#and barely anyone voted for this one which made me kind of sad because its a good song. so im posting it now

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 2: Shall I..? and Ditto

Hello and welcome back to my current obsession, my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we wrapped up episode 1. In this one, we’re starting episode 2. Let’s do it!

We kick things off with Dahee saying that Wendy had to leave because of her schedule, so for the rest of the performances today, only five judges will be judging. 

The first song to be performed will be…

Shall I Love You Again? (다시 사랑한다 말할까), originally by Kim Dong-ryul 

Shall I Love You Again? Also is known by the English translation “Shall we begin again,” which is a bit more palatable, I think. As far as I can tell, it came out in 2008. 

Per MNET’s translations of its captions, it’s “a song where the unique sensitivity of the original song and the digestion of profound and heavy bass are the key.” Um. Okay, sure. What’s interesting is that is exactly what google translate makes of the caption as well, suggesting that the translations are being generated via google translate.

Kim Dong-ryul, the original singer, is also the original singer of the song Drunken Truth, which I know as the song that Chen sang when he went on King of Masked Singer. So there’s that connection for me. Kim Dong-ryul apparently writes/composes/arranges all his own songs, so good for him! 

Vocal Coach Guy is a bit concerned about the song choice. “Isn’t this a bit retro?” he asks. “It needs to be clean to sound cool. It might not sound right to vocalists these days.” I mean, isn’t that a critique that could be made of most of these songs? IDK.

The guys come up from backstage, holding hands. 

Filmed as usual on one of MNET’s glorious Idaho russets. 

The judges are surprised to see Yeo One. “Pentagon?!” Baekho says. Hey, buddy. You are the LAST one to be surprised if a reasonably well established idol shows up on a reality survival show. 

Yeo One appears to be their spokesman, and they give a cute introduction as “Barista.” 

Kim Seohyung , Kim Seongjeong

Yeo One, Yoon In Hwan

Yes, I would like a cup of coffee. Unless it is between the hours of midnight at 5am, I probably want a cup of coffee. Thank you. You have my vote. 

Solar repeats, “Ba-ree-sta?” as if she doesn’t know what it means. Girl, didn’t you watch Coffee Prince? 

Yeo One explains that since they’re baritones and stars, they’re baristas! Ok, I give you that. You win, Yeo One. You win. 

Kim Seohyung the musical actor says he wants to make the stage shine with his warm voice. In my initial write up of him, I said that he has that classical “musical actor” voice that I don’t tend to like much. I said that I thought he belonged in the power category, not the unique category. We barely saw him on episode 1, but for some reason I get the sense that he’s a funny guy with an interesting personality. 

Kim Seongjeong again says that he has vocal, physical, and musical skills, then does a spin on one foot. He’s also a musical actor, and you may remember him as our adorable leaping lizard from episode 1. I said that his singing style isn’t the kind that I tend to respond to, but I respect its rich timbre and his excellent breath support. Plus, the leaping! We love the leaping. 

Yeo One says, “I’m Yeo One from Pentagon, and I’ll touch your heart with a warm tone like a vanilla latte.” Interesting that he says he’s in Pentagon still -- nice to have that confirmed. In my intro recaps, I said that Yeo One has a light, charming vocal color and a lovable vibe. He’s not a powerhouse vocalist, but he’s nice to listen to.

Yoon Inhwan shows a few exaggerated facial expressions and says, “From sad to happy, I’m a ballad singer who can pull off any genre.” Yoon Inhwan’s teaser performance was easily my least favorite. I really don’t care for his thick vocal color, but he has a powerful voice and a good sense of pitch. Learning that he specifically classifies himself as a ballad singer helps explain my personal dislike of his singing style. I’m sorry if anyone out there really likes the way he sings -- I’m not saying it’s objectively bad, I’m just saying that subjectively, I don’t like it much. But he seems to also be a funny, interesting guy. 

Vocal Coach Guy notes that all four have similar vocal ranges, then asks if they have a strategy to be chosen top tier. That cues the flashback…

Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, chooses the song first; he was in fourth place and had an early pick. Next was Yeo One, who actually only got one vote fewer than Jay Chang and finished in 11th place. Soon after, Kim Seohyung joined, and then 24th place Yoon Inhwan joined. This was the third song to fill up, after Ditto and Tomboy, making it a pretty popular choice. 

Seongjeong chose the song because it suits his vocal range, but we find out that Yeo One chose it because he really wanted to work with Seongjeong. 

I think Seongjeong is really flattered -- I mean, Yeo One is pretty darn famous, so it’s always a good feeling. 

Turns out that Kim Seohyung, who Seongjeong and Yeo One call “The one with the coat,” is also a big fan of Seongjeong’s voice, and wants to work with him too. We learn that Kim Seohyung is a “newbie musical actor who debuted 0 years ago.” 

Seohyung doing some musical acting.

And once Inhwan joins, it’s a team full of good feelings!

We see a pretty short montage of them rehearsing and all promising to win this one. 

And then we dive in to the performance!

Here’s the version without all the reactions. 

My thoughts:

Will the great dog please grant me the patience to listen to all these ballads. I really, really hate this song. Sorry if it’s your thing, it’s just really not mine. Ok, let me try to talk about their performances. 

Overall, they were very good. Their voices were all fairly similar, so they blended pretty well. Also, it’s nice to hear some baritones in an industry that’s obsessed with high notes. 

Three of them are musical actors and they really sound like musical actors to me. Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, has the fullest, richest voice and it is in fact quite nice to listen to. Seohyung sounds similar, but not quite as rich and full. I can see the appeal of the way they sing, even if it’s not necessarily what I want to listen to most of the time. 

Seohyung, left, and Seongjeong, right. 

Yeo One was obviously trying really hard, and his voice was a lot fuller than I would have thought it could be. It was a little sharp, not in pitch but in quality, but it made a nice contrast to the others. His throat sounded a little tight, like he was straining, and he seemed to run out of breath on longer notes and at the end of lines. His comparative lack of training stood out, unfortunately. I’d love to see him just work with a vocal coach more, because his natural tone is very pretty. 

Inhwan was a lot better than he was in the teaser, without as much of that closed throat sound that he’d had initially. I still wasn’t wild about his performance, unfortunately. 

You guys, I’m so sorry, I just can’t say much more about this because I just hate this song so much that I can’t listen to it again. Forgive me. 

The MNET edit, as usual, emphasizes how great they are. There were some unhappy reactions from Eunkwang when Yeo One was singing, but that’s about it. 

Solar looked like she was going to cry at one point.

“I just hate ballads so much.” -- Solar, maybe

When they’re done, the judges and the boys back stage all applaud politely. They enjoyed the performance, but weren’t necessarily blown away by it. I don’t think that’s totally the singers’ fault.

When they’re done, the first thing the Vocal Coach Guy (VCG) says is that this is a difficult song to sing, and was made to be sung by one person, not four. Isn’t that true of a lot of songs, though? A ton of songs sung by groups are pretty personal. 

VCG goes on to say that Seongjeong sang it like a musical and did everything right.

Then Dahee asks Eunkwang what he thought of Yeo One, given that they’re from the same agency (Cube) and Eunkwang is Yeo One’s sunbae. There’s a bit of a pause, and then Eunkwang says, “I think you need to practice a little harder. I thought you should dig into the song in more detail.”

If you look closely, you can actually *see* Yeo One’s broken heart. 

The editors play clips and we hear the same notes that ended a bit too soon and didn’t have quite enough support. Yep, that’s what I noticed too. 

Hey, Eunkwang. You know that Cube doesn’t really help its artists in any way. Why don’t you help out your hoobae and offer more specific advice? I hope they meet later on and talk about it because Yeo One won’t get more trained just by wanting it more. That’s not how training works. 

After that, Eunkwang continues his “piss off BPR-Noona” shtick by saying that he liked Inhwan best. What in the…?

Solar praises Seohyung the most. She says that she got a bit emotional listening to the performance, maybe because of their desperation, she’s not sure. They say thank you. 

It’s time to vote for top tier. The judges seem to be torn between Seongjeong and Inhwan. I’m in crazy land.

The votes come in, and it’s…

… a tie.

Baekho and Solar vote for Inhwan, VCG and Eunkwang vote for Seongjeong, and Jaehwan unexpectedly votes for Yeo One. I bet he had some kind things to say about him, too, but the editors wanted to make it look like Yeo One was terrible and only showed Eunkwang criticizing him.

Backstage, Lim Jun Hyeok (former Day6) and Choi Ha Ram from team Breath joke that because the song is by Kim Dongryul, the score would be tied. The joke is that the name Dong Ryul sounds like the Korean word for “tied” as in tied score.

Dahee asks for a revote to break the tie, and the revote is really interesting.

Baekho and Solar both change their votes from Inhwan to Seongjeong.

VCG and Eunkwang hold steady with Seongjeong. 

And Jaehwan, ever the maverick, votes for Inhwan this time. 

So the top tier was chosen -- it’s our leaping lizard Seongjeong! I’m glad -- I’ve come to like his voice, even if it’s not what I normally gravitate to. But it’s got to kind of hurt for the other guys.

Eunkwang tells Seongjeong that he’s heard that Seongjeong doesn’t have much training, which surprises me a lot. Eunkwang says that Seongjeong can continue to develop his skills on this show. Hey Eunkwang, can Yeo One develop his skills? Or do you hate Pentagon for being younger and slightly more popular these days than you are? Is that the problem, Eunkwang? I’m sorry, team, but I’ve never liked this guy much and the more I see of him, the more I feel sure of it. I’m sorry if you’re a big fan of his. Maybe I’m misjudging him. But I can only judge what I see. 

Dahee asks Seongjeong how it feels to take top tier. He says he’s a little embarrassed because he needs to work harder. VCG tells him not to be so sad -- he won! I like VCG, you guys, even if I am physically unable to learn his name.

Almost immediately we dive into our next performance, and it’s…

Ditto

When the song is announced, the boys backstage begin singing the opening “hoo-hooo” like a wolf howl.

“Wooo-hoooo…”   LTR: Gwangsuk, Joohee, Inhyuk, all from team Tomboy

The judges wonder how it can this cover even be done? I guess they mean that it’s tricky because it was originally performed by young girls, but for me, I see a different difficulty. 

To me, Ditto is a weird choice for this competition because it’s not really a song -- it’s more like the idea of a song. It’s like the imprint of a song on a couch cushion after a song sat there for a while. It’s like a faint ring in the tub after a song took a bath there. It’s like the heat in a pile of blankets after a song slept there. It’s almost a song, but not quite. It’s the La Croix of songs. 

I’m not saying I dislike it. I mean, I like La Croix. It’s just that I don’t hear much in the way of chords. It’s kind of just a melody and a drum beat. So I’m not really sure how it could be rearranged. 

But of course, I understand the draw of picking it. It’s mostly in English, which would make it more appropriate for idol singers used to singing in English, and anyone like Jay or Soomin who is actually American. It also was a monster hit. A MONSTER hit. For me, the best song by New Jeans is obviously Attention but I don’t run the world, and everyone else likes Ditto, so, so be it. 

And everyone also loves Hype Boy, including VCG, who apparently was filmed at some point doing a dance cover of that song.  Cute. 

The Ditto team takes the stage, and they are full of MZ looks, apparently.

I had to look up what MZ meant, and apparently it is a combination of the two terms “Millennials” and “Generation Z” and is used in Korea as a generally broad term for younger people. It might also suggest young people who are on-trend…? More information requested. 

They all introduce themselves. Wumuti does his little Wumuti dance. You know, this one? 

..but more subdued.

“Chonin.. Wumuti-ti-ti-ti-ti…” 

VCG is like he’s still doing this? It’s a little cringey, actually. 

Woong announces himself as MNET’s would-be son, continuing his narrative. They’ll adopt you someday, Woong!  

Seokhoon says, “I’ll land in your hearts like a bolt of lightening.” 

Soomin says he’s a a singer-songwriter who looks like a goldendoodle. 

We see a flashback of the voice check and learn that throughout, Soomin was laid back, languid, almost asleep. Was he jet lagged? 

Our sweet Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “There was a guy with a beanie that seems to have a free soul. A real MZ from the United States. People like him tend to be really good singers.” I don’t know, Sunyoul. I’ve met a lot of American free spirits in beanies and with guitars who definitely are not good singers. Spend enough time at youth hostels and you will meet one million of them.

We see that Soomin introduced himself in English: “Hey guys, I’m a singer songwriter, 19 years old, from Chicago Illinois, Jung Soomin, nice to meet you.”

I love the look on their faces in the background. 

We’ve seen him use Korean pretty well, so why introduce himself in English? It feels like a weird power play. But maybe he said it twice, once in each language, for all we know. Regardless, it is a revelation to learn he’s 19 -- I got the sense he was quite young but I don’t know if I would have guessed quite that young. 

Since Soomin tied for fourth place, he was the first to choose Ditto. Seokhwa, Woong, and Wumuti all chose it when all other options were open, and this song was one of the first to fill up. 

We see them all introducing themselves so I’ll mention all their ages. Woong is 26 and Wumuti and Seokhwa are both 24, making the latter two chingus and making Soomin the maknae of this team and one of the two youngest on the whole show. He doesn’t seem to understand what the maknae role entails…. More on that later. 

After Woong and Seokhwa say that they’re in idol groups, Soomin says, “oh, you’re all idols?” And Woong says, “well, Seokhwa and I are idols.” Wumuti says, “I’m a half-idol,” then laughs with sad eyes.  

We cut back to a pre-production meeting, when a staff member asks Wumuti, “Are you working as an idol?” His reply is awful. He says, “ I’m filming challenge dances and whatnot…” Oh noooo. He goes on, “I need to debut. I’m always so close to debut, but it slips away. This time…. The first thought I had was, ‘what if it doesn’t work out?’ “

His eyes are shining with tears as he repeats, “I really want to debut.” 

We cut back to footage from episode one and see him make a beeline for Ditto. This was the song he really, really wanted. Wumuti is smart enough to know that to catch people’s attention, it’s best to cover songs that they already like. 

The team decides to tackle part distribution. (There’s a clip of this on Youtube with subtitles). Both Wumuti and Soomin want the opening part, the “hoo hoo” part. In an interview, Soomin says that Wumuti isn’t his competition, and kind of rolls his eyes a little when Wumuti sings. They both sing, and the other two guys vote for Soomin to take the part. Seokhwa kindly checks in with Wumuti to make sure he’s ok, and Wumuti says he is, but he interviews that he’s screwed. 

We go straight to the performance. 

Here’s the full version WITH reactions. 

Here’s the full version WITHOUT reactions. 

My thoughts: 

Overall, really nice. It’s nice to hear some more pop-style vocals after all the overwrought ballads. 

Soomin does have a really nice voice even if I’m not totally sure about his personality. It’s light and sweet, and manages to be pretty clean while still having some texture. But on the higher notes, when he’s not in his falsetto range, he sounds kind of strained and nasal. He definitely needs to work on that upper mix. It’ll be a real breakthrough for him.

Woong’s voice is rougher, almost husky, yet still smooth, like raw silk. I actually really like it, even if it’s not the official way that singers “should” sing. I like his pop-style take on the chorus vocals. 

Seokhwa has a bit of a rough time here. On the “I got nothing to lose…” he sounds really nasal and strained, like he’s having a hard time making the higher notes even come out. He’s pitchy, too. However, on the lower notes, he sounds much better, and gosh isn’t he cute? Also, his adlib “woah!” right before the end sounded really great. I hope he learns a little more about how to open up his palette to really hit those high notes.

Wumuti sings the best I’ve ever heard him sing. He matches Woong’s vocal color somehow, but brings in more warmth and performance. His little vocal gestures don’t come across as annoying or studied, and I have a low-tolerance for that kind of thing. 

Their harmonies sound amazing, too. 

Side note: 

What is with the whales in the background? Does this song take place underwater? 

In the MNET edit, we see that everyone listening is having a great time. The judges smile at Soomin’s intro, but think that Woong is going too fast. I didn’t really notice that, but I don’t know the song super well.  Eunkwang makes a face at Seokhwa’s weak high notes, but Jaehwan is into all of it.

Backstage, the guys call the music dreamy. Someone says that Wumuti looks like cotton candy. 

Jeong Inseong from KNK dances at his teammate Hwanhee.

“I thought I told you that I Do. Not. Dance.” - Hwanhee, probably 

When they’re done, Eunkwang says, “Difficult,” and Jaehwan says, “Is it too difficult?”

Choi Haram says it’s different to hear this song sung by four men, and Kim Minseo says it’s refreshing. 

Ok, for this part, the good feed I found at ok.ru punked out for a bit so I had to switch to https://wwv.dramacool.vip/build-up-vocal-boy-group-survivor-2024-episode-2-english-sub/ which does not have English subtitles despite what the title says. So it was me and my google-translate-camera again, and I did my best.  

The judging isn’t 100% flattering. 

VCG says something like, “It’s really important for a song to match the singers. And these two guys, Seokhwa and Woong, they’re better than the performance they just gave. You two chose the wrong song!” 

We see a clip of them performing again and the captions tell us that Woong’s voice is husky (true) and Seokhwa’s voice is delicate (true). “It’s a pity that the song selection doesn’t match the tone,” the caption concludes. 

Solar disagrees completely, though. She says she notices that Seokhwa and Woong were doing a little bit of choreography on stage, almost as if they couldn’t help themselves, and she liked it and found it a refreshing change. Yes, they have different vocal tones, but that’s the point of a singing group, that each person brings their own tone. She has a high opinion of their talent. 

Jaehwan says that Soomin has a languid charm. Everyone praises him, and he says thank you, sunbaenim! For some reason, it was wrong for him to do that, because everyone laughs. 

Backstage, Hwanhee jokes with Inseong that he (Hwanhee) could also sing languidly.

He demonstrates, but Inseong points out that all he’s doing differently is making his face look sleepy, and his voice sounds the same.

They all laugh. It really looks like this team is getting along great. I’m looking forward to them, even though I think they’re singing some sort of awful ballad. 

Back at the judging table, Jaehwan goes on to say that he likes how Wumuti kind of did his own thing during the performance. Yes, they were on a team, but Wumuti used it as a chance to do a solo performance -- after all, it’s a competition. 

I’m liking Jaehwan more and more. I feel like he’s been on so many of these competition shows as a contestant that he’s just going to do whatever the fuck he wants now that he’s a judge. He’s just like, “wheee! What’cha’gon’do’bout’it?” 

It’s time for the judges to vote. Eunkwang seems to find it very hard to pick a winner.

And here’s the results…

Baekho, VCG, and Eunkwang all vote for Wumuti. Solar and Jaehwan vote for Seokhwa from WEi. I’m kind of surprised that Seokhwa got that many votes -- I thought his was the weakest performance overall, in terms of technique. 

So Wumuti won! He can’t believe it. Aww! He stands there in shock, and it’s pretty cute. 

VCG says his vocals were very stable, and watching him made him happy. It was a good song choice. 

Dahee asks him how he feels. He answers, “I’m always in good spirits, but practicing for this performance, I thought a lot about how to make it better. I was really worried. So for the next performance, I will study the music and my voice and be more focused. Thank you.” 

The team takes a bow, and as they begin to leave, Jaehwan shouts, “Fighting, fighting!” Seokhwa smiles and makes a sort of “fighting!” gesture in return. 

They walk off stage arm in arm, all congratulating Wumuti, including Soomin.  

So, before we go to the next performance, I just want to talk a little bit more about Soomin and a possible villain edit. The thing is, the kid is American, and in the US we have different social norms. He seems to be pretty fluent in Korean, but seems to prefer English, so my guess is he might speak Korean at home with his parents, but I’d assume he speaks English nearly all the rest of the time. So he’d be learning Korean social norms a bit, but living in American social norms. Add in the fact that he is really talented and likely has been praised a fair bit, and the fact that he’s only 19 and mixing with established idols, this has to be a lot for his brain to process. 

Shows like this aren’t kind to people who come from different social norms. Just look at how the Chinese trainees are treated in MNET edits. Americans also often get misunderstood. Look at what happened to Yunjin on Produce48. I haven’t gotten to those episodes in my Produce48 Rewatch Project yet, but I remember vividly how she acted in a way that seemed perfectly normal to my American eyes but was misunderstood by the Korean public. 

Soomin probably thinks a bit of trash talking is fine and all in good fun. Or maybe he really is so full of himself that he thinks it’s appropriate to trash talk Wumuti, who seems in some way pathetic to him. Maybe. But I hope Soomin doesn’t get too bad of a villain edit, because he is so young, and managing the dizzying highs and horrible lows of being on a show like this would be hard for an adult, and doubly hard for a teenager in a group of 30 year olds. 

I guess we’ll see how this shapes up for him. I hope he figures it out, because he probably has a lot going on in his head right now and he needs to figure out how to get along with everyone if this is going to work out for him. 

And that's all I can fit in this post! I'll see you in the next one, when we tackle Tomboy (not THAT Tomboy).

And if you're enjoying the recaps, please feel free to tell a friend, or share on social media. I know that there are people out there who would like recaps like these if they could find them, so help us get connected. :)

See you soon,

xoxo BPR Noona

[gretchensinister]

I too am curious about 3, combined with 5? also 15 and this might be a nightmare question but, 22 for DoL

3: Do you have any upcoming WIPs? How far along are you with them?

5: Share a snippet that you’re proud of from an upcoming fic/chapter.

Okay so. The WIPs. 1. The farthest along is the college students in a cabin being killed by a monster story, which I wrote for a Pitch Black Halloween event a couple years ago and now I am editing to publish as its own novel. I’m actually at the last scene! Unfortunately I also need to rewrite the last scene because the current last scene basically introduces two new characters and I think that damages the effect I’m going for with the story overall. It’s a story with a small cast and very few extras and closing on strangers adds distance between reader and story which I don’t want.

2. Then there’s my Phantom of the Opera fic, which yes it has been maybe a year since I worked on it, but I really want to finish it and put it into the world. I just thought it would be shorter, since I repeatedly said to @marypsue, “I’m not going to rewrite the Phantom of the Opera”…cut to card saying “Gretchen rewrites the Phantom of the Opera.”

3. There’s the fic I was working on for Dead Dove Day. I wanted to write some smut with a completely blank slate being introduced to sex by someone with tons of experience (which apparently now gets a frowny face put in one’s file) and also every character has dual genitalia (I’m still waiting for the paperwork to come back about whether I’m allowed to fantasize about that or not, and then of course there’s all the other forms to determine if I’m allowed to encourage other people to also fantasize about this). The smut is done unless I add another scene at the end but it developed a plot so I’m trying to resolve that.

4. There’s some simple! classic! blacksand! that won’t resolve for some reason and makes me feel like I lost the ability to write. I know this isn’t true but it’s like…I need to be writing this in class or something. I need to be getting away with it.

5. Last, there’s blackgeneral which I have put in a human AU and made even worse! But if you’ve never written something where you wonder at least a little bit if it would fail the Miller Test, have you even lived?

Now for some samples, in the order in which they were mentioned (lmao this got long):

1. “Did you see that, did you see that?”

“What was that?”

“Yeah, I saw it but—”

“It was tall, it was tall, it was a bear!”

“No, it was skinny! It couldn’t have been a bear!”

