#and then later on when I could buy a new comic instead of buying One Minute War

[sing-me-under]

FUCK. I NEED TO STOP. IVE BEEN TRYING TO GET INTO FLASHFAM FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS BUT I KEEP GETTING SLAMMED BY OTHER OBSESSIONS.

[lixie-phoria]

ੈ✩‧ ➛ han jisung thinks he's subtle as he pines over you

pairing : han x gn reader ; genre : fluff | warnings : none ; word count : 0.8k words

summary : han jisung couldn't be more subtle as he pined after you. ranging from eagerly buying your merchandise to watching your favorite shows just so he has more reasons to talk to you. it would've been adorable if it hadn't been going on for so long.

chan's ver. | hyunjin's ver. | jeongin's version | felix's ver. | lee know's ver. | changbin's ver.

if there was one thing han jisung would never judge overly zealous kpop stans for, was their passion. Never for the way they would viciously defend their bias or spend an unnecessary amount of money when trading photocards. He would never question their excitement. He couldn't. Not when he was on the same boat as them.

You were a rookie idol, so new to the world of kpop, so full of life and love for what you did, never letting the fame get to your head. Nobody could blame han for falling for you, really. The poor boy was so in love it was comical. He thought he was subtle with the way he was always steaming your music and buying your merch. He thought nobody would notice the secret fan account he ran for you on Twitter and Instagram. Han jisung thought he was a mastermind for the way he "skilfully" kept his crush a secret. But the boy could fool absolutely nobody, not his members nor yours. yes things were hard because of JYPs dating ban for rookie idols but did that stop him from being delusional? absolutely not.

the members caught him multiple times giggling to your instagram posts or marveling at your vocals during a performance. it was like watching a teenage boy fall in love for the first time, complete with the dreamy sighs and feet kicking.

when changbin caught jisung eagerly watching a show in their dorm early one morning, he wasn't that surprised. but when he found out it was a romance show? that raised a few questions because nearly everyone knew han was more of a horror lover. that was until the older man found out the shows name. of course han jisung was watching the show you had recently revealed in an interview you were obsessed with. the excited grin on his face and slight furrow between his brows as he concentrated on the plot would've been adorable if changbin hadn't been so exasperated. This was the seventh k-drama jisung was watching for you. just so he could find more reasons to talk to you, as if he didn't spend nearly half his time texting you either ways.

"Enjoying the story, han?"

of course han hadn't noticed changbin walk into his room. not when he was dutifully remembering every moment playing on the screen so he could talk to you about it later.

"yeah it's a nice show."

"i bet the person who recommended it is real nice too, huh?"

"hyung!"

changbin wished he could take a picture of the blush spreading across jisung's face and down his neck and send it to you with a message in big bold letters reading THIS MAN IS IN LOVE WITH YOU PLEASE ACKOWLEDGE HIM!!! but jisung would go wild so he chose the safer option of leaning again the younger boy's door frame, a teasing smirk playing at his lips.

"do you like this show better than the one you finished watching last week, which was also recommended by y/n?"

"i am not watching these shows just because y/n likes them."

"oh ok, so you're not going to text them about this episode the instant you're done watching it?"

"nope."

"good! so you don't mind if i text them about it instead? because i just finished the show last night."

it was a lie, obviously, but han was immediately scrambling up from his position on the bed, trying to convince changbin against it while trying not to blow his cover.

"just tell them you like them, jisung, y/n's not gonna avoid you for it."

"chan hyung just finished teasing me about this too, please don't start again."

changbin wished he could record han whining his denials too, because he couldn't believe how whipped someone could be.

that was until jisung's phone vibrated with a notification, and his disbelief only grew as he watched his member's eyes light up. jisung kept only your notifications on, so it was obvious who had texted him. all thoughts of changbin were forgotten as jisung eagerly read whatever you had sent, typing back his response immediately, earning a snort from changbin. jisung was known among their friend group for being a ghoster, but of course he was texting you back immediately. changbin knew he wasn't going to get any more responses when han didn't even look up from the screen.

"you better confess soon or im going to text them from your phone one day."

"you wouldn't dare!"

"i most certainly would."

changbin cackled as he left the younger boy shouting indignantly from his room. he knew the seven of them would breathe a sigh of relief only when han finally came clear to you about his feelings. until then, all they could hope for was the boy mustering the courage required to do so quick.

©lixie-phoria, 2023

tags : @lethallyprotected @dreamingaboutjisung @selcayuri @bangchansbae @aak22 @foxinnie8 @hamburgers101 @starlostlaiba (send an ask to be added/removed!)

[eeboshmeebo]

Perfection in Pettiness

Reader x Neito Monoma, obsessive reader, GN reader

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

It all started when you first saw him. The memory was still vivid, as he overshadowed everyone else in your sight.

He was laughing, making fun of the others in the room as he kept talking. His facial expression was full of life, details you've never seen on other people's faces were visible on his. Somehow, his white pupils didn't remind you of a week-old dead fish but instead seemed like blue chalcedony inlaid into snow-white quartz.

His thin lips, delicate but hiding a voice louder than his princely appearance. He isn't a 'stereotypical' flirty and annoying kind of person, not at all...

And most of all, he didn't seem to care if you stared or not. Like right now, as he was picking a fight with the red-haired boy you forgot the name of.

That voice...

"And this is why you 1-A losers can't beat us, you don't even have a balanced diet!"

"Not cool, man! I eat loads of proteins since I work out a lot!"

You knew better. A workout diet would need more than deep-fried foods and a fruit cup, berries and veggies would be needed as well for the minerals and vitamins. Another reason why, though...

You had memorized Monoma's diet, a filet mignon with broiled vegetables and olive oil garnish, along with a light sauce and cranberry juice to wash down everything AND a small flan to top it all off, if your eyes saw correctly. A treat. He must be having a good day to get some extra sugars intentionally.

There was also another reason why you were standing behind him. It was so Kendo couldn't touch him. So she couldn't interrupt him... but when he put his food down, you struck by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello, Monoma! Doing fabulous today, as always?"

He froze up under your touch mid-rant out of shock, and so did Kirishima. Being unnoticed was simply an ability at this point.

"...Of course I am, much more than you losers that can't even eat correctly!" He loudly proclaimed, but you could see that he was getting a cold sweat on the back of his neck. Nervous, was he?

"Glad to see that my acquaintance is doing well."

You patted his shoulder with a smile on your face before you went to a secluded corner in the cafeteria to sit down.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kirishima never liked you. He was fine with everyone else, but you? You always looked at everyone with a disinterested gaze and always forgot their names, whether they be your friends or classmates.

Carefree, he thought pf you once. Forgetful and carefree. However, when Monoma came into the picture, your eyes gleamed with affection and interest as you ignored everyone else in the room.

However... he didn't like Monoma, no matter how much he tried to. Besides, it was a bit satisfying to see him freeze and shut up whenever you surprised him.

Not telling anyone wouldn't hurt. Monoma would need to learn how to be nice once in a while, right? Right!

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

Three hours later.

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

He felt like he was being watched. Always watched. Even in his own dorm, he felt like he was being watched.

That couldn't be.

There were no stalkers in a Hero School. Of course he wasn't being watched! He wasn't! He was safe!

That's what Monoma told himself, at least, as he read one of his comics. One of them had been switched out, one of the older ones he forgot to buy a new version of and was somehow replaced with a mint-condition comic still in the plastic wrapping. Maybe Shihai snuck into his room and pitied the state of the book.

A flash in the window drew his eye as he put down the book and set it on the bed with a bookmark in it, grumbling as he stood up and got his slippers on.

"I hope it isn't one of Shihai's pranks again, ugh..."

He opened the window and stepped onto the balcony, looking around suspiciously.

"Shihai, is that you? This isn't funny, it's already late and you should be studying!" He called out, but he got no response.

...

"...maybe it was just a lizard or a bird or something." He mumbled to himself, but as he stepped back inside, he made sure to keep his window securely closed.

He settled himself on his bed, kicking off his slippers and moving under the sheets to continue reading the comic he put down earlier.

The sense of unease didn't go away, even as he settled and dozed off.

Outside, you crawled up from underneath the balcony and smiled when you saw him before you retreated.

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

Throughout the month, you got bolder. Started complimenting him more, started getting him gifts and homemade treats you knew he'd like but not too much. Just 'coincidental'. Started hanging around him more. Started openly standing up for him, and if asked 'What do you see in him?' you'd reply 'Everything'.

That's how much he was worth, after all. Everything. The most gorgeous, clever, amazing person you could ever lay your eyes on, and he'd be yours.

That perfect skin, those pearly eyes, that wonderful voice and smile, and that dazzling personality.

Yes, he'd be yours... all yours. One day. You'll just have to catch the opportunity.

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

Part one.

[one-idea]

Maybe consuming media where parallel dimensions exist has rotten my brain. (The spider verse, years of comic book, au fanfics) but worlds were little changes change the whole world are just fascinating to me.

I’ve seen stories were Luffy is the one that dies at Marineford. Where Luffy is the older sibling. Where Shanks or someone else arrives in time to save Ace. I’ve seen Kuina lived and takes Zoro’s place on the straw hats. But what I haven’t seen is a reverse straw hat crew.

Let me explain myself.

Shanks isn’t the only Yonko vacationing in the east blue, Whitebeard takes a break there as well. Meeting a young Ace. This Whitebeard knows his time is limited but sees a future for Ace. He can’t take the boy with him but they promise to meet again one day when Ace is a great pirate, a pirate great enough to take Whitebeard place in the world. The rest of the back story (meeting Luffy, Sabo, everything) stays intact and Ace sets out at age 17. (I was going to have him meet Shanks instead of Luffy but Luffy and Shanks’ relationship is important to me and will play a role later)

Where he meets 17 year old Kuina. (She is 1 year older then Zoro, and he was one year younger then Ace so they would be the same age) in this world Zoro is the one who died. He was the only one who believed that she could be the strongest swordsman, he didn’t care about her gender. They promised that one of them would be the strongest swordsman in the world and then he died. Now at 17 she is on a journey to be the world’s best swordswoman.

