergreen had quickly pulled a sun lounger close to a table, and was applying sun screen to herself. Freed had taken a seat at the table, under the shade of a large umbrella, and had opened the book he'd been reading on and off throughout the trip. Laxus took a seat adjacent to him, sliding in his headphones and reclining in the chair, allowing the warm sun to hit his face. He'd get in the water eventually, but at that moment he just wanted to relax.

Hopefully, he wouldn't fall asleep. Sharing a small double bed with Bickslow had given him less sleep that sleeping in a chair on his own.

He closed his eyes and placed his arms behind his neck, resting on them in quiet content. He had gone to place like this as a child with his grandfather, and had always greatly enjoyed them. And as different as the place seemed when he was an adult and couldn't run around like an idiot – unlike Bickslow – it was a weirdly nostalgic moment. It was nice to relax for a while, and not worry about the future as he had been doing for months.

"The heats starting to get too much," Freed commented after a while, and Laxus looked towards him. "I think I'm going to swim for a while to cool off."

The moment Freed looked to remove the billowy white shirt he wore, Laxus averted his eyes. He knew it was completely pointless, they planned to be at the park all day and there was no way he could last the whole time without seeing him shirtless, but at least he could stop himself from seeing the man undress.

"Have fun," Evergreen said with a bored tone, looking over her sunglasses.

"Try to look out for Bickslow," Laxus said with a grin, still keeping his eyes away from Freed. "He'll somehow fly out of a slide and land on ya if you're not careful."

"Oh don't worry, I'm always cautious of flying Bickslows," Freed said with a laugh before walking away.

Laxus shot a glance at his retreating form again. The musculature of his back and the firmness of his legs were really hot, and Laxus had to look away to stop himself from gawking. He knew that the man had some muscle on him, but he hadn't quite expected that much. The blonde almost regretted not looking at the front of his torso when he was undressing.

From the sound of shifting water, Freed had chosen to populate a pool near them. Laxus made sure to look down at his phone, scrolling down his playlist for something to do. He was unaware of Evergreen rolling her eyes at him from behind her glasses.

For a while, Laxus managed to distract himself with his phone or staring absently anywhere that wasn't near Freed. But eventually, when he realised that Freed was swimming lengths of the pool he was in, Laxus found his resolve fading slightly. He was elegantly vicious as he swam, speeding from side to side of the large pool with powerful stroke that highlighted his strong arms and legs. Laxus found himself temporarily unable to look away, and was only distracted when Freed reached the end of the pool and went to turn back. He would clearly see Laxus staring at him when he came up for air, and it wouldn't be easy to explain why.

"I'm gonna get a drink," Laxus said suddenly, standing up and looking to Evergreen. "You want anything."

"Ice tea if they have it, water if they don't," Evergreen requested.

Laxus nodded and turned tail quickly, walking to the nearest snack bar. He relayed his order to the vendor, who quickly got to work getting what he wanted. Laxus absently tapped his fingers on the top of the counter, trying to distract himself from the fact his crush was swimming beautifully behind him and had no idea the effect he was having on Laxus.

He couldn't even understand it himself.

Sure, Laxus had always been dominated by his feelings. It was what had fuelled his rebellious and angst-ridden teenage years – well, that and his crappy relationship with his equally crappy father – but this was somewhat abnormal. Laxus got crushes relatively often, and it hadn't been as intense as this before. And he couldn't explain it by saying it was because he was trapped with the man, because Laxus' crush on his college roommate had been gone in a day. Nor could he blame it on the fact the man was swimming, because Laxus often found guys at the gym hot and he'd endured a communal shower with a few of them, and hadn't been this awkward.

He was quickly losing control of this crush, and it needed to stop.

Because a relationship was probably the last thing Freed wanted right now. Bickslow had been vague about what Freed's relationship had been like, but said it had started before Christmas, meaning it had been lasted almost half a year. Having a break up after that long would leave some kind of an affect, and Bickslow had stated Freed closed himself off emotionally. He probably wanted time to heal, and friends to be around.