“And anyway, it was fucking gray!”

“Okay, okay,” Gabe said when things had quieted down a little. “Everything looks kind of gray in this light.”

“I’m not really concerned with its color!” Sugar said.

Kelly had stood up in all the commotion and now moved behind Gabe, resting her hands on his shoulders. She hadn’t liked the look of that thing in the woods, but now Gabe was pointing his flashlight down into the lake, and that was actually worse for her.

“Shine your light at it again,” Sandy said. “We’ll either frighten it away or get a better idea of what it is.”

They waited tensely as Gabe swept the trail again, revealing nothing.

“I don’t know if anyone else is thinking this,” Minnu said, “but I thought…I thought it kind of looked like a guy.”

“Yeah,” Gabe said, after a moment. “Yeah, it kind of did.”

“That kind of seems worse,” Sugar said.

“True,” Sandy said. “So, what should we do? I vote for going back to the cabin.”

“And I think we should go without our phone lights or flashlights,” said Sugar. “If that was a guy, he could have a gun.”

“The person that was found dead wasn’t killed by any gun,” Kelly said after a short pause.

“Well, this could be someone entirely different,” Sugar said. “It’s not like there’s a rule, only one thing that can kill you in the forest at a time. In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite of that.”

“Guys, guys,” Sandy said. “I know this isn’t the most normal thing to say, but…are we really sure that that thing looked like a…well, a human guy?”

2. She screams. She screams her sorrow and her rage, and her rage is at the way of the world but also at herself; why had she been a coward? All she had done was seen, and she had still frozen in fear? All she had were her hands, but should she not have used them? She should have flown forward and strangled the man! But she had only frozen, frozen and silently watched, as if she was nothing more than the ornament she was supposed to be.

“You will hurt yourself, screaming like that,” a voice says, then.

No one else is in the chapel with her. She checked many times in succession before closing the door. The voice is that of no one. A ghost.

But the abruptness reminds her of Mme. Giry as she instructs the corps de ballet on form. You will hurt yourself, bending like that.

But since no one is here, she responds as if she is alone. “No one ever taught me how to properly scream.” As she says this, she can feel the rawness of her throat. It hardly matters, she has no solos approaching, and probably never will.

“Do you want to learn?” the voice asks. “I could teach you.”

“What would be the point? No one wants me to scream.”

“No one wants me to do anything,” the voice says. “But I know how to do many things.”

The shape of her mouth flickers towards a smile. The concept is oddly enticing: to build a skill that no one wants. And this voice, that is oddly enticing, too. It reminds her of the heavy velvet that she’d noticed in the costume shop one day, brushed to a shimmering dark red like a fire behind smoked glass. The soft weight of it had been a glory in her hands that sent a strange shiver all down her spine.

And just as she knows that velvet doesn’t grow on trees, she knows that this wonderful voice didn’t come naturally, either. A lot of work went into its creation, and right now, she is the only one being given that beauty. That’s enticing, too.

It seems she’s taken too long to respond, for the voice speaks again. “I could teach you how to sing as well as scream. I’ve heard you sing on your own before, away from the chorus. You could be the greatest soprano the opera has ever heard.”

“Singing is something they want,” she says. “And you say…the greatest. Do you think I could be sublime, as a soprano?”

“Sublime,” the voice muses, and the slow word makes her shiver again. “I have met few who truly desire to be sublime.”

“I do.”

This time it is the voice that takes a long time to respond. “I believe you,” it finally says, sounding curious, and a little sad. “Yet I do not fully understand you. Perhaps I will if I teach you. And I can. I have far more experience with sublimity than with beauty.”

“Your voice is beautiful,” she says tentatively, “at least it is as you speak to me. But I hear in it something that tells me you can easily transcend with it to the sublime. I only wish to say, from hearing you, I would guess you had experience with both.”

“You do not know what you say,” the voice replies, with control so careful she cannot be sure what it conceals, “but that is all very well. You will have a voice with sublimity waiting behind its beauty, this I swear. Sublimity will be yours to hold to heel or to unleash, and when you do—”

“Yes,” she interrupts. “What then?”

She can hear a smile in the voice now, at her eagerness. “At the very least,” the voice says, “you’ll be able to shatter glass.”

She smiles too, imagining. “Every globe in the chandelier, from the stage.” It is a reckless wish, and a thoughtless one—she does not really want to rain glass down upon the audience, or if they were not there, to make the cleaning-women sweep up thousands of razor-sharp shards. But if she could, oh, it’s an uncanny thing to do. Not a pretty thing.

“If you have the will, I will show you the way,” says the voice. “If you agree, will you tell me your name?”

“Yes, and yes,” she says. “And my name is Christine Daae. But what is yours?”

“I am the ghost,” he says.

3. The Pitch held Sandy close with one arm while their other hand flowed down Sandy’s body, slow and sweet like honey. They bent to kiss Sandy’s mouth as they fondled their full breasts. And it wasn’t—it wasn’t as if the Pitch spent a long time at the stiff points of Sandy’s nipples. They were too sensitive for that right now, the line between pleasure and pain too thin. But they did touch, and the touch of their inhumanly long fingers felt somehow both reverent and barely restrained. Sandy knew this could only be their projection onto such a new Pitch, but knowing didn’t make the feeling go away. It didn’t stop them from going half-mad with it, their cunt getting wetter and their cock getting harder, barely a breath away from begging the Pitch to pinch them, hard, to fall over the line of pain to see if there was pleasure on the other side.

But that was part of a different lesson, and not something every owner wanted their Pitch to learn. Sandy wasn’t quite sure it was what they wanted, either, except that it would be more sensation and more was what they wanted from the Pitch.

But of course the Pitch could give more, and of course they would give more. That was what they were for.

The Pitch caressed their belly luxuriantly, their speeding breath and some soft sounds muffled by their mouth on Sandy’s proclaiming their absolute delight in every curve of Sandy’s very ordinary body. And again it felt like real desire, as if the Pitch had forgotten that the point of their actions was to arouse Sandy. As if it was assured, as if there was a long understanding of mutuality between them, as if indulging themselves with Sandy was something they knew Sandy would enjoy.

As for the last, with Sandy, they were right. Every greedy touch of the Pitch’s hands was a gift, a drug.

A drug that opened the mind to some dangerous ideas. Pitches are made for pleasure. If I could choose a pleasure construct I’d choose a Pitch. I’d choose this Pitch. Precocious Pitch and I wonder, I wonder if in a different world where Pitches are what the born look like, if this Pitch would commission a Sandy if they could. It should have been unthinkable. But pleasure constructs were also made to make the unthinkable possible.

So obedient, and they come with their own built-in taboos for you to think about breaking!

4. Conversation is all right, Sandy said. If you can find someone to do it with. But there are things I like better. He looked up at Pitch. Things I think you might like better, too.

“Is that so? You know something good enough to make me be good?”

Sandy grinned, now, and Pitch—Pitch absolutely felt his heart beat faster, though it was getting harder now to say that this was out of panic or even simple fear.

I don’t know if it’s that powerful, but I’d be happy to give it a try, Sandy said. What do you think?

What did Pitch think? He felt like somehow he’d been herded through a great number of corridors in his mind and now he had reached a dead end. Or—not exactly a dead end. It was just that all the doors around him were ones he had locked tightly, and he had tried to forget that he still had the keys. It was the Sandy wing of his mind, and now the real Sandy was blocking him from leaving the corridor the way he came, and spinning a key ring around his little golden finger. If Sandy unlocked any of those doors, then he’d see…he’d see…

Maybe…Sandy would see something he…liked?

“Try me,” Pitch said, giving the words an unsuitable earnestness.

5. Porcelain skin and blue-black hair from their mother. Sharp angular faces, proud aquiline noses, and bones that promised height from their father. And yet their mother’s influence performed alchemy on these traits, somehow making them gracile, proving that on those infinitesimal spiral staircases of fate, she would always have the higher ground. Their lips might be thinner than hers, but they were still perfectly formed to bring to mind sensuality, even from this young age. They might be forbidden cosmetics, but the lashes she gave them were long and thick enough that no one who saw them would be able to stop themselves from wondering. And their eyes, of course, were hers, that exquisitely rare and exotic topaz had completely overshadowed their father’s pure northern blue. There was just enough of their father in their looks that they could be no one else’s sons, but the rest of their looks whispered this open secret: Though he was powerful enough to wed and bring to childbed the most beautiful woman within a thousand miles, claiming such beauty meant that he would never have a son quite in his image. That single, perfect, impregnable vessel of immortality for himself was nothing but a ghost. What he had, after having everything else, was this uncanny pair. Warped reflections of their mother, warped reflections of their father.

And perfect reflections of each other.

15: Which fic that you’ve written relates to you and your personal life the most?

A Draught of Light. I was working through a lot of stuff in that fic and while writing it, I’m not done working out everything I was working out in that fic, and bizarrely it seems to continue to become more relatable to me as years pass, even through situations I could not have possibly have foreseen. But also Speak Oil Into My Ear is very near and dear to me because of how much of Austin, TX I put into it, and that’s where I was living when I wrote it.

22: Have you used any symbolism in A Draught of Light? What does it represent?

You mentioned this might be a nightmare question and I guess it kind of is, because DoL is like…not subtle in any way. That’s just how it is. Any symbolism is baked into the magic system because it’s how magic works—if a light adept can figure out how to understand what they’re doing as related to illuminating/revealing/opening etc., then they can do it with light. If a shadow adept can understand a working as related to concealing/vanishing/hiding etc., then they can do it with shadow. Fire is change, water is healing/restoration. The ending doesn’t go full allegory but like. For those who are familiar it’s very obvious why I would think of this story more around Easter than around the autumn equinox, when it’s actually set.

But! Story time! When this story started, it was partially due to three factors: a kinkmeme prompt that I wasn’t sure if my idea actually addressed, a round pool at the apartment complex I lived in at the time, and a dream I had where I was standing in this underground circular stone chamber, and I clapped my hands and water began flowing from them, and (here’s the symbolism) in the dream I knew that the water represented forgiveness. (Though that’s not really what it means in DoL.

[kailedger]

for all the YOI fanfic author, p.2

Oh wow, let me tell you, I really didn't expect the previous post on Russian culture to blow up ahaha (Here’s the link to it, in case you’re wondering: https://kailedger.tumblr.com/post/621351027189350400/for-all-the-yoi-fanfic-authors) But since it did, I decided to make a part two, sort of? It's not gonna be about mistakes in fanfiction, but more about things English-speaking authors don't mention simply because they don't know they exist.

I’ll give you the general info and then maybe throw some thoughts about how specific YOI characters would relate to that info in my personal opinion.

HOLIDAYS. We have a lot of those TBH, but I'll mention the most important ones - the ones for which we have official days off. I mean, yeah, you can find a list of those in Wikipedia, if you want, but it doesn't actually tell you the reality of things. I've already mentioned the New Year in the previous post, so let’s skip it.

23rd of February is the Defender of the Fatherland Day. It's actually for those who served in the army, but the tradition is to congratulate everyone who's male. Must have something to do with the fact that on 8th of March we have an International Women's Day, when we congratulate everyone who's female. Doesn't really make sense to me, since, you know, there are women in the army too. And a lot of men haven't served a day in their life, what the hell do I have to thank them for? (Here's an example: my dad used to be in the navy, submarine's captain actually, and every year when I congratulate him, he says something along the lines of "Why? There was no war conflict when I served". That's him being humble, but still, the point is there).

ANYWAY! We're not very big on celebrations of these two holidays, most of the time you just give a call to your respective male/female friends and relatives, give flowers to the ladies and just... enjoy your day off?

 Next one is the May holidays. Those are usually on the 1-3 of May, the official name (as Wiki states) is "The Day of Spring and Labour". Honestly, no one uses it lol We just say "the first May holidays" (since we also have the second, that's how much we don't wanna work in May; kinda ironic the holiday is called "the day of labour").

You don't congratulate anyone on this day, usually you just have a couple of days off. If we're lucky, the weather would be nice and then people go to the countryside to have a (oh my god, this is gonna be a mouthful) SHASHLYKI. We'll get back to this thing, and you know why? Since if you want someone to embrace the real Russian culture, you would make them go to shashlyki, trust me.

 The second May holiday is the Victory Day, and it's kinda... controversial in a way. It is a big celebration for the victory in World War II. Soviet Union suffered a lot during the war with the Nazi Germany, St. Petersburg was under the siege for more than TWO YEARS. And this holiday is both somber and happy since thanks to our ancestors we survived this hell and are now able to live in peace. The celebration is pretty big on official levels - there are military parades everywhere, concerts, people thank the war veterans (there are precious few of them left by now). When I was still in school, they made us visit those parades every year. Guess what? I've never been to a single parade since I graduated. It's not that I don't value the heroism of people who fought in WWII, it's that I think our government uses this holiday to brag how great we are (or, rather, THEY are), 'cause they haven't done anything worth of praise since 1945, which is... depressing, when you think of it. The ridiculous thing is the parade was canceled this year due to coronavirus, but GUESS WHAT? They've used BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to still have it on 24th of June. While the rate of people getting sick is still abnormally high. All because on the 1st of July we're having a vote on the constitution amendments and our government needs an extra boost in patriotism from our people (should I mention some of the amendments are homophobic? Yeah, it sucks).

Well... that was a rant completely offtopic lol. But, you know, this is the opinion of the most people below the age of 35. Also a huge problem here in Russia. Anyway, as I was saying. Used to be a really great holiday where we thanked the veterans and were reminded of the price they paid. Now it's just a sad excuse for the government to waste money sigh

So, a day off. Some fireworks, a hell lot of traffic problems due to parades. Not much else, if you're from the younger generation.

 Same thing goes to the 12th of June. Officially a "Russia Day", but since up until the point I graduated from the uni I had summer holidays, I barely even acknowledged the holiday, cause I didn't have to study/work anyway. So like... I lived my whole life here in Russia, and I have no idea why we celebrate this holiday on the 12th of June. I can google it right now, but that kind of would contradict my point here lol.

The last one is on the 3-4 of November. I think it's called something like "Unity Day", but, again, no idea why. Most of the time we just call it "the November holidays" or even "fall holidays". Honestly, most of the time we just care about the days off, especially if the holiday is supposed to be "patriotic". (When I put it like this, we kinda sound like assholes. Probably cause we are lol).

Birthdays mainly depend on the specific person. I used to love my birthdays and it was a big holiday for me when I was a kid, but then I turned 18 and it kinda lost its charm. You still celebrate it, especially if the date is something like 30, 35, 40, 45 and so on. But it gets less and less exciting over the years. I gather my friends at home and just have drinks, my fiance goes to a bar on his birthday. Not very... celebratory, ya know?

So. YOI characters. ALL OF THEM would definitely celebrate New Year. They would probably send some congratulations on 23rd of February and 8th of March. It you think of the Russian rinkmates as friends, they can go the countryside together on the first May holidays, but not actually do anything on the Victory Day (Yakov may attend the parade since he’s from the older generation). Nothing specific to do on 12th of June or November holidays, most likely the rink would be closed, so, like, just a day off.

  And now to the important stuff. SHASHLYKI. Oh my god guys, I’m so excited, cause this is one of those things that is AWESOME in Russian culture. And also makes most of the foreigners really confused. But it has some similarities with the American barbeque gatherings, I think.

First of all, many of us live in big cities (like I live in St. Petersburg for example), but we still have countryside houses. Sometimes it’s where our grandparents live, sometimes we buy it specifically. The thing is – we usually go to these places we call “dacha” to have some rest from the noise of the big city and enjoy the fresh air. Usually dachas have gardens, my mom is crazy about all this greenery stuff (I personally don’t see what’s the big deal with taking care of the plants, but I was told it comes with age ;D).

And to enjoy the experience even more we have shashlyki. It’s usually grilled meat (chicken, pork, whichever you prefer) and vegetables, but the process is what makes it really fun. Most families have their own recipes for marinated meat, you prepare it beforehand. Then, on the day, you make some snacks (salted pickles and fresh vegetables come to my mind immediately; pickles are like a must-have, it’s almost an obligatory food since it goes really well with vodka lol). While some of the people sit around the table, have drinks and catch up, there’s usually one person responsible for grilling meat. And this process is very important – it’s gotta be cooked on the brazier with actual flame (or, more like, coals). You put pieces of meat on a metallic skewer and then grill it (I think there’s the word “kebab”, but we usually use it to describe an entirely different meal, so, shashlyk it is). And let me tell you – having a freshly grilled shashlyk with some vegetables and a drink like wine (or vodka if you’re into it) is the best feeling in the world.

So you’re enjoying the fresh air, really tasty meal, have some drinks with family or/and friends. A pretty common thing (not for everyone, but I personally love it) is having someone play the guitar and sing songs around the campfire. The songs we sing are usually either stupid or old, and you would never just casually listen to those on your own, but when the time comes and you sit with the guitar, somehow EVERYONE knows the lyrics. The point is to have fun, not make a concert out of it :)

I actually think that Victor and the rest of the gang would at least try to give Yuuri (and other non-Russians, who knows) this kind of experience. I also headcanon someone (Otabek or maybe Victor himself) knowing how to play the guitar. But I wouldn’t trust Victor with the grilling, honestly, it requires a lot of attention, and… well… you all know what Victor is like ;D

  And since we’re on the topic of music, let’s discuss it. Me and a dear friend of mine @clarie-foster, who also happens to be both Russian and a YOI fan, had a lot of headcanons on this.

What you need to know, is when it comes to music, here in Russia we’re pretty flexible. The popular music is the one you can here everywhere, it’s on European and American charts, like, I dunno, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Gaga etc. There’s Russian pop-music and, honestly, it sucks lol. Most of the time I listen to it cause it’s dumb and catchy. There are some good artists, of course, I can throw you a couple of name bands like “Ночные Снайперы”, “Сплин”, “Би-2”, but the songs are in Russian, and although the lyrics are pretty damn good, they’re kinda hard to understand if you don’t know the language (I mean, just reading the translation won’t give you the whole experience). And those bands are… depressing? In a way? Not that the songs are extremely dark or something, but you kind of listen to those in a melancholic mood. Me and one of my best friends used to go out on the balcony in summer, sit wrapped in a blanket and listen to those songs. Great experience, if a little sad.

BUT. There’s the old pop-music. We have some of those artists, who were really popular when my parents were young and somehow still popular these days. Their music is honestly average – the tunes might be catchy, the lyrics are mediocre at best, but… when you have a little bit to drink, you get in that mood, where you start singing those old pop-songs. And it’s not like listening to ABBA or, I don’t know, A-ha, since those are classic and still good these days. Russian pop-songs SUCK, they’re horrible, but somehow that is the best kind of music when you’re drunk.

I personally think Victor is one of those people who would totally jam to the old Russian pop. It’s funny, since most of it is from female singers (There’s literally a song from a Russian singer Irina Allegrova called “Go crazy, wild empress”, no kidding). I just can picture him so clearly being drunk and singing those old songs with abandon lol.

Mila would probably join him while laughing hysterically. Georgi too, since he’s a drama queen. And Yuri would make all kinds of disgusted faces.

 Two facts which I have never seen being mentioned in fanfiction, which is really weird. So Victor lives in St. Petersburg, as we all saw from those last scenes in the anime (in the background you can see actual places from St. P like our sports stadium). And St. Petersburg is mostly known for two things: bridges and white nights.

WHITE NIGHTS OH MY GOD. I don’t want to go to deep into the details since I don’t really understand the nature of this thing (something to do with sun not really going down? I dunno), but in summer, especially in June and July it basically doesn’t get dark in St. Petersburg. I mean, the sun does go down, you can see the sunset and everything, but the sky stays like… white-grey, almost as though it’s midday, just cloudy. Like we’re in the middle of white nights right now, and the darkest hour is around 1 am, but even then it doesn’t really get dark at all. A lot of people from other cities and countries get confused by it, like, there was this time when Stephen Colbert was a guest on a Russian talk-show and he had a hilarious convo with the host. It was something like this: “So I’ve been in St. Petersburg for one day. It has lasted for 46 hours. Please tell me if the sun will ever go down, ‘cause I’m going crazy”.

For us common people white nights can get really annoying, if your curtains are not black-out, you can have a hard time falling asleep (since, you know, it’s too freaking bright outside). But it’s actually really great for late-night walks and is considered really romantic.

And, speaking of romantic, the bridges! What’s so special about those, you’d think. So St. Petersburg is built on the river Neva – it’s like really big, has a lot of tributaries and distributaries and flows through the whole city. Hence why we have tons of bridges.

And those bridges are drawing bridges, meaning they are separated in the middle by a special mechanism and are being lifted in the air so that the trade ships can pass underneath them. The most impressive one is the Palace Bridge – it’s one of the main sightseeing spots in the city. For most tourists it’s obligatory to visit St. Petersburg and see the drawing of the Palace Bridge. It happens at night, around the time of 1 am or 2 am. It’s really pretty, cause there are lights everywhere, you can see the ships passing by and the view of this huge structure being lifted in the air is really magnificent. Combine it with the white nights and you’ll have one of the most romantic dates you can have here in Russia.

(On the more realistic and depressing note: despite the drawing of the bridges being really beautiful, it’s SUCH a pain in the ass for the regular people. Like, because of the drawing you can’t really get from one side of the city to another. For example, I live in the northern part and if for some reason I couldn’t get to it from the center of the city before the drawing of the bridges, I’m stuck till like 4 or 5 am. Subway only opens at 6 am, and although we have a couple of bridges which never draw, those are on the outskirts of the city, so taking an uber and driving there would cost you a lot of money and also would take like and extra hour or so. Thankfully, the drawing of the bridges lasts only from April to October-November, while the ship navigation on the Neva river is possible).

Last, but not least, SOCIAL MEDIA.

So, like, Instagram is pretty popular in Russia and so is Twitter. But what people rarely mention is our own social media site – Vkontakte (www.vk.com, if you’re interested). It started to become popular in like… 2008, I think? Basically it used to be and knock-off from Facebook, even the color scheme is the same. It became more and more popular over the years, since Facebook was never really a thing in Russia (like, I had a profile there, but I’ve never used it). Now it’s like… if you don’t have a VK profile, it’s super weird lol. I communicate with most of my friends through it, since it has a lot of really cool features: chats, group chats, communities, music, videos and photos. It’s gotten so big that VK even hosts its own music festival each year with a lot of popular Russian artists.

Victor is a social butterfly, so he would definitely have a VK profile. So would Mila, Yuri and Georgi, I personally think most of their communication would be through it. Maybe they would even force Yuuri to create a profile, but he’s not really into social media much, so he wouldn’t really use it.

 I think that’s it for now. Like I said, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, I would be happy to answer! ;)

[shnuggletea]

More of the AWARD WINNING FANFICTION! Wooo I don't see myself getting tired of that. Thank you all for voting, reading, reviewing, and just being amazing people in general. Cause even if all you did was read, you still made my day. I write to share and to have you guys come back and say "we love what you're doing there" really makes me want to keep on. My ego is going to get so big guys, I'm not even kidding. Thank you @feudalconnection for hosting and to everyone that took the time to read, nominate, and vote!

Many of you expressed... interest in some loving between the lovely couple. This chapter has my response to that! Get ready for some heat!