The two start traveling together where they meet Nojiko, a thief, she’s an okay navigator but not as good as her sister. She speaks fondly of her sister but doesn’t mention her village (or the pirates there) Ace instantly likes her, no it’s not because he gets to trade stories with her about how great Luffy is vs how great Nami is. Kuina enjoyed their stories but her heart hurts a bit at the fact she doesn’t have the same number of stories of her ‘dumb little sibling.’ But strangely Nojiko only tells stories about young Nami.

They keep going and meet a sickly girl named Kaya. She was visiting the shipyard while they were looking to get a new ship. Kuina recognizes Kaya’s brand new butler as Kuro and none of the crew are going to let him take advantage of Kaya. (Ace and Nojiko are over protective siblings and Kaya is the same age/a year younger than their siblings. And Kuina has to much honor plus she just really likes to fight) they save Kaya but the girl realizes that there is no life for her in Syrup village. There are just to many traumatic memories for her there so she joins the crew. Bring with her a brand new ship and a boat load of beri. (She leaves behind most of her fortune to Usopp and Merry, knowing they will take care of it until Usopp is ready to sail.

The crew travels on to a floating restaurant where they meet red leg Zeff and his apprentice Reiju. Her backstory is the same and Sanji, her and Zeff trapped in an island. It isn’t until much later that the crew finds out about her connections to Germa 66 and what happened to her beloved little brother Sanji.

The Baratie arc goes about the same with Kuina getting defeated by Mihawk, and Nojiko stealing the boat and the money.

They track Nojiko down and find out what Arlong did to her village. How he killed her sister to send a message to the village and imprisoned her mother. Using Bell-meré’s Marine knowledge to expand his territory and threatening Nojiko and the villages lives to keep her cooperating. So much about Nojiko makes sense. How she only tells stories about young Nami, why she cared so much about Kaya’s money. As they learn about her trying to buy her village back.

Arlong obviously breaks their deal. How can he keep Bell-meré in line without her daughter and village as leverage.

Needless to say Ace, Kuina, and Reiju burn the place to the ground (Kaya helps as she can but she’s still getting used to fighting)

They sail on with Bell-meré’s blessing.

When they get to the grand line they meet two fools named Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday. But it’s not what you think. Mr. Nine is Koza. Vivi told him about the danger their country was in and he went in her stead. (At this time he is 17 and she is 13, but when he left he would have been 15 and she 11)

The crew agrees to help him, (Ace is thrilled to have another dude on the team) when they meet a mysterious women with white hair called Miss All Sunday. The encounter is very similar to Robin’s introduction.

They sail on to little Garden. Kaya has a great time meeting the giants (thrilled to tell Usopp about them one day) but also starts to really work on mastering a weapon.

They leave with a slowly sickening Nojiko. They stop at Drum Island to get her help where they meet and eccentric Doctor who helps them. His name? Dr. Hiriluk. He tells them about how he was deathly ill when his son cured him by accidentally giving him a Devil fruit. A Zoan type fruit. Specifically the, reindeer model. Unfortunately his son was killed by Drum’s island king for being a ‘monster’

Needless to say Wapol gets his butt handed to him. Dr. Hitiluk, seeing his country free and his dream fulfilled decided to join up with the crew to live out Chopper’s dream of curing all diseases.

They continue on, freeing Arabasta. With Koza staying behind to help rebuild his country, but he might rejoin 👀. As their sailing away someone makes themselves know. The mysterious white hair woman is on their ship and joining their crew, her name? Nico Olivia.

I’ll cover more of this later. I have so many ideas. But all of this to say. Imagine this crew meeting the straw hat crew. Something crosses their Dimensions into one another and Luffy gets to see Ace, Zoro gets to see and adult Kuina. Nami gets to see Nojiko and hear about their mother’s blessing their life of piracy. Usopp and Kaya meeting when both of them are competent warriors of the sea. Reiju reuniting with Her brother Sanji (I haven’t even told you what happened to Sanji in this world!) Chopper and Hiriluk. Robin and Olivia.

(I did this for Ace and Luffy and Zoro and Kuina but I think Sanji, Robin and Chopper will rip my heart out more)

Let me know what you think.

Master post

Part 1/2

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[kaijuparfait]

I saw ur tags about indulging in the body horror aspect of the Symbiote/Host dynamic and im just here to say: do it >:3

YES.

GOD. ok so. I've always enjoyed the concept of body horror, not all the way, but it looked cool in art! But! Recently Symbrock (and Venom as a whole) has turned that up to 100- both in a "Wow! Cool alien creature biting people's heads off! >:D" way, but also in a "The goo is in his organs, his tissue, his cells... how romantic!" way.

And, if you'll excuse me, I'll only be talking about my (limited) knowledge/headcanons with Symbrock because I haven't read all the comics yet so this is all with Eddie and the Venom Symbiote in mind-

Firstly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone mention how the Symbiote can enter/exit it's Host's body through their skin, without damaging the Host. There's no wounds, just the easy slide in between layers of cells, Venom can be as solid as they want but can also come together so seamlessly, its like watching someone fold a deck of cards.

Even on a psychological standpoint, the idea of actually being "Venom". Singular. Not "We" are Venom. But the idea of two beings, from different sides of the universe, coming together perfectly as one being, one mind, one consciousness. A bit of an OC ramble, I have this OC that goes into this idea of acting as one being and I'll talk about them later but WOAH is it fun. The sheer intimacy of it.. not losing your own self, but simply combing it with another to create something- someone new.

Ok onto the actual body horror-

I am not normal about the Symbiote literally being in Eddie's blood. Blood is everywhere in the body, anywhere you poke, blood will come out- and in that, the Symbiote, ready to heal the wound.

Speaking of healing wounds, and also this post because I keep rereading it, it makes me ill, the Venom Symbiote truly sees it's Host as it's home. and that does something to me. The way it keeps the body healthy, like how you would clean your house, no longer having to worry about illnesses or infections; how it heals any injuries, like fixing a broken wall, repainting it, like there was no damage in the first place.

Knowing it's home so well, able to know what's wrong and how to make it right. Complete and utter devotion to it's beloved home, the one that keeps it safe, willingly, lovingly let's it- wants it inside to keep it safe. To know that something that could tear apart planets if it so wanted to, something that bares it's rows of teeth as a natural expression, something that has destroyed countless lives- to know something like that gently rests in the space between your organs because it wants to. And how much you want it to too.

And this goes both ways too! When they're Venom and get hurt, they way the Symbiote peels away from the body is.. its amazing that the Symbiote can be torn away from it's Host. When Eddie gets hurt, the Symbiote comes out, from inside- When Venom gets hurt, instead of blood or organs, it's Eddie at the center, but he acts as the same anyways. Eddie is the Symbiote's life, he is it's heart, carefully tucked away and protected.

Even though Eddie doesn't particularly enjoy eating people's brains, he comes up with a compromise for the 2 of them anyways, he buys tons of chocolate for it to eat too, and that adds up for a guy that is living in a one room flat. and AND AND I will never get over how, in LTBC, Venom leaves all the red m&m's, because the red dye is said to be harmful to humans in large amounts, so even though it's one of the few things it needs to live, it refuses it to keep Eddie- it's Host- it's home safe.

and, I mean, Venom totally could eat Eddie if it so wanted to, in the first movie, Eddie's literally going through.. several organ failures- but Venom puts him back together, back better! and i am suddenly ill-

excuse my weird ideas but hhhhhh Eddie being torn apart and put back together..... yeah. how much trust is needed for that? how much love is shown from letting it consume his flesh and bones, from it eating the thing it loves the most, from it knowing every ridge and curve of every organ and cell to put everything back where it was?

how much love is needed to destroy something, to be destroyed, and come back together?

also Trust Exercise is a dang good fic, i need more of this. please. or i'll start making it myself (i'll do it anyways)

This, too, can go both ways, I am a big fan of swapping how Eddie and Venom and portrayed, both in canon and in fanon, just for the fun of it- and I'm just saying... let Eddie tear apart the Symbiote! maybe Eddie wants to rip it apart with his teeth and bare hands! Let them fight and rip each other apart, but with love <3 (oh fight/sparring scenes between friends/lovers, how i love you so)

you can't really see it well, and i'll make a better show of it later, but my design for (movie) Eddie has sharp teeth and that isn't for no reason. I.... ADORE the idea that, after being Venom for so long, Eddie starts adapting parts of them into his "normal" body- sharper teeth, clouded eyes, maybe even some of his skin is pitch black too, just because it makes him feel like Venom in his everyday life, even a little bit.

ough i need to lay down after that but- THANK YOU so much for asking me this, this was such a treat to let out, it's like a weight has been lifted off me lmao

i'll probably have more on this topic later on, but i'll probably use those ideas for art/writing, i love thinking about them :3

EDIT: ALSO ALSO ALSO the way the Venom Symbiote literally goes against it's very nature to love Eddie, it goes against what every other Symbiote does, it betrays it's entire race and planet- JUST TO BE VENOM WITH EDDIE <3

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

BRO IM OBSESSEDDDDDDD WITH THE ABNER SMUT U DID OH MY GOD IM ON MY HANDS AND KNEES FOR A PART TWO

maybe reader gets to break him out by any chance 👀👀👀👀

Broken Collars, Lovingly Tethered - Abner Krill/Reader

Warnings: No use of Y/N, gender-neutral reader, masturbation, a bit of violence, amateur surgery (you'll see, it's not bad), grinding, fingering, sex, and a ton of kisses.

Wordcount: 5965

Summary: Your visits weren't as free as before, but since when did that ever bother you? Maybe all you really needed was an opportunity, and, based on the whispers in the club where you worked, one was approaching very fast.