"That's four fifty, sir," The person behind the counter requested. Laxus handed him the money, still deep in through.

He just needed to be there for Freed as much as a friend of a friend could be. They would joke, have fun together, and hopefully become friends. That was all Laxus needed to do to keep control of everything.

That promise lasted the exact amount of time it took for Laxus to return to the table.

He happened to glance towards the pool, and fate decided to be a dick to him. Because Freed had not only stopped swimming, but had also just finished dunking his head in the water. He was now standing waist deep in the water, facing towards Laxus and giving him an unhindered view of his strong, mouth-watering body. Water was glinting in the sun as it dripped down his toned stomach, and his hair was plastered to his back. He had his eyes closed and looked deeply content, and Laxus felt his breath catch in his throat.

The entire situation was a slow-motion effect and sensual music away from being a damn made for tv movie. Laxus had even froze so the drink he was placing on the table was hovering an inch above it.

"I don't know why you just don't talk to him," Evergreen said, snapping Laxus out of his trance. "Flirt with him. Nobody's as pretty as you and doesn't know how to make good use of it."

"What?" Laxus frowned, looking to Evergreen. She's removed her sunglasses and was giving him an unimpressed look.

"You've been mooning over him since you saw him," Evergreen continued. "Why don't you actually try and do something about it instead of driving yourself crazy gawping at him."

"I haven't," Laxus said indignantly. Evergreen didn't even try to hide her disbelief at that. After a moment, Laxus spoke again in a mutter. "Has he noticed?"

"No," Evergreen said passively. "He's too cocky not to have flirted back if he knew. Which is why I'm telling you to make the first move. You'd be good together."

"He just got out of a relationship," Laxus said with a slight sigh.

"He's not a wounded little bird Laxus. He's a grown man," Evergreen said, and her tone was almost comforting. "And more importantly, so are you. His old boyfriend… I don't even know why they were together at the end. Or at the start, really. The two of you have a lot in common, a lot more than you'd think. You're similar enough to get along, but you're not clones of each other. Honestly, I think you'd be a good couple, so why not go for it?"

"It's just a crush," Laxus shrugged.

"Which is what you always say," Evergreen persisted, sighing. "You're never going to have anything other than a crush if you don't let yourself act on something. And Freed's the perfect guy to do it with," Laxus didn't say anything. "Just think about it. Oh, and the human torpedo's coming, so prepare yourself."

Laxus looked towards where Evergreen was now looking, to see Bickslow jogging towards them with something in his hand. He gestured for Freed to follow him, which the other man did, as he approached the table. He was panting, red faced and grinning even wider than usual.

"That was kick ass!" He proclaimed loudly. "It's terrifying, you have to do it. Look."

He placed the thing in his hand on the table, and showed it to be a picture similar to those you'd get from an amusement park. It contained Bickslow sliding down a multicoloured tube, with a face that could only be described as a mixture of terror and exhilaration. The fact that he looked at all scared was impressive to Laxus, given how much of a thrill seeker Bickslow could be. Maybe the ride had earned its imposing name.

Laxus' train of thought left him when a gentle chuckle could be heard behind him.

Freed was standing behind him. Freed was half naked, dripping wet, and looking over his shoulder. Laxus couldn't help but tense slightly, hoping to god that the man didn't notice. He did see Bickslow grinning at him, so he wasn't being as subtle as he wanted, but Freed seemed to be too interested in the picture to pay attention to him.

"If it scared you that much, I don't think it's likely you'll get any of us on it," Freed said with a grin.

"Aw, you three ain't just gonna sit here and be boring all day. The two of you ain't even wet yet," Bickslow pouted at Laxus and Evergreen. "You have to do something fun."

"I was actually thinking of going on that," Freed said, motioning to the inflatable obstacle course floating on the largest pool. "I thought one of you might want to race me, to make it a little interesting. Though, I doubt that Laxus would."

