#and we're too tried to separate them into separate boxes

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

ae hope aey queer fills you with fear (lighthearted)

[sturniqlo]

The Move- M.S

summary: y/n and matt, once former classmates, reunite when both of them move down the street from each other and become closer than ever

cw: cursing, mention of underage drinking(main characters are 18!) , SMUT; car sex, unprotected p in v, making out, hickies, oral!f!receiving, cream pie

an: thank you so much for 1000 followers??! HELLO?! i love every. single. one. of. you.💋💋

masterlist | join my taglist

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

"I'm moving to Springville in the summer." Y/n tells her best friend. "What? Really?" Her best friend cries. "Yeah, my parents found a really good deal on a house over there. I'm leaving after graduation." She frowns, trying to not let the tears out. Her and Steph have been friends for over thirteen years.

"Hey, don't make me cry." Y/n tries to smile to lighten up the mood. "At least we have a couple of months left together." Springville was about two and a half away from where they currently live. "And- and we can drive back and forth to meet each other!" Y/n wipes her best friends' tears away.

"Okay, okay you're right! No crying! We still have a couple of months." Steph repeats Y/ns' words. "Let's go get milkshakes and fries." Y/n suggests, they love going to their local diner and getting their usual vanilla milkshake and a basket of fries. Ever since they turned eighteen, their parents granted them permission to drive alone and they've been driving everywhere together any chance they could.

"Good idea."

The next day at school, the word spread around their friend group and distant friends that Y/n would be moving in the summer. "Y/n, we're going to miss you!" "Y/n don't go!" "What? Are you serious?!" Were phrases she heard all day. At lunch, she stood up to go to the bathroom and she ran into one of her other friends.

"Hey, Y/n. I heard you're moving to Springville this summer. My friend Matt is also moving over there this summer. You know Matt, right? He's one of the triplets." The girl dried her hands on a paper towel. "Really? And yeah, I know of Matt. He's the one we have third period with?" Y/n makes sure she doesn't mix the triplets up. She's talked to Matt here and there, however she's 'closer' with Nick due to the fact that they have and have had a lot of periods together over the past four years. As for Chris, she's had at least five conversations with him. "Yeah! That's him! You two should hangout when you settle in!" Y/n nods. "Totally!"

When they get out the bathroom, they go their separate ways. Y/n texted her friend group that she wouldn't be returning to lunch due to having to head to the office for some paperwork. Which was a lie, she just wanted a break from socializing so she headed to the library.

It was now summer and it had been a couple of days since Y/n had graduated. Y/n and her parents were packing up their belongings into the moving trucks. "I'll miss you so much! Promise we'll try to hang out as much as we can?" Steph hugs her tightly now that they had finished moving Y/n's boxes into the truck. "I promise, I'll miss you so much too." She rocks them side to side. "Y/n, it's time to go." Her mom comes up, from saying goodbye to Steph's parents, and puts a hand on Y/n's shoulder.

"I'll try to come and visit you within the next few weeks okay?" Steph pulls away from the hug and Y/n nods. "Bye, Steph." "Bye, Y/n." Steph gives one last hug to Y/n before stepping to where her parents are standing. "We'll see you there, Mr.Y/l/n." One of the movers tells Y/n's dad before getting in the truck and backing out of the driveway.

"Y/n, honey, we're leaving in ten." Y/n and her parents have been in their new house for about seven hours now and they were going to head to dinner since they hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. "Coming!" She finishes putting her bedsheets on her bed. Once she finishes, she rummages through the many boxes of clothes and picks out a simple outfit. "I'm ready." She says, coming down the stairs. "You got some stuff done?" Her mom asks, looking through her purse.

Y/n had been working on her room for about an hour because she was helping her parents unpack the living room and kitchen. "A bit, just need to hang my clothes up and fix my vanity." Her dad comes into view. "Garage is all set, let's go eat dinner. I'm starving." He grabs the car keys from his pocket.

"Oh look, another family is moving in." Y/n's dad slows the car down as they drive past the house with many boxes outside. "Maybe we can welcome them." Her mom says from the front seat. "We look like some stalkers just stopped in front of the house." Y/n giggles.

The next week, Y/n had luckily made some friends while she was out shopping. When she had gotten home from hanging out with them for the first time, she got many new friend requests from unknown people. omg! do any of you guys know any of these people? lol Y/n sends a screenshot to the group chat of the thirty new requests. yes accept them!! we went to school with them, the boy group is hosting a party on saturday you HAVE to come with us!!! One of her new friends types back. really? i'm down!! She replies.

Once she accepts and follow the people back, many stories pop up on her feed. Clicking on someone named Easton, a picture of a table full of food pops up, the next one is a quick video and it pans to a group of boys, in the corner she spots Matt. Holding down on the video, she makes sure it's him and suddenly remembers that Matt also moved down to Springville.

"Should I dm him?" She whispers to herself. Going to her following, she searches Matt's name up and clicks on his profile. She goes to click message, but then decides to press the following button to unfollow him. Waiting a couple of seconds, she follows him again, hoping to get a dm from him. As much as she wanted to text him, she didn't want to make the first move.

Y/n turns off her phone and places it face down on her chest, looking up at her light bulbs. Soon, her eyes start to closes but she feels her phone buzz on her chest. She grabs her phone and sees a dm from Matt.

matt.sturniolo

hi y/n :))

y/n/y/l/n

hi matt!!

matt.sturniolo

i heard you moved down to springville a couple of weeks ago

y/n/y/l/n

yeahh i did

i also heard you did too

matt.sturniolo

yeah, i've been here for a couple of weeks now, we should hangout sometime

my friends are throwing a party on saturday i could pick you up if you want?

y/n/y/l/n

oh yeah, my friends told me about that party.

sure, it seven a good time?

matt.sturniolo

alright! send me your address

y/n/y/l/n

it's 123 Vine St

matt.sturniolo

no way?? you're down the street from me. i'm 129

y/n/y/l/n

really?? what a coincidence lmao

They eventually exchanged numbers and texted for the next hour or so. That night, Y/n fell asleep with a smile on her face. Both Y/n and Matt had never really talked throughout high school even though they had mutual friends.

Saturday came fairly quickly. Y/n had started working at a restaurant as a hostess and she had just came back from her shift. "Are you still going to that party?" Her mom says. "Yeah, remember Matt? He's one of the triplets." Her mom nods. "He's picking me up, I found out he lives in that one house we saw when we moved in."

Y/n was now getting ready, she was finishing her makeup up when she got a message from Matt.

matt

hi are you almost ready?

y/n

yeah, just finishing my makeup

i can walk to your house if you want me to

matt

no, it's fine i can pick you up

y/n

alright, thank you :))

Five minutes later, she heard a beep outside her house. "I'll be back later." She tells her mom before exiting the house. "Hi, Matt." She says as she gets in the passenger seat. "Hi, Y/n. You look nice." Y/n blushes. "Thanks, so do you." Now it's Matt's turn to blush. "Your brothers aren't coming?" Y/n asks as she doesn't see the two other guys. "They decided to stay in. They said they aren't ready for their first Springville party, whatever that means." They giggle.

"So, how do you feel about moving down here?" Matt spins the steering wheel to get out of their neighborhood. "It's okay, I miss my friends back home. Especially Steph, you know her?" Matt nods. "She's the one who has purple highlights, right?" Y/n hums. "Yeah that's her. How about you? You like it here?" Y/n asks. "I love it actually, I like how it's a smaller city. My brothers are having a hard time with it though."

Once Matt finds a parking spot. They hop out the car and make their way to the house that's blasting music. "Y/n! Hey!" They both turn around and see Y/n's friends making their way to them. "Hey girls!" The three girls smile at Y/n and then look at Matt who is standing next to her. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Matt, we went to high school together!" Matt does a small wave. "Awe, you drove two hours to come see Y/n, how sweet." One girl says. "O-oh I- uh I moved here the same time she did." He chuckles. "Hey, Matt!" They hear a distant voice from behind. Matt turns around and sees his friend calling him over. "I'll see you inside?" Y/n nods. "Yeah!" As Matt walks away, her friends gasp. "Y/n! You didn't tell us you had a boyfriend!" Her face turns red as they continue to walk again.

"Matt's not my boyfriend! We just started talking." She shrugs. "Oh, so you two are talking talking." One smirks. "What?! I don't know? Yes- no! We're not. Just- we're talking as friends." She states. "That's what they all say." Her friends then tell her how bad of a driver their uber was.

"Hey, sorry I haven't been with you." Matt touches her waist to make himself know to her. "It's fine." She turns around and smiles at him. "My friends wanted me to keep track of their beer pong score since I'm probably the only one sober here." He laughs. "That makes two of us." Y/n takes a drink of her water bottle. "Wanna go outside? It's a bit stuffy in here." Y/n nods and Matt grabs her hands and leads her outside.

On the way outside, her friends spot her and give her a thumbs up and she rolls her eyes jokingly. "Holy shit, it's so much better out here." Matt feels the fresh air hit him. "I agree." They both find an empty bench in the backyard and decide to sit there.

"I can't believe we've never hung out during high school." Matt says, looking at her. "I cant believe it either. You're actually really fun to be around and talk to." Y/n nods. "So I was boring in high school is what you're trying to say?" Matt raises an eyebrow, trying not to laugh. "No! Of course not!" She laughs. "I'm kidding, I thought you were pretty intimidating, though." He says. "Really? Why'd you think that?" He shrugs. "You always looked so serious, and you never really talked much."

What seemed like hours of talking, Y/n looked at the time and saw it was almost one in the morning. "You ready to go?" Matt asks. "I think so, you?" He nods. "Come on let's go." Matt stands up and holds his hand out for her. "You don't wanna say bye to your friends?" Matt says and she shakes her head. "They left quickly, one of my friends snuck out her house and she got caught so they left."

"Are you hungry? We can go eat somewhere or do you have to be home?" Y/n shakes her head as Matt leaves the parking spot. "We can go eat somewhere."

Matt gets onto the main street and takes Y/n to a 24/7 diner. "Have you been here before?" He asks as he pulls into the parking lot. "Mm-mm," She shakes her head before speaking again. "I've driven by here, but I've never eaten here." Matt parks and turns off the car. "It's really good, probably one of my favorite places here." Before he gets out the car Y/n asks him a question. "Hey, Matt. Do you happen to have a sweater or something? I don't want to go in wearing this." She motions down to her see through shirt.

"I think I do." He closes the driver door and opens the back door, Y/n gets out the passenger door and meets Matt where he's at. "Here you go." He hands her a plain black hoodie. "Thanks." She grabs it from him and puts it on. "Let's go." He nods his head towards the diner.