Notes: I've been wanting to write this the second I posted the first one and then got this ask hehe

You weren’t surprised when you returned a week later and found your next visit to be a little more crowded than the last one, your chair stuck opposite his as two guards took up the sides and made sure there were no more… inappropriate moments. Their presence made Abner nervous, his focus on them more than you as they sat back and didn’t pay attention but also refused to leave, his hands cuffed to the table to make sure there’d be no temptation. You, however, were free to move around, and you reached forward to hold his hands as your foot stuck out and urged him to do the same for an extra bit of contact.

‘Whoa, we’ve seen where that leads,’ the guard to your right warned when he noticed your new position, and you linked your fingers with Abner’s as a show that you were just as chained as he was.

‘No funny stuff this time, promise,’ you swore as the one to your left also looked up, Abner faltering even more now that they were both staring, ‘I just wanna talk to him, you know I’m harmless.’

‘I know you’re horny,’ Righty sneered, Lefty snickering on your other side. ‘You can get plenty better company than this guy anywhere else, you do know who he is, right? You’re just deranged and desperate and not actually dumb with a death wish?’

‘I’d prefer it if you didn’t talk about Abner when he’s right here,’ you just barely refrained from snapping, your hands holding his even tighter when he tried to pull away in humiliation. ‘And no, I’m none of those, I just really like him.’ The guards scoffed almost comically on time with each other as Abner stilled, and you looked him in the eye as you leaned forward until you were stopped by the hand on your shoulder. ‘I like you,’ you repeated to him, and he sat up a little more confidently when you were forced back into your chair.

‘Okay, we get it, you can keep buying this room every week until you end up broke but you can’t buy a bed in this place, so get on with your talking already before the big guy upstairs decides this isn’t worth it anymore.’ Righty went back to his phone as he talked, and you pursed your lips as you kept your leg pressed to Abner’s, his hands now as far as the chains would allow, and when you started talking about how your week had been it was like you were alone again as the other two disappeared into the background.

You kept your visits to the weekend when you were able to get done work a little earlier, the money ramping up as you filled your weekdays with as many hours as you possibly could in order to continue paying for these visits. It was expensive though, you hated to admit it but $300 every week was fine when you had savings, but you saw the bottom line when you went to pay the bills, this wasn't doable to keep it up, not on your salary. You bit your lip as you checked your bank online, went over how much it’d take out of you to pay to see him instead of settling for the calls again, but even as you did the math in your head you knew you couldn’t bear to sit across from him with that glass in the way again, not after last week.

You shut the lid of your laptop and almost stomped the few feet into bed, your body flopping onto the mattress as you tried to shove the frustration away. You knew by now everything you could about him, there was no point in counting down the days on your calendar until he’d be set free, not with his record and what he’d done even after his nearly secret mission on Corto Maltese shaving off ten years. He’d still be well into his hundreds by the time the sentence was up, and by then you’d both be gone, no, you needed to do something about this rampant unfairness now that you had found him. 

You huffed and let your hands rest on your stomach, picturing him walking away from you again the day before, how he had looked so unhappy that he hadn’t even gotten a chance to hug you after your admission of feelings when he was unchained from the table. He’d been rushed out fast, no time for them to risk anything the moment you also stood, Righty taking Abner while Lefty practically had to hold you back from a goodbye kiss. You felt frustrated by it all over again, your surge of adrenaline as he’d been shoved past you making your chest heave; you needed him again, you couldn’t remember what his mouth tasted like already after those brief moments, heat traveling down you as your fingers teased the waistband of your pajama shorts.

He’d been so close and warm, if you closed your eyes you could still see him, feel him panting under your hands as his own wandered over you so he could commit you to memory as well, hear the way his breath hitched when you’d grabbed him. ‘Shit,’ you muttered as you reached into your pants, palming yourself over your underwear as you felt the desire take hold again; you hadn’t lasted long after you’d gotten home, barely making it to the bed before you were panting into your pillow and fisting your sheets, your hand moving so good between your legs, the same hand that had made him come not even a half hour before.

You needed him, you couldn’t keep paying but you needed to be near him again, and as you slid your hand into your underwear and let out a sigh you knew that you were ready to do anything to be able to make that happen.

You still saw him next Saturday as planned, but before you sat you made sure to walk to his side of the table. You had the same guards with you, they were probably the poor saps stuck with this job, but they still took it seriously as they stood and got out their batons, ready to beat you back if you dared break the rules again. ‘I just want a hug,’ you said carefully, and when they didn’t sit you tossed more money onto the table. ‘You were right, I can’t keep spending this much, so if I have to cut back to only one of these a month I at least want a hug from my boyfriend.’

‘Boyfriend?’ Abner quickly looked up, his cheeks so pink as he stared in disbelief, and you almost emptied your wallet onto the table next as the urge to kiss him nearly overtook you.

‘Yeah, that is, if you wanna be?’ you asked, having obviously assumed you were some kind of dating after you shoved your hand down his pants. ‘Do… do you wanna go out with me, Abner?’

He looked ready to nod but the joy died down as he looked around, his hands still latched to the table when he couldn’t pull you into that hug as a reply. ‘Are you sure? We can’t really go out here,’ he murmured like he expected you to not have thought of that, like you’d take it back just like everything else you never did, and you gave both guards a look before crouching down and wrapping your arms around him.

‘Maybe for the right price we can walk around the yard someday if you wanna literally go out,’ you suggested, but the resulting snicker around the table told you you’d have less luck with that one. ‘But even if I’m stuck talking to you through a phone until I can see you in here again, I still wanna date you.’

He looked like he wanted to answer you, his mouth opening and closing before he leaned forward and caught you off guard, his lips crashing into yours and instantly making you end the hug to grab him by the head to hold him in place since he couldn’t do the same. The guards were on you so unfairly fast, your heart pounding as he tried to chase after your mouth until Righty and the cuffs forced him back. His lips were deviously pink from the kiss to match his cheeks, and you couldn’t hide the small laugh when you saw that he was already starting to get hard from just that as Righty pushed him back into his chair.

‘You promised,’ Lefty chastised you as he hauled you to the door, your fight or flight kicking in when you caught on that you weren’t sitting down.

‘I didn’t lie! He kissed me first, I just wanted the hug, I swear,’ you corrected him, your hand gripping both him and the doorway as Abner called out to you, and it must’ve been so pathetic that even he, a guard at Belle Reve, couldn’t drag you out of there after just a kiss. ‘I won’t do it again, next week will be by phone so I really wanna talk to him like this today, please.’

He sighed and let you go, Righty sitting down again but not before taking off his mask to push aside his blonde hair, his eyes already tired as they looked between such strange star-crossed lovers. ‘Don’t make us regret this,’ he muttered as he snatched up the hug money and split it between him and Lefty, who also sat down with a groan. You nodded and sat down as well finally, keeping your hands to yourself while your leg touched his out of sight, it good enough for the both of you as you watched him lick his lips, the memory of what he tasted like hopefully enough to keep you going for the next three weeks.

‘I do,’ he mumbled the moment you went to speak, your smile growing as he fiddled with the chain keeping him away from you, ‘I do wanna date you, by the way.’

You saved up all that you could as the next month went on, even more extra hours picked up over the weekend as soon as your meeting was over. It did indeed suck to have to talk to him through the phone again, the partition not even allowing your shoes to touch, his voice so faint and scratchy through the receiver, and when it was over and you had to watch him leave through the glass you knew you had to do this no matter what the consequences to yourself were.

Every week you tossed more money into the envelope on your dresser, dishing out all the big tips and keeping the smaller bills for yourself so you could grab a cheap meal, you could get groceries when this was over, a full cart would add up fast and you didn’t want that. Everything else that was deposited electronically was stored away, split between your debit account and your savings, your credit card thankfully empty thanks to never having the need to buy anything once your apartment was full of the necessities. It all added up by the time you got to toss the $300 to Righty when he met you by the prison doors, he knew your schedule and you were never late, so he’d started meeting you there to save some time. 

You lifted your shirt to your ribs to show you had nothing hidden as always, same with your ankles, your walk through the metal detectors giving the same answer as well, and Lefty looked up and gave you the smallest wave of recognition as you walked in and saw him and Abner already waiting. You nodded back and handed them both $50 more, Abner not kissing you this time as you hugged him tight until one of them coughed and signaled that that was long enough.

‘Keep waiting for me,’ you whispered in his ear, your voice so low that neither would hear with their masks on, ‘something is going to happen soon, so be patient, okay?’

He didn’t question you out loud as you stood and walked to your seat, and this time you got to hold his hands as you talked about everything and anything until your time was up again and you had to rush back to work.

The envelope was sealed tight, the glue licked and then the back taped for extra security, the paper bulging from everything stuffed inside as you tucked it into your pocket and snuck out into the night. It would be happening soon, your perceived naivety at the club paying off as you walked past the other civilians just trying to get home or get drunk. You were a ghost tonight, heading right for danger as you reached the line of shops across from the bank, the time on your phone telling you that it was happening any minute now, you were right on time.

It sure did pay to be just out of sight when the local bad guys were openly discussing their plans at your place of work.

‘Three, two, one…’

The front of the bank exploded into sight and sound, with Superman no longer around and Batman stuck in Gotham they’d have loads of time to load up and head out, all the important people in the city robbed blind as you just stood there and remained in the shadows. They were loud, confident that they’d get away with this as their getaway van pulled into sight, and you checked your phone again as you mentally timed how long it would take to get from Belle Reve to there. Again your timing was perfect as a random team of villains showed up along with a bunch of officers in an armoured truck, the money considered a big enough deal to get Waller to drop out a fast team to protect it all thanks to the complaints of the locals you had to bet, and you stood up straight when you saw Abner join the others with the specific instructions to please not melt the money.

Guns fired and powers lit up the area as he stayed behind, aiming for those trying to escape, his job to bring the bags to the safety of the truck you noticed as the others did all the dirty work, what had to be a grenade going off and making you duck as you snuck along the shops to get closer to him. He was good at his job, not at hand to hand by any means but as soon as he threatened to turn on his gauntlets they folded, their guns forgotten now that they knew what was inside of him, the thought of him letting it all out if he died like a bomb obviously on their minds. You felt proud of him as you watched him bring two more bags back to the truck, and when he glanced your way you flashed your phone to get his attention.

