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mulders-too-large-shirt · 5 months ago

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s2 episode 15 thoughts

i'm back! i was got halfway through the episode yesterday when a storm knocked the power and the internet off so i was sadly unable to finish the ep OR post my thoughts :( but i finished it now!!!

so this episode was about "voodoo" and you have maybe been able to tell from my previous posts, but i love studying religions and belief systems. so honestly i was pretty frightened this episode was going to be all "ahhh look how scary this belief we don't understand is!" and like. haitian vodou has been one of THE biggest victims of this line of thinking. so i was pleased that the real villain of the episode was a white man abusing his power.

and yes, they did make vodou seem ~spooky~ but: i'm pleased the bad guy was a real bad dude and not a caricature of what americans think a scary evil priest would look like.

so let's jump in!

we start the episode with hearing a baby crying. which is never a good way to begin, as far as i am concerned. just not for me.

it's a wife and a husband and this husband seems evil. he snaps at his wife and from his first line i was torn between "this man is genuinely an abusive monster" or "this man is being brainwashed" and thankfully it was the brainwashing route

he screams at his wife and child until the both cry and then he sees his breakfast turn to worms.

worms for breakfast... might sound wild to you, but for a bird, that's just an ordinary day.

he then gets in his car and crashes into a tree and we see some sort of sign on the tree he crashes into....... and this is the SECOND fellow that has died working at this refugee camp....

roadtrip with our agents to north carolina!!!!

(i made a post when i was like halfway through s1 about all the roadtrips these 2 go on and how they allowed them to get to know each other, and a few people were like "um they take planes?", but my POINT ON THE BONDING STANDS and also here is evidence of a REAL road trip)

they step out and both of their trench coats are billowing in the wind. a beautiful sight.

we're learning about what has been going on at this refugee camp they are visiting, where the soldiers have been dropping like flies... they mention that there was a riot recently, and a little boy killed, and i'm thinking, maybe that kind of trauma can lead a person to crash a car or harm themselves? i realize i sound like scully as i type that!!! a real skeptic!!! but it seems plausible.

they visit the home of the new widow and she's like "well that symbol on the tree was ALSO there when the first guy died... and get this... it was on this shell my baby found!" which led to my (joking) theory that it was the baby that was doing the killing... baby witchcraft is likely super effective, compounded by their innocence to create a super critical hit... alas, this theory had no backing

but evil babies aside, she's really freaked out because her late husband's friend grew up in new orleans and says that this is the type of voodoo he saw down there, so... interesting

they go into the refugee camp to ask around, and someone grabs scully, when a boy intervenes and tells the dude who grabbed her to get lost in french and i was SO proud because i knew what he was saying... like yeah i guess my duolingo IS paying off...

(all he said was "vas-tu" but hey! i was still proud)

the child then tries to smooth talk them into buying a good luck charm and mulder buys it which had me LAUGHING... like truly he sees a child and he will support them financially.

(i thought perhaps that the good luck charm would open up and be the symbol we earlier associated with destruction and make them a target but i was wrong!!! it just was a genuine ward against evil. thank u little boy named chester)

one of the military men says that "voodoo caused a riot" and as far as riot causes go i think that is not in the top 10 most common... i'm willing to guess that perhaps it is the awful treatment people in a refugee camp receive... but sure. blame a belief system! (/s)

scully goes to look at the body of the first man that died and JUMPSCARE! his body has been replaced in the morgue with some kind of dog? it looked like a hyena to me, which raised the question: where do you source a hyena in north carolina? no answers were provided

our agents visit the man who is blamed for starting the riot- who is named bauvais, what a wonderful name that is- and he says that the symbol they found was that of the loco-miroir, a crossroads between two worlds that shows the true self. so i'm thinking, perhaps if that is the case, these men that died were being tormented because of the awful things they did to the refugees?

he also describes the dog creature in the morgue as "a warning" which hm. i mean. could be.

scully is doing some driving now, which i noted because it was unusual, and she almost hits someone! (is this why she doesn't normally drive?)

i jest, of course, because who is in the road but... the dude who we earlier saw crash into a tree? the dude whose wife and baby we visited who were mourning his loss? this man? so... he isn't dead?? this part of my notes had many question marks

i guess i assumed that they... you know... had triple checked that he was really dead...

they check his blood and there is some poison in there that scully says is in pufferfish, which are eaten in japan, and i'm like queen i love you so bad, i love that you can look at a chemical and know what fish it comes from, and where in the world they eat that fish....... truly my most beloved

it appears that this man who is newly back from the dead/never dead at all was in a zombie-like state. and mulder is going on about how there are rumors of haitian zombies- which i had heard before, but don't recall anything about- and he is basically being a Nerd

(they're both nerds. i love people who know random Stuff. it's actually a one-way ticket to my heart. no lie!)

((but as for the accuracy of their belief system, i have a feeling it is truly more complex than just the western notion of zombies- i never got to dive into african and diaspora religions in class, so fact-checking this episode is an excellent excuse for me to jump down a rabbit hole))

okay so new proposed theory: take the pufferfish poison... fake a death... but why?

they visit the graveyard to go and find the body of the first man who passed away- but a fellow who watches the graveyard notes that the body snatchers got there first. THE BODY SNATCHERS? did we skip a few centuries back? he says "the voodoo types are buying" which. um. okay.

he ends this by calling the theft of remains "uncool" and for sure. i'd have to agree with that assessment.

but in the distance we see the little boy from earlier- chester- digging about! could HE be the body snatcher? well, mulder is gonna find out!

they chase him down only to find he has a bag of a ton of frogs LMAOOO they had to get those paid frog actors from the last episode in again somehow

so they bring this child- who i think has sadly lost all of his frogs at this point- back to get some food, and this is where i lost all power and was forced to wait a whole day to learned what happened next!

but i picked up here today. this episode was giving me flashbacks to the episode eve from s1. because these two are gonna find a youth and get them a meal. and i appreciate that about them.

anyway, he says he just sneaks out and back into the camp somehow. chester says he sells frogs to bauvais. we love a little guy who is always hustling.

he ate all of his food and mulder gives him more money to go get some more and it is soooo funny to me how mulder interacts with children. it's actually deeply sweet. he is gonna make some random kid on his case smile no matter what.

