#and generally just heard it a lot from those around me who kept telling me how much i���d changed

[slfcare]

the most difficult thing about growing as a person socially, as in getting out of your shell and noticing that you are, is that there will still be times when it doesn’t feel like you’ve grown at all! times when you can’t really connect with anyone around you, times when you fail to enter into an existing conversation, times when you say the wrong thing (or nothing at all when in hindsight you probably should’ve). but that’s also kind of the best thing, because that’s the thing that helps you realize that sometimes, it’s not you or your lack of skills or any shortcoming. sometimes certain environments just aren’t for you and certain people aren’t your people, and that’s okay. that’s human. it’s okay to not feel the progress you have made all the time.

[deadsetobsessions]

Alley Drunk!Danny AU- Part 3

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.4]

“Have you considered anger management classes?”

The Batman turned sharply, cape flaring out as he raised his weary fists in preparation for another fight. Only to pause, as he caught sight of a bedraggled man leaning against the pockmarked, water worn, Gotham variety stone of the abandoned post office. Non-hostile. Scent of booze, not strong enough to be fresh, but prominent enough for him to clock the stranger as a habitual drinker. Young. Sympathy softened Batman’s stance. Still, Batman kept his guard up. Good thing Robin was benched, he was off his game today if he hadn’t noticed the young man.

“Nevermind. You run around as a bat. Clearly anger management classes aren’t on your to do list.”

“What do you want.”

He’s young. Not as young as Robin, but… enough that it made Batman gentle his approach. The young man pushed away from his spot, fearlessly slouching towards him. Casual. Unafraid. How curious. Even Gothamites were wary around him, correctly assuming and witnessing his takedowns of Gotham’s Underbelly.

“You do this a lot, don’t you?” The bedraggled young man asked, head tilted neutrally at the bodies strewn around the Batman.

“Hm.”

“Why do you never swing by Crime Alley?”

Batman’s guard faltered at the blunt question, but he regained it quickly.

“I do.”

“You don’t.” The man disagreed amiably. He reached down towards the victims but Batman grabbed his arm in an iron hold before he could rifle through their belongings. The young man laughed and pulled back agreeably. “Is it classism, why you avoid us? The poor isn’t good enough to deserve protection from Gotham’s knight?”

“No. I do this for Gotham. All of Gotham.”

“…Well, there’s always room for improvement, I guess?”

The stranger pulled back and broke Batman’s hold, which had the vigilante sharply focusing onto the man. The stranger was strong, despite how skinny and starved he looked. Few people could casually break his hold and tonight, he added one more to the tally.

“You should tell your sponsor to look into creating job opportunities in Crime Alley. The problem isn’t actually the crooks,” the man told the vigilante, gesturing around them. “That’s just the symptoms. The actual problem is the poverty.”

“I know.”

“And yet, you still avoid Crime Alley.”

“Who are you.”

The man began walking away, throwing a dry “The Crime Alley Drunk, apparently,” behind his shoulder. When Batman took to the roofs to track him, the man had thoroughly slipped away.

“Agent A, did you catch that?”

“Yes, Batman. It appears you’ve gotten the wool pulled over your cowl by a rather mysterious youngster.”

Batman heard a younger snort of laughter. Robin. Who was supposed to be doing homework.

“Please stop making fun of me.” Batman sighed half heartedly.

“Not on your life, B.” Robin chirped.

——

“Ya talked ta Batman?!” Jason crowed at him, excited. Danny had done as promised and met him at the chili dog stand at the correct time, which increased his credibility in Jason’s eyes.

“Sure did. He knocked out like, five guys by himself. It was pretty cool.”

“Fuckin’ woah.”

“Right?” Danny smiled tiredly at the kid. He stayed up all night to pull his shit together, and outright bought an apartment for them to stay in. That safe had a lot of cash, after all. “Come on, kid. We’re heading back to base but before that, we gotta pick up a few things.”

“Like what?” Jason asked suspiciously.

“Like curtains in the color you like, groceries, and blankets and bedding, and general cleaning stuff.” Danny ticked off a finger per item.

“We killin’ someone?”

“What? No!”

“Ya said general cleaning stuff!” Jason defended himself. The raggedy kid peered at Danny cautiously, and brightened when Danny only snorted in amusement.

“Oh my ancients, you Gothamites. No, those are for like, actual cleaning. You know, for the apartment I just got you.”

Danny missed the burn of booze, but when Jason looked at him like the child he’s supposed to be had Gotham’s streets never laid its claim on him, Danny didn’t want to fail the kid.

Even if the kid thought he was buying chemicals to clean up a body. He’s the son of two mad scientists, he knows how to get rid of a body, obviously. As if he’d need chemicals to begin with, honestly. His ghost powers are quite versatile.

“An apartment?”

“Yep. It’s shitty, but it’s got all the utilities and I kind of miss having warm water to shower with.”

Jason straightened and trotted alongside the Alley Drunk with a little more purpose. People avoided them. Danny lead the kid to the apartment, handing him a key and letting him explore the sparsely decorated place.

“So, first thing’s first. You go shower. Then, we’ll go shopping for clothes, register you for school, get your school supplies, and grab some lunch. Not necessarily in that order, but ya know. And cleaning supplies.” Danny grinned.

Jason whipped his head around from where he was closely inspecting the windows for insulation- like Danny would let the actual kid live somewhere with drafty windows- and spluttered. Hope, fear, uncertainty battled across Jason’s face as he tried to say something. Danny watched Jason open and close his mouth several times before he finally managed to whisper something.

“I- I c’n go to school?”

“Yes. You are, in fact, legally required to do so, Jason.”

A pause as the kid grapples with the idea, of something he didn’t think he’d ever get to do. A grin bloomed over his face as he realized Danny’s sincerity.

“Then what are we waitin’ for?!”

“For you to shower. C’mon grubby, the shower’s that way. Towels are in the cabinet, and there’s some extra clothes in here,” Danny tossed Jason the plastic bag of clean kid’s clothes he bought from Gotham’s version of Walmart, a store that somehow had the energy of a Tesco and a Denny’s parking lot.

“Fuc- I mean- yeah! On it!”

——

Clearing out the drafts- feel free to continue ^^

[mxtxfanatic]

Lan Sizhui and His Wei-qianbei

Of all the juniors, Lan Sizhui has the closest connection to Wei Wuxian that is actually kept secret until almost the end of the novel. But even when both characters are unaware of their shared history, Lan Sizhui still unconsciously gravitates towards his former A-Die/Xian-gege as a source of comfort and safety:

“Don’t be afraid,” Wei Wuxian said again. “I’m not afraid,” [Lan Sizhui] replied. “Truly?” “Truly.” Lan Sizhui even smiled. “Mo-qianbei, you and Hanguang Jun are really similar.” “Similar?” Wei Wuxian said with surprise. “How are we similar?” He and Lan Wangji were clearly as different as the heavens and the Earth. But Lan Sizhui just smiled, said nothing, and led the remaining people outside. I don’t know either, he thought silently. But you two just feel similar. It feels as though as long as one of you is present, I don’t need to be scared of anything.

—Chapt. 37: Flora V, fanyiyi

The disciples that he had let free could neither run nor stay. On the inside there were the YiLing Patriarch, the Ghost General, and the traitor of the righteous side HanGuang-Jun, while on the outside there were countless walking corpses waiting to be fed. Yet, everything was bright on Lan SiZhui’s side, “Senior Mo... Senior Wei. Are you here to save us? You were not the one who got people to take us here, were you?” Although it was a question, his face was full of complete trust and delight. Wei WuXian felt his heart warm up.

—Chapt. 68: Tenderness, exr

The sight of the two men made Lan SiZhui feel as if he could face anything, no matter how dire or impossible. He gladly responded, “HanGuang-Jun! Senior-Wei! Please hurry over!”

—Chapt. 83: Core Part 5, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

He even goes so far as to question what the juniors have been taught about Wei Wuxian even before he knows that their "Mo-qianbei" is actually the loathsome Yiling Patriarch or that he was once raised by him:

They heard Lan Jingyi interject. “Why are you so angry?” the boy blurted out. “It’s not like Sizhui said Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have been killed. He only said that it’s possible not everyone who practices demonic cultivation is like Xue Yang. Is it necessary to fling things everywhere? I haven’t had a chance to taste that yet...” Jin Ling sneered. “Didn’t he also say ‘the inventor of those methods didn’t necessarily want to use them for evil?’ Who was ‘the inventor of those methods?’ Tell me, who else could it be but Wei Ying! I don’t understand. Isn’t your Gusu Lan Clan also a prominent cultivation clan? Didn’t a lot of your people die at Wei Ying’s hand too? Wasn’t it a headache killing all the walking corpses and all his other scummy followers? Why are you taking such a strange position, Lan Yuan? Based on what you said just then, aren’t you trying to let Wei Ying off the hook?!” Lan Yuan was Lan Sizhui’s birth name. “I’m not trying to let him off the hook at all,” he explained. “I only wanted to propose that, since we don’t know exactly what the circumstances were, we shouldn’t draw any definite conclusions. Before we went to Yi City, didn’t a lot of people claim that Xiao Xingchen Daozhang killed the Yueyang Chang Clan’s Chang Ping in angry vengeance? And how did it turn out in reality?”

—Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

No matter what separated them—be it death, amnesia, or clan disapproval—Lan Sizhui has never truly forgotten the love he feels for the A-Die/Xian-gege of his childhood.

At least, Lan SiZhui couldn’t hold it any longer. With a loud cry, he leaped up. One hand around Wei WuXian and the other around Lan WangJi, he pulled the two into a tight embrace. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi bumped into each other from the hug. Both of them were surprised. Lan SiZhui buried his head between their shoulders, “HanGuang-Jun, Senior Wei, I... I...” Hearing his muffled voice, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi exchanged a look, only inches apart. They both saw something soft within each other’s eyes. Wei WuXian fixed his mood and put his hand on Lan SiZhui’s back, patting, “Enough, what are you crying for?” Lan SiZhui, “Not crying... Just... I suddenly feel so frustrated, but so happy as well... I do not know how to describe it...” After some silence, Lan WangJi laid his hand onto his back as well and patted. Lan WangJi, “There is no need to describe it then.” Wei WuXian, “That’s right.” Lan SiZhui didn’t say anything. He hugged them even tighter.

—Chapt. 111: Wangxian, exr

[accio-sriracha]

Shouting From the Rooftops.

A Jegulus Oneshot

(Prompt: Try. From a random word generator.)

~~~ ~~~

"We can't go through this again, James. I gave you my final answer." Regulus hissed as they walked through the corridors to the Slytherin dungeons.

James persisted anyways, nearly having to jog to keep up with Regulus' brisk pace, "I don’t understand why you hate the idea so much. I thought you liked being with me?"

Regulus groaned, "I do, you know I do, but what you're asking is impossible."

"What's so impossible about this? We're already seeing each other in secret, Reggie. I don't want to hide my feelings for you anymore!"

James knew he was being too loud, he didn't care. So what if people over heard him? So what if people stared?

James was in love with Regulus.

And he wasn't ashamed of that.

"Keep your voice down." Regulus muttered, "You shouldn't let people hear you. You know what they would think-"

"I don't care what they think."

"I care. Did you ever think about that?" He snapped. James scoffed,

"Why the hell do you think I've kept my mouth shut for the last three months?" He stopped walking, needing to catch his breath.

Regulus came to a stop just in front of him, staring at him with the hardened expression James had grown used to whenever they talked in public.

James sighed, "I want to see your smile, and not just in your bedroom. I want to sit with you in the sun and laugh and be who we are without all of these fucking secrets."

"These secrets are what's keeping you from being harassed by the entire school." Regulus rose an eyebrow, "I won't put my infatuations above your safety. No matter how much you beg."

"And what if I don't get harassed? What if nobody cares? Your brother is gay. He's been openly dating Remus for three years and nobody gives a shit about them."

"They're different-" Regulus started.

"How? Because you're a Slytherin? Because I'm a Gryffindor? Merlin, if people really cared that much about inter-house relationships you'd think there'd be a lot less of them, wouldn't you?"

"James-"

"No. I'm not finished." He huffed, "I don't want to hide you anymore. I want to take you to hogsmeade with me and my friends. I want to buy you butterbeer and be ridiculously fucking corny and hold doors open for you and give you my jumpers when you're cold. I want those things with you, Reggie."

"I want them too. It's not that I don’t..."

"Then why won't you just try?"

Regulus exploded then, "Because I can't! You know I can't! This is wrong, I-"

"Why?" James asked, cutting him off, "Who says this has to be wrong? Who says I can't love you exactly how you're supposed to be loved? Who says you're not allowed to love me back?"

"What about my brother?" He whispered, "What about Sirius? You're just going to waltz up and tell him you've been seeing me in secret?"

"Why not?"

"I'm not going to be the one to tell him i've been sneaking around with his best friend behind his back!"

"Then I'll tell him! I will gladly be the one to tell him the good news, because that's what this is. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me, Reg. Sirius is my best friend and I hate keeping things from him. You know how badly I've wanted to tell him about you."

"He'll never forgive us." Regulus looked away, "He won't understand. I'm his brother, your his best friend."

"He'll understand. I know he will. Just give me a day. Please. Just one day. If you don't like it we can pretend to break up, I swear."

"James-"

James kept going, not wanting to hear whatever excuse he came up with this time,

"I want to love you, Regulus. I want to walk down the halls holding your hand. I want to scream at the top of my lungs from the towers that you're mine. I want to give you the entire fucking world. Please just let me try."

There was a long silence. James tilted Regulus' chin so they met eyes. Regulus' were brimming with tears,

"Fine." He whispered, his voice breaking, "We can try."

And that was all the confirmation James needed.

He kissed him. It was deep and agonozingly beautiful. He kissed him until neither of them could remember how to breathe.

"I love you." He whispered against Regulus' lips, "And I don't care who knows it."

Regulus knew he should hesitate, he should look around to make sure nobody was watching, but something about the way James was smiling at him, something in the earnestness in his voice made him soften,

"I love you too, Jamie." He murmured.

And they kissed again. Right there in the middle of the hall.

They went straight to the Gryffindor common room, Regulus' restless hand tucked neatly in James' sure one.

When they told the others, Sirius was the first to hug them, congratulating them on coming out.

"We've known for a while, mate." Sirius smiled, ruffling James' hair, "It's good you finally felt ready to tell us."

The rest of their friends followed suit in congratulating them, the room was filled with smiles and laughter. James had never felt so happy.

And that was it.

From that point on the pair of them went everywhere together, they ate their meals side by side, they took strolls by the lake with their fingers intertwined. They went to The Three Broomsticks and everyone could see James holding open the door for him, putting down the money for both of their drinks as Regulus fidgeted with the tag on his jumper, the tag that read J.F.P.

And if you happened to hear shouting that sounded an awful lot like James Potter's voice coming from the astronomy tower, it's best to keep walking, he'll be there for a while.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Hope no one minds if I drop an angst prompt here?

So I was rereading the three pieces where Genesis realizes Angeal & Sephiroth think his voice is annoying and shuts down emotionally and tries to change his entire self bc the realization hurts him so bad, and Zack becomes basically the only person he feels safe around, right

And I got to thinking.

Idk where I first read it, but a lot of stories seem to paint Genesis as being generally quite liked by SOLDIER. So in this whole situation, where somehow only Zack picks up on Genesis’ pain, I think at least a few other 2nd/3rd classes also seem to notice, and Kunsel makes the connection between Genesis’ shutdown and his extremely changed behaviour around Angeal and Sephiroth, and consults with Zack for answers… and then discreetly lets the rest of SOLDIER know and they all close ranks around Genesis and like. Shield him from Sephiroth & Angeal a little

Like… I’m not that much a sucker for angst on most days but this image wouldn’t leave me… where instead of telling his superiors off in that discussion Zack bites his tongue and closes off from them too, and Angeal and Sephiroth have to figure out from themselves just why their whole department seems to have gotten so much colder with them recently, and why Genesis seems quieter and less around, and why Zack isn’t so bouncy anymore… more clipped and unhappy… and seems to get angrier with them everytime Angeal tries to help.

(Because damn, apparently Zack’s mood is his top concern, a kid he’s known for maybe a couple of years at most now, meanwhile his childhood friend that he grew up with doesn’t seem to rate with the same priority despite the frankly obvious pain.)

Meanwhile Genesis finds himself with a lot more company from the seconds and thirds than he’s had before, and discovers that more than a few of them like mystery novels just like he does, and a couple even know LOVELESS with the same love as him, and hey! This young man has read the same novel Genesis just finished, wasn’t that twist at the end a surprise? And slowly mealtimes kinda evolve into a SOLDIER book club (slash Secret Genesis Support Group) as Genesis slowly mellows out and finds his spark again, surrounded by like-minded individuals who not only respect him but seem to actually like him.

It’s nice. Genesis… is less lonely these days.

Are there three parts to it? I can only find Part 1 and Part 2. I swear I need to re-write it chronologically and post it as a proper fic someday. I'm surprised people bring it up from time to time ^^

-

Angeal sensed that something was off first, not because of the sharp glances that sliced past him like knives as he walked through the base. He wasn't oblivious to the silent hostility that clung to the atmosphere at SOLDIER—operatives who once greeted him with cheery waves, who he made it a point to befriend, were now avoiding eye contact, offering cold shoulders.

It was subtle at first, a missed "good morning" here, averted gazes there, but Angeal had prided himself on his keen awareness of the people around him. He valued camaraderie, not just with his fellow SOLDIERs but with anyone who kept the place running. He'd spent years building alliances, and now those connections seemed to be fraying, and he couldn't put his finger on why.

