#also I'm glad you like Fan Joy July!

[kikker-oma]

This is going to sound really dumb and random, but I call my grandma "Oma", so whenever I read your username, hear it as "kick yer Oma" and I'm like :0 noooooo

Anyways, you're CRUSHING this Fan Joy July! Love your art <3333

HAHAHAHAHA OMG THATS SO FUNNY😂😂😂😂😂

LOL I'm going to remember this so fondly lololol

No Grandma smackdowns happening here for sure🤣🤣

If it helps at all, Kikker means "frog" in Dutch🤣

Oooh that's so funny tho lol you've made my night, thank you Anon❤️

[redgoldsparks]

July reading and reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Practical Anarchism: A Guide For Daily Life by Shuli Branson 

I picked this up after listening to the author's excellent interview on Gender Reveal. I'd never read an explanation of anarchy before and found this one accessible, intersectional, and rich with references to follow up on. Branson's basic argument is for recognizing that the state exists only to perpetuate its own power, and aids citizens only incidentally and when doing so doesn't conflict with maintaining control. In light of this, citizens should seek to gain as much freedom in daily life as they can by supporting community and mutual aid, by refusing hustle culture and separating self-worth from productivity, by spending as much time as they can on things that bring pleasure, joy, peace, and stealing from corporate workplaces among other things. Many sections of this book I found myself simply agreeing with, while other chapters (especially the sections on Work and Art) really challenged a lot of my internalized beliefs. I'm very glad I read this and imagine I will return to it in the future, especially when I'm able to read more on this topic.

How I Attended An All-Guy’s Mixer vols 1-6 by Nana Aokawa (fan translated) 

College students Tokiwa, Asagi, and Hagi are invited to a mixer with some college girls, but when they arrive they are greeted by three handsome boys at their reserved table. It turns out the girls they planned to meet at all work at a cross-dressing bar! Suo is a devastatingly charming and confident prince; Kohaku has a prickly exterior but a soft, shy interior; and Fuji draws smutty fan comics in her free time and is constantly on the lookout for new models. This goofy premise turns into a very sweet and funny slice of life comic as three couples with very different dynamics begin to develop. Sadly, I cannot find these books available in English so I am reading them at a sketchy online site, lol. I hope they get translated at some point because I've been completely sucked in and read four volumes in like 24 hours :3

Barda by Ngozi Ukazu

Barda is the captain of a soldier unit from a torture/hell world called Apokolips. Her backstory includes being kidnapped as a child and tortured into serving as the perfect weapon in a very black and white interplanetary war. Her torturer is an old woman named Granny Goodness. They work for a classic evil emperor named Darkseid, who has the son of his major enemy locked in his dungeons. At the beginning of the book, Barda is told to investigate how this guy, named Scott Free, keeps managing to almost escape. This is challenging material to make something out of. It feels so ridiculous, so campy, so over the top, I had a hard time taking the premise seriously- especially as this torture world has to obey PG-13 movie rules about not showing any blood or actual human mutilation. All that being said, I think Ukazu wrote about the best modern take as you possible could with these characters. The writing is quippy, smart, empathetic; I enjoyed the page layouts, color palette choices, and the emotional arc she takes Big Barda on through the book, even though I wanted it to go a little farther at the end.

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

Avery is a queer biracial teen, uprooted from her DC home just before senior year of high school by a family emergency which relocates her and her parents to Bardell, Georgia. Avery's grandmother, Mama Letty, has cancer and the prognosis isn't good. Avery is also fresh from a breakup with her first ever girlfriend. Her early years of high school were ruined by Covid, and she doesn't want to waste her last year as well in a back-woods town. But despite herself, Avery is drawn towards the people of Bardell and the ways she learns their histories tangle with her own. There's Carol, the woman next door, who was Avery's mom's best friend in high school but who know barely speaks to her. There's Carol's daughter, Simone, whose colorful locs catch Avery's eyes immediately. There's Jade, Simone's best friend at school whose family is linked to more than one tragedy in the town's history. And there's Mama Letty herself, who Avery wants to get to know, but time is running out. I read this book in just under a week while on vacation and really enjoyed it! It felt refreshingly grounded and real after some of the YA I've tried and DNFed recently.

Yotsuba vol 10 by Kiyohiko Azuma

Utterly charmed by the entire chapter that's just Yotsuba learning how to cook pancakes. What a good reminder that fine motor control is a learned skill! I also liked how Yotsuba's dad handled a lie about some broken dishes. This is such a great series.

Sunhead by Alex Assan 

In Tel Aviv, teenage Rotem spends her free time hanging out with friends and obsessively re-reading her favorite book, Sunrise, a vampire romance. She doesn't know anyone else into the series and has to wait for the next book to come out in Hebrew. But she does meet another reader, Ayala, who sits out of gym class every single week, sometimes with a Jane Austin novel. Rotem lends Ayala the vampire book and suddenly she has a fandom friend. This book very delicately, and at times wordlessly, explores the way a fictional story can act as a lens for teen questioning of gender and sexuality. The book feels almost memoir like with its groundedness in very real teen emotions and relative lack of external conflict. It's a simple story but beautifully illustrated and relatable.

Witch Hat Atelier vol 12 by Kamome Shirahama

This is an action packed volume that sticks more closely to Coco, which is what I want out of the series. I'm still frustrated by the overload of new characters who I'm struggling to keep tract of. But the art is so stunning I'll probably keep reading.

Otonari Complex vol 1 by Saku Nonomura (fan translated)

Akira is a tall tomboy who befriended a shorter, prettier boy named Makoto in elementary school. In college, they are still inseparable, and many people mistake them for a straight couple- though usually they think Akira is the boy and Makoto the girl. Makoto only adds to this confusion by frequently cross-dressing. I enjoyed the friendship and gender mix-ups, but I don't love how every single secondary character either wants to date one of the two leads, or whats to separate the two leads because their close friendship might prevent them from dating in the future. Get out of their business, randos! They are clearly on a very slow friends to lovers arc, leave them alone to figure out their shit.

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen read by Vikras Adam 

At the start of this book, in 1959, Andy Mills is at rock bottom. The former San Francisco cop was fired after being discovered in flagrante with another man at a gay bar. He is seriously considering suicide because he can't see any other options. Then a well dressed older woman, Pearl, sweeps into his life and asks him to solve a weeks old murder that occurred on her private Marin estate. Pearl is a lesbian and widow; her wife was the owner of a well known floral soap company and she died under mysterious circumstances. Pearl was unable to call in the police at the time because nearly everyone who lives on the soap flower farm estate is queer. A small group of biological and found family has made a safe, gated community for themselves- safe, that is, until one woman fell to her death from a second floor balcony. Andy isn't too hopeful about solving a case with little to no evidence, but he gives it a try, and he is blown away by seeing multiple queer couples living opening together in the same household. This was a solid story, though it didn't have that magic spark that sometimes captures me in murder mysteries. I was all ready to say I probably wouldn't continue the series, and then a 15 minute sample of the second book played after the end of the first in the audiobook. The second one already sounds MUCH more fascinating than the first, in part because Andy starts the sequel in touch with an intriguing queer community and setting up a new PI business. So I might try the next book after all!

