#also fuck that guy who kept using the term 'grill'

[cartoonsareawesme]

HCs of the Day - WTTT

Texas

Has a passion for cooking that he keeps low key. The others see him as just being a fan of practicality(one has to know how to cook)

As religious as this man is, I've heard my papaw swear up a storm when he's frustrated at a machine so this man Knows curse words and Will use them when something isn't going his way.

Resident handyman.

Mainly because while he respects trade persons, he only trusts himself to fix something if it's broken.

If they have to hire someone and he feels like they're getting swindled then he busts out haggling prices. Have you ever seen someone haggle like an old man looking for the deal he was promised and he actually knows his stuff? That. They may have to make a living too, but he doesn't like people cheating him out of dimes and quarters. He'll just hire them again for something else if he likes their work.

His favorite meal is cornbread and brisket. But the man also likes a good, rare steak and greens.

Can play a medley of instruments.

Can also sing.

No one knows that other talent though.

He would sing to his animals back home and on the range way back when.

Likes the movie "Home on the Range" and Golden Girls

He'll proudly say that second one too, fuck y'all he likes those ladies. They're great.

Do not play board games with him, he's unfairly good at them.

He's absolute trash at video games though.

"What does this button do? -sprints of the edge of the world- ...."

Colorado might need Help in his opinion but he likes his company, surprisingly.

Love hate relationship with Alaska. He's free to walk into his room! That's friendship.

Definitely not the grill guy at cookouts, he's arranging the sports. Like volleyball or football.

Definitely daddy issues but since Florida has a "mama and them" i think other states could as well. Texas doesn't have a good dad.

He isn't on the best of terms with Mexico but he doesn't outright hate her, she wasn't bad to him.

He keeps up pretenses around others though lest they start thinking he's "soft".

Has an obsession with appearing strong and manly.

Because of this he has a very muddled idea of what a man should Be. Just. In general. To him, the ideal guy is someone who is strong, physically. The emotions are important, sure, but to be too soft is inviting trouble, either for people to insult you for or to take advantage of you with.

He's confident that he has mastered this but then he has his moments where it just pops out("then why doesn't my dad love me")

He follows so many livestock youtube pages! So many. He regularly has 100s of videos in his notifs.

This song reached my radar this year and it's Texas vibes:

He's got a lot of mechanical prowess, he's kept his truck running for ten years. It's a shit heel but it's his truck and you can fight him if you want to replace it.

He doesn't like California. For political reasons, yeah, obviously, but also because the guy is just. The antithesis to everything that Texas is. Evangelical / Stopped reading the bible. Bible Thumping Red State / Opinionated, That™ Ally, Blue State. Yeah. They're too similar to get along often. They can get along sometimes! But that's scary so we don't talk about that.

[icyxmischief]

Loki Ep 1 Pt 2

Blow by blow review, take 2: 

--The “sign this to verify that this is everything you’ve ever said” thing is genuinely hilarious.  I find it a little unlikely that he wouldn’t have ultra-suspiciously, with great characteristic paranoia, looked through every single page, and grilled the guy with the cat for info on where he was.  Little bit ooc for humor there, which is a major pet peeve of mine. 

--”Do a lot of people not know if they’re robots?” Okay this part was great bc it showcased Loki’s natural propensity to get into trouble because he’s such a curious cat and intellect, lol. 

--His scorn with “take a ticket” when only two variants are in the room is also very IC because Loki despises order without logical reason.  Order for its own sake is dangerous and oppressive and heyyyyy a lot like Thanos’s idea of a universe, ain’t it. 

--The All-Knowing Time-Keepers ended a timeline war, huh? H M m m m m M m m . They destroyed the capacity for nexus event and a multi-verse to exist huhhhhh? H M M M M M M M M .  Do I smell the potential for many Lokis from many Marvel canon verses, among other things? 

--

BITCH ME TOO, THE FUCK. 

--Okay I know everyone hates the logo but I kind of love how it is as fluid as Loki himself? A shape shifter? A master of magic and illusion? I’m sorry to all the graphic designers out there but I’m digging it for Conceptual Art reasons lol. 

--I’m sensing that if the French kid in 1549 thinks a horned devil caused a massacre in a church, this is evidence of Loki escaping the TVA to jump into the 1500s in France to cause mayhem. A bit predictable and I am hoping otherwise, but he IS Loki, “between damnation and redemption” at all hours.

--Owen Wilson’s character is strongly established as a good guy from the start.  

--”Madam, a god doesn’t plea.” Biiiiiiiiiitch yasssss.

--OHO he figured out the Avengers were time-traveling already, sharp. The reason why, he’s so far off that one must cringe for his fall from pride to come. 

--His laugh, that’s all. 

--”Hang on, everyone quiet, don’t rush me,” lol <3  Not a fan that once again he’s not allowed to use his full powers except within a contained system, but I’ll take it.  For now. 

--”You ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how my story ends.”   Wahoo if this series and character have a thesis statement, there it is.  Loki, God of Stories, forger of his own fate even when all tides run against it. 

--Loki doubting the reality of the TVA is an interesting hint into how much illusion was used to torture him as well as his own hyper reliance on illusion to protect himself. 

--Loki assuming Agent Mobius wants to kill him when Mobius is just showing him kindness is soooooooo revelatory of where Loki is psychologically right now.

--He still has his trademark swagger :D 

--”For the record this really does feel like a killing me kind of a room,” LOL, I love it, they’ve somehow kept his sense of humor spot-on! 

--”Trust is for children,” ahhhh kono kokoro. 

--”I live within whatever path I choose.” Ah, Loki, I wish you could, but is it so simple? 

--The fact that he tries to kill Mobius immediately and Mobius stops him while being fair and level-headed? I’m really liking Mobius. He’s the dare I say friend Loki has needed for a long time. 

--[Cooperation is] not my forte.” “Really, even when you’re wooing someone powerful you intend to betray?” Oho, okay Mobius, how long have you been serving as the metonymic stand-in for Loki’s fandom “army” and watching him grow and change  and self-sacrifice in the intended timeline? How well do you know him? You seem to know a lot, and that may be a good thing. You could be his advocate.

--”KING OF WHAT EXACTLY?” OH DAMN YES, MOBIUS, KEEP GOING.

--”WHY DOES SOMEONE WITH SO MUCH RANGE JUST WANNA RULE?” TFW A MARVEL CHARACTER HAS READ MY BLOG??????? YES?????? VINDICATION???????

--HE IS LITERALLY UNRAVELING THE TOXIC IDEOLOGY FORCED INTO LOKI UNDER THANOS???? ABOUT THE “LIE OF FREEDOM”?????? THIS IS AMAZING????

--”I don’t have to play this game. I’m a god.” Oh honey. Put the hackles down now, it’s okay.  You have far more heart than that, and far more accountability.

----Allowing Loki to see his entire “correct” (gulp) timeline (and God help us all if the end of this series involves him choosing to die in order to “fix the timeline,” I will RIOT if we get one more cheap “you’re only redeemed if you die horribly” growth arc for a morally ambiguous character) was the most important thing for me as a Loki fan of 10 years.  Allowing him to weep openly, to come to terms with the loss of his mother and the (too little too late, but at least extant) apology of his father, and, most of all, the potential to regain camaraderie with his brother, this was all that I wanted. A Loki allowed to flex his own muscles in his own limelight, no longer defined by what he lacks, but by what he can uniquely offer (even if in the “service” of an ethically dubious authority).  A Loki who KNOWS how much his brother has suffered and grieved but who still has his own freedom.I am admittedly optimistic.  The tone of the show is excellent.  My only fear at this point is a sacrificial death ending. Hopefully Loki will machinate a way to survive without breaking the universe with his divergent timelines, lol. Perhaps that’s the whole purpose of the plot going forward.

[mythicalcanary-literature]

FanFiction - Crossing the Stars

Hetalia (c) Hidekaz Himaruya

FTL: Faster Than Light (c) Subset Games

[CHAPTER LIST]

Author’s Note: This FanFiction is a crossover between the sci-fi strategy game ‘FTL: Faster Than Light’ by Subset Games and the manga/anime called ‘Hetalia’ by Hidekaz Himaruya. The story will follow closely to the events of the rougue-like gameplay in FTL and the human characters will be replaced with the human versions of the national personifications in ‘Hetalia’. This is a fun personal project and it requires no knowledge of either fandom to enjoy this story. I’d encourage checking the original sources out though! Use of screenshots in this FanFiction are to supplement the storytelling to help plot the course of our heroes’ journey in the universe. Whatever the outcome of the gameplay I base this story on (as each playthrough is very unique) will be translated into the plot of this story. i.e. If the spaceship gets damaged, it gets damaged in the story. If a character dies in the game, they’re dead in this fiction. (Please note that I find this kind of storytelling entertaining to play/write and I plan to do more in the future if time allows!)

Chapter 2

The crew of the S.S. APH pondered their options. At the Exit Beacon of their first Civilian Sector they had a choice on where to jump. Both branching sectors were civilian areas, one was under Engi Control and the other under Zoltan Control.

Captain Alfred F. Jones brought up the file on the Engi species. “It says here that Engi dudes are made of nanomachines. That’s pretty damn sweet! Maybe we could get them to be our mechanics?”

Arthur Kirkland, the weapons master, pulled up the file on their second option, the Zoltans. “Apparently both the Engi and Zoltans are allies. We could encounter either species in either sector so we have a coin toss here. Zoltans are energy beings, meaning that they can act as a kind of battery to save us some engine power. That’s rather handy.”

Their engines expert Francis Bonnefoy hummed in approval. “Now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind having either of those creatures on board. An expert mechanic? A spare battery, pardon ze term… and if we can encounter them in any of these two sectors I don’t think we could lose.” 

“It says that the Engi are secret allies of the Federation. That bodes very well for us. Provided the Rebels haven’t corrupted them, of course,” Arthur added thoughtfully.

Their American Captain beamed. “Hell yeah! I guess that means the Zoltan dudes are allies as well. Can’t go wrong here.”

Arthur coughed. “Actually, if we enter Zoltan territory and we’re attacked by hostiles whom have a Zoltan Energy Shield we could face problems. Those energy shields are a bitch to destroy. We need to avoid as many problematic scenarios as possible.”

“Agreed,” the Frenchman said quickly. “I am still shaken from ze last battles.”

“Engi Controlled then?” Alfred suggested. “Back to your stations! Let’s get this important cargo on the move!”

A cautionary message popped up on Alfred’s monitor. It warned them that Mantis had been preying on the Engi core worlds and those insectoids were a rather violent race. He hoped for a peaceful voyage this go-round. He programmed in the next jump, reluctantly avoiding the temptation of visiting the store located at a nearby beacon. If they could harvest more scrap maybe they could invest in some more kickass weaponry or upgrades!

A rather disgruntled British voice chimed over the announcement system. “OH FUCKING HELL!” As tempted as the Captain was to discourage swearing, he allowed it in this case. Out of the frying pan and into the literal fire!

Francis gasped, staring out of his nearby airlock window at the super-giant Class M star! They were too close, they were going to cook like that rather delicious duck l’orange he made for his crew before they left the Federation space port back home. “Oh non non non!”

DANGER! SOLAR FLARES! DANGER! SOLAR FLARES! DANGER!

“Incoming dumbass Pirate Scout ship! Kirkland lock weapons on their shields and weapons rooms before we grill like a BBQ!” Captain Jones commanded as he anxiously kept an eye on their FTL Drive charge. He really did think those pirates were dumbasses, who dares lurk around a giant star to attack passersby at the risk of setting their own ship alight? Idiots.

The S.S. APH successfully damaged the pirate ship but the enemy return shot rocked the weapons room. FIRE!

Arthur hardly knew what hit him, but the searing heat was enough of a tip-off to tell him that if he didn’t move right now he was going to die. Scrambling to his feet, he reached for the fire extinguisher and tried to combat the flames. This was very bad.

His best friend’s voice hailed him over the comms. “Artie, get out of there! I’m gonna open the airlocks to snuff out the fire. Go literally anywhere where you have oxygen.”

“Aye, sir!” he acknowledged, coughing from the smoke as he fled to the shields room. The portside and starboard side airlocks shot open along with a couple of doors into the weapons room draining the air rapidly to deny the fire any fuel.

As soon as the fire was out, Alfred closed all of the doors. That was all kinds of horrible. The pirate ship was repairing and had shields online. If they could get their weapons…

The super-giant Class M star wanted in on the action. It stretched a solar flare right out to the warring ships!

WARNING! SHIELDS CRITICAL!

Good thing Kirkland kept that fire extinguisher. Fire seemed to be following him today. Alfred sighed from the Bridge and called his crew. “Artie, get out of shields, I’ll open the starboard airlocks. Bonnefoy! Assist Kirkland in weapons, we need to get those back online.”

“Aye-aye, Captain!”

In the weapons room, Arthur and Francis united to repair the systems. The Frenchman quickly pulled his on-and-off frienemy into a hug and checked him for injuries. “Mon Dieu! I am happy you aren’t too badly hurt. Ze shields are down, we have to work quickly. Are you well?”

Arthur huffed and pushed him away. “Yes, I’m fine. Let’s get to work before more fire follows me.” He was feeling a little paranoid that he had pissed off a sun god or some crap like that.  They had to get away.

The pirates were fighting well! They destroyed their surveillance system, not that it was a vital system at this point in time but it was extra hull damage that our heroes could not afford to take. “Bonnefoy! Shields are broken, meet me there. Artie, I see weapons are online, stay there and give them hell!”

Give them hell indeed! The Englishman dealt the deathblow to the pirates and was glad to dust his hands of the bastards. Unfortunately the star was not done with them and heavily damaged their oxygen systems and the weapons room again. The battle was won but the war wasn’t over!

“I’m off to repair O2!” Arthur announced as he fled from his post at weapons to stop them from suffocating. Alfred acknowledged. “Francis, join him! Get the oxygen back online, we can repair other things later but our ship can’t handle more of this. I’m gonna jump us away!”

“Oui! Please get us out of here, I am sweaty and it’s gross.” The pair split directions and Alfred slammed in the co-ordinates of their next destination at the Bridge. If this was what was in the stars for them in this sector they might not live to see the end and that thought was terrifying.

The next leap took them to an existing battle between a Mantis ship harassing a small Engi research vessel. Alfred was almost ready to command an intervention but the insectoids fled as they entered their space. The Engi Captain hailed them, offering thanks for showing up, and gave the S.S. APH a new drone schematic.

Captain Jones gasped in awe. “OH SHIT YEAH! A BOARDING DRONE?! YEEEEEAH!”

His friends joined him on the Bridge. Arthur blinked in surprise. “A Boarding Drone? Wow, that’s powerful tech! Too bad we don’t have a drone room.”

“Dudes, we get one! Or we can sell it if we can’t, whatever, but damn, those Engi guys were nice.”

Francis stretched. “Let’s keep moving, mes amis. Ze Rebels are always on our tails.”

Arthur beamed. A Boarding Drone? That would be fun to use against the Rebel Fleet.

“Alright, dudes, you’re gonna hate me for this, but I’m gonna backtrack to the store. Our hull is fucked and if we can get a drone room to use this fancy-ass tech we’re sure as hell getting it!” Arthur chided him for his horrible use of the English language but agreed that the risk might be worth it. Their hull was already fifty percent damaged, it could spell death if they carried on without fixing it.

Luck turned in their favour! Alfred authorised the purchase of the new drone room to house the Boarding Drone, and it also came with a free Defence Drone Mark I! Bargain. They spent the rest of their scrap on hull repairs and moved on to the next beacon.

They backtracked to an earlier beacon and leapt right on towards the distress signal. Captain Jones listened to the plea and cringed. Oh boy, this was not a pretty distress call but he didn’t feel that they could risk a rescue mission. He called his crew to the Bridge to make an informed decision.

Francis peered through the window in surprise. “It’s an evacuation.”

Alfred hailed the fleeing vessels. “Yo, this is Captain Jones of the Federation Star Ship APH, what’s the sitch?”

Arthur glared at him for once again disregarding etiquette. He ignored his friend.

One of the fleeing ships responded; “Help! We’re being overrun by some sort of giant alien spiders!”

The Frenchman squealed. “WHAT? That’s disgusting! Call pest control!”

Arthur whacked him across the head. “I think literally anyone coming to their aid IS pest control.”

Alfred winced. “Giant alien spiders? Seriously?”

The fleeing ship yelled, “Help us or flee yourselves! Those things are evil!”

Arthur bit his lip. “Sending an away team isn’t advisable, Alfred. I don’t think we can afford to waste more time with the Rebels on our heels and we don’t know what we’re up against.”

Francis nodded. “Oui, I say we go. They’re already evacuating, we should stay ze course.”

The young Captain sighed and agreed resolutely. “Yeah, you’re totally right. Back to your stations, we have a mission to complete!”

“Heads-up, all! We’re navigating an asteroid field.” Alfred paused and checked the radar. “Incoming pirates! Kirkland, power down the Artemis missile and channel it into the drones. I’m gonna power down the medbay to support the Defence Drone, it’s gonna take out the asteroids for us.” Arthur switched the power routes and confirmed that the drone was ready.

“Ah shoot, it looks like we’ve got another coward on our hands. Enemy vessel is powering up its FTL Drive!”

“I’ve destroyed their weapons, sir!” Arthur replied, prepared to change tactics. “Thank God for this drone, it’s stopping the asteroids from striking us. Their hull is weak, the pirates won’t last long.”

True to his word, the pirates perished soon after and they could reap the rewards. There was no time to spare, they had to continue the journey!

“Hey, dudes! We have a Rebel Auto douche here with a sweet cache. Let’s attack it and steal its shit.”

Arthur audibly sighed over the comms system. “Is that an order, Captain or are you daydreaming aloud?”

“HAHAHAHA! Shut it and fire up the weapons, bro.”

“How the hell did you earn your Captain’s badge again?” he asked rhetorically.

“By bein’ a HERO, of course! Fire up!”

“I’ve taken out their weapons, Captain!” Sadly, that wasn’t enough to stop an enemy missile from screwing with their shields.

“Shields are down! That goddamn drone is setting everything on fire! Francis, run to weapons, I need to open the airlocks!”

“Oui, I’ll keep Arthur company and hope he doesn’t attract fire again,” Francis responded, running down the halls.

