#and I did... I got 4 more months. I got a bunch of weekends and a bunch of phone calls

[girlscience]

I'm glad I was here, and I know he wouldn't have wanted to stay like that long, and I know he went while everyone was laughing and talking in the kitchen like he would have wanted, but god I'm selfish. I want 100 more sits on the porch swing and 100 more trailhand rides and 100 more fences to fix and 100 more brush piles to burn.

[beefrobeefcal]

https://x.com/discorobak/status/1696111755909300397?s=46&t=WH4bIMHLTxVR1rMw3VWJ_w OKAYYY i saw this tweet and thought: what if mouse and frankie go on a camping trip and mouse packs a bunch of classic camping food like hotdogs and burgers and popcorn… but especially S’MORES. and frankie loves them so much that he have a little fun with it… (along the same lines as the just desserts update if yknow what i mean 🤭) so excited for more updates, i love frankie and mouse so much !!

HELL YEAH, NONNIE. This is dedicated to all the new Friendos Beefro has made on the platform-formally-known-as-Twitter. Y'all got me riled up!

Beefro 👌🥩💜

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Beefro Proudly Presents:

a Chubby!Frankie one shot

The Catfish & The Mouse: Camping Can Be In-Tents

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader

Summary: After a dry spell, Mouse gets Frankie into the wilderness.

Rating: Explicit 18+ (MDNI)

Word Count: 3,326

Content Warning: Smutty smutty smut smut, oral (m receiving), p in the v - unwrapped (don't be silly, cover you willy, kids!), eating, belly praise, belly stuffing, rough sexy stuff, fingering (f receiving), hair pulling, tail-gating.

Author's Notes: I know it's been a bit... between a crisis and a cold, your friendly neighbourhood Beefro was shooketh. Thanks for kicking around! Thanks to @nevergoingbacknowshine and the TDS brigade, and of course to the lovely @theywhowriteandknowthings and @harryleatherfit

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You had both been so wrapped up in your work lately. The stress of your jobs made the time you were spending together strained; arguments leading into tense bedtime routines had become more normal, and that intimate connection had become something neither of you could bring yourselves to admit you needed from one another. It had been over a month since he’d fucked you, let alone touched you like that and it sucked. You missed your sweet, soft, gentle, fuckable Frankie, him being replaced with an irritable and short-tempered grouch, although you did see the odd fleck of his old self come though occasionally. And you knew he missed his Mouse; you’d become an overly emotional and temperamental silhouette of yourself. That’s why this weekend was so important – it was your reset, your chance to reconnect. You’d suggested it, knowing that Frankie would jump at the chance to go camping.

You could hear Frankie swearing in the garage as he collected all the camping gear while you packed the food in the various coolers and bags.

“Mouse? Need your help.”, he called out.

As you started to move towards the garage, his calls out to you became a little more panicked.

“MOUSE?!?”

“I’m coming, Frankie!”

Opening the door to your garage, you tried not to laugh aloud at the sight before you. Frankie was wedged between the wall and your spare fridge, trying to reach the packed-away tent on the shelf above and had caused several other stored boxes to come dangerously close to toppling on his head from the top of the fridge.

“What are you doing?”, you laughed as you pushed the offending boxes back into place with a broom handle.

“I don’t know what happened! I guess I bumped the fridge too hard or something....”, he grumbled as he unwedged himself. “I got in there no problem when I put the tent away last year.”

You smiled and patted his belly, straining against his now-too-tight t-shirt. “Well, I would say that there’s a bit more to you than last year, honey.”

He looked down at your hand on his tummy and huffed a laugh as he gave you a blushing smile. “Yeah... I guess so.”

You helped Frankie collect the rest of the camping gear and load up his truck for the morning.

*****

Pre-dawn departures were Frankie’s specialty, not yours. Despite him not being a morning person, the prospect of getting out of the city and on the open road, along with years in the military, had him all sunshine and rainbows at 4:30 am, while you were trying to keep your eyes open long enough to get from the bed, into your jacket and into the truck. Frankie already had your air Pods, a blanket and pillow in the passenger seat for you, knowing that it would be a lost cause to ask you to bring them yourself.

By the time Frankie backed out of your driveway, you were back asleep and didn’t answer him when he asked if you wanted a coffee as he turned into the McDonald’s Drive Thru. Even without an answer, he got you one, as well as enough breakfast sandwiches to keep himself entertained for a good part of the morning.

You finally felt rested enough to open your eyes by 9:30 am to see Frankie humming along with his music, tapping gently on the steering wheel.

“Hey... have a good sleep?”, he asked smiling when he saw you pull your air Pods out.

You nodded and groaned as you stretched and yawned. “Not a bad sleep... where are we?”

“About an hour or so from the lake.”, he responded with a grin.

Frankie was about to be in his element; in the outdoors, his survival instincts kicked in high gear, and he loved every minute of it. You, on the other hand, felt lost without cell service or Wi-Fi, and detested with every fiber of your being the creepy crawlies that seemed to come out in droves at your arrival. But part of Frankie loving the outdoors was trying to keep you as comfortable as possible so he could enjoy you at the same time.

*****

Arriving at the secluded and private site was the easy part; setting up was not so much. Frankie was trying to get the tent set up, and since it was put away in a hurry last year and he didn’t check it when you got home or when he pulled it out the day before, everything had come out of the bag in a jumbled mess, and you had made the mistake of pointing out his folly right after he’d realized he’d forgotten his hammer.

"If you would just let me help, Frankie!”, you pleaded with thinly masked frustration at his inability to take your help.

He grunted as his eyes narrowed at you from under his ball cap and you stared right back at him.

He broke the stare first with an eyeroll and a huff, returning to the tangled mess that would hopefully be your tent and you turned and started to unload the truck. By the time you’d unloaded, gotten the bags and containers arranged, and set up the chairs around the vacant campfire, Frankie had gotten the tent up and was crouched down, hammering the pegs into the ground with a rock. You couldn’t help but watch as his broad back moved and flexed under his t-shirt, while his thick, beefy arms were bursting out from the sleeves. You longed for those arms to toss you down onto whatever surface was available and have his body pin you down and fuck you senseless. God damn it, you missed him in a debilitating way that made you feel hollow.

He caught you staring and briefly gave you an unreadable look then went back to hammering more pegs, and you could feel the flush of heat wash over your body. God damn it, you needed him.

It was well passed noon when Frankie got the fire going and you’d gotten the stuff out for hot dogs. Maybe you could ease yourself into his arms with food? You were so wrapped up in your thoughts, you didn’t realize your mouth was open and you were staring at him again until a bird flew far too close to you and snapped you out of your thoughts. You quickly tried to look like you knew what task you were trying to complete, but Frankie saw the whole thing. His eyes met yours for just a moment and you gave him a small, forced smile, trying to play it off like it was nothing, like he didn’t see what he thought he saw. Your eyes went back down to the cutting board on the picnic table and the onions you were slicing up for the hot dogs.

Getting the metal rods out, you pierced the hot dogs on their ends and started cooking them. Frankie set up the air mattress and set out the sleeping bags. You were tempted to tell him yours could be left in the truck so you could share one, but you kept your mouth closed and focused on the hot dogs. Once ready, you silently plated them in the buns, dressed exactly how Frankie liked them and you placed the plate in front of him. You forwent your own, your stomach in knots, and started cleaning up, knowing the lecture you would get if it weren’t done properly because it could attract bugs and god knows what else to your site.

Frankie sat and ate his hot dogs, and after he finished one, his irritation cooled down. He watched you, his desperation for your touch had increased after he caught you ogling him. He knew he’d been completely out of line as of late, his frustration at his work dog piling on you for no other reason than you were in the line of fire. Your back was to him as you dug through a bag, and he watched the way your lithe body move. He imagined the sweet noises you would make for him as he railed you against the truck. God damn it, he needed you in a way that should have made him feel filthy.

He realized you were looking for his pajamas to put in the tent for him. His heart skipped a beat when he looked in the tent and saw his toiletries and swim trunks laid out on his sleeping bag; you were taking care of him, and he felt like a complete asshole. God damnit, he missed you.

*****

For the rest of the afternoon, the two of you moved through a slow dance of silent, touchless fore playing, catching one another giving once overs and longing stares, while trying to break the other’s resolve with movements. By the time you pulled out what you’d planned for dinner – two big cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli and garlic toast – you’d decided that he was going to fuck you, whether he knew it or not.

“We can just have hot dogs again, baby.” Frankie’s voice, although softer and gentler than it had been in a while, cut through the silence between you, but you didn’t want to look up to him, you wanted him to come to you and make you stop. So, you pretended you couldn’t hear him while you stood with your back to him and the fire.

You had no idea he’d gotten so close to you when he gently put his hand out and took the can opener from you, placing it on the picnic table. He held your hand in his, feeling your body tremble with just his touch, and turned you around to look at him. This was the gentlest with one another in over a month, and you could barely contain the utter arousal and excitement at this small, sweet act of intimacy.

He pulled back from you, and you looked up at him. His soft brown eyes were screaming in need, scanning your face and begging for you to say something. So, you did.

 “I miss you, baby, and I – “

Frankie cut you off abruptly by smashing his lips onto yours, his mouth fiercely fighting to get any kind of barrier between you gone. Your body melted against his as he pulled you further into him. His tongue ran along your lips, looking to deepen the kiss further, and when he was granted entrance, he moaned into your mouth and his hand ran down your side and hitched your knee up onto his hip.

Finally parting, and both panting to catch your breath, your lips still almost touching.

“Fuck, Mouse… baby… I miss you, too…”

He kissed you again and as you both found your rhythm again, his belly grumbled loudly, telling him it was time to eat.

“Fuck…”, he grumbled as he pushed his forehead against yours, and you smiled at him.

“Let’s get you fed, baby.”

*****

Almost a full pack of hot dogs later, Frankie was getting full. Sitting back into his camping chair, he stifled a burp and smiled at you.

“You want any more?”, you asked, holding up one of the metal rods.

He raised an eyebrow at you, then grinned. “No, princess… I gotta have room for dessert.”

Frankie stood up slowly, and as he reached his full height, his full tummy pushed up his t-shirt. He stood in front of you and cupped your jaw, his thumb gently stroking your cheek as he looked down at you. Your lips parted and your breathing quickened, anticipation of what he would do or say at an all-time high.

“You got any marshmallows, princess?” His voice was low and thick with need as his eyes looked into yours.

It took you a moment to realize what he’d asked you, not anticipating that.

“W-what?”

“Marshmallows.”, he spoke slowly with a dark grin on his face.

You turned and reached for the grocery bag of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. He removed his hand from your jaw and took it, then reached for the metal rod. He winked at you and returned to his chair by the fire. As he got few marshmallows onto the rod, you stared at him, confused and horny.

“Frankie?...”

“Better get those clothes off if you don’t want to get s’mores all over them, princess.”, he said in a nonchalant voice, not even looking up at you.

You hesitated but remembered that you’d specifically booked a private site, and other campers would only be able to hear you. Once fully naked, minus your slider sandals, you stood off to the side of Frankie, and he looked over at you.

“Fuck, baby… missed you…”, he groaned slack jawed, his eyes racking over you. He reached out for your hand and pulled you to straddle one of his legs, and his sticky fingers tweaked one of your nipples.

“Frankie… fuck, I need you…”, you moaned as you shivered at his touch.