(oh man. this is the type of guy who is gonna be all "come on, sport, let's go toss the ball around", huh? if he weren't too busy going about chasing aliens and almost dying, i'd say that man would make a decent father)

scully's still in logic mode, saying maybe it was the frogs who made the poison. and yeah, some frogs do in fact make poison, but i'm not sure if north carolina is where you're gonna find em. but i guess there are evil creatures in the south like pythons and black widows so we can't rule it out?

mulder leaves scully in charge of watching chester while he go sees who has been following him. a very perceptive guy. sometimes.

oh!!! it's a fellow we've seen before!! he's a private, and he was friends with the deceased, and he was the one who told the now widow about the voodoo rituals he grew up with. and he refuses to talk with chester around so they have him wait in the car

now, we have dealt with evil children on this show before, but this little dude is not giving evil vibes to me. i find him endearing. which perhaps is what the writers WANT me to think... but no. turns out he was just a nice little dude lmao.

so the private who grew up in louisiana and is now stalking the agents explains that bauvais promised the colonel who is watching over the camp that his men would drop one by one unless they are returned to haiti. he also mentioned that colonel increased "the beatings"

HUH????? he increased them? as in there were some going on before, and now there are more????

scully asks why no one has filed a complaint, and he says "none of us feel good about it, ma'am, but we don't join the marines to feel good" okay but that isn't an answer... like you know that isn't an answer... right??

he's going on about a woman back home dying before her wedding night and the doctors finding snakes in her stomach and scully is like well that sounds fake as hell. and he counters with NUH-UH IT WAS MY FIANCE. ooooh scully was gagged. like what do you even say to that. (zuko voice) "that's rough, buddy"

NOOOO chester broke free from the car.... this is always a risk when leaving children to their own devices. it does make him seem more suspicious, and i was ROOTING for him!!! mulder chases him down because remember, mulder is a track star

and then i think, is this the scene where he sees a cat that has crossed my dash before? yes, it is! a meowing is heard as soon as i wrote those words in my notes. so my hypothesis is that the boy turned into the cat. because he said he gets in and out of the camp as he pleases! and what creature could do that with greater ease than a cat?

(by the end of this episode, my theory is challenged. but it's still nice to imagine)

the colonel is being a man baby... who is shocked? it sure isn't me!!! he's furious to hear about the body being gone, and says "what kind of barbaric religion would desecrate a grave?" to which i gesture vaguely to all cases of a body being moved after being buried, which we usually understand as the work of individuals and not place the blame on entire belief systems... but i got the subtext. he's a bigot.

scully asks him about the beating allegations and he says no way, if anyone is being beaten its actually my men. and then they leave him to eat his breakfast. they clearly do not believe what he had to say

at this point i had flashbacks to the first breakfast scene we saw, and thought that it was going to turn into bugs- but it didn't! instead his food started BLEEDING. gross

so they're going back in the car to go to the motel and scully turns the key and something cuts her hand?!? it looked at first like barbed wire, but then we see it's some kind of thorny branch. conspicuously placed in their vehicle!

"let me see that", says mulder, to whom she replies "oh it's nothing", and he looks visibly annoyed at not being allowed to investigate her little hand cut. let him doctor you sometimes, scully, he needs to feel useful. also you're gonna get blood on the wheel!!!!

at this point i'm freaking out, because what kind of plant was that?! what if it's poison? what if it's the poison that is also in pufferfish and frogs and makes you see stuff?

they speed off and we see... their car had the mark beneath it!!! the mark from earlier which is associated with destruction!!!!!!

cutscene to the colonel beating bauvais. no one is shocked. but it is still a sad sight. he's asking him how he does the magic.

mulder opens the door to his room and a ten of diamonds falls out. he seems to know what this means, even though i do not, and goes to route 10, where he meets...?

DEEP THROAT 2.0?? in north carolina??? mulder says he thought their last meeting would have been their final- remember, when he told mulder to stop chasing down the people involved with scully's kidnapping, and then shot a guy right in front of him, then came back to say the bad guys were gonna search his house- remember that? seemed pretty final to me as well. but clearly not

he says that their search is faltering, and that in 24 hours everyone but the military will be denied access to the camp. mulder is pissed, and is asking why the refugees are being held up, and why are they being beaten, and he says that "those people are innocent civilians, some people in congress might have a problem with that". deep throat 2.0 points out that by the time congress makes an investigation committee, their tracks will be covered, which rings true. but damn, mulder believing- or wanting to believe- that the government will helps people says so much about his character.

so basically deep throat 2.0 shows up to antagonize him for not being on the right track and then leaves. much like deep throat 1.0.

we see scully back at the motel, and her hand is covered in spots and blood, and i wrote a "NOOOOOOO" in my notes because i was distressed!!!!

she knocks on what she thinks is mulder's door- it's door 7, i thought he was in 10?- and the door is unlocked, so she just walks in. but she hears water running, like a shower/bath, so she just talks to mulder through the door LMAOOOO i thought that was so sweet. very married behavior. talking to the husband (platonic or romantic or a secret third thing) while he showers. the private they spoke to went AWOL! isn't that interesting, mulder?

mulder...? there's bloody water pouring in beneath the door?

she busts it open, probably thinking the worst, and it's the louisiana private from before laying dead in the bathtub while water runs. which is definitely not a great thing, but at least it wasn't mulder dying in there. who, conveniently, makes an entrance, holding our first zombie man at gunpoint!!! and zombie man was holding a dagger!!! things are not looking good for him!!!

they take him in for questioning but honestly i was still worried about her hand at this point. like is anyone gonna tend to it.

we learn that... BAUVAIS IS DEAD? allegedly at his own hand. but given that we saw the colonel beating him... let's just say i do not believe it

scully's grasping her forehead, and mulder is asking what's wrong, and she's saying "i'm fine, it's just a headache", and here i made a note to psychoanalyze the fact that the doctor is unwilling to doctor herself. and i WILL have lots to say on that at a later date.

so the newly-dead-in-the-bathtub private gave his friend's wife something to give to the agents if anything happened to him. and they open it up, and it's a photo of the colonel WITH bauvais. so clearly they knew each other. but how? it really isn't answered tbh

they sneak into his office. nice. and they find CHICKEN FEET in his drawers, on top of papers from the dead privates, who had filed complaints against him. so they DID try to make things right and not just blindly follow orders like the one dude implied!

and then mulder opens a chest, and he holds up some dog tags...

but freeze! a soldier tries to stop them. he only gives up when they show that the dog tags belong to the dead privates, and that the BONES of the very first man are sitting in the chest. BONES??? i did not see that one coming. he KEPT THEM??? and he tried to play it off like someone else did it??? oh colonel you are a sick and twisted individual

and now the colonel is back at bauvais' grave, digging it up, chanting haitian creole and holding a knife. um. not great.

the agents roll up to the scene and scully is hiding her face. "what is it, scully?" he asks; she deflects with an "i'm alright". he astutely responds with a "you don't look alright", at which point i am cheering because YEAHHHH WHUMP NATION. HERE WE ARE!!!! MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!

(i mean, it's bad timing, with a wild colonel they need to go catch, but still. when you get a trope you like, you hold it dear. she tells him to go get the colonel and she'll stay in the car)

i thought that perhaps she was hiding her face because she was seeing things, and then she starts... coughing up blood?? and i'm horrified and wondering if this is real or another trick of the poison, and then her hand starts pouring water and a whole dude comes out of it, at which case i realize we are in hallucination town

and back in the graveyard, the colonel is speaking creole in a demon voice, and he moves his hand and mulder is like... stabbed?? or something??? maybe not with a knife but like psychically? he's down for the count

back to scully cam, the man who had emerged from her hand is speaking in a demon creole as well, so she grabs the good luck charm from chester and BAM! everything clears. shoutout to chester for being a real one. i noted that i knew he was a cat, and just as i typed that, a black kitty showed up on top of the car!!!!!!!!

so, now free from the clutches of evil, she runs out to get mulder, who has been lying in the graveyard.

and the FIRST THING this man says is "you're okay?"