"Hi, welcome to Rubys." The hostess greets them, a nice middle aged lady. "Hello, for two, please." Matt speaks next to Y/n. "Of course," She grabs two menus. "Right this way." She signals them to follow her. "Thank you." Y/n says as they sit down and the lady lets them know she'll be back to take their orders. "Are you hungry hungry or hungry?" Y/n giggles and opens up the menu. "I'm hungry. We can share a meal if you want." He smiles at her.

"Chicken tenders and fries?" Y/n raises an eyebrow, smiling. "Sounds good!" When the waitress comes back, they order their shared meal, and order their own milkshakes. "And- sorry, I'm getting a call." Matt is interrupted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. "What Chris?" He says impatiently, wanting to go back and talk to Y/n. "Where are you?" Chris says. "I'm at Rubys with Y/n." He replies. "Ouu, a date." Matt scoffs at Chris' teasing. "No, stop it." He mutters. "Can you bring me and Nick some food? We'll pay you." Chris asks. "Alright, I have to go, bye." Matt hangs up, already knowing their order. "Sorry, they wanted some food." He laughs. "It's fine." She giggles.

Matt was now dropping off Y/n, parked in front of her fence. "Thank you for tonight, Matt. I had fun." She says, grabbing her purse. "Me too, I'll see you around?" Y/n nods. "Oh! Here, your sweater." As she goes to take it off Matt stops her. "It's okay, you can keep it." He smiles. "You sure?" She says. "Of course."

"Thanks." She leans over and presses a kiss to his cheek. "See you around."

It was a week after the party, and both Matt and Y/n have been texting every hour of everyday ever since that night. "So are you two talking or what?" Nick asks his brother. "I guess you could put it that way." He tries his hardest not to blush. "Look at him! He's blushing!" Chris teases, pointing at Matt. "Leave him alone!"

Nighttime came around and Matt was antsy to see her. do you wanna go driving? He types and sends it to her. just me n you. He adds on. i would love to. Matt smile at her text before replying back. pick you up in three ;)

Matt throws on a hoodie and grabs his keys, heading out of his room. "Where are you going at," Nick says from the couch in the living room, looking at his phone. "ten fifty two pm?" He adds. "I'm going on a drive with Y/n."

I'm here. Matt sends Y/n a message instead of beeping, knowing half of the block is probably in bed by now. Going! She quickly replies back. Matt looks at Y/ns' house and sees the front porch light turn on and then the front door opening seconds later with Y/n coming out.

Y/n quickly makes her way to his car. "Hi, Matt." Y/n leans over the center console and kisses his cheek. "Hi, Y/n." He kisses her cheek quickly after. "Wanna go to the convenience store and get some snacks?" He asks, looking over at her before looking back at the road. "Yeah, I could go for some chips right now." She agrees.

After their quick trip to the store Matt finds an empty parking lot and parks the car. As they finished their snack, they washed it down with their drinks. "I-" "So," They say at the same time and they giggle. "You can go." Y/n says. "I- I wanted to tell you that I'm really enjoying our time together." Y/n's mouth opens a bit in shock. "Oh, Matt, I-" Matt can't really read her expression. "Shit! I'm sorry did I ruin it? Fuck, I should've never-" He gets cut off by Y/n smashing her lips against his.

It takes Matt a few seconds to realize what's happening before he moves his lips against hers. The kiss gets heated by the second and before they know it, Y/n is on his lap. Unfortunately, they get interrupted by Y/n's ass pressing up against the horn startling them. "Oh shit!" They say in unison and laugh with their foreheads pressed against one anothers.

Matt rubs his hands over her waist. "Wanna meet me in the back seat?" He presses a wet kiss over her jaw, sucking lightly. "I thought you'd never ask." She leans down and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. She gets off of his lap and crawls into the back seat. Matt steps out the car and opens the back seat dooor climbing in and immediately grabbing Y/n by her waist and pulling her to his lap and kissing her all over again.

"I've been wanting to do this ever since the party." He says in between breathes. "Really?" She smiles against his lips. "Mhm, looked so fucking sexy in your little outfit." He squeezes her ass. Y/n rocks her hips against his, feeling his bulge against her thin shorts that are riding up her thighs.

After minutes of rocking against each other, Matt lays Y/n against the seat and hovers over her, kissing over her neck. "Can I take this off, baby?" He tugs at the end of her oversized tee. "Please." She whines. Matt brings her shirt up and Y/n lifts up a bit so he can remove it. The chilly air makes her nipples harden and Matt groans.

"No bra?" He goes to suck on her nipple, kneading her tit in his other hand. "Fuck, Matt." She gasps, arching her back. "You like that, babe?" He hums, nibbling on the bud. "Yes, fucking love it." She kneads her hand through his hair. Matt pulls away for a second and Y/n could almost whine from the loss of contact. He pulls his hoodie off and throws it in the front seat with Y/n's shirt.

"Can I take these off as well?" Matt's hand comes down to the waistband of her skimpy shorts. "Yes, yes, take them off." She nods, lifting her hips and Matt pulls them down her legs and is met with her white cotton thong. Matt gives her a look and Y/n nods. He hooks a finger through her thong and removes them swiftly. Matt looks down and sees her cunt glistening. "So wet already." He growls at the sight before diving down getting a taste of her.

"Oh, Matt." She sighs in pleasure as he sucks on her clit, slurping her juices. The sounds coming from her are going straight to his cock. "Fuck- get- get up here." Y/n pulls Matt up to her and kisses him harshly. "Please, Matt." She whines against his lips. "What do you want, baby. Hm, I don't know what you want unless you tell me." He kisses down her jaw, to her neck, sucking on the soft skin there leaving red and purple marks. "I want you to fuck me, Matt." She runs her hands down his front and stops when she reaches the waistband of his sweatpants.

"Yeah, want me to stuff you with my cock?" He lowers his sweatpants, along with his boxers, his dick springs up slapping against his lower belly. "Yes, want to be full of your cock." She reaches for his erection and holds him in her hands. Slowing moving her hands up and down. "Fuck, baby." He rolls his hips against her hold. "Wait, wanna cum in you." He stops and brings his dick over her pussy, running the tip up and down, gathering her arousal.

"Ready?" He asks, looking down at her. "Yes, give it to me, Matt." Matt brings his tip to her leaking hole and slowly pushes in. "Oh- fuck!" He groans, feeling the tightness of her pussy wrap around him. "Matt, you feel so good." She moans, feeling him balls deep in her. "Shit! You like being stuffed with my cock don't you, baby." He starts to thrust his hips in and out of her. "Just like that, shit!" Y/n brings her hands up her body and squeezes her tit adding on to the pleasure.

"Holy fuck- keep squeezing me like that." Matt brings two of his fingers to her mouth and makes her suck on them, getting them wet, before taking them out and bringing those fingers down to rub her clit. "Mmph, so so good." She whines scratching her nails down his back. "I'm close, can I cum in you, baby. Cum in this tight little pussy?" He kisses her neck over the marks. "Yes, cum in me. I'm so fucking close." She cries as Matt hits that one spot deep in her.

A couple more thrust in her, Matt stills his movements and cums in her. "I'm cumming, shit baby." He burries his face in her warm neck. "Me too, fuck!" Y/n says heavily, running a hand through Matt's hair at the nape of his neck. "That was- that was amazing." Matt laughs in her neck. "I agree." She giggles.

"Let me clean you up." He untucks his face from her neck and places a kiss on her lips before getting up and slowly pulls his dick out. "Fuck." Matt says lowly as he sees a mix of her and his cum dripping out her hole. Matt spots one of his shirts from the other day draped over the backseat headrest and uses that to clean her up. "Oh!" She hisses. "Sorry, baby." He whispers.

"All done." He throws the shirt on the floor and leans over to get her discarded clothes. "Here you go." He hands them to her. "Thank you." Matt pulls his boxers and sweatpants and grabs his hoodie. "I should take you home then?" Matt grabs her and pulls her onto his lap. "Mhm." She hums before kissing him.

"Get in the front seat."

[tethered-heartstrings]

I know that was a joke post but now I am genuinely curious what Hannibal would want (and be allowed) to have as his last meal.

let me start off by saying this started one place and took a huge turn (sorry) but... this got me thinking. my assumption is he was tried in maryland. maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013, but if he was tried under federal and not state, death penalty is still technically on the table in all 50 states.

unlike other states, maryland does not offer a special last meal to those about to be executed, and they are offered whatever is on the menu at the prison they are residing. i don't think that if he was charged federally it would have necessarily changed his food situation.

given that hannibal was held at bshci, he probably would have had whatever they were serving that day. we saw in s2 with will that it wasn't anything particularly exciting. canned/processed/boxed food. the more gourmet meals he got while imprisoned were definitely due to a special deal he had with alana. it's not directly specified in the show to my knowledge, but pretty sure he got special privileges for helping her and margot. but also if it means hearing him complain less, all the better.

that being said, there is a chance alana would break the maryland tradition and actually offer him a special meal. most requests deny alcohol or tobacco, but again, we're humoring a special meal.

now for the fun part. obviously hannibal wouldn't be given human meat. some inmates in other states asked not only for a meal but to share the meal with someone. and i think hannibal would definitely request to have a last meal with will since the last meal they had together (at least on screen) was the meal before mizumono.

and i think it would be well within the realm for hannibal to want to recreate this meal, maybe even going so far as to ask to make it himself. +/- if alana would allow for that, maybe if everything was precut and he wasn't near anything sharp. if he wanted will to share the meal with him, i'd be curious to see what will would do. he'd know hannibal was on death row, it'd be all over the news, jack would tell him, etc. and i think he would seek out the result of hannibal's trial if he was not sitting in the room as he was sentenced. knowing he indirectly put him there, and i'd place bets on him opening that hand written letter asking for his company one last time and he'd go to see hannibal and share that meal with him. to dine one last time together.

and i wonder how each of them would see it. will never answering if he wanted a sacrifice, yet one now sat across from him. how during the mizumono meal, will said "that'd make this our last supper" to which hannibal responds "of this life" which now truly is the last meal of this life, of hannibal's life. maybe for will, too, in a way. for how good could food taste or sate knowing your conjoined, blurred half is about to die, and that nagging guilt in your chest that it's your fault. and the question of if they could survive separation. and maybe the question was more up in the air when it was possibly hannibal who had to live without him, but now will is faced with the reality that he has to live without hannibal. and in some alternate life it would have been easier to stay with his wife and never see hannibal, but knowing he was alive was enough, and he'd no longer have that crutch.