He grabbed one of the toasted marshmallows off the rod and a piece of chocolate, squishing them together between his fingers and dragged the warm concoction down the valley between your tits. You yelped and his other held you firmly in place.

“Told you I needed room for dessert, princess.”, he said huskily, then licked his wide, flat tongue up the chocolaty trail and sucked on your neck.

“Please, Frankie… need you so bad… don’t tease…”, you begged in a breathy, desperate voice.

You began to rock your core against his rough denim as he smeared more s’mores on your nipples and chest. He licked and sucked the sugary residue off you as your weeping, aching cunt drooled, and you grinded your core into his jeans. Every time the rough denim texture hit your clit in just that way, you arched your back into his mouth and moaned, while he repeated his smearing, licking and sucking. You needed more so you reached your hand down and began to palm his crotch and could feel the weight of his thick, heavy cock coming to attention. He whined as he held your nipple between his teeth and his hips bucked, pushing his full belly into you.

Your bodies were screaming for the other, too long since you’d touched one another like this, and the need and desperation was heavy in your breathing and grasping of each other.

He dropped his head back and grabbed your arm, pulling you hand away from his rock-hard cock, but your hips grinding against his jeans kept going.

“Mouse… gonna come in my pants if you keep that up… wanna fuck you… please baby… gonna come on my jeans? Huh, princess?... So fucking needy… Jesus… missed this body… come on, baby… keep going…”

He watched you, his hands only holding you in place and not assisting with your movements. You could feel you were close, and his words just egged you on to your climax. You cried out as you came but didn’t break eye contact. Frankie’s grip on you tighten, and his hands began to move you to keep your hips grinding his leg, and he groaned at you while you came through gritted teeth

“Atta girl… good girl, yeah… make that pussy weep, princess… that’s it, baby… soaking my jeans… can’t wait to fuck your sweet little pussy again… been too long…”

Before you could fully come down, Frankie had you standing and was bending you over the open tailgate to his truck, then ran a finger into your glistening, swollen folds before plunging it into your weeping hole. You cried out and arched your back, but his hand rubbed between your shoulders, coaxing you down. His hand splayed out on your back and held you firmly in place as he added another finger and increased his speed.

“Yeah, baby… pussy missed me… I missed her so fucking bad…”, he panted, his eyes focused on watching his thick wet fingers disappear over and over into your cunt. “Never want to go that long without you again, princess… fuck you look so good getting fucked on my fingers… so fucking wet and warm… come on, baby… know you’re close… I can feel it… let go… come on, princess… be a good girl and come on my fingers then I’ll fuck you raw…”

His final words shot through you, and you came loudly and squirting all over his hand and arm. You could hear the liquid splashing onto the dirt; it was obscene, and it was perfect.

“Good girl…”, he praised breathlessly, pressing a kiss to your back before sucking his fingers clean.

You could hear his belt being undone and then heard his jeans being tossed onto the ground. He grabbed your hip with one hand and used the other to line himself up with your entrance. Slowly pushing in, he moaned, and you whined, trying to push your hips back into him to make him go faster.

“So fucking impatient… So fucking needy.”, he grunted as he held you in place and buried himself to the hilt into you, and you felt his full, heavy belly resting against your ass.

“Frankie… please move, baby… need you to move…”, you begged, crying out pathetically.

He huffed a laugh and gripped your hips hard in his large hands.

“Need me to be rough, princess? … need it hard?”, he grunted as his hips began to move slowly. Frankie wanted to savour this with you, he didn’t want to rush it, didn’t want to spoil it.

“God, please, Frankie!”, you cried out, his slow movements agonizing and leaving you needing so much more.

“Promise me, princess… promise me you won’t let me go that long again from burying myself in your gorgeous pussy…”

His hips started to thrust at the same pace but harder, and you panted a whiny “uh-huh!” in response to him. It was enough of an answer for Frankie. His hips began to snap into yours faster and harder.

The weight of his bulk behind you mixed with the momentum he was building pushed him deep into you each time he thrusted and forced out a loud cry from your mouth. You’d more than likely have bruises on the front of your thighs from the tailgate, but you didn’t care.

“Oh fuck… Mouse…. Baby… missed this… god damnit, your pussy’s like heaven… fucking Christ… yeah… oh fuck, fuck, fuck… baby, not-fuck!... not gonna last much longer… need you to- ugh - come…”

“I’m cl-close… oh fuck… oh god… Fr-Frankie… please… please, please, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!”

You came with a loud cry, arching your back again and Frankie pulled you flush with his belly and he thrusted into you.

“Frankie… please… come in my mouth… wanna eat your… your come…”, you panted, and he groaned, pulling out of you.

You turned around and he grabbed your hair, pulling you down on your knees, and he shoved his hard, glistening member into your mouth. He fucked into your mouth for a moment, and his hot spend shot in ribbons into your throat and mouth, spilling out onto your chin and chest with each thrust.

He finally stilled and grunted as he stood back and watched you run your fingers over your chin then suck his come off your digits, humming in satisfaction.

“Fuck…”, he groaned as he watched you, moving backwards to sit in the camping chair again.

You stood up and walked towards him; leaning forward, you pressed a messy kiss to his mouth, sharing your combined taste with him and receiving a hint of chocolate from him. You pressed a hand down on his full belly and smiled.

“You still got room in there for more dessert, Frankie… What can I get you, baby?”, you asked with a wry grin, lifting his shirt and rubbing his stomach.

He looked up at you, eyes looking glazed over in desire. “You, princess.”, he breathed back.

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TAGLIST:

@theywhowriteandknowthings @harryleatherfit @harriedandharassed @neverwheremoonchild @rebel-held @beee-haw @nevergoingbacknowshine @idolatrybarbie @v4vayha @lalocitos @xdaddysprincessxx @deathsholywaterr @heareball

[kingofthering]

I’ve touched on my experience in Le Mans this season (2024) and I have free time on my hands so I thought I could talk about my experience there in 2023.

CONTEXT

— I semi-impulsively bought the ticket at the end of January (2023) when I was on the website of the GP and saw that they had some GS seats left. I had a Zarco GS seat so I was right in front of the Raccordement and could see the straight before the finish line (I paid 159€ for it).

— At this point, I had only started getting into MotoGP a couple months prior and the only GP I had watched live was Valencia 2022. Le Mans was only a one-hour train ride away from where I lived and finding an okay-priced bedroom on AirBnB was a successful mission so I just thought this is low preparation, I’ll have fun, let’s go.

— I went alone and didn’t know anyone there. More under the cut.

OVERALL

— My only motorsport race weekend experience before that was GA in Monza 2022, you might have heard about how chaotic that was. Le Mans was such a relief in comparison.

— I’ve touched on it in my 2024 debrief but the Bugatti circuit has an entrance that is 150 meters away from the terminus of one of the tramway lines. Getting there from my AirBnB literally took 20 minutes door to door.

— I arrived at the doors around 8:30 on Friday, 7 on Saturday and 8:30 on Sunday. I didn’t have to queue at all at the gate on the first two days. I might have queued like 5 minutes on Sunday (reminder : Le Mans beat the previous attendance record that weekend with 278k people over 3 days).

— I bought at the circuit headphones that could do radio and connect to the speakers of the circuit. It cost 60 euros but it was so worth it (for the ears protection + the radio aspect of thing). If you wanna go the cheapest route, definitely have some sort of ear protection with you (ear plugs work as well).

FRIDAY

— Since I arrived early, there weren’t a lot of people at the fanzone. I was able to go see some bikes and then gain a free Red Bull after doing the reflexes game with the lights you have to tap with your hands.

— I went to my GS to see P1 and then came back to the fanzone around noon. I saw that some people were already waiting in front of the stage so I went to wait with them. I eventually ended up talking with some of the people there, especially the girls who asked about my Charles Stint Apparel sweatshirt.

— I think we started having people on stage at like 2pm? There was a DJ and some people I don’t remember intervening. Well, I do remember Hervé Poncharal and the CIP boys being there (can you believe I saw Mig from up close before realizing how insanely cool he was? I’m still terribly sad about that).

— Eventually, after P2 was done, it was time for the MotoGP riders to get there. First we had Rinsy & Taka, Pecco & Enea, then Johann & Jorge, Fabio & Franky and finally Marc & Joan.

— Essentially they all stayed about 15 minutes on stage, the guy managing the stage asked them questions and then the public could ask questions as well. On their way down from the stage they all stopped for autographs and selfies. I was second row/barely touching the barrier so I only took photos of them and had help from my new friends to get my Michelin cap signed by a bunch of them.

— I miraculously got to have the mic when Honda was there (only public question they took, they were only on stage for about 6 minutes because things got out of schedule) and I got to ask Marc a question. I did not ask anyone to film (yes I have regrets, ‘o my heart wasn’t doing well then) but essentially I asked him how he was feeling coming back and what he liked about Le Mans considering he’d won there 4 times already in the past. He paused me at the beginning of my question so he could find me in the public and look at me while I was asking the question, sweetest thing (bar is on the floor, I do not care, this is Marc).

— After that, we got some Moto2 pairs on stage as well : KTM Ajo (Pedro & Albert Arenas), GasGas (Jake & Izan) & Speed Up (Alonso & Fermin).

— During the afternoon people handed over a bunch of things to the first rows in the public and that’s how I got a signed by Marc Honda cap and a bracelet that would grant me access to the Hero Walk on Saturday morning.

— Overall an insane afternoon. Super tiring and not always easy (people were pushing a lot at some points and I am small™️) but definitely worth it.

SATURDAY

— They said the Hero Walk would be at 9 but I arrived at 7 because I didn’t know how many people would be there and I definitely wanted a front row for that. Things got kind of hectic when they put the final barriers but I did get said front row against the barriers.

— Almost all the riders came by (it lasted a little under an hour, almost until the beginning of FP). The public sang a Marseillaise for Fabio (as it did the day before during the fanzone event).

— I got to have my cap signed by a bunch of guys and also take selfies with a couple of them. I had my photo with Bezz as a lockscreen for a good while after the event (including the Sunday when he won) and I still have the photo with Alex as my insta pfp. Some of the guys you couldn’t talk to at all because too many people were calling for their attention (ex: Marc, Fabio…) but I got to congratulate Alex & Brad on their previous results and they were both super nice. Super nice experience that I still think about fondly.

— I went to my GS for quali and the sprint. I came by the fanzone for the second half of the MotoGP riders events. I was too far to ask for the mic again but I watched them all and I do have a small video of Tony speaking in French.

— At night, from about 7:30 to 9pm, they had a Mechanical Show on the straight with a lot of people doing stunts on motorbikes. Fabio also came by (Tom, Mathilde, Tony & Jake were there as well). He spoke some words and threw his helmet into the public. The whole thing was pretty cool.

— I know they had concerts on Fri & Sat at the fanzone but I didn’t stay for any so I won’t be able to talk about them.

SUNDAY

— Truthfully, I don’t think I have much to say about Sunday. I think Sundays will forever by my least favorite day at the race track.

— Essentially, I got there, waited in line nearly half an hour to buy a Red Bull can for 5 euros, watched warm up, watched the parade (that I still think is a super boring events for fans) and then the races.

— I was a little apprehensive about getting back to the train station but honestly things were super well organized with trams, it was quite nice.

