#also I think I did have a couple edits on the lost post not on my main copy cest la vie

[reborrowing]

a mouse in the basement part 5 /6? (probably 7)

this is a project to prompt me to make sentences for a conlang. here are 2200 words exclusively in English.

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Kíkítok masterpost | AMITB Translations

Someone slips up and David takes the opportunity to make an escape attempt before he runs out of time. word count: ~2200 taglist: @whumpsday (comment/dm if you'd like to be added please) contents: captivity, injury, restraints, manhandling, fear, gun, alcohol, alcohol abuse, assault/violence, threat of death, suicide discussion (no actual suicide occurs/occured), drug mention, eye trauma (definitely non-graphic). I think that’s it. Confrontation Time :)

Time passed slower when David was alone. Kiwi had offered him a brief break where things happened and time had meaning. He knew that the room darkened for a while as the sun set and he had lost track of how many times it happened. As he waited for something to happen again, he fell in and out of sleep at what felt like random intervals to dream of escape and better times. He knew he had fallen asleep several times since Kiwi left, but the kidnapper had yet to bring him breakfast to signal the next morning.

Silent light filtered through the narrow window and David woke up suffocating on an afterimage of his mother beside an empty grave.

How much time had to pass before they assumed he was dead? Before they gave up?

He stood up and paced to get away from the thought. The chain laughed along behind him, reminding him that it was inevitable unless he found a way to do something and get out.

He could imagine all sorts of very cool scenarios in which he overpowered the masked man that held him here, but he was a little too practical to believe in any of them. He was a head shorter than his captor and his fighting experience ranged from getting his nose broken on the playground and being mediocre at Mortal Kombat. He didn’t see either of those holding up too well, even if his unbound hands gave him the advantage of surprise.

The door rattled open and David quickly smoothed the duct tape back over his mouth and held his hands behind his back. A weight settled in his chest as he realized he would have to overpower the stranger now or go back to those chains. He couldn’t work himself free, that had been Kiwi’s doing. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t know how to fight. He couldn’t.

Several bits of metal clattered down the stairs, either spilled change or dropped keys. Most lost their momentum halfway through, but a couple bounced off the sides and clinked onto the cement floor below.

His captor thumped down the stairs and David stiffened and pretended he hadn’t noticed anything strange, instead watching the other man descend. It was a pointless bluff. The man stopped about midway down the stairs to bend down and pick up his scattered belongings. His eyes flashed at David and he retreated, closing the door with a sudden slam. 

David stared, not sure if he could believe it. His captor hadn’t spent any time on mind games so far, but…

He waited a little longer, just to be sure the man wasn’t coming back, and crept towards where he heard the uncollected keys fall. He found three, all small and silver, all with mismatched teeth. He could reach two of them.

He couldn’t be that lucky. 

His captor wouldn’t have left that key behind.

David forced the first key into the padlock around his ankle and, unsurprisingly, it didn’t fit.

Obviously.

But he couldn’t not try the other one.

His heart skipped when the lock clicked open. He was glad for the duct tape back over his mouth because it kept him silent as he pulled the padlock open and the chain fell to the ground. He rubbed his chafing ankle. He felt like he was breathing helium, he was so light. 

He was almost free.

He was still here in the dark, but he didn’t have to be. There was still the kidnapper lurking upstairs, standing between David getting back to his life. But David would be an idiot not to try to get away.

He stood. It took every ounce of willpower not to break into a run. He took a long, slow breath and carefully snuck up the stairs. He waited for several long seconds (at least) at the door, listening for signs of someone on the other side and hearing no one. He tried the door and it opened with a small creak.

Sun filtered through the curtains on a beautiful white back door. David covered his mouth to smother the victorious relief and continued his slow creep forward. Something fell to the floor in the room to his right and David pressed himself against the counter as his heart jumped into his throat. He pulled a knife off the countertop and held it with a white-knuckle grip. He doubted he would be quick enough to use it if it came to that.

David recognized the kidnapper’s voice as he muttered to himself. He was somewhere just on the other side of the wall. The voice didn’t seem to be getting any closer. David held his breath.

There was a loud thud, like someone punching a wall. David moved faster until the kidnapper raised his voice.

“What is wrong with you? Is that all you know how to say?”

David froze.

Kiwi?

He couldn’t leave her with this guy. 

Well… he could. The door was right there. And, apology or not, she had already left him behind. A part of David still wasn’t even sure that she was real and not just some strange coping mechanism.

“What were you doing down there? What are you?” the kidnapper demanded.

David skulked back towards the doorway to peek into the next room, just barely leaning past the wall. The living room was nearly as sparse as the kitchen. Everything was centered around an old couch, angled in such a way that the occupant wasn’t faced towards the kitchen, but would be able to see it out of the corner of his eye if he thought to look. In front of the couch was a coffee table, bare except for a quarter-full bottle of whiskey and a small bundle of duct tape.

The man there was unmasked, a large but otherwise generic white man in his early 30’s. It was obviously the brute that had been feeding David in the basement. He slammed a hand down beside the duct tape and it shivered with the same broken squeal Kiwi had made when David had grabbed her.

David’s stomach flipped. He stepped forward and spoke up to demand the stranger let Kiwi go. He did it without thinking, without even bothering to catch what words he was using. His brain didn’t catch up with his mouth until the man’s barely-focused eyes landed on him, making him flinch back towards the kitchen.

“No, no, get back here,” the man said, picking up a pistol. “Sit down. You’re not going anywhere.”

The gun’s safety clicked as the man waved it towards a spot on the carpet on the other side of the table. David opened his mouth to argue, to fight back, and his resistance died when the unsteady barrel found its mark across the room.

“Man, shit. I knew I shoulda counted, I was just…shit. How the hell did you train this thing to steal keys for you? I snapped its leg and it still won’t even sit still for me,” he said.

David’s face twisted in revulsion. His gaze remained fixed on the gun, not even willing to blink, but he could hear Kiwi crying on the table in front of him, apologizing over and over again. He soured over with guilt.

“No, not important,” the man slurred.” Clock’s ticking. I’m supposed to-to—fuck this. You ever had to clean up a mess a client or someone makes? Probably, right? You work hospitality or whatever you call it. Hotels. Customer service is always a bitch.”

The dark barrel wavered in the man’s unsteady hand and retreated towards the edge of the table. It was still ready to fire as he reached over to pour himself another glass. David wondered just how full that bottle had been when the man sat down. He watched intently, trying to gauge how impaired the man was—if he was slow enough that David could grab the gun.

That would still leave him in the same predicament as before. He’d never held a gun. The man might be drunk and slow, but he was big and probably wouldn’t take too kindly to having his weapon stolen. David had survived this long on cooperation, right? He did like the idea of this guy not having a gun, though.

“One of your coworkers has a real rich aunt, you know? Something Kim? They’re close enough to bet she’d give up a good ransom for him, too. Good enough to find someone like me to make him disappear. So I do my job just fine, nice and clean, but she ignores us once my partner gets in touch. Dumb bitch, right? Blocks us once he starts sending pictures even. Except it turns out the client’s a fucking idiot. Pointed me at you.

“Partner says he dealt with the client, sorted out our payout, but I’m still stuck with you. And every day you’re messing, there’s a chance someone finds a clue that points them in the right direction. To me, you know? I’m pretty good, I’m clean, I look normal. I’ve got a day job, all that. But you being here’s…it’s bad. So I need you gone, but I don’t…I never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it. So,” the man threw back the rest of his drink with a grimace. “Liquid courage. It’s not helping like it’s supposed to.”

The stranger pouted at him, waiting for pity. It was hard to feel sorry for him, what with Kiwi crying and broken on the table, the gun beside her, not to mention days David had spent in the basement or the task at hand. David took a deep breath and put on a sympathetic face anyway, as if he were dealing with an angry guest and not a killer. 

“You could let me go. I don’t know where we are. I couldn’t say anything about you except you’re six-foot-something and have brown eyes. You could just dump me off by a bar or something somewhere and I wouldn’t be your problem anymore, y—”

“Nuh. If I thought I could trust you, I wouldn’t have chained you up. That’s not gonna work for me. Partner’s sending someone to collect you tonight, dead or alive. And the connections my guy knows, you’re gonna want to be dead.”

David swallowed.

The other man tilted his head thoughtfully. He slid his glass back onto the table. Kiwi squeaked as it came to a stop just shy of her hip. She was so helpless there, pinned with just a few pieces of tape.

“But maybe you’d be willing to do it yourself?” the man said

David looked down at the table. The man shook his head and laughed, pulling the gun away. David was left to stare at Kiwi. What little of her could be seen beyond the duct tape looked terrible, shaking and soaked with sweat and tears. David squirmed. The man only found her because she was trying to help him.

“I’m not giving you a gun, I’m only so stupid. But you could send you back downstairs, give you a knife.  I might have some oxy laying around somewhere too, if you’re afraid of pain. Rat friend stays with me.”

Heat rose in David’s chest and he had to work to keep the snarl off his face. Why keep her? What did she have to do with anything? Just more bad luck?

“I—Maybe I could try a drink first? Liquid courage, like you said?” David said, voice shaking.

The stranger sagged with relief and laughed. He set the gun back down—now on the couch, well out of David’s reach—and went to refill the glass. Acid rose up his throat as he took the drink and thought about his next move.

He wished he hadn’t dropped the knife in the kitchen.

The stranger raised the bottle for a toast. David nodded grimly and waited for the other man to tilt his head back, then threw the only weapon he had left.

He lunged for Kiwi before he knew if the glass landed or not. He hissed his own apologies as he tore the tape off the table with her still caught within it. She squealed and buried her face in his forefinger as he jerked away from the table.

Shattered glass fell to the floor as the stranger stood. David lingered for only a quick half-second to take in what he’d done. He felt sick. The left half of the man’s face was covered with blood. He pawed at his eye with one hand and groped for the pistol with the other. David pressed Kiwi to his chest and ran.

Half-blind and full-drunk, the stranger missed shot after shot, even at point-blank range. 

As David threw himself into the kitchen, a bullet finally landed, just kissing his right arm. He stumbled but kept moving as the stranger staggered after him. David thought his heart stopped at least twice while he fumbled with the lock on the back door and the stranger’s silhouette appeared in the corner of his eye. 

Another round of shots rang out as David fell through the door and into a bright, early spring afternoon. 

Across the street, a gray-haired woman had been unloading a trunk full of groceries. She heard the gunshots and had frozen with several bags hanging off one arm until the sight of a bloodied, filthy man emerged from her neighbor’s yard. She shouted as she made sense of the scene and rushed David from the sunlight into the safety of her home.

[niennanir]

Listen to your elders

So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.

So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.

But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?

In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.

Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download

Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title: 

No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.

Now you’re going to need some materials:  8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife

You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.

Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:

use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.

Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.

Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.

You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.

Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour

In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock

Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)

Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.

Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine

Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.

Voila:

I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.

The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.

If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders. 

[goldsainz]

# OP81 — 2 HANDS !

MASTERLIST !

001. SUMMARY !

✯ you and oscar announce your relationship by having him feature in your music video.