He paused, unsure if you were friend or foe, and you stepped into the moonlight just enough to show yourself before beckoning him to come over, which he gladly did as everyone else remained preoccupied. ‘I-I got him!’ he shouted before running like he had spotted another runaway, no one paying him any mind as another grenade went off and nearly toppled over the van, and when he met you in the alley he pressed you into the wall and kissed you like he hadn’t just seen you the other night. You kissed him right back, unlatching his mask and letting his goggles hang around his collarless neck as you held him so close against you it was hard to tell where he ended and you began. ‘I waited,’ he panted against your mouth, and you kissed him again and resisted the urge to take off more than just his mask.

‘I know,’ was all you could say before you were tugging him further into the darkness and back towards your apartment, ‘we gotta go, they’re bound to notice you’re gone soon.’

‘Wait, what’re we-’

‘Freeze.’ You turned to see Righty standing in the alley opening, his gun drawn as he pointed it at the two of you, your arm in front of Abner as he instantly reached for his gauntlet to turn it on. ‘You know I can’t let you go any further, you can’t pay me to turn a blind eye this time.’

‘Wait, please, let me-’ you started, but when you reached for the envelope he fired just to your left, the bullet hitting the wall and making you jump at the warning. ‘It’s for you, it’s not a weapon,’ you tried again, and he waited until you pulled out the money and showed him both sides, nothing else in your hand as Abner tensed behind you. ‘There’s almost $5000 in here, just let me take him home for the night, you can catch him again in the morning,’ you offered, and he looked ready to consider it before the fight made him look back at the commotion still going on behind him. 

This deal was dangerous, this wasn't just you paying for a handjob and not enough kisses, this was him trusting you to keep your word for not nearly enough money, but it was all you had on hand, and he was right behind you, holding your jacket as he waited for your word to tell him to be the villain you all knew he could be. You didn’t want that though, if you could get out of there with this now familiar face still intact then you would, and you knew he was thinking the same as he looked at the money again. A third grenade went off, a car successfully flipping this time and lighting all three of you up in the fiery glow, and he frowned conflictingly before aiming the gun at the ground and motioning for you to throw the money over.

You did just so, tossing it over the gap for him to catch, and he put his gun away for just a second to cut open the top and peer inside. You weren’t lying, you never lied when it came to Abner and he knew it, and he shoved the money under his bulletproof vest before aiming at you again. ‘You’ll send him back for us to catch tomorrow morning?’ he repeated, and even though you’d offered it you couldn’t bring yourself to confirm it as Abner held you just a little tighter.

‘I…’ you attempted to say, and Righty swore to himself as he stared down his own problem. ‘Get outta town, don’t be here when they can’t find him,’ you finally managed to say, his eyes still on the both of you as another cop yelled for him, Lefty’s voice calling over the street to see if he was still alive, it was now or never. 

‘You’re fuckin’ crazy,’ he sighed angrily at you, and even though he had all the time in the world to stop you, he surprised you by aiming the gun at his own shoulder and firing. He bit back a yell as a spray of blood filled the air, and he waved for you to just go as he stumbled back into the light and said was instantly surrounded by the others. ‘Krill chased one of them down the other street and I followed, bastard shot me and bailed, no idea what happened to Krill,’ you heard him lie before he became too far away, your hand holding Abner’s as you weaved through the streets until you were heading for home.

‘There’s- there’s a bomb,’ he panted as you ran, your legs not slowing as you led the way, ‘in my neck, if it gets back to Waller that I’m gone-’

‘They’ll look for the money first, they think you need your cage, remember?’ You prayed it’d turn out like that, his outfit so bright in the darkness as you finally reached your place; you’d left your window open ahead of time just for this, the fire escape bringing you both up and in where it was safe, but you didn’t waste a second as you then sat him down and raced to the bathroom. You busted open one of your razors in order to get the blade, and you had just enough time to apologize before he understood and leaned forward. 

‘I heal fast, a side effect of the virus,’ he encouraged you when you hesitated, and you just grit your teeth and made the incision. He guided you as you worked, the bomb so small you had to grab your tweezers to carefully pull it out, and when it was out you placed it on the edge of your fire escape and watched as he opened just a slot on his gauntlets and detonated it with one of his dots. To them it’d look like he’d been killed by the runaway criminal, they wouldn’t look for him right away now, he was safe, he was free.

You wrapped the blade in an old cloth and tossed it out as Abner turned to face you, a few dots still flying free outside as they looked for a target, blood staining the back of his costume, his face smudged with dirt and bruised from the fight, but still his smile was so big as he watched you. There was a moment of catching up between you as you just stared at each other, but when he then took off his gauntlets and placed them on your table you hurriedly wiped your hands off on your jeans before you were meeting in the middle and kissing like tomorrow would never come.

Your attempts to clean your hands were quickly undone as you grabbed him by the back of the neck and made him hiss, the area still tender even though the skin had indeed already healing back up, your fingers painted red as he pressed you into the side of your couch. You were quick to slide over the arm and fall back, his knees locking and making him fall forward with you, and he apologized for his weight as you just laughed and scooted back enough for him to crawl forward and straddle you. 

‘I’ve wanted this for so long,’ you told him as the cushions sank underneath you, your hands trailing red over coloured dots when you had no idea where to start to get this damn costume off of him. ‘I can’t believe you’re finally here…’

‘Me either,’ he sighed as he did the work for you, his pants straining even more than usual with how tight everything was in all the right places. He practically threw the jacket across the room, a long-sleeved shirt regrettably underneath it, but you could handle that as you pushed it up and over his head. ‘You’re-’

‘-Beautiful,’ you accidentally finished for him, and he was, he really was even as he looked down and realized how much of him was showing; just because he could heal fast didn’t mean that the virus could remove the scars, and there were so many from all his years at not only Belle Reve but S.T.A.R. Labs as well you’d come to learn, some of them even circular from what had to be his own powers. He turned away from you and tried to cover himself, clearly more ashamed than turned on, but you just gently pulled his hands away and placed them back over your waist and your cheek, his eyes opening hopefully as you rolled your hips under him. ‘Do you want this?’ you asked again, and he just nodded before leaning down to kiss you again. ‘Then who’s gunna stop us this time?’

He groaned into your ear at your eagerness, and you kissed his bare neck before making him get up; you stood on shaky legs and led him to your bedroom next, a quick stop to the ensuite bathroom to clean up and strip more delaying your final destination only a little, but you hadn’t exactly expected to do sudden surgery before you could get him in there. It felt all the more intimate after that, and this time when you crawled onto the bed he was the one underneath you as he let you take charge again. You wanted him to tell you what he wanted, two months of needing him making you ready to just tell him that he didn’t need to hold back anymore, but once you felt him under you, felt the way he already started to move his hips and stare up at you you knew that this was what he wanted.

He was free, he was in a comfy bed with you on top of him in a state of undress, no one was going to barge in before he could make you feel good this time, he was exactly where he wanted to be and the only thing holding him back was the fact that you didn’t know where to start.

You didn’t let him wait any longer, guiding his hands to work on your belt as you stripped off your shirt and tossed it aside, he was down to just his boxers now, and you licked your lips and grinded against him in order to encourage him to start moving. His voice was still soft as he did just that, using you as pressure between you sliding your pants as well as underwear off, his mouth falling open as you bared yourself to him. He looked like he could hardly believe it, that you wanted him so much you’d go this far, and you just laughed and kissed him as you took his hand and got him to touch you.

‘Fuck, that’s good,’ you told him as he gasped into your neck, he didn’t know what to do but he knew what he wanted as he conveyed it all through his actions, and when his motions evened out and he became more confident you ended up putty in his hand as your chest pressed into his. ‘Abner… I still want more, don’t end it so soon,’ you warned him as your climax started to build, but he just doubled down as he started kissing your neck, being so close to you just as addicting to him as it was for you.

‘Paying you back… from before…’ he mumbled into your skin, his hand moving faster as he gripped you by the ass and pulled you more into his reach.

‘But- I’m gunna-’

‘Then do it.’ He bit down hard and made you gasp, your eyes rolling back as you came onto his hand just as he’d done to you, every muscle tensing as he didn’t stop until you were oversensitive and keening desperately. Finally he stopped, his hand moving to his very hard cock as he pulled himself out, the mess on his hand only lubing him up as he bucked up between your thighs. ‘I want you, back when you touched me in that room, I knew I wanted you to be my first,’ he said before he could stop himself, his body stilling a little as you caught your breath. ‘That’s… pathetic, isn’t it? Knowing that I’m… The others always said so.’

‘Abner, I don’t care who you have and haven’t fucked, as long as I get to be with you tonight,’ you admitted to him, but when he still didn’t regain that bit of confidence you pressed a kiss to his chest and sat up again. ‘Look, you’ve been the only one on my mind since you saved the city two months ago, I spent literally thousands of dollars just to be able to talk to you in person, I risked my life tonight just on the chance I’d be able to get you here, do you honestly think I care whether you’re a virgin or not?’ 

His eyes met yours, he was a little more convinced, and you reached between your legs to take him in hand again, his head falling back into your pillows with such a delectable noise that it made your desire come back even faster. 

‘But if I were to be completely honest, knowing that I get to be the first one to feel you inside…’ You rubbed his length against yourself, letting exactly how it felt show on your face as he looked up at you like you were the hottest thing he’d ever seen. ‘I… I can’t think of anything I want more.’

He pulled you back down to kiss you again, his tongue finding yours fast as he took initiative and jutted up against you, helped you want it enough that you couldn’t hold back, and when he finally pressed inside you the both of you just froze and breathed each others air as you slid down his length. You felt so full around him, his head thrown back again as your body became all he knew, and you knew he wouldn’t be able to last long again as you started to move. He tried to get you to stop, it was too much and he was worried about ruining this but you wouldn’t let him, controlling your pace as you peppered his neck with kisses and hickeys; there were places where the collar had dug in and scarred him, and you touched each one before kissing them, marking him as your own as your hips moved torturously up and down, his breathing so broken and without control as he panted.