Fanfiction HERE

AO3 HERE

Chapter Eleven

"So Kagome, how are things?"

Maten sat across from her, next to Inuyasha who had graced them with his presence for this meal. A rare occurrence and now Maten and his brother sat with them as well. Their table was getting so full.

"I'm fine. How are you? Your bones have healed nicely."

He chuckled and blushed slightly. Her eyes danced to Inuyasha just in time to catch him rolling his eyes. Hiten sat his elbows on the table and rubbed his hands together as if making up a master plan. "Have you been in the basement lately?"

She wasn't really sure what she was allowed to say about that, again glancing at Inuyasha who gave her a small shake of his head. "Yeah, a little."

"Naraku's going to be really gunning for you then. That prick, it's not like you have a choice." Maten growled.

"They still have you going into the basement? Why didn't you tell us, Kagome?"

Shippo's eyes were large and glistening as if saddened not to be in the loop. She quickly patted his head affectionately. "Oh, it's so… boring and gross down there. I didn't think it was a big deal."

The things one has to tell children to keep them appeased. Shippo smiled again and wagged his tail. It was so adorable, she couldn't stop herself from also giving him a fierce hug. Kagome just didn't understand why Inuyasha was frowning so deeply when she looked at him again. Miroku was grinning like the cat that got the canary. But that wasn't really anything new, he always had that face when Inuyasha was upset. A strange Ying-Yang the two of them were.

Miroku was still looking at Inuyasha out of the corner of his eye when he leaned his face onto his palm, his elbow resting on the table. "And Koga has left you alone as well, right? Since becoming my woman?"

Inuyasha cringed as did Maten. The two of them looked at one another for a silent moment but it was full of disdain as if sizing one another up. All of that was then turned onto Miroku, still grinning like a fool while two powerful demons glared down at him.

A distraction was needed big time. "So uh… do you guys celebrate Christmas in here?" That did it, all eyes on Kagome in shock before bursting into laughter. All except Shippo who, sadly, just looked confused. "A simple 'no' would suffice." She muttered.

"What's Chriksmas?"

They sobered at that, Shippo's small voice questioning made them all morose, Kagome the most. But then it made her determined, jumping up from her seat and pumping a fist up towards her chest. "I'm going to make Christmas come this year!"

"How? We all know you're 'magical' but unless you got a unicorn hidden up your ass…" Inuyasha started but then stopped and she realized it was because he was now staring at her butt.

Hopping over her chair, she only stumbled a little bit. "I have my ways! Just you wait and see!"

Storming away, she didn't stop until she was standing before the Warden's office door. She hadn't really thought up of a plan at all but Shippo's confused voice kept playing over and over in her head. Christmas was meant to be spent with loved ones. Full of joy and presents and cake and fried chicken… okay so she seriously doubted she could get all those things but it was worth a try.

The guards in the hall had barely noticed her existence so when they suddenly shifted and tensed, she noticed, only to get grabbed hard by her bicep and dragged away from the door. Even without seeing his wild, white hair, she knew who it was. Cause no one else dared to mess with her lately or as much as Inuyasha did.

"Are you NUTS?! Leave it alone, Kagome!"

"Did you see Shippo's face?!"

He stopped now that they were out of earshot of the Warden's door and the few guards nearby. "Yes. It's the same look on all the younger one's faces when you mention things like Christmas, holidays in general, or birthdays. But it ain't worth whatever the Warden is gonna ask you for in return for some shitty decorations and bullshit gifts!"

Bowing her head, she knew he was right. "It's just… not right."

"There's a lot of shit in here that ain't right, Mate."

She giggled a little, even though she was still sad. "You know, we don't share a cell anymore. We aren't cellmates so I'm not your Mate."

"Aren't you?"

Confused, she pulled her eyes from his chiseled chest to his face, finding him completely serious. They were really close, when had they gotten so close? Had they been like this since he stopped dragging her? She hadn't even noticed or cared. Inuyasha's attention was the only attention she ever wanted but it was rare and fleeting. This was the first time they had been alone since he showed her his weakness almost a month ago.

She studied his eyes, watching the golden color of them as they burned like coals in a fire. And he studied hers, dancing, twitching left and right. It wasn't until the pad of his thumb brushed her cheekbone that her heart picked up its pace, galloping inside her chest. He glanced down, right at her heart, telling her he heard it. It didn't deter or stop him, his claws gently scratching her scalp as he dug his fingers into her hair. Wearing it up, as he suggested, he couldn't get very deep. It forced him to place his paw on top of her strands, seeming irritated about it until he began rubbing the shell of her ear with his thumb.

"You are so… " He started but then stopped. "Koga isn't bothering you anymore, is he?"

With his face an inch or so from hers and his warm breath covering her skin as he spoke, the question felt so strange. Given the reason Koga left her alone was thanks to Miroku stroking her ass daily. "Y… yyeah."

"Good." For some reason, that caused him to drop his touch and step away. "Then the plan is working."

He was a foot away when two demons turned onto the hall they had been sharing, looking over the shell shocked Kagome with little interest and continuing on their way. Inuyasha kept on, not looking back with his hands shoved in his pockets. But she swore she saw him shaking.

oOo

Inuyasha was right, she couldn't go to the Warden for something as silly as Christmas decorations. But she could make some gifts.

No one took note of the silly White as she carefully scoured the yard, the early, cold December air not keeping anyone from their time in the open. She was pretty sure Demons weren't bothered by things like temperature. Kagome had to keep moving or freeze to death, which helped with her cover as she looked for anything worthwhile around the yard, the infirmary, even the shitty 'crafts' room that had more cobwebs than a haunted house. She was pretty sure there were some ghosts inside it too.

The few that looked her way didn't seem to care or find it strange that the yard was littered with teeth. It had freaked her out at first but since no one showed any interest when she picked a few up, Kagome had to assume they were shed naturally or something. They weren't very large, not much longer than the Kanine from a human's mouth. Most showed how little dental hygiene was taken seriously, the teeth porous and decayed straight through in places. But being a demon tooth, they all had survived past some damage and were strong as well as pearly white.

Using the odd things she found around; teeth, beads, pretty rocks, and surgical thread, Kagome felt pretty good about her offerings. They weren't anything special but they were better than nothing!

The 'craft' room also had a few scraps of pretty paper she used to wrap her gifts as well as make a handful of paper cranes. Which gave her an idea.

There were far too many children in the place but she was able to gather them all up. One of the benefits of being 'the doctor' she knew all of them when she made them come for a check-up. A few were still angry for the shots she gave them but they needed to be immunized with the runes making them susceptible to disease. The ones that had been inside since before they could remember, or who had an adult to ask for them, got shots. None of them had a parent in here with them and shivered at the thought.

Luckily, there weren't too many otherwise Kagome wouldn't have gotten approval for the drugs. And she would have probably gone into a depressed spiral if there were a lot of children who had never seen the 'outside' before.

She didn't dare think about the ones that weren't lucky enough to make it into this prison, taken by Shikon instead.

Now, surrounded by blue, their eyes were rapt with fascination as she taught them how to make paper cranes. Bright colored paper that matched their bright hair or eyes or skin. One little girl had pretty dark pink skin with beautiful golden hair. The 'craft' room was nearly overflowing with origami paper and she had to assume they used to use it as some kind of therapy for the more violent inmates.

Even with a few funky, Kagome and the children made long strands of cranes that they ran around to hang anywhere they could. If they didn't get ripped down by a Guard or pissy Demon, then she hoped the decorations would stay up year-round.

They really brightened up the place.

Down to her last strand, she slowly approached Inuyasha's cell, everyone stuck inside thanks to the rain outside. He sat on his bed, as usual, book in his hands. She crept up but she knew he was aware of her, his ears flipping back and dipping to his skull. She had to assume he did that to try and hide the small twitch they did, which he failed, the tips dancing ever so slightly as she carefully made it to the open bars.

Taking her eyes off him for a second, she got up on her toes and tied the bright, rainbow-colored strand to the top of his cell bars, making sure to knot it tight for when the door closed later that night.

When she fell back to her heels, there was no shock that his eyes were on her. She had felt them go to her as soon as she tipped up on her toes. They were wide and quivering. "Merry Christmas, Inuyasha."

Amber orbs shot back to the cranes then pushed back to his book. He said nothing and again she wasn't shocked. Nor offended. In the last eight months, she had learned how Inuyasha worked. And she knew exactly how he felt when he said nothing.

He was happy. And that terrified him.

oOo

It was interesting, now that Kagura had a small bump, how the crowds parted for her. It was as if the other Demons were enamored, the life that grew inside Kagura more than just a baby demon. Kagome could see it in their eyes as Kagura passed.

The baby was treasured.

And not just by its parents, Sesshomaru never showed emotion except when around Kagura now. It melted Kagome's heart, watching as Sess protected Kagura from zero threats, sat her down, and either made her eat or comforted her in some manner. Today, it was to rub her shoulders, sitting her in his lap while the others gossiped around the picnic table.

Using her shirt, Kagome had all the gifts she's made tossed into the 'bowl' she created. It made the frigid air waft up her belly and ribs so she was trying to hurry, tossing the crudely wrapped presents to all those who sat at the table. Kagome was glad the creepy teenager had stopped hanging out with Kagura's group, she didn't make her a gift.

It was seconds later that Jakotsu, Kanna, Kagura, and even Sesshomaru were holding up the strands that held one demon tooth and a few pretty beads around it.

"Oooooooh no one has given me jewelry before! Does it usually look this… dull?" Jakotsu wined but Kagome expected that.

Sesshomaru ignored the noise, looked sternly up at her, but that was how he always looked. "This is truly an amazing gift. I'm surprised you could pull this off in here."

He didn't say any more, putting his on quickly and fixing Kagura's on. The other two looked confused but given Sesshomaru's eagerness, they followed suit.

Crossing the yard, she gave Miroku, Shippo, Maten, and Hiten theirs. She put three teeth on Shippos just in case. The rest of the Demons didn't give a care, not receiving a gift. Which was why she felt the fire on the back of her neck, glancing behind to find Koga glowering at her. He couldn't seriously think she would give him anything after all he did to her and her friends?

Inuyasha was nowhere in sight, a usual occurrence as of late, but she wasn't going to give him his gift in public anyway. She understood his angry distance but that didn't mean she wanted his cruelty when she handed him the gift she worked hard on for weeks. Even if it was faked.

He would be stopping by the infirmary in a couple of days anyway, new moon and all.

After they put them on, Kagome insisted they all put the necklace under their shirts. She didn't know who in here knew the significance but if anyone knew it could spell trouble. Sesshomaru already had his crew hide them but not take them off. So he clearly understood and knew the value. He was an old Demon, that much was obvious. Kagome had no clue how many were as old as him in the prison. Or if the Warden was knowledgeable.

More than a gift, her presents were worth the risk in her mind. Especially if they worked as she hoped they did.

oOo

The hot shower had made her finger burn, getting so cold outside from handing out her presents it was a wonder she didn't get frostbite. As much as she hated the idea, Kagome was pretty sure she'd have to wait until Spring before she could go outside again.

It was still a few days away from Christmas but she knew she was going to freeze, going around handing them out. Freetime was her only chance and with everyone still heading outside, she hadn't had a choice. So she timed it with her shower day, planning to warm up immediately after.

Only getting the luxury three times a week, Kagome shared the shower with many other demons. Kanna stood next to her and Kagura was on the other side. The two didn't take as long as she did tonight, enjoying the steaming water more than usual. It warmed her all the way down to her shaking bones.

"I'm exhausted," Kagura moaned, looking over at Kagome, "you okay if I head out first?"

Kagome had no fears. "Of course! I'll see you tomorrow."

A few moments later and Kanna shut off her stream and wrapped a towel around herself. "I'm off," was all the quiet girl said and it was more than usual.

A female guard stood ideal, bored, while the rest either wrapped a little white towel around themselves tight or just walked around nude. Kagome was the former, covering her body from even female eyes but also caging in the residual warmth of the water on her heated skin. A few laughed oddly as they passed her, dressed again and out the door. It was weird, she was completely alone. Even the guard had left already but Kagome wasn't the one they needed to guard. All those that were in need of watch had left already.

She opened her locker and blinked a few times. Then quickly opened the one next to it. And the next. And then next. But they were all empty.

Her clothes were gone.

No one had gone out in White scrubs, she would have noticed that. Someone took them and did something with them. What, she didn't know but in her freaked out haze, she started searching all over the showers and in the lockers. But her clothes or the clothes of anyone else weren't there.

All she had was her towel.

The keys to the infirmary had been in her pocket so they were also missing. As much as she trusted running around all the other demons in a towel, she trusted the guards even less. They would probably take her infirmary keys away for good. Or make her do something terrible to get them to unlock the door. All of her clothes were in there as well. Kagome was well and screwed.

There was really only one choice and she wasn't sure it was all that good. Going to the door, she took a deep breath and the handle in her hand. Then she pulled with all her might and darted out. Not stopping, not even to look at the guards, Kagome moved as fast as her human legs would take her. It didn't help that she was wet and on her bare feet, it made cutting corners difficult as she slipped around on the tile floor. All the warmth she had gained from her shower was wasted, the jail not that warm to begin with and now she was running through it with nothing to speak of on her body.

She passed Demons, all stopping short of what they were doing to look at her. They were shocked. So was she, but she didn't stop. Especially when a few turned from what they were doing and started to follow her. She took a quick and panicked glance behind herself to see a handful of men creeping behind her. With their speed, they could easily catch her, they were just enjoying the chase.

Skidding around the last corner, she pushed her lungs and legs to their limit, grabbing the bars of the cell to swing herself inside. Inuyasha jumped upright and then to his feet, his book falling to the floor. "What the fuck?!"

"Clothes….stolen….shower…..no keys….." She panted.

Kagome wasn't sure Inuyasha could understand or if he was even listening, his eyes glazed over as he stared up and down her body. He shook his head hard and then shuffled towards the cell door. "And you came here?"

"Where else...could I go….?"

"I don't know, Kanna? Kagura? One of your female friends?! Hell, even Jakostu would have been safer!"

She honestly hadn't even considered it. Partly because she didn't know where their cells were other than on the other side of the prison from the showers. But mostly because Inuyasha was the one she trusted most.

Kagome tried to think of a reply, planning on just being honest when the gaggle of men following her appeared at the door. Inuyasha was the only thing between them and her and Kagome suddenly regretted coming here. It put Inuyasha at great risk.

Standing tall, he didn't hesitate to face the crowd, holding his head up high. He only moved if one of them tried to look around him to her, shifting his weight to keep her blocked from sight as much as possible. She stood still, frozen with worry and fear for her 'Mate' as he stood up for her in a very public manner.

"We saw her first." One growled.

"Doesn't fucking matter, cause I got her first," Inuyasha growled back.

Kagome felt like meat, the first time truly understanding how precarious her well being was here. All it took was some missing clothes and she was up for grabs. It was sickening and terrifying all at once.

A different one chuckled, "Then you should hand her over when you're done."

"Sharing is caring," another one mocked.

Stepping back, Inuyasha grabbed his cell door and slammed it shut in an impressive show of strength. It wobbled a little from the abuse, even with the runes in place, Inuyasha made thick iron shudder from his strength.

The group got the message and backed up. But stayed in eyesight, watching. It made her skin crawl.

Inuyasha stepped up to her, towering over Kagome and she simply looked up. Maybe he expected her to back up or cower but she had absolutely no fear of him even as his eyes glowed red in the dim room. Without saying a word, he pulled off his shirt and handed it to her. Kagome tried to take it without fumbling but Inuyasha's naked chest was before her. So close she could feel the heat of his skin on her arms and cheeks.

And he definitely had the body to support his show of strength.

"Put that on and get in the bed." She nodded, carefully getting her arms and head in while dodging the tucked end of her towel when she pulled it over her torso. "Under the sheets and don't come out."

She had the wet towel off and on the floor when she tiptoed to the bed. Inuyasha growled and took deep breaths behind her before she ducked under the sheet as ordered. When she rolled over to look at him, his eyes were still red and on her. He soon turned and stood by the door instead.

Watching his back, she was happy his hair was up on top of his head because his taut muscles were rolling with tension. It made her warm all over. But not enough, the cold bleeding through the walls. Kagome was cold on a regular evening with all her clothes on. Tonight, she was freezing.

It wasn't long until her shivering body had Inuyasha's attention again. "Goddammit." He fussed before turning on his heel and climbing into the bed next to her. "Face the wall!"

She had been watching him, unable to take her eyes off of him. At his harsh tone, she turned and looked at the white-painted cinder blocks instead. As soon as she settled, Inuyasha's arms surrounded her. There was no control, her body so cold she snuggled as deep as possible into his hold.

The lights went out and she knew the rabble after her was long gone. Warm and relaxed, she took in her situation completely. Inuyasha had one arm under her head between the gap of her neck and the mattress. The other hand rested on her belly, splayed fingers making it cover her from her belly button to her ribs. And she was naked, nothing other than Inuyasha's shirt on her skin. The shirt that he never replaced with another, his bare arms and chest pressing into her. It had their arms skin against skin.

All that and she felt nothing but safe, cocooned in the only person she truly and deeply trusted enough to be like this with. And Kagome didn't just mean inside the prison. Inuyasha was easily the only man she trusted in the world.

But he was still tense and she could tell it was more than just the situation that had him upset. She was about to ask, wiggling a little to get more comfortable when he whispered hard in her ear. "Be still!"

Stopping any and all movements, he sighed heavily and dropped a little of his anger. It probably wasn't going to get any better than this. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I know I put you at risk…"

"You're damn right you did. Why the hell did you come here?!"

"Because I…" she hesitated, not sure how he would take what she felt but he had to know it already, "I trust you."

His hold tightened, pressing her harder into his hard body. "I'm still a man dammit." She was very aware of that fact, feeling his manhood press into her backside currently. A very large manhood at that. "Of all the crazy stunts… this has to be the most emasculating thing anyone has ever done to me. You trust me? Great. Do you even see me as a man or just a fucking demon? Cause either one could and wants to do very bad things to you right now and I'm struggling to keep from doing all of it."

A shiver ran up her spine and she was anything but cold. Not with his body pressed to hers and his so-called threats in her ear. "I do think of you as a man…" He scoffed, making her bounce so he then groaned. "I do! Just because I trust you doesn't change that fact…"

"You are naive and stupid, Wench. You shouldn't trust anyone this much!"

Looking down, her human eyes could just make out the shape of his hand as it rested on her stomach. The muscles flexed and jumped with the tiny movements he made, trying to control himself. This was why she trusted him because she knew he wouldn't do a damn thing to her. And even if he did….

"I came to you because I trust you but also… because anything you could do to me would be… wanted."

It took him a second, either out of shock or confusion, but soon the hand on her belly fisted, taking fabric in with it. His claws scratched but didn't break her skin, once again showing the amount of control he possessed.

His head fell to the back of hers hard, pushing and nuzzling at the same time as he cleared away her damp hair and pressed his lips heavily to the back of her neck. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it just as tight as it gripped his shirt on her. A small shift and he had a hand on her shoulder, wrapped around from under her neck, holding her still against him as he continued to layer her neck with kisses. Each was slow and thick, coating her skin with warm wetness. Kagome closed her eyes to it, her spine shaking along with her heart.

Inuyasha made his way back up her neck, his mouth pressing to her lobe and pushing out a hard shiver from her. "This isn't… this isn't what I want for you and me… for us."

She didn't understand but then she did. Releasing her hold on his hand, she waited for him to let her go in return. "I understand."

The hand on her shoulder squeezed hard. "Do you? This is fucked up. So fucked up Kagome! Meeting you like this? When we aren't terrified of one another, we're terrified of what will be done to us!"

"How else would we have ever found one another? I don't believe in fairy tales. I'm not some little girl looking for an asshole on a white horse. I can take care of myself in any situation and I never needed you, Inuyasha…."

"I know that…"

"But I want you." He was silent, and his grip was unchanging. "I want you… as a friend and as more… as someone dear to me. You're a good person, Inuyasha and you deserve more than this life."

Shifting so quickly, she was breathless when Kagome found herself on her back, Inuyasha holding himself over her and his glowing red orbs piercing her. "Why are you saying this?! What are you going to do?!"

She hadn't meant to give herself away but as the days to Kagura's due date slipped away, she was running out of options. Kagome would have no choice if Inuyasha found out beforehand, he would take any means necessary to stop her.

So she reached up, cupping his cheek and he leaned into it, closing his eyes tight. "Nothing. I just think you need to hear it."

He fell back beside her, pulling her in tight to his side again with a heavy sigh. "I should get a Sainthood after this or something."

"You get Sainted after death. How about Knighthood instead?"

He chuckled, pressed a kiss to her temple, and she used his arm and chest as her pillow for the rest of the night. Because, even though friends, it would likely be the only night they had like this ever.

[thanksjro]

Last Stand of the Wreckers, Issue #4: This Series is Awash With Lippy Sons of Guns

Issue #4 starts off with an uncomfortably handsome Prowl. I mean honestly, look at this asshole, he’s simply too pretty.

I don’t think Roche has ever drawn the guy ugly, but this is on another level.

We’re in a flashback sequence here, as we start to gain an understanding of just why exactly Ironfist got put on the Wreckers in the first place. Back when he was working at Kimia, Ironfist got a call from Prowl. Seems Prowl’s read his work, and is impressed by the sheer amount of effort he’s put into it. They chat a bit about it, but no call with Prowl is ever casual, and he asks Ironfist if he’s ever been interested in actually being a Wrecker. Which, of course he has, but he’d never exactly been cut out for that kind of work, especially after his Accident™. Prowl has a little push in that area, because he’s Prowl, and makes a deal; Ironfist joins the Wreckers as a weapon expert, and in exchange he does something for Prowl.

We won’t find out what exactly Ironfist’s agreed to do until later, as we jump back to the present, where the Guzzle and Kup are about to lay the smackdown on some unsuspecting Decepticons.

With how many cameras are currently trained on you guys, I can’t say you really have the time for wisecracks, old-timer.

That big vault door behind them leads to the cell of one of the most notorious Autobots ever to grace the galaxy- Grimlock. This is the “help” Springer requested they find, meaning that he’s a sort of last resort, which tells you just how much of a powerhouse the guy is. Volatile, sure, but a powerhouse regardless.

Too bad the cell’s empty.

Snare steps in to explain just why that is, having snuck up on our Big Gulp duo.

Well I’m sure that won’t be a plot point later on.

Of course, Guzzle doesn’t really feel inclined to believe a word of what this Getaway kitbash says, and starts threatening to shoot him. Snare however, has even more secrets to tell.

Perceptor and pals have finally discovered just what the hell it is that they’ve been looking for all this time. Aequitas is a supercomputer, and a massive one at that. They’re here to download its memory files. Topspin is less than pleased with this whole thing.

Ironfist agrees- there’s no way they’re going to be able to get all the data in Aequitas downloaded before the Decepticons get through to them and tear them to pieces. Verity, however, is more concerned about the size of the computer itself.

A large part of Aequitas is made up of something called a culpability drive, which breaks down factors like motivation and accountability into a streamlined equation so it can do something completely ridiculous: calculate guilt. Yes, someone had the bright idea to break down guilt into a binary system, without any “human” element involved. Because that couldn’t possibly backfire.