002. NOTE !

✯ i kinda went crazy with the editing at the beginning, but i loved doing it. might be the best part actually.

liked by landonorris, ynfan1 and 62,839 others

f1gossip Well, there we have it. After some speculation it seems that our resident under-the-radar f1 driver is ready to confirm his relationship with the pop star of the moment, YN.

view all 942 comments

user1 wait didn’t lando say she was a “cutie” once?

⤷ ynfan2 yes😭

⤷ user1 yikes that’s awkward

oscarfan1 THATS MY DRIVER RIGHT THERE

ynfan3 my jaw actually dropped

user2 WAIT WHY DID LANDO LIKE THIS

⤷ f1gossip he’s always lurking👀

oscarfan2 i’m speechless

oscarfan3 yeah i don’t think he will actually appear

ynfan4 if this is just a pr stunt i will be so mad

oscarfan4 lando basically confirming this is pure gold

⤷ ynfan5 messy is his middle name

liked by mclaren, logansargeant and 1,056,237 others

oscarpiastri Very fun to be “guy who eats cereal in background”. Stream 2 Hands 🧡

view all 15,843 comments

yourusername you were also a professional driver!!!!

⤷ oscarpiastri That’s just a side hustle

oscarfan21 okay so they’re def together

ynfan21 my two obsessions have crossed

oscarfan22 logan liked🥹

oscarfan23 i wasn’t ready

⤷ oscarfan24 was anyone???? i’m still trying to catch my breath

ynfan22 this is how boyfriends should post.

oscarfan25 yn being front and center is taking me out

oscarfan26 using an orange mclaren... i see you yn

ynfan23 im officialy obsessed

oscarfan27 best f1 couple idc

oscarpiastri and yourusername updated their instagram stories!

liked by selenagomez, iamrebeccad and 2,948,056 others

yourusername melbourne, i think i’m in love with you

view all 41,208 comments

oscarpiastri Amazing show

⤷ yourusername i aim to please

ynfan31 we lost her 💔

ynfan32 WHATTTTT

ynfan33 chat i don’t think the caption is about melbourne

⤷ oscarfan31 FORGET THE CAPTION SHE POSTED HIM

oscarfan32 other wags liking this is everything to me

ynfan34 how do i carry on after this

hattiepiastri STUNNING …and he’s there too

⤷ yourusername ugh i know

⤷ oscarpiastri ?

⤷ yourusername baby stay out of our business

⤷ nicolepiastri Oscar, I taught you better than this

oscarfan33 BABY???? HATTIE X YN???

ynfan35 i’m a hardcore fan of this relationship already

[borninwinter81]

William Blake - an introduction for Good Omens fans

I have sent @neil-gaiman an ask regarding his feelings toward the poet/artist William Blake a couple of times, but no doubt due to the size of the poor man's inbox I haven't received a response. So I did a Google search to see if he's spoken about Blake before, and it did indeed come up with a fair few hits. I think you might enjoy seeing this Twitter post if you haven't already, the painting is from William Blake's illustrations to Paradise Lost.

It's not surprising that an author like Neil Gaiman might have an interest in Blake. A visionary from a young age, his imagination was such that he was surrounded by angels made visible in his mind's eye, and he interpreted these visions through poetry, painting and engraving, and self-printed and published many of his own works. This gave him complete freedom to say exactly what he wanted.

Though he had a passionate faith in God, he also had a deep distrust of the church as an institution, and disliked the use of religion as a means of control. This poem from "Songs of Experience" perhaps summarises his feelings best:

"I went to the Garden of Love,

And saw what I never had seen:

A Chapel was built in the midst,

Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,

And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;

So I turn'd to the Garden of Love,

That so many sweet flowers bore. 

And I saw it was filled with graves,

And tomb-stones where flowers should be:

And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,

And binding with briars, my joys & desires."

In his poetry there is often an incongruity with the generally accepted religious ideas of what is good and evil, Angel and Demon. In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (there's a title that should make any GO fan sit up and pay attention) he tells us that "in the book of Job, Milton's Messiah is called Satan", signifying that he feels it is Lucifer/the devil who is the true Messiah of Paradise Lost.

He gives us The Voice of the Devil and Proverbs of Hell, and has Angels being transformed into Demons through enlightenment. He tells us that Jesus broke all of the 10 commandments, yet was still virtuous because he acted according to his own morality rather than rules.

The god-figure of his later works, Urizen, generally comes across as malevolent, seeking to bind and control, whilst Los, the Satan/Messiah figure represents freedom, imagination and creativity.

"Restraining desire" and acting contrary to your own nature seem to be the only real evils for Blake.

He expressed his faith through a love of the world and the beauty in it, summed up in this quote:

"When the Sun rises do you not see a round Disk of fire somewhat like a Guinea? O no no I see an innumerable company of the Heavenly host crying Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty".

He saw "God" in everything, in all the wonders we have around us, and considered writers/poets and religious prophets as essentially the same, since they both have a connection to the divine, and express it through stories.

It's quite ironic that probably his most famous poem, Jerusalem (the one that starts "and did those feet in ancient times walk upon England's mountains green"), was made into a very popular church hymn, yet it is supposed to be satirical in nature. The poem recounts the myth that Jesus may have visited England in his boyhood, and Blake is expressing his disbelief at that notion and the unworthiness of England.

Did I have a point to all this? Mostly to show my hand as a massive Blake nerd, but also to hopefully demonstrate that there's a lot of common ground between his ideas and those expressed in a show/book like Good Omens, and hopefully to inspire some of you who may not be familiar with Blake to seek him out. In particular I'd recommend The Marriage of Heaven and Hell to any and all.

EDIT: I should have thought to include this, here's Michael Sheen reading a Blake poem. I have the CD this is from, he reads several by Blake, as well as other poets I love ❤️ 😍

[lukolabrainrot]

Toronto and Ireland (Part 2)- Ireland Stops

The Ireland stops were absolutely magic and my favorite of the tour! They were the stops that confirmed to me that this relationship between L/N wasn't just work besties who had a lot of sexual chemistry. This was a relationship with a lot of depth and intimacy, and would (probably) be very serious. I am going to talk about the specific parts during Ireland that led me to this conclusion, because there were just too many things that happened in Dublin/Galway to go over everything (but feel free to send me an Ask if you want me to talk about something in particular during Ireland that I don't cover here). I'm going to say a few of my general thoughts/comments about the Ireland stops first:

I believe that L/N went directly to Ireland from Toronto (please correct me if I am wrong?), and that energy from Toronto spilled over and peaked in Ireland, which resulted in heightened emotions in Ireland. I think their emotions were also heightened because the tour was coming to an end, and it was like a homecoming for N.

I think PART of the reason we saw the type of behavior and body language from L in Ireland is because L knew how meaningful these particular stops were for N, and he was just kind of in awe/inspired/mesmerized by how people were responding to them (but particularly to her).

L/N basically interacted the whole time like they were a FREAKING COUPLE 😅 Like it was BLATANTLY OBVIOUS from their nonverbal cues and how they were talking (imo). I don't think they ACTUALLY were , but it was just VERY interesting considering the energy from Toronto (if that makes sense)🤔

Alright, I am now going to analyze particular parts from the Ireland stops (going to go chronologically):

The Freaking Head Rub (Dublin):

Posting 2 TTs because this was by far the most WTF moment for me on the tour (I have like 6 edits of this clip saved on TT 😂) So let's dive into this gem:

I'm going to start by saying this. THIS 👏 WAS 👏 THE 👏 MOST 👏 OBVIOUS 👏 SLIPUP 👏 ON 👏 THE 👏 TOUR 👏 They got caught. Period. It was obvious this type of intimate behavior is normal for them.

Now the act itself could be written off as just a kind gesture. But below is why it blew up:

1) It was CRAZY intimate. L leaned in (like she does this all the time), he closed his eyes, she gingerly rubbed his forehead (I still don't exactly know what she was getting out of his face--hair, lent, she just wanted to touch her man him, idk? 🙃), the man made a little MOANNN/PURRRR in the middle of the head rub, and then N gently carressed his cheek to signal that he looked good now (again, like she DOES THIS ALL THE TIME). 2) Then the interviewer made an impromptu "Oh" right after he made the soft moan because she was taken aback and was like WTF IS HAPPENING. She tried to correct and make a little joke about the carriage scene (which coincidentally is what they were talking about in that moment) to try and ease the awkwardness of the situation, but the interviewer was totally unprepared for that little moment. 3) L made a little side-eye look at the interviewer after she went "Oh" because he realized he got lost in the moment and how intimate it was, and was like OH S**T. 4) N BLUSHES and shyly laughs (our PR queen who is VERY aware that the public analyzes everything she does) 5) L/N try to laugh it off and say that N does things like THIS to people all the time (but you could tell they were both embarrassed/flustered, especially L, BECAUSE THEY GOT CAUGHT/SLIPPED UP) 6) And they did all of that RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of one of the interview questions 🙄

L/N tried to come up with a lame-o excuse when they were asked about it during the London premiere, but you could tell that they really had no good explanation, because it just kind of happened and they got caught on camera. The intimacy of this moment goes wayyy beyond work besties, and I think they knew that, and there was obviously no way they were going to go there with that interviewer on the London red carpet (but they also couldn't deny it happened because it's on camera, so L got a little defensive and N came up with that silly response about getting lent off people, which wasn't even what was happening in that moment 🙄🙄).

I have NEVER seen anything quite like this before in the middle of a daytime interview of this nature, and the moment still makes me go WHATTTT JUST HAPPENED. It is THE moment that I decided 100% that L/N's relationship wasn't just friendship. That moment served as a very tiny, candid glimpse of how they are in private, and that's how I knew. Simple as that. "Work besties"... sure Jan 😂

Why they let that level of intimacy slip on camera, we will never know. I feel strongly that it probably had a lot to do with N's guard being wayyy down due to the heightened feelings I previously mentioned, and just that they were HAPPY. I definitely don't think they wanted that on camera though, but I think it speaks VOLUMES N did this publicly. N does have a tendency to be very touchy with people, and she had picked/wiped things off of L before on the tour. But NOTHING like this though. N was sending a message (just my opinion though).