AHHHHHH (inconsolable screaming for a really long time)

mulder, who was laying in a graveyard face down with either a real or a psychic stab wound, and after having witnessed some demon fuckery- immediately his mind goes to making sure that she was okay. oh that terrible, terrible need to protect kicking in, as natural and as undeniable to him as breathing. these two are so intertwined it's sickening. aughhhh i am tearing up typing this. what have they turned me into....

so it appears colonel wharton has been killed by the spirit of bauvais, at least according to what the viewer sees and also mulder's report, so cosmic revenge has been served. scully didn't see all this go down, however, so she just sees him in his coffin and is like ???? but again mulder was face down in the dirt so. she's probably thinking, well, who knows what actually happened

but, direct action worked: the refugees are now being repatriated! the agents ask to see the list of people who are returning and are confused because chester isn't on there. and the soldier says, oh right, that poor boy, he died in the riot a while back

HUH??????? he wasn't really there the whole time? he was a benevolent spirit who ate the french fries they bought him and maybe appeared as a cat???

i love that for him. and i'm also deeply sad to learn that he was dead the whole time. but i'm happy that he is getting to spend the afterlife hustling people and digging for frogs.

(of course, that is, if you believe the mulder sort of theory..... now, if you're scully, you're probably thinking, huh, weird that little boy lied about his name... but then again, after her paranormal nurse experience, i'm not sure she's entirely convinced that positive spirits aren't out and about. there has to be a tiiiiny part of her that holds out hope, even if it's scary)

so, the episode ends with the guy who earlier proclaimed body snatching uncool burying the colonel. and we see that- surprise- he wasn't actually dead! he was somehow also put into a zombie-like state, and is screaming as he is buried alive. ah, justice has been delivered.

overall, i liked this episode! the approach towards handling haitian vodou could definitely have been better and less exoticised, but frankly i was expecting a lot worse. i thought it was an interesting premise, i liked little chester, and there are some ambiguities- like, how did the colonel know bauvais? what put them in the zombie state? was it poison from the thorns that caused the hallucinations? if so, why would the good luck charm clear it? but they were ambiguous enough to just leave me feeling curious, rather than entirely stumped like the last episode did. because i'm still trying to put the pieces in place with that one. i was really thinking it over in the shower today.

anyway, loved their interactions this episode- loved worried mulder, loved trying to play it cool and strong scully, loved her thinking it was his room and waltzing in and reporting while he showered, loved freshly stabbed man asking if she was okay, loved mulder meeting another child and saying i'm gonna make this kid smile, loved him looking pissed when she wouldn't show him the cut on her hand, loved a corrupt military official being buried alive. a lot to enjoy here.

#felt good to be reunited with the blorbos after our forced separation #i want to watch another episode but it takes me longer to type up the notes than it does to watch so not enough time tonight #(pounding on the table) let him play doctor sometimes he needs to feel useful #yes i know you don't want him to “protect” you scully but a leopard cannot change its spots. that man is gonna do what he does.#and i am going to jump into a rabbit hole of research on haitian vodou now to see what it got right and wrong #maybe i can try and find some resources in french to practice! but like baby french. i'm not that good after all.#juni's x files liveblog #the x files #txf

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freakattack · 3 months ago

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What do you think about Mario's personality in Fortune Street and the Satellaview games?

GAME THEORY: Everything that's ever happened in a mario game was a stageplay and fake except for this:

Jokes aside I am delighted by the fact that the raunchier satellaview "games" exist, just as I am delighted by the fact that Super Hornio Bros exists in the Nintendo vault and is legally owned by them. As far as the actual Satellaview games, I am especially fond of BS Super Mario USA because it attempts to explain what the fuck happened in regular super mario USA, although BS super mario collection also gets a shoutout from me for reading like a mario self insert fanfiction. And for the....soundtrack

Admittedly, I've never been able to get my hands on Fortune Street, but it's high on my wishlist because if there's one thing I want in life it's a dialogue-heavy mario party game, and I want to know what secrets it holds (besides Daisy's dad and Yoshi's tax evasion). Skimming the "Fortune Street Quotes" page by the good folks at super mario wiki (without spoiling myself too much), I really appreciate how Mario's trademark graciousness and good sportsmanship is directly proportional to how well he knows his opponent; if Luigi and Peach are winning, they have his full support, Yoshi and Toad get a playful ribbing, and all the Dragon Quest characters he simply does not give a shit about. For all the love he has in his heart, Mario has been shown to have a fiercely competitive side, so I'm not too surprised. I'm really happy though that he extends his unconditional support to Birdie, because I feel like they never hang out but they are so important to each other. We ARE all proud of her

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adenei · 1 year ago

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Ch 1 - Never Really Over

*Deep breaths*

Soooo I've been working on a new multi-chap romione fic since April. Have kept it pretty quiet aside from my betas who have been wonderful with their help and support because let's be real, finding time to write and allow yourself to become invested in a hobby with an infant is HARD. But that's a whole other slew of issues for another day. You're here for the fic (I assume), so let's get back to that.

I love the direction this is taking, and am super proud of the idea and its development. I think I'm known a lot for taking existing stories/movies/etc and twisting them to fit a ship in an AU, but this one is all me - yay proving to myself that I CAN have original ideas!

It is an American Romione AU in a modern setting.

Summary:

Hermione Granger is a modern woman who doesn’t need to find love for self-fulfillment. Not that finding love is even an option anymore. Her perfect love story has come and gone with the one who got away—sorry, the one who disappeared is more like it.

That fake fairy tale is all well and good until Ron Weasley, the man who ruined everything, suddenly turns back up in her life with no explanation whatsoever. It seems his only goal is to show up wherever she is, attempting to undo the walls she’s built around her heart after he shattered it into a million tiny pieces. But Hermione’s determined not to let him in. With the help of her best friends and an online dating site that promises users their very own ‘happily ever after,’ she sets out to move on from her first love for good.

After a few misses, Billy slides into her inbox, a sweet, genuine, fun-loving guy who’s easy to talk to and fills Hermione with the hope that perhaps love isn’t off the table after all. Seemingly overnight, she’s gone from perpetually single to balancing a love triangle on a fine, fine line. The deeper she gets, the harder she realizes it’s going to be when she has to choose. The last thing she wants to do is break anyone’s heart—her own included.

So, without further ado, I give you the first chapter of Never Really Over.

Read on AO3

But once in a while I trip up and I cross the line, and I think of you

Work ᐧ a ᐧ hol ᐧ ic (noun) a person who compulsively works long and hard hours.

God, I hate the connotation of that word. And yet it still burns into my mind, distracting me from—unironically—the article I’m trying to finish up at my desk. Am I three months ahead of the current deadline? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean anything. There’s nothing wrong with having backups just in case. It shouldn’t classify me as a workaholic.

Because I’m not.

It’s only haunting me because my brain has a sick and twisted sense of humor. It clearly refuses to follow my strict list of off-limit thoughts, cementing the chokehold the word has on my life.

Ugh. Why am I letting this bother me anyway? I’m Hermione Granger, a capable, independent woman who is perfectly happy with her life right now. A twenty eight-year-old with a house of her own, a career she’s passionate about, and the five best friends a girl could ask for thanks to fate bringing us together during freshman orientation at Kearney University. The memory brings a smile to my lips. What more could one want?