but hannibal seeing it as almost a redo for before the slaughter in his kitchen. going back to a moment they had some peace, even if brief, life as he knew it was brief now. but still, someone he loved, the only person he loved, sitting across from him eating and drinking wine together. maybe in silence, i don't know. smiles would be exchanged; hannibal's genuinely happy and will's a bit sad. to be so fully and deeply and intimately seen. now there was no running away together anymore. will would leave and hannibal could only hope will would go to his execution.

and i think will would go. i don't know if it would be a "want" situation, but a "need". to see hannibal lecter taken down almost so effortlessly. the unkillable finally killed. the man he couldn't shoot the two times he had a gun in his face, the man he dropped his gun for and let himself be gutted and held by, the man he pulled a knife on and still couldn't take down. ultimately, in a way, will took him down. hannibal surrendered because will rejected him. will didn't need a weapon, he just needed words and a closed off heart. and within minutes, it'd be over.

but what happens after? the remains of inmates not claimed by family get kept in the prison cemetery. hannibal has no family to claim him, will is the closest to family he has. but what if will claims him, then what? will doesn't know what hannibal's final wishes are; to be cremated, buried? maybe he does know without hannibal having to explicitly say. to eat you like the sacrificial lamb you are.

my guess is a body executed via lethal injection (chosen method for maryland) would not be safe to eat. sodium thiopental is a barbituate like the one used for animal euthanasia, but it isn't the part of the "cocktail" that actually causes death. i know animals euthanized (with a different barbituate) and eaten can kill the animal that eats them, so there is a chance eating hannibal could do the same thing. consuming potassium chloride (the deadly part of the injection) in large quantities can cause a lot of side effects/health detriments and in theory, eating enough can cause cardiac failure, but i don't know the oral bioavailabity in comparison to iv.

as romantic as it seems, i don't think will would eat hannibal knowing it could kill him, and tbh, i don't see hannibal wanting will to knowing his death might be imminent. even if it meant being together in the afterlife, that wasn't how will was going to die. like yeah "death only by my hand" but it's not the same. maybe part of will's punishment is having to stay alive without him. i do think hannibal might if the roles were reversed, though.

if will ended up giving hannibal a graveplot (probably unmarked so it doesn't end up desecrated), or even sprinkling his ashes somewhere, i know will would visit him again. maybe not for awhile, maybe denial or anger, but he would go back. i know hannibal said he could never go back to lithuania, so maybe will takes him there and buries him next to mischa so they can be together, finally and forever. maybe he doesn't take him home, knowing how much hannibal stayed away when he was alive. there are a lot of things will could do, tbh.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System - Epilogue

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 | CH 10

MASTERLIST

Just a little ending continuation for you. That's all folks - we're definitely done now 😘 Under the cut so you don't get spoiled before reading Chapter 10!

Epilogue

You got back to Nelson Road from a Fab Four lunch where you’d celebrated the sign off of the AFC Richmond Women’s team. The new season was still only a couple of months in, but the change in jobs had so far been incredible. You needn't have worried about getting on with Keeley, or about Rebecca’s terrifying reputation. The four of you gelled perfectly together, and it only improved when you called in the coaching staff reinforcements. The ethos, philosophy and culture of the club had never been so ingrained in its leadership before and it had helped the club go from strength to strength. You’d stopped by the bakery on the way back to the stadium for a box of cupcakes for Ted, Coach Beard, Roy and Nate and left Rebecca at the foot of her stairs so you could carry on and deliver them.

“I’ll come too, see Ted.” She’d followed you through the changing room. You could hear the team in the gym, the coaches were all in the office except for Roy. 

“Oh. Hiya fellas, seen Roy? I texted him when I left Ola’s.” You looked around as if you were half expecting him to be hiding by his desk, but he wasn't around at all. 

"Haven't seen him in a hot minute, sorry." Ted had replied, eyes only for Rebecca. Nate had gone to check on the players in the gym, Beard had his head buried in his book. 

"Guess I'll leave these here then. Tell him to come and say hi when he turns up?" You asked Beard who tipped his hat. Your afternoon focused on branding opportunities for the women’s team, you’d had some logo ideas you wanted to run by a few people so took the chance to stretch your legs. You said hello to the team in the ticket office, looked in on the players in the gym, “Anyone seen Roy?”

“Nah, sorry!”

“He’s around here somewhere I think.”

“I thought I saw him in the boot room.”

“Not the boot room you melon, the treatment room.” As you received at least 14 different answers, you held up your hand,

“Never mind! Thanks boys.” You carried on up to Rebecca’s office where she was meeting with Sharon, “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“Not at all, are they the logo options?” Rebecca held out a hand,

“Sure is, seen Roy?”

“I think he’s downstairs.” Sharon smiled.

“He’s got a meeting with me at 4.30 so he’ll be about somewhere.”

“I know, I’m getting Lexie today. Let me know what you think of those and we’ll catch up tomorrow. Bye both.” You left the office and went via your own office to get your things. In the carpark, Roy’s car had gone. Because of his late meeting with Rebecca, you’d gone in separately that morning. You swung into the school car park and waited at the main doors to be let in.

“Oh, I’m sorry - Lexie’s already left today? Phoebe’s uncle collected her?” You rolled your eyes, he’d forgotten about his meeting with Rebecca.

“Ok, not to worry, thanks!” You jumped back in the car and used the voice control to call him. There was no answer so you carried on to your house. You expected to see his car, but it wasn’t there. This was starting to get annoying. You hopped out of the car and went to put your key in the lock, but it wouldn’t fit. “What the fucking fuck is going on today?!” You looked through your key bundle but your house key wasn’t there, it had fallen off. Back in the car, you tried to work out whether he’d have taken Lexie back to the club for his meeting. He still didn’t answer the phone so you went straight to his house. His car was on the drive, you breathed a sigh of relief. The door was locked so you rang the bell and waited for Lexie to answer. Nothing. You rang the bell again. At your hip level, the letterbox flipped open,

“You need to use your key.” Lexie whispered.

“I don’t have a fucking key?” It had been on your to-do list for the last few weeks since you and Roy had talked about it. You already had a spare for your house and easily handed it over to him. You looked back down at your keys and saw a new, different key where your house key had been. The letterbox closed again, you slid the new key into the door handle and it clicked smoothly, the door opening. Just inside, Roy and Lexie were standing with a house shaped helium balloon and a little cake made in the shape of Roy’s house. Everything fell into place in your brain. “I do have a key.” You realised.

“If you want it?”

“Roy’s decorated my bedroom!” Lexie squealed, his hand clamped over her mouth gently,

“Oi! Don’t ruin it!” She giggled and swung herself around using his arm as leverage. You looked up at him,

“Not just a key?”

“I was thinking we could move in together? I never want to know a world without you both.” You couldn’t stop the tears even if you’d tried, you rushed into his arms.

“We’d love to.”

FIN

[midnightbrightside]

I’m desperate to your immaculate takes on Krisnix from that one ask—what do you think about 2 and 39 (bonus if the little animals get thrust upon them…it’s Trucy who brings home a box of kittens or something)

ayyy thank you im glad you like my krisnix thoughts!

2- What would they do if the other woke up in a manic state after a nightmare?

when phoenix has nightmares kristoph holds him as he sobs, gently shushing him and saying it was just a dream. phoenix grips kristoph's arms tight to ground himself and it sometimes leaves bruises. kristoph always points them out in a "look what i put up with for you" kind of way that fills phoenix with shame. "really, phoenix, what would you do without me?"

when kristoph has a nightmare he needs to be completely alone but also held as tightly as possible, he also stops speaking. phoenix holds his hands but kristoph snatches them away like the touch burns him and he looks up with wide, scared eyes. so phoenix keeps his distance and encourages kristoph to breathe deep until he stops shaking. then he asks kristoph if he wants to talk about it, kristoph shakes his head. phoenix then asks if he wants a hug, kristoph croaks out very quietly "im not... a child" and phoenix nods "you're not" and holds out his arms. kristoph collapses into them.

39- Who would rescue an injured animal and nurse it back to health? What would the other think?

i got too excited abt this one. gonna put everyone one my "kristoph loves animals" agenda.

trucy comes back home absolutely drenched by the rain holding a box of 6 sopping wet abandoned kittens. she begs phoenix to let her keep them and it absolutely breaks phoenix heart to say "we dont have the space or the money for everything they need. it's late so we can keep them for tonight but we'll have to take them to a shelter tomorrow, im sorry, sweetheart." trucy is NOT happy about it. in true preteen fashion she takes them to her room and starts planning all the ways she, a 12 year old, could raise 6 kittens. phoenix sighs and starts searching what he should feed them, just for tonight.

kristoph arrives later on to pick phoenix up for a date, sees the little furballs meowing around the apartment, and immediately starts fussing.

"these poor babies! where did you find them, and why are they so filthy?"

phoenix explains whats going on and adds "we tried to give them a bath but..." he holds up his arms to show the scratches.

kristoph scoffs, "really, phoenix, you dont have nearly the means nor the knowledge to take care of one animal let alone six." he looks down to where trucy is sitting, playing with the kittens with a makeshift toy made of scrap cloth, and frowns.

"well, first of all, kris: ouch. i was actually thinking we could maybe keep one-"

trucy interrupts from the floor "THREE at LEAST!"

"- and secondly, as i said, we are going to take them to a shelter first thing tomorrow" he looks so apologetic, so sad.

"Absolutely not" Kristoph snaps, "the local shelters are overrun as it is, to say nothing of how they are managed. I wouldnt trust them with these poor creatures either." he looks like hes thinking about something, "Trucy, dear, have you noticed if these kittens are injured or perhaps sick?"

trucy perks up and lists how each cat is faring, which ones are walking funny and points out how one of them has a weird spot near it's eye. as she's rattling off each one's ailments, phoenix notes that she's already named them and his heart melts a little more.

kristoph tuts, "we'll have to take them to the vet then, we can get them microchipped while we're there. vongoles' carrier should be big enough for the journey, oh, she would make an excellent mother..." he almost sounds like he's thinking out loud.

"so we're keeping them???" Trucy beams.

kristoph explains that they're not old enough to be separated from their siblings yet and that she and Phoenix dont have the space to care for all of them, but he is more than happy to take them until they are ready to go to a good home. he shoots a sharp glare at phoenix as he says "typically, cats adjust to a new home much better when adopted in pairs", phoenix gets the memo.

the next day they take the kittens to the vet and kristoph buys all the supplies he could need. over the next few weeks he nurses them back to health and trucy drops by almost every day after school to see how they're doing and play with them. phoenix knew that kristoph liked animals, but it's something else to see this 6'1 icicle of a man dote on these tiny creatures, he even calls them by the names trucy gave them. in moments like these he doesnt seem dangerous at all.

and vongole LOVES them, she's so excited when she first sees them she barely knows what to do with herself. kristoph was right, she makes a great mother. phoenix finds everyone's energy infectious, he buys food, 2 cat beds, some toys, other supplies, and when the time comes he asks kristoph about the kittens.