Dublin Red Carpet Event/Screening

Side note before I get to my thoughts. This was my FAVORITE outfit of theirs on the tour🔥❤️ They reminded me of a couple in a Tim Burton movie (ex: Johnny Depp and Winona Rider in Edward Scissorhands). It was just sublime *chef's kiss*

I just loved this red carpet event!! EVERYTHING about it:

The way all the fans were looking so lovingly at how LUKE and NICOLA were interacting with each other

The way L was constantly looking for N when they weren't together (and every time he looked at her (particularly when she wasn't aware) he was just GLOWING AT HER 😍)

The way they checked each other out when they finally came together 🔥

How L kept checking in with N and was so in tune with her because he knew how emotionally overwhelming and meaningful this was for her

How he decided to wear only Irish designers for the Irish stops to honor her (that might not have actually been his choice, but it was really sweet he mentioned it regardless)

How happy he was that this outfit was N's favorite of his on the tour. L cares sooo much about what she thinks about him, no one can tell me otherwise 😍😭

The way you could tell L got upset when that interviewer during the Dublin screening said that comment about N being so "brave" (in relation to her body), and how in awe he was with N's effing amazing response

This red carpet event/screening reaffirmed to me just how much L admires/loves/adores/respects N. Like there is real emotional depth behind his eyes when he looks at her, like she is the moon, the sun, and the stars. Like he just looks and interacts with her like she's his person, his 🦞️ (for the Friends' fans in the group lol). Obviously, some of what we saw during this red carpet event was probably due to the heightened emotions of everything that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. However, L/N were so in tune with each other and just glowing during this event (it was palpable), and it made my heart so happy 😍

Galway/L Meeting N's Family

Galway was just something else. Let's talk first a little bit about some things leading up to Galway:

N and L brought up multiple times in Dublin about how excited they were for L to meet her family (particularly her mom who N is really close to). And this excitement seemed VERY genuine based on their body language and how they were talking about it.

N brought up a few times about how excited her mom was to meet L (I talk a little about that/her mom's thoughts on L in my post here).

I think it was just very telling by how they were talking about this introduction that it was a BIG deal for both of them (and everyone involved). Whyyyy... well because (I believe) they are going to be seeing a LOT more of Luke Newton in the future 😉

So this is how I came to this conclusion. First, these are the main things that really stood out to me from the introduction that signaled to me this was not just someone introducing her work bestie to her family:

Their nonverbal cues on the screening stage signaled to me that there were BIG feelings between L/N about her family being there (I couldn't tell you what feelings exactly, but I would guess it was a mixture of nervousness, excitement, happiness, etc.)

The WAY L was sooooo in tune with her during this screening presentation because he knew how overwhelming this all was for her. And he appeared hyper-aware that her family was there, and it appeared to me from his body language and behavior that he was very self-conscious and trying to make the BEST first impression on her family

The WAY N asked L to come meet her mom. I have like a lot to say about this little moment because I think it speaks VOLUMES. 1) L is kind of distracted talking to some fans, but N is laser focused on her family and not really paying any attention to the fans (I'm sure she was very eager to go greet her mom, but she stayed glued to him (it read as VERY connected body language wise) and she was obviously not going to go until he went with her) 2) She then gently puts her hand on his arm and asked him to come meet her mom 3) He redirected his attention to her and happily said yes 4) He turned back to the fans to say goodbye, and N was already very gently guiding him away towards her mom 5) He and her were a unit in this moment, this introduction was going to happen as a unit 6) This whole interaction just SCREAMED of two people who have an intimate relationship and are very comfortable with each other (again, the nonverbal cues 👀)

She gives her mom a very heartfelt and teary hello, and then her mom holds her arms out like "Luke come here." and N is like oh yeah "Big moment big moment" and L (who has repeatedly said he's not a big fan of hugs) comes over and gives her mom a BIG hug and is just BEAMING. And the whole crowd goes wild lol -> He also tells her mom "Thank you for being so kind (OR making her (N) so kind 😭). I'll see you after. We'll spend some time"'

There is too much to list in regards to the body language of everyone involved in this moment, but it speaks VOLUMES that this was a highly anticipated introduction and a major moment for everyone. I would recommend, if you haven't, going back and looking over how N's brother and SIL react to this introduction, it is PARTICULARLY telling.

And the cherry on top is that when her mom turns away to go back to her seat after the hug, she does this little approving nod to whoever she was sitting by like "Yup, he's a good one. I like him for her." 😭😭

Final thoughts on this introduction/Ireland in general/miscellaneous:

That family introduction was absolutely WILD...Now even if her family had decided not to go to the Galway screening, I am almost certain L would have stayed around that weekend and hung out with her family regardless. Why... Because (like I have mentioned a few times on this blog) I think they know what they have, and I think they legit see a future with each other if they can figure things out. And I think they discussed a lot of this during the tour, which is why we saw what we saw with the introduction. I am almost certain they would not have had the emotions they did to this family introduction if they weren’t serious about being in each other’s lives for the foreseeable future.

Also, this family introduction was personal (for them, not for us–AKA not PR). I think we just got lucky that we got to be a small part of this wholesome/genuine moment because N’s family made the decision to go to the public Galway screening where a bunch of fans would be able to record them. That 100% wasn’t coordinated or calculated by N or the press people.

Now she might have been lying, but I personally believe N when she said in one of those London radio interviews about L/N staying in Galway during the weekend with her family to “recuperate” before the premiere. They both talked in London about how they spent time with her family after the screening, N's BIL tried to get L drunk, N (not so subtly) implying how her mom had VERY positive thoughts on L after meeting him, etc. Again, I think this speaks VOLUMES on where L/N were at emotionally at this point.

If we go on the understanding that N is jaded about romantic relationships and really private about this part of her life, having to navigate all these big new feelings for someone on a public stage was probably INCREDIBLY challenging (for both of them tbh). It was probably made even more complicated by the fact that they HAD to play up the romantic vibes to promote the show, which made people ship them like crazy (which was super easy to do because there are real feelings between them). And I think they didn't quite realize HOW obvious they had been about their feelings, but are in NO way going to go public with these feelings right now (if they are indeed working on their relationship). Why? Because it would destroy their relationship at this point in time. However, I think they gave us SOO many crumbs (Ireland being the most obvious imo) that there is real deep love and attraction for each other. For me, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck 😉

Here are my final thoughts to tie up my timeline theories on the PR tour. I personally believe the PR tour forced them to address big feelings for each other that they had been avoiding for a while. Their feelings were reciprocated. They physically acted on their feelings at various points of the tour. They had a lot of conversations in private and determined their strong feelings and attraction went past the show and their characters, and determined they wanted to move forward and figure out what their romantic feelings for each other meant. They emotionally became a lot more connected BTS, and I think they were starting to have more conversations about a POTENTIAL serious future with each other. This led to more obvious nonverbal cues that signaled there was more confidence, intimacy, and security between them, and then it culminated in the absolute goldmine that was Ireland. However, the whole situation is quite complicated because of the whole A of it all. I completely acknowledge that she is still in his life, and they are still involved in some sort of capacity. I talked about my thoughts on that though here. Therefore, I feel like they just need time in private to cook and figure everything out away from the spotlight. L/N gave us soooo many clues though on how they were feeling about each other BTS while they were on the PR tour, and if you put them all together, it tells quite the story imo 😉

[daisy-does-art-and-stuff]

I GATHERED ALLLLL MY EVIDENCE TOWARDS THERE BEING AN ACT THREE

ITS UNDER READ MORE BC THERES A LOT MORE SPOILERS THAN MY LAST COUPLE POSTS

every finale for every season had a panning shot of the sky with "the end" showing up in black text. we didnt get that in this episode (https://x.com/goblonglo/status/1845168766839046382)

all the plotholes?? the things left unfilled?? there is no way theyd leave it off so open-ended. even hfjones ending had more closure

most movies have 3 acts. the 2nd act is known for being the part where everything seems hopeless and theres no saving them. we're still in the "all is lost" portion yall!!

there was a member that said something along the lines of "keep an eye out for what mores to come" in a tweet that was deleted not long after it was made. this implies They werent meant to spoil that there was more coming (https://x.com/meepletism/status/1845164453970706672, https://x.com/eyewellduh/status/1845156100779180075)

no one has ever had a solid answer whether or not there was only act 1 and act 2. not anyone has said a word about it yet. sure, theres no confirmation, but theres also no denying

the entire "how bow got her tail" thing. every time they made her start talking about it, it cuts away. we dont now whats up with that yet, which implies that it spoils what its gonna be used for in the future

THEY JUST HIRED NEW ANIMATORS!!! like LITERALLY just hired a big batch of new animators. there is no way that they did it just for one last part of the series just to end it so soon.

in the post where they promoted the release of ii17 on twitter, it states the series CONTINUES, not CONCLUDES. if you look back on old posts, like the one from the iii finale, it states in big bold letters THIS IS THE END IT ENDS HERE but it doesnt do that (https://x.com/AnimationEpic/status/1845134881098961164, https://x.com/AnimationEpic/status/1764314840410021903)

kinda hand in hand with above but the description of this video compared to other finale episodes looks like just a normal episode. theres no "thanks for watching the series" or anything. the ii team wouldnt just Leave it off like that i dont think

adams account being deactivated over on twitter due to his whole "running away from mephoneX" thing has to be relevant right. they have to reactivate it at some important point. like when act 3 comes out? right??

i cant think of anything more if anyone else has something to add please do so. also if theres anything here that doesnt make sense i apologize my brain is in such a whirlwind

editting this for a few new reasons

11. every season so far has had 18 episodes (if you dont count the iii finale being broken into two separate episodes). we're currently at 17

12. brian asked to contact someone in regards to credit sequences which is Probably in relation to the ii finale. we havent seen that yet so either it wasnt for ii or theres Another Episode for us to See It In. proof in posts comments

13. in the last meetups, a suitcase plush was hinted at. theyve also talked about the plush on stream. we havent been advertised this plush yet so theyre likely saving it for the last episode

[fandomgirlz01]

Somewhere Out There 

Paul {TLB} X Reader

Imagine on fandom instagram?: No

Prompt or Request or Requested Prompt?: No

Style of Writing: Stand Alone Fic (has potential for more in the future though... 😉)

Rating: R for some mature themes such as smoking as well you know the description of a vampire losing it and going absolutely raving mad, like so mad all he sees is red 😉

Edited: Yes

Word count: 4,867

Post Date & Time: November 1st 2024 at 12:16AM

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings Here 

Listen to the story be read out loud here.

Summary: Ever since all the vampires have known they and humans alike have a soulmate. The only member of the lost boys who hasn’t found his other half is Paul, but what happens when he does actually find them? 

PSA from Faith: This is the first time I am writing for a character from The Lost Boys. I just love both Paul and David as well as Dwayne and Marko. Yet I also love Mike so you might see more of this fandom down the line… maybe. I have loved some of the works that I have read for this fandom, however I did notice there’s not very many where it’s not just centered on one of the boys specifically so I thought I’d give them (especially my favorites) a little attention. I did try to keep some canon and I also went non canon so before any of you guys come at me for it not being all accurate, this is just how I foresaw the boys okay? By the way you do NOT need to have seen the movie to read this fic. Yes it’s based off of the characters, but it will be spoiler free if you choose to watch the movie that is completely up to you guys. That being said I have NEVER written a soulmate AU before so if this isn’t 100% right, I’m sorry, but again this is just how I wanted to depict it all and I just really wanted to try something newish. Thank you and please enjoy the story! 

Song that goes with fic:

Many say Santa Carla has its deep dark secrets hidden away in the shadows, and only some know what those secrets are. Just like every night the boardwalk is lit up; couples walk under the moonlight none the wiser to what lurks in the night, others play games and go into the stores or on rides. Shouts of cheer and fright are all surrounding while the vampires make their usual meander all over the boardwalk, senses sharp yet vigilant as they look for anything they can do for a bit of amusement or maybe even find some dinner. 