Mabel McKay: Weaving the Dream by Greg Sarris 

A wonderful, lively memoir of Pomo basket weaver and medicine woman Mabel McKay, as written by Greg Sarris, who knew her for most of his life until she passed in the early 1990s. Sarris is currently the chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria based in Sonoma County which serves the local Pomo and Miwok populations. Sarris is very much also a character in this story, which lays out many conversations had on long car rides up and down the California coast, while Sarris drove McKay to give talks at universities and museums or to visit her relatives. The story is non chronological but still immersive, telling of McKay's childhood, her early years doctoring and making baskets, and her life-changing friendship with Essie Parrish, another basket weaver and important figure in Sonoma county. I'd highly recommend this book, especially to anyone interested in West Coast history, and very especially if you grew up in California.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: July Wrap-Up.

This month, I picked my knitting back up with a vengeance, started a Three Sentences Writing Challenge, AND participated in several work-adjacent Social Events (who am I, even), On Top Of accidentally nerfing myself with several brick-like books, so! This little stack isn't half bad. Photos and/or reviews linked below:

ORDINARY MONSTERS - ★★ This was a miss for me, y'all, AND it was a brick, so it took a hot minute to read. I wanted it to be better than it was, but it rambled and wandered Too Much (which, coming from me, you KNOW is bad). Salty also-rambly 1.5k review linked.

IF FOUND, RETURN TO HELL - ★★★½ Way cuter than I was expecting!! I had a good time with the second person. Hugely relatable (which. wild. all things considered.).

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - ★★★½ Funnier than anticipated, and very readable for something out of the '50s! I see why it's a cornerstone of the (sub)genre. Glad I have a copy on hand now.

THE ACTOR AND THE TARGET - ★★★★★ This Rewired My Brain. It took me three (3) weeks to get through. It was so good. If you're a writer, definitely check this out, 10/10 recommend.

WHEN AMONG CROWS - ★★★½ I checked this out from the library because hardback novellas are Expensive if you're not sure you vibe with the author's style, but I had a good time! Witcher fans should descend on this, I think.

ALWAYS COMING HOME - 76*/618 pages read; will report back later. I asked the People about this one, and the People have Spoken (read: this won my What Do I Read Next Poll), but I may or may not have miscalcuated how many brain cells I have available lately between work and writing, so I may or may not be cutting this with library books. I'll finish it. Eventually. (*asterisk because she keeps referencing Other Pages In Line, and every time she does I jump ahead to read those pages instead and then come back to where I was. I'm dual wielding bookmarks through this tome, it's an Experience™ so far!)

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. I am refining this as I figure out my wrap up posts (epiphany of this month: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[ajscico]

Fan Joy July Day 31

multiple fics! I nicknamed this set in my head "abandoned, orphaned and deleted, or why I have a fic hoard." 😅 and the post got long so I'll spare y'all's dashboard with a read more...

Let’s not and say we did. By SincerelyMystic

This one was abandoned and I'm so glad it wasn’t deleted but... yeah. I hope the author is doing well wherever they are. Good fic. Good angst.

This art would be a couple images from the last published chapter. Twilight and Sky are sitting stunned as shock hasn’t worn off yet, Sky broke a leg in the fall and the pair just got dramatically introduced to Mipha’s Grace so... Wild is sitting up amidst the remains of the teal flames.

Wild groaned and sat up, pressing a hand over his eyes. “Where’s the Talus,” he muttered, and Twilight blinked in astonishment.

“There isn’t one,” He breathed. “You joined Sky in his decent to death and managed to die just fine without a Talus.”

Amidst everything else that happens in the fic, a little morbid humor to break the tension. Maybe one day I'll have to follow my own trend and write something to resolve this... and maybe then it will not haunt my wips?

A True Love of Mine Morigenos (orphan_account)

Orphaned fic. Watch the triggers on this one please. It’s...a lot. I am aware I have really weird tolerances for certain topics but the song behind this fic and how it was tied in beautifully... I couldn't leave it out. 

It's the scene after Wars has finished telling the tale to Legend. He’s a mess. He’s bared his soul and revealed more than he really meant to tell the Vet and Legend helps him close the locket, covering the trinket and the precious contents of it in both their hands. 

Legend was also crying, eyes wide at the horrors that were just described to him, and was at a completely lose for any words. What do you say? What do you say to someone who lost everything in the most brutal way? What do you say to the person you do nothing but argue with since you met them, and they just shed their soul in front of you? There was nothing to say, only actions can speak for you at this point, and he wanted to make his count.

Still blubbering, he got on his knees with Warriors, and slowly closed the locket in his brother’s hand. He put it in Warriors’ left hand and closed said hand around the locket, Wars looking at him the whole time.

Father Time Series By Heroine of Twilight 

So the series is taken down from Ao3, but I did download most of them before that happened. So my choice out of the wonderful series is: Not A Father but a Dad

This series is full of lovely Dad!Time content. And the series as a whole is one I pull up when I miss my dad. This fic is a highlight of three times Time got to play dad to members of the Chain. And the art would be summary scenes of these three in particular. The fic includes the instances of: teaching Legend to shave, taking Sky for his first drink (and giving him advice on marriage), and showing Wild how to fix a roof while Wild confesses he wants to rebuild the ranch ruins and make it a place that is even a shadow as home-like and welcoming as Lon Lon is. Alas, I cannot link the fic.

31 days, wow, not bad for the first time I managed to do an event, even if it was not the traditional way this should have gone. Thank you @/kikker-oma for proposing this wonderful event. We should do it again next year. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[spnscripthunt-inactive]

🧵⤵️

In this episode, I feature fans and organizers who give back to their community, both within #SPNFamily and impacting those far outside fandom.

First up? The resource sharing group @spnscripthunt (who also provide prizes for raffles that are used to raise money for good causes, like the Trevor Project.

And who remembers the hilarious #GrumpyJensen memes during charity campaign run by @spn-family-giving? (And @/TrendyKittyKat says they're looking for other fans to partner with for future campaigns!)

I'm also glad I got to highlight the importance of mental health resources, though both fans a La @/SPNsurvivors & @/abeautifulswan, as well as through @jarpad's #AlwaysKeepFighting activism

The next section brought me so much joy, personally! I even got to bring up my day job & the math podcast I make: https://www.imsi.institute/feed/podcast/

That's right, I finally got to talk about @/GISH! And, though @/LadyMalchav, I learned how it all started.

I only got to participate in #GISH one year with my team, Off-Grid GISHERs, before sadly the scavenger hunt came to an end. At least I had @/NorthernSprw give us the inside scoop on the suspending/ending of GISH.

You want to support @/gilesduley's Legacy of War nonprofit (sans GISH), I've included a link here: https://www.legacyofwarfoundation.com/donate

The final section of this episode takes a look at @/RandomActsOrg, with voices from all over the org, including Jennifer Willis Rivera, @/RachelMiner1, & @/Rea79

The hyper local focus of the Acts of Kindness program is really special to me. I've used one of their grants to even help at my local soup kitchen!

And if you feel inspired to do an "Act of Kindness", here's the link! I promise, it's an easy process: https://www.randomacts.org/acts/

As I mentioned in the show, @/mishacollins is still raising funds to de-mine Ukraine 🇺🇦 & you can support the effort here:

And did I mention the lovely artist for this pod, @/__ellie is ALSO a Random Acts volunteer?! 💕

Anyways, thanks to @/DrAnnaFunk for editorial support when I get too ramble-y & @/ChrisPScott1984 for writing the shows music.

You can support the pod here: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom

Just a point of clarification: our World Central Kitchen fundraiser kicks off on Sat, July 29 (we needed more time to finish getting autos at cons, we've gotten them from cons here in the states, as well as in Canada, UK, and Italy). The raffle closes on Sat, Aug 26 and we'll announce winners on Tues, Aug 29. More info to come.