And then the frown returns when I remember that I’m sitting alone in the office on a Friday evening and self-doubt trickles in. If I’m being honest, there’s a lot more I want. Like love. Finding the love of my life would be nice. I thought I’d at least be married by now, and maybe have one kid by the time I turned thirty. Not that I’m a traditional woman by any means. I’m about as modern as they come. It’s just…

No. You’re not allowed to think about him, remember?

Except it’s really hard not to think about him. Especially when that damn word keeps flashing in my mind while I sit here on weekend time, finishing an article that’s nowhere near due. But it doesn’t matter. That inside joke died a long time ago. I stopped finding the word endearing the moment I realized he was no longer in my life. Now if only my brain would get the memo.

I shake my head, brunette curls flying around as I try to refocus on the cursor blinking in front of me. It’s still a tough pill to swallow, but I’ve long since given up on love—or so I’m telling myself. Romantic companionship clearly isn’t in the cards for me, so I turn to the one thing that will never let me down: writing. And right now, I’m only a couple of paragraphs away from completing a lovely little piece on the hidden gems of Bora Bora—the things they won’t tell you in the travel guides.

A long, deep breath helps me push those intrusive thoughts away and brings me back to the salty ocean air and the calm lapping of the waves. If I concentrate long enough, I can feel the sparkling white sand between my toes, and it’s enough to catapult me right back into the article—until my phone rings two minutes later.

I don’t want to answer, but it’s Hannah Abbott, my best friend, and she’s always there for me when I need her. The least I can do is return the favor. Plus, the creative juices are no longer flowing thanks to the interruption, so I may as well see what she wants.

With a swipe right to answer, I do my best not to sound annoyed. “Hello?”

“Where are you?!” Hannah cries, though her voice sounds hushed, like she’s hiding in a closet or something.

“Finishing up an article at work. Why?”

“Unbelievable,” she grumbles, more to herself than to me. “Hermione, I’m going to let you think about why I’m calling for a second and see if you can put the pieces together.”

“What are you talking about?” I’m not in the mood to play this game, but I adjust the phone and hold it against my shoulder so I can lift my laptop and check my desk calendar.

August first. Friday. The day I try to forget. But then I see the periwinkle writing at the bottom of the square. Harry and Neville’s birthday party.

Remember the strong support system I mentioned earlier? The freshman orientation group turned lifelong friends? Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom are part of that, along with Hannah, of course, and Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown. We never miss anyone’s birthdays, and Hannah knows that.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit! How could I forget?”

Hannah sniggers at me. “Yes, how could you forget? Hermione, I don’t know if it’s because you love your job so much that you’re willing to stay late on a Friday, or because of what day it is, but—”

“We’re not talking about that. I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

I slam my laptop shut and shove it in my bag a little too haphazardly. I’m already closing my office door by the time Hannah responds again. “Right…”

She’s clearly contemplating whether to push the subject or let it go. After all, she’ll have all night to try and grill me on it, but she knows better. We don’t talk about what happened on August first. Ever.

And just to make sure she doesn’t go there, I try to swing the conversation back to the guys. “Have they noticed I’m not there yet?”

“Well, considering it’s a small gathering of our closest friends—all of whom are already here because the party started an hour ago—yeah, they’ve noticed.”

“Ugh, I’m sorry, okay? I just—”

“—Got caught up with whatever article you’re working on? I know, I know. You’re lucky it’s only their twenty-eighth birthday and not the big three-oh.”

“Come on, Han, this is one tiny mistake and I feel terrible. You don’t need to make it worse. I’m never late, you know that! And I would never miss something as big as their thirtieth birthdays. Especially not since we’ve already got a running list of themes and ideas going. Just—give me a break, okay? I’ll be there soon. I’m almost to the car now.”

“Alright.” Hannah sighs. There’s a stilted pause and I wait, knowing there’s something else she wants to say, and I brace for the lecture about my workaholic tendencies and what it relates to. Damn psychology major.

“Listen, Hermione, there’s something you should—” But after a long day of reflecting on it, I don’t want to go there right now.

“See you in fifteen, bye!” I hang up the phone before she can finish her sentence. She tries this every year. You’d think after six years she’d let it go. But no, she thinks that one of these days I’ll finally talk about it. Well, she can keep trying, but it’s not going to happen. That part of my life is over and it’ll only hurt more to bring it back up.

⚭

It takes me a little longer than fifteen minutes, but that’s to be expected with D.C. traffic. Once I’m parked outside Hannah and Neville’s house, I quickly do a once-over on my appearance. Thanks to the mid-summer humidity, my hair is frizzier than when I tamed it into its half-ponytail this morning. It’s too bad my incessant need to run my fingers through the curly strands does nothing to combat its flyaway tendency. I guess I’ll just have to deal with yet another pitch from Lavender to let her help me with my nonexistent beauty regimen. Perks of having a beautician for a friend.

Prying my eyes away from the visor mirror, I get out of the car and look down at the pale yellow eyelet sundress I put on this morning. There are definite wrinkles and creases from sitting at my desk all day, but what can I do? At least my mascara isn’t running down my face and I don’t have sweat stains under my arms. That’s more than presentable for a backyard barbeque after working all day. Kudos to whoever chose that over some fancy dinner.

Not that my friends would care. They’ve always accepted me for who I am. Sure, I’ll never hear the end of being late tonight, but at least I made it, and in their company, I’ll be able to accomplish the one thing I’ve struggled with all day: taking my mind off of him.

Faint sounds of laughter echo as I walk up the path to the front door and let myself in. A ‘happy birthday’ sign hangs from the ceiling in the foyer, and red and gold balloons litter the floor leading to the kitchen. Of course they’d deck out the place with the colors of our alma mater—I wouldn’t expect anything less.

“Hey, I’m here! And sorry I’m late, you know how work is,” I call to a seemingly empty house.

I poke my head into an empty living room before heading back to the kitchen, where I find Seamus pulling a beer out of the fridge. Everyone else must be out back.

“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up.”

And so it begins.

Rolling my eyes, I grab a wedge of gouda off the picked over charcuterie board on the counter. “You say that like I intended to show up almost two hours late. I lost track of time.”

That was sort of the truth. After all, I couldn’t tell Seamus I forgot, he’d never let me live it down. Seamus is usually the one who gets called out on things. His affinity for pyrotechnics has created many occasions for us to give him hell, and you can guarantee between the five of us, we never let him live a single one down. So I guess I can’t blame him when he doesn’t miss a beat now the tables are turned.

Which is why I’m not surprised he isn’t letting me off the hook yet. With a snort, he tries to call my bluff. “C’mon, Hermione. We all know you love working so much that you’d skip out on weekends if you could. You don’t have to lie.” And then, to make things weirder, he looks around and lowers his voice to add, “You can tell me the truth about why you’re late. It’ll be our little secret.”

My face scrunches up before I have a chance to control its reaction. Why does he care so much?

“I…I don’t know what you mean. I really did lose track of time, Shay. Why are you acting so strange?”

A scowl crosses his face as he sets his beer down on the white speckled quartz. He eyes the back deck before lowering his voice and says, “Because I’ve got a bet going with Lav and Nev on whether you were going to show or not.”