Tonight, however, David notices that Paul seems to wander back behind them, seemingly feeling down which is unusual for the other blond vampire. Paul kicks at the dirt as he finds himself locked in his thoughts once more, thinking about her and what she might just be like. David laughs at something Marko said before telling the baby of the group (a nickname given to him by all the boys because that’s just what Marko is, the baby who everyone wants to protect, the happy-go-lucky spirit of the group and most innocent looking one) to keep going and he’ll catch up to him soon. Marko agrees before skipping off to walk and talk with Dwayne. David watches his brothers for a moment before turning around. He comes up beside Paul and pats him on the back, knowing just what Paul is thinking about. 

Ever since the vampires knew they each had a soulmate, all that mattered was when they’d find each other. The only one of the group who hadn’t found his soulmate yet was Paul, and sometimes he’d get discouraged when thinking of it all. When he did, he’d leave the mind link so his brothers didn’t have to hear his incessant inner thoughts, but David knew. He always knows. 

“You’ll find her, Paul. I know you will. It’s only a matter of time,” David tells his brother as he pulls him into his side. 

“Yeah, but it’s been so long, David. You’ve all found yours. What if I’m not meant to have one?” Paul asks, discouraged once more and David holds back the sigh he wants to let out at having had this conversation a million times before. 

“Listen, Paul. I know it feels that way. I used to feel that way before I met Nyra, Dwayne felt that way before meeting Amalie, and Marko felt that way before meeting sweet Charlotte. We’ve all felt that way at one point or another. It’ll pass,” David promises as he squeezes his brother’s shoulder. 

“I don’t know, David. It’s been a lot longer for me…” Paul again denies and David clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth. 

“Well, you still have that song title written on your wrist, don’t you?” David asks.

“And you still see all colors, right?” Marko asks as he pops up behind the two, always the one to pop up at random times. 

“Yeah. I still have both…” Paul mutters as he holds up his wrist, showing the song title Somewhere Out There, a song by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram that he knows well. 

“See, if you didn’t see color anymore or the song had faded, that’d mean she was dead. The fact you have both is a good thing,” Marko cheerily adds on, slapping him softly on the back and Paul only sighs. 

“What if she doesn’t have it? I mean, I’m dead myself,” Paul adds on and David shakes his head, laughing. 

“I’ve told you, Paul. I was dead and I still had it all, still do,” David informs him as he thinks of his Nyra and Marko hums in agreement. 

“And technically you're not dead, you're undead! Huge difference, buddy,” Marko very pointedly yet happily adds.

“I don’t think being a vampire changes the soulmate laws. I think you’d have to be dead dead, like in the ground dead for that,” Dwayne adds with a shrug as he now jumps in to help comfort his brother. 

Nobody really knows all the details about soulmates and the way it works. For centuries, they’ve all just known that it’s a powerful thing that only comes from the universe. People have done studies, but even then they’ve only learned the basics, so people and vampires just go with it, continuously being pulled together. 

“Who knows! Maybe you’ll find her tonight!” Marko again happily adds on, not knowing how right he might just be. 

“Yeah… maybe…” Paul sighs out, choosing to just agree with them to change the subject. 

Each of them always found their other half and David was sure it’d happen for Paul at some point if not sooner than later. Turns out David, Marko and Dwayne were right because as the night went on, they continued to goof off on the boardwalk for a few more hours before suddenly Paul felt different. He couldn’t put a finger on why he felt lighter all of a sudden. He thought for a moment maybe it was the new strain they’d all smoked before the night started, it felt like being high, but at the same time it didn’t feel like the high he was used to. 

“Do you guys smell that amazing smell?” he asks, perking up as they ride on the carousel again for the millionth time. 

“No. What is it, Paul?” David asks, concern written all over his face until he realizes what’s going on. 

“It smells sweet and fresh. Like… like…” Paul struggles to describe the smell that just hit him. 

“Like vanilla and cinnamon mixed together. Like… home…” Paul finally mutters as his confusion grows more and more. 

“Paul. Follow the scent. Let your nose guide you,” David commands his brother with a growing smile that he shares with the other boys, who catch onto what’s going on. 

“What? Me? Why? I suck at catching dinner,” Paul asks, knowing he definitely isn’t the best hunter of the group. More often than not, somehow Paul would lose his prey and Marko is the first to snicker. 

“That isn’t dinner you're smelling, Paulie my boy,” David tells him, his own grin growing in happiness for his brother. 

“What is it then?” Paul asks, confused and Marko face palms. 

“Dude. Just follow it and maybe find out!” Marko shouts as he pulls his hand away from his face and Paul shrugs. 

“Okay. What could it hurt?” he asks nobody in particular before doing just as his brothers had said. 

He follows the scent, electricity seeming to flow through him, making his toes and fingers tingle the more he moves toward it. The scent grows more and more intoxicating, making him feel more primal than ever before. The sweet smell only calls to him like a siren's call, making his whole body seem to light up. 

He continues to follow it, his brothers all flanking him, egging him to keep following it as they protect him while he’s in his unusual focus. The closer he gets to the alluring scent, the thicker it gets in the air. His blood boils though his veins which if he was not so focused, he would have thought that was weird for a vampire, but he could care less at the moment. He continues to follow the scent like he’s a compass needle, looking for its true north until he comes to a stop in front of the music store. He stands there frozen as he looks on at one of the workers, a girl at the counter talking with a customer as she rings them up. 

“Welp, Paul, my boy. I’d say you just found yourself your soulmate,” David happily comments as they all watch you from the large opening in the side of the building. 

Paul doesn’t answer as he watches you in awe and without knowing it, Paul’s ears activate his vampire hearing so he can hear you. He smiles to himself as the first thing he hears is the music you have playing on the boom box behind you: Somewhere Out There. Then he’s smiling wider as he overhears your conversation, your voice a brand new melody he never wants to forget. 

“That’ll be eight dollars, buddy,” you tell the kid who reaches into his pocket. 

“Oh. Linda Ronstadt. I love her work,” the kid tells you as he hands you the money and you smile warmly at him. 

“I love her too, but this is my favorite song. You wanna know why?” You ask the kid, putting the ten dollars he gave you into the register and without a doubt Paul knows exactly what you’re gonna say. 

“It’s mine and my soulmate's song, see,” you happily tell the kid after he nods and you hold out your wrist. 

“Wow! You and your soulmate must really be meant for one another then,” the kid tells you and you grin even more as you go back to getting his change. 

“Here's your two dollars back. Have fun listening to that tape,” you tell him as you reach out and hand him his money. 

Meanwhile, Paul still stands frozen, just staring at you in awe. His brothers all stand around him, smirking as they watch the lovesick look that he’s had to watch on all their faces wash over his own face now. 

“Well, aren’t you going to go over and say hi…?” Marko asks, nudging Paul a little bit, but again Paul doesn’t speak back, so entranced with watching you. 

You watch the little boy leave until he walks around the corner and then feel someone’s eyes on you, so you look around until your eyes land on Paul. The two of you make eye contact and stare at one another for a few minutes before he seemingly snaps out of the moment and walks away looking sad. You don’t know why (well actually that’s a lie, you have an inkling as to why, but you shrug it off) but you feel sad that he seems sad and wish you could just give him a hug. With a shake of your head, you decide to leave it be seeing as he was with a group of what seemed to be friends that could comfort him and just go back to work. 

“Paul?” David asks as Paul starts to hastily walk away, moving faster and faster by the minute, heading for his bike and his brothers follow after him in confusion. 

“Paul? What’s wrong? That’s your soulmate, buddy. You gotta go say hi!” Marko tries but Paul shakes his head, seemingly angry now. 

“No, I don’t,” he almost practically seeths out before kicking his kick stand up and starting his bike up. 

The three brothers watch on in confusion as he rides off and once he’s gone, Marko turns to David. David stands there with arms crossed, trying to figure out what would have spooked him. 

“You’d think he would have been happy. He’s been waiting for this moment for centuries…” Marko comments in utter disbelief and confusion. 

“You would think so,” Dwayne comments next, breaking David out of his thoughts. 

“Let’s go find him,” David commands before getting onto his bike with the others following suit and getting onto their own bikes. 

Together they all ride out to the cliff side where they know Paul goes when he wants some peace and quiet. Sure enough, they find him there sitting on his bike and smoking another rolled cigarette with his head low. 

“Paul?” David asks in an attentive tone, which is unusual for the vampire who’s normally commanding and stern.

No matter how cold, commanding and stern as he can seem or be, he still cares for his brothers, all three of them. David, Marko and Dwayne slowly get closer to him, if anyone was watching them right now, they would be surprised to see vampires of all creatures being soft on one another, but again Paul is their brother. They found each other and became family and as David likes to say, family comes first. 

“Paul, what’s wrong?” Marko softly asks again out of character.

“What’s wrong? Ha! What’s wrong?!” Paul retorts in what sounds like disbelief, rolling his eyes at the question. 

“She’s human! I can’t go near her. I’ll hurt her and I could never ask her to become one of us and… and…” Paul trails off, taking a gulp as he now tries to hold his tears back. 

“It’d ruin her beauty, man…” Paul sadly mutters, shaking his head in anger. 

“And to ask her to give up her life. Just to be with me. I can’t… I won’t…” Paul chokes on his words before lowering his head, refusing to look at his brothers. 

“Paul. How do you know that isn’t what she’d want? You gotta at least try to fight for her,” Marko comments with a frown, sad for his brother. 

“I don’t care if that’s what she’d want, Marko! She’s my soulmate! It’s my job to protect her! How do I do that the way I am?! Huh?!” he shouts in his brother's face, anger running through him as he heaves while Marko takes a step back. 

“How do I protect her from myself, huh, Marko?? Tell me that one,” he continues to let his anger take over before he sighs, turning around. 

“But if you love her that much already, then you couldn’t hurt her. You’re only hurting yourself by not reaching out to her,” Marko continues to try and convince Paul, who scoffs again, shaking his head as he flicks his joint away. 

“No. I’m protecting her. My pain is a small price compared to if she were to be hurt,” Paul mutters softly before he shrugs halfheartedly. 

“I’ll meet you guys back home at the cave,” Paul softly promises before kicking his kick stand up and starting the bike back up. 

“Dude needs to calm the heck down,” Marko comments as they all watch him drive away. 

“He’s just blinded by the shock of her being human. He’ll come around eventually. Paul always does, he likes to stew in his thoughts, ya know,” Dwayne comments back and Marko laughs in agreement. 

“Yeah. For being the wild carefree guy he is, he definitely is too broody sometimes. And people say you're the broody one,” Marko adds on with a roll of his eyes and Dwayne nods in agreement, chuckling along. 

“Hey. I’m most definitely the broody one. Paul is the crackhead. He smokes more than any of us…” Dwayne practically complains, making Marko laugh some more. 

“Awe, jealous that your place will be taken?” Marko taunts and Dwayne crosses his arms across his chest. 