[fluffalpenguin]

⬅[Prev] Day 1: Introductions

@ygoc-week Day 2: Family

There's a bit of Day 1 mixed in here because I'm dropping a bunch of context i.e. background for them, yay!!

Everything started because I thought to myself, "haha wouldn't it be funny to have a pair of ARC-V OCs that are Fusion/Xyz Enemies to Lovers where the Fusion guy got (rightfully) beat up so badly he's traumatised and post-canon he ends up working at the same place as the guy that whooped him so badly he stopped being a war criminal and so he spends the next few months hiding behind pillars in the LDS lift lobby to avoid bumping into him?"

Having never known their parents, Fuschia is both older brother and de facto guardian for his two siblings, roles that he carry out with pride and joy. Part of why he worked so hard at carding people during the war was due to a monetary bounty the Professor had offered, hoping to use it for the benefit of his siblings. (He also loves money)

He always makes sure to return to the Fusion Dimension by nightfall, so he can prepare dinner and help the twins with their homework. Basically he's the ultimate malewife <3

"Look at the face on this one!"

Fuschia's big brother levels are too high, so he extends his aura to anyone he meets, including an Obelisk Force member dressed in all-white that insists on working alone that he keeps coming across while wandering in a certain part of the Xyz dimension. The two eventually strike up a bond and sometimes spend their down-time comparing their catch of the day.

Fuschia used to be in Obelisk Blue, but when his siblings came home crying one day after being bullied for being placed into Slifer Red, he swapped jackets the next day. Recognising that his precious little sister and brother could not possibly thrive in the harsh meritocratic system of Academia, Fuschia started to lay plans for emigration to another, more kinder dimension.

He was doing pretty well too, until...

The Vedelle siblings used to be a trio as well, but Viol and Arte only had each other left after the waves stole their youngest sibling (Noelle, belonging to @shshshotsz) in a tragic incident.

The two spend their weekends at the beach after the incident, hunting down the prettiest shell "to give to Noelle when we see her again!" as their younger sibling had been hunting for seashells that fateful day.

Unbeknowst to Arte, Noelle had been looking for a seashell that day after a comment Viol had made about Arte resembling one, and she had wished to present it to her older sister as a birthday gift.

When the sun sets, Viol and Arte toss the shell back into the ocean.

Arte was then carded around the start of the war and spent most of it as a card in Viol's possession, who carried her everywhere even as he hunted down Fusion soldiers that had wandered off by themselves as he demanded for answers on how to turn her back.

Little did he know he was in for an unexpected reunion when he volunteered to find and take down the rumoured Fusion soldier dressed in white that was single-handedly decimating their forces...

Post-canon is hijinks time, because the two end up being the teacher for the other's siblings!

After a series of events and happenstance, the two get reacquainted (highlights include Viol barely even remembering who Fuschia is because Fusion rats are all the same to him and Noelle asking Fuschia to give her driving lessons, etc) and eventually the two families come together and fuse overlay this joke is not working assimilate into one, with the Vedelles frequently going over to the Lents for Fuschia's homecooking.

(To be continued in Day 4: Relationships)

➞[Next] Day 3: Decks

[talenlee]

July 2024 Wrapup!

I don’t know if there’s any kind of rhyme to go with July. I think when I set this post up at first I had some idea about the fist being a symbol for paper rock scissors, but now I’m saying it I don’t think that’s the case. Anyway, July ends! July has drawn to its miserable close, its cold and haunted month and – oh I should go schedule a COVID booster.

But while I do that, you should check out this festival of fun writing, articles and videos that are all about the stuff I have made and done throughout the course of July, paid for with the support of my beloved Patrons, and presented here, for you, to read, for free.

First of all, every week I do a Game Pile article, which is a treatment of a game of some sort. This month we had:

Princess Wing, a TTRPG that by one metric, is better than Dungeons & Dragons 5.5.

Traffic Department 2192, a game from the 1990s that was ‘made wrong’ – a hugely overwritten novel of a book that has cool fly-shooty levels between it.

Knit Wit, a beautifully produced game about playing with the social, which is predicated on its exclusions.

and finally Fox and I played Pet or Pass with the creatures of Thunder Junction! See what critters from that Magic: The Gathering set we have opinions on!

Also, for those of you hungering for more time with Fox and me, you can check out our playthrough of Day of the Tentacle (part 1, part 2)!

Then there’s the Story Pile articles, where I take a piece of media and inspect it from a few angles.

Barry, Season 4, which wraps up a show I really liked and did a good job of it!

The Phantom of the Paradise, a movie demonstrating that the surreality of the 70s just looks like the queerness of the now.

Shy, which sucks.

Love Flops, which sucks also but in a way that’s pretty interesting to talk about.

Zom 100, which absolutely whips ass because we all deserve a little treat.

Do you want to read me talking about making games? I did a bunch of that this month! First, even a little tangential, there’s an assessment of things that Brennan Lee Mulligan does in his dungeonmastering that I can use for myself. I also did a reflection article about Lysen Co, talked about specifics in making the Loom videos and the Youtube interface problems it presented. I shared a tool I use when dealing with students and other designers to consider the choices they make in their game, in the form of 50 questions. Then I even did a treatment for a game concept I’ve wanted to make for a while now, Intergalactic Paper Rock Scissors.

There were some thoughts about ‘evil people’ this month in world building. Specifically, I got thinking about Demons and Ogres, and the ways that stories represent them as threats for people to deal with. But don’t worry, there’s also some nerdy stuff about street food and magical theories!

If you like reading about older editions of Dungeons & Dragons we had two articles in the specific genre of ‘whoops, this was a mistake’ design stories. One, I did an article about the absolutely broken ridiculousness of Psychofeedback, a power so wonky that it needs an article explaining how it’s wonky, and the 4th edition class the Blackguard, which not only fails to deliver on its promise, but makes it worse.

Sometimes a shirt design is just a matter of a joke in my mind that I go ‘hey, can I make that design look good?’ and never whether or not anyone wants it. Anyway, here’s a design based on two ideas crossing over.

July was a big month, wasn’t it? I try to not let real world events play into things on this blog – the impersonal, kinda thing. Still, July featured a major windstorm, two major international news incidents that distracted me at length, power outages and a weekend where I couldn’t get into my work email right before the start of semester. Which means that as this month winds down I’ve been kind of exhausted, but in a totally new way. Like, I don’t have to worry about this happening, I don’t imagine anyone’s going to shoot at a Presidential candidate for the first time in my lifetime again.

Wait hang on, maybe I was alive when Reagan got shot at.

A chunk of July is spent between teaching. That means there’s no income but it also means there’s no demands. July was largely spent grinding my way through some PhD writing and trying to address my backlog on the blog. That felt productive, and man, literature review writing is really fun and interesting after Methodology writing. I found a new favourite academic, and I’m going to feel really embarrassed if she ever finds my work and roasts it.

That was an impact on my videos next month; I thought I’d have a lot to say about one of the topics, but it turns out the game is very fluid and easy, and mostly it pulled me back to two sources I really like – The Art of Failure and Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation. Which is itself, a whole thing. It’s wild to write this month’s wrapup post and realise that I’m already a step ahead. As I write this, my scripted videos for August are made, and they’re scheduled on Youtube, ready to go. Part of what let me do that was getting the videos for July done ahead of time — which did mean moving something from July to September.

We’ll see how that goes when it drops.

It’s a little thing too but I’ve been practicing card handling all month. Whenever I’m nervous I try to shuffle a deck of cards controlling the same pair of cards to the top, every time. This has been such an extensive practice that now, one of those two cards has my fingernails worn in the top of it, which tells you that this deck of cards is in fact, a bit bad.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[riality-check]

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5

Steve wakes up early like he usually does. The sun is streaming through his window right into his eyes, his sheets are bunched at his waist, and Eddie is snoring way too close to his right ear.

Steve doesn’t move.

He glances at the clock. It’s early enough that Eddie would complain about the time even if he got a good amount of sleep last night. But he didn’t. Neither of them did, and Eddie had a panic attack on top of that, so he’s exhausted.

He deserves the sleep, so Steve lets him have it.

Steve, however, is still on a swimmer’s schedule even after two years of post-graduation life. He gets up and tries not to focus on last night.

They say nothing good happens after midnight, but nothing good happens before noon, either. Breakfast seems like a good first step, at least, before they sit down and talk.

Really talk, not huddle and cry on a hardwood floor.

Yeah. Steve needs food before they have that conversation.

He heads downstairs, where he sees Nancy sitting at the kitchen table, steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

Before he can say anything along the lines of “I thought you left” or “how did you figure out the coffeemaker, it took me two months to work the damn thing out,” Nancy points at the coffeemaker and says, “Yours should be done in about a minute. Light roast, right?”

“Yeah,” Steve says. His parents like dark roast. Despite both of them drinking it, that container is more full than the light roast. Steve’s gone through a container of his coffee since they last replaced theirs. He doesn’t even drink coffee all that often.

Sure enough, the coffeemaker finishes brewing, and Steve gingerly grabs his scorching mug and sits across from Nancy.

She still has her curlers in. He’d tease her for it if she didn’t look so exhausted.

He takes a peek into her mug. It’s half empty, but he can see that it’s dark.

“Dark roast, black?” he asks.

Nancy nods.

Nice to know some things haven’t changed since ‘83. Good that that coffee is getting used up.

“You know light roast has more caffeine, right?”

“I like the taste,” Nancy says. She takes a sip of it without grimacing, and Steve marvels at her.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever stop doing that, not really.

“I thought you left,” he says instead.

Nancy shrugs. “I was too tired to drive. My parents are out of town this weekend, anyway, and it’s not like Mike can use the car. I crashed on the couch. The blankets are in the wash right now.”

“I don’t care about the blankets,” Steve says. It’s true. They’re kind of ugly, too. Some gifts his great-aunt made for his parents’ wedding anniversary, he thinks. They’re warm though, and he likes that at least someone got some use out of them.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Nancy stares at him, but Steve knows she isn’t really looking at him. She’s just thinking.

“I think so,” she says after a minute. “Or at least I will be in a little while.”

Steve nods.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“No,” Steve says instantly. “I need at least a day, I think.”

“Yeah,” Nancy says. She takes another sip of coffee. “Last night was a lot.”

Steve sighs. “Yeah. It was.”

He picks up the mug and when he registers it’s not hot enough to make him want to immediately drop it, takes a sip of his coffee. It’s bitter as anything, and that’s when he realizes he forgot to add-

“Milk and two sugars?” Nancy offers. She’s already up, having gotten the milk from the fridge, and now stands on her tiptoes, trying to reach the sugar bowl in the cabinet to the left of the stove.

“I got it.” Steve pushes himself out of his chair, but by the time he’s on his feet, Nancy has the sugar bowl in hand and is setting it, along with the milk and a spoon, on the table.

Steve is both surprised and not that she remembered where everything is.

He adds both to his coffee, stirs it with the spoon, and takes a sip to make sure it’s actually good this time.

It is. Milk and two sugars never fails.

Nancy finishes her coffee and rinses the mug out in the sink. Then, she turns back to Steve.

“Do you think,” she says, tugging at the sleeves of her shirt, “that talking to someone might help you, too?”

Out of all the questions Nancy could possibly ask him, that wasn’t even on Steve’s radar.

He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t think about it. After everything, especially Starcourt, Steve knew he wasn’t quite all right. People who are okay don’t have nightmares that often, or get way too on edge because of flickering lights or Russian.