"sorry, Phoenix, i already found good homes for them" kristoph smiles apologetically and phoenix's heart drops, "i didnt even know you wanted one, i know trucy did, but you didnt seem too enthused. perhaps it's for the best, you dont have the means to take care of a pet." oh.

trucy is miserable. phoenix feels like hes dissapointed her. kristoph is smug as all hell.

[hexagonspress]

BE by tothewillofthepeople

Grantaire is earnest in this, and it’s heartbreaking. Enjolras can’t look away. This is just a rehearsal. Grantaire is still wearing skinny jeans. They have lights and phones and textual analysis and thousands of years of history between now and then and yet– When Grantaire speaks, the distance collapses. (Grantaire as Hamlet.)

Title: Middle Ages Deco Headers/Accents: Letter Gothic Standard Body text: Adobe Caslon Pro Case title: Goudy Initialen

38,667 words | 224 pages

Binderary book 1: a long-favourite EXR fic. I love wild Les Mis AUs and I love Shakespeare and this is all of that in such a lovely lovely form. Stage manager Enjolras is inspired. Also, I've been frothing at the mouth to use my special blackletter fonts and go suuuper overboard designing and this was Perfect for that purpose.

More pictures/design/process under the cut.

Design and Construction Case: Flat-back case binding with bradel board covers and spine. The spine cloth is Hollander's pearl linen in charcoal grey. The painted titles were done in Amsterdam acrylic ink in silver, with a pair of scissors because I don't own a painting brush and likely never will. The cover papers are printed on 80gsm white printer paper and glued with a regular Elmer's glue stick and PVA on the turn-ins, and the whole case is sprayed with workable fixatif to (hopefully) preserve it longer-term.

Covers: The front and back covers were designed in Photoshop. The centre image is a William Morris pattern, and the top and bottom little circles are Renaissance printer's ornaments (pngs by the lovely @helle-bored of Renegade Bindery) that I vectorized in Illustrator (Illustrator and I were sworn enemies until this month. Now we're forced friends. Like enemies to lovers).

Insides: Endpapers are a William Morris pattern recoloured in Photoshop to be a richer green and red, obv, for EXR. Printed with inkjet on 80gsm printer paper and glued to gold cardstock, and sewn into the textblock. Endbands are pre-sewn from Hollanders, dyed gold with acrylic ink to match the endpapers.

Typesetting Typeset was done in InDesign. This is a one-shot with scene breaks, so to match the theatre theme of the piece I replaced the horizontal line breaks with flagged scene numbers. I tried to strike a balance in the typesetting between classic Shakespearean aesthetic with the blackletter drop caps and cover fonts versus what you might see in a theatre script book with the monospace accents. The title spread uses a transparent decorative frame, again from Helle's collection; the large box in the middle with the title was part of the original frame and then I duplicated and resized it for the author name and my imprint.

We All Do It, or, the Mistakes Section I somehow managed to print the cover papers nine inches tall and didn't see a problem with it until they came off the printer. Truly who knows how that happened. I was working on the case at two in the morning and cut the spine cloth the wrong length three separate times...earned the measure once cut twice badge big time for that one. The endpapers were an ordeal and a half for real. What I learned: print them too big and glue the cardstock to the back, then trim the paper to size, not the other way around otherwise you'll end up with big ugly gaps where the trimming was a few millimeters off. Whoops.

And...more pictures

I'm particularly pleased with how the covers here came out so here's closeups. Also, the arc on the spine that you can see in the endband on the last one is really pleasing to me lol I fought a war trying to get the flatback hinge calculations right.

[stardust948]

Twins AU

Sweet 16 Birthday

*Zuko and Azula standing back to back with their eyes closed*

Ursa: My twins can't have separate parties on their Sweet 16! So while you two were at Azula's Kuai ball game, I came up with a Mom-promise! Take a look!

*Twins open their eyes and see the decorations*

Zuko: Wow!

Azula: Awesome!

Ursa: Hold on, you two haven't seen the best part. Turn around.

*Turns around and see the room split into two themes. Theater theme on one side and Spa on the other*

Zuko and Azula: 😬

Ursa: Two themes, one party!

Ozai on the mic: It's Spa day at the theater! *mic cracks* Why isn't this thing working?

Ursa: Azula honey, you wanted to go to Ember Island resort, so we're gonna have one right here in the house!

Ursa: And Zuko, you wanted to see Love Amongst the Dragons live so we give you a personal backstage tour!

Zuko: Mom this is great!

Azula: Yes, I think we're halfway there. The half that doesn't look like a theater's club trash bin.

Zuko: Hey! I thought this was our party!

Ozai, working on the mic: Firelily it's time to come clean. We kept the secret for too long.

Ursa: No Ozai. *mic comes to life* I'm telling them they were born on separate days.

Zuko, Azula, and Kiyi: !!!

Ursa: Uh... *grabs mic* 🎵Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain!🎵 This karaoke thing works great! Who's next?

Zuko: What did you just say?!

Azula: We have different birthdays?!

Ozai: Kids, your mother and I have something to tell you.

Ursa:

Ozai:

Ozai: Go ahead.

Ursa: *gives him a dirty look* Zuko and Azula, the day you were born was truly the greatest day of my life.

Kiyi: Well that feels nice!

Ursa: But it was actually the days you were born. Zuko, you were born on the 5th at 11:56 pm. But Azula you were born at 12:02 on the 6th.

Azula, gesturing to her Kuai ball uniform: But the whole reason 5 is my lucky number is because I was born on the 5th. I'm a 5.

Kiyi: Apparently, I'm a zero.

Zuko: Wait, so Azula never celebrated on her actual birthday?

Kiyi: What kind of parents are you?! This is preposterous! I say again preposterous!!!

Ozai: I regret buying you that thesaurus.

Kiyi: If they could do this to her, what does that mean for everyone else? Am I six? Am I twelve? I could be nine.

Ozai: You're eleven.

Azula: Are you sure about that considering you both lied to me my whole life! *storms away*

[Later]

Ursa, coming into the twin's room: Hey.

Azula:

Ursa: Azula honey, I'm so sorry. Every year your birthday would roll around and I would get so excited at the two of you sitting together blowing out your candles.

Azula: Then why did you use those trick candles that didn't blow out?

Ursa: We wanted the moment to last forever. Plus a joined birthday party is double the fun! It's also half the work. See, I'm being completely honest with you from now on.

Azula, trying not to laugh: Don't try to be funny. I'm still mad at you.

Ursa: Honey, I am so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing. When you and Zuko were little you were inseparable. As your mother, it felt wrong to take that special day away.

Azula: Are you seriously trying to take credit for being a good mother right now?

Ursa: Yes I tried to slip that in.

Ursa: Just tell us what you want for your birthday and your father and I will make it happen. The sky's the limit. Well, there is a budget-

Ursa: See, being honest!

Azula: Thanks mom, but the last thing I feel like doing is celebrating my birthday. I don't even think I want a party this year. I'm sure Zuko feels the same.

Ursa: Well think about it. In the meantime, I made your favorite meal. Komodo chicken and stir-fried rice.

Ursa: Ok, I didn't actually make it. I brought it frozen in a box-

Azula: Mom!

Ursa: Right okay. *About to leave* Remember honey, you turn 16 only once.

Azula:

[moopiter]

Is Buckshot more of a self insert or a separate oc?

Buckshot's more of a seperate OC, i tried starting her off as a self insert but when it came time to actually flesh out the charcter and give her powers and a story i was like yeah, i dont like you anymore, and now shes just an OC with a life and personality totally different than mine. I just cant write in any other perspective besides second and I hate myself for it. I wrote the damn story in a fever dream and posted it here in case anybody took a liking to it, and well they did, somehow.

We're going to ignore that I hacked myself bangs and dyed my hair to cosplay as her for the con in NJ (because I have absolutely no idea how to wear a wig, and altering my hair was a better option in my head) I'm regretting it immensely. This is worse than when I died my hair blue to cosplay another OC years ago and it turned GREEN.

I try not to cringe abt her starting off as a self insert and becoming a seperate OC, to be fair my favorite character Aizawa from MHA started off as a self-insert and morphed into a different character too. And hey, everybody loves him.

She's my favorite OC in my little OC box, sitting pretty next to Moondust and Apollo (my MHA ocs) if anybody remembers them, i honestly think i was so embarrassed back then that i deleted everything, and im tempted almost every day to do that with Buckshot too ngl... I'm just not good at making characters.

[thiswasneverthat]

ㅡ personal trainer

❅ bangchan x female!reader

❅ smut, nipple play, groping

❅ wc: 1.2k

What did you expect the first time you sign to yourself to the gym near your apartment? Nothing much, really. Your intention was purely to get fit because you have been feeling kind of unproductive these days.

You were not much of a gym person to begin with, so you request a personal trainee to help you. What you didn't expect though, was the personal trainee to be hot as fuck. God, even hot would be an understatement to define him. You believe he was personally carved by the gods above and he was certainly their favorite creature. He could easily be your favorite too, to be very honest.

And what did you do on your very first gym session with him? Trying to get on his pants, of course. Because now, your definition of being productive has completely altered.

When the session was about to end, you set your plan into motion. All you need was to delay him from going home. 

"Chris, do you mind helping me some more? I kind of want to try boxing," you asked him with a smile. "Oh, but of course, only if you are not busy."

"Sure, yeah. I don't mind."

You discreetly cheered. It was going smoothly so far. 

Almost forty-five minutes later when you both were done with the boxing session, the gym was pretty much deserted. There were no more trainers or staff in sight.

"I think we're the only ones left, is that okay? Who's going to lock up the gym then?" you asked in fake concern.

"Don't worry about it, I got the keys." 

Of course, you know it's fine. You heard from the other trainers that all of them got the keys to the gym because they usually come to work out early or went home late.

"Alright then, if you don't mind waiting a bit, I need to take a quick shower. Please don't lock me up in here," you joked before you sprinted toward the women's changing room. Faintly, you heard him laughing at what you just said.

And what about your plan? Well, it was about time to add some spices to it.

"Chris, you here?" you called out from the front door of the men's changing room.

"Yeah, I am here. You need something?"