“At least I don’t get called the baby…” Dwayne argues back with a smirk when Marko shyly grins, proving his point. 

“I actually don’t mind it…” Marko replies with a shrug and Dwayne shakes his head at him. 

“Of course you don’t,” Dwayne chuckles out and David reaches up to grab onto both of their shoulders, giving a light squeeze. 

“Okay. Okay. That’s enough, you two. Come on,  We’ll just leave him be for now. He’ll reach out though the link should he need us. For now, let’s go find dinner for ourselves,” David commands with a roll of his eyes at their play fighting. He still worries for Paul, but he knows he just needs time to come to terms with everything. 

“You got it, big D,” Marko jokes and Dwayne holds back the laugh he wants to let out at David’s annoyed look. 

This is how it always was with the brothers. Dwayne is definitely more silent and broody when others are around and Marko is the innocent curious one. David is leader and commander while Paul is the crackhead that will jump to do anything, yet Paul has always been the most in touch with his emotions, hence why he smokes. 

Meanwhile, as his brothers go on the hunt for dinner, Paul finds himself back at the boardwalk and sits on the beach, just watching the waves. He can still smell that intoxicating scent that he now knows is all you, so very strong that it makes him want more and more of it. He keeps his eyes closed, listening to you talk to all kinds of different customers that come and go. Soon before he knows it, you're closing up shop, saying goodbye to your coworker that stands with you as you pull down the door and lock it up tight. It’s only then he realizes all the loudness and craziness that normally surrounds the boardwalk is now quiet. 

He watches as you turn and you pull your headphones that had been resting around your neck up to your ears. He then starts to follow you, but stays in the shadows just watching over you. At first you look around like you're weary of something or someone being around, but you shrug nonchalantly and continue to walk. He watches over you with pure adoration rolling off of him, yet he also stays vigilant in case someone or something were to harm you. However if anyone saw the way he follows you, they’d probably say he follows like a lost puppy.

Finally after a long walk down the beach, you walk up the stairs to a door and open it before heading inside which makes him realize it’s probably your home. He stays for a while, just sitting on the bottom step, not fully ready to leave you just yet. Eventually the sun starts to rise, so he reluctantly leaves you safe in your apartment and heads home back to the cave. When he walks in, it’s only then he realizes he hadn’t eaten, so taken with making sure you were safe to even really care. He walks further in and finds David sitting in his wheelchair he loves so much. 

“Did you eat, Paul?” David asks with a raised eyebrow and Paul shakes his head. 

“I, uh… forgot…” he mutters, thinking David would be mad, but he’s surprised when David just smiles. 

“It’s okay. We saved you some. Did you figure out what you want to do?” David asks and Paul sighs once more. 

“I’m going to leave her be. That’s it,” Paul tells him and David sighs, sitting forward. 

“Paul. The universe will never let you stay away from her. You might be able to resist for a while, but eventually something will pull the two of you together,” David tells him in a pointed tone. He tries to be soft on him even though he wants to just command him to go talk to her or have max sire him to do it, but David won’t do that, he knows Paul has to choose to go to her himself. 

“It’s whatever, David. I’m going to eat and go to sleep,” Paul responds, shrugging before disappearing toward where they store their food sometimes. 

David frowns as he watches his brother disappear before sighing and shaking his head. David stands slowly from the chair before going and joining Dwayne and Marko as well as all their soulmates in sleeping from the rafter, knowing Paul will join once he’s finished eating. 

Three months have gone by now and every night, David seems to notice that at a certain point in the night Paul will just simply disappear. Where Paul disappears to, David thinks he knows, but he doesn’t want to try and interfere and so he lets him do his thing. 

Once again Paul sits in the sand, watching the waves and just listens to you the whole night. He’d come to realize that your voice is more calming to him then even a joint could be, so he just sits there and listens. Like every night since that first night he’d sat there listening to you and enjoying a peace he never knew he needed until you close up shop. Without fail every single night for the past three months, he waits until you have your headphones on and then he stays in the shadows as he follows you home, just wanting you safe. However, tonight something feels off and Paul just can’t figure it out. 

He’s been trying to figure out why your scent that’s so alluring to him seems off, but he can’t place why. He’s in such deep thought about it that he doesn’t clock the two surfer nazi’s creeping up from the other side. It’s when the one guy grabs you and pulls you into the dark under the boardwalk that Paul is alerted. He quickly follows after and finds one of the surfer nazi’s holding you struggling against the cement wall while the other one seemingly watches. 

“I told you earlier I’d find you and we’d have some fun,” the surfer nazi holding you growls as you continue to squirm and fight him. 

“And I said I didn’t want to. I do have a soulmate, ya know?!” You shout out and for a minuscule minute Paul stops to wonder if you’ve known he’s been around, but he shakes his head clear. 

“And I said I don’t care. Now stay still,” the surfer nazi commands out though a growl and when you don’t do as he says, he reaches up to smack you, fear falling over your face. 

Paul, however, feels his veins boil and an anger he’s never ever felt before washes over him. All he sees is red as he transforms into his vampire self and pulls the first guy off to the side, snapping his neck in the process before pulling the second guy off of you. You watch on as he pulls the guy away and punches him down before crouching over him. He bares his fangs before sinking his teeth into the guy's throat and ripping at it. When he’s satisfied that the guy is good and gone, he stands, heaving for breath, blood all over his face. Suddenly though, like breaking through a fog, his anger dissipates and he turns to look at you. 

You sit there against the sand, staring at the scene in front of you and he immediately rushes over. He crouches down next to you, shielding your view of the carnage behind him. 

“Hey. You okay?” he asks softly and all you do is nod as you stare at him with wide eyes, making him think you're scared when you're more in awe. 

“I’m sorry if I scared you at all, but I promise I am of no threat to you,” he quickly informs you, hoping it’ll help calm your fear, but he’s shocked when you softly smile at him. 

“I’m not scared of you, far from it actually…” you pause, trailing off to bite at your lip. 

“I was actually wondering when you’d come out of the shadows and talk to me,” you shyly admit, a blush on your cheeks now and a warm fuzzy feeling takes over Paul’s stomach. 

“It, uh, it was about time…” he admits almost shyly himself even though he’s shocked that you knew he'd been there all along. 

“I take it, you know who I am then?” he asks and you grin, nodding. 

“You’re that cute guy I saw a few months back standing on the beach,” you tell him, not quite sure if he knows about the two of you being soulmates or not. 

“I’m uh, y/n. Thank you for saving me…” you shyly continue and he shakes his head. 

“I’m Paul, and there’s really no reason to thank me,” he responds with a shrug as he gives you his name in return. 

“Hello, Paul, it’s very nice to meet you,” you joke with him and he chuckles, not being able to help but just adore you. 

“Here. I’ll walk you home,” he starts as he stands before holding a hand out for you. 

“So basically what you’ve been doing for the last three months, only I can actually talk with you now?” You jokingly ask in faux shock and he playfully yet bashfully rolls his eyes. 

“I had my reasons-” he shrugs before you place your hand in his and his sentence gets cut off with a halted breath as the two of you stand. 

He’s stunned by just how easily your hand fits in his like a puzzle piece and how warm you are. You look up at him, making real eye contact for the first time and as he looks into your eyes, his whole center seems to shift once more as an all consuming love for you just flows through him. 

“Are you okay, Paul?” You ask as you reach up and rub his cheek, trying to get some of the blood off, shocking him even more. 

“No. Yeah, I’m okay,” he tells you although he so badly wants to kiss you, but before he can he’s shaking his head as if to rid himself of the thought. 

“Come on. Let’s get you safe at home,” he fully breaks the tension now, ruining the moment and you frown before nodding as the two of you start to walk. 

Hey, boys. There’s food on the beach if you want it. He reaches out to his brothers though the mind link they share before you nudge him as the two of you walk. 

“So are you the only one I’m safe with? Or is your whole group supposed to like, protect me now?” You joke, but Paul can tell it’s a serious question that you want answered. 

“Nah… No vampire will hurt you. Not with me around now. Definitely not from my pack anyway. You’ve kinda already been adopted into the family,” he informs you and you give him a confused look like you're not fully getting it. 

“You’re part of this family whether you decide to change or not…” he tells you while trying to hide the fact he knows your soulmates. 

“Why?” You ask, egging him on hoping he’ll say it first and he pauses for a moment, trying to decide if he wants to tell you or not. 

“Well umm… because you're my soulmate,” he shyly admits, he’d probably start blushing if vampires could and you let out a giggle, making him look at you in shock. 

“Oh, my sweet Paul. I knew… you really thought I wouldn’t know? Especially when you’ve been following me home every night like a lost puppy. I knew it the moment our eyes first met,” you pointedly tell him with a proud smile.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me then?” he asks and you pause to purse your lips. 

“Well you walked away looking rather sad and I just wanted to give you a hug, but your friends-” 

“Brothers,” he corrects you and you smile softly at him. 

“You were with your brothers,” you amend your first words with a shrug before going on. 

“I assumed you just were shocked by finding me and you’d come talk to me eventually but you never did. I assumed you just didn’t know how to approach me,” you explain to him as you show him your wrist proudly with the words he knows so well written in matching ink: Somewhere Out There. 

“No. I wanted to. Believe me, I did so badly, but my fears of what I am got in the way of it all. I’m sorry,” he explains before looking away in shame. 

“It’s okay. We all let the fear get the best of us sometimes, but I’m glad we’ve finally actually met,” you tell him as you stop in place to turn to him and reach up to touch his cheek, not really caring about the blood. 

“Even with the circumstances of how we met?” he asks you with a raised eyebrow and you let out a giggle that sounds heavenly to his ears. 

“Yes. Even with the circumstances of it all,” you tell him and he shakes his head at you in disbelief before grinning at you. 

“Yeah. Again I’m sorry. I just wanted to protect you, even from myself,” he says and he grimaces at himself after saying it. 

“Paul. It’s really okay. I’m just glad we're together now. We are, right?” You ask, scared he’ll leave you at your apartment and never come back. 

“Babe, I couldn’t leave now even if I tried,” he charmingly tells you with a grin taking over his face. 

“Good, because I wouldn’t want you to,” you grin now too, happy to be on the same page. 

That's how the night ends, with you and Paul now walking hand in hand in the moonlight. Paul can’t help but to think just how right his brothers had been, if only he’d talked to you that very first night this could have been the two of you every night for the last three months. But Paul refuses to think any further about it and can’t help but smile the whole way as he walks you to your apartment. He leaves you there knowing you’ll be safe, promising to see you tomorrow night and together you both know this is the start to an even more beautiful story for the two of you to tell in the future. 

The End...