He whispered the same pleas as before, begs for more getting you to move a little faster as you kissed the other side of his neck, his nails leaving behind faint scratches all over your back and thighs when he couldn’t stop himself from bucking. He was restraining himself so hard that it had to be making him cramp up, and you encouraged him again as you finished marking him and sat up. ‘Don’t make me do all the work,’ you teased as you rode him, Abner just blinking before grabbing you by the hips and thrusting hard. 

Your back arched and you braced yourself on his chest, his eyes shining when he saw that he was making you feel good too, like he’d forgotten that crucial part of having sex. He wanted to see it more, his own pleasure delayed as he bucked up again and again, he felt so good but knowing that he was able to do this to you was taking him over, and you eagerly let him make the switch from you riding him to him fucking you.

You praised him for it, he was making you feel so good, better than anyone else, you were his now, you’d been his ever since you’d shaken his hand that day; every word only made him move faster, harder, his inexperience definitely not felt as you felt your second orgasm build quicker than expected. He really was making you fall apart, your desire for him just as strong as his for you it just so happened to turn out, and when you started to get close you felt a little sentimental as you kissed him a little softer. He opened his eyes, staring up at you as you were fucked, his body not slowing even as you whispered that you loved him.

That was all it took, Abner holding you tight as he came inside, the stuttering of his hips urging you to ride it out until you were coming too, the room filled with his noises now that he didn’t have to stay quiet. You didn’t give a fuck about your neighbours, they could bang on the walls or ceiling or floor all they wanted as you kissed the noises out of him, loving the sound of his voice just for you. He panted your name over and over as he finally fell still, like he couldn’t remember any other word other than that, and you just smiled and laid on him until you noticed the shine on his cheek; he was crying, and you got up as concern took over your afterglow.

‘Are you okay?’ you asked as you gave him room to breathe, and he just looked up at you and pulled you back down for another kiss instead of answering.

‘I love you so much,’ he replied as another tear fell, ‘I didn’t think I knew how, not after everything she did to me, not anymore.’

You got off of him then, ignoring the emptiness you felt when you separated as you curled up next to him. ‘Do you want to talk about it? We have all the time in the world now,’ you offered, but he just shook his head, your eyes widening as he then faced you and got you to lie on your back so he could rest his head on your chest. 

‘No, I just want to stay with you until I need to release the dots, they’ll be appearing by the morning, I didn’t get to use any in the mission,’ he murmured against you, your hand brushing his hair out of his eyes before you held him close, nothing able to take him away from you now.

‘That’s fine, we might have to leave if Ri- that guard ends up telling them I got you, they’ll be suspicious by Saturday if I don’t show up at the very least,’ you thought aloud, Abner only curling around you tighter at the thought of having to leave you again.

‘Where will we go? I don’t want you to lose your home,’ he said miserably, but you just kissed the top of his head and held his hand.

‘This is just an apartment, I’ll find another one in some other city, I hear Metropolis is pretty easy to sneak around without Superman, or there’s Gotham?’ He didn’t seem to like either, the thought of some other hero finding him and bringing him back making him nervous. ‘Of course, I also hear Canada is pretty cool this time of year.’

He looked up at you, like he still couldn’t believe you’d go so far just for him, and you trailed kisses over his forehead and nose until he couldn’t take the barrage and had to stop you with his mouth. ‘You really want this with me?’ he confirmed when he was safe again, your fingers linking with his your answer. ‘But the dots, and Waller, and-’

‘Abner, you told me that you skipped out on your freedom a year ago because you needed the safety of the collar,’ you reminded him seriously, ‘I’m not letting you do it again, not now that you’re with me; you followed me tonight, you didn’t have to but you did, you can’t tell me you don’t want this too.’ The words wouldn’t come out again, and your fingers brushed over the already healed scar on the back of his neck. ‘We’ll handle everything as it comes, whether it’s your dots or Waller catching on or whatever, but until then, please let yourself want this with me, okay?’

He nodded then, all traces of fear leaving him just for the moment, which was all you needed as he rested on top of you.

‘I love you Abner, and I won’t let anyone take you away again,’ you promised him, but he was already falling asleep as the sirens sounded outside, the cars driving by as they searched for him, a bright dot already forming just above his wrist.

[sualne]

Sorry if you're already working on this but with Luffy in Croc dad what's his hobby?? Like he's the biggest ball of energy and I think if wasn't fighting wild animals as a kid he would vibrate into another dimension from lack of stimulation. Does he draw and develop his art skills, has he taken up music or is he invested with the void century with Robin? Croc wants to keep him inside and safe so what did he think would be best to entertain him or does he buy a new thing every week that Luffy says he suddenly wants to do. Yes he looks at books but is that it. Also sorry if you answered this before and I've missed waht you said, I am pretty sure I've seen all your comics on this but I haven't seen all your ask answering questions.

i hadn't gotten these questions and im so glad you ask!! :D

so! luffy doesn't have one specific hobby and croc does end up giving him whatever he wants when he suddenly gets a new obsession, one of the reason he's so excited with finding the jewelry box and getting a dagger is because it's finally something new! after that he gets really into rings and knives until it gets bored of it and switch to something else again.

about him and learning about the void century with robin i actually got a comic later for that so i won't say anything here!

im going to make this a list and explain how it goes, under read more:

Fighting: this luffy doesn't know how to fight, but he still love the concept! he gets really excited hearing stories of fights, duels, martial arts and all the rest! In practice though, since he's been so sheltered and only ever saw one real fight that ended up with people being killed in front of him as a kid, if (haha) he were to witness another real fight he wouldn't be as giddy about it as when he hears stories. he does also learn the tiniest bit of kenpo from bonclay!

Dancing: luffy in canon loves dancing (and partying), here too! he doesn't know/master any specific styles but likes to drag people into dancing with him, if no one is around he'll grab some of the smaller bananawani instead.

Singing: he's still very bad at it.

Music: croc noticed how he'd taps on thing and tried to get him to learn some percussion, unfortunately for him, luffy doesn't care about music theory and just does whatever makes him happy. he also love loud noises and croc has to find a way to stop him from making a racket at any hours of the day, it gets worse when luffy loses some of his hearing and needs to make everything even louder. eventually he gets bored of it too.

Cooking: him and croc cooks together pretty often, if no one is there to supervise him luffy will ignore recipes and common sense, making all kind of abominations. it's a miracle he never set the kitchen on fire.

Bugs: he loves them! he collect them! alive. croc is horrified one day when he finds out baby luffy has been letting some food to rot so he could observes flies and larvae going through their little bug lives cycle. later croc gives him those pinned dead bugs collection boxes thinking luffy will like it, he doesnt.

Board&Cards Games: he mostly has to play them by himself, he doesn't like being alone so he'll often ends up playing it "with" the banawanis. after he loses a few too many times against the banawanis and can't get croc to join in for the millionth time he gives up on them. even when robin joins baroques works he still expect her to be too busy to play with him and doesn't ask (she would have accepted if he had asked).

Art&Craft: he tries a bit of everything, doing it his own way meaning most of it is kind of hideous or about to fall apart, canon luffy is completely fine with that, au luffy though, he's having ton of fun at first but when he gets old enough to see that his dad cant quite fake his enthusiasm or interest towards his disastrous creations he gets frustrated and stops for a while. later, robin finds an old drawing of his and thinks its cute so he start doodling a little again for her.

basically, he struggles keeping a hobby, some like fighting, dancing, bugs and staring at pictures in geography books he keeps through his life but mostly, he's very lonely and bored out of his mind, he's depressed, that's not something that can be helped for as long as he's isolated.

when robin becomes a part of his life everything gets better for him! she spends time with him, read stories for him, helps him get out more often, they even meet bonclay and for a few years he's genuinely happy.

[lol-jackles]

You do know that FBBC are still heavily producing and distributing beer, right? Before you start patting yourself on the back that the original brewery/land is being sold, you might want to get clued into the fact that distribution has been expanded to San Antonio and recently to Houston. The company and brand are positioning themselves to expand further. Don't think they will go back to the cute craft brewery, but as you have pointed out, craft breweries are not that profitable. Looks like they are going for a stronger business model.

You go on about the whole YANA thing. I have never understood why a select few in the fandom actually became jealous about a charity? Seems so small minded and petty. Regardless, YANA still exists and continues to do good things.

Yes I know about their distribution, I'm the one who pointed out 5 years ago all those bottling and canning equipment and the end products weren't for the taproom customers but meant for distribution because the Ackles were trying to go big because they want to make actual profit despite originally claiming that they would only sell beer at the brewery (X).

What did you think the $1000 membership package was about?  To get SPN fans to regularly go to FBBC to keep it afloat so they can keep making beer on site and then ship off site. Quite a turnaround when Gino cast dispersion toward SPN fans and said there will be no beer named after a "corny tv show" (X)

According to Gino, they plan to resume producing their own beer again once they find a location in Austin.

After they bought these top on the line brewing equipment and are now selling. That sounds like a "stronger business model" to you?

Surely you don't think the Ackles are going to sell off all the brewery equipment only to turn around and buy new equipment for the alleged 2nd location?  At best they should just open a small scale taproom and put Gino in there as the glorified bar tender.

Do you know people who had their beer made by somebody else?  I have. They have to pay for everything, or make compromises.  There is no in between. A specific yeast strain the contractors don't use?  Then you're going to have to pay for that, and the labor to keep it going, or do it yourself.  Oh wait, they can't because they closed down FBBC.

Breweries don't close because they'll make more money from contract breweries, if that's the case then why open your own brewery in the first place?

Let me break it down using another real life example:

If parents have a couple of kids going to the same college and overlap each other, instead of paying dorm fees or renting an apartment, they would buy a townhouse for their child/ren and rent out rooms to other students, which pays for the mortgage.  Then when the last child graduates, they sell the house for a profit.

See the difference between owning a brewery that doubles as a contract brewery (your house) vs paying everything to a contract brewery (college)?