Then the narrative catches up to Topspin, and Ironfist and Verity get put on babysitting duty while he deals with his phantom pain. Pyro’s made to help Perceptor with booting up the computer.

Over with Springer, he and Impactor have a little heart-to-heart, while Twin Twist is passed out with a shadow over his face, probably waiting for the horrific reveal of what the dentist’s done to him. Springer feels really bad about Impactor having been sent to Garrus-9; he’d figured that after the trial, Impactor had been sent to rehab, or at least a prison that wasn’t quite as torturey.

Impactor points out that Springer’s testimony at Aequitas was pretty damning, and I’m starting to wonder why Springer didn’t see this coming. Unless they somehow managed to move that massive friggin’ supercomputer in the last few years, Impactor’s trial happened on Garrus-9. Kind of seems like a foregone conclusion that anyone who got put through the Aequitas wringer would end up staying if found guilty.

Impactor still doesn’t think that what he did was wrong, and the only reason they stop verbally duking it out is because Twin Twist does his dramatic face reveal and the dentist comes back in to finish off those fillings.

Funny, they had a similar setup at my old orthodontist’s.

As the dentist prepares to turn what’s left of Twin Twist’s face into the “Lust” scene from Se7en, we get back to the real point of this whole miniseries: fanwanking. Ironfist is telling Verity about the Decepticon’s answer to the Wreckers- Squadron X.

This group is made up entirely of characters who only existed in the Marvel UK comics, and even then only barely. This is convenient on multiple levels; it allows the Wreckers to have an antithesis to their own group that won’t disrupt any of the ongoing storylines outside of Last Stand of the Wreckers. Nobody’s really vying to use the guy who beat up a piano and then got thrown out of a bar, now are they?

It also allows you to use an already-established character that still has plenty of wiggle room for story application. No point in trying to make a new set of characters when we’ve got a bin full of nobodies off in the corner. Especially when we’re only going to have these guys around for a few minutes.

But we’ll get to that later.

Back to Ironfist’s story…

Oh hey Whirl.

Springer’s in a bit of a pickle- his lower half is trapped under a busted barricade, and Squadron X is closing in. Impactor has no intention of leaving Springer behind, so it’s time to get crazy. Springer tells Impactor to blast a hole through his TORSO so he can surprise-attack the approaching enemy. Impactor does so, reluctantly.

Please note that the emphasis is not mine, but the narrative’s.

That’s just a cool panel.

Once all that’s over and done with, Squadron X are all put into inhibitor harnesses to keep them from trying anything funny while in custody. But oh ho, what’s this? They’ve escaped! And they’ve ripped Sandstorm’s arm off! Surely, this must be dealt with, and who better suited for the job than the dude who’s been obsessed with taking these guys out for years now? Impactor gets to work.

And thus the day is saved, thanks to the Wreckers! Yaaay!

With Ironfist’s story concluded, Perceptor takes the time to mention that they’ve got a problem. Turns out Aequitas has some state-of-the-art security measures going on- in order to even turn the thing on, someone’s got to feed the thing their spark. You know, a robot soul. This thing runs on souls, and the donator has to be a willing participant otherwise it won’t work.

Well that’s awful convenient for you, now ain’t it, Percy?

I’m assuming they just never turned the thing off during the trials, otherwise they would have run out of juice very quickly.

So it’s slim pickings in terms of sparks. Perceptor’s playing IT, Topspin’s whole spark situation is a consent minefield, and Verity’s soul is the normal, human, intangible kind. And now we get to the part of our story that’s a little sad.

Pyro and Ironfist aren’t popular. They’ve never been in the spotlight. They aren’t important. They were brought on the Wreckers to die, plain and simple, because it’s a game of numbers, and their numbers are miles below the likes of Springer and Kup.

Pyro isn’t on-board with this at all, saying that this isn’t how it’s supposed to go down for him.

Say what you will about his delusions of grandeur, but this is a guy who knows what he wants.

While Pyro’s dreaming big, Topspin’s having a really bad time in the background. That vicarious perception’s hitting real hard right now.

Ironfist plays the child in a bitter divorce between Pyro and Verity as they argue over who the hell should die so the plot can keep moving. Ironfist has a lot to say, a lot that he really should say, but he doesn’t. He’s not proud of himself, or the things he’s done as a weapons’ expert. After reflecting on his life- a life that hasn’t been profoundly wondrous or meaningful- he concedes to being the one to die.

But that doesn’t happen, because Topspin takes matters into his own hands and puts the goddamn dog to sleep. The dog in this case being himself and Twin Twist. Aequitas thanks him for his donation, sucks out his spark, and over in the torture chamber Twin Twist explodes.

With the twins(?) dead, Aequitas is online, and not a moment too soon, because those Decepticons are starting to bring the door down. Perceptor hands a headphone jack to Ironfist, tells him to plug it into his brain, and to get ready for the hurt, because they’re about to download the entirety of this supercomputer into his head.

Back with Impactor, he’s about to get his cornea scratched, when Guzzle and Kup come to save the day, following Snare’s guidance.

I just want to say, Guzzle wins the Worst Crotch award. It’s simply awful.

So Kup and Guzzle free Springer and Impactor, just in time for Springer to revenge-stab the dentist with the torture stick. Too bad he’s already shot Snare.

Play… makes you free... in the prison that’s been turned into basically a death camp. Is… are we really doing the Holocaust parallels again? God, I hope I’m reading too much into that, I really do.

We finally find out what the prize for winning the Pit fights is: you can either fight Overlord, or kill yourself. Not much of a prize, if you ask me.

Speaking of the Blue Terror, he’s on his way over. Snare asks that Impactor just kill him, because there’s no way he’s going to risk being found out by Overlord that he was being sneaky. Impactor obliges, crushing his brain module between his fingers.

Then Overlord quite literally explodes into the room.

Back over in the Aequitas chamber, Ironfist’s just finished with his upload, and he’s shaken by what he now knows. The Decepticons have nearly broken down the door at this point, and there’s only one way to save themselves- they have to detonate the prisoners’ deterrence chips. This, of course, includes Impactor. Perceptor’s all for it, but Pyro’s wholly against the idea. Verity tries to put in her vote, but humans don’t have rights in the eyes of Wrecker law, so it all comes down to Ironfist.

You heard the man, let’s kill the purple guy.

[chriscdcase95]

Reposting for TLDR reasons. 

To see the full rant, click the “Keep Reading”, but this covers what I consider an example of a show taking shipping wars too seriously, giving fans and how it can potentially pull a show down the tubes. Especially at the expense of character development and their stories.

It’s kind of a follow-up to another post I made about canon and non canon ships, and how there’s some ship based stories better left to fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I generally don’t like Ship Policing (bullying, and badgering other people for liking “the wrong ship”) despite this being one of my biggest NOTP’s. I don’t intend to bully people who like this ship, and this analysis is based on my observations and opinions. 

So here I am talking about a barley known show and ship that’s barely relevant anymore if at all. This is a follow up post on a Loud House post regarding a non canon ship called Luaggie. I mentioned on that post , how it was an example of a fanfic ship and it’s best to be left a fanfic based ship. I now bring to you it’s antithesis; Jemma of Every Witch Way. Originally this was strictly about why some ships and stories that are best left to fanfiction, but there are so many problems with this ship, that I don’t really know where to start. I guess I’ll start with an introduction to the show.

Edit: I also had to revisit to trim this down, and correct misinformation.

Edit Edit: Twice. I had to edit it twice!

“What is Every Witch Way ?”

Every Witch Way was a comedy/drama series on Nickelodeon. Anyone who heard of it would know it is an Americanized remake of Grachi, a Latin American Nickelodeon series. The less educated may dismiss it as a Wizards of Waverly Place knockoff. The series focuses on Emma Alonso, a teenage girl who moves to Miami with her father and discovers she is a witch and chosen to one day lead the magical realm. With a group of muggle friends, the enthusiastic tough girl Andi; Emma’s queen bee rival Maddie also being a witch; a subplot about Fantastic Racism that ended with the wiping out of all but two of an entire race; we got ourselves a simple little TV show that could be a passible watch.

Coming from a post iCarly, Victorious and Big Time Rush era of Nickelodeon, where most of their shows were marketed to the younger kids and barely anything for teens to chew on, Every Witch Way was a breath of fresh air. Taking cues from previous Nick shows such as H2O Just Add Water and House of Anubis, and aimed for a teenage audience, it was more interested in telling stories than telling jokes.

I would have called the show an underrated cult classic series to get nostalgic over, like The Troop (a show which I’ll also talk about one day)…then comes seasons three and four and it becomes clear that Every Witch Way is more interested in ship war than it was telling stories. Maybe I was giving the show too much credit or had too much expectations for it. Let’s just say this was no House of Anubis or the Avatar franchise. I don’t know what pulled the show down the tubes; it was either the character Jax Novoa and his story arc, or his relationship with Emma. But they overlap with eachother so I might as well cover all of them.

“What kind of relationship is Jemma ?”

Imagine if you will; a high school drama, that involves a loving, kind and empathetic girl meeting a dark brooding bad boy, who does bad things. But because he has a sad past and bad parents, anything bad he does is immediately forgiven and brushed aside, or justified. And it is by the love of this girl, and only because of this love, does the bad boy get redeemed. 

It’s the kind of story you see in mediocre romance stories or fanfics; the idea that the dark and brooding love interest with a bad past or history can be changed for the better with the love of the protagonist. This describes the relationship Emma and Jax’s relationship to such a tee that it’s borderline parody. The kind of reationship you’d at least put some kind of spin on.

So how does this compare to Jax and Emma’s relationship ? A quick description is that Jax is a new student and a dark seeming wizard introduced in the second season, who immediately displays an arrogant personality and behaviour while befriending Emma and putting the moves on her (and making a quick rivalry with Emma’s then boyfriend Daniel). Emma has a good heart, and a loving empathetic girl, so of course she likes to see the good in people and Jax was no exception. Jax eventually “changes” his darker ways and becomes more altruistic, mainly to get back and stay into Emma’s good graces. 

Normally, I have no issues with an Enemies to Lovers story, but it’s the context and overexposure that puts Jemma in a bad light.

Emma continuously forgives, or ignores Jax’s flaws to near absurdity, mainly because Jax has a dead mom and an emotionally distant, controlling and seemingly abusive father…which is shown to be false in the many retcons season four gives us.

“What are the problems with Jemma ?”

I said in another post that a friend of mine defined toxic relationships differently than I did; one definition was that a ship is toxic based off of fans behaviour in the name of the ship; I define them for how much it romanticizes problematic behaviour. How does Jemma fall into either of these ?

Back when Every Witch Way was on, Jax x Emma fans were pretty rapid, and became the most loud and vocal part of the fanbase. Any attempts to criticize Jax, his behaviour or relationship with Emma is bombarded with “HE CHANGED! HE CHANGED FOR HER!” ad nauseum. 

It’s gotten to the point where they literally vote their preference to make them the shows official couple. This can be partially blamed on the writers because they went about asking their audience what they want to happen in a TV show, having them vote for wat hey want to happen and in turn made season four into a Jemma based AU fic that rewrote the entire show. Kind of lacks integrity if you ask me. It also had to have been one of most one sided and manufactured shipping wars I’ve seen. By the end of the series, Jemma fans were pretty sore winners.

So Jemma fans could be pushy, but did Jax and Emma’s relationship entail toxic ideals I listed above ? On the surface, “no” since Jax doesn’t physically abuse Emma or the like…but Jax is manipulative person, and is rather possessive and entitled towards Emma all things considered. And what else can you say about a relationship where this partner has manipulated and gaslighted nearly everyone around him to get in, and attempts to destroy the world over a breakup ?

There’s so much to cover that stems from Jax that I might as well write a section on Jax himself. The worst that can be said of Emma here is that she was too forgiving and empathetic for her own good.

“Jax and how not to write a redemption arc”

So Jax is an overwhelmingly popular character on the show, so much that season four retconned him into the main character behind Emma. It’s easy to call him a Gary Stu character since he’s a seemingly perfect character who gets his way all the time and soon becomes the center of the show. This trope also fits; “Draco In Leather Pants” where a villain tends to get romanticized or woobified in fanfics regardless of how sympathetic or redeemable they are in canon; mostly because they are cute.

When Jax was introduced, he was the de-facto Big Bad of season two, being the most prominent, and personal antagonist and direct source of most of the drama that occurs in the season. Throughout the season he befriends and puts the moves on Emma with the intent on using the power coming Fool Moon (long story) to take over the world and rule at her side. Jax eventually falls in love with Emma, but when she breaks up with him when she makes right with Daniel… Jax’s response was aiding in an attempt to destroy the magic realm; something they make clear would kill all but a few magical beings in the world and this is something Jax is very aware of In the final showdown Jax makes it clear to Emma that he doesn’t care about what could happen to their loved ones in this magical apocalypse, so long as Emma is with him.

Again, I wouldn’t take this as seriously if the show didn’t treat it as seriously.

Now in his defense, I was originally rooting for Jax to reform himself. No joke, I genuinely wanted to see how Jax would make good with those he manipulated, pushed around and tried to fucking kill. I like a good redemption stoy as much as the next guy, but Jax doesn’t really go through one; he just turns Face at the last minute, apologizes to Emma about not wanting to hurt her, Emma immediately forgives him and Jax wastes no time putting the moves on her and antagonizing Daniel. What punishment does Jax go through ? What atonement did he have to suffer ? He’s put through a boot camp with the threat losing his powers, all the while he agonizes that those who he wronged still resent him. To be fair he does have genuine good deeds in season three; such as heping a dying friend, and even riskiig his life to save another But even then, the sho treats Emma as his prize for being a Nice Guy, and he admits this to Emma during the third seasons finale in a scene we are supposed to find romantic. And when he gets the girl, its all rendered moot in season four.

Helping or not helping with Jax’s character is that in season two he is given multiple “excuses”; controlling and abusive father, seemingly dead mother. They worked back then in making Jax sympathetic. The problem is when we get the actual revelations of his family and in turn make him unsympathetic in retrospect.

“The Mess That Is Season Four”

I don’t like the Fanon Discontinuity trope - where fans refuse to accept an istallment as canon out of a dislike of them. I generally don’t apply this trope with very few exceptions. But let me tell you this; when I say season four isn’t canon to the previous seasons, that’s not me talking, that’s the show itself talking. 

It isn’t a continuation of the previous seasons, it’s a reboot. When Emma and Jax become the shows OTP, the universe literally changes around them. Season four introduces a plot point that where an SCP style anomaly exists called a Continuum Break, in which as a direct result of Emma’s decision, the universe casted Daniel out of everyone’s lives, and their friends memories, and retroactively replaces him with Jax. Subsequently, the events of the previous seasons and their conflicts revolve around Jax and Emma’s relationship. 

One reason why these retcons don’t work is that because the world was altered in Jemma’s image, Jax here isn’t the same Jax as we knew through season two and three. The retcons fail because Jax’s previous sympathy is erased in retrospect, because Jax would hide behind his parents as an excuse for his actions (the dead mother wasn’t dead, but in fact, secret villain; and Jax’s abusive father wasn’t abusive). Jax being sympathetic hinged off of these excuses, and they either never applied, or was hit by the reset button, and thus irrelevant to his development.

And I am left asking myself why the writers came up with the Continuum Break in the first place ?Where Jemma fans that pushy about making their ship canon that they had to make it the only canon relationship in the show ? If so, that’s how wildly Jemma shippers are, if not that’s on the writers for being that much fan slaves. What other point could there be in portraying the Continuum Break as the way things should be ? Not to be pesimeistic, but it feels like this is the show throwing a character under the bus for the sake of rewriting the previous seasons and making Jax the new protagonist.

On top of that, other characters and arcs get thrown under the bus too

Mainly, Mia Black, who was introduced in season three as the de-facto main antagonist, and is added as another member of the love triangle. Mia is also affected by the Continuum Break as she is also cast from everyone’s memories and lives, to live an alternate life with Daniel. This is arguably more jarring than Daniel being taken away because Mia ultimately doesn’t sacrifice her morals for what she believes in and ultimately wasn’t that much of a threat and her own redemption arc is foreshadowed throughout the season by bonding with Daniel and Diego, and the added empathise on how lonely she is. This culminates in Emma reaching out to her in the season finale, and declaring herself her protector.  Like Jax, I was looking forward to seeing where they would take Mia and her arc the next season. Well as a result of the Continuum Break, she’s out of everyone’s lives, and living an artificial alternate one the universe spat out. Like Daniel, she may have been happy with her new life, but it still renders everything they foreshadowed for her and what she’s been through for nothing.

Personal conclusion

I reiterate my first statement Every Witch Way was a great show (first three seasons, at least is IMO). It was a breath of fresh air in a time when most of Nick’s shows were targeting a younger demographic in a post iCarly, Big Time Rush, and Victorious era. I’d call it an cult classic series, but I still feel that season four keeps it from being one of the great ones. I do recommend checking the series out, the story arcs are mostly good. Unfortunately by the time season four rolled in, it seemed pretty clear the show was more interested in shipping wars than it was in telling it’s stories.

I can’t really pinpoint what caused the show to drop in quality; the manufactured ship war ? Jax as a character ? Jemma’s pushy fans ? The writers for bending to fan demands ? Either way, season four’s Continuum Break was something the show could have done without. I won’t say that Jax is the most unlikeable character on the show (that would be Emma’s father) and he isn’t the most evil either (that would be Torres). I consider Jax and his blunders more so the fault of how he was written than anything else.

I will give Jax and Jemma this; the character and ship has so much going for it, I can’t help but compare and contrast them to other similar characters, story arcs and ships. I use it as an example of not to write a redemptive romance, and why some things are best left to fanfiction. But above all else, I hold it as an example as to why writers and creators shouldn’t sacrifice their stories blindly cater to fans and popular ships.

[thesinglesjukebox]

PERFUME GENIUS - DESCRIBE

[7.78]

We do describe him for you!

Vikram Joseph: As far back as "Gay Angels" on his debut album, Mike Hadreas has been experimenting with washes of sound; back then, as a comfort blanket for queer pain, and on No Shape frequently as a way of transcending it. Where "Otherside" and "Slip Away" burst into ecstatic climaxes, "Describe" hits you with a wall of warped shoegaze guitars right out of the gate. Coupled with the stunning, sensual visuals (Perfume Genius aesthetics are rarely less than remarkable) it feels like a Bacchanalian dream, folding into a nocturnal miasma that's more than two minutes long but which I would be happy for to drift on indefinitely. Hadreas has formed a career arc that takes you from songs that sound like being huddled next to him on the floor in a bare, cold bedsit to music that takes you to unimaginable places, while never sounding quite like anyone else. [9]

Michael Hong: Another Perfume Genius single, another shift in sound, not so much a curveball but a progression. "Describe" is different from whatever sound you attribute to earlier Perfume Genius material. It lacks the hurried tempo of "Slip Away." It throws out the sparseness of "Eye in the Wall." And yet, the dense slow-burn of "Describe" never takes away from its urgency or primal desire. "Describe" doesn't shimmer, it doesn't glow, instead it features Hadreas chipping away at its dense exterior in a slow rise, like the feeling of waking up after being numb for so long. [8]

Alfred Soto: Some may miss Mike Hadreas' delicate ministrations, but gimme the crunch of the last couple years. He hasn't lost the resignation and insistent self-pity with which he's darkened -- it's harder to hear them now. And "His love it felt like ribbons/An echo in the canyon" is a lovely line, complemented by those power chords. [8]

Ian Mathers: Here's the thing; it is absolutely understandable to note or even focus on how different the sound of Mike Hadreas's music is now, compared to the first couple of Perfume Genius records. But at the same time, in a very different arrangement (and with a very different vocal performance), this would have fit in just fine in those tender, delicate environs. Which is to say we haven't lost anything (not least because you can go listen to Learning right now if you want to), and Hadreas's voice (both literal and figurative) fits all these new modes he works in so well that even when we segue from the Americana shoegaze of the first part of "Describe" into the beatific ambience it all makes sense. [8]

Alex Clifton: Most of this is pretty good (sounds like listening to Sufjan Stevens through a dirty window), but I'm irritated by the last two minutes of emptiness. I get that it underscores the point of the song, feeling numb and lonely and how that feeling can stretch to eternity in no time at all, but it's not compelling from a listener standpoint. As with most art dealing with mental health, it's self-indulgent and I should be willing to forgive, but the world is currently stalling based on (gestures widely) all this stuff. I don't need more empty minutes to fill with my own anxieties at this point. [6]

Tim de Reuse: A celebration of awkward, clunky things; the distortion is heavyhanded and clumsy, and the rhythm is fast enough to pick up energy but slow enough to feel like it's tripping over itself. The most infectious thing, though, is the extra beat that forces you to lose and re-encounter the meter at the end of "his love, it felt like rib-bons." The expression of vulnerability through imperfect, off-kilter composition has been Hadreas's strong point for a long time, so the first half is basically a victory lap; the dreamy second half, by comparison, is so clean and unsurprising I'm surprised it's on a Perfume Genius album at all. [7]

Ryo Miyauchi: While dissonance in the music made the emotions difficult to coherently read on No Shape, "Describe" hits it raw and direct. The raging reverb of the guitars is aggressively physical, untouchable only because it's too hot on the surface to lay a hand, and the lyrics get straight to the point despite the details being shaped as a suggestive metaphor: "his love, it felt like ribbons -- can you find him for me," Hadreas yearns like he's trying to remember a dream. [8]

Olivia Rafferty: "Describe" arrests with the "hey, look at me" confidence of an oil slick on tarmac. It hits you and then just keeps rolling, shimmering murkily. We're offered sonic footholds, lapping up one after the other: slide guitar, wavering vocals, possible mandolins... but as soon as they appear they melt, and are hard to fully extricate. Even the lyrics are imagistic enough to never offer firm disclosure. It feels over before it ever really kicks in, fading out but lingering oddly like a whispered mirage. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I've never heard a song this exquisitely lost-feeling. In its first half, you can almost mistake its desolation for joy, its fuzzy wall of sound spreading out across the track like some kind of exultant beast. But once the waves of guitar fade out and the empty gets to creep in, "Describe" reveals its true self. It's the most heartbreaking thing, too void to even know its own sadness. [9]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[petuniatom]

No. 1 Party Anthem [2] | College!Tom AU

Pairing: College!DJ!Bartender/Barista!Tom Holland x Fem!Reader

Series Summary: You’re coming up on your last year of college, grappling with finally getting ready for the actual “adult” world and being in two majors you’re not crazily passionate about. When you’re in the middle of a stressful essay at your favorite local coffee shop/upstairs bar, Dommo’s, you meet Tom Holland, a barista and bartender.

You slowly get to know each other over sangria, and soon enough manage to slip your way into his world where the days don’t usually end until about 5 a.m., music is everything, and uncertainty is your best friend.

A story about late night laments, sangria, and a whole lot of growing up.

SERIES MASTERLIST | Ch. 1

Word count: 5.8K

A/N: Hello! Long time no post! Here’s the long awaited update. It’s a little bit more exposition here, but part three is when it starts getting a little bit more spicy. Primarily, we’re focusing on watching the reader developing more of her other friendships here. But stay tuned for pt. 3 which will be coming very soon!