Arthur scoffed. “Quiet, idiot, or I’ll make sure you’re in the way of the fire beam.”

“So cruel!” the Frenchman whined as he entered the weapons room. The Englishman stuck out his tongue and switched the Burst Laser to lock on the drones as Alfred opened the airlocks to control the drain of oxygen.

Once the fires were extinguished, Alfred shut the airlocks and commanded Francis to repair the shields and medbay.  The Auto-Assault ship exploded and left them with a decent reward. Arthur examined the weapon from the cache. A Healing Burst? That could be useful but he was hoping for something a little better.

The next beacon was a store! The Engi hive operating it seemed friendly enough and Alfred treated Arthur to a special weapons augmentation. As the Engi repaired their hull, Arthur installed the ‘Automated Re-Loader’. An extra ten percent recharge rate on their weapons could really give them an advantage!

Feeling refreshed, the crew embarked to the next beacon, painfully aware of how close the Rebel Fleet was getting to them.

“Yo, crewdudes! I found a dormant Rebel Automated Scout here. I’m gonna try and download its data stores. You guys chill or whatever.”

A FEW MOMENTS LATER…

“Uh… Yeah, Artie, can ya do me a favour and like… blast the ever living hell outta this thing? I miiiight have activated it into fight mode.”

Francis could have sworn he heard the audible facepalm from his friend, but then again he could have done that deliberately over the announcement system.

Fortunately these ships were quick to deal with and Arthur destroyed it without putting up much of a fight. They collected the loot and moved on with their lives.

The next beacon was located around a pulsar. A small research station orbited it, but it seemed to be abandoned. Alfred scanned the area and flipped on the Red Alert sirens. “BATTLE STATIONS, PEEPS. WE HAVE MORE PIRATES!”

“I thought this was Engi space? All we’ve seen are Rebels and Pirates!” Francis complained over the comms system.

“They could be Engi pirates? We don’t have the scanners to see into their ships,” Arthur reasoned as he powered up the weapons. “Brace yourselves for ion waves, everyone. Our electronics are going to go haywire.”

DANGER! ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES! DANGER!

The enemy weapons room was targeted and blasted to pieces. An ion wave disrupted their engines and shields, whereas the enemy had a mild disruption to their weapons and oxygen rooms.

“We have another runner! Take these losers down, Kirkland!”

“I’m doing my best! The bloody pulsar knocked out my weapons charge.”

“Shit, they’re getting away!”

There was a tense moment as the pirates used their FTL Drive to flee. The crew of the S.S. APH were worried that they would alert the Rebel Fleet about their location. This did not happen and they could breathe again.

“Fuck, that was intense!” Alfred called over the announcement system. “Look, things are gonna get ugly. We’ll pitstop at the next store but we’re gonna encounter the Rebels at the Exit Beacon. Artie, be on high alert when we get there.”

“I’m already on high alert, but I will do my best to fend them off so we can get to the next sector.”

“Good man. Franny, come with me, we’ll get the supplies this time.”

The Engi trader was a nice entity. He showed the crewmembers his wares and allowed them to discuss budget. In the end, they settled for a Flak Gun Mark I to potentially give them an advantage over multiple shields on enemy vessels along with an extra bit of fuel to tide them over. That was it, that was ALL of their scrap, which included the extra currency they made by selling their Healing Burst. They hoped it was enough to keep them alive.

Captain Jones gathered his friends in the Bridge with a grave expression. “Okay, so the Rebels are definitely at the Exit Beacon, no escapin’ that. Just do your best and try not to die. Our priority is to buy time to escape, alright? We’re not aiming for a win, we’re aiming for an escape.”

Francis looked nervous. “I don’t want to die!”

Arthur sat on the pilot’s chair and rested his head in his hands. “We all know the risks. Let’s not be pessimistic. We’ll either succeed in getting through the beacon or they will blow us to kingdom come. We’ve better head there right now. I just hope they haven’t had time to set-up anti-ship batteries…”

“Good luck, guys! I believe in you!” They all hugged for a brief moment before marching off to their stations. Here goes nothing!

As Alfred suspected, the enemy ship had two layers of shields to deal with. The investment in the Flak Gun was worth it. Arthur warmed up the weapons and aimed the Flak Gun at the enemy engines with additional fire power aimed at their shields in the form of the Artemis missile. He also noticed that they had a teleportation pad. Well, this was about to get bloody!

WARNING! INTRUDERS DETECTED!

“Bonnefoy! Get out of engines and man the doors! I’m opening the back airlocks, don’t get caught in it, I’ll try and suffocate the bastard!” Alfred called over a private comm link as he monitored the single human intruder.

“Aye, Captain!” Francis responded, racing to his new post as the engine and oxygen rooms were starved of air. The intruder was going to regret beaming aboard alright!

In weapons, Arthur cringed as his Flak debris missed the FTL Drive. He was counting on the Artemis missile to destroy the shields to help things along. The shields were hit on both ships and they tried their best to remain stable.

WARNING! SHIELDS CRITICAL!

The oxygen room was under attack by the one intruder that was slowly suffocating because he didn’t bring a space suit. The S.S. APH’s shields were vulnerable, which meant that the Rebel Elite Fighter could definitely land more hits. This wasn’t looking great and the FTL was taking its sweet time to charge up!

Francis did his best to hold the doors firmly secured shut. This was difficult when they never invested any scrap to upgrade their reactor and subsequently their subsystems further. He could not leave his post whilst the intruder remained on board, which left the engines unmanned so that he couldn’t assist Alfred with dodging attacks, and if he left the doors to repair the broken shields Arthur would be attacked by the intruder, no doubt. This was a horrible situation and it was going to get worse.

WARNING! INTRUDERS DETECTED! WARNING! SHIELDS CRITICAL!

Arthur managed to damage the Rebel’s engines, shields and weapons but chaos had already reigned on the S.S. APH. Enemy retaliation had damaged their piloting systems, shields and engines. On top of that, there was a fire in the drone control room and the entire oxygen system had been destroyed. They were in major trouble!

WARNING! SHIELDS CRITICAL!

WARNING! HULL AT 75%!

It was a never-ending sound of alarms on the ship. Alfred was stuck repairing the piloting system so that they could continue charging the FTL Drive, Francis had left the door system room to try to fix the shields to give them SOME protection as Arthur madly aimed their weapons at the enemy ship.

Arthur panicked and knew he had to do something or they’d be stuck as a waiting target for the Rebels to destroy any minute now. He ran to the engines to repair the FTL Drive. “Alfred! I’m repairing the engines. We can’t leave if they’re broken!”

“The weapons are auto-firing, right?!” he called back.

“Yes! I…” Wow, the air was constricting in this room. He continued working as hard as he could to get the engines back online but he couldn’t focus for some reason… “We need to get vital systems online!”

The Rebels were close to destruction but that felt like a hollow promise of victory. The teleportation room activated again and now they had THAT to deal with too.

Alfred was sweating. The drone room was directly behind the Bridge and that was completely on fire now. He couldn’t run to help his friends and they were losing! He checked the ship surveillance to see how everyone was and his eyes widened in horror. “FRANCIS, GET TO THE OXYGEN ROOM NOW. FIX IT QUICKLY, ARTHUR’S DYING!”

“What?!” came the Frenchman’s startled response. “I’ll head there now!”

“ARTIE, BUDDY! Your vitals are critical. Are you conscious?! Get out of there and head to the medbay right now. ARTHUR! Move it! Please…”

Arthur was hanging on by a thread. He could barely move but he had to get out of there. Somehow he got to his feet and felt his way out of the engine room. His health was waning and he almost fainted en route to the medbay. He had to get there. To heal. To breathe. There was so much NOISE. Where was medbay again?

WARNING! INTRUDERS DETECTED!

Arthur collapsed on a bed in the medical wing. Luckily the system was able to start helping him to convalesce but he was extremely close to death! Thankfully he made it there in time.

Francis was struggling. It took a lot of effort but the oxygen was back online! He coughed and hurried over to the medbay as his health depleted further. He was the second member close to death that day. He saw Arthur and relaxed, letting the system heal his body.

BOOM! The enemy vessel exploded leaving them with a nice bit of fuel to move on when they weren’t burning to death. That was one less worry for Alfred but he had plenty more to deal with post-battle. Namely the one intruder destroying their weapons room!

Alfred sighed with relief and spent a moment recovering. He checked on his friends’ vital signs... they seemed to be improving in the medbay. Good. That was too close for comfort. He exhaled and began opening most of the airlocks, not only to deal with the raging fire in the room behind him but also to make the intruder suffer.

He watched as the oxygen fled the ship and waited for his best friend to regain consciousness. They had to get this ship running again pronto or they’d face another vessel, which they can’t afford to do!

WARNING! INTRUDERS DETECTED!

Alfred made a beeline to the medbay once most of the fire was extinguished. He hugged Arthur once he woke up and dragged him to the door systems room. “Good job there, Artie. Sorry you almost died, but we’re alive now. I need you to focus and help me repair these doors or we’ll never be able to close them. Francis repaired the oxygen room, he’s healing at the moment, and we have an intruder on board and the Rebels are kicking our asses but we’ll be fine! Just help me fix shit so we can leave, okay?”

The shorter blond blinked his emerald eyes tiredly at him and nodded, helping to restore the systems. He put out the fire in the door room with Alfred and was feeling well enough to take back responsibilities on the ship.

Once all of the fires were extinguished on the ship, Alfred remotely sealed the doors and responded to an alert from the medbay. The intruder had decided to launch an attack on Francis whom was still recovering!

“Gotcha, Rebel scum!” Alfred yelled as he barrelled into the intruder and started hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Arthur woke up his bearded friend and together the three of them eliminated the rebel for good. Panting, the crewmates gathered their wits as the medbay healed them.

Francis looked pale. “I think we almost died. For real that time.”

Arthur bit his lip. “I should have known that something was off when I tried repairing the FTL Drive. I didn’t realise the oxygen was knocked out, I should have gone there, but my thought was to fix the engines so we could flee.”

Alfred sat down on a bed and ran a hand through his hair. “Ugh, that was horrible. I almost lost you both. I don’t want to pilot this ship on my own, we’re already a tiny crew.”

“Well we made it!” Francis chimed in optimistically.

Alfred hugged them all tightly before standing up with purpose. “Now we’re all healed, let’s get this ship functioning again and then get the fuck outta dodge!”

Arthur stretched and saluted half-heartedly. “I’ll fix drones, Jones should take engines and Bonnfoy fix my bloody weapons. When we get to the next sector we REALLY need to focus on upgrades if we can. Our reactor power is weak and we can’t use all of our systems to full capacity.”

“I know that, dude,” the Captain scoffed. “Let’s just get out of here and then worry about the technicalities.”

With repairs completed, Alfred went back to the Bridge alone. The sector map branched out into two locations. They could either go to another Engi Controlled sector, not that this sector bore much fruit for the S.S. APH, or they could risk everything and attempt to survive in Rebel Controlled territory. He groaned. Being a space Captain wasn’t as cool as he thought it would be. He wished he had convinced his friends to stay home instead.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT SECTOR...

Chapter 2 - END

[CHAPTER LIST]

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[Cover Art] This image was drawn in HB pencil and painted in watercolour paints on the 8th August 2021. It was digitally enhanced in GIMP Image Editor on the 9th August 2021. Paper type = 130 gsm  

This chapter was written on the 30th-31st August 2021.

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Please do not repost, modify, resell or claim this work as your own.

(Reblogging is fine, though!)

[Mythical Canary Info]

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #420

lol blaze it (i’m funny i swear)

In your opinion, which fast food place has the best fries? Without a doubt, Bojangle's. Good. Shit. Are there hurricanes where you live? Yeah, they're common here. What do you hate the most about yourself? I'd really rather not get into this right about now. What song are you listening to right now? "Beast of Gévaudan" by Powerwolf. What was your first concert? Alice Cooper. Also my only concert. What’s your favorite Johnny Depp movie? Alice In Wonderland. Who did you last say “I love you” to? My sister. Do you like pumpkin pie? Anything pumpkin-flavored is a hell no from me. Do you know anyone named Austin? Knew, rather. Do you know anyone who is having a baby? My friend recently announced she and her husband are having their second child in December. What was the last thing you cried about? Just PTSD. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? I like both, but I prefer chocolate. Do you think you are an argumentative person? Definitely not. How many deep dark secrets do you have? Two or so, idk. What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten? Some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings with one of the hottest sauces. Wanted to die. ... Yet I continued to get that one whenever I went for years lmao. Who last called you sexy? I don't know. Would you class yourself as a good role model? In some ways, but in a lot of other ways, no. Are you scared of the dark? No. Do you have a motto? No. Who did you last see on webcam? The doctor that overlooks my TMS progress. Do you need a haircut? I need a trim for sure. How would you react if your mother told you that she was pregnant again? Well, considering 1.) she's way past menopause and especially 2.) she's had a complete hysterectomy, y'know... that's kind of impossible. She also hasn't been with a guy in many years, so she would have to be joking. You log into Facebook and see the red ‘1’ notification next to the message icon. Who do you want it to be? -___- Would you rather exercise alone or with other people? ALONE. You will NOT see me exercise in front of other people. What is the most difficult or involved video game you’ve ever played? The most involved is DEFINITELY World of Warcraft, and I guess you could consider it the hardest too, given some of the much more difficult things I've done in it. It itself isn't a hard game whatsoever, but you can pursue some really hard achievements. Ever watch the show Supernatural? If you have, then what’s your favorite episode? I used to love it, but just stopped watching eventually. My fave episode... Man, it's been too long to remember many. Probably one of the funnier ones. I remember I specifically liked the bit where they were in your everyday comedy show, as well as the one where I THINK Dean kept trying to prevent Sam from dying. I just remember the "Eye of the Tiger" bit that is pure gold. Ever heard of flavored honey? If so, what’s you’re favorite flavor? Oh, no, but that sounds good. Do you remember what your favorite show was when you were little? Yeah, Pokemon. Do you put anything besides cheese on grilled cheese sandwiches? Besides butter, which I think is pretty standard, no. When it comes to books, what do you think is the “perfect” amount of pages? Uh, I dunno. It depends on the book. I don't really care about page numbers. Would you ever be interested in going scuba diving? Yeah. Out of all of your friends/relatives, who would you say has the best vocabulary? Girt, probably. Are any of your fingers or toes deformed? What about the nails? I don't think so? When is the last time you cried? I was sobbing earlier today, fun stuff. Would you ever date somebody that has been divorced more than once? Most likely not. ESPECIALLY at my age. What are some stereotypically nerdy things that you like? Oh god. WoW, M:tG, big glasses, anime (does that count? idk really), video games... a lot of stuff, really. Have you ever attended a wedding that ended where the bride and groom didn’t actually get married? What happened? Y I K E S, no. That would be SO uncomf. What scares you the most about becoming a mother (hypothetically, if you don’t want to have children)? Actually raising it properly, physically and emotionally. Would you ever want a job in fashion? What would you enjoy about that type of job? No. Would you ever be a surrogate mother? No. What do you think would be the best and worst parts about being a twin? It'd be cool to have someone you feel an almost supernatural connection towards, but I'd also feel like I wasn't as "original" as I would be if I was born alone. Do you feel that your childhood was more rough compared to others around you? I mean it wasn't awful at all, but sure, in some ways compared to at least someone. How would you react if you found out today that you were actually adopted? Well today I'm a wreck, so don't tell me. I want to know that I wasn't lied to for 25 years. Have either of your parents ever cheated on one another before, that you know of? How would you react if you found out today that one of them cheated? I'm not entirely clear on this, but I'm 90% sure Dad cheated on Mom with his now-wife. Dad also accused Mom of cheating, but I HIGHLY doubt that's true. Do you like cleaning and organizing? Not really. How would you react if you found out you were infertile? If you don’t plan on having kids to begin with, what is a long-term goal you’d be crushed to find out was impossible to achieve? Fuck having kids. I'd be a terrible mother. So to answer the other question, I'll be pretty, pretty sad if I can't get permission to spread Teddy's ashes at Yellowstone. Would you take your dream job if it were out of the country? Well, obviously not considering my dream job is a meerkat biologist, and I'm not moving to Africa. Have you ever been robbed? No. Is anyone close to you an alcoholic? Not anymore. Dad was, but he's recovered. Have you ever dumped anyone? Yes. What kind of tea do you drink? I hate tea. Do you know anyone in a gang? No, and I hope I never do. What’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for you? Risk his fucking sanity and health to try to hold my fucked up self up. What is your orientation? Gay? Straight? Metrosexual? Anything other? Bisexual. I've kinda been questioning pansexual of the late, though. I don't know. Have you ever done anything really dangerous or illegal with friends? Not to my memory. Name three feelings you’re feeling right now: Regret. Hopelessness. Loneliness. And the reasons for these feelings? Take a wild fuckin' guess. How do you feel about your life right now? It's an actual dumpster fire. Is it easy for you to like yourself? Why or why not? Fuck no. Because there's just not very much TO like about me. Even on my good days, I see flaw after flaw in myself. What subjects come naturally to you? English, some aspects of science. What subjects do not? Math, economics, politics, history... Do you read more fiction or more non-fiction books? Definitely fiction. When I read a book, I want an escape from the real world. How has today been for you? BOY HOWDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What did you do? Went to TMS therapy. Sat on the Internet. Cried. :^) Are there any candles lit in the room you’re in? No. Are there any lava lamps near you? No. I want one, though. Do you like cats or dogs better? Cats. Are any of your friends a pothead? Yes. What’s a goal you’re trying to accomplish soon? Start losing weight again. That'd be pretty goddamn grand. Are you a high maintenance person? Definitely not. The last time you yelled as loud as you could, what was the reason? I was having a nightmare. Have you ever been heartbroken? For sure. Who did that to you? First Dad, then Jason. Did you go through an ugly stage as a kid? Boy, did I. The last type of sandwich you made or ate: A pb&j. The last time you spent most of the day in bed: Literally every day. I do just about everything in bed. Pathetic, I know. The last friend or acquaintance you made: Ummmm idk. The last thing you took pictures of: A hydrangea bush. The last time you were scared: Now. The future is terrifying, my friend. The last thing you looked up online: The definition of a word to ensure I was using it correctly. The last thing you disagreed with: So I've been watching John Wolfe's old stream of him playing Alice: Madness Returns, and he went on a total soapbox about smoking being okay essentially because we're all gonna die eventually from something, and I really disagreed with it. Does your house have a separate laundry room? No, just like a closet. Do your parents still help you financially? I'm still entirely dependent on them. Does your car have a backup camera? No. Have either of your parents ever been in trouble with the law? Not to my knowledge. Have you ever had a pet that lived to be really old for its breed/species? REALLY old, no. Teddy was definitely up there, but beagles have lived longer. What was the last strong scent you smelled? Lysol. Have you ever told someone to their face that they were ugly? Christ, no. Is your bed against more than one of your walls? No. Have you ever been attracted to someone’s parent? Don't think so? Have you ever pole danced before? No. Have you ever broken into someone’s house? No. Have you ever seen a live bat? Yes. What is the most amount of money you’ve spent on a meal before? I dunno. Have you ever taken a woodshop class? No. How much time do you spend on Facebook, if you have one? Funny you ask, because as of today I decided to take a break from it for awhile. I've found it's nothing more than a breeding ground for envy and making me feel like a horribly incompetent adult. Has a teacher ever made you hate yourself/your work? I had one photography teacher in college that I was NOT a fan of. He was super, super hard on everyone, like to an unnecessary degree. We were students, not pros. Have you ever been on the barrier or front row at a concert? No. Are your parents supportive of you? Somehow.