[nerdzzone]

"I think you should go on Instagram.”  Oh no, that's never good. We've only just started and you guys have got me nervous.

“It’s Chris Evans, Nat. If he’s got his hands on a girl, people want to know” Mark is very wise, that's very true. Poor Nat didn't stand a chance 😔 It would be so strange for someone like Nat - who has a cool job, but is just a regular person - to be thrust into the spotlight like that! Especially when we all know that some fans can be very cruel towards any women he's spotted with and have no boundaries! I'm glad she has a good support group around her to help her navigate this situation.

I feel bad for Chris too because it just goes back to the doubts he had earlier before they shared their feelings. He was worried that all of the messy parts of his life would be off-putting and he's probably worried that he's about to find out that was true. And while I do completely sympathize with Nat, I think she was a tiny little bit harsh by saying he was treating her like a job. He is trying to fix the situation and he did apologize and ask if she was okay!

I feel a little less bad for him now that he's not picking up on her distress though. Her frustration and snappiness should have tipped him off that she needs a little more reassurance and comfort and less of the game plan to solve it all. But I do also understand his urgency with wanting to make sure she knows how they can make it all go away because in his mind if it all goes away then she'll have no reason to be upset anymore so the faster they do that the faster she'll be happy again.

 “No, I get that. I know you didn’t cause it but you’re not really helping to make it any better.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” Chris’ voice sounded incredulous, only heaping on more hurt to Nat’s already bruised emotions when he stated plainly,  “I’m doing everything I can.”  That interaction kinda sums it up perfectly! She's upset because Chris isn't helping her while Chris thinks that's exactly what he is doing!

“I’m going back to Boston for a few weeks after filming. I’ll see you at the end of July, maybe.” That 'maybe' is soul crushing!

It's like you find joy in breaking hearts, it's very rude. It's unfair that you guys have the talent to portray all these emotions so perfectly because if you weren't such good writers then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much! I hope you fix this soon!!!

In Living Color

Chapter 9 - Part One

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 5,271

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: None.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

June 2021

Nat reached up blindly to find the pencil she had stuck in her wild curls that were wrangled up in a bun. She had been sitting in this exact same position for hours, pouring over her graphics tablet as she furiously worked in the quiet of her office. Nat could feel the tightness in her shoulders from being hunched over and rolled them slightly as she kept on working, being so focused that it took her a moment to notice her office door had swung open. 

“Hey Nat,” she heard Mark say, finally glancing up with an aching neck to see him hovering in the doorway, her metal water bottle in his hand. 

“You found my water bottle! I’ve been looking everywhere for that thing,” she smiled, waving him in as she locked the tablet and put it down against the glass desk. 

He gave a half-smile, putting the bottle on her desk and informing her, “You left it in my car.” 

“Oh yeah, I remember now,” she laughed, shaking her head as she moved the metal bottle closer to her. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Hey, you want to go get lunch together? We could see if Jamie wants to come.” 

“Nat…” he began, clearing his throat and pausing, his hands fidgeting awkwardly in front of him. “Have you checked your phone?” 

“No, why?” She asked, a frown on her face as she watched her coworker, but most importantly her friend, carefully. “Why are you acting so weird?” 

He sighed, shaking his head and suggesting, “I think you should go on Instagram.” 

Nat opened her mouth to ask more questions but quickly closed it again when she saw the concerned look on his face. She didn’t have a clue what was going on and wanted answers quickly, but the ones she got weren’t good. She saw how many notifications she had and started scrolling down the long list of follow requests, hundreds of names and profiles she couldn’t even remember flashing before her eyes, causing her to ask out loud, “What’s going on? Why do I have all these follow requests?” 

Mark shook his head, glancing away to look out the wide window at the Disney campus. “Remember that party of Chris’ that you told me about?” He finally asked, a single eyebrow raised when he met her eyes again. 

Her face fell, and Nat felt as if she was going to get sick at those words. They’d been careful, not posting anything when they were together, or even referencing the other, since they’d met, but especially since Mark’s birthday, when things took a turn for them. She knew Chris’ world and life was… hectic and invasive to say the least, and while she wasn’t accustomed to it, she definitely didn’t want to be thrown into it. But by the look on Mark’s face, she feared the worst had happened. “Oh no…what happened?” 

“The catering company posted a photo and you can see some people in the background if you zoom in,” he began with a sigh, then shrugged and shook his head. “Apparently someone did zoom in and saw Chris with his arms around you.” 

“But did- how is it… why… how did people know it was me?” 

“I guess some fans scrolled through the people he follows and found you and pieced it together. Now it’s all over the internet,” he explained, waving a hand. 

Her frown deepened and the anxious ball in her chest grew, but she was unable to think about anything except her surroundings. While it wasn’t against the rules for employees of Disney to date, it definitely was a gray area. Chris wasn’t an employee in the same way she was, he had a temporary pass, and he was on a way different level than she and Mark were. Mark had known about what was going on between the two, but they’d deliberately kept it from Jamie up to this point because of the gray area and her fear of what Jamie’s – the head of character design, her boss – reaction would be, and the aftermath of the revelation. “Does Jamie know?” She finally asked, eyes wide as she looked up at Mark. 

The older man shook his head, jaw clenched as he emphasized, “I don’t think that’s important right now, Nat. You’re everywhere online, people are tweeting about you!” 

“From just that one picture?” 

“It’s Chris Evans, Nat. If he’s got his hands on a girl, people want to know,” he laughed bitterly, but she could tell he was worried, even more than she was able to feel herself right now. She felt like she was unable to process it fully, unable to understand just how this happened, how someone stumbled across the picture and connected the dots given how obscure she was. Most of  all though, she felt… exposed by this, realizing just how easily any one of his “fans” could uncover anything when it came to him, when it came to his personal life, despite what he chose to share with them. And it scared her, it made her feel like this would never work given what they’d have to do to keep it to themselves. Never interacting in public, never acknowledging each other, never even being seen together would be the only ways forward, but what kind of relationship did that leave them with? Chris, who’d work and be seen alone, smiling on red carpets and laughing kindly as people flirted with him, and Nat, who’d keep her head down, never shared anything about that part of her life, and only saw him behind closed doors? It wasn’t fair to her, nothing about it was.  

“I just don’t understand how this happened,” she quietly admitted, shaking her head before she looked back up at him with wide eyes. “Mark, what am I going to do?” 

Mark sighed, looking out the window again as he struggled to find the words. “I wish I had an answer for you,” he finally told her, rubbing a hand down his face frustratedly. 

At that moment, her phone started buzzing, making Nat jump slightly before she lifted it up to see the name on the screen, telling her friend, “It’s Chris.” 

“I’ll let you guys talk but come to my office when you’re done, okay?” 

Nat nodded as she sat in her office chair, waiting for the door to close before she looked down at her vibrating phone again. Usually she was eager to answer his calls, so happy to swipe that green button and hear his voice, but today she felt… anxious. It scared her to think what might be on the other end of this call but she knew that she had to take it. 

“Hello?” She answered, her foot tapping the leg of her desk anxiously. 

He didn’t even return the greeting, instead asking tensely, “Nat, have you been online?” 

“Um, yeah…” she paused, biting her lower lip as she struggled to continue processing this. “Mark just came in and showed me everything.” 