“I don’t see why we couldn’t just go to Dommo’s,” you whined.

You’d been waiting nearly an hour in line outside of Over & Easy with Tony and Jacob. The day before, you made them promise to get mimosas with you Saturday morning, following their late-night adventures and your Friday night essay-writing. While Over & Easy was one of the best spots in town for brunch food, its popularity meant usually there was a battle for those wanting to get inside.

Jacob and Tony, rather than accepting your quiet suggestion to head over to Dommo’s, were insistent that Over & Easy was the best idea for today. Though it was bound to be busy, Tony was craving their french toast and Jacob said their mimosas were better deals anyway. (After all, Saturdays usually meant pitchers for $5, so he wasn’t wrong.)

“You just went there yesterday!” Tony said. “And we rarely come to Over & Easy.”

“C’mon, it’s good to do something different every once and a while,” Jacob said, nudging you.

“Well, it’s just for a place that’s named Over & Easy it just seems to be the exact opposite,” you huffed.

Jacob snickered, and Tony rolled his eyes at your statement.

“What’s going on with you? Why do you want to go to Dommo’s so badly?” Tony asked.

“My car is there,” you said. Tony and Jacob shot each other a look. You knew the jig was up; these boys could read you almost too well. “All right, I met someone there yesterday. He was really nice. And I wanted to see him again because I forgot to get his number.”

Tony and Jacob let out a long, “Ooooh,” at your response.

“Well, I hear all the Dommo’s bartenders and baristas are kind of fuck boys, Y/N, so it might be well-worth your time to just skidaddle anyway,” Tony said. “But I mean, if you want to meet him, just pop-in for more coffee or something when you go get your car.”

You bit your lip. “I know, but he just didn’t seem like the usual type for Dommo’s. He actually seemed nice, like he wanted to talk to me. He listened to me complain about my major for like two hours, and gave me free sangria. You don’t just give anyone free sangria.”

“We do every week,” Jacob replied, lifting his arms up. “Whine and Wine, c’mon.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Yes, but we’re close friends. This guy was a stranger.”

“Doesn’t our roommate work at Dommo’s?” Tony asked, slightly scrunching his face up.

Jacob shook his head. “No, you idiot. He works at Wilson’s.”

“I swore he told me that once,” Tony muttered, shaking his head.

At that moment, your group’s name was called out, and you were ushered to a table in the back that seated four. You all ordered a round of mimosas, but you were all going to stick to just that — only one. Tony and Jacob were admittedly a little bit hungover still from last night, and while you were fine, you thought it’d be good to still hold off after all the sangria you drank the night before.

You chatted with both Jacob and Tony about how classes were going so far. Tony was going to have a stressful upcoming week, considering he had an exam coming up in one of his chemistry classes. Jacob, however, was going to be able to take it easy this week. He was a film and acting student, and he only had to worry about a group project he was going to be tackling soon. For the most part though, he was more thrilled than anything when it came to its progress so far, discussing how he met this new girl named Zendaya he wanted to integrate into the friend group.

“She’s a great actress and one of the most laid-back girls I’ve ever met in my life,” Jacob said.

“What is she studying?” you asked, lifting your eyebrows up.

“Women studies and music theory, but she’s heavily involved in the theater scene too.”

“You have to invite her for whine and wine. We need someone new in the mix,” Tony insisted. He then turned to you. “Are you inviting anyone new?”

“Maybe Brynn,” you mused, shrugging.

Jacob and Tony both groaned.

They hadn’t completely warmed up to your friend after an ill-fated incident at a previous party where she, in a completely drunken haze, decided to start jumping on Tony’s already fragile bed, and ended up breaking it. They hadn’t seen her since, slightly agitating the relationship between them and her. In her defense, she did help Tony pay for a new headboard and whatnot. So she wasn’t completely disgraced — just not a favorite to have around.

“You know what that means, time to lock all the bedrooms,” Tony huffed.

You giggled at your friends response, shaking your head. “I don’t think she’ll do something like that again. Besides, it’ll be good to have her around again. You guys can actually get to know her this time around. She’s a good person to complain with.”

“Why couldn’t you just get the bartender’s number and invite him instead?” Tony griped. You knew he was (mostly) kidding, but you were a little bit sad when you realized how fun it would be to invite Tom to Jacob and Tony’s parties on Wednesday nights. You could sit in the corner and chat, sipping on more wine and just get to know each other.

“More mimosas?” your waitress asked, approaching your table.

“I think we’re going to stick to water now,” Jacob replied, thanking her.

After a surplus of french toast and laughing, you were soon walking along the street toward Dommo’s to pick up your car.

Chatter consumed the world around you and you weaved in between all the people who were heading toward their own hangover brunch. You couldn’t help smiling, thinking of how you loved your college town for all its quirks.

As you headed in front of Dommo’s, you immediately spotted your car in one of the two hour free-lots, groaning when you realized you’d gotten a parking ticket for exceeding on your allotted time. It was a $35 ticket — not the worst you’d ever gotten downtown, but still not great.

Figuring you had nothing to lose still, you popped your head inside, scanning the room for Tom.

You sighed when you realized he wasn’t inside, but told yourself that you could maybe make a run by another time. He still owed you that latté that he talked to you about last night anyway. Either way, you headed back to your car, tucking the parking ticket in your glove box.

***

Over the course of the weekend, you quickly got over Tom. You fixated on your homework that was due Monday and Tuesday, burned some candles, and caught up on your favorite television shows. He turned from your brief confidanté into a passing memory.

Soon enough, you were back in your poli-sci class, plopped next to Brynn on the left side of the classroom as your professor lectured. You were nervous about today. He’d sent out an email before class that said he would be handing back papers today — a paper you rushed to complete and barely glanced over. You knew your grade was bound to be fucked by the time you got yours.

While your thoughts spiralized, your classmates were consumed in a debate over the topic of the paper. You heard Brynn contribute to the discussion and you started to doodle on your notebook, in hopes of temporarily escaping your thought process.

You then felt Brynn nudge you, a typical cue for when she needed you to back her up on something. You figured it was the typical conservative boys in the corner giving her trouble, and lifted your head up.

“What’s going on?” you whispered in her ear. “I’ve been tuned out.”

She snickered. “Nothing really, just Brad and Chad here are saying that voter fraud is the reason Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, and it’s an epidemic across the country. No racist history behind voter laws whatsoever.”

You rolled your eyes. Of course, your poli-sci discussion always turned into this at one point. You typically enjoyed the debates a little bit more, but since it was still within the first month, you were in the less compelling element of class. You were less enthusiastic about the fact that you were currently stuck in this class with two of your least favorite fellow political science majors — Carter Higgins and Quentin Carver. They’d followed you through the political science classes since your freshman year, but most of the time, you were fortunate enough to only have one of them. This semester, you got both of them.

You were grateful when your professor decided to cut off the discussion early to hand back papers. You slumped back in your seat, somewhat eager to see your grade and yet not prospective about how it was bound to look.

Soon enough, your professor called out your name. Your fingers felt jittery as you walked up to the front, and grabbed the folded paper from his hand, and returned to your seat.

You unfolded the packet of paper carefully. You were surprised when you saw in red pen on the front a giant “A” and a note from him that said, “Excellent job.”

A wave of relief washed over you. You slumped back into your chair, this time in pure disbelief.

“What did you get?” Brynn asked, leaning over to spot it. “Holy shit, first paper and you already aced it. He’s a tough grader too. Congrats.”

You’d heard of this particular professor’s reputation before throughout others who took his class, so you were familiar with some of the horror stories when it came to grading. You knew it wasn’t just you who helped coordinate all of this, as your mind wandered back to your Friday night in Dommo’s and the bartender who was kind enough to look over your paper.

You focused back on Brynn. “Thanks! How did you do?”

She frowned, “B+, but still good. Better than I expected, that’s for sure.”

You packed up your things into your backpack, waiting patiently for everyone to be handed back their papers. Once everyone had, he gave a short overview of what to do on future papers, should anyone need help and reiterated his office hours incase anyone wanted to chat about their grade. Shortly after, everyone was dismissed, and you slung your backpack back over your shoulder. There was a bounce in your step as you approached the door to the classroom, but right as you were getting ready to leave, your professor called your name again.

You turned around, facing him. “Yes, Professor McKinley?”

“I was really impressed with your paper, Y/N. It was one of the best I’ve seen right off the bat in this class. You have a fairly impressive future ahead of you,” he said.

You were flattered by the statement. Sure, you excelled in all of your political science courses, and you were glad you were already doing well in this class in particular. Yet, the thought of the future still somewhat terrified you. You wanted to tell this professor so badly that you had no idea how you were going to handle things following this school year, and the last thing you thought the future would be for you was “impressive.”

“I’m currently looking for an undergraduate student to be a research assistant and join my team,” he continued. “I think you would be perfect for the job if you’re interested. I need someone that I know can analyze, write, and work well with others. Currently, I just have one person, Carter Higgins actually, who works with me, but I always like to have another person around while campaign season unfolds.”

You gulped. You weren’t sure if you wanted to work alongside Carter; you hated him. Yet, this was a tremendous opportunity. Professor McKinley was one of the most well-connected professors politically. If you wanted a job at a non-profit or in a politician’s office, he almost always had a way in. If you joined and impressed him, you could ride on his coattails.

“What exactly would I be responsible for?”

“Just doing research, maybe picking up some books from the library. We’d go to different parties of political candidates as well. You might accompany me to a few panels as the election approaches, all sorts of things. It’s a great opportunity to network and learn more about political research.”

You bit your lip. Admittedly, you didn’t like your current job so much. It’d be nice to do something during the school year that focused on what you were passionate about.

“I’d love to do it,” you said.

He beamed. “Great, I’ll send you a link tonight to apply. I’m looking forward to working with you, Y/N.”

You gave him a polite thank you, before exiting the room. Brynn was outside, leaning against a wall and waiting for you. You smiled when you saw her.

“What was that all about?” she asked, synchronizing with your step as you both exited the building.

“Professor McKinley just asked me to work for him and do something political research,” you said, not meaning to brag, but well, it did sound that way.

You hated whenever you talked to Brynn about things like this. While she was an amazing friend, she was prone to jealousy and being competitive. A lot of the times, that manifested in your friendship with one another.

You could tell she was a little bit envious about the offer you received, and you felt a little bit guilty. Soon enough, a smile was on her face. You weren’t sure how genuine it was.

“That’s good. You’re going to get a lot of good networking out of that,” she said. “Congratulations!”

And yet, it felt forced. You weren’t sure just why you felt so guilty. Normally, if something like this happened, you would wave off the person who was exhibiting this kind of jealousy. But it was Brynn, and Brynn was one of the most passionate people you’d ever met. She genuinely cared about political science; it was her life ambition. The opportunity would have meant so much more than a resume line and connections to her.

“Thanks,” you replied. “But here’s the downside, I have to work with Carter Higgins.”

She groaned and you felt a little bit better in knowing you could now joke with her about the offer.

“I fucking hate that kid. He thinks he’s so important just because he’s a man and knows how to walk on two legs,” Brynn muttered. “Timmy Turner lookin-ass.”

You giggled at your friend’s string of insults. None of them were inaccurate.

“Speaking of Carter, why were you so spacey today? I needed your back-up.”

You let out a long sigh, uneasy how to best navigate the conversation. You didn’t want to agitate the whole friendship you had between you and Brynn, since you’d known she spent all week working on the paper. You knew she was going to judge you just a little bit for your lack of promptness with the paper, particularly since you’d gotten the special offer from Professor McKinley.

So you settled for, “Oh, I’ve just been anxious all day.”

“Why?”

You hadn’t thought that far along yet.

“Just a number of different things,” you said slowly. You decided your best bet was to slowly spin off the truth. “And like, I don’t know, I was nervous about my grade on the paper because I didn’t think it was my best work, and like, this one is going to sound a little bit lackluster, but I met this cute boy this weekend. We flirted for a few hours and I really liked him, but I forgot to get his number.”

It was an exaggeration to an extent, but for the most part, there was no lie.

“Oh that always sucks. I’ve done something like that before,” she replied, frowning slightly. “But hey, maybe you’ll bump into him again sometime soon. And like, I feel you on the anxiety in general, because I get that all the time.”

You felt yourself simmer down after her response. There were so many reasons you liked Brynn, but primarily because she never invalidated you when you talked about the things that were stressing you out. Even if they were just small things like forgetting to get a boy’s number at a bar.

“So, tell me about the boy,” she nudged you on.

You smiled and recounted how you met Tom to her, and how you opened yourself up to him so immediately it surprised you. You told her how sweet he was, how he waited to ensure you were comfortable with him giving you a ride home and in making sure you got home safely to begin with.

“Wow, you’re smitten by someone you’d only met for maybe two hours,” Brynn remarked.

You laughed. “I know, highly unlikely for me right?” You shook your head, your eyes slightly sparkling. “Some people are just magnetic, though, you know? And I think he’s one of those rare types.”

Brynn donned a smile at your words. “I honestly never thought I’d see the day where you were so flustered over another person. Who knew Dommo’s would put something like this together, huh?”

Brynn was reasonably surprised. In all the years that she’d known you, you’d never really pursued a relationship with another person. Often when someone was interested, you’d go on a date, but it almost always turned into nothing besides maybe a brief fling. This was the first time she saw you genuinely entranced by another person since you’d both been at college.

It was just that you were a total stickler about dating people you felt like were just as motivated as you were. Or at least, people who could keep up with you in terms of interests and banter. Other potential significant others you’d met over the years were great, but you always felt like you were never fully understood by them.

There was something different about this thing with Tom. Finding common ground wasn’t an issue. He got you.

“Hopefully it stays a thing. I haven’t seen him since, remember?” you continued. “And I don’t know how to see him again considering I don’t exactly have his phone number or anything like that?”

“Well, hopefully we’ll find him somehow. Worse come to worse, just run to the studio on Friday and see if he’s around. Or go to Dommo’s again somehow. If he works there as much as he says he does, I’m sure you’ll bump into him eventually.”

***

It was Wednesday night, which only meant one thing for your friend group — Whine and Wine time. You pulled the Yellowtail you’d been saving in your cabinet out, placed it in a bag, and walked over to Jacob and Tony’s apartment.

When you first moved out of the dorms, you knew you wanted to live by yourself. Jacob and Tony desperately wanted you to move into their apartment, but you had a feeling that if you shared a home with them, you wouldn’t be able to handle their living habits. Even so, the three of you agreed to live in the same apartment complex anyway — that way if you ever wanted to hang out or get drunk at the others’ apartment, it wouldn’t be a far distance.

You’d arrived at their front door in less than five minutes. Jacob’s eyes brightened considerably when he opened the door and saw you, and you gave him a tight hug. You were the second person there; the first being Laura, who was an expert at making sangria and was helping them out.

Granted, the general rule in your friend group was to typically arrive 30 minutes after the planned time. So by that standard, you were still about 15 minutes early.

“You’re not going to believe who’s coming today,” Jacob said as soon as you walked into the apartment.

You raised an eyebrow, setting the yellowtail you brought on the counter. “Who?”

“Our roommate,” Tony said from the couch. He was sprawled across it, already half a wine glass into the night. “Can you believe it? I invited him, not really thinking he’d say yes, and he texted back that he’d love to come!”

“He’s gonna be here around 8 o’clock,” Jacob said, nodding his head.

You grinned. “Way to include him in the friend group finally, guys!”

“You’re awfully excited, Y/N,” Laura remarked from the kitchen.

“Okay, they’ve been telling me about this guy for a while now, and he’s so mysterious like- I’m just curious about him. Where does he go? What does he do? Is he cute?”

“She’s going to scare him off within the first five minutes of being here,” Tony said.

You rolled your eyes. “Or maybe he’ll be happy that someone is finally acting interested in his life around here. You guys just ignore him!”

Jacob raised his hand. “In my defense, I try talking to him. Tony barely acknowledges him in the kitchen.”

“I don’t,” Tony admitted. “It’s just weird, like what do we talk about?”

“Wait, so in the morning if you’re like in the kitchen at the same time you guys just stand there in silence?” Laura asked.

You nodded your head. “Tony does at least.”

Laura shot him a look. “You don’t at least say hi or anything?” Tony shrugged again, and Laura rolled her eyes, slightly giggling. “No wonder he doesn’t really come home!”

“I’m trying now!” Tony attested, lifting up his glass of wine for another sip.

“He’s redeeming himself,” you joked. “Speaking of redemption, you know my good friend Brynn, she’s coming tonight. And I think we should give her a chance again, okay?”

Both Tony and Jacob groaned again.

“I’m already at max capacity tonight, Y/N! She broke my bed!” Tony protested.

Laura giggled from the kitchen and you rolled your eyes. “Guys, c’mon. She’s so much fun. Might be a little bit judgey from time to time but like a good friend.”

Jacob shrugged. “Listen, I’m usually just joking about all of this. I don’t actually have a problem with her. If you say she’s good, I believe you.”

Tony was pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m locking my bedroom door.”

You stuck out your tongue at him, before turning to Jacob and asking, “And what about your friend?”

Jacob frowned. “She’s not coming tonight. She couldn’t make it.”

Tony sat up straight. “What?!”

Jacob shrugged again. “She said she was busy! She seemed disappointed, so maybe some other night.”

Tony let out a long sigh. “I hope she comes eventually. We need more friends around here,” he said.

Laura then started pouring herself a glass of sangria from the pitcher. She offered some to you, which you naturally accepted.

It was good, but not even close to the quality of sangria Tom made you at Dommo’s. But even so, you were content with it.

“Damn, she’s missing out on some great sangria,” you complimented, taking another sip.

Slowly, more of your friends started piling into the apartment. Abraham, Sally, and some people you didn’t know well started walking in right around 7:30 p.m., exactly when you expected more of the crowd to show up. You nudged Tony over and sat on the edge of the couch. Laura sat on the other side of Tony, while Jacob primarily played host by greeting everyone who came in.

Brynn came next, after the large wave of people. She plopped on the ground in front of you, and you could see Tony eyeing her. You knew he was genuinely wary around her, and you couldn’t help giggling slightly at their dynamic.

Brynn started making conversation with Tony, and surprisingly, he was receptive to it. You were only half-tuned into their discussion, as you sipped more of your sangria and enjoyed being slightly antisocial for a long moment.

“So when are we going to start complaining or start group games?” one of Jacob and Tony’s friend that you hadn’t met yet asked.

That was another tradition of whine and wine — when you weren’t crying over your week, you were usually sitting together in a circle playing Cards Against Humanity or more likely, King’s Cup.

“Soon as my roommate gets here,” Jacob said. “We’re waiting on him and a friend to officially get started.”

You all gathered around in different sections across the room to begin catching up. You mostly pursued conversation with Laura, talking about her classes and what life had been like as an accounting major.

Every now and then, you glanced over at Tony and Brynn, who were still having somewhat of a decent conversation. Tony seemed less uneasy about opening up to Brynn now, as his animosity from Brynn breaking his bed was now gone. Laura nudged you about it, placing bets that by the end of the night they would hook-up.

You wandered over to Jacob, who was pouring some more wine for himself over by the kitchen.

“They’re getting along well now, huh?” you whispered, gesturing over to Brynn and Tony.

Jacob snickered. “You know how Tony is. You think the two of them will be good for each other?”

You cocked your head. “I think they have the potential to be. Either they’re going to mortal enemies or soulmates.” Jacob laughed.

But then, the door swung open. You knew who it was going to be even before Jacob leaned over to say it. It was the mysterious third roommate — the one that you’d heard so much information about, but had never met. You felt your heart pick up its pace, ready to make your judgements as soon as the door came to a close.

Two heads poked their way in the apartment. The first was a tall, blond man, with broad shoulders and a serious expression. As you weaved your way through your own memory, you realized you didn’t recognize the face. And it didn’t seem to fit the descriptor Jacob and Tony t0ld you about since they’d moved into this apartment. They told you their third roommate was on the shorter side, and this guy seemed to be fairly average in height, if not higher than average, all together.

But, even more surprising was when you were able to see the second head that stuck its head through the crack of the door. You knew the face; it’d been a face you’d been looking for almost extensively over the course of the past few days. And now, there he was — Tom himself. He was standing right in front of you, with an inquisitive and apprehensive expression across his face as his eyes surveyed over the room. With the ways his eyes moved with ease, like he knew the apartment itself, you knew at once he was the mysterious third roommate Jacob and Tony had been talking about so much.

You laughed to yourself about the irony of it all. You’d been looking for him for so long it felt like, and now, he was right under your nose after all this time.

His eyes brightened once they connected with yours.

“Oh, Y/N, my roommate is here,” Jacob said, nudging you. “Tom! There’s someone I want you to meet!”

He weaved his way over to you and Jacob in the kitchen, his blond friend following closely behind.

“Tom, this is Y/N,” Jacob said, gesturing toward you. “She’s a friend of mine and Tony.”

Tom shoved his hands in his pockets. “Oh, Y/N and I actually know each other. We met Dommo’s this weekend.” He gave you a quick head nod, and you smiled.

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” He shot a look over at you. You could tell by his reaction that it was all clicking in his head — the way you were eying Tom, the conversation you’d had at Over & Easy, the fact that Tom said you’d already met, and more.

“Yeah, Tom was really helpful to me when I was complaining over that paper I had to write for pols. He even proofread it for me,” you replied.

Jacob nodded his head, a small smirk tugging on his lips. It was all the confirmation he needed. You tried not to blush.

“This is my mate, Harrison by the way,” Tom said, gesturing over to the tall blond boy standing next to him. He stayed relatively quiet throughout the introduction, but now he gave you and Jacob a quick greeting. He was a fellow Brit, you learned quickly. “Harrison, this is Y/N and then Jacob, who is my flatmate. The other one is somewhere around here.”

Jacob and you both gave a quick wave.

“Welcome to your first whine and wine,” Jacob said. “There’s sangria over in the corner, and all the wine is communal usually, so feel free to drink whatever. No one really gives a shit here, we all just try to get drunk and complain.”

Harrison and Tom both grinned.

“Now that’s what I’m down for, mate,” Harrison said, and all of you laughed.

Tom and Harrison excused themselves from the conversation to get a drink. Jacob shot you a look again.

“So that bartender you’ve been obsessed with is my roommate?” he asks.

“It appears so,” you replied, cocking your head. “And I’m not obsessed with him. Just… curious.”

Jacob chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, whatever. I know you.”

You gave a pout. “I’ve only met him once.”

Jacob shrugged. “Just saying, for meeting only once, he obviously left an impression on you.”

And in truth, Jacob was absolutely right. You were enamoured by Tom in a way you couldn’t quite explain. There was just something about him that you were still trying to decipher.

You weren’t sure if you’d met anyone like him before.

Tom wandered back over to you and Jacob, Harrison closely in tow. He lifted up his glass of sangria, in somewhat of a cheering motion.

“Sangria isn’t so bad, huh?” you asked him, as he took a sip out of the glass.

Tom shook his head, a small smile curling up on his lips. “Do you like it better than mine?”

You pursed your lips. “Yours is definitely the best I’ve had.”