What's going on is there is a saturation of craft breweries.  It's like in the late 90s when there was a huge surge in openings of comic shops.  Every collector dreamed of running his own place and thought a love for the product was enough to be successful. The market became saturated.  A couple years later, the trend reversed and it seemed another shop was closing every other week. The difference in making it or not largely rested on whether the owner had the skill set to run a business. Foresight. Customer relations. General business principles. And of course, the ones who had adequate funding. The market decided who made it and who didn’t.

That's what is going on in the current beer industry.  The hobbyists who thought they could be successful because they loved brewing but lacked the skill set to run a business are beginning to fall.

LOL nobody is jealous of YANA, people continue to be amused by it because of how badly it was executed and then failed. If YANA still exist and continues to do good thing, it's only because Jared bailed it out after both Misha and Jensen abandoned the public promise as mentioned here and here.

I remember back in my day a craft beer was “hey there’s a beer that’s $3.50 a bottle instead of $2 and it’s way better!”

Nowadays it’s “this craft beer is sourced with water collected from the Himalayas by free range howler monkeys and filtered through the wings of butterflies.  Oh and we can’t bother to be original so it’s an IPA loaded with hops.  $8 please”.

[sora-fish]

Hey guys, Autism Bob here, more Tangled!PD au!!

This one specifically is going more into Dakota and Vyncents backstory’s cause THEY INTERTWINE!!!! This is Knifekicks btw, so enjoy!!

There are small spoilers for season 2 of PD in here, they are labeled and really aren’t that big at all, but wanted to be more safe then sorry!!

STARTING OFF WITH DAKOTA!!!! In the post before this I kinda went off about his backstory, but here are some details I didn’t mention!!

This is a spoiler!!! -> Dakota Cole isn’t Kota’s OG name in this world either!! Instead, “Cole” was from a comic book Dakota read as a child, just like “Flynn Rider”. The comic books were really the only thing Dakota didn’t have trouble reading, so he found an inspiration in Master Cole- or the hero in the stories. From then on, he used Dakota Cole as a stage name of shorts- or in this case a thief name.

I wanna expand on a point I made in the last post, and kinda more explain why Dakota is ok with stealing in this AU. Well for one, he doesn’t enjoy it. Kota sees it as a need, and frankly it is. Basically living on his own as a kid and teenager, he couldn’t get a stable job to actually get the money to buy food and necessities- so he turned to the one thing he could do to live. That doesn’t mean he likes it- not at all actually. That is why he agrees to steal the crown in the first place. Mark is a bitch of a ruler, letting the crown collect dust for 18 years- and doesn’t even bother to help the people in his kingdom because he’s poured all his resources into finding one person. Dakota hopes the princess comes home safe, but he can’t help but look at every other person Mark has basically left to rot in HIS kingdom.

This is a very vague spoiler (I can’t remember if any of this was mentioned season 1 😭😭) -> That brings me to talk about Vyncent. Without everything happening with the greats, Vyncent actually did follow in his father’s footsteps pretty well. Because of that though, he’s always looking for a challenge. He’s basically the most competent person in the guard, earning him the head of the guard title, but he finds most things boring. Guarding the crown. Walking around town- it’s all busy work when he grew up listening to epic tales of what the greats did- and now he’s stuck guarding a crown all day. Later on in the story, if it goes past the end of the movie (which it probably will, already got thoughts about William after the Tangled plot ends) then I’ll probably experiment with some news coming back about what happened with the greats- but with no Vyncent there- their kinda just fucked? Cue rescue mission probably, PD having to watch Vyncent go through his trauma first hand maybe? Who knows!!!

But with the combined fact that Vyncent is bored by ‘busy’ work at the castle, and Dakota never really being caught- they kinda have a rivals relationship at the moment. Dakota is the one thief Vyncent can’t catch, and it’s finally a challlenge that Vynce needs to keep himself busy. On Dakotas side, it’s a fun chase every single time- something out of the comic books he used to read. With all of the greats gone, the guard isn’t what it used to be, but Dakota also appreciates the challenge. It’s serious business for Vyncent, and just a game to Dakota- but they both have fun in their respective ways.

When Vyncent finds Dakota traveling with Ashe and William, Ashe tries to get them to get along just like in the movie- and it works. Though it mostly is just the promise that as soon as Ashe sees the lanterns, all bets are off and they are back to the chase. That changed by the end obviously- and in contrast to the chase scene in the beginning, Vyncent helps Dakota escape jail and get to the tower.

In short - competitive Knifekicks save me, save me competitive Knifekicks

[thegeneralreturns]

Thoughts on THE CROW (2024)

You know that TikTok of that emo kid, sitting in the front seat of his car, screaming "MY HEARRRRRRRT! IIIIII LOOOOOOVED HERRRRRR!"? Well, this new version of The Crow is that for two hours.

This is not a criticism. In fact, shock of shocks, I found myself kinda... sorta... loving this movie.

The path that the 1994 version of The Crow found toward its cult reverence is one steeped in tragedy. The untimely passing of its lead Brandon Lee during filming gave a tinge of romance and lost potential to what was, in essence, a big, dumb action movie. A big, dumb action movie that boasted a solid lead performance and the pinnacle of nineties set design and cinematography, but a big, dumb action movie nonetheless. No matter how good he was when the cameras were on him, Lee wasn't cast because he was a master thespian. He was cast because he was Bruce Lee's kid, and that might move a few tickets. The Crow was Bob and Harvey Weinstein's play to get Miramax in a position to compete with Warner Bros. and Batman, and one of the most infamous on-set accidents in film history led to a periphery demographic of Goth kids that are still cosplaying, buying the soundtrack, and lighting candles thirty years later.

The 2024 version of The Crow appears to be an effort to legitimately make the film that that periphery demographic seems to have been seeing in a mirage for the past thirty years, and on that score, I think it succeeds. It's open-wound sincere love story between two druggie kids, the tragedy that separates them, and the passion that brings one of them back in a rain of bullets and blood. I saw someone on Twitter call it "Twilight for scumbags," and that person deserves a Pulitzer Prize. It's pitched at that level, only instead of long, interminable stretches of the two leads staring at one another, it's broken up by bad guys getting shot in the face. There is a place for this.

FKA Twigs plays Shelly, and it's as though she sprang fully-formed out of Tim Burton's head with her compact, twee, English-accented Gothness. But I find Bill Skarsgard's Eric to be genuinely endearing. Whereas Brandon Lee's rendition of the character was an Alpha Chad who came out of the grave knowing combat tactics, the Skarsgard take is troubled, though well-meaning, and seemingly doesn't have a plan in his quest for revenge beyond "They can die and I can't." And the sight of this gaunt tree-branch taking shotgun blasts at point blank range sells the enormity of the odds against him.

The love story and character aspects of this movie are so persuasive that when the action does eventually get here, it can't help but suffer in comparison. Rupert Sanders is no Alex Proyas, and while he nails the impact of violence, the actual geography seems to give him trouble. Is it just me, or does the opera house in the climax appear to have too few floors than the sequence requires?

So which one is better? I don't know, and frankly I don't care. In a rational world, we could show appreciation that James O'Barr's source material was strong enough to facilitate two wildly different cinematic approaches. But we don't live in a rational world, and remaking a mid-nineties comic book movie is tantamount to blasphemy.

But what I do know is that we're gonna get older. New folks are gonna move in. And when you ask them which version is better, the answer won't be as one-sided as you think. Because if there's one thing that literally every version of The Crow has thought me, it is this:

Nothing this earnest stays dead for long.

[claypigeonpottery]

Heyyyyy~ I'm just... So in love with all the work you do, they're all so precious and beautiful I'm in tears. Thank you so for what you do, can't wait to buy something you made soon :D

If it's okei, can you please tell the story of how you got into this and how did you progress from being babie artist to now growing artist and how long you've been doing this for? What's your top 3 fav works you've done? Did you eat good food today, if not please dooo. Thenks

thank you! that's very sweet x3 I'm excited to get more stuff fired and up on Etsy, hopefully before the end of June

.

choose three favourites of my work? oh, that is a difficult question.

one thing I really didn't like about my art when I was younger was that it was all very static. it was people sitting or standing, it was still life paintings. one of the things I'm really proud of in my work now is the sense of capturing a moment instead of someone posing, and/or giving a sense of movement

these two are just the opposite of static and I love them for that

and then there's this mug. the design is great, the details are great and I had so much fun carving it. it was honestly just delightful and I wish I'd kept it. I don't say that very often.

all sold

.

I'm putting the rest of this under a cut because I'm going to ramble

I started drawing because I was making silly comics about me and my friends in grade school and through high school (I assigned them all fursonas because I was a really cool 15 year old lol)

I got a little more serious about art in high school, but I never thought it'd be something I'd make money at.

when I was... in my early twenties? maybe 19 still? ah, memory issues, I went through a nine month art program, the 'Urban Canvas' project run by SCYAP (saskatoon community youth arts programming). the program is meant to support young artists, especially those with mental health or addiction issues. and it meant I got paid to draw and paint and create weird shit for 40 hours a week, for nine months. and then some (seven? eight?) years later I got to go through the program again which... honestly I'm so grateful I got to do that. (and SCYAP still supports me, they give me a table at their craft show every year and helped me with my first solo gallery show)

these are some of the pieces I made during my time at SCYAP:

and two very rare pictures of me, posing with two of my master studies. the left from when I was 20ish, and the right when I was... 27ish? (man I'm still proud of that Gentileschi copy)

.

it was after SCYAP when I started thinking that I could actually make money as an artist. so I painted more than a dozen murals, drew a 20-some page full colour comic, painted pet portraits, and sold my own paintings. commissions were more reliable than selling my own work for a long time lol

as for how I got into pottery, my mental health uh... haha. it took a nosedive about six years ago and during some of the worst of it, I was severely agoraphobic. my mom, who has always supported my art, offered to take me to pottery classes with her, in an attempt to get me leaving the house at least once a week. it did help (along with a lot of other things) and once I started exploring the surface decoration side of pottery, things really clicked for me

.

tangent: one of the things that really drove me to progress as an artist was having something driving my work. whether it was preparing for a gallery show or making a bunch of holiday cards or making piles of fan art because I was obsessed. every time I made something, anything, I improved. so when I had a goal that made me create more, I improved faster.

my unsolicited advice: make that weird fan art. it's good for your art. (I was really into tf2 lol)

.