You couldn't see him from where you were standing but you heard the sound of water running. He was probably taking a shower, you thought. 

And while chewing on your lower lip, you sneakily entered the room. There were several rows of lockers covering the view of the showersㅡ where he was at.

"The water in the other room didn't work. Can I use the shower here?"

That was a blatant lie. The water in the women's changing room worked just fine.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me finish real quick, I am almost done heㅡ" the words then died in his throat the moment he caught you through his peripheralㅡ suddenly standing under the shower next to him that was only separated by clear glass.

"Oh no, it's fine, Chris. Take your time," you told him casually as you rid of the towel that was covering your body, leaving you completely naked. 

When you tilted your head to glance at him, you caught him staring at you but he quickly averted his eyes to look at anything but you. A low giggle then rolled out of your mouth as you twisted the faucet, letting the cold water run through your bare flesh.

Acting as if this wasn't a strange occurrence at all, like the two of you have done this so many times before, you hummed casually as you tried to spread your shower gel all over your bodyㅡ intentionally ignoring him who was quickly rinsing off the remnants of his shampoo from his hair.

"Chris, wait! Can you help me?" you called him out when he was about to step out of the shower with a towel wrapped dangerously low around his waist.

"Help you with what?" Chris turned his head to look at you, however still keeping his gaze above your bare shoulders.

With a flirtatious smile, you handed him your shower gel. "I can't reach my back, help me out?"

"Yeㅡ yeah, sure," he stammered a little as he took the shower gel from your hand. "Where?"

"All over my back, please."

"Yeah, of course."

As you turned to face the wall, you pulled your hair around your shoulder to give him full access to your backㅡ somehow feeling a little exhilarated that your plan was working fine until that moment.

The next second when you felt his big hand on your back, you couldn't help but let out a small whimper.

"You okay?" Chris instantly asked as he run his hand up and down your back.

"Mm yeah, your hand feels so cold on my back."

"Oh, sorry about that," he said with a low chuckle and it sent a tingle up your whole body.

"It's fine, but can you rub the gel a little higher?"

"Higher?"

"Yes, higher," you confirmed with a slight nod before placing your left hand against the wall in front of you.

And behind you, Chris did as he was told. He squeezed more shower gel from the bottle before bringing his hand to your shoulders, rubbing the gel gently on your soft flesh.

"Can you add more gel here as well?" you asked once again, pointing at the area in the middle of your back, a little closer to the side of your breast.

"Yeah, sure."

He was so compliant that got you biting your lower lip. Oh, your urge to ask him to put his big hands all over your body was so, so huge.

"A little to the front, please?"

"To the front? Where?"

"Here," with no fear, you abruptly reached for his right hand and brought it to your breast. "Rub it here, please."

"What?!"

Even without looking back at him, you could already imagine his surprised expression; eyes wide, jaw dropped and a red tinge crept up his face.

"Like this," you then put your hand on top of his and guided him to gently massage your breast in his palm.

For a fleeting moment, his hand only moved because of your assistance but then he gradually massage your breast harder as he cleared his throat.

"That feels so good, Chris," the words escaped your mouth along with a heavy moan. "Put your other hand on my left breast as well, pretty please."

Once again, he obliged and brought his other hand to your other breast. He massaged both of your mounds harder when more and more moans escaped your mouth.

"Can you feel my nipples hardening under your touch?"

He only hummed in response as he twisted your nipples in between his fingers.

"Ah, fuck!" you groaned with eyes shut tightly, head thrown to the back against his chest. "I am so dripping wet downㅡ"

Your words ceased in your throat when a loud ringing of a phone was heard inside the room.

"Oh, shit," Chris hissed sharply and pulled his hands away from your body. "I am sorry, we shouldn't haveㅡ fuck, I am so sorry."

"Chris, what?!" you turned your body to grab his hand but you were too late.

He was already walking toward his locker in a hurry.

A moment later, the phone stopped ringing and you heard his voice at a close distance.

"Hey, yeah, sorry, I just finished taking a shower but I will be there soon. See you soon, babe." 

"Oh, fuck!" you cursed harshly as you tugged on your wet hair. 

[noa-de-cajou]

Day 10 : Furniture shopping

Jaako belongs to @corneille-but-not-the-author

_____

It’s been a while since this happened, but I hadn't missed it.

“When exactly did we lose them??”

“Here… More dangerous than forest.”

Maybe I should contextualize my predicament for the sake of clarity.

My name is Noelle J. Vincent. I am accompanied by Mao Aozora and Jaako.

And for the third time this month, I have lost my spouses at Ikea.

We’ve been in the process of moving in together to the Manor, and finding a bed big enough for Jaako’s giant frame has been quite the challenge. Mao is here for emotional support, meaning he complains out loud so I don’t have to.

“Noelle, have you tried calling them?” he asks.

“Both of their phones are on silent.”

“Shit. Should we make an announcement? Like for lost kids?”

“Sora is deaf and Mika will kill all of us if we embarass them like this.”

“Mika… won't kill. They’re… kind,” Jaako attempts in his poor english.

“Yeah, to you, maybe,” Mao mumbles before turning to me. “Is it always like this?”

“Yes. Sora gets distracted, doesn’t notice we're still walking ahead, Mika is the first to notice they're gone and goes back without telling anyone.”

“Jaako, can’t you sniff them?”

“He's not an animal, Mao.”

“Too… many… weird smells.”

Figures. This kind of outing is hard on Jaako too. I should be as efficient as possible to find them. Last time, Sora got lost because he was looking at bedsheets and lava lamps. The time before that, it was the LEDs. Is he like a magpie? Attracted to shiny things?

“Maybe we should separate.”

Mao groans, massaging his knee.

“Yeah, and get all of us lost? I don’t think so. If Ema’s stomach-turning horror movies taught me one thing, it's that if you get separated, you die.”

Right. His chronic pains might get in the way, too. This might be more complicated than I thought.

“I would argue that separating is usually the best course of action to ensure that at least one person will survive the threat. But since there is no life-threatening emergency, we should stay together.”

“I knew coming with you guys was a mistake.”

“Helpful.”

“Noelle… Your… box, is making noise.”

Jaako still calls cellphones “boxes”. It’s kind of endearing. But he's right, mine is vibrating. I look at the screen.

It's Mika. I immediately pick up.

“Yes.”

“Hey! Sorry I left without telling you guys. I found Sora.”

I breathe out a small sigh of relief.

“Good. Where are you?”

“Uh, in the hangar with all the furniture pieces. Sora’s rambling about how he found the best bedframe for Jaako but I don’t understand half of what they’re saying.”

“Okay. Stay right where you are. We're coming.”

“Yeah, will do- Oh shit she’s speeding ahead. I’ll try to at least keep her in the hangar but uuuuh gotta go love you bye.”

The call ends. I stare at my screen for a minute.

Gotta go love you bye.

Love you.

“... I love you too.”

“So?” Mao asks impatiently.

“They’re together. We’re going to join them.”

“Thank god.”

“... They… okay?”

“Yes, Jaako. They’re fine.”

The giant smiles at me, looking a lot less nervous. Being with Mika really did wonders for him. I guess it did for me too.

Anyways.

I have found my spouses at Ikea.

[concernedbrownbread]

Hi I read your This Unbearable Tragedy and I’m having a blast! And yes please I would like to hear your thoughts on your fic

OMG thanks for asking!! Sorry for the late reply. I had so much to say that I wrote wayyy too much and then had to cut it down, lol.

(Also for those reading the fic rn, Chapter 3 is delayed to next weekend.)

So, the main things that I immediately thought of when I started planning a fix-it was "there's not enough Ben in s4" and "why would they set Allison and Reginald up to parallel each other and not follow through?" and also "that is NOT where I saw these characters going". In essence, I thought that s3 was setting up a certain narrative with all of this and then was like ???? when they went (haha) off the rails. So I'll talk about those three points below. SPOILERS for the fic and s4. It's a long post!

Before I start: one of the major points of this fic (and s4 ig) is that timelines are spilling into each other. That doesn't just mean artifacts. It means people. The Keepers get memories of other timelines. Why shouldn't Ben and Reginald?

Character Arcs

Yeah ... I think the general consensus was that the characters weren't themselves in s4. I actually had no problems with the set-up in ep 1-2, but then ... Five and Lila happened. And the narrative seemed to hate Diego, reduce Luther to a himbo and not much else, and for some reason try very hard to make Reginald a dad to Viktor. Klaus, Allison and Claire had a kind of nice sideplot but I didn't love it. It tortured Klaus for no real reason and made Allison his saviour? And for what?

Anyway, for my fic, I start off the characters the same with some subtle differences.

We don't see Diego at his job. His job is to be a dad. That's his whole thing, that's the best part of him. He's a brother and he's a father, and the narrative will reward him for that

Lila starts by screaming. Can you tell she's NOT okay? She deserves a break and a breakdown, and she'll get both I swear. She is NOT a house wife because she simply wouldn't be. She loves working. I did almost make Diego a househusband though

Side note on Lila's parents: they don't exist because why on earth would Allison think of that and not think of bringing Sissy back? It's clear her fantasy timeline is selfish.

Luther is a stripper still but again, his job is a side note. His first scenes is with Klaus (which, again, was a relationship set up in s3 and never explored??). He's trying damn hard to keep his family together and I want people to appreciate that!!

Allison's first scene is still the studio, but I wanted to expand it to include Klaus. Her story is still of love.

Also Klaus has his own place because he has goddamn agency in this narrative. He and Luther deserve to have a home of their own, and they'd make hilarious roomates imo.

Ray of course, exists

Five is interesting to me because while it makes sense for him to be in the CIA, I can't see him staying with the CIA. This will be explored in ch5. I have a really cool piece written for him.

Viktor my beloved <3 I have no notes, I just want to say I love him. I will of course not let him near Reginald unless to beat Reginald up.

Anyway, I'm going to write a whole separate post for the characters. You opened the Pandora's box anon!

Ben (and Klaus)

I gotta say ... I tried, I really tried, to like Jennifer. She's just such a non-character. We know very little about her, her trauma barely gets explored, the Squid is stupid because all it does is exist and then Ben is like "hehe I have tentacles too! Means we're connected" WHAT?

I was excited for Jennifer. Curious about the Jennifer Incident. Very vindicated when I learned Reginald killed them because lets face it, that's super in-character. But I just ... couldn't get behind Jennifer. So I scrapped her.

Look, if there was anyone that Ben was going to be soulmates with, it was Klaus (platonically).

I mean, isn't that what we learned over two seasons? That Ben and Klaus are inseparable?