“God, I’m so sorry Nat,” he sighed, mumbling a curse to himself. “I just got off the phone with my publicist and she told me everything. She’s calling the caterers right now and having them take the picture down.” 

Nat blinked, almost shocked more by the fact that he could make a call and erase it from the internet practically, although the damage was already done. “Okay,” she whispered. 

“She’s going to get back to me but they’re either going to just let it die down, or run something else maybe about the movie I’m working on now to try to bury it,” he explained, speaking quickly as he moved around. “Megan did tell me to let you know to keep your Instagram on private and not to accept any new followers.” 

“I won’t,” she assured quietly, almost unable to imagine opening herself up to the floodgates of his ‘fans’ like that, letting them see the private pictures from her life and family, something personal. She’d barely given it a second thought when she shared her account info with Chris and approved his follow request, but clearly she should’ve. “There’s literally thousands of new requests.” 

“I fuckin’ hate that this happened,” he said, and the tone of his voice was more frustrated than she could ever imagine hearing it before. “My team is going to try to figure out how to minimize everything though.”

“Do I um, like need to do anything?” She asked, picking a piece of lint off her pants anxiously.  “I don’t know how all of this works.” 

Chris was quiet for a moment, but when she heard him whisper something to someone she realized he was just distracted, not mulling over her words. “Just don’t accept any new followers and once I talk to Megan again, I’ll let you know of anything else,” he instructed hurriedly. 

“Okay,” she murmured, jaw set as a wave of frustration washed over her. 

“Nat, are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” she placated, knowing it was an outright lie. “It’s just… overwhelming.”

“I know and I’m so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am,” he murmured, the words doing little to help the situation than…. Anything else would’ve. “But we’ll get it fixed, okay?” 

“Alright.” 

“Listen, I’ve got to go back to set but I’ll call you later once I talk to Megan again, okay?” 

Nat let out an unsteady ‘Okay’ before the call ended and she dropped the phone onto her desk. She brought her hands up to cradle her face in her hands, tears burning at her eyes and she felt completely sick to her stomach. She felt like she’d been in such a bubble for a while, seeming to forget that Chris was famous, someone who’s life was in the spotlight. To him, he was just Chris, the sweet guy who made her laugh like nobody else, sent flowers to her while she was away and had become her best friend and confidant, ending each of her days on the phone with him. 

But this was an ugly crash into reality, seeing that something as simple as him putting his arms around her could cause such an uproar. The attention she was suddenly getting scared Nat to her core, not having a clue what would happen from here. This was unlike anything she’d experienced even on the tiniest level, and the shock that came with it rattled her to her core. But almost worse than that was the way Chris had been on the phone. 

She was so used to the sensitive man who always kept her feelings close to his heart… which was something she thought was too good to be true. Never had she felt as treasured and valued by a partner before, but her brain was beginning to remind her that maybe it was in fact too good to be true. In the moment she had needed his support the most, he had been distracted and clinical, treating her like a job to manage rather than a woman he cared for. That one simple thought is what made her feel more sick than anything else. 

Nat knew she was against the clock though, knowing that with every passing minute she didn’t tell Jamie about this it just gave more fuel to the fire that’d become her romantic life, apparently. Pushing herself up and out of her office, she fiddled with her hands anxiously as she made her way down the hallway, avoiding the unaware gazes of the fellow employees. It wasn’t likely that any of them kept up with what was going on in Chris’ personal life, and certainly hadn’t realized how entwined it’d become with Pixar itself, but she was hyperaware and almost paranoid, feeling they almost pitied her as they caught her out of the corner of their eyes. But she pushed those fears aside as she tapped on Jamie’s door, poking her head in and asking, “Jamie? Do you have a minute?” 

He gave her a half-smile, waving her in as he moved to shut the blinds hanging over the glass wall, hiding them – and thankfully Nat’s already teary eyes – from the rest of the office. “I kind of figured you’d be coming in,” he admitted with a short huff. 

“Did Mark tell you?” She asked, frowning as she sat on the chair in front of his desk. 

“Yeah, he showed me everything that happened,” Jamie explained, sitting down behind the desk and watching Nat carefully. “He said you were on the phone with Chris so I didn’t want to interrupt.” 

“I’m sorry for all of this,” she rushed to explain herself, feeling awful she’d hidden this part of her life from him for months now, especially given he was one of her best friends. “I didn’t want to tell you about Chris because of him working here… I didn’t know what you would think.” 

“Nat, I don’t care about any of that. I’m just concerned about you,” he assured her, looking at her with nothing but concern on his face. “Are you okay?” 

She hesitated, looking away from him as she bit her lip and felt tears pool in her eyes. “...I’ve been better,” she confessed. 

“Hey, come over here,” Jamie murmured, standing up and motioning to her. She followed his lead easily, stepping into his embrace as tears spilled down her cheeks rapidly, finally releasing all of the anxieties and fears from inside of her. “It’s going to be okay, Nat.” 

“I just don’t see how,” she confessed to Jamie, unsure how they’d make their way out of this.  

“I’m sure Chris knows how to handle these things,” he reminded her. “And you’ve got Mark and I to fight off any crazy fans or paparazzi.” 

Nat shook her head, stepping away from him and carefully wiped her tears. “Remember that I’ve worked out with both of you and the way that you both hit a punching bag doesn’t give me a lot of confidence,” she reminded, unable to stop the slight smirk that settled on her lips.  

“Well it’s the sentiment that counts,” Jamie laughed, but then looked at her with a frown. “You’re going to be okay, Nat. We’re going to get you through this and so is Chris.” 

But what hurt was that she wasn’t feeling confidence in that last part. 

She finally pulled away from him, wiping at her eyes as she gave him a weak smile, “Thanks Jamie… and I’m sorry for not telling you the truth about Chris and I.”

“You hadn’t done the best job of hiding it so I’m not really all that surprised,” he laughed, a smirk on his lips. And Nat found herself realizing just how much had played out in front of both him and Mark over the weeks, between the game nights with the non-stop near flirting between herself and Chris to the way they basically turned his own birthday party into their own first date. “Just remember that I don’t care about any of the other shit, Nat. I just care about you, and so does Mark.” 

She frowned, realizing that was what she’d been missing all this time from Chris – the unwavering support that came along with the assurance that everything would be okay, not that this was a blip on a brand rollout’s radar. It felt transactional, not vulnerable and honest in the way it had up to now. “I know, I love you guys,” she smiled, pushing down the doubts so that she wouldn’t snap again in front of Jamie. 

“We love you too,” he assured her. “Are you still planning on going home for your niece’s birthday tomorrow?” 

Nat nodded, tapping her fingers against her leg. “Yeah, I think so. It might be good to get my mind off of everything anyway,” she shrugged with a fake smile. 

“I think it will,” Jamie agreed, then shrugged and laughed and added, “And who knows, by the time you come back to work on Monday, maybe all of this will have blown over.” 

Nat sure hoped he was right, but the pit in her stomach told her that he might not be. This was a big deal and she was smart enough to know that it was probably an ever bigger deal than she was fully aware of. She didn’t know his world or what went along with it and for the first time, Nat was seeing just how wildly different their worlds were. 

As she trudged back to her office, closing the door and pulling the blinds to give herself some privacy, there were so many emotions stirring in her that Nat felt completely weighed down. Nat felt pulled in so many directions, part of her wanting to hop on her computer and find out what was going on, what was being said and what truly was circulating around the internet, but the other part of her was frozen, just wanting to bury her head in the sand and pretend this wasn’t actually her life. 