“Whether I was going to—why wouldn’t I show? Honestly, it’s not my fault I got wrapped up in research and writing an article all day and then forgot I had plans tonight! Do you guys bet on my predisposition to get lost in my job and failure to show up to events often?”

I’m so bewildered by the fact that there’s a bet that I don’t even care about letting my forgetfulness slip. Do I need to reconsider how genuine these friendships are? Does this happen often? Are my friends not as supportive as I thought they were?

I open my mouth to ask as much, but clamp it shut when I see the wide-eyed, pale shock cross Seamus’s face. His reaction is far more severe than it should be and now I’m really confused. He spins around and opens the fridge, rummaging around until he pulls out a mango White Claw—my favorite.

Things are getting more suspicious by the second, and I need to know what is going on. “Seamus, what—”

“Here.” He opens the can with a loud crack and hands it to me. “You’re going to need this.”

Oh, come on. “Seriously? You know I don’t care if I’m already three drinks behind.”

“Well, you might this time…” he mumbles before nodding to the door. “Come on, everyone’s out back. I’m sure they’ll be excited to know you finally made it.”

Okay, what is happening? I try not to let my jaw drop as my mind works to decode this odd behavior. Seamus has always been the one with the crazy ideas and adventurous spirit. There’s not a cryptic bone in his body. If anything, he’s always impulsive and up-front with his intentions.

All I can do is shake my head and follow, giving up on trying to make sense of anything. I take a few quick swigs and step through the sliding glass door that Seamus left open for me. Lively conversation comes from my left, where everyone is sitting around the patio table. I prepare myself for more endless teasing as I shut the door behind me, but instead, the chatter dies to a sudden silence. More peculiarity.

Did I spill something on myself and miss it? No, Seamus would have said something. Or are they really just that shocked about my late arrival? I’m about to ask as much until I look up and see an all too familiar shade of red hair sitting at the table with his back toward me.

Despite the eighty-degree weather, my body breaks into a cold sweat. I’ve spent six years pretending he doesn’t exist anymore. Six years trying to forget that part of my life, convincing myself that he wasn’t the person I thought he was. That he wasn’t ‘the one.’

Everyone else’s expressions mirror my shock when they realize I didn’t know he was going to be here, though Hannah’s contains a tiny wince that’s meant to say, ‘I tried to warn you.’ And their reactions are enough to make Ron Weasley, my ex-best friend, ex-confidante, and ex-lover, turn around.

Seeing his face unfreezes my body from its current awkward stance. Anger and hurt burst through the gates that I’ve worked so hard to keep locked up as our eyes meet. In slow motion, my hard seltzer clatters to the ground, soaking my feet and wedge leather sandals in the sticky, bubbly liquid as I try to find my voice.

As if this paradox couldn’t become any more ironic, he actually seems excited to see me. He opens his mouth to say something, but I’ll never know what since I manage to cut him off with the only scathing question that I can possibly think of.

“What are you doing here?”

#romione #hermione granger #ron weasley #hp fanfic #american au #alternate universe

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da-birb-writes-sometimes · 1 year ago

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howdy ! i've never been matched up before and saw you were doing them so i'm curious to know who you'd match me with ^-^

i think i'm supposed to give a little description of myself first right ? Here i go

i'd say i'm a really stubborn person who doesn't care about others opinions and walk by my own rhythm but my anxiety has kept me from doing so and made me really shy and introverted , if i asked a friend to describe me they'd probably say anger issues (i've been getting better from them and that makes me really proud) and that i'm a people pleaser, i like helping others even when ik they wouldn't do the same for me ( don't put me in the same room as azul cus ik he'll scam me 😭) my hobbies consist of drawing and listening to music , i really like to try my hand at any type of arts and crafts but if I don't get if right the first time i'll probably give up on it 😅

okay so relationship wise i'm looking for someone extroverted who will make time for me and communicate with me , i'm tired of introverted boys who don't put any effort and don't communicate and just let me do all the work . i just want someone who i feel comfortable with , who ik i can joke with without walking on eggshells around them , someone who can be my bedt friend and lover , I mostly show affection through teasing and joking since i have a hard time talking about my feelings .

for the additional information: i'm an Aries sun , Leo moon , and Sagittarius rising and i'm an intp if that helps

sorry this ended up being way too long and clearly i talked as if i was at a therapy session but i hope you don't mind and find time to do my request,if not please just ignore this 😅

I AM HONOURED TO WRITE YOUR FIRST MATCH-UP! *shoots self-love at you* Oh, here he is!

Kalim Al-Asim

Before everything else, he’s your friend. There to support you in his optimistic, sunshiney, well, Kalim, way. Even before ~da romance~ he is very forward with his feelings and would casually say, “I love you!” But one day everything just came together and he realized that yes, he loves you, and not in a friend way!

Yeah, the two of you are both people-pleasers, but through some growth together, you can both put your foot down and assert yourselves! Kalim will be there to reassure you in anxious situations as well. But he likes seeing you walk to the rhythm of your own drum.

He would giggle and tease you back, albeit his teasing is very lighthearted. He takes the joking like a champ, and you need not to worry about walking on eggshells around him.

Kalim is an open book, he may be busy, but he’ll set aside time for you… or just ditch his duties :D Why would he want to discuss silk prices when he could hang out with his favourite person?!

Even though he would be super excited to see what you created in your sketchbook, he also respects your boundaries. He may ask, but he won’t push. He is your number one supporter though. You don’t like it? Well, Kalim thinks it’s lovely!

Speaking of art, if he so happens to overhear that you want some high end supplies, well, you are now set for life! Kalim would also make you some drawings, or add a post it note on your sketchbook. “This is STUNNING! But not as stunning as you! :D ”

Impromptu dance party! He likes listening to music with you, be it just sitting quietly and moving his head to the rhythm with you, or dancing about and laughing. He would also invite you along to Light Music Club if you ever wanted to see him perform. “This one is for you, my sweet bee!” *queue drum solo*

He would also be there, and be more serious if you wanted to tell him something; be it something small that was bugging you, or something heavy that was weighing you down. He may be cheerful, but he knows when something is on your mind.

"You know, I'm always here if you want to talk, sweet bee."

Hope you like your match-up, Melice! Also, it's an honour to write your first one!

Yes, he calls you his sweet bee; people may think you're "angry" but he just sees a sweet friend trying to live their life. Plus, he also took note that you like the lil fuzzy pollinators, so you are now Sweet Bee!

#twst match ups #dove does match ups #kalim al-asim #melice!#kalim; sweet bee!!!! :D <3 #ALSO I LOVE YOUR ART TAKE THE COMPLIMENTS #mutuals <3 #you best be asleep at the time i'm posting this; i know your time zone melice

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goldenworldsabound · 1 year ago

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OKAY so anyway that aside I also forgot to mention my husband and I will be starting to watch Star Trek Discovery.

Many of you are new here and will not know that Spock is the OG fave for me. TOS Spock specifically. When I self shipped in high school (I wrote so. much. fic. in my diary. loved that for me, helped me cope so good) it was Spock and Spock only. Everyone in my life knew I was obsessed with him. And you know what? I knew SO MUCH about TOS. Grown ass men tried to gatekeep my high school self and got fucking schooled by me. I knew everything there was to know about Vulcan.