I've tried tons of different mediums and I think it was a great way to help my style evolve.

when you're making art with a new medium, it might take awhile before you're making your own personal work. I, at least, find that I usually have to do some studies of other peoples' art and just try some basic creations before I do anything more personal. but once I'm ready to do MY stuff, I have a new repertoire to pull from. I wouldn't be the potter I am if I didn't have the experiences I got from other mediums

like acrylics (I did a lot of self portraits >.>)

paper flower making

watercolour

collage

cake decorating

(also oil paints, pastels, 3D wire art, crochet, linocut, stone carving, sewing, set painting and quilting. also my spouse and I like to make crafts together, like cutting-construction-paper, gluing-pompoms-and-googly-eyes crafts, because it's just fun to make stuff together)

I'm sure pottery isn't the last medium I'm gonna try. I'll probably get obsessed with carving tiny wooden figurines or making wax sculptures at some point. who knows!

.

and now I'm in my mid-thirties, making art pretty much every day. I've been doing this since I was a teenager, so almost twenty years now.

I never imagined I'd be satisfied with my own art, that I could look at most of my pieces and not see how I could have done it better, but hey, here I am.

.

wow that was rambly. the ADHD really comes out when I'm writing lol. and I did eat real food today! before having some freezies

thanks so much for your ask, hopefully I satisfied your curiosity

[orionsangel86]

Seen a couple of posts musing about the Dreamling dream sequence in Season of Mists and what way the show may choose to go with the glimpses we get of Hob’s personal life.

I love the ideas that he wakes up next to a guy (or even Destruction lmao) but honestly my favourite idea is that he wakes up alone to maintain the ambiguity but also because I’m very much hoping for another change which will have more of an affect later on.

If the show does elaborate on Hob’s story (which I honestly think it will given the fan response to Hob in season 1), then the one change that I desperately want is that Audrey, his lover in the comic at this point in time, is not his lover, but his daughter.

I have this image of modern day Hob being a single father to an adult daughter.

If Audrey is Hob’s adult daughter in 2022, then we can imagine she was concieved in the early 90s, (praying for canon to adopt the fandom headcanon that Hob spent the early 90s partying away his pain over being stood up by Dream in a swirl of hedonistic bad decisions. Lots of goth clubs, one night stands with all kinds of people, and generally bad ideas all around).

In the comics, Audrey dies in The Kindly Ones, and is the person Hob is deeply grieving when Dream seeks him out. I just think that this meeting would be so much more thematically perfect if Hob was also grieving the recent loss of a child. It would make the request to bring her back from the dead more poignant (and also perfectly call back to Roderick Burgess demanding Dream bring back his son) as well as giving Dream an outlet in another father who shares his grief. It could hopefully change the meeting enough to make it more successful in actually given Dream what he needed at that point - comfort and support from a friendly face and someone who knows almost exactly what he is going through.

It also ties in with my idea that after his years of hedonism he finally cleans up his act, stops the demolition of the White Horse, buys and refurbishes the New Inn, works on getting his degree and becoming a professor of history at a London University, all whilst raising a young daughter as a single father who still holds a flame for his best friend after all these years, because he never truly gave up hope.

It just kind of fascinates me how different 2022 Hob was from 1989 Hob. 1989 Hob comes across like he works in banking or trading. Very city boy chic. 2022 Hob looks comfortable and warm, and yeah, he totally gives off history professor vibes. I just think having a daughter in that time could have helped with that change.

Without going into too much detail, Dream and Hob’s meeting in the Kindly Ones is so sad and unsatisfactory, and I struggle to forgive Hob for being so selfish when Dream’s being there is so clearly a cry for help. I think an audience would be more sympathetic with him at this point if he was grieving the loss of a child, instead of yet another lover, especially since at this point in the story, it is a perfect companion story to the grief that Dream himself is struggling with.

[theuntoldoriginsoftheportmafia]

Part Ⅱ The Doctor, The Butterfly & The Wolf - Chapter 5.2

Mori Ougai and His Bodyguard

956 Words

~ One year later ~

The two of them did eventually come to realise that they craved a relationship deeper than a simple partnership. Both are able to understand each other so deeply it's as if they can read each other's very souls, a bond of friendship, loyalty, connection and love, beyond anything else.

The two men are now known as one, ShiroKuro, meaning WhiteBlack, after their distinctively contrasting hair colours. Yokohama's criminal world trembles at the name.

With Ougai's information wallet fat enough to buy the loyalty of more than half of Yokohama's criminals and his and Yukichi's lethal skills the two have risen to the top, just as they did in the military. They remove unnecessary pieces, from petty criminals to lesser known gangs, terraforming the chess board for a plan formed by Natsume Souseki . . . the Tripartite Framework.

2 ½ of 3 pieces are in place, the Special Operations Division for Unusual Powers and Port Mafia, which just needs a new leader, a fresh new face to set things in order.

Now ShiroKuro are only one step below the top.

It's almost comical timing when the red-headed mafia assassin comes to their door.

Ougai opens the clinic door, smiling.

The assassin in question is a young girl who looks at most a year older than Ougai's own eldest daughter. She wears a black kimono, making the red of her hair, eyes and warrior-like makeup stand out even further.

"Good morning, Mori-san. My boss wants to speak with you."

He can tell from her gaze that it's not a request. He starts to call out for Yukichi, but her blade is at his throat, a blur of silver, if he moves an inch his life force will come spilling out violently.

"Only you, the guard dog, stay home." Her voice is fierce and low, not lady-like at all.

"So be it, are we walking or driving?"

She says nothing, pulling him towards a sleek black car.

-

Akiko, who'd been peeking her head around the corner, obscured by a stack of boxes, runs to get her Papa.

She's offended when he isn't startled at all.

"As much as I dislike the idea of Ougai alone with the Port Mafia boss, this is necessary. We've been waiting for this for a while, for the Port Mafia to take notice of us."

He tells her no more, not of his and Ougai's late-night whisperings of joining the Mafia themselves.

-

The Port Mafia Headquarters is a single black building, the tallest in Yokohama, piercing the sky with its darkness. It was built as part of a five-building complex until the Boss bought one and the other four went to other conglomerates.

The young assassin leads Ougai through the corridors with almost silent footsteps. She knocks on the door to the Boss's chambers but doesn't follow Ougai inside when the wooden door opens. She stands guard outside, her two blades at the ready.

The Boss doesn't stand to greet him, instead beckoning him over.

"Ah, Mori Ougai, the Kuro in ShiroKuro. What a—" the Boss stops to cough roughly into a handkerchief, "pleasure to meet you at last."

Ougai makes no comment on the coughing but takes note of it for later.

"The pleasure is all mine, sir."

"Oh, do sit down."

Ougai complies, scanning the sparse office. 

"What a wonderful view."

"Indeed. I have a job proposition where you could see a lot more of it."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I have become rather ill, become my personal physician and I will double your salary."

To be honest the offer hadn't been what Ougai was expecting, he was hoping for an offer to work as an assassin, but this is even better.

The Mafia Boss wants Ougai under his thumb because he is afraid of ShiroKuro. He hopes to pretend to be more frail than he is to test Ougai's loyalties, but he underestimates the severity of his illness.

The young doctor thinks for a moment. "I would like to . . . as long as I get to keep Fukuzawa-dono as my bodyguard." Ougai says, allowing the honorific to do the work for him. 

"dono" is an honorific so formal that the Boss assumes what anyone would, what Ougai counts on him assuming: the fact that he and Yukichi barely know each other, a simple work beneficial alliance. If he knew the true nature of their relationship, their loyalty to each other then he would never let Yukichi join the mafia, the risk of betrayal being too high.

"Of course, being a Port Mafia physician is a dangerous job after all."

"And you give safe haven to my daughters as well."

"Done. You start tomorrow."

As Ougai leaves he hears the vicious hacking coming from the office. He smiles. With the sick man playing right into his hands, this will be all too easy

-

"I work for the Port mafia now? I have no problem treating criminals, but what if the Port Mafia just wants to use us?" Akiko's breathing is heavy.

"No. Only I do. You will not have to use your ability, you don't have to do anything for them at all. But now you are under their protection and that is a priceless thing. Though with the state they're in you must still be careful."

"And what about the clinic?"

"You are not old enough to work here by yourself, I'm closing it. When you come of age and have the correct credentials you may start your own legitimate practice if you wish."

"Okay, I trust you, Dad."

-

That night they all help pack up and close the clinic.

And after dinner, as Yuki and Ougai sit together in Ougai's small office, sharing a bottle of fine sake, Yuki asks, "So it's all going to plan, then?"

And Ougai answers, "Better than."

And they know that no matter what happens, they'll be together, their own sort of family, and that's more than okay.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Good News

Iiiiiiii’m going to MCM Comic Con! And if the stars align and everybody’s on the ball, Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii’m finally getting autographs from the cast of Critical Role! As soon as I heard they were coming back, I was emailing my mother being like, “Hey, remember about three years ago when I asked for an early Christmas / birthday present in the form of tickets to the event and autographs? And then Covid happened and the whole thing had to be scrapped and I was very sad? Well, they’re finally coming back so could we do that deal again, please?” And she said yes and I just now got the ticket confirmation and I think I’m pretty clear on how to get an accessibility badge and while I’m not relaxing until I have autograph bookings for the cast, I am still at least going!

But no, I’m not going to see them run live at Wembley. I did try, but they got sold out way too fucking fast. Which is disappointing not just because I wanted to see that once-in-a-lifetime thing, but also because my bestie threw money at me for the tickets pretty much ten seconds after I squeed about it, because he so wanted me to be able to go because I wanted it so much. But I think in the end it’s just as well. The accessibility options for Wembley are a little ... complicated if you’re not straight-up in a wheelchair, apparently.