[xxxrubytuesdayxxx]

If you stay and wait for Jeongguk...

Word Count: 4,731

Disclaimers: This is part (45) of a Choose Your Own Ending!

Check at the end for glossary of Korean terms*

**So behold my wish-fulfilment/mystically putting ideas in JK’s head xD Wrote this early 2019 before he’d actually got himself tatted up. What I love is that not only did he do it  (after I had proposed him getting a tattoo in the fic and my friends had gone “he wouldn’t - he’s Korean and that’s frowned on there” making me change it to a fake. Maybe my “get a real one next time, baby” somehow whispered through the dream-world) but he went beyond my wildest dreams and got his fingers done ^.^ Either way enjoy! :)**

Start here:

“Jeong-ssi, listen!” Hoseok tells him, taking both his hands in his own to drive his point home. “As the youngest, do you think you’re being polite?!” he reprimands him, his tone incredulous. “You need to be more respectful – we all know each other well now, and things are more relaxed, but Namjoon is still your hyung.”

Jeongguk looks repentant and a little shy. He nods in recognition of Hobi’s words and bows his head to Namjoon.

Jwesonghamnida,” he speaks softly and deferentially. He’s obviously sincere, and Namjoon acknowledges the apology graciously. Jeongguk looks so soft and pretty that you feel guilty for wanting to rip his clothes off so badly. That is until you catch his provocative wink, as he follows Namjoon out to meet Bang PD Nim. Hoseok watches your eye-line, amused.

“Wow. Someone’s a smitten kitten,” he teases you with one of his trademark giggles, back in a buoyant mood now that he’s defused the situation.

“Come on Hobi, don’t,” you mutter, trying not to wince at the thought of your little minx using those charms of his on some k-pop starlet for the game show. Hoseok must catch something in your mood as he changes the subject quickly, asking if you want to come to noraebang with him over lunch. Laughing and acknowledging that the man knows your weakness, you agree and follow him out to his car with only one last wistful glance in the direction Jeongguk left with Namjoon.

You make it through a few songs and some starter dishes before Hoseok grills you about the whole Bangtan situation he slept through last night.  

“So what was that all about this morning anyway?” he starts.

“What do you mean?” you hedge. He gives you a look.

“Come on Noona. Jimin and Yoongi are both in a mood. Jeongguk is acting like he’s suddenly in a frat house. Namjoon has clearly had it up to his eyeballs. What’s with all the attitude?” You avoid his eyes.

“Also Mai is conspicuously absent. Wait… “he adds, pulling out his phone. “She’s texting me…” That gets your attention. He reads off his phone: ‘Yoongi and I are over. He wants to see other people. We need to talk.’ Wow. I mean that kind of explains Yoongi’s mood I guess. But what about the others?” Even though you kind of gathered something was wrong last night, you’re stunned.

“Fine,” you relent. “I don’t have any idea what’s got into Jimin, but Tae seems to know. And Jeongguk’s mad because Namjoon banned him from my room last night cos Bang PD Nim wants him to be in the new series of We Got Married. Satisfied?”

Hobi looks taken aback. He chooses his words carefully.

“Are you in love with him?” he tries.

“Who? Jeongguk?” you ask. Hoseok rolls his eyes but smiles gently.

“No, Namjoon. Of course Jeongguk!” he clarifies.

“Yes,” you confess, sulking.

“Since when?” he prompts, after pausing to let the waitress bring in more of the dishes you’ve ordered.

You shrug. “Maybe a year?” you tell the polished floorboards. “Since he started acting like a little hussy,” you admit with a wry smile to acknowledge you know it’s futile. He grimaces apologetically.

“So why did you wait til last night?” he wants to know.

“He came onto me and I couldn’t resist him,” you mutter.

“That’s kind of cute. Stupid. But cute,” Hoseok evaluates the situation.

“I know it was stupid,” you agree, begrudgingly. “But what about Mai?”

“I don’t know,” he sighs. “Maybe we should text her to meet us. I’ll ask if she minds if we’re both there,” he tells you.

“She won’t come to noraebang,” you point out.

“I know,” he acknowledges. “So we’ll meet her at the coffee shop.” By the time you get there Mai is already nursing a coffee at one of the back corner tables. She watches you and Hobi impassively over the top of her oversized dark glasses as you both order and join her.

“So,” Hoseok starts, “you and Yoongi?”

“Right to it, then,” she almost chokes.

Hoseok stays silent, but puts on an expectant look. You both wait as she tries to sort out her thoughts.

“He wants to see other people,” she shrugs. “So I guess that’s over.”

“You guess...that’s…over?” Hoseok slowly trails, confused.

A small part of you is still worried about yourself and Jeongguk’s situation, but a bigger part is now worrying about her. Yet denial is a strong thing, and Mai’s is as concentrated as they come. Maybe she’ll handle it, as she so frequently insists she will.

“It was all good,” she shrugs again, “and then he was talking about distance. And how hard it is. And…yep.” She takes another sip of coffee.

“So he ended things?” Hoseok asks, now genuinely confused. You can understand his confusion - she says ‘we need to talk’, and then that’s everything she offers.

“He wants me to go on tour with you guys more often. I said…‘Well, I have a life.’ But like, nicely. I said it nicely,” she assures Hoseok with a pointed look. “Then he got kind of weird about it…he kept saying it was hard on him. And I was like, yeah, get in line. I mean, welcome to the club, right?” She pauses. Hoseok nods, his eyebrows furrowed from attempting to understand how she finds humour in the situation. “I was nice about it, really. And then he sort of escalated it, and we kind of got to talking about… potential? Or boundaries? ‘Artistic space’ or something? And…yep.”

“Then he ended things,” you state, to clarify.

“Can’t be a ‘rap star’ with a steady girlfriend, I guess,” she rolls her eyes, clearly mocking something Yoongi’s said to her in that conversation. “I don’t know if I did the right thing,” she almost whispers. Her posture slouches a little - she’s somewhat caving into herself, suddenly vulnerable. “Maybe I should’ve protested against breaking up with a little more enthusiasm, but I didn’t see the point if he’s halfway out.” She catches herself for a second and looks at you. “But don’t worry about your situation with Jeongguk.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a good kid. Kind of. And you’re great. And the situation is different, you know? Yoongi’s a mess. You’ve got shit sorted for the both of you. So don’t worry.” You’re not so sure, but you don’t want to shift the focus. Nor do you want to think about it all right now or your imagination will run away with you. Mai watches you, reading your mind as usual. She smiles faintly.

“You’ll be okay,” she reiterates.

“Are you okay?” Hoseok asks Mai, growing impatient.

“Lived without him before. Will live without him now,” she jokes.

“I guess…that makes sense…” Hoseok nods, the look of concern not leaving his kind features. You and Hobi exchange looks, but leave it at that. She’ll handle it, she insists. She moves the conversation to other topics by sheer force of willpower and Hoseok lets her, on the surface, even more used to her ways than you are. They’ve known each other since they were just kids after all. You’ve all managed to finally reach some level of normalcy when everything goes haywire.

First Yoongi, just straight out of nowhere, materialises in the doorway, immediately catches sight of you all and then just as immediately pretends he hasn’t seen you. Mai has her back to the doorway, so you and Hoseok avoid eye-contact as he orders his coffee and walks to a back table. Mai gives you both a bland look and calmly takes another sip of her own coffee.

“He’s here, isn’t he?” she asks you. You look at her, realise lying is futile, then both nod sheepishly. She breathes deeply, without bothering to turn around, then raises her coffee to blow on it unnecessarily, knowing Yoongi will realise the implications of her choice of beverage. Next, and before you can even deal with the intruder situation, you get an irate text from Namjoon, demanding to know where you’ve ‘spirited Jeongguk away to’ this time. You refrain from texting back in the same tone and calmly inform Namjoon that you’re out to coffee with Hobi and Mai and have zero idea where Jeongguk is. But the news does make you uneasy and, despite his current hostility towards you, you do feel bad for Namjoon who is, after all, just trying to keep things together.

“Should we leave?” Hoseok whispers, snapping you out of your train of thought.

“I don’t mind,” you say. You both turn to Mai. “No,” she says decisively, “he can leave. I got here first.”

“Slightly childish, but I’ll take it,” Hoseok nods, smiling despite himself. You hang around for a while, to lend weight to Mai’s protest, but you eventually have to tell them that in all fairness, you’d really better go and help Namjoon with things.

By the time you arrive home, Namjoon is frantic. You assure him that Yoongi and Hoseok are both fine so his hypothetical body count is down to one. He gives you a wry look and smiles, despite himself. “Okay, so I might be overreacting a bit,” he allows. “But I really don’t know where Jeongguk has fucked off to or how to handle Jimin and Tae both being so moody lately. At least Yoongi has a reason to be, I guess. He said he broke it off with Mai last night?” he looks at you questioningly and you nod shortly, indicating you don’t want to go into detail, for Mai’s sake.

“I’ll go talk to Jimin and Tae and see if I can squeeze them for info,” you tease. “Glean what afflicts them and all that.” Namjoon half-laughs.

“What about your boy toy?” he prompts. You shrug. “He’s probably just acting out,” you hazard a guess, even though you’re at least as concerned as Namjoon. “He’ll come home when he’s ready.”

Sure enough, you and Namjoon have barely finished speculating when the back door slams open and the object of your speculation tramps into the kitchen, exclaiming about the downpour he’s just been caught in. Jeongguk looks up, shaking raindrops from his bangs and his jacket and you melt at the look in his eyes when he sees you. He darts a look at Namjoon, who clears his throat pointedly, and ducks into the other room.

“Did you...I mean are you…?” you start, drawing instinctively closer to him. He shakes his head, scattering water drops everywhere and puts his hand to your cheek.

“I couldn’t do it,” he whispers, pleading with his eyes for you to understand without him spelling it out. He places his other hand on your back and pulls you towards him, pressing his mouth against yours and slipping his tongue between your lips. You open your mouth and clasp him to your chest, as though he’ll disappear again, if you don’t possess him with your entire being. You kiss for a bit and then he stops, looking at you intensely. You can’t quite place his expression, but there’s a tiny smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes sparkle with mischief.

“Hagoshipeo…” he begins, then switches to English, nervously hesitant. “I want to…” his pronunciation is halting, but he’s getting more fluent daily. Yet you’re still not prepared for his next words… “fuck…you…so [he tries again, checking your eyes for signs of validation that he’s doing okay] so? [you nod to encourage him, though you’re a little scandalised]…bad,” he finishes, awaiting your approval, with that smile still dancing around the curve of his lips.

“Close enough,” you tease him, capturing those lovely lips with yours.

“Badly! It’s ‘badly’,” calls Namjoon from next door, unable to resist correcting him. “Also TMI Jeong-ssi. I can speak English too, remember?” he adds, rolling his eyes as he comes back into the room, arms crossed. You step back from Jeongguk, not wanting to irritate Namjoon further. 

“You know, to be fair, he probably doesn’t want to fuck me badly cos that’s a whole other thing,” you correct Namjoon. He grins at you wryly.

“So anyway what…?” You clear your throat, embarrassed. “...what exactly happened while I was out with Hobi and Mai?”

“Give us a minute?” Namjoon directs at Jeongguk, who picks up on the sudden serious tone and shift in the air and decides to go quietly. As he leaves, he gives your hand a quick squeeze and sends you a little wink, ducking out the door.

“Jimin’s in a mood,” Namjoon starts the list, sighing, “Yoongi’s in a mood, and Bang PD-nim’s breathing down my neck about everything.” It hits you how much Namjoon actually has to deal with. He’s the middle man; he has to watch out for the boys and for the company simultaneously. It doesn’t help that the boys hardly ever make things easy for him. They forget, he’s as young and new to this as the rest of them are. Genius IQ and leadership role aside, he’s still only 24.

“I notice it, too. Jimin’s been… sour about a lot,” you say delicately, your mind going straight to his last outburst.

“I mean, I know why. He was seeing this girl for a while, secretly,” Namjoon explains, “and it didn’t work out. Something about her wanting it to be more public, wanting to announce it like Hyuna-noona and Hyo-jong did.”

“And Jimin can’t,” you nod, understanding immediately.

“Jimin can’t,” he confirms. “He tried, though. He asked Bang PD-nim about the likelihood of being able to announce a relationship, hypothetically. Bang PD-nim kindly said it isn’t possible, at least not in the immediate future. So Jimin’s… sore.” Before you can say anything, Namjoon groans in frustration, “...and now Bang PD-nim is giving me a hard time about all these ‘ideas’ these boys are having. They’re asking these questions, poking around, being moody when we’re supposed to work. I don’t get it, we knew what we were signing up for. Why push it?”

“What happens now?”

“I don’t know. I spoke to Jimin earlier and he told me they’ve broken up,” Namjoon replied. “She couldn’t take no for an answer. The fact that Hyuna-noona and Hyo-jong were fired for it escaped her completely. And not all of us can get a contract at P Nation.”

You both stand in silence for a minute.

“I think I have an idea,” you finally say, hesitating for a second. Namjoon looks over curiously, so you continue, “You know how Jeongguk said no to the show?”

Namjoon’s head drops, even more exasperated now, and he blinks at the floor as if he’s searching it for answers. “Of course he did,” he mumbles. You can almost see the invisible extra weight that’s just been added onto his shoulders. “Put Jimin on the show instead,” you suggest as casually as you can, “He’ll get to meet new people, you guys don’t default on the contract, and at the very least, it’ll take his mind off the break-up.”

You can see Namjoon thinking about it, mulling over the idea in his mind. “It could work,” he says after a while.

“It’ll be Jimin’s stepping stone, into television. Not in the same way Tae’s serious period dramas did, but it’s still television. A good starting point,” you think out loud, rationalizing it and almost convincing the both of you.

“He might actually agree to it,” Namjoon nods. “And it’ll address half of Bang PD-nim’s concerns. But what do we do about Yoongi?”

“I don’t think that’s something we can fix,” you tell him gently, “But from what I know, the issue is superficial. It’ll blow over. Might want to give Yoongi a head’s up if it starts to really affect his work, but otherwise, leave it be.”

“Okay,” Namjoon nods. “Thank you, Noona” he says to you, with enough genuine appreciation in his voice for you to make a mental note to watch out for him as much as he watches out for the rest of you. You gesture into the other room.

“Do you want to go watch something and leave the kitchen to Jin?” you suggest. Namjoon raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“What about…?” he hesitates.

“Well I’m pretty sure I can hear the shower running, and you know how long Jeongguk takes with that,” you answer his unfinished question. “Guess I’ll just have to hope he doesn’t jack off in there or he’ll lose all his momentum.”

“Oh gross! Please stop,” Namjoon cringes at the mental picture. You laugh and lead the way into the living room, calling out to Jin that the kitchen is free. Namjoon picks some action film and you settle yourselves on the two couches, deliberately leaving space for any of the guys to wander in and join you both if they want to. Tae meanders out of his room at some point and flops down on the other end of Namjoon’s couch, toasting you lazily with his pop bottle in greeting. An hour or so passes, then Jeongguk drifts out of the bathroom, with still-damp hair and a towel clinging to his slender hips.

“Oh no Jeonkookie. You didn’t,” Tae objects, staring at his exposed ribs with a mixture of horror and admiration. Namjoon shuts his eyes, probably hoping you’ll all evaporate and he’ll wake up in his bed as a teenage rapper with no responsibilities again. You shoot Tae a warning look, then hop up to examine the inked hangul running the length of Jeongguk’s side more closely. You look up at him in amusement. His eyes widen in affected innocence.

“Mwoh?” he asks you, fake-innocent and clearly trying not to laugh. You shake your head at him, equally exasperated and distracted by wishing it was real.

“Don’t worry Namjoon. Before you even ask. It’s fake,” you assure Bangtan’s beleaguered leader. Jeongguk sulks a little at having his prank exposed but shrugs in defeat as Namjoon relaxes and returns to his film.

“Does it look hot though?” Jeongguk checks with you, quietly anxious.

“Well it might if it didn’t appear to say…” you double-check “Made in Korea,” you point out. He pouts, but then laughs, embarrassed.

“They didn’t have many options for the fake ones,” he explains, sheepishly.

“Yes it looks hot,” you whisper in his ear. “Get a real one next time, baby,” you tease him, biting his ear lobe gently. “But wait til Namjoon is less stressed.”

“Where?” he prompts, dropping his head to tickle your jawline with his kisses. You play with his hair as he teases a lovebite at the side of your neck.

“I don’t know...maybe…” [you let your finger glide along his iliac crest] here?” you suggest, making him draw in his breath sharply. You raise his head with your hands, so you can take sips from his cherry-flavoured lips.

“Mmm…” you exhale longingly, licking your own lips to chase the flavour.

“Do you like it?” he asks you, all shy. “I got it when I was out before.”

“Mm-hm,” you reassure him, kissing him over and over. “I love it.”

“Guess what else I got,” he provokes you.