But that always seemed like a leap he couldn’t quite take. Therapy is for people who really aren’t okay. It’s something that isn’t talked about, not just in polite company, but possibly ever.

Steve doesn’t know if he’s reached that point yet.

But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about it.

He doesn’t voice any of this. He just takes a sip of his coffee. Swallows.

Says, “That really seemed to scare Eddie. When I brought it up.”

Nancy sits back down at the table. “Yeah. I’m surprised he didn’t go off more since he was already on edge.”

Oh. So she knew. And Steve didn’t.

“I don’t think you can be too mad about that,” Nancy says, and that’s when Steve realizes he was frowning. “You’d tell Robin something like that before you’d tell Eddie.”

Steve opens his mouth to reply, and, when he finds that he really can’t argue with that, closes it again.

“You could try asking him about it, though,” Nancy says. “He might tell you. I won’t, since it’s not my story, but he might tell you.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Well, if it were me, I would press,” Nancy says. “But you’re not me, and that’s not the right thing to do, I don’t think. I think you just need to wait until he does.”

Steve nods. He’s not the world’s most patient person, but he thinks he can wait if it’s Eddie he’s waiting for.

“You didn’t answer my question, though,” Nancy says.

“What question?”

“Do you think talking to someone would help?”

Steve swallows and stays silent. He can feel Nancy’s eyes on him. He knows she’s not doing it on purpose, that she can’t shut off that intense stare of hers, but it makes him feel like a bug underneath a microscope anyway.

“How about this?” Nancy says after the silence stretches too thin. “How about we tell each other?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, we tell each other if it gets bad. We have to tell the other two, not just one other person.”

“What about Robin?” Steve says.

“Her too,” Nancy replies instantly. She isn’t brushing him off. Steve can tell that she means it, that she might even feel a little bit bad for not including her in the first place.

“We tell the other three,” Nancy says, “if it gets bad. That way, we share the load better. And it’s less scary.”

It is less scary. Steve knows Robin better than he knows anyone on the planet, is learning more about Eddie every day, and used to be able to read Nancy’s mind.

He wonders if he’ll be able to get there again with her. He hopes so. Really, he does.

“I think that could work,” he says.

The smallest of grins appears on Nancy’s face. “It’s less expensive, too. For Eddie and Robin.”

Steve is a little embarrassed that he didn’t think about that factor.

“We have to be honest, though,” he says. “No bullshit.”

“No bullshit,” Nancy agrees. Then, she adds, “You were never bullshit. By the way.”

Steve nods. Smiles. Downs the rest of his coffee and stands up.

“Thanks, Nance,” he says.

“I should have said it before.”

“Maybe. I’m just happy you said it all. You didn’t have to.”

Nancy frowns at the floor. “No, I did.”

Steve doesn’t like the look on her face, so he changes the subject. “I’m gonna start up breakfast.”

“Eddie’s gonna want-”

“Pancakes with sprinkles,” the two of them say in unison.

Nancy grins, and it’s less shy, this time. “He steals all my candy, you know.”

“You don’t like most candy,” Steve points out. He walks over to the pantry and pulls out the box mix and sprinkles.

Nancy keeps smiling and just shrugs.

“Eggos, still?” Steve asks. 

He turns around and sees that Nancy already has the freezer door open and the box in hand. He hears Eddie’s footsteps come down the stairs. He remembers that Robin is gonna come over in a few hours for their weekly “bridge and bitch” afternoon.

Yeah. He thinks they might be okay.

ao3 link

tag list:  @ashwagandalf @novelnovella @ladyapplejackdnd @silentiumdelirium @resident-gay-bitch @brassreign @starrystevie @henderdads @greyhoundsgirl @thegingerrapunzel @seths-rogens @questionablequeeries @miss-hit @edmunsn @readbythestarlight @scooby-dum86 @deehellcat @missarte-beltane @theysherobinbuckley @tillystealeaves @mercrx @nightmareglitter 

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Angel of God, My Guardian Dear Chapter 14: Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+, MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Story Summary: While speaking at a local school for visually impaired youth, Matt runs into his childhood best friend, with whom he lost touch almost 20 years prior.

Warnings/Tags: Bit of innuendo but nothing really for this chapter.

Word Count: 3k

A/N: Matt was upset with me for a while because he felt like I was neglecting him for Michael Kinsella, but luckily he's forgiven me so I have the next 4 chapters already written!

Hope you all enjoy this new chapter and what's coming soon!

Y/N took a deep breath as she stood outside of Clinton Church. She was meeting with Sister Maggie and was actually more nervous than she had been during her first visit with Matt a month ago. 

While she knew that Sister Bernadette had single-handedly orchestrated her and Matt's forced separation, she had no idea if Sister Maggie eventually knew about it or if she had spent the past 20 years thinking that Y/N had never bothered to write to Matt. Well, I'll never find out by just standing out here.

She walked up the steps and headed down the sidewalk to the small activity center where Sister Maggie had asked to meet, then took another deep breath before going inside. 

Sister Maggie smiled as she spotted Y/N. "Y/N, hi."

Y/N walked over to her. "Hi, Sister Maggie."

Sister Maggie gave Y/N a warm hug. "How are you?"

Y/N couldn't help but smile despite her nervousness. "I'm good. Really good."

Sister Maggie smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Have a seat and I'll get you some coffee."

"Thanks." Y/N sat at a nearby table. "Sorry I took so long to come visit. Between work stuff and trying to spend as much time with Matt as possible things have been pretty busy."

Sister Maggie nodded. "That's quite alright, my dear."

She began to fiddle with the coffee machine. "So how is Matthew? I don't get to speak to him very often."

Y/N studied Sister Maggie. While Matt definitely did favor his father -- Y/N hadn't been kidding when she had told him that the Murdock genes were strong -- if Y/N looked closely enough, she could see traces of Matt's mother in him too. "He's fine. We actually just got back from visiting my aunt in Florida a couple of days ago."

"Oh, that sounds lovely. Did you have a nice trip?"

"Yeah, it was my aunt's birthday weekend so we all went out for dinner with a bunch of her friends on Saturday, then Matt and I went to the beach after Mass on Sunday while my aunt hosted her pokeno group." Y/N's face heated as she thought about what had occurred after their trip to Islamorada.

"Well that's good." Sister Maggie set a cup of coffee next to Y/N along with some cream and sugar. "You know, I have to admit that I was surprised when Matthew told me that he hadn't spoken to you since you had left St. Agnes."

Y/N winced. Getting straight to the point, I see.  "I tried to keep in contact with Matt after I moved -- I wrote to him for over a year, but Sister Bernadette keep returning my letters before Matt could get them and she had also made sure that my aunt wouldn't allow us to visit each other by convincing her that Matt's and my relationship was… well, less platonic than it actually was back then and that we should be separated quote-unquote 'before he ruined my life'. By the time I found out the truth it was too late -- Matt had already left for college and I had no way of trying to reach him since I didn't know where he had gone." 

She huffed out a breath. "Matt was -- no, is -- the best thing to ever happen to me and I would never have broken his heart like that on purpose."

Sister Maggie nodded. "I know you wouldn't. So, I take it your aunt approves of the relationship now, then?"

Y/N nodded with a smile. "Oh, yeah, Matt said that they talked things out on Monday before we left and that Aunt Ruth apologized to him for believing Sister Bernadette and misjudging him because of it."

Sister Maggie shook her head. "Had I known what Sister Bernadette was plotting I would have spoken to your aunt myself and set the record straight."

She gave Y/N's hand a squeeze. "I could tell from the moment you walked up to Matthew that first day that you two would share something truly special."

Y/N let out a light laugh. "Had me pegged as your possible future daughter-in-law from the beginning, huh?"

Sister Maggie nodded with a small smile. "You have always been like a daughter to me, Y/N, even before you met Matthew, but the moment you took Matthew's hand and said that you would be his friend I knew that you would wind up being someone very important in his life."

She stood. "Actually, I have something to show you. Just a moment."

Y/N waited as Sister Maggie left then returned a few minutes later with a book in her hands.

Sister Maggie handed it to her. "I thought you might like to have this."

Y/N gasped softly as she opened it. It wasn't a book -- it was a photo album full of pictures of herself and Matt over the years they had spent together, from candid photos of them playing and reading together to posed photos of them and the other children who lived at St. Agnes.

She lovingly caressed a picture of her and Matt as teenagers. They were outside in the courtyard at St. Agnes, Y/N's head tilted down towards whatever book they had been reading at the time while Matt's attention was focused on her, a look of absolute adoration on his face. "I never knew he looked at me like that back then."

Sister Maggie gave her a soft smile. "Matthew was so focused on you that I don't think he even knew I was there."

Y/N sighed. "I missed him so much, Sister Maggie. I tried to move on after I realized that I'd probably never see him again, but I never really could, I -- it's always been him. He's it for me."

Sister Maggie shook her head with a soft smile. "Matthew said the same thing about you -- that you were not only his best friend but also his one true love, and no matter how hard he had tried to move on after you left, no one else compared."

Y/N sniffled, her eyes tearing up as the pain of losing Matt for so long hit her all over. "I had asked God for him, you know, a few days before he came to St. Agnes. I prayed and asked God to send me a friend, but I didn't ask for just any friend -- I wanted a best friend, someone He had made just for me, unlike anyone else I had ever met."

Sister Maggie's smile grew wider. "And then Matthew showed up."

Y/N nodded. "I knew immediately that he was the answer to my prayers."

Sister Maggie huffed out a light laugh. "Then it seems like God answered both of our prayers. After Matthew's father died and it was decided that he would come live at St. Agnes, I prayed that he would find solace during his time of grief, solace that I knew I had no right to try to give him. I was so grateful when you offered to be his friend, because I knew then that he would always have someone who would be there for him."

She took Y/N's hand once again. "Thank you for loving my son. "

Y/N nodded. "I do. Very much so."

"And he loves you too." Sister Maggie gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I want you to know that when the time comes I will be honored to have you as my daughter-in-law."

Y/N leaned over and gave Sister Maggie a hug. "Thank you."

Two hours later, Y/N left Clinton Church well-caffeinated and with a happy smile on her face. 

Sister Maggie sat back and cleared her throat.  "Okay, now, tell me more about what life in Florida was like��"

She and Sister Maggie had talked and reminisced over several cups of coffee, laughing about some of the antics Y/N and Matt had gotten up to as children and confiding in each other about their worry for Matt while he was out Daredeviling at night.

Y/N was about to order an Uber to take her home when her phone rang.

She grinned at the caller ID and answered it. "Hey, Matty."

"Hi, angel," Matt's smooth voice sounded over the line. "Are you in the neighborhood?"

Y/N huffed out a light laugh as she glanced back at Clinton Church. "Actually, yeah, I'm just leaving from a visit with Sister Maggie. How did you know?"

Matt was quiet for a moment. "I'm at my, uh, my 'other' job and thought I picked up your heartbeat."

Y/N's heart fluttered. "Oh, okay. Yeah, I decided to drop by for a visit after work today and stayed a lot longer than I originally expected."

Matt hummed. "I was thinking about making one more round then calling it an early night if you wanted to come over?"

Y/N grinned. "I'd love to."

"Okay, great. There's a spare key under the mat, so you can just let yourself in and make yourself comfortable. I shouldn't be too long after you."