It wasn't even Genesis' absence that made him question things, although Gaia knew his best friend was tempestuous. Genesis had a way of shutting people out when the mood struck him, sometimes for hours at a time, but never like this. One day, they'd be sparring partners, the next, Genesis would disappear into his head.

But that wasn't the case this time.

No, what truly made Angeal's blood run cold was seeing Zack and Genesis together in the lounge. Shoulder to shoulder, laughing. Talking. Giggling, even. As though they were old friends. Which they weren't.

The sight was jarring, uncanny in a way Angeal couldn't immediately put into words. He knew Genesis' thoughts on Zack, had heard them whispered in passing, dripping with disdain. To Genesis, Zack was no more than a puppy—an overeager, naive child, a burden Angeal had taken under his wing. Genesis had always mocked the younger SOLDIER, never failing to throw a cutting remark his way whenever the boy's chipper greetings came his way. Yet here they were, sharing a closeness that felt….natural, which made it unnatural in its own sense.

And then there was Sephiroth, whose realization came like a slap to the face—almost literally. He passed Zack in the hallway.

Sephiroth had never been one for small talk, but always recognized Angeal's student with a curt nod, even mustering a slight smile. He expected, at the very least, a polite return gesture. But Zack rolled his eyes and turned away, as though Sephiroth wasn't even worth acknowledging.

Sephiroth had actually stopped mid-stride, confused. Had he done something to offend Zack? Was there something he had missed? For a moment he just stood there, watching Zack's back as he walked away, the sting of rejection unfamiliar and unwelcome.

It was more than just a bad mood. It was more than just Genesis going through one of his bouts of creative isolation. Sephiroth and Angeal shared that same coiling dread in their stomachs, that sense of something being broken and irreparable. They'd tried reaching out—both of them. They had knocked on Genesis' door, called his phone, but every time they got close, something, someone intervened. A Second, or even a Third Class SOLDIER, would always swoop in, whisking Genesis away before they could speak.

And the numbers… Gaia, the numbers. The Seconds and Thirds came in packs now, always flanking Genesis wherever he went. Always three or five of them, hanging on his every word, giving him attention, wanting his attention.

The popularity which had already been impressive seemed to have ballooned overnight. He was adored. While Angeal and Sephiroth were left untouched and unwelcome.

They'd never cared much for being liked, and neither of them needed the validation of the ranks. But it wasn't about that. It was about the absence, the hollow space Genesis had once filled between them. His voice was now missing from their lives—his laughter, the dramatic readings of Loveless, the playful teasing about Angeal's choice of shirts or Sephiroth's ridiculous wet hair after the showers. He was their friend, their third piece, and now he was gone.

And then came the breaking point. Zack refused to train with Angeal, refused to even follow orders from Sephiroth. That was when they cornered Kunsel, one of the few who never failed to have an ear to the ground, always knew what was going on and would never refuse intel.

But the answer they received wasn't what they were expecting.

"Why do you care?" Kunsel had asked, voice casual, like it was the most ridiculous question in the world. "Don't you find him annoying?"

It hit Angeal and Sephiroth like a slap to the face they needed.

[shorthaltsjester]

oh temult family i will never not be insane about you. thank you laura bailey for my rights and the good fucking food this ep with imogen messaging both liliana and relvin. i will have more elaborate rot undoubtedly soon but , the love in those messages! the love!!!! the love and the fact that it isn't enough in either of her relationships to her parents (or their relationships to one another).

like. imogen has just come out of the realm of one of the gods that her mother at best really does not like and at worst is happy to slaughter where she chose to trust the image of her mother and got power word stunned and then watched one of her friends kill that same image. and then she sends a message saying "I don’t know where you are or how it’s going, but I love you and I trust you." and the ache of that message being kind, a reminder to her mother that even when she stands at the side of someone imogen has committed to fighting, imogen is also choosing to love and trust her. but the point that imogen not knowing where her mother is or how its going speaks to how little she actually knows of her mother due to liliana's choices -- ones made out of love perhaps, but ones that aren't rectified by the presence of that love. and liliana returns "Imogen, I’m glad you’re okay. I love you, too. I’ve kept him at bay so far and I think he believes me. I think." and between sending's limitations and the improv setting of cr, i'm not resting any arguments or ideas on this occurance, but I Do think it is interesting that liliana spends words saying she's glad imogen is alright but does not return that statement of trust the way she returns the i love you.

and then. much more life ruining to me because of just. less relvin appearances and general . laura bailey sure knows how to make a character that is a daughter to a father reasons. imogen messaging relvin is my superbowl actually. thinking about like 2 episodes ago imogen saying "he's her father, but he's not her daddy" about zathuda, and today, despite all the distance literal and emotional and temporal, imogen starts her message calling relvin daddy.

like i don't know if i can really encapsulate the way that exchance made me feel, just imagine me pointing at the words and gesticulating emphatically but Good God

IMOGEN: Daddy, things are crazy. I love you, no matter what. Thank you for doing your best. RELVIN: Imogen, I think about you a lot. I hope wherever you are, you’re happy. You always were a wanderin’ spirit. Horses miss you as much as I do.

"thank you for doing your best" in a message sent to her father hours after sending a message to her cult-indoctrinated mother who she is choosing to trust is working on her side. who she can't be sure is actually doing her best. do you get it. do you see what i see.

and the fact that one of the first things in the campaign we heard from imogen about her father was that he was probably better off now that she wasn't there, that she figured based on the distance that grew between them, he was probably relieved without her around. and relvin's message tonight rebuting that idea. because he's a reticent man who has probably uttered the words 'i love you' a maximum of 10 times in his life, but he tells her he misses her as much as the horses do, that he hopes she's happy (implies he imagines she is because she was always a wandering spirit -- me choosing not to think about relvin saying he always assumed liliana would leave gelvaan, he just thought he'd go with her) and that he thinks of her often. i can't take it. i can't.

[astral-cowboy]

Silly little lando norris smau (part 4)

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

In which streamer!reader does an interview and exposes some important news.

Is this an excuse to write a chuckle sandwich interview? Yes. Am i including Slimecicle in this despite his unfortunate departure? Yes. Is this the silliest thing I've ever written? Yes. Is it in script format because i can't be bothered to write an actual fanfic at the moment? Absolutely.

[transcript of the "Chuckle Sandwich" podcast]

JSchlatt: you know, I heard that you managed to turn Charlie into a cat? How…

Charlie: (laughing) how did you… do that?

Y/N: it wasn’t me; it was my boyfriend.

Ted: your boyfriend, hit formula one driver, Lando Norris?

Y/N: mhm.

JSchlatt: wow…

Charlie: you think you know a guy…

Ted: and you just kept Charlie in your house?

Y/N: mhm, fed him three times a day. I mean, surely you remember this, Charlie?

Charlie: (laughing) yeah, multiple toys, got to drive my own race car, truly living the life.

Ted: in Monaco?

Charlie: in Monaco.

JSchlatt: welcome to chuckle sandwich, we have (your user).

[intro]

Ted: we have this segment we do with all our guests. The premise is, we all make up a piece of the sandwich, Charlie is the meat, ted is the bread, and Schlatt is the mayo. The question is, Y/N, is what are you?

Y/N: what am I?

Ted: what are you?

Y/N: hm… id say… maybe the crisps on the side.

JSchlatt: the crisps?

Y/N: chips

JSchlatt: ah.

Charlie: so, Y/N…

Y/N: Charlie…

Charlie: It’s been a very interesting time for you.

Y/N: like, in general or, like, specifically now?

Ted: I’m assuming he means recently

JSchlatt: don’t assume what he means.

Ted: I’m just saying!

Y/N: (laughing) it has been interesting recently, to answer your question.

Ted: moved to Monaco.

Y/N: I did.

Charlie: turned me into a cat.

Y/N: (laughing) that was Lando.

JSchlatt: had a child?

Y/N: oh shit! I forgot about that!

Ted: how… how did that rumour start?

Y/N: I have no idea; I just woke up to that post on twitter and a message from a very urgent Charlie asking what kind of toys the baby likes.

JSchlatt: any other reactions?

Y/N: Lando got a message from his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who was very… angry that he didn’t tell him… oh yeah, there were also a lot of congrats messages from the others on the grid as well. Neither of us knew what was going on.

Ted: I bet, it’s a very..

Charlie: very personal situation

Y/N: definitely. I… I knew what I was getting into, not even when dating Lando but with choosing this career.

JSchlatt: hmm, oh yeah.