I don't, anymore. It's been some time. But Spock still holds the SPECIALEST place in my heart even though I haven't talked about him much later. I did revamp our ship a few years ago - or rather, made a new version since I'm too attached to the original but wanted something more...mm...more like how I make my ships now, I guess? The original one was a straight isekai - due to time travel shenanigans I end up on the Enterprise and Spock and I fall in love (I knew it was him though like there was still Star Trek on TV and all that so fdksjahf). It was really helpful to me at the time and honestly it could fully happen with how TOS tends to be. Time travel is par for the course KJFHEWKFHW that one was "Love is Fascinating".

The new one is "Across Time and Space" and also came with me shipping with Kirk as well ("Solar Flare Love") and naturally the poly (cause how can you be a fan of TOS and not ship Spirk (I'm joking but like also it's truly iconic and important for popularizing slash fic)) which is "Interwoven Stars".

And that one I am QUITE proud of what I came up with. Beneath the cut.

In the new lore, Spock and I grow up together on Vulcan. We're really close. I'm not a Vulcan - I wasn't born there, and I've lived on a multitude of planets since they've moved for their jobs a lot. I'm a human. But we stay on Vulcan the longest of any of them. Spock and I, accidentally and unbeknownst to us, sort of form a childish and ill-formed Bond. A telepathic one, as Vulcans do. We don't realize this and no one else does either.

Eventually, I have to move away. It sucks. No one liked that.

Somewhere along the way, something goes super wrong during our travels. My parents die and I'm cryogenically frozen for several years. I'm eventually rescued and revived but...well my family is dead now. Oops.

I go into Starfleet, several years behind Spock.

Which puts us in this position that my first assignment is the Enterprise. And Spock is the Enterprise's Science Officer. And I am reporting directly to him.

We recognize each other!!! It's exciting.

Unfortunately. Spock has realized that we have this awkward incomplete bond. And once we've taken off he determines that, well, he's engaged, so, he's gotta break this off. And he does. And omg it fucking hurts. For both of us. Our minds have been in contact for so long. He's always been with me even if I didn't realize it. So I'm. Upset.

There's a shore leave right then (which is why he waited until then to do it) and I go to that and am Hella Depressed and LO AND BEHOLD Kirk and Bones are like ? We're adopting you as our friend now. You WILL have fun and that IS a threat.

So now I'm besties with the CAPTAIN and the doctor. And Bones and I bond real fucking fast I tell you fkjdhsakjf Kirk thinks I'm cute but like he's well aware of the power dynamic so he's not trying to make a move.

Anyway I don't tell either of them what happened.

Over time I think it just becomes apparent that Spock and I have feelings for each other/are awkward, and Bones gets on me about it like, "you and the green-blooded hobgoblin should just get together already" and I brush him off a bunch until I finally snap about how we can't cause he's engaged. He's very sympathetic after that.

Kirk and I are also somewhat awkwardly on and off trying out dating (with an open relationship) which is like. I like him!!! He likes me!!! But we also both like Spock and it's just...tense and awkward at times?

the whole Pon Farr thing will happen and then Spock is free to...to choose me fkjdhsakjfhdsak and we'll rebond and stuff. And Kirk is like, "congrats" all awkwardly thinking he's out of the picture now. But Spock and I will invite him into our relationship after some time of getting to know each other again!!!

so yeah that was a lot fkjsadhfkjds but that's the basic premise. I love Spock a lot-

#across time and space #interwoven stars #solar flare love #wip #it's not but pretend it is #I do have some fic of this!!!

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babycatlix · 11 months ago

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hi friends 🩵

just a small update, 3 days into being sick, and my throat is beginning to swell so, i have my super sexy sick voice 😏 but jokes aside, i slept terribly last night, every time i coughed i thought i might p*ke, so i had to sit up when i coughed. sneezing is the worst™ and my head is pounding right now. i can't remember the last time i took so much tylenol.

i know i shouldn't feel bad, but i do bc i really wanted to work on gifs over the break. i feel okay in the morning, i even went out yesterday with my parents, masked of course, but around 12pm-1pm my head hurts again and i end up taking a 3-4 hour nap.

anyway, i hope you're having a better holiday than i am. if no one's told you recently, i'm proud of you and you're doing great! 🩵 please stay safe out there, make good choices, and stay hydrated my friends! 🩵

#🐱 rambles

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jimimn · 2 years ago

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He made a wonder. I was not expecting a lot of songs to sound like they do... Honestly who am I kidding I had no thoughts about this album, I was just really excited for it but he once again proved that he's an incredible musician who quite literally poured his heart and soul into this album. He got all these amazing people to feature on his songs, like when I first heard youjeen's voice I literally ascended. I felt like I wasn't even in my body when I listened to the album. Wild flower is such an amazing song and the mv was so pretty too.

His lyricism is still insane to me and I really really really loved the messages and/or the story he wanted to tell with the songs. AND THE SONGS OH MY. Lonely & change pt. 2 being the only two songs without a feature on them... And the ones I love the most... Like I don't know who broke his heart so hard that he recorded change while DRUNK but lock your doors bitch...

Jokes aside though, this is an incredible album. It makes me really sad sometimes but at the same time it heals me and gives me comfort too... Lonely will stay with me for a long time that's for sure. I hope he made peace with the parts of himself that might have bothered him before. Still life too: 'life is better than death. i'll prove it' knowing his past with mental health I'm happy to see these lines from him. And at the same time these words feel so fucking heavy to me. I can't explain it but ever since I read the translation I had this weight on my chest...

I really hope he's content with Indigo.

Which ones were your favorites? :)

-🦋

same omg when namjoon said that indigo is very different than mono, i did not know what to expect. but i knew it'd be, for the lack of a better word, amazing. the way his music speaks to people in so many different ways is incredible. listening to his music you can just feel how deeply in love namjoon is with his art. and i really really admire that about him. god yes, youjeen's voice, that fucking chorus, i haven't been able to get it out of my head. and whenever i listen to the song her voice and the melody makes me want to dissolve into tears. honestly i haven't been able to work through my emotions that well about the songs because i didn't have the time rip 💀 I've read the translations but i haven't thought about them, you know? god but yeah, "life is better than death, I'll prove it" this hit hard. i can't really explain why but it did. He really should be super proud of indigo. i really really hope he is. My faves are still life, forg_tful, closer, change pt 2, lonely, and wildflower <3 wildflower especially because i can't stop looping it 😭 it's so addictive. Also I'm sorry i answer asks so late these days and my answers are short and sort of empty without any input. I'm just not able to think much because I'm always tired from work 🥲 I'll answer your other ask after I've watched the magazine film <3

#anonymous #replied #🦋 anon

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cloudburst-ink · 2 years ago

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Hi Corvus!! 3 and 12, if you're still taking AO3 wrapped questions? 😊

Hello friend! I most certainly am!

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I think I am so far most proud of Desperate Measures. As with many things I write, it was an amusing idea that turned into an amusing little fic, and it was only ever supposed to be something small. Now it's already novel-length and we've still got some more chapters to go!!