“I’ve no clue,” you admit.

“Bubblegum-flavoured lube,” he murmurs right in your ear.

“Let me taste it,” you smile, nipping his full bottom lip.

“Come in my room then,” he invites you.

It’s at this point that Jimin finally decides to emerge from his self-imposed exile to encounter you and Jeongguk embracing right in the middle of his trajectory from his room to the kitchen. He glares at the two of you in utter disgust.

“Why are you two still acting like cats in heat?” he demands crossly. He transfers his glare across to Namjoon, “and why are you letting them, Namjoon-hyung?” Namjoon’s jaw sets as he controls his temper at Jimin’s disrespectful tone but Jin, who has stepped in to ask whether you’re all out of sesame oil, hisses at him angrily: “Jimin-ssi! Show some respect. What is the matter with you kids lately?” he tuts, retreating back into the kitchen.

“Sorry Namjoon-hyung,” Jimin mutters sullenly. Namjoon sighs deeply and pauses his film.

“Jimin-ssi come in here for a minute,” he instructs him. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to get scolded. At least not right now. I just want to ask you how you might feel about this idea we’ve had.” Jimin goes over to Namjoon, casting a resentful look back over his shoulder as Jeongguk takes your hand in his and pulls you insistently towards his room.

“Hold up horangi,” you caution him softly. “I’ll come in a bit, okay? I have to help Namjoon with this first.” He looks so petulant you have to laugh. “Hey you got Namjoon into this situation in the first place with your messing about,” you point out. He cocks his head in acknowledgement of the truth of this statement, tangles his fingers with yours briefly, then pads over to his room alone, leaving you to join Jimin and Namjoon’s little ad hoc meeting. It doesn’t really take very long and Jimin seems excited at the prospect of the show, so you and Namjoon congratulate yourselves on a job well done and you go check on Jeongguk in his room. “Whatcha doin’ pretty aegi?” you address him, stirring him on purpose. He’s stretched at full-length on his bed, still wearing only a towel, as he plays with his hand-held gaming device. He flips onto his back when he hears your voice, dropping the game onto the bed with a wicked little smirk.

“I’m not a baby,” he objects. “I see,” you say. “But you’re alright with ‘pretty’ I assume?” “Handsome,” he corrects you. “Okay,” you smile, grabbing his ankle to pull him towards you. He pulls his leg out of your grip and reaches up to tumble you onto the bed with him.

“Aniyo! I get to be in charge this time, Noona” he reprimands you sassily.

“Oooh - you gonna be nae oppa Jeonkookie?” you tease him. He smacks you playfully.

“Hey! Behave!” he tells you, obviously a little needled by ‘that word’ and your teasing tone. “...jebal Noona,” he sulks.

“Okay, no. Mianhae,” you tell him, contrite. “Go ahead. I will listen.” He looks pleased, but shy.

“Please lie on the bed properly,” he requests, politely. “I will get changed.” You do as you’re told, deliberately making yourself look feminine and submissive for him and glad you’re still wearing suitably girly clothing from your outing earlier. Of course he takes ages to choose his clothes, so you close your eyes and relax against his pillows. Eventually you feel him sit on the edge of the bed next to you and take your hand.

“Are you sleeping, Noona?” he asks you, softly. You open your eyes and smile at him, shaking your head.

“Aniyo, cheonsa,” you assure him. “Just resting...Wow!” You gratify his efforts with your eyes wide. He looks stunning: dressed to the nines in a crimson-red silk shirt, black tie and black satin formal clothes to which he’s added his silver chain bracelet, a few silver rings and his dangling silver earring shimmering in one ear, leaving just a plain ring and studs in the other holes. He’s even gone to the trouble of styling his hair and applying his eye make-up, which is sweet, but you want to tell him he looks beautiful without even a lick of make-up on. You don’t though, as you don’t want to ruin his thing he’s trying to do. “You look like a king,” you tell him and he looks at the floor, shy. But he seems flattered. 

“Should I go dress up properly as well?” you check with him, deferential, still letting him play the leader.

“Ani, you look pretty,” he tells you. Little witch. He obviously knows not to say “okay” or “fine” and you smile to yourself at his diplomacy. You don’t have time to think it over too much though, as he starts to kiss you, removing his jacket and draping it carefully over the back of a chair. He loosens his tie with one finger and gives you a crooked smile.

“Do you want me?” he asks.

“Badly…” you tell him, trying to pull him closer. He winks, wrenches his tie off, and starts to unbutton his dress shirt. You reach your hand out to stroke his exposed chest and he closes his eyes, exhaling with a little sigh when your fingers brush one of his nipples.

“Uh...geugos-eun ppara,” he groans. You come over to him on your hands and knees and do as he asks, tickling him with your tongue first, before clasping his nipple between your lips and sucking for all you’re worth. He whimpers a little, then giggles and waves you back.

“Okay, okay,” he protests. “Enough. My turn now…” He crawls across the bed to you, bringing to your mind the contained power of a panther, rather than the soft, playful kitten you were expecting to deal with earlier.

“Oh, Jeongguk-ah,” you breathe, startling both of you with your suddenly-renewed intense desire for him. You reach out for him again, beseeching him with your eyes, and he smiles wickedly. He strips you, tantalizingly slowly, then strips himself while you watch him with your longing painted all over your face. When he’s done he flings himself down next to you again and sprinkles kisses all over your body, teasing you into a frenzy with his perfect lips. Just as you’re about to admit defeat and beg for mercy, he brings those lips close to your ear and whispers; “Still want my jaji to taste like bubblegum for a bit?” then reaches across to his bed-side table drawer.

He shakes the lube up like it’s a can of whipped cream, then applies it liberally to his erection, wincing slightly at the cold. At his gesture, you start to lick him carefully clean, using the longest, most lingering strokes you can manage, under the guise of just wanting to taste all that bubblegum-flavoured deliciousness. But it doesn’t take long for you to abandon any attempt at pretence, take his cock in your hand and suck him off with a relish unrelated to any artificial flavouring. He lets you get him pretty excited, then indicates, somewhat urgently, that he needs you to stop. Changing your positions, so that he’s now on top, he presses your legs apart and climbs between them.

You feel the hard length of him slide up inside you with no resistance as he pulls you upright into a sitting position and thrusts his hips like a jackhammer. His eyes are shut and his face betrays the physical effort of his exertions as he pants and gasps his lust out loud: “Uh...oh...baby...ne...oh sshibal…!” You try to restrain your own moans, not wanting to annoy the hell out of the others if they overhear you guys, but he’s swiftly bringing you to the brink of ecstasy with his ministrations. You’re not fucking much longer before he sends you straight over the edge, compelling you to scream his name, just before you feel his semen spill into you and onto his sheets. He collapses onto his back and flings his arm around you, cuddling you close as you both drift off.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some weeks later, it’s dinner time and slowly everyone gathers at the table. Jin places the final dish at the centre and stands back to admire his hard work. Jimin is happily spooning rice onto everyone’s plate as you all settle in, Jeongguk dropping into the seat next to yours.

He discreetly places a hand on your thigh and gives it an innocent squeeze, sending you an adorable little smile. He’s dialled down the public displays of sexual energy since your initial hook-ups, and you’ve arrived at a comfortable understanding - you’re in a real relationship, with actual commitment, and Jimin no longer has to be put off his breakfast on a regular basis.

“Yoongi!” Jin calls out. “Dinner!”

With perfect timing, Yoongi comes around the corner. “I’m not joining you guys tonight, but thank you.”

Jin instinctively puts a hand on his hip, in a very motherly fashion, “Where are you going?” he demands.

“Out,” Yoongi retorts.

The whole table waits for an elaboration. After a beat, he finally rolls his eyes and mumbles, “with Mai.” As soon as Yoongi has left the room, you ask Hoseok, “So we’re… letting this happen then?”

“I guess,” he shrugs.

THE END

Glossary: (feel free to submit corrections for these ^.^)

Jwesonghamnida (저성함니다) Sorry (polite, honorific form)

Noraebang (노래방) Karaoke (Korean style - lit. singing room

Horangi (호랑이) Tiger

Aegi (애기) Baby

Aniyo! (아니요) No!

Nae oppa (내 오빠) My ‘oppa’

Jebal (제발) Please

Mianhae (미안해) I’m sorry (informal)

Geugos-eun ppara  (그것은 빨아) Suck it...

[antiquecompass]

Untamed Spring Fest Day 5: Fresh

Where there is a fresh start:

Nie Zonghui didn’t get to spend as much time with his family as he liked. While most of the Nies huddled in various parts of the Northeast, he had gone west as a young man and settled down in Seattle. He loved it there, and was sad to leave his home of fifteen years, but something in his heart had always called him back east and now it was time.

Nie Mingjue was finally, finally, retiring from actively working in the field for Springfield Security. While he had an entire staff he loved, adored, and trusted, two of them were also leaving field duty to take over the ever-increasing duties of running the biggest security firm in the Northeast. It was a big hit, taking DeAndre and Bianca out of the field, but they would help ease the burden on the other end, and would have more time to focus on training, recruitment, and teaching--all things Springfield Security would need in the loss of Mingjue, DeAndre, and Bianca as active guards.

Zonghui was a veteran in the field, experienced, praised, and a good trainer. Mingjue hadn’t asked him to come back the last time they spoke, but Zonghui could hear the unspoken question in his words. Mingjue was stepping down, stepping back, focusing on his personal future and his family and he needed a Nie in the field. Call it superstition, call it a stupid. Unfounded fear, but Zonghui understood it.

So Nie Zonghui was going home.

**********

Huaisang threw a massive welcome home party, because of course he did. To be fair, it wasn’t so much a party as a very large picnic, and the dress code was certainly far more relaxed than the last business event Zonghui attended. Huasiang still managed to look like his outfit cost thousands of dollars, even in the shortest pair of ripped jean shorts Zonghui had ever seen on a person, and a plaid shirt that looked more Seattle than Boston.

“Everyone can see your tattoos and I’m pretty sure at least some of your bottom,” Zonghui said.

“My asscheeks are perfectly covered,” Huaisang assured him. “And they can look, but only Xuanyu can touch, and they know that.”

“Where is Little Sparkle?” Zonghui asked.

Huaisang frowned. “Work. Teaching children about puppets. He’ll be back by the time dinner is officially served.” He toyed with the plastic red and white checkered tablecloth in front of them. “I’m sorry, it all feels a little cheap, but Mingjue’s been desperate for an excuse to show off his new pro-grade grill and even Meng Yao couldn’t deny him this time. So, ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, various types of chicken, and a low country boil. So much corn. So many baked beans. So much bread. So much pie. I can’t believe I had to, at my age, buy kegs again.”

Zonghui patted his younger cousin’s head and laughed at the death stare he got in return.

“I missed you, Piglet.”

“Welcome home, Deadpool.”

Only Huaisang called him that, an old nickname because of Zonghui’s expertise in wielding dual knives, and because he’d given Huaisang his first ever set of comic books. No one had called him that in years, but he had a feeling he’d be hearing more often now, and not just from Huaisang.

It was strange to make a fresh start by going backward. But this wasn’t the Nie Residence he’d grown up with and all of them were in their 30s now. And even if he had come back to the Commonwealth, he’d come back the right way, on his own terms, under his own decision, having accomplished a successful career without the Nie reputation and name.

He’d been the one to help set up Springfield Security’s initial contracts, floating the names of clients he knew he needed protection back east. He’d never imagined those first initial clients would turn into the massive thing Springfield Security had become, but he wasn’t surprised.

“Did we lose you?” Huaisang asked.

“No,” Zonghui said. “Just thinking.” He guided his cousin back towards the house. “So, what’s this about corn?”

**********

Nie Zonghui was a calm, patient man who was often praised for his composure. He was not the type to stumble into, and then onto, another person. It was only his fast reflexes that kept him from spilling his drink on the stranger.

His words died in his throat as he tried to apologize. All he could see were cornflower blue eyes, long golden hair, and a smile that was too perfect to be real.

“Not that I don’t like where your hands are, but I do usually ask a guy for his name first.”

Zonghui immediately stood up and apologized. “I am so very sorry. I truly didn’t see you sitting there.”

“It’s okay,” the man said. “In your defense, I was mostly under the table.” He dove back under and then emerged again, Xuanyu’s puppy in his arms. “This little rascal got loose and I wanted to grab him before Xuanyu got upset. Huaisang gets mean when Xuanyu is upset.” He shifted the puppy in his arms and grinned. “I’m Carson, by the way. I’m guessing you’re the man of the hour? Zonghui, right?”

“Yes,” Zonghui said with a nod.

Carson laughed. “Well, hell of a first meeting, Zonghui. I can’t wait to see what happens at work on Monday. Let me get this little guy back in the house.”

“Of course,” Zonghui said. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Carson said.

He walked past him, smelling of something minty and fresh that made Zonghui turn his head to watch him leave.

“Oh no,” Mingjue said. “Oh no.”

“What?” Zonghui asked.

“You like him,” Mingjue said.

“I don’t know him,” Zonghui said.

“And he just turned to check out your ass,” Mingjue said. He shook his head. “Fuck. First Aaron marries into the family and now Carson too?”

“I don’t know him,” Zonghui repeated, desperate to head off a Nie Family Planning Extravaganza. “Please don’t start planning a wedding now.”

“Too late,” Mingjue said. “Summer for you two, of course.”

“Mingjue,” Zonghui shook his head. “Stop. I’m not going to date someone I work with.”

Mingjue scoffed. “Okay, we’ll see,” he said. He held a bottle out. “Want to try the new pale ale?”

“I suspect you have ulterior motives in this,” Zonghui said as he took it. “Remember, I still have the video of us doing the Go Ninja rap and dance routine from Huaisang’s eleventh birthday.”

Mingjue cursed. “And to think, I was happy you came back home.” He wrapped his arm around Zonghui’s shoulders and pulled him towards his grill. “Missed you, asshole.’

“I’m here now,” Zonghui said.

And even though it wasn’t Boston, and even though it wasn’t the Nie Residence he remembered, he liked it here, on the farm, and with the members of Springfield Security he’d already met. It wasn’t Boston. It wasn’t Seattle. It was a new home and a new community and Zonghui was new to it, but he felt like he would love it here.

His eyes strayed to the door, where Carson had appeared again, the sun making his hair shine.

Yeah, he felt like he would love it here.

[remywrites5]

@cuddlingdeath   For Lexy who has been having a bad week. I pitched this idea to her earlier today and she thought it was cute so I wrote it for her. Hope you like it!! 

***

       “Have you ever thought about getting a service animal?” Natasha asked with no preamble as if they were in the middle of a conversation. Natasha was Bucky’s physical therapist and had been helping him work with his new prosthetic arm. She also happened to be the closest thing Bucky had to a friend since returning from the war.

           “Not really,” Bucky said with a shrug, twisting his prosthetic arm and curling the fingers of it to check the mobility. He’d only had the thing for a few days and seeing it move was still alarming. Shuri, who had designed it for him, had done an amazing job. Bucky was almost afraid of damaging it. Not that there was much call for concern now that he’d been discharged.

           Nat watched him while tapping her finger against her chin pensively. “You should,” she told him. “I think it would be good for you. I know someone who trains them. I could inquire whether he has any ready for service.”

           Bucky’s brow furrowed. “Why are you pushing this?” he asked, flicking his hair out of his face. When it came to his personal life, Nat had quite a few suggestions, more than she probably should have, but she was never so pushy about them.

           “When was the last time you spent a night where you weren’t alone?” she asked pointedly.

           Bucky ducked his head, knowing the answer was months. His sister Becca had visited him back in around Christmas. It was already almost summer. “What’s your point?”

           “Maybe it’s time to stop being so isolated, James.”

           Bucky frowned. “I got to the meetings at the VA,” Bucky reminded her. He didn’t mention that he never spoke at the meetings, just listened to other people’s stories, and had never said much to the other guys there. Sam, the guy who ran the meetings was a good sort and liked to tease Bucky mercilessly.

           “You need something that’s just yours,” Nat insisted, pulling her phone out and typing something quickly out. Bucky didn’t even have to ask, he knew Nat was texting her friend. “You’ve got an appointment with him tomorrow morning at 10am. If I find out you don’t go I’ll make another appointment and I’ll drag your ass down there.”

           Bucky sighed and dragged his hand down his face in aggravation. He didn’t doubt Nat would do it, too. “Fine, I’ll go.”

                                                           ***

           Nat texted him the address that night and told him to ask for Steve. Bucky woke up the next morning and got dressed, only using his right arm. He still wasn’t used to the left one yet. Once he realized it he ate his breakfast only with his left arm, feeling guilty that Shuri had gone to so much trouble to make the arm for him, just for him to ignore it completely.

           It wasn’t too long of a drive seeing as this place was also in Brooklyn. Bucky paid the cab driver and stepped out in front of a cute little brick house with matching front steps and a white door. He dragged his ass up the steps, knowing it would be much more unpleasant doing this with Nat forcing him to.

           He rapped his knuckles of his right hand on the door, still not used to the strength of his left, and not wanting to bust the damn thing open accidentally. As he waited for someone to answer, he flexed the fingers on his left hand, watching the robotic limbs stretch and pull apart at his command. He felt like something out of a fucking science fiction movie with that hand. Part Terminator.

           Bucky jumped slightly when the door opened, having been distracted by his new robot hand. He had to keep his jaw from dropping when he got his first good look at Steve. When Bucky had pictured Steve he had thought of maybe a middle aged man, maybe someone retired who trained dogs as something to do to stave off boredom. He was not prepared for…this.

           Steve was six foot, his chest and biceps practically threatening to bust through the shirt he was wearing, his blond hair combed and his smile warm.

           Bucky was going to kill Natasha the next time he saw her.

           “Hi,” Steve said, stepping out onto the front stoop and closing the door behind him. “Sorry, I just got some newer dogs in and they’re not trained enough not to bolt for the door when company comes around. You must be Bucky.”

           “Yeah,” Bucky said dumbly, trying his damnedest not to stare at Steve. “Sorry.”

           “Sorry for what?” Steve asked, his grin widening.

           “I don’t know,” Bucky responded with a shrug.