Ted: so when people came up with this rumour?

Y/N: it was odd. I wasn’t as pissed as people would think, but I wasn’t exactly happy.

Charlie: and, just to give those who don’t know about your life, can you tell us who your boyfriend is, what he does, how you met-

JSchlatt: what he’s like in bed, everything.

Y/N: (laughing) my boyfriend is Lando Norris, he’s one of two drivers on the McLaren team in Formula One, we met via a mutual friend, Max, who invited me to be in a Quadrant video.

Ted: I’m assuming a different Max to the red bull guy

Y/N: different max, yeah. We hung out more because my friend Will, WillNE, umm, is now a co-owner of Quadrant, so when that stuff was being sorted which took… a while, umm, me and Lando talked for a bit about random stuff.

Charlie: and you then fell in love, or?”

Y/N: we flirted but neither of us really… were serious. We had kind of a friends with benefits thing for a while, but it ended when I got serious with my ex, so our relationship was very… rocky.

JSchlatt: did you know that he was a Formula One driver?

Y/N: Will had to be the one to tell me, I honestly just thought he was a streamer.

Ted: really?

Y/N: I hadn’t watched F1 since I was about ten and even then, I only really paid attention to the drivers when they appeared on Top Gear.

Charlie: Top Gear?

Y/N: British car show,, they had this segment called ‘the star in a reasonably priced car’ where they’d interview a celebrity and then have them drive around a track in something that would be considered a common car like a kia or something. I remember seeing Hamilton get the top score for ages but I’m pretty sure Daniel had it when the show ended.

Ted: are you close with the other drivers?

Y/N: I mean, I’ve talked to Oscar and Carlos a bit because… you know, but I wouldn’t say I’m very… close to them. Lando has his friends, I have my friends, it just so happens that some of those overlap. Would I like to be closer to the other drivers? If I’m being entirely honest, I’m happy where I am now.

Ted: now, you moved to Monaco earlier this year, what was that like?

Y/N: stressful, I couldn’t say ‘I’m moving in with my boyfriend’ but I also couldn’t keep the entire move a secret because then people would be like ‘why aren’t you streaming with James anymore?’ and start stupid rumours like they always do.

JSchlatt: what you did there was make people think you moved to evade taxes.

Y/N: that… (laughing) that is exactly what happened.

JSchlatt: but you weren’t.

Y/N: but I wasn’t.

Ted: you’ve been in the… public eye since you were a child

Y/N: I mean, I’ve been making content since I was… eight? Nine? Around that age

Ted: what would you say is the most stressful part of content creation?

Y/N: (laughing) how many people have you asked that question?

Charlie: too many

JSchlatt: far too many

Y/N: well, umm… I think the most stressful thing, for me at least, is the work life balance. Like many youtubers, I primarily filmed in my bedroom, its where my pc was set up and everything. I used to stream every day; I was… I burnt myself out. I was doing all of that as a full-time student with a part time job. I have since graduated and I’m not exactly employed anymore so I have a lot of time now but even then, I try not to stream every day.

Ted: and I don’t know how much I’m allowed to talk about this, please let me know if this is a breach of any plans or anything, but your newest projects…

Y/N: oh! Um… yes? Yeah. I can talk about it.

Charlie: to what…

JSchlatt: to what extent?

Y/N: I mean, if you upload this on the same day, I can talk about all of it.

Ted: … we can do that

Y/N: great!

Charlie: so, for the people at home, what is the oh so secret project?

Y/N: songs. I’ve been getting into music I suppose.

JSchlatt: good songs?

Y/N: id like to think so. I’ve been working with James Marriott, he helped me with the producing and everything. This, umm, three song EP, I suppose, is a collaborative work. I came up with the basic meanings of all three songs and then we worked on the lyrics and the track together.

Ted: and the music video?

Y/N: (laughing) the music video was done by some guy I know, does silly videos on the barbie cinematic universe, and ate an entire edible nerd’s rope by himself.

Ted: sounds like a handsome man.

JSchlatt: Final question!

Charlie: (laughing) oh god!

JSchlatt: would you rather have unlimited bacon, but no more games, Or, games, unlimited games, and no games?

Y/N: oh.. um… can I phone a friend?

JSchlatt: Lando has already answered this question.

Y/N: ok… bacon makes me feel kind of ill… and if I didn’t have games I wouldn’t have a career.

JSchlatt: great!

[Transcript End]

[starlostastronaut]

DAY 13 | NOVEMBER RAIN

PAIRING: seo changbin x reader

GENRE: hurt/comfort

WC: 0.98k

CW: reader goes through a break up and takes it hard, insecurities over being a "good partner", theres crying

PROMPT: "you came?" "you called?"

i feel bad giving binnie only the shorter oneshots. i thought this might be longer but it got more personal than i intended, so thats why it might seem rushed a bit bc i didnt want to go that into detail. btw november rain is song rec of the day, bc its an amazing song! i hope you enjoy <3

title from november rain - guns 'n roses

general masterlist here

<< previous | mctc masterlist | next >>

You stared at your phone in shock, unable to form any coherent thoughts at the moment. The delivered message was glowing on the screen, and every time you looked at it, it felt like knives twisting in your gut. You couldn’t believe it. This… This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. But no matter how many times you pinched and slapped yourself, you didn't wake up. It was very real, and it was happening to you. 

Your boyfriend had just broken up with you. And over a text like a coward. He didn’t provide any explanation; he just said it wasn't working anymore. You didn’t understand it. Sure, there had been some tough moments in your relationship, but you resolved those ages ago. The past few months had been nothing but happy. He had never given you any hints, any signs, or anything to indicate he was feeling that way. Hell, it wasn't even that long ago when he was telling you how much he loved you and how much you meant to him. 

You sank to your knees, feeling the tears forming at the corners of your eyes. With shaking fingers and hazy vision, you closed the conversation with your now-ex and opened a different chat. Barely registering any of your actions, you typed out a simple message. Then the phone slipped out of your fingers, and you curled into a pathetic little ball, lying on the floor of your bedroom and wetting it with your tears, wondering what led him to that decision.

Was it something you did? Were you not good enough as a partner? You weren’t the most affectionate person out there; physical contact or expressing your feelings was something you struggled with a lot. But you always did your best to make sure your ex-boyfriend - you corrected yourself - knew you loved him. Small gestures, compliments, spending time together, being his support system when he didn't believe in himself... You always thought that was an important part of a relationship, so you tried to fulfill the duty as best as you could. But it wasn't enough. You failed as a partner. You failed, you failed, you failed. Your brain kept chanting that over and over again. All of your insecurities came flooding into your brain at once. You covered your ears in a useless attempt to silence the voices in your head.

You didn't know how long you were there, curled into yourself. You just knew it was long enough for the tears to stop falling. Faintly, you heard someone in the other room, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care who it was. You were too far gone in your own head. Someone pounded on your door, but you didn't answer. In the next second, the door was getting kicked down as a distressed Changbin ran through.

Seeing you on the floor in that state made him stop. He slowly kneeled down to you, bringing one hand to your hair and stroking it gently. “Are you with me? Y/N?” When he didn't get a response from you, he sat down, leaning on your bed for leverage, as his arms gently lifted you and helped you into his lap. Then his hand returned to your hair, carding his fingers through it while he whispered sweet nothings to you. “It's okay, baby. I'm here now,” he murmured, his other hand moving to stroke your back. His soothing touch slowly brought you out of your dazed state.

“Binnie,” you choked on a sob, wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing yourself closer. Right now, he was a grounding weight around you. As long as he was there, you were going to be okay. 

“It's okay,” he said softly, not halting his ministrations even as you moved. “It's okay.” He let you lay there as long as you needed, providing you with the silent comfort you needed right now. He knew you would tell him eventually, but he also knew you needed to do that at your own pace. Pressuring you into talking would only lead to you closing off completely.

After a while, you pulled away. You had calmed down enough to talk. You looked at Changbin, who flashed you a relieved smile. Noticing the strange material that was crumpled under your fingers. You looked up at him, your lips parted in slight shock. “You're still in your stage outfit,” you whispered, looking at him in disbelief.

“We just finished the shoot when I saw your message,” he shrugged. “It said he broke up with you and to help, so I ran here. The stylists weren’t too happy, but Channie-hyung will handle it.” Changbin smiled at you. The realization dawned on you. When you texted Changbin, it was in the middle of a music show. 

“Binnie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disrupted your schedule; I was just  panicking and-"You began frantically apologizing, because this wasn't that big of a problem. You just overreacted. You didn’t need to drag Changbin into your mess. The voices got loud again.