You could tell Jacob and Harrison were surprised by how easily the two of you got into conversation, but they weren’t quite fully sure on the context behind the topic at hand.

“At the bar I work at, I make sangria a lot of the time,” Tom explained. “I’m always trying out new recipes. Y/N was one of the few to try a new one I made the other day.”

“It was really good,” you replied, nodding your head.

“Well, you’ll have to bring it over to Whine and Wine sometime. I think we need more of that around here, if anything. The more alcohol, the better,” Jacob said. He was met by the chuckles of both Tom and Harrison. “But, we’re going to start a game soon if you guys want to jump in. We usually play Cards Against Humanity, or like King’s Cup which is a fun drinking game.”

Tom shook his head. “I think I’ll hold off for now.”

“I’ll jump in,” Harrison offered.

Jacob shot you a meaningful look.

“I’ll hang back,” you said swiftly. “I’ll kick in though after a few rounds, okay?”

Jacob seemed a bit disappointed by your answer, and you knew it had a partial role in the fact that earlier in the week, you’d turned down hanging out with Jacob and Tony at all of those parties. But he could handle himself. This was the first time you were seeing Tom in a while, and you wanted to get to know him better.

Jacob and Harrison both headed over to the living room, where the whole crowd of attendees were hanging out. You tried to stop your hands from fidgeting when you realized you were alone with Tom now.

“I got a job because of your excellent proofreading skills,” you said, a bit abruptly. “Thank you for that.”

Tom’s eyebrows raised at your statement, and a small grin curled up on his lips. “Really? Where?”

You explained how it was a research assistant job, but the professor it was attached to had multiple connections that were bound to help your own prospective career. You mentioned how you got one of the best grades in the class compared to the other students on the paper, and how he’d noticed it.

Tom nodded his head and his eyes stayed fixated on your face as he talked. It was a bit strange, being able to talk to someone with them being so intent in paying attention in what you had to say. It was so typical in college for all the people you were usually around to maybe check their phone every now and then, or at some point, their eyes would slightly glaze over as you spoke. But that wasn’t the case with Tom. Not at all.

He was attentive and engaged. His coffee eyes were soft, but with kindness, rather than with a lack of interest.

“Congratulations,” Tom said finally, when you were done explaining the premise of your new job. “It sounds like you’re a perfect fit for it.”

“Yeah, m’pretty stoked about it,” you replied, shrugging slightly. “I know I gave you all that talk about how it’s not necessarily my passion, but like I actually think this could be good.”

Tom nodded his head. “At least gives you the hope that you’re going somewhere after college. Which means you’re probably doing better than the rest of us.”

You grinned. “Tom, it seems like you have it pretty together.” He snorted, but you continued. “I mean seriously, you host a good radio show, and from the small interaction we’ve had together, you seem pretty emotionally in-tune. Which is more than you could say about most of the men that I’ve met.”

He snickered. “Well, you haven’t gotten to know me super well yet, so maybe hold off on making a lot of judgements yet. I don’t know if emotionally in-tune is necessarily the best way to describe me.”

You bit your lip, and said softly, “I think I’d like to get to know you better though.” Tom raised an eyebrow. “I just think we could be good friends is all. And you live with two of my best friends, as I’ve learned after today. So, might as well, right?”

You’d backed off a little bit, thinking maybe your initial move was a bit too forward. But thankfully, Tom followed along with it.

“Yeah, if anything, you should come by Dommo’s again sometime soon,” he replied. “After all, I still owe you that latté.”

[gryffinpuffthunderbird]

The Girl With The Dragon Dress

The Girl with the Dragon Dress (A Celestial Ball Fic)

[I don’t do fanfiction very often. Its been a while since I just sat down and wrote something.]

Charlie Weasley x FemGryffindor! MC (Edited to add: Its Fluuuuuufff)

MC is determined to have a fun night at the ball, despite knowing her crush won’t be coming. And sure, its good fun. But she gets some unexpected one-on-one time with Charlie anyway.

     The dresses were lovely. Three stood on mannequins, prepared by Andre. He'd really outdone himself. I sighed, as I considered them. I had ended up asking Tulip because we thought it might help the bit of sadness that lingered over not being able to attend with the one person I had any romantic attraction toward. If anyone could cheer me up, it'd be Tulip. Or Tonks. Who I was sure would be spending a lot of time with us. The two were thick as thieves since they met.      I still wished I could have gone to the dance with Charlie.      I had been aware of Charlie Weasley before we truly met. Aside from being friends with his brother, and seeing him play Quidditch, I'd always thought he was kind of cute. Now that we'd spent so much time together, one-on-one, in and out of danger... I was completely done for. I had eyes for nobody else as long as Charlie was still around. I wasn't sure he'd feel the same way about me. Or feel that way towards anyone. It wasn't exactly a priority  for him. Then again, it hadn't been for me either.      And now I reminded myself to put on a smile and to just go have fun. For my friends' sakes, but also my own. Even if a part of my heart had been aching since not long after the ball was announced...

***

     "I can't wait! I have so many ideas if I get to plan the decorations," Penny all but squealed.  Several of my friends and I were studying, sharing a table and occasionally notes. Or we were supposed to be. Instead, we were all discussing the upcoming ball.      "I bet they'll be great, Penny," Andre said, "You've got good taste, so you have my vote."      The Hufflepuff smiled gleefully. I was half paying attention. I was already wondering what I'd wear, wondering if I'd be any good at dancing... and how I was going to go about asking Charlie if he wanted to go with me. I lost track of the conversation while I imagined what it’d be like. Butterflies in my stomach, my excitement started growing. That is, until Andre asked him what his plans were.      "Oh, I'm not gonna be going."      "What?" I snapped out of my fantasy to see everyone had stopped to look at him. Andre continued, "Well why not?"      Charlie shrugged as if to say it wasn't a big deal. "The only dress robes I’ve got aren’t exactly lovely. And before you say anything Andre, mum would have a litter of kneazles if they were altered beyond recognition, which is the only thing that could save them. "      With that he shuttered with disgust, and started gathering his barely touched notes for class before continuing, "Besides, dancing in front of the whole class isn't my idea of fun anyway.”      "What if someone asks you? Even someone you fancied?" Penny inquired.      "I can't really accompany anyone I fancy in those things without embarrassing them, so even if I wanted to go to something so formal..." Again, he shrugged it off. After he left, my friends' chatter just turned to static in my ears as my ballroom fantasy went up in smoke. I tried to study, but I just couldn't focus.       Feeling increasingly ill throughout the rest of the day, I eventually retired to my dorm room, where I'd just cried through dinner. Rowan had tried to get me to come down, but I had no appetite. She tried to cheer me up for an hour when she returned, but it was no use. I'd been an antisocial mess the rest of the evening, and slept restlessly all that night.      I’d mostly gotten it out of my system by breakfast the next day, though some of the unhappiness stubbornly remained.

***

     "Hey, Curse-Breaker," Andre's voice shook me from my thoughts, "You'll need to choose soon, so you can actually get ready! Unless there's something you want to talk about?"      At his suddenly concerned look, I sheepishly turned my attention back to the dresses. I must have let some of my thoughts show on my face. I needed to try to focus on the task at hand. It was my usual escape from troublesome thoughts. Keeping myself busy.      One dress was a dark wine color, with a layered skirt and curvy filigree design. The next had an asymmetrical skirt, branches wrapping around it and cherry blossoms falling to the hem. The last was a deep navy blue, satin in appearance, with stars dotting the surface. On closer inspection, I recognized a constellation outlined across the front of the dress.      It was that of the dragon.      I tried each of them on. Andre showed his approval for all of them, saying each flattered me in a different way. The choice was entirely up to me. I had been hoping his preference could help me to decide. I knew I kept being drawn back to the starry dress.      It matched the Celestial theme, and the blue was extremely flattering to my complexion apparently. And it had the dragon constellation. I wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not, all things considered. But in the end, I couldn't choose another.      Now if only the one person who would most appreciate the design was the one accompanying me tonight...

***

     I took a deep breath. I was dressed and made up, hair done, and ready to meet Tulip in the Great Hall. Opening the door of my dorm, I descended the stairs to the Common Room. It was fairly quiet, as the rest of my year was at the Ball already, and everyone else had other activities planned. One Gryffindor though, a blond boy who’s name I could never quite remember, looked like he was struggling with putting on his boutonniere before making his own way out of the room. I looked around for anyone else, particularly with ginger hair, but there was no one. As I approached the Fat Lady's portrait, I asked my yearmate if he knew where Charlie had gotten to.      "I'd expected he'd want to see everyone's getup so he could tease us," I laughed.      The boy - what was his name? I always felt as if it had been obliviated from my memory - looked at me startled, as if not even expecting to be noticed. Perhaps we should all work on that. "Oh, he's still at the library getting what he needs to study in here tonight. I think Bill went with him."      I smiled. My own big brother couldn't be there for me, while I still searched for him. But Bill had been a wonderful surrogate brother I'd sorely needed at times. I hoped he really would stop by tonight. His brotherly grin usually put me at ease, and perhaps it would remind me that maybe everything would be fine, and that tonight would be a good night after all. After thanking the struggling boy, I made my way down the Grand Staircase to the Great Hall.      Glancing in, I spotted several of my friends already. I entered, searching for my date and for a moment, it hit me again that I had dreamed of sharing this with one specific person, and never would. But at least I'd be sharing it with most of my friends. Seeing several of them laughing, I took a deep breath and entered the glittering room.

***

     It had been a fun night. There'd been music, delicious treats, dancing in pairs and groups, and the occasional playful teasing.      Friends had come out of their shells and really shined. Rowan and Ben especially! And as had I. It didn't entirely rid me of wishing Charlie could have joined us, especially after Bill stopped by and danced with Rowan briefly. I also wondered what Jacob’s first dance must have been like, or whether he’d had one. But I’d enjoyed myself nonetheless.      Now, though, some couples were pairing off. Many friends were deep in one conversation or another. Ben and Rowan were still dancing their lives away. Tulip had run off with Tonks to undoubtedly get up to some mischief or another. (Goodness knows the girl tried to behave for most of the night, but she just couldn’t entirely help herself.) My feet were beginning to ache, unaccustomed to the fancy footwear, and I found myself beginning to yawn and yearn for something soft to sit on.      I knew I’d need to come back to reality soon, to prepare for another focused attempt at the cursed vaults. So I made the rounds, said my good-nights, grabbed a plate of treats, and headed back up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. I entered through the portrait in stocking feet, shoes in hand. It appeared empty at first glance. Then I saw Charlie, sitting on the couch, covered by the orange glow from the fireplace. Which only made his hair look more orange-y than before.      He took no notice, apparently engrossed in whatever notes he was taking. I stayed at the entrance a moment, watching him. Deciding to maybe be a little less creepy, I eventually called out to him softly, “Hey, Charlie.”      He started, surprised by the sudden sound of my voice, and I raised my plate in offering as I walked over.       “I’ll share, if you share some of the couch,” I said, smiling.      “Gladly, he replied, as he scooted over to one side, pulling books and notes toward himself and putting some down on the ground beside him. I placed the plate between us on the couch. After claiming a piece of fudge, he asked, “So, how was it?”       “Not too bad, actually. You should have seen Hagrid and Professor Flitwick dancing.”      “Together?”       “Not exactly,” I laughed, “Just near each other, really.”      “Aw shame,” he said, “And here I thought it was getting interesting.”      “Well if you want interesting, you should have seen Emily’s face when Bill told her off. It was brilliant!” I went on, divulging some of the highlights of the evening. Soon I awkwardly found myself trying to figure out what to talk about next. So I asked him instead, “What have you been working on up here?”      “Looking up information I’ll likely need to learn for our O.W.L.S.,” He said, “Especially in Care of Magical Creatures.”        He talked about what requirements he needed to meet to become a Dragonologist and I could help but smile. No matter where the conversation starts with Charlie, it almost always ends in dragons. Second on his family. Third on Quidditch. Suddenly, he appeared to become self-conscious and he got a little quieter.      “Anyway, you probably get the gist. Dragons. Always with the dragons,” He laughed awkwardly and started to move on to notes from another class.      “What else do you need for it?”      He stopped, “What?”      “You weren’t finished. Actually, I was curious, do you need to learn a certain amount of healing magic, too? I mean, claws, teeth and fire... You can’t always have a Healer on hand every second either, right?” He grinned at me.      “Yeah, you are right about that,” and he told me what he still needed to learn. Having been helping Madam Pomfrey quite a bit, I actually had a few good things to add to the conversation.

     After a little while, we ran out of things to say on the subject, until I remembered my dress and began to stand, “Oh! Speaking of dragons, did you see the constellation I’m wearing? I chose it because it matched the ball’s theme, but I thought this was also really cool”      Charlie looked closely only a moment before recognizing the same constellation that had once caused Professor Sinistra to put a limit on how many essays he was allowed to write on the subject. His eyes widened, “Wicked!”      He stood up, motioning for me to do a spin so he could see the whole dress. I was happy to oblige, and I slowly turned so he could see all the details in the pattern. When I turned back around, he bowed slightly, still smiling. As I looked at him confused for a moment, he straightened and held out a hand, “May I offer you a dance, my lady?”      Butterflies went wild in my stomach, and I place a hand in his. I wasn’t sure if the heat on my face was from the fire, or if I was blushing uncontrollably. We danced in silence for a minute, me unable to meet his eyes lest he see how red my face probably was. I, myself, wasn’t the greatest dancer. His movements were even more awkward. But the knowledge that he’d even made such a gesture despite his own strengths and nature meant the world to me. And with it, I soon began to work up the courage to tell him why I had really picked this dress. I bit my lip and took a deep breath before I spoke.      “You know, I... I actually chose the dress for the dragon more than the stars. So, you were kind of there with us, in spirit. Sort of,” I dared a look up at him, but couldn’t read his expression, “And I sort of wish you could have been there. I almost asked you. To be my date, I mean. Not to just go in general.”      “If anyone could have ever talked me into going, it’d be you,” he replied, “Though be glad you didn’t, because those dress robes really are awful.” We laughed before he went on, “And I would’ve just been embarrassing. I don’t really do ‘fancy’ well. I don’t even understand most things people do to go on dates. I never really... got what the fuss was.”      He looked at me, “But while I still don’t get ‘traditional’ ideas of dating, I get why they might want to. I like spending time with you more than anyone. You’re fun, and smart, and you really listen when I talk too much about dragons...”      I couldn’t keep from smiling at that, and would have told him it doesn’t bother me, but he appeared to still have more to say. I didn’t dare risk stopping the flow of words, though I noticed our dancing had all but slowed to nothing.      “...I may not understand what other people consider ‘romantic’ activities, like fancy meals or flowers or whatnot, but I do think about wanting to be with you. And... maybe even kissing you,“ he mumbled that last part as his face turned redder than I ever knew a face could turn.      “Then I’ll be happy to just spend time with you,” I said. I moved my arms until they were around his neck, my hands toying with his ponytail and continued, “Besides, sneaking into the forest is far more exciting than having tea or whatever.”      We looked at each other for what seemed like forever. I had no doubt that he was aware of how nervous I felt right now, just as I could tell how nervous he was. Then in no time, but somehow also an eternity, his lips were on mine.       Some day he’d go to Romania to be a Dragonologist. And I’d go who-knows-where to do who-knows-what. Maybe we’d work something out. Maybe not. But we had this for now. After Jacob disappeared, I had tried to make a point of enjoying the ‘now’. As I had worked to tonight. As I was at this moment.      I’m not actually sure how much time passed before we pulled apart and looked at each other. We both smiled, and I giggled, resting my head on his shoulder as we slow danced in silence a few minutes more. Not too long after, we settled back on the couch. We sat closer this time, me curled up against his side.      “I do love the dress, by the way,” Charlie said as we got comfortable, “And I hope maybe someday you’ll wear it again. With me. Even if its not to a fancy ball.”      I happily agreed. And with that, we finished studying together.      As well as all the sweets.

[ryncorrect]

university!au: day6 wonpil

first of all i will definitely do poorly on this because,,, you know,,,,, he’s so precious and i don’t think my words can do it justice ksbdjshs i wanna make the sweetest scenario for him

but i suck at sweet stuffs smh bye

name: kim wonpil

major: modeling (i still cant believe this is an actual major im living under a rock smh)

other activities: member of music club, keyboardist and main singer of the university band

jae calls him “the backbone” of the music club because wonpil participates in all club events, he always takes part in weekly activities, and he actively finds new recruits

jae on the other side pops up once in a blue moon to play guitar, do shit, then disappears

don’t worry ever since jae starts dating the newest member who happens to be wonpil’s bestie he’s more active now

honestly more than half of their club members joined because wonpil made them to

he’s persuasive and convincing okay you would end up eating rocks if he told you it’s good for health

but he’ll never do that ever bc he speaks no lies okay he’s like the sweetest person in the earth

he’ll cry by the sight of cute puppies, do i have to explain further

wonpil was nominated as the club president but the other candidate park sungjin who’s also his roommate beat him by one vote

well he prefers to be just regular member anyway, that way he can still do a lot of things for the club but with less responsibilities

you see he��s really nice, he’s caring, he’s hardworking, he’s confident, he knows how to present himself and he’s hella attractive

he’s taking modeling as his major do i make myself clear

everyone LOVES wonpil

and i mean sometimes it’s just not only a platonic love but like an “i will give you my heart and soul please marry me” love

too bad he’s oblivious af

someone: i,, i like you wonpil,,,, d-do you like me too?

wonpil: of course!!! you’re my friend!!!!!!!!!

someone: ….oh ok

accidental friendzone

but you know he doesnt actually mean to do that, he just doesn’t think anyone likes him like that

moreover he already has someone in mind

aka the coffee shop girl

aka Y O U

yeah hello guys i am: still lame

the first time he met you was on exams week

everyone was busy and stressed af and running on almost no sleep

except maybe wonpil

not because he was fully prepared but more like he forgot exams week was coming until the day before so he just decided to wing it lol whatevs

anyway his roommate aka sungjin asked him if he could go buy him a double shot espresso so wonpil did

he rarely visits coffee shops tbh and when he does he always orders vanilla latte with extra syrup for himself

wonpil seems to be that kinda person who tries to enjoy coffee but can’t handle the bitter taste its so frickin cute and trust me you think so too

so anywayyyy yeah he never saw you, aka the new barista, before

it was ur first work day as well btw and he was ur first customer

he didn’t know why but watching you being nervous made him nervous too

just imagine a stuttering costumer and a stuttering barista

everyone watched you two with anxiety

but even when wonpil was a nervous wreck he didn’t forget to smile and before leaving he said to you, “thanks, have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!”

honest to god it made your whole day better

anyway let’s move on to the second meeting

he comes back and this time he orders a vanilla latte, but being the clumsy ass that you are, you slightly confused his order

he receives his coffee and takes a sip and he freezes

you ask whats wrong and he’s like,, uh nothing,, the coffee is just,,,, kinda bitter today??? ha,,,hahahhaha,,,,

you stand still

wait

he asked for EXTRA SYRUP not EXTRA SHOT you dumbfucc

you offer to make him a new one and he refuses saying it’s fine!!! but you still feel bad so you insist but he’s like no!!! i gotta stay awake anyway i have an important quiz today i have to study! by the way uhhhh i’ve never seen you around until recently???

you introduce yourself and he introduce himself blablabla it’s awkward and your palms keep sweating for some reason

before wonpil left, he didn’t forget to say “have a great day!! i’ll see you around then!!!”

he’s so sweet uwu

seeing him and making him his vanilla latte (extra syrup) is one of the best parts of your job tbh

and he visits every single time you’re working which makes it better

why is his smile so adorable what the fuck

and there’s something about the way he walks that keeps you looking i mean boiiiii does he know how to present himself holy shit

that feeling when you see someone so beautiful you want to cry

the more you see him the more you want to know about him

what major is he in? what is he usually do outside the class? what kind of person is he? does he have a lot of friends? what’s his hobby? stuffs like that

too bad he always comes when it’s busy at the cafe so you can’t talk too much

neither he ever tries to initiate a conversation with you except his usual “hello! how are you today?” and “thank you, you make the best coffee! have a nice day!! see you!!!”

let’s admit it you highkey have a crush on him and EVERYONE knows

wELL it’s because you always wear that expression like "goddammit why must kim wonpil be so cute if he ain’t gonna ask me on a date” whenever you watch his back as he leaves the cafe

and EVERYONE but YOU knows wonpil’s so into you

whenever someone says something like “just ask him for his number he’ll definitely give it to you” you’re like “wtf nO that’s creepy and he won’t!! he doesn’t even know me!!!”

“he literally only comes when it’s your shift and he always makes sure you’re the one taking his order you oblivious dumbass”

“it’s just a coincidence”

“…..yeah whatever”

but they’re right wonpil’s crushing on you hard

at this point sungjin can even draw a portrait of you although he hasn’t actually met you before

that’s how much wonpil talks about you

from your whole adorable appearance to how cute your little cough is, or how he adores your little smile and the sparks in your eyes when he compliments your coffee, or he’ll describe your apron what the fuck and how he thinks your look so good in white and blue

sungjin’s so done with him

“just ask her out you stalker”

“nO I CAN’T!!! SHE’LL THINK IM CREEPY!!! SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW ME”

“well i bet she remembers your face by now since you always drop by when she’s there”

“but she meets a lot of people everyday there’s NO WAY she can remember me”

you see the problem now?

then one day jae decides to play matchmaker

by “playing matchmaker” i mean he follows wonpil to the cafe and straight up tells you, in front of wonpil’s face and everyone there, “yo this friend of mine wants to take you on a date and he wonders if you’re interested”

you are: blushing

wonpil is: dead pale

you: o-oh… i’m–

wonpil: yO HE’S JUST JOKING HAHAHAHA IM SO SORRY oH My gOd jAE LET’S GO

he drags his tall friend aka jae out of the cafe and since then he never visits again :(

im sad now ugh i told you i suck at sweet stuffs like this

fast forward it’s summer and the university wonpil’s attending is holding a summer festival that’s open for public

well,,,,, you decide to go and you ask some of your friends to tag along

you’re not sure what you’re hoping; maybe you just want to see how the place wonpil’s studying at looks like, or maybe you do wish to meet him by accident or something yanno like a drama

whatever

you promised yourself that if you don’t see him today, you’ll get over him

but if you do see him, you will ask. him. out.

well jokes on you babe he’s there performing on the stage with the band

he’s,,, he’s singing,,, and playing keyboard,,,, omg his voice

as you already know im uncreative soooo by impossible coincidence somehow his eyes spot you in the crowd

btw i imagine them singing Pouring but i think you can pick any songs you like

he’s so taken aback that one second he’s singing and the next second he sees you and his eyes widen and he’s like “I’m falling for–hUH? why are you here??” to the microphone

don’t worry the others cover for his mistake while trying not to laugh

everyone laughs too while looking around to find the person whom wonpil sees

you’re embarrassed as fuck you want to curl up and hide forever

but your so-called-friends don’t let you get away that easy okay it’s your only chance

dw dude wonpil feels the same he wants to immediately get off the stage and die

but sungjin will literally kill wonpil in his sleep if he doesn’t do anything it’s now or never

poor boi has had enough of this pining shit

so after the band performance wonpil has no choice but to approach you

“h-hey! so you watched our stage!”