(I also don't get the whole Durango thing. TUA has never been all that science-y but at least they tried, but this season they didn't care at all. They really just threw in matter/dark-matter and pretended it was something.)

Anyway, I also don't understand why the fact that Ben was DEAD in another timeline is never bought up properly. In fact, Ben is barely bought up by the siblings? After they discuss his death, they all go off on their own. Viktor's the only one who seems to care (which is fine, I love Viktor and seeing him try to reach out to Ben was nice). Five and Diego are fighting each other during their fight against Ben??? Doesn't make sense - Five saves Ben in s3, Diego hugs Ben so tightly in s2, WHERE. IS. THE. PAYOFF.

(I think that is really what I hated about s4. There is no payoff to all that was built in s1-3. They bring in whole new narrative points without concluding the old ones, and then everyone dies. The end. UGH.)

Anyway, MY BEN needs his Klaus. His memories are a little janky, because timelines, but there has always been one constant. There has always been Klaus. I think even in childhood, they were close (and I'll try to explore that more in the memories). More than that though, Ben needs his FAMILY.

And he might deny that they are his family, but they are. And they will do so much to help him. Including, but not limited to, BEATING REGINALDS ASS (/j)

Allison and Reginald's choice

Okay, the final scene in s3 where we see Allison & Ray and Reginald & Abigail made me think that s4 was going to take this further. Allison and Reginald both made a selfish choice - not in resetting the timeline, but in directly going against the wishes of the loved ones they magicked into the timeline. Ray in s3 is very clear that though he loves her, and will always love her, his place is in Dallas 1963, where he has people he cares about. A life he cares about. Abigail is a bit more subtle, but I remember thinking that it was clear that she wanted to die/was content with dying. I was a pretty casual fan then so I don't know if this was true, but that was the vibes I got from s1, and I was pretty happy that s3 confirmed it just ... not in the way I wanted? I don't mind she destroyed the world because she wanted to die - it's clear Abigail and Reginald think themselves above human lives. I just wish they explored it more.

And again, this parallel was something I got from just the ending of s3. It wasn't a deepdive or anything. I feel like it was such an obvious choice for s4 to go "What happens if you can't let go of the person you love?" And then ... they don't even mention Ray properly. Damn.

I just don't understand why they didn't do it? They set it up so perfectly. UGHHHH.

The main reason Ray exists in my fic is because Allison has to reckon with the fact that she really did pull Ray out of his time, out of his life. And I want her to realise how awful a choice that was. At the same time, I want Reginald to face the exact same thing and choose to do the opposite - hold onto Abigail tighter. Chapter 3 is going to explore a bit more of Allison and Ray, while further down the line we'll see more and more of Abigail.

(ALSO OMG!!! Abigail and Five parallel each other in wayyy more interesting ways than Reginald and Five. I cannot WAIT to write that. But this is more a headcanon hehehehe.)

Other Notes

I think s1-3 set up a lot of things that I assumed was going to be explored and wasn't. I'm going to try and touch upon all of them

the Jennifer Incident felt lacking. s1-2 really were so good because there was a slight mystery to it all, and when there wasn't, there was a ton of dramatic irony - ofc we knew Viktor was the bomb, but it was interesting to see the family figure out that mystery. In the same way, ofc we know Ben is the bomb, but I really though s4 would allow the family to actively search for why and how to stop him. I'm more of a angst & fluff writer but I shall try to write some semblance of mystery here.

Marigold. I will explore. I have Thoughts. chapter 3 will answer more on why it was found by Ben in particular.

Relationships that were set up in s1 will be revisited because as the "last season" I expected it to be. Ofc, Klaus and Ben is the big one, but also Klaus-Diego, Viktor-Allison, Allison-Luther, Five-Viktor, etc. Some new ones will be there, especially with Ben who had little interactions (on account of him being a ghost) and with Lila.

Five continues to be old man on this side of crazy. Sometimes he has good advice. Other times his ideas are unhinged. Early chapters he's mellow because life is normal now but when things go to shit ... oh boy let's NOT forget how paranoid this guy is.

Lila is also a little crazy. Good for her.

Commission!Five is explained more than just a throwaway line in the Five Deli. Five Deli and the Subway is explored more too ofc.

DOLORES MENTIONED BECAUSE SHE IS GODDAMN IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING FIVE. Not even as a "love story" (Five's love story is his familial one), just as a part of his psyche. She is mentioned in EVERY season. She deserves to be mentioned here.

Pogo. I will not say more.

Reginald. Is Reginald.

Anyway, I have a lot more to say but I'll stop here. Sorry this is so long! Thanks for the ask <3

[cosmichoneibeee]

Hi! May I request HCs of Skye, Omen, and Jett (Separate) whose partner [Reader] [Gender Neutral] [Romantic] [Valorant Agent] snuck a kitten into the Protocol after a mission? Say [Reader] explains they found the poor baby feline all alone and needs some aid. They promised to send the small animal to an animal rescue shelter after it heals up and ready for adoptions.

Skye, Jett & Omen helping you taking care of a sick kitten

[k/n] = kitten's name

warnings: none

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠

❝Skye:

You and Skye had a way too big a heart. When the two of you were at her house, deep in the australian forest, it wasn't uncommon to care for sick wild animal, cubs mainly; it just worked, made you look like a enormous unusual family, full of furry children, and she loved that. But she would never try to rehabilitate any animal at protocol headquarters, because ou two had very busy schedules and she didn't want any trouble with Brimstone.

You on the other hand didn't thought twice about picking up a kitten, so small and helpless, lying in a cardboard box on a crowded street you passed the last time you were in town.

So when she walked through the door, tired of the mission she just went through, and saw you with the feline in your arms, giving milk to the very hungry animal with a small baby bottle, she could just let out a sigh.

"Damn it, [y/n]"

"I can explain...! But first come and meet our baby, [k/n]"

She couldn't say no to the assignment, you both knew that. So she just accepted and started to come up with a way to concile the work in the Protocol and the care that such a young cat needed to have.

You really tried to be as discreet as possible, but within days Fade and Omen had already found out about [k/n] and were more than willing to help.

Skye's animals love the kitten, they spend hours just watching that tiny little thing, admiring it, taking care of it like guardians.

And not just them, but herself. As much as Skye maintains a certain façade, looking irritated, non stop complaining and lecturing about how you'll end up getting you two punished for being too kind, she has a twinkle in her eye and a huge smile on her face every time the kitten shows an improvement.

She absolutely loves this cat and she will try to convince you to stay with it. She even plans to get them used to a leash when it gets older so she can go on walks with them. Exercise buddies :D

Sage began to suspect something was up when she noticed the movement your room had been having for the past week and strange meowing noises in the middle of the night.

It didn't take long for her and Brimstone to connect the dots.

Despite the fear of what was to come, none of them really had the courage to punish you for [k/n], and since it's going to adotion soon, the kitty could stay a little longer.

Skye was so upset, hurt that she couldn't stay with the cat. She had so many plans and all this disappeared, even if you had never agreed to stay with it.

When the day arrived, it was hard to say goodbye, but you managed to go through it, together. And you knew that [K/N] would go to a good, love-filled family, they needed someone who gave them full attention.

Which did not prevent you from missing them.

After a day you were particularly sad, Skye decided to give you a gift, it was simple, but it was done with a lot of love.

A cat wooden totem, just like those of her animals; But this one was all yours, to keep you company and protect you while she is far away.

❝Jett:

It may not seem like it, but she loves cats

Like, a lot.

Whenever you go to Seoul, she drags you to these cat cafes and don't be impressed, because she knows the name of each of the cats by heart

Every time a cat shelter ad appears, she begs you to adopt one and every time you say no...and every time she gives you a few hours of cold shoulders.

So when she went to your room to see how you were after the last mission and saw a cat in your bed, she almost shouted with happiness.

"Sunwoo Han, no. We're not staying with it, I'll just take care of it until they're healed."

"But..but, [y/n]..!"

puppyface-jett.exe

She loves to help you take care of the kitten, everything you need to do, she is already doing it without you needing to ask.

The cat loves her too, only Jett's presence seems to make them more cheerful.

She promised not to be attached, but the next day she had already named them [k/n] and bragged to the other duelists.

When you arrived in your bedroom and saw all those people around your bed, with toys, clothes, cat snacks and even a cat tower, petting the animal, it was very difficult not to lose your head.

"I'm sorry, [y/n], things ended up getting out of control..but [k/n] seems super happy."

Brimstone is not happy though.

What will the Protocol become if everyone doesn't care about the rules?

[K/N] would really have to leave.

You preferred to choose the future owner by yourself, try not to involve Jett at this stage so she wouldn't suffer.

All the other agents were sad too, they bought so much stuff for [k/n] and now they're gone.

At night, when you were getting ready for bed, she looked at you with those little puppy eyes and asked if the kitten was okay.

"I think so, honey. They're with your parents, they'll take care of it while we work."

"Wait a second..!"

When she realised what you did, she hugged you so strong for so long that she slept with her arms around you.

And now she has a cat waiting for her in South Korea...and you have an incredibly happy girlfriend.

❝Omen:

You have returned from your mission, Omen can sense your presence.

But you didn't go looking for him, stranger...

Teleporting to your room, he saw you tending to a kitten's wounds.

He doesn't ask you anything at first, just suggests that you take it to his room, which is already cat-proof while the two of you tidy up yours.

Omen's cat watches from afar, from a high cat tree, quiet as its owner, almost jealous of the attention the other one is getting from you and your boyfriend.

Eventually you tell him that you found the kitten dumped in a partially destroyed building, so badly hurt that you thought it wouldn't even make it to the base alive.

He doesn't mind helping with care, especially at night, when you're tired and he can't sleep

His body may not be very still, but his hands are insanely precise when he needs to use them - plenty of practice cutting bonsai branches.

Simply a sweetheart

No one takes care of a cat as well as he does.

He buys so many treats and wet foods, also its own cat tree (his cat doesnt like sharing)

By the time the cat is good for adoption he will be so chubby and pampered

Brimstone and Sage didn't care too much when they found out about the new HQ resident, Omen was less unstable and that's what matters, if it's going for adoption, just makes everything goes smoother.

He knows you're just temporary parents to it, but he can't help but knit its lots of clothes and even some yarn pets, it's so cute.

When you're on missions elsewhere, the ones that will take days, he makes a point of sending pictures of the two kittens wearing something silly. Makes you smile and he knows it.