"Okay. See you soon."

"Love you."

Y/N grinned. "Love you too."

She hung up and headed towards Matt's apartment, letting herself in with the spare key.

She hung the key on the key rack next to the door before putting her purse away, then went to Matt's refrigerator.

She had just poured herself a glass of wine and was putting the bottle back when she heard the door to the roof open and Matt's footsteps descend the stairs. "Matty, sweetheart, do you want something to--"

Her mouth went dry as she turned around. "--Drink."

Seeing photos and video footage of Matt in his Daredevil suit was nothing compared to seeing him wearing it in person. Holy shit.

She swallowed. "Uh--"

Matt's head tilted slightly, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Hello, angel," he said in a low, gravelly voice.

Y/N sucked in a breath. If that's what he looks and sounds like while intimidating criminals every night, I might consider turning to a life of crime. "Hnng--"

Matt slowly stalked towards her, his smirk growing wider. "Like what you see?"

"Mm--" Y/N cleared her throat. "Mmhmm."

She reached out to touch Matt's suit as he stopped in front of her, her fingertips brushing across the material. "I uh, I just realized I've never actually seen you in this."

Matt took his helmet off and set it on the kitchen island, then wrapped his arms around her with a grin. "Well if I had known  that I'd get this kind of reaction out of you I'd have worn it around you sooner."

Y/N huffed out a laugh then brushed some stray hair from Matt's face. "Well if I'd have known you'd be even hotter in it in person than in the photos and video I've seen, I'd have asked you to wear it around me sooner."

She leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I'm sure you want to change into something more comfortable though."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna go take a quick shower if you don't mind."

"'Kay. Hungry? I can make us something to eat."

Matt gave Y/N another kiss. "Actually how about takeout tonight? More cuddle time."

Y/N huffed out a light laugh. "Sounds good to me. What are you in the mood for?"

Matt grinned. "Well, if you have to ask…"

Y/N playfully rolled her eyes. "To eat, Matthew."

Matt's grin grew wider. "Yes???"

Y/N swatted his arm. "I mean food!"

Matt chuckled. "How about sushi from that place you love so much? Our usual order plus whatever else you might be in the mood for is fine with me."

Y/N nodded and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Okay, yeah, that sounds good."

"My wallet is in the island drawer, just grab my bank card out of it to pay for dinner."

"Okay." Y/N watched as Matt picked up his helmet and headed towards his bedroom.

She let out a whistle. "Be sure to thank whoever made your suit for me, Matty, because your ass looks fantastic in it."

Matt chuckled. "I'll be sure to let them know."

Y/N quickly placed their order for dinner while Matt went to go shower before grabbing her glass of wine and heading towards Matt's living room. "Dinner's gonna be about 20 minutes," she called out.

"Okay," Matt called back from the shower. "I'll be out in a bit."

Y/N sat on Matt's sofa and pulled her phone out again.

She glanced towards the bathroom before pulling up Google. Apartments for rent or sale, Hell's Kitchen, NY, she typed.

She pulled up the first search result. She'd have to discuss a budget with Matt, of course, but she wanted to see what sort of apartments were available and how much something like what they were looking for would cost.

Her salary as an experienced librarian wasn't terrible and she knew Matt at least made enough money to keep the firm afloat and to be able to afford to eat, so she figured that between the two of them they should've at least been able to afford rent on a big enough place to raise a couple of kids. 

She was scrolling through possible listings when Matt came out of his bathroom, clad in the gray sweatpants that would be the death of Y/N and a black t-shirt.

He sat next to Y/N on the couch, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "Whatcha doing?"

Y/N set her phone down on the coffee table. "Looking at real estate listings."

"Mmm." Matt wrapped an arm around her. "Find anything?"

Y/N shook her head as she cuddled against him. "Just getting a feel for what's out there and how much we'd be looking at in rent."

Matt was quiet for a moment. "What do you think about buying a place instead of renting? I mean, we are looking for a forever home, right?"

Y/N shrugged. "I'm not opposed to buying a place at all if we can afford it. We can come up with a budget and a list of wants and must-haves then go from there."

Matt nodded. "How about this weekend? You can come over Friday night and we can spend Saturday working on all that and start looking for places that fit our criteria."

He took a deep breath and pulled a small, plain square box out of his pocket. "And maybe you can use this to let yourself in."

Y/N took the box and opened it to reveal a shiny new key attached to a keychain in the shape of an angel.

She looked up at Matt, a smile spreading over her face. "Matty…"

Matt shyly smiled back at her. "I thought you'd like to have your own key to my apartment."

Y/N threw her arms around Matt in a hug, then gave him a kiss. "I love you, you know that?"

Matt grinned. "I love you too, angel."

Y/N examined the keychain. "This keychain is beautiful, by the way."

Matt smiled. "I got the clerk at the hardware store to help me pick it out while I was getting your key made. They had a couple of different ones, but that one felt the best."

Y/N nodded. "I love it. I'll get a key for my place made for you tomorrow after work, okay?"

Matt shook his head, a slightly guilty look crossing his face. "You don't have to give me a key to your apartment just because I--"

Y/N grabbed his hand. "Hey… Hey no, I want to. I know we spend more time here than at my place since it's bigger and more accessible for you, but I love you and I want you to have equal access to my apartment as well."

Matt nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. "Okay then. Thank you."

Y/N leaned up for a kiss. "So is this a hint that you want me to come over more frequently or is it more of an 'in case of emergency' key?"

Matt bit his lip. "Both? I mean, yeah, it's good for you to have a key in case of an emergency, but I definitely wouldn't mind coming home to find you waiting for me here in my apartment more often."

Y/N hummed. "Would that also mean I'd get to see you in your Daredevil suit again?"

Matt shrugged with a grin. "Well, you could if you'd be here when I got back from patrol at night…"

"Mmm, really?"

Matt nodded, his voice pitching lower but not quite down to the tone he had used earlier. "Mmhmm. And depending on how late it is and if you're still up, you could help me take my suit off?"

Y/N licked her lips, liking where the conversation was going. "Oh, is it difficult to… get off?"

Matt smirked. "Well there's a zipper that's tricky, sometimes you have to… jerk it."

Y/N bit her lip. "Maybe you could also give me a demonstration of your Daredevil voice?"

A deep rumble sounded from Matt's chest. "Oh, I was already planning on it, sweetness. Especially since I can tell how much it turns you on." 

He leaned up to murmur into her ear. "You wanna be my good girl tonight, do what the Devil tells you to do?"

Y/N sucked in a breath, her face flaming. "Uh huh."

"That's my angel." Matt kissed her just below her ear before leaning back, a smirk on his face. "Dinner's here, but maybe we can continue this conversation later?"

Y/N almost said 'fuck dinner' so she could drag Matt off to his bedroom right then, but instead she nodded. "Mmhmm."

She just hoped Matt ate fast tonight.

[kato-neimoidia]

15 questions for 15 friends

Thanks @willameena and @somethingsteff for the tags!

1. Are you named after anyone?

No

2. When was the last time you cried?

About an hour ago! Just a little cry, my parents and brother have been visiting me over the weekend as it's my birthday soon and they'd just left so I'm back to being here on my own!

3. Do you have kids?

No, and I don't see that in my future, but am honorary auntie to my friends children

4. What sports do you play/ have you played?

Currently playing field hockey. I've been playing for 11 years now. I absolutely love it, playing in defense and in goal, and also coach and umpire (umpiring only when they reeeeally need me to though!).

Have played - would be easier to list what I haven't 😂 I've played football, cricket, basketball, netball, volleyball, to name a few.

While being able bodied myself, a friend of mine who works with local charities for disabilities organised some wheelchair basketball tournaments that I'd been invited to play in. Quite an experience! Don't think I embarrassed myself too much, but a bunch of us from my hockey team put a team together, and we had fun and a laugh with the other teams involved.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes, to my detriment. I once sarcastically agreed to be a hockey team captain one year, the sarcasm wasn't picked up and a couple of months later I see a facebook post advertising me as one of the captains :| I followed through and did the year, but never again!

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Eyes, mouth, facial expression, gauging their interest in the current situation

7. What's your eye colour?

Blue and brown - brown around the pupils, kinda starbursting out into blue towards the edges (central heterochromia o.O)

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies usually, I'm a bit cynical and like it when there's a twist at the end where the bad guy wins!

9. Any talents?

Not especially, I'm reasonably good at as sports and crafty things. My 'weird' talent would be that my fingers are hypermobile, so my fingers bend a bit backwards at the knuckles, and I can bent the finger tip joints while keeping the rest of the finger straight

10. Where were you born?

Oxfordshire, UK. Moved to Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire area before I was 1 and have stayed here since

11. What are your hobbies?

Playing hockey, video games, reading, crafting and making little things, such as reconfiguring and painting funko pops, and recently made myself a Sabine Wren mando armour costume for halloween

12. Do you have any pets?

No

13. How tall are you?

5' 1.5"

14. Favourite subject in school?

I was quite partial to maths, biology, and PE

15. Dream job?

Not really sure.. I was always interested in computing and ended up with a job in the IT industry, but it's more in the 'business' side than computing. I've gone vegan and got an electric car over the last 2 years, and have been trying to be more 'green' in general. So it would be cool to be able to do something in that realm, making steps in that direction more accessible and financially viable for businesses and the general public. If money wasn't an object I used to want to work in Game or HMV so I could just play games all day and mess about with merch, while somehow not getting fired

No pressure tags (sorry if you've already been tagged, but enjoy another if so!) @briliantlymad, @isthisfree, @lesbianakins, @underacalicosky, @grapenehifics, @starwalkertales, @piecesofeden11, @trannakinskywalker, @sashkalive, @billowypantss, @mars-attacking, @bolshoiromanova, @vaderborn, @veloursdor, @tideswept

And anyone else who fancies doing this, open invite!

[thistransient]

I finally took the disposable camera I got on my trip to KL to be developed, which I would have done earlier if I had bothered to look up how long film is good for, but better late than never. (Dragonfruit plants along the route pictured above, actual photos to come.) I was happy with a surprising amount of it! I can see the allure of getting back(?) into film, although perhaps one cannot be said to have been "into film" in the past when it was literally the only option- I remember very distinctly the first time I witnessed a compact digital camera in the early 2000s. But I think it's safe to hazard that I have a different sense of aesthetic from back then and thus it might be worth another go. (Or at least it might make me more discerning and thoughtful about what to take pictures of, quality over quantity, that kinda thing.) I was pleasantly surprised that the developing itself was a brisk 24 hour service and only cost ~$4 for scans, so maybe things are different in Taipei (compared to a friend in another city who indicated otherwise).

This weekend I finally got back to my fave shibari salon after missing both sessions last month due to various comedies of error. The organisers had opened registration quite late and so it was sparsely populated with an excess of riggers in attendance- a bottom's market, you could say. (I had a good time.) At the end there was a single length of rope abandoned on the ground, and in order to determine the owner 4 or 5 people picked it up at once and started rubbing, smelling, and otherwise examining the minutiae of their section, which was both somewhat comical and also impressed upon me the relationship riggers have with their ropes.