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[quietzap]

how do you navigate your feelings towards ziam and cheryl/bear/kate/maya on top of this immense grief? i don't mean to be insensitive but i haven't found an answer for myself yet, i can't believe we'll never get answers now

(To anyone seeing this, read until the end before saying anything thank you.) Well. I'm gonna ramble a bit but bear with me. Spotify played Let Me and Common on shuffle the other day and I cried a bit. It's unfair. It should've never ended this way. But I had already accepted ages ago that we might never know the truth. I still have my beliefs. That Zayn and Liam were together. Maybe they had broken up who knows but if they did then I still truly believe their bond was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I've gone through so many emotions this past week. But seeing the posts of cheryl etcetc or people mentioning bear (Zayn was the only one who didn't fwiw), it didn't make me feel anything. Maybe bc I had already accepted we couldn't do anything about the stunts, and/or maybe bc it's still difficult for me to accept he's really gone or bc it doesn't matter to me at this moment. Or bc I haven't actually sat down to think about what it means that he's gone. I've just been thinking of the pain all of Liam's loved ones are in right now and will be in for the foreseeable future. And I include Zayn in this. I also don't really want to think about it bc I think I might get angry. We've all seen Liam's video on snapchat from last month, where he said he was stunting and forced to do things he didn't want to do and to send help. I often used to say that I didn't understand why the boys accepted this situation instead of just getting out, consequences be damned. Ofc it's easier said than done. But I thought maybe they thought it was worth it in some way. But then, Louis got out. Zayn got out. (In some way, I mean they have privacy and a real career, like Niall and Harry). I guess I will never understand why Liam was still the only one so stuck in this shitty situation. Why couldn't he live his life in peace like Zayn and only appear when he released music? Why couldn't he find a better team or why did he even accept to go along for so long? Why did people let him? Why?! That's what I want to know. Fucking why. And I want Liam's image/reputation to be redeemed. Anyway I digressed I'm sorry.

I just sincerely hope Zayn will be ok. Jaymi who was in Union J lost his soon-to-be-husband a couple months ago (Olly was buried the day they were supposed to get married last month). They'd been together for 14 years. And Olly died in similar circumstances (a fall from the 3rd floor of a hotel). And as incredibly awful as this is, knowing that other people are going through similar grief helps a bit, and I hope it will help Zayn and Liam's loved ones know they're not alone. (Edit: I'm not saying these deaths are linked, Olly's death is an accident, Jaymi was there when it happened. This paragraph is about not being fully alone in grief because other ppl go through similar things).

Idek if I've answered your question. I guess basically the stunts don't cross my mind coz it's not important to me. These past few years when Liam was alive it wasn't important (tho I hated it) bc I accepted the boys made their own choices. And now it's not important bc it won't bring Liam back and bc his loved ones matter more to me. Now, if I'm actually wrong about my beliefs then it is what it is and I feel for his exes/gf/child, and if the maya thing is true I still think addiction made him act that way and that if he'd got a chance to really get better this wouldn't have happened again. If I'm not wrong tho, I truly feel for Zayn who doesn't get to grieve the way he deserves to. Tho I'm glad he has loved ones who know the truth and who can support him the right way.

I hope this helps. Feel free to tell me if you want to discuss this further or anything ❤️

(Link to the videos of Liam from snapchat: x)

[i-starcreamed]

Since you enjoy the trope, how about "only one circuit slab" with your choice of bot? :3 you know who my #1 is but go with whoever you think it would be most fun with. (If you want a more specific setup I'd be happy to toss some ideas around with you)

hopefully these are good...i had to go with OUR #1 and a couple other bots :3 although you already know that bc you helped with the silly ideas. did not edit this btw my bad if its all over the place

also human reader!! These turned out way longer than I thought, I think idk how to write headcanons and end up writing short imagines but eh, I was inspired

Post includes -> Swerve, Rodimus, and TFP Ratchet

MTMTE Swerve

A completely normal day on the LL, Swerve had closed down his bar for the day and you had stayed back to talk to him even as the last bot left the place. Being the friendly bot he is, he offered to give you a ride back to your room which you accepted

As you rode down the halls of the ship, Swerve mentioned how he has been looking for a roommate for like, ever, and since his room was big enough for another bot it was surely perfect for you.

You agreed of course and he immediately made plans to show you around his humble abode

Well guess what?

You turned the corner and instead of seeing his room there was a big ass crater in place of it

Your jaws dropped and agreed that he can stay In your room instead...at least until his room is rebuilt. Roommates, right?

Only problem blessing was that you had one bed

After some light arguing of who sleeps where, you both settled that you'll sleep awkwardly next to him where he wouldn't crush you and he would turn the other way. You settled down and stared at the ceiling as you stiffly lay there, wanting to give him his space. He respectfully gave you your space but continued to try to make conversation, although it was a bit awkward since you two weren't facing eachother

Another problem arose, you were on the edge of the bed and weren't use to not being nestled into your blankets, the ship was cold, you started shivering.

"I don't even know if you can hear me right now, I mean its not that muffled right? I can always speak a little clearer or louder but I shouldn't keep you up. Are you tired yet? I don't want to-"

"Swerve? Can you turn around?"

He turned and faced the ceiling while his helm turned towards you, he was about to inquire but was immediately silenced when you started climbing him and put down your pillows and blankets on his chest.

"It's uh, its cold. I could always move if you mind th-"

"No."

He blurted out. You could feel the metal beneath you radiate pure heat, more than usual. It was comforting. You sigh and lay down, cuddling up against your blankets and well, him, the best way you could. You could feel the soft hum of his spark beneath you, it was comforting. You didn't pay attention to the way your face heat up as your eyes fluttered shut

Swerve could only lay there, absolutely frozen. For once he was at a loss for words and he wondered if you could tell his spark felt like shooting out of his chest

He slowly reached out, his servo hovering above you for a second. You said you were cold, right? He hesitantly placed one servo above you, it ever so gently cradled your sleeping form.

You bet with that amount of warmth you got the best sleep of your life

He was NOT able to recharge that night. On one hand, he was keeping you safe and warm. On the other, the massive grin on his face would not go away

Maybe his room should get destroyed more often, or just maybe he can delay the reconstruction of it

MTMTE Rodimus

The LL had gone onto another one of its expeditions and you just so happened to have gotten lost with the most reckless but endearingly dedicated mech

It's been hours since you've been treading along this strange planet and during that time, you found out that the locals are not human-friendly whatsoever

It gets to the point where the two of you have gone way too long without any rest/recharge, Rodimus has sent an emergency signal and hoped that someone from the crew would find you two soon. However it gets apparent you both need to make a stop before you both pass out from exhaustion, especially you

Rodimus insists on transforming into his alt mode and you sleeping there until the morning, but you're equally as stubborn and insist on keeping watch for him.

He only agreed because of how blushy that made him. You, his special human, want to protect him even in these circumstances? Fine, you can sit on his shoulder and keep watch while he settles down to avoid using any more energon

Not even 10 minutes later, he feels your head suddenly rest near his neck-cables.

"Y/N?"

No response except your soft breathing, there's a soft smile on his faceplates knowing that you had fallen asleep.

He carefully takes you from his shoulder and transforms, in a split second you were laying down and peacefully sleeping in his alt-mode.

It may not be a bed/circuit slab but you're the only human he'd let sleep in his alt-mode, expect the seats to be warm when you wake up or his engines to purr if he's driving

Absolute endless teasing back on the LL btw, WILL ask for you to sleep in his alt-mode again or to have some sort of sleepover

TFP Ratchet

This medic is the definition of overworking yourself

Rarely ever he gets to recharge NEAR you and you swore you have never seen him actually recharge without Optimus or you begging him

This specific day wasn't any different, except you kept tossing and turning in your bed. Something was bothering you and you weren't sure what, it just did not let you sleep. No matter how tired you felt, your body would not let you rest.

Cue you going to accompany Ratchet and him being concerned and scolding you as to why you were up at such an hour

You responded with a slow frog blink

"I can't sleep."

He lets you stay with him a while and just hopes you'll fall asleep eventually, it had happened before after all. He puts you on his shoulder and otherwise continues working, fully expecting you to fall asleep in a couple of minutes

30 minutes go by and you're still awake somehow, your half-lidded eyes staring and probably getting fried by the screen. He has a small mental battle with himself before he sighs and decided to...stop working (explodes)

"Will you get some sleep if I...if I stay with you?"

He says it almost reluctantly. But only you know that its a genuine offer. If you weren't so tired you would've leaped up in the air and shouted YES!! But instead you sleepily nodded your head and clung onto him.

He groaned and headed over to his room which was bland besides some belongings, gifts from the kids, and his unused recharge slab.

There he would lay down, expecting to wait for you to sleep and then continue his work. But he didn't expect it to be this relaxing

You laying there with him, near his shoulder armor and neck-cables, softly breathing and huddled against him. It didn't take him long for his exhaustion to finally catch up to him. He blames you for being so...calming and wonderful.

Before he drifts into recharge, he turns his helm towards you so his cheek is still in contact with you. Hes just trying to make you comfortable obviously, no, it's not out of his own enjoyment. Hes just tired, okay?

Speak of it in the morning and suddenly he forgets how to talk and cant get an explanation out without sputtering

[indierpgnewsletter]

What do you see when you look at a game?

What do you see when you look at a game? When we talk about visual art like a painting, we look it and we see line, colour, composition, pattern and so on. And we could talk about that stuff when we talk about games but then we’d be talking about a book’s graphic design. Which is important but there are better people to do that – better eyes to see through.

Normally, when I talk about games and art, I’m drawn to what you can’t see: what play feels like, the design lineage, the artistic statement, the political and social context in which it is made, etc. But I’m asking myself something different now: if there is a game in that book, what do I see when I look at that game?

Games do have a form. When we talk about Apocalypse World as innovative, one of the big things we are talking about is an innovation in form. It was the form of a work-in-progress Apocalypse World that caught the attention of a series of game designers in 2009-2010 – so much so that Apocalypse World 1st edition could’ve lost the race to be the first PbtA game to be published. It is this innovation in form – the form we see in those early offspring like Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week, Dungeon World – that most people think about when they think PbtA.

What is this form? Well, it’s stuff like how a move is written (its shape?) and what the Bakers refer to as the structure of the game, including stuff like agenda, principles, GM moves, the conversation, etc. The image from Vincent Baker’s post here captures the big picture.

The form of Apocalypse World is different from the form of the trad games that inspired it, like Ars Magica – even as the actual playing of both of those games (depending on whose playing it) could be the same. Or to put it another way, people (including the Bakers probably) were playing games in the style of AW before AW existed. The innovation wasn’t in the outcome, it was in the form.

Did that innovation in form lead to the spread of a culture of play that people now think of as the PbtA style? I think so! But that’s the power of form, right? The design of AW made an obscured style much more visible and accessible.

You know which game didn’t necessarily innovate in form? Blades in the Dark. Controversial? Not my goal! For me, part of the appeal of Blades in the Dark is that it actually looks like older games like Vampire the Masquerade (at least morethan AW does). Obviously, Blades in the Dark is innovative (in form and other ways) but parts of it look so familiar that it actually feels more approachable than PbtA to people who have played other trad games. You have what look like skills and you roll them. Easy. We could play right now.

(How much of Apocalypse World‘s popularity can be attributed to what it didn’t change? You know, XP, damage, gear, classes, etc. How much of Blades in the Dark‘s popularity is due to its familiar guise? The psychology of novelty and familiarity is fascinating but I won’t get into it because I am completely ignorant on the subject and maybe that is for the best.)