           “Nothing to be sorry for,” Steve assured him. He opened the door back up and ushered Bucky inside quickly. As soon as they were in a few small dogs came up and started jumping towards Bucky, their tails wagging excitedly. Off to the side a few older dogs were sitting at attention, their eyes on Bucky, but remaining still.

           There was a German Shepherd that caught Bucky’s eye immediately. The dog was one of the older ones and had an air of confidence about her. But even so the dog had a sweet face. “Sorry,” Steve said with a knowing grin. “That’s Sarah and she’s my dog. Couldn’t get rid of her even if I tried.”

           Steve went over and gave the dog a pat on the head. “She’s the leader of the pack,” he explained, crouching down and giving her a scratch behind the ear. “She helps me train the new recruits, keeps everyone in line.”

           Bucky felt like his fucking heart was actually melting in his chest from watching Steve with the dog. A few of the other younger dogs had hurried over in hope that Steve would pay attention to them as well. Steve stood up and looked meaningfully at the young pups. “Sit,” he said, curling his hand into a fist and then bringing it up towards his chest. The puppies sat but their tails still wagged, showing their uncontrollable excitement.

           Steve laughed and gave each of the puppies a treat. Bucky thought he might just fucking explode if he kept watching Steve be adorable with the dogs. Steve finished passing out the treats and then looked at Bucky. “So, who catches your eye?”

           Bucky walked over and stood next to Steve. Steve gave him a few commands to give to each dog and see how they responded to him. There was an absolutely gorgeous chocolate lab with huge brown eyes that Bucky felt some kinship with. “That’s Charlie,” Steve said with a knowing smile. “He’s second in command around here after Sarah. There is one stipulation with him if you decide to take him.”

           “Oh?” Bucky asked, making Charlie shake for the third time in a row. “And what’s that?”

           “You have to come back and visit,” Steve said, laughing softly. “I’ve had Charlie for six years and I’d miss him terribly if he never came back. But I have a feeling you need him so I’ll let him go home with you.”

           Bucky thought he could handle that.

                                                           ***

           Bucky absolutely loathed the smug look Nat had on her face when Bucky brought Charlie to his next PT appointment. Charlie sat patiently in the corner on a mat while Bucky did his usual movements with Nat. He was always cautious about petting Charlie with his left hand, terrified he might do it too hard and hurt the dog. Charlie seemed to catch on to this and always only positioned himself on Bucky’s right.

           “So, how did it go with Steve?” Nat asked halfway through their session.

           Bucky rolled his eyes. “It went fine, I got the stupid dog like you asked. Nothing else happened.” He felt bad about calling Charlie stupid considering just how smart the dog was. But he mostly just wanted Nat to drop the subject.

           Nat raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. “Steve’s your type though, isn’t he?”

           Bucky sputtered. “Why would you think that?” he asked defensively. His mind wandered back to Steve and just how often he thought about that stupidly beautiful man. It’s not like Nat was in his head though, right?

           Nat laughed. “Come on James, I’ve been around you enough to notice what catches your eye.”

           Bucky groaned and covered his face with his good hand. “Please Nat, tell me you didn’t send me over there just to try and set me up with Steve.”

           When Bucky lowered his hand Nat was back to having that unbearable smug look on her face. “It was more of a two birds with one stone kind of situation.”

           Bucky shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

           Nat ignored him. “So did you get his number?” she asked, grinning conspiratorially. “Because I could give it to you if you chickened out.”

           “No, I got his number,” Bucky snapped at her grumpily. He didn’t bother to mention that the only reason he’d gotten Steve’s number was because Steve had offered it up gladly. It was so Bucky would make arrangements to bring Charlie by for visits.

           “Good,” Nat told him, nodding her approval. “You deserve something good, James.”

           Bucky smiled and tried to believe her.

                                                           ***

           It had been several play-dates so far (for the dogs Bucky reminded himself after having slipped up and called it that in front of Nat. The teasing had been endless) and Bucky still hadn’t gotten the courage up to do more than answer Steve when he talked. Bucky used to be so good at flirting back in high school but since returning from the war, his confidence was more or less shattered.

           Although Bucky felt more comfortable around Steve than he did most people. After having gotten over the initial awkwardness of Steve being fucking beautiful they’d actually gotten along pretty well. Bucky was still an asshole and sometimes he’d say something rude or stop the conversation dead in its tracks when he didn’t like where it was going.

           But Steve took it all in stride, never letting it bother him when Bucky said something rude. He’d just call Bucky a jerk fondly like the word was a term of endearment. A weaker man might have blushed from the way Steve said it.

           “So Buck,” Steve said, carefully nudging his shoulder against Bucky’s. “You gonna stay for dinner?”

           They were sitting on Steve’s back stoop watching the dogs play in the fenced in yard. “Depends,” Bucky said teasingly. “You gonna make something edible?”

           Steve scowled at him. “I was going to make burgers on the grill, but if you’re going to be a pain, I won’t.”

           Bucky grinned and ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “I guess I could do dinner.”

                                                                       ***

           They were lounging under a tree at the dog park, Charlie sitting obediently on Bucky’s right, while Sarah had made herself comfortable across Steve’s lap. They were both flushed from running with the dogs. Steve looked devastating with the apples of his cheeks tinged pink and a lazy smile playing on his lips.

           “Can I tell you a secret, Buck?” Steve asked softly.

           “Sure,” Bucky said with a shrug.

           “I’ve been meaning to kiss you for a while now,” Steve told him, risking a glance over to see Bucky’s reaction.

           Bucky bit his bottom lip. “What’s stopping you, Rogers?”

           Steve’s smile widened triumphantly. “Nothing, I suppose.”

           Bucky brought his hand up and cupped Steve’s cheek, surprising himself when he noticed it was his left hand. But Steve didn’t seem to mind it. “Go on then,” Bucky challenged tauntingly.

           Steve’s lips were soft when he finally rose to the challenge, his mouth warm and his tongue red hot as it slid against Bucky’s. The kiss was sweet and so damn affectionate and better than anything Bucky’s ever had in his entire miserable life. And Steve better of been planning to keep Bucky because he was pretty sure he was ruined for anyone else for the rest of his life.

           He managed to jokingly tell Steve as much and the grin he got in return was so fucking open and earnest that he wanted to make fun but couldn’t. Instead he just kissed Steve some more because he was allowed to and it was perfect.

           He knew he was going to owe Nat one hell of a thank you. Maybe Steve could help him come up with something that didn’t sound sarcastic.

[purplesurveys]

637

Random questions about your significant other. Yay I love these

What's their name? Y’all know the drill. Her name is Gabie. :) Are you dating, engaged, or married? We’re dating, because it’s too early to be getting into the other two just yet. How old are they? She’s 21. How long have you been together? It’ll be our fourth anniversary next month, but before that we also dated for eight months. When and how did you meet? It was in Grade 7, my friend and her friend were friends, so they introduced us to each other. We were a group of four friends for a while, but Gab and I ended up being the closest so we branched out. I took a liking to her because she was the only one in our batch who seemed to know about the fangirling culture, and I fucked with that lmao. Were you friends before you started dating? Yeah, super. We were each other’s best friends for a couple of years. She always says I’m one of the few people who understood her weirdness and quirks and rode along with it, and I can say the same for her with my own quirks. That really helped us become more close with each other.

- Beyond the basics - What did they have for dinner yesterday? We didn’t really have dinner. I know she had Chowking late in the afternoon, and then she met up with me in the evening and we had drinks out with friends. Sam’s uncle covered the food so we had grilled liempo, spicy hotdog, and isaw which technically was our pulutan, but I guess it counts as dinner too. What car do they drive? Her cars change all the time because of her dad’s business, but right now she alternates between a BMW (not sure which model) and a Toyota Vios. Where would they love to travel to the most? I don’t know, she hasn’t really expressed this with me. What is their favorite dog breed? She loves all dogs but I’m pretty sure her favorite breed is golden retriever. Are they more of a dog person or a cat person? She’s definitely more of a dog person, but she recently realized that she loooooves cats and that she’s a cat person as well. What do they do for a living? She doesn’t have a full-time job but I know she used to work at her dad’s company doing publicity materials for their social media, photography, working on Photoshop, etc. Not sure if she’s still doing the gig now since I don’t hear much of it from her these days. Have they ever worked two or more jobs at once? She juggled two executive positions in her two orgs a year ago, if that counts. What's their hair style/color? She used to have blonde tips but she chopped them off a few months ago, so now she’s back to just having her normal, wavy, black hair.   Name some of their favorite foods. Chicken pesto pasta, potato chips, and anything her dad cooks? I’m not sure about that last one, but generally I never trust her with having ‘favorites’ because hers changes every single day. What would they consider to be their greatest accomplishment? I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that it was when she scored a 100% scholarship at her present university. The tuition there per year is around P200K but thanks to her hard work and good grades her parents have never had to pay a single cent for her studies. How many cousins do they have? I know she has... a lot but they’re either too old (almost like her aunts and uncles) or live in the States. Her mom is the youngest among her siblings and all of them were already pretty grown-up when she came around; and her dad’s siblings live in the States, hence most of her cousins living there as well. Where did they go to elementary/primary school? She went to the same school I did. We met in Grade 7, or I think what you guys refer to as ~middle school. What's their highest level of education? We’re both in university but graduating this year. How many times have they moved? I’m only aware of the one time she moved, and I’ve also already been to that previous house. If there were any other periods that they moved houses, she hasn’t told me about them. (If married/living together) How many times have you two moved together? Do they have a celebrity look-a-like? She told me that her grandmother used to tell her she looked like Brooke Shields when Brooke was younger, but that was many years ago. Nowadays I hype her up cos she shares a resemblance with Gal Gadot, heh. Do they talk in their sleep? Sometimes. Usually it comes out as gibberish mumbles, but there are times she’d say actual words so for almost four years, I’ve kept a list of all the stuff she’ll say in her sleep. Some of the funnier/more interesting entries include “hot math,” “my knees are still stuck,” “I’m going to shate,” and simply “mutts.”

Have they ever had braces? Yes. We started wearing braces at around the same time but she had to keep hers on longer than I did. What size shoe do they wear? Her feet can fit in either a size 5 or 6. Do they have a good relationship with their parents? Yes. I’ll sometimes confide in her about how lucky she is and about how I wish we had the same set of parents, especially whenever I’m upset with mine. Her parents were very busy with work when she was younger so she wasn’t able to spend a lot of time with them then, but as time passed they were able to catch up and now she has a healthy relationship with both. At what age did they get their drivers license? 18. What was their first car? She changes her car every few months so she’s gone through A LOT and it’ll be hard for me to remember her first...but I’m gonna take a wild-ass guess and say her first was either like a blue-green Toyota Corolla or something similar, or a red Honda CRV. What were they wearing the last time you saw them? Plain gray t-shirt and black jeans. What was their first word? No clue. We’ve never talked about this. Are any of their grandparents still living? She has one living grandmother. What sort of books do they like to read? She’ll read anything I think, but right now she’s into coming-of-age stuff because of the last book she read. What was the last book they read, or are currently reading? ^ That. HAHAHA she didn’t tell me the title or delve too much into the book with me, but yeah it was coming-of-age and she ended up loving it. Do they wear a watch? Sometimes. Most of the time she doesn’t. Do they smoke? Yes. For a long time, I told her not to just cos I found it disgusting, but eventually I realized I can’t prohibit her from doing what she wants to do the whole time we’re together; so I slowly came to terms with her smoking so I just let her. I don’t know if it’ll be a habit of hers but I do know she does it socially. Do they drink? Yes. Are they more introverted or more extroverted? Definitely an extrovert; she can jive with anybody. What was their last reason for going to a doctor? She had a bad asthma attack so she needed to have an IV thing pricked on her for a few hours. What are some of their pet peeves? She HATES moochers, like those who ask for free stuff all the time hahaha I know this because we have a friend who shamelessly does this. She also dislikes freeloaders, laziness, and being scolded especially for something that isn’t her fault. What are some of their fears? On the shallow side, I know she’s scared of horror movies, driving at night, and having to kill cockroaches. But she’s generally a deep person ehhffdrjfld and I know that more than anything, she’s terrified of failing and of the future. What are some of their bad habits? She’s super forgetful but I think it’s endearing. Hmmm she overworks herself a lot, and overthinks as well. What are some of their talents? She’s amazing at writing, creating videos, shooting short films, doing tricks on the balisong, acting, and fixing everything I’ve ever broken haha. What's their favorite amusement park? I’m not a big amusement park person so we haven’t been to any, but I think she likes Disneyland? Have they ever broken a bone? I don’t think so. Which do they tend to remember more - names or faces? Neither. What are their religious beliefs? Or are they not religious? She’s agnostic. She believes there must be something or someone out there that caused the universe and why everything in it has happened so seamlessly, but she is in no pressure to find out who or what it is. Have they ever volunteered anywhere? To my knowledge, she has not. What's their favorite season? I dunno, we only have two. What sports have they played? Basketball and softball. What musical instruments have they played? Guitar and ukulele. What is a cause they feel strongly about? Women’s rights, and women in general.   What's their ancestry? She’s Turkish on her mom’s side, but other than that she’s Filipino. Which do they prefer - coffee or tea? Coffee. Do they believe in astrology? Ugh. Yes. Are they more of a night owl or a morning person? Night owl.

[raine-jones]

[ sacrifice ] for your muse to get hurt protecting mine

[SACRIFICE] for your muse to get hurt protecting mine

Part I: My Fault

Raine was new to the pack, just a couple of weeks there, confused and still living between dream and reality. They had stopped smoking for now, thinking it had something to do with consuming far too much weed. 

They had met Diego’s consort, the other wolves, some of them they had met in the woods, in their dream, they thought.

Because how real could it be? Perhaps their drink had been spiked or something, and it had left them with a delusion that lasted for about four months. Who knew. But then again, he had accepted this new reality too. Moved out, moved in, found himself drawn to Diego like a mentor. Did everything that was asked of them, learned about the pack, learned about this dream world. Or reality. 

They had some difficulty coming to terms with it, and was incredibly uncomfortable with everyone trying to help them. 

The worst right now was the situation surrounding what others thought of the house. They had moved in alright, but as soon as they did, the gazes towards them became more than just those they had felt all their life. Now it was as if they had good reason to judge them, as if by settling in with the pack they had established something that others had long thought of them. That they were no good. 

And Raine hated to let that slide, so in a fit of blind rage, they had kicked off the side mirror of a neighbors car and stolen the car radio, for shits and giggles, and they were sitting on the front porch sipping from a beer while fighting the need to use weed again. This dream was beginning to feel a lot more like a nightmare. The car radio they had thrown in the trash, their hand burned from the small cut they had gotten after knocking in the glass window, and despite the violence usually settling their irritation, it wasn’t doing anything right now. 

Then the owner of the car appeared from around the bench, holding a bat in their right hand. 

Raine almost fell from the foldable chair. 

The owner pointed the bat at them and hurried over the grass towards the house, shouting something about vandalism. 

Raine pushed themself up, and carefully walked backwards, their hand held out in front of them, shouting at the angered invidual to please calm down. They stumbled over something on the ground and fell backwards in the grass. Their back hit the ground, but they still somehow managed to keep their hands up to defend against the bat. 

The owner was only a few steps away, 

They closed their eyes, knowing what would follow. But the bat never hit their arms, instead they heard a higher pitched grunt and a shout from the owner. They looked up and found Lola standing over them. She stared down the owner, holding her left arm against her chest. With her free hand she reached for her phone inside her pocket and threatened to call 911 if the individual didn’t leave. 

It seemed to take minutes if not hours before the owner budged, but when they did, they hurried off almost as quickly as they had come. 

Raine clambered to their feet, quickly edging around Lola to see if she wasn’t hurt. Tears were in her eyes, her gaze shifted from her arm to Raine, and they felt suddenly incredibly stupid for being the reason for her tears, not to mention the pain she must be feeling. The naked skin already showing signs of swelling. At least the pain meant it probably wasn’t broken. 

“Fuck, Lola, I am so sorry,” they said, feeling truly idiotic. Hating that their bad decisions were hurting others.

Lola gritted her teeth. “Last I checked you weren’t wielding the bat.” 

Not directly. But they just looked very distraught and didn’t respond. 

——–

Part II: 

Raine had finally accepted it wasn’t a dream, and from that acceptance, they had tried to prove themself as the perfect choice to help keep the pack running. Or mostly: try to keep the place running. The second didn’t prove that difficult, at least not when Raine took up the mantle. They were actually pretty okay with finances, and they found it somehow easy to keep people to do their jobs around the house if they put in the right example. And grilled them nicely if they forgot or didn’t do shit. 

The social aspect of the job wasn’t as easy. 

Dealing with the view others had on the pack and the house and him, it had grown to be a nuisance, they didn’t care anymore, but they could see some truth in what people said about the house. Diego liked to bring in strays. 

One of them had run away from the house the other day, and Diego had send them all looking in the forest. They had given two free days for this little venture, but were at least glad that they weren’t forced to search alone. Lola was keeping them company today. 

They moved through the forest in silence, not because they didn’t have anything to talk about, but because Raine enjoyed the silence. Somehow the idea of company was good, but that didn’t mean company had to mean conversation. 

Also, Blackrock was filled with idiots and rough hunters, and Raine rather face them with someone at their side than all alone. 

As if summoned, a bullet lodged itself in the bark of a tree just half a meter above their heads. Lola and Raine right away snapped their heads towards the shooter. 

“The next one will end up in someone’s skull if you don’t go back where you came from, freaks!” a voice shouted.

Raine turned to Lola and their eyes suggested it might be better if they backed off now. Or, at least, didn’t try to move on. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll leave!” Raine shouted back. “Just a question, have you maybe seen anyone pass through here yesterday? Touch looking fellow, wore a very ugly blue and white striped jacket!” 

No answer came. 

They waited for a moment, then nudged Lola that perhaps it was time to go back, but as they turned to face her, they saw from the corner of their eye someone appearing to her left. They acted quickly, pushing Lola behind them. The guy was huge and carried a shotgun which they had meant to lodge at Lola’s head but now hit their shoulder. 

Raine heard Lola yell behind them, and turned to find the second hunter closing in on them. 

The first hunter had backed up a bit, pointing their gun at Raine. 

“We know you!” the second hunter yelled pointing at Lola. 

“We said that we’ll leave!” Raine shouted at them, whilst their shoulder was beginning to throb violently. 