Tears were stinging at her eyes as she sat at that lonely desk, feeling completely defeated. She was starting to think things were changing, that maybe she wasn’t destined to feel lonely or have people simply tolerate her. Chris had started to show her that he was different. That he liked her for who she was and that everything else didn’t matter. Nat was so afraid to get into another relationship after the hurt she’d been through in the past, but she felt like with Chris, it was worth it. 

But she could see that it wasn’t that simple. 

She hadn't been so naive as to think nothing would ever get out about them had their relationship continued, but she hadn’t thought it’d be this soon. There was a constant stream of texts from her sisters, presumably finding out what had happened and wanting to talk to her, but Nat just couldn’t, not right now. She tried to get it all out of her head, just push it away as she got back to work but the longer she sat there, the more she realized that the cause of the pit of her stomach wasn’t really what was on the internet, it was what was between her and Chris. 

Sure, she was scared, terrified even of what was being posted but deep down she knew what was bothering her more than anything was that conversation with Chris. If he had really talked and listened to her, as they had been almost every single day since he left, she knew that the uneasiness inside her would have faded. All she had wanted from him was the kind of comfort and reassurance that Mark and Jamie had given, showing how much they cared for her, meanwhile Chris had treated her more like a problem that needed to be fixed rather than listened to. Instead of helping her be put back together in a terrifying moment, he had been the cause of yet another way she was falling apart. 

Nat ran a hand through her wild curls, trying to push down all these feelings. Ever since she was a child, she could remember feeling everything and feeling it deeply. Being a highly emotional person had proven at moments to be a struggle and caused her to not be able to see things with a level head, but she was doing her best to look at it clearly, realizing that this probably had been jarring for Chris too and that he was probably short because of his limited time. Deep down, she believed that when she talked to him again, it wouldn’t be that way. But when she was walking out of campus and toward the parking garage, she was about to find out that what she was hoping for wouldn’t come true. 

He forewent a greeting once she answered the call, instead simply asking her, “Are you still at work?” 

Nat ran a hand through her thoroughly-ruined hair, tucking a strand back into the bun as she told him, “I’m just leaving.” 

“Okay, well I talked to Megan and we have a plan,” he began, his voice low as he moved around on the other end. 

She listened, feeling the anxiety and frustration rise at his insistence on how to handle it professionally, not as her partner. Not as someone who is the actor on the multi-million dollar action movie set in France, but as Chris. The guy who sends her dinner as a surprise, wakes up hours before he needs to and calls her so she can hear his voice before bed, and the one who’d been sending her daily countdowns to when he’d be back in Los Angeles and with her. She missed him, and she didn’t want to have to think about how to handle things while taking into account the millions of fans who over-analyzed every swipe of his thumb on his phone. Her frustration flared as she stood in front of his stupid car, the one she’d been borrowing for a little over a week now while her insurance tried to figure out how to handle the carjacking. “Chris, how do I get in this fucking Tesla again?” She asked almost helplessly, close to tears as she stared inside the car, wanting nothing more than to go home and block the rest of the world out with a bottle of wine. 

“Push the back of the door handle and then it’ll pop out.” 

She did as he said, thankful when it worked and she slipped inside, adjusting the seat when it automatically set itself for Chris’ settings. “Why can’t this just have a regular door handle like everything else?” 

He ignored her, instead typing away at something for a moment as she turned the car on and connected her phone to it. Once she began backing out of her spot, he asked her, “No word on your car yet?” 

Nat’s jaw was clenched tightly as she headed towards the exit of the campus, waving vaguely at the security guards as she pulled onto the street. “Not other than the police telling me I probably won’t ever get it back,” she muttered. As if she wasn’t overwhelmed enough, the heartbreak of losing the car she loved so dearly only made the situation worse and caused those tears to blind her vision until she rapidly blinked them back. 

“That's probably the least of our concerns right now,” he dismissed her simply, making Nat want to slam a hand against the wheel as she listened to him, wanting to be doing anything but talking about this right now. “I talked to Megan and my team has a plan.” 

She stared at the road in front of her as she slowed to a stop at the traffic light, eyes locked on the license plate in front of her. Her blue eyes burned with tears as he reminded her of the elephant in the room, the one she’d sworn had all but been standing on her shoulders all day, weighing her down as her hands itched to open up anything – Google, Instagram, Twitter – and search their names, just to get a hint of what was being said. “Chris… I just really want to go home,” she finally whispered, feeling as though the cord inside of her was about to snap at any moment. 

And that’s truly all she wanted. She wanted to just curl up with a blanket and hear his reassuring voice, telling her that it’d be okay and that they’d get through this together. She wanted to hear him acknowledge how hard this was on her instead of treating it like a business deal. She knew that he was used to this stuff, it didn’t shake him the way it shook her and she just wanted him to realize that… to recognize how hard it was on her and that she needed a minute before jumping into some ‘strategy’ for his image. All Nat wanted was for him to show he cared about her and she felt like she was getting everything but that. 

“This will just take a minute. I’ll give you the rundown while you’re driving,” he assured her, his voice nearly booming in the otherwise silent car as she steered it through the intersection and merged onto the freeway to head to San Fernando. It was one thing she swore she’d never get used to with his electric car – the silence while driving. And right now, the silence felt too loud. “So the original post is down already and I’m doing an interview for ASP tomorrow so we’re going to promote that and try to get that to the forefront.”

At his persistence, her shoulders slouched, the low-grade headache that’d been bothering her finally began pounding, and her eyes burned. “Okay,” she relented, instantly wishing she’d never done so. 

“I’m not going to unfollow you on Instagram because it’ll look too fishy, but here’s what we need you to do,” he paused, waiting until she made a noise of agreement, just to say she heard him. “Megan doesn’t want you to like or interact with any of my posts. Make sure you keep everything private on social media and don’t accept new followers. Oh, do you have Facebook?” 

“Yeah but I’m not on it much,” she shook her head, her heart rate increasing as she shifted lanes towards her exit. Wiping away a few stray tears, she admitted to Chris, “I didn’t want Shane to see my stuff so I locked it down a while ago.” 

“Good, so keep it that way,” he plainly stated. But Nat felt like she barely even recognized his voice, the normally present emotions were removed and for the first time since he’d left for Europe, she could feel that vast distance between them. It was as if he was reading things off his work checklist, not talking to someone he cared about who’s entire life just got shaken up and he instead just kept rattling off,  “Then just make sure to remove anyone following you who isn’t really close to you and obviously don’t say anything about it to people you aren’t close with.” 

Nat froze at his words, unable to process it fully. She was thankful that she was close to home, but she was all but furious at his words. He was instructing her – with the advice of someone he paid for, which in itself was something she still couldn’t get used to – to keep quiet. To not tell anyone. And in a few days when she could think rationally, she’d probably admit that it made sense, that it wasn’t extreme given his situation. But to know that this was now the reality of their situation, that they’d hide for months on end either until this happened again and blew any remaining cover… or until it ended them for good. It hurt that they lost their relationship as they knew it, but Nat still struggled with the idea that this was clearly something he was used to… so why didn’t he fucking warn her? 

“Did you get all that?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered, blinking away the tears and wiping her face furiously as she turned into her apartment complex. 

She listened as he let out a sigh before annoyingly pointing out, “You’re not saying much.” 