Laxus turned towards the man with an expression of shock, and was met with a challenging gaze. It was a good look on the man.

"Why wouldn't I wanna race ya?"

"Well, as you said earlier, you don't get involved in a bet that you can't win," Freed said as if it were obvious, and the cockiness of the man practically radiated off him. He was also crossing his arms, which highlighted the size and refinement of his biceps. A rather unfair tactic, even if not intentional.

"You think I can't beat ya?" Laxus said incredulously.

"I don't think you have a chance," Freed smirked.

"Well, you wanna make this serious then we can make this serious," Laxus said with an equally confident grin. "We race. The loser has to go on that back breaker ride-"

"Spine Snapper," Bickslow corrected.

"Spine Snapper," Laxus amended, not looking away from Freed. "The loser has to go on that, buy the picture and make it the icon of all their socials, as well as the lock screen picture on their phone for the rest of summer," Laxus shot out a hand for Freed to shake. "Deal?"

"It's your dignity, you can lose it however you please," Freed said with a grin, shaking Laxus hand with enough strength to send a thrill down his spine.

He couldn't focus on that, as Freed had darted towards the floating course. Laxus followed after him, leaving their friends to watch in equal amusement and tiredness.

~~~

It had been a good day, Laxus thought.

Though it might have started off rocky, with Laxus feeling as though his crush was starting to affect his budding friendship with Freed, it had gotten better as the day went on. Particularly good was when Laxus had proven Freed wrong in his assumption that he couldn't win the race on the obstacle course. It was incredibly satisfying to sit over him and watch as he changed all his social media icons to a picture of him yelling while going down the incredibly steep water slide.

That had seemed to break any ice between them, and the rest of the day had been spent having an easy and fun time together. They'd eaten, laughed, and at one point thrown Evergreen into the wave pool against her will; she had gotten back at Bickslow, the ringleader of the prank, by pouring ice cubes down the back of his shorts. It was child like fun, and Laxus felt like he needed it.

They had only left the water park when the sun had started to set. That had been a few hours ago, and they were back on the road again. It was pitch black now, the only light coming from the headlights of the truck and the few spotlights inside of it.

For quite a while now, Laxus was the only one awake.

Bickslow had been the first to go, falling asleep in the passenger seat and snoring gently. Evergreen was next, curling up on the bed despite Laxus' insistence that she not lie on it while they were moving. Freed was last, resting on his arms while leaning on the table, headphones plugged into his ears.

Laxus was quite enjoying the quiet of both the road and the RV. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his friends, they were all quite large personalities, and it was nice being able to sit in the quiet after the loud day he'd had. The fact that he could see the stars out of his windscreen was an added extra.

As the night went on, and Laxus found himself getting tired, he found a small truck stop that would allow for overnight parking. He pulled off the highway and into the parking lot, switching the engine off.

He was met with a sound that bordered on breathing and snoring. He looked over his shoulder and saw Freed was the source. He grinned a little.

Moving around the RV with as much cautious as he could, he made sure to lock all the doors and close and bolt all the windows. Then, once done, he gently shook Freed's shoulder to wake him up, but to no avail. He tried a few more times, but the man seemed unwilling to wake up. With a soft smile, Laxus carefully shifted his position so he was crouching. He cautiously hooked his arm under Freed's legs and lifted him up, the sleeping man showing no sign of waking.

He slowly moved him to the double bed, placing him beside Evergreen and resting his head on the pillow. After carefully sliding the covers over the two sleeping people, he gently ran a knuckle down his cheek. His skin was shocking soft.

Instead of lingering on the gesture he had done, he got to work on making the table booth into a makeshift bed. He picked up the travel pillow and tattered blanket and curled up into the bed, closing his eyes and letting the tiredness of the day overtake him. Lacking the energy to fight it, his mind supplied him with many images of Freed through the day, ending on him sleeping.

He definitely had lost control of his crush.