“Hey, hey, hey. Stop,” Changbin said gently but firmly, grabbing your hands so you would stop fidgeting. He intertwined your fingers with his and squeezed to let you know he's with you. “You needed me, so I came here. I didn't have to do it, but I did. Because I care about you more than about doing a music show.” You looked up at him, your lips stretching to a smile, in spite of the mess happening in your brain. You didn’t deserve this man. Changbin was too good for you. But you were happy you had him.

You launched yourself onto him, wrapping your arms securely around his neck. “Thank you, Binnie. For being here and... and for everything,” you murmured into his shoulder. 

“Of course,” he responded, hugging you tighter.

taglist: @stayconnecteed @saintriots @vivioluh @ivaneedssleep @jazziwritesthings @darkypooo

©starlostastronaut 2023 | do not repost/translate my work without permission

[tgmsunmontue]

More than movie magic... 18/24

Hangster AU. Explicit (eventually). Jake is a Hollywood actor and Bradley is a stunt coordinator. Jake's about to make a few self-discoveries. So is Bradley.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN

Chapter 16 is pretty much the only explicit chapter (so far), so you can skip it if you like, but it's not explicit by my standards, and it's very soft/tender.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

                “Well hey there…” Jake says, and now that he knows Bradley likes his Texan accent he makes no effort to temper it, but Bradley looks annoyed instead of amused or aroused and Jake hopes the annoyance isn’t directed at him. Not already.

                “Hi. Can I talk to you real quick?”

                “Uh, yeah, of course…”

                Of course there are catcalls and Jake rolls his eyes, but his heart is beating fast, thundering in his ears, terrified that this is somehow going to be his shortest lived relationship ever. He doesn’t know what he’s projecting exactly, but Bradley’s reaching for him, lacing their fingers together and pulling him to the side, just out of the way and out of earshot from most people although he notes pretty much every eye in the room is turned their way.

                “Hey. Hey calm down. We’re fine. You’re fine…”

                Bradley has shifted, putting his back to the room, as if he’s protecting Jake from everyone, eyes flicking over his face and his expression is concerned. Fuck.

                “Jake… you with me?”

                “Yeah, sorry. Just… heard those words before and it’s generally not the start of a good conversation.”

                “Sorry. Shit. I’m so sorry. I just need to tell you something, and I feel like I’m going to be apologizing a lot today. Nothing either of us did though, okay?”

                “The photos?”

                “Yeah. Mav’s seen them.”

                “Mav?”

                “Sorry. Pete. He’s on his way here because he called me from the air and he’s incapable of believing I can make my own life decisions.”

                “Okay. That’s okay. I’ve met Pete before.”

                “Yeah. You met professional-Pete, not parent-Pete. Different beast unfortunately. Just… if I could have kept him from meeting your mom until after we were married or something that’s how I would have played it, but, uh…”

                “You’ve thought about us getting married?” Jake blurts out, surprised.

                “Uh. No? Well. Not in detail exactly.”

                All his feelings around Bradley second guessing his decision to be with him have just dissolved, and he knows he had no reason to doubt it, but also knows his brain isn’t a rational place sometimes. Instead he’s watching Bradley blush and look awkward and he’s definitely falling in love with him.

                “I generally don’t start relationships with people I can’t imagine myself spending the rest of my life with? I’m thirty-five, I have a better idea of what I’m looking for. And I can imagine a future with you, so… here we are.”

                “Oh. So why would Pete be worried about that?”

                “God. This is not the place for that conversation. Just. I’ll tell you, but we have fifteen minutes before we’re meant to be on set and I need to tell you something else… He’s bringing Tom. His partner. Um.”

                Jake has to admit he’s confused. Pete having a male partner doesn’t really explain why Bradley seems as worked up as he is.

                “Okay. So it’s a man. You seriously don’t think I’d have a problem with that do you?” Jake asks, staring at him and gesturing between the two of them. Bradley is shaking his head though, like there’s more and Jake waits.

                “Tom as in Tom Kazansky.”

                “What?”

                Okay then. That’s a name and a half. Jake knows who that is of course, but he never met the man, Kazansky being pretty much a recluse since his health scare a decade previous when Jake had only just started making a name for himself. Jake isn’t even sure he’d recognize the man, the photo used in any media one from over twenty years ago.

                “Yeah. They’re… shit.  Thought I’d have time to tell you and prepare you for how weird they are. They have… a complicated relationship. They’re both incredibly stubborn and agree that they love each other, but they also… well. Tom got cancer, so he called it all off, said Pete could find someone better, and that started a whole other fight, but it was the most ridiculous thing, arguing over who loved each other more. They’re both hopeless, but neither of them can see it.”

                “Oookay…” Jake says slowly, his mind racing, because quite frankly he doesn’t care about Pete or Tom, he just wants Bradley to stop freaking out. “Bradley. They aren’t going to scare me off anymore than my family has scared you off.”

                As he’d hoped that makes Bradley laugh and he can’t help his answering grin.

                “I like your family.”

                “Well, that’s good. God. We’ve got to get to set. Marcia is going to have my head.”

                “I need to talk to her too, give her a heads up about Pete,” Bradley says, and he’s glancing over his shoulder then, eyes scanning the room and Jake reaches for his face and gets his attention before kissing him.

                “Go. I’ll see you in the arena shortly. Hope you appreciate that I don’t have to do makeup today!”      

…            …            …

                He’s distracted as he watches Jake walk away, but only a little, because he needs to find Marcia and Arnold, let them know that Pete is coming, but only to visit him and not to be an ass and tread on another turf, despite that totally being Mav’s MO. He knows Mav is getting on and mutters about retiring, but whenever he’s not working Bradley has to deal with more of his bullshit than usual.

                “Bradley, you haven’t eaten anything!” Aunty Kaye calls out, and he startles a little, turning toward her, because she’s not wrong, but he is going to be late to set.

                “Uh, no, haven’t really had time yet. I did grab a protein bar. Thank you for that by the way,” Bradley says, and he hopes he isn’t blushing too badly.

                “Hmm. That’s not proper food.”

                “No, I know. I just had a phone call. My dad is coming to visit. Both of them I guess. They’ll probably be here for lunch actually. Assuming they don’t get lost…”

                “Well I look forward to meeting them. Hmm. Do you know why I like you Bradley?”

                “Um. I thought maybe you liked most people?” Bradley asks, suddenly feeling like he’s smack bang in the center of a minefield with no idea how he got there. And of course he can’t be rude and just run away, he’d much rather incur Marcia’s wrath than Aunty Kaye’s at the end of the day.

                “Oh, I do dear. But I liked you before I’d even met you.”

                “Oh.”

                Now he’s confused.

                “You stand up to him, you wouldn’t let him try anything risky or dangerous and he complained about it bitterly,” she says, laughing. “But you know what I thought?”

                “What?”

                “That that sounded like someone who would keep Jake safe and unharmed. I’m his mom, of course I want him safe. He gets into enough trouble without thinking he can do risky stunts.”

                “Yeah. Of course.”

                “You don’t let him railroad you into things, I admire that too.”

                “Thanks?”

                “Here, on his own turf, watching him do something he was born with in his blood? You trust him to know his limits. He needs that too.”

                Bradley just nods, not sure if he’s even allowed to speak.

                “So. I like you. However if I ever find out you’ve deliberately hurt him, either emotionally,  physically or mentally I want you to know that you won’t see me coming. I will find you. Now, I can’t really threaten you with bodily harm, however I can threaten you with my disappointing looks, which my children assure me are the worst thing they’ve ever experienced. Of course, if Jake screws this up he’ll also be on the receiving end of one of such looks. However, I feel like you’re a man who doesn’t give up easily. Some days you’re going to have to dig-deep, because my baby can get in his own head and think the worst of everything and everyone, but I think if he were easy you wouldn’t be as interested as you seem to be.”

                Bradley gapes like a fish, mouth opening and closing and he has no idea what to even say, where to start with everything she’s just said. All it’s highlighting is that he and Jake really need to have a proper talk. Not just about their relationship, but maybe about potential baggage that they have, because he thought maybe he was the only one. He should have known that wasn’t going to be the case.

                “I’ve already told Jake that I think he’s worth it.”

                “Good. Maybe he’ll believe you.”