On the way home on the train a man with a bunch of suitcases decided to set up camp in the seatless corner of the last carriage. He wordlessly and inexorably pressed forward until everyone else had moved out of his way, arranged his luggage against the wall, then sat down on the floor and started taking off his shoes. I was ensconced in a very comfortable and also adjacent position between a railing and the non-opening doors, and had no desire to be displaced. I decided he wasn't smelly enough to warrant surrender, held my ground, and watched as he removed his socks, carefully wrapped up and put away his sneakers, then brought out the 拖鞋 (iykyk, if you don't, it was these things, this exact pair:)

(Un?)fortunately I didn't get to see where he was going with all this (or maybe he didn't intend to go anywhere at all) because we arrived at my stop, but it was the first time I'd seen that sort of thing here. I did once observe a woman fling down her luggage in the middle of the aisle and sit on it, but the house slippers are a new one!

[dalimoor]

So I did a shiny-only run in SoulSilver

I know, it's probably the dumbest thing I've ever done. But I saw SmallAnt's Shiny-only run and was like 'I want to try that'. My rules were:

-No catching Pokémon unless they were Shiny -No using non-Shiny Pokémon in battle -Must finish the game (all 16 Badges plus defeat Red) with a full team of six Shinies -Receiving non-shiny gift Pokémon is okay, because I needed them for HM purposes Tl;dr - I did it. If you want to know how many resets it took, I didn't count, because I was doing other things at the same time and kept losing count 🤣 So, the first thing to do was to get a starter. HGSS is great because you can see if your starter is Shiny even before you receive it. After resetting a bunch, I finally got one!

...And it's my least favourite of the Johto starters, but beggars can't be choosers. (Also, sorry about the shitty photos, I was playing on real hardware.)

Welcome to the team, Gatorade! So, I decided to go for static or gift Pokémon as it would make resetting for them easier, as SmallAnt did. My next choice was Sudowoodo. He actually came along the weekend I was staying with @runeandmoon for Hyper Japan, so she saw me get him in person!

As you can see, this was five days after starting the game. Not bad, huh? I named him OnTheRocks, and Croconaw was pleased this was no longer a solo run!

Moving on, I headed to visit Bill in Goldenrod, as my next target was Eevee. He arrived sparkling four days later.

I nicknamed him 'Guinness' and eventually evolved him into an Umbreon. I'm naming all my Pokémon after drinks or drink-related things. After Eevee, I picked up the easiest catch in the game that required no resets...

...Seems a little too easy, doesn't it? This is Red Bull. I used her for a while, but eventually she was fully replaced by a more 'legit' Shiny and became just a HM slave. Our next proper team member was found in the Rocket Hideout.

Ramune the Voltorb! I forgot to take a photo of its status screen after catching it, but it was caught five days after I got Eevee. I didn't get another team member until after getting all eight Johto Badges. I was actually gunning for the Extreme Speed Dratini from the Dragon Master, but in the end, I changed my mind and went to the Game Corner instead. That way I was able to check five Dratini at once. It was probably a bad idea to change my mind half-way through, as this one took ten days to get.

Eventually, MonsterNRG arrived shining! We were so close to being done now! I could have just stopped here, as with Gyarados I did have six Pokémon, but where's the fun in that? Nope, I knew exactly who team member nuber six had to be...

LUGIA!!

Five days later, P. (Pink) Lemonade joined the party! Now I had my actual full team, it was time to challenge the Elite 4!

It was tough, because I was pretty underlevelled, but I did it.

How cool it was to see a full shiny team enter the Hall of Fame! Going around Kanto was a fairly breezy job, until I got to Red. I was badly, badly under-levelled for him, and it took forever, and a lot of healing items, but he too eventually went down.

I was too slow to catch the actual 'you defeated Red!' text when taking the photo 🤣

And there it was, my Shiny-only run of SoulSilver. I had a lot of fun, but I don't recommend anyone else doing this. I didn't count my resets, but I must've got extremely lucky, as I finished the run in barely a month. Now, what kind of run to do next...?

[mochidreambubble]

From Golden Grove, Love Sunset Bird

[ongoing fic]

Ao3 link

Chapters on Tumblr ~ 1 2 3 (you're here!) 4

previous - next

{Cove was your new best friend, but your fairy pen pal was also basically your best friend. It makes sense but not to Cove, but... But why is it he thinks you could only have one best friend anyways?}

[some notes from me before I continue, or you can just scroll down to the new chapter after the linebreak.

Comes back in here with a wedding pretzel and b/w ice cream sandwich like I didn’t leave this fic for months-

Few things of note going forward:

Due to OLNF clearly still being in progress, I’ve decided to do more of the first game for now. Though, for every B&A chapter out, in future, there will be the same number of NF POVs/Centric chapters.

It’s a little sad cause I wanted to do alternative POV chapters but that would just put this whole fic on hold instead (I do have one more OLNF chapter after this, but next time it will be unlikely)

I’ve also decided not to do a linear timeline, which I think is fine cause I’ll be labelling each chapter title with the step anyways? So maybe don't expect the next chapter for the respective MCs to be in the same or the next step cause I’ll likely just go back and forth on what I feel like writing to make it easier. Unless it’s a narrative thing I wanna follow up on.

(Also due to recent developments…. Maaaaaybe I won’t be sticking to Cove/MC, at least not straightforwardly)

And done, onward to the new chapter]

Three: Beginnings & Always Step 1 ~ “Nobody said I only could have 1 best friend”

You’d like to think you don’t get into fights that often. Maybe with Lizzie sometimes , which Mom and Ma always sat both of you down for cause siblings only had each other and you should talk things out. 

But this was different. Cove was crying, which made you cry. You cried harder when he yelled that you weren’t friends anymore. What did you even do ? 

You thought Cove and you got on pretty well over this summer. It was super great to have a kid your age for once, and one who didn’t move away once summer break was over. In fact, thanks to Cove, a lot had happened in just these few months alone. You barely had the time to write to your pen pal. 

It made you feel kind of bad especially since, across the summer, you had at least 10 different postcards from them. Mom had left them in a neat pile and a colourful ribbon to make sure not a single postcard could go flying off. Which was silly because you’re sure postcards can’t fly. 

You were waiting for Cove to come over. Ma promised to let both of you decorate the cupcakes she was baking, but only after you’ve both finished your weekend homework. It was criminal (were you using that phrase right?) that teachers gave soooo much homework. It was only the third week of the new school term too. It may have been cooler but you could still smell the summer spirit in the air.

Mr Holden said Cove would be there by 3pm on the dot. You think that means that Cove will be there on time? 

You had your eyes glued to the clock in your room. But you got a little bored just looking at it, so you ended up reading the postcards your fairy friend sent instead. Their summer adventures back home were made up of carnivals (right in the middle of the city! Where did they have the space for that?) and two visits to the zoo. If not, they were spending time with their mother, on short trips to the nearest beach. There were a bunch of stickers. In fact, two postcards were mostly just stickers and a cute drawing smushed in there. Maybe they were wondering when you’d write something back…

There was one postcard scrawled with crayons that caught your eye. It was sent to you not long after the one you sent earlier in summer break. 

Is your green friend smiling now? Cove? I wanted to send you candy to give to your new friend. Candy makes me happy.

Mama laughed when she read your letter. Mama says Cove’s papa is funny. Mama also said sometimes Mamas and Papas do funny things for us. Because we are their babies. But we are not babies anymore, I dunno why she says silly things like this. 

You guess this maybe was the postcard that came with a small box of hard candies. Mom took one look at the postcard and gift and told you it was likely because these were harder to melt. It was a little sticky because of how hot it still was, you bet. But not a goopy mess.

With a quick glance at the clock, you decided you still had time. It was almost 3pm. There was totally time.

You took a piece of paper from your special drawer. It had all your sparkly pens and colour pencils. Most importantly, your pretty paper. Instead of white paper with lines, it was the colour of the sea with starfish and coral at the corners. 

Hello little fairy!

Sorry I took so long to write to you. I had a lot of things to do this summer. Cove is a lot of fun, but he’s still not very smiley yet. But I think he is magic!!! Like for realsies!!! 

You decided to start by telling the story of Cove and the Amazing Alexander. Not about how Cove’s balloon popped at the end though. It was still too sad…

You were only getting started when you heard Lizzie yell super loudly from downstairs that Cove was here. You jumped off the final two steps, touching down with a smack as your two feet landed. Mom yells out to be careful when she hears the telltale sound of what you just did.

“I’m okay!” You tell back, but you hear mom sigh. She worries about the silliest things for sure.

Cove was waiting for you, by himself, cause Lizzie had already joined Mom in the kitchen. You don’t think he waited all that long but you still felt kind of bad…

With a skip in your step, you went up to him just as he stood up, a smile on his face.

“Hi,” he greets you softly, fidgeting with his glasses. 

It wasn’t all that cold yet, but he was already sporting a long-sleeved shirt. Maybe it was just cause it had been a while since he could, since he got his cast off recently. 

“Heya Cove!” Part of you wanted to hug him, but Ma and Mom told you to still be extra careful even though he could finally get his cast off, so you made sure you smiled extra sparkly for him. “Thanks for coming over to help with the decorating!”

“Yeah, it sounded… Fun.”

You grab both his hands to give them an excited shake, but before you can lead him to the kitchen, your mom calls out from the island counter, cleaning up with Lizzie and helping dry some dishes.

“Not just yet kiddos, I’ve just put them in the oven, so it’ll be a while. How about you bring Cove up to your room, hm? I’ll call you two back down when they’re ready.”

“Yeah, I’m just helping mom cause she said I could lick the spoon for icing,” Lizzie says in her sing-song voice.

Mom makes a big show of clutching her chest. “Defeated by icing, oh Lizzie, you’re leaving your mom out to frost-”

Lizzie gives out a huff as she rolls her eyes and you giggle. “Sure thing, mom! C’mon Cove.”

He probably knows the way to your room by now, but you like holding his hand. Cove still takes the time to look around even though your room hasn’t changed since the last time he was here.

Well. Not exactly because he spots the difference right away.

“Postcards?”

Oh. Right. You spent all that time with Cove this summer, but you never really did tell him about your fairy pen pal, huh?

You pat a spot in your room for him to sit as you gather them up. “Mmhm, it’s from my friend in Chicago!”

Cove’s mouth forms an ‘O’ shape as you hand over the postcards. “How do you become friends with someone who lives far away?”

“We’re pen pals!” You say like it answers everything. Cove’s face tells you all you need to now - he was confused and your answer didn’t tell him anything, which meant he thought it was bad and unhelpful. So you grab another pile of postcards and short letters, plop down next to him and begin to explain.

Like how and why you started writing to them, who they were and details like they’re kind of like Shiloh in that they only lived with their mom, they were two years younger, they lived in the city and their home was kind of tiny, they liked doodling and collecting stickers…

Cove was already on the latest set of postcards as you add on, “And they’re my best friend!” 

It was like a magic spell was cast and turned Cove to stone because he freezes entirely. 

“...Cove?” You turn to look at them, small bubbles of panic rising.

“Your best friend?” He was whispering so softly, which didn’t help that he sounded like something was stuck in his throat. His eyebrows were slowly forming a frown.

“Y-yeah, but…. Cove, what’s wrong?” 

“B-But you said we were best friends!” He stands up with a shout, causing you to jump up too with a shock.

You did kind of say that, when Cove asked if you were friends during the sleepover but…

He was already starting to cry which made your heart fast and loud.

“Of course you are Cove!”

“But you just said I wasn’t!”

“I didn’t say that!” 