I hope I’m not unnecessarily complicating things by using the word “form” to refer to a part of a game’s design. I think if I said For The Queen or Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast were innovative in form, it would be more clear because I’d be talking about the game’s physical look. But Apocalyse World just looks like a book, right? The reason I’m using the word is that there is a difference between the innovative stuff that AW does design-wise (safety-first asymmetric PvP, for example) and its innovations in form. And it would be good to look at them separately and see that divide.

Also, I think it helps us understand what parts of the game we’re talking about when we discuss a game without playing it. All in the quest of being articulate about what we see when look at a game.

Yours, having read one book on art,

Thomas

PS. It’s been a couple of dry weeks for the newsletter so glad to be writing again. I’m not an art historian but I was inspired by my conversation with Huffa (who is one) on the Yes Indie’d podcast to think like one.

PS2: I know “safety-first asymmetric PvP” could potentially sound like I’m casting some kind of gibberish spell. If you haven’t played AW, this explains a part of it.

[msbunnat]

I can't understand how someone could look at hera (esp your design of her) and cheat.like HOW did Zeus fumble the wife? And the fact she hasn't divorced him.like home girl you can find a loyal man

So! Lets go another big reply ;w;

We first need to understand that ancient greek marriage was a totally diferent thing them now days. It was based in class, power and agreement with your partner. In some contexts it was totally normal the husband have comcubines and affairs with slaves, as well as in pederasty the act of intimacy was not seen as cheating because it was with education proporse.

Zeus and Hera were the perfec couple, they loved each other and both were the ideal of marriage. Zeus love Hera and had his ways basically, because he was a man and this behavior was normalized; and Hera love and was loyal to Zeus and her role in the marriage was also to protect their position as king and queen.

I'm still a little lost, like there re some pieces that I still havent figured out. But today I found out that pre-colonial Hera once was marriade to Heracles (my theory is that Heracles marry Hebe in post-colonial helenims because she is a side of Hera - as the young bride - it makes sense to me that before marriage you re a bride). This helped me to finally decide on some aspects for my comic.

I will be honest and probably wrong, BUT, I think Zeus was also loyal to Hera in the misoginistc context that was the myths we have found, because he never replaced her. This super wrong saying that "the guy can have other lovers, but he always return to you." Its also good to remember that Zeus affairs were also methaforical and with more meaning tham a mortal one! And when I remmeber that he also had divorces before Hera in some versions (its said he had six wives), make me belive in their relationship. They both can divorce, but they dont want to. Its hard to accept it today and this is amazing, but before.... it was just how things probably worked. Not to mention a lot of myth saying how they were the perfect couple and they loved each other to much. We can joke about it and all now, i dont mind that, but sometimes its good to remember where all this stories came from, context matter so much to understand ancient gods. I had difficult to finally change my mind and see that they really loved eacht other, if they were a now days couple, Zeus probably would spread goodness in other ways. But on ancient times, this method was okay back them and used on myths to tell a lot about marriage, how to deal with potencial thread to the throne, how behave as wife.

EDIT: even now days gorgeus women re cheated! Way more beautiful and charming them their partners, because beauty has nothing to do with cheating. This behavior is a lot more complex to resume, but I will say its basically other power play where the one cheating probably feel good about doing a 'bad' thing and a lot of other possible reasons...

I think this is one of my worst english texts, so if no one understand it........ sorry kkkkkk I try again tomorrow maybe -w-

[angryplebianart]

I don’t wanna sound rude at all but I am genuinely curious as to why you ship 2doc? I’m not trying to like target you in particular or anything I’m just wondering in general why do people like it

This is gonna be a long one lmao

A little backstory: When I first got into Gorillaz I really hated Murdoc. My sister showed me a playlist of all the videos in order. The whole playlist I kept going on about how I didn't like Murdoc and my sister was like "well, just wait." By Lost Chord I was a bit sympathetic and beginning to like Murdoc, I loved seeing that he was helping everyone else escape before he did and I really liked seeing 2D save him despite everything.

I've always been a sucker for relationships with drama(even platonic relationships), for one, for two I love when characters have chemistry (even platonic chemistry) because of what they've been through together if that makes sense.

This was before I really knew much about the band at all besides what was shown in the videos and the first time I heard about 2doc I was confused and kind of weirded out that people would ship such a toxic and dysfunctional couple. As I learned more about the band and the characters, though, and as I dug into the lore, I found Murdoc to be a much more sympathetic character than I had originally seen. A flawed character, deeply flawed, but sympathetic nonetheless and with the inkling of a redemption arc forming. I also found it interesting that even after all that had happened, 2D and Murdoc still had this indescribable bond (that a lot of people label as Stockholm syndrome but I do not).

I was on twitter one day and stumbled across a discussion about the song Souk Eye and heard that in the live shows, every time the line "I will always think about you" was sung, Murdoc's face was up on the screen. I dug into the lore for TNN album and became even more intrigued with the ship. I saw a Souk Eye animatic that depicted 2D having these battling emotions over Murdoc being gone. That he really missed him but still resented him as well and by this point you could say I was dipping my toes into the 2doc waters.

I started looking for other signs that maybe it was implied to be a canon thing and found so much stuff thanks to a couple "2doc Daily" accounts on twitter (that really just regurgitated the same things the other account said, to the point that I didn't realize it was two different accounts for a couple months lol) that only posted canon evidence.

Maybe it's silly and a lot of people don't like it, but I really do like it. It's so fun to headcanon about the ship and their dynamic.

It really seems like 2doc has been somewhat implied since the beginning in the lore and some interviews, and even some of Jamie's art (them wearing each other's clothes, 2D with Murdoc's monogrammed razor hooked on his necklace, them sharing accessories like the little crown necklace and them sharing hats on PB, the original storyboard for the newspaper comic in Do Ya Thing, there's more examples but those are the ones off the top of my head rn).

Regardless of the ship's popularity, I've come to really like it and it just adds another layer of enjoyment to my love for the band! 🩵💚☺️💚🩵

Thanks for the ask! Sorry if this is rambly or doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm writing this right before bed lol

Edits: I separated this long ass wall of text into digestible paragraphs 😛

[btstulip]

Wait, what did I just watch?!

When I first became interested in BTS, it was because my Facebook algorithms thought I might be interested in them and kept showing me fun videos. They were not wrong and I got sucked into watching BTS more and more.

As you can imagine, I quickly started getting fed videos of popular ships... mostly Taekook. Being new to BTS (and K-Pop and "ships" for that matter), there were definitely moments that I could admit looked like the actions you might see between romantic partners and it did get me wondering if any of the BTS members might actually be together. But I also knew close friends could sometimes look like a couple to people that don't understand their relationship. I have friends I kiss and cuddle with, but never once did I plan to date them. Add to the fact that I originally assumed some of this was just fanservice, something I no longer believe after much research here on Tumblr convinced me that BTS doesn't participate in traditional fanservice after their early debut stage. I knew it would take a lot to convince me any relationship was more than that of two very close people that cared about each other very much.

So I watched these Taekook and other videos with a lot of skepticism. I dismissed many of these videos right away as just playful people that enjoyed skinship with someone they were close to. But a couple caused me to find longer clips to check context. Most of these looked like nothing when played at full speed, uncut/edited, or with conversation context. And the more I watched of BTS, the more I could see how close and unique each of their relationships were. I loved how much they cared for each other and I wasn't invested in any of these guys having more than the close family relationship I could see they all shared. Still, I was curious if there was something all these fans knew about Tae and Jungkook that I didn't, so I kept looking.

I should add here that I was only days in to my BTS obsession research at this point. I had lost more sleep than I want to admit watching "one more video" for hours at a time desperately trying to answer the next burning curiosity, but still, I had only just started learning about the members of BTS. At this point, I absolutely believe all the BTS members care deeply for each other. They are family and have a bond I don't think any of us can really understand. These are 7 individuals that each share a unique bond with each other and as a whole. I don't think any relationship "competes" with another and each should be honored.

Though I wasn't expecting to be convinced that any of these members were actually dating, my desire to put context to these cute clips I kept seeing made me want to understand their relationships more... especially Tae and Jungkook because my video feed was FULL of these! I often found tumblr posts explaining the moments/relationships that gave me clues and insights about the members that I didn't have yet. The arguments I read for Taekook seemed possible, but I was sure there were similarly convincing arguments for all the ships. So I decided that I had to research the other ships to either prove or disprove that Tae and Jungkook actually had something extra.

I decided to start looking into Jimin and Jungkook. At the time, I just picked that "ship" first. But I am sure it was because I had already noticed how close those two are. Most of the stuff I dismissed, especially anything on stage. But I kept reading and watching "evidence", rinse and repeat. Definitely cute moments, eyebrow raising moments, some super questionable stuff on stage (2018 I am looking at you!), but I saw that stuff with Taekook too. I saw GCF Tokyo mentioned several times, how Jimin and Jungkook went to Tokyo together and Jungkook made a music video. And somehow this was amazing "proof", so I decided I should look that up.

The skeptic I am, I started watching and saw two guys that are very close, on a trip together, having fun. Lyrics talking about being there for each other. So cute! They are so close and this shows how much Jimin's friendship means to Jungkook. I loved it, but I could not understand how this was the ultimate proof everyone accepted. And then, 3 minutes in, when the video was almost over and I had basically decided it was about a beautiful bromance, it happened...

Boy, I'm holdin' onto something Won't let go of you for nothing I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you

Eyebrows raises, well that is definitely romantic. And then, seconds later, my brain broke...

There was a time that I was so blue What I got to do to show you? I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you Runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you

My jaw was on the floor. What did I just watch?!? That wasn't "proof", that was PROOF! There was no way to spin that other than a full on love confession. Did he actually do that? I can't believe any member of a K-pop group would do something so loud that is almost impossible to take any other way, unless you cover both eye and plug your ears!

I needed confirmation. More context. I read blogs all about GCG Tokyo and they delivered. Jikook fans gave me even more details, things I didn't understand because I was a BTS newborn (still a baby, maybe toddler, but growing quickly). Solo trip together on personal time, big deal. Jungkook recorded and edited the video, releasing it only a week later. Wow. Jungkook is a perfectionist that cares about his art and chose the song for a reason. Check. The song is by an openly gay artist? Why are we still discussing this?!

Still, I wanted an outside perspective. One not looking for this video to confirm anything with little context. So I made my sister watch it. Told her it was these two guys went on a trip together and one recorded and made this video. What did she think? "It's a love confession." Two of my kids also agreed... the third is a teenage boy that is horrified that his mom is obsessed spending all her time watching BTS and he refused to see it as anything other than someone saying "you need to be there for me too".

I suppose it's possible this was just about friendship. I suppose I could be wrong. I'm not Jungkook and unless he tells us, I will never know. But unless Jungkook denies it directly, you CAN NOT make me believe that video was anything other than one person telling another that they love them.