“We just want to talk with the lady for a bit,” the first hunter said, edging closer, their gun pointed at Lola. 

Raine didn’t like the sound of that, and they held their ground. Lola was their pack, they would defend their pack. They waited as the two hunters closed in, the second pushed the barrel of the shotgun against their chest and pushed Raine backwards. The second they were sure that both hunters were close enough, they retaliated. 

“Run!” they shouted at Lola, grabbing the barrel of the gun and pulling the hunter towards them, hitting the person with their free fist. They were counting on the trigger happy hunters not to be eager to shoot anyone, and as the first moved in without firing a shot, they found their hypothesis was correctly.

Fucking thankfully. 

The second hunter hint them against the side of their face with the back of the gun, and Raine went reeling, but kept their ground despite the ringing in their head, and moved in under the other’s guard to elbow him in the stomach. The first hunter went down, and the second was still trying to get up, giving Raine the opportunity to run off and follow Lola, who had done as they had ordered and was already somewhere deeper in the woods. 

Their vision was swimming, but adrenaline kept them moving quickly through the trees, until they were certain that they had left the hunters well behind them. 

Raine sat down against a tree and took a deep breath. Lola appeared five minutes later, she sat down next to them and took a look at the wound on their head. 

“You took a chance with those hunters.” 

Raine grinned. “Oh yeah, I’m usually a terrible judge of character, so I was guessing I would get shot on account of that. I’m still not sure that didn’t actually happen.” 

[thepunktheory]

Why GoT Season 8 sucked - Welcome to my TED Talk

I hadn't been a GoT fan from the first minute. However, once I had watched my first episode, I was all in. I binged all season, devoured the books. Needless to say, I was both excited and anxious about the final season. We could clearly see a decline in quality once the show had left the charted territory marked by George R. R. Martin's books. So, I had dialed down my expectation for the final season. Nevertheless, Benioff and Weiss managed to fuck it up beyond my wildest imaginations. About three episodes in, all I wanted was for the show to be over. It was almost painful to watch! So, what did Benioff and Weiss do to ruin it all?

What has Game of Thrones always been known for? Unforeseen plot twists, cleverly crafted stories, impressive characters along with intense character development, epic battles and (very important) strong female characters who seriously kick ass. Let me tell you in detail how all of that went down the drain with season 8.

I'll begin with the amazing female characters as that is what pissed me off the most. I have thoughts on Dany, Arya, Brienne, Sansa, Yara, and Cersei so prepare for a longer rant.

Brienne had always been one of my favorites in the show. She was strong, smart, stood up for herself and others. I was cheering for her when she finally got to be a knight in this season. Well, my joy was short-lived. After the big battle, Jamie, Brienne, Tyrion, and Podrick play a drinking game and Tyrion assumes that Brienne is a virgin. She stalks off into the night only to be followed by Jamie who ends up sleeping with her. The next he leaves a weeping Brienne behind as he heads for King's Landing (and Cersei). Let dissect everything that is wrong here. First of all, the fact that Brienne is a virgin is presented as something that appears to be a problem. Problems need fixing. So, of course, good guy Jamie is there to help her out. Seeing her cry because of some dude is jab the character that was built over 7 seasons. Don't try to tell me it was to make her human. We already know that. Brienne isn't perfect, she's also had her share of heartbreak. This scene only served one purpose: to remind us that in the end Brienne is a woman, weak and governed by emotions. No matter how amazing she is on the battlefield, she's still just a weeping girl. The scenes I mentioned have absolutely no relevance to the bigger story, don't do anything in terms of character development and were altogether simply unnecessary. Also, I was rooting for Tormund and was really sad to see him cast aside.

Next, some quick thoughts on Yara. Well, where was she this season? We get to see her for half a heartbeat before she's shipped off to the Iron Islands, never to be seen again. The fact that she was there in the final episodes, to say just about one sentence, felt more like a concession to fans than anything else. Her story arc doesn't really get any form of closure. It's like Benioff and Weiss had completely forgotten about her this season.

Just like Brienne, Arya had also been one of my favorites. I cheered when she killed the Night King (more on that later) but was somewhat flabbergasted during the penultimate episode. For the last 7 seasons, she trained to become this badass assassin and now she was headed to King's Landing. Killing Cersei had been one of the main driving forces that have kept her going and in the penultimate episode of season 8, she was closer to her goal than ever. Anyhow, once she and Sandor get to the capital he basically tells her to skedaddle as there's only death to be found here. Arya is like "K, bye." Her whole story was building up to this and now she just turns to leave. One could argue that she finally overcame the hate inside her, her thirst for revenge or whatever. But this is not the way it's presented here. A man tells her it's too dangerous for her and ever the good and obedient little girl, Arya decides to leave. Something sound off here?

With Sansa, I think I get what Benioff and Weiss wanted to say but their writing is just terrible, so it comes across the wrong way. I love that she ended up as Queen in the North but before that, we have one scene that really irked me. She’s talking with Sandor and kinds of says "well, it's really good that all this shit has happened to me. Otherwise, I'd still be a little bird." So, I guess, what writers were going for was for her to come to terms with her past and embrace who she is now. How it came across: being a little bird is a terrible thing, (There's nothing wrong with living a sheltered life, are you arguing that the only good way to live is to be mistreated?) ultimately all the shit that happened to her was okay anyways (it was not okay).

Now what you all have been waiting for: Dany. Benioff and Weiss really murdered her for good. She's always been an intricate and complex character, not without flaws but with a desire to become a better person. Writers decided to take all that, wrap it up real nice with a bow and throw it out the window. What we get in season 8 is a mad Queen with no feelings and no remorse. I was so angry when Benioff and Weiss claimed it was foreshadowed that she'd go mad. Why? Just because the Gods toss a coin when a Targaryen child is born? It wasn't foreshadowed that she'd go batshit crazy within the blink of an eye. We knew she struggled with her heritage, but in the past seasons, Dany always made a point to distance herself from her father's actions, made a point to not be like him. Remember when she was heartbroken because her dragons had grilled an innocent child? Over my dead body is that the same character who burns down an entire city without thinking twice or without the slightest hint of internal conflict.

When it comes to Cersei Lannister, I was equally disappointed. We barely get to see her this season, she has just about 6 sentences and isn't quite herself. I was already pissed during the first episode. Euron Greyjoy (don't even get me started on that twat) wants to bed her. And Cersei holds a more or less elaborate speech, basically telling him to go fuck himself. However, he cocks his head to the side and claims that he'd rather have a go with her. So, of course, Cersei gives in without further discussion and sleeps with him. That is not the Cersei we know. I talked with some people about it and they argued that she had to in order to convince him that the child in her belly was his. Well, I beg to differ. It's just written terrible and out of character. Cersei has always been a strong character, she doesn't bow to no-one. In this season she's but a shadow of herself. Especially the penultimate episode was a letdown. Her life ends with Jamie holding her and Cersei keeps muttering that she doesn't want to die and she doesn't want her baby to die. Well, Cersei had faced death before and we know this is not the way she deals with it. She's always held her head high, unwilling to give, strong to the very end. The Cersei Martin created never would have cowered like that. 

As we were talking about foreshadowing with Dany. Does anybody remember the prophecy Cersei got back in the day before she was married? It stated that she'd have three children with golden crowns (Joeffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella) but Cersei would have to watch them all die. Thus I am convinced that however much she wanted the baby in her belly to live, Cersei knew that it wouldn't happen. That's another reason I am convinced her final scene is absolutely out of character. I won't even talk about the rest of the prophecy as Benioff and Weiss really fucked up that front. This leads me to one thought that was also expressed by Martin himself.

Writers nowadays try so damn hard to surprise the audience, they don't even care that the stories often don't make sense anymore. The fact that somebody might have guessed the correct ending isn't a bad thing. It means that what you wrote/produced so far paints a picture of the characters it's coherent. You can't build a story, fill it with clues and then just take another route because you feel like. What you get from that is endings like GoT Season 8 (or Captain Rogers in Avengers: Endgame).

So, what else did I hate in season 8? The battle of Winterfell. Sure, the battle scenes were rather epic but there were just so many things wrong in that episode. The first 20 minutes were almost black, meaning most viewers weren't able to see a thing. I heard the explanation that you simply need a super expensive TV, then the episode looks fine, that's what the colors were calibrated for. If that's not a big fuck you to all the fans than I don't know what is. Next, there were so many strategic mistakes in there. We don't have time to unpack all of that, but who had the brilliant idea to put all the women and children in the crypts? With the dead people. When the Night King is coming, whose best trick is to resurrect the dead. Also, killing the Night King didn't seem that big of a deal. After 7 seasons build-up for that battle, I expected him to be a bigger problem. I mean, I love that Arya was the one to take him down. But one dagger was really all that was needed? Somebody could have sent a sharpshooter in season 1 and the problem would have been dealt with

Finally, let me give you some examples for the lazy ass writing done by Benioff and Weiss. Do you remember that in the past seasons it was actually hard to kill a dragon? Well, in season 8 Euron Greyjoy kills a dragon with a single freaking bolt. Why does that happen? Because Danaerys forgot about his fleet (According to Benioff and Weis). Are those guys seriously trying to convince me that nobody in Dany's council remembered that Greyjoy is still alive and kicking? What the fuck?! Another example is the scene were Missandei gets executed. Had it been written by Martin, Tyrion would have held a smart speech and pleaded with his sister (nope). More importantly, Missandei would have had some inspiring last words for Dany. All she says is Dracarys. You know how that felt to me? I bet this was Benioff's and Weiss' thought process: "Well, we could let her do a speech. But then we have to come up with a speech. Let's just make her say Dracary and the audience can come up with the rest."

I’m sorry to say that it's obvious how overwhelmed Benioff and Weiss were with writing season 8. They clearly lacked the skills to bring the show to a worthy end and I'm sad to see so much money being wasted on that. Honestly, it felt like they didn't even care anymore and just wanted it all to be over. HBO should have just hired some fanfiction authors to do the job. They would have done infinitely better. I don't even think that all the decisions made in this season were bad. They were just terribly executed. You know, I can imagine Dany going nuts even in Martin's version, just not the way Benioff and Weiss portrayed it. It's the kind of story arc you can only pull off if you are an excellent writer, otherwise, you just slaughter your characters. You need internal conflict, development - more than CGI effect and dragons. As we are speaking of dragons: I had hoped the dragon would turn Jon into a piece of steak and grill him instead of the Iron Throne. But of course, the golden boy had to survive...

Season 8 is a really unworthy end to a show that had once been great. My only hope is that now George R. R. Martin has some motivation to finish his books. Hopefully, he'll show us soon how it was meant to be and how you get the job done properly.

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

[pannacottawarrior]

holy shit guys i finally came across some sexist white gamer guys the other day ovo

before i get back to replying and reblogging shit, i just wanna get this out of my system because holy shit that was a fucking annoying experience eve

i gotta get this out in a rant because i never said anything back to them i just left because holy shit was that disgusting eve

anyway it’s under the read more and i’m not kidding when i say that it’s long

anyway so uh, competitive

yeah

boy howdy the chill competitive games gradually got rarer each game my bro and i were in for because holy shit first it started with complainers, then a toxic guy throwing the game based on hero choices, a Russian guy fucking reported all of us just for losing the game because he couldn’t be bothered to change from Pharah despite being countered hard but he blamed us for being ‘noob teammates’ and now this ^^

reasons why i don’t always play competitive #4 

my bro and i got into a team the other day and we did p well altogether and so we all thought; hey why not group together and stay as a team? so we did that

now here’s the thing; in competitive i almost always go support - usually Ana or Lúcio and sometimes Mercy - but i do like to play D.Va and Pharah when i think i can do well and/or counter a few heroes

but this team ovo this team kept telling me to go Mercy because rezzes

that’s it

anyway so i’m like ‘*shrug* okay...maybe they’ll let me go Lúcio another time or that guy can give me Ana sometimes since i know how my bro plays as Reinhardt and can directly talk to him’

but nah i just stayed as Mercy 100% of the time we were with them

but anyway since it was a school night so i wanted to go to bed early (which was odd in itself since i usually get homework for the next day that keeps me up until 2am at least) 

i tell the group this and the conversation goes on and then they start referring to me as he/him

...

i tell them i’m a girl

...

‘whoa you’re a GRILL? 0_0′ ‘holy shit’ ‘ah that explains why you’re a support main’ ‘no that explains why they kept getting scared so much lol’ ‘and why they can’t aim for shit’

oh my God

someone get me an actual gun and i’ll show them who can’t ‘aim for shit’. bruh you watched me fucking play ONLY Mercy for those games and you think i can’t aim for shit??? you looking at my QP stats? oye pendejo, you’re looking at the fucking average from every QP game i’ve played ever and another fucking thing mi amigo, i only fucking play support because no one in this fucking game can or want to play fucking support 300% of the time ovo

my real mains?? Lúcio Ana D.Va Pharah Hanzo McCree. when it’s a capture point on Defend or we have a fucking Pharah who cAN’T BE BOTHER TO FUCKING CHANGE WHEN THEY’RE GETTING COUNTERED HARD I TRY TO HELP THEM BY CHOOSING TO BE MERCY SO WE’D AT LEAST HAVE A SECOND HEALER

don’t you fucking DARE talk to me like as if i can’t fucking AIM

AIMING is something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to having EXPERIENCE as a DPS main

i can fucking AIM

i’m aware of my surroundings and i know when i’m in a pinch and need to fucking group up with my teammates to get protection

i don’t fucking know how to continue fighting and how to dodge and be unpredictable in order to stay alive and to still get kills

you guys know that because you guys can’t be fucking bothered to give someone else a chance at playing DPS 99% of the time =-=

‘Cicada you never told me your friend was a grill’ ‘is she available’ ‘...that’s my sister’ ‘omg’ ‘haha but is she *available*?’ ‘i don’t think that’s a grill guys he didn’t use voice chat for any of our games’

^^^^ that was when i decided to leave because ew. i didn’t use voice chat because 90% of the time i couldn’t understand what they were saying and i didn’t want them to know in the first place that i was a girl (i just wanted to play and be on my merry way to go to my fucking bed)

anyway ovo that was disgusting eve these guys must’ve been at least 17 years old (personally i think they were mostly over 20) and while my bro was trying to tell them that the age gap was probably big and that i wasn’t interested in dating any of them because i barely knew them anyway, they kept getting over excited over the fact that there was a ‘grill’ on their team and wished i sent them friend requests so we could talk with the intention of getting to know one another so we could date or some shit while some of them were just laughing and making jokes about ‘all grill players are Mercy mains because they can’t aim lol’

i swear to God i felt like fucking screaming at them because??? 

i’m not a fucking Mercy main - i don’t get that much enjoyment playing Mercy 100% of the fucking time. anyone with half a mind could’ve found that out by looking at my fucking career profile

Mercy mains?? aren’t always???? girls???? also what’s so fucking wrong with playing Mercy anyway you piece of shit???? i’ve seen Mercy mains who also dabble in other heroes like Hanzo and Widowmaker and are fucking extremely good at them. also surprise surprise, a lot of them are girls too!! *gasp* girl gamers are so rare!!! ;o; o m g it’s a grill!!! haha yeah no you’re just as likely to find a girl gamer as you are at finding a boy gamer ffs

i aM FUCKING GLAD I DIDN’T SEND FRIEND REQUESTS TO YOU GUYS JFC YOU GUYS ARE CREEPY ASS MOTHERFUCKERS I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY NO ONE’S DATING YOU RN OvO  I AM FUCKING 16 AND STILL IN SCHOOL WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANNA DATE SOMEONE WHO’S OVER 4 YEARS OLDER THAN ME??? eve

‘can’t aim’ sAID THE GUYS WHO COULDN’T KILL A FUCKING SLEEPING REINHARDT I HAD TO WHIP OUT MY PISTOL TO FUCKING KILL THE GUY AS MERCY i mean y’all can argue her pistol does a ton of damage and it’s easy getting headshots with it but holy  s h i t  3/4 of you guys couldn’t fucking kill him altogether

anyway that’s why i don’t use voice chat 99% of the time in competitive and also one of the many reasons i don’t always play competitive ovo i usually just play competitive because my bro wants to play it and i don’t mind that much if i’m with him

[astormyknight]

How I came out, Multiple Experiences.

The first person I came out to is dead. 

They have been for a long time. We lost her in Year 12 of High School or maybe it was when we were year 11. I just remember I was around 16. It was pretty traumatic for a lot of us. I can’t remember exactly when it happened, like what time of year except it was sometime during either the end of the year or middle of the year (even that is hazy), it was ten years ago or so now.

We weren’t super close, like we didn't hang out on weekends or after school or anything (my parents being super strict religious types who didn’t let me go into town unless it was to the library right up until I was in my last year/sort of learning how to drive).  

But right around when I was becoming aware of my sexuality, or rather why I wasn’t ‘normal’ (second year of senior high, like...2008-9 or something), we’d been writing letters to each other and talking heaps at lunch and in whatever class we shared (I think it was social studies or classics). She felt bad for me because I was such a fucking nerd, and super socially awkward and a little bit chubby/super KY(空気読めない ) - I had friends, but at the time I was becoming more and more uncomfortable hanging out because they were super religious, made me feel like shit sometimes (except the other Hannah who was and still is cool) because my family were new to the church and I was (still am) a little...weird??? I was slowly becoming closer with the kids I took the bus part of the way home with/was in rowing with and their friends, but she kind of noticed how sheltered I was and was kind about showing me it was ok to open up, ask questions and try new things I guess. 

 ANYWAY my Mum had a bad opinion of her, but she was one of the most amazing people who went out of her way to make me see myself as a person and not a monster/demon from hell destined to return, and I couldn’t help her do the same, our situations were so different, I dunno, life is a bitch and it weighs down the best people. She made some bad choices as teenagers do, but her family wasn't really there for her either.  ((My Mum scoffed at her and in earshot one day when she came to pick me up about a month or two before the incident  and said to me that she wasn’t the sort of friend I wanted, and that she was destined to go nowhere (and in my first real act of defiance I stood up for her, called her hypocritical, and continued to write letters.))    