“I got it, Chris,” she repeated, her voice louder and harsher. She navigated into a parking spot, shifting the gears and leaning back against the seat, wanting nothing more than to just hang up and forget this even happened, but with his own frustrated sigh, she was reminded why she couldn’t. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

Nat knew none of the situation was his fault, but she hated how he handled this. She hated how cold he’d become, how different he was when it turned to his career and she didn’t like it, admitting, “I’m just upset at all of it.” 

“Nat, you have to know I didn’t have anything to do with this,” he insisted, wanting to make her roll her eyes. It felt almost patronizing, as if he wanted to just dismiss her feelings because it wasn’t his fault. 

She took a deep breath, rubbing a hand on her face before vocalizing her true feelings, “No, I get that. I know you didn’t cause it but you’re not really helping to make it any better.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” Chris’ voice sounded incredulous, only heaping on more hurt to Nat’s already bruised emotions when he stated plainly,  “I’m doing everything I can.” 

“Except ask me how I’m doing! This entire conversation has been like a business transaction,” Nat stood up for herself, honestly telling him what was stirring inside of her and reminded Chris that, “I get that you’re used to things like this but I’m not. My whole life just flipped upside down because I was at a party with you. Do you realize how scary that is?” 

“That’s why I’m trying to make this better! Why don’t you understand that?” His words only upset her more with how he completely missed her point and seemed to only look at how this was affecting him. 

“I know this is out of your control, Chris. I’m not asking you to fix it, I just wanted you to…” Nat trailed off as the hot tears brimming at her eyes started rolling down her cheeks, her voice cracking when she finished in a voice barely above a whisper, “...care about me.” 

“I do!” He insisted, nearly shouting himself. The tone of his voice only brought more tears to Nat’s eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself in self protection and squeezed her eyes shut. “You should be able to see that what I’m doing to try to make this better is because of you!” 

He let his words hang, silent and panting after his outburst. She couldn’t believe him, couldn’t believe the way he seemed as though she should thank him for this shitshow, thank him for the thousands of teenagers who suddenly wanted a peek into her life, who didn’t understand boundaries and what private means. She hated it, hated the spotlight he commanded, the world he’d grown to accept. But it didn’t mean she had to. 

“Look…” she finally found her voice after a long moment, telling Chris, “I’m going home tomorrow morning for Ella’s birthday and staying in Seattle for the weekend and I think it would be good if I had some time to think.” 

“That’s fucking it?” 

Nat almost wanted to laugh, completely floored by his response and she plainly stated, “My face just got plastered all over the internet, Chris. I think I deserve some time to think.” 

“Fine,” Chris’ tone was so clipped she barely recognized it, but the knife that was already in her heart felt as if it got twisted when he threw out, “I’m going back to Boston for a few weeks after filming. I’ll see you at the end of July, maybe.” 

Without more than a scoff, he hung up the phone, leaving Nat to sit in his car, then head up to her apartment, past the cameras he’d paid for, unlock the door with the new lock he had installed, and head into the kitchen… only to see the flowers he’d sent her. Chris. Not the Chris that had been angry, screaming at her on the phone just now, but the one she felt sick over losing. The one she felt like she no longer knew. 

A/N: DON'T KILL US! We have part two of this chapter coming on THURSDAY so we hope you'll come back to read it!

[forbidding-souda]

Hello, been lurking for awhile, figured its time I send an ask to one of the best Danganronpa blogs I've found. I'd like to kindly request Junko, Mukuro, Miu, and Mikan with an Ultimate Mad Scientist SO.

When I say Mad Scientist, I mean the Jekyll and Hyde chaotic energy type, whose totally willing to experiment in the most sketchy ways.

Thank you so so much in advance, take all the time you need because I know whatever wait there is will be worth it.

Junko Enoshima, Mukuro Ikusaba, Miu Iruma, and Mikan Tsumiki with the SHSL Mad Scientist S/O

happy forth of july

Tbh I need to read that strange case of jekyll and hyde book mmmm my mom loves that character

And thank you for waiting!! And thank you for reading my stuff. Here it is, I hope you like it, I love you <3

currently watching: white chicks

✯✯✯✯✯

-Mod Souda

✯✯✯✯✯

Junko Enoshima

✯ It's the type of vibe she desires in somebody. The lack of restraint and the weak sense of ethics makes her reminisce: you have the personality she has wanted in a partner ever since she was a child. Before she even approached you she would watch you from afar, as she is an observer and always has been. You are just so authentic and so very interesting. When the two of you were in class together she would sit at her desk with her chin in her palm, watching you sit at yours. You'd tap the pencil against your lips in thought - the thought never had anything to do with the lecture. You were always planning, she guessed. She knew what you were planning, of course she did, but she always wanted to hear it from your lips.

You put your fist ontop your open hand, mischief in your smile before you motion to play rock-paper-scissors. Her own smile grows. Are you really going to play against her? She thinks about it a little harder. Playing rock paper scissors with her is equivalent to asking her for her final say. With her analytical skills, she decides who wins and loses, therefore it is nothing like a game of chance. You know that, and she knows you know that. "Fists first." Your smile never fades. She repeats it with less enthusiasm. You win, of course, and you bounce in joy. "Oh, that's excellent," you glance around. "That means I get to mix the concoction, okay, stand back with the shield in case it explodes."

✯ She always helps you get away with shit. This means that she will both assist you in carrying out a project and assist in getting you out of trouble.

✯ She is 100% your number one fan, though. You'll be showing her this amazing chemical (definitely not toxic) cloud you can make and suddenly she's holding up a 10[/10] sign.

✯ Talks about you a lot to other people.

✯ Though, she does use some of your concoctions for evil, especially the ones of the dissolving sorts. Or she gives some to "Chikatilo~" for some event you're not informed of.

✯ Every day you step into your lab and find something missing. You don't worry about it. You know she is up to no good, and that is a valid reason.

.

Mukuro Ikusaba

✯ She was used to surrounding herself with chaotic energy. You differed, however, because you actually offered her a house filled with love. A house of contravening can also be a sanctuary in which she is welcomed. There's something alluring about you, your unpredictable energy and your passion are things she likes. Even when the two of you were first in class together, mere strangers, she noticed your passion, and it put her into deep thought. Is she passionate about her SHSL, or does she just indulge in it because she is good at it? She looks up to you!

When she walks in on you holding one of her guns, she does hesitate for a second - a second - but it goes unnoticed by you, as by the time you notice her she's already continuing with what her goal was. She talks without even looking at you. "What's the idea with this one?" "Well, I'm so glad you asked." With your finger off the trigger you playfully point the gun at her, and as if she had a third eye, she glances over at that exact moment. You continue: "do you think I can create an acid that can dissolve a bullet faster than it flies?" She comes and takes the gun from you, examining the model before pointing it at the wall. Her finger twitches on the trigger. "Hmmm..." She seems to be in deep thought. "Maybe... Do you want to try?"

✯ If you accidentally launch something into the air, she can catch it very quickly. You can throw vials at her and she will be able to catch them before they shatter.

✯ ^ The gloves she wears are very valuable.

✯ ^ You always grab her hand and lead her over while you're in the middle of working, and she doesn't worry about being put in danger because god damnit she is wearing these gloves for a reason.

✯ When she feels as if she is missing you she will go to the little lab you have set up in the house and she will scold you for working so hard (a lie to get you to hang out with her).

✯ She will sometimes hide in the shadows and just watch you work.

✯ ^ The way you will randomly smile to yourself is unsettling.