NINETEEN

[omg-snakes]

Thoughts on Crab Day

I support this idea and I'll be participating on July 29th.

I see a lot of folks saying things to the effect of, "don't reward Tumblr for making things worse/not listening to their userbase/not adding features I need-want-like." I also see a lot of posts saying that the organizers of Crab Day are TERFs, neo-Nazis, and/or ultraconservatives.

While I agree that TERFs and Nazis (neo and paleo) need to be yote into the sun, whoever started this idea was not wrong about the site needing money to continue operating. Tumblr is a business. That's how businesses work.

Now, they can get money from advertisers and monetization partners, or they can get it from users. If they get it from advertisers/investors, those parties have the opportunity to weigh in on features they think will generate more revenue... like Tumblr Live... which is objectively trash. Tumblr Live is powered by LiveBox, an add-on service provider that enables sites to host live streaming content to generate revenue. Tumblr is also trying to attract users from the X-Twitter exodus by making the interface more familiar to these users. Was this a bad idea? Yes. It's a desperate attempt to attract more users so as to increase ad views and generate more revenue. But, remember, Tumblr is a business. That's how businesses work.

For YOU (and me!), Tumblr is a community. It's a platform for our art. It's a meeting place for friends and like-minded individuals. It's a safe space for self-expression. It's the last mostly-unmonetized bastion of social media in a landscape dominated by influencers, hustlers, and data-miners. For TUMBLR STAFF, Tumblr is a service that they are trying to sell so that they can obtain money that they can then exchange for food, housing, repayment of student loans, etc. If they can't afford those things by selling you their services, then they will literally go do something else. Yes, Tumblr is indeed a business and not just a passion project. That's how businesses work.

So by buying things directly from Tumblr, like a $3 crab-summoning gift, and especially as part of a coordinated effort like Crab Day and/or Crab Week, you are telling Tumblr Staff that YOU are a CUSTOMER, not just a monetizable data point. We are, in a very distant sense, establishing ourselves as a body of influence. If Tumblr sees that we can and will do this en masse, they are more likely to treat us as contributors and potentially shareholders who need to be kept happy. We each have a vested interest in the continuation of this site, and we have a rare opportunity to show the specific value of that interest.

Also, for those who want more accessibility tools, this is a great way to get those implemented. Accessibility for web applications is a big, big business and toolkits and training for accessibility standards tend to cost quite a lot. Training for a single accessibility plug-in toolkit can cost around $2000 per user*. That's about 667 crabs. By participating in Crab Day, even just a little bit or even just spreading the word about it or even just allowing others to participate as they please without pitching a ragequit tanty about it, you can tell Tumblr staff that you're here as a customer, your voice needs to be heard, and your needs are important.

If this doesn't work, and Tumblr doesn't take their userbase seriously after we make a concerted effort to support them, then please by all means go back to whatever version of complaining makes you feel most satisfied. But just for now, let's try something new!

*based on actual costs of a web accessibility training program offered by the agency for which I work

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Do have like… headcanons for Peh and Pah chin’s wives: Yasuda and Mori Yumi? I love those underrated girls sm you don’t understand 😭

Yeah they are super underrated, I do have a thoughts on them too!

Yasuda 

She's very good at baking, while in school she would make Mitsuya treats often (Pah and Peh usually tried to steal some from her).

She still calls Mitsuya "prez" even into adulthood, she just can't help it.

Yasuda was also close to Mana and Luna, she was often the one babysitting them when their mother was working and Mitsuya was attending toman meetings and fights.

Her and Peh confessed to each other mid bickering 

She actually doesn't remember when she fell in love with Peh, it happened slowly, over time.

When she first met Hakkai it was the awkwardest meeting ever. Yasuda was intimidated by how big and scary he looked and Hakkai was intimidated because she's a girl. They both remained silent, refusing to look at each other until Mitsuya intervened. 

The reason Yasuda was so passionate about her club and craft is because her grandmother taught her to sew and she wants to share how fun and useful her craft is with others.

The first time she sees Ran she thinks his hairstyle is ridiculous for a delinquent.

Yasuda is actually a very fast runner 

She hand sews all of Peh and her friend's birthday presents.

At least once she heard there was a delinquent in the school who wanted to see Mitsuya and went to go yell at them (assuming it was Peh or one of his friends again). Instead she started yelling at some random guy who was actually there to beat Mitsuya up and he was so baffled he just left.  

She has a history with delinquent's and used to get bullied by a group of them when she was younger.

Actually gets along with Draken though, despite his appearance she found him to be a generally nice guy. (She teams up with him and Hakkai to throw Mitsuya's birthday parties). 

Yumi

Yumi's also a very touch heavy person when speaking to people, she'll touch people's arms and hands a lot while talking (this nearly made Hakkai faint when they first met).

When she met a lot of the others she ended up telling them the story of how her and Pah met. This ended in most of the guys having competitions where the loser had to put their pants on their head.

Ok idk why but she gives me kinda counsellor vibes, maybe for kids too so i think she'd work either as a kids counsellor or some kind of position in a school or maybe even social services.

She just seems like a very kind and chill person who wants to help kids who find things difficult (like how she, Pah and Peh did).

However under all that kindness she also has an incredibly chaotic side. Like that's the reason she wasn't phased by anything at her wedding because she's more chaotic then anything the others could've done.

She couldn't attend Hina's and Takemichi's wedding because she was sick at the time. Like Emma she was also pregnant but was further along/ having a more difficult pregnancy and had to stay home. She felt bad but Hina and Takemichi understood and she made Pah promise to get her plenty of photos.

She loves sweets, has a total sweet tooth!

She slowly started to change from bully to friend because of influence from Pah and Peh.

Pah felt so guilty after stabbing Osanai that he wrote Yumi a letter telling her to never talk to him again and to just forget about him. Yumi of course refused to stick to that and said she still wanted to be with him (after telling him off for saying such a thing to her and assuming it's best for her just to forget about him).

Actually while Pah was locked up Yumi spent a lot more time with Peh. They kept each other company while Pah was gone.

Yumi also gets along really well with Pochi

Her parent's weren't around a lot, they were very busy with work. Which is why her earlier behavior went unchecked and why she suddenly had to move (her parent's got a promotion).

And finally Yumi and Yasuda were kind of forced into becoming best friends because of how often their husband's would take them to double dates and spend time with each other. It's ok though because they generally do enjoy each other's company and care a lot about each other. 

[beyondtheseaofstars]

give me ALL of your atom headcannons.

yeah, you heard me right. ALL OF THEM

Haha...pulls out an entire google docs

Now, these are the only ones I'll be sharing because yk so enjoy:

Brystal Evergreen

– She's bisexual :))

– Her wand reminds her a lot of Madame Weatherberry. (Don't tell me Brystal didn't see her as a mother figure.)

– Bubbles are very connected to her childhood, it's like an important symbol to her.

– She’s a sentimental person. The small little gifts her friends make for her are kept in a special area and she makes sure they're kept safe.

(A couple of these headcannons are from other folks but yk.)

Lucy Goose

– She definitely likes theatre and musicals. She's memorized the entire lyrics to all of her favorite musicals.

– She just yells extremely random words (or just screams) whenever she feels like it (which is a lot) because it's funny to her.

– She’s a heavy sleeper. If by any chance her friends were unfortunate enough to sleep next to her, they’d either fall off the bed or get their blanket yanked away from them.

– She’s also the type of person to fall off her bed (or hammock) and still be asleep, maybe even the person who sleeps through earthquakes and stuff.

–Occasionally, she bonks people in the head with a tuba to "knock some sense into them". Her friends may be against it, but according to her, it works.

Emerelda Stone

– She’s nearsighted and actually has a pair of emerald framed glasses with her, though most of the time she wears contacts instead.

(just one for Emerelda? yep, sorry-)

Xanthous Hayfield (can't find yellow 😭)

– Whenever he's lost in thought, he'll pace around.

– He has a pet cat! Lucy is the one who gave it to him.

– He likes flowers too! He often gives little flower crowns and metal dolls as gifts to his friends because he’s wholesome, except they aren’t that well-made at all. They’d have to put an enchantment on it to keep it from breaking. (They still appreciate the gesture though.)

– He really likes small critters like squirrels, frogs, lizards, bunnies, and mice.

Tangerina Turkin