(Bestie would not let me give the money back. I asked repeatedly. He said no. So I thought long and hard about something he would really want me to have and did that instead. I’ll show you later.)

Anyway, insofar as the convention goes, there is one tiny bummer. See, when I asked for this as my combination Christmas / birthday gift three years ago, I asked my mother to maybe come with me on the Friday. I really want her to see a convention, at least a little bit, on the least busy day so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. So obviously when the opportunity came around again, I asked her to come with me on the Friday. Unfortunately she’s going to be in Montreal so she won’t be able to make it. So I’ve said maybe we can make a day trip of it in May 2024 and I’ll buy her ticket that time. Because gods know this is almost certainly going to be the last convention I attend in full. It’s going to be rough enough as it is.

There is one plus point to Mum not being able to make it, though, and it comes back to yet another previous convention - one that actually happened. When the CR crew came to London five years ago, they had to arrange a separate smaller panel on Sunday because it was standing room only and still hundreds of people couldn’t get in. Seriously, because the UK is easier to reach for people in Europe and other parts of the world than the US is, we got people from all over Europe and beyond. Furthest away I heard about was the Philippines. (Though in fairness it’s going to be slightly more complicated for Europeans this time around because Brexit is in full swing and Freedom of Movement is a thing of the past. Still easier than flying to San Diego, and probably cheaper too.)

Anyway, Sunday panel, I was in the queue, and I’d made it a point to say something nice to people I came across because I wanted them to have as many good memories of the day as possible. So I told the young woman in the queue just ahead of me that I liked her T-shirt. She reciprocated the compliment, we got to talking, and she was saying how she’d really love to find a campaign and that mine sounded fun but wasn’t it a shame she lives in France but I live here in London? At which I had to explain that my party spanned three countries and four time zones at that point. So, two weeks later, we had a new Monster Hunter Ranger in the party, and she’s been a source of delight ever since.

She’s trying to arrange to come back to get pictures with the cast members she missed (Travis and Laura were on paternity leave at the time, and Ashley had Blind Spot to finish), and if she can come, I have offered my sofa for a few days and the possibility of getting a carer badge so that she can help me if I’m in too much pain or hit with a dizzy spell or something. We’ve discussed it and I just told her that if she really feels like she needs to contribute, she can toss me £20 for groceries while she’s here (because you know I am going to take every opportunity to cook for people I care about). I haven’t seen her in person in years and I hope she can come. (I mean, I’d love it if all of my players could come but it’s an expensive trip and I only have so much sofa.)

So yeah, if all plays out according to plan, I’m finally getting those autographs. I do need to decide once and for all whether I want them to sign my copy of Tal’Dorei Reborn or the original Green Ronin Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting. I’m leaning towards the latter just because ... I mean, it’s where they started, and look at them now! Plus I want them to sign something sturdy because while I have kept them in good condition, I do occasionally fear for my small collection of autographs from the likes of Courtenay Taylor, Mark Meer, Ali Hillis, Alix Wilton Regan, Raphael Sbarge (his in particular, honestly), and Troy Baker calling me ‘Rebel Scum’ because I mained a Jedi Consular in SW:TOR.

(Okay, I originally mained a Smuggler in SW:TOR but then my RP guild wanted a healer for Ops so ... yeah. Republic anyway.)

So ... fun D&D session yesterday, and now good news today, and the added gloriousness of, “A bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors are going to sell out Wembley fucking Arena".

Sometimes life is good.

[rotworld]

i hope the new year has been kind to you !! please don’t feel pressure to write. take time to rest well. i go back and reread old pieces of yours all the time! i admire your writing a lot and wanted to ask if you had any more advice about writing .. am excited for whatever you post, whenever it is you post it ^__^ your sandman fic is so evocative and interesting.. the prose is so .. thick in a glutinous dough kind of way.. i don’t know where it’ll go.. thank you again!

thank you and happy new year! so far so good lol i’m with family and very happy. i appreciate your patience and understanding. while i am working on stuff again, i’m also sort of stranded away from home until the later part of this month lol so my schedule is a bit strange.

as for writing advice, here are some exercises to try!

.

.

.

->rewrite a classic: china mieville wrote four final orpheuses, a short story which explores four different reasons why orpheus failed in his quest to bring eurydice back from the underworld. these range from a moment of weakness to simple human error and tell radically different stories about their relationship and his state of mind in just a few brief snippets. 

find a story like a classic myth or fairy tale and rewrite it in ways that resonate with you. change the ending, reinterpret the characters, or focus on a different perspective. if you’re not sure what to do, try coming up with questions you want answered or alternate possibilities: how did marya morevna first defeat and capture koschei the deathless? what does the sea witch get up to when mermaids aren’t pestering her to see the surface world? hope is the last thing in the box pandora opens; what does it look like, and what does she do with it?

->imitate another writer’s style: i made a post one time about voice and said you shouldn’t feel pressure to change it, but i also think going out of your way to emulate another writer for an exercise can be fun and useful. for the sandman fic, i tried to imitate the “feel” and structure of gaiman’s writing. when i first read the comic, i was really amazed by how many plot threads he would juggle each arc, and how those threads would weave together in the finale, so i wanted to use that along with the more dreamy, surreal prose and absurd humor. 

find a writer or specific work that you enjoy and wouldn't mind imitating stylistically. study their voice (the aforementioned post has specific examples of what to look for) as well as how the work is structured. you could write fanfiction or something original with this exercise, but i think it’s easiest to stay in the same genre and use similar themes or aesthetics as the work you’re using for reference. 

->if you get stuck, time travel: recently i read a book on revisions (unfortunately can’t remember the title/author, i skimmed it at the star but didn't buy it) that gave advice along the lines of “if you suddenly get stuck and can’t figure out why, the problem is several sentences ago.” the thinking here is that we sometimes write ourselves into a corner without realizing it, and you need to back out of the corner by retracing your steps. you might’ve gotten bored or lost focus and that made the last few sentences really rough or go in a direction that’s hard to work with. go back a paragraph or two and reexamine what you have, cutting it entirely if need be. 

alternatively, i’ve found that if i get stuck at the very start of a piece, then the problem is where i’m choosing to start. i’ve been working on something about certain characters involved in certain illicit businesses and wanted to open with a party at a fancy venue. i was hellbent on opening with some scene-setting narration/exposition on the venue itself as the reader travels there, and i wasn't getting past the first sentence. so eventually i shifted forward. instead, the reader would have just arrived at the venue and the opening would introduce one of the characters at the party. this also just didn't work, so i moved forward even further. everyone's at the venue, the party has been going on for a while, and it starts with the reader considering the reasons they should not be at this party. what ended up working was cutting my initial, slow-paced plan and starting closer to the action, and i think that's a good idea in most situations. 

[aparticularbandit]

Top 5 musicals! And top 5 comic characters!

~

Ask Me My “Top 5″ Anything....

Musicals:

Music Man. Because nostalgia. But specifically the Robert Preston and Shirley Jones version NOT the Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth version.

Sound of Music. Also because nostalgia.

Cats. Also because of nostalgia but also I love Grizabella so much and I unironically love Memory and also MACAVITY MACAVITY THERE’S NO ONE LIKE MA-CA-VI-TY like look the switch to the triplet there is AMAZING and I will stop rambling now (but also it’s T.S. Eliot put to music.  What’s not to love??  Honestly).

Anyone Can Whistle. Which was Angela Lansbury’s first major role and also it had a very short run because it tried to involve the audience in a way the audience did not want to be involved.  But it deals with politics and.... Like - it’s a dying town.  And water starts miraculously coming out of a rock.  And the mayor thinks that’s good for tourism and drums it up (and then finds out later it’s a fake).  And the head of the mental asylum nearby is like well if we have miracle water, let’s fix all of the people in the asylum and brings them to the water.  And then they disperse into the crowd and a rando guy says that he could tell the difference between everyone and splits the town up into Group A and Group 1 and then refuses to tell them which is which and the first act ends with him turning to the audience and saying You’re all mad like.  It’s such a good musical and the song at the end of the first act is fifteen minutes long, but it’s SO worth it. (You should listen to the Bernadette Peters and Madeline Khan version because they also got Angela Lansbury back to be the Narrator and just.  UGH IT’S SO GOOD.  IT’S ALWAYS A WOMAN?  GREAT song.)

Next to Normal. I mean.  I have discussed my love of N2N.  It is probably my favorite modern musical.  Those top three are all classics and for good reason because they’re GOOD.

Honorable Mention: Sweeney Todd.  Because this was my hyperfixation junior year of high school and like.  Again, nostalgia!

Comic Characters:

I’m gonna assume you mean supers here, so I’m gonna focus on Marvel/DC stuff and not incorporate manga characters.

Jean Grey - specifically when Phoenix. Mostly nostalgia, but I need you to understand that I have been collecting Phoenix stuff since I was a tiny.

Poison Ivy. I said once that when she got a long-running series of her own, I would buy it.  As soon as I found out, I set up a hold and have been getting them since.  I really should catch up; I think I’m two? issues behind?

Viv Vision (and Viv 2.0). A new favorite!  But I love her!  A lot!  So much!  And Champions has been a pretty fantastic series!

Raven. Also nostalgia!  But I like her a lot!  ...and have also been collecting Raven stuff since I was a tiny.  (Also the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover comic that had Raven and Dark Phoenix in it?  :D)

Wanda Maximoff. Maybe?  It’s hard to pick a fifth character here because I’ve got a lot that I like on approximately the same level.  I don’t feel I’m a big enough Wanda fan to put her here (there’s a lot of her older stuff I haven’t read, although I like her most recent series!), and a part of me wants to put Cassandra Cain down instead (despite the fact that I’m pretty sure I’ve read more of Wanda than Cassandra and also it has been a long time since I read Cassandra stuff).  So Wanda’s...a placeholder, I guess?  Like I collect her stuff and Agatha’s stuff!  IDK.