“y-yeah! it was great!! didn’t know you can sing so well”

“h-haha thanks”

“y-you’re welcome”

silence

more silence

wonpil clears his throat and, “so…”

you blink fast, “yeah…?”

“um uhhh do you wanna see around? i can take you”

“oH of course”

What Am I Even Writing Anymore

well remember your promise earlier? about asking him out?? no???

is it too late to chicken out and forget the whole thing now

you barely know each other it’s so awkward and he looks so fine today and you really don’t wanna push him even further now but if you hesitate longer who knows someone else will ask him first and just the thought alone breaks your heart a little bit

so it’s time to grow a pair and take risks cmon dude you can do this

one

two

“anywaysijustwonderifyou'refreenextsaturday?”

wait

it was!! not!!! your voice!!!!

“huh?”

wonpil clears his throat and repeats slower, “i just wonder if you’re uhhhh free next saturday?”

o shit

o fUck YeAH

you cough a bit before answering, “y-y-yeah i guess??”

“ok um i like, have two tickets for movie if you want to come with me”

that’s like the lamest invitation and you yourself gotta admit that lmao

but oh kim wonpil,, dear,,,, there’s no way i would say no

so you two go on a date

or “casual outing” as you two call it

but everyone knows it’s a date okay even though you two didn’t have any skinskip oops

it’s okay it takes a bit of time but you’ll get there

i mean, since then you two go out together almost every weekend so ye it won’t be that long until the awkwardness wears off

wonpil just cherish you so much he’s afraid he’ll scare you or hurt your feeling by accident so he never boldly initiates anything

the first time you two finally holding hands is when you two go skating, and that’s just because you two are so bad at that

gotta hold each other so you won’t keep falling aye romance

you don’t know this but trust me wonpil talks about it for days sungjin almost decides to move out

he’s still insisting it’s not a date tho

“you know what, i can already imagine you two in like 10 years, standing at the altar and be like, do you marry me as a friend or what? unclear”

“do you think we’ll get married?????”

“oh dear god”

but yeah

you two will get there

somehow

just take your sweet time and give wonpil all the love in the world i beg you

that’s it YAY i think imma work on sungjin’s next wish me luck im running out of lame cliche ideas now lol bye

[ceffythesquirrel]

Post Apocalyptic Sander's Sides AU

Hello! This is inspired off of @sidespart amazing art of Logan and Robot!Roman. Check notes for navigation (Poor princey.) I'm sure @sidespart had a completely different idea when they were creating that art piece, so this is just my take. If they ever do anything more with that universe, just know that this is completely separate and...yeah. XD

Warnings: Lots of death mention (nothing graphic), minor character death, explosions, terrorist attacks, let me know if theres anything else!

Roman - Backstory

M29-Ro-man was created a couple years before the apocalypse by a robotics genius. The dude just took a bunch of parts from the scrap yard, cleaned them up, put him together, and programmed him to be Roman.

He was just sitting in his garage lifeless for the longest time because he was one of the few robots with emotions that existed and the creator didn't really want him stolen or known about yet. Also he was solar powered and any contact with the sun would bring him to life.

Decided to give him as a gift to a friend/Broadway star who needed a personal companion to rehearse lines with on a daily basis. Thus the robotics genius programmed Roman with everything a robot should probably not be programmed with. He had emotions, the ability to learn and gather information, and the ability to adapt through different situations and circumstances.

When the Broadway star received Roman he acted like a human with a metallic body and an off switch. He couldnt physically feel since he had no skin. The creator also mentioned to the Broadway star that he was a little too boisterous and wasnt sure how to fix it, but once meeting Roman, he didnt mind at all.

Roman instantly took to the theatre atmosphere. He was told what to do, how to help his human companion, and practice with him.

When Roman was not on duty, he was constantly watching Broadway show after Broadway show, acting them out on his own. He would always study the one his human was performing in to the T so he could help him get his lines accurate.

So they were both pretty good friends. Roman had never experienced that robots under humans rascism until way later. He experienced it when he got fitted for a prince outfit, because the Broadway star thought he'd like it, (which Roman very much did.)

Roman can also sword fight he found out. Not because he taught himself, but part of a fencing bot's mainframe was welded inside of him.

Roman believes all other robots are stupid after seeing none that act like him. He knew he was special and had a tendency to act like it.

It all changed when the first terrorist attack of WWIII happened. Of course it happened at Broadway. There was a bombing causing most of the building to collapse.

Lots of people died including his human Broadway star friend. But, Roman would never know what had happened to him. When the bomb exploded, the roof of the room he was in collapsed and debris switched Roman off rendering him useless for a couple of hours.

This is where he meets Logan.

Logan - Backstory

He was an average kid with an average family. He had no siblings and was often left to his own devices. Its not that he didn't try to make friends, its just he wasn't that good with social cues. Some say he may have been autistic, but no one knows for certain.

He has always loved robots growing up, and wanted to be someone who worked with robots. Unfortunately, the robot industry was already deep into the golden age and it was a very competitive field.

Giving up on that dream, he went with chemical engineering instead. He still had a heart for robots though, and would always watch them work whenever he could.

He was under the belief that robots should stay machines and not advance into anything else. So when he saw the world's first emotion robot he voted and protested against it with every fibre of his being.

He read the book "I am, Robot" (book about Robots taking over the world) so it makes sense why he didn't like the idea.

He graduated as valedictorian of his class and went on to become a theoretical chemist. Not what he had planned to do, but it was interesting nevertheless.

He was in a research group of 11 other scientists who were working to develop the world's first force field. It was when they succeeded that it all went to hell.

They were presenting their work at the world fair in New York when the bombing on broadway happened. It was utter chaos as other attacks ripped through the city and people ran for their lives.

Logan acted on impulse rushing people to safety while staying a safe distance with his colleagues, until an explosion split them apart.

Because one of the scientists had a feeling this was going to happen she made the other 11 make a plan b so their work wouldn't be stolen. Of the twelve, six split up the force field plans.

Logan was one of those six and was running with the three hard drives that contained all the equations for it. In his lab coat mind you, that he forgot would make him a target. So he was running from chopper fire and was able to hide behind a building and dive under rubble.

He had no idea where anyone was or if anyone was still alive since it seemed WI-Fi and internet was down all across the world. Even television was having problems.

He was shaking with fear as chaos continued to reign outside so he went further deep into the rubble to seek some sort of shelter if he could and wait out the storm.

He took a wrong step and fell a story into the exact room Roman was in.

He saw the unique looking robot, covered in debris and was more scared of it than anything. Maybe it was another trap or a bomb, but after it didnt move for awhile Logan's curiousity got the better of him and moved it out from under the pile and get a better look at it.

It was dressed like a prince, and had a sword. Some robot.

When Logan switched it on his life changed.

Hardship to Friendship

Basically the exchange went like this: Roman sprung to action with his sword. Logan shrieked and fell over from surprise. He was already scared of what was going on outside and this did not help. Roman called out Logan on his nerdy appearance and his so-called want to steal an amazing robot like him. "Over my dead body Isaac Snoopin'!" And Logan is just too terrified for any of this so he just faints.

Roman is more confused than anything, but the impact of a bomb over head tells him something is definitely wrong. His eyes widen as he remembers his human friend and is about to go find him, when the conscious he had developed told him he shouldn't leave the scientist behind no matter how much he wanted to. Especially if he was an enemy, and in sword fighting you never take your eyes off your enemy.

So he picked up Logan like a rag doll and began searching through the ruined structure for the stage.

It was a tragic scene when he got there however. No one was alive and he couldn't tell anyone apart it was that bad. Another bomb could be heard hitting the ground nearby. Roman had never felt this amount of sorrow before so he just kind of sat on the ground rocking with his knees to his chest with sadness not exactly sure how to process the emotion, since he couldn't cry.

Logan came around about an hour later and Roman was still repeatedly doing the same movements. When the prince-robot saw Logan begin to wake up he drew his sword at him.

"YOU DID THIS!" "Wh-what?! Me!?"

"Who else could have accomplished this feat but a scientist?! You murderer!" Logan began trying to explain that he's just one person and could never pull off something this massive.

As they argued, the ceiling of the room they were in began to collapse and they dove for cover in the nick of time.

Just cue the whole scene where they are running together for their lives through the crumbling hallways somewhat screaming, somewhat Roman yelling at Logan, and somewhat Logan getting frustrated at this almost human who is blaming him for the ruining of his theatre and death of his beloved friend. Logan was in the same predicament since he didnt know if anyone he knew was alive.

Logan does take it too far when he says "This is why your kind should never have emotions!"

Roman had a temper so he wasn't thinking when he took his sword and swiped it across Logan's face. Cue Roman realizing he is capable of hurting others and shrinking back. This is not the robot he wanted to be.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Logan was more suprised that the sword had only nicked him in the cheek and not got him in the throat or anything.

The place they are in begins to collapse right after that too and Logan shoves Roman out of the way with a "You're forgiven!" when the floor begins to crumble underneath them.

The rest of it is just them talking/ introducing themselves with just a little more civility and trying to find a way out of the building. They finally do, but it caves in. Roman helps push with Logan and finds out he is soooooo much stronger than a regular human. He clears the way so easily that Logan's actually jealous of the robot.

So now they are running through the city above ground away from the commotion and start their journey as fugitives in an apocalyptic world. Logan doesn't know why Roman is sticking with him and frankly Roman doesn't either, but the robot has no other place to go. Also Logan is a scientist and Roman is still suspicious that he wants to take him apart and study him. Which isn't completely wrong but Logan is more preoccupied with running for his life right now.

They first run to Logan's apartment a couple blocks down while the chaos is still happening around them. He grabs items from his house like he's evacuating and changes from his lab coat into more casual clothes, still keeping the hard drives with him.

Logan and Roman barely escape from the place before a bomb destroys the complex behind them. Logan gets tired quickly as they run through the traffic, since he didnt really work out. So Roman just picks him and his bags up with ease and sprints off with the speed of two cheetahs combined.

That was the story of how the two unlikely friends met. Logan eventually tries to contact his other colleagues only to find out that only three of them were left, not including himself. Each of them held a piece to the force field, but the blueprints of the actual structure were lost somewhere. Roman and Logan had parted ways for a little while so Logan could go meet up with the other scientists, but found out it was a trap just to get the three hard drives he had. His other colleagues were dead when he got there.

Roman had went to find his orginal creator, but there was no sign of him anywhere. So he returned to Logan and busted him out of the trap and they went on the run again.

From there on, the duo became inseparable even if they did seem like they were at odds half the time. They were soon joined by others who found sanctity and friendship within their tribe of misfits.

Emile Picani: The Ex Vice President of the fallen United States that everyone loved more than the actual president. He had signed a secret deal with the illuminati but when New York got attacked he said "Screw it" and ran.

Virgil: A 21-year-old boy with unexplainable psychic powers the government had locked up for experimentation. He's a techie and is good at technology and hacking stuff.

Patton: An alien disguised as a human who might have accidently contributed to Virgil's psychic powers. He loves everything about Earth, except the violence and bad stuff.

Remy: A defective clone who knew he was more than just a science experiment.

Nathaniel: An ex-security officer who just wants to survive the apocalypse and the people he's with sure seem to know what they are doing.

Thomas: An old friend of Logan's with the safe house they all camp out at sometimes. He is the one with all the money and supplies they need to stock up on.

There is so much more I could do for this AU. If you want me to do Patton and Virgil's meeting or backstories let me know. I'm sorry this got so long. I just love this AU now. Again credit to the artist who made that amazing piece sidespart and hope you all enjoy!

[owenandnoahtdi]

Top 10 least favorite contestants.

(Lil disclaimer, expect a lot of pakitew on here)

Hello everyone, and I'm here agian to shove my stupid opinion down your throat with my top 10 least favorite TD contestants. Lets go.

10. Lightning

Remember how I said there are two types of dumbass? Well he's the other kind. He's so fuckin dumb, its pathetic. Lindsay may be smart, but at least she could tell genders apart. But I'm cutting him some slack, he did have some nice moments.

9. Dave

I don't understand what Dave's character was. My best guess is a mix of all the nerdy characters, but idfk. Dave was just... Awkward to watch. It felt like he was there just for the shits and giggles. And his arc with Sky, hoo boy, that was unnessasary.

8. Ella

I like callbacks to previous seasons(or events) of a show, but only if its not constantly being referenced. It was nice that World tour was getting some love, but her singing gimmick got old quick.

7. Staci

Staci is what I will call " elimination fodder" which is where a contestant is booted just so the main plotlines can continue. And by arceus, Staci made it painfully obvious that this was she was. She constantly yammered on about her relatives no one, not even the auidence, cared about. I know that she was this way so they could have a reason to vote her off, but that just dissened the good thing.

6. Justin

Justin in action felt like the Alejandro prototype. After his elimination in island, I thought he wouldn't compete agian. I mean, the dude had three lines, 2 of which were about his pants. HIS PANTS. That's kinda sad. But a villain? A bit outta left field, dontcha think?

5. Sugar

Now were getting into some real stinkers. Sugar is basically Owen. "But didn't you say Owens your favorite character?" Yes, BUT, Owen had a personality. Sugar does not. She burps. And speaks like a hillbilly. That's it. How she got as far as she did, ill never know.

4. Rodney

Like Dave, I dont understand what Rodney's character was. His clothes say farmhand, but his actions say somthing similar to Cody. He just swooned over girls his entire time there. At least the other contestants on this list did something for thier team.

3. Leonard

How do you get worse then doing nothing for your team? By hurting your team with your stupid delusions!Why did his team choose to eliminate Beardo over him? At least Beardo tried. Leonard just..... Did stupid. And trust me, Tammy ain't doin you any favors buddy

2. Sierra

I hate sierra.

What? You want more? Ok then, she's a stalking asshat whos constant stalking hurts her team, and eventually herself. She annoying, unneeded, and was NOT deserving of being in the final four.

1. Courtney

WARNING: RANT INCOMING

Courtney, Courtney, Courtney.

Oh how I hate you. I think You might just be my least favorite character. I don't think I can put into words how much I don't like you. But I'm going to try.I've always said I hated Courtney but I've never explained why.

When you first came off the boat I was.. Well skeptical. Something about you rubbed me off the wrong way, but I couldn't put my finger on it. So I shrugged it off as nothing. As the challenge went on, you went on and on and on about how you should be leader for no other reason then that you were a cit, even though your team cared. Agian I shugged it off. But. At the end when you made that that statment, it CLICKED. You were a female dog. A straight up borderline female dog! Throughout the whole season, ALL YOU DID WAS COMPLAIN. Bitch and whine and moaned and groaned throughout the entire season about your team sucking WHEN YOU BARELY DID ANYTHING. YOU BARELY PLAYED IN DODGEBRAWL, COULDNT EVEN FACE YOUR FEAR IN PHOBIA FACTOR, I COULD GO ON. AND THEN YOUR ELIMINATION. OH BOY. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE ACT MORE RIDICULOUS IN MY LIFE. THIS IS A REALITY SHOW GIRL HAVE YOU NOT SEEN SURVIVOR. IM NOT EVEN GOING TO MENTION HAUNTE CAMPTURE.

ok, now to action where you were only there because you sued the producers. AND WON. And you did was be happy until you lost, and complain. But this time, you dragged your own BOYFRIEND INTO IT. COME ON. By the time you were eliminated, even the lawyers YOU hired to get on this show had enough of your shit. But the worst she was was in Get a Clue, when she WHINES LIKE A GODDAMN TODDLER WHEN SHE DOESNT GET A PRIZE. HOLY SHIT.

Season 3. This is the season where I feel as if she goes batshit insane. And again, nobody wants her around. Not even her boyfriend. Look at Come Fly with Us and look at Duncan's face when Courtney tells him to sing.Does that look like the face of someone who wants her to be there? No. That is the face of "oh god not this bitch agian." And would you like to take a wild guess what she did this season? If you guessed "be happy until she lost and the complain." You're right. But ill give her this: she didn't complain as much as in the other two seasons, granted. But Greece is where they put it into overdrive. Now let me say, if someone kissed my boyfriend I'd be pissed too. But that doesn't give you the right to turn everyone against her.

And when she was FINALLY, at long last eliminated, I thought that was it. I thought I wouldn't see her agian...

*Plays allstars intro and sees Courtney*

Goddamn it...

Now I didn't "watch" all stars, I just lazily listened to it, so I can't say anything about her here.

And that's why I hate Courtney.

Well that's it. Bye everyone!

[agentdammers]

Grand Torchwood Rewatch 1x12 & 13

IF YOU FALL I WILL CATCH U I’LL BE WAITING........ T I M E A F T E R T I M E

One season down...... It’s a Finale Double Whammy, just as it aired back in 2007! Crumbs of Jack Lore drop into our laps, some absolute plot bullshit takes place, an old man is there!!! fuck it let’s get this over with

content warn: pisstaking, fun having, oh! plot bullshit!, i absolutely lose my fucking mind, Owen Harper!!! I Won’t Hesitate Bitch

1x12 “captain jack harkness”

- a thought before we dive in, but man owen gets A LOT of story stuff over the course of the 2 seasons he’s in right??? like more story stuff than ianto and tosh combined. interesting

- AH FUCK!!! A VOTE SAXON POSTER. REMEMBER WHEN?

- so..... here’s a thing. “Ohhh people have heard music from a derelict building! better send torchwood in!” how... does that come about? Could it be squatters or something??? fuck it, let’s send in a Secret Government Agency! they’ll sort it out. i mean we don’t know what they do exactly but i imagine at least one of them is a ghostbuster or something lmao, whatever

- OH NO THIS CREEPY OLD BITCH!!! i forgot how scary he looked!! god, this dude must be a million, or a vampire, or likely both

- tosh’s eyes get SO BIG WHEN THAT GUY ASKS HER TO DANCE I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! she’s the best one!!!!!!

- wish i could wipe this episode entirely from my memory because that fucking reveal when the Real jack harkness introduces himself? F    U    C   K

- speaking of tosh, finding it extremely unconvincing that she, a tech nerd, would go out with a laptop with an almost completely flat battery... like, c’mon. she would be prepared

- Gwen cooper, a fully adult woman: haha me and my friends;;;; came here 4 a dare;;; cos its spooky lol....

- the camera on this show has me fucking SCREEEAMING “He wears a cravat.” THERE’S A DRAMATIC SLOW MOTION ZOOM IN ON THIS GUYS FUCKING CRAVAT AND THEN ON IANTO’S FACE LOOKING AT IT AND ITS ALL IN FUCKING EARNEST LET ME DIE!!!!!!!!!

- the dance they’re at is called “KISS THE BOYS GOODBYE DANCE”, which is what my finishing move would be called if i was a character in a fighting game

- ianto and owen slapfighting over their shit girlfriend experiences fucking owns genuinely lmao

- tosh pops the top off a tin and then cuts her hand open on the obviously blunt fucking lid?????? jesus christ

- “I’m tired of living in awe of the rift!!!” .....................first i’ve heard of it. I love that owen is talking as though the rift has been a major fucking factor throughout the entire series up until this point, rather than a thing that’s just been vaguely fucking referenced as the reason why a bunch of weird shit just seems to happen in cardiff. no, im not standing for this. You can’t pull out the rift at the eleventh hour and then talk about it as though it’s a Hugely Important plot device when the biggest role it’s had over the stretch of the entire 11 Whole Ass episodes prefacing this was to allow the plane to come through in “out of time”. y’all have barely mentioned the rift this entire time and now you want to act like its the hellmouth??? eat my ass!!!!!!

- and continuing on that note: apparently they’ve had a machine that can manipulate the rift in the hub......... the entire goddamn time. but no one thought to MENTION it i guess!!!!!!!! pfft, why would THAT be important??? right???? right?????

this plot bullshit almost makes me feel bad for how harsh i was about “cyberwoman” but, i will admit.... despite this Absolute Fucking Nonsense, i do find the jack and tosh storyline in this episode really fun and interesting. its just unfortunate that all the stuff arrrrround that is some kind of fic scrawled in the back of a kid’s math book.

- also the size of owen’s fucking NADS in this episode!!!!!!!! “Don’t compare yourself to me.” SAYS MAN CRYING OVER THE GIRL HE KNEW FOR ONE (1!) (SINGULAR) WEEK!!!! as opposed to ianto’s longterm girlfriend being turned into a monster and eventually murdered by his own team!!!! Like, i understand that’s owen’s problem actually goes beyond that, and its not so much about diane herself but about the fact that he let himself feel close to someone again after his fiancee died but for us, The Audience, watching this as it airs... we haven’t unlocked owen’s tragic backstory yet. and without knowing all that it just makes owen look really bad and like a huge fucking tool lmfao.

- NEVERMIND THE END IS GAY AND SAD AND Y’KNOW!!!!!! i am a man of simple pleasures, at heart, and so... i’ll let it slide. jack meeting his namesake knowing that he’s going to die and them having a moment is more of the kind of emotional content we would get in episodes of doctor who, and its Just Right

- in honesty, theres a bunch of stuff about this ep that i DO like. that tosh gets a prominant role for a change, while gwen gets to do fuck all. the whole Real Jack story. owen gets shot and pops a tit out at the end. its just unfortunate thats its all wrapped up in this rift thing thats been wheeled out last minute for a Big Season Finale with no real foreshadowing or build up to it at all lmao. but, moving on...............................................................................................

1x13 “end of days”

- RHYS BUNS DETECTED, A SOUND WAY TO KICK OFF ANY EPISODE

- lovely reading voice ianto’s got..... i also like owen acting up to make sure we know that they remember him being shot in the shoulder last episode lol.

- “owen, if you open the rift you’ll break it” (owen opens the rift anyway) “owen, you opening the rift broke it” (owen GASPS IN DISMAY, ME??? REALLY?) yes bitch open your ears

- “So are we going to sit around crying into our lattes or are we gonna do something about it?” OWEN..... IS THIS. SUPPOSED TO SOUND BADASS I.... GENUINELY CANT TELL? IT SOUNDS BAD, OWEN

- jack was so likeable last ep now he’s a DICK. gwen calls him out on how he talked to owen and he’s really fucking catty at HER for no reason at all????

- i haaaaaaaaate this scene in the hospital where a Mystery Illness has all the fucking symptoms of the bubonic plague but apparently every doctor in the entire hospital never did high school level history and are all incapable of recognising it. if fucking *i* know what symptoms of the bubonic plague are im sure they didn’t need Absolute Brain Genius Owen Harper who is seemingly the only person with any sense in cardiff to come in and diagnose it. i also hate how owen just like casually mentions to the doctor yep, this is caused by people falling through time dude yknow!!! like they do!! expect more of this to keep happening probably idk!!

- “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU OPENED THE RIFT WITH THIS MACHINE WE HAVE THAT’S FOR UHHHHHHHH UHHHHHHH OPENING THE RIFT *big fuck off galaxy brain*” thats basically this episode.

- i love that owen has followed jack all this time but NOW in a crisis is the time to actually lose it and start questioning his authority bc they dont Actually know who jack is like???? you’ve been fine not knowing this entire time before??? thats not to say that jack isn’t an entire dumbass himself. he expects them all to follow him blindly and its so creepy. he’s like a cult leader, and as they all have Torchwood Stockholm Syndrome that ive mentioned in previous episode run downs they’ve all just gone along with it.