He tosses the postcard all over and stomps his foot. “Yes you did! You said your pen pal was your best friend!”

You looked at him confused and unsure, but find yourself yelling back. “Yeah! Both of you are my best friends!”

“No!” He shouts again, crossing his arms. “You can only have one best friend!”

And the two of you became stuck in a circle of yes, no and crying because all of it made you confused and upset. Why was he so mad about this?

It became so loud that Mom came up to see what was wrong. You ran over to hug and tried to explain. You’re not sure she understood you fully but she was nodding, at least. She must have called Mr Holden or something because by the time she brought both of you back downstairs still hiccuping the tears back, he had dropped in a little while later. 

He looked between you and Cove, sat on opposite sides of the sofa. You didn’t even have the energy to greet him like usual, even when he smiled at you. Mom had pulled him aside and started to whisper to him. Mom handed him a tupperbox of cupcakes - Lizzie still decorated them as she watched you from the stool she was using to reach the high counter, glancing from Mom to you and Cove. 

“C’mon Cove,” He came back over and ruffled his hair. He looked away when he realised you were watching which made you feel pain and you could feel the tears again. He gets up and follows Ciff out without any issue, and for the first time since Cove moved to Sunset Bird, he left without you saying ‘Goodbye’.

But who cares, he was being stupid. Why couldn’t he understand that you could have many precious best friends if you wanted?! Both of them were important to you after all…

And you try and explain that to Mom once Cove left, and to Ma again. If both of them could understand, why couldn’t Cove…

It had been a whole day since the fight with Cove, but you still felt upset. Not even dance practice felt fun…

Lizzie was even being nice to you, offering to play whatever game you picked once you got back. It’s things like this that make you really love her, even if Lizzie was bossy most of the time. But it still bothered you, even as you played with her, that by the time the sun was setting on a what should be a happy Sunday…

“Hey, where are you going?” Lizzie stands up just as you do, as you run back upstairs.

You were on a mission now, you decided as you grab a bunch of letters between you and your pen pal. You simply yell out as you swing the front door open that you’re going to the Holdens, your Mom yelling back Alright but you had to be back for dinner soon.

You knock with your free hand, the other squishing the small stack of paper to your body. Mr Holden opens the door with a surprise.

“Hiya Mr Holden, sorry about yesterday.”

“Oh, it’s alright. It seems like my boy made you quite upset too. But, are you here to-”

“See Cove? Yep, can I?”

You watch as Mr Holden thinks on it for a little while, then nods. “Of course, kiddo. Do you remember where Cove’s room is?”

You nod. This would be the second time you would have been there, the first was after the first day of school you had together with Cove. It was super lucky, the two of you were in the same class and your seats were side by side.

You thank Mr Holden and he heads back to the kitchen counter after he makes sure you were fully inside. You walk to Cove room door, taking a deep breath. The door opens before you even land a knock, Cove staring at you in surprise when he realised you were there.

You expected him to slam the door in your face. Lizzie does that to everyone when she’s mad…

But he just… Stands there, not even looking at you, his eyes staring right at the floor.

“Hey Cove,” you manage to say, but it was so soft that you weren’t sure about your plan anymore.

“Hi.”

Oh, at least he greeted you back, right?

“Um… So uh, I was wondering if I could come in for a bit.”

He doesn’t look up, instead shuffling back in. He left his room door open, so you walk in and close it after. You liked Cove’s room, even if it felt kind of empty at the moment. You were helping him add more to his shell collection.

Once you were both in there, standing a space apart, the silence came back. You take in another deep breath.

“Sorry!”

“ ‘m sorry.”

Huh?

Cove finally looks up at you, eyes filled with tears again. “Oh Cove, please don’t cry I’m-”

“I’m sorry,” he’s already crying but he repeats his apology again. “I still want us to be- Be friends!”

“Of course we’re still friends! Best friends even!”

“B-But-”

You take out some of the postcards from your other bestie and start to talk. “A-And you can be their best friend too! I sent them a letter at the start of summer and they sent me so many postcards and some of them were asking about you!”

He looks surprised and rubs at his eyes to stop the tears. “You told them about me?”

“Mmhm! I promise you, they’ll like you too! And we can all be best friends together so… So uh…”

You start to fumble and ramble, about how it should be fine to have more than one best friend anyways cause you should be allowed to make your own rules. And that whoever made that old rule was stupid because Cove and you could do anything you wanted to anyways!

“And you can help me write the next one too! I was gonna write about what I did this summer and you were there for almost all of it so…!!”

He nods at last, and the postcards and short letters go flying as you rush to hug him.

Mom looks at the rather thick envelope with a smile.

“You sure you got everything packed up in here, kids?”

You look to Cove and he gives a firm nod. “Yes… Uh, we made sure to read everything three times so we got everything.”

“The whooooole summer adventure,” you nod seriously, your hands together motion in a wide circle as you tell mom.

Mom laughs and ruffles both your heads, Cove ducking a little. Your mom promises to get it delivered and you grab onto Cove excitedly. You already can’t wait to hear back!

[last note from me this chapter: my friend 'weebnt_b' read through the new chapter but they're kind of not feeling too good, so if you see any mistakes, please let me know!

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ february 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 11 606

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist; and a Third, Secret WIP

proudest accomplishment: i'm about halfway through with AR1 draft 2! and i finished like, a bunch of drawings

books read: Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne; All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells;

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

why do i feel like i wrote a lot less than i actually did. like i looked at my total and thought "now that can't be right... there's no way i wrote that much."

things are going better for some wips (AR) than they are for others (GH) so maybe my head is cancelling it out lol.

reading comments: Architects of Memory was basically "a corporate war over alien weapons featuring messy sapphics in space" and i liked it but it wasn't quite a coup de coeur, 4/5 stars. All Systems Red was an absolute delight, 5/5 stars, will be reading the rest of the series once my holds on Libby come through.

(also i started reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo this past weekend, and i blame it + it's precursor Ninth House for putting me in the mood to work on Third Secret WIP lately, as Ninth House is partially responsible for the genre shift in Third Secret WIP.)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

i'm about halfway through this draft! i've passed 40k this month!

things are going super well. when i have the magical combo of time and energy and motivation to write i can get through scenes pretty easily, now that i don't have to worry about overall plot as much. plus i get to add little things here and there to beef it up.

i've mostly worked on the second act this month, which is where the team really starts going through things together.

there's one particular Azami chapter right before the midpoint that's a monster of lore-dropping. i had to rework it several times as i had an entire page of editing notes to make sure everything is coherent... and i'm still not entirely sure i've gotten it right 😭

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft 0.5)

not much to say about this one. didn't work on it as much. the plot for this wip continues to frustrate me. i'll find myself coming up with little ideas for the characters and the world... but when i try to sit down and come up with actual scenes and plot, my brain turns to soup.

☆ COMMENTS: THIRD, SECRET WIP

this wip is consuming me. devouring me with its teeth. i'm surprised to find i may actually have a plot. turns out letting it hibernate for 3 years and tweaking with the genre has done some good.

i might cave and post an intro in the next month. stay tuned...

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

this is from the like, one scene i wrote for gemini heist this month. i just think it's funny. for context, Leo and Gabi are trying to get access to some archives in a university library, and are posing as students.

As [Leo and the archivist] talked, Gabi slipped her hand into the pocket of her ridiculous jacket. Her fingers closed around a small round device. She glanced around. While Leo was doing a great job at keeping the archivist distracted, the commotion had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

Just be normal, she told herself. She inched her hand out of her pocket.

“Which archives exactly do you need access to?” [the archivist] asked.

“Art of the early Viheldan Empiric era,” Leo said. “My paper is on the Gemini statuettes.”

“Ah, that might be why. You need a special authorization form from a professor or another faculty member to access those.”

Leo pouted. “But my professor said he got access for me!”

“Perhaps you can message him—”

“Ugh— can’t you just call him right now and ask? I don’t have time for this.”

“Alright. I’ll give him a call.”

Shit. Gabi wasn’t ready. She fumbled to take out the device, concealing it as best as she could in the palm of her hand. All she needed was to place it on the archivist’s computer terminal without him seeing a thing before he made that call.

The archivist’s fingers hovered over the screen for a second before pressing an icon at the bottom. With a starburst motion of his hand, he expanded a search window and began typing in the name of the professor. Panicking, Gabi slammed the device in her hand onto the side of the terminal.

The already quiet room went completely silent. All eyes turned towards her. The archivist’s were wide and stunned. Leo’s were sharp and furious.

“I, uh,” Gabi sputtered, awkwardly keeping her hand glued to the terminal. The device whirred to life, vibrating softly under her palm. “I-I thought I saw a bug.”

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @retrogayyde

[deepautumncolors]

My First Day of Subbing

The dance fitness instructor is starting her maternity leave, so today was my first day of subbing for her class. Normally my work hours are from 8-5 but the class is at 4:30, so I got up early and worked from 7-4 so I wouldn’t have to use any personal time. I’ll be doing that for the next several months until she’s ready to come back.

There’s going to be a solar eclipse in my area on April 8th which is a Monday, so the other day I had an idea to choreograph routines to some songs about the sun and have a sun-themed class that day. But then I thought, why go through all the trouble to choreograph a bunch of songs that I’ll only use once? And I knew it would be going up to 70 degrees today (!), so I decided to use them throughout the entire springtime. Over the weekend, I choreographed a warmup to Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles (one of my all-time favorite songs). Then I threw together one for another Beatles song called Good Day Sunshine and one for Brighter Than the Sun by Colbie Caillat. I’ve gotten much faster and better at coming up with choreography than I was when I first started last year!

Only six women came to my class today, but that’s probably because it was so nice outside and hopefully not because they knew I would be subbing. lol. I think there will probably be more people next week. I hadn’t subbed since right before Christmas, so yesterday I practiced all my routines in order to refresh my memory. Everything went smoothly in class, and I didn’t blank out on any steps or make any major mistakes. But for some reason I only had a cup of tea this morning and I didn’t drink any water after that, so I got pretty thirsty while we were dancing. I chugged most of my water in between songs, and I knew I wouldn’t have enough left for the last 20 minutes. So for the first time ever, I excused myself to go refill my bottle at the fountain down the hallway during class. But they didn’t mind, and there was no reason to make myself suffer through the rest of class without it. It really did help and I felt a lot better after I drank some more. From now on, I’ll make sure to hydrate all morning and afternoon before class!

I decided to use different songs for the warmups and cooldowns based on whatever’s going on in real life, like whichever season/holiday/month it is. Today I used a song called Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder, and I’ll use that one again on the day of the eclipse. Next week I’ll use Daylight by Taylor Swift because of daylight savings and the week after that, I’ll use St. Patrick’s Day by John Mayer (even though he’s her nemesis). And this morning I was pleased to discover that April 29th falls on a Monday this year, so I’ll use High Infidelity by Taylor Swift that day (it mentions that specific date in the lyrics).