.

Miu Iruma

✯ You bet your ass she did everything she could to try and seduce you. The two of you were like magnets. She almost felt as if she needed you, as if being with you would be the final puzzle piece that would finish her project of living the ideal life. She needed somebody who could understand her at a psychological level, and not just somebody who will think she's amusing and be supportive. When she explains her ideas to you, you look at her with excited eyes and share other suggestions that she can bounce off of. She has never met somebody who indulges in her crazy ideas. She has never met somebody who never hesitates when it comes to being a person she can depend on.

You look over at her, stopping and holding the turkey baster, trying to carefully put a totally controlled amount into the tiny container. When the noise stops you continue, holding your breathe as you hold your face close to the counter.

But there the noise is again: her loudly slurping her noodles. You glance over.

She is looking right at you.

"Miu."

"Yeah?"

You blink.

When you try and finish your project, she just starts slurping again.

"Alright," you put your stuff down and jump on her, not caring if you spill any of the food.

✯ You are absolutely brilliant and it drives her crazy sometimes. The two of you will get into an argument and it is hilarious because she is stubborn, and you are always right, so it doesn't go hand in hand.

✯ She looks at you with love blazing in her eyes, and sometimes it weirds you out. She will notice the expression on your face and then say some brash joke.

✯ There aren't many layers to the relationship and she is happy for that. She doesn't want to feel as if her partner is peeling her back layer by layer, she wants to feel as if all the layers have melted together. She isn't a bundle of different traits, she is herself. You get that.

✯ Tbh sometimes when you're working on something she'll probably just purposely spill something all over you just to try and convince you to take off your clothes mmm.

✯ Probably jokes about chemicals and brain hormones. I'm not smart enough to think on one myself.

.

Mikan Tsumiki

✯ She relates to you a bit. She understands the need to go beyond rules and regulation in the name of discovering new things. Does she go through with it? Not really. She'd never hurt anybody on purpose, but if they were already hurt, then what's the harm? You can see that in her. The admiration she looks at you with goes beyond any verbal sense of agreement or any opposing thoughts of compliancy. Still, sometimes she questions it. Why do you chose to do this, or words that go along those lines.

✯ Oh, if you don't stop stealing her syringes. She even hid the needles, the different gauges she has, but you then got your own. Whenever she tries to sneak into your lab to take them back, she always bumps into something and falls.

✯ She will often just quietly sit in the corner of your lab and study. The reason she will do this is simple: she wants to be around you.

✯ But yeah, sometimes you set her up for failure by asking her to carry some potion into the kitchen (knowing she might drop it). It's never something hazardness, but whenever she leaves the room you are just waiting for that clatter and yelp.

✯ You never see her move as fast as when she dodges your hand when you reach out to her with your dirty hands. She knows a bit about bacteria and contamination, and she does not know about asbestos and lead.

[simplyclary]

The Flash: Start With War, End With Love

(Photo credits: The CW)

[WARNING: MAJOR Spoilers ahead for the Season 7 finale of The Flash "Heart of the Matter Part 2"]

Okay, to kickstart things, let me just say that this has got to be my most favorite finale of all the finales of the show. I lost my voice screaming, drained my eyes crying and fangirled my heart out the entire time. This episode just had me off my seat the entire time. But hold that for a moment, let's back up here.

Aired yesterday, July 20, 2021, was the 151th episode and the finale of the 7th season of the hit CW series "The Flash" and it was a finale that had fans excited and emotional.

The episode started where last week's episode left off, with Barry (Grant Gustin) inside the mind of August Heart, a.k.a Godspeed (guest star Karan Oberoi), to figure out his entire agenda. In a conversation scene, Heart revealed to Barry that he wanted organic speed because he wanted to be faster than Barry's son Bart (guest star Jordan Fisher). When Barry finally woke up, he told his entire team, including August, what he had witnessed inside, which left August devastated and worried for his future.

The GodSpeed clone wars (aha, a little Star Wars reference there) was still ongoing, and Barry had to find a way to stop this once and for all, while ensuring that there would be no casualties. He then got the help of fellow speedster Jay Garrick (guest star John Wesley Shipp) and the human form of the speedforce, Nora (guest star Michelle Harrison). His children Bart and Nora (guest star Jessica Parker Kennedy) and the love of his life Iris (Candice Patton) also joined in the fray of speedsters. With the knowledge of what they are about to face, Speedforce Nora gave them a little boost of speed and they all sped into action, with Mecha-Vibe (Carlos Valdes) and Frost (Danielle Panabaker) as backup.

With all speedsters all boosted up, a fight scene ensued, with all the speedsters displaying various abilities. Bart firing "shurikens" out of his lightning, Nora using her "lightning lasso", Jay going Captain America, throwing his helmet like a shield, Speedforce Nora snapping away lightning at the clones, Barry and Iris fighting back to back. This scene seriously gave me Avengers: Endgame flashbacks. Of course, let us not forget Chester (Brandon McKnight) talking Allegra (Kayla Compton) into aiding the speedsters with her microwave blasts.

Just when I thought it was all well and done, August Heart gained access to his dormant abilities through a "Tachyon-Enhancing" device with a little organic speed boost from Barry and he became GodSpeed, which is a lot badder than the clones. He then fought Barry, and when Barry thought he was going to be zapped to death, Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh) showed up. What had me crying the second time was when a fight in the style of the famous "Duel of the Fates" scene from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace ensued between Flash, Reverse-Flash and Godspeed. All of them wielded "lightning sabers" and fought each other. GodSpeed was only defeated when Reverse Flash stabbed him. Guess that's goodbye for now. Barry also showed his full speed to his arch-nemesis, which also started a mini fight between the two speedsters.

The most magical and emotional moment of the episode was probably when the titular couple of the show, Barry and Iris renewed their vows, with Bart, taking after his father, serenaded the lovely couple with a sweet song. Cisco also officiated the renewal of vows and it ended with a sweet kiss that is filled with love. This renewal of vows scene honestly had me bawling because I admit that I'm a weakling when it comes to proposals, weddings and reunions. Plus, the whole season, fans haven't gotten a West-Allen kiss and I'm glad they saved a kiss for the very end of the season.

Honestly, there is not a show who can bring joy to me more than The Flash. I have been so attached to the characters that I get really happy every time I see them happy. I pray that this show will last until season 10 or beyond, because I can't imagine my life without this show. Kudos to all the cast and crew who put so much dedication and hard work to this show.

I cannot say more about this episode rather than it is a perfect way to end the season. So far, there are no cliffhangers that will give a hint as to what Season 8 will give, but I'm willing to wait for the premiere of the next season to find out what's next.

This is how you end a season, folks. Start it rough, full of war and being separated from one another, yet at the end, everything will fall into place and love, forgiveness and peace will remain victorious.

Watch out for the 8th season of The Flash airing November 16th at 8/7 central on the CW.

[galenfeadraws]

Lower-case p for the Fan Joy July thank-you gift for @kikker-oma. The silent princess was the first thing I decided to do when I was asked to do a p, since it could be framed by the letter. The letter itself is in insular miniscule script (one of my favourites) and the detail on the down-stroke is modelled after the Z in the Breath of the Wild logo. The frog was a last-minute idea because the top looked bare and I know Oma likes frogs, so I added a hot-footed frog from Breath of the Wild.

Today's challenges: silent princess, frog.

31st July 2024

And with my usual boilerplate out of the way...