- owen having a little cry on the way out is such a Good scene bc he puts on such a brave and defiant front tho 💕💖💘💕

- i dont know why the really quick flashback to diane flying off in the plane made me lose my fucking mind, its just like “LMAO IN CASE U FORGOT: SHE WAS THE PLANE LADY. I KNOW SHE WAS ONLY IN FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES, BUT DONT WORRY ABOUT IT.”

- gwen for fucks sake!!!!!!!! not again!!!!! after all the cryptic shit and lies she’s told rhys up until this point, she now knocks him out and locks him in a cell and STILL offers no explanation. this poor fucking dude!!!!!!!!! and it’s about to get even worse for him...

- the way gwen screams “RHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUURRRRRSSSSS”

- YES EVERYONE REBEL AGAINST JACK!!!!!!! FUCK THIS DUDE!!!! you’re doing what a creepy old dude who is Absolutely Definitely evil wants, but still

- why does gwen start doing shit on the computer when toshiko, the computer expert, is standing right there, like.............

- JACK TRYING TO SMACKTALK TO ENTIRE GANG LIKE HIS OWN CLOSET ISN’T CHOCKFUL OF FUCKING SKELETONS

- i forget, does anyone know jack’s immortal apart from gwen? or was it just the shock of owen actually Shooting Their Boss? the only onscreen death i can recall of his after suzie shot him was in “cyberwoman”

- god, minutes ago they were all like FUCK JACK!!!! JACK DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SAVE US AFTER ALL!!! and now theyre all crawling back asking jack to save them all from cgi pig Ganon and its just..... a lot to happen, over the space of about half an hour.

- the ending is so anticlimatic and also why does sucking all the Yummy Life Energy out of jack make abaddon die?????????? Though in its defence... after like 3 bowls of cereal, i too am like OUCH OOF MY BONES

- aaaaaaaaaand rhys is back! will he get treated any better from here on out? i dont remember!!! guess we’ll see.

- bit much of gwen who’s actually known jack the shortest time of them all to be like NO, let ME be with him uwuwuwuuw

- ahhh!!! ianto smelling jack’s coat ;_;

- aaaand jack’s back too. AND HE GETS TO HOLD A CRYING OWEN? FOR ME? oh you shouldn’t have! this Almost makes up for all that rift plot bullshit (almost. i still know what u did.)

- ANDDDDD OH SHIT. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE GOOD ENDING. HERE COMES THE TARDIS. FUCKING YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...............................and there it goes. one season down. sorry this one was so long!!! i love and appreciate anyone to takes the time to read these posts. thank u!!!!

[ninjakitty15]

Chapter 6: The Plot Thickens (Loki X OFC Pairing)

"Loki, have you seen Nell, she's not in her room," a voice on the outside of Loki's room called in, waking me up from my much needed sleep curled up next to him.

"Tell him I'm not here," I whispered.

"You know he could just have that automated voice system Friday tell him you're here," Loki mused next to, already wide awake and apparently reading something while he waited for me to wake.

I groaned and buried myself deeper under the covers. "No Nell esta aqui!"

"As far as I'm aware, no one here is Hispanic, especially not Loki, nice try though," Tony responded.

"Chingate," I cursed and begrudingly pulled myself up into a sitting position. "Whaddaya want?"

"Breakfast is ready, I'm told you favor pancakes which lucky for you are the main dish so hurry up before Thor and Clint eat them all."

"Pancakes you say?" I perked up, "Why didn't you start with that?" I didn't even care that I couldn't find my own shirt as I grabbed one of Loki's long green ones that sufficiently covered what I didn't feel like flashing to the team. Loki himself grabbing a tunic and leisure pants before leading me out of his room to where the smell of much needed food teased my senses. I could feel at least one pair of eyes on me and what I was wearing and all I did in turn was arch an eyebrow in challenge.

"Getting a bit cozy with Loki, I see," mused Nat, offering me bacon as I snatched a stack of pancakes.

I shrugged and drenched everything in maple syrup. "I've only known him less than a week and if anything were to happen to him, I'd kill everyone in this building and then myself."

Tony choked on his screwdriver drink while Nat just laughed at my declaration. "Is that even possible? I mean I looked at your dna samples and you weren't wrong, it matches a dead body's sample exactly, nothing to suggest it came from someone that can still walk and think and live. You can't kill something already dead."

"Medically speaking, you are correct, but they say there's more than one way to skin a rabbit."

"I thought it was a cat," Clint piped up.

"No one's skinning cats as long as I'm still moving."

"So how does one end something already dead?" Tony spoke up.

"For most things you simply destroy it, just remember, what is dead can never die."

"Settle down there, Yara," teased Clint.

"Go on and make me, Euron," I retorted.

"Why am I Euron?"

"Theon wouldn't treat me that way."

"How many of you necromancers are there?" interrupted Tony.

"Not as much as there were before I was caught," I replied glumly. "We're becoming  the next Siberian tigers, if we reach white rhino status we're fucked."

"Is it just the ability to cheat death and create your own army that would make you a good hunting target?"

I shrugged and finished my breakfast. "They certainly have a certain appeal, could be any number of reasons why we're sought after."

"You said nothing would come of them taking stuff from you, I'm just thinking, if I couldn't steal what makes you a necromancer to use myself, my next plan of action would be to somehow make you do it for me since the power stays in you and only you."

I arched an eyebrow, not a bad point there. I looked over at Loki who was probably thinking the same thing.

"Your friend said they were found as husks, shells empty of everything. Do you think they did that on purpose or maybe were forced into it?" he asked me quietly.

"That makes more sense than the theory I came up with before where they burnt themselves out to make them inaccessible even in death. They could've just gutted themselves with their blades to do that."

"Hydra are many things," noted Nat. "And mess many things up, but they know how to make a person bend to their will."

"I know about Steve's super soldier boyfriend, Bucky and how he was brainwashed by them. I don't know if that would work on us, if it's how I think they do it, it wouldn't work on me."

"How do you think they do it?"

"Rewrite your past in your mind so the memories that come up are edited to fit them as the good guys and their enemies as the bad guys."

"And that won't work because..."

"A lot of my past has already been erased from me, it was part of a deal to gain more power, I had to sacrifice something of myself to get it. I don't remember any of my family, they in turn don't know I even exist, they can't be used against me if we don't know each other. Imagine the bad guys finding my mom and threatening to kill her and we just look at each other like we literally just met, kinda kills the mood...pun intended."

"So brainwashing is more or less out of the equation then. Would there be another way to control a necromancer?"

"It would depend on the necromancer I guess. One thing I can tell you though is that no matter what you do to us to make us bend, the dead don't have to listen or respond. You also need to have a lot of power to make the dead do your bidding if they don't want to. For instance, if you were in a Jewish community and asked if anyone wants to fuck up some Neo Nazis, you'd have an army larger than China. But if you were in say Texas and asked who wants to march for the Pride Parade and fight for equal rights, you'd have barely enough corpses to make a difference and youd need more power, more effort to raise more when they've already voted no."

"You're saying they aren't just mindless corpses doing what they're told then," Nat spoke up.

"The living are far better puppets than the dead, its all about physics here, a body alive, in motion can keep going in motion in any direction, a body in rest prefers to stay in rest." That's when something clicked in my head again. "That's why they were burnt out dead, they were forced to do what Hydra wants but none of the dead wanted to follow..."

"Hydra as I understand them, don't usually take no for an answer and probably just made the necromancers suffer more till they were all used up. Did they do anything like that to you?" Loki asked.

"They seemed to think pain was the best way to break me, no one else thought to ask nicely in the five fucking years they had me."

"They had you for five years but you mentioned to Strange that there were missing ones before you were even caught. To me that sounds like they gave up on using up necromancers that didn't give them the results they wanted and focused on you and how to get you to do their will since you didn't burn out like the others."

That for some reason gave me chills. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Oh and once again I've become the sloppy second. What else is new? There's still the issue of a turncoat among them too. I told one person I would be flying back from England, I didn't even tell her which airline or what time it landed so in the extremely unlikely event she was the rat that sold me out, she still wouldn't have known where to find me. Someone had to have kept tabs on me or my aliases and sold me out and I want to know who."

"Could it have been another necromancer? Someone that wants you out of the group or jealous of your power?" offered Loki beside me.

"Outing another death mage isn't unheard of but its usually downhill for the rat bastard that does it. The dead are always watching, if they see something unfavorable like a backstabbing they'll be less likely to follow the one with the knife which means more effort is needed to get an army going. You need to have a lot of strength and power to force your will upon things that would rather stay still than help you. Imagine trying to wake up a hungover teenager for school who's clearly not over their rebellious streak and has no friends to look forward to there. Then amplify that by like a 100. Necromancy is a natural form of magic and to wield any kind of magic there must be a flow to it, natural magic requires you go with the flow rather than force it the way you want it to work."

"So whoever did it to you, they are either pretty strong or pretty worn out and probably not in the habit of wielding their magic unless necessary."

"Could be either or, I might be among the most powerful but that doesn't mean everyone else is at level one here, hell they could even be my level in the time ive been locked away, lots can happen in five years."

"How does one get to your level exactly?"

"There's certain tests you need to pass with flying colors, a sacrifice to prove you're all or nothing for it, the bigger and more meaningful the sacrifice the more power you're likely to get."

"Who or what determines all this? You make it sound like you don't just get it yourself."

"I didn't and I can't answer that question either, it disturbs the natural order. If you don't know then you aren't meant to know unless something decides otherwise."

Everyone including Loki was quiet for a moment, absorbing what I had told them before Tony spoke up. "What kinda tests?"

"A situation or scenario happens that determines if you can handle yourself and your surroundings, you don't know its a test until probably much later if at all but it happens regardless. You can't prepare for it either, either accept or fail."

"Are people just randomly chosen or is there some sort of telltale sign?" asked Nat suddenly more interested.

"You ever see things, hear things as a kid, things you were certain of being there but no one believed you when you told them?"

She was silent for a moment, probably attempting to recall that far back before shaking her head. "Not that I can recall."

"Then probably not for you, it starts with being an open mind and a clean slate as a kid and not letting anything or anyone put doubt in you. That's the problem though init, a child sees a sad wailing women at the foot of her bed and usually they go running to their parents in fear, parents come in, say theres nothing there because most of the time adults can't see them regardless and eventually the child starts to listen to their parents over the clearly upset woman that just wants to be listened to herself. Tony probably isn't compatible, those with too much knowledge leave little room for the possible but improbable, scientists usually are."

"What about your lover beside you?" asked Tony. "A god itself is possible but improbable and he wields magic as well."

I turned to Loki curiously. "What did you see when we were fighting Hydra the other day?"

"What you mortals would call zombies? What else would I see?"

I studied him for a moment, curious if he was bluffing or not as he was still very much a God of Lies. "You might be a wildcard on this. You sure that's all you saw?" He nodded stiffly. "Tell me if that changes at any point."

"What else would he have seen?" asked Nat.

I beckoned her to come closer and leaned into her ear. "The dead comes in more than one form, spirits are always nearby, everyone has a few at least. Victims, loved ones, depends on the person."

"What was he supposed to see then?"

"They told me to take his hand when he put himself between me and Strange and they collected the spirit of an agent that almost shot me down on the battlefield."

"They can do that?" she asked louder and pulling away from me.

"If poltergeists can wreak havoc in someone's home, a bunch of vengeful spirits can get even with the one that outed them first."

"Why wouldn't they do that beforehand though?"

"They didn't have me."

"You give them their vengeance," Tony started.

"I give them what would bring them peace, they linger as their bodies rot for a reason. The sad wailing woman isn't whining for attention like some teenage drama queen, she's hurt and needs closure. The ghosts linger because there's unfinished business and I'm their business woman for the job, except unlike the psychics and mediums of today's age, I do it for free and not for entertainment purposes."

"So if someone got wind you can commune with the dead and wanted to know something about their deceased what would you do?"

"Tell em to bugger off unless in that moment their deceased makes an entrance, I'll relay a message only that person would've known about and then tell em to bugger off and let the dead rest. They'll get the same kind of response as a misogynistic man telling me to smile, I'm not here for your entertainment so you can kiss the southbound end of a northbound horse."

[hollowbastionsurvivor]

Episode 4 - "The show must go on" ~Kevin

Mutiny: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630277130686742528/announcement

Mutiny Results: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630281668546134016/announcement-mutiny-results

Tribal Immunity: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630281797053415424/tribal-immunity-4

Ellie mutinies to Heartless. Everyone is shocked as they saw her in a really good position on the tribe

Jessica mutinies to Heartless because she knows that she is next on the chopping block

Colin mutinies to Nobody to cause chaos. Ellie tells him to side with Kim, and he tells her and Dylan to protect Christina

i'm sad colin left. but the show must go on 

*All speculative prose (I do not know anything 🙃)* So I feel bad. I think Colin may have gone because Colin thought I was. The problem is he did not talk to me beforehand?!? Like Colin and were talking about it and then COVID and then the edit logic... And I was busy talking to people and the new tribe members. I hope I did not screw over Colin after hearing how it is over there. At least here *every* one is faking it. ...and he was gone. Not sure Colin will be happier there, but hope so. 

~~~~~

Ellie forms a bond with Emma and wants to work with her despite her messiness

Pretty confident, I screwed over Colin. I apologize to Colin and to what I may have done to his game. I will feel guilty about this for a long time. Even if I am wrong, I still feel like I missed something with it being so crazy. Regrettably, Emma

I can’t find an idol to save my life now lmao nor can I figure out how to stop failing a part of it 😭 We won the immunity challenge AGAIN! I’m really proud of the tribe for this one because it was such a pain in the ass 😂 There was also an opportunity to mutiny and Colin took it! The chaos pull was strong for him lol. I really almost went too, but I heard negative things about the guys on nobody tribe soooo that’s a no from me. Heartless Tribe gained two people, which gives me another shot at building bonds. This immunity challenge we’re doing now is really fun tbh. We have to complete units of Japanese on Duolingo! I think we can win this one. If we don’t, there are a lot of people to choose from 🖤

~~~~~

Emma gets really paranoid about all the people who are talking

Fairly sure Dylan is holding the tribe in this challenge, but think Jessica will do a lot today. Weary of new people, of course, lol. They both are new to the tribe, and Ellie is super chill. We can talk about anything, so glad for her! Amy and I should have just done it. I do not think that this majority/minority wants to go tribal, and then the others do. So I am prepared for tribal. And I am staying silent to everyone else. The people playing in this are supposed to be my allies. I want this to be true. I wish I did not speculate as much as I do.

Lord please keep me from losing my shit on Emma. She is legit the messiest person alive and I cannot wait to vote her out. She consistently sends the wrong people the wrong chats and then wildly tries to pretend the messages are meant for them. She’s always in everyone’s business about challenges and idols and freaking out if people don’t talk for a few minutes. I will say this. If it goes to tribal, this vote goes to Emma because I can’t deal with her stress anymore. 

こんにちは !! Liking this new tribe. I wish Kim switched over. Things are going well I think. Need to talk to more people and find out the scoop of everything. Things seem calm? Probably because they haven’t voted anyone out. Hopefully we win the challenge because I’ve been learning Japanese all day and this girl is tired. 

~~~~~

Results: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630371332666867712/duolingo-results

WOOOOO WE WON. I have to admit it does feel good to win. And why yes raffy, I will enjoy my night off. 

Yay Kevin! Yay our whole Heartless Tribe! Just, yay!

~~~~~

Christina and Kevin did amazing! Super proud of them because I know they both worked hard/love languages. This Immunity Challenge solidified (maybe) some stuff with Kevin and Christina being in this for the tribe. I am just going to try and be cautious. This will likely fail. 😆 Ellie's amazing addition. I think, overall, we are relieved. Party!!! 🥳😴😎🙃

~~~~~

Emma believes Amy is lying to her about something, calls out people in the tribe chat, and gets increasingly frustrated by people not answering her within 5 minutes.

https://youtu.be/EnKi5uFqj3g

Seriously hope Dylan/Kevin sent Colin over as a "spy" (since they have played together). I do think if I was faster as processing things that I would have made two different decisions, regardless of Colin's intentions. 1. Would have messaged closest allies and said I was going for sure. 2. Would have messaged Hosts I was going.

https://youtu.be/SrWYjWZmhiM

Friday was so crazy! I'm still in shock over Colin switching tribes, that was so unexpected. I really liked getting to know him. Also I don't really like the new People. Ellie seems sweet but she really is too sweet, it's almost ingenuine. Jessica just seems rude. I mean she waited until 2 days after switching to this tribe to talk to me. I had to talk to her. Like, who does that? Especially after mutineeing from a tribe. You should be on high alert. Jessica is a no bueno for now, but we'll see.

~~~~~

Ellie wants to work with Emma as they bonded over their similar chaos energy. She realizes that a lot of people are after Emma due to her messiness in general

Missing kin hours :(( Still I really like my new tribe!! Everyone is nice and I don’t think I’d be the target, rn it seems like Emma has a target on her back which kinda sucks cause I like her a lot but it’s better than me!

~~~~~

Emma leaves even more alliance chats that she created on a whim.

~~~~~

Tribal Council: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630458005478129664/tribal-council-3-nobody-tribe

~~~~~

Mutiny: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630277130686742528/announcement

Mutiny Results: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630281668546134016/announcement-mutiny-results

Tribal Immunity: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630281797053415424/tribal-immunity-4

Ellie mutinies to Heartless. Everyone is shocked as they saw her in a really good position on the tribe

Jessica mutinies to Heartless because she knows that she is next on the chopping block

Colin mutinies to Nobody to cause chaos. Ellie tells him to side with Kim, and he tells her and Dylan to protect Christina

A mutiny. OF COURSE ITS A MUTINY! I'll absolutely say i wasn't expecting it but those were some bold decisions. Ellie i wasn't entirely surprised by HOWEVER Jessica mutinies and my heart skips a beat. It was ths game move she needed to make 100% because even if i potentially wanted to keep her , i wasn't going to a tiebreaker for her . Someone mutinied feom the heartless tribe and i wonder if they felt on the outs of they're just here to infiltrate. Who knows

Not surprised at the outcome at tribal tonight. I really did like John and enjoyed chatting with him, but for the sake of safety in numbers, he had to go. What I’m surprised is that Ellie jumped ship! Not so much Jessica, but Ellie has a good thing going for us. We will see how things pan out now that we’re divided 4-8!

~~~~~

Colin goes to work socializing with a new group. It’s going to be tough since those 3 are tight. He needs to crack a wall somewhere

Results: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630371332666867712/duolingo-results

I honestly feel responsible again for losing the challange!!! A 2??!?!?! Here I thought we were gonna average something much lower. But honestly, I didn't have much time to work on it as I spent the majority of the day at work. I think at this point our allience will vote together and unfortunately Colin will be the casualty. He shouldn't have mutinied...

Look i get that is part of this whole process but DAMN . Why does my tribe have to attend all the tribals. It's kind of demoralising tbh . 

~~~~~

Colin wanted to target Jordan, but has switched to Daniel. Kim wants to flip, but doesn't want it to tie. Jordan wants to flip on Kim since they have two rewards. The spice is going to be flavorful

OKAY so I need to walk you guys through my decision to mutiny. because on surface level it seems really dumb. I'm here to explain to you why its ALSO dumb on the deeper level. i'm a messy ass bitch. I have played DOZENS of these games and I've never taken a mutiny before, so honestly this was mostly about new horizons and trying new things! BUT ALSO. Ellie mutinied. and I NEED to be able to play my game without Ellie. I had good connections on my og tribe with Christina, Kevin, Dylan, and Amy. I hope that distance will make the heart grow fonder and they will realize how much they actually wanna work with me when I'm not there!! I gave them sufficient warning and tried to smooth things over so it wouldn't be awkward when we are reunited. My ultimate plan is to just survive until merge and then make a powerhouse trio of me, Christina, and Dylan. Dylan and I can be strategic masterminds, while Christina and I can also help maneuver us socially. After coming onto the Nobody tribe, I'm honestly not impressed. Kim seems okay but a lil dry, Jordan is barely around and also a lil dry, and Daniel is actually really fun to talk to, but doesn't seem invested game wise. I think i need to get Jordan out by painting him as a challenge threat. I think I'll try to make an alliance of Kim and Daniel. I really just need them to protect me. Losing this challenge SUCKS. I kinda wish Christina and Dylan had thrown for me. but I didn't expect them to and I'm not surprised they didn't. I think my name is absolutely on the chopping block because everyone else seems comfortable, but I fully intend to put in WORK to make sure I stay. if I can make it past this, this will be a huge talking point on my resume for FTC. I'm starting early. Wish me luck!! xoxo. 

~~~~~

Everyone is targeting each other and it’s about to be a big ol mess

I know it should be a no brain-er to who's going home tomorrow but i honestly do see the value of keeping Colin . We've bonded and i honestly do think he can be an ally for me moving into a merge. But it would require someone else to pull off because i don't want to piss off either Daniel or Jordan or potentially both if i vote against them

~~~~~

Colin attempts to talk with people about the vote, but no one responds back to him. Things are looking bleak as Kim as voted early for Colin. “I was talking to Kim this morning and basically all he said was he didn't think jordan and daniel would vote for each other. I hope Kim will at least let me do firemaking”

Colin shifts gears and tries to get Jordan to flip on Kim. However, Jordan is too scared to talk to Daniel about it, fearing it might ruin their relationship. So, he seemingly backs out on it. Colin grows increasingly frustrated with the fake back and forth. He doesn’t view Daniel as playing his own game as Daniel seems to do whatever Jordan wants him to do

Lost one of my core members to a mutiny, now lost the challenge. Our tribe has 4 members, two of which I believe to be close allies, one being the new member who mutinied from the other tribe, and of course myself. Kim, one of my allies, has been winning rewards throughout the game which scare me a bit. I’ve been getting along with our new member pretty well and it’s made me consider trying to find a way to vote out Kim so we can keep Colin around and just get rid of those rewards. I don’t think Dan would trust me anymore if I threw out an idea like this though so I don’t know if there’s a way to make it happen. However, I think I’m still leaning towards voting out the new member and at least trying to stay three strong. We will see if I feel the same tomorow.

im so sad. why did i take the mutiny. I'm really about to get voted out bc no one is even TALKING to ME all three of my new tribemates have expressed interest in keeping me and said that we had vibed really well. but now here I am, 4 hours before tribal, with absolutely nothing. No one talking to me. No names thrown out. They're going with the easy vote. I don't understand why. I can protect them going into merge!! they're going to be at such a numbers disadvantage, and I can be a bridge to the OG heartless tribe if I make it. But they don't wanna give me that chance. I'm so frustrated. 

I’ve really been trying to find a way to keep Colin but I just don’t think it’s gonna be worth it for me to risk my current friendships. I’m too nervous to even consider mentioning the option to either of them for fear they will just blow me off entirely after that. I do think I would have more fun if I kept Colin around, but it may be short lived. A blindside would be super spicy right now but we will see...

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Tribal Council: https://hollowbastionsurvivor.tumblr.com/post/630458005478129664/tribal-council-3-nobody-tribe

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