Sorry this post is SO LONG! I didn't expect it to be this long, but it was super fun. Thanks for sticking around and reading my TMI. <3

[orchidyoonkook]

I wish you would write a fic where: UTWT Yoongi and Reader were cuddling while it was raining outside. 🥰

(This is just for that post you shared - although I would be over the moon if you did do this. But you do whatever your heart desires!!)

You're the best and I hope you have a lovely week. 💕

Rainfall Brings Tomorrow | MYG

Pairing: UTWT Badboy! Min Yoongi x (F)!Reader

Genre // Rating: (T) | fluff, touch of angst, some self reflection

Summary: You leave tomorrow, and there's one thing you need to say goodbye too.

Warnings: none! I think. Reader just thinks a lot.

Word Count: 923

Release Date: October 19, 2023, 3:00PM

A/N: Well I wrote this from 2am to 6:14am. I didn't even see this ask until about 1:30am and then I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I hope it lives up to your expectations, dearest Anon.

A/N 1.5: This was written in 3 hours and then only edited twice. I think it's coherent but if there are mistakes, please forgive.

The soft patter of rainfall falls around you, filling your ears with earthsong. His soft breaths flow in a steady rhythm to its beat, and the patio umbrella you shoved into the ground is doing its job well, keeping your resting forms dry from the delicate cadence of an afternoon shower. 

Your pond vibrates in its own little symphony of ripples, ducks hidden away in their nests while it plays. The boughs and branches of your home away from home rustle in its light wind, their tune mixing in beautifully with the rest. 

It’s cold and overcast out, but his body keeps you warm, as yours keeps his. He sits in your usual spot, back against the years worn wooden truck, while you sit against his chest, both covered by his leather jacket, preserving the heat you two were just beginning to learn to share with one another. 

It’s the day before you leave.

The day before you say ‘fuck you and goodnight’ to everyone and everything in your town, hop on the back of a motorcycle and never look back. 

But you needed to have one last visit to the place that brought you and Yoongi together for the first time, plus all the times after. And you wanted him here with you when you did. 

To say goodbye. To the one thing you would miss more than anything else.

Your willow tree. 

Yoongi’s arms circle your waist as you lean your head back against his shoulder. His touch still sends sparks anywhere it lands on your skin, and you hope that it never goes away. Hope it never dulls or fades. Because you’re learning way too fast that it’s becoming one of your favourite things, and you don’t even want to think of what you’d do if you lost it. 

A gentle kiss at your exposed neck, under your ear, lets you know he’s finished the page. But you still have a couple sentences to go as you hold The Mysterious Island open with a hand through the jacket sleeve for both of you to read.

You found it suiting, to truly bring this chapter in your lives a full three hundred and sixty degrees before closing it forever. And that’s what you need more than anything, you think. 

Closure. 

Because as much as you hate it here, and as much as you can’t wait to go, it’s all you’ve ever known. And while this change is good and needed and necessary, it’s also incredibly scary. 

You hate that a very small part of you doesn’t want to go, for the sake of familiarity. It’s safe here. You know what to expect. You know what will happen, when it will happen, what to do, where to go, who you’ll become. There’s a guideline written into your future by your past here. One you’ve never wanted to follow and always wanted to change.

But there are the absolutely terrifying ‘what if’s’ that comes with big change. What if you leave and it’s no better than where you were? What if you somehow mess all of it up? What if nothing goes to plan, everything goes to shit, and you’re forced to come back?

That’s your biggest nightmare, and it could very easily become your reality. 

But it’s not enough to change your mind. 

You’re going. Tomorrow morning, you’re leaving, come hell or high water or…maybe rain water if this keeps up. And you’re taking the man currently drawing you closer into him with you. 

He takes a quiet inhale of your hair, happily drowning in your scent. Yoongi’s still settling into the fact that the woman he’s holding is his. At least for now. The one that always caught his eye. The one that he never knew he could want so badly. The one who reads with him on a rainy afternoon in their shared space so she can say goodbye to the only thing that was kind to her, with him here to support her.

He’ll support you however you need, forever if he can.

His girl.

Pulling your legs up to rest the book on, you flip the page though your focus wavers, and you stare out into the shower blurred haze of your favourite place. 

This is the last time you’ll ever be here, so you take in every detail you can. The way the grass feels underneath you, the shape of the pond and the colour of its water. You commit the height of the tree and the ebb and flow of its leaves to memory as best you can. You take in the feeling of Yoongi behind you, remembering how he used to sit a foot away from you.

How every day, whether you realized it or not, he got just a little bit closer.

And before you can stop it, a silent tear slides down your face. You wipe it away but Yoongi catches it, and gives you a reassuring squeeze.

“You okay?” he asks. 

You are.

It’s just finally hitting you that your years of pain and loneliness and misery are ending. You’re finally taking control of your life like you’ve always planned, and better yet, you aren’t doing it alone. You have someone now. 

You can’t remember the last time you had that. 

“Yeah,” you say, lifting your chin to look at him. “I think I’m going to be just fine.”

Holding the book back up, you see you’ve reached the final chapter. And somehow you know, it’s the first chapter of your own.

A/N 2: Thanks for reading, loves. Xoxo, Yoon <3

[mbti-notes]

Funny story, the other day I received a question about the quotation "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate". (Sorry to the person who asked because I lost track of your handle and must now post the full response here. You're about to see the journey you've sent me on.) The question was vaguely worded, so I can only assume it was requesting a source for the quotation. This struck me as odd for a couple reasons. First, the quotation is widely attributed to Jung, so it shouldn't be very difficult to find the source. When I say "widely", I mean it is not only used all over the internet, it also appears in numerous books. Second, the quotation does a great job of encapsulating a central tenet of Jung's theory, so there is nothing particularly strange or suspicious about it.

Since I'm used to academic writing and wading through research materials, I'm usually diligent about finding the original source of quotations in order to avoid misattributions. But I was lax in this case because I allowed myself to assume that such a well-known quotation must have already been checked by someone. A mistake. A preliminary search revealed that a small handful of people have doubted the attribution, but a definitive answer seemed elusive. So, I decided to take a deep dive into the literature. I searched through Jung's as well as whatever Jung-adjacent and Jung-inspired works I could get my hands on.

I was unable to find a verbatim source in Jung's own writing. However, this isn't enough for me to claim that he never said it. It's possible that it was lifted from a discussion, lecture, or interview, of which the transcripts are not readily available. Jung did write sentences that were remarkably similar to the quotation in meaning, so it's also possible that the quotation was somehow mangled or lost in translation from the original language, which makes it difficult to match up with the official English editions of his work.

I then decided to locate its earliest usage in order to piece together an origin story. The earliest date I could find was ~2006, which is a huge red flag. Books by Jung and about Jung span the entire last century, so one would expect at least a few references from earlier periods, especially throughout the 90s when psychoanalytic theory was widely referenced in a variety of academic disciplines. Of course, books before the 90s haven't all been indexed and made available to search online, so a citation might still exist out there somewhere in a very obscure book.

I then decided to examine books published since 2006 that contained the quotation to see if any included a citation. This was even more of a red flag because, in every case, the authors either did not provide a citation, cited another post-2006 book, or cited a (dubious) internet resource. It turns out that 2006 might be an important piece of the puzzle because it was around then that goodreads.com went online and became a widely used resource for quotations.

Although goodreads makes it clear that they don't verify information, people often trust the website because it is assumed that readers are quoting accurately as they read the actual books. The Jung quotation in question is listed on their website and could even be the first instance, but there was no citation and I couldn't find who originally posted it in order to ask where they got it from. Whoever originally posted it was obviously familiar enough with Jungian theory to capture some of its essence.

In conclusion, I hazard to guess that there are three main possibilities for how this quotation came into being. Around the mid 2000s, someone reading something in the original language posted their own personal translation of it, or they got it from an obscure source, or they fabricated it for reasons unknown. From there, the quotation got picked up by various parties and spread far and wide.

I decided to tell this story because I think it's a good example of how misinformation creeps around online and gradually becomes "reality". The numerous steps I had to go through to investigate this one tiny piece of information illustrates how tedious it can be to verify the things you read. Should we expect the masses to verify every word they come across? It's not realistic, is it? Teachers and parents tell kids to be careful about the internet content they consume, to not take things at face value, to not believe everything they see and hear, etc. But it isn't easy (or fun) to always be on alert even for the motivated, even for this weary and grizzled researcher.

Fortunately, nobody's gonna die from a misattributed quote. But, what about subjects of consequence such as medicine or geopolitics where truth really matters? I love that we have so much information at our fingertips. I just wish we didn't always have to battle against greed and chaos to find the good stuff.

[xxduncandonutxx]

The proshit discourse is so funny to me because, you would think it would be obvious for the disgusting freaks of nature to know that "Hey, drawing problematic ships and such is... well, problematic" but I guess not.

Content warning: mentions of pedophilla, further discussive about proshitting, incest and so on.

Like, Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying YOU CAN'T write problematic or dark stories and subject matters but if you are going to romanticize them or treat them as a cutesy thing then that's when I'll have a problem. You need to handle heavy subject matters respectfully, don't be like Reitanna Seishin who admitted to enjoying same-sex incest and had written a story where a baby was born with a sexual addiction to the point that if the child doesn't do anything it'll have seizures and pass out (yes, that's an actual story that she is writing). I also seen proshitters trying to use so many excuses of why they make that sort of content, one of the comment excuses is "To deal with trauma" or even "My therapist says that I'm allow to draw/create this content because it helps me". Which if that is the case then... why not do it on a private account or away from the public? Because if you are going to draw proshit stuff or write proshit stuff as a way to cope with what happened to you in the past, you should do it in private because by posting it in the public you are feeding predators and abusers (or future abusers) this sort of stuff or even making the child think that this stuff is "okay" and "normal" (just like what happened to me in the past where unfortunately, I met a couple of people and use to listen to a certain YTber [*cough cough* reitanna seishin] and was convince that incest is "fine" as long as it's same sex couples... thank god I never wrote or created art of same sex incest or anything but still, it fucked me up and opened to me being groomed online). I highly suggest reading this comic which expands further on the topic.

Also as for the whole "Oh my therapist suggest me to write and draw this stuff" ....find a new therapist please. Because if that's really the case, that is very concerning if you're therapist is telling you to draw that shit and post it to the public. Because, I never heard of a therapist telling their patients to post cp or proshit content in the public where potential creeps can jack off to it... EDIT 31/07/24: Ummm... I just remember that I "did" made same sex incest art but it wasn't really art, it was a mlp next gen adoptable I made when I was younger... reminder, I was being influenced by certain users on deviantart (unoriginai and i forgot the other person's user) and the fact I was listening to Reitanna's stories about Jin and Gin (i think that's how you spell their names) and her rambling about how it's "fine" to create mlm/wlw incest. I did eventually I did "stop" by stop I mean someone suggested me to NOT call them next gens and call them fusions instead which I did, to this day I never made any fusion adoptables or next gens that were literally sibling x sibling or child x adult instead I just made normal next gen adoptables after I was kicked off of Deviantart and lost contact with my groomer(s) and one of my friends actually coming to me concern and explaining to me that this shit is not okay