Aside from that obvious answer though, I think maybe my upcoming one shot that will be expanding on Servant of Dawn. I think that idea has a lot of potential and thanks to some DMs with a Discord and fandom friend, I may be using it as the template for my first publicly released original work. We shall see!!!

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Ehehehehehe you've activated my trap card!

That's a joke... kind of.

You see, back in the day, when I was part of the Shadowhunters fandom (now I'm not too active there), I had SO MANY WIPs that I actually used a Kanban board to manage it all.

Now, I'm someone who generates... a LOT of creative ideas. I mean, a LOT. So when I started keeping them all stored in a pretty little database on Notion and organizing them by status, it looked really cool. And it was also super overwhelming.

This resulted in complete artistic burnout for like... well over a year. During which I created pretty much nothing.

Granted, the burnout was not solely contributable to that, but it definitely didn't help.

KinnPorsche has pulled me out of that burnout and brought me back with a vengeance, but I don't want to make that mistake again. So I actually actively refuse to keep todo lists for creative endeavors any more, much to the chagrin and frustration of many of my peers.

I figure that if something is important enough or interesting enough to me, I'll remember it again later.

So, with that in mind, I know that both Desperate Measures and Simple Little Secrets will probably bleed into the new year. After that, there may or may not be another trade or collab with @staykimchay, we shall see. We've mentioned one but as we all know now, I'm a troublemaker who refuses to keep lists. 😇

And, hopefully, I'd like to get moving on publishing something original. It will be gay and magical and hopefully a bit sexy, and that's all I've really got nailed down for it so far.

That's all I've got off the top of my little head. Thanks so much for asking! 🥰

For anyone curious, here's a link to the original questions. 🖤

#ao3 wrapped

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coldflasher · 2 years ago

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you know i have to ask about coldwest for the ship thing

hmmm yeah, this one isn't for me really :/ not my cup of tea

jokes, can you imagine haha. i am the captain of coldwest. yo ho ho and a bottle of why-the-fuck-didn't-they-get-more-screentime

What made you ship it?

Honestly I had never even thought about shipping them until Redhead's fic "Needs Must, As the Devil Drives" got me super into Coldwestallen, and from there I spent a lot more time thinking about the Coldwest side of that dynamic and what a fun and complicated relationship that would be... then the rest, ngl, was largely built from my own headcanons and bits of dozens of fics that hopefully, one day, I will actually finish...

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

So many things!! I think the first thing that comes to mind is that I feel like Coldwest offers a great opportunity to put Iris out there in the field. The show kind of tends to keep Iris out of the action a lot. Like she is a hugely important member of the team, obviously, but she's generally sitting in S.T.A.R Labs running tech support, and aside from occasionally getting temporary speed powers or occasionally aiming a gun at a threat, she often takes a back seat to the action. Barry in particular has this tendency to want to get Iris as far away from a fight as possible, and while I get it, I love seeing Iris kick ass. We know she can shoot, throw a punch, whatever, but she rarely gets the opportunity to get out there as much, and whenever she does, it's panic button time and she gets whisked to safety. I feel like Len, with his tendency to get into trouble, his love of adrenaline and a fight, and the thrill he clearly gets while fighting, would love to have Iris on his side in that kind of situation, and he wouldn't hesitate to get her involved. He'd actually encourage it, if anything. Which also provides fun conflict with Joe, who would already be seething that this criminal is dating his daughter, but now he's encouraging her to put her life at risk and possibly commit crimes? Oh, the drama >:) I love writing Coldwest team-ups where Iris gets to use her skills as a reporter while Len uses his skills as a thief, and they kind of play off one another... with lots of back and forth arguing and snark, of course.

I also personally like that, in my view, Iris would have a better handle on Len than anyone else. Like he's more willing to let her boss him around than he would be with another partner. As mentioned, she doesn't take his shit, she's not as amused by him and she will tell him to cut the crap if he's being a dick. In contrast, though, I also feel like he'd be softer than her than he would with another partner. Sure, he'll pull her pigtails and make mean, sly comments, he wouldn't be Len if he didn't... but he also admires and respects her, he's a fan of her work, and I think that Iris is just such a kind and gentle person that I think being around her would soften him. He'd never admit it, but in my head, he's so gone for her, and while it might take a while for him to let his guard down, if you'll excuse the terrible ice pun, he'd melt for her. Like. That small smile he gives to show he's proud of his sister---that kind of moment, all this affection and pride that he keeps private and only lets out when no one's looking, but when they're alone, he lets her see it. Just a little. Sigh.

Also, I kind of like that it's such unchartered territory wrt canon. Like GOD my kingdom for more coldwest scenes, but also, the fact that we get to see so little of them together on screen means that there is so much to explore there, and canon cannot tell me no (like it would stop me anyway haha). It really does give me free reign to think about how they would interact and what kind of scenarios they'd get involved in.

Oh yeah, and I also think they're both extremely hot and I wanna see them bang seven ways to Sunday, so there's that

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't really know. It's such a small ship, I don't really know what opinions are out there haha. Hm... I guess maybe that I think Iris would call him babe. Cos generally Len is NOT a petname person and I think if anyone else tried to call him babe, he would make them regret it, but with Iris, he's like a cat being pet and secretly liking it but pretending not to... he's like "I'll allow it. Maybe." but secretly smug like yes. I am babe

Send me a ship and I'll answer three questions based on whether I ship it or not

#answered

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bitegore · 2 years ago

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8, 13, and 19 for the writing ask meme.

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

And it was, fortunately; the maroon racecar stood upon his doorstep. That was a welcome reprieve, too. Blast Off was solitary by nature; he preferred to stay as far from his unchosen teammates as possible when he could. Dead End was unobtrusive, and not loud or demanding, and generally just nice. “Dead End?” “Blast Off,” Dead End said, in that polite halting way he had. “May I come in?” Did he want to talk, or did he want to sit together and read? Blast Off never knew quite what was going through his head. He was… shy, or something, halting and awkward and confusing. And Blast Off wasn’t the smooth social manipulator that was Vortex, or a keen negotiator like Swindle, or the effortless authority that Onslaught was. And he couldn’t read a mech’s body language to save his life. Dead End was a glossy maroon mystery. But he was good company. “What do you want?” Blast Off asked, stepping aside to invite Dead End in. Dead End sighed, throwing his hands in the air as Blast Off shut the door behind him. “Yet again my teammates have decided that this is the best time to start trying to kill each other over petty, pointless things that won't even matter within the next week.” “Oh,” Blast Off said. Reading, then, probably. Quiet. He grabbed a datapad off the shelf by the door. “One of those.”