– If angered (and she can get angered very easily), she will do absolutely anything to show her anger to them. She’s a very petty person.

– She's that person who's like "oh, you made that? 😒" then proceed to treasure it forever.

Skylene Lavenders

– Her favorite animal is a duck. I’m not going to explain. It’s just duck.

– The floor/pool in her room is decorated to look like a really nice aquarium. She has plenty of small fishes who live there that she keeps as pets. They all have names and stories too.

– She has a “little” pet shark that also lives in her room and it’s surprisingly very friendly. She just hangs out with him whenever she’s bored.

– She’s a crafty person, not the most skilled, but it’s something. She likes messing around with glue, colors, sticks, strings, and glitter, making a DIY craft for each of her friends and fishes.

– She has a large stuffed animal collection that she and Xanthous are building together.

– She usually goes and excitedly talks or rants about something to (mainly) Tangerina even though she knows or has heard about it already.

Elrik Elderwood

– He likes to carry Xanthous for fun sometimes, akin to how he did when they first met. He goes into the room and just picks him up because he can.

– He does some trolling with Lucy from time to time, mainly to the demons and the Fairy Council.

General

– They made little rainbow friendship bracelets for all of them to wear. Even during and after the events of The Land of Stories series, they still have those bracelets and wear them all the time.

– They all have a book-reading sleepover in Brystal’s room every weekend.

– The Fairy Council have a special little place in the woods somewhere near the academy where they unwind and de-stress whenever they're overwhelmed. (They still do this in TLOS.)

[musubiki]

I always wondered how the gang reacts when mochi comes back!!! I bet lime would be on her side at all times to make sure she doesn't disappear again, watching her sleep, following her around the house, then mochi has to go to the bathroom and he's anxiously waiting lmao

strangely the first person to know shes back is taffy!!! when she decides to hunt down the guild again, she goes to sulluvan to find out their approximate location. her plan was to find the others first, and lime last, so she could (hopefully) get from them a little temperature check on how lime would feel about all of it

(by that i mean she was very worried about whether or not he would want to see her. she realizes what she did was a very jerk move, and if he was moved on and happy without her (married with a kid or something) then she didnt want to interfere with that, even by just showing up. so she wanted to check with oscar and coco if theyd kept in contact with him, and how hes been/if looking for him is a good idea)

sulluvan gives her the locations of taffy/coco/oscar, but tells her to hold off on lime if shes not going straight to him first. "That boy moves around quite a bit. Unless you're going to see him right now, he'd be somewhere else entirely by the time you got around to him," he tells her.

taffy is the first to see her. she went to coco and taffy first, and while she was standing outside their apartment building thinking about what she wants to say, taffy comes home. he is the MOST calm out of all of them. (granted knew her the shortest and therefore wasnt as close to her as the others). when he brings her upstairs to their apartment and coco sees her, she tackles her to the floor and straight up starts weeping. (and then grabs pom and manhandles her as well)

oscar had a similar reaction. the kind you would have after a chance encounter with a friend after a long time. a lot of "Oh my god!!!!" and tight hugs!! obviously all of them are thrilled to get back into guild work, they were getting bored of their current lives (oscar timeskip story currently pending)

when she asks them about lime, oscar and coco just kinda give each other a knowing look, take a moment to reflect about his down bad ass and what hes been doing for the last 3 years, before finally going "Yeah I honestly think he'd be down to rejoin." "Yeah echoing that. Hes not doing anything useful." (they both know about his m34th work. coco whispers to oscar "Should we tell her?" and he replies "Isn't it more entertaining if she finds out organically?")

when they find lime, hes in the middle of a mission. doing something something i dont know, its combat though. fighting the giant tree monsters on the far edge of the giants thicket since they were terrorizing the farmers in the area. at first he didnt even realize it was her, it just seemed like some npc pedestrian caught up in the fight. doesnt even turn to look at her, just yells something generic like "Get back to the village, I can handle this!!"

and at first mochi didnt even register what the hell he was wearing, but she knew his voice and stature and the unmistakeable hair color. shocked at that response (i think she knew he didnt know it was her), she probably yells something at him to get his attention

and he recognizes her voice as soon at it comes out. it takes him a couple seconds to even process what he just heard enough to turn around, and honestly when he sees her, he thinks hes hallucinating. "...I'm losing my fucking mind, apparently." he thinks. "Illusion spell? No, what the fuck? That doesn't work on me. Maybe I didn't get enough sleep last night? I've never hallucinated like that before though. Maybe its some shape shifter something. Can those also mimic voices?--" just a sample of the 100 different thoughts he has in about 1 second.

but when he hears her again, a soft little "H...Hi Lime-!" that is barely even audible over the current atmosphere, he doesnt care. it could be some trick, who knows? I dont, he thinks, thats mochi.

let me tell you this boy SPRINTS to her. the amount of force in his embrace is honestly a little terrifying. mochi started sobbing instantly. No words even said, beyond a soft "Hi mochi." he mumbles into her neck. but her tears soak into his shoulder and they stay like that for god knows how long. It takes coco zipping back like "Uhhh hey sorry to interrupt soft moment but we've been holding off the tree monsters for a few minutes and oscar is getting whacked like a ragdoll soooo--"

(even then it takes lime a bit to let her go LMFAO!!! mochi is like "Oh no! Poor oscar!" and when she tries to let go lime is just LOCKED on her. "No. Not yet. He'll be fine." his voice muffles out as hes squeezing her against him. it takes a few whacks to his arm and a lot of "LIME BE SERIOUS!!" for him to very begrudgingly let her go)

but youre right hes definitely a bit clingy afterwards. maybe not in the most direct way, but he constantly has an eye on her/is standing close/wont let her go somewhere by herself kind of thing (which mochi is very happy with because she misses him like crazy. honestly shes a little nervous talking to him because shes worried they wont be like they used to, but the more they converse the more shes like "Oh hes the same as always....good.")

[hawkinsmafia]

day 15 : photographs

featuring Dmitri Antonov x oc Lilibet Grey & oc Georgette Grey

summary: Georgette is struggling with being back in Hawkins, and Dmitri finds out exactly why his stepdaughter hates it here so much

rating: general

wc: 927

cw: mentions of past manipulation and revenge porn of a minor, unfavorable depiction of Tommy H.

an: written for the 200 Words Challenge. I’m having fun exploring this man. :) I think I hc him as a pretty decent cook, and definitely has high dexterity. also I’m in love with the idea that he gets himself a motorcycle in Hawkins. more biker representation pls!

Returning to Hawkins had had an effect on Georgette, Lilibet could see it the very same day they arrived. Her daughter was reverting back to the version of herself that hadn’t yet been to California, hadn’t made friends at Lenora High or had sleepovers at her house on Lonzo Way. The Georgette who didn’t fit in and didn’t have much to say. Even securing an early summer job at Main Street Vinyl hadn’t lifted her mood. Some of it, perhaps, could have been attributed to shyness around their new roommate, but Dmitri couldn’t be the source of all her malaise. Lilibet had seen with her own eyes that the two of them got along well enough; even Georgette’s aloof tuxedo cat, Count Ulfric Arpeggio, seemed to grudgingly accept Dmitri’s presence.

So while Dmitri was busy in the kitchen, prepping vegetables for dinner—he had insisted on taking care of meals for the family, wanting to pull his fair share of the weight even while he hadn’t yet found employment in Hawkins—Lilibet approached Georgette. Plopping down next to her on their new sofa, Lilibet cut right to the chase.

“Alright, so are you ready to tell me what’s going on yet?”

Georgette looked at her mother, brow furrowing. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Why you’re retreating into your shell again,” Lilibet supplied. “As soon as we crossed the Hawkins town line, you started wilting. What’s happening?”

“Oh.” Georgette looked away, swallowing awkwardly. “You remember what happened.” She paused before adding, quietly, “With Tommy?”

An idle fury clawed Lilibet’s insides at the mention of the boy’s name, but she kept her face impassive. “Yes.”

“Yeah. Bet you’re not the only one.”

“Oh, sweetheart…” Lilibet reached out and touched her daughter’s knee, rubbing it soothingly.

“It was just really nice being two thousand miles away from anyone who’d ever even heard of Tommy Hagan and had ever seen my boobs.”

The way her daughter’s head hung in shame made Lilibet’s heart hurt, and she wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “It’s been two years, baby. I’m sure most people have forgotten it entirely, and the rest… well, fuck them. They don’t have photographic memories, and if all they have to do with their spare time is try to recall the details of those photos, that says a hell of a lot more about their pathetic selves than it does about you.”