I dunno why but this time of year I always have really shitty dreams about that time, about the last time I kind of awkwardly brushed off her hug goodbye (like I always did, I hated and still do hate, physical affection) and how I wish I’d reciprocated even just a little. Not being able to go to her memorial because my Mum still didn’t like her/her own parents were dicks/I wasn’t in her super close circle of friends. I know I couldn’t have done more than I did, even with some of the content in the letters, I didn’t know what she was going through exactly, I didn’t really GET how bad things were for her. I thought she was going to be able to tough shit out and make her break eventually, but yeah. Life is rough, teenagers go through shit, and yeah. I’ve been dreaming lately, and it sucks ass. I always have this guilt about my grief because I wasn’t in her inner circle, but to me she was the only person really I trusted at that time with one of my “darkest” secrets.  

The second person I came out to was one of the kids I rode the bus home with who is a total no bullshit person. To this day, I am slightly scared of her, but in the best way. She told it like it was. Super awesome and still is, I’m gutted I missed the opportunity to catch up over winter last year when I was in England. I’d borrowed a French CD from her as I was trying to break my weeb phase and try music from other places, and she was worried about the racy cover, the torso of a naked woman (Indochine’s Paradize). MY DUMB ASS TEXTED BACK AND WAS LIKE...DUDE, I’M A LESBIAN...or some stupid shit like that (what a way to come out, over some pervy CD cover....gods I was/am dumb). I don’t think she really knew how to handle it, like it was SUPER out of left field, and like yeah. I don’t really remember what happened after that, she never treated me any different, she asked a lot of really sensible questions, and was patient with me. I think this was in our final year of high school, but it could have been towards the end of year our second year. 

I told her best friend at the time shortly after that, and she was kinda weird about it, lol, but like in her own way...Like in a lot of ways I think she’d guessed (I think a lot of my peers had guessed before me, in typical useless lesbian fashion) because I would always say stuff like “If my friend was gay, that’d be ok, so long as they didn’t try anything on me...” “Love the sinner, hate the sin....” ect. ect. This was right around the time when Gay Marriage was in the news for one reason or another, roughly around three years or so before it became legal in New Zealand. So that was a ride. I still don’t know how the whole thing didn't get blown up by her and she didn’t tell the rest of our peers (if she did, they kept it quite and were really respectful, waited for me to tell them). I was terrified of my family or the teachers finding out too...for a little bit anyway, and then towards the end of Year 13 I think I came out to everyone (except my family) and just was like fuck it, if people have a problem with it, I’ll just punch them/shout at them and then go cry in the toilets or something - but I didn’t need to because for whatever reason most of my year group were really cool about it! 

There were a few people in between then though.

For some reason I was in a car with a fellow self proclaimed nerd some time late at night driving somewhere in town (to or from a movie, or potentially ball lessons or something?Maybe even something to do with a one year memorial to above mentioned friend, I REALLY can’t remember.)  This person was also one of the people I felt the least judged around, like I’d say a lot of dumb shit or nerd out about something and they’d either laugh, give me a look that was like... you weirdo....but never treated me any different. I think at this point I was like... .I don’t remember how it came up, but I was like...please don’t crash, but I think I like girls. And I think I also said how I’d told above two friends, but wasnt out to family because that would not be a fun time ect. I don’t remember much after the fact, but for me this was significant because baby gay me was sweet on her (don’t freak out if you’re reading this dude please, like I at this point I was still struggling with the whole admiration vs romantic interest thing. I thought you were super straight, didn’t want to take/ruin any friendship we had for granted, wasn’t like really interested in dating anyone even though in highs school that wasnt and option anyway ect...I thought/think you are cute, have a good sense of humor, great taste in books and are very kind and intelligent, qualities that I really respect and value in all my friends). She’s a cool kid, probably the one who had the closest interests to me out of that whole group in terms of reading taste and interest in Japanese stuff. I AM SO SORRY. SO. SO SORRY I TOLD YOU WHILE YOU WERE DRIVING. My sense of self preservation at that/this time is obviously no-existent.  Also cheers for not telling my Mum...she thought you were neat and I think she talked to you a bit about unrelated stuff (probably for you Halloween party??? occasionally at cycling, you were legit the only friend I’ve had that like, she approved of) at some point. 

One of the more popular/well respected/super out of my social status girls and I were taking extra scholarship exams for biology and classics. She was super popular, super snobby, REALLY EMOTIONAL, weirdly open about the grossest stuff and also really beautiful. I was SUPER intimidated by her, and she like flat out asked me why I wasn’t interested in any of the guys I hung out with outside of school/never talked about any crushes on celebrities... again...Dude, I like girls I think... (I ALSO HAD A HUGE CRUSH ON MY MARRIED CLASSICAL HISTORY TEACHER. FUCK. MY. LIFE. Never told anybody at school though.) She was SHOOK. To her credit, she recovered quickly asked a bunch of questions and promised not to tell my parents. I think she told some of her other popular friends, who to their credit, didn’t treat me any different and didn’t out me to teachers or my parents. As mentioned,  my peer group was surprisingly blase about stuff like that (probably owing to one of their own coming out of the closet at some point either at the same time/a while before me). I wasn’t exactly bullied for that, but I was picked on for other things (like my nerdiness, my weight, my quirky habbits, my loathing of all things feminine that I had to wear including my uniform, my lack of fashion sense, my scatterbrained-ness). 

Another one of the more fiery kids was super cool about it too. She was always a bit much for me, and also the last person I expected to be one of the first people to get married/partnered up and have a house/kid on the way. She was probably the one who grilled me the most on everything. Because until this point I was one of the SUPER religious kids, with SUPER traditional parents.

Once I hit Uni, I went full baby gay. Came out to my room-mates right away. No problems there. Came out to friends I made right away. Came out to pretty much everyone I met and was bloody obnoxious about it. How I didn’t accidently out myself to family until like...third year Uni I HAVE NO IDEA. 

At this point I was “seeing” someone from online, who halfway through third semester of my first year was cheating with a dude from Auzzie. I got so upset I actually went propper drinking after one of our college functions and broke down. I came out to my parents then, at the end of year, right before final exams, I wrote a drunk email - got my very patient older flatmate to check it (she was an insomniac, and still awake at 3am watching shitty tv and studying). She made me wait until at least 7am and a cat nap/a shit ton of water and sobering up and a final read through before I clicked send. 

My Mum must have read it at like, 8am, because I got an email right around 10am and it went down like a ton of bricks. Bible verses and pleas to get help and they drove up and saw me to lecture me the next week, we had a fight of sorts, in public, but not like a super big one, just one where Dad didn’t talk for me the whole summer after that (I went home against my better judgment to work and not pay rent...I relied on them for money during Uni, and have mixed feelings about that, I am grateful they still gave me the opportunities they did, but somewhat bitter because they don’t LISTEN to anything I say that challenges what they believe when I had/have to consider and listen to what they believe) and then not until like...the middle of the next year? Yeah, it was a wild ride. 

We still are very tense with each other and fight about a lot of stuff, they get progressively more racist/homophobic every year but then they have lulls where we don`t talk about stuff of that vein and it’s almost like we’re a family again? My brother is mostly cool, he’s not super on board with gender diversity, but he’s been doing some reading recently and at least uses my preferred pronouns and name most of the time...

Only some of the extended family know, basically one family of cousins on my Dads side (plus their parents), and only one of the girls on my Mums plus her parents who are awesome (they offered to have me come stay with them and help out if my family booted me). I haven’t said anything to the grandparents. I actually outed myself accidentally to my cousin on my Dads side in third year, at a friends place (I thought I outed her, accidentally, then remembered....shit, she’s out to everyone, I’m only out to friends...) - she was in a dorm together and asked how I knew my friend. “Oh, we both go to the same LGBTQAI+ support group...” I say. “Fuck....” I say. “Dammit, I owe Sarah (older cousin) $50″ she texts me after she breezes out the door to some party. 

The one almost family member I nearly told died before I could come clean. Shortly after I came out to my parents, a family friend of ours, who my parents knew through cycling, got really aggressive cancer. She was gone by mid-way through my second year in July. I’ve been dreaming about her too recently, I always dream about the two of them this time of year. I think Nic knew, she would always talk about stuff with me that made me feel super supported and loved. I miss her, and regret this the most.

- So yeah. TLDR; I HAVE BEEN HAVING SAD DREAMS. I am avoiding sleeping even though I need to be up early to prove to my bank that I AM NOT DOING MONEY FRAUD BECAUSE I AM A FOREIGNER I DAMN WELL LIVE AND WORK HERE AND HAVE A STUDENT LOAN!

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [560]

“Doesn’t it seem unfair that the Iron Bull has to go through a whole gamut of meeting the in-laws?” Maxwell asks Ellana. “You have a million family members.”

Ellana rolls her eyes.

“No. I’m serious.”

“About which part?” Cassandra asks from Ellana’s other side, bored as she watches the grainy television in the corner of the bar. “I think this game played when I was a child at boarding school. I remember this part because our teachers allowed us all in the dining hall to watch it.”

“Yikes,” Ellana says. “So who wins?”

“I don’t remember,” Cassandra shrugs. “I was not interested in sports at the time.”

She pauses.

“Frankly, I remain, for the most part, uninterested.”

“That’s a mood,” Ellana nods in agreement, clinking her glass against Cassandra’s. Neither of them drink, though. If the TV is playing matches from over thirty years ago, who knows how old the rest of the things in this bar are?

“Both parts,” Maxwell decides. “You play to the stereotypical elf in that you’re related to everyone else in some way or form. But also unfair about you not having to go through the same thing with Bull.”

“I admit that the first part is true, but the second part is blatantly false,” Ellana says. “I was thoroughly vetted and interrogated by the Chargers. And then later the Adaars and the Valos-kas. And even later by Cassandra and Cullen. I, too, had to go through a meet the in-laws, except it was like. Meet the highly trained professional killers and government officials who will definitely fuck me up if I step wrong on this.”

“Really?” Cassandra turns to look at Ellana, “The Chargers?”

“Oh yeah, they’re super protective of him,” Ellana says. “I mean. In certain situations. I guess I was the only one who got close enough to stick around in a way that they could envision long-haul. Which was a little weird because at first they were super nice, but a little distant, like they kept expecting me to not show up one day. And then they got very serious and did a bunch of like…tests in which one or two of them would ask me questions or put me in strange — but not dangerous! Or questionable! — situations and pointedly ask me stuff. I guess I must have answered right because we’ve been cool ever since.”

Maxwell leans around Ellana to look at Cassandra. “You questioned Ellana about the Iron Bull?”

“It was mostly Rutherford,” Cassandra says. “I was there for emotional support.”

The three of them make faces at that.

“It was…a poor choice,” Cassandra admits. “Mostly I was there to kick Rutherford underneath the table whenever he trailed off and couldn’t finish a sentence. Or kick the Iron Bull whenever he was purposefully trailing Rutherford into being awkward.”

That sounds more believable.

“See?” Ellana says, turning to Maxwell. “Bull’s fine. He’s got people who want to protect him, too.”

-

“I spent a solid year being thoroughly interrogated by eery single member of that family who could lay even the most tangential of relations to Ellana,” Bull says. “I was being interrogated by babies. Actual babies who couldn’t even talk. Don’t ask me about it. It was weird. But I guess I passed because they stuck me on the family tree and I know half of their secret recipes. I also know all the hot gossip and shit.”

“It was a year?” Evelyn gapes. Hopefully whenever Cullen decides to stop being a nervous wreck and lets Evelyn meet his family in person instead of over the phone and FaceTime calls they won’t launch into a year long interrogation. The idea of being grilled on her intentions by Mia makes Evelyn’s stomach twist a little.

Mia’s kind of like Max in terms of enthusiasm and loyalty, but she has Cassandra’s ominous atmosphere that makes it hard to know if you’re doing well or not until she surprises you with a compliment a few weeks later. Evelyn swears she didn’t even realize Cassandra liked her until a full year later.

“A year,” Bull nods. “Never felt more alive, honestly. It as like I was a teenager being raised in the Qun again, being prepared for my role as a Ben-Hassrath. It really got the adrenaline going. I’d do it again if I thought my cardiologist would let me get away with it.”

“You are a mess,” Dorian says. “But so is Ellana so that works. A year?”

Dorian looks a little dazed.

“I’m sure it won’t be the same if you decide to ask Mahanon out,” Evelyn says. “I mean. Ellana definitely let that all happen for fun and because she knew Bull would find it enjoyable. But I don’t think Mahanon would like it at all. I bet he’d put a right stop to it as soon as it started.”

“This supposes that Pavus actually asks Mahanon Lavellan out on a date,” Bull points out. “Or you know, talks to him without it dissolving into solid banter that goes in circles.”

“I’m working on it,” Dorian insists. “Trust me. I am working on it. He’s a very….he’s a complicated man.”

“I met Ellana Lavellan at a grocery store asking her if she needed help getting something off the top shelf and she immediately asked me to get lunch with her,” Bull says. “Her brother and I are friends because I held his hair back when he was vomiting once. The next day he started using me as a personal foot rest whenever I was close enough. They are not a complicated family. You are making them complicated.”

“No, Dorian’s right. I think the Lavellan family just likes people like you,” Evelyn says. “You’re a good match for that family. When I first met Mahanon it was because he stole my date, told me, you’re welcome, and bounced after dumping an entire tray of cocktails on said date. Wait a second. I think Mahanon as doing me a favor, that guy was in the news for drugging girls. Holy shit.”

[motheatenscarf]

I didn’t get to answer all of the Tallia and Theron questions I wanted to so I’m gonna cheat and just answer them here BECAUSE I WANT TO. I never talk about them but they’re cute and I love the disaster bi masquerading as functional dating the functional ace desperately trying to keep up a distinguished facade.

1. Who is the most affectionate?

I think they each are, in their own way? I mean, like.... everything I’ve described before this and after is them being affectionate in their own way? I don’t really know what else to say about it unprompted. I guess if you’re talking classical physical PDA, maybe Tallia? If your’e talking taking care of the other one and looking after them and cheering them up and trying to make them feel good or better, then... both of them?

3. Most common argument?

The endless argument on how many pets are considered to be too many and whether or not they should just retire and open a zoo

Arguing which animals could stay with them and which had to go to the zoo they opened and how big does an animal have to be before we legally have to stop calling it a pet

“A KELL DRAGON IS NOT A PET.”

“YES SHE IS BECAUSE I LOVE HER.”

The struggle of earning rights for Warbles, mainly the right for him and his swarm of babies to sleep on the bed

The inevitable and spirited debate of how MANY lizards could sleep on the bed with them at any given point

“SEVEN LIZARDS IS TOO MANY LIZARDS TO LET SLEEP ON THE BED AT ONCE.”

“BUT THEY’LL GET COLD AND LONELY IF WE LEAVE SOME OF THEM OFF :((( “

T H E     H A I R C U T

4. Favorite non-sexual activity?

They really don’t share any hobbies but MAN do they just.... shoot the shit a lot. Tallia will be dropping stitches in her latest attempt to learn space knitting, Theron will be scamming people in online pazaak out of boredom and they’ll both be talking to each other about  “When and why do you think it became evolutionary advantageous for monkey lizards to laugh like that and is it immoral to Just Kill Them All??”

5. Who is most likely to carry the other?

Tallia’s not very big but she can literally toss him around with her mind and also has a lot of core/back/thigh strength so she can and probably does carry him just for funzees. Theron can carry her, probably, he just tends not to because I don’t think Tallia would appreciate being manhandled. Unless of course Tallia got herself stabbed again (she gets stabbed a lot.... marauder problems, I guess) which is more just her leaning her weight on him than actually carrying. He probably wouldn’t have to carry her unless she was knocked the fuck out... which does tend to happen. And Tallia would of course carry him if he got injured.... shit which also happens a lot. God, this is why dps shouldn’t marry other dps. This is basically them:

7. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Other than getting bummed the fuck out (Tallia) and probably having a mild panic attack (Theron) they definitely get a lot less guarded with one another. They’ve both got kind of a lot of layers to them so it wasn’t like, complete vulnerability right off the bat but Tallia let Theron start seeing the more compassionate side of her, Theron let Tallia see some of the more uncertain side of him.

8. Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

They’re not big on nicknames, and since Tallia is a nickname for Eschatallia, technically, that’s all they really have. Theron tried to call her “Esch” exactly one time just to see if it could be their thing but the horrified look she gave him while just slowly shaking her head ‘No,’ was all he needed to know that it was A Bad One. Tallia found out about “Technoplague” after Theron hears she also had a run-in with the Shroud and uses it when she wants to win an argument, aka, this is how we wound up with seven lizards asleep on the bed with them.

10. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

They don’t get to go out that often but if it’s just something from the cantina, Tallia remembers what Theron orders because he’s a bit more a creature of habit and has kind of bland taste buds (modest Jedi upbringing, remember?) but Tallia usually tries to order something different every time unless there’s something she’s just absolutely craving (Vette opened her eyes to MANY new cultures of food from her transient years). So Theron can thankfully usually just point at something he’s pretty sure Tallia’s never had or whatever special they have that week from a new shipment and she’ll be happy with it, he knows she likes savory stuff with lots of spices. 

11. Who tops?

Honestly I think they’re both switches? Tallia’s more dom/top leaning and Theron more sub/bottom but it’s not strict, it’s more circumstantial/depending on who’s feeling what that day.

12. Who initiates kisses?

Depends, tbh? It’s probably 50/50? 

13. Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

Theron. Tallia’s more a “cuddler” in the sense that cats understand the term with like, “I’m just gonna lean my entire body weight on you for a while, if you wanna wrap an arm around me that’s cool but mostly I just wanna be a pancake and you can be the grill.” Theron’s definitely a “hold hands under the table” kind of PDA fan though.

14. Who kisses the hardest?

Tallia, definitely. Sith. Passion. It’s a thing.

19. Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

Friends goes to Tallia, Vette immediately knew because she Knows Tallia and can read her like a book and oh man of course Tallia had a crush on the ENEMY SPY, she’s combined her worst habits, terrible taste in dates and a death wish! Then Jaesa found out approximately 5 minutes later when Vette went running to her to tell her about it.

Family unfortunately went to Theron who eventually had to tell Jace about Tallia (like.... 4 years after the fact, but he told him all the same) when he went to go help start up the Alliance. It... did not go over well. I don’t think Satele ever heard from Theron herself that he and Tallia were a thing but probably figured it out because force sensitive, same as Echidna whom Tallia also never told. 