This is mostly a "what's not said" dialogue scene that brings me delight (and frustration lmfao), but Blast Off is just successfully failing at Communicating here. It's the second POV of a scene we first see through Dead End's eyes, which goes like this:

He knocked on the door. Only one time. Blast Off would ignore him or he'd come let Dead End in, and to knock too many times would only get on Blast Off's nerves. Luck was in his favor, fleeting though it may have been; there was the sound of a latch, and then Blast Off opened the door slightly. "Dead End?" "Blast Off," Dead End said. "May I come in?" Blast Off's visor narrowed, but he stepped aside, clearing the path. "What do you want? It's late." Drag Strip couldn't stop the sigh as he ducked inside. "Yet again my teammates have decided that this is the best time to start trying to kill each other over petty, pointless things that won't even matter within the next week." "Oh," Blast Off said. "One of those."

wherein Blast Off sounds more hostile and brusque because we can't see inside his brain where his thoughts live. I don't like writing stories where too much of the dialogue or the previous plot repeats typically because I feel like it gets boring, but when both characters are too stiff and awkward to just like, talk, it can be really fun to do this thing where you switch points of view to show what's going on inside their brains. I'm still pleased with how engaging on a this one is; typically I find that these kind of same-scene-different-viewpoint stories fall flat when I reread them, but Reading Night is pretty good still.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Writing Good FIction(tm) is the enemy of writing Fiction That Exists. AKA: perfectonism is a liar and writing more always trumps writing that one thing super perfect. The more I write, the better I am at writing, and also the things I think are great are not necessarily what other people think are Well Executed.

So just like. Write bullshit. Write junk. GIve zero shits about if it's good or not. and then it will get better anyway because the world is a giant joke and you are the punchline.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I don't really know. Probably. I definitely have a little voice in my head that inspires me to write more... suppose that counts.

Questions list can be found here :D

#red replies #thewiglesswonder #fic questions ask game

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elf-ring-system · 2 years ago

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Pt1 Pt2

Gai,

Thank you for looking out for Kakashi. You were super helpful during the move, and I can't commend you enough for how patient you are with everybody

Gakupo,

You haven't really done a whole lot either, but you've made me giggle to myself and given me gender envy, so that's enough. You also asked me out once, which I still don't know if you meant or not. Regardless, the vibes are good. Full support

Glitch,

We've had disagreements, but it doesn't outweigh everything else. I'm really proud of how far you've come this year. Even a couple months before we started telling people, you hated all of us and didn't want to talk to anyone. Now you're by far our biggest advocate, and you've been sociable enough to get not one but two factives of you. Even if you do the wrong thing sometimes, you were our first friend and you'll probably be our last. Thanks for everything this year and all the years before

Hollow,

We've never spoken, actually. You look cool though. Thanks for being the only thing keeping Vesper from being a persecutor. I look forward to talking, if we ever do

James,

I am fucking baffled that Jessie and Meowth aren't in there. Way to keep the headcount down. Jokes aside, thanks for everything you've done for us. I don't think we would have survived childhood without you

Jin,

Thanks for looking out for everybody that you do. Please get a better taste in fanfic. You're gonna make Akio go prematurely gray /t

John,

Sorry you had to split with Ujiko, and I'm sorry we took so long to get you around everybody else. I hope you can keep finding safety in the next year. You deserve it. I promise we're trying

Kakashi,

Congrats being one of the only functional bitches in here. Even if you haven't been active for most of the year, you did most of the moving stuff, and I think that counts for at least a couple months. Fuck you for making me get frontstuck instead of you though /j

You're really sweet. I hope that's not weird to say. I only really know about you from the teddy bear you let Mono give to his Six plushy and what I hear from Mizuki, but I think you are an angel in human form. Kissing you /p. I also think you should know I told our family you were the character I was happiest to meet this year

Kevin,

Thank you for not being a factive of our sister, mother, or god. Huge shoutout. Even if it wasn't this year, thanks for keeping us going that one year. You're a real one

#systemwrapped

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narafeedee · 2 years ago

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Top 10 weight gain hacks?

In no particular order:

1. Replace everything you can with the higher calorie version. This may seem obvious but also consider alternative ingredients and increasing quantity of ingredients, for example swapping milk or water with heavy cream, adding double the butter that’s called for, etc. I know that that’s a no-brainer but it really does make a difference if you’re cooking a lot at home.

2. Surround yourself with snacks. When I shop and get a bunch of snacks, I just leave the grocery bag next to where I sit on my couch. Cookies, chips, poptarts, pastries, hand pies, you name it. So any time I’m feeling peckish or I’m just bored and need something to do, I have something within arms reach. I can mindlessly pack away an extra couple thousand calories a day this way and not even notice.

3. Create smaller goals. This one can be a little challenging, of course we all want to hit our ultimate goal as quickly as possible. But it’s so easy to get discouraged when you’re looking at a number that seems so far away. Breaking your goals up into manageable chunks makes the process quicker and more successful than lamenting over not gaining “fast enough” and losing steam. It also gives you reason to celebrate more often than if you’re only looking forward to the next 50-100lbs. For example, say you’re starting on 01/01 at 300 and your ultimate goal is 350. For the month of January your goal is to hit 310, for February it’s 320, and so on and so forth. That way you’re only really “pushing” for the gain for a few days at a time, if you even need to push at all. I hope that makes sense lol

4. That belly tapping thing actually works, lightly tap above your navel and continue tapping as you move from center to left. It may take a couple rounds of this, but in less than a minute you should feel your stomach start feeling empty again. It really really works, it’s also great for when you’re stuffed to the point where another bite will make you sick - just do the tapping thing and the pain and nausea dissipates. I don’t know the science behind this but it’s something I use on a weekly basis and has been a lifesaver.

5. Diet soda. I’ve always been a Diet Coke addict but I’ve found in my gaining journey that the days I drink Diet Coke I am OBSESSED with sweets and sugary treats. Otherwise I’m not too into sweet things, but when I’m chugging aspartame? Oh god it’s game over, I’d eat straight sugar if I had to.

6. Buy the bigger clothes in advance and wear them. This one is hit or miss, cause I love feeling my clothes bursting at the seams, but on the other hand it takes a lot of effort to get super fat and maintain it, so being comfortable as possible is also a must. I do wear the super tight ones still too, but I alternate depending on the day. If you have clothes that are (temporarily) loose on you, not only will you be comfortable but you’ll also have the added benefit of feeling yourself outgrow those too, which to me is more impressive than outgrowing something that was already a little snug.

7. Preset meals; if you’re a fast food junkie like I am and eat every one of your meals out of a greasy brown bag, this is a game changer. Spend a little time making lists of what you like from fast food places and their respective calorie counts. Then come up with realistic 2000+ calorie meals from that. Not stuffings so much as just a casual everyday lunch. So if you know that you need to hit a minimum calories per day, it’s super quick to order exactly what you need and you don’t have to put any effort into it. A lot of apps let you save your favorites to a separate list anyhow.

8. Fast food apps. If you don’t have a rewards app for every fast food place in a 20 mile radius of your home, are you even a feedee? All jokes aside, the amount of free or deeply discounted food I get every day is insane and I am so proud of my points balances lol this is one of my top hacks, I eat so much fast food anyway why wouldn’t I reap the rewards from that?

9. Eat before bed. Most of my eating happens within 2 hours of me falling asleep at night. I would conservatively say half of my daily calorie intake happens in the evening. It works, do it.

10. I’ve been gatekeeping this website for the last 9.5 years, but this is the most accurate calorie calculator I’ve ever used. It tells you your estimated weight over the next few months based on your body metrics and estimated calorie intake (or rather your daily goal lol) and has been consistently accurate for me in my gaining. I use it to plan my gains/other feedees gains and our daily and weekly calorie goals 😉

#narafeedee #naraanswers #weight gain

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