“But we never got all the copies back,” Georgette said, her voice cracking as she spoke into her mother’s shoulder, “and they have to be out there somewhere. What if being back in Hawkins makes someone remember they have one in their desk drawer and it starts getting passed around again?”

That fury was still coiling in Lilibet’s chest, and she spoke in a tone that was carefully measured but still licked of flame. “If it resurfaces, then we’ll prosecute. You were sixteen years old, which makes it a felony to even have a copy in the first place. And this time we won’t have to trade that charge away as a bargaining chip to keep Jonathan out of jail.” She pulled away from Georgette, her hands holding Georgette’s shoulders, and met her daughter’s eyes head-on. “If anyone is still holding on to that photo, if they have one shred of intelligence in their skull, they’ll keep it to themselves.”

From behind them came the sound of a throat being cleared, and they looked over the back of the sofa to find Dmitri standing in the doorway, his chef knife in hand, bright orange flecks of carrot clinging to the blade.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, speaking very politely, “but I seem to have forgotten the onions.” His gaze settled on Georgette with a gentle smile. “Would you maybe have a few minutes to run out and purchase a bag for me?”

“Can I take your motorcycle?” she asked hopefully, but her mother cut in before Dmitri could respond.

“Absolutely not, but you can take my car.”

Georgette groaned, but pulled herself up off the couch and headed for the front door.

“And please don’t change the radio station presets!”

“I won’t,” she sighed with all the apathy of a beleaguered teenager, and closed the door behind her.

Dmitri waited a few more seconds before he spoke again. “Am I permitted to ask what that discussion was about?”

“You were eavesdropping?” Lilibet teased.

“I dropped no eaves, I was merely close enough to hear you. I cannot turn off my ears at will.”

With a sigh, Lilibet shifted on the couch, rising onto her knees on the cushions and turning toward the back of the couch to face Dmitri. “There was a boy Georgette had feelings for in high school, his name was Tommy Hagan. And Tommy decided to pretend he had feelings for her as well, as a joke. And apparently he was very convincing, because it went on for weeks, with Georgette thinking they were in love, and eventually she gave him a… let’s say, a very private photo of herself. By the next morning, he’d had hundreds of copies made and taped up all over the school for everyone to see.”

As Lilibet spoke, Dmitri’s expression hardened, his mouth a tight line, his eyes icy. He looked toward the front door again, then back to Lilibet.

“May I ask two more questions, my dove?”

She nodded, and the chef knife twirled in Dmitri’s grasp.

“Where is this Tommy Hagan now, and how dead would you like him to be?”

dividers by @saradika-graphics // photos suggested by @comfortably-obsessed-fangirl ♡

[unsettlingcreature]

RIGHT OK SO thoughts. i have them.

MINRATHOUS. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. MINRATHOUS!!!!

It's beautiful. I want to see more of Minrathous and Tevinter in general, I am SO excited for the environments and buildings and- (muffled screaming).

Also Minrathous? Do you know who else might be in Minrathous? 🥺🥺🥺 i'm sorry i just want to see dorian again. But also, I hope we'll see Maevaris too! So badly!

edit: actually, I realised what the started segment where you run through the city with demons Fucking Shit up reminds me of! The scene in Origins where you are running across the bridge to get to the beacon at the battle of Ostagar! Having to ignore the carnage around you as you push forwards because the end goal is ultimately more important...

I love that we get a background for our Rook that seems to actually come up outside of the rare dialogue option. And speaking of dialogue, I like that we're keeping the dialogue wheel with contextual icons! I'm not a massive fan of the UI but it's by no means bad.

As they walked through the streets of Minrathous, I was for some reason reminded of Assassin's Creed. But once combat began, I was reminded of Shadow of Mordor...? I think it was the switching between blade and bow.

I can already tell that the combat is not really my thing. I'll cope. I'll suffer through it. I will say that it looks very fluid and makes me hope that we'll get a similar flow of combat (for rogues at least) similar to DA2 (which I think has the best dual-wielding combat of the three games imo). I'll probably still pick a mage for my first playthrough but rogues are tempting me.

The warning lines for ranged attacks is... interesting! I've seen something similar in a few games and it'll definitely make dodging a lot easier to figure out timings, even if I personally hate dodge-heavy combat. Again, I'll cope.

The music... oh my god, it's beautiful. As they approached the ritual site, you could hear the same motifs that were present in the Tresspasser's soundtrack (specifically Dark Solas Theme) (I go feral whenever I hear those strings btw). Very excited by the music, even the song that was present for the countdown before it started was beautiful!

Some of the dialogue was a bit... quippy. It was way better than the character reveal though. For the most part, it felt fine but then now and then I'd pull a face at a cheesy line or the odd sentence that felt stilted to me.

I didn't realise Neve was an amputee! I love the stylised prosthetic. I definitely need to get around to reading the comics.

The new direction with demons is interesting. They seem to be going more wraith-like, with even the pride demon no longer have legs and just kind of floating. The fiery dog-like are what I assume are meant to be rage demons? I actually love them, far more than the weird blobby things we've seen in past games.

The facial expressions are very good. Definitely not having the same issue as ME:A. Honestly, the animation in general is brilliant. I enjoyed watching Rook dart about during combat and his movement was very fun.

Whenever the pride demon teleported away just as Rook went to strike, I kept thinking "nah that would piss me off so much".

Seeing Varric approach Solas, I was like haha wow, imagine if they killed off Varric really early on in the game. I don't think Bioware would but it did genuinely put me on edge for a moment. Destroying Bianca though... Nah, somehow that's worse. Where's he going to get another one? :(

Also, hi Venatori! You're still around after ten years? Fucking hell, you'd think they'd have given up considering Corypheus was dunked on over a decade ago. Learn to take the L.

Finally, that shout from Solas as the ritual was disrupted... I think it's the angriest I've heard him, at least put against how he was in Inquisition. Also are we going to talk about the purple eyes? I think I'd like to talk about the purple eyes. Solas could get it. WHAAAAAT WHO SAID THATTTTT, THAT'S WILDDDDDDD...

[umgeorge]

george russell is interviewed on media day, miami - may 2, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "A lot of chat around the paddock and in the press about Mercedes' potential interest in Max Verstappen, potentially to be your teammate next year. What would you think if Max was to come here and to be your teammate? You've obviously taken on Lewis, one of the greatest of all time, as your teammate here, but Max the driver who's defining the current generation. How would that be, as a teammate?" George: "Yeah, I'd be all for it, to be honest. I think coming into Mercedes in 2022 was off the back of Lewis' legendary years and victories, and that was a huge task for anybody, jumping into a team where he's been for so long, and I believe in myself. And you need to go up against the best in the same machinery and show what you've got, so I feel that having Lewis as my teammate for the past three years… He's been a hell of a teammate, such a great driver, and we push each other every single week and I think it's fair to say that, so I would welcome Max. I wanna go against the best, I want to… Everybody wants to prove what they've got, so… Yeah. Make it happen." Interviewer: "On the flipside of that, you could be partnered with Antonelli next year. Obviously Mercedes are continuing their process with him and testing over at Imola. Have you kept an eye on his progress and heard from the team about how he's been faring?" George: "Yeah, I've heard he's been doing a good job. Obviously when you're driving alone it's always difficult to get a reference, and for him it's just gaining the necessary experience. There's no doubt that he's gonna be in a Mercedes at some point in the future. Is that next year? Is that in years to come? Time will tell, but he's a great driver and he's won everything in his junior career, so there's no reason not to see him in Formula 1, mixing with the best in the years to come." Interviewer: "And finally from me, we've moved from one sprint weekend into the next sprint weekend. A very different format last time out. So much data, I imagine, to colate in just those three hours after the sprint race and make the changes to the cars before qualifying for the grand prix. What did you guys learn in China that you can bring over to this wekeend, be it positives, or, I guess on Lewis' side of the garage particularly it was certainly negatives." George: "I personally really enjoyed the new format. I think it felt a little bit more chronological, with having the sprint quali first, straight into the sprint race. I think of course a learning is that if you turn the car upside down and then you go straight into a qualifying session, every single lap in Q1 or Q2 is vitally important for how it sets you up for Q3, the tires you have left, and it's very difficult to adapt in such a short period of time, so probably better the devil you know than trying to find that sweet spot."