Luckily I took this picture before class and not afterwards when my face was red and I was dripping with sweat! 😅

[regular-lord-reckoner]

well, what a week this has been !!

our downstairs ac unit and our water heater decided to tear up at the exact same time !!

so, i spent a good chunk of yesterday just cleaning out the space to get the water heater so my mom wouldn't have to do any of it later

that was one good thing about it being 59 degrees down there! the upstairs one still works just fine but like....hot air rises so i even double checked, but yeah, 70 degrees with the fan on and it didn't do a damn thing for the downstairs so

anyway

i got it all cleared out and a plumber is supposed to be on his way now. he had some emergency cases come up but said he still wanted to come check it out.

my dad had told my mom that the water heater was going to go soon, so we kinda figured. i have taken two...very cold showers this week but it's all good. made the pink stay in my hair longer so there's that

had therapy after that but it was a good session so that was nice. she said i was doing better than i was a year ago and i guess i can see that. even a little bit of progress is still progress and even if i'm the only one that sees it

mostly what i've been dealing with is just...exhaustion. with all this wacky thermostat shit there have been so many nights the aux heat has kicked on downstairs and made it insufferable upstairs so i wake up at like 4 am and just can't get back to sleep

i've been working 50 hour weeks pretty much nonstop for months now but i'm trying to at least not get so stressed during the work day, especially when doing chores eats up all my time like it did yesterday

i ended up having to do all the work i was supposed to do yesterday today which ended up taking all day but i just took my time for the most part and tried not to get too overwhelmed for no good reason

good news, though!! i got it all done. i've been trying to help out my mom more since this whole neck/arm situation started a few weeks ago. i hate that she's been in pain for so long and we still don't really have any concrete answers.

her pcp just wanted to talk about other shit besides this injury but she did at least order an mri which i'm going with her to get done tomorrow so hopefully that'll give us some answers or at least figure out what to do next.

she's been able to get some relief but not entirely and it's also been causing her to lose sleep so we're a pretty sad bunch by the end of every week the pair of us but we're pulling through !!

in the mean time, someone did come out earlier about the ac and i think it ended up being something about the compressor? they'll have to order a part so it'll be sometime next week but i think the weather is supposed to get warmer then so if it takes a minute i think we'll be okay because i can then at least run the cool air upstairs and it should be fine downstairs

mom's keeping warm by the fireplace and has a heated blanket as well and she said at night she can run a little heater in her room and it works just fine so we'll be okay with that and i can take more cold showers if need be especially if it does heat up that's no problem

wild how the other day it started out 70 damn degrees and humid as shit and then it rained and dropped down to 40 degrees immediately

can't wait to see what kinda interesting spring weather we're about to have. also can't believe it's already march holy shit

the way i'm perceiving time these days is just completely and utterly fucked so that seems especially unreal to me

alright, i think i've rambled enough for now and i've typed a lot today so i'm going to give my fingers a rest (lol) and just scroll for a while, turn this old brain off as best as i can even though it never goes off completely

hope it's a good weekend for you if you're reading this, even if you have to work or have some other bullshit you don't want to do. try to get some rest somewhere in there and so will i <3

ps: plumber just got here !!

[purplesurveys]

1884

1. Did you wake up cranky? No, if anything I felt relief that I woke up from my alarm because I've been terrible with that lately.

2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now?  That doesn't sound very appealing, no thanks.

3. Do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys? Girls for me are more emotional and expressive, and I kind of need that energy. So it checks out – I definitely have more girl friends.

4. Would you ever smile at a stranger? If they do something or are in a situation that warrants me to give them a smile, then yes. Like if they have a dog with them or if I spot them sporting any kind of merch from a fandom I'm in.

5. Can you commit to one person? Yes.

6. How do you look right now? I liked how I look today, tbh. It's a relaxed look that still looks professional – my hair cooperated today too so that's a big win.

7. What exactly are you wearing right now? I have a royal blue oversized-ish polo, brown pants, sneakers.

8. How often do you listen to music? Mostly in the car, but I will sometimes turn on Spotify when I'm working. Has to be work I'm doing on the weekend where the atmosphere is more relaxed, though – I can't listen to music during a normal 9-6. Too distracting.

9. Do you wear jeans or sweats more? Jeans.

10. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2014? Wow this is a whole decade ago, but no, it didn't really. I was only 15 going 16 at the time, and life wasn't throwing stuff at me yet. A good way to put it is that I was just on the cusp of major changes – by 2014 I got in my first relationship; the year after my grandfather died; the year after that I started college...everything pretty much snowballed from 2014, but not before it.

11. Are you a social or an antisocial person? Social. The professional field I'm in has definitely taught me how to enjoy social interactions more than I ever used to.

12. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? I don't bother with dating and relationships anymore, but I imagine that I would realistically be crushed.

13. Are you good at hiding your feelings? No...I'm transparent as glass.

14. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope.

15. Do you care if people talk badly about you? I'd care in a sense that I'd be annoyed LOL. I barely bother with other people any more as it is – what could I have done for you to talk crap? I've graduated from the phase where I let it actively bother me though. So it's just petty annoyance, and then I let it go.

16. Are you going out of town soon? Not anymore. That's all I did this month but all those plans are done now, so I'm just focusing on getting used to a normal routine again. June alone I've been to Bulacan, Caloocan, Saigon, Da Nang, and Cavite. I'm TIREDDDDD hah and to think I was supposed to even go to Hong Kong with Angela and Hans before I backed out!

17. When was the last time you cried? Earlier this afternoon, in my ride to the office. Hans is proposing to Angela tomorrow and I've been emotional about it ever since he told me haha. We're not gonna be the same after tomorrow :'D

18. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? Yes.

19. If you could change your eye color, would you? I like what I have now.

20. Name something you have to do tomorrow? I have a bunch of meetings but I will also be paying close attention to my phone because Hans and Angela will 100% call any time.

21. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having. I had a meeting with that one client that irritates me to the ends of the world, and today's call was no different.

22. Have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex? Nope.

23. Are you nice to everyone? Yeah. You never know what anyone's going through, so I always prefer to just show kindness and patience to everyone – unless of course they give me a reason to take that away.

24. What are you sitting on right now? I'm sitting in my car. I want to wait out the traffic.

25. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? Yes.

26. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? At one point, yeah.

27. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? Reena and Angela, I think.

28. Do you get a lot of colds? No it doesn't happen often...but I do happen to have one now :( I have a sore throat as well and it's so uncomfortable and I hate that I don't know where and who I could have possibly caught it from, because no one else I know seems to have a cold.

29. Have your pants ever fallen down in public? I don't think they have!

30. Does anyone hate you? I can think of one person who might.

31. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? I'm sure I can, I just prefer not to.

32. Do you like watching scary movies? Sure.

33. Are you a jealous person? Not really. I'm super nonchalant these days lol.

34. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? I wish I can say 2020 because that year sucked ass, but my thought process about it is that year had to suck as much as it did to have led me to my happiness and peace today. So let's keep 2020.

My real answer to this would probably be 2017.

35. Did you have a dream last night? I probably did, but as always I forgot the dream as soon as I woke up.

36. Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to? Yeah.

37. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? Nope.

38. Do you think someone has feelings for you? No.

39. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? No.

40. Did you have a good day yesterday? Sure. It was an average day leaning on good.

41. Think back 2 months ago; were you in a relationship? Nope.

42. Is your life anything like it was two years ago? It's the same and different in so many ways. 20s can get very complicated like that.

43. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now? I'm having a blast being alone right now, haha.

44. What’s the best part about school? The friends part.

45. Do you have any pictures on your Facebook? Sure, but I post very infrequently. Usually just for big big life events or special holidays – I posted pics from my Agust D concert, for example; and I also post greetings for my parents every Father's and Mother's Day.

46. Do you ever pass notes to your friends in school? I never started it. I was always the one being passed notes to, which infuriated me because I often ended up being the one getting caught and getting a stinkeye from the teacher.

47. Do you replay things that have happened in your head? Sure.

48. Were you single over the last summer? Yes.

49. What are you supposed to be doing right now? Nothing. I caught up with all my work backlogs so I'm feeling super satisfied right now haha.

50. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive? He is in a way but he wouldn't be my type.

[sardonic-sprite]

I'm Back!

Wow, so Lent is over now, so my tumblr fast is also over and I'm still a little in shock, lol. I had hoped the past six weeks? I don't know, Time is weird, would be more productive but at least I got SOME stuff written/posted. Anyway, I have one more month of school and then fucking FINALS so expect sporadic updates at idiot-o-clock hours of the night, and maybe yell at me to sleep, eat, study, or drink water whenever i do post 😅

I am up to SO EFFING MANY wips rn on so many different fronts you guys have no freaking idea 😭 so here's a status report for EVERYTHING on or going on sardonic_sprite. (Its gonna be a monster post, y'all, bear with me)

in absolutely no particular order:

Wayne4Ham: We have a LONG way to go with this one, so just be patient and I'll slowly but steadily plug on through. Aaron Burr, Sir, should theoretically take me no longer than end of april

Wayne-Crazy: there's like 4 specific requests on it, plus a few 'series' i started, but after those, say 6-7, i'll probably mark as complete and only re-open if someone offers me an idea

Batman Beginners: i'll tell y'all up front, this one will take me forever. i don't even know what all I intend to cover, but know that i'm halfway done with the DITF arc, and it'll probably come out in the next two months

Just A Kid: this was my shits-and-giggles fic that got like 3000 notes in a weekend lmao. it's something i do intend to continue bc its so fun and i enjoy the concepts in it, but i don't have plans to actively write more of it in the immediate future.

Rev Wayne: just gave y'all Jason's fic, so the next probably won't come until late in summer, extrapolating from my few data points. if anyone has ideas for timmy's intro, let me know, i'd love some inspiration

Celeb Batwaynes: reported separate from wayne-crazy for reasons. i think theres like 12 specific requests plus 2 ideas of my own. i may put out a poll for the next one to write, but not until after school's out, because these fics are HUGE time-eaters for me. speaking of, are non-tumblr-users able to vote on polls?

Welcome to Gotham U: this was again, me doing shit bc why not. will probably add more in the style that i first posted, but i doubt i will write any prose for it. if you would like to give it a try, please reach out, i'd love to see what you write!

One Diamond: every time i touch this i make the cliffhanger worse lmao. i finally do have a direction, but execution is gonna have to wait a while.

The Young, Innocent, and Righteous: this is mostly just for me anyway, but i'm just gonna say that i'm waiting until i finish watching miraculous season 5 before i go any further

AS you wish: i have 5 more requests to do and i am so sorry to everyone waiting you do not deserve this lmao. i promise im trying, i love your ideas, it just takes me a really long time to fill in the rest and then actually write it. the next one on my list is particularly hard to pin down and so it's halting the ones behind it to. if not before, then after finals i will sit and bang my head on the keyboard until something good comes out

Light Isn't Fadin': soooooo many people have asked me about this one oof. SOMEDAY, i swear. right now its a huge, nebulous, hulking monster and im sorry it's just not happening yet.

A christmas carol: wait until december. please

Father's Day: june.

A Little Problem: over the summer, i will watch marvel movies until they once again hijack my brain and fuel this to completion. maybe.

easter eggs: how the fuck did i forget this lmao. i'm doing as much as i can in april, but when the month is done, i'm sorry, we'll all be waiting until next lenten season. hopefully it won't come to that.

aaaaand i THINK that's finally it. there's also a bunch of random paragraphs in word and google docs that may appear, not to mention ideas that kidnap me in dark alleys. but i also have like a good half dozen other wips for other places that im trying to attend to, so please be forgiving if it seems like its taking a while to post something as sprite.

as always, i love questions, comments, concerns, even some complaints, so feel free to interact.

See ya when I see ya!

sprite