The other agents have heard rumors about a new cat, but he will never talk about whether or not it exists, he knows everyone would be excited to see them and despite everything, [k/n] is still kind of sick. So he wants to be extra careful

Omen can't lie that he was a little upset when he had to say goodbye, but he knows that the cat is going to a home where it will have all the love and care in the world... and his cat was already bubbling over with jealousy, they need to be the center of attention for a while.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠

@ Do not copy any of my works, translate and/or post it on others websites.

[ben-marco]

Hello!

I wanted to ask if you have any tips for working with a few issues I'm having irt deprogramming.

With the point we're at, our highest ups have converted to the side of the system, but still fear reaccess by our abusers despite that not being possible (group has disbanded, leader moved away). How can we help with the remaining fear?

Another struggle, because the higher ups are no longer keeping everyone stringently separate, the lower gatekeepers are struggling to keep the "daytime" sidesystem away from front like they have been since discovery of our OEA background. It seems like it may be time to start trying to tell them what we remember, but we're afraid of overwhelming them. How do we start telling them without raising questions with answers they aren't ready for yet?

Thank you!

Hello anon.

I totally hear you. Higher-ups are tough. When I've been in similar situations, I have tried to orient them to the present as much as possible-- and in multiple ways. I had to invite one of them to join me at mealtimes (bonus points if he was willing to be around while I cooked whatever we were eating) to see that we can eat whatever we want now, and always have plenty of food. By taking part in meals and observing me while I cook, he learned that things are different for us now in these specific ways:

We live somewhere else, our kitchen is very different from the one that was in our childhood home

We are old enough to live on our own now

We are old enough to cook for ourselves

We eat what we want to eat, nothing that makes us sick, and the cabinets have plenty of what we need

It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, either. I found that this particular higher-up enjoyed chicken noodle soup from a can, for example. Sometimes it's the little things. You could also invite these parts to observe (or even take part) in other activities, like writing or drawing or collaging. Anything to show them that things are different these days.

You may find it helpful to keep an index card in your wallet (or in your journal, if you keep one) that states the current year, your current address, the group being disbanded and the leader having moved away, and any other information you think might be important or orienting. If you have a grounding box, you might also keep a copy of this information in there, too.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I have advice for the second part, as this is something I struggle with myself-- the constant tug-of-war between day parts and night parts, and who knows what, and who believes what. However, I will advise you that no matter how hard you try to be tactful and gentle with revealing this information, there's always a chance that parts will deny it or be overwhelmed by it. That's just the nature of these kinds of disclosures. A trauma-informed therapist might be able to help smooth this over, but it will likely still be messy or difficult at times, just because of the nature of the information.

Wishing you and your parts all the best.

[arthropod-concoctions]

(AO3 - prev)

Martyn swiped his finger across a page of the enchanted book, sketching a pose, and watching as the armor stand in front of him mimicked it. He took his finger off the paper with a flourish, and the stand froze, staying in position. It wasn't a particularly impressive pose, but Martyn smiled proudly anyways.

“This thing is awesome,” he said to Joe, who had flown in to drop yet another shulker box full of various types of stone at Cleo's doorstep. Ze said that they would know what to do with it; somehow, Martyn doubted that. “You wouldn't happen to know how to replicate it, would you?”

“Oh, that's easy, just take a book and title it `Statues',” Joe replied. Around zir head floated a rainbow of small multicoloured eyes that stared directly at Martyn.

“Right,” Martyn said, looking back at the eyes. That sounded like far too easy a process to be possible on just any server. He tried not to be too disappointed; he wouldn't have had any time for making statues in the Life games anyways, and, well, where else was he gonna do it?

“And another thing... do you know if Cleo has a change of clothes stashed anywhere?”

Joe hesitated for a moment. “...In their cross-server inventory, probably?”

“Sure, but I'd feel weird just digging through that. And I had a look around this block of skyscrapers here, but I couldn't find a wardrobe or anything.”

“Oh, fair enough. Well, I don't know about Cleo, but you can borrow some of my clothes if you want?”

“Sure. Do you have anything in green?”

Joe smiled and looked at Martyn through zir green glasses, and Martyn looked at zir green fingerless gloves and green hairtie and felt a bit silly for asking. “Oh, I've got a few things. I'll be right back!”

---

Half an hour later, Martyn was standing next to a shulker box overflowing with clothes, dressed in... not the most ostentations outfit he'd ever worn, considering a certain December MCC, but it was probably in the top ten. Cleo was a bit taller than Joe, so most of the clothes left the belly exposed, but Martyn had managed to find a chroma green pinstripe suit that fit well enough. He stepped out of the room in Cleo's base he'd used to dress up, and made eye contact with Joe, whose face lit up.

“Found something you like?” ze said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Martyn replied, laughing. “I feel like I'm ready to play for the Lime Llamas with this fit.”

“I don't watch sports, but yeah, I think you look great!”

The two of them walked out into Cleo's courtyard, where someone was waiting for them; someone who appeared to be a blue slime in a hoodie and jogging pants.

The slime looked at Martyn and stifled a laugh. “Wow, looks like I chose the right day to go check on Cleo's replacement,” they said, then held out a slimy hand- more like a stump, really, Martyn couldn't make out separate fingers. “I'm Jevin. Nice to meet you.”

“Martyn,” Martyn responded. He tried to shake Jevin's 'hand', but only ended up slapping against it before Jevin withdrew it. It had the consistency of a water balloon. “You're a friend of Cleo's?”

“Uh- yeah, a friend. Totally. Mhm, we're best friends,” Jevin replied, nodding. “That's why I'm here. Friendly reasons.”

“Right. Friendly reasons. Definitely not `collecting blackmail material for Cleo' reasons.”

“Exactly! See, you get it,” Jevin said cheerfully. Martyn looked at Joe, who shrugged. Zir rainbow eyes shot a few glances at Jevin occasionally, but most remained trained on him. Suddenly, Joe gasped.

“Wait, I haven't even shown you the best feature of this outfit yet!” ze said, then began rummaging through zir inventory. Eventually ze pulled out a strange flashlight of sorts. “Check this out!”

Ze shone the light on Martyn; he looked down to realise his body had vanished. From the neck down, all of his body which was covered by green fabric was completely invisible.

Martyn laughed deviously. “Oh, that's fantastic. Say, can I borrow that light for a bit?”

“Sure,” Joe said, handing Martyn the flashlight. “As long as you bring it back by the end of the day.”

“Yeah, I can do that, no problem,” Martyn replied, then went back into his little changing room. After some rummaging, he found a piece of fabric big enough to cover his head, protesting snakes included; then, he pulled out his chat and began typing a message.

<ZombieCleo> Tim, where you at?

<Tango> the shopping district

<Tango> zedaph's giving me a tour

<ZombieCleo>coords?

Taking the makeshift mask with him, he went outside to meet Joe and Jevin again. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a rancher to prank.”

He shot a glare at Jevin, who appeared to be taking a picture of him, then took off flying with Cleo's elytra.

Despite receiving precise coordinates from Jimmy, Martyn had quite some trouble locating him and his new friend in the shopping district. Partly because the district in question was a headache-inducing mess to fly over, and partly because all of Tango's distinctive physical features were now blue for some reason.

He gently glid down to the ground, careful not to make any noise, and landed behind Jimmy and a blond Hermit who he guessed must be Zedaph. He'd been shining Joe's flashlight onto himself, rendering him entirely invisible except for his hand. He trailed behind the two of them, slowly closing the gap. Eventually he could hear what Zedaph was saying:

“And this is the hole where... Actually, I have no idea what this hole is for. It wasn't here last time I went shopping. There's hoppers at the bottom... d'you reckon we should throw something in, see what happens?”

“You know, Zed, this tour isn't very good,” Jimmy said. His accent was unmistakeable, even in Tango's voice, which didn't seem to have changed with his colouration.

Martyn was right behind them at this point, so he spoke up: “Yeah. Zero stars.”

Jimmy yelled out and whirled around, flailing his arms about in a panic. His arm collided with Zedaph's, and expelled some kind of red flash; then, Zedaph yelped too.

Martyn began laughing, pulling the cloth off of his face and pointing the flashlight down. “Oh, that was beautiful,” he said between laughs.

“Wh- Cleo- Martyn- how did you- what are you wearing?” Jimmy sputtered.

“More importantly, what were you thinking?” Zedaph added, rubbing his arm where he'd collided with Jimmy. “Do you know how annoying redstone burns are to heal?”

“Sorry, Zed,” Martyn said. “Didn't mean for you to become collateral. Hi. I'm Martyn, by the way.” Martyn extended his hand to Zedaph, who crossed his own arms, pointedly not shaking his.

“Wait-- sorry, Zed, by the way-- what do you mean 'redstone burn'?” Jimmy said.

“Well, you know, with Tango's redstonyness... he never zapped you on accident?”

Jimmy shook his head. Martyn piped up: “Wait, are you saying Tango just has redstone tasers hidden up his sleeves at all times?”

“No- he- because he's a redstone sprite, guys come on!” Zedaph exclaimed, clearly expecting Martyn and Jimmy to know this.

“I didn't know that,” Jimmy replied immediately.

Zedaph looked at Jimmy, looking very offended on Tango's behalf. “Seriously? You were married to him, and you didn't even-”

“We were not married!” Jimmy interrupted him. “We were soulmates, not-”

“About the same thing, isn't it? Still, not a very good soulmate if you didn't even know what species he is.”

“I thought he was just a regular guy!”

“He has red eyes!” Zedaph and Martyn said in unison.

“Not anymore though, they're blue now,” Martyn added. “Zed, what's up with that anyways? Why does Hermitcraft get the blue raspberry flavoured Tango?”

“Because of...” Zedaph trailed off, then sighed, and pinched his nose. “You know, I figured because you were his husband- soulmate, whatever-” he waved a hand at Jimmy, who's opened his mouth to protest- “I could skip the `introduction to Tango' part of this tour. But I guess not! Follow me, let's turn this tour around.”

[abbiistabbii]

Hey sorry I saw your post about Linux being better/just as good as Windows for gaming PCs, and I was wondering which type you’d recommend downloading for a mid-tier PC? (I’m not super tech savvy tbh but I’m a fast learner and would rather download Linux at this point than Windows after all the shit it’s done lately). Also, did not know Android uses Linux that is cool!

If you're a beginner, either one of the Linux Mint flavours or one of the Ubuntu flavours, depending on how mid-tier we're talking about. Mint is based on Ubuntu but they're both ultimately based on Debian, which is the most stable and easy to use (in my experience) Distro. You'll find this a lot that a lot of distros are based on other distros, but if I were to talk about distros, the best ones tend to be debian based.