I've never done something like this before, but wanted to give it a try even though I'm shy and irrationally worried about sending someone a piece of art I drew. It was a huge challenge that got me drawing complicated pictures I never would have thought I could (a whole action scene! Hugs! Weird perspective stuff with whole figures! I had to actually draw feet!). I'm really glad that Oma came up with the idea and invited others to join - including me, bringing in some fics from outside the LU fandom!

Thank you again, Oma, and also thanks to @luna-lovegreat for organising this collage project :)

@nancyheart11 next!

@kikker-oma

Happy Fan Joy July, Oma!!!

Oma, thank you so so much for making Fan Joy July and sharing it with us! Our fandom, our artists, writers, readers, etc have loved seeing or taking part in this crazy challenge.

This is our gift to thank you- from artists all around who were affected by, or got gifts from, or took part in Fan Joy July. We all love you so much- so we made letters/art for this (Zelda themed!). Many said that they had already wanted to make/write you something, and this gave an opportunity.

One of the things I've loved about this month is how community/interaction centered you made it. The challenge was for yourself to make art each day (you absolute maniac /affectionate)- but then others joined. This July we saw or made art or fics with recommendations. Every day you made art for a writer with a scene from one of their fics, and inspired others to do the same, and writers even wrote every day for an artist based off an art piece they made! This led to a month of gift giving- everyone interacting and getting love for creating.

You truly led to a month of Joy for a lot of loz/lu fans- making the name "Fan Joy July" quite accurate

Thank you, Oma

Thank you for the gifts you gave all of us and the way you inspire others

Additional ramblings and art credits below the cut :P

I'm so grateful to all my artists who stepped up so we could do this when I asked- almost 36 hours and 19 artists. The art is like patchwork, with all these different styles, both traditional and digital put together. But that's exactly what happened- we all got drawn together, just like the other month-long challenges. It's so cool how art always connects people.

The artists who participated are @zolanort @la-sera @nancyheart11 @galenfeadraws @shade-pup-cub @arecaceae175 @isasan347 @ghosthoard @smilesrobotlover @unexpectedstormy @skyloftian-nutcase @knight-of-aether @uniquevoidflowers @jinxedruby @windwakingwhale @skyward-floored @xaeorian @blarefordaglare and me Thank you to all of you- You are all so cool and I'm glad! If I accidentally missed tagging or listing someone please let me know I'm so scared of if that happened djskdjdkd

There are letters based off of the colours/theme of each of the Lu boys- it's mainly Zelda and linkeduniverse themed... but we couldn't not have frogs for Oma! I did a frog, his name is Froggy and I'm very proud.

Here's a picture with a list of who did what-

Normally I would apologise for my handwriting, but you guys would just tell me it looks good anyways and honestly it does look good. :D Sorry for the ink splotches tho, and I hope you can read it.

We did this for you, Oma, because... well you are awesome /gen. You gave us the opportunity for a great month and we wanted to say thank you for all the joy you brought us so... thank you :)

Art :D

As for everyone who said they wanted to talk to Oma or other Fan Joy July artists who they loved sharing this month with... feel free to tag and share in the reblogs. Share the joy I guess- there's enough to go around :D

Happy Fan Joy July, Oma :))

[julies-butterflies]

I can't tell whether you're just really good at describing people or making fan casts because holy shit, that is EXACTLY how I pictured them, Nicky especially. He is precious!!! All I want to do is hug him! So so badly. Wow, Ethan really does look like his dad. And the twins!!!!! Ohhh they're adorable! Erica and Nicky... I love them so much. Nicky being such a wonderful father is so powerful. Him remembering Reggie never fails to destroy me. The end of regenisis haunts me. I swear, I've read the whole thing at least 6 times and every time, it hits hard.

And yeah, that Nicky and Reggie prompt was me. Shocking, I know. I wish I could tell you how many prompts I sent in, but honestly, I don't even remember at this point. I kind of freaked out when you opened prompts, and impulsively sent as many as I could think of.

(Oh yeah, I also sent in the Julie and Carrie and the Alex and Reggie prompts. And I loved them both so so much. But that tends to be a given with your writing. I'd read your grocery lists dude, I'm sure they'd be riveting)

off topic, but! I checked out your playlists! "All I've Ever Known" is SUCH a jukebox song, I was happy to see it there! I'm curious, do you happen to have any songs that you associate with any of your universes? I like linking songs to stories, plus, you have great taste in music.

Anyways I'm still lowkey screaming about your update tonight!!!! That was seriously so good. I love how you write Julie and Carrie's relationship SO SO MUCH. You just get the nuance of that tension, the awkwardness, that specific flavor of pain so well. I'm so glad the band is getting gigs! The boys plans to haunt Carrie are hysterical. They are such himbos. I love that premise and how you executed it so so much.

I didn't even think about the POSSIBILITY of you writing something for the Pattersons in that universe! When I tell you that I have literally been thinking about that all day, I mean it! Oh my god. OH my god I am not ready. I am going to sob through it, I just know. Your Patterson pieces are just...god I don't even know where to begin. You write them EXACTLY how I imagined their relationship the first time I watched the show. Emily and Luke's relationship is utterly fascinating to me, and you just find all the little things, all the broken pieces that make up the tragedy and pick through them to create the most stunning character studies. I'm so excited ( and terrified) to see what you do. And I've never seen anyone explore the messy possibilities such a revelation would bring, and I've been thinking about that since I watched the show and now YOU'RE WRITING IT and I shall scream with joy.

I've seen you talk about your sister before and i'm so sorry for your loss. The catharsis is clear, the emotions in everything you write... There's just so much love in your stories. There's so much power, so much honesty and understanding. It feels like you're sharing your heart with us. That's the only way I can think to put it.

With love,

-Vampire Anon

oh god, vampire anon, you're going to kill me!! i just... thank you so much. thank you. a little piece of my heart goes into every story i write... and these past few months, it's been almost a relief to give some of them away.

you know that feeling when you've broken a glass, or a figurine, and there's just... pieces everywhere? tiny shards, jagged little fragments, and you think to yourself "... okay. maybe i can fix the bigger pieces, i can put it back together close to what it was before, but i don't know what to do with all these little, painful pieces?" and every time you touch them, they jab you, and you regret it??

that's what i've felt like, and writing has helped me get rid of those awful pieces. i'm thinking specifically, like... if i didn't know better, probably magic, cuts like broken glass. those are the pieces i'm most proud of, i think... the most cathartic ones?? like, regenesis (specifically the chapters where they're dealing with "reggie might be dying, can we really let him go") was so cathartic for me, because it really mirrored losing my sister. it's... funny what comes out when you need it to the most.

being able to look back at a painful period of life and see something you've accomplished, something worth being proud of... something that didn't just make you happy, but spread joy to other people?? like... being able to make people laugh, and cry, and feel so deeply that they connect with every word in a story... that's the gift of a writer, i think, and it's insanely powerful!

okay, so listen, i'm gonna take a while with the prompts (slow bitch with 20 wips here) but they will all get done!! hopefully they'll all be pretty good, or at least entertaining lol.

i've been working a lot on the carrie fic right now --- the outline is all finished, it's freaking going places! let me tell you, there's gonna be so much himbo activity (with a huge focus on female friendships, and repairing that painful rift between carrie, flynn, and julie!! and a bit of soul stealing, potential character death, and general spookiness in there). hopefully it will actually get finished!!

and i, uhh... threw another patterson fic out there today, so hope you're doing alright, baenon.