Man, these guys are bad at actually telling their family/friends anything... they probably haven’t even announced their engagement? Does anyone actually know for sure that Theron is Rowan’s father or do they just think the Commander must really trust him to let him walk around with her child in a papoose like that all day? 

God when they do get married they’re gonna invite like maybe 3 people, hand out earplugs, and exchange their vows by handing them over on paper for the other to read and then instructing them to eat the paper once it’s been read so no one will ever know except them.

21. Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

Oh, Tallia, for sure. For Theron to dance of his own volition, he needs to already be too drunk to dance and it usually ends poorly. They don’t really dance that often because Tallia doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable but she can goad him into it sometimes.

22. Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

Uhhh, the droid.

...

I’m not kidding.

Theron “Caf is a meal” Shan and Eschatallia “Just Put The Heat On Maximum So It Cooks Faster” Soranus are terrible cooks and should not be allowed to OWN a kitchen, much less set foot in one.

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Mostly Tallia probably? They’re not TERRIBLE about this because they are fairly private people and both take their jobs pretty seriously but I can see either of them watching and waiting until no one’s paying attention to lean over to the other one to whisper sexy nothings. If they’re just out at some function neither of them wants to be at, tho, you can guarantee this happens. You know the party crashing chapter on Zakuul? Yeah, Tallia kept forgetting that Lana was patched into their comms. She paid for a vacation for Lana after that mission.

25. Who needs more assurance?

Both of them, god. Look at their fucked up families and all the emotional neglect and outright abuse inflicted on them as wee lil nubbins that permanently scarred their psyches. 

Tallia’s got a multi-layered personality, the outermost layer being the “I Am Your Nightmare, Grr” facade, the layer under that being “Oh no, I’m soft, please be nice to me,” and the layer under THAT which is “I’m feral and scared and full of hate.” So she’s worried that Theron fell for Personality Layer number 2 and will one day realize how pervasive and overbearing the deep layer 3 personality is and will be disgusted after realizing she’s a living horror of the dark side and he can’t love that because how could he? No one could.

Theron, however, is an amalgamation of abandonment issues wearing the skin of a man and is worried that something will go wrong, someday Tallia’s gonna realize he’s not that interesting, or funny, or kind, or something, anything. She’ll find him lacking, he won’t be enough somewhere in someway that she’ll realize she doesn’t need him at all and will cast him aside because everyone else has, why not her?

28. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Well both of them have a criminal twi’lek bff so they can hang out with them and get into trouble, Theron’s always got a huge backlog of work he should be doing, Aerasuni likes to visit them both and hang out (she spars with Tallia and has tea and pleasant conversation LIKE A NORMAL PERSON with Theron), Jaesa’s back now and she’s trying to help Tallia figure out why she’s so bad at knitting, Koth is deeply worried about both of their eating habbits and keeps dragging one of them off to lunch without warning, Warbles always needs to go on walkies, Pargal drops by and likes to hand Theron his ass on a dejarik board, and now there’s like, A BABY who needs to be taken care of and nurtured so they’re not lacking for things to do out of necessity or for fun when the other’s busy. They’ve got surprisingly healthy social lives. 

29. one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

Cross-faction ANGST and their deepest insecurities making it take so fucking long for them to just be honest and open with each other despite their emotional investment in one another being obvious. 

30. one headcanon about this OTP that mends it

They’re both desperately lonely people who come from deeply fucked up families/upbringings and have been forsaken by the people who were supposed to look out for them but they found each other and made their own dumb little family with all of their friends and now their surprisingly well adjusted child and it was hard but their earned their happy ending goddamit. 

[myassbrokethefall]

All right, I just watched This for the third time, and the first time where I could really pause and rewind and have my attention undivided, since the first time through my brain was just a mess of AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH THIS IS SO GOOD THIS IS SO GOOD and the second time it was so I could follow along with Gillian’s tweets. (I may have learned what a taint was that day, but I did not get much detailed information about the plot.) (Just kidding, I already knew what a taint was, unlike Gillian Anderson who is clearly still enjoying the novelty of having recently found out about it.)

Here are my unedited (except for typos/some cleanup for clarity purposes) thoughts as I watched it, under a cut because anytime anyone says “lol here are my UNEDITED THOUGHTS” it should be under a cut, I feel like. Enjoy! Or don’t.

Phone: MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER! MULDER!

Mulder: *sleeps*

Scully (very quietly): Mulder

Mulder: WHAT I'M UP I'M UP

I hope those assassins had to get out of the car and manually heave the gate out of the way like Scully did in IWTB.

Why is there an antler on the floor? Do Mulder and Scully just have...a single antler

"Accuse your enemies of that which you are guilty"?? I didn't even see that because apparently I didn’t look up either time while the themesong was playing. Also, in the grand tradition of "that with which he can't live without," this is grammatically incoherent. Good proofreading everyone

I look forward to someone less lazy than me examining every single frame of film in which the Unremarkable House appears and itemizing all of Mulder and Scully's possessions. I MAY have the same toaster oven as them?

Scully's badge number is XF072161?? What happened to JTTsomething? @startwreck did you know about this

227700 Wallis Road, Farrs Corner, VA. A real town. Google Map it, click Satellite, zoom out and note with pleasure (if you’re me) how in the exact bullseye middle of a bunch of empty green they are, far from civilization. That’s how I like my Unremarkable House. 

Simultaneous thoughts I had as the second wave of bad guys was attacking: How on earth did somebody get upstairs that fast? Did they parachute in? / Look at that beautiful porchlight

Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 1: Barbara Hershey’s character sent this Russian goon squad. Ah.

russian guy: (mockingly) “I want to believe”?

mulder: it’s not enough this dude is about to kill me, he has to make fun of my nerd poster? insult to injury

skinner: ugh just surrender to them! it's fine 

m&s: they tried to assassinate us two times

skinner: ohhhh lol sorry i didn't know they were going to do that MY bad

This order of presidents/32 32nd 34 35...stuff feels so unpolished and ad-libbed even though it's obviously plot-crucial (so I assume scripted), but it's like, they're just kinda bouncing around NEAR the lines, and I love it. And I love when Scully holds out her hand for him to supply the answer of which president FDR is and he has no idea so she supplies “32nd” and he's like “32 yeah I was totally about to say that yup” and then he forgets the number 33 exists, thus missing the clue. You're a mess, Mulder. Thank goodness for your smart wife.

Also it makes me wonder if "now you're just showing off, really" was an ad-lib of David’s because it feels like he interrupts her line; she has just said "FDR" and he says that and then she continues on with the FDR part again. scripted or duchovny? LEAVE MY JOKES IN GLEN

Them just figuring out this cemetery clue like Encyclopedia Brown GIVES ME LIFE

Skinner gave them a Leatherman? Handy/I’m surprised they didn’t trade it for more muffins

“it links to a video of the pet or person” lol

THIS SHOW IS LITERALLY SO DARK I HONESTLY CANNOT SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING; it went to commercial on a lingering shot of something and I don’t know what it was

So we kinda already knew this, but the "I'm gonna open an x-file on this bran muffin" line comes BEFORE the "I opened an x-file on this building in the '90s" line, leading me to believe that the bran muffin x-file line is also an ad-lib (in addition to Gillian’s “alien butt” line directly after, which she confirmed it was) because "opening an x-file” was on David's mind from doing the scene over and over. Scully's "An x-file?" line delivered like that's a new idea doesn't really mesh with her just having heard that term 20 seconds ago in re: bran muffins. DETECTIVE WORK

(also to be clear I’M FINE WITH THAT, leave in all their ad libs, they’re canon now, canon canon canon canon)

scully: walter we need your HELP 

skinner: kids, i literally already gave you all the money I have, jesus I am just trying to go to work, can you please handle your shit

scully: we used UP all that money on MUFFINS, and we ATE THEM ALL ok those muffins were GREAT but we are HUNGRY AGAIN we need your HELP GODDAMNIT even though we don’t TRUST YOU, why are you such a JERK, can’t you just go to the ATM? UNTRUSTWORTHY

"if you want to see the x-files you don't have to go to the office" me: I do spend quite a bit of time at the office seeing the x-files though (or at least various secondary references thereto)

Mulder, after two seconds of searching in the proprietary search bar: fuck this it doesn’t work I'll just google it #relatable

Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 2: that the spank bank thing was a deliberate secret message leading to the Langly's girlfriend lady. (also that they kept that from Skinner)

I also missed all this Sims talk with Langly’s girlfriend, on how they would know it was a simulation. "you wouldn't be able to click on the neighbor's house" "there would be a loading screen every time you went on vacation" "if you had the pets pack installed the same dog would come every day and dig a hole in your yard" "buy mode would be disabled if there was a burglar" "you would only be able to make macaroni and cheese until you had more cooking points" "if story progression was turned on sometimes you'd go to your neighbor's house and there would just be a random baby on the floor" "blurry boxes would appear on you every time you went to the bathroom" i got a million of ’em

Lollllllll at Mulder's awkward cough after “maybe he saw Mulder in his dreams” / “Who hasn't” / Scully’s look

What’s with all the fly imagery? Two acts have opened with closeup shots of insects.

This skanky bar scene...every moment of it is a cinematic masterpiece that I will treasure forever

Scully's hilarious face in reaction to the beer is another thing I didn't notice. like, this is what you ordered for me while I was asleep? gross dude

also I love her smile as she closes her eyes again like, mulder's yappin, all's right with the world, goodnight

Langly simulation: Are you...Fox...Mulder? Something about that name...is familiar to me...as if from another life...I feel compelled to contact you though I don't know why or what it means

Mulder: Yes, it's me, and Scully

Langly simulation: DANA SCULLY?! Omg how are you girl I miss you so much! omg I'm gonna cry I’m so glad to see you how the hell are you

We're digital slaves...they force us to make grilled cheese sandwiches over and over again and every time we try to play videogames they make us study the mechanical skill instead...sometimes they put us in a pool and take the ladder away just for their sick amusement...that's not even getting into the torment that comes from the move_objects on cheat...sure we may have rosebud!;!;!;!; levels of money and I may be the mayor but aging is turned off and I've already bought the fanciest TV and the most comfy bed and I've done all the tomb quests in World Adventures and I don't know what else there is here for me...plus the game lags every time I try to go on the subway...it's hell, Mulder, hell (sorry, done with the Sims jokes now)

Scully, they don't serve mimosas on the bus; believe me, I would know.

Do Gillian's kids get freaked out hearing her speak in an American accent? No more freaked out than seeing her in a red wig i guess

JACOB JARVITS FEDERAL BUILDING #neverforget

What is with the "looking moodily out at the New York skyline at night while sipping a martini in an ’80s movie" soundtrack in this "get us in the tunnel" scene

Mulder's eyebrow raise after "married to the Bureau" *drapes it all over my body*

the clearest and largest STAIRS sign in all of history; sure half the episode is so dark you can't make out what's happening but god forbid we not know that the door Mulder's gesturing to is the S T A I R S

literally why IS mulder yelling out numbers on the stairs at the top of his lungs? he's not even counting the floors, there are 29 floors and he's like 32 34 36 38...he's counting by twos...is he counting the stairs? Why? scripted or duchovny? "glen please leave in my inane stair counting, it's funny!" "david by gum you guys are magic. magic! ok ok, no problem buddy, just keep it flowing"

mulder and scully get in like 12 physical fights in this episode. AMAZING

Ok, now here’s where I really have to pay attention because i legit did not listen to a GODDAMN WORD of this Barbara Hershey scene the other two times.

Why are there SO MANY lamps in here and how is it still so dark

"You're still refusing to answer the question of your father" am I supposed to remember what that is? Show, you greatly overestimate me

Hold on, did Scully jump some guy with a flashlight and beat the shit out of him during this voiceover and I didn't even realize it? GO SCULLY (closed captioning: “blows landing, groaning”)

Crucial Plot Points That I Missed Entirely While In Raptures Over The Mulder And Scully Goodness Of This Episode, Part 3: the entire earth is about to burn down, whoops, did NOT catch that.

"my company advised killing you" okaayyyy

Did barbara hershey ask muldo to kill csm last episode and he said he wouldn't? why the hell not? do it dude do it

"we can upload a mind through any smartphone" sure until Apple releases a new OS and then it starts lagging

“We can take a piece of your mind anytime you make a call” oh good they’ll get like 3 pieces of my mind a year then. It would be much more efficient to take a piece of my mind every time I open Hay Day

Mulder has been handcuffed or fake-handcuffed A LOT this episode. He's going to need to process this through roleplay once he and Scully get home

Is Scully using the Leatherman as a physical key to switch off a top-secret high-security NSA federal computer system in lieu of the actual, presumably very specialized, key manufactured for that purpose? It really can do anything.

I can’t tell what we’re supposed to be seeing in this conference room to indicate that it was abandoned. Barbara Hershey is gone but was there other stuff in there? Like a sign that said “THE CONSPIRACY” or something? The LAMPS are still there, I guess they didn’t have time to pack those up

There's an orange on the floor in the UH. This is a step up, nutrition-wise, from the time Mulder had potato chips on the coffee table in IWTB. 

There is a basketball hoop DIRECTLY over a lamp. Really, Mulder?

Scully literally drops off to sleep in 3 seconds. all things continuity. 👏

So, destroy the backup? Does that mean there's a backup to the simulation and they’re just going to restore from it and nothing they did accomplished anything? Except for being the most delightful and satisfying episode of TXF ever filmed? Also what does the curly-haired guy being in there mean? I mean obviously he was uploaded after he died but is he in there like, tormenting Langly now? In the backup? How many backups are there? Can a Leatherman be used to defeat all of them?

I don’t care; Mulder and Scully are asleep on the couch and everything is perfect.

[eldritchteletubbie]

49

Coming out story:

Prepare yourself. It’s long. Mostly because I didn’t fully embrace my lesbianism until the end of last year.

Sooo I came out a year ago to a really good friend of mine who came it to me as a lesbian over text on New Years Eve (she’s dramatic like that) and I responded by telling her I’m bi (Comp het and confusion). I spent the next couple of weeks telling my close friends and then I was out at school, but not at home. I told my mum while we were doing planks (she was making me do an exercise program with her) and I was having my period complaining about being a girl and Mum told me “get used to it unless you want that to change-which would be fine.” To which I blurted out I’m bi.

The initial response was ‘ok’ and nothing else. But a few days later I mentioned a character in a movie being gay and Mum responded by grilling me on whether or not I was okay and what my sexuality means, but not ima respectful way like she kept going I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND!!! HOW CAN YOU KNOW HOW CAN YOU LIKE BOTH?! DONT LABEL YOURSELF YOURE CONSTRICTING YOURSELF.And I told her I knew I liked girls bc there was some girls I liked to which she was like “ew no I don’t want to hear that”. And I told her I wasn’t 100% sure about my label so I was going with no as it was fitting me at that point. (I still thought tolerating the idea of dating a man like if I HAD to be with a man I could not counted as attraction and also bc I don’t think all men are hideous but don’t want any sort of relationship other than friendship).

I came out to my dad (again randomly I didn’t plan any of this) a few weeks later in the kitchen by saying “hey dad I like girls. And guys.” And he was like “yeah? So? Okay?” And that was it. He doesn’t care. Like he doesn’t want to know about my love life but it was the same before I came out so it’s fine.

Just before I came out to my dad I had been talking to my friends about lgbt books and asked my English teacher if she knew any. I also complained about my mother’s reaction to my friends a little as it really stung. And a few days later my dean came and took me out of class to see if I was okay and to let me know there was support in the school and ask how it was at home and I said my mother didn’t have the best reaction but isn’t homophobic and I hadn’t told my dad but he wouldn’t care. She proceeded to ring my mother (there was other things going on as well) and ask her if she knew about my sexuality. Which didn’t end very well for me. I got an hour long lecture about labelling myself and how I’m too young to know and I can and will get hurt for not being straight. Which kind of crushed me and proceeded with to only talk at home when necessary (which they only half noticed).

My brother I came out to after he was like that’s gaaaaaay and I was like do you have anything against gay people and he said no so I told him and he was like “it’s kind of fucked up but hot.” And still holds that opinion and I don’t like to talk about it with him.

My Granny was difficult (funnily enough she had the best reaction I’ve ever gotten).She’s religious and I am christened but don’t practice and didn’t know our church’s stance on homosexuality so I bought up Australia legalising gay marriage (this is like a few weeks before I started saying I’m a lesbian I kinda knew but wasn’t ready to tell people so I stuck with bi for this. I thought it might be easier should things go wrong as well) and I was having trouble saying it and Granny looked at me like “oh so this is you coming out now? Okay take your time.” I told her, she said “well that’s handy isn’t it?” And hugged me I cried-a lot. I getting teary thinking about it (good tears) and yeah, she said our church doesn’t mind and I’m still just her granddaughter.

A few weeks after my grandad died i was having a lot of time with it (i still am a little it’s only been a few months) I asked my mum if grandad would have minded I like girls (I knew I was a lesbian and had started to use the term but was still getting a little used to it so I was watching my words) and she had been hugging me before but pulled away when I said it. And started telling me I was selfish for bringing it up. That I wasn’t thinking about how hard it was for her (he was her father in law) and I absolutely was but this was something I had to get off my chest. And whisper screamed at me for awhile and I accidentally told her I’m a lesbian. She didn’t take it very well. Somewhere in the conversation she asked sarcastically “do we not like any men now?” To which I froze bc I didn’t know how to worm myself out of that with half answers so I nodded acting but to which she quipped “so what? Are we a lesbian not bisEXUAL?” (she always says it like that) to which I nodded and she told Be I was stupid and inexperienced in love and that when you find someone you love gender doesn’t matter and that I was cutting myself off from half the world saying they can’t make me happy.

She thinks I think it’s the really cool and hip thing, to be gay. It’s great being gay, but it’s not like it ups my social standing? It’s not like I care about that either? (I’m a librarian for goodness sake)

But a few months ago I came out to two friends I have known for years (both straight girls), both were surprised (everyone is always so surprised one person guessed) and one gave me a high five and was like that’s awesome I love love. And proceeded to help me find out if the girl I liked is gay (she’s not).

Also my sister was like ‘I knew it.’ She was the third (?) person i told.

This was extremely long whoops