So Linux Mint is made to be as user friendly as possible and have most, if not everything, working out the box, and it's great, but it does use an older version of the Kernel so you need to bare that in mind (but as a beginner you don't need to worry too much, everything will still work). It comes in three versions: Cinnamon (using the Cinnamon desktop), MATE (using the Mate Desktop) and XFCE (using the xfce desktop). On a mid-tier PC any of these will work, even the heaviest of them has a recommended ram of 4GB but if you know your PC you might wanna try MATE (about 1GB ram recommended) or XFCE (512 MB).

However I would recommend Ubuntu (it's what I'm using rn). It's what Linux Mint is based on and is just as user friendly as Mint but with the big difference being it uses a newer Kernel version and has more flavors using different Desktop Environments and for different uses. The flavors however are on different websites but more or less work closely with Ubuntu itself.

Vanilla Ubuntu used Gnome as it's default which is okay, some people like it, but I don't and nor does a lot of my friends. Different flavors have different requirements and levels of usability but again, 4GB is enough to run any flavor. Other Flavors include:

Kubuntu: this is the one I use, and in my option it's better than Vanilla. It used KDE and it's suite of apps which are both user friendly, wide ranging and really nice looking. KDE is quite resource intensive (again that's not saying much compared to windows) but if you have a mid tier PC with more than 4GB ram, it should run fine and I recommend it. I'm a big KDE fangirl.

Xubuntu: This is one I used in the past. Xubuntu used XFCE which is designed to be lightweight without sacrificing functionality. It's not as flashy, but it's easy to use, functional, and great for lower-powered computers or just people who wanna save on computing power.

Ubuntu Cinnamon: This flavor uses Cinnamon (which the "main" version of Mint uses) but with Ubuntu as the distro. I used Cinnamon as my desktop when I used Mint and I loved it. It has all the functionality of Gnome with all the ease of use and flashiness of KDE, so if you try out Cinnamon on Mint but like Ubuntu, try it out.

Lubuntu: This is the lightest of Ubuntu flavors. It's light enough that it's ARM version can run on a Raspberry pi. This was designed for computers with not much power like those old netbooks (remember those?) and it's not as flashy or functional, but it's a good option if your computer is a potato.

Ubuntu Budgie: This is the one I know least about because I have never used budgie. I checked it out on distrosea but other than that all I know is from people who have tried it. Some like Budgie (which uses the Budgie desktop) some don't, but I think I might need to check it out before I pass judgement.

Each of these versions are distributed from their own websites so be sure to google.

As for gaming I would recommend that after installing it, if you have a separate graphics card, install the drivers either from the driver manager or from the website itself. Steam runs on Linux and follow the instructions from steam on how to activate Proton.

Happy nerding.

[ajaxbell]

Learn The Truth 😂

Please enjoy my completely unhinged thoughts on The Truth S2, in which I use the word 'fun' way too many times.

So I'm kind of obsessed with this show (my mini recap of the ep 0 pilot here). I described it to non-drama watching friend as like being at a murder mystery house party but with some of your fave Chinese celebrities instead of your friends. It's just fun. The Truth S2 (aka 开始推理吧 第二季, aka Start Reasoning 2) is a Chinese comedy variety show about investigating murders.  An overview on how it works:

Each set of episodes is set in certain time period. The six cast members are given details about their character in that time period (but the other cast seem to only know the info about their own character and are surprised by everyone else's reveals), a preset story plays out and an NPC is murdered. Then two characters deemed free of suspicion (I'm actually not sure how this is determined) become investigators and the other four are the suspects.

The investigators check the scene and body for clues, then all six sit in a room while those clues are presented, and then each suspect has a box of gathered clues about each other. Like Suspect A will say 'here is what was found in Suspect C's room' and then  show the incriminating evidence, while Suspect C tries to explain using their backstory notes and everyone else teases and mocks them. Then there's a some sort of mysterious test and if the murderer passes it then they can make one of the investigators an 'X' meaning the investigator will help them escape discovery. Then once they've all shared their evidence and backstories, they go out into the sets (a huge building of different rooms) and try and solve the mystery by finding more clues.

This season stars Bai Yu (yes from Guardian), Liu Yuning, Dilraba Dilmurat, Zhang Linghe, Zhou Keyu (who is apparently American???), and Wang Xun (who has more credentials than the rest of the cast combined). It's an interesting mix of ages and backgrounds that seems to be working, mostly because they are all eventually revealed to be chaos gremlins. Also LYN, BY, and ZKY were on The Truth S1, so they are the 'seniors' here.

Episodes 1 & 2 are set in the 1920s in a cabaret club. Same characters, location, etc. but a different murder in each ep, with an over arcing separate (non-murder) mystery with its own clues going on simultaneously. Episodes 3 & 4 are in 1988 in trading company office.  I've seen some incredible costumes that might or might not be from ep 4. They don't seem to fit what I've seen so far (through ep 3) but ep 2 goes so far off the rails from where it starts that I'm willing to accept anything might fit in these bonkers storylines.

We're only 3 eps in and am unable to count the number of times I've shouted "wait, what!?" at the screen. To be fair some of this is because it's only available to me (in the US) with terrible machine translated subtitles. It's almost like a whole separate game just to parse these out. And some of it is nonsensical and confusing, and some is utterly delightful, like Liu Yuning telling a story that starts "when I was young girl..." But mostly there's a lot of weird direct translation of names that is simply so confusing that you have to just guess what they are saying in context.

Despite that it's a joy to watch. To see who is really picking up clues, to watch them all constantly eat snacks (seriously so many snacks in this show), to see how they play the story lines they are given,  and to see them interact with each other. Things I didn't know I needed to see, like how pleased with himself ZLH is Every time he solves a problem but especially a math problem (he was an engineering student before he was an actor). And LYN's ability to instantly solve puzzle boxes (maybe because he does magic tricks sometimes?) Dilraba's incredible ability to spot clues in weird places that no one else seems to notice.

So I've said this is fun and it is, all on its own. But I am absolutely obsessed with this show so far because the actors keep making it gay when they really don't have to. Like just for fun. Even if none of the actors are queer (unlikely) at least two of the actors have been in bl drama adaptations, and at least two more have been in shows with Gong Jun, so I assume they all at least know from gay, you know?  Some of it feels like the good old days of TV in my youth (in the last century) when we had to ship folks to make our own gay, which the restrictions of Chinese are making increasingly necessary. Some of it is probably just like my own wishful thinking. And because of the terrible subtitles a lot of it is me just saying "wait did that just actually happen, or did I just think it did?" (Nothing says fun like gaslighting yourself about whether something is gay, lol.)

There are also a lot of good running jokes developing. At some point in Ep 1 Bai Yu called everyone 'little killers' (xiao shashou) and it really caught on. And now every time a suspect is defending themself against evidence someone will say, laden with sarcasm, the equivalent of "sure you're innocent, little killer."  Everyone keeps calling Zhang Linghe "Handsome He" and I literally cannot figure out if this is in the script or just them teasing him (because there seems to be a lot of teasing of ZLH). In addition to this the cast is making a lot of gay jokes and it's lovely because it's clearly not mean-spirited or cruel. Some seem to be just obvious and fun. But others I can easily interpret as the cast simply being like "hey, there is no gay here, let's put some gay here! It's fun!" In ep two there's a conversation that went something like this (I'm paraphrasing the subtitles)

ZKY *in character reading from I think another character's journal?*: Young Marshal He [ZLH's character] lifted his head and looked towards Young Marshal Ning [LYN's character] with a complicated emotion in his eyes. ZKY *out of character*: "What emotion?" Dilraba: What type of story is this? (omg the look on her face, she knows) ZLH *starts laughing and looking shy* LYN: *singing to ZLH* I've finally learned how to love… ❣️‼️ Dilraba *looking overjoyed*: This is so messy! (ZLH's character is supposed to be in love with her character, and LYN's character is her character's brother) ZLH (continues to laugh while simultaneously looking pleased and shy)

Then as they go on around the sets looking for clues and solving thing they just keep referencing this joke of ZLH's character and LYN's character being the ones in a romance in the story. But like I guess subtly enough that it gets past censorship? But like obvious enough I got it even with the terrible subtitles. And after this it's like all I can not to analyze every scene for good gay joke content.

There's several scenes while they are searching for clues and the lights go out and something scary happens. These presumably leave the cast unable to see in pitch black, but are filmed with some kind of night vision (nice to see who is dying their hair by how it comes out weird in the night scope, lol). So I'm bopping along wondering if I'm feeling creepy for how I'm kind of starting to ship LYN and ZLH and then the lights go out and I'm forced to frantically text by friend: "OMG the lights just went off on The Truth and LYN plastered himself, chest to back, on ZLH, then they grabbed Dilraba and pulled her in and now this is some kind of perfect bisexual triad that I didn't know I wanted?" And I'm sitting there, having watched it three times, asking myself if that's what really happened. Then the show's official Weibo posts it with the caption "After the lights go out, Liu Yuning became Zhang Linghe’s backpack." I mean, c'mon!!

the subtitles here are something like- LYN "let's sing to make ourselves brave" ZKY *sings the alphabet song and everyone joins in* LYN "what no, not this song."

And the scene carries on, the new bisexual triad of my dreams with arms linked and everyone being so cute that I can't stop thinking about for days. And then later the show decided to get a certain clue ZLH and LYN had to stand face to face and get wrapped like a mummy. Because why not? 😅😂 I was already being ridiculous about this, why not just SPOON FEED IT TO ME? And then. And then... Remember in ep 2 when LYN starts singing "I finally learned how to love" to ZLH? Welp then LYN posts the most theater kid emo gay boy video imaginable with song on his Weibo. A video that just screams, "I'm so deep, and cannot ever share my deep, meaningful conflicted feelings." And which point I'm forced to text my friend, "OMG is THIS the show that's finally going to turn me in to a delusional shipper? Of LYN and ZLH? This was not on my bingo card. Like totally out of left field." And yet here we are. I'm not proud of what this show has done to me. But obviously I'm not embarrassed enough to not post about either.🤡

Now I've written this entire rambling mess just so I could share that with you all my unhinged obsession with the gay subtext and gay jokes in this show. Like eagerly watching with popcorn looking for that next little single line or physical touch that I can make something huge out of. A week later and I'm still thinking about a moment when ZLH casually called LYN 'ge' while touching his shoulder because it felt so real and out of character for the scene. Because seriously, what is even happening in this show? Is this all happening, is it actually on screen, or am I finally really having a reality break? I think the point of this post was to convince you to watch this beautifully bonkers show, but I got really distracted by the gay. But like maybe that too will convince you to watch these absolute chaos gremlins?